Hidden Realms

by Dean Murray

  I couldn’t imagine it. He worked so hard all the time. We barely made it most months. Besides, he was one of the kindest men I knew or could ever imagine. How were Aunt Grace and Uncle John part of the resistance?

  I was way more worried about what was going to happen to them than I was about me. My life had skipped to an alternate track without me even noticing.

  Taylor and Jessica joined us on the narrow path. Jett led the way. We walked along like a funeral procession. There was no happy chatter to be found in this group. At least the birds seemed happy. Their song should have soothed me, but it seemed nothing could penetrate my heart.

  The woods grew thicker the further we went. Although light spilled through the leaves occasionally, the luscious canopy completely occluded the sky. The glow was different in this space, as though there was an alternate source of light than the sun.

  The tension in the men spilled over into me. Something was wrong, but they acted as if it wasn’t. I felt like a tattered rubber band about to break.

  We walked single file. Zach was in front of me and Luke behind. Jessica followed him and last of all Taylor.

  Or so I thought. I turned to ask Jessica how she was doing, hoping to spark some resistance within her. Luke tried to block my view, but it didn’t work.

  The most beautiful woman I could imagine glided behind Taylor. She was nearly as tall as the men. Long blonde hair flowed down her slender body toward her waist. Her pale skin glowed faintly as though backlit by a flame. Her bone structure was delicate, but she was muscular. Her eyes were a mirror image of Zach’s with the same odd dimensionality, only they were bright green, not blue. Ainessa.

  She smiled at me. It wasn’t exactly friendly.

  The look she gave me was no different than those of her male counterparts. Shivers ran down my spine. She wanted what I had to offer.

  I turned away sharply. Luke placed a hand on my back. I wasn’t sure if it was meant to reassure me or to claim possession.

  Ainessa laughed, light as a spring breeze carrying the melody of distant birdsong. So why did it frighten me so much?

  Jett stopped, holding up a halting hand. Taylor shoved Jessica next to me, crouching defensively to the side of us. The rest of the group circled around us.

  I waited for something terrible. Seconds could have been hours. A light breeze brought a ting of something sickening with it, sweet, rotting.

  A mournful baying rang out, closer than I was comfortable with. Another followed. And another. We were suddenly surrounded by the sounds of the ushers of death.

  I covered my ears, gritting my teeth. Jessica looked at me curiously, as though my movements were foreign to her. Her gaze held no amount of recognition. I could have been any girl she had never met. What exactly had Taylor done to her? I didn’t think they were bonded yet, but she acted completely incoherent.

  The wailing came closer. My pulse pounded in my ears. Why were we just standing here? Shouldn’t we run? We weren’t that far from the human border. I could be back there in thirty seconds, a minute at most. Okay, probably not, but the dire need to bolt rolled inside me. When I glanced between Jett and Luke, I froze. A creature out of my worst nightmare stalked toward us.

  His hackles raised in a razor sharp arch. He looked sort of like a wolf with bushy dappled gray fur. That’s where the similarities stopped. Spiky horns stuck out of his tail like the quills of a prickly-pear cactus. His eyes were moons of black. The only color was a horizontal yellow pupil. He bared his gleaming obsidian teeth before he growled, low and menacing.

  Luke brought his hands in front of him. A bright blue glow erupted from his palm. Tendrils of light swirled heavenward and disappeared through the trees. The canopy shifted sideways, revealing ominous clouds rolling toward us. Lightning flashed. The creature skittered, howling. Others joined in.

  The ache in the sound shot through me. Why did I feel sorry for the beasts? I jolted as the ground beneath me shook. A gale force wind hit me. Pea sized hail pelted my scalp.

  A cacophony of motion erupted. The creature lunged at us. Lightning blasted into it. It fell to the ground motionless. Steam sizzled up from a fist-sized hole in the body. I gagged at the normally welcome smell of roasted meat. The thing rose from the earth trembling as his flesh knitted back together. In less than thirty seconds the wound was gone. He bared his teeth again, a new intensity in his eyes.

  A purple bubble surrounded Jessica and me moments before the fae broke the circle. They were on the attack now. The newly formed barrier jiggled at my touch but wouldn’t budge.

  Jett spun, sweeping his arms skyward. The ground trembled then rolled. I reached for something to hold on to, finding no purchase. With another jolt, I bounced against the barrier. Jessica crouched into a ball and covered her head. The earth split apart all around us as volcanic explosions spewed into the air. Three of the creatures fell into the molten chasms. The horrible wailing rent my heart. Jett didn’t waste any time as another group of the beasts disappeared from sight.

  I hadn’t realized how big the pack was. The instant some vanished, others emerged from the shadows to fill the vacancy. Each fae attacked the animals with his or her element. Luke pummeled them with icy hail the size of my fist and blasted them with lightning. Taylor caught them up in a tornado that carried several away. Ainessa’s hand glowed and a group vanished.

  Finn. Where was Finn? I just realized he hadn’t been with us. What was he doing?

  I noticed that one of the creatures had stayed back from the fray, pacing a few feet away. He was the largest one I had seen so far. Drool dripped from his glimmering fangs. His bright yellow pupil was trained on me. I skittered backward until I hit the barrier.

  It lunged. I shielded my head bracing myself for a horrible death. Just when I thought he would reach me, I heard a thud. He had bounced off the shield, momentarily stunned. He sprang to his feet and began clawing at the only thing separating me from his razor sharp talons. To my horror he broke through briefly. I screamed. But the light knitted together before he could get through it.

  Jessica looked at me as if I was insane. She sat cross-legged, calmly watching the action like it was a harmless movie.

  Zach rushed behind the creature and grabbed it by the scruff. He tossed it as if it were a pup then clasped his hands in front of him. His arms flew wide and the creature exploded into a million tiny fragments of light.

  Zach stepped through the barrier and yanked me to my feet. He bent to Jessica who stood on her own merits. His arms encircled both of us.

  Space crackled around us in tiny explosions. I yelped, burying my face in his shoulder. This was worse than any carnival ride I had been on.

  Vertigo claimed me. I couldn’t tell which way was up. My body felt as though it were disintegrating. He might as well have given me over to that creature. I was going to die.

  Birds chirped happily around me. The sun blazed warm on my skin. Strong arms held me. Hysterical sobs racked my body.

  “It’s okay, love. You’re safe now,” Zach said softly.

  I raised my head to look at him then slammed my eyes shut from the glaring light. Spots danced in the blackness as tears ran down my cheeks.

  I had been really sick once. I was in bed for over two weeks and had slept almost the entire time. One morning, Aunt Grace set my breakfast on my lap, telling me it was time I got better. She needed me to take care of my responsibilities.

  When she flung the curtains wide, my eyes rebelled. They wouldn’t open no matter what I did.

  This was a thousand times worse. I tried again. “Ah!” I screeched. More hot tears stung my cheeks.

  Zach wiped my face. “I’m sorry, Rayla. I had hoped to bring you into Faeresia during the night.”

  I couldn’t take the sensations blasting into me. Blazing heat burned into my flesh. I felt as though I were melting. My heart raced as if it couldn’t quite keep up with the sudden demands. Every sound penetrated my ears like a siren.

  I buried my head into Z
ach’s shoulder. He wrapped his arms around me and ran a comforting hand over my hair. “It will take some getting used to. I wish I could remove your pain. You have to know I did not want it to be like this.” He kissed me lightly. His voice shook. “You will be safe here.” He guided me toward the ground. “I will return shortly.”

  “No! Don’t leave me.” I clutched at his forearm, but he slid from my grasp. “Zach!”

  “I’ll be back. I promise. Fexlie is with you. She will watch out for you until I can return. I must see to the others.”

  I curled into a ball, covering my ears and shielding my eyes. Who in the world was Fexlie? Where was Jessica?

  A tiny voice with a cockney accent erupted at my ear. “There, there, miss.” Impossibly small fingers slid over my arm. She laughed softly. “Oh, you’ve made a real mess out of things. Master has ever right to beat you until you bleed, but knowing him, he’ll kiss every inch of you instead.”

  If this was her idea of comforting me, I’d hate to see if she was mad. I tried to glance at her, but my eyes still refused to open.

  Jessica wailed a mournful sob. And even though it was irritating, in a strange way it was also comforting to know she was close.

  “Where is my lord?” Jessica cried. “I don’t feel him anymore.” The anger of a crazed woman erupted with her words. “What have you done with him?”

  Fexlie grumbled. “They’re all like this once the connection has been made. If you ask me, they’re worse than mechanical dolls for the first hundred or so years. Why the lords want pretend affection is beyond my meager understanding, but no matter. Nobody ever asks me anyway.”

  “Where are we?” I yelled over Jessica’s blustering.

  Pride was evident in Fexlie’s tone. “Master brought you home, miss. He’s sure to get in trouble for it, but he had to get you to safety. I told him he should have brung you weeks ago. You’re rightfully his, you know. He’s the first one what found you.”

  I groaned. My head throbbed as though it were being squeezed in a vice. I stretched my body on the cool earth and rolled onto my stomach. If only I could see. I had no idea I had relied on my vision so much. I ran my fingers over what felt like blades of grass, but they didn’t collapse under my touch. They pushed back. I yanked my hand to my chest and sat up, unnerved. “I don’t like this place.” I turned toward the strange woman Zach had left me with.

  “Would I could meet you good and proper, but that’ll come later.”

  The space around me shifted as though pulled and snapped. Pressure slammed against my eardrums. That familiar popping sound followed. The fullness didn’t go away.

  Strong arms encircled me, lifting me to my feet. I turned in his embrace, nestling into him. He groaned lightly as if he was as happy to see me as I was to have him with me again. Wait a minute.

  Something was wrong. I pressed his chest. It didn’t feel quite right.

  Instead of Zach’s familiar lilt, Luke’s unwanted accent rang out, “He had no right to bring you here.”

  I scrambled away from him, nearly falling. He didn’t touch me. He spoke calmly, softly. “Rayla, I know you are frightened. I also realize I am the last person you want near you, but when lots were cast, I won.” The smile was hard to miss in his voice. “Taylor is here, as well.” His fingers brushed mine.

  I pushed away from him. “Don’t you touch me! I want Zach. Where is he?”

  Luke’s tone remained calm. “On his way to Lombarda with the others. We must hurry. Tabitha awaits our return. A carriage is ready when you are.”

  I shook my head and sighed. I didn’t see any good options.

  Strange noises exploded around me. Luke groaned in what sounded like pain.

  “What have you done with Master?” Fexlie cried. “I should send you to the eleventh level of hell for this. You will not take her anywhere. I have strict orders—”

  Luke’s tone was taut with annoyance. “Here are new ones.”

  Paper crinkled. Fexlie’s small huff was unmistakable. She grumbled something about not believing Luke, but her protests faded into the distance. She was leaving me alone with him.

  My heart raced at the thought. At least we would be riding with Taylor and Jessica.

  I pried my lids open for a split second. Ugh. They slammed shut. I hadn’t seen anything but blinding light. The sound of solid footsteps reverberated around me and then past.

  “I knew you would not leave me,” Jessica exclaimed. Could she actually see Taylor, or did she merely feel his presence? Her only complaints so far were that he wasn’t with her. Was he able to shield her from this pain?

  “Of course not, my lovely one,” Taylor said. “Come.” The sounds of rustling cloth and groans of delight sent unease through my body.

  The clunk of footfalls faded into the distance. My breath hitched. “Aren’t we going with them?”

  Luke chuckled. His touch on my cheek startled me even though it was as light as a puff-ball. His tone was firm, demanding. “I am not going to waste this opportunity. I may not be able to compel you, but I’ll do my best to convince you.”

  I stiffened my spine and gave every effort to glare at him with my eyes closed. “Don’t count on it.”

  He laughed. His breath tickled my ear. “We’ll see how much I repulse you in two days.”

  My words were a harsh whisper. “What are you talking about?” His heat seared into me. I didn’t want to be this close to him.

  “Zach should not have brought you so deeply into his land. It’s a two day ride to the border. I will enjoy every minute of it.”

  He lifted me into his arms. I hit fruitlessly at his shoulder. He didn’t respond at all. “I can walk!”

  “I know,” was all he said.

  I didn’t like being pressed up against him: feeling the thud of his heart beating strongly against my skin or his soft breath on my neck. At least I didn’t want to like it.

  “Why don’t you take me back the way I got here?”

  He walked up a couple of steps before setting me down on a velvety cushion. “For once I am grateful I don’t have the ability.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Zach is the only fae to master… what word would you know? Ah…teleportation completely.”

  He guided me gently backward until I was lying down. I didn’t bother struggling, but that would change if he pushed it.

  Lily’s diary hadn’t done this part of her journey justice. Now that I was full-force into the experience, her descriptions seemed pedestrian. I was as helpless as a newborn in this strange new world.

  The mattress shifted slightly as Luke settled next to me. He didn’t touch me, but he was close enough for me to feel his energy.

  I opened my eyes to the wafting sheen of ocean blue silk, the covered windows, Luke’s reassuring smile. I rolled away from him with a muffled groan.

  “You are adjusting rather quickly, Rayla. We haven’t begun to understand the extent of your power.”

  I jerked away from his touch even though it would have been nice to allow myself the comfort he could give me.

  He cleared his throat. “Why don’t you rest for a while? You must be weary. When you wake, we will talk.”

  Nothing he had to say was going to change my mind. I stiffened when he molded his body to mine. I didn’t fight him because it wouldn’t have mattered if he was an ocean away, I would still feel his radiance. His call.

  I was neither hot nor cold, but my body trembled. He hummed a soothing melody, stroking my hair. The tune worked like the ebb and flow of an incoming tide, lulling me into complacency.

  Chapter Twenty One

  I stretched long and languorous. The sultry scent of sandalwood filled the air. Birdsong wafted around me. I yawned. How long had I slept?

  My arms prickled in the cool evening breeze. When I reached for the covers, my exposed thighs slid over satin.

  “Let me,” Luke said softly.

  I bolted upright. The top of my head was only a foot from the fabr
ic ensconced ceiling. My jeans and sweater were gone. When I shifted to scowl at him, a glittering spaghetti strap fell from my shoulder. I yanked it up. His gaze traveled over my bare legs. I pulled the hem of the barely-there nightgown he had apparently put me in toward my ankles. “How dare you!”

  An innocent expression slid across his face. He smiled boyishly. “I have not done what you have imagined, although I hope to one day—”

  I narrowed my eyes. “You’re a pervert.” I rummaged under the sheets. The entire carriage was a bed. I was not staying here like this. “Where are my clothes?”

  He stiffened, obviously offended. “I have not molested you in any way regardless of how much I wanted to.”

  “Yeah, right. Who undressed me? Your invisible servants?”

  He ran a hand through his wavy locks while his gaze roamed over my body.

  “Stop it!” I screeched. I clutched the covers to my chest, but it didn’t take away the feeling of being violated.

  Luke frowned at me as though I was the one with the problem. “You are a curious one. Most women crave this sort of attention.”

  I glanced over at him, trying to ignore the fact that his sculpted chest was bare. “I am not most women, and I don’t know a thing about you. You have no right to look at me that way.”

  His brows rose and fell before the teasing nature went out of his expression. “Very well.”

  He didn’t move a muscle. He didn’t even blink, but where silk and satin caressed my skin moments before now rested the comfort of cashmere and linen. Even though I was modestly covered now, I still felt exposed.

  He shrugged. “You see. I did not touch you; nor, to my dismay, did I see anything other than what you just did.” He smiled fully. “You, I think, might be worth the wait.”

  I glared at him. “Never going to happen.” It just hit me that I could actually see without any pain. I pulled the curtains back. The whole world was aglow, although it wasn’t what I had imagined: a land with no night.