“Go along with it. I don’t understand.”
“The Great Love. Corey has made quite a legend of you over the years. One of our oldest stories is about Kate of a Thousand Years. The people will expect you to be the Great Love, especially tonight, when we gather to celebrate love.”
“Did Corey put you up to this?”
“What? Of course not. He loves you, Kate. Only you. Forever.”
“What are you asking of me, Eunavae?”
“Oh, honey, I am not asking anything of you. Just follow your heart. Don’t be constrained by American ideals here.”
“They aren’t American ideals. They are part of my belief system. Marriage is sacred.”
“Yes, it is,” Eunavae smiled. “It is when it is founded in love. What Corey shares with Taylia is founded in a business contract, nothing more.”
“I don’t believe you. I saw his face when he looked at her. He loves her.”
“Like he loves me, or Donnie! He respects her and loves her as a person, not as a soul mate.”
I sighed heavily. “I don’t know that I can ever see it that way.”
“Try.” Corey spoke from the back door. His voice was a plea that called across the room to me. My heart leapt up in response. I suppressed it. I was not ready to make this decision.
“Tonight I will listen and I will do what my heart says to do, for your people. But tomorrow I am going to obey my head!”
Corey smiled, “of course.”
A ridge sliced through the timberland, cutting a deep crevice into the forest floor. Tree lined ravines rose up and hosted the entire population of the tree city and their Tondo counter parts. Tree top platforms swayed in the breezes as the night sky boasted diamond lights and an enormous full moon. Far below us a green tinged mist hovered over the forest floor.
I stood between Corey and Taylia on the topmost platform, the massive moon threw us in stark silhouette. The Darchori knew how to throw a party. Each platform creaked and groaned from a dancing, swaying clan. Tree branches bent low with the weight of large creatures, Tondo’s I presumed. It sent a chill through me.
Taylia called for silence and the partiers paused to listen to the words of their chief, carried to their platforms through a system of bamboo tubes. “Today we are blessed to celebrate the Tondo Festival with the heroine of our greatest love story.” She lifted my hand in the air and the platforms cheered. Corey wrapped his arm around my waist and the cheering increased.
“Story tellers take the floor,” commanded Taylia.
Each group quieted to hear the story performed on their platform. I glanced over the expanse of torch-lighted groups as they settled from their revelries into pods of families and neighbors to listen to their favorite narrator.
I wondered who was going to be the story teller in our group. We settled into each other’s arms. Trip and Tara actually appeared to be a couple for the first time since the kiss in QHR. Eunavae and her husband were wrapped tightly around one another. There was something in the air, anticipation, pheromones, I don’t know, but it was intoxicating.
I turned to Corey and felt my pulse gallop. In the moonlight he was young again. My Corey. He sizzled with desire as he took my hand. Flames burst out on my skin. The air was electric between us. He cleared his throat and began the story telling.
“Many moons ago, in another world just a jump away, a young lad with blond hair and blue eyes lived in a magical place called Heartwork Village. In this wondrous land, boys and girls were introduced to a special kind of magic called technology. With technology magic, they could travel to faraway lands, blink into historical sites, battle fierce creatures, and rescue beautiful damsels in distress.
Our youngster fell into a family of twelve teens and they went on a quest together. His name was Corey.”
The Darchori around us laughed and cheered then fell silent again.
“Corey and his friends descended into a black hole in the middle of a heart shaped lake. Down and down they traveled, deeper and deeper into the darkness. When they reached the bottom they were given the task of drawing magic stones from a pool of water.
The stones divided them into pairs and glowed in their hands when it was time for them to travel. Corey’s stone glowed first and he turned to see the most beautiful girl in the group had been chosen to go with him, Kate.”
I turned to look at Tara and rolled my eyes. No one who saw the two of us in a room together would say that. All eyes were trained on me. I looked down, embarrassed.
“He took her hand and they stepped up to the smooth cavern wall and placed their glowing stones against the surface. Magic sucked them into a portal and they traveled to a fantastic world built in the sky.”
He looked down at me and we entered the memory of that world together. He wrapped his arm around my shoulder and pulled me close to him. A collective sigh sounded around the platform.
“Higher than the tallest tree and then twice that high again, the platform rose into the sky.”
I wondered if the Darchori celebrated on platforms because of the platform in the story.
“The sky was blindingly bright since their eyes had adjusted to the dark caves. It took a moment for them to see where they were. Corey and Kate grabbed each other for support, fear licked up their spines, and they spoke heartening words to one another and shared courage between them.”
Well, that was nice, but I mostly remembered screaming and Corey speaking the encouraging words.
“A rushing mighty noise reached their ears and they looked down to see a whirling storm eating its way up the platform. They barely had time to cling to one another when it blasted them into the sky. Kate locked their belts together so they would not be blown apart, and Corey held onto her with all of his strength.”
His grip tightened on me, and I leaned into him, the memory overwhelming me.
“They shot high into the sky clinging to one another wondering if they would ever stop. Years and years passed as they were catapulted through the expanse. Gradually, they began to peak in their ascent until they stopped, hovered for a millisecond and then began to plunge into the void below.”
Corey dropped a bit and I grasped him in reflex. He smiled at me, and I laughed. The Darchori hooted. Corey took advantage of the break and kissed me on the cheek. More hoots and hollers and oohs and aahs. We laughed at the fun everyone was having.
“Corey and Kate were afraid at first and then they realized some One was with them. The One who loved them kept them from harm. They began to enjoy flying around in the blushing sky. They learned how to direct themselves and for decades, centuries, they flew in tumbles and circles, laughing, talking, and falling in love.”
My eyes had been smiling until he looked down at me at the words “falling in love”. His intense gaze captured me in the moment and my heart swelled to meet his. Mere inches away from his lips, I could almost taste them. A shudder of delight passed through Corey, and I responded to him with a flush of passion and desire so thick you couldn’t cut it with a laser. I trembled in his arms.
He cleared his throat and his voice came out husky and thick. He continued the story but everyone else disappeared, he spoke to just me now. “We fell into a cloud and lived there in one another’s arms for an eternity. Our lips danced in synchronized bliss for a Thousand Years. My Kate, pure and perfect, when I touched your skin you burned with passion.”
He stroked my cheek and I gasped aloud.
“When you savored my taste, I burned with passion. We loved and made love for an eternity and then the song began.”
Corey lifted his voice and began singing.
Hold me close, fly with me
Across immortal portals free.
Fall into the lover’s sea.
With lips so full of worship.
Corey’s voice was pure and beautiful. He sang our song, the Immortal song, The Song of a Thousand Years to me. When he reached the chorus, I softly sang along. He pressed my body as close to his as was possibl
e and sang into my hair. His breath on my neck lit me on fire.
I will hold you for all time.
Come and press your heart to mine.
With my promise on your breast
I live in your nearness.
Other voices joined ours to finish out the song, young and old alike sang the love song.
Hold me fast, come let’s go
Where fireflies bask in afterglow.
My kiss enfolds the tender soul
In bliss so full of worship.
Silence rang throughout the ravine. Corey lifted my face to his and kissed me. He kissed me with the passion of a thousand years and I responded with my whole being. I intertwined my heart with his and kissed him just the way he liked best, pleased to give my Corey back his bliss. His hands ran up my arms, skin on skin, and I attacked him with fervor. I couldn’t get enough of him.
I don’t know how long we kissed on that platform, a millennia maybe. I just know that the shouts of the Darchori finally pierced the haze of passion that enfolded us. I drew back with a gasp for breath and Corey kissed my neck in the pause. We turned to the clansmen who celebrated around us in embraces of their own and realized the party had kicked off again.
Corey bent back down to kiss me and I couldn’t stop him. His joy was contagious, tears streamed down his face and I took his face in my hands and kissed every part of it. I tasted his lips and a jolt of passion spiked in both of us. Corey’s kisses became urgent and our lips fell into a familiar and delicious rhythm. We had danced like this for an eternity and we knew intimately how to do this right.
True and pure love spiraled around us and drew us tighter, wrapping us in the intensity of need for each other. It literally caused me pain that he was separate and other. I couldn’t get enough of him. I moaned in agonizing heartache for him to be closer to me even though we were wrapped around each other with profound yearning, born of mysteries to deep for thought—only heart could fathom. The depth of Corey’s soul called to mine and they merged into one being. Darchori danced around us and lovers embraced, while Corey and I had the reunion we had both anticipated.
“Come away with me.” He rasped into my hair and I knew where this would end up. I wanted it. I wanted Corey, all of him, now. We had waited far too long, loved far too completely to deny this union, and I intended to give every ounce of strength to the satisfaction of this long awaited moment. My heart raced ahead to this finish line. I kissed Corey again, but this time the kiss was an invitation and an affirmation of our eternal bond. I yearned for him and saw the beautiful agony sketched on his face and burning from his eyes.
“Kate.” His voice was a groan of desire.
“I need you, Corey. Take me, please. Let’s get out of here.” Our kisses were urgent now and no longer enough. We turned to leave and with passion and desire sketched across my face, I looked down, straight into the eyes of Taylia.
I stopped in my tracks as though I had run into an invisible wall, and Corey turned to see what was wrong. He followed my gaze, and I glanced at him in time to see great sorrow cross his face.
That was it.
It didn’t matter what anyone said. Marriage mattered. It mattered here. It mattered in my mind, and it certainly mattered in Corey’s heart. Taylia shed tears of pure joy. She walked over to me and hugged me.
“Dearest Kate of a Thousand Years, go with him,” she whispered in my ear. “He is complete in you. I have never seen him so happy. He deserves all the strength and passion you can give him tonight.”
“No,” I whispered. “No.”
I turned to Corey, tears streaming down my face and choked out, “take your wife home, Corey.” I touched his face, his lips. I embraced him and whispered in his ear. My voice crackled like brittle bones. “You and I will be together one day, when it is right, when you are my Corey.”
His arms tightened around me and his voice sobbed miserably. “Kate.” Pain broke across his features and echoed in the hollow cavern of my core. “I have loved you for a thousand years.”
“I will love you for thousands more.” I kissed him, with unbearable tenderness, and then raced into the darkness.
I woke on Eunavae’s couch, my eyes blinked open to see Tara and Trip sound asleep wrapped in a blanket across from me. Donnie was snoring at my feet, and my head was in someone’s lap, his feet stretched out in front of me propped on an ottoman.
He touched my hair and whispered, “Good morning.”
I turned over and he pulled me against his chest in a cradle hold. I smiled a sleepy smile and snuggled into his chest. “Morning,” I murmured, listening to the sound of Corey’s heartbeat.
He leaned down and kissed my forehead. “Are you hungry?”
“Mmmmhhhmmmm.”
He chuckled quietly. “Get dressed. Taylia wants to see you and Eunavae. I will cut up some fruit while you are dressing.”
“Mmmm. I just want to stay here for a minute.” I snuggled deeper into his arms. He sighed contentedly and continued to play with my hair and trace my face with his finger. He touched my lips and shattered my peaceful buzz. Suddenly, I was wide awake mentally as well as physically as my body resumed the burning agony from the prior night. I frowned at him. “No fair.” I grumbled while stretching.
He laughed again, gathered my hands in his and kissed my fingers.
“I miss coffee.” I yawned and padded off into the bathing chambers.
When I came out everyone was awake and eating breakfast and discussing the agenda for the day.
“How are we gonna get home?” Trip asked.
“We have to complete the jump,” Donnie answered.
“You think this is Eunavae’s jump?” Tara asked.
“Yes. I do,” Corey answered, then he saw me and smiled, reached for me and pulled me into his lap and I filled a plate with various chunks of fruit. I was hungry for the first time in a long time and stuffed myself with the delicious selection.
“I don’t know what more to do,” Eunavae answered. “What more could I possibly have to learn that I haven’t in the last 200 years?”
“Maybe you need to talk about your life back home. Bring it to the forefront of your memory.” I interjected. “Perhaps you have spent 200 years trying to forget, instead of trying to heal.”
Everyone paused and looked at me.
Eunavae took a sip of her drink and frowned. “Maybe you are right,” she grumbled into her cup.
“So I think we should all stick together for the next few days. If the sphere comes, I don’t want anyone left behind,” Donnie chimed.
I felt Corey’s arms tighten around me. I didn’t want that either. Corey was coming home with me. Period.
“I guess I have the most to lose.” Eunavae’s face was drawn in sorrow. “They can’t come with me can they?” She stared out onto the veranda where her husband was mashing fruit for their latest grandbaby, who was wiggling his chubby fingers through the tray in front of him and smashing fist-fulls into his mouth.
“No,” Donnie softly answered.
“Maybe that is why I am hiding from my past. I don’t want to leave my husband and children, my grandbabies.” She spoke to the table, eyes welling with unshed tears.
My heart broke for her. I touched her hand and she grasped mine with an iron grip.
“This has been the most difficult jump. We aren’t meant to stay this long. It causes more wounds than it heals.” Donnie had lost generations of loved ones. Tara, too.
The mood around the table was sullen. There went my appetite. I dropped the fruit that was in my hand and picked up a napkin.
“Are you finished?” Corey asked.
“Yeah.”
“We should go, then.” He glanced at Eunavae, and she nodded.
We all left the house and made our way through the quiet walkways of the tree city. The celebrations had ricocheted late into the night and the sleepy town was taking its time revving up for daily business. Droopy eyes and hung-over faces grinned at me and Corey as we ma
de our way to the medical facility hand in hand.
Corey directed us through the facility to his private apartment. He turned to Donnie, Trip and Tara. “Please feel free to make yourselves at home. The pantry is fully stocked and there are games and books. The veranda overlooks a beautiful garden. Just stay close.”
He took Eunavae and me into the next room. It was a large sleeping chamber with a bed that appeared to have grown out of the tree house floor. Sumptuous hangings and drapes lined the room enclosing us into an intimate and cozy space for the size.
Taylia rested in the middle of the big bed. She opened her eyes as we entered and smiled, patting the sides of her bed. We climbed onto the bed around her and she took mine and Eunavae’s hands.
“Thank you so much for coming. I apologize that I didn’t have the strength to come to you.”
“It is fine, Mother,” Eunavae answered. “It is my pleasure to visit you.”
I nodded.
“Eunavae, Corey tells me that you are the reason that you and your friends are still here.”
She nodded.
“And he says that there is something here,” she touched Eunavae’s chest, “that keeps you from moving forward.”
“I wish I knew what to do.” Eunavae’s brow crumpled.
“The Great Story tells us that Kate of a Thousand Years will one day return for her love with the key of freedom.”
“It does?” I asked. I didn’t remember that part of the story.
“Yes, in the most successful festivals, we never get to that part.” She smiled wickedly and cocked an eyebrow at me. “Such as last night’s festival, when love interrupts the story we all rejoice.”
I blushed and felt Corey’s body press against my back. Heat seared across my skin.
“Eunavae, you must tell us of your pain.”
“Now?”
The Torn, Book One of the Holding Kate Series Page 20
