Tainted Energy (The Energy Series Book 1) (20 page)

Tarek
went inside his head, building his energy while navigating dimensions. When he
found what he'd been looking for, his free arm rose to open the portal. Trying
to stay focused and get the damn thing open while she nuzzled his chest was
like doing the backstroke in lava. Not possible.

"You
need to stop that." He squirmed, his body heating as sparks jumped through
his stomach.

"You
always smell like apples and flowers." She inhaled deeper, making it hard
for him to breath.

"It's
our orchard." The strain of control made his voice a whisper, and against
his better judgment, he bent to kiss the top of her head, allowing his lips to
linger in the softness of her hair.

"Our
orchard? Is that where we're going?" She craned her neck, and green eyes
shot him straight in the heart.

Mouth
dry, he said, "Somewhere better."

"Oh...okay."
She wrapped her arms around his waist, resting her cheek against his chest.

He
raised his arm again, chuckling even as his body temperature elevated to
flaming. "You're killing me."

Tarek

Empyrean…

K
nowledge used to be the one thing
blocking them from coming here after retiring from Exemplar. Lena had told him
she'd almost figured it out. A way to make sure they'd find each other and
still be able to live full cycles, experience childhood excitement. The dream
disappeared when they took her, but the place remained as magnificent as he
remembered.

Serene
villages suspended in the air formed a clustered array of squat and fat and
tall and needle-like buildings that dotted the horizon. The roofs, an abstract
spectacular chaos, were splashes of royal blue amongst the salmon-colored
masses. Each village self-sustaining and living in harmonious peace with
neighboring villages and towns.

Where
they landed happened to be on an overlook of the Warden's manse, breathtaking
in its own right, floating as if it were the leader of all the clusters
ballooning in the sky. The drawbridge resembling a dull pink tongue shadowed
fresh water canals where bright-colored fish swam.

This
place was his inspiration to build their cottage in Exemplar, outside the city
walls in the middle of the meadow. Away from the sterility high-evolution
created.

As the
slit in the atmosphere closed, Tarek gauged Lena's reaction. "What do you
think?"

"It's
amazing!" She broke from his arms and walked closer to the floating
cities. "What is this place?"

"Empyrean.
Paradise."

"The
houses, they're floating!"

"Yeah,
you always loved that particular feature." Not as much as he loved her,
though. The peace this place always gave him settled in his heart when she
picked a bright red flower and tucked it behind her ear.

But as
peaceful as the dimension was, the Warden didn't like intruders–the main reason
why these people enjoyed a tranquil existence. She'd be here soon; they were
too close for her not to notice the stir in the atmosphere. He just hoped she'd
be willing to do what he planned to ask of her–without blowing him up.

"I've
never seen anything more..." She ran to him, her hands fisting in his sweater.
"Is this heaven?"

He
covered her hands, smiling even though the Warden was probably pissed right
about now. Hopefully Lena being here would be enough to calm her down. "Heaven
doesn't exist."

She let
go of him and waved an arm around. "Of course it does." Her eyes
shined bright green, so different than the deep, dark brown they used to be.
The green…they were ethereal.

Before
he could stop, he reached for her arm and pulled her close. When his lips found
hers, fire ignited in his stomach then raged when she circled his neck and drew
him closer. He cupped her cheeks, memorizing the softness of her mouth, the
taste…so different. The very essence of her was so much more potent, alive.

Tarek
pulled away, but only a fraction. Her groan and the tug on his sweater made his
blood burn hotter.

"I
wanted to show you Empyrean because–" The bridge lowered as Teenesee rode
out on her horse in a direct path to where they stood. "Damn."

He held Lena
tighter and tried to keep the stress out of his whisper. "Do you see that
woman coming for us?" He pointed toward the rider and waited for her to
turn and nod. "She's the Warden here–and dangerous if we get on her bad
side."

"Why
would I try to do that?" Her voice sounded ragged, her breaths coming out
in quick intervals.

"Let
me talk and don't speak until she speaks to you." He gave her another
quick kiss, couldn't help it. "She kind of hates being interrupted."

He
pushed her behind him, and after taking a deep breath, bowed his head. The
Warden's horse greeted him first. The snorting animal blew at his hair, and its
hooves pawed the ground, kicking up the scent of torn grass and earth. He kept
his head bowed, even when the thing nudged his chest. Maybe coming here wasn't
such a great idea.

"Raise
your head, Protector." Her voice was deep and musical, lilting in her own
language.

Tarek
came face to face with her chestnut stallion, its mouth working around the bit.
One more cleansing breath and he raised his eyes higher to find Teenesee.

"Warden
Teenesee, please let me explain." He spoke in the Desis language–common in
many dimensions, not to mention Lena's language.

Teenesee
stayed upon her horse, proud, strong, and so exquisite, her beauty almost blinded
him. Her flawless ebony skin glowed in the dim evening light. As she
dismounted, her hand on the hilt of her sword, the topaz of her eyes hypnotized
him. Her fire red hair, sleek and touching the edge of her rounded hips, caused
an automatic physical reaction. Two inches taller than he, she made sure to
look down her nose to show her dominance.

"Why
do you come here?" She switched to the Desis language Lena understood, too.
Her forest green dress distracted him as much as her face, with just enough
fabric to cover her chest, skipping her midriff, and draping across her hips.

Common
sense told him her exaggerated beauty was a weapon to distract enemies. But the
area in his brain that registered all testosterone and awkward male couldn't
help but stare in adoration. He licked his lips, hoping he didn't sound like a
squealing boy. "I need your help…for Lena." Lena's fingers tightened
on his shirt.

Teenesee's
beauty, the effect of it rather, evaporated slightly as though she reduced its
intensity. "Her energy is still whole?"

The two
women were close, or at least they used to be before Lena's punishment. The
Warden tolerated him, ignoring him mostly when he and Lena used to come here. "Yes."

"I
am surprised. Her crimes justified energy disbursement."

Anger
pumped blood too fast through his body. What a benign way to describe the
annihilation of an energy source. "She's innocent, whether you and the
Synod believe so or not." He dialed the tone back some when she scorched him
with a warning look. "Her Protector pleaded her case, took responsibility
for Lena's purgatory."

"Brave.
Her Protector's a woman, no?"

He
swallowed. "Yes."

She leaned
to the right. "Who have you brought to my world?"

With one
more deep breath, he moved away from Lena after prying her fingers from his
shirt.

Teenesee
gasped as tears made the topaz of her eyes sparkle. "Lena?" The
Warden scooped her up and twirled her around. "How I've missed you."

Tarek
moved to intervene when Lena's face paled. "She doesn't remember anything;
she knows nothing."

Teenesee
set Lena on the ground, the Warden's smile breathtaking. "I'm aware,
Protector, but she is still in there. Her energy is whole and well."

Lena
gawked at her, a mixture of admiration and fear dancing in her eyes. "You're
beautiful."

The
Warden threw her head back, laughing, and hugged Lena again. "I cannot
express how beautiful
you
are at this very moment." She flashed a
grin in Tarek's direction. "You must tell me how I can help, Protector."
She leaned back to take in the face of her past cohort. "But over dinner."

Tarek
covered his smile with a fist and a cough. "We'd be honored." Leave
it to Lena to turn one of the strongest Wardens into a fretting mother hen.

She kept
her eyes on Lena, her smile dazzling, but the Warden's face no longer a
distraction. Whatever weapon she used to heighten the effect it had on
potential enemies, she must've turned off. "You both look like vagabonds.
Come, we'll fix that, too." She leapt on the back of her stomping mount
and held her hand out to Lena, who accepted after a small hesitation. As she
turned her horse around, Teenesee sent him a lofty glance. "You can walk."

Smiling
even as he groaned, he followed them. Guess he had nothing to worry about,
after all.

∞ ∞ ∞

They sat
in a breezy dining hall, gathered around a small marble-topped table with
Teenesee and her two daughters. Both were older than he was and as alluring as
their mother, and they were Teenesee's heirs. One would replace her when she
decided to relinquish her position–decided to die. Wardens didn't come back.
Ever. But Teenesee had been the Warden of Empyrean since before his first cycle,
when her daughters were born, and there was no evidence she planned to abdicate
any time soon.

Tarek
looked to his right where Lena sat mesmerized by the three women, not bothering
to mask her fascination. She wore an outfit like Teenesee's, which showed off
every subtle curve, as well as her taut stomach. She kept pulling at the red
fabric, trying to hide her midriff. Her tugging was sweet, even though she
looked anything but at the moment. But fading bruises up her left side had his
anger boiling under the surface. He kept his face placid, not wanting to give
her another complex to worry about.

Lena's
tinkling laugh echoed through the hall as she listened to the comfortable
bickering amongst the sisters and Teenesee's witty interjections, all of them
speaking Desis.

He
missed that sound, her laugh, the ghost of it haunting him for seventeen years.
She fit here–fit here with him. Tarek found Lena's hand under the table and
massaged her palm. Her shy smile and blushing cheeks made his heart pound. The
feeling of the first time–he hadn't thought it'd be this powerful again.

When
servants cleared away the dinner of steamed fish and poached pears, the Warden
dismissed her daughters with a nod and put her elbows on the table. "Tell
me, Protector. How has our Lena gotten herself in trouble this time?" Her
voice was as decadent as honey.

He
cleared his throat, trying not to smile. Lena always did have a knack for
pissing off the Synod. "I can say this time, it's not her fault." He
drummed fingers on the cool surface of the table. "But it looks like
someone wants to get rid of her."

The
Warden folded her hands, her eyes hardening, voice still sweet. "And how
are they
trying
to do that?"

He gave
Lena a reassuring grin. "An unwanted trip to Arcus for starters. Not to
mention a small bleed in the lines between Arcus and Earth."

Lena
squeezed his hand, but kept her face calm. Still brave, it didn't matter where
she was.

Teenesee
observed them with a small smile lifting the right side of her mouth. "Interesting."
She unfolded her hands, splaying her fingers. "Anything else?"

He tore
his eyes from Lena. Definitely hard not looking at her. "Ah, yes. Wilma
found a symbol of sorts in Lena's research." How to ask without sounding
desperate? He didn't have an answer for that, so he just came out with it. "That's
why I came."

The
Warden's eyes clouded. "You want me to search her energy."

"Yes."
He rubbed Lena's palm as it began to shake.

She
snapped her fingers and a servant came to her side as if materializing from
nothing. "Our guest requires a quill and paper." When the materials
appeared, she said, "Show me."

Clear in
his memory, he drew the symbol. "She found this in an Arcus text and on
some old notes." He moved it in front of Teenesee.

Lena
leaned in, brushing his shoulder. Damn, even that small contact had his heart
doing laps.

"It
looks like a K, maybe with a C in it? Weird," Lena said.

Tarek's
stomach flopped. "You're sure?"

"Yeah."
Her face scrunched as she studied the symbol. "You see how the letters
kind of form a flower?"

"Yeah,
I see the flower, but letters?" He looked closer. "You're positive?"

"Well,
yeah, I see it clear enough. The letters are loopy, but… look closer."

He
squinted at the drawing. "Ah, yeah, I see them." His mind went into
overdrive.

Teenesee
moved closer. "What does it mean?"

He gave
Lena's hand one last squeeze before folding his hands on the table and looking
Teenesee in the eye. "We need you to find out."