"Go," he said, pushing her towards her awaiting bodyguard.

"Bring them both back to me, Jule," she whispered. He gave a brisk nod.

"Sofia!"

She turned, surprised to Traci racing towards her from across the helo-pad.

"Two women," Pierre muttered.

Traci flung her arms around her, her fear fresh on her face. Sofia hugged her back.

"Pierre," Jule said with a toss of his head.

"Gladly. Come with me ladies."

He gripped each of their arms and led them towards two black Tahoes. She twisted to see the helo-hangar one last time, not yet able to believe the night's events.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN.

His brother was somewhere inside the scarred sh.e.l.l of a man before him. He stared into Darian's gold eyes, seeking some sign of the man he'd known. Darian struggled visibly, his gaze stormy and his frame shaking. His own head was fuzzy from the effects of the drink he'd been force fed. He had a throbbing headache, and his body didn't respond the way it should.

"Do you know me, brother?" he asked in a hoa.r.s.e voice.

"Damian," came the mechanical voice. "Kiri loves you."

Damian couldn't help his smile at the words. Darian knew him because of Sofia, and he reached out to his brother, absorbing what memories were in his mind. Darian's mind was like a disaster scene after a hurricane. The bits and pieces of who he was were there, disjointed and scattered. Two people were all he knew with certainty: Sofia and the Watcher with his forest green eyes. His brother wasn't sure of anything or anyone else, even if he did match the faces in his thoughts with those around him.

"Be gentle. He'll break if you push him," the Watcher said.

Damian twisted, surprised to find his body stiff with the simple movement. He was too out of sorts to feel the Watcher's arrival.

"Master," Darian said, bowing his head.

The sight of someone once so powerful and proud in submission to anyone infuriated him. For the first time in his life, Damian was speechless when confronted with the horror before him.

"He's been abused for thousands of years," the Watcher said, pausing beside the still, scarred man and resting a hand on his head. "He'll need your help."

"Like I wouldn't help him," he snapped.

He looked to his brother again, fury of the deepest kind running within him. He loved Darian, always would, but understanding what he'd been through for thousands of years made him wish his brother had died instead of being forced to bear such pain.

"I can only coach," the Watcher reminded him. "Your oracle and Darian had to do the real work. If she'd been any less of an oracle than what she is ..."

Darian would spend the remainder of his life in the h.e.l.l that'd claimed him. Damian's throat tightened.

"Claire did this to him."

"Yes, she did. After the attack, Czerno brought him back to life. He wasn't part of the plan to kill him, but he found out from Claire when they met shortly before Darian's death. He understood that the Black G.o.d can never truly kill the White G.o.d for fear of unleashing the Original Beings, who would crush him. He was there to save your brother when Isac finished and kept him under control using Claire's blood. I think he's since been sickened with evil and forgotten if you don't exist, neither does he."

"My own enemy saved him," Damian said with a harsh laugh. "Our world is so f.u.c.ked up."

"Yes, ikir, it is," the Watcher agreed.

The depth of Claire's betrayal made him wish he could kill her again a thousand times over! He'd been too kind in his execution of the sick b.i.t.c.h!

"Kiri," Darian said almost sadly.

Damian's spinning emotions warmed at the idea that Sofia saved him. He didn't want to think on the probability behind such a powerful oracle appearing when she did. No, he wouldn't look that gift horse in the mouth, not when the embodiment of her ability sat hunched before him.

"Will he ever be close to the man I knew?" he whispered the thought, unable to help the tears that rose with it.

"There is a legend among the humans of the phoenix, who rises from his own ashes," the Watcher replied. "Your brother will never be what he was, but he will rise again as the Grey G.o.d."

He looked to the Watcher, surprised.

"Darian is the Grey G.o.d?"

"Yes, ikir. He will be forever stuck between the two worlds, the good and the evil, without entering either or leaving either behind. His will not be an easy role to fill."

He reached out to his brother and touched his head to his forehead. Darian didn't resist, and Damian delighted in the idea that the sound of him breathing meant his brother was truly alive.

"Watcher, I love him, and I can't fathom his pain," he said. "Will he be lost like this forever?"

"No. Even in human time, his suffering will be short but it will be very bad for him until it ends."

"Sofia can help him."

"There will be others who will help him, too. He will need them all, and he will need you if he is to take his place as the Grey G.o.d. One of your team captains will have friends as well."

"Jule is as old as you," he said. "Or older?"

"Close," the Watcher admitted. "He's still not in favor among my kind. His penance is not yet served."

"Good. Leave him here with me."

"You'll not face anyone willing to challenge you for him, ikir, I a.s.sure you, though there may be some who might help him."

The amount of distaste in the Watcher's voice amused him. Jule had never said what he'd done to p.i.s.s someone off and get exiled to earth, but it must have been bad if the Watcher's kind clipped his powers and sent him packing.

"By your leave, ikir," the Watcher said with a bow of his head.

He waved him away, attention returning to Darian. He touched his brother's face, his emotions soaring once again.

Darian was alive. Sofia was safe. In that moment, nothing else mattered to him. He released a deep breath and rose, aware the birth of a new G.o.d and discovery of a powerful oracle indicated nothing but more trouble to come.

"Come, brother, let's take you back to kiri," he said.

Darian stood obediently, and Damian's throat tightened again to know his brother was at his side.

Sofia watched the last of the blood swirl down the drain. She leaned her head against the shower wall, exhausted. Damian's heavy ring hung off a chain around her neck, and she clenched it.

"You ok?" Traci called, voice m.u.f.fled by the door.

"Yeah."

She turned off the shower and dried herself. Traci sat on an unmade bed belonging to one of the Tucson Sector members.

"Pierre, can I get some privacy?" she asked.

"Nope," he said from his position on a chair inside the door. "You're both grounded."

She returned to the bathroom to dress in clothing Linda had brought over.

"When will you know if the house is safe?"

"Soon," was his vague response. "They have to finish their clean up."

"Did they find Czerno?"

"They won't. He goes poof and returns to one of his other bases, leaving everyone else to fry."

She shivered.

"Did you really shoot her?" Traci asked.

"Not on purpose," Pierre grated.

"That's kind of an extreme form of revenge for asking you about croissants."

Pierre mumbled a few curses. She wiped the fog away from the mirror. Her bruises were gone, and her two-toned eyes were calmer than they'd been. For the first time since entering this world, she felt at peace.

"Pierre, I want to go home!" she complained.

"Ok."

She poked her head out of the bathroom. He lowered his phone.

"Really?"

"All clear. You are coming with us, mademoiselle," he said to Traci.

She sprung up and s.n.a.t.c.hed her purse. He grimaced and rose more slowly. Sofia slipped on oversized flip flops Traci dug out of one of the closets. Pierre's phone dinged, and he opened it again.

"There's a few missions, but they said the house is clear," he said. "Linda is there. Looks like we'll have to evac and rebuild the Tucson Sector. Czerno knows where all our safehouses are."

Grande and Lon awaited them in the living room, and they rose as they approached. Two armored Tahoes sat out front. Pierre drove the women while the other two followed.

"If I weren't so scared, this would be neat," Traci whispered to her. "Armored cars, bodyguards ... like we're famous or something."

"It is kinda neat," Sofia agreed. "Until your bodyguard shoots you."

"If you keep mentioning it, it won't be an accident next time," he retorted, shooting her a look in the rearview mirror.

She smiled, and Traci covered her mouth to keep him from hearing her laugh.

"Pierre."

He glanced at her.

"Thank you for taking care of me. You're a good man."

"You're welcome."

Though still arch, his tone had softened enough to show her he wasn't unaffected by her genuine words.

The mansion hummed with activity, from the gardens that served as a helopad to the teeming barracks and guardians pacing the halIs. She was reminded of a scene from a movie, where an army mobilized for war.

"Linda's asleep already. Go on up and rest. We've got to start moving everything within 24 hours," Lon told them, slinging a machine gun over his shoulder.

"Traci," Rainy called, holding out his hand.

She went to him, eyes wide at the activity. In the midst of the activity in the mansion, Sofia saw Dustin. He settled one of his cool looks on her and tossed his head towards the stairs. He didn't look to be in a mood for questions, so she hurried past him to her room, Pierre trailing. She closed the door, surprised at how quiet her room was.

She was about to lie down when she sensed him walk by. Her heart soared, and she touched the ring at her neck. She hesitated, sensing he would be angrier with her than Jule or Dustin had been. Or both combined. Steeling herself, she pa.s.sed Pierre at her door and knocked on Damian's door.

Not in the mood, Sofia.

She opened the door, heart pounding. He was framed against the balcony once again, and she leaned against the door before venturing forward. Despite the cool fear spiraling through her, she couldn't help but feel thrilled at the sight of him after she thought she'd lost him.

"If you ever, ever, do anything like that again ... "

He didn't have to finish the threat. His tone was enough to tell her he'd show no mercy. He was too angry to face her, and she was glad of it. She hugged herself, wanting to throw her arms around him but knowing he was in as an approachable of a mood as Dustin.

"I brought this back," she said and pulled off the chain, placing the ring on the table nearest the door.

"I wanted to apologize to you, Damian," she continued. "When I was in that room ..."

His grip on the railing tightened, and she stopped, afraid of pushing him through the brittle facade containing his emotions. After a thick moment of silence, she forced herself to continue.

"I swore to myself I'd do this," she said. "Damian, I love you. If you don't hate me for what I did, if you still ... want me ... I'm yours."