Time Raiders: The Avenger

by P. C. Cast

  She is here, Druid. She is, indeed, a Soul Speaker, though an untrained one. She attempted to call spirits to her, but her body and soul were weary and she did not prepare herself. When the dead turned on her, she was shattered, and automatically fled here in panic.

  She is safe and well? Caradoc felt his own soul shiver, imagining the terror of having the dead overwhelm Blonwen.

  She is, though she is not herself.

  May I call her shattered soul to me, Goddess, and return her, whole, to the mortal realm?

  Andraste didn’t answer for what felt to Caradoc an eternity. When she finally spoke, her words sent a chill through his spirit.

  You are tied to this woman, though it may be easier for you to reject this tie, at least in your current mortal incarnation. For your mother’s sake, I give you a choice. Leave Blonwen here. Her mortal body will perish, but I will soothe her soul and she will be at peace. You will live a long, full life, eventually returning here to me, and to her, and the two of you will be reborn in an easier time.

  What is my other choice?

  Call her to you and accept your love for her, no matter how transient it might be, and you will be her champion. She has a task to complete and she cannot do it alone. But if you help her in completing this task, I see death for you. Will you help her, even if it means losing yourself?

  I will do your will, Goddess.

  Andraste’s eyes blazed and Caradoc had to fight with himself not to bolt from her presence. That is not my way, as you well know, Caradoc! I have given my people the gift of free will because I do not wish to be served by mindless creatures who act blindly out of fear. Make your choice! Will you aid her in this life, or will you leave here to await more peaceful days and easier times for lovers?

  I choose to aid her in this life. Caradoc let his heart speak for him, and as he did so he felt a great release, as if he’d been carrying around a burden he’d suddenly been freed of.

  Even though in choosing to be her champion you will be tested unto the ends of your strength and the depths of your soul? the goddess asked.

  Yes.

  I see your mother in you, selkie, and I am well pleased. Andraste raised her arms and said, Call your love, Caradoc. Know that you take my blessing with you. May it lend both of you strength and clarity when you most need it.

  In an explosion of light, the goddess disappeared.

  Chapter 17

  C aradoc was alone in the middle of Andraste’s meadow. Her well had disappeared. There was nothing left except grass and the dense woods. This time he didn’t avert his gaze from the darkness within the forest depths. Instead he looked straight into it, drew a deep breath and called, Blonwen, hear me. I am Caradoc, son of Eilwen, beloved of the goddess. In Andraste’s name, and with her blessing, I summon you. Come forth, Blonwen, and return to the mortal realm from whence you came!

  With the sound of wind sloughing through leaves, the barrier of trees to his right parted like the drape of a tent opening, and a woman stepped into Andraste’s clearing. At first Caradoc didn’t recognize her, and then he gasped her name. Blonwen!

  She cocked her head and her long hair, wild around her shoulders, lifted in a breeze that only she could feel. I know you, she said.

  As I know you! Caradoc had to remind himself not to go to her. When a soul shattered, the spirit pieces must reunite and return of their own accord. The retrieval could not be forced or cajoled.

  But this version of the Blonwen he knew tempted him sorely. She was incredible! It was as if all that was alluring and powerful and utterly feminine had been captured in this version of her spirit, and Caradoc’s automatic response to her was as instinctive as his desire to save her.

  She smiled at him. Our souls recognize one another. Blonwen held her hand out to him. Join me here, Druid. Let us be lovers in Andraste’s verdant meadows and spend a piece of eternity wrapped in each other’s arms.

  Ah, that is indeed a tempting offer, as you are fair and fine, and even without touching I feel my blood quicken, just at the sight of you. He returned her smile, but was careful not to take her hand.

  Shall we see what happens when we do touch? Her lips curved seductively and her eyes were full of promise.

  Don’t touch her! We’ll never get back if you do! The six-year-old Alex was standing across the glade, to Caradoc’s left.

  Hello, Alex, he said.

  You can’t stay here with her! Then we all have to stay!

  Don’t listen to the child. It’s best if we stay here.

  No! the child wailed.

  Alex, do you trust me? asked Caradoc.

  The girl bit her lip and looked worried, but she nodded. Caradoc turned to the alluring Blonwen. And do you trust me, Blonwen?

  She studied him with that seductive smile still on her lips. It seems I do, Druid.

  I am glad. Then let us complete this with a triad of souls. Caradoc positioned himself so that he was standing between the two spirit versions of the woman he sought. He looked forward, into the thickest part of the concealing forest that surrounded the meadow, and called once again.

  Alexandra Patton, I call you using the other name by which you are known. Come to me, Alexandra, and in answering my call you will see that which you have lost, and be able to fix that which has been broken. Come forth, Alexandra!

  The shadows quivered. A woman moved hesitantly from the darkness within the trees. She looked terrified. Her eyes darted back and forth between Blonwen and little Alex. Then she saw Caradoc and she gasped.

  Caradoc! It is you! I thought I heard you, but everything is so dark in there—she threw a frightened glance over her shoulder—that I thought I was making it up.

  It is me. I came for you. He kept his voice steady, but in truth this version of Blonwen shocked him. She was most like the woman he knew, so he realized that in this lifetime her name was, indeed, Alexandra Patton. And this version of his Blonwen was more than frightened. She was overwhelmed. Her eyes were haunted by doubt and indecision. Where was the woman who had stood beside a queen and called forth a goddess’s blessing? Where was the woman who had the composure and compassion to gently ease the dying into the Otherworld?

  A flicker of movement to his right answered his silent questions.

  He came for you, but he wants me, said Blonwen.

  The Blonwen version of Alexandra’s spirit seemed to be lit from within by confidence and temper and passion. Of course Caradoc was attracted to that part of her, but he also knew that the fiery version of Blonwen would, without the temperance of wariness and restraint, innocence and guilelessness, burn itself out—along with anyone who was unwise enough to bind his life to her.

  I came for all of you, Caradoc said, looking from Blonwen to Alexandra, and finally to young Alex, who was obviously so much more than the spirit guide he’d first taken her for. I don’t want one part of you more than another. I want all of you joined, whole once more, and safe in my arms.

  Safe? said Alexandra.

  He nodded.

  And out of here, right? ’Cause this isn’t where we belong yet, said young Alex.

  Yes, we will return to the mortal realm.

  Why? Blonwen demanded, tossing back her hair and crossing her arms over her chest. Why should I leave here? Why should you?

  I must leave because it is not yet my time to enter Andraste’s meadow. My body awaits my return in the mortal realm, as does yours.

  Druid, you can’t tell me it wouldn’t be better for us to stay here, she insisted.

  It’s true. I cannot. But I can tell you…he paused, and his gesture included the other two pieces of her soul…that you left too early from the mortal realm. There are things you left undone.

  Like what?

  He smiled at Blonwen. Like love me, and you cannot do that here, as I will not be staying. He turned to young Alex, feeling intensely protective of this childlike version of the woman he loved. How about you, Alex? Will you return with me?

  I already said I would!
You’re wasting time.

  Caradoc stifled a laugh at her impertinence. He looked from her back to Blonwen. Isn’t love enough to return for?

  The fiery expression faded from her face and Blonwen smiled seductively at him. Love is all I would return for.

  Then he faced Alexandra. It is your decision. It has always been your decision. Will you return with me to the mortal realm to live, and perhaps die, by my side?

  Will you protect me? she asked plaintively.

  Once you are whole again, I will not need to protect you, only to teach you how to protect yourself. I will love you, though. In that I give you my oath.

  Alexandra stood a little straighter. Okay. Then I’ll come back with you. She started to walk toward him. For love, she said.

  The child Alex skipped quickly over to the adult, who held out her arm. For love, said the little girl as she stepped into Alexandra’s embrace and disappeared.

  Still approaching Caradoc, Alexandra turned her head to look at Blonwen. The passionate spirit hesitated only for a moment longer, then hurried over to her other self. For love! she shouted as she wrapped her arms around Alexandra, and she, too, disappeared.

  And then Alexandra was standing before Caradoc. Slowly, the druid opened his arms. For love, he said, and the whole Alex stepped into his embrace and lifted her face to him. When he claimed her mouth, the ground dropped open beneath them and, clinging together, they fell.

  As they passed through the realms of the Otherworld, the kiss Caradoc and Alex shared became more than a physical sensation. To restore the wholeness of her soul, Caradoc had to literally absorb that which was the essence of Alexandra’s spirit. He’d known that, if he succeeded, he would carry her with him from the Otherworld; he just hadn’t been prepared for what happened next.

  Caradoc couldn’t tell where his consciousness ended and hers began. They clung to one another, touching bodies and entwining souls, and in the heartbeats it took to return to the mortal realm, Caradoc looked into Alexandra’s mind and saw everything—a vision of her life in a world that was alien to him and a time that was in the unimaginable future.

  With a gasp, Caradoc opened his eyes. He was exactly where he’d intended to be, back in his body, lying beside the motionless form of Blonwen. Moving quickly and confidently, he sat up and pulled her into his lap. The druid bent and brought his mouth close to hers. “I carry within me that which must be restored to you.” He pressed his lips to hers and blew softly.

  Instantly, he felt a rush of warmth leave his body and flow into hers. Her eyelids fluttered, and then she opened them and stared at him.

  “Hello, Alex,” he said softly.

  “You saw everything, didn’t you?” she asked, her voice rough, as if she hadn’t spoken in days.

  “I did.”

  “Are you sorry you brought me back?”

  He touched her face gently. “Did you not see within me, too?”

  “I couldn’t see things. I could only feel.”

  “Then what did you feel?” he asked.

  “Love,” she said.

  “And that, Alexandra Patton, will never change, no matter what world or what age you come from.”

  He kissed her then and he knew some of the passion that burned within him for her was desperation. She wasn’t of this time and place, and that meant that no matter how well he loved her, she eventually had to return to her own world.

  But not at this moment. Just now she only had to love him. In turn, he would love her, even if their time together was to be measured in days and not years.

  As if reading his mind, she pulled back enough to whisper against his lips, “Show me that it’s just you and me right now. That for at least a little while we really do have each other.” Then she reached up, fisted her hand in his hair and pulled him down to her. Opening her mouth to his, she teased him with her tongue and lips, evoking memories of the seductive Blonwen and how she’d offered herself to him in the goddess’s meadow.

  Caradoc moaned. His body’s reaction was instantaneous and fierce. Desire speared through him, hot and insistent, like nothing he’d ever experienced before. And he was certainly no inexperienced youth. He’d had his share of lovers and was no stranger to lust, but with Alexandra there was something different between them. It was as if touching her had awakened an instinctual need within him to possess her that his sinews, tendons, blood and nerves remembered, but that his mind had forgotten. He was beyond wanting her—he had to have her.

  “Make me yours, Caradoc.” Her lips moved against his as their breath mingled. “I want to know that I will always belong to you.”

  “Yes!” The word was an acknowledgment of everything that had passed between them. Yes, he wanted her. Yes, he needed her. Yes, he would make her his own.

  And yes, he was scared deep in his soul that no matter what he did or didn’t do, he must lose her.

  So Caradoc put out of his mind his fears and worries, and simply loved her.

  He wanted to go slow, to savor this first time with her. But when his hand skimmed down the side of her body to the edge of her tunic, and then slid under her skirts and up, to find the warm silk of her naked flesh, he couldn’t think about savoring anymore. He could only think of satisfying his need to be close to her, heart against heart, skin against skin.

  Her chemise and tunic came off easily as she arched her body to allow him to undress her. The firelight licked against her bare skin, and somewhere in the rational part of his mind Caradoc registered that it was so fully dark the sun had to have set hours before. Then he could think no more as Alexandra took his hands and guided them to cup her breasts, and his lips found her again. She arched once more. This time her hips moved restlessly up, pressing the moist heat of her woman’s center against his hardness. He had to bury his face in her hair and concentrate on the frantic beating of his heart to stop from spilling his seed as she reached between them and traced his shaft with her soft fingers.

  Then she wasn’t there against him and he reached out blindly, needing to feel her again. Her hands caught his and he opened his lust-glazed eyes to see her smile.

  “I don’t like being the only one here who is naked,” she said.

  Caradoc didn’t think he’d ever before shed his clothes so quickly. And then they were in each other’s arms again and her body was pressed against the length of him. He thought the heat and softness and scent of her skin would drive him mad.

  “Caradoc,” she murmured when his lips moved from her mouth to the hollow of her neck. “I have to tell you something.”

  He looked up from the sweet valley between her breasts. “You may tell me anything, Alexandra.”

  Her lips lifted in that sassy smile he was coming to love so much. “First, I hate being called Alexandra.”

  “Blonwen?”

  Her brows lifted as she considered. “Yes,” she said at last, tracing a finger down his broad shoulder to his back, and allowing her fingernail to dig in ever so slightly.

  Caradoc shivered.

  She smiled.

  “Yes, as long as I’m here I want you to call me Blonwen.”

  He cupped her breasts and nibbled his way down one soft globe to her blush-colored nipple. When he took it between his teeth, she gasped and her hips automatically moved against him. His hardness slid between her legs and he could feel her wetness on his shaft. He opened his mouth and captured her nipple, alternating between sucking and teasing bites.

  “Caradoc!” She gasped his name.

  “Yes, my Blonwen. Tell me what is it you want of me.” He glanced up at her as he moved his hand down her body to that captivatingly hot place between her legs that was the core of her. Slowly he began to caresses her there, sliding his fingers in and out, back and forth against the satin wetness.

  “I want you to know that it has been a very long time since I was with a man,” she said breathily.

  Caradoc stilled his hand and forced his mind to work. “I would not hurt you,” he said. “I will be
gentle and we—”

  She pressed her fingers against his lips, stilling his words.

  “I didn’t tell you that because I want you to be gentle. I told you because I want you to know there is no one else for me—that you are the only man in my life. Make love to me, Caradoc, and don’t be gentle. I want to feel you inside me, claiming me as yours—hard and fast and now!”

  She kissed him with such passion that she made the image of the Blonwen in the goddess’s meadow seem a poor shadow of who she really was. She opened her thighs and, grasping him, rubbed the head of his shaft teasingly against her slick opening.

  Caradoc could bear it no longer. With a sound that was almost bestial, he impaled her, thrusting inside that center of heat that was so tight and wet he had to stop moving for fear he would explode at that moment.

  Blonwen moved against him, pulling him deeper until he was buried within her, and then she moved her hips again, sliding back and forth along the length of him.

  “Ah, goddess! I can wait no longer!” Caradoc cried, and then he took over the rhythm…thrusting and thrusting, harder, faster…all the while claiming her mouth and drinking in the taste of her moans. As he felt himself gather for the explosion, Caradoc reached between them, rubbing the sensitive nub he found there. When Blonwen’s body began to pulse around his shaft, his voice joined hers in a feral shout that proclaimed to the gods he had, indeed, made her his own.

  Chapter 18

  A fterward, Alex felt well satisfied and more than a little dizzy. Caradoc shifted his weight, obviously worried about crushing her, but she wrapped her arm tightly around his back and held him close.

  “No, I don’t want you to move. I’m feeling weirdly woozy and I think you’re the only thing that’s keeping the earth from spinning around underneath me,” she whispered, a little surprised that she sounded drunk, her words slurred.