Twisted Karma Read online

  But all the effort expended on Karma interfered with his primary concern: regaining his original power, which was stripped from him when he died the first time around. He’d begun crafting his plan early on in his first Immortal life. Resurrected Immortals returned with a fraction of the power that once belonged to them, and he’d need every piece of influence he could muster to move to the second stage of his plan.

  He’d already decided to adjust the timeline of his plan, in case Karma became more of a liability than she already was.

  Turning away from the disappointing diaries, Wynn leaned against his desk and folded his arms across his chest.

  “How long do you intend to torture my brothers?” Peace asked.

  “The usurpers who planned to tear our society apart more than they already have?” Wynn countered.

  Andre sighed. “Yes. Those brothers.”

  “I still cannot fathom why you stood with them against me.”

  “Do not try to change the subject, Father. Unlike my brothers, I’m well aware of your attempts to manipulate us. You succeeded in destroying our united front.”

  Wynn smiled. He and Andre were alike in that they appeared thoughtful, diplomatic and cultured. Unlike Wynn, Andre was what he appeared to be, while Wynn covered his ruthless maneuvering beneath a civilized façade.

  “I took no pleasure in it,” Wynn said.

  Peace studied him hard, unable to determine if Wynn spoke the truth.

  “You would’ve been a competent administrator,” Wynn added. “We both knew what Kris was, competent but arrogant and incapable of impartiality. No one else was remotely fit to lead.”

  “I think you miss the greater point that all of your children were left with no parent or mentor to guide them, no one to help them, and no one but ourselves to fend off the Immortals and deities who have stalked and manipulated us since our births. You killed all of our mothers, apart from Stephanie’s, to prevent our respective clans from influencing you or your children.” Andre pointed out. “You left us for the world to raise, and the world turned us into the men and woman we are.”

  “I was raised the same way. It fashioned me into a ruler, not a selfish child incapable of putting the greater good before my own concerns,” Wynn replied.

  “It fashioned you into a dictator with a hidden agenda that might just hurt us all in the end.”

  Wynn had been called much worse in his life. “You went through everything your siblings did, and you turned out as close to perfect as possible,” he countered.

  “At the beginning, I had a mentor,” Andre said. “You spent time with me when I was young enough for it to matter.”

  “I don’t care for distractions, which you and your brothers became.”

  “You have the potential to care for others.” Andre had a calming effect even on him, and Wynn was not the kind of man who raised his voice or hand to anyone. He didn’t need to, not when he was already ten moves ahead of everyone around him.

  Except when it came to the most unstable piece on the board. Karma was an agent of chaos in his otherwise meticulously planned world. Manipulating a raging wildfire required the ultimate patience and care if he wanted to avoid being burnt again. He’d gained the upper hand with her before, only to lose it in a flash of her temper.

  No, Andre was wrong. Wynn had no desire or potential to deal with anyone who didn’t fit into his plans.

  Wynn wrapped his free hand around the wrist that still stung. The sensation of Karma shredding him from the inside out woke him every other night, since their confrontation. It was a distasteful reminder of how frail his body was this time around. She had nearly killed him. If he died-dead again, it’d be permanent. The jarring reality of how fragile his life was had come at the hand of Karma rather than the Dark One, who had imprisoned Wynn for a few weeks in Hell.

  A shrewd creature, the Dark One had a use for the most powerful Immortal in existence.

  Karma didn’t plan ahead far enough to care.

  “You and Karma both would benefit from learning a little empathy and, dare I say, compassion?” Andre shook his head. “You have never loved one person in your life, Wynn. You have never displayed compassion for, or empathized with, anyone in your family.”

  “What gave it away?” Wynn replied dryly. “The corpses of your mothers?”

  Andre pursed his lips. “I refuse to stop believing in you and your potential to change.”

  “Your brothers will remain in the dungeon until they learn a thing or two about discipline, if that’s even possible,” Wynn said, returning to Andre’s initial question. “You’re right. I abandoned you all, and your brothers became reckless and forgot their sacred duty. Compassion has no place in this family. If they don’t understand that, then they’ll die-dead in the catacombs.”

  The Council That Was Seven had caused more damage to the Immortals and humans they were supposed to protect than the demons hunting them. If not for Wynn’s half-demon son Rhyn, a second breach between the human plane and Hell never would’ve occurred, and the number of Immortal warriors – charged with killing demons – wouldn’t be twenty percent of what it had been a year before.

  There would be no shape-shifter demons or cracks in the Immortals’ solidarity, both of which came into existence at the hands of Kris, whose ambitions and medical experiments had earned him a permanent place in the dungeon for as long as Wynn was in charge. Two of Wynn’s sons wouldn’t have betrayed their siblings and the Immortals to the Dark One. Kiki never thought for himself and swayed with whoever was in charge, and Tamer and his temper answered to no one, respected no one, protected no one.

  The only children who had the potential to lead and the capacity to respect the Ancients’ responsibility to the world were Andre and Stephanie, the daughter Wynn hadn’t known existed before a few months ago. Stephanie was the child born of a dalliance Wynn had with the goddess Chaos during his second Immortal incarnation. Stephanie was new enough to the Immortal world to be molded into the leader their people needed. Andre – the family peacemaker – had always been destined for something greater.

  “Torturing them accomplishes nothing, except to make them hate you more,” Peace said at last. “If you want them to take their duties seriously then show them how.”

  “This is a lesson, Andre, assuming they’re capable of learning it. Perhaps the next time they unite against me, they’ll not be torn apart by the truth,” Wynn said. “Your instincts are good, Andre, but you chose not to lead because you know what it takes. It’s not in your nature to commit evil in the name of good and to break people who cross your path. There’s no room for mercy. To rule means to do whatever is necessary at whatever the cost.”

  “If true, then no one in our family can succeed you.”

  “I think one of you can, once she learns the greater good will always trump self-interest.”

  “You can’t put Stephanie in that position with the same lack of support you did Kris. Don’t pretend you don’t have your own selfish agenda. The greater good may be your focus, but you have always sought something more,” Andre said. “Kris and I are old enough to remember what you were before you died-dead.”

  “And yet the Immortals and humans were safer when I protected them than they have been since then.”

  “Today is not the day I dissuade you,” Andre said. “I ask only for you to consider teaching my brothers instead of torturing them.”

  Wynn considered the gentle request. In his former life, he would never have bothered hearing it out. In this life, he was aware that he needed his sons and daughter to make up for the gaps in his power. He needed favors and allies, where he never had before.

  “I’ll consider your advice,” he said finally. “My hope lies in Stephanie to lead the Council. She would make a just leader, assuming she could learn to stomach the occasional unpleasantness that comes with the position.”

  “I concur, as long as you’re there to guide her. She’ll need time to reach her potential,” Peace sai
d. “My brothers are too much like you. They are too hard. Stephanie has not lost her compassion for others. With your brilliant mind and her heart, I’d trust our family once again to safeguard the world from demons. My brothers would fall into line, once they understood the bigger picture.” Andre’s eyes went to Wynn’s bandaged wrist. “You haven’t healed?”

  “All my power and I can’t heal my own skin,” Wynn lied. “It’s a reminder I’m no longer who I was.”

  “You’ve proven you are far from weak,” Andre said. “I’ve spotted a few other deities sniffing around.”

  “Most of my visitors are here to assess how vulnerable I am.”

  “I’m not surprised. You’ve had the ability to manipulate as well as any deity.”

  “I intend to ensure my influence prevents everyone from meddling in our society.”

  “Protect and torture. You are a paradox,” Andre said and shook his head.

  “I am what I need to be.”

  “I’m going to check on Stephanie.”

  “She’s either in the dungeon, visiting your brothers, or in her chamber,” Wynn said.

  Peace stood and strode to the door. It was rare when Andre was flustered, and Wynn sensed he was the only person capable of ruffling his diplomatic son.

  Wynn waited for him to leave before turning and circling his desk. He surveyed the many volumes of diaries only he could read. He’d been dissatisfied during his first perusal. As much as he needed to continue planning, he couldn’t help the worry that crept into him whenever he thought about Karma and the role she could play in his plans. He’d taken the necessary steps he needed to prevent her from entering Hell, which he hoped would eventually give him the leverage he needed to extort the favor he required from her.

  It wasn’t for Karma’s sake he negotiated to have the portal to Hell closed. Darkyn would understand Wynn’s potential vulnerability with one look at Karma, and all of Wynn’s planning would be dashed. Wynn had to kill or safeguard the reckless goddess to carry out the plan requiring all of his attention. Thus far, neither seemed possible.

  After a rare moment of indecision, Wynn removed the diary about Fate and sat at his desk to review all he had written about the god during his first Immortal life.

  Three

  Trailed by a disgruntled guardian demon and a sleepy guardian angel, Stephanie walked through the castle to the dungeons where four of her half-brothers had been imprisoned by their father. She visited once a week, sometimes twice, and had never grown accustomed to the musty smell, lack of sunlight and the narrow hallways made up of uneven stone blocks.

  But her brothers were the only family she could speak to openly, and they’d made an attempt to do the right thing several weeks before, when they united to challenge their tyrant of a father for power over the Immortal society. They didn’t deserve to be imprisoned any more than she deserved to be isolated from her mother and sister as punishment for her involvement in the plot to usurp the tyrannical Wynn.

  The more time she spent with her brothers, the more she began to understand each one – and the depth of dysfunction of her family. Coupled with their brutal upbringings, resentment built over the course of their Immortal lifespans helped create the perfect environment for fights, passive aggressiveness, competitiveness and the occasional sentencing of one another to Hell, prison or exile. The dynamics of their relationships with one another were worse than any soap opera or reality television show she’d ever seen.

  What amazed her most: each of them was a genius in his own unique right and possessed skills that could have changed the world for the better, had they chosen to use them for that purpose.

  “Most likely to become a drug lord,” she said. Uneasy in the catacombs, she had started a game with Trayern, her guard demon. Bored and hungry, the demon sometimes humored her.

  “Kris,” Trayern answered. “Most likely to become a serial killer.”

  “Also Kris,” Stephanie replied.

  “Nope. Kiki.”

  “How so?”

  “Kris doesn’t like to get his hands dirty. Kiki is the most likely to snap, and he’s careful and calculating enough to pull it off.”

  Stephanie absorbed the information. The demon and his ilk had been studying her brothers for thousands of years. That he knew them better than she did bothered her, and she’d chosen to learn from him instead of resent him.

  “Most likely to survive a nuclear holocaust,” she said.

  “Kris. Most likely to cause a nuclear holocaust.”

  “Rhyn.” When Trayern didn’t correct her, she paused to think. “Most likely to end world hunger.”

  “Tamer.”

  “Really?” she glanced over her shoulder.

  Trayern rolled his eyes. “No, half-breed. Andre. Most likely to sell his brothers out for power.”

  “Wow. That’s a tie,” she murmured. “Kris and … Sasha.” She’d never met Sasha, her dead-dead brother who had sided with the Dark One.

  “Yep,” Trayern confirmed. “Most likely to create a charity. Not Andre.”

  Stephanie was pensive. “Kiki?”

  “Tamer.”

  “No way. He’s a total jerk.”

  “He’s all smoke, no fire.”

  “I know you’ve been studying my family for years, but I don’t buy that one,” she said.

  “Ask him. He’s already set one up.”

  She grimaced. “Most likely to kill anyone who threatens his family.”

  “Rhyn and Wynn,” the demon responded. “Most likely to become a science genius.”

  “Kiki.”

  “And Kris. Different fields. Kris preferred medical experimentation. Kiki would discover some new quantum mechanics equation.”

  Stephanie stopped and faced the demon, whose eyes were on the guards they passed.

  “You’re a demon. How the hell do you know anything about quantum mechanics?” she questioned, perplexed.

  “Most likely to underestimate her enemies and wind up dead,” he replied sarcastically.

  She frowned and began walking once more. “If you’re so smart, answer this one. Most likely to lead the Council. And it can’t be Wynn.”

  Trayern didn’t hesitate. “You.”

  “No way.”

  “Why else do you think Darkyn assigned his top lieutenant to you? Any fuckhead can handle a protection detail.”

  “Explain your answer better,” she directed him. “Why would you choose me over Kris?”

  “Kris has lost the support of your people. Rhyn caused the second breach between Hell and this plane to open. Kiki has never been a contender, and Tamer doesn’t want the responsibility.”

  “What about Erik?” she asked, referring to the other dead brother she’d never met.

  “Recluse. No ability or desire to lead.”

  “Me by default.”

  “You’re an unknown.”

  His words sent a chill through her. “Which is why Darkyn sent his most trusted lieutenant to figure me out so you can build a profile on me like you did everyone else in the family.”

  “Slow witted. Better make a note in your fucking file.” Trayern never bothered to hide his sarcasm.

  “If you’re right, I’m going to order you confined to prison for all eternity,” she shot back.

  “You don’t have the guts, half-breed,” he replied. “Most likely to win, if the four of them were in a battle.”

  “I’m tired of playing.”

  Trayern gripped the back of her neck, a reminder of what he was.

  “Rhyn,” she guessed.

  “Wrong. Kris.” He released her, and they continued down the corridor.

  “Explain.”

  “He’d attack when the others were weak, probably sleeping or otherwise vulnerable. Rhyn has the power but he won’t hurt his own.”

  “Where do I rank in that scenario?” she asked.

  “You’d be the first one to die-dead.”

  She fell into silence, tired of their game and puzzled
by the idea Darkyn and his lieutenant would single her out as the most likely to succeed Wynn. Her own father had inferred being a half-breed mated to Fate would make her untrustworthy in the eyes of their people.

  Except … this wasn’t the first time she’d heard Trayern’s claim. Her mate had said only she could keep the Immortal society together, and she had to prevent the Immortals from falling into a civil war that would destroy them. To effectively stop an insurgency, she had to be in a position of power.

  Thrown into a world she didn’t know existed months before, Stephanie was starting to feel as if she was regaining her balance. She had spent her down time mulling over how she could help the Immortal society and how, if possible, she could influence her family to work together, or simply get along, without resorting to their methods to ensure cooperation. She was too honest to participate in the kind of manipulation or intimidation her family members specialized in. Their preferred style of leadership had gone out of fashion around the time Chinggis Khan’s empire fell.

  Thus far, her conclusions filled her with doubt rather than optimism. How could a more compassionate, twenty-first century approach work with a society accustomed to brutality? Was it possible to change a culture ingrained with violence since the period before recorded history?

  She’d recently concluded that she couldn’t save the Immortals from themselves, if she wasn’t in charge.

  Darkyn and Fate had already figured it out long ago.

  Troubled, she stopped in front of Kiki’s cell. The most stable of her brothers, his administrative prowess kept the castle and society in order on paper. Bearing his iPad, she glanced at the Immortal guards. They never failed to open the doors when she told them to, leaving her with the impression Wynn knew she’d be visiting often enough to give his guards instructions to let her in.

  Wynn was the one person she couldn’t figure out how to work with or understand his mind. She had to tread carefully, because she had no desire to end up in the dungeon or Hell. She continued to hit a brick wall whenever she considered her options for dealing with him.