The Keepers
Part 7
by Elizabeth


    "What the hell do you mean, you knew?" Jim 
asked.

    "Well, I didn't know precisely," Julia admitted, 
"but I've always been sure something this big and 
this crazy was in store for me. I knew I was here 
for something more than meets the eye."

    "How'd you know that?"

    "Because I'm a Carrier. Makes me weird enough 
for a strange future, don't you think?"

    Jim's eyes went wide. "You're a what?!?"

    She turned to look at him blandly. "I'm a 
Carrier."

    Rhea frowned at the use of the term. She looked 
to Gene in confusion.

    "I believe the street term is Breeder." he 
explained gently. "Carriers are half-breeds, a cross 
of Null and User. While Carriers have no power of 
their own, they carry the genetic code common in all 
Users. They pass that on to their children. Any 
child of a Carrier will always be a User. The 
biological and mystical conflicts between Users and 
Nulls cause a high mortality rate in Carrier 
children, so very few have ever survived past 
birth."

    Julia nodded. "I'm one of only eight that are 
currently living."

    "Shit." Rhea breathed. "You mean there's more 
than two of us?"

    Jim and Julia stared at Rhea.

    "My mother was a medium." Rhea confessed. "Dad 
was an accountant. I never showed signs of power, so 
they didn't involve me much with User stuff. I know 
a little about magick, but nothing about the science 
of it."

    "I was trained in basic magick theory." Julia 
confessed. "My father was an incredibly powerful 
telepath, and he wanted me prepared if I ever showed 
signs of ability. I'm still in the same boat as you 
are, though...I know the principles, but none of the 
how or why."

    Jim snorted softly. "Not suprising...Users still 
occur so infrequently in the population that no one 
really knows a lot about us. It's gotten even more 
confusing since Nulls have been changing into 
Users." He gave a brief wave to indicate himself. 
"We're getting off track, though. How does Julia 
being a Carrier make her future wife of a god...and 
how the fuck does that explain the Red-fucking-
Dragon?"

    "It's not her half-breed blood that marks her," 
Gene explained, "but her magick blood. Julia is a 
descendant of The Wanderer. Rhea is the progeny of 
the Red Dragon." Gene looked back at Rhea. "That was 
why you felt such an affinity with him. He was your 
ancestor."

    Rhea's eyes fluttered shut in pain. Gene gently 
pulled her close, trying to soothe her aching heart.

    Jim frowned. "I saw, though...I saw that the 
sons of the Red Dragon would bring you guys 
together."

    "Indeed you did, Young Dragon."

    Jim looked up at Gene sharply, and he realized 
what the deity meant. "No fucking way."

    He nodded. "Descended directly from his line. 
The blood in Rhea is distant, but in you it runs as 
pure as it did in the man's own veins. You are his 
legacy, completely untouched by the ravages of time. 
You are also his heir. Heir to his power...and heir 
to his responsibilities."

    Jim stepped back to lean against the autopsy 
table. He heaved a large sigh.

    "So what, I'm gonna be another avatar?" he 
asked, half joking.

    Gene shrugged. "You could be, if you want. The 
job has its fringe benefits. However, your task is a 
bit simpler than that. The Red Dragon is now dead. 
As his heir, all his power is now yours for the 
taking."

    "Users can't share their gifts, and spells are 
always keyed to the nervous system of the one 
casting them." Jim replied flatly. "How can I 
inherit his power?"

    "The Red Dragon was a keeper of magick greater 
than you have ever conceived. He did take it to the 
grave with him, but not all of it. Magick of that 
magnitude carries an echo...that echo is your 
inheritance, and it is enough to make you a 
formidable sorcerer. Along with this power, the 
secret of The Elder is yours to keep. You are our 
link to this world, both magickal anchor and friend. 
Do you understand?"

    Jim nodded. He understood, with frightening 
clarity. He took a deep breath, trying to process 
all the new information.

    Okay, so Gene Simmons really IS The Demon. This 
Rhea babe is his acolyte, consort, love slave, 
whatever, and she's also my distant cousin. Julia is 
going to be joining this little harem.

    And I'm the great-great-great-great-great-great-
great-great-GREAT grandson and heir to the most 
powerful wizard this world has ever known.

    So why the fuck aren't I more upset?

    Jim voiced his last concern.

    "Magick is a part of you, it lives in every cell 
of your very flesh." Gene explained. "On a level 
deeper than the subconcious, you already know these 
things. You always have."

    Jim thought about that. He'd always known he was 
different from everyone around him...both he and 
Mike. As kids, the twin brothers had always been 
playmates and best friends. Very few ever entered 
their inner circle.  Everyone always assumed it was 
the bond of twins that cut them off so in their 
youth, but the boys had known better. They were a 
unit, two of a kind.  They were singular and 
special...they heard the song of destiny where 
others were deaf, they were aware of things no one 
else noticed. No one else could ever understand what 
they did, so they never gave anyone the chance.

    God, this is confusing, Jim lamented quietly. 
The weight of all this new input, while not 
suprising or disturbing him, was pounding in his 
head and causing a dull ache just behind his eyes. 
He rubbed the bridge of his nose, trying to ease the 
pressure. Where are you when I need you, Mike?

    Oh yeah...I keep forgetting...you're gone 
because I killed you. No matter...I still got a long 
way to go before I'm done paying for my crimes.

    "How did you find me?" Gene asked Rhea during 
the silence, still holding her close.

    "Some guy found me on the side of the road. I 
left him back down the hall, talking to an old 
friend. He came with me, looking for his brother." 
Rhea paused, suddenly turning to Jim. "You're name's 
Jim?"

    Jim nodded, shaking himself back to awareness. 
"Yeah. Sorry, I'm an asshole," he apologized, 
extending a hand to Rhea which she accepted. "I'm 
James Riley, Special Investigator."

    A strange smile came to Rhea's face. "So you're 
James. He told me about you on the way over here."

    Jim frowned. "Who did?"

    Rhea motioned for them all to wait, kissed Gene 
quickly, and dashed over to the door of the room.

    "HEY!" she shouted to some unseen individual. "I 
found him!" There was a pause, a muffled voice could 
be heard. "Yes, I'm sure! He's in here!"

    Moments later, footsteps came pounding towards 
them. Rhea stepped back as a tall, red-haired man 
suddenly appeared in the doorway.

    "I think you've been looking for that guy." Rhea 
told the individual, pointing over at Jim.

    Jim stood, frozen in the spot. Time slowed to a 
crawl as beheld the stranger. Clear eyes that were a 
mirror image of his own sparkled with life, 
glittered with curiosity as he sought Jim out.

    Jim could still feel those eyes upon him as the 
light inside them faded into darkness.

    The grey eyes finally focused on Jim as firm 
lips curved into a broad grin.

    He saw those same lips darkening to a bluish-
grey in the wake of Death's fatal kiss as they 
formed the last words Jim's brother ever spoke.

    "You can't keep a good man down, Jimmy. I'll 
never leave you, little brother."

    The stranger made it across the room in three 
long strides, reaching out to embrace Jim. He 
steeled himself, waiting to feel the cold touch of 
zombie flesh against him, limbs still heavy with the 
weight of rigor mortis.

    Taut muscle and dry, warm skin drew him close. 
Human breath touched his cheek, damp and soft with 
the rush of blood, the beat of a living heart. He 
could even smell the other man's familiar scent of 
leather and peppermint.

    "You can't keep a good man down, Jimmy."

    The horror shattered, the walls of control 
broke. Jim's arms clamped around the form before 
him. A voice he never thought he'd hear again rasped 
in his ear.

    "I'll never leave you, little brother." the 
other man whispered.

    Warmth pooled in Jim's eyes as he felt the tears 
of gratitude come rushing forth. Deep inside him, he 
could feel his heart mending, his soul becoming 
whole again. He could speak the name, for the first 
time in five years.

    "Mike."

    The two men clung to each other as the tears 
came...as the brothers were reunited.