The Triple Goddess

by Stephanie Hudson

  The man turned around and I gasped.

  It was Draven.

  However he didn’t look at me, instead he just stood there looking numb. His face came into view and he looked like a different Draven. Handsome all the same but more lost, more...broken. He had no spark in his deep black eyes and the frown I was used to seeing was now replaced with a harsh scowl. Hard lines marred his beautiful face to the point of it being painful to look at. I wanted to run to him, to hold him and tell him I was here, everything was fine but I was frozen in a disbelieving moment that this couldn’t be real and if that were the truth, I didn’t want to move in case I ruined it or lost it.

  He had something in his hand and he walked to the door to leave. That’s when I couldn’t stand to watch him walking away from me so I got up and followed him. I lost sight of him and quietly panicked while I stumbled down the dark, narrow staircase. I checked downstairs but there was no sign of him so I headed back up to the first floor.

  I found him in the room I had been using while Hilary had been staying in my room. He was sat on the bed facing the window with his back to me, with my pillow on his lap and he bent his head down to take a long inhale of the fabric. I saw him shudder again, the material of his tight t-shirt rippled with his movements and then he let out an almighty roar at the ceiling and ripped my pillow apart causing feathers to scatter and float around the room. He then cradled his head in his hands with his elbows rested on his knees. He started to shake and I took a cautious step forward.

  “Draven?” I whispered but it was fruitless. He didn’t respond and that’s when it finally hit me and I knew that I wasn’t really here. Draven was...I wasn’t.

  I couldn’t stop the tears then and cried along with Draven. His were soundless and although I couldn’t see him, I knew he was crying, which caused a sob to get stuck in my throat.

  “Draven, please!” I pleaded but it was no use, if he couldn’t see me then he couldn’t hear me but I couldn’t help it.

  “It’s all my fault, it’s all my fault.” I repeated over and over and then stopped when he spoke,

  “It’s all my fault, Keira.” He whispered and my heart broke into too many pieces to hold.

  “No, no it isn’t!” I answered in vain. He started shaking his head like we were in sync with each other’s dream but to be honest I wasn’t quite sure what this was. Was he really here and I wasn’t or were we both dreaming? A noise answered my question. His phone started to ring and I saw him whip it out of his pocket and answer it in a blur.

  “Speak to me!” He demanded, all traces of sadness gone, only to be replaced with a burning, raw power that screamed one pissed off male!

  “THAT IS NOT GOOD ENOUGH!” He roared out and I heard the metal frame of my bed crunch under his fist. I took a step back and hit the wall with my outspread palms. Good God he was scary in rage!

  “She needs to be found and she needs to be found yesterday! This is the only thing happening in the world, do you understand me? DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR?” He screamed out again and this time the house shook! I opened my eyes to find myself crouched in a protective ball and my hands over my ears. I had never seen Draven this angry before...I mean, sure, I had seen his raging fits over Morgan, Sammael and even that guy who threw me to ground in his club but this...this was something else...this was something I had never seen before,

  This was desperation.

  “I want her found and I want all the people involved to die at my hands!” This last part was said in his demonic voice and it was unlike any other. I found myself shaking at being the cause and if only he could just turn around and see me it might help, I could give him some clue.

  “Is he awake yet?” Draven asked and I took a wild stab in the dark that he was talking about Ragnar. I worried for my giant protector and hoped he was alright.

  “Good, I will be there shortly.” He waited for a moment listening to the side of the conversation I couldn’t hear.

  “Don’t worry about that! He can destroy the whole building for all I care, I will calm his rage soon enough, but Ragnar has the answers I need so nobody speaks with him but me, understood?” He listened to one short word and then crushed the phone in his hand as a way of disconnecting. It made me wonder how many phones he had been through this way since I had been taken?

  Draven brushed the crushed phone’s dust from his hands and stood. He went over to the window and picked up something that had been leaning against the wall. He lifted it to the window and the moonlight caught the canvas I had painted when Draven and I had fallen out. I had forgotten about it until now and I watched him very gently run a fingertip along the heart that was in the middle of a forest. It had been symbolic at the time and now it seemed it was once again. He put it under his arm and turned around to face me. I scrambled to my feet quickly and watched as he picked up another canvas that he had placed on my bed. This time it was one that I had given him but he had left in my room. I think he’d used it as an excuse to come round at some point ‘cause when I mentioned it to him once, he smiled a secret smile and didn’t elaborate on the gesture.

  Well, now he added it to the other and placed them both together under his arm. I watched him walk towards me and approach the door. Once again I watched him leave and followed him back up to my room. He walked straight over to my window and I knew he was getting ready to leave this house. I couldn’t stand the idea and ran to him to grab his arm as he bent his frame through my window. But I was too late, he had jumped down to the ground and was clearly getting ready to fly off into the night.

  “Draven...Draven...DRAVEN!” I screamed this last one out and finally he looked up at me in pure shock. He stood frozen and I wasn’t sure at first if he could see me so I looked down at myself and noticed now my body had started to fade. Like some parts of me were becoming glass or more like shimmering water.

  “Keira?” He asked as though it was his turn to be in this dream. I looked up one last time to see utter joy be replaced by pure fear.

  “KEIRA!” He shouted as I held a hand up to my face to watch it fade away like the rest of me.

  “No, no, not yet! NOT YET!” I shouted back at no one, but I couldn’t stop it, not me, not Draven, not even the Gods, nothing could stop it as I faded into the night like an unheard whisper.

  The last thing I saw was the man I loved, his face crumbling into complete misery and it broke my heart for the second time that night.

  “You know he’s going to kill you, don’t you?” Said a voice I didn’t recognise at first. I heard a muffled noise that reminded me of a snort of disbelief. I felt groggy and my head hurt like a son of bitch when I moved. No scrap that, everything hurt! All one side of my body ached and when I licked my lips it stung and left a metallic taste on my tongue. It also felt like I had taken up the habit of chewing on sandpaper before swallowing the entire packet. Oh dear, this was so not good.

  “She is just some human snack to him!” A rough voice said in return but it was met with a musical laughter. I couldn’t help but shudder at the thought of Lucius feasting on me, which brought on a flood of images I didn’t want but couldn’t get rid of. His imposing height and his predatory gaze sizing me up like I was some innocent gazelle sipping water from a spring, then that dangerously handsome face with perfect shaped lips that would utter deadly words in the softest voice. If Draven was the fire then Lucius would have been the ice and both elements were more than willing to burn me when touched. I had no idea what Lucius had in store for me but considering what had happened in my last dream of him I doubt it was to have cream tea, ask if I knew the Queen and talk about the benefits of being English!

  “Seriously, did you get dropped on your head when you took your vessel or did he already have his brain dribbling out of his nose?” I recognised the voice as being the pint sized strange tattooed girl that looked like she had just been thrown out of school.

  “Keep talking, you little shit and I will show you what my brain tells my fists to do!” The voice
responded with a growl. The girl called Pip started laughing and another man’s voice spoke with frost lacing every word.

  “Disrespect my wife again...go on, I dare you!” This last threat was made in a demonic voice so deep it actually made the plane shake with a violent turbulence so powerful that I rolled off the seat I was lying on and hit the floor like a sack of spuds! I first screamed and then let out an umf sound as my bruised side hit the carpet. I looked up to see all three heads had turned to look down the aisle at me sprawled on the floor like I was there doing snow angels.

  The girl Pip came running over to me to help me to my feet.

  “Whoopsy,” she said as she hauled me up with a surprising strength. When I was stood up I was looking down at her, which hardly ever happened considering I was only five foot and three inches.

  “Thanks,” I said quietly. I mean I didn’t want to be rude as she had seemed to stick up for me and was being nice by helping me up but I did need to keep in mind she was also helping with the whole kidnapping deal, Umm...rock and...weird hard place!

  “No worries, I’m Pip,” she said offering me a hand that had a huge candy flower shaped ring on it and a tattoo of the name ADAM written across her knuckles with hearts and flowers around the swirly writing in reds and pinks. Her hands were tiny and delicate but her fingernails had been shaped into wicked points. Unless they grew that way naturally I didn’t know but I doubted the tiny painted snowman on each of them were. Everything about her screamed the word ‘crazy’ but she was so cute and adorable that you couldn’t help but instantly like her. RJ would just love this little gothic pixie!

  Now she had lost her sunglasses I could see the roundness of soft baby features, cheeks that had some curved lift and were tinted pink at the top. Soft saucer eyes that were framed with thick black lashes. Electric green eye shadow that was a perfect match to her eye colour. She had huge dimples even when she didn’t grin like a cat in an ice cream factory and a lip ring with a yellow ball in the middle with a tiny smiley face on it.

  “And you’re Keira!” She announced proudly like she would win a teddy for getting it right. I just nodded, ‘cause let’s face it, what else do you say or do when faced with that obvious statement.

  “Well, Mr Grumpy Pants over there is Klaus.” She paused and held her hand up to her mouth to whisper to me the next part,

  “But between you and me, I don’t think he’s gonna make the next squad.” She then mouthed the words “He’s gonna get cut.” And then she made a slitting throat action that I found more than a little creepy.

  “If ya know what I mean.” She whispered before carrying on with introductions like I was at some party, not a mile in the air being kidnapped by Demons.

  “Now that gorgeous, nerdy looking dude who looks to be far too good with numbers and shit, is the team captain, the only man that matters, the sex god of any state, the love of my...” He coughed out loud and shifted in his seat, looking both amused and uncomfortable.

  “Squeak honey, get on with it,” he said with a smile that transformed his face into a GQ model and made nerdy fashionable. He wore black rimmed, square glasses that sat on a straight nose which matched his angular face. With high cheek bones and a pointed chin, he looked more like a professor of astrophysics than your typical kidnapper. He even wore a grey tweed jacket over a very sophisticated navy sweater with a white and navy check shirt underneath. This was finished with a navy tie done up to the top button. The only shred of casual was the stonewashed jeans, but even these were finished with highly polished black dress shoes. This was definitely a man you would not have put with the miss-matched colour queen stood in front of me with her hands behind her back swaying like a naughty child.

  “Sorry nerdy,” she said, sticking her pierced tongue out at him. Yep, another piercing, how many did she have anyway? There was a ring in her nose, one in her lip, tongue and too many in her ears to count. At this rate I would bet big blue she had one in her belly button and I adored my truck!

  “This heated marshmallow of lovely sweet gooeyness is...” He coughed again and tried to look stern but she just spun around and continued grinning.

  “…is Adam.” I think at this point I was too shell shocked to do anymore than nod once more.

  “You look like shit. You don’t say much do you? Are you shy, ‘cause you know what they about shy people don’t you, they’re right animals in bed! Grrr, so which animal are you?” She railroaded me with a mouth that moved a mile a minute.

  “Squeak, give the poor girl a chance to speak and I’m sure she will.” Adam said with not an ounce of malice or reprimand in his smooth voice. He kind of reminded me of that actor Ed Norton. Slim built but with an air of something stronger hiding behind the cool facade. It was like a hidden warning of immense power that made you respect this man and you didn’t fully understand why.

  “Poor? Poor, you’re poor? Oh you poor thing, ha get it? We’re not poor, I would hate to be poor...” She paused and once again placed her hand in front of her mouth to whisper the next bit.

  “I have a habit of buying things I like.” Well that made sense I thought sarcastically.

  “And I like lots of things.” She giggled

  “Lucius is rich though, like a friggin’ Sultan! But seriously, you look like shit!” She said again making me wince which hurt a lot more than it should have.

  “You should go clean up in the loo, lav, toilet, privy or little Keira room, as I’m sure as shit you will feel better then. Klaus really did a number on your face. You were really pretty before he made half of it purple...He is such an asshole, did I mention he’s getting cut?” She finally took a breath and pointed to the back of the plane making a little motion with one hooked finger to indicate the door on the left. I smiled again and whispered a small “thanks” before nearly running to the bathroom just to get away. My God she was something else!

  After almost tripping up on my way there I could still hear Pip’s voice as she was saying,

  “Wasn’t she pretty, Lucius is not going to be happy you did that to her face.”

  I took the last few steps quicker and shut the door before I could hear anything else. The light flickered on and off once before finding the power to stay on. The bright light illuminated the small space enough to make my eyes squint. When I opened my eyes I really wished I hadn’t. I was more than a mess and Pip had been right, it was anything but pretty. Not that I ever relied on my looks for anything but this was something else!

  I leaned in closer to the mirror and winced as I poked at the fist sized bruise that covered my right eye and most of my cheek. It was both an angry red and purple with a lump that had formed on my cheekbone and my right eye refused to open all the way. It hurt no matter what expression was on my face which made my lips go tight with pain. Of course, the cut on my lip would just split more and blood would ooze out, dripping down my chin. I would have thought by now that it would have scabbed over but I guess I must have been biting my lip in my dream. That thought brought me back to Draven and I wondered what he would make of my face if he could see me now. Seething would be a word I would no doubt use.

  I couldn’t help but frown when I started to pick at the dried blood that had crusted over my right nostril and all the way down my face to my neck. Thankfully, I noticed that my nose hadn’t been broken and all the damage was stuff that would easily heal with time. However it didn’t stop me from shaking my head at myself. This wouldn’t have happened if I had just played it safe and done as I was told. It had turned out a painful lesson to learn and there was now only one thing to take from this. I. Had. To. Survive.

  There were no other options left. I was not getting away and there was no use getting myself killed for it. I knew Draven would come for me, there was no question in my mind that he would but the one question was time? How long would I have to be subjected to Lucius’ world before Draven pulled me back out again and more importantly...would I still be breathing when he did?

  I had to belie
ve that Lucius wanted me alive and to remain so for however long it took him to get what he wanted from Draven. It had occurred to me on the plane with Carrick. He was adamant that Lucius wanted me not only alive but unharmed. Why? What would it matter? My only answer was that I was leverage, plain and simple. Lucius wanted something and Draven wanted me.

  My hand fell forward suddenly in heart stopping fear as a new thought slammed into me with the force of a stampeding horde. What was it that Lucius wanted? And what if it was something Draven couldn’t give him. My life was hanging in a dangerous balance and I was praying it would tip in my favour, but knowing what I knew of Lucius, then the thing he would be asking for could most likely change the fate of the world!

  Would Draven be willing? But more importantly....

  Would I?

  Chapter 5

  Transfusion

  After spending far too long in the toilet trying to clean my face the best I could, all the while wincing in tender pain, I exited the tiny cubicle and was about to take a seat as far away from the rest of them as I could. There was one especially that I didn’t have any burning need to ever be near again. The biker bastard!

  He turned my way and looked almost gleeful at the sight of what he had done.

  “Come sit with us Toots, he will behave himself...I won’t let him touch you.” She said kindly. Klaus just growled low in his throat before saying,

  “Don’t count on it.” At this she turned to face him and after placing each hand between the seats she leaned down close to his ear.

  “Play nice or I will have to kick you out of the playpen and I don’t know about you, but to me, it looks a long way down.” She made a whistling sound and motioned with one of her hands a nose dive before hitting an imaginary ground, then making a booming sound before clapping her hands in front of his face making him jump. He didn’t say a word after that.

  I couldn’t help a smug little smile to show before getting a handle on it. After all there was no reason to add fuel to the fire...not when we were a mile up anyway. Nowhere to run to on a plane!