Kayla nodded and willingly began to tell him of the events that had brought her there and, with only gentle prompting, much about her life and family. To her surprise, Kayla found herself telling him things that she hadn’t told anyone else for fear of their reaction or the fear of the rejection if they knew just how unlike them she really was. And as she talked, she kept glancing up into Garth’s face, carefully watching for any reaction. She was relieved to see only interest and even anger but never doubt or disbelieve.
When she’d finally finished, Kayla looked into the dark eyes of this man that had so suddenly come into her life and yet was already so vitally important to her. “You do know the reason why I’m like this, don’t you? Please, I really need some kind of answer. I truly cannot go on like this anymore.” She reached out and took his arm, letting the blanket fall back to expose one shoulder and part of her breast. Tears glinted in the firelight as they trickled down her cheeks.
Gently, Garth tugged the blanket back up to cover her shoulder and asked, “Are you familiar with witches and witch-kind?”
“Well, yes, some. Like I told you, I’ve been doing a lot of reading about psychic phenomena, ESP, telepathy and, of course, witches,” she answered uncertainly.
“Then you know that there are different kinds of witches and many different types of and quantities of power that the witch-kind are endowed with.”
“Wait a minute, are you saying that what I’ve been reading is not just a bunch of old wives’ stories or faerie tales, that these things are true?” she asked incredulously.
Garth nodded solemnly. “I think you’ll find that even the scholars of your own world will admit that, if they were able to trace most legends and myths back to their origins that, at the very least, they will find a grain of truth. The witch-kind have been persecuted from the very beginning of time because people fear what they don’t understand, and what people fear, they destroy and so it has always been. There are many who believe that the witches themselves are responsible for convincing the masses that stories about them and their abilities are fiction meant for the scaring of children in an effort to cloak themselves in the shrouds of myth and in essence, become invisible.”
Shaking his head with sad disbelief, he told her, “The truth is that witchling children are frequently born to those who thought of themselves as normal and ungifted people, though many of them actually possess powers which they’ve unconsciously, or even consciously, suppressed in fear. Many people experience telepathic or precognitive episodes yet refuse to admit it. There are many who are actually aware of events before they happen or have received messages that weren’t sent through ‘normal’ channels. They insist on referring to these feelings as premonitions or hunches or just plain luck.
“There are also many different types of powers among the witch-kind. You’ll find some with gifts of healing or prophesy‑they’re called sibyls, seers, and sages as well as the generic ‘witch’ and are mostly beneficial. Unlike the fanatical, insane cults that have formed in different regions across the worlds. Cults like these often claim allegiance to one religion or another, but their only real purpose is to create havoc and bring darkness and repression to the multitudes. These fanatics believe that in the doing, they will be given some kind of ‘divine blessing’ for their deeds. They are the truly evil ones and are responsible for most of the hatred and fear that is directed at all of witch-kind.”
Garth got up and added more wood to their fire before continuing. “The powerfulness of individual witches varies greatly. Some may have only vestiges of it. For instance, they may be able to make plants grow faster and better, or have the healing touch. Others can communicate with the souls of the dead or are able to communicate telepathically. But then there are a few who may have all of these abilities but in varying degrees. Only rarely is there born one that can be called a sorcerer or sorceress. Unfortunately, there is usually a curse to accompany the gift of so much power.”
“A curse?” Kayla queried. “What do you mean?”
Garth hesitated, staring into the fire awhile before answering her. “Yes, for you see, great power has a tendency to possess a hunger of its own that must be fed and controlled. A witch or warlock possessing this magnitude of power may find it within their power to either destroy or take control of whole worlds if he so chooses and such absolute power can corrupt their very souls. This corruption is said to be of the Dark.”
“But…” Kayla tried to interrupt but he waved her to silence.
“The most powerful and feared of the witch-kind is one sometimes referred to in ancient writings as a succubus. This witch is able to, no, not only able, but must draw the life force from others to survive and the more powerful he or she is, the more energy they must have. If they are wise and very careful, they learn to take only a little from the many and can exist for many years without drawing attention to themselves, but if angered or a renegade, the witch can drain a man of his life force, a community, or even, if he is powerful enough, a whole world of its humanity.” His eyes were dark with foreboding and the tense look gripping his features told Kayla how very serious he was. “Witches of this kind are those most feared, even by other witch-kind, because they can be very hard and sometimes, even impossible to stop or control.”
“But, why would anyone want to do this? With so much power at their disposal, what more can they possibly wish to gain?” Kayla asked him as she tried to understand everything he was telling her.
“Ah, you are so young and uncorrupted by the need for power or success, as the people of your world might call it, but believe me, once tasted, it can be very hard to give up the high of knowing what it feels like to have so much power at your beck and call. Just think of it, a whole world under your control. For those who’ve experienced this kind of power, it becomes a drug so terribly addictive that having more is all that matters.”
“But, I still don’t understand. This is all very interesting, but what does all this have to do with me and why I am here?”
Looking into her confused, innocent face, Garth told her softly, “Because, my little one, you are one of the most powerful young witches I’ve ever encountered. The power radiating from you is so intense that I wonder how your grandmother dared risk you being found by the Others. Surely, Lillian’s mind must be losing its edge if she has so foolishly left you in Julia’s inept hands for this long! It was just a matter of time before someone found a way to draw you through the Chain to a place where you were more accessible.” He shook his head in disbelief. “Why, a witchling with only a fraction of your power would normally have been taken off to Council headquarters for testing and training long before they began manifesting such talent as yours for any to see for fear of some druid or cult gaining control of your education.”
Alarms instantly began going off in Kayla’s head. She knew that at no time during her narrative had she mentioned her grandmother or mother by name. Pushing herself out of his arms, she turned to this stranger who so suddenly seemed to know so much about her and her family…too much.
“How do you know my mother and grandmother? Just who are you, and what’s going on here?”
Garth stared steadily into the angry young woman’s burning eyes for long moments before telling her, “I knew your father and through him, his family and wife. Once, he and I were as close as brothers are. Perhaps that tie is what drew you to the one world where you would come into contact with me. Perhaps it was fated for us to meet.”
Seeing the look of doubt clouding her face, he explained, “Kyle and I were the same age. We grew up together as brothers under the watchful eye of the Council. We were found on different worlds and brought there to be raised and trained as warlocks when we were not much more than babies. Your father was one of the most powerful warlocks to be born in many centuries,” he added thoughtfully.
“Your grandmother, Lillian Collins, as a prominent member of the Witches’ Council, aided in both Kyle’s and my education. I find it very surp
rising that she has allowed your mother and stepfather to keep you from them for so long. She must feel a great burden of guilt and responsibility for your father’s death.”
Unable to contain herself any longer, Kayla interrupted, “But why…how was my father killed? No one has ever discussed it with me before now. Were you with him when he died?”
“I’m coming to that,” he assured her. “You see, one of the duties of the Witches’ Council is to control access to the Gateways between the dimensions or worlds. They employ a legion of specially trained witches and warlocks known as the Enforcers for the purpose of regulating access to the rifts. Only certain privileged beings are permitted entry or exit, as the case may be.
“The nature of the rifts prevents the transition of weapons of unnatural materials between dimensions. With the combined power of the Council members to back them up, the Enforcers are usually able to prevent one who has been corrupted by the Dark, perhaps even one of those who feed on the energy created by chaos and emitted by the resulting corruption of the souls of a land’s people, from running rampant though the Chain.
“In the past there have been occasions when a succubus or wizard of this caliber has arisen. Able to absorb huge amounts of energy, he’ll use it to force the fabric of the dimensions and thereby open a new Gateway that allows access for him and sometimes even, his minions, into the Chain and its numerous worlds. With this kind of access, he is able to exploit and destroy these worlds one at a time, gaining more power with each.
“It is this power that the Council and its Enforcers try to prevent. When a renegade such as this is detected, a team of Enforcers is sent to stop him in any way they must.” Garth paused and a look of great sadness covered his face.
“It was thus that your father was sent to stop one who’d lost his way and became corrupt. This renegade was one who had been born with the same rare ability to open Gateways as Kyle had. It was a terrible battle, but in the end, Kyle prevailed, taking from the renegade his power to move freely between the worlds and left him imprisoned on one primitive world. Tragically, he lost his own life in the doing.
“You must have been born shortly after he died. Your mother is one of the few witch-born able to exist for long periods in close proximity of a succubus without slowly being drained of every ounce of strength they possess. She’s one of those known among the witch-kind as a null. Your father’s power would have no ill effect on her unless he was to choose to directly attack her.”
“A null?” Kayla said curiously.
“Yes, nulls are often the result of a mating between a strong witch and a norm. I understand that Lillian loved your grandfather very much, but I can only remember him as a rather frail, prematurely old man. Unfortunately, your mother’s only claim to witch-kind is this immunity to the power drain, and her beauty of course,” he smiled as if with fond memories.
“Your stepfather must be of the same type and was probably chosen because of it, for no other could’ve survived raising a child such as you. Both Kyle’s and my own parents died before we reached the age of two because they knew not what they had born or how to protect themselves,” he told her with a sad sigh.
“Are you saying that, that I’m a, well, that I’m a succubus like my father was?” Kayla’s eyes had grown wide and her voice quavered in shock and excitement.
“You, my love, are one of potentially the most powerful young witches born in many ages, for you have the power, as you have already demonstrated, to open Gateways at will, just as you did when you were only a small child and became frightened. At that time, your instinct for survival was triggered allowing you to open a Gateway into that strange garden, and it was that same instinct that brought you here to escape the threat those bikers posed to your life.”
“Yes, I think I understand that now, but just where is here? What is this place or world called?” Kayla demanded. Before Garth could answer her, she added suspiciously, “And why did I come here instead of that garden, or well, anywhere else? Why did I come to a world where I would meet someone who knew my father, and how is it that you just happened to be there, in the right place at the right time?”
Laughing softly at her near accusation, he said, “You have every right to be suspicious, but I promise you, that even if I’d known of your existence or whereabouts, there is no way that I could possibly have compelled you to come here. Perhaps there is some psychic bond between us because of the relationship between your father and me.” He smiled and tilted his head at her charmingly.
“Now, let me tell you something of this world you have entered,” he began before she could question him again.
“It’s called Docrain and it consists of many clusters of islands scattered across a surface that is ninety percent ocean. We are on the largest in a cluster called Sealandia. About fifteen years ago, Caleis, a very great and powerful wizard, seized power and declared himself Emperor. His power allows, and compels, him to draw his strength from the emotions of all those within his range.” Seeing Kayla’s look of horror, he quickly added, “Now this is not as bad as it sounds for in return, Caleis releases much of this energy in a form which encourages the vegetation to grow and flourish in these islands of stone. Without him and his energy, the people would soon be starving as they were before he came to them,” he assured her.
“In this land I am called the Lord High Warlock, and I am Caleis’ right-hand man so to speak. It is my power which enables him to direct the energy he releases where it will do the most good.”
“I see,” Kayla said. She felt slightly awed by the importance of the man who’s arms she rested in. “But, I still don’t understand how it was that you knew when I would be arriving at the lake,” she persisted.
Garth looked away for a moment, as if trying to decide how much to tell her before returning his gaze to her questioning eyes. “I was informed by the palace seer that ‘one possessing the power to conquer the Worlds’ would be arriving from a distant place and that I would find you at the Lake of the Water Dragons. Seeing as I already had other business to see to in this part of the island, I decided to investigate,” he grinned down at her, “and besides, who could pass up the chance to meet someone with such interesting possibilities.”
Kayla huddled silently in Garth’s arms, trying to absorb the implications of everything he’d told her. To have an explanation finally for the strangeness of her life and for her own differences was a relief, but it also left her feeling lost and confused as if she were nothing more than a small cork set adrift in a roiling sea of emotions. She watched the firelight flickering in the depths of Garth’s eyes, and she sensed the darkness of the secrets he still harbored. That inner feeling that she’d always trusted now told her that what he’d been telling her was the truth, or part of it. It also told her that there was much more that he was keeping from her.
“Thank you for telling me all this,” looking away, she added softly, “but I think it’s going to take a while for everything to sink in. There’s so much more that I want to know about my father and this Witches’ Council, about this world.” Her bright eyes softened as she lifted them to his, “And especially about you. I need to learn to control and use these powers you say I have, and, and I’m really scared right now,” she finished in a rush of words. Trembling, she turned into his strong embrace, seeking comfort, and maybe even protection, from the overwhelming potential of all the things he’d told her.
“We’ll talk more when we resume our journey on the morrow, and perhaps, we’ll begin by giving you a few lessons in using all that energy you’ve been draining from me,” he grinned down at her seeing her blush even in the dim light.
In alarm, Kayla drew back and tried to rise. “Did I hurt you? Are you all right? Umm,” she paused and looked at him through the lashes of her lowered lids, “just how am I, well, you know, hurting you?” Puzzled, she let him snuggle her back against his chest, where she could feel the suppressed laughter bubbling.
“You could never hurt me,
my love. You may take all you wish from me, but I will teach you how to control the amounts of power you draw from others before you do some unsuspecting bystander serious harm.”
“Now, let’s get some sleep,” he kissed the tip of her nose, “so that we can get an early start in the morning.” He lay back on the sleeping pallet with her nestled securely in his arms and drew the blankets over them.
“Where are we going?” she managed to mumble into the warmth of his hairy chest before her eyes closed in exhaustion.
Watching her drift softly into sleep, Garth whispered into her ear, “I’m taking you home, my love, for you belong to me now.”
MySoultoKeep
Chapter Four
Kayla opened her eyes to the pale, misty light of morning and lay quietly listening to the cheerful singing of the birds and the faint whispering of the trees as their graceful branches swayed in the light breeze.
Stretching sensuously, she ran her hands down the length of her body, shivering delightedly at the memories of Garth’s lovemaking. She could hardly believe that she had been the girl, no woman, who had responded to him with such wanton abandon. Even now just thinking about his beautiful body and the feel of his hard muscles under the firmness of his skin sent a surge of warmth spreading through her body and a hunger growing in her.
“Hey, sleepy head, let’s get moving. We have a long way to ride today,” Garth said. Tossing a pile of clothes into her lap, he added, “I took the liberty of retrieving your clothes from the rocks last night and hung them to dry.”
“Thanks.” Naked and feeling a little self-conscious, she was pulling on her battered shirt when she noticed that the sleeves had been cut from it.
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