Sea Witch: Children of the Waves (8 page)

Chapter Eleven

The swim back to King’s City was quiet.
They had all said everything needed to be said. The sense of urgency was no
greater than it had been hours ago when Shawnah was first taken. Zek showed
Sienna his map, so she knew where to send her dolphins and be able to tell Zek
and Cyrus where to meet them. This had to work. The pieces were now all in
motion. She would need another viewing to be sure it unfolded to give them the
best options.

At least, they had a little time before
they had to face the demons. She and Aaron saw Xav and Cori back to the palace.
Then she turned with Aaron and swam beside him. Not once, did she ask where he
was going. She just followed, wherever he wanted to take her. She was in her
element, but she could do a powerful viewing anywhere in these waters.

They continued beyond the palace grounds,
toward some of the dwellings closest to the area. Aaron took her hand and led
her right into one of the largest homes they had in the city, next to the
palace. His home. She had watched from afar as he had built it. She knew he’d
built it for her, but she had never been able to set foot in it. The reasons
she could not before, no longer really mattered.

Stepping out of the pool entrance, Aaron
turned to help her. Still, holding her hands, he raised them to his lips. “I’ve
wanted to bring you here for so long. I’ll show you around later. For now,
beloved, I only want to hold you in my arms, in our home.”

“I want that too, and more. But first, I
need to do a viewing. I must be sure.”

He frowned. “Do you need to go back to
your place?”

“No. I can do it here. I merely need to
sit before a water mirror.”

“I don’t have one. So, we’ll go back to
your place then.”

“Not necessary. Do you have a mirror you
can remove? The larger the better and just place it in the water for me.”

“I think I can manage that. Be right
back.” He moved out of sight down a hallway.

Sienna walked over to the row of windows,
which overlooked the palace gardens. Purple seaweed rose about three feet high,
swaying too and forth with the slow movement of the water. Tiny glowing red,
green, yellow and black fish swam within the weeds, creating the impression of
a garden of floating flowers in a multitude of color. A feast for the senses.

“Will this do?”

She spun around and saw Aaron holding a
wrought ironed framed mirror about three feet high and two feet wide. “Yes,
that will do just fine.”

He moved back over to the pool entrance
of the house and stepped into the water, holding the mirror. “Should I immerse
it in the water?”

“Yes, please.” She stepped into the pool
with him and helped him to hold the mirror.

“Now what?” he asked.

“Now, I look into it and let it reveal to
me what it will, what I need to know.” She stared into the surface of the
mirror covered with water and concentrated, pushing her powers to reveal
Shawnah’s location and Tabatha’s plan. She watched the water swirl and change
as a picture unfolded within the mirror. Like a fuzzy television screen at
first, then slowly from the center images formed, but around the edges of the
vision remained in shadows. She pushed some more, needing to see what was yet
to come and gathering the paths opening before her, pushed even more. Choosing
first one, then the other. Scenes changed spreading out even more from the
events of tomorrow into other tomorrows.

Suddenly, she dropped her end of the
mirror.

If Aaron hadn’t had a good grip on the
rest of it, it would have fallen onto the stone steps.

“I am sorry.” Her voice came out heavy,
like a weight crushed her chest.

“Are you all right?” Aaron asked.

She sat on the steps and took a deep
breath. “Yes. I just need a minute. It happens when I push my powers the way I
just did here.”

“Do you still need the mirror?”

She shook her head. “No. I have seen all
I need to.”

“All right, let me put this away.” He
stepped out of the water and took the mirror back into the room he’d taken it
out of and returned to her side.

She remained sitting at the edge of the
pool.

He sat next to her. “What did you see?”

“What I expected. It was difficult
getting a clear picture, but Shawnah is there, in Hades, that much I do know,
and my vision from all those years ago has not changed. Cyrus and I must
venture into the dark depths. It is the only way to bring Shawnah out. Only
then, can we destroy the portal to the dark depths and the entrance to Hades,
so nothing more can ever leave. Never should have been opened in the first
place.”

“Then, Tabatha will be trapped in the
dark depths.”

“Yes. She made her choice long ago. There
is no other path. But, there are still monsters within these waters Tabatha’s
let loose and not all of the Children have accepted Xavior as Poseidon’s heir
and king. Tabatha poisoned many.”

“Will they challenge Xavior’s rule with
Tabatha trapped in the dark depths?”

“I see a last battle, the outcome is not
clear.”

Aaron sat resting his arms on his thighs.

Sienna moved them and sat down on his
lap. “Right now, I need you to hold me. We may not have another chance.” She
placed her arms around his neck.

“Hang onto me, tight,” Aaron said and
stood up with her in his arms. He walked down the hall toward the sleeping
quarters he’d dreamt of having her in since he had the house built, these last
few years. Finally, at last no dream, he held his bride in his arms. She was
here with him.

Gently, in awe of her, he laid her on the
sleeping platform. He’d gotten used to the comforts of bedding the landwalkers
favored, instead of the sea worms that spun silk used for their bedding, he
actually had Egyptian cotton sheets over his sleep setting.

Sienna spread her hand over the cover and
brushed her palms across it. “From the land. Soft,” she said.

Aaron stroked the side of her face. “Like
you.” He grinned. “Not that soft though.” Slowly, he removed her t-shirt and
the shorts she wore along with her satchel. She’d already discarded her
sandals. He wasted no time taking his own clothes off. He lay on the side of
the bed facing her and placed his hand on her hip, pulling her closer to him.
“You are so beautiful. I’ve dreamt of having you here so often, I have to keep
reminding myself this is real.”

“As have I dreamt of being here with you,
beloved.” She leaned forward and placed her mouth over his.

He inhaled her sweet breath into his
mouth. Extending his tongue to meet hers, taking their kiss deeper, falling
into her, making her part of him. She always had been. He couldn’t do this
halfway anymore. He needed to claim her.
At
last.
It was time. Still, he gave her the option. It needed to be her
choice. If he had to wait, he would because she would come back to him. He
would accept nothing else from the Fates. “Are you sure?”

“Yes.” She knew what he asked of her.

This time, he would not stop making love
to her until he’d claimed her. Completely. Totally.
Mine.
“My bride. I have waited for a long time for you. You are my
life, my world. I will cherish you always and make you happy with every breath
I take.”

“Mate mine. I have loved you from the
first time I saw your face in the mirror and knew I was yours and someday,
you’d be mine. You are my life, my world and I too, shall cherish you and make
you happy, with every breath I take.”

He stretched out fully alongside her,
pressed his lips against hers and took what belonged to him. He’d held back
before, but no more. She parted her mouth again to him, and he invaded hers,
stroking and caressing her tongue.

Her slender arms wound around his neck,
drawing him down onto her. Closer. Wet skin pressed against wet skin, no part
of her would be left without his touch and soon, he would taste and touch her
even more. Moving his arm across her stomach, he skimmed across her belly
button, searching, seeking the haven between her legs. Thank mercy, she was
wet. He glided one finger inside of her, swallowing the moan rising in her
mouth. Then he inserted a second finger, hooking it slightly and pressing
deeper.

Her tight sex muscles clamped around his
digits, and his cock jerked hard against her pelvis. Following through by
grinding into her. This time, it was his turn to moan. And he did. He would
take more than a moment to pleasure her—next time. Because there would be
a next time for them. Had to be. “Are you ready for me, beloved? I can wait no
longer.”

“Then wait no longer, mine heart.”

Aaron moved his arm and shifted his body
until it lay completely over hers, and his cock was perfectly lined up with her
center. “Hold onto me, sweetheart.” Resting one hand at her hip, the other
under her shoulder, he once more captured her mouth to his. He let his tongue
enter her mouth just as he surged forward in one smooth stroke and entered her.
Sienna cried out, and he stilled.

“Don’t stop.” She grunted, while grabbing
his ass and spreading wider for him, angling her long legs over his waist.

He flexed his hips and with more power
behind his thrust, he buried himself balls deep inside her, letting his lust
have full reign—he roared. Fire blazed through his shaft, swelling it
even more, erupting and pouring his life essence into his mate. “Fuck, yes!
Mine!” he growled. “I cum for you. Always and only for you.” His breathing came
in pants now and slowly, his body stopped twitching. He rested his head against
hers to catch his breath, still cradling her to him, their bodies still
deliciously joined. “Are you okay?”

“Yes, I’m fine. Very fine.”

When he felt her sex muscles tighten
around his hard shaft again, he began to move. His body automatically
responding to the will of his bride. Slowly this time, he glided into her
depths and out to the edge before sliding back into her wet sheath. This time,
he intended to more properly claim his bride. The only one fated to make him
orgasm.

His body trembled, rising in readiness to
do what it was meant to do. Their rhythm changed to match the synchronized
beating of their hearts as they thumped against each other. She pulled her legs
up higher, and he ground his cock even deeper into her. Probing in and out,
savoring every delicious inch of her heat. Losing himself in her, like a coral
bed fusing and taking root, making her a part of him. Hips pounding her into
the bedding, his balls slamming against her flesh, until he couldn’t forestall
the inevitable, nor did he desire to. He let himself plunge down into the
abyss, taking them both over the border. The slickness of his cum once more,
filling her chamber—proof enough of what he already knew. “My bride.”

“My mate.”

Then there was no more need for talking
between them.

Chapter Twelve

Sienna knew she should rest for the
battle they still must face. However, she could deny neither herself nor Aaron
this time together. Not after foregoing so much for so long. She had not told
him everything she had seen. So, if she could give them this one night, she
wanted no regrets. Cyrus was necessary for getting Shawnah away from her mother
and safely back to the depths, but Sienna’s future was not as clear.

Shawnah was meant to cede her as the Sea
Witch of their people. Once her viewing powers came to bear, she would be more
powerful than her aunt. She would not have the limitations Sienna was under,
losing her powers of viewing once she mated.

“We must leave soon,” she whispered to
Aaron. It just seemed wrong to speak words which would part them aloud, because
once they left this bed with the path she needed to take, she could not see the
end—back to him.

Facing each other, his leg lay over hers,
his arm over her waist in a possessive manner he whispered back, “I know.”

Her hand played with the thick shiny
locks of his hair. “I would stay, just as we are forever and a day if I could.”

“I know this, too. But it is not in
either of us to stand by when we are needed.”

Leaning forward she pressed her lips to
his. “I love you.”

“And I you.”

“Come, it is time.”

“How do you know for sure?”

“I do.”

“So, you haven’t lost your powers of
foresight?”

“Not my intuitive powers no, but I may
not be able to call forth a viewing. That is what had been fated as my maiden’s
price. And why I…we, had to wait all of these years. I needed to be able to get
us to this point. Too much depended on it.”

He took both her hands and kissed her
fingers. “I’m sorry.”

“No, beloved.” She kissed him again.
“Don’t be. I have served my purpose to our people and our king. We both have
and will continue to do so. A viewing right now, will not help. We know all we
need to know, all that has been granted to us. The rest will be up to Shawnah
now, along with you and the king to stop what Tabatha has begun.”

“Then, so we shall. But promise me, you
will let no harm come to you.”

“I will promise to do my best.”

“I guess I’ll have to accept that.”

Sienna withdrew her hand from his, turned
away and rolled off the bedding. The clothes she wore had been dropped
haphazardly to the floor. Picking up her shorts and the bikini top, she put
them on. She didn’t bother with the t-shirt.

He got up and pulled on the shorts he’d
taken off earlier.

“Ready,” she said. “I sent the dolphins
to alert the king. We’ll meet them outside the palace. Zek should have located
Cyrus by then and will join us at the portal.”

“What about the warriors?” Aaron asked.

“Assembling as we speak.”

He turned to glance toward the palace
gardens. They could see fifteen warriors headed toward the meeting place, at
the edge of the grounds.

As they approached the waiting warriors,
they spied their king along with the queen swimming toward them.

“Son, do you have something to tell me?”
Balen, Aaron’s father asked while smiling at them. He stood with the warriors.

Aaron squeezed her hand. “May I present
to you, Father…my bride, Sienna.”

Balen leaned forward and kissed her on
both cheeks. “Thank Poseidon! Congratulations, may the blessings of the sea be
upon you. Welcome, daughter. I am sorry we cannot do more to celebrate this
grand occasion.”

“I too, sir and thank you.”

Balen glanced at Aaron. “We will go to
your mother upon your return, so you may present your bride to her.”

Sienna hoped his words were true.

“We’re ready, Sienna. We’ll follow you,”
the king stated. He turned to Cori and they embraced. “Des is on her way here
with some of my warriors to stay with you until this is over. Balen will remain
to look over you both.”

“What about Aurora?”

“She’ll be safe on Zek’s island,” Xav
replied.

“Come back to me, Xav, be safe,” Cori
pleaded.

He kissed his bride hard on the mouth,
then backed away. Turning around, he began to swim.

Sienna flanked his left, Aaron on his
other side. The king’s guard fanned out behind them a few more warriors joining
them. A pod of five dolphins scouted ahead and around them. Ten more were
already on their way to the portal.

Sienna wasn’t sure how many of the
monsters from Hades were released into the depths, but she would take no
chances. The king along with Aaron had to guard the portal until she and Cyrus
could get Shawnah out. She knew they all had a battle on their hands to destroy
these creatures before they could return to Hades and prevent any more from coming
out.

An area of darkness grated on her senses,
because it didn’t belong in their world. It drew her unerringly to it. The
journey didn’t take very long, but no one allowed their thoughts to wander for
others to hear. So, it was a silent trip. Even Aaron’s thoughts were blocked
from her as her own from his. She had told him the truth, just perhaps not all
of it. While his claiming her did result in her no longer having her powers of
viewing, her last view did reveal the possibility of her not returning to his
side. It always had. She could not see beyond the darkness she had to enter.
Still, none of them had a choice.

Tabatha aligned herself to powers she had
no way to control, even though in her arrogance, she assumed she did.

All the children could see for miles
within the water and for some time now, none of the lesser denizens of the
ocean could be seen. Even the plant life in the area changed from the lush
colorful sea flora, fauna and coral beds to something alien. The way ahead
appeared sparse of life. What little there was looked dried, dead. Even the
sandy bottom over which they swam had grains of gray threaded through it, not
the vibrant pink or white it should be.

Glancing forward again, Aaron realized he
could no longer see the dolphins scouting a little farther ahead.

They’d been swallowed up in water that
could have easily had an avalanche of mud mixed in with it, making it an effort
to swim through. Suddenly, the mammals clicked excitedly, swirling up the muck.

He could see them circling an area, a few
yards ahead. It could only be the portal the white witch had opened to the dark
depths and beyond to Hades itself.

It seemed much like a doorway of darkened water, about ten feet
high and wide. If it were above ground, it would be like the mouth of a cave,
but one you couldn’t quite see into. Only shadows of creatures your imagination
would shy away from if you happened to stare within. Even that, you couldn’t do
for long, some power emanating around it forced you to look away. This was a place
for the dead and dying. But he was a Child of the Waves, and he forced himself
to gaze upon it.

“Something is coming this way,” Xav said.

A few seconds later, they heard the agitated clicks of the
dolphins.

The warriors faced forward to stand beside their king. But he
noticed the five dolphins continued circling the dark doorway, watching their
backs. He turned toward Sienna to find her gaze upon the doorway, so he looked
at it again.

While before what lay beyond seemed cast in shadows, it now rippled
like a bubble stretching forward. A claw the size of two hands burst through
the dark water, then the rest of the body emerged over the threshold. The thing
had the face of a gator with the upper torso of a horse. The rest of the body
branched off into eight tentacles.

He reacted purely on instinct while his brain processed what his
eyes insisted he saw. Calling forth the powers of the sea, he spun the water
around the beast until it got caught in the cycle. Spinning it round and round,
faster and faster, letting the water force its limbs apart. Aaron struggled to
hold onto the spin, fighting against the creature trying to break free. Next to
him, he heard Sienna silently mumbling, weaving a spell, adding her power to
his. Together, they managed to rip the thing in two. Dark inky blood mixed with
the already murky water staining it black.

He heard the dolphins shrilling their battle cry behind him, but
he had no time to turn around to see what Xavior and the others faced.
Confident his king and his warriors could take care of whatever came up behind
him, knowing he would take care of his back.

Two more demonic creatures torpedoed through the opening, coming
straight for him and Sienna, but a couple of dolphins dove out of nowhere and
sideswiped both of the abominations.

These were horned beasts, with the face
of a goat, but the rest of their bodies, were covered in armor-looking scales.
With bronzed fins, like merman of human legends, but running down the backs of
their tails were spikes.

Aaron knew one touch of those
deadly-looking spikes would mean his death. His suspicions were confirmed when
one of the creatures turned and its tail struck the dolphin on the right. The
dolphin’s wound bathed the water around it red with its blood.

Sienna sent a pulse of power through the
water pushing the demon back into the blackness from whence it came, hopefully
dead or hurt enough to be in no rush to return.

Turning together to meet the remaining
threat, the second beast headed straight for them. It opened its jaws,
revealing rows of sharp pointed teeth.

Aaron surged to intercept it, drawing
water to himself to create a spear of power. He ducked under the swipe of the
tail, coming up under it to drive the spear into the under belly of the beast.
The only soft spot he could see. Dark inky blood spewed forth, and he back
peddled away from it. Such blood could be poison…he couldn’t risk it touching
him.

A pulse of light highlighted the dark
blood making it bubble then disappear. He turned to find Sienna nodding at him.
Then he went to aid his king, but the beasts they battled were likewise
vanquished by then. He saw Zek and Cyrus swimming over to the king’s side.

“Are you all right?” he asked.

“Yes,” Xav replied.

“What the fuck, man?” Cyrus yelled. “Five
of those fucking things, five! How could that be?”

“Not to mention the two we destroyed that
came through the portal,” Sienna added.

“Are there more, Sienna?” Xav asked
turning to her.

“On this side, two perhaps three more.
But that’s not all you have to worry about, my king. Tabatha’s poison has
spread. Even now, some of the tribes gather, they are heading this way, so we
must hurry. You must hold the gate, let none enter and none leave until we
return.”

“We will hold the gate open for you,
Sienna. Have no doubt,” the king vowed.

She glanced over at Cyrus who stayed next
to Zek. “You must be Cyrus. I know you do not know much of what has happened.”

“Only what Zek told me, my bride was
kidnapped by her mother. The wicked fucking witch of the sea, and I need to go
with you to rescue her.”

“That is about it,” Sienna confirmed.

“Are you sure it’s me? How can I have a
bride? I mean come on. I’m not a pure bred like you guys. Shouldn’t Aaron be
going with you instead? He’s the king’s champion.”

Sienna took his hand. “She will need you,
Cyrus.”

Aaron watched a bewildered Cyrus glance
at his brothers and back at Sienna, then at him.

“All right. What do you need me to do?”
Cyrus asked.

Sienna nodded. “Just follow where I lead
and when the time comes, pray to Poseidon and your land god, once we find
Shawnah she is unharmed, and we come out of there alive.”