by Tenaya Jayne
Every last coin was spent on the room, bath, and food. But he’d also managed to pick up a cheap set of clothes from a street merchant. He didn’t have time to launder his clothes, and the thought of putting his dirty ones back on after his bath was abhorrent. It had only taken him an hour to clean up and eat. Now, he was anxious to get away from the public.
Redge stepped out of the hotel into the side street and was immediately knocked roughly in the shoulder by a running, young man.
“Where’s the fire?” Redge yelled.
The young man stopped for a second and turned back to look at him. His eyes were excited, and he was panting from running. “There’s a Storyteller! Just a block over. My brother told me! Come on!” He waved for Redge to follow and took off again.
Redge’s feet had grown roots right through the street. Storyteller.
Both his mind and his heart stalled. It wasn’t her. It wasn’t possible. She couldn’t come back. It was someone else from her world. He uprooted his feet and moved in the direction the young man had gone. Maybe this person knew Journey. Maybe he could ask about her, and if this Storyteller decided to go home, perhaps they would be willing to take her a message from him. He hardly dared hope for so much.
Redge rounded the corner. A group of people huddled around the Storyteller. Again, his feet grew roots. He shook himself. It was a mirage. He was projecting his memories onto the woman in the center of the mesmerized crowd. She had her back to him, but the way she held herself…he knew it so well. The sunlight caressed her golden brown skin and glinted off the small metal baubles laced randomly through her braided hair. Her voice moved over him. He could barely hear it at this distance…but still…
Redge shook himself again. It was impossible. Perhaps this person was related to Journey. He looked at the story, moving in the center of the crowd, and a punch hit him in the gut. There in the mists of the story he saw himself as a young man. It was him! He was in the story, and then so was Journey. The Storyteller told the dazed crowd about their tragic love.
He moved closer, unable to stop himself, until he was standing on the edge of the group. He could hear her voice clearly now, but she still had her back to him. It wasn’t possible, he told himself again, firmly.
“Journey?” he whispered.
The song stopped. She turned, her magenta eyes locking onto his. The entire universe held still. He couldn’t think of what to say, or what to do. There was no calculation, flirtation, testing, or games. He did what he had to, that was all. He reached forward and grabbed her by the hand.
They left the city, hand in hand, in silence.
****
They walked all the way back to the ruin. Her heart had been holding still for so long, but now it began to rouse from its sleep. Her hand ached in his. This first physical contact after so long was dreadfully powerful, intoxicating.
As soon as he had her through the door, he turned on her. Violent shivers pricked all the way down her insides. Her breath came in and out, quickly and shallow. He took both of her hands in his. His whole body trembled. His gaze pushed hard and deep into hers. Everything had changed…and nothing had changed.
One single tear slid from his eye, and he took a sharp breath. He raised her hands to his lips, kissing each of them in turn. Then her palms, wrists, forearms. He kissed her up to her collarbone and sank his teeth into her neck.
“Redge,” she exhaled raggedly. “Talk to me.”
“No,” he growled. “You told me everything last night.”
“But you’ve told me nothing.”
He pulled back a bit and looked in her eyes again. “Ask me quickly.”
“Do you still love me?”
“Don’t you know? Haven’t you read it in my broken heart?”
“Do you want me to read it?”
He kissed her roughly, his chest pressed forcefully against hers. “Read it.”
She did then, finally. It choked her. Her throat went thick, and she couldn’t breathe as she felt what her leaving had done to him all those years ago, and that he had no hope to ever see her again. She had suffered acutely, but his was the greater pain. He loved without reservation. He loved her fully, with everything he was, and it had never dimmed. She’d feared in vain, for there wasn’t even the faintest trace of those kind of feelings inside him for another. Reading him left her staggered. How could he love her this much, still, after all this time?
“Well?” he demanded.
She nodded her head in a few quick jerks. “All right… You said we would both break, if you got your hands on me again.”
A faint trace of the cocky youth she’d fallen in love with flashed in his expression. “Scared?”
“No,” she whispered. “I’m ready to break.”
Her heart nearly jumped free of her ribcage as he leaned in and kissed her mouth. She remembered this. One second of sweetness… then rushed the insatiable insanity. Empty years of being apart raged and demanded to be filled up right then. It couldn’t be fast enough. She held onto him and turned her face to the sky. Her body remembered his, and it seemed his remembered hers. Oh, she broke all right. She broke, and so did he.
“This is impossible.” He panted, looking down at her.
“I’m sorry, it took me so long… Coming back wasn’t impossible, it was however, very, very difficult.”
He kissed her again, his eyes open, pouring his soul into hers. The first wave of reuniting had been violent in its intensity, ravenous, and irrational, now replaced by a sweet ache that demanded to savor everything slowly. She sighed into him, but he pulled away, a terrible look on his face. He ran his hands through his long hair and turned his back on her. Her body ached with losing the contact of his.
“Redge?”
“Why did you have to come back now?”
Anger flashed. “Don’t play games with me! Don’t even think about it. I was just inside your heart. I know you love me more than your own life.”
He swore angrily. “I mean, now. All these years, the way I’ve lived for you…I’m a good man. I’ve been a soldier, a captain, an investigator. I’ve lived in the Onyx Castle. Prince Syrus is—was—my best friend. I rose above my origins and have lived with dignity. I wish you could have come back to see me like that. But now…I’m a slave to an evil man. I’ve lost everything. I’ve never been so debased, and this is how you have to come back to me…I have nothing to offer you. I have nothing. You probably don’t even believe me.”
She sighed and went to him, grabbing him by the shoulders. “I believe you. I believe you were all those things. And I’m proud of you… Can you not get back what you lost?”
He shook his head. “I don’t know. I doubt it.”
She touched the slave mark on his neck. “It can be undone?”
“Only when my master is dead. And I don’t have the power to kill him… He’s made me do terrible things, Journey.”
She pursed her lips and looked down at his chest. When she’d read him before she was only looking for one thing. This time, she would see everything else. She absorbed what she learned with a heavy heart. But her healing instinct quickly took over her sorrow. She began to plot how to help him, and an idea flashed in her mind. Maybe, just maybe…
“Are you too proud to let me help you?” she asked.
He frowned and shook his head. “I’ve no pride left.”
“Really?” A small smile curved her lips. “I would think any man who could do to a woman what you just did to me would have a great amount of pride.”
He chuckled, the heaviness on him easing a little. “I love you, Journey.”
“Then let me help you. Let me try.”
“What do you think you can do?”
“What happens to you when your master forces his will on you?” she asked.
“He gives an order—it doesn’t have to be verbal—and I turn into a puppet. I cannot stop myself from carrying it out. My hands belong to him.”
“Does your mind go blank when th
is happens?”
“No. I wish it did. I am perfectly aware of everything I am doing but powerless to stop myself. Only when the order is lifted or fulfilled do I regain control of my body.”
“Good… That’s good,” she said, looking off at nothing.
“That’s good?”
“Yes. I think it is. I think, if I were with you when you received an order, if you let me in, I could give you the power to override it.”
“You mean you’ll hypnotize me with a story?” He frowned.
“Sort of.”
“Well, let’s try it. I’m under an order right now to stay in Halussis until Shreve comes to get me.”
She smiled. “All right, let’s take a walk and see how far away from Halussis we can get.”
They headed out hand in hand, but when they reached the open doorway Journey dug in her heels. He turned to her questioningly.
“Not just yet. I need to be broken again… right now.” She pulled him back inside.
Chapter Twelve
Syrus watched Forest intently. She continued to sleep, but sleep was all it was. She wasn’t in any danger now. She was healing. Her heart was still very weak, but it was growing stronger by the hour. He sat next to the bed and stared at her as though she might vanish if he turned away for even a second. He touched her gently, kissed her face, and laid his head on her stomach.
His power was in the baby. He could feel the new life surge and snap with his red lightning current. It was the first time he was able to feel calm about the child since he’d first heard their little heartbeat quicken. His heart swelled. He was a father. The thought made him dizzy. Who were they? What would they become? Half vampire, one fourth elf, one fourth shifter. What amazing gifts. They would literally be one of a kind.
He imagined a son and how wonderful it would be to train his boy in the Kata. Then he imagined a girl with her mother’s beauty and strength. Oh, shit, that would be trouble.
His eyes slid out of focus as he got lost in his thoughts of fatherhood.
“Syrus.”
Forest’s hushed voice broke through his reverie. He blinked and looked down at her, taking her hand and kissing it.
“How are you feeling?”
“Terrible.” She placed her hands on her stomach. “I’m so drained. I’ve no strength at all.”
“It’s okay. You just need some more time. It’s a good thing you’re so tough, otherwise you wouldn’t have survived.”
Her eyebrows pulled down as she traced a gentle line along the side of his eye. “What happened to you? You’ve changed.”
He looked away from her, self-conscious. “Sorry. I’ve noticed a difference in the way people look at me, the way they treat me. It doesn’t frighten you, does it? I couldn’t stand that.”
“I could never fear you, my love. But I can see why others do. You emanate warning.”
“Good.” His voice was sharp.
She smiled weakly. “What happened to you?” she asked again.
“Rage. I thought I knew rage, but I was wrong. It was rage that transformed me into a mage, and now it has transformed me into something else.” He frowned at her. “Do I look bad to you?”
She snorted and then sobered. “No, not at all. I like that others find it off putting. Maybe it’s just me and that’s good, but you are way too hot, Syrus. I don’t want to let you out in public.”
He pressed his lips against hers softly, but it still hurt. He felt her pain response and pulled away.
“Tell me what’s going on? Has Copernicus shown his face? Is there any fighting?”
“I don’t know. And I’m not leaving you to find out, so don’t ask.”
She smiled feebly and then groaned. “I need some water.”
“Okay. The kitchen is as far as I go from your side. Even that will be a struggle.”
Syrus propped her up on a few extra pillows and left the bedroom to get her a drink. He jumped in alarm and swore loudly as he entered the living room. Zeren sat quietly in the corner.
“Damn it, Dad! You startled me! I didn’t know you were here.”
“So I gathered.” Zeren smiled, standing and pulling his son into a tight hug. “I’ve been through a hell of a day, Syrus. I thought I’d lost all of you.”
“You almost did. Very nearly.”
“Syrus?” Forest called from the bedroom.
Syrus frowned at Zeren. “She’s very weak.”
“I won’t wear her out,” Zeren said as he went in to see Forest.
Syrus got the water and came back into the bedroom and stopped on the threshold, watching his father hug his mate. “You take your time and get well. I’ve set up a guard for you. You’ll be safe. We won’t lose you again.”
“Security ogres?” she asked.
“Just Merhl. The rest are volunteers, well Merhl volunteered, too. Demanded to protect you is more like it.” Zeren smiled. “Ithiel, Merick, Netriet, and Kindel all insisted they would take turns guarding you.”
“Kindel needs to be at work,” Forest argued.
“You can boss him around when you see him. Don’t worry about anything else right now.”
Sad lines pulled around her eyes. “The Fair?”
“Don’t worry. Your friends are fine. Only minor injuries.”
Forest exhaled in relief. Zeren kissed her head and left the room. Syrus set her water on the table next to her and followed his father out into the garden.
“Thank you,” Syrus said quietly. “For lying to her about the Fair.”
Zeren grimaced and nodded. “I hated that I had to. You’re right—she’s alarmingly weak. She can’t handle that right now…I didn’t want to ask, but…”
“What?” Syrus asked.
“Did the baby survive?”
Syrus smiled. “Yes.”
Zeren hugged Syrus again tightly. “Good! I’m so relieved you didn’t lose them, either of them. Forest will get better. We’ll fix this trouble Regia is in. The world must be safe for my grandchild!” Zeren let go and made to leave. “Merhl is just outside the gate. He’s waiting to create a new level of security over your home.”
“Thank you. Please send Ithiel here soon. We need to keep working on our plans to counteract Copernicus, and I can’t leave Forest, guard or not. I have to stay close to her.”
“Of course. I’ve called all the masters and search parties back. Everywhere is on high alert. The wolves have been keeping to themselves, but just this morning, a new ambassador showed up at the castle: a young she-wolf, claiming to be gaining in power in the pack. They are ready to join with the rest of Regia in this fight, even though they were not targeted in the strike.”
Syrus frowned. "I'm sure this is a stupid question, but you did make totally sure they are who they say they are and not one of Copernicus'?"
"We're sure."
Merhl opened a portal for Zeren, and he left.
"So," Syrus asked the ogre. "What are we going to do to make sure Forest is secure?"
Merhl rubbed his twisted hands together. "I'm going to create something new. Something I've never done before…I want to try and make a blood lock. Only those whose blood I have can enter the dome I'm going to create. I already have Zeren’s, Ithiel’s, Merick’s, Netriet’s, and Kindel's blood. Now I just need yours."
"Interesting. How much blood?"
"Just a drop." Merhl pulled out a small knife.
Syrus cut a line on his index finger and held the wound over Merhl's open palm. He caught the blood and closed his hand over it.
"Can the lock be broken?" Syrus asked.
"Anything can be broken, but I'm building in many layers to safeguard failure."
Syrus nodded. "When will it be finished?"
"In a few moments. You will hear it."
Syrus went back into the house, anxious to get back to Forest's side. He did indeed hear the blood lock close over them. The sound was like the slamming of a heavy vault door. Forest was asleep again. The warmth of a fever began building unde
r her skin, and splotchy red patches spread over her cheeks.
Syrus put his head in his hands. She would be all right, he told himself forcefully. She would be all right.
****
Redge could scarcely stop looking at Journey, afraid the whole day had been a dream. He almost tripped more than a few times because he wasn't looking where he was going, he just looked at her. The light of sunset breathed on her russet skin and glinted in her magenta eyes. She was so exotically breathtaking, and she was his… At least for now. He hadn't yet asked her if she was able to stay, too afraid of the answer.
His slave mark began to bite down and burn as they neared the rural limits of Halussis. They reached the invisible line, and his body locked down. He could take a step backward, but in front of him was a wall.
"Is it happening?" she asked.
"Yes. I can't move forward at all. And my slave mark burns."
"Try to defy the order on your own."
"I have." His voice was emphatic. "Many times, with previous orders, ones I wanted to ignore much more than this, I can assure you. It's pointless."
"Just try," she said gently. "I need to see it."
He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He didn't know what to do. He thought about walking forward, pushing his body, straining to move it. Pain rushed into his muscles, and sweat beaded on his skin from the effort. Nothing happened, just a faint tremor shook deep inside him. He stopped pushing and opened his eyes.
Journey stared intently at his chest, her eyes tunneled, and a look of concentration pulled on her brow. He held still and waited.
"Clear your mind of me," she said finally.
He laughed. "How?"
She returned his smile indulgently. "Focus all of yourself on moving past the boundary. Let your one and only desire be to leave Halussis. I'm going to join with you on this. Don't worry about me or what I'm doing, just focus on walking forward."
He exhaled and looked forward, concentrating on what she’d said, and tried again to move forward. It felt the same for the first few seconds, like he was shoved up against a wall. Her voice came low from behind him, the notes sliding deep into his mind. Heat snaked up and under the back of his skull, moved through his head, and broke out of his eyes. His sight opened wider, his irises expanding around the warmth.
