Celtic Rose

by Campbell, Jill

  Gabriel looked back at Kallisto and found himself wondering if she’d ever be well enough to learn or if she’d need constant protection. Kallisto looked at him and the smile faded.

  “What’s the matter, Gabriel? You’re worrying me.”

  Gabriel gave her the most genuine smile he could muster under the influence of his dark thoughts.

  “I’m just worried about you, that’s all. Don’t fret, though, my little cub. I’ll be out in the training dome, but if you call Ephiny or me, we’ll hear you and we’ll come running.” He kissed her head and made his way out of the room.

  In the dining room the others were nearly finished eating. The sounds of chatter and laughter filled the room. Gabriel had forgotten how much he missed the closeness of his adopted family. He’d served the royal family for so long; even in the first life, he didn’t remember even having a family other than them. The people around him and those upstairs were the only family he’d known for centuries.

  Gabriel had a feeling that there was something very wrong with him. What was going on? What was so different in this life than in any other life they lived? Every hair on his body stood up as he felt a small hint of magic in the air. It was electricity, a putrid smell he tasted on the back of his tongue.

  He followed the scent, the feeling of magic. It was all through the dining room, affecting the others in different ways, but none of them deadly. One scent overwhelmed all others. It led him up the stairs, the stench gagging him by the time he made it into Kallisto’s room.

  Ephiny stood over Kallisto who was lying in the bed, her skin grey. The circles under her eyes seemed sunken and dark like she had two black eyes. Gabriel looked at Ephiny, and despite her worried expression, he was suspicious. He’d left her alone with Kallisto for all of five minutes and suddenly she was sick.

  “What’s going on? Are you doing this?” he growled.

  “Do you really believe I’d do this to someone I care for?” Ephiny shot him a dark look. “I just caught the scent as I heard you coming up the stairs. The hairs on my body are standing on end. No, I didn’t do this, but I think I know who did.” She turned and started walking to the door.

  “The witch? You think she knows where we are? That she’s casting a spell on all of us?” Gabriel figured that much, but he didn’t know what she planned on doing about it.

  “Yes, I do, and I am going to stop this before it kills Kallisto. Go get Kalan and the others, especially William. The bond he has with her may be needed to stop this.” Ephiny continued to walk past Gabriel.

  “What exactly is the bond he has with her?” He grabbed her arm before she could make it out the door. She stopped and took his hand, ready to hurl him across the room, but she stopped herself. He’d never seen Ephiny so defensive and aggressive; it was nothing like she used to be.

  “You need to be more cautious around me, Gabriel. I may have more self-control than you, but that doesn’t mean I can’t be surprised. My reactions are just as touchy as yours.” She released his hand and he let go of her arm. She didn’t try to leave again.

  “I apologize, Ephiny. I’m still getting used to you being like me.”

  She inclined her head in acknowledgement.

  “William’s bond with Kallisto is like that of a power source. He can get stronger by just touching Kallisto. Almost like a succubus.” She paused a moment. Gabriel could tell his face was turning red; anger filled his every being. She raised her hand. “Kallisto pulls strength from him as well. That’s why I need him here. The closeness of her brother will help, but she needs more. Even Talus can’t do for her what William can. There is always a reason for everything. The bond between William and Kallisto was developed to keep them strong in a time of need, like when they fight and one of them gets injured. Kallisto is the glue that holds us together; if she dies then we all die. Now, please go get the others before her condition progresses beyond any help. I need to get some supplies. Have William, Talus, and Kalan all touch her and give her strength until I return. I won’t be long.” With that, she was gone.

  Gabriel ran downstairs and told the others. He grabbed the back of William’s neck and carried him upstairs as quickly as he could. They were in the room about a minute quicker than the others. Gabriel placed William on the bed next to Kallisto, not gently either, but he made sure he didn’t land on Kallisto or jostle her in any way.

  William gave him a menacing look but Gabriel’s eyes were all for Kallisto. William turned and looked at her. When he saw how she looked, he immediately held her hand, scooting as close as he could to her so that his side was flush with hers. Wrapping his arm around her, he hugged her to him. The yellow glow of energy flowed from William to Kallisto.

  Gabriel never liked being part of that flowing river of power. He never knew why before but now he realized it. He didn’t like them taking his power. He didn’t want to be left weakened in case something else went wrong.

  Talus, Kalan, and Ramina entered the room, running to Kallisto when they saw her condition. Kalan covered her legs with his body, and Talus sat on the side opposite William and Ramina lingered at the foot of the bed, not knowing what to do. Kalan reached a hand out to her and she took it. She gasped as the river started to flow through her, from her, from all of them and into Kallisto. Gabriel felt the pull beckoning him to join the group and fought it with all his strength, even though he wanted so badly to join them. They were his family.

  He shook the thought from his mind and tried to keep a grip on his strength. The witch wanted him to become involved with the group for some reason. He needed to keep his senses sharp, which meant distancing himself from them. His intuition told him something would happen while everyone was vulnerable. He felt it in every fiber of his being.

  Ephiny returned just as his defenses were about to break. The color started to return to Kallisto’s face gradually as the others healed her. Ephiny placed crosses and thorn laurels around the room, then lowered herself to her knees in the middle of the room and started praying silently. After a few moments, the putrid scent and electricity ebbed from the room, fading away until it was completely gone. The longing feeling left Gabriel and he felt as normal as a wolf-man could feel.

  He looked toward the bed to see Kallisto sitting up slowly, smiling as if she felt healthy again. The others looked weaker, pale or nauseous, but not sickly. He heard the front door bang open. He ran out the door and down the stairs with Ephiny on his heels. At the bottom of the stairs, they were met by ten armed men. The witch and warlock were stuck in the old ways. The men carried swords and other ancient weapons rather than guns. Ephiny and Gabriel let claws and fangs grow, ready to attack the intruders.

  A bright blue light shown from behind them. Gabriel turned, unable to believe his eyes. Kallisto’s body glowed with currents of electricity, making her look like a powerful force to be reckoned with and not the sickly girl she’d been only moments before. He was afraid to let her pass, but he couldn’t touch her or he’d risk being incapacitated by the electricity emanating from her.

  “Kallisto, you can’t get close to them. The electricity won’t protect you from their weapons.”

  At his pleas, Kallisto just smiled and moved toward them. Ephiny touched Gabriel’s arm to stop him from going after her. Ephiny wore a look of pride, as though they shared some sort of secret, and watched with the eagerness of a parent. Kallisto walked forward until she was about five feet from the man in the front of the attackers. She stood staring at them for a moment.

  The men hesitated to attack, and could only gape in fright for what felt like minutes. Finally, the man in the front started to move forward, and the others weren’t far behind. Kallisto crouched and the electricity pulsed around her body. Just as the leader brought his sword down on her, the pulsing electricity flared out and hit every attacker at once. They started writhing and convulsing as if they were having seizures. Their bodies jerked and twitched violently, then one by one collapsed against the floor, unmoving. Kallisto turned aro
und to face Ephiny and Gabriel, still smiling like a child who learned to ride a bike for the first time. Ephiny ran forward and hugged her, while Gabriel stood with his mouth open. He felt like an idiot standing there like that. “Does anyone mind explaining to me what just happened here?”

  The girls looked at him and loud applause erupted from behind and above. He knew it was the others but he’d never heard them come out.

  “Kallisto just broke into her power full force.” Gabriel started to interrupt but Ephiny held up her hand. “I know its several months earlier than normal, but everything’s changed this time around. Isn’t it better for her to take care of herself now more than ever?”

  “Well, at least that’s one person who’ll be easy to train.” Gabriel walked over to Kallisto and ruffled her hair. She slapped his hand away and laughed. He realized she was fully healed. Her ribs, hand; there wasn’t even a scar or bruise to indicate that she’d been injured at all. He turned back and looked up the stairs at the others. Everyone seemed a bit stronger now. Kalan was fully healed also, and Ramina’s hand was clear of any damage. He took this thought and pushed it aside, gaining his composure once more.

  “Alright gentlemen, and William,” William gave him a dirty look, “we need to get these guys out of here before they wake up. Do you feel up to it?” They all started down the stairs. William, being the way he was, slid down the banister and landed on his feet in front of Kallisto. “Don’t I look like I feel better?” William said smugly.

  Gabriel shook his head and turned to the work at hand. They took the knocked out attackers, tied them up, and put them on his trailer. He went around back to get his old beat up, green and white Chevy truck from the garage. He called it The Beast, because it roared loudly, just like him. He grinned as he started it up and the garage filled with the loud rumble of the engine. He pulled around the house and backed up to the trailer.

  Kalan hitched it up for Gabriel and he and Talus jumped in the back of the truck, while William opted to sit in the trailer with the bad guys. Just before he sat down, Gabriel floored it. His arms flailed out as he fell sideways onto the knocked out men. Gabriel chuckled and drove on. William cursed as he picked himself up off the others.

  They dumped the men several miles from the house and called the cops. They left the weapons near the men so the cops would have some evidence of wrongdoing, and arrest them for sure. The danger was over, for the moment anyway, so it was time to get to work. The others needed to train so much more then. If Kallisto’s power surfaced that quickly, it meant the others were too far behind and they needed to catch up.

  Back at the house, he made the others follow him to the training room. He paired Kallisto and Ramina together so they could practice power surges. Ephiny joined them, to guide Ramina and serve as a buffer so Kallisto’s attacks wouldn’t be too powerful.

  He led Talus and Kalan to the sparring area to work on their combat moves. He just let them go at it for the moment, but he wouldn’t be far away. He planned to instruct them and work with William. He had big plans for William. He was in much need of a few high-charged electrical balls to knock down the arrogant attitude.

  “Come on, Gabriel, give me your best shot.” William positioned himself in an awkward fighting stance that looked more goofy than intimidating. He still looked sure of himself despite Gabriel’s laugh, so Gabriel put his hand out and conjured an electrical ball. William stared at it intently, as if ready to dodge it. Gabriel threw it in the air a few times, bouncing it in the palm of his hand, and when William’s guard was down, Gabriel hurled it at him. It slammed into his hip and he fell, jerking as the current pulsed through his body. Gabriel laughed and turned his attention to Kalan and Talus. They’d stopped mid-attack and watched William and Gabriel open-mouthed.

  “All right you two, that’s enough gaping. Get back to work.” They immediately faced each other and finished the attack. It failed miserably on both parts. They fumbled around trying to get a hold of one another clumsily. Gabriel put his head down and shook it in disgust. “No, no, no. Stop.”

  They paused, turning to look at him. He went over to Kalan, positioning himself about fifteen feet in front of him. “Attack me.”

  Kalan stared at him, confused, but finally complied. He ran and tried to tackle Gabriel. He dodged in one swoop, dropping to the floor and delivering a spin kick that knocked Kalan to the ground. The moment he hit the floor, Gabriel jumped on top of him and pinned his arms to the floor. Talus, in a valiant, yet stupid, effort to help him, tried to jump on Gabriel’s back. He ducked out of the way and Talus landed on Kalan. They gaped at Gabriel when they saw how quickly he’d moved across the room. He was back beside them in the blink of an eye. They flinched and struggled to get up. He grabbed each of them by the collar and pulled them to a standing position.

  “Attack me again. This time move as one,” Gabriel instructed.

  Obeying the order, Talus and Kalan moved in unison. Just as they attacked, they split off, each grabbing an arm. They actually surprised Gabriel a little, but he threw them off easily. The next time they had more confidence; they took him down together, which was exactly what Gabriel wanted. They pinned him to the ground, and he knew they were getting a handle on what to do. Letting them spar, he went to pick William up off the floor. As Gabriel picked William up, he came to and started slapping at Gabriel’s hands.

  “I can get up myself, Gabe! Get your hands off me!” Gabriel dropped him and he fell to the floor. He kept trying to stand, but his body would twitch and he’d go back down. Gabriel stood staring at him for a minute.

  “William, you’ve been knocked out for several minutes. You just woke up when I picked you up.” Gabriel moved a little closer and put his hand out to help him up, but William slapped it away. Gabriel turned and walked away. He felt William’s anger at his back, but he didn’t expect what happened next in the least. Something hit him in the back and there was a slight tingling in his spine. William had actually thrown a low-voltage electric ball. Gabriel turned to face him, shocked, and immediately brought up another energy ball.

  “Oh, so you’re ready for another shock?”

  William conjured up a charged ball of his own, but it flickered and faded out. William was learning very quickly; Gabriel was slightly impressed. He hadn’t even started training Kalan, Talus, and Ramina yet. William was always a late bloomer. If he were to pick his powers up as fast as the others it would make him more arrogant. Even though his attitude made him a pain to live with, it’d come in handy in battle. He finally threw a full-blown electric ball, still low-voltage but completely formed nonetheless. Gabriel decided it was as good a time to try to instruct William.

  “Focus all of your energy into the electric ball. It should take no effort at all to make one. It should be an involuntary reaction.”

  William stared at his electric ball, squinting as he tried to focus. The energy flared once then settled back down. Seeing his frustration, Gabriel decided to push him as far as he could. It always worked before, but William was never so much in need of a good beat down as he was in this life. Something in him had changed; in this lifetime he was much crueler than ever before. That’s why Gabriel believed he’d be the one to betray everyone. Finally, William mustered a pretty pale-blue glow from his electrical ball, but there were beads of sweat on his forehead.

  “All right, William, that looks good. Now, you need to be able to move and attack, dodge and defend. You ready?”

  William looked up at Gabriel with a cocky expression on his face, and started moving forward. He matched Gabriel’s steps with his and they circled each other. Gabriel lowered the voltage in his ball, deciding William didn’t need to get knocked out again. William threw the first ball. Gabriel dodged and threw his own, hitting William in the backside. He grabbed the cheek and hissed with pain. He looked at Gabriel, rage flaring in his eyes and conjured another ball, stronger than the last. The others had stopped and were watching William and Gabriel. Gabriel conjured up another low-v
oltage ball and prepared for the next attack. William threw the next ball and Gabriel dodged, but it did scorch the wall a little.

  “You’re gonna fix that, ya know.” Gabriel pointed at William with his free hand. William smirked and summoned another ball. It didn’t hit Gabriel that time but, it was a good throw; Gabriel was just quicker than a normal man. If he had been a normal man it surely would’ve hit him and stung quite a bit.

  They circled each other again and again, trying to psych each other out. Gabriel threw one and hit William in the backside again. He took in a sharp breath but conjured an electric ball faster. Gabriel conjured another one and immediately threw it. It hit him in the backside again causing him to throw his in the air which in turn came back down and hit him on the top of his shoulder. He jerked slightly and fell down, but wasn’t down long. He got back up in one fluid motion and by the time he hit his feet there was already a ball in his hand. He threw it quickly and Gabriel dodged, conjuring and throwing another just as quickly. This time Gabriel missed his target and hit him in the face. His nose started to bleed.

  “Oops, sorry about that.” Catching Gabriel’s sarcasm, William shot him a glower. The electrical balls came easier to him; he could conjure them left and right by the end. They just needed to work on his ability to dodge and aim. Gabriel misjudged his throws a few more times, only because William moved at the last second, trying to dodge unsuccessfully.

  Blood trickled into the cut on William’s lip from his bloody nose. His left eye was red because of the cut above it. More blood flowed out of his right ear; Gabriel really hoped it was just blood and not brain matter. Electric balls were like taking a hit from a dodge ball, only harder and with a jolt of electricity attached. Gabriel thought William had taken enough abuse for today.

  He held his hands up. “Alright, William that’s enough for now. We’ll continue this some other time. We need to work on sword play and other weapons. Those are what the witch and warlock trained their minions to use.” William stood with the ball in his hand. Gabriel could tell he was thinking about throwing it anyway. He just turned his back on him and started walking away. The others followed suit.