Horizon

by Christie Rich

  Creed stood a short distance away from me. I couldn’t figure out why no one had recognized him. Or maybe I was wrong. Maybe he wasn’t Braesal? Even so, I could use him to distract everyone long enough to deal with Valen and find Ainessa and Tabitha. Even though I continued to search for them, I couldn’t see them.

  I closed the distance between me and Creed, ignoring the mumbling and the chairman’s display of power.

  “Who among you have memories of Hy-Brasil?” I asked no one in particular.

  Taylor spoke up. “None do, my lady. That is why most of us thought of this place as a myth.” He glanced back at Jett. “Although some have always believed.”

  “He’s been compelling you from the beginning.” That generated more stares my way.

  “I suppose so,” said Taylor.

  When I reached Creed, I asked, “What do you know of Braesal?”

  Jett was the one that spoke this time. “Nothing more than his story.”

  “So you wouldn’t recognize him when you saw him?”

  Zach came forward. “Where are you going with this, Rayla?”

  More people had turned away from Valen to listen-in on our conversation. I faced Zach. “What if Braesal was right in front of you?”

  Valen started chanting and a few people cringed or gasped, some even smiled as if their day had come. His show was pathetic really. If he had the power to ignite the germ, he would have. If he possessed the power to recreate the world he would have.

  I ignored him on the outside, but I kept a mental lock on his signal. “You see, I named a wraith a few months ago.”

  “What!” shouted Taylor. “Are you out of your mind?”

  “Debatable,” I said, “but please, here me out. He came to me, vowing to protect me. At that time I didn’t know just how important that protection would be to me.” I motioned at Creed, who stood there with a questioning look. “Your stories say that Braesal was cursed. He became a wraith, yet none of you have made the connection to seek him out. I think that’s because Valen has erased your memory of Braesal and what really happened to him.”

  Jett came closer, his eyes glowing with excitement. “Are you saying this man is Braesal, high king of the world?”

  Many others gathered around, lifting onto their toes to get a better view of him. Once again, Valen’s chanting intensified.

  I grumbled under my breath then addressed him. “No luck, huh?”

  He gave me an incredulous scowl. Standing where he was on the steps, he towered over all of us, yet he looked like the smallest man to ever live.

  Before I could say another word, he drifted to my side. I couldn’t even suck in a breath as he pulled me into the matter stream.

  I gritted my teeth at my stupidity and held on for the ride. He attacked my mental barriers, searching for a crack, a way in. Hadn’t we already settled this?

  When that didn’t work he sent me a compulsion. This time wasn’t so difficult to fight. All my time dodging the lords came in handy now. His power, although less than mine at the moment, was still formidable. I braced myself, wondering where he was taking me.

  When we emerged on the front steps of the Crystal Castle in Faeresia, I knew I was in trouble. With the flick of his hand, the gigantic doors opened.

  Something was wrong here. He shouldn’t be able to do magic.

  His strength increased as he dragged me forward until I was pulling against him to get away. I tried to drift, but I was blocked. How could he do it?

  When he turned around his eyes were dove gray.

  Tabitha!

  How, was the only word I could think. How had he done this?

  It didn’t matter how. I had to find a way to defeat him, really defeat him. By the time we made it to the council chambers he was nearly back to his previous strength, no doubt he was siphoning power from those who were still in the castle.

  Once inside the expansive room, he threw me onto the glistening floor. I scrabbled away from him, trying to make it to my feet.

  His glare iced into me, but I wouldn’t cower in front of this man. He wasn’t going to get a thing from me.

  “Stupid girl,” he spat. His index finger alighted on his temple. “I know what you will do before you do.”

  I frowned at him. If that was true he was better at fortune telling than Tabitha. When he smiled, he looked like her in a way.

  I’d never considered he would resort to actually merging with women, especially considering his contempt for our sex. Was that what he had planned for me? Was he trying to merge his form with mine? Was that what he had done to Ainessa?

  “Now you have the idea,” he said, giving me a sultry smile that was more female than male. He was a chameleon and a coward. “It’s the only way for me to truly have your power.”

  “It’s not going to work,” I told him. “You are exposed. The lords are strong enough to see through your glamour. They’ll be here anytime.”

  “They’ll have to sort through my people first. It will not matter what they do. Once I have you, this world will be mine.”

  He came nearer, and I backed away. Up the dais steps I stumbled, hoping the small door would lead to an exit.

  “It is a shame,” he said, his lust filled eyes snaking over me. “I wanted to own you. Now I must destroy you. You could have had the world with me, Rayla.” My name came out multilayered with thousands of voices. His mouth hardened. “Damn that name of yours.”

  I loved my name. It wouldn’t matter to me if I never found out what I should have been called all my life. I cried out for Heath, for Zach, but no one came. My back finally hit into the door and I slipped inside, slamming it behind me.

  His disembodied laugh echoed through the space. Before I could get a good look at the room I’d just entered, he materialized right in front of me.

  In deliberate mockery he wet his bottom lip. “Perhaps we have time for a small tryst before I consume you.”

  I swallowed the bile that rose up my throat. He would not have a single part of me. Steeling myself, I gave him a smirk. “That has to be the worst pickup line I’ve ever heard.”

  He cocked his head. “I shall not miss that mouth of yours, but I shall miss what that mouth could do for me.”

  I gagged. Gross. He was just gross.

  My legs bumped into something solid. There was nowhere to go.

  No one was here to help me either. It was just him and me. I’d thought I’d won on Hy-Brasil, but here I was again.

  He walked to me slowly, as if savoring the moment. Let him have it. I had plans for him that would make the wraith look beautiful.

  His eyes narrowed on me. “You think yourself stronger than I?” He laughed, the menacing sound caressing me.

  His nearness brought on so many emotions; most of them conflicted with what I knew to be reality. His compulsion had nowhere to stick in my mind.

  I silently thanked whoever gave me this glorious name.

  “It matters not,” he said. “You will be mine.” He inched nearer, caging me where I stood.

  His breath should have smelled of rotting garbage for what was inside him, but it was as heavenly as a crisp winter morning. I lifted my brows at him. “Anyone ever tell you that you talk too much?”

  He lunged at me, grabbing my wrists, hauling me against him. When he lowered his putrid face toward mine, I head-butted him.

  Bet he didn’t see that one coming. It stung, but it was soooo worth it.

  No longer the amorous chairman that had come into the room to claim me, he seethed hatred. “When I get through with you, you will no longer exist.”

  “Better that than have to listen to your ranting twenty-four seven. You should really take up a hobby.”

  “Enough!” he said. His eyes pinned mine as he brought his hand near my face. Ainessa’s ring flared to life, lighting the room with a pale-blue glory.

  Once again the power called to me. I got distracted by the beauty of it and every possibility opened up for me. I reached for that ligh
t and it brightened. He pulled his hand back when I came almost close enough to touch it.

  Valen let out a pleased groan. “Good,” he said. “It responds to you.”

  “You bet it does,” I said, lifting my hand in front of him. “And so does this.” I connected with the germ I possessed, and my ring lit up as well.

  The two creative powers overlaid the other, casting a lavender blush that consumed the whole room. No, it wasn’t just the room anymore. It was the castle. No, it was Lombarda. Each time my mind expanded, so did the power. I let it go until all of Faeresia lay within my mind, the borderlands and the dark realms included. The room melted away, and we stood in a clearing surrounded by trees, no buildings in sight. It was as if everything he’d fashioned here had dissolved with one thought. I imagined the land whole, united.

  “What are you doing,” hissed Valen.

  I lifted my finger and caressed the germ. It brightened.

  Valen’s expression shifted to full blown anger. He stared at his ring, but it remained dull compared to mine. He released his control of his ring, and focused on me.

  Space shifted around me. He became the air, the water, the earth, even fire. He contained them all. He would contain me too.

  Sweat trickled down my forehead, along my nose then toward my jaw. It took everything inside me to stay separate. He was the earth, he was the air, he was the—

  I shut my eyes and concentrated. He would not have me.

  Taking a breath, I stilled my body. I stilled my mind.

  I called my power and it came. It rushed through me, expanding until I couldn’t hold onto it, but that was creation—a fleeting moment in time, a spark of life that could not be contained or controlled. The power spread out, enclosing him in its folds.

  Then I reined it back in, pulling him with it. He screamed and the sound shook the ground. One by one voices detached from his, separating from the man that had started it all. Soon shadows floated out of him; twisted and misshapen, they writhed in a collective blob, moaning like a mutated mummy brought back from the dead. When they began to separate, he cursed me, but his words held no power.

  All this time he thought he could control creation, but that was his mistake. One I would not make.

  I let this horrible scene play out, gasping when recognizable figures emerged from the mangled mass. The first was a young man that appeared to be human, probably seventeen, with a bowl haircut and shinning green eyes. He blinked a few times lifting his face toward the sky, his eyes roaming around the clearing. He opened his mouth, but no words came out.

  More people emerged, all staring at me in wonder. When Tabitha walked out of him, I smiled at her. She gave me a nod and stepped aside for another figure. Ainessa.

  Unlike Tabitha, she gazed upon me in horror. Then she shifted her focus to Valen. She sauntered over to him and yanked the ring from his finger.

  He stumbled then cried to a god I didn’t know, asking assistance. None came.

  Once I was sure he no longer had anybody else tucked away in that ever changing form of his, I withdrew the germ. What was left was a man that barely passed for the word.

  He was short for a guy, only a few inches taller than me, but that was the only non-fae thing I noticed about him. He was actually quite handsome. No surprise there. What did surprise me was how weak he seemed.

  He hunched over like an eighty year old man. His breathing was shallow as if he’d smoked his whole life, and his demeanor lacked any spark at all, all except for his Caribbean blue eyes. Despite their otherworldly beauty they shone with pure hatred that could have only arisen from hell.

  Which was exactly where he belonged, and exactly where I planned to send him. He wouldn’t be gone forever, but by the time he figured out a way to regain his power, I hoped it would be useless.

  Tabitha ambled over to me, her eyes intent on mine. “You cannot,” she said. “He has assistance you know nothing about.”

  “Do you?” I asked. “Did you learn anything useful while you were merged with him?”

  She lowered her gaze. “I was incapable of independent thought.”

  Ainessa laughed. “Leave it to you to water down the truth. It was the single most horrible experience of my existence. It was as if I was no more.”

  The other people, thousands in all stood there stunned. Some spoke to those around them, but most remained silent. I wondered if they would even remember who they had been before Valen merged with them.

  I shook my head, uncertain what I should do next. No matter where I sent him he would get out eventually. The angel had told me as much.

  My mind flitted over Faine’s memory. She’d set Valen up all that time ago. The one thing he never anticipated was that she was a true seer. She had to have been to have seen what he had planned.

  Tabitha nodded. “The circle is complete,” she said. “She has passed her knowledge to you.”

  “Not exactly,” I said. “You can come out now. I know you’re here.”

  Off in the distance a woman emerged from the trees. She was elegant and beautiful. She was also the love of Zach’s life.

  She approached with confidence, an air of royalty in her every step. Tabitha turned, her pale skin taking on a translucent quality.

  “Thank you for coming,” I told Faine.

  She nodded. “Thank you for asking. You did not have to.”

  But I did. She was the reason I had been tied to Zach from the beginning. She was also the reason I had not been compelled completely. It was her strength I’d drawn from as much as my name or Guard heritage that had given me the power to resist.

  Ainessa threw out a dainty hand. “What is she doing here?” she asked. “I thought we’d gotten rid of her.”

  What had Faine done to her? Was she the reason Ainessa hadn’t been able to have a real relationship with Luke? I supposed she was. After all, she was the first Elemental and Luke had thought himself in love with her. I had so many questions, but I’d probably never get all the answers.

  I addressed my ancestor, “What do you think we should do with him?”

  When I glanced to where Valen should have been standing, he was gone. I took a deep breath and searched for his signal. He couldn’t have gotten that far.

  Yet it seemed he had. Perhaps his master had called him home? I sure hoped so. It would have been nice to give him a form to go along with his personality, though. Another time.

  The clash of thunder rolled in the distance. Soon clouds emerged on the horizon. The royal guard was coming, but this time I did not fear them.

  A long howl sounded in the woods, followed by more. Hellhounds. I smiled, looking for Cerberus to emerge from the trees.

  When he did, the people around me screamed, some hiding behind others near them. He was feared, not because of what he could do or could be but because of how he looked.

  I wanted to change that. If I could have, I would have given him a different form, but he had taken on the form he was meant to have.

  Receiving a bunch of stares along the way, I went to him. He stood there, huge and intimidating with those glowing yellow eyes that looked like cat eyes flipped ninety degrees.

  Sniffing the air, he came toward me. Pretty soon he bounded, his big paws denting the grass.

  I laughed while others gasped. On all fours he and I were eye to eye.

  I didn’t waste a second to throw my arms around him. He leaned his big head against mine and for a moment our souls touched. My valiant hellhound loved me just about as much as I loved him.

  He pulled away slightly and dipped his chin.

  Then he slimed my entire face with one long lick. I wanted to be grossed out by the black ooze, but I couldn’t be. I laughed some more until my cheeks hurt.

  I sent him a mental message to wait for me in the forest. Without hesitation he complied.

  I’d been so caught up with him that I had failed to notice the five men at my back. When I turned, each one took a knee and clasped a fist across his chest.


  My throat thickened with emotion and I couldn’t hold back my tears. They were okay and seemed just as relieved to find me in the same manner.

  Jett was the first to step forward. “Well done, Rayla.” His arms came around me and I gave him a long hug.

  “Thanks,” I said, not really sure what to say after that.

  Taylor came next, then Luke. I greeted them all in the same way.

  When Heath came to me I closed my eyes and molded myself to his body, savoring every second I had with him. I wanted to stay in his arms forever, but I made myself pull away. He nodded and stepped back.

  Zach came forward, encircling me in his tight embrace. As he held me, he stiffened.

  I felt her approach the same time he did. She had a certain peace about her, but her unmistakable power radiated through the space. I smiled at her then whispered into Zach’s ear. “Go to her.” I pulled back and stared into his loving eyes. “I release you.”

  He stepped away, confusion written on his features. He stood there staring at me for a long moment, as if he was afraid to actually see his former bondmate. As if this was a dream he did not want to emerge from.

  When he finally turned around, he fell to his knees, staring at her yet still unbelieving. A single choked sob came from him. He visibly swallowed and stood. “Faine?” he said, her name spoken as a breath.

  She smiled, her big green eyes sparkling. “Ammon.” She, too, had tears streaming down her face. It was almost creepy how much she resembled Cassie. Could there have been a secret line of Elementals this entire time? Had Lambert hidden his daughter’s origins to make sure no matter what happened the Order would have Elementals to control? Maybe he wasn’t the first Order member to truly experiment on his daughter? The thought sliced through me. This was a topic for another day.

  They took a step toward each other, then another and another until their bodies clashed together in a soul rending embrace. Cheers erupted from the crowd, I among them, yet I didn’t fail to notice those that watched on with derision on their faces.