#
The Empress flinched when she saw Kelsey fall onto Desmond’s back and with all her power she took his pain and pushed it into herself. With a cry, the Empress fell to her knees and blood spurt from her nose. She gagged and heaved onto the floor.
The Emperor was instantly at her side, though he did not touch her.
“What are you doing? You should not interfere like this. You know you don’t have to do this.”
The Empress sat back on her heels to catch her breath. She shook her head. “I will not let Kelsey be plagued for her entire lifetime because of her gifts. We always ask too much of her and give nothing in return.” The Empress closed her eyes and concentrated and her entire body trembled with the effort.
“This is her path,” the Emperor said. “You’re intervening and hurting yourself in the process.”
The Empress raised her hands to the sky and grimaced as her body shook. She cried out in pain and collapsed back to the floor.
The Emperor could do nothing for her but sit at her side and offer support.
With effort, the Empress opened her eyes. They were bloodshot and deep circles rimmed her lids. “It’s done. She is free.” She tentatively reached out her finger and traced the back of the Emperor’s hand. Instantly, welts appeared and she quickly removed it. “And, my love, I will continue to intervene, no matter the cost. We have asked too much of this human, for too many lifetimes. It’s time she has some peace. It’s our path to help her, no matter the weight of the burden.”
The Emperor bowed his head to her. “As you wish, Empress.”
Epilogue
They sat together in Central Park by the Duck Pond, watching rowers glide by on the lake. Desmond’s back leaned against a tree and Kelsey lay in his arms. He played with a strand of her hair and twirled it in his fingers. A book of Aihikian poetry lay face down on her lap. “Kelsey, I’m not sure I understand how this all panned out. Can you explain it again?”
“I was a pawn, Desmond. For nearly five hundred years, the Emperor and Empress had an agenda for me.”
After Kelsey returned from Aihika, she took herself to Xanadu to confront her supposed “protectors” and learned the parts of the story that she had missed.
“You used me again,” she accused.
“And you have a problem with this?” the Emperor asked.
Kelsey looked at him aghast. “Of course, I do!”
The Empress chimed in. “Kelsey, from the moment you left Mara’s realm, your soul was no longer under his protection. But you were used for a higher good. You saved Aihika, as was the plan.”
“Desmond, with the Deva realm at war, your land was being destroyed. The Emperor and Empress realized if something didn’t intervene to change the course of events, the human realm on Aihika would be completely wiped out. So five hundred years ago they decided to set a plan in motion where you, me, Sitaula, and Finley would all come together to fight the battle. The stars were aligned, so they said.”
“Yes, but Kelsey, that means they allowed you to also get killed in every lifetime until the timeline fit. How do they sit back and watch your pain and suffering over and over, and only intervene in this lifetime when you were ten? Somehow, that’s not quite how I envision Buddhist protectors. It’s pretty evil that they let this happen to you.”
She pursed her lips, agreeing with him completely.
“So, they were the ones who had a monk create the original Voynich Manuscript when one of the Aihikians passed through Xanadu, and they were the ones who opened the portals between the worlds, all so that we could get to this one pivotal moment in time?”
Kelsey nodded. “They went back five hundred years to Earth with that manuscript, and this monk created a secret society like the Freemasons and the Knights Templar. They were the people that took Finley in. They protected the secret, put her in stasis and guarded the portal. They were the ones that planted the pictures and gave us all the clues, all so that we would meet together in Aihika.”
Desmond hugged her to his chest. “They depend on you a lot, yet give you very little guidance. You could have died. All of us could have. Are you telling me if that happened they would have just retried again in another lifetime?”
Kelsey bit the inside of her cheek. “It appears that way. You know, they promised me that they wouldn’t use me anymore. That my job is officially done and I can finally live my life the way I want.”
“And you believe them?”
Kelsey thought about it for a long time. “Yes, I do.”
#
Kelsey had been about to leave the salon when she glanced back at the Emperor and Empress. “So, I’m done being your pawn, right? You can promise me this one final thing? No more secrets, no more hidden agendas with me as collateral?”
The Emperor nodded. “Of course, Kelsey. We’re done with secrets. You’ve done everything we’ve ever asked of you. We’ll leave you alone. We promise.”
Kelsey stared at both of them. “Thank you. I believe you.” She left the monastery to return to Earth.
When the salon door closed, the Empress turned to her mate and scowled.
“Liar.”
THE END
Want to read more from Kelsey Porter? Check out Book #4, The Haunting of Cragg Hill House, here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071DLXPKG
THE HAUNTING OF CRAGG HILL HOUSE
Chapter 1
The snow swirled around the car, surrounding it like a shroud, while the windshield wipers whipped about like grave exhumers swiping dirt off the lid of a coffin.
Except for the sounds of the fierce ice storm peppering the car with snow and hail, they had both been silent. Kelsey didn’t want Desmond to lose his concentration. His jaw was set in a hard line and his fingers were white from gripping the steering wheel so severely. He’d been that way for the past half hour.
The tension in her own jaw was fierce and she continued to grasp the SUV’s grab bar for dear life. She peered out of the window, seeing nothing but blackness, but knew the car was precariously close to the edge. She’d seen the map of the route up the mountain and knew that this section of the road had no guardrails. And it was dark.
And the SUV kept skidding.
Kelsey glanced nervously at Desmond and sweat dotted his brow. That didn’t make her feel any more confident.
Suddenly something big and dark loomed in front of the car and Desmond hit the brakes hard to avoid it.
The SUV spun out of control and Kelsey shrieked. Desmond jerked the wheel and they swerved into the other lane and then twisted into a three hundred and sixty degree, stomach lurching spin.
Her world dissolved in a sickening haze of blinding white. Desmond desperately tried to regain control but the tires slid into another spin. The force pushed Kelsey sideways before the rented SUV plummeted wildly down an embankment and slammed into a ditch. The impact threw Kelsey forward. She gasped in pain when the airbags deployed and something slapped her hard in the face. For a moment she sat there, numb. The dust from the exploding airbag blocked her vision and burned her eyes. For a split second she saw a flash of brown fur, large antlers and a pair of stupid buck eyes, before the animal disappeared from view. She blinked ferociously and turned to Desmond. A fine powder covered him as well. His chest heaved heavily and his eyes were tightly closed.
But we’re alive.
She crinkled her nose at the odd acrid smell and for a moment neither of them spoke. They just listened to the blizzard outside as it blasted their car with snow. The windshield was soon covered and the headlights only allowed the faintest of images beyond, as if they were stuck in a shadowy, horror filled world of ghostly images.
“Are you okay?” Kelsey finally asked. “Did you get hurt?” She rubbed the side of her jaw absently.
Desmond rolled his shoulders and unbuckled his seatbelt. “No, I’ll be fine. Stupid deer. Why do they always just stand in the middle of a road?” He reached out his hand and gently wiped off her cheek. “Your skin is reddening u
nder all that powder. You get hit anywhere else from the airbag?” He dusted off his pants.
“I’m fine, Desmond, really.” Her arms smarted, and she knew she’d have a nasty bruise, but that was a small price to pay for nearly going over the edge of the mountain. “It could have been a lot worse.”
“Yes, though we both know your worst is not quite the same as everyone else’s. If it’s all the same to you, I’d rather you not get hurt at all on my watch. Okay, let’s see if I can back us up out of this ditch and get out of here.” He put the car gear in reverse, pressed the pedal and revved the SUV’s engine a few times. The car bucked a bit, but didn’t move an inch. Desmond tried a few more times, but the wheels only spun on the ice and snow.
He uttered a disgusted grunt. “Stay here, I’ll be right back.” He jumped out of the car, and Kelsey could just make out his shape bobbing in and out of the headlights. She reached up and turned on the overhead light.
Within a minute, Desmond scooted back into the car. Between the white talcum powder from the airbags and the snow, he reminded her of a snowman. Or a yeti. Only his beautiful blue-green eyes gave any indication he had any color to him.
He swiped at the wet flakes and dust on his face. “We’re not going anywhere in this thing. It needs a tow out.” He jutted his chin at the navigational unit on the dashboard. “How far are we from Cragg Hill House?”
Dear Lovely Reader,
If you enjoyed this novel, please consider posting a short review on Amazon.com. Reviews help authors a great deal, and that in turn allows us to write more stories for you. Thank you very much for your interest and support!
Yours, Elyse
Other Books by Elyse Salpeter
The Kelsey Porter Series – Adult thrillers
The Hunt for Xanadu – Book 1
The Quest of the Empty Tomb – Book 2
The Call of Mount Sumeru – Book 3
The Haunting of Cragg Hill House – Book 4
The Search for Starlight – Book 5
The Mannequins – Horror
Ricket Row Anthology - Horror
The Flying Series – Young Adult Thrillers
Flying to the Light – Book 1
Flying to the Fire – Book 2
The Children of Demilee Series – Dark Fantasy – New Adult
The World of Karov – Book 1
The Ruby Amulet – Book 2
To learn more about Elyse Salpeter, please check out her website at www.elysesalpeter.com or her blog at www.elysesalpeter.wordpress.com
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