Chapter 31
“S o what are we looking for again?” Petra asked as she walked through the enormous house.
“Journals? Hidden books, anything that looks outta place?” Jack answered as they moved into the library room.
“You guys really think Emerson’s dad hid more stuff?”
"He was too smart not to," Finn said. "He had no idea what would happen to the house after he died. And if it had been emptied, the desk would have been sold or destroyed."
“Granted, I didn’t find this shit from snooping,” Emerson said as he walked in.
“What does that mean?” she asked as she started pulling books out.
“I don’t know. I woke up, and something pulled me from that warm bed with you, sweetness...it was like a need, excitement. I don’t know. But I made it into the study and the feeling got more intense until I found the cache that opened the bottom of the wall.”
"You ever get the feeling that He Who Sleeps is significantly more active in our lives than we think he is?" Leo said, and while his tone was joking, it still made everyone pause for a moment.
“I mean...” Emerson began and shook his head. “Dad’s journal said He visited others in dreams...it stands to reason that if we are the seven, and she is the woman...” He looked to her. “That He is guiding us.”
"Then we are simply instruments of His will," Finn said. "The coming annihilation of the Elders is His will. He wants the old ways restored."
“That’s a safe bet. Safe bet that he sent this sexy woman to us as well,” Jack offered and kissed her on the head before moving off to search another section.
“Emerson,” Rix said. “What’s the plan for the house... here I mean?”
Emerson shrugged. “I was told to keep the place safe, like a safehouse. The Elders think it was burned down, as I told Leo.” He looked to Kendrix. “Unless you told Stephan.”
“I haven’t told him anything. Not that he asks about my life or my plans...only really contacting me when it’s time for the big devotions.”
"Then it stays between us," Finn said firmly. "This is a secret only we know, even when this is all over. The God might be on our side, but that doesn't mean the Elders don't have people hidden in every rank of The Order."
"Amen to that," Carter agreed fervently. A safehouse would benefit them all, especially if they could keep their Petra there.
“I think that was dad’s intention. So...” Emerson said as he pulled the last book off his shelf. “Nothing so far. Maybe...” He grinned. “Maybe we ask for help?”
“From Him?” she asked, intrigued. “How?”
“Well..” Emerson grinned. “He responds to several things...perhaps an offering?”
“Of pain?” she asked softly.
“No. I think of pleasure,” Emerson said. “Something to sweeten Him?”
"Fucking typical," Finn snorted. "You search one shelf and you're already focused on fucking. I swear you're like a fucking teenager."
Emerson laughed. “Your brain went to fucking, mine didn’t.”
“What do you mean, if not that?” she asked her grinning lover.
“I did say sweeten Him, I didn’t say satisfy Him,” Emerson offered. “Something to let Him know His efforts with us, I mean we are all in agreement that He’s the reason we are all here, right? So something that lets Him know we appreciate what He sent us.”
“And what’s that?”
“A kiss?” he offered, “From each of us, to our sweet little victim.”
"If you're really that bored with searching, go and entertain Petra somewhere else," Easton sighed. "Did you forget we declared war on the Elders? Remember? The guys that killed our parents? That landed me in that shitty hellscape? There's a time for playing and this ain't it."
"It's not the worst idea he's ever had," Leo pointed out. "A little extra energy from us might give Him enough power to communicate across the veil."
"Then go and fuck her properly," Easton snorted. "A kiss won't do shit. Finn's right. Emerson just wants to dip his wick while the rest of us get on and do the actual searching."
Emerson shook his head. “I... I honestly didn’t...”
She shook her head. “It’s okay...maybe that’s not a good idea,” she said, looking at Easton.
She knew he wasn’t ready to kiss her yet and was surprised Emerson had even suggested it.
Her Snake wasn’t exactly touchy-feely with his brothers, either.
“Maybe not now.” She went to another lower shelf and started to pull books out.
She wasn’t getting between them in this.
Easton, her sweet damaged Easton would always be the hold out ‘til he was ready not to be.
She had to respect that, although it made her wonder if the rest of the guys knew he had never willingly kissed her.
“Maybe energy isn’t a bad idea,” Jack pointed out.
“And no, I’m not suggesting we run a train on her.
There has to be other ways to manifest. I mean we were taught blood, we have learned sex.
..maybe there’s other ways? Personal sacrifice?
Other acts... I can see why Emerson suggested a kiss, it connects two people, with connection comes manifestation, but. ..”
"You know what would really help with that kind of knowledge? Finding more books," Easton snapped and Finn placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Easy there, brother. I know you're hurting, but we can look and have a conversation at the same time, okay?" Easton didn't look happy, but he just shrugged and went back to searching shelves, methodically moving books and tapping the side and rear walls of the bookcases.
"I think we might be limited by transference," Finn said thoughtfully when he was sure Easton wasn't going to lash out.
"During the festival weekend, we absorb the energy using the tattoos and then pass it to the God by dripping our blood into the well.
Raising energy with Petra here is all well and good, but how do we transfer it?
There isn't a well here. Can we drop blood anywhere?
It was something I was going to speak to the priests about when we see them next—how the energy was transferred to the God in the old days when He was feeding all the time. "
"This would all have been a lot fucking easier if those wrinkly old bastards had told us all of this when we asked," Leo said sourly.
"Maybe they had to be sure that Petra is the one?" Finn suggested, his tone still thoughtful. "I mean...I don't know. You're the one that's read the books we've found so far, Emerson. Has there been anything about how the feeding works?"
Emerson stopped his search and then turned and raised a finger, and walked out the room. Rix arched a brow at her and then Finn. “I hate it when he gets like this.”
“This happen a lot?” she asked Rix.
“It did in school. His research meter would go off and he would do shit like this then come back and have some info none of us had come across. Bookish asshole.”
She laughed and shook her head. “I mean him saving the day right now...”
He walked back in with the second of the two journals. “Blood!” he said with a triumphant glare.
“Whose?”
“Ours,” he offered and looked to them. “Journal said it was through blood it was transferred. Here...” As pleasure and pain are two sides of a coin for him, with one should come the other to be whole.
Francine has me paint my blood over her heart.
It works when I haven’t christened her with my essence.
” He looked up. “I’ma say that means when he didn’t come inside her? ”
"So it's some kind of feedback loop?" Leo queried. "We build the pleasure, take it from her, and then somehow giving it back takes it from her and gives it to the God?"
"Then why did we need the wells at all?" Finn asked. "Is it less potent to cover her in blood or something?"
“I don’t see anything in here about a well, at least outside of the main devotions of the festival weekend,” he offered.
“It is possible that we don’t need it if it’s a full circuit.
I’m also working off the information given.
..and both participants were of the blood.
” He looked to her. “We don’t know if she is. ”
"So basically you don't know anything," Easton snorted, going back to searching shelves. "Maybe it's a way to test it," Leo said, with a look in her direction that she didn't know how to interpret. "Maybe if it works, we can confirm that the orphanage is a secret Order facility?"
"But how are we going to know it works?" Carter spoke up for the first time. "Even if the God does give us some sort of signal, there's no way of knowing if it's because of something we did or if He's pissed that we're fucking about instead of looking."
“We aren’t fucking about,” Rix said. “And Leo’s suggestion bear’s weight. What do you propose?”
"I'm not proposing anything," Carter shrugged. "It was Emerson's idea. I'm just testing his hypothesis with reasonable questions.
“No, I meant Leo... You think there’s a way to test it?”
"I'm the fabulous of this sorry outfit," Leo laughed, "not the brains. I just thought that if it worked we'd know she's Order, but Carter has a point. I don't fucking know how we test if it worked or if He Who Sleeps is just fed up of waiting."
Sitting there, she smiled. Seeing them interact, even if it was arguing...
“Pet? Baby, answer us something...”
“Okay?” she said to Jack.
“When you found us, how did that happen? Like, what was going through your head?”
She cocked her head, thinking. “I... Well, I was walking home from work, and changed my direction, going down the street you guys were on.”
“Is that something you normally do?” Emerson asked. “Take different routes?”
She shook her head. “Now, sometimes, but then? No. I was literally just here in the city for a short amount of time, less than two months.”
“Interesting. And why did you move here?”
She shrugged. “Philly seemed interesting. Small city feel but big city opportunities. It has a huge art scene, but less competition than New York, but also...it felt right to move here.” She chuckled.
“I remember trying to figure out where I was going to move to and Philly just popped into my head.”