The Brotherhood of the Snake (Return of the Ancients Book 2) (17 page)

Rafael’s brows lifted a little, and with a mystified expression, he focused his gaze over my head.

All color drained from his face.

My chest constricted with terror. “What is it?” I managed to gasp before my lips failed me, and I couldn’t ask any more.

Rafael didn’t respond. His eyes remained solidly locked above my head as if searching for something.

I turned to Jareth then, but he was unusually withdrawn and silent, refusing to look me in the eye.

Whirling back to Rafael, I caught his arm and shook it. I tried to ask, but my voice wouldn’t work at first. I just stood there, mutely shaking his arm until I managed to croak, “What is it? Please tell me!”

Finally, Rafael’s eyes slid to mine and he replied, “It’s your fate lines, Sydney. They all end in the Tree of Life now … even the Blue Thread itself.”

He’d clearly not wanted to tell me.

I held my breath, expecting more, but when more didn’t come, confusion gradually replaced my fear. Judging by their stricken faces, it was bad news. But I sure didn’t know why. I mean, how could a single kiss change someone’s fate so drastically? And it hadn’t even been a full kiss. It’d started off nicely, but then it had been terribly interrupted.

I needed explanations. I hesitated only a moment, figuring that, as usual, I’d probably be better off not knowing. But of course, as usual, I didn’t let that stop me.

Licking my dry lips, I asked, “And why’s it so bad that all my lines end at this Tree of Life? It sounds nice enough.”

Shock flitted across their faces.

Apparently, it wasn’t nice at all.

Rafael drew a long breath, and his eyes took on a far-away look. Stepping back from me, he murmured, “This is my fault.”

“Yes, it is,” Jareth agreed whole-heartedly, but for once he didn’t appear to be enjoying himself. “I could remind you that Melody warned you repeatedly, not to mention myself, but it’s pointless now!”

“So, what’s so awful about it?” I raised my voice, forcing myself to be calm. I didn’t want to be calm, but I didn’t really have a choice.

I didn’t know what to panic about yet.

Rafael clenched his jaw and bowed his head with pronounced regret as he lifted a hand to cup my cheek. “Forgive my foolishness, Sydney. I … should have never … kissed you.”

His touch made me shiver even as I scowled. The last thing I wanted to hear was that he wished he hadn’t kissed me. But I couldn’t dwell on that now. Instead, I forced myself to focus. “So what’s so bad about this Tree of Life?”

His hand dropped, and this time he gave me my answer. “The Tree of Life is the ultimate source of everything. It binds Avalon, Earth,
and
the second dimension together. And if it’s destroyed, Sydney, we’re all destroyed with it …
entire
worlds.”

Oddly, I felt a bit let down. It was ominous, the ultimate of all disasters, but I didn’t feel the dread he evidently felt. The concept wasn’t real to me. “Ok, but what does that have to do with me? I mean, it’s not like I’m going to go chop this tree down or anything.”

Jareth’s lip curled in scorn as his dark eyes raked me from head to toe. “This tree isn’t something that should be seen, Sydney. Not by anyone. No one’s ever beheld the Tree of Life.
Ever
. Its destiny is to remain hidden, protected for all of eternity. To look at it would be to destroy it.”

I frowned at him and snorted incredulously. “What’s with you guys? You create a Glass Wall that any human can shatter with a single touch, and now you have a tree that destroys worlds if someone even
looks
at it?”

“Don’t be ridiculous!” Jareth gave me a black look. “The destruction is in the finding of it!”

I really tried to comprehend what he was saying, but it just didn’t click. “Sorry. You’re not making sense. How can I do anything to change my fate when I don’t even understand what you’re talking about?”

Throwing his hands up, Jareth roared in frustration.

“Patience, Jareth!” Rafael ordered with cool authority.

“She’s already forgotten the Tulpas she just created!” Jareth grated. As an afterthought, he made a slurping sound with his lips, mimicking the lizards in such an uncanny way that I shuddered involuntarily. Catching my reaction, he nodded. “Yes, now you remember!”

Ignoring him, Rafael looked down at me with sympathy. “The Tree of Life is shrouded by the Shadows of Death. The thoughts you’d have to think, the Tulpas that you’d create to get there … that is the ultimate path of destruction. Do you understand what that means?” Rafael glanced away, cursing softly under his breath.

I was beginning to feel fear, but I really didn’t know why. I saw genuine sympathy flash across Jareth’s face as well.

Oddly, that scared me the most.

It had to be something beyond horrendous if even Jareth pitied me. The thought made a wave of fear rise in me, a wave so large it threatened to swallow me whole.

I barely heard Rafael’s soft voice. “It’s your fate to bring death to the Tree of Life, Sydney. To see this tree means you’ll take the only path to it, the path of death. And the only way to find this path is to create Tulpas of such fear and carry them with you, Tulpas of such destructive power that when they join the shadows surrounding the tree, the only outcome will be an upsetting of the balance … which would inevitably destroy the tree itself and … destroy us all.”

Unexpectedly, I burst into tears. “Then just kill me now!” I sobbed. And I meant it. How could I live knowing I was destined to destroy the Earth and everything else along with it?

“Never!” Rafael swiftly caught my arm, and twisting me close, slid his finger under my chin, forcing my eyes to meet his. “Sydney, you can’t forget your Blue Thread! Never forget your Blue Thread. It still promises the chance of an ultimate victory!”

I struggled to believe him, recalling the foot-wide thread that I’d seen hanging over my head. “Then there’s hope,” I said, my voice trembling so much that my words were almost unintelligible.

He nodded grimly.

Honestly, he didn’t look too hopeful or like he believed for one second that I’d achieve that ultimate victory.

I glanced over at Jareth, but he simply nodded.

Even he didn’t find it necessary to bring up the disastrous flip side of being Blue-Threaded.

I inhaled deeply and whispered, “Are you both still Blue-Threaded too?” It was a strange source of comfort to know that I wasn’t the only one with a Blue Thread, even if theirs was much smaller.

It took them a moment to check each other and then to nod in the affirmative.

“At least I’m not alone then,” I muttered.

Rafael caught my fingers in his and squeezed them tightly. “I’m in this with you, Sydney. I’ll not leave you alone. And I’m sorry.” Letting my fingers go, he lifted his hands to cradle my face, forcing my eyes to meet his again. “I’m so sorry. I can’t help but think I’m the one who forced you on this path. I’m … so sorry.”

I hadn’t wanted to think about it, but he was pushing me to. “You’re sorry you kissed me,” I said. It wasn’t a question.

“Never!” he swore. For a brief moment, passion flared across his face, but it was gone so quick that I wasn’t really sure that I’d seen it. “But it was a mistake," he continued. "Clearly a mistake. I changed your fate.”

He brushed the back of his hand against my cheek, drying my tears. There was something sad in the gesture.

“You don’t really believe I can achieve this ultimate victory, do you?” I whispered, verbalizing what I really felt. No, what I
knew
about myself.

I wasn’t going to make it.

“We see fate, Sydney. Not the future,” he answered with a troubled smile. “And humans are a powerful race. Never forget that. Although your fate seems impossible, your Blue Thread is now a beacon of hope for us all.”

“Fate and the future sure seem like the same thing to me,” I said, swallowing hard.

“They’re very different,” he explained with a sympathetic smile and took my hands in his, “Fate is simply the thread we use to weave the future, but each of us spins our thread of fate in a unique way.”

“My Blue Thread is at least a foot-wide.” I pointed out in a slightly bitter tone. “How can I weave anything with
that
?”

“You might very well spin something no one’s ever seen before, Sydney.” He gave me a smile of encouragement. “Humans are creative. They can dream, and dreams are the seeds of reality. Your fate is merely the setting in which your future unfolds. You alone craft your future by the choices you make.”

I still thought the differences were subtle, but I was no longer all that interested in debating the matter.

I just wanted a hug.

I didn’t care that he was a prince, that he wasn’t even human, or that he was sorry he’d kissed me. My face crumpled with emotion as I launched myself at him. He caught me, pulling me against his chest. Sliding his hands down to my wrists, he wrapped my arms around his waist before locking me into a comforting embrace.

I didn’t cry. I wanted to, but I suddenly couldn’t. “What am I going to do now?” I asked, burying my nose in his shoulder.

“There’s only one thing
to
do, Sydney,” he said, resting his chin on the top of my head. “Just live.”

I drew back and stared up at him in outright astonishment. “Live? Like nothing’s happening? Is that even possible?”

A smile danced on his lips and he playfully tweaked my nose. “What else is there to do with the time? None of us can tell when any of this might occur. It might be tomorrow or fifty years from now.”

I frowned. How could I possible live with the suspense?

“And now you see why Fae relationships with humans don’t last,” Jareth inserted with rank irritation.

I glanced at him in surprise. I’d forgotten he was there.

His dark brows were drawn into a scowl. “Humans dream and live in the future, exaggerating every emotion to live in a constant state of drama, while the Fae live in the moment. It’s a recipe for disaster, Sydney. Not to mention all of the other issues with iron, water, and the like.”

All of a sudden, the talk of relationships made me a little uncomfortable.

Part of me wanted to hold onto Rafael forever, but another part of me suddenly wanted to run.

Abruptly, I stepped back out of his embrace.

There was a strained silence.

“The streets have cleared," Rafael said after awhile. "We should stick to our plan and retrieve the tethers at once.”

I took a deep breath, relieved that we were doing something. “Let’s go!” I said.

Jareth cocked his head at me and sent me a strange look. “This is the first time that we all agree,” he pointed out dryly. “As much as I enjoy opining about our impending doom, we should focus on the current crisis. If we continue to ignore the lizard people, we’ll all but seal our doom without Sydney’s help.”

I winced, not caring to hear myself spoken of like that even though I was relieved the focus had shifted away from me to something else.

Yes, my fate was hideous, but it could be a long way out.

Maybe something could change.

Deep down inside, I suspected I was being unjustifiably optimistic, but at the moment, that’s all I wanted to do.

I certainly didn’t want to think about it anymore.

“Then we’ll leave shortly,” Rafael announced crisply. “I must see to several small items first. Just give me a moment.”

Moving with a purposeful stride, he vanished through a door that suddenly whooshed open to consume him.

I took a deep, wavering breath.

As I caught Jareth’s dark gaze fastened on me, a 
stab of anxiety pierced me. Just moments ago, he’d wanted to kill me. Maybe he still did. And though Rafael trusted Jareth, I wasn’t sure that
I
did.

As usual, Jareth followed my thoughts.

“I can’t believe I’m going to let you live, Sydney. In fact, I’m not even sure why I am.” He gave a nasty chuckle.

“That’s comforting,” I replied, striving for a biting tone. I only partially succeeded.

Jareth stalked towards me, hooking his thumbs in his pockets. “I can’t fathom what Rafael’s thinking anymore. Frankly, I can’t see his source of fascination with you.” He shook his head in disgust and gave a mock shudder.

His attitude was insulting. But being affronted was better than being afraid. “Well, maybe I’m not all that repulsive!” I snapped in my defense. This time, my voice was stronger, definitely more irritated.

Jareth clucked and leaned close, putting his nose directly in my face, less than an inch away. “Kissing you was like kissing a fish,” he said.

That stung my pride. Lack of confidence in my kissing abilities made me retort acidly, “Kissed a lot of fish then, have you?”

With a small humph of laughter, Jareth lifted a finger and flicked my chin. “You have your moments.”

I drew my brows into a furrow as from the corner of my eye, I saw Rafael standing still at the far end of the room, watching.

I hadn’t seen him return.

Apparently, Jareth had noticed him too. A devilish look crossed his face. Suddenly, he pulled me close, his dark hair falling over my face as his lips brushed the tip of my ear.

I raised my fist, fully intending to punch him when I realized he was saying something and then his astounding words began to register.

“You can win this thing, Sydney. You’re tough,” he whispered. “If anyone can achieve the impossible with their Blue Thread, it’ll be you.”

He moved back quickly then, easily catching my fist, and giving it a flip, twisted me back and off balance. I stumbled, but he caught me with a laugh and shoved me towards one of the chairs. As I landed heavily on it, he pivoted on his heel and disappeared through a door in the wall.

I stared after him in astonishment, dimly noting that Rafael was no longer there, but foremost in my mind was the outright astonishment of Jareth’s unexpected support.

Why was he being nice? Was it so hopeless that even
he
felt bad for me?

Oh, all I wanted to do now was go home, kiss Jerry’s fuzzy head, laugh with Al, watch TV with Grace, and once I felt safe, maybe ask Betty what she thought about everything, or at least the things I could tell her about, anyway.