Reno

by Nini Church

  Met moved in swiftly. “Now for The Star of Light.”

  Conn’s eyes flashed. “There’s a few old tales about that.”

  “Indeed,” Met nodded, agreeable now. “Isn’t there always?”

  Reno harshly cut into their chatter. “Where the fuck is Aili? Aiilliiii. Where the fuck are you?” Each word echoed around them and silence was the only answer.

  “Beeaauutttteefuuulllll. Beeaauteeffll.”

  Silence shrouded them it was so heavy in the room. Even Met wondered if Aili was still in the wooden box as Oregain indicated.

  Reno was on the beast in seconds, shaking him hard before shoving him against the stonewall. “Talk words, man. Where’s Aili?”

  Met winced. “Go easy on him, bro. He may have saved your Aili.”

  Reno noticed when the beast’s beady eyes shot directly to a wooden box.

  The beast’s face lit with delight. He remembered!

  Reno dropped him, smashing through everything in the small room to get to the wooden box.

  Metatron lifted the Star of Light by its thick gold chain, nestling the diamond in his palm as Reno shoved him away to attack the lid of the wooden box with a vengeance.

  Reno tore at the wood with his bare hands as Conn came up beside him. Splintered at the bottom, the lid was wedged into the end of the box. “Mo leannan, it’s Reno. We’re gonna get you out of there. Aili, baby, just hold on.”

  As soon as she heard his voice, her mind snapped and Aili screamed and screamed.

  “Aili,” Conn roared, trying to get through to her, “tis me Connor. Listen to me Aili, we’re here to get you. Listen now, lass.”

  She stopped screaming and silence echoed in the small room, as both Jinns tore the wooden lid apart with their hands until Aili’s head appeared. Covered in blood, her face, her hands and the front of her once gorgeous dress were all stained deep red.

  What killed Reno and tore his heart out of his body was Aili’s empty eyes. Flaccid and dull – unaware of what was happening and far, far away. His Aili was gone somewhere else.

  He reached for her and she shied away, screaming, as he spoke to her softly, touching her cheek, then her hand as he pulled her out, holding her tightly to his chest as Conn tucked both her legs over Reno’s arm. Aili keened and shivered. “Let’s fucking roll,” Reno demanded as he hauled ass back into the dark tunnel, his blue eyes wild with terror.

  Oregain and his Shadow Warriors lined both sides of the tunnel as Reno moved between them with Met on his heels and Conn and Cal closing in behind.

  At the lip of the tunnel, Oregain put a big hand on Reno’s shoulder and levitated him down to within a few feet of the gray sand at the base. Feet hitting soft sand, he sank in, but held Aili steady, letting his lower muscles absorb the impact.

  Reno nodded his thanks to Oregain, glancing down at Aili and then back up at the massive warrior. "Whatever you need. I owe you and your fine warriors a debt."

  Oregain nodded once, a whisp of mist forming an almost smile.

  Reno waited for Met as Conn and Caleb came to stand with him. Everyone was gray skinned and panting – the Fade had a draining way of stripping a body’s nutrients, eating muscles and absorbing innate soul energy, leaving virtually nothing behind.

  Then – death.

  Yet, Aili’s color was good, her cheeks rosy.

  Reno actually experienced his heart singing – with relief, with joy as hope filled him. Man, he grinned, he was overflowing with hope now that Aili was safe with him.

  Chapter 15

  Back at the compound, once Reno placed Aili on their bed, the females swarmed in, forcing everyone but her mate and Moros to leave.

  Fifi shoved Reno into a chair pulled up beside the bed. “Hush now, let us do what we do best.” She only eyed Moros, too afraid to order him around. Fifi knew the legends about him – more beast than any other race.

  Matty leaned over Aili. “Sweetums? You there, girl?”

  Aili’s eyes popped open as she tried to scrabble backwards. Abe reached out, grabbing her hand. “Settle now, hon. You’re safe here at our compound. Reno’s here too.”

  Fifi sat on the side of the bed, crowding Aili a bit as did Matty as she placed her hand on Aili’s shin, running it up and down. They all knew Aili was in deep shock, but hopefully they could help her hold on until it wore off.

  Reno leaned forward. “Mo leannan?”

  Startled, Aili’s chocolate eyes grew wide as they landed on Reno. She tried for a smile, but it didn’t work out. “Keeping you in the centre of my mind so you’re my last thought… I’ll die, remembering you.” Aili’s body shuddered, her eyes fluttering closed. “What did I ever do to deserve dying like this – musta been something bad…”

  Reno worked hard to keep his voice steady and serene while not giving away his terror as a vice closed around his heart, painfully crushing it. “Mo leannan, you’re not dead, but very alive and here at the compound. With me and Fifi, Matty and Abe. Your Ma is on her way up with something to eat. You hungry?”

  “If…only...” Aili’s eyes glazed, and then emptied of all recognition as she withdrew, knowing none of it was real. Her body shook, arms and legs flopping around. It was stuck in her head that she was dead and nothing could make her believe otherwise.

  Dead in limbo somewhere, living a fantasy of what her life with Reno might have been like, to keep the fear and terror at bay. It lay over her like an old coat that she couldn’t pull off.

  Soft things touched her body and when something warm and wet bathed her face, Aili let out a long sigh, relaxing into the bed. Words were beyond her, it was hard to link them together, she was empty, no longer able to understand.

  An incredible richness filled her mouth, bathing her tongue as she swallowed the delicious elixir. She did so several more times until it stopped and she regretted that. Question after question bombarded her and she let them stream across her fragmented mind.

  Reno talked softly, but it was meaningless, she couldn’t latch on, couldn’t bring herself forward to where he was right now. Was she dead or just totally burnt out? Like when she did triple back–to–back shifts at the clinic, finally falling into bed numb and empty.

  Outside of it all in a very strange way, it confused her and she shrank further into what she had come to call Nothingness. Aili curled up into herself, waiting for death. It seemed a hell of a long time coming.

  When the females were done, Reno crawled into the big bed, holding Aili fiercely close, rocking her and crooning her name, calling her back to him. It was frightening to see her eyes open and unresponsive. The emptiness in those gorgeous, chocolate eyes brought him to his fucking knees. He didn’t know what to do or how to make her better. Inside, he screamed in terror and began praying – to Aili to stay with him. Any way she could.

  Panicked by her daughter’s slack features and lost eyes, Esme shifted the tray of food onto the nearest dresser and mowed in beside the bed, motioning Abe to join her.

  Moros shifted further back to lean against the wall, giving them space as they chanted together, softly at first, then louder. The bedroom filled with a stream of words and when Rad quietly entered, Moros did a double take. He recognized the big, scarred warrior – Radiun Meritious Atlas. Of that family. Over the last few hours, he’d seen the mangled warrior a time or two, but Rad gave off an aura of – Leave me the fuck alone.

  Heart heavy, Moros also noted his grandson’s terrified blue eyes were edged with hope as they landed on Rad.

  Jericho, King of the Jinn, signalled Rad to stand down. For now. Still healing from years of torture, Rad might not be ready for this kind of shit – Jericho was sure Rad had popped in and out of the Fade during his three years of torture.

  Matty lit fragrant candles and crushed herbs into pots placed around the bedroom – the same ones Reno put in Aili’s bath. Soothing and gentle, their scent lay in the air.

  The tone of Esme and Abe’s voices grew stronger as they chanted feverishly, calling to Aili, a
ttempting to tether her.

  Chocolate eyes empty and in some kind of disconnected trance, Aili’s mind was too damaged to latch onto her Mither’s call.

  Esme wailed with grief when her powerful chants returned nothing, bearing no fruit, no essence of her daughter. Her heart damn near slammed through her mouth, it beat so hard. Selfishly, she wondered if it were possible to live after the death of one her bairns, and she shivered, not knowing the answer. It was all dark and truly terrible.

  “Rad?” Jericho asked.

  Rad shook his head. Wherever Aili was, it was beyond him – he healed bodies and their physical aspects and had no experience with this depth of damage. “I can’t help Aili. I don’t heal the way she needs.”

  Reno appeared to panic. “Don’t. Do. It. Don’t fucking say it, man.”

  Rad said nothing – what could he say? He’d be in the same place if it was his mate and he wasn’t about to hold anything against Reno right now. Still, it saddened him that he couldn’t help.

  The silence drew out as Esme cried softly and Aili remained unaware no matter what they did until Duke stormed into the bedroom – done with waiting. Urgency bit at him, his heart aching for Aili like it never had before.

  Deeply concerned, but not giving up on Aili, Met followed him in, hanging back out of the way.

  Jericho cleared his throat and admitted, “Duke, I’m sorry, but Rad can’t heal Aili.”

  Horror played over the big Scot’s face. Beside his wife and next to his daughter’s bed, Duke knelt, one hand slipping around Es’s waist, he pulled her in. “Thany, lass, we need ye. Aer Aili’s in real trouble.” Duke purposely used his childhood nickname for his older sister, a powerhouse Healer, and the very one from whom Aili had inherited her innate healing skills.

  Birds chirped, the sun came out inside the bedroom and a colorful, arcing rainbow graced Met when the female, Bethany, appeared. In a nutshell, his world lit up like he was a new born babe and no kidding he drooled. When his inner balance shunted sideways like he was flipping through dimensions too fast to know which one was which – he realized the instant and profound effect the female was having on him.

  Bethany had a golden glow, a definite aura of power and control. Met liked that a lot. Actually – more than he should. She was tall, elegant and dressed in tight jeans hugging every curve, wearing nice high black heels, a white t–shirt and short black blazer. Wheat blonde hair trailed down her back, gracing her ass, two hot globes that called to him, powerful hands itching to cup them, let them know he’d never ignore them. Ever.

  Her piercing dove gray eyes did little more than dismiss him. Insulted and affronted, no one ever did that before, not the way Bethany just did. Fuck, Met didn’t care. If she told him to kneel and beg, he would right here, right now. He glanced at her breasts, slightly rounded curves showing above the rim of her white t–shirt.

  Met took a deep breath and looked at Reno, sorrow and loss etched into his face and dark shadows around him growing larger by the second. Met made a mental note to keep a close watch on Reno. If this went south, there was no telling what the big Jinn might do. A dangerous situation all around to have a male like Reno one step away from totally losing it.

  Drawn back to Bethany, Met’s mouth dropped open.

  Moros noticed Metatron’s obvious attraction to the Healer and he smiled sheepishly. It was always the same when two souls were drawn together, sometimes clashing, sometimes loving instantly, sometimes polar opposites. In this case, it seemed, it might be all three.

  Caleb sidled in, nudging the big God. “Hey, Met, she’ll think you’re a pig, so listen up, stop the fucking waterworks.”

  Met buttoned his lip and wiped his chin, not an ounce of embarrassment about having a handful of gob. Jesu! He’d do anything to get closer to her. Scent her – consider at length what could be in some dimension. He’d find one for sure. “You couldn’t know how many eons...”

  “Stay cool.” Cal reached up to jostle Met’s shoulder, but he didn’t move an inch. “I know this is hard to understand, but you gotta try. Shut the fuck up. It ain’t about you right now. Got it?”

  Moros Grigor watched Calebre handle Metatron. He wanted to bellow with laugher. CCX as Calebre was known in certain circles, had the fucking chutzpa to make fun of a God. CCX would be a good leader when his time came. What amazed Moros most was the tremendous team of elites that Jericho had put together. Every one of them a powerhouse warrior in their own right with his grandson, Renegade, at the top of the list.

  Bethany checked Aili over and sighed heavily. Her mind, torn so badly, Thany swiftly put her into a light healing trance. She turned to the big warrior in the bed next to Aili, his arms wrapped tightly around her niece, and asked, “Can ye ground aer Aili?”

  Reno nodded immediately, cheek settling on top of Aili’s head. He focused on the natural elements and began to silently sing as he watched ethereal threads gently wrap around Aili, hell – around both of them, binding her tightly to him, to his here and now.

  Indeed, Thany wanted to grin. Reno was a wise and sure choice for her niece. Eyes back on Aili, she noted her lack of muscle control, her face too slack, telling a portion of her was still in a far away place and it certainly wasn’t part of the healing cycle.

  She sat on the side of the bed, placing both palms on Aili’s temples, mentally searching for the lass as long moments passed.

  “Aili,” she crooned softly, “tis Aunt Thany. Come to me, child, I’ll help you home. Canna you feel your mate’s arms around you? Come, lass, it’s for home we go… Aili, yes…. Now, Aili!”

  Silence hung over the room as Thany clawed her way to Aili, grabbing hold of her essence, so flimsy, so frail, but refusing to let go until her niece’s essence clung to the very heart of her being. “Yes, Aili, tis Thany, I’m right here. Feel me, sweetie. It’s for home we go.”

  Reno watched as his elemental binds loosened and then disappeared like mist on a hot morning. His heart sank and tears burned his eyes.

  Thany trembled with the effort of tethering Aili and softly called out, “Es? Can you set wards to keep her here? We must make a clear line between here and the Fade. Can you do it?” Thany didn’t wait for an answer, but mentally dropped back to the desolate place where Aili clung to her, tuning in to her specific trance vibration while attempting to mend and heal.

  Voice trembling, Es said, “Tis me daughter, Thany, I can do anything.” She moved to the foot of the bed, raising both hands high, breathing deeply before starting the chant and then, with the pure love of a Mither for her bairn, her words – unknown to most – powerfully swarmed over her daughter.

  She called upon the earth, the elements and everything in between to keep her daughter with them while aiding in severing any lingering connections to the Fade. Abe stepped in beside her, layering in her soft, but powerful voice, echoing Esme’s chant.

  Reno – in sync with their chanting – also mouthed their words, adding the power of his inherent connection to the elements, helping to strongly bind his Aili to the living, this place and this time.

  Bethany accepted t’would be difficult at best to try to contain Aili as a mind as powerful as hers could travel well beyond any barriers Esme or anyone else may set. The most any wards might do is trigger an aftereffect. But even that was enough for now.

  Oddly, she sensed the silent pleas and prayers of everyone. It gladdened and strengthened Thany that Aili was so loved. She paused, realizing an image of a big white gem was flashing across her mind. Several times. Strong instincts told that it had aided Aili somehow. And, was still aiding her.

  Truly, she didn’t understand how that was possible, but Thany believed in the mysteries of life for she’d seen much that many would consider impossible.

  Thany’s gray eyes lit on Moros and she dipped her chin. She had tended him and his legions a few times in the past. Sure Moros had nothing to do with the white gem – she didn’t sense any connection to him.

  Did it have something to
do with the huge God taking up too much space in the room? She hadn’t a clue who he was or why he was here, but resented his golden eyes roaming over her body and the way he touched her outer aura with his mind. It wasn’t nice.

  Did the massive God assume she couldn’t feel him poking around, even if he was being gentle about it? An unexpected plus – the gentle part – God’s weren’t known for it. Thany shivered – it was never a good thing when a God took an interest.

  With no time for the Devil Dog right now, she shrugged him off while pulling up a minor shield to repel him if he delved too deeply. She leaned in and kissed Aili on the forehead, keeping hold of her hand. “Aili, tis me, Aunt Thany. I want you to stay right here. Tis Aunt Thany, Aili. I’m here, you’re safe.”

  When Aili’s lips moved, Thany leaned in, listening intently. It broke her heart that the wee lass had been to hell and back and right now was nothing more than a mere shadow of who she had been. Aili’s words were nothing, but babble, everything incoherent.

  “Aili, rest now. Ye’re home lass, at the compound, Duke and Es are right here. Reno is in bed beside you, holding ye fast.” Thany took a deep breath and lifted her chin, looking into Reno’s incredibly sad eyes. “Don’t despair, we’ll bring her back.”

  Reno could only nod, his throat closed with emotions and tears. Her words gave him more hope than he’d had a second before and for that he was grateful.

  “Listen to me now, Aili, listen, hear me.” Thany began chanting softly, deepening Aili’s trance so she fell into a dreamless, healing sleep, her damaged mind safely tucked away and out of harm’s way for now.

  Reno felt Aili relaxing into his arms and he held her tighter. Hope spilled through him like waves washing ashore on a desolate, barren beach.

  Thany’s chanting flowed over the others in the bedroom, mesmerizing and soothing.

  Even Met, who stared in awe at the power she wielded so openly and surely, as Thany lightened the very atmosphere and the air they were breathing. She instilled a solid platform for all to come aboard – relaxed and at ease, all minds tended to the good. Met was amazed at how she washed the room of every damn bit of darkness.