With startling strength, he bounded up the side of the cliff. She held on with all her might. She pinched her eyes closed as he leapt and quickly clutched rock after rock. Right when she felt she couldn’t hang on any more because of the jerking movements, he yanked her off his back and hurled her up over the cliff’s edge. She screamed, not expecting he’d throw her though the air hundreds of feet above the ground.
She fell onto the ledge, and clutched the dirt floor, thankful to be alive. She panted and coughed, choking on dirt. All she could think about was how thankful she was for her life. “Thank you,” she panted.
He hopped on the ledge, and then took three large steps into the cave. When she didn’t hurry to follow him, he came back, grasped her arm, and then lugged her into the cave. Again the strange urge returned, but only until he let go of her when she was apparently deep enough inside the cave. Then she heard him stack two large rocks at the front of the cave, shutting them in.
She sat, listening to him move. She was amazed how familiar sounds were, even in such a strange world. He lit a fire by striking stones together. In no time, the entire cave was warm. She could vaguely see a glow. At least she thought she saw it, but then maybe her wishing she could see made her believe dancing orange flames flickered in the cave.
Kylie could see the man more clearly. Curiously, he looked different. His hair was shorter, no longer touching his shoulders. He was young. His voice was so low she expected to see an older man, but he was only a year or two older. His well-defined muscles were tone, and bulged almost unnaturally, but she liked his strength.
She watched him move, as he did something with his hands. The sight was peculiar seeing him work with a dark unknown object. Several minutes later he threw something he made to her feet. She felt leather against her skin.
Then he took the meat, which reeked as he wafted the stench by dropping it over the fire. Instantly, the food crackled and popped. The strong sulfur smell was smothered by the sweet scent of brown sugar and bacon. Her mouth watered. She didn’t realize how hungry she was.
“Get dressed,” he said with a nod to her feet.
She didn’t see anything. She felt around, picking up the leather garments. She determined one item of clothing was a string with few dangling scale straps for a skirt, and one band for around her chest. “I can’t wear this, there’s nothing to it. I might as well be naked.”
“Fine. Go naked,” he snapped.
“Well, I don’t want to do that either. I’d rather wear what I have on, thank you very much.”
“You don’t have anything on,” he stated calmly.
“What?” Kylie squealed. She mistakenly thought her sequined dress covered her, because her skin had swirls on it. Her entire body was on display and the majority of her body had very little tattooing. Her pink skin had nothing more than few elaborate swirls that glowed crimson. She instantly curled her legs up, covering her bare breasts and her inner thighs, and shed silent tears of humiliation.
She huddled, feeling exposed and embarrassed. “I can’t see. I can’t put clothes on I can’t see.”
“Then I won’t look at you. You’ll have to trust me.” Sizzling meat hissed and spit sugary juice. He paused while checking the food. “I won’t help you. I’d rather you stay where you are, and I will stay here.”
Keeping his word, he kept his back to her letting her stand and fiddle with the clothes until she dressed. Feeling self-conscious and unwilling to deal with any more problems, she curled into a ball, rolled away from him and the fire, and silently cried herself to sleep.
CHAPTER THREE
Kylie was sore from sleeping on the unforgiving ground. She knew she was not dreaming, but was afraid to open her eyes. Not yet, she told herself. She had three pillows and her mattress was cheap but more comfortable than stone. She was still in the cave, in a strange land, and had no answers for the bizarre circumstances.
“How is your eyesight?” the man asked before she even twitched a muscle. Kylie didn’t respond, hoping if she refused to acknowledge her circumstances they’d disappear. She wanted to be in denial for as long as possible. All she wanted to think about was home. “Come on. I know you’re awake; your breathing changed.”
“Please, leave me alone. I don’t want to be here. I’m wishing this away.”
He ignored her. Then as if trying to cheer her up, he said, “You slept a long time, three days. That’s good. The longer you sleep the more time your eyes have to recover. It might mean you regain complete eyesight. If you haven’t opened your eyes, I’d try to sleep more.” He waited as if she was supposed to respond to a hidden question. When she didn’t say anything, because she wanted to avoid her new reality, he questioned her. “Have you opened you eyes?”
“No,” she sighed, and then rolled onto her aching back. She let out a pained groan.
“Good. Then try to sleep.” He moved about the cave quietly. Resting was pointless. Kylie wasn’t about to fall asleep. Every pebble and protuberance in the ground was digging into her already tender muscles. Her bones were sore and her ribs were tight. She could hardly breathe, let alone relax enough to sleep again.
Then Kylie realized he had said she might have complete eyesight. “Do you think my sight will be much better today? I mean...it’s most likely back to normal, right?” Kylie asked nervously. She didn’t dare open her eyes.
“I could put something on them that might help. It would take me some time to find a cave-cactus, but they’re not rare. If it would calm you, I could do that.” He was much closer to her now. She could tell he was nearby from his voice.
“I don’t know what would make me feel better. What I really want is all of this to go away. I want to be at home in my bed. I’d rather be back on stage while Neil yells at me. Anything but this.”
“Who is that?” he growled. His response was odd and she almost opened her eyes to gape.
“He’s the director of a play I was in. I was on stage when I fell through it and landed in water,” Kylie explained, and for some reason she felt she needed to start at the beginning as if telling him meant he could help her return home. Maybe he knew the way.
“I see,” he said when she divulged the entire tale but there was still confusion in his response. “So, tell me about your life. What do you remember?”
Kylie sat up, surprised he wanted to hear more. However, she had questions of her own. She kept her eyes closed, as she said, “I feel I have more need for explanations. You have to know what is happening. I’m blind and in a strange world. Can you take me home?”
“Suit yourself, Princess, but you’ll soon find out you’ll slowly forget everything if you don’t keep thinking about your old life. And those dreams are always helpful in this world. There are a lot of Stars who complain of forgetting.”
“Don’t call me princess,” Kylie snapped. “I find it offensive.”
“Well I’m not calling you my Lady,” he growled instantly matching her anger. “I’m a chief, Highness, or haven’t you noticed. I’m not just any chief warrior, either. I command the largest army in over six thousand years. My militia was the only surviving army after the King’s War. All other armed forces were built afterward. My army is five times larger than any other. Moreover, I’m sick of haughty Stars pretending to be above me. I answer to no one; I’m chief. You live because of my men and me. Every city exists because we keep your cities free of the evil outside these mountain walls. The peace, if you can call it that, exists because of my men. Not one city would survive on this earth if it weren’t for us.
“I was being nice to offer to get you that cave-cactus, because I understand that you’re blind. But every Star has it rough. I don’t even know why I’m being nice. If it wasn’t for you I wouldn’t be in this mess, or don’t you understand what happened? Or why you could see me but nothing else?
“If I were any other man, I would have left you to die, but I feel obligated to mankind. It’s my duty as chief to care for humanity. I’d be rid of t
his whole assorted affair if I felt otherwise. Maybe I should have left you when I saw that troll dragging you around. You have done nothing but slow me down, irritate me, and.... Forget it. The best thing for me, Princess, is to get as far from you as possible.”
Kylie heard the scraping of the large stones. He rolled them away from the entrance, and a moment later, the scraping began again. Then silence. She listened but there was no noise.
“Hello,” she called. Kylie had no idea what happened. From seemingly nowhere he flipped out, obviously having a grudge he didn’t fully explain, and then left after a tirade. She stood, and felt the boulder over the exit. He locked her inside the cave, while swearing to leave her for dead.
She cranked her neck to listen; surely he wouldn’t trap her after swearing he wanted good for all mankind.
“Are you still in here? Are you out there waiting for an apology?” she asked wryly. Certainly she would convey the deepest regret for offending the only person willing to help her, and wouldn’t push his buttons anymore.
However, she didn’t hear a sound. It took a moment to realize he left her in there alone. He trapped her, just as he threatened. “Hey!” she yelled loudly hoping he could still hear her pleas. “I’m sorry! Come back. I need your help.” She wasn’t exactly sure what she was sorry for, but it didn’t stop her from yelling it again and again as loud as she could.
She panicked as she realized he wasn’t coming back. She struggled to pry the rock from the exit. The boulder was bigger than her scrawny body, and so heavy it wouldn’t budge with her dismal attempts. “Please,” she screamed as loud as she could, and began to sob.
Keeping her eyes closed no longer seemed important considering she was abandoned to her death. She opened her eyes, seeing the hefty rock blocking her only way out, and a smaller boulder next to it. Above the rock was a gap she prayed was large enough to squeeze through.
She also noticed most of her eyesight had returned. Small relief, but it would do little good if she couldn’t get out of the cave. Her vision wasn’t perfect. Objects in her peripheral vision were hazy beyond recognizing anything but shapes. She felt confident enough to risk squeezing through the small gap and climb down the cliff. Attempting to reach the ground would be the hardest obstacle of her life, but she had to try. Even if it took hours, she had to try. Once she was down, she would be quiet while she tried to find her way out, and back home. There were a lot of things that could go wrong, but withering away in a cave wasn’t an option.
She climbed onto the top of the boulder and stuck her head out. It was a tight squeeze. Somehow, she managed to free one arm before she got stuck. Kylie tried to exhale all the air out of her lungs because her chest was stopping her from continuing. She wasn’t large breasted but seemed bigger now that she was squeezing through a narrow gap. She inched a little farther, but once again got stuck when her second hand managed freedom. Then she was thoroughly wedged into the tight space; there was no use. She wriggled back into the cave and looked around. Kylie wasn’t a stupid girl by any means. She could try to chip away at the rock to see if she could make the gap larger. Only a few inches more of space would do.
Kylie had just found a perfect rock for chiseling when she heard the rock slide away from the entrance again. She spun in her spot. The man returned for her. She smiled, in spite of her sudden boiling anger with him. She was saved. “You came back.” She sounded as thankful as she felt. A small smile from the corner of his lips was visible only for a moment. He held up a large bundle of green prickly cactus.
“I take it you no longer need cave-cactus.” He tossed it to a corner. His appearance was different. It was remarkable how he seemed altered every time she saw him. His muscles were more defined than she remembered, and somehow he looked stronger. His pecs were bigger, and the elaborate design on his chest was gone. Instead, it was on his left calf. He was lofty. He towered over her by at least a foot, and Kylie was only two inches shy of six feet.
His full head of hair was shorter; the tangles no longer touched his ears but was lengthy on the top. His bangs dangled dangerously close to his eyes. She had to admit, he had perfect hair. His blue eyes brightened to a brilliant sapphire the moment she looked into them. Dark blue surrounded his irises. They were gorgeous. She was stumbling over him, realizing exactly how attractive he was. True he had a mild temper, but in that instant, she decided she could put up with it to be around him.
“You came back for me,” she said again stupidly.
“I cooled off,” he replied. They fell quiet as they continued to gaze at each other.
She couldn’t seem to look away from him, as if everything in her body refused to turn. He had a strong jaw, and his facial hair that covered his chin disappeared when she noticed it. What was going on? He was changing before her eyes. There was no denying it.
They were quiet so long while fixed upon each other that the silence became uncomfortable. Kylie wanted to look away, but they locked eyes and she couldn’t stop gaping at the intense blue. He gazed at her in an amused expression.
“Your eyesight is better, that is good. I wanted you to see.”
“Yeah, it’s good enough,” Kylie said airily still ogling his body and stunning eyes.
He smiled, and when he did, his slightly crooked teeth moved. She definitely saw them shift. He was aware of it, too, because he stopped smiling and rolled his tongue over his teeth. “That’s enough, Ky. Let’s go. The trolls are long gone, and it’s midday. Most creatures that would make traveling for you hard are sleeping now. The city isn’t more than a few hours walk from here. I’ll get you to the council, and you’ll be safe.”
“Ky?” she asked curiously. Was he referring to her as Ky? Her name was Kylie. Maybe it was a nickname, but she never told him her name.
He lifted his hand and displayed his palm. Red swirls imprinted on his hand read, Ky. Strange she could read the unfamiliar language, but nothing of this world was normal. He reached for her hand, turned her palm up, presenting her similar mark with the word, Cobaaron; the writing was his name.
The moment he touched her hand, she felt a familiar urge to be closer to him. The powerful impulse was so strong she had to literally shake her head to expel the feeling. She focused on the name while she took a few breaths trying to calm her desire to seduce him.
“Cobaaron is my name. See? That is how I knew your name is Ky.” He let go of her in a hurry. He watched her intently as he considered her a moment. “You do know why my name is there, don’t you? You know why I’m so upset, right?”
“I don’t.” Ky shook her head for emphasis. “I don’t understand a lot of things that have happened since I fell. Like why did I land in water? Why, or more importantly, how I’m here? How is it possible that there are such things as trolls? Why I couldn’t see? Why do I have swirls all over my body? Why is my hair down to my elbows and glowing bright red? Why am I glowing? What other ghastly creatures are out there that I should expect to see on this walk to the city? Why aren’t you helping me go home instead of taking me to the city?”
“I understand you’re confused, but the council would rather explain things to you,” Cobaaron said. “But I can answer a few things. Your hair is longer than your elbows, by the way. I lengthened it past your waist.”
“What do you mean?” Ky asked, and looked down. Her mostly exposed body distracted her, remembering how little she was wearing. Sure enough her hair was long, wavy, incredibly thick, and still shimmering with a brilliant glow that was brighter than the rest of her body. Ky quickly tugged her locks over her bare skin, as her hair continued to thicken and extend to mid-thigh.
“I don’t know where you’re from,” he admitted. “Every Star is from some different place. Even if I did know where you came from, I couldn’t take you home. And as far as our names being on each other, it’s because sharing blood bonds people. That is the only thing important right now, and we need to correct it.”
“Well on my planet, sharing blood is called bloo
d brothers. I’ve heard of that.”
“Brothers…sick…no. Partners, unions, bound for life, Ky. You don’t unite with siblings where you come from, do you?” Cobaaron cringed in disgust.
“No,” she blurted in alarm. That wasn’t what she meant. Slowly, she pieced together what else he said, and the gravity of his words sank in. “Wait. You’re saying you and I are...we’re married? Husband and wife?”
“If that is what you want to call it. And that is how you’re changing me, and I’m changing you. We’re shape shifting. It’s our bodies’ way of making sure we finish the union. The longer we go without mating the more attractive and appealing we become. Usually people mate long before the lust becomes love. Right now it’s growing lust, and we are becoming more enticing. Like today you smell much stronger of honey, or maybe it’s,” he stared at her with hungry eyes with a dazed expression, and he leaned toward her smelling the air, enjoying it thoroughly, “sandraberries.” He closed his eyes, and breathed in deeply, then his eyes popped open and he gazed at her with intense desire.
He stepped backward, realizing what he was doing. “Once you go in front of the council they’ll know what to do with you. Most likely, they’ll keep you in the city.”
“I want to go home,” Ky protested.
“You go to the council,” he roared. “There is no going home! Get that out of your head or you will die. Once I take you to the city, I’ll get as far away from you as I can, as fast as I can. Distance is our only chance of breaking this union, and when it’s broken our names will completely disappear along with our desire. Most Stars bond to other Stars. I’m sure they’ll be willing to help you find a partner right away, and you’ll be happy. Stars can die from depression, so let’s focus on staying positive. No more talk of going home. It will depress you.”
“I’m eighteen; my birthday wasn’t even two months ago. The last thing I want to do is get married. I don’t want anyone to help me find a husband,” Ky argued. He looked flabbergasted that she would resist such an idea. “The very thought terrifies me. I’m too young.”
The Coming Dawn Trilogy Page 3
