Part 39 (2/2)
”What? What is it?” He looked at her anxiously.
”Look-your hand.” She indicated his right hand which she had been holding. ”Look at it-the last black mark is gone!”
Kor held up his hand and turned it back and forth, examining it.
”You're right. I wonder what happened?”
”Who knows?” Maggie smiled. ”Maybe it just finally rubbed off.”
”Maybe...” Kor looked troubled for a moment and then shrugged. ”Well, I'm glad it's gone. It's not a reminder I wanted to keep.”
”I know a good reminder you can keep.” Maggie pulled him down for another kiss.
”Mmm, excellent reminder, blondie.” Kor ran his hand through her curls and cupped her cheek, kissing her back. ”I love you, you know that?”
Maggie grinned and kissed him again. ”I know.”
The End
Epilogue.
The superheated surface of the Black Planet was filled with demons-spirits or pure evil which were the only creatures that could survive such extreme conditions. They writhed upon the surface, struggling for freedom, hungering for the life force of living creatures. Yet only a few of the strongest had managed to break free of the planet's surface and find other places to feed.
One of these was Ur, a demon of renown who had nurtured his own host and trained the body to his will over many patient years. Unfortunately, he had been cast out at the last moment, forced to return to the Black Planet and its writhing ma.s.s of dark souls, defeated.
Or maybe not...
”I tell you, my brothers,” he hissed as they gathered round him in a swirling frenzy. ”I have found the perfect hosts. Creatures strong enough to bear us for the entire natural lifespan of their bodies.”
”Impossible,” spat one of the other legion of spirits. ”No host is that strong. None can withstand our presence more than a few days before they die. It is most vexing...”
”Not impossible at all, but we must be crafty. We must find a way to bring the fumes and corruption of our planet to them. Only then, after breathing our dust and taking the mark of the shadow stone,, may they be possessed.”
”How is it to be done?” another demon demanded. ”Most of us are trapped here without physical bodies. How can we get the corruption of our world to these new hosts?”
”Leave that to me. There is one I have Indwelled before, very briefly. I have a greater hold on him now-he will do my bidding. Soon my brothers...we shall be flesh. All of us flesh...forever!”
Back at the Med Station on the Mother s.h.i.+p, Donald Mahoney, PhD looked down at the strange black mole that seemed to have grown on the base of his right thumb overnight somehow. What was it? Should he have a doctor look at it? He had only noticed it a moment ago, after shaking hands with Maggie's muscular new paramour.
Donald shook his head. What she saw in the Neanderthal was beyond him. He probably had no interest in the sciences and his obvious predilection for public displays of affection was downright disgusting. The way the two of them had been s...o...b..ring all over each other was a germaphobe's worst nightmare. And Donald most certainly was a germaphobe. In fact, he was inclined to go wash his hands right now.
Which brought him back to the black mole again. What was it?
Later. Donald sighed and put away his crutches so he could go over some important research. There would be time to worry about mundane matters at another time. Right now he had to get ready for his research trip to a nearby solar system where a most interesting new planet had been found. It was made of pure t.i.tanium Dioxide and it was hotter than the surface of the sun.
Of course, as a microbiologist, Donald should have no interest in such a place. After all, no life-not even microscopic life-ought to be able to withstand such extreme temperatures. But he found himself drawn to the place anyway.
He opened his new laptop-not top of the line but perfectly serviceable-and stared at his research. Yes, he would visit the planet and see what, if any life, could be found there. Absently, he scratched the black mole which seemed to have grown ever so slightly.
It would be a most interesting trip...
Read on for the first two chapters of Brides of the Kindred 10, Divided, coming in 2014.
Chapter One.
”So Maggie is making a full recovery?” Kat ate another bite of donut. ”Mmm, delicious.”
”You say that about everything you eat,” Olivia said with a laugh.
”Just feeding my boys.” Kat winced and put a hand to her very round belly. ”Settle down, you two! I'm eating as fast as I can.” She looked at Liv and shrugged. ”See? Can't help it-they want donuts. So-Maggie?”
”I've been keeping a good eye on her at the Med station and she's getting better every day. It's a miracle, really. There were some recording devices stationed in the town square and I saw what happened to her-she should have died of those injuries. All she had was some blood loss.”
”According to her, she did die,” Becca Malone said quietly. ”She claims she was brought back for a purpose.”
”I believe it,” Kat said, looking uncharacteristically somber. ”The G.o.ddess spared my life too, you know-she did it for Deep when he offered to switch places with me and die in my stead.”
”That's exactly what Maggie said Kor told her he was thinking...or praying or whatever, when Lissa started channeling the G.o.ddess,” Liv said.
”The G.o.ddess recognizes and rewards self sacrifice-especially when it's between a bonded pair,” Kat remarked. She looked at Becca. ”Hey, you were almost a nun-what do you think about all this?”
”I think Maggie is a lucky girl but she's brave too-she went out to face the demon knowing it could kill her,” Becca said. She sighed. ”I only wish I could be that brave. Sometimes I think my whole life has been about taking the safest paths and making the decisions I thought would ruffle the least feathers.”
”Speaking of decisions...” Sophie sighed. ”I'm afraid your own personal decision is headed our way, Becca. Sylvan just bespoke me and said that Truth and Far are both headed to our suite.”
Kat groaned. ”Not both at the same time? There's always so much tension around those too-it's like being caught in the middle of a lightning storm when you have to be in the same room with them.”
”Do they still expect you to choose between them?” Liv asked.
Becca nodded. ”Ever since I finally announced that I was giving up my calling to the Church, they won't leave me alone.”
”Oh, so you definitely won't be a nun?” Sophia asked sympathetically. ”That must be hard.”
”Harder on my family than me.” Becca sighed. ”My mother cried for days and my father threatened to disown me. But I just...” She looked down at her hands, trying to think how to put it. ”After what I experienced in the Sacred Grove that day with Truth and Far...it's like...like a part of me was woken up. A part I didn't know I had but now that it's awake I can't put it back to sleep again.”
”That part wouldn't happen to be your s.e.x drive, would it?” Kat asked frankly.
”Maybe.” Becca felt her cheeks getting hot. ”I just can't take a vow of celibacy now that I know-at least in part-what I'd be missing. It wouldn't be honest to myself or to G.o.d. It wouldn't be right.”
”You have to do what's right for you,” Liv said. ”Don't let your family or Truth or Far or anyone else dictate your life-you choose what you want and who you want to be with.”
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