by Brynn Myers
Dillon’s voice was the next one I heard. "Kylah…NO!"
Flames moved outward beyond my body. The flames rose higher as they slithered towards their prey. The creatures kept coming as if they were untouchable, but the flames changed once again to bright white.
Syd’s voice boomed over the high pitched screeching. "Aerric take her to the labyrinth…NOW!"
Aerric wrapped his arms around my flaming body and flashed us out of the alley.
Chapter Sixteen
We stood in a stone room with moss covered walls and dirt floors, the only light shining from the torches on the walls. It took a moment for my eyes to adjust to the new lighting, but just as I was about to scold Aerric for fading us out of the alley, he pinned me against the walls with a crushing kiss full of passion and pain. He kissed me for what seemed like an eternity, our bodies intertwining with each thrust of his tongue.
He lifted me off the floor and I wrapped my legs around his waist, my body melting against his as if we were one and feeling as if no time had passed since we last touched. The heat between us was more than mere sexual tension; our bodies were literally a mix of red and blue flames. Aerric kissed my neck, his fangs grazing my skin with a burning heat as he ripped the jacket off my shoulders and tossed it to the floor. The linen blouse was the next thing to go as he lifted it over my head, exposing my lace bra.
He growled at the sight of my body, only stopping long enough remove the ridiculous coat he was wearing. The buttons flew as he ripped it off. His bare chest heaved as he moved to undo his belt, but I put my hand up to halt his next move. He growled once again but obliged my request as the flames in his eyes flickered. He leaned back against the adjacent wall, watching as I removed my bra. I swung it between my fingers, taunting him, knowing he would not remain across the way for much longer.
He slid his hand down to grasp his erection as I dropped the bra from my fingertips. That did it; I was against the wall once again, his hands tugging the tight black fabric down my hips, exposing my bare skin. He lost all control and unzipped his pants, freeing his hard cock.
"You are mine." He growled against my skin. "It has been too long and I cannot wait any longer."
He slid his fingers between my legs and I moaned at his touch. I, too, could not wait any longer. I needed to have him inside of me. I needed for him to claim me, not only because I was his mate, but because we had been apart for so long. My nipples tightened as he brushed against my chest. I nipped at his neck as he plunged his fingers deeper, but I wanted more. I wanted his thick cock sliding in and out of my wet core until we were both sated. Aerric must have read my thoughts because with one thrust he sheathed himself deep inside.
"By the gods, Aerric, do not stop." He complied with rough demanding strokes as he rubbed my nipple between his fingers.
My body trembled with each thrust, only spurring him even further to take me over the edge. The scent of sandalwood and leather mixing with the heat of our skin overwhelmed me as he drove himself deeper and deeper. His lips once again found mine as the waves of our orgasms simultaneously exploded, leaving us both breathless.
Aerric kissed me gently as he smiled against my lips. "In all of my days, I will never want anyone the way I want you. I have missed you, my love."
I looked into his eyes, which still swirled like molten lava, his passion not yet subsided. "I don’t understand how all this came to be, but as long as I am here in your arms, I won’t complain."
Aerric captured my lips once again, his hands caressing my face. "I will never let them take you from me again."
We stood there for a few moments longer, savoring one another as we kissed. I knew that it would be impossible for us to just go back to our home because here we were in the outer edges of the labyrinth, and if Aerric did not deliver me to the Nine and my grandmothers, there would be hell to pay. Aerric reluctantly helped me get dressed, apologizing each time he handed me a piece of tattered clothing. I made the pieces work enough to be covered.
Aerric shrugged on his jacket, which no longer had any buttons, but he just smirked. "I didn’t really like it anyway."
He intertwined his fingers with mine. "Are you ready to go?"
"No, but I know we don’t have a choice."
"We need to take a shortcut since we had our little detour here." He kissed my forehead as he wrapped his arms around me.
We faded to the opening of the sanctuary the goddesses called the labyrinth. The labyrinth was a series of mazes only family or members of the Nine could enter. The many entrances were intermingled amongst cairns and dolmans. If a human were to mistakenly find their way in here, they would be lost forever and most likely die, unless a member of the goddess’s court happened to stumble upon them. Supernaturals had a greater chance of survival, but the walls constantly moved and reconfigured themselves so that even the most talented mage would become disoriented and lose his way. The labyrinth was impenetrable unless you bore the mark: nine moons with a Celtic knot in the center.
As we stood before the thirty foot marble doors waiting for the magic in Aerric’s mark to open them, I took a moment to replay tonight’s events. There were so many questions I needed answers to, and only two women were capable of giving them to me. I bowed my head as the doors slowly opened and my black hair fell forward. With everything that had happened, I had completely forgotten about my costume. I looked over at Aerric for some kind of reassurance.
"I don’t know who I am anymore, Aerric." I pulled the wig off my head and let it fall at my feet. I looked different, I felt different, and now I was beginning to feel lost once again.
"I know who you are, and I will never let you forget it." He smiled as he grabbed my hand.
We walked forward into the foyer and the priestess greeted us. It had been a long time since I had been here in the labyrinth and I looked around, taking in the grandness of the space. I remember playing on the limestone stairs before me. As a child, I would run up and down, pretending I was drifting into the heavens. Mom would call up and say, "It’s time to return to me my child; you cannot stay within the clouds forever." I would giggle and respond. "But Máthair, this is where I wish to stay, there are no worries here." She would smile and look up at me leaning over the balcony. "My beautiful raven, how would I survive without your loving hugs though?" That would be all I needed to run back down the stairs, thumping my hands on the carved staircase as I ran towards my mother’s open arms. I looked up at the fresco painting and wished I could once again run up those stairs and play amongst the heavens, forgetting all that had transpired.
I was jolted out of the replay of my long forgotten memories as one of the priestesses spoke again. "They are awaiting your arrival, Goddess." As if I truly deserve that title.
Aerric squeezed my hand and nodded towards the ornate corridor that lead to the grand hall. My nerves were beginning to get the best of me as my heels clicked on the marble floors. Syd and Dillon stood near the doorway with less than pleased looks on their faces.
"Where the hell have you been?" Aerric glared at my brother but continued to move closer to Morrigan and Brighid.
There stood my grandmothers, side by side in their formal dress. Normally, I would need to be wearing more appropriate attire to be here, but due to tonight’s events, all I could do was try to hide my disheveled look.
Brighid’s smile was sympathetic as if she knew what I was thinking. I wanted so much to run and embrace Nana to feel the peace and comfort found in her embrace, but in this formal setting, such things were not allowed.
"Aednat my dear, come closer." Morrigan held out her arms.
"Please, grandmother, call me Kylah. Aednat is a name I wish to leave in the past."
"As you wish."
I made it to the top step where they were standing, and took Morrigan’s hands.
Morrigan’s words were stern but I sensed compassion in them too. "Syd and Dillon have informed me about most of what happened, but since Genevieve has yet to come home, we
are still unclear as to what she did to undo our magic."
"Vivi has not returned?" I took a step back, shaking my head in disbelief. "I must go find her. She needs me and she shouldn’t be alone right now." My heart began to race at the thought of her alone and suffering.
Brighid reached over and touched my hands. The moment she made contact, I could feel the magic flowing between us. Nana was reading my thoughts, watching tonight’s events as though she were watching a movie. She saw Liam kill Tynan, saw the way Liam looked at me in the alley, and she saw Vivi use her magic to release Ty’s soul. She quickly removed her hands and shot a worried glance at Morrigan.
"What sister? What has you so troubled?"
"Tynan’s soul resides within Kylah. He is tucked away safe until…"
"Until what, Nana?" Brighid turned away from Morrigan to look at me.
"Until you can embrace your true destiny, Kylah."
Tears filled my eyes as I listened to what Nana was saying; this was not some insane dream but my new reality. I turned to look at Obsydian, Dillon, and the rest of the Nine as they all stood there watching and waiting for some grand epiphany to strike.
The gravity of the situation hit me like a freight train. My knees buckled and I fell to the ground. Aerric, Dillon, and Syd all kneeled down beside me, but all I could do was weep. I could not fathom why Liam would kill Tynan. Why would Liam glare at me as though I was the reason for it all? I began to replay conversations in my head. I thought about my dreams and the fact that they were not really dreams at all but visions. The people I’d met, the job I had, the life I lived…all fabrications.
Brighid once again laid her hands on mine, but this time she used her healing touch to soothe the ache in my chest. She turned and silently communicated with Morrigan whose look changed from anger to sorrow.
Brighid called Dillon forth. "I need you to take Evan and the twins with you. Travel along the ley lines until you reach the Nexus. Once there, you will be able to sense Genevieve. Bring her home. We will need her if we are to bring back our lost souls. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Goddess. We will not return without her."
"Dillon, it is not just Genevieve you will be bringing home. She is using dark magic to keep Tynan’s body safe from the Sluagh. You must convince her that his body will be safer here, that we will protect him. Genevieve is frightened of our wrath, but please tell her we would never let any harm come to her or the baby she carries."
We all gasped at her words but she addressed Morrigan instead of the rest of us.
"That is why she freed Kylah from our magic. She is carrying Tynan’s child, and she could not bear to live without him. She knew from the prophecy that Kylah was the only one who could save him, and she took a chance." Morrigan bowed her head as she stood there in silence.
"That is not all, dear sister." Brighid took my hand in hers and showed Morrigan the ring on my finger.
Morrigan was not often shocked, but this time she was. "IMPOSSIBLE!" she bellowed as she appeared before me. "Where did you get this?"
"It was in my room on the floor. A friend of mine thought it would go with my costume."
"Costume? Why would you call your warrior’s outfit a costume?"
Dillon was the one to answer because I began to fumble over my words. "She found her journal and assumed it was Mother's, but with the secret still needing to be preserved, we played along, letting her think it was."
Morrigan shot a menacing glance at Dillon. "I thought her journal was safely hidden."
"We did too, but when Gavin started breaking into her dreams, he also broke down our ability to keep things hidden from her view. Once she found it, I could not take it away without her questioning my motives."
"Obsydian, I want you to go and collect all of Kylah’s things and bring them here to the labyrinth. Kylah will not be returning to the human world until we can get a handle on things."
"What? I’m not returning…but why?"
Syd turned to look at me, his voice solemn. "Is the book still in your messenger bag?"
"It should be." I grabbed Syd’s arm, my eyes pleading. "I’m sorry I didn’t listen." He nodded at me and shimmered out without speaking a word.
The room became silent as each member of the Nine was given a task, one by one fading to their destinations. Aerric and I were the only two left in the room when Morrigan finally spoke.
"Aerric, you will take Kylah to her chambers and wait there with her until we call for you." Aerric lifted me into his arms and bowed at the goddesses.
But before we left, I made him stop and put me down. I ran to my grandmothers and embraced them. "I know the choices you made were difficult ones, but I want to try and do my part to save this family, to save Tynan. I can hear him speaking to me. It’s faint but I know I can help him and help Vivi. Please let me do this. Don’t lock me away."
"We did it to keep you safe, but we realize now that we only prolonged your fate. We altered the flow of life, but now, Kylah, in order save Tynan, you must embrace your destiny." They both stepped back and held out their hands and an old parchment appeared. "We have something we think you should read. It may help guide you on your new path."
They each leaned down and kissed my head, and then in unison, faded into a mist. I shook my head, but at this point, what else could possibly shock me? Aerric took my hand in his and then smiled as he once again lifted me into his arms.
"That parchment has waited for two hundred years; another few hours won’t kill anyone." He brought my lips to his and smirked as he faded us to my chambers.
Chapter Seventeen
Aerric and I spent the next few hours catching up on lost time, reconnecting not only our bodies but our hearts. I loved Aerric–he was the other half of my soul, and here in his arms I felt safe and secure. I lay next to him, watching him sleep, but the curiosity of what my grandmothers had given me finally got the best of me. I wrapped a sheet around my body and walked to the chair next to the light. I clicked it on and sat with my feet curled underneath me. I carefully pried open the wax seal and gently opened it. The paper was well-preserved but it still crackled as I unfolded it. I took a deep breath and began to read.
Dear Kylah,
There are two things you need to know and I am the only one who can explain them. I overheard Morrigan and Brighid’s plan and by the next full moon, you will not remember the events of the past few months. My hope is that in baring my soul to this parchment, I will be able to prevent you from making the same mistakes I have made. I am certain you will consider all of this too impossible to imagine, but you need to accept your past so you can move on with the future.
I write this letter to you now with profound sadness in my heart, so please take heed of every word. On the night the Naio were to fight a new clan of Sluagh, you made the choice to go out alone. You assumed you were ready to fight, assumed you would be able to control your powers enough to help in this war, but you were wrong. Your powers were only coming to the surface, and like Obsydian and Nana warned, you needed more training, more time to control your emotions, but you were impulsive and your choices had grave consequences.
The night was fairly quiet and you had yet to encounter any of our enemy, but that quickly changed as you went deeper into the forest. A little girl stood crying by a tree, calling out for Brighid. You went to comfort her and protect her as your grandmother would have, but the closer you got, you realized she wasn't a child at all. She was a ghost: a soul without a body. She floated away as you went to grab her, the trail leading you to her slain body lying only a few feet from her mother. She pleaded with you to take her home. She said, "You are the one who can take me to the netherworld."
You were so stunned by her words that you didn't see or hear the Sluagh as they came up behind you. The little girl pleaded, "Please, please do not let them take me. My soul will be lost forever." Those were the last words you heard before you slipped into darkness. When you finally woke, your arms were bound and blood drip
ped from your wounds.
The Sluagh fledglings brought you as a gift to the very man you swore to kill time and time again. Liam sat on his lavish throne, barking commands at his clan while a demon whore serviced him. His smug demeanor was a blessing because he was unaware of who you were when he dismissed you. "Feed her to the changelings" rang in your ears, but you were too weak then to try and fight. Lying on the dungeon floor, spikes dug into your skin as the rats came to feed from your open wounds.
You were not the only one locked in the dungeon; others were being tortured and violated too. It was difficult to understand why they had gone to them first until you heard two of the commanders talking about saving you for last. They wanted you to have enough strength for the things they planned on doing to you. The screams of the others haunted you until the silence took over and a new nightmare began.
One of the guards came to you as you lay on the dirt floor, beaten but no longer broken. Your mind was completely focused on getting home alive. You remained motionless as he entered the cell, dropping his armor and clothing on the floor as he walked towards you. He grabbed you by the hair and pulled you up, trying to coax you to pleasure him. When you resisted, he struck you across the face, igniting not only your anger but the power within. Your body began to burn and the male holding you was soon consumed in a bright orange flame. As he screamed for mercy, two other guards began to charge, but the flames had changed to a deep blue and began to spread outward from your body. This had happened to you once before, and you were able to control it with Aerric’s help, but he was not there to guide you and you lost control, leaving nothing but ash and soot in your wake.
