by CJ England
What had happened? Why was Kira acting this way? She had told him she didn't love either him or Gallegar, and damn it ... he knew that wasn't true.
Suddenly, he pulled into a small parking lot and into an empty stall. He had to figure this out before he went a step farther. As he sat there, staring into nothingness, it slowly dawned on him.
He had almost expected it.
Lucas shook his head, as understanding penetrated. He wasn't surprised Kira told him she didn't love him. Why? He gave a pained chuckle. Because somewhere, deep inside him, he'd known the truth all along.
She'd always been in love with Gallegar. The vampire was the one who made her eyes light up when he walked in a room. He was the one she went to first ... that she leaned on when times were difficult. It had been that way from the beginning.
So why had he fought it so hard? Why had he tried to get her to turn to him? He had wanted her. He knew he loved her, but as he sat there, examining his heart, he realized he'd never loved her with the intensity Gallegar had.
He remembered Gallegar's words to him when they first met. I am in love with her. I have waited for her for more than a century. I knew that she was the one.
Lucas shivered. It wasn't just the words, but the way they'd been spoken. Like Gallegar was a drowning man, and Kira, his only lifeline.
He rubbed his chest. It ached a little, and even knowing he really wasn't in love with Kira didn't stop the pain. He did love her in a special way and the habit of wanting her was ingrained in him. So now what should he do? Sighing, he turned the motor back on and drove out onto the street. At least he could let Gallegar know he was out of the running.
* * * *
At The Keep, Danolas and the others were waiting impatiently when Lucas arrived. “Sorry, I'm late,” he said quickly, hoping to forestall any recriminations. “I had ... uh ... an errand to run.” Walking over, he grabbed a beer out of Danolas’ hidden fridge.
"I do not know why we are here,” Gallegar said, staring out one of the windows. The vampire looked like he had aged twenty years overnight.
Danolas looked at the vampire with deep concern. Kira's lies had hit their leader hard. “We are here to put an end to this madness. What Kira has done has affected us all and we cannot allow it to go on any longer. The mission she was sent to accomplish is failing, and if things don't change immediately ... Kira herself, will die."
That got Gallegar's attention. His head snapped around and some of the lost look in his eyes disappeared. “What are you talking about?
"Gallegar,” Danolas said gently. “Sit down.” When the vampire reluctantly did so, he continued. “As you all know, after we all left ... Gallegar took the time to speak to Kira. To try and convince her to lower her shields and tell us what is going on."
"She told me all right.” The vampire's voice shook with pain.
"My friend, what she told you was a lie."
Gallegar shook his head unbelievingly. “She said she'd never loved me."
"And you believed her?” Benjamin's mouth dropped open in amazement.
"She did a very good job of lying to you, Gallegar. I know you don't believe me, but I can prove what I say is true.” The witch leaned back in his chair. “Last night, after you left the loft, Patrick came to see me. He told me what happened. He also told me what he saw afterwards.” The witch motioned to Patrick to take over.
"I sneaked into her room to see if she was okay. What I saw showed me all she'd said to you was a big fat lie!” The shade looked straight at the vampire. “Why would Kira cry her heart out into a toy that was given to her by someone she doesn't care about?"
This time Gallegar did look up. “A toy?"
"Yeah,” Patrick agreed. “That silly unicorn you won for her ... remember?"
Gallegar's heart lurched. He remembered.
Danolas picked up the story. “Patrick came to see me. When I found out that Kira was weeping, I thought I might be able to steal inside her mind to find out what was happening. Patrick and I were easily able to penetrate Kira's shielding. We saw immediately there was much damage on the psychic plain. Her golden aura is totally gone."
"It looked like a tornado had gone through,” Patrick added. “It was a mess in there."
"Why?” Benjamin questioned. “Why did it look so bad?"
"I'm getting to that. You see, the spell Kira cast ... the one I couldn't see behind? It was a wall. A shield that prevents us from touching her in any way emotionally. She cast that one the night we returned from fighting the vampire demon. It took every bit of power she had."
The witch looked around at all the Chosen. “What she didn't know is, because of her fear, she cast a second spell. It is this spell that is destroying her. All the power she has is being used to maintain the wall ... the shield to keep us away from her and her emotions. There is nothing left to maintain the secondary spell and so she is using herself. Her own energy."
"And this is the spell that's killing her?” Lucas cocked his head as he tried to understand.
"Yes.” Danolas stood and picked up his staff. “If we don't get her to shut down this spell, Kira will die."
"What is the second spell?” Gallegar asked hoarsely.
"It will be easier to show you. Patrick?” Danolas nodded at the shade. “Will you help me once again?” Using the shade proffered energy and memories of the night before, Danolas raised his staff and a three dimensional image appeared in front of the Chosen.
"As you can see, the landscape of Kira's mind is devastated. She has no strength left to fight because all her power goes to maintaining the spells. But these are what steal away her life force."
He rotated the image, so the Chosen could see the five mud covered hillocks.
"What are they?” Koran questioned. He stared intently at the picture.
"These mud and wood covered mounds are Kira's representation of her love for us. And she has blocked them. See the tiny bits of light? For some reason, she believes if her love for us shines through, we will be in danger."
"So we have to get her to uncover these mounds and then she will get better?” Benjamin queried.
"If we don't break down these mounds, Kira's life force will be slowly leached away. She will die."
Lucas was frowning. “Why are there only five? There are six of us."
"That is because the sixth one is different.” Danolas used his staff to point farther up the image's hill. “There lies the last mound. Can you guess who it belongs to?"
All the air disappeared from Gallegar's lungs as he gazed at the last dirt mound. Twice as big as the others, it was covered in bits and pieces of mud and board. Great, glaring gaps of light shone through the mud caked walls. The whole structure seemed to groan, as bits of dirt fell and more light peeked through.
"Gallegar...” Danolas came and laid a strong hand on the vampire's shoulder. “This is the love Kira has for you. It is bigger than the rest of ours because she not only loves you ... she is in love with you. In fact, that emotion is so strong and so huge, she can't keep it hidden and it's falling apart. She lied to you. This, you must believe. She loves you so much hiding it is literally killing her."
"No,” Gallegar gasped, his eyes burning. He couldn't trust this vision. His heart couldn't take the pain if Danolas was wrong.
Lucas stepped forward. He gazed at the image, finally understanding what he had felt in the car. Kira belonged to Gallegar.
"I wasn't late because of an errand. I was worried about Kira, so I went to see her."
When Gallegar's eyes sharpened and narrowed, Lucas had to grin. “Don't worry. She lied to me too. Told me she didn't love me."
He related how he had found Kira, watching the vampire's jaw clench. “She was devastated you shut her out of Sanctuary. If you could have seen her face...” The shapeshifter shook his head. “It was like something had died inside of her. You may not want to believe this ... but I do."
Then Lucas laughed. “Of course, I didn't then. When she told
me how she'd blown you off ... well, hell ... I thought I'd won her. Gave her a big kiss to celebrate."
Gallegar growled and Lucas grinned wider at the life that came back into the vampire's eyes.
"Imagine my shock when I noticed she wasn't kissing me back. And I was just flat-out confused when I realized it didn't matter as much to me as it should have.” Lucas gestured out the window. “It wasn't until I was driving here that I figured it out."
Gallegar stared intently at Lucas. “What did you figure out?"
Lucas sighed. “I figured out whatever I felt for Kira and what she felt for me ... it wasn't the right kind of love. Not like what you both have for each other. She's in love with you, man. Don't fuck it up now because of pride."
Gallegar sat silently, watching the image in front of him. The mound Danolas said was his shifted, and a board fell off, exposing a strong beam of light that shot up into the heavens. That is how much she loves me ... he marveled. Bright, hot and so strong, it was tearing her very being apart because she was trying to deny it. Could he believe it?
He thought back to all the times Kira had shown her love to him. At their joining, when she had stayed with him after the attack in the Gate and when she had trusted him enough to allow his love to heal the incubus’ touch. Even last night, as he'd told her the story of how he'd been changed, he could feel her empathy and love, no matter how hard she had tried to hide it.
Danolas was right. She did love him. And now that he understood ... she would be his.
His green eyes glowing, he looked over at Lucas. “Thank you.” He stood and offered the shapeshifter his hand. “I know what it cost you to share the truth with me."
Lucas shrugged, embarrassed. “It was nothing.” He grinned suddenly, fighting the jab of pain that went through him as he let go of the dream of making Kira his. “Besides, someone had to keep you on your toes. I just gave you a run for your money!"
Gallegar laughed, feeling better than he had in weeks. “And a good run it was. But now the race is over and it's time to claim my prize.” He looked at Danolas. “But how?"
Danolas waved his staff and the image of Kira's mind disappeared. “We must confront her. Force her to tell us the truth. As you saw, the spells are weakening. If we can hit her hard enough, they will collapse."
"Will it hurt her?” Benjamin wanted to know.
Koran answered. “There is a risk. But to do nothing ... signs her death warrant."
* * * *
Kira knew something was up the moment they all walked in the door. The energy surrounding them was stronger than she'd felt in weeks. When she finally met Gallegar's eyes, expecting to see anger and pain, she was shocked at the force of love that she saw there.
She girded herself for what ever was coming. “I wondered if you were going to join me this eve. I only have leftovers if any of you are hungry."
Lucas immediately perked up at that. He was elbowed in the gut by Benjamin, before he could say anything other than, “Ahhh, we're good."
"My Lady,” Danolas began formally. “We need to speak to you. You have not been honest with us and it is hurting the company."
She felt the shaft of truth hit her straight in the heart. “I do not know what you are talking about. I have never lied to you.” Her eyes dropped when she met Gallegar's.
"You may have never lied to me,” Danolas returned, stressing the last word. “But you haven't told us everything. And now, by keeping us in the dark, the company is suffering."
Kira didn't know which way to look. Which ever way she turned her head, one of her Chosen was there, staring at her with accusing eyes. She began to shake. “No..."
"Yes, sister,” Koran stepped in. “I can tell when you are keeping something from us. You can't any longer. You have to tell us the truth."
"Yeah, sweetheart,” Benjamin added. “You can't keep us in the dark any longer. Tell us. Tell us what happened to you."
Her eyes flicked back and forth, her trembling worsening. “You are all wrong. Nothing happened. I have told you all I can."
"Yeah, honey. I bet that's just what you tell yourself. But it's a lie. You can't shut us out any more.” Lucas hated like hell he was hurting her, but damn it, she had to tell them.
Patrick reached over and took Kira's hand. “Sugar, tell me ... What happened when the Gatekeeper grabbed you? What was in that vision you didn't tell us?"
She jerked away and shot to her feet. She ran over to the big window. “Nothing happened! I have told you over and over. Nothing happened. Leave me alone."
Danolas stood and faced her. Her breasts were heaving with agitation. When he looked into the psychic plain of her mind, he could see the wall was shaking as badly as she was.
Gallegar also rose. “Tell us about the vision, A Ghra..."
Kira stared at him. She couldn't give in now, so she struck out at him with sharp words. “I told you not to call me that. I do not love you."
Instead of drawing back, she was shocked to see the vampire smile as he walked closer to her.
"Oh, but I will call you that, because you are my love. And I ... I am yours."
"Why do you lie to him, my Lady?” Danolas questioned. “We all know of your great love for each other."
"No ... no...” Kira moaned. She grabbed onto the windowsill for support.
"Yes, A Ghra ... ” Gallegar came close enough to touch her bruised cheek. “We do love each other. Why do you hide it from me?"
She jerked away from him. “Go away!” she said sharply. “I do not want any of you here tonight. Leave me alone!"
"That will not happen. Not until we have the truth from you.” Gallegar was relentless. “We know of the spell you cast to keep us out of your mind. Danolas was able to break through it last night when you lay crying."
Taking her head firmly between his hands, he sent the image of her war torn psychic plain into her mind. “Do you see those mounds?” the vampire asked. “They are spells you cast unintentionally. They show you hiding your love for each of us beneath them. They are draining you of all your energy. You must let them go or you will die."
Terrified, she stared into his loving green eyes. It didn't matter about her. But they were too close to the truth! She couldn't tell them anything.
Pulling away from Gallegar, she turned and glared at the witch. “You walked in my mind without permission? How dare you!"
Gallegar growled low in his throat. This had gone on long enough. He would make her tell them the truth. He pulled her back to him, his hands holding her deftly. “You are lying to us. Something happened in that Gate. Something that frightened you so badly you wouldn't let me out of your sight for weeks. We all saw it."
He watched as her eyes flicked back and forth, as if searching for a way out. Her breasts heaved with unexpressed emotion.
"Then, when the vampire demon took you ... you changed again. Now you refuse to have anything to do with any of us. Do you think us so stupid we do not see what is happening? You have buried your love for us so no one will see it. The love you feel for me can barely be hidden, it is so huge and beautiful, yet you stand there and tell me you do not love me?"
Gallegar took her by the arms, ignoring her struggles. “I love you! You are my life. Tell me why you are doing this to us!"
Kira broke into sobs. “Let me go! Let me go!"
Pulling her tight against him, he stared down into her tear-filled eyes. “Never,” he said. “I will never let you go, again!” Crushing her mouth beneath his, he showed her his love, the only way he had left.
Chapter 16
She pushed frantically against him trying to get away, but he was too strong. His mouth moved over hers like a long-lost lover's, sending shooting flames through her entire body. Kira began to tremble even harder, knowing if he didn't let her go soon, she would be lost.
That was exactly what Gallegar wanted. Her ... lost in him. If he could break through whatever barrier she had erected, he could find out just what she was hiding and he
knew his strongest weapon ... was love itself.
Danolas watched closely on the psychic plain. “The wall is crumbling,” he whispered, so only the Chosen could hear. “He's doing it."
Gallegar didn't care. What had started as a kiss of desperation quickly turned into a kiss of desire. It had been so long since he'd been able to touch her. He groaned low in his throat, as he slanted his mouth harder over her soft lips. When she finally opened for him, he pulled her even closer, molding her body against his.
Kira trembled against him like a leaf caught in a windstorm. Hearing his low moan deep in his throat, all the barriers she'd tried so hard to keep strong, fell away. The devotion she felt pouring out of Gallegar overwhelmed her fear and anger.
The love she had hidden away broke free and flowed into him in response. She had missed him so much. Her arms crept up around him and she leaned into him, accepting and returning his love.
"They are all falling,” Danolas said with a smile. He watched the couple, tears of satisfaction in his azure eyes. “The barriers are coming down."
Gallegar barely heard, he was so caught up in his own feelings. Clutching her closer, he plundered Kira's generous mouth.
When he finally lifted his head from hers, the love he saw in her eyes, made his own fill. “A Ghra..."
When she saw his face, Kira burst into tears. Pressing against him, she cried for all the pain she'd caused him and for the fear she had yet to conquer.
Sweeping her into his arms, Gallegar carried her over to the couch, and sitting down, took her in his lap as he had done so long ago. Satisfaction radiated from him as he realized, now, he had the right to hold her that way. Murmuring gently, he kissed her tears away, just holding her until she quieted.
"Hush now, A Ghra ... ” he said softly. He ran a soothing hand over her tumbled hair. “It is all right. I have you. Nothing can hurt you anymore."
He took a damp rag Benjamin offered him and carefully wiped his beloved's face.
The cool cloth felt good on Kira's hot cheeks. When Lucas offered her a drink of water, she thirstily drank several large swallows. She couldn't meet any of their eyes when she sniffed and said, “I am sorry."
