Beyond Wild Imaginings (24 page)

“Kelly—”

He let out a ragged sigh, and she squeaked in surprise as she felt his lips descend onto hers. They were perfect. Full, supple. They tasted like him. Her hysterics melted into quiet trembling, and she reached tentative fingers to his face. She ran them along his jaw, across his cheeks, through his hair. “Garren,” she whispered. “Is this real?”

He lifted her chin with one finger and gazed into her eyes. “You called to me. I had to come back.” His smile gleamed like the most brilliant light. “It just took me awhile.”

She shook her head, her mind refusing to compute anything that was happening. “I don’t understand.”

He grinned. “Look behind me, little one.”

She wasn’t sure she wanted to. She stared at him a moment longer, then slid her gaze from his face and focused it behind him. She gasped and more tears streamed down her face, although she was no longer sure which emotion the tears were from.

The other Guardians from her childhood, the ones lost forever because of their being forgotten, were standing in a row. Not apparitions, not lifeless memories. They were smiling at her.

“Wha—” She shook her head and shot Garren a helpless glance.

“Here.” He helped her to stand, and her confusion doubled when the others put their hands over their hearts and bowed at the waist.

She shook her head again. “I-I—”

“One more thing, little one.”

She turned her bewildered eyes to Garren as he took a step back. Out of lord only knew where, he pulled a pocket knife and held it up to his hand. He pricked the tip against his finger and a drop of blood formed and ran a small trail.

“Garren!” she cried. “What are you doing? You’re bleeding!” As soon as the words left her mouth, she realized what she’d said, what she’d witnessed. The weight of it slammed into her and her chest constricted, making it almost impossible to breathe. “Y-You’re bleeding,” she stammered. She forced a breath in, but it sounded more like a wheeze. Garren reached out to her, but she staggered backward, her reeling mind trying desperately to latch onto some kind of sense. She glanced back over at the other Guardians, and more tears cascaded down her cheeks. She forced in another breath and clenched her fists, drawing strength from some unknown source and standing her ground. “What the hell is going on?” she screamed.

A couple of the other Guardians raised their eyebrows and looked amused, but Garren stepped toward her and pulled her into his arms. “Kelly, it’s all right,” he said in a soothing tone.

“It’s not all right!” she cried, but despite her heated words and tone, she melted into his arms, welcoming their protective strength. “You died! I’ve been alone for seven months, and now, suddenly, out of the blue, you show up not dead and bleeding! I have no idea what that means! And I have no friggin’ clue why there are a bunch of other, supposedly dead guys up here!” She sobbed out about a hundred different emotions into his shirt, clinging to him with desperation. “Please, please tell me this isn’t a dream.”

He stroked her hair and rocked her back and forth. “This isn’t a dream, Kelly. This is real. More real than it ever has been.” He took her by the shoulders and held her so he could look down at her. “Do you remember when I told you that a myth existed? That, if enough people believed in a creature of the Creative Realm, he or she could become a real human?”

She nodded dumbly.

He smiled and caressed her cheek with his gentle fingers. “You have done what was thought impossible, yet again, little one.”

She blinked. “You mean—” Dare she hope? Dare she let herself believe for even one precious second that Garren was actually there, flesh and blood, alive?

“I am human, Kelly,” he said. He frowned. “Well, more or less.” He chuckled. “The wings are still a little nonhuman, as are my Lucienus powers, but I bleed. I have a heart. I have a stomach.” He grinned. “I am visible.”

She wished she could comprehend what he was saying, but it was too much for her. A thousand or more questions bottlenecked in her brain, and she couldn’t even get a thought out. “Show me,” she rasped.

He frowned thoughtfully.

“I can’t grasp this in words, Garren. If this is real, show me.”

A slow smile blossomed over his gorgeous features and he gathered her in his arms. He threaded his fingers through her hair, and she closed her eyes in bliss at his touch. He pressed his lips to hers very gently, and she was immediately drawn into a swirl of color and chaos.

Chapter Twenty-One

The Creative Realm really was dissolving. Pieces of the sky seemed to be falling, and the white clouds she had observed before now looked like a violent thunderstorm. Garren was lying on his back, weak, transparent, watching his world disappear. Beside him, a vision of her appeared, and his face contorted in sorrow. He reached out to it, but the image flickered and vanished. He cried silently and turned back, preparing for the end of it all. A strange, glowing ball of light caught his attention, and he turned his head slowly to watch it. It resembled a shooting star, streaking across the chaotic sky. He watched it for as long as he could until his eyes grew heavy, and he gave in to the inevitable.

Kelly didn’t know how long of a time lapse she was witnessing, but the sky continued to shed pieces for a long while. Garren remained unconscious, asleep, whatever he was, but his body held on. It wavered and flickered, but would not disappear. Suddenly, the ball of light he had been watching exploded. It lit up everything and bathed the entire realm in pristine, white-hot light. Garren’s eyes shot open and he screamed. His back arched, and he convulsed in obvious pain. It went on until Kelly thought she wouldn’t be able to take watching it any longer. Then, just as suddenly as it had begun, Garren fell motionless and the world was plummeted into complete darkness.

Garren switched the way Kelly viewed the next part of the memory. He had kept her as an outside observer for the first portion, no doubt wanting to shield her from the horrendous pain he had experienced, but now she was living his memory
as
Garren. She was seeing everything he had seen, experiencing what he had…

His eyes opened slowly, and his body felt sluggish, exhausted, heavy in an unfamiliar way. His vision blurred several times before he could focus on anything, but when his eyes cleared, he found himself staring out of a doorway. With a frown, he lifted his head just enough to come to the conclusion that he was lying on a bed, staring out the door of a cabin. Outside he could see…Lucienus! They lived. They went about their everyday lives as if nothing had ever happened.

Forgetting the foreign feeling of his own self, he sat up with a start, disoriented and confused. His heart lurched as his eyes fell on a familiar vision that came to stand in the doorway. He was smiling. He looked satisfied, almost as if he had just won a battle.

“
Hello again, brother.”

Eamon.

He couldn’t wrap his mind around it. None of it made sense. He frowned as he felt something wet coming from his nose, and he brought his fingers to it. When he pulled them back and looked at them, they were bloody.

Garren broke the kiss and Kelly pulled away, looking up at him in befuddled wonder. “That pain, the pain you experienced, it was your body transforming, wasn’t it?”

He nodded, relief flashing over his features, no doubt over the fact that she had calmed and was now accepting current events. “I didn’t know that at the time, though. I thought that was the end of it all.”

“What happened? How did the Lucienus come back?”

He regarded her for a long moment with an awestruck reverence in his eyes, then reached out and took her face in his hands. “You did it, Kelly. You saved us all. You saved everything.”

She frowned. “How? I don’t understand.” She drew her breath in and met his eyes. “My book.”

He smiled. “You wrote about our world. You wrote about me. People believed. Millions of people believed. You brought back everything. Not just the Creative Realm, but my entire race. I didn’t think it could be done. Not only that, but you also saved my life and gave me one all at once.”

“Is stronger than ever.” She let out a yell and flung her arms around his neck. He held her and knotted his fingers in her hair. “I’m sorry it took me so much time to get back. I’m sorry I left you alone for so long.” He buried his face against her neck. “I am so sorry for causing you pain.”

She shook her head, breathed in his fragrance, and soaked up the warm strength of his embrace. “Just never leave me again. Please, never again.” She clutched at him, wanting to get as close as she could without becoming permanently attached. She rested her head against his chest and felt his heartbeat. Strong, steady. It was beating in time with hers. Part of her mind still refused to comprehend the reality of the situation, but the other part was welcoming it in ecstasy.

“Kelly, if I may, there’s something I need to address.”

She pulled back and frowned at him. He cocked an eyebrow and placed his hand against her stomach. She giggled. “Oh!” She laughed and beamed up at him. “You’re going to be a father, Garren. Surprise!”

Kelly’s eyes widened and she shot her gaze to him. He smirked, and she gave him a questioning look. He shrugged, and she decided not to pursue the subject. He had found some way to communicate with her in her subconscious. That dream had been real. Maybe her belief and Rachel’s belief had given him enough power to do that. She didn’t know. She didn’t care. It didn’t matter anymore. All that mattered was that Garren had come back to her. He had come home. And all of the others had come home as well.

“When are you due?” Garren asked, still marveling over her pregnancy.

“Two months.” She turned her attention back to him and cradled her stomach. “I’m going to name her Hope.” Garren lifted his eyes to hers, and she shivered at the intense, unconditional love she saw reflected in their violet depths. She opened her mouth to speak, but he silenced any words she might have said by taking her in his arms and plundering her mouth. She held on, welcomed the onslaught, and felt the shattered pieces of her heart fit back together. He was real. He was home. He was hers. And she would die before she ever let him go again.

“Kelly, are you up here?”

Kelly broke the kiss to glance over at the door to the roof. Rachel emerged, looking around. “Kel—” She shrieked as her eyes fell on Kelly and Garren, and her jaw all but hit the ground. “Garren!” Her voice was so high-pitched that it was almost a squeak. She shook her head. “How—”

“H-How-I-Wha—” she stammered. She pointed at Eamon as he continued to stand there and exude confidence, grinning. “Eamon.” His name left her in a wheeze, and she fainted.

He chuckled and toyed with a piece of her hair. His eyes filled with affection. “Can we go inside, beloved? I’m cold.” He grinned as he said it.

Warmth filled her and chased every single dark shadow and cold spot away. She slipped her arm around his waist and held him close. “Of course.” She looked over at Eamon, who was hauling Rachel up into his arms. “And all your friends are welcome as well. It’s been a long time since I was able to hang out with the boys.” She shared a grin with all of them.

Garren’s arm tightened around her. “You’d better call Chad.”

She laughed. “He might faint too.”

“Better make sure he’s sitting down first then.” He chuckled and turned her in his arms so he was staring down at her. “I missed you, Kelly.”

His voice was filled with emotion, and it tugged at her heart. “I missed you so much, Garren. It was the worst pain I’ve ever experienced. Having you back with me now…” She shook her head, her mind still reeling. “I keep thinking I’m going to wake up alone again.”

He took her face in his hands. “Never again. I’m here, little one. I’m here to stay. You are my home now.”

She raised her lips to his and kissed him hard, pouring her love into it. Life... He was alive. They were going to bring a life into the world. They had a life. Together. Always. It was real.

“Kelly,” he murmured against her lips. “May I please have what you’re wearing around your neck?”

She looked down. She had forgotten that she wore his wedding band on a chain. She wore it every day. It had become part of her. Her breath hitched and she looked up at him with tears in her eyes.

He smiled. “It is a symbol. It is mine. Please.”

She grinned and yanked the chain off. She slipped the ring off it and slid it onto his finger. The last missing piece fell into place.

* * * *

It must have been strange to suddenly know what mortality was, what hunger was, what cold was. She imagined it would take Garren a while to get used to his new body. He slept beside her. All of the others were piled in the living room.