The Two Kings (Afterlife Saga)

  Then the most amazing thing happened. I started to feel Draven’s tears roll down my skin and leave a burning path behind them. I lifted my hand to my face in my mind and caught a tear that was not my own in my hand. I looked down as it glistened like a pearl and diamond combined. Then it started to glow like the orb I had dreamt of my first night at my sisters. It got bigger and bigger until I could no longer carry it so I threw it at the wall with both hands. The wall cracked on impact and caused a split to run up until out of sight. I heard it thunder above me and the heavens opened up for the flood. The rain in my mind fell down in giant droplets that soaked on impact and as soon as the first one hit me I woke.

  I looked up to see Draven smiling at me with hands still locked firmly in place. I had thought him finished as for the first time since Lucius had touched me I felt no pain. Nothing! I was just numb and my body felt like it weighed the earth and was sinking into the bed.

  “Good girl. You did it Keira.... You let me in and now you will suffer no more. Now just sleep...sleep...slee....” His words flowed over me like a warm blanket coving me from head to toe. I felt my lids grow heavy and being pulled down by no doing of my own. Then the world of hell and fire grew black and peaceful....

  I was gone.

  “It was Lucius!” Draven spoke in my lucid dream. He sounded angry although he was trying to keep his voice low and unheard.

  “You are certain?” Now his brother was there and soon the image became as clear as their voices. They were both sat down in Draven’s room on opposite couches. Draven had his head in his hands and Vincent was shaking his head causing his halo of blonde curls to dance around.

  “I felt his pain. I don’t know how but she beat him Vincent. She forced him back and denied him access to her mind and she wounded him. How is it possible she is so strong?” Draven voice ached through exhaustion and a mass of nightmare events.

  “It is impossible, Lucius is the strongest we know for mind control...No human would stand a chance! You must be wrong brother.”

  “But that is the thing! I know I am not! Once she let me in I saw everything. First her dream...he showed her the past but changed it so that she became a part of it. It was when we first met Lucius, when we were comrades. She saw Lucius and called out to me, she tried to warn me of his intent but the dream ended before I could react. He took her away from me and it was a message. He wanted me to know.” Draven was now standing tall and firm on his knowledge.

  “But how do you know this?” Vincent asked innocently enough but his shock was clear.

  “Because to beat him she accessed his mind. I saw for myself her dream was also to become mine, but I had not slept since she left me. He was waiting to send me this message.”

  “But what message?” Draven’s voice replied in stone cold fear.

  “He intends to take her from me.”

  “But that was before she beat him. Which I still don’t understand how she did?” Vincent sounded thick with disbelief.

  “She was so, so cleaver. Sometimes I think I underestimate her. I told you she accessed his mind but I didn’t say what she did with it.” Vincent didn’t reply but just waited in silence as Draven once again took a seat.

  “She showed him his fear, his only fear. She showed him the Sun!” Draven sounded so proud, if I could have seen his features better I believe he would be beaming.

  “Yes. I told her some while back of his history and she used her knowledge against him. I doubt very much that Lucius was ever expecting such power from my girl, but power is what he found and one a great deal more than his.” I even felt myself smile at this in my dream, thinking at least I wasn’t as useless around the supernatural world as I once thought...I just hoped it to be true.

  “But how?! How can it be true...she is human. Nothing on this earth has that kind of power!” Vincent didn’t sound so willing to believe it and I couldn’t blame him.

  “Brother, no one is more shocked than I, but I can only say what I saw. The only way I can make sense of it is the more powerful the mind she gains access to, the more power she has to control. In our case, Lucius is the most powerful of our kind at manipulating the actions of others, then think of the supremacy she holds over all of us. She is after all, the ‘Chosen’.” I couldn’t tell how Draven felt about this but I needed to know...I needed answers. What did that mean? The “Chosen” And what about this so called “Power” he was convinced I held....was it true?

  “So what are we to do? What did Pythia say on the matter?” My mind hunted around to pull that word from my memory and found her to be the Oracle Draven had spoken of.

  “Pythia told me of what I already knew the very first time I saw her. Keira is the Chosen, there is no doubt. She told me to protect her with my life and the Gods will do the same. She is too important to the prophecy for anything to be allowed to happen to her. Pythia told me of her power and I didn’t believe it until now. This is the way the Gods have seen to her protection but she must be taught how to use it”

  “I’d say she’s not doing too badly on her own on that one!” Vincent said sarcastically.

  “Yes, but look at the damage he was still able to inflict” Ok so Draven had a bloody good point there! And there wasn’t a cat in Hell’s chance I was going to go through that again!

  “And how was he able to do that exactly...I mean if she is so powerful...”

  “She is still in her infancy, Vincent. Like a child with a dangerous weapon. She doesn’t know how to use it to its full advantage yet. Lucius knew this and used that power back against her, he had little choice, she could have killed that Bastard! Next time I will teach her to do just that!” Draven both interrupted and erupted at this last statement.

  “Sounds to me like she came very close!” Draven just grunted at his brother’s statement then added his own views on the murder matter.

  “Not close enough!”

  My dream was starting to waver and quickly turned another corner. I was in a bed unlike this one. Made up from layer upon layer of furs and cushions spread on the floor. I felt like I was wrapped up in the softest silk and velvet combined. I stretched out and my hand grazed the rough sandstone floor in contrast to the covers I was entwined in. Then a voice broke through my sleepy state.

  “My beauty awakes at last.” Draven purred in my ear making me jump. I whipped my head back round from staring at the floor and was faced with the different Draven I knew from my dreams. I flinched back not knowing what else to do.

  “Do not fear me, I will not hurt you child” His short cut beard tickled my arm as he lowered his head to kiss my bare shoulder.

  “I am not a child!” I said in a huffy manner and after I said it I wondered why? He raised his eyebrows at my little outburst and he laughed once.

  “Ah, your pride as been hurt, forgive me. I merely mean, compared to my many years, that is all. Your body is all woman and pleases me greatly.” He was devouring me with his eyes over every inch of my skin which made me realize just how naked I was. I felt so exposed I grabbed the cover and pulled it up to my chin making him laugh again.

  “Your blush only enhances your beauty and makes your creamy skin glow. You must have come from somewhere cold for you to be untouched by the sun, although your hair is the colour of pure gold...tell me, where are you from?” He leaned back to take me in better and wait for his answer. I bit my lip, not knowing what to say. I knew this was surely a dream but I didn’t think in dreams you could experience such real sensations.

  “Where am I?” I couldn’t resist the urge to ask. Draven shifted his weight to lean on his arm that made his bicep bulge and the leather strap strained around it. He wore nothing on his torso and as the covers covered his lower half for all I knew he could be as naked as I. He was stunning and I was glad to be the one waiting for an answer because I couldn’t speak for the beauty before me. It was like a Greek God had dropped down for a quickie. His skin was a sun kissed glow and his hair was the night. Longer than I was used to but ti
ed down his back, braided in a leather thong, causing his features to be all the more striking. His bone structure looked to have been carved by a master of the arts, with a stone jaw and deep set eyes that pierced through me, making my insides turn to mush.

  “How is it, you do not know or is it because Heaven dropped you at my feet for me to claim?” He was closing the space between us and I automatically put my hand out to stop him. My palm remained positioned flush against his hard chest and it moved to the beat of his heart. He seemed to react to my touch and his breathing became heavy with his closed eyes.

  “Please...” He interrupted my spoken thoughts by letting a low growl surface before grabbing my wrist from the hand that prevented him from coming closer. He pulled me roughly towards him and repositioned my arm around his shoulder as he shifted my weight backwards. He leaned down and I now found myself under his huge frame that was hovering above me.

  “You were saying please?” He brushed his lips across my neck and down my collarbone. I shivered under him but it wasn’t from a chill. I could smell the warm night air surround us from every angle. The room we were in didn’t have walls as such but huge richly, ornate pillars arching up to the golden ceiling above. The room held carved wooden chests and seats the shape of half moons on their side. Everything smelled so rich, even the lacquer that painted the wood its rich red colour and the blossoms from the gardens that must be below his open balcony. I could see the blanket of stars in the clearest night’s sky just beyond his impressive shoulders.

  I could feel the covers moving down from me and I grabbed at them with my hands.

  “Why do you keep such perfection from me? Are you selfish?” He teased making me swallow hard.

  “I don’t understand why I’m here...Is it Lucius doing this?” I asked this to both of us but when Draven expressed his displeasure in another growl I sunk back further.

  “I will not allow you to speak another man’s name in my bed! You are mine! No one else’s. What is Lucius’ hold over you, my Goddess?” He was trying to regain his calm but I shook under him as he tensed his body above.

  “He doesn’t! I mean...well...I don’t know...why am I here and not with the ‘you’ from my time?” My question confused him as he frowned down at me, looking even more severe than usual.

  “What time is it that you speak of?” He was now holding all his weight up on his arms and any normal man would have crumpled under the strain for so long. I couldn’t think here...I needed to move, to create some distance from this muscle cage he held me under. I decided quickly and turned using all my weight to one side until I knocked his arm out and rolled off the bed. My sudden movements caught him off guard and he fell back on his side as I made my escape. I still had the sheet around me and I got to my feet quickly pulling it tighter around my chest like I would have a towel.

  “That was cruel, princess” He said full of humour.

  “Don’t call me that, I am just a girl.” I said backing away from the bed where he still lay. He rolled on his back and laughed heartily.

  “Oh No! You are so much more than that! I am a King...did you know that? That will make you my Queen soon enough but for now you will be known as my Princess. No other man will lay eyes on you, no other man will touch you and no other man will speak your name on their lips...but wait, for what is your name?” This question surged movement from him and before I knew what had happened he was stood up and before me. He wasn’t as naked as I thought, he had material draped around him like a long skirt tied to his waist by a thick leather belt studded in gold. His wide chest heaved, making his muscled six pack tense as he took his last few steps towards me. He was backing me up against one of the pillars and I soon felt its carvings pressing into the curvature of my spine.

  “This is just a dream,” I said aloud to myself, making him cock his head to one side. He placed his arms either side of me and leaned down to my ear.

  “Then why not enjoy it?” He whispered seductively before kissing my neck. I moaned at the sensations it caused and when he felt my succumbing need he wrapped an arm around my waist to pull me roughly into him. I bent to him and molded myself into his raptures. His lips searched out mine and he crushed against me forcing my mouth to open to him. It did...willingly. One strong hand worked its way up my neck, holding it there for a second in a demanding primal way, before travelling upwards to grasp a handful of my hair. There he steered my head to the side to gain better access to my lips. It was like being devoured by a passionate beast, his lips moving, grinding, sucking my own until my legs turned to liquid. He was holding me up to him and I gripped onto his back, digging my nails down his skin under the erotic onslaught I was enduring.

  He only released me when he knew my need for air. I was panting in his arms as he kissed my hair line.

  “Such passion that flows through your veins, how responsive you are to my touch...like you have felt it before?” He was looking back at me, taking in my face for his answers. It didn’t take him long to find them.

  “You are mine from a different time aren’t you?” I simply nodded.

  “Then I do not have long to keep you.” He said to himself. He nodded once before making up his mind and then took my hand in his.

  “Then come, come and see the reason you are here.” He turned towards the open walls that were so symbolic to my current situation. Was this why I was here? My open walls to Draven’s mind. Was this still my sleep...my dream being controlled by another?

  I let myself be walked to the edge of the balcony and I breathed in the warm air that made me feel so alive, like it was pure energy. He pulled me to stand before him and held my shoulders from behind. I gasped at the sight before me.

  “It is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen,” I said in a gasp. My hands were at my face holding in my utter overwhelmed surprise. A golden city stretched out before me as the night sky slowly gave way to the coming dawn. The sand coloured structures rolled down the hill from where we stood at all different shapes and sizes. A large turquoise dome was in the centre surrounded by high walls of ornate stone carved into petal points at the tops of arches. It took me back to Draven’s home and the Temple that lay at its core...its heart. It was rimmed with gold guild and smaller domes were dotted around within its walls. These must have been the smaller buildings where ancient priests lived.

  “You like your new home princess?” He murmured in my ear before tilting my neck to one side to kiss the skin more easily.

  “Is this....?” I didn’t finish as his mouth released the words, harder to believe from my own.

  “This is Persia!” He ceased kissing me when I gasped.

  “What is wrong?” My mouth hung open and no power could make me close it and take all of this in. How was I seeing this as though from a perfect, flawless memory. He held me tighter waiting for my answer, one I couldn’t find in this madness.

  “I think I had better go home now,” I said as though being able to stop a video that was playing.

  “Then you have found enough peace in my time?” The question made me close my hanging mouth and turn to face him. He ran a finger the length of my jaw and lifted my face up when he reached my chin.

  “Then grant me with a kiss before he takes you back.” I closed my eyes as I let confusion seep over me. I felt his lips graze mine before lingering there long enough to allow a surge of lust to build. He crushed himself to me and kissed me until I felt as though floating in air. The smell of his skin’s musk changed and the air around me grew a few degrees cooler. His touch grew less firm and more like soothing fingertips trailing along my skin.

  “Keira...Keira...Time to wake, my Princess.” Draven’s voice echoed in the dark and I realized I was still living in the shadows of my mind. I called out his name as I opened my eyes to find I was lying down in bed. This time it was one I was familiar with.

  “I’m here Keira, no one will harm you.” I felt like saying “You said that before,” but didn’t. After all it wasn’t his fault Luc
ius had come for me. If I hadn’t been so stubborn then he would have never had the chance.

  I saw Draven looking down at me, his face trying to mask the worry that lay there. I tried to sit up but Draven held me still.

  “You need to rest more, your body is still weak from regenerating itself.”

  “But the dream! I dreamt of you...but it wasn’t you now...it...it was...” I was babbling and sitting up despite his warnings. I had to tell him but he was making it difficult.

  “Hush now, calm yourself. I know what you dreamt Keira.” He admitted, as though he was responsible, which hit me...

  “You put it there!” I accused shifting to see him better.

  “I did.” Was all he gave as an answer.

  “But why...how?”

  “Because you needed peace. I wanted to give that to you the only way I knew how. I took you back to that time with me and gave you something further than what Lucius showed you. A time when you would have been mine, before his interference. I saw how you worried about me in your dream and I wanted to make it as if you had never disappeared from my arms. I wanted to share with you my home....my first home.” Now I understood, where Lucius had used the past to take hold of me, to gain control...Draven had used it to ease my pain, to show me a part of his life before mine had begun. He wanted to share a part of himself with me to help me find the peace I had so desperately been searching for.

  “Thank you.” I said before throwing my arms around his neck and kissing him like it had been an age since we had been together. He was certainly taken back but soon his surprise was replaced by eagerness.

  “But wait!” I shouted half in his mouth, making him groan. I pulled back and whipped off the plain black top I had been dressed in. I even had a white cotton bra on but I wasn’t looking at that. No, I was searching my arms for new scars or pieces missing from my elbows. All I found were the old ones.