Island Guardians 05 - Mystic's Call Read online

  An Ellora’s Cave Romantica Publication

  www.ellorascave.com

  Mystic’s Call

  ISBN 9781419923296

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

  Mystic’s Call Copyright © 2009 Lacey Thorn

  Edited by Helen Woodall

  Cover art by Syneca

  Electronic book Publication June 2009

  The terms Romantica® and Quickies® are registered trademarks of Ellora’s Cave Publishing.

  With the exception of quotes used in reviews, this book may not be reproduced or used in whole or in part by any means existing without written permission from the publisher, Ellora’s Cave Publishing, Inc.® 1056 Home Avenue, Akron OH 44310-3502.

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  This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the author’s imagination and used fictitiously.

  Mystic’s Call

  Lacey Thorn

  Dedication

  This book is dedicated to the following people—

  To the many fans of this series. I thank you for your fantastic e-mails. You inspire me to continue writing every day.

  And to my best friends. You are my sanity and my insanity, and you make my life far better than any work of fiction could ever be.

  Prologue

  An ending…and a beginning

  It was a place of peace and prosperity. A small island paradise where the women ruled and all paid homage to the goddess even erecting a temple in her honor. They all served her in one way or another through the castes.

  Two veils were tied together around each woman’s neck and then pulled apart to each cup a breast before being pulled around and tied together again at her back. The color of their top revealed the caste they resided in. Those who saw to the fires wore red. Those who took care of the grounds and plants wore green. Those who tended the flowing island waters wore blue. Those who worked with the sick and the animals wore black. And finally those who worked with the birds of the air wore white. Each wore a skirt that consisted of black veils that fell to the women’s ankles just brushing the tops of the black sandals they wore.

  They had all served the goddess and in so doing the island as well.

  But then a group of warriors came. A group that had lost much and sought refuge and a place to rebirth their nation. And the goddess had brought them here.

  Althea knew before they arrived. As the Island Priestess she was privy to all. As the bloodline of the goddess it had been foretold what would occur. Fate and destiny that she couldn’t change.

  Disease had swept through the island that the warriors had once called home. Disease that had killed off most of the women and children as well as the food and water supply. Heartbroken and without a home these warriors had set sail and destiny had brought them here. One woman’s curse on her child had started the chain of events that led to this, and it would be one woman’s sacrifice that would finally end it and bring peace.

  But the toll in the years between would be felt by them all. Lives would be lost and created as the balance shifted from old to new. And the cost to some would be almost more than they could bear.

  And yet these warriors would arrive. Strong and sure. Wearing brown pants that molded to their thighs and calves, boots and belts that contained myriad weapons, they would come and conquer. At least for a while. But in that conquering moment when victory was just within their grasp, these men would unleash consequences that would rock the island for twenty-five years. Death. Blood. Deception. Betrayal. And even murder. And Althea, Island Priestess, could do nothing but stand by and watch, keeping track of all the signs. Watching and waiting in the wings.

  And so the warriors came and took with little heed to what chaos they left in their wake. The Priestess tried to stop them, to prevent what had been foretold though she knew she couldn’t succeed.

  “If you do this know that a curse will be placed upon you.” It was all she could do to stand by and let them take the women from the sacred temple.

  “Cease your nonsense, hag.” The man began to speak of new law, of warrior law and ordered the women removed from the building keeping back only the one that he and his brother had chosen for themselves. Such evil she could sense in the quiet one. But it was not her place to pass judgment.

  She nodded when she saw her daughter left. Asme was indeed the most beautiful and worthy of all the women present. She was also the only one who was a direct descendent of the goddess herself. Althea almost laughed when they claimed they would make Asme a princess.

  “She is already a princess. She needs no help from you for that honor.” And saying the words she walked to the altar at the front of the temple before turning to the prince of the warriors again. “I will give you one more chance to give up this madness. Leave now or know the vengeance of the goddess.”

  “Your words will scare no one, Priestess,” he informed her defiantly. “We seek only that which we need to survive.”

  Survival would be the least of his worries when it was all said and done. So much death and strife lay ahead of them and she would give anything to be able to prevent it. For all of them, but most especially for her daughter. However Althea had a role to play in all of this as well.

  “Then know this, Warrior.

  “Because you take instead of seek

  “Because you cause the goddess to weep

  “In this take heed my words to hear

  “For a time of reckoning soon will near.

  “In five times five the Guardians will arise

  “Five women marked by the goddess’s eyes

  “Of Fire, Earth, Water and Air

  “Four will become the Guardians of Altair

  “The fifth shall ply the mystic realms

  “And draw them together in the Valley of Elms

  “When the five are united in the mystic place

  “Only then will the curse be lifted I place

  “Cursed to battle to hold what you take

  “This is the hand dealt you by fate

  “Warriors, fierce with muscles and brawn

  “Shall pray for the day of the Guardians to dawn

  “For only through them will peace come at last

  “The Guardians united shall atone for your past

  “So protect and serve when once they appear,

  “Or be cursed to live forever in fear.”

  “What foolishness is this? A warrior knows no fear. Be gone, old woman.” The warrior prince walked to where his brother stood by their chosen mate.

  The priestess held up a dagger and sliced her palm so that her blood dripped upon the altar. “Marked with blood to seal the curse. You have sealed your own fate and that of all of your warriors, Prince. You will know no peace until they come. Remember my words and guard them well. For if one shall die all will be lost.” She looked to the woman they held between them and spoke with words they could not understand. At the woman’s nod the priestess turned and left the room.

  It was one of the hardest things she had ever done,
leaving that room and her daughter behind. But she had known from the beginning that Asme’s path would not be an easy one to take. She would be the last one of her kind. From her a new generation would arise, a reawakening for the Isle of Altair.

  She waved her hand in front of her and the cut disappeared, healed instantly with no sign of what had been. Her duty was only to watch and wait now, for the next twenty-five years. Now was her daughter’s time. May the goddess be with her.

  Chapter One

  Twenty-five years later…

  Althea stood and faced her daughter Asme as she entered the secret chamber of the goddess. It was easy to read all that Asme had encountered in the last twenty-five years just by looking into her daughter’s eyes. It was easy, and yet so hard. Althea would have given anything to have changed what fate had brought to her daughter. But as the former Island Priestess and a direct descendant of the goddess, Althea’s life had been planned out as well.

  Her daughter bowed her head in what Althea knew was respect and she wanted to go to Asme and embrace her as mother to daughter, but true royalty was rarely afforded such moments of comfort. And today would be no different. There was pain in Asme, deep and unsettling.

  “I have waited for this call,” Althea spoke softly to her daughter. For twenty-five endless years she had done just that—waited and watched.

  “How long did you know that this was coming, Mother?” Asme asked. “How long have you foreseen what was in store for us? For me?”

  Althea had always known that this day would come, a day when she would have to answer questions that even she didn’t know all the answers to. She would try anyway. She owed her own flesh and blood no less.

  “Always. I have always known what would be expected of you. Your purpose was clear to me before you were ever even conceived.” She met Asme’s gaze and was unable to disguise the sheen of tears. “I knew and I grieved for what would happen. But I knew that you would also know great love before the time came. And I held that promise closest to me. And you have. You have experienced a love like no other. A love that was all that I could have wished for you.”

  Pain, there was so much pain in Asme’s eyes when she looked at Althea. “And what of the betrayal? Was that foretold as well?”

  Althea could see the knowledge already in Asme’s eyes. Her daughter knew the answer but Althea nodded anyway. “With great joy also comes great pain. It is the balance that keeps life moving forward. In your heart you know this.”

  Destiny. Fate. The blood of the Goddess of Altair. It was these things that had guided their lives. The good, the bad, the horrendous. It had all been preordained and placed on their shoulders. But mostly on Asme’s shoulders. It was her daughter’s fate to be the last of her kind. And from her a new generation was born, strong and vibrant. But had the sacrifices, the sufferings she’d had to endure been worth it? Althea’s faith said that it was.

  She watched as her daughter undressed and reached for the ceremonial robe that lay on the altar before her. Blood still stained Asme’s hands, the blood of a man she had both loved and, in the end, hated. Both her mates were gone now, Prince Micah killed by his own brother’s hand. And Asme had found her vengeance by taking Godar’s life. But at what price to her soul? The daughter Althea had reared had ceased to be and in her place was a woman who stood alone. It was devastating to take note of the changes incurred in the last twenty-five years, but mostly those in the last seventy-two hours.

  “I’m ready,” was all that Asme said as she dressed in the robe and sat on the edge of the raised altar.

  Althea handed her the bowl and watched and waited until Asme had drained it. Then watched as Asme took a reclining position on the altar.

  Asme lay back on the stone surface, arms flat at her sides with palms facing upward in supplication. She took a deep breath and looked into her mother’s eyes for but a moment before she closed her aqua blue eyes and released her breath.

  Althea stepped up to the altar and with a suddenly shaking hand took up the ritual dagger that she had placed there only moments before Asme had first entered the room. She looked down at her daughter’s body and wondered just how she was supposed to be able to carry this next step through. How could any mother be forced to do what she was?

  “Just finish it,” Asme whispered, though she didn’t open her eyes.

  Althea’s eyes flooded with tears. They coursed unchecked down her cheeks as she raised the dagger high and held it there poised in midair. Sobs wanted to escape. Screams of rage sounded, but only in her head, her soul. It should never have come to this.

  “Finish it,” Asme said again and this time Althea heard the pleading in her daughter’s voice. “If you love me, if you’ve ever loved me, then please do this last thing for me.”

  With a cry of rage and pain Althea slammed her hands downward, aiming the dagger straight for her daughter’s heart.

  But Asme never felt that final killing blow. It seemed the goddess had not forsaken her after all.

  * * * * *

  In a village to the east, where several of the Island Guardians were, a girl awoke with a scream as power suddenly burst inside her like a volcano. It coursed like lava through her veins until it reached every part of her. Her blonde hair seemed to be full of energy and stood around her head.

  Her mother entered her room and went to shake her awake but the girl’s skin was hot to the touch. In fear her mother turned to seek help but made it no further than the door when she heard the soft voice of her daughter.

  “Momma?”

  She turned and gasped when her daughter’s eyes caught hers. The blue was a deep aqua color, almost purple.

  “What?” she asked, her body seeming to be stuck in place, unable to move back to the bed where her daughter lay.

  “It’s all right. I’m okay.” And her daughter smiled. The room seemed to light with a glow that radiated from her. “I have awakened and I know what I must do.”

  The woman stood for a moment and suddenly it seemed to click in her mind. She had been given the greatest gift of all from the Goddess of Altair. She looked at the bed and realized that the girl she had borne was no longer. In her place was a woman who would have no equal. For before her the Mystic had awakened.

  * * * * *

  Bram had finally made his way to the last village on his list, the one farthest to the east. And this was the one that he and his brothers Finn and Tanner knew held at least two of the Island Guardians. His mother, Princess Asme, had sent Farrah, who held the power of fire, here to find solace with the one who held the power of earth.

  They had grown up with Farrah, almost as if they were cousins, as their mothers were the best of friends. So Farrah had spent a lot of time at the palace as a child and had always wanted to play with the boys. He laughed as he remembered how they had tortured her for wanting to play with the weapons as they did. She had never been much for girl stuff. A guardian from birth it would seem. He wondered if they were all four that way.

  He remembered what his mother had said. Farrah was the Guardian of Fire. Bram knew that he would recognize her on sight. She had married the Donan warriors, Marcus, Alexi and Bannen and was the mother of twins now. They were just newly born and he was anxious to see them and Farrah to assure himself that they fared well.

  Then there was his real cousin, Alea, who was the Guardian of Air. A smile touched his lips as he thought of her and her gorgeous Aqua-phoen Vulcan. Long thought to be extinct, Vulcan was presumed the last of his kind. Myriad different shades of blue with a silver beak and talons and a snowy white face, Vulcan was Alea’s shadow. He watched over her from the sky and Bram often thought that maybe she could sometimes see through the bird’s eyes. They were inseparable. And now she was the chosen mate of the Xandova warriors, Drew and Sorran, members of the Prince’s personal guard.

  The Guardian of Earth was known as Erika and was married to the Savari warriors, Arik and Galen. She had given birth to twins also just a year before. A unique set of
twins who he couldn’t wait to see, as it was a first for there to be twins born not of the same sex. Plus he was curious to meet this woman who was the first Guardian to gain her power. His mother informed him that she was indeed a powerful woman to behold. He wondered how her mates dealt with it.

  Then there was Willow. Bram and his brothers had met her once or twice in passing as her fathers traveled from village to village. But they had never paid her much mind, not realizing at the time that she was one of the anticipated Island Guardians. Only later had they learned about that from their mother. Willow held the power as Guardian of Water. She was now mated to the Mederra warriors, Drago and Ulrik, who just happened to be the brothers of Erika. It was interesting how they were all loosely connected. But then they did live on an island.

  He knew that Erika and Farrah were in this village. He expected that Willow would be here by now as well but wasn’t sure as he hadn’t spoken with his mother in far too long. Alea would be on her way here with her warriors. But none of those were the reason that he was here. No, his was a far different mission and why he had chosen to go from village to village. His mother, Princess Asme, the great island Mahiki, or blood princess, had informed him that it was his duty to pave the way for the others. For here, in this village of Guardians he would find the Mystic awakened, and, if his mother was to be believed, awaiting his arrival.

  According to his mother’s words he would recognize her by her eyes. They would be the same aqua blue as the royal family, the direct descendents of the Goddess of Altair. He felt both a sense of pride and fear at being chosen as the first of the three men who were to be her mates to meet her. His mother had been adamant that as the firstborn he was to meet her and woo her first. Fiercely adamant. He couldn’t help but wonder if it had to do with more than just him and his brothers.