by Alex Temples
The worry in Sam’s voice immediately sickened me. Something was wrong.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
“What’s going on, Sam?"
There was quiet on the line. Sam cleared her throat. “More than Fifty people have just been admitted to this hospital with symptoms similar to Oren’s. They’re seeing the same trend in other major cities. It’s not good.”
“How is Oren?”
“Oren is…fine. I mean, not fine, but nothing has changed since you last saw him.” Sam corrected herself.
I gulped. “He hasn’t even woken up?” I closed my eyes, willing myself to remain calm. Breaking down wouldn’t help Oren, or anyone else. How could this be happening? Just a week ago, I’d been happy, excited to take time off to see the world. Now, my life had been completed upended.
I realized Sam had been talking and I hadn’t heard a word she’d said. “I’m sorry, Sam. What did you say?”
“I asked if you want me to come back down there? There’s a flight in the morning.”
“No. Don’t do that. I’d much rather have you in New York with Oren – and you did just get bit by a poisonous snake. How are you feeling?”
She sighed. “I’m fine, Brin. You’re the one in the middle of the jungle with a bunch of strangers, searching for a plant you’ve never seen before.”
It was my turn to sigh. She was right. There was no way I was going to find this plant the way things were going.
“I know. I don’t know what to do Sam. I don’t know what I’m looking for.” I explained about the fake photo Aiden had shown me, leaving out the part about the magic.
Sam was quiet. “I don’t know what to tell you, Brin.”
I sighed. There was a moment of silence. “I have to go, Sam. I love you. Give my love to my dad and Oren, please.”
“I will. Take care of yourself – and good luck.” Her voice was worried and as I hung up I felt a stab of fear. I was it. I was their only hope. The weight of reality rested heavy on my shoulders. I felt suddenly as if I were suffocating.
I set the phone on a rock and headed off towards a distant platform where no one would see the tears that were springing to my eyes.
“Brinmar Yates is not a woman who cries.” Aiden’s velvet voice sounded from behind me.
I jumped.
“Aiden. You shouldn’t sneak up on people.” I snapped.
“You aren’t their only hope.” He said the words softly, and I shuddered.
“Why would you say that?” I demanded, knowing the answer.
“Because you’re thinking it.” His voice was dark and seductive and I felt his lips on the back of my neck. I stiffened.
“Aiden, stop.”
He took a step back and I spun to face him.
“I know you’re overwhelmed right now, Brin, but there are ways to find the plant that don’t involve spending hours trudging through the jungle.”
The playfulness had left his voice. I arched a brow.
“How?” I asked. “Show me.”
“Are you sure you want that, Brin?”
“Of course I want it. The whole reason we’re here in the middle of the jungle is to find that damn plant. So, if there’s anything, anything at all you can do to help us find it, I suggest you do it now.” My words, laced with anger and frustration, came out in a rush.
“As you wish.”
Aiden was suddenly inside my head, prodding at my consciousness. I gasped in surprise. The feel of him inside my mind without warning was overwhelming. I shuddered as he searched for something and sighed when he found it.
“You have the knowledge, Brin. You have it all. You seem to have forgotten it. Or someone helped you forget.” Aiden clasped my hands in his and stared down at me, his eyes flickering with concern.
“What do you mean I have the knowledge?” I asked, puzzled.
“You know how to find the plant, Brin. You know all about Teyuna, you know about fae – not because I just revealed the existence of magic to you. You know about it all because you were born into it. But, someone has made you forget those early years, all those secrets, the knowledge that each keeper holds inside her. It lives in you.”
He traced my lips, considering my face before kissing me gently. It was an apology, an offering of reassurance that I not alone in my struggle.
I was frozen in place. I wanted nothing more than to melt into his arms and pretend the world wasn’t a cold, cruel, heartless place where good people died and evil triumphed.
I ached to my core to just block it all out and run away with him to Eden. For so many years I’d played their game. I’d worked myself to the bone. I’d lived for diplomacy. I’d learned that being pretty was an asset. I’d learned that being too smart made men uncomfortable. I’d learned most people weren’t out to get me, but they weren’t necessarily on my side either.
Most people were selfish. It appeared the fae were as well. If it weren’t for Oren, my father, and Sam, I might have said to hell with humanity and asked Aiden to take me away from it all, but the world didn’t work that way.
The world demanded it’s due. There was always a cost for life. Nothing in this world came without a price, and so I couldn’t believe him when he told me what I needed to fix this, what I needed to save everyone was something that already lived within me.
Aiden put his hands on my shoulders and pulled me to him. He was there in in my thoughts, listening as I puzzled over what he’d just told me, as I struggled to find what it was I’d forgotten so long ago.
I didn’t believe I deserved to see it yet. I thought I hadn’t earned it. What I didn’t realize was I’d already paid the cost for that knowledge. I’d paid with the separation from my mother, with the responsibility on my shoulders to take care of my father and my brother. I’d paid dearly for what I couldn’t even access, and Aiden wasn’t sure how to give it to me.
He pulled my chin up and looked deep into my eyes.
“Brin, you owe nothing. You won’t be able to see the knowledge you seek until you accept that your debt is paid.”
I stared at him, my gaze unwavering. “My debt will never be paid, Aiden.”
“Why do you say that?”
I pursed my lips angrily. “Because I’ve forsaken my duty to family to tend to my hunger for knowledge.”
“No, you’re wrong.” He shook my shoulders. “It has been your duty to collect knowledge, Brin. If you feel some guilt for not spending that time with Oren and John, your father, it is misplaced.”
I tried to jerk out of his grip, but he clamped his hands down on my forearms.
“Let me go, Aiden.”
“No. We’re going to find that knowledge in you. That which you’ve ignored your entire life. Once you see it, you will know how to find the plant.”
*
Brin stared stubbornly back at him, and he realized in that moment she wasn’t afraid because she feared for herself, or even because she felt some guilt about closing herself off emotionally to those closest her.
She was afraid because she knew he was right. She sensed, as he did, that there was some knowledge, some magic floating just under the surface of her consciousness. She knew it was there and she was afraid of it.
This, he could work with.
“Brinmar.”
“Stop calling me that.” She demanded.
“But it’s your name.” Aiden argued, knowing he was getting to her.
He smiled.
“I know, but I don’t like it.” She frowned.
“Do you know what your name means, Brin?” Aiden asked.
“Of course. It means big hill.” She said it with a note of distaste and Aiden laughed.
This got to her and she arched an eyebrow. “Why are you laughing?”
Aiden smiled, dragging it out because he knew she was impatient and he enjoyed watching her squirm. She couldn’t stand not knowing something. She was so hungry for the knowing of things, so curious about how everything worked. He relished her impatience
for a moment longer.
“Your name, Brin…It does mean big hill if you translate it literally, but it is much more than that.”
She waited for him to continue, but he began walking down the path and she was forced to follow him.
“Your name is one held by very few. It is a name of many meanings.” He trailed off and turned to examine her again.
“What?” She asked.
“You said your grandmother used to tell you fairy tales, old Welsh ones, right?”
Brin nodded.
“Did she every tell you of the fairy mounds?” He asked.
She considered this for a moment and shook her head.
Aiden gave a half smile. “A long time ago, when there was still a sense of mystery in daily life, people believed in those fairy tales. They told tales of fairy mounds. In fact, before Christianity was brought to the Celtic isles, there was a widespread belief in the fae.”
He saw the light in her begin to glow, as it did whenever she was learning something new, and he smiled to himself.
“The people called us by many names. They worshipped and feared us. We were an integral part of their lives. When Christianity swept through the region, the fae were believed to go underground, into these so-called fairy mounds. It was the simple explanation of an undereducated people. We did go underground, but to other worlds, outside the mortal realm. Your name, Brinmar, means much more than big hill. Your name symbolizes the gate between Eden and earth. It symbolizes your role as the protector of these worlds.”
Brin’s eyes were wide and she stared up at him with a look of disbelief as he continued.
“There are many places that make up Eden. Many places you’ve heard about. Mortals, despite their limited belief in only that which they can see and touch, have long told stories of our worlds. These stories have been counted among the ranks of fairy tales for a long time. Not because they aren’t real, but because mortal beings have such a rigid understanding of the world, a complete lack of desire to entertain anything that cannot be proven. Cibola. Atlantis. Agharti. Avalon, these are just some of the names of the realms of Eden.”
Brin’s expression was changing. Her brows were still scrunched together, but her eyes wore the sheen of interest he’d seen the first time he saw her. She couldn’t help it. She was hungry for the knowledge. He would use her hunger as his weapon.
“Well, I can see that you choose not to believe, that you want nothing more than to be rid of this responsibility. I won’t pressure you, Brin. Let’s set up camp and we can talk in the morning.”
He moved as if to walk away.
She caught his arm.
“Wait.” Her voice was unsure, as if she couldn’t control the words coming out of her own mouth. “I want to see it. I want you to show me how to see the things I’ve forgotten.” Her eyes were earnest when he turned to her, and it made him smile.
“Alright. It may not be comfortable for you.”
He knew it would be agony for her, but he didn’t say it.
She nodded. “I understand. I accept that. What do I have to do?”
“Follow me. We must be alone.” He clasped her wrist and pulled her behind him.
“Why?” She asked, concerned.
Aiden glanced back at her. “So they can’t hear you scream.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Aiden led me down a set of stone steps winding towards the river, but instead of meeting the Buritaca, we took a side path and ended up at a small pool fed by a waterfall. As soon as we stepped out of the jungle, I gasped with pleasure as I spied the tiny cove.
“It’s beautiful, isn’t it? Aiden said.
“Yes.” I breathed, utterly spellbound. It was breathtaking, like we had been swept away to a little paradise.
“I’m afraid we’re not here to enjoy the water today.” Aiden said, gesturing for me to follow him.
I followed, wondering where we were going, until he stopped in front of an enormous tree.
It towered above the other surrounding trees. The trunk was thicker than the redwoods I’d visited as a child. The bark smooth; save the small etching of runes I saw glistening from where I stood. I marveled at the fact that the tree trunk had a small arch in it big enough for a human to enter.
“Wow.”
“Go inside.” Aiden directed.
Not seeing any reason to object, I obeyed, ducking through the entrance and gasping as I entered the heart of the tree. There was a room inside a living tree. It was about the size of a mail truck, or how big I imagined the back of a little USPS truck to be. Sap ran down the inside walls, trickling over the dozens of runes etched inside. They glowed within the dimly lit space and I leaned in to get a closer look.
“Don’t touch them, Brin.”
“Why not?” I asked curiously.
Aiden shook his head. “Not yet.” He left it at that and took a seat in the middle of the room, crossing his legs, as if to meditate.
“What are you doing?”
He eyed me, amusement evident on his face, and I felt a tug of annoyance. I hated the way he looked at me as if he knew a secret I didn’t and was amused at my expense.
“Come here, Brin.”
Again his tone brokered no argument and I wondered what he had in mind. He gestured for me to sit on his lap.
“You want me to sit on you? And this is somehow supposed to solve our problem and I’ll magically know all of that repressed history I supposedly have bottled up?”
My voice was incredulous as I stared down at him.
“Just sit down, Brin.” He commanded.
Not seeing any better solution, I turned and sat.
My skin tingled as our bodies made contact. He had unfolded his legs and I sat nestled between them, feeling his hard body behind me. The heat of him sent tingles of pleasure up and down my spine and I felt a flutter of arousal stir deep within my belly.
Aiden sensed it and I felt him chuckle behind me.
“What are we doing?” I asked impatiently.
He put his hands on my shoulders. “Take a few deep breaths.”
I laughed, but figured it wouldn’t hurt to humor him, so I inhaled deeply, filling my belly and then letting my breath go in a great whoosh. After a few deep breaths, I felt myself calming. This wasn’t all bad.
“Good. Now we can proceed.” Aiden then pulled me closer to him fitting me tightly between his strong thighs. He lifted each leg and slipped them over the tops of mine until I was pinned against him. His arms went around my middle. I was a prisoner in his arms.
“What are you doing, Aiden?”
“What you asked.” He replied.
He began chanting under his breath in a language I didn’t understand. I felt the hair on my arms stand up as I listened to his words. I didn’t understand them, but I felt their meaning. It made me tingle all over. I felt something coming, but I didn’t know what. I let out a groan as the feeling grew stronger.
The wind picked up, whistling thorough the trees outside. A breeze swept through and leaves swirled in the air around us. There was a hum of magic in the air. The force of it coursed through me, growing stronger and stronger as Aiden chanted, his words whipping the world into a fury.
Rain began to fall. I felt the drops hitting the ground. Thunder rumbled in the distance, bringing with it a feeling of foreboding.
“Aiden.” I said his name as a plea, not knowing what I was asking for, but sensing I was on the precipice of something.
He ignored me, chanting louder. He let go of my waist, running his hands down my arms until he found my hands. While he chanted, he moved them above my head, in the direction of a line of runes I’d been staring at earlier. He recited the same string of words he had started with, moving my hands forward, and on the next crash of thunder, he quickly pressed my palms to the runes.
It was like being struck by lightning. Bolts of electricity shot through me, making me cry out loud. Energy flooded into me rapidly and I writhed in Aiden’s arms, understanding
now why he had pinned me to him. Anyone who felt what I was feeling now would try and flee. The sensation was unbearable.
“Aiden. Make it stop.” I begged, moaning as the tingling reached my neck, my face. I felt it hovering over my consciousness, and I was suddenly afraid. The feeling in the rest of my body was beginning to equalize. The energy hummed inside me, more powerful than ever before, but now it felt as if I had some control over it.
Aiden finally stopped chanting and leaned over to whisper in my ear. “I’ve taken you as far as I can, Brinmar. You must choose to seal the incantation. You are a Keeper and no one but the fae king or queen can take you without your consent. Not even I have that power over your consciousness. I’ve only been in your mind, because you welcomed me in.”
His words settled over me and I heard the truth of it. I felt the energy humming in my temples. The storm raged outside. Swallowing, I twisted my neck to look at him.
“What do I do?”
“Repeat after me.”
He spoke in the exotic tongue again and I felt a tingle of anticipation. I knew the words. They were familiar. There was a sensation of déjà vu. I took a deep breath and recited the words, and then the world went black.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
The Dark Castle
Rosaina
“You can choose to make this easier on yourself, you know.” Evrei’s baritone rumbled throughout the chamber.
Rosaina sat unyielding, her sharp brown eyes assessing him.
“I will not betray my people.” She replied.
They sat in a small, dark room up in the tower. She imagined he’d wanted to get her away from the other Keepers because the force of their emotions bothered him.
Rosaina smiled to herself. They all knew his gift was intuition. They’d been pushing as much feeling through the solid, stone walls as possible, hoping to weaken his resolve, or at least wear him down in the hope the light court would send someone to rescue them soon.
Evrei glanced over her with an assessing eye, but she revealed nothing. He may have possessed a strong ability to read others, but Rosaina had just as much talent and many more years of practice.
