Authors: S.E. Myers
Finar immediately looked interested and a small slow grin crept along his face. He knew what that meant. It meant that Ryleigh was even more powerful than even she could imagine. Two in one. Those infants were usually slaughtered upon birth. There were tests to be done. But first, Finar needed to speak with Tristan and Illeana. They were the ones who were teaching Ryleigh what she was.
Finar turned to leave the cell ordering Mia to return Adrianne to her cell.
“Wait!” Tom requested. “Let us go!” Finar laughed.
“Did you really think I would let you leave? Let you leave now?” Mia appeared back in Tom’s cell. “We’ll see what we can do
after
I test your daughter. Possibly after I absorb her.” With those words Mia hopped onto Finar’s shoulder and they faded back to the upper level of the Sanctum.
***
Tristan was in his cell still trying to figure out how he could possibly get Illeana and himself out of this situation. He wasn’t quite sure but he thought he noticed Finar’s imp, Mia, have the ability to fade in and out of the lined cells. He thought about Ryleigh and his insides screwed up. He felt screwed up for even having feelings for someone he just met and that he was supposed to be related to. But there was a connection, and he was pretty sure she felt it too. But this wasn’t anything he could think of now. How related were they anyway? He shook away those thoughts. Family is family.
Tristan paced the length of the cell and examined the structure. The walls were smooth and rounded. As if a bubble created the space. He placed his hand on the wall to see if he could pull any type of energy reading from his environment. He felt nothing but rock. His hand glided over the rock feeling the smoothness and coolness of the face. He was worried but didn’t want to show it. It was only a matter of time before Finar came back and punished them. He just wasn’t sure what type of punishment he was going to inflict.
The space was illuminated by artificial energy at the crest of the ceiling. The ceiling had to be at least twelve-feet tall. Tristan knew he couldn’t reach the top but he attempted to jump anyway. Even with practicing parkour, he could not reach that type of height without a vantage point.
Damn him!
He couldn’t even call on his imp to help him out. He tried sending an energy thread to attempt and touch Illeana. Nothing. The ash and iron were dampening his ability to use his Chi. He couldn’t even reach inside himself to make an aura shield. For the first time, he felt naked and vulnerable.
As if on cue, he could feel the energy in his cell collapse. Finar faded into view and Tristan backed up into the wall. He wanted as much room between him and Finar as possible.
“So, how do you like your accommodations?” Finar asked with a laugh in his tone. Finar emphasized each question melodically, “Comfy? Cozy? Does it remind you of home?”
“Oh sure,” Tristan dripped with sarcasm. “Just like mom’s home cooking.” Tristan narrowed his eyes as he stared down Finar. “What do you want from us?”
Finar glared at Tristan, “You think you’re cute, don’t you?”
Tristan shrugged, “Maybe. Maybe not.” He almost dared Finar to hurt him. He wanted him to hurt him.
“You don’t want to tempt me young one. I am not one to be tempted,” Finar cackled and snapped his fingers. His imp appeared with a folding chair.
Finar flipped his coat tail and took a seat. “This is how it is going to work, ” Finar twirled his cane in his left hand as he glanced down and then over to Tristan meeting his eyes. “You are going to tell me
everything
, and I mean everything you taught our dear Ryleigh.”
“And if I don’t?”
“Then I will kill your sister,” Finar said matter-of-factly. And he would. He would kill Illeana in a split second. Tristan knew it.
“What do you want to know?” Tristan asked. He would only give him enough information to save their lives.
“I want to know everything. You choose to tell me what you feel everything is. I will know whether or not it is.”
Tristan glowered at Finar, “Where do you want me to start? I don’t know what it is you want!”
Finar was up and across the room so quickly it looked as if he disappeared and reappeared in Tristan’s face, “You start with what you and Illeana were teaching Ryleigh. That… is what I want to know youngling!” Finar punched the wall next to Tristan and shattered the rock. Pieces of the chipped rock flew into Tristan’s face leaving small cuts and droplets of blood.
Tristan reached up to touch his face and looked at Finar who was back in his chair. The wall crushed under the pressure of Finar’s fist leaving a hole that molded his hand. Tristan looked across the room and he was sitting in the chair twirling the cane as if nothing happened.
As much as he didn’t want to, Tristan had to release some information. “We just helped Ryleigh find her true form,” he said meekly.
“And? What is her true form?”
Tristan didn’t know how to explain what happened in the house, “She’s… different. I… I don’t know how to describe it.”
“Well, maybe your sister knows how,” Finar challenged. “Shall we ask?”
Tristan shook his head, “No.” Taking a deep breath, he exposed Ryleigh for what she was without realizing it, “Her energy is different. She doesn’t need an imp to channel.”
“What does she look like?” Finar needed to know. There was only one way to know.
“Her eyes. They are black as pitch. But her energy… her energy is as pure as the dawn.”
Finar stood from his chair and snapped his fingers. “Mia. Vera.”
And with that, he faded away.
Tristan turned and punched the all where Finar’s fist had been. He pummeled the wall until his knuckles were bloody and raw knowing that what he did may have saved him and Illeana. But he also might have condemned Ryleigh. Condemned her to die.
15
Was it really love?
Vera wasn’t aware that Tristan and Illeana were taken by Finar already. She was still trying to recover from the dampening of his energy in her room. Using sage, she smudged the room in its entirety. When this venture started, she wasn’t sure what was going to happen. She knew that she felt a connection to this child that was her ward. She tried to stay disconnected from her. But the truth was she did love her. This was her niece, the only connection that she really had to her brother.
She didn’t even know where her brother was, but she knew he was alive. She could still feel the connection to him inside her.
Finar scared her. He didn’t used to. He used to be kind and loving. When he started researching his lineage, he realized that there was a way to become more whole instead of the Halfling he was. He never liked the idea that they were who they were because of the human race. Finding that he was a descendant of Valen and that Valen was his father made all the difference.
Fae truly disassociated themselves from any human contact. Although their children attended normal schools, once they reached maturity, they no longer had communication or were “friends” with any human. That interaction was strictly forbidden.
Vera remembered when Finar was actually interested in her. He was supposed to be her mate. Her brother with Finar’s sister, Adrianne. And she with him. Anytime he was around, the attraction to him was intense. It was almost beyond her control. She felt cheated, robbed that she was unable to share a life with her mate. Her mate that is now determined to become more than what he is now.
Ryleigh was his salvation, he said multiple times. He knew that there was something special about her. This was why Tom and Adrianne left she assumed. Why they disappeared. There was something that they never said or told anyone. Vera didn’t even know that Ryleigh existed. She never knew that her sister-in-law was pregnant. She didn’t even know that Ryleigh was a singular birth. Fae are always born in pairs. There is a twin and the two make one.
It was as if the dots connected. Vera should have realized. She should have known. She knew that Finar wanted Ryleigh and that he wanted to taste the Chi inside her. She realized that he wanted what Ryleigh had. Ryleigh had double the amount of Chi making her more than a Halfling. Making her whole Fae. She had to see for herself before Finar came back. She wasn’t sure how much time she had left before Finar returned from whatever it was he was doing.
Ryleigh was still sleeping upstairs. “Siegfried!” Vera called panicking, “Get the car. We need to get Ryleigh and we need to get out of here now!”
Siegfried walked into the room with a grimace on his face. “Humans,” a familiar taunting voice called out from behind Siegfried. “I never understood why you employed them.” Siegfried fell to the floor face first. Finar stood behind him with Siegfried’s heart in his hands. Dropping the heart on the floor he graciously stepped over the body. The heart made a sickening wet sound as it landed on the wooden floor. “Now dear, where
are
you going?”
Vera’s hand covered her chest as if to keep her heart from bursting out of it, “I, uh…” She swallowed, “I needed to pick Ryleigh up from school today.” She tried to keep her face smooth and free from the distress she was feeling. Finar stood there for a moment with his head cocked to his side. His dark glittering eyes looking her over. She could feel his gaze penetrate her. “Really?” he replied sarcastically. “Is that all you were doing?” Finar loved to draw out his words for effect. Each word was like a cliffhanger. Vera could smell the sulfur and sandalwood emanating from his body. She knew that he had been through to the Sanctum. It was where he spent most of his time and she could only imagine what he did there. Vera didn’t like it. She didn’t want to be where memories from the past haunted her kind around every corner. Reminders on the walls in paint and blood. She would rather forget and move on. She survived this long, she was sure she could survive this moment with Finar.
“Yes,” she stood up and straightened her outfit. Today was a casual day. Jeans and a nice blouse with top of the line heels. As casual for her as it would get.
“My dear, you know what would happen if you lied to me,” Finar approached Vera and caressed her face. Vera longed for his touch. She allowed for just a moment her eyes to close so she could feel his energy connect with hers. Her eyes flew opened suddenly when she realized her mistake.
Finar jerked back as if disgusted by the touch of her. The disgust on his face was apparent, “Ah, you little minx. You know you can’t lie to me.” He always used her to his advantage. Knowing that if he touched her she would open to him. It was like truth serum. All he had to do was touch her and she would melt in his embrace. Even in his cruelest moments she still craved his touch.
Before Vera had a chance to back pedal out of the situation, Finar changed forms. His Fae side erupted in a smoldering heat. Vera closed her eyes just waiting for the moment to pass. She didn’t want to feel the enduring pain but knew that she would.
“I’m so sorry,” she whispered. Finar came close, kissing Vera ever so softly on the cheek leaving blisters where his lips touched.
“Oh, my Vera,” his now gravelly voice echoed in her mind. “How I loved thee.” He placed his palm on the center of her chest and started to draw out her energy. Vera’s body flung back limp and the life force trickling into Finar’s palm.
Vera’s skin started to turn ashen and wrinkle with her Chi ebbing into Finar. Finar’s skin starting glowing from the intake of Vera’s energy. He threw his head back and a roar erupted from his belly. Absorbing the energy was painful as it intertwined and attempted to match its rhythm with his own. He dropped her body as he clutched his chest with his claw-like hands. He fell to his knees embracing the back of his neck.
Vera was not as weak as she made herself to be and as her energy melded to his, he started to feel the residual effects of her memories. The memory absorption splintered through his skull leaving him sightless for a few moments. However much more powerful this made him, it still was an intolerable pain. As this form subsided, his nose started to bleed and drip onto the floor. He looked over at Vera’s body feeling a second of remorse for this woman who was supposed to have been his mate, but, he would find another. He was sure of it, once he absorbed enough energy, he could have anyone he wanted. And anything. He sniffed and wiped his nose with the back of his hand as he rose slowly. Feeling the meld happen satisfactorily, he stepped over her body and Siegfried’s and left. Before Ryleigh, he needed Tristan.
“Mia,” Finar said exhausted. Mia hopped onto Finar’s shoulder and they faded back to the Sanctum.
***
Tristan was sleeping soundly when Finar awoke him with a swift kick to the ribs. He couldn’t even focus before he realized he was being dragged out of his cell. He tried grabbing the arm that was pulling him forward but he was having a hard time moving. Tristan realized that he was tied down with rope so he attempted to use his Chi to burn through and loosen them.
“That isn’t going to work,” said Finar as he continued to drag him. “You’ve been bound to the ropes.”
Tristan attempted to ask him what was going on, however, he was unable to speak.
“Ah, yes, can’t speak either. Makes it much more bearable for me if I can’t hear you scream,” Finar said matter-of-factly. “Luckily for me, I have a witch at my disposal.”