Dark Time Read online

  "Her choice? Is she in total control now? What about my mom?"

  "Your mom is still the CEO. But Ms Stephens and her dislike of planar things is gaining support within the group. And a lot of them were loyal to her husband, who was also a part of the Society. They know you killed March Knowles, and they saw you rip that guy's arm off. So…" he thinned his lips.

  "But if they kill Dags—and trying to remove the book would kill him—the book goes back to the well of souls. That vast nothing I saw while in that egg throne."

  TC nodded. "No one wants that to happen."

  "Why?" I shifted on the bed. I wanted to get up, take a shower, eat cake. "Don't get me wrong—the bastard broke my heart and I don't want him dead—but why doesn't anyone want that to happen. "

  I was looking at Manuel, but TC answered. "The well of souls, or that vast expanse you saw, is in essence, the universe. Some would believe or even call it the Conscience of God. The heart of the well is filled with the spell of creation or destruction. Or…the tetragrammaton."

  Uh… "The what?"

  Manuel laughed and let go of my hand as he sat down on the floor and crossed his legs. "That's one of the names of God. Hebrew. It's the name of the four Hebrew letters that make up the name. YHVH."

  "The Grimoire holds that spell," TC said. "Inanna snuck into the well a long time ago and learned copied the spell down. And some spells…should never be be in the written word. It was the last spell she entered into the book as part of the Abysmal Plane. Sophia caught her and banished her into the Physical Plane."

  I nodded slowly. I was getting it. I was.

  TC continued. "Worst case is the Ethereals, especially the Seraphim, get hold of the Grimoire and the power locked inside of it, including that spell. Inanna also wrote a lot of…" TC shrugged. "Protections, securities rotes if you want to call them that, to make sure if the Seraphim were to touch it, or anything remotely in its service, the book would shut down. Close. And it wouldn't open up to them."

  "Protections? Rotes?"

  "Think of rotes as computer security programs." Manuel said. "Protection built into the wiring of the book so that if someone tries to access it, the book shuts down for them."

  "Is that why the book shut down before? When Dags went all vegetable?" I looked from TC to Manuel. I was just on the cusp of getting this crap straight in my head. And where was Inanna? Why wasn't she here for all this discussion on a book she wrote?

  TC said, "If you mean after the Familiar mangled the pages? No. That was the same as someone feeding a virus into it. The protections didn't work because Maureen wasn't working for the Ethereals. She is, in her essence, Abysmal, which is why she was able to do what she did."

  I made a face. "And Rhonda? The fuck up she managed to do?"

  "Rhonda's energy is chaotic, which is still seen as Abysmal. Or it was." TC made a strange expression as he looked away for a second, as if he were considering several things but not voicing them. "She was able to manipulate things as well. But when Gabriel started poking around inside—"

  I turned to face him on the bed and grabbed at his rather large, rock-hard upper arm. "Is that why Dags didn't remember this whole year? Because the book shut down?"

  "That's what Geist and I assumed happened. And your mom."

  "So it wasn't the page she shoved inside?"

  "The page is still there, and the only thing that page does is give her access to the book. But she can't use it."

  I frowned. "Why do you keep looking like that? What's wrong?"

  "We have reports that," Manuel began. "Dags's been using the Grimoire. He's been casting spells, and he's been able to bring the Sword back."

  My jaw dropped. "So he's remembered? He has access again?"

  "No…" Manuel and TC glanced at each other. Oh I hated that. It felt like they had a thing going and I wasn't a part of it. "Well we don't know. He's manifesting magic—and it's a different kind of magic than before. It's more powerful."

  "I don't understand. Are you keeping tabs on him? You got a sneaky snooper or a spy on him?"

  The little Revenant grinned. "Sneaky snooper? Ah…I don't know about that, but we do have Revenants nearby who've been in contact with a few people around him. So does the Society. Oh don't look so shocked, Zoë. You didn't think an organization as powerful as the Society of Ishamel was going to let a man with a ticking time bomb in his chest just walk out of here without them watching him? Your mom authorized it."

  "She did?" He had a point, though. From everything I knew, as well as the information I'd gotten from Inanna, that book was a repository for more trouble than Pandora's Box.

  Well, Inanna had actually called it Pandora's Box on occasion.

  So who would ask to make a book like that? Hadn't I heard somewhere that some spells just shouldn't be written down? Eh…especially when non-magically-gifted people like me tried to use it to make Coyote Flames? And well damn…that memory made me think of Dags again. That morning had been the first time I'd seen him since I met Joe Halloran. He'd looked so different. So…beautiful. And yet he'd already been through so much and had a book mated to his soul.

  TC spoke up. "Dags's memory since receiving the book is still pretty much non-existent. And apparently, you don't remember much about the past two months."

  "What's there to remember? We fixed Jefferson's arm, and that made Inanna really hungry. And me too. So…I went to sleep and let her take the wheel." I chewed on my lower lip. "She said she had things to do, stuff to take care of before the end of—"

  A vice closed down on my throat. It was as if something wound a rope or something strong several times around my neck and was garroting it tighter and tighter. I grabbed at my throat but couldn't find anything.

  The pressure cut off my air and I made small noises as I slipped off the bed and onto the floor. I could hear and sort of see TC and Manuel bending over me, shouting, pulling at my arms. Why were they pulling at my arms? Couldn't they see there was something wrapping around my neck?! Cotton grew in my ears until I couldn't hear them, and then it grew dark and wooly over my eyes.

  Abruptly I fell forward into a dark room and landed quite painfully on my ass. The motion rattled my backbone and I groaned even as I coughed and sucked in air.

  "Zoë?"

  That voice.

  Oh dear God…that voice!

  I did manage to look up to my right. A light came from somewhere. Not quite a spotlight but sort of a soft stage light that illuminated an all too familiar presence.

  As soon as I could breathe better, I put my hands to my mouth. "Daniel?"

  5

  It was him! He was here!

  But…

  Where the hell was here?

  I tried to stand up and would have failed if Daniel hadn't of grabbed hold of me. He not only got me up on my feet, he also pulled me to him and nearly squeezed the crap out of me. And well…I squeezed him back. "Why…what…how are you here?" My voice was muffled against his shirt and his strong chest. He was taller than me, much the way Joe was. My face came to just below his chin.

  Daniel pulled back but he didn't let go. His hands held tight to my shoulders. "I—I don't know. I've been wondering around in the dark for a while. Every now and then Inanna shows up. But I haven't seen her."

  "She shows up? In here?" I looked around and recognized the place. The feel. The dark. "Oh God…we're in that little mind theater."

  "The what?"

  "That's what I call it. We're in my head, which means I'm not in charge of my body." I looked up at him. "Daniel…what the hell is Inanna doing?"

  "Doing? I—I don't know. She never really talked about herself much while we were joined. When…when I died she brought me with her here. To you. And sometimes I'm aware of it like now and sometimes I'm not. But this time…I've been aware for a while." He searched my face with those incredulously blue eyes. "What were you doing to Dags in Savannah?"

  Oh.

  What…

  Huh? I turned my hea
d to the left but kept my gaze focused on his eyes. "What are you talking about. I haven't seen Dags since he—"

  I couldn't say it. Not even to Daniel.

  "No, no, don't." He let go of me and put his hands on his face, then pulled them down. "I know what happened. And I'm sorry. I could feel your heart breaking, Zoë. And I'm sorry. I felt so bad and I was so…I'm still so damn angry at him. I could kill him."

  "It's not his fault, you know. Apparently there's a failsafe and when Gabriel screwed around with the Grimoire, it shut down."

  "It didn't just shut down," Daniel said. "And its name is the Grand Grimoire."

  Oh. Really? "It has a name?" This was one hell of a day to rejoin the living. I was learning all kinds of shit that didn't make sense.

  "Yeah. Just…it's something I learned from Inanna. She's been really good about keeping me out of her personal life, but sometimes," he shrugged. "I get through. She wrote it."

  "Yeah I know."

  "You know it's not whole, right? That it's still missing pieces?"

  "I think I knew that. Or, it seems like I knew that. It sucked up that book I found as if it belonged to it."

  "There are still three pieces missing. And she's really…really after them. She said the Tetragrammaton can't be used until the book is complete."

  Oh wait, I knew that word. "The Tetra—I thought that was the name of God. Or one of them."

  "It is. Which is the name of creation and destruction. Look, it's seriously over-complicated and I've had to ask Geist a lot of questions."

  "Geist? You've talked to Geist?" I grabbed his shirt collar. "I want to see Geist!"

  I felt a pressure to my left and the presence of familiarity against my skin. Geist stood in his own small light. He still looked like Barry Stephens. He bowed at his waist. "It is good to see you, Wraith."

  "It's good to see you too, Geist." I wanted to hug him, but I got the idea that wasn't really what he wanted. "Geist…what the hell is going on? Why are we in here? Why is Daniel here?" I glanced at him. "I mean, why is he solidly here? Shouldn't he be more like a memory?"

  The universe's ultimate program opened his mouth, then closed it, then opened it again. "I must process each question in its turn, but I feel I must rearrange their answers in an order that is better suited to the situation at present."

  I got it. I was shocked that I did, but I got it. And I waited as he did this. Daniel put a hand against my back. It was nice. I didn't want him to move it.

  Finally Geist looked ready. He turned to me. "The most pressing answer will be the first one. 'Why are we here' is that the First Born inhabiting your body and soul at the moment has taken ninety two percent control and locked your essence, or rather ninety two percent of it, into this small box in your mind. This place exists in the astral area that you and the First Born share as a part of your joining."

  I uh… I looked over at Daniel. He narrowed his eyes. "Ninety two percent?"

  "Yes. A First Born cannot over take a host at one hundred percent. To do so would destroy the housing soul, and to do that would mean the separation of the two, thus culminating in the end of both First Born and the human soul returning to the Well."

  Okay I was still about twenty steps behind. But I was running to keep up. Mentally. "What eight percent is still connected?"

  Geist pointed to my chest. "Your heart. That is the anchor point for all bonds with the First Borns. Your heart is damaged. This has allowed the First Born to gain more control."

  "I…because my heart's broken, not just metaphorically but physically, she's been able to take more control than she usually would?"

  "Yes. A heart does not need to be physically broken for this to occur. Astrally, the heart is a powerful tool for magic, because it is where the realm of intent and will come from, along with the solar plexus." He pointed to just below my chest. "But because you are more than human, because you exist in all planes and can walk the worlds, it took a physical break for her to initiate more control. I would suggest studying the cabbala to understand the power centers of your body."

  "Now now," I said I held up my hand. "You're saying…or are you suggesting…that Inanna knew my use of the Creation Eidolon, that's a part of me, would do this?"

  "Only if you allowed it."

  "Zoë," Daniel interrupted. "Whose idea was it for you to physically use your heart?"

  "Well it was mine. When Dags stomped on it, I wanted to get rid of it. I really wanted to pull it out of my body and burn it. So, Inanna…" the memory of that conversation came back to me. It was after I disappeared from the Society House, after Dags…

  I'd gone to my mom's shop…or what was left of it. They were still rebuilding it at the time. The Society had started clearing the rubble, but not after going over it with their team of white suited men. Inanna had stepped out, OOB'd into a form she liked to use. Eshe. Her first host. A queen.

  We watched them work, watched the men go back and forth with their equipment and I'd told her I wanted to die.

  "I'm afraid you can't, Zoë. I can't allow it."

  "Then just…just take what you want. I just want to sleep."

  "Is it guilt? Do you feel guilty?"

  "I want to get rid of this," I'd put my hand to my chest and looked at her. "I don't want a heart, Inanna. It…" the crying started again and I couldn't stop it. "…it just hurts. I love him…" I'd put my hands over my face. "And he thinks I'm a monster."

  "Then fix the problem."

  After succumbing to a much needed fit of tears I'd asked her how to fix it.

  "Use your power, the one in the Creation Eidolon, and make that bastard a new arm."

  I remembered the feeling of shock and awe. I'd sniffed and wiped my face on my sleeve. "I…I can do that?"

  "With a physical piece of yourself, you can."

  I came back to the present and looked at Daniel, where we stood in the little mind theater. "It was her idea, to use the Eidolon, but it was my idea to use my heart. She…she told me it would ease my pain."

  Geist tilted his head to the side. "Did it?"

  "No. I still hurt, but it's from a distance. I feel like I'm constantly running from it, dodging it, hiding, avoiding it, but that pain follows me no matter where I go. Unless I sleep. So…"

  Daniel shifted beside me. "So you slept, while she took control."

  "Yeah. TC woke me up."

  "He woke you because he was afraid this would happen. He had hoped to tell you about his sister before she gained control."

  I looked around the dark. "I guess we're too late?"

  "Not necessarily. I have found it is quite possible to manipulate and tweak the events of the outside world, from the inside. We just have to find the tools."

  "Guys," Daniel spoke up. "Can you let me in on a few things? Like…why would Inanna do this? She never tried to take control of me."

  "She did." Geist turned to face Daniel. "Your heart was already broken when you invited her in. The Horror broke it. And it broke part of your mind. She did not usurp control over you because it was not necessary. You had the same goal." He looked at me. "But you and Inanna are on opposite sides. She knew taking control would be the only way to achieve her goal."

  I thinned my lips. "I'm assuming this is where we get to the next important part of what you need to tell us?"

  "Yes. This is the 'what's going on' part of the questions. To explain everything would take several months, but I can boil it all down to the most eminent or pressing issue."

  When Geist didn't continue, Daniel and I glanced at each other. Daniel leaned forward. "Yeah?"

  Geist looked at him. "Inanna's present goal is to right a wrong, a wrong she believes put the the universe on the wrong track. This wrong began with the new Seraphim and his ousting of the previous."

  I stared at Geist. Did I know this? "The previous?"

  "Much like Sophia took over the Throne of the Phantasm from her father, the Seraphim Throne once belonged to another."

  Daniel asked
, "Who?"

  "Lilith."

  Lilith. A…woman? "I don't know why I thought you were going to say Mary."

  "That is one of her names." Geist clasped his hands behind his back and his face—Barry's face—remained passive as always. "Lilith once ruled on the Thorne of the Seraphim, but when Samael was killed, her grief emotionally removed her from her duty." He looked at me. "Her heart was broken."

  Ah. That power center thing. "So…was she killed so a new Seraphim could take control?"

  "No. But she was betrayed by the Choirs, lead by a person who held a convincing argument that Lilith was no longer fit to bring the Choirs of the Ethereal back to their eternal glory."

  Eh…that sounded like a whole bunch of hokum. "So Inanna blames this new Seraphim for all the bad stuff. So…what does that have to do with hijacking my body?"

  That's when I heard voices. They were low at first, but then the darkness lightened and we turned to see a screen appear above us. I knew we were looking outside of this place, through my eyes. Like I said, I'd been here before, and no matter how hard I wanted out, it wasn't happening.

  "Hey," Manuel's face came into view. "You okay?"

  "What…what happened?" That was my voice, but it wasn't my voice. But it was my voice. I looked at Geist. "How is she using my voice but hers isn't dueling through? I always thought the voices created that two-tone sound when a First Born spoke?"

  "Not always. They all possess the ability to hide themselves. The real test for her is whether or not the Phantasm will know the difference."

  "Can't you leave here and tell him?" Daniel said.

  "Yes."

  I frowned at him. "But you won't."

  "No."

  "Why not."

  The image of Barry smiled at me. "Because I agree with Inanna. The new Seraphim and the betrayers must die."