Fabled Kingdoms, page 8
part #7 of Fated Wings Series
I flinch at his use of the word "dinner."
Mason pulls at his hair that's even longer than usual at the moment due to our lack of time for normal life activities like haircuts.
I should probably try and cut it, I think idly.
"We didn't want to bring you into it, but nothing else was working. I think we ended up saving his life," Mason said, his voice still sounding glum despite that bit of good news.
I knew the feeling. Even moments of sweet were being overtaken by the bitter right now.
"He's up," says Damon, leaping to his feet. He dashes away and then a few seconds later he walks in behind an exhausted-looking Beckham. Beckham has deep circles under his eyes, and I go to the kitchen to grab some blood knowing that it's time for him to eat.
It's always time for him to eat.
"I'm sorry guys," he says, reaching out to grab the blood bag and making sure that he doesn't touch any part of my skin. He seems like he's holding his breath and I want to cry because every day it’s getting worse.
He'd told me a few days ago that my blood called to him in a way that was all consuming. It was all he could think about when I was near. It was a constant craving that burned inside of him, physically paining him. His entire body was tense even now with me across the room. He was clenching the edge of the sofa, his arms straining to hold him down. Damon had angled himself in between Beckham and I, but I know that I needed to leave and sleep on campus tonight.
"I've got a lot of homework tonight. I think I'll head back to campus so I can get some work done."
Damon and Mason both immediately object, but it’s Beckham leaping up and his loud objection that surprises me.
"It hurts you for me to be here," I whisper to him, my heart aching because all I want is to hold him.
"It's true, but it's far worse when you're gone," Beckham says dejectedly. "I don't know how to describe it. Please stay. I know I don't deserve it, and you should run far away. But since I'm a selfish asshole, I'll still ask you to stay."
"Of course," I tell him softly. I look at all three of them. "Do you really think that there's something out there that can help him?"
Damon sighs. We do a lot of that nowadays. "I've found hints of it in some of the old texts. But it's just general lore about turning a vampire. It doesn't cover a fae turned vampire. I haven't read how you return Fairie back to a fae."
"What does that even mean?"
"Every fae carries a piece of the Fairie essence within them. It's what gives them their powers, their life-force...their immortality so to speak. Vampirism eats away at the essence until there's nothing left. It feeds on the essence and in effect gets stronger. I suppose that would explain Beckham's interesting reaction to the turn," explains Damon.
Beckham snorts. ""Interesting" is that what we're calling it now?" he says sarcastically. He stands up and heads to the back bedroom without another word.
"I'll go watch him," says Mason, beginning to follow him.
"Wait, I'll follow him. I want to try something."
"You can't be alone with him," barks Damon. "He'll attack you and you won't be able to fight him off."
"I want to try something," I tell him, ignoring his order as I head to the back.
Damon curses but Mason murmurs something and no one follows me.
Beckham's sitting on the edge of the bed, his face in his hands when I walk in. He shudders when I get close even though he doesn't lift his face from his hands.
"I'm so tired of this," he groans.
I rub my chest, feeling his pain in my heart like it's my own.
He lifts his face and stares at me. The dark circles are still pronounced. He looks dejected, like he's lost everything.
"Lay down and let me try something," I order him gently.
"I don't...I don't know if I can control myself if you get any closer. It gets worse every day, this need inside of me. I black out when the bloodlust hits. I'm afraid one day I won't come back. And neither will you."
For some reason I feel confident in this moment. My hands glide up, my power sparking at my fingertips. The gold mist from before emanates out towards Beckham. It's calming, healing...and I'm hopeful it will help him tonight.
"Trust me, baby," I plead with him softly.
He stares at me, conflicted, before he lies down on the bed.
I have no idea what I'm doing, but there's something right about the slow release of power that emanates from my fingertips just then.
Just like in the den of horrors, the gold mist settles over Beckham until he looks like one of the sparkling vampires in that book series everyone was crazy over a few years ago. Although really, that series would have broken so many records if Beckham had been cast as the vampire.
Shaking my head slightly at my inane thoughts I try to clear my head of anything but sending peace and light to Beckham through my power. I carefully make my way to the bed, sliding next to him and trying not to jostle the bed at all.
Beckham's eyes are open and he's staring at me as I reach out and softly brush against his skin.
"What if you can't save me?" he entreats me.
"I'll never stop trying," I vow to him.
His eyes close and his forehead smooths as my magic starts taking effect. I know now that it can't heal him, but at least it can take away some of his pain and constant bloodlust for at least a bit without knocking him out with the tranquilizers Damon's been using on him.
Unbidden, a song comes to my head. The words are in a different language, one I recognize from my dreams and visions. Fairie.
It's one of the first times that my past and present has melded together, and it feels like second nature to open my mouth and sing to him the words that my mind may not know, but my heart knows.
Beckham opens his eyes and gazes at me in awe. While I sing his skin pallor changes from pale silver back to his familiar gold hue. It's as if we step into one of my visions together because for a moment, we're no longer in New York City. For a moment we're both standing under an arch of blooming pink flowers, dressed in white finery, harp music filling the air. For a moment we're exchanging vows that go far beyond till death do us part. For a moment Aiden had never happened and the Queen Mother was nearby, and everything was perfect and the way it could have been.
My last notes fade, and I realize that the words have disappeared from my mind. I couldn't have resang the song no matter how hard I tried to remember them. Beckham's fast asleep, a small smile on his lips as the gold mist gently recedes and floats back to me, none of the same harsh snapback as before.
He's dreaming of that moment under the arch. I just know it.
I know it's dangerous, but I lay down next to him, desperate to follow him back into that lovely dream.
It's nice to pretend sometimes. Even if the dream is impossible.
Chapter 7
My magic's calming effect lasts a day, and then it's back to the nightmare. No matter what we do, how much blood he's given, the bloodlust rages. I try to administer the golden mist a few times more but it ends up acting as more of a straitjacket rather than the healing I intend as he starts to try and attack me to get a hold of my blood.
Today he overpowered both Damon and Mason and he's been missing for hours.
Damon's phone rings. His lips purse when he looks at the screen.
"Hello?" His face goes pale at whatever the person on the other line says. "Thanks. I owe you."
There's silence when he first gets off the phone and he rubs a tired hand down his face.
"That was a sprite who frequents some of the local bars. She found Beckham."
"Which bar?" I ask, feeling relieved as I go to grab my jacket so we can go get him.
Damon doesn't move.
"What are you doing, let's go," I urge him.
"Beckham was found by a body...multiple bodies," Damon says quietly, and my heart sinks.
"Were the police called? Is there anything that can be done?"
Damon just shakes his head.
My insides feel like they'd been shredded.
"Okay," I say slowly. My head feels light-headed like I could faint at any minute. "And Beckham..."
I don't need Damon to confirm it. I already know that Beckham is responsible for the death of whoever those poor souls were.
I take deep breaths, trying to control the panic I’m feeling. It’s terrible, but I am less worried about the guys or girls who are dead...and more worried about how their deaths are going to affect Beckham.
"Mason and I are going to go get him," Damon says as he yells for Mason down the hall.
"I'll go with you," I tell him, wringing my hands.
Damon shakes his head. "Beckham wouldn't want you to."
I open my mouth to object again, but Mason appears, and he's just as determined as Damon is that I stay behind.
I finally give up so that they can go to help Beckham.
The door closes behind them with a loud thud and then the penthouse dissolves into silence.
I stand there staring at the door, like if I don't take my eyes off the door they'll somehow come back faster.
"This is quite the situation," Aiden's voice purrs from behind me.
I swirl around, the gold sparks emanating from me. I hold up my hands, pretending like I actually know how to control the sparks.
"Get out of here," I hiss.
Aiden clucks his tongue as his gaze devours me.
"Beckham's been causing you problems for a long time," he finally comments after he's gotten his fill of staring at me.
"What do you mean?" I ask, my mind straining as usual to remember a past that most of the time feels better left alone.
"This tree holds Fairie," Beckham tells me, a broad grin on his face. "I was going through your mother's journals and she'd written about it. This is where you and your mother got your powers. This is what can defeat Aiden."
I rub at my temples, a headache starting to form with everything Beckham's just told me. "You're saying that I'm Lucifer's lost love and I came to Fairie and then this tree gave me power. Am I understanding all of this right?" I tell him, sounding frustrated.
His happiness dims at my tone. "Don't you see. This is it. He can't do anything knowing that I have this. He had to release you.”
I look at him in burgeoning horror. “So you brought this here assuming that Aiden would never hurt it. If anything happens to this tree then not only will I supposedly die, but so will Fairie."
I press my hands to my stomach, feeling sick.
"I have guards around the tree on all sides. They're the best the kingdom has.” I try to think back if I was ever taught by my mother about a tree. For some reason all I can think of is the legend of Eve and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil...
"And beyond them is your army. We're impenetrable," he tries to assure me.
I want to laugh and cry at the same time. I shake my head manically, wondering how things continue to go so far out of control. I still when I see that one of the roots on the ground is black at the tip.
"Is it supposed to be like that?" I ask, pointing to the mark as the sick feeling inside of me only grows.
Beckham kneels down to look at it and frowns as he touches it softly. "I don't remember that being here before."
"This is how Aiden will get it, by extending the curse to it as well. Wherever you got it from, it was being protected. You have to get it back. You must!"
Beckham stands up and grabs my shoulders. "You're coming with me. I will not lose you again."
"If I go with you, he'll only follow," I whisper hoarsely.
A determined look rises up on his face. "I'll protect you this time. I will not let you fall."
"But would you let Fairie fall then?" I try to reason with him. He may think he knows the evil and madness that resides inside of Aiden. He may think that believing Aiden is Lucifer explains Aiden sufficiently. But until you see it firsthand, you can't comprehend the vileness that lies under Aiden's skin.
"I would burn all the worlds myself if it meant I could keep you safe," Beckham tells me before he slams his mouth on mine and sinks his tongue inside. He feasts on the taste of me, licking, nipping, plundering... He ravages my mouth in a desperate, pleading way that threatens to set my heart on fire along with the rest of my body.
I kiss him back, every bit as frantic and hungry as he is. I cling to his shoulders as I arch against him, feeling like I've been driven to madness. I would swear I can feel his touch under my skin. We're lost to a need too powerful and visceral that time seems to have stopped.
He licks and kisses his way down my skin before coming back up to rest his lips on my left cheek, right by my ear. His breathing is heavy, out of control and I moan desperately, wondering why he stopped.
"I will do anything to protect you," he whispers suddenly. And then I feel a pin prick against my neck and my head immediately begins to feel fuzzy. I stumble and Beckham easily picks me up.
"What did you do?" I gasp in horror, my words already slurred.
"Someday you'll understand," he tells me as he turns and begins to walk away from the tree out into the encampment where I faintly realize the camp is being packed up.
Using the last of my strength, I look back at the tree, disappointment and betrayal thick in my blood and in my heart.
And before the world disappears, I swear I see the black that spells the doom of Fairie spread up the root.
I come to somehow lying in Aiden's arms under a field of blue. Stark fear fills my heart thinking that he's somehow taken me. After China, Lexi had placed a series of charms on me designed to make it harder for Aiden to take me somewhere, but I'd always known that he could break them whenever he wanted to. He'd been playing a game of cat and mouse with me, and I wasn't sure why.
As if he senses my panic he lazily waves his arms and we're back in the penthouse with me snuggled up against him on the massive couch in the living room. But even then, I can't be sure that this is real and we're actually back.
"The problem with your men," he says conversationally, "is that they always think they know better than you. They've literally been the cause of your downfall in every life that they've followed you to."
The idea that you could follow someone to different lives, and that Damon, Beckham, and Mason had done that definitely held my attention.
"Your entire existence would have been changed if they'd just listened to you once," Aiden continues before I can ask any questions. "How does it feel to know that the men you call the loves of your life don't respect you enough to listen to you, even when it means your ruin?"
Cold dread slides down my spine as his words sink into my skin. I know that he's twisting the past. I know that. In every memory that I've seen, they've only been trying to help me.
But like with most things that Aiden says, there's truth to his words.
The penthouse door opens just then, and Aiden makes sure that he stays visible long enough to be seen by Mason and Damon as they drag a blood-smeared Beckham into the room.
"Motherfuck-" Damon seethes and he and Mason drop Beckham to the ground and sprint towards Aiden...right as he disappears, his laughter echoing around the room and lasting eerily long after he's been gone.
Mason runs and grabs me, holding me tightly. The staccato beat of his heart sounds impossibly loud as I lay my head on his chest and let him soak in the comfort that I know he and Damon need.
Aiden's words echo in my head. It's always what they need, a voice insidiously whispers. I clench my eyes closed as I try to push the words away.
Damon trembles next to us and finally pulls me away from Mason, unable to go without touching me.
A groan from Beckham catches my attention and I pull away from Damon with a gasp when I see Beckham. He's not just covered with blood; he's been beaten to a bloody pulp. Looking closer I can see that Damon and Mason are also looking worse for the wear.
"What happened?" I ask as Beckham stumbles towards me and falls to his knees in front of me, burying his head in my stomach as I softly stroke his hair and stare at Damon and Mason worriedly.
"He somehow found a shifter bar, went crazy and ate half the pack before they started to fight back. They called for reinforcements and were in the process of trying to tear him apart by the time we got there. We barely got him out in time, although at this point I'm wondering just how impenetrable he really is," says Damon as he stares partly in awe, partly disgusted at Beckham who is still trembling against my body as I continue to try and calm him.
"They were lion shifters," explains Mason with a shake of his head. "I've never seen anything like it. He decimated that pride. It will take a hundred years for them to build up their numbers again. And lion shifters are fucking strong."
Beckham pulls his head away from me and bares his fangs angrily at Mason and Damon. "Shut up," he roars, his pupils expanding as his tremors turn to full on shakes. "I murdered thirty people today."
He grips my wrists desperately...painfully.
"You have to find a way to put me down. You have to do it. I can't continue like this. Please. Kill me. KILL ME!" he screams at me, his eyes completely blacking out. "Please, please, please."
He begs me over and over again and I can't remember ever feeling this helpless. Tears are streaming down my face as I try to send my golden mist to comfort him. There's no peace inside of me to give him, however, and the golden mist seems to not even make a dent in his overwhelming anguish.
He springs from me, out of his mind and breaks a glass table before any of us can move. He picks up a shard and I scream as he tries to plant it in his chest. Damon catches it so only the tip impales his skin creating another crimson stain to join the others all over his white shirt from his fight.
"Grab the shot," Damon yells as he struggles against a determined Beckham whose single-minded focus is driving that glass shard into his chest.
Mason sprints to get it as I try to push my power towards Beckham again and again, uselessly.
Mason gets back right as Beckham overpowers Damon and thrusts the glass into his chest. Mason hesitates as blood pours from Beckham's chest. He's gorged with all the shifter blood he consumed, and it streams out turning the previously pristine living room into a macabre scene that would turn even the steadiest stomach.
