Celtic Rose (12 page)

The dolphins swam in protective circles around them as they played and swam. The girls were thoroughly dunked by the guys for their little trick. They picked them up into their arms and threw them back into the water playfully. They played the afternoon away, splashing and dunking each other. Ramina and Kallisto helped each other to dunk each of the guys. Kallisto couldn’t remember being so happy or free in all of her young life.

While the guys took their turn on the dolphins, Ramina and Kallisto took the time to look around their surroundings. Cliffs reached high on both sides of the mouth of the little gulf, and opened out onto the ocean. Trees from the forest surrounded the water thickly. The water was as smooth as glass with the exception of the ripples caused by their little group. As they scanned the surrounding area, they noticed another fin coming in through the opening, one that had a side to side movement; definitely not a dolphin. They started slapping the top of the water to call the dolphins back. When the dolphins turned and began bringing the guys back, the girls swam very quickly for the shore.

“
Shark! This time it is real.” The guys let go of the dolphins when they brought them close to the shore and swam the rest of the way quickly. Ramina and Kallisto climbed on shore and turned to watch the shark. They motioned for the guys to hurry, because the shark was getting faster. Talus and Kalan made it to the shore and Ramina and Kallisto grabbed their hands and helped pull them the rest of the way. They fell backwards, pulling the guys with them, and laid there a moment staring at each other embarrassedly, but it didn’t last. When they thought about the dolphins, they jumped up immediately and turned to see where they had gone. They were swimming straight for the shark.

“
Oh no!” Kallisto turned her face into Talus’ shoulder. She didn’t want to see the dolphins get hurt.

“
No, look Kallisto. The dolphins are fighting the shark.” She turned in time to see the shark fly out of the water from one of the blows. She sighed with relief. They watched as the dolphins finished off the shark. When they were finished, they made their way out of the gulf and left the shark there, and after a few seconds the shark began to sink down under the water.

“
Well, I do not believe I want to go swimming in this area again, knowing that shark is down there somewhere. It gives me the chills just thinking about it.” Kallisto rubbed her hands along her arms. Talus wrapped his arms around her. Kalan did the same with Ramina. They stood there side by side in each other’s arms, just staring at the water and enjoying the warmth of the embrace.

The silence didn’t last long. A loud growl came from behind them. They turned around slowly, careful not to make any sudden moves. Being in each other’s arms as they turned made them look as though they were one, stepping together as they turned. When they finally made their way around, they were face to face with Gabriel. His expression was feral; the fear Kallisto felt at the sight of her protector was ten times worse than any fear she might’ve felt fighting Ramina. The pounding in her heart was so hard that it was painful. It felt as though it would burst through her ribs. She screamed, but the sound was quiet and breathless. The picture around her fell away to darkness, and she began to fall. She felt the ground coming closer, even though she couldn’t see it.

Kallisto jolted awake as she came to an abrupt stop in the dream. Her heart pounded, the monitor beeped like crazy, and the pain in her ribs was excruciating. She tried to cry out but she couldn’t breathe in enough air to make it come out. She could see Talus asleep on the couch but he’d be of no use if she couldn’t make a noise to get his attention. She looked down her body to see if there was anything she could make a noise with. All that was there was the nurses’ button; she grabbed for it anxiously and pushed the button, and then threw it down. The wire kept it from falling to the ground but left it swinging close enough to the rail that it clanged loudly. Talus jumped off the couch and flew to the bedside. He saw her pain-filled expression and ran for the door.

“Hold on, sweetie. I’ll get a nurse.” He came back seconds later with a nurse on his heels. He ran straight to Kallisto’s side, grabbing her hand. The nurse rushed to the IV and put the medicine in. She looked at the monitor.

“Oh my! Are you all right? The monitor has been going crazy for nearly five minutes. I’m so sorry, dear. We’ll keep a closer eye on them from now on.” The nurse patted her hand. “The medicine will kick in soon, dear; if it doesn’t you just let me know and I’ll be right back here.” She walked out the door and started yelling at the staff in the nurses’ station; apparently they had fallen asleep. Kallisto grabbed the edge of the bed, her eyes wide with the shock of how painful it was to breathe. Talus leaned over her and started rubbing his hands down her face in a calming motion like before. He kissed across her forehead and then started down, kissing both her eyes and then her nose and cheeks, until finally he kissed her lips. Either the medicine started kicking in again, or his calming effect took hold. Either way, this time, she didn’t feel sleepy, just relieved of the pain.

“Are you feeling better now?” Talus leaned back a little, looking into her eyes. His eyebrows were bunched together with concern.

“Yeah, I feel better now. Were you dreaming just now?” The pain all but forgotten, she could be happy again. He chuckled, relieved that she seemed to be fine.

“Yeah, you finally got to see Ramina in a fight. Really scary, huh?” He finished with a roll of his eyes and a shake of his head. Kallisto giggled, unable to keep from it, but also unable to laugh fully.

“Yeah I figured I would’ve woken up from that fear, but I guess Ramina just wasn’t scary enough. Gabriel was, though.” She smirked.

“Oh, was that the monster’s name? Wasn’t Gabriel supposed to be the head of your guard? Shouldn’t Ramina and I have been the only ones scared of him?” He seemed confused by Kallisto’s fear from the man that was supposed to be her protector.

“Well, Gabriel was very protective of me. I think I was more afraid for you then I was for me, and considering it was my brother’s idea for me to leave, I think I was afraid for him as well. Ramina had nothing to fear from Gabriel. He’d never hit a woman, no matter how scary and obtrusive she may be.” Kallisto was amazed by how much she had learned in this dream; she knew the people more now than she had before. She was still unsure about William, though. She didn’t know whether he’d be back or not. It was then that she thought about the snake; if it had not been there then William would not have had his realization yet. Thinking about this made her think about another question that was yet to be answered.

“Where did that snake come from anyway?” She looked toward Talus confused.

“We still don’t know who put it there, but we found a box with holes in it out in the hallway. I promise though, when we find whoever it was they are going to pay dearly.” Talus balled up his fist with the threat. Kallisto laughed, grabbing her ribs.

“Now you really sound like the prince,” she said when she finally caught her breath.

“Yeah, I guess I did.” Talus chuckled. “I’m serious, though. I will kill anyone that would dare hurt you.” He looked so serious, and Kallisto could feel the truth in his words. It felt just like her dream.

“Wow!” She was grinning but she had a look of shock on her face. Talus’ brow creased with concern again.

“What’s the matter? Are you all right?” He grabbed her hand with both of his and bent down only inches from her face, looking into her eyes.

“I’m fine. It’s just that I felt the truth in your words just like in the dream. It seems like I’ve got the same ability that I had in the dreams. It feels very natural and interesting.” Kallisto focused on his eyes again and put her hand on the side of his face, smiling. “Talus, I know that you believe that you really would kill someone that hurt me, but I know you. I don’t know how I know you, but I do. You might be angry and try very hard, but there is no way that you could kill someone any more than I could.” She took her hand from him and started pulling wires.

He grabbed her hands and pinned them to his chest.

“What are you doing?” His expression was panicked.

“We need to get back to Oklahoma so we can figure out what’s going on. We don’t have time to waste in this hospital. Come on, let me go and help me get this stuff off, or get the doctor in here so I can request that we leave.” Kallisto struggled to get free of his grip. He tightened the grip on her hands. He didn’t hold them too tightly, worried that he’d hurt her ribs again, and that gave her an advantage over him. His reluctance was all she needed to get free of his grip. Once she was loose she started pulling the wires off. He grabbed her arms again but this time he pushed them down on the bed next to her. Hitting the nurse’s button with his knee, he called for the nurse. The commotion had called more attention to them than just the nurses. Kalan and Ramina came in right behind the nurse and rushed to her side. Kalan had bandages wrapped around his head and over one eye, and his arm was bandaged from the wrist all the way up to his shoulder. Ramina reached for Kallisto with a bandaged hand, the only sign of the snake’s attack. Kalan grabbed one of her legs as did Ramina.

“Kallisto, stop this right now!” Kalan’s command held a strong power over Kallisto. She could
not
disobey him, no matter what. She froze and that was it; she couldn’t move. Everyone looked at him and then back at Kallisto. Kalan had a look of shock on his face. This ability hadn’t been present in the dreams. The nurse hurried and put another dose of sedative into her IV, even though she didn’t really need to; Kallisto couldn’t disobey her brother, but the nurse didn’t know that. The nurse left them to their conversation, giving them one more disbelieving look before closing the door.

“What the heck was that?” Ramina asked in shock.

“I don’t know; it was weird, almost like I knew she couldn’t disobey me. It was a strange feeling, almost like a tingling power running through my veins.” Kalan rubbed the bandages on his arm gently. He was describing a feeling like the one Kallisto had when she could tell Talus was telling the truth. Kalan made his way beside Kallisto. “Are you all right, Sis?”

“I’m fine. I just feel a little frozen; not cold, just paralyzed. It’s an interesting feeling.” She giggled. Kalan put his hand on her head.

“You can move if you promise not to try to take off.” Immediately Kallisto felt his power melt away and she could move again. She reached for his bandaged face, and he leaned down so she could touch him.

“Are you all right? How bad is it?” Kallisto had tears in her eyes; seeing her brother like that was too hard–he was always the strong one. He seemed indestructible to her.

“Don’t worry about me, Sis. I just got a few cuts and bruises, no broken bones or anything serious.” He smiled his confident-charming smile, but she still felt the lie of his words.

“What really happened? Why is your eye covered? Did you lose your eye?” Kallisto panicked again.

“Calm down, Sis; I just gashed my head and arm open. The gash came down my forehead close to my eye, but it didn’t touch it. My eye is fine. I just lost a lot of blood and needed a transfusion. Luckily, William is the same blood type. He gave me the blood I needed.” He patted Kallisto’s hand.

“Why did you tell her all that?” Ramina hissed with a look of shock on her face. “You could have waited until she was better and save her from the worry.”

“It wouldn’t have done any good Ramina, she can feel it if I lie now. It seems to be a side effect from the dreams we are having.” He walked over to Ramina and gave her a kiss.

“You said William gave you the transfusion?” Kallisto asked. He nodded. “Have you seen him in the past few hours?” she asked, looking at him hopefully.

“Sorry Kallisto; he came into my room and told me you were awake and then he left; he said he had to finish something,” Kalan said and shrugged. Kallisto’s hope was dashed as quickly as it’d come. She was worried that he might stay away–she said as much to the others just before the medicine claimed her. The last thing she heard before passing out was a reassurance from Talus.

“It’ll be fine Kallisto. He isn’t going anywhere. I’m not even sure he could. Sleep now and heal so we can find out what’s going on.” She felt his lips on her forehead and then she was gone.

Chapter 6

Standing on the bank by the water, the four of them stared at the dolphins as they swam away. They suddenly heard a loud growl, almost animal like, and turned slowly in unison.

A feral looking Gabriel emerged from the edge of the woods. His sword was drawn, ready to fight. Kallisto looked at his chest to be sure that he still had his silver dagger around his neck. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the silver glint shining in the middle of his chest. Kallisto stepped out of Talus’ arms toward Gabriel. He never looked at her. He kept his eyes on Talus’ and Kalan.

“
Gabriel?” He didn’t seem to hear Kallisto speaking. His eyes never left their target, and he didn’t even flinch or make any motion to tell her that he heard her. Anger had taken hold of him. He started to shake profusely. His arms were vibrating at his sides violently, and his face turned deep red, almost purple. Kallisto thought he might explode. He let out another loud growl and started forward with his sword high. She put her hands on his chest and tried to push him back, but it was a futile attempt. It was like trying to push a tank coming into enemy territory.

“
Gabriel, stop! Please listen!” The sound of her cracking voice pulled him out of his rage. He never could handle her sad, and he’d just about break if she started to cry. No one else had the control over him that she did, especially with her being no more than a foster sister to him; but he also felt somewhat like another father at times. This moment was no exception. He stopped and looked down at her, grabbing her hands.

“
Princess? Are you hurt?” he said, looking her over.