by Anthology
Glancing in both directions to ensure she was alone, Aideen did as the Vamsyrian instructed—stuck to the shadows as she followed her visions out of the city, ensuring she glanced behind her to memorize the return route. After what seemed like hours, she finally exited Brecon and traversed onto the main road going north.
Aideen eyed the pregnant moon above and offered a prayer to the heavens. “Please keep my babies safe.”
3
Early morning on the third day of their return journey, the liberated Elementals and Jack’s rescue party rolled into the village. He was just about to follow the crowd to the village hall for their debriefing when Ruben Collins waved for his attention.
“May I have a word with you?” Ruben thumbed over his shoulder toward the open door of his cabin.
Jack dumped his gear in his own cabin and entered the grove leader’s house.
Ruben presented the couch with an open palm. “Please, make yourself at home.” He strolled to his wood stove and grabbed the kettle. “I’ll make you a cup of tea.” Not waiting for a response, he spooned tea leaves into a pair of cups and poured the hot water then passed one to Jack and sat in the adjacent chair.
Jack blew on the amber liquid, grateful for the delicate, soothing scent of the chamomile and peppermint. His nerves were frazzled after not finding Aideen—again—after another rescue. He wasn’t sure how much longer he could hold onto hope that she was still alive.
Ruben offered a lopsided grin. “Nobody understands balance the way you do, son. As a cusper, you haven’t just learned to understand how to nurture both elements you command. More so than any cusper I’ve ever met, you balance them to a point where they become one.”
“My ability to create ice, you mean.” Jack sipped his tea.
“Yes.” Ruben set his cup on the end table beside him and rested his elbows onto his knees. “It takes great skills to marry those two elements. Too much air, and you scatter water to the wind. Too much water, and air is trapped. Is it possible now to explain how you manage this? Have I given you enough time to think about the interaction?”
They’d had this conversation before and Jack hadn’t been able to find the words to articulate exactly what he was doing. Ruben’s questions instead prompted him to analyze his powers on a deeper level; however, he didn’t think Ruben would be open to the path he chose to explore his abilities.
“Your questions actually helped me increase my skills.” Jack swallowed his apprehension. “But I’m sure that was your goal.”
Ruben smiled and sipped his tea as if waiting for Jack to continue.
Shifting uncomfortably in his seat, Jack would have to tread lightly. The first grove he and the others had fled to after their escape was an Ebony Grove. These witches and mages preferred to be called necromancers and practiced the destructive side of nature. Death was a path to new life, was their philosophy, and rumor had it they not only knew the secret of the spirit witches...some of the Ebony Groves were led by them.
Jack and the others had lived with the necromancers for a little over two years before they’d broken away. The magical training impressed upon them by the Ebony Grove leader had not only been grueling, but bordered gruesome and reminded Jack and his friends too much of the vampires’ ways. Though a small handful of their group did stay, the grove leader, Lucian Mordred, had been disappointed by their majority decision to leave. Lucian had suggested a Holly Grove nearby, led by Ruben Collins.
As far as Jack was concerned, though, some of the philosophies of the Holly Grove went too far in the other direction. He believed in balance and clung to some of the ideals of the Ebony Grove no matter how much Ruben and the religious leaders tried to discourage such thinking. The necromancer skills were what had given Jack the ability to explore how to create ice.
Ruben was going to want an answer and any more hesitation might raise some concern.
“It’s not really about combining the elements,” Jack elucidated with the intention of skirting the real reasons. “It’s about understanding the strengths and weaknesses of each element. Once I realized the role air and water each played in creating ice, I applied the balance, giving the proper utilization of air to water. And that changes depending on the substance I’m freezing. The more familiar I am with the material, the faster I can freeze it, but touching an object also increases the speed in which I can freeze. It’s taken a lot of practice.” He sighed inwardly. That wasn’t too far from the truth.
Ruben chuckled and settled back into his chair. “Astounding. Very good, lad. I’m proud of you.”
“What is this about, sir?” Jack placed his cup and saucer on the end table and leaned forward. “You didn’t bring me here for tea or to learn how to create ice or boost my confidence.”
Ruben’s gaze met Jack’s. “For all your delicate and precise knowledge of balance and understanding of the two elements, you don’t seem to apply the same philosophy to your life…to the people around you.”
He knew it. This was about Aideen. Jack groaned. “I know you mean well, Ruben, but—”
“You’re setting yourself up for diappointment, son.”
Jack stood and paced. “What exactly are you asking of me?”
“Stop leaning on the emotional water side of your abilities and use your skills of balance. The intellectual air side of you needs to see reason. You’re wasting your life. Perhaps consider finding someone else. Like Sophia.”
Jack pointed a rigid finger at his grove leader. “You need to stop pushing others onto me, Ruben. You saw how that turned out. We’re not compatible.”
“That’s because you didn’t apply that balance to her water sign. Think of how water in our world interacts. Waves only cause more waves. Combine water and air in an unbalanced fashion, the hurricane ensues.” Ruben sighed. “I know some relationships are easier to foster than others, but you have the strength to do this.”
Jack inhaled deeply to restrain his growing anger. Through his dealings with Ruben, Jack discovered that, regardless of his good intentions, Ruben loved to control the lives of others and was very good at complimenting someone in order to soften the impact of that control. But Jack wasn’t buying it this time. “If I pull back from Sophia, she rushes in, full force, and I feel trapped. You should be having this conversation with her. I don’t understand why it comes down to me having to curb my emotions when she is clearly the one not seeking balance. What she needs is to be put in her place, and if you aren’t willing to do it, then—”
“You know that’s not how we operate here.” Ruben scowled. “Our approach is to nurture and foster growth, not tear down.”
And that had been the lesson Ruben and the religious leaders had painstakingly pounded into all of them when they’d arrived. Once the elders discovered where Jack and his nursery mates had spent the first two years of their freedom, they were relentless on schooling them to forget those principles. Frankly, Jack was tired of the tirade.
“You want to know the truth?” Jack punched his fists into his hips. “My whole ability to create ice is a balance between what I learned here and the Ebony Grove. There is an element of destruction that happens with ice, a tearing down of the fibers of life. Why do you think a body grows cold upon death? Sophia needs to be taken down a few notches in order for her to grow in a more positive direction.”
Ruben stood, his face splotched with crimson patches. “That is enough, young man! You are bordering on a rebellious streak that—”
“You just finished praising me about my ability to strike this balance and now you shun it.”
Jack was surprised but pleased to see Ruben at least had the decency to pull back on his anger, which was heating the room beyond uncomfortable. Jack wasn’t going to let up, though.
“The topic at hand is not my ability to balance my skills, it’s about your father-like affection for Sophia.” He stormed to the door and yanked it open. “I’m not going to give up on Aideen, Ruben, so don’t ask me to, and if that means I have to sea
rch for her for the rest of my life—”
“She’s here.” Brian stood at the threshold, breathless and wide-eyed.
Jack groaned and glared at Ruben. “This is your doing.” He waved dismissively at Brian. “Go ahead. Let Sophia in. It’s high time the three of us had this conversation so—”
“No, not Sophia.” His brother’s intense gaze made Jack’s heart clench. “Aideen.”
“What?” Jack dashed after Brian, heading toward his cabin. Sprinting past his brother, he burst through his front door and halted two steps in.
Pale, tear-stained cheeks, auburn hair in tangles, Aideen sat in a chair holding hands with Beth across his dining table. His lovely fire witch gasped and covered her mouth.
“She just stumbled into the camp a few moments ago,” Beth exclaimed, smiling.
As if the room was void of air, he couldn’t seem to take a breath. He took one cautious step after another and eventually closed the distance between them as Aideen rose to her feet on unsteady limbs.
“No, don’t.” He snatched her from the floor and sat, cradling her in his lap. Her warm hands touched his face, her hazel eyes searching his and reflecting the disbelief choking him. “Is it really you?” He was still unable to catch his breath.
She smiled, a vision so radiant it nearly blinded him, and nodded.
Jack frowned at the steel ring around her neck. Between his thumbs and forefingers, he pinched the shackle at two places. The metal whined as it froze under his touch, and he snapped the neck ring free. He did the same with the steel bracelets and, in short order, pulled the chains through her sleeves and cast the cursed things to the corner.
“Would you give us a moment?” Jack hugged Aideen possessively.
Beth nodded and escorted Brian and Ruben from the cabin, closing the door behind them.
Aideen’s mouth covered Jack’s and he drank her in, starved for her kisses and the taste of her tongue. Open mouthed and hungry, they devoured each other.
Jack groaned as she straddled his lap. The heat of her sex scorched his groin through his trousers and her full breasts pressed against his heart. Hands firmly on her bottom, he hoisted her into his arms and impatiently carried her to his bedroom at the back of the cabin, setting her on her feet.
“Jack, I—”
“Please.” He cradled her face in his hands. “Give me a few moments in your arms. I’ve been aching for you for ten years.”
A smile toyed with the corner of her mouth, and she nodded.
With eager and clumsy hands, they both stripped each other of their clothing. Jack pulled her into his arms and moaned as her warm, naked flesh pressed along the length of his body. Their mouths joined again, but in a sensual, exploratory kiss. Jack gently beguiled her to the bed and lay beside her, delving into the bliss of her mouth once more. Her skin scorched his hands as he explored her matured figure. Aideen had been a slight and slender girl when they’d first made love, just developing and growing into her curves. Now she was all woman, the fullness of her flesh a feast for his hands, eyes and mouth. He palmed her bottom and nibbled her shoulder and breasts. Breathless in her arms, Jack nestled between her legs, making a home inside her warmth, where he joined her body and soul in a long-awaited reunion and climax.
Her lips caressed his dampened brow and cheeks. Her fingertips licked through his hair, down his neck and over his shoulders.
“I’m sorry that was in such haste,” he panted. “I have been fantasizing about you for so long and I guess I couldn’t help myself.” He kissed her, delving into her mouth with his tongue, nibbling her plump lips and savoring her heat. “Allow me to take my time and make love to you in a proper fashion.”
“Sweet, Jack.” Aideen caressed his cheek with the backs of her fingers. “I want nothing more than to lie in bed and make love to you all day, but we don’t have much time.”
He frowned. “How did you escape?”
“I didn’t. I’m the bait for a trap.”
4
His gut frosted and iced through to his spine. Jack swung his legs over the side of the bed and he rubbed his face. “Bait? Rasheed knows where we are?”
“Yes. He impressed upon my mind a series of images showing me the path to the grove. I walked from Brecon, where the nursery is under the city.”
“Walked?” He twisted his torso to gaze at her with awe. “That’s almost thirty miles! You could have frozen to death!”
“The saving grace of being a fire witch.” She smirked.
Jack raked his fingers through his raven hair. “I’m sure I know the answer, but what is Rasheed after?”
“You, of course.” Aideen hung her legs over the edge of the bed to sit beside him and pulled the covers over her breasts and lap. “They’re still trying to create a spirit Elemental.”
Jack stood and paced. The birth of a spirit Elemental was not based on parentage. He had learned at the Ebony Grove it was the stars and heavenly body alignments that dictated the powers of all Elementals, and spirit witches were no different. But that’s all he knew. The vampires were looking for a celestial event, not him. “Well, they’re going about it all wrong.”
“What do you mean?”
Jack stopped pacing and faced her awestruck expression. “Don’t take this personally, but I probably wouldn’t tell you if I did know.”
Her features turned down in a frown of disappointment.
“Think about it, Spark. You just told me Rasheed led you here. We can’t take any chances they’ll feed from you and learn how a spirit Elemental is really created. I’m assuming he thinks you’re going to take me back to the nursery or has some plan to bring you back?”
She nodded and her eyes welled with tears. “Yes. He’s threatened to kill my children if I don’t bring you back by sunset tonight.”
Jack exhaled in disbelief. The shock that Aideen had children was unexpected, but shouldn’t have been. There was no way she could live in an environment where Elementals were specifically kept for breeding, and not be forced to lay with another, especially after he left. None of that alleviated the pain in his chest, however. “Do I know the father?”
“One of them is yours.” She offered a weak smile.
“Mine?” The last night they were together…the night he had been determined to get her with child.
She nodded. “A boy. His name is Aron.”
The corner of Jack’s mouth turned up in a grin, then the rest of his mouth joined in. “Aron.”
“And Aron has two brothers—Quinton and Morgen.”
“Three boys?” Having a brood of boys was a pleasant thought, but Jack’s smile faded. Once they freed the nursery, he might have to contend with two other men. “Who are the fathers of the other two?”
“Only one father. His name was Steven.” Sorrow clouded Aideen’s eyes and she bowed her head. “Two months ago, Rasheed learned he was planning an escape.” She returned her gaze to his and red embers glowed in the pupils of her eyes. “He burned Steven alive before all of us, Jack. Right in front of the children.”
Jack knelt before her and held her hands. “I promise you, we will liberate that nursery and save the children.”
“What do we have to do?”
“Well, first, I have to speak with the grove leader and the elders. We can’t go anywhere until we have their approval. And we just came back from a rescue, so I’ll have to gather another party.”
Aideen tried to stand, but Jack pressed his hands upon her shoulders.
“And second, you need your rest.”
“I’m going with you!”
“Aideen, there are a number of reasons why that is a terrible idea, but first and foremost you just traveled thirty miles on foot in the snow. If I know you, you didn’t rest once along the way. Am I right?”
She clenched her jaw and avoided his gaze.
“And since strenuous activity is not permitted or available in the nursery, such a journey was probably very taxing on your body. I’m assuming it took at lea
st twelve hours to make the trip. When did he set you free?”
She sighed in defeat. “Just before five thirty last eve.”
Jack stole a glance at the clock on his bedside table and cursed under his breath. “You trudged through the snow for twelve-and-a-half hours with no rest or provisions.”
“I had some provisions,” she protested.
He cocked a skeptical eyebrow. “You’re exhausted. We have horses. It will take us half the time or better to get to the nursery and be there several hours before sunset. You’ll have time enough to enjoy a hot meal and rest.” Jack snatched his trousers from the floor and hopped into them. “Just stay here while I run to the kitchen house and see if Thelma has something prepared. She’s probably just made a large breakfast for the new arrivals.” He shoved his arms into his shirt and sat at the edge of the bed to put on his boots. “And then I want you to catch a few hours of sleep.”
She placed a hand on his arm. “I’m going with you when you liberate the nursery, Jack. The children will need to see me. I can help.”
Jack knew if he told her no, she would end up stealing a horse and chasing after them anyway, even if she didn’t know how to ride. He nodded. “On one condition: As soon as you’ve had something to eat, you rest.”
“Agreed.” She grinned.
He dipped his head for a sweet, lingering kiss. “I won’t be gone long.”
Jack finished lacing up his boots and trotted out of the cabin. As hoped for, Thelma had indeed cooked up a large breakfast feast for the newcomers. He grabbed enough food for the two of them, then marched back to his cabin. After placing the dish on the table, he fired up the wood stove and put a kettle on to boil for some tea. Jack poked his head into the bedroom and, as he hoped, Aideen was fast asleep. Grinning, he strolled to the bedside and knelt. Strands of her red hair lay against her cheek and Jack used a gentle finger to brush them aside.
