Children of the Lost Ruler- Ghost Goddesses Book One

Salem And Secrets

I was woken up by being lifted into a set of arms.  My eyes snapped open as I was set back down, but against something.  More like someone.  His kind, heather eyes stared into mine for a minute before I was lifted up again, with my lips firmly locked on his.
"Salem?" I breathed.
He smiled softly.  "Hi there.  How'd you sleep?"
Without even thinking, I flung my arms around his neck and started sobbing into his shoulder.  He immediately held me tighter against his chest, whispering in my ear.  "Ligeia, I'm here, honey.  I'm right here."
I gripped the fabric of his shirt in my fist.  "You- you left me!" I cried.
"No.  I didn't leave you, Geia.  Not by my own free will.  I would never do that.  Shh, Geia, breathe.  I'm here."
He kissed my forehead and lifted me up off the bed.  "Where are you taki--"
"Shh, Geia, it's okay. Trust me."
He walked with me for about five minutes until I heard another voice.  "Is she awake, Tols?"  Andy.
"Yeah, just shellshocked."
I moved his head so that he was looking at me.  "Can I be treated like a human, now?"
His lips connected with mine.  "Sorry, baby."
He set me down and pulled me into a proper hug, nuzzling his face into my hair.  I sighed, relaxing against his chest.  "Salem?" I whispered.
"Yes?"
"Just checking."
Andy laughed.  "What is he, your safety blanket?"
I whirled around to face him.  "Yes."
Andy pulled me into a tight hug.  "Good to see you, baby sister.  What'd I miss?"
"Gosh, Andy, cut her slack!  You don't have to get into it right away, baby," Salem rebuked.
I turned back to him, placing a hand on his chest.  "It's fine.  Ya know, I'm thinking of starting a scrapbook of all the notes I've gotten on this quest."
We all laughed as I tucked myself under Say's arm.  "Let's go wake the peasants, shall we?"
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The peasants weren't too happy with me.  At least, everyone but Harper wasn't.  She flung herself at Andy the minute she saw him, giving him a hug and proceeding to punch him in the face.
"Andreus, you're an ass."
"It's my specialty."
I snapped them back to attention.  "Salem, you're mother's a sweetheart."
He spit out the water he was drinking.  "What?"
"Yeah.  Her hugs are almost better than yours."
"How in the world did you--"
I tossed him the ring Eirene had given me.  "She gave you a present."
He caught it, sliding it on his finger.  "Fancy."
"Yep, so anyway, we have this note thingy."
"Okay?" They asked.
"Here.  I began to recite the note back to them.  'While the game has been afoot for quite some time, but you'll never win if you can't find the rhyme.
Find the place where you found the truth, cherish your memories, and let it come back to you.'  Well fuck."
Without warning, I shadowed them all to where I got my powers.  On the beach next to Mackinac Bridge.  I looked around, seeing a large figure under the bridge.
Knowing immediately who it was, I ran forward.  He noticed, trying to impale me with a spear.  I countered, pulling out my pistol and shooting his spear arm.  He began to try to find out who I was, but I covered myself in shadows so he couldn't.  I grabbed him and pulled him into the light.  Everyone else gasped at the sight of him.  Mars was really nothing special, though.  Not to me, at least.  He opened his mouth to speak, but I cut him off by taking my whips across his arms.  "Not gonna happen."
He laughed, charging towards the group of people next to me.  I stopped him easily with a wall of hellfire.  "I said no."
We spared back and forth for hours, the mortals never losing interest in what was happening.  I was having a blast.  I hadn't had the kind of sparring I needed for years.  I cocked my pistol and shot him in the shoulder, making him lose his footing.  I then tripped him with a throwing star to the Achilles tendon.
I uncovered myself.  "That was fun!"  I was careful not to get hurt the entire time, and I was quite proud of myself for that.  What the mortals didn't know wouldn't hurt them.  I held my whips to his neck.  "Hello, old friend."
He grinned wickedly.  "Hello, Ligeia."