Soul Bound (2 page)

Druids had priests, priestesses and seers.  They sought higher powers in many forms, including gods and goddesses.  They worshipped my mother, for one, although they didn’t typically use her true name.  They thought she was the mother of everything that ever was.  Priestesses and Seers lived simple lives.  They were self-sacrificing and loyal.  It didn’t surprise me that Branwyn was opening her home to me.  It was very possible, probably even likely, that she had seen me in a vision.  They worshipped nature, they opened their minds to powers that they didn’t understand.  And sometimes, they channeled visions.  It wouldn’t surprise me a bit if she had seen me in one.

“Did you see my coming in a vision?” I asked curiously as we walked together over the meadow toward the small gathering of huts. 

“No,” she glanced at me.  “Your mother told me.”

“My mother literally came to you and told you that I was coming.  She appeared to you?”

“I am your mother’s faithful servant,” Branwyn said quietly.  “Your mother knows this.  She trusts me.  I have proven my loyalty to her in every way.  I only hope to prove it to you, as well, princess.”

“You don’t need to call me princess,” I told her wryly.  “Empusa will do.”

She met my gaze.  “Wonderful.  Empusa, it is.”

My feet fell on the wet velvet of the wild grass and I realized with a start that I had lost my shoes along the way.  Probably while I was dangling over the hot lava.  Perfect. 

Brennan read my thoughts and smiled at me. “It’s alright, Emmie.  I’ll carry you wherever you need to go.”  I rolled my eyes and laughed. 

“I’m good,” I assured him.  “I can conjure shoes.”

He nodded thoughtfully. “That you can.  I had forgotten.”

We approached the other women who had stilled their movements in order to watch our approach.  They were all calm and interested.  I could see that they had been expecting me, as well.  As I stepped inside the perimeter of their camp, they each dropped to their knees, their heads bowed.

My breath caught in my throat at the show of reverence. 

“I told you that you and your mother are respected here,” Branwyn murmured.  “They won’t get up until you give them permission.”

“Please, get up,” I stammered quickly.  “There is no need to kneel to me.  My mother is a powerful goddess of the moon.  I am just her daughter, no more and no less.  Only that.  There is no reason to revere me.”

“You are too modest, princess,” Branwyn observed.  “Surely you are aware of your own value.  But you heard her, ladies,” she turned to the others. “The moon princess has said to rise.  You can resume your duties.  We’ll meet in the Meadow of Peace later this afternoon to meditate.”

The women resumed their laundry duties while Branwyn continued leading us away from the common area to a small but well-built hut. 

It was made from wood and rock and was solid and strong.  It stood in the middle of the others, larger and away from the perimeter.  The perimeter was clearly marked with a boundary of stones.  I recalled that the druids believed that there was protective magic within circles.  And I was not one to determine who had more valid or powerful magic.  Magic, as a whole, was a very fluid thing.  Even mortals could channel it if they concentrated enough.

“While you are here, you will occupy my home,” she told us as she ducked her head slightly to enter the doorway.  We followed and once inside, we could easily stand to our full heights.

The hut was simple, but clean.  There was a largish bed in the center of the room covered in animal pelts.  A fireplace adorned the back wall, simple and stone, with a roaring blaze inside.  Cookware hung on hooks beside it. 

“We cannot take your home from you,” I told her quietly.  “There must be somewhere else we can sleep.”

“We have no extra homes,” she said in amusement.  “We are a simple people.  We only take what we need and we only use what we must.  We do not waste.  I am honored for you to use my home.  I will share with someone else.”

She showed us a few things inside of the hut and pulled a buckskin over the single window before turning back to us. 

Pulling a silver ring off of her finger, she handed it to me.  The silver knotted ring glistened mutely in the dark.

“Promise me, Empusa, that you will wear this.  It’s enchanted with protection.  Never walk outside of our circle without it.  Do I have your word?”

Her face was serious, her voice solemn.  It would not hurt me to wear it, so I opened my fingers and allowed it to fall into my palm. 

“Of course. Thank you.”

She nodded and turned to leave.  “I’ll send someone for you when it is time to eat.  You should rest.”

With that, she was gone. 

Brennan and I were left staring at each other in the dim light of the hut.  He reached out to me and almost without thinking, I collapsed against his chest.  His heart thudded against my ear, its strength a throbbing cadence.  I memorized the rhythm, tracing the outline of his collarbone with my fingers. 

“We should rest,” he reminded me gently, staring down with his amazing golden eyes.  His father, Apollo, was known throughout the world as being beautiful and charming.  Brennan had inherited the best of those traits, which was a little funny since he had never actually met his father.  He had been raised by mortals. 

My fingers made their way to the cleft in his chin and I rose on my tiptoes to kiss his lips. 

“I didn’t get the chance to thank you for saving me from the lava,” I told him, my gaze frozen on his.   He smiled, his perfect lips stretching over a white smile.

“Anytime,” he answered confidently.  “Anytime, anyplace, moon princess.”

“Ugh,” I rolled my eyes.  “Don’t you start.” Twisting out of his arms, I padded across the dirt floor to the bed.  Brennan followed closely on my heels.

“What?” he raised a golden eyebrow.  “You don’t enjoy adulation?”

I cringed even at the word.  “I don’t deserve adulation,” I replied quietly.  “Nothing about me is deserving of that kind of respect.  My mother, yes.  Me?  I’ve never been given the chance to earn it.  I’ve spent my entire life, my entire existence, running from my own curse.”

Brennan inhaled sharply, pulling my chin up with his index finger.  “I don’t ever want to hear that you are not worthy or undeserving of something again,” he cautioned me.  “Your curse is what it is.  You didn’t ask for it and it isn’t your fault.  We will search the earth from top to bottom to find a way to reverse it.  If we can’t find an answer on the earth, we’ll search elsewhere. I promise you, by all that is holy, we’ll figure it out.”

I nodded tiredly.  I knew he wanted to believe that.

“I believe that because it is true,” he told me firmly. “Now, hop into that bed.  We’re going to rest.”

“Yes, sir,” I answered with a weak smile.  Pulling the skins back, I did as he said.  He climbed in beside me, pulling me into his arms. It was my favorite place to be.

“And when we wake, you will need to feed,” he told me.  “I know that you’re weakened now from everything that happened in Death Valley.”

My heart raced at the thought.  “I can’t feed from you,” I stammered.  “We haven’t mastered our powers yet and your strength has grown.  I don’t know if I could control it.”  The thought, the simple thought, of drinking Brennan’s blood now terrified me enough that I started to see his aura.  The colors blinded me and I closed my eyes against the light.

“Don’t worry,” he whispered softly into my hair. Cupping my face, he ran his thumb lightly along my cheekbone.

“You don’t need to drink from me.  We’ll think of something else.”

I squeezed my eyes tightly closed.  This part of my curse was truly a curse. But it was something I’d think about after I’d rested.  Brennan was right.  I was in a weakened state.  A little rest would go a long way. 

Chapter Two

When I awoke, Brennan was gone.  Sniffing the air, the acrid scent of a dying fire filled my nose.  Glancing sideways at the fireplace, I saw that its red embers were the only remainder of its once roaring flame.  Sighing, I propped myself up on one elbow.

The crack of light that peeked from the buckskin covering the window was dim.  It was late in the day.  I glanced at the skin of my arm.  Even here in the dark of this closed hut, I could see that I was deathly pale.  Brennan had been correct.  The scene in Death Valley had taken my energy and I desperately needed to eat.  With a sigh, I swung my legs over the side of the heavy bed and sat up.

A wave of dizziness passed over me and I steadied myself with my hands before I stood.  I really was weak.  It was never good to allow my strength to become this replete.  I couldn’t remember the last time it had been this bad.

“Son of a –“

“You’re up.” Brennan interrupted my curse as he ducked into the hut.  He was followed closely by Branwyn and another girl.  The girl trailing her had wide frightened eyes and milky white skin.  My stomach dropped into my toes at the look on their faces.  

“What’s going on?” I asked uncertainly, taking a step backward.

“You need to eat,” Brennan said firmly, crossing the room in three strides. 

“And?” I raised an eyebrow.  My gaze flew to the girl behind Branwyn.  “No.”

“Why?” Brennan asked. “What difference is it from when you peruse high school parties on the beach? You’ll feed and then take her memories.  No harm, no foul.  If you don’t eat, you’re going to suffer.  I can’t watch you suffer, Em.”

“Shayla is happy to help you,” Branwyn told me quietly.  “She understands the situation.  And like Brennan has pointed out, you will simply take her memories.  She’ll never remember anyway. But know that you have her full permission.  It is an honor to serve you.”

She ducked her head slightly and the girl, Shayla, dropped to her knees and extended her arm to me.  “It’s an honor, princess,” she repeated after Branwyn, her eyes averted from mine.

“Are there no men?” I asked Branwyn with a sigh.  I already knew the answer.  Many pagan priestesses secluded themselves from the rest of society- away from men.  They felt it purified their magic.  They only mingled with the other sex during times of ritual and sacrifice.  I sighed again when she shook her head. 

“Crap,” I muttered.  When I drank from a mortal’s blood, it was sexually pleasurable for them.  I had long since learned that, and learned that it simplified things to simply drink from men.  This girl would have erotic dreams about me for weeks to come after this.

“Very well,” I muttered.  “Shayla, you may rise.  And you might as well get comfortable.” Without meeting her gaze, I motioned to the bed.  She leaped to her feet and practically bounded to the bed, eager to please me.  I hated this.

Brennan laid a hand on my arm reassuringly.  “You don’t have a choice, Emmie.  You won’t drink from me and there are only these priestesses here.  What other choice do you have?”

As much as I hated it, he was right.  I climbed back onto the bed and sat next to the girl.  She was shaking.

“Calm yourself,” I told her quietly.  “It won’t hurt and I promise you that you won’t remember it.”

She nodded, the freckles standing out on her nose as the blood drained away from her face. I swallowed hard.  I hated being the thing that invoked such fear.  It made me feel like a monster.

“You’re not a monster,” Brennan replied to my unspoken thought as he moved around the bed to hold the girl’s arms.  He looked uncertain, like he wanted to help but didn’t know what to do.

“You don’t need to restrain her,” I told him wearily.  “She won’t try to get away. Trust me.”

Hovering above her quaking body, I looked into her blue eyes. 

“Do you trust me?” I asked quietly. 

It was a brazen question, I knew, because she had only just met me.  But part of my curse was an ability to draw people to me.  Men and women alike wanted to be near me.  And it was no different with this girl.  She nodded, her confidence in me absolute. 

“Yes,” she whispered. 

I paused for just one beat and then picked up her wrist.  Without hesitation, I sank my teeth into it.  She gasped once, quickly and loud.  But then she relaxed as pheromones exploded within her veins. I could taste them as I drew her blood into my mouth and allowed it to slide down my throat.  Female blood was sweet, sweeter than a man’s.  I sucked it in, allowing it to run down my chin.

Shayla was moaning by this point, thrashing beneath me in pleasure. I knew she would be mortified if she was truly conscious, which by this point she was not.  I knew her mind was fuzzy, clouded by my curse.  She arched up against me, trying to draw nearer to me, trying to run her lips along my neck.

Brennan watched in amusement.  He had never seen this before.  I had drunk from him, but he had never watched as a by-stander.  He lifted his hands helplessly.  He didn’t know what to do.

“You can restrain her now,” I said quickly as I drew in a breath.  “She wouldn’t want to behave in such a way. She doesn’t mean it.”

“She won’t remember it,” Branwyn reminded me firmly.  “Go ahead and finish, Empusa.”

Nodding, I drank for a few minutes more, then wiped my mouth.  My fingers and toes had regained their warmth and I could feel color returning to my face.  As much as I hated feeding, I loved feeling strong again.

I glanced at Shayla.  The girl laid against the bed skins, her cheeks flushed with pleasure, her eyes glazed. 

“Shayla,” I said quietly.  “You will not remember this.  If you remember anything at all, you will think it was a dream. Do you understand?”

She looked up at me, her eyes still unfocused. But she nodded. 

“Good.”  I looked to Branwyn.  “Thank you. I’m quite finished here.”

She nodded and motioned to Shayla.  “Come with me, child.”

Shayla got to her feet and trailed behind Branwyn as the exited the hut.  Branwyn turned.  “Dinner for the rest of us will be soon. Feel free to join us.”

She left and Brennan stared at me, an unreadable expression on his handsome face. 

“That was… intense,” he said quietly.  “I wasn’t sure what I’d think.  But it was impressive.  You were very gentle with her.  You didn’t have to be.  She never would’ve known the difference.”