The Storm Sullivan Saga: The Emerald Seer Series Box Set

by Violet Patterson

  Dammit. What? “I have no idea what is going on or what I am doing!” Storm felt that familiar panic building inside - chased very closely by frustration. Not that she didn’t want to help. She did, but her head already hurt and she felt completely drained. Of course, her hands told another story. They were lit up like the Macy’s star at Christmas. Dammit. How would she ever get a clamp on this?

  “Relax, dear. Your magic knows what to do even if you don’t. It responds to the power in Sophia as well as that of the Phoenix.” Damarra sidled up and embraced her. Storm felt herself relax, her breath even, and the glow receded. “Save your energy, you will need it. Angeline, would you see if Lucian is ready yet?”

  Lucian

  Dressed in jeans and a long sleeved black tee, his wardrobe of choice when he was with Sophia, Lucian sat on the edge of his bed staring at the jeweled pewter vial. He guessed it to be Celtic in origin which meant it came from Roane or Damarra, but something felt wrong about it. The entire confrontation with Roane actually seemed strange.

  Still, Lucian kept trying to down the contents of the vial but each time the Phoenix rose up and laid into him with all its fury. With his time nearly expired, Lucian had no choice but to pocket the vial and head to the study. He took the steps two at a time. Had she crossed over yet? Would she be waiting for him?

  The study doors were wide open when he approached. Lucian heard Sophia before he saw her, the sound of her voice soothing the beast like a child’s lullaby. It hummed inside him, growing louder the closer he got.

  “Sophia?” Lucian loathed the uncertainty in his voice but it all fell away when she turned to him. Even more lovely than he remembered, if that were possible. Lucian stopped and took inventory of her, same raven hair, creamy complexion, bright violet eyes, petite build, his Sophia. She crossed the room faster than he could have imagined and leapt toward him. Lucian opened his arms to catch her, eyes closed in preparation for the kiss he knew would follow. It never came. Instead, the room shook and he heard a woman’s scream – Sophia!

  Lucian’s eyes flew open, to see Storm helping Sophia from under a pile of books. “Soph, are you alright? What the hell was that?” Sophia stood shakily with Storm’s support.

  “I cannot touch you, Lucian.” Her words were broken by choked sobs. She looked from Damarra to Trin and back to Lucian, her voice frantic. “Why can’t I touch him?”

  “Ah, I did not foresee this consequence.” Damarra began tapping her fingers rhythmically against her chin. “This is unfortunate and complicates matters.”

  “What? Damarra, don’t play games with them.” Storm still had her arm around Sophia’s waist, supporting her weight.

  “I do not know exactly what is causing it. If I did I would have fixed it by now.” Damarra began to pace.

  “Is it because I did not drink from the vial?” Lucian wondered out loud, laying a hand loosely on the pocket that he stowed the vial in.

  Damarra stopped and turned slowly to face him. “What vial?”

  The beast reared up inside him, more alert than it had been in days. Chills ran down Lucian’s spine at odds with the fire within. Hell. Withdrawing the vial from his pocket, Lucian chose his words carefully. “This one. Roane brought it to me. He told me I should drink it before I came here. I tried but the Phoenix would not allow it. I hoped that together Storm and Sophia could help me suppress the beast long enough to drink the contents.”

  “Roane told you about that? You are quite certain it was him?” Damarra scrutinized him, moving closer cautiously.

  “Yes, I mean he seemed a bit off but – well, who else would it be?” Lucian thought back to the encounter but nothing specific stuck out, nothing more than the sense of him being slightly more odd than usual.

  “May I see that?”

  Lucian handed the vial to Damarra. “It was just sitting on my nightstand as he said it would be.” As if that justified things. He looked over to Sophia. Gods, he wanted to hold her. To be so close. Lucian could smell her above all the other women present. His hands remembered the feel of her skin, her silky hair spread across his chest when they lay in bed. Memories of her flooded all of his senses. Would this be their curse, to see each other but not touch?

  “Immortal! Pay attention!” Trin Sullivan stood before him snapping her fingers in his face. “I get it. You want her, she wants you, we are all on the same page but in order for that to happen we have work to do and time is not on our side.” She held up her other hand so Lucian could see it had gone translucent to her wrist. “Damarra cannot hold me here much longer and believe me, you need my help.”

  “Apologies. What do you we do?” Lucian hated being reprimanded but Trin was right and he had said he would do anything to help Sophia.

  Damarra turned the vial over in her hands. She flipped the cap open and sniffed the contents. Lucian had not been able to glean a scent off it but who knew what powers she possessed. “This is not of my making. The vial is indeed Celtic-made but the contents are not. This is a witch’s doing. It is a complicated potion.” Damarra re-capped the vial. “Besides, Roane is not here. He left earlier to visit the brethren, plead Storm’s case and have you all reinstated. I saw him there myself and then returned.”

  “It must have been Elba.” Sophia fiddled with something in her hand. It flashed in the firelight – the amulet.

  “Maybe Elba came in and delivered the vial but it is that amulet that keeps us apart.” Lucian looked to his fingers, still red from where the same necklace singed him earlier. He held his hand up for Sophia to see. “Seems your kin still does not take kindly to the beast inside me, or vice versa, I suppose.”

  Sophia offered him a weak smile in response. “Guess not.”

  “So, how about you drop that amulet and we try this again?” Lucian wagged his eyebrows at her, a gesture that had set her to laughter more than once. Not this time. Did she not feel the same? Had he read things wrong? Could their time apart of have changed her? Lucian replayed his entrance, Sophia seemed ecstatic to see him. “What is the problem, Soph?”

  “I can’t put it down, Lucian.” Sophia’s voice was barely audible as she hung her head.

  “Well, how did Storm let it go? I mean, it was stuck to her hand and now you have it. I do not –“ Lucian realized the women were exchanging silent looks, clearly deciding what to tell him so he just stopped and waited. Each second dragged on, he focused on Sophia, his lovely Sophia. His words rushed back, that he would do anything to simply exchange some words with her occasion. What if that were it, all they would ever share? Could he truly be happy with that? One side of Sophia’s mouth twitched into a half-smirk, as if she knew exactly what he thought at that moment. Perhaps she did. Yes, it would be enough; somehow he would make it enough.

  “Lucian, about the amulet.” Storm drew the short straw. Lucian still couldn’t take his eyes off Sophia, her skin as soft and clear as they day they met. No evidence of the illness that ravaged her and left her so weak he had to carry her to the bathroom. He could hardly focus on what Storm said. Something about the crossover only being possible because of the power from Alva’s amulet and being tied together. Sophia filled his vision, every crevice of his mind, even the beast seemed to be basking in her presence. It seemed to be humming again, something it had not done much since he left Sophia before. “Lucian! Dammit, pay attention to me! You are not some schoolboy with a crush. If you don’t listen to me you will never be able to touch her!”

  “Wait, touch her? There is a way to fix this?” Lucian caught that part, the touching; his mind went in a million directions at once, all completely different ways to have Sophia. Focus. Lucian forced himself to look at Storm, imagining her holding a babe with Ryder beside her holding the twin, his arousal faded, the cloud lifted, and his focus returned.

  “Lucian, it will not be easy, we cannot guarantee anything. Will the Phoenix agree to help Sophia?” Storm liked Sophia. Lucian heard the pleading in her voice. He did not know. It seemed likely that the beast wou
ld do anything for Sophia but sacrificing itself seemed unlikely.

  “I do not know. We do not exactly converse or share our thoughts.” Lucian frowned, the beast just lay there humming. “I do not know.”

  “There is another option, of course.” Damarra’s flighty voice interceded. Lucian pivoted to take in the goddess thumbing through a hefty, cowhide bound tome. She looked up and straight at Lucian, her eyes boring through him. “Well? There is always another option. The world is made that way, you may not like the options, they may be painful or outrageously difficult to accomplish, but they are always there.”

  “So……” Storm stared down her grandmother. “Damarra? What is the other option?”

  “Oh, we just invoke the Phoenix. If it accepts we are half way to completing the spell, if it declines we can move it back where it came from. Easy enough. Storm, you may want to send your dog out for this part.” Damarra continued flipping through the book absentmindedly, still focused on Lucian. It was growing uncomfortable.

  “What? Why are you staring at me like that?” Lucian shifted uncomfortably.

  “I am searching for the Phoenix, separating your powers from its powers, and wondering why she loves you so.” Damarra handed the open book to Trin who supported it with her remaining hand. Lucian noticed that one entire arm had gone transparent. Hell. “Immortal, it seems the beast is just as taken with Sophia as you are. I believe it will help her. Go ahead Trin.”

  Searing pain ripped through Lucian, a thousand times worse than anything the Phoenix had ever done to him. It ended with Lucian on his knees, coughing and shaking. He inhaled deeply and realized he belonged to himself for the first time in five hundred years. Lifting his head, Lucian found himself eye to eye with the beast. It licked him, the tongue slicing into the skin on his cheek. He jumped back into a defensive stance but the beast trotted over to Sophia and curled up at her feet. It began humming so loudly it shook the floor. Lucian stared at the creature, similar to a griffin but far more lithe and minus the scales. The beast retracted its flaming shield and the women gasped. Beneath the flames, the Phoenix’s skin had a gorgeous, pearly sheen. Lucian never would have imagined it could appear as anything beyond the flaming beast. Interesting.

  “I believe that is a ‘yes’ from the Phoenix.” Storm beamed at the creature. Lucian watched in awe as the Emerald traced a hand along the beast’s spine. “Really, Lucian, it seems perfectly sweet to me.”

  “Sure, now it retracts the flame, after it seared my face. And of course it is well behaved now, it has always liked you two. Do not forget, that thing can raze an entire village with a flick of its flaming tail.” Lucian crossed to the wet bar, eyeing the beast warily as he went. Hell, he needed a drink. “If it is so well behaved why not just keep it as a pet.” Nobody said anything. Not a word. Lucian slowly turned to face the room. Hell, they actually seemed to be considering it. “No, no way. A Phoenix is not a pet.” Still, silence. Sophia sidled up to him, intertwining their fingers.

  “We can touch now, my lover.” Hell. Her eyes wide and sparkling, full of hope and something more. He could not take it. Lucian pulled her up in his arms and wrapped her legs about his waist. Her lips found his and he felt her small hands slide up his arms and around his neck. The groan built deep in his chest. Gods she tasted good and he wanted her more than ever.

  “Eh-hem. Could you possibly save that for later, say for example in the privacy of your own room? Besides, if you want my assistance we should hurry this along. I think I have found an answer to our problems.” Trin Sullivan’s voice broke through their real reunion. Of course.

  Lucian allowed Sophia to slide slowly down his body, dragging out the kiss as long as possible before pulling away to face Trin. “Apologies, Seer. It has been a while.” Lucian slid his arms down and around Sophia’s waist, dropping his head to nuzzle her neck, inhaling the familiar lavender scent of her hair.

  Trin rolled her eyes. “Moving on. Now hear me out before you react. Sophia should be able to channel the power of Alva’s locket into the Soul Mirror to sever her connection. That will leave her connection to our world fragile at best, I know, so that’s where Storm, Damarra, and I come in. We can tie the Phoenix to Sophia instead of Lu-“

  “Not going to happen. That is not an option.” Lucian stood upright and glared at Trin. “Seer, you go too far. I would not wish that on anybody, certainly not Sophia, not now, not ever.”

  “I asked you to hear me out before reacting, in your case, over-reacting. How have you lived this long and remained so obtuse?” Trin started toward him, they met just shy of the Phoenix and Storm. The beast had actually rolled to its back so Storm could rub its belly like a pup. They both acknowledged the tension at the same instant. Hell. Lucian rolled away quick enough to avoid the Phoenix’s talons on the first swipe but the second attempt scraped his left calf.

  “Stop!” Sophia’s voice rang out through the room, crystal clear and stronger than ever. “Lucian, just stop.” He looked over to see her studying the book Trin had been reading. “She’s right. It will work.”

  “What? No way, Soph. You know what that thing did to me.” The Phoenix hissed but backed down and settled around Storm’s feet. Lucian noticed briefly that Storm’s hands were glowing slightly, as if at the ready, that seemed reassuring.

  “Luc, do you trust me?” Hell. Sophia had that look again. Wide, doe-like eyes unwavering, jawline set so her chin jutted out, the same as the day she sent him away. Sophia had made up her mind again.

  “Of course, you know I do. But this is not possible. It is my burden to bear and too much for you to take on. If you separate yourself from the power of your line you cannot possibly sustain the beast. You know that is the consequence of using the amulet to separate your connection to the mirror.” Lucian heard the panicked tone in his voice and hated it almost as much as he loathed the plan.

  “I am not weak anymore Lucian. I can handle this. And you are wrong it is my burden to bear as well, to make right the wrongs done by my ancestor. If you of all people cannot understand and accept that then you are not who I thought you to be. I am doing this with or without your blessing.” Sophia stood straight, her shoulders back and jaw clenched nearly as tight as her fists, resolve hardening her eyes.

  “She’s got you Luc. Just go join Ryder in the kitchen, whip us up some food, and figure out how Elba got in.” Storm stepped over the beast and slid and arm around Sophia’s waist, adopting her new friend’s resolve.

  Hell. “Soph, do not do this. I forbid it.” Lucian folded his arms across his chest, widened his stance, and stared straight into her violet eyes.

  Ryder

  He heard enough. Lucian went too far. “Lucian, could I speak with you for a moment?” Ryder walked into the study from his hiding place in the hall. “We have a problem.”

  Lucian did not take his eyes of Sophia, “Not now, Ry. Have the Scots help you.”

  “The Scots are otherwise engaged. You need to come with me now.” Ryder wanted to diffuse the situation but it seemed to be escalating faster than he could have imagined. Storm had gone into full glow mode, Lucian’s muscles were tensed and quaking, and the beast, shocking in its true form, had begun pacing protectively before the women. He looked to Damarra who seemed preoccupied with everything but the showdown. No help there. Trin. He really had no choice. She mouthed something to him that Ryder could not make out, but he quickly realized the problem lay in her fading form.

  “Lucian! The witches are attacking us now. They are tearing down the defenses somehow. The Scots are dealing with a pair of trolls, I cannot reach Roane, so you are all I have left to buy the ladies more time.” Ryder may have exaggerated a bit, the witches were only able to breach the outer layer of protections and the Scots ran out to meet the trolls with raw excitement. Still, it worked. The entire room changed focus. “Ah, see, I knew that might change things a touch.”

  “We cannot argue anymore, Lucian. You know this is the only way, we are out of time.” Storm shi
fted her gaze to Lucian, walked over to him and touched his arm lightly. “I will keep her safe for you. She will be fine, trust me, Lucian, it will work.”

  “Storm, I do not need you to speak for me, or for him to accept my decision. It will be done.” Sophia refused to look at Lucian, said her piece and crouched by the Phoenix. Ryder already appreciated this woman and saw how Lucian fell for her. Storm tried escorting Lucian out of the study but he refused to budge, just stood there glaring at Sophia.

  “Foolish woman. You do not know what you are getting into, it is not some sweet little pet that simply amplifies your given powers. This is foolish but I am glad to be rid of the beast and all that goes with it. So, I will go ahead and fight the trolls and be on my way.” Lucian rolled his shoulders back, flipped his hair and strode past Ryder, straight out of the study.

  “He’ll be back.” Sophia shrugged and turned toward Damarra, “What do we do?”

  Storm sidled up to him, wrapped her warm arms about his waist, and leaned up to kiss him. “Be safe, my lover, come back to me.” Ryder wanted nothing more than to sweep her up in his arms, race up the stairs and lock the world out. It seemed this would be the way of things for a while, an unfortunate consequence of being married to the Emerald. Storm pulled back, laid her hands on his face, her eyes glowed golden, and she whispered, “It will get better, Ry. I have seen a life without this.”

  “I believe you, my love.” Ryder pecked her lightly on the tip of her nose and released her. “When I come back for you, it will not be gentle.” Storm slapped him lightly across the rear as he slipped out of the study and sprinted after Lucian.

  Ryder found his friend standing at the edge of the drive, staring at the sky, tears streaming down his face. Hell. He knew the feeling.

  “I’m going to lose her, brother.” Lucian looked up at him, misery and fury burning in his face. “I just got her back to lose her all over again. Even if she survives it she will not be my Sophia anymore.”