“Hmm. So you are the one who has stolen my son from me?” he asked in a domineering manner.
“Oh, for the love of the Deity, Father, would you stop trying to intimidate her?” Rayn demanded.
Maddie put her hand on Rayn’s arm to interrupt him. With fire in her eyes she boldly said, “It’s okay, Rayn.”
To Rowan, she continued, “You sir, may think you know me, but you don’t. Therefore, I would be hesitant to assume much. Intimidation only works on the weak, and I can assure you, I am not weak…of mind, body or spirit.”
“Touché, female. Now leave us!” he demanded.
“Father! Enough,” Rayn interjected exasperatingly. “Like it or not, Maddie is a female of worth, and you will address her accordingly, with respect, without intimidation and by her name. Is that understood?”
“As your Leader, I expect the same,” Rowan retorted. Rayn understood he was being reprimanded for not instructing Maddie on the proper way to address his father. “Madeline Pearce, leave us, please,” he grudgingly eked out.
“As you wish, sir.” Turning to Rayn she winked and had good intentions of kissing him. Instead, her toe caught on the corner of a chair, she tripped and went tumbling into Rayn, head first. The unexpected movement caught him unawares, and the momentum of her body weight propelled them both to the floor with her landing directly on top of him. Rayn took advantage of the situation and kissed her soundly on the mouth as she put her hands on his chest. The kiss shocked her into motionlessness, so Rayn continued to explore her lips at his leisure. Maddie was soon as lost in the fire of his kiss, as was Rayn, until they heard Rowan clearing his throat.
“If you two could possibly tear yourselves apart from each other, I would love to have a private word with my son,” Rowan said drolly.
Maddie rolled to her side, allowing Rayn to stand. He reached for her hand and pulled her to her feet.
“Well, that was fun, my love, but you really should be more careful,” Rayn said, laughing.
“I’m sorry. You know me. I always seem to do the wrong thing at the wrong time,” she said, her face on fire with embarrassment.
“Oh, I do not know about that. I did not see anything at all wrong with what you just did! As a matter of fact, I quite enjoyed it!”
She snuck a sideways glance at him, and she giggled as she skipped out of the room.
“That is an interesting choice of females you have, Rayn.”
“Careful, Father, you are treading on thin ice here. Maddie and I are connected, and we intend to be together. I have broken no law in bringing her to Vesturon to have her paralysis cured.”
“Broken no law? How dare you make so light of your actions!” he roared back.
Rayn, his face twisted with anger, shot back, “And what would you have done had it been Mother lying on her back, unable to walk? Would you have allowed her to waste away?”
“Do not distort your actions. You broke the most sacred of laws between Earthlings and Vesturions. This is not a matter of—oh, it does not matter, because it was for a good cause. You are a Leader of the Guardians, my Firstborn with rights to inherit the kingdom and you broke our Covenant! That is an unforgivable offense. And you have the nerve, the audacity, to show anger toward me. Your insolence is quite appalling,” Rowan sneered. He was now shaking with anger. He was still shocked and dismayed at the behavior of his Firstborn son, who had until this point, shown the utmost ability to make sound decisions.
Rayn, blood boiling, stubbornly fought back, “You have no idea what you are saying. There is much more to all of this than you know. I will ask you though, you and Mother were initially denied the ability to unite, am I correct? Did you not do everything possible to change that? Would you not have walked through fire for her? Would you not still walk through fire for her?”
“You know the answers to those questions. Your mother is the very reason I breathe. Without her, I am nothing. However,” he added softly, “your mother was of Vesturion blood. Your female Madeline is not. You know what the Council will say to that. It is strictly forbidden. I am sorry, my son, but it cannot be. Do you not understand this?” he brokenly asked. Rowan’s pain and anguish radiated from him.
“I am sorry, too, Father. I conferred with the Divine Being over this. I agonized over my confusion, my indecision. I finally sought the advice of the Deity, and in my quest for answers, I discovered through Him that Maddie is my destiny. We are connected through mind, body and spirit. She holds the key to my heart and soul, and my life. Not a minute passes without her in my thoughts. And, Father, she is truly a brave soldier and a worthy mate. It is I who may not be worthy of her. But I am sure of this: my life is worth nothing without her, so if we cannot be as one, I willingly renounce my birthright and leadership,” Rayn said with deep sadness and regret as he raked his hand through his hair.
Rowan sighed deeply and dropped his head into his hands.
“Rayn, it is not that simple. There are serious repercussions to your behavior. You must return to Vesturon to report your actions and await trial with the Council. I am to bring you home without delay.” He leaned toward Rayn, placing his hand on Rayn’s arm. “My son, you must understand. I cannot support you in your actions; as a Leader, it is always the people and duty that come first. I regret to inform you that we must return home now. I am sorry for this, but there is nothing to be done for it. I think you need to prepare yourself for your return, and, Rayn, in all likelihood you will not be returning to Earth. I just pray the Council does not exile you to some distant quadrant of the universe.”
Rowan paused and looked into the eyes of his son before continuing, “I will assume you would like to go to your quarters and inform the young female of your plans. I need to speak to your brothers and sister while you are gone.”
Rayn spun on his heel and abruptly left the room. He was beyond angry. He was unfathomably furious. He entered his bedroom as Maddie exited the bathroom. When she saw the cruel twist of his mouth, she knew it did not bode well for them.
“Oh, Rayn, he was unrelenting, wasn’t he?” Without waiting for a reply, she gushed forth, “I shouldn’t have behaved in such a bold manner with him. I’m sure I didn’t score you any brownie points, and I most likely have made him resent me.”
“Maddie, you could have thrown a punch at him and cursed at him, and the outcome would have been the same. I thought I could appeal to his sentimental side and his relationship with my mother. I do not know if I have told you, but they started out like us. They had to get permission to unite. Anyway, it matters not. He is bound to his duty and I guess I cannot blame him for that. It is what he is supposed to be. Maybe I was never cut out for the role of Leader of Vesturon. I think my heart would rule over my mind sometimes.”
He began gathering some of his belongings to take with him.
“I disagree, Rayn,” she countered. “That’s exactly why you will make such a great Leader. There are some decisions that have to include the heart and not just the mind. A Leader that makes decisions without being empathetic toward his people loses the faith and trust of the people he leads. Besides, that’s one of the many things that attracted me to you.”
“I am to return to Vesturon shortly with my father. He sent me up here to prepare myself for my return home and to tell you good-bye, of course. He also said it is unlikely that I will be returning to Earth. I honestly did not anticipate this outcome. I mean I knew it was a possibility, but I felt so sure of the fact that I could persuade him otherwise.”
Maddie took a step back, placed her hand on him arms, looked him in the eyes and insisted, “Rayn, you listen to me and listen good. This is not the end for us. I will not accept that and neither should you. You are a strong, powerful man who is extremely influential, and you must use that to get what you want. You are going to have to dig down deep and find a way. Do you understand me? I refuse to settle for anything less. Where there’s a will, there’s a way, and it ain’t over ‘til the fat lady sings. You got
it?”
“Yes, Maddie I understood the first part, but I am not sure of that bit about the fat lady.” He wore a look of utter confusion.
“Oh, for the love of God, Rayn it’s only a saying we use on Earth. Forget it. Just get it into your head that come hell or high water, we will find a way to be together. I don’t care what we have to do to make it happen! Are we clear on this? You and I are smart, willful people, and we are going to tap into every resource we have to survive this and be together. Got it?”
By this time, her hands were biting into Rayn’s arms. He glanced down at them, and she followed his looks and realized she was putting the death squeeze on them.
“Oh gosh sorry about that. I got a little carried away.”
She released his arms, but he blurted out, “Don’t release me; please don’t let me go. I can feel your strength flowing into me, and I need that more than anything right now.”
She took hold of his arms again and said, “Rayn, lean on me. That’s what I’m here for, and God knows I’ve leaned on you enough. I promise you one thing. I will be here for you waiting, for as long as this takes, and we will be together. Even if we are old and gray, we’ll be together.” She stood on her toes and kissed his cheek.
“I think you are one amazing female, Maddie Pearce. I apologize for acting so weak, but your strength gives me courage and hope in us. Thank you for being here for me when I need you,” he responded.
“It’s not weakness Rayn. You are stronger than anyone I know and I’ll always be here for you. Now let’s get you packed and ready to go.”
They filled a large duffle bag with everything Rayn thought he would need for his trip home. Funny thing though, now he felt like his home was where Maddie was. And Vesturon, the place that he always held so dear to his heart, just didn’t hold that attraction for him anymore. He wondered if its beauty would still hold his heart as it did in the past. Somehow, he didn’t think so. He knew that the only place that would fill him with content would be wherever Maddie was.
They walked down the stairs, arm in arm, and met up with the rest of the family in the den. It was at that moment that Rayn made his pledge to Maddie with all of his siblings, minus Xarrid, as witnesses. They, in turn, promised the couple their support and protection at all costs.
If Rowan was shocked, he held it in check and did not utter a word.
Rayn turned to Maddie and walked her to the opposite side of the room. He whispered to her that she would be safe with his family, as they had made that promise. He would try to communicate with her often, but he didn’t think the Council would allow him to contact her any time soon. He wanted her to be optimistic about their situation and he would do everything in his power to return to her quickly.
Maddie maintained her composure; she had made up her mind she would present a strong front for Rayn and would not allow Rowan a view of any kind of weakness.
Although he would not say it, the family could tell he was much impressed with Maddie’s behavior. Maddie walked over to Rowan with an outstretched hand, ready to bid him farewell. As luck would have it, her toe caught on the corner of the chair she had tripped on earlier. Rowan took the full body impact of her and landed on his backside, with Maddie on top of him.
“Do you always make a habit of tripping on things, young female?” he asked sardonically.
Maddie struggled to stand but only succeeded in getting herself tangled up in his robes. Her attempts to be free ended up imprisoning Rowan’s arms, rendering him incapable of any movement to disentangle Maddie from within his robes. Her arms and legs were flailing around, and she was inadvertently kicking and hitting Rowan in her attempts to escape from the awkward snare she had created.
Suddenly, the room was filled with thundering guffaws from all the Yarristers who were witnessing this escapade. Maddie looked like a fish flopping on the sand in an attempt to return to the water while Rowan lay helpless, taking the brunt of her flops.
“Stop!” Rowan said in a thunderous voice. “Are you trying to maim me?”
Rayn eventually extracted Maddie from the tangled robes, and she buried her flaming face in his chest.
“I cannot believe that just happened!” Maddie blurted out.
“How do you think I feel? I am the one who will be suffering from bruises for a week!” Rowan declared.
Therron reached down lending a hand to his father, pulling him to his feet.
“Rayn, can you put me down?” Maddie whispered in his ear.
“I am afraid to. Let me make sure no one else is close enough to get injured.”
Everyone in the room was still laughing hysterically, while Maddie’s face continued to burn with embarrassment.
“Mr. Yarrister, I am so sorry. I did not mean to injure you. Are you okay?” Maddie asked Rowan.
“Not to steal your own words, but it takes a lot more than an intimidating female to injure me,” he retorted.
“Touché,” Maddie returned with a smile.
That brought even more laughter into the room.
“At least you didn’t have to share a meal at the dinner table with her, Father. You would have returned to Mother tattered and stained,” Rykerian added dryly.
At Rowan’ raised eyebrows, the entire room exclaimed, “Don’t ask!”
“Well, Father, I hope you enjoyed meeting, Maddie. As you can see, there is never a dull moment around her,” Rayn said.
“I’m beginning to see that. We should be on our way then. Goodbye, children. I will give your love to your mother, and we will be seeing each other soon, I hope,” Rowan said with sincerity.
Rayn then flashed Maddie a dazzling smile, kissed her one last time, and teleported with his father, returning to Vesturon.
BOOK FOUR:
SEPARATED
Chapter 1
A lone figure stood in a dimly lit alley. He paced back and forth, waiting for his partner to arrive. He was clothed in a long hooded robe and had anyone seen him, they would have assumed he was a Guardian. They would have been incorrect, and he was also treading in dangerous waters.
A ball of light finally appeared and another hooded figure took form. “Has the deed been completed?”
“It is done. All the data was sent, and is now in place in the Yarrister system,” the first figure replied.
“Is any of it traceable?”
“Not to my knowledge. If anyone would search their system, I have made it appear the data was in place long ago. The only way it would be discoverable is if the person looking would know the exact source, and I have covered all footprints and traces extremely well. I used the security system in the main Command Center so even to an in-depth observer, it would look like the data had been there all along.”
Thorgar prayed his partner wouldn’t see through his ruse. He did place those data files in the Yarrister system, but he made it appear as though an amateur had done it. He wanted no part of this scheme, but had been coerced to do it. Thorgar knew it was a risky move, but he knew he had no other option.
“So, you think it is fail safe?”
“Yes. I would not have done it had I thought otherwise,” he lied.
“And all of this was completed, when?”
“Yesterday.” The man started to worry, as the questions were much more introspective than he thought they would be. Beads of sweat broke out on his forehead, and he hoped his companion didn’t notice. To show fear was a weakness he couldn’t afford.
“How were you able to infiltrate the Command Center so easily?” The authoritative man was demanding information that was unexpected.
“I have my connections, and let’s say someone owed me.”
“How many others have you involved in this?”
“Since when was that your concern?”
“Answer me! This is a treasonous activity, and the fewer that know the better. How many others?” he repeated.
“Two, besides me.” He could feel the sweat starting to run down his neck and arms.
>
“Who are they? I need names,” he demanded.
“I promised anonymity.”
“That was not yours to promise. I need their names. Now,” he growled.
“Yes, my lord. They were Lucaren Sartorious, and Dergan Calderon. They both owed me favors and had access to the Command Center.” Now he was truly concerned for his friends. He never anticipated the one giving him orders would get so deep into the details.
“They are trusted?”
“Yes, my lord. I would trust them with my life.”
“How much of what you entered into the system were they aware of?”
“Not much.”
“Too vague. When I ask you a question, I desire a specific answer. Now, how much?” he asked through gritted teeth.
“They both knew I was embedding encrypted data files, but they did not know where.”
“Did they know what was in the files?”
“Some of it. They had to do some of the entries because of DNA recognition.”
“Is it possible for us to use them as scapegoats?”
“My lord! I could not do that!” This was much worse than he could ever have imagined. Now he began to fear for their safety. If his blackmailer would bring harm to his family, he had no doubt his friends were in danger as well.
“Since when did you develop a conscience?”
“I…I thought…”
“I am not paying you to think, only to execute my orders. Is that clear? Now answer me.”
“Yes, it is possible. Now, I need to leave here. When can I expect my payment?” His voice shook with trepidation.
“And, I gave you permission to ask me questions, when? You are to carry out instructions when I deem it necessary, and no questions. You will get paid in due time. Now, we will meet again when I have proof that all is as you have said. You will be paid at that time and not before. You will speak of this to no one, and if anyone should come for you, you will deny any knowledge of it. Are we clear?”
“Yes, my lord.”
“Good. I will contact you when I need you.”
Seconds later, he vaporized into a beam of energy and disappeared.