Clayton's Jade (Runes Stone Series)

by Maria Yvonne Wood

  It had some substance to it but nothing that he could grasp with his hands. He shifted in to berserker to better protect himself from the hits he was taking. So he still had some blessed salt and water in the squirt gun but would they work here? Taking the pack off his shoulders he reached his hand in and pulled out the last three water and salt balloons. Smashing them on the ground he formed a triangle with him in the middle then used the squirt gun and finished the lines. It stopped the thing that was here with him from hitting him at least for the time being. He still had to figure out a way out of here.

  What he really needed was for Vie to show up and get his dumb ass out of here but she was still recovering so he was out of luck there. He had to admit it he needed help. How was it that Hel could intervene in this but Odin could not? They had to figure out how to do things for the most part. Yes they had the help of a Valkyrie but the other side had outside help similar to that he was sure. He knew that he had to get back and help Kaylee, but didn’t see how that was going to happen. At least the thing or things couldn’t get him in the triangle that he had constructed.

  He stepped out of the area that he had set up and tried to go back but he still couldn’t get passed the barrier that was there. When he needed a break from being hit and frustrated that he was not getting anywhere, a light glow started to form off to the right. As the glow took on a more solid form he realized who it was. Freya was beautiful in whatever form she took. She had long golden hair that hung past her hips. The rest of her features just seemed to blur. “This was beyond your control and Hel knows better to interfere. I am here to correct a wrong.”

  “You mean to tell me there was no way for me to get out of this place?” He was a bit confused at first then the anger started to spread into every fiber of his body. This just reinforced the berserker in him. He took her hand in his and then he was transported next to Kaylee. He wrapped his arms around her. He did not want to let her go ever again. “Let’s get out of here.” He knew a way had been provided to them from Freya.

  They walked towards the crack in the wall and went through to the rest of the group. When they found them they were under attack from the tasmanian and his ghost friends. Clayton was still in his berserker form and he watched as James shifted into his dire wolf form. The dire wolf was a very large wolf that as far as the human population knew was extinct. That was enough to scare anyone. They were not small animals. They couldn’t do anything about the ghosts but they could go after the tasmanian and had a feeling that when the guy died that the ghosts would disappear with him.

  The ghosts knew that they were going after him so it seemed and doubled their effort to protect him. There had to be more than one ghost the way they were getting pummeled. They were not making any progress towards getting through the ghosts. They seemed to be growing in number to accommodate the members of his group. They were out of balloons and water for the most part. He watched the way some of the animal shifters moved. James in his animal form moved like a dog just in large form. Kaylee in her human form still had movements that were part of her cat. This got him to thinking that Kaylee had made him part of her cat. If he could tap into the cat within him he might be able to jump over the fight area and land on the other side. Then he could proceed to make sure the tasmanian never hurt another living soul again.

  He tapped into his cat form and his berserker he made himself visualize the jump he needed to make. Squatting down reaching back into that place where the cat was he readied himself for the jump. Throwing his arms up his legs felt like they were spring loaded like a gun. He went up into the air. Over the fight seeing everyone on the ground was a thrilling experience. He knew that he could not land on his hands and arms like a cat could so he shifted his body enough so that he would land on his legs. Bending his knees slightly to absorb the hard surface landing he reached again for his sword tattoo again. That was the nice thing, he never lost his weapons, thanks to Odin.

  He shook his head to clear his thoughts he set his sights on the Tasmanian then went after him. He knew it was going to be just the two of them just made it worth the fight. He kept his eyes on him as he advanced. The guy took out a sword that was hanging on his side and stood ready to fight. It wasn’t going to be as easy as it had been the last time. He could see the muscles on this guy and he was going to put up a good fight.

  The agility of a cat might come in handy. Reaching back he decided to make better use of his dagger by using it in the opposite hand. The tasmanian raised his sword and slashed at him so close that he could feel the wind as it went by barely missing its target. From the side Clayton swung his sword nicking the guy on his left side. Then the sword came at him in a downward arch, using his sword he was able to block the hit. Taking the dagger he sliced it across the top of the Tasmanian’s hand that was holding the sword.

  He dodged the next swing and the one after it he waited for the blood to make holding the sword hard. However, the guy connected slashing lines over Clayton’s thighs with the following hit. That let Clayton know the he was having trouble holding on to the sword. Panting with effort and ignoring the pain in his legs he lifted his sword. Then he came with a blow from over the top of his right shoulder and connected with the guy’s sword. The blow was more than the guy could handle with a heavy sword that was slick with blood. He dropped the sword and Clayton came in with another swing from the left side ripping the tasmanian one side of his chest to the other. With a look of shock he fell to the ground.

  As he leaned down to plunge his dagger into the guy’s heart he ended up with a face full of dirt. He stumbled backwards and then the Tasmanian kicked his feet out from under him. The breath went out him and he landed with a jolt on his back. Sitting up quickly and shaking his head to clear it. He blinked his eyes several times until he could see again. Then got up and went over to the Tasmanian as he leaned down, a blade came up and slammed into his shoulder. In a rage born of pain Clayton stuck the dagger into the guy’s heart. There was a sucking sound as he pulled the dagger back that was followed by a pop like sound when it was out. Then to make sure he was truly dead he slit him from ear to ear.

  He stood back up, then he looked to see how the rest of the group was fairing and they were looking at him with a ‘what the hell just happened’ look on their face. It was just like he thought would happen. The Tasmanian had been the one in control of the ghosts. He walked over to Kaylee. Grabbing her up into his arms he never wanted to let her go. Hand in hand they walked back up the trail to the motor homes got in them and headed home.

  James decided to go with them to see if he could help with some of the injured. He was the one that had patched up Clayton. He had told the group he had taken several classes as he had been afraid to let anyone know he was a shifter. He was finding out he had friends and they wouldn’t judge him by what he was.

  When they got to the house the outside was a mess. The ghost had ripped, torn and tossed whatever they could. The front yard look like it had been hit by tornado. Even the cars were upside down in the front yard. He was afraid of what the back looked like. Kaylee looked like she was going to start crying any minute. He drew her into his arms and just held her until she was ready to see the rest. When they opened the door the inside of house was fine. It had not been touched and standing in the front room was the best surprise of all. Bridget was awake and was smiling as she saw Brad rush to be at her side.

  The precautions they had laid out had worked to keep the people and the house safe from the ghosts. Clayton thought it best if they went out back and seen what damage was out there. They just had to go to the glass doors to see the damage. The garden had been ripped up. The glass table was all over the porch shattered. Two of the chairs ended up in the trees and still had not fallen down. “We will fix it.” He said looking at her. Then gently he pulled her towards the bedroom. They need some time alone.

  When they got into the room and shut the door she turned into his arms pulled his head towards hers and kissed him. One of h
er hands ran down his chest until it hit his jeans then she searched for the buttons that held them up. Her hands undid them as fast as they could move. Then she slipped her hand inside and held him. She enjoyed the feel of him and wanted to feel more of him. Stepping back she removed her shirt and bra. Then watching him watch her she slowly slid her pants off and kicked them out of the way. Then sliding her panties down just past her hips she sat on the edge of the bed and inched them down until they were close enough to kick off. Then moving back on the bed she laid on the bed propped up on her arms watching him and waited for him to come to her.

  It did not take him long to shuck his clothes and join her on the bed. He lay on the bed next to her and slowly trailed his hand down her front. One of her hands had moved to his chest loving the feel of him under her hand. She wanted to explore some more but the way his body was positioned made it impossible to go any lower. As her hand came back up towards his neck she felt him slide two fingers into her. She moaned and moved her hips further up towards his hand. She wanted more. She needed more.

  Her body was ready. As he went to pull out her body tightened and tried to hold him there. Leaning down he smiled and sucked the tip of her breast into his mouth and gently rubbed his teeth against the nipple until her body released his fingers then his mouth followed the same path and then mouth was on her clitoris sucking and then alternately flicking his tongue back and forth across. While his mouth was busy there his fingers were moving in and out of her making the nectar of her desire flow out of her. “oh god…please…” grabbing at his hair. Then his fingers found a spot inside of her that sent her over the edge. Then when she thought she couldn’t take anymore more he moved up her body until her was above her. He leaned down and kissed her then plunged into her catching her moan in his mouth as he did. He glided in and out picking up speed as he went until she felt her body spiral out of control. When they both came back down to earth they curled into one and other and went to sleep.

  …

  Over the last week they had been repairing the damage that the spirits had done. Most of it had been minor. Today they were all pitching in to replace Kaylee’s garden which had been destroyed during the attack on the house. She had spent the morning putting the potted plants where she wanted them in the ground. Now all they had to do was dig a small hole, put the plants in and cover the base with dirt. When they were all done planting she would turn on the sprinklers to water everything.

  Everyone was just starting to arrive when both of them were suddenly in a different place. It was a large open court area outside. In the middle was large tree full of leaves. Standing under the tree were some of the Norse gods. Odin, Frigg, and Freya. In the distance they could see what appeared to be a castle that was glittery with a rainbow over it. Looking over at Clayton she saw him just shrug his shoulders, and then holding hands they walked towards the Gods.

  When they were in front of the gods they were motioned to kneel. Then the three gods walked up to them and laid hands on their shoulders. Words were said,but they did not make any sense to her. Then she heard Vie in her head. You are being married by the gods. Just nod and go with it.She knew that Vie had talked to Clayton at the same time because he turned and looked at her. They were both smiling, at least until the burning hit her ring finger. When she looked down she saw a gold band tattooed on it with Claytons name between a solid gold line on the top and below his name. When she looked at his hand her name appeared on his the same way. She didn’t care if it was the right time to kiss him or not but she did it anyway.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Maria Yvonne Wood has always been an avid reader. Through the stories she was always in a different place and time depending on the story. While in her thirties she decided to write for fun. She picked up an old high school paper that she had written for her English assignment. It had been a start to a story that she had never finished. It took two years to finish the story and sits on the shelf collecting dust. Deciding that she wanted to write what she loved she combined her love for myths with childhood memories of where she had grown up. This was the start of the Rune Stone series. The second book is almost finished and the third has notes waiting to come to life. When she is not writing you can find her walking or spending time with friends and family. She currently lives in Southern Nevada with her two dogs and son.