Legend of the Forbidden (17 page)

“I forgot there's no electricity,” he said as he fumbled around in the entryway and grabbed a lantern. “And of course I forgot my matches.”

Dani laughed and summoned up a small flame in her free hand. “No you didn't.” She placed the flame into the lantern and let that be their light.

The house wasn't anything to write home about. It had one bedroom that contained a full-sized bed, with a blanket on it that was probably hundreds of years old. There were a few holes, and it smelled musty. A bathroom was nearby with a shower and a toilet, so the house had indoor plumbing at least. In the living room/kitchen were a couple of old wooden chairs with seat cushions, and a wood-fire stove.

“Rustic,” she said.

“Would you rather stay on the island in a hotel?” he asked.

“No.” She shook her head. “It's romantic, even if it is ancient.”

“It's had a few updates,” he said with a shrug. “You've shared a lot of your life. I wanted to show you more of mine. Plus, I figure if it's free, then we don't have to risk my parents tracking a credit card purchase or something.”

She kissed his nose. “You think of everything.”

He kissed her lips. “I love you.”

 

 

Tyson walked through the streets of Shanrea Village, hands in his pockets and deep in thought.
There's no going back now. Hopefully we didn't bite off more than we can chew here.
The real question is, where did Maya run off to?
He was nauseous at all of the possibilities running through his head.
Did she get hurt? Kidnapped? Sick? Robbed? Why wouldn't she make it back to her friend's wedding? It doesn't make a lot of sense. Unless
…
He frowned.
Unless she didn't agree with the union.

Picking up his pace, he was filled with a new determination to find her.
I can explain everything to her, and then she won't have to be sad. She can see how great this is for all of us.
But Tyson wasn't quite sure where to begin searching for her. He couldn't ask anyone if they'd seen her; nobody was familiar with who she was, and he didn't have a picture on him. Not to mention his descriptive skills weren't exactly the best.

By some stroke of luck, however, he heard her further up the street. She laughed; he'd recognize that beautiful sound anywhere. It sent his heart soaring, and his steps lightened as he headed toward the noise. Then he found her with her arms around another man's neck. Her blue eyes gazed up at his lovingly, and one of his hands rested on the small of her back.

That should be me,
Tyson thought. Frowning, he stormed over and pulled Maya away from this stranger. She couldn't have known the guy for long. Tyson certainly had no idea who he was, so how could she?

“Hey!” she protested.

“What are you doing?” Tyson demanded. “Do you two even know each other's names?”

“This is Wray,” she said, “and he knows me. He knows more about me than you could even imagine.”

Tyson frowned and leaned toward her, sniffing her. Everything about her smelled different. Cinnamon stung his nostrils almost as if he had opened a jar and shoved his nose into it. He knew the scent well enough to understand what it meant, but never had it been so strong. And unnaturally so, almost like it was induced. There was also a slight musk in the air, and his heart broke once he realized what it meant.

He stepped away and shook his head. “What did you do? You smell… impure.”

“Because I'm not 'pure' anymore, according to your stupid standards,” Maya said. “Wray here has shown me what
real
love is, cured me, and is going to make me a princess. He thinks I'm special.”

“I think you're special too,” Tyson whispered.

“Mm-hmm.” She clung to the man. “Come on, let's go meet this boss of yours, Wray. I want to hear more about this special prophecy. Did you know I'm important to the safety of the world? I'm one of a kind and a miracle.
Great
things are going to happen because of me, and great dragons.”

The words she spoke didn't make a lot of sense to Tyson. It all sounded incoherent, choppy, and on the verge of being delusional. Wray put a hand through Maya's hair, and Tyson noticed a glitter of light red-violet magic flowing through his fingertips. Tyson had never seen purple magic before. He growled and tried to push the man away from her.

“What are you doing to her?”

“Showing her what her true potential and purpose is.” Wray laughed. “Wanna join in? We can share. She won't care. Will you, honey bunches? Why? Because you will do whatever I want you to do. Won't you?”

Tyson's stomach churned with disgust. “You're brainwashing her.”

“If that's what you want to call it, sure. But I don't think I'm making her do anything she doesn't actually want to do. Deep down, or maybe even more on the surface than you realize, the desire is ever-present.”

Another growl escaped Tyson's lips, and without even thinking he punched Wray square in the jaw. The man let go of Maya long enough for Tyson to pull her away. “Come on, Maya, snap out of it. You can come back home with me. I'll still take care of you and love you. I'll do anything you want me to do. Please, wake up.”

Her eyes changed from a glossy state back to normal, and she focused her gaze on him. Tyson smiled, leaning in toward her, so he could comfort her further. And then she slapped him across the face. The place where she hit him stung, and that was the only thing that made the moment feel real.

Maya narrowed her blue eyes and glared at him. “You don't get it. I
am
awake, and the most alive I have ever felt in my entire life. What Wray has done for me is far greater than anything I have ever experienced before. Don't treat me like some stupid girl who's been taken advantage of. And especially don't act as if we had something special between us. I never wanted you any more than you wanted me.”

Pain filled his chest, and he wondered for a moment if his heart was, in fact, literally breaking. “The only reason I went along with all of this is because I thought it meant I had a chance with you. Because you were the one I wanted. When you kissed me, you set a bar that I thought no one else could reach.”

“Hate to break it to you, but I wasn't thinking about
you
when we did that.”

“Ethan,” Tyson said, followed by a defeated sigh.
Another girl I lost to him.
When it came to Dani, Tyson hadn't minded as much. He knew they lacked chemistry even if the fundamentals of a good relationship had been present. Maya falling for his best friend, however, made him feel nothing but worthless.
I thought she liked me.
What am I missing that he has? What about me isn't good enough?

Maya nodded, pursed her lips, and folded her arms in front of her chest. “And it's not like he wanted me either. So all of those insecure, sad emotions you're projecting right now are a good taste of your own medicine.”

He clenched his fists. “Don't try to make me a villain. Whatever obscured version of the truth you have in your head right now, you can't use it to manipulate me like this guy has you.” He pointed to Wray, who looked as though he were trying to decide if he should laugh or hit Tyson back.

Wray must have decided to laugh, because that's exactly what he did. “Darling, we need to go, or we're going to miss our flight. As much fun as this was, we can't be late. The boss doesn't tolerate that.” He stared down at Tyson and sneered. “I let you get away with it tonight. The next time you think it's a good idea to hit me will be your last. Tell your friends to enjoy their newly-wedded bliss while they can. Lord Bolton won't need the girl anymore, but he'll still be pretty ticked off that you did all of this.”

The man put an arm around Maya's waist and the two walked away, leaving Tyson alone in the middle of an empty street. Moonlight illuminated the entire town, and it should have been a beautiful and romantic night. All Tyson had was a bitter taste in his mouth. A mixture of emotions stirred inside of him, and they were on the verge of boiling over.

Maya's gone insane.
That was the only explanation he could think of as to why she would do something so stupid.
And the purple sparks.
Come to think of it, they were more red than purple, but not by much. He clearly has a mixture of magic in him, but how? Creating magical accessories is forbidden under punishment of death. How did he get a mix of Inero and Oceina magic?
The guy appeared to be Oceina, but there was a slight hint of Inero in his genes as well.
It doesn't make sense, but do I want to get more involved? He threatened me, Dani, and Ethan. I should at least warn them.

He picked up his phone, ready to give one of them a call, but stopped.
They're probably busy being…
Tyson shook his head, swallowing slowly. His friends were married. They would no doubt be enjoying the privileges of being a married couple. Who was he to spoil their happy moment with bad news?
But this is big.
He frowned and glanced back at Dani's parents' house.

“They'll know,” he said, and went back up the road, heading out of town. When he got to the front door, he didn't bother to knock. Tyson walked in to find the family still cleaning up.

Dani's mother looked up at him from wiping down the coffee table. “Tyson, I thought you were going out for the night.”

“Something happened,” he said. “Dani and Ethan are in danger.”

“Then we have to help,” she said, and put down her cloth. “Matt! Get in the living room
now
.”

“We can't go to them.” Tyson shook his head. “First off, I don't know where they went. Ethan said he would take her home, but not to the city. They could be anywhere in Oceina.”

“I'll call them and figure it out then,” she said, then scowled. “Matt, when I say now, I mean it!”

Some grumbling could be heard from the stairs as her husband made his way down. “Easier said than done when Cedar is in the bathtub. What's going on?” He faced Tyson. “I thought you were going out for the night.”

Tyson rubbed his brow, closing his eyes for a moment to collect himself. Then he relayed his entire conversation with Maya and the strange young man named Wray. He did his best to not leave out any detail, because he didn't know what would be considered important. Special emphasis was made on the color of Wray's magic.

“You're positive?” Matthias asked.

He nodded, wishing he had made it all up. “It's the one thing that's stuck out the most from the whole encounter. I'm not sure if this guy is using it to manipulate her or not. When I tried to help Maya, she rejected it and seemed to be in her right mind. But he could have also told her a number of lies too. All I know is, they mentioned great dragons, how she's a miracle, and they mated without any kind of remorse.”

“But they weren't wed?”

“I didn't notice if they were. Maybe it's a possibility, but I highly doubt it. The guy was sleazy. I don't know how to help her, though. She slapped me.”

Kat frowned and put her phone on the coffee table. “I've been trying to call Danielle and Ethan. Neither one is picking up. In fact, it's going straight to voicemail, and I don't know if that means they've turned their phones off for convenience or because something has happened.”

“I'm going to vote for the former,” her husband said. “Tyson, did Maya tell you where she was going?”

He shook his head. “No. Something about Wray's boss, and having a flight to catch.”

“Hey, Kat? Wasn't Ashley's first son named Wray?”

Dani's mother stopped what she was doing and nodded. “Yes, I believe so. That's what Lenora told me. Granted it's been years since we've spoken. Even longer since Ashley was ever mentioned, but why do you ask?”

“Because purple sparks sounds an awful lot like Inero and Oceina magic mixed together. She was married to one of Darien's brothers, remember? I'm sure some of that magic lingered for a while. Wray may have gotten some of it. Plus, didn't you say once that she tried to use her magic to persuade you? If it's him, then at least it's a lead on what's happening to Maya. What's happening in general. The mention of the Great Dragon and a boss is kind of putting me on edge. With how Lord Bolton talked about the prophecy, it's worrisome. Especially since Wray threatened the kids using Bolton's power.”

“What are we going to do?” Tyson asked, swallowing. His mouth went dry. It all sounded even more serious than he'd anticipated. He made eye contact with Dani's father. “What's going on?”

“Religion and politics are meshing. They have been from the beginning, and the wrong I did before you were born has to be made right,” he said, and stood up from his chair. “Kat, keep trying to get ahold of the kids. Talk to Ethan's parents. Maybe they'll help or have an idea where to find them.”

“What can I do?” Tyson asked, wanting more than anything to be useful.

“You can find out where Maya's going, and that might help us figure out why. Ask around at the airport. I doubt they took a dragon, since there isn't an Inero I've ever met that can fly. Just find out where they went and come back here.”