Legacy of the Defender (The Defender Series Book 1) (43 page)

“Okay Dietz, where did you hide them?” she asked.

Burning.

The backs of my hands right were on fire as she said that.  I winced.  My flesh burned as a strange symbol outlined itself on my hands.  The symbols were very small by comparison to my hand, but still large to a normal hand.  The script looked very similar to the ones I already had.  Burning flesh wafted up as my hands started to shake from the pain.  Eryn was at my side with her first aid kit that she retrieved from the bathroom.  When did she even leave the room?

My mind blurred from pain.  This set of marks hurt...whereas the last ones did not.  This was different, very different; it felt like something from within me surfaced.  I felt energy move from inside.  It flowed down to my hands and burst through my skin.  There was no light or heat radiating off it but the pain was burning and my skin felt like it was melting.  Eryn tried to look at my hands, but I kept pulling them back from her several times until the pain began to subside.  She finally won the pulling contest to allow her to look.  I felt her hands holding mine and to my surprise...she traced her fingers on the backside of my hand with some sort of pattern.

She had a curious look on her face and shook her head in disbelief.  A troubling feeling, as if she was about to walk out the door away from me rolled off her.  I did not know what to do.  If she walked out, my heart would break into a million pieces and vanish.  The feeling from her increased as if a monster came out of the woods.  She could feel it getting closer, and I could feel her concern growing.  Her eyes met mine.

“We need to talk,” her voice trembled.

“I know.  I just don’t know where to begin.”

“Something here is happening that neither of us can fully understand.  We need to get some help,” she said.

“From who?  The Church?  The ones that tried to kill me?  How can we...”  Her voice cut me off

“We have a meeting tonight with Diane.  I think we should go.  But not before you tell me how you did that trick with the swords.”

“Eryn, it’s not a trick.  That is the first time the swords from my dreams materialized in my hands.  Don’t you think I would have told you about something like this?”  I paused as she looked at me and nodded her head.  “I have shared everything with you, but I do need to tell you that something else is happening even more so than before.”

She got a look on her face that signified and “Oh God” moment.  My head shook trying to reassure her that it was not as bad as what had just happened.  She could handle probably about anything at this point, but I decided to tone it down for now.

“My dreams are increasing in intensity...to the point that I don’t think they are dreams.  They feel like they are visions of what I am supposed to do.  Think about it.  The church is watching me like they are expecting something to happen,” I said.

“I know, Baby.  I have felt that for a while, too, which is why I don’t trust them.  They already sent one priest and if they knew you were creating images to fool others they might think you some sort of heretic….well more than that, they probably already think you are,” she said.

“Eryn, that really happened.  I had them in my hand.  Don’t you believe you saw and even took one?”  I asked.

“I don’t know what I believe,” she said.
 

I started to respond, but she cut me off. 

“I want someone who has more of an open mind to take a look at you.  Whatever you are dreaming, your mind is making you think it’s real, and now it’s affecting me too.”

“Explain the tattoos.”  I held up my hands.  “You saw it happen.  Explain why I grew so much and so fast.”

“Your body is trying to defend yourself to these spiritual attacks.  I can believe that.”

“What about the wall.”  I could tell by looking at her she was ready for that one.  Neither of us could deductively reason that one out. 

“Or the man that disappeared.”  My words unsettled her, I could tell, for she looked away from me and shook her head.  Her hand came out of mine and she walked over to the table.

“Look, Dietz,” she started and then sighed, “I want us to be able to enjoy life without bizarre things happening all the time.”

“I know, so do I.  My life has changed so much and with my changing my name, I had hoped it would have started something new for me, not a continuation of this freak show.”  I looked at her gently, “Can you call me Tathlyn though?”

“That’s so weird to me, but I promise I’ll try.”

“Well my dear, it is my true name,” I said.

“True?” she asked.

“Yes, I not only chose it, but it chose me.”

“Okay, I will try to remember, Tathlyn.”  With that, she leaned up and game me a kiss.  I felt the warm of her breath as she exhaled falling into the moment.  The energy we shared danced upon my lips, and she tenderly kissed me…the passion grew.  “I think you should take me in the bedroom,” she said.

“Yes, my lady,” the replay came without hesitation, and I picked her up without missing a lip lock. 
After all,
I thought,
it is only four and we had till seven to get ready.
As I crawled on my knees with her in my hands, the thought of what happened to the blades crept in.  My curiosity raced for a split second, and I forgot about all that as I set her down on the bed and smiled.

God, I love this woman.

XXXIII

The Coven

Traffic was heavy.  The rain beat the road like an unforgiving army, pounding its enemy into oblivion.  Visibility was almost nonexistent.  I peered hard through the torrential sheets.  There was no sign of the rain letting up.  I would have thought that those that chose to live in this state, or were from here, heaven forbid, would know how to maintain a safe speed.  The stupidity taxed my new Zen outlook severely.  People drove way too fast for conditions and slammed on their brakes causing them to risk losing control. 

French gestures flew from a number of vehicles.  My dreamlike visions that put me into a bloodlust were nothing compared to the stress I witnessed on the face of the other drivers.  This was life’s gift: over-crowding and lack of intelligence make for a bad experience on the roads of Washington’s urban sprawl.

Eryn drove.  I had to crawl into her back seat and fold myself into a box like before.  The suspension in the car protested.  Things sounded a little more strained, which made me laugh. 

The pheromone count must have still been enveloping the two of us because of being with her in the small confines of the vehicle.  Her scent was so strong, bringing flashback of our intimacy all over again.  I had my hand on her shoulder as she drove, gently massaging her.  The time together before we left played deeply on my mind.  Why did this meeting have to be now?  Love making was so new to me; it was indescribable in my mind to drink in the scent of her very skin.  It had a drunken effect on me making me feel giddy.  I understood what the phrase “drunk on love” meant.  The uncontrolled passion for her was a caged animal.  Many aspects of my life had changed forever.

I also did not dare think about those swords and tried with all the mental conditioning learned to keep them away from my thoughts.  I was still mystified.  Eryn saw it also.  Something had to be real.  Could be a ghost or spirit was messing with us.  As unlikely as that was, because of how real it felt, it would certainly explain the Houdini effect.

We reached Redmond and turned up a hill that took us out into the woods.  Light started to fade, and Eryn slowed down a bit as we started looking for the address.  Mail boxes were poorly marked.  Even with decreasing speed, we could not see the numbers very well with the down poor still in full swing.  Diane’s directions said to look for a plain mail box that would be obvious.  I had to laugh at the description, with its vagueness.  Trying to find “
fourteen eight seven four
” did not make sense until it stared
us in the face.  Right on this plain white mail box, mounted sideways and back from the road, the numbers were spaced just as such, but meant “
one four eight seven four
.”  The play on numbers felt overstated, but it was exactly as she said it would be.

A haunting driveway appeared.  The darkness made it look like what a portal might look like, if they actually existed.
 
Street lights down the road did not penetrate this darkness.  The ominous warded off unwanted guests.  There was a speaker box mounted next to the mail box as we pulled in.  I heard Eryn gasp.  The headlights on the car acted as though they were not even on as we pulled into the driveway.

“That’s odd.  Are you seeing this?” she spoke almost at a whisper.  I looked ahead as well but was not sure if she saw something more.  The power window lowering broke the silence further as I responded to her.  

“They do not seem like they want guests, do they?”  I chimed in and suddenly felt a twinge behind me outside.  Chills covered me.  Something unexplainable watched us from the woods.  Unable to crane my head further, I whispered, “Roll up the window now.”  The feeling of chill turned to a definite sense that something was behind the car. 

The speaker box crackled to life. 

“
Welcome, Travelers.  The feeling you are experiencing is normal.  Just relax, it will pass.  Stay in the car and do not get out yet
.”

“She is not for real,” I said.  “Something is behind us not in front of us.”  I felt nothing from the darkened drive way, but a presence behind me told me something was indeed there.  I twisted my torso for a better look.  The light from the street lamps was nonexistent.  Normally one would be able to see the street lamps from the shadows. 

Darkness behind was impenetrable.

The speaker box remained silent for several more minutes.  I could hear Eryn muttering something under hear breath that sounded like the “Lord’s Prayer.”  She was worried now.  The energy in the car changed.  I patted her shoulder and returned to front facing in the car, the vehicle rocked in protest in my doing so.  Her hand took mine and she hummed a few bars of something to reclaim what the silence had stolen.  Moments passed.  The squawk of the box began again, much more distinct and lower in volume.

“Pull forward now.” 

The air fluxed with energy making my skin tingle.

Movement on the white mail box right by the speaker caught my eye.  The numbers written in the odd spacing moved closer together and did not have the same pattern anymore.  “one four eight seven four” became one, then four hundred and eighty seven, then four.”  I blinked my eyes, thinking I was seeing things and heard a gasp from the front to signify otherwise.  The numbers moved and regrouped themselves into a different arrangement.  Could someone from the road see that amidst the strange darkness? 

A sound came from beyond the gate.  The area slowly began to illuminate. 

The presence behind us came back, but the feeling was one of dread, like earlier.  Some event took place.  I could not glance behind anymore, but something told me we had just passed through some sort of protections set in place by this.  The thought made me smile slightly.  Not knowing what we were rolling into did have me on edge.  Protecting Eryn was all that mattered to me, above all else.  If she got hurt here, I would take this place apart.  This thought kept coming to mind as my senses reached out.  All seemed to be okay.

Eryn opened the car door.  With the keys in the ignition and the lights still on, the dinging jingled out into the night.  She left them on and stepped out to open my door.  Out I crawled slowly like a snake shedding its skin.  My ability to fit in the back seat probably compared to a clown car.  I kept waiting for a game show host to jump out and hand us money for the feat. 

My feet touched down.  Something raced up my legs like chi, right to about my chest before a popping sound snapped in my head.  As I stood up to my full height, I felt it again, this time it didn’t make it past my abdominal area before it felt like something inside me pushed back whatever just travelled up me.

Then it hit me.  There was no rain falling.  The clear skies showed stars twinkling above.  A feeling of longing followed by peace calmed my mind.  The truth was there was a feeling as if I did not belong here on earth and had no idea why.  The oddities of my life were in the back of my mind, and I was always analyzing my surroundings.  My hands went up to show the universal sign for rain and shrugged my shoulders when I made eye contact with Eryn.  This place had me curious.

Eryn was uneasy and took my hand.  “I don’t like this, Tathlyn.  This was a bad idea.  We should go.”  Before I could answer, from the shadows came a plain voice, female and soothing.

“Please don’t.  It is an honor to meet such a being,” it said. 

Eryn started to laugh.  I was sure she had told them something to get a meeting.  It had to be good enough to pique the interest of such a group...especially one so secluded from the public.  A middle aged woman stepped from the shadow as the area lit up like daylight rather suddenly.  Instinctively, my hand covered my eyes as they adjusted moments later.  Eryn's hands went up to deflect the sudden brilliance as well. 

Her breathing quickened.  That bothered me.  Because she was afraid, that put me on the defensive.  I stepped forward to impose myself between the light this woman had brought forth and Eryn.

“Noble.  Even now you protect her from nothing,” she replied as she lowered a scarf from her face to reveal her gaunt features as if someone had stretched skin over a skeleton.  Her eyes glowed as if something back lit them, giving her a mystical appearance, which made her look powerful.  As she blinked, it became obvious there was light emitting.  Her clothes seemed plain enough.  A green dress flowed to the ground with a shawl over her shoulders colored an earthen tone.  She held her hands out to her side and nodded her head with slight bow.  “Blessings to you Eryn…and Tathlyn…is it?  My, you
are
big indeed,” she said with a toothy smile. 

Her tone felt creepy.  The kid of creeping feeling you get when something is not right.  My view had to change, though.  This was
her
house.  This woman chose a way of life that was a bit off from the world.  She probably dealt with things that would baffle me.  I extended my hand to her.

“Come with me both of you, we have much to discuss.  You may lower your hand there Tathlyn.”  She turned and walked away. 

My hand returned to my side and I looked at Eryn, a puzzled look on my face.  She smacked my rear to get me moving and tried to fake a smile.  I could see through it.  She was scared.  Something was definitely off about this place.  My senses were all over the place.  My hand grabbed Eryn’s and we followed gingerly behind our host.

It is funny how the mind misses certain things in new situations.  I did not see a house when we pulled up, only a light that came on later.  As we walked forward, I realized I did not know where or what we walked towards in this darkness.  Diane's shape stayed ahead as an outline even in this strange light.  We followed in her stead as she moved.  Eryn’s foot falls came behind mine and I made sure to keep pace with her.  The air around us seemed thick like it hung heavier here on the ground.  There were noises ahead...a murmur grew.

Light ahead appeared and grew, taking any peripheral vision away...not even the figure of our host.  The murmur was now consistent with the droning of many voices that caught my ears.  Crackles came from a fire appeared as we cleared the walkway.  That had been diluting the many voices we heard on the way in.  Diane walked into what looked like a clearing.  She was about twenty feet ahead and moved towards a few shadows that within a few steps melded into the form of two people on either side of her now.  All three faced our direction as we entered whatever this was.

A quick glance revealed a clearing about a hundred yards across.  I could see several structures of odd design made with branched woven together, sort of like wicker.  Hut like roofs on all of them hid a lot of the features with hanging debris and decorations of one sort or another.  It appeared to be a village, almost medieval in design and décor.  My unease turned to comfort and that troubled me.  I did my best to hide it and stayed alert.  The trio ahead now walked the ten or so feet forward, and all bowed. 

“Welcome Honored guests to Shan Garran, may you find solace and tranquility while you are here.” 

She had a look in her eye that I could not explain.  The bumps, where the hairs on my neck would have been, stood upright even though there was no threat.  I pushed the urge down and she was still talking, missing a few words.  “…make your time here more of an experience.  Do not hesitate to ask.“ 

She gestured to her left.  “This is Tolman.  The other is Syreena, our leader.”  Her gesture went to the right.  Both bowed again, and I locked eyes with the second woman.  They felt vacuous and cold to me.  There was still nothing obvious to detect.  There was no response from her, simply a hand extended in a friendly gesture.  I stepped forward and nodded my head.  Her hand hung in the air so I gently took it.

Images hit me harder than any of my memories.  I felt slammed with psychic wrecking balls.  They hammered my defenses.  The skin on my face felt like it was burning.  I blinked my eyes a few times and suddenly Tolman was next to me with my other hand in his.  Diane was watching from behind.

“This will take but a moment.  We apologize for any discomfort you may be feeling.  It will be over soon,” Tolman said.  I heard Eryn gasp behind me and tried to look, finding out my head would not move.  It was stuck forward looking into Syreena’s eyes.  The pounding attempts to get in my mind and the burning sensation continued to grow.  An object fell to the ground behind me.  A third presence joined in the on the mental bombardment.  Something inside me weakened.

“You got here just in time to help us finish the ritual, Tathlyn.  Let us find out what you are.  The power I sense inside of you is stronger than anything I have ever heard of.  It is like a drug.  We want it all.” 

A wave of energy rolled over me and turned the intensity up even more.  My mind was on fire.  I could not move and I struggled to breathe.  No sound came from Eryn.  She was behind me, where my eyes could not see.  Anger raged inside of me and threatened to overcome me if they continued.  I had to calm myself down to continue to fight whatever these people were attempting.  My mind tried to find my Zen place where meditation was possible. 

Memories of watching the birds in their element hunting worms came forward.  The rage reached a crescendo as the memory anchored my peace at that moment.  Their assault continued to build, but my anger over it receded slowly.  The words spoken by these three became blurry.  It sounded like Latin at times but more guttural.  My muscles went limp, yet I was still upright, unable to move.  The fraction of time that exists between tranquility and acceptance held me in its sway.  Energy rolled over me creating weakness that crept into my core.  A fine red mist came from my skin, sapping my strength.  My blood floated toward the fire.