by M. K. Dawn
This has officially been the weirdest day ever.
“I have always wanted to do that!” Gina squeals. She is literally jumping up and down like a giddy four-year-old. “You always see girls do it on TV and the movies. My mom did it once in a movie, and she said she felt so cool afterward. Of course, when she did it, it was staged, but mine was real! I mean, really, I never thought I would be in a situation that I would be able to do it. What do you think, Alaina?”
“I think you poured beer on a person who is crazy, and a lot bigger than you. What if he had attacked you? We have no idea what he’s capable of.”
“Pfft! You are such a downer sometimes. He is way too hot to hurt anyone. Anyway, if he tried anything, we have all these guys to protect us.” She opens her arms. “Right, guys?”
A muffled “yeah” echoes in the bar, some lift their glass in agreement.
“See, perfectly safe.”
***
The next few hours go by in a daze. My headache intensifies as the hours tick by. It feels like something inside is trying to break free and is using a jackhammer to do it. I can’t shake the feeling that something is wrong. By nine, I’ve had enough. The bar is slow, so Gina has no problem taking over my tables.
Too tired to change, I grab my bag from Gina’s locker, stuff in my yoga pants, tank top, and flip-flops, and head out the back door. It's dark out, but with the full moon, I can see my surroundings clearly.
Just as I step onto the sidewalk, I'm struck with a feeling of being watched. It has been hours since my encounter with Brady. No way would he stick around… or would he? He’s crazy, but he didn't seem like he wanted to hurt me.
My heart races as I recall the man outside my school. Not wanting to face him again, I decide to turn around and go back to the bar. I can wait in the locker room until Gina gets off, then go home with her.
Halfway down the alley, I spot a shadow waiting outside the employee door. I instinctively take a step back. The shadow takes a step towards me. Terror courses through me. Deep inside of me, I know this person has every intention of harming me. I drop my bag and run. My shoes come off but I hardly notice. I can’t dig up the courage to look back. I'm sure that what I will see will terrify me to the point where I won’t be able to continue forward.
I dart into the street, unaware if there are cars coming or not. Someone screams my name. I turn just in time to see a set of blinding lights approaching. Arms grab a hold of me from behind, knocking the wind out of me. A bright light flashes, then the world around me goes black.
Chapter Eight
Alaina
“Good morning, sleepy head.”
My eyes shoot open. I gawk at the sexy, but insane man sitting across from me. What the hell happened? And why on earth am I in the woods?
“You took the transport a little worse than expected,” Brady says as he tends to a fire. “Sure, it takes time to get used to it, but wow did it knocked you out. Of course, it could have been because I slammed into you. Why the hell would you run out in the middle of the damn road anyway?”
I throw what must be his shirt to the ground and scoot backwards until my back hits a tree.
“Easy there, Princess, I already told you I'm not going to hurt you. What other proof do you need? I saved you from getting hit by that truck.”
“SAVED ME? SAVED ME? Are you out of your mind? You kidnapped me!” I tug at my skimpy work uniform. “Did you, did you…?”
He cocks an eyebrow. “Did I what?”
“Did you take advantage of me last night?”
A look of sheer horror crosses his face. “What? Gods! Why would you even think that? I saved your life, Princess! You may not want to believe it, but I did.” He stands and moves towards me. “The sooner you start to believe me, the easier this will be on both of us. You may not like being here; you might not like how I brought you here, but tough shit. There are evil people out there, dying to get their hands on you and if they do, being taken advantage of will be the last thing on your mind.”
Gods, he truly believes what he’s saying is the truth. Maybe he escaped from a mental hospital? “I know you think you’re trying to save me. But you need to come back to reality and see that you’re hurting me. You’ve kidnapped me, taken me away from my home. Please, take me back. I promise to not press charges. I can even help you get the medical attention you need. Please, let me go.” I fight back the tears welling in my eyes. I don't want to appear weak, but maybe if he sees me cry, he will break free from his delusion.
He takes a deep breath, sighs, and kneels in front of me. “Please don't cry, Princess. I know this is a lot to take in. You don't have your childhood memories, and you have been in the human realm for way too long. Humans are very close-minded when it comes to things outside of what they can see. But everything I’ve told you is the truth. Let me take you back to our camp, and Eric should be able to bring back your memories.”
His eyes plead for me to believe him, and in that moment, I want to. He’s beautiful in a way that no man has a right to be. His blue eyes are intoxicating. We stay unmoving, eyes locked, neither ready to look away. My mind wanders to my latest dream about the blue-eyed boy. The similarities are undeniable. And how strange is it that Brady mentioned someone named Eric, the same as the boy in my dream. There’s a scar on his head. I reach for his forehead to get a better look.
Without warning, he stands, and gazes off into the trees. “Did you hear that?”
“Hear what?” Reality comes crashing over me. What the hell am I doing? I almost touched him.
“Shit! We need to go, now.” He kicks dirt on the fire and grabs for his bag.
His momentary distraction provides all the time I need to run like hell in direction I heard the noise.
“Alaina, no!”
The slam of his boots leaves little doubt he’s close on my heels. If I don’t find whoever it is he heard, he’ll catch up to me in no time.
Branches batter my skin, to the point of drawing blood. My side aches and I struggle to take in air, but still, I don’t stop.
There’s a slight noise just ahead – a whispered conversation – just as Brady thought. If I can reach them, one will surely have a cell phone so I can call the police.
Twigs snap behind me. Brady’s gaining ground, and fast.
I cock my head, and strain against the commotion of our chase, to pinpoint my saviors’ exact location. They seem to be somewhere just over a small ridge. I scramble upwards, the loose dirt makes it almost impossible to gain any speed. More than once, I lose my footing and stumble part of the way back down. Just as I reach the top, ready to scream for help, Brady grabs me from behind. He clamps his huge hand over my mouth, wraps an arm around my waist, and drags me to the ground so he is lying on top of me.
Tears trickle down my face, but I refuse to give up. I snap at the hand that covers my mouth, but his grip is too tight.
Then I hear it - the voice of the man that chased me down in front of my school. I would recognize it anywhere. My body goes tenses, and instead of continuing to fight against Brady, I huddle closer to him. If I must choose between nut job Brady or that guy, it’s Brady hands down. He raises an eyebrow questioning my sudden change and loosens his grip. With his finger to his lips, he warns me to stay quiet. I nod and he lets me go.
Brady army-crawls to the top of the ridge to get a better look. He positions himself behind a patch of thick bushes and I do the same, curiosity getting the best of me. The voices increase. What I see rocks me to the core.
There are six men, five in armor, the other in the same clothes he had yesterday, all look like they just stepped out of the middle ages. The armor is red, blood-red, and on the breastplate, there’s a black dragon. I can't catch my breath. I’ve seen it hundreds of times, over and over in my dreams. This can’t be real. None of this is real. I feel like I'm going to start hyperventilating. Brady looks over at me. He reaches over and touches my arm, a small act of kindness to help me calm down, then he p
uts his finger to his lips again. I nod weakly, wondering how long I can hold it together.
“Are we in the right spot?” my would-be attacker asks.
“Yes, the orb registered somewhere close to here. This is also the spot our informant told us they would be. I can’t get an exact location, but they have to be close,” another man says, who is no less scary than the first guy. “Seeker!”
With that one word, fear spreads across Brady’s face. He grabs my hand and quietly pulls me down the hill, towards the bottom of the ravine. “This is bad,” he whispers. “Really bad.” He grabs my shoulders and pulls me towards him. “Alaina, look at me. If we’re caught, know that I will find you, that we - the warriors - will find you.”
My chest contracts, and I’m on the verge of hyperventilating. “Who are those men? Who are they looking for? What’s a seeker? What does it do?” The thought of being caught by that guy is too much to handle. I can’t move, can’t breathe. Brady grabs me by the hand and pulls me under the closest tree. I'm so close to him, I'm practically on his lap. He’s holding on to me as if our lives depend on it. Maybe they do.
“That’s what a seeker does,” he murmurs, finger extended towards the sky. A bright sphere-like object hovers below the tree line. “It’s searching for us. If it finds us we will be stunned and captured.”
Goosebumps prickle my skin. “The chances of that happening are…?” The grave look on his face tells me our chances are slim. Fear takes over again, burning deep in my chest, spreading throughout my body. As the orb grows closer, as my fears grow, so does the burning sensation. Seconds ticks by. When it coasts over our heads, I brace for the worst, but nothing happens. It keeps going, without as much as a scan in our direction. Brady's eyes widen, but still, we don't move.
“The seeker found nothing, my Lord,” one of the men says. They are so close, that if they take the time to look, they would spot us.
“They must have already transported back to their camp,” another one speaks.
“No,” the frightening one says. “There would be some remnants of his orb if they did. They would have to walk a safe distance, and then transport. They can’t be far. The princess is a weakling, scared and timid. I'm sure the warrior is having lots of trouble with her.”
“Seeker!” the man shouts again, and the ball disappears into his bag. The men leave, but Brady and I stay hidden underneath the tree. My legs ache from the uncomfortable position, but after everything I’ve just witnessed, I can't bring myself to move.
Minutes feel like hours. Neither of us speak.
Finally, Brady stands, starts dragging me along with him, and breaks the silence. “Impossible. You aren't even nineteen yet. I have never heard of someone powerful enough to be able to deflect a seeker. This makes no sense. There has never been such power in the royal line.”
I don’t even know what to say to that, so I just stare at him, eyes void of any type of emotion. Not that he notices.
He takes off the way we came and I follow, refusing to stand in the middle of Gods knows where by myself. I half expect him to give me some sort of explanation on what the hell is going on, but he doesn’t. We just walk in silence.
With each step, the silence becomes unbearable, until I can’t stand it a second longer. “What the hell is going on? Where are we? How are they even real?”
“Deep breaths. We are in Nysa,” he says matter-of-factly.
“What the hell is Nysa?” I scream, frustrated at his lack of explanation.
“It’s another realm, not unlike the human realm, but also vastly different.” He continues to walk. “The biggest difference is we have powers, or what humans would probably refer to as magic.”
“I don’t understand what that means!” My voice cracks. I’m about to lose it. My body twitches and I collapse to the ground, unable to catch my breath. “I think I’m going to be sick.”
“Alaina?” Brady kneels beside me. “I’m sorry. I keep forgetting you don’t have any memories of this place.”
“I don’t understand,” I sputter, hugging myself, and rocking back and forth.
He wraps his arms around me. “I know you don’t. It’s not something that is easy to explain.”
“Are we on a different planet? Are you an alien?” The words sound even more ridiculous as they leave my lips.
“Gods, of course not. We’re still on Earth, just think of it as a different version of Earth.”
I rub my eyelids, at a loss for words.
He helps me off the ground and laughs. “Maybe you can just take my word for it?”
With a sharp inhale, I strive to wrap my brain around what he said. Still on Earth, different realms. Sounds like a science fiction novel.
As we walk, Brady hovers close to my side, ready to catch me if I decide to have another meltdown.
A few minutes pass and my breathing returns to normal. My head still pounds, but at least I don’t feel like I’m going to throw up anymore. “So, you said we are in …. Nysa?”
“That’s correct.”
“I don’t suppose you have any tangible proof on you, do you?”
“As soon as I find my orb, I will.”
I roll my eyes. “What a surprise.”
“You seemed to recognize Wright’s men back there?” he asks, ignoring my sarcasm.
“No. Yes. Not really. It’s just my whole life I have had these nightmares and those men, the ones with the red armor, are at the center of it. Coming into a village, killing everyone, including my mother. I thought it was a dream. And now here they are. It doesn’t make any sense.”
“Interesting. Remember I told you a man named Lord Wright was searching for you? The red armor with the dragon is his seal. Seems someone told them our transport location. I told Eric we had a traitor amongst us. We need to get back to camp, and fast. Let me just find my orb. I know you didn't handle transporting well last time, but it’s the fastest way to get back, and with Lord Wright’s men around, the sooner we get back, the safer you will be.”
“Orb?” That’s the second time he mentioned it, and I still have no idea what he is talking about. I feel like I’ve just stepped off the train in crazy town, and worse, I’m starting to believe him. God help me, but those men, that armor, that flying seeker ball of light. It’s all too real.
“Yeah, it’s how we move around in Nysa. Everyone has one that is unique to them.” He lifts my necklace. “This is yours. It was given to you when you were sent to live with the humans. All you have to do is picture where you want to go and then it will take you there. They can also be used to go to and from the human realm during a full moon, or by portals, which right now are guarded by Wright’s men. It’s also the source of our powers.”
I disregard the power part for now, not quite ready to go there. “When I was a child, I used my orb to transport to the human realm? How did I know where I was going?”
“Ordin, Eric’s mentor, must have pushed images in your mind, which is how he sent you to the human realm. He also blocked your memories. He didn't want you to get locked up because you were deemed crazy for speaking about powers and warriors and your life as a princess.”
“Does that mean my dreams are real? That they’re memories?”
“They could be memories trying to resurface. I'm not sure. You would have been in the castle when the war started, not in the village. As for your mother’s death, I don't know. No one knows what happened to the Queen that night. Most believe she was taken by Lord Wright when he couldn’t find you.”
A million questions pop into my head when Brady holds up his hand to stop me. “Listen, I'm sure you have a ton of questions. Eric is the one you need to get the answers from. I'm just the delivery man.”
“Boy.” My hand flies across my mouth. After everything that has happened, correcting him on a common saying just pops out, like this is a normal day, and we are having a normal conversation.
His muscles go rigid. “What?”
Shit, shit, shit. “The sa
ying… it’s, delivery boy.”
The right side of his mouth curves up into a wicked grin. “Do I look like a boy to you, Princess?”
His husky voice catches me off guard. I whip my head away, my face all shades of red. “Sorry, that’s not what I meant. I mean, I'm not sure what I meant. I'm nervous and overwhelmed, and tried to make a joke, which didn’t turn out the way I planned. Of course, you don't look like a boy. I mean, obviously.” Shit, I’m digging myself into a deeper hole. What the hell is wrong with me? Am I flirting with this guy right now? There are more important things to worry about. Like being magically transported to a different realm.
He sneaks up behind me; his hot breath on my neck catches me off guard. The whisper in his voice sends chills down my spine. “Is it, Princess? Is it obvious that I'm not a boy?”
He’s toying with me. If I learned anything from being in foster care, it’s that you can't let people, even the ones bigger than you, push you around. I turn, inches from his face and smile, the sweetest, most seductive smile I can manage. “It’s obvious, looking at you, that you’re not a boy.” That gets a great big smile out of him. “That is, until you open your mouth. Then, honestly, it’s hard to tell.” I saunter away with a boldness that would make Gina proud.
Desperate to change the subject and give myself something to do, I ask, “So what does this Orb of yours look like?” When he doesn’t answer, I glance back, unable to resist a peek at his reaction. He’s still smiling, but some of the cockiness seems to have disappeared. My Gods, he is gorgeous, and one thing’s certain: he is in no way, a boy.
Chapter Nine
Brady
“Brady! Hello? Orb? What does it look like?”
My mind can’t comprehend what Alaina is saying. A second ago she was so close. Her smell was intoxicating. Warriors have a natural sexual energy that makes it nearly impossible for women to resist, so it was no wonder she reacted the way she did. I shouldn’t have teased her, it was cruel. But Gods, she’s beautiful.
