Men of Anderas II: Dak the Protector (31 page)

“Come for me.”

* * * *

The children played in the corner of the
great hall, unaware of the tension in the adults. When Dak didn't
show for the midday meal everyone knew he was at the grave upon the
hill. He spent most of his time there. But now the sun had set and
still he hadn't returned.

“Grandma,” asked a small voice beside
Melodie's chair, “why did Grandpa take all the men away?”

Lifting the young boy onto her lap, she
smoothed an errant lock of hair back from his face. “They went to
find Uncle Dak so he wouldn't be late for his dinner.” Giving him a
quick hug, she tried to keep her concern from the perceptive
four-year old.

“He's prob-ly up on the hill.”

“I know, sweetheart. Grandpa just went to
make certain he doesn't get lost in the dark.”

“Oh.” With the simple understanding of
innocent youth, he was satisfied with her answer and scrambled down
to play with his cousins.

“You think something has happened to Uncle
Dak don't you, Mother?”

Melodie nodded in answer to the whispered
question of Elizabeth, her oldest daughter. A commotion at the
entrance to the room prevented any further speculation. JarDan and
Kord walked stiffly into the room and headed straight for them.

“JarDan?” Melodie asked as he reached for
her hand.

“I will explain in a moment.” Looking at the
other women gathered around his mate, JarDan swallowed hard.
“Perhaps you should send the children to the nursery for a
while.”

Grateful for the goblet of dark Anderan wine
that Talon handed to him, JarDan watched while his grandchildren as
well as Dak's were efficiently dispatched to the care of the
nursery staff. Scarcely was the last tot out of sight up the tower
stairs when the door burst open. In stunned horror, the waiting
women watched as Dak's body was carried into the great hall.

“What happened? Lay him here on the rug by
the fire. Someone send for the doctor ….”

“Melodie.” JarDan pulled her into his
embrace to still her frantic movements, “Dak’s dead.”

“How? Why? I don't understand, JarDan.”
Melodie cried into her husband's chest.

“Aunt Mel, please don't cry. Father wasn't
ill or injured--he did this himself.”

Melodie stared at Dak's son, Cordell in
shock. “Suicide?”

“No,” he quickly assured her, “at least not
in the sense you mean. Come, sit down and I’ll try to explain.”

Melodie clutched her husband's arm. As
painful as Dak's death was to her, JarDan must be devastated. The
two were raised as brothers. She studied his features, noticing the
grey pallor to his normally swarthy complexion and the tight white
lines around his mouth. As king, his first responsibility was to
the others. His grief would come later, when they were alone in
their room.

Balancing on the edge of her chair with
JarDan perched on the arm, she watched as the couples paired off.
Dak and Kierin’s son, and three daughters, and their mates. Her own
three sons, and two daughters, and their mates. Each holding the
other half of their hearts, sharing the pain of losing a loved one.
When had they all grown up? It seemed like only yesterday they were
running the staff in circles with their endless pranks and games.
So much laughter, so much love, and now so much sadness.

“On the night Mother died,” Cordell spoke
softly, “she gave Father the amulet he wore around his neck.” He
reached and removed the shattered remains from his father's hand,
staring at the shimmering fragments before passing a portion to
each of his sisters. “He loved my mother more than anything or
anyone else in the universe. She was his reason for existing. Our
first fairytales were about them--the good times and the bad. She
used to laugh and tell us that he could not have loved her so
deeply if he had not fought her so fiercely. What they shared was
so special that all of our hopes and dreams for our adult lives
grew from the love they lived.”

Cordell shared a bittersweet look with his
sisters before continuing. Although they shared the dark good looks
of their father, they all had eyes the same pale aqua as their
mother--and each with the power of a crystal witch.

“Because of Mother's healing crystals, her
illness was undetected for a long time. By the time Father realized
she was sick, it was too late. There wasn't time to reach Anderas.
He raged and cursed the ancient laws that forbade his bonding with
an alien. He believed that if we had been here, the Medi-Center
could have prevented her death. We didn't know until a year after
she died that Uncle JarDan was successful in having the old laws
abolished.

“Mother made him promise to find a way to
bring us to Falcon Tor. She knew how difficult it would be for him
to raise four children alone. He refused--wanted nothing to do with
a world that would not accept her--or us. If she couldn't go with
him then he wouldn't go at all. So, she found a way to come with
him.

“She had the girls bring her different
crystals until she found the one she needed. I called on the power
of the outlawed crystal, channeling its energy into a vessel for
her life force.

“She placed the amulet around Father's neck
and promised him that when he fulfilled his vow to her and was
ready to join her she would come for him. All he had to do was
destroy the crystal. When word finally reached us of the new laws,
Father exhumed her body and buried her again atop the hill amid his
happy memories.”

Melodie was aware of the soft weeping of her
family. Even JarDan was moved by the tale of his friend's love. The
only dry eyes in the room belonged to the children of Beldon Dak.
There was deep sadness there, but also the profound knowledge that
the magical love their parents shared--that brought life to each of
them--would endure throughout eternity.

“We'll prepare his body and bury him beside
her tomorrow.”

As Melodie's sons helped carry the body to
the chapel, Cordell stopped beside the chair she shared with
JarDan.

“Don't grieve for him, Uncle JarDan” he
whispered. “He’s where his heart has always been.”

The End

Praise for
THE MEN OF
ANDERAS: JarDan, The King

JarDan
by
C.J.
Johnson
was a fabulous read.  One hundred
seventy-six pages that I couldn’t put away.  I loved how
Anderas paralleled Earth in so many ways, but then is so
different.  They dress like people of the middle ages, but
have far more advanced capabilities, such as space travel and a
stone comb that dries your hair. 
JarDan
has to spend most of
the story convincing Melodie of her worth, and of his undying,
faithful love.  For a woman who has never known love and
compassion, this is a very difficult time for her.  Just when
she comes to realize that he truly does love her, she is taken from
him by the evil Morandoni.  Morandoni hates
JarDan
and his father and
will stop at nothing to destroy them. 
C.J. Johnson
spins a wonderful tale of
deceit, suspense, hope and love, all in one with
JarDan
.  I cannot wait
to read more of
Ms.
Johnson’s
upcoming works, and sincerely hope she
continues with the Anderas characters. (4 1/2 lips)
www.twolipsreviews.com

Entertaining and inventive, The Men of
Anderas: JarDan, the King allows both erotic encounters and tender
moments to showcase the main characters.  Melodie is
rightfully furious while JarDan is unbelievably patient and
loving.  There are a few surprises, but for the most part
everything follows on a nicely written predicable path. 
JarDan, the King isn’t original; however it is a fun
adventure.  Plus, Dak is something of an enigma. I admit to
being curious about his future!

www.JoyfullyReviewed.com

Cheryl Johnson and her work are destined to
be popular. Cheryl writes with such emotional punch, she can
crumple the strongest of hearts. If she can reduce our editors and
proof readers to tears every time what will she do to our
readers?

Julie Bauer, Publisher/Editor, JB Books,
Australia

“What a story! Couldn’t and didn’t put it
down.”

Alison Hart, aka Jennifer Green