The Quarter Moon (Afterlife saga)

by Stephanie Hudson

  “I feel a bit strange here.” I whispered but no-one heard me or rather they chose to ignore me in sight of their hatred for each other.

  “blóð auðit innan minn Ouroboros bók!” (Means ‘Blood fated within my Ouroboros book’ in Old Norse) I didn’t know what Sigurd had said to him but it was enough for Draven to go ballistic!

  “YOU LIE!” He roared and once again they were at each other’s throats! Only this time Draven had Sigurd up against the wall and pieces of the stone crumbled from the impact. There now looked to be a Sigurd shaped indent that would forever be decorating Draven’s Italian home, as the stone dust rained to the floor.

  “Stop it!” I screamed as Draven was using his forearm against Sigurd’s neck, holding him there with what looked like little strain. Sigurd in response, wasn’t helping when he started smiling. The snake started to spin and I knew this was not a good sign as things were about to go from bad to destroyer worse in seconds.

  “Do something!” I shouted at Ragnar who was simply standing there with his arms crossed like a disappointed parent watching two boys fighting.

  “If you think what I saw is not the truth, then you should call upon your fates for you know they cannot lie, as who do you think it was that bound us!” Draven thundered a deeper roar than before at the ceiling making pieces of it crack with the force. I had covered my ears as the woozy feeling started to increase, making me feel like my head was going to fall right off. The pain in my stomach started to cramp and I desperately wanted to end this bickering and just lie back down, but first it looked like I was going to have set a few things straight.

  “Draven it’s true, he’s not lying the Oracle…the Oracle.” I couldn’t finish but Draven had heard all he needed to erupt once more. Sigurd pushed back and when I saw the tattoos on his hand start to spin I knew what that meant. I ran at them both…well more like fell into them and tried to pry them apart with what little strength I had.

  “I SAID STOP IT!” I screamed at them both but then something strange happened. My heart felt like it was going to explode out of my chest and I couldn’t take air into my lungs quick enough. I felt the dizziness and nausea hit me like I was once again being punched in the face. Then I started to fall.

  “Keira?”

  “øjesten?” Both Draven and Sigurd said my name which sounded slurred and stretched. My head was spinning or was it just my brain? I couldn’t tell, but soon the world was horizontal and my head fell back. I opened my eyes to see Ragnar holding me but his red face was blurred.

  “Hey you.” I said up at him but I didn’t receive a smile back for the one I gave him.

  “What’s wrong with her!?” Sigurd asked just as it started to feel like someone had turned up the AC to the igloo setting. I felt myself being transferred to Draven’s arms before he said,

  “She’s burning up.” Were they crazy, I was freezing!

  “Keira, can you hear me?” Draven asked, all anger now replaced with concern.

  “Cooold…sooo…so…cccold.” I tried to say but now my teeth were chattering.

  “She has a fever, I need to bring her temperature down now!” I felt myself being carried somewhere but it was only when I heard the sound of water being run that I gathered it was the bathroom.

  “Everyone out! Ragnar inform my brother and bring him to me… now go!” Draven sounded barely in control as shakes started to jar my body in his hold.

  “Come on Keira, keep with me, sweetheart.”

  “Drra…ven…wha…happ…” I couldn’t finish the sentence properly but he answered me all the same.

  “I don’t know. How long have you felt like this?” I shook my head and said weakly,

  “Dunno”

  “You have been asleep for nearly two days, that is more than enough time for an infection to develop…were you ill before you found me…? Keira, try and focus…Keira!” He roughly jerked my body to get me to respond and did it again when I felt my head falling back on his arm.

  “Keira!” My head snapped back up and I opened my eyes to find my vision still fuzzy.

  “No…ill.” I said hoping this was enough for him as I wasn’t up to speaking much.

  “Dom?”

  “In here!” Draven shouted back to his brother who was in the other room.

  “What has happened to her?!” Vincent’s disbelief was warranted considering I seemed fine not an hour ago.

  “I don’t know but she is burning up with fever and is finding it difficult to stay coherent…” Draven started to recall but then erupted,

  “Get him out of here!” Draven’s roar made me moan from the increased pounding it created in my head.

  “Just let me see her, I think I know what it is.” Sigurd said and from the sounds of it all cockiness was gone, replaced only by the desperate need to help.

  “No!”

  “Dom let him help if he can, come in Sigurd.” Vincent said sternly.

  “I have been feeling strange for few days and thought it might be connected to Keira.” Sigurd said and I felt an extra pair of hands on my body, this time feeling around my temple.

  “Explain.” Vincent asked despite the rumbling growl of Draven’s displeasure.

  “Our connection, it feels…wrong somehow.”

  “Connection?” Vincent asked, only this time it was Draven who answered grimly,

  “They are blood bound.”

  “But how, when?!” Well if you could get Vincent to shout then you knew it was really an ‘oh shit’ moment, I thought giggling in the fog.

  “I think we can add delirious to the list of symptoms,” Sigurd said dryly and I just managed to raise my middle finger at him before shouting,

  “Si…ck!” Being thankful that Draven turned me in his arms so that I could vomit into what I think was the sink.

  “And another one.” Sigurd said making Draven snarl,

  “That’s not helping, Viking!”

  “Did she have a bag with her when you found her?” Sigurd asked forgetting Draven’s comment.

  “Yeah, why?” Vincent asked as Draven was busy whispering encouraging endearments in my ear, whilst smoothing back my hair.

  “The book,” was all Sigurd had to say to get Vincent shouting,

  “Sophia her things, where are they?”

  “Sop..hia?” I said trying to lift my head to look.

  “Ssshh now, take deep breaths…that’s it, can you drink?” I couldn’t see but I felt the rim of a glass being held against my bottom lip. I gulped in a mouthful only to spit it back out to rid myself of the horrible taste. The next few were drank down eagerly to kill the burn.

  “Here…here it is…oh Keira.” Sophia said as she must have joined the party. Thankfully the Dravens liked big bathrooms otherwise this would have been a bit of a squeeze given how big these men were!

  “Hey.” I said not wanting to be any ruder than I had been with her.

  “vándr blóð!” Sigurd cursed and I opened my eyes to see him holding my book…only I didn’t know whether it was my blurred vision or the fever, but now the snake on the front looked black and infected with thin veins of ink coming from its body. It looked…

  “Poisoned?” Sophia asked but Draven dismissed it the same time Sigurd did as they both said,

  “Bad Blood.”

  “Bad Blood.”

  “You mean…blood poisoning… as in Sepsis?” No one answered Vincent but I quickly felt my top being raised up to expose my stomach. From the reactions of those around me I would say they all hit the jackpot, when everyone sucked a sharp breath.

  “What the fuck! How did that happen?!”

  “You said you saw her clean the wound?” Vincent said ignoring Sigurd’s outburst.

  “I did but the infection must have already taken hold as I was searching for her.” Draven said as though this was all his fault, which if you wanted to find a place to start then I guess it kinda was, but it wasn’t like it was Draven who had slashed at me with a dirty knife.

  �
�She needs healing.” Sophia said the obvious, but when the room went silent I gathered this wasn’t as easy as that.

  “Dom?” She prompted but again there was no response to what she’s said, only a commanded,

  “Sophia, I need you to test the water, first we need to get her temperature down…everyone else out!” Draven ordered the rest to leave and only when I heard the door close did I start to feel large hands pulling sweat dampened clothes from my body. I had to say that when I envisioned this part of our reunion all those weeks ago, this would not have played a part of the fantasy.

  “Its fine, place her in and I will take care of her.” Sophia ordered just as Draven was removing the last of my underwear. I felt Draven lower me and I sucked in a stuttering breath at the feel of the tepid water.

  “By the Gods, look at her, she has lost so much weight, Dom.” Sophia sounded so hurt by the sight of me that I felt out for her hand to squeeze it.

  “I know.” Whereas Draven sounded like he had just discovered what real pain felt like.

  “Draven.” I said his name trying to give him comfort but by his reaction he must have thought I needed it because he knelt down to me and placing a slow kiss on my forehead he said,

  “I will be right outside, you are not alone…not anymore.” I felt the weight of those words stay with me and comfort me like all my past torment was now over…that was until Sophia asked the question,

  “Are you going to heal her?” But it was Draven’s answer that made my blood run cold and it had nothing to do with the fever that now raged through my body…

  “You know I can’t”

  Chapter 63

  One Last Time

  After hearing those last words from Draven, I think it was safe to say I was lost. What did he mean ‘he couldn’t’? I had tried to speak to Sophia after he left but she just hushed me and told me to conserve my strength, so I decided to give up. So, with very little in options I found it easier just to give in to Sophia’s care.

  She washed me gently with a velvety wash cloth, taking care around the infected area of skin that had been cut. The one thing we both did was try to pretend we weren’t listening to the argument that was going on in the next room. Although I can imagine Sophia was getting it a lot clearer than my foggy mind was…oh and of course supernatural hearing had to help.

  The occasional word like ‘Hospital’ and ‘Healing’ and ‘Time’ was heard but if I had to choose one that would make it on the ‘word of the day calendar’ that one would have to go to the F word, which mainly came from my Viking warrior Sigurd, (I’d had a last minute name change from Shadowed knight protector) although that could be put down to my fever.

  Speaking of which my symptoms hadn’t gotten any better by the time Draven stormed back into the bathroom to get me back out of the tub. It was obvious from one thunderous look that the argument was continuing and so far without much success.

  “Wait for us outside, Sophia.” Draven said gently receiving a sisterly pat on the arm as she went past, closing the door behind her. I tried to sit up and I don’t know why, but the first thing I wanted to do was cover my nakedness. Foolish, given the amount of times this man had seen me naked. But I guess after both Sophia’s and his reaction to my new look, I felt a bit ashamed at not being able to take better care of myself.

  “You don’t need to do that, sweetheart, I would never be capable of forgetting even an inch of you.” He said softly, surprising me with how tender he sounded. I didn’t know what to say to that and was at least glad I could blame it on my illness.

  “Let’s get you out and dried…alright?” I nodded, not being able to look at him fully for fear of what I would find. This meant that when he finally did touch me I jumped making him whisper,

  “Easy now.”

  I let him get me up and out of the bath which was the easy part. The harder part came when I tried to stay on my own legs whilst he dried me off. In the end he sat me down and ran the towel over my body, no doubt creating even more heat than when he first got me in the bath to cool my temperature down. I felt the lump in my throat the entire time his hands were on me and there was no way I could look at him. I just kept my head to the side and let him finish, both hating and thanking the fact that he was so professional about it. There was nothing sexual in the way he touched me, but it wasn’t by any means not affecting the emotional side of me.

  He would stop a few times when his hands could feel the bones in my ribcage and then the same again by my collar and hip bones. It was at this point I couldn’t stand it any longer.

  “I’m…sorry.” I said feeling a tear creeping out from under my closed lid.

  “Hey.” He said as he caught the tear and wiped it from running down my cheek. He gripped my chin and turned my head to look at him to say,

  “I never want you to say that word to me again…okay?” I nodded feeling foolish and hating what we had between us. It was like a line we were no longer allowed to cross, both of us holding ourselves back, but not knowing which way to turn either.

  “Draven I…” I was about to ask what happened now, not referring to my new health problem, when I started coughing. This was when the moment ended and Draven got back into action. He started to dress me in a pair of light cotton pyjama bottoms with matching top that I knew Sophia had supplied. The trousers were red and dark blue tartan and the top a navy blue vest that was soft on my burning skin.

  I couldn’t keep up, one minute I was freezing, the next it was like my blood was boiling beneath my skin and all the while it felt like my head wasn’t attached properly! But if I was honest, I would have much sooner dealt with the pain than give up this precious time in Draven’s arms. And as sad as that was to admit, even after everything he had done to me, the simple fact was that I wasn’t strong enough to help myself.

  So here I was, as much clinging on to the dream as I was clinging on to the man himself and wouldn’t allow myself to think about what would happen to me once he let me go again…and how would I survive it the next time?

  Draven carried me back through to the room and lay me gently on the bed like the lover I remembered. Everyone else was still in attendance and I waited to see what they had to say. I felt too weak to even sit up but when the decision was made clear by Draven, I knew I still had some fight in me.

  “Alright, Vincent I want the helicopter fuelled and ready to leave, Sophia I want you to notify the hospital and tell them who…”

  “No!” I shouted interrupting him before he could finish that sentence.

  “Keira.” He said my name as if he was about admonish a small child. I struggled to pull myself up but just ended up having Draven stop me by placing his hands on my shoulders and applying the little pressure needed to get me falling back. So, I kept shaking my head over and over until the nausea came back, but again Draven just placed his hands on either side of my head to cease my actions.

  “Keira stop it…you need to listen to me, I know you’re frightened but I will be with you…”

  “No…no, no, no, no, no, no, no.” I repeated over and over until he ended up trying to calm me with his hands smoothing up and down my arms, whispering ‘Ssshh’ and ‘It will be alright’.

  “I told you she wouldn’t go for it.” Vincent said and Sophia quickly agreed with him.

  “We spoke of this! She is going to a hospital and that is the end of it!” Draven snapped but I just grabbed at his hand trying to get him to feel the desperation in me. It wasn’t just a small fear of hospitals but something deeper inside me. It was as though the thought of going there was wrong…like fate would be depending on this point in time and I couldn’t let it go.

  “Heal me…please.” I whispered trying to grip his fingers harder but not quite making it.

  “We will, just hold on and we…”

  “Look there is no time! Can’t you see that!” Sigurd shouted, hearing enough of my pleading. It was quite obvious from Draven’s low growl rumbling from his chest that he didn’t agree.


  “Oh, for fuck sake just move out of my way and let me do it!” Sigurd said coming closer and this was when Draven reacted. He was up from the bed in one of my frantic heartbeats and stood guarding me like the Gods themselves couldn’t get to me.

  “I said No!”

  “And why not?” I could just see around Draven enough to make out that Sigurd had come to stand toe to toe with him and we were once again back to where we started.

  “Don’t… fight” I said weakly.

  “Because I don’t want your shadows touching her and I think you know what I am talking about.” Draven said sternly but surprising me when this time he kept his fury under control. I waited for Sigurd to retaliate but it never came.

  “Come on my niðr, you have done all you can.” Ragnar said coming up to lay a hand on his son’s shoulder and I had to say my heart bled for him. It was a tense moment before I heard Sigurd admit defeat in the form of a released sigh.

  “I will be here lille øjesten, should you need me.” He said looking down at me round Draven’s unmoveable frame, his frown not one meant for me.

  “Th…anks big… guy.” I said coughing in between.

  “Sophia call them, make sure they know who they’re dealing with.” Draven said again making me grab at his arm, but only getting a fistful of his sleeve.

  “You can’t!” I said looking up at him with tears in my eyes.

  “I’m sorry, but I have no choice.” I let the tears fall and shook my head, knowing deep down in my soul this was so utterly wrong.

  “Go, all of you.” Draven ordered and I heard people all filing out of the door.

  “Please…I am…begging you…heal me.” I said when I thought we were alone.

  “Keira I…”

  “I will do it.” Vincent said and I released a held breath, along with a whispered ‘thank you’, sent to the Heavens for this man.

  “No, you…you can’t!” Draven said placing a hand on his brother’s chest to stop him from coming any closer.

  “And why not?” Vincent asked sounding different.