Wicked Rage of the Moon: Book Three of the Airendell Chronicles (37 page)

Damian straightens up and looks at Morna.  She is still unconscious, but her hand is reaching toward Luca.  Damian looks over and sees that Luca’s hand is reaching for Morna.  Damian smiles and moves their gurney’s closer to each other.  The lover’s hands find each other and clasp together lovingly.

“That is some bond, huh?” Elias says from behind Damian.

“Yeah, it sure is.” Damian agrees.  He smiles when Breena wraps her arms around his waist from behind.  He can feel her gently swelling belly pressing against his buttocks.  Heat spreads quickly through his body at her contact.

“You okay Kid?” Elias asks looking at Damian’s face.

Damian turns toward Breena and scoops her up into his arms and says, “I am now.”

“Damian, go rest.  Spend some time with your mate.  But stay close.  The Lady Morna may need you again.”  Damian nods at the ancient vampire and turns to walk out of the room with Breena cradled in his arms.  “Damian, I will never call you ‘boy’ again.  You are a man among men… of any race.  I know what you just endured.  I am empathic.  Your mate knows too.” 

Damian nods again.  His hand flies up to catch the bag of blood that the ancient tosses at him.  He tosses it back to the ancient one, “No thanks.  I only feed on animals.  I can hunt when everyone wakes up.”  Elias and Octavius watch them go.  Octavius is overwhelmed by what he just witnessed.

Morna chuckles from the gurney and says, “I told you Octavius, Damian Summers is an exceptional young man.”

Octavius’ draws his eyes to Morna and is surprised that she still has her eyes closed.  Her respirations and heart rate indicate that she is still out cold.  He raises an eyebrow and wonders if he had been hearing things.

Elias chuckles at the vampire’s confusion.  “My godmother talks in her sleep.”

“What?” Octavius asks, feeling even more confused.

“Morna, she can talk when she is asleep, unconscious, even in a coma.  She can carry on conversations even.  It’s a mystery.” Elias says with a shrug.

“Not completely a mystery.  Apparently she can exist on two planes at once.  Maybe more than that.  She had a whole other family in the Neophasic dimension since her limbo between her last two incarnations.” Kylor says quietly. 

Octavius and Elias turn to look at him.  They had both forgot he was even in the room.  “I tried to enter Mother’s mind to help walk her through the injuries, but they are together.  Mother has led Father to the Neophasic dimension.  They are together there right now.  Caring for each other, nursing their wounds, healing their souls, loving with their bodies.  I feel like I have trespassed on something so perfect, so right… I was only trying to help, but I was an interloper, violating the solace they find in each other.”  Kylor had mumbled that last bit and Elias wasn’t able to hear most of it, but Octavius did. 

Kylor looks up at his parents again and smiles.  “They will be fine.  They will come back when they are ready.  I am going to go get my siblings.  The little ones need food and bed.  Elias, Octavius… thank you for helping to save their lives.”  Kylor turns and goes to check on Robert and Aideen. 

He knows he should check on Valgullveig, but he really couldn’t care less how the woman is doing.  Because of that woman he lost centuries with his parents.  That’s time he can never get back.  He could have been helping his Father search for and protect his mother as she lived through the cycles of her various life times.  He could have had parents… A mother and father who would have loved him, treasured him and showed him how to be a man, a Spell Weaver.  He could have… 
“Oh to hell with it.  Mother and Father both would be angry with me for wallowing in ‘could haves’.”

Kylor is gratified to find that Robert is sitting up and talking with some of their siblings.  The three little girls are sitting on the bed with him.  Kylor wonders if they should be there, he’s afraid they might jostle him and cause him pain.  “Kylor, Robert is well enough.  We aren’t hurting him,” Nerri says.  And then she ducks her head and says, “Sorry, Rebecca and Ma both say it’s rude to read someone’s thoughts.”

Kylor chuckles and walks over and kisses the sweet little girl on her forehead.  “That’s okay Nerri, I don’t mind.  This time,” he adds as an afterthought, thinking he might not be so comfortable with it next time.  “Robert, you look pretty good.”

“I feel fine.  I want to go home, but Mordir says no.  Aunt Breena says I better listen to him or Ma will kick my butt when she gets up… if…”

“Mother and Father both will be fine.  I promise.  They may take a while to wake up, but they are safe and healing each other.  Mother took him to the Neophasic dimension.  They are together.” Kylor informs his siblings.

Cirona laughs, “You went mind walking again?”  Kylor blushes and nods.  “Ma told me about that one.”  She smirks and then asks earnestly, “But they are both well?”

“They are.  They will come back when they are stronger.  Mother is still talking though.  How can she do that?  I mean I understand that she can be in different dimensions at once, but how?” Kylor says.

“Michael and I can do it too,” says Cirona.  “It’s one of Ma’s quirks she passed on to us.  We don’t understand exactly how we do it.  I mean we know the steps we take to accomplish it, but we don’t really understand the how.”

“Ma says that you have a lot of Lucian… Father in you.”  Michael says.  “Sorry Kylor, I have spent my whole life thinking of him as my Father because Ma always called him that… but it’s hard to call him that.  I don’t know why.”

“I can only imagine how hard this must be for all of you.  I know you are adjusting to a lot of different things, but I can’t tell you how happy we are that you are here.”  Kylor reaches out and puts his hands on Michael’s shoulder.  “I love you guys like we have all been raised together.  I know Father loves you all the same way, he truly loves all of us the same.”

“We know that Kylor, we truly do.  We just feel like we are outsiders horning our way into everyone’s lives…” Robert says quietly.

“No way, bro!” Says Kyle.  “Nora told me a long time ago that we were going to have sixteen kids in our family.  I thought she was nuts because Mom was still married to Rolan and trying to divorce him.  I just couldn’t imagine how our family could ever grow that much.  But Nora knew, maybe not the how of it, but she knew.  And ever since you guys showed up it’s like many of the missing pieces from our lives have been put into place.  Our jigsaw puzzle is nearly completed.  I can see the whole picture, well nearly now.  No one is horning their way into anything.  We are all finally where we belong.”

Kylor looks at Kyle proudly, “Little brother, you are so articulate!  I could have stumbled around all day and never said it that clearly.  Our missing pieces are truly coming together.”  He looks around at his siblings and his heart fills to overflowing.  He shakes his head and says, “Well, the younger ones need bed and rest.  I want to stay with Aideen to keep an eye on her healing.  She is going to be angry when she awakens and realizes we treated her with Mother’s antibodies.”

Rebecca laughs, “She gets over it pretty quickly.  She wants so much to be like Ma and this truly comes as a blessing to her.  Besides, it’s all been foretold in the prophesies.  There are fifteen different prophesies about Ma and her brood.  We are just now piecing them all together.  We need to get together and discuss them soon.  We need to be prepared.  But I am confident we have a calm time ahead of us, at least until the baby comes…”

Cirona hugs Kylor and says, “We will take the little ones home.  Aiden and Anson have crashed in the lobby.”

Kylor looks around and asks, “Where is Kevin?”

“He’s in with Valgullveig.  She‘s suicidal.  That healer Valla is with her too.” Michael says.  “I am staying here with Robert.”

Kylor clamps down his harsh feelings for Valgullveig.  And turns to go to Aideen when Nerri says, “Ky… Auntie Val didn’t do any of those things of her own free will.  She was willful and wild before Nyx got her claws in her, but she wasn’t evil.  That was all Nyx.  Val is as much a victim as any of us.”

Kylor doesn’t turn to look at his little sister, “I know that sweetheart.  At least my mind does.  But my heart still hurts.  Aideen and I didn’t have Mother with us when we grew up.  You guys only had her in short spurts.  I am coming around, I will soon be able to welcome Val into our family with open arms, just give me a little time.  I will come around, I promise.”  Kylor walks out of the treatment room and down the hall to the treatment room where his sister is writhing and moaning quietly.  The antibodies are changing her body and Agnar is standing by with an indecipherable look on his face.

“Ag?  How are you?” Kylor asks.

“I am angry Kylor.  She is just as damned stubborn, hardheaded, reckless, selfless, and brave as your mother.  I could have lost her today.  I can’t thank you enough for going back for her.  That was very risky.”  Agnar says as he holds his beloved’s hand in his own.

“She’s my sister, I wouldn’t leave her behind.  Just as she wouldn’t leave Mother and Father behind.  She protected all of us in the jumper dimension.  I guess it was Nyx that was coming after us and Aideen saved us all.” Kylor says quietly.

Aiden had entered to room to check on his sister, and Kylor comes to put his hands on his shoulder, “Little man, you kept us all on track, especially me.  I think that in time will prove that you are the strongest among us all.”

Aiden shrugs like it really doesn’t matter.  He is looking at Aideen with fear and some indefinable longing on his face.  Agnar smiles at the boy and says, “Aiden, get up here and lie beside her.  Your presence will help her find her way back.  She’s in some pain from the venom and the injuries, but she’s definitely on the mend.”

Aiden doesn’t even have to think twice, he quickly scampers up onto the bed with his big sister and she drapes her arm around him in her unconscious state.  She smiles faintly when Aiden settles into her arms.  Agnar smiles and motions to Kylor and Kyle to join him in the hallway.

Agnar turns and takes Kylor into a gruff embrace and slaps him on the back, hard.  “Mordir says you saved her.  He’s not sure if even the antibodies could have healed all the damage that was done to her body.  He says you are one the most gifted emergency healers he has ever seen.  I can’t thank you enough.  That woman is my whole world.”

Kylor smiles at Agnar and says, “We need to get the little ones home, unless you want us to stay.”

“No Morna and Luca will wake up when they are ready and you guys need to get the little ones home and into bed.  Aiden can stay here, I will keep an eye on him.  Not that that little old man really needs anyone to watch out for him.  His judgment is better than mine most of the time.”  Agnar says with a laugh.  Kylor and Kyle shake hands with their future brother in law and turn to leave the Healer’s Hall.  Tena almost crashes into Kylor in her rush to come into the hall.  “Oh God!  You are all safe?” She asks breathlessly.

Kylor had wrapped his arms around her to keep her from falling when she first crashed into him.  He can’t help but smile because she feels so good in his arms.  He fleetingly wonders what his mother would think of his growing feelings for this woman. 

She suddenly seems to realize that Kylor is still holding her and blushes bright red.  Kylor quickly releases her and steps back, wondering if his forwardness has offended her.  She smiles shyly at him and then turns her attention to Kyle.  “I met the little ones with Rebecca and Cirona.  They briefly told me what happened.  I have been scared to death, Auggie was having a hard time getting a clear vision.  I finally gave up waiting and came to check on everyone for myself.”

Kyle smiles because she shifted her gaze back to Kylor as she spoke and is watching him closely.  He has been feeling the growing attraction between these two for several days, but he suspects that neither one has made a move to act on those feelings.  He wonders why, but then suddenly exhaustion hits him hard.  All the stress of the entire day crashes in on him.  Kylor had been quickly telling Tena what had happened and that everyone seems to be on the mend.  Kyle clears his throat when Kylor offers to take Tena to see Morna.  “Bro, go ahead with Tena.  I am going home.  I really need to sleep.”  Kyle says quietly.

Kylor drags his eyes from Tena’s face and says, “Sure Kyle.  Let’s go.”  He looks at Tena with regret but he refuses to let his teenaged brother walk back to their home by himself.  He smiles broadly when Annie and Lou walk into the lobby.  “Hey, are you two going back to the house?”  When they say that they are he asks if they will make sure Kyle gets home safely.

“Thanks bro.  I am not a baby.” Kyle smirks.  He knows Kylor is just being careful but he can’t help but rib him a little.

Annie chuckles looking at Kylor and Tena.  She too has sensed the growing attraction and knows that Kyle is just messing with his brother’s head a little.  “We’d welcome the company.  Come on Kyle.”  When they are safely out of earshot Annie says, “You little stinker!  You knew how much he wanted to stay with her, but he is so honor bound to do his duty by his siblings.”

“I know.  I just had to mess with him a little.  I have been wondering if those two will ever act on their mutual attraction.”  Kyle says with a smile.

“They may not.  Tena is one of Valliant’s former lovers, her son is your Uncle.”  Annie says quietly.

“Man, you immortals sure get around.” Kyle says with a smirk.  “A guy can’t hardly look at a woman for fear she might be related.”  Kyle stops when Lou looks like he was just punched in the gut.  “What’s wrong Lou?”