by Debbie Behan
How the hell was she doing that? She had somehow linked back to Zoltan and him, snatching power from them both. Kayden slumped as he was temporarily drained and he knew it was going to be a huge hit this time. As that thought left his mind he could only watch and wait as Cassie pulled what she needed and threw both her hands up together with massive force. Silver streams of lightning shot out from her in every direction.
What the hell! Kayden hollered in his mind to his men. Did you see that guys?
The men all nodded, punching the atmosphere with their fists. The explosion was so fierce Kayden had to hold himself and Cassie with everything he had left or they would have blown off Zoltan. Even after the strike, the noise still thundered around them. The impact was so intense she not only blew the Comet out of the sky but also cleared a path of meteors with it. In one blast, she had just about cleaned the entire field.
‘Superlative,’ was all Kayden could think to whisper out. In all my life, I have never seen anything like it, he relayed to the others, amazed. After the intensity of the power surge, Cassie went limp in Kayden’s arms. Her mind was still alert but she was drained and exhausted, needing time to recharge. Way to go, sweetheart, you did really well. Just relax now. The boys can take it from here.
Holding the biggest treasure the world would ever see, Kayden sat contentedly, knowing his team had kicked butt. It took everything he had left not to shout, punch the air, cry, laugh and take the beauty in his arms, making her feel the joy she had just given to him. There was not going to be one part of her luscious body that he would not kiss and thank as soon as he had her alone. But for now she needed some calm time to recharge. When the men were done, Kayden knew he could draw on the power of their adrenalin rush to make Cassie feel better.
Chapter Twelve
Radar
Wow, did I do that?
Cassie’s mind raced as she slumped back against Kayden, her body numb and exhausted. Kayden held her and that was all she could feel. His arms had wrapped around her the minute she leaned into him and she could feel him now as he sent happy little sparks through her. Calmness flooded her mind as she watched the rest of the team complete the mission. The men and their horses were literally glowing and they started spinning like tops. The speed of their spinning formed a cyclone of colourful lights and the men inside were now a blur. The colourful cloud they projected was charged with electrical bolts that began to smash through the meteors, disintegrating anything and everything in their paths. They continued to whirl and the force of their spinning suddenly became stronger as they linked themselves together with a charge, similar to what she had seen from above when they had arrived at the Three Sisters. Whatever magic it was it was disintegrating whatever was caught in the middle, blowing it to fairy dust that sparkled all around. The colourful fragments reminded her of being inside the clouds—exquisite and so very pretty. Cassie now understood the Cloud Riders’ power. Her method was quick and deadly when she was mad enough but the rest of the team were beautiful to watch; it was absolute perfection in motion. With the danger eliminated, they slowed and once the glow faded they sat on their horses and high-fived each other.
It was over and as if she had suddenly broken out of a trance Cassie’s memory returned. She lurched forward and snapped her head around to face him, her angry eyes glaring at Kayden. He was grinning as if butter wouldn’t melt in his mouth and he held his hands up in a protective position. ‘Please don’t hit me! I promise I’ll shut up now,’ he chuckled.
‘That was such a dirty trick, Kayden. Don’t think you’re getting off that easy. That was really, really mean and now everyone knows about Alex. Couldn’t you have just spoken the words instead of relaying it by telepathy? And I did not sleep with Alex or call out his name. Damn you, Kayden. Grrr ... you made me so angry, I still feel like I want to slap you.’
Her body shook, she was so infuriated. In one quick movement, Kayden spun her around into his arms and was kissing her. Cassie struggled against him until the passion of his kisses calmed her and his love was all she could feel. Her mind was now torn, wanting his lips to stay on hers forever but still angry that he had said all that in front of the team. Finally he lifted his mouth from hers and she lay helpless in his arms.
‘Nobody else heard what I said to you, my lovely but I needed you to think they were all listening. That was a bad attack, honey and without you here today some of us may not have made it back alive,’ he said with a serious tone.
She frowned and searched for his reasoning for picking that topic to make her angry.
He seemed to read her thoughts and smiled. ‘I know you love only me, princess. I watched Alex kiss you and even though it nearly broke my heart, it confirmed your feelings for me when you didn’t respond to him. Will you forgive me?’ he said as he laid little kisses over her face until her frown turned into a smile. ‘Am I forgiven, sweetheart?’ He looked at her lovingly.
Cassie touched his face; it felt like touching soft petals. He was magical up here in the sky, and spellbinding. She didn’t know he could select who he could talk to and now it was just between them, she forgave him with a stunning smile.
‘That’s my girl,’ he whispered in her ear, kissing the lobe, making her shudder and giggle. ‘I promise to make up for every mean word I spoke when we get home,’ he said, sitting her up as the guys approached.
Yes, my love, and man, am I going to make you keep that promise! Cassie grinned at the thought and settled back against him.
Back in formation, they headed back to Adora’s star, the eldest of the Three Sisters. As soon as they stopped, Woody grabbed Cassie off the horse and swung her around. ‘You go, girl.’ He laughed as the others came over as well for a group hug.
Kayden moved in when they finished making a fuss and rescued her from them. ‘That’s enough, guys, she’s only little. You’re going to squash her.’
Woody slapped him on the back. ‘She may be little but she sure packs a punch and knows how to make a big entrance. Zoren’s going to be blown away with what just went down.’
Jason was a bit vocal and aired his concern to Kayden. ‘We could’ve been in serious trouble out there without Cassie. I know Zoren has other battles going on but he should get his facts straight before he sends us out next time. We could have left earlier and cleaned them out of the sky before they even became a problem. That was too close this time, K man.’
‘I’ll talk to him when he gets here. I just had a message through Zoltan that he watched it all on the satellite link and is pleased and impressed with our new addition. He wants to meet her personally. Let’s just enjoy our victory and smooth out the wrinkles later.’
Ethan looked up and his blue eyes looked anxious as a shadow came over their heads. Cassie swung around to see what had struck him speechless and spotted a straggler meteor. She knew as well as Ethan did it was too late for them to get back on their rides or even to get out the way. She had to come up with something to make her mad and quick, so she thought of her dad swiping her across the cheek. Using the anger of this memory of her burning cheek, she threw her hands up and forced the meteor back. When she had moved it far enough away, she smashed it into dust.
Dropping her eyes back down, she looked straight at Ethan. She sensed he could tell if anything more was out there. He closed his eyes as if looking far out into the universe then shook his head. She watched his look of concern turn into a smile. ‘I’m positive that was the last of them.’
‘Good work.’ Cassie grinned at him. ‘None of us saw that one coming.’
He looked so much younger—even adorable—with the expression he wore after she praised him. He put his head down and a blond curl hung on his forehead; at that moment she could feel something so vulnerable about him. Maybe he felt he had let them down, not concentrating enough to pick it up sooner. That wasn’t how she saw it. They were all fairly depleted of power and it would have been hard
to pick up. She wanted to cheer him up so she nudged him. ‘You deserve a drink for that one. Shall we radar?’ she teased him, gesturing a hand and a small bow towards the castle.
Jason and Conor cracked up laughing and followed them down to the palace while Kayden and Woody put the horses away.
‘That name had better not stick, girl or I won’t be grateful at all that you saved us. He was a geek with glasses as I recall, bitch,’ Ethan whispered to her.
‘What name? I’m here only to serve the master, radar.’ She giggled and moved away from him, holding on to Jason.
‘Don’t hide behind me, princess. Man, he is so going to get you for that.’
Ethan came towards her and she playfully squealed and held on tight to Jason, making him laugh and protect her.
Ethan leaned real close this time. ‘Big bro is not always going to be around. You’re going down, girl,’ he said as he strode off in front of them, catching up with Conor.
‘He’s fun,’ Cassie whispered to Jason.
Jason just laughed and let her hang off him as they followed Conor and Ethan through the grounds. They strolled past the gardens, if you could call them that. Here she took time to take in her surroundings. In place of grass there were mirrored mosaic tiles that reflected the soft pastels of the trees. In the centre of the area, large crystal sculptures of the Three Sisters stood proudly. At the statues’ feet, crystal-shaped stars and moons formed their constellation as seen from above. On the other side of the path, glistening figurines of a mystical creature towered high above her, with the body of a lion and the head and wings of an eagle. Running around the entire castle was a lake or maybe an illusion of one. As they moved closer it looked as if the water was actually made up of thousands of diamonds or quartz crystals, glittering in the moonlight.
The bridge leading to the entrance of the castle, also a mixture of the glass and crystal, was held together with what looked like gold pillars and ropes. The colourful little critters running around the grounds stood out against the softness and calmness of the setting. Further into the grounds there were trees and plants, nothing like the trees on earth. The trunks were pure white and the leaves were multicoloured pastel. The shrubs that surrounded them were the colours of the critters that ran around, and brightened up the surrounds beautifully. The light from the two full moons that circled the star above suddenly hit the grounds at different angles, causing the colours to reflect against the glass and crystal and sending an array of colours shooting around them. It was a truly spectacular sight.
Finally Cassie felt as if she belonged somewhere. Amongst all the freakishness in this new magical world she was not an outsider anymore. There were plenty of weirder things going on here than she could even dream up. Cassie was sure destiny had played a big hand in getting her this far and she was thrilled that it had led her to Kayden and all of this.
Woody and Kayden caught up to them. Jason released his hold on Cassie so she could be with her man and turned to tell Woody how she had stirred up their boy Ethan.
Kayden thought it was funny. ‘Little troublemaker. You know you’ve just made up a new game and he’ll make you play it out.’
Cassie shrugged. ‘I have an advantage.’
He grinned. ‘Spill.’
She giggled. ‘I’m sleeping with the boss.’
Woody nudged her. ‘Don’t think I won’t kidnap your arse, young lady, if you stir up my boys too much,’ he said in fun.
Laughter helped Cassie loosen up; being part of a team felt good. The men were entertaining and it was nice to have some fun for a change.
Kayden stopped walking and kissed her hands, holding them as if they might break.
‘Okay, you two.’ Woody broke up Kayden’s efforts to woo Cassie further.
‘Goddamn it, Woody, can’t you give me a minute?’
‘Did, and it’s up,’ he smirked, putting out his arm to Cassie. ‘It’s time to show our newest member how to party with the stars.’
She slipped one of her arms through his and the other through her man’s.
Woody patted her hand, brother-like. ‘Promise me if we lead you astray and get you into trouble that you won’t blow us up until we get home. There we’ll have somewhere to run and hide,’ he said and smirked.
Kayden scowled. ‘There will be no leading the new girl astray, Woody. Don’t even think about it or you know what’ll happen.’
‘Okay, boss, I give. Please no stuffing around with my horse on the way back. I can already feel a hangover of massive proportions and will need my horse to be steady,’ he said, putting his hands up and giving in.
As they walked through the castle, Cassie was enchanted by yet more mirrors and crystals that reflected light around the rooms. Golden moons, planets and star shapes were embossed in the blue tiles on the floor. The mystical-creature theme continued, carved into huge golden pillars that supported the roof as well as into the gold frames of all the furniture. Soft, plush, light-blue cushioning of all shapes, trimmed in gold, were placed on the dining chairs and used as scatter cushions on the lounge suites.
Walking around she let her fingers glide admiringly along the soft silks and the feathery cushions before continuing along the grooves of the furniture as she traced the creatures carved on them.
Kayden was leaning against one of the pillars watching her. ‘The creature is a griffin. On earth the legendary monsters build nests up in the mountains of India. Instead of laying a normal egg they lay an agate one, a coloured semi-precious decorative form of quartz, hence the pastels you see outside, a symbol of the beauty they create. The griffin’s instincts are to collect pure gold from the mountains where they live and will guard their treasure to the death. Their talons are so big that after they die the wealthy pay much for them, using them as cups to hold ambrosia—known as the wine of the gods. This world is the home of the griffins and the creatures are worshipped and adored by the Three Sisters who still control the majority of them. The griffins bring the gold they collect here and the sisters get it made into all the beautiful pieces you see before you.’
He pointed to a scroll hanging on one of the walls telling a story of old. ‘The only menace to the griffins was the one-eyed Arimaspians. They would kill the griffins and seize the gold for their own greed. The Arimaspians are the purple, one-eyed critters you see outside. For their crime the sisters had them captured and brought here where they will live out the remainder of their lives, turning the gold they tried to steal into what you see around you. That is their punishment for killing so many of the winged griffins on earth.’
Listening intently, Cassie had unconsciously sat down. She quickly stood up, smoothing out the cushions when the Three Sisters made their entrance. She couldn’t take her eyes off the women. They seemed to float into the room, their movements languid and elusive. Their evening gowns, although dissimilar in design, were all in a delicately spun sheer-gold material that flowed around them like lustrous silk. Gold jewellery dripped off their exposed skin and they even wore exquisite gold and quartz tiaras. They were the worshippers of the gold-loving griffins and were proud to wear the gifts the creatures bestowed on them for the love they received in return.
Kayden was by their sides within a couple of strides. The redhead was holding his arm possessively as he brought her over to Cassie, followed closely by the two other sisters.
‘Adora, Kewana and Dyna, I would like you to meet Cassie Wyatt, my newest warrior.’
Adora was the one she had glimpsed today with the incredibly long, red hair. Now looking at them, she doubted if they had ever been to a hairdresser. All three had unusually long hair. Kewana’s hair was straight like her sister Adora’s but Dyna’s hair was white and curly and fell in ringlets. It was the first time she had ever seen Kayden with another woman on his arm and she had to admit there was a part of her eager to pull that long, long hair and maybe even scratch those golden ey
es out. She smiled as the thought popped into her head. As if I would.
Up here Kayden was her boss and had spent centuries forming bonds with these celestial rulers. She had to come to terms with stunning females hanging off him as he also had to get used to sharing her with the Cloud Riders who to him, were probably just as threatening: all bulked-up, handsome and very attentive to their newest member. His little comment, while in combat, laid testament to the fact that he was maybe a little on the jealous side. Good, a bit of payback, she thought as Adora dropped Kayden’s arm and the Three Sisters stood in front of her, bowing to Cassie as if she was their queen.
‘Cassie Wyatt, we are blessed by your presence and we are honoured you could join us.’ Adora’s harmonic voice pierced her guilty thoughts.
Well, maybe I might have been a bit judgemental. She grinned at them. These gals really are quite sweet, she thought as she decided to change her mind on the whole scratching and hair-pulling thing. ‘Thank you, I’m flattered but really I’m nobody special. I’m just one of the team and to tell you the truth, just winging it until they teach me. I still have so much to learn.’
Adora took Kayden’s arm again. ‘K, sweetie, you neglected to tell me how honest and delightful she is.’
Kewana and Dyna each slipped an arm through Cassie’s and giggled. ‘You sound just like us, Cassie. Let’s go get you a drink so you can tell us all about yourself. You are our hero, cloud girl,’ they said, dragging her into the dining room.
Woody went straight over to Cassie with a shot of starstarter that she drank straight down to help her relax as she followed him to the table. Kayden had already pulled a chair out that she gratefully took. The last thing she wanted to do was have to make up a story about herself. There was not much to tell and these chicks looked like they wanted to settle into a real girly gasbag. Woody sat on the other side of her and she breathed easier. Saved by my team, she thought and she watched as Woody poured them some Moonjuice. She had heard about it but not tried it yet. The boys had said it was nectar from the moons precious underground rivers. Depending on how far away from the sun, the moon brew could be quite potent or very soothing. Woody passed it to her.