Healing Fire (17 page)

The woman spoke. Why was Summer not
surprised to hear her accent was Australian. Were all the women in Kell from
Australia?

"Yes, I'm Summer. This is my
daughter, Blossom."

"I am told you came through the
portal by yourselves?"

"We had no choice. Jane gave
Blossom a portal gem just before the police raided the agency. The LAPD have
Melor, Drystan and Jane. When Melor healed my injuries I passed out and they
took us to the hospital. The police wanted to take me in for questioning as
well. We thought it best to come here to Kell and get help."

The king's handsome face turned down
in a frown as he spoke to the redhead in a language Summer did not understand.

"You did the right thing. We will
summon the sorcerer; he'll be able to lead a rescue party. I'm Penny, by the
way, and this is my husband, Adalardo, King of Kell. We need to get you some
translation powder, and by the look of it, some clothes. I am sorry the
circumstances in your journey to Kell are a less than joyous occasion, but we
will get your Protector back. Then we can welcome you both properly. If you
will come with me, we'll soon set things right."

"Can you at least explain one
thing?" Summer asked before Penny turned away. "Just what does this
Protector thing mean?"

Penny arched a delicate red eye brow. "Did
not Melor tell you?"

"He just gave me the bracelet and
said I belonged to him."

Penny shook her head, glancing up at
her husband. "I warned you to tell your men to make it clear to the women
before they give them the bracelet, Adalardo."

The king looked in no way apologetic;
he simply grinned and shrugged his massive shoulders. Penny scowled at her
husband before turning her attention back to Summer.

"I'm afraid the moment you get a
Kell bracelet on your wrist," Penny held up her own, "it means you're
married. Melor is your husband."

Summer blinked in surprise. Melor was
her husband? All this time and not once did he tell her.

"That's cool, Mom. I now have a
new dad." Blossom bounced excitedly by her side.

Summer sucked in a sharp breath. She
felt steam rise into her head and felt sure it was about to come out of her
ears. "Well, if your
new
daddy reaches Kell alive," she said
between clenched teeth, "he's in a hell of a lot of trouble."

~ * ~

"Sit down, Melor. It will not do
you nor your protected any good." Drystan leaned back against the small
cot pinned by metal rods to the back of the wall.

Melor stopped pacing to glance at
Drystan. "Do you not worry about Jane?"

Melor could not stop thinking about
Summer, worrying if Blossom was alright. He started pacing again, hating the
gut aching feeling in the pit of his stomach.
 

"Aye, but I have been around the
humans long enough to know they will not harm her; this is their place of law.
Your lady was taken to the human place of healing; there she will be safe. And
I have no doubt she will be trying her best to have us set free. My concern is
more for our little Joy. She needs her mother, it will distress Jane being
parted from her for so long a time."

"What if we never get back?"

"Have faith my friend, we shall.
Until then, I know Tamara and the other ladies will care for our daughter until
we return. I am sure if we are gone long enough, Adalardo will send someone to
check on our whereabouts."

Melor lowered himself to sit next to
his commander.

"To keep your mind occupied why
do you not tell me your story of how you met your lovely lady? She hit you with
her car?"

Melor could not help but smile at the
memory. "Aye, and so distressed was she, she spend the night in a chair to
watch over me."

~ * ~

"There is no solid evidence they
have done anything wrong. There are no bodies, and our one witness has
vanished. The only thing we can do is hold Jane Walker and deport her for
unlawful entry into the U.S. The other men we can only hold for another
forty-eight hours due to the fact we can't find any record of them ever
existing," Detective Gortez explained.

Detective Grant Crowell clenched his
jaw in anger; had all his efforts been wasted in bringing the case to L.A?

"And all the missing women?"

"We've been over the premises
carefully and came up with nothing other than a few unusually crafted swords,
daggers and some rare jewels. There is not one ounce of evidence of foul play.
We have interviewed all suspects in custody and all have said the same thing
and nothing more. They have only been finding wives for men from a country
called Kell. And no, I've never heard of the country either."

"It's all bullshit. I know they've
done something to these women. No one just disappears off the face of the
planet, unless they've been murdered." Grant jabbed his finger into his
own file of the missing women from Tasmania.

"Detective Crowell, we initiated
this investigation under that belief. And, I agree, people don't simply
disappear; I had hoped to find something in the raid. But unless we get some
solid evidence, there is nothing we can do."

After putting so much time and effort
into finding the women and catching the ones responsible for their vanishing,
Grant couldn't simply let this go.

"I know I hold no jurisdiction in
your country, Detective Gortez, but would you allow me to interview Jane
Walker. We are both Australian, and it may make a difference."

Gortez leaned back in his chair and
studied Grant before nodding his head. "I'll allow an interview, but
nothing more. She will be passed on to immigration in the next twelve hours."

Gortez reached out and picked up his
phone to let the lock up officers know Crowell was coming to talk to one of the
prisoners.

"I appreciate all you've done,
detective. Thank you." Grant rose from his seat in front of Gortez's desk.
He would get a confession from the woman, even if the incompetent American
idiots couldn't. He would make the woman tell him what they had done with his
sister.

~ * ~

"Oh, it is simply lovely on you,
Summer." Penny smiled at her handy work, wrapping the burgundy and gold
threaded Kell dress around her.

The King of Kell had assured her to be
at ease; they would bring her Protected back safe and sound. Then he led the
rescue party of four Kell men into the swirling blue portal.

In the back of her mind, she couldn't
help but worry, but there was nothing else for them to do but wait. She let
Queen Penny help her out of the hospital gown and bed sheet into more suitable
clothing.

"It's the first time I've worn
something this nice in over three years." Summer gazed at her reflection
in the mirror, twisting to the right then to the left. "These outfits
certainly flatter the fuller figure."

"It's exactly what they were
designed to do." Penny grinned. "Did Melor tell you, the larger the
lady the more they are desired here in Kell? Their own women, God rest their
souls, were almost twice as big as we are."

"She hasn't met Vanora yet. She's
one of the lucky ones who escaped the Draco attack," Tamara piped in.

Summer had been introduced to Tamara,
Jane's sister and Protected of the Sorcerer Tuthal, when she brought a wailing
infant in to the Chambers where Penny had taken Summer and Blossom to freshen
up, change clothes. Penny had given them both a white translation powered
called
Tellrock
. Her head still ached slightly from the aftermath of the
head rush she got with it.

Blossom had put on a brave face, but
Summer knew it must have hurt her head as well. Blossom sat on a bed playing
with little Joy. When Blossom started making faces and cooing at Joy, she had
stopped crying and stared at Blossom in fascination. Tamara was more than eager
to surrender the baby to Blossom while she rested.

Tamara, much relieved to have Joy
happy, sat down and started eating the fruit brought in by some younger Kell
men.

"How many Kell women survived?"

"About five I think I met. There's
a little girl Krystal, who comes and visits me in the palace; a few older
women, like Vanora. The rest are highly guarded by their Kell Protectors,"
Penny said, plopping down on the bench beside Tamara.

"So, how'd you come to be living
in the US?" Penny asked.

"I married a U.S. Army Captain."
Summer sighed, remembering the happier times she and Tyler had together. "Not
long after we had Blossom, he was killed in a car accident. Blossom and I've
been living in Humboldt County, California, just outside Fortuna, for the past
few years. Tyler's Mom was still alive then. She took care of Blossom until I
was able to walk again and take over her care."

"I'm sorry for your loss,"
Penny said, and Tamara nodded in agreement.
 
"You obviously loved him."

Summer pursed her lips together in a
tightlipped smile. "Yes, but I love Melor too. Somehow in the short time I've
known him, he's helped me to overcome the burden of my grief. I couldn't bear
it if something happened to him."

Blossom glanced up from making faces
at little Joy. "It'll be okay, Mom. Just like the king said, they'll all
be back soon."

"And my little rock over there."
Summer blew her daughter a loving kiss. "When I thought Melor was
completely nuts, she believed."

Penny laughed.

"And right you are. Between
Adalardo and Tuthal, they'll be back before you know it. If it helps ease your
worries, we can go wait in the courtyard, and I'll have someone bring some
chairs down for the pregnant ones." Penny rose to her feet.

"I'll take Joy to Vanora. She's
due a feed and really misses her mum." Tamara struggled to get to her feet,
waddling towards the bed to collect Joy.

"Mind you, nearly all the women
in Kell are currently pregnant; can you imagine the late night snack calls the
men have to endure?" Penny gave a cheeky grin.

All three women laughed. Only Blossom
looked confused.

Summer grinned at her daughter. "Don't
worry, baby, you'll understand one day."

Chapter
Fourteen

"We need to find and gather some
of the human Loops of Fruit seeds and grow them in Kell; Blossom and I both
enjoy their sweetness." Melor leaned against the bars of the cell.

"Already a crop of coco beans are
being trialed. I do not see why these could not be grown as well," Drystan
nodded thoughtfully.

His clothes fluttered as a wind
whipped up behind him. Drystan shot to his feet, coming to stand by Melor who
turned around to watch the blue portal open in the corridor. Shouts from the
other prisoners echoed through the area as Tuthal stepped through the portal
followed by Adalardo and Briac.