Redemption Chapter One Teaser
Chapter One
A soul shattering scream echoed off the walls of the alley before it was replaced by an eerie stillness. A dagger, a pool of blood, dark phantom–like creatures slithering in and out of the shadows–all began to play out like a scene from a horror movie. Everything moved in slow motion but then began to flash like a strobe light until everything was moving at super speed.
The man who stood before Kylah looked like the personification of evil. He reveled in the battle raging before him and when Tynan ducked to kill one of the monsters attacking Vivi, he gave Kylah a sardonic smile as he pulled out a patina finished dagger and stabbed her brother in the back. The man’s icy eyes flashed vermillion as he wiped a splatter of blood from his cheek. The man relished in his kill as he watched Tynan’s body fall to the ground and laughed when Vivi cried out.
“Another O’Cianain dead by my hand,” the man said as he laughed. “You can stop all of this my pet, but only if you return to me.”
Kylah could hear his words as plain as day even though she couldn’t understand why or how he knew her. He glared at her, waiting for some sort of reaction to his words, but when he didn’t get one, he turned the alley into a war zone.
Tears began to well in Kylah’s eyes as she watched Genevieve’s pain turn to pure hatred. Her normally docile sister-in-law changed instantly, her eyes became black pools as she began to chant words Kylah didn’t understand. White and black whips of smoke circled around her just before a blinding white light shot through the alleyway. “What the hell is going on?” Kylah wondered but the instant the light engulfed her, the moment Tynan’s soul hit her, everything became clear.
She began to shake uncontrollably as everything Brighid and Morrigan had done to lock her mind away was obliterated in one swift move. Vivi had not only freed Kylah’s mind, but she also unleashed her powers, turning her into the loose cannon she was two hundred years ago. Kylah’s body became a haze of blue and crimson as she remembered everything. The Nine all stared at her with shock in their eyes as her body began to shiver.
“How many more have to die before you will learn your lesson?” Liam shouted through the chaos.
Kylah looked into Liam’s cold dark eyes and knew exactly what he was thinking. It was the same sadistic look he used to give her two hundred years ago right before he tortured her for not following his commands. He wanted her to react to his every look, respond to his every whim, but Kylah would have rather lived in the dungeon with the rats and the changlings than do anything he demanded of her.
Liam moved towards Vivi, but when more flames began to dance over Kylah’s skin he vanished. The dark fae creatures Liam released moved further into the alley; their red eyes glowed as they hissed and screeched. Kylah began to panic as their razor sharp teeth moved closer to Vivi; she wasn’t about to allow them take her too. As the azure flames continued to dance along Kylah’s body, the final frame in this horror flick came to an end. Vivi vanished with Tynan’s body just as she heard Syd order Aerric to take her to the labyrinth, that he The Nine would handle the rest of the sluagh.
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Kylah clutched her chest as she gasped for air. The nightmare, or rather recollection, she just woke from left her breathless. Her heart thumped erratically as small beads of sweat formed on her forehead. Moments ticked by before her heart began to beat again in a normal rhythm. The vision of the man who had not only taken her past, but who now seemed intent upon destroying her future continued to haunt and invade Kylah’s every thought. If she were to ever find any peace, Liam would need to die.
Kylah looked around the monochromatic ivory colored room with all its elaborate finishes and sighed. She was no longer in New York but in the labyrinth she’d left long ago. The past two weeks had happened and a lifetime of memories were now hers to sort through. She was no longer Kylah Keenan, “costume designer extraordinaire.” She was Kylah Aednat Brannagh O’Cianain, the granddaughter of two powerful goddesses, Aerric’s mate, the sister to two overprotective Irish brothers and last but not least…her parents’ killer.
Kylah pushed back the covers and made her way to the bathroom. She wondered where Aerric could be. It was odd for him to not be lying next to her in bed. In fact, since she had returned to her “real” life, Aerric had yet to leave her side. He vowed to not only make up for the past two hundred years, but to make the future one they both would look forward to. Aerric was a wonderful man and while Kylah loved him, she wasn’t certain of anything anymore. She already had two overly attentive males constantly following her every move and now she had to add a mate and psycho killer to the mix?
By the gods, how did my life end up such a jumbled mess? She sighed heavily as she flipped on the light and stared at her reflection. Her red hair was mess, her green eyes were dull and lifeless, and her skin appeared more pale than peach. Kylah turned the gold handles and watched as the water swirled at the bottom of the marble sink. When she dipped her hands under the ice cold water, she prayed that after a few splashes Liam’s face would be erased from her mind, even if only for a second. Kylah needed the chaos that was now her life to somehow begin to make sense.
Five splashes later and Kylah’s reflection remained the same, but when her hair changed from red to raven she leaned forward on the bathroom sink and touched the mirror to make sure she wasn’t still dreaming. The reflective surface changed; it was no longer silver but pitch black. The mirror had become a blank canvas for Kylah to watch as her darkest memories played out before her. Realizing this wasn’t a dream, but instead a vision from her past, she stood motionless as the images she so desperately wanted to forget flickered against the solid backdrop. Liam’s face was the first thing Kylah could make out, and then she could see the rest of him standing in front of the fireplace in his bedroom. Kylah continued to watch as Liam stood before her, swishing the liquid in his lowball glass just like he used to do when he called her to his chamber.
To most, Liam’s expensive taste and rugged elegance came across as unassuming, but that was just the facade he broadcast while in his human form. His designer suits, ashen bronze hair, and a subtle five o’clock shadow made him appealing to men and women alike. However, when Liam embraced his dark fae side, he was no longer a man, but a swirl of thick black smoke. Liam became a phantom with beasts extending beyond his body; their eyes would glow a bright crimson as their razor sharp teeth snapped and hissed at his intended prey.
Kylah’s anger began to rise as she watched the memory of Liam commanding her to undress. The phantoms writhed just above him, waiting impatiently for him to allow them the privilege of feeding from her. Kylah always refused Liam’s advances despite the fact she knew the punishment would be horrific. To her, it didn’t matter as long as she didn’t willingly submit to him. The phantoms struck and Kylah’s body went cold. Her body was lying on the floor bleeding and broken, barely conscious. Kylah knew too it would only be a matter of time before Roan, Liam’s servant, would come in to take her back to the dungeon, back to the faceless changlings who loved to nip and bite at her.
The changlings were faceless zombie-like creatures that existed in the shadows until it came time for them to feed. Sunken black eyes would appear along with a mouthful of a thousand razor sharp teeth snapping open and closed. Kylah watched as they skittered down the walls and across the floor, hoping to make contact with her.
Kylah gripped the sink in an effort to pull herself out of these horrible memories, but she was unaware her anger had intensified to the point where an azure flame surrounded her entire body. She looked up into the bathroom mirror to find blue-flamed tears streaming down her face and into the sink, creating steam the moment they met with the chilled water from the faucet. Kylah knew she needed to calm herself or she was going to obliterate the room she was standing in just like she had the night Liam killed her parents.
Kylah thought back to that night in the alley. What would have been different if Aerric hadn’t swept her away before things got out of control? She wanted to take her revenge on Liam; make him suffer for everything he’d done to her. Kylah wanted to release her gift and burn anything and everything in her path to the ground, leaving nothing but ashes to blow in the wind. And yet, she knew all too well what the consequences would be if she did. She needed to find a way to contain the fire within or else she would end up hurting more people she loved.
“You alright, angel?”
Kylah turned to see Aerric casually leaning against the doorframe.
“Yeah.” She looked down at the flames and then back to Aerric. “Or maybe not.”
Aerric walked over and gently lifted her onto the counter; the flames had no effect on him since he too was able to wield fire. Aerric was a dragon phoenix created by the goddesses to protect them and their loved ones. He’s unable to die unless the ones who made him cease to exist. Aerric was power personified, at least as far as the goddesses were concerned. Made from the blood of a dragon and the hide of a phoenix, he’s virtually indestructible. If someone were to actually manage to strike a killing blow, Aerric would die for only a moment before being reborn. He would rise from the ashes, and as the transformation took place, his feathers would turn to thick black leathery scales until his dragon fully emerged. In three days’ time, it would be as if Aerric had never left.
Aerric brushed back the hair that had fallen forward when Kylah dipped her head. “What was the dream about this time?”
Kylah looked up “Same as always…Liam, but tonight it was him killing Tynan.” Tears once again began to fall. “How many more times do I have to relive Tynan’s death, Aerric? Like it wasn’t bad enough the first time.”
Aerric wiped the tear before it was able to make its way down her cheek. “Kylah, we’ll find Vivi and Ty and when we do we will finish Liam once and for all. You’re not alone this time, remember?”
“I wasn’t alone last time. I was just a stupid fool who thought she knew better.”
Aerric put his palm over Kylah’s heart, “Maybe so, but you are a soul keeper now and Tynan is safe within you. The goddesses will find a way to free him, Mo ghrá.”
Kylah’s tentative smile was less than convincing but she could tell he didn’t want to push her. Aerric placed a gentle kiss on her lips before pulling away.
“I’ve got to get cleaned up.” He lifted his shirt over his head, tossed it on the ground, and grinned as Kylah’s flames roared to life once again.
One look at Aerric’s tanned skin and taunt roped chest had Kylah pulling him back into her arms. It was as if his touch and his kiss grounded her to this world and she needed more of it to survive. Kylah’s hand moved up his rippled chest and stopped just above his clavicle. On a dragon in human form, this was a sensuous spot. He growled and stepped closer to let his erection press into her thigh.
He whispered as his kissed down her neck. “I would love nothing more than to take you right here on the counter, Fire Angel, but if I’m late to meet with your grandmothers, they might just decide to throw my ass on a funeral pyre and I wouldn’t be back for three days.”
“Yeah well we can’t have that now can we?” Kylah smirked.
Aerric gave Kylah another passionate kiss before he stepped back and moved towards the shower to finish undressing. Kylah bit her bottom lip as she watched the muscles in Aerric’s back move and flex when he turned on the water. When Aerric finally stepped inside the steamy shower, Kylah gazed at the now fogged glass and watched intently as he soaped his body. She knew that if she continued to stare at him he would definitely be missing his meeting, so Kylah pushed off the counter and put a towel out for Aerric before she returned to the bedroom and crawled back into bed.
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Aerric finished getting ready and smiled as he looked at Kylah curled up in their bed. Well not “their” bed since they were unable to return to their home in Donegal, Ireland, but a bed they would share until it was safe for them to return to their lives. They would always face danger as members of The Nine, but Aerric knew once Kylah was able to control her powers she would be able to protect herself better than anyone and the goddesses would let her leave the safety of the labyrinth.
Aerric bent down and pressed his chest into hers, pinning her underneath him, “I love you, Fire Angel. I will be back in a bit and we can finish where we left off.” He winked and kissed her again, sparking another flame, not an actual flame but one that held a promise of exactly what he planned on doing to her upon his return.
“I love you too.” Kylah returned his tease and nipped at his bottom lip.
“Dammit woman.” Aerric slid his hand down her body and growled as she writhed underneath him. He nipped at her earlobe, “I want you to remain right here in this bed until I return…” He tugged at the base of the tank top she was wearing and pulled it over her head. “…But you won’t be needing this or these.” Aerric grinned as he completely undressed her and tossed her boxers and tank top onto the floor. “Much better,” he said as he reveled in the way she looked lying there naked. “I won’t be long.” Aerric faded out of the room before she could try to change his mind.
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Kylah laid there for a moment staring at the ceiling. She rolled over and wondered if she would ever stop feeling this constant pang of guilt. As she opened the drawer of her nightstand, she pulled out the letter she wrote to herself two centuries ago. The paper still crackled as she opened it even though she’d read it every day since that first night.
Kylah thought back to the day she wrote the letter. She truly thought she was doing the right thing but now in hindsight, she realized her choices were actually rather selfish. Over the past few weeks Kylah had tried many times to tell Aerric she was sorry for all she’d put him through but she could never find the right words when she looked into his eyes. She was sorry for not coming to him before the goddesses erased her memories. She should’ve said goodbye but she thought if he believed she was dead he would move on and find another. Who knew he would have loved me for this long. I didn’t know a man would or could love a woman in such a way. Kylah punched the pillow and let her tears flow. She hoped if she shed enough of them they would wash away some of her pain.
Kylah wanted to continue where she and Aerric left off two hundred years ago, but the reality was that they were no longer the same people, she was no longer the same woman he loved so long ago. Aerric had always heated her blood and made her burn with desire but he no longer knew her, well at least not the “modern” her. He only knew the “her” that existed in the days when she lived here in labyrinth.
More thoughts flooded her mind as she wallowed in her own sorrow. Poor you. Poor, poor you. Your brother’s trapped inside of you, his body withering away someplace, Vivi’s still missing, everyone around you is trying to protect you and keep you safe from a sadistic monster and all you can do is lay here and think about how pitiful it is to be lying in bed naked waiting for a man who has loved you for over two hundred years. Kylah rolled over and slammed her face into her pillow and screamed until her vocal chords hurt. She screamed and cried until she had nothing left in her, until all she could do was sleep to escape the pain in her chest.
