Hope's Heart

Chapter Two Part Two

Wulf lingers momentarily, then put his hands on Inara’s shoulders, looked into her eyes, and whispered, “I swear, fear beag, I won’t let anything happen to you. I give you my protection and my life from this day forth.” For a moment, Inara swore she could see the same tenderness and concern for her in his eyes he used to show her as a child. There was also something else there, something she couldn’t identify. He put his hand over his heart, gave her a slight bow, and turned to walk away. As he walked away, he thought, “Why did I say that to her, and why do I have an overwhelming urge to pull her into my arms, to shelter and protect her.” She was like a sister to him, but when he looked over his shoulder at her, he felt something primal stir deep in his soul so strong he had to force himself to keep walking to the truck and not stay there with her.

Inara watched Wulf leave, not sure what had just happened. For the last couple of years, he had kept her at arm's length, and he had stopped showing her any kind of tenderness at all. For the last five years, if she hadn’t known better, she would have sworn Wulf had been trying to make her hate him. Sometimes, she would catch him watching her when he thought she wasn’t looking. To her, it almost seemed like he was trying to fight or hide his feelings for her. She was seeing a glimpse of the man she had grown up knowing. The Wulf she had missed so much over the last five years. His suddenly acting like the old Wulf left her confused and unsure of what to think about him anymore. She could feel their old connection returning, and she felt that same pull and attraction surfacing again that she had to him before he pulled away from her.

She was drawn from her thoughts at the sound of her father clearing his throat. “Quit, huh, last Friday, when may I ask, were you going to tell your mother and me, young lady? And what the hell did that man do to warrant such anger from you?” Inara turned to see her father looking down at her with arms crossed over his chest.

“I tried to tell you Saturday morning before you left for the office, Daddy, but I kept getting interrupted. I was going to tell you about it this morning at breakfast, but I had my little episode. On Friday, Mr. Devlin tried to corner me in the supply closet just before I left work and

threatened to fire me if I didn’t sleep with him.” She saw her father’s eyes fill with the promise of severe pain, or even death, at the thought of what she was saying and flinched slightly. “So, I told him to go f**k himself and take the job and stick it up his slimy ass. I never liked working for him anyway, so it was no big loss. Something about him always made my skin crawl and gave me the creeps. Honestly, I can’t see what all the other women see in him; they’re always talking about how charming he is and how any of them would give anything to have his attention. I had his attention, and yeah, at first, I liked it. Guys are always too scared of Kole or Wulf to look my way. Yeah, he’s handsome in a dark, mysterious way, but he seemed increasingly possessive of me the longer I worked for him. It got to the point where his advances were getting stronger and stronger, then on Friday, he just went too far.” She chewed on her lower lip, waiting to get scolded for not telling them on Friday when she got home from work. “I slapped him, then kneed him in the balls for it. That was why I came home early. It happened just after lunch.”

Art threw back his head, laughed, and put his arm around his daughter's shoulder, and she let out the breath she had been holding, “Well, that explains why you brought home pizza and the stuff for banana splits Friday night. And I know what you mean; I never liked you working for him; something about him seems dark and twisted. The man is an utter ass hat.” he kissed her head, and they walked inside, “Come on, mo ghràidh, we have a lot to talk about.”

Inara smiled and laughed as she punched her father on the shoulder and mimicked her mother “Daddy language.”

Art shrugs and laughs, “What I said, hat.”

They both laughed as they walked inside, then Inara frowned at him, “Mo ghràidh, I have never heard that before, but you and Uncle Steve called me that; it almost sounds like an insult.”

Art chuckled and shook his head, “No, Mo ghràidh means my darling in the language of our people, and what Wulf called you, Fear beag, means little one, and Mo ghaol means my love.”

“Oh,” was all Inara said as she sat in her favorite chair and tucked her feet underneath her. Looking at her parents, she says, “Mama, Daddy, will you please tell me what’s happening?”

Sara looked at Inara and held her phone away from her mouth, “We’ll talk about it, I promise, and we’ll tell you everything once everyone gets here in a couple of hours.” Then she returned the phone to her mouth, “OK Beth, we’ll see you soon……. yeah, could you call the boys ……thanks sweetie.” Sara hung up the phone, sat on the couch next to Art, and looked at Inara. “Leannan, there are a few questions we need the answers to.” She saw the confusion on her daughter's face and looked at Art.

He smiled gently, “She called you

sweetheart Inara.”

“Oh, you’re gonna have to teach me this language,” Inara smiled shyly, “What are your questions, mama? I’ll do my best to answer.”

“As time passes, you will relearn the language on your own; it’s your native language.” Art gave his daughter another gentle smile.

“What happened this morning, leannan?”

Inara told her parents everything, including the nightmares and what she saw on Friday when Ari Devlin touched her, and by the end of her tale, her father was kneeling in front of her, holding her. She shook and cried in his arms. “Mo ghràidh, is this the first time this has happened?” “Well, yes and no,” she sniffles as she wipes her nose with the back of her hand and wipes away the tears. “Ever since about five or six months before my sixteenth birthday, this has happened every year starting at about the same time. I feel a pull like someone, or something is calling me, and my birthmark will start to burn. But it has never been so strong. It has always been easy to dismiss, but this time, it was different; I feel different after this time. This time, I almost couldn’t fight it, and when I tried to, it made me feel sick and weak like I had just run a marathon or something. Plus, I had never seen the faces in my mirror, had nightmares or blacked out.” Inara stopped and thought momentarily, “The first face called me fear beag, which you said meant little one. The second one called me mo lòmhar. You called me mo ghaol bheag while you were holding me. The man I saw when I blacked out said it was Do dh ‘dhùnaidh. What do those mean?”

“Well, I called you my little love. Do dh ‘dhùnaidh means your destiny,” He paused and looked at Sara for a moment, “But, Mo lòmhar means my precious. What did the second face look like, Mo ghràidh?” Art rubbed his daughter's back, trying to soothe and calm her.

“The second face was Ari Devlin, but he was different. He seemed cruel and almost demonic. I can’t remember anything about the other face except that it was almost angelic. The angelic one gave me a warm, safe, almost calm feeling and seemed familiar. The angelic one was also the face on the figure I saw when I blacked out. I can remember what he said and those glowing silver eyes. They were filled with such tenderness, compassion, concern, and love. It almost feels like someone, or something is making the memories fade.”

They heard the front door open, and Kole’s voice filled the room. “Mom, Dad, is Inara okay?” Kole rushed to his sister, lifted her into his arms, and hugged her close, “Where the hell is Riley? It wouldn’t have been so bad if he had been here. We have been telling him for the last year that this may happen. I even said something to him about it before he left on Saturday; we didn’t know how close to their birthday it would start.” He held her at arm's length and looked her over. “Inara, are you okay? You’ve been crying, dàil. I should have been here. It’s my job to protect you.” He pulled her close again.

“Kole, you’re crushing me!” Inara pushed against her big brother's chest until he released her. As she sat down, she told Kole, “I am fine. The memory of whatever happened is fading fast. And you don’t have to protect me, dammit. I can take care of myself just fine, thank you very much. And for crying out loud, please stop looking at me like I’m a China Doll and going to break at any minute.” She crossed her arms over her chest and started to pout.

Kole put his hands up in mock surrender and chuckled. “Yes, ma’am,” and put his hand over his heart, “forgive me.” He sat down next to their mother. “Can you tell me what you remember, mo fhear beag gaoil?”

“Daddy, can you or Mama tell him, please, I....... I....... I can’t tell it again.” Inara drew her knees up to her chest and hugged them, rested her chin on her knees, and blocked out her father’s voice as he told Kole what had happened. As she sat there listening to them telling Kole her tale, she found her mind drifting towards the face from her vision. As she concentrated on the face, trying to recall details, it was replaced with Wulf’s. She shook her head and cursed herself under her breath, then she peeked up to look at her family and breathed a sigh of relief that they hadn’t noticed.

Kole looked over at his sister; she looked so small and helpless hell she almost looked as if she were broken. Still looking at her, he asked. “Was this the first time?”

In a small voice choked with tears, Sara answered, “No, she told us it started about five to six months before her sixteenth birthday and has happened the same time every year since, getting stronger each year.”

Kole studied his mother closely. It killed him to see the pain in her usually laughing hazel eyes. Sara Stone was a petite woman at about five feet five inches. She had a gentle face that was slightly heart-shaped, with laugh lines around her full pink lips. Her long hair was the same black as Kole’s and fell to about the middle of her back. She had a petite button nose that turned up slightly at the end. Her jaw was softly curved, and her chin reached a delicate, rounded point. She had a slender build with an hourglass figure. Her breasts weren’t small; they were roughly a handful for Art. Her waist was tiny, Art could span it with both hands, and her hips were delicately rounded. Her legs were slender but muscular, thanks to her daily jogs or bike rides. She was one of the most compassionate people you could ever meet, a personality trait Inara had inherited.

“Dàil, why didn’t she tell us?” Kole ran his fingers through his hair in frustration and looked back at his sister.

Art looked at his daughter thoughtfully for a minute, “I think she was afraid we would think she was crazy.”

“When will Riley be here? He must be feeling her pain and fear, as he always has. But honestly, I’m not surprised he isn't here, why would he start giving a s**t about her now.” From the time Riley turned about thirteen, Kole and Riley never really got along; yeah, Kole loved him; he was, after all, his little brother. He always seemed detached, primarily where his twin was concerned. He would feel her pain through their bond as twins, and he would either ignore it or try to make it worse. Inara, if she thought her twin was in pain, would try to comfort him or even take his pain and carry it herself. Inara and Riley were complete opposites. She was kind, loving, and compassionate. She had a helluva temper, and heaven help anyone who pissed her off, but still, if she saw someone in need, she would try to help. Riley, on the other hand, was arrogant and self-centered. He was more likely to cause pain or problems than fix them.

“I don't know, he isn’t answering his phone, and he was gone this morning before we woke up. That is if he even came home, which we sincerely doubt.” Art grew increasingly tired of Riley's lack of respect for the family and devilmay-care attitude about life.

“I'll go get Wulf, and we’ll find the beagan crom and bring him home. After that, I will start making calls. Have you contacted Seanmhair and Seanair?”

“Yes, your mother spoke to them. They should be here the day after tomorrow with Drogoth.”

“Good; when I get Wulf, I will have Steve head over with Beth and Sally; Steve should be here to protect her just in case. Wulf and I will be back as soon as we find my ass hat of a brother.” Kole got up, nodded to his father, kissed his mother on the cheek, and knelt before his little sister, “Mo fhear beag gaoil, I will be back soon; I promise we will get through this.” He rose, kissed her on top of the head, and saw her smile. “What's that for?”

Inara looked up at her big brother, and her smile widened, “I do not know how I know this, but you called me my darling little one, and you called Riley a little s**t, even though you want to call him worse. Most of all, I will be happy to see what did you call them: Seanmhair, Grandma, and Seanair, Grandpa. Oh, and dàil means dammit; you know I have heard and even used worse language, right.”

It warmed his heart to see her smile; they all needed her smile right now. He ruffled the hair on her head and dropped one last kiss on her forehead, “Tha gaol agam ort na phiuthar beag.”

“I love you too, big brother, or should I say Tha gaol ort mar bhràthair mòr. Did I get it right?”

“Yes, you did, impressive.” He headed for the door, pulling out his phone as he went. “Hey brother, it’s time, and we need to go find the ass hat......”

“Kole, can you give Wulf a message for me, please,”

“Hold up a sec, man,” he put the phone down against his chest, “sure, Inara, what is it?”

Inara momentarily searched for the right words, “Tapadh leibh airson tighinn gu mo shàbhaladh madainn an-diugh.”

“OK?” Kole looked confused. He put the phone back up to his mouth, “Inara says thank you for coming to her rescue this morning. Whoa, wait a minute, why the hell did you need to come to her rescue...... Aw, I see. Well, thanks from me too on that one man, but like I was saying, ass hat isn’t answering mom’s calls, and they don’t think he even came home last night………. We start at the usual place, then go from there...... yup, be there in five.” Kole hung up, waved goodbye, and walked out the door, calling back to them, “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

“Kole, please be careful,” Inara called after her brother, and suddenly, the room began to spin, and her birthmark began to burn again. She looked up at her father, “Daddy.” and collapsed. As before, she was surrounded with blackness, save a single silver light floating towards her. “Why am I here again? What do you want from me? Why are you doing this?”

“Shhh, be still fear beag; I mean you no harm; you should sense this; I am merely here to answer a question. You asked me before who I am. I am Janthair, your ancestor. No, this is not my true form. This form is that of your, companach anam; you're…... what are the words……”

“My soul mate, you’ve taken the form of my soul mate. But there is something familiar about this form?”

“Yes, your soul mate. You will remember more about this face each time we meet until your soul mate is at your side. Only together will you keep our world in the light. Only together will you defeat Aridynk.” Again, he gently brushed her forehead with his lips, and again, the warmth spread throughout her body, but this time something primitive spread with it. This time, something raw, hungry, and powerful began to stir deep in her soul. Something clawing and fighting to get out, a part of her she had never felt before. This time, the silver eyes became a brand on her heart, and his silver and gold wings became a brand on her back.

Like before, he began to shimmer and fade, “We will meet again soon, mo phàiste, very soon.” And he was gone.

“She’s waking up. Sally, get Sara.” As she stirred and rolled into the back of the chair, Steve saw a pair of glowing silver and gold wings tattooed on her back through her thin tank top. Inara’s eyes fluttered open, and the first thing she saw was the ice-blue eyes of Steve and one of her family's oldest friends, Shailah, looking down at her. She tried to sit up, but he stopped her, “No, mo ghràidh, you must rest.”

“Kole, Wulf, are they back yet?” Her voice was soft, and she sounded so tired.

“No, not yet. They should be back soon.”

“How long was I out?”

“Not very long, maybe about fifteen to twenty minutes at the most; we just got here ourselves.” Her eyes fluttered, and she was asleep again