“I do not know what she has been telling you but—”
She stopped talking abruptly when a vision arose sharply within her mind. That day. Her favorite ash tree by the river. It’s beautiful varying shades of green in the sunlight. How they had turned blood red. How its glorious leaves went up in flames.
“No.” She shook her head and smoothed her hair back for at least the tenth time since arriving. “I was just working through anger.”
“Via your dragon.” Sam squeezed both of her hands this time. “A very strong dragon, Lauren. Stronger, I think, than any of ours.”
Lauren was caught unaware by the sudden flash of pride she felt. The rightness of her sister’s words. But why? Planting a frown on her face, she shook her head. “No.” She kept shaking her head. “This is ridiculous. All of it.”
“Keep telling yourself that,” Sam said. “But it will make life here a lot more difficult for you.”
“Life here?” Lauren finally decided it was time to leave. “While I’m thankful you got me out of that house, there is no here. I am going home.”
Lauren ignored those sitting by the fire and started through the woods. They couldn’t have gone that far. Sooner or later she would see lights and find her way back to civilization.
“Good, let’s walk then,” Samantha said as she caught up and steered Lauren in a slightly different direction. “Maybe seeing the reality of things will help.”
“I do not need help.” But she did. “I just want to go home. Why are you putting me through this? I do not understand.”
“I’m surprised you haven’t asked to see Cybil or Shannon and Erica,” Sam remarked. “Because I know you saw them here earlier.”
“I can only assume they are in on this elaborate hoax,” she said, conveniently making no mention of how they vanished into thin air.
“Uh huh,” Samantha muttered. “And I suppose when I staged this hoax, it made more sense to have the bikers fight with swords instead of knives or even guns?”
“I think you would have gone to any length to prove your silly story,” Lauren quipped, smoothing back her hair as she managed through the forest wearing the awkward boots provided. “You have always been a creative thinker.”
“Whatever.” Sam shook her head. “All I wanted to do was save you and help you through this difficult transition.”
“Naturally,” she murmured, well aware they were being followed. “I think this transition would be much easier if Tait did not feel the need to stay so close to me.”
“No doubt,” Sam said. “But don’t think this is any easier on him.”
“Well, then he should leave me alone.”
“Haven’t you caught how miserable he gets when he’s not close to you?” Sam shook her head. “If you didn’t catch that then maybe the flat out rage he experiences.”
“I have caught that he is as much a creative thinker as you,” Lauren said.
After that, her sister grew quiet. Soon enough, Lauren learned why. What appeared out of the forest was the last thing she expected. Down the hill, bordered by a moonlit ocean was a village or perhaps several based on the sheer size of the community. That in itself wasn’t the truly strange part. No, that would be the straw covered houses with roof’s nearly touching the ground, dirt roadways, and horses not bikes or cars. In fact, what she was looking at was lit by torchlight, not electricity.
Then there were the ships at port.
Viking ships.
“You have found some sort of religious commune,” she whispered before her eyes shot to Sam’s. “Or some sort of community that prefers to embrace the old ways.”
“And she calls us creative thinkers,” Tait muttered as he came alongside.
Lauren frowned at him. “I did not ask you to join me.”
“No, you did not,” he agreed.
“Then why are you here?”
“You know why, woman. I have no choice.”
“My name is Lauren.”
“Enough.” Sam rubbed her forehead then pointed down the mountain. “That’s my new home, Sis. Those are my people.” She shook her head. “But I see it’s gonna take even more than that to convince you.”
“Going to take,” Lauren corrected as she tried to keep her breathing even. Her reaction wasn't because of the dated village and the slew of longships but because of Tait. “Not gonna take.”
“Oh, dear God, Lauren.” Sam took her hand and pressed something into it. “I was going to wait on this, but it seems you need something really strong to get through to you.”
“Besides wine you mean,” Lauren remarked sarcastically and frowned as she stared at what Sam had handed her. Emily’s keychain globe. “How did you get this?”
“From you,” Sam said, her tone less exasperated and more compassionate as she continued. “When you were taken by the enemy, I heard you scream for Tait. When I did, I went to the Forest of Memories and did what I do best. I manipulated time and tried to find you. Thankfully, I tracked you quickly as I’m sure the enemy planned.” There was no mistaking the emotion in her voice. “Either way, I was determined to get you back, Sis.” Her eyes flickered to Bjorn, Matthew and the seers who had followed. “Everyone got you back at great risk to their own safety because believe it or not, they care about you, Lauren.”
“Why?” Lauren shook her head. “No, do not answer that,” she whispered, growing tired of all this but determined to get to the bottom of things. “What does any of this have to do with the keychain Emily gave me?”
“It is a talisman of magic,” a voice murmured through the night before Sven, the teenage boy she had met before, appeared out of nowhere, dropped to a knee in front of her and lowered his head. “Welcome to my home, Lauren. I am so glad you made it safely.”
Lauren frowned and shook her head, still thinking he should be studying for school not romping around with this crowd. That he had referred to her keychain as magical completely went over her head until he stood and nodded at it. “Emily is a young dragon, but already she possesses a great gift, does she not?”
Like Bjorn, he was tall and relatively handsome, but unlike his father, Sven had a gentleness and manners that she appreciated. So she humored him and looked at the globe only to gasp and peer closer.
While she knew it was the ash in back of the chalet, it looked more like the ash tree from her childhood. But that wasn’t what had her so startled. No, what flew around not only the tree but the horrific Nidstang had her far more alarmed.
A dragon.
A striking, bright shade of sage green, there was no mistaking how angry it was as it roared fire and red skirted along the inner glass. Though the little globe wasn’t hot to the touch, it smoked, and she released it only to have Sven catch it.
“That is impossible.” She rubbed her eyes then continued to stare at the little dragon going in furious circles within the globe. “I must be seeing things.”
“Is that not you, then?” Sven asked, peering at the dragon just as intently. “Trapped though you stand here in front of us?”
For some reason, it was that—Sven saying the word trapped—that made more doors in her mind burst open. More than she could handle. Suddenly, it all became very, very real. From the awful red-eyed man who took her to the crippling fear she felt as she was thrust into the unknown.
A place made of suctioning wind and painful noise as she finally escaped the Maine chalet only to end up in the middle of the woods surrounded by heavily armed men. The man with black hair and red eyes had finally lowered her, his gaze lewd and his hands free as he studied her. But she did not make it easy.
Her vision had turned red as she screamed and fought the entire time.
He hadn’t raped her. It wasn’t like that. Rather, it had been much worse as his eyes searched hers. At first, he laughed, gleeful, as he discovered something he liked. Then his expression grew troubled as he found something he did not.
In the end, before he tossed her to one of his men, he saw something wo
rthy and nodded. “You are fiercer than all the rest. She will like that.”
Then Lauren was tossed over another shoulder before Tait was there…saving her.
Yet all she could feel was that man in her mind. The realism of the events happening around her. Over and over. So many times, she couldn’t find a hallway to lock them in never mind a door.
“I’m right here, Sis,” Samantha murmured, her hand on her upper back. “I’m not going anywhere.”
Only then did she realize she was bent over and vomiting uncontrollably and Sam was by her side. Lauren squeezed her eyes shut, unable to stop the embarrassing sob that racked her nor the ones that followed. What bothered her even more? She didn’t sob simply because of that man being in her head but because it was finally sinking in that she had escaped one prison only to be thrust into another.
Everything was real.
The village.
Time travel.
Vikings.
She staggered forward a few steps, fell to her knees and continued dry-heaving.
Dragons.
A mythological creature…her….
She started shaking all over and shook her head, whispering, “Please let this be a dream.”
Eventually, the dry heaving stopped. She meant to stand, to say something, but she was incapable as she hung her head and prayed for all of this to end. Instead, she was swept up into a strong pair of arms. Mortified that she wasn’t walking on her own but simply too weary to voice it, she rested her cheek against Tait’s chest and closed her eyes.
As it turned out, she closed her eyes and slept for nearly two days.
When she awoke, Cybil and Samantha were there.
“Welcome,” Cybil murmured and stroked her hair back from her forehead gently like she did when they were children. “I was wondering when you were finally going to wake up and say hello.”
“Thank goodness you’re home,” Lauren tried to say, but her throat was too dry.
“Here, Sis,” Samantha said from the other side as she brought a cup to her mouth. “Drink first then we’ll talk.”
Lauren nodded and did what she was told just like she had when they were little. Though they were all only a year apart, Cybil and Samantha had always taken on the more nurturing roles. Back in the days before Sam started to change. Cybil, thankfully, had always remained consistent.
After she’d had her fill, Lauren nodded thanks and rested her head against the pillow. She was so thankful to see them both again. To know they were well beyond the nightmare she had been dreaming about…
Her thought trailed off as her eyes drifted to the ceiling way overhead. The thatch covering. The wooden beams. Then the endless weapons. Not guns but axes and swords and daggers.
“Oh, no, it wasn’t all a dream,” she gasped and tried to sit up, but Cybil pushed her back down.
“No, little sister,” Cybil said. “Everything that has happened to you since you arrived at the Maine chalet and even long before that is true.” She squeezed her hand, cupped her cheek and met her eyes. “Everything is real, and it is time for you to accept it. The time for denial is no more. Do you understand?”
Lauren was about to argue but felt a sense of peace fill her as she gazed into Cybil’s eyes. The sensation was undefinable. Warm and encompassing. It was time to accept things. It was time to open even more doors in her mind and accept that she was not insane. She was not mistaken.
Yet still.
There was something inside of her that didn’t quite embrace the newfound peace in her sister’s eyes. She felt a flicker of defiance that reminded her she had her own mind and was allowed to come to her own conclusions.
“Yes, Sister,” she murmured to Cybil, never losing eye contact. “Even so, I cannot help but wonder why you did not tell me sooner the secrets our family kept.” She offered her sister a lukewarm smile and temperate words. “Why didn’t you tell me what I was long ago instead of keeping it a secret?”
“Well, well, who knew we had a little spitfire beneath all the prim and proper,” Sam muttered before she grinned, laid down beside her and started flicking an errant wisp of Lauren’s hair. “Not so stiff after all. How awesome is that?”
“Get off.” Lauren tried to whack her away, but Sam only grinned and evaded.
“She’s been through a lot, Sam,” Cybil said. “Give her a break.”
“True,” Samantha conceded as she propped up on one elbow and eyed Lauren with genuine concern. “You know how much I love you, right Sis?”
Lauren blinked and nodded as she stared into Sam’s eyes and everything came pouring back. All that had happened. It had not been a dream…nightmare. None of it. She swallowed and managed to murmur, “Where am I?”
“Home.” Cybil urged Lauren to drink more water. “Heidrek’s and my fortress.”
Lauren closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. This was real. She needed to accept that.
“There’s a bath ready for you,” Cybil said. “When you’re ready.”
She opened her eyes and looked at her older sister. Really, truly looked at her. Cybil had always been the caring, loving one of the five of them and that hadn’t changed. Not for the most part. She still had the same look of concern in her eyes and the never-ending need to protect, but now Lauren saw something new. A hardness and ruthlessness tempered with wisdom.
Something inside her recognized it instantly.
“You are one too,” she whispered.
A gentle smile curved Cybil’s lips as her eyes flickered to Samantha then back. “Yes, Lauren, I’m a dragon too.”
After that, they caught her up on everything. How the enemy was drawing closer but couldn’t hurt Samantha and her family because she was a Gateway Seer. This enabled her to move through time. Typically through the ash tree but more often lately through the Forest of Memories.
“So none of our sisters were really there when I was first yanked back in time?” Lauren murmured.
“No.” Samantha shook her head. “I recalled my own memories to create a strong connection to you. Our sisters. Then I could access where the enemy was taking you so that we could follow. So that Tait could follow. Then once the perfect opportunity presented itself we attacked.”
“He was under your influence when he came after me then,” she murmured before she thought better of it. Wasn’t that preferable to imagining he did it because he cared about her?
“Who, Tait?” Sam shrugged. “Yes and no.”
When Lauren frowned, Cybil clearly read too much into it and gave Sam a pointed look.
Sam’s eyes went to Lauren’s. “More yes than no.” She seemed to struggle to find the right words. “Tait hasn’t exactly been himself since you two saw the Nidstang back home. He’s been desperate to return to you, Lauren.”
Lauren narrowed her eyes. “You mean desperate to get out from beneath this supposed curse.”
“There is nothing supposed about it,” Cybil said gently. “It is very real.”
“That said,” Lauren acknowledged because moving forward was the only option now, “it is a curse, and we are both caught up in it, right?”
When they hesitated, her eyes narrowed on Cybil, and she repeated. “Right?”
Cybil held her gaze for a moment before she nodded. “So it appears but rest assured we are going to handle this. Already, Sam was one step ahead of the enemy.”
“So it seemed.” Lauren’s eyes met Samantha’s. “Why do you think that is? If everything I have learned is true, do you really think the enemy is so naïve he would have allowed not only my cry of distress but a child’s snow globe to warn you beforehand?”
“Oh, nice, look at you go, Miss Detective!” Sam patted her on the shoulder. “It’s been a long time since I saw this side of you.”
“Sam, stay focused,” Cybil said. “Please.”
Sam mouthed, “No worries,” to Cybil then looked at Lauren. “To be honest? The enemy isn’t naïve in the least. What happened, or so we surmise, is that the curse somehow p
rotected you above and beyond.”
“Above and beyond?” Lauren folded her hands over the fur and looked between them. “What exactly does that mean?”
“Just how it sounds,” Sam said. “Considering Tait has to stick so close to you, the curse has its benefits above and beyond my part in this. He’s a damn good warrior and protector.”
“I see,” Lauren said primly, unable to soften, unable to release who she had trained herself to be simply because life had changed so drastically in a second…or a few weeks…okay, maybe a few months.
Either way.
Lauren looked between them. “So what you are telling me is that I am ultimately safe because I am cursed, right?”
“No,” Sam started before Cybil stopped her with a solid, “Maybe,” as she squeezed her hand again and made sure Lauren was looking at her before she continued. “I prefer to err on the side of caution for now and see your curse as more of a blessing.”
A blessing? Tait?
Yet, believe it or not, he was the least of her worries, and she was about to share as much before Cybil gripped her hand more firmly, leaned close and held her eyes. “You are safe here, Lauren. I promise.” Her eyes continued to hold just like they had when they were kids, and Cyb was laying down the rules. “You will bathe then you will come meet my people…our people. Then we’ll worry about curses and blessings, okay?”
“But,” she started to say only to have Cybil shake her head and say, “But nothing, Sis. Bathe then change.” She gestured at a chair. “Your clothes are there. Once you’re dressed, I’ll be back.”
“But,” she tried again but they cut her off, gave her a quick hug and kiss, then left.
Just like that.
Gone.
Lauren stared at the tub of steaming water then the slender, mousy woman who entered and lowered her head.
“Who are you?” she asked.
The woman kept her head bowed. “I am here to bathe you miss.”
Bathe her?
“No.” She shook her head as she sat up. “That is preposterous. I can do this alone.”
The girl eyed her for a long moment before she lowered her head as she backed out. “Then I will have my brother come.”
Soul of a Viking (The MacLomain Series: Viking Ancestors' Kin Book 3) Page 6