Brief Interludes (3 page)

“
Your graceful waves?
”
Naomi asked
,
befuddled.

“
Why do you keep repeating what I say?
”

“
Why do I keep
repeat
…?
”
Naomi shook her head. This
was
crazy. She stared into the stranger’s brilliant blue eyes searching for some hint of a
joke
,
s
omething that would tell her this was all just one of
Barbus
’ horrible pranks to taunt her.
But
all she saw was tenderness and honesty.
“
Wait, you said your name is
Leith
?
”

“
Yes,
Leith
.
I come from the water. Surely, you’ve heard of the magical Water of
Leith
. I am here for you. You’ve been coming every day trying to change that brown rag to white, but you can no more change the color of that fleece than he can change you.
”

“
He?
”

Leith
tilted his head and scratched his scruffy chin.
“
Barbus
, of course.
He has tried to change you for months.
But
you are still beautiful and still a princess no matter what torn and ragged clothing he makes you wear. And just like you can’t change that brown rag into a white one, he can’t change the fact that you are a beautiful princess no matter what he does or says to you.
”

Naomi laughed.
He’s surely daft ... Gorgeous, but nuttier than a sack of walnuts.

“
You think I am crazy? You’re the one stickin
g
that ugly brown fleece in my cool white froth thinking it will change color.
”

“
You read my mind?
”

Leith
held out his hand.
“
Give me your hand, Naomi. I am here for you. Come and let me show you how you were meant to be treated.
”

For some reason, Naomi couldn’t resist reaching out to this strange but beautiful and dazzling man.
“
Where will you take me?
”

“
To my home.
I have watched you all this time and I cannot stand it any longer. You deserve to be adored and
treated
with respect. You deserve to
be loved
. Hop on.
”

Naomi frowned when he pointed to a purple Harley Davidson motorcycle.
“
You’re going to take me away on that?
”

“
You could stay here and spend the rest of your life trying to change that rag into something it’ll never be or you can hop on here and be with me. I promise, she is the smoothest ride you’ve ever had … until later.
”

Naomi looked at the brown fleece in her hand and then looked up the hill at the old dilapidated castle. She didn’t hesitate. She threw the rag down, yanked up her
skirt
and
straddled the seat behind him
, wrapping her arms around
Leith’s
waist.

“
Hang on tight,
”
Leith
said.

~
~
~
~

One hour later
Leith
stroked his hands over Naomi’s slick wet skin, spreading bubbles over
h
er nipples
.
S
he closed her eyes and smiled.
I am a princess
.

Unbridled Love

December 21, 2212

Fire crackled and crawled over the
ac
cumulation of wood at the base of
Solange’s
feet. One log fe
d
the next as
flames ignited in
a frenzy
, encircling her
. With hands bound behind her back
,
the slightest movement caused the coarse rope fibers to cut deep into her wrists. Solange stared at the flames roaring about her feet and screamed. Tears dripped on dry
lips and tasted salty as they settled on her tongue when she opened her mouth to yell.

“
Why do you do this?
”
Solange shouted through the roar.
“
The firestorms gave us these gifts
—gifts
that
could
help you. Your fear of us will only result in your own demise.
”

Solange cursed silently, wishing the firestorms had never happened—but they had. Over two hundred years ago, the earth had changed when a multitude of monstrous electrical storms and swarms of multiple tornadoes pummeled the earth, destroying almost everything, killing billions of people. Many took shelter underground, others above ground in caves. Those above ground who survived developed capabilities never before possible for human beings. Those gifts, as her people referred to them, became
genetic
and were passed down from generation to generation, laying dormant in
some
but active in others. Thus, a new race was created,
feared
and forced into hiding, living secretly among
human
kind
.

Broderick,
a normal
man
and
city councilman of great prominence among the townspeople discovered
Roland’s
extraordinary talents
and set out to
destroy
him
. Solange knew him to be a simple
-
minded man, full of hate and jealousy. Killing her was his only way to
capture
Roland.

How could
Roland allow
this
to
happen?
He
had promised
, promised to be back before Broderick was able to gather enough men to find and capture her
.
He made a
vow from his heart and the core of his soul
with h
is last breath of spoken love
—he
would retu
rn before hysteria took charge, but h
e had to leave
—
to secure their passage
to safety
.

Roland, left with two choices
—destroy
the town or flee
—decided
that he and Solange must leave
. 
His heart
—too
pure, too loving of nature
—never
allowed him to destroy towns with anything but guilt and remorse.
Solange closed her burning eyes as the smoke rose, choking her.

The
unbearable torture weakened her and, f
ighting hard to keep her faith, she prayed.
Not for
herself
, for Roland—her love so great for her mate, she feared not for her own death—that he would recognize the trap Broderick set for him.
She was the mate of a Taiman
King,
an elemental with powers beyond any
one’s
imagination. She herself possessed
a small
gift of telepathy
but
only with Roland.
Roland
…

Damn it, where are you, for
Zola’s
sake? Hurry, Roland.

Solange looked to the sky for a sign. She'd need a torrential downpour to cover this blazing hellhole of a town
where Roland
persuaded her to settl
e with him for the rest of their days.
Instead, she would die here like the witches in the fable
s
Poppy once read aloud to her during her childhood.

“
Zola will curse you. Zola will curse you all…,
”
she sobbed, her chin lowering to her chest in defeat, knowing her cries
w
ould n
ever
be heard
over the roar of the blaze.

The air thickened. Peeking through strands of smoke-filled brown curls, Solange could no longer see her captors. The wind that would have cooled the stagnant air became fuel for the fire. Its swift movements swirled over each log with blazes of blue and orange
vortices
, each
peaking
,
then curling, hugging close before spurting out again. The fire danced close, licking the bottom of her sandals. As her feet burned
,
she screamed in agony.

Lumbering sounds of horses' hooves and snorts drummed in her ears. Men shouted, whistling and hooting as they rode around the fire, as though their vociferations would help feed the flames. Solange heard the roar of thunder. Was it merely thunder
or
was it Roland?

Birds shrieked and headed toward the trees. Rain streamed down in curtains
—much
like water falling from the side of a mountain
—dousing
the flames. Steam rose
,
almost scorching her face. Struggling to see through the m
u
rk
,
she spotted Roland astride his great black mare, Tank, her pony, Misty, trotting alongside. Both glistened with rainwater.

Roland charged into the clearing, his dark reddish hair swaying with the wind, sword high and swirling through the air
. Silver gleamed
and spark
ed
as metal struck metal. Then for several heart-stopping moments
,
Solange's breath caught in her throat as a huge net came down over Roland and Tank
, the dreaded trap she had feared
successful, with her a
s the bait.

Tank snorted and twirled with confusion and Roland patted his side with strokes of confidence. As he controlled the rain, he commanded the energy around him, hoisting the net in the air, and
swinging
it over Solange's captors before bringing it down and around several of the men on horses.

A taste of their own!
Solange
cheered in her mind, smiling
with relief.
Roland, thank Zola, you came just in time.

Solange, are you hurt?

I
...
don't think so
.
His
presence
gave her
renewed
strength
.

The fire fizzled out but her hands and feet
remained tied. The nerve endings in her limbs tingled from
being bound
so long
. Roland rode toward her, pulling Misty behind him. With one swoop
,
he cut the ropes that bound her
wrists
.
She forced her hands to move and
untied her feet while Misty stood a few feet away. Roland threw her a sword.

Remember to stay low on her back, my sweet
. Roland rode off and attacked with vibrant tenacity.

Roland,
look out
behind you
!
Her admonition
came
too late as Broderick thrust his sword into Roland's thigh.

Roland winced as the sword twisted in his flesh. Broderick laughed, forcing the metal deeper into
Roland’s
leg.

Solange came in low as Roland had taught her, sword waist high
and pointed
at Broderick. With all the energy she could summon,
she
jabbed it into the center of his back. Misty jolted from the sudden stop and Solange almost lost her balance, but held fast. Misty, heeding
the
commands
of her mistress,
stood still as Solange pulled the sword out and thrust it in again, this time straight through to
Broderick’s
heart.

Roland pulled the sword from his thigh
, climbed down from Tank and
limped to Solange, pulling her close, lean
ing
his forehead against hers.

“
Sorry I a
m late, my sweet.
”

“
Apology accepted.
”
Wrapping her arms around the nape of his neck, Solange sighed just before Roland's lips captured hers.