Chapter 21

Michael sat on the couch; Tera and Valerie still slept within each other's arms.

The morning had found him feeling better, there was still the nagging feeling of his energy being drained but was much more tolerable now.

Having Valerie and Tera close seemed to help balance the feelings he had been experiencing since arriving in Nogardshire the day before.

Watching them sleep, curled in each other's arms, it came to him that perhaps the reason neither of them had mentioned his offer to move in was due to the fact that they had found something together.

Michael shook his head, his fingers moving slowly through his hair, 'It's useless to guess, they will tell you when their ready, ' he thought to himself.

They had kicked off the blankets since he left and happened upon Ian.

Valerie was closest to him, her auburn hair tousled and wild falling over her back. The white shirt she wore pulled up high, the soft curve of her thigh exposed almost to the point where her treasures were hidden.

Valerie's arm lay over Tera's bare shoulder. They were spooned together in what could only be called a lovers embrace.

Michael watched them, lost in the curve and motion and stillness in that open timeless instant.

Tera was the first to stir. Arms slipping over her head, she stretched like a great feline, muscles tensing and releasing trying to shake off the stillness of sleep. Her eyes slowly scanned the room, coming to rest on Michael's smiling face.

"Good morning," Michael said, his breath catching a bit as her full firm breasts capped with hard brown nipples came into view as she turned.

"Good morning to you," Tera's deep sultry whisper brought a flush to Michael's face as he watched her turn to her side facing Valerie, propping her head up on her hand.

Tera's fingertips moved lightly over Valerie's arm, Michael could see the muscle flex as the fingers traced their way from just above her elbows to land where their fingers intertwined as Valerie finally awoke.

"Good morning,"

Valerie said it with passion, in a hushed sensuous tone.

Her head moved from the pillow, Michael watched as if in slow motion as Valerie's head moved slightly towards Tera's.

Her hand moved from Tera's, sliding up Tera's arm, coming to rest behind her head as their lips met.

It was a soft sensual kiss. From Michael's vantage point, it projected love, desire, warmth, comfort and need all in an instant.

Tera returned the kiss, her eye's never leaving Michaels, mirroring the emotions that Michael found in the movements.

Valerie pulled back a bit, Michael assumed looking into Tera's eyes.

Her head began to turn first before the movement translated to the rest of her body.

Michael watched the little details, capturing them with a clarity that was almost frightening in its detail.

Hair moving across her back.

Torso twisting at the waist momentarily before the hips joined the motion.

Supple calves rubbing together as the intended turn reached them.

Then, as if time sped up her eyes were locked with his; Michael was lost for a moment in their depths.

"And good morning to you," Valerie said as her legs swung off the bed, parting for a moment providing a view Michael would not be able shake from his memory no matter how many years passed beyond this one.

Warm hands slid to his cheeks and then her lips were on his, warm and supple they only joined his for a moment before they were gone, only the lingering tingle of their promise remaining as Valerie turned, walking into the bathroom.

'Breathe, you have to breathe, ' he thought to himself as his eyes shifted back to Tera.

She was exposed now from head to toe, only her small panties covering the junction between her legs hiding the barest fraction of her. Smiling she climbed out of bed and slid into his lap.

"How are you feeling," she asked, the concern palpable in her voice.

"Better, than yesterday..." sliding his hand over her bed warm thigh, her muscle tensing then rippling under his touch, " ... now, better than five minutes ago," Michael's husky response brought a sparkle to Tera's eyes.

"I'm glad, we were worried about you," she said as her lips gently brushed his.

He reached for her, but she was already up and moving away towards the bathroom.

"When's breakfast, I'm starving," Tera said as she disappeared into the bathroom closing the door behind her.

Michael let out the breath he had been holding for what seemed the last ten minutes. He wasn't sure what that just was, but whatever it was, it worked for him.

...

Breakfast was a quick affair, Ian, Millie and Valerie all having last minute things to do. The festival was set to begin this evening with some kind of opening ceremony that all three were evasive about when asked.

After breakfast Michael and Tera were left to their own devices as the others went off to their tasks.

"Shall we take a walk?" Michael asked turning towards Tera and taking her hand after kissing Valerie on the cheek before she dashed off.

"That sounds like a plan," she said giving his hand a brief squeeze as they walked towards the door.

The day was gray, a moderate breeze blew from the north, it's bite moving through the two of them as they walked down the winding path towards the town.

"I love you," Michael said without turning, his thoughts moving and encompassing his surroundings and the woman at his side.

The trees were almost bare, their leaves being blown by the ever-present wind. Michael felt the brief tug on his hand and he stopped, turning towards Tera.

"Why," she asked, her eyes held a searching, wanting need that surprised Michael. Her hand coiled tighter around his, as if asking the question had somehow cost her, that within the asking of this simple question lay untold depth and meaning.

Slipping his other hand into hers he faced her, taking in the tension of her jaw line, the way her body seemed to gravitate towards his but she restrained the impulse.

"I have loved three women in my life, love is not a term that I have ever been able to use loosely. The first was my wife; I didn't know that the eternal bond that she and I shared would be something that would be lost to me so quickly. After her loss I never thought I would love again," Michael paused, pulling Tera closer to him; she did not resist the pull and found herself pressed tightly to his warm chest. His lips, close to her ear, his breath warm, heating the skin in touched sent shivers through her body as he continued.

"Then there was Valerie and you. Valerie hit me like a ton of bricks, the moment I saw her I knew that there was something between us, something magical and ancient, similar to what I shared with Sasha. This caused me great pain, it was as if I was betraying her memory by the feelings I had for Valerie. After finally putting the wounds of Sasha's loss into perspective, I was able to see Valerie for who she was, not through a filter of what I felt for Sasha."

"That brings me to you, my warrior my valkyrie who, from the moment we met, has been trying to protect me at all costs, who offers me her love and desire with such heartfelt wonder that I find myself lost within it. Why do I love you Tera Cole, because you fill me with a desire the likes of which I have never known, you empower me to be more than I am. You accept me, flaws and all, you give me your strength willingly and when I touch you I simply know that you are ... mine." Michael finished dropping his head slowly to her neck, reveling in the feeling of her warm supple flesh next to his.

Tera's breath was coming in deep gulps, she felt as if she had run a marathon. Michael's answer to her question completed a circuit within her heart and soul, she didn't just hear his words, his declaration of his feelings, she felt them, they radiated off him in waves that she felt as pure love, pure desire, pure intent.

Pulling her head back she looked into his eyes, the pure browns were interspersed now with red and gold flecks, as if a fire had been stoked behind them, a fire that burned just for her.

The kiss started before either of them realized it, one moment they were looking in each other's eyes, the next they were connected.

Their lips played over each others, Michaels tongue slid against Tera's, their bodies conformed to each other in an intimate and passionate display that simply swept them both up in the pure force of their connection.

"I love you, Michael," Tera said as the kiss finally broke and their heads fell to each other's shoulders.

"Thank you for loving me, you and Valerie mean everything to me, I can't imagine my life without either of you," Michael whispered as their bodies moved apart.

They slowly continued their walk down the hill hand in hand, both feeling more loved than they ever had, both knowing that there was more to explore within the depth of this love and passion and need they felt.

For while this was a wondrous thing that was between them, both knew that it was incomplete, that only with Valerie joined to both of them, and them to her were they totally complete.

There was a profound silence between them as they turned the corner, a silence born of their growing bond, of their knowing that the other would always be there.

The town was bustling with shopkeepers and people making the final preparations for the festival.

The tight streets lined with small shops and homes gave off a feeling of impending as Michael and Tera walked down the cobblestone lane. It was as if something was building, unseen, but palpable in its energy.

"Michael, Tera," Valerie said, as the pair turned towards her, smiles lighting up both of their faces as Valerie jogged up behind them.

"I was looking for you," she said to both of them, returning the smiles that she was given.

Valerie placed light kisses on first Michael's lips and then Tera, both their heartbeats rose at the brief but warm connection.

Standing there between Valerie and Tera, Michael started to feel strange. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up, his heartbeat increased. It was as if something had turned a corner, shifted out of a shadow, was approaching with an ominous intent and there was nowhere to run from it's coming.

"What is it," Tera whispered, she had felt the tension slip around him like a snake coiling to strike. Looking at his face she gasped at the pale countenance she found there.

"Something is wrong, Tera, something is wrong," Michael said, his voice hoarse, as if each word took an immense amount of energy to bring forth.

Scanning the crowd, Tera kept Michael and Valerie behind her, back squarely between them. She could feel them both, Michael's body pulled tight like a bow string ready to loose it's arrow and Valerie's, tense like a cornered animal wondering which way to run.

Tera turned in a slow three sixty pulling the bodies of her mates along the arc. Her training kicked in and her focus narrowed and broadened at the same time.

The shopkeeper placing fresh bread on the stand just outside her shop, bits of flour dusted in her hair.

The lorry parked at the curb, an older man within, only his hands visible as they hefted the parcels down to the younger man who was distracted by the two women walking and laughing beside the truck.

The light changed as her vision shifted, a cloud covered the sun, subduing the light, creating new shadows and reflections.

The old Renault next to the antique shop seemed out of place, it took Tera a moment to register that it was parked directly against the building, almost touching it, not in an actual parking place with the drivers door unopenable because of the wall of the building.

A reflection in a puddle underneath the car caught her eye as she looked over the car again, and she saw the flashing red light reflected in its dark onyx face.

Tera began to move instinctively, her hand slipping away from behind her where it kept contact with Michael and Valerie.

Michael sensed the motion, felt more than saw that Tera was about to move off with a purpose, he could feel the kinetic energy building up within her form.

"Stop Her!" Aoife's voice echoed in his head and pulled his attention back to the moment.

"No!" Michael yelled as his hand snaked out and grabbed Tera's wrist, he pulled her back, swiveling her around, pushing both her and Valerie to the ground.

"Let... ," Tera started.

And then the air simply became too thin to breath, her words cut off in an instant of pressure and sound.

There are stages to an explosion, Tera had experienced them before. People watch on television, the test explosions see the destruction, but being in the middle of it is something you never forget and hope you never experience again.

The concussion at the moment of ignition compresses the air around you, as the oxygen is sucked into the void to feed the destruction to come. There is a millisecond where you feel as if you will be pulled along with it, lending your own matter to the consuming fire to come.

At that point, just before you feel the laws of physics are about to be broken the process reverses itself as the potential of the device is given form in realty.

The pressure then pushes back, every inch of your body feels it, you are pushed beyond the well regimented pull that gravity has trained your muscles to react to, vast amounts of force are applied in such a totally complete way upon your body that you know this is what death must feel like.

And then the sound comes. A noise so loud and so deafening that you immediately loose the ability to comprehend it, it is simply something you must withstand.

The visual impact of being close to a large explosion varies based on the distance, type of explosion and surroundings. This one bathed the street in a striking white light that overloaded the optic nerve, bathing everything after the blast in a murky twilight.

Michael's first thoughts, lying on the ground, the air thick with an acrid smoke that burned his lungs was for the women beneath him.

He could feel their forms under his, understood logically that if he was coherent enough to think the thoughts then they should be alright, but there is always the primal fear of loss in such moments, of being too slow, of some random capricious act of the universe taking what is yours.

The bodies below him shifted under his weight, both trying to get their bearings, it was with an overwhelming sense of relief that Michael moved off them, shifting to the ground beside them, taking in the scene before him for the first time through tear and ash filled eyes.

A small crater had formed in the spot where the Renault had been only seconds before. The building that it was parked next to was mostly gone, flames licking out from the tattered remains of second story windows.

The lorry had been flipped over; through the slowly clearing smoke the arm of a man could be seen underneath the crushed cab of the vehicle. The man who was in the back was now hanging over the gate of the truck, his lifeless form covered in livid black scorch marks.

Michael stood and walked towards the carnage, hoping against hope to find someone that may have survived.

"You, can't," Tera said as she gently but firmly grabbed onto Michael's shoulder stopping his forward motion. He turned to her, registering in her eyes both relief and fear.

"But someone..." Michael started and then stopped as he turned towards the scene once again.

"Yes," Tera said as she moved closer to him, her arm slipping around his waist as Valerie's slipped around hers. "Someone did this on purpose, the why and the how may never be known, but yes, someone purposely placed a bomb among innocents, for the sole purpose of killing as many of them as they could," Tera finished, here tone hollow and deadly, the voice of someone who had, in the span of her life, taken the lives of such monsters, and in so doing took on a bit of their insanity as her own.