Kindred: Book 1 A Realms of the Otherworld Book (30 page)

“We are all now in agreement that the Tree gained its strength from absorbing the energy that came from a completed spiritual binding, it is after all the beginning of a new life. The possibilities are endless once that binding is complete. Our first order of business is to put word out to all the Realm that moving forward I will be residing over binding ceremonies once a week in the sacred meadow. If couples want my blessing, kindred or not, then they will come to the meadow to be blessed.” Clíodhna says to the group. “We also agree with Ashlinn that because the Tree of Life has been starved for so long that is why our people are no longer finding their kindred. She lost the ability some time ago to pair our people up. We believe that these two couples before you are the very last couples that have been granted the blessing of the kindred bond from the Tree of Life.”

I feel Ashlinn thru our bond as her soul weeps. “Mo grá,” I say and pull her into my embrace. “We will fix this for all of Faerie and for all of the Realms.”

“This affects us all. The Tree of Life affected the Mortal Realm as well. It would explain the rise in divorce in the last twenty to thirty years. This is huge. We need to know more about the prophecy.” She says.

I look around the room before I ask, “Do we have a written copy of the prophecy to review and examine?”

Nemus steps forward and unrolls a scroll. “This is the oldest known copy of the prophecy that I know about. He says as he lays it upon the table.

We all look at one another before we gather around the table to hear Nemus recount the little known prophecy.

The Prophecy

There will come a time when the Tree of Life will fail to thrive,

Others will seek to harness its majic to gain power to all the Realms in her time of weakness.

This will be a dark time for Realms of the living and all will be lost if the Tree succumbs to dark majic.

A savior will be brought to light, one hidden in the Mortal Realm,

Young and estranged of this world and ignorant of our ways.

She will be the key, strong and full of light, pure of heart, of goddess and noble birth.

Only she with her true mate will be able to overthrow the evil that threatens the Realms

And restore the balance to the cycle of life but only through great sacrifice.

Together they must find the Four Jewels of the Tuatha Dé Danann

With the help of a lost treasure to the Druids, to fight the evil that plagues the Realms.

The savior must not fall to the hands of a mate forged of unnatural and dark majic.

Lest darkness will descend on all the Realms.

Everyone is quiet as Nemus delivers the prophecy to our group. Danu stands and walks to the terrace doors her back to us. Ashlinn says worriedly thru our bond,
“The blood contract.”

I pull her to me and whisper, “We will get to the bottom of all of this.” Slowly everyone begins talking amongst themselves.

“I for one do not recall ever learning of the prophecy. I was only told that The Morrígan would see Ashlinn as a threat and that she may or may not be the one that was destined to over throw her reign. Nemus, do you know of its origins?” I ask.

“I asked one of the elders when I was searching for this scroll if he knew of the origin and he says that it has been unknown for as long as he can remember.” Nemus replies.

“Well then, that doesn’t help. Okay, what do we know? So far, some of this prophecy has come to pass. The Tree is failing to thrive. The Morrigan has placed a curse on the Tree. I’m assuming she has used dark majic to do so and she intends to gain power over all the Realms. The savior we all believe to be Ashlinn and I am her true mate. We have no idea what a great sacrifice will be. Then there are the Four Jewels of the Tuatha Dé Danann, three of which have been lost to Faerie for eons. I have no idea what a lost treasure to the druids would be so I will have to defer to Nemus on that one. Lastly, there is the “mate forged of unnatural and dark majic” issue which would be the blood contract that Danu entered into with Tarron. I know that I have an intimately personal stake in this but we need to know more about the blood contract and how they work and if the contract can be broken. I feel like that is our most pressing issue at this time.” I say to the group before me.

About that time I hear my mother’s enraged voice, “Danu! What did you do?” She demands. She is furious as my father tries to calm her to no avail. “Tell me that you did not make a deal with the devil. Because that’s what it sounds like. How could you?” I had forgotten that there were so many things that my parents had yet to learn. The blood contract was one of them. As agitated as my mother is I can only focus on my mate as she pulls away from me to go to her mother.

Danu has not moved from the spot in front of the terrace doors. Her head is bowed and her shoulders shake ever so slightly. As Ashlinn comes up behind her she places a hand on her mother’s shoulder and I hear her say very softly, “I forgive you mother.” All eyes turn to them as Ashlinn says again, “I forgive you.” Her voice trembles with unshed tears as Danu turns to her daughter her face damp with tears of regret as Ashlinn opens her arms to take her mother into a hug.

Danu clings to her daughter and says, “I am so very sorry. I was unaware of the last lines of the prophecy. How can you possibly forgive me? What I have done is unforgivable.”

“Mother what’s done is done. I know now that you would never intentionally do anything to cause me harm. I can feel your regret and anguish over what you have done and it threatens to overwhelm me. Please accept my forgiveness.” Ashlinn says pulling back and at her words I open our bond and sure enough the emotion that Danu houses somehow Ashlinn is able to feel and it is staggering, I push my strength and love back thru our bond hoping that helps to center Ashlinn. Ashlinn reaches up and kisses her mother’s cheek. “Come we have work to do. We have to figure a way out of this blood contract. There has to be a loop hole or something that we can work with.” Arm in arm they make their way back to the table.

My parents are talking quietly to themselves as Ashlinn and Danu arrive back at the center of the room with the rest of the group. My mother looks at me and then back at Ashlinn and Danu, she is clearly upset by what she has learned. “Danu, sister, how could you? Did you not think that these two would be up against enough?”

“Mother, Father, the events that took place leading up to the blood contract took place prior to Ashlinn’s birth. Danu was not aware that we were kindred. At the time, she sought only to gain an ally within The Morrígan’s camp. Like Ash has said, what’s done is done.” I say resolutely wanting to move forward.

Ashlinn speaks up, “The prophecy foretold of this as a possibility. Therefore, I believe that it would have happened regardless as to who or how. It was and inevitability. The blood contract is at play and we need to find a way around it. Before we dive into that as a problem, Nemus, do you have any thoughts on a lost treasure to the druids? Because I kind of think I know what it may be referring to or rather who.”

Nemus takes a moment before answering Ashlinn’s question with a question, “You think the lost treasure is Alexia, don’t you?”

“Yes, but I want to know what you think and if you can validate my thoughts on the matter.” She says.

Lexie speaks up, “Why would I be a lost treasure?”

Before Nemus can answer Jasmine pipes up flittering around the table adding her two cents in, “Because Lexie, there hasn’t been a female druid in a very long time. Just because we have male druids doesn’t mean that their offspring automatically are classified as druid and on top of that there hasn’t been a female offspring in forever. If you are who Nemus and Ashlinn seem to think you are, you would be a lost treasure.”

“But how is it even possible that you would consider me to be of druid descent if what you are saying is true?” Lexie asks.

Nemus considers his words carefully before continuing, “Druids as a whole have been cursed to only have the guidance of a female druid in times of great need. In that, we are likened to the monks and monasteries of the Mortal Realm. During these times a single female druid will appear to us to guide us and is revered by the druids as Mother to us all. It is a great responsibility and honor, if you are who I think you to be.”

“Whoa. I’m not sure what to say. How would any of the druids look to me for guidance, you have elders. I’m too young to be look upon as “Mother”.” Lexie protests.

Ashlinn and Jasmine let out these unlady like barks of laughter as Ashlinn says, “Well doesn’t that just put the icing on the cake. Mom had to of known. I think she was keeping secrets from us. You Lex, Mother Druid and me savior to the Realms? All kidding aside, this is not a coincidence not one little bit. This war that’s coming is going to require that we have absolute faith in one another. Who better than two young women brought up as sisters?”

“But Ash… I don’t even know what to say. Whoa… Declan are you okay with this?” Lexie turns to her kindred, concern in her eyes.

“Yes, I have made my peace with what is to come.” Declan says as he smiles at his mate.

“So when are you going to perform the incantation to determine if we are correct in our assumption?” Ashlinn asks.

“Well I was speaking with Danu a little earlier and we decided that this evening would work just fine. There is a full moon tonight and we can draw on the energy of the moon to help. We are not only going to perform a rite for Alexia but we are also going to perform a rite for you as well Ashlinn. You should be showing signs of your majic by now. Since the only signs we have seen thus far is your ability to astral project and your ability to shift, we think the enchantment put on your majic to keep it hidden may still be weakly binding your majic. So after the ceremony we will have two additional rites. Are you both agreeable to that?” Nemus asks.

“Yes.” Both women say in unison. “So it will be.” There is general talking amongst the group before Ashlinn turns to Garrick who has been extremely quiet taking it all in. Ashlinn address the young man, “Garrick, what do you say now?”

The uncertainty is gone replaced by grim determination. “My lady, I will gladly swear my fealty to you and your quest. I’m sure that there would be others to join your cause. I’m just not sure how to get the word out as to what is really going on with The Morrígan and what will happen to all the Realms if she succeeds. I have no family, no ties to keep me from defecting to your camp.” With that Garrick stands and moves to approach Ashlinn as Lorcan and Ferg firmly step up to block his way. They look to Ashlinn for guidance and with a brief shake of her head the two stand down and allow Garrick to pass. When he gets to be about five steps from us Garrick drops to his left knee and places his right fist over his chest and bows his head, pledging his fealty.

Ashlinn then takes a step forward laying a hand on his shoulder and asks, “Garrick you have no one that would miss you?”

His reply is quick, “No, my lady.”

Ashlinn gives me a quick look and I shrug. This is her deal. We both know that if it were up to me he would still be in the dungeon. I nod for her to continue. I can feel when her decision is made and she speaks up, “Garrick, please join us at the table here. I would like to hear more about you and your service to the Fomorians and their queen. First, how is it that you have no one waiting for you? Help us to understand.” Ashlinn looks around the room to make sure that everyone understands that she wants no interruptions.

Jasmine comes to sit before Ashlinn and Garrick and says, “I’ve heard tales. Is it true that The Morrígan takes children from their homes and places them in her own personal training facility to train to become her warriors? That she kind of brain washes the lot of you?”

I speak up at this point, “Jasmine, I’m sure that those are just tales to frighten our children into behaving and staying away from strangers.” I say looking at the Fomorian before me to gage his reaction.

Then Garrick looks around the table before speaking, his head held high. “I have no memory of anything before my induction into The Morrígan’s warrior in training prep school. I know that I had never fought a day in my life because in the beginning I was really terrible. My days were filled with training and nights were filled with unsettling dreams. I was told that I was eight years old at the time of my induction. Not once were we treated with kindness even if we sustained an injury that took us to the infirmary. We were treated with indifference and told that if we wanted to make it to the elite training corps we had to toughen up. Four years later, I guess their training worked because I did make it into the elite training corps at the age of twelve. None of the children that I trained with in prep school had any recollection of their past or how they came to be there. After a time and constant reconditioning we all eventually stopped wondering about where we came from and focused more on moving forward and gaining the respect of The Morrígan and her warrior elite. After all, she made sure that we knew that she was responsible for feeding us and housing us. She saw promise in each and every one of us. We were repeatedly conditioned to these facts over and over again until they became truth. I trained hard because I wanted to prove myself to my queen and when it came time for me to graduate into the ranks, I was a skilled warrior. I would have done anything that was asked of me from my squad leader without question because we lived to serve our queen.” Garrick pauses and everyone is riveted into place as his story unfolds, I squeeze Ashlinn’s hand as I know she is on the verge of tears for this young man who has been stripped of his identity. Garrick continues, “I… Well… I don’t remember ever having seen an act of true kindness. Not that I can clearly remember. That day that you came into the dungeons after my team’s attempt on your life, you showed us kindness. A kindness that I did not deserve because if we had succeeded either you or your mate would be dead now, but somehow you were able to rise above what we did. You were like a beacon of light in the darkness that I have been drowning in since they broke me at the age of eight. Your actions took me back to the day I woke up asking for my mother. A mother that I could not remember clearly in my mind but in my heart I knew that she had had a presence in my life. Your actions here today have just reinforced that feeling that you awoke inside of me, telling me that I was on the wrong side of the coming battle. I have to believe that not all of us lost children are to remain lost forever. What they are doing is wrong! She must be stopped. I know that now, my lady. If not for your kindness I would still be lost.”