Kindred: Book 1 A Realms of the Otherworld Book (8 page)

Alaric pulls back breaking the most incredible kiss of my life, my very first kiss ever will go down in the record books as the most intense, erotic, unforgettable moment in this girl’s existence. Holy hot tamales but that was intense. He leans his forehead against mine, we’re both panting trying to digest the moment and get our bearings as he holds me close to him. He is perfection, his body is rock hard with corded muscles that flexes with his every move and I find that I can’t get enough of him. Boy, am I in trouble. That was just a kiss and I find that I’m desperate for more as the bond between us continues to grow. I pull back and look deep into his eyes to see his need and adoration and say, “Elf Man that has to be the most amazing first kiss in the history of all the worlds. You have gotten so far under my skin I’m never letting you go. It feels as if you are my other half and without you I’m incomplete, I never want to be without you ever again. I want you in my life in every way possible and I won’t be whole until that happens. You talk about allowing the bond to grow but the bond I feel has just clicked into place and I’m not sure what I will do with myself if it grows any stronger. I’m not sure that I will be able to exercise patience in that regard. I hope that I’m not the only one struggling here because that would really suck if that were the case.” I say as I exhale.

Alaric looks at me with his signature smirk that makes his dimples pop and a chuckle rumbles out of his chest, “I assure you that this is a two way street.” He slowly lowers me to the ground and I look around the clearing and realize that there could not have been a more perfect place for our first kiss to take place. I look back to Alaric and realize that he is down on one knee and as my eyebrow quirks up he takes my hand in his and says, “Ashlinn Ryllae Elan, will you consider binding with me? Before you ask, it is a lot like the human custom of marriage but more. Will you at least consider it? I don’t want any other thinking that you not already promised.” he says.

As I hold his hand and look down at him, he looks so uncertain and I can’t stand that he is unsure of my answer and so I blurt out, “Yes, I will bind with you. I know that this is all happening rather quickly and that we have much to learn about one another but this just feels right. I saw you in what I thought were my dreams but now I know that my soul longed to be near you. That those weren’t dreams at all but me traveling across realms to be near you. So yes Alaric, I will bind with you.” I say with a smile. He then reaches into the pocket of his black cargo pants and pulls out a ring and with a smile he then slips it on my finger and its perfect, it’s a simple white gold circlet with inlaid baguette emeralds that circle the entire ring creating a never ending circle of green. I exhale the breath that I was holding and say, “It’s perfect.”

“This is a promise ring, Ashlinn, my promise to be yours and by accepting this ring your promise to be mine. We have much to overcome and much that will happen in the days to come but I believe that as long as we stand together we can overcome anything that is thrown at us.” Alaric says, looking so serious.

“Alaric I have lost a family that I hold very dear to my heart and will grieve their passing for the rest of my days but I also believe that I have been given a chance at having a new family that I need to get to know. I think I’ve avoided everything for long enough, it’s time for me to get back in there and face my new reality. What do you think?”

“I think a lot has happened to you in the last week and you can take as much time as you need to adjust. If you think you’re ready we can head back in, we’ve only been gone for about thirty minutes so maybe we haven’t been missed yet.” He takes my hand in his and with a serious look he asks, “Are you ready?”

With a smile I look up at him and see the meaning behind his words, he’s asking if I’m ready to move forward in the next phase of my life and although my grief runs deep there are so many things to be thankful for. There is a whole new world for me to discover but before that can happen I have to say goodbye to the first phase of my life and that starts right now. “Yes, I’m ready.” I say as I smooth my hair and dress and squeeze his hand in mine. Then we both make our way back towards the house.

Chapter 10

(Alaric)

I know that I must look like a total tool to my guard, but I have never been happier in my life. Ashlinn has been the missing half of me for almost eighteen mortal years. Now that she’s by my side I’ve never felt stronger. As we walk into the kitchen everyone stops what they’re doing and looks towards us, all with knowing smirks on their faces. I wouldn’t put it pass one of the brothers to have been watching us from the house give the group a play by play of our private moment. Ashlinn pulls me toward the group and it looks like lunch is in order. Everyone is busy sitting out the makings for sandwiches; there’s an assortment of meats, cheeses, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and all sorts of condiments. Iced tea and desserts are off to the side along with an assortment of vegetables and fruit. Millie knows how to put on a spread. The flat screen TV is on and tuned to an early season football game. Tolin and Torin are so absorbed that they haven’t caught on that food is within their grasp, oh well more for the rest of us. Everyone begins to dig in and before I know it we’re all around the table partaking in a late lunch while Millie is busy throwing together a stew for later tonight.

I smile as I look over to see that Ashlinn, Lexie, and Jasmine are in an animated conversation with the water sprite flittering about and Ashlinn and Lexie laughing at her antics. Everything feels right and I take it all in knowing that I’ll have to burst this bubble of normalcy at some point. Ash and Lexie need this mundane distraction, so for this afternoon I remain quiet, as do my guard. We all know that this short time will come to an end, sooner rather than later. This evening we will begin Ashlinn’s assimilation into the Otherworld or Faerie as we call it.

As the afternoon progresses everyone moves to the main family room. Ashlinn’s mother created an amazing home that is as inviting as it is homey so there are plenty of seating for everyone as we crowd into the room to watch the next game. Tolin and Torin take center stage as always with their banter and everyone is relaxed and enjoying this brief reprieve but as the light of day begins to fade into twilight I pulled Ashlinn close to me. “It’s time to hear about the histories, are you ready? You need to know your origin and where you come from.”

She looks at me, her tawny amber eyes aglow, and says, “Yes, Lexie and I both need to learn about a world we never knew existed. Right, Lexie?” She pulls Lexie in for a hug.

Lexie nods her head in agreement, “When these guys came barreling into your hospital room, from that moment on it changed everything I thought I knew about the world around me, everything changed. So yes, Ash, I need to learn about this new world right alongside you.”

With that we move back to the kitchen and the table that will accommodate all of us. The TV has been turned off and Hank makes a fire in the fire place even though it’s August and like eighty degrees outside, it seems fitting. It sets the stage for what is to come.

“Nemus is best at retelling the story of the histories. There is a lot to get thru and all you will need to know will not be accomplished in one night, there will be times when some of us will jump in to help Nemus out but the Druids not only weld majic but are responsible for recording the histories and maintaining the archives.” I say.

Millie has sat the table and everyone passes their bowls around to get a helping of the delicious smelling stewing and homemade bread. As everyone gets settled candles are lit and lights are dimmed. Ashlinn to my left takes my hand in hers. Lexie is on the other side of Ash and Declan is on Lexie’s left. He has not left her side for more than a few moments in the last twenty four hours and I suspect that Lexie may be more than she appears. She just may be Declan’s kindred but I will ponder that later.

“If you’re ready I’ll begin.” Nemus says with a heavy sigh.

The Histories

“All religions in the Mortal realm hold some similarities and you may find that our histories are not so different from yours. In the beginning there was one God, one omnipotent being, a giver of life, a creator. The first realm that he created was the Overworld
,
or Heaven as you may be more familiar with, and in the Overworld celestial beings were created to serve his will. He created nine orders of angels.” Nemus pauses thoughtfully and then continues, “It is said that once all was right in the Overworld God set about creating the other three realms the Otherworld or the Faerie Realm, the Mortal Realm or Earth, and the Underworld or Hell. The Overworld and the Underworld are reserved for those souls that have passed on from this life and the Otherworld and the Mortal Realm are reserved for the living. In his infinite wisdom he also created the Tree of Life that is connected to all four realms and without the Tree of Life the foundation that has been laid to balance the four realms would be broken and the Mortal realm and the Otherworld would slowly die.” Nemus at this moment mutters something under his breath and then waves his hand palm up over the table and an image appears showing the four realms as if on a compass and the Tree of Life is in the center. “Now the great creator has connected the four realms to the four elements as such:

As the diagram floats above the table I hear Ashlinn say, “Well snap. When looking at it like this it all makes sense. But the Tree of Life, is there something wrong with her? When I saw her before she didn’t seem well to me?” She asks.

“I’ll get to that,” says Nemus. “Now, the Mortal Realm and Faerie were once open to one another and had close ties as they co-exited with one another but as the mortals began experimenting with technology the two worlds became distant until only a few in the Mortal Realm know of the others existence even though everyone in Faerie knows of the Mortal Realm. Humans grew away from the believes of majic and the majical creatures of the Faerie Realm as technology began to take root and the fae that remained in this world began to remove themselves and moved back to Faerie.”

Jasmine gets excited at this point, “So that’s why I didn’t feel any dryads in the woods when we came thru the portal!” she exclaims.

“Yes, that is why. There are some dryads left here but they will soon seek to move to Faerie if the Mortal Realm continues as it has. Now that I have established the realms and we are all comfortable with the balance of life I’ll move on to the deities, the god and goddesses that exist between the realms.

“Once the other three realms were established, God decided to close the portals to the Overworld and the Underworld so that all who sought entry would truly be souls passing from the Realms of the living to the Realms of the afterlife. In order to maintain order, God took from his elite angels and ask of them if any would like to oversee the two worlds as gods or goddesses. A select few were chosen for this task. These angels were deemed worthy by God and were sent to the Mortal Realm and the Otherworld to oversee the development of the two worlds. During this time a war in the Overworld took place and God’s most esteemed angel Lucifer fell from grace as did many of his followers and they were sent to the depths of Hell to reside forever more as the fallen along with the demons of their own creation. As the Mortal Realm continued on their path utilizing mortal technology the gods that were sent to oversee these two realms withdrew to the Otherworld and are known as the Tuatha Dé Danann. There are many deities that now reside in the Otherworld and conflicts have arisen in the past as they realize that they are now restricted to reside in one realm and not two.

“As things continue to evolve in the Otherworld the Fomorians seek to challenge the gods and goddesses of the Otherworld. They want to rule it in their own fashion and in doing so The Morrígan, who now leads the Fomorians as their queen, has found a way to poison the Tree of Life.” Nemus quietly brings the history lesson to a close as everyone around the table allows the lesson to sink in.

Chapter 11