Have you ever woken up and thought where the hell am I? I seem to be
doing that a lot lately, I look around me and have no clue how I got here or
how to find my way back to where I started from.
Then there are the days like right now when I actually believe it may be better
if I gave up the fight and let the other side win – I just wish I knew who the
hell the other side is.
Julian McKenna rested his head back
against the dirty wall where he sat. His body still trembled from whatever
caused him to end up where he was right now. He could have sworn that last
night he went to sleep in his own bed. For fucks sake he’d even begged Davie to
tie him to the fucking thing. As uncomfortable as it was he knew deep down that
when he closed his eyes he was a place that should have been a comfort to him,
yet when he opened his eyes today he was once again bodily in a place he
shouldn’t be. Hell, by looking around at his surroundings he wasn’t even
completely sure he was even still on Earth. But if he wasn’t on Earth then
where the hell was he?
The sound of approaching footsteps
had Julian instantly on guard his body alert to whoever was heading in his
direction. Usually on these little jaunts he never encountered other people so
this was all knew to him and somewhat frightening as well as exhilarating –
maybe now he would finally get some answers to whatever was happening to him. Yet
a strong part was telling him to tuck tail and run like hell – not ever looking
back – because his brain wasn’t going to handle what was to come.
Pity Julian had never ever listened
to reason…
The fear mechanism in his brain must
have been malfunctioning since birth because when normal people would be
running for their lives Julian stood proud and tall and faced everything head
on. Whereas Julian thought of it as bravery others proclaimed it was stupidity,
and at this moment in time he wasn’t quite sure who was right – it was a pretty even race.
Slowly getting to his feet and making
as little noise as possible. Julian pressed his entire body against the grimy
wall at his back and waited. Whatever was heading in his direction he had all
intentions of meeting it standing on his feet.
The footsteps of the unseen being
changed slightly and Julian got the impression that maybe they had just
realised they were no longer alone. The strange thing was Julian felt no sense
of malice drifting in the atmosphere. Whoever the unseen person was he wasn’t
there to harm Julian. Maybe he didn’t know Julian was there at all.
Julian’s heart rate sped up as a
shadow appeared at the corner of the building across from him. Whoever was
coming was almost upon him and now it was too late to run – even if his brain
allowed him to do so.
The being which stepped around the
corner was not at all what Julian was expecting. For a moment Julian was
dumbfounded as he took in the man from head to toe. His waist length blonde
hair fell in a golden shower down his tall and whisper thin body. Skin so pale,
yet with just a hint of a golden sheen enthralled Julian who had taken a step
toward the man without conscious thought in what he was doing. The man’s age
was undetermined. His flawless features drew Julian’s gaze to the shocked and the
seemingly innocent crystal clear blue eyes before him.
The man’s clothing was odd and
somewhat different from the attire Julian wore. It consisted of tight form
fitting trousers and a looser shirt, though the shirt fit snugly around the
chest and shoulder’s it fell loosely to mid-thigh, and was the deepest shade of
midnight blue, strangely it suited the man perfectly. On closer inspection
Julian made out the intricate Celtic looking design done is silver thread
around the neckline and base of the tunic.
“You came.” Though shocked at the
words Julian found it hard not to note the lyrical tone to the man’s voice. “I
never thought my call would be answered.”
With a trembling hand the beautiful man
reached out and cupped Julian’s stubbled cheek. Julian’s eyes fluttered closed
at the touch, deep inside something told him this was where he was meant to be –
this place felt like home.
“Where are we? Who are you?” Julian
fought to keep his voice strong as he forced his open and once again locked
gazes with the man before him.
Pain or maybe hurt washed over the
man’s face before he finally spoke. “My name is Oleander Marris. I’d almost given
up all hope of ever having you by my side. As to where we are I would only
offer this advice. We are where we need to be and I have always been here.
Right here waiting…”
The first thing which flooded Julian’s
mind was not the fact that he still had no clue where he was but that the man
standing in front of him was named after a poisonous flowering bush. What kind
of parents did that to their child?
“Oleander, huh? Do you mind if I call
you Olli?” He asked casually. Fear spiked through him momentarily when the
sense of more people heading their way. “On second thoughts I think we need to
get away from here unless we want more people here with us.”
The slight widening of Olli’s eyes
told Julian the other man hadn’t sensed the approach of yet more people. Shock rocketed
through him when Olli grabbed his hand, and threaded their fingers together, as
he began leading Julian through the narrow and shadow filled streets.
“Who’s following us, Olli?” Julian
asked as he followed as closely and as quickly as he could.
A unmistakable shudder ran through
Olli’s body. “It’s probably the Fearmac and we do not want to be caught by
them.”
“And just who are the Fearmac?”
Julian demanded as he pulled Olli to a stop.
“Your family, and we have been
running from them for as long as I can remember.”
With that one small revealing
sentence it was like the walls inside his mind came crashing down and
everything that had once been lost was now open for his perusal again. The first
and clearest thing was his name – Jewelian Fearmac. First born son of Lorkian
Fearmac, and heir to the throne of Abidan Kapalli.
Wherever the hell that was.
