She sat down beside him, resting her arms against her knees.
"Abigail, how could I do that to you? How could I?"
"It's all right, Caden. It's all right," she said again. Maybe if she said it often enough he would believe her.
"How can you say that, Abigail? After what I did? I almost raped you for God's sake!"
"But you didn't," she said quietly and he turned to look at her.
"No, I didn't," he agreed sadly.
"Why did you stop?" she whispered, afraid to know the answer.
"Because - because I didn't want our first time to be like that."
Her throat constricted and she tried to swallow around the golf ball that had lodged there.
"What did you say?"
"I think you know what I said, Abigail."
"Yes, I do," she nodded at him and smiled, reaching out for his hand.
Part Two
Six Months Later
She knew it was bad news even before she answered the phone. Good news just wasn't issued at three o'clock in the morning. She barely heard the voice on the other end of the phone but some words she caught. Caden. Hospital.
Abigail called a cab dressed quickly in a pale blue sweater and a pair of jeans. She was shaking so much she didn't trust herself to drive. This was the third time Caden had been admitted to the hospital in as many months, suffering from seizures that no doctor could find a reason for.
He'd been poked and prodded, given every test modern medicine could devise, but nothing came up in any of them. Abigail didn't think they'd find the cause of his illness in any modern science, nor the cure for it. What ailed Caden was older than that, a lot older.
Matthew, Caden's brother, was pacing up and down in the waiting room when she arrived at the hospital. He gave her the sympathetic glance that she'd come to know ever since Caden had started showing symptoms.
"What room is he in?" She wasn't in the mood for small talk, she had to see him as soon as possible.
"405," replied Matthew. "But I don't think you should go in there, Abigail." Was he going to turn her away because she wasn't family? Now, with Caden so ill? They weren't married yet, and the engagement ring on her hand felt heavy with the knowledge that it was useless. Engaged didn't mean family. She wasn't even listed as Caden's next of kin. Not yet. Why hadn't they married sooner?
"He's being treated. He has a very bad fever, they're trying to bring it down," said Matthew. "We'd only be in the way."
Abigail didn't hear the rest as she dashed down the corridor to Caden's room. Caden was lying in the bed, leather restraints on his wrists and ankles. He was naked except for a pair of white boxer shorts.
There was a large bucket of iced water on the floor and two nurses were sponging him down. He struggled against the restraints and she wasn't sure whether his hair was wet from the water or from sweat.
A doctor was busy taking notes and not even looking at Caden. As if Caden was nothing more than a chore. As if he didn't even care.
"Help him!" demanded Abigail and the doctor peered at her over the rim of his glasses.
"Who are you?" he asked imperiously.
"Detective Abigail Harte. We're engaged. He's my partner." And my everything.
"Pardon?" asked the doctor and Abigail realised she'd said that last bit out loud.
"What's wrong with him?" asked Abigail, calmer now.
"I'm sorry, we just don't know," replied the doctor, referring once again to his notes. Abigail felt like ripping the clipboard from his hands and throwing it across the room. She just felt so helpless, so useless. Surely there must be something she could do? She wished now she'd trained as a doctor instead of a detective.
Suddenly the door to Caden's room was thrust open, revealing Matthew in a struggle with a rather thin man. The man's hair was sticking up, as though he had just been dragged through a bush. His eyes were wild, darting about the room until they came to rest on Abigail.
"You," she gasped. "You were there."
"Yes. We both know what ails him," replied the stranger. On the bed, Caden groaned and shrieked a word that chilled Abigail to the bone.
"CELESTE!"
*
It took some fast talking on Abigail's apart to convince Matthew that she would be perfectly safe taking this strange man home to her apartment.
"Did you ever tell me your name?" asked Abigail. "I'm sorry. I can't remember it."
"It is Tom," said the man, staring with awe at her light switch. He waved a hand towards it but refrained from touching it. "What magic is this? That light obeys your will? Are you a god?"
"No, it's electricity. Like lightning."
"You can control lightning? Then surely you must be a god!"
"Please, Tom, just drop it. I am not a god. I only want to help him. What's wrong with him and how can I fix it."
"You cannot. You know what ails him and you know that you are not the means to save him. He burns for Celeste. There is no other cure."
"There must be! Why else are you here?"
"Linden sent me to fetch you."
"Then he knows of a cure?"
"There is only one cure and you will not like it."
"Tell me!" roared Abigail and backed hom against the wall. He was so thin that one hand was enough. She dropped her hand, ashamed. "I'm sorry."
"I understand. He means everything to you, yes? That is why you will not want to hear me. It will break your heart."
"But it will cure Caden?" she dared not hope. Tom nodded.
"The only cure for the fever is for Celeste to claim him as her own. He must lie with her."
Abigail felt icy fingers dance up and down her spine.
"If Caden sleeps with Celeste, he will be cured?"
"Yes. He will be cured."
"But what? I hear a but in there."
"If he lies with Celeste, he will no longer be part of your world. He will be part of theirs and you will never see him again."
"And if he doesn't sleep with her?"
"Then the fevers will get more frequent, more intense until his body can take no more and he will die."
It was a choice but not a choice. Do nothing and watch Caden die slowly before her eyes or take him to Celeste and lose him forever? Neither choice had much appeal, and which would Caden want? Was he really in love with Celeste or was it just a spell? And if it was a spell, where could she find the means to break it?
The phone rang startling Abigail almost as much as Tom. She picked up, silencing the bell in mid ring. "Detective Harte? It's Dr. Johnson. Caden has been asking for you."
"I'll be right there," said Abigail as she hung up. "Tom. It's okay. He's okay." Tom just stared as he followed her out the door.
*
"God, Abigail! Am I glad to see you!" Caden held out his arms and she ran to hug him. "What happened? Everything's so fuzzy with all the meds they keep pumping into me." Abigail felt him shift as he glanced around her.
"Do I know you?" he asked, furrowing his brow and staring at Tom.
"We met some time ago. In Faerie."
Caden pushed Abigail away from him. "Abigail! I thought I could trust you! Why did you bring one of them here?"
"He's human. He isn't one of them. But they're the only ones who can break the spell. You have to go back, Caden."
"NO! No, Abigail! I can't!"
"You can, Caden. You can." Abigail squeezed his hand.
"I can't. I won't be able to resist her this time and then I'll lose you. I won't risk it."
"You're strong, Caden. Stronger than any of them. And I'll be with you the whole time. You didn't think I was going to let you go alone?"
"You're an angel, Abigail," said Caden as he kissed her hand.
"They won't be able to fight both of us," insisted Abigail.
Tom shook his head, muttering, "Fools, fools," but neither of them seemed to hear him.
*
"Are you sure this is one of the Faery portals?" asked Caden, giving his head a scrat
ch. They were in the basement facing a broom closet. Caden and Abigail had been down this hall so many times and they never knew that their office was so close to a portal to another world.
"The rear wall is the portal. Just press the wall and you will gain entry to Faery."
"But how do we get back?" asked Abigail.
"You don't," laughed Tom and pushed them both into the closet. As they watched, the air shimmered with a strange golden light, Tom changed, became taller and became Celeste. In such a small space as the closet, Celeste was brighter than any sun, any star. She was dazzling and Abigail could well understand the attraction. Her skin was so flawless it was as if it was carved from the finest alabaster and the blue orbs of her eyes reflected a summer sky.
"My love," whispered Celeste and traced a fine hand from Caden's jaw to his eyes. He shuddered but whether from desire or disgust, Abigail couldn't tell.
Caden grabbed Abigail's hand and squeezed. Hard. She bit back a cry of pain. Had Celeste's magic worked so quickly, then? That he was prepared to hurt her?
Celeste ushered the two of them towards the rear of the closet. Her long arms reached around them and pressed a splodge of paint on the wall. The wall dissolved and Abigail once again saw the strange forest they'd encountered before. But this time, Linden was already waiting for them.
He beamed a smile in their direction, as though welcoming back old friends.
"Welcome, welcome," he said as he held out a hand to Abigail. She refused it, remembering how his touch had made her feel last time. Almost as mad with lust as Caden. "We knew you would return. Celeste, please show our guests to their lodgings. They will lodge together while they are here."
"No! You promised! You promised me he would be mine!" Celeste sounded like a five-year old who'd been denied their favourite toy and was throwing a tantrum.
"Celeste, manners please. You know that is not why they are here."
Celeste pouted, but she let go of Caden and Abigail wasn't sure whether they should be relieved or not. Why exactly were they here? She also guessed that even if they asked Linden, no answers would be forthcoming.
"This way, please," said Linden and turned to make sure they were following him. They didn't have much choice and followed him back to the edge of Forever, the Faery city.
He stopped by a large oak tree and motioned for them to go inside. It was a strange room for a prison. For a start there was no door, just a flap of deerskin hanging over the entrance, more for privacy than heat Abigail guessed, as the weather was always fine.
There was a small oak table and two carved chairs beside it. In the comer was a nest of fur, the bed? Nothing else seemed likely and it did look inviting.
"Maybe you should rest, Caden."
"Only if you join me," he said, the corners of his mouth crinkling in a smile.
"What? Here?" even as she said it, Abigail found it difficult to ignore the fission of excitement his words evoked.
"How long has it been, Abigail?"
"Six days, four hours and twenty minutes, but who's counting?"
He laughed and it was a wonderful sound, a sound she wanted to hear more often. How could she even thinking of giving this man up to Celeste? Caden was hers body and soul and Celeste was going to have one hell of a fight on her hands.
"But why here, Caden? Why now?
"Because I'm afraid that this will be our only chance, Abigail. I'm afraid that if we don't make love right now, I will never know that joy again."
She couldn't say anything, but silent tears dripped down her cheek. Caden was suddenly next to hear, leaning down and kissing them away. Every touch of his lips was agony and ecstasy, bitter and sweet all at once.
When his lips left her cheeks and moved to her mouth, she groaned deep in her throat, feeling it ache with the need to cry. She put her arms around his neck and clung to him like a shipwreck survivor clinging to a log. Caden's mouth left hers and kissed a damp trail along her jawline and neck. Just before he legs gave way, he scooped her up in his arms and carried her to the bed of furs.
She could feel his erection press against her stomach and she felt her womb contract with need. He was impatient with her clothes, ripping the buttons from her blouse as he bared her chest. He bent down and nuzzled the naked flesh between her breasts. She heard a snap and realised he'd bitten the strap of her bra. How did he manage the strength for that? He'd only been out of hospital. He took a freed breast in her mouth and began sucking on the nipple. When he risked a light bite, she arched off the floor and moaned, clutching his back.
He hiked up her skirt to her thighs and reached for her panties, caressing her through the fabric. She squirmed against him, feeling all the sensation from her whole body pool between her legs. Nothing else existed. Caden yanked at her panties and ripped them in two.
Her fingers clutched at the soft material of the furs as the sensations washed over her. She'd never seen him like this before, so animalistic, and it excited her more than she could admit. Caden spread her legs apart and just stared at her. She felt so exposed and she could nearly come right then and then from the hungry look Caden was giving her.
"Caden! Please!" she begged. She needed him, wanted him so badly if nothing happened soon she would explode. She had felt desire before, but nothing like this. She was on fire, was there something in the air in Faery?
Caden glanced at her, his eyes cloudy with desire and he frantically undid his belt and zipper. He pushed his trousers and boxers down in one fell swoop. Before he went inside her, he caressed her sex with a few fingers first and Abigail was almost undone. She could feel the tension building with every caress of those fingers. "Caden!"
"You're so wet," he smiled and entered her in one jolt. Abigail felt comfortably full with him inside her. The first time, she'd been worried that he would have been too big, but he had been the perfect gentleman, patient until she was ready for him.
He was anything but patient now, thrusting hard and fast as if the end of the world was nigh. Abigail adjusted her hips, wrapping her legs around his back and met him thrust for thrust, groaning wordlessly.
Suddenly she felt Caden's orgasm, felt her own almost as soon, felt her muscles contract as she felt Caden's seed in her womb. She was immersed in a blaze of white light and then there was nothing.
*
Abigail woke first with a blinding headache and a dry mouth. She felt tired and drained, achy all over. She glanced around her and saw Caden lying prone on the grass. Grass? Where were they?
She called his name and he stirred, looking up and smiling.
"Morning, gorgeous," he smiled.
"I don't think it is morning, Caden. Look," she pointed to the western sky, where the sun was beginning to set.
"They let us go?" asked Caden, glancing at his surroundings.
"Why? Why did they let us go?"
"I don't know. I'm just glad to be back home."
In the distance, Abigail thought she heard a baby cry.
Her breasts began to leak.
*
EPILOGUE
"You know you could not have made this child with him, Celeste. We cannot have children of our own."
"I know, Linden. But I wanted him."
"We cannot always have what we want. And we needed the child more. Our race is dying, Celeste and without children, how can we survive? This child will be our link, our new sister."
"And what shall we name her?" asked Linden.
Linden glanced at the small bundle in his arms, the thatch of dark black hair of her father and the blue eyes of her mother.
"We shall name her Abigail."
THE END
About the Author:
Annette Gisby is an author who grew up in Ireland and has always been fascinated by myths, legends, folklore and faery tales. Not unusual for dwellers of a land filled with story tellers and a long historic record. She loves castles and history and her writing has been inspired by many things from paintings to poetry. Her husband shares her
passion for historic sites and they've spent many a happy hour traipsing through fields to find an old ruin off the beaten track.
Discover more of her books at:
http://www.annettegisby.n3.net
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