by Jules River
They were headed to the office to discuss Empedocles, when they were stopped by the security men who had stayed behind to guard the castle. They were informed there had been a security breach in the office minutes before their return, and two of the guards had been rendered unconscious but were otherwise uninjured. The safe seemed to have been the thieves’ only target.
All of them hurried to the office to see what was taken. The security guards said seven men gained entrance through the pool room, then attacked the two guards. Mira looked into the safe to see what was missing. “They took the book of spells, and the talisman. The urn is still here as well as the information on Empedocles and the codex our father found. Why would they have not taken it all? It doesn’t look like they took any of our important personal papers or any of the cash or bonds.”
“Now that’s odd. They definitely knew exactly what they were looking for and where to find it,” Faye murmured, thinking about all they had learned that night.
Lyra questioned, “You don’t think Todd had anything… Never mind. Forget I said anything. He has always been so helpful and sweet. I’m awful for even thinking such a thing.” Mira and Faye exchanged guilty looks as well, but Warin, Dunstin, and Cenric shared looks that already had Todd tried and convicted.
Mira sat down on the couch, and everyone joined her. “OK, let’s go over what we know so far. Todd is missing. The book of spells and the talisman were stolen. The Sorcerer Empedocles is alive, and doing quite well, I might add. The urn contains the remains of the general,” Mira gestured to the brothers, “that you three killed in battle. And the general happens to be the father of Empedocles’ former apprentice. Empedocles thinks we are assisting, what was his name?” Lyra supplied the name, “Titus Octavius Dives Demetrias.” Mira nodded her thanks. “Yes, Titus Octavius Dives Demetrias, his former apprentice, and Empedocles wants his stuff back from, he thinks, Titus Junior, which we no longer have.”
“That about covers it,” Faye agreed.
Warin speculated, “I would bet Empedocles stole his things back from us, because if it were anyone else, they would have taken more.”
Cenric agreed, “Yes, if it had been Titus Junior, as Mira put it, he would have at least taken the urn.”
Lyra opened her laptop, “Let’s see what we can find on this Titus Junior.” She clicked away on the keyboard for a while. “There is no information on him at all. His name does not come up on any of the historical sites I use, or even the ones I hack into. Someone does not want us to find out about him. It’s funny how we were able to find out about everything but him.” Lyra kept typing away, clicking on her keyboard in a fast, almost-frantic pace. “Titus Octavius Dives Demetrias . . .” Lyra kept whispering over and over as she clicked away on her keyboard. She suddenly stopped. Everyone looked to Lyra. She had stopped speaking and typing, then she whispered, “T-O-D-D.” She looked up and said, “Todd.” Everyone looked at Lyra, confused, as she continued, “Todd is an acronym for Titus Octavius Dives Demetrias.”
After a stunned moment, Dunstin spoke in the bored tone Lyra often used. “Well that would certainly explain why Empedocles would think we were working for his former apprentice.”
Chapter 23
“Todd? Our Todd? You think our Todd is the apprentice? OK, we have to find Empedocles and get some answers. He seemed willing enough to talk earlier tonight,” Mira stated with determination.
“Now that we know more than just what he looks like, we should be able to find him,” Lyra added, already getting busy on her computer. Dunstin came and sat beside her; his thigh touched hers, and sent her senses reeling. He had been deliberately touching her all night, knowing what his touch was doing to her. Last night he had worked her up, gotten off himself, but left her hot and bothered, not letting her have release. He was making her crazy.
Lyra had to focus. She started by hacking into the museum for the guest list of the museum fundraiser, then cross-referencing it with the guest list from the private auction. She came up with five names of people they did not know, who were on both lists, but only four were men, and only one had a very obvious name. Then she pulled up all the information she could find on him and found a photo identification, making it easy to confirm it was Empedocles.
“He goes by the name, wait for it… Dr. E.M. Pedocles. I’m liking him more and more. He really has a great sense of humor,” Lyra said in her matter-of-fact tone, which caused the rest of them to shake their heads and lightly laugh.
“I’m with you Lyra, that is what you call hiding in plain sight,” Faye agreed.
Lyra pointed out in a more serious note, “We would have known who he was right after Mira and Faye saw him for the first time, but Todd was the one who looked into his identity. I wonder what else he hid from us other than his own identity. We were being manipulated.”
Warin questioned, “What does he want to happen? Surely he did not want us freed, since he was the one who did this in the first place. We need to figure out his agenda.”
“I think you’re right, he never intended for you three to be set free. But we found the weapons and the statue, and had freed you before he got here,” Mira reminded them.
Dunstin added, “Empedocles said for him to give up his unholy plan. We are running out of time to end our own curse, and now we have none of the items we might need.” Everyone felt the pressure of time running out. They were going to be forced to put more faith in Empedocles having the answers than they were comfortable with.
“I just sent an email to the good doctor asking him to contact us; hopefully he will get back with us tomorrow. I don’t know about the rest of you, but I am exhausted.” Lyra set her laptop aside to go to bed, stifling a yawn.
***
The next day they all waited anxiously to hear from Empedocles. There were so many questions they wanted to ask him, and they hoped he would be forthcoming with information. As far as they knew, there was no reason for them to be enemies.
That evening after dinner, they were still waiting. The six of them had drinks in the lounge when Dunstin decided that there was no time like the present to perform the equivalent of a wedding ceremony from his time. Who knew what the future held at this point. He wanted to live life while he had the chance.
Dunstin stood to his full bulking height, bringing Lyra up with him. He turned toward her, took her delicate hands in his large callused ones, then spoke purposefully and with a thick accent in his native Norse language, “Ek tilkall ydarr.” He picked up his glass of whiskey to offer her a drink, nearly forcing it between her lips, and after she took a sip he took a healthy gulp himself. He never broke eye contact with Lyra the entire time, until she closed her eyes as he kissed her thoroughly, before he hurriedly led her out of the lounge to the privacy of their bedroom. Warin and Cenric stood the moment Dunstin spoke the vow, and clapped him on the back as he left the room with Lyra, huge smiles on their faces.
Once they were gone, Mira asked Warin suspiciously, “Did he just say, ‘I claim you,’ in Old Norse? That looked and sounded a lot like a ceremony of some sort.” When Warin just grinned at her she demanded, “What just happened here?”
“It was how we married in our time. Lyra accepted him when she drank from his cup and accepted his kiss in front of witnesses and his leader,” Warin explained.
“Are you serious? So they just got married?” Faye exclaimed, then asked on a laugh, “When do you suppose he will tell Lyra?”
“Oh, I’m sure he will tell her immediately,” Cenric smirked.
It finally dawned on Mira, “Ohhh…she wanted to wait until she was married to…to, well, yes, I suppose he will tell her immediately.” She could not help but laugh at how clever Dunstin had been. Mira and Faye shared a giddy look, excited and happy for Lyra. They hoped she would be happy, too.
Cenric ran his palm down Faye’s back, then he cupped her ass and gave it a squeeze, while she talked to Mira. She wanted to get Cenric alone to have her way with him again, so she made their exc
uses and said goodnight to Mira and Warin.
***
Lyra did not know why Dunstin had acted in such a strange way. His actions had been almost ritualistic or ceremonial. As soon as they were in the hall she asked, “What did you say back there? I couldn’t understand you, your accent was so thick and you said it so fast. It sounded like it might have been Old Norse.”
Dunstin waited to answer her until he opened the door to their bedroom, “I said, I claim you.” He closed and locked the door behind him. “You drank from my cup, you accepted my kiss.” He started walking toward her as she retreated one step for each of his. “You accepted me as your husband. You are now my wife.”
Lyra stopped and stared at him for a long moment before she spoke, “What? What do you mean?” in shocked denial.
Dunstin reached for her slowly, pulled her close to him, and wrapped her in his arousing scent. His tough Lyra had tears in her eyes when he tilted her face up to his. Nervous, he asked, “Tears? Did I upset you? Lyra, my love, I’m sorry, I should have told you what I was doing.” He was worried, about to panic as a tears streamed down her beautiful face. He had acted with high-handedness, yes, but this was not the reaction he had expected. Anger, sure, maybe even indifference, but never had he foreseen tears from her. “Lyra, say something, I’ll make it right,” he pleaded.
Finally, Lyra spoke, “You want to marry me? I never thought you would want…”
“You never thought I would want what?”
“I’m the first woman you have touched in seventeen hundred years. Are you sure you could be content with me, with only me?” Lyra sniffled. “I never thought you would be willing or ready to settle down.” She absently rubbed small circles on his chest with her hand, not meeting his gaze.
Dunstin smiled as he wiped away her tears, “Lyra, I have never seen someone more beautiful, on the inside or out. I have been drawn to you since the moment I first saw you, and you placed your hand on my stone body. I wanted to make you mine from that moment, then every moment after that I saw more and more in you that I loved. Yes, I will be content with only you,” he vowed.
Hesitantly, he asked, “Do you think you could ever have feelings for me? Could you be content with only me?” He was terrified of her answer. He knew she had the power to destroy him with just a word.
Lyra was overwhelmed with emotion. She was used to keeping her emotions tightly under control. This was not a normal experience for her. Dunstin excited her, stimulated her mind and body in so many ways. She enjoyed talking with him, and she wanted to know everything about him. It had been a struggle for her to not give him her virginity every time he gave her one of his heated looks.
She looked up at him, “Dunstin, I have never felt like this about anyone before. I already have feelings for you. I only want you. The thought of being with anyone else actually grosses me out.” She wrinkled her nose at the thought.
Dunstin let out the breath he did not realize he was holding. Then he laughed, thinking that was completely his Lyra, and he kissed her tenderly, showing her how much she meant to him. Their kisses quickly turned from tender to passionate. Lyra realized she was married to Dunstin by his customs, but she would like to be married to him legally as well as in a church. Lyra held him at arm’s length. “Wait, I want to be married legally and in a church, too.”
Dunstin’s face fell as he asked, “Before you will sleep with me?”
Lyra let him sweat for a few seconds before her mischievous grin appeared, and she told him, “No, but sometime after.”
Dunstin growled out, “You’re killing me, you know that,” never as a question. That was all it took for him to ravish her sweet mouth, erotic kisses making her so needy and hot for him. Dunstin was going to take extra care that Lyra was well-pleased with his lovemaking, and make her first time so unbelievable she would want him all the time. His tongue emulated what he would be doing to her body once he was fully sheathed in her.
He was driving her wild. She wanted him. She started taking his shirt off, needing to touch his naked skin. He ripped the dainty straps of her dress down her arms, pushed it past her hips to puddle at her sexy high heels. She was not wearing a bra, and her panties were so tiny he tore one side of them leaving them gaping, baring her to his lust-filed gaze. She unfastened his belt and trousers, and let them fall to the plush carpet. He toed his shoes off as he ran his hand down her stomach to touch her reverently, his fingers doing wicked things to her, causing her to quiver in his grasp and come in his hand, in what he vowed would be the first of many orgasms she would experience as his wife.
Slumped against Dunstin’s chest, Lyra was trying to catch her breath and calm her hypersensitive body, when Dunstin picked her up and placed her on the bed. He finished taking off his clothes and rolled on a condom before he came to lie over her with his naked body. He held his body off of hers with shaking muscles. He restrained himself from thrusting into her hard and fast, over and over. He wanted her so badly. Dunstin bent his head, took a nipple in his mouth, suckling at her breasts until her frantic movements indicated her readiness for more, then he took her fully.
She screamed and sank her nails into his back. He held still and kissed her while he played with her sensitive nipples. He kept still deep inside her, until she started moving beneath him, then he lost all control and took them racing to a shared orgasm. Before he collapsed on her, he rolled onto his back, holding himself inside her, as they attempted to gain control of their ragged breathing. After a moment, Lyra lifted her head off of Dunstin’s chest, propped her chin on her arms as she looked down at him, and said with a straight face, “I read that most men need at least thirty minutes before they can perform again. Let’s see how long it takes you.”
It took Dunstin a moment before it sunk in what she had said, but once it did, he instantly rolled her under him, earning a squeal and giggle from Lyra, and in between kissing her, he told her, “I know I can beat that, you little minx.”
Holding his face in her hands, Lyra looked up at her husband, and said softly, “Dunstin, I claim you.” And they started all over again.
***
Faye was all over Cenric as soon as the door closed to their bedroom, so much so that he had a hard time remembering what he planned to do before he took Faye to bed. He had an important question to ask her, so he started to slow down their kissing. Before she could get him to the bed he needed to focus.
He took her face in his hands, and looked at her searchingly before he plunged right in. “Faye, marry me.” She did not say anything right away, so he thought to sweeten it, “please.” When he saw shock and something he was unsure of running across her features, he added, “I have never enjoyed the company of a woman as I have you. Even though you infuriate me at times, I love talking to you, watching you, being with you. I don’t want to be without you.” He was really starting to get nervous. “Well, what do you say, Faye?”
Faye blinked and took a deep breath, “I…yes. Yes, I would be happy to marry you.” She finished with more confidence, and Cenric was filled with relief. “You have made me a very happy man.” He kissed her thoroughly and started backing her to the bed. She pulled her lips away before they tumbled onto the bed and all thought would be lost. “But I want to keep it to ourselves for a little bit, I want Lyra to have her time.”
He thought about it for a moment, “All right, but I want you to have a traditional wedding like you have always wanted.”
Faye was ecstatic that he wanted a traditional wedding, “Even though we are keeping it to ourselves, we can still start planning the wedding together.” Cenric almost groaned, but caught himself in time, “Sure, we can get started, until your sisters can help you.” Then he pushed her back onto the bed, “But right now we have other things that need to be taken care of.”
Rubbing his hardness against her, he proceeded to do just that, drawing a passionate moan from Faye as they succumbed to their desires.
***
Mira and Warin lingered
in the lounge, neither of them ready to address their problems, but needing to do so all the same. The tension between them was stifling.
Warin needed to know why she changed her mind at the museum. “You were going to leave last night. What stopped you?”
Mira turned her back to him as she paced the floor. She avoided his question and laid into him, “You’re infuriating, you know that? You can’t seem to treat me as if I have a brain in my silly, little head.” She spoke sarcastically, making herself angrier and more upset. “You think you can tell me what to do constantly. I have made it just fine without you up until now. Do you have any feelings other than the physical ones? You seem to think I’m your possession. Well, I’m not a possession. Agh! You piss me off so much.”
She went to storm out before she started to cry out of frustration. Warin stepped in front of her, held her upper arm, and said quietly, “I don’t think of you as a possession, I know you have an intelligent mind. I realize I can be controlling. You did not answer. What stopped you, Mira?”
She would not look at him; she did not want him to see her frustrations or feelings for him. She did not mind his possessiveness so much as his lack of feelings, and his telling her what to do all the time. If she were honest, she had already fallen for him hard, and she did not think he felt the same. Mira felt she had been getting to know him until he started shutting her out. She had fallen in love with him and she was scared. She felt broken. That was it in a nutshell.
She would not beg him to love her, and made a quick decision to take the pleasure they both wanted and to hell with the consequences to her heart. She would deal with that later, after all of this was over.
