Goddess of the Rose (Goddess Summoning #4)(100)

ASTERIUS woke up suddenly. Something was wrong. He shook off sleep as he always had - instantly - and sat up, already reaching for his clothes. Then, thinking he should wake Mikado, he turned and . . .

She wasn't there. At first that didn't trouble him. She could be in the bathing chamber. He pulled on his tunic and strode through the tunnel. She wasn't there, either. Foreboding had him lengthening his stride as he made his way back to the bedchamber and the room beyond. Still, she wasn't there. He buckled his cuirasse as he left his lair. The sun had risen, but it was still early morning. An unusually warm breeze was coming from the gardens, bringing with it -

Asterius stopped, testing the wind. Yes, he'd been right. The wind brought with it the rich and heady scent of blooming roses. He picked up his pace, and soon he burst into the gardens.

They were abloom. Clouds of color filled the beds, like the goddess had taken a divine brush to the realm and painted in life and health. But instead of feeling relief and happiness, worry broke over Asterius, and he ran, letting his instinct guide him.

Hecate's Temple was in sight when he heard the first cry of lamentation. The sound of it was an icy fist closing around his heart. Then another cry met the first, and another and another, until the gardens echoed with mourning.

His mind was screaming No! even though he knew what he would discover. Asterius thundered up to the temple. The four Elementals were standing beside the fountain, clinging to one another and weeping openly. Between them he caught sight of wet copper hair and the side of her colorless face. Slowly, as if he was moving through a bog of sinking sand and mud, Asterius approached the fountain. She was there, of course.

Mikado was dead.

Asterius, Guardian of the Realm of the Rose, fell to his knees and roared his grief over and over and over. One by one, the Elementals, led by Gii, moved to him and placed their hands on his shoulders, until the five of them, connected by their grief, mourned their Empousa.

Chapter Thirty-Five

Part Three

Chapter Thirty-Five

GOD, her mouth was dry. And she felt like shit. Mikki tried to roll over, but she was too weak. All she did was twitch and make a muffled moan.

"Oh, f**k! Call 911 - she's alive!"

Huh? Call 911? There weren't any phones in the Realm of the Rose. Nor did anyone besides her say "f*ck." So what the f**k? She tried to move again, and this time she felt the strong hands that held her in place.

"Don't try to move, ma'am! It's going to be okay. I've called for help." Then he yelled, "Over here! Bring the EMTs over here!"

Mikki could hear the hurried tread of heavy feet, accompanied by a vaguely familiar voice.

"Oh, Christ! It's Mikki. Ah, shit, look at all that blood!"

Mikki's breath was coming in panting gulps. She placed the voice. It was Mel, the security guard at the Tulsa Rose Gardens. But it couldn't be Mel - she couldn't be at the rose gardens. She was . . .

Oh. She'd forgotten. She was dead.

"Mikki, hang on. The EMTs are here. You're going to make it."

She tried to say that she didn't want to make it. That her intention had been to save the roses, and the only way she could do that was to give them her blood. Unfortunately, it was a damn big realm, and a few drops in a bucket weren't going to do it.

But she couldn't speak. Her mind was working, but her body felt heavy and not her own. And she was wet, which made sense, because she was supposed to be in the fountain.

"Okay, on three roll her over."

They rolled her from her stomach to her back. Mikki blinked, trying to clear her blurred vision. It was morning. From what she could see of the sky over the EMTs' shoulders, the sun hadn't risen long ago. Then her gaze shifted to a blob to her right. She managed to let her head flop to the side to bring it more fully into her view. It was a massive stone pedestal, and it was even more familiar than her old friend the security guard. It was the base that had supported the great Guardian statue. Only now it was empty.

Mikki screamed soundlessly inside her head. Then everything went blissfully black.

"You look better today, Mikki. How are you feeling?"

"Is that a professional question? A test? Or are you showing genuine concern?" she said sarcastically.

Nelly flinched. "I don't deserve that, Mikki, and you know it."

Mikki chewed her lips and reached out to quickly squeeze her friend's hand. It was dead wrong for her to take out her shitty mood on her girlfriend. It wasn't Nelly's fault that nothing she could do or say would ever come close to making it "better" for her.

"Sorry. I'm just in a wicked bad mood today."

"Did something happen? Have the dreams returned?"

Mikki couldn't meet Nelly's eyes. She didn't want her friend to see the desperation she carried around with her every day.

"No. My dreams have been completely normal, which is to say I don't remember them. Everything else has been normal, too. I don't know what the hell's wrong. I guess it's just the weather that's gotten to me. I'm tired of the rain and the cold." She tried not to remember that once she'd commanded the rain to appear every fourth day, and that the first day rain had obeyed her it set up the circumstances that had brought her into Asterius's bed . . .

"Mikki?"

She turned her eyes and thoughts back to the present and lifted her cappuccino, trying half-heartedly to work up a thirst. "Just daydreaming. Sorry again. I'm not very good company today Nelly."