Timeless Allegiance

Chapter 3

The water was still and the eeriness that surrounded it made the hair of my neck stand up. The wind had begun dying down and the whisper that came across the wind was that of a laughter that sought a host to attach itself to. I felt my hands begin to shake as I stepped onto the land and watched as the resident in the water swam around. I could see his tail surfacing through the shimmer of the sun across the waves and when his dark hair began floating up and he stood, the look he gave me was pure evil. The feeling inside of me heightened and then a grin appeared on his face.

"You know she wants me," he whispered across to me. "You know you can't stop her from wanting me. She's called for me, invited me in, and I will take her from you."

"You just try," I said as I wrapped the gold chains around my wrist and with a whispering chant, the sky opened up and the neighing of the horse was heard across the wind. I felt the ground shake beneath me and my vision electrified as the veil came over me, shielding me and the armor cloaked itself across my body, tightening against my arms and legs. The power surged through me and I heard the voices of my spiritual guides.

"She's coming. Bring her home." And as the ground broke and the earth shattered into pieces, I watched as Mai Thao appeared, her focus lost and confused as he tried to lure her in. Gathering my sword on my back, I hopped onto the horse and with a chant across my lips, the earth opened up and the fog revealed itself to me as I slipped through the portal. The wind whipped across me and when she looked up at me as I called her name, I reached out and pulled her onto my back, the weight of her against me as I steadied my horse.

"Hold onto me. I'm taking you home." I whipped out the gold chain and it flew toward him, barely missing his forehead as I pulled us up back into the sky.

"Footprints be hidden, portals be closed, scents be lost, images be erased. Home we seek, find our path home, memories wiped clean, home we seek." I felt her hand against me and I could hear her heart pounding. My horse neighed loudly as I circled around twice to lose the energies swarming around me and zoomed into home, the wind passing through us as my spiritual guides opened the path home.

I watched her as she fought a dream and I could see her pupils moving about beneath her closed eyes. Her body was shaking and her thoughts were loud, circulating of fear and confusion, as she jerked and her eyes flew open. She stared at me, the woman I loved, the woman that was now mine, glancing at me with a confused state. Then the confusion swept away and I saw the formation of tears in her eyes as the ray of light bounced across her cheeks. She burst out crying and I gathered her into my arms.

"What's wrong?" I asked quietly.

Her lips quivered and she replied slowly, "I had a dream...a bad one and you...you saved me riding a horse."

I smiled; her dream was not even a dream at all. "Don't be afraid. I'll never let anything happen to you. You are my woman."

I heard shuffling and my mother came to stand at the curtain. "Son, someone is here for a spiritual reading. Will you do it or would you like them to return tomorrow?"

I gently leaned over my wife and said, "Mother, have them return tomorrow and I'll happily do it for them. Tonight is my night with my bride." Once my mother disappeared, I watched as her eyes gazed at me with shock and then her lips parted slightly.

"You...you're a shaman? In my dream, you were riding a horse to save me. I thought...I thought it was just a dream."

Smiling, I replied, "In life, in dreams, even halfway to heaven, if I am still breathing, I will never let any harm come to you. You are my woman and no one takes what is mine. I knew that something had happened to you when you went to the river. If I tied the string on you, you might not want it. So I asked my mother to instead."