The Castle of Fire and Fable

by Steffanie Holmes

  I reached across and wrapped my hand over his. “Thank you,” I whispered.

  “Remember that I set the fire,” he added. “You’re not responsible for that.”

  “Yeah, but… maybe we should go back and help.”

  “The fire department is on it. Do not feel bad, Maeve. You did a good thing tonight.”

  I rubbed my temples, trying to shake off the horrors of Uncle Bob’s nightmares, the sickening satisfaction I’d felt in my gut when he screamed, when his shirt caught fire. I’m not so sure.

  We drove on in near silence, heading back through the village and out the other side into the desert. “Here,” I jabbed my finger out the window. Arthur stopped the car and reached across to squeeze my hand.

  The moon shone low over the desert, highlighting the silhouettes of the rows of graves lining a wide, dusty path. The car’s stupid round headlights illuminated rustic wooden crosses and piles of white stones that outlined the plots. Bright floral wreaths and Mexican statues dotted many of the graves. The place had a humble vibe about it – the sky didn’t press down oppressively, squeezing my grief on all sides. Instead, the open desert air made my head feel light, my thoughts floating away on the cool breeze.

  There was a fancier, more modern cemetery in the next town over, but my parents had wanted to be buried here, where they had lived and worked and loved and fought to glorify their God’s name.

  My fingers dug into the leather seat. Arthur stepped out of the car, stroking his beard as his mouth hung open. “This place looks like something out of an old Western film.”

  I tried to say something, but words wouldn’t form. At least my Uncle’s nightmares had disappeared from my head. They’d been replaced with my own.

  Arthur opened my door and held out his hand. I took it, allowing him to pull me out of the car. The heat of his palm scalded my skin, but I didn’t flinch away. Arthur’s fire was part of him, and I liked… no, I think I loved every part of him. He’d done what he did tonight for me.

  We walked down the rows, not saying anything, seeing but not seeing the graves with their bright decorations. My heart pounded in my ears. So many dead people who were so loved.

  “Here,” I stopped in front of two graves near the end of the row. They shared a single tombstone, as they shared everything else in life.

  MATTHEW AND LOUISE CRAWFORD

  WEEP NOT, WE ARE ANGELS NOW

  I sucked in my breath, my chest constricting. I sank to my knees in front of the stones, feeling the warmth of the desert through the thin fabric of my skirt.

  “Do you want me to leave?” Arthur whispered.

  “No,” I said. “Unless you have to leave, because of…” your mother. Because you’ve also stood in front of the grave of someone you love, and known that a stone was all you had left. “Of everyone, I feel like you understand.”

  “I’m right here.” Arthur rested his hand on my shoulder.

  I know logically that this is pointless, that I’m talking to two embalmed corpses slowly decomposing underground until they eventually return to stardust. I know that there’s no such thing as Heaven and Hell and my parents aren’t really angels looking down on me.

  I knew all of it, and yet, I opened my mouth.

  “Hey, Mom, Dad.”

  Arthur squeezed my shoulder.

  “I didn’t expect to find myself back here so soon, staring at…” I gestured at the stones. “Well, you know. But things have got all messed up and turned around. I’ve discovered some things about myself since you were gone. You didn’t know that I was a witch when you adopted me. Maybe if you had known, you wouldn’t have fought so hard to keep me, but I doubt that.

  “I just wanted to say… you were the best people I’ve ever known. You loved me and accepted me and I… I don’t think I ever told you how proud I am to be your daughter. We may not have always agreed, and we definitely didn’t believe in the same things, but you always believed in me, and I always believed in you.”

  Tears streamed down my cheeks. I didn’t wipe them away, didn’t fight them. I let them roll off the tip of my chin and splash into the dust, feeding the desert with my sadness. “I’ve met these five amazing people. They made me realize that my eyes were closed before. But now they’re wide open, and for the first time I see just how lucky I was to have you in my life, and how much I wish you could have stuck around to see the person I become. These guys are looking after me, and I’m looking after Kelly, so you don’t have to worry. I know you wouldn’t approve of what we’ve been doing, but I’d like to think that… that despite it all, you’d have treated them like your own sons.

  “I guess what I’m trying to say is, if you’re looking down on me from anywhere, just close your eyes at the dirty bits, okay? I’m dealing with losing you as best I can, and these guys are helping me. And…” I gulped back the lump in my throat. “I miss you. I miss you so much that it hurts. It feels like my heart has been crushed to pieces and it will never be whole again. I wish I could talk to you about what’s happening. I feel so lost. But I’m doing my best to find my way using everything you taught me. I love you, and I’m so amazed that I got to be your daughter.”

  I stood up, brushing the dirt off my knees. Tears streamed down my face, soaking my collar and stuffing up my nose. Girls in movies always looked so tragic and beautiful when they cried. I turned into a snotty, soggy mess.

  Arthur didn’t say anything, but he opened his arms. I fell into his embrace and a great wave of relief washed over my body – a shudder of warmth that told me I’d just passed through another stage of my grief. The sadness reverberated through my whole body, but Arthur’s steady presence reminded me that I would be okay. I wasn’t going to fall to pieces. I had kind people around me who would hold me together.

  I looked up at him, my eyes meeting his. There was no trace of the rage that had marred his features over the last few days. Instead, Arthur’s soft eyes drew me in, showing me a tiny piece of his bare soul, that part that missed his mother, that grieved for her still. His lips parted slightly as he debated his next move. My chest fluttered, and my whole body ached to fall into him, to join our bodies and hearts together.

  “One more stop.” I smiled through my tears.

  “Maeve, are you okay?”

  Godammit. His voice cracked and my whole world shuddered on its axis. I need to get out of here or I’m going to lose it. I dropped from his arms, my body crying out in protest. I ran toward the car.

  “Come on,” I yelled over my shoulder. “This next stop is much happier, I promise.”

  Bless Arthur. He slid into the car without a word, rolled the roof off the convertible, and followed my instructions. We headed further out into the desert, toward the rugged mountains that jutted from the earth like the teeth of a predator. After ten miles, I pointed to a dirt track leading to a dark weather station. The small white dome of an observatory telescope glowed under the bright moon. Across the sky the Milky Way spread out like a blanket shot with silver thread. Glittering stars mapped the heavens, drawing me in to that same giddy sensation of awe, of smallness, that I’d always felt as a kid staring at the sky.

  Arthur pulled over next to the white dome, and turned to me in confusion. “What are we doing out here, Maeve?”

  “I’m surprised you don’t know since you stalked me for so many years. I spent more time out here than I ever did in church. Southern Arizona has some of the clearest skies in the country. You can get perfect seeing – that’s how well you can view the stars – about three hundred and fifty nights a year. This area we’re standing in is a certified Dark Sky Sanctuary, which means no one is allowed to build anything that has any lights at night. The local astronomy clubs and hobbyists come out here for stargazing parties, and for the last couple of years I’ve done some research work for the Kitt Peak observatory, mostly on categorizing nebulae and galaxies—”

  “Did you bring me out here to show me some boring science shit?”

  I grinned. “It
’s not boring. To me, this is the most beautiful place on earth. It’s also where I lost my virginity.”

  Satisfaction emboldened me as Arthur’s breath hitched. He smoothed down his beard. “I think this is going to be my favorite of all the stories I’ve heard today.”

  I hit him on the arm. Arthur laughed – a deep rumbling laugh from the heart of his belly. I focused my gaze back on the sky, picking out the familiar constellations and planets with a practiced eye, and continued.

  “It was to this guy, Andrew, in my astronomy club. We were the only two students from community college willing to be involved in the research, so we spent a lot of nights camping out here alone. I was the one who kissed him first, who kept pushing him to take things further, until finally we went as far as we could go. The sex was… nothing exciting. Nothing like the way I feel when you kiss me or when the others…” I trailed off, realizing what I’d been about to say. I glanced back at Arthur, but surprisingly, he didn’t look angry at having my relationship with his friends brought up. He reached across and took my hand, rubbing his fingers across my knuckles, sending a shiver of desire down my arm and right into my core.

  I continued. “It wasn’t actually about the sex, or about Andrew or how I felt about him. It was the first time I ever really did something for myself, because I wanted to. I talked a big talk about going away to university and becoming an astronaut, but deep down I hated displeasing my parents. I was terrified that it would cause a rift between us, that eventually I’d have to choose between science and love. Having premarital sex was my way of showing myself that I could live my life on my own terms, and they’d still love me. Of course I never told them, so the point was moot, but that’s teenage logic for you.”

  “Why did you bring me here, Maeve?” Arthur’s voice strained.

  “Because we had to spend the night somewhere, and I wanted it to be here. And because…” I pointed up at the expanding cosmos that had sucked me in ever since I was a little girl, that had spoken to me of a universe so much bigger and more complex and fascinating and wonderful than I would ever be able to understand. “I wanted you to see what I see when I look up. You’ve seen a lot of sides of me on this trip, Arthur. This is another one. This is me, laying myself bare, the way you did the day you told me about your past.”

  “Maeve.” Arthur’s breath growled against my ear. I turned to face him, and he crushed his mouth to mine. Heat surged through my body, pulling me from my memories and dreams into his strong, protective arms.

  Our mouths sought each other, frenzied and hungry. The weight of all my history bore down on top of us, the expansive sky above like a blanket cocooning our bodies.

  Arthur’s hands fumbled at my sides. At first I thought he was trying to pull my clothes off, but then he unclipped my seat belt, threw me over his shoulder, and jumped out of the car. I giggled and squealed, my body alight.

  “Where are you taking me!” I cried, pretending to pummel his back with my fists. Arthur responded by sliding his hand along my leg, just brushing my mound through the thin fabric of my skirt. I shuddered, knowing he’d probably already feel how wet and aroused I was.

  Hang on, Arthur didn’t want this. He said he couldn’t be with me while I was with the other guys, so what—

  Arthur slid me off his shoulder, letting my ass slide up on the hood of the car. “I always wanted to do this,” he said, his mouth finding mine again. All my protests died in the intensity of his kiss. His hands slid up, pushing the fabric up, exposing my thighs to the starlight.

  Arthur leaned me back against the hood, holding me with one hand so I wouldn’t slide down. With the other hand, he popped open the buttons on my shirt, his hands caressing my skin while I tugged the fabric down my shoulders.

  Arthur laid a trail of kisses down my neck, across my collarbone, his lips scalding my skin in a way that was utterly intoxicating. The tip of his beard trailed across my chest, just touching my nipples through my bra, hardening them like pebbles.

  “I can’t give you the stars, Maeve,” Arthur whispered as he returned to my mouth, his voice hard with desire. “But I can make you see them like never before.”

  I tipped my head back, taking in the vastness of the night sky while his trail ended at my nipple. He took it into his mouth, nibbling slightly on the very tip. I moaned, my legs closing around his sides, trying to drag him closer.

  Arthur’s hands trailed up my thighs, pushing down my panties. He dived between my legs, his tongue insistent, his beard rubbing against my thighs, rubbing everywhere as he darted his tongue inside me, before circling it around my clit.

  The heat of the hood warmed my back as I reveled in his attention. Arthur dipped a finger inside me, letting out his own gasp as he felt the wetness nearly sending me over the edge. He licked me hard and fast, darting his tongue in different directions, keeping me guessing. He pushed a finger deep inside me, curling it over to rub at a spot that I didn’t even know existed, a spot that made everything ache and hurt so good.

  Arthur added a second finger, drilling them inside me while he flicked his tongue as fast as a hummingbird. There was nothing gentle about him – he was all brute force and hard muscle and desperate need. He sucked my clit into his mouth and my body fell to pieces. I cried out into the silent night. My legs closed around Arthur’s head, squeezing his ears, holding him in place while the orgasm rocked through me.

  I didn’t even have a chance to recover before Arthur lifted me behind the ass and dragged me forward to my legs were over the front of the hood. I sat up so I could reach him, dragging his fly down and freeing his cock from his boxers. Arthur fumbled in his wallet for a condom.

  “Found the bastard,” he grunted, tearing open the package and rolling it on. His mouth sought mine, leaning me back against the hot car as his hips shifted between mine.

  I raised my legs, wrapping them around his back, loving the feel of encircling his bulk. I arched my back as Arthur entered me, the thrill of doing this with him dancing in my veins – I loved being out here in the open air, with the whole of the universe as our witness.

  Arthur was so big it took him a few strokes to completely enter me. I tilted my hips up, trying to meet each of his thrusts. He leaned over me, smothering my lips in his, devouring me and intense kisses as he pounded into me.

  Arthur didn’t do anything half-assed. He fucked the way he fought – hell bent for leather. I kept my eyes open, relishing his hair falling over my face like a curtain, and beyond his head, the brilliant lights of the stars dancing above us. As I watched, mesmerized by the pleasure flowing through my body, the tail of a shooting star trailed across the sky.

  Dazzling. Electrifying. Our bodies moved together while above us, the great cosmic opera played on.

  I didn’t think it was possible, but Arthur thrust even faster, his fingers digging into my ass. Our bodies felt like they belonged together, drenched in sweat and dust and sadness.

  Arthur tightened inside me, his breath coming out in racking gasps. He clamped his mouth over mine and screamed his orgasm down my throat. I held him while the pleasure tore through him, and the intensity of watching him lose control sent me over the edge, my walls constricting around him as my body spun off into space.

  He collapsed against me, his muscles slackening and breath rasping on my throat. My whole body shuddered one final time and fell still, sandwiched between his warmth and the warm hood.

  Okay, so that was amazing.

  But it wasn’t supposed to happen. Arthur made it clear back at Briarwood that he wouldn’t sleep with me because he couldn’t deal with the idea of sharing me. He warned me that I had to stop him. But I’d tried. I really had tried my best to respect that. It wasn’t my intention to take him out into the desert to break his will. This had been his decision. I’d just accepted it, accepted him.

  What does this mean for us? Does it mean that Arthur is going to be part of my… harem?

  46

  MAEVE

  BEEP BE
EP, BEEP BEEP.

  I pulled one eye open. My back spasmed in protest. I gritted my teeth as I waited for my sleepy eyes to adjust to the golden light. Where am I? Am I inside a fire?

  But no. That golden light was a glorious Arizona sunrise splashed across the horizon. Violent fuchsia and orange hues streamed across the sky. The fact that I knew the colors were caused by molecules in the atmosphere scattering the directions of light rays from the sun being close to the horizon didn’t detract from its beauty. In fact, knowing the science behind it only enhanced my enjoyment, as it did with so many things. Right now, the only thing disturbing my calm was the rumbling, snorting snore emitting from the blankets beside me.

  Yikes. Flynn wasn’t kidding about the snoring. I shook Arthur. He gave a loud snort and rolled over, dragging half the blanket with him. Right, time for a frontal assault. I grabbed his right nipple and gave it a twist. Arthur woke with a start, his head snapping up and a fist raising in front of his face to block an incoming attack. “Who’s there? I’m armed and dangerous.”

  “Calm down, Aragorn. There’s no one here except us.” I pointed to the time on my phone. “But we should probably think about putting clothes on. Kelly gets discharged in two hours, and I’d like to be there to tell her the good news.”

  I had a lot of good news for Kelly, some of which I hadn’t even told Arthur about yet. But I wanted to keep it to myself for now, just in case he tried to talk me out of it.

  “Right.” Arthur bundled up the blankets, reaching for his pants that were draped over the front seat. “And then it’s back to Briarwood.”

  Back to Briarwood.

  It was weird. Being in America made me realize how much I’d changed in the short time I’d been in England. Our house, Ruby’s diner, the memories of Andrew and Kelly and my parents, the life I had here – it was all in the past. And there were parts of it that were amazing and parts of it that were awful. I never wanted to forget it, but I didn’t want to go back.