His eyes snapped open, he inhaled so sharply the sound was like a cough, and he sat up so fast they almost cracked foreheads.She sank back, her ass meeting the floor with a tooth-clickingthump, and thank God she didn’t piss herself right there, because his dark eyes were wide, haunted, and she had the odd feeling nobody was home behind them.
He stared at her, in fact, like she’d just shaken him out of the mother of all nightmares.
For Something Bigger
Erik triggeredthe release and the stone lid clockwork-crawled over the well’s black eye; he shot a quick glance at his newliraito see how she would handle the sight.
She didn’t even seem to notice.Familiar light crawled over her hands, veined her face, and filled theoneiroswith a deep, satisfied gleam.The earth’s secret pulse had risen to answer her need, bathing a potential in its glory, and the Dreamer was awake.
Liv cupped her palms, stared at the slow, hypnotic swirls.The pulse of clean warm power had reached through him, destroying the unclean on the stairs, and all that was remained was that deep, wonderful, blessed warmth.Grey grit lingered on the steps, some piles still sending up incense-coils of perfumed smoke—and Erik’s wounds closed right up, not even scars remaining.His knives, their crystalline blades drinking the illumination, were clean.
His clothes were a mess, though.He pushed himself upright, wincing a little as tender muscles twitched.A more skilledlirai, a Dreamer with more control would have filled him with vital force almost as an afterthought, attending all hurts no matter how minor.But as things stood, he was grateful.
He was, in fact, ready to drop to his knees, slice his wrists, and beg her forgiveness.It was useless, of course—once the shock wore off, she’d hate him all the more.She’d been taken for her own protection, held in isolation, terrified out of her wits, and chased through a blizzard and two car accidents.
To top it off, he’d betrayed any nascent trust she might have felt in his direction.
You could return a potential to the Flame until it took, dread replacing unexpected terror.Some theories said the fear of death triggered the release, others held that the earth’s pulse simply cleaned away the accretion of daily life and habits, a sort of cosmic coffee jolt.Maybe that gunk was too thick to be scraped away on the first try for some few, so the process was repeated for them.
It didn’thurtthem, but most potentials didn’t take kindly to being shoved into a dark hole by their guardians.Even with anotherliraicalling the Flame and holding it steady, evenexpectingthe great gout of earthblood from deep within the secret chambers of the rock humanity called home, it was a terrifying thing.
To fall like that, into absolute blackness—Erik was dead certain he wouldn’t have the guts to endure it.The question was academic at best—the unfiltered power would simply consume him in a single agonizing instant, not just cauterizing the Mad God’s corrupting mark granting him strength, power, and resilience but eating him whole.
Now she waslirai, a potential fully awakened and slightly more durable.Dreamers and Sons, working together, could take on the mightiest of the god’s minions, not to mention the incidental predators of night and fear.But she still needed the peaceful hum of an active temple—and at least two trios standing guard over her every breath—before she was even close to safe.
His job wasn’t over yet.The stone glyphs crawl-trickled into place; the lid was complete again, carven phrases of an ancient, completely dead language moving uneasily before settling.
Now he had to face her.It was cowardice to hope that maybe she’d be too stunned to really understand what he’d done.
Erik let out a harsh breath, rose, and turned with military precision.
Liv still stared at her hands.The Flame coated them, working into her skin.It would vanish until she fought again—or until her emotions reached a certain pitch.One more reason for the deep guard and seclusion of theliraim.
“I thought it would hurt.”Her great dark-blue eyes rose, wide and dazed, and the look threatened to stagger him.“But it didn’t.”
“Good.”If it had…He couldn’t afford to think about that, not even briefly.“We need to get going.”
He expected a protest, no matter how shaken and exhausted she was.Instead, Liv simply stared at him, deadly pale under the light, her hair a mad silken tangle, and the Flame shining from her so brightly his eyes smarted.
Sure, Erik.Blame it on the light.
“You shouldn’t be alone with just me,” he continued, compelled and hating the necessity.
“Ignatius.”A little more sense filtered into her twilight gaze.“He… he obviously thought one of you was telling them where to find me.”
“It happens.”No other explanation, beautiful.It could be a control liaison, but wouldn’t a fullliraisense treachery, especially since all liaisons were regularly scanned?He didn’t want to think it was Jake—but a Younger wasn’t quite steady even at the best of times, and the Mad God’s voice dug in through any and all cracks.He didn’t want to mistrust Ignatius either, but Fathers lived with the whispers a long while.
Endurance was their game; that quality was finite.There was simply no way to tell when the Son next to you reached his limit.
Liv shuddered, the rainbow coruscations over her hands and face briefly intensifying.“It’s not you,” she said, quietly.“If it was, you’d let them take me.”
“Not if I was saving you for something bigger.”It had to be said.“You’re just a little less vulnerable now, Liv.”
“Good thing you’re here.”Another shiver—a stone cellar in winter was not the best place for alirai.“I can see why you didn’t explain.”The shudders weren’t quite from the temperature.Her gaze moved past him, wandering in a way he wasn’t quite sure he liked.“You can’t explain something like this to someone.”
I should’ve found a way.“I’m sorry.”Two pale, stupid little words, staggering under the immense weight of his guilt.“Go ahead and hate me.But I’m going to get you to an active temple, Liv.I swear I will.”
“Okay.”The light was sinking rapidly into her skin now, her slim shoulders dropping, and as its last gleam was swallowed—oh, she still shone, just not to normal eyes—her warm, tender fingers touched his aching left hand.“Do we have time to find a bathroom?”
