He backhanded her again and watched the blood trickle out of her the corner of her mouth. Her blood was smeared all over her face by now, and her left eye was swollen shut. Her other eye was still spewing out the hatred though, and he was a little more than freaked out by it. He decided he’d have to take care of that. He pulled off a length of duct tape and taped over her good eye, effectively sealing off her vision.
“No! Please, will you please take that off, I don’t like not being able to see,” she begged. “Please?”
“That won’t matter much because in a little bit, you won’t need to see anymore.”
“Please, don’t kill me. I’ll do anything you ask. I won’t say a word or scream or anything,” she whispered, now barely able to speak at all.
“Naw, it doesn’t matter anymore. Your time is about up here.”
“Please…”
He walked up to her and kicked at her leg. She let out a hoarse scream. Her breath was coming in short little pants now, and her head was lolling side to side. Darryl was in heaven, absolute heaven. Red had sure been a tough one, but now he was getting what he’d been waiting for. He decided he’d had enough of her screams though, so he taped her mouth again.
Maddie put all her thoughts into Rayn.
“This is it, Rayn. I don’t have much longer. Please hear me. I don’t know if I can take any more of this. Please, Rayn, please hear me. I don’t know where I am, but I have to be close to Sharra. You have to hear me. Please, hear me. Rayn, you have to hear me now! HELP ME!”
Chapter 10
His quarters, as his parents and the Council referred to them, were well appointed, offering him every amenity and convenience he could possibly want. Still, Rayn paced around the room like a caged animal. He was imprisoned and would remain there until the Council rendered its verdict.
He would have an opportunity to request a jury, although he didn’t know what good it would do. He had pled his case before all, trying, he believed unsuccessfully, to get their understanding of his connection with Maddie. Time was his enemy now, ticking by so slowly that every minute felt like hours.
Initially, he believed he could gain his mother’s support in this. After all, her relationship with his father had a rocky beginning. Yes, she was Vesturion, but she wasn’t as highly bred as one would demand for the Great Leader.
Over the years, the Council had eased its constraints on mates for highly bred families. When his parents initially met, nothing could have kept them apart or hindered their bonding. They immediately made their connection and his father forced the issue with his parents. Their relationship was contested among the Council, but Rowan threatened to abdicate in order to unite with Annalise. After much argument and debate, threats and warnings, the Council relented and granted its permission for the unification. As time told all, Vesturon could not have had a fiercer First Mate than Annalise.
Rayn tried to convince his mother, appealing to her emotions, that he was in the exact place she had been. She was relentless in her argument of how Maddie was not a Vesturion and was disgusted with the manner in which Rayn completely disregarded his duty, family, and the Covenant. Rayn felt as if he were arguing with a brick wall.
The recognition of his desperate circumstances made him begin to create plan B. If he were refused permission to unite with Maddie, he would create an alternative that would include his renunciation of his birthright and the Brotherhood of Guardians. He would not, could not, entertain life without Maddie.
Maddie, what to do? How he missed her. He dreamed of her nightly. She was so unaware of herself. She was nothing like anyone he had ever known and she never ceased to amaze him. She was unselfishly kind, loving and so perfectly innocent. She was athletic, but he chuckled to himself when he thought of her dancing antics. She was always in high gear. She loved to run and feel the wind against her skin; she had an irrepressible urge to experience life to its fullest, almost as if she couldn’t let a single thing pass her by, like she didn’t want to miss out on anything.
Rayn assumed her intensity to live life to the fullest was the result of the early death of her parents. Maddie was determined to experience everything she could in every way possible because she was keenly aware of how it could be snatched away in a heartbeat. She was ever impatient to try new things. But what he loved the most about her was her honesty, sincerity, kindness, and gentleness.
Maddie had been in good spirits, and from his communications with the other family members, she seemed to be thriving. He was so proud of her, of her ability to jump right in and become one of them.
His brothers were completely smitten with her, and she and Sharra had become fast friends, like sisters in fact. Sharra couldn’t be happier; she finally had another female to spend time with. Now, if they could just prevent her from burning down the house, all would be well!
Xarrid still had not come around. Yes, he admitted his fondness for Maddie, but he still could not accept the relationship between Rayn and her. That grieved Rayn but he would have to deal with that later. The others had promised their support and would all be present on Vesturon for his hearing.
Rayn had thrown himself across his bed and was lying there, deep in thought, when his body wildly jerked with violent painful spasms. Searing, relentless agony began washing over him. His breathing became shaky, and pain radiated over his entire body.
With utter horror, he began to hear Maddie’s voice—her thoughts of what she was experiencing, the begging for release from her torture, her imminent death.
Bloody hell! Sweet Deity! No!
He had her again. How did this happen? She was suffering, severely, horrifically. He had to help her. Rayn flew up and started screaming, howling, roaring, shaking the walls with his strength and emotions ripping through him. Things began flying off the walls and furniture, crashing into the floor. His Power of Telekinesis was firing completely out of control. He instantly reached out to his brothers.
“Maddie…in trouble…in the woods…wounded severely…she’s dying…he has her again…bloody hell, he is killing her…help her!”
Chapter 11
Tesslar, Rykerian, and Therron were sprawled across the sofas enjoying their favorite activity—watching sports on TV—when they were simultaneously hurled to the floor. Shocked, dazed and breathless, they all were still for a moment, feeling like they had just been blasted.
“What the devil was that?” Rykerian asked, rubbing his head.
“Dunno,” Therron slurred in response.
“I have never felt anything like it.” Tesslar was just shaking his head back and forth, trying to regain his senses.
In the next instant, all three of them were on their feet screaming at and over each other, running back and forth.
“It is Rayn…in pain.”
“No, not Rayn…it is Maddie.”
“Oh, blessed Deity. What has happened to her?”
Their thoughts were whirling around the room at light speed.
Sudden silence…and then, “We must go! We have to get to her. Right away. Gear up now!”
“Arm yourself, and get the first aid kit. Grab the morphine. Whatever’s happened, she going to need it.”
“Tesslar! Get a tracer on Maddie now. Use Sharra’s coordinates and go from there. We do not have a second to spare.”
“On it!”
“Where is Sharra? I thought they were together.”
“Out cold. She was the medium for them tonight.”
“Bloody hell, how did he get her?”
All the conversations were taking place at once mentally and verbally, while they were gearing themselves up.
Tesslar shouted, “I cannot locate her! I have found Sharra’s coordinates, but Maddie is not with her.”
“Expand your zone. She must be somewhere close to Sharra. They were to be together all night.”
Therron was frantic, tearing around the room, looking for his shadars. “I cannot find my weapons!” he screamed.
Once again, they all flew several feet in the air, Rayn’s thoughts overwhelming them.
“Rykerian, tell him to stop. We cannot think with those blasts of his,” Tesslar shouted. “I am headed to security to try to locate her using the compsys.”
* * * * *
Maddie knew she was dying. She couldn’t even project her thoughts anymore.
She saw Rayn’s beautiful face, his eyes she loved so dearly, those precious lips she loved to kiss, his thick wavy hair she adored running her fingers through, and the braid she so loved.
She thanked God for sending him to her, for he made her last weeks on Earth the best she ever had.
Maddie was certain she only had a brief amount of time left.
She wished she had told Rayn she loved him. She wished she had said it every day, a thousand times a day. She wished she had agreed to become his mate. She wished she had forced him to break his vow and take her virginity. Now she would never know what it felt like to make love to someone.
She always wondered how it would feel to die. She wondered if it would be painful. She had her answer now. Even with all of her injuries, she was incredibly pain free.
She began to see white light. It cast an ethereal glow over everything. It was getting brighter and brighter. Her last thoughts before she lost consciousness were of God and how Rayn brought her back to Him.
She turned her head and saw her parents standing there.
“Maddie,” her father whispered, “we have missed you, and we know you will love it here.”
“Where is here?” she asked.
“You know; it is where you want to be.”
“I’m confused, Dad. Am I dead?”
“That’s a silly question, Maddie. You know the answer to that.”
“But, Daddy, I don’t know the answer. I feel weird.”
“Of course, you do. You’re supposed to feel weird.”
“If I’m dead, where is God?”
“Well, Maddie, as with everything, God is everywhere.”
“So is He here?”
“Yes, Maddie, He is here.”
“What’s going to happen next?”
“Maddie, that is up to you. What do you want to happen?”
“I want to be with Rayn. I don’t want to be dead. Don’t take this the wrong way, but I don’t want to be here. Why did this have to happen to me?”
“Maddie, I said that God was here. I didn’t say I was God. I don’t have the answer for you, but if you don’t want to stay here, there is something you can do. You can ask God to send you back.”
“Will He listen?”
“He always listens, Maddie.”
Maddie was mystified by everything. Her father wasn’t making any sense, and she wondered if this was all an illusion, created by her dissecting mind as it came apart. She was uncertain of everything now—what was real, and what was fantasy. As she looked at her father, she began hearing voices, disjointed words. She knew they weren’t coming from her father, for she didn’t see his lips moving. The voices were undoubtedly male, as they were deep and resonating. That eliminated her mother. Maybe it was God speaking to her.
Her dad began speaking to her again.
“Maddie, you must decide what you want to do. You may come with us, or you may fight for your survival. You cannot delay any longer. If you don’t decide soon, the decision will be made for you, and there will be no turning back.”
To be continued...
in
RESURRECTION
Book 2, The Guardians of Vesturon
About the Author
A. M. Hargrove lives in South Carolina with her husband and two children. After spending years working in management for a large pharmaceutical company, she now enjoys nothing better than spending time at her Mac writing fiction. Her hobbies include hiking and backpacking in the Great Smoky Mountains, trail running, cooking and snow skiing.
She hopes you’ve enjoyed this first installment of the Guardians of Vesturon. Read more about Maddie and Rayn in the second book entitled Resurrection. Also available, Determinant, Book 3, The Guardians of Vesturon.
For more information about A. M. Hargrove and her upcoming book releases, please visit her at:
www.amhargrove.com
www.amhargrove.blogspot.com
www.facebook.com/guardiansofvesturon
www.twitter.com/amhargrove1
www.goodreads.com/amhargrove1
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