Stolen Heart
Stolen Heart
By Sawyer Bennett
All Rights Reserved.
Copyright © 2013 by Sawyer Bennett
Published by Big Dog Publishing
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
No part of this book can be reproduced in any form or by electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without the express written permission of the author. The only exception is by a reviewer who may quote short excerpts in a review.
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Dedication
For Shawn...
AltVeritas of Vyronas - Kestevayne
Kieran Dunne awoke right on time, as he did every morning. 6:30a.m. sharp. As a member of the Royal Army of the House of Clairmont, his years of military training couldn’t let him sleep any later. It didn’t matter that he had stayed up until the wee hours of the morning, wrapped in the arms of a beautiful woman.
Speaking of which…Kieran rolled over to his side to look at said beautiful woman. What was her name again? Kayla? Kara? He knew it started with a “K” but past that, it just wasn’t coming to him. She lay on her stomach, with the sheets pulled up to her hips. Her slender back was peeking out from the long layers of golden hair flowing down to her rear.
A smile came to his face. Perhaps a little morning fun could be had as well. Reaching out, he stroked his finger down her back. Reaching the sheet, he pulled it down over the gorgeous swells of her ass. Kayla or Kara let out a sleepy sigh.
“Wake up darling”. Best not to let her know I can’t remember her name right now.
He now got an annoyed groan in response and watched as Kayla or Kara reached back and pulled the sheet up over her body. He supposed he should let her sleep. They had gone at it for hours the night before and he had rewarded her with no less than four orgasms. Poor girl had to be exhausted.
Kieran turned over on his back, placing his hands behind his head. Looking up at the ceiling, he mentally calculated the things he had to accomplish today.
Technically, he was on a hiatus from his duties with the Army. What did his brother call it? An extended vacation? Yes, that was it. Kieran had been on extended vacation for the past week. That was the problem being a soldier in a world that was utterly at peace. The Army was downsizing and without regiments to train, Kieran just didn’t have a lot to do anymore. He hated not being busy.
His brother, Carrick, was King of Kestevayne. King by marriage that is. He had married his soul mate, Ava Clairmont, almost three years ago, after they had defeated the hell-bitch Ralina.
He snickered at his new nickname for Ralina Haramish. He tried to come up with a new one every month or so. Hey, it’s what you did when you were bored! In the recent past, she had been known as “her evil holiness”, “skank witch” and “No one would touch you if you were the last woman in the universe”. She was a wretched excuse of a human indeed. “Was” being the key word.
Ralina Haramish had usurped the throne in Kestevayne seven years ago. After murdering Ava’s parents, King Jaron and Queen Selena, she had planted herself in the Clairmont’s palace and proceeded forth with a furious path of destruction and mayhem. Ralina, with her evil use of sacrificial blood magic, had tormented and killed wantonly the good people of Kestevayne. But she had met her match with Ava Clairmont.
Having been sent away to live in The First Dimension of Earth for the four years following her parents’ death, Ava had not been aware of the turmoil embroiling her country. Carrick and Kieran had stayed behind, waging a bloody war against Ralina and her forces. It was an uphill battle all the way. Not only had Ralina commandeered troops by mind control, her blood magicks allowed her to conjure up demons to jump into the fray. Oh, what he wouldn’t give right now for a good battle with an Erchras. Now that was a demon that could chase away boredom.
It was only after Ava returned to their AltVeritas of Vyronas, and she was able to learn the secrets of blood magic herself, that they were able to defeat Ralina. It nearly had cost Ava her life but she had prevailed. Ava lived and Ralina was dead.
Since then, Kestevayne, as well as all of the other countries in Vyronas, had enjoyed peace and idyllic harmony. Carrick and Ava had married and within a year had popped out the most gorgeous woman in the known universe. Emma…Kieran’s niece.
Okay, so Kieran doted on his niece. She was perfect in his eyes. She had Carrick’s blond hair and Ava’s green eyes, which lit up every time Uncle Kieran came to visit her… which was, oh, about five times a day. Living in the palace, in his own Royal apartments, it was nothing for Kieran to stop by often to play with Emma. She was innocence personified. So what if he was a little bored being a soldier in a peaceful country? Emma deserved to live in a world where she could be free from hate and violence.
Kieran realized he had a huge grin plastered to his face just thinking of Emma.
Who would have thought I would like kids?
Not that Kieran wanted kids of his own. He was perfectly fine to play with Emma and then be able to hand her back to her parents. An uncle’s prerogative so to speak.
Besides, children deserved to have two parents and he had no intention of ever marrying. It’s not that he was cynical about love. In fact, he had never seen a more perfect union of love than between Carrick and Ava. It was something he knew existed. It’s just not something he ever aspired to. He was having too much fun living the single life.
Anyone that knew Kieran would describe him as such: carefree, funny, and happy-go-lucky. He was forever joking and rarely got angry. He was not the slightest bit embarrassed that he was also known as a lady’s man. Carrick had called him a man-whore on more than one occasion but he was sure a better nickname could be found for him. Carrick was probably just a little jealous.
Yes. Kieran enjoyed women. So what? He gave them immeasurable pleasure and no one had ever left dissatisfied, himself included. But they all knew the real deal. Yes, they all knew that Kieran was off the market when it came to committed relationships. He was up front about it and never promised a woman anything more than a little fun between the sheets. Which didn’t seem to be a turn off for most women. Vyronas was a land of freedom and sensuality. Sex was not shameful and what went on between two consenting adults was respected.
And Kieran never had a problem finding a female consenting adult. Rarely a night went by that he had a cold bed. At 6’5”, Kieran was packed with solid muscle. His hair was blond but streaked with so many different shades it seemed to sparkle in the sun. His eyes were deep blue and usually crinkled in mirth. He never stared at himself overly long in the mirror but if he did, he would see strong, chiseled features and slanting eyebrows. He could radiate danger or with just a crook of his finger have every female in a twenty foot radius climbing all over him. Again, not that he minded that type of attention. He just rolled with it.
But, it seemed lately that’s all his life revolved around. One lady after another. And it’s not that he had a different woman every day. Please. He wasn’t that good. He was monogamous but he didn’t do long term relationships. If there was even a whiff that a woman wanted something more than no strings sex, he cut it off. He didn’t have time or any desire for emotions deeper than a good orgasm.
So here he was on vacation. Life in the army was nothing more than training since there was no war to wage. With downsizing the army, there were hardly any new troops to train. He had no real hobbies, other than spending time with Emma, so if he had to be pressured to admit, he would have to say his life had become quite boring.
Thinking back again to the things he had to accomplish today, they were, and in no particular order, well… nothing. He would probably clean up (done with a simple magical incantation which would take all of ten seconds), then go eat breakfast with Carrick, Ava and Emma. Then he would get some training in. Not that he had to, because, well he was on extended vacation. But today he would get in some spell work since he tended to ignore his magical fighting abilities. He’d much rather cut down an enemy with a sword. Then he’d brush his horse, then go play with Emma, then he would get lunch. Then play with Emma again, do some more training then dinner. Then figure out who would warm his bed. Probably Kayla. Or was it Kara? He should figure that out before she woke up.
Kieran sighed. When had his life become so dull? Not that he didn’t enjoy any of those activities. Again, Emma was the light of his life. But he needed something more. Some action, or adventure. Anything to break these doldrums.
KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!
Kieran glanced over at Kayla/Kara to see if whoever was pounding on his door had awoken her. Nope. She was still sound asleep. Sighing, Kieran got out of bed and pulled on a pair of loose, drawstring pants that hung low on his waist. Padding out of his bedroom and to the front door of his apartment, he ran a hand through his long hair, hoping to give it some semblance of normalcy before he saw who was on the other side.
Screw it. I don’t care what I look like.
Opening the door, Kieran saw the smiling face of his brother, Carrick. Even better, he held Emma in his arms. Upon seeing Kieran, Emma reached her chubby arms out and happily screeched, “Unca Keera”. She had not mastered the English language yet, but he knew what she wanted. Taking her from Carrick’s arms, Kieran gave her a soft kiss on her head.
“Hey, munchkin. Why are you visiting your Uncle Kieran so early?”
Kieran didn’t expect Emma to answer, so he looked over her head at Carrick with his eyebrows raised. While Emma happily babbled in Kieran’s arms, Carrick stepped inside the front door.
“Good morning sunshine. Did we wake you?”
“Nope. Just been lying in bed pondering life’s mysteries.”
Carrick snorted. “Probably pondering the name of whatever girl you have in that bed with you.”
Kieran grinned but didn’t respond. He didn’t need to…his brother knew him well. He walked into his living room, smooching kisses over Emma’s face. She laughed gleefully. Sitting on the couch with Emma in his arms, he looked back up at Carrick, waiting for him to answer his original question as to why they were there. They normally ate breakfast together every morning around 8:00am so it was out of the ordinary for Carrick to show up this early at his apartment.
Carrick didn’t beat around the bush. “We have a problem. The Scepter has been stolen.”
Kieran gaped at Carrick. Reaching behind a pillow, he pulled out a stuffed teddy bear. He had all kinds of kid’s toys laying around for when Emma visited. He put Emma on the floor to play with the teddy bear and turned his attention back to Carrick.
“What do you mean ‘stolen’”?
“What about ‘stolen’ don’t you understand? It’s gone. And it can’t have just vanished into thin air. Ergo, it’s been stolen.”
“How? You have armed guards surrounding it day and night.”
“We have no idea. The guards were rendered unconscious. They were found at the shift change at 6:00a.m. I came directly here to let you know.”
“It has to be recovered, Carrick. You know we can’t go unprotected.”
Carrick sighed. “I know.”
Picking Emma up from the floor, he looked at Kieran. “Come have breakfast and we will fill you on everything we know.”
Kieran didn’t waste any time. He performed a cleansing spell on himself as he walked back into the bedroom and lightly swatted Kayla (or was it Kara?) on the hind end to wake her up. He got her out of his apartment with a minimum of fuss. She wasn’t expecting anything more than a quick kiss, and he was only too happy to deliver it. Changing into casual clothes of jeans, a black t-shirt and black biker boots, he walked to Carrick and Ava’s apartments.
Looking down at his clothes, he gave a nod of thanks for his ability to travel back and forth to The First Dimension. He so much preferred their clothes to what was available here in Vyronas. He couldn’t help it if fashion interested him.
The First Dimension was the original place of inhabitance on Earth. Vyronas was an alternate dimension that co-existed, along with many other dimensions, upon the same planet. Travel between the dimensions had become possible during the time of the ancient Egyptians when a massive stone was discovered that had strange, magical properties.
The stone, which was as large as a building, had eventually been chipped at and whittled away by those curious to experiment with its properties. Those sorcerers in ancient times didn’t take long to discover the stone could tear openings--or Veils--between the dimensions. These Veils allowed for First Dimension inhabitants to travel to new worlds, which eventually became colonized. A new world was called an AltVeritas, which meant Alternate Truth. The various AltVerita ranged in size, population, societal norms, climate and whatever else you could think of that would make up a dimensional world.
Because those early travelers that settled the AltVerita were sorcerers, magic became the sole means by which people attained progression in their societies. The first inhabitants of each AltVeritas used their magic to create the world the way they wanted it. While The First Dimension went on to advance in industrialization and technology, settlers of the AltVerita progressed magically. Those things they needed to prosper and survive were procured through incantations or potions, not through mechanization. It left most AltVerita leading a slightly antiquated lifestyle, but there wasn’t much they were lacking. And in some things, they were more advanced.
For example…bathing. Kieran enjoyed a hot bath or shower from time to time, and he could summon one forth easily by manipulating the elements of water and fire. But why waste the time when he could incant himself clean within a few seconds.
Another example…travel. Every inhabitant of the AltVerita with any degree of magical ability could transfer their body from one place to another incanting the spell known as
evanesce recreo
. Should Kieran want to transfer, he would merely say a spell over a grounding object--such as a rock or other small item he could easily hold in his hand. The magic would transfer him to any place in his current dimension, as long as he had traveled there before. It wasn’t the same type of travel as inter-dimensional travel, but it was quite handy indeed. The only limitation was he could only transfer with the clothes on his back and his grounding object. Thus, it was best used for short trips.
In fact, Kieran could have transferred right to Carrick and Ava’s apartment, but he wanted to have the extra few minutes to walk so he could think about the stolen Scepter. The Scepter was a magical object created three years ago after Ralina was destroyed. Ava had used blood magic to incant the most powerful spell ever seen in Vyronas.
The Scepter was not what you would normally envision. Kieran knew that many monarchs carried scepters made of gold, encrusted with expensive and shiny jewels, as a symbol of their status and authority. The Scepter Ava created was actually quite ugly. It was an iron bar about a foot long. It had no markings and had a person seen it lying on the ground, he would probably pick it up and put it in a junk pile. But that is what Ava wanted. She wanted it to look innocuous.
Making it of iron would also help to ensure most people with magical abilities would shy away from it, because iron actually nullified magic. Well, iron actually harnessed magic. It was thought for centuries that any contact with iron would render a sorcerer’s abilities useless. Ava actually discovered, through trial and error, that iron didn’t cancel out magic, it merely captured it.
Ava knew a lot of things. She was, without argument, the strongest sorceress in their entire AltVeritas. She was descended from the Royal House of Clairmont, which was the oldest lineage of magic in all of Vyronas. The older a familial line becomes, the more potent their magic. Ava, as the only child to King Jaron and Queen Selena, had the mother lode of all magical abilities. Forced to learn blood magic as a way to defeat Ralina, Ava’s powers had grown phenomenally over the years. The difference between Ava and Ralina was that Ralina used blood magic for nefarious purposes. Ava used it only to protect her people and for the good of all.
At any rate, wanting to avoid the years of war that had ravaged Vyronas, Ava created The Scepter with her own powerful blood, forging a magical instrument that would do its owner’s bidding. Whatever was asked of it, The Scepter would grant. Luckily, Ava had a heart of the purist intent, and only asked one thing of The Scepter…to keep Vyronas peaceful. It was an amazingly dynamic object, and in the wrong hands, could wreak havoc that would make Ralina look like a fluffy bunny. Stars, if that happened, he’d have to come up with a sweet nickname for Ralina. Something like Sugar Britches or Honey Lamb.
Our world would be doomed.
Lost in his thoughts, Kieran found himself standing outside of Carrick and Ava’s apartment. After a quick knock, Ava called for Kieran to come in and he opened the door. He knew they didn’t expect him to knock but just walk right in. But he never wanted to catch those two doing the naked tango so he always used prudence.
Walking into the kitchen, Kieran found Ava sitting at the table with Emma in her lap, feeding her bits of bread sopped in milk and honey. Carrick was puttering at the stove, putting heaps of eggs and bacon on his plate. Kieran walked up to Carrick and took the plate from his hand, nabbing an extra piece of bacon from the pan.
“Hey! That was mine.”
“And now it’s mine.” Kieran brought his plate to the table and sat down next to Ava. He reached over and stroked his hand across Emma’s head, then turned to his breakfast. Carrick grabbed another plate and piled it with food. Sitting down across from Kieran, he didn’t start eating but watched Ava feeding Emma.
Kieran smiled. The look on Carrick’s face was priceless. Who would have thought this once gruff, surly warrior would be such a slave to love? His heart was lost to Ava and Emma. Kieran didn’t know if that made Carrick a lucky man or a lucky fool. Regardless, he was happy for his brother.
Kieran waved his hand in front of Carrick’s face to get his attention. Carrick’s stare at Ava and Emma didn’t change, although he moved his head from side to side to see around Kieran’s waving hand.
“So, when do I leave to find The Scepter and thrash the thieves that took it?”
Carrick, still gazing at Ava and Emma, replied, “What makes you think we are going to send you to get it?”
“Because if you don’t I’m going to die of boredom.”
Ava snickered. “I heard you had a date with Kayla Marsden last night. I seriously doubt you could be that bored.”
So, her name was Kayla. He’d have to remember that.
“I am more than just a gorgeous man that can lure any willing female to my bed, my dear sister-in-law.” Kieran tried to make his tone sound recriminating but it was hard. He merely had no qualms with his morals and more than enjoyed his lifestyle.
“Don’t get your panties twisted Mr. God’s-Gift-To-Women. We fully intend to have you spearhead the recovery…” Ava trailed off.
“But?”
“But, we want you to work with someone to help get it,” Carrick replied for Ava.
Kieran looked over at Carrick, who was now meeting his gaze in return. “I don’t need help.”
“Do,” Carrick replied.
“Don’t.”
“Do.”
“Don’t!”
“But we want you to take it anyway,” Ava cut in.
“Why?” Kieran asked.
“Because it’s being held in another AltVeritas under heavy protection. You are going to need someone with special skills to help you get it.”
“Special skills? Why don’t you first tell me where it is and then let me be the judge of what I can or cannot do for you?” Kieran certainly didn’t want to work with a partner, but he definitely needed more information first before he could make that statement confidently.
Ava got up and handed Emma over to Keiran to hold. He looked down at the rest of his uneaten breakfast with desire, but then decided holding Emma was better. Ava walked over to the stove and poured herself a cup of tea that had been brewing. She turned to Kieran, leaning one hip against the counter.
“I scried the minute we found The Scepter missing. Its magical trail is still clear to me. As its creator, we have a symbiotic relationship, but that will diminish the longer The Scepter remains gone from Vyronas. I’ve been able to determine that it is resting in an AltVeritas known as Balvraine.”
“Balvraine? I’ve never heard of it.”
“I have but I don’t know much about it. I had to consult with our Conclave to learn more.”
The Conclave was a group of advisors that had descended from a magical line known as the Scrinia. For hundreds of years, each family’s Conclave advised the ruling monarch on the histories and uses of magic within the Royal family’s line.
The Clairmont Conclave was comprised of fairly new members, as it had been found out that their predecessors had been keeping the secrets of blood magic away from Ava. Years of war could have been avoided had they been truthful with their knowledge of it, but whether it was from fear or from a self-serving purpose, they refused to disclose it.
After Ava had discovered the Scrinia knew of blood magic but had not revealed it to her, she had them arrested before the war had ended. Once Ralina was defeated, she culled out those that had knowingly withheld the information and banished them from Vyronas. The current Conclave had been re-built from a pool of trusted loyalists.
“And what did the Conclave reveal?” Kieran inquired. Emma was cradled in his arms and had fallen asleep. He rocked her gently back and forth.
“Balvraine is a very small AltVeritas. You are well traveled in The First Dimension. They say it is about the size of Rhode Island. There’s only one ruling family, the Moldevines. They’re the ones that have The Scepter.”
“Were you able to determine why they want it?”
Ava shook her head and then took a sip of tea. “I have no clue. But regardless of their reasons, every day it is gone from Vyronas, we are risking danger. Every day they have it, they could cause major damage with it. It needs to be recovered.”
Kieran nodded his head in agreement. “So why is it you think I need a partner?”
“Well….” Ava began, but Carrick interrupted.
“Because it’s very heavily guarded and strength alone isn’t going to do it. It’s going to take someone with exceptional magical skill to get in. And let’s face it, bro, you tend to neglect your magical training.”
Kieran had to concede that point. It’s not that Kieran was without magical ability. Descended from the warrior caste, his magic was quite potent. But he tended to favor might over magic. Kieran had assumed he’d be able to storm his way through to recover The Scepter. It appeared it would take a little more finesse.
“I think I know the answer, but let me ask. If it takes someone with exceptional magical skill, why doesn’t Ava just breeze in and take it back.”
“You do know the answer,” Carrick smoothly replied. “Because I’m not letting her out of my sight and we also have a daughter that needs us here. Our adventurous days are over.”
“And,” Ava added, “this could be just the thing to bring you from the back from the brink of boredom. You can go ahead and fall at my feet in worship at any time that I’m giving you this opportunity”
Kieran snickered.
As if.
But he wouldn’t argue.
“I’m your man. So, tell me… who do you want to partner me up with?” Kieran was looking down at Emma as he asked the question. He missed the quick look that Ava and Carrick gave each other before answering.
“Annika Foss.”
Kieran’s head snapped up. “What? No way.”
“Don’t discount her Kieran,” Ava chided. “She’s had her issues but when it boils down to it, she has one of the strongest magical glamours that exists. You’re going to need stealth to get into the palace in Balvraine and disguise is the way to go.”
Kieran thought about Annika Foss. He had not seen her since they were kids and he had heard that she now spent most of her time in The First Dimension. He didn’t know her well but she was known as the black sheep of the Royal House of Foss. They were located in Myridian, a neighboring country and strong ally to Kestevayne. Rumor had it that she had a falling out with her father and had left Vyronas for good. Which was quite the scandal as she was the only heir to the royal line. Rumor also had it that it would now go to her stepbrother.
“I’ll take your word that she’s the best when it comes to glamours, but why do you think she’ll even help us out?”
“We don’t know for sure but I’m sure you can find some way to convince her,” Ava replied.
“Let me get this straight. You want me to go track her down and convince her to help me? I would be wasting valuable time.”
“We have a bit of a grace period. Because my blood was used to create it, the Scepter will not give its allegiance over easily to its new owner, particularly since it was stolen. I’m sure they are working hard to garner its magic, but we have time.”
Carrick added, “But we still want you to move quickly. We want you to leave for New York to find Annika now.”
“She’s in New York?”
“New York City to be exact. I have some contacts that can get a message to her for a meeting,” Ava supplied.