The Portal to Sidhe: Book 3

by Kelsey Schaeffer

  I shook my head. “Let him go. I have an idea.” I said.

  Damon was the King of Pine Lake and could do whatever he wanted…that is, as long as we remained married.

  Chapter 14

  “Let him go,” Benny said to his guards. My son looked towards me, “What are we going to do Mom?”

  “Not we, Benny,” I said, “It’s what I’m going to do.”

  “What are you going to do?” Ben corrected himself.

  “I’m going to divorce him.”

  “Mom!” Benny exclaimed in shock.

  “Miranda…but you love him,” Ben said. “Why? He’s been doing so much better.”

  “I know…I know,” I said. “But it’s the only way. I am Queen of Pine Lake by blood. If I divorce him, he looses all his power. You’ll become king, Ben.”

  “I don’t want to take that away from Damon,” Ben said sheepishly.

  “If Damon takes Luke back to Earth…who knows what could happen. Luke’s like a ticking bomb, just waiting to explode, and Damon’s…unstable.”

  “You’re right,” Ben said, “but this is extreme. That potion has kept Damon stable for awhile…but…but…”

  “She’s right Dad,” Benny said. “This has been a long time coming. He cheated on Mom. Got another woman pregnant…”

  “Benny, please,” I said. “This isn’t about…any of that.”

  “But it’s the truth!” My son cried, “I love him. He’s my stepfather, and he raised me for many years. He taught me how to be king, but he’s not fit to be king of Pine Lake anymore…he’s certainly not fit to take Luke to Earth and try to keep him in line.”

  I nodded my head.

  “If that’s what you think you need to do…” Ben said reluctantly. “I’ll take his place.”

  I nodded my head and stood up, not allowing my husband or son to argue with me another moment. “I’ll speak with him now.”

  “Be careful Mom,” Benny said as I headed towards the door.

  “Miranda,” Ben called after me, “Do you want me to go with you?”

  “I need to do this alone,” I said quietly as I headed out the door, feeling immense pain floating through my veins—not physical pain, but deep dark emotional pain.

  I knew Damon was angry, but I didn’t think he had it in him to act so fast. His magical medicine had been keeping him mostly stable for the last several months. After leaving the throne room, I learned my instincts were correct when I stopped to ask a guard which direction Damon had headed.

  “He seemed to be headed to your home,” the vampire guard said politely.

  “Thank you,” I replied as I headed home, unsure what to expect.

  When I arrived, the house was quiet and empty, so I headed straight to the room Damon and I shared. The room was dark upon entering. I almost turned around, thinking the room was vacant, until I noticed the dim light of a candle on the coffee table. I turned my gaze in the direction of the candle, and saw Damon sitting in his recliner.

  “Damon,” I said quietly as I headed his way.

  “Go away,” he said in a glum tone.

  “Damon,” I repeated as I headed in his direction and took a seat on the couch adjacent to him.

  He kept his gaze glued to the ground.

  “Damon, look at me!” I said a bit louder once I was seated.

  Damon wouldn’t look my way so I decided to give it to him straight. “Our marriage is over,” I said. “We were never legally married on earth, so all I have to do is return to earth and revoke our marriage in front of the counsel. Upon doing so, you will no longer be king.”

  My words finally grabbed his attention. He looked up at me as his blue eyes blazed by the glow of the candlelight. As he stared at me, I could feel the essence of his anger secrete from his body and soar in my direction sending chills crawl up my spine. He didn’t say a single word, but I was overwhelmed by fear as he rose from his seat.

  Damon stood above me for several silent moments as if to show his dominance over me. I trembled as my nerves tingled down my spine in fear of what he would do. I had known Damon my entire life, and I had never felt as much fear of him as I did in this very moment.

  Finally he opened up his mouth. I gripped my hands together and began wringing them in anxiety.

  “How could you?” He said in a very quiet tone.

  “Damon, you know why. You know exactly why,” I said quietly as I gained composure.

  Damon didn’t move, but he spoke again, “You’re so willing to keep our son locked away in the dungeon or send him to Hell that you would divorce me over it. You would end our marriage when I have known you my entire life. I have loved you from the moment I knew how to love. I loved…love you so much, I allowed you to be with another man and have his children…just to make you happy. How could you do this to me?”

  “Damon, you know why. I have to protect Pine Lake…Earth.”

  “And I have to protect our son!” Damon hissed as he leaned towards me in anger. “If you do this, I’m…I’m done! I’m done with you. I will leave Sidhe…Pine Lake. I will leave the country. I will go somewhere where you will never find me or see me again!” he screamed.

  “Damon, please. Calm down.”

  “No!” he screamed, “I have given up my life for you! Everything! I have one child…one! Now you want to leave me…end our marriage, take away my title, and send my one and only child to Hell! Well, fuck you Miranda! Fuck you!” he screamed so loud the walls trembled in fear.

  I began to sob as I quivered from my neck to my toes. “I don’t want to do this Damon! I don’t want to do any of this,” I cried. “Do you think I want to send Luke—my little boy—to Hell? Do you think I want to throw away my marriage? You are my best friend and my love,” I sobbed. “It’s the only option to keep my other children…my family…my friends, and everyone safe.”

  “Of course it is!” he screamed. “This is how it’s always been with you. You care about your friends, your children…your precious husband, but you’ll throw me and my child under the bus.”

  “That isn’t how it is!” I hissed.

  “Is that so?” Damon howled.

  “Damon, please. This is killing me. You are my husband too, and Luke is also my child. I don’t want this, but what choice do I have?”

  Damon’s flaming red face began to pale as his lip began to tremble.

  “Damon?” I said softly in fear of his sudden change.

  He didn’t speak as his lips continued to tremble, and his hands began to shake. In one quick move, his head collapsed into his shaking palms, and he let out a terrifying moan. His cry was so loud, like nothing I had ever heard from my husband before—even on his darkest days. After his initial sob, his cries began to tremble as his entire body started to shudder.

  I quickly fell to my husband’s side as I wrapped my arms around him. As I placed my head in his chest, I felt his head collapse against mine as he drowned me in tears.

  “Shhhhh,” I whispered as I stroked his hair through my fingers. “We’ll figure this out, okay? Shhhhh…”

  I tried to calm him down, but his sobs only grew louder, and his shaking became out of control.

  “We’ll get through this,” I said softly, but it seemed as if he didn’t hear a word I said as he shook so hard, his body finally gave way, and he collapsed to the ground. “Damon…please…just breath!” I cried.

  Damon lay on the ground, trembling and hyperventilating as I told him to breath over and over again. “Delia!” I screamed, “Delia help!”

  When Delia didn’t come, I assumed she was gone, so I screamed for my mother, then Nathen and even Ben, but no one replied to my cry for help. Finally after several moments of holding Damon tight, I felt then tension in his body begin to unravel as his sobs quieted.

  “Damon, come back to me,” I whispered as his breathing slowed. I tried to use whatever magic I could to calm him, but I was a dark fairy; my magic was much different than Delia and Damon’s calming charms.

&
nbsp; Finally, when it seemed Damon’s tantrum would never end, his body melted into my arms, and his sobs grew quiet. He opened his blood shot eyes, and gave me a pathetic gaze.

  “Damon, are you okay?” I asked.

  He softly nodded and quietly said, “I’m so sorry Miranda. I can’t put on this show anymore. I can’t pretend that I am strong and manly, when my heart is breaking and I’m dying inside.”

  I brushed my fingers through Damon’s thick blond hair and kissed his forehead. When moments before he was acting like a grueling beast, he now had the personality of a helpless child.

  “It hurts…it hurts so bad,” Damon whispered as his swollen eyes gave me a sad gaze.

  “I know it does Damon, I know it does, but we have to do what’s right. You know that?”

  Damon nodded, “Please don’t leave me. Please. I won’t take Luke. I swear on it…I swear I won’t take him. Please forgive me…please trust me.”

  I nodded my head, as I wanted to trust him so bad. “You know what needs to be done?” I had to be the strong one. I had to do what was right for everybody.

  Damon nodded his head.

  I took a deep breath and sighed loudly as I let the air out slowly between my lips. I didn’t want to say more, but I had to. “We will have to send Luke to hell. Taylor will care for him…I know he will. He’s changed.” I paused. “We have to tell Benny tomorrow, okay?”

  Damon nodded his head, but the look of melancholy only grew across his face. “Miranda,” he said.”

  “Yes?”

  As he spoke, he appeared to be rather calm—quite a change from before. “I will agree to this despite my wishes, but I ask for only one thing.”

  “What’s that?” I asked.

  “I want a baby of my own.”

  “Damon, I’m in my forties. You know how hard it will be for me to get pregnant at this age.”

  “But you’re part fairy,” Damon cried, “It will be much easier for you. My mom was over a hundred years old when she had me.”

  “Yes, but she is a full-blood fairy. I have only an eighth of fairy in me.”

  Damon nodded, “Please Miranda. It would mean everything. If you just try…I will go with you tomorrow and give Benny my blessing.”

  I nodded. Having a fifth child was the furthest thing I wanted, especially at my age. But it seemed a fair compromise to keep the peace between everyone and do what was best for both Sidhe and Earth. “Fine,” I said softly.

  It was if my agreement was his invitation to place a passionate kiss upon my lips. He sat up, and with another sudden change in behavior, he lifted me from the ground and carried me to the bed.

  “I want to start now,” he whispered as he placed a soft kiss upon my neck.

  I was emotionally drained, and making love was the last thing on my mind, but Damon was finally being agreeable. The last thing I wanted to do was set him back off, so I allowed him to lay me on the bed and undress me. We made love quickly and efficiently. It was short, but still full of passion, and when we were finished, we lay besides one another breathing deeply.

  “I love you,” he said. “I love you so much, and I would do anything to make you happy. I just want to start over, to try again for the baby we lost so many years ago. I don’t care if I have to share you, as long as I can still have a family with you.”

  I nodded my head, but I felt panicky inside. Something deep inside my heart just felt…wrong.

  Our decision was settled the next day when Damon and I met with Benny in his office.

  The meeting was quick and to the point, and after it was through, Benny asked me to remain behind. As soon as Damon was out the door, Benny gave me a hopeful smile and said, “Mom, I wanted to tell you first…” he began digging in his shirt pocket until he pulled out a small object that I couldn’t quite see. As soon as he opened his hand, I immediately saw the sparking diamond ring sitting on his palm.

  “Oh my!” I cried. “No one else knows?”

  Benny shook his head. “I’m going to ask Samantha to marry me tomorrow night.”

  I wrapped my arms around my first-born child as a tear escaped my eye, and I let out a squeal. “I’m so happy for you honey. So much!” This was truly good news after an overwhelming series of bad events.

  He nodded his head, but his smile seemed hesitant.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked.

  “Mom, I want to marry Samantha before Luke goes away. I want him to be my best man…but how can I have him in my wedding when he’s so unpredictable.”

  I thought for a moment as I gave my son a hopeful smile. “I’ll talk with Delia and Emerlee. They helped Damon with his explosive mood swings; maybe they can come up with something to keep Luke stable for one night.”

  Benny nodded his head, as his smile grew a bit more confident. “Thanks, Mom.”

  I hugged my son once more, before I headed out of the room. Just as I went to open the door, I heard my son again.

  “Mom,” he said. I turned around to look his way. His cheeks were lifted in a smile. Despite everything, Benny seemed happy. “Don’t tell anyone.” His eyebrows lifted, as his smile grew wider. I felt for once, things might be okay.

  Our final months with Luke thinned like the sand in an hourglass as time quickly passed by. Not only were they the last few months I would have with my youngest son, but we were quickly planning a wedding for my eldest son. When I wasn’t spending every moment possible with Luke, I was spending it with Samantha and her mother Elona, planning a wedding. With hard work and effort, we were able to arrange a wedding fit for a king and queen just two months before Desmorelda’s anticipated return.

  While I was hard at work planning a wedding, Delia and Emerlee were working tirelessly to formulate a potion that would temperately remove Luke’s vile behavior. It was only three weeks before Benny’s big day, when Delia and Emerlee charged into the living room with enormous smiles upon their faces.

  “Miranda!” Delia cried out breathlessly as I sat alone reading a book. By her appearance, I could have guessed that she had just run a mile.

  “Hi, Delia,” I said as I quickly put my book away, curious by the two fairies sudden contentment.

  “Where are Damon and Ben…and Nathen?” Delia asked.

  “Nathen and Damon are fishing, but Ben is in the kitchen,” I replied.

  “Ben!” Delia called out in the direction of the kitchen, “come quick!”

  It only took seconds for Ben to come running from the kitchen; a look of concern across his face as he wiped his flour covered hands on his shirt.

  “Is everything okay?” he asked. His mouth hung open and his eyebrows were lifted with concern.

  When he saw the delightful expressions on Delia and Emerlee’s faces, he shut his mouth and his face softened.

  “We did it!” Emerlee cried. “We created a potion that will take Luke’s vile away for six hours.”

  I threw my hand over my mouth in excitement as everyone began exchanging hugs in delight.

  “This is wonderful!” Ben cried as he clapped his hands.

  “So it works?” I asked. “It’s completely safe for Luke to attend Benny’s wedding?”

  Delia’s expression darkened, but her joyous mood didn’t cease.

  “Well of course, no magic is without consequence,” she said. “The magic will work for six hours before it will completely wear off, and he will go back to his normal vile self.”

  “So what’s the consequence?” Ben asked.

  “Well,” Emerelee said with a frown, “Once the potion wears away, his vile will not only return, but it will be worse.”

  “We can’t do that!” I cried.

  Delia’s face softened, “It’s okay Miranda, after one or two uses, it would be insignificant.” She looked towards Emerlee, and as she nodded her head, she said, “We would like to give it to him twice first, and run some tests to ensure it does its job.”

  “Yes,” Emerlee continued, “Two times for testing, and once more on the weddin
g. Using the potion three times shouldn’t be enough to affect his personality.”

  “But,” Delia continued on, “more than that…I would be concerned.”

  Emerlee nodded her head in agreement.

  “I trust you both,” I said, “but Damon would have to agree…and ultimately the decision is Benny’s.”

  “Yes!” Benny cried, when Delia and I brought him the news. “This is wonderful,” he said. “Of course I want to make sure it is thoroughly tested first.” He held an enormous smile across his face as he cried, “This is great!”

  I smiled. “I’m so happy for you Benny,” I said as I hugged him tight.

  Although my heart was shattered inside—held together by entangled barbed wire, I was thrilled that our family would have one last special night together. We could all be together one last time before Desmorelda would come to take our Luke away.

  When Damon returned from fishing, he agreed to allow Luke to take the potion, and Benny enthusiastically requested we begin testing the very next day.

  Early the next morning, I accompanied Delia and Emerlee to the dungeon to begin Luke’s testing. We would simply start by giving Luke the potion. For three hours, we would observe Luke for any change in behavior. After three hours, Delia and Emerlee would run tests to check my son’s level of vile. Once the full six hours surpassed, they would test Luke again. At the six-hour period, the potion would begin to wear off, and it was expected that Luke’s vile behavior would quickly return. At seven hours, they would procure one final test to verify their potion would work as expected. If their first test run was a success, Benny agreed that we could temporarily release Luke for his second testing of the potion.

  When the three of us arrived at Benny’s cell, he looked less than thrilled by arrival.

  “Hello Mother,” he grumbled, “Grandma, Emerlee.” He nodded with a smug look across his face.

  “Hi Luke,” I said as I smiled, trying to stay positive. “Delia has a potion she needs you to drink.”