Beyond The Veil: A Paranormal & Magical Romance Boxed Set

by Multiple Authors

  "Great, Blain. Marvelous idea."

  Blain took another large swallow from the bottle. His face grew serious. "It's the truth."

  "And how many women have you met who ever wanted to hear the truth?" Adrian stared at the floor. "Tonight I thought she was going to die, and all I could think was that she'd never have known that I cared."

  "She's the one from the prophecy, Adrian. I've been telling you that for days. She will bring an end to the reign of the Bloodsuckers. You need to take her to mate so she can fulfill her destiny. Then you can go out together and find the rest of the girls and bring them home. You'll be a hero and a king. That's what your father always wanted."

  "How do you know what my father wanted for me?"

  Blain closed his eyes and rubbed his face. "Because before he died, he made me promise to help you fulfill your destiny. To become king and bring the Sisters back. That's your destiny." He pointed to the door. "That's her destiny. Take her, make her yours. Become king."

  The men stared at each other, and then Adrian shook his head. "Her destiny is her own, it's not mine to force. She needs to fulfill it in her own time."

  Blain hurled the bottle at the wall. It shattered on the stone, and mead and glass rained down behind Adrian. Adrian sprang to his feet.

  "What the hell, Blain?"

  "How many years have we suffered, Adrian?" Blain yelled. "How many years have we suffered to protect the humans from the Bloodsuckers because of your father's betrayal? How many brothers have we lost? And we still have no mate to bear us young? You can end this. You always could. Your fear and selfishness has kept happiness from us all. Just like your mother."

  Adrian's anger boiled over. He was up on his feet, crossed the room in one stride, and punched Blain in the mouth. Blain spat on the floor, his eyes locked on Adrian's. "Take her. Become the king you are meant to be. Then together we will find the girls, return them to Volkzene, and show them the truth. It's time, Adrian, to bring our mates home."

  Adrian burned with anger. All these years he'd tried so hard not to end up like his father, and all this time, he'd been just like his mother. Adrian straightened his back. Too long he'd stood in the shadows, content to be half a man. He'd not kept his promise to his father. He'd not kept his promise to his men. But no more. He needed to root out the men responsible for taking the girls of the Sisterhood, and fortify his ranks. It was time for him to become King.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Redlynn stood in the courtyard of the castle, taking in everything around her. She breathed the fresh air deeply and let it wash through her. Moisture drenched her nostrils and caused her dress to cling to her skin. It was going to rain. She smelled the forest beyond the gates, the hay from a nearby wagon, the dirt beneath her bare feet.

  Her eyes flexed and focused easily on things she would never have been able to see before the fever. Her sight locked onto a bird sitting in a nest a hundred yards away in the trees. Turning, she watched a mouse scurrying up the side of a castle wall. A man and his wife stood on the other side of the courtyard having a hushed conversation and Redlynn heard every word.

  All around her, the courtyard buzzed with a life she hadn't experienced before. A blacksmith hammered away somewhere to her left. Horses in stables whinnied and pawed at the ground. Several women scrubbed clothing in large wash basins, chattering and singing merrily.

  Redlynn was amazed and confused at the same time. The only thing she could attribute it to was the fever.

  Thunder cracked above her and a droplet of water hit her hair. She smiled. The couple in the courtyard and the washing women gathered their things and moved quickly inside the castle. She opened her arms wide and welcomed the rain.

  As fat, glistening droplets hit her face, she laughed and covered her mouth. She felt alive and connected to everything around her. Something inside her wanted to tear out the gate and run through the woods naked. She laughed again, and again covered her mouth. She'd not laughed in such a long time that the sound of it was foreign to her ears.

  Suddenly her laughter was uncontrollable. Once she started, she found that she couldn't stop. Something had happened between developing the fever and its breaking that left her feeling better than she ever had.

  The crushing weight of her life was being lifted. Years of loneliness and pain melted away with each laugh. Her eyes teared and her laughs turned to weeping, allowing her to release what she'd bottled up inside for too long. The deaths of her family members and loved ones. The abandonment by her father, the feelings of worthlessness; all this and more left her body with each sob. Visions of her lonely life at the Sisterhood played in her mind as she looked around the castle. Warmth spread through her, peace and a sense of belonging replaced every bad memory. The rain picked up, washed over her. She'd been reborn.

  Her laughing continued until she had to bend over to grab her aching side, trying to catch her breath.

  "Redlynn! Redlynn! What's wrong?" Blain was at her side, trying to grab onto her. "What the— Are you laughing?"

  "Yes." She nodded.

  "What's so funny?"

  "I've never laughed before." She gasped for air as chortles escaped her.

  "What? I don't…" He stared at her like she'd grown a second head. "You should come inside; Adrian's a mess because you're missing again." He tried to take her by the arm.

  Another voice blasted through her laughter.

  "Redlynn! What's going on? Are you alright?" Adrian lifted her up by the arms. Tears flowed down her cheeks and he wiped at them with his hands. "What's wrong? What happened? Blain, what did you say to her?"

  "Nothing." Blain shrugged. "She's laughing."

  Adrian looked at her, confused. "What?"

  "Laughing. She's laughing. She said it was funny that she's never laughed before."

  "That doesn't make any—"

  She wanted nothing more than to be in Adrian's arms. She took a deep breath, pushed herself up on her toes, and tackled his lips with her own. He stiffened, but then wrapped his arms around her; he lifted her off the ground as his lips parted, and she found his tongue with hers. Something inside her clicked. She was meant for this, for him. She was meant for something more than just killing Weres. She was meant to love Adrian.

  He pulled away, leaving her breathless. Redlynn smiled, really smiled.

  He smiled back.

  "I thought you were going to die last night." His voice strained with emotion.

  "Me, too," she said. "There were moments when I wished I were dead."

  When he kissed her again, passion ran through her, making her quake with desire. Fat raindrops soaked through their clothes, making them cling to each other.

  "You two are going to drown out here if you don't come inside," Blain called from the entrance of the castle.

  Redlynn hadn't even noticed his leaving. Adrian set her down, took her hand, and ran to the castle entrance. When inside, he turned and brushed the water droplets from her face.

  "What were you doing out there?"

  "I don't know. I woke up and felt so much better that I just had to go outside. It was weird, I had the strangest dream. I dreamed I went out into the woods and lay in the river like my mother used to do with me. Then you showed up and pulled me from the water. But.." She stopped.

  "But what?" he pressed.

  "You were naked." She fell silent, remembering her dream. The sensations of pain made her skin prickle. "I was in excruciating pain, and then.."

  "What? Then what?" he asked urgently.

  Should she tell him? Would he laugh? "Free," she whispered. "I was free. It was so vivid. I ran and ran. I can still remember lying under the moon. It was like you said. How you feel when you run in the forest and for the first time since my mother's death I feel it again."

  "Feel what?"

  "Home." She waited for him to respond.

  He smiled.

  "And this morning when I got up, I smelled everything; the trees and the dirt and the sky. My eyesight is am
azing, so is my hearing. It is the strangest and most wonderful thing. I have no idea what the fever did to me to make me feel... like me. It's bizarre but for the first time I truly feel this is who I am meant to be."

  When he didn't respond embarrassment flooded her.

  "It's silly," she said.

  "Do you remember anything else?" Blain leaned casually against a statue.

  A wave of distrust ran through her at the sight of Blain. "Of my dream? Not really."

  "It doesn't matter." Adrian gave Blain a pointed look and hugged her close. "I'm just glad that you're better."

  A scream rang out from somewhere inside the castle, and Adrian and Blain turned.

  "What's that?" asked Redlynn.

  "A girl," Adrian replied. The three of them proceeded down a side hallway.

  Redlynn had never been in this part of the castle before; it was several long hallways of stone, with wall sconces and wooden doors along one side.

  There was another scream, and then another. Quickly, Adrian dragged her past room after room. Doors opened and men peered out. At the end of the hall, a large group of men gathered.

  "Let us through," Adrian called.

  The men parted and Redlynn took in the scene. It was a large room. Hanna stood inside. Her children were huddled in the corner with Fendrick. A girl sat on a small bed, terrified. She was dirty, wild-eyed and screaming. Hanna tried to soothe her, but it seemed futile. On the other side of the bed, a second woman spoke to the girl, but every time she did, the girl screamed louder.

  "Get away! Get away!" The girl clutched the sheet and backed into the headboard.

  "Lizzy. Lizzy it's me, Clara, your sister," the woman crooned.

  Letting go of Adrian's hand, Redlynn stepped into the room. The girl's eyes travelled to Redlynn and she cried out, jumping from the bed.

  "Red! Red! Help me!" Lizzy screeched, running to Redlynn and throwing her arms around Redlynn's waist. "Don't let me die. I don't want to go into the woods and die like my sister, Clara. Make her spirit leave me alone."

  Redlynn's gaze travelled from woman to woman. The women watched her apprehensively. She moved Lizzy to arms-length and looked into her face. Realization dawned on Redlynn. Lizzy. She'd been the first taken.

  "You're alive." She couldn't believe it. Redlynn reached her arms around Lizzy awkwardly and held the girl close. Lizzy's body shook with a fear Redlynn had never known.

  She looked from Clara to Hanna. A flash of memory hit her with force. Hanna at her hut. Her mother talking to her about herbs from the forest. In an instant she remembered.

  "You." Redlynn's voice hardened and ice gripped her heart. They'd lied to her. "You're Sahanna Thrist." Her gaze travelled to the other woman watching her. "And you're Claretta Metlock. You're members of the Sisterhood."

  Lizzy clung to her. Redlynn's mind raced with questions, but she voiced none of them. Instead, she walked silently to the dining hall. Along the way, Hanna and Clara, who followed behind, pulled women out of their rooms.

  Men filled the dining hall. Upon seeing all the women gathered, most stood and moved out of the room. Only two remained. Two men with long, dark hair and hard faces stared at the assemblage. Their eyes rested on Redlynn and Lizzy, and they exchanged a look.

  "The women need the room," Adrian said.

  The men didn't move.

  "Jale, Juda, get out," he commanded.

  Slowly they stood, taking their mugs of ale with them.

  Hanna and the women sat down silently at a long table. Redlynn, Lizzy and Adrian sat opposite them on the other side. Blain stood, watching the outer door.

  Redlynn's gaze travelled from face-to-face of the women gathered in the dining hall. Close up, she recognized several of them now. All former members of the Sisterhood, all had left Volkzene and never returned. There were four or five older than Hanna that Redlynn didn't know, but Clara, Hanna and several others she'd seen in Volkzene. In training classes, or around the village on patrol, but they'd all lived there.

  "I don't understand." She finally vocalized what had been running through her mind for the past several minutes. "What are you all doing here?"

  Hanna's gaze settled on Adrian, his body ripe with tension. He took her hand, sending a chill through her.

  "There are things in the world. Things that prey on humans," he said.

  "Weres," she said.

  "No," said Hanna. "Not wolves; other things."

  "Vampires," Lizzy whispered.

  "Yes." Adrian nodded.

  Redlynn hadn't misheard Lizzy, but no one contradicted the girl. It wasn't possible. "There hasn't been a sighting of a vampire in hundreds of years," she said.

  "Vampires live to the north of the woods," Adrian began. "A thousand years ago, Fairelle used to be a single kingdom, ruled by King Isodor. He had four sons who each wished to rule the kingdom after the death of their father. Using an ancient mage book, they called forth a djinn from Shaidan. The djinn granted them each a wish, but twisted it to his own purposes. The first wished to be bloodthirsty in battle. The second wished for the never-ending loyalty of his men. The third wished to be able to control the elements. And the last brother wished to rule the seas. Vampires, werewolves, fae and nereids." Adrian paused. "But the brothers had called the djinn forth too many times, and the djinn was able to break free, opening a rift in what once was the heart of Fairelle, what is now the Wastelands."

  Redlynn's tried to grasp his words. She'd heard parts of the legend before, but never like this. She thought it was just an old story. But the way Adrian told it made it real. Surely it wasn't possible. Humans turned into creatures by the wishes made to a daemon? It made no sense. But then again, werewolves were real.

  "Red," said Hanna. "The wolves, or werewolves as we were taught by the Sisterhood, aren't bad. They protect us."

  "No." She dropped Adrian's hand and stood from the table.

  "Redlynn, listen, please," pleaded Adrian.

  "They protect us from the vampires." Hanna rose.

  "No, they don't!" Lizzy screeched, running to Red's side again. "They took me."

  "Tell us what happened, child." Adrian's gaze shifted to Blain, who'd moved forward to the table and sat.

  Lizzy began to shake again. Redlynn held her close, for her own comfort as much as for the child's.

  "Come, Lizzy," Hanna prompted. "Tell us what happened that night."

  Lizzy stayed silent for a long moment. "I was asleep in my bed. A howl awoke me, but I was so frightened, I couldn't move. I heard the door open; I know I should have screamed, but I couldn't. A giant brown wolf stuck his head in. Even from where my bed sat in the next room, I heard him breathing. My room faced the front door, so I saw him perfectly in the firelight. His body was huge. I'd never seen a Were before. A second brown Were came in, as well." Lizzy took a shuddered breath before continuing. "Then a man walked in. Tall and thin with long hair. The man pushed the Were aside and looked right at me. There was something in his eyes that, even though he stood by the door, I could tell he wanted me to go to him. I tried to stay in my bed, but my body wouldn't obey. When I got into the front room, he smiled. He had long, sharp teeth that grew. I'd never been so scared before. Then he bent down and smelled my neck."

  Lizzy broke off and buried her tear-streaked face in Redlynn's gown.

  Vampires were real? Her heartbeat quickened. What else was out there that she didn't know about? It didn't matter. It proved her right. The Weres were evil. "See?" Redlynn yelled. "How can you say the Weres protect, when you have a witness right here to their atrocities?"

  "No!" Adrian rose from his seat, shaking his head vehemently. "It isn't like that. The wolves protect humans."

  "Adrian, are you calling this girl a liar?" she shot back. She couldn't believe Adrian was trying to tell her that the Weres weren't a threat.

  Adrian sighed and rubbed his temples. "It isn't as simple as you think."

  Redlynn finally saw the truth of the situation. The women loved the men.
The men could only live here, in the woods, uninjured by the Weres if they were in league with them. She held tightly to Lizzy as she walked backward toward the stairs.

  "What do you do? You ally yourselves with beasts to keep your castle safe? You allow innocent girls like Lizzy to be taken so that you may fish and read and prosper?" Redlynn looked over the group. "You disgust me," she spat. "And you." Her gaze pierced Clara. "You still side with the Weres, knowing now what they've done to your sister?"

  She couldn't believe it. She'd stayed here, in his bed. She'd fallen for him and almost... she had almost made love to him. Adrian, the murderer of young girls.

  "Redlynn, wait." Adrian moved toward her.

  "Don't! Don't touch me," she warned in a low voice, backing away further still.

  "If you'd let me explain," he begged.

  "Explain what? Explain how you let these... these... creatures of the devil steal and murder children? Children, Adrian! No more." Redlynn looked over the room. "I am Redlynn Mactire Fola, of the Sisterhood of Red, and I will not let this continue. I will do what none of you have seen fit to do. I will go out and find the rest of the girls, if there are any, and kill the Were king."

  A dumbstruck look came over Adrian and Blain's faces. Neither man moved as she ushered Lizzy up the stairs and out of sight. When she reached his room, she slammed the door behind her and pushed the bar across.

  Redlynn rushed to the window and inhaled deeply. She had to get out of here. Involuntarily, she grasped for her locket, but it wasn't there. Redlynn looked down in her bodice; her necklace was gone. She spun on the spot, searching the floor, but found nothing. Where had she last seen it?

  Lizzy cowered in the corner, pulling Redlynn from her search. She had to think more than just of herself right now.

  Redlynn sucked in a deep breath, took Lizzy by the arm, marched her into the bathroom, poured water into the basin, and washed the dirt from her face, neck and hands.

  "Tell me, Lizzy. Tell me everything."