The Allies of Old; Book Two Renewal: Chapter Nineteen "Magical Cave of Wonders"

Book Cover created in acrylic by the extremely talented @therealpaul

If you have not read the first book of the series, "Reborn", it is advisable you do so before reading "Renewal" or you will be lost. This link will provide you with a series summary as well as all sixty-eight chapters of Reborn

Chapter Nineteen

When she reached the bottom step she let her eyes adjust and looked around in awe. Shelves lined the walls and they were packed full of bottles. Sniffing the air she detected the mildest scent of spices and some kind of alcohol. Scotch, she realized, I am in Scotland!

She plucked a bottle from the shelf and dusted it with her glove. There was a simple label but the words, which were not in English, had faded. She set it down and pulled off her gloves then used her fingers to wrench off the top-something she would never have accomplished as a human. The smell of the liquor went straight up her nose and it was delicious, with some kind of vanilla undertone that made her mouth water.

She brought the bottle to her lips and grinned. “To the wonderful soul who made this, Bless you!” she said aloud and put the bottle in the air for a mock toast then brought it to her lips and tipped her head back.

Two hours later she was three sheets to the wind and skipping across the field behind the large house in childish abandon. She had leapt from one tree to another the moment she’d felt its effects and was now headed back to dance on the roof. She had her music cranked to upbeat pop songs and she alternated between taking sips of her happy juice and singing loudly. Her depression and fear had vanished completely in her drunken haze, something she acknowledged a number of times by loudly toasting the creator of her liquid salvation.

Jared appeared out of midair just a few yards ahead of her and she skidded to a stop. But even the formidable glower on his face did nothing to dampen her spirits.
His brows were drawn together but as he took her in he guessed the situation easily.

“Where did you get that?” he demanded, referring to the bottle in her hand.

She swept her arm in the direction from which she’d come and stated, “A secret and magical cave of wonder!” then promptly erupted into giggles.

He gave her a dark look as he came forward and gripped her arm. “Show me.”

She led him back to the woods and threaded through the barren trees to the cellar.

He stared at it for a moment before yanking the door open. He descended the steps and she followed him, his expression mirroring the one she’d had earlier as he took in the vast supply of alcohol.

“Isn’t it an awesome sight?” she asked him in a voice filled with laughter.

He looked at her sharply then inclined his head for her to go back up the stairs. He followed and shut the door with a thud, and when he turned towards her she backed up too fast, tripping over a root hidden in the snow and landing on her butt hard. She looked up at him and burst out laughing.

He stared at her for a moment, his expression inscrutable, then turned back the way they’d come.

“To heck with him,” she said aloud, “he wouldn’t know funny if it slapped him on the knee!” she erupted into giggles again and staggered to her feet.

He stopped and when he turned towards her his expression was odd.

“Sorry,” she told him, “I’m a wee bit drunk,” she affected a Scottish accent and laughed some more.

He didn’t respond other than to frown slightly before looking off in the distance. After a few more moments he turned and headed away.

Jared went into the house his mind a whirlwind of conflicting desires. She had seemed happy, and even though he understood it was alcohol induced, the feelings of good humor emanating from her had made him feel….right somehow. Like something had clicked into place. He sat down on the large recliner in his sitting room and reasoned it out.

It had to be something to do with the bond. Not only was he compelled to protect and provide for her it seemed he was also responsible for her state of mind, and it was telling him he was supposed to keep her happy. Fuck.

He made a sound of frustration and grabbed the remote off the side table clicking on the television. He couldn’t focus on anything as he flipped through the channels, he kept hearing her musical laughter and seeing the sight of her landing on her ass in the snow. He shook his head violently to dispel the image.

Supposed to keep her happy? Fuck. That. She was a manipulative, deceitful, lying little bitch and he would not give in to this particular nuance of the fucking bond.

Her laughing face flashed across his mind once more and he groaned inwardly, wishing for the thousandth time he hadn’t shown up to the cabin. He would have been rid of her. He gritted his teeth and tried to focus on the television to no avail.

Who in the fuck was she? She had lied to him, a-fucking-gain, and it seemed to support the theory he’d come up with in California, that she was working for one of the Hitler wannabe fucking condemned. But he despised not KNOWING and could no longer ignore the need for it.
He decided that in the next day or two he would make a trip to London and talk to the males she had been staying with. Mathias, he mused, was five centuries old and still hunting demons. He grudgingly admitted that the male was likely solid, all things considered. Except it was highly fucking likely that she’d lied to them as well, but he wouldn’t know unless he tried. It might not help but it couldn’t hurt.

A loud thumping noise above his head startled him out of his reverie and he stared at the ceiling in confusion for a moment before blurring outside.
She was jumping around on the roof and when she spotted him she pointed and started singing.

“I get knocked down, but I get up again, you’re never gonna keep me down!”

He’d heard the song at bars but had never imagined that anyone could sing it with anything but amusement. She proved him wrong. Her expression and voice were filled with passion as she belted out the chorus that repeated over and over.

He continued to watch her and even knowing that she was drunk he couldn’t reconcile his current thoughts of who she was with what she was doing. She seemed so young he could almost believe her story about forced hyberstasis.
Fuck, he needed to talk to those males. He watched her for a few more minutes then decided there was no time like the present.

Generously created for me by @son-of-satire