Kindred: Book 1 A Realms of the Otherworld Book (4 page)

“I know, it’s an irrational fear but I can’t help it.” She says in an almost shout with her hands on her hips. “Can I ride in your pocket? Please?” She squeaks.

I agree and then we mount up, Jasmine in the front pocket of my shirt and we’re off, Tempest is not only huge but fast and we ride like the wind away from the sacred meadow, away from the Tree of Life that borders between the Mortal Realm and the Otherworld Realm. I’m on a mission to get to my men, my Guard, warriors that I have trained for this and I can only pray to the god and goddess that we are ready for what awaits us.

It has taken us just under an hour to make our approach of Glenndale Loch Keep, me with a pixie in my pocket. I pull up on Tempest. My men are training just inside the walls of the keep.

“Ready yourselves!” I call out to my men. “We ride out in less than an hour for the Mortal Realm. Dress appropriately. I also need you armed, I’m not sure what we will face in the Mortal Realm, things are not as they seem.” I say as I look around. “Where is the Druid? He will need to accompany us.” I instruct. Jasmine takes this moment to vacate my pocket, zipping around in an agitated state. “What’s wrong Jasmine?” I ask.

“How the hell am I supposed to travel in the Mortal Realm? There are no sprites there; Ashlinn said so, maybe I should just wait here until you get back. It’s not like we’re going to visit Ireland where the old folk know of us, we’re going stateside.” She huffs.

“Jasmine, I’ll have Nemus conjure you a traveling glamour. It will be fine. Now I have things to do before we head out.” I turn to address the men again as they’re putting away their training weapons. “Ēolieus, I need you in charge of provisions and rations for this journey. Tolin and Torin, I need you both to round up additional weapons and Declan you are to plot our course and round up mortal technology we will be entering the Mortal realm in the Appalachian Mountains in Tennessee.” I command. “Fergus and Lorcan, I need you to stay behind to be my eyes and ears while we’re gone and assist with preparations for our departure. Everyone meet me in the library in thirty minutes. Fergus send Nemus to my chambers. Jasmine, you’re with me.” I command.

“Alright mister bossy pants; let’s get something straight, right here, right now. The only reason why I’m here is for Ashlinn. I do not take orders from you so you can stop bossing me around right this minute!” Jasmine flutters in front of my face in an agitated manner.

“I do apologize Jasmine for my gruff tone but we’re in a hurry, please follow me to my chambers where Nemus will join us to cloak you in a glamour spell for our journey. Time is of the essence.” I say in an apologetic tone.

“Well, alright, when you put it like that, I will acquiesce.” She says with a coy smirk.

As we enter the foyer of the castle I quickly run up to my chambers taking the stairs two at a time until I reach the top level. “Jasmine, can you remain in my outer chambers until Nemus arrives? I need to change and make ready for our journey. I’ll be just a few moments.” I turn and walk into my bedroom suite and make my way to a separate wardrobe which I pull open and grab a pair of black fatigue style cargo pants and a black V-neck short sleeve T-shirt, a pair of black combat boots, and my black leather baldric to holster my swords. I quickly change out of my leathers and pack some of my gear. Then I make my way back to my outer chambers where I find Nemus and Jasmine waiting for me.

“Nemus, Ashlinn needs us, we leave out shortly, Jasmine will be travelling with us and she will need a cloaking spell as will the rest of us that are traveling to the Mortal realm to hide our weapons. What can you do for Jasmine?” I ask.

Nemus looks at me then Jasmine with his stoic features and considers my request. “I can glamour her to look like a ferret? They are small and often travel with their humans.” He says.

“A ferret? You want to glamour me to look like a rodent? You cannot be serious! Absolutely not! I don’t care if it’s only a glamour I will not agree to be a ferret. Seriously?” Jasmine protests looking seriously upset.

Nemus looks affronted but reconsiders, “Okay then, I can glamour her to look like a myna bird, they are small in size and can replicate sounds, and are considered talking birds. The rest of you I will cloak your weapons and your ears.” He says as an afterthought.

“Jasmine, are you okay with this?” I ask.

“I agree. Make it so. At least I can speak my mind”. She says.

“Let’s make our way down to the library so I can brief everyone before we leave out.” I say. Once we get to the library I share all that I know with my men, including Nemus and Jasmine. There are a few questions all around which are quickly dealt with and then we mount up and make our way to the sídhe mound and the dolmen that will take us to the Mortal Realm, hopefully, in a close vicinity to where Ashlinn is supposed to be.

(
Ashlinn)

Limbo. That’s what Alaric said. I’m stuck in “limbo”. His words are so not making me feel better. I might as well be stuck in Siberia! Oh my god! What if he’s unable to find me? What’s going to happen to me? What about poor Lexie? I can’t think about that right now or I’m going to lose my mind.

The meadow on the other hand, I can think about, it gives me hope that things are not as bad as they seem. It was so beautiful, the sun rising and all the sprites fluttering about with the light reflecting off their skin and iridescent wings, wings that kind of remind me of dragonflies. Add the rays of the sun reflecting off the water in that oh so tranquil pool. Wow! It took my breath away. Then there were what I think were tree nymphs, butterflies, birds, rabbits, wombats, and I don’t know what else all looking on in that sacred meadow. It was simply spectacular and majical in an otherworldly way. Then when Alaric stepped out from under “the tree” I could have stopped breathing right there. That smile, oh my, and those ears! But above all that, his words to me struck something deep in my core, I don’t know how, but we’re connected. He said he was my Guardian, my kindred soul, and that our destinies were intertwined. I’m not sure what all that means but there is one thing I know for sure. I know in my heart that I know him, he’s name is forever branded across my soul. I feel it in the depths of my being. It defies everything I know about the world I currently live in but unless I’m utterly looney tunes he, this meadow, the tree, and I are all connected. I just don’t know how.

As much as I’m called to Alaric I’m also called to the tree but in my current predicament I’ll have to wait to see if Alaric can find me and free me from this eternally dark prison, my limbo, this void where I currently exist. My strength continues to fade and I’m not sure how much longer I can last but I will hold out until there is no more life force left in me and I’ll put my faith in my kindred.

(
Alaric)

The sun is beginning to set by the time we approach the sídhe, I know that we’ve made good time but I also feel as if I we’re cutting it close. The sooner we’re able to pass into the Mortal Realm the better. My sense of urgency is skyrocketing. The Aos Sí come out to greet us as we ride up to the outskirts of the mound in the dwindling light of day, obviously Jade and her sisters were able to deliver my message. The Aos Sí are really just a variety of fae people that live at the mound and serve as guardians to the dolmen portals. The leader of the clan, Meria, steps forward, she’s an elder elf with long flowing silver hair and twinkling emerald green eyes, “Greetings Prince Alaric!” she says with a smile and the slight incline of her head.

“Meria, it’s a pleasure as always.” I greet her in kind. “My guard and I seek passage to the Mortal realm it is imperative that we leave out as soon as possible.”

“Agreed, young prince, quick before the sunsets or you will lose another day, one that cannot be lost. She needs you so make haste, you and your guard.” Meria states with a determined air about her.

“Fergus, Ēolieus, and Lorcan take care of the horses and await our return.” I say as I dismount Tempest. I give him a quick nuzzle before I walk away. “Remember, I need you to keep a watch out for anything out of the ordinary. The rest of you gather your gear we need to make it to the dolmen portals before the sun sets, we’ve only moments before that happens.” As we make our way up the green mound toward the four standing dolmen we walk towards the stone portal with the markings for the Mortal Realm. The six of us gather together as we seek passage to Earth, we are eager to be on our way but in order to activate the portal I must wait until the exact moment the sun is about to set casting the last rays of light on the portal. As that happens I reach down and gather some lose earth or dirt and toss it into the dolmen entry way to activate the portal. As the dirt hits the rays of light in the entry way the portal is activated and we have exactly two minutes to enter. I turn toward Meria, “Thank you for your warm welcome and your service to the portals of the sídhe. Please await our return from the Mortal realm, until then you have Fergus, Ēolieus, and Lorcan at your service.” I bow briefly and then follow my men with Jasmine thru the portal to find Ashlinn.

We emerge under an out cropping of rocks that looks like a small cave facing out towards a forested area with lots of trees and plant life. As we walk out into the light of day I turn around to look for the marking of the Otherworld in the rock face of the cave we have just emerged from and I find it crudely carved into the stone above the entryway, if you weren’t looking for it one would never know that it was there. I pull out my compass and see that the cave faces the eastern sky and note to myself that to enter here we will have to arrive at sunrise. That’s when I notice Jasmine as she zips about taking in our surrounding and she lets out a low whistle.

“Whoa, so this is the Mortal Realm? What’s wrong with the trees?” She asks as she flutters about. “They seem sickly, not as healthy or vibrant as back home. Where are their dryads? I don’t sense any nearby.” She says. “I’m not sure I like the Mortal Realm, the air smells funny and, and…” she’s at a loss for words as she flutters around in circles taking it all in so I help her out.

“Jasmine, the mortals that live here have no idea what their modern technology is doing to their world. They’re slowly but surely killing their planet. There are very few dryads left in this world but they can be found in the oldest of trees that remain.” I say. “Now, men let’s quickly make our way to our safe house in this area and see what we can find out about this accident and where Ashlinn and her niece Alexia are located. As soon as we find where they are we head out with whatever provisions we need to accomplish our mission. Let’s move out!” I say.

It takes us close to an hour to make our way on foot off the top of the mountain ridge to the safe house but once we are there Declan sets about gathering information online from the computer we have stashed here. It doesn’t take him long before he has found where the girls are hospitalized and then we set off again to get to Ashlinn and her niece.

Chapter 5

(Alaric)

Jasmine is on my very last nerve. If she bounces up and down one more time I’m going to duct tape her to the inside of the windshield. “Will you, please, settle down?!” I grate out between clinched teeth.

It turns out that both girls were transferred to a hospital in Knoxville. We’re less than 10 minutes from reaching our destination according to the GPS navigation system on the dash of our black Hummer. Jasmine is hopping around as if she’s overdosed on sugar. Tolin and Torin are quibbling amongst themselves over who can beat who in a dual using only a staff. Declan is driving and Nemus, as usual, sits quietly off to the side taking everything in. I’m trying to come up with every contingency plan I can think of in the off chance we need one. Nemus is going to persuade hospital staff to stay away from Ashlinn’s room for as long as we need so we can see her through her awakening.

As we pull up outside the hospital I hop out of the vehicle before its even parked and make my way to the hospital entrance. As I enter, I stalk toward the information desk. “Ashlinn Elan, what room is she in?”

“Are you family? It’s after visiting hours and only family may enter to see her after visiting hours.” The receptionist states with a tight lip grimace.