Island Guardians 05 - Mystic's Call

by Lacey Thorn

  * * * * *

  They slept in until the sun was at its highest point. They had needed the rest after the past night’s battle, to prepare for the battle that would come this eve. Tonight the moon was at its fullest point, the night when the ceremony was destined to take place. Her mates were up and dressed before her which didn’t surprise her. They would be late if they had all lingered together. But the thought of that made her smile. She prayed they would have many moments to linger in their future. First they had to ensure that there was a future.

  She took a few moments to wash up before dressing and heading down. Everyone was already gathered there. All the Guardians were present with their mates and her mates were all there as well. Food and wine sat on the low table before them but she could tell that none had sampled what her mother had prepared yet. It seemed that they had all been waiting for her.

  She stepped forward and began pouring drinks and passing them to everyone. By the time she was finished all the Guardians were helping and the men were making plates of the breads, cheeses and fruits. It was almost like a party only there was no laughter involved. All faces were serious and set with the only smiles passed those between mates. It made Reanna sad, and yet filled her with purpose as well. Once this was past she vowed that they would meet like this again. And the next time there would be joy and laughter.

  “I wish to thank you all for coming to our aid last eve.” Alea broke the silence.

  Reanna smiled at her and reached forward to squeeze her hand. “It is what we do,” she answered.

  “We should discuss just what happened last night before we begin to plan for this eve,” Erika stated and all agreed.

  “We worked well together,” Farrah said and none could deny it.

  “Yes, it was truly amazing to see the Guardians in action,” Reanna agreed. “You seemed as if you had worked together for years.”

  “Yes, we did,” Willow agreed. “I think our powers complement one another just as they were planned to.” She turned to Reanna. “But your powers are like none I have ever seen before.”

  Reanna had known this was coming, had wondered what they would ask and just how she would explain. She still wasn’t sure.

  “The way you controlled the elements,” Alea breathed in awe. “The lightning and the thunder. It was amazing. But what stands out most for me is the way you saved your mate and then healed mine. I can never repay the debt that is owed for that.”

  Reanna shook her head. “There is no debt. What is mine is yours.” She closed her eyes and shook her head back and forth. “It was as if the words were whispered to me in my head just as I needed them. I knew what to say, knew what to do without thought.”

  “And the others? The enemy that still fought with us,” Willow asked. “What happened to them? Where did you send them?”

  “And how?” Erika asked.

  “I was angry,” Reanna admitted. “It consumed me and for that I am sorry. I might have endangered any of you.”

  “But you didn’t,” Erika said. “And I find it hard to believe that you ever could.”

  “None of us can hurt one another,” Willow added.

  “But you are Guardians,” Reanna whispered. “And I am not.”

  “No you are the Mystic with powers even greater than our own,” Farrah added. “If we are unable to hurt each other, than with your powers how could the goddess do any less?”

  “I pray you are right,” Reanna stated. “For I would not want to live if I hurt any of you in this room.”

  “You could never hurt us.” It was Bram who spoke this time. And he spoke with such authority that she wanted to believe him.

  “So what did happen?” Alea asked Willow’s earlier question again.

  “Once again the words just came to me and I said them without hesitation even though I knew what they would do.” She took a moment to look each guardian in the eye before continuing. “I killed them. Every single one that was left. With the words that came to me I sent them to hell so that it was as if they never existed on this earth. And try as I may, I feel no sorrow for what I have done.”

  “And you shouldn’t,” Erika stated emphatically. “For all they have taken from us, for all they have stolen and killed, they deserve no mercy.” Her mates reached for her and held her close. They all knew she thought of her former sister-in-law who had been kidnapped by the enemy and had died in their captivity during an attempt to rescue her.

  Reanna nodded. “All I know for sure is that I will do all within my power to ensure the safety of us all.”

  “As we all will,” Farrah said.

  A moment of silence followed. Reanna could only imagine that everyone was thinking of what had occurred on their island home. What their people had endured and how they held the key to salvation in their hands. At least it was all that she could concentrate on at the moment.

  “So now we plan,” she said and they all nodded in agreement. The sun was already lowering in the sky. There wasn’t much time before the final stand was upon them. And still the final blood sacrifice was unmet. It sent chills of fear up her spine. Only one thing was she sure of. Not one of her own. Not while she lived and breathed.

  Chapter Eight

  Althea stood back and watched as the women took their places around the water, each with their mates close beside them. The time was upon them. And she had one final task to see to. One last sacrifice before all was said, before they invoked the goddess, before they cast the circle.

  She closed her eyes and let the image of her daughter fill her mind. Asme. She had not been able to protect her as a mother should. Instead she had been forced to stand back and watch as her daughter fought her own battles, watch as her daughter endured the worst kind of pain and betrayal. And she had died a little more inside as she watched, and did nothing.

  So it was with calm resolve that she stood here now and held the knife high in the air. She knew exactly who should fulfill the last blood sacrifice required by the goddess, knew exactly whose blood would suffice. With the knife held high, she whispered a final prayer and let the knife plunge deep into flesh. This was her final bow, her final deed in the name of the goddess she was descended from. Her final sacrifice.

  * * * * *

  A shimmer of light filled the area around the water, sparkles falling from the sky and Reanna caught her breath reaching out and bracing her hand against one of her mates. It was Bram.

  “What is it?” Tanner asked before the others as both he and Finn moved to her.

  “The final sacrifice is met,” she breathed out, and it was as if she could feel the blood flowing from the person as if it were her.

  “Who?” Bram demanded and she knew that he feared it was his mother.

  “I don’t know,” Reanna said. “I only know that it has been met.”

  He nodded but she could still feel their fear that it was their mother. She wished that she could assure them otherwise. But she couldn’t and she didn’t have time to strive to find the answer they wanted. They had planned this down to the wire, each having a certain amount of time to get in place and say their part before the next started. It had to go like clockwork. No exceptions.

  She moved to the water’s edge taking her place. She stopped as she glanced around to see the others all in their spots disrobing. The ceremony would be performed with no barrier between them and the Goddess of Altair, not even clothing. Her clothes quickly fell to the ground before her so that she was unfettered by this realm.

  “I ask the blessing of the goddess on this circle we now cast, creating a boundary between the world of Altair and the realm of the divine goddess.” She stepped forward into the water knowing that she must be in place before Erika spoke.

  Alea stepped to the edge of the water from where she stood to the east.

  “I call upon the goddess here in this hour. Hear my call and grant my power. The rush of air, a call of wind. Divine guidance from deep within. Guardian of Air, power of the East. I praise your gif
t and unleash my beast.”

  With that her head was thrown back and Vulcan entered the tornado of air that seemed to surround them all blocking off their ability to hear one another. He disappeared into the center of the stormy air and was lost to sight. And though it hurt not to know the fate of her best friend, Alea stood tall and proud holding her part of the circle.

  Farrah waited the allocated amount of time before stepping to the edge of the water.

  “I call upon the Goddess of Altair. I claim the very fire of the air. In my hands a gentle flame becomes the torch by your name. Guardian of Fire standing to the South, I praise your gift by word of mouth.”

  And the flames caught in the wind becoming part of the tornado that seemed to flow around them, though it touched none.

  Next was Willow who took her stand as her sisters before her. She checked the middle of the pond to make sure that Reanna floated in the water and would not be hurt when she called to it, invoking her gift.

  “I call to the goddess, hear my plea. Let the waters flow through me. Fill me with thy icy cold, embrace me with the warmth untold. Guardian of Water here in the West. I praise your gift, I fulfill your quest.”

  And with her words the waters rose and parted so that there were huge walls of water around the pond and the middle lay empty allowing Reanna to walk quickly to the stone that was her post for this ceremony. Now they could neither hear nor see one another. She could only pray that all went as planned.

  Erika took her place before the bank of water that seemed ready to wash over her at any moment. But she had faith in her sisters and knew that what they controlled could not hurt her. So it was with unfaltering faith that she took her place and completed the casting of the circle.

  “I call upon the Goddess of Altair, the power of Earth I wish to share. No rock untouched, no tree unbent. I thank you for the gift you sent. Guardian of Earth, power of the North. I call to the goddess, may your blessing come forth.”

  Reanna stood upon the stone, her mates in a circle around the edge of the stone. Her circle within the circle. She could tell when Erika’s words were said. Her stone began to rise in the air with her atop it. Higher and higher she went until she was in the center of the storm they had called forth. And now was her part.

  “I call upon the goddess, here at this hour. I ask your blessing, grant us your power. I cast this circle, your protection I request, standing tall beside us on this final test.”

  She could see the glow, feel the change in the air and thought herself prepared for what was next. But nothing could have prepared her for the way it felt as if she were ripped out of her own body and flung into the heart of the storm. When she could open her eyes and gain her feet she saw that all the Guardians were there as well.

  “You have done well, my daughters,” the voice spoke and they were all awed by the presence of the Goddess of Altair.

  Each knelt. None had seen her before except Reanna and she had been too shocked to pay proper tribute that time.

  “Rise,” the goddess commanded and she smiled at them. “All of this because of ignorance and arrogance.” And she repeated the words that had started it all so many years ago.

  “Because you take instead of seek

  “Because you cause the goddess to weep.

  “In this take heed my words to hear,

  “For a time of reckoning soon will near.

  “In five times five the Guardians will arise

  “Five women marked by the goddess’s eyes.

  “Of fire, earth, water and air

  “Four will become the Guardians of Altair.

  “The fifth shall ply the mystic realms

  “And draw them together in the Valley of Elms.

  “When the five are united in this mystic place

  “Only then will the curse be lifted I place.

  “Cursed to battle to hold what you take

  “This is the hand dealt you by fate.

  “Warriors, fierce with muscles and brawn

  “Shall pray for the day of the Guardians to dawn.

  “For only through them will peace come at last

  “The Guardians united shall atone for your past.

  “So protect and serve when once they appear,

  “Or be cursed to live forever in fear.”

  The goddess’s eyes touched each of them in turn before adding the last line.

  “For if one shall die, all will be lost.”

  “I suffered beside you. I felt every death as if it were my own. I cried a thousand tears as I watched and waited. And I chose well. I watched you grow, watched you gain your powers, watched you slowly find each other. I watched you find love. And my pride in you grew more each day. You have fulfilled the task set to you before you were even born. Arise my daughters.”

  Slowly they all came to their feet and one by one she walked to them and embraced them placing a motherly kiss upon each brow.

  “But your journey has only begun. Your powers are yours, my gift to you and to your children. Together with your mates you will form a new Altair, one of equality and peace. One by one your children shall come into powers greater than even you know. And one by one you will watch them leave to conquer new worlds in my name. Know that I go before them, that I travel with them and that I will protect them. They are my children as well.”

  She turned and took a few steps away before facing them once more. Her smile was radiant and they could each feel the warmth of it on their skin.

  “Use your gifts wisely. Do not abuse or take them for granted. Remember this moment and heed my words.” She nodded at them probably reading what she needed from each in turn. They would not waste their gifts or forget where they came from. “It is not the same world that you return to. Much has changed in but a moment. You have my blessing, as does all of Altair. Go in peace daughters.”

  And with those words Reanna was jerked back into her body, back onto the rock only now it was beneath the water. She was already pushing her legs against the rock to gain the surface when hands grabbed her and someone was helping her. Only when their heads broke the surface did she see that it was Tanner.

  “You saved me once again,” she murmured and cuddled against his frame.

  “As you saved me, my love,” he answered and took her lips in a gentle kiss before propelling them toward shore.

  Bram and Finn stood with the other warriors speaking with someone she didn’t know, a man who was not of their people.

  “Who is that?” she asked.

  “He is the son of the man killed in the fight last eve,” Tanner said and she nodded. The man she had killed.

  “Why is he here?” she asked as they reached shore and Tanner kept her secure behind his large frame while he found her clothes and handed them to her so that she might dress.

  “He seeks peace and an end to the war that rages on our shores,” Tanner said.

  Reanna smiled. The goddess’s blessing was once more upon them.

  “And?” She smiled and Tanner’s lips pulled into a grin.

  “Bram has agreed and offered aid in helping them to find a home of their own. The Xandova have only just returned from exploring and have information they could use.”

  “And our home is once more ours and filled with peace,” Reanna breathed and closed her eyes leaning into Tanner’s chest. He wrapped his arms around her and it felt so good, so natural.

  “And though few will truly know just how that occurred none here will forget what you and the Guardians have done for us, for all of Altair.”

  Reanna knew he was right. The warriors who had never truly believed in the curse, in the Guardians would see Bram and his brothers as the heroes who had saved the island. And that was okay with her. The important thing was that the island was safe once more under the protection of the goddess.

  Althea stood in the veil watching as one by one the Guardians and their mates all joined Reanna and her mates as peace was made with the enemy. She rejoiced when she saw Alea’s
bird of prey on the girl’s arm. It was finally over. Her people were saved and her daughter would know no more pain. Soon the herb she had given to Asme would wear off and her daughter would awaken.

  “You disappoint me daughter.” The words came from behind her and Althea took a breath before turning to face her mother, the Goddess of Altair.

  “Your tasks were met. Did I not do as I was told?” Althea asked.

  Fire sparkled in the Goddess’s eyes and then was gone. “The tasks were met but not as I told you. Did I not tell you what I expected of you? Did I not make my wishes clear to you?”

  “She has suffered enough. She has paid a price greater than any woman ever should,” Althea whispered emotion choking her up.

  “And that is why I wished her to be the final sacrifice. I wished to release her from her earthly pain. And instead you do this.”

  “I only took her place,” Althea stated. “My daughter deserves the right to see her sons’ happiness, to watch her grandchildren flourish and grow. She can help them in ways no one else can. And she can help the Guardians and the Mystic as they step into the new world they are even now creating.”

  “Perhaps you are right.” The Goddess nodded and peered through the veil as well.

  An ending…and a beginning.

  About the Author

  Lacey Thorn spends her days in small-town Indiana, the proud mother of three. When she is not busy with one of them, she can be found typing away on her computer keyboard or burying her nose in a good book. Like every woman, she knows just how chaotic life can be and how appealing that great escape can look. So toss aside the stress and tension of the never-ending to-do list. For now, sit back, relax and enjoy the ride with Lacey as she helps you to unlace and unleash the woman inside.

  The author welcomes comments from readers. You can find her website and e-mail address on her author bio page at www.ellorascave.com.

  Tell Us What You Think