The Two Kings (Afterlife Saga) (102 page)

“Easy
!
” He warned as I started to down it. He took it from me before I had time to finish it. Then
,
without warning
,
I was being lifted into his arms.

“What are you doing?” I asked as he lifted me higher to get a better grip.

“I’m taking you to our bed my little drunk
en
princess
.
” He said this like he owned me, which of course he did, meanwhile I had never felt so embarrassed in all my life. I wanted to bury myself into a pillow and hide but I had to use Draven instead. I don’t think he minded. I felt him look down at me as he walked with me to the edge of the balcony.

“Wait...you’re not going to do what I think you are?” He sto
pped and looked down towards
a smaller balcony below us that I had never noticed before. It was in complete darkness,
so that might explain why it
always went unseen. It looked only the size for one and curved round like an iron cage for a giant bird.

“This reminds me of the first time when you were in my arms, well when you were awake anyway
.
”

“And the first time?” I asked shuddering in his stone hold.

“The forest clearing. The very first time I saw you. I will never fo
rget the way you felt in my arms whilst
you slept. You fit so perfect
ly
as you do now, like you were made for my arms around you. If I had my way
,
I would carry you everywhere
.
” I looked up to see him smiling to himself and I couldn’t help mimicking it.

“That maybe so
,
but unless you want to see me chucking up again then I wouldn’t jump down there
.
” He laughed making me vibrate.

“That won’t happen again, your body has settled now the poison
has been
removed. Trust me, you’ll be fine
.
” He said and before I could protest further he squeezed me tightly to him and jumped. My breath caught in my chest and the feel of air flying up around my skin and hair had me gripping onto his clothes with fright. I could feel my nails penetrate the fabric
, I held on so
hard. I must have closed my eyes because it was black and I could feel tears stream outwards
from under
my closed lids.

“You can open your eyes now
.
” He said, his voice full of concern for my fear. I looked around to find we were on the little balcony and facing a black, wooden door that looked impenetrable. I looked back up to see how far we had come and couldn’t believe that this was the same route we had taken when Draven had taken me home the first time. I had been so naive, why had I never questioned this before? All the answers were right in front of me the whole time, I just never asked myself the right questions.

The door opened after Draven spoke a w
ord I didn’t know understand,
but I jumped slightly as it creaked loudly a
t the great big hinges holding
it in place. Draven side stepped us in just as I was about to tell him that I was good to walk now.

“Please allow me this little pleasure
.
” He said upon hearing my thoughts.

“You can read me?”

“It’s a little easier
when you
’
r
e drunk, I find there are
no walls at all to contend with. You’re like an open book
.
” He said in triumph.

“Oh goodie
!
” I said sarcastically.

“So you knew how guilty I have felt all night and yet you did nothing?” I asked frustrated.

“I must admit I was too angry with you to ease a guilt I wanted you to feel. I am sorry for it though
.
” He said not sounding too sorry!

“Oh well
,
that’s alright then!” I said, again not keeping the sarcasm at bay. As we had this conversation he had been walking me down a narrow hallway that only just fit the both of us. It was all stone with a solid arch above that was higher than it needed to be.

“Where are we?” I said
, momentarily forgetting our
conversation.

“My hom
e is filled with secret passage
ways that only a handful of my people know of. It allows me access to a
nywhere throughout my home so
I can go by unseen
.
”

“You mean free to spy
?
” I said
,
noting the obvious
,
which made him laugh.

“Clever girl, yes
,
to spy. I must know that the people in my council can be trusted
.
”

“That makes sense, as long as it’s not used for other things
.
” I said making a joke he didn’t get.

“Care to elaborate on that?” He asked me in a teasing manner.

“Well
,
as long as there’s no pleasure in what you see
.
”

“Ah
,
the girls, forever the jealous Vixen you are. There is only one body I would spy on and I am a lucky man that I can stare at it freely without having to hide. Although I can admit I have been known to watch you in the shower when you know nothing about it
.
”

“No you haven’t!” I punched him lightly and he laughed at me.

“Haven’t I?”

“You
’
r
e
teasing me
.
” I decided and he didn’t answer but his bad boy smile had me doubting in what I just said. I didn’t get chance to check however because we had reached the end of the passage way. In front of us lay another black door which held no light underneath. Draven’s eyesight must have been that of a hawk because I couldn’t even see a handle or anythi
ng. It opened anyway and Draven
motioned with the hand he held at my back. The swoosh of thick heavy material could be heard and then with the click of his fingers light erupted from lamps in the room. Except it wasn’t a room at all, it was another hallwa
y, this time one the size
you would expect to see in a castle or stately home. I had never been here before
,
I knew that much due to the different pictures the walls held.

Great tapestries
,
the size
of
trucks
,
made the stone walls dance with
brightly coloured thread that looked like they were made yesterday. Even the smell of them was new and fresh and I could almost see the we
alth of English ladies sat
picking and plucking away on rainy days.

There were different themes as we moved along. On the floor before we got to the stairs, were scenes of gardens and landscapes but as he climbed the stairs it became more serious. Battle grounds
,
where little fabric bodies lay dying on blood soaked earth. Men in silver amour charged ahead with their spears held high and their swords at the ready. Horses with covered faces ran forth into an unknown death. I could almost hear the battle drums beat wildly against the skin of animals that were sacrificed to make them. It was only when Draven turned me away from them did I realise why...he was reading my mind.

“Do not think of those times
.
” He said shielding me from them as he took the last few steps quicker than the rest.

“Why not, history buff
,
remember
?
” I said light heartedly but obviously unconvincingly as well.

“There
are some things that are not
ever
to
be seen though the eyes
that I love. It will pain me to see it again
.
”

“Draven
, they’
r
e
just pictures
.
” I whispered to him.

“No
,
Keira they are not, they are my memories. From those that I have touched and made an undying connection to
in
my past. I buy these items they create as a means of escape from a haunting time they don’t understand and take these memories back from them, to free them.” He sounded full of remorse at all the times he had done this. I didn’t want to ask any more questions and from now on he didn’t have to turn me away from these sights, I just didn’t look.

Just how many wars had Draven seen? How many men killed in a battle they didn’t start, all for a power that would not be their own? I shuddered again and Draven tightened his hold. He knew I was thinking abou
t it but I couldn’t stop feeling sorrow
for all those poor souls I didn’t know. When Draven spoke about touching them I knew what it meant. It was when he possessed their minds. I suppose it
was logical for some of their
memories to be transferred during this time and I understood more than most the urge to get those images out. I had been doing that very thing most of my life. Is this what Draven wanted to shield me from, the pain of knowing? Is this how all those
other people had found their releases
?

“I can hear so many question
s
running wild in your mind, I’m surprised you’re not exhausted!” He said
,
trying to get my mind off it all.

“There is still so much I don’t know and sometimes my mind runs away with me
.
”

“So I can see
.
” He mocked playfully but I could tell he was just happy that he had distracted me for the moment. To be fair, with Draven around
,
that was never difficult to achieve. 

For the moment we both remained silent as we contin
ued on throughout his home and it seemed to be
endless. Of course from the outside it didn’t seem half as big as it actually was. This was due to most of it
being
engulfed by the forest and cliff
’
s edge. It was blanketed from outsiders and it was understandable why, for one it was a lot older than everyone presumed it to be. It would be pretty hard to understand how once an old monastery, over a thousand years old ended up on the outskirts of a small New Englan
d town. Not when the place it
self was only established in the sixteen hundreds.

I remember Draven telling me once that it was brought over here stone by stone because of the positioning and importance the land ho
lds. Something about where the Temple lay was directly on top of a gate
way to the other sides. Of course
,
I was fascinated by it all but the more questions I asked, the m
ore resigned Draven became to
talking about
it. I think he worried
t
hat my head might explode if
told too much all at once. I can’t really blame him, it m
ust get very annoying and child
like to be asking so many question
s
about anything and everything.  I mean it was like having my very own
Wikipedia
man!

“And what is a
Wikipedia
man?” He asked me and I mentally slapped myself. I needed to put a stop to this reading mind lark! It was becoming very frustrating and I was just thankful it didn’t happen all the time.

“You really need to stop reading my mind!”

“Why? I’m thinking seriously about making you an alcoholic
.
” He laughed at his own joke and I couldn’t help but follow him. Draven was such a serious character by nature, it was always infectious to hear the sound of his laughter.

“Hey, so that’s why you let me drink all that I did
, you wanted access to my mind?
” I didn’t think about it at the time but now it was clear. I mean if Draven knew about every drink I had, then why hadn’t he stopped me earlier
,
before I had gone too far....of course now that answer was clear. He had wanted me dr
unk all along, just enough so
that I didn’t have any mental walls to prevent him from hearing my guilt.

“You are your own person Keira, you do as you please. I did not fo
rce you into drinking your body
weigh
t in Corona
s and tequila shots
.
”

“Ummf, but you liked the outcome sure enough! And if that is the case why did you stop me at all?” I folded my arms instead of clinging onto him
,
that I had been.

“I must confess I did
,
but I knew if I didn’t stop you when I did then we wouldn’t be having this conversation now
.
”