by Rosalie Redd
“How old are you, and what is your species’ lifespan?” he asked.
“I was twenty-two when I was transformed, but I’m twenty-four now. Dren live for hundreds of years, some even reach the age of one thousand. Panthera typically live twice as long.”
She faced him. “Your turn. What are you?”
*****
Noeh’s gaze locked onto the unusual female who scrambled his emotions. As she walked past him, into the middle of the infirmary, he clenched his teeth. She intrigued him. There was something special about her. Without a doubt she was trouble, yet he couldn’t fight the spell she had over him. Since she’d opened up to him, he’d do the same, although he’d keep his personal secrets locked inside.
“I am a shape-shifter, a Stiyaha. Our species live well over two thousand years. I am five hundred and thirty-three years old.”
“You look young,” she said.
“We reach maturity fast and stay that way until near the end.” He tapped the hilt of his sword with his ring, the sound loud in the room. “We each have a beast inside us, one that towers over nine feet tall, with great strength and speed. We no longer shift, not since the great scourge.”
A vision of his mother, her pale face mottled with red, open sores, crossed his mind. He forced the memory away, pushing the image back into the black box he kept it in.
“Why not?” Melissa asked.
“Energy strands connected beast to human form, which allowed us to change shape. For the ones that survived the scourge, the sickness altered us, and the strands didn’t work. We no longer shift, for we can’t change back. Many died in their failed attempts to return to human form, or were killed, so it is forbidden.”
He longed to try again, but to test the strands would risk unleashing the beast, and that, he would never do.
Her green eyes raked him, and he stiffened under her glare.
“Gaetan tells me the Gossum took something from you. What was it?”
“I had a cloaking shield. It protected me until my powers weakened. That’s when the Gossum captured me.”
She closed her eyes and bit her bottom lip. He had a strange urge to pull her into his embrace and protect her from harm.
“They tortured me, took my blood, and with it, my shield.” Melissa’s moist eyes pulled on something deep within him.
“Ah, that’s how Ram deflected my sword. He stole your shield.”
Lines ringed Melissa’s eyes, and her glossy hair, matted in several places, lay limp around her shoulders. She still wore the dirty, ripped jeans and blood-stained tank top they’d found her in. Leaning against the countertop, her fingers turned white as they gripped the edge.
Noeh wanted to comfort her but couldn’t bring himself to do so. His chest tightened, and he hated himself for his inability to show her any kind of compassion. His spiral marking pulsed. He accepted the pain, savored it as his due. The sworl would fade further until he lost all compassion, and then the mark would disappear.
“I’ll send in Bet, my chambermaid. She’ll show you the baths and give you some clean clothes.”
“Thank you, a bath sounds wonderful.”
Noeh placed his hand over one of the sunstones that lined the edges of the room. He sent a message to Bet to come assist his new acquaintance. Aware he was being watched, he glanced at Melissa. Her smile ratcheted up his nerves, and his stomach rolled into a ball.
“Where is the rest of your kind?”
She stiffened and met his gaze. She didn’t respond right away, but when she did, her voice was strained. “Far away. It’s better that way. Trust me.”
She didn’t want to talk about her kind. He stared into her eyes for a long moment before he spoke. “You are my guest and may stay at the Keep as long as you like. When you are ready, my guards will escort you home.”
Melissa flinched at his words. “Thank you for your hospitality. I’ll be on my way as soon as possible.”
The color drained from her face, and he sensed from her response that leaving was the last thing she wanted to do.
Noeh’s chest tightened. “Like I said, you can stay as long as you like.” His inner Stiyaha, the beast part of him deep within, growled with discontent. Don’t go.
Chapter Six
Noeh sat in the ornate wooden chair, the seat worn from numerous kings before him. A sense of unease crawled up his back. He’d come to the king’s throne room to study the latest scrolls on the status of the Keep before retiring to his bedchamber, but he couldn’t concentrate. Memories of Melissa chained to the wall assaulted him. Her green eyes had penetrated into his soul, and he’d never forget the feel of her soft skin as he carried her out of the asylum. The stylus in his hand snapped in two.
He pushed back his chair to stand, and the old oak feet grated against the stone floor. A flinch ran along his nerves and he tapped his sunstone ring against the hilt of his sword. The welcome distraction was a salve, but it didn’t last long. He glanced at the ceiling where the sunstones embedded in the cave’s porous rock sparkled like a million stars.
The gods had thrust this war upon his kind. He hated playing their game, pitting his kind against the Gossum in a battle over Earth’s water. To the victor went the spoils. If the Gossum won, that would be a sad day, not only for his kind, but for the humans as well. He’d fight the war to save both as long as he could.
He shook his fist in the air. “Veromé, Alora, I curse you!”
He’d prayed to the gods in the past with no results. He’d given up long ago, after the great scourge had devastated the population and changed his kind forever. Although some believed the gods still cared, he no longer did.
The skin under his eye pulsed, and he savored the pain. The sign for faith burned his skin, and as his belief waned, his marking faded. He was king. It was his responsibility to instill a sense of hope in his kind. As much as that pained him, he’d find a way to keep their faith alive even as his own dwindled.
A knock on the heavy oak door brought him out of his reverie. “Enter.”
Mauree breezed into the royal chamber, which did nothing to erase his sour mood. She was the most beautiful Stiyaha female in the Keep, and his ex-lover, still trying to work her way back into his pants. Her shoulder-length blond hair, pert nose, and blue eyes captivated many a male, but her long, sensuous legs were her signature feature. She used them to her advantage.
“My, my. Don’t you look all menacing today.” She invaded his personal space and ran her hands over his shoulders.
He grabbed her fingers and held them close to his chest to prevent her roaming hands from going places he didn’t want them to go. “What brings you here?”
She smiled, her eyes lighting up. “Oh, I came to see how your evening fared. Long night on the battlefield?” She rubbed her face against the coarse stubble on his chin. “You are so rugged. I love that about you.”
He released her and returned to his desk. He rolled up the scroll he’d reviewed and placed his favorite quill pen next to the inkwell. “Yes—and my duties are never ending.”
The sunstones embedded in the cave walls brightened from a soft glow to a radiant light. Warmth emanated from the crystals, and the room heated to an uncomfortable level. The Keep, ever aware of its inhabitants, responded to their emotions. A bead of sweat broke out on Noeh’s lip. He wiped the perspiration away with the back of his hand.
He glanced toward the door, calculating how to exit the room without another confrontation.
“Leaving already?” Mauree puckered her mouth in a feigned pout. “I thought we’d have more time.”
He scooped his woven vest off the back of the chair and pulled it on. Securing the wooden buttons, his back toward her, he stiffened. “Time for what?”
She didn’t answer, so he looked back at her.
“To discuss our relationship.” Mauree strategically placed the tip of her high-heeled shoe on one of the chairs at the edge of the room. Her taut muscles and perfect skin could make many a male weep.
“What is there to discuss? Our relationship ended years ago.”
She glanced at him and laughed. “Is it just me or are you afraid of all the females?”
Noeh turned. He came over and touched a finger to her cheek. Such a pretty face and such a scheming mind. “I don’t have time to play games with you.”
She put her foot back on the stone floor, a sigh escaping her lips. “You’re king—you could make time. You can do as you wish.”
If only that were true. “You are a fine female, even when you’re pouting.”
“Why do you resist?” She blinked, her lashes beating like a bird’s wings, as if she were holding back tears. “You dare to defy the ancient scriptures that state you must take a queen. All the past kings have had a queen. It’s what’s done. Someday, that will come back to haunt you.”
Not if I can avoid it, even if you are my best option. Taking a queen would mean opening his heart, and he wouldn’t go there.
He’d closed the Hall of Scriptures soon after the scourge devastated his kind. His anger at the gods made the decision easy. Any references to the scriptures now were based on memories.
He turned from her and stared at the carved wooden statues of warriors long lost that guarded the entrance like ancient sentinels. He couldn’t face her tears, not again. She was a master of manipulation, and he’d be damned if he’d get caught in her web. He ran his hand over his hair. The stubble tingled his fingers.
Noeh pursed his lips. When he spoke, his words came out low. “I don’t believe in the ancient scriptures, not anymore.”
Not since the gods let my parents die. An old, familiar pain hit him in the chest, and he rubbed the spot. I’ve as much use for a queen as I do those damned scriptures.
He headed for the door. Pulling it open, he paused. “Take care, Mauree, keep scheming.”
*****
A sharp knock on the door startled Melissa. “Come in.”
The infirmary’s massive wood door creaked on rusty hinges as it swung open. A short female, not more than three feet tall entered the room. She wore a green dress with a stained white apron. Her shoulder-length brown hair cascaded around her neck and matched her soft brown eyes.
“Hello. I’m Bet.” Her soft-spoken voice had a unique lilt that calmed Melissa’s nerves. “You must be Melissa. It’s nice to meet you, dearie.”
The female bowed. Her plump body hindered her movement, but when she covered the distance of the room to stand next to Melissa, her speed defied her size and stature. She grasped Melissa’s hands.
A sense of well-being and peace radiated up Melissa’s arms and into her chest. She couldn’t help the giggle that escaped her lips. “It’s nice to meet you, too, Bet. If you don’t mind me asking, what are you?”
“I’m a Jixie, one of the little Lemurians. We keep the Keep going, so to say.” The pleasant female chuckled. “We help the Stiyaha with the everyday tasks. They protect us. It’s been that way for thousands of years.”
Bet appeared to study Melissa from head to foot. She pursed her lips. “This won’t do, sweetie. You look like one of my sisters after a time in the garden. You need a good cleaning and some new clothes to cover you. Come, young one, let me take you to the baths.” The small female spoke so fast Melissa almost didn’t understand her.
Melissa peered down at her ripped shirt and dirty jeans. There wasn’t much left after the Gossum attack, but what was there was ruined beyond repair. Red sores left over from the branding iron still burned. On their way to healing, they still ached, as much in her spirit as on her skin. Her stomach constricted at the memory. At least Bet had the courtesy not to mention her wounds.
“Thank you. A bath is just what I need.”
“This way.” Despite Bet’s waddle, Melissa had to walk at a brisk pace to keep up.
Carved into the ancient lava rock, the hall was a tunnel almost twelve feet tall. A myriad of yellow and orange stones lined the walls. The beautiful gems gave off a warm glow which intensified as they walked past. Melissa slowed down to admire them. She grazed one of the stones with her finger, and the gem brightened at her touch. She inhaled a quick breath. “What are these?”
Bet pulled Melissa’s hand away from the stone. “Be careful, dear. The power within the sunstones is not something to play with if you don’t know what you’re doing. The gems provide light and heat. We also send messages through them, using the force within our beloved Keep.”
“Beloved Keep? A force?” Melissa’s head started to spin.
“The Keep is our home and is ever aware of her inhabitants. She reacts to strong emotions, especially of those she loves.”
Melissa’s gaze roamed around the corridor walls. “You mean the Keep is alive?”
“In a sense. Come along, now. The baths are still a fair walk from here.” Her talkative escort took hold of Melissa’s arm and guided her farther down the hall.
What kind of world was this? Melissa’s skin tingled, and her heartbeat picked up speed. She’d been through a lot in the past couple of nights, but somehow, she felt safe here in the Keep. Memories of her conversation with Noeh reminded her of his unique, comforting scent and her desire for his blood. Her teeth threatened to extend. She clamped her mouth tight and forced herself to focus on the little Jixie in front of her.
They passed several closed doors along the way. She wanted to stop and explore, but Bet seemed intent on getting to the baths, so Melissa held her curiosity in check.
Footsteps and muffled voices grew louder as they approached an intersection. A couple of males rounded the corner and almost knocked her and Bet to the ground. Strong hands reached for Melissa’s arms, but she spun out of the way just in time.
“Forgive me, I didn’t see you,” a deep male voice rumbled.
The male’s scent brought out her fangs, and she pursed her lips to hide them. She needed to feed, and soon, or the headaches would come again. If the headache lasted too long, she could slip into the beginnings of the dementia. That wouldn’t be good.
She backed up and peered at the tall male standing before her. Like all the Stiyaha she’d met so far, he was well over six and a half feet tall. A woven, short-sleeved, black shirt covered his broad shoulders, and he wore silver armbands over his thick forearms. Black leather pants clung to his muscular legs. His feet and ankles, covered in black boots, had short knives strapped to the outside cuff. A gray bandana at the base of his neck held his auburn hair in place. He seemed to regain his composure and stepped away from her.
“Jade! Watch where you walk.” Bet put her hands on her hips and narrowed her eyes.
Melissa wanted to laugh at the small female standing up to the giant male, but she stifled the chuckle before it could escape her lips. Although her fangs had receded, she didn’t want to take a chance that they would elongate again.
“You’re pretty light on your feet.” Bet’s gaze moved from Melissa’s worn-out sneakers to her eyes.
“Must’ve been the dance classes. I took ballet—” Melissa stopped mid-sentence. Bet or the males probably didn’t know about human ballet classes. She shrugged.
“I’ll keep Jade out of trouble, Bet.” The other male spoke, and his voice boomed down the corridor. This male was dressed similar to Jade, but his shoulder-length blond hair was pulled back in a tiny queue behind his neck. Two thin black lines ran down either side of his nose, and he wore a thin, silver chain around this throat. His blue eyes focused on Melissa. “You are the visitor.”
“Yes, Caleb, and you’ll leave her be, per the king’s orders,” Bet said.
The two males visibly stiffened and seemed to rethink any further discussion. An uncomfortable silence drew out until the one called Caleb spoke. “We’ll be off. Need to get to the training center.”
Caleb gave a quick bow as the two males departed. Their bootsteps echoed against the walls in their wake.
“One of them—Caleb—he had a marking on his face. Noeh has one, too. What do they mean?” Melissa as
ked as they resumed their walk down the hallway.
“Every male receives a marking at birth. The lines and whorls are unique and represent the values most important to that male. Often, one or more of these ideals are tested during the male’s lifetime. If he passes the test, he retains the value, and his life is whole, complete. If he fails, his life spirals until he loses them all and succumbs to his inner beast.”
“Wow, that’s intense. What values are Noeh’s markings?” Curiosity niggled at Melissa.
“The three lines over his eye represent truth, honor, and justice. The two whorls under his eye are for compassion and faith.”
Melissa pictured Noeh’s marks in her mind. The bottom two, the ones for compassion and faith were a light shade of gray, very different from the three dark lines above his blue eyes. Her throat constricted at her new understanding.
They rounded another bend in the corridor, and Bet stopped in front of an old wooden door. The metal latch fit loose in the cradle and was well worn. She raised the bar.
Bet entered the bath hall. Melissa followed. She stilled and blew out a slow breath. The room was beautiful. Rushing water echoed against the walls of the large cavern. At the far end of the chamber, a waterfall cascaded ten feet from a small cliff into an immense pool. Wet spray had polished the surrounding rocks. Six bathing tubs stood in the center of the room, each carved from natural lava stone and smoothed to a fine finish. She walked to the nearest one. This tub was twice as large as the others, with the capacity to hold several inhabitants at once. She traced her fingers over the edge. Warm water tingled her skin.
Steam rose from the surface of the water, as if natural heat from underground springs fed the current. Dew formed on her skin. She closed her eyes and breathed in the cleansing aroma. Her muscles loosened. The wonders of the Keep were so beautiful, so untouched.
“It’s off hours now, so you have the place to yourself. The males aren’t scheduled to be here for a while. Take as long as you like.” Bet handed Melissa a bar of soap and a roll of bound material. “This is to dry yourself.”
