Kallisto heard a loud scream of rage as she watched her brother drop from the branches of the tree above. He had dropped right next to Ramina with his sword drawn and started fighting her. Kallisto was too tired to even think about moving. She just sat leaning against the tree trying to catch her breath. Talus made his way slowly to her side.
“Princess, are you all right?” He grabbed her shoulder. She shrugged him off and struggled to stand.
“No thanks to you.” She picked up her sword and it wobbled in her weak grip, but she made the greatest effort she could. He ran behind her and grabbed her arms, shaking the sword from her hand, and pinning them to her chest. This placed his arms around her again.
“Why are you still fighting me?” Talus said angrily.
“You gave your word,” Kallisto said struggling to get free. “I should have known better than to trust some filthy Scottish pig!”
“Calm princess, I gave you my word that I would not take you anywhere that you did not wish to go, and I will not. I just wanted to see you again, that’s all.” His soft, soothing voice made the fear edge away, and despite their warring nations, she knew his words held truth. She relaxed and he loosened the tension in his arms, but he didn’t release her. “There now, is that not better?” He looked around at her and his face held that half-grin that made her heart stutter; she blushed at that look and averted her eyes with a smile.
“You can let go of me now; I am not going to run, or fight.” She relaxed her body into his, leaning her head on his shoulder to show she was telling the truth. He laid his cheek against hers and thought for a moment.
“Will you give me your word?”he whispered.
Kallisto put her lips to his ear. “I give you my word,” she whispered. He released, but stayed close. They turned together toward Ramina and Kalan.
“Kalan, stop!” Kallisto yelled. It distracted both of them enough for them to notice the close proximity between Talus and Kallisto. They stopped; Kalan stared, showing no emotion, but Ramina stared in shock. Talus put his hand on Kallisto’s shoulder, which made Ramina’s mouth drop. Kallisto reached up and placed her hand on Talus’; it was exactly what she’d wanted, to have a chance with Talus. Maybe she could live like this.
“What are you doing, Talus?” Ramina started toward them, but Kalan raised his sword and held it as a barrier between her and the others. She glared into Kalan’s eyes with rage, but then she seemed to really see him for the first time. Her features softened, as did Kalan’s. Ramina pulled her foot back, making her stand tall. Kalan was taller than her but not by very much. They looked as they did in reality, only with slight differences to their appearances, like longer hair and different clothes. They turned to Talus and Kallisto in unison.
“I believe we have a great deal to talk about,” Kallisto stated, bringing her face up to look at Talus. He nodded.
“Come, let us sit by the water and rest. We can get better acquainted,” he said, walking toward the water, bringing Kallisto with him. Ramina and Kalan followed together. Talus sat, leaning against a tree, while Kallisto sat beside him, resting against his chest, his arm around her. She felt happier than she had in a long time. Kalan stood facing away from them, staring into the trees. Gabriel had taught Kalan and Kallisto to always be on guard, and Kalan was doing just that, watching for danger. Ramina stood leaning against a tree. Kallisto would catch her staring at Kalan every once in a while, and she’d avert her eyes quickly when she caught Kallisto looking, but Kallisto never said anything.
As the sun started to rise higher in the sky, it began to get very warm. Kallisto hadn’t realized the morning had passed by so quickly. Dawn hadn’t even begun to break when she left the tavern, and now the sun was high in the sky. They were near the water and it looked so refreshing. she thought a swim would be great.
“Who wants to go for a swim?” Kallisto jumped up and threw off her cloak. Talus’ eyes widened when he saw her riding outfit. The soft, tan leather clung close to her form. She’d pulled her black hair back and twisted it in a leather strap. “Wow!” Talus said with a gleam in his eyes as they trailed up and down her body. She giggled and began taking her sword and boots off. Talus jumped up and did the same.
Ramina and Kalan seemed to let down their guard at the promise of fun in the cool water. They both readied themselves as well and ran for the water. The grass just ended and the water began, so they expected there to be a slope so they could run into the water, but Kalan made it first and when he stepped into the water he just dropped. They all stopped.
He came up sputtering but laughing. “There’s a drop-off, but it’s not too deep. Jump on in, the water’s great.”
Talus ran on ahead of Ramina and Kallisto and they watched as he did a back flip into the water. Ramina and Kallisto laughed together as he came back up and tried to splash water on them. They ran and jumped up grabbing their knees, landing in the water in unison. The double splash was more like one single giant splash. The cool, refreshing water invigorated them. They swam and played for hours.
Ramina and Kallisto saw two fins in the water between the cliffs coming toward them from the ocean on the other side. The sound of the splashing seemed to call the creatures to them. Kallisto did have the small wound on her arm from the fight with the soldiers and it could be seeping, which would explain it. Ramina and Kallisto looked at each other.
“Sharks!” they screamed in unison. The guys followed their gaze as they looked back toward the opening and saw the fins, and started swimming to shore. Ramina and Kallisto only swam with them for a second, long enough to get the guys going, then they stopped. They looked at each other and smiled, then watched the guys climb on shore. They tried for looks of fear and it seemed that they succeeded, because after the guys climbed up on shore and turned to help the girls, they noticed they weren’t there. They found them not far from the shore and turned pale when they saw Kallisto and Ramina’s faces.
“What are you doing?” Talus yelled, starting back into the water.
“Direach cum a’dol a’snamhadh!” Kalan screamed, coming forward also. Kallisto could see the fear in his eyes; it seemed to be strong enough to make him speak in their native tongue. He had said ‘just keep swimming.’ The fins were close now, so close that Ramina and Kallisto both grabbed a fin as they swam by, and laughed as the creatures pulled them through the water. Talus and Kalan stared in shock at first and then realization hit. They both sighed with relief and laughed when they realized the girls had tricked them. They were riding on dolphins.
“Come back into the water,” Kallisto yelled. As she let go of the dolphin, it swam in a circle around her, and she ran her fingers along its side. Talus and Kalan finally came back into the water, laughing when the dolphins swam to get them. They grabbed their fins and the dolphins brought them out to Ramina and Kallisto. The funny thing was, it was like the dolphins knew who belonged to whom; they brought Talus to Kallisto and took Kalan to Ramina. Kalan and Talus let go when they got to the girls and embraced them tightly.
The dolphins swam in protective circles around them as they played and swam. The girls were thoroughly dunked by the guys for their little trick. They picked them up into their arms and threw them back into the water playfully. They played the afternoon away, splashing and dunking each other. Ramina and Kallisto helped each other to dunk each of the guys. Kallisto couldn’t remember being so happy or free in all of her young life.
While the guys took their turn on the dolphins, Ramina and Kallisto took the time to look around their surroundings. Cliffs reached high on both sides of the mouth of the little gulf, and opened out onto the ocean. Trees from the forest surrounded the water thickly. The water was as smooth as glass with the exception of the ripples caused by their little group. As they scanned the surrounding area, they noticed another fin coming in through the opening, one that had a side to side movement; definitely not a dolphin. They started slapping the top of the water to call the dolphins back. When the dolphins turned and beg
an bringing the guys back, the girls swam very quickly for the shore.
“Shark! This time it is real.” The guys let go of the dolphins when they brought them close to the shore and swam the rest of the way quickly. Ramina and Kallisto climbed on shore and turned to watch the shark. They motioned for the guys to hurry, because the shark was getting faster. Talus and Kalan made it to the shore and Ramina and Kallisto grabbed their hands and helped pull them the rest of the way. They fell backwards, pulling the guys with them, and laid there a moment staring at each other embarrassedly, but it didn’t last. When they thought about the dolphins, they jumped up immediately and turned to see where they had gone. They were swimming straight for the shark.
“Oh no!” Kallisto turned her face into Talus’ shoulder. She didn’t want to see the dolphins get hurt.
“No, look Kallisto. The dolphins are fighting the shark.” She turned in time to see the shark fly out of the water from one of the blows. She sighed with relief. They watched as the dolphins finished off the shark. When they were finished, they made their way out of the gulf and left the shark there, and after a few seconds the shark began to sink down under the water.
“Well, I do not believe I want to go swimming in this area again, knowing that shark is down there somewhere. It gives me the chills just thinking about it.” Kallisto rubbed her hands along her arms. Talus wrapped his arms around her. Kalan did the same with Ramina. They stood there side by side in each other’s arms, just staring at the water and enjoying the warmth of the embrace.
The silence didn’t last long. A loud growl came from behind them. They turned around slowly, careful not to make any sudden moves. Being in each other’s arms as they turned made them look as though they were one, stepping together as they turned. When they finally made their way around, they were face to face with Gabriel. His expression was feral; the fear Kallisto felt at the sight of her protector was ten times worse than any fear she might’ve felt fighting Ramina. The pounding in her heart was so hard that it was painful. It felt as though it would burst through her ribs. She screamed, but the sound was quiet and breathless. The picture around her fell away to darkness, and she began to fall. She felt the ground coming closer, even though she couldn’t see it.
Kallisto jolted awake as she came to an abrupt stop in the dream. Her heart pounded, the monitor beeped like crazy, and the pain in her ribs was excruciating. She tried to cry out but she couldn’t breathe in enough air to make it come out. She could see Talus asleep on the couch but he’d be of no use if she couldn’t make a noise to get his attention. She looked down her body to see if there was anything she could make a noise with. All that was there was the nurses’ button; she grabbed for it anxiously and pushed the button, and then threw it down. The wire kept it from falling to the ground but left it swinging close enough to the rail that it clanged loudly. Talus jumped off the couch and flew to the bedside. He saw her pain-filled expression and ran for the door.
“Hold on, sweetie. I’ll get a nurse.” He came back seconds later with a nurse on his heels. He ran straight to Kallisto’s side, grabbing her hand. The nurse rushed to the IV and put the medicine in. She looked at the monitor.
“Oh my! Are you all right? The monitor has been going crazy for nearly five minutes. I’m so sorry, dear. We’ll keep a closer eye on them from now on.” The nurse patted her hand. “The medicine will kick in soon, dear; if it doesn’t you just let me know and I’ll be right back here.” She walked out the door and started yelling at the staff in the nurses’ station; apparently they had fallen asleep. Kallisto grabbed the edge of the bed, her eyes wide with the shock of how painful it was to breathe. Talus leaned over her and started rubbing his hands down her face in a calming motion like before. He kissed across her forehead and then started down, kissing both her eyes and then her nose and cheeks, until finally he kissed her lips. Either the medicine started kicking in again, or his calming effect took hold. Either way, this time, she didn’t feel sleepy, just relieved of the pain.
“Are you feeling better now?” Talus leaned back a little, looking into her eyes. His eyebrows were bunched together with concern.
“Yeah, I feel better now. Were you dreaming just now?” The pain all but forgotten, she could be happy again. He chuckled, relieved that she seemed to be fine.
“Yeah, you finally got to see Ramina in a fight. Really scary, huh?” He finished with a roll of his eyes and a shake of his head. Kallisto giggled, unable to keep from it, but also unable to laugh fully.
“Yeah I figured I would’ve woken up from that fear, but I guess Ramina just wasn’t scary enough. Gabriel was, though.” She smirked.
“Oh, was that the monster’s name? Wasn’t Gabriel supposed to be the head of your guard? Shouldn’t Ramina and I have been the only ones scared of him?” He seemed confused by Kallisto’s fear from the man that was supposed to be her protector.
“Well, Gabriel was very protective of me. I think I was more afraid for you then I was for me, and considering it was my brother’s idea for me to leave, I think I was afraid for him as well. Ramina had nothing to fear from Gabriel. He’d never hit a woman, no matter how scary and obtrusive she may be.” Kallisto was amazed by how much she had learned in this dream; she knew the people more now than she had before. She was still unsure about William, though. She didn’t know whether he’d be back or not. It was then that she thought about the snake; if it had not been there then William would not have had his realization yet. Thinking about this made her think about another question that was yet to be answered.
“Where did that snake come from anyway?” She looked toward Talus confused.
“We still don’t know who put it there, but we found a box with holes in it out in the hallway. I promise though, when we find whoever it was they are going to pay dearly.” Talus balled up his fist with the threat. Kallisto laughed, grabbing her ribs.
“Now you really sound like the prince,” she said when she finally caught her breath.
“Yeah, I guess I did.” Talus chuckled. “I’m serious, though. I will kill anyone that would dare hurt you.” He looked so serious, and Kallisto could feel the truth in his words. It felt just like her dream.
“Wow!” She was grinning but she had a look of shock on her face. Talus’ brow creased with concern again.
“What’s the matter? Are you all right?” He grabbed her hand with both of his and bent down only inches from her face, looking into her eyes.
“I’m fine. It’s just that I felt the truth in your words just like in the dream. It seems like I’ve got the same ability that I had in the dreams. It feels very natural and interesting.” Kallisto focused on his eyes again and put her hand on the side of his face, smiling. “Talus, I know that you believe that you really would kill someone that hurt me, but I know you. I don’t know how I know you, but I do. You might be angry and try very hard, but there is no way that you could kill someone any more than I could.” She took her hand from him and started pulling wires.
He grabbed her hands and pinned them to his chest.
“What are you doing?” His expression was panicked.
“We need to get back to Oklahoma so we can figure out what’s going on. We don’t have time to waste in this hospital. Come on, let me go and help me get this stuff off, or get the doctor in here so I can request that we leave.” Kallisto struggled to get free of his grip. He tightened the grip on her hands. He didn’t hold them too tightly, worried that he’d hurt her ribs again, and that gave her an advantage over him. His reluctance was all she needed to get free of his grip. Once she was loose she started pulling the wires off. He grabbed her arms again but this time he pushed them down on the bed next to her. Hitting the nurse’s button with his knee, he called for the nurse. The commotion had called more attention to them than just the nurses. Kalan and Ramina came in right behind the nurse and rushed to her side. Kalan had bandages wrapped around his head and over one eye, and his arm was bandaged from the wrist all the way up to his shoulder. R
amina reached for Kallisto with a bandaged hand, the only sign of the snake’s attack. Kalan grabbed one of her legs as did Ramina.
“Kallisto, stop this right now!” Kalan’s command held a strong power over Kallisto. She could not disobey him, no matter what. She froze and that was it; she couldn’t move. Everyone looked at him and then back at Kallisto. Kalan had a look of shock on his face. This ability hadn’t been present in the dreams. The nurse hurried and put another dose of sedative into her IV, even though she didn’t really need to; Kallisto couldn’t disobey her brother, but the nurse didn’t know that. The nurse left them to their conversation, giving them one more disbelieving look before closing the door.
“What the heck was that?” Ramina asked in shock.
“I don’t know; it was weird, almost like I knew she couldn’t disobey me. It was a strange feeling, almost like a tingling power running through my veins.” Kalan rubbed the bandages on his arm gently. He was describing a feeling like the one Kallisto had when she could tell Talus was telling the truth. Kalan made his way beside Kallisto. “Are you all right, Sis?”
Celtic Rose Page 9