Gathering Storm (29 page)

“Even after all these years, she still tastes like the warmth of summer” Belial’s voice rang throughout the room as he left the woman laying quietly on the love seat. “She is one I have yet to tire of, now I see why, she has the blood of them within her”

Belial snapped his fingers releasing Marcus. Landing on the cool floor, Marcus took in the sleeping woman, longing and guilt intertwined within him. He had given her to Belial to hide Shawn from him, but it had only saved his son a short amount of years of freedom. Now that Belial was aware of Shawn, he would be summoned and put into service of Belial.

“I have an idea, my yes, an excellent idea” Belial mumbled as he paced across the room. Marcus tore his eyes away from the sleeping woman to look at Belial.

“And that idea is?” Marcus asked through clenched teeth

“Never you mind my friend” Belial replied absently “Go back to Ash, watch him and that girl, I have a few more thoughts to align”

“As you wish”

“I’ll find you when I’m ready” Belial responded before snapping his fingers sending Marcus back into the wilds.

Blinking rapidly, Marcus felt the coolness of the woods embracing him. The darkness rushed through him, calming his chaos. He felt the little pricks of bites beginning on his neck, felt the rush of ecstasy, shuddering he laid down onto the moss covered ground letting himself get lost in the wilds. He needed time to think of a way to keep his son from Belial’s hands.

Sunlight seeped into the tiny room, basking Siobhan in warmth, she turned her face towards its warmness. Keeping her eyes closed, she willed herself to go back to sleep. She wanted to curl back into the dream of her grandparent’s farm. She wanted to hear her grandfather’s deep laugh, she longed to feel his strong arms around her in a tight bear hug.

“Siobhan” Jason whispered “Come on sweetheart, its morning.”

“I know” Siobhan turned away from the morning sun to gaze at Jason

“We need to get up and head downstairs. Claire said she would tell us everything in the morning”

“No, she said she would try to help us, but wasn’t sure that she was capable” Siobhan whispered

“Well, she is the closest thing we have to getting answers to our questions. She is also the only one who seems to think she can even stop this crazy bullshit”

Tossing back the cover’s Jason sat up turning his back to Siobhan. She watched as he rose from the bed, walking over to their suitcases. Pulling a shirt out, he pulled the rumpled one off exposing his back to Siobhan. A gasp fell from Siobhan’s lips as she took in the scratches across his back.

“Oh my god, Jason, what happened to your back?”

“What are you talking about Siobhan” Jason replied as he turned to look at Siobhan

“You have scratches all over your back”

Siobhan watched as a blush slowly crept across Jason’s cheeks. He dropped his gaze from Siobhan to the floor.

“I have no idea what you are talking about” he replied tersely

“Good morning my pretties” Sarah sang as she threw open the bedroom door walking in with a steaming cup of coffee. “I swear, trying to get coffee in this house will be the death of me. Did you know Shawn has to sneak the instant stuff into the house. How crazy is that?”

Taking a sip from her cup, Sarah took in the tension vibrating between her two friends. Clearing her throat, she walked over and sat down on the bed next to Siobhan.

“Hey Becky, what seems to be the problem here?”

“Ask Jason”

“Okay” Turning, Sarah gazed at Jason “So Jason, what seems to be the problem here?”

“Nothing”

“Oh sweet Mary and Joseph!” Sarah exclaimed rolling her eyes “Are you two in another damn lover’s spat? What happened to let love rule and all that crazy shit?”

“Look at his back Sarah” Siobhan said as she climbed over Sarah to get out of bed

“Why do I want to look at his back?”

“Just do it”

“Wow, cranky much” Sarah responded

“Dammit there is nothing wrong with my freaking back!” Jason bit back angrily

“Then just turn around and show it to Sarah” Siobhan responded hotly

“Oh hell, Jason just show me you’re back so we can move on”

Turning, Jason exposed his back to Sarah.

“Mmm… it is a rather sexy back” Sarah replied breathlessly

“Sarah what do you see?” Siobhan asked softly

“Some sexy back muscles, a nice little tan line where his jeans are riding low. Why what am I supposed to see?” Sarah asked

“You don’t scratches all each side of his back?”

“No” Sarah replied eyes widening “His back is fine”

“Told you” Jason snorted

“So wait, Siobhan you see scratches on his back, where as I only see smooth skin?” Sarah asked, her voice rising slightly

“Yes”

“Shawn!” Sarah bellowed “Shawn, get your ass up here now!”

They heard the stomping of Shawn’s feet as he raced up the stairs, he flew into the room stopping shortly as he almost collided with Siobhan.

“What’s going on?” Shawn asked breathlessly

“Take a look at Jason’s back, please and tell me what you see.” Sarah asked

“Oh this is just ridiculous” Jason smarted

“Oh shut up and turn around and show Shawn your back” Sarah snapped

Sighing loudly, Jason turned his back to Shawn.

“Bloody hell those scratches look awful!” Shawn exclaimed

“You see them?” Siobhan asked

“Well yeah…why?” Shawn asked eyebrows rose

“What the hell, I don’t see anything when I look at Jason’s back!” Sarah countered

“Wait…you don’t see them, but Siobhan and I do?”

“Pretty much” Sarah responded as she rose from the bed and walked over to slip her hand into Shawn’s

“Welcome to freaky town…you come to Ireland and your world goes berserk!” Sarah challenged

“We have to show this to gran immediately” Shawn mustered as he pulled Sarah out of the room. “Hurry up and come down”

“We’ll be down in a few minutes” Jason murmured

Nodding, Shawn closed the door, Jason and Siobhan stood in the room staring at each other. They could hear Sarah talking to Shawn as they walked downstairs. Shaking her head Siobhan, grabbed her suitcase pulling out her make up bag. She didn’t a word as she opened the door and wandered down the hall to the bathroom. Closing the door, she grabbed her tooth brush and started getting ready.

Brushing her hair into a messing bun on top of head, she took in the dark circles under her eyes, the paleness of her face. She was a hot mess, laughter bubbled up as she thought of the fit her mother would have if she could see how disheveled her daughter was right now. Grabbing concealer, she quickly dabbed a little under her eyes, applied a little blush to her cheeks.

“Well, that’s about as good as it is going to get” Siobhan said to her reflection. She went back into the bedroom, to find it empty. She could hear Jason talking to Shawn’s grandmother downstairs. Quickly she undressed, tossing the old clothes into her garment bag, she hastily put on a fresh pair of jeans. Catching herself before she stumbled into the bed as she pulled the jeans up. She pulled her favorite black camisole over her head, followed by a oatmeal crocheted sweater. The peplum hem hung lower in the back leaving the ruffled front open.

The smells of eggs and toasted encircled Siobhan as she made her way down the stairs, as she got closer to the kitchen her stomach grumbled loudly.

“Sounds like someone is hungry this morning” Claire said to Siobhan as she met her at the bottom of the steps “Come on, I even let Shawn make coffee, as apparently that is what you young ones prefer to drink”

“Good Morning, Claire, it smells wonderful and thank you for the coffee” Siobhan smiled as they walked into the kitchen.

Jason was sitting at the table shoveling in scrambled eggs with abandon, while Sarah lightly munched on toast. Shawn was leaning against the counter, sipping a steaming cup of coffee, his eyes met Siobhan’s as she walked towards him.

“Morning Siobhan”

“Morning Shawn”

Siobhan reached around him, pulling a cup down and pouring the hot water from the kettle into her cup. Shawn reached over picking up the instant coffee and opened it for her.

“Spoons are in the drawer on your left” Shawn said quietly as he handed the open jar to Siobhan

“Thanks”

“Do you take milk or sugar?”

“Yes, both please”

Shawn put his cup down before walking over the little fridge in the corner, pulling out the milk, he grabbed the sugar canister and placed them silently in front of Siobhan. Stirring the cream and sugar, Siobhan kept her back to everyone, taking the few minutes to clear her mind.

“Grab some eggs Siobhan, they are freaking awesome!” Jason muffled out between bites

“I forgot how much young ones eat” Claire chuckled as she handed Siobhan a plate with some eggs and toast “Shawn I will need you to go to the store later”

“Sure, Gran” Shawn replied

Taking the plate Claire offered, Siobhan sat next to Sarah and pushed the food around her plate.

“Eat, I heard your stomach, you need your strength” Claire squeezed Siobhan’s shoulder

Siobhan lifted a forkful into her mouth, chewing quickly, she swallowed feeling her throat tightening. Coughing, she grabbed her coffee and swallowed a mouthful. She felt the burn of the scorching coffee burning her throat as it went down.

“Christ Siobhan are you alright?” Sarah asked as she smacked Siobhan on the back

“I couldn’t get the food down” Siobhan choked out between coughs

“That’s not good” Shawn said softly

“What’s not good?” Sarah asked

“His hold on her is growing stronger” Claire responded calmly

“Oh hell here we go with that damn magick crap” Jason huffed, pushing his plate away from him “I just lost my appetite”

“It’s not crap; you especially need to pay attention to this. Gran look at Jason’s back” Shawn muttered

“Oh god there is NOTHING wrong with my back” Jason brashly called out

Claire walked over to where Jason was sitting and pulled up his shirt. Her eyes widened as she took in the scratches down his back. The angry redness of each mark standing out against his tan skin, softly laying her hand onto his back, her head snapped up, eyes unblinking she was lost to the images flashing through her mind.

“Don’t touch her” Shawn bellowed

Snapping her hand back as it had been slapped; Sarah whipped her head to where Shawn was standing with a scowl.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to be harsh” Shawn said gently “She is taking the journey, you must not disturb her until it’s done.”

“Journey?” Jason called out “Dude get your grandmother off me”

“I can’t, it has to finish”

A low moan escaped Claire just before she blinked, dropped her hand from Jason’s back and stumbled back. Shawn quickly stepped up to catch her.

“Easy Gran”

“Get my bag Shawn” Claire’s voice hoarsely whispered

“I will Gran, just sit down for a minute please” Shawn’s voice strained out

He helped Claire into the chair, before going to grab her bag off the top shelf. He opened the bag, pulling out the herbs he knew she needed. Pouring hot water into a cup, he added them with a splash of honey before handing it to her.

“Thank you” Claire lifted the cup and sipped. Closing her eyes she felt her strength returning.

“Will someone just tell me what the hell just happened” Sarah thundered

“This boy is trapped by a siren” Claire responded evenly

“Ah… what” Jason asked

“A siren, fiery hair, emerald eyes, would you like me to continue?” Claire asked carefully

“Uh…no” Jason huffed

“Moria” Siobhan whispered

“The singer from the bar?” Sarah asked eyebrows raised in shock “We only saw her that one night.”

“Yes and that was enough for her to call him” Claire responded

“I haven’t seen her since that night” Jason quickly said as he glanced imploringly at Siobhan

“Did you kiss her?” Claire asked

“What does that have to do with anything?” Jason retorted coldly

“It has everything to do with it, did you bloody kiss her” Claire asked firmly

Jason dropped his gaze from Siobhan as he nodded. Siobhan gasped loudly into the silent room before pushing up from the chair to run upstairs.

“Sit down child” Claire whispered softly

Looking away from Jason, Siobhan dropped back into her chair, blinking rapidly to keep the tears from falling. Anger, betrayal flooded her senses. Snatching her cup, she drank deeply to keep herself from yelling at Jason. She could feel the heat of anger in her cheeks.