Passion (17 page)

Just
as suddenly as the kiss had come, he released me and turned to head back to the
rebels.

He
was so handsome and the responsibility of war had brought an inspirational
amount of wisdom to his eyes, and a breadth of strength to his shoulders.  For
a moment I just stared dumbly at him, taking him in and admiring him like never
before, but I finally shook the heated passion of his kiss off and called out
to him. “And that’s why you’re heading back into that battle? To stay safe?”

He
turned and winked.

Chapter 19

L
iam was right.  From where I stood, on a
narrow but high knoll with a few sturdy and tall trees, I could see for miles. 
To see further still, I climbed a few yards up into one of the tall trees and
was so shocked by what I saw, I wanted to jump down and run to Torrid, Rowan,
Liam and all the Rebels.

There
was no way they would be able to win this battle.  In the distance, far beyond
what they could see as they faced their enemies, I could see hundreds and
hundreds of clanging, clinking, and trudging robotic creatures.

The
metal of their armor gleamed in the sun as they marched forward, their aim
clearly targeting the Rebels.

I
looked toward the old Arcadia, hoping to find a way to help the Rebels escape
the massacre that was sure to come.  Instead of anything helpful, I saw Pim
Seer walk through the gate of the perimeter wall.  He approached one of the
armed guards pacing before the wall and spoke while his arms emphasized his
words.

After
a few moments, he and the guard looked out at the battlefield.  Even from a
distance I could see that he was unmoved by the fact that his own son, his own
blood, was out there on that field.

Pim
pointed, said a few more words to the guard and returned into the sanctum of
his old city.

I
didn’t know what to make of his actions.  Would he do something to help his
son?  Or would he cold heartedly let his son die right there at his feet?

My
answer came quickly enough.  In a matter of minutes, heavily armed Catchers
emerged, fierce, strong and ready to fight.  They headed straight to the Rebels
with murder in their eyes.

Tears
instantly came to my eyes as I envisioned the blood bath to come.  They would
all be killed.

As
a last ditch effort, I tried to conjure up some magic.  I was desperate to find
a way to get us all out of this safely and I felt certain I could break through
whatever barrier was blocking our magic.

My
first attempt, to get a simple little leaf to flutter off a branch and gently
float down to the ground, fell flat and nothing happened except for a sudden
headache.  I tried again, but still the leaf remained fixed to its branch.

“If
I can’t even get a leaf to fall off a branch, how am I supposed to find a way
to help the Rebels?”

At
the sound of my voice, a bird turned to look at me a moment before flying away
with a mocking song.

Growing
increasingly desperate to find a way of breaking through the barrier, I glanced
back at the old Arcadia to see what was happening.

A
familiar figure quickly glided toward the city and my heart went into a panic. 
Dr. Sanz and his army of Rogue Magical Ones.  They were all gliding,
effortlessly and with speedy efficiency.

As
one, they all looked up to the sky, narrowed their eyes and concentrated and I
quickly realized what they were doing.  These very Magical Ones who’d built
Arcadia were now fortifying a force field to keep our magic from working.

Angry
at the thought that they, Pim and Dr. Sanz, could actually come to win this
battle, to win the war by shutting down our magic, I turned back to my stubborn
leaf and tried again and this time the leaf released its hold and fluttered to
the ground below.

Digging
deeper for a stronger kind of magic, I floated up into the air; up to the
higher limbs of the tree.

Pleased
with myself, I hopped off the branch and landing next to my freed leaf. I
wanted to hoot with glee.  Before heading out to boast of my victory against
the barrier, however,  I decided to try something a little more challenging.

I
scanned the battlefield and picked out one monstrous creature.  My gaze settled
on a small wildcat with the head and shoulders of a man.  Just as it prepared
to pounce on a Rebel, I concentrated on his ability to move.

It
worked.  The wildcat crumbled to its belly instead of attacking, but I wanted
more.  I wanted to crush the barrier that hindered all djinns.

Thinking
of my father and his strength and ability, I realized my destiny was out here. 
I would save the outskirts and break the barrier and force shield that had been
erected.

I
tilted my face up to the sky, closed my eyes and concentrated until I thought
my brain would split in two.  My efforts were rewarded by a groan of dismay
from the distant crowd around Dr. Sanz.

Eager
to see what I’d managed to do, I opened my eyes and saw a large crack in the
force field above.

Dr.
Sanz whipped his Magical Ones into action, pressing them to head out to the
Rebels faster.

But
now that the force field had been broken and Torrid and Rowan now had their
full powers at their disposal, I knew we’d be victorious.

Chapter 20

A
s Catchers and Rebels collided, my optimism
faltered.

Torrid
,
I tried to mentally call to him. 
Your magic works.  Your magic works.

When
I received no response, I wanted to cry aloud, but knew my voice wouldn’t reach
him any more than my telepathic cry.

They
all fought so valiantly and with such strength, but the Catchers still managed
to capture far too many Rebels.

“Father,”
I called aloud.  “We can’t lose now.  We can’t let Dr. Sanz and Pim Seer win.”

Please,
Father
, I silently pleaded. 
Come help us
.

Unfortunately
I didn’t have the luxury of waiting for his response.  I had to go in and help
the guys, help the Rebels any way I could.

Running
straight into the fray, I conjured up a large sword and repeatedly tried to
make mental contact with Torrid or Rowan.  Only when I was a few yards away did
the mental block finally break down enough for my mental voice to get to them.

Magic!
I mentally shouted. 
We’ve regained use of our magic.

Torrid
turned to concentrate his magic on an attacking machine and was pleased to see
the tin box split in two.  With a charmed grin, he looked at me and nodded.

“I
take it you’re responsible for this,” he said.

I
aimed my magical powers at a grunting beast and watched it fall back with a
thud, as though it had struck an invisible wall.

“Dr.
Sanz and the Rogue Magical Ones have been busy.  They’ve created a force field
around the area.  It took a few tries but I finally managed to break it down.”

“Adding
to their anger, I assume.”

As
a large group of various beast approached him he gathered the full force of his
magic and swept them all up, as if in an invisible hand.  With incredible force
they were flung into the forest from which I’d just emerged.

Torrid
and Rowan worked together, blending their magic to beat back the creatures who
continued to attack.  It gave the Rebels a fighting chance.  Even though they
were still clearly outnumbered, they fought with will and determination.

Among
them Liam.  I felt a swell of emotion rise in me as he fought.  The thought of
him getting hurt pained me, but my pride in his tenacity grew with each moment.

He
turned to look at me, as if he’d sensed my gaze on him.  At first loving and
warm, his gaze quickly turned protective and angry.

“Don’t
worry,” I shouted.  “I have my magical powers back.”

Rushing
to me, he pulled me into his arms and pressed a powerful kiss to my lips.

“Your
father’s army is approaching.  Are you ready?”

“I
guess in a way I’ll never be truly ready, but I’m as ready as I can be.”

“I’m
happy to hear that.”  Pim Seer’s booming voice drowned out the clang of fight
that continued around us.

Liam
faced his father.

“It’s
time you give it up, Liam.”  Pim glanced at me.  “And you, Kama.  It was never
my intention to hurt either of you.  In fact, I want the two of you to take
over Arcadia, but as it was.”

“No. 
Never.  It can’t be as it was.”  Liam’s voice was soft, almost inaudible, but
it was firm.  “I could never accept the way you and the Catchers treated the
djinns.  No amount of perfection can be worth treating another being that way.”

“I
see,” Pim said with a sarcastic nod.  “So you’d rather see the citizens of
Arcadia live in squalor.”  He glanced at the Rebels around us.  “You’d rather
see them live like animals… like this.”

“At
least they have their freedom.”

“Freedom
is only for those who rule,” Pim said.

“Really? 
That’s how you see this.”

Pim
nodded with confidence.

“Than
I feel sorry for you.  You have a warped mind.”

Anger
furrowed Pim’s brow.  “I guess that’s what I get for letting you hang out with
a half djinn.  She might have Janice’s blood running through her veins, but
clearly the djinn side of her is coming out more and more.  She’s influenced
you in ways that aren’t acceptable, son.”

“You
don’t think I could have come to this conclusion myself, Dad?  Do you really
think I would find out what you’ve been up to and I’d approve?  Whether Kama
was in my life or not, my reaction to what you’ve done would be the same.  If
anything, Kama’s been a calming presence in my life, even during this chaos.”

Pim
shook his head in disbelief.  “I should’ve kept you kids apart.  I should’ve
known better.”  He looked at me.  “If I had put a controlling band on your
wrist, my boy would have become the man I wanted him to be.  Strong, forceful
and determined.”

The
Catchers surrounded us and while we managed to fend of the first few, we were
quickly outnumbered.  Even with my magic, I was helpless to keep up with the
great numbers.

Hardly
putting a hand on us, the Catchers herded us toward the man who would have
control of me once and for all.  Dr. Sanz stood there with his devilish grin
and scheming scowl.

“Time
to put all this nonsense to rest, Kama.  Be a good girl and hold up your
wrist.”

“Never,”
I spat.

A
hard mechanical hand pushed me toward Dr. Sanz.  I stumbled forward, but
quickly backed away.

“Never,”
I repeated.

“Really?”
he said with a knowing grin.  He gazed past my shoulder.

I
dreaded looking back.

“Perhaps
you should reconsider your position.”

I
glanced back to find a large Catcher with a gun to Liam’s head.  Chuckling, I
returned my gaze to Dr. Sanz.  “I know Pim Seer is a monster, but even he
wouldn’t have his son killed.”

As
I spoke the words of reason, I conjured enough magical power to whip the gun
out of the Catcher’s hand.

While
my magic worked as I’d intended, the gun was quickly caught by another nearby
Catcher.  I wanted to conjure more magic to rid him of the gun, but Dr. Sanz
grabbed my wrist.

Fighting
like a wildcat, I did everything I could to get free of his hold.  If he
managed to get a leather band on my wrist, I’d be doomed.

“Look,”
someone shouted.  “They’re here.”

We
all followed his gaze to the sky.  Djinns poured down by the thousands and in
the middle of it all, General Adar.  They landed atop the Catchers, kicking
them into submission with ease and vehemence.

“Come
on,” Liam said as he pulled me free of Dr. Sanz’s stunned and weakened grip.

I
ran as fast as I could, emerging from the melee and running at full speed into
the old city.  Once inside the walls, Liam stopped and grasped my shoulders. 
“I love you, Kama.  More than anything I want to keep you safe.”

He
leaned closer and I thought he was going to kiss me, but he backed away
suddenly and looked past me.

“Torrid,”
I said as I turned to face him.  “You’re safe.  I lost sight of you when Dr.
Sanz appeared.”

“I
promised to keep you safe.”  He looked at me then at Liam.  “I see he’s already
doing a pretty good job, though.”

“We
need to find a safe place to hide her,” Liam said.

Each
taking a hold of an arm, they led me into town, but as soon as we turned the
first corner, I found what I’d wanted to find most of all.

“Mom,”
I called out as I broke free of Liam and Torrid’s hold and hurried into her
arms.  For all the blood and rage that accompanied the war outside the
protective walls of the city, I felt as safe as could be in my mother’s arms.

Pulling
back I looked into her eyes.  Glossy with tears, she looked at me with a blend
of gleeful relief and fearful resolution.

“Mom,
I’m safe.  We’re safe behind these walls.”

“We’ll
never be safe,” Janice said.  “So long as Adar and Pim are at war, we’ll never
have peace.”

“What
are you saying?”

“Adar
never forgave Pim for stealing me away, and Pim has forever been insecure whenever
Adar was even mentioned.  They’ll never stop fighting over me.”

“Mom,”
I muttered with fear.

She
let out a dry chuckle.  “I guess you can say I’m their Helen of Troy.”  She
walked away from me and past Torrid and Liam.

“Mom.” 
I ran after her and grabbed her wrist.  “What are you doing?”

“I’m
putting an end to this once and for all.”  She turned and took my face in her
hands.  “I love you, honey.  When this is all over, I just want you to remember
how much I loved you.  You are my most precious gift.”