Savage Legacy

by Lora Leigh

  Ariel stood in shock, in horror, watching as a kaleidoscope of color filled the night sky, high above the mountains, like a dozen super fireworks setting off at once.

  “The bastards!” Rage filled Chantel’s voice as she rushed to Ariel’s side. “Damn them to their own hells,” she screamed as Ariel turned to her in shock, seeing her white features, the emerald glow of her sister’s eyes. “Fucking Guardians!” She turned to Devlin, shaking, shuddering with fury. “The murdering bastards would destroy us all.”

  Devlin’s face was dark with rage as he bent to Shanar, checking the wounds that slashed across his upper body.

  “Prepare to ride. Joshua, call the Primes. Now! If I don’t see them in thirty minutes flat, I call all the warriors together and it becomes open season on Guardians.” Devlin’s voice was cold, calm, his black eyes blazing within his expressionless face as he moved to Chantel.

  “Shane.” Ariel rushed to him as he staggered to his feet, grimacing at the rapid healing of the wounds across his body.

  “It’s okay, Ariel.” He wrapped one arm tight around her, breathing in deeply as he tucked her securely against his chest. “I’m fine, baby. I knew you could do it. I knew you would do it.”

  She raised her head, staring back at him in shock.

  “I didn’t do it,” she whispered. “I don’t know where that bolt came from out of my crystal, Shane, but I didn’t do it. All I called were the winds. They wouldn’t leave me until that bolt of violet light did. They couldn’t fight it.”

  All eyes turned to Chantel then as the other woman stared back at Ariel, her own shock darkening her eyes further.

  “Neither did I,” she whispered. “I don’t know where it came from. I felt my crystal reaching toward it, felt it aiding it, but I don’t know the origin of it.”

  Just what they needed. Ariel laid her head on Shane’s healing chest and closed her eyes tiredly.

  “Let’s at least hope it was a friendly interference,” she sighed. “Another problem and I just might lose what little mind my father left me.”

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  The three Primes arrived in less than fifteen minutes. Alyx, along with his wife Lynn, the psychic bodyguard who had once protected Ariel. Gryphon, the tall, blond warrior whose exceptional good looks did nothing to hide the dangerous glint in his eyes. And Phoenix. Flame-red hair flowed around his shoulders as he watched everyone with silent, emotionless eyes as Devlin faced them, his voice cold, murder glittering in his eyes.

  “At last count, there were over two hundred bloody warriors that you bastards created and left to fend for themselves here.” Devlin stood before them, his tall, well-muscled body tense and on guard. “If I don’t get an explanation immediately, it becomes open season on aliens.”

  Alyx stared back, one brow arching mockingly before he glanced at the other two Primes.

  “You command only three of the warriors, Shadow.” It was Phoenix who spoke, his silky, dark voice sending shivers up Ariel’s spine. “Many of those warriors were once your enemies.”

  “Times have changed.” Devlin smiled coldly. “We banded together centuries ago, Phoenix, and pledged ourselves where needed. I can and will command them all should it be necessary.”

  Alyx grimaced. “We should have expected such a move, you bloody bastard.” Despite his words, there was a vein of amused admiration in his voice. “But it changes nothing. The Guardians would not have struck against you.”

  “I can have Barik’s group here within twenty-four hours, Devlin,” Joshua said softly. “He’s on standby with over a dozen other groups awaiting word. The others will only be hours behind him.”

  Alyx frowned at this, glancing at each warrior before his gaze came to Ariel.

  “The wind brings you truth or lie, Mistress,” he said gently. “Do we lie?”

  Ariel started in surprise. She paused a moment, tipped her head and listened closely as she sent out the silent call. It was becoming easier, calling the winds to her, hearing the information she needed.

  “There is no answer,” she finally said softly. “Which means nothing. The wind only knows those words spoken within its hearing.”

  “Had the Guardians struck against you, they would have had to drop into the atmosphere of this planet,” Alyx reminded them all. “They would have then been within the air itself.”

  “No words were spoken,” she said again. “I can’t say who it was.”

  Alyx’s lips tightened irritably as he glanced at Gryphon.

  “Return to the mothership. See what you can learn.”

  “They are out of contact,” Gryphon said then, watching Ariel thoughtfully. “We’ve been out of contact for nearly twelve hours.”

  The tension that filled the room was palpable.

  “If it wasn’t the Guardians, then who else has such technology?” Devlin questioned harshly. “What the hell is going on here, Alyx?”

  The Prime sighed wearily as his arm curved around the smaller frame of his new wife.

  “I have only suspicions, Devlin. I have no answers,” he finally said. “There is much going on within the upper echelon of the Guardians. At the moment, there is a struggle for a power that may or may not play out in all our best interests, which is why I do not believe they would have struck out at you or your warriors. At this moment, your group alone has the power to defeat Jonar. Undefeated, the potential of his threat is too severe.”

  The air swirled around her then.

  The air cannot live…

  The keys must be found first, they will lead us…

  Alyx has failed us…

  The fourth key has been stolen. Who holds the key…

  The whisper of voices around her was accompanied by a misty march of memories. Lynn Carstairs, dressed in leathers, her expression closed, her eyes cold as she stood at Ariel’s side. Another warrioress, wounded by Jonar and determined to gain her vengeance.

  “Ariel.” Shane pulled her closer to his side, his warmth enveloping her as the battles flashed through her mind.

  “There are too many threads,” she whispered as all eyes trained on her.

  Her gaze locked with Alyx’s.

  “What are the keys?”

  He flinched just enough for her to detect the movement. His nostrils flared as he inhaled deeply then, his gaze sharpening.

  “The winds truly do speak to you.” He inclined his head in respect. “What else have you heard?”

  “That the air cannot live… That you have failed someone… And that the fourth key is missing.”

  Phoenix cursed just below his breath as Alyx and Gryphon grimaced with similar expressions of concern.

  “Have you found the Water Mistress?” Alyx asked then. “Until you do, there is little we can do to help you. She holds more information and more power than you could imagine.”

  “We’ll worry about Caitlin, Dragon.” Derek stepped forward, facing Alyx with an edge of violence now. “You stay the hell away from her.”

  When Alyx would have spoken, Lynn laid her hand on his broad arm, shaking her head slightly when Alyx glanced down at her.

  “Ariel, we were friends once,” she said softly, moving to step around Derek as Ariel watched her silently. “Am I different now, than I was then? Would I lie to you, Mistress?”

  Ariel sighed wearily. She could feel the honesty, the integrity that was so much a part of her, just as it had always been.

  Ariel moved slowly from Shanar’s grip, facing the other woman silently, seeing so much, and remembering so much more. She smiled softly as those memories, gentler than most, eased through her.

  “You were a sister in battle, a friend of the heart,” she said, her voice misty with those memories. “But you can still be tricked, especially by those they trust.” She nodded toward the Primes. “And I have a feeling, Lynn, that they know it…”

  *

  Traveling through space and time sucked. Lynn stumbled as they arrived back in the mountain chateau the Primes had been ca
lling home for the past months.

  “Son of a bitch,” Alyx cursed roughly, his hand sweeping out before him as energy flew through the room.

  Thankfully, there was no longer anything breakable, except the windows, which had been shattered before they left. Alyx hadn’t been pleased by Joshau’s summons.

  “That arrogant, pissant upstart!” he raged, furious at Derek. “The bastard steals his wife’s mind then dares stand in front of me, as though protecting her. I should have reminded him why I’m a Prime and he’s no more than an experiment in the fucking making.”

  Energy slammed through the room again, brilliant shards of light that clashed and bounced against the walls, spraying plaster and leaving charred, broken holes.

  “Dammit it, Alyx, you destroy another room and you’ll be on your hands and knees cleaning it up,” Lynn yelled then, aware that the rage was capable of bringing the room down around them.

  It wasn’t often she got to see her sexy, powerful husband ripping something up. Normally, it turned her on. Now, it just worried her. Alyx was pissed, and that was a bad thing.

  A sizzling growl snarled from his lips a second before the room vibrated violently. An unsettled hush slowly evolved as Lynn watched Alyx warily. The room wasn’t in a shambles, thank God. It was damned hard to explain the damage when repairs were needed. The Primes could destroy anything. Making them fix it was close to impossible.

  “She holds the second key,” he snapped. “It’s obvious someone wants Joshau dead, because we both know Arriane is protected even from us.”

  “Jonar is moving too close. But how could he have found a ship to strike at them with?” Gryphon asked quietly. “That would have been impossible.”

  Lynn watched as Alyx’s eyes narrowed broodingly.

  “They would not strike at the only group capable of defeating their enemy,” Alyx snapped. “It makes no sense.”

  “Just as the splintering factions within the Guardian Directive make no sense,” Gryphon shrugged negligently. “Personally, they can all go to hell for all I care, but Jonar doesn’t have a ship. We all know that.”

  Lynn could hear the belief that the Guardians, or at least a Guardian, was behind the attack.

  “Our heir must awaken,” Alyx snarled then. “As dangerous as he may be, we must find a way to awaken him.”

  “The time is not yet right.” Phoenix spoke. That was a scary thing, Lynn thought, shuddering at the sound of his hollow, dark voice. “At this moment, our best course is to find and protect the Water Mistress until the Wizard finds her. We can do nothing until that Legacy is fulfilled.”

  “Be damned,” Alyx cursed. “They could all be dead by then.”

  He swiped his fingers through the long strands of black hair and regarded the other Prime angrily.

  “We are already under suspicion,” Gryphon reminded the red-haired warrior. “The Directive has cut off our access to many of our weapons, and is now questioning our missions more closely. It is only a matter of time before we are hunted as well.”

  “Awaken him now, and the balance will be tipped in Jonar’s favor,” Phoenix said softly, or as softly as such a guttural tone could manage. “We can do nothing but wait and aid them as best we can. We need to stay closer to the Water Mistress. Ensure they do not find her before Derek can.”

  “And our Prince?” Gryphon snapped. “What of him?”

  Phoenix stared directly at him now, a flash of red burning in his eyes for a long, endless moment.

  “We protect him, as we have always done, Gryphon. He will awaken when the time is right. When it is prophesied that he would. We do not tamper with his destiny, or he will pay the highest price of all. We can do no more than protect him now, as we were born to.”

  Lynn now regarded the warrior thoughtfully for long moments. The secret of the heir was never spoken, even to her. It was one secret Alyx would not reveal to her. But if her suspicions were proving correct, then life was going to get very scary, very fast. She wasn’t looking forward to it.

  “Fine. We go to the Water Mistress then,” Alyx sighed. “Gear up with what weapons we now have. I’ll see if I can contact Mayan for more. It’s the only way I can think of to bypass the Directive and attain the weapons we need. We leave in an hour.”

  The other two left the room quickly to follow his orders as Lynn watched him worriedly.

  “Alyx?”

  “No.” He shook his head quickly. “I can answer none of your questions, Lynn. From here on out, each word spoken must be monitored. The Wind has ears, and trust me when I say that can be more than dangerous.”

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  They arrived in Newhalem just after dark in the pouring rain. A rain so heavy that they were all drenched when they pulled into the graveled drive behind the cabins Devlin had rented.

  Lightning raced across the sky as clouds thickened and rolled together ominously. On the winds a familiar voice had whispered to her.

  Not yet… Caitlin had called to her more than once. I’m not ready yet…

  And she would have heeded her sister’s plea if it hadn’t been for the air of danger that thickened around her as well. The unvoiced threats, the smell of death. She could smell Jonar’s warriors on the winds, and that terrified her more than anything else.

  “Let’s get inside,” Devlin called out as the engines cut off and Shane helped her from the seat. “We’ll meet in our cabin in an hour. No later.”

  Just enough time to shower and dress in dry clothes, Ariel thought tiredly as she glimpsed Kanna’s van in the central parking lot.

  “Come on.” Shane caught her hand, pulling her quickly to the cabin on the right, toward the beckoning light that shone through the windows. It looked peaceful, warm, a haven amid a chaotic storm of emotions whipping around her. Not just inside her, but around her, whispering to her, a lone, eerie cry following the distant voices.

  They burst into the warmth of the house and Ariel could do nothing but slump against the wall as Shane closed the door and began stripping her sodden clothes from her body.

  She closed her eyes, weariness washing over her, weakening her.

  “I loved you then,” she whispered, feeling him still, feeling the air pulse with tension. “All this time I’ve fought to define the joy, the happiness I’ve felt in each memory of you, your touch, your voice…” Her own voice broke as tears clogged her throat.

  “Don’t, baby.” He touched her face then, his fingers calloused but so gentle as they smoothed over her cheek. “You need to rest. Soon, I’ll tuck you into our bed, warm you with my body and you will sleep.”

  Ariel opened her eyes and her chest ached with pain at the look in his eyes. He still looked at her the same as he did in that life before. With equal parts adoration and pain.

  “I don’t know what love is, Shane.” She forced the words past her lips, feeling a chill race over her skin as he stared back at her, his expression heavy with heartache, her heart heavy with a pain she couldn’t define. “I just don’t know. I feel like I used to. I feel like I should know…” She shuddered with the sobs that would have released had she given them voice, but she couldn’t. She held them back, the knowledge that tears were weakness too ingrained to release so easily.

  “God, Ariel,” he whispered her name as though it were a benediction.

  His hands framed her face, his cheeks raking over the warm dampness that lingered there from the stubborn tears that fell despite her best efforts.

  She was shuddering now, her body tightening as she tried to hold back the emotions tearing through her. She didn’t want to feel this, she didn’t want feelings she had fought to hold back, to keep at bay for so many years, breaking free of her, now, when she needed to be strong.

  “They almost killed you.” She stared up at him, her hands lifting, gripping his wrists, only barely aware of her nails pressing into his flesh. “I saw them. I saw those bolts hit you, saw you draw them away from me. You can’t do that…” she wailed the words, stari
ng back at him desperately. “You can’t sacrifice yourself for me, Shane. Not ever.”

  She had to convince him. She had to make him understand that he couldn’t ever risk himself in such a way again, that he couldn’t die for her. The hollow, bleak pain that had filled her since the moment she realized he would indeed do just such a thing tore through her soul again. It ripped at her heart, sliced through her soul and left her spirit bleeding from a wound she feared would never heal. He had dedicated himself to her through all these centuries, waited for her, dreamed of her, remained faithful to her memory.

  In his body, in his heart, there was such strength that it amazed her. To think of him dying before her eyes because of her weakness was more than she could bear. She would prefer death herself.

  “Ariel, beloved.” He leaned down, his lips feathering over the tears that continued to fall from her eyes. “Don’t you know yet, I’d walk through the fires of hell itself to save you from the smallest scratch? I will never see you harmed and not do all I can to protect you.”

  And he meant it. She could see it in his eyes, in the heavy pain that lined his face.

  “The pain of those bolts were nothing compared to the pain I knew as I watched you die in that first life.” His voice was rough, tortured. “It is nothing compared to my pain when I remember the blows that were dealt to you, even before that final battle. I would give my soul itself to the Guardians, if it meant saving you. What small price then, is my life?”

  “Listen to yourself.” She jerked away from him, barely restraining her screams as her hands came to her head, her fingers clenching in her own hair as she fought the energy and the pain building inside her. “Are you crazy? Why can’t you listen to reason? See sense?”

  She turned back to him, staring at him as he stood before her, watching her with a curious blend of gentleness and irritation.

  He sighed heavily. “Not many years ago, I lay in my bed, staring into the night, my mind searching for you, as it always does. Slowly, before my astounded gaze, a faint thread of light pierced the darkness, a violet aura so weak, so small I was certain I was seeing only that which I wanted to see. And through this aura whispered a child’s voice, one filled with such fear, thick with her tears. And I knew it was the child that would grow to be my woman.” He grimaced tightly. “As quickly as it was there, it was gone. The rage I knew in that year was like nothing I have ever felt, Ariel. All I could hear was your pain. Your fear. And in those days I prayed as I have never prayed in all these centuries. For you.”