Page 80 of Dark Shadow of Guilt

Dom snapped his fingers, setting the protective shield around his home to keep out the elements.

“Do you have any other ideas?” asked Madeline.

“Talk to Michael and find Lucian. Ohngel’s working on those contacts.” He opened the fridge. “Hungry?”

“Not very.”

“Eat anyway. You need to keep up your strength.”

“Why? You’ll probably have to kill me soon.”

Dom closed the refrigerator door, angry that she was voicing his own thoughts. “How can I convince you, Maddy? I won’t fucking kill you.” The words snapped out of his mouth but were they true?

She seemed to ignore his surly tone. “No matter what terrible things I’ll do?”

“No matter what, I’ll keep you safe.” Again, a promise he might not be able to keep.

“If I go psycho, will you protect others from me so I don’t hurt anybody?”

“Yes. I will. I’ve told you that. I keep my word.”

She exhaled. “I need reassurances.”

Ohngel interrupted the going-nowhere, difficult exchange.I found Lucian holed up in a box canyon south of Necrosis Valley. The place was covered with camo nets. Great hide-out. Lots of huts and Scourges. His kind of gig. I didn’t land. Not knowing the gen pop, I thought it best if all of the Feard knocked on his virtual door.

Happy to leave, Dom pathed,I’ll be there.

****

The OC sent Harmonyback to Angor to handle business. Loneliness squeezed into his heart again. A debilitating, powerful emotion that brought forth memories.

He chuckled, remembering his sisters’ entrance that day.

Arriving in Vast like synchronized swimmers, his three Siblings floated onto the OneCreator’s bedroom floor.

“Oops,” Lumia clapped a hand over her mouth, pretending shock.

His pants were at his ankles while his cock pounded in and out of an Immortal, a species he had created along with beasts to give the Siblings entertainment and companionship. They were magnificent beings, but he had advised Lumia to cease experimenting with them to make them more splendid. More clever. More athletic. More talented. All to challenge his sister’s quick-witted mind.

Melodia made tsking sounds. “Sorry, brother. We did not know you were occupied. Though may I state your choice is lovely.” Fascinated by female as well as male Immortals, she winked at his companion, who blushed.

He growled but ceased his sexual pursuit to yank breeches over his ass. Gentleman that he was, he helped the female straighten her clothes, took her gently by the elbow, and escorted her from the room while whispering an apology and a promise in her ear.

For a moment, the air hung heavy with sorrowful recollections of Chaos,who had extincted himself and Kalia, believing his destructive powers had caused a terrible affliction to befall her.

Aah, Kalia. The female he and his brother adored equally, neither jealous of the other. She had succumbed to the madness, the first Scourge.

Most of the OneCreator’s magnificent species never contracted what came to be called a malady. Some claimed to feel its urgings but exhibited the will to fight the mysterious disease. Others, however, were contaminated. They became dangerous Scourges, blights on the Immortals. Unfortunately, Chaos’s final act of redemption, destroying himself and Kalia to stop the illness, was useless and too late. The damage was done. The past was set in stone as lifeless as Null.

After Chaos’s sacrifice, the sisters had each other, but the OneCreator had no one except his Immortals.

Facing his Siblings with his arms wide, he smiled, waving them in for a hug. “Why the visit, my dears?”

Lumia shook out the soft folds of her pale azure skirt. Bracelets adorned her wrists and ankles while ornate combs held back her treasured, luminescent blonde hair, which she considered her best feature. Peeking beneath her ensemble were strappy sandals. “We are bored in Null. The skies there are neither blue nor gray nor white. Is blah a color?”

“And we miss you. We are in the mood for fun,” the other two said in unison.

Prima’s thick lashes slid down. Up. “It was my idea to visit. Of course, we shall leave before causing mayhem.”

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