Healing Fire (18 page)

Tuthal raised his staff, swinging it
in dramatic arch. Electronics sparked and doors slammed shut.

"I do believe you are in need of
rescuing." Adalardo strode to the front with a smug smile.

"Aye, your Majesty, but how did
you know?" Drystan asked the same question Melor was thinking.

"It seems you have a resourceful
lady, Melor; she and her beautiful little daughter used a portal gem to travel
to Kell and seek help."

Melor's smile grew wide as the pride
and love in his heart grew even more.

"Aye, my King, she is indeed a
most admirable lady."

"Be warned, Melor, she is not
impressed by your claiming, now she knows what it means."

Drystan barked with laughter. "Take
heart, Melor, the ladies' anger quickly cools in the heat of our passion."

"Aye, I must agree. They do enjoy
the pleasure of our touch." Tuthal stepped forward and tapping the tip of
his staff to the door of the cell, it slid open as the men shared a knowing
chuckle.

Drystan ducked his head to exit the
cell; Melor quickly followed.

"We need to collect Jane."
Drystan accepted a blade from Adalardo while Melor took the one Briac offered.
The rescue party all drew their weapons.

"My spell will last only a short
turn of time. Within the building no human will be able to use their projectile
weapons or any weapon which contains their energy," Tuthal explained as
they followed Drystan through the corridors to the exit of the cells.

"Jane was taken through here
where the other female prisoners are kept."

Tuthal opened the door to find female
guards pointing a black gun at them, yelling at them to drop their weapons. The
rescue party ignored the yelling, continuing on. When human the guards tried to
fire their arms, confusion mixed with fear, was clearly written on their faces.

"Do not be alarmed, we mean no
harm. We only seek Jane Walker," Drystan spoke softly.

Briac
and Adalardo raised their swords, backing them into a corner, as Drystan
searched the cells.

"She is not here. Where is she?"
Drystan's dark scowl rounded on one of the female guards. The woman pursed her
lips, her eyes shone with clear defiance.

"Some man came and took her to an
interview room," yelled one of the female prisoners. She was gauntly thin,
with very little clothing and a brightly painted face.

"Shut up!" snapped the
guard, glaring at the woman.

The woman simply smirked. "Hey,
if you're springing people from the joint, can I come with you?"

Briac stepped forward, but Adalardo
placed his hand on the warrior's shoulder and shook his head.

"She needs much feeding and care,"
Briac protested.

"Not every human female has a
heart worthy of Kell." The king reached into his pocket, withdrawing a
ruby. Melor knew this to be the heart stone; it would shine when placed into the
hand of a woman if the woman was worthy and open to live in Kell.

He handed it to Briac. "If you
please, give me your hand, lady."

The woman eagerly stuck her hand
through the bar. Melor watched in fascination as Briac gripped her wrists and
placed the ruby into her hand. His face fell when it did not shine.

"Fuck, that has to be worth a
fortune." The woman eyed the ruby, her eyes gleaming with greed.

Briac
took back the ruby and handed it to the king.

"Have a heart, Briac, you will
find your lady."

"What the fuck was all that
about?" She gripped the bars. "What the fuck about me!"

The
men turned away from her.

"I know these interview rooms she
speaks of; both Melor and I have been questioned in them. They are this way."

~ * ~

Jane didn't like the way the detective
closed and locked the door. He removed his jacket and unplugged the security
camera.

"Are you allowed to do that?"

"Do you know who I am, Miss
Walker?"

"Actually, I'm married to that
big guy you have in the cells, so it's Mrs. thank you, and as far as I know,
you're a detective from Tasmania, right?"

She watched him carefully as he calmly
walked around the other side of the desk but could see the tension rolling off
him in waves; he was nowhere near as calm as he appeared.

"Does Elly Crowell ring a bell?"

Jane
pursed her lips, knowing exactly who Elly was; she was the protected of Anyon.

"My name is Grant Crowell, and
you're going to tell me what the hell you've done with my sister." Grant
slammed his fist down on the table, making her jump in surprise and fright.

"Your sister is happily married
and living in Kell with her husband Anyon." She met his angry glare with
her steady one. "Why are you so eager to find the sister you clearly
neglected for years?"

"That's what you do. You lure in
poor women with low self-esteem. I don't believe this Kell bullshit; tell me
where you've hidden the bodies of the women, and it'll go much easier on you."

Jane sighed in frustration. "No
one is dead, and I believe your sister is expecting a baby soon."

"Cut the fucking bullshit, woman!"
He launched himself out of the chair, his face red in rage, trying to
intimidate her.

The door burst open. Both she and the
detective turned to see a scowling, larger than life Drystan burst into the
room. Giddy exaltation raced through Jane at seeing her husband. Drystan
charged forward, his large hand wrapped around the smaller man's throat, slamming
him effortlessly against the wall.

"Don't hurt him, love. He's Elly's
brother, Protected of Anyon." Jane walked around to place her hand on
Drystan's arm. "I think we should take him to visit his sister, show him
where all the women have gone."

"Do you think that wise, Jane?"
Adalardo shook his head.

"There will be no peace until we
do something, your Majesty, and I think through him we shall. Other than the
women in Kell, we need friends here on earth."

"Very well, Jane. Briac, Melor
seize the human male. Tuthal, we have all we came for, if you would be so kind."

"Gladly, your majesty."
Tuthal waved his staff, wielding his magic, to open the way home.

Jane sighed. No matter how many times
she saw a portal open, it was a thing of wondrous beauty.

She smiled up at Drystan who stepped
back as Melor and Briac took a hold of the detective's arms. Cowell stared open
mouth at the portal, in obvious shock.

"Come, my love. We have a
daughter to return to." Jane loved it when he went all heroic and picked
her up in his arms, carrying her through the portal back to Kell where they
belonged.

~ * ~

Elation ran through Summer when she
saw Melor follow through the portal after Drystan and Jane. He had hold of some
man's arm. Melor let go, taking a step away. Summer realized it was one of the
detectives who had come into the hospital room to question her.

Upon seeing her standing there with
Blossom and Penny, Melor's face broke out with a wide grin.

Summer smiled back. He moved towards
them.

"Mom,
that man has a gun!"

Summer's gaze darted back to the
detective who had held a small gun in his trembling hand, panic and fear clear
in his darting gaze.

"I'm not going to let you do to
me what you did to them!" the detective screamed.

Melor turned, frowned at the human and
reached for the weapon. They both struggled for the gun.

The explosion ricocheted through the
courtyard. Women screamed and men quickly took action, scooping up the women
and carrying them to safety.

Summer's heart stopped beating in her
chest, her feet carrying her forward. Melor stumbled backwards. He tossed the
gun in his hand to the ground and glanced down to his side. He yanked up his
t-shirt, blood oozed down his skin, he collapsed forward.

"Oh god, no, Melor, no."
Summer's heart almost stopped beating seeing the dazed look in his eyes. She
wrapped her arms around his upper chest.

He
sank to the ground, pulling her down with him.

"Hang in there, love, we'll get
you healed." His face blurred as tears streamed down her face. "Those
magic gems can heal you, right? Oh God, please say they can."

"You're safe." Melor gazed
into her eyes and cupped the side of her face. "You came to Kell."

"Yes, Blossom had a portal gem.
She brought us here, and we sent a rescue party after you, but we're going to
have a talk about this protector thing and why you didn't tell me we were
married!"

"Aye, my love, I should have done
so."

She
cushioned his head as he fell to the ground. "Don't you dare die on me,
Melor. There is no way in hell I'm going to lose another husband."

His cheeks dimpled as he smiled up at
her, his voice weak, his breathing labored. "No, love, have faith."
His eyes closed.

"Melor, stay with me, open your
eyes!"

The other warriors rushed forward,
surrounding the man who had come through the portal.

"Out of my way!" Penny
shoved the big men out of her path.

Summer
glanced up at her to see she held a bag of healing gems.

"Stand back, Summer. Let me put
the gems on him," Penny ordered. Swiftly, the queen placed the gems along
certain points on Melor's body. The moment the last gem was in place a low hum
sounded.

Summer's
eyes widened as a white mist snaked around him until he was completely
surrounded.

He jerked suddenly and cried out. From
his stomach a little metal slug ejected from the wound before closing. Melor
groaned before slumping unconscious.

"Is…is he?" Summer trembled;
she struggled to breathe, not wanting to face Melor's death.

"He will sleep for a few hours;
it's the side effect of the gems. He'll be fine." Penny rose to her feet.

Summer hadn't noticed the scuffle of
the men, nor the detective, now pinned to the floor by several angry warriors.
She let out a breath of relief.