you of your duty, it is unlikely the Umbrae will grant you
the same reprieve. They will kill you anyway, just in case
you might change your mind."
Laurell's jaw tightened. Perhaps that was a chance she
was willing to take. At least she'd be making the decision to
walk away. At least she'd have some control again over her
body and her mind.
"Ugh!" she groaned. "This sucks. I can't tell reality from
make-believe anymore. Gods and goddesses and babies
that can save the world ..."
Axiom leaned toward her. The sheet slid farther off his
torso, the lean muscles of his stomach completely bared to
her view. A jolt of desire throbbed between her legs. A vision flashed in her mind's eye of Axiom atop her, their
limbs entwined, his hips pumping against her own. Heat
flooded her face. Damn the yearning anyway.
His hand grazed her leg. "I am quite real. I thought we
had established that by now." The place where his skin
brushed hers, such a soft, slight touch, sent a jolt of need
that spiraled through her body and made her gasp aloud.
She pulled her energy back and slammed the door on the
yearning, then tossed the covers aside. She jumped from
the bed.
"You just used the yearning on me," she accused, eyes
narrowed.
"I had to. You said you thought I was not real. We cannot backtrack. There is no time for that."
"Dammit, it was a figure of speech. Do you take everything literally?"
Axiom shrugged. "I am sorry if I have upset you."
She turned her back to him and yanked a pair of black
jeans and a purple sweater from the dresser. It had disturbed
her the first time she'd delved into the clothes someone had
left for her at the safe house. She didn't want to know how
the heck someone out there, likely Axiom, seemed to know
all her sizes, right down to her panties.
Her ears perked at the sound of his footsteps as he retreated to the bathroom. Good. She didn't want to see any
more of his naked flesh. Naked Axiom was more than she
could handle right now.
She had dressed, brushed her teeth and hair, and sat
perched with a cup of coffee at the kitchen table before she
brought up the dream again. Axiom slid into the seat across
from her and gulped down a glass of orange juice. He filled
the glass again and finished it in a flash. His sigh of delight
irked her for some reason. Why should he be in such a good
mood?
Laurell picked up their conversation. "Mother said she
was trying to make things right with me, but I have to ask
whose bright idea it was to allow her to be my Liaison. I
couldn't stand her when she was alive. Now I have to deal
with her when she's dead too?"
"If the Council saw fit to grant her wish, there must be a
sound reason behind the decision," Axiom said.
"Why didn't my grandmother volunteer? At least that
would have made sense." Laurell thought for a moment and
then shook her head. "Never mind. I think I know the answer to that." Grandmother is still trying to repair the rift between Mother and me. Even in death she is meddling.
Laurell took a sip of her coffee, enjoying its bitterness.
She cleared her throat and tried to sound nonchalant as
she asked, "You never answered my question. How is my grandmother? My grandfather? What about my father? Do
you even know?"
Axiom glanced up from the container of yogurt he had
opened. "The last I knew of her, your grandmother was in
the Light Realm. Your grandfather is reincarnated. Your father as well. He is presently a school teacher in Chicago."
Laurell blinked. "Reincarnation, huh?"
"Yes," Axiom said. "You find this difficult to believe?"
"I find a lot of things hard to believe, but I'm trying to
keep an open mind." More details of her dream reappeared.
"There was something else Mother said."
"Good. It is important to remember as much as you can
about her visits."
"She said the witch is dead. I'm not sure what witch. She
seemed to think you'd know. Oh, and the Council is trying
to figure out what happened to her."
A
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