“Then call your vampyre guardians, now!” Morrigunia released the child’s chin and grimaced. The feel of that flesh disgusted her.
Lilit backed away from the tall red-haired woman and puckered her lips. A shrill whistle that hurt the Goddess’ ears issued from the small mouth and almost instantly the whomp-whomp, whomp-whomp of wings could be heard in the distance.
In a brilliant flash of light, Morrigunia left the child. She flew unseen past the arriving bat-women and went straight to the Isle of Uaigneas.
Cainer Cree cursed when the Goddess appeared beside him.
“Do you like girl children, Beloved?” she asked.
He ignored her.
“I don’t. I never have and I never will. They are willful little creatures that cause far more trouble than they are worth. Now boys are a dif—”
“Why don’t you leave me alone, bitch?” the Reaper shouted. He covered his ears with his hands. “I can’t take this!”
“Different,” she finished. “Some, though, are just like their stubborn fathers. One such is Cairghrian. I have had more than my share of trouble from that lad although he will one day be a great warrior.”
“I don’t want to hear this!” the Reaper yelled.
“His father is—”
“Shut up!” he bellowed. “Just shut the fuck up, woman!”
Morrigunia watched the only human—well, half-human now that she considered it—she had ever loved run away from her. Once more, he was rushing pell-mell toward the heaving waves and she would have to intervene to keep him from trying to throw himself into the sea again.
Sighing, she thought little boys weren’t the only ones who gave her more than her share of trouble. Sometimes it was their fathers.
Chapter Fifteen
Kynthia put her hands on her hips, dropped her head to her chest, and sighed deeply. “We’re too late,” she said.
Leksi went to the window and looked out. It was a sheer drop to the rocky slopes far below. “Surely she didn’t climb out the window.”
“No,” Kynthia agreed. “Someone helped her escape.”
“To Ordon?”
“To Ordon,” Kynthia agreed. “Where else?”
Leksi pounded his fist on the ledge. “Well, that’s a fine kettle of fish.”
“Aye, it doesn’t bode well for any of us,” Kynthia declared.
“Do you think the Daughters of the Night will follow her when she returns?”
“More than likely. She will return a strong, determined woman, made even more determined by knowing her mother agreed to send her to Galrath.”
“You think she knows?”
“I am sure of it, else she’d still be here, warrior,” Kynthia told him.
“I’d like to find out who warned the little brat,” the warrior seethed.
Kynthia closed her eyes and let her mind scan the keep but there were no flashes of insight that came to her. The minds into which she delved were free of the treachery. She slowly opened her eyes and looked over at her lover.
“Whoever informed the child of our intent is not at this keep. He or she must have fled with Lilit.”
“I doubt it was a male,” Leksi said.
“I do, too.”
“Well, what now?”
“We go to Ordon,” Kynthia replied.
Leksi arched his left eyebrow. “You think so, do you?”
“What choice do we have?”
The warrior shook his head. “Woman, you’re going to get my head separated from my neck yet!”
* * * * *
Their horses had just cleared the little spit of land that bordered Ordon and Bandar when the sound of a mighty wind howling toward them caused Leksi and Kynthia to look back. Above them, the trees were suddenly being lashed with such a violent force the leaves were coming off the limbs in armfuls. Kynthia’s hair blew free of its barrette and whipped about her head, stinging her face.
“Where the hell did that come from?” Leksi yelled. He blinked against the ferocious invasion of sand in his eyes and threw up an arm to ward off the flying debris tossed about by the wind.
It was Kynthia who first felt the unseen hand digging into her shoulder and she yelped, reaching up to try to dislodge the fierce hold. Unearthly fingers were wrapped over her shoulder and under her armpit and the pain of the grip brought tears to her eyes as she was jerked from her mount.
Leksi shouted as he saw Kynthia shooting upward through the air. He strained in the saddle, reaching for her dangling legs but she was flung out of his reach and the next thing he knew he was sagging beside her, his upper arm a band of fiery pain as they flew across the sky.
High above the treetops, skimming over mountains and valleys, and desert they flew. Rain lashed at them for a moment as they passed through a late evening thunderstorm but soon they were ascending higher into the clouds, chilled to the very marrow of their bones.
There was no outline, no silhouette and no hint of a being that had them in its grip. Hanging like someone’s dirty wash, they were propelled along, flapping this way and that. Now and again, they would be thrust through low-flying clouds but soon they were so far above the earth with only the stars visible in the night sky.
“Kynthia?” Leksi called, urgently needing to make sure his lady was still alive and not the frozen stalk he, himself, felt like.
“I’m here, warrior,” she said, though she could not see him as he flew along there behind her.
“What has hold of us?” he asked.
Before Kynthia could respond, they began dropping at such a rate she feared they would burn up like a meteor racing to earth. The jolt to her belly as she dropped made her want to throw up but she was afraid she’d drown in her own vomit. Glancing down and wishing she hadn’t, the land was fast rushing up toward them and she closed her eyes, knowing the landing would be hell.
But the landing was as soft as a feather floating to earth and when Kynthia’s feet touched the ground, the fierce pain on her arm disappeared. Falling to her knees, she landed with her arms outstretched and paused there on all fours, thanking whichever god had been listening to her silent prayers.
Leksi was standing still, unable to move, as rigid as steel as he slowly opened his eyes. He could see Kynthia on the ground and was relieved to see she was all right. His head was swimming, his stomach roiling as though he had been rolling downhill in a barrel. Other than that and the decreasing pain in his armpit, he felt well enough.
“Where are we?” Kynthia managed to ask.
“Welcome to Domhan na Gaoithe,” an amused voice replied.
The warrior and his lady looked over their shoulders and found themselves staring at a beautiful woman who sat cross-legged in the middle of the air, hovering there like a placid hummingbird. She smiled benignly at them.
“That’s Chalean for WindWorld,” the woman informed them. “It’s an isle similar to Uaigneas but to me, it is much lovelier. A little smaller but so much nicer.”
“Morrigunia,” Kynthia said between clenched teeth, and pushed herself to her feet. “You are Morrigunia!”
“My reputation precedes me!” the woman laughed. “I see my Beloved deargs dul has told you of me.”
“Who is she?” Leksi asked, stepping protectively in front of Kynthia.
“You bitch!” Kynthia threw at her and made to go around Leksi. She had every intention of attacking the goddess, damn the outcome.
But Morrigunia floated up out of the warrioress’ reach, tilting herself down a bit so she could see them. She laughed gaily as Kynthia jumped up and down trying to snare the goddess’ foot to jerk her back down.
“It is a nice place as safe havens go,” Morrigunia said, sweeping an arm in front of her. “There are fruit trees, vegetables galore, good drinking water and—I haven’t forgotten the needs of my little ones—animals who will be accommodating with their blood and a grove of tener trees from which you can brew the drug you need to stay sane.”
“This is a prison!” Kynthia accused. “Just like t
he prison upon which you cast poor Cainer!”
Morrigunia put a finger to her cheek. “Well, aye, it is, but a nice prison.”
“But why?” Kynthia said, and was annoyed at the whine in her question.
“Because it suits me,” the Goddess responded. “Be thankful I allowed the two of you to be together. I could have separated you, you know.”
“Well, we’ll just get the hell off this island and—” Leksi began but Kynthia groaned loud enough to wake the dead. He turned to look at her.
Kynthia slumped on the ground, her knees crooked, and buried her head in her hands. “We are stranded here, warrior. We can not cross running water.”
“I can swim,” Leksi protested.
“Try it, my sweet Reaper, and see what happens,” Morrigunia laughed. “You’ll find your parasite won’t allow it.”
“We crossed running water to get here,” Leksi reasoned. “I remember seeing the Sea of Aziz as we flew over it.”
Kynthia slowly raised her head and stared up at the Goddess who was once more hovering only a few feet above her. She looked into sparkling eyes that shifted colors from blue to green to violet to amber like oil floating on water.
“You have always had the power to take him off that island, haven’t you?” Kynthia asked.
“He is where I want him and there he will stay for as long as it amuses me to keep him there,” Morrigunia answered. “Just as you will remain here.”
“But why?” Kynthia asked. “What did we do to anger you? What harm did we do you?”
“It wasn’t what you did, child, but what you were about to do. You could not be allowed to interfere.”
“Interfere in what?” Leksi demanded. He was kneeling beside Kynthia and had taken her into his arms.
“There is a war coming, sweet one,” the Goddess replied. “You could not be allowed to try and stop it.”
“How can you countenance that?” Leksi asked.
“Because she is the Goddess of Life, Death and War,” Kynthia said, her shoulders sagging. Once more, she hung her head. “You can not have one without the other two.”
“You will be safe here, Kynthia,” Morrigunia said. “You have all you could ever need and your love with whom to share it. What more could you want? Ask and I will provide it.”
Kynthia looked up. “The same thing Cainer Cree wants.”
Morrigunia cocked her head in query.
“Freedom,” Kynthia said. “We want our freedom.”
The Goddess sighed. “Alas, that you can not have.”
With that, Morrigunia faded like fog rolling away from water.
For a long while the lovers did not speak. She sat with her head buried in her arms, he sat beside her, his arm around her shoulders and surveyed their new home.
“It really is a lovely place,” he said.
Kynthia nodded. “Aye, but it is still a prison.”
“Only if we allow it to be,” Leksi said. He got to his feet and held out his hand. “Let’s see what the rest of it looks like.”
Kynthia took his hand and allowed him to help her up. “Not right now. Just hold me, warrior.”
He enfolded her in his arms, cradling her head against his powerful chest.
“You think we should make the most of this place,” she accused.
“I think we should start a dynasty right here,” Leksi said.
“Of Reapers,” Kynthia said. She looked up at him. “You know I can only conceive male children. Remember I told you?”
“No, but what’s wrong with that?”
“An island full of males with no females to ease their loneliness. Is that what you would like to see happen?”
A frown marred the warrior’s handsome face as he thought about that. For years, he had searched for the right woman and during all that time, he had known loneliness even with hundreds of females right under his nose.
“Do you want that for our sons?” she pressed.
“Hell, no,” Leksi snapped then yelled Morrigunia’s name at the top of his lungs.
“I’m never that far away that you need to shout, child,” the Goddess chided as she appeared sitting in the crook of an oak tree.
“What about our sons? Will there be girls for them?”
A tender smile stretched the lovely deity’s mouth. “One for each of them, I would imagine.”
“And girls for the sons of those sons?”
“For as long as it amuses me to keep you here,” was the reply.
Kynthia drew in a breath. “Does that mean it won’t be forever?” she asked, her heart thudding hard in her chest.
The Goddess shrugged. “Who knows, child? Perhaps one day I’ll even remove my beloved deargs dul from his tropical prison.”
“But when…” Kynthia began, but once more the fickle Goddess faded from view.
“It may not be as bad as you imagine, Kynni,” Leksi told her.
Kynthia sighed. “Perhaps you’re right.” She settled into his arms again and when he chuckled looked up at him. “What?”
“I just realized I’m right back where I started,” he laughed.
“How do you mean?”
“The prisoner of a powerful woman,” he explained. “First your aunt and now your goddess.”
“She’s not my goddess,” Kynthia disagreed. “I know of her only what Cainer told me.” She swatted him lightly on the chest. “Besides, you are more my prisoner than hers.”
“You think so?” he asked.
“And I intend to make you earn your keep here, warrior.”
He turned her so that she was anchored close to his hip and began walking with her. The waves were gently lapping the shoreline and overhead the gulls were careening on the thermals.
“I don’t know where this place is but when we left Bandar, it was full night. Now, I’d say it is midmorning, wouldn’t you?”
“Aye,” Kynthia agreed.
“We’re a long way from home, my love.”
“Tell me it will be all right, warrior,” she asked. “Please tell me we won’t know the loneliness Cainer feels.”
“We have something Cainer does not have, milady,” he said softly. “We have each other.”
They stopped at the edge of the shoreline and watched as dolphins arched through the water in near the beach. Overhead, the gulls called to them and sailed gracefully by, seeming to eye the couple. In the distance, they heard a rumble of thunder and saw a fork of lightning lace across the sky.
“We’d best look for shelter,” Leksi advised.
“She would have thought of that,” Kynthia told him. “There will be a hut waiting for us.”
“Then let’s go find our bed for I feel a nap coming on,” her warrior said with a pretend yawn.
“Liar,” she teased, rubbing her elbow against his ribs. “You’re more apt to have other things in mind for that bed than a nap.”
“You wouldn’t have it any other way, wench,” Leksi assured her.
She gazed into his sensual amber eyes and smiled. “You’re right, warrior. I wouldn’t.”
“But I don’t really need a bed for what I have in mind right now,” Leksi said, his words a soft growl.
Kynthia cocked a brow. “And what, pray tell, do you have in mind?”
One moment they were standing on the soft sand and the next Kynthia was lying beneath her lover, his body pressed heavily atop her own and wedged between her spread thighs.
“Not bad,” she said. “I didn’t even see you move.”
“This deargs dul stuff is really sweet,” Leksi stated. He lowered his head to nuzzle her neck. “I think I’m going to enjoy these powers.”
“Well, don’t let them go to your head,” Kynthia said in a dry tone.
“Which head?” he countered, his tongue lapping along the column of her throat.
Kynthia smiled and put a hand to his hair, spearing her fingers through the dark mass and enjoying the silky feel of it against her skin.
“You know we could—” sh
e began, but he cut her off with a low shush.
His sword hand was on her breast, kneading the lush globe through the fabric of her shirt, his thumb stroking over the sensitive peak with each light squeeze. Hungry mouth suckling at the base of her throat, he swirled his tongue in the suprasternal notch, tasting her flesh, drawing upon her.
Kynthia sighed deep in her throat as he plucked at her nipple. The sensation of his nails lightly pinching her erect nub sent shivers racing along her spine. She continued threading her fingers through his hair, gently scratching his scalp.
Leksi shifted down her willing body until he could push himself up, sitting on his heels as he leaned down and ripped open her shirt. “She’ll have thought of clothing, right?” he asked.
Kynthia shrugged. “Who needs clothing in paradise, warrior?”
“Who indeed?’ he quipped, laying aside the torn panels of her shirt to reveal her bosom to his view. He stared at those lush globes for a long while then slowly undid his shirt, flicking aside the buttons then peeling the garment from him.
Kynthia smiled as he stood up to remove his britches. His erection proved to be a bit of a hindrance to taking them off but when it sprang into view, her eyes widened and she flicked out a tongue to wet her lips.
“Tease,” he named her as he kicked the britches aside and dropped down beside her once more, hard and naked to her view.
With infinite care he put his hands on those ripe orbs and worshipped them with loving grips that went from her chest to the straining peaks and back again, fingers closing over the nipples to lightly pull and work the coral flesh.
Closing her eyes to the pleasure, Kynthia felt his fingers trailing along her sides, spanning her waist then moving upward to stroke her rib cage. He brushed the backs of his fingers along her armpit then spiraled them down to her hip.
“So beautiful,” he whispered. He shifted his body until his long legs were stretched out, his toes digging into the warm sand.
Releasing her hold on his hair as Leksi moved further down her body, Kynthia lifted her arms above her head and crooked one over her eyes to blot out the blazing sun overhead.
Pressing his palm against the flat indention of her belly, he just grazed the deep indention of her belly button, his middle finger tapping at that sensitive abyss.
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