They all agreed and hopped back in the boat, taking the quick journey around the peninsula and pulling into the harbor. Finn worked quickly to tie the boat to the pier as the others unloaded their things, helping Thomas on the shore. Brighid walked behind them, watching the sorcerer as he flipped his hood up over his white hair and long white beard, shielding his face from the people. When he reached the edge of the pier and stepped off onto land, he looked back at Brighid, his face now young and familiar. It was a fantastic sort of magic, and it wowed Brighid even though she thought she had seen everything.
"We can all stay and rest at my house," Thomas said, leading them into the small marina town of Dolphins Wharf.
They all nodded, and Brighid caught a glimpse of the guys smirking at each other before heading into the crowds. They moved through the city, and down through what looked like a poorer part of town. The homes were old and small, not very well taken care of, and the salt from the sea had worn against the wood. She watched as Thomas turned, walking up toward a small home, slightly leaning to one side, moss covering the roof. She wasn't quite sure how all of them would even fit inside the house, much less rest comfortably. She didn't want to offend Thomas though, so she followed the others to the door and watched as he rolled up the sleeve of his cloak and quietly waved his hand over the doorknob.
Brighid glanced up in surprise as the sound of multiple locks clicking and clanking echoed out from inside. When they were done, Thomas turned the handle and push the door open, stepping to the side. “Welcome to my home. I hope you find it comfortable.”
Each of the guys patted Thomas on the shoulder as they walked past him into the house. Brighid paused for a moment in front of him and stared at him curiously as he smiled back at her with joy. She finally smiled back and stepped through the doorway, prepared to see nothing more than what she had seen on the outside. However, as her foot hit the slick shimmering marble floor beneath her, her mouth dropped, and her eyes went wide. Instead of a small shanty, no larger than an ordinary shed was an expansive mansion, hallways darting in all directions, and an elaborate and intricately carved staircase straight in front of her.
Finn chuckled, and Ash bumped her with his hip. "Now, that's some cool magic."
All Brighid could do was nod, standing still as her eyes looked high into the air at the enormous ceilings that seemed to stretch on forever. Thomas walked in front of them and shrugged his robe off, his body back to the old sorcerer she had started to get used to during the travel across the ocean. He rubbed his hands together and grinned. "Who's hungry? I'm starving."
The men cheered and followed Thomas down the hallway. Brighid stood for a moment and then shook her head, chuckling to herself. "This adventure is getting more curious by the second. I definitely need him to do some upgrades on my cabin."
When she walked through the doorway, hurrying after them, she found herself in an enormous dining hall, a single, incredibly long wooden table in the center filled with hot food. She glanced around wondering who had made it, but as she looked back over at Thomas, she caught the end of the magic shimmering in his fingertips and realized that he wasn't only the homeowner but the staff and crew that made it work as well.
They sat and ate, laughing and talking as they got to know each other. It felt comfortable and natural. After dinner, the guys walked Brighid down to her room, each one of them kissing her cheek before heading to their own rooms that surrounded hers. Inside she found a miraculously beautiful bedroom, much larger than her cabin in the peaks of the islands. The bed was fluffy and felt as if she were sitting on a cloud. There were windows, and when she peered through them, it was as if she were looking out into some mystical field full of magical creatures and bright sunshine. She laughed to herself, taken aback by the kind of magic that Thomas was capable of.
Brighid had thought for sure that she would fall right asleep, but after changing into a pair of pajamas that had been left for her, she found herself unable to drift off into the dream world. She tossed and turned for a while but eventually got up, sneaking out of her room to wander the mansion. Everything about it was shocking to her. There were floating candles all along the walls that glowed brighter the closer she got to them. There were pictures hung that moved like movies, but she had a feeling if she were to speak to those in the pictures they would talk back. Thomas had created an entire world of magic inside that small shanty at the far end of a fishing town.
After taking several lefts and several rights, moving down the hallways and through the large ornate libraries, Brighid came to a stop in front of a large framed picture on the wall. Her heart skipped a beat in her chest, watching as those within the painting moved and laughed, playing with each other, talking to each other. But it wasn't just any painting, it was her father with her mates, all young children.
“I love that painting,” Zevi said from behind Brighid.
She looked over her shoulder and smiled. “It looks like a wonderful time.”
He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back slightly, watching the scene unfold in front of him. His eyes were happy, and his personality chipper as it had been since the day she met him. "That painting was a gift for me, given to me by Thomas the day that your father passed away. It's actually a memory that Thomas took from my mind and turned into that. It was one of my favorite memories of your father. He was tough on us because he wanted us to be strong and brave, but any chance he could get, he would take us out to the fields and play with us as if we were just normal boys. We truly felt as if he cared about us like we were his own."
Brighid looked over at him and put her hand on his arm. "I'm sure he did. And he did an amazing job because all three of you have beautiful souls. I can sense it."
Zevi took a deep breath through his nose, shifting his eyes away from the painting and smiling at Brighid. They began to walk forward, Brighid putting her arm around Zevi’s and grasping it close. “Did you spend a lot of time here?”
Zevi shook his head. "Every now and then, but mostly we stayed on the island as we were safe there. Thomas couldn't live there all the time though, while he was in charge of us, he also sat on the Council for your mother for quite some time. He's not a Shifter, but he is a magical being and is very protective of the Shifter community. Everyone that comes across him respects him greatly."
Brighid smiled. "I can see why. He's a good actor too."
Zevi chuckled. "I have to agree with you. I've watched him from afar several times when he was with you. Thomas, right hand to the High Alpha, playing as a dimwitted human."
Brighid giggled, slightly surprised at herself but letting it go anyway. She looked up as they walked, and her eyes immediately lit up. She released Zevi's arm and hurried forward toward a set of large glass doors. She threw them open and closed her eyes for a moment, letting the warmth of the estuary and the smell of wild flowers surround her. Zevi walked up next to her, smiling as he put his hands in his pockets. "It's beautiful isn't it? It was my favorite part of the mansion when I was a kid. I think I became so used to the island that I felt strange inside the mansion. One day, when I was bored and wandering around, I found it. I think Thomas put it here for a reason."
Brighid grinned ear to ear and walked inside running her fingers along the beautiful blooms that blanketed the area. She skipped excitedly to the center of the room where there was a large fountain, the water sparkling as if it were made of stars. “I’ve never seen something so beautiful. My sisters would love this.”
Zevi walked up close to her, his deep-set eyes looking into her. He reached up his hand and put it on her cheek. Brighid couldn't help but lean into it, feeling the electric connection between them.
Zevi smiled. “I’ve seen one thing far more beautiful than even this estuary.”
As he leaned in to kiss her, Brighid’s cheeks went red and hot. She closed her eyes, a slight moan escaping her throat as his lips met hers. There was a powerful surge of energy that erupted inside of her as Zevi held his lips
to hers, sliding his hand around her waist and pulling her close to him.
As he released, she kept her eyes closed for just another moment, a smile forming on her lips. “That was…”
Suddenly, echoing all around them, an enormous boom shook the estuary. The water sparked and flickered, and the flowers waved back and forth. The room went from bright and shimmering, to dark and foreboding within seconds. Brighid grasped onto Zevi's chest and they both looked up as dark clouds rolled across the ceiling. She could feel Zevi's heart beating wildly, and as he looked down at her, the joy and love in his eyes quickly shifted to worry. "Come on, we've got to find the others."
He took her hand and they ran from the estuary, bursting out into the hallway. There were pictures lying on the ground and some of the floating candles had disappeared. They paused for only a second before taking off at a full sprint down the hallway. They turned the corner, finding it hard to keep their balance as the ground shook beneath them.
As they turned the next corner they found Finn and Ash, grave concern on their faces. They crowded together, hoping that the shaking would stop.
Brighid shook her head. “I’m really tired of earthquakes.”
Finn’s body went stiff and she looked at his face curiously. His eyes were fixated on the hall behind her. “I don’t think this is an earthquake.”
Very slowly, with fear bubbling in her chest, Brighid turned around. Standing at the other end of the hall, draped in dark robes of mist, floating inches from the ground, were three Keepers, their eyes white balls within the hoods of their cloaks. Brighid had never seen a Keeper before, but she knew in the pit of her soul that what froze the air around them had come for her.
Chapter Ten
“Keepers,” Zevi whispered.
Finn cracked his knuckles, pushing Brighid behind him. “Prepare yourselves boys. These three look like they’ve come for a fight.”
Ash, Zevi, and Finn attempted to shift into their respective animal forms, but nothing happened. Brighid furled her brow, looking all around but fearful that if she turned into her Dragon, she would collapse the magical mansion straight on top of them. “What’s wrong?”
Ash's eyes glowed brightly as he slapped his hands to his sides, clutching them into fists. Fire streamed down his arms and circled around his hands. "The Keepers are stifling our shifting. But no matter, I'm feeling powerful today."
Finn's muscles bulged, and he snarled his lip, revealing the sharp and pointed fangs of his Wolf. "I feel the same way."
Zevi took in a deep breath, and dug his foot into the floor as if he were scraping the ground with its hooves. As he did, the earth shook and small cracks spread across the marble. He looked at the other men and smiled. "Powers in our human form. That's a first. I might just like it."
Ash's head snapped toward Brighid, his eyes still glowing. "Stay back, let us fight them. Whatever you do, do not let them capture you."
As much is Brighid wanted to fight, she nodded her head knowing full well that if she were to find out the information she needed and stop whatever was going on, she couldn't allow herself to perish there in the mansion. The three guys charged forward, running straight at the Keepers. Ash flung his arms forward, sending balls of fire straight at one of the first cloaked figures. The Keeper waved his misty arm, knocking the first fireball against the wall. But the second was close behind and it slammed into the center of the Keepers body. Brighid watched as the fire sparked and sputtered, streaming out throughout the Keepers as if she were watching the dark figure's veins glow brightly and then disappear.
The Keeper continued to move toward Ash, but it seemed slower, almost thwarted by his magic. To Ash's left, Finn roared loudly, swinging his massive strong arms straight at the Keeper in the middle. It let out a high-pitched wail, and swiped its arm against Finn. He stumbled backward and landed hard, bouncing across the floor. His hands twisted, shifting into claws as he pushed himself from the ground and lunged toward the Keeper. With a swift swish of his sharp claws, Brighid watched three shimmering marks tear into the keeper. The cloaked figure stumbled backward, the marks not receding. There was something about Fin's Wolf that enabled him to injure the keeper.
Next to him, Zevi pulled his arms up over his head, slamming his fist into the shoulders of the third Keeper. They moved swiftly pounding into him like hammers. Zevi laughed, but the Keepers eyes began to glow and mist rolled from the bottom of his cloak, snapping up and grabbing Zevi around the neck. Brighid gasped, stepping forward but stopped as Ash put his hand out to her, shaking his head. Zevi struggled, his legs kicking, his body gasping for air.
Brighid knew that she couldn't just stand there, no matter what the cost. But before she could step forward, Thomas' voice echoed in a deep foreboding tone through the hallways.
"Enough!" As the sound reverberated against the stone walls, a stream of white light brightened the hallway and wrapped around the three Keepers, tossing them over Brighid's head and into the wall.
Without pause, Thomas ran forward grabbing the three guys and hurrying to Brighid's side. They all glanced down at the three Keepers as they shifted back into their human forms. Thomas put his hands to Finn's chest and looked at the other two. "Run. This is much larger than any of you understand. I will handle these Keepers."
Zevi shook his head, rubbing his throat. "We can't leave you. What if there are more Keepers. You'll be overrun."
Thomas reached out and grabbed Zevi by the shirt collar. "I've waited my whole life to protect you and Brighid. Your job is simple, and you've known that beyond all cost you are to protect the High Alpha. Now go!"
Ash grabbed Zevi's arm as Finn put his hand around Brighid's waist, lifting her effortlessly. They ran down the hall and through the twists and turns of the mansion. Brighid wanted to look back, but Finn was moving too fast. They crossed the threshold and made their way out into the streets of the town but didn't stop there. The door slammed behind them and the locks clanked and shuttered back into place.
Zevi's face was distraught, and Ash kept his hand firmly around his arm as the four of them raced through the rest of the town and down the gravel road in the dark. They kept running until they were far enough away from the town that they felt safe to stop for a moment.
Finn carefully placed Brighid down and they turned to look back at the city. Brighid clasped her hand over her mouth and shook her head. Finn swallowed hard, Zevi fell to his knees, and Ash gripped Zevi's shoulder tightly. Large flames plumed up into the air, every single one coming from Thomas' tilted shanty.
Finn shook his head. "If the sorcerer was taken in his own home, the magic self-destructs. He's…"
They couldn’t get the words out of their mouths. Thomas was gone, and the four of them were on their own, heading into the darkness, not knowing what they were about to face.
Chapter Eleven
The four stood on the gravel road, staring back at the wharf town, not saying a word, not moving a muscle, just watching. They stood there for hours, waiting for the flames to stop, but they only grew stronger. The amount of magic within Thomas's home was more than just what he held inside of him. It contained centuries of energy that he had built up, forging alliances with the Shifter community, transferring that energy into the paintings, the flowers, and the very stone that lined the halls of his mansion. The place itself was nothing but an enormous force field of magic.
Finn took a deep breath and looked over at Zevi who had risen back to his feet and composed himself in the best way he could. His face was sad with a flame of anger flickering in his eyes. Finn looked up at the sky, the stars beginning to fade as the sun approached the horizon. "We should continue forward. We can't stay here in the open all day."
Zevi nodded. "He's gone. I felt the moment his soul left his body."
Brighid felt a lot of things, but at that moment, she couldn't even imagine what it was like for Zevi to be that close to the spirit world and to be able to feel a man he thought of his family leave the living in
such a violent manner. Her eyes shifted to Ash, and through his brave and strong look, she could see that he too had felt that separation. All Brighid could feel was pain and sorrow, a hint of anger simmering in the back. They weren't just her emotions, but the emotions radiating from all four of them.
After a few more moments, without any words, they all turned and began walking down the path. Brighid looked back one last time as they crested the hill and started down, leaving the town and the memory of Thomas behind them. "I would say let's take a less open path, but there really isn't one. This leads along the Grove Forest, and eventually will bring us to where we need to go."
Ash reached out and squeezed Brighid's hand, giving her a wink. He trotted forward next to Zevi and put his arm over his shoulder as they walked. Finn stayed back next to Brighid, his eyes back on watch, roving as they went looking for any sign of danger. "I think you shouldn't shift into your Dragon right now. These roads are often traveled, and we don't want to give ourselves away if we haven't already."
Brighid nodded. “I agree. I’d rather walk right now anyway.”
She glanced over at Finn, whose eyes looked tired and morose. "Tell me about yourself. Where you came from, what your life was like before meeting my father."
Finn glanced over at her, a look of relief on his face that she was giving him something to distract his mind. "Within the Shifter realms, all the families, there are two types of Wolf Shifter. There are those that shift into a more violent beast, an animal that walks on its hind legs and resembles more of a Werewolf then an actual Wolf. They are actually pretty tame creatures but can be pretty frightening if you walk up to them and scare them."
Her Fire Mates: A Reverse Harem Paranormal Romance (Shifters Of The Elements) Page 6
