Dark Star Page 15

  “And it doesn't stop with Christ,” the reporter went on. “Angels have been spotted in the skies above Singapore, London, and Germany. Native American deities have visited reservations in America—”

  “As if that hasn't happened before,” I muttered.

  “And Ganesh has appeared in India,” the reporter went on.

  The video shifted to a feed of a cheering mob, dancing around a man with an elephant head. Ganesh lifted his trunk and trumpeted.

  “Holy shit,” Sin whispered.

  “The Gods want it known that they have not abandoned us, that we are not alone in this fight against the goddess who calls herself the Dark Star.” The reporter lifted her chin as the video changed again.

  A priest stood before his congregation, shouting, “The Devil has come to Earth! Satan has concealed himself in the body of woman, using beauty to blind us to the truth. If you want truth, look to the Angels. Look to our savior, Jesus Christ! Do not seek salvation in the arms of this harlot! That path will lead you straight to Hell!”

  “Actually, the path to Hell is lined in diamonds,” I said drolly. “And I wouldn't lead anyone down it. It's fucking cold.”

  “At least he called you beautiful.” Sin smirked.

  I laughed as I flicked a hand toward the screen and it went back to playing our propaganda. “Yeah, and a harlot.”

  “It doesn't matter,” Star insisted. “Once we conquer the nations of the world, they will view us in a different light.”

  I sighed deeply and watched the conclusion of our video.

  “And the Dark Star!” An image of me filled the screen; the starlight in my hair sparkling and my arms spread wide and welcoming. “The goddess to unite them all. Together, they will end all war and bring peace to the world. No more suffering. No more pain. Accept the Dark Star and bask in her light!”

  The video went still on a shot of my star gods and me, standing in a line with wind blowing through our hair like a bunch of superheroes.

  “It's a bit much,” I finally said.

  “And where am I?” Sin lifted a brow. “Doesn't General Sin get a cameo?”

  “Vervain, if you want humans to love you and not just fear you, you have to make an effort,” Star chided me while she ignored Sin. “This is a way to reach the people. Trust me.”

  “All right, Star, release the video,” I gave in and glanced at the men.

  The Star Gods looked unconcerned if a bit irritated by the silliness of it all, but Sin slid a worried look my way. I was inclined to agree with the General; this could be used against us. It could be spun to make us look like villains, even to me it reeked of indoctrination. But Star was right; in the end, we'd win, and this would be viewed in the way we wished it to be.

  “Thank you,” Star said smugly. “It's done, released. You'll see; soon they'll be praising your name.”

  “The new Jesus,” Sin whispered to me.

  “Leave the J-man out of it,” I said back. “He was just trying to help.”

  Sin lifted a brow at me.

  Before he could ask, I countered, “How's Enki? Is he content with Marduk being imprisoned?”

  “He's content that his son is alive,” Sin amended. “He goes to see Marduk every day, but Mar isn't talking. He just sits in his cell and mopes.”

  “It's not easy to have your beliefs stripped away. To have everything you've ever counted on fail you.”

  Sin blinked at me. “No, it isn't. But new beliefs can be good too and sometimes you have to strip away the old to gain a fresh perspective.”

  “Exactly.” I grinned at him. Then I looked at Star. “Keep an eye on the Internet, Star. I want to know what they're saying about us.”

  “I can do more than that,” she said with a smirk. The screens around us came alive with spanning text, blueprints, and weapon specs. “I can show you what they're thinking. What they're planning.”

  I sat up straight and focused on the screens. “Star, did you just hack into government servers?”

  “Hack,” she scoffed. “I am not a hack. I am magic, and I can go anywhere. You want to know what America is planning? I can show you. You want to see how many troops Russia has? I have that too. Want to launch a missile? No problem. We could make the humans go to war with each other and just sit back until the dust settles.”

  “The whole point is to stop war,” I growled. “I do not want to manipulate humans into war; that is exactly what I'm fighting against, Star. I want to protect the humans and fight the Gods. That's what I do.”

  “So... no to the missile launches?” Star blinked innocently.

  “Can you stop the missiles from ever launching?” I countered. “Can you put every nuclear weapon out of commission?”

  “I believe that's doable.” She twitched her nose like a 60's sitcom genie. “Done. No more nuclear weapons.”

  “They're gone?” Sin asked in surprise. “You just vanished them?”

  “That's right,” Star said. “Any other requests? Shall I turn all of their ammunition into sardines or fill their tanks with flowers?”

  I chuckled and glanced at the gaping Sin. “How about some lunch? What are you feeling in the mood for, General?”

  “Anything but sardines,” Sin declared then started laughing as boisterously as he had the first time he'd witnessed my power.

  The Star Gods looked at each other and started to chuckle as well. I smiled at them but when I shifted my stare to Star, her smirk seemed to go sinister and a shiver coasted down my spine.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  “Did I break it?” I muttered as I tapped the Tablet of Destinies with a fingertip. “Hello? Is this thing on?”

  I slapped my palm against the intricately carved stone slab just as I'd seen Marduk do. Nothing happened.

  “Abracadabra!” I shouted and slapped it again. “Alacazam!” Another slap. “Wingardium Leviosa!” Another slap. “And now, I'm playing the bongos,” I grumbled to myself. “Wait... is it wing-gardium or win-gardium? Maybe wind-guardian? Windy-gaurdian leviosar!”

  “It's leviosa, not leviosar,” Sin snickered as he came into the war room.

  “Okay, but is it wing or win or wind?”

  “I don't fucking know.” He laughed harder. “Wing it.”

  “Haha.” I grimaced down at the tablet. “You don't happen to know how to activate this thing, do you?”

  “Do you need to activate it?” Sin lifted a brow at me. “Can't you do what it does on your own?”

  “Change destinies?” I asked and thought about it. “In a way, yes. But I can't directly target an individual and change his or her future.”

  “Why would you want to?” Star asked as she appeared.

  “Damn it!” Sin flinched. “Don't do that! You'll give me a fucking heart attack. Goddamn sentient magic, popping up all over the place whenever she wants.”

  “You're a god,” Star pointed out dryly. “And besides, if you do have a heart attack, Vervain can make it go away with a thought.”

  “If you can dream it, you can do it?” Sin smirked at me.

  “Yes,” Star answered for me. “In seconds.”

  “Nice.” Sin nodded. “Then you don't need the tablet.”

  “Maybe not, but I'd like to know why it won't work for me,” I grumbled.

  “Because it didn't work on you,” Star explained. “You must have a connection to destiny if you want to wield it.”

  “Humph.” I looked over the clay tablet. “Well, if I can't use it, no one can.”

  I lifted it above my head and cast it on the floor as Sin cried out and rushed forward to catch it. He was too late; the tablet hit. But all it did was bounce off the stone floor and come to a clattering stop like a fallen plate.

  Star rolled her eyes. “I told you before that it's protected by wards. If it was that easy to destroy, don't you think I would have done so by now?”

  “Thank goodness,” Sin sighed and reached for the tablet.

  “Uh-uh-uh.” I stuck my boot on it. “
Don't touch. Didn't you just hear me say that if I can't use it, no one will?”

  “I was just going to pick it up,” Sin muttered. “What are you going to do with it; stick it in a glass case?”

  “No. I'm going to stick it in a vault.” I picked it up and glared at the thing. “Never to be seen again,” I intoned dramatically.

  The Tablet of Destinies was supposed to be a symbol of my triumph; proof that I would control the world. Instead, it just sat there dormant and irked me. It was an irksome tablet. I strode out of the room with it tucked beneath my arm.

  “You should display it, Vervain.” Sin came after me. “It will help to keep the Mesopotamian Gods in check.”

  “The Mesopotamian Gods are nearly extinct, Sin.” I glanced over to see his grimace. “Enki saved maybe a hundred of them. I'm not worried about your pantheon.”

  “Yeah, okay,” he conceded. “Still, other gods know about the tablet. If they see you with it, it will—”

  “I don't need the tablet to intimidate my enemies,” I cut him off. “I can do that all on my own, but that's not my goal. I want the Gods to see the good I'm doing and join me of their own volition.”

  “I hate to break it to you, but they're not going to do that.”

  “Excuse me?” I stopped in front of the elevator and turned to face him.

  “All they can see right now is a powerful goddess barreling through the Middle East,” he said. “You're a threat. The Gods aren't paying attention to what you're doing for the humans. Frankly, even the good ones don't care. All they see is danger for themselves and self-preservation will override everything else.”

  The elevator dinged and opened. I got in and stared hard at Sin.

  “Regardless of what they do or do not feel, the tablet is inconsequential. If they stand in my way, I will destroy them.”

  The elevator doors shut on Sin's grimace.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  I secured the Tablet of Destinies within the walls of my bedroom and forgot about it. I don't know why Star had been so fascinated by the thing; it was useless. It became just another brick in my wall, and I moved on.

  Over the next few weeks, my rule spread to cover all of the Middle East. From Cyprus to Yemen, the land was mine. Dragon troops were stationed in each country with the Star Gods and General Sin overseeing them; tracing out for check-ins and then back to Bahrain Stronghold every day. Oh, excuse me, I mean; the Vervain Stronghold. I'd officially changed the name of the main island to Vervain Island. I kept the queendom's name as it was; I didn't want to appear too vain.

  I made more dragon warriors to fill the numerous outposts, and Star did her thing with the humans; spreading calm and acceptance wherever we went then cementing it with our propaganda videos. I mean; informational videos.

  But it wasn't easy. Humans beyond my current reach banded against me, and I had to fend off several attacks on my outposts before they finally retreated to lick their wounds. Now, the world waited, watching Bahrain with bated breath, wondering which part of the planet was next on my agenda. And the humans weren't my biggest problem. Hell, they weren't a problem at all. It was the Gods who were souring my mood.

  The Mesopotamian gods who Enki had convinced to stand down had decided to join my cause. It was either that or imprisonment with Marduk beneath my stronghold. I couldn't trust such allegiance, but I was hoping that if I gave them positions of leadership, they might see the personal benefits and become faithful allies. I hadn't done so yet, but I intended to set them up as commanders of conquered cities. But they weren't the ones I was concerned about either.

  Several Mesopotamian gods had fled the battle in Saudi Arabia, tracing away amid the mayhem, and they had taken their tales to other pantheons and gathered supporters. They began showing up at battles, bringing their new friends with them, and I did to them what I had to Anu; I burned them with my dark light and took their energy as sacrifices. My light was getting darker with every god I killed while my mission sharpened and clarified within that starlight. I knew exactly what I had to do.

  The Gods were coming for me, all of them, it was only a matter of time. Sin had been right; all the Gods could see was blood. They were scared, and scared gods are dangerous. But I had a plan. I'd set my new god recruits on the front line to face their old friends. Then I'd be sure where their loyalties laid and could kill anyone who failed my test. Two birds, one star.

  I swept across my island, my immense dragon body casting an ominous shadow below me. Humans roamed the streets, as carefree as they'd been before my arrival, but when they spotted me, they dropped to their knees and bowed their heads reverently. My chest expanded with satisfaction and vindication. They weren't afraid of me as Azrael had foretold; they simply respected me. These were my followers, but I demanded no sacrifice from them. They'd given enough to other gods. I was happy to take back that energy and use it as their sacrifice. When that power ran out, then we could revisit the topic. But for now, the humans were paid up.

  I left the city and flew back to my stronghold, passing over thick forests and verdant meadows, shining with dew beneath the moonlight. Dust storms no longer ran rampant here. Now, the air was scented with salt and tropical flowers. I had made my own Garden of Eden; Vervain Island had been transformed into a lush paradise.

  I circled the magnificent gilded dome of the central keep of my stronghold before landing on my balcony. Below me, the human soldiers manning the walls lifted the fists in salute. I stretched my wings wide in acknowledgment of the tribute before shifting back into my human body. My queendom stretched out before me, ever-expanding. Soon, it would all be mine. I sighed deeply.

  “My dark star,” Viper whispered as he came up behind me and helped me into a robe. “Why do you linger out here when I wait for you inside?”

  I turned in Viper's arms, facing him instead of the midnight sky, and lifted my lips to his. He instantly obliged, muscular arms pulling me close as he groaned low in his throat. The bulge of his erection pushed at me eagerly, reminding me that I had yet to culminate out relationship. But I was intent on doing things right with Viper, and although he had declared his love for me over a week past, my heart still hesitated. Something ached inside me, pounding against the dark light that had become my strength; something that had erected a barrier between Viper and me.

  I was getting tired of this bullshit.

  I hovered over the precipice of love. I could feel the deep well of it beckoning below me, but I knew that once I took the leap, I would never surface. I would drown in Viper, in all that he is and was and would be. I would sink into love with him and never come up for air. Viper would be mine forever, but I would also be his. That didn't sound so horrible and it wouldn't have been if I were another woman. But life was more complicated for me.

  I had gotten over the war issue. With the clarity that came with god sacrifices, I was able to see that I could have everything I wanted. Of course, I could. Why not fall in love while I waged war? I'm the Supreme Goddess, the Dark Star, and I can do anything. No; that wasn't the problem anymore. The problem was love itself. That well of love that waited for me? It was already full.

  Despite all that had happened between me and my ex-lovers, my heart still belonged to them. I clung to the hope that when this was through, we would be reunited. And that hope was hindering me. It paralyzed me. Was it their betrayal that held me in a terrified death grip or was it their love? Honey eyes and eyes of ocean. Peacock colors and diamonds. A sulfurous dragon stare and sunlit gold. Calm waters surrounded by a ring of darkness. They all stared out of the well at me in accusation. Memories haunted me with soft touches and murmured words. Were the memories false or was it their hearts?

  “Why do you hold back?” Viper whispered against my lips, “You've been keeping me here with you while you send the others to oversee the outposts. I know you want me, and I know you feel more than attraction for me. Every day, we talk for hours. We share things about ourselves, intimate things, and then you shift in
to a dragon and leave me. When you come back, you're colder. You lie in my arms, but you're not fully there. You kiss me, but you won't make love to me. What's standing between us, Vervain?”

  “I just need a little more time,” I whispered. “Can you—” I broke off on a scream, my back bending from the pain that shot through me.

  “Vervain!” Viper caught me and lowered me to the stone floor. “What's happening? Tell me what to do!”

  I clutched Viper's hand as I gasped through rocketing rips; invisible claws tearing through my soul. I knew what this was; I'd felt it before. Why hadn't I thought to prevent it? Could I have prevented it?