Surrender (THE DRAGONFLY CHRONICLES) (40 page)

The boy’s lips thinned. “I told her not to touch me.”

“What are you?” Kailin asked, but the boy just stared at Emma, a look of horror on his angular face.

“Kailin,” Jackson said. “Bring it to me.”

“I am sorry, Kailin,” the strange boy whispered, but she couldn’t think of anything but the wooden box where Jackson kept the Orb of Life nestled in soft lamb’s wool. She funneled her magic to flip open the lid and pluck the large stone from its spot. It raced toward them through the air, across the open prairie, under the azure sky toward the only one who could wield its power.

“Give her to me,” Kailin said but Jackson set her on the blanket that Kailin whipped toward them through the grass. She knelt next to her first born, touching her face, listening to her frantically racing heart. “What’s wrong with her?” she demanded.

“I told her not to touch me,” the boy repeated. He took one step to the side as the orb flew past him, missing him by inches. Could he sense it?

“What’s wrong with her?” Kailin insisted, shouting each word.

“I’m like poison to little kids,” he said. His eyes shifted to the orb as Jackson held it above Emma’s small chest. “Adults…are affected differently.”

Jackson’s eyes closed. Kailin could feel the magic energy flowing out of the orb as he used it to seek out injury in their small daughter. “Treat it like rattlesnake poison,” Kailin said. “Can the orb suck it out of her?”

“Damn, it’s thick, dark,” Jackson mumbled.

The boy cringed, his dark blue eyes hard and staring.

Kailin’s magic surged in her. Fury, as vast as the sea of prairie around them, filled her, boiling to the surface. The boy would pay! Her gaze moved back to him as her magic sharpened into a dagger. He looked…tortured, pained, his face contorted into an agony that resembled guilt.

“Go ahead,” he said, his eyes locked with hers. “Do it.”

“Mama?”

Kailin turned and kneeled down before Emma. Her little girl blinked. “What happened?”

Kailin’s eyes met Jackson’s. Sweat glistened on his forehead.

“It’s out of her?” she asked.

He nodded and Kailin felt the weight of relief along every muscle in her body. She collapsed next to Emma, hauling her light frame up into her arms. “Oh God, thank you,” she breathed into Emma’s sweet-smelling hair.

“Who the bloody hell are you?” Jackson asked. “Why did you come here?”

“I…,” the boy started, but paused as Tenebris loped over the prairie, Tuto swooping overhead as if pinpointing their small group in the tall grasses. The large wolf ran to the boy, his sensitive nose in the air. He stopped and stared directly into the boy’s face.

“Tenebris,” Kailin called, but the boy didn’t back away. How odd. How brave.

Tenebris dropped his rump to the ground into a sit and pointed his nose high. With a huge gulp of air, he let loose a howl, building, building until it was so loud that Emma plugged her ears with her little fingers.

The boy didn’t flinch. His gaze moved to Kailin’s. Tenebris lowered his belly to the ground as his howl ran out. “He knows me,” the boy said as if the wolf had introduced himself. “But I don’t know him.” He tilted his head as if examining the animal. “It seems I should.”

“Tenebris,” Emma called and patted her leg, but the wolf stayed in front of the boy.

“Who are you?” Kailin asked, hugging her daughter closer, but a part of her already knew. The breeze across the prairie grass started the ripple of goose bumps along her arms. The chill ran to her chest and up her back to her nape. “Are you…?”

“I too am child of Druce.” His too-long hair flopped over one eye as he glanced back down at Tenebris. “I just wanted to meet you, daughter of Druce.”

Kailin’s breath hitched and she readied her magic again. “Emma, run home now. Directly to Aunt Cassy. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Mama.” With one last wary glance at the boy, she sprinted through the cornflowers, as healthy as she was before meeting him.

Kailin stood beside, but not touching, Jackson.

“You’re my brother,” she said. “I thought…the demons, I thought they killed you.”

A small smile played along the boy’s lips. “I remember you,” the boy said. “You tried to save me.”

She shook her head. “You were just an infant.”

His smile broadened. “I remember.” He nodded.

“Where have you been? That was over ten years ago.” Jackson asked, and the boy’s eyes shifted to him, his smile faltering.

“It was over nine hundred years ago,” he said. “You have strong emotions for my sister.”

“Yes I do,” Jackson replied without skipping a beat. “Let’s start with your name then,” Jackson said.

The wind that flowed constantly across Missouri Territory stepped up a notch. The boy’s head whipped around to stare off to the west. Dark clouds gathered there, pinching downward into a tornado. Tenebris sat up, his hackles bunching. A low growl came from his rolled-back lips.

“
Cac
.” Kailin said Drakkina’s favorite curse. “Demons.”

“The orb drew them,” the boy said. “But they’ll follow me.”

“Wait. Where are you going?” Kailin asked.

The boy bowed slightly. “I am Drustan.”

“Son of Druce, son of wisdom, son of magic,” Kailin translated.

Her brother looked to Tenebris. “Come.”

“Tenebris?” Kailin said, her stomach clenching.

“He was meant for me,” Drustan said.

“But he’s been with us—”

“I am alone in this world,” her brother said, “except for them.” He indicated the dark billowing clouds. “I can touch no one.” His eyes strayed in the direction Emma had run.

The wind gusted, yanking Kailin’s hair. She dragged it out of her eyes and bent to the ground as the large wolf ran over and licked her cheek. She hugged him tight and Jackson ran his hand down their pet’s back.

“Kailin, we need to go,” Jackson said tightly.

“Take care of her,” the boy said to Jackson. “Come, Tenebris.” The wolf leapt up at the summons.

“Will you be safe? Will I see you again?” Kailin asked.

The boy turned and laid his hand on the wolf’s head. Their bodies blurred as they raced toward the unnatural storm. His voice echoed in Kailin’s mind.
Yes, you will see me at the end of the world. Goodbye, sister.

A word about the author...

Heather McCollum is an award-winning historical paranormal romance writer. She earned her B.A. in Biology from the University of Maine, much to her English professor's dismay. She is a member of Romance Writers of America and was a 2009 Golden Heart Finalist. Ms. McCollum has four full-length historical romances released in electronic and digital formats.

When she is not busy writing and answering calls of “Mom,” she can be found educating women about ovarian cancer. She is a teal warrior herself and just finished slaying the ovarian cancer beast.

She currently resides with her very own Highland hero and three spirited children in the wilds of suburbia on the mid-Atlantic coast.

More information about Ms. McCollum and her books can be found at:

www.HeatherMcCollum.com

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