Appointed Read online

  “Yes, this is what I want. This is exactly as I imagined it happening. It’s beautiful,” Lucien said. “More, show me more.”

  ****

  “Everything is on course, but you must be of the right blood to have command over the earth,” Neil said from nowhere, and Anj’s dream shifted. Soon Neil appeared in a conference room. Lucien was at the other end of a long table.

  “Which I am working on, but it’s hard to find a Divine willing to donate their heritage to my cause. Most are young, babes, and stealing from them could kill them. While I do not necessarily care about the loss of life, I do care about losing the support of some of their parents, who have been so kind as to donate their time and resources to my cause. Do you think Zeus would take it well if I took his son’s heritage and killed him in the process? The boy is five. The only one who is old enough to not suffer from the process is Persephone’s daughter, and I need her to maintain her Divinity for other reasons,” Lucien said, getting comfortable at the desk.

  “Yes, your marriage is an important step. Without full control of the underworld, you will not be able to combine the realms. But you do need Divine blood to rule in the physical realm, there is no question about it. Those were the rules put in place when the world began. Rules created by the one true God are near impossible to get around. It’s a pity the Divine who are supporting you haven’t given you one of their own to help, but I guess they don’t want to lose their family bloodline to a demon,” Neil said.

  “So what exactly do you propose?”

  “The heir to Hades—”

  “Is protected by his father’s magic.” Lucien shook his head. “The only way to get his Divinity would be for him to give it to me. Which he won’t do. He doesn’t even know he’s Divine. If I was to kill his father, then the heir would come into his full Divine magic anyway, and I’d lose my chance to claim Hades’ throne for good. And the only reason I have it is because I was able to sell the lie that I am the real heir to his throne — another problem with asking for a donation from one of my Divine supporters. They’d know and then withdraw themselves from the plan.”

  Neil nodded as though he understood. “The only way to go about this is to take the line from another member of the Divine. Now, there are of course Fates who are technically members of the Divine, and they are plentiful—”

  Lucien shook his head. “I tried doing it that way already, in case you’ve forgotten the ninety-nine Fates who were slaughtered? It was a waste of my time.”

  “All of the power went to a boy. The power of Fates is hard to explain. In order for a Fate to be created, one must die. The power is passed on. When so many die at once, their power goes to however many Fates are conceived in that moment. The power transfer is instant. The strength of ninety-nine went to one boy. That doesn’t happen often and it concerns me,” Neil said.

  “Why? It’s just one boy.”

  “With a lot of power. And now he has the power of one hundred. When his father died, the boy received those abilities, which makes him the strongest Fate in existence.”

  Lucien rolled his eyes. “Yes, fine, whatever. Now back to my dilemma.”

  “I’ve heard the daughter of Aphrodite isn’t too keen on being Divine…”

  ****

  Lucien stared at Anj. “I remember this conversation. Let’s see if I can get you to show me something new.”

  Pain shot through Anj’s body, and he thought it was going to explode from all the magic inside him. “I don’t know how to see something—”

  He stopped speaking when the image of Mr. Thantos appeared before him.

  ****

  The fallen angel wore a black suit. A funeral was being held at a local mortuary, the same one where Anj’s father’s service had been held. Mr. Thantos’s gloved hands touched the casket tenderly, and he gazed into it. Mrs. Orinda lay inside. He pulled off his gloves and reached in to hold her hands, her skin cold like ice to the touch.

  “Until we meet again,” he whispered, and kissed her lips, the only kiss the angel could ever give her.

  ****

  “She’s his weakness,” Lucien said. “Now this is useful to me because he has a way of meddling in things that aren’t his business. This should be easy. More, I need more.”

  Anj closed his eyes. “Please let me rest. I’m tired, I—”

  And then he was thrown into another vision.

  ****

  “Yeah, everything is set,” Denver said, folding his arms in front of him. He leaned against the doorframe of Lucien’s conference room. While the demon sat, Denver stood and glared across the room.

  “You better not be lying to me or—” Lucien started.

  “Look, why would I lie? You wanted a way onto the school campus, and I got you one. The gate is opened, and the magic on the wards is pretty weak since the Divine are slowly losing their power. So take advantage of it while you can. That thing was heavy, and I’m not opening it again. And I have a feeling I won’t be able to bust the ward on it again, either. Okay?” Denver rolled his eyes. “And if you want me to bust the ones on her bedroom? That’s going to cost you extra.”

  “I’ll pay whatever it takes to make her mine.” Lucien paused. “And I would recommend not drinking her blood anymore. It could prove hazardous to your health.”

  “It’s fine.”

  “Let me rephrase that. If I catch you doing it again, I’ll be the one causing the hazard. You will regret it.”

  ****

  Lucien slammed Denver hard into the wall of the conference room. “Why did you let Aphrodite’s daughter go?”

  “Because you’re wasting your time with her. If you’d listen to me, I’ll tell you all about the Divine you really wanna be stealing from. You got your listening ears turned on? Are you paying attention? Because I’m only going to explain it to you once,” Denver spat.

  “Continue.”

  “There’s this guy I know. He sees things. He knows things, right? He has the answer to your question. Plus, you’d never have gotten Jewl’s Divine blood. She’d have died first, and her mother would have picked another of her kids to be the heir. I saved your precious plans for world domination, so you should be thanking me. Besides, I owed her one, and you know me. I always settle my debts.” Denver’s green eyes locked on Lucien, and his jaw tightened. “Speaking of those, if I get you this guy, then I want to be done. Do you understand? I shouldn’t have to owe you anymore.”

  “That depends on what use this person is to me.” Lucien glowered.

  “Rumor I’ve been hearing is, he’s a Fate.”

  “I have one of those to confide in already. A waste of my time.”

  Denver shook his head. “Not just any Fate. The Fate. He has this über-strong power, apparently. So he can give you all the answers you need, because there is a way to become Divine without stealing it. Only the Fates know the way, though. It’s a piece of collected knowledge amongst the group, or so my research has been telling me. When all the heads of the Fates get together, they can predict and conjure up some crazy things. Get the secret from him, the instructions. Because he’s got the power of one hundred of them, which is a lot easier than getting a bunch of them together in one room. Or so I’ve been told by my source.”

  “If you’re lying…”

  ****

  “Denver doesn’t lie,” Anj said. “How did he know? How could he have? I don’t understand.” He was too tired to hold his thoughts in anymore. Lucien could read his mind anyway, so there was no point if he didn’t have the energy to guard himself properly.

  Lucien stared at Anj, studying him. “Every mortal lies, but he doesn’t often. This is a step in the right direction. This would be a lot less painful for you if your powers weren’t so quiet and locked away. Why do you fear such a wonderful gift? You have the ability to know everything, to change the future.”

  “I don’t want to ruin the surprise.”

  The demon released him, and the pain ended. “Get over it. You’ve ea
rned a break, but I’m still watching you.”

  Anj closed his eyes. Emotional and physical exhaustion covered him. Why hasn’t this ended yet? Why haven’t they been able to figure out how to get me home again? What if they can’t figure it out? He swallowed at the realization that maybe nobody knew what was happening to him. Anj didn’t know how much time had passed. It felt like an eternity, but what if it was actually only a couple of hours? Maybe he was dreaming in his normal sleep cycle. All he knew was that he wanted it to end.

  “Why did you have to pick me?” Anj whispered, resenting his father for choosing him to carry on the tradition. It wouldn’t have been the first time. But he didn’t do this. Neil did. Neil did everything. His fists clenched at the thought. I’m going to make him pay for this.

  “Revenge is never the answer,” a soft, gentle male voice said from somewhere in the room. It took Anj a moment to discover it was his father.

  Closing his eyes, Anj shook his head. “I’ve officially gone crazy from all of this.”

  “Not crazy — strong. And a powerful dreamer. I wish this didn’t have to happen to you. I saw it once before you were born, and I tried so hard to stop it, Banji. I thought if your brother had the gift instead, all of this could have been avoided. That the future would have changed. I’m so sorry,” his father said in the same soft voice as before. “But it was beautiful getting to see you before you even existed. Powerful.”

  Anj felt tears well in his eyes. He hadn’t been called by his real name in a long time. His father was the only one who’d ever used it. He was the only one Anj allowed to call him that.

  “Dad, I’m not feeling strong. Please don’t make me be anymore. I kind of want to cave so I can rest,” Anj said. “But I don’t know what I’m giving in to. He wants answers I don’t have and—”

  “You have them.” His father materialized in front of him. He reached out and touched Anj’s chest, and it felt as real as ever, as if he were still alive.

  “I don’t understand,” Anj said.

  “I know. But you do have what this demon wants. Two heads are better than one, and you have one hundred of them inside of you. No matter what happens, you have to keep being strong and fight what he is asking of you. Control your visions. Don’t dream about the answer. I don’t even want to speak it, because it could spark something I’d rather you not think of,” his father explained.

  “I can’t control it.”

  “You can. I promise you can.”

  Anj squeezed his eyes shut. “Did Neil really kill you and force your power inside of me?”

  His father stroked some of Anj’s dark, shaggy hair. “Let’s not talk about the unpleasant. You don’t need to see that memory today. I will show it to you later, when you’re not so distraught and out of touch. Let’s focus on something good.”

  “I miss Zes.”

  “He’s a good thing to think about. We’ll concentrate on him.”

  When Anj opened his eyes again, his father was gone, and a new vision was forming.

  ****

  Zes lay on the floor of a dungeon. Grotesque demons surrounded him. Their features made them barely recognizable as humanoid beings. They all had elongated faces, three-inch claws, and short, wispy black bodies. They watched Zes with wicked grins and took turns finding new ways to torture him. Anj hated being helpless and having to watch. He’d seen this before.

  The demons dragged their claws through Zes’s skin in slow, rigid motions. Blood oozed out, and Zes’s teeth clenched together so hard, Anj was surprised his jaw hadn’t broken. There was no way to win. The demons got pleasure out of trying to make his brother break, and then once he did, they would get pleasure in listening to him scream. It wouldn’t take long for them to get their wish. He would break. No matter how strong he tried to be, there was only so much anyone could take.

  Ripping a nerve from inside of Zes’s arm was that breaking point. As soon as it snapped in the demon’s claws, he screamed so loud and long, it resonated inside the entire dungeon for at least a minute. Then the demons began to break bones, one at a time.

  ****

  Anj shook his head. “I don’t want to see this again. I want to see something good.” Guilt filled him. No, it hadn’t been his fault, but he could have at least done more for Zes to help him afterward. Maybe if Anj had pushed harder or tried to communicate that he did understand what had happened, things would have been different. Then Zes might not think he was such a selfish person.

  Squeezing his eyes shut, Anj tried to focus on the happier moments with his brother. Playing on swing sets, cuddling when they were younger, something, anything that wasn’t so painful. Please, I need him. I can’t do this alone.

  When he opened his eyes again, he saw his brother kneeling in a cell similar to Anj’s, only it was darker and more devoid of hope. Zes’s head was lowered, and when he looked up and stared into Anj’s eyes, they glowed a vibrant gold unlike anything Anj had ever seen before.

  “This is your fault,” Zes sneered and lunged to attack Anj.

  Lucien had to be causing these visions, or the power of the dungeon was making his dreams into nightmares. Why else would he be seeing something so horrible?

  No, that’s not right. It can’t be. He’s my brother. Jewl — please show me something good about her. Anj closed his eyes again, praying silently that when he re-opened them he’d see something pleasant.

  Slowly, he lifted his eyelids and could see her. Jewl’s platinum blonde curls were pulled back from her face. A few tendrils escaped, and she brushed one away from her eyes. His head lay in her lap, and he was pretty sure they were in his dorm room.

  “You better wake up soon,” she said, and kissed his forehead. “Everyone is on the verge of having a meltdown. Zes finally went to go sleep in Teague’s dorm, but we’ll see how long that lasts. He tried to break in again the other day. Didn’t get far. The pain is too much. Every day, he gets a little farther into the room. So just know he’s trying, okay? On the plus side, the evil-warlock resident assistant is letting me stay over since Mr. Thantos can’t. Don’t get any ideas, though. We won’t be getting frisky. I’m sure that’s disappointing news.”

  He wanted to answer her, to reach out and touch her and tell her to not worry.

  Jewl combed his hair with her fingers. “I love you. I hope you’re at least having sweet dreams.”

  I am now. Anj held onto the vision for as long as he could.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  With a groan, Zes woke up again. It took him a moment to remember where he was, since he still wasn’t in his own room. Both Jewl and Teague had insisted he stop sleeping in the hallway and go to Teague’s place. They’d ganged up on him and basically forced him to go. So reluctantly, Zes had brought what few things he had over to Teague’s guest room for the night. He didn’t sleep any better there than he had on the floor.

  Almost every two hours he’d woken up, rolled around, and then sank back asleep. Ever since Anj fell into his coma, Zes hadn’t been able to rest. In fact, he felt an awful lot like how he imagined the princess with the pea did. There was some kind of constant discomfort, only instead of it being caused by a pea under his mattress, it was as if something were inside of his spine. Whatever was going on, it stopped him from getting comfortable enough to sleep.

  While he felt bad for sleeping to begin with, his body was dead tired. When he had lain down, it was as if he were filled with lead. Heavy, exhausted — in theory, he shouldn’t have even been able to keep his eyes open. Yet no matter how hard he tried to sleep, he couldn’t. Something kept him awake. Deep in his gut, Zes knew it had to do with Anj.

  The twins had always been connected in ways that seemed implausible. Anj had better instincts than Zes. Whenever something bad happened, Anj could just tell. A long time ago when Zes had broken an arm at school and his brother had been home sick, Anj had known right away what happened on the playground. He told their mother to go to the school and complained of pain so bad that Anj had
gotten an X-ray taken at the hospital too. When Zes was taken to the underworld by the demons, his brother claimed to have felt a lot of the same torture he had suffered.

  Most of the time, whenever anything bad happened to Anj, Zes couldn’t actually feel it physically. He felt, however, a gut suspicion that something wasn’t right. He knew something was wrong. The only explanation he’d been given by the teaching staff for his brother’s condition was that Anj’s lack of sleep was most likely catching up to him. Mr. Thantos was the closest thing to honest by telling Zes it had something to do with the demons, but the details were scarce. It was driving him crazy. There had to be something he could do to help.

  Checking the clock, Zes saw it was almost four in the morning. Day three of his brother’s coma had officially begun. I guess I’m going to have to tell Mom. And he was not looking forward to that conversation. Especially since he knew he’d get chewed out for not saying something sooner. Anj wouldn’t have wanted her to know right away, though. She’d have worried too much and then come over and smothered him. So Zes had pleaded with the staff to let his brother have a couple of days to rest, hoping everything would go back to normal. Even if Zes knew he was only deluding himself with a fantasy, he’d been banking on the theory that Anj was only catching up on much-needed sleep.

  Zes left Teague’s guest bedroom and frowned, once again startled by the murals on the walls. Teague was a great artist when he tried. There were lifelike images of animals and well-detailed landscapes on the walls of his den. While Zes knew it was a memory experiment, the whole thing creeped him out. Especially the large, near-perfect image of the underworld that happened to be painted right next to the guest room.