Gabe's Destiny (Alien Mates Book Three) (16 page)

She turned her back on him again and walked up to Gabe. “Let me in!” she screamed at him. She went up to him and beat against his chest.

“I’m not playing, Gabe. Let me in!”

“That will not work, he cannot hear you. Do you really want in?”

She nodded then trained her eyes on him ignoring the shadows that seemed to be closing in on her.

“You asked for it.” He reached out and blasted her making her body convulse before she fell to the ground.

Voyager looked at the shadows and sighed. He told her it would be a massacre if he went up against the evil coming after her. Had he forgotten to mention he wouldn’t be the one dying?

“It is not your time.” With a snap of his fingers, the sun illuminated the field where both Taya and Gabe lay. The evil lurking close ran off, the light burning it.

*~*~*~*

When she saw Voyager again she was going to put her hands around his neck and squeeze. The male could stop throwing her. Quickly she changed thoughts refusing to ask herself how he was strong enough to pick her up in the first place. Where was she? That was the important question.

She took off down a corridor calling Gabe’s name. He had to be around here somewhere.

“Who are you and why are you calling me? Did you come to kill me?”

Her mouth almost touched the floor. She placed her hand underneath it and pushed it closed. She was looking into the same blue eyes that changed with his moods. Except the face and the body was maybe nine or ten years old.

“Gabe?” She wasn’t ready to believe what her eyes were seeing.

He drew himself up proudly and stood before her.

“I’m ready.”

“Ready for what?”

“My punishment. I let him be taken; I wasn’t vigilant enough.”

He stood there taking full responsibility for something he couldn’t have stopped, not at his age.

She dropped down to her knees; it was that or reach out and hug him. That was the wrong action.

“Your Matra, could he have taken on the Sudir?”

His eyes clouded for a minute as he shook his head. Then his shoulders squared again. “He should have taken me, not Ry.”

The sadness that surrounded him made her heart break.

“Were you playing when I called you?”

“No,” his voice was solemn. “I don’t play.”

“What were you doing in there?” Taya pointed towards the door he left partially open.

“Don’t go in there,” he whispered as shame covered him.

Taking a deep breath, she placed her hand against the door and pushed. The room was dark and filled with spiders and snakes. Gabe walked in as if he was being called. He passed her with unseeing eyes. When he was close to a large black web, his body was picked up and thrown into the center of it.

A large spider came out with multiples eyes and what appeared to be dagger like tusk along the mouth opening. It began to climb the web. Gabe twisted and turned in silence as the spider stopped in front of him. It sunk the tusk into him making him scream in pain.

He cried out over and over “I’m sorry, Ry. I’m sorry.”

She fell to the floor as she felt every bit of the pain young Gabe was feeling. This was killing him. How much longer could he take this? How could any male take this pain day after day, year after year, and still be sane?

The desire to kill everything in this room, to simply demolish it rose up in her. She stood on her feet only to be bowled over by the knowledge it wouldn’t help. This was Gabe’s brain; the only person who could set him free was himself.

“Gabe,” she said softly. He would hear no matter how soft her voice was or how loud. “Your brother is free now and he wants you to be free.”

He looked at with eyes much too intelligent for a child that young. She could see him examining the words, playing them over in his head, just like she saw him discard her words.

“No, he’s not free. I can feel his pain.” Gabe screamed even louder as the spider once again sank his tusk deep into him.

“If he’s not free then why did he marry Aviana? He also has a daughter, Mckayla. I met them the first night I went to the bed and breakfast.”

Gabe’s head flopped towards her. “He’s not old enough to soul-bond. We are the same age.”

“You’re right, he’s not old enough to soul-bond in this memory but you found him and helped to free him.”

“I did? I helped my brother get free?”

“Yes. Now he wants to help you get free.”

His eyes closed and his little body shrank into himself.

“I failed him. I didn’t stop the Sudir from taking him.” The sadness in his voice hurt her soul, the fury in his voice made her want to kill the Sudir for what he put both brothers through.

“You were…” she stopped. How old was he? He looked around nine, but she knew from little things she picked up they developed slower than humans when they first came to the planet. So there was no telling how old he was but he was still a child.

“You were a child and your brother loves you just like you love him. He sacrificed himself the best he could to make sure you were free. Now you have a choice; you can be free or continue to be tortured.”

He forced his body upwards tearing it away from the web that was designed to hold him.

“They said I had to die here for Ry to be free.”

“They lied, he’s free.”

“Can you…” his throat worked to get out the rest of the words out. “Show me? Can you show me that he’s free?”

“I can if you’re willing to come with me.”

He nodded but lay back down on the web trying to catch his breath. Sitting up cost him a lot.

“I used to fight them. I refused to let them take me alive but lately fighting just tires me out. There didn’t seem to be a reason to resist the inevitable.”

“Nothing is inevitable!” She screamed it even knowing she shouldn’t. Gabe’s life, his future, started right here in his young hands and she refused to lose him because someone was brain washing him as a child.

He laid there panting before his hands became a flame, deadly in color, it was white hot. He lifted them and embraced the spider that was once again trying to destroy him. A screech came so loud as it caught on fire, its body burned and still Gabe held it close until his body was consumed by the flames.

She screamed his name staying back because there was nothing she could do. The fire spread consuming the darkness and the room of torture until there was nothing but ashes and still Gabe burned. Then he walked out of the fire. His whole demeanor had changed.

He looked up at her with eyes bluer than the calmest ocean. “I hope you’re telling the truth because I will never come back to this room.”

She shivered as she took his hand and walked out. No, he would never come back; if she was lying he would simply die.

“Where to?” He looked up at her with such trusting eyes that her heart clinched.

“We’re going to find memories of your brother.” He nodded and led the way.

They walked down a myriad of hallways that continued to snake off into different directions. It wasn’t long before she was lost, if he deserted her, she might never make it out of his mind. He stood before a section of his mind that was dark.

“Ry’s memories are down here. I never walk down here.”

Taya thought about the past she refused to face. How it hurt her and controlled her life until she came here.

“Sometimes to find peace you have to confront the past. Where’s the light switch.”

“On the wall close to you.”

She slid her hand over the wall until she found the switch and turned it on. The corridor filled with light. The first image she saw was two little boys, toddlers chasing each other laughing.

“Our planet before we had to leave.” A beautiful female came and picked them up. She said each name without getting them confused.

“My mother.” She caught the sheen of tears in his eyes.

“Where are my boys?” A big booming voice entered the room before the male did. The boys laughed and squirmed until their mother put them down. They ran to him and both leapt at him and he caught them sharing in their laughter.

“Our father. I miss them.” He tugged on her hand pulling her further down the corridor. They ran into many other memories of his family. She saw parents who loved their children and they thrived under that love.

She turned to look at Gabe only to see darkness fill his face. He was standing, clutching his brother, begging his parents to come with them.

“Please don’t send us away.” He was maybe four, standing with his arms around his brother begging his parents to stay.

“Please, we’ll be good. I promise.”

His mom fell to her knees, tears rolling down her face as she took them both in her arms

“My boys are perfect. You’ve been good. We don’t want to send you away but you have to be safe in order for us to work. Once we’re done and the planet is safe from the Sudir, we’ll come get you.”

The boys cried even harder. Their father picked them up.

“Take care of each other, I’m counting on you.” His father turned to pin him with a look.

“Yes Da, I will take care of Elliza.”

They walked with their parents to a large indoor space that held a square. They were placed inside of it with other boys then it was sealed off. The roof lifted and the square changed shapes becoming sleeker before it took off leaving the land and heading for the stars.

“You changed your names when you came to earth?”

He nodded. “We wanted to fit in.”

He continued walking; they moved through the years on the ship until they reached the earth. What caught her attention was how the earth was still so young and untamed. An historian would have a field day in his brain.

“Gabe?” He just held on to her hand and kept moving until she finally saw the bed and breakfast. It looked different back then, but she already knew the house had the power to change its form.

“I’m going to be it and you have to make it home to be safe.” Rylan’s voice carried out over the open space.

“I’ll be it,” Gabe said, not liking the feeling walking down his spine.

“It’s my turn.”

“You were just it,” Cal pointed out.

“I’ll be it with you, Ry.”

“Gabe, please I’m old enough to be it by myself.” Brothers, he mumbled under his breath and looked behind him like he was checking for something.

“I’m counting to fifteen then I’m coming for you.”

“One!”

“Come on, Gabe we have to run.”

“I don’t know, Cal. Something doesn’t feel right.”

“Just because you’re older doesn’t mean I can’t sense evil and I don’t sense anything. Ry wouldn’t be playing if he thought we were in danger.”

“I guess so.”

“Six!”

“Come on, we got to run.” Cal reached out and took his hand pulling him behind.

“Ten!” Ry’s voice was loud in Gabe’s ear and he waited to hear his steps coming after them but they sounded like they were getting further away.

They were playing on the edge of the woods. Colun always let them play there as long as they promised never to go into the woods.

“Ry!” Gabe broke away and began running after him. That’s when he saw the Sudir capture his brother and move faster than he thought was possible.

He ran home to get help but it was too late by then. Head down, he walked her through the torment he lived.

She walked through the mental anguish he suffered from being connected to his brother. Then there was the mental anguish he subjected himself to if he slipped up and laughed or had a moment of joy.

“Your family, they never really understood?”

“They didn’t. I think at times Victor understood that having this link to my brother wasn’t something cute, feeling his pain was like going through it.”

“Your brother would do the same for you.”

“I would never allow it.”

“Perfect, come with me.”

She took his hand and ignored everything happening around them until a picture of Rylan as an adult bent over on his hands and knees was before them.

“Gabe,” he stuttered as blood seeped out the corner of his mouth.

“Ry!” Gabe was there on his knees trying to help his brother. Taya stepped over to him and pulled him back.

“You can’t help him. This is just a picture of what happened. It’s happened more than once, him suffering for you—just like you suffered for him.”

They moved on until Rylan was sitting on the porch of the bed and breakfast by himself.

“He looks so sad.” Taya nodded, agreeing with him.

“Daddy!” a scream was emitted from inside the house before the screen door bounced and a blur flew out and landed in the hands that lifted to catch her.

“That’s Mckayla, your brother’s daughter.”

“He really has a daughter? She’s beautiful.”

She was planting kisses all over her father’s face when Aviana walked out with an indulgent smile on her face.

“That’s Aviana, your brother’s soul-bonded.”

“She’s beautiful, he did well for himself.”

“Am I soul-bonded?”

“No.”

He nodded.

“Gabe?”

“I’m going to sit here for a while and watch Ry. Is that okay?”

“It’s your mind but maybe you should go back and play.”

He shook his head. “You can’t change the past, but the future is yet to unfold. You have more to do. As for me, I’m going to see if Mckayla wants to play.”

He ran off towards his niece with a big smile. Taya shook her head and walked on. Why did she still feel such a sense of urgency?

She walked on down a long corridor that seemed to light up small stretches at a time calling to her. The doors that swung open tempted her to stop and take a look around but she kept herself on the path. If this was truly Gabe’s mind, then to go where she hadn’t been invited would be an invasion of privacy.

The darkness caused her to halt. She could see the light illuminating it but it simply highlighted how dark it was instead of bringing light to it. Her feet dragged as she got closer, feeling the dread that reached out to touch her.

Her path led her to a door that silently swung open for her. It was raining in the room, a thunderstorm. The lightning lit up the sky while the thunder boomed making her shake.