S’Kir
Island of the Unseen Gods
THE GATE STOOD BEFORE US, closed for entry.
Bel pulled the Original druid amulet and the Original vampire amulet from the depths of his pockets. Air escaped in and out of his lungs at a fast pace, and his hands trembled. He dipped his head down and brushed his lips across mine, whispering with hesitation, “I am nervous.”
I lifted my hands up and cupped his whiskered cheeks. “It’ll be fine. I’m here. We do this together.”
His brows furrowed. “I have this vision of what my home here looked like. Over time, it has faded. But I can still see clearly the way the sun set over the home across from mine. What do you think that means?”
My smile was gentle. “It means you’re a dreamer.”
Ice blue eyes ran over my face. “I’m not sure if that’s accurate.”
“I’m right. Just accept it.” I waggled my black brows. “How about we open that gate now?”
His chuckle was rough. “I’m stalling, aren’t I?”
“Just a little.” I dug my tiny fingernails into his short beard and scratched softly. “It’s time, Bel.”
“That it is.” He pulled away from my hands and straightened to his full height, towering far over me.
The king raised the two powerful amulets and touched them together. Both instantly flared with their golden or blood red glow. He walked forward on strong legs and gently touched the jewels to the polished, bronzed doors.
Bel commanded, “Open the Gate.”
A crack of thunder shook the ground.
I sucked in a quick breath and spread my legs to steady myself. I placed a bracing hand on Bel’s left shoulder and gripped his shirt in a tight fist.
The air pressure changed, pushing at me.
My muscles clenched at the odd sensation.
Bright light flooded my eyes.
I squinted and stepped closer to my lover, not releasing my hold on him. Until my eyes adjusted to the bright light. My mouth bobbed, and a chuckle built up inside my throat, but I bit it back with much force.
The Gate was open.
We’d arrived just in time for naked playtime.
Four druids—three men and one woman—had paused in their sexual act together, their heads all jerking up and turning in our direction.
A peculiar gurgling noise erupted from Bel’s throat before he whispered out of the side of his mouth, “Gwen, the head. Get the fucking head for me.”
He stuffed the Original vampire amulet and the Original druid amulet down into his pockets while I quickly unzipped his backpack and yanked the head out. Smooth like, I slid the head down and passed it off to his left hand by his leg.
Just as fast, he tossed King Niallan’s head past the Gate’s entrance into the grotto. It bounced twice and rolled once on the smooth orange-brown stone ground before it stopped moving.
I zipped up his backpack with one hand and then placed my palms on the handles of my guns holstered at my thighs.
This was just fucking bizarre.
I was pretty sure I had an eyelash in my eye, too.
Way to enter a magical island. With tears.
I blinked rapidly trying to dislodge it. But…
False alarm, thank fuck. My vision cleared.
Right as…one of the men jumped to his feet.
And raced as fast as he could toward us.
I squinted and shook my head. I had to be seeing shit, like a magical illusion from the place, the naked man far too familiar.
Instinct screamed that this was no illusion.
What the fuck?
My lover was no help. He just stood there in shock.
Using my vampire speed, I sped in front of Bel.
I unholstered my guns and aimed true.
The man skidded to a stop, his hooded gaze captured by the weapons in my hands. He lifted a blond brow, and muttered, “I haven’t seen that type of gun before.”
“You’re dead. And if you want proof, you’re standing next to your head,” I hissed, baring my fangs. “How the fuck are you here, Niallan?”
The man’s blond head tipped down and stared at the head on the ground. He used his bare left foot to turn it around to see the face. He grunted as he stared down at it, his attention wholly captured by it.
A click from behind the blond man made my eyebrow twitch. I spared a quick glance to the woman, who had stalked up quietly and shouldered a rifle straight from the Wild West’s reject pile.
There was no doubt it was aimed at my head.
The two men had joined the woman, their swords held entirely too easily to be anything but deadly in their hands.
Were they all dead, too? Fuck if I knew.
This was a problem.
I snarled, “Bel, snap the fuck out of it. Niallan’s fuck buddies are annoying me a little bit.” My brows snapped together as a frightening thought occurred. I started babbling like I was put on fast-forward, “Wait. Is S’Kir where souls go? Do vampires and druids live with them? Oh my god. It all makes sense now. Unseen Gods. How do I kill a soul? Bel, I need your help. I don’t know how to kill souls!”
Bel choked behind me, and then quickly moved to stand by my side. His hands blurred and grabbed my guns and yanked them away from me. He shook his head hard, and his long, black hair fell over his shoulders. He stated calmly, “That’s not Niallan.”
I shot my wide eyes back to the man. “What?”
“Niallan was my son,” the look-alike stated, and stalked forward. The woman shouldering the rifle gasped softly, but he ignored her. He had his eyes—ice blue eyes, not green—only on my lover. “You should get a new bodyguard, Belshazzar. She’s much too skittish.”
My spine instantly straightened. I glared at the man and grabbed my guns back from Bel. I didn’t holster them, though. The look-alike’s friends were almost on us. I took a few steps back so I could keep an eye on all of them.
The woman with them was, at least, fairly smart.
She was watching me, too.
“Gwen’s not skittish, Dorian. She just had a bad experience with your brat.” Bel threw his arms open when the man stopped directly in front of him. “I have fucking missed you, brother.”
What? What the fucking hell did he just say?
The two of them had all of my attention now.
In fact, they had the attention of all of us.
The man, Dorian, grabbed Bel in a tight hug. “I have missed you, too, brother.”
I held perfectly still as I tried to process this new development, the two embracing each other like they never wanted to let go.
“He’s your twin?” I asked carefully. “The one you told me about?”
“Yes,” Bel spoke over his brother’s shoulder, neither one of them letting each other go. “His name’s Dorian.”
“I caught that. But…he’s a druid.” My eyes ran up and down his twin, my mind still stunned. “And naked.”
Dorian snorted. “Oh, she’s a smart one.”
“Shut up, asshole,” Bel groused. He leaned his head back and placed a smacking kiss on his twin’s forehead. “It’s good to be back.”
Dorian’s glare reminded me of my lover’s—same exact eyes. “If there is slobber on my forehead, I’m going to kick your ass.”
Bel grinned, a little fang showing. “You’re getting all kinds of liquids on my clothes right now, thanks to your previous fun, so shut the hell up.”
Dorian tipped his head back and laughed.
I stared.
What the fuck had I gotten myself into?
He sounded like Bel. A little sweet and a lot bitter.
I glanced at the woman again.
She was still watching me with quiet eyes.
Fun.
Oh, yes. This was going to be a really interesting trip.
THE BLOOD WILL CONTINUE…
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