The Lebrus Stone (47 page)

It soon tasted like fruits of a paradise, water from a well of wished upon hearts. It was sweeter, more delectable than blood. Its aftertaste was a cool rush of desire shocking me to my knees.

I trembled; my mouth became so dry, I couldn't feel my tongue. No matter how much I tried, I couldn't withstand the reluctance to breathe in. I needed to breathe. Not for air, but for the scent of Savril, the flavors of him kissing my lips, intermingling with my thoughts as well as his.

The sound of what I guessed was his aura resounded, warning me not to open my eyes.

But even the words of my parents couldn't reach me.

I opened my eyes and caught sight of what I needed, the bluish green fluid trickling down Savril's neck. His eyes were still closed, maybe intending to stay that way until whatever end he wished.

When I was set loose, I moved to a crouch. A deep, pulsing arousal began in my abdomen, succumbing me to the vapor oozing out of his side, trailing the dirt toward Gundulla's feet.

Gundulla stared down at him, perhaps preparing to strike or threaten him. I didn't know which yet. I only knew I needed to taste him, have his essence pour down my achy throat.

I staggered to my feet and ran for him, without the fear of being caught or held back this time. I charged fast and deliberate, planting my feet on the hard dirt in a way that beat at my soles.

I lunched for his neck, pushed him down so that he shuddered beneath me, then lay absolutely still. He didn't struggle, he didn't make it difficult for me to suck down on his wound and take all I could. He didn't make a sound, either, though I could think and hear of nothing but the flushing of his blood coursing through me like large fluctuating waves.

His chest inserted a visible light into mine, catching my breath and making me moan into his neck, kiss the pustule of his sliced throat and the tepid moisture on his skin.

He sighed beneath me as I ground against him, tasting him again with swift licks of my tongue and a brush of my lips leading their way to his mouth.

His lips parted the instant mine met his. He kissed me back until I couldn't feel anything but the opening of my birthmark, a light from it entering a newer light that was more intense, bombarding me with an electrifying thrill I had never experienced before. It was what I would call the equivalent of sipping from the sun after falling into the sky. Falling willingly, consuming just as much.

"There. You see." Gundulla's voice made the light from my chest separate from his. It darkened the space between us. I couldn't submerge myself in his warmth and forget what I was and where I could be heading.

I was hauled away.

Gal held me to the ground beside Savril. And though he appraised me like I had saved him, nothing could have been further from the truth. I'd let myself down. I had behaved worse than a bloodsucking animal. I was infected and impassioned by it, just to have my way with a surreal stranger. And that was what made me disgusted with myself; that was what made me a monster like the rest of them.

"This is your child." Gundulla cackled with delight. "This is what has become of your Fallion descendant tarnished with human frailties."

I didn't look up to see anyone's reaction. I was swamped by my own thoughts too much. I was too buried in the distaste for what I'd just done to an inhuman boy. And I did it in front of my parents.

"Take her back to the house," Gundulla ordered. "I will deal with the rest."

The one thing I managed to do in my act of craziness was take out the long knife from the back of my jeans. I waited to see if they had noticed, then kept it under my thigh until I could be moved or adjusted.

They seemed oblivious to my weapon clenched in my hand. My fingers practically dripped with sweat from the anticipation to attack the first person I saw fit to finish…or at least, wound to a standstill.

"Take her away," Gundulla ordered.

Clias reached for the Lebrus stone mounted on the ground, but my father managed to struggle free and beat him to it. Clias was pretty slow to the mark for a Sha'lac. My father couldn't have had more perfect timing. He must have seen what I was planning.

Gal grabbed me by the hair and dragged me to my feet.

I turned and stabbed him in the shoulder, then whirled around to slice at the arms of a woman running toward me. She sagged to the ground and I leaped over her, placing the long blade against Gundulla's throat. She seemed indestructible. Still, I had to try and do something.

She stood perfectly still. Her smile was slightly a quiver as her nephew lay bleeding on the ground. Maybe she wasn't as indestructible as I thought.

"Stay back," I warned her coven. "Stay back or she's dead. I'll kill her right now, don't test me."

My voice sounded murderous even to myself. And it seemed to convince them. They stepped back.

"You." I spoke to the bald headed man holding my mother. "Let her go!"

He did as asked and held up his hands. I felt good; scared, but good, capable of anything. With the knife and the stone I had some control. The spirit of Arrious was going to put things how they should be, see to it I escaped from Gundulla.

My father lifted my mother from the ground. She was semi-conscious, flapping around in his arms and muttering.

I kept the knife pointed at Gundulla's throat. She remained expressionless; my father quickly unchained Savril.

He didn't move or try to sit up, just lay there with eyes closed, his form dangerously too still.

"I'll see to him." My father lifted Savril by the head, holding the stone above him. Savril moved and touched the stone, absorbing its strength.

"You will not get away from me," Gundulla said. "You may as well fulfill your destiny the easiest way."

"Shut up," I said. "Just shut up. I'm sick of hearing your voice. I'm sick of all of you. And if you say another word, I'll finish you just for the hell of it."

Her lips twitched. "I should like to see you try."

I pressed the knife closer. "Another word and you will."

Her mouth twitched, but she chose not to push her luck.

I stepped back to reach my parents. My mother was awake. She grabbed me from behind and kissed the back of my head; my father bound everyone to the trees, including Gundulla and Clias while my mother held the stone. The Sha'lacs weren't turning. The stone must have been that powerful to even outdo them. We had to hurry up and escape, though. It wouldn't take them long to get free.

Savril stood; his wound no longer had so many pungent scents since it was no longer there. Not even a scar. I was too embarrassed to look him. I barely knew him and had kissed him like my life-long lover. Guilt surfaced for betraying Cray, even if I hadn't been in my right mind again.

We fled. Savril flipped me onto his back and carried me up the hills and along jagged paths and over gates.

I didn't know where we were going. It didn't matter.

I wanted to be anywhere but here. In that moment, I needed to escape, with or without Cray. Even for just a while.

Missing Cray would eat at me until I was devoured from the grief of losing him. I had been close so many times, but it made it no less difficult.

We still needed each other. I hoped he'd forgive me for leaving him for good if I had to; that he would lead the life he had dreamed of; that he would still dream of me and not forget.

I would have my parents. The love I imagined in so many different ways and predicaments.

They struggled to find me, pretending to be someone else.

They still felt like Syd and Milton to me. They hadn't changed, not even physically when I looked very closely. They were there. I could see a resemblance, only younger, freer.

I clung to Savril and basked in his magical scent, the feel of his translucency, the fervor of his run though he could fly as high as any bird. Wingless but angelic, a miracle in my arms. He stayed on the ground. We couldn't leave without my parents.

My father suddenly yelped, and his foot twisted. He tumbled down a steep hill.

The Lebrus stone fell from his hands. My mother tried to reach for it, but it was too late, it bumped and rolled down with him, collecting dirt and leaves.

Savril set me down and shot above the ground. It was too fast to see. He was a flash of bronze and red. The air around him was a whistle and pop, reducing the sound of an incoming army of feet, the crash that would have blown through my eardrums if I had heard Savril land.

Gundulla appeared and the stone somehow fell into her hands like it had searched for her as much.

My mother grabbed my hand and pulled me along the path we had been on. She sprinted, looking back every so often.

She moved so fast I was catapulted into the field.

"Quick," she shouted. "We have to get to the cusp."

Long blades grass tickled our legs and wheat sprinkled into our hair; the sky became so dark it was like we were in a hole, looking up.

"Quickly," my mother kept shouting.

I ran as fast as I could, losing my shoes. My feet were poked and scratched. Yet my mother ran ahead of me, her arm outstretched behind her, pulling me.

I wanted to rest. I wanted to get away. Two things I couldn't. It felt like I was in the kind of dream that kept you from running anywhere. Where you were just stuck until you woke up and found it wasn't real..

This time, I wasn't going to wake up. This time, I could be snatched. There was no way other than this, no other option than to run scared.

I closed my eyes for a second. When I opened them, we had come to a stop. Gundulla stood before us. Her long hair lashed across her stark face as she held the stone. It glowed a firelight orange then turquoise blue, like a lantern balanced in her palms.

"Not so fast," she said. "You have what is mine."

"My child is not yours," my mother cried.

"No, but her child
is
," Gundulla hissed. "Give her to me or I shall use the stone to force you."

My mother pushed me back. "Crystal go, go to the cusp."

I ran in the direction of the woods, but was lifted by the waist; mud sprayed my face, leaves poured down like a waterfall as I moved backwards, floating, seeing the trees pass by me

A fan of red hair hit me in the face and I wrapped my arms around Savril's neck, relieved and somehow at peace. My toes skimmed tree tops as I wrapped my arms around the citrusy scent I now recognized, feeling the glide of the wind brush back my hair and hush my cries.

"It is alright," Savril said. "You are safe."

The journey seemed a long one, and though I was partially awake, I could see my surroundings, see the world beneath my bare feet.

We landed and he shook my face, holding me as I swayed. He lifted me into his arms and carried me the rest of the way.

My parents.

The thought of them caused me to cry. Savril set me onto the ground and looked at me, perhaps suppressing his anger, but more so out of concern.

"My parents. I can't leave without them."

He nodded and pursed his lips. "We may have no choice."

"I have a choice," I insisted. He was difficult to look at so close. His face danced with so many internal colors, it was hard not to gasp in awe of it. Besides, I still felt embarrassed about kissing him.

"I can't lose them again."

I took a step away; he grabbed me.

"I will fetch them," he said, his eyes assessing me carefully. "You must stay and wait for our return. If I return alone, we must still leave. Do you understand?" He glared at me, like I had no other choice but to listen.

I nodded. "I'll wait. Just please, please, bring them back."

I turned away. He remained behind me for a while. I sensed his hands hover above my shoulders, reluctant to touch me.

"I'm sorry," I whispered. "I'm sorry about what I did to you." I let myself cry a little, ashamed.

There was a long heated silence, then his feet padded across the ground and a current of air pushed from behind.

There is nothing to be sorry about,
he had said before he left. But there was. There was too much to regret.

~ * ~

I sat in the center of the cusp: a circle of purple flowers that I figured were Charlocks. It had to be it.

Somehow I managed to find it in the dark, guided by that sixth sense. I knew I needed to be situated this way for when my parents and Savril turned up. When I
hoped
they would turn up. Alive. Unwounded.

Nothing made a sound. There was no moonlight to brighten the woods, only street lamps from the streets in the distance. It was almost pitch black. A rustle turned my head, a croak of an animal possibly feeding off its kill.

I knew the night guarded me. It came around me like a thick blanket so that I could shiver into its coolness rather than nothing at all. It didn't mind me being here, on its turf, this circle of nature and a Fallion's design.

And so I became less afraid and more held by the dark. I reached out to clench it between my hands, shake my hair in its groping mist. I was fine if I believed it could protect me.

"Crystal," a voice whispered to my right. It sounded male, like Cray. I held my breath, hoping it was. "Crys." It called again, this time clearer, astounding me.

"Cray?" I shout whispered.

I was cautious of running into another mistake, some trick I could avoid with more brains than just to follow my weak heart.

"Stay there," he said. "I'm coming."

But I didn't stay. I was sure it was him.

I ran into his arms and held him, unwilling to let go. "I thought they'd killed you." The heaviness that had ached my heart since I left him eased. He would never know how happy I was to see him.

"They were just bluffing, trying to make you stay. The stone heals, remember?"

"Let's wait in the cusp." I pulled him along, but he didn't budge.

"I can't."

"Why not?"

"I have a role to play here."

"You're siding with Gundulla?" I gasped. "Again?"

"No. I was never on her side, Crys. She manipulated me. I get that now. But I have to take care of Zella."

"She's not your sis…" I almost revealed too much. He was too downcast to have countered what I was about to say.

"I can't leave you, Cray. I won't."

"You have to."

"Who said?"

"The red head you kissed so madly," he muttered.

I didn't know what to say. How had he seen it happen? There was no way I could make it sound less…sordid.

"I don't know what happened to me," I muttered, looking down at my twined fingers.

"I think it's better if you never did."

"What do you mean?"

"You'll be over it soon enough. In time, you'll lose the urge to feed."

"How about you?"

"It's not as simple for me. I was born this way. It was waiting to happen. I'll always have the urge."

"Do you… know what you are?" I asked hesitantly.

He nodded and frowned.

"You know Clias is…"

"My father. I know. Mother had an affair."

I bit back my need to tell him what she'd conveniently left out.

"You saw what I became," he said with a scowl. "What I really am. As a full Sha'lac, I can't die. Not in a way that I know of. Only Mother knows and she won't tell me. She's gone and lost her mind."

He really was clueless to her ways. He was too loyal to a mother that wasn't even his. I had to tell him.

"That's it. I will be stuck this way," he went on miserably. "People would die and I would stay the same. Never ageing, never moving on. Never changing like I should. Mother would always have her hold over me. But I can't just give up on her yet. I have to make her see sense, get her better."

"You can't, Cray, she lost her mind a long time ago."

"I have to at least try. She would do it for me. Just like I have to try and save you."

"You really don't owe her anything, Cray, or me."

"But how she is changes our future. I don't know what you've inherited from being what you are. Whether you're as immortal as a Sha'lac, or if a Fallion can outlive the planet. I just know what I am and could become. What I could miss out on and lose from you if I let her keep acting out like this."

"We have to take that chance. You have to come with me. We can come back for Zella when it's safe."

"Crys, it'll never be safe, whether she thinks you're carrying our child or not."

"I can find a way. I'll finish Gundulla first."

"You really believe that's possible with the powers she has?"

"Listen, Cray. I will decide what happens, not you. Not even my parents."

He smirked, proud of my response. "I'm glad you have them," he said, swiftly changing the subject.

I was too upset to ask how he knew. Had he been watching all that time?

"Well, don't be. It might not be for long."

He stepped closer. His breath warmed the top of my head. He didn't touch me, though. Not even to console me. "Once you're away from here and…me, you'll have your parents all to yourself. You'll have everything you wanted. Maybe you could start a life with the red head."

I didn't even want to reply to that illusion. How would I have everything if he wasn't going to be there with me? How could he think that I could have and want someone other than him? How could he assume so much?

"You have to look ahead, see beyond this," he continued.

Was this his goodbye? His heart to heart farewell in the dark? He wasn't even facing me. Was it that difficult? Did he not want to give away that he could be happy to see me leave him behind?

Was I stupid to have believed he felt something as deep as me?

I watched him walk back into the woods, upheld by just his pride.

"Cray," I hissed. "Cray, get back here."

He disappeared through the trees; the sound of crunching leaves became less.

"Cray…"

I shouldn't have, but I ran after him, dodging the overgrown trees and fallen bark that lay like boulders, slipping through mud and catching my hair on twigs branching out to steer me back.

I couldn't see him, feel, or sense him like usual. It was even darker in the pit of the woods, shaded by taller trees and large leaves that covered the starless sky.

An owl hooted behind me. I whirled around, hoping to catch a glimpse of something, anything so that I wouldn't feel so alone and vulnerable among so much that surrounded me, hidden, watching.

I needed to return to the cusp and wait like I had planned. I ran back. But the path seemed different, clearer, unobstructed, with a sliver of light for me to see where I was going.

Feet suddenly padded behind me. I ran faster, the soles of my feet burned. My hands were sliced from pushing away leaves. The feet behind grew nearer, splashing in water and slipping from side to side.

I did the same, though I kept myself steady by gripping every branch.

I hadn't ventured out too far, yet I was running farther than I should have. I was lost, surrounded by nothing but the same things.

The feet were catching up while a stitch gnawed at my side. I couldn't tell if the feet belonged to a male or female, if they had good or bad intentions. I only knew they were determined to find me and were easily catching up to every diversion I made to lose them.

I drew to a pause to catch my breath.

"Where the hell did she go?" a male voice said.

"She can't be far," said another.

"Okay, you two go that way. I'll look down here." That voice definitely belonged to Cray. It was sluggish and lifeless, but definitely his. He was leading them toward the opposite direction of the cusp. I wanted to run to him.

They left. The silence of the woods returned. Only my breaths were audible.