Sacrifice (Gryphon Series) (9 page)

T
ears streaked down my cheeks in torrents and blurred my vision. Fate served as a wicked enchantress with a twisted and cruel sense of humor yet tonight I refused to let her win. Tomorrow my life would be a shattered mess from which I may never recover. But on
this
night I planned to act on my desires—with no regrets.

“Yes
,” I hiccupped and fell into his arms.

The
sensual caress of his hair against my cheek awoke a passionate urgency in me. I needed the contact of his skin on mine more than I had ever needed anything in my life. My desire awoke with a vengeance and I hungrily brought my lips to his.

Caleb
caught my face and pulled back, questions written all over his face. “Love, ya’r tremblin’.”

A lone
thought sparked in my mind and built in intensity like a raging wildfire. I peered deep into the gaze of the man I loved—
my fiancé
.

“Make love to me.” My voice didn’t waver at this request.

Caleb ran his fingers through my hair. A sweet smile softened his lips. “As much as I’d love to—and believe me I would—if I want ya’r Grams tah continue tah like me I have tah at least suggest we wait until we’re actually married. We’ve waited this long, what’s a few more months, aye?”

I
scooted off the rocking chair and settled on to his lap with my legs wrapped around him. Only a veil of electricity separated my lips from his. “In my next life I’ll wait. I can’t in this one.”

O
ur mouths met with mutual need. Everything we had, everything we were, we offered to each other. In a puff of smoke we crossed the room. The mattress squeaked softly when Caleb eased me down on to it. I fumbled with the buttons of his shirt, my quaking hands unable to thumb them free. He yanked the bothersome garment over his head and tossed it across the room. My fingers traced across the intricate Celtic pattern branded on his chest, over the crisscrossed scars from countless battles, down those chiseled abs, and finally hooked over the waistband of his jeans.

Despite the hunger in his eyes, Caleb caught my hand
. His voice came out a breathless growl. “Are ya sure this is what ya want, lovey?”

I said nothing, but let the snap
as I unfastened his jeans answer for me. I had no doubts. Before I lost him forever, I would have all of him.

CHAPTER
TEN

Silky, soft sand slid between my toes. Not a single cloud marred the brilliant blue sky. Sunlight streamed down and warmed my skin with its kiss. A faint breeze lifted my hair and made it dance across my bare shoulders. The sides of my hair were pulled up and pinned with a few brightly colored flowers; the orange Tiger Lily was my favorite. I shifted my bouquet—yellow, fuchsia, orange, and white lilies set against a bed of green ivy—into my right hand. With my free hand I smoothed my dress one last time. The loose, flowing fabric stopped just below my knee. Its empire cut design and thin spaghetti straps made it simple, elegant, and perfect for me. Daddy extended his arm. I happily hooked my own around it. Flecks of gold glimmered in his chestnut eyes as he beamed at me. I smiled back and gave his arm a squeeze.

In the distance
, a guitar strummed softly.

“That’s our cue. You ready
, Cee-Cee?” Daddy asked and closed his hand over mine.

I took a deep breath of the salty sea air and exhaled slowly. “More than I
’ve ever been ready for anything my entire life.”

“Let’s go then.” H
e winked.

Ahead of us
an aisle awaited sprinkled with rose petals and lined with white folding chairs that held all my friends and family. They turned in their seats as we began our processional. Smiles followed us up the aisle. My heart fluttered in my chest when I saw his silhouette under the floral archway. The turquoise ocean lapped its sweet serenade behind him, yet I marveled at Caleb’s beauty. The sun glistened off his ebony locks. A golden glow brightened his skin. He wore a white buttoned-down shirt left untucked with the sleeves rolled up and khaki slacks rather than a tux. His feet were bare, just like mine.

Daddy
kissed me on the cheek, placed my hand gently in Caleb’s, and took his seat beside Mom. A tear slid from his eye and Mom laid her hand on his knee to comfort him.

“Dearly beloved,” a harsh voice began. My head whipped around. Presiding over our
nuptials was the Grand Councilwoman, the same gruff and unforgiving woman that had stripped Alaina of her powers and saddled me with my own little gnome of doom. Her gown of raven feathers covered all but her hands and pinched face. The feathers on her head were pulled tightly back in a makeshift bun. “We are gathered here today to join this man and this woman in Holy Matrimony … ”

I glanced at Caleb.
While my smile had vanished his held firm, seemingly undisturbed by her presence. Behind me Kendall and Alaina wore matching blue sundresses and content smiles. Gabe stood in the best man position with his hands behind his back and a warm grin on his face. Everyone seemed okay with this, except me. I shook my head then shifted my focus back to the glorious moment at hand.

“At this time the Groom would like to recite the tradi
tional Celtic vows to his bride.” The Councilwoman gestured for him to proceed with a bird-like jerk of her head.

Alaina stepped forward with a yellow cord
. She wrapped it first around Caleb’s hand and then around mine.

“
Handfasting. It’s a Celtic tradition,” she whispered with a soft smile then returned to her place in line.

Caleb cleared his throat
and began, his voice strong and assertive. “I vow to you the first cut of meat, the first sip of wine. From this day on it shall be only your name I cry out in the night and into your eyes that I shall smile each morning.”

A wave crashed against the shore
. Odd on such a calm and fair weathered day. I glanced up. Grey clouds moved in fast and the water churned angrily.

“I shall be a shield
for your back as you are mine,” a deep resonate boom of a voice said, and I snapped my head around.

The
Gryphon stood in Caleb’s place.

The cord that tied my hand to the talon of the towering creature was all that prevented me from tumbling to the ground
in shock. His lion torso rippled with muscle. Flaxen feathers covered his face and neck. His beak curled down into a sharp and deadly point. The wide, powerful shape of his head and pointed ears looked more lion-like than eagle. Majestic wings arched up behind him, making his formidable appearance that much more daunting.

“No
r shall a grievous word be spoken about us, for our marriage is sacred between us and no stranger shall hear my grievance. Above and beyond this, I will cherish and honor you through this life and into the next.”

I didn’t want to be bonded to him, not like this.
I sought out the faces of my loved ones and silently pleaded for someone to help me. My mother swiped at her tears with a lacy handkerchief. Daddy gave me a warm grin and a reassuring nod. From Grams I got a jovial thumbs up. Even my brother and sister—my sword and my shield—smiled their approval.

Lightning
flashed overhead as sky opened up and dumped torrential rains down by the bucketful. All the wedding guests shrieked and ran for cover. The only bodies left on the beach belonged to me … and my betrothed.

A
third voice picked up where the previous one left off, “Ye are blood of my blood, and bone of my bone.” Rain blurred my vision. I swiped at my face with my free hand to see if the impossible was true. She was—
me
. Not me exactly, but a version of. For starters regular me wouldn’t be caught dead in the frayed and revealing animal skin outfit she wore. Her skin was covered with dirt and what appeared to be soot. A long, thick braid hung down her back. Blue painted symbols and markings decorated her bare arms and lined her cheeks. I didn’t have to wonder who she was. I’d met her before, just not face-to-face. She lived in me as the Celtic warrior fate demanded I be. “I give ye my body, that we two might be one. I give ye my spirit, ‘til our life shall be done.”    

A choked sob tore from my throat. Caleb had been the dream. A distraction. From the start we could never have worked because of my tie to another. Tears streamed
down my face. Their traces—as well as any hope I clung to—washed away by the rain.

The warrior’s dirt-stained fingers dug into my skin to the point of pain. She grasped my forearm and yanked me closer. Her other hand balled into a fist that she thumped against her chest and held over her heart. Outwardly her eyes projected a mirror image of my own. Yet hers held no pain—just the absolute resolution that comes with duty, honor, and responsibility. I envied her battle-hardened heart. It seemed an improvement over my own that lay crumpled in my chest, shattered beyond repair. I coveted her existence for its simplicity—an option life refused to give me. Not yet anyway. I attempted to embrace her uncomplicated existence by clasping my hand around her arm and returning her salute while the rain poured down.



I woke up alone. The bed beside me long since cold, but still smelled of him. The room that last night provided a cozy little love nest now felt as frigid and isolated as a prison cell. I swung my feet over the side of the bed and dragged myself to the window. The world outside looked too bright. Too green. Like a manic fairy tale in Tim Burton’s imagination. The curtain rattled across its rod as I pulled it shut. I returned to the bed and curled myself around the pillow where Caleb slept next to me for the first and last time. That’s when the first round of tears broke free. With wrenching sobs that shook the bed with their force my misery came pouring out.

CHAPTER
ELEVEN

I didn’t ask where Bernard had taken me. Frankly, I didn’t care. He came to get me in Ireland with the plan of throwing me into the middle of a Titan smorgasbord. The locale he blinked us to turned out to be a desolate, wind lashed dune.

Gabe
, still in human form, was clad only in a pair of faded jeans. The muscles across his chest and back flexed as he swung a long-handled double-sided axe at a fire demon. The ax severed the creature’s head from its body. Ash rained down and covered Gabe with a layer of grey over his bare skin. One down, eleven more to go. Three of fire, two Bat-bulls, four of the sparky lightning dudes, and two land sharks that were snapping their teeth and circling Kendall on their stubby little leg nubbins. Most days I would’ve found the crowd of demons around my loved ones worrisome. At that moment, I couldn’t muster that emotion—or any other.

A mace dangled from
Kendall’s delicate hand as she held the tips of her extended wings in close enough to protect her. From the way she was held it—like it might contaminate her—I sincerely doubted she had swung it even once.

“Those are the
other enchanted weapons?” I jerked my head at the axe and mace as I fastened the sheathed broadsword Bernard gave me around my hips.

The fat little gnome
dug his cane into the sand to lean on it. “Yes. The Council forged them for you specifically to use against the Titans. They are drawn to the instruments like moths to a flame. Just like that flame to that moth, the weapons are incredibly deadly.”

“All I need
to know,” I muttered and marched across the sand. I ducked, twirled, and weaved through the demons, locked on my destination.

Kendall’s head snapped around when my left hand closed over the heavy metal handle of the mace. Her
platinum hair bounced as she peered from my hand to my face and back again. Relief registered a split second before her eyebrows raised in surprise. “Celeste! Wow, nice ring! Where’d you get it?”

I took a deep breath
and let it out slowly. Wordlessly I readjusted my grip on the weapon.

C
omprehension widened her eyes. Her mouth formed a perfect O. “Oh. Oh
no
. Do you want to talk about it?”

“Nope. Gabe, get her out of here!”
I shoved past Kendall and walloped a land shark in the head with the spikes of the mace. Bone crunched. Its teeth snapped one more time before it flopped to the ground and darkened the sand by turning to black ooze.

Gabe
said nothing, just gave me a sympathetic lift of his chin before handing over the axe. He grabbed Keni’s upper arm, found an opening, and maneuvered them both out of the circle of demons.

I weighed both weapons in my hands to get the feel of them.

“
Wa … wait!” Keni protested and tried to plant her feet in the sand. “We have to help her!”

The Titan
s encircled me with a wall of electrically charged, earth trembling, teeth gnashing, heat. I kept my gaze cast down but turned my head to one side and then the other to crack my neck.

Keni
shook free of Gabe’s grasp and reeled toward me. “We can’t leave her alone!”