Chapter 92: Recovery

Cherry patted my back. She slipped something into my hand as I stared down at the toilet. There wasn't anything in my stomach to come up, just this morning's oatmeal. I squeezed the thing in my hand. It felt like a rock. My other hand braced against the stall wall to keep my shaking knees from collapsing. I brought the foreign object into view. It was a large clear crystal. I looked over to Cherry.
"Matei used to take in what he called bad energy every once in a while. He'd have a similar reaction. He never went anywhere without one of these."
I nodded. Lanie had used one of these before. I dumped Karma's thick energy into it. As it left me, I started to feel better, lighter. When it was all done, the crystal glowed bright purple.
"Do you see that?" I asked.
"See what?"
"How it glows?"
She shook her head. "It looks the same to me."
I frowned. That was strange. She could see things outside the Veil, but she couldn't see energy. Just one more thing I would have to figure out in this new world.
I washed my face at the sink. I could still feel the other energy dancing inside of me, but that felt brighter and cleaner. I didn't mind that. I stuffed it down in one of the wells and sent a little of it down to my injured ankle. Thanks, Karma.
I exited the bathroom. Liam was standing at the end of the hall at a distance, talking with the orc woman from earlier. I couldn't hear what she was saying, but she was shoving him, and it looked like she was yelling at him. She went to punch him, but he caught her hand. She gave him an angry look and stormed off.
He looked down the hall at me. I think a look of worry crossed his face, but it was so brief I couldn't be sure. He turned and left the hall back out to the bar.
"That's strange," Cherry whispered.
I looked over to her with a questioning look.
"Liam never turns down an offer."
I understood and looked away quickly. That woman wanted to finish what they started. I squeezed my eyes shut and pushed down the turmoil of feelings I didn't want to feel.
"Are you okay?"
"I think I'm just tired. I'm going to sneak out of here, so I don't cause any more trouble."
"Don't worry, I'll explain what happened to the brothers, they'll understand."
I shook my head. "I don't think they will."
"They will, but..." she gave me a sympathetic smile. "They might not forgive you right away."
"I don't even know them. I don't expect them to forgive me at all."
"Come on." She grabbed my hand and pulled me after her.
I limped along after her. My plans to run away from the mess I made leaped out of reach.
She pulled me into the bar and patted the bar stool at the counter. "Up you go."
I scrambled very ungracefully onto the barstool and sat facing her. I kept my eyes low. I felt awful. She poured me a drink. I sipped at it. It tasted like a rum and coke. I realized she had her head bent down and was looking at me. I lifted my eyes slightly.
"Just keep drinking," she said.
I took a long drink through the straw. Slowly, the heat of the alcohol sunk into my cheeks. I took a deep breath and sat back. My eyes surveyed the busy bar. People were settling in. A few people cast glances in my direction, but mostly, people seemed okay. No one had come to scream at me yet.
My gaze settled on Liam. He was across the bar sitting among a group of orcs. He was deliberately not looking my direction. He was pissed at me, I could tell. I shouldn't have made him stay with me. I shouldn't have tested my power on him. I should just take care of these things on my own.
"So, Kira, huh?" Cherry asked, drawing my eyes back to her.
"What?"
"Liam introduced you as Beloved, which is a title, but he called you Kira."
"My name's not Kira," I said flatly.
"Then, what is it?"
I shrugged. "I don't have one anymore."
"So, it used to be Kira?"
"And Lanie."
"Why do you change names so much?"
I let out a deep sigh. "I don't. I was born Kira and I was born Lanie, then I merged into one person. Now, well... I don't know. I'm both and I'm neither. I'm nameless."
She pondered this for a minute. Her brow knit deeply. "Why don't you just give yourself a name?"
"I've tried. Nothing seems right. I don't even know who I am. Am I a god? Am I a succubus? Am I a witch? I just don't know."
Cherry nodded in understanding as I spoke. "It sounds like you need to figure out who you are first."
I hung my head in my hands. "I know."
A man walked up to my side. He was tall with reddish-brown hair. "Beloved?"
I picked my head up and turned to him.
He dropped to his knees and held his hand out for mine. "Can I have the touch?"
"You're not upset with me?" I asked.
He shook his head.
"Why not?"
He shrugged. "Matei had some pretty wild parties. There isn't much we haven't done. Just usually, we also got the touch along with it. This time though, I didn't feel it. So can I have it?"
I nodded quickly. "Of course, yes."
My hand slid into his strong one. He brought it to his lips. As he kissed my hand, I pulled energy from him. His face went slack. Another man hit his knees next to him. I held out my other hand. He snatched it up and pulled it to him gently. I pulled his energy, too.
More people crowded around me. They reached for me. I moved my hands from person to person, doling out good feelings. After one finished, the next person would fill his place. The energy felt hot and fresh inside me. It was slowly lifting my mood. I realized they weren't angry at all, just left wanting.
Cole appeared at my side. I offered him a hand, but he shook his head. I moved on to the others until I made it through the whole crowd. They slowly wandered off back to their groups, and the entire bar settled down.
I slumped against the chair. Cole took a seat next to me.
"See, they didn't mind."
"Did you do that?"
He shook his head. "Liam did."
My eyes cast about looking for the orc, but he wasn't anywhere in sight. "When you see him, tell him thank you for me."
Cole nodded.
"Why did you decline?" I asked.
"He told me to protect you tonight. It's hard for me to think when I am touched."
"What's it like?"
"The touch? It like being wrapped in a nice warm blanket while being buried balls deep in a good woman."
I couldn't keep my giggle from escaping. I could feel the alcohol getting to me, or maybe that was the excited energy jumping around inside me. It was charged, possibly from Karma's interjection, but it wasn't making me sick.
The door to the bar opened. The bar slowly grew silent. I looked over at the entrance. Four brothers walked through the door. Two of them carried a body.