Briannas Prophecy (30 page)

Brianna could see through the surface of the water to the colorful stones below. The soothing sound of the babbling stream and the familiar scent of evergreen calmed her, reminded her of home. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. She could almost imagine she was on Earth, her father was still alive and they were camping.

“This
is
a soothing place, Niklas.” Brianna opened her eyes and looked at him, noticed the worried frown he wore as he looked from the stream to her face. Reaching out, she took his hand.

“Don’t let me ruin this place for you,
Laharru
. See the beauty.” Lifting her hands to his face, she put her fingers over his eyes. “Close your eyes and hear it.” She leaned her head back and inhaled deeply. “Smell it.”

Niklas released her hand, knelt in the damp soil of the bank and whispered, “Taste it.” He reached into the stream with his cupped hand and brought it to his lips.

“Eeeew!” Brianna cried. She grabbed his hand, pulling it away from his mouth. “Don’t drink that, you don’t know what kind of germs could be growing in there. That’s so disgusting. If you’re that thirsty, let’s go, we aren’t too far from your home.” She flat out refused to say palace.

He smiled and leaned down. Putting his mouth to the stream, he drank deeply.

Brianna grimaced, “I don’t believe you just did that.” She waved her arm. “There’s probably some animal upstream using it as a toilet and you’re drinking it like it’s nothing.” She wrinkled her nose. “Yuck!”

Niklas laughed. “Don’t upset yourself,
Laharra
. I have drunk the water from this stream more times than I can remember. It is said that those who drink from the
Shantamoura
have unfailing health and longer lives.”

Brianna looked down at the stream with interest. “It sounds like the legends on Earth about the fountain of youth.” She kicked a stone into the water, watched it ripple. “It looks like any other stream to me.”

“Reach down and feel the water,
Laharra
. Let it speak to you.”

Brianna looked skeptical. “Let it speak to me, huh? Okaaay…” Kneeling down, she reached out and dangled her fingers into the water. It was cool, smooth and silky feeling. It was strange that it didn’t make her feel wet. Not really. She withdrew her fingers and stared at them with disbelief. They weren’t wet. Her shocked eyes met his. “How can this be?” She plunged her hand in and pulled it back out. Still, her hand was dry. Only a few drops of the water remained in the creases between her fingers. “I don’t understand, Niklas. It’s wet, but it’s not wet.” She looked to him for an explanation for the phenomena.

“I do not know why it is this way. It has always been the same. It is water, yet it is not water.” He plunged his own hand in and pulled it back out, watching it as he spoke. “The
Shantamoura
is the only stream I have ever seen like this.” He cast his gaze downward, looking at the stones lining the bed. “I have seen no other like it anywhere.”

She watched him struggle for the words.

“I know there are still some words in my language you don’t understand. I’ve been forced to try to translate some of them to English. It is a difficult and sometimes confusing exercise for me. I also realize, even though you haven’t that you are slipping in and out of
Terrnan
speech. It’s a confusing mixture that keeps me on my toes.” He grinned. “I never know what language you will use next.”

“I didn’t realize I was doing that.” She didn’t. How could she use another language without realizing it? Was it the disks?

Niklas stayed on the subject of the water, steering it away from her language skills. “The water has healing properties. It heals the sick and strengthens the weak.” Reaching down, he cupped his hand and dipped it into the stream and brought his hand to her lips. “Try it, just this once.”

Brianna frowned. “I swear, Niklas, if this makes me sick, I’m gonna puke all over you.” She scrunched her eyes shut and parted her lips. Brianna’s eyes flew open as she took the water into her mouth and swallowed quickly.

“It’s sweet, it’s really sweet.” How could something that tasted so good be bad for her?
Ahem.
Her mind always had to mess things up, making her think about things she’d rather not.
You do remember bacon, greasy hamburgers, and fried chicken? Hello! Those tasted great, too, but were they good for you?
Brianna put her hand on Niklas’s shoulder for support as she stood. She didn’t want to think about it.

Niklas stood quickly, giving her a worried look. His gaze alternating from her to the stream and back again.

“What?” she asked. “What’s the matter, Niklas?”

He swallowed. “I don’t know what has happened,
Laharra
, but you have changed. The water has never changed anyone before.” He tilted his head to the side watching her.

Her hands flew to her face. “Changed? What do you mean changed?” she cried. She bent from the waist, trying to get a glimpse of herself in the clear water.

Obviously recognizing the shock and dismay in her voice, Niklas took her into his arms. “I didn’t mean to frighten you, little one. There has to be some logical explanation for the way your body has reacted to the water.

“Your indigo eyes are now threaded with glowing silver. They flashed a kaleidoscope of color as you spoke. Your once, slightly rounded nose is thinner, your ears took on a more pointed shape. And your skin is now like cream silk, flawless. Whatever else the river has done, it has enhanced your beauty tenfold.” He took her in his arms when she whimpered.

“I am sure there is nothing to worry about,
Laharra
.” He smoothed the hair back from her forehead and looked into her eyes. “Somehow you are even more beautiful than you were before.”

Brianna looked into his eyes, her mind a jumble of horrifying pictures that brought chaos in their wake. What had she done? She never should have drunk the water. She laughed hysterically, “This is just what everyone always warns you about when you travel. Don’t drink the water.” She called for Larin without thinking, hadn’t realized until that moment that she
did
like him, smart aleck attitude and all. He felt comfortable to her, familiar.

“You called, oh beauteous one?” Larin appeared in a full bow, sarcastic as usual. When he straightened, he noticed her stricken expression. He immediately waved his arm, using his immense power to pull her from Niklas’s embrace and into his own.

Niklas glared at him. “What do you think you are doing with my wife?” He lunged toward them, trying to free her from the faery’s hold.

Larin grew taller, more muscular, his eyes glowing a strange iridescent orange, an ancient Fae warrior in full glamour. “Do not test my patience, mortal!” he roared. His voice echoed through the glade, sounding eerie and hollow, and not quite human. Larin’s hand shot out and a blue beam wrapped itself around Niklas, locking him in place.

Niklas couldn’t move. He could only stare at them. The contempt in his eyes directed at Larin. He glowered at the faery, his eyes filled with hatred. Niklas lurched forward, trying to exert enough energy to drive his way through the force field the faery had erected around him.

Brianna looked from one to the other. “What have you done to him, Larin? Please, let him go.”

* * * *

“Not until you tell me what
he
has done to you.” Larin said softly, pointing his chin toward Niklas. He took her chin in his hand, tilted her head back and studied her thoughtfully. “You have changed.” His eyes narrowed and he looked thoughtful.

She wrenched free of his hold, wrapped her arms around herself and stared at her husband. “That’s what Niklas just said.” She bordered on hysterics. “He said my eyes nose and skin are different, but I can’t see myself—even in the river.” She was nearing hysterics, her hands, her whole body shaking.

“Calm down, Brianna, these histrionics cannot be good for you.” Larin patted her shoulder awkwardly.

She turned toward him. Her eyes sparked with anger. Her indigo irises flashed with a kaleidoscope of silver and sapphire. She pointed to the stream, one hand rested over her slightly rounded stomach.

“How good is
that
for my children?”

“Children?” He slowly shifted his gaze from Brianna’s face to her stomach, then to look in the direction she was pointing.

Larin looked dazed. “
Nee la Shantamoura
. The river of life.” He whispered, awed at the sight before him. He released the glamour, returned to his natural appearance and fell to his knees in front of Brianna, taking her hands in his. “Thank you, beauty. You have called me home.” His elation was short lived. Soon, he looked at her with shock. “Children? You are with child?”

Brianna smiled softly, rubbed her slightly rounded stomach. “With three of them.” She looked back to the stream. “What has the water done to them, to me?”

Larin smiled. A genuine smile that would have made almost any woman swoon. He wrapped his arms around Brianna and comforted her.

She stood within his embrace, thinking how strange it was that his embrace felt so comfortable. Like being wrapped in a warm blanket. He gave her a feeling of safety and security, of coming home.

Behind them Niklas growled. “Get your hands off of my wife, faery!”

Larin turned toward him and sighed. He shook his head, shifting his gaze back to Brianna. “I suppose
he
is the father?” He rolled his eyes at Brianna’s nod, released her and waved his arm in Niklas’s direction. He stepped back, allowing him to approach.

“Well, you
did
tell me I’d done good for myself.” Brianna watched Larin, wondering why he’d been so protective of her.

Niklas rushed to her side, took her in his arms and looked into her eyes. “I truly did not know it would change you,
Laharra
. We should hurry to the Palace where Sarcha can examine you.”

Larin shook his head. “You worry for nothing. The water of the
Shantamoura
has only enhanced what she already held within her.” He waved his hand in dismissal.

“And what would you know about it?” Niklas challenged, tucking Brianna safely under his arm.

“I know much more about the
Shantamoura
than you could possibly imagine.” He snorted and looked around him with awe. “This is my home, our home, the world my people have been banished from for eons.”

Larin gazed over the stream as if it were a long lost lover. Kneeling down, he drank. The water made him look more unreal, more ethereal, more like the magical being he was. He stood and turned toward them, his eyes, once a glacial blue, were now nearly silver. Energy surrounded him, an aura that they could both see and hear as it crackled around him. He walked slowly to Brianna and knelt at her feet. A silver tear slid down his cheek. “Thank you for calling me home.” He bowed his head. “I swear fealty to you, second only to Morgaine.”

Brianna knelt in front of him, looked into his eyes. “What has the water done to you, Larin? What has it done to me?”

He smiled, his face had become even more handsome than before. “The water of the
Shantamoura
has enhanced the magic within you.” He took her hands in his, shot Niklas a warning glance and continued. “We of the Fae are not bound by the laws of human nature. We draw our power from the Earth, from
Terrna
.” He waved his hand toward the stream. “We draw power from the
Shantamoura
. The river cannot harm us, as it will not harm you, or your babes. You are one of us. You are Fae.”

Brianna shook her head. “No, Larin, you are mistaken. I can’t do those things you do. I have no magical power within me at all.” She stood up and began to pace.

Larin shook his head. “You have the power, but you deny it at every turn. Your denial is the reason your power has deserted you.”

She turned toward him, her eyes flashing. “I never had any power. I am
not
faery.” Even though the Fae had told her Morwyyn was half fae and that he was her grandfather, she still didn’t believe it. Even if it was true, how could the Fae blood from someone so far removed factor in now?

“Deny it, if you wish, but you do have faery blood within you. It is your legacy. Just as your destiny is to be here, with him.” Larin jerked his head toward Niklas, who stood watching them, speechless and wary.

“How, Larin?” Brianna wrinkled her brow. “How is it possible for me to have enough faery blood to make a difference?” Her confusion chased across her face, mixed with a hope she’d never dared to have. Could she have family amongst the Fae? Did she dare hope to have that elusive connection with someone?

Niklas stirred beside her.
I am your family,
Laharra
, our children are your family.