by Lydia Fane
Aries’ rage ignited, and he could not hold back his urge to protect. A ball of blue white flames erupted in his hand, chasing away the night. Before Skye could turn to see, Aries rested his hand on her spine right on one of the thickest nodes of darkness. The web ignited, the angelic fire running hot. At first, Aries thought that Skye hadn’t noticed, or hadn’t reacted, but he felt her shudder. Still steadying her while his fire wiped out the web, Aries turned her to face him.
She was crying silently, great heaving sobs that she had been trying to conceal. Her face was silvery wet, and Aries felt his heart break and his soul respond.
He drew Skye into his arms, and after a moment of hesitation she went willingly. She pressed up close against his chest as he drew his arms in. The last remnants of the web shrivelled as his fire turned pure gold. Without thoughts, his wings unfurled, each steel grey feather radiant with light. He drew them in close, enclosing them both in a downy bower. Her eyes were closed as she slowly gained a measure of serenity. Aries almost missed it – the moment she slipped from sadness to sleep, but he caught her as she went limp, and lowered them both to the ground. For a while, the only move he made was to channel his fire upwards to ignite the lighthouse beacon. The sea spray didn’t bother him, and neither did the cooling night. Safe and warm within his wings, Skye slept.
The moon was rising when a dark shape pulled itself out of the moonlit surf and humped its ungainly way up the beach towards Aries. Aries watched tranquilly as the seal approached, nodding his head in a greeting. The seal curled in on itself before it pushed upwards, uncoiling into human form with a dark sealskin wrapped around his waist. Jack’s expression wasn’t the warmest, and as he folded his arms across his chest, he radiated disapproval.
“What is going on?” he asked, quietly in deference to Skye, but still stern. “You owe me an explanation. For your mood swings, if nothing else.”
“You’re right, and I’m sorry,” Aries agreed, and unfurled one wing to make a warm nook for Jack to shelter in. Mostly naked, Jack didn’t hesitate to move under the sheltering feathers, sighing at the warmth. He looked at the slumbering Skye, still resting against Aries’ chest. He waited in silence.
“I don’t know where to start,” Aries began. “Of all the mortals I’ve known, you know the most about me. But some things can’t be put so easily into words. I’m drawn to Skye. My Lord put me on this earth to help mortals, but for Skye I would let that go just to keep her safe. I would take her away from this world, protect her and defend her, above all others.”
Aries felt Jack jerk with what he assumed was shock, but the Selkie remained quiet, letting Aries spill his thoughts.
“And every time I gather my resolve to let her go, she had but to just look at me, and my resolves crumbles like a sandcastle before the tide,” he sighed heavily. “But I have to help her. She has been ensnared by one of the crueller tricks of a demon. A web bound her, feeding on her fears and her doubts, preying on her insecurities. It would have driven her to madness and despair if I had not fought it. Not only is it cruel, it’s also terribly dangerous.”
“Why is it so dangerous?”
“Because the taint of the web is so strong, it drives those of us who combat the darkness to a furious rage.” Aries lightly touched Skye’s cheek. “In such a rage we would blindly destroy the demon taint, only realising afterwards that we took the life of an innocent. Either way, the demon wins.”
“That’s horrific. Is that what’s been plaguing you?”
“She deserves better,” Aries growled, and the edges of his feather rippled as if in an unseen wind. “When she woke earlier, I saw the taint twisted her heart and her head. I had to act. And then when she talked about her crash, the demon web was whispering again.”
“What did you do?” Jack asked.
“I burned it out, leaf, root and branch,” Aries said triumphantly. “Every last strand is gone from her.”
Jack shook his head. “Were you at least gentle?” His tone was sharp.
Aries bristled, fire flashed from his skin, and Jack pulled sharply away as he was scalded. “I wouldn’t hurt her!”
“You’re in love with her,” Jack said, in tones of great revelation.
“Of course I am,” Aries was confused by the change of topic. “I love all mortals.”
“No, I mean you love her. Love love her,” Jack sounded a little irritated.
Aries considered this. His bones vibrated with the truth of Jack’s words, and a laughing whisper in the back of his mind chided him for being blind. “Well, this is new,” he said, stunned.
Jack laughed, and nudged Aries affectionately. “Can we finish having revelations back in the warmth please. Some of us are still naked here.”
“And some need a soft bed.” Aries unfurled his wings, shifting Skye to carry her bridal style. “See you at the top.”
With careful wingbeats on an updraft of fire, Aries was aloft.
“Cheat!” he heard Jack call, and grinned, still feeling flushed with the new feelings, the new knowledge. He was in love.
***
She was warm, cocooned in something soft. She could hear sea birds calling. She felt relaxed, recharged and better than she had felt in a long, long time. She could get up and start her day, begin working and start her research, but she decided that no, she would relax. Lewis would be disgusted with her and tell her she was lazy, but she found she didn’t care. He wasn’t here, and after their argument, she wasn’t sure if she wanted to continue the relationship. It had been the last straw, and had made her realise just how many things about it were making her unhappy, and how much she had been holding back.
She winced, expecting a migraine to erupt, but to her surprise, nothing materialised. Pleased, she opened her eyes, and sat up in bed. She was back in the bed in Aries’ room, and the sun was shining in the window. A breeze drifted through the room, stirring the curtains. Skye plumped up the pillows and leaned back against the headboard.
Remembering last night, she felt only a little embarrassed at the way she had wept on Aries. In the warm bright light of day, she couldn’t really remember what had brought on her tears so badly. But Aries hadn’t laughed at her as Lewis would have. Aries hadn’t judged her, or demanded that she grow up. Instead, this stranger she had only known for a day had held her and let her cry herself out. Listening to his heartbeat, she had felt warm and comforted. Certainly more loved than she had ever felt with Lewis.
And though she had fallen asleep on him when exhaustion overtook her, he hadn’t woken her up to chide and chivvy her. Instead he must have carried her up here. She peeked under the covers and found she was in her t-shirt and trousers still. She smiled. A gentlemen as well.
The book from yesterday was on the cabinet beside the bed, and Skye settled down to read. It was nice to be able to do what she wanted without feeling pressured to being devoted to her work, or pressured into being the perfect fiancé. It was strange how she had never realised how much Lewis pushed her into being what he wanted. But now it was as if blinders had been lifted off her eyes. Maybe a near death experience had given her the clarity she needed.
She was brought up out of the book when the smell of bacon frying drifted into the room. Her stomach growled and she set down the book without a second thought. On bare feet she padded down the stairs to find Aries in the kitchen in an improbably flowery apron, piling a plate high with strips of bacon. Three eggs bubbled and spat in the pan.
“Good morning,” he said, before glancing up at the clock on the wall. “Good afternoon.”
Skye grinned back. If that comment had come from Lewis, it would be barbed and edged in disappointment, but from Aries it seemed teasing.
“Good afternoon,” she replied in kind. “Your bed is far too comfortable to get out of. But you shouldn’t move yourself just for me.”
“Which one of us was in a plane crash and deserves every comfort?” he asked her mildly enough, but Skye was sure she saw a flash of some deep emotio
n cross his face, before it smoothed once more into geniality. “I’m afraid that it’s either tea, milk or water with breakfast today,” he continued. “Our supply helicopter is a few days overdue. Engine problems, or so I’m told.”
“Tea is fine,” Skye said, taking a seat at the table. “And Aries?”
“Yes?”
“Thank you for last night.”
“You’re welcome.”
“I’m glad you were there,” she admitted. “You knew just what to do. You didn’t judge me.”
“Jack says I have a saving people thing. I couldn’t see you in pain and not do something. And why on earth would I judge you?”
“Everyone else does,” slipped out before she could censor it, and she clapped her hand to her mouth, mortified blush rising on her cheeks.
Aries turned the frying pan down, slid the bacon into the grill, and came over. He pushed a chair over till it was in front of her, and then sat, taking her free hand with both of his.
“You are a special person, Skye Metcalfe,” he said, and his voice was deeply resonant and filled with utter conviction. “People may or may not judge you, but those who do should be ignored. If they cannot see your true worth as you are, then they are nothing.”
Skye felt a warn flush spread thought her, starting from deep inside at her core and spreading outwards till her fingers and bare toes tingled.
“Had no one told you this before?” he asked.
“Mom and Dad,” Skye said, “But we don’t see each other very much. It’s a long trip so we only talk over video chat. It’s different hearing it in person.”
She didn’t mention that it helped when it was an attractive stranger doing the telling. Her parents were meant to love her and think she was special.
“Shall I make a point of telling you every time I see you, then?” He actually sounded serious enough that Skye shook her head.
“I’m not quite that insecure,” she said. “I suppose I just woke up this morning and realised a few things.”
His eyes were as warm as his hands as he leaned forward. “If you want to talk, I’ll listen,” he said.
For whatever reason, Skye trusted him. Now that she had clarity in her own head, she could admit that she was more an a little attracted to this strong and capable man.
“Though its probably better to talk on a full stomach,” Aries suggested. Skye nodded and Aries returned to his cooking. She felt colder without his hands touching hers. She missed the way he looked at her, as if she was the only woman in the whole world.
She had only known Aries for a day, and already knew he was a better man than Lewis. Aries cared more for her well-being than Lewis did. Aries had taken her and accepted her for what she was, and not tried to convince her that his way was the only way.
She would talk to Lewis one more time with her new clear vision. If he couldn’t or wouldn’t admit that things needed to be sorted, then Skye would leave him. She thought that she still loved him, but for her own sake, he needed to change, or at least compromise.
Any curiosity she felt about what caused this abrupt change of heart were forgotten as a plate was slid in front of her. The bacon was crispy, the yolks of the eggs still liquid.
She set to with a will, quieting her grumbling stomach. It felt so comfortable sitting in the bright sunlight with Aries, surrounded by good smells and good food. There was something so right about it, and heat kindled within her. It was then it hit her.
She was falling in love with Aries.
Had she ever truly loved Lewis? Had she even really cared for him? The small spark that she felt for Aries was a bonfire compared to the feeling she had when she thought of Lewis. But she owed Lewis courtesy, if nothing else.
“Are you alright?” Aries asked her, jolting her out of her thoughts.
“Just thinking,” she said, swallowing her mouthful quickly.
Lewis would have probed and prodded until she yielded an answer that satisfied him, but Aries simply nodded, trusting that she knew herself.
“Will you be all right on your own for a while today?” he asked. “Jack’s lying on and I have work to do.”
“I’ll be fine,” she smiled. “I may borrow your phone again.”
“Be my guest.”
“Also, I’ll do the dishes,” she volunteered.
“You’re a gem,” Aries said as he stood up from the table, grinning at her.
“I know how much you dislike dishes. And I don’t want you neglecting work because of me.”
“Never think you are an imposition to me, Skye Metcalfe,” he said, commandingly, she thought, before a hint of red touched his cheeks and he left.
Curious, Skye thought as she started to gather up the plates and carry them into the sink. She was almost finished when she heard a peculiar thudding from far away. It was odd, she thought, but nothing to be concerned about. It didn’t sound like thunder, or the approach of a storm. She finished drying the plate in her hands, stacked it neatly with the others, and hung the drying cloth over the back of a chair. She swept a quick look around the kitchen to make sure that everything was tidy, before heading outside.
The noise from outside was gradually getting louder. Over by the trees, a helicopter was coming towards them.
“Supply run,” Jack said to her left, and Skye jumped in surprise, hand to her throat.
“You scared me,” she said.
“Cat feet, that’s me,” he said. “Could be your ride back to civilisation, if you wanted.”
Skye felt unease churn her stomach. Did she really want to go back this early? Was she ready to face Lewis and confront reality?
The answer was a plain no.
“Think I might stick around for a few more days if I’m not trouble,” she said, and was amazed at how calm her voice was.
“You’re no trouble,” Aries said as he jogged up to join them, catching the tail end of the conversation. “Supply run?”
“Unless you’re expecting anyone?” Jack asked. Aries shuddered as if cold, and he frowned slightly.
“Not that I know,” he said slowly. “Shall we?”
Slowly, they walked towards the well-maintained landing area, taking their time. Even with the funeral pace, Skye’s hair was still blown around by the wash as the rotor blades began to slow. And with each step, she noticed Aries’ scowl getting blacker and blacker.
She couldn’t spare the time to think about this as the door of the helicopter slid back. From within, a lean figure leaned out and stepped to the ground. He was painfully familiar to Skye, and her vision began to turn black. Her mind muddled as her vision tunnelled, until all she could see was his face. Somewhere to the side she heard an angry growl, but it was nothing compared to the face of her beloved fiancé.
***
As Aries had headed to the lighthouse to start work, he had felt a creeping sense of unease gradually growing within him. Maybe it was just a delayed reaction to the events of last night, but it felt like something more.
The feeling only grew worse, like oil sliding over his skin. At first, he thought the sound of the approaching helicopter was part of it, till he looked outside and saw it. He scowled thoughtfully at the silent radio. It was most unlike the pilot to not radio his approach.
He arrived outside to catch the tail end of the conversation between Skye and Jack. The feeling still itched at him, extending into a hum at the edge of his hearing, which merged unpleasantly with the sound of the rotor blades.
“You’re no trouble,” he said, as he crossed the remaining distance at a jog. He meant it, but he was still distracted by the strange feeling that pulled at him, “Supply run?”
“Unless you’re expecting anyone?” Jack said. For the first time, Aries looked directly at the helicopter and shuddered as a thrill of cold shot up his spine.
“Not that I know of,” he frowned, “Shall we?”
The source of the feelings that were plaguing him was on that helicopter. He knew it. And by the slowly rising fire with
in him, he knew what it was.
Demon.
On instinct, he pulled his angelic power from deep within himself, throwing up the strongest and tightest shields that he could. Beneath these shields he buried his rage and his instinctive urge to destroy the interloper, the evil. He had to have patience, in order to protect the innocent that would get caught in the middle.
The helicopter landed, and the rotors began to slow. The door slid open, and with all his senses heightened, Aries saw the slimy black ooze from within.
The man who emerged from the helicopter, bringing his own shadows with him, was tall and lean. His face was set in stern lines and his eyes were cold. He fixed them on Skye immediately, and the oozing shadows leaped forward, spreading out into a web that engulfed her before Aries could react. They latched onto her hungrily, pulsing with greed. Her eyes glazed over and she swayed, before falling into the arms of her demon lover, who accepted her passionate kiss.
Jack made a pleased noise, and elbowed Aries in the ribs. “Happy reunion,” he said, and Aries only barely saw the slimy web coiling around Jack’s feet.
Aries felt as if he was paralyzed, rooted to the spot in a paroxysm of fear and rage combined. The fire within boiled beneath his shields. The attack had been so sudden that his caution had worked against him. Now he couldn’t strike the demon down without risking Jack and the innocent pilot. And most importantly, he couldn’t risk Skye.
Skye and Lewis parted, and Lewis took a firm grip of her hand. He smiled, and Aries hissed.
“Thank you for rescuing Skye from her own folly,” he said, and to Aries’ ears he sounded insincere, but Jack nodded.
“Our pleasure,” he said. “Really, we were just doing our job.”
