To Hell & Back (The Dominion Series Book 3)

CHAPTER ONE

He’s getting worse. Much worse.

Not just physically, but mentally too.

Jonah is paranoid. Couple that with a two-hundred-and-forty-pound physique, immense strength and a violent nature, and you have a disaster waiting to happen.

We’re all tiptoeing around him, walking on eggshells to avoid him blowing up. Last time that happened—two days ago—three of Ebony’s people ended up visiting doctor Patil. One came back with a cast on his arm. The other two made do with stitches.

Other days Jonah’s depressed to a point where we fear for his life.

The situation is taking its toll on all of us, but most of all on Ebony. Jonah has distanced himself from everyone who cares from him including her, and it’s breaking her heart.

She buries herself in work, as expected, but I can see it hurts.

The blueprints Aaliyah gave me are coming to life in the workshop: a mini re-incarnation machine. It is a completely unheard-of technology in this dimension, but common in mine. Finally, it will be used for good, if we can convince Jonah to go ahead with our plan. And that’s a big “if”.

Reuniting him with his old body is the only way to save him, but the outcome of the procedure is uncertain. His human body is in cryostasis. Human medicine is able to freeze bodies but has yet to bring anyone back from the dead. Add that Jonah’s essence has already been re-incarnated once before into his current—declining—alien form, and we have no way of knowing whether it can survive another procedure.

And then there’s Jonah himself.

For this to work, he must want to live.

Only his tenacity will see him through. Re-incarnation is an invasive procedure, painful and disorienting. If he lacks the resolve, then all this has been for nothing.

We don’t have much time.

Jonah’s alien body is failing rapidly.

His blackouts are more frequent and protracted, leaving him disoriented and volatile. One of his two hearts functions on less than half-strength. We think he can live on only the second one, but the body was never designed for that. Our two hearts complement each other fully. The strain on the remaining heart is already exceptionally high and it’s just a matter of time before that one gives up as well. Especially because Jonah refuses to slow down.

He complains about voices in his head that are driving him mad. And he berates me constantly for bringing him back in this new body.

In general, he hates his life.

And me.

We’re running on borrowed time.

And at present, Jonah is nowhere near ready for the only thing that will save him.

CHAPTER TWO

We were gathered together at the dinner table.

Always a difficult time.

We had to face each other and make small talk. In the past weeks, I’d found reasons not to be there, but today Ebony had specifically asked me to come.

‘You have to go through this, Gabriel. You can’t keep avoiding Aaliyah,’ she tried to convince me.

I shrugged. ‘I was doing a good job with it.’ I attempted to make light of the situation.

She shook her head.

I guess that was a negative then. Bummer.

‘She doesn’t want me there,’ I tried. Ebony stayed silent. ‘Really, she doesn’t.’

Still no answer.

I gave in. ‘Okay. I’ll be there.’

She smiled, kissed me on the cheek and turned to leave my quarters. ‘Six o’clock, Gabe. No excuses.’

I’d made it on time, and it took all of five minutes before Aaliyah went for my throat. Virtually, but her words hurt me almost as much as her knife could. I felt guilty already. I didn’t need her to compound the emotion.

‘That’s not fair, Aaliyah.’ Jonah’s loud voice stopped her tirade. She turned to face him, temporarily freeing me from the onslaught.

‘He’s not the one who killed your father.’

‘It’s his fault,’ she shouted at the big man. ‘He started this stupid quest and because of that my father is dead.’

‘Actually, I started it. Gabe joined me. Not that it matters. From what I know, it was just a matter of time,’ Jonah answered. ‘Your families have been at each other’s throats for centuries. We didn’t cause this. It would have happened anyway.’

I waited. Not wanting to divert Aaliyah’s attention back to me.

‘Besides,’ the big man continued. ‘It wasn’t Gabriel who killed him. It was Bashir.’

‘Brainwashed by his father,’ she pointed to me with an outstretched arm, her glare sending new shivers up and down my spine.

Jonah shrugged. ‘Maybe. But it still wasn’t Gabriel.’

She crossed her arms in front of her chest and stared at Jonah, her eyes shooting fire. ‘Why are you protecting him?’

‘Because he doesn’t deserve this.’

I was as surprised as Aaliyah. I’d felt the brunt of Jonah’s rage in the past weeks, and this was completely out of character.

‘He’s sacrificed everything to bring his dad down. He has no home. No family. He killed his brother for wounding me. He risked his life for every single one of us here, including you.’

Aaliyah was silenced. She looked at Jonah from under her eyebrows, sulking.

‘He’s the reason we’re all here. That we’re doing this. So how about we give him some slack for a change. He can’t help who his dad is any more than you could.’

Jonah sat down and left it to us.

‘Jonah’s right,’ Ebony chimed in.

Aaliyah reluctantly nodded ever so slightly.

‘Maybe we should stop referring to our real enemy as “Gabriel’s Father” all the time,’ Jonah suggested.

He looked up at me. ‘What’s his name? No way I’m calling him “God” or anything like that.’

I smiled despite the situation. ‘His given name in Cal-Tan, it’s an old name in our dimension.’

‘Not anything biblical?’

‘No, it originates from before we ever came in contact with your religions.’

‘Well, Cal-Tan it is then,’ Jonah stated resolutely.

I was swamped with feelings of gratitude for my big friend.

I felt relief. I hoped it would distance my father from me and let me relax a bit. Jonah was right. It had felt like a personal attack every time someone referred to him as my father. My name always came first. It was depressing, and infuriating. It wasn’t my fault we were related.

I despised the man, maybe more than anyone here, with the exception of Aaliyah. He’d constantly made my life a living hell. First with his never-ending manipulations and denigration tactics, and now with his relentless pursuit of me and my strange group of friends.

I needed distance, and hopefully this would give it to me.

‘Now that’s out of the way,’ Jonah brought us back to the present in his weirdly practical way. ‘Let’s eat.’

His appetite was legendary, and today was no exception.

We all helped ourselves to the great meal Sly, the cook-come-bodyguard, had prepared. The man was an accomplished chef, and I enjoyed his food every single time.

We ate in relative silence. Mainly because of the good food, but still partly due to the argument and the tentative status-quo that was in effect. I glanced up from under my eyebrows at Aaliyah. She was pushing her food around on the plate, not eating like the rest of us. I felt for her. She’d been party to the brutal murder of her father. Even though she didn’t agree with his practices, she’d loved the man deeply.

It showed.

Not for the first time, I wished I could turn back time.

Not one of my talents.

Regrettably.

CHAPTER THREE

‘We need to determine our next steps,’ I broached the subject carefully.

After-dinner banter was over. It was time to get down to business.

We were all seated at the big round table in the dining area that doubled as an extra meeting room. The light outside was waning and subdued lamps around the perimeter offered enough illumination to be able to read the documents on electronic devices that invariably followed every meeting. The blinds were drawn and only feint pinpricks of moving headlights showed we were in a populated area. The triple glass held out any sounds.

I sat between Jonah and Ebony, I thought between friends would be comfortable, whereas the other side of the table with Aaliyah still noticeably cooler. She was coming around millimetre by millimetre, but the status quo was still very fragile.

I’d calculated badly, the air between Jonah and Ebs was almost as loaded as between Aaliyah and me, though this time it wasn’t the result of anything I’d done. They were going through a difficult patch in their relationship, mainly due to Jonah’s difficult disposition. He was never easy to live with, now he was downright impossible. They no longer shared a bedroom, another bad sign.

‘What are our options?’ Ebony asked.

Good question. We didn’t have many. Not anymore.

‘We’ve exhausted the Islamic route,’ I answered.

‘Unless we go to another Islamic community somewhere?’ Jonah suggested to my dismay, though he might have a point there.

‘What if the mosque shared the information with others?’ I asked.

‘We have no way of knowing,’ Aaliyah answered. ‘We must assume they have.’

‘The Christian side is actively hunting us, so I don’t think we have much leeway there.’ Ebony pointed out.

‘Unless we can use some assets we already have.’ Jonah joined the conversation.

‘You have any in mind?’ Aaliyah sat close by, not touching him, but still nearby. I expect it was the feeling of safety the big man gave her. No matter that he was as unstable as ever. He still exhumed a strength she needed.

‘Benedict?’ I asked.

Jonah shrugged. ‘Maybe’

‘Who’s Benedict?’ Aaliyah asked him.

Jonah filled her in with a brief history of our dealings with the archbishop.

‘Sounds like an asset.’

‘Yes, but one we don’t want to endanger. Not while he may be our only way into the Inner Circle of the Establishment.’

‘Any success on the data side?’ I asked Ebony.

‘Some. I’ve picked up a financial stream that looks promising. If I can block that, or even better divert it, then it will be a major blow to the Ventus Dei.’

‘Then what?’

‘Do you have any contacts we could approach?’ Jonah asked Aaliyah. ’Anyone?’

‘I’d have to think,’ she replied. ‘Most have been lost now with the change of power, but there have always been people like me who opposed the direction Bashir wanted. Problem is most of them are still back in my dimension.’

‘Is there any way you can contact them?’ I added. ‘Without endangering them or yourself.’

She glared at me. Still not happy with my presence. Then her eyes softened, and she let go of some of her anger. ‘I’m afraid Bashir may be monitoring all communications.’

‘I would, if I were him,’ I agreed.

She nodded.

Okay, another dead end then.

‘If we could find a way, ‘Ebony suggested. ‘Would you be open to it?’

‘Maybe.’

CHAPTER FOUR

After the attack on the ranch, we’d decided to hide in plain sight.

Or more appropriately, hide in the masses.

We still didn’t know how they’d found us at the ranch. We ruled out a traitor. The only ones who knew Jonah had been there were Ebony’s men—none of whom were suspect—and the doctor. I had no idea what the hold was Ebony had on him, but it garnered absolute loyalty. So he was also not a candidate.

Our big friend had reluctantly been very careful after Michael found him in San Diego on the beach. Plus, he’d been closely monitored. Jonah hadn’t let anything slip. No clues there.

So how had they found us?

It would stay a mystery. Luck, coincidence, if there were such a thing. A one-time thing.

We hoped.

We were back in Los Angeles.

In a massive office building in the centre of the financial district. I had no idea what our new digs must have cost, but it was our new home.

The top floors housed the living quarters and the computer lab. Under that was a medical centre that rivalled the best private hospital in the country. Unlimited funds were definitely a benefit. I didn’t care how and where Ebony got them. I was even resigned to it being less than legal.

The first thirty-odd floors of the building were legitimate offices, inhabited by “real” businesses. They were the front to our operation. Ebony hinted this legitimate area funded the slightly grey operation up top. Whatever, I was just happy we had a new base of operations.

It made sense.

This place was a bastion of security.

No one went in or out without a retina- and hand scan. In addition, x-ray functionality identified aliens from my dimension by their physiology. Electronics and digital security ruled out any tracking devices or hacking attempts. Nothing was left to chance. Ebony was thorough.

The living quarters were lavish. Mini apartments for all of us. Also, a master kitchen that a three-Michelin star restaurant would be jealous of, a fully stocked gym, sauna, everything.

My apartment was on the shadow side of the building. I’d asked for it, I liked the shade. Besides, it caught the evening sun, and I enjoyed sitting on the balcony with a good glass of whisky, watching the sunset. There was a living room, fully equipped bathroom and a more than adequate bedroom with a walk-in wardrobe. Like all the other apartments, it came with a small kitchen and every comfort you could wish for.

It felt like home. Kind of.

And of course there was the computer stuff.

That took up a whole floor.

I didn’t pretend to know what the equipment was, or what it did, but it was extensive and state-of-the-art. I’m sure some of it wasn’t even mainline available. Some of it was newly invented, created by Ebony using a mixture of human and Taxore technology. It was light years ahead of anything else on earth.

Ebony’s geeks had enthusiastically reverse-engineered everything they’d recovered from my dimension. Everything Aaliyah and I brought, the blueprints, what we’d recovered from the attackers, everything.

Ebs was at the forefront of it all. Her technical genius was unparalleled, and she outshone everyone.

Her main focus in the past weeks had been the reincarnation technology. Ever since we acquired the blueprints, she’d been submerged in the technology day and night.

I was worried for her. She wasn’t sleeping much. Too little really. Sly made sure she ate well, but rest had no place in her agenda. I think she felt responsible. That she was the only one who would be able to put it together and ultimately reunite Jonah with his old self.

No pressure, right?