Savior (15 page)

              You must be asking yourself how one such as me could ever become as you see me now, the simplest answer I can give you is that I did not. As evil as I was, I could not have been so without a spark of good. Shadows do not need dark unless you have seen light, they are just shadows. So too is the nature of evil, for without some good to compliment it, it does not seem so cruel. What you see before you now is that spark of good within that monster, grown into a blazing inferno of white flame. There is much yet to tell, but for now what you should know is my purpose. I am the devoted protector of this world, to see that light is not snuffed out by the darkness My evil still exists, pure except for a small speck of light deep within. Likewise I am pure light excluding my own speck of darkness. As some amount of good makes evil seem all the crueler, the shadow within myself makes the light shine all the brighter. I am destined to a lifetime of struggle, and in short, today was a part of that.”

              He wrapped his arms around her in a deep embrace, trickling a bit of magic into her body to quench her worries. Alyssa would suppress the memory of what was revealed until the day she would be ready to cope with his burden. He felt bad about hiding these thoughts from her, but he dreaded her living in constant dread. Her questions were forgotten and he calmly listened as she began to speak.

              Alyssa moved away from him and slumped wearily to her knees in front of the stone hearth of the fire. Her new stallion grazed outside the window, just barely visible against the setting sun. She sighed and pulled her knees to her chest. “There’s so much to say. I have no idea where to start. The bad stuff is more important right now for you to understand me better though I guess. Everything bad started happening when I was thirteen. I was living with Ruben and I had three very close friends; Tiernan, Damascus, and Sage. I already told you about Tiernan. Damascus was a baby dragon that Ruben had bought when he bought Tiernan and me. Sage was an orphaned child that was about the same age as me. Ruben kept him because he was good at tracking animals and he knew which plants did what; something Ruben desired almost constantly for cures and such.

              “By the time I was thirteen though they were all gone and I was left alone with Ruben. That was how he wanted it, so that my friends couldn’t interfere with his plans anymore. The first time he ever hurt me was the same night he had sent the last of them away. And he continued to hurt me almost every night for years until you came and got me.” She paused and looked up into his pale blue eyes. She was grateful for him. Even if he scared her sometimes, she was still grateful that he had come to get her. “You asked about the scars on my stomach. I didn’t want to tell you what they were then because of the emotions attached to them. The smaller one is where Tiernan accidentally stabbed with his alicorn once. I was running and I startled him. He didn’t move his head out of the way fast enough and I got a tiny chunk of his horn in me. It broke off inside of me and it’s still there. I can still feel it sometimes, just below the surface. I could never have it removed, even though it would be an easy enough task, because it reminds me of him. No matter where he is, or how far apart we are, he’ll always be a part of me. And as his horn broke off in my body some of my blood became a part of him. And so we are always bound together in this way.” Alyssa gulped nervously, “The second one isn’t so easy to explain. When I was sixteen I found out that I was pregnant. At the time, Ruben was the only one that had ever been allowed to touch me. He hadn’t yet begun to have financial troubles which was one of the main reasons he let the others have me.

              “But that isn’t really the point right now. When I told Ruben, he was less than enthusiastic about the prospect of having a child, especially one that was partially angel. So he had it taken care of,” Alyssa’s hand went to her stomach as she spoke, remembering how happy she was to be a mother, even if the child was Ruben’s. “It was better this way though. He would not have been kind to my child, had it lived. I’m half human too, or at least that’s what the woman that raised me until I was six told her husband before she died. She said that an angel came and told her that my father was human and that my mother was an angel. Ruben often held it against me, but I really don’t care anymore. It never bothered me to begin with.” She looked away from him, hoping not to see what she thought would be waiting for her in his eyes. She couldn’t expect him to understand or accept any of it. No one had before. She hadn’t even tried telling anyone all of it before then.

              “There’s something else too Marcus,” she said quietly as her cheeks began to darken. “I’m falling in love with you.”

              Marcus had stared down hordes of dracoliches, fought the lord of evil and almost died several times yet never before had he acquired such a large lump in his throat. He already suspected that she had a child stolen from her, but never before had a person declared love for him. Most lived in fear of him, lived in need of him but never in love of him. Words would not come to his lips, his head swam and he could only sink more deeply into the dim light of the room.

              Her lower lip trembled as the seconds turned into minutes. She hadn’t expected him to return her affection, but the silence was too much to bear. As she continued to stare into the dying flames of the fire, she crossed her arms over her chest. Alyssa wouldn’t meet his gaze. She couldn’t bear to see the rejection in those perfect blue eyes of his. With a certain mix of pain and resolve she turned away from him and started walking toward the door. Alyssa couldn’t tell if she was breathing, but she doubted that she was.

              He quickly approached Alyssa from behind and wrapped his arms around her. Marcus leaned down to whisper softly in her delicate ear. “Alyssa, from the moment I looked into your eyes an emotion overtook me that I have never known. That day Alyssa, that hour, I fell in love with you, but how could an angel possibly love me?”

              He slid his hands down her arms and encircled her slender wrists. His lips went to her neck and kissed her pale skin with gentle tenderness.

              Alyssa opened her mouth to speak. But the words refused to come. She leaned back, her head resting against his neck. She could feel his warm breath on her cheek.

              “Marcus…” she moaned softly, unable to say anything more. She turned toward him, his arms moving to the small of her back. “Marcus…” she whispered again as she looked up into those striking blue eyes of his. Saying his name was more of a plea than anything else. He could see her need for him in her eyes. Alyssa hooked her trembling fingers behind his neck. Her legs were weak and her heart threatened to beat wildly out of control. She closed her eyes and pressed her lips gently against his. His arms held her close, pulling her against him in a warm embrace.

              Alyssa let her lips linger on his. Her fingers wound their way into his hair as she opened her mouth just enough to let a soft moan through. His kiss was soft, gentle, and tender, a far cry from any she had ever been given before. She found a renewed sense of innocence in his arms. She moaned his name, her voice barely more than a whisper.

              Her eyes opened slowly. She smiled at him and rested her head against his broad chest. Alyssa said his name repeatedly, almost as a prayer. Her fingers slid down his muscular arms. Marcus’s heart beat loudly against her cheek.

              Marcus looped his arms under hers and kissed her forehead gently. She tilted her head upwards and peered at him with a pair of sparkling, blue eyes. Marcus pulled her delicate body closer to his and began to massage her back. His hands found the transition between the flesh of her body and the softness of her wings. He ran his fingers though her white feathers and kissed her left temple. He moved his lips a few inches from her ear and whispered, “I love you Alyssa.”

              She smiled to herself, but despite her happiness, her mood was slowly turning darker. She needed to know something before she allowed herself to feel anything more for this man. It had never come up in the past. She had never been allowed to know or care before. “Why did you become quiet earlier when I asked if you were married or had any children? Were you married once?” she asked quietly as she relaxed in the warm glow from the torches around the room. Her better judgment told her to leave the subject alone, but she couldn’t. She had confided in him, and now it was his turn. She needed to know at least one of the many secrets he had been keeping from her.

              Marcus paced back and forth a few times before answering her question. “Yes, a long time ago I was married, her name was Jasmine. I was a subservient of an emperor and I was required to marry in order to gain the trust of the people. I cannot say there was much love in our relationship, but she was a good friend of mine.”

              Marcus sighed slightly and lowered his eyes, “One day, I watched her be murdered by a foul beast. Perhaps we should not have been married, but still, she did not deserve to be killed.” A small tear trickled down his cheek and Marcus became silent.

              Alyssa took a tentative step toward him and brought her hand to the side of his face. She met his eyes briefly before wiping his tear away with her thumb. Her heart was breaking for him, for everyone that she had ever lost, and especially for Sage. “In a way, I envy you. You were at least granted the knowledge of what happened to her,” she whispered softly. Her breath was warm against his cheek as she wrapped her arms around him. “I did not have that luxury.” A soft shudder crept through her body.

              She brought her arms up to his shoulders and rested her cheek against his muscular chest. No words of comfort came to her lips. She doubted that they would have helped anyway. None would ever help to ease her pain.

              There was a flash of light outside the window. At first she brushed it off as nothing, but as she heard the sound of hooves drumming against soft earth she turned to look. In an instant her eyes went wide and her blood ran cold. She bolted out of the cabin, Marcus trailing behind her.

              Blackberry saw the white stallion and trotted toward him, his head held high. Luca lifted his head and nickered. His herd looked to the new stallion, then back to Luca, unsure of what to do. Luca moved quickly through the field, meeting the other stallion halfway. Both their heads were held high, a sign of non-aggression.

              They met in the middle. Luca stood calmly eyeing the stallion. It was his territory after all. He had no reason to be afraid of the intruder. Blackberry on the other hand tossed his head, his mane falling wildly around his face. He snorted nervously and pawed the ground.

              The stallions spoke quietly. Blackberry kept his head submissively low as he listened. He nodded a few times. Alyssa wished that she was closer so that she could hear them. But they had to do this their way.

              After what seemed like a long time Luca trotted up to Marcus and Alyssa, Blackberry close by his side. He stopped in front of Marcus, his large eyes fixed on the black stallion. “He can stay, but he is not part of my herd. If he comes near my herd, he will die,” Luca informed them.

              Alyssa touched her stallion’s shoulder. “Is that okay with you?” she asked him softly.

              He nodded and touched his nose to her forehead, “Yes Alyssa, the white stallion’s decision is a just one.” She ran a hand over his soft cheek. Her gaze went to Luca. Alyssa wanted to thank him for allowing Blackberry to stay, but as she met his eyes the blood drained from her face.

              “Luca… I….”

              He tossed his neck and snorted, “Save your breath. Angels are just as bad as humans at keeping their word.”

              “I’m sorry,” she whispered. He shrugged his big shoulders and turned back to his herd. As he began walking toward them Alyssa took a step closer to him. “Luca, wait,” she pleaded with him. He made no effort to move away from her so she walked alongside him as they went back to his herd.

              “Please, just listen to me Luca…”

              He sighed and shook his head. “I offered you the chance to ride me whenever you wished, and you said no. Then you chose another. What more is there to say?” The pain in his voice was obvious. It was making her heart break.

              “It isn’t that Luca,” Alyssa replied quietly. “You are Marcus’s horse. I’m sorry, but I wanted my own horse for riding sometimes, possibly with Marcus, and with you.”

              The white stallion turned to her, his head held low. “Forgive me, but I will not ride alongside him. I do not trust him. Please be careful, should you choose to ride him someday.”

              “I will. Thank you for being worried.”

              Luca nodded and started walking again. “I will always worry about you little angel, for no other reason than the fact that Marcus cares for you. I too care for you, and so I will worry.” Alyssa smiled at him and waved goodbye.

              Moments later she returned to Marcus’s side and wrapped an arm around his waist. Alyssa turned her gaze to Blackberry as he grazed a few yards away. She nodded to him and he returned her nod with an appreciative snort before continuing to graze.

              Her hand found Marcus’s and she led him toward the forest. They would find solitude there, and perhaps she could even have some of the answers to the questions that swarmed through her mind.