CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Mark's car was built for speed, but he was still pushing it to its limits now. He had never driven so fast and recklessly in his life, and he'd driven pretty fast and recklessly before. He made it from Downtown Brooklyn to Hoboken, New Jersey in under an hour.

     He followed his instincts and found them almost immediately. Panya was collapsed in Jonathan's arms. Alyxx jumped up when she saw his car and ran to him. He had barely put it in park when she jumped in and flung her arms around him.

     She kissed him before speaking, then said, "I love you, I love you, I love you! Times one million!"

     "Same to you," Mark replied. "What happened?"

     "To Panya? She fainted. She went through a lot in there, Mark. I think she was pushing herself to keep going to try and get us all out of there and now that she's safe, the stress finally caught up with her body."

     Jonathan slid Panya into the backseat before sitting beside her. He laid her down across his lap and buckled his seatbelt. "Hi Mark," he said. "Thanks for picking us up."

     "No problem," Mark replied. He put the car in drive and began heading back to New York. "Did they feed you guys?"

     "Not much. Enough rations for us to survive, but that was all. It's been a couple of days. I don't know about the girls, but they forced some water into me earlier this morning before they knocked me out."

     "I really wouldn't know," Alyxx admitted. "It was Neith who ate and drank. I think I'm hungry, but I don't feel overly dehydrated yet."

     "We'll pick up some food to go," Mark said. He pulled into the nearest fast food restaurant and ordered food he knew they'd all eat. He also ordered something for Panya, although he suspected she wouldn't regain consciousness before they hit New York. It wasn't that big of a deal, seeing as how Panya barely ate in general and he knew to get her something small.

     Alyxx wolfed down her food quickly. Jonathan tried to keep up the pretense of having manners but Mark could tell he was starving, too.

     "I don't suppose you guys want to talk about it?" Mark finally asked.

     "No thanks," Jonathan replied. "I'd just as soon forget this ever happened."

     "It was bad, Mark," Alyxx said honestly. "That's all you need to know. You don't want those details." She took his hand and squeezed it. Then she paused. "One thing, though. Lily's either undead or resurrected or some other such thing."

     "Wait, what?" Mark asked.

     "She was there, today. That's how we escaped. She underestimated us and overestimated herself, as per usual. She's alive, Mark, in some form anyway. She had her body and everything. She's the one who cut Panya's throat and shoulder. Today, anyway."

     "Did she hurt you?"

     "Not really. She was too busy talking herself up. Big head, that one. Anyway, I broke her jaw and I think I screwed up her knee when I kicked her, but she's still very much alive. So is Ted."

     "Ted?"

     "Josie's father. Djer."

     "Yeah, we heard he was there. We didn't know much, but what we did get was bad enough."

     "How is everyone? Did I miss much?"

     "Yeah, there's new deities in town... Including Bastet and Anubis, and apparently Serqet, although I've yet to see her."

     "Hold on. I thought all of them were dead?"

     "Bastet and Anubis are," Jonathan said firmly. "I saw Li and Christian die with my own eyes."

     "They had other incarnations," Mark explained. "So we have them and Billy, who equates to Bes."

     "Bes?" Jonathan asked. "Isn't that a girl's name?"

     "Bite your tongue! He'll kick your butt for that when his soul finally unlocks."

     "It's going to be so great to see everyone... I missed all of you so much," Alyxx said. Mark stiffened. "What? What did I say?"

     "Not everyone made it through this, Alyxx..."

     She tried not to imagine the worst. "Who?"

     "Marie."

     Jonathan looked like he might cry. Alyxx started to. It was Mark's turn to squeeze her hand.

     "How?" Jonathan asked.

     "The cult grabbed her when we were at the museum... Ryan and I let her go off to the bathroom by herself. It was stupid. Ryan figured it out, but it was a trap. They wanted him. Once he showed up, they killed her."

     "It isn't your fault," Alyxx said automatically.

     "No, it's Janna's."

     "What do you mean?" Jonathan asked.

     "Ryan called her for help, both on the phone and psychically. She ignored both attempts. By the time Dean showed up and got Janna there, it was too late. Marie bled out."

     "How could she do that?" Alyxx asked. She was suddenly furious. Mark was worried Neith might take over. It wasn't that he didn't like Neith, although his soul definitely did not. It was more that he needed to spend some time with Alyxx first, just to be certain she was really safe.

     "She claims she didn't know it was about Marie, but so what? Ryan and Janna hate each other. So do Set and Isis. If he was reaching out to her for help, she should have realized it was some sort of major emergency."

     "You're right," Alyxx said. "What a bitch."

     "Yeah, that's pretty much what Olivia said. She's not talking to her. Things have gotten pretty tense between all of us."

     "I hate hearing that. We're a family. We shouldn't fight."

     "Chaos tears people apart. He lives for it. He found a way to get between all of us. Everyone's picking sides and it's getting ugly."

     "Well, we'd better fix that."

     They hit New York a little while later. Mark was relieved. He'd gotten them out of New Jersey and back onto their territory. They were safe now, or as safe as they could be given the circumstances.

     When he finally pulled up outside of Zane's house, Mark realized how terrified he had actually been. He opened the car door for Alyxx. She normally wouldn't have allowed him to indulge in chivalry because she was a strong feminist, but she was weak and needed the help. He helped her to the front door before going back to the car and helping Jonathan get Panya out of the car.

     "I've got her," Mark told him. "Save your strength." He easily carried Panya to the door.

     The doorbell rang. Moments later, Josie answered the door. She took one look at all of them and squeaked before she jumped into Jonathan's arms. She nearly knocked him down.

     Dean came to the door. He immediately looked furious. "What happened to her? Where did you find them? What's going on?" He asked.

     "She fainted, probably from stress. They were in New Jersey. And a lot is going on," Mark replied.

     Dean took Panya from his arms and carried her straight to Janna. "Oh, my poor dears," Janna whispered. She took in the sight of all of them. "Welcome back. Who needs to be healed?"

     "Panya first," Alyxx replied. "Lily cut her up a bit, and we're not totally sure why she fainted."

     "Did you say Lily?" Dean asked. He sat next to Janna so she could heal Panya while he still held her in his arms.

     "Yeah, as in our bitchy hippo. She's not so dead after all," Alyxx confirmed.

     "But... We buried her."

     "Yes, Dean, we did. And then someone unburied her and I guess they un-killed her, too."

     "Are you certain it was Lily?" Janna asked.

     "Oh, it was her alright."

     Panya began trembling in Dean's arms. She whimpered as she started to come around.

     "Shhh," Dean whispered. "You're safe, Panya. It's over. You're home."

     Panya's eyes fluttered open. "Done with her?" Mark asked Janna.

     "Yes," she replied. "I have healed all I can."

     "Alyxx next." He practically shoved Alyxx at her. He was still furious with Janna but if she could heal Alyxx, he would find a way to tolerate her.

     "No... Please... No more..." Panya whispered.

     Dean held her closer to his chest. "It's Dean, baby. You're safe. I promise," he said soothingly.

     She remained tense. Mark had a feeling he knew why. "Dean, I think she needs to rest," he said. "Why don't you let me take her upstairs?"

     "I can do it myself," Dean replied. He stood up and carried her upstairs.

     "Not your desired results, eh?" Alyxx asked him.

     "No. Tell me the truth, Alyxx. Did that bastard touch you?" Mark asked.

     "Djer? No. He was pretty focused on Panya." She sniffled and tried not to start crying again. "His people tried, but Neith never let it go beyond beatings. I'll be fine. The worst of it was knowing I couldn't protect my friends."

     "You got us out," Jonathan said. "You did more than enough."

     "He's right," Mark said. He kissed her.

     Janna let go of Alyxx's hands. She looked exhausted. "Jonathan?" She asked.  

     "No worries, Ma'am. I'll be just fine," Jonathan replied.

     "Come here. You're hurt, too. Don't ever try to lie to a healer."

     "You look real tired, Janna. I don't want to be a burden."

     "This is the least I can do for you all. You've clearly been to Hell and back. I knew that bastard Djer. He was his own sort of evil. Panya didn't have an easy life before she came to us."

     "I tried to protect her from him," Jonathan said. He finally started to cry. Josie held him closer.

     "I know you did all you could do to protect them both," Janna assured him. "You did well, Jonathan. You survived. That's all anyone could have asked of you."

       Jonathan nodded and allowed Janna to heal him. When she finished, he looked much better and she looked faint.

     "Thank you, Miss Janna," he said softly. "Go on and rest now."

      Janna stood and nearly collapsed. Mark barely caught her. He steadied her and looked at her with concern. "Are you alright?" He asked. Furious or not, he couldn't ignore that something was wrong with her.

      "I just need to rest. Excuse me," Janna replied. She walked away before they could protest.

     "You're home..." Josie whispered as she clung to Jonathan.

     "I am, Miss Josie," he replied before he kissed her.

     "We're home," Alyxx said as she wrapped her arms around Mark again. He held her and knew that, for the first time in a month, he was home, too.