Darach (14 page)
"I'm not letting you sacrifice yourself like this."
"Move out of the way, Darach." The sadness in Ceithin's voice didn't deter Darach. Rather, it reinforced his determination.
"Make me." Darach realized belatedly this particular threat was probably the wrong one to use. Scarlet Fire picked him up and deposited him none too gracefully six feet away.
"What about me, Ceithin?" The death of one bonded mate before the other was as terrible as the theft of Fire. Nightmares of loneliness and pain that never abated, and of a world without light, flooded Darach's mind. The nightmares he imagined were probably only the surface of the pain of separation. He had bonded, as it had been foretold he would. Surely his destiny wasn't to watch his lover walk away.
"What about you?" Ceithin said harshly. "Face it! I'm Cariad and you are City! We were doomed from the start! A bond less than two hours old is too fragile to cause lasting damage to you. Consider this your escape clause in action."
"You don't mean that! Damn it, Ceithin, I love you!" Darach tried to scramble to his feet, and couldn't. Clearly, Ceithin had cast something to stop him. Well, it might have worked before, but now he had strength and control he hadn't known were possible before. Forcing every piece of magik he knew into one snap, he severed the casting that held him pinned to the ground and, in a few paces, was back between his lover and the horse.
"I do mean it." Ceithin closed his eyes briefly, a frown crinkling his forehead. "We all knew that if Guardian decided to take action, he would come and take one of us, or both, to answer for the breaking of the Earliest Law. I knew this would happen, Darach. I just wanted it to be after you had managed your element with your Fire. It was only a matter of time."
"We are lovers, bonded. If you go, I go."
"You think I want that?" Ceithin's temper swung in a heartbeat and he gripped Darach's upper arms, the pressure punishing. "You think I want the man I have fallen in love with to die with me? I want you here, with my family, and I want you to live. Father can show you ways to manage the loss of the bond. You could live a long life."
"It won't be a life without you." Darach could feel hysteria rising in him. This was so wrong. "Ceithin, there must be a way. We could all leave; we could all run. Somehow…"
Ceithin shook his head, his face carved with grief and then resignation. "No, Darach, could you love a coward?"
"It isn't being a coward. It's called staying alive."
"We don't know for sure Guardian will kill me or take my Fire. He may smack me across the knuckles, slap on a punishment, and then let me go. We won't know until I meet him and see."
"Then I am going with you. I want my face to be the last thing you see if he decides to—" He couldn't form another word because of the tears tight in his throat.
Then it was suddenly too late to discuss anything at all.
* * * *
The horse entered the yard with the muted sound of hooves on dust and dirt. It reared to a stop by the gate, no more than ten feet away from Ceithin and Darach. The rider stayed astride, a cloak loose about him, a hood half covering his face. The aura around him was incredible. A blush of gold, a wash of amber, a yellow so intense it burnt any gaze foolish enough to risk more than a quick glance. When the horseman alighted, he did so with the grace of long practice.
Ceithin sank to his knees, bending his head. "Guardian."
Darach hesitated. Even living in the City, he had never seen Guardian out of the shadows and showing the full range of his fabled amber Fire. It lit the yard, and the night receded against its brilliance. When Guardian inclined his head, the hood sliding forward and deepening the shadows over his face, Darach was compelled to kneel. He did so with a muttered, "Guardian."
Ceithin sought his hand, gripped it tightly, cast one look at him, and gave him the same grin that Darach had fallen in love with. "I love you. Please don't do anything stupid," he whispered so low no one apart from Darach could hear.
"I promise," Darach replied.
Then, standing shoulder to shoulder, they faced judgment.
Guardian stepped closer, tall, imposing, his hands clenched in fists at his side. "Ceithin Morgan." The voice was soft, low, familiar, and tension knotted in Darach's stomach. "And Darach Gravenor."
Familiar?
Why?
Darach took his own step forward. Horrified, Ceithin attempted to drag him back, even as he shouted, "Darach! No!"
Guardian chuckled and pushed back the hood of the cloak, showing his face, handsome and strong for the most part, but scarred terribly from temple to neck on one side.
Darach was sick, ecstatic, furious. Wrenching his hand free of Ceithin's powerful grip, he stumbled forward until little more than an arm's length separated Darach and Guardian. He couldn't believe his eyes, couldn't pound comprehension into his overtaxed mind. Temper roared from deep in him and his hands clenched into fists. The punch he threw crashed into the fleshy part of Guardian's abdomen. He would have forced it through if he could have. Vaguely, he heard Ceithin shouting at him to stop. The next punch, a jab to the other man's jaw, was deflected by Guardian, who pushed Darach back with a stern "Stop! Darach! Stop!"
"Darach, what the hell are you doing?" Ceithin's words echoed his disbelief and dread. Nevertheless, he stumbled forward to stand next to his Bondmate, his expression shocked, the fear bright in his eyes, his scarlet spiky and uncoordinated on his skin. "Darach, please! Guardian, forgive him; he's young. It's me you—"
Guardian raised a hand, and Ceithin subsided into silence, but still stood shoulder to shoulder with Darach.
"Guardian? Is that what you are calling yourself?" Darach couldn't believe what he was seeing, what he was hearing, and wouldn't have stopped the derision coloring his words, even if he could have.
"Dar—"
"
We saw you burn
.
"
H
is voice shook with emotion, tears battling with fury and disbelief
.
"
I stood with Kian and we watched you
die
.
"
"The Council… I didn't… I couldn't…" Guardian shrugged, his scarred face twisting in a parody of a smile and he held out a placating hand. "I'm sorry."
Darach took a step back, breathing heavily, in no mood to hear apologies
"What the hell is going on here?" Ceithin muttered under his breath, and Darach's chest tightened. He took a deep breath, several deep breaths.
Guardian was not going to hurt Ceithin. Guardian wouldn't be exacting revenge on Ceithin or Darach. And if he tried… Finally, he found the words inside him and allowed them to grate out past the anger. "Ceithin, your Guardian, my Guardian, was my friend Eoin Gryfyth."
"The one who died when he got his Fire? That Eoin?" Ceithin sounded incredulous and, as the words sank in, considerably less nervous than he had been only a few seconds earlier. Darach relaxed into the strong embrace of scarlet Fire.
Eoin inclined his head. "Darach, Ceithin, there will be time to discuss this later. For now, the three of us—"
"The three of us?" Ceithin repeated suspiciously.
Anger, distrust, and fear tumbled through Darach, chased down with not a small amount of grief.
"We need the Cariad—" Eoin started again.
"His name is Ceithin, not 'the Cariad'," Darach spat, taking a step closer to the friend he had thought dead.
Guardian, Eoin, nodded apologetically. He seemed so much older than his twenty-one years. Older, darker, scarred and weathered by responsibility. His amber fizzed and danced on his palms, and, Darach realized, his beautiful golden hazel eyes were shadowed by worry.
Darach couldn
'
t understand what was happening here
.
Still attempting to process the presence of
his
Eoin standing in front of him, definitely
alive, not to mention reeling from the emotions in
volved in
bonding
with and then
nearly
losing Ceithin, Darach stood shaking until Ceithin embraced him and soothed him with fire and a gentle kiss.
"
All three of us must cross to the
Otherworld
, where Kian is.
"
Guardian
—
no
,
Eoin
—
paused dramatically
,
and Darach wanted to punch him again
.
"
W
e
have to find Kian
and
his
Hunter
. Someone
on the other side
of the gate, i
n the Otherworld,
has
a boy with amber Fire
held
prisoner
. Whoever has him is
feeding off their Fire
, channeling the Fire to the
Eicio
. I
can
see the child as
the one
that
was
stolen from here
.
I can
'
t do this alone. I need you both with me.
"
"Eoin—"
"Guardian—"
Darach and Ceithin spoke at once, but when Guardian interrupted, it was in a tone so bleak, so sad, it made Darach fear for what they needed to do. Six words, an ominous foreshadowing of something that made Darach's head spin with questions.
"We have two worlds to save."
To be continued…
About the Author
RJ Scott lives just outside London and is aiming for the day when writing can take over her web design business full time. She has been writing since age six, when she was made to stay in at lunchtime for an infraction involving cookies and was told to write a story. Two sides of A4 about a trapped princess later, a lover of writing was born. She loves reading anything from thrillers to sci-fi to horror; however, her first real love will always be the world of romance. Her goal is to write stories with a heart of romance, a troubled road to reach happiness, and more than a hint of happily ever after.
Email:
Webpage:
www.rjscott.co.uk
Twitter:
@rjscotts
Also by R J Scott
Available at
Silver Publishing
:
Oracle
Moments
The Christmas Throwaway
The Heart of Texas
Valentine 2525
All the King's Men
Back Home
Deefur Dog
(June 2011)
Guarding Morgan
(July 2011)
THE FIRE TRILOGY
Kian
Darach
Eoin
(coming soon)
THE FITZWARREN INHERITANCE
The Psychic
'
s Tale
, by Chris Quinton (June 4)
The Soldier
'
s Tale
, by RJ Scott (June 11)
The Lord
'
s Tale
, by Sue Brown (July 2)
Available at
Dreamspinner Press
:
Two Plus One
"
Ascension
"
in
A Brush of Wings
Award Winning Titles:
Best Paranormal Author 2010
Nomination:
Love Romance Café
Best GBLTQ Author 2010
Nomination:
Love Romance Café
Oracle
Best Gay Paranormal / Horror 2010
: Honorable Mention (5th)
Elisa Rolle's Rainbow Awards
Oracle
Best Cover 2010
: Second Place
Elisa Rolle
'
s Rainbow Awards
Oracle
Best Cover 2010
: Runner Up
Love Romance Café
Reviews:
Lisa from
Michele n Jeff Reviews
gives 5/5 to
The Christmas Throwaway
RJ Scott has created a beautiful and inspirational story that grabs hold of the heart and doesn't let go, even after its final words are read. It is a sweetly sentimental book that cultivates an emotional response and inspires belief that love can prevail under the most improbable of circumstances. The characters are well developed and engaging, and the attraction between Zach and Ben was entirely credible. To use a trite but true cliché, The Christmas Throwaway is simply a feel-good story, a touching and romantic read that embodies the meaning of new beginnings and happy endings.
* * * *
Book Wenches
give 4.5 to
Moments
Although I began reading it looking for a Hollywood train wreck, this novel is much more than that. It is a well-told story of love, personal growth and redemption that I found to be touching and quite involving. It features well-developed and arresting characters, heartfelt emotion, and a romance that's both intriguing and affecting… I will definitely be seeking out more of Ms. Scott's work in the future.
* * * *
Readers Roundtable
gives 5/5 to
Oracle
