Chapter 19
Savannah hadn’t appreciated just how dark the trail through Hell had been until the sunlight blinded her. The return topside had been so abrupt. There had been no warning. For one moment, they had been encompassed in complete pitch darkness. The next, it was a full-on mid-summer’s day.
Her eyes slowly adjusted, and she breathed in the delicious fresh air that no longer stank of sulfur and decay. There was just a hint of something citrusy drifting along a cool breeze.
Little orbs danced around her, obscuring the scenery. At first, she thought it was a byproduct of the onslaught of light, but these orbs were floating… flying around. Assorted colors. Varying sizes. All with an iridescent glow.
It was so lovely that it took a while for her to notice the surrounding terrain. This was no earthly realm. Everything seemed lit from within. Even the ground underneath her feet shimmered with a rainbow of colors.
She barely managed to push the words past her lips as she took in the view. “Where are we?”
Manea giggled but provided no answer.
Turning, with the sudden thought of running back through Hell, Savannah discovered their route was no longer there. She closed her eyes, focusing on locating an invisible shield of energy that would indicate a way out. But… it was gone. Simply gone. Wherever she was, there was no exit.
The energetic breadcrumbs she had been sending back the way they had come had ended. Jasper would find only a dead end. If he was even searching for her.
“Hey, crazy lady! Where are we?”
A flock of large black birds—wait, were those bats?—blotted out the light from above. If not for the brightness emanating from every crevice, every plant, every rock in this place, it would be as black as a starless night underneath the Montana sky when a particularly fierce storm blew in.
A shiver ran down her spine, then out to her arms and legs. Despite the initial beauty of the place, it housed a sinister presence. And Savannah wanted out. Now.
“Aren’t they lovely?” The whack-job goddess still held Savannah by the wrist and pulled her close to her side. “See how in harmony they are with each other. If you listen closely enough, you can hear their near silent chirps and clicks. Their music reaches into my soul and plucks at my heartstrings.”
Savannah choked down the comment that flew to her tongue. She knew Manea was crazy, but every word, every move made it more apparent. The level of crazy was what worried her the most.
And this is supposedly my mother. Oh, for pity’s sake!
“Manea…”
“No. No. Dear, call me Mother, please.”
Her voice was soft like silk, but Savannah knew better than to believe this woman just wanted to bond as mother and daughter. Besides, she had no intention of attending any more family reunions. Ever.
Still, best to play along… for the time being.
“Mother”—she nearly choked on the word—“where are we? What are we doing here?”
Manea turned to look at her with something akin to hope reflected in her eyes. Although the entirety of her eyes—iris, cornea, pupil, and even the parts that should’ve been white—were a swirling silver, they expressed hints of emotion. Or perhaps that was just Savannah’s empathic side kicking in.
Manea grabbed Savannah’s upper arms and proceeded to kiss both of her cheeks. “We’re home, my dear. I finally brought my daughter home.” She twirled around, forcing Savannah to join in the dance. “Home. Home. Home. From where our energy and godliness comes from. Here we shall prepare ourselves for battle to reclaim what should be ours by right. Your legacy. Your inheritance.”
Breathless from being spun around repeatedly, Savannah stumbled to the ground. It was soft, spongy, covered in luminescent blades of velvety grass and an occasional shining rock. Thankfully, Manea let her rest while she continued to dance with glee. No moisture seeped through her jeans from the ground. Although soft, it was dry. Glancing around, Savannah sighed in defeat. There was one missing ingredient in this oasis of ethereal beauty—water.
Damn! She hadn’t considered the one element vital in her fight against Manea—according to the Lakota spirits, anyway—would be nonexistent when she needed it the most.
While the goddess danced, Savannah pondered the situation. How was she to break free of her cuckoo mom and get back to Jasper? What was dear old Mom planning? A battle for what?
Regardless of what it was, it couldn’t be a good thing. Savannah knew deep down that she was much more powerful than she had ever realized. The energy strummed through her blood, filling her aura to dizzying heights. This place was re-energizing her, as Manea claimed. With every second that passed, immense strength flowed into her own body—like superhero strong, goddess-strong.
I can save myself.
She spread her fingers out on the soft grass, embracing the power that bled from it into her body, heart, and soul. The air that filled her lungs flushed out all the toxins and pumped fresh vigor through her. Every cell vibrated with vitality and purity.
Mommy dearest still twirled, faster and faster. But also, with each circle, she stepped just a little farther until she was a good fifty yards or more away. And she was no longer paying Savannah any mind.
Lucky for me, Mom has the attention span of a goldfish.
The terrain was flat like a chess board. There were a few clumps of trees in the distance where she could hide, but eventually she’d need a way out of this world. Despite sending out all her feelers for signs of an exit, Savannah realized she was essentially a captive in a snow globe. No entrance. No exit. A self-contained world with no need for anything or anyone external.
“Fuck it,” she muttered.
What could only be described as divine strength propelled Savannah to her feet and across the plains of an iridescent-lit field. The spongy ground muted her steps, but also slowed her down. It was like running on yoga mats. Now, if only the bats would fly back over to cover her escape. But no such luck.
She didn’t bother to glance behind her. If Manea found her missing, she would be re-captured within the blink of an eye. Savannah might’ve had some godly power running through her veins, but Mom was a full-on goddess. The advantage would go to the pureblood, not the half-human progeny.
The air Savannah sucked in continued to fuel her body. Despite what seemed like she’d sprinted a marathon, her body expressed no signs of fatigue. She wasn’t even out of breath. And—best yet—no sounds of pursuit. For all she knew, Manea had twirled her way back to the outskirts of Hell and beyond.
Savannah reached the thicket of trees and bushes. None of the plant life was familiar to her. Definitely no pine trees, evergreens, or even an oak. All were of varying heights and circumferences. But it was somewhere to hide until she could assess the situation better.
Peering back from where she had come, a laugh bubbled up in her chest. The goddess still danced around like she was at Woodstock on whatever hallucinogenic drugs they did in those days. She was completely oblivious to all else. Her long ebony hair flew around her face with a life of its own. Her white sheer tunic swayed around her calves and ankles. If the woman wasn’t such a menace, Savannah might have found her to be childlike and endearing. Unfortunately, Manea was anything but those things.
“No time like the present,” Savannah muttered to herself. She then dropped to her knees to crawl through the underbrush in the opposite direction from her crazy mother.
She scrambled through the dense grove for a good fifty yards or more. More light filtered through the branches, indicating her cover was about to end. She neared the edge of the copse and pushed up to see what awaited her on the other side.
Dust-covered black boots led up to torn faded jeans on a pair of long, muscular legs. She dared to crane her neck to peek upward. A large, dark hand reached down to grasp Savannah’s arm, yanking her up and clear of the tree’s cover.
“May I help you, little one?”
Jasper!
Relief nearly sent Savannah back to her knees. She jumped into his arms, burying her face in the smooth flannel that covered his chest. “You found me. Oh, thank God! You found me!”
His hand clasped her chin, forcing her to look him directly in the eyes. “Are you okay? Did that bitch hurt you?”
Without giving her time to answer, his lips smashed down on hers in a hungry wave of need. She opened her mouth with a sigh to allow his tongue entrance. He tasted of warm whiskey and spice. He tasted of home.
Abruptly, Jasper ended the kiss and shoved her away. She groaned in protest. Judging by the grim frown dragging his lips down, he wasn’t happy about it either.
“I’m not exactly here with the cavalry,” he admitted.
Confused, she followed his stare to the gangly teenager standing a few yards away with a wide smile.
“Sorry, love. But kind of a frying pan into the fire situation,” Jasper said guiltily.
“Billy? What…” She couldn’t believe her eyes.
No, that couldn’t be Billy. It was his lanky teenager’s body. It was his dirty blond hair and Wrangler jeans and too-big flannel shirt. But the eyes staring back at her were not Billy’s, not his friendly blue irises with their usual hint of bashfulness. No, these eyes were solid orbs of white with squiggles of crimson, as if his actual eyes had rolled back into his skull. A large, uneven smile spread across his thin, pasty-white face.
“Why, this must be my darling stepdaughter! Pleased to meet you, dear,” he hissed. “I’m sorry to say that this little family reunion will be our first and last.”
Savannah couldn’t look away. Jasper’s hand had a death grip on her arm, while his other hand pressed protectively at the small of her back. Telepathic waves bombarded her head. He must’ve been trying to communicate, but no words formed in her brain to relay his message.
“Best not to tarry too long in this spot. Don’t want the little woman to find us. We should vamoose now.”
Hearing that sickening voice coming out of her friend’s mouth pushed Savannah’s brain to kick back into gear. She turned abruptly but stepped right into a wall of solid muscle. Jasper didn’t move. Why wasn’t he moving? Why didn’t he slug the monstrosity parading as Billy and run out of here with her?
“I’m sorry, little one,” Jasper whispered in her ear.
Unholy fires of Hell. He knows I hate that nickname.
“Sorry for what?” Despite every fiber of her being screaming not to do so, she peered up into Jasper’s handsome face. His jaw was firmly set. A vein creeping up his neck thrummed visibly, as if an invisible force was choking him. A nerve twitched just under his left eye.
His eyes!
Staring down at her were not the beautiful glacial-blue eyes of the man she had fantasized about since she was fifteen years old. They weren’t the eyes of the man that had sent her into dizzying heights of passion she would never know again. No, those were not the eyes of the man she loved at all. The barest blue remained, but even his black pupils were nearly white.
This was no rescue. She’d escaped Hell only to jump from one frying pan into the next.