Lesser Gods Ch. 19B-20

Nineteen B

She didn't turn. She didn't move. She blurred her vision so she was looking at nothing. Better to pretend she was bugging out from withdrawal than to answer coherently.

Z walked around in front of her and yanked her wrist to bring her face toward his. She focused on his face with disinterest. She began to tremble, not trying to stop it.

"You don't look so good, my dear," Z said with mock concern, "If you're a very good girl, I'll give you some of those nice drugs you're craving. But first you have secrets to spill. You see, I know you didn't tell me everything you saw last time we worked together. I don't put up with my employees lying to me, so you'll have to take your punishment for that. Then there is the little issue of you running away. I don't handle rejection too well, either, so you'll need to pay for that one as well. And you will tell me who helped you, because that person needs to pay for their treachery also. Where would you like to begin?"

Zoe continued to look through him, shaking violently at times. The headache was ramping up, and with it, the nausea. Apparently she wasn't as far into the withdrawal process as she had thought.

Z let out a sharp whistle and two men roughly grabbed her arms, dragging her to a post, the post of her vision, and tied her to it. Z walked menacingly back and forth in front of her, slapping a night stick into his palm.

"You really messed up, my dear," Z started, menacingly, "lying to me is not the way to start the relationship. You see, while I am the prince of lies, no one lies to me without consequences. You need to tell me everything you saw in those visions."

She remained silent, staring into space. He continued pacing before her. Suddenly he lashed out backhand, the stick breaking her jaw on contact. The pain exploded through her head and she screamed, collapsing to her knees, held upright only by her bound hands around the post.

"That was for lying!" he sneered into her face, holding her head back by a handful of her hair. "Stand up!" he demanded.

She had no strength to raise herself, and hung there sobbing.

Z whistled again and the two men dragged her up by her arms. She started to slide down the post when they let go, so they grabbed her under the arms, thrusting a rod through both elbows bent awkwardly behind her, holding her pressed against the post.

Z stood beside her, whispering, "You won't be running away this time." Then he picked up an ax, looking at it critically, flicking the blade with his thumb, weighing it in his hands.

"No, please!" Zoe cried. "I won't run away! Please don't!"

Z turned the ax the wrong way and swung, hitting her just below the knee with the back of the ax head. She screamed again as both bones in her left leg snapped, tearing through muscle and skin. She passed out for a blessed moment, but Z was prepared for that with an ammonia capsule he waived under her nose.

"No sleeping, dear. I'm not finished with you yet," Z said in a gentle voice, then with anger, "Now you will tell me what you saw in those visions that you didn't tell me before. It was about the Fist. Where is it?"

"I don't know, really I don't," Zoe sobbed.

"She's telling the truth," came a flat voice from behind her. Zoe couldn't see the person, but nodded vehemently.

"Okay, then who has it? I know you know more than you told me," Z leaned in to her face, then reached up and pressed mercilessly on her broken jaw.

She tried to pull away, biting back a fresh scream. She was getting light-headed, probably from blood loss, as she felt a steady stream of warmth down her ankle.

"Who has it?!" Z screamed, waving the night stick in the air again.

A familiar voice said, "Abigail has it, my liege."

How did she know that voice? Her head was spinning and she couldn't think straight, but she should know that voice.

"Abigail!" Z said. Turning to his men he demanded, "Find her!" Turning back to Zoe, "And now I need for you to tell me who helped you to escape," Z said quietly.

"I don't know," Zoe gasped. "They hid their face, and disguised their voice. I swear."

That flat voice came again, "She tells the truth."

"Well, I guess I will have to find the traitor another way," Z said conversationally. Turning back to Zoe, he continued, "It's really too bad you will have to be killed. You could have been a great addition to my cause, but you have shown yourself unworthy, so you will have to die."

At that moment, Zoe would welcome death.

Z walked away to his throne, picking up a goblet, he drank deeply. He called for something in that language Zoe didn't understand and a young teenage boy ran to him.

Zoe couldn't hold her head up any longer, and her right leg was shaking so much she feared she'd collapse onto the broken left leg at any moment. She tried to slide down the post, but her elbows were clamped too tightly to it. Her pain was beyond anything she had ever experienced. In desperation, she called out to God to take her life.

Instead, she heard the room erupt in sound. Lifting her head she saw Z's men pulling weapons from their sheaths as Grey's forces streamed into the room, cutting down several of the enemy before they had time to react. Z disappeared, while a number of others followed suit, leaving the dark forces soldiers unable to transport behind to fight the Legion of Light. Zoe felt someone removing the rod from her elbows and sobbed in a mixture of pain and gratitude. Lloyd held her up with one hand while he cut at her rope with a knife in the other. She looked at him and started to gasp her thanks.

"Don't thank me yet," he said.

She stiffened. The voice she should have recognized earlier...it was Lloyd's.

He was almost through the rope, and then he would transport away with her. Grey's men weren't going to intervene, because they still thought Lloyd was one of them. She had to do something, but what? She was weak, injured, and her only power was in seeing the future!

She remembered Grey saying Abigail was a seer, and she was able to make anyone believe anything she said. Maybe Zoe had that ability. She had never tried it. Lloyd was working on the last few strands, so she had to try something.

With every bit of authority she could muster, she said, "Leave me. I'm dead," then she collapsed to the floor as the last of her bonds gave way. She looked through her hair at Lloyd who stood looking confused. He glanced at the fighting going on around him, then disappeared.

Twenty

Grey had fought his way to her and knelt beside her, tears streaming down his face. She lifted her head slightly and heard him gasp. He gathered her into his arms and they transported to his home.

"You're alive! I was sure we were too late!" he sobbed, laying her gently on a chaise as he opened his phone. He pressed a number, then tersely demanded, "We need you," and hung up.

He knelt beside her, looking her up and down. She was pale, blood now dripping rather than pouring down her leg. The right side of her face was puffy and starting to turn purple, and the bone from her leg was protruding. He smiled anyway.

"You're alive," he said, with all the hope of a future together contained in those two words.

The doctor who had helped with the drugs for the memory-mining entered the library. He took one look at Zoe and said to Grey, "I can't handle that here. We have to take her to a hospital. She's going to need surgery."

Grey nodded and picked her up again. "I'm sorry," he said, "I know it hurts to move." They transported to an emergency room somewhere, and in a few minutes, Zoe had an IV and pain meds were being pushed into her system. Grey remained by her side until she fell asleep on the operating table, and he was there, head resting on the bed beside her, when she woke up in her room hours later.

"Hi," she said raspingly.

His head jerked up and he smiled at her, he reached over to the side table and picked up a cup. Using a spoon, he gave her some ice chips. They felt heavenly on her tongue, but as she let them melt, she realized she was cold, and as she started to shiver, the pain in her leg and face increased.

Grey pushed the call light button. A nurse poked her head in the door. Seeing Zoe awake, she smiled and came to the bed. "Hello, Zoe. Are you having pain?"

"Ye-yes," Zoe stammered through chattering teeth, "And I'm really cold."

"I'll get your pain medicine, and some warm blankets and be right back," the nurse said sweetly.

Grey had kept his face averted while the nurse was in the room, but as soon as she left he turned back to Zoe. "I'm so glad we found you. I can't believe you're alive. I felt sure you died just after we got there," he said, leaning over her and covering her with his own body to warm her.

"I-I-I think I may have c-caused you t-t-to think that," Zoe stammered.

"What do you mean?" Grey asked, confused.

"L-l-l-loyd is the traitor," she said.

"Lloyd?" Grey responded, sounding shocked. He shook his head and asked, "But that doesn't explain how you made me think you were dead."

"Lloyd was c-cutting my ropes, he w-would have transported away with me. I had to do s-s-something, so I tried to c-convince him I was dead. It worked. A-a-apparently it worked on the whole r-room," Zoe answered.

"You convinced him you were dead? I don't understand," Grey asked.

"Y-you said your sister can convince p-people of anything, so I tried it. I told him to leave me, I'm dead," she explained.

The nurse re-entered the room. She put the warm blankets over Zoe and injected the medicine into her IV. Asking if she needed anything else, Zoe shook her head and the nurse left.

"You have the gift of command, then, just like Abigail?" Grey asked.

"I guess so. I didn't have any choice right then. I couldn't fight him, or get anyone's attention to help me. I figured it couldn't make things worse, so I tried it," Zoe said, suddenly amazed at her good fortune.

"I am thankful to God for His good Grace," Grey said, solemnly, "But that is a dangerous gift, and one you will have to carefully control."

"It seems like a great gift to me. A lot better than these visions," Zoe said, enthusiastically.

"We will discuss this more when you are healed. For now, promise me you won't use the command voice unless you are in real danger," Grey asked her solemnly.

"Umm, okay. I don't get the problem," she started to balk, but at his stern look she relented, "But I promise not to use it unless I'm in trouble."

He smiled at her, smoothing her hair back from her face, tracing her left jaw with his fingertips. "How did you find out it was Lloyd?"

"I almost didn't figure it out in time," she began, "I heard him speak while I was being tortured. I didn't recognize it as his voice though until he was cutting the ropes and spoke again."

Grey nodded, looking grim, "I need to let the others know about Lloyd. It all makes sense though. He would be the only one powerful enough to sublimate your memories like that, and he would have known where we were this morning, as well as the locations of the other safe houses. He tipped Z's men off where to be, and when, then he showed up to get you delivered directly to Z while we were all busy fighting the decoy forces. It was just luck that one of Z's guys got injured and transported back with one of my guys tagging along," Grey explained.

"I was praying for death," Zoe said flatly, "but I guess God had other plans."

"I'm glad He did," Grey said, kissing her forehead. "We have to delay the wedding though. I'm going to take you home tomorrow, but it will be ten to twelve weeks before you are out of the cast. Your jaw didn't need to be wired, but you will be on soft foods for a couple of weeks. We could have a February wedding."

"February! That's so long," Zoe cried, "Do you think Z will let me live that long?" she asked, showing a hint of fear.

"Z thinks you're dead. You convinced Lloyd you were dead, and the rest of that room with him. Right now, only a handful of people know that's not true," Grey said with optimism, "We just have to keep it quiet that you are alive, and you'll have nothing to fear from Z."

Zoe thought about that for a few moments. Maybe that was the best possible outcome.

"Be sure to have a nice funeral for me," She said, smiling. "Ow, and remind me not to smile."

He kissed her forehead again. She felt an influx of peace.

"Are you all right if I pop back home to spread the word about Lloyd, and to make the necessary calls regarding your death," he asked, holding her hand.

"Yeah. I think I'll sleep while the pain meds are working. Be sure Travis and Enrique know I'm okay, though," she added.

"Enrique called the moment the battle ended, so he knows. Travis was pretty beaten up, being the only one at that location. He'll be waking up before long and I'll be sure he knows. He's going to feel pretty bad about letting you get taken a second time," Grey explained.

"He shouldn't. He stayed with me until he was attacked, and he thought I was safe with Lloyd. None of us could have known," she concluded.

"I know that, and you know that, but he will still blame himself," Grey explained.

Zoe nodded. She knew Travis well enough to know he would feel responsible, even if he knew it wasn't his fault.

"Well, tell him I miss him, and I'll see him tomorrow when I come home," she concluded. "Home. That has a nice ring to it."

"Yes it does," Grey agreed, then disappeared

*****

Enrique, Travis, and Francis were at the house when Grey brought Zoe home. They were shocked at her appearance, leading Zoe to say, "Thanks, guys. You really know how to make a girl feel beautiful."

"You are absolutely beautiful," Enrique piped up, then leaning toward her he used his hand to shield the right side of her face, "now."

She slapped his hand away and he feigned pain.

"At least I'm not the only one looking a little battle-weary," she continued, touching Travis' sling, "I'm sorry you got left alone at the first stop, Travis."

"I wasn't alone very long, really just long enough to have those blasted devils pull my arm out of socket," he explained. "They kicked me once I was down, but when they heard feet pounding up the stairs, the left in a hurry."

"I heard you fought them off for a good ten minutes before anyone realized there was a commotion inside," Francis broke in.

"Yeah," Enrique continued, "you were alone against three of them all that time. You actually look pretty good, considering."

"I should have been with Zoe," Travis said, hanging his head, "and I would have been if Lloyd hadn't had someone ready to tackle me the moment we arrived. He really had it planned out to the second," he shook his head sadly, "and the worst part? I thought Zoe was safe because he transported her out of there. I should have held on."

"You couldn't hold on while being attacked, and no one knew Lloyd was part of it," Zoe said, reassuringly. "No one blames you in the least."

Zoe could tell Travis wasn't going to be reassured that easily, but she didn't know what to say that might help.

Grey shooed them away, saying Zoe needed rest. When they were alone in her room, Grey said, "The three of them, the Haskins, and Dr. Sheldon are the only people who know you are alive. Eventually I will tell the other Colonels, but for now we are going to act as if you died there yesterday. I'm having Travis and Enrique pack up your apartment. What do you want to do as far as the human world is concerned?"

Zoe hadn't thought of that. She considered the people in her life, and it really only boiled down to Jenna. She considered whether she would be able to continue that friendship, and realized it was impossible.

"Could Jenna be told that I'm being reported as dead because I'm going into witness protection?" Zoe asked, "That way she will know I'm all right, but that we can't have contact. There really isn't anyone else that will miss me much."

"That sounds like an excellent plan," Grey remarked.

"What about Lloyd? Did he try to come back?" she asked.

"He was apprehended, but he used mind manipulation t o get free and disappear. He is a very strong adversary. Luckily he still thinks you are dead," Grey responded.

"Do you have any idea why he started working with Z?" she asked.

"We've discussed it at some length, but no one really knows why, or when, he changed sides. If you hadn't discovered his treachery, or if you had actually died there, we still wouldn't know, and he would still be working amongst us," Grey explained, then with a shake of his head, asked, "What compelled you to try to command him?"

"I remembered you talking about Abigail the night before. You specifically said she was a seer like me, only not as powerful. You then said she could convince people of anything. I had never tried to make anyone believe a lie, so I didn't know if I could or not. The two things were linked in my head, though, so I tried it. Maybe being a seer is always linked to the ability to command?" she asked tentatively.

"Maybe it is," Grey said thoughtfully, "There are so few seers, and so few with the command voice, it may have just never come up to notice a link. Apparently you are even more powerful than I thought. The ability to command, to make someone believe anything you want them to, is one of the strongest and most dangerous gifts any angel can be imbued with. It is also the one most likely to cause an angel to fall from the light. It is a huge responsibility, and a huge privilege, to be chosen to receive it."

"I was thinking about that," Zoe said, concern wrinkling her forehead, "after you made me promise not to use it unless I was in danger. It seemed like such a great gift at first, but then I realized how tempting it was to use it for frivolous reasons, to use it in ways that could hurt others. I was in pain last night, and the nurse said I couldn't have anything yet, and immediately my selfish side told me to command her to get my meds. I even opened my mouth to say it, but your voice played in my mind, telling me it was a dangerous gift, not to abuse it, and I stopped. She could have gotten in trouble for giving me what I wanted, and that wasn't right," Zoe looked at him, trembling, "I think I understand how it could turn an angel away from the right path. I wish now I didn't have it."

Grey took her hand and gave it a squeeze, "You passed the first test, my love. With no training, you realized the destructive capacity of the gift and you controlled it. I keep telling you how amazing you are, I hope you hear me, because you are the most incredible woman I have ever met."

Feeling more than a little embarrassed, she tried to lighten the mood. "At the moment I'm also the ugliest. I didn't recognize myself in the mirror this morning," she said, tentatively touching her swollen face, "I don't know how you can look at me."

"I see your beauty through the swelling," he said, leaning forward and kissing her on the tip of the nose, "It does make avoiding temptation a moot point for a while, though."

"That's an upside, I suppose," she said with a total lack of enthusiasm.

"What do you think of planning the wedding for February?" he asked, sensing her mood darkening.

"I don't want to wait that long," she said, realizing she sounded petulant, "I wondered if we could have it at Christmas, instead?"

"You won't be out of the cast yet," he warned.

"I know, but the doctor told me the pain would be pretty much gone by then, and my face will be completely healed..." she trailed off.

"If that is what you want, my love, then a Christmas wedding it is," Grey said brightly, pleased at the lop-sided smile it brought to her face. He continued, "and you will have made Mrs. Haskins a very happy woman as well. She was so flustered at the prospect of less than a day to plan a wedding, then heartbroken at your injuries, that having a wedding in just over a month will give her such pleasure. "