Come Love A Stranger

Thirty two

“Alador!” Azura screamed when she saw that he was not listening to her, soon she was hanging off the air with her hair flowing around in the strong wind that soon surrounds them, “Alador, let her go,” she warned but Alador didn’t even look at her and stretching her hands towards him, ice sparked out of her hands and at Alador who grunted and glanced at her, his eyes were fiery and Mariah could see the fear in Azura’s eyes, “let her ago, Alador,” she said, bringing her hands up to fire at him again.
The distraction gave Bamushka the chance to slip out of his hold and she too was soon covered in fire, without wasting time, she channeled balls of fire at Alador, expecting him to cower but to her horror, he raised his other human hand and stopped the balls. Even Azura was perplexed for she returned back to the earth and took steps back from Alador.
“A-Alador, you-you stopped her fire,” Azura whispered, pure horror visible on her face as well as Bamushka’s.
Mariah was shocked at what was happening, she thought Azura said he doesn’t have fire powers or that he has not displayed it in a long time? How could he control Bamushka’s fire or could it be that he could just control it? What is happening?
“You made a big mistake leaving her there, how dare you!” He roared, sending the fire balls back at her but she defended it easily and Alador shape-shifted into the Black Panther and pounced on her, not giving her chance to escape his attacks.
“Alador enough,” Azura screamed and ran after him. She pulled at him but he wouldn’t budge and she used her ice sparks but it didn’t stop him either. Then suddenly, both Alador and Bamushka were wrapped up in a ball made out of water. Azura glanced at the newcomers in relief and the man who seemed to be the one responsible of what was happening nodded at her and separated Alador from Bamushka. When the water ball broke, splashing water on the ground, Alador slowly turned back into his human self and started coughing. He glanced dangerously at the man, his eyes still burning like an untamed fire.
“Forgive me, your highness, but I had to do that, otherwise you would have killed her and you and I know what would become if that happens,” the long white haired man with transparent blue eyes smiled and bowed softly at him.
“What is happening here?” A voice asked and everyone turned at the direction of it and watched as Ilayas materialized out of thin air, he looked slightly shocked on seeing Mariah and then he glanced at Alador who was still on the floor, “you broke the spell, and you know the consequences, do you not, Alador?”
“I did not, my mother brought her here,” he said, standing on his feet to stand before Mariah, “and I would not let you lay a hand on her,” his voice spoke of his determination.
“I won’t, but you know who would,” Ilayas threatened and Alador closed his eyes.
“Please, do not do it, I beg you.”
Ilayas scoffed, “look at you, a mighty god you are, begging to save a human life. Are you not ashamed, Alador? You are a god, she is supposed to be worshipping you, not you begging to keep her alive. After all this years you still have not learnt your lesson? You can never be with her, Alador, no god is allowed to be with a human! If you did not understand this back when you are younger then you should now, you are a thousand years old, a thousand and two to be precise, you know the rules.”
Everyone was quiet and Mariah tried not to breathe too loudly to not bring attention to herself, she felt a furry feeling on her legs and looked down to see Sheila rubbing her face on her leg. She wanted to bend over and carry her up but she was afraid of being noticed.
“Why did you bring her here, Azura? Have you forgotten that humans are not supposed to know of this place?” Ilayas asked her.
“I had to, I need her to talk to Alador,” she answered.
“What is that? Does it mean you have accepted their union?” A woman with bright orange hair asked, she looked so much like Bamushka that Mariah doesn’t know whether she was the younger or older sister or even the mother, after all, Azura looks like she is Alador’s sister.
“No, I have not, but Alador was not listening to reasons and I knew he would to her. I assure you that I had kept my eyes on her to make sure she would not cause any harm.”
“Then why was Alador trying to kill Bamushka?” the woman asked.
Azura sighed, “we needed him to come out of his hiding place, neither I nor Bamushka nor anyone else in my household knew where he was, so we decided to lure him out with the mating bond. We put the human in harms way, I had Bamushka send her to the Faliar’s cave so that when she was in danger, the bond would force Alador out to protect her.”
“Then do you not know that by doing that you are only strengthening the bond?” Ilayas asked.
Azura looked at him and smiled, “Ilayas, their souls have been bonded for over nine hundred years, if the mating bond has not been strengthened to the max since then, I wonder what would. No amount of spell you cast on her would change the fact that the bond would arouse the protective instinct in Alador whenever she was in danger, you of all people should know that.”
“Aye, but the spell was keeping the bond from taking effect and what you just did, broke it,” Ilayas said. Azura didn’t say anything again and just looked down at her feet, “if Alador had succeeded in killing Bamushka tonight, he would not have been blamed, we all know how a male reacts to his mate being in danger and whatever that would have happened tonight would have been both you and Bamushka’s fault, not his.”
No one said anything for what Ilayas said was the truth, when a male god senses his mate in danger, he would do anything to protect her including killing who or what put her in danger. Mariah closed her eyes hearing what was being said, she was hurt hearing that Azura and Bamushka had purposely left her in that cave, which means that if Alador hadn’t showed up when he did, she would have been killed by that beast. Her heart was heavy at that and tears threatened to fall out of her eyes but she held it in and then she felt someone touching her and looked down at her hand to see Alador’s hand on hers and looked up but he was standing with his back to her.
“Alador, take her home and come see me, you have to make a decision soon, Alador,” Ilayas said looking at him, then sighing, he disappeared and soon, everyone else did and the woman who looked like Bamushka took her hand and both of them disappeared.
Azura looked at Alador pleadingly, “I am sorry son.”
“You attacked me, mother,” he whispered.
“I had to, you would have killed her.”
Alador turned and pulled Mariah into his arms, then kissing her forehead, they both disappeared leaving Azura alone. She sniffled and closed her eyes as tears trailed down her cheeks before she sighed and wiped them away and then disappeared as well.