by Shea Balik
Thankfully, Ryley kissed him, stopping him from continuing to spew every poetic platitude known to man.
Those soft lips pressed against his briefly before Ryley’s tongue came out and licked along the seam of Eirik’s mouth as if seeking entrance. Not one to deny Ryley anything, Eirik opened willingly, letting his lover in to explore.
“Oh, gross,” Meghan griped, as she came up behind Ryley. “If you’re going to do that where anyone can see, especially your sister, the least you could do would be to put up warning signs or blare an alarm. Something.”
Eirik felt her push against Ryley to get him out of the way. “Besides, aren’t we supposed to be on the road by now? I figured you two would be yelling for me to hurry up, not playing tonsil hockey.”
Ryley’s body shook with laughter at Meghan’s dramatics. So long as his lover was happy enough to laugh, Eirik was good. “All right, princess.” That’s the name they’d started calling Meghan shortly after she’d arrived. “We’ll try to keep the kissing to a minimum.”
Ryley growled in his throat. The sound went right to his dick, making his pants uncomfortably tight. “Like hell we will.” His lover pulled him back in for another breath stealing kiss while Meghan started making gagging noises.
Eirik was torn between pulling Ryley into his arms and finding an empty room so he could fuck him senseless and laughing at the sibling’s antics. That was, until Ryley pulled back from the kiss, his eyes shining with joy as he whispered, “I love you too, Eirik.”
Who would have thought that it would take only three little words for Eirik’s resolve that they all survive solidify? No one, not even the Unseelie or Seelie royalty, would stop him from protecting those he loved.
CHAPTER 20
The moment they pulled off the main road and onto a gravel path, nerves jumped around in Ryley’s stomach like an army of frogs doing tricks. Eirik didn’t need to tell him they were at the ritual site, because Ryley could feel the energy that surrounded them, telling him they were near a fissure in the veil.
His eyes darted around, sure he’d find a hoard of monsters around every tree they passed. He glanced over his shoulder, relieved to find his sister still sleeping in the back seat. It was bad enough he was terrified, Ryley wasn’t sure he could deal with Meghan’s fear, too.
A large, warm hand covered his, calming some of the anxiety that plagued him. He looked over to find steady green eyes on his, shining with love and a steely resolve. More of the panic that had gripped Ryley diminished. Eirik would protect him. That was something Ryley didn’t doubt.
If only he were sure it would be enough to get the three of them through this night. Those doubts were all Ryley could think about as they rounded another bend that opened up into a large field with a tarp, most likely covering the wood the others had cut recently for the bonfire.
“What if I can’t do this?” Ryley whispered as they rolled to stop.
Eirik’s voice held the confidence Ryley so desperately needed. “You can. More importantly, you will succeed. You are one of the most determined people I know, Ryley Duggan. Failure isn’t in your vocabulary.”
Ryley wasn’t so sure about that, but he appreciated the words of encouragement regardless.
Eirik’s free hand cupped Ryley’s face, pulling him so their mouths met over the middle console. It was a brief kiss, but one Ryley cherished, as he could feel Eirik’s love pouring into him. “And remember,” Eirik whispered, his lips brushing against Ryley’s as he spoke. “I’ll be right beside you the whole time.”
He loved that Eirik was trying to comfort him. And it helped, but no matter what he said, one fact couldn’t be changed. “You aren’t the one they’re trying to kill.”
Green eyes glittered with resolve. “But they have to go through me to get to you. And that’s something I’m not going to let happen, kitten.”
Maybe Ryley had been wrong. For he definitely felt better about their chances.
“Are you two going to stop that lovey-dovey crap any time soon, or should I get a bucket to throw up in?” Meghan teased from the back seat. At least she was in a decent mood, considering where they were.
Eirik smiled first at Ryley, then over at Meghan. “You know, next time you’re going think about interrupting us.”
Meghan arched a brow at him. “Oh really? And why is that?”
Mischief played across Eirik’s features as he said, “Because, now that you did, it’s time to get to work hauling wood.” He opened his door as Meghan groaned. “Come on, princess, everyone needs to help.”
For the next hour, Meghan bitched and moaned about how their parents would usually do all the hard work. Well, and Ryley as well as their older sister, but because Meghan had been the baby, she usually got out of having to carry wood to the bonfire site.
Both Ryley and Eirik let her complain. At least it was keeping her too busy for the fear to take over. A bratty Meghan was a lot easier to handle than a terrified one who was ready to run.
Thankfully, with the three of them working, meaning Eirik and Ryley doing most of the work, they were able to finish with plenty of time to eat and relax for an hour before it was time to get ready. Yet, with the threat of what was to come looming over them, the time flew past and Eirik started to unload the weapons, placing them in various spots for them to easily pick up and use.
The anxiety of the moment had left Ryley out of sorts, which was the reason he gave for not feeling Fen’s presence before he appeared out of thin air. Ryley let out a high-pitched scream several octaves higher than he ever imagined reaching.
“Don’t fucking scare me like that.” Ryley clutched his chest as he tried to stop his heart from leaping through his ribs as it hammered inside of him.
“Ryley,” Eirik shouted, the fear in his voice could be heard even across the field.
“It’s just Fen,” Ryley tried to shout back, but with his heart racing he was having difficulty getting enough air into his lungs to project his voice that loudly.
“I would have thought you’d have felt me coming.” It almost sounded like Fen was trying to apologize, but it was hard to tell with that scowl on his face.
Eirik reached them before Ryley had time to ask what the Fae was doing there, a testament to Eirik’s determination to keep Ryley safe. His gaze went from where Ryley was still trying to get his body to calm the fuck down, to Fen. Not wasting time on pleasantries, Eirik asked Fen, “What’s wrong?”
Fen’s eyes said it all. “They’re on their way.”
“How long?” As usual Eirik kept talking to a minimum.
Fen glanced to Ryley, then Meghan, who had come running when she’d heard Ryley scream. “Before they can finish.” He shook his head. “Probably before they can start.”
The ritual couldn’t begin until six. They hadn’t even lit the bonfire in hopes of delaying the Unseelie from finding them. They hadn’t known if it would work, but unless the Unseelie’s minions came through the veil where they were performing the ritual, there was no point in giving away their position too early.
It had been a gamble to wait so long, as the ritual required the fire to burn hot, but they had risked it. Eirik had made sure to add extra kindling to get the blaze burning quickly so Ryley and Meghan could start the spell within minutes of lighting the bonfire.
“Then there’s no point in not lighting the fire.” Eirik grabbed three torches and lit them. He handed one to Meghan and another to Ryley. Then the three of them walked around the mammoth mound of wood and sticks, touching the torches to the pile. Just as planned, it ignited rapidly.
The three of them met back where Fen still stood. He was unable to help in the ritual itself. That he was there could be dangerous for him if it were discovered he was helping them. Ryley appreciated his taking the chance to alert them.
“Thanks for warning us, but you need to go,” Eirik said.
The Fae looked into the distance toward the west. “They will be here before it can be finished.” Fen stared right
at Ryley. “Yet, you must complete it.”
Ryley already knew the consequences. There was no point saying anything, nor did Fen wait around for him to.
So, this was it. They found us and Fen was right, tonight they could die. He placed an arm around Meghan’s shoulder and placed a kiss against the top of her head. His eyes went to those piercing green ones that gave him the courage to stand and do what had to be done.
Eirik came to him and wrapped his arms around both Ryley and Meghan. “I will protect you both with my life,” he said. “I swear it.”
Meghan’s body shook, her hold on Ryley tightened. “I don’t want to die,” she cried.
Ryley hadn’t believed his heart could break any more than when he’d witnessed the rest of their family being murdered, yet, her words left it shattered. “Eirik and I will protect you, squirt. I swear it.”
He knew it was wrong to make a promise he wasn’t sure he could keep, but Ryley refused to let her think he would just let something happen to her. If it meant dying, he would gladly give his life for hers. Eirik’s lips pressed against the side of his head, as if he could read Ryley’s thoughts.
“That goes double for me, princess,” Eirik whispered, his voice raw with so much emotion the three of them clung together for another moment.
Eirik cleared his throat as he released them and stepped back. “We need to get ready. You both saw where the weapons are stashed, correct?” He pinned each of them with a look until he had their confirmation.
“Good.” He took another couple of steps back. “Do both of you have your knives and a gun strapped to your body?”
Both Ryley and Megan patted the spots where they wore three knives and one gun. All were in position as they’d practiced when training.
Those green eyes clung to Ryley for several moments. “You are to stay alive, no matter what.” Eirik’s gaze went from Ryley to Meghan, including her in that statement. “Understand? You both do whatever it takes. I will be here backing you up, but if one of those creatures gets close, you kill it. No hesitation.”
Meghan’s eyes widened in fear, but she nodded.
Then Eirik met Ryley’s gaze and added, “If you need to light this whole place up, you do it, got it?”
He did. Ryley just wasn’t sure he’d be able to, knowing Meghan and Eirik could be caught in the blaze. “I will,” he said anyway.
All three pairs of eyes landed on Ryley’s phone as the alarm went off. “It’s time,” Ryley announced.
CHAPTER 21
Ryley and Meghan had just taken a step toward the bonfire to get into position when they heard it. Their gazes landed on a terrifying sight. There had to be at least a dozen of those creatures coming toward them.
He knew he and Meghan needed to start the ritual, but Ryley spared a brief moment to lock eyes with Eirik. He prayed his lover understood just how deep his feelings ran, but Ryley no longer had time to tell him again, not when time was against them.
Just as they had done for each winter solstice, Meghan and Ryley started to chant as their feet moved like they always had in a dance that had been practiced since they could walk.
“We call upon the sun and moon.”
Ryley could feel the air around them pulse with power.
“On this day we say good-bye to the darkness and greet the sun in its rebirth as it shines upon the earth. We welcome its golden rays as it reaches across the land and chases the shadows of darkness.”
“Ryley, Meghan, hurry,” Eirik’s shout broke through their concentration.
Both of their eyes widened as they saw the chaos that ensued around them. Eirik stood just a few feet behind them, fighting what had to be a dozen creatures that were so horrific they shot fear down Ryley’s spine as he stumbled to remember the rest of the spell.
It was Meghan who took his hand in hers and said, “We call…”
The words fell from his lips to match hers. “Upon our ancestors to right the wrong that was done.”
Just as in the training room with Fen, energy crept up Ryley’s legs, twining its tentacles around him, infusing him with the power he needed to finish the spell.
“We beseech the mother earth to grant us the power to heal the damage our people have created by opening the veil to the other side. Fuse the threads that have been torn and seal the fabric between our worlds.”
Meghan cried out, but the energy had completely engulfed Ryley, not allowing him to see anything beyond the magic he wielded. Desperate to make sure his sister was okay, Ryley quickly finished the final line.
“Heed my command to fortify the veil keeping the two worlds apart.”
Blinding light surrounded him for an instant before spreading out along the ground, knocking anything standing to the ground. Ryley blinked to find five creatures dead at his feet. Two more lay lifeless next to Meghan’s prone body.
“Meghan,” Ryley shouted, racing to her side unaware of anything else around him.
He dropped down to the ground at his sister’s side, his fingers pressed to her neck. He gulped in a lungful of air when he felt her pulse beneath his fingertips. “You’re alive,” he whispered.
Turning her over, he checked for injuries, but didn’t see anything obvious. Breathing out a prayer of thanks, he turned to find an Unseelie minion standing less than two feet from him with its… Ryley squinted, was that a hoof with talons on the end?
Whatever it was, it was about to slash Ryley in two. He cringed back, partially lying over his sister to protect her when that… hoof? claw? Whatever suddenly detached from the rest of the body and rolled several feet away.
“Ryley.” Eirik’s voice was hard, like a harsh slap to his face. “Snap out of it.”
Then Eirik swung the sword he was holding and the creature that had nearly killed Ryley lost its head.
That was all it took for Ryley to get his head back in the game.
Leaping to his feet, Eirik tossed him a sword he’d picked up from the ground. Right. Weapons were all around them. Damn, but that spell had really done a number on Ryley’s ability to think.
Sword in hand, Ryley faced the next creature to come after him. If he’d thought the last one had been scary, this one was downright terrifying. The only thing he could tell that they all had in common were razor sharp talons and teeth, can’t forget the teeth. How many depended on the type of beast.
The one that Eirik had stopped from killing Ryley had two teeth on either side of its mouth, both nearly two feet long. The monster he now faced had more teeth than Ryley ever imagined any animal could have. But it had paws like a cat, a very large cat.
The sword in his hands felt heavy, as if his body had already fought for hours. The spell must have drained him, for when he tried to call up his fire ability nothing happened. Taking in a deep breath, Ryley steeled himself for what was to come.
Tired or not, the Unseelie’s pet monsters were coming for him – and Meghan. The feline resembling creature leapt for him. Ryley ran straight at it, but just before those sharp claws could rip him apart, Ryley slid, like he’d learned in little league to steal a base.
As his body dove under the creature, he braced his arms above him, with his blade facing the beast’s underbelly, effectively eviscerating the thing. He didn’t even want to think about the kinds of fluids that had rained down upon him. Nor was he able to as the next creature was waiting for him before the last one had dropped dead to the ground.
It was as if he were in a horror movie, with each monstrosity more grotesque than the previous one. If Ryley let himself, he would have easily frozen in fear, his body only wanted to curl up under the covers and hide as he had when he was a child. That, unfortunately, wasn’t an option. Not if he wanted to stay alive.
Swinging his sword, Ryley silently thanked Eirik for the hours of intense training that allowed him the skill to slice along what Ryley hoped was its neck. It was a challenge to know, since the creature was over seven feet tall with thighs the size of tree trunks. Scales ran along its
arms and legs, yet fur covered the rest of its body.
Thick black fluid poured from the wound he’d just inflicted as it fell to the ground in a heap. “Gross,” he said to no one in particular as the black sludge seeped into the snowy field.
A howl rang out from just behind him, causing him to do one thing Ryley couldn’t afford to do, freeze. A hairy hand gripped his sword, yanking it from Ryley’s grasp before he’d been able to come out of his fear induced stupor.
The force with which the weapon had been taken caused Ryley to stumble and fall to the frozen earth with a jolt. Stunned, Ryley hadn’t been able to stop the clawed hand he seen coming toward him. Oxygen was cut off as that furred hand wrapped around his neck, lifting him up until his feet were dangling in the air.
Instantly Ryley’s fingernails tried to dig into the hands that were around him, except the skin… more like tough rubbery hide, didn’t allow him to penetrate the surface. It was what he imagined it would be like to fight a shark, especially as his mouth full of razor-sharp teeth leaned in, nearly biting Ryley’s head off.
Jerking back as much as the creature’s hold on him allowed, those jagged teeth just missed him, but it hadn’t stopped the god-awful stench that was its breath from coming right at Ryley. “Dude, seriously, brush your teeth,” Ryley yelled at the monster as he cringed away from its mouth. “Or at least pop a breath mint,” he grumbled as he got another whiff.
Refusing to have to breathe in another lungful of that obnoxious odor, Ryley head-butted the beast as it once more tried to lean in and bite him. It shrieked, hopefully in pain, loosening it grip just enough for Ryley to slip from its grasp.
Running toward one of the stash of weapons Eirik had placed all around, Ryley slammed to a stop before he could reach them as two more… he tilted his head a bit to take in their forms… boars?
The tusks and snout were the only features that truly resembled a boar. The rest of their bodies were covered in what appeared to be porcupine needles. Unwilling to get near either of them, Ryley spun on his heel only to find the creature with the bad breath just steps from him.
