Song of Resurgence (Ballads of Mae Book 2)

by Salem Cross

  “Hmm… Guardians certainly think highly of themselves,” she muttered playfully and rolled her eyes.

  I could feel my frown deepen. From the stories I had heard, Guardians had much to atone for. This was the least that we could do for everyone in this world,

  “After the pain we put everyone through, it is only fair to try to keep everyone safe from each other and the rest of the world. We take that responsibility seriously, and our honor has allowed us to maintain a neutral position in most situations.”

  We had been used as slaves and warriors for the demi-gods who had once walked this earth. Soulless and almost unstoppable, we terrorized, destroyed, and killed those who did not worship our gods. Of course, that was when we were not fighting amongst ourselves for those same gods. We had been true monsters back then. It would take forever to make amends to everyone.

  “So, all Guardians are on the same page when it comes to being the world’s protectors? There aren’t any that think it’s too much work or it’s not in their best interests?” she asked.

  “It is a great honor to help others. No Guardian would think of it as a waste of their time.”

  Mae nodded thoughtfully and turned to sit straight ahead again. The rest of the drive was relatively quiet. Occasionally, we passed abandoned towns. Mae asked about them, curious about the old buildings.

  “This used to be a thriving coal mining area. As the world shifted to different power sources, the coal industry became almost non-existent,” I told her.

  The empty run-down shops and houses were an eerie sight. This was what the world could look like if what Autumn and Zyroe said was true and we failed to stop whoever was behind opening the gates between the realms.

  Eventually, we turned off the major highway. We bumped along some unkept roads before they turned into gravel paths, which turned into dirt roads. Just as I turned the corner and the house we were staying at came into view, Mae gasped. She was out of the SUV before I could throw the vehicle into park.

  Chapter Two

  Mae

  “No way! Are you serious? This is where we’re staying?” I couldn’t contain my excitement as I hurried towards the log mansion before us. Was this for real? The place was magnificent!

  The first floor, where the five-car garage was situated, was made up of pale tan stone. From there, the following three floors of the house were made up of thick wooden logs stacked on top of one another. Everything not made of wood was glass; massive windows adorned the structure, offering spectacular views of the area.

  I skidded to a stop halfway to the door and impatiently waited for Rylan to follow. His expression was torn between confused and amused. Could he not see how magical the log mansion was before us? I shifted my weight from one foot to another impatiently as he walked over. When he paused to stand next to me, I took his hand and attempted to drag him to the front door.

  “I did not realize how much you fancied such… rustic living quarters,” he mused, not moving despite my best efforts to tug on his arm.

  “Um, nothing about this place screams rustic. This is the most magical log cabin I have ever seen, and I never want to leave,” I said breathlessly. “I thought I had an idea of what I wanted mine to look like one day but this… This mansion is far nicer than what I had in my head!”

  I tried to tug him towards the house again. I growled with frustration when he did not move. Rylan chuckled, “Then I will buy you one once this is all over.”

  I gaped at him before beaming up at him. “Usually I’m all about being an independent woman and buying my own stuff but I’ll never be able to afford something like this on my own so I’m totally going to hold you to that.”

  Rylan laughed. I tugged on his hand and tried to pull him in the direction of the house once more. With a sigh Rylan’s amusement faded.

  “Before we head inside, come with me,” he told me.

  He tugged my hand gently in the direction of the woods that surrounded the cabin.

  “But—,” I stared at him then back at the house.

  “Do you remember the first night in Salisbury?” he reminded me gently as he pulled me towards the trees.

  Of course I remembered that night. My power had forced its way out of me in the most painful fashion yet. There had been nothing I could do to stop it once it started. That night had been a nightmare.

  “Yeah, but—,”

  “I do not want you to suffer any longer. We need to figure out how to release all that pent up power before it becomes too much.” He said as he frowned. I opened my mouth to protest but he cut me off. “I promise the house will still be standing when we return.”

  My shoulders slumped in defeat. It wasn’t like Rylan was wrong. I really did need to let this power out. The pressure building up under my skin was on the verge of unbearable. At any moment, I was sure my skin would split apart and all of this power would destroy everything around me. My skull felt like it would implode at any minute. For the entire car ride it had taken a conscious effort to take a slow steady breath in and then to let it out slowly without Rylan noticing how much I struggled. The excitement at seeing the log cabin, or mansion, had momentarily distracted me from the pain but now, forced to acknowledge and deal with it, the pain came back with a vengeance.

  I nodded to let Rylan know I would follow him. Hand in hand, we walked several hundred feet from the house into the woods. As we walked I tried to think of anything but the pain building up in me. While impossible to ignore completely, I was able to distract myself by naming the types of trees we passed. It was something I had once done to pass the time when I had walked the Appalachian Trail. Rylan stopped abruptly and turned to place his hands on my shoulders. I lifted my gaze to meet his.

  The encouragement I saw there caused my heart to swell.

  “Rylan, I don’t know how to use my power. It’s different now,” I admitted to him in a soft voice.

  “Take a moment to get reacquainted with it, Mae. Close your eyes and listen to how it moves through you. I know you will figure it out.”

  I squared my shoulders and turned away from Rylan. I looked down at my hands, staring at the violet glow rushing through my veins, before balling them into fists. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. I searched for some connection to the power I possessed.

  Before I had met Rylan, I had managed to erect a mental barrier and shove the chaos behind it. Once the barrier was up, I figured out how to let it down when I needed to let some of my power out. It wasn’t a perfect method. Shortly afterwards, I had spellbound myself. At the time, though, that mental barrier had been life altering. Somehow, I had gained a frame of reference of where my power was located inside me and how to tap into it. That had assured me that control was possible.

  Now, it was like starting all over again. I could feel the power under my skin, humming with life, but I had no way to connect with it. With a hard mental shove, I tried to force it out. Nothing happened. The ground beneath me didn’t tremble, and the trees didn’t quake. I tried again, but still, I came up empty-handed. With my third attempt I chanted softly,

  “You are the Spirit within me, you are the Wind in my hair, you are the Earth beneath my feet, you are the Water that flows through me, and you are the Fire that drives me.”

  Again there was nothing. I huffed in frustration and opened my eyes. A quick glance at the back of my hands told me that the pentagram had not appeared as it usually did when I used my power or chanted. Instead of dwelling on its absence, I focused on a tree just a few feet ahead of me. With all the mental force I could muster, I tried to push the energy in my body forwards, directly at it. The tree stayed perfectly still.

  “You are overthinking this, Mae. Steady your mind.”

  Rylan’s patience irked me. It was easy for him to say. He’d been alive for almost two thousand years. He had a fairly good hold on what he could and could not do. Me? Not so much. What little I had thought I knew about myself had been blown completely out of the water this past week
. I felt unbalanced, and I hated the lack of control I had over anything that was going on in my life.

  Channeling all the patience I could muster, I forced myself to focus on the task at hand. I started by listening to my own heartbeat. I did not let my thoughts wander as I listened to the irregular and rapid beating. As time slipped by, I began to realize the beating wasn’t erratic. There was a tempo I had not noticed. The rhythm of my heart was harmonizing with the pulsing of my power. Like a drum keeping beat while the guitar did a wild performance. The beating of my heart and the power coursing through me were creating a seamless and endless loop of energy. My heart fed the power, allowing it to gather and grow within me.

  I focused on the partnership. As I did, I began to visualize it in my mind. I could see my heart pounding, and I could see violet rushing through each vein, touching every blood cell, twisting around every organ. The moment I visualized it, I felt something click into place. The pressure in my skull eased and moved downwards, like sand from an hourglass tumbling through the small tunnel to the other side. As the pressure eased down into my shoulders, through my arms, and into my hands I opened my eyes. The pressure built in my palms, causing them to throb. But before it got too painful, I felt my power exit my body.

  It oozed from my palms and slid down my fingers where it dripped from each digit onto the ground. The ground pulsed softly once, then twice, and then a third time. Then, as if the drips of power from my fingertips had beaten a trail, the rest of my power followed suit. The eruption of chaos around me was different than before. While it seeped out of me with alarming force, the wind didn’t pick up, the ground beneath me didn’t explode, and the shrubbery stayed put.

  Instead, the ground shifted beneath my feet like water coming to a simmer. Around us, trees began to catch fire from the inside out. Violet flames burned their way through the trunks and engulfed the rest of the tree. I could hear crackling and snaps of electricity. Before I could figure out where the noise was coming from, thick bolts of violet lightning rose from the ground, arching wildly in every direction.

  A lightning bolt struck a bush and disintegrated it. Another rippled up from the root of a small sapling and the plant exploded. This was a new level of terrifying. I wanted to scream, but the power coursing through my veins, running down my arms into my hands and out of my fingertips, was so strong that it was paralyzing. My heartbeat fed into the expelling power, almost egging it on. I stood there with my arms stretched out before me, unable to stop the rising chaos. I tried to picture the power rushing through me again, but I was so afraid of getting hit by the wild electrical current erupting from the ground I couldn’t concentrate.

  I should have known better than to panic.

  Just as I thought the entire forest would go up in flames, the fire began to die down. Somewhere inside of me, I felt a familiar tugging sensation. The electrical display came to a halt and the ground stopped moving. Without the wild, deadly chaos crackling around the two of us, I was able to focus again. I concentrated on the pulsing power in my body and my heartbeat, visualizing the two of them again.

  Now that I knew what I was looking for and what to visualize, I found it was easy to turn my power off. It was as simple as a flick of a light switch. Immediately I felt the difference in my body. The pressure under my skin and in my head was almost nonexistent. While I could still feel the pulsing of my power, it was so minimal, I hardly noticed it. All my veins had stopped glowing and even my heart rate had slowed back down to a normal rhythm.

  The instant relief made me gasp and stumble forward. I caught myself before I fell and turned towards Rylan, close to tears and ready to celebrate my success. But my relief vanished as I stared at Rylan. His whole body had seized up as my power stormed inside of him. The veins in his arms and face were bulging, and his face was red. Sweat beaded his brow, and his body trembled as he stood there unmoving.

  I screamed Rylan’s name as I rushed towards him. I lunged to grab him, hoping that somehow I would be able to take it all back within me. Rylan moved then, snapping out of his paralysis to step out of the way. With what seemed like a great struggle, he turned his head to look down at me. His jaw was clenched tight, his nostrils flared wide. Then, he looked away from me, towards the charred, hollow trees I had destroyed. Suddenly, the trees went up in flames again, fast and without warning. Instantly they turned to ash, and the fire went out. Three thick bolts of violet lightning spewed out of the ground and into the air. The energy dispersed and disappeared into the sky.

  The violet glowing in Rylan’s body vanished, and his body relaxed. He fell to one knee; his breathing came in deep gasps. I quickly closed the distance between us and dropped to my knees in front of him. I took his face in my hands and forced him to look at me. His gaze was unfocused.

  “Rylan talk to me. Can I help you? Can I— can I take it back somehow?”

  Tears streamed down my face. It was just like the first time we had made love. The intensity of my power was too much for him. He was in pain because of me. I sobbed as I held his face and whispered his name repeatedly. Finally, Rylan blinked several times before his handsome teal eyes finally came back into focus. He took a deep breath as he reached up and grabbed my hands clasping the sides of his face. He brought them down and held them as he glared at me.

  “What was that, Mae?” he snapped.

  I bowed my head in shame. I didn’t blame him for being mad. Rylan had just taken everything that I had expelled within himself in an attempt to minimize the damage around us. In doing so, he had to endure what I had been experiencing the last few days and I knew how agonizing it must have felt.

  “I’m sorry, Rylan. I really am.” Guilt sat like a heavy stone in my gut.

  “I am not mad at you Mae,” Rylan said with exasperation. His expression twisted with worry. He took my hand and rose to his feet, pulling me with him. “I am upset with myself. All that power was eating you alive. I wish you would have told me so we could have dealt with this sooner. You need to let me help you. You are no longer alone when it comes with dealing with your power.”

  I shook my head before he stopped talking.

  “You’re right. I probably should have said something. I just didn’t want you to worry anymore about me than you already do. Next time, I’ll let you know when I need to blow off some steam.” I wiped a tear that had slid down my cheek and was trickling down my neck. “How are you feeling?”

  “How am I feeling?” Rylan repeated incredulously. He took my chin in his hand while his brows furrowed together in concern, “Mae, how are you feeling?”

  “Better. Just a little tired,” I assured him.

  Rylan sighed. Slowly, he leaned down and kissed me softly. I wrapped my arms around his neck and deepened the kiss, relieved that he was okay.

  As if he understood the desperation behind the kiss, Rylan pulled away and said with a sigh, “Mae, I am alright. You have nothing to worry about.”

  “You’re fine now. What about next time? Trying to absorb my power could kill you. What if it’s too much for your heart? What if it gave you an aneurysm? Apparently now I can burn shit up; what if I accidently burned you from the inside out like the trees around us? This isn’t safe for you,” I told him bitterly.

  I stepped away from him and looked around at the destruction.

  “That will not happen,” Rylan said dismissively.

  “You don’t know that,” I told him. With a sigh, I let it go for now. “It was different this time. Calling for it, the destruction it caused… My power is different now. How is that possible? I’ve never started a fire before and the lightning… What was that about?”

  Now that the pressure under my skin was gone and my heart rate had calmed down, my body felt deflated. My limbs felt heavy. After watching Rylan suffer, I felt emotionally drained. Rylan’s arm wrapped around my waist, and his lips brushed against the top of my head.

  “We will figure this out,” Rylan assured me softly. “Come, we will meet with the others,
and you can explore the house you were so excited to see.”

  I knew Rylan was trying to distract me, and while the idea of running through the log mansion had seemed like fun, now I was afraid that I would destroy it. I clenched my teeth together and squeezed my eyes shut as I fought down the panic that wanted to bubble up. I didn’t deserve to be around anything nice, and I shouldn’t be around the others. What if I did something horrible to them? I followed Rylan back to the mansion silently.

  Chapter Three

  Rylan

  I stood in the grand family room with Arthur, with only half my attention on the Guardian in front of me. I knew it was important to stay informed in all matters. The reason we were here was to assess a threat to the world. However, it was hard to focus when my mate was running around gasping in delight as she explored the house. Each sharp intake of air caused my lips to twitch upwards. Her mood had been solemn on the walk back to the house. I could see the self-disgust on her face, but nothing I could say could ease her guilt.

  “—and this morning we picked up enough blood from the blood bank to keep the refrigerator stocked while we are here,” Arthur said. “Last night we did not sense anything unusual in the area. When we alerted the pack that we had arrived, the Alpha, Patricia Night, asked if she could have a private meeting with us tomorrow morning.”

  A squeal of pleasure from somewhere in the house caused him to look in that direction. The smile that played around Arthur’s lips pleased me. My mate’s ability to bring emotions to the Guardians near her gave my long-time acquaintance, and now friend, the ability to enjoy life. While I was happy for him, I felt a stab of possessiveness. Mae was mine. I took a deep breath. Soon, this irrationality would pass. I just needed to finish the Joining, and Mae would be completely mine.

  “Did she say what she wanted to discuss?” I asked.

  Arthur dragged his gaze away from the open balcony on the second floor. “Patricia brought up concerns about a few disappearances from her pack and some missing hikers. She also mentioned several sightings of werewolves a few miles south of here. Jasmine left about three hours ago to talk to some park rangers. Hopefully, she was able to compel information from them.”