Passion

by Kailin Gow

  Passion

  Book 3 of DESIRE

  Kailin Gow

  Passion (Desire Series #3)

  Published by THE EDGE

  THE EDGE is an imprint of Sparklesoup Inc.

  Copyright © 2012 Kailin Gow

  All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage or retrieval system, without the permission in writing from the publisher except in case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  For information, please contact:

  THE EDGE at Sparklesoup

  14252 Culver Dr., A-732

  Irvine, CA 92604

  www.sparklesoup.com

  First Edition.

  Printed in the United States of America.

  ISBN: 978-1-59748-030-7

  DEDICATION

  To my little girl, who recently overcame ASD.

  To my mother, who overcame cancer.

  Your strength at age 6 or 60, helped me believe in miracles and hope.

  Prologue

  Arcadia, Earth – Year 3010

  My life had fallen into a whirlpool of turmoil, and I felt helpless to change any of it. My destiny was out of my hands. It seemed like just yesterday I could stroll away from the modest home I shared with my mother in the Amethyst District as I headed to school. The sidewalks were pristine, the lawns immaculate, the streets clean, and the sky clear and bright.

  Every house I passed was in good repair, painted a cheerful color and trimmed with colorful flowers and charming shutters. The air was fragrant with apple blossoms, the sun was warm on my face and my life was as perfect as could be.

  So was the Life Plan I’d come up for myself. Life with Liam, life in the Governor’s Mansion, life in Arcadia. I had my future all plotted out, and nothing could take that way from me. But the unimaginable happened.

  My Life’s Plan… that’s what happened. A Life’s Plan that didn’t make sense. A Life’s Plan that prevented me from being with Liam. A Life’s Plan I couldn’t possibly agree with and abide by.

  Had all this… this ugliness, this blood, this death… been brought on because I disagreed with my Life’s Plan?

  I looked out at the crowd that filled the Coliseum, thousands of Magical Ones who salivated at the prospect of my death. Their eyes wide in anticipation as hungry dogs rushed to me.

  This is what my life had become – running through the dungeons of the Coliseum; Arcadia’s ugly little secret. My heart filled with pain and heartache for the men and women I’d seen imprisoned in the dark and dank cells, waiting in miserable and inhuman conditions for an end that promised to be bloody, gory and excruciatingly slow.

  And now, as I stood with my eminent death just moments away, I saw all that my life should have been, all the dreams I’d grown up with, all the fantasies, daydreams and fanciful imaginings.

  I also saw the dogs that were relentless in their approach.

  Then why did they stop so suddenly? Their snarls were replaced by whimpers; their dark eyes with clear happy eyes.

  Just as the dogs came to me, gentle, peaceful and loving, the sadistic eyes of anger and blood lust of the Magical Ones opened wide with disbelief.

  They would not see blood – not mine.

  Their shouts of fury and frustration echoed up to the roof which trembled, but as dust, crumbs of mortal and finally chunks of the roof began to fall onto the Coliseum floor, I realized it was falling apart. Enormous shards of glass accompanied the first chunks of cement, crashing to the dirt floor of the arena and spraying glass fragments in every direction.

  Had I just been saved from feral dogs only to be crushed by a shattering roof? I looked up to see cracks and increasingly larger pieces of the heavy roof falling around me, yet other than a sprinkling of dust and crumbs I was spared the painful blows of concrete and glass.

  Shouts and angry calls sounded over the crashing rumble and shattering glass; shouts from Magical Ones who’d been cheated out of a spectacle. They raised their fists and demanded blood, demanded satisfaction, but it was to be their own blood they would see first as many were injured by glass; others knocked unconscious by cement.

  The calm and peaceful dogs at my feet began to snarl again. I wanted to believe it was aimed at the Magical Ones – at the angry shouts, but the dogs rose and slowly circled me.

  The shouts of anger were replaced with shouts of glee.

  “Blood! Blood! Tear her guts out!” one enthusiastic spectator called out.

  His demand was echoed by those closest to him and soon the chant circled the Coliseum. Despite the crumbling structure around them, their bloodlust won over.

  I prayed the hungry dogs would resume their calm stance, but feared this could be the end for me.

  The crumbling roof opened a small hole and made the violet sky outside visible. Was the sun coming up or going down? Would I ever see the sun again? The hole quickly grew and violet, lavender and crimson took the place of the old grey stones that fell around me.

  Outside of the Coliseum the sky promised a beautiful day, a beautiful life, but the dogs crouched in preparation of pouncing on me. Drool dripped from their tongues, their fangs were prominent as they snarled and the tips of their paws dug lightly into the dirt in anticipation.

  I gazed to the sky, hoping to find an answer, hoping to find a way out of what seemed the end. In the violet sky, high above, a speck of gold caught my eye and my heart responded with a strong and powerful pounding of anticipation.

  A speck of hope lit the dusty gloom of the Coliseum.

  Chapter 1

  Far and almost imperceptible at first, it quickly grew, becoming clear and distinguishable.

  Armor, shining with promise, covered broad shoulders and protected the breadth of a warrior’s chest. As it came closer dismay rang out from the crowd.

  “Adar,” one shouted. “It’s General Adar.”

  I stared at the ever growing speck of gold and smiled at the incoming djinn. Of course… it made perfect sense. It explained the pounding of my heart and the great sense of hope I’d felt on seeing the faraway speck of gold.

  He swept down closer and closer, his face now clear, his determination even more so. Larger than I’d imagined, he dwarfed the average man. Sword in hand he swooped over the best seats in the Coliseum and sent several spectators into the arena where they scrambled in an attempt to resume their seats.

  But their awkward and futile attempts caught the attention of several dogs who quickly left me and ran toward the new meat.

  The remaining dogs around me cowered and backed away as General Adar approached, but one took the opportunity to pounce at me. I dodged him, but he turned and snapped his teeth at my calf, grazing the skin and getting a good grip on my pants.

  The tenacious dog pulled me one way while General Adar swooped down and swept me into the air. The dog held its grip, snarling with anger as we rose higher and higher. It snapped its jaw for a better grip and managed to get a painful hold of my ankle.

  “It’s not letting go,” I said to General Adar.

  I felt the bitter sting of my skin being torn open and tried to keep from crying out. Despite the pain I kicked as hard as I could, trying to get free. After holding on a few more moments, the dog’s teeth slid down to my heel, where it got a hold of my shoe which easily slipped off my foot. With my shoe held tightly in its jaw, the dog fell to the dirt floor several hundred feet below.

  It landed with a sickly thud and die upon impact.

  “I have to say, this is not quite the first encounter I’d anticipated,” said General Adar.

  I smiled and wrapped my arms around his neck. “I think this is the perfect encounter,”
I said. “Your timing is impeccable.”

  His golden hair fell to his shoulders, and despite the warrior helmet that lay low over his forehead, it was easy to see he was a handsome man, though in a rugged, almost intimidating way. He exuded strength and power, not only in his physical size, but also in his person. Intelligence flickered in his warm eyes and despite the circumstances that surrounded us his lips were curved into a loving and amused grin.

  “You certainly are my daughter all right.”

  “And I can see why my mother fell in love with you.”

  Landing as gently as a feather, General Adar settled in a high and vacant balcony, and set me down.

  “You're my father,” I said, feeling silly and sentimental as the words came off my tongue.

  “That I am,” he said with pride.

  Below us, the growls of hungry dogs, angry Magical Ones and the fearful cries of the few who were left to face the painful death they’d so anticipated watching, reached up to the high balcony.

  “They can’t take what they dish out,” General Adar said with a disapproving shake of his head.

  Two dogs set their jaws on each ankle of a smaller Magical One and prepared to tear him apart. Disgusted by the spectacle I turned away and grimaced.

  “Not as pretty as the perfect Arcadia you imagined, is it?” General Adar said.

  “Far from it. Turning eighteen has certainly been an eye opener.” I looked into his eyes, my head filled with questions and my heart filled with longing to get to know him, to catch up on lost time.

  “There’ll be time to get better acquainted later,” he said with a wink. “For now we need to find a way to help your friends.”

  “Yes. You're right. But there are also so many people down there, below the arena; innocent citizens of Arcadia who’ve been imprisoned for nothing – for the blood joy of these maniacs who get their kicks off others’ pain. There are dozens of tiny and filthy cells hidden below the Coliseum.”

  He set a patient and paternal hand to my shoulder. “I’ve long suspected the activities of this Coliseum. Sanz did a good job of covering it up, of keeping this torture den well hidden, but I knew he was up to no good. I’ve come prepared.” He gazed at the clear sky above the Coliseum.

  Hundreds of gold specks filled the sky, some large and recognizable as warriors, others still tiny dots in the distance.

  “I brought reinforcement. We should be able to find and free every last one of the wrongly imprisoned citizens of Arcadia.”

  Mesmerized and awed, I gazed at the sky as the hundreds of golden djinns descended over the Coliseum. One of them, brighter and larger than the others, drifted toward the balcony.

  Just before he landed at General Adar’s side I recognized him.

  “Prince Rowan,” I said as I nodded as noble a greeting as I could conjure for Torrid’s older brother.

  “Lady Kama.” Rowan glanced at General Adar and back at me. He took my hand and kissed it with reverence. “What a pleasure. Seeing the two of you side by side is quite an amazing sight. You share the same golden coloring and the identical intelligent eyes.”

  Though I’d often received flattering comments about my hair, complexion and eyes, I couldn’t remember ever feeling so privileged and proud of a compliment. To be compared to my father…

  With combat in his eyes, Rowan turned to his general. “We’ve seized the entrance and several men are already on their way to the prison cells. Others have begun rounding up the Rogue Magical Ones.” He turned his eyes to me, soft yet proud. “We didn’t find Torrid in any cell. We believe he may never have been captured or he managed to escape.”

  My heart skipped a beat at the sound of Torrid’s name. Through the past moments of panic, relief, resumed fear and meeting my father I’d had forgotten about Torrid. My heart sank as my mind began thinking of what could have happened to him.

  Now, my fear for him gripped me, choking my breath in my throat. “We lost sight of one another. We wanted to stay together, but…”

  “Don’t worry,” General Adar said. “Torrid is a capable warrior and a smart young man. I would not have sent him to you were he not one of my best. He’s not apt to get caught and if he does, I have every faith in his ability to get free.”

  “There were Magical Ones everywhere. It was impossible to avoid them,” I went on, too distraught to take comfort in his words of reassurance.

  “I’ve seen Torrid fight his way out of some pretty tight spots,” Rowan said.

  I looked at him, wanting to feel as confident as he sounded. “If he isn’t captured somewhere, why didn’t he come help me? Why didn’t he get me out of the arena?”

  General Adar and Prince Rowan gazed at each other. They had no answer.

  The roar of the crumbling Coliseum took over, accented with the cheers of delight from newly freed prisoners.

  On the field below a new battle was taking place. General Adar’s soldiers fought valiantly against Rogue Magical Ones. Shattering glass fell over them all, drowning out the cries of death and pain.

  Rowan gazed at me, his eyes filled with empathy and kindness. Turning to his general, he said, “I’ll see what I can do and return with an update.”

  General Adar nodded. Once alone he turned to me. “Remove that fretful frown from your brow, daughter. Worry never served a purpose.” He paused and contemplated me a moment. “Though Rowan may see in you a resemblance to me, I look at you and see only your mother. It amazes me how much you look like her; beautiful, fragile and yet so strong.”

  I bit my lip, not wanting to blurt out the questions that still filled my head. Why had he never come around? Why hadn’t he been a part of my life?

  “Despite the laws meant to keep me, a djinn, from loving a human, I fell deeply in love with your mother and still love her to this day.”

  I could hold back on my questions no longer. “Then where have you been all this time? You're a djinn. I know you have the power to do what you want. Why did you never come around? Why did you not come see me?”

  A pained expression made General Adar suddenly look older. “My powers allowed me to get close enough to watch you grow up, but not so close to put you in danger. I can only communicate afar with your mother. She has not seen me in all these years in my natural form, as I am now.”

  “What do you mean? Like a crystal ball or something?”

  “No, I was right there, on the periphery of your life, though sometimes I found myself right there in front of you.”

  “I don’t follow.”

  “When I could, I slipped into Arcadia from the Nethers. Over the years I’ve assumed the identity of a school janitor, a neighbor’s gardener and even a stock boy at the drug store. You probably don’t remember, but when you were seven years old your mother trusted you to get her medicine when she fell ill. For a few weeks you were a regular and I started working there.”

  The vague memory came alive in my mind. Mom had caught a virus that’d left her throat constantly parched and painful. She constantly sought relief, trying various cough drops, cough syrups, even suppositories.

  “You were the tall man with the white over coat who’d suggested I buy her the lemon herbal tea,” I said with dreamy recollection.

  He beamed.

  The memory unlocked another and another. “You're also the one, who went up to get my ball in fifth grade, aren’t you? A friend had kicked it too high and it had landed on the school roof. We couldn’t get it down. You came out of nowhere, found out what the problem was then disappeared around the corner for barely a minute and returned seconds later with the ball in your hands. We all marveled at how quickly you’d gotten the ball, but you had a quick answer and we didn’t question it. We were all too eager to get back to playing.”

  Chuckling, he gazed at me. “I told you there was a secret service elevator for school employees only.”

  I laughed and felt closer to him already. “Yeah, that’s right. We didn’t even go look to see what elevator you meant.” In m
y heart I knew there was still something missing. He’d been there, in my life, but he’d not really been there.

  “I also learned a lot about you, your accomplishments, your goals… your loves… from your mother.”

  “You spoke to her?”

  “Often.”

  Though I knew I should be mature and grown up about it all, I couldn’t help but feel cheated. He’d been there, so close, within reach… He’d been in contact with my mother, yet I’d always been clueless about him all my childhood.

  “Don’t pout, Kama. I only spoke to her through her dreams, but I wished it was in person. There were too many barriers between us, especially with Pim Seer always around her, and the situation in Arcadia. I had to tread carefully or rouse suspicion to what we were and what the djinns were planning. If anyone knew I had set foot in Arcadia, Pim Seer would have sent all of his Catchers out to comb the city in full force. I couldn’t risk jeopardizing our mission and my duty as General. I know this is all a lot to take in, but, believe me, everything I did was with your best interest at heart.”

  “How can you say that? I grew up without a father. I needed you and you played some silly game of hide and seek with me. Mom knew I wanted to know more about my father, but she said nothing.”

  “Kama, what would you have her say? Yes, your father is alive and well, and working at the school you go to? That he’s a djinn and can only see you from afar? We were in an impossible situation and we dealt with it the best way we knew how. Had your mother told you anything it would have shattered the innocent and perfect childhood you had. You can’t blame your mother for wanting to keep you as happy as she could.”

  I nodded, knowing he was right, but still clinging to the hurt child who’d wanted her daddy.

  “We both wanted to make sure you had fond memories of your childhood. To expose who we really were – who I was – would have meant exposing you to the truth about Arcadia. It would have meant exposing you to war, poverty and the ugliness outside Arcadia.”