Horizon (28 page)

I got a firm impression that Jett wasn’t telling the whole story, but I didn’t say anything, just yet. “The underlord united with the enemy of all living things, cursing the heavens and Braesal. His is a story of cold vengeance. He developed a friendship with Braesal, becoming his right hand man.

“The high king trusted the man so much he shared his growing feelings for a certain servant girl who danced for him. The first time Braesal saw the girl dance, he was bewitched. He made excuses to see her, even letting her stay for court sessions. She was too young for the king, but she would eventually come of age and so he set out to wait until he could claim the girl for his wife.

“So the underlord, thinking to take all from Braesal set about seducing the young girl. The king, unaware, thought the underlord had become the girl’s confidant. But when he saw her blush in the presence of the man he considered a friend, he realized she had developed feelings for the lad instead of him.

“Grieved, the king vowed to let the two live in peace. Although he had given up claim to the girl, he still wanted her near him. She brought light into his life. Determined not to interfere with her happiness, he watched her grow into an amazing beauty.”

Heath grunted. “No wonder humans are so fascinated with our myths. You’ve prettied this up until I think I’ll puke. Why don’t you tell Rayla the real story? Why don’t you tell her how our bravest, noblest warrior was seduced then betrayed by a woman he loved? Why don’t you tell her the truth?”

Jett narrowed his eyes at Heath. “It is becoming clearer to me why Rayla bonded more strongly with Ammon.”

Heath stood up, fists clenched at his sides. I grabbed his hand, but he pulled away from me. His tawny eyes glanced down at me, all steel. His voice came out gruff when he said, “If you want the real tale, I’ll share it with you later. I need some air.” With that, he bounded out of the room.

Everything inside me screamed to go after him, but I couldn’t, not until this whole mess was settled. I’d searched every memory I had for a reason I hadn’t bonded completely with Heath, but I couldn’t find any. My body said I was bound to Zach, but my heart still belonged to my husband.

I closed my eyes, inhaling a deep breath. Once I had my feet propped up where Heath had been sitting, I asked Jett to continue.

“As I was saying,” said Jett. “The king ignored his feelings for the girl, hoping for her happiness. One day, after a particularly long session, he found his way back to his chambers. To his surprise he found the girl asleep in his bed.

“He walked to her side, studying her soft form the entire way. So beautiful was she that he could not hold his desire for her any longer. He lifted her into his arms, but instead of carrying her back to her room, he touched his lips to hers.

“She awoke and smiled at him. She’d not turned him away as he had expected so he loved her throughout the night, showing her how much he had longed for her over the years.

“Bomb blasts awoke the sleeping couple early the next morning. The king stumbled out of bed, intent on finding his generals to see who dared attack the high king of the world.”

Jett’s expression darkened. “The girl tried to tell him of the underlord’s treachery, but he could not believe what she said. He ordered her to dress and told her to stay put until he returned for her. As it is with most women, she did not listen and followed him, intent on telling him about the traitor he harbored in his kingdom.

“When he finally agreed to listen to her, the underlord showed up. The man took one look at the naked girl and rage overtook him. The underlord used his gifts with space and drifted the girl away from the king, insisting when he returned that she was responsible for the attack.

“The king put aside his grief and ordered the girl to be brought before him to be questioned. But the underlord did not retrieve the girl. Instead, he fashioned a curse for the king. He’d been waiting for the perfect opportunity to take the kingdom and his time had come.

“He offered the concoction to the king as a comfort. Braesal only took one sip, but that was enough. The underlord had given the king the curse of the undead.”

“You mean vampirism?” I asked, taken aback.

Jett shrugged. “In a way, I guess you could call him a vampire, but the transformed king did not consume blood, he absorbed souls.”

Something occurred to me. Wraith absorb souls. Could one of the wraith be this Braesal?

Zach stared at me from across the room. I gave him a tentative smile which he returned. His voice echoed in my mind.
We have much to discuss, Rayla. Finish up here quickly and go to your room. I will be along shortly.

I frowned at him, trying to listen to Jett who had moved on. What had I missed?

“Having lost their king, the island spirits became enraged, but they could not exact a punishment on a man within a man, so they devised a plan to draw the underlord out of the farmer.”

“How,” I asked. I wanted to know more, but Zach seemed so insistent, I didn’t dare keep him waiting.

“Only the underlord could disentangle his cells from the farmer’s, but he needed a reason to do so. The island spirits sought out the girl who had unintentionally betrayed her king. She was grief stricken and had set about taking her own life.

“They found her on a cliff, ready to hurl her body to the jagged rocks below. The spirit of a powerful sorceress detached her form from the island and sailed into the girl just as she jumped. During the fall, a struggle of wills ensued until the sorceress won. She took control of the girl’s body and used the elements to save the girl’s life.”

“Like possession?” I asked.

Jett shrugged. “You could call it such, but the point is that the girl lived. The sorceress spoke to the girl’s mind, telling her she could exact revenge on the underlord. As you can imagine, the girl agreed to house the sorceress in her body to repair the damage she had done.

“Having the sorceress connected to her gave the girl power over the island, and the bond gave her access to all of the island spirits.”

“Bond?”

Jett chuckled. “Not so different than the one you share with Ammon.”

“Not you too,” said Zach. “Why won’t anyone use the name I have chosen?”

Jett gave Zach a solid stare. “You can change your name as many times as you like, but until you truly become a different person, I will call you Ammon.”

Zach grumbled curses under his breath and stood. He gave me a look that said I better not be long then left the room.

Taylor arched his brows, but didn’t comment while Luke merely chuckled. I had no idea what the whole scene was about, but it didn’t concern me. At least I hoped it didn’t.

With a swish of his braids, Jett continued. “Once the girl was safe, the sorceress communicated with the girl and an alliance was made. From that moment on, the sorceress and the girl became one being in purpose. The island spirits transformed the girl into a seer unlike any the world had ever known.

“With her newfound gifts she discovered the underlord’s plan. She witnessed the transformation of her beloved king, but was unable to reach him in time. By this time the underlord’s army had come to take possession of Hy-Brasil. They foolishly thought they could control the island and the spirit inhabitants, but the island rejected them, spewing out volcanic eruptions. The elements combined in a storm so violent one cannot describe the tumult. Many left of their own free will while others were consumed or ejected from the home they had come to covet. All who had darkened hearts were expunged, save one.

“The underlord witnessed the total destruction of his idealized dream, cursing the spirits that haunted him. Little did he know that the curse he wove of words transformed the island spirits into creatures of darkness.

“They fled their home, searching for their king. This whole time the girl watched, absorbing the information. She, too, became transformed with the underlord’s curse. No longer was she a beautiful youth. She became one with the land, air, sea, and space.

“Her visions told of a future so bleak the underlord cursed her again. Once more she was transformed. She lost her eyesight, but he could not take away her visions.

I grunted. “Are you talking about Tabitha?”

“This is a story,” said Taylor. “We would remember these things if it were fact.”

“Not if we were all cursed, too,” said Jett.

“I don’t think I get any of this,” I said. “Why would she stand there and let him curse her? Why didn’t she do anything?”

“Ah,” said Taylor. “But she did. Against the advice of the sorceress the girl gave her own curse. She cursed the underlord in her own way. She approached him and offered her services as seer to the rightful king of Hy-Brasil.”

Tabitha had become a mage to the fae. She had more official power than most courtesans. “Wow, so she was going to feed him garbage visions?”

Luke smiled. “I’ve never heard it put in such an eloquent manner. Keep listening. It gets better.”

I gave him a surly nod. “I’m all in for the underlord to get it in the end.”

Jett eyed me speculatively. “That’s just it. None of us knows what happened to him. Taylor is correct. We have no real recollection of the happenings. All we have is a tale that has been passed down through the centuries.”

“Huh?” I wasn’t expecting that one. He was supposed to tell me the underlord was Valen and they were all searching for the high king so they could kill him or something.

Just then Luke’s gadget bleeped a bunch of times. “What’s going on?” I asked.

His face had drawn into a frown as he studied the thing. “Sudden activity in the anomalous area north of us.”

I walked over to where he sat. “What kind of activity?”

“Fae signatures…everywhere.”

“It cannot be,” said Jett. “That thing has to be malfunctioning.”

Luke scowled. “My machines do not malfunction.”

Heath ran into the room. “Get up. All of you. We’ve got company.”

I’d never seen people jump up so fast. My muscles coiled. So much for sleeping. So much for intel. So much for preparing.

“Rayla!” yelled Zach. “Get in here.”

I ran, following the sound of his voice. He continued to grumble as I rounded the corner. Alp-lauchra filled the foyer and beyond them swarmed twenty or more wraith.

Eyes wide, I pushed through the lords to the open doorway. The butler lay there, passed out or dead. I couldn’t quite be sure. My mouth fell open when I stuck my head out the door.

The entire estate held creatures from the dark realms. If they were here, it couldn’t be good.

The macabre crowd parted to allow a man through. His stance was that of royalty and his face was grave. “My lady,” he said. “I am terribly sorry.”

My heart plummeted to my tennis shoes. “What’s happening, Creed? Why are you here? Why aren’t you using glamour?”

“We cannot, Mistress. We have tried to be discreet, but I will not be held responsible for what happens from this moment forth. As we speak, a news crew is on the way.”

“Let them in,” I hissed at Zach.”

He clenched his teeth together. “I cannot.”

“Do it, or I’m leaving with them.”

“You wouldn’t,” he said.

I walked forward, beckoning Creed to follow me.

“Oh, lass, come back. We’ll find a place to put them.”

I whirled around. “I know how they look, Zach. I even get that some of them don’t exactly smell nice, but these are my friends.”

Zach gave a single nod. “Then they are my friends as well.” He stretched his arm out, motioning them forward. “Welcome to my home. I have several prize hounds throughout the estate that I consider my friends. Please do not devour my pets.”

Creed glared at Zach as he passed, but he didn’t say anything until all were inside then he spoke so fast I barely caught everything. “My lady, I have grave news. We followed your Natalie to a new Order establishment, just north of here. I took a few of my best men in with me. Twas to be a swift operation, but we were ambushed. The majority of my people came to help, yet our powers would not work there. We made for the border. I failed, Rayla. I couldn’t help them and—” His face paled and his voice became breathy. “There is no way for me to tell you this easily.” He placed his hand on my forearm. “The young man was killed in front of us before the Order army opened fire on us. We may be immortal, but we have wounded in the forest a few miles from here.”

I couldn’t speak. Just like that, my friend was dead? I couldn’t believe it. But he hadn’t exactly said Natalie was killed. “What did they do with Natalie? Where is she?”

He swallowed. “In the forest with my people. She is inconsolable, hysterical. I knocked her out, but she will not be easy to deal with when she awakens. The only thing I have to offer you is I now know where your cousin is.”

The room spun around me. I threw out my arm to steady myself on the nearest thing, which happened to be Heath.

His concerned eyes scanned my face. I couldn’t meet his stare. Sam was dead. My brother was officially in the Order compound and from the unspoken pain in Creed’s eyes had been part of the slaughter. It was all happening the way Tabitha said it would. It should have never gotten to this point. I couldn’t understand why she hadn’t come for me. She promised.

“When was the last time either of you saw Tabitha?” I asked.

Creed opened his mouth, but he merely shrugged. Heath glanced away from me.

“What is going on? This isn’t supposed to happen! We were supposed to take care of the Order before they could do anything to my friends, my family, my brother!”

Red hot anger shot throughout me, transforming my body into a lethal weapon currently trained on Nigel Lambert. That man was going to die. He would not corrupt another young man with his poison. If Travis was involved in Sam’s death I didn’t know what I would do. How would I ever forgive him?

Creed stood in front of me. “My lady, you cannot go to the compound. They not only have dark matter, they have somehow created a way to store the power it steals.”

Nothing he said made any sense. “What are you trying to tell me, Creed?”

His face contorted into pure frustration. “It’s gone. Our powers are all gone.”