So, I was reading through this story and realized I never posted the rest of it. Strange as I usually post a chapter right after I look it over for errors. I'll be posting a new chapter every few days until it is completed. bambers2
Chapter Eight
Present time…
Riordyn woke and burst out from beneath the shallow soil. His heart slammed against his chest as he tried to recall any details about the girl in his dream. The images quickly faded from his mind, but he was able to recall two details. He almost died while fighting several vampires and someone named Falcon stole something important from him.
"Rafe!" he called out to his brother, "I need you!" As he stalked back and forth waiting for his brother to come to him, he tried to figure out if Falcon was the vampire who almost killed him. His head throbbed from trying to piece together the bits of his past he could remember. Not one single memory gave him any sort of clue as to what happened to his lifemate. If he didn't find her soon, he feared he'd lose his mind.
"You are awake," Rafe said from behind him, and he turned to face his brother. "You have slept for five risings, and I was beginning to fear . . . ." His voice trailed off but from his expression, Riordyn surmised that Rafe thought he might never wake up.
"Do you know anyone named Falcon?"
"Of course." His dark eyes widened slightly. "He is an ancient and a great warrior."
"He is not vampire?" Riordyn's brows knitted together in confusion. Why would he steal something from me?
"No, he found his lifemate Sara several years ago in Italy."
"He took something from me, Rafe. I need to know what it was."
"I will contact him." Rafe fell silent for several very long minutes, and when he finally spoke again, his expression was even grimmer than before. "He claims that he hasn't seen you since you left the Carpathian Mountains."
"Was he ever in America?" Riordyn asked, fearing his dream meant nothing.
Again Rafe reached out to Falcon, and within a few moments he nodded. "He traveled here with his lifemate a few years ago, but their trip was cut short when they were asked to accompany a girl to the Carpathian Mountains to find her lifemate."
"What was her name?" Breath lodged in his throat, Riordyn's heart thundered in his ears as he waited for the answer.
"Her name was Jennifer Callahan."
"Jenna," Riordyn breathed, stomach fluttering at the mere mention of her name. "Where is she? Tell him I need to find her!"
"You know her?"
"I believe she was important to me." He concentrated on her name, trying to put a face to the name, and drew a blank. "I need to find her, Rafe. She might know what happened to my lifemate."
"Falcon left her in Mikhail's care when he returned to Italy."
While Rafe contacted Mikhail through their shared mental pathway, Riordyn paced back and forth in the underground cavern buried deep beneath Rafe's mansion. Bowls of fragrant herbs were spread about the room as if they had the power to restore his life to him. Although the pleasant fragrance soothed his mind, it did nothing to restore what his Carpathian abilities.
"Mikhail said she stayed at his home for a little over a year," Rafe said after a lengthy silence. "She had the ability to speak and see the dead. Many of our people sought her out to speak to those they had lost. When the spirits possessed her, her power was nearly limitless. Mikhail feared what would happen if a dark spirit possessed her."
"Why are you telling me this?" Riordyn interrupted, stomach churning violently at the thought of Jenna being possessed by dark spirit. If Rafe was telling him all of this, he must have believed she was responsible for what happened to him, but he refused to believe it.
"Even though she was very young, Mikhail tried to help her find her lifemate. She was adored and cherished by all our people, yet she was not happy. He feared for her sanity as she fell deeper and deeper into despair. Often he would hear her crying, and not even Raven could soothe her. When she said she wished to go home, he could do no other than allow her to leave."
"Where did she go?"
"Julian and Desari were visiting at the time, and when they left they took her with them." It couldn't be a mere coincidence that he ended up at Julian's home the night he died. Somehow Jenna was involved with whatever had happened to him. Before Riordyn could say that he needed to speak to Julian, Rafe added, "He is on his way here now."
They went outside to wait for Julian, and before long a large golden owl swooped down and transformed into their cousin. Aidan arrived a few minutes later, and Rafe's daughters rushed outside to attack his legs with hugs. He gathered both girls in his arms, and kissed them both on the cheek before giving them both a large stuffed animal.
"He spoils them," Julian commented, and then not to be outdone, he created a huge dollhouse and dolls for them to play with. Squealing with delight, they reached out to Julian and he grabbed them up in a bear hug. "But I am still their favorite," he chuckled.
A stab of guilt knifed at Riordyn. He hadn't so much as talked to his two beautiful little nieces since he arrived at his brother's house. They both looked like their mother with inquisitive green eyes and long chestnut hair. Yet for as deep as the connection he felt for Genevieve was, he couldn't bring himself to open up to his nieces.
"Run along you two before Aidan tries to outdo his brother," Rafe said, giving them both a wink. With a wave of his hand the dollhouse disappeared. "You'll find your dollhouse in your play room."
Julian set them down, and they ran toward the house. Then one of them stopped, and rushed back to Rafe. She tugged on his pant leg, and curling a finger she motioned for him to bend down. "Why does he look like you, Daddy?" she whispered in his ear as she pointed to Riordyn.
"He's my brother, little one." Bracing his hands against her shoulders, he turned her to face Riordyn. "Meagan, this is your Uncle Riordyn."
Left with no other option, Riordyn crouched and smiled at her. "I fear I have been remiss in introducing myself, little one." He held out his arms to her, and after a slight hesitation, she wrapped her arms around his throat.
"Don't be sad, Uncle," she whispered in his ear, and when she pulled away from him, tears shimmered in her eyes. "You'll find her."
Riordyn looked from her to his brother, wondering how she could know he was searching for his lifemate. "She is gifted with empathy," Rafe explained, nudging his head for Meagan to run along. Once she was gone, he went on to say, "The day I found you, I went to Julian's house because she sensed someone in great pain. I never imagined I would find you there."
The underlying anger in his tone was unmistakable. For whatever reason, Riordyn had allowed him to believe he was dead for the last five years, and he knew there was no way to make it up to him.
"I am truly sorry for whatever pain I have caused you." He rose to his full height, and turned his attention to Julian. "Tell me what you know of Jenna?"
"When we brought her back to America, she stayed with us for a few weeks. Desari tried her best to bring light to the darkness surrounding her, but she said she would never be happy again. We knew of her power, and I believed she might be possessed by a dark spirit. Gregori and I worked to safeguard her mind against outside forces controlling her." He drew in a deep breath and sighed. "We both found safeguards already set in place to protect her, and it left us to believe she had already found her lifemate and lost him. We asked who the Carpathian was, but she would not speak his name. Not long after that day, she disappeared."
"Are you saying she chose to join her lifemate?" Rafe asked, casting a sidelong glance in Riordyn's direction.
Julian gave a curt nod. "It is the way of our people," he added for Riordyn's benefit. "I know it was your hope that she could help restore your memories – she is gone, Riordyn."
"How can you know this for certain?" His mind and stomach revolted against the idea of Jenna taking her own life. From the look on all their faces, he knew they believed it to be true. "Mikhail said she was searching for her lifemate," he said, trying to reason out why their conclusion was wrong. "If he already died, why would she be searching for another?"
"She was very young, Riordyn," Aidan explained. "It is our belief that she did not know how it is between lifemates. Perhaps she thought if she found another, the pain of being separated from her lifemate would go away."
A strong gust of wind kicked up as Aidan spoke, and on the air he heard a woman laughing. Progressively it grew louder in his ears, yet no one else seemed to hear it. They continued to speak, their mouths moving, but he couldn't hear a word they said. As I have lost so now shall you know loss, came a hauntingly familiar voice followed closely by more maniacal laughter. As you have destroyed so now shall you be destroyed.