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  One of them attacked, and before he could even lay a claw on Gareth, he hit it with an orb of energy. The others shrank back just a little from the light and watched as the one he hit melted into black ooze. They were too many. He looked around and saw at least twenty of them surrounding him again. And he was too weak to create an orb to destroy them all. They began to attack again, but this time when he thought he would be overwhelmed, he heard the sound of metal slicing through demon bodies and their shrieks of rage and pain. He did not look around. He created orb after ob of energy and shot down the demon that came at him. Each time he used his magic, he weakened until he could not even create a spark.

  “Warlock, is that you?”

  The voice was one Gareth knew well, his second in command when they were protecting the castle. “Leto, is that you?” Gareth asked in amazement. “Why are you not in the mountains?” Gareth stood tall even though is body cried out in protest. He could not let his second in command see how weak he was.

  Leto embraced his commander. “Gareth! We thought you fell in battle. Where were you, my friend?”

  “Somewhere unexpected.” Gareth looked at the two that came up behind Leto. “Jax and Camden are with you I see. Where is the king?” Gareth looked at the two boys who were already powerful with magic as well as skilled with the arrows and sword. Leto was still strong even though now he carried a scar long his eye and cheek. Their clothes, once of the royal court, were dirty from overuse and having to flee the city. How could only one day make such a difference in a place that was once the center of Herion?

  Leto laughed. “I cannot get rid of these to rapscallions. The king is in the mountains, with the queen and the princess. The magic of the fairies and elves still holds strong against Genesis’s attacks. Come, we must leave the city before more of his demons come.”

  Jax handed Gareth the reins to his horse with a big grin and then the boy jumped on to the back of Camden’s horse. The foursome rode of out the city quietly and always on the lookout for the things that now overran the city. Gareth looked around his ruined world and wondered if the could ever win and bring back Herion to the world it once was. Everything seemed to be covered in darkness and stripped of life. When their path crossed a dead woman lying in a corner rotting, he had to turn his head away as his horse passed. He could not bear to see his people left to decay in the streets of the place he loved. Gareth assumed his horror went unnoticed until Leto spoke.

  “It’s like that all over the city. We cannot even come in and claim our dead,” Leto said quietly.

  “I cannot believe all of this happened since only one day of me being gone.”

  “Gareth.” Leto’s voice was filled with amazement. “You have not been gone one day, my friend. It has been seven days since anyone has laid eyes on you. That is why we feared you were dead.”

  Gareth turned to him, surprised. “Surely you jest!”

  “I do not. We lit your funeral fire and mourned you in the mountains.”

  Seven days, could it be possible? Gareth thought as they rode toward the mountains. He kept his thoughts to himself as they rode though the stark woods, and as they approached the mountains, he saw the magic of the fairy folk who reside there was doing well to keep Genesis as bay. But not for much longer. There were patches of dark magic filtering through the magical barrier. The part of the forest that the darkness had consumed lay dead while the other side that magic protected was lush and green. The foursome passed through the barrier easily while further away they could hear the shrieks of pain from the demons when they tried to break through and could not. The refugees from Herion who now lived among the Fairies and elves stopped and stared. The warlock was alive and the word passed quickly. Leto took him directly to the king and his family whose home was once a castle but now he ruled his people under the canopy of trees.

  Gareth got of his horse and approached the king, who sat with the men who did escape. He watched the king’s eyes widen in surprise, and then hope filled his eyes as Gareth walked toward him. King Arturious was a man of great strength, and even though he was in his late fifties, he still practiced daily with his guards and was skilled in combat. Gareth noticed how the war that now waged in his land affected him. For the first time since he became the warlock of Herion, the king looked old and tired.

  Gareth went to his knee and bowed before his king. “Sire, I am glad to see you well.”

  “No, no, Gareth, no formalities. The time has passed for that,” King Arturious said. “Where have you been?”

  “In a place of a different kind of magic. Tell me of here and what has happened.”

  The king sighed heavily. “It does not go well I fear. I am a man who can fight my enemy face to face. But magic is unseen and this is what we battle. The Gem of Chale being stolen has shifted our fates.”

  “How many were saved from our army?” Gareth asked.

  Leto joined in the conversation. “Not many, we only have about two thousand men. Most of them guard the barrier of magic that protects us. Each day, the darkness of Genesis comes a little farther in.”

  “But now you are here, Gareth. We can plan an attack on the castle and reclaim the gem,” King Arturious said.

  “Even if we could, I am not powerful enough to cleanse its core. But I swear to you Genesis will not claim Herion.”

  The king put his hand on Gareth’s shoulder and his hand went straight through him as if he were a ghost. “What is this—sorcery!”

  “Not sorcery, sire, a spell gone awry.” Gareth’s face contorted in pain. “I will be back, sire, I swear it! I swear it!” His voice echoed in the wind as he was propelled through time once again.

  * * * *

  Katrina sat in the char and then looked out the window. She could not keep still. Her mind was filled with thoughts about Gareth. If he got back to his own world, if he was alive, the kiss he gave her. God that was some kiss. Every nerve in her body felt as if he was touching them individually. But then he was ripped away from her. Would he ever be able to come back? What was going on in Herion! Sighing in frustration, she went to her favorite spot to calm her jangled emotions—the kitchen. Mystique walked in through her doggy door and jumped up on the bench just as Katrina was digging though the fridge.

  “So what’s wrong?”

  Katrina made a squeak and dropped the chocolate syrup she was pulling out to put on her ice cream. “Why do you sneak up on people?”

  “Hey, I wasn’t sneaking. It’s not my fault your head was buried in the fridge,” Mystique said mischievously. “So why are you buried in the fridge? Where is tall, dark, and delicious?’

  “Gone,” Katrina said miserably. “He got pulled back to where he came from.”

  “Hence, the cause of the mountain of ice cream and drowning it in chocolate syrup,” Mystique said in a knowing voice.

  “He kissed me,” Katrina said around a mouthful of ice cream.

  “Oh really, and . . .”

  “And I never felt anything like it. Even my hair got hot.”

  Mystique barked out a laugh. “Really, and then . . .”

  “He disappeared. He got pulled away. Great, huh? The first time I really felt something for a guy and he is from another dimension.”

  “Well, maybe you could find a spell to keep him here.”

  Katrina sighed a sad sigh. “It wouldn’t be fair. His world needs him.”

  “What do you mean?”

  She was just about to answer Mystique’s question when they heard a crash from the other room. Katrina dropped her spoon and ran out to the living room to see Gareth rolling on the ground in agony.

  She rushed over to him and put tried to turn him over. “Gareth, are you okay?”

  “Don’t touch me! Please don’t touch me!”

  The pain in his voice was evident, and Katrina left him lying on the floor and ran up stairs to her spell room. She came back downstairs and, despite his protest, lifted his head to put a yellow liquid in his mouth. She whispered a few words,
and almost instantly, he relaxed and went unconscious. She looked over at Mystique, who stood transfixed in the doorway between the kitchen and the living room.

  “We need to make a spell now, Mystique. His body can’t take this much longer.”

  “What do you need me to do?”

  “Create the circle around him, and I’ll find the spell even if I have to create one. We have to stop him from being pulled back until we can figure out how he can do it safely. It’s killing him.” Katrina did not even second-guess herself this time. She knew he needed her help, and she was not going to allow him to be in pain any longer.

  Katrina and her familiar worked quickly to close the shades to the windows so no one from the outside could see the magic about to take place. With the candles lit and the circle formed, Katrina called the goddess to help her in her task. She spoke with confidence and assurance for the first time in her life and called the magic to her. Katrina felt the power rise up in her body to travel out and tingle from her fingertips, and she did not fear it. Gareth needed her. Speaking, Katrina lifted her hands and felt the power emanate outward.

  “To seal the rip in time I caused, I send my power out to close the door.

  “His travel through the portal will cease,

  “Goddess, hear my cry! Goddess, hear my plea!

  “Send my magic forth to mend the rip in time!”

  At the end of the spell, Katrina closed the circle and managed to get the very large Gareth onto her sofa. She sent a silent thanks to the goddess she had chosen for picking the long chair instead of the loveseat. She covered him with a blanket from upstairs and kept vigil until he woke.

  Chapter Five

  Gareth sat straight up and looked out around. When his gaze came to Kat sleeping in a chair across from where he was laying, a small smile crossed his face. He remembered being pulled through to her realm after seeing his king and his friends. He also could recall the searing pain when he landed in Katrina’s living room. It was unlike anything he ever felt. The pain had gone straight to his bones, and his skin had been on fire. She had taken care of him. She had done something because he didn’t feel the other realm pulling at his body anymore.

  Gareth felt tenderness sweep through him while he looked at her with her head against the back of the chair and some of her curls covering her face. When a snore escaped her lips, he grinned. Lovely Katrina had taken care of him. He threw the blanket she had covered him with and went over to kneel in front of the chair. Gareth brushed one the curls off her face and caressed her mocha-colored cheek before pressing tiny kisses along her cheek and neck.

  Her little moan of pleasure made desire build inside him, and he wanted to kiss farther down her body to see what other noises she would make. She opened her eyes slowly and combed her hands through his dark hair. Each time her fingers slipped though the thick mane and grazed his neck, he shuddered. She turned her face to him, and Gareth took her lips is a searing kiss. He tasted and explored her mouth with his tongue. When her tongue tangled with his, his groan of pleasure was muffled against her mouth as he deepened his kiss.

  Gareth pulled away and looked into her eyes that were heavy with sleep and pleasure. He could see the way his kiss affected her. If she only knew he was merely a thin thread away from taking her right there on that chair. The need to touch her was like fire in his blood. He could not help himself when he reached under her blouse and cupped her full breast. Her eyes were still fixed on him, and he watched as she bit her lip when his hand was filled with her. Gareth kept her gaze while his other hand traveled up her thigh under her skirt and cupped her womanhood through the thin barrier of her panties. A small cry escaped her lips when his fingers slipped between the barrier and into her moist center; all the while his fingers plucked at her nipple and massaged her breast.

  “My, you are such a wet kitty, Kat, aren’t you?” he murmured as he let his fingers slip in and out of her body. When she spread her legs wider in a silent plea for more, he obliged, letting his digit sink inside her deeper. “See how your body flows for me, Katrina. I wonder how you will taste.”

  Katrina moaned her disappointment when he moved from between her legs. He could see the awe and passion in her eyes as he lick her juices off his finger. He was just about to pull her to him to bury his face between her legs. A noise from the kitchen startled them, and a voice called out.

  “Hey, Kat, are you around here? I came by for a coffee fix before work!”

  Katrina whispered a curse, and Gareth raised his eyebrows in surprise. “That is my best friend, Sadie. She pops by every now and again when she runs out of coffee.”

  “We shall continue this at a later time, Katrina. You have my word on that,” Gareth growled before he kissed her hard and stood. If her friend had not shown up, he would have ended up taking her right there.

  Sadie walked in just as he stood and shrieked in terror when she saw Kat sitting there with an unknown man looming over her. She grabbed the first thing that came to her hand, which happened to be the umbrella that Kat had used as a weapon when Gareth first appeared in her home. What do these women find so useful about brandishing the umbrella as a weapon? he thought in amusement. From what Katrina had told him, it was to keep you dry in the rain.

  “Sadie, no!” Kat shouted and stood in front of her friend with her hands held up to ward her off. “He’s my friend. He’s not dangerous!”

  Sadie lowered the umbrella and warily looked at him. Gareth looked at Katrina’s friend. She was by far taller than Katrina was, and she was very beautiful with long dark hair. She reminded him of the Amazons that lived across the oceans on Herion, proud, elegantly beautiful, and statuesque. Looking at the two women standing together, he surmised that even though Sadie was beautiful, she could not compare to Katrina in his eyes.

  “So where did you meet tall, dark, and, well, you know,” Sadie asked.

  “Uh, we met at the coffee shop when I was picking up my blend,” Kat said, lying. “He has my taste in coffee and we just hit it off from there.” She walked over to where he stood, grabbed his hand, and pulled him over to stand next to her. “Sadie, this is Gareth. Gareth, this is my best friend, Sadie.”

  “Nice to meet you,” Sadie said, shaking his hand.

  “Indeed.” He inclined his head, brought her hand to her lips, and placed a kiss near the wrist.

  “My, my, you don’t get many guys doing that anymore.” Sadie seemed unwilling to take her hand away and was busy batting her eyes at him.

  “You sure don’t.” Kat pulled her friend’s hand away and replaced it with hers. “Now, I haven’t made coffee so I guess you’ll have to hit the coffee shop on your way to work.” She began bustling an unwilling Sadie out the door who was trying to look back all the while her feet were moving.

  “I have a few minutes,” Sadie began, but Kat was already handing her the purse and opening the door to usher out.

  “Um, well, okay, I guess,” Sadie said, looking over her shoulder. She pulled Kat to her and whispered. “I expect a call, and details and I mean details about . . . everything!”

  Kat smiled “Okay, okay now go!”

  Gareth smiled as he heard the small conversation and watched the exchange in amusement. It seemed that no matter which realm, women would be women. When Kat closed the door and walked back over to him, he pulled her into his embrace. He inhaled her scent. “Thank you for saving me, Katrina.”

  “What happened, Gareth, when you went to Herion, when you came back?” Katrina whispered. She reached up to caress his face. “Come into the kitchen. I’ll make coffee and something for you to eat.”

  “I do not know why there was so much pain when I came through the portal.” He followed her into the kitchen and felt a pang of disappointment at the loss of their intimate moment. He sat down across from her and watched as she prepared the coffee and started to crack eggs in the bowl. The surface of her stove began to get hot. Gareth longed to tinker with all the devices she had to see what made them work. Bu
t being pulled from world to world and knowing he had to save Herion prevented him from learning all he could.

  “What did it feel like when you went back to your world?” Kat asked. “What was it like?”

  Gareth recalled how his world looked and he was filled with sadness. “Seven days had passed, Katrina. Seven days! The land was dead. Nothing was there except demons living on the streets where my people once walked and sold from their shops. Our people were lying rotting where they fell. There was nothing but darkness.”