Celtic Rose

by Campbell, Jill

  “I’ll be fine. Gabriel is my protector. Do you really think he’d do anything to hurt me?” She leaned over and kissed Talus’ head. He closed his eyes, feeling the warmth and softness of her lips, and grinned. When she pulled back, he looked at her head pointedly and gave her a sarcastic look.

  “That was needed to stop the bleeding. It’s not like he did it on purpose. Besides he’d put himself through much more pain than that if it would save me.”

  “You’re right. You’re always right. I won’t worry anymore.” He closed his mouth over hers, giving her a long kiss, and drinking in the honey-sweet taste of her lips. When they pulled apart, he couldn’t help but grin from ear-to-ear as he jumped down. “Bye babe.”

  She waved as Talus ran back to the car. Kalan had tied the kidnappers together and left them by the truck and was waiting on the rest of them. William stood in front of the car with his arms crossed over his chest, glaring at Gabriel as he walked around the truck. Gabriel just smiled politely as he disappeared on the other side. Then he lifted himself into the truck with the girls and waited.

  “Come on, William, let’s go,” Talus said with one foot in the car. William turned, a look of disgust painted on his face.

  “All right, I’m coming.” He walked around to get in the back, mumbling all the way. They climbed in the car and Talus started it. He saw Kallisto through the window. She waved at him, smiling brightly. He waved back, thinking it was wonderful seeing her happy like that, but seeing her even that far away was hard. The connection they shared was like a gravitational force. Even then, he felt the pull. He watched as the truck turned and started down the road. He put the car in gear and followed closely behind.

  Talus saw William in the back seat with his arms crossed over his chest and his head down. He looked like a disgruntled child, pouting because he didn’t get his way. The sickly look that had been on his face before Kallisto touched him was there again. Talus hoped he could hold out for a few more minutes, long enough to get to Gabriel’s house.

  They followed along the dirt road in the now dimming light. There were trees all around and no sign of a house to signal the journey was about to end. After about a half an hour they turned off onto another dirt road. There was still no sign of a house through the woods, but after about ten minutes the trees broke off into an opening that revealed what could only be describe as a mansion. It was two stories tall with several windows on both floors. It was a huge old house that had been well taken care of. There was a dome behind it that was big enough to be seen on all sides of the house. They pulled around the circle drive and stopped in front of the door. The door itself looked like an antique with a knocker in the shape of a wolf’s head.

  They got out and started unloading the stuff from the car while Gabriel carried Kallisto inside with Ramina following. William ran up beside Gabriel just before they reached the door. Kallisto looked at him and smiled, reaching her hand out to touch his face. He shivered slightly and stood there for a moment with his eyes closed. Then the sickly look left his face and he smiled. Kallisto released his face and Gabriel carried her into the house. He didn’t look surprised or confused by what had just happened. Talus guessed he knew what to expect. After they finished getting the luggage from the car they followed the others in.

  The outside didn’t prepare Talus for what the inside looked like. The outside was big but when he stepped into the house it was even bigger than he’d imagined. The room they entered could have been a ball room. To the left of the giant room was another room; through the door he could see that it had couches, chairs, and a television–Talus assumed it was the living room. To the right was a sunken room that appeared to be the library or den. Right in front of them was a stairway that led up to an open balcony; he guessed the bedrooms were up there. Behind the stairway there were more rooms but he couldn’t see enough to know what they were at that time.

  “Your rooms are up the stairs. My room is on the far right, so you can take any of the others. I’m going to put Kallisto in the living room for now.” He walked over and placed her on the couch that faced the door. She looked pale and tired as she lay back against the pillow and looked at Talus. Her smile still looked weak, even though her face was lit up like she was the happiest she’d ever been. Kalan and Talus dropped the luggage and went to her side. Talus stood next to the arm of the couch by her head and ran his fingers down her cheek. Kalan picked her feet up and sat down, placing her feet in his lap. He took her shoes and socks off placing his hands on the top of her feet; Talus guessed the closer the contact between the siblings, the better. Kallisto giggled slightly.

  “What?” Talus asked with a smile.

  “Nothing, it just feels strange here. I feel at home… comfortable,” she said, and kissed the palm of his hand.

  “I’m starting to feel a little more at home myself,” Talus said, and bent down to kiss her gently. There was still some sort of magnetic pull that seemed to make Talus want to stay with her, and he longed to feel the river flowing through him again. Talus thought it was strange when they had felt it early that morning, but it was comforting and intimate. He felt some jealousy toward William for the fact that he could feel that every time he touched her, but he wasn’t sure if he would want to have the sick feeling that came with it.

  “I guess I’d better get our luggage to the rooms so we can all go to bed. It’s getting dark and you look like you could use the rest,” Talus said as he pulled away.

  “I feel fine Talus, please don’t baby me. I feel silly enough with everyone carrying me. The dizziness is gone–I could probably walk by myself now,” she said stubbornly.

  “That may be, but we don’t want to take any chances. You don’t want to end up back in the hospital, do you?” Talus said knowingly.

  “No way!” She shook her head quickly and then grabbed it.

  “See, now quit being stubborn and let us take care of you.” Talus ran his fingers through her silky hair, below the bandage. She leaned back and looked at him; her face and eyes seemed to sparkle in the light, just as they had on the ship. Talus’ breath caught at the sight. “Beautiful,” was all he could think to say when he saw her. She giggled quietly.

  “You know, if you keep saying that I might actually believe it one of these days,” she said, still giggling.

  “Good, because you are beautiful and you need to believe it,” Talus retorted playfully.

  “Yes Kallisto, you are beautiful; maybe with the two of us saying it you’ll actually learn to believe it,” William said from behind him. Talus hadn’t even realized he had walked in.

  “We’d better find our rooms now,” William suggested. Talus walked slowly away from Kallisto, fighting the magnetic pull. William and Talus made their way up the stairs with the luggage and found the rooms. There were several to choose from.

  They decided to put Kallisto’s room between theirs so one or both of them could hear if she called. When they entered the room, they both knew immediately that she’d love it. The walls were royal blue, her favorite color. There was a king size canopy bed in the middle of the room, with the head pushed up against the wall. Big windows were on both sides of the bed with seats built into the windowsills. She’d love to sit in the windows and look out. The closet was huge, and there were already some clothes in it. As they looked at the clothes they realized they were all Kallisto’s size. Gabriel must’ve known she’d like the room as well. That, or he made the room especially for her.

  After they finished putting Kallisto’s stuff away, they made their way to their rooms. Talus’ room was just as elaborate as Kallisto’s, but the walls were an emerald green color, just like the green part of Kallisto’s eyes. The closet was also full of clothes in his size. It was getting a little spooky. He hadn’t realized Gabriel knew them so well.

  There was a startled yell from William’s room. Talus ran out the door and into his room quickly. William stood staring at the bed; or rather, at the enormous bear in his bed. It was dead, but i
t wasn’t stuffed. There were claw and teeth marks all over it, but no blood, although the walls were bright red so they could’ve been painted with the blood for all Talus knew. They stared at the bear for several minutes before Kalan and Ramina made it into the room. Gabriel followed slowly behind with Kallisto in his arms, and he was grinning from ear to ear.

  “How do you like your present, William?” Gabriel said happily.

  “You did this? That can’t be, it looks as though it was torn to shreds by another animal.” William turned to Gabriel and gestured to the bear as he spoke.

  “Remember when you called me the king’s lapdog?” Gabriel asked in a gentle voice, like they were talking about the weather or something. William nodded his eyes, still wide with shock. “They didn’t call me that because I was a slave,” Gabriel hinted. Kallisto’s head jerked toward him with a look of shock.

  “You’re a werewolf!” she said in a shocked tone. It sounded as though she just remembered. Gabriel just kept smiling. “I understand now. The silver dagger that was around your neck then, and the silver bullet around your neck now, and why I kept making sure you had it on.” She said, remembering. Gabriel nodded. His expression was full of pride as he stared at the woman in his arms. “But wait; on the ship, when Talus and I first met, it was a full moon. How could you be there? I thought you would go crazy during the full moon?” Kallisto asked.

  “Why does she keep checking to see if you have the necklace on? Why couldn’t you be on the ship during a full moon? I’m confused.” Ramina said with a frown.

  “The silver in the necklace keeps me from changing. I can still use the strength and speed of the wolf, but I can’t change into one. Believe me when I say that you don’t want to be near me when I do change. I can gain enough sense to realize when friends are near after a while, so I won’t attack you if I’ve been a wolf for a while; but when I first change it is disorienting, and I don’t have enough of a human mind to think at that moment. When the full moon comes I do go crazy for several hours, but when the moon is at its highest I come back to myself, just more aggressive.” Gabriel grinned as he said the last.

  “But how did you get the bear if you can’t change? It has teeth and claw marks all over it.” William asked. He seemed a little more frightened of Gabriel than normal.

  “Just because I can’t change into a wolf doesn’t mean I don’t have teeth and claws.” Gabriel said, and then he held his hands up in front of Kallisto, who was still in his arms, and the others watched in wonder as the nails grew slightly into points. He opened his mouth and his canines, on top and bottom, grew into sharp points. “I may not be able to change, but this aspect is always there. The silver can’t keep me from partial changes. That is why the king chose this method, because it didn’t disable me completely. I can’t take the medallion off myself either. I can pull on it all day long and it won’t break, but if someone else takes it off me then I can change, and whoever pulled it off had better be long gone. The wolf takes over completely for the first few hours or so; during that time I would attack anyone, even my best friend–if I had one,” he said, grinning maliciously at William. The shock hadn’t completely worn off, but there was true fear added to William’s eyes. Gabriel was more dangerous than the dreams had let all of them realize.

  “You do have a best friend Gabriel; me.” Kallisto said, leaning her head against Gabriel’s cheek and hugging him tightly.

  “You don’t know me well enough to say that yet, Kallisto.” Even though he said that, Gabriel smiled and pulled her closer, hugging her whole body in his massive arms. Kallisto giggled and then yawned.

  “I believe that’s our cue to go to bed,” Gabriel said as he walked out of the room with Kallisto. She looked back at Talus over his shoulder. He followed them out. “I’ll get the bear out of your bed as soon as I put Kallisto down,” Gabriel said over his shoulder.

  “You don’t really expect me to sleep in the bed after that things been there, do you?” William said, crossing his arms over his chest as he walked out the door following them. Talus rolled his eyes and kept walking. Gabriel didn’t stop either.

  “I do, and you will,” Gabriel spouted as he disappeared into Kallisto’s room. William frowned and leaned back on the door frame, forever the pouting child. Talus took one last look at William and shook his head as he walked through the door to Kallisto’s room. Gabriel cradled Kallisto in one arm and pulled the blankets down with the other. Talus would only just grasp the concept of Gabriel’s strength, and he’d do something to make him adjust the concept. Kallisto didn’t weigh much–no more than a hundred and fifteen pounds–but to hold her in one arm…not even the bear made Talus think Gabriel could do that. Talus had expected the bear would take a lot of brute strength to take down; he’d have thought that it took all of Gabriel’s strength. But to just use one arm for Kallisto without strain? He held her as though she weighed as much as a feather. Talus had a greater respect for Gabriel after seeing that.

  Gabriel covered Kallisto up and walked into the bathroom. A few moments later he came back with some bandages and medicine. Talus walked up closer to the bed by Kallisto’s feet. Gabriel took the make-shift bandage off and proceeded to clean the wound. Kallisto closed her eyes tightly, waiting for the pain. Gabriel worked quickly; Talus could barely follow his hands as they moved over her. The next thing he knew, she was bandaged and Gabriel was getting up. Kallisto opened her eyes and looked at him.

  “Are we going to do this or what?” she asked with annoyance. Gabriel chuckled.

  “Kallisto honey, he’s already done.” Talus joined in laughing with Gabriel. Kallisto’s mouth gaped and her eyes went wide.

  “Wait, you’re done? I didn’t even feel anything,” she said, shocked. Gabriel went back into the bathroom to put away the medicine and unused bandages. He was still laughing.

  “I’m sorry I hurt you before. Truly, I am very sorry. William had me so agitated that I couldn’t focus on the work I was doing,” Gabriel said sincerely. William walked in, hearing what Gabriel said.

  “I had you agitated? You were the one that hurt her, not me,” he said with his nose in the air, strutting in like he was still royal, and arrogant as usual.

  Gabriel turned to William and his claws extended. William’s eyes widened. “Do you really want to push this right now?” Gabriel said angrily, with a growl sounding deep within his chest. As his canines extended Gabriel smiled evilly.

  “Stop it you two,” Kallisto yelled. They stopped and looked at her. Gabriel’s teeth and claws distended. “Gabriel, can you please go get the bear out of William’s bed so that we can all get some sleep? It’s been a long, hard day and everyone’s tired.” She sighed. Gabriel bowed and walked for the door.

  “As you wish, Princess,” he said over his shoulder. William looked at him with disgust and then looked at Kallisto.

  “You still speak to the help like they’re the same as the rest of us,” William said as he crossed the room to Kallisto’s side. Talus stepped back and went to the wall to give them some room. William tried to grab her hand and she yanked it away.

  “He is like the rest of us. We are no longer royal, and he is no longer a servant. We’re all just regular people stuck in a horrible situation,” Kallisto said angrily.

  “He’s not a regular person. He’s a mangy dog,” William snorted. Kallisto grabbed his hand and pulled him to her. He smiled invitingly, no doubt expecting something pleasant, but instead she slapped him hard across the face. He staggered back, grabbing his cheek with a look of shock. Gabriel’s laughter rang through the halls. By the sound of it he was already in his own room. Talus looked at the door in amazement.

  “Can he really hear that far away?” Talus said to no one in particular. Gabriel came through the door.

  “It’s not that I can hear that far away. It was mainly the fact that the smack echoed through the house,” Gabriel said, chuckling.

  Ramina and Kalan entered the room. “What was that?” Kalan’s gaze trave
lled from Kallisto to William. He noticed William holding his cheek, still staring at Kallisto in shock. “Oh.”

  “I can’t believe you just did that! Why? Why would you slap me like that?” William was still holding his cheek, his eyes wild with rage. He started toward her and Talus stepped away from the wall. Gabriel held his hand up and shook his head. Talus was afraid William might try to slap her back, but as he looked toward Kallisto he saw the same blue electric crackling around her hands that he had seen on Gabriel’s. He looked back at Gabriel, who was smiling proudly. Talus looked back at Kallisto. William had noticed the blue crackling as well.

  “Step back, William! I do love you, but you have pushed me too far today. Gabriel was in my life way before I even met you. He has been in my life since the very beginning; he was deemed our protector from the day Kalan and I were born the first time. He is family, and you will treat him with respect.” Kallisto looked as though she was about to cry until she looked down and noticed her hands. Her eyes widened. “What is this?” She looked at Gabriel and almost as immediately as it started, it stopped.

  Gabriel chuckled quietly. “That would be your powers manifesting. You have the same powers as I do. A little gift the enchantress bestowed on us all to protect ourselves.” Everyone stared at Gabriel as though he’d spoken gibberish. “I didn’t want to tell you until the powers started to show, and I guess that would be now,” Gabriel said, and stepped closer to the bed. He grinned as he put his finger under Kallisto’s chin and closed her mouth. Kallisto looked back at her hands.

  “What kind of power is it?” Kallisto asked, smiling excitedly.

  “It’s a type of electrical charge that comes through us, and we can put it into anything that we want. We can use it just in our hands, or we can make it go through a weapon of some sort. It normally takes a while for you to get it, though, so this is extreme progress.” Gabriel stared at Kallisto with pride, but almost as quickly as it had come it was gone, and concern filled his eyes. “You need to tell me any new powers or abilities that manifest themselves as soon as they do. Do you understand?” The smile disappeared from Kallisto’s face and confusion took its place.