by Unknown
Kaelyn squeezed her eyes shut grabbing the crystal tightly in her fist. “It’s not real, it’s not real,” she mumbled over and over. Only a couple more days and the visions would stop. The small lamp on her bedside table suddenly fell over crashing to the floor. Kaelyn jumped. Never had the shadows been able to move things before. Kaelyn leapt out of her bed darting to the kitchen. Why had Alexander left her? She needed his help, as hard as that was to admit.
With shaky hands, she pulled a large chopping knife out of a kitchen drawer and held it up in front of her. She stared at the darkened door leading to her bedroom. Nothing. No sound, no movement. Kaelyn fumbled for her cell phone on the counter and quickly punched the speed dial for Hunter.
“Kaelyn? Are you okay?” Hunter said picking up the phone. “Kaelyn? Answer me! Are you alright?”
“Hunter, please,” she whispered. “The shadows…they’re back.”
“I’ll be there in a few minutes. I’m leaving as we speak!”
* * * * *
Hunter pushed his way hurriedly through Kaelyn’s front door. He glanced around running to her bedroom doorway. Nothing. The bathroom, same thing. Empty. “Kaelyn!” he yelled running into the empty living room. He heard a whimper from behind the kitchen counter. He spun around the peninsula cabinets and found Kaelyn huddled on the floor in the corner. She held her arm as blood marred her hand. A large carving knife lay on the floor a few feet away and her cell phone next to her.
Hunter crouched down cursing. “What happened? Are you okay?” he said pulling her hand away from her bleeding arm. It looked like it was only a surface scratch. From the knife? His face furrowed. He really didn’t think Kaelyn would hurt herself. “Kaelyn, what happened?” he asked more forcefully when she only stared.
Kaelyn slowly glanced up into Hunter’s concerned face. She began shaking her head. “I’m not crazy Hunter, please don’t think I’m crazy!” she said with a sob. Hunter reached out and pulled her over into his arms.
“You’re definitely not crazy, Kaelyn. I would never think that.” He softly kissed the top of her head. “Tell me how you got hurt. Was it Alexander? Did he do this to you?” he asked, growing angry.
Kaelyn shook her head. “A shadow ran out of my room straight for me. I lunged out with the knife, but I couldn’t control my own hand and it turned on me.” Kaelyn glanced down at her wound. “No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t make my hand stop cutting my arm. I swear the shadow laughed as it overpowered me, that is, until I screamed, and then the shadow vanished into thin air.” She looked up at Hunter with large, glossy eyes. “I swear, I’m not crazy. I know what happened.”
Just then, the front door swung open and Alexander stormed in. Hunter jumped up from behind the counter. “Don’t you dare come closer you bastard!” Hunter roared.
Alexander’s gaze darted past Hunter’s shoulder to where Kaelyn had slowly risen. He saw the wound on her arm and grimaced. What kind of protector was he? He had left so urgently, because if he would have stayed he was certain he would have spread Kaelyn’s legs and pressed his body between her thighs. He had had to get away, afraid of what he would have done to her, and now this. She had gotten hurt because he had left.
“Lass?” Alexander asked as Hunter shielded Kaelyn from Alexander’s view.
“She would have been safe if she had stayed with me!” Hunter chimed in as he stormed around the counter. “I meant what I said asshole! You let her get hurt, now you’re gonna pay!” Hunter pushed his sleeves up his arms and headed toward Alexander.
“You willna win,” Alexander warned.
“I’ll take my chances, you piece of shit!” Hunter took two quick steps and swung a strong right curved punch. Alexander ducked, then spun, and came up behind Hunter.
“Stop!” Kaelyn yelled.
“He deserves to get hurt,” Hunter said. “You would’ve been fine if it wasn’t for him!” Hunter made another lunge for Alexander when the front door swung open yet again.
“Did I come at a bad time?” Cain said, followed by a wicked laugh. Everyone immediately froze and turned all heads in Cain’s direction.
Alexander quickly glanced at Kaelyn making sure she wore the crystal. When he saw her hand wrap around it, he felt a little better. “Stay where you are, Kaelyn,” Alexander said from across the room. He and Hunter stood next to each other in the living room, while Cain remained close to the threshold of the front door.
Cain’s mouth twisted into a wicked smile as he stared at Kaelyn. “I see you used your powers again. My creation has disappeared. Too terrified to show its face.” Both Alexander and Hunter glanced back at Kaelyn and her confused expression. Cain reached out his hand. “Come with me. No one else needs to get hurt.”
“Stay where you are,” Alexander reminded Kaelyn.
Cain tsked. “How many more friends do ye want to die, Kaelyn? Wasn’t that old man a father figure to ye? He’s gone because of ye.”
“He’s gone because of you!” Alexander gritted out to Cain.
“You son of a bitch!” Hunter roared. “You’re the one who started the fire. I’ll kill you!” Before Alexander could stop him, Hunter ran over to Cain. Upon reaching him, Cain’s hand shot out and gripped Hunter’s neck. Cain lifted him up from the ground by his throat. Hunter’s face turned bright red as he struggled to unlatch Cain’s grip.
“Take the crystal off, Kaelyn. Come to me,” Cain purred. “Or be responsible for another death!”
Kaelyn reached for the crystal. Alexander raised his hand. “Don’t! He’ll kill you too!”
“What would you have me do?” she cried desperately. “He won’t stop killing people until I surrender.”
“That’s right, lass,” Cain said raising a purple faced Hunter higher off the floor. “Come to me. Save your friend’s life.”
Alexander ran over to Kaelyn. “Lass,” he said making her look at him, “he’ll use you and then kill you. ‘Tis not worth it. Let me handle this. I’ll find another way.”
Cain’s face turned a furious shade of red. The smile on his face disappeared when Kaelyn let go of the crystal, leaving it dangle over her chest. Before anyone could say another word, a thick, black smoke swirled around Hunter swallowing him until nothing remained.
“What’d you do to him!” Kaelyn screamed hysterically as Alexander held her back.
“You made the wrong choice,” Cain said casually. Kaelyn swatted Alexander’s hands away but she couldn’t free herself.
Alexander leaned down to her ear. “Let me handle this. You’re no match for him, but I am.” Kaelyn stilled, as fury coursed through her blood. She wanted revenge. She wanted Cain dead. Now. Alexander removed his grip and turned toward Cain. “Where is he, Cain? Where’d ye send him?”
Cain smirked glancing past Alexander’s shoulder toward Kaelyn. “I put your friend in another place, a different time. If ye want him back…well, ye ken what ye have to do.”
“I’ll never come to you!” Kaelyn yelled. “I have no one I care about left, so give me your best shot, you bastard!”
“If ye wish,” Cain said picking an invisible piece of lint off his cloak. Suddenly, his arm shot out and Alexander went flying back into the TV, crashing to the ground.
“No!” Kaelyn screamed, charging Cain. As soon as she got within ten feet, Cain clenched his head disappearing into the night. Kaelyn ran over to Alexander. He lay unconscious on the floor with glass shards from the TV in his chest and face. Kaelyn gently brushed the glass off his forehead. “Alexander? Alexander, please wake up!” No response. Her shoulders sagged. Could Cain kill him? How was she going to get out of this without Alexander’s help? A tear rolled down her cheek, dropping to his face. She didn’t notice his hand lightly stirring.
“Lass,” he croaked, “why are ye crying over me?”
“Alexander!” she said with a sob. “You’re alive!”
“I’m immortal. I can never die,” he said stiffly. “Dinna forget that.” He slowly pushed himself up so he sat. “P
romise me, Kaelyn, always save yourself first. I willna die. Dinna ever worry over me. Cain will use that to his advantage.”
Kaelyn slowly nodded. “Will I ever see Hunter again?”
A pained expression crossed Alexander’s face. “I’ll do everything I can to get him back. I canna make promises.”
“What do we do now?” Kaelyn asked softly, close to breaking down.
He looked up at her. “We find the Sacred Door.”
Kaelyn let out a hysterical laugh as she sunk down on the couch placing her head in her hands. She heard Alexander rise and brush the debris off of him onto the floor. She knew he watched her. She glanced up at him, pounding her fists down on her thighs. “I have no idea where the stupid door is, what it looks like, I-“ Kaelyn paused. An expression of realization crossed her features.
“What is it, lass?” Alexander asked kneeling down in front of her, placing one hand on the couch.
“I think-. I think I do know where it is. There’s a riddle that keeps playing over in my head. It only began after Cain started chasing me.
“Do ye remember it? Can ye tell me?”
Kaelyn closed her eyes and pressed her hand to her temple instantly relaying the riddle.
“On the mountains of Skye,
Where three of three of three have died,
Where the fairies play and roam,
This is where you call true home,
The Sacred Door is no more,
But lived once in 1140 plus a score.” Kaelyn glanced up at Alexander. “That’s it. I have no idea what it means, though. Does it make any sense to you?”
Alexander’s forehead creased while he repeated the riddle to himself, only to lose concentration when he glanced down, spotting the blood on Kaelyn’s arm. “Where are your bandages?” he asked suddenly. “We need to fix your arm.”
Kaelyn followed his gaze to her arm and the wound she had forgotten. “I-It’s nothing.”
“No, ‘tis something,” he said reaching out for her arm. Kaelyn jumped up and skirted around the couch, putting the piece of furniture between them. Alexander’s face reddened. His jaw ticked. Did his touch disgust her so much, then? “Let me treat it for ye,” he said tightly.
Kaelyn backed toward the bathroom. “I can take care of this myself.” She made her way to the bathroom, throwing over her shoulder, “Figure out what the riddle means.”
Why were women so difficult! Alexander seethed glaring at the bathroom door Kaelyn had shut and locked. Alexander went to turn around when a thump and a bang came from the bathroom along with a muffled curse. A slight smile curved his mouth.
More shuffling sounded from the bathroom. He was about to ask if she was alright, when the bathroom door swung open and Kaelyn walked out. Kaelyn met his satisfied expression. “Don’t you dare laugh!” she warned. He glanced down at her wounded arm and tried to hide his smile…quite unsuccessfully. Her wound had four band-aids lying horizontal over the vertical cut. Four, very bright, pink, Barbie band-aids. “My neighbor has a niece who visits. She gets hurt a lot,” she said defiantly.
Alexander put his hands up in front of him pleading his innocence.
Kaelyn paused, gazing at his smile. The tenderness transformed his face, making him appear approachable, friendly…handsome. A minute spark ignited in the pit of her stomach. Kaelyn cleared her throat when he met her gaze. “So, do you have any ideas about the riddle?”
His mouth pinched. “Ye said, ‘lived once in 1140 plus a score,’ and ‘mountains of Skye’. I think I ken where ‘tis.” Alexander stared down at the floor.
“Where is it? What’s wrong?”
He glanced up at her with a disconcerted look. “The mountains of Skye…I grew up in a village on the island.”
“That’s great!” Kaelyn said with a smile. “We’ll have no trouble finding the door then.” Alexander still looked troubled. “What?”
“We have to go back in time to the year 1160,” he said morosely.
“Okay,” she said slowly, realizing her reality would only get more bazaar. “What’s so bad about that?”
“That wasna a good time for me.”
* * * * *
CHAPTER NINE
Kaelyn stuffed three shirts and two jeans into the small backpack Alexander had found in her closet. She was only to bring what would fit in the small green pack, per his orders. They were going to leave as soon as possible…if they could actually travel back in time. Kaelyn shook her head. She wouldn’t believe in time-travel until she witnessed it.
Alexander had told her where and when he came from, but some where in the back of her mind she hadn’t really accepted the fact he’d traveled through time.
Kaelyn walked to the bathroom closet and grabbed a full box of tampons. “Not taking any chances,” she muttered. Who knew how long they’d be. If indeed it worked. And what if it did work? Was she prepared to experience danger and an entirely different world? Only if Alexander is by my side, she thought. She let out a sigh. Why was he the only one she felt safe around? She knew she could trust him.
Kaelyn groaned. That kiss. The kiss that never happened! What had she been thinking! She stuffed her toothbrush and toothpaste in a side pocket and hurried over to her dresser. Opening the top drawer, she pulled out two bras, her hand hesitating over the black lacy thong. Her “once in a blue moon” panties. That’s about how many times she wore them.
Not too many men in her life had gotten that close. Would Alexander? She laughed at the ridiculous thought. It was ridiculous, wasn’t it? He was handsome, he kept her safe, and they would be spending a lot of time together. After all, he only had the one crystal. She shook her head, bypassing the black lace and grabbing the more practical pink, blue, gray, and purple bikinis. “Comfort is the utmost importance when time-traveling,” she told herself smiling.
“Are ye ready?” Alexander called from the living room.
“Coming,” Kaelyn said turning off the light switch to her bedroom. Kaelyn walked over and dropped her stuffed backpack onto the couch. Alexander eyed her questioningly. “What? A girl needs certain things.” Alexander rolled his eyes. He strapped on his half-empty backpack that Kaelyn had lent him, and headed to the front door.
Kaelyn did one quick pass through her apartment. “Hopefully, I’ll see you again.” She followed Alexander out the front door only to pause at the threshold. “Wait! I’ll be right back. I forgot one thing.”
“I dinna think anything else will fit in your bag!” he grumbled as she ran back into her apartment. Alexander sighed. Women! Things would be so much easier without them. So much less…pain.
“Got it!” Kaelyn ran out spinning around to lock the front door, when her keys fumbled in her hands falling to the ground. She bent down to pick them up.
Alexander glanced at Kaelyn to see what took so long at the most opportune time. Her round derriere was up in the air. Alexander sucked in his breath. Perhaps, men did need women. God knew he did.
* * * * *
“Here, this looks good,” Alexander said pointing over to a pull-off on the side of the dirt road they traveled. Kaelyn steered her jeep off the road following the new path until her jeep was out of sight from passersby.
“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Kaelyn asked putting the jeep into park. “What if someone finds my jeep and thinks I’m missing…or dead?”
Alexander glared at her out of the corner of his eye. “I told ye, I’ll bring ye back at this exact time and place so no one will know any better,” he said impatiently. “Let’s walk a ways into the woods. I want to make sure no one else is around.” Kaelyn glanced about the area. No one else was around. They were in a campground complex close to Colorado Adventures, but they hadn’t opened for the season yet, so it continued to be a ghost town.
“So, are we just going to vanish in a puff of smoke, or…?”
“Nay.”
“Will it hurt?” Kaelyn asked, trailing behind Alexander into the woods.
Alexander turned around. �
��Do ye really want to ken?”
“So…it will hurt? Is that what you’re telling me?” Alexander shrugged. “If that’s supposed to be comforting, it isn’t!”
Alexander sighed. “It will hurt some, but ‘tis over fast. Just dinna let go of me! I dinna ken what would happen.”
Alexander went to turn back around when Kaelyn grabbed his arm. “What do you mean you don’t know what would happen? Haven’t you’ve done this a hundred times before?”
Alexander glanced down at her hand resting on his arm. She immediately removed it. “I have done this a hundred times before…just never with anyone.”
“Oh, great!” Kaelyn burst out. “I love being the guinea pig.”
Alexander ignored her, glancing around. “This should be good.”
Kaelyn stopped a few feet from Alexander. “You think this will really work?” she said biting her lip.
A wicked smile crossed Alexander’s mouth. “I hope so, or Cain will bother ye forever.”
A weak laugh escaped her. She’d rather risk her life with Alexander than die in Cain’s ruthless hands. “What do I need to do?”
Alexander held his hand out. “Come.” She placed her hand in his as he guided her in close to his body. “Wrap your arms around me.” Alexander noticed the blush sweep across Kaelyn’s cheeks. He swallowed focusing on what needed to be done. “Like I said, dinna let go,” he reminded her.
Kaelyn nodded against his chest without saying a word. Alexander could feel her heart thumping rapidly against him. He wanted to look her in the eyes and assure her everything would be alright, but the way he felt about her right now…. That wasn’t a good idea. He’d surely end up claiming her mouth and kissing her senseless.
He wrapped one arm around her and pulled the crystal out from under his shirt with his other hand. “Hold on,” he whispered by her ear. He squeezed the crystal in his palm and closed his eyes reciting the time and place in his head over and over.
