After a moment, she could take a deep breath. Nothing inappropriate had happened. Not in the least. If anything, he hadn't seemed to care for the first version of her at all. The magic needed to send him back was complicated. To move him through time and alter what happened in her reality took a concerted effort by a group that had been partially decimated during their battle with the demon.
Their version of Isabelle had no longer had her version of Kal. It had been a giant mess getting her to help. Marina shuddered and opened her eyes.
"Why didn't I remember it before?" She stroked her hand down the side of her face and he yanked her against him. She closed her eyes and breathed him in. "When all the first memories came to me those didn't."
"Magic doesn't make mistakes. You saw when you were supposed to."
She pulled back to look at him. "That doesn't sound like you."
He snorted, before he kissed the top of her head. "It does now. Listen, I can't tell you how much I missed you. I'll never be able to adequately express how I felt."
"Drew…"
He didn't let her interrupt. "I wasn't sure I was getting back and that version of you didn't know if she'd ever see her version of me again. And finally it worked. One shot. One time. We get blown up again? I don't think our ancestors can make that happen a second time. I don't think I could survive the separation if they did."
"We've been apart before." She smoothed her hands over his chest. He felt harder. Distantly, she remembered how he'd worked out all the time in his past life. Drew's life had basically been study and exercise.
"There's a difference between us having oceans between us and all of time and space. For every moment I lived there, I thought of you as dead. Temporarily, I told myself. But you were still dead. Burned."
She shook her head. "I'm solid. I'm breathing."
"I can see that." He breathed in her ear and it made shivers go up and down her body. "And I need you. But not here. You were sent back to this place for a reason. Everyone was. To where we each started. I arrived back to this world in the living room where I grew up. Terrified the shit out of the people living there now." He shook his head. "And I had a bad moment. I thought maybe the powers that be had sent me to the wrong time; that I was somehow going to be stuck too far in the past."
She shuddered at the thought. "I don't think I could do the orphanage time again."
"You could. I believe you can do anything, Marina. That being said, I'm glad you didn't have to. Anyway, as I stood there stumbling through an explanation as to why I was there—don't even ask me what I said—I couldn't help but remember what the other version of you kept saying over and over."
"Magic doesn't make mistakes." She whispered the words. They didn't feel correct to her.
He nodded. "We've gone through our existence here believing there was a mistake made right in the beginning. Abraxas's spell sending us to Veli didn't work. It separated us. So few Outsiders raised with any knowledge of their true selves. Made us weak, frightened, beatable. Only I don't think so anymore."
"Because magic doesn't make mistakes." She couldn't speak the words so she sent them instead. Marina knew he'd heard them when he nodded.
"I was sent so close to the others yet not quite with them. Abusive dad. Soft, useless mother, at least for me. I don't even know why they kept me. When I appeared in their life why didn't they call the police? But it made me hard, taught me to be on my own. I live knowing I'll always be separate from the others even if I care about them—except from you. I'm the only one who could have survived the years sent away. For any of the others, it would have been too much."
She supposed he was right. Kal and Isabelle, Gabriel and Loraine, Charma and Jason, Samuel and Eden, Christophe and Ruby—none of them could bear the separation. Even she, left without him, couldn't handle the pain. But he had. Because he was Drew. And he knew how to endure.
"You're saying we were all sent where we needed to be. Kal, Leonardo, Charma to Veli. Gabriel and Alexa, who I still haven't met, to New Orleans where the demon was."
He nodded. "All over the world, Marina. And just where we had to land. Magic doesn't make mistakes."
"But our parents screwed up their spells. It's why this happened. We weren't supposed to be here like this."
"Except, we were. Do you understand?" He motioned to the room. "Why were you sent here?"
"Because the fates were cruel and they hated me?" She really didn't want to deal with this.
The orphanage couldn't have meaning for her. It had been a place from which she felt glad to have escaped, nothing more. The brief period of hell before her life had really started. Why did he want her to dwell on those years? She'd been nothing but a young, confused child.
When she would have pushed him away from her, he held her tighter. "I get this is annoying. We need to see this; all of us do, as a chance to reevaluate. The universe sent us back to the beginning. Why? I have my own guess but only you can tell me, only you really know."
"You've had way too much time on your hands." Why couldn't he leave it be?
If it had been years since he'd seen her, why was this the first thing he wanted to talk about?
"Yes." His agreeing did nothing to fix her mood or her opinion about this conversation.
"You aren't going to let this go until I do what you want, are you?"
"Marina." Her name sounded as a prayer on his lips and it was then she saw the sadness in his eyes.
Drew had memories she didn't hold, where they all died. He'd endured years away to try to fix this. She wasn't in danger, even if she hated where she stood. The least she could do was try.
He responded again. "You already know the answer. You just don't want to say it."
"Why do I have to?" She shook her head. "Never mind. Don't answer that. I don't run from things. I…" Marina took a deep breath. "I ended up here and you ended up where you did because we had to get used to it from the very beginning." Goosebumps broke out all over skin. "Being apart, understanding this time would be different from the others, in this lifetime when I face my part of the battle—win or lose—I do it without you."
"All of us have always been alone. We don't win as a group. It's impossible. The place where I was, they were so cohesive. But we can't pretend we'll ever be that. From moment one, our destinies were different. Being here made you stronger."
Marina nodded. "This whole time we've only been fooling ourselves. It's time we take control of our lives, Drew. I think I've always known. I wanted a family. I…let myself believe."
"I'm your family, Rina. I'll always be. Whatever happens."
Yeah…because that didn't sound daunting or anything. Marina closed her eyes. If Drew could survive in another time and dimension for years, she could face some hard truths.
* * * *
Drew looked at his watch. If the calculations the first Outsiders had done were correct—and as far as he could tell they were almost always right on—he had an hour still to finish collecting the Outsiders from where they had all been resent, get back, stop the demon from blowing them up, and take the sadness out of Marina's eyes.
He'd hated having to force her to look her destiny in the face. But she'd been dead, blown up, and he wasn't going to let anymore unspoken truths get in their way.
When Gabriel hadn't popped back down in the caves first thing, Drew had immediately known why. Being sent back to New Orleans wasn't just going back to his roots for Gabriel, it was, like it or not, a revisit with Alexa.
The time had long passed for the Outsiders to collect her. Gia and Raquel, too. Everyone had to get together so they could finally break into their individual teams. If they were never going to be a well-formulated, giant machine of power, they would have to take down Sebastian as small cells working independently.
Take down one, the next one would strike.
"You look like you're about to die. What have you done to yourself?" Gabriel shouted at who Drew had to presume was Alexa in the middle of an all
ey. For the woman's part, her eyes had turned totally black. He'd seen such a display before but it had been from Sebastian, not an Outsider.
The woman needed help. He'd met her former persona in the other time. Alexa was powerful and not to be trifled with. They'd be better off getting her fixed up and back on track. Her soul mate should be doing it. He'd not met Leonardo in the other setting.
Not all of them lived through the battle, even when they won. Another reason to get all of their collective heads on straight.
"You're making a scene." He landed next to Gabriel. "And we don't need any more attention."
"Drew." Gabriel's eyebrows shot up. "What is going on? One second I'm asleep, the next I'm here with her." Gabriel pointed at Alexa like Drew couldn't see her.
"I'll explain everything." He nodded toward the shivering Alexa. If he didn't know Outsiders couldn't be addicted to drugs, he'd swear she was coming down from some high and needed a fix. "Take her with us. Enough is enough. Back at the caves. Now."
Gabriel cocked his head to the side. "You're giving fucking orders now?"
"Yes. Bring her back." It was time. They needed Alexa, she was present, no more leaving her behind.
* * * *
An hour later, Drew still hadn't gotten to do anything about the ache in his heart from making Marina sad. How could he? The entire Outsider community—save two who were still missing—had gone into an uproar. He'd been prepared for their horror at their unremembered deaths and his announcement that they were going to have to split up to make this work. He hadn't been ready for Alexa to go into convulsions on the floor.
Jason was huddled behind closed doors with her now. Drew closed his eyes, letting his senses travel to the pathway that still connected him to Sebastian. It remained fully shut. The physical activity he'd engaged in during his time in the other dimension solidified more than his muscles, his powers were better stitched together than they'd ever been before.
Sebastian wasn't getting through his defenses unless Drew wanted him to.
"I can't believe you did this," Leonardo said through clenched teeth.
They were alone in the room together, the same way they'd been before everything blew up the last time. Different in this version, however, was the Outsiders patrolling the borders of the cave. Sebastian wasn't going to fire bomb them again. Marina strengthened the wards and Eden didn't see any sign of danger in their immediate future.
Of course, she'd not seen it the first time around either. The problem with the unpredictable seers.
"You're finally speaking?" Drew cleared his throat. "I thought you'd spend the whole night sulking."
"Who died and made you our supreme leader?" Leonardo didn't hold back and the sound of him shouting almost made Drew grin. At least it was some kind of reaction.
Drew shook his head. They'd had this talk once, only Leonardo wouldn't remember it. Erased with the night where they died, lost forever to the oceans of nothingness.
"You're not fit to lead anymore. Whatever happened to you—whether it started when you killed Veli or since then—you've lost the path. I've seen you when you are at your best. This lifetime isn't it. If you won't do what's necessary, I will."
He knew he was going to get punched seconds before Leonardo did it. Drew didn't back up even a step. He took the hit square to his jaw before he lifted a hand to defend himself. Leonardo needed to get this shit out and, truthfully, Drew had been aching for a good fight for years. The first generation of Outsiders were so damned polite all the time.
His cheek burned as he raised his hand to slam Leonardo in his jaw. The two of them went down into a pile of fists and curses. He really had no idea how long they pounded on each other before they were wrenched apart.
Drew turned to spit blood onto the floor of the cave. Leonardo had gotten in a good bunch of slams. It took Drew a second to recognize Kal was the one holding him back while Samuel did the same for Leonardo.
"Come on now, children." Kal laughed as Drew tried to surge forward again.
He didn't feel done and from the rage in Leonardo's eyes he'd guess neither did his opponent. Sweat, spit, and anger were a good cure for a lot of what ailed them.
"Marina." Samuel called over his shoulder. "Any chance the demon is spell-casting a lot of douche bag behavior into the room right now?"
His love entered the room and leaned against the side of the doorframe. Like a blast of cold air, his temper cooled.
"Afraid not." She shook her head. "Just general nonsense. Jason is busy using all his talents to try to fix Alexa. He doesn't need to come out here to mend you asses because you decided a good fight was in order."
"She's right." Drew pulled at Kal's hands. "I'm good. I won't fight anymore."
"Well, I'm not necessarily done." Leonardo snarled. "You brought here when it was never your business to do so. You don't know the first thing about how important it is to me she stay away."
"What could she have done to you, Leonardo? Unless I am very much mistaken, you have never met the woman."
"Drew." Marina's voice caught his attention and he regarded her for a second when Kal finally let him go.
She shook her head no. A fast left and right of her head, which told him he should not have said what he just did.
"What?" She'd been all but avoiding telepathy with him for hours. He wasn't going to let her disappear from them. By contrast, he intended to hold on with both hands.
"Shit, Drew." Her only response before Leonardo snapped his reply.
"What is my problem? She has been having sex with the demon."
Drew tried to steel his reaction, but the gasps sounding in the room spoke volumes to the other's responses. Sex was a big deal to the Outsiders. Not all of them were virgins before meeting their soul mates but for the most part the same report came in each time it was discussed—a sense of not caring one bit about it until the deed was done with the right person.
Drew had no idea how much Leonardo engaged in the act or if he did at all. But knowing Alexa had been intimate with the enemy? Yeah, that would likely screw up their joining pretty badly.
"I'm going to bed. Come and see me when you're done screwing up this life for all of us."
His love had clearly known and not shared the Alexa information with him. And now he'd stuck his foot in it in a big way. She turned on her heel and walked from the room.
"You tell me. Would you be so anxious to want Marina around if she had been screwing the demon?"
He rubbed his chin. However he navigated this, he had to be careful. "Since we got together, I think I would find the idea of Marina being with anyone else absolutely horrifying. I love her. I always have. I've had the benefit of knowing her most of my life, at least subconsciously. Here's the honest to gods truth, I'd do anything for her, forgive her anything. If she cheated now, we'd work it out. Before we mated, she was free to do whatever she wanted. I had no say in it. That being said, would I be thrilled she slept with the demon? No, of course not, mostly because I'd be concerned for her safety."
He'd want to kill anyone who touched her only he'd have to keep the urge to himself. She belonged to him. He knew it, Marina knew it. But in their modern world, in their dimension, he didn't get to have an opinion on what—or who—she did before him. Even if he didn't like it.
A scream sounded in the room and Samuel dropped Leonardo, gripping his head. "Eden." His voice was a croak seconds before Eden half-walked, half-fell through the door.
The blind seer was paler than usual. "Two of them." She pounded on the floor. "There are two demons."
Chapter Eleven
Marina paced her bedroom. Where was Drew? Didn't he understand the first rule of pissing her off? Come by and either argue with her or apologize. Why wasn't either one of those things happening? She bit her thumb nail and tried to breathe through her nose. He came back from the other dimension so cold and determined. Even when he'd been remote, keeping himself away from her, she'd been able to feel the same insecurity in him
she knew the others of their kind shared.
This Drew who suddenly knew all the answers—conclusions she didn't necessarily agree with or think true—wasn't working for her. He needed to snap out of it and come back to her the way he had been when, what felt like for her, she'd seen him only hours earlier.
The door swung open, banging the wall as Drew strode into the room. "We have to go."
"That's not how this works. 'I'm sorry I'm such a complete jackass' would be a good start." How could she both want to punch him and kiss him at the same time?
"We have a demon problem." He shook his head. "Take a shot at me verbally later."
What the hell was he talking about? "I warded us from Sebastian. They're sound. I can see them now. All around us. You should be able to as well."
"Yes, you warded us from him. What about from his mother?" He extended his hand. "Marina, less arguing, more doing. Please."
She moved before he finished speaking. They'd had dealings with Sebastian's family before. His sister had almost ended Charma and Jason before they'd even begun. Now they had another member of his family to deal with? What was going on?
"You're right." She said as she ran with him as fast as her legs would take her. "They're not going to prevent another demon from causing trouble."
"Forget trouble. I think this ass of a demon killed us."
She shivered, a cold sweat forming all over her body. Drew was right and they weren't going to get another chance to not die.
"I have to see the demon. I have to be in its presence to get a reading for it."
Drew skidded to a stop. "What?"
"You heard me." Why had they stopped moving? "What's the problem?"
"I can't take you out there."
"Why not?" She reached up to stroke his face. "I've been around demons many times."