Fractured Spirit (Alpha World Book 5)

by Daniel Schinhofen

  The three of them lay there waiting for sleep, which didn’t come until Stacia finally sang the other two off to slumber. She was the last of them awake, her own heart pounding as she took in everything that had transpired tonight. She had thought her beloved blessed by the Dark Lord alone, but to find him blessed by the Overlord as well had shaken her. To be offered the certainty of Delta World with her beloved, and possibly her other two lovers as well would have made her the happiest person alive, if not for the fact that she had almost lost him today. She had come so close to losing the one person she loved more than life itself. She shivered, considering what might have become of her if that had come to pass.

  “I will nay let him go, Overlord. I will fight tooth and nail, against even ya if need be, to be keepin’ him with me.” She kissed his brow as she gazed at him, “Ya will nay leave me, will ya, me beloved husband?” She felt her own eyes grow heavy as sleep finally claimed her.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Alburet woke with the memories of last night playing again in his mind. Tears leaked from his eyes as he sobbed quietly, imagining what Kaylee would think of him for doing what he had done in her name. He knew now why David had never visited him after the last time.

  “Master,” Stacia’s voice brought his eyes open. She was leaning over him, her eyes staring into his, “Ya daft fool. Ya emotions be all tangled and wrong. None of us here feel anything but worry and love for ya.”

  Alburet tried to hold back the deep sadness and guilt he felt as he looked to either side, to see Karen and Fluff holding his hands. “What would she think of me? I threw aside everything I ever taught her. I committed murder, in her name, when she was already gone. She wouldn’t have wanted me to do that. Is she in the Heaven that Dad always talked about, looking down on me in shame and disgust?”

  Karen’s grip on his hand tightened, “Do you think the girl, the woman, that you helped raise would ever hate you, Seamus?” She used his real name to poke him into accepting her words. “Do you think your friend, who thanked you for doing what he could not do, hates you? The letter from your father that Stacia told us about, did he mention anything other than the love he felt for you in that letter?”

  Closing his eyes as his emotions swirled, Alburet shook his head. “I don’t know. I dishonored her memory for the last few years by not even acknowledging her death. What kind of a person am I to do that to her memory?”

  “I made you something while you slept,” Fluff said as she let go of his hand briefly. “I had to ask Vicky for some dates, but she was willing to help.”

  Tears leaking from his eyes, he opened them to see a drawing in a frame being held out to him. Kaylee, with a bright smile, stared back at him. The portrait depicted Kaylee in a floral print dress. Around her was a commemorative script. “In Honor of our Beloved Kaylee McMullen. May the Gods welcome you home until we meet again. March 23rd, 2014 to January 13th, 2033,” Alburet whispered the words as his finger traced the script.

  Seeing it, he broke down sobbing again, clutching the drawing to his chest. The trio of women comforted him the best they could, allowing him to purge some of the loss from his system. When he started to calm, he sniffled against the tears to thank her. “Thank you, Fluff. You are too good for me.” Wiping at his tears with one hand, he laid the picture on his chest so he could take her hand with his other. He pulled it to his lips, kissing the back of it. “I need to find a place to hang this, so I can be reminded of her every day.”

  “We will hang it in here, as we can nay hang it in the main room,” Stacia told him. “Fluff is nay done with her work, though.”

  Fluff held out another drawing to him, “I know what it’s like to be bereft of loved ones, to be alone and think that no one cares. I want to remind you that the three of us here care for you with everything we have.”

  Alburet took the drawing, this one of David in a plain blue button down shirt. The same script was written across his, but the dates were changed. His date of death was January 13th, 2035. Alburet did his best to hold back another flood of tears as he looked at his old friend. “You stupid git, you did kill yourself didn’t you? You were lost without her to help brighten your life. Why didn’t you tell me, you selfish bastard?”

  The usual flood of anger Alburet had grown accustomed to feeling over the last few years didn’t come. Only sadness and loss filled his being as he pulled the drawing to his chest so it rested atop Kaylee’s. After a bit he was able to see again, as he scrubbed the tears away from his eyes.

  Before he could say anything, Karen spoke softly to him. “Seamus, she has one more for you. Well, it’s technically two more. We hope you will accept it from all of us.”

  His eyes went from Karen, back to Fluff who held another, larger drawing. He took it with trepidation, hesitating a long moment before he looked at it. The left side of the drawing showed Kaylee, David and Seamus all smiling at the viewer. The words, ‘Love is never lost, as long as one person lives to remember’ encircled the image. The right side was a drawing of him and his three wives, with equally wide smiles. The words on that side were a little different, ‘Love can grow in unique ways, as long as one has an open heart’.

  He placed the larger picture on his chest as more tears spilled from his eyes. The love of the trio around him was like a tidal wave that he couldn’t resist. He didn’t even try to, instead he grabbed at them like a drowning man would a life preserver. He reached out and clutched Fluff and Karen’s hands tightly as he turned his head to rub his cheek on Stacia’s thigh. “I don’t deserve your love, any of your love. I can feel your love for me, and I am drowning in it. I want to be swallowed whole and never get out of it.”

  Karen and Fluff eased themselves down to lay beside him, each of them kissing him gently as Stacia tilted his head for them. Stacia then leaned down and claimed her own kiss, one that was soft and timid, as if she was afraid he might bolt on her. He kissed her back just as softly, unsure he deserved such love.

  “I already told Gerald tha’ we be nay goin’ out huntin’ until after the new recruits come in,” Stacia told him once their kiss broke. “He had some questions, but he understands ya can nay speak of the reasons.”

  “It’s almost time for dinner,” Karen added. “You’ve slept a long time. We were planning on holding a wake for Kaylee and David tomorrow night, like we did for your mom.”

  Alburet gave her a nod, “I would like that.” His hands shook as he continued to speak, “Can we do a memory walk again tonight? I want them to see how happy the three of us were before Kaylee was taken from us.”

  Stacia paused before she agreed, “Iffin tha’ be what ya wish, master. I will make me Ma’s stew for dinner tomorrow and we will drink, eat and listen to ya stories.”

  “Should I go get the sandwiches from the kitchen? We can eat in here,” Fluff half asked.

  “Tha’ be a good idea, Fluff,” Stacia said giving her a quick kiss on the cheek. “After tha’ we will take a bath.”

  “I want to hang these,” Alburet said as he started to rise.

  Karen pushed him back down gently, “No. You stay there. I will hang them where you want them.”

  Alburet started to object, but Stacia placed a finger over his lips. “Let her do somethin’ for ya. She be a bit upset tha’ she could nay do anythin’ for ya as Fluff did with the drawings.”

  He looked to Karen, sensing her upset undercurrent of emotion tinged with shame. “Karen, please hang them where you think they would look best. I trust you to pick the best arrangement for them.”

  A momentary thrill of happiness went through her at his words, as she took the frames. “It’s not much, but I want to show my love for you as well,” she said before she stole another kiss. With that she started to examine the walls, trying to find the best spot.

  While Fluff was out of the room and Karen was busy finding the right spot to hang the drawings, Stacia leaned over Alburet’s head again. Her lips were tight in a strained smile, her voice soft so only he hea
rd her words. “Ya can nay leave me, master. I will nay live long past ya, as I will nay want to do so. After tomorrow we will talk more, as other thin’s happened when ya was unconscious. It can wait until after we have the wake for ya friend and ya daughter.”

  He closed his eyes, wondering what else could have happened, “Okay.”

  Fluff came back with the food just as Karen finished hanging the drawings. No nails were involved, the frames affixed themselves to the wall when she held them there for a few seconds. Karen looked back at Alburet, to see if he was good with what she had done.

  Alburet gave her a wan smile, “That looks lovely.” The trio of drawings were just to the side of the door. Kaylee was first, followed by David, then the largest one last.

  Karen followed Fluffball to the bed, taking a sandwich and settling down and making herself comfortable. They ate in silence, each lost in their own thoughts. Stacia fed Alburet, allowing him sips of tea or bites of his sandwich at her pace. He let her care for him, as it made her feel better, and also helped him feel like someone needed him. When they’d all eaten, the trio of women all but carried him into the bathroom.

  He protested slightly, but didn’t attempt to stop them as they got him onto a stool. Stacia was behind him, with Fluff to his left and Karen to his right. “Ladies, I thought we were all bathing?”

  “Aye, after we get ya into the tub,” Stacia told him as she brought water down over his body.

  For the next half hour Alburet was massaged, scrubbed, and rinsed three times, with the women rotating around him. There were no sexual overtones, or even light sensual play. It was all just to help him relax and connect to the fact that each of them loved him in equal measure, in their own ways. He was all but asleep when they rinsed him for the final time.

  He was in a daze, not induced by Stacia, as they washed themselves quickly before joining him. He floated in the middle of the tub in an almost Zen state, trying to accept what his life was now. As he floated he would find himself near one of the women, who would kiss him before nudging him back out into the middle of the overly large tub. Eventually they fished him out, dried him off and took him to bed.

  He didn’t know if they had discussed it or not, but he was asked gently by Stacia to Copy her. He did so as he was put to bed. As Kitten appeared, Fluff and Karen each collected a kiss before they slipped from the room. He watched them go before turning back to Stacia, who stood naked next to her Copy.

  “Master,” Stacia began hesitantly. “I asked them iffin they would let me have ya all to me self tonight. I just want to hold ya, keep ya close to me and remind ya of me deep love for ya.”

  He held out his hand to her, “Come to bed my little fire kitten. I’m not up for anything more than cuddling, but I will always be willing to hold you.” He took a deep breath before he continued, “Thank you. It’s going to be hard for me to accept and move on, but I needed to know. I feel a certain peace, now that the lie I’ve been telling myself is finally gone. I’m going to end up crying like a small child again tomorrow, but I know you’ll all be there for me, again.”

  She climbed into bed, on either side of him. Kitten folded one wing under her, using the other as a warm living blanket over them all. “I will always do me best to do everythin’ I can for ya. Even if I was nay ya minion, I would as ya wife. I have been doubly blessed by ya to be both. I can never say just how much it means to me.”

  Alburet kissed her, then Kitten before he closed his eyes. Stacia and her Copy rested their heads on his shoulders as he gently stroked his fingers down their spines. “I don’t know if I’m exactly stable, dear heart. I know you’ll help hold me together if I start to crack again. At this point all I have left is you, Fluff, and Karen. I will do everything I can to focus on the here and now, to revel in the love you all share with me.”

  They lay there in warm silence until sleep claimed Alburet. As he faded off to sleep, Alburet briefly wondered what Victoria might have known and when. He vowed to ask her in the next few days. His inclusion in this game, with the ability to help him confront his broken mind, was a bit too convenient to his own thinking.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Waking to the sound of content purring, Alburet opened his eyes to find Fluff watching him. “Morning, Fluff,” Alburet said softly as he gazed into her eyes.

  Fluff could see the sadness deep in his eyes, even as she gave him a smile in return. “Afternoon, Al. Stacia and Karen are making the stew. Karen was quite happy when Stacia asked for her help making it. We thought it best to let you sleep until you were ready to wake on your own.”

  His face hardened for a moment as thoughts of his departed loved ones came to him again. He pushed away his sadness, masking his emotions with a false smile. “Yeah, we should get up.”

  Fluff caressed his cheek, “Al, don’t hide from us. We’re holding the wake once you come out to the living room. We want to share your joy, but we also want to help you shoulder your sorrow. You helped me confront my past, and continue to help me. So please, don’t mask your emotions.”

  Closing his eyes, he nodded once, “I’ll do my best.”

  “Good. Now come on, everyone is waiting for us.” Fluff got out of bed. “We just need to get dressed in the right clothing first.” She walked to the armoire off to the side of the room. Opening it, she pulled out a simple black dress.

  Alburet watched her as she dressed, appreciative of, but not lusting after, her figure. Instead, he was lost in contemplation of how far she had come in the time he had known her. He was still lost in thought when she turned around to find him still in bed.

  “Al, you need to get dressed, too.”

  Blinking, he smiled at her, a real smile if small and fragile, as he got out of bed. “Sorry, just thinking about how far you’ve come. Hoping that I can accept things even half as well as you have.” He found the same clothing he’d worn for his mother’s wake laid out on the dressing table. His lips creased upward for a moment, he knew Stacia had laid them out for him.

  Once they were both dressed they exited the bedroom. As they reached the living room the smell of Lilith’s stew filled their nostrils. Alburet breathed in the scent deeply, letting the aroma ground him some.

  “I see you finally woke up,” Karen said from near the stove. An apron covered her own black dress. “It seems you win, Fluff. He didn’t wake during my time with him.”

  “You all spent time laying with me until I woke up?”

  “Aye,” Stacia said from the living room, where she was setting a vase of roses next to a drawing.

  His eyes went to the drawing. David and Kaylee looked back at him from it. He swallowed the rush of sadness, trying to force it down. “I see. I’m sorry I slept so late.”

  Stacia glided towards him, her flowing black dress swaying with her movements. “Ya mind still be in upheaval, and we be understandin’. The stew will be ready in just a moment.”

  He gave her a strained smile, “Well, at least I didn’t miss that.”

  Stacia took him by the arm, leading him to the table. “Ya just relax and let us take care of the food. After we eat, we will sit on the sofa and listen.”

  He jerked his head once in affirmation of her plan, “Okay.”

  Fluff took the seat next to his, her hand resting on his closed fist. “Al, have I told you thank you today?”

  Blinking at the abrupt shift of topic, he shook his head. “No, but why would you? I haven’t done anything deserving thanks today.”

  “You might not have today, but you did things to make me thank you, from the first day we met, and every day we’ve been together since. Well, aside from quoting Romeo to me,” her lips quirked up as she watched his face.

  “Not my best moment,” he said, and for a fraction of a second his lips creased into a smile again.

  “Even that was still kind of nice. You didn’t press, you backed off and were respectful after that gaffe. It was interesting, to know that you were interested, and yet feel like you weren’t press
uring me. You went hunting with me, never demanding anything in return. You have always been the gentleman with me. You showed me that a man could be kind, caring, and not come off like all you wanted was my body.” She squeezed his hand, “Thank you.”

  Meeting her eyes, he covered her hand with his other one, “You’re very welcome, Fluff. Thank you for being here for me.”

  Stacia placed full wine glasses before both of them, and two more next to the other table settings. “We all be here for ya.” She placed another bottle of wine on the table within his reach. “Food be ready.”

  Karen came over with bowls of stew, setting one at each place. Stacia followed her a moment later with a basket of bread. “This is my first attempt at Stacia’s family stew, and I’ve never really been a cook, so keep that in mind.”