by M. R. Polish
Wind whipped around them. Karis held her breath as she felt herself move. The portal opened, and majestic mountains stood tall in the distance. A rush of warm air blasted them. Brady wrapped his arms around her and held her tight as the image moved closer. Then, a bright flash and the portal was gone.
Brady opened his arms, and they both looked around. They stood on dry sand. The horizon across the sand was open as far as they could see. High mountains stood proud on their left. The warm sun beat down on them as they looked around.
Karis had missed the sunshine and fresh air. This was just as good as going home.
“What happened to the portal?” Brady spun around.
“Darvin,” Karis whispered. “He closed it so Coron or Tharious wouldn’t know where we went.”
“Closed it? How?”
She tried to smile for Brady’s sake. “Only a power greater than the portal can close it permanently. It would have to be a great sacrifice.”
“You mean he was the sacrifice.” Brady let out a long breath.
A tear slid down her cheek. “Yes.”
“I figured.” He nodded and walked around. They both needed the moment to compose their thoughts.
He threw his arms up. “Well, where are we?”
“Aridam.”
“At least we’re dry now.” He kicked at the sand with his toe. “I miss my boots.”
She gave a small chuckle. “I know; I miss my sandals too. Maybe once we reach the city we can find something to fit us. Besides, I like the view.”
He raised a brow. “Of my toes?”
“No, but your bare chest and tight pants make a great sight.”
He darted toward her and grabbed her around the middle. “Oh really?”
“Oh, wait. My necklace.” Karis wiggled from his grasp, her eyes wide. “With him gone, Coron can take it.”
Brady flashed her a devilish grin and held up a small pouch that looked like the one Darvin had. He opened it and pulled out her necklace. “You mean this?”
She snatched it from his fingers. “How did you get it back?”
“He passed it to me when we shook hands. I don’t think he wanted you to see. I think he knew you’d try and stop him if you knew what he was doing. That’s how I figured out what he was planning, or at least an idea.”
“I had my suspicions.” She closed her fingers around the pendant. “We should put it back in the pouch. I don’t want to activate the communication gateway by accident. Who knows what kind of torture they’d put Tarine through to talk to me.”
“Deal.” He took the pendant and dropped it in the bag. He shielded his eyes from the morning sun. “How is it morning here and night in Perditus?”
“It might not have seemed like it, but it can take hours to portal jump. That and other worlds are not on the same cycle. Just as one slips into the darkness of night, the other can be halfway through the day.”
He pondered that for a moment. “What about home, I mean Earth, how long have we been gone by Earth time?”
She stiffened. He cocked his head. “What are you not telling me?”
“We told you that Earth is special.”
“Yes, so…”
“We have been gone for what, two weeks roughly?”
He nodded.
“Then it’s only that night that we left.”
“What?” He rubbed his face with his hands.
“Earth has its own schedule. Time has no meaning here, or in Perditus, or Shamike. There are many worlds in existence, worlds I’ve never heard of, but Earth is the only one where time truly matters. We are all immortal. Humans are not. Therefore, time slows down for them.”
“Holy crap. I’ve heard that time crawls, but you’re serious.”
“I’m sorry, Brady.”
“It’s not your fault. I just have so much human still inside me. Some things are harder to process.”
“And yet having a tail didn’t bother you?” She laughed.
He chuckled with her. “Dude, that was intense.”
She picked up the skirt of her dress. “We better get walking. This sand will get hot fast with the sun rising.”
He rubbed his hands together. “Wanna see something I practiced with Jarion?”
She stopped and slightly pulled back, staring at him. “What?”
Without a warning, he scooped her up and took off running. She giggled as she realized yet another extreme power he had. She should have noticed while in the water with him. She’d assumed that he held back while swimming, and this confirmed it.
Brady ran at inhuman speed across the desert. Up ahead, Karis saw a town as he slowed down. He stopped and let her down. What would’ve taken hours, he did in minutes. She laughed and squealed as she danced around on the sand. “Oh my goodness, Brady that was incredible! I can’t believe you can do that.”
He let out a boisterous laugh. “Ya, Jarion pushed me after he saw how fast I ran toward you when he didn’t let up on his energy. I guess it’s pretty cool.” He leaned over with his hands on his knees to help slow down his breathing.
Karis squatted down beside him so she could look him in the eyes. “Pretty cool? Brady, it’s amazing.”
He gave her a playful grin. “This superpower stuff reminds me of being a kid, you know. All boys pretend they can fly or have super speed, but now I have it. Not to mention I’m a freaking merman now too. That crap is awesome. I can swim just as fast I think. Do you think these worlds are where humans get their superhero stories? Maybe Spiderman and the Hulk were real?”
Karis smiled at his excitement and stood up. “I guess. Although, they wouldn’t actually be named Spiderman. Humans would have to know about it somehow. I know a lot of our kind have found a new life on Earth. Who knows?”
He stood up straight as well. “Okay, wicked idea. Do you think all the aliens,” he used his fingers to make quotations, “that people talk about, do you think it’s just people like us? I mean, heck, the Syrenae don’t exactly look one hundred percent human.”
She shrugged and started to walk. “I guess. I never thought about it, but then again, I wasn’t raised there. The only time I ever spent on Earth was alone.”
“Oh jeesh, this is too much to wrap my mind around.”
“Look.” Karis pointed up ahead. A group of men stood about one hundred yards away.
His bubbly excitement vanished and his body tensed. “Stay close.”
She loved how he was protective even though she knew more of the worlds than he did. It was strange, but it made her happy to know he would risk everything to keep her safe.
They stopped about ten feet in front of the guard that came to meet them. They looked human, each of them bearing a tattoo that ran up their arms like Brady’s, but each design was different. They wore loose cotton pants but no shirts and open flowing robes. “Why are you here?”The man had a thick accent. It was the same English that she and Brady spoke, but his tongue rolled harshly with each ‘r’.
Karis chewed on the inside of her lip. “Darvin sent us.” She hoped she said the right thing.
“Where is Darvin?” the tallest one with long brown hair asked as he looked around. His accent wasn’t quite as thick but was definitely pronounced.
She held her head high. “He stayed behind to give us a chance.”
“You both have the mark of Aridam and the Syrenae. How is that possible?”
“Coron tricked us; he set us up to be captured by Tharious. In order for that, we had to travel through the water. A gift to us at his expense.” She let out a small smirk. “As for the mark of Aridam, his parents were from here. You might remember them.” Karis scanned each of their faces. They looked a little more relaxed than at first, but they still held their stance. “Sampson and Rebecka.”
One of the men stepped forward and looked Brady up and down. “This is the son of Sampson?” He had the same rolling accent as the others, but his was smooth and enjoyable.
Brady straightened his back and held his head h
igh. “I am.”
The man slapped Brady on the shoulder. “It’s him, I can tell. You look a lot like your father before he left.”
“I get that a lot.”
The others clamored around Brady, each holding out their hands for him to shake. Karis stepped back out of the way. For once, she wasn’t the center of attention.
The man who confirmed Brady as Sampson’s son turned to greet her. “I am Magnus, Sampson’s brother.”
Brady turned sharply. “You’re my uncle?”
Magnus laughed and smiled at Karis. “Yes. And who is this beauty you have with you?”
Brady protectively placed an arm around her middle. “This is Karis.”
All of the men went quiet. One by one, they bowed to her. “We are sorry, M’Lady, we did not recognize you.”
Magnus gave Brady a wink. “You and the Princess? Nice.”
Karis liked Magnus right away. His lighthearted demeanor spread through the group and made her feel welcome.
Magnus raised a brow. “Just how did you get her off that island? And how did you get mixed up with the Syrenae?”
Brady threw his head back with a deep groan. “Long story.”
“Well, maybe you can tell us over a hot meal.” Magnus nodded toward the city, and the other guards marched off.
“Food? Real food?” Brady’s stomach growled in hopeful anticipation.
Magnus laughed. “Aw, yes, you’ve been with the Syrenae. Ugh, their taste for food is somewhat different from ours. We have real food.”
Even Karis was delighted over hearing that. After so long on the island, eating otherworldly food such as the Ramison churned her stomach. Real food sounded delicious.
Brady sat next to Karis at the long wooden table that quickly filled with family members and visitors. Karis smiled at each one. They seemed genuinely happy to have Brady home, and she wondered how it would be when she returned to her own homeland. Would Tarine be released and there to greet her? Would she have anyone to welcome her?
“So, Earth, what’s it like?” a young girl with long blonde hair and blue eyes, who kept making googly eyes at Brady all night, spoke up. She couldn’t have been older than sixteen or eighteen. Karis identified her as one of the local shopkeeper’s daughters, and not part of Brady’s family. That latter part bothered Karis. If she batted her eyelashes one more time, Karis would have to restrain herself from plucking them all out.
Brady half coughed, half choked on the piece of bread he had in his mouth. He glanced at Karis and she blushed. She must have projected her thoughts to him again, and hoped she didn’t project them to anyone else in the room. Quickly she lowered her eyes, afraid to look at anyone.
“Well,” Brady started. “Earth is like here. Families and friends. Home and work.”
“Oh, I thought it was some fantastical romantic place. I’ve always wondered what it would be like to visit.”
Karis mentally rolled her eyes at the girl.
“Karis, what about you? How did you fare on Earth?” Magnus shifted the attention on her. She wasn’t sure she was grateful or worried.
“I ate a lot of fish.” She laughed, and the whole table joined her. “It wasn’t horrible, but time is extremely slow there. I think eternity would’ve been torture.”
“You were all alone weren’t you?” the girl asked her.
She bit her tongue to keep from being sarcastic. “Yes, till Brady showed up.”
“Then you and he were alone on the island. How sweet.” The girl folded her hands together and placed them against her chest.
Oh brother. Karis wanted to laugh, yet throw something at the poor girl. Instead, she took Brady’s hand that rested atop the table and smiled back at her. “Yes, it was very sweet.”
The young girl glared at their conjoined hands and leaned back in her seat, dropping her hands to her lap.
“I can’t believe you’ve been gone for over a hundred Earth years. I thought we’d never see you again. It must have been hard.”
Brady nearly choked on his bread and thumped his chest with a fist. “A hundred years? No, I’m only twenty-five.”
Magnus gave him a knowing look. “It appears that my brother died before he could lift the binding spell over your mind. Before you left, your mother and father placed a binder on your mind so you could grow and be happy without realizing you were immortal. While they obviously lifted part of it, since you remember the last twenty-five years, I’m afraid your other memories are suppressed. You are one-hundred-and-sixteen years old in Earth years.”
Brady gave him an incredulous look. “Damn.” He threw his bread on his plate. He glanced at Karis. “Did you know this?”
“I honestly didn’t think about it.” She felt sorry for him. So much had fallen on his lap in the last couple of weeks. She let the time differences between the worlds and Earth slip, and never thought to tell him. She was grateful Magnus didn’t tell him how old he’d be in Aridam years. That might not go over terribly well.
“Don’t worry, we’ll find a way to restore your memories.” Magnus gave him a nod and raised his glass before taking a deep swallow.
“Yeah,” Brady spoke much quieter.
She gave his hand a quick squeeze. “Well I guess this means I’m not a cougar.”
He chuckled. “I liked being with an older woman.”
She gave him a playful slug in the shoulder.
Magnus scooted his chair away from the table. “Well, we’ve certainly enjoyed your stories this morning and are glad you’re finally home. It is hard to hear about my brother and sister-in-law, but I am glad you survived. I will show you to our guest room and let you get some rest. We can always talk later when you are refreshed.”
Karis smiled. A nap would be phenomenal, but time alone with Brady would feel even better. She rose from her chair and thanked Alexis, Magnus’s wife, for the meal. She was a quiet woman who stayed in the kitchen most of the time but seemed exceptionally excited to have guests.
Magnus walked them outside to a small building that looked almost as large as her house on the island. It was made of the same stone and rock combination as the main house they just left.
“You will find extra clothes for you to wear inside. By this afternoon, you will thank me. While we do have powers to help cool our homes, the outside does become sweltering.”
Brady clasped forearms with him then opened the door for Karis. “Thank you, Uncle.”
Karis ducked inside the little room. It was perfect. It had a bed and was cool enough to be comfortable. Even though the afternoon heat hadn’t yet hit, the air was still warm outside. She was used to the humidity of the island, but there was always a slight breeze. Here, there was no humidity and the sun felt like a hot glare.
She let out a discontented breath. The day’s events were catching up to her. Her heart sank as she realized she didn’t have the picture of her father with her anymore. One more thing lost in her life. She ran her finger over the fabric that covered the bed. “It feels like forever since we’ve slept.”
Brady came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her middle, pressing her back close to his chest. She could feel the heat radiate from his body through her thin dress. A slight nudge lower down sent tingles throughout her body. “It feels like forever since the last time we kissed,” he whispered in her ear, causing a shiver to course down her spine.
“I agree.” She turned around to face him. All other thoughts and worries faded as he pressed his lips to hers.
“This is ridiculous.” Karis fumbled with the sheer black veil that matched the new outfit Magnus gifted her. She was unaccustomed to wearing pants, but they were comfortable, and she mused over how the flowing silk around her legs made her feel beautiful. The shirt, a long tunic with straps over her shoulders, was the same shade of black with silver trim. The flowing material went past her waist, down to her thighs. A small rope-like belt fit around under her chest, cinching the material together. It was the veil she frowned at. “Well, I�
��m not wearing it.” She threw it down on the bed.
Brady lay on his side on the bed, and propped his head up in his hand to watch her dress. His fully exposed chest looked like a work of art. His muscles were taut, his skin covered with a sheen from their earlier lovemaking. “I think you’re beautiful either way.”
She smirked. “You’re just saying that to get me back in bed.”
“Will it work?”
“Hardly. Magnus is expecting us. I’m afraid we used up all our resting time doing other things.” She sat down on the edge of the bed and brushed her hair out. It fell in waves along her back, reaching her waist.
Brady came up behind her and moved her tresses to make a trail of kisses down to her shoulder. “I love it when your hair is down,” he whispered against her neck.
She shivered and summoned all her inner strength to stand up. “You don’t play fair.” She didn’t look back, afraid she would cave in to the intense desire to lay back down with Brady.
“I’m a fighter, I don’t play. I just take what I want.” He came up and grabbed her from behind.
She giggled as he fell back on the bed with her. A knock outside the door stopped their actions. Karis jumped up from the bed. She tried to smooth down her wild hair with her hands while Brady gathered the blanket off the bed, and wrapped it around his middle. Karis tossed him the pants Magnus left for him. “Hurry, put these on.” She bit her cheek to keep from laughing at the sight of him hiding behind a blanket.
“Brady?” Magnus’s voice sounded from behind the door.
Karis cleared her throat. “We’ll be right out.”
As soon as Brady tied the fabric for his pants around his middle like a belt, he slipped on the long robe, letting it hang open. His chest was visible, as well as his tattoo and Syrenae marking. Karis tried hard not to stare. He was so handsome that she had a hard time believing he was hers.
The pants he wore were cream colored, and the same type worn by the other men of Aridam. They were light and flowing, keeping the skin from sweating in the heat but blocking the sun’s rays. His robe was the same, but was open with no sleeves and billowed out as he walked.