Damian's Oracle

Damian waved him away, his attention returning to Darian. He touched his brother's face, his emotions soaring once again.

Darian was alive. Sofia was safe. In that moment, nothing else mattered to him. He released a deep breath and rose, aware the birth of a new god and discovery of a powerful Oracle indicated nothing but more trouble to come.

"Come, brother, let's take you back to kiri," he said.

Darian stood obediently, and Damian's throat tightened again to know his brother was at his side.

*****

Sofia watched the last of the blood swirl down the drain. She leaned her head against the shower wall, exhausted. Damian's heavy ring hung off a chain around her neck, and she clenched it. The drive from the mountains to the safe house had seemed to take forever. She was alone with her thoughts the entire way despite the presence of Pierre and Traci.

"You okay?" Traci called, voice muffled by the bathroom door.

"Yeah." Sofia turned off the shower and dried herself before opening the door between the small bathroom and the bedroom. Traci sat on an unmade bed belonging to one of the Tucson Sector members, and Sofia eyed her Guardian. "Pierre, can I get some privacy?"

"Nope," he said from his position on a chair inside the door. "You're both grounded."

Traci handed her a small pile of her clothing. Doubtful the model's clothes would fit, Sofia moved deeper into the bathroom to dress in jeans too long for her petite frame and a t-shirt too snug to be comfortable.

"When will you know if the house is safe?" she called.

"Soon," was his vague response. "They have to finish their clean-up."

"Did they find Czerno?"

"They won't. He goes poof and returns to one of his other bases, leaving everyone else to fry."

Sofia shivered, unable to help the trickle of fear and pure hatred for the sick creature who tortured Darian.

"Did you really shoot her?" Traci asked.

"Not on purpose," Pierre grated.

"That's kind of an extreme form of revenge for asking you about croissants."

Pierre mumbled a few curses. Sofia wiped the fog away from the mirror. Her bruises were gone, and her two-toned eyes were calmer than they'd been. She hadn't felt like she belonged in this world until she'd seen what good she could do. The death visions, the distrust everyone on the planet had for a soul-reader, the inability to eat … they were nothing compared to helping a man find his soul again. While she didn't yet understand the depths of her new world, she found peace in knowing this was indeed her world, too.