Part 4 (1/2)
I screamed as loud as I could, hoping that one of the faeries that Pallo and I had pa.s.sed on my way in would hear. I was past scared, I was p.i.s.sed and in pain. Power surged inside, rus.h.i.+ng through me and las.h.i.+ng out at the troll. It flew backwards and landed in the stream.
I rolled over to try to stand and came nose to nose with an even uglier troll. I frankly had never seen a troll face to face before and didn't think it could have gotten much worse than the last one. Guess I was wrong. Before I could defend myself, he clamped his nasty jaw down on my shoulder, tearing my skin. Unbearable pain suffused me, and I cried out. It shrieked and lurched back, receding from my line of sight. I dropped to the ground.
”Are you all right?” a soft male voice came over my head.
I looked up behind me and saw a tall man standing there holding a bow and arrow. From where I lay he looked upside down, but I don't think it mattered what way you turned him--he was beautiful. I rolled onto my stomach and looked up at him. He was angelic, but before I had a chance to fully take him in, he knelt beside me and lifted me to my feet with one hand.
”Follow me, quickly,” he said. When he let go, my body weight came down onto my throbbing foot, and I cried out. The bow and arrow man grabbed me around my waist and lifted me with one arm. He carried me over the bridge effortlessly. He kept turning us round and round, checking for more trolls. He carried me through the large green bushes and into a clearing. It took my breath away to see the field of flowers from my dreams right before my eyes. He stopped in the center of it and set me down onto the ground. I managed to stay standing, but I had to lean on him for support. He was around six four and was thin, but well defined. When I said he was angelic, I wasn't kidding. The man was so gorgeous that he bordered on androgynous. If he hadn't been wearing a pair of tight blue jeans that cupped his groin, I wouldn't have known if he was male or female.
His hair was as long as mine and was so blonde it was almost white. He had the front half of his hair tied up and away from his face. The rest lay behind his shoulders, hanging straight down his back. His skin was identical to mine--pale and flawless. He didn't look to be a day over the age of twenty, but neither did I, so who was I to judge? I looked up to find him staring at me with wide dark green eyes that seemed to glow.
”Your eyes.”
He bent down on one knee before me. ”I'm Caleb.” He kept his head bent, and his hair trailed onto the flowers. ”I'm at your service, my lady.”
”What are you doing? Get up. I don't think he pays you enough to do all of this.”
He rose but didn't look at me. ”Who doesn't pay me enough for what?”
I smiled then. This was so good. I had to admit, having the troll bite me was a little over the top, but the rest was truly authentic. ”Pallo.... The troll thing was a nice touch.”
”I know Pallo, and he does not pay me for my services. I don't answer to anyone. And the trolls you refer to were not staged. They tried to kill you.” His gaze finally met mine, and suddenly, he too looked like he was staring at a ghost.
I was tired of getting the look-how-spooky-you-are treatment and wanted desperately to have the nasty troll bite cleaned out before it got infected. ”Cut the s.h.i.+t, Caleb. What's going on? Why are you running around here with a d.a.m.n weapon? Where's your band of merry men?”
”Listen. I tracked the trolls into this realm. I didn't know why they were headed in this direction. But now I do.”
”Please, just come to the point. Why me?” I asked.
”Trolls are creatures of the Demon World. Someone must want you pretty bad to recruit those things to do their dirty work.” He came closer and touched my wound. ”We need to clean this before the poisons go through your system.”
”Poisons? What? What's the Demon World? Why would someone need to get me?” I had many more questions, but only managed to get those few out before he picked me up in his arms like I weighed nothing and started to walk through the flowers. They parted for him as they did in my dreams so many times before. I knew this place. My sleep had introduced it to me long ago.
Caleb headed for the river running through the center of the field. We came to the bank of the river, and he didn't hesitate, he just stepped onto it. When I say onto it, I mean onto it. This was too much--a hot babe who walked on water. From where we stood, it looked as though we were crossing over to an endless field of flowers, but we didn't end up there. We ended up stepping through and into a large white courtyard.
”What was that?” I asked.
”Glamour” was his only response. I had done enough reading on faeries to know that Glamour was the term used for faerie magic. I didn't question him any further. What had been a dull pain in my shoulder was quickly getting worse. I felt stomach bile rise into my mouth, and I was suddenly glad that I hadn't yet eaten.
”Caleb...,” I said, just before my body went into shock and I began convulsing.
Chapter 6.
I woke to the sound of birds chirping in the background. I was lying on a bed of green leaves. I was not in a room, but rather a garden of sorts. Gra.s.s covered the ground, and pink and yellow flowers wove their way in and out of the trellis-like walls. I sat up and saw that my shoulder was bandaged and I was still wearing all of my own clothes. I twisted my body and let my arms touch the soft gra.s.s. My sandals were lying next to me, and two tiny b.u.t.terflies were sitting very still atop them.
I slowly pulled myself up. A wicked pain shot through my shoulder. I made a mental note about avoiding troll bites in the future and walked toward a small opening in the flowers. Beyond the trellis lay a thick mist so dense, I couldn't make out if there was ground there or not, so I didn't test my luck. I turned around to examine my surroundings.
Wherever I was, it definitely smelled of peace and tranquillity. A tiny iron table sat in the center of the garden, and atop it sat a tray of fruits in an array of colors so vivid, I thought they were wax. Starving and hopeful, I picked up a bright yellow pear and bit into it, enjoying the sweet, smooth taste unlike anything I'd ever purchased at a supermarket. The juice ran down my chin and neck, and I wiped it away, walking around the garden, looking at the flowers.
”How are you feeling, Gwyneth?” Caleb's voice came from behind me, startling me.
”How did you know my name?” I raised an eyebrow, meeting his gaze.
”That's easy. You talk in your sleep.” He smiled, setting my mind at ease.
”I'm a.s.suming by my surroundings that you're a good faerie, and that I'm not in the Demon World.”
He looked surprised. ”You a.s.sume too much. You are right about this not being the Dark Realm, but we aren't in the Realm of the Light either. To a.s.sume that I'm good would be foolish.” He walked towards me. I noticed that he had changed his clothes and was now looking a little more comfortable in a pair of loose blue jeans and a white, long sleeved s.h.i.+rt. His hair flowed loose around his face, spilling past his shoulders down to his waist. Under normal circ.u.mstances, it would have looked good only on a girl, but he pulled it off somehow.
”If I'm not in either place then where am I?”
”You are on neutral ground.”
”Of both Realms?”
”Yes.” He was almost close enough to touch. ”This is a safe haven.”
”You didn't answer my question about where you are from.”
He laughed and said, ”You are safe now, and alive, what does it matter?” He had a good point, so I left it alone. ”Are you hungry? We could go grab an early breakfast. I know a great little diner that serves the best pancakes.”
”They have a diner here?”
He laughed at me. ”No, but I don't spend all of my time here. This is just a magical safe haven, if you will. I knew you would be safe here.”
”I'd like to get a rain check, please. I've had a snack, and I'm under a little stress right now, so I don't think I'd be very good company.” I looked at his green eyes, and I wanted to be near him. I wanted to touch him.
”What do you mean, you've had a snack?” He stepped closer to me and saw the fruit on the table. ”I didn't put that there.”
I walked to him and let my hand brush up against his soft, white s.h.i.+rt. A small bit of his chest peeped at the top of the s.h.i.+rt, and I let my hand slide up to his bare skin. His heart beat fast. Without thought, I ripped his s.h.i.+rt open. He grabbed my wrist tightly, frowning at me.
”The fruit was tainted.” He tried to gently force me to back from his s.p.a.ce, but I didn't budge. I snuggled my body closer to his and pulled on him. I knew he was stronger than me, but he allowed himself to be pulled towards the ground anyway.
”Stop, Gwyneth! It's a l.u.s.t spell.” Caleb was looking down at me, begging me to fight this.
”l.u.s.t spells only work on willing parties,” I said as I planted my lips firmly on his. I forced my tongue into his mouth and felt his welcome me. My fingers ran up and twisted themselves in his hair. Juice from the pear had still been on my lips and now I could taste it on his. He tried to pull away from me for a moment then gave into his desire. I was pulling his bottom lip with my teeth. He pushed me back.
”This can't happen.”
”Name one good reason why.”
”Because we've been down this road before,” he said, his voice low, haunted.
I had no idea what he was talking about. My body didn't care. ”Then what's stopping us now?” I said. I tore off Caleb's white s.h.i.+rt and threw it aside.