Richard: Blood Brotherhood – Erotic Paranormal Dark Fantasy Romance (10 page)

“I’ll go but will stay away from her. I promise you to only send in the best, and we’ll.... I think it would be best if we left her a letter with our intentions on it. That way no one has to be there for any longer than we need be. All right?” Ryiah said that she agreed. “You’re a good person, Ryiah, and I love you dearly.”

“And I love you more, my heart. Please be careful around my sister. And tell the others to do so as well.” They entered the large room where everyone was gathered. “Rick has found a marking that he cannot figure out. Will you see if you know it? If he does not, then I’m not sure I would either.”

Hunter went to Remy and asked permission to see the mark. When he turned around, his back facing them, Ryiah saw how much the man had been enhanced since she’d seen him the other day. She stepped forward just as Hunter was studying the lines at his spine. Hunter looked at her when she figured it out as well. It was a mark that she’d not seen in centuries, and even then it had only been a drawing in a book.

“May I see your back, Skylar?”

The young woman turned and took off her shirt. She wore a bra that looked like a very tight shirt, and Ryiah wondered if she could have such a thing. Just as she thought of it, she could feel the difference on her body. It was a nice tight fit, she realized. But she had a task to do before she showed Rick.

The same kind of mark was on Skylar but only half of it, just as it was on Remy.

“My lady?”

It was a mark that could be thought of as very good or terribly bad. Hunter was afraid, but Ryiah knew these two people, and knew that if anyone could be trusted with this magic, it would be them. Nodding to Hunter, she cleared out the other faeries from the room so that they’d not be privy to the magic that Remy and Skylar now held.

“Your mark is the half to a great magic. Skylar holds the other. A magic so powerful and so consuming that it has brought worlds to an end, and created others that have gone on to prosper better than anything ever before it. You both have half of it, as I said, and you must be careful who you tell that you own it.” She smiled when Remy and Skylar each took several steps away from each other. “You cannot accidently set it off. There is other magic that must be done to make it work. But you hold something that has been fought and killed over for more years than there has been breath in bodies.”

“What can it do?” She looked over at Davis when he asked. “And something this powerful, I’m assuming that it comes with a price as well.”

“It does. All magic does. But this particular magic holds the giver in their body long after it is spent. The magic needs the giver, in this case Remy and Skylar, as much as they do the magic they can release. This magic will destroy all that is dead and bring a new life to the land and sky with it.” Nate joined them then, and when he was brought up to speed on the conversation, she looked at him. “You hold magic within you too, but I will talk to you about it later. All right?”

“Yes, but I’m sure I don’t want to know.” She was sure that he wouldn’t. “This magic that they hold, you said it could end the world. That’s not what they’re to do, is it?”

“No. I don’t think that is the reason they have it. I think....” Ryiah looked at Hector. “Your world is gone, you said. Destroyed by the monster that you created?”

“Yes. There is no one left there. The land, too, is dying, as if there is no reason for it to be alive any longer. The few things that I brought here, they are thriving, but not like they did on my planet.” She nodded. “You think they are to go there and fix things?”

“I don’t know if that is the reason that they have it, but it would fix a great many things. Once the magic is used, the holder, in this case the two of them, would never be able to leave the magic that they created. The land, it would depend on them for all eternity. And once they have children, their children will continue to enrich the land that they created in ways that you’ve never seen before.” Skylar asked her if they were to go to the other realm to do this, what happened to things here. “I don’t know. I only know that you carry a mark that hasn’t been seen in a very long time, and that the bearer of such a mark would have been chosen by a gathering of people, magical people that would no longer be alive to bear witness to its magic. It would have drained them to have given you such a gift, drained them of every part of themselves. But they would have had to have given it to you freely or it would not have worked. They trust in you; you have no idea how gifted the two of you really are.”

“And you cleared out the faeries so that they’d not know. To keep us safe.” She nodded and Remy looked at Hunter but spoke to her. “And do you think, with this power, that we were meant to save Hector’s world or this one?”

“I know not. As I said, I only know the power of the magic, not what it is for at this time. I have hopes that this world will be able to come back from this. But I don’t know. I’m not sure any of us can know that for sure.” He nodded. “Hunter can be trusted, Remy. She would never do anything at all to harm me and mine.”

“Why is that? I have a feeling that you are more than just faerie to faerie. I know that she calls you by a title, but I have a feeling that you two are more than that, aren’t you?” She looked at Hunter and when she nodded, Ryiah did as well. “And should we know this relationship, one other than just faerie to faerie? For a reason that I cannot put my finger on, I think that it’s important that we do. Should you not want to share, then I would understand that as well.”

“She created me, as you are aware. But what you don’t know is what it took for her to do this.” No one spoke as Hunter continued. “When she was locked away long ago, the earth not able to touch her, the sun not there to warm her skin, I was but a small seed, floating upon the small breeze that came through the cracks of her cell. There was no warmth for her, nay, not even a morsel of food to sustain her. But she pulled me to her, cupped me into her hand, and kept me warm. Fed me from her own body by cutting into her skin and putting me there to keep me alive. Dampened my needs with her tears and blood. It also connected us in a way that no other living creature would have had. Her sorrow and heartbreak was what I felt when I grew within her. Had she been different, at a point in her life where she could have, I think her to have wanted to end her life. But she did not. I was there to keep her alive, and she the same for me. Ryiah gave me life because she is the strongest being I’ve ever met, even stronger than the queen herself, I think.”

Hunter bowed before Remy and Skylar before she came to Ryiah and sat upon her shoulder. Ryiah was afraid they would order her away. That they’d say that what Hunter had said was a falsehood and that she wasn’t to be trusted. Rick came forward then and bowed his head to Hunter, and put out his hand for her to come to him. When she did, Ryiah felt her breath hold in her body.

“I’m honored to know you, Hunter. And knowing that you fought so hard to become what you are now, I am in awe of you as well. Thank you for saving Ryiah for us. For me especially.” Hunter looked at her before she asked Rick if she could bond with him. “Yes. If you would, I’d very much like to be able to talk to you as Ryiah does.”

Her sword didn’t look large enough to do much in the way of damage, but Ryiah knew better. It, like her friend, was magical, and small things could hold a great deal of power. When she stabbed the blade into his wrist Rick winced, but he said nothing as she took the blade to her mouth and licked his blood from it. They would never be as close as she and Hunter were, but Rick could summon her as well as the army that she led.

Remy asked if they, too, could bond with the little warrior. They all turned to Ryiah.

“It would be up to her. But know that she does not come alone. There are many that you would command should you need her. It is right that she bond with Rick—he’s my mate—but if you take her into your body, her blood with yours, know that she will have an army at her call.” Remy asked if they could harm any of them. “She couldn’t harm you because of me.”

“You’d not allow it.” Ryiah looked at Skylar and asked her what she meant. “You would not command them to hurt us, right? I mean, I have a pretty good idea that while they’re very small, they can hurt badly. And it would be nowhere close to what they did to Benton the other day.”

“I cannot.” They still looked confused. “We are family. The same as if we had shared the same parents. It’s what makes you so strong. The way you can depend on each other to have your backs. Trust is there, as is love. Friendship that is stronger than any ties known to humans. We cannot harm each other because we are family.”

Everyone looked at Remy. “If one of you says that I am the daddy in this mess, I shall test the theory that I cannot hurt you. To the very limits of it.” They laughed and Ryiah watched them. To have had family like this growing up, she might have been a lot better person today. Skylar turned to her then.

“You are a wonderful person, Ryiah. A good friend to us all, and I for one am glad to call you sister.” Ryiah felt humbled at such a compliment, and nodded. “Now, if you can figure out a few more of these marks on us, I for one will be thrilled to death. Oh, do you know if there is anything here that says that I’m smarter than Remy?”

“You are, love. And you always will be.” Remy hugged his mate to him as he continued. “And the both of us are much smarter than any of these fools.”

After that, it was a free for all in making fun of each other. The kidding continued long after she gave them more information, and even at dinner, where they all met when they could nightly. Ryiah had never been this happy before.

Chapter 9

Lucia wasn’t happy. She was bored to death, and she had run out of things to do several hours ago. Ignoring the constant knocks at her door, she was tempted to open it just to have someone to talk to. But to do that could invite in trouble that she just didn’t want to deal with.

Going to the bedroom that she’d moved into just that morning, she looked around at what was obviously a little girl’s room. If there had been any other room she could have used, she would never have stepped in this room willingly. It was just too…pink. Walls, rugs, covers, even the sheets were pink. And a color so ugly that she thought someone had made the color up. There was no way that it came from something of this earth. But it was either move in here or take the chance to leave the house and find another one. And that seemed too dangerous at the moment.

The three bedrooms that she’d used up until now were messy. And since there was no one to come and clean up after her, not even to make the bed, she wasn’t going to be staying where it wasn’t fit. If only she could find one person that she could trust to do things for her.

Grabbing the bag of potato chips, a treat she’d never had until the other day, she ate them while walking around the room. Not only was everything pink, but there had to be five hundred dolls and stuffed animals.

“Why? Why would anyone need this many…what is this thing? Tigers. Who needs ten different-sized tigers in one room?” She tossed the animal behind her as chips fell from her fingers. “And this? Why does she have so many books? There is no reason to fill a room with books when there are so many other lovely things to have in a room. Like clothing and shoes.”

By the time she was standing in the bathroom, Lucia had decided that the child was colorblind. There wasn’t any way a person could put zebra stripes on the wall and have a pink counter and rugs, as well as a shower curtain to match, and not be physically ill all the time. Ripping the offending curtain down, she decided that she’d bathe from now on in this room and not shower. This just wasn’t what she wanted in a house.

“The next time I go house hunting I’m going to go through the entire thing before I pick. Just because it is glamourous on the outside and around the front entrance does not mean that it has anything worth looking at inside.” Lucia heard the knocking again and screamed. “Go the fuck away.”

When the knocking continued, as if there were more than one person at the door and they were taking turns, Lucia stomped down the stairs to tear the person there a new ass. If she’d had any magic, she would have blasted them out of this realm and into the next. This was bordering on harassment. As soon as she opened the door, she knew that she’d made a huge mistake. Again.

“Lucia Alvarez, you are hereby summoned to the Gathering.”

And just like that, she was standing in the large open area again. This time they’d not just clasped her hands together in front of her, but had shackled her ankles as well. She tried her best to look as innocent as she could. No one said a word to her, but they did talk between themselves. When it was obvious that they weren’t going to tell her why she was there, she cleared her throat. They all looked at her as if they had no idea she was there.

“I’d very much like to be returned to my home. And if you could see fit to return my magic, that would be great as well. I did talk with a woman in white and she said she’d return it to me, but so far I’ve seen nothing. I’ve been having some issues at home, and I can only imagine why you’d think to take it from me.” They stared at her. “Hello? I’m asking for your help. Can you just send me home? Please?”

“You’ve been brought here because of the issues that you’re having at home. We have received all of your complaints about your sister, as well as a faerie that you call Fucking Hunter. Which, I must confess, we cannot find on our rosters.” She wanted to go over there and bash his head in. She’d just said that she was having trouble at home, and the fact that they couldn’t find Hunter wasn’t her concern. Lucia just wanted her dealt with and out of her life. “And we did not take your magic, Lucia. It was given to the rightful owner of it. Now, you have been found guilty of the charges of—”

“Hold on there a minute. I know my rights. I’m to get a hearing and then you debate. You might have debated on the information that you think you know, but it’s not the truth. Not any of it.” He asked her how she’d know that. “Well, I don’t know, but I’m pretty sure that you don’t bring a person here and slap chains on them if you think that they’re not guilty. I’ve done nothing wrong. And I can prove it if you just bring the thief here and let her explain why she’s taken what doesn’t belong to her.”

“What of your lies about your sister, Ryiah? You have kept her in the dark concerning her birthright, as well as used her as a slave for many centuries. That alone is enough to get you fined, as well as some time in the cell.” Lucia smiled. She had this one answered. “If you think there is anyone that would come to your defense on this, please call them out. I should like to know the reasons for you acting so against one of your blood.”

“My sister, Ryiah. She is a little off in the head. That’s the reason that I’ve been taking care of her. And what do you think might have happened to the magic had she had any of it? I can tell you, it would have been bad. Especially for me and my family. But if you’d allow me to return to my home, I could show you the documents that she signed giving me permission to take the magic that was allotted to her by our father.” He asked her what she meant by “off in the head.” “You know. Her brain doesn’t work like everyone else’s. I’ve been sheltering her all her life, you see, but I think you need to understand what I’ve been having to deal with. I’ve not let on how mean she can be nor how she lies about everything. Like me trying to have her killed or even taking things from her that she claims belong to her. Then I’d like to have my magic returned, that I’m assuming you gave her when you took it from me. I have the paperwork right at home.”

“No, I don’t think it will do any of us any good should you leave here without this being resolved. I suggest that we bring her here to speak before us.” That wasn’t going to work for her, so she told him that she was in a home under constant care. “Be that as it may, I, for one, would like to talk to her.”

“You see, that’s what everyone says. Then when she starts going on about things that never happened, it’s hard on people. She might be on this kick where she talks about having a mate. Or that she commands armies. You know as well as I that I’m the one that did that. I think she’s been jealous of me all these years and it has gotten mixed up in her head somehow. Like I said, she’s off in her head all the time.”

When they conferred again, Lucia looked around. That was when she saw that little faerie that had been bothering her for days now. Hunter. She’d only answered to Ryiah for some reason even before Lucia’s magic was stolen from her. So when Hunter waved and blew her kisses, Lucia knew that she was going to find her when this crap was finished and end her life.

“We have decided to suspend things for the time being.”

Lucia let out a long breath and thought of all the things she was going to do as soon as she was free. First and foremost, she was going to find a place to hide. Somewhere that she could get servants to work for her in. She asked them about her magic. After another long talk, the woman closest to her smiled.

“As we have stated, we don’t have any magic that belongs to you. Your sister has it, and will keep it until such time that we can listen to her side of the story.” Lucia offered again to go and get the paperwork. “That won’t be necessary.”

“Good. But then how do we go about getting my magic back from my sister? I really could use it, and I’ve been without it for a very long time.”

They spoke together once again. She wondered if one of them had to use the bathroom, how long it would take before someone pissed themselves before they made a decision. Hunter flew to the table and joined in on the talk. This was going to take for-fucking-ever.

“We will speak with your sister. And when we have come to a decision, we will bring you forth. Until such time you will live as you have been, without magic.” At a nod to Hunter, the little faerie came to her. “Hunter and her men will see you to your cell.”

“Cell? No. I don’t want to be in a cell. You said I could live as I was before. I can do that, but putting me in a cell just isn’t right.” Even as she was taken away, her body no longer obeying her but that of the faerie that led her, Lucia was still screaming at them to let her go back to her home. “This isn’t right. I’m the oldest. You must let me go. I demand it.”

As soon as the magic closed around her, she knew that she was as good as dead. Hunter flying in front of her did nothing for her temper. But instead of unleashing it on her as she wanted, she took a deep breath and thought of all the things this little bug could do for her.

“I would like for you to take my sister a message.” Hunter said nothing but watched her. “Tell her that I’m in trouble and I’d like for her to come here and talk to me. Tell her that if she doesn’t, I could die.”

“And how do you think that is going to make her want to come to you? You should have been beheaded decades ago, Lucia. You’ve been nothing but trouble since your first breath.” She wanted to reach between the magic and kill the little fucker, and the only way that Hunter could ever be killed was if she had her neck broken or her head removed, and that wasn’t going to happen soon enough for Lucia. Breaching the magic between them was impossible. “I might take her a message for you. But I won’t make her unhappy. She’s in a wonderful place right now, and I don’t want to upset her.”

“She should fucking be here instead of me.” Lucia closed her eyes before continuing again. “I need her to come here so that I can tell her what to say to the Gathering. If she doesn’t, I won’t be there for her anymore.”

“You’ve never been there for her. Again, you’re going to have to do much better than that. What is it you think you’re going to get out of me telling her that you wish for her to lie for you? That is what you want, isn’t it? For Ryiah to lie to the Gathering? You do know that they’ll kill her if she does.” Lucia wanted to tell her that she didn’t care what happened to her sister so long as she was free, but knew that would be the wrong thing to say as well. “I have things to do, Lucia. Come up with something better or I’m leaving you here to rot.”

“I hate you. You know that when I’m free I’m going to make it my business to figure out a way to have you murdered, even should I have to do it myself. Why you’re so important to her is beyond me, but I’ll fix your ass.” Hunter just laughed. “Tell her to come here today. That I need to speak to her before she comes before the Gathering.”

“Won’t be today, I’m afraid. She’s got an appointment with the queen.” Lucia asked who that might be. “The queen of faeries. You met her the other day. She went by your home and warned you off coming out. Just so you know, we couldn’t have done a thing to you should you have left your house. We can only attack by one person’s command, and I don’t think Ryiah cares if you live or die.”

Lucia was still thinking how she’d been tricked when her meal was delivered to her. There wasn’t a person that she could talk to; magic set it on the small table that was there. And Lucia knew that as soon as she was finished eating, if she ate any of it, the tray and the table would disappear. She was going to be taken care of, but there was no one to complain to should she want to. She was cut off from everyone and everything. Lucia hated them all.

~~~

Remy looked at the pictures that had been taken of his body and stared at the one of his spine. He could see it now; when he laid the picture of Skylar next to it, he could see where they fit together. Not only that, but they seemed to jump right out at him when he stared at them long enough. When someone sat down across from him, he stared at Hector.

“I wish to request that you do not waste the power that you have on my realm.” Remy said nothing, not even sure what he would say. “I have given it a great deal of thought, and after talking to Ryiah a little more, I think that you going there would be a mistake. And even though I miss things there, this is my home now and there is nothing left there.”

“Ryiah said that once the magic is unleashed, everything there would disappear and it would be like a clean slate. Nothing, save the Keeper, would be left of it. Then the magic in us would take over and all forms of life, in the way of the earth, would start to grow. Later, when there was enough food to support it, other creatures would arrive, as if drawn to the place.” Hector nodded. “Tell me really why you don’t want me to do this. I know that this is yours and Ruben’s home. And I’m not saying that we will, but we both know that’s not the real reason.”

“You will be there and not here.” Skylar and he had talked of that as well with Ryiah. She explained that should they leave for a few days, even a week, things would go on. But anything over that and the world would die. And in turn, so would they. The connection between them and whatever realm they created would be as tight as a seed to the plant that grew from it. “I would miss you both. I know that the rest of us would as well.”

“And you don’t think we’d miss you as well?” Hector nodded. “There is no reason that you cannot come to visit us, Hector. If we were to do this, we’d love to have all of you come and stay with us. It would be a world like none other.”

“I had thought that before. I thought I lived in a utopia. But my wife, she died there. Along with a great many of my friends. I’m not sure I’d be able to go back and not think of those things.” Remy told him he was sorry. “As am I. I think of all the things that we have brought here to your planet. The destruction of your world and the people that lived here. So many deaths. And for no other reason than greed.”