by Dawn White
No more than an hour ago, he was the ugliest thing in the world to me. Now I want him to kiss me in the most private areas of my body. What is happening to me? Has he placed me under a spell? I muster the courage to ask him, “Have you placed me under a spell, is that why I want you now?”
He smiles softly at my innocent question, shaking his head. “No, I haven’t. I have consumed your blood as you have mine, and you are now fond of your maker.”
Shuddering, I understand what he has just said to me. “What do you mean my maker? Am I going to be one of you things?”
He seems to find my dread and questions amusing and he pauses for a second before answering my question. “No you are not one of us. We have not completed the process. However, if the others decide to kill you after the ceremony I can finish the transformation. You will then be mine for all of eternity-As I feel the ominous intent to his words I ask what ceremony he is referring. “What ceremony am I here to complete?”
Apparently, this is all too much for my brain to register and I black out for I do not even know how long. When I come to, lying in a bed made of the softest feathers I have ever felt, I see Aison. He is sitting in a chair across the room in front of a fire looking striking as the fire dances across his amazingly handsome features. I see the red shades of the fire dancing in waves across his layered shoulder length hair. His high cheekbones look so amazing with his chiseled jaw line. He has just enough facial hair to enhance not cover his beauty. When he isn't trying to eat me, his red eyes look almost bright emerald green.
He notices I have stirred and looks at me as I am admiring him. A smirk dances across his pleasing red lips and amusement fills his voice. “Good morning! It is about time for the ceremony. I will wait outside for you to freshen up.”
Having said this, he stands and exits apparently sure, I will follow his instructions. His close proximity has me fretting in the chamber. Having nothing else to occupy my time and keep me from completing the ceremony, I do as he says. I guess we will see what is to come.
I enter the hallway from the chamber and Aison places a red velvet robe over my shoulders pulling the hood over my long black hair. I shiver as his knuckle brushes my cheek. We walk as he explains the ritual to me.
“You will move to the center of the circle and say the incantation you said when you twisted the last curse, the only difference is you will undo the portentous curse you placed on your people.” Hearing the whispers in the back of my head I just now get a handle on what my spirit guides are telling me.
You must twist the curse again and make it irreversible All born of your tribe from this day forward will be cursed as a werewolf at the age of 26 and be doomed to roam the Earth finding no peace or rest until the end of the Strigoi.
Disheartened by the nature of the request, I see what they plan to use as leverage. Walking toward the center of the room, I see Kimi in all her magnificent pregnant splendor lying with hands and feet tied on the center slab. She is crying and the Strigoi continue to harass her as well as appearing to marvel in the shock that they are causing her. I plead with Aison, “Let her go! She has nothing to do with this.”
“She is here to make sure you do what is needed.”
“I will do it if she and her unborn are released safely and unharmed.”
Feeling as if the spirits are right in the manipulation of the curse, I know the look I give Kimi is one of remorse. My heart is yearning to set her free with no harm done to her and her unborn baby.
He nods in agreement and the other Strigoi remove themselves from her side apparently having overheard and understood our conversation. Kimi’s whimpers turn into soft sobs as I run to where they want me to stand. I look at Kimi and the look in her eyes plead with me to help her but all I can do is try to smile at her to make her know it will all be okay.
Standing in the center of the room, I hear my spirit guides.
“This is very bad and you will have to twist the curse so as to not cause more harm than already done.”
I slowly start twisting the curse as I try to do what is required of me to get Kimi released safely. I add a few incantations I hope no one will notice but to no avail. Finishing the twisted curse, Aison furiously rushes to my side and yells at me.
“Finish what you started; it is too late now!”
I realize I have doomed all future Neuri children to live in this world as dreaded werewolves. At the age of 26, the prophecy will manifest. They are ill fated to wander the plains of this wicked world, without death to look forward too.
The only way this spell can be broken is if a mated pair come together and crossover at the same time. This will make them part werewolf and part Strigoi, which is the only way they can successfully kill the original Strigoi to break the curse.
As soon as my incantation is finished, I collapse to the hard stone-covered floor, but before Aison can get to my side, the other Strigoi rush to me and treat me as if I am a feast of sort. One of the smaller Strigoi leaps across the room to land in a loud thud atop me, breaking my ribs. A sharp prickle of pain radiates from deep inside my chest and I start experiencing a drowning sensation and gasp for what little air my blood-filled lungs can acquire. I think I must be turning purple from a lack of oxygen and feel my life begin to fade. I reach for Aison only to come up empty.
They bite me on the soft skin on the inside of my thighs, their sharp teeth tearing my fragile skin. Warm, thickening blood pools under my body as these creatures continuously ravage my already broken body. My heart begins to slow and fuzziness blurs the edges of my eyesight. I realized I am dying; it is too late for me!
Chapter Three
Aison rushes across the floor to grab the pregnant tribal woman and get her as far from the savages as possible.
I do not hurt innocents he keeps telling himself as he smells her blood and knows the birth is near! He rushes down the same corridor he'd just walked down the day before with an unconscious Ciarra. All I want to do is get back to Ciarra. I can feel how they are ravaging her delicate body! Feeling her pain and hearing her urgent cries for help, I cannot help but feel my bloodlust coming to a breaking point. I try to will my thoughts to carry to her. “Hold on, I will be with you in a moment!”
I use my Strigoi speed and rush the pregnant one to the bed, locking the chamber door on my way back out.
Just as soon as the thought crossed my mind, I noticed hers quieted! She is gone! Not able to stop until I see for myself what they have done to her I burst through and splinter the once impenetrable wooden doors, shocking the hell out of whoever remains by my Ciarra.
I see a horrific sight, even for me. I growl to the other originals, “What have you done to mine? She is mine! Not yours to have your way with!”
Reaching out, I smack at the lesser of us as he is removing himself from her broken, bloody body. Her thick long ebony curls have stuck to the cavern floor from the blood, which has pooled under her delicate broken body. Her once tall lean frame and ample bosom is now laid in a crumpled pile of bloody mess. Her beautiful ruby red lips are now ashen like the ashes in the deepest darkest pits of the hell I have created. Her soft milky skin now sallow of all essence unlike my quick touch of her once rosy cheeks when I placed her robe upon her.
Feeling a sense of hope, I hear the very slight beating of her heart and a rattling breathing. Screaming her name, I rush to her side. “Wake up!” Cataloging her injuries, I know there is no way to revive her other than to bring her all the way over. Damned as I am, I will not see this beautiful woman ruined because of me.
Leaning down, I whisper a plea to her, “Drink, Ciarra. Please drink; it will heal your body. Your mind I will deal with later.”
She slowly opens her mouth and takes from my pinky finger a few drops of my blood. She takes it very slowly at first, and then the thirst kicks in and makes her more ferocious. I pull my finger out of her mouth and watch in horror as the transformation begins the healing process. I hear her bones breaking and steeling back into place,
making me wince. Ciarra is writhing in pain as I try to hold her to my chest. Gently placing her on the altar, I turn to deal with the rest of the group still standing around us. I glare at the closest of us and to my astonishment, they all disperse the moment I met each gaze.
Taking it as a sign, I get Ciarra out of the altar room to where she can properly transform. Closely listening to our surroundings, I move at Strigoi speed. Rushing through the passageway yet again, I forget I locked the pregnant one in the chamber upon my hasty exit. Juggling a bloody Ciarra in my arms, I clumsily unlock the door. I push the door open and gasp at another distressing site. As I tried to save a dying Ciarra in the altar room, the woman was alone and apparently so scared; she has started to birth the unborn nestled deep inside her. She now lies curled in on herself, crying out for help. I lay Ciarra on the bench next to the bed and slowly approach the shaking woman's side. I tell her it will all be fine, I swear on my existence I will let no harm come to her newborn.
I glance over at Ciarra who is just starting to come to as her transformation finishes its amazing repairs on her body. I see her sit up and glance over to us as the laboring woman continues her painful cries. I see her beautiful dark eyes regaining focus. Clearly, she now grasps what has transpired around her as her broken body mended itself. I feel an amazing surge of relief as she gets up and examines her newly repaired body.
She rushes to the woman's side to help her.
Chapter Four
Awaking from a horrible dream, I notice Kimi is birthing on the bed. She is crying out for help as I see Aison plainly at a loss as he tries to calm her and help her with her labor. I move beside him and smile as he looks at me with heavy eyes, actual concern there for Kimi in this moment. Brushing my hand over his shoulder, he mouths “thank you” and I can see the relief in his eyes. Aison removes himself from Kimi’s side and walks to the bench behind us. I tell Kimi she needs to push or the baby will tear her.
At my urging, Kimi strains to do as I have told her. She pushes with the painful contractions as the baby slowly makes its way into this hard world of ours. Taking the little girl, I look her over and then place her on Kimi’s quickly fading body. Kimi grasps at the baby and immediately begins to sob, not knowing what will become of this beautiful baby.
She kisses the beautiful black curls on the top of the baby’s head.
With tears threatening to overfill my eyes I tell her, “You need to name her, now! You are fading fast!”
She glances at me and nods in agreement; I am sure she feels the cold hand of death approaching quickly with each dying breath she takes.
She finally manages, between sobs, to gasp out, “You will be forever known as Lea. You will change this horrible world with your beautiful immortality.” When the words escape her beautiful lips, her last breath rattles in her chest.
Wiping away a tear, I am now faced with the stark reality of knowing I have to get Lea to safety. I'm not sure if my having her is the safest place for her to be.
I scoop up Lea, and look over at Aison who just gives me a sad look with his grim red eyes. I slowly start walking to the chamber door with the beautiful angel of a baby cradled in my arms. Aison opens the door for us to walk through. We walk in silence but evidently, he is aware I am terrified and have no idea what we should do with this baby.
“Everything will be all right; we just have to get her out of here.”
We walked through the altar room, and I saw curled up in the corner were the two beautiful Faeries. I completely forgot about the beautiful Fae who were under the compulsion of Strigoi.
Walking over to them, Aison quickly ripped their shackles attached to the cold stonewalls in half. The Faeries jumped, as he got closer to them to remove the harsh iron from their wrists. When I saw their terrified reaction to him, I quickly said, “We are here to help not harm you.”
I see understanding in their eyes as they slowly nod their heads. I quickly try and gain their focus by introducing myself. “My name is Ciarra, this beautiful baby is Lea, and his name is Aison.”
The beautiful Fae with the black iridescent wings smiled at Lea then said, “My name is Nerria and this female is named Rossa.”
I cannot help but notice Rossa’s wings are half missing; her black and red wings are coiled in on themselves, and look raw from this distance. Both Fae are covered in what only can be described as glitter. In what little light this cave of hell emanates, they are sparkling. Nerria has beautiful red hair and the most amazing milky white skin with blue and I think green sparkles. The green eyes on both the Fae are breathtaking. I don’t think I have ever seen a green eye with such little pigment. Rossa has black wavy hair with the same porcelain-like skin and the longest eyelashes I have ever seen.
Nerria stands and helps Rossa to her feet but stumbles. Nerria says something in an alien tongue, but Nerria’s alien language seems to help Rossa stable herself as she gains her composure.
Nerria walks over to Lea and me trying to ignore Aison as much as possible. Looking to Rossa as if for reassurance she says, “I must warn you and Aison, the dimension you have opened between this and the underworld have let in something very dark and evil. It is close by and I don’t know any way other than our portals to transport Rossa, myself and one other pure of heart out of this depraved world you call home!”
I comprehend the full gravity of the situation and know she is talking about baby Lea. Not wanting to put her in any more danger than she already is, I nod in agreement. “Where will you take her? Will she be safe? Will I ever see her again?”
“Yes she will be safe, only the purest of hearts are able to step foot in Nalla Vareim. We shall raise Lea as our own; yes, you may see her. We will give you a communication crystal and whenever you would like to see her or talk to either Rossa or me, we will answer you.”
Rossa handed me a pulsating black crystal, and I could feel the powerful energy making it vibrate in my hands. “Thank you.” I kiss the beautiful Lea on her forehead and slowly hand her over to Nerria who steps forward with her arms extended. She carefully receives the hungry newborn.
Aison steps forward, wipes a single tear off of my cheek. “We will see her again.”
The moment Lea is in Nerria’s arms, I see a disturbance in the air in front of Nerria and Rossa and they disappear. I look down as tears overflow my eyes and I hold onto the pulsating crystal for dear life.
Wrapping my arm through Aison’s strong arm, we slowly walk to the staircase looming ahead of us.
He breaks the depressing silence. “We will see her again. They are wonderful Fae, and will give her an amazing life among their own. We however have many enemies we have to prepare for.”
Chapter Five
As soon as I recovered from my portal trip from Nalla Vareim, my head started to spin all over again. I sat down under a maple tree and just thanked God for the beautiful spring weather in the Adirondacks. Knowing all too well if it were winter I probably would have frozen to death in about 5 feet of snow. Standing up, I notice my legs are still wobbly.
I lose my temper with the knowledge I still haven’t become accustomed to being transported from my homeland. My aunts Nerria and Rossa keep telling me it will come in time and not to fret. I half smile to myself while walking through the clearing to reach the little cottage at the end. Seeing Anne’s black SUV at the front of her quaint little white cottage, has my feet moving at a pace to keep up with the enthusiasm threatening to escape my lips with a silly giggle. I jog up the walkway.
Anne greets me while screaming, “Lea!”
She has always looked sweet and matronly to me, but then again I am only twenty-five, almost twenty-six. Anne flings herself out the door and almost knocks me down. Giggling, I steady myself and step back to have a look at her. If not for all the little wrinkles around her eyes and lips, I would not think she had aged at all. Her hair seems purple today and I don’t believe it was her intended color. I bend over to kiss her on her puffy pink cheek. This brings a big smile to
her sweet face. She slips her arm inside of mine as we walk into her quaint cottage. When we step into her living room, I feel an overwhelmingly strong presence, which makes me realize we aren’t alone.
There, sitting on Anne’s comfortable couch, is the most handsome man my eyes have ever had the pleasure to look upon. The good-looking man is only a few inches taller than my five feet seven inch frame and has raven black hair cut in a military style, different from the Fae I’m used to dating. He has the eeriest but most strikingly ice blue eyes, amazingly broad shoulders that just scream strength and power. Oh, so much sexiness wrapped into this amazing package.
Apparently, I am staring because a smirk appears on his face. He stands coming to no more than four inches from where I am. He clears his throat and extends his hand to me. Reaching out to grasp his hand in a friendly shake, I can’t help but feel an unexplainable pull to him. His bare palm against mine feels as if it’s the most intimate of places touching. He obviously is aware of the amount of passion that seems to want to consume both of us. We both back up a few inches, hoping the flame will dissipate with some distance. It is nearly impossible to break eye contact with him. I see him swallow hard. We try for the niceties, both attempting and failing.
He finally speaks and says with a voice so amazingly deep and sexy, “My name is Alexander of the Neuri clan; it is great to meet you.”
When he finishes speaking, I blink a few times. “My name is Lea from Nalla Vareim,” just as the words of my homeland escape my lips, he starts circling me, obviously looking at me. I couldn’t help but feel insecure about what he was looking at so I turn with him instead of feeling foolish just standing there. I turn all the way around and catch him looking at my ass.