“Banshee?” Aedan said again.
“Please tell me you have a better explanation,” she sighed.
“I have none, actually, but some witch that foretells of death wasn’t even on the list of possibilities. You look like you’re freezing. You should crawl back into bed.”
“I guess, but that eerie cry isn’t very conducive to sleep, especially when added to this fierce storm. I thought it had died down until the screeching started. If I didn’t have such a rational mind, I’d swear the temper of the animal, or whatever is out there in mourning, was fueling the storm.”
“Luckily, storms here, the rougher patches of them, tend to come in and out fast. Really, you’ll need your sleep to deal with tomorrow,” he warned with a rising gruffness to his tone.
“Great. Can’t wait,” she huffed.
“You’re strong. You can handle it,” he countered with a wink that melted her calming heart.
She accommodated, “So I’ve been told many times.”
She nodded as he pulled her door shut. Then, she turned to see her bed illuminated in another round of lightning. The sensation of having caught a ball of it settled over her hands. She turned them until her palms faced up. The way they shook wasn’t exactly fear, or flight, but all fight. She curled her fingers in, let her nails bite into her palms. Angry, she made a few stiff and heavy strides back to bed. Not only did everyone here baffle or betray her, as did her ominous surroundings, but her own body took cues from the vivid imaginings of those she’d encountered today.
As she closed her eyes again, she swore the power in her body built with each bolt of light flashing outside her window. Her skin crackled with some sort of electricity of its own, frying what was left of her brain as she tried to force it into a fitful sleep.
The sudden awareness of being watched courted with the sensation of having her life energy pulled from her body. As she opened her eyes, weak and dizzy, a streak of lightning backlit a black form at the edge of her bed. Kyna scrambled until her back hit the wooden backboard with a breath-stopping thump. Her muscles ached in earnest, almost as if small cramps had taken over her body. Small figments of light, burning silver threads, extended from herself to the shadowy person.
Fear, the kind that freezes time, makes every bone in a body cold, gave way to anger, red-hot and resilient. In a cold sweat, she sprang from the covers. She extended her arms with her palms out in front of her as if signaling 'stop'. Pushing against the dark energy that seemed to suck her very life from her, she sliced, in her mind, the cords that bound her to the dark force. Imaginary or not, nightmare or pure horror, the glowing threads broke and fell. Tiny shards of light hung in the air for a second before they disappeared.
Finally, a scream ripped from her lungs. The shriek was outrage laced with angst. The shadow at the end of her bed deteriorated to black smoke, which seeped into the wooden floor. Running to her door and throwing it open like it weighed nothing, she ran, brought up short as she smacked into Aedan in the hall.
Suddenly, though still shaking, she became aware of her soft breasts throbbing having hit the solid muscle of his chest. He'd wrapped his strong arms around her, his fingers pressing firmly into her back. She closed her eyes, the shadow image reappearing in her mind’s eye.
“I got you,” he whispered as her body went through some mini, fear-induced seizure for a moment.
She released her pent up breath , hot and fast. Kyna panted herself past calm into aroused. However, the house wouldn’t allow her attention to be diverted. Thunder rocked the walls. Once she opened her eyes, she observed, wide-eyed as shadows formed and unformed around her.
“Can you see them?” she whispered to Aedan.
“See who?”
“I’m going crazy,” she growled.
“No, your aunt warned me of this type of magic. The group after you, they use dark magic that forms some sort of mystical hauntings. Nothing should hurt you, though they may give the appearance of it. Your aunt can explain it better in the morning. For now, let’s get you back to bed.”
“It took from me. It pulled something from me with these bright cords. Don’t leave me,” she begged and then winced.
Uncharacteristically weak, she wondered if her courage all these years came so easy due to nothing real eventful having happened in her life. No. No way. She promised herself to be brave, to make her mother proud, no matter what they threw her way.
“I won’t leave you this time,” Aedan promised. “I’ll sit in the chair and watch you sleep. I’ve probably slept more than you already at this point. There’re only a few hours left, now, until morning. But, he, or it took what?”
“It felt like the shadowy image was draining my life from me, not blood, just energy or something. My life force, maybe. It felt so real. Like my heart slowed and my mind became fuzzy. I got so weak.”
“I’m sure it is all part of the haunting, some magical images and feelings projected onto you to scare you.”
She bought the explanation, had to in an attempt to get any sleep at all with the shadows that still lingered. She challenged them with her thoughts as she stood at the foot of the bed.
“Silly,” she scoffed.
“What? Because I see nothing silly about being afraid of something you don’t even understand. Sometimes fear is good. That is, if you let it fuel you rather than make you quit,” Aedan advised.
“I meant it was silly that I was trying to threaten them with my mind. As if, because they are shadows, they can hear my thoughts. Seen too many ghost movies, I think.”
“You’re not silly at all. Most women would have run from this place screaming, demanding to be driven to the airport in her beautiful, white nightgown,” he soothed, voice deep and gravely. “Now, off to bed with you, my brave woman.”
Comforted by his praise, she obeyed. Yet, Aedan in the same room also made sleep not come easily. Just for a whole other set of reasons entirely.
Chapter Three
In the morning she showered and dressed in another simple outfit of jeans and a heavy sweater. Feeling semi-refreshed, she let Aedan lead the way to a dining room of sorts for breakfast. The walls, rough stone of various colors of gray with highlights of mossy greens and earthy browns, called her to touch them. Nothing new, she’d had this touchy-feely relationship with nature all her life. Her mother had always complained she never could just look,. She had to get her hands dirty in the investigating of it.
Images of people she didn’t know, yet felt familiar, flickered in and out her mind, going at the rate of a fast-paced music montage. When the heat intensified, she pulled her hand back and rubbed her palm. Frowning, she walked closer to the three windows, evenly spaced in the semi-circular room. They had to be in one of the towers. The table sat exactly in the middle of a bartizan. Each window had a large sill made from reddish and black bricks. The wooden frames, painted an intense royal blue, were the same color as the blue and gold rugs which hung down the walls in between the windows. This blue, which reminded her of an ocean at dusk, complimented the blood red, velvet seat cushions on the dark brown, wooden seats perfectly. If all that wasn’t gothic enough, in the middle of the heavy wooden table sat a wrought iron candleholder, three-tiered, with nine, fat, squatty cream candles burning on it.
Stunning. Ornate. Like nothing she’d ever seen. She bet she wouldn’t be eating a sugary-coated cereal out of the thick, black ceramic bowls sitting before her. Bone-colored goblets awaited juice, she assumed. Her stomach rumbled as she turned to the sound of Aedan pulling out a chair for her.
“In your job description, too, along with in-room security?” Kyna exclaimed, her cheeks heating with a blush.
“What, being a gentleman? No, my mom instilled that trait, working or not,” he confessed in his usual deep tone, the edginess of last night sounding softer somehow this morning.
His forced attempt to smooth her rattled edges this morning, she’d bet. Peace flooded through her, calmed the tempest of raging emotions inside h
er. A prince among protectors, she thanked her lucky stars for this man. A stranger she’d already call friend, consider as a lover, and feared she could lose her heart to in seconds if she’d let herself go. But, those seconds remained a selfish luxury right now. With so much up in the air and at stake, she reminded herself she needed her wits about her. She needed to face this new part of her life. Still, she marveled over the possibility that amidst all this upheaval her soul mate would appear. If so, would this be a blessing or a curse? She giggled privately as the thought struck her of having the inability to discern either of those in any of this.
“Look, I’m so sorry about last night,” she shook her head as she stared at her empty place setting.
Everything on the table looked bigger, chunkier than it needed to be, from the plates to the silverware. Yet, she found it aesthetically pleasing, again, in line with a style preference she didn’t know she possessed.
“No apologies. I actually require very little sleep. A side effect of having been a SEAL, I suppose. I got more than enough and was happy to help you get some yourself. I can’t imagine what yesterday had to be like for you. Or last night for that matter.. Hell, your past week had to be horrendous. I want to help,” he soothed.
He touched her shoulder lightly, and then let his hand drift across her back. The pressure sparked soreness in her muscles just as his touch initiated a sensual response. An electric shock shot through her body to her toes.
“Really,” he promised, his breath a a whisper in her ear.
“A bad night, huh?” Her aunt Saoirse sighed as she entered the room.
Aedan moved with haste and pulled out her aunt’s chair as well. With patience, he stood and waited while the woman hovered over Kyna, ringing her hands. After several moments when it seemed her aunt could finally move, as indicated by small jerks of her muscles, she sat in the chair Aedan had ready for her.
, A servant immediately entered the room with a wheeled cart of food and drink. Soon after, two fried eggs, a round sausage, two rashers, some sort of boxty- Irish soda bread, baked beans, and fried mushrooms and tomatoes arrived on her plate. In the bowl went black pudding, not a favorite of hers due to the whole idea of having pork blood in her oatmeal. Then, as a woman poured orange juice in her goblet, a man suddenly appeared through another door and filled her mug with steaming tea. Left dizzy from watching the process, she blinked her eyes a few times while deciding what to stick her clunky fork into first.
“Hearty enough to keep the winds from the cliffs from cutting through you,” her aunt said as she smiled and nodded to each servant.
They vanished at her silent command.
“So, tell me what happened last night,” her aunt continued in a shaky voice that seemed out of character.
Even Aedan had cocked his head and raised one eyebrow slightly as she’d spoke. So, apparently, Kyna’s notion wasn’t far off.
“Was it the storm that kept you awake, or dare I ask, more?” her aunt inquired, her voice having stumbled over a few of the words.
“Ah, not sure,” Kyna said as she still held her fork above her plate in a stomach-growling state of indecision. “Even your breakfasts are overwhelming.”
Her aunt looked to Aedan as if Kyna hadn’t spoken.
“We had some issues, as you warned me about,” Aedan offered with a courteous nod of his head. “First though, Kyna had a run in with Darcaryn. He claimed to be investigating that horrid sound coming from outside”
“Darcaryn, “her aunt questioned, with the hint of a high pitch she swallowed down before she continued, “in that wing?”
“Yes,” Kyna stole back the conversation. She could never become accustomed to having someone speak for her, despite Aedan’s good intentions. “He claimed the sound to be the keen of a banshee. Something about someone soon to die, or some such nonsense. And look, here we all still are.” Kyna couldn’t keep the anger out of her voice, no matter how hard she’d tried for light and sarcastic.
The man had shown up with only the absurdity of bad news. He'd offered no comfort , nor barely an introduction. He’d slithered out of the darkness encouraging only angst. Good looking in a dark wizard kind of way, he fit the role of an enticing bad guy. While she’d have to be blind not to think him sexy, Aedan had already made her heart skip several beats. He promised reason and protection, where working with Darcaryn now left her a bit beyond uneasy. Surely, Aedan would be present, though. She took comfort in that. Besides, she’d resolved herself this morning to play this game out wherever they placed her on the board. Magic or not, she’d see this through.
“How pleasant for your first night in Ireland,” her aunt apologized, her teeth gritted so the words had hissed from her mouth.
“Yes, I thought so,” Kyna added with a real genuine effort to keep the sarcasm from dripping bitterness.
She stuffed a hunk of bread in her mouth to force it shut. The jelly, butter, and refined white carbs promised a source of solace, if even just for a few heavenly chews. A woman could gain a pound a day or more over here if she didn’t watch. Guessing a good run wasn’t in her aunt’s plans for her day, she’d have to keep a tight rein on her stress eating habit. Her aunt, on the other hand, cut and moved food around her plate in between a few small bites. So, not a stress eater. She wondered if she’d find they had anything in common.
“At least you met,” her aunt offered with a side-to-side bob of her head as if she still weighed the verdict. “After breakfast I shall take you on a tour of the rooms beneath the house. Secret rooms we practice in. So, what else? You said Darcaryn was only the first thing, Aedan.”
Kyna glared at the dismissal. A jumble of nerves shook her aunt’s voice and hands, yet the woman sure knew how to control a room. With only a brief acknowledgement, her aunt had simply planned her day and moved on to Aedan.
“As you warned, those supernatural hauntings occurred. I didn’t ask details so Kyna could hopefully sleep. So, you’ll have to ask her what happened exactly.” He’d given her a warm smile, and something sparkled in his eyes.
As soon as her aunt had looked down at her plate, he flashed her a little wink. Her heart melted, He’d not only noticed her issue with being dismissed, but he’d also done something about it. Apparently, he also had a gift for reading people, and she felt like he’d sided with her. She didn’t fault her obviously a basket-case aunt. Something seemed off about her this morning anyway. Kyna got the distinct impression, one she would bet money on, her aunt just didn’t know what to do with Kyna now that she’d arrived. Excitement mixed with trepidation, she understood that just fine. Caution took precedence.
Although she’d have preferred to keep shoveling food into her mouth, as everything there rivaled any American breakfast she’d ever been served, she explained to her aunt about the shadow person and the glowing threads. She continually reinforced the fact that her imagination and lack of sleep, plus travel, must’ve just made her hallucinate or something. Caused her to see shadows in her storm-ridden, unfamiliar surroundings.
“They weren’t hallucinations, I’m afraid, though it would be easier to think so. I understand. Listen, Kyna, you should know, if this house seems haunted, it’s due to magic rituals performed by our enemy,” her aunt provided by way of explanation.
“That’s what I told her, but I wanted you to do the explaining,” Aedan chimed in.
“Thank you, Aedan. Isn’t he a blessing to have around? I’m sure he made you feel more than safe last night,” her aunt encouraged. “Anyway, this enemy, not sure I can explain them well. It is because of these people, this secret society, is the best description I guess, I truly called you here. They finally threatened you. They’d found you in America after all of these years. I received a letter actually, too. I couldn’t leave you there, untrained and unprotected.
“Our family has long been cursed, plagued really, by revenge of some rival clan or coven. My father always referred to them as a secret society, one he’d gotten himself involved in for pol
itical gain. Who knows the truth? In the end of my father’s days, I was still too young to care about what sounded like the ravings of a mad man. Maybe he was, maybe he wasn’t. Either way, powers or no powers, we fight a group who hates us. A long ago created rival we have no name or face for. He never uttered a name, only drew symbols, over and over again in his last days. But, I’ve never been able to find anyone to decipher them. For all I know, it could be one enemy or many different ones.”
“Is that how my mom died? Some sort of revenge?” A wild fire rose in her stomach.
“I can’t say,” her aunt stuttered. “I mean,” She cleared her throat, “I truly don’t know. She just…”
Kyna watched the tears form in her aunt’s eyes before the woman let her head fall forward into her hands. Shame suddenly overwhelmed her. Her aunt’s emotion, not her own. So she had to wonder if her aunt blamed herself for some part in her mother’s death. On instinct, and with conviction to right an unnamed wrong, she gently placed her hand on her aunt’s arm. A spark flickered to life between them. Nothing like static electricity, but rather an actual small field of light formed where her skin touched her aunt’s sweater.
She yanked her hand back, rubbing her palm again.
“Our magic. It’s never connected before now. You’re so strong. I can feel it. I know you can feel me, everything I’m feeling. We’re connected in a very unique way I can’t seem to find the words to explain just yet. You must be so overwhelmed. In time, you’ll learn to control it. We should go downstairs to find Darcaryn and begin your training at once, before—”
“No!” The word sprang unbidden from Kyna’s mouth. “Sorry, no,” she protested in a lower voice, still rubbing the her palm as it continued to tingle, warm beyond any heat she’d ever encountered without being burned.
“Don’t worry, Kyna,” Aedan interjected. “I’ll be with you every step of the way. I may not know magic, but this magic society, or whatever they are, has no idea what it’s like to come up against a SEAL. I’ve fought all kinds of evil with all sorts of methods.”
Beyond The Veil: A Paranormal & Magical Romance Boxed Set Page 23