Wicked Paradise (36 page)

Morgan stroked his face. “I have a feeling you and Michael were both conceived in love. Not duty.”

“MacFarland is Michael’s father, too?” He flung his head back in a hoot of laughter. “Ian’s gotta be rolling in his grave with the knowledge that neither of his so-called sons carried his blood. If it wasn’t for him pushing me into the life I left behind, I probably wouldn’t be here with you now.” Ryan kissed her leisurely, lovingly. “I wouldn’t want it any other way. He’ll see in the Afterlife that love does indeed conquer duty.”

Chapter 34

Ryan’s steps were light and carefree as they returned to the emerald grotto. He was anxious to stop by the crystal cavern to check out the portal. Not that he wanted to test it, but when he’d knocked his head against the wall the day before, he’d seen something that intrigued him. He held a flowering branch aside to let Morgan pass. The limb quivered in his hand, the tip reached to touch Morgan’s arm. “It’s going to take some getting used to this bond you have to the island.”

“As if you need to tell me that.” She gently peeled off the lacy moss clinging to her hair, creating a net. They resumed hiking along the narrow path, Morgan taking up the rear as Ryan cleared the way.

“Was the portal cave safe to enter?” Anxiety entered Morgan’s voice. “RavenStar!” she yelled at the foal seconds before it bit into Ryan’s bulging backpack. “Oh, heavens. He wants more fruit.”

Ryan yanked the pack higher on his back, looping the strap on his shoulder. “Get, you mangy beast. If you eat more of the peel I may have to knock you out for a day.”

“I’ll help.” She laughed. “My arm’s bruised from his tail whipping me a hundred times. I’m surprised he’s not permanently dizzy.” As if to prove her point, RavenStar began running in a circle, chasing a rodent the size of a cat around a thicket.

Ryan stopped. “Let him wind down. He’ll catch up.” He picked out a flower petal stuck in Morgan’s hair. “As for the cave, it appears safe. What you felt before will be all you feel without an activation.”

“Whatever that is.”

“I’m hoping to find out one day.” Morgan’s paranoia flitted across her expression, and he added with a chuckle, “Don’t worry. I’m not going anywhere. I’ll never leave you. Living on this island with you tops every perfect event in my life to date and hopefully will until the day we die.”

“Oh, you can count on that.” She trailed her fingers down his chest, setting a path of fire from the rune brand to the belt of his loincloth. Her fingers brushed over the pliant leather. Teasing. Promising. “I can promise you many moons of pleasure.”

Ryan coughed, adjusted his loincloth. “No doubt.” As she whisked her hand away, he grabbed it, bringing it to his mouth to plant a soft kiss on her palm. “I plan to ravish every inch of your body tonight.” He licked her finger teasingly.

“That’s a promise I’ll hold you to.” She fanned her face. “After we bathe in the hot spring, I hope.”

“I suspect you’ll need the energy from the cavern to keep up with me, so we’ll stop there tonight.”

Morgan laughed, a joyous boon to his ears. “Let’s go, master of my heart. My air magic and I have plans for you tonight.”

They resumed their trek, laughing and bantering in a way Ryan hadn’t ever experienced with anyone. The raven pair joined in, cackling and cawing as they flew from tree to tree, scaring off the parrots and smaller birds. Before long, the odd party of five reached the hidden entry into the catacombs.

When they approached the portal cave, the magic seemed even more alluring than before. “Killing WindWraith and stopping its drain on the island appears to have affected the portal.” Ryan wrapped his arm around Morgan, pulling her into his side, her braid swinging against his arm from the wind their presence created. “To be safe, stay here.” He felt her nod against his shoulder.

Again, the energy crackled like strikes of lightning, but once Ryan adjusted his eyes and found his balance, he became one with the cave’s power. Without wasting time, he dropped to his knees before the staggered crystal wall where the crack running its length widened toward the ground. He peered inside at the crystals lining the crack the entire depth, proving how thick the radiant stones lined the walls. He centered his sight on a dark spot deep inside the fracture.

“What do you see?” Morgan elevated her voice over the wind’s whistling and whooshing.

“Not sure. Something’s stuck deep inside.”

“Can you fit your arm in the crack?”

“Just barely.” Ryan inched his hand into the crevice. Sharp stones bit into his flesh as the cleft narrowed. He shoved his shoulder into the wall to dig deeper until his fingers brushed against something pliant. He fingered the edges of the object. Excitement swept through him as he realized what he’d found. “Hot damn.”

“Careful. Is it activating?”

“No.” He stretched his arm and leveraged his fingers around the harder shell of the object. “It’s a book.”

“Holy Goddess. The portal works!”

After delving deeply into the fissure, Ryan managed to get a sufficient clamp on the book to pull it out. Aged leather encased the inch thick journal. Ryan brushed the dust off the front cover. The familiar tooling of the gold dragon spewing fire beneath a star-filled sky stopped his heart. He’d seen this journal or duplicates dozens of times for as long as he could remember. They’d been custom made for one man.

“Ryan, what is it? You look like a ghost just walked through you.”

“One did.” He raised his head, stared at Morgan, wanting to ensure he wasn’t dreaming again. “This journal belonged to my father. James MacFarland.”

Morgan’s hand flew to her mouth. “How could that be? He died in the car accident. How did his journal end up here?” She hugged the walls of the entry. “Ryan, please come out. The power scares me.”

Her concern broke the barrier of icy confusion numbing Ryan’s mind. Holding the grubby journal tight to his chest, he rose unsteadily, pushing against the energy as he made his way outside the cave. The moment he stepped into safety, Morgan’s arms wrapped around him, giving him the fortitude to confront the puzzling possibilities.

They returned to the main cavern and sat near the hot spring, careful to maintain distance lest the bubbling water land on the precious pages of his father’s legacy.

“Do you supposes James—your father—traveled between the island and your world?” They sat on the smooth boulders they’d earlier commissioned as seats, their hands linked on his thigh.

“I don’t think so.” Emotion roughened Ryan’s voice. “The car slid down a cliff off the Coast Highway into the shallows of a cove. My mother’s body was recovered from the car, but they never found James. The official police report said his body had been swept out to sea. No one questioned it.”

Morgan squeezed his hand. “Do you think—”

“He space traveled here? That’s exactly what I think.” Reverently, he pried open the leather cover, excitement buzzing the length of his body with every word he read. “The journal predates his death.” He flipped to the last page. “The final entry was a month after the accident.”

“Oh, my.” Morgan scrambled closer to peer into the book. He moved the journal between them for her comfort. “Did he always keep a journal?”

“As a professor of botany, he was always jotting down his findings and experiments. I think that’s why he was so willing to believe in Michael and his alchemy. Michael used a lot of plants and herbs in his potions. You know, you have that in common with them.”

Ryan flipped through several pages about James’s time on the island, stopping on an intriguing passage. “Check this out:
I believe the crystal cave I returned to life in is the teleportation device that stole me from death’s claws and catapulted me to this beautiful island of mystery. Without making any guesses as to where I landed, whether heaven, hell or a place in between, I believe there is a greater purpose for my presence here. The plant life on the island is incredible and I will document as much as I can. However, I don’t think that’s my reason for landing here. I’ve begun to have visions of such horrible devastation to the world I’d left behind. So much hideousness, death, and destruction. Apocalyptic in nature. I cannot fathom how our people will survive it, but I see my sons in the end, surrounded by many familiar Druid faces. My Sight has never failed me...
” Ryan’s voice faded off as the enormity of the words banged off the walls of his gut.

“Did you know he was a seer?” Eagerly, Morgan dug her fingers in his arm.

Ryan snorted. “Obviously he hid it or else Ian would’ve kicked him out of the coven. It’s possible Ian found out and that’s partly why he caused James’s death.”

Morgan tapped a finger on the next page. “Oh, read this.”

Ryan skipped ahead to the entry Morgan pointed out. “
I have just discovered fierce evil on this island. I barely made it back to the great cave, which appears to be a safe zone from the invisible creature that chased me throughout the jungle. My magic is weak and ineffectual against the beast, and I will have to remain on guard when I venture outside
.”

“WindWraith,” Morgan spat out. “Do you think it—”

“Killed James? Hell, yes.” An unfathomable rage seized Ryan, his seething muscles protruding along his arms.

Morgan leaned into him. “I’m sorry. I hate seeing you forced to live through James’s death twice. Perhaps he’s on the island somewhere.”

Ryan kissed her temple. “That gives me hope, sweetheart. Thank you. I don’t want to count on it, but I’d like to find his remains, at least. Give him a proper memorial.”

He fingered the mist from his eyes and focused on James’s tiny scrawling handwriting. James had told Ryan once that he wrote so small to get as much as possible in one journal. Crammed with words from front to back, this journal was no exception. Ryan scanned a few more pages until he came to the first section that mentioned the portal.

“Here’s where James began to realize the portal was meant to save our people.” Exhilaration replaced Ryan’s grief, and he read aloud, “
Despite the life-sucking evil on this island, I believe my purpose is to carve out a home for our people here, possibly to avoid the devastation on Earth my Sight foretells. But I am loathe to bring anyone here with such evil, for there appears to be no destroying it
.”

Ryan skipped past James’s ranting about WindWraith. “
My Sight is greatly magnified here. I have now seen my fate
.” His heart pounded in his ears. “
I was meant to be an anchor on this land for people in the old world as I now call what is left of Earth. To that end, I will experiment with the portal and document every last detail. Unfortunately, my Sight has conveyed my true death. In my weakened state, I no longer have the ability to fend off the demon, or whatever evil has plagued this land. My transport to the isle broke my link to the stars. I’ll fight death for as long as possible. I have no choice but to accept it. ShadowMoon Island, as I have dubbed the paradise, will become my graveyard. This bequest of my journal to the deserving ones who find it will be my last act in my life’s opus. I will ensure it is a superior act
.”

Epilogue

Groggy and out of sorts, a serendipitous pall haunted Morgan. Already up and about, Ryan had stoked the fire in the emerald grotto’s cave. Despite the lack of changing seasons on ShadowMoon Island, the air was noticeably cooler, proof of an approaching electrical storm.

“The cooling before the storm,” she murmured, swishing her tousled hair off her face.

She hastily performed her morning ablutions. Later, she’d bathe under the waterfall and cleanse off the lingering traces of their long night of lovemaking. They had marked their first wonderful six months together with a feast, which included pieces of the Celestial fruit. Heat infused her as she remembered the incredible sensations the drugged fruit had created.

Time was of the essence, though, since she sensed the telltale nausea in her gut to fulfill another Beckoning Spell. She locked away thoughts of Ryan and their ceaseless passion.

Having spent months on the island, she’d learned how the weather affected her magic and her tasks with the spellbound amulets. The fathomless ache inside her reinforced the timing. But something was off that day. She normally felt elation and anticipation. Apprehension now tinged her excitement, turning her blood into ice water.

A hidden crevice gouged into the stone wall held her pouch of amulets, and she grabbed it on her way out of the cave. As she walked past the waterfall, she studied the clear sky. Both violet moons had dark amethyst rings circling them, painting the moons almost black. The final sign she needed. “Will it work this time?” Morgan pushed out a shaky breath. “Or am I wasting my time? Maybe we ought to try James’s experiments and send the amulets through the portal.” She rolled her eyes to the azure sky, hoping to see the answers written in the heavens.

“Morning, love.” Ryan called to her from across the pool where he was repairing her herb-drying shed after RavenStar unfurled his wings in the interior.

She held up the amulets, and Ryan nodded. It was her third time. He felt what she experienced each time the electrical storm hit. Their empathic connection saw to that. Ryan always followed, keeping his distance, giving her time to perform the spells. He watched over her, ready to aid if needed.

She waved to him and strode away from the grotto beneath the slim archway Ryan had cut into the vegetation. Wind buffeted her, plastering her tunic to her torso. RavenStar whinnied and trotted to her. The foal nudged her behind playfully, flapping his wings in the wind.

“Not now, little one.” Single-minded steps carried her toward the cliff above the cove nearest the crystal cave. She passed by the stone marker at the grave that held James MacFarland’s skull. They had found it in the volcano, the likeliest place. Ryan recognized the cut of the teeth and the two gold fillings. Apparently, people used to tease James mercilessly about the gold treasure in his mouth.

RavenStar sensed her determination and sedately trotted behind her, leading her mind back to the amulet rituals. Not sure when, how, or if her efforts would ever produce results, she’d continue tossing the amulets into the sea until her visions told her otherwise, or no more pendants remained.