
Demonfire
Hellfire
KENSINGTON BOOKSKENSINGTON PUBLISHING CORP.http://www.kensingtonbooks.com
All copyrighted material within is Attributor Protected.
Starfire The DemonSlayers
KATE DOUGLAS
ZEBRA BOOKSKENSINGTON PUBLISHING CORP.http://www.kensingtonbooks.com
KENSINGTON PUBLISHING CORP.
http://www.kensingtonbooks.com
Paranormal Romance by Kate Douglas
DemonFireHellFire
HellFire
"Crystal Dreams" in Nocturnal StarFire
Erotic Romance by Kate Douglas
Wolf Tales
"Chanku Rising" in Sexy BeastWolf Tales II"Camille's Dawn" in Wild NightsWolf Tales III"Chanku Fallen" in Sexy Beast IIWolf Tales IV"Chanku Journey" in Sexy Beast IIIWolf Tales V"Chanku Destiny" in Sexy Beast IVWolf Tales VI"Chanku Wild" in Sexy Beast VWolf Tales VII"Chanku Honor" in Sexy Beast VIWolf Tales VIII"Chanku Challenge" in Sexy Beast VIIWolf Tales 9"Chanku Spirit" in Sexy Beast VIIIWolf Tales 10Wolf Tales 11Wolf Tales 12
Wolf Tales II
"Camille's Dawn" in Wild Nights
Wolf Tales III
"Chanku Fallen" in Sexy Beast II
Wolf Tales IV
"Chanku Journey" in Sexy Beast III
Wolf Tales V
"Chanku Destiny" in Sexy Beast IV
Wolf Tales VI
"Chanku Wild" in Sexy Beast V
Wolf Tales VII
"Chanku Honor" in Sexy Beast VI
Wolf Tales VIII
"Chanku Challenge" in Sexy Beast VII
Wolf Tales 9
"Chanku Spirit" in Sexy Beast VIII
Wolf Tales 10
Wolf Tales 11
Wolf Tales 12
Published by Kensington Publishing Corporation
Table of Contents
Paranormal Romance by Kate DouglasTitle PageDedicationACKNOWLEDGMENTSChapter OneChapter TwoChapter ThreeChapter FourChapter FiveChapter SixChapter SevenChapter EightChapter NineChapter TenChapter ElevenChapter TwelveChapter ThirteenChapter FourteenChapter FifteenChapter SixteenChapter SeventeenChapter EighteenChapter NineteenChapter TwentyChapter Twenty-OneChapter Twenty-TwoChapter Twenty-ThreeChapter Twenty-FourWOLF TALES 12,
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
There's nothing quite like brutal honesty to keep an author humble---and also eternally grateful. My sincere---and humble---thanks to my brutally honest, absolutely terrific beta readers who somehow manage to find time in their own hectic schedules to critically read my completed manuscripts and let me know in no uncertain terms when the story needs work. On this project, Karen Woods, Jan Takane, Sheri Ross Fogarty, Rhonda Wilson, Rose Toubbeh, and Margaret Riley, aka Shelby Morgen, definitely went above and beyond the call of duty. Many thanks to all of you.
My sincere thanks to my editor Audrey LaFehr for her insightful comments and revision suggestions, to assistant editor Martin Biro, who somehow manages to hold it all together, and to my agent Jessica Faust, BookEnds LLC, for always knowing the right thing to say and exactly when I need to hear it.
Thanks also to Kensington's amazing art department for once again coming through with an absolute killer cover. You guys are fantastic!
And last but not least, I want to give a heartfelt "thank you" to my copy editor on this book---Debra Roth Kane---for not only finding the obvious errors, but also for noticing those subtle glitches that can make or break a story. I am in awe of your eagle eye!
Chapter One
The crystal mines beneath Lemuria
The steady drip, drip, drip and the soft hum of overtaxed air purifiers were the only sounds Selyn heard as she cautiously pushed herself away from the cavern wall and moved silently through darkness to the sleeping quarters.
With any luck she might be able to catch a couple hours of rest before her shift started, but she'd missed the evening meal in order to make her clandestine meeting with Roland of Kronus. It would be a long time before she had another opportunity to break fast.
A hulking shadow suddenly filled the narrow passageway. Light glinted off pale eyes set in a massive frame a full foot and a half taller and three times wider than her own.
Nine hells. As usual, her luck sucked. Selyn straightened to her full height, raised her chin, and looked the guard in the eye. That alone should be enough to piss him off. The vicious wardens who kept the Forgotten Ones imprisoned here in the mines were quick to anger. If she could truly infuriate him, he might even forget to ask why she was wandering along a passage so far from the slaves' quarters.
"Ah, Birk. Fancy meeting you here." She folded her arms across her chest and hoped he couldn't see how she trembled. Showing fear was the same as giving up.
Selyn never showed fear. Never would she give up.
The huge guard didn't say a word. His fist came out of nowhere. The crushing blow to her cheekbone left her lying dazed and barely conscious on the ground.
He planted his hands on his hips and leaned over her. "So, bitch. You want to tell me what you're doing out here?"
Blinking back the shooting lights blinding her, Selyn slowly shook her head.
He grabbed her hair in a meaty fist and jerked her to her feet.
"Ouch! Nine hells!" She twisted away. He grabbed her breast through the thin cloth of her robe and squeezed. Thick fingers dug into soft flesh.
"Ah!" Excruciating pain blinded her. Frantically, Selyn bucked and writhed, but his grasp only tightened on her breast and in her hair. She lashed out with her bare foot, and connected just below his right knee.
Birk cursed. His leg buckled, and he lost his grip on her breast. Selyn jerked her head up as he fell. She slammed him hard under the chin, but her long hair was still tangled in his fist. He pulled her down with him.
Scrambling beneath his massive weight, she broke free, kicked again, and caught him soundly between the legs. Birk roared in pain and clutched his balls, but her hair was still tangled in his thick fingers. He jerked her head sharply down and caught her between his thighs.
Twisting, turning, Selyn struggled for freedom. Birk flipped her beneath him, clamping down on her head and shoulders with his powerful legs. Enraged, he tore his hand free of her hair and punched her with both fists, landing powerful blows across her chest, along her ribs.
She felt one rib crack, and then another. Gasping, unable to move or catch her breath, her vision clouded. She couldn't breathe, couldn't fight, could not give up. Not this close. Not with freedom only days away.
Blow after blow slammed into her ribs. Frantically, Selyn sucked in a breath of life-giving air and tasted blood. Darkness broken by fitful flashes of sparking lights closed in on all sides, but the terrible pounding continued. Then, somehow, she floated free, apart from the hammering fists, as if she hovered in a separate space, beyond pain, beyond fear.
Maybe freedom would finally come as her mother's had---in death. Did it really matter anymore? Selyn no longer felt the blows, even as Birk continued to pummel her unresisting body.
A beautiful, achingly familiar face swam hauntingly just beyond her reach. With split and bleeding lips Selyn whispered her mother's name.
"Elda?"
There was no answer, no sign of recognition, but it was all right. Her mother, once a proud warrior who long ago fought demons beside battle-hardened Lemurian men, had found peace in death. Only days ago Elda had come to Selyn in her dreams. She'd told her daughter she'd been reborn to fight again---reborn in a crystal sword called DemonSlayer.
Was that to be Selyn's path out of this hellhole? Through death? No matter. Not anymore. Giving in to the darkness, Selyn gratefully embraced the only freedom she had ever known.
At last.
Freedom, and darkness, and death.
Finally. After mere days of frantic discussions, they were moving against the Council of Nine tonight. Though Roland had been part of Alton of Artigos's plans since the beginning, he still feared what their actions against the ruling body would mean should they fail.
Failure is not an option. The fate of Lemuria---of all worlds---depends on us.
Alton's words still rang in Roland's ears as he reached Selyn's level in the caverns. He cast out his thoughts. Though he'd only known the young woman for a few days---since first venturing into the mines in search of proof of the terrible rumors of slave-keeping---she'd always responded immediately, even if he awakened her from sleep.
This time, he heard nothing. A great void where her active mind should be. He glanced along the shadowed tunnel and prayed to the gods he'd not be discovered. He had no business at this level. None at all, but Selyn should have answered by now.
He grasped his crystal sword and walked purposefully down the dark passageway. The lighting was dim and did little to dispel the shadows. Calling silently for Selyn, he rounded a slight curve and stopped dead.
A body lay in the middle of the corridor. A woman's body. From the long tangled mass of her coal black hair and the coppery color of her skin, it could only be Selyn. Roland glanced both ways, saw no one, and raced to her side.
"Ah, child . . . what in nine hells have the bastards done to you?" Kneeling beside her, he pressed his fingertips to the big artery in her throat and felt for her pulse. Erratic, unsteady, it fluttered beneath his fingertips. Her eyes were closed, her face battered and swollen, her rough-spun robe badly torn. Bloody saliva foamed at the corner of her lips.
Roland couldn't risk a call for help. The only ones strong enough to have hurt Selyn this badly were the wardens who guarded the Forgotten Ones. Selyn's latest trip to meet him at the upper level must have been discovered, but how could anyone have done such a horrible thing?
He glanced about, saw and heard nothing but his own harsh breathing, and accepted his duty. Though Alton had sent him below to warn the Forgotten Ones of tonight's coup, he had to get Selyn out of here, and hope like the nine hells she lived long enough for him to find a healer.
Carefully, Roland slipped his hands beneath her slim body and lifted her as gently as he could. He cradled the broken young woman against his chest and carried her down the dark tunnel, passing through portals and eventually reaching the first set of steps without anyone spotting him. Then he began the long climb to the surface. But where could he take her? Not to anyone in Lemuria. Members of the aristocracy claimed ignorance of slavery's existence.
Roland hadn't wanted to believe Lemuria kept its own citizens as slaves, but fear the rumors were true had driven his search. What he'd found was worse than anything he could possibly have imagined. All those poor young women, daughters of Lemuria's brave warrior women who'd been secretly purged from society, condemned to lives of slavery in the crystal mines.
Condemned, it appeared, by Alton's father, the head of the Council of Nine.
No, he'd not find help for Selyn in Lemuria. It would have to be someone in Earth's dimension.
She was still alive, but barely, when Roland finally reached the upper levels and made telepathic contact with Alton. The young aristocrat didn't hesitate. He set his earlier plans for tonight's coup aside and told Roland where they could safely meet.
Less than an hour later, Roland passed through the Lemurian portal that led directly into the energy vortex in Bell Rock, a large formation outside of Sedona, Arizona. Alton waited in the dark chamber with his woman, Ginny Jones, close beside him.
The Lemurian heir to the council took one look at the battered woman in Roland's arms and cursed, shaking his head in dismay. "Ah, Roland, my friend. How could this be?"
Roland was shocked to see Alton's eyes sparkling with compassionate tears---tears that reaffirmed Roland's decision to follow the young aristocrat no matter where he might lead. This was not a man interested in power. No---Alton's only goal was a strong and vital Lemuria, and equality for all its citizens.
Ginny gasped and stepped close. "Oh, my God." She lightly touched the pulse point on Selyn's throat and looked up at Roland. "She's still alive, but her pulse is so weak. Who did this to her?"
Roland shook his head. Anger, frustration, and his fear for the girl's life had him blurting out, "One of the gods-be-damned guards, I imagine. I hear they treat the women most cruelly, but I've never seen anyone so viciously beaten."
"Will she live?" Alton's soft question calmed him.
He sighed. "I don't know. I'm sure she's got broken ribs, internal injuries. She's a tough one, though. At least she's still breathing."
Alton wrapped his arm protectively around Ginny. "I had no idea when you contacted me that she was so badly injured." He glanced at Ginny. "Do you think Dawson can help her? He's a veterinarian, after all, not a doctor for humans."
Ginny stared at Selyn so intently, Roland felt as if she were trying to force the injured woman to heal by the strength of her will alone.
"He's going to have to," she said. "Alton, we have to see if Dax and Eddy can bring BumperWillow. Willow might be able to help, but we need to hurry. Roland? Can you come with us?"
He'd not spent much time in Earth's dimension, and never here in Sedona. It was forbidden, after all, but a young woman's life was, literally, in his hands. "Yes," he said, gazing at the battered girl he held as gently as he could. "I can."
Chara would understand. His wife was used to the long hours he kept, though she had no idea the danger he faced. It was just as well. What was the point of alarming her?
Alton led the way through another, smaller portal. They stepped out into a cavern almost identical to the first. "We just moved from one side of Sedona to the other using the vortex," he said. He pointed to a shimmering gateway on one wall. "That's a secret portal we've discovered that leads directly to the chambers of the Council of Nine, but do not use it to return. The risk of being caught by a member of the council makes it too dangerous. We'll go this way." He nodded toward another glowing portal. "We're meeting a friend of ours here who should be able to help the girl."
Lightly he touched Roland's shoulder. "I can take her if you're getting tired. He'll have his vehicle waiting nearby."
Roland nodded. "I'm okay. Let's hurry." Even though his arms ached from carrying her, Roland didn't want to risk further injury to Selyn by shifting her to Alton's grasp. She hadn't stirred, but she drew soft, shallow breaths, proof she still lived. Thank the gods she was unconscious and, hopefully, unaware of pain.
They stepped out into a star-filled night. Roland had seen stars once before, when he'd fought demons a few days earlier on the flanks of Mount Shasta, but he knew he'd never get the chance to see them enough. Damn it all, but his people had lost too much when their continent sank beneath the sea.
They had survived these many millennia, but at what cost?
Life without stars, without the warmth of the sun. Anger gave Roland strength for the short hike down the dark path. He was still grumbling to himself when they rounded a curve in the trail. Alton flashed his handheld light at a large vehicle waiting in the shadows. A dark-haired man---tall for a human---climbed out and quickly opened the back door. Roland nodded without speaking and carefully slid into the wide seat with Selyn still in his arms.
"Who in the hell did this to her?" Dawson Buck leaned in the open door and pressed his fingers to the girl's throat. He was surprised by the strong pulse he found.
The big Lemurian holding her nodded tersely. "One of the guards must have caught her after our meeting. Her name is Selyn---one of the Forgotten Ones. Can you help her?"
Dawson nodded and raced around the SUV to the driver's seat. His hands shook as he turned the key in the ignition, though he had no idea if it was from fear of the job ahead or rage at what had been done to an innocent young woman.
Her face was battered beyond recognition, eyes swollen shut, lips badly split. Her gown was drenched in blood. From the bloody froth at her lips, he figured she probably had a punctured lung, which meant broken ribs.
He was still shaking when they reached his house just a couple of miles away. Dawson got out, walked quickly to the house, unlocked the front door, and held it open.
The Lemurian guard held the girl as if she were the most fragile of china. He walked briskly down the long hallway to Dawson's small home clinic at the back of the house. Carefully he laid his bruised and bleeding burden down on the examining table.
Then, with an exhausted sigh, he turned and focused on Dawson. "You will save her life, healer. You must. She is much too fine a young woman to die like this."
Before Dawson could reply, Alton grabbed the guard's arm. "Come, Roland. We'll leave the healer to his work. You need food and rest."
Nodding silently, the big man followed Alton out of the room. Dawson raised his head and stared at Ginny.
"I'll help," she said. "Just tell me what I need to do."
He breathed a huge sigh of relief. "Thank you."
He could do this. He had to.
Clearing his mind of everything but helping this young woman survive, Dawson went to work.
Finishing up after a long day at his clinic in town, Dawson had been prepared for another quiet night at home when his cell phone rang. He'd certainly never expected to hear Alton's voice. When he'd recently offered to help his new friends in their battle against a demon invasion, Dawson honestly hadn't thought anyone would actually call.
He was, after all, merely human. What good could a mortal do among creatures who were not only virtually immortal but capable of things he'd only read of in his favorite science fiction novels?
But when Alton told him one of their kind was badly injured and in need of medical attention, Dawson hadn't hesitated. He'd quickly finished up the nightly feeding of his canine and feline patients, locked the doors to his clinic, and raced to the parking lot at Red Rock Crossing near the energy vortex at Cathedral Rock.
And there he'd waited. He'd had plenty of time to think about the changes in his life since that morning, a little over a week ago, when he'd arrived a bit late at his veterinary clinic and discovered the place was already filled with dozens of animal patients---all exhibiting the same unbelievable behavior.
He knew his staff thought he was slightly nuts when he'd suggested the pets were all possessed by demons. Of course, he was well aware that his capable young assistant as well as the women who worked for him looked at his offbeat diagnosis as part of his charm.
They loved to tease him about his easy acceptance of the mystical stories about the land around Sedona and the energy vortexes. Most folks thought of the stories as nothing more than fodder for the tourist trade.
His Aunt Fiona had been the only one who truly understood him. When he was little and talked to his imaginary friends, she'd called him fey. As he'd grown older and lost himself in books with tales of the unusual and unexplained, she'd merely nodded and said he was learning to understand things that a lot of his real-life friends would never be able to see.
The imaginary friends had eventually faded away, cast out by a teenaged boy's need to act like everyone else, but Aunt Fiona had understood. She'd told him that when he was ready, they'd come back.
Now, as Dawson stared at his wristwatch and realized he'd spent an entire night treating a woman who couldn't possibly exist, he sent a silent thank you to his long departed aunt. He could almost swear he heard her chuckling laughter and the soft, Gaelic lilt to her voice whispering, "I told you so, me boyo. I told you so."
Smiling through the memories of someone so dear, Dawson stretched his arms over his head and heard the pop and snap of tired joints. It was almost five A.M.---the time when he normally crawled out of bed to start his day---but he'd stayed with Selyn throughout the night. By now, he figured Alton and Roland, the big Lemurian guard, were probably sacked out on the couches in the main quarters of his house.
He checked his patient's pulse. It was steady now, and she was breathing easier. He'd worried about carrying her from the clinic to the spare room, but he knew she'd be more comfortable here in a regular bed, rather than on the hard examining table where he'd worked on her bruised and battered body.
He hoped Ginny had gotten some sleep. She'd assisted him for hours, playing the unaccustomed role of nurse. By the time he'd finished all of his stitching and doctoring, Ginny'd looked exhausted and a little bit numb from all the blood. Daws had sent her off a couple of hours ago while he finished cleaning up and bandaging the worst of the young woman's injuries.
They'd been extensive and well beyond his training. He'd suctioned blood out of chest cavities for dogs and cats that'd been hit by cars, but he'd never done it for a woman with a punctured lung---at least, not until last night.
Dawson gazed down at the young woman now resting as comfortably as could be expected, and hoped he'd done the right thing. He was a veterinarian, for crying out loud! He dealt with dogs and cats, birds, rabbits, and the occasional hamster or guinea pig---not young, beautiful women barely clinging to life.
What if he'd screwed up? What if she died?
What choice did he have?
None at all, according to Alton. They couldn't take Selyn to a human doctor, and they couldn't take her to one of their own healers. It had been Dawson Buck or no one. Her lung had been the most serious injury, along with bruising to her spleen and liver. Her cracked and broken ribs would hurt like hell for a while, but they'd heal. He'd stitched a couple of spots on her side where heavy blows had actually split her skin, but most of her injuries were bloody scrapes, bruises, and contusions.
The darkly defined fingerprints on her right breast sickened him. More than once during the long night he'd thought of killing the one who had done this to her. That was so unlike him. Dawson had never been the violent sort. He abhorred conflict of any kind, which was why he'd chosen animals as his patients. Dogs and cats were more the what you see is what you get kinds of patients. They rarely came with baggage, and they didn't hold grudges.
Even now, he wasn't sure what he'd expected when Alton had called him, but it certainly hadn't been a beautiful young woman who'd been beaten nearly to death.
He rested his fingers on her shoulder, one of the few spots without the mottled black and blue and red from bruises. Though he wasn't a religious man, his prayer was heartfelt.
Dear God. Let her live. Please, let her live.
Taking a deep breath, Dawson tried to ignore the rapid pounding of his heart. For a brief moment, he thought of all the laws he'd broken by treating a female victim of an obvious assault. Any other medical doctor would have followed the law and reported this to the police. Another veterinarian would have made sure she was treated properly, in a hospital for humans.
Then he bit back a nervous laugh. Who was he trying to kid? She wasn't human. Maybe he hadn't broken any laws after all, but after he'd looked at all her injuries and realized how terribly she'd been hurt, Dawson had known there was no question at all as to whether or not he'd do whatever he could for her.
Now he could only hope his efforts had helped and not harmed her. He gently touched a dark bruise on her cheek. Thank goodness the facial bone was merely bruised, not broken. Her bruises would fade; the ribs would heal.
But what of her state of mind? A beating this horrific had to leave more than bruises on the body. He'd learned that these Lemurians healed much faster than humans. They were obviously a lot tougher, too. Her injuries would have killed a human woman.
Plus, injuries such as these would definitely leave emotional scars with a human. He had no idea how a Lemurian might react to such terrible treatment.
Alton said she was a slave.
Then he'd really confused the issue when he told Dawson that Lemurians were a free society, that they didn't believe in slavery. He, Alton of Artigos, the son of Lemuria's chancellor, had not even known of the slaves' existence.
Not until Roland, the sergeant of the Lemurian Guard, had taken it upon himself to follow up on rumors and search for the women who called themselves the Forgotten Ones. Roland had met Selyn and learned of their terrible history. He'd offered Alton's promise to help the women, and in turn, Selyn had agreed they would help Alton with his plot to overthrow his father.
She'd been willing to risk everything for freedom.
Now, this.
Dawson sighed. He wished she were awake and could tell him she would be okay, wished he knew for sure he'd done the right thing by not taking her to a hospital. What a mess.
Obviously, there were things going on in Lemuria that were every bit as convoluted as human politics.
And this young woman was unquestionably a hero.
A breathtakingly beautiful hero.
Dawson carefully pushed her tangled hair away from her face and tucked the soft blanket around her badly beaten body. He couldn't bear to look at her, to see such perfection so terribly disfigured by someone's cruelty, and it wasn't just the fact that her injuries made him so angry.
No, it was even more unsettling. Her beauty and bravery affected him on a most unexpected---and unprofessional---level.
He'd done all he could as a doctor with the detachment his position required. Now that he'd finished, he realized he saw her as any man would see a beautiful woman. Those dark bruises and bloody contusions were a travesty, a horrible insult to such perfection. He'd never seen anyone as perfect as Selyn. Even battered and bruised, she was lovely.
Lovely and very brave---and right now, Dawson Buck was a terribly conflicted doctor.
Never once in his life had he lusted after a patient.
Shaking his head with the convoluted stupidity of his thoughts, Dawson quickly turned away from her bed. He left the room, mumbling under his breath.
"Of course you've never lusted after a patient, you idiot. All the others have four legs."
Chapter Two
Selyn drifted awake in a world of pain. Eyes closed, she took a moment to catalog the various parts of her body. She must have survived Birk's horrible beating, though she wondered if she'd be whole, even if her injuries healed.
Others had died beneath the wardens' heavy fists. She knew she was alive. She hurt too much to be dead.
Carefully, Selyn wriggled her toes, then her fingers. They worked. That was good. Slowly, cautiously, she licked her dry, cracked lips with the tip of her tongue. Her chest ached, and it hurt to breathe, but at least she could draw sufficient air, as long as she did it carefully.
Taking another breath, she noticed that the stench she'd long associated with her world was missing. Instead, the air lacked any discernible scent at all. Squinting through swollen lids, she saw cream-colored walls and shelves neatly filled with books and jars and unfamiliar stuff. There were cabinets with closed doors and light streaming in through a window.
Window? She knew what windows were, but in the mines they looked out onto dark caverns and poorly lit passageways. Blinking, curious enough now to risk drawing attention, Selyn tried to sit up. "Nine hells!" . . . and then some. Gasping, she lay back against the pillow and tried to catch her breath.
The door flew open, and a tall, lean man stepped into the room. "Don't move. Please. Be still, or you'll hurt yourself."
Fear left her speechless, but only for a moment. Then she took a deep, calming breath---or as deep a breath as she could with lungs that hurt and ribs that ached. "I discovered that on my own, thank you." Aware she wore nothing beneath the blanket, Selyn tugged the soft folds higher, almost to her chin. "Who are you? Where am I?"
He smiled and his dark blue eyes actually seemed to sparkle as the corners of his mouth, almost hidden in facial hair, turned upward. "I'm Dawson Buck," he said. He moved closer, slowly and carefully as if he knew his presence frightened her. "You're in my house, in Sedona. It's in Earth's dimension. Roland of Kronus brought you here last night. You were badly injured and unconscious." He shook his head and smiled even wider. "I wasn't sure you'd awaken this soon. You must be healing faster than I expected."
There were dimples in both his cheeks, partially hidden by his neatly trimmed facial hair. Selyn frowned as she studied him. She'd never seen hair on a man's face before. She'd been told that Lemurian men had body hair in places besides the tops of their heads, though she'd never seen a naked man. She knew absolutely nothing about human men, but the dark hair framing this one's lips and covering his chin was absolutely fascinating.
Besides, it was easier to concentrate on the odd growth of hair and those delightful dimples than to think of what he'd just said.
She was on Earth? But how? Lemurians were forbidden to leave their world, though she knew from snips of gossip that Alton of Artigos had crossed through the portal. It was said his woman---one who carried sentient crystal---actually came from this world, but Roland? How would he know to bring her here? And why?
"It was last night?" She wanted to sit up. She wanted her clothing, and she wanted to get away while she had the chance. Earth! She'd dreamed of one day seeing Earth. Maybe she could disappear into one of the cities she'd heard tales about.
Disappear and never return.
Never have to face Birk or any of the other guards again.
Never hold the crystal sword Taron is replicating for me even now.
Selyn thought of her mother's spirit, bravely fighting demons once again as the sentience in a sword called DemonSlayer. Who would inhabit the sword Taron might have already finished making for her? What woman warrior would be her partner in battle? If Selyn left Lemuria now, she'd never know.
She'd be forever a fugitive, trying to exist in a world where she didn't belong. No, she couldn't leave. As one of the Forgotten Ones, as the daughter of a woman warrior, Selyn knew she was honor bound to stay. She sighed. Always a slave, but a slave to honor as much as to the mines.
She focused once again on the man.
"Yes," he was saying. "Roland brought you here late last night." He stepped closer.
She flinched. She hadn't meant to, but he was big and male and what she knew about men wasn't very comforting.
He stopped. Held his hands out in front of him, as if he meant to show her he was safe. He had big hands, but not like Birk's. No, his had long, slim fingers and neatly trimmed nails. His hands fell to his sides. "I won't hurt you," he said. His voice was deep but very soft. Gentle. "Please. I just wanted to check your eyes. Make sure they're tracking correctly. You have a head injury." He sighed. "Among so many others."
Swallowing, Selyn nibbled on her swollen lip and nodded. He sat on the edge of the bed and used a small tube to shine a bright light into her eyes. He moved it back and forth, and she followed the light as he asked. He clicked it off and stuck the thing in his pocket. Then he lifted her hair away from the side of her face and gently touched her cheekbone.
"Oh!" She grabbed his wrist.
"I'm sorry." He jerked his hands away from her. "I didn't mean to hurt you."
She stared, even as she felt the flush spreading across her face. How could she possibly tell him it hadn't hurt at all? She wasn't quite certain what she'd felt when he'd touched her so gently, but it certainly hadn't been pain.
Before she had time to wonder further, there was a loud noise and the sound of something sliding across the floor. The door to the room flew open, and a curly-haired creature with four legs and huge teeth bounded into the room. It skidded across the floor and stopped beside the bed, wriggling all over.
"Hey, Bumper!" Dawson Buck leaned over and patted the creature's head.
A voice sounded in Selyn's mind. A voice filled with laughter. You must be the one Eddy told me about. Are you Selyn?
Selyn's gaze flashed toward Dawson and back to the beast. "What creature is this? It speaks to me!"
Dawson grinned at her. "This is BumperWillow, though you're actually speaking to Willow. Bumper is the dog---the animal you see---and Willow is the spirit of a tiny sprite, like a fairy, whose body was destroyed by demons. Her consciousness found safety inside the dog, so they sort of live in there together."
Selyn wanted to touch the beast, but her arms ached too badly to reach for the softly curling coat.
"Hey, Dawson. Good morning! BumperWillow, you were supposed to wait." A beautiful woman stepped into the room. She looked directly at Selyn and smiled. "You must be Selyn. I'm Eddy Marks. Alton thought Willow might be able to help you heal faster. Willow? Can you help?"
I can. Will you lift me up on the bed, Dawson? I don't want to jump up there and maybe bump Selyn's bruises.
Dawson picked up the solid little beast and set her on the bed beside Selyn. Selyn looked into intelligent brown eyes surrounded by silly blond curls. She'd never seen a dog before, though Lemurian history mentioned their existence.
That was long before her time. Before Lemuria sank beneath the sea, before the brave women warriors were purged and exiled from an ungrateful Lemurian society.
Before her mother's untimely death. Then, before she could follow that terrible line of thought any deeper, Selyn felt a soothing warmth spread over her body. It was easier to breathe, easier to move, but so relaxing that she settled back against her pillow and lay still while the silly dog stared at her with the eyes of a healer.
Who would ever believe? She had to go back to the mines, if only to tell her sisters of the wonders of this world. Drifting, she wondered what the next days would bring. Would Taron, a man she'd never even met, have the swords ready, one for each of the women? Would they really be free after a lifetime of slavery?
He was risking so much to help women he didn't even know, staying deep below the mines in the hidden crystal caves, with only one sword to replicate a full one hundred more.
One for each of the forgotten daughters.
She hoped her mother would somehow know that her daughter was helping the cause for freedom. Elda would be so proud to know Selyn hadn't forgotten her teachings.
"How do you feel?"
Dawson's voice snapped Selyn back to reality. Freedom was still a long way off. Holding the blankets tightly against her chest, she tried to sit up. His big hands helped, as he gently supported her back and slipped one hand beneath the covers to lift her legs, to help her scoot back against the headboard.
The feel of his warm palm against her bare thighs was unsettling. Not unpleasant, yet definitely disconcerting. Just as confusing as the equally warm, strong hand supporting her naked back.
Once she was upright, he pulled his hands away and tucked the blankets around her. Selyn had been so aware of his touch, she hadn't noticed the absence of pain. Where were the bruises, the painful ribs? She ran her tongue over smooth lips that had been badly split and swollen. Dawson handed her a mirror, and she gazed at her reflection. There were no marks at all, no sign of her injuries. "Amazing." She stared at the dog. "You did this?"
I did. You are too beautiful to be covered with ugly bruises. I'm glad I could help, though Dawson had already repaired the truly serious injuries.
Thank you, Willow. Selyn ran her fingers through the dog's saucy curls. "And thank you, Bumper. I feel well. As if I'd not been hurt at all."
Eddy grinned at her. "That's terrific. We need you healthy. I think the next few days are going to be crazy. I sure hope Taron is . . ." Her words drifted to a stop, as if she listened to someone Selyn couldn't see or hear. Then Eddy's eyes went wide. She reached over her shoulder and withdrew her sword.
Selyn had never seen a crystal sword up close. The guards in the mines all carried steel, and Roland had kept his crystal blade sheathed. This was the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen. Eddy lay the long blade on the bed beside Selyn and gazed at her for a moment with what could only be compassion.
Selyn frowned. Eddy grabbed her hand and placed Selyn's fingers atop the shimmering crystal. It was warm to the touch.
"Selyn, this is my crystal blade," she said. "She is sentient. The first time she spoke to me, she told me her name was DemonSlayer. But I believe you know the spirit that gives life to my sword. Was the warrior Elda your mother?"
Taron of Libernus rose from his thin pallet and set another glow stick in the sconce on the wall near the altar he'd discovered so far beneath the world he'd once thought he knew. As he replaced the fading stick from the night before, a stark, blue-white light burst forth and reflected from crystal walls that seemed to stretch forever, illuminating the huge cavern as if from a million different lamps.
Who would have guessed such beauty lay beneath his world? How many of Lemuria had ever ventured to such depths before?
Someone, obviously, if the crystal altar meant anything. It appeared to have been carved from a single blood-red ruby, the only colored crystal in the entire cavern. A cavern his sword had led him to.
His silent sword. He chuckled ruefully, recalling how thrilled he'd been when first learning of this mission he'd been charged with---to use his own sword to replicate more crystal swords for the Forgotten Ones.
Forgotten? More like unknown. It was hard to believe that there had been slaves working the mines of Lemuria for thousands of years---women unknown to the rest of Lemurian society.
Once he'd learned what would be required of him, he'd sworn to do everything in his power to end the abuse of the remaining women. He'd actually felt the vow he'd sworn to Alton and the others---like a physical mark branded upon his heart. He, Taron of Libernus, would help to free these women. It was his duty as a free man of Lemuria to see that no one endured a life enslaved.
Slavery was wrong. It went against everything Lemurians stood for, and he embraced this challenge, heart and soul. He'd felt it so strongly, experienced the sense of his oath so powerfully, that he'd been certain it meant his own sword would finally speak to him.
If nothing else, wouldn't the blasted thing have to tell him how to find the place where the swords would be created?
Obviously not, because he'd found this cavern without any trouble at all. Somehow he'd known where to go. He stared at the sword lying across the altar. "It didn't work that way, my old friend, did it? Maybe you've just been too busy to talk." He reached out, grasped the jeweled hilt, and lifted his sword from the altar. Lying beneath it, row after row of perfect crystal blades shimmered in the reflected light, each one identical to his beautiful---albeit silent---weapon.
He turned the blade, swinging it in careful strokes before setting it back on the altar. "One day I'll prove myself worthy. I promise you that."
Then he carefully stacked the swords that had appeared during the hours he'd slept and added them to the growing pile. There were close to a hundred. He should have the last of them before this week ended.
Whenever that might be. He'd lost track of days and nights since his arrival, though he'd not been bored.
No, while his sword had birthed more crystal, by whatever magical means it happened, he'd explored the other crystal caverns beneath the world of Lemuria. Room after room, ranging in color from deepest amethyst to ruby red to the pure blue of sapphire, from deep yellow citrine to brilliant green emerald.
It had been like walking through multi-colored geodes, each room expanding to the one beyond, shimmering with huge crystals---precious gems curving overhead in crystalline perfection.
He'd found clear streams of pure water and tiny creatures that obviously had never seen the light of day. Having lived so long in a world without animal life, he'd been fascinated by the blind frogs and eyeless salamanders, and he'd wondered what they found for food so deep within the Lemurian dimension.
Or, was he still in Lemuria? He'd gone well beyond the level of the mines, those horrible caves where he'd heard the sound of women's voices and the creak and groan of heavy machinery. The sounds of women toiling and men shouting out orders had been all the proof he'd needed to know that Roland's tale of the Forgotten Ones was true.
And so damned wrong. Alton's father and the rest of the council had much to explain, and more for which to atone.
Taron knelt near an icy stream that ran through the cavern and quickly bathed. Then he combed out his hair and braided the crimson strands, fastening the end with one of those neat little rubber band things Alton had given him.
One day he would spend time in Earth's dimension and see the wonders Alton spoke of. Some day he would experience the sun on his face, see the stars at night, watch the beauty of storm clouds gathering.
All those things Alton had seen and shared with Taron---all experiences denied the citizens of Lemuria.
Denied Taron. He stood and tossed his long braid over his shoulder. A shiver ran across his spine---the strange sense there was someone else nearby. Slowly, with his breath trapped in his throat, Taron turned and glanced about the huge cavern.
Nothing moved. Nothing seemed to have changed. There was no shift in air currents, no sound beyond the gentle trickle of water over a bed of diamonds. The silence had been more a comfort than anything for the past few days---a gentle silence that was rarely interrupted by the occasional scuff of his own sandals against the floor.
Now, the silence had a sense of portent about it, as if even the cavern waited for something. Light continued to shimmer in multifaceted shards of blue, but something . . .
Something was different.
His eyes were drawn to the ruby altar. All week it had glimmered faintly with refracted light bouncing from the diamond-studded walls. Now it glowed with an inner fire, pulsing rhythmically with the beat of life. He felt the living pulse in the altar within his own body, timed to the rush of blood through his veins, the slow and steady thud of his heart.
Silent, yet powerful and alive, the altar drew him close.
Taron felt no fear, no sense of worry. Wonder filled his soul. Was this a sign the final sword had formed? Was his mission complete? He'd not counted the swords this morning, had no idea if he'd reached the mark of one hundred, though he knew he must be close.
Drawing near, caught in the sonorous beat that thrummed beneath an audible level---pulsed in time with the ebb and flow of ruby light shining within the altar---he spotted something new lying beneath his sword.
Something glowing the same blood-red color as the altar.
Carefully he lifted his sword and set it aside. Beneath it lay another, but this was unlike any of the rest. Glowing with the same brilliant red as the altar it lay upon, the entire sword was longer, the blade thicker at the base, the crystal formed from faceted ruby rather than diamond.
The hilt was gold, set with a single huge diamond in the pommel. Without even thinking of the consequences, Taron reached for the handle and wrapped his fingers around it.
Heat raced through his palm like a bolt of fire and shot the length of his arm. He turned the hilt loose before he'd even had a chance to move it.
The blade glowed, shimmering so brilliantly, Taron stepped back and covered his eyes. Blinking, he took a steadying breath and stared once again at the ruby sword. It flashed a deeper red, then flashed again. This time he could swear flames danced along the blade.
And then it spoke, in a voice ringing with authority. A powerful, masculine voice.
"You will take me to Artigos the Just."
Artigos the Just? Alton's grandfather had died sometime during the move from their sinking continent. No one had seen him after the DemonWars ended, after their world was destroyed by earthquakes and cataclysm. Taron shook his head in fear as much as denial. "I can't. Artigos the Just is dead. His son rules now. His grandson is my friend."
The red glow flashed brightly enough to stain the surrounding walls blood red. "He lives. I would not exist without him. I sense his life force, and it is as strong and vital as when he last carried his sword. Take me to Artigos the Just, but do not tell his son that either I or his father exist."
Taron stepped closer. "Tell me where to find him. How do I take you to him when I don't know where he is?"
Once more the sword flashed blood red. "You will find Artigos the Just, and you will deliver me into his hands."
As suddenly as it had flared, the fire died, and the crystal lost its glow. Taron let out a whoosh of air and a heartfelt curse. "Nine hells! Just go find a guy who's been dead for a few thousand years. Sure. I can do that. No problem."
The sword flashed, almost blinding him. He jerked out of the way and choked back a laugh. "Really. Don't worry. If he's out there, I'll find him."
He did a quick count of swords. There were seventy-nine stacked beside the ruby altar. As much as he hated the idea, he'd have to leave his own sword behind to finish the job of replicating the full one hundred weapons while he took this new one to either Roland or Alton. He sure as hell didn't know how to go about finding a dead ruler on his own.
Carefully, without touching either the hilt or the blade with his hands, Taron wrapped the ruby sword in his blanket and tucked it under his arm. He couldn't risk anyone seeing it, but until he got to the upper levels, there was no way to contact anyone who might be able to help.
He'd been away for days now. He wondered what had happened during his absence, if Roland and Alton and the others were still safe. Was Alton's father still head of the council? So many things might have changed while he'd been entirely out of touch in the caverns beneath the mines.
A ruby sword asking for a dead leader was probably the least of his problems.
Chapter Three
Selyn stared at the blade shimmering softly against the bed coverings and fought back the sting of tears. She refused to cry, not when she felt such overwhelming joy. Slowly stroking the warm crystal, she whispered, "Mother? DemonSlayer? Are you . . . ?" The blade glowed and pulsed, and Selyn knew it lived.
Then she heard her mother's familiar voice.
"I am here, daughter. Yes, I am Elda, her spirit and her heart, the one who carried you, who gave you life. I fight now with a woman you shall call sister, for Eddy Marks is a brave and powerful warrior. As are you, my daughter."
Wide-eyed, Selyn shot a glance at Eddy, and then stared once again at the sword. She took a deep breath. "I am ready to fight. We all are. The others didn't want to believe me, but when I told them there would be swords for each of them, it gave them hope. These people---and this curly-haired beast---have healed my injuries. I'm ready."
"It is good. I was with you when you fought the warden. I feared for you then, though I was sure you would prevail. You are stronger than you realize, more powerful than you know, and I celebrate your healing. A word of caution, beloved daughter---those you count as your enemies may not be guilty of their many sins. All is not always as it appears." The sword glowed once more and then faded.
Eddy waited for a moment while Selyn rested her fingers against the blade. Then she quietly sheathed her weapon and rested her fingers on Selyn's wrist. "She does that a lot, says things I don't entirely understand. But DemonSlayer always tells the truth. That 'all is not always as it appears' will make sense eventually. And Selyn, anytime you feel you need to talk to your mom, just let me know, okay?"
Selyn raised her head and smiled at Eddy. "I dreamed she was the sentience of a crystal sword, but to hear her voice . . ." She brushed a hand over her eyes. "It's as if she lives again."
Eddy took Selyn's hand and squeezed her fingers. "She does. She is very much alive within my blade. Your mother has become my friend as well as my companion in the battle against demonkind. I don't know how much you hear of the world, working in the mines, but demonkind threatens all of us again. DemonSlayer has already saved my life and the lives of my friends on more than one occasion. Selyn, I'm so glad you're all right, and I'm really glad we found you, that you got to talk to your mom. Anytime you feel the need, please . . . anytime."
Eddy sighed and sat on the edge of the bed. "I would give anything to hear my mother's voice. She died when I was little."
Selyn looked into Eddy's dark brown eyes, felt her sadness, saw the compassion in their chocolate depths and, without further thought, wrapped her arms around her new sister and hugged her close. "I'm sorry for your loss, but I am so happy you carry the sword with my mother's spirit."
She leaned back far enough to see the tears tracking down Eddy's face and knew they probably matched her own. Smiling now, she said, "This means I no longer have to worry about her. Where she is, how she fares in the afterlife. Knowing she is once again in the midst of battle . . ." Selyn sniffed and then laughed. "It must make her very happy. She was a brave warrior. A good and loving mother, but my mother was first a warrior."
"Thank you." Eddy sniffed, and then they both giggled. "I wonder who'll be the sentience in your sword?"
Selyn thought about that a moment. Then she shook her head. "I have no idea. There were so many brave women who fought in the DemonWars. All of them are gone now."
Dawson stepped closer. She'd been almost preternaturally aware of his presence, as if she sensed him on levels she didn't truly comprehend. Even though she hadn't seen him, she'd felt him standing silently by, watching the interaction between her and Eddy, so it was no surprise when he moved closer and lightly touched her shoulder.
She was proud of herself for not flinching this time, but she'd expected his soft touch even before his fingers rested on her shoulder. Surprisingly, the gentle connection steadied her.
"That's something I don't understand," he said. His soft voice rolled over her like a physical presence. Soothing, comforting. "I thought Lemurians were immortal. What happened to all the women warriors? Why did they die?"
Selyn shrugged. She'd often wondered the same thing, though in her heart she knew the truth. For the first time ever, she spoke her mother's tragedy aloud.
"After they were exiled from Lemurian society rather than treated as the heroes they were, when they realized they couldn't escape their jailers, they gave up hope." She tilted her head so that she could see Dawson, watch the emotions that flickered so openly across his expressive face. Already she'd learned to read him, in spite of the dark beard he wore.
"After so many years toiling in the mines---victimized by the cruelty of the guards, with no hope of freedom for themselves or their daughters---they began to choose death. Within a couple of years, all of the women warriors had passed beyond the veil."
"Were they pregnant when they were sent into slavery?"
Eddy's question hung there---a question Selyn knew she must answer. She shook her head. "No. The guards used rape as a form of intimidation, a way to control the women, to subjugate them. They were warriors---women used to fighting demonkind---and they fought the wardens with every bit as much passion as they'd fought during the DemonWars, but they had no weapons. Their swords had been taken away and destroyed. They were physically smaller than the males guarding them, and, without weapons, powerless against them. Sexual assault was demeaning and terrifying, but they might have continued to fight, except almost all of them became pregnant. That was unexpected, and it changed the dynamic of their existence."
She shivered, remembering the terrible stories of the wardens' cruelty. Remembering her mother's mixed emotions---the love she felt for her unexpected daughter; the absolute hatred for the man who had forced the pregnancy on her through a brutal act of rape.
Selyn swallowed past the bile that rose in her throat at the telling. "The Lemurian fertility rate is historically very low, and yet, one by one, most of the women conceived, and most of the babies were daughters. The few boys who were born were taken away by the guards, never to be seen again. But pregnancy meant the women had new life to consider. The option of fighting the guards no longer existed, because it meant putting their unborn babies at risk. They gave up the fight and turned their energies to raising daughters who would one day avenge them."
She raised her head and realized she was telling her story to Dawson. The others listened just as attentively, but her words were directed at him. "We are those daughters," she said. "We who call ourselves the Forgotten Ones."
Dawson nodded. "Forgotten no longer, Selyn. All of Lemuria will soon know about you, about your mothers and the role they played in your world's history."
"I hope so. That is my wish. My prayer. My mother's prayer as well."
"They don't still rape, do they? Not their own daughters?" Eddy's gaze flicked to Dawson, then back to Selyn.
"No. The sexual abuse stopped as soon as most of the women had conceived. They'd achieved their purpose by changing the dynamic, by making it impossible for the women to fight. At first it was to protect their unborn children, and then it was to keep the children safe. In a way, it was as if the pregnancies were part of the punishment, though our mothers loved us and were always good to us. Pregnancy made it easier for the guards to control the women warriors. The beatings, though . . . the beatings continue, and there have been some deaths among us. We number one hundred, now. There once were almost a dozen more."
Eddy glanced once again at Dawson. Then she squeezed Selyn's hand. "We'll find answers, Selyn. And we'll get all of the Forgotten Ones out of the mines. I promise you. Once the swords are ready and Alton has control of the council, we'll put an end to slavery and find the answers all of you need."
Selyn almost laughed. "It sounds wonderful, but how do you plan to accomplish all these things?"
A soft knock on the door interrupted Eddy's answer. Selyn glanced up as the door opened and a beautiful, dark-skinned woman stepped into the room. She was followed by a tall, strikingly handsome Lemurian with long, blond hair. He smiled directly at Selyn, as if he knew her.
"Selyn," he said. "It's good to see you looking so well this morning. I'm Alton, and this is Ginny. She assisted Dr. Buck last night when you were brought in. Your recovery is amazing."
Ginny laughed. "No shit. I hate to say it, but you were a mess when Roland showed up with you." She slung her arm over the healer's shoulders and gave him a familiar hug and a kiss on the cheek.
Selyn smiled, but she wasn't sure how she felt about another woman hugging and kissing the man who'd healed her. Nor was she sure how she should feel about this Lemurian. She knew his name, that he was son and heir to Chancellor Artigos.
Until she knew more of what was happening, she figured she'd keep her worries to herself. "Thank you. I don't remember much at all after Birk hit me." She shook her head, realized her hands were trembling, and clasped them together in her lap. The curly dog leaned close against her side, as if offering comfort.
For some reason, BumperWillow's solid presence really did seem to make things better. She glanced around the room. "Is Roland still here? I need to thank him. I imagine I would have died without his help."
Alton shook his head. "No. He returned almost immediately to Lemuria after bringing you here. He didn't want his absence noted, and he was worried about his wife and child."
"He's a brave man," Selyn said. "He risks much."
Another man stepped into the room, which seemed to shrink with the presence of yet another large male, but when Eddy smiled and reached for his hand, Selyn relaxed. Obviously this one wasn't a threat.
She realized she'd never been among so many men before and not felt afraid. The lack of fear was almost as unsettling as the familiar sense of anxiety she usually felt around males.
"Selyn," Eddy said. "I want you to meet Dax."
She nodded in greeting.
"It's good to meet you, Selyn." He smiled at her, but he was obviously here for another reason altogether. "Alton? Are we still on for tonight?"
Alton nodded. His expression was grim when he turned to Selyn. "It begins tonight, Selyn. I know you have no reason to trust any of us, but please believe me when I say we had no idea slavery existed within our world. Roland is the one who heard the rumors, who followed them to their source and discovered, because you were brave enough to meet with him, that the stories were true. Slavery is unacceptable. What happened to the warrior women is unacceptable."
He looped his arm around Ginny and held her close. "We have plans to kidnap my father, the chancellor who is also the ninth member of the Council of Nine. We have every reason to believe he is possessed by a demon, one that has affected his decisions now for thousands of years. Demon possession may have bearing on the terrible purge of the warrior women carried out so long ago, on your mother's original enslavement."
Demon possession? She'd not heard of such a thing. There'd been rumors of a new invasion, but actual possession? "And then what?" she asked.
"Dax and Eddy will bring my father here, to Dawson's home. He's got a reinforced room with barred windows and a good lock on the door where we can hold Artigos, and hopefully remove the demon from his soul. I plan to take over the council as my father's heir." He shrugged and gave her a very sheepish grin. "Of course, he's publicly disowned me, but it's what I've been groomed for my whole life. I'm hoping we'll be able to convince the citizens and the other members of the council to put that little issue aside."
He chuckled when Ginny rolled her eyes. "Trust me. We'll make it work. Once I'm seated, Taron should have the rest of the swords ready, and we'll get them distributed."
"But what of the guards?" Selyn glanced at Dawson for whatever reason, and then directed her comments to Alton. "The wardens, those who watch the Forgotten Ones, are not about to simply allow you to walk in and begin arming the women!"
"I think we've got that covered." He glanced at the others in the room, as if looking for other input. When no one spoke, Alton continued. "The plan is for Roland to bring a few loyal members of the Lemurian Guard to the level where the Forgotten Ones live and work. He's got a couple who are armed with crystal. With me there as chancellor, we'll have the authority to disarm the wardens and imprison them so we can safely get the women to the main level. We'll need to have the women on our side, showing a unified front. That's where you come in, Selyn. I know they're not very happy with any of the council at this point, but if you're able to convince the Forgotten Ones that our intentions are honorable, it should work."
It all sounded so perfectly simple. Too simple. And yet, if they succeeded, a lifetime of unwarranted servitude, of their hellish slavery in the mines, would come to an end. Finally and forever, the Forgotten Ones would know freedom.
She glanced again at Dawson Buck, drawn to him for some reason she couldn't explain. Was it gratitude for his healing her, or was it something else?
He watched her with a most fascinating intensity in his brilliant blue eyes. Why had he, a human, agreed to take part in this dangerous exercise? What was he thinking right now, as he watched her so carefully?
She realized the answer to that question was the one she wanted to know the most. Because, more than anything and for some strange and as yet unexplainable reason, she wanted to know what he thought of her, not as a victim, but as a woman.
Alton reached over his shoulder and lightly touched the pommel on his sword.
I am here, Alton. And I am ready.
Good. HellFire, I wish I felt as confident as you sound.
Alton heard soft laughter in his mind, and then HellFire's strong voice. We will prevail. Do not doubt yourself, and do not doubt me. Your goal is mine, and it is just.
Alton almost laughed. No snark from his usually snarky sword? He hoped that was a good sign. Glancing from Ginny to Eddy and Dax, he asked, "Are you ready?"
At their affirmative answers, he turned to Dawson and Selyn. Selyn looked absolutely regal, even though she wore nothing more than a faded bathrobe that must have belonged to Dawson. She stood close beside the vet in the front room, tall and proud and every bit his equal. The two of them already looked like a team.
It was impossible to ignore Dawson's interest in his exotic patient, but Alton wondered what would happen, once Dawson realized his mortality made anything permanent between them impossible.
Well, it was their problem, not his, though he knew how it could complicate things. Even so, Alton had more than enough to worry about without adding another couple's hypothetical relationship to his list of problems. "You'll have the room ready for my father?"
"We will." Dawson glanced at Selyn. "If he tries to use compulsion, Selyn knows how to handle him. He might be able to control me, but she should be immune to him, right?"
Alton shrugged. "She should be. Compulsion doesn't work on other Lemurians. It's something we appear to have developed to use against humans." He winked at Ginny. "I should have known something was up when it wouldn't work on Ginny."
Not that he hadn't tried, because he had, on more than one occasion. He should have guessed, but discovering she was descended from Lemurian royalty had been a shock. It still gave him chills. Knowing she'd been gifted with immortality, that they would always be together, completed him. He'd never imagined what it would be like to love a perfect woman, and know she loved him in return.
"We'll be ready for your father." Dawson glanced at Selyn and then gazed seriously at Alton. "Be careful. All of you."
Alton thought of Dawson's words barely an hour later as he and the others followed Roland through hidden passageways used primarily by Lemurian guards to move about within their world. The tunnels were narrow and dark, but there was little chance of discovery as they quickly circumvented the great plaza and made their way to the residential area.
Roland paused just beyond the rooms where Artigos now resided. He touched Alton's shoulder to get his attention, and whispered, "Will your mother be a problem?"
Alton shook his head and answered just as quietly. "I recently learned she and my father no longer share their living space. Her apartment is connected to his, yet they live separately, each with their own portal to the main passages for access. Because they've always been such private people, very few citizens realize they're no longer living as man and wife."
"That should make it easier for you." Roland paused. Then he frowned at something only he could hear, and whispered, "Taron's trying to contact me. He doesn't say why, and his voice isn't very clear, but I've not heard from him for days. Maybe he's got the swords ready. I'd best head below and find out what he needs. Good luck."
Alton watched as the big sergeant slipped quietly down yet another passage. Then he drew HellFire. "Is the way clear?"
His sword pulsed with a blue glow. "Your father is alone. The way is clear, and the time is right. We must go now."
Alton adjusted the pack strapped tightly to his back beside his scabbard. He and Dax nodded to one another, and then Dax and Eddy moved to either side of the glowing portal that opened into his father's rooms, taking the positions they'd agreed upon.
Alton paused as Ginny unsheathed her sword. Together, holding their glowing blades high, they stepped through the portal. Alton's father sat alone at a small table, but the moment they entered, he leapt to his feet and glared at his son.
"What right do you have, entering my quarters unbidden?"
Before Artigos could mentally call on anyone for help, Alton pointed HellFire at him. Ginny did the same with DarkFire. Blue fire shot from the tip of Alton's sword while dark purple shimmered forth from Ginny's amethyst blade.
Trapped in the blended glow of light, Artigos went rigid. Eyes wide, lips parted in mid-curse, he was held immobile by the combined power of the two crystal blades.
"What now, DarkFire?"
Ginny's soft question startled Alton. He'd focused so intently on his father's angry face, he'd lost track of time.
"He will know nothing for the next few hours." DarkFire's glowing light shimmered, softened, and faded. Artigos sat heavily in his chair and stared straight ahead, entranced.
"Quickly," Alton said. "Call Dax and Eddy." He couldn't allow himself to think of what they had just set in motion as he slipped his shoulder pack to the ground and pulled out a tightly folded duffle. His hands shook so badly he could barely hang on to the damned thing. He concentrated on unfolding the bag, on getting the zipper open. He couldn't look at his father sitting there in the chair, staring into space like a plastic mannequin, a parody of the vital, forceful man Alton had always known---a man who had publicly disowned his only son.
By the time Dax and Eddy entered the room, Alton had his emotions under control and the bag open, and he was stretching it out on the floor. Even his voice sounded steady as he sat back on his heels. "Help me get him inside."
Dax nodded and carefully grabbed Artigos beneath his shoulders while Alton turned around and lifted his father's legs. Artigos offered no resistance at all, though his eyes were open. He appeared at least vaguely aware of something going on.
Artigos closed his eyes, though, as Dax and Alton stretched him out beside the duffle and, with Eddy and Ginny's help, got him tucked inside. At the last minute, Alton grabbed his father's crystal blade. He caught Ginny's curious gaze. "I can't take everything away from him. Not this, too."
Ginny smiled softly as he slipped the blade and scabbard into the bag beside Artigos, and closed the zipper. "I won't allow him near it when he's conscious." Alton ran his fingers along the zipper and sighed. "We just need to keep it close. Just in case . . ." The fabric was light enough to allow his father to breathe, but strong enough to carry him using the sturdy handles along the top.
Dax grabbed the handle above the chancellor's head and shoulders while Eddy lifted the one at his feet. Alton glanced at Ginny. She should have grabbed part of the weight, but instead she stood off to one side with her arms folded over her chest.
"Ginny? Aren't you going to help Eddy?"
"No." She stepped closer, wrapped her fingers around his forearm and shook her head. "They can handle him. My place is with you, Alton. I'm staying." She glanced toward Eddy. "You're sure you don't need my help? You'll be able to carry him as far as the portal?"
"No problem. Now, Alton I might have trouble with, but his father's not quite as big." Eddy flashed a quick grin. "Don't worry---either of you. You deal with Alton's mom, and we'll take care of dear old dad."
"Thank you." What else could he say? Obviously Ginny and Eddy had worked this out ahead, but he turned to her anyway, and grabbed both her hands in his. "Are you sure, Ginny? It could get ugly. This is treason, no matter how you look at it. It's a capital offense in Lemuria. We could end up in jail again. Or worse."
She laughed. Only Ginny . . .
"I'm sure. Now stop it. You've got bigger things to worry about." She stood on her toes and kissed him. "Wherever you go, I'm there. Jail. Lemuria. Earth. You're stuck with me."
"Good. I think." Thank the gods! Relief didn't come close to describing how her words made him feel, but he held tightly to Ginny's hand and watched until the portal closed behind Eddy and Dax. He wasn't going to think of the risk they were taking. He couldn't. "I hope they'll be okay."
Ginny squeezed his hand. "I hope you'll be okay. I can feel your anxiety. It's pouring off of you in waves." She kissed his cheek. "C'mon, big guy. We need to talk to your mother."
"I know." He dragged his gaze away from the empty portal. "First I want to give Dax and Eddy time to get him through the gold veil and away from Lemuria. Dax will let me know once they're ready to leave this dimension." He wrapped an arm around Ginny's waist and held her close. When she grinned at him, he leaned over and kissed her perfect mouth, losing himself, if only for a moment, in her heat and her taste, and her soft, full lips.
Ginny's love surrounded him. With HellFire strapped to his back and Ginny beside him, Alton felt as if he could accomplish anything. "How did I survive so many years without you?"
She laughed and kissed him hard and fast, then backed away and said, "You didn't. Your life didn't begin until you met me."
She had no idea how truthful her words actually were. No idea at all.
Chapter Four
As soon as everyone left, Dawson dug around in the storage closet in the hallway until he found a set of his old surgical scrubs for Selyn. They'd faded nearly white from so many launderings, but they were clean and soft. He figured they'd cover her enough that she wouldn't feel threatened.
He'd noticed her clutching at the gaping neck on his old bathrobe. She was holding it closed now.
"Try these," he said, handing her the folded pants and shirt. "They'll be more comfortable than that old robe. They should fit you. You're almost as tall as me, and I was a lot skinnier when I was in vet school."
"Vet school?" She gazed up at him and frowned as she took the scrubs.
"UC Davis, where I studied to be a veterinarian. I wasn't trained to treat people. Only animals."
"You healed me." Smiling, she shook her head. "I'm not an animal."
He let out a big breath of air. "You can say that again, Selyn." He walked the few steps to her room, reached around her and opened the door. "Try those on. See if they'll fit."
Without a word, she left him standing in the hallway, and shut the door behind her. He'd known clothing was going to be an issue for her from the moment she awoke and immediately tugged the blanket all the way to her chin.
She was probably used to her full, flowing robe, but the one she'd worn last night was totally ruined. The rips and tears could be mended, but bloodstains had already set in the soft fabric. The last thing Dawson wanted was to put Selyn back into clothing that would be a constant reminder of that terrible beating.
Clothing that covered her completely and yet was still comfortable to move in should help her relax a little, especially since she'd be staying here in his home. She'd tried to hide her reaction to his nearness, but he'd sensed her anxiety whenever he got close to her. That was the last thing he wanted---for this beautiful young woman to fear him.
He waited outside the bedroom, leaning against the wall in the hallway with his arms folded across his chest. After a few minutes, Selyn slowly opened the door. He wasn't certain, but she seemed relieved that he'd waited for her.
At least she smiled when she saw him.
"Does this look okay?" She ran her hands down the front of the worn cotton. "It feels so strange to wear pants. I've never worn anything other than my robe."
Her toes peeked out from beneath the wide pants leg. She lifted up one bare foot and laughed. "The pants look so silly."
"I don't think so." He pushed himself away from the wall, though it was hard to stop staring at her. He paused for one more look. "I think you could wear rags and make them look beautiful." Her eyes flashed wide in surprise, and he could have bitten his tongue for making such a personal comment. Awkwardly, he turned away and headed toward the kitchen. "C'mon. Let's get something to eat. Are you hungry?"
She nodded, padding quietly behind him on bare feet. Shoes were something else she'd need. She hadn't had anything on her feet when Roland brought her in the night before. She'd worn nothing but that torn and bloodied robe that was beyond repair.
Until they had time to shop for clothing, the scrubs were the best he could do. They'd sure never looked like that on him!
The soft fabric clung to her tall, slender frame, and the deep V-neck offered a glimpse of the hollowed shadows between her breasts. He'd seen those perfect breasts last night, when he'd used a syringe to drain blood and fluid from her punctured lung.
He'd not thought of her as a woman then. No, she'd been a badly injured patient, someone he shouldn't even have treated. He was an animal doctor, damn it! What if he'd harmed her in some way? What if he'd not had the skills to help her?
Shit. She was fine this morning. He had to quit worrying about what was done and think about what was coming. Alton's father would be here soon, and before long, if what Alton said was true, they'd be more deeply immersed in the fight against demonkind. Thank goodness Selyn had recovered so quickly. Her body was healthy, her injuries healed from a combination of his medicine, her Lemurian healing ability, and Willow's magic.
He almost stumbled when all those thoughts collided at once. Damn, but if he didn't know this was all really happening, he'd think he was losing his mind. Demons and Lemurians and talking swords and a talking dog! Aunt Fiona's spirit must be loving every minute of this. She'd warned him, hadn't she?
Chuckling softly, he held open the door at the end of the hall. Selyn glanced at him and stepped through. She had to be starving, but she'd not said a word. BumperWillow jumped off the living room couch and trotted alongside, blond curls bouncing and tail wagging. Eddy'd been smart to leave her behind.
The dog seemed to make Selyn more comfortable with him, though Daws couldn't blame her for being nervous around a strange man. Even though he'd been the one to treat her injuries, she'd been unconscious the entire time. He wondered what it must be like, to awaken after such a nightmare and discover you were in another world among complete strangers.
He regretted that Roland had decided to leave before Selyn regained consciousness. At least she knew him, if only slightly. She didn't know Dawson at all, though he had every intention of changing that. Just not quite yet.
Carefully, he refrained from touching her as he guided her to a stool at the breakfast bar in the kitchen. The last thing he wanted to do was make her more nervous than she already was. It had to be hard for her, knowing that, other than the dog, she was alone with a man in his home. Except, she didn't seem as nervous, now, sitting comfortably on the tall stool, looking wide-eyed at Dawson's bright kitchen filled with morning sunlight streaming through the big windows.
Like a flash it came to him---what she was seeing, what she was experiencing for the first time. "You've never seen sunlight before, have you?" He paused beside her, fascinated by her expression, by the sheen of tears in her sapphire-blue eyes.
She shook her head, transfixed. "Never. I've heard of it. My mother used to speak of it with such longing. She told me of the sunlight glistening off the water on the bay near her home, before Lemuria sank beneath the sea. How the blue sea sparkled like diamonds. She loved to swim with the dolphins." Selyn turned away from the sunlit window with its view of Sedona's famous red rock formations, and smiled at him.
It was the first true smile of hers Dawson had seen, and if he hadn't been holding on to the edge of the granite bar, he'd have had to grab it to keep from stumbling. Her smile blazed a path right through him.
"Do you know dolphins?" she asked.
He had to clear his throat to get his voice to work. "I've seen them." He wished the ocean was close enough to take her there right now. He wanted to give her anything she desired, whatever she dreamed of. "We're a long way from the ocean here in Sedona, but one time, years ago, I watched dolphins swim beside a boat in the Pacific. Beautiful, fascinating creatures."
She had a dreamy expression on her face when she nodded. "I would like to see dolphins one day. And the sea. I definitely want to walk along the shore and stick my toes in the waters of the sea. Those are the stories I remember the best. The ones my mother told of her life before the DemonWars, before the purge that sent her to the mines and a life of slavery."
Without thinking, Dawson reached for Selyn and wrapped his fingers around her hand. She didn't pull away, but her head snapped up. She stared at him from wide, almost frightened eyes.
He didn't turn her loose. He kept his grip light, as nonthreatening as he could, but he had to touch her. Needed this connection now, at this precise moment. "I promise you, Selyn. When this is over, when the demons are gone and all this crap is done, I'll take you to the ocean, and we'll walk along the shore. You can hunt for seashells and dip your toes in the water. Your entire body, if you want."
He stared at her as she watched him. Her lips curved up in that delicious smile once again, and he was almost certain his heart stuttered in his chest.
"I would like that. I would like that very much." And then she tugged her fingers free of his.
This time he let them go.
He took a step back, moving out of temptation, if there were such a place while she was here, in his home. In his world.
"It's almost lunchtime, but I'm going to make us some breakfast. Eggs and bacon okay? Or do you prefer cereal?"
She actually laughed at his question. "I always feel lucky if we're allowed bread and a piece of cheese when we break fast. Surprise me. I have no idea what kind of foods you eat."
"I guess it's all pretty strange to you, isn't it?" He glanced over his shoulder, talking to her while he pulled a couple of pans out of the cupboard, and then raided the refrigerator.
"Even Lemuria is strange to me. I'd never been outside the mines until I met Roland, and then only to the level above the one where we live and work. I had to be very careful not to be caught when I met him." She sighed. "Obviously, this last time, I wasn't careful enough. I've heard of so many places, but I've never seen any of them. Not even pictures. We had a few books to learn to read, but none with pictures."
He started the bacon frying and grabbed clean flatware and a couple of plates. "How is it you know as much as you do?" He smiled at her, hoping to put her at ease. The things she'd never experienced had to make this simple breakfast in a kitchen in Earth's dimension utterly mind-boggling. "You're comfortable with our language. That's something I've never thought to ask. How is it all of you speak English?"
She grinned. "Ah, that's where my Lemurian heritage helps. We speak and understand all languages. No matter what you speak, we hear and understand the words, all the nuances of the language. You might be speaking English, but I am hearing Lemurian."
He set a glass of orange juice in front of her. Her eyes lit up. "What is this?"
"Orange juice. From a type of fruit, a citrus. Try it."
She sipped. Her eyes widened, and she took a huge swallow. Then she set the glass down and slowly licked her lips. Dawson almost groaned when the pink tip of her tongue swept over the fullness of her upper lip and then brushed the lower.
Staring at the glass, now only half full, she said, "This is wonderful. We have water and tea in the mines, but nothing like this." She took another swallow. Again she licked an errant drop from her top lip.
He couldn't stand it. Turning away, Dawson poured himself a cup of coffee, took a swallow, and burned his tongue.
Shit. He'd never felt so awkward around a woman in his life, nor enjoyed himself more. He loved the fact he could show her new things, give her new experiences. Orange juice was safe, but that wasn't where his imagination wanted to lead him.
The image of her perfect body, covered in bruises and contusions, flashed into his mind. She'd been through too much. More than any woman should have to bear. Damn. Stick to new memories, Daws. Good memories. Something besides slavery and brutality and a life where the sun never touched her smile.
The snap of bacon frying drew him back to the stove. Selyn took another sip of orange juice and closed her eyes, as if lost in the sensual pleasure of the cold drink. Dawson tore his gaze away from her before his damned testosterone-fueled brain went off on other sensual pleasures, other things he'd like to show her. "Did you go to school?"
That was a safe question, wasn't it?
She shrugged. "Not really. Our mothers taught us what they could. There was nothing organized for us. We're slaves, after all. Not worthy of an education. I can read and write, and I know my numbers and the basic history of our world. I know some history of Earth, but not as much as I should."
She smiled as she ran her fingertip through the condensation on the side of the glass. "I know how to fight. How to protect myself." Then she sighed. "At least, I thought I did. Birk's attack taught me I'm not as strong as I thought."
Dawson put the strips of bacon on a paper towel to drain, and stuck some bread in the toaster. Then he cracked and beat half a dozen eggs, poured off most of the bacon fat, and dumped the eggs into the pan. Concentrating on the eggs, he asked her the question he'd avoided so far. "How did it happen? What did you do, that you were beaten so badly?"
She stared at her hands clasped around the base of her glass of juice and shook her head. Her long, dark hair rippled in midnight waves over her shoulders. "I don't really know. Birk caught me coming back from a meeting with Roland. Normally, catching one of us in the passageways where we don't belong would warrant a slap, maybe the loss of what few privileges we have, but he surprised me with a solid punch to my jaw. I wasn't expecting it. I never recovered from that first punch, not enough to fight back. He was too strong, too fast. . . ."
Her voice trailed off as she gazed once more at the sunny window. "I'm afraid to go back to the mines. I know I have to, but I've never been so close to death before. It was terrifying."
"You were badly hurt. Your injuries might have killed a human woman . . . or man." He shoved the eggs around the pan, concentrating on the lift and swirl of brilliant yellow, watching them solidify as they cooked. When they were almost done, he raised his head and caught her sapphire gaze in his own. "When you go back," he said, "I'll go with you. I don't want you to have to face that bastard alone. Never again."
She laughed. It was a harsh sound without mirth. "He would kill you. He's a large man. Bigger even than Alton. Taller. Broader. He's grown more cruel each year, as if something drives him to terrorize us as much as possible."
Dawson didn't respond. She might be right, and maybe he wouldn't win a fair fight with the man who'd beat her, but as far as he was concerned, fairness didn't enter the contest when a man did to a woman what that bastard had done to Selyn.
Calmly, Daws scooped eggs onto a plate, then buttered a piece of toast and set it next to the eggs with a couple of strips of bacon. He put the plate in front of Selyn along with a small jar of jam. Then he put a serving of eggs into a shallow bowl with a strip of bacon crumbled across the top, and set it on the floor for BumperWillow, next to the water he'd put out earlier.
Thank you, Dawson. It looks wonderful.
You're welcome.
He would never, not ever, get used to conversing with a dog. Smiling, Daws filled his own plate and sat across from Selyn.
She stared at the food.
"Is something wrong?"
She shook her head. "No. It's too right. This is amazing." When she raised her head, she was smiling again. "It's too pretty to eat."
He laughed and put thoughts of killing Birk out of his mind, at least for now. "No, it's not," he said, taking a forkful of eggs. "You're the only thing at this table too pretty to eat, except that's all I can think of doing with you."
Oh, crap. I didn't really say something that stupid . . . did I?
She paused with the fork halfway to her mouth, cocked her head to one side, and stared at him. "What is it you want to do?"
He felt the blush all the way to the top of his head. She was probably as innocent as a young woman could be, no matter her actual age in years. He shook his head. "Nothing," he mumbled. "Eat your breakfast."
She stared at him a moment longer, and then dug into her food. From the hurried yet efficient manner in which she ate, he figured mealtimes in the slave quarters weren't necessarily a social occasion.
Sadness flowed over and through him, a sense of time lost, of innocence crushed. At the same time, he knew wonder, and the powerful awareness that his life would never be the same again.
Sticking to the shadows, Taron managed to get through the mining level without stumbling over one of those massive guards. From there he climbed more stairs to the main level, and then went straight to his quarters with the ruby sword.
Within a few minutes he'd found his grandfather's white leather scabbard in the back of his closet. The leather was still supple, the buckles and straps soft and well used, though not badly worn, considering the fact that his grandfather had fought in the DemonWars before Lemuria sank beneath the sea. Though the ruby blade was larger than the average crystal, it fit perfectly into the scabbard. The leather didn't hide the gold pommel, but at least the unusual crystal was out of sight.
Taron quickly shoved the ruby sword beneath the bed and sent out a message for Roland.
Taron! Where are you?
Roland. Thank goodness! I'm in my quarters. I have something here you have got to see. I need your help.
I'm on my way, Taron. Stay put. Things are beginning to happen. Artigos has been taken. He is on his way to Earth, and Alton is preparing to take over the council. You might not be safe if word gets out about the crystal swords before he's got complete control.
Taron glanced at his bed and thought of the ruby sword lying beneath it. Roland, I think the crystal swords might be the least of our problems.
Alton paused outside the portal that led to his mother's lodgings. Enough time had passed that Dax and Eddy were well away from Lemuria, possibly at Dawson's by now. At least Artigos couldn't make contact with anyone, should the trance wear off. Alton knew he'd run out of excuses to delay any longer.
"Alton?"
Ginny's soft fingers wrapped around his wrist.
"I know." He took a deep breath. "I'm ready." He really did not want to have this conversation with his mother. How did one approach a woman who had lived a lie for most of her life? Though her rooms connected to the residence his father kept, that door was kept locked, and his parents had maintained separate entryways to their own rooms since the great move.
Even Alton hadn't realized the truth---that their marriage was truly a sham.
He thought of how much he loved Ginny, how complete she made him feel, and sadness for his mother's lonely life almost felled him. What he intended to tell his mother now could very well be the final blow. How much disappointment could a person bear?
Ginny gazed up at him, cupped his face in her hands, and kissed him. "I love you, Alton. You can do this." Then she took his hand in hers and lightly tugged him toward the doorway.
"You're sure?" He looked down at their fingers, so tightly linked. Of course she was sure. Ginny never doubted herself---or him. Her faith set a high standard for Alton.
She made him a better man than he ever could have been on his own.
"I'm sure," she said, tugging him closer. Her soft laughter melted away much of the anxiety that had been building since Dax and Eddy took Artigos away.
"C'mon. It's time to talk to your mom." Ginny kept her hold on his hand. Alton sighed and pressed a small button beside the door. Soft tones echoed on the other side of the portal.
The shimmering light brightened, and Ginny followed Alton through, into Gaia's lodgings. His mother waited on the other side with her hands folded tightly beneath her chin. When she saw them, she bowed her head, formally acknowledging the two of them. Then she raised her chin. Tears streamed from her eyes.
"What have you done?" Her harsh whisper condemned them both. "He called to me. He begged for my help, but now I can't reach him. What have you done to him?"
Ginny shot Alton a quick glance.
Alton froze, obviously stunned by his mother's accusation. Ginny took one look at his ashen face and stepped forward. "Gaia, Artigos is safe. Everything we're doing is to save him, not harm him. Remember what you said when we met, that your husband had changed, that he lost his soul many years ago?"
Gaia's eyes went wide. She shook her head, denying Ginny's words and her own. "No. No, it was only a figure of speech. I didn't mean it literally." She laughed, still shaking her head, but it was a harsh and broken sound. "He has a soul. I know he does. He must!"
Ginny took another step closer and wrapped her arms around Alton's mother. Gaia felt rigid, almost brittle within her embrace. "We fear it might have been taken from him," she said, using soft, soothing tones. "Not by his choice. By demon possession. He's in a safe place, where we can help him. So we can help Lemuria. And you, Gaia. We want to help you, too."
Gaia's eyes flashed from Ginny to Alton and back to Ginny. Nervously she licked her lips. "I don't know." She practically moaned the words. "I heard him cry Alton's name in anger, but then he was gone. His thoughts are always with me, even though he doesn't want to share them. Ever since we wed, he's been with me. What have you done to him?" she demanded.
"A trance, Mother." Alton ran his hand over her hair, soothing her as if she were a child. "That's all. Merely a form of compulsion that will keep him from being afraid until we can help him. You know he's not the same man he was. You see the difference, don't you?"
Gaia closed her eyes and turned away. "Many, many years ago when we were still young, we were so much in love. He was a good and kind man, a loving father." She turned to Alton, raised a hand as if to touch his face, then dropped it heavily to her side. "You remember him that way, don't you?"
Alton looked absolutely stricken. "No, Mother. Not since I was a small child. Maybe then, but not for most of my life."
Gaia didn't appear to hear him. She stared at something. At nothing. "Something changed." Slowly, she shook her head, still denying the obvious truth. "I thought it was me, that I wasn't a good wife, that the stress of our world sinking beneath the sea, the move, his father's disappearance . . . I blamed so many things for the changes in Artigos. Changes I couldn't explain."
Alton rested his hand on her shoulder. "Let's sit down, Mother. We have a lot to discuss. I know this is quite a shock."
"Yes." Trembling from head to toe, she nodded and turned away. "Where are my manners. What would you like to drink? May I bring food?"
"No, Mother. We're fine. Sit. Please." He waited until she perched nervously on the edge of a long, low sofa. He sat beside her and took her trembling hands in both of his.
Ginny sat on Gaia's other side. She smiled at Alton, encouraging him. This had to be so hard for him.
"What happened to Grandfather? I don't remember him very well."
Gaia shook her head. "He disappeared during the big move, when the DemonWars were just ending. It all happened so quickly then. Our world was being destroyed. There were earthquakes and terrible upheavals. Huge waves drowned entire cities, and buildings collapsed and fell into great rifts in the earth or were washed away by the seas. Artigos the Just was overseeing the transfer of many ancient records, but he was supposed to meet us here, in our new home. He never arrived. Your father bravely stepped into his place and took on the heavy task of governing our world. Everything was chaos. So many of our people were lost during the chaos of the move, from the horrendous cataclysm, from the war. Terrible times. Just terrible."
"Is that when Father changed?"
Gaia slowly nodded her head. "I blamed the pressures of the move, the massive responsibility, but it was something more. He stopped coming to my bed. He no longer wanted anything to do with you, his only son." She raised her head, and her eyes were wide. "He banished the warrior women, the ones who'd fought demonkind so bravely. No one knew what became of them, but I knew. I wasn't supposed to hear, but I knew when he had their swords destroyed. When he sent them below to work the mines. For all I know, they're still down there, like a dirty secret. Those brave, brave women." Her voice broke, and she bowed her head.
Ginny caught Alton's gaze and almost wept. Gaia had known. She'd known the truth all these years and had never said a word.
"Why didn't you say anything, Mother? Why didn't you speak out? What he did was terrible. It was wrong."
She stared at the floor. "Because I loved him. I still love him. I keep hoping the man I married is in there, that he's not lost to me, but it's been so long. So very, very long."
Gaia pulled her fingers free of Alton's grasp and clasped her hands together. She straightened her spine and was once again the wife of Chancellor Artigos of the Council of Nine. "Where is he? What have you done with him? What do you intend to do next?"
"We've taken him to a safe house where he'll be cared for. We believe he was possessed by a demon many years ago, one that has influenced his choices throughout his years as leader of the Council of Nine. One of our group will try to remove the demon from his heart and mind. With any luck and a lot of skill, we hope to get him back, healthy and able once again to rule Lemuria, but we need your help."
She stared suspiciously at her son. Ginny could only imagine how it pained Alton to have his mother's anger and distrust focused on him. "My help? How? What can I possibly do?"
"You can officially introduce me to the people. They know you as his wife, know you've stood by him all these years. They trust you. Tell them I will be temporarily holding his position---the position I've been groomed for all my life---until he is cured of an unknown illness. Tell them he's with healers now. We don't want people to know we suspect demon possession. That would cause too much fear. An illness would be easier for the citizens of Lemuria to accept."
"You'll bring him home when he's well? When his soul is restored?"
Alton glanced at Ginny. She shrugged. They didn't know what was going to happen. There were no guarantees, but Alton looked at his mother and said, "We will do everything we can to bring him home. You have my promise."
She smiled, and it was as if the sun were actually shining here in the depths of Lemuria. "Whatever you want, my son. I will do what I can. Just bring your father home to me."
Ginny gazed at Alton and opened her thoughts. I'll stay with your mother. Go and do what you need to do, but be careful. I love you, and I'm going to be really angry if you don't come back to me in one piece.
Gotcha. "Mother, Ginny will stay with you. I'm going to meet with the council and let them know what's going on. Then I'll check on Father before I return." He leaned over and kissed Ginny, patted his mother's hand, and then he was gone.
Ginny sat there beside Gaia and wondered just how much they could count on a woman who'd allowed so many brave women warriors to die as slaves.
Chapter Five
Dawson closed the door behind him and walked out toward the main room where Selyn waited. The quarters---originally the site of his veterinary clinic---where he intended to house Artigos, were ready. Now all Dawson and Selyn could do was wait until Eddy and Dax delivered Alton's father into their hands for safekeeping.
The fact he was entangled in the kidnapping of a world leader---one not of his own world, at that---wasn't lost on Dawson. Neither was the presence of the young woman waiting impatiently in the next room.
He made a quick left into his home office and grabbed the phone. It took only a matter of minutes to make arrangements for his assistant, who had covered for him today, to take over the clinic for the rest of the week. Esteban Romero---called Romeo by the staff of young women who worked for Daws---was young, handsome as sin, and good with both animals and their people. He'd been more than happy to take charge of the clinic.
With his more mundane worries covered, Daws headed to the main room---and Selyn. She sat in front of the big screen TV with BumperWillow sprawled on the couch beside her. The dog---and, most likely, her symbiotic guest---slept, but Selyn was totally engrossed in a program on the Discovery Channel. Tiny red frogs enlarged to fit a fifty-inch flat screen crawled across thick foliage in some far off jungle. Equally engrossed, Dawson leaned against the doorjamb and crossed his arms over his chest, watching Selyn.
She leaned forward, sitting on the edge of his old leather sofa, elbows planted on her knees, long fingers cupping her face. Her hair fell in ebony waves over her shoulders, down her slim back, to curl softly against the leather cushions.
The loose neck of her cotton scrubs shirt had shifted to one side, baring her left shoulder and the fine line of her collarbone. With the late afternoon sunlight slanting through the window, her skin took on an almost reddish hue against the faded fabric.
Her concentration on the program was absolute, and he wondered what she thought. All of this was so new to her. It must feel both terrifying and exciting, to be faced with an entirely new world, all new experiences . . . new people.
She was so lovely she made him ache. So achingly innocent she terrified him. He felt drawn to her on too many levels---wanting to protect her, to teach her, to take her and make her his.
And that is something I cannot do.
She was his to protect. No more. She was an immortal, a woman who had known---for more lifetimes than he would ever live---nothing but slavery. A woman who, while accepting the friendship of those who were helping her, still burned for revenge.
He'd watched her watch Alton, had felt her rage when they spoke of Artigos and their desire to save him. She blamed the chancellor for her mother's death and her own horrible life.
With damned good reason, Daws thought, though if Alton's father were truly demon-possessed, the man himself might be as much a victim as Selyn. Not guilty at all. What a mess.
Selyn tilted her head, almost as if she'd sensed his presence. She turned away from the big screen and watched him with an unsettling stare. He wished he knew what she was thinking, what she thought of him.
Blinking slowly, she asked, "Will that room be strong enough to hold the chancellor? I would hate to think he could break free after the risk Alton and Ginny are taking to get him out of Lemuria."
At least Daws knew he was on safe ground here. "He can't get out. That was my veterinary clinic when I first opened my business. Since I kept restricted drugs here for treating the animals, I had the windows reinforced and barred, and a good lock put on the door. There's a bathroom in there, and he'll have access to an intercom when he's ready to contact us, but it's definitely secure." He gestured at the television. "He's even got a TV in there, though it's not as big as this one."
"He can compel you to do as he says. All Lemurians have that ability. What if he forces you to unlock the door and set him free?"
Dawson shook his head. They'd discussed that issue already. "It won't matter," he said, "because you're here. He can't force another Lemurian. You're my ace in the hole, Selyn. You'll be the one in charge of the key to the room, not me."
Selyn nodded. Then she stood up and walked to the window. Dawson had always loved the view from here. The dark red, wind-shaped stone of Cathedral Rock soared majestically against the blue desert sky. Juniper, Mediterranean cypress, and a couple of scraggly ponderosa pine trees framed the formation. A row of silvery century plants marked the edge of the drive to his home. Cacti dotted the deceptively desolate landscape, and dark gravel defined the driveway from the main road to the garage.
"Would you like to go outside?"
Selyn's head snapped around, and she stared at him. "We can do that? Go out in the sunlight? Shouldn't we be here to wait for them to bring," she paused and flipped her hand in a careless gesture, "him. That one?"
"The chancellor?" Daws shook his head. "We're just going out in the front. No farther than the patio. We'll see them coming long before they arrive."
He held out his hand, not really expecting her to take it, but when Selyn slipped her warm fingers into his, he tightened his grip almost possessively. At the last minute, he tucked his cell phone in his pocket, and then led her toward the door that led out to the covered patio area in front of his house.
The dog snored and stretched out on her back. Her feet twitched as if she chased rabbits in her sleep. Dawson wondered if the sprite slept when her host did, or if she was in there, metaphorically tapping her tiny foot, impatiently waiting for action. Smiling, Dawson shut the screen door. BumperWillow would let him know if she wanted out.
When Selyn would have continued on to the rocky path, he tugged lightly on her hand. "We need to get some shoes for you before you try walking in the desert. See those?" He pointed at a prickly pear cactus growing beside the pathway. Needles stuck out in all directions. A few old pads lay on the ground, covered with sharp spines. "You don't want to step on any of them."
"I can see that." She laughed, but there was a sense of sadness to the sound. "So different from what I'm used to. All of the plants grow in containers in our world. Pathways are kept clean. There's nothing like this, so wild and unkempt." She slanted him a bright glance. "I like this. It's so big, and there is so much color. And sunlight."
She spread her arms wide and lifted her face to the sky. Daws watched her, enthralled by the sensual pleasure she took in the warm, afternoon sunlight and fresh, dry, desert air. It was almost painful to drag his gaze away from her, but he had to.
It was either divert his attention or pull her into his arms, and that wouldn't do. Not at all. Angry with the direction his thoughts kept straying, he stared out across the desert, at the sparse trees and scrubby brush, the soaring rocks scoured by wind and rain, and he thought of all that Selyn had never seen, the things she'd never felt. Sunlight on her skin, the cold splash of rain, the chill from a winter's wind.
A man's hands, not raised in anger.
The thought of what that bastard had done to her had his entire body tensing up. He clenched his hands into tight fists, fully aware he really wanted to kill the one who had hurt her. He'd never felt such anger toward another man in his entire life, especially a man he didn't know, but it was real, and it burned hot and heavy inside him.
A loud "char, char, char," rising in volume caught Selyn's attention. She turned to Dawson, frowning. "What's that?"
He pointed to a brown bird streaked with white, perched amid the sharp spears of a desert yucca. "Cactus wren."
"And that?" She pointed at a small fluff of brown fur on the rocky ground below the bird.
"That's a cottontail. They're rabbits. See that?" He pointed to a man-made pond on the far side of the yard. At one time it had been full of goldfish, but they'd not done well with the desert heat. Now he kept water for the wildlife that needed a safe place for a drink, and mosquito fish to keep the bugs under control. "The pond draws lots of wildlife. Look in the shade of the shrub. Do you see them? Over there."
He hadn't noticed them at first, but a small group of javalinas had found a cool spot beside the garage. "There are five little guys that have been coming in for water. It looks like they decided to hang around today."
"What are they?" Slowly Selyn moved across the concrete patio until she was only about a dozen feet from the sleeping creatures. "Yuck! They smell horrible."
"That they do." He chuckled softly as he studied the odd looking creatures. "They're actually collared peccaries, but here we call them javalinas. Most people think they're related to pigs, but they're not. They're just another of the weird creatures that live in the desert."
Selyn turned away with laughter on her lips and sparkles in her blue eyes. "So many wonders. It would take forever to see so many things. All this, and we've not even left your house!"
He stared at her bare feet peeking out from beneath the ragged hems of his old scrubs. "And we're not going to be able to leave the house until we get some shoes for you." His sandals wouldn't work on her smaller, narrow feet. But Ginny's might.
He wondered how Ginny and Alton were doing, if they'd managed to capture Artigos. The day was almost gone. Selyn would have been missed by now, so there was no way she could return to the mines---not until it was time to hand out the swords to the Forgotten Ones.
For now, they'd just have to wait, and hope that things were going according to plan.
Dawson had gone in to start something for their dinner, and she really should have gone with him and at least offered to help, but Selyn couldn't bring herself to go back inside the dark, cool dwelling.
Not when the sun was setting behind the amazing masses of red rock, bathing the desert sand in shades of red and purple and dark, dark blue. She'd never imagined such beauty, much less actually seen it with her own eyes.
This day had been one surprise after another, from the moment she'd awakened in that strange room, to the gentle care she'd received from a man. She probably shouldn't trust any of them---not Dawson or Alton or especially Dax. He'd started out as a demon, according to Dawson. A demon from Abyss, sent to this world to fight his own kind. How could one trust a demon?
Her mind wouldn't stop spinning. So much to absorb, to try to understand. New information, new feelings, new everything.
Her feelings were the most confusing, the way she couldn't stop thinking about Dawson and how he affected her. The way her body seemed to respond to his. Men were not to be trusted.
Hadn't Birk proved that?
But what of Roland? He'd risked his own safety to rescue her. And what of Dawson? Even now he protected her. He'd used his skills to heal her. And Alton, promising swords to the Forgotten Ones, and his friend Taron, sequestered at the deepest levels of the crystal caves, replicating those swords.
All men, all risking their own safety, their status, by doing good things to help her and her forgotten sisters. It went against everything she'd always known, always believed, and it was so very difficult to trust.
BumperWillow whined. She'd come outside a while ago to keep Selyn company. Now she sat up, and her curly tail slapped against the concrete patio. She gazed out across the desert, as if awaiting something---or someone.
Selyn heard a strange noise and glanced up to see a large vehicle coming down the pathway to the house. Terrified, she thought to run inside, but then BumperWillow barked and wiggled her sturdy, curly-haired body as if she were dancing with joy.
At the same time, Selyn recognized Eddy's face through the clear windows and Dax sitting beside her. BumperWillow leapt to her feet, and her curly tail wagged so hard it whapped Selyn's leg like a drumstick beating out a rhythm.
Selyn stood beside the excited dog and waited until the dust settled and the doors on the vehicle opened. The dog didn't wait. She took off with a leap into the air and then proceeded to run around the vehicle in mad, skidding circles.
A door opened, and Eddy got out. "Hey, girl. Slow down. You're going to hurt yourself!" She leaned over to pet the beast and got her face licked in return. Finally she stood up and grinned at Selyn. "Hi, Selyn. Is Dawson around?" Eddy looped her scabbard with DemonSlayer over her shoulder and shut the door of the vehicle.
BumperWillow bounced and yipped and whined as if they'd been separated for months, not merely a few hours.
"He is. I'll get him." She turned toward the dwelling, but Dawson was already opening the door and stepping outside.
"Have you got him?"
"We do," Eddy said. "He's still pretty groggy, but he's able to walk. Where do you want him?"
"Selyn can show you. I'll go in and open the room."
Dax helped an older gentleman out of the back of the vehicle. The man stumbled, and Dax caught him with a sturdy arm around his waist. Eddy took his other side, and between the two of them they guided the chancellor into the house. He walked as if he'd had too much to drink, but Eddy and Dax managed to keep him on course.
BumperWillow trotted along beside them with her tail wagging and tongue hanging out. Selyn led them through the main room and down the hall to the quarters Dawson had prepared.
She kept glancing back, shocked to see that the one who had destroyed so many lives was nothing more than a tall, gray-haired man who didn't appear at all big and strong or even particularly dangerous.
No, he just looked like a slightly inebriated older man in a wrinkled robe who needed to fix his messy hair. She stepped aside when they reached the room. Dax and Eddy walked Artigos inside and then helped him lie down on the big bed. Eddy carefully removed his sandals, while Dax helped center him so he wouldn't fall off.
Even knowing what evil he had done, they treated him with respect. Confused, Selyn stayed back, out of their way.
Dawson left a cup of water beside the bed and checked to make sure there was cool air circulating from an overhead fan. He stopped Dax with the light touch of his hand. "Do you think he'll be okay?"
Dax nodded. "He should be. The longer he's out, the better. He'll need to be well rested before we try removing the demon from him."
Dawson paused and stared intently at Dax. "You're positive he's possessed?"
Dax shrugged, staring at the chancellor. "I can definitely sense demonkind in him. It's difficult to tell how powerful it is. Its presence is subtle, as if it consciously hides itself, which makes it inherently more dangerous. I fear it has become more deeply entrenched---a part of him, like a parasite feeding off his soul. Rather than fighting for absolute control of a man's mind, some demons are capable of melding entirely to the host's consciousness. They control in a more passive manner, but over time, they control completely."
Dawson glanced at Selyn, then again at Dax. His eyes looked haunted. "That doesn't sound good. Does Alton know?"
"Not yet. He's supposed to call later. I'll tell him then. It wasn't until I'd spent time with his father that I could be certain." Dax opened the door, but he gave Artigos one final look. Then he stepped out of the room with Eddy behind him.
"How long do you expect him to be out like this?" Dawson carefully locked the door. He handed the key to Selyn, folding her fingers around it, before following Eddy and Dax down the hallway. Selyn stared at the key for a moment, surprised at the trust Dawson placed in her. He'd said she would control the key, but she really hadn't expected him to follow through.
He hadn't even hesitated. Bemused, she stuck the key in her pocket and walked with him.
Eddy glanced over her shoulder. "Alton wasn't sure, but he expects his father'll be pretty loopy, at least until tomorrow."
"Loopy?" Selyn glanced at Dawson.
"In a trance," he said, laughing softly. "Must be one of those untranslatable words."
She returned his smile without even thinking about it, and then she realized she couldn't recall ever smiling as much as she had today. Not in her entire life.
Definitely a day of firsts, and so far, especially now that the chancellor was out of Lemuria and no longer in control of the council, all of them good.
By the time he'd organized a meeting of the council for later in the evening and gone back to Bell Rock where he could use his cell phone to call Dax and check on his father, Alton was beginning to think the coup was actually going to work as planned.
The phone call had settled one of the big issues---Dax confirmed demon possession in Artigos. After speaking with him, Alton agreed that Dax and Eddy should wait before attempting to remove the entity until Ginny could come with DarkFire. Her sword had already displayed more specialized skills. Hopefully, removing demons was one of them.
For now, Artigos was locked safely away at Dawson Buck's with both Dawson and Selyn watching over him.
It was time to face the citizens of Lemuria. Alton returned to his mother's quarters. She and Ginny were sitting in the small kitchen area, sipping tea and chatting like old friends. He kissed his mother's cheek and then leaned close and kissed Ginny's soft lips. He wanted to grab her up in his arms and take her away from all this, but all he could do was kiss her again. "Is everything okay?"
She smiled at him, and her eyes were twinkling. "Everything is fine. Your mom and I've been talking. I know all your secrets."
"Oh, crap." He smiled at his mother. "All of them?"
She leaned her head against his side, and looked up at him playfully, the way he remembered from his youth, as if she were just another playmate and not actually his mother. "Well, I didn't tell her about the blanket you hauled everywhere with you until we had to burn the filthy thing."
"Gee, thanks." He blinked suspiciously. "You burned it?"
Gaia winked. Then her expression sobered. "What did you learn of Artigos?"
"There is definitely a demon lodged within his soul. It won't be easy, but we think we can remove it."
"And I will have my husband again." She closed her eyes, almost as if she prayed. Then she stood and shot a sharp glance at each of them. "It's time. We will install you in your father's place, and then we can see about making things right."
Those were the words that kept Alton going through the long night ahead. That, and Ginny's steady presence beside him. The council members questioned his abilities when they met with them first in private, but he answered their concerns and faced up to their disbelief. When they referred to their leader's public declaration that Alton was no longer his son, his mother stood proudly and blamed it on her husband's strange, unexplainable illness. She bravely countered anyone who questioned her son's ability to lead.
And steadfastly, Ginny stayed beside him. Tall and lean in her black jeans and boots with the purple hoodie that barely covered her slim belly, she stood proudly with DarkFire clasped in both hands. It was impossible to deny Alton's ability to lead when he carried a sentient sword. Impossible when the woman beside him carried one with the spirit of the Crone, a crystal blade presented to Ginny in a most public yet personal fashion.
The people of Lemuria still spoke of that amazing event, and probably would for many years to come. Ginny's instant popularity and her dark crystal blade reflected well on Alton.
Long hours later, he took his place as temporary chancellor of the Council of Nine and faced the citizens of Lemuria from the same dais where Ginny had received DarkFire just a few days ago. Though some of the council members disputed Alton's right, they were overruled by their peers and the overwhelming public approval both Gaia's and Ginny's presence had ensured.
The crowd dispersed. Alton and Ginny walked his mother back to her quarters and left her there. She assured them she was fine by herself---essentially she'd lived alone most of her life.
Finally, well into the early morning hours of the day to come, they headed through the maze of tunnels to Alton's private quarters and a chance for some much-needed sleep.
Roland's voice slipped into Alton's mind.
I've spoken to Taron. The rest of the swords should be ready by tomorrow, but he has an unusual sword with an even more unusual demand.
The sword has spoken? Alton clutched Ginny's hand tightly and stopped in his tracks.
It has, and it's made a specific request. It said, "You will take me to Artigos the Just."
My grandfather? He's been dead for thousands of years. Ever since the move to Mount Shasta.
Roland's soft laughter was impossible to ignore. Not according to the very large sword I now have in my possession. The one with the golden hilt and the ruby crystal blade.
Alton glanced at Ginny. She was practically stumbling from exhaustion, but time was growing short. Where can we meet?
I'll be at your quarters in two minutes. I'm headed that way now.
So am I, Roland. He squeezed Ginny's shoulders as she leaned against him. So am I.
Chapter Six
"Ginny, putting the swords together was a brilliant idea."
Ginny stood back, watching as Alton carefully sheathed the strange ruby and gold sword in Taron's old scabbard. He didn't touch any part of the weapon, instead holding it with an edge of the blanket Roland had used to hide it. Once it was firmly sheathed, he carefully wrapped the scabbard and sword in the blanket until it was entirely hidden within the soft folds. There was power in this sword---a great and terrible power. They'd all felt it---no one wanted to risk actually touching the thing.
Finally, Alton tucked the wrapped blade under his arm and kissed Ginny much too quickly. "I had no idea they'd actually be able to talk to each other. That was amazing. C'mon."
Ginny adjusted the sheath holding DarkFire and followed Alton through the portal leading from his quarters. At least now they had an idea where to begin on their search for Artigos the Just. Ginny looped her fingers around Alton's arm. "I wasn't sure if it would work, but I figured it couldn't hurt to try. Now we know where to start asking questions."
"We start with Selyn. I wonder what she can tell us?" He kissed Ginny again. "Hurry. Before citizens fill the passages." Alton took off down the wide tunnel with his usual long strides. Ginny stretched her legs to keep up with him, but she didn't try to slow him down. There was so much to be done, and so very little time to do it before all hell broke loose.
Literally.
But what an amazing morning. They'd stared at that damned ruby sword the night before until Roland had finally headed back to his quarters and Ginny'd fallen asleep. It had been a startlingly clear dream that had her lining up all three crystal blades on the bed in the early morning hours.
When HellFire and DarkFire had not only acknowledged the ruby sword, but had pledged allegiance, both she and Alton had been totally blown away. The ruby sword had remained mute, though the crystal glowed like fire.
Whatever the swords said afterward, though, had remained private. The blades had glowed and then faded. DarkFire had been the one to utter the name of the woman Roland had rescued.
At least they knew exactly how to find Selyn, which made her the perfect point to begin their search.
Suddenly, Alton grabbed Ginny's arm and pulled her into a dark alcove. A moment later, a group of guardsmen marched by. Their footsteps echoed against the cavern walls until the measured sound finally faded into the distance. Alton poked his head out of the opening, looked both ways, and then grabbed Ginny's hand and tugged her along with him.
He glanced over his shoulder, but he didn't slow his stride a bit. "That's really weird. I didn't recognize any of those men. We've a fairly small population. I know most of the guards, at least by sight if not by name."
Ginny scrambled to keep up. "They're Lemurian though, aren't they?" They were big men, though. Really big. Taller and heavier even than Roland or the other guards she'd met.
"They are, but where have they served before now? Why don't I know them?" He tightened his grasp on Ginny's hand and picked up the pace. She glanced at him, but he was frowning and staring ahead, along the passage, so she raced beside him, running now for all she was worth. Quietly, without further interruptions, they raced toward the vortex.
Ginny wasn't all that sure of her way around within Lemuria, but she didn't think they were all that far from the energy veil that separated this world from the portals in the vortex. At this pace, they should be there really soon. But why were they running? Why was Alton so concerned about discovery? "You're the new chancellor," Ginny whispered. "Why'd we hide?"
He wasn't even breathing hard when he answered her. "Roland said not everyone accepts the change of leadership. We don't have time to convince some hardheaded guard I'm no longer a wanted man for breaking Dax and Eddy out of jail."
"Good point." She glanced at the tall, strikingly beautiful man running purposefully beside her and decided that anyone who didn't admire and respect Alton of Artigos was an absolute idiot. But he was so terribly conflicted right now. She knew how badly he wanted to help his father, to regain the man he barely remembered---the one who had loved the child Alton had once been.
Even stronger was his desire to protect both his world and hers from demonkind. There were so many forces against them, so many things that could go wrong. She hoped like hell they'd all find the happy ending that seemed so impossible at this point.
Ginny was breathing hard and fighting a stitch in her side when the golden veil marking Lemuria's boundary came into view. Alton wasn't even winded. She looked at him, and a sense of destiny swept over her, a feeling that maybe, if they could pull everything together, this whole convoluted plan might work.
Though right now, a lot hinged on Selyn's willingness to help. Ginny hoped the woman didn't harbor too much anger and too great a need for revenge. Selyn had suffered terribly because of Artigos. Why would she ever want to help them find the man's father?
Selyn sipped her cup of coffee and tried to decide whether or not she liked the strange brew. Eddy had added some sugar and a squirt of foamy white cream out of a can, and the flavor had been much improved, but now Eddy was gone, and somehow the coffee and cream no longer tasted as good.
Everything seemed different since Eddy and Dax had left, though they'd only been gone a short time. Selyn wondered if it was the fact that her mother's spirit was no longer here. Not that she'd spoken to Elda again since that one time, but just knowing she was nearby and happy had given Selyn peace.
That, and having another woman around. Now it was just Selyn, Dawson, and Artigos. And BumperWillow, of course, though Selyn found it difficult to count her as an actual woman---not when she barked and chased her tail and liked to stalk rabbits in the yard.
She sipped her cooling cup of coffee and thought of how it had been this morning, waking up in Dawson's home, seeing him with his eyes sleepy and his hair mussed. She'd felt strange sleeping alone in a big bed in a room by herself, having her own bathing room and private facilities after a lifetime of living in the slaves' barracks---a hundred women sharing everything.
All of this felt strange. This world, her life. Everything.
She glanced at Dawson. He'd been on the phone, talking to someone at his clinic, whatever that was. She knew he dealt with the health of animals like BumperWillow, but she wasn't at all certain exactly what he did.
Whatever it was, it seemed to make him smile. Of course, a lot of things made Dawson smile. Often, when she looked up and caught him watching her, he was smiling . . . or frowning. He frowned, too. He was a confusing man, but maybe all men were confusing. She had so little knowledge of the gender, and none at all of the men of Earth.
This particular man was more fascinating than any she'd ever met. She wished she knew what he was thinking. Why he watched her with so many different expressions.
Earlier, he'd taken Eddy and Dax to the vortex at a place called Red Rock Crossing so they could go back to Eddy's home in Evergreen. Eddy had decided to leave BumperWillow behind, and that had actually made Dawson laugh out loud. He'd said something about taking his talking dog to the clinic and surprising his staff.
Of course, Selyn knew he wouldn't actually do anything like that. He wasn't about to give away the existence of demons or Lemurians or talking dogs. He'd tried to explain it all to her last night, the fact that, as far as his world knew, she didn't exist. Demons didn't exist, and dogs hosting talkative spirits were absolutely impossible.
Just like the man locked in the back room. He couldn't exist either, at least by human beliefs. Selyn knew better. Her hatred refused to allow her to forget his existence. He was awake this morning. She sensed his anger, his desire to escape his prison. He'd kicked the door a couple of times, but now he appeared to be sulking.
She sensed it. All of it: his anger, his frustration---and his demon. There was no denying the fact the man harbored a demon. Dax wasn't the only one able to feel the evil surrounding Artigos, the deposed Lemurian Chancellor of the Council of Nine.
He was evil all the way through. And he was the one who had condemned her mother to death, the one who had decreed that the Forgotten Ones should never be free of enslavement in the mines.
He really needed to die, and she, quite literally, held the key to his prison. Dawson had no idea what power he'd handed to her when he put Selyn in charge of the key. When he trusted her.
Selyn took another sip of her coffee and studied Dawson over the rim of the cup. Of course, it wasn't like she could just march back there and kill the chancellor. Not when Dawson had sworn to protect the bastard. Selyn owed Dawson her life.
Somehow, she needed to work through this conflict without compromising Dawson's honor---or her own.
But how? She had sworn to avenge her mother's life of slavery and her untimely death. Not only for herself, but for all the other Forgotten Ones who toiled below. But how could she kill Artigos without putting Dawson's honor at risk?
Something nudged her leg. Selyn glanced down, into the deep brown eyes of that silly looking dog. It was impossible to plot a murderer's death when a creature like this one was staring at you. "Did you want something, BumperWillow?"
The dog blinked. Then she sighed. I feel your anger, Selyn. And I must apologize, but I couldn't help but hear your thoughts. You are conflicted, and rightly so. Artigos has done terrible things, but he does not command himself. Truly, he is not to blame. He is ruled by a demon that has controlled him for many years. The death of Artigos would not avenge the Forgotten Ones, nor would it avenge your mother. It would only hurt Alton and Dawson---two good men who have risked much to help you---and it would destroy the life of a man who is as much a victim as any of the warrior women who died, as much as the women who toil in the mines. Please, think of that when you plot your revenge.
Selyn didn't answer. She couldn't. What could she say? Was the spirit within the dog right? Was that old man merely one more victim of demonkind?
She'd have to think about that. Better to be sure before taking a life, especially one everybody seemed so worried about saving. She stared into her cup of cold coffee and realized the person she hated to hurt the most was the man standing across the room.
"Ginny just called."
Surprised by his nearness, Selyn blinked and spun around on the tall stool. Dawson was no longer across the room. He was right beside her. She hadn't even realized he was there.
He was so close she had to blink and refocus her eyes to see him, yet she felt no need to back away. He smiled with just the corners of his lips as he stuck his phone in his pocket, and she had the odd feeling he was laughing at himself.
That made no sense. No more than the fact he'd reached for her and now lightly ran his fingers down a long curl of the black hair hanging loosely over her shoulder. His gaze shifted from her eyes to his fingers. He seemed mesmerized by the lock of hair he now curled around his hand and slowly rubbed between his thumb and forefinger.
"What did she want?"
He blinked and raised his head. "What? Who?"
Selyn covered his fingers with hers. Wrapped her hand around his. "Ginny. You said she called. What does she want?"
"Oh." He laughed, and his face flushed. It appeared humans blushed exactly the same way Lemurians did. Interesting.
"She called to tell me they're at the portal and need a ride here. Alton has something he wants to show you." He shrugged. "No idea what. She didn't say. The thing is, I'm not comfortable leaving Artigos here alone, even locked away, and while I hate to leave you again, I'd feel better if you were here to keep an eye on things. Do you mind guarding the fort for a few minutes?"
She shook her head, still bemused by his blush. What could it mean? "I was fine when you took Eddy and Dax," she said. She turned his hand loose. His fingers dropped away from her hair.
"You were hardly gone long at all," she added. "I've got BumperWillow to keep me company."
He laughed and ran his hand over the dog's curly head. "That you do. I'm glad she decided to stay."
"Together we will guard your fort." She watched the way his long fingers slipped through the dog's curls and felt a strange yearning inside. So much she didn't understand. So many odd feelings, so much about this man.
He glanced up and stared at her for a long moment. Then, almost as if he were as bespelled as the old man in the other room, he slowly straightened, reached out, and cupped her jaw in his hand.
His touch surprised her. The other had been almost accidental, as if he'd touched her hair without thinking, but this time, the intimacy of his hand cupping her face so carefully was a more conscious act. He was very gentle for a man. Surprisingly gentle, though she'd known that from the beginning. Still, she wondered if she would ever be totally comfortable when a man touched her, knowing what violence they were capable of.
But Dawson appeared to have no violence in him. His palm was warm; his fingers warmer still. Selyn held very still, unsure what he wanted . . . what he intended.
Unsure of how she felt about his touch. It wasn't unpleasant. Not at all like anything she'd ever experienced with a man. Nor was it like the comforting touch from one of the sisters of her soul. This was unique---almost a caress---and the more she thought about it, the more she decided she liked it.
She leaned against his palm, stared into his blue eyes, and wondered what he saw when he looked at her.
Suddenly he blinked, and his hand fell away from her face. The quickness of his movement startled her; the loss of contact surprised her. She missed the warmth, the sense of connection she'd felt when he held her face so carefully.
Definitely something she'd have to think about.
He stepped back and cleared his throat. "I'll be away for just a few minutes. Don't let anyone in, okay? BumperWillow, guard the house and protect Selyn."
The dog yipped. The sprite was silent. So was Selyn as Dawson turned quickly away and left the house.
Shit. He'd almost kissed her. What the hell was he thinking? Poor kid had been beaten half to death just the night before last, and the last thing she needed was some idiot pawing her. So what did he do? Played with her hair, put his hand on her face without even thinking how it must appear to her.
He should apologize, at the very least. He would apologize, as soon as he got Alton and Ginny.
What the hell was he going to do about Selyn?
Nothing. You're not going to do a damned thing. She's off limits. Get over it.
Yeah. Right. He laughed out loud as he pulled into the parking space at Red Rock Crossing where Alton and Ginny waited. Selyn was currently living in his home, sleeping across the hallway, eating at his table, and watching him with those beautiful blue eyes. Getting over Selyn was probably not going to happen anytime soon.
"Hey, Daws. How's it going?"
Ginny leaned in through the open window and kissed his cheek. Then she crawled into the backseat while Alton rode shotgun.
"Going good. What's that, Alton? Got a baby wrapped in that blanket?" He really needed to get his head screwed on straight. Ginny and Alton were the ones to help him do exactly that.
"Not quite." Alton lifted a corner of the woven blanket back just enough for Dawson to see what looked like a solid gold hilt to a sword that was sheathed in a white leather scabbard.
"What the hell is that?" He glanced in the rearview mirror at Ginny's big smile, and backed out of the parking space.
"It's a crystal sword that spoke to Taron and said it belongs to Alton's grandfather." Ginny was practically bouncing in the backseat. "Isn't that just cool?"
"Only he's been dead for ten thousand or so years, which means we've got a bit of a conundrum." Alton covered the sword once again. "How's everyone doing?"
Dawson headed back toward his house. "Selyn's great, your dad's pissed, and Eddy and Dax have gone home to Evergreen to check on the portals there and make certain the ones to Abyss are still sealed. We've got BumperWillow. She thought she might be able to help drive the demon from your father."
"Good." Alton turned and glanced at Ginny in the backseat. She leaned forward and clasped his shoulder.
Dawson couldn't help but notice the way they communicated without words. He knew Lemurians used telepathy, and even he could understand Willow, but there was more than that working between Ginny and Alton. They obviously understood one another on so many levels.
He wondered what it would be like to be so in tune with another person that her fears became yours, her desires, her needs, her interests---all shared because you were so tightly connected.
And he thought of Selyn, of the way she'd looked when he'd touched her hair and she'd reached for his hand, when he'd cupped her cheek in his palm. He wasn't sure, but he thought she might have actually leaned into what could only be described as a caress. He didn't think she'd pulled away, but that might be his wishful thinking.
She had definitely wrapped her fingers around his when he'd stroked her silky hair. Maybe she'd done that to stop him from doing more.
He pulled into the driveway and turned off the engine. Selyn and BumperWillow stood in the doorway. "Everything okay?"
She nodded and stepped outside with the dog on her heels. Even in the old pair of his surgical scrubs, Selyn was absolutely breathtaking. She'd braided her hair while he'd been gone, pulling all of it back from her face into a single long braid that looped over her shoulder.
The tightly bound hair made her eyes look bigger, her cheekbones more pronounced, her lips fuller. He missed the soft curl of dark hair falling all the way to her hips. It softened her, somehow. Made her look more approachable.
She looked stronger with it tied back, though. More self-contained. Every inch the warrior woman. No way in hell could he see her as a slave when she looked this way. No, this woman was not a slave to any man.
His body didn't seem to care. He was hard as a post and hoping like hell no one noticed. He cleared his throat and made a point of focusing on those deep blue eyes of hers. "How's Artigos?"
Selyn smiled and rubbed the dog's curly head. "I just peeked through the window on the door and checked on him. He sleeps, but his breakfast tray is empty. I think he likes your bacon and eggs." She flashed a big grin at Ginny and Alton. "Hello. It's good to see you. I'm glad to hear everything went so well." She nodded and stepped aside.
"Hey, Selyn. I brought you something." Ginny held up one of the cloth bags she carried. "Sandals. I think they're your size. Dawson said you needed shoes."
Selyn's eyes lit up like a little kid's at Christmas. "For me?" She took the bag from Ginny, tugged the drawstring to loosen it, and pulled out a beautiful pair of leather sandals.
Dawson stepped closer to see. "Wow. Those are gorgeous. Will they fit?"
Her eyes sparkled as she knelt to put them on. Dawson almost laughed aloud. Obviously shoes appealed to all women.
Selyn finished buckling the sandals and stood. "They're perfect. I've never had anything like them. Thank you."
"Wonderful." Ginny leaned into Alton. "When you meet Gaia, Alton's mom, you can thank her. She sent them."
"Your mother?" Selyn's eyes went big. "I thought they looked like something one of the aristocracy would wear. Are you sure it's all right for me to . . ."
Alton seemed to understand what she was thinking. "Of course it's all right. They're a gift from my mother. She wanted you to have them. She sent a robe for you, too."
Ginny held up the other bag, but she elbowed Alton.
Laughing, he added, "but Ginny thought you'd prefer pants."
"I guess." Selyn brushed her hand down her cotton-covered legs. "Like these?"
"No. Like these." Ginny laughed and held up one jeans-clad leg. I've got some extras in our room, and we're about the same size. C'mon."
Dawson watched the women go inside his house and couldn't quit grinning. When he'd bought this big place, it had originally been his intention to set up his clinic here, but he'd quickly discovered his patients wanted the convenience of a veterinarian in town rather than out in the country. Then he'd dreamed of filling it one day with a wife and children.
Never, not in his wildest dreams, had he imagined filling it with Lemurians and talking dogs. Luckily, it hadn't been difficult at all to convince Ginny and Alton to give up their expensive casita. They'd been staying at that ritzy lodge north of town, but it felt right having everyone here, and he had more than enough room in the sprawling ranch-style house.
"Ginny and her clothes." Alton was laughing softly as he followed Daws back inside. "She's easily sidetracked! Let me show you the reason we're here, besides trying to rid my father of his demon." He carried the rolled up blanket into the kitchen and set the bundle on the counter. Carefully, without touching the contents, Alton unwrapped and then unsheathed an amazing ruby sword. Larger than the crystal blade he carried, it had what appeared to be a solid gold pommel. The crystalline blade glowed a deep blood red.
"Holy shit. Where'd that come from?" Dawson clenched his hands into fists to keep from touching the thing. Obviously, with the care Alton was showing, fondling someone else's crystal sword wasn't a good idea.
Alton sighed. "It's one of the replicated swords. The others are all clear crystal, like mine. This one shocked the nine hells out of Taron, especially when it asked to be taken to my grandfather, who supposedly died when we made the move from Lemuria to Mount Shasta. This morning, HellFire and DarkFire both pledged allegiance to the sword, but it didn't say anything. There was a lot of glowing and an aura of true power, so we both sensed they were communicating. Then DarkFire said one word: 'Selyn.'"
"Selyn?" Dawson stared at the blade as if he might actually find answers there. Somehow. "Why would she say Selyn's name?"
"I imagine as a place to begin our search for Artigos the Just. Wow! Selyn, you look hot!"
Dawson spun around.
Ginny laughed out loud. "Hot? Alton, when did you start sounding like me?"
Alton just laughed. Dawson didn't really give a damn. The big guy was right. Selyn wore a pair of Ginny's tight black jeans that looked like they'd been glued to her legs, with a bright blue halter top that sort of flowed around her waist and yet still managed to cling to all the right places. Dawson couldn't have said a word if his life depended on it, but yeah, Selyn was definitely hot.
Hot enough to make his temperature rise a few notches.
"Do I look like a human woman in these pants? They feel so strange." Selyn laughed and sort of held her arms out, as if she wanted to show off her outfit.
Dawson wanted to lock her in a dark room. Yeah, he'd seen her naked when she was all beat up and he'd been trying to heal her wounds, but for some reason she looked more naked to him now, covered in denim and silk, than she had without a stitch on. He shook his head, feeling absolutely dazed. "Selyn, I hate to tell you, but you don't look human at all. There's no human alive as beautiful as you."
He caught a quick look at Ginny's wide eyes and heard Alton chuckle, but he didn't care what they thought. Not at all. All he cared about was the woman standing in his kitchen. Selyn was a combination of shy innocence and sex incarnate. She stared at him with a whole raft of expressions flitting across her face. He couldn't read any of them, though she didn't seem at all put off by his comment.
He hoped she didn't mind that he thought she was too gorgeous to be human. Hoped she didn't think it was an insult. He stepped closer, but a brilliant flash of red caught his eye.
He turned to look as Selyn stepped around him and stood in front of the counter. She stared, transfixed, at the ruby sword. It glowed as if someone had turned on a light switch. Dawson reached for Selyn and caught her hand before she could touch the crystal blade.
She shook her head. "No. Can't you hear it? It wants me to touch it."
He didn't hear a thing. Daws glanced at Alton, who gave him a short, sharp negative shake of his head. He hadn't heard it, either.
Selyn licked her lips and tentatively laid her fingers on the glowing blade. It pulsed blood red beneath her fingertips. Dawson, Alton, and Ginny all stayed back.
The sword wanted Selyn.
Another bright flash lit the room. A deep voice raised chills along Dawson's spine. BumperWillow whimpered.
"You know of the one I seek, Selyn of Elda's line, daughter of the DemonSlayer. Take me to Artigos the Just."
The glow faded. Selyn stepped back and bowed her head, her respect obviously bordering on awe. When she turned, her excitement practically radiated from her shining eyes. While she looked at the three of them, Dawson was certain she spoke only to him. "I know where he is. We have to go back to the mines. He's there. A prisoner locked away for millennia, kept apart from all of us, approached with fear by all the guards. I never knew his name. Now I do."
She turned her attention to Alton. "Your grandfather Artigos the Just, the father of your father, is imprisoned deep within the mines of Lemuria."
Chapter Seven
Alton didn't say anything while he carefully wrapped the blanket around the sword and scabbard. Finally, when it was covered once again, he turned and leaned against the counter. Exhaustion was evident in every move he made, in the deep lines etched beside his mouth and the dark circles under his eyes.
Rubbing his forehead with one hand, he sighed. "Okay. Here's where we stand. Roland said Taron's almost got the swords ready to go. We need to meet with him down in the lower caves at some point so we can help deliver them to the Forgotten Ones. Once that's done, I have to return as soon as I can and take up my position on the council. I've got to have a firm grasp of things before the Forgotten Ones make their presence known."
He shook his head. "I've got the chancellor's role for now, but my hold is tenuous. Today Ginny and I spotted a group of Lemurian guardsmen I've never seen before, which tells me that some of the council are up to something. I doubt it's anything good."
Ginny handed him a tall glass of water. Alton took a few swallows and set it aside. "Thing is, I can't afford to be away for long, or what little hold I have on the chancellor's seat will be lost. While we're here, though, Ginny and I have to try to remove the demon from my father."
He focused on Dawson. "I know you're not familiar with Lemuria, but I may have to ask you to go into the mines with Selyn. Would you be willing to take this sword with you, to take it to the prisoner Selyn speaks of? That needs to be done as soon as possible. If my grandfather is still alive, his presence could change everything---in a good way."
Dawson almost laughed out loud. Go to Lemuria? Was Alton kidding? He'd give anything for the chance to see that fabled world. "I'll do whatever you need, Alton. You know that."
Alton wrapped his arm around Ginny and tugged her close against his side, but his focus was on Dawson. "You've already done so much. You hardly know us, and yet you've opened your home and your heart to a cause that's not even yours."
Dawson shrugged. "But it is mine. Every bit as much as it's yours, don't you think? If demons threaten Earth, it had damned well better be my cause. I've got as big a stake in the outcome as any of you."
"He's right, you know." Ginny smiled at Alton and snuggled close against his side. "This battle affects every single one of us." Then, in a melodramatic whisper, she added, "Don't scare the man off. He's helping. We need him. He's giving us a free place to stay with a really comfortable bed." She kissed Alton's cheek. "And he cooks. C'mon. Let's go check on your father before you fold up on me and fall asleep on the floor."
Alton yawned. Then he nodded to Dawson. "Don't let her kid you. We really do appreciate everything you're doing for us. I don't know where we'd be without your help."
"I think you'd be doing fine, but I mean what I say. Anything I can do, whatever I've got you can use; it's yours."
Without another word Alton pushed himself away from the counter as if it took every last bit of his strength. Dawson snapped his fingers, and BumperWillow followed them back to the suite of rooms where Artigos was being held.
Dawson glanced through the window on the door and saw Alton's father stalking back and forth across the room like an angry lion. "You might want to have your swords out," he said. "Your father's pacing like he's ready to kill someone."
Alton shrugged. "He probably is. Probably a good thing we're keeping his sword well away. I imagine he and his demon are less than thrilled with their situation about now."
Dawson took the key from Selyn and unlocked the door as both Ginny and Alton drew their swords. Artigos stopped in mid-stride and glared at all of them as they entered the large room.
"Is my assassination next on your schedule, my beloved son?" Artigos wrapped his arms across his broad chest and sneered at Alton. "Are you so afraid of your father that you must approach him with your weapon drawn?"
"It's pity more than fear I feel, Father. If I appear cautious, it's not because of you. It's the demon who rules your heart and mind that concerns me most. That and, whether you choose to believe me or not, your well-being."
Artigos laughed. "Demon? Controlling me? I think not." Without warning, he lunged at Alton, but Alton and Ginny were ready. Dawson grabbed the dog's collar as BumperWillow leapt to their defense, but her enthusiastic barking let him know she was more than willing to fight.
As one, Ginny and Alton pointed their crystal blades at Artigos. Dark purple fire burst from Ginny's blade. A brilliant blue glow shot from Alton's and intersected with Ginny's, catching Artigos in the crossfire of light.
He lurched to an immediate halt, held mid-step in the shimmering fire. Eyes wide and angry, Artigos struggled within the beam, but he couldn't break free of the force holding him almost a foot off the ground.
BumperWillow stopped barking. Dawson let go of her collar, and she stepped away from him and stood in front of Artigos. She glanced back once at the small group, and then she concentrated on Artigos.
The man's mouth was moving, and he was obviously cursing, but no sound escaped the shimmering field of swirling blue and purple light. With her head cocked to one side, the curly dog studied him for long moments, while Ginny and Alton held Artigos immobile with the power of their crystal blades.
After a good five minutes, BumperWillow stepped away and stood beside Dawson. He tangled his fingers in her curly hair. The dog sighed. Willow's voice slipped into Dawson's head, and he knew she spoke to all of them.
The demon's possession is almost total. I fear it is beyond my ability to remove. What do DarkFire and HellFire think?
When DarkFire answered, Dawson wondered if he'd ever grow used to a talking sword. "The demon is too deeply entrenched. We could remove it, but Artigos the man would not survive. Killing the demon will end his life."
Alton shook his head. "That's not acceptable." He lowered his sword, as did Ginny. Artigos crumpled to the ground, dazed but still conscious. Alton gently sheathed his sword and lifted his father in his arms as if the large man were a child. Carefully, he laid him on the bed.
Artigos stared up at his son. His forehead was wrinkled in a confused frown, and he blinked his eyes slowly. After a moment, his expression relaxed; he closed his eyes and drifted gently into sleep.
Alton rubbed the back of his neck and yawned. He looked absolutely discouraged. "We'll need to try something else. I just wish I knew what."
Ginny took hold of Alton's hand. "Maybe your mother can help. I think it's worth a try. Love is a powerful motivator."
Alton's tired smile spoke volumes. "You've proved that to me more than once."
Ginny kissed him quickly. "I got some sleep last night. You didn't get any. I want you to go and lie down while I go back to Lemuria for your mother."
Alton rested both hands on her shoulders and shook his head. He was smiling, but it was more than obvious he didn't like Ginny's idea one bit. "I don't want you going alone. It's too dangerous."
"I'll be fine." She glanced over her shoulder and caught Dawson's eye. Hopefully, she said, "I'll take Dawson. You and Selyn stay here with BumperWillow and keep an eye on your dad. You okay with that, Daws?"
He nodded. "Of course," he said, but he was thinking, now? Just up and go to Lemuria, sort of like running down to the corner store? Hell, yes!
The fact that Alton agreed so readily was proof just how exhausted the man was, but before he had the time to change his mind, Ginny had hustled them all out of Artigos's room. She grabbed Alton's hand and dragged him toward the guest room they'd moved into just down the hall, with BumperWillow trotting along behind.
"I'll be ready in just a few minutes, Daws." Laughing, she added, "I'm going to put my baby to bed, first." Grumbling, Alton followed, but he looked as if he could barely put one foot in front of the next.
Dawson and Selyn were left standing outside Artigos's locked room. Selyn pocketed the key and studied Daws with a soft smile on her lips. "You will get to see my world, just as I'm seeing yours."
"Looks like it." He grabbed her hand and tugged her toward the kitchen. "Will you be okay here while I'm gone? You know how to work the remote, and there's plenty on TV."
She laughed. "I will be fine. I love watching that screen. Will you be okay, entering a strange world?"
He grinned. He couldn't help himself. What they all treated as commonplace was something beyond his wildest dreams. "You're kidding, right? I can't wait!"
"It's dangerous. Humans are not allowed in Lemuria, and if you are captured . . ."
He stopped and turned to face her. She really did look worried. He thought that was pretty cool, that she cared enough to at least worry a little. "I'll be with Ginny, and she's already achieving rock star status in Lemuria, according to Roland. The Lemurians love the fact she's descended from royalty."
He heard Ginny coming down the hallway with BumperWillow. "I need to go. You're sure you'll be okay?"
Selyn nodded. Then she surprised him by touching his beard with her fingertips. "Be very careful, Dawson Buck. I don't want anything to happen to you."
He stared at her lips, heard the words, and yet it still took him a moment to absorb what she'd said. Once he managed to wrap his stunned brain around the content, there was only one way he could respond. Cupping Selyn's face in both hands, he leaned close and gently kissed her lips. She didn't pull away, though she didn't kiss him back.
When he ended what was much too chaste a kiss for his own peace of mind, Dawson stared first at Selyn's slightly parted, damp lips, and then at her sapphire blue eyes.
Ginny stepped into the kitchen. "I brought this for you, just in case. Ready to go, Daws. . . . Oops. Sorry."
He glanced over at Ginny, slowly dropped his hands from Selyn's face, and grinned. "Yeah, I'm ready. What have you got?"
"Pepper spray." With a quick, curious glance at Selyn, she handed him a small can attached to a key chain. "Granted, it's not a crystal sword, but if we need to get away from anyone in a hurry, it should help slow 'em down."
"I'll take it." He clipped it to his belt loop. Like Ginny said, it wasn't much, but it was better than nothing. "How long do you think we'll be?"
Ginny shrugged, grabbed the car keys to her rented Yukon off the table, and tossed them to Dawson. "Couple of hours, maybe. Hopefully less, definitely no longer. Selyn, if anyone comes, wake Alton, okay? It's probably best that you not answer the door. BumperWillow will stay with you. Trust her instincts."
Selyn nodded, but her gaze was locked on Dawson. It made it difficult for him to turn away, but he followed Ginny out to the car, torn by his desire to remain with Selyn, something he wanted as much as he wanted to see Lemuria for the first time. When he glanced at the house, Selyn stood in the doorway with BumperWillow beside her.
She waved. So did he, and then he got in the car with Ginny, and the two of them headed for the portal.
He'd watched as others disappeared into the solid rock wall at Red Rock Crossing, but he'd never imagined doing it himself. Now that he knew what to look for, how it felt, he realized he could use this passage at any time.
It was all dependent upon the way you saw the rock. Perception, in this case, created reality.
The concept totally boggled the mind. They passed through what appeared to be solid rock and entered a small cavern. Ginny stopped Dawson with a light touch to his arm.
"This vortex only powers two portals. The one we usually take moves us across Sedona to Bell Rock where there's a large portal that opens directly into the main entry to Lemuria. This one." She pointed to a glowing swirl of light on one wall.
Dawson stared at the portal, almost mesmerized by the sense of energy emanating from the light. Finally he forced himself to look away. "Why do I hear a 'but' in that statement?"
Ginny laughed. "Because you're obviously paying attention. We're going to take this one." She pointed at a smaller swirling mass of light. Not as bright, not as filled with energy. "Alton and I were told it led directly to the council chambers for the Council of Nine. Once he was made temporary chancellor, we discovered this portal's Lemurian gateway is actually in his father's private office. It's dangerous, because someone could be in there who doesn't belong, but so is trying to sneak through the tunnels in Lemuria without getting caught. We can't count on Roland to get us through. His schedule has been a mess lately."
"Do you think anyone suspects he might be helping us?"
"I don't know." Ginny shook her head. "I hope that's not it. He's got a wife and child to worry about, and we need him if we're going to carry this off. Anyway, this trip, we're going to take the portal directly into Artigos's office." She unsheathed her sword and held DarkFire ready. "C'mon."
Sword raised, Ginny slipped through the portal. Dawson followed, pepper spray in hand.
The man inside the office jumped away from the desk he was searching and raised his hands in the air. The glowing point of Ginny's sword ensured he wouldn't attack. Dawson held on to the can of pepper spray, just in case.
"What are you doing, besides searching through the chancellor's private papers?" Ginny stepped closer until DarkFire practically touched the man's chest.
He stammered and shook his head. "I . . . I . . . I was told to retrieve records."
"Told by whom? What records?"
He focused on the point of the sword. His eyes went wide as the blade flashed with dark purple light.
"Maxl and Drago. They requested proof of succession." He swallowed loudly. "They want to make certain your man"---his eyes flashed from Ginny to Dawson and back to the sword---"that Alton has a right to succession after being disowned by his father."
"He was approved by the citizens. His mother, Artigos's lifetime mate, championed his position so that her husband might be healed without fearing for the safety of Lemuria. You have no need of any papers from Artigos's desk. This office is for the use of the chancellor, and it shall remain private."
Shaking from head to foot, obviously terrified, the man bowed his head. "Should I relay that information to Maxl and Drago?"
Ginny smiled, but it wasn't a particularly friendly expression. Dawson doubted it would give the thief much confidence. "You do that," she said. "Chancellor Alton is resting for the moment. He'll meet with members of the council later this evening."
"Yes. Of course. I will relay that information to the others." He gave one last, fearful glance at the shimmering crystal blade and then turned away and slipped out through the portal on the far side of the room.
"DarkFire? Can you secure the portal to keep others out?"
The sword glowed, and a beam of dark light shot across the room, flowed over the portal, and then dissipated. "Only those of you in the fight against demonkind will be able to pass through the portal."
"Thank you." Ginny sheathed the sword. "Okay, Daws. Let's hope he was more terrified of DarkFire than curious about you. Lock up the pepper spray, and let's go get Gaia. You're going to like Alton's mom. She's pretty nice, considering she's had to put up with Artigos for all these years." She paused for a moment as if considering what she should and couldn't say.
Finally, she sighed and fiddled with the buckle on her scabbard. "Daws, there's one thing you should know, though. Gaia's been aware of the Forgotten Ones all along. She knew when Artigos arranged for the women warriors to be enslaved, and yet she did nothing about it."
Dawson's chest actually ached thinking of anyone living with that kind of knowledge. "Probably not a good idea to tell Selyn that."
Ginny nodded. "I imagine you're right, but I wanted you to know. You need to know what you're involved in."
"A whole shitload of trouble?"
Ginny laughed. "Exactly," she said. Then she slipped through the portal.
Dawson followed right behind her, stepping through the swirling light as if he'd done it a hundred times before. They moved quickly along a tunnel that appeared to be lighted from within the rock. Before too long, they passed by a large arch that opened onto a huge underground plaza. The walls were lined with what looked like solid gold, decorated with gems and precious stones of all kinds.
Dawson stopped, mesmerized by the vast size of the cavern, the glitter of gold and gems, until Ginny had to grab him by the arm and tug him along behind her. He could have stared at the amazing room forever.
"That's the great hall," she said. "Some call it the central or great plaza. It's where all the citizens of Lemuria gather for important events. It's empty now because it's still early in the day, but it's where I got my sword, where Daria the Crone gave me immortality."
"Wow." What else could he say? Every new thing they passed by was more mind-blowing than the last. Head spinning as he tried to see everything, Dawson followed Ginny through a series of narrow passages until she paused in front of another portal.
"Gaia says to come in."
He frowned. "How does she know we're here?"
Grinning, Ginny stepped through the portal. "Telepathy. C'mon."
The woman in the room they entered waited with her hands clasped and an expression of hope on her face. "Ginny? What word of Artigos?" Then she blinked in surprise. "Who is this man?" She focused on Dawson.
"Gaia, Dawson Buck is the human who's helping us. He's given Alton and me a place to stay, and he's keeping Artigos safe at his house. We're hoping you can come with us, maybe help keep Artigos calm while we try to remove this blasted demon. It's been part of him for a long time, and it doesn't want to leave. Alton and I are convinced you can help us, but it means coming to Earth."
"Anywhere. I'll do whatever you need." She turned to Dawson. "Thank you, Dawson Buck. I imagine my husband is not the easiest guest to have."
Daws wasn't sure what prompted him, but he took Gaia's hand and lightly squeezed her fingers. "We'll do whatever we can to help your husband. Thank you for sending the sandals and robe for Selyn. They're a perfect fit. She was really excited to have such a nice gift from you."
Gaia's smile lit up the room. "I'm pleased," she said, but then she sobered. "I owe the Forgotten Ones more than sandals. More than a simple robe. When this is over, I'll do whatever I can to help them join our society as full and free citizens."
"We need to hurry," Ginny glanced around the spacious room. "What do you need to take for a few days away from Lemuria?"
Gaia stared at her. "I have no idea." She laughed. "I've not left for ten thousand years. I have an extra robe, my personal items, but . . ."
"Good. I'll help you pack." Taking control, Ginny led Gaia out of the room. "Roland just contacted me," she said to Dawson. "He should show up any minute now."
Dawson stared around him at what could have been any home on Earth, except for the lack of windows. The thought kept flitting through his mind, that he'd been left standing alone in a Lemurian living room, awaiting a member of the Lemurian Guard after fending off a thief in the chancellor's office. It all left him feeling as if he'd just dropped down the rabbit's hole.
Then Roland of Kronus popped through the portal. "Hey, Dawson! How is Selyn doing?" He clapped Daws on the shoulder as if they were old friends.
And damned if it didn't feel as if they were. "She's doing well. BumperWillow completed her healing. The bruises are gone; the bones entirely healed. You Lemurians are tough."
Roland chuckled. "That we are. We have to be, to survive so many millennia of absolute boredom." Drily, he added, "Of course, that's all drastically changed. Is Ginny here?"
"She's helping Gaia pack. We're taking her back to Sedona to see if her presence helps Artigos."
"Having trouble removing the demon?"
Dawson nodded. "Even BumperWillow couldn't shake it loose."
Ginny walked back into the room. "Roland. Good to see you. How's Taron coming with the swords?"
"He should be finished this afternoon. Any luck with the ruby sword?"
"Selyn believes she knows where the owner is."
Dawson noticed Ginny didn't mention the name of the missing leader.
"The one we thought lost?" Roland's smile disappeared beneath the focused stare of a warrior.
"The very one. That's why I've asked you to meet us here." Ginny glanced over her shoulder, as if to make certain Gaia was still busy packing. "We're changing plans by the minute. Can you get Dawson and Selyn into the slaves' level without detection? The person we're looking for is held prisoner below."
Roland nodded and turned to Dawson. "When do you want to meet, and where?"
"Ginny? Will the portal allow Roland entrance into the chancellor's office? That's the only place I know how to find."
"DarkFire?" Ginny withdrew the sword.
The blade shimmered. "Roland is a DemonSlayer. He will be granted access."
Dawson shook his head. The sense of the rabbit hole was growing stronger. "Roland?" he asked. "Can Selyn communicate with you telepathically?" When Roland nodded in the affirmative, he added, "Then why don't we wait and contact you when we get to the chancellor's office? Would that work?"
"It would. I'm going to be off duty in another hour. Contact me, and we'll use the security route to get below."
Just then, Gaia walked back into the room, carrying a small satchel. "Roland of Kronus." She nodded formally. "It's good to see you. I thank you for standing beside my son during these difficult times."
Roland bowed from the waist. "Gaia of Artigos. I wish you well, and health to your husband."
Tears sparkled in Gaia's eyes. "Thank you, Roland. I just wish I could be certain we can remove the demon from his soul. It's a very frightening time for both of us."
"Yes, Gaia. It is. For all of us." Roland frowned. Then he folded his arms across his chest. "Much has happened since I brought Selyn to Earth's dimension. The gateway to Abyss from the vortex here in Mount Shasta continues to reopen. I've shut it now more than a dozen times, but whenever I must be away, it opens again. Even now, I imagine it's being repaired. I'm beginning to think it's someone here, inside Lemuria, who is responsible."
"Crap." Ginny glanced at Dawson. "I'm thinking Maxl and Drago. What do you think?"
Dawson nodded, thinking of the two who'd ordered the search of Artigos's office. "Do you think they're demon-possessed as well, sort of like Artigos?"
"It stands to reason." Roland sighed. "Our problems appear to be growing faster than we can control them, but I have a bit of good news. I've heard of a woman who might be able to help remove the demon from Artigos. Three of my men were involved in a fierce battle with demons at a shop called Crystal Dreams in the Earth town of Evergreen. A young woman there, Mari . . ."
Ginny interrupted. "Mari Schwartz? I know Mari, and I know the shop. Her mom owns it. What's going on?"
"It appears Mari has been running her mother's shop while her father is ill. One of my soldiers---Darius, who was one of the young men who received his crystal sword from DarkFire---followed demons into town. For some reason they were targeting the shop. Darius ended up staying on to protect Mari. There was a terrible battle, one that only ended when Mari invoked powerful magic and cast a spell that stopped the demons. Darius said that Mari was killed in the battle, but his sword not only helped restore her life, but also granted her immortality."
"Mari Schwartz? Wow! She's okay now, though, right?" Ginny laughed. "I love it! Mari's an investment banker---she's been working in San Francisco since college. She hated the fact her mom claimed to be a witch. The whole time we were growing up, she was in total denial. I can't wait to see her. Mari as an immortal witch will take some getting used to."
Roland chuckled. "According to Darius, she appears to be a powerful witch with abilities she is only now beginning to understand. And yes, her mother is also a witch. I'm wondering if their magic might help Artigos."
Gaia reached for Roland and wrapped her fingers around his arm. "I'm willing to try anything," she said, "whatever we have to do to save my husband's life and his soul." She turned to Ginny. "Take me to Artigos now, please. I don't care if it takes a witch or a talking dog, or the spirit within your amazing sword. I want my husband back."
Chapter Eight
Selyn sat outside by the front door in a chair that was made entirely out of little branches all tied together. It fit perfectly with the style of Dawson's house, and was surprisingly comfortable, considering it was nothing more than bundles of twigs. Willow said it was made of willow branches, which might have made more sense if Selyn had the vaguest idea what a willow branch was.
They obviously had nothing to do with a fairy stuck inside a dog. So many unfamiliar things to understand! Selyn knew willow branches had to come from some kind of plant, but she couldn't see anything like these bundled sticks growing around Dawson's house. This land was dry and rocky, with strange, spiky plants and huge, weathered rock formations all about.
It was beautiful and desolate all at the same time, and so big. Big and open and bright, and filled with unusual sounds. She smiled, listening to the cactus wren chattering and chirping nearby. So far, it was the only bird she knew how to identify, which made her feel as if the silly creature sang for her alone. She occasionally heard other birds, but she'd have to ask Daws what they were.
The sky was a brilliant blue---so bright it reminded her of Dawson's eyes---and the sunlight made her squint. Already Selyn loved the feel of the warmth on her skin. She'd never again be happy without it, not now, and it was almost impossible to believe she'd lived her entire life without sunlight. Knowing her people had consciously accepted artificial light over sunlight when they'd chosen exile inside the mountain to save themselves made her unaccountably angry.
How could intelligent Lemurians, people known for their ability to think things through, have allowed themselves to be trapped within a separate dimension inside that dark and foreboding mountain? What were they thinking when they made the move to Mount Shasta, rather than to another part of the planet Earth where they could still live outside in the light of day?
Unless what she'd been told was actually true---that the move was somehow forced on her people by leaders who were controlled by demonkind. Demons needed darkness. They thrived away from sunlight, which would explain the Lemurians' exodus to a world beneath ground. It made terrifying sense, if demons truly ruled them.
Even so, she'd still think it was all a foolish lie, if she hadn't witnessed Artigos when he'd been trapped in the beams of the two crystal swords.
Not that she hadn't already accepted the fact that demons were real. She knew they were, but she honestly hadn't accepted the power they had, not really. Not the fact they could get inside a person and actually control their actions.
Well, she was a believer now. Something about the strange light from the crystal blades---a thing she'd never before witnessed---had revealed more than the eye actually saw. She'd sensed another entity, somehow intertwined with the man she'd learned to hate. She hadn't actually seen a demon---not with her eyes---but she'd recognized its existence with some other sense she'd never used before. She'd known the demon was there.
No one could deny the sense of evil about Artigos. That had been obvious from the first moment she saw him. Nor could anyone deny the fact he was somehow possessed. But what she'd witnessed this morning went beyond any prior concept of possession she'd ever had.
It was an unusual evil, a presence separate from the man himself and yet very much a part of him. It felt horribly wrong, and yet exactly the way she now imagined a demon's possession of a person would manifest itself.
The implications were terrifying and sad. If Artigos were really an innocent victim, then that made all of them victims. It meant that the DemonWars had never ended, that Lemurians had not won that war. Either it meant they were still fighting the same war today, so many thousands of years after everyone believed the terrible scourge had ended, or it meant they'd already lost.
Had they lost? Was it too late even to try anymore? She wasn't ready to accept that. Wasn't prepared to admit her mother and the other women warriors had fought in vain, that they'd died in vain. Selyn wasn't prepared to admit defeat. Not while there was still breath in her body. Not while she had it within her to fight demonkind.
Not that she'd ever experienced demons. At least not that she knew of.
But what of Birk? What of the other guards?
Were they possessed as well? Was demonkind that thoroughly entrenched within Lemurian society that even those who were supposed to guard and protect the people had somehow become compromised?
Not Roland. No, Roland of Kronus was one of the good guys. Knowing men like him existed---men of free will--- gave her hope. He'd risked much to find her, to discover the truth behind the rumors of the existence of the Forgotten Ones. He'd risked his standing as a member of the Lemurian Guard to meet with Selyn, and he'd risked his life to come into the mines and save her.
She could only hope there were more like him.
Now Alton wanted Selyn to return. He wanted her to go back to the mines with a human man and a sword she couldn't wield, to risk her life once again to help a society that had enslaved her for millennia.
A society responsible for the death of her mother.
Except, if they were controlled by demonkind, they were victims as much as she was, as much as her mother had been.
Nine hells, but thinking this through was making her head hurt! She wished Dawson would come home. She missed him. But how could that be? She hardly knew the man, yet she wanted to talk to him about everything that had happened over the past couple of days. She wanted a better feel for the mission they were being asked to accomplish.
She wanted Dawson.
Now where the nine hells did that thought come from? What could she possibly want with him? He was human. He wasn't a warrior; he was a healer. He couldn't protect her, and there was no way he could go up against a brute like Birk. Dawson wasn't much taller than she was, and he certainly wasn't as big and muscular or as strong as Dax, or even Alton. He was just an average human male with eyes the color of a desert sky and gentle hands that made her want.
Want what?
BumperWillow whined and rested her chin on Selyn's knee. Once again the little spirit must be eavesdropping.
Selyn idly scratched the dog's curly head. She stretched her legs out, arched her back, and sighed. Though she was completely healed, her muscles felt tight. Probably from not working her regular shift in the mines. She'd never in her life spent so many hours without hard labor.
She'd changed back into the comfortable cotton clothing Dawson had given to her. The baggy pants and loose top were cooler and more comfortable than Ginny's jeans. It was going to take a while to get used to such tight, restrictive clothing after a lifetime in formless robes. The jeans might attract Dawson's eye, but the fabric wasn't as forgiving as this outfit he called "scrubs."
What a silly name for clothing. She smoothed the soft fabric over her thighs and then once again ran her fingers through the dog's curly hair. She half expected Willow to pop into her mind and tell her she was thinking unfair thoughts about the citizens of Lemuria.
Why would I do that? Everything you've wondered about is true.
Selyn laughed and scratched under the dog's chin. "I wondered if you were eavesdropping on me again. Is it all really as confusing as I keep thinking it is?"
It's worse. The dog sighed and laid her ears back against her broad skull, but it was Willow's mental voice that Selyn heard.
I don't know what to do about Artigos, she said. He has a very persistent demon that's almost entirely melded to his soul, but he is Alton's father. I don't want to harm him, but we must remove the demon, even though it's a terrible risk we take. I don't know what we can do, or who can help.
"Maybe the one we're taking the ruby sword to will be able to help him."
If he doesn't want to kill him. If that is truly Artigos the Just who has been held prisoner all these years, he's only there because his son ordered it. He might not be feeling too kindly toward Artigos number two.
"I hadn't thought of that."
I have. BumperWillow sighed. It's all I can think of.
Dawson sat back in the wooden chair at his big kitchen table. Gaia was in the back, sitting with Artigos, and Alton still slept. Selyn had been terribly quiet since he and Ginny had returned with Alton's mom, but he couldn't worry about her right now.
He couldn't let himself think about her at all, or thoughts of her would consume him. Instead, he focused on Ginny. "So you and Alton will take his mom and dad to the portal in Mount Shasta, and Eddy and Dax will take over from there?" Dawson shook his head, wondering over the confused logistics. "How will they get him to Evergreen?"
Ginny folded her hands in front of her on the kitchen table. "We'll have to take him through the portal that opens to the flank of Mount Shasta and hike down the mountain to the end of the road. If Eddy and Dax can meet us there with Eddy's dad's Jeep, and if we put a strong enough trance on Artigos, they should be able to get him to town without too much trouble."
"He has promised to behave as long as I'm with him." Gaia stepped into the room. She managed to look absolutely regal in spite of the trauma of the past hours---her life had been totally upended in such a short span of time. "We're ready to go whenever you are."
Ginny pulled out the chair next to her. "As soon as Alton awakens . . ."
"Alton's awake." The big Lemurian stepped into the kitchen. His eyes looked sleepy, and he yawned, but he threw his arm around his mother's shoulders, leaned close, and kissed her cheek. "It's good to have you here, Mother. I just checked on Father. He seems somewhat calmer, now that you're with him."
Gaia leaned into her son's embrace. Her smile was for Alton, not the situation. "That's because he expects me to help him escape your evil clutches, my son. He doesn't realize I'm on your side."
Alton shook his head. "No, Mother. There are no sides here. There is only the right thing to do, and in this case, that's removing the demon that has corrupted a good man."
"Thank you." Gaia's soft reply was followed by an even softer sigh. "Then we need to go, and go quickly. You, my son, must return to Lemuria as soon as possible and take up your position as chancellor before anyone has time to mount a serious challenge to your claim."
Alton nodded. "I fear that's already begun. I'm still concerned about the unfamiliar guardsmen we saw. Where they come from, who they are." He kneaded the back of his neck. Ginny grabbed his hand, stuck him in a chair, and began to rub at the stiff muscles.
Alton sighed, but he tilted his head and focused on Daws. "Dawson, you and Selyn should be ready to leave immediately for Lemuria as soon as Ginny and I return from delivering my parents to Eddy and Dax. We'll go straight to my father's office through the small portal, then you can connect with Roland for your journey into the mines." He paused for a moment, and focused his gaze on Selyn. "Are you sure you're up to this, Selyn? We're asking a lot of you."
She glanced toward Dawson. He winked at her, and she smiled. "No more than the Forgotten Ones will soon be asking of you," she said. "I'm ready."
Dawson stood in the doorway long after the SUV carrying Ginny, Alton, Gaia, Artigos, and even the dog and Artigos's carefully wrapped crystal sword had gone, and thought of all the changes in his life since the day he'd treated a whole clinic filled with demon-possessed pets.
He wouldn't trade these past few days for anything, unless he could have kept Selyn from being hurt. He sensed her behind him. Slowly, almost with a sense of disbelief, he turned away from the bright afternoon sun.
His eyes took a moment to adjust to the shadows inside the house. She stood just a few feet away, with her hands clasped in front of her and that long black braid hanging over her shoulder. Her beautiful blue eyes were as dark and deep as an ocean, and every bit as filled with mystery.
Would he ever get past the feeling of awe, of clumsy, inept reverence that swept over him whenever he saw her? The hopeless, helpless awkwardness she inspired? He'd never been all that much of a player, though he'd had comfortable relationships with women over the years. Friendships, a few light romances.
There was nothing comfortable about Selyn.
None of the women he'd known had ever affected him this way, but then he'd never known a woman who was anything remotely like Selyn.
He blinked, but she was still there. He kept expecting her to disappear. Such perfection couldn't be real, could it? He cleared his throat to make sure his voice would work, and realized he had no idea what to say.
She left him speechless. He decided to stick with the mundane, though he figured that would just convince her---if she needed more convincing---that he was an idiot.
"Do you want something to eat before we have to leave?"
She smiled, every bit as unaffected by him as he was driven nuts around her. "Alton said they might be gone a couple of hours. Later, maybe. I'm not really hungry yet."
"Oh. Okay."
"I thought maybe we could go outside, now that I have these." Smiling, she lifted one foot and showed off a sandal.
He nodded. Okay. Outside worked. Then, without thinking, he took her hand, and he was absolutely shocked when she not only slipped hers into his grasp, but clasped his tightly. The connection, the feel of her warm but callused palm was almost his undoing.
He'd never wanted to touch a woman so desperately, never reacted to one on so many levels, but Selyn had him tied in knots. She had his heart speeding up and then slowing down, his chest feeling almost too tight to draw breath, his muscles locked with a tension he couldn't describe.
All from holding her hand. He almost laughed. No doubt, the woman was going to be the death of him. He gently squeezed her fingers and opened the screen door. Selyn followed him outside. The sunlight, even this late in the fall, was almost blinding.
"Just a minute." He stepped back inside and grabbed a floppy straw hat off the rack by the door. Carried it outside and gently placed it on Selyn's head. She touched the brim and smiled. "Thank you. I'm not used to the sunlight."
Now there was an understatement if ever he'd heard one. He smiled at her, adjusted the angle of the hat to better protect her eyes. Then he took her hand in his once more.
They walked across the yard to the small fish pond. The javalinas were gone, but the pond was home to frogs and turtles and hundreds of tiny gray mosquito fish. A couple of tired water lilies still bloomed, but they were well off their peak.
"What is that?" She pointed at a turtle sunning itself on a flat rock.
"A painted turtle," he said, pointing to another one floating at the surface with just its nostrils showing. "There's another. They live in the pond, along with some frogs and, on occasion, a small water snake or two."
They watched the turtles for a moment, and then continued walking around the house to a point where the Verde Valley spread out below them and the red rocks around Sedona shimmered in the distance.
"So many wonders." She sighed. "So many things we who live below never imagined even existed. How could my people choose to give this up?"
"Maybe they didn't choose. Maybe demonkind chose for them."
Selyn turned and looked at him through eyes filled with tears. Frustration and anger seemed almost a part of her, but there was more he sensed. Sadness. Soul-deep and heartfelt sadness. Despair and a terrible sense of grief, of loss.
Dawson wasn't sure how it happened, what gave him the courage to act. Empathy, a desire to take away her pain? For whatever reason, before he had time to think this through, he had his arms around her and she was close, so damned close he breathed in her scent and felt the warmth of sunlight on her long, black hair.
Her arms wrapped tightly around his back, and she leaned into his embrace. It seemed perfectly natural to lift her chin with his fingertips and kiss her. The floppy straw hat tilted away and dropped to the sand at her heels, but Dawson didn't care. Not when he was doing something he'd barely dreamed of.
And, surprise of surprises, it wasn't nearly as frightening as it should have been for a man who felt woefully inept around women. Dogs and cats were so much easier to figure out, but Selyn didn't seem to mind that he lacked the finesse of most men when he tasted the full curve of her lips, when his tongue traced the seam between them and gently begged entrance.
She parted for him, tilting her head just right in order to make their mouths fit even more perfectly. Dawson fought the powerful urge to press his body closer, to kiss harder, to slip his hands beneath her loose shirt and explore the woman under the soft, cotton scrubs.
Her breasts were soft against his chest, her fingers digging into his back as she clung to him, holding on as if he were somehow anchoring her, holding her in safety.
She had no idea what his body was driving him to do. No idea how difficult it was to fight his baser instincts. He didn't want to frighten her, and he forced himself to move slowly, to proceed carefully, but the thought of never taking this beyond a kiss terrified him. Somehow, before too long, he needed to know what her body felt like, how well it would align to his. How perfectly he could fill her, make love to her, make her his own.
Her tongue slipped into his mouth in a timid exploration that sent Dawson's heart stuttering in his chest. Her taste was unique, the soft pressure of her lips against his---of her tongue exploring the edges of his teeth and the sensitive curve of his mouth---an almost uncontrollable aphrodisiac.
He clasped her head in his palms, holding her so that he could taste and nibble and make love to her mouth. He wanted more, so damned much more, but this was neither the time nor the place, and it was all much too soon.
He felt the soft wind on his face and the tentative touch of her warm fingers sliding beneath his shirt. He groaned against her mouth. His body surged to readiness, and the desire racing through him practically drove him to his knees.
She had no idea what her innocent touch did to him, no concept of a man's reaction to a woman he wanted. It meant that, no matter how much Dawson wanted to take this to its perfect conclusion, he had to end this kiss now, before he was totally incapable of ending anything without finishing it first.
Slowly, gently, and very reluctantly, he pulled away from her lips. Sucking in one, slow, deep breath after another, he rested his forehead against Selyn's and did his best to drag in enough air to keep himself conscious.
Long moments later, when he felt as if he'd gained control over his wayward body, he lifted his head and gazed into Selyn's sapphire blue eyes. They sparkled with more than mischief. In fact, they practically glowed with the same arousal rocketing through his veins, with the same powerful sense of need that still tightened his body. He hardened even more, knowing she shared the same desire to take this amazing kiss, this budding yet impossible relationship, to its natural conclusion.
She ran the tip of her tongue over her top lip and then across the bottom, staring at a point on his throat instead of into his eyes. Finally she glanced up, smiling, and touched his beard with her fingertips. "It tickles when you kiss me."
"I'll shave it off."
She laughed. "Don't you dare." She stood on her toes and kissed his chin. "I like it. Just as I like your kisses, though they leave me feeling . . ." She paused and shook her head. "They leave me feeling very unsettled."
"Should I stop kissing you?"
This time she kissed his lips, too quickly for him to kiss her back. "Never. Well, for now, maybe, but I want to do it again. When we have more time. I want to know what comes next."
He sighed and stepped back. "So do I, Selyn. But not until you're very, very sure."
She raised her chin, and there was an unspoken question in her eyes. Maybe she didn't even know what to ask.
He answered her anyway. "There are some things, once done, that can never be undone. Some things too important to rush. This. You and me? This is one of those things."
She worried her bottom lip with her teeth, and then she nodded. He grabbed her hand and tugged. She followed, and they headed back to the house. There were sandwiches to make to take with them into Lemuria, and a few things to pack. A new chancellor to seat on the Lemurian Council of Nine, a sword to return to its rightful owner, and a hundred new crystal swords to deliver to women too long forgotten.
That was all. Nothing more than a war against demonkind to be won before Dawson figured they'd have time to find out what came next.
It was only a couple of hours later when Roland met all of them in the chancellor's office deep within Lemuria. Dawson figured that by now, Artigos and Gaia should be at Eddy's house in Evergreen. Darius and Mari, the Lemurian guardsman and the human witch, were planning to meet with them tonight.
Alton had gone immediately to his father's desk, where he was now checking schedules and preparing to call a meeting of the Council of Nine. Ginny would stand beside him as the chancellor's consort, which left it entirely up to Dawson and Selyn to return the ruby sword to its rightful owner.
If the man Selyn had heard of really was Artigos the Just.
Dawson tucked the carefully wrapped sword and scabbard under his arm and clapped Alton on the shoulder. "Good luck, Alton. Don't worry if you don't hear from us until tomorrow. It may take us a while to actually reach the prisoner."
"I know. Plus, you'll need to remain, at least long enough to help Taron get the swords to their rightful owners. So damned much to do." Alton stood close beside Ginny. The strain of the past few days was beginning to show on his face, but the two of them looked more than ready to face the council. "Be safe. Try not to take any chances, and listen to Roland."
Roland chuckled. "That'll be a first. I don't think anyone listens to me. C'mon."
Dawson and Selyn followed him through the portal as soon as the sergeant was certain the way was clear. Selyn had donned the white robe Gaia had given her so that she'd blend in better, should they be discovered. She looked like an exotic princess with her long hair unbound and flowing in soft, ebony waves down her back. Gaia had also given her a gold circlet to hold the hair back from her eyes. It glowed against her bronze skin and only emphasized her beauty. This woman most definitely was not a slave.
Never again. And how anyone as gorgeous as Selyn expected to blend into anything was beyond him.
Roland unsheathed his sword and marched Dawson and Selyn along the tunnel as if he were taking them to the cells below the main level. He glanced over his shoulder and grinned at Dawson as they descended to the next level. "I still think you should have worn one of those blue guardsmen's robes. Then you wouldn't have to act the part of a prisoner."
Dawson shook his head and glanced at Selyn walking beside him. "Sorry, Roland, but all I could think of was that if things got ugly, I didn't want to try running for cover in a dress."
"Dress? This is not a dress. It's my uniform."
Dawson laughed at his indignant reply. "On Earth it's a dress. Maybe a gown. Not what a real man would wear."
Roland raised his eyebrows in mock outrage. "A real man, eh? Watch what you say to a real man carrying a crystal sword, human."
Dawson grabbed Selyn's hand and shot her a quick grin. He squeezed her fingers. "I'll remember that when your crystal sword gets tangled in your girly skirt. Seriously, Roland. How do you fight wearing a robe? Doesn't it get in the way?"
Roland paused beside a portal that led to an even lower level. "It does," he said. "Guardsmen of old dressed in pants and boots, similar to what you wear. The robe became our official uniform when someone on the council decided we needed to appear as philosophers, not warriors. Alton has already said we can change the uniform as soon as things settle a bit."
"For women, as well." Selyn pulled the full skirt of her robe to one side. "It looks very pretty, but the pants I wore at Dawson's house are much more practical. I think I shall bring that design to the women once we are armed."
Laughing, Dawson followed Roland through the portal with Selyn beside him. Just what Lemuria needed. An entire army of women warriors, all dressed in surgical scrubs.
Neither Roland nor Selyn had a clue what Dawson thought was so funny. Probably just as well.
They passed through more portals and walked down stairs cut into solid stone. Quietly, they followed the secret and well-hidden tunnels Roland had discovered, where dim lighting barely showed the way. Selyn kept listening for the sounds of the Forgotten Ones laboring, but all she heard was the steady breathing from the three of them, and the echoes of their footsteps. It was almost an hour later and many levels down before they reached the mines where the Forgotten Ones were enslaved.
At this point, Selyn took the lead. She had, after all, lived here for her entire life. How could she have forgotten the stench? The air was musty and reeked of sour sweat and something rotten. It was warm in some places, frigid in others, and the sound of heavy machinery rumbled in the background.
She'd forgotten how noisy it could be at all times of the day or night, though there really was no difference here. Day or night---it didn't matter. Not here where their work and sleep schedules followed the deep tone of a bell and the shouts of the wardens telling them to move faster, work harder.
It was hard to stomach---even harder to believe---that they were barely an hour's walk beneath the levels where civilized Lemurians lived in quiet comfort, entirely ignorant of slaves toiling below. Free folk, living lives of ease and total luxury a short hour away.
"Caution," she said, touching Roland's shoulder. "We can't afford to be seen. They will have missed me by now, which means my life is forfeit should I be caught."
She didn't mention that theirs would be forfeit as well. How could she have allowed Dawson to accompany her into this hell? He was an innocent bystander, caught up in this battle through no fault of his own. Involved merely because he was a good man with a desire to see wrong made right.
He leaned close and kissed her quickly on the lips before she realized what he was up to. "Then I guess that means we don't get caught, because no one is going to hurt you again. Not on my watch." He smiled at her. "Where is this prisoner held? Can we get to him now, or should we wait for a better time? Do the guards ever go off duty?"
She glanced at Roland. "What time is it, Roland? Is there a shift change due?"
He shook his head. "I can't say for sure. I've never figured out how they schedule things down here. Your wardens aren't like the regular guard." He tapped his forehead. "We can't even communicate telepathically. It's like they're a different species from the rest of us."
Selyn frowned. He wasn't kidding when he'd made such an absurd comment. Different species? They were men. Big, ugly, mean men. Then she glanced at Dawson, and once again at Roland.
They were men as well, one human, one Lemurian, and both of them were really terrific guys. Maybe Roland knew what he was talking about. Maybe the guards were not true Lemurians.
"Follow me." She edged toward a narrow passage. "This leads us behind the sleeping quarters where the women are kept when we're not working. The prisoner is housed in another chamber beyond. I've never seen him, but I know how to find his cell."
They'd covered only a short distance when the scrape of sandals warned them someone drew near. Dawson grabbed Selyn and pulled her into a shallow alcove on one side of the tunnel. He wrapped his arms around her and held her tight, shielding her with his body. Roland slipped out of sight, hiding in the shadows just across from them.
A huge man was coming their way. Selyn strained to see over Dawson's shoulder, but the man's face was lost in shadow. Even so, Selyn would have recognized his form and his walk anywhere. "That's Birk," she whispered. "The guard who beat me. He's a vicious fighter. Very powerful. We can't let him catch us."
She felt Dawson stiffen beside her. Heard his muffled curse against the bastard who had harmed her. Suddenly, a red glow seeped through the blanket wrapped around the ruby sword. Without considering what drove her, Selyn quietly reached for the hilt protruding from one end of the covering. She wrapped her fingers around the gold pommel and slipped the sword free of the scabbard and surrounding cloth.
"What are you doing?" Dawson's whisper tickled the side of her neck.
"I'm not sure, but I know the sword wants me to hold it." Grasping the golden pommel in both hands, she raised the ruby blade high. Though they were still partially hidden from the oncoming guard, Selyn knew the red glow would give them away the minute he chanced to look in their direction.
The scarlet crystal pulsed red, then redder still. Suddenly a brilliant flash of fire spun from the tip of the blade and lit up the entire tunnel in shimmering red lights.
Before the oncoming guard had time to react, the voice in the sword shouted a single word, "Demonkind!"
Roland leapt from his hiding place with his crystal blade drawn. Birk immediately drew his steel sword, but before he could call for help, Selyn pulled out of Dawson's grasp and planted herself in front of Birk with the ruby sword held high.
The blade was long and when she'd lifted it earlier, the sword had been almost too heavy to raise, but now it fit her grasp as if it had been made for her---perfect balance, the perfect weight---not heavy at all.
Dawson stood beside her with nothing more than a small can in one hand. Roland covered her other side, and his clear crystal blade glowed with a brilliant blue fire.
Birk's eyes flashed as he looked from Dawson to Selyn and then at Roland. His gaze settled on Selyn, and with his massive sword flashing, he shouted a curse, and charged.
Chapter Nine
Dawson felt like an idiot standing beside Selyn with nothing but a tiny can of pepper spray clutched in his fist, while she and Roland faced a raging maniac armed with their glowing crystal swords.
Then it was all about self-preservation when Roland clashed blades with Birk's steel, and Selyn took a swing at the man's unprotected belly. Birk twisted out of reach of the shimmering crystal much faster than Dawson would have expected a guy his size to move. In the midst of his twist, Birk swung his sword.
Dawson ducked. The steel blade split the hair on top of his head. He rolled to his left as Birk slashed the air once more. Birk twisted aside, avoiding both Selyn and Roland and going for Dawson with a single-minded determination. It was obvious he wanted to remove the easiest target first, but once again Dawson ducked beneath the flashing sword.
This time, he came up behind the big guard.
Selyn lunged with her blade. Birk pivoted to the right, out of reach of either Roland or Selyn. Dawson kicked hard, catching the back of the big man's left knee. Birk grunted, and his leg buckled, but he caught himself and spun on his right, slashing at Dawson, recovering quickly, and taking a swing at Roland.
Blowing hard, Birk evaded another thrust of Selyn's borrowed ruby blade. He managed a quick turn that put his back to the wall and had the three of them circling him in front.
Roland made a quick thrust that Birk parried. Steel clashed with crystal. Sparks flew, but the two guards appeared to be of equal strength. Their blades met, held, and then slid apart. Birk feinted left and then lunged at Selyn. She evaded his thrust and twisted aside, but Birk's quick footwork put him right in front of Dawson.
The guard raised his massive arm with the steel blade held high, preparing to strike hard and fast. Dawson pushed the plunger on the lipstick-sized can of pepper spray. He caught Birk directly in the eyes with the blast. Birk screamed. Blindly, he swung his sword. Dawson ducked and rolled out of the way. Roland did the same, and Selyn lunged forward for the killing stroke.
At the last moment, her blade twisted in her hand, as if it shifted of its own free will. Instead of piercing the furious guard's heart, the ruby crystal slapped him flat across the chest.
Birk went rigid. His eyes rolled back in his head, and his steel sword clattered uselessly to the ground from slack fingers. A thick, black, sulfuric mist streamed out of his chest and hovered in the air in a seething, oily mass.
Without a sound, Birk dropped to his knees. He wavered there a moment, and then fell over on his back. Roland lunged and thrust his crystal blade into the center of the mist.
Clear crystal sliced through the dark wraith. Sparks flashed, and a horrific banshee cry echoed off the tunnel walls. The demonic wraith burst into a mass of fiery blue sparks before it dissolved into nothing more than a horrible stench.
Birk lay unmoving, unconscious.
"What the nine hells was that?" Selyn glanced at her blade and then at the huge guard lying at her feet. "That thing that shot out of his chest. What was it?"
Dawson glanced at his little can of pepper spray and carefully clipped it back to his belt loop. Who needed a sword when you had a weapon like this? "That was a demon, Selyn. Birk was possessed. From the way it burst out of him when you touched his chest, I wonder if we shouldn't use that sword to help free Artigos?"
"It might work." Bemused, she stared at the sword in her hand for a long, silent moment. "How strange. It's not really speaking to me, but I somehow know that the demon in Artigos is different than the one in Birk." She raised her head and focused on Dawson. "It won't work on Artigos. This is very strange. I shouldn't be able to wield this sword, much less understand it. I've always heard that it's asking for death to touch the sword of another, yet it called to me. It communicates with me."
Roland stood beside her, but he kept his gaze on Birk. "I've heard that about crystal swords all my life, but it appears it's entirely up to the sword. They seem to consciously know who should or should not handle them. Eddy bested a demon with Alton's sword without injury to herself."
Birk began to stir, though he still lay on his back, eyes unfocused and filled with tears from the pepper spray. Blinking slowly, he rubbed at his streaming eyes with one big fist. Selyn nudged him with her foot. "What do we do with him?"
Dawson knelt beside the man with his hands clenched tightly into fists. "Just give him a minute. I want to see what he remembers. If he knows he was possessed." He glanced at Selyn, and unexplainable anger welled up in him. "I want to know if the bastard remembers hurting you."
"I do." Birk's voice rumbled up out of his chest. He closed his eyes as if in pain. "I am truly cursed." He groaned and rolled his head back and forth against the stone floor. "I remember everything---every terrible thing."
Blinking his eyes, red-rimmed from the irritating spray, he sighed noisily. "It's as if I watched from afar. I know now, as I knew then, I have done terrible things." Slowly he rolled over and pushed himself to his hands and knees. He raised his head and gazed up at Selyn. "But knowing made no difference. I did them anyway and didn't care. That's not who or what I am. I swear it. But why?"
He glanced at Dawson and Roland. Then once more he focused on Selyn. "Why would I hurt you, Selyn? You didn't deserve my anger, but I remember. Not everything, but too much. Dear gods, I remember too much. I am so sorry. So terribly sorry and ashamed."
He pushed himself upright, though he still knelt. Clasped his hands at the small of his back, and bowed his head before Selyn.
Time stood still. None of them moved until Selyn quietly asked, "What does he want?"
Dawson wrapped an arm around her waist. His anger at the man was gone. It had given way to nothing more than pity, almost as if he shared the shame the big guard felt. "I'm not really sure."
Roland shrugged. "I think it's obvious, don't you? He expects you to kill him."
"What?" She shook her head in absolute denial. "But why? What he says is true, and he was not at fault. I saw the demon. It wasn't him doing those terrible things. Not really. Birk? Why do you kneel that way?"
Obviously confused, the big guard raised his head. "I have wronged you, and I've wronged Lemuria. I've broken my vow to serve my people. I await my punishment."
Selyn shrugged and glanced at the ruby sword in her hand, as if she asked the thing for guidance. Then she shook her head. "Birk, wouldn't you rather redeem yourself by fighting demons instead of wasting your life? We could really use your help."
He bowed his head even deeper. "I've served evil long enough, and I've done enough harm. I would be honored, but only if you serve Lemuria."
Indignantly, she rolled her eyes. "Of course we do. All of us are on a mission to save Lemuria from demonkind. You can help us. Killing you isn't going to do anyone any good. Look, Birk, we need to deliver this sword to the prisoner you hold, the man you've kept behind bars for thousands of years. It's his. Will you take us to him?"
The sword pulsed with a deep, red glow. Birk stared at the ruby blade, and then he shook his head. "Impossible. I remember that sword with the ruby blade and the gold hilt. It belonged to Artigos the Just, the one, true leader of Lemuria. It's too late to return it. That Artigos died during the great move."
Roland held out his hand. Birk took it, and Roland drew him to his feet. Though Birk was a bit larger than Roland, the two were almost of equal strength, and both such large men that Dawson felt like a kid beside the huge guards.
Dawson gestured toward the ruby sword clasped in Selyn's hand. "Birk, I've been learning a lot about the crystal swords of Lemuria. If Artigos the Just were dead, his blade would have turned black. It would be obsidian, not ruby. Look at that thing. That's not the crystal blade of a dead man. We have reason to believe Lemuria's true leader has been held prisoner here since the great move, but his identity has been kept secret. You've been possessed, most likely the entire time you've served here in the mines. The demon has probably hidden the man's true identity from you."
Birk stared into Dawson's eyes, as if trying to judge the worth of a mere human. After a moment, he nodded. "Follow me, and I'll take you to him. If the man is who you think he is, the sword will recognize its master."
They skirted the women's quarters and followed a dark passage that seemed to take them even deeper into the caverns. Here the light was not as good. Roland's sword cast an eerie blue glow, barely enough to keep them from stumbling in the dark.
Finally they arrived at a broader passage. Birk checked to make sure it was empty and then led them through a portal into a large cavern. Peering around a partial wall of shimmering stone, they could see a single door, with a barred grill across the top and what appeared to be a regular lock that took a key on the front, set into the stone wall on the far side of the cavern.
Birk stopped them with a soft whisper. "Wait here. I'll relieve the guard on duty."
The three of them pressed against the wall in the shadows just inside the cavern. Birk quietly slipped around the wall and then strode boldly across the open area to a desk where a young man in a guard's uniform sat. He was writing in a large book when Birk stopped in front of the desk. The guard looked up, obviously surprised to see his superior standing there.
Birk planted both hands on the desk, and shook his head as if he was disgusted by the request he had to make. "Aeron. I've got some hells-be-damned paperwork that needs to be done. Why don't you go ahead and take off. I'll relieve you now so I can get to it."
The guard clambered to his feet. He looked flustered by Birk's request. "Of course, sir. If you wish, though I still have half my watch to serve."
"I know. And I'd like to be back in my room sleeping, but you know how that works." He chuckled. "They're serving third meal right now in the guards' mess. There's no point in both of us wasting our evening. Go ahead. I'll take the watch."
Aeron was already gathering up his paperwork and adjusting his sword. "Thank you, sir. If you're certain you don't mind."
Smiling affably, Birk nodded. "I am. You can probably use the break. This is a most boring duty."
The guard nodded, spun around before Birk could change his mind, and left by a portal opposite the one where Dawson and the others waited. They stepped into the light the moment he was gone. Birk was already headed to the locked door carrying a large ring with a pair of keys on it.
He unlocked the door. Selyn had slipped the leather scabbard over her back, but she kept the sword free. Now she came forward with the hilt clutched in her hand and the point of the long blade aimed at the ground. She glanced over her shoulder and looked directly at Dawson. He stepped close and grabbed her left hand in his.
She radiated tension. He tugged just hard enough to bring her to a halt. "Are you okay?" he whispered. "You're trembling."
Selyn nodded. "So much is happening, so very fast. After so long. What if it's not him?"
Daws grinned and squeezed her hand. "Then we keep looking, but if we're making bets, my money's on the sword. And on you. Let's go." He nodded to Birk. The guard tugged on the door and pulled it open. Roland stepped through first with his crystal sword unsheathed. Selyn followed with the ruby sword in her right hand and Dawson hanging on to her left.
Birk closed the door behind him as he entered the cell.
The man seated in a comfortable-looking chair on the far side of the room raised his head from the book he was reading and stared at the four who had entered his quarters.
Dawson's first thought was that this was not the cell of a common prisoner. The space they entered was large with doors that appeared to lead to other rooms. It was furnished in what had to be high-quality tables and chairs, the walls decorated with beautiful paintings of a forgotten world. Scattered about were what looked like personal belongings---small statues, a vase, some carvings. Even a few colorful seashells. Dawson wondered if they'd come from an ancient Lemurian seashore. Lamps glowed brightly, and the shelves were lined with books. He recognized current authors of Earth and familiar titles among them, but some of the spines had titles in other languages and writing that was totally unfamiliar.
It was hard to look away from those fascinating shelves, but the room itself was just as intriguing. Not a miserable cell at all, but still a cell. There was that lock on the door to reinforce the fact that this gentleman was a prisoner, but there was no doubt as to the identity of the man who stood to greet his obviously unexpected visitors.
He was Alton, only he was not. An older, wiser version of Alton, he looked much more like his grandson than he did his own son. As he stood, the resemblance was even more pronounced---he was every bit as tall, as regal-looking as Alton. He carried his age and his dignity like a well-worn cloak, yet he retained the bearing and the look of a man in his prime.
He smiled in greeting, but then he appeared to recognize Birk and frowned when the large guard looked his way.
Then the sword glowed. Dawson turned Selyn's hand free. She stepped forward and knelt on one knee in front of the man---the one who was, without any doubt, the lost leader of the Lemurian people and the master of the crimson crystal blade.
She held his sword out to him, raising it above her bowed head in both hands. Artigos had been ready to speak, but he stopped and stared at the blade. Raised his eyes and looked at the men flanking Selyn, and then once again at the ruby sword.
His voice was scratchy, as if he rarely spoke. Thick with emotion as he finally recognized what Selyn held up to him.
"DemonsBane? Is it really you, my old friend?"
The sword flashed, and fire danced along the faceted blade. Artigos the Just reached for the hilt, but before he could grab it, the sword leapt out of Selyn's hands and into his grasp. He clasped it in both hands and held the ruby sword with its fiery blade upright before him. Selyn sat back on her heels, grinning at the reunion between the man and his sentient crystal sword.
Tears coursed down his cheeks. He seemed transfixed by the weapon in his hands. It was obvious the two communicated, from the pulsing light dancing over the crimson blade, to the myriad expressions crossing Artigos's face.
Long moments later, he lowered the blade and reverently set it on a nearby table. Selyn slipped the scabbard off her shoulder and handed it to him. "It's not the original, Lord Artigos, but this scabbard belonged to a man who carried his weapon bravely in battle."
"Thank you, my dear. I thank all of you." He took the scabbard and gently slipped the sword inside the beautifully tooled leather. "DemonsBane tells me there are great things afoot. That my grandson has staged a coup and deposed his own father, the one who imprisoned me here."
Roland stepped forward. "That is true. We've discovered that your son has been possessed by a demon. His son, Alton, has temporarily taken over the chancellor's seat on the Council of Nine. He holds it only until the rightful leader of Lemuria can take his place."
One expressive eyebrow arched as Artigos studied Roland for a long moment. Then he smiled and gestured to the various chairs about the room. "Please. Sit." He grabbed the sheathed sword and carried it back to his chair, where he sat down with the look of one expecting to be there for a while.
"Tell me now," he said. "I want to know everything that has happened and why you, Birk, a guard known for his cruelty, are here, now, helping these good people. And, it appears, helping me."
"So that is the way of it, sir." Roland rolled his big shoulders after telling the long and convoluted tale. He turned to Birk. "What of you, Birk? Is there more we should know? Do you have any idea how many of the guards are possessed?"
Birk nodded. "I do. All of them. There are two dozen of us, though a small contingent were recently called to serve above. I'm not sure why."
Roland glanced at Dawson and Selyn. "That explains the unfamiliar guards I saw earlier, probably called in for backup by the possessed members of the council. They could be a problem for Alton." He let out a huge gust of air. "Go on, Birk."
Birk nodded. "I believe all of us who serve as wardens below have been possessed since the great move. Maybe even before that time. I wish I knew for certain. So many of my memories are just . . . gone." He sighed, staring at the floor. "Yet, at the same time, I recall all too much. I fear I may never regain my honor, when I think of the terrible things we did to those poor women." He raised his head and looked at Selyn. "Is there any chance of forgiveness, from you or from any of the Forgotten Ones?"
How could she answer for all her sisters? Selyn had listened to Roland's story, and she'd told her own. She'd explained how the warrior women originally had been betrayed by Artigos---the son, not the father---who would now and forever be known as the usurper. Betrayed, purged from Lemurian society, and exiled to lives as slaves. How those same women had raised their daughters, how they'd grieved for the sons stolen from them. She'd been unable to look at Birk when she explained how all those babies had been the result of sexual assaults by the guards---they'd been raped by Birk and his fellow soldiers.
It had not been easy to tell the story without betraying her own anger, but she'd done her best. Could she rise above her need for revenge and actually forgive the one who had beaten her almost to death? The same man who might have fathered her sisters in the mines? A man who might even be her own father? She didn't want to go there. Could not allow herself to think those thoughts.
Instead, she must consider whether or not she could forgive a man who, as both her heart and mind insisted, was as much a victim as any of the Forgotten Ones.
There was no other choice. She looked at the big man, sitting there with his hands dangling helplessly between his knees, and knew exactly what she had to say. "There is nothing to forgive you for, Birk. I saw the demon myself. It was an ugly, black stain upon your soul, and now it's dead. That creature is responsible for the evil things done in your name. Not you."
"Thank you." His deep voice broke on the simple words. "I can only pray the other women will feel the same."
She reached across the space between them and grabbed his hand in hers. That same hand had beaten her bloody, had broken her ribs, bruised her body. She squeezed his fingers and felt him return the pressure. "I can't answer for them, but if you choose to help us I imagine they'll understand and accept that you're on our side. If what you say is true, there are twenty-three more guards we know of who are controlled by demonkind. We'll need your help with them."
There was no hesitation when he answered. "You have it."
She glanced at Dawson. He'd added to their description of events with details of the battle against demonkind on Earth. Even Artigos the Just had laughed at Dawson's tale of sucking up demons with a shop vacuum and freezing them into ice cubes.
"It appears---if all you say is true---that the DemonWars never ended. This is what I believe, and while I have no proof, I have had many long years to reach my conclusions, so please, hear me out." Artigos stood up and unsheathed his sword.
"Time means nothing to demonkind. The plan to conquer Atlantis, Lemuria, and then the rest of Earth was set into motion thousands of years ago, long before Lemuria was destroyed. Atlantis was the first victim. I remember when they chose to encase their civilization in a protective shell and live beneath the sea, apart from all other worlds. We Lemurians were so quick to judge, to trivialize what had happened to a once great and powerful nation."
He paused and gazed off into space, and Selyn wondered what terrible things he saw. Then he straightened his spine and returned his attention to them. "We thought the DemonWars were the final battle between Lemurians and demonkind. We thought we had won, but now I believe the battles were a ruse, nothing more than subterfuge to get us to let down our guard. We were warriors then. Our men were strong, our women every bit as powerful. We carried crystal, and demons could not stop us in battle.
"They could, however, stop us from the inside. Literally. One by one they began to take over members of the ruling class. Possession was subtle at first, and it appears many more possessions must have occurred after I was captured."
"How did that happen?" Roland rose to his feet. "How could our leader simply disappear during the great move and not be missed?"
"My son must have been one of the first to be possessed. There was no reason for anyone to doubt his version of events. He arranged for these quarters in this dimension and organized a secretive group of special Lemurian guardsmen." Artigos nodded at Birk. "You must have been one of the first, Birk. Possessed by demonkind, your every thought controlled by the evil within. Do you recall bringing me here, locking me in this room so many years ago?"
Birk hung his head. "Vaguely. Much from those early years is lost in a haze, as if I wasn't really there."
"I understand. In many ways, you weren't. Birk, the young man who was an honorable soldier, was buried beneath the thoughts and actions of a lesser demon, one who ruled your mind with a subtle use of demonic power. It was a long time before I figured it out myself. In the beginning, I was convinced my son had staged a coup because he was mad for power. I ruled Lemuria more as sovereign, an overlord destined to hold my title for life. I had a council of advisors---a precursor to your current Council of Nine---but I was, for all intents and purposes, the king of Lemuria. At first, I was surprised when my son chose a more democratic form of government.
"Then, over the years, as I saw more here in the mines, and learned of more through gossip of events above, I became convinced of the constant presence of demonkind. The purge of the women warriors was irrevocable proof that evil now ruled my world. What happened to those brave women was a criminal act, one that can never truly be avenged."
He smiled sadly at Selyn and shook his head. "DemonsBane tells me you fought bravely against Birk, that you have inherited the skills and the aptitude of your mother. I remember Elda. She was one of our finest soldiers in the DemonWars."
"Thank you." Selyn clutched Dawson's hand and fought the tears choking her. Knowing her mother was remembered so well by their ruler was an unexpected gift.
Artigos had been pacing in the space between the chairs. Now he reached over and softly stroked Selyn's hair. "My dear, there are so many wrongs that cannot be righted until demonkind no longer rules our people. I've maintained some mental connections with a few of those above without their knowledge, and stayed informed of some of our world's events. I've come to believe that many of the members of my son's council are possessed, just as my son, Artigos the younger, is possessed. The fact he instituted a democratic council and ruled from the chancellor's position rather than as a king convinced our citizens that he had not overthrown my rule. That I had most likely died during the cataclysm of our dying continent. There was no reason for them not to trust him, but they were wrong to trust. The chancellor and council members are mere figureheads for the true leaders of Lemuria---demons."
He paused and made eye contact with each one of them---Roland standing to one side, Birk, Dawson, and Selyn sitting so quietly, listening to his every word. Selyn knew she was in the presence of true greatness. This man was a born leader.
"Now, with all of you, with my grandson, and with my sword beside me, we have a chance to put our world right. A slim chance, but still a chance."
"What happened to DemonsBane?" Dawson was studying the ruby blade. "This sword was only recently replicated below, and yet you recognize it as the one you had before. How can that be if the original was destroyed?"
Artigos stared at the blade for a moment. "I'm not sure. My weapon was taken from me the day I was captured, and I thought I would never see it again. DemonsBane? Would you care to answer?"
The sword pulsed with red fire. "My physical body was destroyed, the blade crushed, the pommel melted down, my spirit driven out. I have waited patiently in Mother Crystal for all these many years. Waited beside many other warriors who now inhabit the newly replicated swords. Once the crystal blade was formed anew, my spirit returned to it."
Artigos ran his fingers over the faceted blade, stroking it as if it were a lover. "It is good to have you back, my old friend." After a long, contemplative moment, he raised his head. "So, that is what you have, my friends. A world infiltrated by the enemy, a move forced upon an entire civilization by the very ones they thought they had vanquished in battle. Our home, our continent, was destroyed by demonkind. Many lives were lost, and I was betrayed by a demon masquerading as my son."
He folded his hands behind his back and rocked back on his heels. "I am anxious to return to Lemuria, to take my rightful place as leader. But what of my son? Will Artigos fight to retain his seat? And what of his son, Alton? I've not seen him since he was a very young man, still a boy. Will he want to stay on as chancellor? If I am to rule my people once again, I must regain my position without bloodshed. We cannot fight evil by doing evil."
Dawson and Roland exchanged glances. "I'm human," Dawson said, "and therefore not really part of this discussion, but I do have a suggestion."
"Speak. I am always open to fresh ideas." Artigos chuckled. "The fact you are here in my residence, as one of those bent on freeing an old man too long imprisoned, gives you every right to offer as many suggestions as you wish."
Dawson gave Selyn's fingers a squeeze. "Taron of Libernus should have the swords ready to deliver to the Forgotten Ones any time now. I would suggest you remain here, as a decoy. That way the guards won't suspect anything unusual is going on. It's going to take us a while to transport a hundred crystal swords to the women. More time to get them handed out and for the women to get to know them. If we're lucky, we should be able to accomplish this during the various shifts so that all the Forgotten Ones are fully armed before the guards realize what we've done. We also need to make our move against the demons controlling the guards."
"Ah. This move against the demon-enslaved guards that you're planning." Artigos folded his hands across his chest. "Do you remember what I said about bloodshed?" He cocked an eyebrow at Dawson.
"That I do." Dawson pointed at DemonsBane. "We know your blade will remove demons, just as we know any other crystal blade can destroy them once they're separated from the body they've been inhabiting. I suggest we bring the guards to you one by one." He glanced at Birk. "That's where you can tip the balance for us, Birk. If we can get the guards in here to Artigos one at a time so he can use DemonsBane to remove their demons, we should quickly get control of all of the ones still down here. We'll have to worry about the guards on the upper levels later. Still, you are all sworn to uphold Lemuria. The demons have interfered with your ability to stick to your oath. I imagine the other guards will react much as you have, Birk, once they realize what's been controlling them."
Birk nodded. "I agree. Lord Artigos, if you're all right with that, I can start bringing the guards in at any time."
Artigos nodded. Dawson continued, making his points clearly and without hesitation. "I think they'll want to follow you as the rightful leader of Lemuria. I can't speak for your son or his feelings about giving up his seat as chancellor. Maybe, once his demon is gone, he'll understand the error of his actions. I know that Alton wants no part of the chancellorship. His hold on the position, for now at least, is tenuous. He's only taken the seat for the good of Lemuria. He has no desire to rule."
"That makes me proud. He was an honorable young man. It's good to know his honor continues."
Birk stood. "I need to go back outside and stand guard before the next man shows up to relieve the post. Are you ready for me to bring him to you?"
Artigos nodded. "No time like the present. I just wish I had a backup. I'd hate to allow any to escape."
Roland unsheathed his sword. "I might be able to help."
Birk stared at him. "I thought so! You carry crystal. How is that? I thought only the ruling class carried crystal blades."
"Times have changed, Birk. Hold your sword high."
"I don't want to fight you." Birk frowned, but he pulled his steel sword from the sheath and pointed the blade up. Roland pressed the crystal point of his sword to Birk's. The crystal shimmered and glowed, growing ever brighter until Selyn had to look away. Birk's soft curse had her squinting to see what had happened.
His formerly steel blade shimmered with the clear blue light of crystal. Roland sheathed his sword. Artigos shook his head in utter disbelief. "You're not kidding, sergeant. Times have definitely changed. How did you do that?"
Roland grinned at Birk as the big man twisted and turned his sword, admiring the faceted blade. "Alton's woman, who thought she was purely human but is, in fact, a descendant of Lemurian royalty, has a sword that was presented to her in front of the entire gathering of Lemurian citizens in the great plaza. It was replicated by Alton's white crystal, but Ginny's glows with a dark purple fire. The crystal blade appears to be amethyst. It is known as DarkFire, and the blade's spirit is Daria the Crone."
"The Crone?" Artigos shook his head. "Daria, as I remember her, was a beautiful woman who bravely fought demonkind. She was no crone, though she was not a young woman even then. But what does this have to do with . . . ?"
Laughing, Roland continued. "She personally welcomed Ginny, a human woman, as the daughter of Lemurian royalty, gave her a kiss that offered immortality, and then turned to dust . . . all in front of our citizens. When the sword appeared, replicated by Alton's, DarkFire spoke with Daria's voice. Later, when three of my men and I were in the energy vortex trying to keep demons from entering Lemuria, Ginny's sword turned mine and those of my men to crystal. I sensed Birk's could be changed as well. My sword doesn't yet speak, but she makes her wishes known."
"She? Your blade's spirit is female?" Birk looked at his blade. "Will mine have the spirit of a woman as well?"
Roland shook his head. "I don't know, Birk. But I do know that you now have a power you lacked before with that steel blade of yours. You have a weapon that will become your companion in battle, your advisor, your closest friend. But even better, you now have the weapon you need to battle demonkind, and win."
Chapter Ten
Dawson held tightly to Selyn's hand as they slipped through the last of the common passageways to the hidden tunnels that would lead them even deeper into the bowels of the Lemurian dimension. Roland led the way, his glimmering sword the only light now that they'd moved beyond the regular underground pathways.
"Selyn, have you ever been this far below before?" Dawson kept her hand clenched in his. He felt her tension, the nervous energy that had her breaths coming in short, staccato bursts and her feet occasionally stumbling on the rocky path.
"Never. We were forbidden to leave the levels where we lived and worked. I knew there were passages that led below, but I've never followed them. Roland, how did Taron find this way? From what I have heard, the citizens of Lemuria generally know little of the levels beyond their own, including the one where the Forgotten Ones live."
Roland held his sword high and checked a split in the tunnel ahead. "Taron was led by his crystal sword. I merely follow the markings he left on the walls." He pointed to a long scrape at eye level leading to the passage veering off to the right. "I've only been to the levels beneath yours once before, and never this far or deep. That other time, Taron met me halfway. We passed that point some time back, at that last set of steps. Come. I don't think it's too much farther."
The walls were damp and cold. In some areas, strange, luminescent algae added a soft, yet otherworldly glow to the passage. The constant sounds of water dripping, of their labored breathing, and the clatter of rocks and pebbles underfoot echoed ahead and behind.
There was something timeless about these passages, as if the three of them passed through more than space . . . as if they marched into time itself.
A shiver spiked along Dawson's spine. Time? He had no idea if it was day or night, how long since they'd left Sedona, how many hours since their last meal, since they'd last slept. Adrenaline coursed through his body, and he was high and filled with energy---and totally out of touch with time.
He rarely wore a wristwatch, and he hadn't thought to wear one today. What day was it? How long had they been here, and how much longer before they reached Taron, before they had swords for all the women?
Did it matter? Alton was waiting to hear from them, but he'd been prepared to wait.
This was truly a timeless realm, and Dawson passed here with a sense he walked on ground no human foot had ever trod, not only in a dimension separate from Earth's, but in an area that was basically off-limits to this dimension's inhabitants.
Who had created this labyrinth, what forces determined the tunnels and caverns, the odd forms of life? Though he knew the dimension existed within the volcanic core of Mount Shasta, the caves and passages they hiked through now were not volcanic in appearance. Instead, they reminded him of the limestone caves he'd clambered through when he was young.
Stalactites and stalagmites projected bizarre shadows and twists to the light from Roland's sword, and in some areas, brilliant color ran in bold bands across the walls and over the relatively smooth floor. It was an unworldly experience, almost beyond belief.
He thought of his clinic and the employees there who had no idea where their nerdy vet was spending his time away from work. How he wished he could share this adventure with them, but he had a feeling even the ghost of his Aunt Fiona might have trouble swallowing a story so bizarre.
He gazed at the strange glow shimmering along the walls, at the big man ahead. Felt the warmth of Selyn's fingers linked to his. He realized it wasn't all that easy to believe any of it himself.
Especially Selyn. She was beautiful and exotic and holding his hand. That alone defied belief.
A glow in the passageway ahead was the first hint they might be reaching the end of their journey. Roland glanced over his shoulder. "I'm hearing from Taron. He's got the swords finished, and they're all packed to go." He laughed. "It appears our young aristocrat is more than ready to leave this place. He misses his warm bathing pool!"
He picked up the pace until they were practically trotting down the dark tunnel toward a light that grew brighter the closer they got. It was almost as bright as day when they entered a huge cavern.
Dawson's first thought was that he'd stepped into a massive geode filled with diamonds. The walls curved high overhead and sparkled with clear crystalline facets reflecting an eerie blue light.
Taron stood near the center of the cavern, a man unlike anything Daws had expected. He was the same height as Alton, with a similar build and eyes the same brilliant emerald green, but his hair hung in braids of crimson silk, as fiery and true a red as the ruby sword.
He met them as they entered the cavern, smiling broadly at Roland and looking upon both Selyn and Dawson with obvious curiosity. He stretched his hand out to Dawson first. "So you're the human demon hunter I've heard of." Laughing, he shook Dawson's hand. "When Alton described how you sucked up demons with a shop vacuum and froze them in little bags, he could barely get the words out he laughed so hard. Excellent thinking. Nothing like taking a new approach. It's good to meet you."
Then he turned to Selyn and carefully took her hand. "It is a pleasure to meet you, as well. I've been told of your bravery. Roland says the sword was truly that of Artigos the Just, that our leader still lives. Your knowledge of his whereabouts may just alter the course of this fight in our favor. Thank you."
Dawson couldn't stop the chill that coursed along his spine when Taron held on to Selyn's hand for what seemed much too long. She certainly wasn't trying to pull out of his grasp, though she did send one uneasy glance in Dawson's direction. Then Taron released his hold on her and smiled at all of them.
"For the first time, I have hope we may actually prevail. What first felt like a fool's errand has already borne fruit. The swords are finished and ready, but knowing that Artigos the Just still lives, that I have had a small part in recreating his weapon so that you might return it to him . . ." He shook his head, as if denying all that had passed. "Amazing, to be part of history in the making," he said. "Absolutely amazing."
Then he showed them the wrapped bundles piled beside a ruby red altar near one crystalline wall of the cavern. Small glow sticks set on sconces on the walls were the source of the brilliant, cold blue light. As insignificant as the sticks were, their multiple reflections off the crystalline walls illuminated the entire cavern. Yet even with the light, as Dawson glanced around, he thought it was a cold and unforgiving place to have spent so many days creating swords for an untried army.
In spite of that unexpected frisson of jealousy, he had to admire Taron and what he'd accomplished. At the same time, he wondered what Selyn thought of the Lemurian aristocrat. She'd hardly known any other decent men. Would she be interested in this guy, one who was more like her? A man of the same people, with an immortal life span to match her own?
Shit. Daws shook his head and pulled his thoughts together. He had no right to be jealous of Taron or anyone else. No right to think along those lines. Selyn belonged to no man, especially not to Dawson Buck. It wasn't up to him to choose a man for Selyn, right or wrong. She was her own woman and would make up her own mind.
But then she reached for his hand, wrapped her fingers in his, and looked at him with such a serious expression on her face, that all his good intentions faded beneath the warmth of her touch and the subtle invitation in her smile.
Even wrapped in rough cloth and bundled together in nice, neat packs, the swords were heavy and difficult to carry. Since they hadn't come with scabbards, the women were going to have to come up with some way to carry them, but just getting a hundred weapons from the lower levels to the slave quarters was turning out to be more difficult than Selyn had imagined.
She had no idea if Birk and Artigos were having any success exorcising demons from the guards, which meant she and Dawson, Taron, and Roland had to slip in and out of this occupied level with every care possible.
She wished she knew what time it was, what the schedule might be, but she'd lost all track. Running on pure adrenaline made it harder to judge how long they'd been going now, but it had taken them longer to reach Taron than she'd expected, and it could be the middle of the night for all she knew.
Whatever. They would just have to trust to luck and hope they weren't entering the passages during a shift change for the guards, or at a time when patrols were moving through.
Once they reached the upper levels, Selyn took the lead. These dark passages and many tunnels had been her home for her entire life. She knew all the hidden pathways, all the places where guards would linger, where sound might carry.
Loaded down with a heavy bundle of crystal swords, she moved as quietly as she could. Even the slightest noises carried in these tunnels. The sound of their passing was only partially muffled by the ever-pervasive rumble of heavy mining equipment and the distant voices of the Forgotten Ones.
These were women who had known nothing beyond slavery. Their lives had been unchanging from the time they were old enough to pick gems from broken rock, mere toddlers sitting in small groups, searching for the shimmer of diamonds and rubies, hunting for emeralds and other precious stones.
As they'd grown, they'd taken on more physical labor. As adult women, they---like Selyn---were strong and broad shouldered, muscular as their mothers had been, and physically stronger than many men. Even so, they still spent part of each day searching for the gems that were so easily lost amid the rubble.
Gems they would never see in their final, cut form. Gems that would go to decorate ladies of the aristocracy, or be sold in trade to an outside world even the free folk never saw.
Selyn couldn't let herself think about the lies, the subterfuge, the horrible lives they'd all been subjected to, all because of demonkind. If what Artigos the Just said was the truth, all of them were victims. All of them subject to the evil plans of demons. Plans that were so far along and so well established and entrenched within Lemurian society, she could only pray they had some hope of changing what had been put in motion so many thousands of years ago.
Selyn stopped at the final portal leading to the more heavily traveled areas. Slowly and quietly she set her bundle on the ground. "I have to be sure the passage is clear. The living quarters are close---only a short walk away---but we can't afford discovery at this point."
Before the men could question her, she slipped through the portal and around a corner. The long tunnel was empty. The only voices she heard were the sounds of women in the nearby living quarters, talking quietly between shifts while others slept. She hurried back to the men. "I'm going to warn them we're coming. I don't want anyone to raise an alarm."
Dawson nodded. Then he shocked her by leaning close and kissing her. The gentle contact of his mouth on hers made her heart race, but it did something else. Something she hadn't expected.
It gave her the burst of confidence she needed to smile at him and turn away. To slip through the portal, and then to race down the brightly lit passage and walk boldly into the main room where her sisters, the Forgotten Ones, gathered.
There were at least thirty women here. The sense of homecoming almost brought Selyn to her knees. She'd been so afraid she'd never see any of them again.
"Selyn? Where the nine hells have you been? We've been searching for you!"
She hugged her friend Nica, but quickly stepped back. "I will tell you soon, but for now, I bring friends of mine. Wait until you see what they've brought us! Remember when I told you that there were members among the free folk who cared about our fate? That finally, we might have a chance at freedom? Some of you laughed at me; some of you believed."
It was all she could do not to burst into laughter. "This is something beyond our greatest expectations. Wake those who sleep so they may join us. Welcome us quietly. I have crystal blades for every single one of us."
Giving in to laughter, Selyn broke away from an entire room filled with women gasping in surprise, and raced back to the men. "Hurry. The way is still clear." Gathering up her bundle of swords, she led them through the portal and down the tunnel to the main gathering room.
At the sight of the strange men, the women backed away, some still rubbing their eyes from their hastily interrupted sleep. All of them watched anxiously as Selyn began unwrapping her bundle of swords. She lay five glimmering blades out on a long table and then stood before it.
"These men are here to help us. You've heard me speak of Roland of Kronus, a member of the Lemurian Guard and the first of the free folk, ever, to search for the truth behind the Forgotten Ones. Roland saved my life just a few days ago when I was captured by one of our guards and badly beaten. Roland is a brave and fearless man who has chosen to help us."
Roland bowed his head and then stepped back. Selyn smiled at him before gesturing toward Dawson. "This man is Dawson Buck, a human from Earth's dimension who has unselfishly agreed to help us find freedom. He risks much for a people he didn't even know existed until just a short time ago. We owe him our loyalty and our thanks."
She had to force herself not to allow her gaze to linger on Dawson. Even though he was tired and grimy from their long hours hiking between the levels, she still thought him absolutely gorgeous. Reluctantly, she looked away. "This man is Taron of Libernus, an aristocrat who has joined our cause. Taron has spent the past week replicating the crystal swords---one for each of the Forgotten Ones, that we be forgotten no longer."
She stood aside from the long table now covered with crystal swords. "As our mothers were warriors in the terrible DemonWars, so shall we fight."
Taron stepped forward with his two bundles and set them on the floor at Selyn's feet. "Stay with your sisters, Selyn. Explain what's happening both here and above. We're going after the rest of the swords." He raised his head and smiled at the gathering of women. "Listen to Selyn. She's had a most amazing adventure, one all of you will have the opportunity to join."
Selyn shot him a quick grin. Taron nodded. Then he and Roland headed for the door. Dawson paused a moment, reached for her, and kissed her full on the mouth, in front of her sisters. "Be careful," he said. And then he was gone, and Selyn faced a very curious group of her oldest friends.
"So," she said, "that is where we stand now. What began as a battle against demons infiltrating Earth's dimension has evolved into an all-out war against demonkind. Already we are learning what actually happened to the women warriors. Our mothers were not betrayed by the Lemurian people. They were betrayed by demons in the guise of their fellow citizens. No wonder it was so hard for them to fight the purge. Their terrible exile wasn't ordered by their peers. It was entirely the fault of demonkind."
"The guards? Are they the ones who fathered us, or were they demons? Who do we kill to avenge the degradation of our mothers?"
Selyn sighed. This was not going to be easy. "The guards are victims of demonkind, just as our mothers were, as we are. That's the truth, Isra. Once the demons have been removed from the guards, you'll see that they are people just as we are. Good people at heart who have been badly used by demonkind. Have you never wondered why we were not sexually assaulted as well? I can only guess that is one sin the guards were able to fight. When you see Birk, you'll believe what I say is true."
"Birk? That bastard." Isra spit on the ground between them. "I'd rather kill him."
Selyn stroked one of the crystal blades. "He asked me to kill him. I chose instead to forgive him and ask him to help us. He is doing that, even now."
Isra glared at her. "You may choose to forgive. That is your right. When I carry crystal, I will kill him and any other guard. Which of these is mine?"
"I don't know." Selyn picked up another bundle, carefully unwrapped it and lay the swords out on the table beside the first ones. "Each crystal will respond only to its master. The blade will glow. Do not try to pick up a sword that doesn't glow for you."
"Why?" Isra planted her fists on her hips. "What will happen if we choose the one we want?"
Selyn shrugged. "I imagine you could die."
A soft gasp went up about the room. Isra's head snapped back as if she'd been slapped. "You're lying."
It had been a damned long day and an even longer week. She'd never been all that fond of Isra anyway. The woman's temper was always sour, and she loved to harass anyone smaller or weaker than herself.
Selyn really didn't have time for this right now. She folded her arms across her chest and sighed. "Fine, then. Go right ahead. See what happens when you decide to choose your own sword. Just don't say I didn't warn you. Of course, if you're dead, you won't be saying much at all, will you?"
Isra glared at her a moment. Then she planted a hand on Selyn's chest and shoved her aside. Slowly she walked the length of the two long tables, studying each sword. Selyn ignored her and continued to unwrap the bundles. Carefully, touching only the silver hilt, she placed each new weapon beside the last.
They looked identical, but Selyn could feel a slight difference in each one, as if the individual personality of its spirit had somehow changed the balance, the grip, the way the crystal reflected light. None had yet glowed for her. She wasn't worried. She knew there was a sword for her, one with a spirit that would match her perfectly.
Just as her mother's spirit fit Eddy Marks.
Isra stopped and stared at Selyn. "I want this one."
Selyn glanced at the sword. It looked just like all the others. "Does it glow for you?"
"What does that mean?"
"When you pass your hand over the blade, does the blade glow? Shimmer, as if from an inner light."
"That's a myth. They're just swords."
Selyn chuckled. "If you believe that, go right ahead. But I warn you once again, if the sword does not glow for you, it is not yours to claim."
"You lie." Isra grabbed the hilt of her chosen sword. Blue light flashed. She screamed and dropped the blade. The smell of burning flesh filled the room as Isra grabbed her singed hand and glared at Selyn. "I don't know how, but you did that to me, bitch. Watch your back, Selyn. No one attacks me and lives to tell about it. No one."
She spun around and shoved her way through the gathered women. Silently, Selyn watched her go. Then she went back to unpacking the swords, though once she glanced up at the others she wondered what they thought of Isra, if her words had frightened any of them. No matter. This was bigger than one ill-tempered woman.
The others milled about, staring curiously at the swords. No one remarked on Isra or her dramatic exit.
Selyn set another sword out on the table. "If you like, walk past the swords and hold your hand above each one for a moment. If the blade pulses with light, you may pick it up. The sword probably won't speak to you, but the glow will tell you the blade is meant to be yours. But remember. Don't talk about them away from here, and don't let the guards see them. We can't risk discovery. Not when we're this close."
"Which is yours?"
Selyn didn't see who asked the question, but she merely set the next blade on the table. "I have no idea. I imagine one will glow for me as well." At least she hoped that would happen. She opened the final bundle and set the swords out, one by one. None of these had acknowledged her. Not one of them was hers.
Almost thirty blades lay along the tables, half as many blades as there were women in the room. She stood back and watched as her sisters walked slowly along the tables. Hands hovered above swords with blades that reflected the light, but did not shimmer on their own.
"Nine hells! It glows for me."
"Look. Selyn, come and see. Nica's found one."
She choked back the surge of jealousy that slammed into her. This was the reason she was here, why she'd carried swords to this room, to match them to their perfect mates. And if anyone in this room deserved crystal, it was Nica.
She'd long been Selyn's friend, a quiet little thing who was a favorite among all of them with her good heart, yet strong sense of purpose. Nica stood in front of the glowing sword, transfixed by the shimmer and pulse of light along the crystal blade. Almost fearfully, she raised her head and stared at Selyn. "What do I do now?"
Selyn grinned at her. "Pick it up!"
Cautiously, Nica reached for the hilt. Her fingers trembled, her teeth worried her bottom lip, and she looked almost on the verge of tears. Then her fingers wrapped around the pommel, and it slipped perfectly into her grasp.
"Oh."
Her soft whisper was almost lost in the brilliant flash of light from the blade. Nica raised her head, and this time her eyes glowed as brightly as her blade. "I feel it. The sword isn't actually speaking to me, but I can feel a connection. She is meant to be with me."
"That's wonderful." Selyn leaned close and kissed her cheek. "It looks good in your hand, though we'll need to practice once everyone has met their match." She glanced up. "And we'll need a way to carry them. A scabbard or sheath of some kind. Something that will allow you to reach your sword easily in battle."
One more thing to worry about. She glanced toward the door and hoped like the nine hells that none of the guards would come snooping around. They rarely came near the living quarters.
The women were still passing by the blades. More of them had found swords and connected with their match by the time the men returned with the second load of bundles. Dawson knelt and began unwrapping one. "I'm going to stay and help. Roland and Taron can manage the rest of the blades."
"Good. The shift is about to change. We'll have more women here in a moment. So far there are only a dozen or so matches."
Nica joined Selyn and flopped down on the ground next to the bundle of swords Dawson was unwrapping. She cradled her own crystal blade in her lap. "To be exact, Selyn, there are fourteen matches, and one very pissed off Isra. Ignore her threat at your own risk. She is more hateful than ever."
Dawson raised his head. "What threat? Who threatened you?"
"Nica's exaggerating. It was nothing," Selyn said.
"It was Isra," Nica added. "She wanted a sword that had not acknowledged her. When Selyn warned her, she tried to take it anyway, and her fingers were badly burned." Nica shook her head, all the while stroking her crystal blade. "She will be a dangerous enemy, Selyn. I don't want anything to happen to you."
Dawson grinned at her. "Neither do I, Nica. I want Selyn in one piece. Could this Isra be possessed?"
Nica shot a concerned glance at Selyn. "I don't know. How do you tell?"
Dawson pointed to the blade in her lap. "Next time you're near Isra, ask your blade. Some can tell. If she is possessed, we'll know how to deal with her. If she's just a bitch, that's another problem." He laughed. "Look. Two more blades have been claimed."
"We need to get the rest of them up." Selyn grabbed two more and set them out. Dawson helped, and before long the tables were covered in crystal swords.
Dawson looped an arm over her shoulders. "Yours must be in the last batch. Roland and Taron will be back soon. I imagine you're growing anxious."
She didn't answer him. She watched as---one after another---more of her sisters claimed a shimmering crystal blade. The first group of women had either taken their swords and gone back to sleep or they'd left to take their shift in the mines. A few who'd been so quickly awakened hours earlier still waited, though the excitement levels were high enough to keep everyone alert.
The ones who'd just gotten off their shift were now looking over the blades, hearing the story of demon possession and the discovery of Artigos the Just.
Selyn was impressed by their calm acceptance of all that had happened, though she knew it wasn't going to be easy to convince all of them that they would have to work with the same men who had been so cruel to them over the years.
Nor did she want to think of all they had to accomplish before this small army of slaves would be prepared to actually go forth and, if necessary, fight. None of them had ever imagined battling demonkind.
None had dreamed of ever holding crystal.
She had, though. Over the past few days, since meeting Roland and learning of the replicated swords, Selyn had dreamed of holding her very own blade, of finally understanding how her mother had felt as she'd marched into battle, paired with sentient crystal.
Where was her sword? What if it wasn't in the last bundle?
Selyn hung on to Dawson and hoped she'd not be a Forgotten One when all the swords were finally matched to her sisters.
Chapter Eleven
Marigold Moonbeam Schwartz definitely had known better days. Even though she felt like she had to sit on her hands to keep from doing or saying something she'd regret, she managed to stay quietly in the shadows. Her mother was a skilled witch with years' more experience than Mari, but it was so difficult not to make at least a few tiny suggestions.
Gritting her teeth, she breathed deeply of the soothing, vanilla-scented candle her mother had lit and set to one side of the daybed here in her parents' home. With a studied patience she really didn't feel, Mari watched while Spirit sprinkled herbs around the dazed and bound Lemurian chancellor, while Freedom, Mari's dad and Spirit's long-suffering spouse, sat and tapped out a monotonous rhythm on his worn set of bongo drums.
Thank goodness she had Darius here as a reminder that yes, magic did exist, and no, her parents were not nearly as loony as she'd always thought. And, if Mari still doubted, there was that sliver of bespelled crystal lodged forever in her heart, the crystal that---along with Darius's crystal sword---had given her immortality.
Some days, the boring banker's life she'd once led didn't sound all that bad, but today was just flat out terrifying. Life had been simpler when all she'd had to worry about was whether or not she'd still have her job come morning, or who her ex-fiancé was sleeping with now.
Ever since Eddy Marks and her sexy lover Dax, the ex-demon, had brought Chancellor Artigos to her parents' house last night, Mari had been worried. She was barely used to this whole "invasion by demons" thing, much less the fact that Lemurians weren't just a silly legend after all, or that she was a witch with some pretty amazing powers she'd never expected.
Her skills as a witch were so new, however, that she'd immediately deferred to her mother's expertise in the matter of drawing a demon out of the Lemurian leader. And she sure wished Eddy and Dax and even that talking dog of theirs had hung around a bit longer, but they'd gone without sleep for much too long and needed rest. Having Eddy and her amazing crystal sword close by with all this other weird shit going on was a constant reassurance to Mari that she wasn't completely wacko.
There were only so many new things a girl should have to accept at one time, and this week had taken Mari over the top. In just the past few days she'd lost her job, her fiancé, her car, and her heart.
Literally. Not only had she fallen in love with a Lemurian guardsman, she'd battled demons with magic and died.
None of that had been on her schedule when she'd headed home to Evergreen to help her mom run the little crystal shop Spirit had owned for almost forty years.
Neither had exorcising demons.
Now, though, Mari's heart went out to Gaia, the Lemurian chancellor's lovely wife. The woman obviously loved her husband and worried terribly about him. How she managed to sit so calmly with such a regal look about her while a strange witch and an even stranger wizard attempted a dangerous exorcism was beyond Mari. Of course, after this past week, Mari felt like there was a whole lot way beyond her.
Gaia had every right to be worried. Demon possession was a terrifying concept, and if what her old friend Eddy Marks had told her was even half true, demonkind had already staked a powerful foothold in Lemurian society and was currently pushing hard against Earth's totally unprepared defenses.
She'd seen evidence of that push with her own eyes, right here in Evergreen. Thank goodness she had Darius and his amazing crystal sword for protection. Mari was getting better with her demon-killing spells, but she still had a long way to go before she could wield magic the way Darius wielded his crystal blade.
The chancellor let out a long, low groan. His body arched, straining against the ropes that tied him closely to the bed. Gaia leapt to her feet, but Darius was there immediately, catching hold of her arm and steadying her as her husband began to cry out, thrashing back and forth on the bed.
Spirit's voice rose, and her rhyming chant took on a fierce resonance. Freedom pounded the drums harder and faster, until the thundering beat seemed to meld with Spirit's spell.
The growing pressure in the room drew Mari to her feet. She moved closer to her mother as a palpable sense of dread closed in about them. Darius drew his sword while still keeping one arm wrapped tightly around Gaia's slim waist.
He glanced at Mari. Go to your mother, he said, speaking to her, mind to mind. She needs your strength to battle this demon. It feels like a powerful foe, one that intends to fight back.
Quickly Mari moved to stand beside her mother. Spirit reached for her without pausing in her continuous chant. Her hand latched tightly onto Mari's.
The moment the two women connected, Spirit's voice gained power. Vibrating now with Mari's added strength, her words seemed to take on an actual presence. Freedom's drumming picked up speed as Artigos writhed and twisted against his bonds.
Mari joined her mother's chant. She had no idea how she knew the words to say, where she might have learned this spell, but she had no doubt she owned these words, this powerful magic. She raised her voice as if in song, chanting in counterpoint to her mother's strong voice, adding her own pure contralto as she worked with Spirit to draw the demon out.
This was no common foe. It wasn't anything like the simple creatures of darkness she'd fought with Darius. This thing that existed within Artigos, this powerful entity had grown in strength for millennia. Somehow, Mari knew it had sucked much of the life force from its host, existing as a parasite within the Lemurian leader. Feeding from him even as it controlled him.
Mari knew these things just as she knew the words to say. She had no idea how or why, or where her newfound magic powers came from, though she was learning to accept them. To accept the woman she was becoming, just as she accepted that tiny shard of crystal embedded in her heart---a piece of magic that had changed her life forever.
She felt Darius beside her and loved him all the more for his steady presence and honor, for the strength he gave so freely so that she might work this spell. She had accepted him just as easily---evidence of the changes in her life and herself.
Aware of the growing magic---of the power pouring through her body---Mari raised her hands above her head. Vaguely she sensed when her mother stepped back and relinquished the spell to her.
Without truly understanding how or why she knew what to do, Mari let her hands fly in an intricate dance, as if she drew forth a long thread from the chancellor's body. Singing now in an unfamiliar language, her voice rose and fell in an ancient rhyme, in words only the demon would understand.
Hand over hand, she pulled an invisible thread from Artigos's body. She could feel the thread. It was no longer something of her imagination. Now it was an ice cold line with tensile strength, anchored tightly to something within the chancellor, pulling back even as Mari pulled forth with all her might.
Artigos had stopped fighting her and lay still. His eyes were wide open, and he watched her, but she knew the demon saw through the chancellor's eyes. Hatred burned in him and the sense of dread, of evil, grew stronger the harder Mari tugged the invisible line.
The drumming became a heartbeat, a thundering call to the demon that the creature fought with all his ancient power. He denied its seductive lure with every bit of his evil will, but Mari was stronger. Her voice rose and fell in song, and her fingers danced, hand over hand, straining at the heavy weight that somehow anchored the line deep within the Lemurian chancellor.
The thread glowed a dark and fiery red, yet the temperature in the room dropped until Mari's breath puffed from between her lips in frozen clouds of steam. She pulled harder, but the demon actively fought her now, until it felt as if she were trying to land a huge fish on the end of a line. Her hands burned from the horrible cold and the sharp bite of the line she pulled. The tension grew stronger, as if the demon wanted to drag her down with it, down into the hell that had been the chancellor's soul.
Blood flecked her hands where the frozen line cut into her fingers, but she wrapped it around her palms and pulled even harder. Her shoulders ached, and her fingers burned. Her breath came in gasps.
Spirit moved close and stood behind her daughter. She rested her hands on Mari's shoulders, sharing her strength and holding her steady.
Power bloomed in Mari---her mother's power---and she reached down, closer to the chancellor's rigid body, until she grabbed hold of the icy line close up against his chest, wrapped it once again around both her hands in spite of the blood and the pain, and gave a mighty pull.
There was a horrible screeching sound, as if metal dragged against metal. Artigos cried out, and the room filled with the sulfuric stench of demon.
Spirit fell back, and Freedom's hands paused above his drums. Eyes wide, he stared at the black, oily mass that Mari dragged slowly out of Chancellor Artigos. The bound man screamed again, a horrible shriek of unimaginable pain.
Gaia cried out and reached for her husband, but Darius shoved her behind him. He thrust savagely with his crystal blade and caught the demon as it began to take shape mere inches above the chancellor's body---but it wasn't focusing on Artigos.
It was looming over Mari, growing in form and substance, finding its demonic shape, and reaching for her with multiple arms and long, sharp claws.
Darius's sword passed through the oily mass. Sparks flew, and the creature howled, but Mari still held on to the line connecting her to the fearsome thing.
"Mari!" Darius shouted as he drove his blade into the demon. "Turn it loose. Let it go!"
Mari untangled her hands and dropped the line. She spun out of the way as Darius struck the demon once again. This time his blade cut true. More sparks flashed. There was a loud concussion that felt and sounded like a sonic boom. The demon let out a horrible banshee cry and burst into a roiling ball of fire that blossomed upward, spreading out in a mushroom cloud of smoke and flames against the ceiling.
Freedom grabbed Spirit and rolled her to the floor, protecting her body with his. Darius shielded his eyes with his left arm and swept his crystal blade through the remnants of the dying demon. Then, as the flames and smoke dissipated, he quickly sheathed his blade and reached for Mari.
She'd thrown herself over the chancellor's body to protect him from the burning demon. Now, head down and gasping for air, she trembled from head to foot as she pushed herself away from the man and reached for Darius. He leaned over and gathered her up in his arms. Blood trickled from her hands and ran down her wrists, but she didn't care. Hanging tightly to his neck, she hugged him close as he carried her across the room to an overstuffed couch and sat down with her in his lap.
Gaia ran to her husband's side. "Artigos? My love, are you all right?"
"I need to go to him." Mari tried to crawl out of Darius's arms, but he held her close.
"Not yet," he whispered. "Let Gaia have a moment with her husband. She's the one he should respond to, if he can."
Spirit and Freedom---who moved slowly and painfully from recent surgery---walked unsteadily across the room. Spirit flopped down on the couch beside Darius and Mari. She handed Mari a towel to wipe the blood from her hands, staring blankly at her daughter and shaking her head in disbelief. Then she let out a big breath of air and said, "What the fuck was that?"
"Mother!" Mari choked back a startled laugh.
Spirit just shook her head. "I'm serious. Really. What was that disgusting thing?"
"That was a demon, Mother. A very large and powerful demon, if I'm right."
Darius kissed the top of Mari's head. "I've seen a lot of demons, but I've never seen anything like that one. It was beginning to take form when I killed it, something they can't easily do in this dimension." He sighed and stared at Gaia and Artigos. "I imagine it's been part of the chancellor for so long that it's gained strength from him, living off his life force."
"Look." Mari gestured toward Gaia and Artigos. Gaia had loosened the ropes that bound her husband and was helping him sit up. He appeared confused, but at least he was alive. This time when Mari tried to stand up, Darius turned her free.
She helped Gaia get the chancellor settled on the edge of the bed. "Are you okay, Chancellor?"
Artigos gazed at Mari with an almost childlike expression. Then he turned to his wife. "Who is she, Gaia, my dear? Who is this woman, and why does she wear such strange garments?"
Mari glanced down at her faded blue jeans and the ribbed sweater she wore. Softly, she said, "I'm Mari, Chancellor. I helped remove a demon that's been living inside you."
He stared at Mari for a long moment. Then he merely looked away and smiled at his wife. "Will you take me home, my love? I really want to go home now."
Gaia smiled, but her eyes were filled with tears. "Later, Arti. When you've rested. Lie down now, dear, and sleep."
He nodded, still smiling sweetly. Then he obediently turned and lay back down on the bed. Gaia covered him with a soft quilt. Freedom quietly gathered up his drums, and Spirit swept up the herbs she'd scattered. The last thing she did was lean over and blow out the vanilla-scented candle she'd left burning beside the daybed.
Mari and Darius followed the others out of the room. Gaia paused at the door. "I'll stay with him," she said.
Mari took her hand. "Is he okay, Gaia? He sounded almost like a little kid."
Gaia nodded. "I believe the demon has taken much of my husband's spirit, but he is alive, and he remembers me. That's all I can ask for. Go now. Sleep." She sighed and glanced at her sleeping husband. "I have a feeling you're going to need your rest, that things are about to move very quickly."
Mari glanced at Darius. "I'm afraid you might be right. If you need anything, Gaia, I'll be here a while longer. I'm going back to my own apartment in a bit, but my mother and father are just down the hall." Then she and Darius left the room together, while Gaia returned to her husband's side.
Mari's mother waited in the living room. She handed the telephone to Mari. "It's Eddy. She wants to know how he's doing."
"I'll take it." Mari grabbed the phone and tried to figure out how to explain exactly what had just happened. She still wasn't entirely positive. The demon was gone, but what was left of the chancellor? That was not the ruler of an entire civilization sleeping on her mother's daybed. Not anymore.
Alton ran his finger down the list one more time and sighed. "Six out of the nine---if you include my father---possessed by demonkind. I had no idea it was this serious."
Ginny chewed on her bottom lip and stared at the names. She'd sat beside Alton the night before when he'd called the council members together, and DarkFire had confirmed her suspicions. "That gave them a clear majority when your father was chancellor. Six against three, and those three have no idea what they're up against. Even with you now siding with the three who aren't possessed, demons still have a simple majority."
"I wonder why those three haven't been taken over? What is it that protects some and not others?"
Ginny shook her head. "I'm not sure, though they all appear to be decent, honorable men. Maybe it's the strength of a person's character, his personal honor. Integrity? Who knows?"
Alton smiled sadly. "I have a feeling you're right, though I hate to think that's it. I would rather believe my father's possession was more arbitrary, not that he was so weak that he allowed the possession to occur."
Alton's sword pulsed blue. "Someone comes. DarkFire has removed the lock on the portal. Be prepared."
Ginny didn't say a word. Instead, she slipped behind a curtain hiding a storage closet, where she had a limited view of the room, but wouldn't be visible to anyone coming through the portal. She'd barely gotten out of sight when two men barged into the room without announcing themselves first as was the normal protocol.
She recognized Maxl and Drago, the same ones who had sent a third to snoop through the chancellor's office. Obviously they weren't all that big on proper procedure.
Alton stood up, towering over both men. "Maxl. Drago. What brings you here?"
Drago drew himself up to his full height, which, while above average by human standards, made for a rather small Lemurian. "As chosen representatives of the Council of Nine, we demand to know what you've done with Artigos. We have no proof he's taken ill, no proof you haven't kidnapped him, or even murdered him to usurp his position. Your mother is missing. Have you kidnapped her as well?"
Alton folded his arms across his chest and looked down his nose at both men. "And what did the two of you have in mind, searching for my mother? She has no part to play with the council. Where she is and what she does is no one's business but her own."
"Not if you've harmed her. She's a good woman." Maxl took a step closer, invading Alton's space.
"That she is, Maxl. A very good woman, which is why she chose to be with my father while he is being treated."
"Where?" Drago slapped his palm down on the desk beside Alton. "Where is Artigos and what kind of treatment? He was perfectly okay when we saw him last."
"That's right," Maxl said. He was an even smaller man than Drago, but every bit as pompous. "We know you, Alton. You've been a bane to your father's existence for as long as we can recall. There is no way he would turn his seat over to you and that impersonator who calls herself a Lemurian."
Ginny sensed Alton's anger---his very powerful struggle for control. There was steel in his voice when he answered. She wondered if Maxl and Drago had any idea just how furious Alton was---or how close they both were to ending up in a world of hurt.
"You will leave my woman out of any conversation, Maxl. Remember that if you wish to survive long enough to remain a member of the council."
"Are you threatening me, Alton? Please, continue. Especially since I have a witness."
Drago shook his head. "There's no need, Maxl. Alton, you've refused to tell us where to find Chancellor Artigos, who is the rightful leader of the council. We have no choice but to call a vote when we next meet. There is a solid majority willing to vote you out of your position. We can't remove you from the council without a two-thirds vote, but we can take you out of the chancellor's seat."
Ginny'd heard all she could take. Gritting her teeth, she stepped into the room. "I'd like to see you try it, Drago. Do you have any idea what's going on here?" She got right in Drago's face. "You and Maxl are possessed. You harbor demons in your black little hearts. Are you aware of that?"
DarkFire glowed in the scabbard and actually vibrated against Ginny's back. She slipped the dark crystal free and held it firmly under Drago's nose. The blade shimmered with its unusual dark light, and tiny purple sparks raced up and down the blade. Both Maxl and Drago moved back a pace.
Drago was the first to regain his composure. "Standing behind a woman, eh, Alton?"
Alton shook his head and grinned at Ginny. "No. Not at all. I stand beside Ginny in all things." He whipped HellFire from his scabbard, but he merely held the weapon as if he were showing it off. "Interesting thing about a sentient sword. Not only does it speak with the voice of an ancient warrior, it has powers we're only now beginning to fully understand."
He turned the blade this way and that, flashing light off the facets in a mesmerizing, hypnotic pattern. Both Maxl and Drago stared unwillingly at the blade, as if their gazes were trapped in the flashing, dancing light.
Though, as aristocrats, the men must have had crystal swords of their own, Ginny figured they were probably stashed in a closet somewhere. They weren't wearing them at the moment, and no way would crystal work for anyone possessed by demonkind. They certainly wouldn't shimmer and sparkle the way HellFire did, but it was obvious to Ginny that Alton's blade was showing off.
Finally, with what had to be a powerful act of will, Drago forced his attention away from the shimmering blade. He blinked owlishly a moment. Then he scowled and focused his anger on Alton. "What kind of powers? What do you speak of?"
Alton smiled. It was the kind of expression that sent chills along Ginny's spine---and they weren't the good kind.
"Well, for instance, HellFire and DarkFire work really well together. Take Maxl here. We discovered last night he was not alone in his body. He's got a parasite living with him. An ugly, dangerous parasite."
Maxl glanced from the crystal blade to Drago and then stared at Alton. "I don't have any parasite in me. What are you talking about?"
"This." Alton pointed HellFire at Maxl. Ginny did the same with DarkFire, and brilliant beams like laser fire shot from both swords. Blue-white light from Alton's. Dark, dark purple from DarkFire.
The blast of light bathed Maxl in cold flame, and he stiffened, caught in the laser-bright power of the crystal. Drago backed away and shielded his eyes, coughing as the room filled with the stench of sulfur. After a full minute, Alton lowered his sword.
Ginny did the same. She glanced up and caught his shrug as he sheathed HellFire. Drago clutched his partner's arm and steadied him. Then he cursed Alton. "What the nine hells was that all about?"
Alton folded his arms over his chest. "Do you recognize that stench, Drago? It's the scent of demonkind. That's the parasite Ginny was talking about. She was not making a joke when she said both you and Maxl are possessed by demons. So are your cohorts on the council. Have you invited the bastards in, or did they take you unawares? How does it feel, to know that you serve Abyss and demonkind, not Lemuria?"
"You lie, Alton. Everything you say is a lie. Your days are sorely numbered, Alton of No One. What right have you to attack a member of the council?" Looping an arm around the other man's waist, Drago helped Maxl walk drunkenly away from Alton. Then the two of them passed through the portal.
Alton stared at the dark gateway. Then he whispered, "Every right, Drago. Every right as a proud Lemurian and heir to the chancellor's seat. I will not let demonkind prevail."
He sighed, put his arm around Ginny's shoulders, and hugged her close. "We should have killed the demon. A little more power would have forced the creature out."
Ginny shook her head. "If we'd removed the demon, it could have killed Maxl. Even if we wanted to, I don't believe either of our swords would allow it."
"You're probably right. But damn it all, it would sure make our job a lot easier." He leaned down and kissed her. "Or not."
Ginny kissed him back. "We will win, Alton. Somehow. But you need to retain your position. How long can you hold off a vote?"
"A couple of days, max. Drago is right. They've got the numbers to boot me out of the chancellor's office. I haven't got a chance of pulling any of this off if I'm not the chancellor. What are we going to do, Ginny?"
"Hope like hell your grandfather is still alive, that Taron gets the swords to the Forgotten Ones, and that your father comes through his exorcism okay. Oh, and that the demon king doesn't decide to make a reappearance."
He chuckled and kissed her again. "That's all? What the nine hells could possibly go wrong?"
Exactly. Ginny stared at the portal and refused to let herself think of all the potential for failure, and how little chance of success they really had.
Chapter Twelve
Two swords remained. One was pure, clear crystal. The other a deep, ruby red, just like the blade they'd delivered to Artigos the Just. Selyn sucked in a nervous breath and hoped like the nine hells that the red sword wasn't hers. She wanted clear crystal. A sword exactly like the one her mother had carried.
Not one that frightened her. The red blade radiated power, a sense of force that had all the other women giving it a wide berth.
Its presence hadn't kept any of the others from finding their true matches, though. Every one of her sisters---except Isra, who had yet to return to the room---had claimed crystal.
Every single one except for Selyn. None had responded to her. Not even the slightest glimmer. Now she stood beside the table with her hands clasped tightly against the small of her back. What if neither of these belonged to her? What if, among all the Forgotten Ones, she truly had been forgotten?
She glanced at Dawson. He stood beside her as he had throughout the long day, reeling from exhaustion just as she was, but celebrating every time a sword had gone to one of the women. The level of excitement within the gathering room had grown as, one by one, woman and blade bonded.
"Aren't you going to see which one is yours?"
She slanted a glance at Dawson without turning away from the swords and whispered, "What if neither one is mine?"
He whispered his reply. "You'll never know if you don't take a chance."
She heard the tired laughter in his voice. Turned and really looked at him. The intensity in his eyes, the soft smile on his lips made his dare so sweet she couldn't ignore it. Taking a deep breath, Selyn cautiously reached out and passed her hand over the ruby blade. Thank the gods. . . . Nothing.
She exhaled, a long, slow release of tension. Then she closed her eyes and held her hand over the clear crystal. She heard Dawson chuckle and opened her eyes. The blade shimmered beneath her hand. She blinked. It pulsed and flashed to life with a brilliant blue glow that warmed her deep inside.
Trembling, speechless, Selyn shot another quick look at Dawson. His huge smile brought tears to her eyes. Disbelief warred with joy as she wrapped her hand around the silver hilt. The sense of connection was instantaneous---the perfect fit, the ideal weight and balance---proof this was truly her very own crystal sword. She lifted it from the table, lost entirely in the shimmering light that rippled along the faceted blade.
Without speaking, she turned to Dawson, holding her sword before her to show him the blade---the one that had chosen her. Dawson's eyes sparkled, but why was he looking at her face?
Couldn't he see that her crystal sword was more beautiful than anything she'd ever held? More precious than any gift she'd ever been given?
"You are so beautiful," he said.
Selyn blinked. Didn't he mean the sword? She frowned at him, and he laughed.
"You are. Don't look at me like that."
"Like what?"
"Like you're going to lop my head off with your new sword." He put his arms around her and kissed her, right there in the gathering room, in front of her sisters.
She lowered the sword, wrapped her free arm around his neck, and kissed him back. It was only going to be a short little kiss, just to celebrate a job well done, but his mouth moved slowly over hers, and Selyn made no attempt to pull away.
What was it about this man? She wanted to be closer to him. Wanted what came after kisses, though her idea of what that might be was pretty unclear. No matter. Kissing was wonderful.
"Is this one mine?"
Isra's rude sneer jerked Selyn back to the present and out of Dawson's loose embrace. She blinked, took a sharp breath, and held more firmly to her own blade. Shrugging, she said, "It's the only one left, but you'd better check to make sure."
Isra scowled and gave her a truly hateful look. Then she passed her hand over the blade. Nothing happened. "What's it supposed to do?"
"It will glow for you, if you're meant to carry it. I told you that already."
"It does nothing."
Selyn sighed. "I don't know what to say, Isra." She gestured toward the other women still gathered in the hall. Most had either gone off to their work or to the barracks where they were sleeping in preparation for the next shift, but the few who remained were all armed with crystal. "All of our sisters did exactly what you just did---they passed their hands over a particular blade, and it would glow. For some, it took many different blades before they found the right sword; for others, the first one glowed for them."
"There are no others for me to try. I want mine."
Dawson cleared his throat and gently nudged Selyn. She nodded slightly. He was more than welcome to explain what might have happened. Selyn had her suspicions---she had a feeling hers were the same as Dawson's.
"Selyn told me you were burned when you tried to pick one up that wasn't yours," he said. "Possibly that action angered the spirit in whatever sword might have been meant for you. There are intelligent, thinking souls inhabiting each of these swords. Maybe, at a later time, if you show yourself worthy . . ."
Probably not the best thing to say. Selyn watched as Isra turned red, and she wasn't at all surprised when the woman let fly with a few choice curses. Dawson didn't back down, nor did he offer an apology. There was no reason to---not when he was probably right.
When he didn't rise to her anger, Isra turned and stalked away. Selyn watched her go with mixed emotions. She knew what it felt like to see everyone else matched with a blade, but she'd been the target of Isra's wrath often enough not to feel all that sorry for her.
She glanced at her own blade and wondered if it would have reacted to Isra if she'd been possessed, if it might have somehow communicated that information to her. There'd been no sign from her weapon that anything about the woman was at all dangerous or unusual.
"What of this sword?" Dawson glanced at the ruby blade still lying on the table. Then he looked around the hall where small groups of women were gathered.
Selyn followed his gaze. A few of them still worked with Taron as he led them in more intricate battle moves than he'd shown them earlier. Roland had also done some training, but then he'd had to return to the upper levels and his position in the Lemurian Guard.
It appeared the women were learning quickly. Already their form had improved, and their comfort with the crystal blades was obvious. Selyn remembered how it had felt to fight Birk with Artigos the Just's crystal blade---it wasn't even hers, and yet she'd known how to thrust, where to place her feet, how to fight. She'd loved the feeling the sword gave her. Loved the confidence she felt wielding crystal.
Dawson's voice broke into her thoughts. She turned to face him. "I figured it was going to be hers," he said, still looking at the ruby sword. "It's so different from the others. I wonder who it's meant for."
The crimson blade pulsed with light. Dawson frowned and looked closer. "Did you see that?" He reached toward the pommel. The blade shimmered blood red and pulsed again, this time with a rhythmic beat like that of a living heart.
"Daws? Is it yours?"
He stared at the glimmering blade. "I don't know why it would be. I'm not Lemurian."
Selyn shook her head. "No, you're not, but you've joined our battle. Maybe that's all that matters. Pick it up." She tilted her chin and grinned at him. "Aren't you going to at least try?"
He jammed both hands in his pockets and stared first at the sword, then at Selyn. Then at the sword again. "Except for the silver pommel, it looks like the one you gave to Artigos. He's royalty. How can it be mine?"
A few of the women had gathered around. "Did it glow for you?" Nica looked over another's shoulder. "If it glowed, it's yours. You have to take it."
Selyn laughed out loud. "You'll never know if you don't take a chance," she said, repeating what he'd said to her.
Frowning, Dawson shook his head and reached for the silver pommel. It slipped into his palm, and he slowly wrapped his fingers around the hilt. Selyn knew exactly what he was thinking, what he was feeling as he raised the sword and stared into the ruby facets. The look on his face was one of utter bemusement---and complete and total wonder.
The fact he'd not expected a crystal sword had to make this moment all that much sweeter. She watched him as he turned the blade this way and that, catching light off its many facets, getting a feel for the weight in his hand.
The small group of women were smiling right along with Selyn, and her pride in Dawson made her feel almost weak in the knees. He was not afraid to show his joy. Not afraid to let the emotions of this moment shine through on his handsome face and in the sparkle in his brilliant blue eyes.
He was unlike any man she'd ever known, and that knowledge both filled her with great joy and terrified her. For the first time in her long and empty years, she had something to lose, something that mattered, and it wasn't just the crystal sword grasped so tightly in her hand.
There were no words to express Dawson's feelings. None. Daws spun the sword beneath the light and watched the blood-red blade catch fire with each twist and turn of his wrist.
He sensed the life in it, felt it pulse from the blade to the hilt, up his arm, and into his body as if he and the weapon were a single entity. He'd been on the fencing team in college, but those thin rapiers were nothing like this beautiful blade.
"Daws! What the nine hells have you got there?" Taron broke away from the women he'd been working with and strode across the hall with a huge smile on his face.
Dawson held up the blade. "Can you believe it?"
Taron shook his head. "No. I can't." Frowning now, he stared at Dawson. "There were no ruby blades when I bundled the swords together. The only red one went to our gentleman friend."
"It was here," Dawson said. "There were two blades left. One clear and this one. The other glowed for Selyn, and this one flashed as soon as I held my hand above it."
Taron stared for a long moment at the gleaming ruby. "There are many things going on I don't understand. Too many." He sheathed his own sword. "I keep thinking that if my blade would speak, it might fill me in on a few details, but it appears I'll need to discover them on my own."
He glanced around the gathering hall. More women had gone, and it was definitely quieter than it had been. "Look, will you two be all right? I have to return to the upper levels. I've not seen Alton since he deposed his father. I'm concerned about him and about Roland. Roland told me he'd be reporting to me once he returned to his quarters. It was just to let me know how things were progressing, but I've not heard from him. That's got me worried. He always follows through."
"Selyn and I will be fine." Dawson glanced her way. She smiled and nodded in agreement. "We're going to meet with Artigos and see how he's doing with the guards," he said. "The women know enough to train among themselves. There are quite a few who are skilled with leatherwork who have promised to create sheathes for all the swords. Two days max for them to finish the job, but maybe even by tomorrow. The women will need a way to carry their weapons if it comes to actual battle. The main thing is keeping talk of the swords quiet until we have the guards under our control."
"The only one I'm worried about, Taron, is Isra," Selyn said. "She tried to take a sword not meant for her, and her hand was badly singed. Then, when all the swords were given out, there wasn't one left for her. She's a bitter woman to begin with, though I can't imagine her being spiteful enough to say anything to the guards."
Taron folded his arms across his chest and stared at Selyn for a moment. "Is there any chance she's possessed?"
Selyn shook her head. "I don't believe so. My sword isn't speaking yet, but I figured if it knew enough to glow for me, it would know if Isra harbored a demon. I asked it to check, and there was no response. I'm taking that as the blade's answer."
"Let's hope you're right." He glanced at the women working against one wall, participating in mock battles with one another. "How soon can you be ready?"
Selyn nodded. "Tomorrow, maybe. Two days, definitely. We have to be. I doubt we can keep the swords a secret any longer."
"I agree. By then, the women should be comfortable with their blades. Hopefully Birk and Artigos will have most---if not all the guards---free of demons. When I checked with Birk a few hours ago, he said they'd destroyed less than a dozen so far, and there's still that contingent of guards that was pulled to the upper levels. Counting them, we have more than a dozen to go. Selyn, listen for me. I'll report as soon as I'm able so you'll know what's happening above. Be ready to move."
Dawson sighed. "You sound as if you think this group of women will miraculously transform into a trained army."
Taron nodded. "I do. Watch them. They already move naturally with their blades, as if they've done this all their lives. These are daughters of powerful, battle-hardened warriors. And, even though they were conceived through violence, their fathers are wardens. All of them perfect physical specimens---strong men with the natural instincts to fight."
Selyn squeezed Dawson's hand. "He's right, you know. I hadn't thought of that. We are all bred to be warriors."
Taron lifted one expressive eyebrow. It was as red as the hair on his head. "I doubt the demons thought of that either, when their avatars used rape to intimidate the women. I'm beginning to think the warrior spirits in each sword are connecting somehow, passing on their battle knowledge." He clapped Dawson on the shoulder. "Have faith, my friend." Gesturing at Dawson's crystal sword, he added, "You, of all people, should believe in the magical, sentient power of crystal. I will contact you as soon as I'm able and let you know when Alton is set. Be ready."
Dawson glanced at the sword fitting so perfectly into his grasp and had to agree. He watched as the tall Lemurian headed toward the doorway. A number of the women waved to him or spoke as he passed. Grinning, Taron acknowledged every single one, and then he slipped quietly out the door and was gone.
Selyn yawned. Dawson put his arm around her and hugged her close. "I say we head for Artigos's cell and see if he's got someplace we can rest. You can't stay here, and neither can I."
Selyn nodded. Exhaustion was evident in every move she made. Even without a watch, Dawson was certain they'd been up for more than twenty-four hours straight. They'd finished their sandwiches long ago, and at this point, both of them were running on empty. He grabbed Selyn's hand and led her toward the doorway and the portal beyond.
Isra stood beside the opening with her arms folded across her chest. She glared at them, but she didn't say a word. Dawson glanced at the sword in his hand and silently asked the blade if the woman was a threat.
There was no response, even though they passed within a couple of feet of her. She continued staring at them, but she didn't speak. Dawson didn't say a word either. Ignoring Isra, he held Selyn's hand tightly as the two of them passed through the portal.
He still felt Isra's hatred long after they'd left the slaves' barracks behind them.
There were few guards about at this hour, whatever the hour was, thank goodness. Exhaustion had Dawson practically stumbling in his tracks as he and Selyn covered the distance between the women's barracks and the cavern in front of Artigos the Just's cell. Dawson let go of Selyn's hand and slipped around the entry, just far enough to observe the entire area.
Birk was seated at the guard's table. Dawson grabbed Selyn's hand and tugged her forward as Birk glanced up and frowned at them. "Is that crystal you carry as well, Dawson? Excellent." He patted his own sword, worn at his hip instead of across his back. It appeared to be steel.
"I thought your blade was crystal."
Birk grinned. "It is. Look." He drew his weapon. Crystal shimmered in the low light. He sheathed it once again, and a plain leather-covered pommel and a bit of steel blade showed above the scabbard. "The sentience appears to know that discretion is important for now."
Dawson glanced at Selyn. She yawned. "Don't ask me," she said, leaning against his shoulder. "I've spent my life in a hole in the ground. I know nothing." She yawned again.
Daws chuckled. "Birk, have you got any suggestions as to where we can catch a few hours' sleep? We're not going to be of any use to anyone without some rest."
Birk stood and nodded toward another ordinary door just down from the cell where Artigos waited. "Those quarters are empty and should be fully stocked. You can lock the door from inside so you'll feel safe. The guard relieving me later is one of us and aware of our prisoner's true identity. He's the only one I've shared details with at this point. So far, no one has recognized Artigos. We don't want anyone to know who he is, or who you two are, either. Not yet."
"How're the exorcisms going? Any problems so far?"
Birk shook his head as he opened one of the drawers and dug around a moment. "A couple of the guys are in sick bay with really bad headaches. I think it's like a hangover for the ones who've got a stubborn demon." He shoved some papers aside and mumbled a few curses before coming up with a key. "Your sword can probably open the door, but take this just in case. C'mon."
Dawson took the key, and he and Selyn followed Birk, but Daws was thinking of the guards. "Do you think they'll be okay?"
"I do. They understand they were possessed. I think they're more pissed off than anything." He rubbed the back of his neck and stared at the ground. "Pissed off and ashamed. We're supposed to be Lemuria's finest soldiers. Guards to the Council of Nine and all that. Finding out our every thought and act has been determined by the very creatures we fought so long ago . . ." He let out a huge breath. "It's hard to take, if you want the truth. We're still not certain how or if we'll ever regain our honor."
Selyn raised her head from Dawson's shoulder. "Working with us to put Artigos the Just back in power will go a long way toward redeeming all of us---our honor and our freedom. And, it will help those of us who have been slaves to avenge our mothers' terrible treatment."
Birk merely nodded as Dawson unlocked the door. "I'll come for you when the chancellor awakens." He gestured at Dawson's ruby sword. "Maybe you'll be able to drive demons out with yours, it being red and all."
"Maybe. Thanks, Birk."
The guard returned to his desk. Dawson opened the door and stepped into the quiet room with Selyn beside him. He had no idea what to expect, but when Selyn waved her hand over a fixture on the wall and the room lit up, he stood there like a complete idiot for what felt like forever.
Why did he expect something otherworldly? Maybe because he was in another world? He had to bite back a laugh, but it appeared that when he had fallen down that rabbit hole he'd landed in a really nice hotel.
There was a couch along one wall, a small table with chairs, and what appeared to be the Lemurian version of a refrigerator. There was even a kitchen sink that didn't look much different from the one in his home in Sedona.
A doorway led to another room. He was almost afraid to look, but there was a large bed in there. One bed. Big, but still one bed.
He didn't risk even glancing at Selyn. She'd gone straight through to what had to be the bathroom with her small pack slung over her shoulder. "I'm claiming the shower first," she said.
Then he did laugh. It was either that or cry.
Dawson left the bedroom to give Selyn some privacy and went back into the main room. He left his sword on the counter in the kitchen area. Curious, he checked the refrigerator. There were a couple of bottles that looked like small ceramic amphorae. When he pulled the stopper out of one, he smelled yeast and hops. Beer? He couldn't be that lucky, could he?
It was, and he was. He took the bottle with him and sat on the couch, slipped off his boots and socks and stretched his legs out. He sipped the brew which, while it smelled like beer, didn't taste remotely like anything he'd had before.
It didn't act like beer, either. He realized that when he awoke with the empty jug in his hand and his neck stiff from sleeping on the couch. No sound came from the bathroom, so he set the ceramic jug in the kitchen area and quietly walked through to the bedroom.
Selyn slept soundly, curled up on one side of the bed. Only the top of her head was visible beneath the soft blankets. He stopped and watched her for a moment, imagining what it would be like to sleep beside her, to hold her close in the middle of the night, but he'd already figured he'd make do with the couch. It was almost long enough.
Then she rolled over and blinked sleepily at him. "Aren't you coming to bed?" she asked.
Startled, he stepped back. Come to bed? With Selyn? "After my shower," he said. He took a deep breath. "In a few minutes."
"Good." Selyn flopped back to her stomach and tugged the blanket over her ears. "Be quiet, and don't wake me up. I'm exhausted."
Now that was more like what he'd expected. Grinning, Dawson went on into the bathroom. The shower was rather old-fashioned looking, but the water was hot and plentiful, and it felt good to wash the stink of the past day and a half off his body.
It felt even better to crawl into bed beside Selyn. He did it very quietly, and he didn't wake her. What surprised him most was how natural it felt to slide between cool sheets, to pull the soft blanket up over his shoulders and close his eyes.
Hovering on the edge of sleep, he drew in a deep breath and filled his lungs with Selyn's scent. Carefully, he slipped closer to her sleeping form and buried his nose in the sweet tangle of her long hair.
Sleep came more easily than he expected. Being immersed in her scent, her warmth, and the slow, even cadence of her breathing was a balm to his tattered senses. Knowing Selyn was so close, even though he couldn't touch her, was a comfort he'd never imagined.
But it was one he fully intended to experience as often as fate would allow.
Chapter Thirteen
Eddy's eyes flashed open. Breathing hard and fast as if she'd just run a mile, she darted out of a sound sleep with a terrible gut-deep sense of something wrong. Terribly wrong. She lay there beside Dax and sniffed the air. Okay . . . no reek of sulfur or sense of demonkind.
That was good. Next she catalogued the familiar morning sights and sounds in her childhood bedroom, and everything seemed the same. Of course, she'd slept alone here as a girl. There'd been no ex-demon lover beside her.
Not even in her wildest dreams.
Okay, so something she couldn't quite identify had awakened her, and it hadn't been Dax. With sleepy eyes barely open, she gazed slowly around her old room. Nothing had changed---all was still locked in the early shadows of a gray dawn.
She stretched full-length and arched her back, dismissing the weird sense of unease as a bad dream. She held the arch until her joints popped, but damn it felt good. Then she relaxed against the comfortable mattress. Thank goodness she'd been tall enough when she still lived at home to justify this king-size bed. Otherwise, she and Dax would never fit, and this was the only place they had to stay since her own little house had been thoroughly trashed.
She glanced at the man sleeping so soundly beside her. She'd take him over her house any day. Waging battle with the demon-possessed statue of General Humphries---horse, sword, and pigeon poop included---hadn't helped her already marginal Salvation Army décor. She didn't want to think about the damage done to the ceiling, walls, and carpeting---repairs were going to take a while.
Dax had been absolutely magnificent that night, shooting fire and ice from his fingertips while dealing with an onslaught of demonkind hell-bent on causing trouble. Unfortunately, fighting and defeating a full-sized horse and rider cast of solid bronze had made an unimaginable mess of her living room.
Life certainly hadn't been the same since. Eddy rolled her head on the pillow to get a better look at her man. He lay on his side with his back to her, his dark hair tousled and his broad shoulders bare above the down blanket they'd pulled over themselves during the chilly night.
She wondered if he might be interested in generating a little heat of their own this morning, but as that thought slipped into her mind, so did an unexpected sound---rain pounding against the roof and the wind whistling under the eaves of the house finally registered. The weather had definitely changed.
Eddy dragged her butt out of bed without disturbing Dax to see what the morning looked like. She went to the window and pulled back the shades.
Equal parts sleet and water whipped sideways, bolstered by a harsh wind that appeared to have snapped a few branches off her dad's trees. One long branch leaned against her bedroom window, though luckily it hadn't broken the glass.
That must have been what had awakened her.
Blinking at the gray day, Eddy tried to order her sleep-fogged brain around the consequences of a horrible winter-like storm in Evergreen, on a day when fair skies had been predicted.
Oh, shit. "Dax? Honey, wake up." She glanced over her shoulder and watched as Dax roused himself from sleep. The man was utterly gorgeous, and he was all hers, but she had a feeling this wasn't going to be one of those "hangin' out in bed making love for hours" kind of days.
He crawled out from under the covers and sauntered across the room, wearing nothing but a pair of black knit boxers that did more to emphasize his muscular, masculine body than to cover anything. When he leaned close, kissed the back of her neck, and nuzzled the sensitive spot behind her ear, she scrunched up her shoulders and giggled in spite of the weather.
His breath raised more shivers on her neck when he finally stopped long enough to whisper, "What's wrong?"
It took her a second to catch her breath. What that man could do! "This," she said, gesturing at the crappy weather outside. "It's supposed to be nice out today. Look at this! We can't get up the mountain to the portal. How the hell are we going to get Gaia and Artigos back to Lemuria?"
"But it's only a storm. We can walk through that."
She shook her head and wished he were right. "No can do. If we're getting sleet here, the weather on Shasta will be deadly. Too much snow for Dad's Jeep, winds too high and dangerous at the elevation where the portal is. I doubt we could drive to the vortex in Oregon, either, because weather this bad here means the interstate will most likely be closed by the storm."
Dax blinked. "There's no way at all into Lemuria? No other portals?"
She shook her head. "Nothing accessible. The portals are probably covered in snow by now. When it's blowing this hard down here, winds can be seventy miles an hour or worse up high. It's too dangerous."
Dax closed his eyes and turned away. Eddy stared out the window. Rain was beginning to turn to snow. The flakes were small and more like sleet, but that meant it would already be snowing heavily on the mountain. Groaning, she walked over to her old desk and flipped on her laptop.
The weather service and road reports didn't help her frame of mind. She read the stats and then turned around in her chair to look at Dax. "This storm blew out of nowhere. None of the weather models picked it up, but it's going to hang around at least through today and most of tomorrow. Interstate Five's already closed at the border, so the Oregon vortex is out, too." She shut the lid on the computer. "I think we're stuck here, unless we fly to Arizona and then drive to Sedona to use the portals there."
"Is that possible?" Dax was already dressed and buttoning his shirt. "Can we get an airplane to take us to Sedona?"
Eddy still had nothing on but her nightgown. She shivered in the chill air and glanced longingly at the warm bed. So much for snuggling with her guy. "I don't know how. You can't fly on a commercial airline without identification. You don't have an ID, and there's no way we can get anything for Gaia and Artigos. I don't know anyone with a private plane big enough to get four of us there, especially in weather like this."
Shivering harder now, Eddy wrapped her arms around herself and walked back to the window. "Can demons control the weather?" She glanced over her shoulder and caught Dax staring at her.
"I don't know," he said, thoughtfully. Then he raised his head and flashed her a sexy grin. "But if they can, I imagine magic can change it back."
"Mari?" Eddy reached for her clothes.
"Mari," he said. "We have to get to Lemuria. Alton and Ginny are counting on us."
Alton awoke with the niggling suspicion that something was terribly wrong. He rolled over and snuggled close to Ginny. She slept soundly, so she wasn't the one worrying him, yet the feeling lingered. A bad dream? Possibly. Then he grinned, pushing the strange sense of unease out of his mind by recalling how he'd worn his lady out the night before. He propped himself up on one elbow and watched her for a moment longer, though what he really wanted was to wake her and make love to her once again.
Nine hells. The least he could do after last night was let her sleep in this morning.
Reluctantly, he slipped out from under the warm covers and headed to the back of his quarters for a quick shower. Even though the heated pool sounded a lot more inviting, he'd forgo that luxury for now. They had a busy day ahead. Plus, he'd quickly discovered bathing in his underground grotto wasn't nearly as much fun alone.
He showered quickly and grabbed one of his Lemurian robes rather than his Earth-styled clothing. Today would be spent in meetings as he worked to convince the rest of the council that he deserved to hold his father's seat as chancellor, at least until Artigos was able to take it back.
He still couldn't shake the uncomfortable feeling that something was wrong, even as he slipped on his familiar robe. Dressing as a Lemurian should make him more convincing in the chancellor's role, though adding the scabbard with HellFire across his back to any outfit certainly kept people from giving him as much trouble as they might otherwise.
His parents' presence would help, too. Dax and Eddy had promised to have them back by late today. Their brief contact when he'd slipped through the portal last night had sounded promising. As difficult as it was, he tried to imagine his father without the influence of demonkind.
Would Artigos accept Alton as his son once again?
One could only hope. That was really the least of his problems right now, with the fate of his entire world hanging on the events beginning to unfold. No one need know Artigos the Just survived. Not yet. Roland's short but positive report had certainly been encouraging, though Alton was a little concerned there'd not been anything else from the sergeant.
Maybe he needed to contact Roland and see if he knew anymore about the . . .
His eyes were drawn to Ginny. She sat up in bed and shoved her dark hair out of her eyes, looking so inviting with her tousled hair and the blanket barely covering her breasts, that Alton was tempted to remove his robe and crawl back in beside her.
"Good morning," she said. Then she yawned and frowned at him. "You realize Roland has to sleep at some point, don't you? He helped Taron all day yesterday, moving those crystal swords up to the level where the Forgotten Ones live. Wait until later to check on him."
"You're eavesdropping." Alton leaned over and kissed her.
"Shamelessly. If I didn't, you'd never let anyone get any sleep." Grumbling, she threw the blankets back and, completely naked, walked past him to the bathing room.
Alton groaned. It was so hard not to follow her. Ginny preferred long baths in the heated pool, and he really preferred bathing with her.
Nine hells. Not today. Sighing, he forced himself to look away from the path she'd taken to the bathing grotto. He stared at the exit portal instead. If he hurried, he could pick up some pastries in the great hall and have them back before Ginny even missed him.
Alton walked quickly to the portal and stepped through. Four armed guards stopped him just outside the doorway.
"No further, Chancellor."
The steel swords in his face were fairly convincing. He stopped, though he refused to step back. HellFire's deep, angry pulse vibrated through the scabbard on his back. Alton judiciously chose to ignore it, but he held his position.
The guards stepped back a pace.
Alton folded his arms across his chest and focused on the ranking guardsman. "Why are you here, corporal? Under what authority?"
The senior guard lowered his weapon. Alton had a feeling the man wasn't at all happy about his assignment. From what Roland had told him, most of the guards sided with Alton and hoped to see a new council seated.
At least this group was familiar to him. The guard sighed, confirming Alton's suspicions. "You've been placed under house arrest until further notice, sir. You were ordered restrained in house by a majority vote of the Council of Nine at a meeting called late last night."
Alton folded his arms across his chest. "Last night, eh? That's fast work for the council, especially when they're not supposed to meet without the chancellor present. Who was responsible for calling you up for this duty?"
"Council member Drago, sir. He had the signed document with the proper number of signatures. We have no other choice but to obey council law."
Alton nodded. "I understand, corporal, so I won't ask you to act against your orders. At least not at this time." He winked at the guard. The man blinked in surprise, but before he could question Alton's odd behavior, Alton had already turned around and slipped back through the portal.
So much for waking up uneasy. Next time he'd do well to pay heed to his instincts. He turned around and stared at the swirling portal.
Ginny was going to be so pissed. She'd truly taken on his crusade as her own.
What of Roland? He'd still not heard from the man. Roland? You there?
Nothing. No reply, no sense of the man at all. The sergeant couldn't have returned to the slave levels already---not after being away from duty for the past day. Where the nine hells could he be?
The thought flittered through Alton's mind, that the energy-powered bars in a Lemurian prison were capable of blocking telepathy.
Fighting the bite of panic, now, Alton sent out a call for Taron. If he was still below, Taron wouldn't hear him, but if the swords had all been delivered, Taron should be headed back to this level.
He tried again. Nothing. Alton glanced toward the guarded portal. If he could get to his father's office, he could at least access the portal to Red Rock Crossing and use his cell phone to call Dax and Eddy. If things had gone to hell, he didn't want them walking into a mess, but if there was still hope, he really needed his parents here to help him hold his position.
Although, there was no point in calling until he had some news. Right now, he had no idea what was going on, other than the fact that Drago and Maxl had obviously decided to make their move. How secure a move it was remained to be seen.
He stared at the portal for a moment. Then he went back to the doorway and slipped through. Again, the guards met him with raised swords. "Sir, we . . ."
Alton held up his hand. "I know. I'm not planning to go anywhere. I have questions. Do you have any word of Roland of Kronus?"
The guard shifted uneasily and glanced at his companions. All four of these guards carried the traditional steel swords, so none of them were Roland's men, the three who carried crystal replicates of Roland's crystal blade.
He knew Darius, one of the three, was still in Evergreen with Mari the witch, but what of the other two?
Alton folded his arms across his chest. He didn't say a word, but his mere presence had all four guards shuffling uneasily. Finally, the one he'd addressed looked at Alton and said, "He's been arrested, sir. Early this morning, he and the other two who carry crystal were locked up."
Nodding, Alton realized he wasn't at all surprised. "What happened to their swords?"
The guard shook his head. "I don't know. I think they were left in their quarters. The men were taken before they would have risen for the day."
"Regarding this order for my arrest. Is my woman named as well?"
Again, the guard shook his head. "No, sir. The orders for house arrest are for you alone." He glanced at his companions and then turned his gaze to Alton. "I doubt they would even think of her, sir. The council members have little time for women." Now it was the guard who winked at Alton. "They still disbelieve stories of the women warriors in Lemuria's past."
Alton grinned. "Isn't that too bad? Especially when it's something that may come back to bite a few of our illustrious council members in their collective buttocks."
The other three guards had moved closer. Alton was almost sure they stood a little straighter after listening to the conversation. He glanced both ways to be certain the corridor was clear. "You do realize that great change is afoot, that the risk to Lemuria grows by the moment?"
Obviously unhappy with the whole situation, the guard nodded. "I know, sir. But we're sworn to follow orders."
"I understand, and I'm not asking you to do anything at all treasonable, but please promise you will remember one very important thing."
The guard straightened and glanced at his companions before concentrating on Alton. "What is that, sir?"
"Remember you are sworn to uphold Lemuria's honor, not the dubious honor of the Council of Nine. The time may come, very soon, when the lives of our citizens and the very fabric of our civilization will be tested. Be certain you have chosen the right leader to follow."
The corporal met Alton's steady gaze. Then he slowly nodded his head. "Sergeant Roland of Kronus said as much. He is an honorable man as well as a good friend."
"Thank you." Alton nodded to each of the men and returned to his rooms. Ginny waited just inside the portal. Somehow she must have known something was wrong. She was dressed for battle in boots and jeans and her purple hoodie, with her hair tightly braided out of the way. DarkFire was strapped across her back.
"We've got a situation," he said. Then he sighed and held his arms wide.
Ginny slipped into his embrace and hugged him tightly. "What?"
"I'm under what you might call 'house arrest.'"
"You're what?" She leaned back and stared at him.
"You heard me. The majority on the council have effectively imprisoned me in my quarters. You, however, are not included." He grinned and kissed the surprise off her face.
She frowned. "I'm not? I don't understand."
"It appears our illustrious council members don't see you as a threat. You're just a woman, after all."
As realization dawned, Ginny's smile widened. "A woman with a crystal sword."
"And attitude." Alton laughed, but the laugher was short-lived. "I love you, Ginny, and I hate this, but I'm going to ask you to do a few things that are very dangerous. If my world's very survival weren't at risk, I'd never dream of it."
"It's our world." She pressed fingertips to his jaw. "You know I'll do anything for you. Or for Lemuria."
He nodded. "I know, which is why I'm almost afraid to ask. I couldn't survive if anything were to happen to you." He kissed her again. He couldn't not kiss her.
She kissed him back. Then she looped her hands over his shoulders and waited patiently.
He stared into her beautiful eyes---her golden tiger's eyes---and said, "Roland has been arrested. He's imprisoned in a level just beneath this one. We need to know what's going on with the Forgotten Ones, but the energized bars of the cells prevent telepathy."
Ginny nodded. "You want me to go see him. Will they let me in?"
"I think I can get one of the guards to take you. Their loyalty is with Lemuria, not with the council. Not even with me, for that matter, which is as it should be. We can't wait, though. I have a strong feeling that things are beginning to heat up."
"I know. I've been wondering about the demon king. Where is he? I can't imagine that I sent him back to Abyss for good."
Alton chuckled. "You did a damned good job of pissing him off, though. I don't think he's gone forever, either, but I believe our concern needs to be with Roland and the Forgotten Ones. Now that we know for certain that's my grandfather imprisoned below, we have to hang on until the women are ready with their crystal blades and their guards are no longer ruled by demonkind."
"When do you want me to go to Roland?"
Never. Nine hells, he hated for her to take such risks, but he knew of no other way. "As soon as you're ready. I'll talk to the guards, see if I can get one of them to lead you to him."
"Alton." She wrapped her fingers around his arm. "DarkFire will keep me safe."
"She'd better," he grumbled. "I'll do what I can from here. I need to reach Roland's wife, Chara, and let her know what's going on. I don't think Roland has shared any of this with her." He squeezed Ginny's shoulders. "He's never hesitated to do what he can for Lemuria. He's risked all for our world. Everything he is, all that he has."
Ginny leaned close and kissed him. "So have you, Alton. So have others. Sacrifice is often necessary for success."
"I know, but that doesn't mean I have to like it, or not fight like the nine hells to protect the ones I care for. And sacrifice had damned well better not include you. Be careful."
She slanted him a sly smile. "I have an idea. Follow me."
She slipped through the portal. Alton was right behind her. The guards blocked her way and then quickly lowered their swords.
Ginny stopped and smiled at each man. "Are you loyal to Lemuria? Are your hearts dedicated to saving your world from demonkind?"
The corporal glanced at his men and nodded to Ginny. "I can answer for all of us. We support Lemuria. Only Lemuria."
"I thought so. Draw your swords and hold them high." Ginny drew DarkFire. I hope like hell this works.
Me, too. Alton had no doubt. Even he sensed the energy pulsing in the dark sword.
Frowning, obviously confused, the four guards drew their swords and held the blades high.
"Press your blades to DarkFire." She lifted the amethyst blade and held it steady as four steel blades connected to crystal. DarkFire glowed and then flashed with a brilliant purple light. A dark flame raced the length of each steel blade.
Light flashed, energy pulsed from crystal to steel, brighter, hotter, until it exploded in a burst of lavender sparks.
There was a collective sigh as each of the four guardsmen lowered his blade---his crystal blade---and stared at the clear, blue light rippling along the faceted surface.
The corporal raised his head. "But how? Only the ruling class may . . ."
"Not anymore." Alton rested his hand on Ginny's shoulder. "Lemuria's ruling class has failed in its greatest obligation---to keep our world and our citizens safe. It is up to you, the ones who still hold Lemuria's best interests in your hearts, to carry crystal. Just as it will be up to you when there is a call to arms to fight demonkind, a call that may not come from the Council of Nine or even from me. Trust me that you will know it's the one you should heed. Remember, only crystal can vanquish demons. Be ready."
Ginny started to slip DarkFire into her sheath, but as the tip of the blade touched the scabbard, the sword spoke.
"Behold. Time grows short and the situation more dire. Guardsmen---your blades have the power to replicate others. Only those men whose loyalties lie with Lemuria can carry crystal. You will know the ones who wish you ill if steel remains steel."
The blade dimmed. Ginny sheathed her sword.
She folded her arms across her chest and gazed at the men. "You've heard DarkFire. You have the power to turn the steel blades of your fellow guardsmen to crystal. If their hearts are not true, if they're not willing to give all for Lemuria, their blades won't change. Now, though, I have to speak to Roland. Can one of you take me to him?"
The youngest of the group stepped forward. Carefully he sheathed his crystal sword. The blade subtly altered until it appeared as steel within the scabbard. He stared at it a moment, and then drew it again. It turned to crystal in his hand. He flashed a relieved grin at Ginny as he sheathed the blade once again. "My lady, I know where Roland and his men are being held. Your friend as well, Chancellor. The one called Taron."
"Thank you." She sighed and grabbed Alton's hand. "We wondered if Taron had been taken."
Alton glanced at Ginny. If there's a way to free them, we'll have to find it, but for now, I hesitate to go against the council's direct order.
Even if it's illegal?
Alton nodded. Find out what you can. See where things stand below. I'll be here.
Ginny glanced at the four guards, now armed with crystal. Their army was growing, one sword at a time. I guess you will. She turned and kissed him. Be safe. Stay linked to my mind so you'll know what's up. I love you.
And then she was gone, striding down the tunnel with the young guard leading the way.
Chapter Fourteen
Dawson awoke with the strange sense he was being watched. Slowly, cautiously, he opened his eyes---and looked directly into Selyn's blue-eyed gaze. She clutched the blanket against her chest and stared at him so seriously he almost laughed---yet even as he fought laughter, he wanted her more than he'd ever wanted a woman in his life.
"Good morning," he said.
She dropped the blanket, leaned down, and kissed him. Her naked breasts pressed against his bare chest, and he groaned against her mouth. He hadn't dared look at her when he'd crawled into bed. Hadn't wanted to know what she wore to sleep.
Now that he knew she slept in nothing more than her beautiful coppery skin, it was impossible not to want to see more, to touch more. He wrapped an arm around her and rolled Selyn to her back, but the blankets went with him and blocked the full contact of his body to hers.
It was probably just as well. He hadn't even considered the possibility of sleeping in the same bed, much less actually making love to her, and there'd been no need to carry his wallet on this trip into Lemuria---along with the condom he kept stashed inside.
She gazed up at him, wide-eyed as he hovered over her, and it suddenly hit him that he was probably scaring the crap out of her, looming over her like this. He leaned close and playfully rubbed his nose against hers. "Don't be frightened of me, Selyn." He kissed the end of her nose. "I'll never hurt you. I promise."
She blinked. Then she ran her tongue over her top lip, curled the tip, and brushed her bottom lip. He didn't even try to ignore the invitation she'd made, whether it was consciously done or not.
He leaned close and kissed her mouth this time, gently at first, sliding his lips over hers while silently cursing the blankets that kept their bodies separated. Selyn raised her hips, pressing as close to him as the bedding would allow. Dawson rested on his elbows and cupped her head in his hands. Her arms slipped around his back, and she hugged him close.
He held Selyn down with his greater weight, and the hard length of him was planted firmly between her legs. She squirmed and bucked beneath him. Not fighting him. No, she raised her knees on either side of his hips, clinging to Dawson, frantically rubbing against the promise that was bundled behind soft blankets. It was torture. Excruciating, amazing, blissful torture.
He tried to put himself in her place, tried to imagine what she might be thinking, what she was feeling. He knew, from things she'd said, she'd never been with a man. Selyn had spent her life apart from men, exposed only to the huge Lemurian guards who bullied the women with their cruel treatment. She probably didn't have any idea what her natural instincts were telling her body it wanted, what it needed.
She took sexual innocence to an entirely new level. Even though he hadn't been with a lot of women, Dawson figured he had to know more than Selyn with her total lack of experience.
And the one thing he was certain of was that she had no idea at all what she was asking for. Not a clue. It was going to kill him, but he had to stop this and stop it now. Knowing what was right didn't make it any easier---his body shook with need, and it took everything he had to fight his own instincts.
It was definitely going to kill him---he was absolutely positive he wouldn't survive---but he ended the kiss and the rubbing and the wonderful things his body was ordering him to do and, breathing hard, rolled away.
Selyn popped up on one arm and glared at him. It was impossible to concentrate on her flashing blue eyes with her bare breasts almost even with his lips.
"Why did you stop kissing me? Was I doing something wrong?" She frowned at him.
It probably didn't help his case one bit when he laughed. "Oh, Lordy, Selyn. No. You weren't doing anything wrong, but what you were doing was going to lead to a whole lot more, and I'm not prepared for that. Not at all."
"What?" She ran her fingers over his collarbone. He almost whimpered. "What aren't you prepared for?"
"Making love." He stroked her tangled hair. "You can't imagine how much I want to make love to you, but we can't. The risk of pregnancy is too high."
She stared at him for a long moment. Then she closed her eyes and nodded, took a deep breath, rolled away, and flopped down on her back. "Oh. Okay," she said. She stared at the ceiling. "Our women don't conceive easily, but I am proof that it can happen when least expected." Then she smiled ruefully at him. "But I hope you realize it is not very easy, this stopping when every instinct in your body wants to keep going."
He chuckled and dropped his arm across his eyes so he couldn't see her breasts. "Trust me. I realize it. Honest." He let out a huge gust of air. "No doubt in my mind."
This time, Selyn laughed with him. She ran a fingertip over his chest and made him shiver. "It's not just about making love, you know. I was hoping I would finally get to see you. My sisters and I talk about men, about what they might look like. How they're different from us."
He raised his arm off his face and stared at her. "You want to see me?" That he could do, though she might get to see a lot more than she expected. Just the thought of being naked in front of Selyn's curious eyes made him hard. Hell, breathing the same air, being in the same room---just thinking about her---made him hard. "I don't mind if you look."
He peeled the covers back to his waist. Selyn spun around and sat beside him with her legs crossed. He was almost relieved when the blankets twisted around her waist and covered her hips and thighs. She touched his chest and ran her fingers through the dark mat of hair that spread between his nipples.
"I've seen some of the guards without shirts, but they don't have hair like you do on their chests. Not so much." She stroked his dark pelt as if she were petting a kitten.
Dawson thought about sitting up, but decided against it. He was probably less threatening to her, lying on his side this way, propped up on one elbow.
Staring at her as if he could eat her alive.
She grabbed the blanket at his waist and looked at him.
"Go ahead. It's okay. I don't bite."
"I know that." Slowly, Selyn peeled the blanket down over his hip and thigh.
Her eyes got so big he chuckled. "We're definitely built differently."
"I can see that." She stared at him a moment. Then she reached out and touched him. His cock jerked. Her fingers tracing the length of him had to be the most erotic thing he'd ever felt in his life.
He sucked in a breath, and she paused. Her head shot up, and she stared at him with parted lips and a glazed expression in her eyes. Her fingers lingered on his full length, and he felt each fingertip like a brand burning into the flesh.
She'd leaned forward to touch him, and her bare breasts were mere inches from his lips, her nipples puckered into taut peaks. Dawson gave in to temptation, leaned close, and suckled one rosy tip into his mouth, laving the dark rosette with his tongue, and tugging just enough to bring a soft gasp to her lips.
She arched her back, forcing her nipple into his mouth. He licked and nibbled, suckling her deep, tugging hard. Her heart was pounding so hard he felt its pulse against his lips, and he knew she had to be wound tight as a spring.
He slid his hand over the soft swell of her belly and under the tangled blankets that covered her. She gasped when he parted the tight curls between her legs and slipped his fingertip between her swollen folds. Her hips bucked forward, and he pulled his hand back. The last thing he wanted to do was take her virginity with his fingers, but she whimpered until he cupped her mound in his palm and rubbed his hand slowly back and forth.
Her cries went short and sharp and desperate, and she clutched his forearm with both hands until her short nails dug into his skin. She was slick and wet, her labia swollen all hot and slippery beneath his fingers, and he wanted her with a desperation that was almost beyond his control.
After a moment, he sucked in a deep breath and hoped like hell he could hang on. He really didn't want to embarrass himself, but he was so close to the edge. He released her nipple with a light little "pop," and pulled his hand from between her legs.
Her breath hissed between her lips in short, sharp gasps, so he stretched up and kissed her. "Lie down, Selyn. There are things we can do that won't risk pregnancy. Things I can do for you to take away some of the tension. Will you let me?"
Nodding, she slowly pulled the blankets away from her waist, and lay down with her hands at her sides clutching the bedding. She watched Dawson like a cat watches a snake.
Daws rolled closer and knelt between her legs. For a moment he just looked his fill of her, lying there with her hair in black, ropey tangles around her shoulders, her left nipple shiny from his mouth. He stroked that damp tip with one finger, and then he circled its mate. "Remember when I said you were too pretty to eat, but that was what I wanted to do to you?"
"Yes." The word slipped out on a shuddering sigh.
"Let me show you what I meant."
Her entire body trembled. He leaned close and suckled her breast again. Her short, sharp, "Oh!" had him smiling around the nipple between his lips. He worried the right one and then the left. Then he kissed his way along her ribs. She giggled when he ran his tongue along her side, but by the time he reached the tuft of dark hair between her legs, she was panting, and her body shuddered with arousal.
He slipped his hands beneath her buttocks and lifted her. Sat back on his heels and took a moment to put her at ease with careful touches and an encouraging smile. Then he dipped his head and blew a soft puff of warm air against her damp petals.
Her body jerked in his hands, but her arousal was obvious in the glistening moisture sparkling in her curls and the way her body trembled and shivered beneath his touch. Her sweet, feminine scent had him mentally kicking himself for not bringing along at least a whole box of condoms. He lifted her long legs and hooked them over his shoulders, cupped her firm bottom once again, and ran his tongue slowly between her slick folds.
Her gasp was as much a cry of surprise as an invitation to do more of the same. He licked her again, tasting her honey, dipping his tongue deep and then circling the small bundle of nerves he'd already discovered was in exactly the same place on a Lemurian woman as on any woman from Earth.
She cried out, a long, keening note of pleasure as he loved her with his lips and tongue, with soft nibbles of his teeth. He wanted to drive deep with his fingers so he could feel her body ripple around him when she came, but once again he reminded himself Selyn was untouched and penetration might hurt. He wanted this first experience to be nothing but pleasure, even if it killed him.
Her hips bucked and writhed beneath his mouth. She clutched the bedding beside his knees, and he knew she was close by the sound of her cries and the rapid rush of her breathing. He suckled her, drawing her clitoris between his lips, using his tongue to lave and caress, to curl and lick softly between her sensitive folds. Suddenly her body went rigid in his grasp. She cried out, arched her spine, and tightened her thighs across his back. He tasted her release. The sound of her cries, the rush of her climax, almost took him over the top. He buried his face in her heat, licking, sucking, using his mouth to gently bring her down, and finally, when her body began to go pliant and soft, he lay her down on the bed.
When he sat back between her legs, Dawson couldn't quit grinning. The dazed expression on Selyn's face was the sexiest thing he'd ever seen in his life. Knowing he'd put that look of contentment there made him feel like cheering. He was hard as a post and his balls ached, but he knew he'd given Selyn an amazing climax---one that had her blinking owlishly with vague, unfocused eyes as she slowly returned to the present.
That alone was worth a little bit of frustration. Okay, a whole lot of frustration, but they'd have a chance before too long. He had to believe that. For now, though, he took satisfaction in knowing he'd given her an experience unlike anything she'd ever had before.
Selyn lay in the tumbled sheets, shivering and trembling, weak as a baby from the most powerful experience of her life. She'd heard about sexual orgasms and knew some of the women gave them to themselves or gave them to each other, but she'd never felt the need before. Never truly understood what her body was capable of feeling with the right touches, the right stimulation---the right man.
But what of Dawson? He lay beside her and stroked his hands over her belly and hip, but that man-part of his was still swollen and looked like it had to hurt. She knew he'd liked it when she touched him, just as she'd loved the way it felt when he touched her, even before he'd put his mouth on her.
She reached for him. His hand snaked out, and he grabbed her wrist firmly, stopping her.
"That's probably not a good idea," he said.
"Why?" She looked at her forearm, firmly locked in his long fingers. "You touched me with your hands and your mouth. It felt wonderful. Why can't I touch . . ."
He laughed and shook his head. "Truth? I'll embarrass myself. I won't be able to last if you touch me. Hell, I'm having trouble maintaining just being close to you."
An almost palpable sense of power rushed through her. Selyn smiled and tugged her hand free of his grasp. "Good. Then it won't take us very long, will it?"
He blinked. It appeared Dawson Buck hadn't expected her to press the issue.
"Lie back." She gave his broad chest a gentle shove.
"And think of England?" He laughed, but he did as she said, and lay back against the pillow with his arms folded beneath his head.
Selyn straddled his long legs and studied the thick length of him that pointed almost to the ceiling. "I have no idea what that means, that 'think of England.' Some day you will explain. Now, though, you will have to tell me what you like. I need to know what will make you embarrass yourself."
He groaned, and she was almost sure he blushed. She wrapped her hands around his. . . . "What do you call this?" She squeezed him for emphasis.
He gasped. "You're killing me. You're doing this on purpose, right?"
"Of course I am. What is it called?" She ran her fingertip through a small bubble of white fluid that appeared at the tip.
"Oh, shit." He arched his hips, lifting her.
"Oh, shit?" She laughed. "I don't think that's right."
He groaned, rolled his head back, and closed his eyes. She continued to stroke him, slowly up and down. She cupped the sac that hung beneath and explored it with her fingertips, gently rolling the two hard little balls inside. His legs trembled beneath her thighs, and his chest was heaving with each breath he took. His lips were drawn back, and if she hadn't known better, she'd have thought he was in terrible pain.
She remembered how it had felt when he put his mouth between her legs. Thought of those moments before her climax---how badly she'd needed. How much she'd wanted.
That must be how Daws was feeling now. Needy. Wanting her to finish this. She leaned over and wrapped her lips around the broad head of his parts and sucked, just the way he'd done to her breast, to those sensitive nerves between her legs.
She definitely got more than she expected. He cursed and cried out, his fingers tangled in her hair; his hips bucked hard, and suddenly her mouth was full of him. She wrapped her hands around the base to keep him from choking her, but she kept squeezing and sucking and licking. His cries were much as hers had been---incoherent and ruled by passion. She tasted his release---salty and a little bitter, but not at all unpleasant---and she held him in her mouth even when he wanted to pull away. Held him and licked and eased him down, just as he'd done for her.
When he was still and his member had gone soft, she finally set him free with a final lick and a kiss. His fingers slipped from her tangled hair, and his hands fell to his sides when she crawled along his body to lie beside him.
He turned and looked at her with what could only be wonder in his eyes. Selyn wanted to weep, to think that she and this man she was growing to care for so much, had shared something so personal, so intimate and unbelievably wonderful.
He leaned close and kissed her hard, and she wondered if that was the taste of herself on his lips, wondered if he tasted his release on hers. And then she realized he was grinning and so was she. "Now," she said, staring into those blue eyes of his and feeling powerful and feminine and much more sure of herself than she could ever remember, "are you going to tell me what you call that thing?"
They showered together, exploring each other's bodies with an ease Dawson really hadn't expected. Of course, he hadn't expected a lot of what had happened this morning, including Selyn's taking over in bed and leaving him cross-eyed and weak as a kitten.
He'd never had an experience like that. Not even close. He definitely wanted it again, and if it meant going all the way back to Sedona by himself, he was going to round up an entire crate of condoms.
He slipped on his jeans and boots while Selyn dressed in the scrubs she'd brought along, and wove her hair into a long braid. Neither of them knew what to expect today, but Daws wanted to be ready for anything.
"Are you hungry?" Selyn stepped out of the small kitchen area. "There's food here. Cereal and fruit. We need to break fast."
"I'm starving. Those sandwiches were gone a long time ago."
After a few minutes' preparation, Selyn handed him a bowl of hot cereal that reminded him of sweetened cornmeal. She'd sliced what looked like apples on top.
Tasted like apples, too. "Where do you get all your fresh foods?" He leaned against the counter and took another bite.
She shrugged. "I'm not really sure. I've heard we have traders who go out into other dimensions. Fruits and grains come from Earth, fish and some fowl from Atlantis. Some of the foods are manufactured here, though I'm not sure what they're made from. We don't farm or raise animals, yet we occasionally have chicken and even beef. Even those of us who are slaves have never gone hungry."
"This is good, and it's filling. Some day I really want to learn how this place functions. Like the light in here. When we went to sleep, it was dark, and yet we awoke to dim morning light that's brighter now, like daylight."
"The light comes from inside the rock. Most of the stone is crystalline and has a natural-looking glow that mimics sunlight on Earth. It's all set to a twenty-four hour clock, since that's what we had before Lemuria was destroyed. This light through the stone is all I'd ever known until I went to your home."
A soft knock had both of them turning toward the door. Dawson set his empty bowl down quietly, but Selyn put her hand on his arm before he could reach the door.
"Grab your sword," she said. "I'll see who it is."
He reached for his sword and jerked his hand to a stop just above the hilt. Instead of the bare blade he'd left on the table the night before, this morning it was enclosed in a red leather scabbard. Swallowing back a million questions, he unsheathed his sword and stood to one side. Selyn unlocked the door and swung it open just a crack. Then she flung it wide. "Good morning," she said, stepping aside as Birk and Artigos the Just slipped through the door. Selyn shut it firmly behind them.
Artigos immediately checked out Dawson's crystal blade. "Birk told me yours was a ruby. Good. Let's hope it will remove demons as effectively as DemonsBane."
Dawson swallowed. "It managed to create its own scabbard during the night. What's a demon after an accomplishment like that?" He laughed and glanced at Selyn. She held her sword in one hand, a red leather scabbard in the other, and a look of utter confusion on her face.
Grinning, Dawson turned back to Artigos. "How is that going, getting rid of the demons in the guards?"
"Very well. The trick will be convincing the women and men to work together. The soldiers in an army must have trust if they're to become a cohesive force."
"All but one of the women have crystal." Selyn was buckling her new scabbard on as she spoke. "Taron spent some time training them, though we all have much to learn. Unfortunately, there's one woman, a rather foul-tempered sort, who did not get a sword. She might be a problem."
"Any reason why she was skipped over?" Artigos glanced at Dawson, but Selyn answered.
"She tried to take a sword that hadn't acknowledged her and ended up with badly singed fingers. Then, when all the swords were handed out, the last one went to Dawson and not to Isra. I worry that she might be angry enough to give us away."
Silence stretched while Artigos seemed to ponder Selyn's information. Finally, he reached his decision. "She might, but for now we need to concentrate on removing the last of the demons from the few remaining guards. They're the only ones down here she could even go to. Plus, there are those six others, still possessed, who were called to work in the levels where the free folk live. They're a problem we'll deal with later."
Birk interrupted. "The last five men down here who still harbor demons are due to report in a few minutes. I'm going out to meet them. Lord Artigos, I'll contact you when I'm ready, but if the three of you show up with crystal, plus mine, we should be able to take care of the entire group at once."
He slipped quietly out of the room. Dawson shot a quick glance at Selyn. It was starting. He was going into his first mission in the battle against demonkind, and he was going with Selyn at his side and a sword in his hand. And a red leather scabbard strapped to his back. "What do you make of these?" He patted his scabbard.
Selyn checked the position of her sword across her back. "I'm learning not to question good fortune. I needed a crystal sword. I got one. My sword needed a sheath. There's one waiting when we awaken." She stepped close to Dawson and grabbed his hand. Her laughter gave way to the seriousness of the moment. "I needed a hero, and there you were."
How could she possibly see him as hero material? Dawson wanted to protest, but all he could think to do was lean close and kiss her. Then, glancing up, Dawson realized Artigos was studying him. "Sir?"
"I am still trying to figure out why a human would be here in Lemuria, fighting demons in a battle we may very well lose."
Dawson shook his head. He'd felt this war was every bit his as much as Lemuria's from the beginning. "From what I've been told, Lord Artigos, demonkind threatens all dimensions. If Lemuria falls, Earth will be next. Likewise, if Earth goes over to demon rule, Lemuria will follow, as will Eden and Atlantis. It's not just Lemuria's battle. It's one we all have a stake in, one that affects all our worlds."
Artigos looked almost weary when he nodded. For the first time, Dawson was aware of the man's age, the fact he'd been locked away for thousands of years.
As if he'd heard Dawson's thoughts, Artigos sighed. "I have been away from my world, from my people for much too long. I remember humans as a primitive, warlike people, yet you are obviously thoughtful and well-educated. Thank you for your commitment. And you as well, young Selyn. This battle is, for you, even more personal than for many." He raised his head. "Birk calls. Are you ready?"
Dawson glanced at Selyn. She leaned close and kissed him full on the mouth. "Now I am," she said.
Dawson noticed that Artigos was now grinning ear to ear as he led them out to meet the demon-possessed guards.
Selyn's first thought was that these guys were huge. Her second that she really didn't have a clue how to fight---her every step in the battle with Birk had been directed by Artigos's ruby sword. Still, she drew her clear crystal blade and stood between Dawson and Artigos, each man carrying a crimson blade that flashed with light the color of blood.
And, just like that, knowledge flooded her mind and body. How to grip the hilt, where to place her feet, how to feel as the battle began to unfold.
The guards immediately broke formation and drew their weapons, but it was obvious from the beginning they expected Birk to join them. When he sided with the prisoner and two strangers, the five stumbled back, confused and disoriented.
Birk drew his sword. What had appeared as steel within his sheath now glistened with blue light. "The five of you are known to be possessed by demonkind," he said. "Throw down your weapons so that we can remove the demons that rule your thoughts."
"Demons? There's no such thing in me." The guard turned and thrust, but his charge was toward Selyn, not his commander. She crossed blades with him, crystal to steel, and his arm twisted with the strength of her blow.
Artigos lunged forward, slapping at the man with the flat of his blade, but he missed. It was Dawson who got the hit, connecting with the man's chest while ducking to avoid a wild parry with steel.
The guard stiffened; his steel sword dropped from nerveless fingers, and he fell to his knees. The other four leapt back as a thick, oily mass oozed out of the man's chest. The sulfuric stench made Selyn's eyes water, but Artigos reached high with his ruby blade, and the demon burst into flames.
Dawson raised his blade, ready for the next attack. It came as the first guard toppled to the ground, unconscious. Dawson slapped his blade against one man before he had a chance to attack, while Artigos went for another. Selyn leapt to one side and reached for the demon mist escaping from Dawson's opponent.
Her sword seemed to swing under its own power. She caught the demon and destroyed it with a single well-aimed thrust. Artigos had his man down while Birk fought off the other two with his own crystal blade.
As soon as Dawson's man was down and out, Selyn shifted her stance and swung her blade through the mist escaping from the one Artigos had just downed. It flashed with blue sparks and left nothing behind but the stench.
Birk and Dawson engaged the final two guards. Where Birk used brute force to back his assailant across the cavern floor, Dawson's fight was one of finesse and skill. Selyn glanced at Artigos and saw that the man was standing and watching Dawson with a look of pure admiration on his face.
"Should we help them?" She shot Artigos a grin and got his answering smile in return.
"I've not seen footwork like that since I was a very young man. It's like watching a dancer."
Dawson parried and thrust, but the guard twisted away and Dawson's blade missed. "I could use some help, here."
Scrambling, Selyn caught up to the two as they fought their way across the floor. "I'm here. Sorry," she said, ducking to miss the slash of steel just over her head. "Artigos and I were admiring your footwork."
Dawson slapped his blade against the man's back as he stumbled and turned. Selyn caught the escaping demon with her crystal, and it sparked and faded away in a cloud of smoke. As this demon died, Birk managed to corner the last of the guards. Artigos stepped in, forced the demon out with DemonsBane, and moved out of the way so that Birk could destroy the creature.
The five guards lay on the floor in various stages of consciousness. Only one, the first, was still entirely out of it. The others were slowly sitting up, shaking their heads, and gazing about with confused expressions and trembling hands.
Birk went to the one man who was still out. He shook the guardsman's shoulder and, when he opened his eyes, helped the man sit up. "Now do you believe?"
The guard nodded. Then he glanced at Selyn, realized she was one of the Forgotten Ones, and looked away. The other four had a similar reaction. They all huddled together on the floor, unsure now what was expected of them.
Birk sighed. "I imagine it's going to affect all of them this way, once we bring them together with the women." He looked at Selyn. "There's a lot of shame involved. I feel it. I know they feel it. We are the men who fathered all of the young women. One of us may be your father, Selyn."
He sighed and, like the others, glanced away. "We don't even know which ones are our daughters. Those were terrible times, and awful things happened. Somehow, we need to work past the shame the men feel, and the rightful anger harbored in the hearts of the Forgotten Ones. As impossible as it sounds, we need to learn to trust each other if we're going to form a cohesive fighting unit."
Selyn glanced at Dawson and then focused on Birk. "Many of the women won't want to forgive. They're armed with crystal, though, and the swords seem to know we have to work together. It has to happen now, not later. Time may be running out."
Dawson wrapped an arm around her waist. "I'm worried that we haven't heard from either Taron or Roland. Not a single word since they returned to the upper levels, and Roland went back almost a full day before Taron. Something's wrong, but we have to get everyone working together here, or we won't be able to help them."
Selyn squeezed his hand. "Shouldn't we go above and find out what's happening?"
Artigos sheathed his ruby sword. "Not yet. Dawson is right. It's time to bring the women and the guards together." He glanced at the five men still sitting on the ground. Then he tilted his head, smiled at Selyn, and shrugged. "Then, all we have to do is convince them not to kill each other."
Chapter Fifteen
"So, Ragus of Kumer, do you understand what it means to carry crystal?" Ginny pushed the pace as they headed into the lower prison level, but try as she might, she'd not been able to get much out of the young guard who'd offered to show her the way.
"Yes, m'lady. It's a great honor." He kept his eyes forward, though she was certain he was just itching to pull his new crystal sword out and play with his unexpected treasure.
"But do you realize exactly what that honor signifies?"
He slowed just a bit and sent a quick glance in Ginny's direction. "I'm not quite sure what you're asking, m'lady."
"Let me tell you what it means to carry crystal. Listen carefully, Ragus of Kumer, because I don't know if you get it or not, and your life could depend on what you do and don't understand. It means your life, as you've always known it, is forfeit. Your life now belongs to the sentience within your blade. It may not speak to you yet, but it knows you. It watches you, and it will not allow you to do anything to harm Lemuria."
Obviously insulted, he stopped and glared at Ginny with total disregard for the fact she was the one who'd made it possible for him to carry crystal in the first place.
"I am a Lemurian guardsman. I've sworn to protect Lemuria, m'lady. I would never harm my world."
He sounded so indignant that Ginny had to bite her cheek to keep from laughing. He seemed so young, though as a Lemurian, he could still be thousands of years older than she was. "I believe you, Ragus. Yet you follow orders that have been given to you and your men by a council member who is controlled by a demon."
He rubbed his forehead and frowned at her. "No. That can't be true. Drago has been a councilman since I was a child. He comes from a long line of loyal Lemurians."
"He is possessed by demonkind. Even Drago refuses to believe that a demon has become a parasite within his body, but the demon controls the way he thinks, the decisions he makes, the orders he gives. Think of that as you guard Alton, the one man here who is capable of protecting Lemuria from complete and total subjugation by Abyss."
She spun away and started walking. Idiot. How in the hell was she going to convince this dolt that Drago was the enemy?
Ragus trotted to catch up. "How do you know this to be true, m'lady? Please pardon my asking, but how do I know you're not lying to me?"
They'd reached the level where the prisoners were kept. A huge guard with long, black braids framing his face blocked the way. Ginny acknowledged him with a brief nod. Then she turned her back on him and gave her full attention to Ragus. The young guard stared at her almost insolently.
"Ya know, we really don't have time for this shit." She drew DarkFire---not to attack, but to show her blade to the young guard. "DarkFire, explain, please, how we know Drago is possessed."
The sword glowed a dark lavender. "Drago reeks of demonkind. The stench is unmistakable. He has been possessed since the great move from the Lemurian homeland."
Ginny noticed the guard at the gate had come to his feet. The big man moved closer. His attention was focused entirely on DarkFire. The sword glowed and spoke again. "Many of the Council of Nine are ruled by demonkind. The battle to save the soul of Lemuria draws nigh."
"That's the Crone's voice." As the prison guard stared at Ginny's glowing blade, a huge grin slowly split his face. "I'd heard she joined the spirit world, that she now lived in crystal." He raised his head and flashed his smile at Ginny. "I am of Daria's line. We disguised our name for many years following the purge of women warriors. Now I proudly call myself Grayl of Daria."
Ginny bowed her head to him. "You should be proud, Grayl of Daria. I am honored to bear Daria's spirit within DarkFire."
Grayl shot a stern glance at the young guard standing beside Ginny. "You've not brought this brave warrior to the cells as a prisoner, have you?"
Ragus shook his head. "No, sir. She wishes to speak with two of the prisoners, Roland of Kronus and Taron of Libernus."
The guard growled. "These good men should not be held behind bars. What laws have they broken?"
Ginny shook her head. "None that we know of, other than putting the fate of Lemuria first."
"I would free them if I could."
Ginny gently placed her hand on his forearm. "I believe you, Grayl of Daria. Do you swear to put Lemuria first, even if it means breaking a superior's order?"
Grayl's head jerked back, and his gaze flashed from Ragus to Ginny. She grinned. "This is not a hypothetical question. You will be asked to stand behind your oath."
He took a deep breath, stared into her eyes for a long moment, and then slowly nodded. "Aye, m'lady. I promise to serve Lemuria and not the politicians set on ruining it for their own gain. This I swear."
"Hold your sword high, Grayl of Daria."
Again he shot a look at Ragus, but he drew his steel sword and held it upright. Ginny touched DarkFire's tip to his blade, crystal to steel. Light flashed, a blast of purple burst from the tip, raced down the steel blade, and sparked in lavender lights around the guard's huge fist.
He stared at his right arm, and then raised his eyes to his blade. What had been steel was now a multifaceted blade of purest crystal. Wide-eyed, he turned to Ginny. "But . . . how?"
"We're building an army, one loyal soul at a time. Crystal will only form if your heart is true. Thank you, Grayl of Daria. Please take us to the prisoners. And keep your sword sheathed. It will appear as steel to any casual observer, but when the time is right, you will wield crystal against demonkind."
I see you've added another to our army. Alton's laughter slipped into Ginny's mind.
That I have. He's of Daria's line, and he holds the keys to the prison cells.
Excellent. We won't be able to communicate once you enter the cells, but don't break our friends free yet. I want to try proper channels first.
I was afraid you'd say that. Alton's laughter echoed in her thoughts. She missed him. She hoped it was merely their separation that had her feeling edgy and uncomfortable. She glanced about at gray walls and dark shadows. Then the guard sheathed his sword and walked toward a heavy door set into the stone wall.
"Come, m'lady. This way."
With Ragus close behind, Ginny followed Grayl into the dark tunnel that led down into the prison.
Isra was not among the Forgotten Ones. Selyn called them, and each woman came, walking with a new confidence, wearing hand-stitched pants and tops, similar in style to Selyn's cotton scrubs. The garments were made from the robes they'd worn as slaves, cut now to clothe warriors carrying crystal. At each woman's hip was a crystal sword, sheathed not in the homemade fabric Selyn had expected, but instead in matching red leather scabbards.
Scabbards that had magically appeared, just as Selyn and Dawson's had, at some point during the night. That was the good news. The exciting news.
Isra's disappearance was something else. "What if she's given away our plans?" Selyn kept her eyes on the women gathered and waiting for instructions.
Dawson shrugged. "Who would she give them to? No one here. She'd have to leave the slaves' level. Has she ever gone above?"
"I don't know." Selyn's mind felt ready to burst with all the things that could go wrong. Isra had suddenly moved to the top of her list. "What if she goes to the guards?"
"What if she does?" Dawson merely shrugged. He didn't look the least bit concerned. "They're no longer possessed, and Artigos and Birk are speaking to them now. Relax, sweetheart. Everything will work. Are you ready?"
Relax? Right. Who was he kidding? She nodded and gazed at the army of women she'd known her entire life. They faced a new world and unknown dangers. None of them, except for Selyn, had ever traveled beyond this level. Would all of them gather together, ever again?
And who would survive? They were going into battle. Much as their mothers had once fought to save their world---a world that then turned its back on the bravest of the brave---these courageous women now prepared to fight. What if their need for revenge was too great? What if they refused to help put Artigos the Just back into power?
So many questions. And no answers. Not a one.
She felt Dawson's strong hands at her waist. "Hang on," he said, and suddenly she was flying. Startled, Selyn almost lost her footing when he set her on the same table where she'd spread crystal swords just a few short hours ago.
She flashed him a quick smile of thanks. At least now she could see everyone. Then she turned and faced her sisters, the Forgotten Ones. Women who would be forgotten no more.
Holding both hands high, she called out to get their attention. "Thank you, all of you, for heeding my call. For heeding the call of our mothers. Already there are changes. We carry crystal, as our mothers before us. The machines have fallen silent, and our work in the mines has come to an end. Our lifetime of slavery is over!"
A cheer went up. She glanced from face to face, saw tears in the eyes of many, resolve on the faces of others, a flicker of fear on more than one. They had every right to fear. They faced an uncertain future, a totally unfamiliar world.
Slavery was familiar. Would they be accepted in the levels above? How would they manage, living among the free folk?
Selyn held tightly to her resolve. "You've all noticed the guards are no longer watching us. There is a reason for that, a reason for so much of the evil that has ruled us for so long."
There was a bit of mumbling, the sound of feet shuffling, but without the constant roar of the mining machines, it still felt unnaturally quiet. She glanced at Dawson and absorbed his steady strength. With him behind her and a crystal sword in her hand, Selyn felt as if she could accomplish anything.
"Since the beginning, the wardens, these men who guard us, have been possessed by demons---lesser demons that insinuated themselves into the bodies, hearts, and minds of men who were, in the beginning, honorable soldiers. Before long, those demons controlled every thought, every action. It was demonkind directing our torment, leading the assaults against our mothers. Demons controlled the actions and caused the lack of morality in the men who fathered each of us."
Someone cursed; another woman spat. Selyn took a deep breath and carefully weighed her words. "Hear me now. We need to take another look at the animosity we have felt all our lives toward those men. They are victims. Just as we have been victimized by their cruelty, they have been victimized by the demons ruling their every thought and action for millennia."
"The bastards need to die."
Selyn didn't see who shouted the threat, but she noticed that most of the women before her nodded in agreement. "No," she said, raising her voice and making eye contact with as many of her sisters as she could. "The men don't need to die. The demons within them needed to die, and they have. Those same men want to fight beside us in this battle. They ask for our forgiveness. We need to give it to those who have been as sorely treated by demonkind as we have. They were nothing more than tools. We need to forgive them and fight with them, not against them. We have a common enemy, and we have got to fight together if we want to win, and we have to win if we want to survive."
The mumbling grew. Selyn glanced frantically at Dawson. What if she couldn't convince them?
"Draw your sword," Dawson said softly. "Let your blade speak."
"But it's not sentient," she whispered. "I don't think it can talk. I don't even know its name."
"Draw it. Hold it high."
His quiet confidence was actually sort of addictive. Selyn took a deep breath, nodded, and pulled her silent sword from the magical red sheath. As the blade slipped from the leather, Selyn thought of the way the scabbard had just appeared this morning, created out of nothing as far as she could tell.
If the sword could create its own scabbard, why couldn't it help her now? She was smiling as she grasped the hilt firmly in her hand and held the blade high. The crystal glowed, star bright and alive in her hand. The mumbling grew; the curses were more distinct. Her sword vibrated in her grasp, and Selyn clung tightly to the jeweled pommel. Holding the glowing blade high, she waited and hoped like the nine hells Dawson knew what he was talking about.
Dawson stood back with his arms folded across his chest and fought to keep the stupid grin off his face. He was so damned proud of her, the way she stood up there on the table, wearing his faded scrubs and Gaia's sandals, holding that beautiful sword over her head and facing her sisters as if she'd led armies all her life. What a natural!
Her blade glowed brighter, hotter. Then a burst of sparks shot from the tip, looking for all the world like a cascade of shooting stars.
"Take heed."
Dawson knew she had them on the first words from the shimmering blade. As if every woman suddenly realized her own crystal sword had the same potential for sentience, the same living spirit inside, they surged forward, eyes wide, faces alive with excitement.
"Lemuria's true leader waits nearby with a small army of men. Your wardens, as you know them, yet they are changed men. No longer tools of demonkind, they have chosen to follow Artigos the Just. Most carry steel blades. Without crystal, they cannot prevail against demonkind. You must work with them to hold freedom for all Lemurians. Without your forgiveness, they cannot bear crystal. Their shame is too great."
The sword dimmed. Selyn stared at the blade for a moment, and then she slipped it back into her scabbard. "So," she said, her voice sounding weary beyond measure. "Power is in our hands. We must use it wisely. It's up to all of us. We must find it in our hearts to forgive the men who have treated us as the slaves we were for all these long years. One who is filled with shame cannot carry crystal. Only we have the power to lift that burden from their souls."
Nica stepped forward. She smiled at Dawson and then looked up at Selyn, standing above her on the table. "I'm not sure I have it in me to forgive, Selyn. I still bear scars from more than one beating. I would like to see these men first and judge for myself if they are worthy of forgiveness."
Selyn nodded and turned back to the rest of the women. "Are you willing to give them a chance?"
Mumbles and a few sharp retorts, more talking and a couple of brief arguments later, it was agreed. Selyn jumped down from the table. "What now? Do we just take them to Artigos?"
Dawson took her hand. "I think that's as good an idea as any. Don't you think it's time to find out just what kind of leader we've decided to back?"
It felt almost anticlimactic to grab up their small bags of belongings and walk away from the slave quarters and the mines, this dark piece of Lemuria where they'd been born, where they'd lived all their lives, where they'd watched their mothers die.
Where each of them, at one time or another, had faced some form of cruelty or ill treatment from the men who now waited nearby, hoping for their absolution.
Alton paced the small area inside his quarters, cursing under his breath. He'd changed out of that damned robe and wore his jeans and boots and a dark flannel shirt. With his hair braided back from his face, and his scabbard lashed across his back, he was ready for whatever came next. Screw the council and their frickin' robes, and screw this confinement.
He wanted to know where in the nine hells Ginny was. He'd lost touch with her when she entered the prison cells, as he knew he would, but that was hours ago, damn it, and the guards outside his door hadn't offered a bit of information.
Well, nine hells and then some. If they weren't going to offer, he'd go after it. He paused in front of the portal, thought for a good two seconds about whether or not this was going to piss them off, and then stepped through.
The corporal and his two remaining guards met him with crystal swords raised. "Nice blades," he said, pouring on the sarcasm. "Put your weapons away. Now." His growl must have been effective, because they complied immediately. He almost laughed, but damn it all, he was losing patience with this crap. "Any word from Ragus?"
"No, sir." Balti, their leader, carefully sheathed his crystal blade. "Not since they entered the cells. That was his last report."
"Okay. Then it's official. I'm worried. I've not heard from my woman. I don't like being out of contact with her this long, especially with things as unsettled as they are. Chancellor Artigos and my mother should have returned by now. At the very least, there should have been some contact from the members of the council regarding my arrest."
The three men looked at one another. "Doman. Check on Ragus. Make sure there's not a problem in the prison level."
The man saluted and took off at a quick trot. Alton watched him go. "Corporal Balti, can you reach Drago? Are you in contact with him?"
"No, sir. I've tried reaching him, but I believe he's gone through the veil."
"Into Earth's dimension?" A shiver raced along Alton's spine. Where else could Drago be headed, if not to Earth? But why?
Balti shook his head. "No, sir. He only goes as far as the vortex, stays for a while, and then returns. He always carries his sword with him."
"What color is the blade?" Alton tried to remember if he'd ever actually noticed Drago's sword, but he couldn't recall anything about it. All the council members owned crystal, they didn't always carry their swords, and none of their blades were sentient. At least as far as Alton knew, they weren't capable of communication with their owners. But what if . . .
Corporal Balti was scratching his balding head. "I've never noticed. He keeps it sheathed whenever he carries it, as do the other members of the council. None of them carry sentient blades. They're really just for show."
"I'm beginning to wonder." Alton reached out for Ginny once again. Nothing. Damn. That sense of unease he'd awakened with was growing stronger by the second. "Corporal, remember that pledge you made to Lemuria?"
The man nodded slowly.
"I may have to invoke your promise to fight for Lemuria sooner rather than later. Something is building, some change in our world. I sense it in my gut and . . ."
Crap. Why hadn't he just asked his damned sword? HellFire? Tell me what's wrong. My senses are screaming right now, and not in a good way. Will you speak aloud? I want Balti to hear what you have to say.
He reached over his shoulder and drew the blade free of the scabbard. Immediately, the crystal glowed, and HellFire spoke.
"Demonkind grows more powerful. You must arm the citizens of Lemuria." The sword flashed. "Ginny and DarkFire have been taken. Find them in the cells below, imprisoned with Taron and Roland and his men. Beware the guardsmen who harbor demonkind."
"Nine hells." Alton stared at the blade. Then he shoved it inside the scabbard. "Okay, Balti. This has gone too far. While I'm stuck here in my quarters, Lemuria faces the risk of total annihilation. Make your decision, Corporal, and make it now. Who do you fight for?"
Corporal Balti snapped to attention. The men beside him did the same. "I gave my oath to fight for Lemuria. I'm with you, Chancellor. What do we do now?"
"We get Ginny, Roland, and the rest of them out of that damned cell. Then we find out what in the nine hells Drago is doing in the vortex."
With Selyn at their head, the women marched into the cavern where Artigos the Just had been held prisoner since the great move from the dying world of Lemuria. All those long years, imprisoned with nothing more than his own thoughts and a few books to keep him sane, probably wondering if he'd ever again know freedom.
Selyn paused just inside the open area. Eighteen Lemurian guardsmen waited there. Eighteen men and one deposed world leader, waiting to see if the women warriors who had once been the wardens' slaves had it in their hearts to forgive, if those same women would honor the leadership of a man long thought dead.
Dawson stayed to the back of the group and scanned the area, looking for Isra. No one had seen her since the night before. He worried about what kind of damage she could cause, should she decide to take out her anger on her sisters.
He saw no sign of the woman. The walls glowed with their unusual inner light, but this was a place of prison cells and military quarters. There were no works of art, no golden columns, no crystalline formations to break the drabness of barren walls and smooth ceiling.
All attention focused on the very tall, whipcord-lean man wearing a plain white robe, standing at the head of a group of solemn guardsmen robed in blue. Artigos's long hair flowed to his waist, held away from his face with a single gold band around his forehead that appeared similar to the one holding Selyn's hair. In spite of the gray streaks amid the brown, he held himself with the bearing and confidence of a young man. A man in his prime, ready for anything.
The women arranged themselves in a half circle in front of the men. Their anger was a living, breathing presence in the room, but they held themselves in check. Now they stared not at Artigos, but at the guards in formation behind him.
Dawson caught Selyn's eye. She shrugged and turned her attention to Artigos.
"Lord Artigos, I bring you the Forgotten Ones, though I promise you, we are sworn to be forgotten no more. Our mothers were brave warriors who suffered much because of Lemurian politics and now, it appears, from demonkind as well. We carry crystal, we are strong, and we are courageous. Tell us why we should pledge our service, our very lives, to you. Convince us to put aside our need for revenge and fight beside the men who assaulted our mothers and abused all of us for so many years."
Artigos stepped forward, away from the men who were so recently under thrall to demonkind. He acknowledged Selyn with a courteous bow, folded his arms across his chest, and made eye contact with every woman there.
Dawson felt the man's resolve, but he also sensed his anger. Anger that these women had suffered, that his guards had suffered as well. When he spoke, it was with a powerful voice that commanded attention and sent shivers along Dawson's spine. He had no doubt he stood in the presence of a great leader. He hoped the women felt it as well.
"I cannot apologize for the wrong that was done to you, the evil you have lived with. Demonkind deserves no apology. Only death. Nothing else will serve, and nothing can undo the harm that has been done. We can only do our best to prevent more harm from occurring. The men behind me have spent untold millennia ruled by demons. Their lives have not been their own, just as your lives have not been yours to live as you choose."
He sighed and shook his head. "As your mothers' lives were not theirs. I fear the war we Lemurians thought we had won so many years ago was nothing but a ruse to allow demons access into our civilization. They have infiltrated our leaders, our soldiers, the very fabric of our society, beginning when they first set into motion the destruction of our homeland.
"The decision is yours. You can fight us, crystal to steel, Lemurian against Lemurian, and exact your revenge against innocent men, or you can join with us to seek revenge against the demon horde that has caused so many deaths, so much misery to our entire civilization."
He looked across the gathering of women and smiled. "You are all so young, and yet you have the hearts and souls of women warriors who fought bravely. Even so, I imagine you know little of your past beyond this immediate history. I want to tell you about your people---what this battle is really about. It's a story very few souls even remember, as it was long before my time that Lemurians first settled on this world."
He glanced at Dawson and then turned and focused on the men behind him for a moment. "Sit down. All of you. Get comfortable. We have time for a bit of a history lesson. I want all of you to know exactly what you're fighting for."
Chapter Sixteen
Even when he'd been locked away from everyone and everything he knew, Artigos had not felt his age as he felt it now. Looking out over the sea of young and hopeful faces, he realized he was most likely the last living soul who remembered hearing the stories of Lemuria's beginnings from the mouths of those who'd actually lived them. He still recalled, as if it had been only days ago, listening as his grandparents described those terrifying times, and how they'd survived almost total annihilation of the original Lemurian civilization.
He could be the final link between those born on the home world, and those who had always called Earth---and now this Lemurian dimension within Earth's rocky crust---their home.
He knew, firsthand, where they had come from, and why they had fled a dying world long before their new home on Earth had been destroyed.
The story was written down and stored in the archives, but did anyone even care anymore? There were so few of them left. From the last numbers he'd heard, barely a thousand Lemurians survived---if this could be called survival, this sleepwalk through their empty, wasted lives in an artificially created world. At least he had an excuse for not working harder to keep his society vital and growing.
He'd been a prisoner, locked in a cell for well over ten thousand years, but the time for excuses was past.
He watched as the young women seated themselves on the stone floor and listened to the rustle of robes and scuffling of sandals as his soldiers took their ease behind him. He glanced at the human leaning against the cavern wall and once again felt drawn to him. Somehow that young man, a mere infant compared to everyone in this room, might very well be the single factor that could tip the scales and save the Lemurian people, their world, and all the other civilized worlds from the eternal damnation of demon rule.
How or why, he wasn't sure. The only thing Artigos could be certain of was the weight of too many lives hanging in the balance.
Worry solves nothing. It's time for action.
With that thought in mind, he turned so that he could see everyone and leaned his hip against the scarred desk the guards used for their reports. It was the only piece of furniture in the cavern---an old and much-used remnant from Earth. It, too, probably had stories to tell, but where to begin his?
Folding his arms across his chest, Artigos began at the beginning. "Long before there were humans on Earth," he said, "when the planet was nothing more than a developing world teeming with primitive life, the world where Lemurians originated, the place they called home, was facing annihilation. Our sun was going nova, and we had no choice but to abandon our home, the place where our civilization began.
"Lemurians had been space travelers for many years, and our technology was well advanced. I know that you must find that difficult to believe as you sit here on the stone floor of a cave in your rough garb and sandals, armed only with swords, but Lemurians of old once colonized other planets and regularly traveled among the stars. Unfortunately, the worlds we'd settled were in our same solar system, and they, too, faced destruction.
"Large ships for transporting our citizens beyond our solar system were prepared. Goods and people began moving aboard, until we had almost our entire population living on huge ships orbiting Lemuria, preparing to leave. Our scientists were hard at work, searching out worlds that could support us, but there weren't very many, and the distance was great.
"Very few planets looked promising. Our laws prevented us from moving to worlds that already had sentient populations, but a few were primitive enough, new enough, and without sentient species of their own; those we felt free to colonize. Coordinates were fed into the ships' computers, and we prepared for a diaspora beyond anything anyone had heard of before. An entire world---a long established, technologically advanced civilization---was moving en masse to another planet.
"Then the unthinkable happened. The sun exploded far ahead of the time our scientists had predicted. Instead of an orderly journey, the ships with their Lemurian cargo---the ones that were not destroyed in the initial explosion---were flung into space.
"We also believe they were flung through time, though we will never know for sure. Nor will we ever know how many of the hundreds of vessels survived. The ship my ancestors traveled on was damaged, but we made it to this world and landed on a lush continent in the midst of Earth's Pacific Ocean. It was difficult at first, but eventually the colonists thrived in their new world. We'd brought our technology with us, along with our sentient crystal swords. They were the one physical link with our home world, created out of the crystals that formed our planet, carrying the spirits of our long-departed warriors. We managed to save our swords, even though much of our advanced technology was eventually lost. Life here was too easy, and our people became lazy."
He smiled at the women who watched him so intently. "You have not had it so easy. You've struggled to survive; you've worked hard. You are more like our ancient ancestors than the spoiled free folk who run our world today. I imagine demons would not have found safe harbor within any of you."
He turned his attention to the men. Each one had opened himself to demonkind. Not consciously, but they'd not fought against the bastards, either. "You were young, brave soldiers, but most of you came of age at the end of the Demon Wars. You were not tested in battle and had no idea how to fight the demons that raped your souls. Now you know. Demonkind will try again and again to gain access, but you cannot allow it. Fight them. With everything you are, you must fight them."
He caught Dawson Buck's eye, and nodded, sensing the young man's impatience. He was right to be concerned. Time was short, but Artigos needed to finish this tale. He had to explain how they had come to this point, to this pivotal battle, and somehow hope it was enough to convince the women he was a worthy leader.
The men would follow. Their confidence in themselves was badly shaken, and he offered them hope of redemption, if only to die in battle as heroes against demonkind. He certainly hoped to offer more than that, but it would depend on the women.
Everything depended on them. They carried crystal; the men did not. He'd tried using DemonsBane to change the steel blades the way Roland's sword had altered Birk's, but it hadn't worked. Some critical element was missing, and Artigos feared Selyn's crystal sword was right---DemonsBane had passed DarkFire's message on to him---that without the women's forgiveness, the men were incapable of bearing crystal. Their shame was too great.
He focused on his audience. "Eventually, many thousands of years later, when most of the original colonists were long gone, we discovered another advanced society on the far side of Earth. Though they called themselves Atlanteans, they were too similar to us for it to be mere coincidence. Amazingly, they had been here much, much longer than we had, which is when we realized our world's diaspora had taken some of our ships through time as well as space. The Atlanteans' technology was even more advanced than ours, but by then we had begun to lose much of what we had once had, while they had obviously continued to develop. They no longer remembered their off-world beginnings. Lemuria was legend, nothing more. But we knew they were our brothers." He laughed softly. "That is a tale for another time.
"For whatever reason, we had not been bothered by demonkind until shortly after making contact with Atlantis. Their world was rocked by massive upheavals, and they elected to encase themselves within a protective dimensional bubble that would allow them to continue as a civilization far beneath the sea. They exist there still, for all I know, living apart from all worlds, accessible only through the portals in the vortexes. As far as I know, they're unaware of the current demonic uprising, though their world is at risk, should Lemuria fall.
"I was the heir of the last king of Lemuria, a position and title handed down from parent to eldest child. We had our share of queens who ruled. My grandmother was the last woman ruler. Her son, my father, took over leadership, and when he had tired of corporeal life, it was passed on to me.
"Because I was a young man, yet untried, when I took over the monarchy, I chose to lead as a king with a council of trusted advisors. I was king during the DemonWars, when we discovered that our crystal swords were the only weapon we had to effectively fight and kill demons. But after, when Lemuria was in constant upheaval with volcanic explosions and earthquakes, when our government was in turmoil with the forced move to a new world, I was taken prisoner. At the time, I had no idea my own son was behind the coup. Nor did I realize he was ruled by demonkind."
He shook his head and fought back a great welling of sadness, but he couldn't stop the tears from filling his eyes. "Demons have no concept of time. All these thousands of years while I have languished in a prison cell, they have worked to gain a foothold among our people. I believe demons were behind the destruction of Atlantis as well as our continent of Lemuria, and I know they are working even now to destroy this new home of ours, though this time they're doing it from within, by taking possession of the souls of our people.
"I have no idea how many of the so-called 'free folk' are actually slaves to demonkind, but I am certain, just as these guardsmen have been bound by evil, many of our council members and aristocrats are bound as well. The Lemurian population is small. There are barely more than a thousand of us remaining, but if demonkind ever completely controls Lemuria, they will have found that immutable, irreversible tipping point that will finally give them what they have worked toward all along---dominion over all worlds in all dimensions.
"Earth will fall. Eden, Atlantis . . ." He shook his head and wiped at the tears spilling down his cheeks. "All of us will become hosts to demonkind, and life as we know it will end for all time."
He focused on the women. "As slaves, your lives have been hell. What demons will do to our worlds will make your previous existence appear as paradise. My grandson is struggling to hold Lemurian society together, but he does not want to lead. I do, and I can. I am willing to fight this scourge, but I cannot do it without your support. Will you stand with me? Will you stand beside these men? Whether you want it or not, you carry their blood in your veins, as well as the blood of the warrior women."
He gazed at the faces watching him, and he spoke to each woman as if she, and only she, mattered. "You were born to be warriors, not slaves. Don't be slaves to your need for revenge. These men---these brave warriors---are ready to take up arms against our common enemy. Can you put aside your desire for revenge and focus that hatred on an enemy that will do anything possible to divide us? Even after the wrong done to you in the name of Lemuria, can you raise your swords in her defense? Not for yourselves. Not for me. For Lemuria!"
Selyn was the first one to her feet. She thrust her crystal sword into the air and shouted loud enough for her voice to echo from the cavern walls, "For Lemuria. Yes!"
One by one, and finally all together, the rest of the women, many with tears on their faces, leapt to their feet. The shout went up. The men were on their feet, with steel blades high and voices raised, and the echo of their shouted cries gave the women more power, more strength, until the stone chamber reverberated with their battle cry.
"Lemuria! Lemuria!"
Chills coursed along Artigos's spine. He felt the energy grow and intensify, a sacred trust these women and men had just given to him. He drew DemonsBane from his scabbard and held his sword high. Each of the women drew their crystal blades. The crystals flashed with brilliant bursts of blue and silver light. The cry of "Lemuria" grew louder, taking on a rhythm all its own until it became a song powerful enough to lead an army.
Then, without warning, with cries of "Lemuria" still echoing from the cavern walls, the women surged past Artigos with their blades drawn, and raced toward the men.
Artigos shot a fearful glance at Dawson Buck. What the nine hells was happening? Were they going to kill the men after all? But Dawson was smiling and holding his blade high. Crystal fire shot from the ruby tip and flashed in blood-red streaks across the ceiling. Artigos spun around, expecting carnage, but it wasn't that at all.
Not even close. Men and women stood in tight groups, swords held high, crystal blades caressing steel. Blue fire flashed, a blinding light that wiped away shadows until everything glowed.
Men, women, swords, all of them encased in cold, blue flames that flowed over arms, down bodies, across shoulders.
Artigos the Just sensed movement. Dawson stood beside him, just as awestruck, watching the power of crystal as it bathed the entire group of men and women, encasing them in light, and filling them with power.
Time stood still, and yet Artigos was aware of the sound of many hearts beating, the rush of blood through veins, the crisp spark of thoughts in so many minds. As if these disparate men and women were a single entity, a single life form, united at a cellular level by the power of crystal.
And he, the man known as Artigos the Just, was the breath this form drew, the strength that lifted their arms, the mind that ruled their thoughts. An unexpected, compelling burst of power filled him and gave him hope.
Then, as if from another plane entirely, new voices intruded. First a whisper among the blades---whispers that became words---until he knew that the voices he heard were those of the spirits of the women warriors coming together, growing stronger, calling out to their daughters and their oppressors alike.
The whisper became a mighty shout as their many voices rose in battle song. We are avenged, they cried. We are one people. Not wardens and slaves, not men and women, not adversaries. Now we are and forever, one people. We are Lemuria!
Their passionate cry faded as the glow of many blades slowly dimmed. As raised swords lowered, men and women looked first at one another and saw their comrades for the coming battle, and then turned to their swords---crystal swords held by guards and former slaves alike. Swords with the sentience of the brave women who had gone before.
Birk was the first one to step apart from the crowd. The massive guard walked to Artigos and knelt at his feet with his blade pressed across his heart. "I pledge my sword and my heart to Lemuria, to her protector, Artigos the Just, and to our cause. All hail Artigos the Just. All hail Lemuria!"
Artigos stood tall as he tapped Birk's right and then left shoulder with DemonsBane. Birk rose, and Selyn took his place. Another man followed, and then a woman, until every single soldier---male and female alike---had pledged his or her loyalty to their leader and their land.
Soldiers. All of them. Not a single slave in the group.
When they were finished, Artigos clambered atop the desk so that he could see his army, all of them standing in formation now without regard to gender. Men beside the women they had mistreated; women next to men they'd sworn to kill.
Brought together by the spirits of warriors long gone, by the power of crystal.
"We march to the upper levels tomorrow. I've not heard from any of our comrades who went ahead, and can only assume the worst. I want you to eat well, and sleep." Then he grinned at the robed men lined up before him. "Philosophers fight in robes. Soldiers need pants to better maneuver. If any of you gentlemen know how to turn those robes into clothing such as the women are wearing, you may find yourself better able to fight." He sobered as he looked at them. "And if so, do it quickly. I think we will fight before too long. Rest well. We leave with first light."
Dawson held Selyn's hand as they walked away from the soldier's barracks. They'd eaten well, and the dynamics between the women and men had been fascinating. Everyone had been so tense at first. Then some of the women had offered to help the men turn their robes into pants. Before long, one of the men had approached a young woman and told her she looked exactly like his mother.
From there it had become a game, with the women trying to figure out which of the men might have fathered them. What could have been horribly uncomfortable had ended up with small groups of women and men cutting and sewing, and quiet discussions among others about who might or might not be related.
No one would ever know for sure. The men had little memory of that period, when they'd gone against all their natural instincts to protect women, and had abused them instead. Yet none could deny the powerful sense that those women warriors were there, in the same room, in the sentience of the swords.
Attending, and approving of the unexpected emotional connection between their daughters and their former guards.
"I didn't expect tonight." Selyn glanced at Dawson and then looked away. "I thought there would be a more lingering anger, a stronger need for revenge. We've talked of revenge all our lives. But those voices . . ." She shook her head. "Those were the voices of our mothers, the women warriors, and they're right." She sighed and leaned her head against Dawson's shoulder. "I once had so much anger against the wardens, but it's gone."
Dawson wrapped his arm around her shoulders. They were almost to the room they'd shared the night before. Anger and revenge were the last things on his mind.
"Maybe because you've found a new target for it," he said. "A common enemy. Something that pulls all of you together, rather than drives you apart. As Artigos said, you need to concentrate on fighting demonkind, not each other. The spirits of the women appear to agree."
"Are we truly ready for this?" Selyn rested her fingers on his chest. "I'm worried that we haven't heard from anyone. If they could have contacted us, both Roland and Taron would have done so. They know how important it is that we have news."
"That's why you and I are going on ahead. If we leave early enough, we should be able to get word back. Lord Artigos said he doesn't want us taking any risks, but if we can reach a level where you can contact Ginny or Alton, find out what the hell's going on, and get back below without getting caught . . ."
"Or worse?" She tilted one eyebrow.
He nodded. "Or worse. But I'm not going to think that way. I can't, not if I want to have the courage to carry out Artigos's wishes. What I really wish is that I could go without you, but we need the information, and I don't do that telepathy thing you do."
She stretched up on her toes and kissed him. "Yeah, but there are other truly amazing things you can do. We don't have to leave until morning. That gives us a whole night. . . ."
He stood there like an idiot staring at her. She grabbed him by the hand and led him inside their room, but he didn't remember to breathe until she closed the door behind him. It was as if she'd shut the world, the war, and all of demonkind outside, leaving just the two of them. And, like she said, there was a whole night before they needed to return to reality.
"I need to bathe." Selyn let go of his hand and headed toward the bathroom. Then she paused in the doorway, glanced over her shoulder at him with a look that could melt ice and added, "Would you like to join me?"
If there'd been a prize for speed undressing, Dawson was positive he'd have won. But by the time he got into the small room where he'd showered the night before, there was no sign of Selyn. Then he noticed a narrow alcove he'd missed, and the sound of water beyond.
Slipping around a corner, Daws stumbled and had to hang on to a stone outcropping to keep from tumbling into the pool. If this was a typical Lemurian bathtub, he was giving up showers forever.
Selyn sat shoulders deep in a bubbling pool of dark water about six feet in diameter. It appeared to be cut from solid stone, so that the gray walls rose up around it on all sides. Hot water flowed in from a small waterfall on one side and trickled out through a hole on the other. Steam rose all around, and a soft, blue-green glow emanating from the walls cast strange shadows across the roiling surface.
"What's this? A hot tub?" He knelt beside the pool and dipped his hand in the steaming water.
Selyn tilted her head and frowned at him like he was a complete dolt. "Hot tub? We call it a bathing pool. We had one like it in the slave quarters, though it was much larger. Showers are for hurried bathing." She smiled, and he could have sworn she actually fluttered her long lashes at him. "Remember, we have all night."
"Oh, yeah." He slipped into the pool beside her. The warm water came to his waist---a perfect temperature for bathing. Or other things. Except he couldn't go there. At least, not beyond the amazing images crowding his mind. He found the ledge Selyn was sitting on and sat beside her.
She was sleek and warm where she leaned against him, all soft breasts and smooth skin. He slipped his arm up and over her back, tucking her close against his side where she fit perfectly---a wet, warm, and willing woman clinging to him. The water bubbled and steamed around them, and they had hours before they needed to slip into the upper levels and see what was happening among the free folk.
All night. Just the two of them. Dawson felt like screaming his stupidity to the world. They had all night, and no condoms.
Never, ever again was he leaving home without his pockets full of the damned things. He could have kicked himself, except it wouldn't help a bit. He told himself to accept the fact they weren't going to make love tonight, and relax. The warm water bubbled over his aching muscles, and Selyn was so close that at least the problems of demons and danger and a looming war melted away with the billowing steam.
Unfortunately, his raging libido remained, literally front and center---a painful reminder of his absurd lack of preparation. Selyn's fingers brushed his arm, and she gazed at him from pools of deepest blue. Dawson groaned and tightened his grasp around her. She surprised him by moving closer. Causing barely a ripple in the pool, she slipped willingly into his lap and straddled him.
Her puckered nipples brushed his chest. Her lips swept gently over his mouth. She was so close. Too close. Her feminine thatch of hair meshed with his dark tangle, and it would take just the slightest adjustment for him to slip inside her. Her heat surrounded him. She pressed her breasts closer against his chest, and her lips followed the line of his jaw. Her slim, muscular arms slipped around his neck; she tangled her fingers in his damp hair. It was too good, too much, too hard to resist.
He shouldn't risk this. She couldn't risk it, but still it took an act of will he wasn't sure he had, to wrap his fingers around her waist and lift her away. She laughed and tightened her arms around his neck, clinging like a burr.
"There's no need to push me away. Unless you've decided you don't want me." Her laughter raised shivers across his chest, and he was almost preternaturally aware of the taut points of her nipples teasing the hair that covered his pecs. Not want her? Who did she think she was kidding?
"I talked to Nica." She kissed his chin. "Her mother was a healer before she was a warrior." This time she planted a small kiss at the right corner of his mouth. "She taught Nica lots of her ways, including how to prevent babies."
No kisses this time. Instead, she leaned her forehead against Dawson's, and there was a sense of sadness in her voice. "It's not difficult for us, not when we prepare ahead of time. It's much harder for Lemurian women to conceive than it is to avoid conception, but because you worry, I'm being careful."
He was almost afraid to ask. "What do you mean? Just how are you . . . ?"
"Being careful?" She kissed him. A real one this time, a long, lingering kiss that spoke of sexual experience he knew she didn't have. Experience she was going to get if they both weren't careful. Whatever willpower he'd had was dissipating along with the steam rising above the surface of the pool.
"An herb," she said.
Her soft whisper against his mouth had him rising even higher, swelling even harder against her. "An herb?" Was that his voice?
"A simple herb in my meal tonight. Once a month is all it takes, until I want to try to conceive. Then I stop eating it and hope that somehow, at some point, we make a baby." She shook her head. "For most women, that never happens."
Her fingernails scraped the back of his neck, and his entire body trembled with need. He took a deep breath. Then he sucked in another and grabbed her hands from around his neck, held her arms down at her sides, and looked directly into those guileless blue eyes. Speaking very slowly and clearly, he said, "I need to be sure what I think you're saying. You ate an herb with your dinner tonight, and that's all it takes to keep you from getting pregnant?"
He almost laughed, but the sound he made was more of a croak. "I'm assuming that's including sex. . . . You're saying that you can have sexual relations and not conceive? As long as you've eaten this . . . whatever?"
She laughed, only Selyn's was full-throated and filled with joy. "Ah, Dawson. I wish you could see yourself right now. Yes, that's what I'm saying. But, knowing you, healer of small furry creatures and grown Lemurian women that you are, you want specifics."
She kissed him once again, and then, speaking as if she were teaching sex education to a room filled with seventh graders, said, "Listen, carefully. I ate an herb known to our healers that will prevent implantation of the male sperm with the female's egg. It is one hundred percent effective in preventing pregnancy for Lemurian women. Is that information precise enough? I can't get pregnant if we make love. No matter how many times or what positions we are in, which means you have absolutely no excuse to avoid showing me what making love is like. Now do you understand?"
Oh, shit. Did he ever.
Chapter Seventeen
Selyn settled her bottom over Dawson's thighs and tried not to giggle, but it was so hard. Then she did laugh, but the laughter exploded into an unglamorous snort that morphed into uncontrollable giggles because it was definitely hard, that thing between his legs he'd identified by at least half a dozen silly names last night.
She tried to stop laughing and snorted again, which made the giggles even worse, but nine hells he was hard, and it was hard not to laugh, and he was poking her belly, not between her legs where she really wanted to feel all that perfectly hard length of him.
He raised one dark eyebrow. "Any reason you're laughing at me?" He sounded angry, but the twitch in his lips gave him away.
She sniffed and wiped her streaming eyes. Bit her lips and fought for control. Lost it entirely and doubled over, shoulders shaking, giggles making it almost impossible to breathe.
"I've certainly had unenthusiastic reactions from women, but yours takes unenthusiastic to an entirely new level."
His dry comment set her off all over again.
Finally, she took a deep breath. Then she took another and held it until she felt as if she had everything under control. "I'm sorry." She sniffed and had to clench her teeth to keep the giggles from breaking loose. "I guess I'm nervous and sometimes I laugh when I'm nervous, and then I thought how hard it was, only I was thinking how hard it was not to laugh, but then I realized how hard that is and . . . and . . ."
She slapped a hand over her mouth. His blue eyes twinkled. He didn't say a word. Instead he slipped his hand between their bellies, and his long fingers inched slowly between her legs.
Laughter was suddenly the last thing on Selyn's mind.
She moaned, thrust her hips forward and tilted her head back. His fingers slipped gently over that sensitive bit of her that he'd played so well last night. She whimpered. Then one finger slowly, gently worked inside her body. In, out, and in again. He added another, and the pressure was exquisite. Muscles rippled and pulsed---muscles she hadn't even known she had---and she caught his rhythm, sliding up and down his fingers, tilting her hips to find the perfect friction, amazed by what he could do to her with nothing more than his beautiful, long fingers.
The warm water lapped over her breasts and gave her body a buoyancy that turned everything dreamlike. The thick, hard ridge of his penis rubbed over her belly, but she didn't want him there. She wanted him inside, filling her, and she lifted herself away from his fingers, actually floating away from his slow but steady teasing.
"Now," she demanded, with a voice gone harsh from desire. "I want you inside me. Now."
He focused on her face, his blue eyes dark as midnight in the shadows, and he watched her while she shivered in his grasp. Watched her, she imagined, to be sure she knew what she was asking of him.
She did. She'd never wanted anything more. Not her freedom, not even her life. She'd not experienced life before now. It was her turn. Her time.
For whatever reason, he must have been satisfied she wasn't a complete idiot, because his hands grasped her hips, and he lifted her even as she lifted herself. She reached between them, grabbed the thick, hard length of him, and slowly, carefully settled herself down, taking him fully inside.
He was much bigger than she'd expected. Longer. Thicker. And hard. It might feel as if that part of him was covered in silk, but he was all steel and strength and hard, male muscle. Her channel burned as he stretched her. She felt her muscles rippling along his length, but her body adjusted. The burn slowly faded away, replaced by a pleasure so perfect, so utterly sublime, she knew she never would have believed had someone tried to describe it.
He filled her in more than just this physical sense. Though she'd not realized what was missing before now, Selyn finally felt complete. Emotions she'd never appreciated burst into life, feelings unfamiliar and yet so deeply embedded in her soul, she had no idea how she'd existed without them.
Dawson stretched her, and she clung to him, taking all of him, needing him inside her as much as she needed air to breathe and food to eat. Needing this fullness, this amazing connection, but not merely to another. No, specifically to Dawson Buck.
She'd never imagined needing a man---not like this. Her life had been as complete as a slave's life could be. Work in the mines; downtime with her sisters; the love she'd known from her mother so long ago.
This was completely different. Unexplainable, unimaginable.
Perfect.
Dawson's lips fastened over her nipple, and he suckled so hard she felt it between her legs. His hips kept up a simple rhythm---such simple physical acts to create such a complex tangle of physical sensations and emotions.
He moved inside her slowly, carefully, but Selyn wanted more. He was probably being careful because this was her first time. Nine hells, but she didn't want careful!
She planted her knees on the stone bench on either side of his thighs and took control. Rising and falling, tilting her hips to take him even deeper, to feel that delicious friction grow stronger, closer, she reached for something indescribable. Her breath burst out from between her parted lips in short, sharp gasps. Water splashed out of the pool and spread in ever-widening circles across the dark stone floor.
Dawson's eyes were closed, and his lips twisted in a rictus that could be either pain or pleasure. The cords on his neck were drawn taut---his entire body felt tight beneath Selyn's hands, straining, as hers was, against the climax hovering so close.
She didn't want to finish. Not yet. This felt too good to end it, but then she realized they could do it again, and again if they wished.
This wasn't an end, it was a beginning.
A beginning for her and for Dawson. The simplicity of it filled her mind, the joy and the absolute certainty of her feelings. Buoyed by unexpected love, she set herself free.
The first rippling contractions deep inside her body must have been the signal Dawson waited for. He thrust inside hard and fast, deeper still until the hard crown of his erection rode across the mouth of her womb.
She heard a loud, keening cry and barely recognized her own voice, that unfamiliar howl ripped from her chest as her body tightened and shivered and trembled in Dawson's powerful embrace.
She was still trembling, long moments later as they half lay, half floated in the pool. Dawson had slipped lower on the stone bench so that only his head remained above the water. Her chin rested on his shoulder and water lapped across her lips, but she made no effort to move.
What was the point? She couldn't have moved if she'd tried.
His lips caressed her brow. "You're not giggling anymore."
She groaned. "I think you've found the cure for my giggles."
"Good." He kissed her again. "No man wants to be laughed at. That's not the reaction we're looking for from a beautiful woman. Not at all."
She snorted and then choked it back. "I'll try to remember that."
"We should probably get out of the water."
She raised her head. "Why?"
"Gonna get all pruny."
She frowned. "What's that mean?" Some of the terms he used really didn't translate well at all.
He held up her hand and showed her the water-wrinkles on her fingertips. "That's pruny. Plums are fruit. When they're dried, they get all wrinkled, and they're called prunes. Your fingers are all wrinkled. Hence, pruny."
"But they're all wet. They're not dry at all."
"Exactly." He blew bubbles at the end of the word.
She held up her fingers and looked at them. "Huh?"
"Never mind."
Selyn wriggled her hips and felt him grow hard inside her once again. "I don't think you really want to get out yet."
He opened his eyes, though his lids looked heavy and slumberous. "There's out, like do we want to get out of the water, and then there's out . . . of you." Slowly, with a tilt of his hips, he lifted and thrust deep inside her. "I'd rather stay in." He emphasized his position with a quick kiss. "Though I don't mind pulling out again."
Wrapping his big hands around her waist, he lifted her just enough to slip himself almost free of her sheath. "As long as I can go back in," he whispered, plunging deep again.
Selyn shivered as she caught his achingly slow rhythm, taking every deep thrust with a tiny cry, and whimpering each time he withdrew.
Over, and over again.
A long time later, Selyn confirmed they were both really pruny when they finally dragged themselves out of the steaming, bubbling pool and into bed.
Eddy stared glumly at the ghostly image the streetlights cast through the steadily falling snow outside the window of Freedom and Spirit Schwartz's house. Trees sagged beneath their heavy load. A few branches had given way and lay broken and twisted in the yard. The narrow street outside the house was covered in an impassable layer of white.
Bumper slept in front of the woodstove that Freedom kept stocked with split pieces of oak. Gaia, Artigos, Freedom, Spirit, and Eddy's dad Ed were in the next room attempting to play a Lemurian card game Gaia had spent the afternoon trying---amid much laughter---to teach them.
They were having way too much fun. Artigos laughed, Ed cursed, and Freedom, feeling much stronger this afternoon as he recovered from back surgery, made some silly comment about Lemurians and their luck. Eddy turned and glared at the five older adults sitting at the kitchen table. They'd been in there for hours now, drinking cheap sangria and laughing, enjoying themselves as if all was right with the world. They were so damned happy she wanted to scream.
"How can they just sit in there and play cards like there's nothing going on and it's just a normal day? I don't get it." She flopped down on the couch next to Dax and glared at their reflection in the big picture window. "The whole world is going to hell in a handbasket, and they're in there playing games, acting like everything is fine."
Dax grabbed her hand. "Ah, Eddy. What would you like them to do? We're stuck here. There's nothing any of us can do for now, not until the storm ends. Mari's magic isn't enough to stop the snow; the roads are closed; airplanes aren't flying. . . . We just have to wait it out."
Damn. She hated when he was reasonable. "Aren't you worried about Ginny and Alton? They haven't contacted us since they went back into Lemuria. We should have heard something by now. If they were okay, they'd have access to the portals and could use their frickin' cell phones, if nothing else!"
Before Dax could answer, Mari flopped on the couch beside Eddy and sighed. "I'm with you, Eddy. I know worrying doesn't do anyone any good, but something is definitely wrong. Just look out the window. This isn't a normal storm. Evergreen never gets snow this heavy this early in the year. It's not even Halloween yet. The weather service can't explain it, and my magic doesn't affect it." Grumbling, she added, "I thought I was getting pretty good with weather."
Darius wandered in from the kitchen. The big Lemurian guard stood in front of the window and stared at the blowing snow. After a bit he turned away and folded his arms across his chest. "Mari? You've been concentrating so much on changing the weather. What about trying something different? What if you were to use your magic to transport us up the mountain? I don't know exactly what you're capable of, but . . ." He shrugged.
"Neither do I. Remember, I'm still pretty new at this." She stood up. "But I know who might have some answers. Mom? Got a minute?" She left the room in a swirl of her long skirts.
Grinning broadly, Eddy watched her go. "Mari's really embraced her inner witch, hasn't she? She always used to dress in button-down shirts and dark slacks, and wear her hair in a neat little twist at the back of her neck. I swear she was an investment banker in the sixth grade. Now look at her. Long blond hair, dangly earrings, a gauzy skirt, and a gypsy top with no bra . . ."
"I heard that!" Mari's indignant laughter had them all in stitches.
"I was complimenting you, Mari. I was just saying that you've set your inner witch free at last."
Mari stuck her head around the corner. "My inner what?"
Darius laughed. "Witch. Your inner witch is finally free. Now see if she can get us to the vortex."
Mari saluted and went back into the kitchen to talk to her mom. Bumper raised her head and growled. Darius reached for his sword, and Dax jumped to his feet. The lights dimmed, blinked, and went out.
"I was expecting that," Freedom said out of the dark kitchen. His flashlight flickered on. "Spirit, where'd you leave the matches?"
"No problem, Dad. I'll get the candles." Mari moved through the dark room, pausing over candles and a couple of storm lanterns that flickered to life as she passed. "I knew this magic was good for something."
Eddy stared at Bumper. The dog had gone on alert before the lights went out. Now she stared at the front door. A low growl vibrated in BumperWillow's chest, and her ears were pointed forward. She focused so intently on the door, Eddy wondered if she heard someone.
Or some thing.
Willow? What's got Bumper so upset?
There's something outside. I'm not sure what. It's more a sense of wrong, not right, but I don't know what it is. See if DemonSlayer can tell.
With a quick glace at Dax, Eddy slipped her sword from the scabbard. The blade glowed and pulsed in the candlelight, shining brilliantly and throwing dark shadows against the walls. "DemonSlayer? Can you tell what has Bumper spooked?"
The sword flashed and Eddy heard the familiar voice of Selyn's mother in her mind. Demonkind. Nearby. Searching, yet not finding. Wraiths. They're formless, not in avatars, yet there is more substance than normal. I sense them moving in small groups. Coming closer. Drawn by something that calls them.
Eddy glanced at Dax. "Looks like we've got demons, guys. Not sure where, but they're getting close, and they're not using avatars. DemonSlayer says they're being drawn here."
Darius held a hand over his eyes to cut back on the reflection from the candlelight and stared out of the window. Snow swirled close against the glass. Finally he grunted and turned away. "I don't like this a bit. Can't see a thing out there. Do you think they've targeted Mari again? She no longer has the geode that called them before, but one of its crystals is going to be lodged in her heart forever."
Eddy shot a worried look in Mari's direction. "I don't know. I imagine they're drawn to all of us. We're the only ones who know of their existence."
"I agree." Dax stood by the front window and stared into the darkness. Candlelight reflected off the glass. Snowflakes swirled and danced outside. It would be nearly impossible to see these demons---they'd be nothing more than shadows within shadows on a dark night.
Artigos and Gaia led the others from the kitchen into the front room. "Does anyone know if my sword made the trip from Lemuria? I've not used it in many years, but if we're forced into a fight with demonkind, it's another blade for the good guys."
Eddy stood up. "Alton packed it, sir. He insisted we keep it near you. It's out in Dad's Jeep. No one's taken it out of the scabbard, but I'm sure it's okay. I'll go get it for you."
Alton's father had been quiet and withdrawn ever since Mari'd killed his demon. He'd clung to Gaia at first, but today his mind appeared to be working better, as if the man he once was hadn't been entirely lost.
And he was right. His blade was one more crystal sword they hadn't counted on. Eddy glanced at Dax. "It's wrapped in a blanket in the back of the Jeep. I'll go out and get it."
"Not by yourself, you're not." Dax reached for his coat and strapped his scabbard on over it. More relieved than she wanted to admit by Dax's offer, Eddy did the same. They both drew their blades, which glowed brilliantly against the shadows.
"Beats a flashlight." Eddy meant it as a joke, but her heart pounded and shivers raced along her spine. The sense of something wrong was growing, especially with Bumper growling and staring at the front door as if she expected the demon king himself to barge through.
It took her a few seconds to work up the courage, but Eddy finally grabbed the doorknob, turned it, and slowly pulled the door open just a crack. She used her sword to cast enough light to look for demons. Snow swirled and drifted around the front porch, but all seemed quiet. She glanced over her shoulder at Dax, and they both stepped outside, using the glow from their blades to light the way.
"Hurry." Dax shut the door behind him, and then he went first, carefully walking down the icy front steps. He held his hand out for Eddy, and they waded through the drifts to the driveway where Ed had parked earlier today. There'd only been about six inches of snow on the ground, then.
Now snow buried the wheels past the hubcaps and covered the windshield. Dax stood beside the Jeep while Eddy sheathed DemonSlayer and then climbed into the vehicle. It took her a minute to get Artigos's crystal sword out of the hiding place in the back where she'd left it wrapped in a blanket.
Wind howled, and the snow was blowing sideways by the time Eddy crawled out of the Jeep and shut the door. Dax grabbed her arm and helped her as they struggled through what had suddenly become blizzard conditions between Ed's old Jeep and Spirit and Freedom's front door.
A banshee howl raised the tiny hairs on Eddy's spine. She clutched the sword under her arm and shot a quick glance at Dax. "Was that the wind?"
He shook his head. "I don't think so. Hurry."
The snow was so deep it reached their knees. They tried to follow the same trail they'd made from the house, but the wind practically blew them over, and stinging snow crystals burned wherever they found exposed skin. Eddy tucked herself behind Dax and hung on to his belt as he forced his way through what had become a complete whiteout.
With the electricity out, the neighborhood was black as pitch. None of the neighboring houses showed up at all. It was impossible to see Spirit and Freedom's house in these conditions. Even the brilliant glow from DemonFire barely cut through the darkness. The light reflected off the swirling ice crystals in a disorienting kaleidoscope of sparkling shapes and brilliant flashes, and the fierce wind had them squinting against the sharp bite of blowing ice. The footprints they'd made only moments before were already covered by blowing, drifting snow.
"DemonFire! Which way?" Wind whipped the words out of Dax's mouth, but his sword glowed brightly and pointed to the right of the direction they'd been heading. Dax and Eddy shifted their course, and within seconds they reached the front porch. The howl grew in volume, an angry screech of frustration and demonic wrath. Snow swirled up under the overhang, reaching with icy fingers as if it searched for them.
Eddy clutched the wrapped sword under her arm and drew DemonSlayer with her free hand. She turned away from the door, pointing her crystal blade and its brilliant beam of light toward the yard. Within the swirling snow, black wraiths swarmed overhead like huge vultures circling a carcass. Even though they were formless beneath her sword's light, Eddy knew exactly what had followed them to the house.
"Demons, Dax. Do you see them? They're all around us. Hurry."
He reached for the door and opened it just enough to grab Eddy and shove her inside. Artigos, Darius, and Ed waited in the foyer. Darius had his sword drawn, and he moved quickly to guard the door as Dax slipped through.
Once Dax was in, Darius shut the door and locked it. "I count at least a dozen on the front porch alone. Mari, forget the spells to move us to Lemuria. We need to concentrate on fighting demonkind. Now."
"Well, crap." Mari glanced wildly at her mother. "Grab the spell book, Mom. We need some good, fast, demon-killing spells."
Spirit headed for the bedroom where she'd left the book as Eddy carefully unwrapped the crystal sword.
"Your weapon, sir." She handed the sword to Artigos.
He took the scabbard with a quiet reverence, and merely held it in his hands. Then he raised his head. "My sword is not yet sentient. It's never spoken to me, never guided me, and I've not drawn it for well over ten thousand years. There was always an excuse. I believe now that part of me knew I'd been tainted by demonkind." He sighed and glanced at his wife. "I wasn't worthy of bearing crystal. Hopefully, my blade will forgive me."
He reached for the sword and wrapped his hand around the hilt. Then he lifted his head, stood proudly, and smiled at Gaia. "My beloved wife has forgiven me, and I have great hopes that our son will, as well. Here's hoping the crystal feels the same. I'd hate like the nine hells to see it shatter when I pull it from the scabbard."
Ed raised an eyebrow and grinned at Artigos. "That would definitely ruin the moment."
"Dad!" Eddy snorted and stared at her father. For whatever reason, the two men had hit it off from the beginning, and Ed's easy acceptance of Alton's father had quickly put Artigos at ease.
Ed grinned shamelessly, and even Artigos laughed.
"You're not kidding," he said. Then he slipped the blade out of the scabbard.
"It's yellow!" Eddy glanced at Darius. "Have you ever seen a yellow crystal sword before?"
Artigos frowned at the blade. "It was clear crystal when I was young. I wonder what the significance is." He turned it this way and that, and the blade glowed an incandescent yellow that was brighter than amber and gleamed with the brilliance of sunlight.
"I think it's citrine." Mari glanced up as her mother walked back into the room, spell book in hand. "Is that right?"
Spirit nodded. "Correct. Do you know the crystal's properties?"
"I do. It's one of my favorites." Mari smiled at Artigos. "It holds no negativity. It's a stone of optimism and self-discipline. I think it's supposed to lead to open-minded awareness and better communication."
"Mari's right." Spirit smiled that Earth Mother smile of hers as she leaned over to get a better look at the brilliant yellow facets. "I can't imagine a better crystal for you to carry as you begin your new life, Artigos. It negates narrow-mindedness and helps control anxiety." Gently she rested her fingers on his arm. "It's a happy stone, filled with goodness."
Then she glanced at the snow swirling just beyond the glass window and smiled sweetly. "There's nothing like attacking evil with a crystal sword full of goodness. I imagine it'll really piss off the little bastards."
Mari rolled her eyes. Freedom wrapped an arm around his wife's shoulders. "Let's hope so. You and Mari need to work on your spells. I'll help in any way I'm able. In case you hadn't noticed, dear, demons are massing just outside. It's going to be a long night."
A high-pitched screech echoed above the sound of the wind. Bumper leapt to her feet, barking like mad. Something thumped against the front door, and a subtle vibration passed through the floor. "What the hell was that?" Eddy drew DemonSlayer.
"That, I believe, was the sound of demons knocking," Dax said. He pulled DemonFire from his scabbard. "They want in."
Isra watched from the shadows as her sisters and their terrible guards sat around the gathering hall, chatting like old friends. Bastards. Bastards and traitors, every damned one of them. How could her sisters be so easily swayed by that bitch Selyn?
And that old guy. Artigos? She'd hidden nearby when he'd made that talk filled with lies about working together for the good of Lemuria. What had Lemuria ever done that was good for her? Not a damned thing, that's for sure.
She rubbed her palm against her robe. It still stung where the sword had burned her. For some reason it wasn't healing the way her injuries usually did. The raw and blistered flesh was a constant reminder that she wasn't good enough for one of their fancy crystal swords.
Well, let them try to stop her. She could find the way out, could find the portals that led to the levels where the free folk lived. All she had to do was get out of here and find a plain white robe. No one would know she was the daughter of a slave, but she knew things that someone in the halls above would love to find out---and she was more than willing to share.
Slaves carrying crystal? An exiled leader thinking of making a comeback? It all reeked of treason as far as Isra could tell.
She couldn't care less about the politics of Lemuria, but she damned well didn't want to see her pissy sisters and the no-good bastard guards coming out of this looking like heroes.
No. If anyone was going to look heroic, it would be Isra. Isra the slave. Isra the Forgotten One.
Forget that. They weren't ever going to forget Isra.
Chapter Eighteen
Alton groaned. Ginny placed a cool towel on his head and sat back on her heels, while Taron paced and Roland stared stoically at the bars of solid energy trapping them inside the cell.
"Can you hear me? Alton? C'mon, sweetheart. Wake up." She cast a worried glance at Taron, who just shook his head and stared at his unconscious friend.
"Bastards." Taron turned away. "We had no way to warn any of you. Six frickin' guards. That's all there are, but they're knocking us off, one by one. I feel like such an idiot."
Ginny shook her head. "Don't. We had no way of knowing." She glanced at Roland. "Even Roland didn't realize they were possessed. Their demons have been part of them for so long, they register to our blades as Lemurians, not demonkind. That's probably why they were selected to work on this level. No one would suspect them." She glanced at the glowing bars. "I'm worried about DarkFire. They wouldn't destroy our swords, would they?"
Taron shook his head and flopped down on one of the beds bolted into the wall. "How's he doing? Is he coming around yet?"
Ginny nodded. Alton's eyes flickered. The big guard had come out of nowhere, hit Alton from behind, and grabbed HellFire. She didn't know what he'd done with Alton's sword, but at least he'd shoved Alton into the same cell she'd been forced into with Taron and Roland.
The guard's companions had hustled the three men who'd been with Alton on down the passage. She thought they might be locked in another cell, but she had no way of knowing. No way of contacting Dawson and Selyn, to let them know their entire plan was currently facedown in the toilet.
Alton blinked, his eyes opening and then slowly closing, as if the effort was more than he could bear.
"Alton? I know you're there. Wake up." She leaned close and kissed him. His lips responded just enough to tell her he was aware, so she kissed him again.
Taron had said they were a hard-headed bunch, that Alton would be okay, but until she could ask him and get an answer . . .
"Ginny?" This time he blinked faster. "What happened? Where . . . ?"
He tried to sit up. She planted her hand against his chest and held him down. "Not yet. Give yourself a minute. The bastard hit you really hard."
"Who hit me?" He turned his head to one side and spotted Roland. "Shit. They've locked us up. Where's Balti? I swear I'm going to kill that son of a . . ."
"No." Ginny helped him sit up, since he was obviously almost back to normal. "Balti's locked up in another cell, I think, along with Ragus, the guard who brought me down, the ones who came with you, and even Grayl, the guy in charge of the prison. There are six guards---they're wardens, actually, part of the force guarding Selyn and the other women---and they're picking us off, one by one. We can't use our minds to warn anyone because of the damned energy grid, and they've taken our swords."
"HellFire?" Alton reached for his scabbard.
"They took the scabbards and the swords." Taron helped Alton over to the bed so he could sit down. "I think the guards are afraid to touch them for fear of retribution. We're hoping our blades are okay, but there's no sense of them."
"Well, nine hells. That sucks." Alton rubbed the back of his head where sticky blood matted his blond hair. "What'd he hit me with? A hammer?"
Ginny sat beside him. "No. It looked like he used the flat of his steel blade. They want us alive, for some reason."
Alton cocked his head and stared at Roland. "Do you know any of these men?"
Roland shook his head. "No. I did my best to avoid the guards when I went below in the beginning. The last time I was down there, the six had already come to this level. Their uniforms are slightly different---a lighter shade of blue---but unless you were looking for clues, you'd never guess they weren't regular Lemurian guardsmen. I imagine this particular group was chosen for that reason---their demons are so well hidden within, our swords can't sense them."
Ginny clasped her hands and stared at her feet. "I think I know why they want us alive."
Alton merely gazed at her. Then he nodded. "They want to possess our bodies. They want us acting on behalf of demonkind, but if we're familiar, the people will accept our decisions. Demonkind will have achieved a bloodless takeover of an entire civilization." He glanced at the sticky blood on his fingertips and touched the back of his head again. "Well, almost bloodless. Nine hells but that hurts!"
"How could we ever think demons were mindless?" Ginny felt like crying. "It's an f'ing brilliant plan, if you ask me."
Alton wrapped his fingers around her hand and squeezed. "Dax said he never knew of a government on Abyss. He had no idea there were leaders, and yet there's definite organization here. Even different kinds of demons. The one in my father is nothing like the demons in the wardens. Thousands of years worth of planning, a slow buildup of demonic infiltration into an established society. It all appears to be coming to a climax at once.
"I wish we knew what Artigos was doing."
Alton's remark reminded Ginny of how quickly time was passing, and how all of their plans were falling apart. "Artigos the Just or your dad, Alton? Which one?"
"I've essentially written off my father. I'm referring to my grandfather, Artigos the Just. I wonder if he's got the women working with the guards or if they're down there now, trying to kill each other." He leaned his head against the stone wall and shut his eyes. "Nine hells. Or, Ginny, as you would so eloquently put it, this has all turned into one giant clusterfuck."
"Not yet." Roland stood up and folded his arms across his massive chest. "Dawson and Selyn are still out there, and both of them are armed with crystal. Somehow, we need to contact them." He glared at the sizzling bars of energy that locked them and their thoughts inside the cell. "Unfortunately, I haven't figured out exactly how we're going to do that yet."
Dawson hadn't expected the way he'd feel after making love with Selyn for most of the night. He hadn't been ready for the overwhelming need to protect her, to keep her safe. But right now, as they climbed the stairs to the upper level and slipped through the occasional portal, he knew he'd rather be doing anything other than leading her into danger.
There was no doubt in his mind he'd gone and fallen in love. Even before they'd actually had sex last night, he'd fallen, but every touch, every caress, every kiss and cry and climax had merely cemented a feeling that was already so deeply entrenched in his soul it was never going away.
He knew it was impossible. She was immortal, a woman who would live until she chose death, until she turned her soul loose to exist beyond the veil. He was merely human, a mortal with the lifespan of an insect compared to Selyn's.
Yet wasn't everything he'd experienced in the past couple of weeks impossible? Hell, Aunt Fiona had to be laughing herself silly over the conundrum he'd gotten himself into. He could just hear her now, cackling and slapping her knee over little Daws, in love with a woman who couldn't possibly exist.
"Can it, Fiona," he mumbled.
"What?" Selyn stopped and turned around.
"Nothing," he said, but he grabbed her hand and kissed her, just the same. "I love you, Selyn. I wasn't going to say anything because it's not the right time or place, but I have to tell you how I feel. I love you. I know it's impossible, but . . ."
Her eyes had gone so big and blue he wondered if she was going to hit him, or run screaming, or some other weird thing, but then she merely smiled, leaned close, and kissed him. "Good," she said. "Because I love you, too, and I wasn't quite sure how to tell you."
"You do? Why not?" He reached for her but she backed away.
Smiling, she shook her head. "Think about it. You are human with a wonderful lifetime of experiences. I'm a Lemurian slave. I've never been anywhere, done anything, experienced anything. Besides, I probably won't survive the coming battle." She glanced ruefully at the glowing sword in her hand. "I'm not meant to carry crystal, Dawson. I'm not an aristocrat, not one of the free folk. I'm really not worthy of crystal."
He stared at her and didn't know where to start. She stood on the step above him, absolutely regal in her cotton scrubs with the gold circlet holding her long, dark hair back from her face. The crystal blade glowed in her hand, her eyes shimmered in the flickering light, and she was so much more than she'd just described. So much better.
His throat tightened so badly he could hardly speak. "You'd damned well better survive, Selyn, because if you die, you'll be responsible for my death, too. You don't want that on your conscience. You are so far above the so-called Lemurian aristocrats that I won't even dignify your stupid remark with an answer. I love you, and you love me, and that's all that matters. That, and freeing this world from demonkind."
He heard the sound of her swallow. "Then I guess we'd better hurry," she whispered. "Demonkind doesn't wait."
He nodded. "Neither will Artigos the Just and his army. If we don't get moving, they'll pass us by."
She nodded and took his hand. They'd left long before the women warriors would even have risen, and Dawson knew they'd made good time. He recognized the way now and knew they were almost to the level where the free folk lived.
He wondered if Selyn hated that title as much as he did. Free folk meant there were those who were not free. At least that had finally changed, but what was that freedom going to give them? Would the women---once slaves--- find acceptance among the rest of Lemurian society, or would they forever be treated as a lower caste?
If it weren't for the risk to so many people and so many worlds, he'd just say to hell with them and let the demons have them. What a wasted society! Yes, it had turned out wonderful citizens like Roland and Taron and Alton, but they appeared to be the exception rather than the rule.
More of them were like Gaia, Alton's mother. She was a nice lady, but she'd known of the slaves and never said a word. He wondered how she'd managed to live with that knowledge for so many thousands of years. Of course, it was probably easy for her to ignore the plight of the women warriors---Gaia had lived up here in luxury while Selyn and the other women toiled below.
He could feel his blood pressure rising when Selyn stopped beside what he recognized as the final portal. "This will drop us into the main passageway near Alton's quarters," he said, recalling Ginny's description. "There's an alcove where we can hide while you try to contact Alton, Ginny, Taron, or Roland."
Selyn glanced around them and then whispered, "Okay. I can find it. Maybe you should wait here until I make contact. I'll be right back."
He grabbed her wrist as she turned around. "Not on your life. We go together, or not at all."
She looked at him for a long, silent moment. Then she nodded, just a short, sharp jerk of her head, grabbed his hand, and slipped through the portal. Dawson followed her out into a dark passageway and then took the lead. He tugged her toward a darker area that turned into a small cubby cut into the rock for storage.
She held her finger to his lips and closed her eyes. He knew she searched for their friends, so he stationed himself near the entry and listened for the sound of footsteps or voices.
It was still early, and the tunnels were quiet. Lights barely illuminated the way. He knew the lights would slowly brighten to mimic the rising sun and light the passages in a way akin to daylight within a couple hours.
Selyn touched his arm. "There's nothing. No sound of any of them. What do we do?"
"Let me try something." Dawson unsheathed his sword. Though the blade had not spoken, he hoped the sentience was alert within the ruby crystal. Concentrating on the blade, he softly asked, "Can you sense the presence of DarkFire or HellFire? The swords that belong to Ginny or Alton? Where are they?"
The blade pulsed ruby red, then dimmed. There was no voice, no other sense of life, and yet Dawson knew. He raised his head and stared at Selyn. "Did you get that, or was it my imagination?"
"Only if your imagination said they're locked up in cells on the level below us."
"Exactly. Let's go back and contact Artigos. He needs to know. Then we have to see if we can get them out."
Selyn nodded. Dawson checked the passageway, and the two of them raced back to the portal. Selyn slipped through with Dawson right behind her. It was much faster going down to a level where Selyn could connect with Artigos, but Dawson was still terribly aware of the passage of time, of the sense of danger growing all around.
Suddenly Selyn grabbed his arm and dragged him into a dark niche in the wall. Daws hadn't even heard the sound of soldiers, but they marched by seconds after he and Selyn had slipped out of the main passage. He watched as the three men passed. Their eyes stared straight ahead. One of them had what appeared to be fresh blood staining the front of his blue robe.
Dawson and Selyn waited for what felt like hours. Finally, Dawson checked the passage and dragged Selyn after him as he raced to the portal that would lead to the next set of stairs. They slipped through, heading to the level below where Selyn thought she'd be close enough to contact Artigos.
There was a powerful sense of events colliding, of too many things coming together at once, and they weren't coming together at all the way Dawson had hoped or expected. Hanging on to Selyn, he raced down the stairs and prayed for the impossible---that they'd have enough time to save their friends, stop the demons, and maybe even live to tell about it.
Isra heard the sound of footsteps and harsh breathing and she panicked. Which way to run? Then she spotted a dark niche along the wall and slipped inside. Her brown slave's robe blended perfectly with the gray stone, and she knew no one would see her unless they were actually looking for her.
She'd barely stepped into the darkness when that bitch Selyn and her human boyfriend raced past her, practically flying down the steps. Now where in the nine hells would they be going in such a rush?
She stuck her head out and watched until they were out of sight, but as tempted as she was to follow and find out what was going on, she was almost to the level where the free folk lived. She'd never been here before, but she was absolutely sure the actual civilization of Lemuria was merely one portal away.
As soon as Dawson and Selyn were out of hearing, Isra slipped out of her hiding place and started up the stairs once more. Her legs ached, and her nerves had her jumping at every sound, thank goodness. Otherwise she might have run right into Selyn, and that wouldn't do at all.
She reached the portal after a few hard minutes of climbing. Then she took a moment to look back down the stairs. Light faded into darkness, but that's exactly what she was leaving. Darkness and drudgery and not a single person who actually cared about her.
If anyone had thought she mattered, she would have had a crystal sword. But no, Isra didn't count. She'd never counted, but she would. After today, they'd all wish they'd been nicer to her. Every single one. She was leaving them behind and moving forward.
Nothing but good things awaited her. She was positive.
With a prayer to whatever gods heard the plea of slaves, she slipped through the portal into a wide, well-lit passage---directly into the midst of three Lemurian guards on patrol.
She recognized them immediately---and they knew her. They were part of the same group of guards who had watched over the Forgotten Ones for Isra's entire life, and one of them grabbed her before she had a chance to run. She grunted and twisted out of his grasp. The next guard grabbed for her robe, but she turned toward him, pushed at his chest, raised her knee, and planted it between his legs as hard as she could. He screamed and clutched for his crotch as Isra tore free, falling to her knees on the stone floor as the tension from his hold gave way.
She rolled, scrambling on her hands and knees out of the third man's reach, but the first guard had recovered. He jumped over his fallen comrade and wrapped his thick fingers in Isra's dark hair, jerking her to a stop.
He used her hair to drag her to her knees and then to her feet while she twisted and fought like a wild thing. The one she'd kneed rose slowly to his feet with a look on his face that spelled her death.
So be it. She had little to live for anyhow, though it didn't seem fair that Selyn ran free while she, Isra, would die here. The guard hauled back his fist. She had a moment to choose whether to face her death or shut her eyes.
Then the first guard blocked the other man's fist. "Wait," he said. "First let's find out why she's here."
"The bitch kneed me in the balls. She dies."
"After we find out why she's here." The guard holding her by the hair shook his fist. Isra grabbed his arm to take the pressure off her head and neck.
"I have important information for the Council of Nine," she said, praying these idiots would know who she was talking about.
"What kind of information?" The guard shook his arm again, shaking her like a rag doll.
Her feet kicked mere inches above the ground, and her arms ached from holding her weight off her hair. "Information for them alone," she gasped. "Turn me loose."
"I think not."
At least he lowered his arm so that her feet found the stone floor. She went from her tiptoes to full contact, breathing hard and fast. "Take me to the council. I have news of an insurrection in the slave quarters."
The three looked at each other, and the one who held her, who was obviously their leader, nodded. "Drago's still at the vortex, working on the portal. We'll take her there." He turned Isra loose and shoved her toward the one she'd kneed in the groin. "Bring her."
This one intended to hurt her. He wrapped his meaty fingers around her upper arm and tightened them in a painful grasp. "With pleasure," he said. Then he jerked so hard she was afraid he'd dislocated her shoulder, but he didn't let up on the pressure enough for her to find out. Biting back a cry of pain, Isra stumbled after the three men as they marched quickly along the passageway.
She had no idea where they were, what passages they followed. She'd hoped to see the fabled plaza with the walls of crystal and gold, but all she saw was gray stone and dirt floors. They moved quickly, following narrow passages that must have been designed for the guards to move separately from the free folk. She wasn't sure. Her shoulder hurt so badly she didn't really care.
But they'd pay. She had no doubt they'd pay for what they were doing to her. She had information this Drago would want. Information that would mean the end to her sisters' foolish dreams of freedom.
But were they so foolish? She'd had them too. Wasn't that why she'd run away, why she was putting up with the cruelty from the stupid guard? He jerked her arm hard, and she cried out. Then she bit back any further sound. She wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of making her cry.
They passed into a wider tunnel that was well lighted. A loud roar echoed off the walls and made the floor vibrate beneath her feet, but she had no idea what made the sound.
They rounded a corner, and she saw it---a solid wall of molten gold pouring from the ceiling and disappearing somehow into the ground. There was no sign of heat, no smoke from any fire, but the guards continued walking toward the wall as if they intended to walk through it.
They'd burn! Didn't they know that metal hot enough to flow would burn the flesh from their bones? She'd seen it in the mines, when there'd been an accident so many years ago, when one of the younger women had fallen.
She hadn't even had time to scream. The image of the girl's startled eyes and open mouth as she'd fallen into the cauldron of molten gold filled Isra's mind. Ignoring the pain in her shoulder she struggled, twisting and turning, pulling as hard as she could, but the guard merely laughed and kept walking.
He reached the wall of gold, and without a moment's hesitation, stepped into the flow. She knew she was going to die, knew it was all . . . all an illusion. They passed through as if it were nothing but a cool flow of air.
The guards were laughing. All of them laughing at her because she'd been ignorant of the truth. She held her head high and refused to look any of them in the eye. Still laughing, the bastard pulled her along the tunnel until they reached a larger cavern. A man wearing the flowing white robe of an aristocrat stood before the opposite wall.
He held what at first appeared to be a crystal sword, but then Isra realized the blade was black obsidian, which made no sense. Didn't a black blade mean the owner had died? Whatever, his was black, and he held it up at shoulder height with the tip pointed toward the wall of the cave. Energy poured from the blade, and a sense of evil surrounded the entire area.
The man turned and sneered at the guard in charge. "I told you not to disturb me. This is difficult work. Who is she?"
"Councilman Drago, she claims to have information of an insurrection among the slaves. We thought you should know."
The councilman cocked his head and stared at her as if she were a speck on an otherwise clean plate. "Let her go." He lowered his sword and sheathed it at his hip. "So, you have information for me? Why me? Why not Chancellor Alton, once of Artigos? Shouldn't you want to share your news with our revered leader?"
She shook her head. With a name like Alton of Artigos, he must be related to that old man. "No, sir. I think it's his father who's leading the insurrection. Or maybe his grandfather. He's an old man."
"What old man?" The councilman stalked across the cavern and grabbed her chin like she was a little kid. He pinched it hard between his fingers. "Look at me. What old man?"
It was hard to talk with him holding her this way, the bastard. "I don't know. He's an old man who's been imprisoned in the slave levels since before I was born. He's free now."
He turned loose of her chin and rubbed his own with a thoughtful expression on his face. "Artigos the Just has been detained since the great move. Given time, he could gain the citizens' trust once again." He glanced over his shoulder at the point on the wall where he'd been working. "We're too close. We can't let him screw this up, but I'm going to need a little more time to open the portal to Abyss."
To Abyss? He's opening a portal for demonkind?
His hand streaked forward before Isra could react. He grabbed her by the throat. "What else do you know of this insurrection, young lady? What of the guards? Were they overwhelmed by a group of women?" He laughed. "I find that a bit difficult to believe."
She shook her head, but her mind was spinning. He'd not cut off her air, though she knew he could crush her throat with very little effort. But did she want to tell him everything? If she did, what would she have left to bargain with?
And did she really want to help a man who was working with demonkind? She hadn't imagined anything so awful. Her mother had been a warrior who fought against the spawn of hell, yet this man wanted to help those evil creatures enter Lemuria?
Dear gods, what had she done?
He squeezed her throat tighter. Did it really matter?
"I'm waiting," he said. His fingers tightened even more around her throat. Gagging, struggling for air, Isra realized she very much wanted to survive.
"The guards joined the women." She could barely get the words past the constriction around her neck. He lifted her off her feet, holding her by the throat, and he glared at her with eyes that sparkled with madness. Madness and something more. Demonkind lurked behind his eyes. Was Drago possessed? Was everything Selyn said really true?
Isra clutched at Drago's arm with both hands, but he didn't seem to notice. A terrible, soul-deep sense of despair washed away all hope of survival. Isra was going to die. She'd taken her chance and she'd lost, but a last burst of anger kept her talking. At least she wouldn't die alone.
She barely managed to force the words out of her rapidly swelling throat. "They formed a single army. The old man . . . he leads," she gasped. "They're on their way here now, over one hundred strong, armed with . . ."
He cursed, flexed his arm, and threw her against the wall. Isra's head slammed into rock, and she slid bonelessly to the floor. Lights flashed behind her eyes. She felt herself fading, falling deeper into darkness. Still, even dying, she knew she had the last laugh.
The damned fool! What irony! He'd shut her up too quickly. She hadn't told him everything. He had no idea the women and the guards were all armed with crystal.
Blinking slowly, Isra tried to focus on her surroundings, but everything seemed to swirl and pulse in clouds of darkness. Was this death, this horrible icy chill that brushed over and around her skin?
She took a couple of deep breaths and planted her hands on the rocky floor. Shoving with all her might, fighting the nausea that warred with the pain rocketing through her head, she finally managed to push herself up enough to lean against the rough wall of the cavern.
Everything spun and whirled, as if her body floated, and there was no particular sense of up or down. She fought a wave of nausea that almost pulled her under. If only things would hold still for a moment!
Light flashed and drew her blurred gaze. Blinking slowly, she forced herself to concentrate on the dark and eerie glow on the far side of the chamber. It pulsed with a powerful sense of anger, almost as if it lived. Squinting against the pain in her head and the sense she was still falling, she stared at the deep, red light.
Slowly, Isra brought it into focus. She blinked again, not quite believing what she saw with her own eyes.
Black figures oozed from the spinning center, sliding along the wall, gathering in roiling clouds of darkness on the floor beneath what could only be a portal to Abyss.
Drago had succeeded. The passage was open. Isra swallowed back a scream as one of the wraiths slid across the cavern floor, oozed over her leg, and floated around her body. Was it testing her? Trying to gain entrance to her soul?
"No!" She screamed at the thing, swung her hands, and tried to push it away. She merely succeeded in shoving her fingers through the mist. There was no substance to fight, nothing beyond the chill of death clinging to the demon wraith.
Scrambling awkwardly to her feet, Isra pressed her palms to the wall behind her. Moaning, she held herself upright with nothing more than the strength of her fear.
More wraiths poured through the passageway. The black cloud of demonkind grew, and the temperature around her dropped. She stared into the mass, terrified by the glimpses she caught of teeth and eyes, of long, sharp claws and scaled bodies.
Insubstantial as air and cold as ice, yet still they came, streaming into the cavern, filling it with their loathsome presence. Then the temperature dropped even more, and her breath hissed out from between her lips, visible as a white fog against the darkness.
A long-fingered hand slipped out of the portal. A scaled arm stretched out, then another arm and another, each with long, sharp talons that wrapped themselves around the stone edges of the portal, finding purchase on the roughhewn rock. Four multi-jointed arms pulled something yet unseen forward, as if it aided its own birth from a dark and hideous womb.
It was mist, and yet not, this new creature entering the cavern. Isra trembled against the wall as slowly, carefully, the thing reformed amid the swirling mass of demon wraiths.
Reformed and stood upright, looking about with a visage that could only have come from Isra's worst nightmares. With one set of multi-jointed arms, it swept through the mass of demons, dividing them into three groups. Then, with a loud banshee cry, it sent one roiling mass of darkness toward another portal, a passage that swirled in shades of green. The second group shot out of the cavern and down a narrow tunnel that must lead to another portal.
At this point, Isra didn't care. She only knew she had to get back to Lemuria and warn someone---anyone. She'd never imagined anything so monstrous. Not this. Not demonkind poised to attack her world. She watched, wide-eyed, as the rest of the evil creatures formed into the shape of a spear, hovered for a moment as if gathering strength, and then shot down the passage to Lemuria.
Horror-struck, Isra covered her mouth with her hand, holding back a scream of terror. She did not want to draw attention to herself. The huge demon remained. It stood, still as death, not five feet away from her---watching her.
Red light from the portal glowed dimly through its body, lighting the evil creature from within. For a long moment, the thing stared at her, almost as if it memorized her features.
Then it, too, turned into mist and followed the final group of demonkind to Lemuria.
Chapter Nineteen
Selyn clutched Dawson's hand so hard her nails dug into his flesh. "I've reached Artigos the Just," she said. "They're still a few levels below us, but moving fast. He said they're all ready to fight. We need to get back up there."
Dawson nodded. "I hope it's not too hard to find the prison cells. We have to free Alton and Ginny. With any luck, they'll know where Roland and Taron are." He glanced at the ruby sword in his hand. "It's not actually speaking, but somehow we're communicating. Hopefully our blades can lead us."
Selyn stuck her head through the portal for just a second. Then she was back. "Now," she said. "It's clear. Let's go." She stepped through the portal and raced up the flight of stairs.
Dawson ran behind her, though they paced themselves as best they could. In mere minutes they'd reached the level where the free folk lived. Dawson stepped through the portal with Selyn on his heels, expecting a quiet corridor and finding chaos.
Men and women in white robes raced along the passageway. Some were scratched and bleeding. All of them appeared terrified, panic-stricken, and out of control. Dawson grabbed one man by the arm and forced him to a halt.
"What's going on here? What's happening?"
The Lemurian didn't even notice that he spoke to a human. "Demonkind! Demons everywhere." Eyes wide, he struggled to break free of Dawson's grasp.
Dawson glanced at the sword strapped to the man's back. "Didn't you stay to fight? Why haven't you drawn your sword?"
The Lemurian looked at him as if he were absolutely nuts. "Fight demons? No. The soldiers will fight. I'm not a warrior."
"Then why do you carry crystal? Pull your blade, man. Defend your world!"
A woman screamed. Selyn grabbed Dawson's arm. "We have to hurry. Forget him."
Dawson shook his head. "We're going to need all the soldiers we can find, or demonkind will win. Draw your sword, damn you!"
Blinking wildly, the aristocrat drew his sword. The blade had no more glow than dark glass, and his arm trembled so badly he almost dropped the thing.
The crystal sparked a brilliant blue, and then it shattered. The man threw the useless pommel to the ground, ripped free of Dawson's grasp, and ran. Dawson stared at the tiny shards of glass littering the tunnel as a fresh wave of terrified Lemurians raced by. A soul had once resided in that blade. He wondered briefly what happened to the brave warrior who had been paired with a useless coward.
Then Selyn tugged his arm once again, and he followed her against the tide of Lemurians. He took the lead after a few steps. Dawson wasn't sure how he knew where to go, what turns to take, what portals to pass through, but somehow he led Selyn with unerring accuracy through the dark passages circumventing the main living areas of the free folk.
It had to be the sword. Without words, without any overt communication, it somehow led him through unfamiliar territory to a dark passage. A passage Dawson was certain led directly down to the prison cells.
He glanced toward Selyn. She nodded. "I think this is it. My sword isn't actually speaking, but how else could we have both known to come here?"
"Let's go." He started off along the main passage. Selyn grabbed his arm and pointed to another tunnel. "Wait. This is the way I have to go. I think the swords are this way."
"Go, then." He wrapped his fingers around the back of her neck and pulled her close, kissed her hard and fast. "Be careful, Selyn. I can't lose you. Not when I've finally found you."
She stared at him for a long moment, unblinking. "You too, Daws. I love you."
Then she spun away and raced along the passage, into the shadows and out of sight.
Dawson watched until she was gone. Then he tightened his grasp on his ruby sword and ran toward the flickering light reflecting off the walls at the end of the long, dark tunnel.
The cries and screams, the banshee howls, and the thick stench of sulfur faded into the background.
Eddy wiped the sweat off her forehead and glanced toward Artigos. They'd fought demonkind throughout the long night and the older man was breathing hard, leaning on his glimmering citrine sword, but he had a grin on his face that practically stretched ear to ear. Gaia was giving him hell about something, but she was fighting a smile as well, and if Eddy didn't know for a fact that the demons outside the door were massing for another attack, she'd have thought they were all having a gay old time.
"Here. I brought you some cold water."
She glanced up as Dax handed her the chilled glass, took it without a word, and drank deeply. She drained the glass and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. "Thank you. How's Dad doing? I couldn't believe it when the damned creatures drew blood."
Dax sighed as he took the empty glass from her. "We've known from the beginning that demons are continuing to evolve. I think we need to be ready for anything at this point, but your dad is fine. Spirit has him bandaged." Even Dax's smile looked tired. "He's enjoying the attention. He and Freedom are in there bonding over their war wounds."
Eddy nodded, too tired to answer. At least Freedom's scratches were small. She'd been afraid he might hurt himself again, especially since he was finally recovering from the surgery that had brought Mari home in the first place.
Eddy lifted the curtain and glanced out the window. Mari stood outside in the fresh snow with her arms raised. She and Darius had surrounded the house with salt to slow the demons, and now she was casting a spell, one that would hopefully draw away the creatures' strength.
Darius stood beside her, sword at the ready. Black soot covered the snow from the many demons he'd already killed. Eddy, Dax, and Artigos had slaughtered hundreds more, both inside and out of the house, but there was a bit of a lull now, and, hopefully, time for Mari to use her developing magic to weaken the onslaught of demonkind.
Spirit stepped up beside Eddy and peered out the window. "So many of them. Is there no end? You've killed thousands."
Eddy slowly shook her head. "There must be a new portal on the mountain, but damn! I hate this not knowing. That's the only explanation. I wish we knew what Alton and Ginny were doing. I can't understand why we haven't heard from anyone. I was sure Dawson would contact us by now."
She glanced at Spirit, and felt the anxiety pouring off of Mari's mom in waves. When Eddy and Mari had been little, Spirit's long hair had been a brilliant red. Now it hung in long, gray waves down her back.
She wondered if, now that Mari was a full-blown witch, Spirit's hair would finally turn snow-white from worry. She'd blamed the girls for every gray hair when they were teens.
She was still a beautiful woman, albeit---right now---a worried mother. Eddy couldn't blame her. Mari'd insisted on going outside in the storm with only Darius to protect her. Now she chanted something Eddy couldn't hear, standing like an ancient priestess with her arms raised to the gray predawn sky and her head thrown back, her blond hair cascading down her back. Snow swirled around her, clinging to her long-sleeved top and her flowing skirts. Light from a Coleman lantern turned the big flakes of snow into glittering gold and silver coins.
Darius lunged forward and slashed his blade through the falling snow, and another demon flickered and burst into flame. Mari didn't even flinch. Her arms stretched higher, and as Eddy watched, the snow appeared to part overhead and fall to either side of the witch and her Lemurian warrior.
It swirled about with dark forms all around. In spite of Mari's chant, the sense of evil grew stronger, the feeling that there was nothing to stop the tide of demons circling about the house. The salt appeared to be holding as a line of protection for now, but it felt like such a fragile barrier against the constant attack of demonkind.
Bumper trotted across the room, stood on her hind legs, and looked out the window, growling, but Willow remained silent.
Artigos and Gaia joined Eddy, Dax, and Spirit at the window.
Artigos gave Spirit a quick hug. "She is truly a warrior, your daughter. Fearless and of strong will." When Spirit nodded, as if unable to speak, Artigos glanced at Eddy and added softly, "As is my son. I have much to atone for, when this is over. I pray to the gods he will forgive me."
Eddy glanced at Alton's father, a man she'd wanted to throttle just a few days ago. Much had changed in just a few hours. From a horrible and cruel man possessed by a demon, he'd awakened with the mind of a small and trusting child. He'd not stayed that way for long. His transformation had continued, until Eddy wondered if this was the man Gaia had fallen in love with. There was much of Alton in this version of the man they were getting to know without his demon.
He was proving himself to be charming and good-natured, with a sharp wit. He'd fought bravely with his citrine sword, and many demons had died. Though his face bore bloody scratches from talons and fangs, he'd not wanted to take the time to see to his wounds.
Eddy couldn't wait for Alton to meet this new and improved version of his father. She rested her fingers on his arm and smiled at him. "I imagine Alton will be more than willing to forgive, once we're back in Lemuria. Once demonkind is finally destroyed. He's going to be thrilled to have his real father back."
Light flickered outside. At first, Eddy thought the lantern had gone out.
Spirit screamed. Freedom and Ed raced in from the kitchen. Eddy and Dax lunged for the door with Artigos right behind.
Dax flung open the door, and the three of them ran into the storm with swords drawn. There was no sign of Mari.
"Where the hell did she go?" Eddy screamed at Dax over the banshee cries and wailing shrieks of demons.
"She's here. Quickly! Help us!" Darius's strained and breathless voice came from within a seething, shrieking cloud of demons.
Mari's chant was barely audible against the sound of demonkind. The only thing that marked her presence was the spark of flames from Darius's sword, and the stench of demons dying.
Calling on DemonSlayer, Eddy dove into the fight.
Alton stared at the energy flowing between them and freedom, and he wanted to rip the impenetrable bars of light right out of the walls. He glanced helplessly at Ginny, then toward Taron and Roland. "What if we concentrate our energy on the controls? Do you think, working together, we can shut this thing off?"
Ginny leapt to her feet. "We don't have to. There's Dawson!"
"Alton! Ginny? Thank goodness. We've been trying to find you guys. Shit." Daws skidded to a stop in front of their cell. "How do I shut this off?"
"Controls are there, just beside the opening." Alton gestured toward his right.
Dawson pulled a lever, and the bars disappeared. "What happened?"
Alton raced out of the open cell and headed down the passage. "Possessed guards from the slaves' level. C'mon. We've got more guys locked up." He flipped the lever holding Balti and the others inside the next cell. "Any idea where our swords are?"
"Selyn's gone after them. She headed down another passage. Follow me." Dawson took off running.
Alton grabbed Ginny's hand, and the others followed. He heard the distant sound of shrieks and demonic cries. "What the nine hells is going on up there?"
Dawson glanced back as he rounded a corner. "Demons have invaded Lemuria. I have no idea where they're coming from, but the people are retreating in panic. One guy drew his sword after I ordered him to fight, and the damned thing shattered. It's chaos up there."
"Dawson? Hurry. They're here."
Selyn's voice came from the end of the passage. Alton's longer stride took him past Dawson, and he was the first to reach Selyn. She was dragging the bundled swords out of a cabinet. The lock was melted, the door bent.
Her sword glowed brilliantly.
Alton and Ginny grabbed their swords. The others found theirs, going unerringly to the right ones. It appeared all of them were linked to their weapons, sentient or not.
"What now?" Dawson leaned close and gave Selyn a quick, possessive kiss.
Alton had no control over the grin he flashed at Ginny. It appeared their veterinarian had made excellent use of his time. "What of the women? And my grandfather?" Alton strapped on his scabbard and reached for HellFire.
Selyn answered. "They're almost here. They were only a couple of levels behind us, all armed with crystal. It appears the sentience within the swords has imparted battle knowledge to all of us." She grinned. "I actually know how to use this thing! Did you see what we did to that lock?"
"I did. Damn." Alton glanced down the long passage. "We need to shut that portal once again. I think one of the council members is opening it. Drago, most likely. Balti says he's been spending time in the vortex chamber."
Roland nodded in agreement as he checked his scabbard and sword. "Someone's opening it. I've not been able to keep the blasted thing closed, but I've never caught anyone down there working it."
Alton nodded. "We'll deal with the portal. You and your men see what you can do against the demons who've invaded. If you see men you're sure of, you might be able to turn their swords to crystal. Whatever it takes, we've got to win this one."
"Godspeed." Roland bowed his head in a subtle show of respect to Alton. Then he turned toward his men.
Balti, Ragus, and the other guards gathered before him. The big guard made eye contact with each one before turning back to Alton. "We go now, Chancellor, to fight demonkind. The gods' strength to all of us." He raised his sword high. "For Lemuria," he shouted.
His men joined in. "For Lemuria." Roland turned and winked at Alton, and then, running at full speed, he led his small band toward the distant cries coming from the direction of the great plaza.
Alton held Ginny's hand, but he addressed Selyn. "Can you reach Artigos? Has he gotten to this level yet?"
She shook her head. "No. I'm still trying. I give them about ten more minutes. It's not easy to move such a large group along those narrow passages."
"When he arrives, tell him we've been invaded, that some of the Lemurian guards are actually possessed. At least six of them at this level. Taron, I want you to shut down the portal. Your blade will know how. Ginny and I will go after Maxl and Drago. If it means their deaths, so be it. We cannot allow demonkind to prevail."
"Dawson!"
Selyn's scream echoed off the tunnel walls as the six possessed Lemurian guards raced into the room with their black swords drawn. Alton didn't have time to consider the meaning of the obsidian blades. He was too busy defending himself from their attack.
Ginny practically flew at the first of the men. Her blade clashed with his with the sound of breaking glass, and yet they remained whole. Sparks flew, and the stench of sulfur filled the small cavern.
Alton fought back an overwhelming need to rush to Ginny's aid. She was a warrior, a powerful fighter, and it was six to five---they were outnumbered and outsized, battling six huge, trained guardsmen. He'd be lucky to survive his own battle.
Taron engaged two of the men, slashing and stabbing, using his crystal as if it were the sharpest of steel blades. There was no hesitation in the sword that Alton could see, no turning away from drawing blood, and Taron buried his blade deep in the belly of the smaller of the two men he battled.
He barely managed to twist away in time before the second was on him again, but Alton was fighting for his life and couldn't see the final outcome.
He had to concentrate on his own footwork, his own fight. Had to trust that Ginny was able to hold her own, that Dawson and Selyn were capable of defending themselves. He heard Selyn scream, but he couldn't look. Heard Dawson's shout and then a curse, and Ginny's cry of triumph.
His own opponent drove him hard, backing him against the cavern wall, and still Alton fought on, with neither of them gaining the upper hand. Anger drove Alton, that this creature should defile his world, should threaten the peace all Lemurians held dear. He lunged forward, driving with his blade, slashing through the blue robe of the guardsman, burying his blade in the man's chest.
There was no hesitation this time. No sense that HellFire regretted taking a life or worried about a life force being used by the demons, and it dawned on Alton, as he felt the body fall from his blade, that these men were already dead.
That explained the black obsidian blades---he'd always thought a blade only turned black when its owner died. These men were already dead, their Lemurian souls long gone.
They were nothing more than avatars, animated by demonkind just as demons had animated the ceramic figurines on Earth.
Dawson had never, not in his wildest dreams, imagined that his training with a rapier in college would ever come in handy, but as he slashed and lunged and thrust with his ruby blade, he felt the moves coming back as if he'd never left his training in all the years since his studies at UC Davis.
He glanced at Selyn and had to force himself to look away. She was truly a warrior with her flashing eyes and her look of grim determination. She fought her opponent with grace and style, and it was obvious the man hadn't expected a woman of such beauty to show so much skill.
Taron shouted, and Dawson saw one of the big Lemurian's opponents go down. Demonic mist burst from the fallen guard, and Taron caught it with crystal. The second guard lunged forward, and Dawson lost them in his peripheral vision. Only Taron had faced two, and from what little he knew of the man, Dawson could already hear the tales he and Alton would be telling when this was over.
Dawson's opponent was growing desperate, thrusting awkwardly now, breathing hard, and going for the kill with more force than skill. Dawson eluded the man's blade as he spun on the balls of his feet and twisted away, first to the right, then to the left.
He suddenly realized he was actually grinning. He hadn't had this much fun in years, and he wanted to shout with the joy of the battle, the knowledge that he fought beside a woman he loved, that he fought for a world that had been nothing more than myth and legend.
He, Dawson Buck, small town veterinarian, was fighting demons with a magical sword in another dimension. Damn. Aunt Fiona would love this!
He parried a strong blow and went in for the kill just as Taron's final opponent went down. The huge guard Taron had fought was mortally wounded, but he managed a powerful kick as he fell, catching Dawson behind his left knee. The force of the blow buckled Dawson's leg. It folded beneath him just as his opponent slashed wildly at his chest.
Dawson felt the burn of the obsidian blade as it pierced his side, heard the scrape of obsidian against bone, and felt a rush of anger from his sword, that any demon should have harmed the one who wielded this blade.
Vaguely, he heard Selyn's scream and Alton's curse, but pain engulfed him and weakness drove him to his knees. His sword leapt from his nerveless fingers and impaled itself in the one who'd stabbed him.
Dawson stared, fascinated as his amazing ruby blade just flew out of his hand, all on its own, and avenged his death. For that was what it was, he realized. His death.
He gazed into the growing darkness and saw his Aunt Fiona smile.
The warmth woke her. Or maybe it was merely the lack of the icy chill that seemed to follow demonkind, but Isra opened her eyes once again, aware she was definitely alive.
But for how long? And, for what purpose? She should have died when Drago threw her against the wall. She should have died when she was surrounded by the icy stink of demons---or, at least, she should have lost her soul.
But she lay there---soul intact---on the dusty floor of the cavern, warmed by the energy vortex and the swirling lights from portals leading to Abyss and other worlds. Earth, maybe, and possibly Atlantis? She'd heard of those places, though she'd never seen any of them.
Nine hells, she'd barely seen her own. An entire life lived on one level of what her mother always called the new Lemuria. Exiled by birth, not by choice. Could she actually claim Lemuria as her own? And if so, would Lemuria ever claim her?
Just what did she owe Lemuria?
Anything? Or nothing at all?
But demonkind is invading, led by one who appears to be stronger than the other demons---stronger and smarter.
She had information that could help Artigos the Just and his army of Forgotten Ones and guardsmen. If she really wanted to help them. But what of Drago? He was Lemurian, yet he was helping demonkind. It made no sense.
Then she recalled the light of evil in his eyes, the madness lurking there, and Isra knew she had no choice. Her mother had fought for Lemuria. She'd given her life for Lemuria. Isra would not disgrace her mother's name.
Groaning with the effort of dragging herself to her feet, of planting her palms against the rough walls and finally standing only moderately upright, Isra glanced about, searching once more to see if there were demons here.
The vortex was empty, and she heard no sound. She was alone, utterly alone. But had she not been alone since her mother's death? Her sisters had long avoided her.
Or, had she avoided them? Blinking slowly, regaining her focus on the stone walls, Isra gained new focus on herself.
She saw herself afresh, and the vision was not a good one.
Damn, she was such a bitch! Foul-tempered and angry all the time. No wonder the others avoided her. It wasn't like she was the only Forgotten One slaving for the free folk. She and the others truly were sisters, if not of blood, then sisters through adversity, through hard labor and survival. She owed her sisters, if no one else. Owed them for putting up with her for so damned many years.
Even Selyn. She'd been so cruel to Selyn over the years, but only because Selyn was always hopeful things would get better. Isra had hated that sense of optimism that always seemed to color Selyn's aura with light and love. Hated the fact the others looked up to Selyn.
It wasn't Selyn's fault she was an optimist. Isra almost laughed at that foolish thought. As if optimism were a fault, not a blessing. Maybe, just maybe, she could try a little bit of that attitude out on herself.
Strength flowed throughout her body, energizing her bruised arms and aching shoulder. Easing the pounding ache in her head, and steadying her legs as she stood just a fraction straighter, just a little bit taller. She clenched her hands into fists and then straightened her fingers, aware of a newfound sense of power she'd not known before.
Power, finally, to do something good, something positive. She had to warn them. Somehow, she had to join her sisters in this fight against demonkind.
With or without a blasted crystal sword.
A small ache squeezed her heart as she thought of the crystal she'd hoped to wield. She hadn't deserved crystal. Not with that attitude that everyone owed her, that she had the right to take what she wanted, when she wanted. Someday, maybe, a crystal sword would be hers. Someday, should she prove herself worthy.
Isra shoved herself away from the wall, wobbling inelegantly for a moment before she regained her balance. Then, eyes focused on the portal that led to Lemuria, she stepped through the swirling light and into the tunnel beyond.
A flash of light brought her up short.
A blade lay in the pathway. Shimmering crystal, lying flat upon the ground. She stopped, transfixed by the glow that pulsed with life, that called to her. Then she glanced around, before and behind her, but there was no one else. Not another soul.
Holding her breath, Isra knelt beside the blade and slowly, cautiously, passed her hand over the shimmering crystal. Light flashed, and the damned thing practically leapt into her hand.
Her fingers tightened around the jeweled hilt, and the heft and balance were beyond perfect. For long moments she stared into the crystalline depths with the sense of somehow bonding to the entity existing within the blade. There were no words---not from the sword, and certainly not from her.
Standing again, she held the blade high, as if already sensing victory. More energy flowed into her body, along with a sense of wonder that finally, she had been found worthy of bearing crystal.
Swallowing back a sudden rush of tears, Isra took a deep and steadying breath. Then she grasped her sword and marched bravely through the shimmering veil of gold that had so terrified her mere hours ago.
Hadn't she sworn to be forgotten no more? Her crystal sword was proof she was a woman of value, proof she would be well-remembered by her peers. . . . This fight against demonkind had suddenly become very personal. Very personal indeed.
Chapter Twenty
Selyn planted her feet. Once again she parried her opponent's powerful thrust. Power rushed through her body, and she reveled in the sense of it, the knowledge that she and her blade were a single unit, fighting a foe who was larger and stronger, yet no more able---even with the added edge of demonic possession.
It was good. So damned good that she almost laughed at the bloodied guard before her. Grinning, she wondered what move to make that would irritate him even further before she vanquished him in battle.
She had no doubt she was going to win. She had right on her side. Right and Dawson Buck. She glanced his way, hoping to catch his eye as he fought not ten paces away.
And as she looked, everything slipped into slow motion.
Taron's blade practically eviscerated his opponent. The guard went down, flailing wildly. His leg shot out, catching Dawson behind the knee. As Dawson fell, his own opponent thrust wildly, scoring a perfect hit that buried his black sword deep in Dawson's left side.
He made not a sound. No, the scream Selyn heard was her own. "No! Dawson, no!" Screaming again, Selyn pivoted out of reach of her opponent's strike. She grabbed the jeweled hilt of her sword in both hands and swung her blade, throwing every bit of the love she felt for her fallen man behind the powerful strike.
With sleek and sure intent, she easily beheaded the bastard she'd been fighting. Oblivious to the sounds of Taron taking out the demon she'd just freed, of Alton and Ginny finishing off the final guardsman, she ran to Dawson and knelt beside him. Carefully, she pulled the obsidian blade from the gaping wound in his side and tossed the damned thing away.
It shattered and turned to black dust, becoming nothing more than a stain upon the floor. Gently, Selyn took Dawson's blade from his lax fingers and lay it on the ground next to her own. Ruby red beside diamond bright.
The obsidian blade had pierced him deeply just beneath his heart, a wound much too deep for anyone---human or Lemurian---to survive. Blood welled from the gash in spite of the pressure she forced against his side.
Ginny knelt beside her and ripped off her purple hoodie. "Use this," she said, folding it into a thick pad. "Put more pressure on the wound. We've got to stop the bleeding." She glanced at Alton. "Is there a healer you can call? Anyone?"
Selyn glanced hopefully at Alton, but he stood there with tears in his eyes and HellFire's blood-soaked tip pointed at the ground, shaking his head. "No one. Not with the battle raging. There are probably many injured. Even if I could find one amid the chaos, a healer could not help him. I fear it's a mortal injury, one that would end even a Lemurian's life. Humans are so much more fragile than we." He sighed, closed his eyes a moment, and then took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, Selyn." His voice broke as he knelt beside them. "So gods-be-damned sorry."
With an almost preternatural calm, Selyn nodded. Alton was right. There was no point, no time, no way to save the man she loved. Already she knew it was too late. The flow of blood was slowing, not so much from the pressure she placed against his wound, but because his heart no longer beat, no longer forced blood through his arteries.
Screams and shouts from the great plaza echoed along the passageway, and it was obvious demons still poured into Lemuria. She heard a battle cry go up, and knew that Artigos the Just and his women warriors and armed wardens had arrived. She had no doubt the battle would be won. She had to believe they would win. There was no acceptable alternative.
But Dawson wouldn't live to celebrate their victory. It was too late for him. She stared at the red stain coating her fingers and knew his blood no longer flowed. No breath escaped his slightly parted lips.
His eyes were closed. Those beautiful blue eyes. She'd never see them again, never feel the joy in their sparkle, the heat in his heavy-lidded gaze.
Never again. She brushed her fingers over the soft beard that covered his jaw, and thought of the way it felt against her breasts, her belly . . . her thighs.
Never again. Would he remember her, wherever his soul finally found rest? Did Lemurians and humans share the same afterlife? She had to believe they did.
She could accept nothing else.
Slowly, she traced the line of his jaw, the curve of his lips. How odd, she thought. He has a smile on his face.
What had he been thinking at the moment his soul passed over? What did he see as he entered the afterlife? Old friends? Family? Would he wait for her there?
How long could one be expected to await an immortal?
How long must she wait, before choosing to make that final leap herself? She wanted to join him. She had to. There was nothing left for her here. Nothing at all.
"Ginny?" Alton rose to his feet, moving like a very old man. "Do you wish to stay with Selyn and Daws? Taron has to close the portal to Abyss and I have to fight. The battle rages, and every sword will be needed."
Selyn raised her head, and her voice was strong and steady. She'd not wept for Dawson. Not yet. His loss wasn't real at this point. Her grief was so far beyond imagining, she'd not truly reacted to his death, still could not accept an end to the man she loved. "Your sword will be needed as well, Ginny. I'll stay with him. Please. Don't waste this brave man's death. He would not want that."
Ginny nodded in agreement. Her face glistened with tears, but she carried about her a look of resolve that could not be ignored. "His death is not wasted, Selyn. Never think that. We'll be back as soon as we can." She brushed a thick lock of Dawson's dark hair back from his face. "He's a hero. He didn't ask for this fight, but he's never once turned away from it. Nor from us." She leaned over and gently kissed his forehead.
"You're a damned good man, Dawson Buck. A brave warrior and a true friend, and the only man I know who'd ever think of hunting demons with a vacuum cleaner." She made a sound halfway between a laugh and a sob, and brushed her arm across her eyes.
"We have to go." Alton held out his hand. Ginny took it. Taron offered a brief salute, and then, within moments, Selyn was alone with Dawson, listening to the sounds of battle and the harsh rasp of her own ragged breath.
She clasped his hand and knew the warmth would quickly leave him, which made her want to hold him tighter, to wrap his body with hers and keep him warm.
To think she'd found love, only to lose it so quickly. Selyn ran her fingers through the thick, dark hair curling around his face and wasn't quite sure how she should feel. Grief was too simple a word to describe the sense of loss, the emptiness and utter devastation that seemed to have taken over her mind, her body . . . her soul.
He was gone. There was nothing left for her. No reason to fight on, no desire to continue. She'd finally discovered love, barely tasted the joy to be had with a man who had seen her as someone other than a slave. He'd thought she was a woman of worth, of value.
Without him, did she still have value? It was impossible to know. She folded her legs and sat beside him, watching the still perfection of his face, remembering the way he'd kissed her and held her, the way he'd laughed with her. Dawson had taught her the joy to be had between a man and a woman in love.
At least she had that to hold on to. To help her remember.
"Take his blade and lay it across his chest, ruby crystal to living flesh."
"What?" Selyn's head whipped around. She searched for the source of that voice speaking so clearly in her ear. A flash of blue light caught her eye, and she glanced at her sword. It glowed, pulsing with life.
"Quickly, before life flees. Lay his sword across his chest. Now."
With shaking hands, Selyn ripped Dawson's shirt open. Buttons scattered and fabric tore as she parted the fabric over his bloodied chest. Then she quickly placed the ruby sword across his body, so that the blade rested over his heart.
The moment the blade touched Dawson, red fire flashed. Light poured from the ruby facets, filling the small cavern, enclosing Dawson in a crimson explosion of cold fire and brilliant, shimmering shafts of light. Selyn tried to watch, but the glow was blinding. She covered her streaming eyes with her arm and turned away.
Long moments later, the light dimmed. Selyn slowly turned around. Breathless, unbelieving, she looked into Dawson's dark blue eyes. He blinked slowly, as if coming awake from a long and restful sleep.
When he finally focused on her face, it was as if she snapped out of a trance. "You live! Dawson, you live!"
Blinking, obviously confused, he struggled to sit up. Selyn didn't take her eyes off his face, but she grabbed his sword from his chest, set it beside her own once again, and then wrapped her arms around him. "You were dead. I saw you die, but you're alive!" The tears flowed now as she held him tightly, sobbing, kissing his throat, his lips, his perfectly healed body.
"I saw Aunt Fiona." He frowned as if he tried to recall what had just passed. "She said it wasn't my time, that I had to come back." He glanced at his left side, and Selyn knew it was the place where the blade had slipped between his ribs, through his lungs. There was no mark. Nothing but smooth, healthy flesh and a smear of dried blood.
Holy shit! Where . . . ?
She'd never heard his thoughts before, yet suddenly they were as clear in her mind as if he'd spoken aloud. She almost laughed, listening to his thoughts as he glanced around.
Damn it all. Where's my sword? Shit, I hope I didn't break it.
Selyn shook her head, but she couldn't bring herself to turn him loose. No, my love, she said, answering him telepathically. It wasn't your Aunt Fiona who sent you back, and your sword is here. Beside you. Your blade saved you. It's right . . .
He gazed at her in shock. "I hear you. In my head. But how?"
She kissed the shock right off his face. "That's what I'm trying to tell you. Your blade saved your life. Maybe that changed things in you. I don't know for sure, but you're alive!"
She clasped her own sword and looked at it with wonder. "And mine spoke to me. She told me to place your sword across your chest, and I did. And you came back."
Her blade glowed and pulsed with life. "I am called StarFire, Selyn of Elda's line. We will do well together."
"StarFire?" Selyn barely whispered the name, and yet she felt the connection, the sense that this blade was more than a mere weapon. Much more.
Dawson stared at the swords with a look of utter bemusement on his face. Selyn glanced at the floor beside him. A crystal blade glowed and shimmered just like hers. There was no trace of red within its crystalline facets, yet she knew immediately it was Dawson's. "Here," she said, pointing. "There's your sword."
He shook his head, obviously confused. "But it can't be. My blade is red. Ruby red." Even so, he reached for it, wrapped his fingers around the jeweled pommel, and lifted the weapon. "It feels right. I don't understand. What happened?"
"I am DemonsDeath. I was not prepared to lose you, Dawson Buck. It was not your time to leave us."
"Holy shit." Clutching the blade, his head snapped up, and he stared at Selyn. "The damned thing really is alive. How?" he asked, addressing his blade. "I was dead, wasn't I?"
The sword glowed and pulsed with life and light. "Very close. I sacrificed chromium, the element that gave me color, to bring life back to you. You have a greater purpose, Dawson Buck. It was necessary to recall your spirit. You will live long and fight many battles beside your woman."
As if those words snapped him out of whatever dream he'd been trapped in, Dawson scrambled to his feet. He tossed aside his ripped shirt so that he stood there with his chest bare and his worn jeans riding low on his hips. Drying blood covered his side and soaked one leg of his pants, but he was whole and strong and ready to fight.
Selyn gazed up at him, loving him more than she'd ever imagined possible.
A series of cries rang along the passageway. The sound of warriors engaging in battle, of women screaming and demons wailing those eerie, terrifying banshee howls. Dawson grabbed Selyn's hand. "None of this makes sense. Right now, I feel as if I must be dreaming, trapped in some alternate universe where nothing is as it seems, but damn it all, Selyn, as long as you're with me, it's all good."
He wrapped one arm around her shoulders and pulled her close, kissing her hard and fast. When he ended the kiss, he pulled back just enough to look into her eyes. His eyes absolutely glowed, and the smile on his face was one of pure joy.
"We'll figure it out later," he said. "But right now, we've got a war to win."
Selyn linked her fingers in his. "I love you," she said, and for some odd reason she felt like laughing.
"I love you, too. Now move!" He took off, tugging Selyn behind him. She stretched her legs and caught up, and together they raced along the passage, away from the empty prison cells, into the midst of hell.
Artigos the Just paused at the final portal, the one leading into the levels where the free folk lived---the one that would put him, once again, among his people.
And yet he'd never once set foot in this new Lemuria. Had no real idea what Lemurians were like anymore, how they functioned as a society, who their chosen leaders were, what their politics were like. All he knew were the bits and pieces of information he'd stolen from people's minds over the years. Mere snips of what Lemuria was like in this modern era.
Would they even remember him? His son had led Lemurian citizens ever since the great move from a dying continent---led them with a mind ruled by demonkind.
Artigos knew many in the Council of Nine must be compromised as well, and, if what Selyn and Dawson had reported was true, his grandson, the one he'd hoped would support his claim for leadership, was currently imprisoned in a jail cell, along with those who'd sworn their allegiance to the man.
Unless, of course, Dawson and Selyn had succeeded in freeing them. So much depended on luck.
Luck, and skill, and the power of crystal.
He glanced behind him, at the men and women standing ready to fight---willing to lay down their lives for an old man whose time might have already passed. Their amazing loyalty alone should give him the strength to move forward.
'Twas not luck that gave them the courage to stand behind a once-proud king. No, it was loyalty to Lemuria and the magic of crystal that empowered this small but magnificent army.
With that thought in mind, Artigos the Just stepped through the portal and left his thousands of years of imprisonment and exile behind him.
Stepped away from his lost life, into unimaginable chaos.
Men and women running in blind fear crowded past. Many were bleeding, covered in deep scratches and bites. Screams rose all about them, and the stench of demonkind was thick within the halls and tunnels of this strange, underground world.
Light overhead reminded him of the sky he'd not seen for thousands of years, and yet the light was false, manufactured by technology he'd heard was long forgotten by the people who still made use of it.
Wisps of black sped by, pursuing the Lemurians who'd just passed. Artigos caught the hint of talons and sharp fangs before the wraiths disappeared down the long passage. The stench of sulfur remained, a foul stink he'd never forget.
Demonkind. But how? There were demon wraiths here, inside Lemuria? He'd expected to fight against possessed Lemurian guards and possibly members of the Council of Nine, but demons flying free, aggressively attacking Lemurian citizens? Demons obviously capable of inflicting injuries while in wraith form?
That hadn't been part of his plan!
He turned as his army spilled through the portal. Men and women took their places, lining up along the tunnel. For now, the panic-stricken flow of Lemurians had ceased, though screams and shouts echoed in the distance.
Artigos stood tall and gazed at the anxious faces of the men and women before him. "I have no idea what scourge we face, but there are demons herein. Go forth and fight bravely. Not for me, not for any ruler, not for any political party or ideology. No. We fight for our world, for our people, for Lemuria!"
He raised his sword high, as did each of his soldiers. The shout rose, loud and clear from many voices, from former slaves and the formerly possessed.
"For Lemuria!"
Light flashed from the shimmering tips of blades joined, and then shot along the tunnel, a brilliant arrow of energy flying in the direction of the sounds of battle.
Artigos watched the light, tracked its direction, and gave a mighty shout. Then, raising his sword, he led his army down the trail set by crystal.
Eddy leapt into the thick mass of demonkind with her blade flashing and snow falling all around. She was careful of Mari---the most amazing, magical Mari---standing tall within the mass of wraiths, still chanting her spell. Blood ran down her arms from long, deep scratches, and her face was marked as well, but Darius fought beside his woman like a man possessed, and he protected her as best he could.
With Artigos, Dax and Eddy helping, they managed to clear a space for Mari, but the wraiths kept coming and the snow kept falling, and Eddy couldn't help but wonder how long they could hold out.
This wasn't the way it was supposed to happen! She and Dax were supposed to take Artigos and Gaia and join the fight in Lemuria, but here they fought on Earth's soil, and the demons continued to arrive in an unending, unrelenting stream.
Were Ginny and Alton all right? And what of Dawson and Selyn? There were others as well, Roland and his men---brave men who worked within Lemuria, fighting not only demonkind but their own government, their own leaders. Did Alton still hold the chancellor's position? Did Artigos the Just truly survive?
She'd not asked the prior chancellor Artigos about his father. Not yet, though that question could not be put off forever.
Neither could her attention to the fight! Sharp talons raked her arm. Eddy ducked away from a demon with more form than most. She caught a quick glance of teeth and eyes and a long, forked tail before the foul creature shrieked and disappeared into the falling snow.
"Dax? What's going on? They seem to be gaining strength, not growing weaker." She glanced his way. He ducked beneath a pair of demons, but still managed a shrug.
"I don't know." Frustration leant an edge to his voice as he slashed DemonFire through that foul, oily mist, leaving a trail of flames and sparks behind. "Mari's spell is supposed to slow them down, not make them more vicious."
What the hell was going wrong? Eddy felt the emotional tug of her sword. DemonSlayer? she asked. How can we help Mari?
Her blade's familiar voice whispered in her mind. She needs the power of crystal. Touch your blades to her body, your hands to her flesh as well. Share with her of your life force. Empower her to tap into that great well of strength that lies within your world.
Hookay . . . that wasn't quite what she'd expected. Eddy reached high for a demon, caught it with her blade, and watched with grim satisfaction as it shattered and scattered into foul smelling sparks. In the lull between attacks, she passed on what her blade had told her must be done.
"DemonSlayer says Mari needs more power, from us and from our swords. Touch your blades to her shoulders, your hands to her body. Share what you can to strengthen her spell."
No one questioned her instructions. Eddy pressed the flat of her blade to Mari's back and rested her hand upon her friend's shoulder. Artigos, Dax, and Darius did the same, connecting Mari to their human and Lemurian life force as well as to the power of crystal.
Mari shuddered, as if she'd been jolted by a powerful shock, but her voice never faltered.
"Demon's spawn in dark of night,I charge you---lose your will to fight.Be thou afraid. All, rush to flee!Return to Abyss. So mote it be."
Again and again she repeated her spell, a simple rhyme that was merely a framework to hold the magic she was still learning to control. But now, with the power of crystal, with the strength of her companions' life force, there was a ring to her voice that hadn't been there before.
Now, as she chanted the simple words, the dark wraiths milled about. They seemed confused, as if unsure of their goal. Mari stood tall and unwavering, though she'd held her arms aloft now, had spoken her spell continuously, for over an hour.
Eddy felt the drain on her energy and knew she fed into Mari's. It was the strangest feeling, as if something were being sucked out, and yet at the same time, that power was being replaced. DemonSlayer? Was her sword finding the balance that allowed her to give without giving up, to share of herself without depleting her own reserves?
"Mari?" Darius sheathed his sword and pulled Mari into his arms. She stumbled into his embrace, but he caught her as her legs gave out.
Eddy blinked and looked around, aware the snow had stopped falling, that the sky was actually growing lighter as the cloud cover thinned. How long had they stood out here in the freezing cold?
And why wasn't she freezing? Had Mari's spell kept them warm as well? "Are they gone? I don't see any demons." She sheathed DemonSlayer, noting that the light of her blade had dulled. She looked up at Dax. He blinked as if he were just waking up from a long sleep. Artigos leaned on his yellow sword, and his breath came in deep pulls that left a frosty cloud in front of him.
Darius brushed Mari's hair back from her face. "You did it, my love. You ran the bastards off." He leaned close and kissed her.
Mari shook her head. "Barely." Her voice cracked, as if she fought tears. "I couldn't have done it without all of you, your energy . . . life force, whatever it was you shared with me. Thank you. But they're not gone for good. They're growing much stronger." She held up her arm and stared at the blood running from her wrist to her elbow.
Eddy noticed that all of them were covered with numerous small cuts and bites. What looked like insubstantial smoke had enough solid form to inflict injuries. All of them were bleeding.
Spirit opened the door and stepped out onto the porch. Bumper raced past her and sniffed the ground, her tail wagging full speed. "I've got coffee on and a late breakfast cooking," Spirit said. "Come in, clean up. Get some food and some rest. You were all absolutely amazing."
She hugged Mari. "I'm so proud of you! Even covered in scratches you look powerful. Sweetheart, you are truly a skilled and powerful witch." Spirit chuckled and wrapped an arm around her daughter's waist. "My daughter the witch. I never dreamed this would come to pass."
Laughing, Mari grabbed Darius's hand, and they headed inside with Dax and BumperWillow following. Artigos brought up the rear, but he'd not spoken since they'd joined the battle and seemed unusually quiet.
Eddy stopped him at the door. "Are you okay?"
He raised his head and stared at her out of eyes clouded with grief. "I've brought this on, haven't I? How can I ever forgive myself, much less ask my people to forgive me?" He stared down at the yellow crystal sword grasped tightly in his hand. "Will my son ever forgive me? My father?"
Eddy gazed at the man who had literally condemned an entire world by his actions, and yet it was difficult to lay all the blame on his shoulders. After a moment, she focused on his sword---a sword that had served him well throughout the long night.
"Crystal won't serve a warrior it doesn't respect. If your blade feels your heart is true, isn't that what matters? And won't your people, the ones you love, accept that?"
Artigos raised his head and frowned. "It has served me well, but it has not yet spoken to me. I have much to prove before my blade feels I am worthy."
Eddy smiled and linked arms with him. "Then I guess you just need to keep doing your best, don't you agree? You're certainly not going to prove anything by wallowing in self-recrimination. Or, by missing one of Freedom's really good breakfasts."
She tugged, opened the door, and they entered the house that way, linked arm in arm. The sun was breaking through the clouds behind them, casting its light over the snow-covered peak of Mount Shasta. Eddy glanced over her shoulder as Artigos shut the door, and wondered how they could get to the nearest portal and find their way to Lemuria.
How in the hell were they going to stop this blasted invasion that kept expanding in numbers as well as strength?
The feeling that Alton and Ginny needed their help grew stronger by the minute. The sense that everything depended upon the battle she knew must be underway, deep inside the mountain in Lemuria.
Eddy wandered into the big, bright kitchen and glanced up as Dax handed her a cup of steaming coffee. Her dad grabbed the remote and turned on the small TV sitting on the counter near the table, slipping through channels in search of local news. Finally he found a familiar station.
They all gathered at the big kitchen table while Freedom brought platters of eggs and fried potatoes, bacon and sausage, and hot cornbread right from the oven.
The plates were passed and food consumed, but everyone's attention remained focused on the news. After a few minutes, Eddy frowned at her father. "Nothing. No reports of strange happenings, possessed creatures or wandering statues, nothing. Are the demons coming here, focusing on this house and nowhere else? What's going on?"
"I think it's my fault."
"Mari? Why you?" Gaia reached across the table and covered Mari's hand. "You're making spells to weaken them, not call them. Why would you think such a thing?"
Mari glanced at Darius.
He leaned over, kissed her softly, and sighed, but he was nodding his head in agreement. "Last week," he said, "when Mari chased off the demons that were invading her mom's shop and attacking Leland, Matthias, and me, a ruby geode exploded in the midst of her spell. We didn't realize until then that something about the ruby crystals in the geode had been calling the demons to the shop. We don't know why they were attracted to it. When the geode exploded, one of the crystals lodged in Mari's heart. It's still there." He covered Mari's hand with his. "The crystal in her heart gives her immortality, but it might also be giving off a signal, one that attracts demons to her."
Mari gave Eddy a rueful smile. "Sort of a good news, bad news thing. The good news is I'm immortal. The bad is the fact that demons are drawn to me, no matter where I am or what I'm doing. Because of that magical crystal, I've become a magnet for them, a veritable lodestone for demonkind. If they're at all near, they're going to come looking for me, first."
Chapter Twenty-One
"Dawson? Nine hells, man, I never thought I'd see you again! I thought you were dead!" Alton thrust his sword through a mass of approaching demons, but he flashed a speculative glance at Daws. "What happened?"
Dawson held up his sword. "My sword brought me back." He tightened his grasp on Selyn's hand. "My sword and Selyn. What's going on?"
"Chaos," Ginny said. She took a deep breath. "Absolute chaos."
Dawson focused on a group of familiar faces. Roland and his band were protecting a small pack of Lemurians huddling in shocked silence beside the dais at the head of the plaza. All about them, the ground was littered with sparkling bits of crystal. "What's happened to their swords?"
"Shattered. They're cowards, all," Alton said. He swung his blade again and more sparks flew. "They finally drew their swords when they realized there weren't enough of us with crystal to protect them, but their blades shattered."
He paused, thrust his blade through another stinking demon. "The problem is, the citizens don't trust us. Drago's been speaking out, rallying them against us, telling them we're possessed by demonkind. He's got the idiots convinced I was the one to open the portal to Abyss and allow the wraiths entry."
"Bastard." Dawson glanced about the huge plaza, but saw only a few dozen Lemurians. "Where is everyone?"
"Hiding in their quarters," Taron said. "They scattered quickly, once demons broke through. At least, so far, anyway, there's no sign of the demon king. Alton said he's the one who seems best able to get the others organized."
Shouts and the clash of steel erupted from a passage behind them. Alton glanced at Ginny and raised his sword. "Do you think it's him?"
Dawson frowned. "Who? The demon king?" He glanced at Selyn.
"No," she said. "His grandfather. Come."
The five of them slipped into the passage in time to see Artigos the Just with his army of former slaves and once-possessed guards engaging in battle with a squadron of Lemurian guardsmen. Steel clashed with crystal, but the Lemurian guardsmen were vastly outnumbered.
"Enough!" Alton leapt to the top of a table and raised his sword. "As Chancellor pro tem and head of the Council of Nine, I demand you lay down your arms."
The soldiers pulled apart, but no one disarmed. They did, however, stop fighting and turn their attention to Alton. Alton pointed to his grandfather, a man he barely remembered. "Do you not recognize the true leader of Lemuria? You raise your swords against Artigos the Just, who has been held prisoner these long years since the great move."
Some among the guardsmen seemed to recognize their former leader. Dawson could hear them mumbling among themselves, but he had no idea what they said. Finally, one of the men stepped forward and bowed, showing Alton the proper courtesy due his position.
"We know not these men, Chancellor, dressed in their strange uniforms. They are, and yet are not, of the Lemurian guard. They are guardsmen who bear crystal, and yet we are not so armed. And who are the women? They're not the women warriors of legend, and yet they bear crystal as well."
He folded his arms across his chest, pointedly turning his back on the rest of the men and women, focusing his attention on Alton.
And Alton focused on the soldier. He'd stated his questions clearly, without malice, but the man had to be confused. Who in the hell was the enemy?
"These are the daughters of the warrior women. The guardsmen were their wardens, holding them enslaved for all these years, but the men were possessed, each of them ruled by demonkind until my grandfather, Artigos the Just, freed them."
Alton glanced at his grandfather and then looked down at his friends. Dawson flashed him a wink. Going good so far, he said, using his newfound telepathy. No one's trying to kill anyone else.
For now. Alton held his sword high. "Demonkind is invading Lemuria. The only way to stop them is with crystal." He faced the soldiers carrying steel and spoke quickly, his voice urgent, his expression one of firm resolve. "Swear allegiance to our world, to Lemuria, and you shall carry crystal as well. Drago is possessed by demonkind, as was my father. We can only prevail against this evil scourge if we work together. Not for me, not for Artigos the Just. For Lemuria."
Before anyone could answer, a sudden chill swept over them. Dawson grabbed Selyn's hand and pulled her out of the way. A seething cloud of demons shot from the great plaza, heading directly at the soldiers in a whirlwind of sulfuric stench.
Those armed with steel ran for cover. The Forgotten Ones and their guards leapt into battle. The air filled with the stink of demons and their terrible banshee screams, with the cries of warriors fighting strong and true.
Dawson whirled out of the reach of a huge demon, one he'd not seen before. It had shape and form, and rather than attack, it hovered just before him, its multi-jointed arms tipped with deadly talons and its shimmering scales reflecting the ambient light in the broad passage.
This was no formless wraith, yet when Dawson thrust his sword through the creature, it merely screamed a shout of triumph and lunged forward.
Daws rolled out of the way, barely ahead of the slashing talons.
Alton's shout rang in his ears as he scrambled to his feet. "The demon king! Ginny, we need you."
Ginny raced toward them, holding DarkFire high. The massive demon turned and shrieked, growing in size until it towered over even the tallest of the Lemurians. Ginny looked like a child, standing before the huge creature, but she was fearless in her attack.
Alton stood beside her, with Dawson and Selyn on either side, but the demon backed away, shrieked again, and suddenly collapsed in upon itself, formed a tiny tornado of pure, dark energy, and flashed back toward the great plaza.
Absolute silence followed in its wake. Silence punctuated by the sound of heavy breathing and the soft murmurs of warriors.
Alton took a deep breath, glanced at Dawson, and nodded. Then he turned to face the assembled group. Those armed with steel had rejoined them, but their expressions had gone from confident and self-assured to humble.
It was impossible to deny the power in Artigos the Just's army, standing here in a room filled with the sulfuric stench and blackened soot of dead demons.
Alton looked to that group of warriors first. "Are you willing to share the power of your crystal blades with men who truly are not your enemies?"
There was no hesitation at all. Those bearing crystal---men and women alike---walked forward, joining the men carrying steel. Holding crystal to steel, they quickly replicated each of the crystal swords. As light flashed and crystal flared to life, Dawson watched the expression on Alton's face turn to one of hope.
Their army had just grown considerably.
Artigos the Just walked through the crowd of warriors and stood beside the table where Alton once more held court. "You've done well, grandson. I'm proud of the man you've become."
The shimmer in Alton's eyes matched the glow of his sword.
Selyn squeezed Dawson's hand. It's been a long time coming, she said. Ginny's told me of his father's cruelty.
But his father has been possessed by demonkind, Dawson said. There may be resolution there, as well. He leaned close and kissed Selyn, but the moment was bittersweet. He knew all about resolution. He'd never found it with his own father. No, but he'd found something even more powerful, more important with the woman holding tightly to his hand.
He'd found love.
Isra heard the sound of fighting long before she reached what must be the great plaza. She saw huddled groups of unarmed Lemurian men, and many soldiers bearing crystal. Her sisters fought in a number of areas, battling the black wraiths she'd first seen at the portal.
But where was that big one? The one that had paused and practically taunted her with his strength and fierce power?
A scream caught her attention. Nica! Little Nica fought alone, swinging her crystal sword against a swirling mass of darkness. Isra raced across the open area. How in the hell did one fight demons? She'd only had this crystal blade for a few short minutes.
And yet, she knew exactly what to do. Thrusting the tip into the stinking, shrieking mass, she felt a huge pulse of power and blinked at the shower of sparks as demons exploded at the barest touch of crystal.
"Isra!" Nica shot her a huge grin. "We couldn't find you anywhere, and you've got crystal! I'm so glad you're alive. I was worried. Thank you." She took a deep gulp of air, and then another. "There are so many." She held up her scratched and bloodied arm. "Don't let them get close. They may look like mist, but they've got sharp teeth and claws. I got separated from the others. Stay with me, please?"
Isra nodded. Nica showed no animosity toward her at all, even after a lifetime of cruelty and harassment? Amazing. "Of course I'll fight with you, but I must find Selyn or Artigos. Either one. I have terrible news and must warn them."
Nica grabbed her hand. "This way. I saw Alton, Artigos's grandson. He's the one you need to tell."
Fighting raged around them. Her sisters and the guards, fighting together, battling an endless army of demons. For the most part, it appeared the Lemurian aristocrats had either gone into hiding or cowered in corners, terrified of both the Forgotten Ones and the demons.
Cowards, all. Once again, Isra wondered why she bothered, but then she remembered---this fight wasn't for those foolish free folk. This was for her world.
For Lemuria. She turned to Nica. "Alton?"
"Yes. There. The one with blond hair who fights beside Taron." Nica pointed toward the two men and the tall, dark woman who fought between them. Their swords flashed and demons died, and yet, for each that died, two others took its place.
Isra had to speak to him now. She knew where all these creatures were coming from. Somehow, he had to close the portal. Isra raised her hand, hoping to gain his attention, but a sudden chill stopped her before she could call his name.
She turned, and found herself looking into the eyes of that same, huge, hideous demon. He stood not six feet away, watching her as he'd studied her before, in the chamber where the portals pulsed and swirled. Caught in his diabolical stare, she could neither move nor scream.
His lips parted in a parody of a grin, and, as Isra stood, frozen in place, he flexed very solid looking talons and slowly walked toward her.
Selyn heard what could only be Nica's scream. She turned loose of Dawson's hand and raced toward the sound. "Dawson! He's here." The demon king had materialized not a hundred yards from where they'd seen him last, only now he stalked Isra.
Isra with crystal? But how?
And Nica! Little Nica protecting the one who had tormented her for most of her life. So many questions, but the time for answers would have to wait.
Nica swung her sword, but the crystal passed through the demon king's body without visible effect. The massive beast turned and swung two of his huge arms, batting Nica away as if she were nothing more than a small irritant.
"Nica!" Isra pivoted out of the demon king's reach.
Nica cried out, hit the ground hard, and lay silent. The demon turned on Isra once again, but she stood her ground. Dawson raced past Selyn and stood beside Isra with his sword drawn. Selyn went to Nica. Slowly she knelt beside her friend.
Nica's head was bloodied, but her eyes were open. Long scratches ran across her neck and shoulder. "I'm okay," she said. "Help Isra. She has important news for Chancellor Alton."
"Take care, my friend." Selyn helped prop Nica against the wall, away from the fighting. Then she grabbed up her sword once more. Dawson and Isra slashed at the demon king, but all they seemed to do was infuriate the beast. Their crystal had no obvious effect. Was Ginny's DarkFire the only sword capable of harming the creature?
Selyn lunged, driving her blade deep into what she hoped was the demon king's heart---if he had one, and if it resided in his chest. He twisted away, shrieking now as three blades pierced him, cutting and slashing without visible damage.
There was no blood, no sign of cuts or tears. His scales remained in place, his body whole. He was mist and yet not. Substantial enough to reflect light from his reptilian scales, solid enough for his knife-like talons to leave deep cuts where they met his opponents' living flesh---and disgusting enough for the stinking saliva from his gaping mouth and yellowed fangs to turn the ground beneath their feet foul and slippery.
Solid, yet not entirely---light showed through his huge body, and the shadows of movement, when Isra or Dawson lunged with a blade, seemed to dance within his frame. He fought them now, turning and swirling, reaching out with his four arms to slash and cut, kicking with his huge, clawed feet. Still, Selyn felt as if he merely toyed with them, as if he tested their skill and laughed at their inability to best him, even with crystal.
Until Ginny joined the fight. Charging in with DarkFire glowing that unbelievable shade of purple, she headed straight for the demon king. His massive head whipped around, and he shrieked. Movement within the great plaza halted as everyone, demon and Lemurian alike, turned in the direction of that unholy noise.
Before Ginny could swing her blade, the creature lost all form, turned into a black tornado of seething mist, and disappeared down a dark tunnel, away from the battle.
Demonkind throughout the entire area screeched and rose into the air, swirling and pulsing in thick, oily masses of mist. Then with an ear-splitting shriek that seemed to come from all directions at once, they coalesced into a single massive spear of darkness and sped after the demon king.
Alton threw an arm around Ginny's shoulders and kissed her. Dawson drew Selyn into an embrace, and they all stood there, blowing, gasping for breath, staring in the direction the demon king and his minions had gone.
The few aristocrats still cowering in dark corners were the first to head toward Alton, followed by the warriors who'd fought and killed so many of the demons. Artigos the Just stayed toward the back of the plaza with many of his army around him.
Drago, it appeared, had been among those hiding. He leapt to the dais and pointed at Alton. "Arrest him. He is in league with demonkind. Did you see what happened? He allowed that thing to escape. It's headed straight for the living quarters where our people hide from this terrible invasion. No one will be safe."
Alton glanced at Ginny, and the anger boiled off of him in waves. She reached for him, but he shrugged her off and marched across the open plaza. When he reached the dais where Drago stood, he took the steps two at a time as if he intended to physically attack the councilman. Ginny was right on Alton's heels, with Taron, Dawson, and Selyn following close behind.
Alton reached the same level as Drago and towered over the man. "Put a lid on it, Drago. Now." He turned to the gathering crowd and glared at his people---people who had cowered in fear when demons attacked. Men whose swords had shattered rather than allow cowards to wield them. "Those of you who believe Drago's lies are fools. Every gods-be-damned one of you. Fools and cowards, all."
No one spoke, but eyes shifted from Alton to Drago, and the mood grew ugly. Alton dismissed them with a curse and glared at Drago. "A test, Drago. Draw your sword. Show them that the blade is black as sin."
Drago took a step back as Alton turned once again to the crowd, now watching him intently. "Crystal turns black when the one who wields it has died. The Drago who once inhabited this body died long ago. You see the man, but he's nothing more than demonkind---possessed for so many years, almost nothing but the demon survives."
Drago took another step back. Then he seemed to catch himself. "Lies, Alton. Nothing but lies!"
"I think not." Alton glanced at Ginny and then focused once more on the Lemurians watching this drama play out in front of them. "Let DarkFire prove the truth of my words. My mate's blade is capable of forcing demonkind from even the darkest heart. Dawson? Taron? Hold Drago so that Ginny can show these good people what the councilman really is."
Before Drago could flee, Dawson made eye contact with Taron, and the two men acted as one. They grabbed for Drago and caught his arms. He struggled, fighting against their control, but the two of them held him so tightly restrained he couldn't break free.
Ginny stepped up and drew her blade. Drago's eyes went wide, but she didn't hesitate. Instead, she touched the tip of her blade to his chest, just over his heart. The dark crystal glowed, just as it had in this same plaza mere days ago when the people had witnessed DarkFire's power for the first time.
Drago screamed, but it was a banshee cry, not the sound of a man. His body jerked in Taron and Dawson's grasp . . . and then a thick, oily mass began to seep out of him.
There were gasps and cries throughout the vast plaza as those in the front pushed back, away from the dais, and the ones in back surged forward for a better view. Selyn looked out over the crowd and realized that people were coming in from the various passages, though not from the direction the demon king had taken.
She wondered where he'd gone, if there were people yet in danger. Now, though, both male and female Lemurians filled the great plaza as Ginny forced more and more darkness from Drago.
He seemed to shrink, like a child's toy balloon deflating. At first he struggled, but as more and more of the demon was drawn forth, his struggles lessened. Finally, he hung limp and diminished in Dawson and Taron's grasp, but a thick, oily substance floated in the air just above his head.
Ginny thrust at the mass with DarkFire, but the wraith shot out of reach, just ahead of her blade. Someone in the crowd screamed. Ginny cursed and lunged again, but the mist spun in an ever tightening circle and then shot down the passage, following the direction the demon king had gone.
"Shit." Ginny stared at her sword and shook her head. "I didn't expect it to move so quickly. How's Drago?"
Dawson grabbed a fistful of Drago's hair and raised the man's head, but he was limp and barely breathing. Alton glanced at the crowd. "Can we get a healer up here? It appears the demon's force may have been all that kept him alive."
"You were right. That explains the black sword." Taron adjusted his grip on Drago's arm.
An older man moved through those standing closest to the dais, climbed the stairs, and went straight to Drago. At the same time, there was a commotion toward the back side of the plaza, a shout and angry cursing.
Roland and Birk moved toward the dais. Roland had a tight grip on one man, while Birk grasped the arms of two more. A third Lemurian guard came from another part of the crowd, marching yet another man ahead of him.
"Thank you, gentlemen." Alton pointed to the guards and their prisoners. "These members of the Council of Nine have ruled Lemuria since the great move from our dying continent. None of us knew, at the time, that they had been possessed by demonkind, their every thought controlled, their will that of a Lemurian no longer."
He folded his arms across his chest and gazed out over the plaza that was now filled with Lemuria's citizens. "You will hear the full story as soon as we can take the time to explain it all to you, but I can tell this to you now---we will remove the influence of demonkind from our leaders and from any of our citizens who have been infected with this scourge. My father is being treated even now. He's with a healer in Earth's dimension."
At the mention of Earth, a mumbling rose among the people. Alton raised his hand. "Do not fear that which you do not understand." He pointed to Ginny and Dawson. "Without these humans---humans who now carry crystal---demonkind would rule our world. Your lives would be forfeit. I charge you to treat them with honor."
Selyn glanced at the council members held captive before the dais. Each of them had a crystal sword carefully sheathed, yet even from here she could tell the blades were black. A chill crossed over her spine. The demon king was still free and demonkind still wandered the halls of Lemuria. This battle was far from won.
Ginny stepped down from the dais and led the guards and their captives to a point out of view of the crowd where she could safely remove the demons, but a familiar voice drew Selyn's attention once again.
"Selyn! I really have to speak to the chancellor."
"Isra?" She leaned down and held out her hand. "Come. Let me help you. It's too crowded for you to get to the stairs."
Isra's hand tightened around hers. As Selyn tugged, Isra jumped and landed lightly beside her. "I have news he must hear," she whispered. Then Isra looked over her shoulder at the huge crowd of free folk. More people than she and Selyn had ever seen in their lives.
For a moment, Selyn wondered if she had the right to interfere with the chancellor's speech. Then she sensed the power of StarFire and knew she had every right. She stepped up and tapped Alton's shoulder. "Isra says she has important news for the chancellor."
He flashed her a cheeky grin. "That would still be me." And, without a moment's hesitation, he turned his full attention on the two Forgotten Ones.
Isra glanced quickly at Selyn and then swallowed with an audible gulp. "Sir," she said. Then she took a deep breath, and the words spilled out. "I freely admit I came to this level to do harm, but I was captured by guards possessed by demonkind. They took me through a magical wall of molten gold and thence along a passage that led to a chamber filled with portals. That man"---she pointed at Drago---"was using his black sword to open a portal. It's a massive doorway that swirls in colors of darkest red and stinks of demonic presence."
Alton's hand snapped up to stop her speech. "Taron," he said. "Dawson, you need to listen to this." He turned back to Isra. "I'm sorry. I want my men to hear your message."
With Dawson and Taron on either side of the chancellor, Isra continued. "Drago completed the portal, and demons began pouring through. Thousands of them, filling the chamber with a solid wall of stinking mist. Then that large one crawled through the portal." She stopped and took another deep breath.
Selyn reached for Isra's hand and squeezed it tight. Never in her wildest dreams had Selyn imagined feeling pride in Isra, her most unfriendly sister, but now Selyn stood tall and proud beside one who had always wished her harm.
Isra's fingers tightened in Selyn's. "When the demon king finally crawled out of the portal, he divided the demons into three separate groups. One group went down a passageway to the left and disappeared. Another went through a gateway I didn't know---it was off to the right and had a well-traveled path before it. The third group invaded Lemuria."
Dawson and Alton exchanged glances. Alton nodded. "I agree. They've gone to Earth. The passage she mentions to the left takes them to Sedona; the other portal will drop them onto the flank of Mount Shasta." He shook his head. "We've not heard from Eddy and Dax for much too long. Taron, I want you to close the portal from Abyss if you can, but also try to contact our friends in Evergreen. Darius should be the strongest communicator. I need to know if they're all right, if my father lives."
Taron nodded and clasped Alton's shoulder. "Alton, I am so sorry. I was caught in the battle. I never got to the portal. I'll go now. Be careful. The demon king is here, and his army is growing. Plus, he'll have gained strength from the one that possessed Drago."
"I know." Alton pulled Taron into a quick embrace. "It's okay, my friend. There is nothing to forgive. Go quickly." Then he turned to Selyn and Isra. "Thank you, Isra. I hope you've lost your desire to do harm to Lemuria, as I have a feeling we'll be able to use one with your fortitude when it comes time to rebuild this world." He smiled at her, and then he sighed, as if the weight of his world were growing too heavy for any one man's shoulders to bear.
He gazed out across the vast crowd and then smiled and raised his arms to draw the attention of his people once again. "As my mother explained when I took over my hereditary seat as chancellor of the council, it was to be a temporary position. I want to introduce you to the rightful leader who should have held this seat all along. It is with great honor that I give you my grandfather, Artigos the Just, once king, now the rightful chancellor of the Council of Nine."
Gasps rose from many. The crowd parted, and Artigos the Just, followed by his army of former slaves and once-possessed guards, strode across the great plaza with his ruby blade held high.
Selyn fought back tears of pride as her sisters, some of them bloodied, all of them smiling, followed their leader, each of them carrying crystal and walking with more pride than any of the free folk could ever hope to understand.
Chapter Twenty-Two
The crowds had long ago dispersed; the plaza was empty of all but a few guards remaining on duty. Others had been sent to search below, to look for evidence of demonkind, though so far there'd been no sign of the foul creatures.
They were still somewhere within Lemuria, but where?
Dawson held tightly to Selyn's hand as they gathered around a large table, all of them eating in the dining area normally reserved for the members of the Council of Nine. Though the battle was far from won, it was a time of celebration. A small one, but a celebration all the same.
At least enough of the older citizens of Lemuria had remembered a time when Artigos ruled, before the great move from their world in the sun. They associated his leadership with more than the DemonWars---when they heard Artigos the Just speak, it took them back to a time when they'd lived a totally different existence, outside beneath blue skies, free of the fear of demonkind. Free, as well, from the restrictions that had slowly tightened around them---restrictions that denied them the open discourse they'd been so proud of for so long.
They'd led the cheers when he ascended the dais. They'd been the ones to nod in agreement as he painted his picture of the Lemuria to come. There'd been no question as to whether or not his rule would be accepted. Dawson had the feeling he wouldn't have been able to abdicate, even if he'd wanted to.
It was obvious his people loved him, and just as obvious that he was a born leader. He'd glossed over his son's part in locking him away and stealing the chancellor's seat. Had praised his grandson for picking up the mantle of leadership during their prior chancellor's sudden "illness."
He'd introduced the Forgotten Ones as women of honor to be treated as the saviors they promised to be, and he'd held up the members of the Lemurian Guard, each man carrying his crystal sword, as equals in every way to the aristocracy. Fighting side by side with the Forgotten Ones, who were forever now to be called Paladins of Lemuria, they would hold strong against the threat of demonkind.
Artigos had promised that somehow he would find a way to return Lemurians to, if not the same life they'd had before, at least a life filled with challenge, one that would reawaken the ancient spark of adventure and expectation that had long been buried here in this well-appointed grave they called the new Lemuria.
Man was not meant to live beneath the ground, he said. Lemurians were not meant to exist within caves and tunnels like so many trolls. He'd called on those among them who still had a grasp of the ancient technologies that had once brought them to this world so many eons ago, that had helped to create the new Lemuria within a separate dimension.
Called on them to find a way to create a world in sunlight, separate and yet part of life above ground. He admitted that it could not be done overnight, that it was not going to be easy; but he charged all his people to look toward a future where, once again, they could walk proudly as people of the light, not huddle in darkened caverns, arguing philosophical points that had no bearing on anyone or anything.
And then, with a final call to action, he explained that he was instituting changes that would begin immediately---that women would once again have a voice in their political structure; that the five seats on the board so recently held by demon-possessed men would now go to either women or members of the Lemurian Guard or the working class. All people of all levels of society would have a voice in the new order. Lemuria had once been a democracy. He, Artigos the Just, who was a king by inheritance, would rule, instead, as their new chancellor, both member and head of an entirely new Council of Nine---with all nine of them acting as true representatives to all Lemurians.
It had been a lot to swallow, and with the Lemurian penchant for philosophical discourse, Dawson imagined many, many years of discussion would ensue before all of the new chancellor's visions came to pass. He hoped to be a part of it, to see this world prosper once again, in the manner in which Artigos described.
But for now, he wanted nothing more than food, and sleep, and time alone with Selyn. So much had happened today, and he was far from absorbing even a fraction of the changes in his life.
Thank goodness for Selyn. She anchored him in a way he'd never expected. Holding on to her made all of this more real. Now his once mundane life was what seemed like the fantasy.
As impossible as these past hours had been.
He'd died today. He'd been dead enough to see his Aunt Fiona, and then he'd been reborn. His sword had saved him, and it had spoken to him, though only that one time.
Of course, he'd not asked it any questions, either.
Like if that "live long and fight many battles" DemonsDeath had promised him meant he'd gained immortality. Was he now a fitting consort for Selyn, and not someone who would, as far as she was concerned, be gone in the blink of an eye?
Of course, all of this might make more sense if he wasn't teetering on the edge of absolute exhaustion. Daws rubbed his eyes and wondered how embarrassing it would be if his head just sort of dropped into his plate.
Definitely uncool in front of all these brave warriors---the ones who had risked all for their world. Those who would continue to risk all until Lemuria was safe from the threat of demonkind.
He blinked owlishly. Good Lord in heaven, he was one of them, wasn't he? Who'd have ever thought . . . well, crap.
Dawson Buck, demon fighter!
Laughing out loud was probably inappropriate, too.
Artigos the Just ruled with a natural grace from the head of the table, but they'd all spent the past half hour eating without much conversation. Dawson couldn't recall the last meal he'd eaten, or how long it had been since he'd slept, but he still felt high, both energized and exhausted from the events of the preceding hours.
The moment he allowed himself to relax, he was probably going to crash, and crash hard. That image of his face in his plate flashed through his mind again.
Then Artigos rose to his feet, tapping a golden fork against his crystal goblet to get everyone's attention. He looked at Alton first, and then his gaze seemed to pass over and light upon every one of them at the big table.
"There are no words powerful enough to relay my feelings," he said. "My gratitude . . . my absolute pride in all of you. My grandson Alton, Ginny, Roland, Taron . . ."
He smiled at Taron. "Thank you, young man, for closing the portal from Abyss today. I know you fear 'tis but a temporary repair, but it appears to have slowed access from Abyss to Lemuria for now, and for that we are all grateful."
He shook his head slowly, side to side. "So many of you have risked all today. Selyn. Dawson Buck. All of the Forgotten Ones . . ." He chuckled. "Excuse me, Paladins of Lemuria, their wardens, brave men all, who showed themselves to be strong and honorable warriors . . ." His voice broke as he continued. "I am honored to have such brave, powerful, true . . ." He cleared his throat and a shuddering breath gave weight to his words. ". . . such good, decent people on my side."
He looked around the crowded table, at the three remaining council members---the only ones who'd remained free of the demons' taint---then at Nica and Isra, Birk and Grayl, and his eyes sparkled with unshed tears. "This battle is far from over. The demon king and many of his minions remain within the walls of Lemuria, but we will flush him out tomorrow, after we've rested. Guards have been set with orders to warn of any sign of demonkind. Unless they raise the alarm, I don't expect to see any of you before dawning."
He glanced at Alton with a very tired smile on his face. "Is that what they still call it here, in this tomb we've existed in for so many millennia? Dawning?"
Alton grinned and slowly nodded his head. "Yes, grandfather. It's still called dawning, though few, if any of our citizens recall what a real dawn looks like."
Artigos nodded and looked away. Dawson thought of inviting him to Sedona when all of this was over. Artigos would like it there, with its vast open spaces and colorful mountains---and its blue, blue sky with the sun shining overhead.
For now, though, all of them needed sleep. Isra and Nica were the first to rise. They left, accompanied by the Lemurian guards who'd joined the gathering here with Artigos. They'd be heading toward the barracks where they'd bunk in quarters that had been quickly divided to allow a place for the women, separate from the men.
Women would forevermore make up part of the Lemurian Guard.
Roland was right behind them. He'd spent much time away from his wife, and Chara wanted him home. Dawson grinned as he returned Roland's jaunty wave. The loyal, hard-working guard deserved a night off.
They all did, and yet demonkind was a bigger threat at this point than it had been at any time before. The demon king was hiding somewhere in Lemuria, undetected even by crystal. They'd searched after the battle, but there'd been no sign of him.
More men searched even now, deep within the levels beneath the ones where the free folk lived. Free folk. . . . They were all free folk now, weren't they? He wondered if it had really sunk in for Selyn.
"Are you ready?" Selyn stood up and tugged Dawson's hand. He nodded. They followed Alton and Ginny as they showed them where Alton's quarters were, where he and Selyn planned to spend the night. Ginny and Alton were staying in Gaia's rooms, and Artigos the Just was moving into Alton's father's quarters.
Everything was temporary, and yet Dawson felt a sense of homecoming. At first it surprised him, until he realized that home for him was wherever Selyn decided to stay.
They paused before the portal to Alton's place, and Ginny drew her sword.
The blade pulsed with a gentle lavender glow and then went still. "Looks clear," Ginny said. "No sign of demonkind." She yawned. "See you guys in the morning." Then she sheathed DarkFire and followed Alton along the passage.
Holding tightly to Selyn's hand, Dawson slipped through the portal into the apartment. It was clean and quiet; the refrigerator stocked; the bed freshly made. After a moment of searching, they discovered the bathing pool in the back.
Memories of the last time he'd bathed with Selyn flooded Dawson's mind, but he quickly controlled his wayward thoughts.
At least, he tried to, and he figured he was doing a pretty good job until Selyn grabbed his hand and dragged him toward the steamy room with the sound of flowing water and the softly glowing walls.
She quietly undressed, tossing her torn and ragged scrubs into a pile on the floor. Dawson slipped out of his boots and the worn jeans still caked with dried blood. He kicked his clothes to one side and slid into the steaming water beside Selyn.
She groaned, floated close, and lay her head against his shoulder. "I ache in places I didn't know could hurt," she said. Her eyes were closed, her lips softly parted. The soft curves of her full breasts, barely visible beneath the steamy surface, teased him unmercifully.
He rubbed his cheek against her dark hair, overwhelmed by feelings of tenderness for his brave warrior woman. "Poor baby." He said it lightly, but he was only partially teasing. "You're covered with cuts and bruises and scratches. Soaking should help." He tilted his head and kissed a long, red mark that ran over her shoulder.
"My injuries are nothing." She turned and stared gravely at him, cupping his cheek in the palm of her hand. "You died today, Dawson. I saw you die and felt a part of myself die as well. Then I watched you return to life. I still can't believe what happened." She paused and took a deep breath. "I don't want to think about what could have happened. I didn't cry. I couldn't. My grief was too great. I was afraid if I started, I would never be able to stop."
Her soft words tugged painfully at his heart. He didn't want to think what it would have been like if Selyn had been the one to fall. So easily it could have been her, not him, and it could happen still. They'd not yet won this battle. Not by a long shot.
Selyn raised her head. Her sorrowful gaze, tear-filled eyes, and parted lips were more than he could deny. Daws kissed her, gently at first, not intending more than this most basic connection, but Selyn wrapped her arms around his neck and shifted, half floating, until she straddled him. Then she locked her knees against his hips and kissed him back.
All thoughts of sleep, of drying off and crawling into bed for a good night's rest, deserted him with the first taste of her lips. The tip of her tongue brushed his; her full breasts pressed tightly against his chest. He pulled her closer, wrapped his arms around her waist, and held Selyn so that she could never be free of him.
Not ever.
When she rose up on her knees and then lowered herself, slowly and carefully taking him deep inside, Daws groaned with the purity of their joining, with the sense that he might never have had the chance to touch Selyn like this again, might never again have known the utter bliss of making love to her.
Slowly she moved her hips back and forth over him, finding her own rhythm, one she shared with Dawson. A rhythm as strong and steady as a beating heart, as powerful as forever, until the two of them were loving to a beat that was theirs and theirs alone.
He thought he could do this forever, this slow and easy rock and sway, but then he felt her body quicken and tighten around him. He opened his eyes to watch her climax, to see the almost painful twist to her lips, the tightly closed eyes, and the flair to her perfect nostrils as she drew in a long, sighing breath.
The visual was more than he could take. That, and the tight, rhythmic clenching of her inner muscles finally pulled him off the edge. He leapt with his heart wide open, with the shock of sensation coiling from the base of his spine down the full length of his erection.
Pumping his hips, his body moving now of its own volition, Dawson thrust hard and fast. Selyn's satisfied whimpers and his own sigh of completion played counterpoint to the final clenching spasms of climax that left both of them limp and half asleep in the steaming pool.
Long moments later, Selyn raised her head from his shoulder and looked at him out of sleepy blue eyes. "We're both turning pruny."
He chuckled, bouncing her against his chest. "I know. But getting out of the pool means getting out of you, and I'm not ready to end that connection. Not yet."
She kissed his chin, and still had the energy for a cheeky grin. "Both of us need sleep. I don't want to drown in Alton's bathing pool. That would be so rude, don't you agree? We are his guests, after all."
It was impossible to deny logic like that.
A few minutes later, Dawson tucked Selyn into bed beside him. It was late, but they still had time for a few hours of rest, unless the demon king chose to attack again tonight.
For now, though, he fought sleep, even as his body cried out for it. He hated to miss a moment of Selyn lying naked and warm beside him, her damp hair neatly braided, her fingers resting on his chest, just above his heart, the soft puffs of air from her parted lips tickling his throat.
He wanted to hang on to this moment in time. Hang on to the warmth of her body close to his, the peace of the night, and the hope that they would have more moments just like this, again and again in the years to come.
But, just in case that wasn't to be, in case life, as it so often did, kicked his ass once again, he knew he would always remember tonight.
Darius was already at the kitchen table, coffee in hand, when Eddy and Dax finally dragged themselves out of bed. No one else appeared to be up yet, but Eddy poured a cup for herself and fixed one for Dax before joining Darius at the big kitchen table.
She stared at the steam rising from her mug for what felt like a long time. Then she took a sip and sighed. "Ahhh . . . perfect. Darius, I'd never guess you're new at making coffee. This is ambrosia . . . and strong enough to melt the tines on a fork. Just the way I love it." She took another sip. "Where's Mari?"
It was Darius's turn to sigh. "She sleeps, still. It's been almost 'round the clock. Yesterday's battle took much from her. I fear today will be even more difficult."
"Why's that?" Dax leaned against the counter, but he paused with his cup halfway to his lips. "What's going on?"
Darius shook his head and his frustration was obvious. "Taron contacted me after Mari's battle, shortly after everyone here had finally gone to bed. All hell has broken loose in Lemuria. Alton and Ginny and many of the others were captured and imprisoned, but Dawson and Selyn managed to free them. Artigos the Just has formed his army of Forgotten Ones and their wardens, who, it appears, were all possessed by demonkind. The demons are gone from the wardens now without damage to the men, but the council members were not as lucky. It looks as if their demons were more deeply entrenched. They were all that kept them alive. Maxl and Drago are dead, along with one other. Two barely survived, but their minds appear to be gone."
Artigos and Gaia wandered into the kitchen, followed by Freedom, Spirit, and Ed. BumperWillow trotted along behind with her tail wagging. Eddy glared jealously at the dog. She appeared to be the only one who'd gotten enough sleep.
Artigos nodded to Darius. "We heard most of what you said, Darius. What else has happened?"
"Your father has assumed leadership of Lemuria."
Artigos nodded his head again. "As it should be. I was so terribly wrong. He never should have been deposed, and I'll back his rule a hundred percent."
Gaia reached for his hand, and Artigos took it. "Good changes, my love. They're all good. What else, Darius?"
"Five of your council members were possessed. Drago appears to have been their leader, and he's the one who's been opening the portal between Abyss and the vortex chamber. At least that's one mystery explained. We were going nuts, trying to figure out why we couldn't keep the damned thing closed. Roland would close the portal, only to find it open again the next day. Even with guards set, it was being reopened. We had no idea the guards were also possessed. It appears demonkind had been taking over Lemuria for thousands of years, one person at a time."
"They're subtle, I'll grant them that." Artigos took the chair next to Eddy. "I never suspected I wasn't making my own decisions. There was no sense of anything changing."
"Even when you left my quarters? When you left our marriage bed?" Gaia stood behind him with her fingers clasping his shoulders. "You didn't think there was anything wrong with that?"
Artigos bowed his head, shaking it in slow denial. "No. I felt that all my decisions were made for the good of Lemuria. Leaving you became a sacrifice I made for our world. I'm sorry." He bent back, looked over his shoulder, and shot her a cheeky grin. "Will you let me move back?"
"I don't know." She tilted her chin, but there was a definite twinkle in her eyes. "Maybe if you grovel."
"I like that." Spirit stood by the stove where she'd set water to boil for tea. "Groveling is always good. Remember that, Darius."
"I'll do that." Darius glanced out the window, but he didn't smile at Spirit's teasing jab. "Anyway, the demon king reappeared. . . ."
"Shit." Eddy slapped a hand over her mouth. "Sorry, but I had hoped he was going to stay gone a little longer. What else?"
"He's somewhere inside Lemuria with at least a few hundred more demons. He was also seen sending demons here and to the portal leading to Sedona. Do we have anyone in Sedona we can call, to see if there are problems?"
"Yep." Eddy glanced at Ed. "Ginny's cousin Markus lives there. Dad, do we have a phone number? Ginny said she told Markus that she and Alton were secret agents fighting demons or something like that, so Markus is supposed to keep an eye out for anything strange. If we can get a phone number, we can check with him."
"Okay," Darius said. "What about the demons sent here?"
Dax went to stand by the window, but Eddy could feel his worry. How many more might be coming to Evergreen?
"I think those are probably the ones we fought yesterday," Dax said. "The time frame sound's about right."
Eddy nodded. "There were definitely thousands. That's the most I've ever seen together at any one time, and they kept coming for what felt like forever. But what of the ones in Lemuria?"
"That's the problem." Darius stretched his big arms high overhead, and groaned. All of them were sore and tired from the battle that had lasted through much of the previous day. "The bulk of the demons headed for Lemuria, and while a lot of the devils were killed in yesterday's battle, Taron said more were coming through the portal even as he was closing it. He killed what he could, but those that escaped all headed directly into Lemuria. Our guys are going to be facing the demon king and what sounds like a full-scale army, defending Lemuria on Lemurian ground."
Dax turned away from the window. "How can we get there? The roads here are impassable. There's no way we can get to the portal up on the mountain or the one in Oregon. The snow will be over our heads. We've got to figure a way into Lemuria, or the battle could well be lost."
Darius folded his arms across his broad chest. Eddy thought he looked decidedly unhappy about something. "Okay, Darius. You look like you've got a bee up your butt. What's up?"
"A bee where?" He frowned.
Eddy snorted her coffee. "Sorry. Guess that's another one of those things that doesn't translate well. What I meant was, what's got you so upset? Why are you frowning like that?"
Mari walked into the kitchen with a big grin on her face. "He's grumpy because he doesn't like my idea for getting us all into Lemuria." She went straight to Darius and planted a big kiss on his mouth. "But he'll get over it, won't you, sweetie?"
He glowered at Mari, but Eddy noticed he also got up, grabbed a fresh cup, and poured coffee for her.
"I don't know that I want to get over it," he said, glancing over his shoulder, "but this is your department, not mine."
"Right." Mari leaned against the counter next to Darius. "We've run out of options. We need to get to Lemuria, but the snow's too deep. There's another storm due later today." She folded her arms over her chest and grinned. "But, I think I can spell us to the vortex."
"A spell?" Mari's mother raised her head and tapped her fingers against her chin. "I know we discussed it, but do you think your power is strong enough?"
Mari nodded and took a sip of her coffee. "I do. I felt it growing earlier, as tired as I was. It was especially strong when everyone gathered around with their swords and their hands on me." She gazed at all of them, smiling with absolute confidence. "I felt the power of the crystal separately from your life force, but it really charged me. I think if Darius shares his visual of the chamber where the portals are, I can transport all of us directly into the area."
"Now that would be pretty darned excit . . ."
"No, Dad." Mari laughed. "You are not going to Lemuria while still recovering from surgery. I'm talking about Artigos, Eddy, Dax, Darius, and me." She turned to Gaia. "I know you want to be with Artigos. When it's safe, okay?"
Gaia nodded in agreement, but she clung to her husband's arm.
BumperWillow barked.
"No, Bumper. You need to stay here, too, and make certain there aren't any demons around. If you sense any, let Mom know so she can take care of them."
"And how do you expect me to do that?" Spirit cast a glance in Freedom's direction. "I've never fought demons before."
"Time to start, Mom. I tried a simple spell yesterday on one that was trying to get in after we'd come inside. I must have missed him earlier, but all I did was imagine the thing going back to Abyss. Keep that thought in your head and say, 'Demon spawn, be gone.' I don't think it actually kills them, but it does send them away."
Spirit laughed and threw her arms around Mari for a quick hug. "Ya know, for a girl who denied her powers of witchcraft for the first thirty-three of her thirty-three years, you've certainly figured things out in the past, oh . . . week?"
Mari's smile slipped. "It's amazing, isn't it? It was just a week ago I fully realized I was a witch. I can't believe I was in denial my whole life."
Freedom chuckled at that. "You always were a stubborn little thing, but Mom and I are proud of you, sweetheart. Darius, don't worry about Mari. She'd never do anything she wasn't certain was going to work, and she'll never harm anyone."
Darius stared directly at Mari. "She may never harm another, but Mari knowingly sacrificed her life for me and my companions. That was unacceptable."
"Quit complaining, sweetie." She kissed the frown right off of Darius's face. "I'm perfectly healthy, and it all worked out just fine. Trust me. I really do know how to get us to the portal. But not until we've had breakfast. I've discovered that using magic really makes me hungry."
Are you sure you don't want me to come? BumperWillow sat at Eddy's feet and stared at her with all the hope that a blond, brown-eyed, curly-haired pit bull/poodle-cross mutt could muster. I can find demons even better than DemonSlayer.
Eddy stared down at the hopeful face and caved. "Mari, do you think you could add BumperWillow to that spell? She's even better at finding demons than our swords, and if demons are hiding somewhere in Lemuria, I'd trust Bumper's nose over anything or anyone else."
"If Dax or Darius is holding her, no problem. But first, food." Mari gave her father the same kind of hopeful look Bumper'd just given Eddy. Somehow it seemed entirely apropos.
Darius carried the coffee pot to the table and refilled everyone's cups while Freedom started cooking. Snow was beginning to fall once again, and the morning was all but gone.
Eddy gazed out the window in the direction of Mount Shasta and the energy portals. All was lost behind a heavy wall of white, but somewhere, deep within the mountain, she wondered if the battle raged once again; if Alton and Ginny were okay; if Dawson Buck and Selyn had figured out just how attracted they were to each other.
Now that could prove interesting. She'd sensed Dawson's interest from the very first day, but they faced the same problem Alton and Ginny had once faced---a mortal and an immortal had a hard time with a long-term relationship.
Then she glanced at Dax and smiled. Caught Mari's raised eyebrows, and wondered if she'd been listening in. She, Mari, and Ginny, all perfectly normal, mortal, human women, now paired with immortal men and facing lives that could go on forever.
Who said Dawson and Selyn didn't have a chance? She found it hard to believe in the possibility of anything being impossible. Not anymore.
Chapter Twenty-Three
The wind was picking up, and fat snowflakes whirled all about by the time they gathered in the backyard beneath the old gazebo. Dax eyed the ancient structure and shot a questioning glance at Eddy. She bit back a grin. It's perfectly safe. I really don't think it's going to collapse.
There's a lot of snow on the roof.
It will be fine. Relax.
At least she hoped it would. She hoped a lot would be fine, including this first-time magical spell of Mari's. Dax had a tight grip on Bumper with both arms, while Eddy held on to the belt loop at the middle of his back with her right hand and linked arms with Artigos on her left. Darius was on Dax's right, hanging on to Eddy's hand and Dax's belt loop with his left hand, and clasping his right arm tightly around Mari's waist. Artigos hugged Mari from the other side.
They'd decided that hanging on to each other in a tight huddle was more important than holding their swords against Mari while she cast the spell, though first they'd had her hold each of the blades to draw what power she could.
Spirit, Freedom, Gaia, and Ed waited inside the house, watching nervously through the back window. Mari'd been concerned about their being caught up in her spell, something none of them wanted. Well, none except Freedom who was terribly disappointed that his beloved daughter had told him he couldn't go with them to Lemuria.
He'd insisted that it was, after all, something he'd dreamed of for years, but Mari held firm. Now she glanced at her mother and grinned, but when she faced forward, her smile was gone. "Okay," she said, and it was easy for Eddy to picture the professional investment banker behind that solemn voice. "I've never done this, but there's no reason it shouldn't work."
Eddy snickered. "If that's supposed to inspire confidence, Mari, you need to work on your spiel."
"Yeah. Right." She smiled brightly. "Okay. Improved version. Darius has given me a great visual of the chamber inside the energy portal, and we will all arrive together, safely, without any problems." She let out a quick breath. "But just in case we land outside, we're all dressed warmly, right? Eddy? Is that coat of mine going to be enough?"
Eddy nodded. "I'm fine. But let's hurry. I've got a terrible feeling they really need us."
Mari nodded. "Me, too. Not about the spell, about Lemuria, and I've never even been there."
"There's a first time for everything." Darius kissed her cheek. "You can do this. We all can."
Mari took a deep breath, let it out, and looked at each of them. "I know." Then she began to chant.
"The battle calls. Our comrades wait.Transport all six to Lemuria's gate.Artigos. Dax. Eddy. Darius. BumperWillow and me.Send us now. So mote it be."
Nothing happened. She glanced around, blinking as if surprised they'd not moved. "Okay. Let's give this one more . . ."
Before she could repeat her spell, light flashed, and Eddy felt that weird sensation of weightlessness that happens just before a rollercoaster makes its downward run.
Light swirled, darkness and then color and darkness again. And, as if she'd jumped off a bottom step, Eddy's feet hit the ground. "Oh. My. God! Mari, you did it!" She glanced around at the familiar portals. "You really spelled us here. Fantastic!"
Dax set BumperWillow on the ground, and the dog raced across the small chamber, barking and growling. Artigos stumbled and then righted himself. Darius held Mari in a tight embrace, holding her up. She trembled from head to foot and looked as if her legs were ready to fold.
But she was smiling. "I did, didn't I? So this is what an energy vortex looks like, eh?" She glanced around. Then she jumped when Dax and Artigos both drew their swords. "What's wrong?"
"The portal's open again." Dax slashed through a dark wraith, and it burst into blue sparks and stinking smoke. "Who the hell . . . Darius, can you close this thing?"
"I can, but it's a big portal, and it could take a while. Dax, you, Eddy, and Artigos. Go and see what you can do to help Alton. I'll close the portal. I bet the demon king had something to do with this." He glanced at Mari and smiled broadly as she mumbled her spell, pointed at a demon, and watched it disappear in a cloud of sulfuric smoke. "Mari can take care of the demons while I work on the portal. We'll meet up with you inside."
"BumperWillow! C'mon." Eddy snapped her fingers, and the dog immediately trotted along behind her as she drew her sword and followed Dax and Artigos through the portal to Lemuria. Down the passageway and through the flowing wall of gold, and then along the broad, brightly lit tunnel toward the great plaza.
The eerie yet now familiar sound of banshee cries echoed off the walls. Shouts and curses, and an overwhelming sense of dread radiated from the direction they traveled.
Dax broke into a run.
Eddy glanced at Bumper to make sure she was following and caught up to Artigos and Dax. Three abreast, with BumperWillow now leading the way, they turned the final corner and burst into the great plaza.
Demons were everywhere! Swirling in masses of black mist, charging the soldiers, and dying against their crystal blades, their numbers seemed unending.
Dax was immediately drawn into battle, with Alton's father standing at his back. Their swords flashed, and demons died, but more came to take their place. "I'm going to find Ginny," Eddy shouted. "I want them to know we're here."
Dax nodded and swung his sword. Eddy slipped past groups of combatants and raced toward the dais. A flash of dark light pinpointed Ginny's location.
Ginny stood beside a man wielding a ruby sword who could only be Artigos the Just. He reminded Eddy of Alton, but he fought as if he were merely another soldier in this terrible fight, not the returned ruler of an entire civilization. The stench of sulfur was almost suffocating as demons died, as more rushed in to take their place.
"Ginny! We're here. Darius and Mari are working on the portal. It was open again."
"Hey, Eddy!" Ginny ducked as a demon flew overhead. "Taron was afraid his fix wouldn't hold. He said Drago had made a huge gateway, bigger than any he'd seen. Who'd you bring?"
"Me, Dax, Artigos, Darius, and Mari. Oh," she laughed as BumperWillow barked, "and Bumper. She's good at finding demonkind."
"No need to search." Ginny thrust her blade into a mass of dark, oily mist that took on form and shape in DarkFire's lavender light, and died in a mass of sharp fangs and deadly talons. "They're everywhere. The demon king is here somewhere, but he's staying clear of DarkFire. Mine seems to be the only blade that will harm him."
"Good to know." Eddy thrust DemonSlayer into another mass of demonkind. She might not see them as clearly as Ginny could in the dark glow of her amethyst blade, but they died in just as satisfactory a manner. "How are Selyn and Dawson?"
Ginny laughed. "Wait until you see! Dawson's got a sword. It's already saved his life. He pulled a Dax and died on us, but he's back and better than ever---maybe even immortal. I think he and Selyn are a definite pair."
"I hoped as much. That's great. Not that he died, but . . ." Eddy ducked as another group of demons whistled by overhead. A soldier she didn't recognize, one bearing crystal, stopped their attack with a single thrust.
There'd definitely been a few changes while she'd been trapped in Evergreen. She spun around, dodged another black wraith, and called out, "Ginny! I almost forgot. Tell Alton his father is fine. The demon inside him is gone, and his father is here fighting. He plans to support Artigos the Just and make a public apology to all Lemuria."
"Eddy! You're here!" Selyn called out from the dais. She stood atop the platform with her sword in her hand and Dawson by her side. "And Bumper, too!"
Ducking down as a demon whizzed by, she jumped from the dais and raced to Eddy, dodging small groups of soldiers and armed women fighting. "I'm so glad you're here!" She hugged Eddy and then waved at Dawson. "It's so weird this morning. The demons are all over the place, but they're not able to show themselves like they did yesterday. They're not able to injure anyone, either. We were all scratched and bloody after fighting them before, but now it's like batting down harmless insects."
Dawson joined them. Eddy noticed the easy way he looped an arm over Selyn's shoulders, the natural slide of her body against his. "Selyn's right," he said, glancing all around. "I know there are literally thousands of them here, as if they've been pouring through the portal for most of the night, but they don't appear to be as solid as they were yesterday. They're practically throwing themselves at our swords."
"What about the demon king?" Dax draped his arm around Eddy and glanced over the crowd. Though the air reeked of sulfur, the masses of flying, attacking demons appeared to be falling off dramatically.
"Haven't seen him today." Dawson glanced over his shoulder. "Ginny drove him off last night. Maybe she's scared him away."
"Don't count on it." Ginny and Alton joined them. "I've got a bad feeling about things. This morning has been much too easy."
Roland strode across the open plaza. "No sign of the bastard, Alton. I've heard back from my men. They've checked as far as the third level beneath the prison, and there's no sign or scent of demonkind."
"There's no sign he's gone, either." A huge guard joined their group. He bowed his head toward Eddy. "Birk, m'lady. I was one of the wardens guarding the Forgotten Ones."
Before Eddy could respond, Selyn punched him almost playfully on the arm. "Paladins, Birk. We're not forgotten any longer."
He nodded. "I stand corrected. As we are no longer possessed. But I'm uncomfortable with the disappearance of the demon king. He did not strike me as an entity willing to give up so easily."
Eddy glanced up and felt a shiver race along her spine. Mari and Darius were entering the plaza, walking hand in hand toward their small group, and she thought of Mari with that damned crystal in her heart, the one that attracted demons. She hoped it wasn't a mistake for her to come here.
Dax squeezed her hand, and she knew he'd picked up on her worries. "She'll be okay," he said. "We'll all stick close."
Selyn turned and waved at someone on the far side of the plaza. "I see Isra and Nica. I want you to meet them, Eddy. They're friends of mine." She kissed Dawson's cheek. "Be right back." Then she turned away and trotted toward the two women.
Reluctantly, Dawson watched her go with an uncomfortable and unaccountable sense of dread, but he held back the words of caution he wanted to shout, fully aware Selyn would hate his overprotective nature. He had to get over this constant need to guard her. Selyn was a warrior in her own right---powerful and strong and so beautiful she made him ache.
His hovering over her would be the last thing she wanted. She was reveling in her newfound freedom, enjoying the first time in her very long life when she could make her own decisions, choose her own future.
He still couldn't believe she'd chosen him. Wouldn't believe it---not yet. It was still too new, too wonderful.
Just as Selyn was too wonderful. She looked like a dark-haired angel in her beautiful white robe. A lot better than he did, dressed like Lemuria's finest, that was certain.
They'd both ended up wearing traditional white Lemurian robes this morning. He really felt like a dork, but there was no way Selyn could don her torn and bloodstained scrubs, and his jeans had been covered with the blood from his mortal wound.
Just thinking of that made his blood run cold.
He guessed running around Lemuria like a white-robed monk was better than dead, and that's exactly where he should be right now. Instead, he was alive and in love, and carrying a crystal sword that had already said it wanted him around.
A far cry from his life as a small-town vet in Sedona, Arizona, that was for sure. No, this was definitely a change, and one he still had trouble believing.
Selyn had reached Nica and Isra. The three women hugged, and Dawson was reminded of their deep commitment to one another. He'd discovered he actually liked Isra, something he'd not expected, but she'd made an amazing transformation over the past couple of days.
He had to believe it was finally holding crystal that had given the woman the sense of worth she'd obviously lacked. He understood that. He was a guy who'd always thought of himself as a nerd. Yet standing here with a crystal sword in his hand had a way of changing a man's self-image.
A soft breeze blew past. The tiny hairs at the nape of his neck stood on end. He glanced all about, looking for the source of his discomfort. There was nothing to see, nothing that accounted for the growing, almost overwhelming sense of dread.
No demons flew through the air. The sulfuric stench was almost gone, and small groups of people---soldiers and citizens alike---stood about talking.
BumperWillow growled, a long, low rumble that definitely had its beginnings deep in her chest. "What is it, Willow?"
The dog continued staring straight ahead. Dawson caught Dax's eye. "Do you feel anything?"
Dax shook his head.
BumperWillow growled again. Bumper senses demonkind, Willow said. Neither here nor there, but all around. Growing stronger, more distinct by the second. Then the dog yipped. She took off running, reached the steps to the dais, and bounded up, scrambling to the top taking two stairs at a time.
Standing atop the dais, the dog had a better view of the vast plaza. Her ears were perked forward, her tail held stiffly upright, but she seemed confused by her inability to pinpoint the source of the sense of demonkind.
Selyn raised her head and caught Dawson's eye. He waved to her. The air felt thick, as if it sucked at him as he started in her direction. Something was here, some horrible evil, powerful enough that voices were falling silent and everyone in the huge chamber was nervously glancing about.
His sense of unease exploded. Dawson drew his sword and raced toward Selyn. Her crystal was still sheathed, but she'd started trotting across the plaza, heading directly to him. He knew he'd feel better once he could hold her, know she was safe in his arms.
A low howl filled his head---a howl that rose to a terrible, ear-splitting crescendo. Dawson stretched his legs and ran full out, but it felt as if he raced through glue. Everything slipped into slow motion, and yet there was a clarity to his vision he'd never experienced before.
Selyn ran toward him with her arms spread wide, reaching out for him. Her eyes flashed with fear, her hair, falling free today and held back with nothing more than the simple gold band around her forehead, flowed behind her like so much black silk.
The faces of the people he passed morphed from curiosity to fear. A dark shadow flowed over all of them and enveloped everything within the plaza. Darkness and fear and the suffocating stench of demonkind.
Crying out for Selyn, her name echoing in his ears, Dawson reached for his woman.
And then everything sped up. Moving like a whirlwind of darkness, the demon king swept down between Dawson and Selyn. Solid and fully formed, the king reached for her with his many-jointed arms, grabbed her up in his disgusting embrace, and spun high overhead with Selyn clasped to his chest, spinning higher and higher, to the very top of the domed ceiling.
Selyn screamed. Dawson heard his name on her lips, felt her terror, and he leapt, reaching high with his sword for that foul creature as it stole Selyn away.
Swirling, twirling with the force of a tornado, with the roar of a freight train and a wind that shrieked throughout the huge plaza, the demon king carried Selyn higher, faster, farther.
And then, with a loud pop! they disappeared.
Dawson didn't remember falling to his knees, had no idea how long he knelt there, staring at the ceiling overhead, hearing the echo of Selyn's scream as the demon king bore her away.
"Shit." Alton grabbed Dawson's left arm, Dax took hold of his right, and they hauled him to his feet. Still cursing, Alton grabbed Dawson by both shoulders and shook him. "Out of it, man. There's no time to waste. We have to find her, now. We need you with us."
Dawson blinked and stared into those emerald green eyes, but all he could see was the fear on Selyn's face as that creature took her. "Where?" He shook his head. "Where in the hell could he have taken her? Not to Abyss. He wouldn't dare take her. . . ."
"No." Dax turned Dawson's arm loose. "He knows she can't survive in Abyss. The air's too foul for Lemurians or humans to breathe." He stared at Dawson with eyes full of pain---full of guilt. "Daws, I'm so sorry. He's not going to go far. He wants me. Wants this body, I think. At least the life force within. The demon king is me. That was my form when I was demonkind. My body. I fear he's using Selyn as a lure to draw me close."
Dawson had never, not once in his life, known such anger or such a devastating sense of loss. Not when his mother died, not when he'd lost his Aunt Fiona, not even when he'd felt his own life slipping away.
With an almost fatalistic determination, he pulled his sword from his scabbard. Dax and Alton backed away, and he was sure they thought he'd cracked. No, he was nowhere near losing it. There was something steadying about anger like his. Something about it that anchored him and gave everything around him a clarity he'd not expected.
Dawson raised his blade and watched the light shimmer over its many diamond-bright facets. "Find her, DemonsDeath. Tell me where the demon king has taken Selyn."
A flash of brilliant blue shot from the blade, light so bright he would have covered his eyes had he not been afraid he might miss something.
Instead of blinding him, the light seemed to make everything even clearer. Power pulsed from the crystalline blade, through the jeweled hilt and along his arm, until he felt the power of crystal deep in his heart.
"Follow the small one." The light pulsed, and suddenly Bumper was bathed in its brilliant glow. "Follow the small one in the form of the beast. She and her animal host will lead us to StarFire, and hence, to Selyn. But we must hurry. Go now, while our woman yet lives."
Selyn sensed the demon king was near, but she kept her eyes tightly closed. At least she wasn't bound, and from the weight in the scabbard on her back, she still had StarFire.
That was good. What was bad was the fact there was no sense of anyone else around---at least not anyone she wanted to contact. The demon felt like a black smear in her mind---unclean and evil---and she did her best to block him.
She lay there a while longer, muscles aching from the awkward position she'd been dumped in on the floor, before sending out another mental quest. Again, she came up blank. No sense of Dawson or Ginny, not of Alton or Eddy. No one.
Only the foul sense of the demon king, the knowledge that he watched her. That he wanted her. She repressed a shiver, forced down the gorge that rose in her throat, the visceral experience of his disgusting needs flowing over her like so much filth.
Dawson! Where are you?
The stench of sulfur grew stronger. She heard the scuff of heavy feet moving over the ground, shivered as the temperature dropped precipitously, and knew the creature stood over her, that he watched her.
There was nothing wraith-like about him now. His scales were sharp, and they'd cut her hands when he carried her away. His body had felt solid---rock hard, cold, and reptilian. The creature's foul breath made her want to vomit, and as he drew closer to her, she felt his disgusting need.
Sensed his physical reaction to her feminine form, his glee that she was here, that she was his, that she was the lure he'd needed to draw what he truly wanted.
She willed her body not to react. Willed herself not to scream, though the terror rose in her like bile, gagging her in silent agony.
She'd been a slave for thousands of years. Had endured beatings and harassment and all sorts of terrible things. She could endure this. She would endure this. For the first time in her long life, she had something to live for. Someone to love, who loved her in return.
Whatever happened, she would survive. She had to. No matter what this creature might do to her. No matter what, Selyn fully intended to live.
Down! He's taken her down, into the depths of the mountain! BumperWillow barked once and raced across the plaza, heading for the nearest portal.
Dawson was right on her heels, running as fast as he could with the damned robe swirling around his legs. He had no idea who followed him, who chose to stay behind. He had DemonsDeath in his right hand and BumperWillow in his sights and her thoughts in his head.
They'd find Selyn. They had to.
He'd likely gained immortality, but life meant nothing without Selyn. The dog leapt through the first portal with Dawson right behind. He heard feet pounding the stairs behind him as he followed BumperWillow down to another level, but almost lost her when she disappeared through a portal just beyond the stairs.
Then her curly blond head poked out through the swirling light and she barked, one sharp yip that caught him in mid-stride. He turned to go through the portal and almost collided with Alton and Ginny. Eddy and Dax were right behind them, followed by Mari and Darius.
He had a veritable army with him! There was no way to express his gratitude. No time. He jumped through the portal and took off after the dog. Willow's voice was in his head, urging him on, telling him to hurry, that they must go deeper yet, farther into the mountain, away from everything familiar.
Or was it? Within minutes they'd reached the level where Selyn had been enslaved for so long. The machines were silent, now, the hallways empty. It was like running through a ghost town filled with the spirits of the lost women from the DemonWars.
Now, even their children were gone. Many of the spirited women had found new life as the sentience within crystal swords, but what of those who hadn't? What of the ones who'd not given birth? Who had no daughters to carry on, no crystal swords to give them a new chance at life. Where were their spirits?
Maybe they were still here. Maybe they'd be able to help. He had no idea, but Dawson called out to them, begged them to help him find Selyn. She's Elda's daughter, he said. Elda, now DemonSlayer, was your friend. Help us save her daughter!
BumperWillow barked again and disappeared through another portal. Dawson vaguely recalled this same path. He'd followed it the day they'd gone in search of Taron. Was that where the bastard demon king had taken Selyn? To the crystal caves so far beneath the levels where the free folk lived?
It had to be. Something in crystal drew demonkind, even as it killed them. "I think I know where he's taken her!" Dawson skidded around a corner, right behind the dog. "The caverns where Taron replicated the swords. The crystal caverns. I bet he's got her there."
"I've not been this deep before," Alton said. "Damn! We should have brought Taron. He knows the way."
Dawson flashed him a grin. For the first time he felt hopeful. "So do I," he said. "So do I."
Chapter Twenty-Four
StarFire? Can you help me? What should I do? Selyn hadn't moved, but she knew the demon squatted beside her. Knew by the stench of his body and his foul breath. She'd managed not to shudder when he ran one talon down the front of her robe, parting the fabric so that it gaped open, exposing her breasts.
No, she'd kept her eyes closed and her body as still as death. She would not scream. She refused to show him fear. For now, he thought her unconscious, but for how long?
Help comes.
StarFire's soft words gave her courage. She bit back a moan. Dawson! It had to be Daws. Would he get here soon enough? What did this thing want with her? It was massive---at least three times the size it had been yesterday.
The way the demons behaved today finally made sense.
Somehow the demon king had stolen their life force. He'd drawn it off of the thousands of demons swarming Lemuria, and he'd taken it into himself. That had to be how he'd gained so much size and strength. How he'd managed to pick her up and take her away. But why had he chosen her? What could he possibly want with a slave?
No. Not a slave. A Paladin. A guardian of Lemuria---a powerful warrior, armed with crystal. She had to keep reminding herself, she was a woman of value now. A woman of worth.
A woman loved by a wonderful man who was coming, even now, to save her.
She sensed the change in the air currents at the same moment the demon king let out a furious shriek, leapt to his feet, and spun away from her. Finally, Selyn risked opening her eyes. Light shimmered all around---a thousand lights reflecting from the walls and ceiling.
The crystal cave! She was in the cave where Taron had replicated her sword and the swords for all the other women. Carefully, without moving at all, she glanced around, trying to find where her captor had gone. She spotted the ruby altar, saw a few primitive candles burning in the same sconces where Taron had set glow sticks.
It didn't take many to light a chamber made of diamonds.
A dog barked.
The demon king shrieked again, but his voice came from the far side of the cavern. Selyn leapt to her feet and drew StarFire.
"Selyn! Selyn, where are you?"
"Here, Dawson! I'm over here!"
Dawson stood at the entrance to the cavern. She saw the shadows of others behind him---Ginny and Alton. Two she'd not met before, who she deduced must be Mari, and Darius, Dax, Eddy---and Bumper, who raced across the chamber at full tilt so intent on reaching Selyn that she ran much too close to the demon king.
The beast reached for the dog but she yipped and scrambled out of his way, tumbling head over heels in her rush to get to Selyn. Selyn knelt and hugged the wriggling, quivering dog, getting more than her share of wet, sloppy kisses.
She heard Dawson curse. Hugging Bumper to hold her still, Selyn looked up as Dawson, Dax, and Eddy attacked the demon king.
She shoved her fist against her mouth to keep from screaming as Dawson lunged for the beast, thrusting hard and fast with DemonsDeath, drawing some kind of thick, dark blood with the crystal blade. Dax and Eddy moved in on one side, Alton and Ginny on the other, all of them slashing and stabbing as the demon king howled and reached out with his four, long, multi-jointed arms.
Dawson pivoted away from the creature's talons and raced toward Selyn, grabbed her in his arms, and held on as if he'd never let her go. She felt him shudder, sensed the fear and the anger he'd been holding inside, and she kissed him. Held his face in her hands and kissed him hard.
"Dear God, I thought I'd lost you." He trembled from head to foot.
She held on to him even tighter. "Never," she said. "No matter what, I will always find my way back to you."
"Are you all right?" He tipped her chin up with his fingertip and kissed her once again.
"I am. C'mon. We have to end this. Now."
Dawson nodded, but he kissed her once more, grabbed her hand, and they ran across the cavern, closer to the battle.
"Dax. Look!" Eddy used her sword to point at the dark puddle gathering in the dirt wherever the demon king stepped. "It's bleeding from the wound Daws left, just like the gargoyle---it's real now, not merely a wraith."
"If it can bleed, it can die!" Dax lunged at the demon king and slashed rather than thrust. The unexpected move caught the beast off guard, and DemonFire cut through one of his multi-jointed arms as if it were made of butter.
The limb fell to the ground, twitching and grasping, as if it was trying to crawl away. The demon screamed and slashed at Dax, but Dax had already pivoted and spun out of reach.
Eddy cursed and jumped out of reach as the demon shifted direction, pivoted on one leg and went straight for her. Dax leapt between them, cutting and stabbing with his crystal blade, but two of the demon's three remaining arms snaked out and snagged his shirt with long, curved talons.
Dax cursed, but he couldn't pull free. Alton and Ginny closed in from one side, Darius and Eddy from the other. Dawson and Selyn split up, each moving to opposite sides of the demon.
Selyn stalked the demon, with StarFire in her hand and Bumper on her heels. Mari stood to one side, chanting some sort of spell with her arms held high.
Dawson watched the witch for mere seconds when something clicked. He shouted to her, "Mari, call on the spirits." He slashed at the demon's legs, but the creature danced away, spinning out of reach with unexpected speed and agility. The demon king still hung on to Dax with two of his arms, like a child holding a rag doll.
"The spirits, Mari," Dawson repeated. "Artigos's sword mentioned waiting for rebirth in Mother Crystal. He meant this cave. The warrior's spirits are here. Call the spirits of the warrior women. They're here. I can feel them."
Mari nodded, and her voice rang out until the crystal walls of the cavern vibrated. The demon tried to spin faster, as if to take Dax away, but something seemed to hold him back. Alton buried his blade in the demon king's back, and Ginny attacked with DarkFire. Flames shot from her blade whenever she connected with the beast, but instead of weakening, he seemed to grow stronger.
"Damn you!" Eddy drove forward with her blade and slashed at the demon's legs. "He's stealing Dax's life force. We've got to stop him!"
The demon king clutched Dax against his chest, but Dax no longer struggled. Instead, he hung there, limp and lifeless.
"No!" Selyn charged the demon king at the same time that Eddy leapt to the top of the ruby altar and from there to the creature's back. Clinging to his shoulders, she swung DemonSlayer across his throat and began to saw at the thick, corded muscle guarded by heavy scales.
Ginny stabbed frantically, burying DarkFire in his side and legs. Sparks flashed and blood flowed, but it was hard to attack without risking Dax.
Dax, who dangled helplessly in the demon king's grasp.
Mari's chant created an absurd, almost musical backdrop to the life and death battle, but her voice never wavered. Instead, she seemed to grow stronger. Light flashed all around, as if the crystals embedded in the cavern walls had come to life; they pulsed in time with her spell.
The room grew brighter; the pulse of life took on sound, and the beat of many hearts filled the chamber. White wraiths spilled out of the walls, bursting forth from the crystals, swirling through and over the demon king, filling the small space between the hideous creature and Dax's body. Wherever one touched, the demon burst into boils and burned flesh, until it howled in agony, yet the white wraiths covered Dax with a protective blanket that held him apart from the demon.
Screeching, the demon king shook hard enough to dislodge Eddy. She fell to the ground with DemonSlayer clutched in her hand, rolled out of the way, and rose shakily to her feet.
The wraiths continued their graceful attack, floating over and around the demon king, slowly but surely destroying his skin and scales with nothing but their gentle touch.
Howling and wailing, he tried to spin but somehow the wraiths controlled the beast and held him to this spot. Finally, shrieking and bleeding, the demon king dropped Dax and backed away with BumperWillow snapping at his bleeding legs.
The dog avoided the blood and the gore. Selyn realized why when the demon shook its head and a drop of dark blood splashed on her arm. Her skin sizzled as if from an acid burn.
Mari's chant continued, growing stronger, louder, and the sense of power within the crystal cavern grew. The white wraiths circled the demon king, spinning faster and faster until he was lost in a swirling blanket of glowing white light. Then, with a final, ear-splitting scream, the demon seemed to collapse in upon itself. It disappeared in a flash of light and disgustingly familiar sulfuric stench.
The white wraiths floated away, hovered for a moment overhead, and then settled on Dax where he lay immobile on the hard ground. Eddy knelt beside him, holding his hand, weeping softly.
Selyn broke free of Dawson's grasp and ran to Eddy. "We need to use our blades. They'll share their life force with him. I know they will. That's how we saved Dawson."
Eddy didn't hesitate. She grabbed her sword and placed it over Dax's heart. Dawson and the others pulled theirs, and all of them lay the blades across Dax. The white wraiths continued to hover, covering him with a sense of life and hope impossible to ignore.
Long moments later, his eyes fluttered and then opened. Selyn reached for Dawson's hand and held on tightly as Dax slowly regained consciousness. Finally, he smiled at Eddy. "I bet you're getting really tired of this, aren't you?" He reached for her, and she tumbled into his arms, crying and laughing at the same time.
Selyn finally looked away from the two and glanced about. The white wraiths were gone. "Where are they?" She gazed in Mari's direction. "The spirits of the warrior women. Did you see them? Where did they go?"
Mari waved her hands. "Into the crystal walls. They must be part of this cavern. Maybe that's why Taron was sent here to replicate the swords---because the spirits that bring them to life live here."
Dax slowly sat up with Eddy's help. He still looked weak, but his color was returning. "They kept me alive. They were sharing their life force with me, even as the demon king was siphoning mine away." He shook his head. "Such a feeling of goodness, as if they were everything the demon king isn't."
He looked at Ginny. "Is it dead this time? I saw you nail him with DarkFire."
She shook her head. "No. I think he'd already drawn too much power---from the other demons during the night, and from you just now. He's gone, but I have a feeling he'll be back."
"How can we kill him?" Mari wrapped her arms around Darius and leaned against his side. "What will destroy him for good? This fight will go on until he's dead and gone."
Eddy stood up and held out a hand to Dax. When he took it, she tugged him to his feet. "I think it's going to take everything we have, a combination of magic and crystal." She glanced around them at the crystal walls. "And maybe even the spirits of long-dead women warriors. I wish we knew for sure." She turned to Dax. "You okay to head back?"
"I am," he said. "Thank you. All of you. And Selyn, I'm so sorry for what happened to you."
"Sorry? Why should you be sorry?" Selyn looked at Dax and finally just shook her head and laughed. "It's not your fault, Dax. I'm okay. I think, after this, I can survive anything. I'm a lot tougher than I ever realized, and it's because of all of you."
BumperWillow barked. "And you, too, Bumper. And Willow." She grabbed Dawson's hand. His warm fingers wrapped around hers and she squeezed his in return. Definitely stronger than she'd ever dreamed.
Dawson held on to Selyn's hand all the way back to the main levels of Lemuria. He wasn't about to let her go for anything. Not yet. Her abduction was too recent, the fear he'd felt when that monster stole her away still a knife to his heart.
All he could think of was taking her back to Alton's quarters and making love in that perfect pool, but the minute they reached the main plaza, he figured that was one dream that was going to have to be put on hold.
Artigos the Just and Artigos the younger called out to them as they slipped through the portal. Taron stood right behind the two leaders with his arms folded over his chest. His expression was impossible to read.
Alton stepped forward. "The demon king was badly wounded, but we don't think he's dead. He's probably escaped back to Abyss. I'm sorry that we failed."
His grandfather stepped forward and wrapped his arms around Alton. "You've not failed. You've returned Selyn safely and brought your comrades back unharmed. That was your goal, wasn't it?"
Alton glanced at all of them and slowly nodded. "I guess you're right, Grandfather." He turned to his father and held out his hand. "I hope you'll forgive me for the actions I ordered against you."
His father grabbed Alton's hand and pulled him into a warm embrace. "You saved my life, son. I will be forever grateful that you had the courage of your beliefs . . ." His voice broke, and he took an audible breath, but he didn't release his son. ". . . that you were willing to risk all for Lemuria. I couldn't be more proud. Your mother feels the same."
Alton pulled back. "Have you spoken with her?"
"I have. Taron and I went through the portal, and I contacted her. The snow is still much too deep to traverse, so we'll need Mari's magic to get back to Evergreen, but for now she is safe with Spirit, Freedom, and Ed. They've seen no sign of demonkind since we left Evergreen."
"What about Markus?" Ginny glanced at Eddy. "Eddy, didn't you just say your dad was going to try to reach him?"
Artigos sighed. "Markus hasn't answered his phone, but Ed said that wasn't all that unusual. They're going to keep trying, and we'll make contact again tomorrow. Now that you're back, though, we need to discuss our future plans for Lemuria. There's an army to organize, a new government under your grandfather's rule, new members of the Council of Nine to choose. . . ."
He grabbed Alton's arm and turned away, obviously intent on going straight to work on everything that could be done now. Dawson glanced at Selyn. She winked, grabbed his hand, and tugged him toward a small portal he'd not noticed before.
Without drawing anyone's attention, the two of them slipped through the portal, into one of the narrow passages generally used by the Lemurian guards.
It was also a wonderful shortcut to Alton's quarters. Laughing at their escape, Dawson let Selyn tug him along the passage and through another portal into the private rooms.
"Do you think they know where we are?" Selyn kissed his chin, but her fingers were busy tugging at the ties holding the neck of his robe closed.
"Do you think they care?" Dawson grabbed the sides of her robe and pulled it over her head. She was entirely nude beneath the soft folds. "If I'd known before what Lemurians wore under these things, I might not have insisted on giving you my old scrubs."
Selyn giggled, still tugging at the ties she'd managed to tangle into a knot. Dawson leaned close and rubbed his beard over the sensitive tips of her nipples.
"That's not fair." She gasped when he turned his head and nibbled with his teeth.
"I think it is." He sucked the entire nipple between his lips, tugging until Selyn rose up on her toes, but when he released the pressure, she spun out of his way and grabbed his robe, tugging it over his head without untying it.
"Ouch! I've gotten used to keeping both ears, thank you."
Laughing, she pulled harder until the fabric finally came free. They'd managed to work their way down the passage to the bathing room as they undressed. Dawson kicked off his boots and grabbed Selyn up in his arms.
Then, slowly, and with many dips and kisses, he lowered her into the water. Steam rose all around, and Selyn was slippery as an eel, but he held her tight against his chest and kept her there as he sat on a ledge beneath the water's surface. It bubbled all around them, washing away the stench of demonkind, soothing and removing fear and loss. Cleansing them in a way that renewed Dawson, that energized Selyn.
Holding her against him, Daws felt the tension seeping out of his bones. He allowed his muscles to relax, let the events of the day fade away with the wisps of steam floating on the surface of the water.
His life had changed, but so had Selyn's. Dawson had the strange feeling that they were merely in the midst of a chapter of a much larger story, that the events leading to this moment in time were nothing more than bullet points on a much longer list.
He'd never imagined finding love. Not like this. Never dreamed he'd find himself playing the part of a warrior, a member of an elite group charged with saving an entire civilization from demonkind, but he was.
Selyn nuzzled beneath his chin and kissed him softly. "I love you, Dawson Buck. No matter what comes, no matter where our lives lead, I swear I will always love you. Forever."
He returned her kiss, opening his thoughts to her, sharing everything that filled his heart. "Always is a damned long time. Are you sure about that?"
"Oh, yeah." She snuggled close, slick and warm and perfectly aligned to take him deep inside. Sighing as he filled her, she tightened her grasp around his neck, rested her forehead close to his. Kissed him. Then she kissed him again.
"I'm sure," she said, nuzzling the soft beard covering his jaw. "I just hope forever's long enough."
Be sure not to miss
WOLF TALES 12,
the final book in Kate Douglas's sizzling series!An Aphrodisia trade paperback on sale July 2011.
An Aphrodisia trade paperback on sale July 2011.
Turn the page for a special preview. . . .
Montana, early August
He paused, raised his muzzle to the dark sky, and sniffed the subtle currents on the night air. The scent was there---faint, but still calling to him, even as the silent night, the gentle breeze, the resinous scent of pine and fir called.
His eyes narrowed, and his ears pricked forward. Using all his senses---those of the wolf, those of the man within, and those amazing Chanku senses---he tested the world around him.
This was where he belonged, in this wild, unforgiving place. This was home---the only home he wanted. The only place where he could truly be free.
But, what good was freedom without his mate? What was the point? She didn't run with him tonight. She hadn't run with him for much too long.
A low whine sounded from the thick tangle of willows. Cautiously he sniffed the air again. The scent was stronger. Not his mate. No, but someone every bit as important. Someone he sought here in the forest, in the ripe hours balanced on the knife's edge between darkness and dawning. Those perfect hours, when all about him slept.
Even the skitter of mice in the long grass, the squeak of bats overhead, the soft hoot of owls . . . even those sounds had faded away as all the woodland creatures went off to sleep, to hide, to mate . . . to celebrate another night of life before the rising of the sun.
But he was awake, and so was this other, the one who was his friend, his brother, his closest male companion. The one he loved above all other men. The one who called to him now.
"Anton? Over here."
Anton Cheval slowly turned in the direction of the soft call and blinked as Stefan Aragat rose to two feet. Despite the darkness, Anton saw his smile. Thank the Goddess for a man who smiled, even when all about them seemed so . . . what? How could it be, that he felt so dissatisfied?
Life was good. All was well, and yet . . .
Shifting, standing as a man beside his lover, Anton chuckled. "You couldn't sleep, either?"
Stefan shook his head, ran long fingers through dark hair threaded with silver, and sighed dramatically. "Teething is the bane of parenthood." His familiar dry sense of humor eased some of the odd tension stringing Anton tight as a bow.
"I did my fatherly duty," Stef said, placing his right hand over his heart. "I spelled Xandi the first half of the night, but it's her turn. She's on kid duty now, praise the Goddess!"
Anton flashed him an understanding grin as he stepped over the low-growing willows. "Lucia was fussing, too. I waited until she fell asleep. Unfortunately, Keisha was nursing her when they both drifted off. There wasn't much room left in the bed."
"There was always plenty of room for four adults." Stefan laughed and hooked his arm around Anton's neck. "How is it a single woman and a three-month-old can take up the entire bed?"
Silence stretched between them for a long count as Anton thought about the statement Stefan had made in jest. "So much has changed," he said, unsure if it was a good or bad thing. He leaned into Stef's casual embrace and stared toward the east, searching for the coming dawn. Was that a faint glow between the trees? No. Not yet. He glanced at Stef. "It's all good, I think, all these changes, but . . ."
Stefan's amber eyes twinkled. "But you're dissatisfied. I can feel it. What's wrong, my friend? Everything is as it should be. The pack is growing with so many new babies. We've gone a full five years without an attack, a kidnapping, an assault of any kind against any one of us. . . ."
"Not since the assassination attempt." Anton shoved his tangled hair back from his eyes, remembering. Those hectic months following the attempt on the president's life had ended with lengthy prison sentences meted out to their worst enemies. There were still plenty of bad guys out there, but at least none were focused on controlling or destroying Chanku.
Their secret was still safe. With Nick and Beth Barden continuing as private security for the First Family---at least until the president's second term ended---they certainly had powerful friends in high places.
"So, what's the problem? It's not like you to go searching for trouble." Stefan planted both hands on Anton's shoulders and stared solemnly at him. There was no teasing now, no sense of humor. Merely concern. Loving concern.
Feeling a little foolish, Anton slowly shook his head. "I don't know." He shrugged. "Maybe things are too good, too settled. I have a strong sense of change in the air, as if something is going to happen. No reason for it. We're all healthy; our children are growing." He smiled. "Our numbers are growing, that's for sure. I never once imagined myself as a husband, much less a father of four."
"You're not the only one. At least I think Xandi's happy with our three. I hope."
Anton raised an eyebrow. "I believe Ariel counts as two."
"That's sort of what Xandi and I think. She's made Alex look like the world's easiest baby." Stefan chuckled. "So why the dissatisfaction? Our once cozy foursome of known Chanku now numbers fifty-six, a number that will be growing quickly with Liana, Jazzy, Tala, and Daci expecting. No one's tried to kill us in the past five years." He raised one expressive eyebrow. "In case you're wondering, that's a good thing. You've completed purchase of over half a million acres adjoining this property, and the economy has the bank accounts smiling. Anton, my friend, only you could find something wrong with so much that's good."
Again Anton shrugged. He wished the sense of foreboding would leave him, but he'd learned to listen to his premonitions. Still, he hated to worry Stefan. He wasn't about to let Keisha in on his fears, either, not until or unless they actually proved valid.
"You know me," he said, feeling just a little bit foolish. "I'm never happy unless I'm worried about something." He laughed. "I imagine it has to do with control issues. If I can't identify it, I can't be in charge."
Stefan chuckled, but he kept his comments to himself. That alone got him a raised eyebrow from Anton, but he disliked a sense of something waiting when he didn't know what to expect. "It's odd. Nothing I can put a finger on, but I have the strangest sense that things are about to change. I can't explain it, but I'm afraid to ignore it."
Stefan leaned his forehead against Anton's. "Aren't you the one who told me change is good?"
Keisha stood in the doorway and smiled at Anton. They'd run as wolves and grabbed quick showers. The baby was sleeping, the older kids watching a movie, and they were alone. For now. He waited impatiently in their bed as she leaned against the door frame and stretched one arm overhead, brushing her free hand down over her thigh, parting the shimmering fabric to display one long, dark, sleek leg.
Immediately his body hardened, and he was ready for her as he was always ready, wanting her with a need that was almost painful in its intensity.
Then she blew it.
Keisha managed to hold the seductive pose for a good five seconds before bursting into giggles. "Sex queens are us. C'mon, Anton. You're supposed to be impressed. Not bad for forty-two, eh, big guy?"
"Not even bad for twenty-five." Stefan grabbed Keisha from behind and whispered, "Happy birthday, Keish!" She squealed with surprise and laughter as he planted a sloppy, wet kiss on the back of her neck. His mate, Xandi, slipped past them and flopped down on the bed beside Anton.
"Happy birthday, sweetie." Xandi held up a bottle of chilled wine.
"What's this?" Keisha glanced over her shoulder at Stef's twinkling eyes and then sauntered across the floor to the bed. "Where are your kids?"
"With yours." Laughing, Xandi punched Anton lightly on the shoulder. "You didn't tell her, did you? I'm impressed! You actually kept our secret. We got Jazzy and Mei to watch the babies while Oliver and Logan take the big kids to the new Disney movie and then out for ice cream."
"After which," Stefan added, sounding awfully smug for a guy who hadn't made any of the arrangements himself, "they are camping out in the backyard in a tent. We will, of course, owe them child care for the next twenty years."
Keisha glanced at Anton. "You knew this and didn't tell me? How'd you ever manage that?"
He shrugged, almost embarrassed to admit how much he wanted this time for all of them---how much he wanted Keisha to understand how he'd missed this. As he spoke, he opened his mind to her, showed her how much he loved her, how much he needed this night where all of them could step back to what they'd once had. "I wanted it to be a surprise, and I didn't want you fretting over details." He reached for her hands, took both of them in his, and gently squeezed. "It's been a long time since we all got together without rug rats underfoot. I've missed time with you. With all of us together."
The interlude in the forest with Stefan had reminded him of what they'd so easily taken for granted for so many years. Maybe this was all that was missing. Time as adults. He could only hope. Keisha's smile spread so wide he thought he'd burst with the sense of having chosen correctly, at least as far as birthday gifts went.
"It has been too long. And I'm not wasting a second." She slipped the silky fabric over her shoulders and let it fall to the floor in a puddle of teal blue silk. In spite of her bravado, he sensed her worry, that her body might not be quite as firm after her fourth child, that the others might not find her as appealing.
"You're wrong, you know." The words slipped out before he even considered the fact he'd invaded her private thoughts. "You're more beautiful now than ever before."
She blinked rapidly, and he hoped he hadn't made her cry. That wasn't what he had wanted at all. Then she slid across the smooth sheets, reached Anton first, and kissed him soundly. Before he could deepen the kiss further, she turned and gave Stefan a quick kiss, but she saved the last for Xandi.
He savored her joy in this long, deep kiss with the woman she loved. Heard her thoughts, open to all of them now. It had been much too long since they'd kissed one another with passion in mind. Too long since they had been together without either having a baby slung on one hip.
He noticed Xandi had braided her hair---dozens of tiny braids falling in auburn perfection, each one tipped with a colored glass or wooden bead, and it reminded him of an earlier time, when they'd all been new to this now familiar reality, new to the world of Chanku.
The memories were fresh in Keisha's eyes as she lifted a handful of Xandi's braids in her palm. They clattered softly, beads bouncing off one another, sparking old and treasured memories that she shared with both men.
Arousing, sensual memories with graphic images filled all their thoughts, images so clear they were almost tactile.
"Remember our first time?" she asked, and while she spoke directly to Xandi, the words were obviously meant for both Anton and Stefan as well. "Remember when I was so damned scared, so afraid to be touched, and you made love to me? Your hair was braided, just like this." She ran her fingers through the tiny braids. "I remember thinking those beads felt like dozens of tiny fingers trailing across my skin. When you swept your hair across my breasts, I almost came, just from that alone. It was such an amazing time. The first time, ever in my entire life, that I had sex with a woman, that I climaxed with a woman. That experience took away so much of my fear."
"Do I remember? Are you kidding? You spanked me!" Xandi laughed. "How could I forget that? You tied me to the bed and spanked my butt, and you got me so turned on I was practically screaming." Muttering in mock outrage, she added, "Telling me I had to address you as the alpha bitch. You wouldn't let me come for the longest time."
"Yeah, but when I did, I did you right." Keisha wrapped her fingers around the back of Xandi's neck and pulled her close for another kiss.
Anton tapped her shoulder. "Whoa, ladies. Wait a minute. I want more details. Did you ever tell us about tying Xandi to the bed? Why don't I recall that part of the story?" He glanced over his shoulder at Stefan. "Why is it, with these two, you and I are always the ones in restraints?"
Stefan shook his head. "I'm not sure, but don't you think we need to do something about that terribly unfair and sexist dynamic?"
Anton nodded. "I do." He glanced again at Stefan, carefully keeping his mind shuttered and his thoughts hidden from Keisha. He knew she was still wondering about those shielded thoughts when he pounced. She'd barely let out a shriek when he flattened her to the bed, holding her down with the weight of his body.
Anton awoke in darkness. Body sated, mind moderately relaxed, he lay in the tangle of arms and legs and ran a silent inventory of what body parts belonged to which of his lovers.
Xandi's arms were wrapped around his lower legs, and Keisha's cheek rested on his thigh. That had to be Stefan's head on his belly---he recognized the stubble from a day's growth of beard. Anton lay quietly, thinking of the night past, of the joy they'd all taken in this very special time with one another.
Still, the restlessness remained. He couldn't attribute the subtle sense of something undone, of change looming, to anything in particular. He'd wondered if he might be frustrated by the changes in their lives with so many children---Keisha certainly hadn't planned on twins, but Gabe and Mac were identical, and that single egg had split all on its own. Lucia had come along when Keisha had suddenly realized her boys were no longer babies, that Lily---already an old soul---was growing up faster than she'd expected.
Anton hoped she no longer felt guilty about her unplanned pregnancy with Lucia. She'd released an egg without actually discussing it with him, thank goodness. Lucia was already proving to be a treasure, one they might not have had if he'd allowed his practical nature to interfere with Keisha's powerful need to mother.
Still, four children meant so little time alone together.
So little time like this past evening, making love. Playing grown-up games as if they had all the time in the world.
Keisha stretched and shifted her position until she lay alongside him. She ran her fingers through his tangled hair. Thank you for last night. This feels so good, just lying here without anyone depending on us. Without anyone needing anything.
It does. He nuzzled his cheek against her breasts, now swollen with milk, and sighed. She'd need to leave soon and feed Lucia. He'd heard her get up once during the night, but already it was time again.
Something troubles you, my love. What is it? Everything is so good right now. What can possibly be worrying you?
Her question interrupted his convoluted thoughts, but for some reason, knowing Keisha worried helped him focus his concerns, and it came to him, then. So clearly he couldn't believe he'd not realized before what was wrong with their lives. What they were all missing.
Don't laugh when I tell you. It's the fact that everything is so good. He rolled his head to one side and smiled sheepishly at her. I worry that we've grown complacent, that we've adjusted so completely to our lives as Chanku that we've settled into a routine. Routines frighten me. Complacency is dangerous.
Stefan rolled slowly to a sitting position. "Sorry," he said, stretching. "I was eavesdropping without shame."
Xandi sat up and leaned against the headboard. "Sweetheart, your middle name is shameless. So what's this about complacency, and why are we all awake? It's barely dawn."
Anton sat up and crossed his legs. He pulled Keisha into his lap and grinned at Stef and Xandi. All of them awake and sitting on the big, rumpled bed, hair in disarray, bodies damp from sweat and hours of sex. It reminded him of those first early months before Lily and Alex were born, when they'd made love every night, when all of this had been so fresh and new.
"Stef and I talked about this a while back," he said. "The fact we're all healthy, the children are healthy. We've gone five years now without an attack or any threats to our safety. Our lives are as close to perfect as I'd ever imagined, but this perfection reminds me that we've forgotten something important."
He wrapped his fingers around Keisha's hand and squeezed. "What if I hadn't found you? What if Stef hadn't rescued Xandi, or Oliver hadn't found Adam walking along that road? If Mik and AJ hadn't stopped in that little bar in New Mexico and saved Tala, or Baylor hadn't gone in search of the wolf girl and ended up with Manda? Stef? Remember how we used to argue about coincidence versus fate? I still believe in fate, but I think we need to help it along, not wait complacently for fate to happen to us. I've been thinking of all the others, the Chanku out there who don't know who or what they are. The desperation in their lives. The unfulfilled destinies of people just like us, who don't know they're like us. Who haven't got a clue what their lives could be."
Stefan grabbed Xandi's hand and lifted her fingers to his lips for a quick kiss. "I would have no life without Alexandria Olanet as my mate, as my wife. None at all." He turned to her and rested his palms on her shoulders, touched his forehead to hers. "Anton's right. We've grown much too comfortable; our lives are fairly well cocooned. But how do we find them? It's not like we can run an ad or spike the water supply with Tibetan grasses."
"No." Anton chuckled. "Though I hadn't thought of the water supply angle. I'm actually thinking more along the lines of talking to Liana, maybe even reaching out to Eve. As an ex-goddess, Liana might be able to help. As our current goddess, Eve could possibly steer us in the right direction."
He raised his head. "All the packs are planning to come for the birth of Adam and Liana's baby next month. Let's see if anyone's got any ideas. We can't be the only ones." He shook his head and tightened his grasp around Keisha's waist. "There are others out there. They have no idea who or what they are. We have to find them."
Keisha squeezed Anton's hand, and he stared into her beautiful amber eyes. They were filled with tears---tears that sparkled on her dark lashes.
"I agree with you, my love. I know we should be looking, but it makes me afraid, too." She sighed. One of those errant tears ran down her cheek and trembled against her lips. With a brusque swipe of her fingers, she wiped it away. "I'm sorry, but I keep thinking of that old saying, something about borrowing trouble." She shook her head. "Why do I have a horrible feeling that's exactly what you might be doing?"
A shiver raced over Anton's spine. Without a word, he tightened his hold on Keisha and held her even closer.
THE DEMONSLAYERS
ZEBRA BOOKS
Kensington Publishing Corp.
Newspaper reporter Eddy Marks thinks she knows everything about her quiet hometown. She couldn't be more wrong. Turns out Evergreen, California, is the site of a vortex that allows demons to cross over to Earth, and the only one who can stop them is an unbelievably sexy fallen demon named Dax...who has just crashed into Eddy's life.
Since he was cast out of Abyss, Dax has been a lost spirit with no hope of redemption. Now the Edenites have promised him eternity in Paradise---if he can destroy the forces wreaking havoc on Earth. Losing Earth to chaos is unthinkable. But succeeding---and leaving behind this headstrong, sensual woman who tempts and intrigues him beyond measure---will test him to the core.
Wolf Tales
"Chanku Rising" in Sexy Beast
Wolf Tales II
"Camille's Dawn" in Wild Nights
Wolf Tales III
"Chanku Fallen" in Sexy Beast II
Wolf Tales IV
"Chanku Journey" in Sexy Beast III
Wolf Tales V
"Chanku Destiny" in Sexy Beast IV
Wolf Tales VI
"Chanku Wild" in Sexy Beast V
Wolf Tales VII
"Chanku Honor" in Sexy Beast VI
Wolf Tales VIII
"Chanku Challenge" in Sexy Beast VII
Wolf Tales 9
"Chanku Spirit" in Sexy Beast VIII
Published by Kensington Publishing Corporation
Dedicated with loveto the amazingly talented authorwho taught me so long agowhat paying it forward really means.Pat, this one's for you.
Patricia Lucas White diedafter a long and courageous battlewith pancreatic canceron July 13, 2009.I will miss her wonderful witand wicked sense of humor.
When I first realized, over twenty years ago, that I wanted to write books, I had no idea what was in store for me. First of all, I learned it's not nearly as easy as I expected, but more important, I've learned it's a lot more fun than I ever imagined. My thanks to every one of you who have helped me reach my goal---but especially my agent, Jessica Faust of BookEnds LLC, for believing I had the talent; and my editor, Audrey LaFehr, who has given me every possible opportunity to succeed in this amazing business. Also my sincere thanks to Kensington editorial assistant Martin Biro, who hit the ground running and probably hasn't had time to take a breath since he joined the company.
As always, my gratitude and appreciation go to my amazing beta readers---on this project Jan Takane, Rose Toubbeh, Amanda Haffery, Sandi Potterton, Camille Anthony, Karen Woods, Margaret Riley and Ann Jacobs. And, to the talented authors willing to take time from their hectic careers to read the first book of my new series and offer a quote---Stella Cameron, Alyssa Day, Virginia Kantra, Angela Knight and Jayne Ann Krentz (a/k/a Amanda Quick and Jayne Castle). Thank you so much---now, if there was just a way for me to absorb some of your amazing talent....
Last but not least, to my husband---there really are no words. Thank you doesn't even come close.
Thousands of years ago,the continent of Lemuriadisappeared beneath the sea,much in the manner of Atlantis.However, unlike the Atlanteans,Lemurians are not considered lost---legend says they relocated their entiretechnologically advanced society to a safe location deepwithin the dormant volcano known as Mount Shasta,in the Cascades range of northern California.
Much has been written about these tall and gracefulbeings, of their great intelligence and beauty, theiradvanced technology and supernatural abilities; but noactual proof of their existence has ever been discovered.
That doesn't mean, of course, that they're not really there,living in quiet splendor in their cities of gold,deep within the mountain.
Remaining hidden, after all,is just one of their many talents.
Sunday night
He struggled out of the darkness, confused, disoriented...recalling fire and pain and the soothing voices of men he couldn't see. Voices promising everlasting life, a chance to move beyond hell, beyond all he'd ever known. He remembered his final, fateful decision to take a chance, to search for something else.
For life beyond the hell that was Abyss.
A search that brought him full circle, back to a world of pain---to this world, wherever it might be. He frowned and tried to focus. This body was unfamiliar, the skin unprotected by scales or bone. He'd never been so helpless, so vulnerable.
His chest burned. The demon's fireshot, while not immediately fatal, would have deadly consequences. Hot blood flowed sluggishly from wounds across his ribs and spread over the filthy stone floor beneath his naked hip. The burn on his chest felt as if it were filled with acid. Struggling for each breath, he raised his head and stared into the glaring yellow eyes of an impossible creature holding him at bay.
Four sharp spears affixed to a long pole were aimed directly at his chest. The thing had already stabbed him once, and the bleeding holes in his side hurt like the blazes. With a heartfelt groan, Dax tried to rise, but he had no strength left.
He fell back against the cold stones, and his world faded once more to black.
"You're effing kidding me! I leave for one frickin' weekend, and all hell breaks loose. You're positive? Old Mrs. Abernathy really thinks it ate her cat?" Eddy Marks took another sip of her iced caffé mocha whip and stared at Ginny. "Lord, I hope my father hasn't heard about it. He'll blame it on the Lemurians."
Ginny laughed so hard she almost snorted her latte. "Your dad's not still hung up on that silly legend, is he? Like there's really an advanced society of humanoids living inside Mount Shasta? I don't think so."
"Don't try and tell Dad they don't exist. He's convinced he actually saw one of their golden castles in the moonlight. Of course, it was gone by morning." Eddy frowned at Ginny and changed the subject. She was admittedly touchy about her dad's gullible nature. "Mrs. Abernathy's not serious, is she?"
"I dunno." Ginny shook her head. "She was really upset. Enough that she called nine-one-one. I was on dispatch at Shasta Communications that shift and took the call. Shascom sent an officer out because she was hysterical, not because they actually believed Mr. Pollard's ceramic garden gnome ate Twinkles." Ginny ran her finger around the inside of her cup, chasing the last drops of her iced latte. "I heard there was an awful lot of blood on her back deck, along with tufts of suspiciously Twinkles-colored hair."
"Probably a coyote or a fox." Eddy finished the last of her drink and wished she'd had a shot of brandy to add to it. It would have been the perfect finish to the first vacation she'd had in months---two glorious days hiking and camping on Mount Shasta with only her dog for company...and not a single killer garden gnome in sight. She grinned at Ginny. "Killer garden gnomes aren't usually a major threat around here."
Ginny laughed. "Generally, no. Lemurians either, in spite of what your dad and half the tourists think, but for once, Eddy, don't be such a stick in the mud. Let your imagination go a little."
"What? And start spouting off about Lemurians? I don't think so. Someone has to be the grown-up! So what else happened while I was out communing with nature?"
"Well...it might have been the full moon, but there was a report that the one remaining stone gargoyle launched itself off the northwest corner of the old library building, circled the downtown area, and flew away into the night. And..." Ginny paused dramatically, "...another that the bronze statue of General Humphreys and his horse trotted out of the park. I didn't check on the gargoyle, but I went down to see the statue. It's not there. Looks like it walked right off the pedestal. That thing weighs over two tons." She set her empty cup down, folded her arms, and, with one dark eyebrow raised, stared at Eddy.
"A big bronze statue like that would bring in a pretty penny at the recyclers. Somebody probably hauled it off with a truck, but it's a great visual, isn't it?" Eddy leaned back in her chair. "I can just see that big horse with the general, sword held high and covered in pigeon poop, trotting along Front Street. Maybe a little detour through the cemetery."
"Is it worth a story by ace reporter Edwina Marks?"
Eddy glared at her. "Do not call me Edwina." She ran her finger through the condensation on the scarred wooden table top before looking up at Ginny and grinning. "Maybe a column about weird rumors and how they get started. I'll cite you as Ground Zero, but I doubt it's cutting edge enough for the front page of the Record."
Ginny grabbed her purse and pulled out a lipstick. "Yeah, like that rag's going to cover real news."
"Hey, we do our best, and we stay away from the tabloid stuff---you know, the garbage you like to read?" Laughing, Eddy stood up. "Well, I'm always complaining that nothing exciting ever happens around here. I guess flying gargoyles, runaway statues, and killer garden gnomes are better than nothing." She tossed some change on the table for a tip and waved at the girl working behind the counter. "Gotta go, Gin. I need to get home. Have to let Bumper out."
"Bumper? Who's that? Don't tell me you brought home another homeless mutt from the shelter."
"And if I did?"
Ginny waved the lipstick at her like a pointer. "Eddy, the last time you had to give up a fostered pup, you bawled for a week. Why do you do this to yourself?"
She'd be lucky if she only bawled for a week when it was time for Bumper to leave. They'd bonded almost immediately, but she really didn't want a dog. Not for keeps. "They were gonna put her down if no one took her," she mumbled.
Ginny shook her head. "Don't say I didn't warn you. One of these days you're going to take in a stray that'll really break your heart."
Eddy heard Bumper when she was still half a block from home. She'd only left the dog inside the house while she went to town for coffee, but it appeared the walls weren't thick enough to mute her deep-throated growling and barking.
Thank goodness it wasn't nine yet. Any later and she'd probably have one of the neighbors filing a complaint. Eddy picked up her pace and ran the last hundred yards home, digging for her house keys as she raced up the front walk. "Bumper, you idiot. I only left you for an hour. I hope you haven't been going on like this the whole time I've been gone."
She got the key in the lock and swung the front door open. Bumper didn't even pause to greet her. Instead, she practically knocked Eddy on her butt as she raced out the front door, skidded through the open gate to the side yard, and disappeared around the back of the house.
"Shit. Stupid dog." Eddy threw her keys in her bag, slung her purse over her shoulder, and took off after the dog. It was almost completely dark away from the street light, and Eddy stumbled on one of the uneven paving stones by the gate. Bumper's deep bark turned absolutely frantic, accompanied by the added racket from her clawing and scratching at the wooden door to Eddy's potting shed.
"If you've got a skunk cornered in there, you stupid dog, I swear I'm taking you back to the shelter."
Bumper stopped barking, now that she knew she had Eddy's attention. She whined and sniffed at the door, still scratching at the rough wood. Eddy fumbled in her bag for her keychain and the miniature flashlight hanging from the ring. The beam was next to worthless, but better than nothing.
She scooted Bumper out of the way with her leg and unlatched the door just enough to peer in through a crack. Bumper whapped her nose against Eddy's leg. Shoving frantically with her broad head, she tried to force her way inside.
"Get back." Eddy glared at the dog. Bumper flattened her ears against her curly head and immediately backed off, looking as pathetic as she had last week at the shelter when Eddy'd realized she couldn't leave a blond pit bull crossed with a standard poodle to the whims of fate.
She aimed her tiny flashlight through the narrow opening. Blinked. Told herself she was really glad she'd been drinking coffee and not that brandy she'd wanted tonight, because otherwise she wouldn't believe what she saw.
Maybe Mrs. Abernathy wasn't nuts after all. Eddy grabbed a shovel leaning against the outside wall of the shed and threw the door open wide.
The garden gnome that should have been stationed in the rose garden out in front held a pitchfork in its stubby little hands like a weapon, ready to stab what appeared to be a person lying in the shadows. When the door creaked open, the gnome turned its head, glared at Eddy through yellow eyes, bared unbelievably sharp teeth, and screamed at her like an avenging banshee.
Bumper's claws scrabbled against the stone pathway. Eddy swung the shovel. The crunch of metal connecting with ceramic seemed unnaturally loud. The scream stopped as the garden gnome shattered into a thousand pieces. The pitchfork clattered to the ground, and a dark, evil-smelling mist gathered in the air above the pile of dust. It swirled a moment and then suddenly whooshed over Eddy's shoulder and out the open door.
A tiny blue light pulsed and flickered, followed the mist as far as the doorway, and then returned to hover over the figure in the shadows. Bumper paused long enough to sniff the remnants of the garden gnome and growl, before turning her attention to whatever lay on the stone floor. Eddy stared at the shovel in her hands and took one deep breath after another. This was not happening. She had not seen a garden gnome in attack mode.
One with glowing yellow eyes and razor-sharp teeth.
Impossible.
Heart pounding, arms and legs shaking, she slowly pivoted in place and focused on whoever it was that Bumper seemed so pleased to see.
The mutt whined, but her curly tail was wagging a million miles a minute. She'd been right about the gnome. Eddy figured she'd have to trust the dog's instincts about whoever or whatever had found such dubious sanctuary in her potting shed.
Eddy squinted and tried to focus on the flickering light that flitted in the air over Bumper's head, but it was jerking around so quickly she couldn't tell what it was. She still had her key ring clutched in her fingers. She wasn't quite ready to put the shovel down, but she managed to shine the narrow beam of light toward the lump on the floor.
Green light reflected back from Bumper's eyes. Eddy swung wider with the flashlight. She saw a muscular arm, a thick shoulder, and the broad expanse of a masculine chest. Blood trickled from four perfectly spaced pitchfork-sized holes across the man's ribs and pooled beneath his body. There appeared to be a deep wound on his chest, though it wasn't bleeding.
In fact, it looked almost as if it had been cauterized. A burn? Eddy swept the light his full length. Her eyes grew wider with each inch of skin she exposed. He was marked with a colorful tattoo that ran from his thigh, across his groin to his chest, but other than the art, he was naked. Very naked, all the way from his long, narrow feet, up those perfectly formed, hairy legs to...Eddy quickly jerked the light back toward his head.
When she reached his face, the narrow beam glinted off dark eyes looking directly into hers. Beautiful, soul-searching dark brown eyes shrouded in thick, black lashes. He was gorgeous. Even with a smear of dirt across one cheek and several days' growth of dark beard, he looked as if he should be on the cover of People as the sexiest man alive.
Breathing hard, her body still shaking from the adrenaline coursing through her system, Eddy dragged herself back to the situation at hand. Whatever it was. He hadn't said a word. She'd thought he was unconscious. He wasn't. He was injured...not necessarily helpless. She squatted down beside him, and, reassured by Bumper's acceptance and the fact the man didn't look strong enough to sit up, much less harm her, Eddy set the shovel aside.
She touched his shoulder and grimaced at the deep wound on his chest, the bloody stab wounds in his side. Made a point not to look below his waist. "What happened? Are you okay? Well, obviously not with all those injuries." Rattled, she took a deep breath. "Who are you?"
He blinked and turned his head. She quickly tilted the light away from his eyes. "I'm sorry. I..."
He shook his head. His voice was deep and sort of raspy. "No. It's all right." He glanced up at the flickering light dancing overhead, frowned, and then nodded.
She could tell he was in pain, but he took a deep breath and turned his focus back to Eddy.
"I am Dax. Thank you."
"I'm Eddy. Eddy Marks." Why she'd felt compelled to give her full name made no sense. None of this did. She couldn't place his accent, and he wasn't from around here. She would have recognized any of the locals. She started to rise. "I'll call nine-one-one. You're injured."
His arm snaked out, and he grabbed her forearm, trapping her with surprising strength. "No. No one. Don't call anyone."
Eddy looked down at the broad hand, the powerful fingers wrapped entirely around her arm, just below her elbow. She should have been terrified. Should have been screaming in fear, but something in those eyes, in the expression on his face...
Immediately, he loosened his grasp. "I'm sorry. Please forgive me, but no one must know I'm here. If you can't help me, please let me leave. I have so little time...." He tried to prop himself up on one arm, but his body trembled with the effort.
Eddy rubbed her arm. It tingled where he'd touched her. "What's going on? How'd you get here? Where are your clothes?"
The flickering light came closer, hovered just in front of his chest, pulsed with a brilliant blue glow that spread out in a pale arc until it touched him, appeared to soak into his flesh, and then dimmed. Before Eddy could figure out what she was seeing, Dax took a deep breath. He seemed to gather strength---from the blue light?
He shoved himself upright, glanced at the light, and nodded. "Thank you, Willow."
Then he stood up, as if his injuries didn't affect him at all. Obviously, neither did the fact he wasn't wearing a stitch of clothes. Towering over Eddy, he held out his hand to help her to her feet. "I will go now. I'm sorry to have..."
Eddy swallowed. She looked up at him as he fumbled for words, realized she was almost eye level with his...oh crap! She jerked her head to one side and stared at his hand for a moment. Shifted her eyes and blinked at the blue light, now hovering in the air not six inches from her face. What in the hell was going on?
Slowly, she looked back at Dax, placed her hand in his, and, with a slight tug from him, rose to her feet. The light followed her. "What is that thing?" Tilting her head, she focused on the bit of fluff glowing in the air between them, and let out a whoosh of breath.
"Holy Moses." It was a woman. A tiny, flickering fairylike woman with gossamer wings and long blond hair. "It's frickin' Tinkerbelle!" Eddy turned and stared at Dax. "That's impossible."
He shrugged. "So are garden gnomes armed with pitchforks. At least in your world. So am I, for that matter."
Eddy snapped her gaze away from the flickering fairy and stared at Dax. "What do you mean, you're impossible? Why? Who are you? What are you?"
Again, he shrugged. "I'm a mercenary, now. A hired soldier, if you will. However, before the Edenites found me, before they gave me this body, I was a demon. Cast out of Abyss, but a demon nonetheless."
He knew she was bursting with questions, but she'd taken him inside her home, given him a pair of soft gray pants with a drawstring at the waist, and brewed some sort of hot, dark liquid that smelled much better than it tasted. She'd handed him a cup; then as she left the room, she'd told him to sit.
He sat, despite the sense of urgency and the pain. The snake tattoo seemed to ripple against his skin, crawling across his thigh, over his groin and belly to the spot where the head rested above his human heart. He felt the heat from the demon's fireshot beside the serpent's head burning deeper with each breath he took. Exhaustion warred with the need to move, to begin the hunt. In spite of Willow's gift of healing energy, he felt as if he could sleep for at least a month. Instead, he waited for the woman, for Eddy Marks. He sipped from the steaming cup while she opened and closed drawers in an adjoining room and mumbled unintelligible words to herself.
The four-legged creature stayed with him. Eddy called it "damned dog," but she'd also said its name was Bumper and it was female. The animal appeared to be intelligent, though Dax hadn't figured out how to communicate with her yet. She was certainly odd-looking with her bullet-shaped head, powerful jaws, and curly blond coat.
"Sorry to take so long. I had to hunt for the first aid kit."
The woman carried a box filled with rolls of bandages and jars and tubes of what must be medicine. He wished his mind were clearer, but he was still growing used to this body, to the way the brain worked. It was so unlike his own. This mind had memories of things like bandages and dogs and the names for the various pieces of furniture he saw, but too much in his head felt foggy. Too much was still trapped in the thinking process of demonkind, of kill or be killed. Eat or be eaten.
The only thing that was absolutely clear was the mission, and he was woefully behind on that.
Of course, he hadn't expected to encounter a demon-powered gargoyle armed with fire just seconds after his arrival through the portal. Nor had he expected the power of the demons already here. Eddy had no idea she had truly saved more than his life.
So much more was at stake. So many lives.
Her soft voice was laced with steel when it burst into his meandering thoughts. "First things first," she said. "And don't lie to me. I'm trusting you for some weird reason, when I know damned well I should call the authorities. So tell me, who are you, really? Who did this to you? How'd you get this burn?"
Blinking, he raised his head. She knelt in front of him. Her short dark hair was tousled, and her chocolaty brown eyes stared at him with concern and some other emotion he couldn't quite identify. Thank goodness there was no sign of fear. He didn't want her to fear him, though she'd be better off if she did.
He shook his head. He still couldn't believe that blasted demon had gotten the drop on him. "I really am demonkind. From Abyss. The wound on my chest? It was the gargoyle. He surprised me. I wasn't expecting him, especially armed with fire."
She blinked and gave him a long, narrow-eyed stare. "Hookay. If you say so." She took a damp cloth and wiped around the burn on his chest. The cool water felt good.
Her soft hands felt even better. Her touch seemed to spark what could only be genetic, instinctive memories to this body he inhabited. He felt as if his mind were clearing. Maybe this world would finally start to make sense.
She tilted her head and studied the burned and bloody wound. "That's the second reference to a gargoyle I've heard tonight," she said, looking at his chest, not his face. "They're not generally part of the typical conversation around here."
Shocked, he grabbed her wrist. She jerked her head around and stared at his fingers. He let go. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you. Have you seen it? The gargoyle? Do you know where it is?"
She stared at him a moment, and then sprayed something on the wound that took away the pain. She covered it with a soft, flesh-colored bandage before she answered him. "No," she said, shaking her head, concentrating on the bandage. "Not recently."
Her short dark hair floated against the sharp line of her jaw. He fought a surprisingly powerful need to touch the shimmering strands. He'd never once run his fingers through a woman's hair. Of course, he couldn't remember having fingers. He'd never had any form beyond his demon self of mist and scales, sharp claws, and sharper fangs.
She flattened all four corners of the bandage and looked up at him. He wished he were better at reading human expressions. Hers was a mystery to him.
"Last time I saw it," she said, "it was perched on the corner of the library building where it belonged, but I heard it flew away. It's made of stone and most definitely not alive, which means it shouldn't be flying anywhere. What's going on? And what are you, really? You can't be serious about..." She glanced away, shook her head again, and then touched the left side of his chest, just above the first puncture wound. "Turn around so I can take care of these cuts over your ribs."
He turned and stared at the fireplace across the room. After a moment he focused on a beautiful carved stone owl, sitting on the brick hearth. The owl's eyes seemed to watch him, but he sensed no life in the creature. It was better to concentrate on the bird than the woman.
Her gentle touch was almost worse than the pain from the injuries. It reminded him of things he wanted, things he'd never have.
He was, after all, still a demon. A fallen demon, but nonetheless, not even close to human. Not at all the man he appeared to be. This form was his for one short week.
His avatar.
Seven days he'd been given. Seven days to save the town of Evergreen and all its inhabitants. If he failed, if demonkind succeeded in this, their first major foray into Earth's dimension, other towns could fall. Other worlds. All of Earth, all of Eden.
Seven days.
Impossible...and he'd already wasted one of them.
He would have laughed if he didn't feel like turning around and heading back to Abyss---except Abyss was closed to him. With only the most preposterous of luck, he might end up in Eden, though he doubted that would happen, no matter how he did on his mission. The promises had been vague, after all.
So why, he wondered, had he agreed to this stupid plan?
"I asked you, what's going on? I'm assuming you know how my cheesy little Walmart garden gnome suddenly grew teeth and turned killer. Try the truth this time. With details that make sense."
He jerked his head around and stared at her, understanding more of his new reality as each moment passed, as the memories and life of this body's prior owner integrated with his demon soul.
Eddy sat back on her heels, and her dark eyes flashed with as much frustrated anger as curiosity.
He glanced down at his side. There were clean, white bandages over each of the wounds from the demon's weapon. The big burn on his chest was cleaned and covered. The entire length of his tattoo pulsed with evil energy, but if he ignored that, he really did feel better.
Stronger.
He sensed Willow's presence and finally spotted her sitting in amongst a collection of glass figurines on a small bookcase. Could demons enter glass? He wasn't sure, but at least Willow would warn him in time. He caught the woman's unwavering stare with his own. She waited more patiently than he deserved for his answer. "I always tell the truth," he said. "The problem is, will you believe me?"
She nodded and stood up. "I'll try." She stalked out of the room. He heard water running. A moment later she returned, grabbed his cup and her own, and left again. This time, when she handed him the warm mug of coffee, he knew what to expect.
He savored the aroma while she settled herself on the end of the couch, as far from him as she could get while still having room to sit.
She was close enough for him to pick up the perfume from the soap she'd used to wash her hands, the warm essence of her skin, the scent that was all hers.
He shrugged off the unusual sensations her nearness gave him. Then he took a sip of his coffee, replacing Eddy's scent with the rich aroma of the drink. He couldn't seem to do anything about his powerful awareness of her. Of this body's reaction to her presence, her scent, to every move she made.
He could try to ignore her, but he didn't want to. No, not at all. It probably wouldn't work anyway.
She curled her bare feet under herself and leaned against the back of the couch, facing him. He turned and sat much the same way, facing her.
Bumper looked from one of them to the other, barked once, and jumped up on the couch, filling the gap between them. She turned around a couple of times and lay down with a loud, contented sigh. Her fuzzy butt rested on Dax's bare foot; her chin was on the woman's ankle.
"Bumper likes you." She stroked the silly-looking beast's head with her long, slim fingers. "If she didn't approve, you wouldn't be sitting here."
Dax smiled, vaguely aware that it was an entirely new facial expression for him. Of course, everything he did now, everything he felt and said, was new. "Then I guess I'm very glad Bumper approves. Thank you for battling the demon, for taking care of my injuries. You saved my life."
She stared at him for a long, steady moment, as if digesting his statement. There was still no fear in her.
She would be safer if she were afraid.
"You're welcome," she said. "Now please explain. Tell me about the garden gnome. What was it, really?"
He arranged his fingers in a steeple in front of his face and rested his chin on the forefingers. Had the one who first owned this body found comfort in such a position? No matter. It was his body now, for however long he could keep it alive, and resting his chin this way pleased him. "The small statue was inhabited by a demon from the world of Abyss. They've broken through into Earth's dimension, but the only form they have here is spirit---that dark, stinking mist you saw after you shattered the creature was the demon's essence. They need an avatar, something made of the earth...ceramic, stone, metal. Nothing alive. The avatar gives form and shape; the demon provides the life."
She nodded her head, slowly, as if digesting his words. "If I hadn't seen it...Good Lord...I still can't believe I saw what I saw out there." She glanced around the room. "Where's that little fairy? The one you called Willow?"
"She's actually a will-o'-the-wisp, not a fairy. She's a protector of sorts. She gathers energy out of the air and shares it with me. Helps me understand this unfamiliar world, this body. Right now, she's sitting on your bookcase. I think she likes being surrounded by all the little figurines on the top shelf." He looked over his shoulder at Willow. Her light pulsed bright blue for a second. Then, once again, she disappeared among the tiny glass statuettes.
Eddy shook her head. She laughed, but it sounded forced, like she was strangling. Mostly, her voice was low, sort of soft and mellow. It fit her.
"I'm generally pretty pragmatic, unlike my father, who believes every wild story he hears. I can tell it's going to be really hard for me to deal with all this. Just point to Willow as a reminder that the impossible is sometimes possible.... You know, when I look at you like I think you're lying."
"I promise to do that." He smiled over the edge of his cup and took a sip of the dark brew. She'd said it would perk him up, whatever that meant. He did feel more alert. He hoped it wasn't because danger was lurking nearby. He still didn't understand all this body's instincts.
"You said you were a demon, but you look perfectly human. What exactly do you mean?"
"Exactly that. I'm a demon from the world of Abyss. It exists in a dimension apart from yours, but I was sent here by people from another world, one called Eden that's in yet another dimension. The two worlds never touch, never interact. Complete yet separate, they are entirely dependent on the balance that holds them apart as much as it connects them."
"So what does that make Earth?"
He stared at his cup of coffee a moment, picturing the three worlds as he imagined them. "Earth is the fulcrum," he said, raising his eyes to study her reaction. "Eden on the one side is a world of light filled with people who are inherently good. Abyss, on the other, is a world of darkness, a land of fire and ice populated by creatures who personify evil. Earth is in the center, holding them apart, keeping them in perpetual balance.... Or, at least, that's the way it's supposed to work. The way it's always worked in the past."
Her brows knotted over her dark eyes, and she looked confused, but at least she was still listening. Dax ran his fingers through Bumper's curly coat. The dog was a hard-muscled, frilly contradiction---she had a powerful body with strong jaws, yet she was covered in a curly blond coat that made her look utterly ridiculous. Dax couldn't imagine anyone creating an animal like Bumper on purpose, yet somehow the combination worked.
Sort of like Earth. "Your world is mostly populated by a mixture of different kinds of humans---some who will always try to do the right thing, as well as those who are set on doing something evil. The best of you and the worst of you are balanced by the vast majority who are sort of like this dog of yours, a blend of both good and bad, beautiful and ugly." He laughed. "Smart and stupid. Somehow, it all works, and, on the whole, humans get along and live their lives."
She snorted. He grinned at her. "Well, most of the time, anyway."
Shaking her head, she set her cup down. "I beg to differ with you---people don't get along that well. There are wars going on all over the world, people are starving and dying, we have to worry about terrorists blowing things up, and..."
"I know. That's why I'm here. Evil has grown too powerful on your world. It's giving demonkind a foothold. Balance has reached a tipping point. It's slipping over to the side of darkness. The people of Eden recognized the danger, but they're incapable of fighting. Their nature doesn't allow it. They can, however, hire fallen demons to fight their battles."
She ignored his reference to himself and instead asked the one question Dax didn't want to answer.
"What happens if the balance slips too far?"
He didn't want to think about that. Couldn't allow himself to consider failure. Bumper raised her head, stared beyond Dax, and growled. Dax looked down at the dog, but he spoke to Eddy. "Then the demons of Abyss take over. If Evergreen falls to the demons, they gain a powerful foothold in your world. If this town falls, others may follow. The fear is that all of Earth will fall to darkness and demons will rule. There's a risk that eventually, even Eden will be overrun."
"Dax? I think you need to turn around."
He snapped his head up at the quaver in her voice and caught Eddy's terrified gaze. He spun around on the couch, and his feet hit the floor just as the stone owl by the fireplace stretched its gray wings and clicked its sharp beak, as if testing to make sure things worked.
Willow shot up from the bookcase so fast she left a trail of blue sparkles in the air behind her. Dax leapt to his feet, pulled in the energy Willow sent him, and pointed both hands at the owl, with his fingertips spread wide.
Fire burst from his fingers in long, twin spikes of pure power. He caught the owl as it prepared to take flight, trapped the creature in a blazing sphere of heat and light, and blew it right through the wire screen and into the fireplace.
Eddy screamed. The creature screamed louder, sounding eerily like the garden gnome Eddy had flattened. The cry cut off the moment the flaming owl hit the back of the firebox and shattered. A dark wisp, stinking of sulfur, coalesced in front of the broken pieces, but before it could race up the flue to freedom, Dax called on Willow's power once again.
This time a blast of icy air caught the amorphous mass of darkness, freezing it before it could make its escape. It hovered a moment, quivering in midair, then fell to the hearth and shattered into a thousand tiny pieces of black ice.
Dax hit the ice with a burst of flame. The pieces sizzled and disappeared in puffs of steam.
He took a deep breath and turned away from the mess. Eddy sat on the end of the couch, with Bumper caught in her shaking arms. Both of them gaped, wide-eyed, at the fireplace. Before Dax could assure Eddy that everything was all right, at least for now, she raised her head and stared at him.
"Okay." Her voice cracked, and she took a deep breath. "I take back what I said. You won't need to point to Willow for proof. I promise to believe anything you tell me. Explain, please, what the hell just happened."
Dax wiped his hands on her dad's old sweats and sat down on his end of the couch as if nothing had happened.
Bumper struggled in Eddy's tight grasp, raking Eddy's thighs with her sharp nails. Luckily Bumper couldn't tear through Eddy's heavy jeans, but before the dog freaked entirely, Eddy set her free. The stupid mutt jumped off the couch and raced to the fireplace. She sniffed the small pile of rubble that had once been Eddy's beautifully carved stone owl, sneezed, and then trotted back to the couch as cocky as if she'd been the one to defeat the demon.
Bumper jumped on the couch between Eddy and Dax, but this time she rested her head on Dax's thigh and gazed at him with pure adoration.
Eddy couldn't blame the dog one bit. Even though she was still trembling and her heart pounded like a whole set of drums, she knew she stared at Dax the same way.
It was impossible not to.
Dark tendrils of thick, black hair clung to his forehead and jaw. His bare chest, bisected with the colorful snake tattoo, gleamed with a light sheen of perspiration from his efforts. The gray sweats hung low on his lean hips. He epitomized sex appeal and good looks, and to top it off, he'd just saved her from a completely impossible attack by a demon right here in her very own living room.
If she could believe what she'd just seen.
"Before we were so rudely interrupted..." He actually grinned at her.
She had to swallow twice before she found her voice. "Go on. Please. Don't let me stop you." She clasped her hands in her lap to keep them from shaking. There had to be a logical reason for all this. Either that, or she was every bit as loony as old Mrs. Abernathy.
"You asked what would happen if things got out of balance." He nodded toward the fireplace. "That's a good example. It's happening now. Demons are slipping into this dimension through a pathway that's normally closed to them, a portal in the energy vortex that is your mountain."
Not exactly what Eddy wanted to hear. "You're kidding, right?" He didn't look like he was kidding. In fact, he looked awfully serious for someone making a joke. "The vortex is all New Age folklore. No one around here really believes it exists, unless you count my father, who is the king of otherworldly theories, or the stores and companies catering to the tourists. The vortex is no more real than the Lemurians."
"The what?" Dax frowned and stopped rubbing Bumper's ears. Bumper growled and wagged her tail. Dax went back to rubbing.
Eddy couldn't sit still any longer. She bounced to her feet and began pacing around the small living room. "Lemurians. They're not real, unless you ask Dad." She spun around and laughed. "He's going to be thrilled when he finds out about you. Proof that some of his crazy theories are actually true." Dax and the demons. It didn't get any better.
"According to local lore, they're a race of mystical beings---tall, beautiful people with strange powers who supposedly live inside Mount Shasta in rooms made of gold. Legend says they're descendents of people from the lost continent of Lemuria that sank beneath the sea, that they had advanced science and technology thousands of years ago. They were even supposed to have flying machines, sort of like the old Atlantis myth."
Dax shook his head. He twisted around in his seat so he could follow her erratic pacing. "Atlantis is no myth. It really existed, and its descendents are still around. I've never heard of Lemuria. I'll need to look into it. The vortex, though, is definitely real. How do you think I got here?"
Eddy stopped in her tracks and stared at him, looking for a twitch, a smile, anything to tell her he was teasing.
He wasn't.
She glanced at Willow. As if the sprite knew she was being watched, she flashed bright blue and just as quickly faded.
Okay. Point made. Eddy took a deep breath. "Why don't you tell me exactly how you did get here. Just promise to ignore me if I look incredulous."
Dax stared at her for a long, slow moment. Then he shook his head, and his gorgeous lips turned up in an unbelievably sexy grin. "Eddy Marks, I doubt I could ever ignore you...not for any reason."
She felt it right between her thighs. A hot lick of heat that had no business firing her senses and making her muscles clench, especially after a hokey come-on like that. It took a tremendous amount of will to continue gazing directly into those smoldering eyes of his. Demon's eyes. She had to remind herself that, for all his appeal, Dax not only was a stranger, but he'd also already admitted to being one of the bad guys.
"I'm waiting," she said, planting her hands on her hips, ignoring his innuendo and her body's traitorous response.
He still had that cocky grin plastered on his gorgeous face, but at least he had settled back against the couch. "I was a demon. An immortal in a world of evil. It suited me for a long time, and then it didn't." He shrugged. "For some reason, I began to question the life, the constant desire to cause pain, to kill." He shook his head, shrugged. Gave her a self-deprecating grin. "I guess I learned the hard way. One does not question evil. I got tossed out of Abyss."
The snake tattoo crawling out of his waistband slowly writhed across his belly and chest. Mesmerized, Eddy blinked. She must be more exhausted than she'd realized.
The subtle motion stopped. The tattoo stayed put. She swallowed and raised her eyes. It was too unsettling to steal even the quickest glance at his body, when things like that happened. "Where does a demon go that's worse than Hell?"
Dax ran his fingers lightly over his tattoo. Had he felt it move? He stared at her for a moment before he answered.
"Earth."
Eddy blinked. "What? Life on Earth is worse than Abyss?"
"For a demon, yes. I might have been reborn here as a petty criminal, some kind of crook leading a useless life, causing other people grief, or worse. I could have become a dictator, a hired killer, a terrorist. Part of the balance of good and evil that keeps this world in line. Not a pleasant way to spend one's time, especially when you're beginning to question everything about the demon's way."
"So what happened?"
"I was still in the void, the space without substance that exists where the dimensions of Earth, Abyss, and Eden aren't. I was unsure whether or not I even rated a rebirth after being cast out. It's still not clear to me how, but a contingent from Eden managed to snag my soul out of the void.
"I vaguely recall a very one-sided discussion. Somehow they convinced me to take on the job of ridding Evergreen of the excess demons finding their way through the portal in your vortex before the balance could tip too far on the side of evil. Since I'd given up my demon body as well as the ability to manipulate inanimate objects when I was cast out of Abyss, the Edenites gave me a living avatar, this body. The snake tattoo holds my demonic powers of fire and ice for fighting demons. And they gave me Willow, of course, to feed me the energy I need to use my weapons. She's actually a creature of Eden, and she draws her power from the air around her."
"What exactly are you supposed to do?"
"My charge is to shut down the portal in the vortex between Earth and Abyss, and destroy any of the demons who've made it across the dimensions. Evergreen may be just one small town, but all of its citizens are at risk. If I fail, demonkind will continue to gain strength in this dimension. Other towns, other humans will be in danger. At the very worst, all three worlds could eventually fail with me. Of course, that's not what Abyss wants. Their goal is to rule Earth, and maybe even Eden."
"But why Evergreen? Like you said, it's just a tiny little town."
"Mount Shasta." He shrugged as if it was entirely obvious.
Eddy frowned. "I still don't..."
"The mountain is the vortex," Dax said. "The source of power for the portal between Earth and Abyss. Evergreen is the closest community to the mountain and the portal that allows demonkind entrance to this dimension. Demons aren't strong enough yet to move very far from the mountain---their link to Abyss---but with each day that passes, they gain strength in this dimension."
He glanced away, and took a deep breath. When he turned back, Eddy could have sworn she saw a glint of green fire in his eyes. "If they prevail," he said, "you will fully understand the meaning of Hell on Earth."
She really, really couldn't believe she was standing here in her own front room having this conversation. Her reporter's instincts were screaming at her to grab her tape recorder, her feminine instincts were all aflutter, and her brain didn't seem to want to function on any familiar level at all.
If it did, she wouldn't be accepting this outlandish tale as truth. Shouldn't she be questioning everything Dax said? Yeah, said a tiny voice in her head. Except that there's this little blue fairy flying around and a garden gnome armed with a pitchfork, and the stone owl tried to fly and...
She paused at the back side of the couch, planted her hands on the curved top, and leaned closer to Dax. "How come I've never heard of Eden or Abyss? How come you guys know about us and each other, but we don't know about you?"
He wound his fingers in Bumper's curly coat, almost as if anchoring himself with the dog. "Absolute evil is always aware of absolute good, and vice versa. In a way, Eden and Abyss are two sides of the whole. Those of you Earthbound are too busy fearing both, so you make us the stuff of legend and religion. Christians have Heaven and Hell, Muslims have Jannah and Jahannam, Buddhists...well, you get the point. Every religion has its own name for Paradise balanced by some form of evil underworld."
Damn. He had a plausible answer for everything. "So what did they offer you? What would make a demon agree to fight against his own kind?"
He smiled. His eyes sort of unfocused as he gazed off into the distance. "Remember, I'd already been kicked out of Abyss. The Edenites offered me my own shot at Paradise, at life on Eden. The odds are against me, of course. I wasn't a perfect demon, so it's hard to imagine myself as a perfect human. You must prove to be pure, without any stain of evil on your soul, but it's a greater chance than I had before."
"What's the alternative if you fail?"
"Besides the end of life as the three worlds know it?" He laughed softly, but Eddy had a feeling he wasn't really joking. "Remember, this body of mine is borrowed. I was given the form of a man who died somewhere on Earth at some point in time---there's little meaning to time in the void---when I accepted the Edenites' proposal. This body will disappear at the end of my seven days. I, once again a demon, face eternity in the void, but this time without chance of rebirth of any kind. Nothing beyond memories forever of the pain and misery I knew on Abyss. Knowing I'd come just this close..." He held his thumb and forefinger a hairsbreadth apart. "This close to eternity in Paradise. I can't imagine a more painful hell, knowing I'd come so close and yet failed. Worse than my life on Abyss, for all its agony."
He raised his head and gazed directly into her eyes. Eddy felt his need, his desperate hope for that one slim chance at Paradise, and her heart sort of tumbled in her chest. If there was any way to help...
Bumper suddenly sat up and growled. Her curly hackles rose along her spine, and she stared over the top of the couch at the sliding glass door leading to the backyard.
Eddy and Dax both glanced from Bumper to Willow. The tiny creature pulsed in shades of blue, flitted away from her perch on the bookcase, and buzzed around the room. Each lamp she passed went out.
"What is it?"
Dax held a finger to his lips. "Grab Bumper. Don't let go of her."
Eddy nodded, though she doubted Dax saw her. The room was pitch dark without the lights. She wrapped her fingers around Bumper's collar and fumbled for the leash on the table beside the couch. It took her a moment to find it in the dark, longer still to snap it to the dog's collar for added insurance. Bumper might only weigh fifty pounds, but she was all muscle and sinew under that curly blond coat.
Eddy's eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness. She felt the shift of air currents as Dax slipped away and padded on bare feet toward the sliding glass door. He didn't seem to have any problem seeing in the dark
She heard a strange sound in the garden, a clattering noise she couldn't quite place. Bumper growled, but instead of lunging, she pressed tightly against Eddy's leg. Eddy hunkered down with the couch between her and the door, and peeked over the top to see what was going on. Willow hovered beside Dax. Her faint glow was barely visible, reflecting off the glass door.
Dax shouted, "Eddy! Out of the way!"
He dove to one side as the plate glass shattered into a million pieces. A huge, bronze horse galloped into her front room. Its rider waved a deadly sword.
General Humphreys? No way!
Eddy screamed and grabbed Bumper. She lifted the dog's fifty-pound body as if she didn't weigh an ounce, hauled her across the room and around the corner, where they hid in the hallway that led to her bedroom.
Lights flashed. Dax shouted what had to be a curse in some language Eddy'd never heard. Her little house shook, and the smell of sulfur almost choked her. Banshee howls came from more than one direction, and she couldn't stand it a minute longer.
Hanging on to Bumper, Eddy peeked around the corner. Dax stood in the far corner of the room next to the fireplace with his back to the wall. His arms were stretched out in front of his powerful body as he lit up the room, shooting blast after blast of fire at the bronze horse and rider.
The horse reared, and Eddy's ceiling fan turned to toothpicks when the general's sword caught the spinning blades. Dax fired another blast, and the top half of the general separated from the horse and tumbled to the floor.
It rose up, wobbling on its bronze torso, then pivoted on both arms and moved around beside the rearing horse, caging Dax in the corner.
The general's legs remained in the saddle, raking the bronze flanks of the horse with sharp spurs. Half a dozen small stone statues---three cats, two squirrels, and one little deer with spreading antlers---scurried across the floor. Some carried garden tools and sticks; all of them headed for Dax and his bare feet.
Willow flitted from one side of the room to the other, gathering energy out of the air to throw to Dax.
Bumper tugged at the short leash, her snarls and barks adding to the din. Her powerful jaws dripped saliva; her razor sharp teeth clicked with each snap. In one brief flight of hysterical fancy, Eddy realized she looked like a killing machine in a Shirley Temple wig. With a quick prayer, she unhooked the dog's leash, and Bumper launched herself into the melee.
The small statues scattered, though one squirrel wasn't quite fast enough. Bumper caught it between her jaws, shook her head, and snapped the thing in two. The dark mist inside floated toward the ceiling.
Dax hit it with a burst of fire, and the mist disappeared in a sizzle of white steam. Then he quickly fired on two of the stone cats, destroying them along with their demons. Bumper had gotten the last squirrel and was chasing down the stone deer, barking nonstop. She dodged the deer's antlers and the slashing bronze hooves of the horse, but her frenetic attack effectively took everyone's concentration off Dax.
No one seemed aware of Eddy at all.
She grabbed a wooden chair and raced into the front room, raised it over her head, and clobbered the top half of the general across the back. The chair shattered on contact, but the demon-powered statue toppled to the ground, where Dax hit him with a burst of icy wind.
The bronze froze and splintered. As black mist poured out of the cracks, the icy blast caught it, and frozen drops clattered to the ground where Dax steamed them out of existence with a shot of fire.
Empowered by her success and Bumper's effective attack, Eddy grabbed another chair and swung at the rearing horse's back legs. This chair shattered as well, but the horse dropped to all four feet and turned toward Eddy.
Its jaws opened wide, and she saw row upon row of sharp, silvery teeth where teeth shouldn't be. The horse's eyes glowed an eerie yellow, and she realized the broken chair legs she held were no defense at all.
Bumper must have sensed her danger. She snapped the spine of the stone deer she'd attacked and charged the horse. Instead of going for the throat, Bumper sank her teeth into the right rear leg, up high, just beside the horse's belly.
Animated by the demon inside, the bronze seemed to have the texture of plastic, and there was nothing Bumper liked more than her plastic chew toys. Hanging by her powerful jaws, hind legs scrabbling for purchase on the tattered carpet beneath her feet, Bumper finally threw the bronze beast off balance.
Dax zapped the last of the stone cats and its resident demon with fire, then spun in place and hit the fallen horse with a shot of freezing air. This time, when the bronze cracked, two misty creatures escaped. He caught each of them in a flaming arc, burning them until the black mist turned to steam and evaporated in the suddenly quiet room.
Still growling, Bumper backed away from the fallen statue, and leaned against Eddy's shaking knees. Eddy's lungs ached with each tortured breath.
Dax reached out and caught Willow out of the air before she could tumble to the ground. Eddy sensed the tiny sprite's utter and complete exhaustion.
She'd given everything she had to Dax.
Eddy'd given everything she had, period. Including her home. She flipped on the only lamp still standing.
The small living room was littered with crumbled stone and large chunks of metal. Black scorch marks disfigured the walls, and Dax's fire had burned holes in the carpet. The ceiling fan still spun, but only one blade remained. The air reeked of sulfur. Broken glass was everywhere, destruction complete.
Explaining this one to the insurance company was going to be a bitch. Eddy leaned over, rested her hands on her knees, and struggled to get her ragged breathing under control.
Then she heard the wail of sirens in the distance. "Dax. You need to get out of here," she gasped. "The police are on their way. Where can you go?"
"Wherever you go, Eddy Marks."
She jerked her head up and gaped at him.
He held his big hands out, palms up. Willow sat in his left palm with her wings drooping and her head hanging low, but she was safe. Eddy stared at the hands protecting the tiny sprite---the same hands that shot fire and ice at marauding demons. The same hands that had stroked Bumper's curly head with such gentleness.
"I could not have done this without you and Bumper," he said simply. "I need both of you." Dax glanced at the tiny figure in the palm of his hand. "And Willow, of course. I will always need Willow. You have to come with me, Eddy. It's too important. I can't do this by myself. I need you."
He held his right hand out to her. "Besides, the demons know where you live. They'll return. You're not safe here. I will not leave you unprotected."
Eddy stared at his hand. Glanced at the snake tattoo that had come back to life and seemed to ripple across his entire torso. Then she looked down at Bumper. She was parked on her butt between the two of them, but with her doggy gaze fixed firmly on Dax and her curly tail going like a high-speed metronome. Eddy laughed. None of this made sense. The sirens were coming closer. Her house was ruined. Dax had a huge grin on his face, like he was having the time of his life.
And so am I.
Hadn't she just complained to Ginny that nothing exciting ever happened? Eddy gazed at the destruction that had once been her perfect little living room. Then she raised her head and grinned at Dax. "And you're saying I'll be safe with you, a guy who's admitted he's a demon?"
"A fallen demon, Eddy. Too good for Hell."
"Well, in that case, what can I possibly be worried about?"
Still laughing for God knew what reason, she grabbed her purse off the floor, checked to make sure her cell phone was inside, and snapped the leash back on Bumper. "I sure hope you know where we're going."
Dax grabbed her hand, pulled her close, and shocked her to her toes with a quick kiss. "I do now. We're headed straight up the mountain. I'm going to need more help than one skinny girl and a curly-headed dog. We're going to find the Lemurians."
Oh, crap. She felt laughter burbling up again and bit it off before she gave in to complete hysterics.
Eddy's brain slipped into overdrive. She put on clean socks and laced up her hiking boots. Her jeans and tank top would have to do---the police cars were pulling up across the street and she didn't want to get caught in the house. They went out the back through the broken glass door. She worried about Dax's bare feet and the glass all over the carpet, but he and Bumper both got out of the house without cutting themselves.
A block away, she grabbed Dax's hand. "Before we head up the mountain, you need boots and a shirt. We're going to my father's house first. It's not far."
"He knows of the Lemurians?"
"He thinks he does." She tugged Bumper's leash, and they slipped down an alley. Exhausted from the battle, Willow rode along perched on Eddy's shoulder. Carrying the sprite with her felt absolutely perfect. Eddy loved seeing the pale blue glow that was barely visible in her peripheral vision.
Somehow, knowing Willow was there was reassuring. She wasn't losing her mind at all. Dax was real. The demons were real, and this really was happening.
Not that it was good. No, if what Dax said could happen actually did, it was going to be awful, but just knowing that these creatures existed, that she wasn't absolutely crazy, was somehow life affirming.
Dad was going to love it.
Her childhood home was dark, but she spotted lights on in her father's workshop out back. Since her mother's death, her dad spent most of his time in the shop, puttering with his model trains or building birdhouses.
It had become a neighborhood joke how Ed Marks had singlehandedly turned this part of town into the bird high-rent district with his fancy designs. There wasn't a tree without at least one of his birdhouses for blocks around, but tonight, from the noise coming out of the shop, it sounded as if he was busy with his model trains. He'd spent years on the layout, a perfect miniature scale model of Mount Shasta and the surrounding towns.
McCloud, Edgewood, Weed, the town of Mt. Shasta. Their own little community of Evergreen. All to scale, all perfect. "Dad? Are you in there?" Eddy stood just outside the door and tapped lightly.
She remembered years ago, when her mom was still alive and her dad much younger, that he'd been as big and powerful-looking as Dax. The mature man who opened the door wasn't at all frail, despite a slight limp from his bad hip, but the physical bulk of hard-worked muscle and youthful strength was gone. He was still tall, but leaner now, with deep grooves in his cheeks from years of smiles, and his once dark hair was shot with gray.
"Eddy! Sweetheart, what are you doing out so late? Come on in. And...?" He stared sharply at Dax, standing beside Eddy with bare feet and bare chest. After a quick appraisal, including a second glance at the sweats Eddy had borrowed from him a few days before, he opened the door wide.
Bumper wriggled all over until Ed leaned down and ruffled her curly head. "Brought home another stray I see." He paused a moment and picked some glass splinters out of the dog's thick fur and then shot another sharp look at Dax. Then he glanced at Eddy and led them over to a group of tall stools beside the model-train layout.
"Okay. What's up?"
The look he gave Eddy reminded her of the first time she'd brought a date home in high school. "Dad, this is Dax." She reached up to her shoulder and cupped Willow in her palm. Then she held the glowing ball of light in front of her. Willow stood up and spread her tiny wings.
Ed sat down---hard---on the closest stool.
"This is Willow.... And Dad? I have a whole lot of really weird and wild stuff I have to tell you."
Dax liked Eddy's father immediately. The man remained calm in spite of the story his daughter told. He asked intelligent questions, seemed relieved that no one had been hurt during the attack on her home, and offered to go over and repair the damage.
Then he took them inside Eddy's childhood home, opened a large cabinet, dug around for a thick file, and dropped it into Dax's hands. "Can you read English?"
Dax stared at the papers in his hands. "I don't know if I can read at all." He flipped open the first page and stared at the black marks running in straight rows from side to side. Willow made a quick buzz across the pages, and the printed symbols suddenly made perfect sense. He raised his head and grinned at Eddy's father. "Yes, it appears I can."
He flipped through page after page, reading stories about the ancient continent of Lemuria, how it had sunk beneath the waves, but not before the inhabitants were able to reach safety on Mount Shasta. According to Ed Marks' research, the Lemurians now inhabited the inner caves and secret valleys of the mountain. They had once been known as demon fighters, powerful warriors able to best the demon hordes of ancient times in epic battles that had changed the course of history through many dimensions. Supposedly they had powers mere humans barely understood.
Powers that just might tip the balance between success and failure. All Dax had to do was find people who, according to Eddy, didn't exist.
But, if he believed her father, they did.... And hadn't Ed believed in demons and will-o'-the-wisps?
Dax raised his head as Eddy and her father walked back into the room.
"We made some sandwiches." Eddy sat down beside him and stuck a plate in his hands. "What about Willow?"
Dax shook his head. "She exists on energy, as I once did. As a demon, I only ate my enemies to keep them from coming back to fight again." He took a bite, chewed a few times, and paused. "This is my first meal as a human. It's good."
Eddy and her father exchanged an unfathomable look and then burst out laughing. Eddy leaned over and kissed Ed on the cheek. "You win, Dad."
Ed slapped his knee and laughed again. "Dax, my boy, you have managed to give me the creditability I've always lacked in my poor, pragmatic daughter's eyes. Thank you."
Dax merely smiled around a huge bite of his sandwich.
"Dax, the police stopped by here a little bit ago while you were going through the file. They wanted to let Dad know what had happened to my house and make sure I was okay. I didn't tell them anything about the demons or you, and we let them think the mess was from vandals."
Dax nodded. "Probably for the best." He glanced down at Bumper, who stared back at him with soulful eyes. Without a second thought, he tore off a bite of his sandwich and gave it to the dog.
Bumper's curly tail thumped the floor.
Dax glanced at Eddy, but she was talking with her father. He looked back at the dog, grinned and slipped her another bite.
Then Dax turned and watched Willow as she perched on Ed Marks' shoulder. Her blue glow looked strong and healthy, and he could tell she was loving every minute of attention Eddy's father gave her. Dax turned away from the tiny sprite and looked at Eddy. He studied the long, narrow line of her slim back beneath the cotton tee she wore, and his body tightened. His heart seemed to flip in his chest before settling back into a strong, steady beat. He relished the warm glow of contentment he felt merely from being near her.
Energy surged through his body. He felt strong. Whole. The pain from his demon tattoo faded into the background.
Right now, at this moment, he experienced a sense of peace he'd never once imagined.
The invasion of Evergreen was well under way, and he had less than a week to help put things back into balance. Failure was not an option, and with the demon's tattoo burning across his torso, he would be fighting a constant battle against pain as well as the one against the clock.
But he had Eddy by his side, a powerful ally in Willow, and a loyal companion in Bumper. He had purpose, a destination, even the beginnings of a plan that might actually work.
For the first time in his immortal existence, Dax truly understood what goodness felt like.
Understood it, and loved it. If, when this mission ended, he still missed his shot at Eden and must be cast into the void, these were the memories he would take with him. Memories of Eddy and her father, of Willow and Bumper...memories strong enough and good enough to last forever.
For now, though his borrowed body was fed, it desperately needed rest. Dax glanced at Eddy just as she yawned and knew she was exhausted as well. Sunrise was only a few hours away. Time to rest and then begin their journey up the mountain.
He needed to remind himself to think like a human. Demonkind were more active in the darkest hours. They'd be safer traveling out in the open in the light of day. Once inside the mountain, until they contacted the Lemurians, there would be no place that was safe, not as long as they followed the pathway to the portal where the demons were slipping into this dimension.
He would think no more of demons tonight.
Ed showed Dax to the guest room a few moments later. It was next to the room where Eddy would sleep. Close, but not quite close enough.
The thought brought a smile to his lips. Eddy Marks was a surprise he'd not expected during his week on Earth. This body's reaction to her presence was a gift, one he ached to explore.
Tomorrow. After he'd recharged with sleep.
With that thought in mind, Dax stretched out at a crosswise angle to fit his full length on the double bed, and closed his eyes. He drifted off with thoughts of Eddy in his mind, and Willow curled up on the pillow beside his head.
Monday morning---day two
Waking up in her childhood bedroom was disorienting, to say the least, especially in the gunmetal gray predawn light after only four hours' sleep. Eddy dragged herself out of bed and took a quick shower, found some clean bikini panties in her old dresser, and put on the same jeans and T-shirt she'd worn the night before.
She skipped a bra, opting for comfort over style. Then she dug around in the closet, found a soft sweatshirt from high school, fluffed her wet hair with her fingers, and wandered out to the kitchen, drawn by the rich scent of freshly brewed coffee.
Her father and Dax were already up, sipping coffee and studying a large topographic map of Mount Shasta that covered most of the kitchen table. Eddy got a cup for herself and leaned over Dax's shoulder to look at the familiar map.
"Good morning, Eddy." Dax slipped an arm around her waist. He glanced up at her as if they were a couple that had been together for ages, not merely accidental acquaintances that had known each other less than a day, brought together by a bizarre set of unbelievable events.
He'd shaved, and his hair was still wet from the shower. He wore what appeared to be an old pair of her dad's Levi's, though they'd certainly never looked this good on her father. Dax's chest was still bare. The snake tattoo shimmered, as if alive.
Dax's dark eyes, veiled behind thick lashes, seemed to look right inside her. "Did you sleep well?"
"Yeah." She shivered, almost preternaturally aware of the light touch of his fingers spanning her hip, the weight of his muscular arm around her waist. "You?"
Dax nodded. "I've never slept in a bed before. I think I could grow used to such luxury."
"Really?" Ed peered over his reading glasses. "Where do demons sleep?"
Dax shrugged. "Wherever they are when they grow too exhausted to stay awake: the ground, in a tree, a cave.... Sleep is a rarity on Abyss. One can't afford such vulnerability."
His offhand comment slammed Eddy back to Earth. He wasn't just the most gorgeous guy she'd ever seen, who, for some unfathomable reason appeared to find her attractive. No, he was a demon, a mythical creature that, for all intents and purposes, didn't really exist.
At least not as Eddy saw him.
Mist, scales, and claws. That's how he'd described himself. Not tall, dark, and handsome.
More like scary, scaled, and dangerous.
She'd have to keep reminding herself that the man she saw wasn't real. He was merely a sexy avatar.
A demon in human form.
One with a very short life span. In less than a week, he would be gone.
He shifted the weight of his arm around her waist and tightened his fingers against her hip. The heat from his warm body, so close against hers, seeped into her skin. A shiver of pure desire raced up her spine, spread low between her legs.
It settled with a delicious pulse of damp need, deep in her core.
With a sinking feeling, Eddy knew it was already too late. Gazing into Dax's dark eyes, she felt her heart give a funny little flip, felt the rhythmic tightening in her womb, the damp flush to her skin.
Damn. She was in a whole shitload of trouble. Merely one morning after she'd whapped a killer garden gnome over the head, and here she'd gone and fallen in lust with a demon.
Of all the idiotic, lame-brained, stupid...
With a quick jerk, she pulled out of Dax's grasp and stalked across the kitchen to gaze out the window above the sink. This was not good. Not good at all. She glanced back over her shoulder. Dax watched her with a small frown between his thick, dark eyebrows.
Quickly, Eddy turned away and stared at the shimmering, snow-capped peak of Mount Shasta, rising up out of the morning mist. An early snowstorm had left a blanket of white on the upper reaches of the fourteen-thousand-foot peak. Now, sunlight caught the southern shoulder of the mountain and turned the ice to fire. If she used her imagination, she could almost see the spires of temples and the mythical city of a forgotten race.
Almost. Except it wasn't true. It couldn't be. None of this. Not the demons, not the Lemurians, not the feelings that made her heart pound and her womb ache.
Not the gorgeous man sitting at her father's table, watching her so intently and probably wondering why she was acting like such a bitch. Eddy's shoulders slumped. She blinked back the tears of self-pity that threatened to blind her, and slowly turned around.
At least it was lust, not love, that had her all twisted up inside. She wasn't in love. Love took longer. It needed to build and grow.
It most assuredly did not smack one upside the head. Not in real life.
Of course, there weren't demons and deadly garden gnomes in real life, either. She managed a smile and then quickly hid behind another sip of coffee. Her father, oblivious to the currents swirling around him, was pointing at the map, talking away about fire trails and road access. With a final look, Dax turned around in his chair to follow Ed's pointing finger.
Willow buzzed across the room and hovered in front of Eddy's nose, so close Eddy saw two of her.
He needs you.
What? Eddy blinked.
The tiny sprite moved back a bit, just far enough that Eddy could actually see her face, read her expressions. It was the first time she'd gotten a really close look at Willow. She was absolutely beautiful. Her tiny ears were pointed like an elf's, and her body was dressed in a fitted tunic the brilliant blue of sapphires. Her eyes were the same bright blue, her tiny lips red, her long hair like spun gold. Her wings, fluttering as rapidly as a hummingbird's, might have been made of crystal the way they shimmered and glowed with a reflected rainbow of light.
Don't forsake him. We all need you.
She really had heard Willow! The sprite's voice echoed in Eddy's mind, each word as clear as the note of a flute.
Eddy straightened up and grinned at the sprite. Somehow she didn't see herself arguing with a person no bigger than her pinky finger. I'm not quitting, she thought, wondering, at the same time, if this was the right way to converse with an honest to goodness will-o'-the-wisp.
Good.
Must be.
Willow turned and buzzed back to her place on the table beside Ed's coffee cup. Even at this distance, Eddy was almost certain she saw the sprite smirk.
Before she could say a word, a shiver ran along her spine, that someone-walking-on-her-grave feeling. She jerked around to the window as a banshee cry overhead brought Dax and Ed to their feet. Bumper growled, Willow zipped across the room, and they all stared out the window.
The gargoyle, a black silhouette against the pale dawn sky, flew not twenty feet overhead, winging its way toward town. It didn't look down, didn't pay any attention to them.
A sense of pure evil followed in its wake.
"He's probably returning to the building where the gargoyle belongs," Dax said. "Demons are stronger at night. It takes less energy to bring the avatar to life. Once the sun is up and the demons are at rest, we need to leave."
Eddy nodded. No matter her misgivings, this wasn't the time for second thoughts. She had to believe the threat was real. Real, and terrifying beyond anything she'd ever known.
She plastered a smile on her face. "Got anything in the fridge, Dad? I'll make us some breakfast."
"I shopped yesterday. Help yourself." Ed looked Dax up and down and then touched his shoulder. "Come with me, son. The jeans fit fine, so we know you're about my size. You'll need stout boots and a warm shirt. It can be cold on the mountain, even in September. After we get you outfitted, I want you to take a look at the model railroad layout in my shop. I've built a miniature of Mount Shasta, entirely to scale. It might help."
Dax nodded. With one long, questioning look at Eddy, he followed her father out of the kitchen. Bumper trotted gleefully behind, with Willow perched in the curls between her ears.
Dax was totally aware of Eddy sitting behind him with Bumper while her father drove a fascinating little vehicle with huge tires, no top, and very little room in the backseat. Ed called it a Jeep. Eddy called it a piece of junk, but she smiled when she said it, so Dax figured she didn't really mean what she said.
He was learning. There was so much about this world he found fascinating. He couldn't imagine Eden being anywhere near as beautiful, or as filled with wonders. It certainly couldn't have anyone as captivating as Eddy Marks. Knowing she sat behind him, close enough to touch should he so choose, gave him an unbelievable feeling of contentment.
She seemed more relaxed, now that they were actually on the road. He still hadn't figured out what had upset her earlier. Of course, there was a lot he hadn't figured out, but as knowledge seemed to be filling his brain quickly, he wasn't going to worry about it. He'd understand her soon enough---or not at all.
Smiling, Dax settled back in his seat and watched the scenery fly by. Willow perched on the dashboard and stared out the windshield. She was as fascinated as Dax by how far and fast they were able to travel, by the tall trees and rugged terrain and the huge, snow-covered peak ahead.
She'd only known Eden. He'd never seen anyplace other than Abyss. Both of them were overwhelmed by the immense beauty around them.
Dax had no idea how he'd gotten to town the night before. He barely recalled the demon gargoyle's attack near the portal. He still wasn't sure how he'd ended up in Eddy's potting shed, but thank goodness she'd been the one to find him.
She was such an amazing woman. Strong and unafraid, and she could cook too. He'd eaten so much at breakfast he figured he'd never have to feed this body again, but when he'd said as much to Eddy, she'd laughed and stuck four thick sandwiches in his backpack.
He guessed she knew what she was talking about.
They followed a narrow dirt road that wound up the northwestern flank of the mountain, and it was exactly as Ed had shown him on the model in his workshop. At one point, Ed got out and used a heavy tool to cut a thick chain blocking the road, but now even that track had grown impassable.
Ed parked the Jeep and turned off the motor. "I think this is as far as I can take you. I'd go with you if I could, but with my bad hip I'd just slow you down."
Ed took Dax's hand in his. His grip was firm, and somehow comforting, but Dax sensed a challenge in the older man's grasp as well.
"Good luck, Dax. Take care of my baby girl. She's all I have left, and I want her home in one piece."
Dax nodded. "I would give my life to save her." He squeezed Ed's hand before turning loose, aware he'd made a powerful pact with Eddy's father. One he could not fail.
"I know. That's the only reason I'm going along with this harebrained scheme." Ed's eyes seemed to burn right through him before he turned around and looked at his daughter in the cramped backseat. Dax heard him sigh when he smiled at Eddy. "I love you, sweetie. Be careful."
She threw her arms around her father's neck and hugged him. "I will, Dad. I love you too." She kissed his cheek and climbed out of the back with Bumper bouncing along behind her.
Dax grabbed his pack. Willow buzzed two circles around Ed and landed on Dax's shoulder.
Ed turned the key, and the motor roared to life. "Follow that draw, and it should take you close enough to the area you described. This entire mountain is the vortex, and your portal shouldn't be far. You said Willow can sense their presence, so I imagine she'll find it before too long. Eddy? Have you got a signal on your cell?"
Cell phones. Another amazing thing on this world. They didn't even need telepathy. They could call each other and actually speak. Eddy held up her cell phone. "I do, Dad. We'll call you when we can. Hopefully we'll be ready for you to come get us by tomorrow. Figure noon, okay?"
"If I don't hear from you before noon, I'll be right here waiting tomorrow night. Got that?"
"Yep. Now don't forget to call Harlan. Tell him I won't be in to work, at least for a couple days."
"You know, you might lose your job, sweetie. He's not going to like it."
Eddy glanced at Dax and back at her father. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but if we're not successful, we all stand to lose a lot more."
Ed nodded, but his smile was strained. "There is that. I'll call him when I get home. I'll let him know you might just have one hell of a story for him." Ed backed up, turned the little Jeep around, and headed down the narrow dirt road.
Dax and Eddy stood there, staring, until Ed's departure was nothing more than a wisp of red dust settling to earth. The magnitude of the mission ahead of them hit Dax hard and fast. He felt the snake tattoo shift under his flannel shirt, and he shuddered against the painful burn as his body fought the curse of the demon's fire.
Only six more days. It was time to get moving. He caught Eddy staring at him. "Are you ready?"
"I hope so." She grinned, slung her pack over her shoulder, and started up the draw her father had pointed out.
Dax followed with Bumper at his heels and Willow flitting alongside. The enormity of their task almost brought him to his knees. He wondered if he would have had the courage to make this journey alone, if not for the tall, slim girl leading the way.
Eddy glanced over her shoulder at him and smiled without breaking stride. "I've always loved any excuse to hike this mountain, but I have to admit, this is a first."
Definitely a first. Everything he did on this world was a first, but Dax merely nodded. He hoped it wasn't a last. His heart was full. He was thankful to whatever gods ruled Earth that he'd been granted Eddy Marks as a soldier to march beside him...or in front of him.
He watched the slight sway of her perfectly shaped behind encased in snug denim pants, and, for at least a short while, put the pain and worry out of his mind.
Eddy adjusted the pack on her shoulders and shoved sweaty strands of hair out of her eyes. They'd been hiking for a couple of hours, and before too long they'd be hitting the loose scree and volcanic rubble above the tree line that was totally impossible to walk on. This late in the season, even with the light snowfall they'd had, there wasn't enough to cover the loose rock on the upper flanks of the mountain. It wasn't just difficult---it was downright dangerous.
Like fighting demons wasn't?
What in the hell have I gotten myself into?
Eddy stopped and took a drink from her water bottle. Dax did the same. Then he cupped his hand and poured water into his palm for Bumper.
The dog lapped it up and sat at Dax's feet with a stupid grin on her face. "I think Bumper's in love." Eddy flashed a smile at Dax, but quickly turned away. No way did she want her mind---or his---shifting along those lines.
She'd tried love a time or two. It wasn't at all what it was cracked up to be. If she'd learned anything in her twenty-nine years in this world, it was the fact she didn't need another person to complete the woman she wanted to be.
That didn't mean she couldn't enjoy the occasional relationship---as long as it came without strings. Eddy Marks was all about lust, not love, but what red-blooded girl wouldn't fall in lust with a sexy guy like Dax?
He's a demon, you idiot.
Yeah, but he's still one of the good guys.
Right. Like you know this for certain?
Well, her libido could argue with her common sense all it wanted. They still needed to find the Lemurians and the portal in the vortex...if either actually existed.
Willow buzzed by her face, and Bumper growled. Even Eddy sensed a shift in the currents, a feeling of something not quite right.
"Shhh." Dax tugged Eddy's hand and slowly knelt behind a fallen tree alongside the trail. He held a finger to his lips and motioned toward a large tumble of dark rock. "Look closely, on the downhill side of the biggest boulder."
Eddy held Bumper close to her side and crouched next to Dax. She stared over the top of the splintered trunk at the pile of rock. It was like every other pile of rock on the side of this ancient volcano, most likely left over from some monstrous cataclysm eons ago. She opened her senses, searching for whatever it was that had caught Dax's attention.
Birds chirped, cicadas buzzed, and the sound of Bumper's panting added a steady rhythm to the soft symphony of sound. As she stared, the rock seemed to shudder and swell.
Eddy shot a quick glance at Dax, but his focus on the boulder was absolute. She looked back just as a shadow along the downhill edge of one of the boulders seemed to detach itself and float away on the soft breeze.
Dax rose to his feet and held his hands out. A burst of icy air caught the shadow. Like the demons he'd stopped in Eddy's living room, this one dropped to the ground in a pile of frozen shards. Dax leapt over the log, raced across the rocky ground with Bumper on his heels, and hit the icy bits with fire.
A burst of steam quickly dissipated until nothing remained beyond a scorch mark on the ground. Dax raised his head. The bloodthirsty look of feral satisfaction on his face set her back a step. Then he grinned as if nothing had happened. "I think we've found the portal," he said. "Are you ready?"
"No. Of course not," she muttered. But she adjusted her pack, climbed over the fallen tree, and carefully crossed the rock-strewn ground.
Dax walked slowly around the pile of boulders. Willow buzzed alongside, dipping down occasionally to check the ground, then flying up over the higher reaches, above their heads. The stink of sulfur, a smell Eddy had learned to associate with the demons, lingered.
It gave her goose bumps to realize they'd been so close to one as it made the crossover from Abyss to Earth. Dax paused near the downhill side of the largest boulder.
"It's here," he said. "I don't recognize it, so I'm not even sure it's the same one I came through, but this is definitely one of the portals."
Eddy looked at the solid wall of rock. The boulder was the size of a small car. "I don't see anything there." She shrugged. "How do you get through it?"
Dax ran his hand over the rough surface. As Eddy watched, he pressed against the boulder. His hand disappeared up to his wrist. He pulled his hand out and continued to study the surface.
Wide-eyed, Eddy touched the hard surface. She pressed. Nothing happened. She pushed harder and then, frustrated, slapped the rock. Nothing. "I don't get it."
Dax put his hand next to hers. "You're not actually trying to go through the rock. You're moving from one dimension to another. Think of the journey. You have to see the pathway beyond the wall of rock. Picture a long tunnel and then push your hand into it."
"What if it's not really a tunnel. What if there's a big lake or a small room on the other side? What if there's fire?"
"That can't happen, so it doesn't matter. You can only pass through where a portal exists, and portals only go where they should. What matters is what you're expecting. If you see this as a doorway instead of a solid wall of rock, you will find the opening. Try it."
Eddy stared at the lichen-covered boulder. Patches of yellow, orange, and green grew across the rough surface. The rock was warm to the touch from the noonday sun. She made herself look beyond the colored surface, beyond the solid reality of the stone.
She pictured a tunnel. Cool and dark, it beckoned. She pressed her hand against the warm rock. Instead, she felt a cool draft of air from the tunnel as her hand disappeared all the way to her elbow.
She shrieked and tugged. Her hand slipped easily out of the stone. "Oh. My." She stared at Dax. "That is just too weird." She took a couple of deep breaths and shook off the shivers coursing down her spine. "Is it going to be dark in there? How do we know where we're going? I really don't want to end up in Abyss."
Dax laughed and grabbed her hand. He felt so warm and solid, she immediately calmed down. "Neither do I. We need to think of the Lemurians. When we step through, I want you to hang on to Bumper's leash and hold my hand so we're not separated. I'll recognize the dimension for Abyss and should be able to pick out the one for Eden. If there's a third, we'll know it's the Lemurians."
Eddy nodded. "What if there's a fourth?"
Dax sighed. "Then I guess we'll go to Plan B."
"What's that?"
He shook his head. "Haven't got a clue, but we'll figure something out."
"Why doesn't that give me a sense of confidence?"
"Probably because you're hungry." He walked a few steps down the hill and found a shady spot beneath a stunted pine with a few large rocks beside it. "I thought breakfast would last forever, but now I'm glad you made me bring sandwiches. I'm starving. This body needs a lot of fuel. Would you like to eat?"
"Sure. Why not?" Kill demons, find the portal, take a lunch break. Sheesh. Eddy found a spot on a smooth rock and sat. She noticed Dax kept his attention focused on the portal, even while he worked his way through two of the sandwiches. The last thing they needed was a demon joining them for lunch.
Except that's exactly what I'm sitting beside. She took a deep breath and a bite of her sandwich, and put that thought out of her mind. Denial was easier. Not necessarily safer, but definitely easier.
The sun reflected off the dark scree, and it was warm here, even this high up on the mountain. Dax slipped his flannel shirt off and draped it over the rock. Eddy almost choked. She'd been trying so hard not to think about him, about the attraction she felt, but there was no denying her body's response.
Demon or not, the man was gorgeous. He'd replaced the bandages on his chest and side after his shower, but they didn't detract from the powerful muscles or the lean strength of him. Even the snake seemed to fit, glistening across his flat belly and winding up his chest. The head rested just above his nipple with jaws gaping wide, as if to swallow that perfect copper-colored disk whole.
Suddenly the snake writhed across his skin. Dax shuddered. His body curved forward, and he gasped, as if in terrible pain. Eddy reached out and grabbed his arm as he sat down, heavily, on the rock next to hers.
"Dax? What's wrong? Are you okay?"
"A minute..." He closed his eyes and took a series of deep breaths. His face was chalky. Perspiration beaded his forehead. The snake tattoo glowed hotly against his skin. After a moment, he opened his eyes and slowly ran his fingers over the inked scales.
"What is that thing?" Eddy knelt in front of him with her hands resting on his knees. His body trembled; his breathing was ragged. Willow zipped between her and Dax, glowing like a tiny spotlight.
Her blue glow bathed his chest. Dax slowly straightened, took another deep breath, and let it out. "Thank you, Willow." He placed his hands over Eddy's. "I'm sorry if I frightened you."
"What happened? I swear I saw that tattoo move across your skin, almost like it was trying to coil to strike. What is it?"
He looked down at his chest and ran his fingers along the colorful tattoo. "As I told you before, this holds my demon powers. The part of me that controls fire and ice, that keeps this body alive. When the Edenites gave me this avatar, they placed the tattoo on my body as a repository of all that made me demonkind. Locked away like this, the powers are mine to control.
"When I passed through the portal, the gargoyle caught me before I had full use of my avatar, this body. He hit me with cursed demonfire. The burn on my chest? It was charged with a curse that seems to be turning my powers against me. I've been fighting it, but it grows stronger by the hour."
"What can we do?" Eddy pressed the flat of her palm against the tattoo. It rippled beneath her hand. She bit back a small scream and managed to hold her hand in place, but she hoped like hell the curse couldn't harm her.
After a moment, Dax frowned and touched the back of her hand. "Your touch calms the pain. Thank you. Maybe you draw some of the power." He shook his head. "I don't know. This is new to me." He stood up. "I should be able to keep it at bay for a couple more days, at the very least. Long enough to finish my mission. After that, it won't matter anymore."
Eddy folded her hands on her thighs and looked up at Dax, standing so tall in front of her. "It matters to me," she said. "I don't want to think of you hurting."
Dax looked away without acknowledging her comment. Then he held his hand out. She grabbed it. He tugged her lightly to her feet and smiled as if he'd not been close to collapsing in agony only moments ago. "Are you ready to find the Lemurians?"
"I guess so." She watched him out of the corner of her eye as she snapped the leash on Bumper. Dax cleared up the leftovers from their lunch, saved the extra sandwich, and tucked it and the trash into his pack. Then he slipped his shirt on and buttoned it, hiding the snake away behind soft flannel.
She wondered if he'd looked anything like the tattoo in his own world. He'd said he was a creature of scales and claws and sharp fangs. Snakes didn't have claws.
Dax was no longer a demon. But, what made a creature a demon? Wasn't it the powers he called upon? Dax had those powers. They were inked into his skin, crawling across his thigh, his belly...his groin. She thought of the way the colorful snake crossed from his upper thigh and passed just above the thick root of his penis. She hadn't meant to look quite so closely, but she'd never forget what she saw.
He was beautiful everywhere. Absolutely beautiful.
With that thought in mind, she grabbed Bumper's leash and followed Dax back uphill to the pile of dark boulders. It was time to go through the portal, into the vortex.
"Hold tightly to Bumper's leash. She obeys you well and should be able to follow you through the portal. Don't let go of my hand. I'll need to choose the correct path as soon as we enter so we don't end up in either Eden or Abyss."
Eddy gulped. "What happens if we take the one to Abyss?"
"You would not survive the world's atmosphere. I doubt I could either, not in this body. And if we go to Eden, we would be destroyed before we could set foot on their world."
"I thought they were the good guys." She slanted a glance at Dax and caught him frowning.
"That's what they tell me. However, they protect their goodness by obliterating anyone foolish enough to try to enter without invitation."
"I thought they couldn't kill."
"They don't. The entrance to their world is warded with spells based on demon magic."
Eddy shook her head. "Ya know, at least the demons are honest about their killing. The Edenites are hypocrites. They let demons do all their dirty work so they can stay pure."
"It does seem that way, doesn't it? C'mon. Let's do it."
Eddy laughed. "You're even starting to sound human. What's going on?"
He studied his hands a moment and then gazed solemnly at her. "The longer I'm in this body, the more I understand it and the more I seem to become like the person who once inhabited it." He shrugged.
Eddy stared. Even that simple gesture was something she'd bet he'd never done as a demon.
He flashed a grin at Eddy. "I think my avatar belonged to a soldier, though I imagine his soul has gone on to its final rest. Whatever remains is impatient. It wants action. Let's go."
He slipped Willow into his shirt pocket. She poked her head out. Gently he shoved her back down again, caught Eddy's hand in his, and stepped through the dark wall of stone.
Eddy wrapped Bumper's leash a couple of turns around her hand, and the dog followed as they passed from Earth's dimension into an area of shimmering light. She felt a low hum of power that seemed to come from all around them.
"Wow." Eddy felt dizzy from the colors and glimmering light. Dax stood perfectly still, as if studying a subway map, but she spun around, gawking. "There's definitely more than three choices," she said. "Have you got Plan B figured out?"
Dax shook his head. "Not really." Then he pointed to an area of dark red light that pulsed with a terrifying energy. "Abyss," he said, and then turned and showed Eddy another area glowing in shades of gold and silver. "That's the way to Eden."
"Where's that one go?" Eddy stared at a green and turquoise area of light that throbbed with the tempo of the sea.
"I'm not sure, but I'd guess it leads to Atlantis. Can't you smell the brine in the air?"
Eddy sniffed and caught a faint whiff of ocean. "Oh." Atlantis? Good Lord.
Bumper whined and tugged at the leash.
"Is that it?" Eddy looked in the direction Bumper seemed intent to lead. A steady golden glow ebbed and flowed with the same rhythm as the beat of her heart. She felt drawn to it, just as Bumper seemed drawn.
Dax nodded. "It is. I'm almost positive. Willow, what do you think? Does that one feel right?"
The sprite poked her head up out of his shirt pocket. Her light glowed brightly before she settled back down. Only a slight shimmer escaped.
"Willow agrees. Let's go."
He led the way, stepping into the glowing, rippling shimmer of color. Eddy felt a tug, as if something pulled her forward, as well as a sense of fear that tried to push her back. The walls of light seemed to close in about them; the air grew thick and hard to breathe. Bumper growled. Then she whined and wagged her curly tail. She pulled Eddy and Dax forward while golden light shimmered all around them.
Eddy was aware of sound growing louder and louder, a steady roar that pulsed and ebbed with the beat of her heart and filled her head, her ears, her entire body with noise. Dax kept moving forward, but his grip on her hand tightened.
They were stopped by a solid, flowing wave of gold that could have been molten metal. It fell like a waterfall from somewhere overhead. Dax reached forward. Eddy bit off a scream, expecting to see the flesh burned from his bones, but he parted the wave. It separated and flowed over and around his hand like golden quicksilver, without leaving a mark, though it didn't part enough to let them see through to the other side.
Dax turned to look over his shoulder, gazing steadily at Eddy. "Can you do this?"
She nodded. She'd never felt so terrified, nor so sure of herself, in her life. They had no idea what lay on the other side. She glanced down at Bumper. The mutt tugged at her leash, anxious to race through the golden wall.
Dax leaned over and surprised Eddy with a kiss. He wrapped one arm around her waist and dragged her body close against his. His lips moved over hers; his tongue tested the seam between them.
She hesitated, but for only a moment. Then she opened for him. His breath was sweet and hot; his tongue licked at her lips and the soft recesses inside her mouth.
She whimpered, a small sound deep in her throat that seemed to vibrate against his soft groan of need. Her body trembled, and hot licks of sensation swept over her shivering skin. She pressed her hips against him, against the hard ridge of his erection, oblivious to their frightening, fascinating surroundings, to danger, to anything beyond the scent and touch and pure eroticism of Dax, of this moment, of the man who touched her so sweetly.
It was Dax who finally broke the kiss, licking her lips, nibbling along the line of her jaw, and then planting a tiny kiss on the tip of her nose before setting her back on her feet. He cupped her face in his big hands and looked into her eyes.
"Thank you, Eddy Marks. No matter what happens, you have shown me a world I never expected. One I didn't dream existed. You've already given me my taste of Paradise."
She bit her lips between her teeth, but there were no words. Everything she felt was in her eyes: excitement, fear, confusion, arousal. When Dax smiled, she knew he understood.
She only wished she did. He wasn't real. He wasn't even human.
He was everything she wanted, and more. And he couldn't have been more wrong for her. More impossible. She tasted him on her lips, and all her feminine muscles clenched in need.
Desire trumped fear.
If he thought this was Paradise, what would he think if she showed him where that kiss of his might lead? She wasn't willing to let it go---not the kiss, not Dax, not the feelings coursing through her body, flowing like the golden curtain guarding their way. She wanted more of it, more of Dax.
More of Paradise.
He said he had less than a week. She wanted more!
Much, much more.
Dax took her hand. Eddy grabbed Bumper's leash and set aside everything but their mission. Lemurians. She had to focus on finding the Lemurians.
Dax squeezed her fingers. His smile was confident. Bold. Willow ducked down into his pocket. Eddy tightened her grip on Bumper's leash, and together they stepped through the flowing veil of gold.
Monday night---day two
Alton, first son of Chancellor Artigos of the Ruling Council of Nine and heir apparent to the throne of Lemuria, leaned against one of the golden columns in the Inner Sanctum of the Lost City and cursed.
Quietly, of course. It wouldn't do to upset the status quo.
Even though he was bored to tears with the status quo.
It didn't help his disposition any that he was heir to the throne of an immortal king. Not that he wanted anything to happen to his father, but there wasn't much hope for job advancement.
Since he was also immortal---though he could be killed, old-age and illness weren't issues---he'd been heir apparent for what felt like forever. Dear old Dad was just as healthy and hard-headed now as he'd been back before the citizens of Lemuria had packed up their doomed kingdom and moved to a separate dimension within the mountain known as Shasta so many thousands of years ago.
Of course, the sanctuary the elders had chosen was deep inside a dormant volcano, one that tended to erupt every six hundred years or so, which meant packing everything up and evacuating until the mountain settled into dormancy once more. During the last eruption they'd moved through a portal in the vortex to Sedona in the American Southwest. Fascinating country, rich with ancient spirits and unique connections through a different set of dimensional portals and vortexes.
At least it had engendered a bit of excitement.
Anything was better than the endless philosophical discussions that now occupied the ruling class of Lemuria. Arguing dogma got old after a few thousand years, especially when no conclusions were ever reached. Alton had only needed a couple of clandestine journeys to the world outside Mount Shasta to be reminded once again that there was more to life than philosophical discourse and unending debate.
Earth was amazing, its humans even more so. They seethed with emotion. Humans seemed to act without thought or concern for the common good.
No...they felt, and then they reacted, generally without thinking, but damn, they certainly seemed to enjoy the ride. Alton envied humans their emotions. What would it be like to feel, to experience joy, passion, excitement, even fear again?
Not since his long-ago childhood had he been free to feel. It wasn't proper, now that he was grown. It was unseemly to allow the baser passions their freedom.
To hell with unseemly. What would it be like, to feel passionate enough about something to be willing to take risks for it? His thoughts drifted to a night many years before when he'd left this hallowed place and walked with his bare feet through rain-washed dirt.
A storm had recently passed, and the ground was muddy and slick. It stuck to his bare soles and stained the pristine hem of his white robe, but he'd buried his feet in the soft, wet muck and watched it ooze up between his curled toes. Cold and slimy and so very real...he'd felt a connection to the earth unlike anything he'd known before.
He'd even stepped on a sticker. Hurt like blazes until he'd found it and pulled it out of his heel, but he'd actually relished the pain, the small dot of blood that was a persuasive reminder that yes, he was alive.
It was so easy to forget, down here amongst the elders of his world, men who could spend months arguing a simple point merely for the sake of the argument.
What would it be like to fight over something that actually mattered? To believe strongly enough to risk everything for a cause bigger than himself?
"Alton? What are you doing here?"
Jerked out of his musings, Alton glanced up as Taron, his one true friend, approached. Tall, lean, with his single vermillion braid hanging as neatly bound as always down his back, Taron looked the part of the brilliant mathematician he'd grown to be.
It was easy to forget they'd once been boys together in old Lemuria, racing through sand dunes and swimming in the pristine sea without a care or worry to their names. They'd known passion then. The joy of being children in a world surrounded by azure seas beneath cerulean skies.
Alton glanced up at the intricate design in the gold leaf overhead and sighed. "Just wondering how to fill my days without going crazy."
Taron frowned. "Crazy? You? Shouldn't you be preparing to one day lead the citizens of Lemuria? As heir apparent..."
Alton shrugged. "Apparently you haven't paid attention. When one's father, also the world's ruler for life, is immortal, 'tis foolish to aspire to his position." He raised an eyebrow.
Taron laughed out loud. "I see your point. Actually, I'm pleased to find you here otherwise unencumbered. I need to talk to you." He glanced right and left, as if assuring that no one would hear what he was about to say, and then spoke very softly. "We have a problem. Large numbers of demons are passing through the vortex from Abyss to Earth. I'm concerned. Their numbers appear to be increasing exponentially."
Frowning, Alton gestured to Taron to follow him around the column he'd been leaning against, to the quiet alcove behind it. "How do you know this?"
"I noticed the influx about a week ago." Taron shrugged. "I stepped beyond the golden veil for a change of perspective and happened to notice a new portal in the vortex leading directly to Abyss. I was curious and decided to watch it for a while. Demon stench was impossible to ignore. I counted many demons taking the form of wraiths and disappearing through to Earth. It didn't take long to realize their numbers are increasing."
"Did you report it to the council?"
Taron merely raised one expressive eyebrow. Alton sighed. What was the point? Demons entering Earth's dimension had nothing to do with Lemurian politics---at least as far as his father and the ruling body were concerned.
"Some day my dear father and his eight fellow senators are going to be shocked when they discover their arguments are worth no more than dust on the feet of demons in the overall scheme of things." Alton glanced over Taron's shoulder at the small, mannerly groups of white-robed figures filling the great plaza.
Taron nodded. "How quickly they forget we were once fearsome warriors, that our people fought demonkind to a standstill."
Alton cut loose with a derisive snort. "If they were to remember those days, they'd be forced to recall the days when our swords still spoke to us as fellow soldiers."
Taron merely shook his head in disgust. "We were once a proud people, Alton. Not anymore. Look at what we've become."
Alton looked, and then he sighed. The debates went on as usual: the level of voices never raised. The arguments remained the same. Century after century of the same discussions, the same gentlemanly disagreements.
Why in the gods' hells couldn't someone just get angry once in a while? He glanced down at the same white robe he wore every day. The one that made him look exactly like every other male in the huge auditorium.
He was going to end up exactly like them. A clone of his father---a man without imagination or passion. Without a ray of hope for anything more from his life.
Hells...what would it be like to fight for something important, to earn his sword's respect, to have it actually acknowledge him? Obviously he hadn't proved himself worthy enough to bear it, which was why he'd left the damned thing in his quarters. He'd never actually witnessed a sword that spoke, but history was rife with examples. His, however, was not one of them. When he raised his head, Alton caught Taron staring at him with an odd glint in his bright green eyes. "What?"
"You truly do look bored and dissatisfied."
"I am. Very." Alton huffed out a frustrated breath. "Day after day, the same conversations, the same arguments, the same talk, talk, talk. It goes nowhere. Solves nothing." He glared at Taron. "I can't stand it!"
"Come with me, then. I have something you might find interesting. Something that may be linked to demons."
Without waiting, Taron turned away and headed down a long hallway leading to another level, one where the technicians labored to keep their society on its usual level footing. Alton had often envied them their caste designation. At least they had purpose, a job to do, one that society actually depended upon.
"Slow down," he said, taking longer steps to catch up to Taron. "Where are you taking me?"
"We had a rather unusual incident this morning." Taron grinned at Alton, as if he carried a secret much too good to keep. "I only learned of it by accident, but it appears a couple of humans managed to cross through the golden veil."
"Humans?" Alton caught up to Taron. "How'd they get in?"
Taron shook his head. "I'm not sure, though rumor has it one of them reeks of demon. I was headed down to see them when I spotted you. Thought you might be interested."
"Does my father know?"
Once again Taron raised his eyebrows. He kept going. "Of course. He gave orders they be incarcerated and forgotten."
Alton practically growled. "Typical. So they're locked up?"
"Why do you think we're going to the dungeons, my friend? Pay attention!"
Alton blinked. Taron was right. He really did need to pay closer attention.
"Who passes?"
A guard stepped out of the shadows with his sword raised. Taron and Alton stopped. Alton glanced at the guard's shiny steel sword. At least the man didn't have to worry about his sword refusing to speak---only the ruling caste carried crystal. Alton stepped forward. "Heir Apparent Alton to interrogate the prisoners. Take us to them immediately."
The guard saluted, and, without question, turned and led them through a large gate and then into another long hallway. This one was even darker and narrower than the first. Alton glanced at Taron and flashed him a quick grin. At times like this, being the heir, apparent or otherwise, had its pluses.
The guard stopped in front of a barred door. Inside, behind the bars and a barrier of pure energy, two terribly dejected-looking humans and a rather odd animal covered in curly yellow hair sat huddled together on a single sleeping cot. Alton dismissed the guard. As soon as the man was gone, he glanced at Taron. "Shall we?"
"I'm ready if you are. Between the two of us, I think we can take them should they offer resistance." He grinned after making his dry comment, obviously not all that concerned with any particular threat from the prisoners.
With a wave of his hand, Alton directed the bars to part. The energy field winked out of existence. The sense, but not the scent, of demon wafted from the room. Alton glanced at Taron and frowned. He received a questioning shrug in return.
Totally confused and not just a little uncertain, the two Lemurians entered the cell.
Dad was going to be so disappointed in his much-lauded Lemurians. Jackasses! Eddy and Dax had barely stepped through the flowing wall of gold when they'd been nabbed by a couple of big bruisers who looked tough enough to work for the Siskiyou County Sheriff's Department---except the deputies back home were a hell of a lot nicer.
The guys that caught them this morning were sorely lacking in diplomatic skills. Brawny and powerful-looking in spite of the blue robes that reminded her of something you might wear at an expensive spa, the Lemurian guards hadn't said word one to either her or Dax.
No, they'd merely trapped them in some kind of energy beam so they couldn't do anything but follow orders, and marched them down a dark tunnel, straight to this damned little cell. Eddy glanced at Dax, but he wouldn't even meet her eyes. She couldn't imagine how awful he must feel. Sent to save the world with only a week to achieve the impossible, and they'd spent at least the last two hours locked in a stupid cell, Lord knows how far under the ground. A cell with bars across the doorway and, for added assurance, some kind of sizzling, sparking beam that looked like it would fry anyone who tried to go through.
Obviously some of the stories she'd heard about the Lemurians and their advanced technology were true, but the part about them being honorable and brave warriors was a crock. All her dad's talk of Lemurians battling demons throughout history was just that---nothing more than hot air. It looked like none of it was going to help them a bit.
Now how the hell were they going to get out of here?
Bumper whined. Eddy stroked her blond curls. "It's okay, girl. We'll think of something. They can't leave us here forever."
Says who?
Willow's telepathic voice carried the sound of tears. Eddy glanced to her right and saw the sprite's little face barely peeking out of Dax's shirt pocket. Her wings were droopy, and there was no shimmer to her at all.
Not a blue sparkle to be seen.
"We'll get out, Willow," Eddy said. "Don't give up hope."
Dax raised his head and looked at her. "How do you do it?" He shook his head. "You never show fear. You never give up. I wish I were more like you, Eddy Marks."
His sad smile made her heart clench. Then she remembered the taste of his lips on hers and the kiss they'd shared. "You're not giving up, Dax. None of us are." She wrapped her fingers around his hand and squeezed. "I'm not sure how, but we'll get out of here. They have to help us."
She felt the slightest pressure against her fingers as Dax returned her squeeze. Just the warmth of his hand in hers made her feel better. More connected. Stronger.
She looked around the tiny room that seemed to have been carved out of solid rock. It was light, and the air was fresh, even though there were no windows or visible light fixtures.
And no way to contact anyone, anywhere. She thought about the cell phone in her pack and almost laughed. The company said you could get a signal anywhere, but she figured that must mean as long as you were in the same dimension.
Bumper yipped. Eddy's head shot up. She stared at what they'd figured had to be some kind of energy field blocking the door. The bars clanged, though she couldn't see them through the brilliant glare. Then the wall of light between them and freedom suddenly winked out of existence.
It took her eyes a minute to adjust to the lack of glare. She blinked and looked way up into the eyes of two of the tallest, most beautiful men she'd ever seen in her life.
Well, almost the most beautiful. She tightened her grasp on Dax's hand and realized there was no comparison. As beautiful as these two strangers were, they weren't even close to her fallen demon. She shivered, more aware than ever how possessive she was beginning to feel about a guy she hardly knew at all. A guy who'd already explained he was here on borrowed time.
At least he was smiling, and with that smile, Eddy felt as if things looked brighter. Willow poked her head out of Dax's pocket, and her glow was once again brilliant. Sapphire blue sparkles exploded behind the little sprite as Willow leapt into the air. Dax stood and held his hand out to the first of the two men. "I am Dax. I'm glad you've come. I was wondering if anyone would help us."
The guy had to be close to seven feet tall. He had long, shiny blond hair that fell past his waist, and the greenest eyes Eddy had ever seen on any man. He paused and glanced at Dax's outstretched hand. After a brief hesitation, he reached out and very briefly shook hands.
Then he stepped back, in an obvious move to put more space between them. "You carry the sense of demonkind, though not their stench," he said. His eyes narrowed, and he gave Dax a look of absolute loathing. "Even without their stink you are not welcome here. We do not deal with demons."
"Excuse me." Eddy popped to her feet, but she clasped her fists at her sides to keep from taking a swing at the pompous ass. "How dare you! Damn it all, he's trying to save us all from demons, and you've got us locked in here for Lord knows how long when we don't have any time to..."
Eyes wide, the Lemurian took a quick step back, even though he was almost a foot taller than her five foot ten. At least she'd gotten the jerk's attention. Willow flitted through the air and then hovered in front of the second Lemurian. He grinned at her, obviously fascinated by both Eddy's outburst and the little blue flash of Willow's feminine fury.
Dax wrapped his fingers around Eddy's arm and gave her a slight tug. Willow continued to hover, Bumper whined, and Eddy clamped her lips together. Attacking the guy you were here to ask favors of probably wasn't a very smart move on her part.
She took a deep breath. "I'm sorry," she said, well aware she didn't sound sorry at all. She held her hands out, though, to show she meant no harm. "Look, it's been a really, really shitty day." She glanced at Dax, and she was almost certain he was biting back a grin. She wanted to hit him. How the hell could he find anything in this to laugh about?
She turned back to their two visitors. The men stood perfectly still, studying them as if they were monkeys in a zoo, though Eddy had to admit that Willow was getting more than her share of the attention. At least the guy with the red braid was actually grinning at the sprite.
"I'm sorry," she said again, stiffly. "My name is Eddy Marks. This is Bumper, and that's Willow. We came here to request your help. We didn't expect to be thrown into jail."
"I see." The one with long blond hair turned to the other guy with the red braid that went to his butt. It was more than obvious they were somehow talking without any sound, though the one with the braid acted as if he'd rather just watch Willow.
After a moment of silent communication, the blond one nodded at Eddy. "I am Alton. This is Taron. We will speak with you of your reasons for invading our home. Why, human, have you and this creature who is demon in human form, come to ask for our help? And why do you think we would be willing to give it?"
Dax watched the emotions playing across Eddy's expressive face and figured this might be a good time to step in, even though the Lemurian had addressed her, not him. He rested his fingers on Eddy's forearm and stepped forward. "Because if you aren't willing to help us, Lemurian, we all---your world included---risk losing everything."
The tall one with the red braid down his back finally shifted his gaze away from Willow and raised one very expressive eyebrow. "Everything? That's fairly inclusive, isn't it?"
Dax nodded. "Everything," he said. "Demonkind have launched an invasion of the small town of Evergreen, the first step of what is feared might be an assault on all of Earth. I've been charged with the task of halting them before they gain a foothold. The balance of power is tipping, and if it tips too much..." He let the sentence hang there in the still air between them.
The Lemurians shared another telling glance. The one with the long red braid folded his arms across his chest and stared at Dax. The blond took a more aggressive stance. "We are aware of the demons' incursion onto Earthen soil." He made a dismissive sound and slashed his hand through the air. "You're saying you are all that stands between our linked civilizations and the chaos of demon rule?" He shook his head. A condescending smile curved his full lips. "I find that hard to believe. One man, a demon in human guise, at that, cannot expect to fight all of demonkind."
Dax glared at the arrogant fool staring down at them and fought a powerful desire to punch him in his long, aristocratic nose. If he'd still been in demon form, he could've dealt with him in a couple of quick bites. "One man who retains his demon powers," he said, squaring his shoulders and tapping himself on the chest. "Accompanied by one loyal beast, a will-o'-the-wisp with her own set of unique powers, and one very brave woman."
He turned and looked at Eddy with pride. "I do not fight alone."
Eddy snapped her head around and stared at him, wide-eyed. Dax squeezed her arm and winked at her. Didn't she realize how much he needed her? He slipped his arm around her waist. "We may be a small band, but we know our enemy. For now, demonkind are contained in one little town where we have a chance at victory. At least we have the courage to fight. Do you?"
The blond one, Alton, blinked. He looked like he wasn't used to anyone disagreeing with him about anything.
Or challenging him, either.
The one with the red braid covered his mouth and coughed, but he looked more like he was hiding a smile.
Alton took a deep breath, as if he seriously pondered Dax's comment. "Why Lemuria? There must be others more capable of fighting. We're philosophers, teachers---no longer warriors. And why is it that, while you appear human, I sense demonkind in you? Explain, please.... How is it you possess demon powers?"
Dax took a deep breath. He looked at Eddy. She squeezed his hand, sharing her amazing self-confidence.
"They asked," she said.
Dax nodded...and then he explained. Both Lemurians listened with surprising patience while he told them of being cast out of Abyss, of his first strange meeting with the Edenites in the void, and of the trip through the vortex into Earth's dimension while still unaccustomed to his new human body. He described the demon's attack and the curse he constantly battled.
"The curse lives within your own demon powers?" Taron frowned, as if confused by Dax's description. Dax opened his shirt to the snake tattoo, writhing in a slow yet hideous dance across his body. Alton and Taron exchanged horrified glances.
"Dax, wait." Eddy pressed her hands to the snake. The pain lessened. Dax sighed in relief as the writhing tattoo stilled. The Lemurians gazed at Eddy with new respect.
Dax felt stronger when he buttoned his shirt and continued with his tale. The one with the red braid actually smiled when Dax told of his first meeting with Eddy. Both Lemurians laughed aloud as he described the battle held in Eddy's small living room. It hadn't been funny at the time, but...
"And when Eddy told me of the mythical Lemurians with their special powers, with their illustrious history of battling demonkind, I knew we had to at least try to find you." He looked directly into Alton's green eyes. "You are right. I know we can't defeat an enemy as powerful as this demon horde by ourselves. That's why we've come here. We're not too proud to admit we need your help. Your people have to recognize the risk to all our worlds. We need your assistance to halt the invasion before it extends to other cities, other countries on Earth. There's very little time before a tipping point is reached. Before it's too late."
"Dax has less than a week," Eddy said. "Then his powers and this body he's been loaned will be gone. We need you."
She gazed at Dax, and her deep brown eyes glistened. Tears? For him? No, he thought, of course not. For her world. She wept for her world. As well she should.
Alton studied Dax for a long, silent moment after he finished speaking. He glanced at his companion, and his full lips quirked up in a smile when he spotted Willow perched on Taron's shoulder. She seemed perfectly at ease with him. Dax found that reassuring---if Willow wasn't concerned, these two must be okay.
Even Bumper had given her approval. She'd sprawled on the floor between the Lemurians with her butt on Taron's sandaled foot and her nose resting on Alton's bare toes. Neither man seemed to mind, though Dax noticed Alton was surreptitiously rubbing Bumper's ear with his big toe.
As tall as Dax was, these two towered over him, though their bodies were leaner, their muscles long and spare. They looked as if they would be strong warriors, though neither man carried arms.
Alton slipped his foot out from under Bumper's head. "I will speak to the Nine immediately," he said. "I would free you if I could, but I am loath to countermand my father's orders. Taron? Will you see that our guests are fed and that they have sufficient bedding for the night?"
"The night?" Eddy almost jerked free of Dax's arm that was lightly draped around her waist. He tightened his hold when she clenched her fists.
"We don't have time to stay here for the night! Don't you understand? We're running out of time. Dax told you---he has less than a week before this body he's in disappears. We've used up an entire day and accomplished nothing."
"Eddy." Dax looped his fingers into the waistband of her jeans and held on tight. "We must eat and rest and replenish our strength. Alton will return." He turned and looked steadily at the tall Lemurian. Alton met his gaze. He nodded.
Dax realized he trusted him, pompous ass or not, to do the right thing. That was all anyone could ask at this point. And he did need rest, if only to gain enough strength to fight the curse feeding off his demon powers. The pain was worse, growing more difficult to control. If not for Eddy's soothing touch...
Alton turned toward the barred door and paused. "I'll return at dawn with news of the Ruling Body of Nine's decision. Taron will see to your needs. Rest now."
He raised one hand. The bars slid aside, and he left. Taron stared toward the open door for a long moment. When he held his palm next to his shoulder, Willow stepped to the flat of his hand. He held her out in front of his face and stared at her with an expression of intense joy. Then he handed her to Dax with a regretful smile, as if he truly hated to part with the sprite.
"Amazing. I've heard of the little people before, but never..." He seemed to catch himself and nodded to both Dax and Eddy. "I'll return shortly with food and more bedding." He leaned over and patted Bumper's head, glanced at the narrow cot bolted to the wall, and shook his head. "I apologize for the lack of amenities. I'll be back shortly."
He was as good as his word. Within a few minutes he returned with two guards carrying folded blankets and big pillows. He'd also brought bread and cheese and fresh water, and food for Bumper that looked like dry cereal but kept her long, curly tail wagging. He gave them brief instructions on using the facilities that were hidden behind what had looked like a wall but was really a door into a small bathroom.
Eddy was obviously pleased with that bit of information.
Before Taron left, he paused in the doorway to their cell, sighed, and then gave them a helpless look. "I promise to let you know as soon as Alton has word. The Nine can be..."
He shook his head without finishing the sentence, and left.
Dax sat on the edge of the narrow cot and chewed slowly on a hunk of bread while Eddy paced the small cell. He forced his frustration under control, though he had a feeling the one who had first lived in this body had not been a patient man. He was anxious to meet the enemy. He wanted to fight, not sit on his ass eating bread and cheese. There wasn't a damned thing he could do, stuck here in this little cell.
Nothing. He glanced at Eddy. She'd stopped pacing and stood in the middle of the small space with her shoulders bowed and her head down. She nibbled on a piece of cheese and stared at the bedding, looking so dejected he was afraid she might cry.
Dax stood up. "Eddy? I..." He sighed. How the hell could he bring her spirit back? He had to do something, but what? Caring about another was a completely unfamiliar responsibility. As a demon he'd cared only for himself, had worried about nothing beyond his own survival. Now he had so many others---Willow, Bumper, and Eddy. Even Eddy's father. He was concerned about every one of them.
Something in him had changed. Continued to change.
The Edenites wanted a demon---a killer---for the very traits that made him a demon. His vicious temper, his murderous skills, his willingness to kill without regret. Compassion hadn't been part of the package, until they'd stuck him in this human body. Was its original soul causing this? He'd not been totally evil as a demon, which was exactly why he'd been booted out of Abyss, but he hadn't been a very nice guy, either. No matter. He was what he was---and what he was becoming. He had to help Eddy. Anything to encourage her. To encourage himself.
Bumper jumped up on the mattress where he'd been sitting, stretched out full length on the narrow bed, and groaned. Willow zipped across the room and snuggled under Bumper's chin, obviously prepared to get some rest.
"What?" Eddy stared at him. Dax realized he must have been talking to himself. "Let me help you," he said, reaching for a thickly folded pad.
Eddy didn't say a word. She merely nodded and grabbed the other end. Together they spread it out on the floor. Working quietly, they built a bed with two pillows at one end and soft blankets covering the thick pad.
A bed that seemed to offer options Dax wasn't certain how to pursue, or even if he should. Part of him ached to take her, to satisfy the churning need that built in this body with every second they spent together. At the same time, he realized he was staring at her again, thinking of giving her comfort, of wrapping his arms around her, feeling the warmth of her body close against his.
Who was he? Demon or human? Saint or sinner? The questions roiling in his head had his tattoo burning in angry turmoil. As much as he wanted the satisfaction of plunging deep inside Eddy, of taking his pleasure with her perfect body, he wanted the woman who'd stood beside him in battle. Wanted her filled with spirit and strength and that amazingly strong sense of purpose. It hurt him to see her like this.
She looked beaten, unfocused.
From the beginning, when she'd found him in that damned potting shed, Eddy had seemed such a powerful force to him. Sure of herself. Intelligent and forthright.
Her discouragement and frustration made him ache. She was a woman of action. A woman of strength. Now, even though her body needed rest, she fought it.
Even as she fought her attraction to Dax. He knew that instinctively, just as he knew he had to control his growing feelings for her.
Demons have no feelings.
Except he wasn't entirely a demon anymore, and the man he was becoming more like by the hour seemed to be telling him this was neither the time nor the place.
But will it ever be?
He silenced the persuasive voice in his head, sat down on their makeshift bed, and reached for Eddy. She stared at his outstretched hand and frowned. He wasn't sure what she was thinking, so he lowered his hand and patted the mattress beside him. "Rest beside me, Eddy. Bumper and Willow can have the lumpy bed. This will be more comfortable. We both need to rest."
She finally seemed to come to a decision; she folded her long legs and sat on the mattress. A moment later she sighed and lay down, facing away from him. "I'm not sure if this is a very good idea," she said.
"I promise to behave." Now he merely had to hope his demon side was capable of keeping that promise. Dax stretched out behind her and wrapped his arm around her slim waist. She went taut as a bowstring. After a moment she relaxed and let him pull her against his chest.
Her perfect bottom snuggled close against his belly, where it fit into the curve of his hips. At least she fit at first. Then her warmth seemed to raise the temperature of his. He felt his cock stir, swell, and come to life. Fighting his demon-driven needs, he ignored it and silently begged Eddy to do the same.
The scent of her hair was sweet. He nuzzled his nose into the short, silky strands, inhaling as much of her as he could drag into his lungs. Memorizing her scent.
His fingers rested against the waistband on her jeans. He spread them wide across her lower belly and felt her suck in a tight breath, but she didn't say a word.
He wasn't certain what she wanted. He didn't really know what he wanted, either. He had his demon self under control for now, but this human body of his obviously had ideas of its own. His pants grew tight, and the ache in his groin left him wanting to do a lot more, to rub against the full curve of her bottom, to wrap her as close to him as possible.
His demonic side thrummed with sexual desire, with the carnal lusts that had once ruled his body. The feelings he had for Eddy were different. They confused him; they were so hard to define---not based entirely on his instinctive interest in her woman's curves and valleys.
Not limited to the powerful drive to want, to take, to conquer. They were something else. Something impossible to define within the parameters of demon knowledge and what little he'd figured out from his human body.
Eddy shuddered against him. Dax's wandering thoughts flashed out of existence. He raised up on one elbow and gazed at her face. "Tears, Eddy?" He trailed his finger across her damp cheek, beneath her eye. Then he lifted his finger to his lips and tasted salt. "Why?"
"Why?" She rolled over on her back, sniffed, and scrubbed her face with the heels of her palms. "How can you ask me that? We're stuck here. They're never going to let us out, and the days are going to pass, and if all you say is true, the demons will take over and..." She sniffed and turned her face away.
"And what, Eddy?" He wasn't sure what drove him, but Dax leaned over and touched his lips to hers. Again he tasted salt, but he pressed harder, mouth to mouth, tongue to lips. It reminded him of the kiss they'd shared only hours earlier, before they passed through the golden veil into the land of the Lemurians.
Then he'd wanted to give her courage. To take courage from her, because she was truly the bravest woman he could possibly imagine. Now, when her lips parted, it was the most natural thing in the world to slip his tongue between and run the tip over her sharp teeth and then across the slick inner surface of her warm mouth.
She moaned and kissed him back. Her lips sealed over his thrusting tongue, and she sucked him into her mouth. The tip of her tongue dueled with his, dragging an unexpected groan from deep in Dax's chest.
Eddy whimpered. She rolled over into his embrace, grinding her hips against him, pressing her soft belly close to the erection trapped behind his taut denim jeans. His body responded even more, reacting to everything Eddy did---every touch, every sound---with purpose. With intent. There were instincts ruling him that were more powerful than anything he'd known as a demon. Instincts tempered by a need to protect, to guard the woman.
When he was still a demon in a demon's body with a demon's will to survive, it had been merely kill or be killed. Fuck or be fucked. Eat to survive. Kill to survive. Killing and eating were often each a part of the same act. If you ate your enemy, he was your enemy no longer.
If you were lucky, you fucked him first.
Dax wasn't going to eat Eddy, though the minute the thought filtered through his mind, he imagined her intimate flavors on his tongue and knew he'd eventually taste her.
He wasn't going to fuck her either. Not now. Not tonight. Tonight they needed rest. They needed to recharge bodies weary from lack of sleep, from fear, from the stress of so many lives, so many worlds, resting on their very slim chance of success.
He forcefully subdued the demon within, calmed his human needs as well, and rolled away, lay beside her, and pulled her close against him once again. She sighed and silently acquiesced. Rolled to her side, snuggled her bottom in the curve of his hips, and rested her cheek on his biceps. Her short, dark hair felt like silk where it brushed his chin. Once again, he breathed her in, took her scent deep into his lungs.
Absorbed her. Remembered everything about her and stored those memories for the time when he'd not have her close.
He pressed his palm against her belly, slipped lower over the worn denim fabric, trailing one finger along her zipper. He knew that somehow he skirted an edge, a line neither of them was ready to cross. With that knowledge came a surprising sense of control. The pressure on his body eased; his cock lost some of its tumescence and no longer ached. He curled his fingers over the softly rounded mound at the apex of Eddy's thighs and rested his hand against her.
She clasped his fingers between her legs, and her breath shuddered out of her lungs. He held his hand still, caught in the feminine warmth of her strong thighs, held tightly against her woman's mound. Held her there, pressing her close so that her bottom rested against his groin. The soft globes of her buttocks cushioned the length of his cock.
It was good, this closeness. This comfort they took from one another, shared with each other. Her cheek rested on his left arm, his right held her close, and his fingers felt the warmth, the heat, and life of her. It was enough, for now. It would have to be enough.
After what seemed like forever but was probably no more than a couple of minutes, Dax felt Eddy's body relax in sleep.
He'd never known such contentment in his life. Had never imagined anything so sweet as Eddy Marks asleep in his arms. His plans were going to hell. They were trapped in a prison cell somewhere deep inside the mountain in another dimension from the community he'd been sent to help, and he had no idea if they'd already failed, if there was any hope at all for success.
Eddy sighed and snuggled closer. Her body relaxed, and in spite of all that had gone wrong this day, Dax realized he was slipping into sleep with a smile on his face.
Tuesday morning---day three
Dax came awake with the all-too-familiar pain from the demon's curse pulsing within his tattoo. Bumper growled softly. Then her tail began to thump the bed, and she whimpered. Dax blinked in a vain effort to dispel the dark shadows in the small cell. It had been brightly lit when he and Eddy lay down to sleep. Willow zipped by overhead, and her blue sparkles left a small trail of incandescence.
The energy barrier was gone. The bars were open, and Alton stood in the doorway. He carried a pack over one shoulder and the jeweled hilt of a long, shimmering sword poked out of a tooled leather scabbard strapped to his back.
Taron stood beside him. Eddy struggled awake in Dax's arms. He turned her loose, sat up, stood up, and tugged Eddy to her feet. "What's going on?"
"Shhh." Alton held a finger to his lips. "I spoke with the Nine. I'm sorry. They have no intention of setting you free." He shook his head in disgust. "Fools. All of them, nothing but fools. They want no part of any battle between demon and human. It might upset our oh, so glorious way of life."
His soft bark of laughter wasn't the least bit humorous. "The council has decreed that you be held as trespassers and tried on charges of threatening the sanctity of Lemurian society. The crime, my friends, of trying to save our worthless lives, of attempting to warn my people of the threat to all of us, is punishable by death."
There was no ignoring the contemptuous sound in his voice. "The Ruling Council of Nine is not known for speed. I imagine they will be debating your fate for many years to come, if they even have those years left to them. We must hurry. They sleep now, but soon will rise. I believe you, and I believe the threat of demon invasion is real. Gather your things. We have only a few minutes before the guards return from a fool's errand on which I sent them. We must go now."
Taron grabbed Alton's arm with an expression that said this was the continuation of an argument already in motion. "My friend, you risk everything. Your future, your heritage. I can't let you take these risks alone. I beg you, take me with you."
Alton shook his head. "Taron, you're my oldest, my only true friend. Stay. Please, for me? Do your best to convince them that I've made the right move, one that will ultimately save their stubborn necks. You have the records showing the demons' steady increase on Earthen soil. Stay here. Convince them, or I can never return."
"What if they don't listen? What if...?"
"Make them listen. You're my only hope if I ever want to see my home again. You and I both know these travelers bring us a true warning. The demon invasion is not going away." He rested a hand on Taron's shoulder. "Besides, my friend. I'm not traveling alone. I have this man's assurance that his is a courageous band of warriors." He glanced at the four of them. "I'm not making jest of your promises, my new friend. I am trusting in your ability to fight bravely, or I wouldn't be giving up everything I've ever known to come with you. Hurry. I'll get you out of here, but I'm going with you. Once I help you escape, I'll have sealed my fate with my people."
Eddy looked up from tying her boots. "Alton, I'd tell you not to take the risk, but I can't do that. From what Dax has told us, this is too important. If we don't stop them..." She huffed out a big breath and looked away. Then she grabbed the leash and attached it to Bumper's collar. Dax checked his laces, nodded to Alton, and straightened up. Willow flitted in front of Taron and left blue sparkles shimmering in a line across his chest as she buzzed the Lemurian. She landed on Dax's shoulder.
Dax turned to Eddy. The tattoo beat a steady cadence of fire across his chest. He ignored it. "Are you ready?"
She nodded. Taron hugged Alton tightly and then stood back.
Dax held out his hand to Taron. The Lemurian took it in a firm shake. Dax looked down at their clasped hands and once more realized he was making a pact. He raised his head and looked steadily into Taron's green eyes. "We will protect your friend. This I swear."
Taron nodded. "I'll hold you to that one, DemonSlayer."
Eddy held on to Bumper's leash, and Dax grabbed her free hand. He looked about the small cell, once more at the tall Lemurian standing in the shadows, and then followed Alton down the dark tunnel with Eddy's hand tucked tightly in his.
When Dax glanced at her, she flashed him a big smile. There was no fear in her now. None. They were on their way. He held tightly to the promise he'd made to Taron, to watch out for the tall Lemurian. Held it close to his heart, both the promise and the name with which Taron had gifted him.
DemonSlayer.
It was a title he would carry with pride. He was no longer a demon. In spite of the curse, he would become their greatest nemesis. With Eddy, Bumper, Willow, and now Alton beside him, Dax finally had the confidence they might actually prevail.
Alton led them through a series of lava tubes and tunnels within the mountain. He walked with the confidence of one who had, as he'd quietly explained, explored every inch of the dark passages with Taron when they'd come here as children, shortly after the original continent of Lemuria was rocked by volcanic explosions and destroyed.
When she asked him how long ago that had been, Alton merely shook his head and whispered, "Millennia."
That was a little hard to swallow, but so was picturing Alton as a child. It was difficult for Eddy to imagine him as anything but a fearsome warrior as he led them, walking confidently with his crystal sword held aloft. Shining like a brilliant torch, it cast a silvery glow bright enough to light their way.
The passageway seemed to go on forever, and Eddy felt as if she'd been walking for hours. Her stomach rumbled from hunger, and the bottle of water she'd been carrying was almost empty when Alton turned and held a finger to his lips.
"We're passing close by the main plaza. It's just on the other side of this wall. Sounds carry through the stone, so be very quiet. We'll reach the veil shortly. Once we pass through, we should be out of danger, at least from Lemurian guards."
Eddy cast a quick glance at Dax. He'd hardly said a word on the long walk, and his face appeared lined with strain and fatigue. Leaning close to him, she whispered in his ear, "Are you okay?"
He nodded, but she felt a shudder pass through his body. The demon's curse! How could she have forgotten? "Hold Bumper." Eddy shoved the leash into Dax's hand and squeezed his fingers around the strap. She practically ripped the top two buttons off his flannel shirt in her haste to get it open. Then she slipped her hand inside and pressed her palms to his chest.
Alton watched them, frowning but not interfering, thank goodness. Eddy glanced up into Dax's eyes. She felt his angry frustration. He hated the fact he had no control, that the damned curse should have the power to slow them down.
Even though Eddy couldn't actually see the tattoo beneath his shirt, she knew exactly where it was the moment she touched it. His skin burned her hands. She felt the snake writhe and ripple beneath her palms as she softly stroked the small portion she could reach.
The Lemurian watched them through narrowed eyes. It was obvious he was as intrigued as he'd been when she'd done this earlier, when Dax was explaining their quest. Now, as then, Eddy paid him little heed. Dax needed her. She felt it. Welcomed it.
Willow sat quietly on her shoulder. Bumper had planted her butt on the stony floor and leaned against Eddy's leg. She could have sworn she felt their energy, their strength pouring into her as she tried to ease Dax's pain. If only she had a clue what it was that she was doing!
Whatever it was, her touch seemed to work. After a few minutes, she realized they were actually breathing in sync. As her heart rate slowed and her breathing calmed down, the same thing seemed to happen to Dax. She felt the tension flow from his body. The tattoo was still, his skin cooler beneath her palms.
"Thank you."
She barely heard his soft whisper as he stroked the back of her wrists with his fingers. "I don't know how or why, but when you touch me, the pain melts away."
Eddy grinned and pressed her fingertips against his cheek. "I guess it doesn't matter, as long as it works." She slipped her other hand free of his shirt and fastened the buttons she'd undone. Her palms actually felt burned, as if she'd touched a hot stove.
Alton stood by, impatient now that Dax seemed better. Eddy nodded to him. Without a word, he turned away, and they quietly hiked down the long tunnel. Voices, faint echoes, could be heard through the rock. Then the only sound was the steady roar of falling water.
Only it wasn't water. It was the same wall of what appeared to be molten gold. Alton paused near the base, where the shimmering liquid disappeared into the ground without a puddle or splash to mark its passing.
"It's energy," Alton explained in a low voice. "Much like the energy barrier in your cell, except this is a three-dimensional representation of melted gold. There's no substance, only an image disguising the portal between the Lemurian dimension and Earth's. Follow me."
He stepped through the golden veil. Eddy held tightly to Dax's hand as they followed Alton. She recognized the tunnel they'd followed on their way in, even the spot where they'd paused, where Dax had kissed her.
His fingers tightened around hers, and she glanced up at him. When he smiled, she knew exactly what he was thinking.
If only she could be so certain of her own thoughts. Heat spread over her chest and face, and she looked away. Alton was already moving on. Walking through the glowing, swirling light of the portal with a purposeful step, he passed through without pausing.
Walking away from his home, away from everything familiar to him. It struck her then, what a huge thing this was for the Lemurian. By choosing Eddy and Dax over his own people, Alton had exiled himself from the only life he'd ever known. She let go of Dax's hand and rushed to catch up to the tall Lemurian.
Without hesitation, Eddy raced through the portal, into the main cavern that was peppered with passageways to other worlds. Alton stood in the middle, staring at the many shimmering gateways.
"Alton? Wait, please."
He stopped and turned around. The expression on his face gave nothing away. "We must hurry, Eddy. We need to put more distance between ourselves and Lemuria. What do you want?"
She grabbed his hands in both of hers. "To thank you. Taron was right. You're risking everything for us. Thank you."
He flashed a quirky smile, and she realized again how handsome he was. When he sighed, he looked entirely human. "Only yesterday I was complaining that my life was boring, that there was nothing exciting in my world. Nothing to look forward to. It appears my complaints were too much temptation for my gods."
Dax caught up and placed a hand on Eddy's shoulder. "It does appear that way, doesn't it?" His eyes narrowed. He jerked his hand away from Eddy and whipped around. "Look!"
Eddy spun about as Bumper let out a low, threatening growl. The wall across the cavern from them shimmered an angry red and the surface began to waver. A thick, black smudge of oily mist reeking of sulfur seeped through the glowing rock. Dax shoved Bumper's leash into Eddy's hands, stepped around Alton, and ran ahead of the small group.
He stopped directly in front of the portal, raised his hands, and spread his fingers wide. An icy blast shot from his fingertips and encompassed the mist. It froze in midair and shattered into hundreds of small shards of black ice. Dax quickly hit them with bolts of blazing fire from his fingertips.
Hissing, the steam dissipated and disappeared.
All of them stood silent, waiting to see if any more demons would appear. After a moment, Dax's shoulders relaxed, and he took a deep breath. Eddy ran shaking fingers over Bumper's curly head, and Willow popped out from behind Alton's shoulder, where she'd taken refuge beneath his thick fall of blond hair.
"Effective." Alton shook his head, but he was staring at Dax's hands. "Very, very effective. Ugly things, aren't they?" He nodded toward the spot where the demon had died. "I had no idea you were so well armed." He cast a curious glance at Dax's perfectly normal-looking fingers, and frowned. "Why didn't you merely overwhelm our guards when they captured you?"
Dax merely shrugged. "That would have been foolish."
Alton tilted his head, obviously considering Dax's answer. "Well, you might not have ended up in a cell."
This time Dax shook his head. "It would have been counterproductive. We came to ask for your help, not to fight you. Attacking men who were merely doing their duty wouldn't have helped our cause, nor would it have been honorable."
Alton stared mutely at Dax for a long moment. Then he turned away, held his crystal sword high for the light it cast, and strode forward, toward the dark red portal where the demon had emerged.
Eddy heard him muttering quietly as he passed her.
"Demonkind with more honor than the council. Amazing."
Alton paused in front of the section of wall that pulsed like a thing alive. The colors shimmered in a loathsome, nauseous swirl of reds that perfectly fit his mood. It took a few deep breaths to calm his anger, the disgust he felt for his people. How could they ignore such a horrendous threat?
He glanced over his shoulder to make certain no guards followed them. Then he turned, took a deep breath, and faced the portal within the vortex. Taron hadn't exaggerated. It reeked with the filthy stench of demon, and displayed all the signs of an active route from Abyss to Earth.
The demon in human form stepped up beside him. Dax. Alton reminded himself that despite the sense of demon clinging to him, Dax was one of the good guys. Unfortunately, Alton's sword didn't seem to care. He tightened his grasp on the hilt to keep it from attacking the man.
Dax appeared puzzled by the gateway to his home world.
"Is this the one you came through?" Alton nodded toward the wall. Power surged through his blade once again. He pointed it off to his side, away from Dax. The thing jerked in his hand as it tried to strike out, to kill the demon beside him. Alton held the sword still.
Dax shook his head. "I'm not sure. The whole night is just a blur to me. I remember thinking the demon that attacked me was expecting me. He was lying in wait, but not here. It was somewhere else that he hit me with his cursed fire." He glanced about the cavern and shook his head. "Damn. I'm not even certain if it was inside the cavern, or after I'd stepped out of the mountain. Nor am I sure if I came through from Abyss or possibly straight from Eden."
Willow buzzed close to Dax as he stared at the ground a moment. Was he organizing confused thoughts, or twisting the truth? Alton wished he could trust him more, but as much as he wanted to believe, it was hard to ignore the sense of evil still clinging to Dax's human body.
Hard to ignore his sword's obvious desire to kill. A sword that had never drawn blood, that still hadn't given Alton its name. Obviously, it wanted demon blood.
The power of the demon pulsed beneath fragile human skin or, as Dax maintained, in the tattoo hidden now beneath his shirt. Alton's intuition struggled with the powerful sense of demonkind, the feeling that had all his instinctive responses on high alert whenever Dax stood this close to him. Maybe it was worse here because of the strong scent of the others that had passed through this particular portal.
Sulfuric stench filled the air near this passage to Abyss, and the sense of evil surrounded them. Surprisingly, though, the dog didn't seem to mind, and the will-o'-the-wisp certainly appeared loyal.
As for the woman? She was loyal too, but that was to be expected. A woman always stuck by her man, though the women Alton knew were not meant to fight. They lacked the killer instinct, the physical strength, and mental prowess to do battle.
Women of Lemuria knew their place in society. They brought comfort to the men, raised the rare child born to a very few, made a home where a man could find peace.
Eddy Marks didn't appear to understand those rules a bit. When she caught him watching her, she didn't glance away as a maiden should. No, she practically dared him to disagree with her. As lovely as she was, he knew a woman like her would be an exhausting mate for any man. The demon was welcome to her.
Alton held tightly to his sword and turned his attention to Dax once again. "Concentrate. Did it wait for you here or outside of the mountain?"
Dax closed his eyes a moment. Willow sparkled in the air and then settled on his shoulder. He jerked his head up, and his eyes flashed. "Thank you, Willow. Outside," he said, grinning broadly at Alton. "I was outside the mountain when I emerged through the portal. Willow reminded me that it happened as I stepped out into the half light of early dawn. Neither Willow nor I recall how we got here---inside the cavern---or what portal we came through, but I remember now how we got out."
He took a few steps, as if reliving the memory. "I stepped out of the dark cavern, passed through the portal to the gray light of morning in Earth's dimension. Willow was behind me. The gargoyle waited, perched among rocks. It struck the moment I stood up. I was unsteady, still not used to this body."
He turned toward Eddy. "I remember standing up, stretching one leg and then the other, facing down the mountain away from the sun. Knowing that was the way I needed to go, because Willow had told me. The gargoyle rose up into the air, shouted something in a language I didn't understand. Then it cast demonfire at my chest. Demonfire powered by a curse."
Dax shuddered and wrapped his arms around his waist. "I remember pain. Horrible pain and the gargoyle hovering over my body. Then it was gone. The sky was light and then dark. I must have been unconscious throughout the day." He shook his head and turned to the woman. Frustration was in every word he spoke. "My next clear memory was waking up in that little shed outside your house, Eddy. When the demon's avatar stabbed me with the pitchfork. I have no idea how I got there from here."
Blue sparkles lit up the air. Dax nodded. "I should have guessed. Thank you, Willow, for guiding me to Eddy."
Eddy reached for Dax's arm. "You know what that means, don't you? We have even less time than we thought. I've been counting days since Sunday night. If you actually arrived early Sunday morning, we have less time than we'd hoped."
"Then we've no time to waste," Alton said. "Stand back. My sword dislikes demons. I don't want it tempted by your proximity." Dax and Eddy backed away.
Alton held his sword out and touched the roiling red surface of the portal. He concentrated his power through the crystal blade, felt the link between himself and the energy in the portal. The blade glowed in colors all across the spectrum until it finally shimmered a brilliant green. The rock appeared to congeal, and all sense of movement slowed. Within minutes, a solid wall of twisted, melted stone covered the area where the doorway into Abyss had been.
"Good! That one's sealed." He held his sword pointed toward the earth. The glow had dimmed now, but it still shimmered brighter than mere crystal as Alton glanced about the cavern. "The other gateways belong here. I recognize Atlantis, Eden, and Earth. The one we just passed through goes to my world."
Dax frowned. "That's it? You've just closed the portal so they can't get in?"
Alton smiled and sheathed his sword. There was enough light from the remaining portals to see without the glow from the crystal blade. "That one is closed and sealed. I imagine there are others. The mountain is a huge vortex, and this is but one small cavern. Most likely some of the demons are capable of creating more gateways to Abyss, though it will take them time. The trick now is to find and kill all of the demons who have crossed over. Taron has evidence of a massive influx over the past few days. I'm afraid we have our work cut out for us."
"Great. Just what I wanted to hear." Eddy tightened her hold on Bumper's leash. "We need to hurry. I want to see what's going on in town. I'm worried about Dad." She reached into her pack and pulled out a small contraption, flipped a lid, and gazed at a blank screen. "No signal here. What was I thinking?"
Laughing, she grabbed Dax's hand and grinned at Alton. "Okay, Lemurian. We need to get out of this mountain. Then I'll call my father and have him come pick us up."
Unused as he was to taking orders from a woman, Alton realized he was already headed toward the portal that would lead them outside. He must think about that. She definitely carried the aura of command about her. He held his hands up and felt for the shift in dimensions, the point where they could safely pass through.
He'd hate to end up somewhere besides their destination, but it had been known to happen. "This way," he said. He took Eddy's hand and stepped into the darkness. He sensed the others following close behind and wondered if Eddy held as tightly to Dax as she did to his hand. Seconds later they stepped out into the starlit sky just below the snow line on the scree-strewn flank of Mount Shasta.
Alton turned Eddy's small hand loose and gazed up at the mountain's peak, glistening with snow in the first glimmer of early dawn. He felt a huge lump in his throat and realized he was near tears. He'd not felt such a wealth of emotion even on the night he'd slipped outside and walked across rain-washed ground. Stars still filled the night sky to the west, chased by the imminent rise of the sun. The eastern horizon shimmered with the advent of dawn.
Time in this dimension must be linked to that of Lemuria. He'd have to ask Taron what he knew. His friend was the one who always had the answers.
Taron. Already he missed him. His humor, his wise countenance, his ability to find laughter wherever he went. He wished Taron were here with him now, sharing this beautiful morning---a morning like none he'd experienced since he was but a child. Other than a few clandestine visits outside of Lemuria, neither of them had left their underground world. The risk of discovery had kept them as prisoners within their own dimension.
He'd forgotten how much he missed the smells of clean earth and rocks still carrying the heat of yesterday's sun, of growing grass and melting snow. The cool sweep of fresh, clean air blowing over his skin almost made him forget why he was here.
The decision he'd made, one that would forever change his life. He'd chosen to throw his lot in with absolute strangers. Their story was more outlandish than anything he'd heard before, but it was one he couldn't help but believe.
His choice had not been made lightly, though he knew there would be times in the coming days when he might regret it.
Probably would regret it.
But he knew, without any doubt at all, he'd rather regret leaving the life of ease he'd lived for so long, than know he'd done nothing to preserve the world that had given him so much. He thought of his sword, still nameless, strapped across his back. Maybe now he would prove his worth to the sentience within the crystal blade. Maybe it would finally speak to him.
He glanced up at the sound of Eddy's soft voice.
"Thanks, Dad. We're fine. We'll meet you there in about an hour or so. I'm okay, and I'm really sorry we had to wake you so early. Okay. I love you, too...and Dad? I've got a great surprise for you. G'bye."
Alton stared at the woman as she folded up the thing she'd called a phone and stuck it back in her pack. A communication device. It struck him as odd that of this entire band, only the will-o'-the-wisp actually used telepathy. He'd had no idea humans were so primitive, though that thing Dax did with his hands was pretty impressive.
Of course, that was all tied to Dax's demon powers and the odd tattoo he claimed was now cursed---a curse Eddy somehow seemed able to control. Such a beautiful woman, yet so fierce. She didn't look like a fighter with her big, brown eyes and wispy dark hair. She had the look of a sprite about her, much like their companion, Willow.
A warrior woman of Earth, a tiny will-o'-the-wisp from Eden, and a demon with a borrowed human body, united against a demon invasion. How in all the hells did the pieces fit together?
Alton sensed that Eddy watched him watch her. Unwilling to voice his real concerns, he asked, "Who were you talking to?"
"My father." She smiled and nodded toward the valley. "It's a long hike to town. He's driving up the mountain to get us. We'll meet him at the end of the road in about an hour."
She touched his forearm and smiled up at him. "I can't wait for my father to meet you, Alton. He's going to be absolutely beside himself."
With that confusing statement, she hoisted her pack and slung it over her shoulder. Dax grabbed the dog's leash, and the will-o'-the-wisp, much to Alton's surprise, elected to perch on his shoulder.
The sun was barely peeking over the mountains when they started down the mountainside. Thoughtfully, with his eyes wide open, Alton walked away from all he'd ever known.
Dax sat in the same chair he'd been in just yesterday morning, only this time the Lemurian Alton sat across the table from him while Eddy's father cooked breakfast---and he was all too aware that another day of the seven allotted to him had passed.
Gone, as if they'd never been. Dax rubbed his hand over his chest in a vain attempt to ease the constant pain pulsing through his tattoo. The demon's curse grew stronger by the hour, the pain more intense, while his ability to draw on his demon powers seemed to fade with each passing moment.
Would the demons win, after all? Two days down, and so far all they'd managed to do was close one portal, while he knew at least one of the demons must have the ability to create more. How else would that gateway between Earth and Abyss have opened?
At least they'd gained another soldier in Alton, but would he be enough? According to Ed, the demons were everywhere. He'd heard reports of odd happenings in town, and he'd destroyed two ceramic garden figurines just last night when he caught them walking across his back lawn.
He'd destroyed the figurines, but without a weapon that would actually kill a demon, he'd allowed the stinking mist to escape. That meant those demons had probably gone on to animate yet another set of avatars.
"Dax?" Ed stopped midway between the refrigerator and the stove. "As serious as the situation appears, have you thought of contacting the authorities? Could the police or military help? They've got some pretty big weapons."
Dax shuddered at the mere thought of the government getting involved. "That's the worst thing that could happen, Ed. Demons thrive on chaos. They gain strength from death and destruction. The minute the military steps in, you've got all three of those things."
Alton agreed. "Military means soldiers with guns, which have no effect on demons. Flamethrowers, maybe, but can you imagine the panic? The loss of innocent lives? It would give the demons who've already crossed over a huge reservoir of power."
"We need to keep this as quiet as we can," Dax said. He rubbed his hand across his chest. The pain was constant now. He sensed the tattoo taking on a life of its own.
"It's not going to be easy." Ed poured eggs into the frying pan as he spoke. "I'm hearing reports from all over town of strange occurrences that have to be demonic, but no one seems to have connected the dots. In fact, Eddy, Harlan called, wondering when you were going to get a story to him about all the weird goings-on. He didn't sound very happy."
"That's probably an understatement, knowing Harlan." Eddy drummed her fingers on the table. "I'm going to have to come up with some kind of excuse for not working. There's just no way I can show up at the paper until this is settled."
"So how do we keep things quiet?" Dax threw the question out, not really expecting an answer.
Alton leaned back in his chair. "I can help."
Dax turned and stared at the Lemurian. "How?"
"Hypnosis. Mass compulsion. Lemurians are fairly adept. How do you think we've kept our presence hidden for so long?"
Ed laughed. "You haven't hidden it entirely. I knew you existed."
Alton nodded. "Agreed, but everyone, including your daughter, thought you were nuts." He laughed along with Ed. "I can discourage memories through compulsion, though I can't entirely erase them. I can target one person or the entire community, but I can only do it a few times before the subjects begin to build up an immunity."
"Then we save it for when we really need it." Dax took a sip of his coffee. He stared at the dark brew in the thick mug. He was really going to miss coffee when...
Eddy interrupted his musings. "The last thing we need is Channel Three news showing up with their remote broadcast truck and beaming our demon invasion into every living room in the country." She shook her head and stared at her father.
Then she grinned and looked directly at Dax. "Is it just me, or does it feel really weird that we're back here in Dad's kitchen getting ready for breakfast? It makes the past two days feel sort of dreamlike." She paused to pour herself another cup of coffee. "Except, of course, we didn't have Alton before."
She flashed a bright smile at the Lemurian. Dax felt an entirely new kind of pain that had nothing to do with the demon's curse. Then Eddy walked back to the table and brushed her hand lightly over Dax's shoulder as she passed by him. He raised his head and caught the bright promise in her eyes.
A promise for him, not Alton. Suddenly Dax had a name for the pain he'd felt. Jealousy. Nothing more than jealousy, and there was no time for that. Not now, when time was so short and every second counted. When every fighter counted.
Ed carried two huge platters to the table and set them down. "Dig in, guys." He grinned at Alton and then at Dax "I still can't believe I'm sitting down to breakfast with you two."
Willow buzzed by and flittered in front of his nose. Ed laughed. "Excuse me, I didn't meant to exclude you, Willow."
Eddy took a seat, but she glanced at her father. "I'm waiting for you to say, 'I told you so.'"
Ed just shook his head. "No need. Having Dax, Alton, and Willow at our table gives me all the satisfaction I need."
Their conversation made no sense. Food, however, made perfect sense. Dax turned to the heavily laden table. Steam rose from piles of bacon and a mound of scrambled eggs. Fried potatoes, sliced strawberries, bananas, oranges, and a plate of toast---and all of it smelled wonderful. He grabbed a strip of bacon. Eddy began loading up her plate.
Alton merely stared at the bounty. "Amazing. We have similar foods in Lemuria, but they're all manufactured. Created to be wholesome and appetizing for us. I can't recall ever seeing, much less eating, the actual foods themselves."
Dax grinned at him through a mouthful of bacon. "I've never had food like this in my life. It doesn't try to bite back."
"Euuwwww..." Eddy made a face at him. "Not an image I want while stuffing eggs in my mouth. Killer chickens? Yuck."
Dax scooped some of everything on his plate while Alton did the same. "Not chickens, no, but demons come in all shapes and sizes on Abyss. Here they might be nothing more than stinking clouds of black mist, but on Abyss they're often multi-limbed, some with wings, others with bodies covered in scales like razors, some with claws almost as long as Alton's sword."
"What about you, Dax? What's your demon body like?" Ed paused with a forkful of potatoes in front of his mouth. "I can't picture you as anyone other than what you are."
Dax slathered honey on a piece of toast and practically moaned when the sweet, gooey stuff hit his taste buds. He swallowed and tapped his chest, ignoring the pain. "I looked a lot like my tattoo. Brightly colored scales and long, sharp fangs, except the art's more snakelike than I was. I had four multi-jointed arms." He wiggled his fingers. "I have a feeling I'm gonna miss those extra arms in battle. I had claws on all the joints as well as on my hands. I only had two legs but..."
He raised his head, suddenly aware of the silence at the table. Eddy stared at him with a look of absolute horror on her face. Ed and Alton didn't look at him at all.
They watched Eddy.
Dax felt as if someone had punched him in the gut. He set his fork down and carefully wiped his mouth with the napkin. All very civilized. Human. He thought of delaying even longer, of taking a swallow of his coffee, but it wouldn't change a thing.
He reached across the table for Eddy's hand. She quickly slipped it into her lap. Her rejection made him feel physically ill. "Eddy? What did you think I looked like? I've never lied to you. From the beginning I said I was a demon with scales and claws. Sharp teeth...the whole bit."
"I know." Her voice was so quiet he barely heard her. "It's nothing." She waved her hand, as if shooing all of them away. Maybe she was trying to erase the graphic visual he'd just given her. "Eat your breakfast. Please. Don't mind me."
Alton nodded and took another forkful of eggs. Ed munched slowly on a piece of bacon. Dax stared at his plate and realized his appetite was gone.
He might look like a human. He was even beginning to think like one, but as far as Eddy was concerned, he was still a demon. Still the creature of her nightmares.
Carefully, he folded his napkin and excused himself from the table.
Eddy watched Dax as he carefully folded his napkin and set it on the table. She should have said something, anything, as he stood and quietly left the room, but she didn't. She couldn't. She wanted to slap herself, but she'd completely forgotten he wasn't human.
She'd been so busy fighting her attraction to a man she hardly knew, she'd not even considered who or what he really was.
So what...like it matters?
He'd put his life on the line, just as Alton had. Just as Willow or her dad had.
The same as me.
They were all on the same team. Her reaction had been totally inexcusable. No matter what he once was or who he was now, she'd been rude and dead wrong to act like there was anything at all awry with him. She owed him an apology, whether he'd accept it or not.
"Excuse me." Mortified, Eddy kept her head down as she left the table, unwilling to meet either her father's eyes or Alton's.
Dax had quietly slipped out the back door.
Eddy followed him. She found him, finally, out in her dad's workshop staring at the train layout with the scale model of Mount Shasta in the middle.
"Dax? I'm sorry. I..." She paused in midstep as he turned around and smiled sadly at her.
"It's okay, Eddy. I forget, too." He looked down at his long, lean body, comfortably dressed in worn Levi's, boots, and a plaid flannel shirt. Then he raised his head. His gaze was direct, without shame or subterfuge. He was what he was.
"I've already grown so used to this body, I don't think of myself as a demon. Not anymore."
He hissed out a sharp breath and flattened his hand to his chest. Eddy bridged the gap between them.
"The tat?"
He nodded. She quickly reached for the top button on his shirt, but he covered her hand with his and gazed directly into her eyes. "Maybe it's better if I just deal with it."
No need to slap herself. Dax could do it for her. She lowered her head and stared at her toes. "Maybe it's not. I can help you. The pain exhausts you, and we need you healthy."
She felt his chest rise and fall with his sigh, but he moved his hand away from hers. She unbuttoned his shirt, this time opening it all the way to the waistband of his jeans.
The tattoo looked angry and inflamed, writhing over his muscular abdomen and crawling up his powerful chest in a slow, rhythmic pulse. The burn appeared to be healing, but the tattoo was a thing alive. She could have sworn the beady eyes on the snake watched her.
Every time she saw it, the tattoo seemed more alive, more aware, almost as if it gained life with the passage of time. She covered its head with her palm. Used her other hand to cover the scaled belly on the tattoo. It pulsed and writhed beneath her fingers. She shuddered and concentrated on not jerking her hands away from the damned thing.
Closing her eyes, she projected good, healing thoughts, on taking the pain from Dax and sending it away...far, far away where it couldn't hurt him. She had no idea what she did, or if it really worked, but if Dax thought her touch helped ease the pain, she was willing to do anything for him.
Demon or not.
The heat from the tattoo surged beneath her palms, burning her skin until she shivered with the intense pain. Even so, she kept her hands pressed close against it and thought of Dax without pain. Imagined the curse healed and his powers intact.
She didn't have a clue what she was doing. Absorbing his pain, somehow? She had no idea. She felt like a fraud, but after a couple of very long minutes, Dax's skin grew cooler and the sense of movement beneath her hand stopped. All she felt now was naturally warm skin and the slow, steady beat of his heart.
She didn't want to take her hands away. At some point, Dax's arms had slipped around her waist. Now he rested his chin on the top of her head, and his hands gently rubbed her lower back. Held in his comforting embrace, she could so easily forget what he was and why he was here.
And how soon he would be gone.
Held close, comforted by his strength and the goodness in him she couldn't deny, all Eddy could think of was the way his body felt this close to hers, and how he'd held her against him and comforted her last night when she'd been so frustrated---and more than a little afraid.
He might have been a demon at one time, but she sensed nothing evil about Dax now. Without even considering the consequences, Eddy leaned closer and pressed her lips to his chest, right over the cursed tattoo.
She felt Dax's sigh and slipped even closer as he tightened his arms around her. She turned her face and rested her cheek against the muscular curve of his pectoral muscles where the snake's fearsome mouth gaped wide, fully aware of the creature's scales and fangs, of its brilliant colors and deadly threat.
Of the fact it appeared to have a life of its own, a sentience separate from Dax.
Dax said it carried his demon powers, easily accessible so that he could use them while in human form, but since the demon's curse, it was fighting every minute of every day to turn those same powers against him.
Except that somehow, for whatever reason, Eddy seemed to exert her own power over the curse. She couldn't deny what she'd just experienced, no matter how impossible it seemed. Her touch soothed the snake and contained the demon powers. She only hoped it was enough.
It had to be. Worlds depended on Dax. And, for what it was worth, Dax depended on her.
Dax rested his cheek against the top of Eddy's head and held her close. His heart actually ached more than the damned tattoo when he held her like this. His throat seemed to swell with all the things he wanted to say, words he hardly understood. All these feelings pouring through him were so unexpected, so hard to deal with.
He hadn't expected anything like Eddy when he took the Edenites' offer. He'd expected nothing but one bloody fight after another, and maybe, just maybe, a shot at Paradise. No one had said anything about the humans he might meet.
About Eddy Marks.
It was all about the demons and the battle he must not, could not, lose. Was that why he'd found Eddy? Had she been put in his path on purpose? If so, he knew exactly why, and damn, but it was so unfair.
She was the one he was fighting for. Not for a chance at Paradise, or to prove himself as a warrior. It wasn't for Alton or Ed or even Taron and the promise Dax had made to him. Not even to save the world.
It was all for Eddy. Everything. He knew that now. If he lost the battle, he would be condemning Eddy Marks to death, or a life under demon rule even worse than death.
He felt the tattoo move across his flesh. Felt the power in it surge across his upper thigh, over his groin, and up his belly to the point above his heart, power running through his veins like liquid fire. Not the demon's curse. Not this time. Now it was the strength of Dax's own convictions bringing the thing to life, overpowering the curse, at least for now.
He lifted his head and cupped Eddy's face in his palms. She gazed up at him, her dark brown eyes brimming with tears, her lips slightly parted. Dax felt drawn to her mouth, felt the purity of her love, a love he doubted even Eddy understood.
He knew he'd never figure it out, but he would protect it. Protect her. He lowered his face and captured her lips with his. She whimpered, making a low cry deep in her throat. Her arms slipped around his waist; her hips thrust forward until she and he connected in a solid line of heat and life and hope.
Dax kissed her, well aware he made yet another promise. The most important promise of all. "Once a demon, but a demon no more," he whispered between the small, quick kisses he left on her lips, her chin, the line of her jaw. "For all the days left to me, I will keep you safe, and when I am gone, I swear I will still watch over you."
She raised her head, smiled at him, and touched her fingertips to the side of his mouth. "I refuse to talk about you leaving. We have work to do." She leaned away so she could reach his shirt, and slowly, one by one, closed the buttons over his belly and chest. "Way too much to do to spend time out here like this. No matter how much I want to."
He took a deep breath and forced his fears back inside where they belonged. "You're right." He took her hand and turned toward the house. "That doesn't mean I have to like it."
She laughed and leaned against him, hugging her arms around his biceps. "Let's see if they left us some breakfast."
They stepped out of Ed's workshop and started back toward the house. A harsh scream ripped through the midmorning quiet. Bumper barked. Ed and Alton raced through the front door. Ed called out, "Dax! Eddy! Across the street!"
Eddy and Dax ran through the yard toward the sound of yet another horrifying scream.
Under other circumstances, Eddy thought, this might have been humorous, but it wasn't funny at all. Not even considering that Mr. Puccini had been the grumpiest neighbor on the block for as long as she could remember, and he probably deserved a good scare. When she was little, she used to wish even worse things would happen to him, but not this, not now.
Backed up against the corner post on the front porch of his little Craftsman-style house, the old man was wide-eyed and trembling and obviously terrified. He clasped one hand over his heart and clutched the porch railing with the other. Blood dripped from a small gash on his left hand.
A ceramic turkey with a razor-sharp beak full of even sharper teeth advanced in an awkward, uncoordinated gait. Blood spotted its beak, and a few small spatters marked the porch. The air reeked of sulfur.
It was enough to make Eddy's blood run cold.
Especially since it was at least ten o'clock in the morning and the sun was high in the sky. She grabbed Dax's wrist as the four of them circled the animated creature. "You said demons lost their power in daylight."
He shot her a frustrated glance. "They do. Usually."
"What is that thing? Get it away from me!" Mr. Puccini's voice quavered. His breath shot out in short gasps.
"We will, Dom. It'll be okay." Ed moved around to stand beside his neighbor. The ceramic turkey let out a squawk that was somewhere between a gobble and the strangled cry of a banshee. It slowly pivoted its head from its primary target to stare at Ed, and then on around in a full circle to take in Alton, Eddy, and Dax.
When it saw Dax, it screeched again. The body spun to match the direction the beak was pointing, until the entire creature faced him. Ed grabbed his elderly neighbor by the arm, tugged him past the brightly painted turkey and down the steps.
"Move him out of harm's way, Ed. Around the side of the house." Dax's voice was calm, his demeanor that of a man in charge.
Eddy glanced at him and realized he didn't want their neighbor to see what he was about to do. "C'mon, Dad. Let's get out of Dax's way." She slipped around behind Dax and helped her father walk their dazed neighbor around the corner of his house.
Alton stayed beside Dax. His crystal sword glowed through the scabbard across his back. His white robe flowed about his ankles.
Eddy and her dad got Mr. Puccini to the side yard, where there was a small garden bench. As she helped him sit, Eddy heard a loud whoosh and a prolonged sizzle. A banshee screech with a strange stereo effect cut off in mid howl. The stink of sulfur dissipated within seconds.
Mr. Puccini stared at Ed and then turned to Eddy. "What in God's name...?" He shook his head, wide-eyed and still confused.
Dax touched Eddy's shoulder. "They're gone," he said. "Here. I think Alton can help."
Alton squatted down so that he was at eye level with their elderly neighbor. "Are you okay?"
"Who the hell are you?" Dom Puccini gaped at Alton and then glared at Ed. "What kind of crazies you got hanging out at your place, Ed?"
"Friends of Eddy's, Dom. They're good kids."
Eddy leaned close to Dax. "I guess he's feeling better."
Alton slowly passed his palm in front of Mr. Puccini's eyes. The man shut his mouth, and his head turned to follow the movement of Alton's long fingers.
Alton moved his hand away, and Mr. Puccini blinked. "What'd you say your name was, young man?"
Ed quickly interrupted. "They're my daughter's old college friends, Dom. I want you to meet Al and Dax. Boys, this is Mr. Puccini. He's been our neighbor since Eddy was just a tiny thing."
The old man shook his head. "What happened? I can't remember what happened." He tried to stand. Alton held out a hand and gently helped him to his feet.
Mr. Puccini's gaze went up, and up higher, as Alton stood. He shook his head again, still obviously disoriented. His white hair stood up in tangles and tufts about his florid face.
Dax took Mr. Puccini's other arm, and he and Alton slowly walked him back to the front porch. Dax looked over the man's head at Eddy and shrugged.
She smiled and waved her hand toward the shattered pile of what was left of the ceramic turkey. "I think you must have tripped over old Tom, Mr. Puccini. We heard you yell...."
"And there was a loud crash," Dax added.
"You might have bumped your head. Looks like you cut your hand on one of the shards." Ed helped Mr. Puccini sit on the porch steps. "Eddy? Can you get a broom and maybe find a bandage?"
"Right away, Dad." She grabbed Dax's hand and dragged him inside the house. Alton followed close behind. "Check the place," she whispered. "See if there're more demons around."
Willow poked her head up out of Dax's pocket and took off on a quick search of her own. Dax followed her. Eddy wet a clean washcloth and found a box of bandages. Alton grabbed the broom, dustpan, and a small wastebasket after she pointed out the broom closet, and followed Eddy back to the porch.
Dax and Willow were right behind them. "It's all clear," Dax said. Willow poked her head out of his pocket. He carefully shoved her back down. "Stay put."
Frantic barking echoed from across the street. Eddy glanced toward her dad's house. "I don't think Bumper likes being left behind," she said, kneeling in front of Mr. Puccini. Carefully she wiped the blood off the long scratch on the back of his hand and covered it with a clean bandage. "You might want to get that checked, Mr. Puccini. Give your doctor a call."
Still looking dazed, he nodded his head. "Good idea. I can't believe I don't remember what happened."
Alton cleaned up the remnants of the shattered turkey while Dax held the wastebasket. He dumped the broken shards of ceramic and handed the broom and dustpan to Ed.
Eddy stood up and patted the old man's shoulder. "We're going to head back home and let Bumper out, Mr. Puccini. I'm glad you're okay."
"Thank you, Eddy. You're a good girl." He stared at the broken shards of ceramic Alton had dumped into the wastebasket and shuddered. "Evil thing. Absolutely evil." He looked at Ed, and frowned. "I never thought of Muriel's ceramic turkey as evil before. Now why...?"
"Falls can be dangerous, Dom. Eddy's right. You better have your doctor take a look. If you need a ride over to the clinic, I'll be glad to take you." Ed glanced at Eddy.
"We're going home now, Dad." She grabbed Dax's hand, and Alton followed them across the street. As soon as they were out of hearing, she let out a deep breath. "Okay, what now? And Alton, thank you. That hypnosis thing really is a cool trick. I was wondering how we were going to explain Muriel's turkey turning killer."
Alton nodded. "You realize this is only the beginning. Those demons were merely a fraction of the many that must be infesting this area."
"Those demons? There was more than one?" Eddy paused with her hand on the front door.
"There were two controlling the ceramic bird. Possibly the ones your dad saw last night. He merely broke their avatars, but he didn't kill them. There were two demons, working together in broad daylight." Dax's glance shifted from Eddy to Alton. Back to Eddy. "Not only are they going against their nature by being out in daylight, they appear to be learning to cooperate. When they do, they're obviously stronger."
"What if they're spreading out? Going past Evergreen? They could be in the town of Mount Shasta or McCloud or up in Edgewood, or..." Eddy opened the door. Bumper launched herself through the doorway, wiggling and whining as if she'd been abandoned for days, not minutes.
Ignoring the dog, Eddy gazed at both men. "What are we going to do if they're in other towns, if they move to the bigger cities? We're not that far from Redding or Sacramento."
Dax shook his head. "I don't think they'll travel far from the mountain. At least not yet. It's their link to Abyss. They don't belong in this dimension, so they have no corporeal form without an avatar. They can't remain mist for long without getting sucked back to Abyss. I imagine they're finding avatars as soon as they reach town."
Eddy rubbed her hands over her arms, as if she'd felt a sudden chill. The sun was high in the sky, and the day was warm, but she shivered anyway. "What's to keep them here?"
Dax flashed her a lopsided grin. "Ceramic creatures can't travel far. The only one I've seen with much mobility is the gargoyle, since it's a creature that can fly." He paused a moment. "That one confuses me. Flying a stone creature would take a lot of power. It took two demons to animate the turkey. More to make the bronze horse and soldier come to life. How does the gargoyle find enough power to travel through the air, to strike me with a curse? I want another look at that one."
"Now?" Alton asked.
Dax nodded. "Now would be a good time, during daylight." He studied Alton for a moment. "However, Ed's clothes won't fit you, and there's no way you can go out like that."
Alton held his arms out. "What? You don't like the robe?" Then he laughed. "I'll stay with Ed. Unlike you two, he thinks I'm wonderful." He shook his head and sighed. "Do you realize that's the first time the heir apparent to the Ruling Council of Nine has ever used a broom and swept trash?" Eddy punched his arm, and he laughed. "I'll stay with Ed. See if we can come up with a plan. You and Dax find me something to wear. I have a feeling tonight's going to be busy."
Eddy measured Alton for sizes, fastened the leash to Bumper, and led Dax out the door. "We can walk. It's just a couple of blocks to downtown. I want to hear what people are saying."
Dax took her hand as they walked along the sidewalk. The moment his fingers wrapped around hers, she turned her head and caught him watching her. "What?"
He shrugged and glanced away. "I have fewer than five days left with you. I don't want to waste them. I really like the way your hand feels in mine." He slanted her a quick glance and then looked straight ahead.
She had to moisten her lips to speak. "I don't want to waste any time, either." The thought of Dax leaving sat like a lead weight in her chest. Stupid, really, to fall for a guy who'd be gone forever by the end of the week. Absolutely stupid.
They walked in silence, but Eddy felt as if every nerve in her body were located in the palm of her hand, the sensitive tips of her fingers. As tall as she was, she'd always felt awkward and oversized walking hand in hand with a guy, but Dax was so much taller, so much broader, she felt feminine beside him, even in her jeans and hiking boots.
The sun was warm on her shoulders. The scent of pine and cedar tickled her nostrils. Birds chattering in the gardens they passed and the constant jingle of Bumper's leash and collar played a symphony punctuated by their footsteps and the distant rush of traffic passing by on the interstate.
They reached the main street in town, Lassen Boulevard. Once the old highway, it was now a busy thoroughfare lined with small stores selling everything from crystals with dubious magical properties to hardware and baked goods. They passed a tiny café tucked in between two other shops. The smells wafting through the open door stopped both Eddy and Dax.
"We didn't eat much breakfast," she said, leaning toward the doorway.
"I agree."
"C'mon, girl." Eddy tied Bumper's leash to a bike rack in front of the store. The dog stretched out in a sunbeam and groaned blissfully.
Eddy rubbed her belly. "I think she'll be okay here."
Dax patted Bumper's head and got a couple of thumps of her tail in response. Then he took Eddy's hand and hauled her through the door. The place was almost empty, so they grabbed a booth near the front window, where they could keep an eye on the dog. Dax stared at the walls, at pictures of huge logs lashed to railroad cars and men of another age standing atop tree stumps with crosscut saws longer than they were tall. He was obviously fascinated by all the old photos of the surrounding area, as much as by the concept of food.
The waitress poured coffee for both of them and left menus. Eddy glanced down at hers. "It's almost lunch. How about a hamburger?"
Dax frowned. "I don't know what a..."
"I'll order. You'll love it."
Dax nodded and went back to studying the photos. Eddy studied Dax. Everything was new to him. Walking down a small-town street, sitting in a café, the taste of coffee. Hamburgers and fries, sunshine overhead, and the sound of birds.
What was that like, to be faced with something new every time you went anywhere, saw anything? Touched anyone?
She thought of the warmth of his hand in hers, the sound of his beating heart when they'd slept so close together, and realized that everything about Dax was just as new to her. His touch, his bravery, his quirky sense of humor. How much of it was the demon, and how much the man who'd once inhabited the perfect body that now belonged to Dax?
No...it doesn't belong. It's on loan...a short-term loan. She couldn't let herself think of that. Five more days. Just her luck. Finally meet a guy who fit every need she'd ever had, including a few she hadn't known about, and he turns out to have the life span of a moth.
The waitress set their plates in front of them. Grabbed a bottle of catsup off the next table and stuck it in front of Dax. Eddy noticed the woman gave him a thorough once-over before she spun around and headed back to the kitchen.
Dax stared at his plate. "What are these?" He picked up a crisp French fry.
"Ambrosia. Here." Eddy dumped a blob of catsup on his plate, swirled a fry through the sauce, and held it up to his mouth. Dax smiled and parted those perfect lips, and she placed the fry on his tongue.
He closed his mouth, chewed for a moment, and closed his eyes with a look of pure bliss. "I had no idea..." He picked up another fry, dipped it, and popped it in his mouth. "Absolutely no idea."
Grinning, Eddy took a bite of her burger. They ate in silence, but she couldn't help but wonder if they'd have a chance like this again. It felt like a date...a perfectly normal date with a really good-looking, but perfectly normal, guy.
She watched him eat, noticed how he concentrated on each bite, chewing with his eyes closed, savoring the flavors. What would it be like to have that attention paid to her, to have that concentration, that focus from a man like Dax?
She shifted in the vinyl booth. Tried to ignore the hot clench of feminine muscles, the deep sense of yearning that built between her legs and seemed to settle in her womb. Damn, she was asking for trouble.
Like you haven't already got it? She wasn't sure if the stupid voice in her head was going to make her laugh or cry first. She forced her attention away from the man sitting across the table, away from the need pulsing through her body, and thought about the job they had to do.
Dax finished his burger and fries and was swirling one of Eddy's fries through a puddle of catsup left on her plate when the door to the restaurant burst open. He spun around, prepared to fight, as a tall, slim woman with skin the color of dark caramel barged through the door.
"Eddy Marks! Where the hell have you been?"
"Ginny! Hi." Eddy waved the woman over. "You're wearing your uniform. When did you start working day shift?"
"When all hell broke loose, that's when." Ginny grinned at Dax and stuck out her hand. "Hi! I'm Ginny Jones, Eddy's only friend in the world. Who're you?"
Eddy laughed and winked at Dax. "This is Dax. He's my other friend."
Other friend? Dax glanced at Ginny, then at Eddy, and back at Ginny. "Hello, Ginny." He shook her hand and frowned at Eddy. "What about Alton? Willow and Bumper? Aren't they your friends, too?"
Eddy shot him a big grin. "I'm teasing. Just teasing." She scooted over, and Ginny plopped down next to her on the bench seat. "What do you mean, all hell broke loose?"
"Your house for one thing. It's trashed. Don't lie to me, sweetie. I've seen it, and I've been worried sick since I heard about it. I called Ed, and your dad just said it was vandals. What happened?" Ginny grabbed one of Eddy's fries and popped it in her mouth.
"Vandals, just like Dad said. I'm staying at his place until we get it fixed. What else is going on?" She shoved her plate, still half covered with those absolutely delicious fries Dax had been munching on, in front of Ginny.
Ginny managed to eat French fries and still talk a mile a minute. "Remember what I told you about Mrs. Abernathy's cat? That she said Mr. Pollard's garden gnome ate Twinkles?" Ginny shook her head. "We've had at least a dozen reports like that. Cats, dogs, even a gerbil, all disappearing, and people calling in to blame it on garden gnomes and statues and all kinds of shit. It's like everyone in town is doing drugs."
Eddy shot a serious look in Dax's direction. "Ginny's a nine-one-one dispatcher, so she hears all the emergency calls."
He nodded, not entirely certain what 911 was, but if people were making reports, it wouldn't be long before someone started putting all the stories together.
Ginny plopped another French fry in her mouth. "I heard they found the missing statue in your front room, all in pieces."
Eddy nodded. "They did. The place was trashed when I got home the other night after we had coffee. A neighbor must have called it in. I just went straight to Dad's---I was afraid they might still be around."
"What about that dog you said you got? How come it didn't protect your place?"
"She hid in the bedroom. I think they scared her." Eddy glanced out the window, and Dax knew she was probably sending a silent apology to Bumper. So many lies they were telling...he hoped they could keep the stories straight.
Eddy pointed to Bumper. "That's my brave watchdog right there."
Laughing, Ginny nodded. "Ah...the one I tripped over. That is one silly-looking mutt. Reminds me of pit bull in a Marilyn Monroe wig."
"Really? I think it's more the Shirley Temple look." Eddy waved at Bumper. The dog wagged her tail and lay back against the sun-warmed sidewalk.
"No matter." Ginny's dark eyes narrowed. "Eddy, you know what I told you about picking up strays..." She turned a focused eye on Dax. "Where'd you guys meet? I don't remember hearing about you before, Dax."
"I ran into Dax on my weekend hike." Eddy sent him a quick smile. He smiled back as if all the lies made perfect sense. "We actually knew each other in college, but we haven't seen each other in years. He surprised me when he looked me up at Dad's yesterday. I didn't expect to see him again so soon."
Dax reached across the table and took her hand in his. "How could you expect any man who met you not to want to see you again as soon as he could manage?"
Ginny's eyes went wide. "Oh. Wow...uhm, is it warm in here?" She laughed. "Anyway, like I was saying, stuff's really gone crazy around here, and I didn't know where you were. I thought you might be working---you know, covering all the stories---but there hasn't been a thing in the paper."
Eddy slammed her hand over her mouth. "Oh, crap. I forgot to call Harlan! Ginny, we need to leave. I haven't even checked in at the paper since I got back. I had Dad call, but it's been one thing after another and..." She grabbed her wallet out of her pocket, left money on the table for their lunch, and bumped Ginny with her hip.
Ginny scooted out of her way, but not before she grabbed the last of the fries. "I can tell you've got other things on your mind." She turned and looked directly at Dax, but he wasn't sure what she was thinking. "Call me, or I will never speak to you again."
Eddy grabbed Dax's hand. "I promise, sweetie. Honest. Or you can catch me at Dad's, okay? See you later."
"Nice to meet you, Gin---"
Eddy pulled Dax out of the café before he could finish his sentence. "C'mon. The newspaper office is just a couple of blocks away." She untied Bumper, and then they headed north along the main street.
"Eddy, look." Dax pointed to shattered pottery in front of a small gift shop.
There were more piles of dust and pottery shards along the way. Remnants of broken figurines.
"Those were stone squirrels," Eddy said, pointing to the front of one store. "Those were ceramic birds. I think they used to hang on chains in front of a store across the street." She took a deep breath and stared at Dax.
"I smell it too," he said, studying the carnage. The stink of sulfur was faint, but still lingered. "It almost appears as if the avatars fought one another, which wouldn't be unusual for demonkind." He shook his head.
"Where are they now?" Eddy clung tightly to his hand.
"They've found new avatars or returned to Abyss. I know of no one here with the ability to actually send them into the void."
"No one but you. What about Alton?"
"Alton carries the crystal sword," Dax said. "It's supposed to kill demonkind, but only Alton can wield it. If another tries to hold it, they risk almost certain death."
"I'll remember that," Eddy said. "How come he didn't use it at Mr. Puccini's house? You killed the demons there, didn't you?"
"I did." Dax paused and looked steadily into Eddy's eyes. "Just as Alton senses demon about me, so will his sword. He can't use it near me, or the sword will try and kill me. He told me a Lemurian's sword is sentient. It can speak. His has not, but it has the potential. Until then, there's no way for Alton to tell it that I'm not the enemy."
"Then how can you fight demons together?"
"Very carefully, Eddy. Very, very carefully."
"Clean out your desk, Marks. You're fired."
Dax clutched Eddy's hand tightly in his and fought a powerful desire to punch the overbearing slob who was Eddy's boss right in his beefy red nose. Eddy didn't say a word. She merely nodded and turned away from the man.
Dax let go of her hand and took Bumper's leash, while Eddy silently walked into a small cubicle near the front door. Her boss stared at Dax, doing his best to intimidate him. The tattoo pulsed in white-hot pain across his torso. Dax figured if he could tolerate the pain of a demon's curse, there was nothing this idiot could do to hurt him.
Except when he hurt Eddy. Standing here, unable to come to Eddy's defense made his heart actually ache. There was nothing he wanted more than to wipe up the ground with this buffoon, but he'd promised Eddy.
This was a promise he'd happily break, if only he could.
Harlan, she'd said his name was. He owned the newspaper Eddy worked for, and he hadn't given her so much as a minute to explain why she needed time off this week.
Not that she could tell him what was going on, but he'd started cursing at her the minute she walked in the office. He was still cursing. Only now, Dax realized, the words were directed at him.
"Are you deaf?" The man planted his hands on top of his desk and leaned forward, as if he wanted to come after him.
Dax sort of wished he would. He felt a surge of anger pulsing through his chest. Demon anger.
"I said, what the fuck are you staring at?"
Dax took a deep breath and glanced at Eddy. She was filling a small box with items from her desk. There were tears on her cheeks. The anger inside Dax pulsed hot and heavy. He turned around and glared at Harlan again. "I was merely wondering if you were as stupid as you look. I guess you are."
He felt Willow stir within his pocket, reminding him there were more important things than dealing with Eddy's jerk of an ex-boss. Tamping down the sense of demon fury, Dax tuned out Harlan's cursing and turned his back on the man. "C'mon, sweetheart. Anything I can carry?"
She shook her head, a short, sharp jerk that told him how close to the edge she was. He knew she loved her job. He also knew he needed her more than this newspaper did. Evergreen needed her.
Dax opened the door and followed Eddy into the sunshine. She walked out with her back straight and her head held proudly, even though Dax knew she was hurting. He was so proud of her he wanted to cheer.
As soon as they were outside, he stopped and took the box out of her arms. Then he leaned close and kissed her, right there in front of the people on the street and the cars going by. Her lips were soft, wet from her tears, salty. He licked his tongue across her lower lip and then backed away. She gazed at him, looking bewildered and lost.
"I need you more than Harlan does," he said. He rested his forehead against hers. "The man's an ass. Are you okay?"
Eddy nodded. "I just never got fired before." She sniffed.
"You've never been recruited to save an entire town before either. It's been a pretty busy week."
She laughed, though it sounded more like a sob. "I'll try and remember that. It puts things in perspective."
Dax tucked Eddy's box under his arm, raised his head, looked up the street, and then down. "We need to buy clothes for Alton. Where?"
She sniffed and straightened her shoulders. Dax recognized the moment when she found her control, put Harlan and his foul temper behind her, and looked forward. His own anger, demon anger, slipped away and disappeared.
"C'mon. The feed store is this way." She smiled at him, looped her arm through his elbow, and tugged him along with her. Bumper trotted beside them with her tail curled in a perfect blond arc over her back.
"Feed store? I thought we were shopping for pants."
Tuesday afternoon---day three
"Remind me never to try and explain a feed store to a demon." Eddy fixed herself a glass of ice water. Dax took it out of her hand before she got a single swallow.
He took a sip and glanced at Alton. "What would you assume one would buy at a feed store?"
Alton shrugged. "Feed?"
Eddy took her glass from Dax. He smiled and said, "I rest my case."
Eddy sighed. "Do the clothes fit, Alton?"
"Yes, they do." He held his arms wide, showing off the dark blue plaid flannel shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, the crisp new blue jeans Eddy'd been absolutely shocked to find with a size thirty-four waist and a forty-inch inseam, and the sturdy work boots and heavy socks that added at least an inch and a half to his already impressive height.
With his blond hair tied back and a Sacramento Kings cap on his head, Eddy thought he resembled a very tall, very lanky cowboy, which meant he shouldn't stand out all that much in her small town.
Except for the sword, which he wore strapped to his back. "Any way to disguise the sword?" She walked around behind him and stared at the crystal glimmer shining through the leather scabbard on his back.
"I can use a glamour to fade its presence, but I can't actually hide it. Not until we can communicate."
Eddy crossed her arms over her chest. "Dax mentioned that. Does your sword actually have a mind of its own?"
"It does." Alton reached over his shoulder and stroked the silver hilt. "I have to keep it sheathed because it really wants to kill Dax, and there's no way for me to explain, at least not yet, that he's one of the good guys. At some point, if it ever feels I'm worthy, it will give me its name, and we'll be able to converse."
"You're not worthy yet?" Eddy laughed when she asked him, but it wasn't all that hard to imagine the sword as more than a mere weapon. The blade was crystal, as clear as glass, but faceted like a diamond. The hilt looked like sterling silver, but there were jewels set into the pommel. Sapphires? It was much too beautiful to look all that functional, though the blade looked razor sharp. "How long have you had it?"
"Many thousands of years, but I've never drawn blood with it. Closing the portal to Abyss was the most I've ever asked of my sword, and it performed perfectly. However, it was obviously not all that impressed with me, or it would have spoken." He shook his head. "Though I've kept it close at all times, I've never had reason to show it my worth."
"That's just weird, that you have to prove yourself to your sword." Eddy planted her hands on her hips as she studied the thing. "How will you know?"
Alton shrugged. "It will speak to me."
"Hi there, this is your crystal sword talking? Like that?"
"Just like that." He smiled, and then he stretched his long arms overhead and yawned. "I'm going to need some sleep before we get into any serious demon hunting. I was up all night arguing your case before the Ruling Council of Nine. Even Lemurians need their rest, and I've not slept since yesterday."
"We all need rest." Dax folded his arms over his broad chest and leaned against the kitchen counter. "I've come to realize this body needs to be replenished on a regular basis. Sleep, food---things I could do without for long periods when I was a demon."
Eddy noticed the lines of strain on his face seemed deeper than they'd been earlier, and she knew the pain from the curse must be growing stronger. Willow buzzed across the room and hovered in front of Dax before settling on his shoulder.
A trail of blue sparkles covered the front of his shirt and then slowly faded, almost as if Dax absorbed their energy.
Eddy flashed the little sprite a smile. Thanks, Willow.
Willow sent a burst of sparkles toward Eddy. I wish there were more I could do, she said. He suffers so.
I know. Eddy tried to catch Dax's eye, to see if he needed her, but he seemed to be staring at something outside the kitchen window.
"Dax?" she asked. "What are you looking at?"
He jerked his head around, blinking. "Sorry. I was thinking. Trying to figure out how much the curse has affected my abilities."
"You zapped Mr. Puccini's turkey without any trouble."
"That I did, but the fire and ice are only a fraction of the demon powers I should have." Absently, he rubbed his hand across the front of his chest. "I'm wondering if I can still disincorporate and take on an avatar."
Ed glanced up from the paper he was reading at the kitchen table. "You can do that? Even with a human body, you can still turn to mist and slip into statues and stuff?"
Dax shook his head. "I don't really know. I could as a demon, but I don't know for sure if I can anymore. Since I've been given this human body of flesh and blood, I wonder if I can animate living things. I haven't tried it yet, though I think I know how to do it." He laughed. "At least in theory."
Bumper snored and rolled over on her back. All eyes in the kitchen focused on the dog. Eddy raised her head. "Could you enter Bumper?"
Dax shot her a pleased glance. "Quite possibly. I imagine I'd need Willow's help. It will take more energy to reduce this corporeal body to demon mist, but it should work." He knelt down beside the dog. Bumper opened one eye and stared at him.
"Whatdaya think, girl? You willing to give it a try?" Willow buzzed by and hovered just over Bumper. Blue sprinkles glittered against the dog's curly blond coat. Bumper groaned and closed her eyes again.
Dax raised his head and grinned at Eddy. "I guess that's an affirmative. Maybe tonight, after I've rested. I'm afraid to try it now, when I'm too tired to think clearly."
"Probably a good idea." Eddy glanced away from the dog and caught Dax studying her. She wished she knew what he was thinking, what he felt. She smiled and then looked away, unwilling to let him see everything in her eyes. She had the feeling that he read her like an open book, while she was completely clueless about what was in his thoughts.
It was disconcerting, to say the least.
"What's the plan for tonight?" Ed looked up from his stack of newspapers. He'd spread them out across the kitchen table between Alton and himself. They'd picked up dailies from a couple of neighboring communities and were looking for articles mentioning strange current events---like demons roaming through other towns. "At least it still looks like the only demons are right here in Evergreen," he said. "There's no mention of any strange activities in any of the papers."
"What about the Record?" Eddy glanced over his shoulder.
"A brief mention of the missing statue turning up in your house after vandals destroyed the place, and another report of damage at the nursery when someone must have gotten in and destroyed a number of stone garden decorations. Pigs, deer, birds...that sort of thing. Stuff Harlan probably took directly off the police reports." He raised his head. "Just in Evergreen, though. So far it looks as if we're the only ones with a demon infestation."
"Let's hope so," Alton said. "We really need to see how bad it is. Taron said many demons had come through the portal, but he never gave me a number. That was my mistake, not to pin him down, though with some demons getting sent back to Abyss when their avatars are destroyed, and others teaming up, it may be impossible to ever get an exact count."
"Will we ever know if we get all of them?" Eddy glanced toward Dax. He merely shrugged. Not the answer she wanted.
Alton said, "We need to patrol the town. Thing is, we'll have to split up. Dax and I can't work together. Though I've not killed with it before, I know my sword has a strong affinity for demonkind." He grinned at Dax. "I'd hate like the nine hells to behead the wrong demon."
"Thank you." Dax dipped his head toward Alton. "I'd hate it even more if you beheaded the wrong demon. I've grown quite fond of this head, which means you're going to work with Ed while I stick with Eddy. I suggest we wait until dark before we go out. Demonkind should be active then, so we're more likely to find them."
He shoved himself away from the counter, pulled a folded map out of his rear pocket, and spread it open on the kitchen table. It was one of the maps the local visitor's center handed out to tourists.
Dax pointed to two areas circled in red. "Let's split this up. Eddy and I'll take this area here, west of the freeway, as well as the north end of town. Alton, you and Ed take the southern and eastern sections, here. Look for evidence of demon activity---check any stores that carry ceramic or stone creatures that could become avatars."
Eddy pointed to a large green section. "That's the memorial park. There are a lot of stone statues at the cemetery. Can the demons use those? Some of them are pretty big."
Dax rubbed the back of his neck. "They handled that bronze statue without any trouble."
"What about angels?" Eddy realized she was rubbing her neck exactly like Dax. They were all feeling the stress. She stopped and crossed both arms over her chest. "Can demons use angel statues for avatars? That just seems wrong."
"As far as I know, Eddy, they can animate anything of the earth, no matter what form it's in, as long as it represents a creature, real or fantasy, that can walk, fly, slither...whatever. We know there's a pretty good-sized stone gargoyle flying around."
"Crap. You're right. Then we really need to check out the cemetery. Which reminds me." Eddy took a deep breath. "Dad, when Dax and I were out today, the gargoyle was right where it belonged on the parapet of the old library. There was no way to get close enough to see if the demon was still in it or not, but we both could sense its malevolence. It feels evil. If you see that thing anywhere, take cover."
"That's why I want to go out after dark," Dax said. "I realize it's going to be more dangerous then, but if the demon's still using the gargoyle as an avatar, we'll have a better chance of seeing it fly. I want to know where it goes when it's out and about, and what it's doing. If possible, I want to destroy it."
Alton frowned. "Why the interest in the gargoyle?"
"Besides the fact it's the one that hit me with the curse?" Dax rubbed his hand across his chest. "It seems to be smarter than demons in general. So far, most of the ones we've come across have been pretty stupid...mindless, actually. Merely acting on instinct. The majority of demons are like that, even on Abyss. The ones that think, the smart ones, are the troublemakers. I think the demons in the statue that attacked us at Eddy's house were functioning on a higher level. That wasn't an arbitrary attack. They were looking for me---I'm certain of it---but they didn't fight very intelligently. I'm wondering if they might have been directed by another demon."
Alton asked, "The gargoyle?"
Dax nodded. "It was waiting for me at the portal. Somehow it either knew I was coming, or sensed my presence. However it knew, it was prepared with the one thing that might actually stop me." He took a deep breath and closed his eyes.
Without asking, Eddy unbuttoned the top buttons of his shirt and pressed her hand to the writhing tattoo. The heat was almost more than she could tolerate, but the thought that Dax lived with this horrible pain was worse. She'd do whatever it took to help.
The tattoo felt like as if it were trying to crawl off his chest. She pressed one palm against the snake's body and held the other right over the fanged head, forcefully holding the damned thing still. Within a few minutes, the heat had cooled to a healthy body temperature, and the tattoo no longer moved.
She swept her palms over the snake's now quiescent body and let out a deep breath. "It's getting worse, isn't it?"
Dax nodded. "It is, but I can do this. With your help, Eddy..." He wrapped his fingers around her hand and gently squeezed. "We only need a few more days...."
He didn't need to say more. He only had a few more days, and they were flying by much too quickly. Then he would be gone, whether they'd beaten the demons or not. Eddy slowly fastened the buttons on his shirt and raised her head. She caught her dad looking at her.
She didn't meet his eyes. Instead she glanced at the Lemurian. "Alton, why don't you take the guest room and get some sleep? Dax can stay in my room with me. I want to be able to control the pain so he can rest."
"Eddy? Honey, are you sure?"
She glanced at her father and smiled. "Yeah, Dad. I'm sure."
He nodded slowly. "Okay." He sighed and gave Eddy a small smile. "I just wanted to be certain."
She held his gaze for a long, very grateful moment. "Thanks, Dad. I appreciate it. C'mon, Dax. I'm beat." She caught his fingers and tugged lightly.
Willow buzzed around the two of them and then landed on Alton's shoulder. Eddy snapped her fingers for Bumper. The dog raised her curly head, yawned, blinked slowly, and then put her chin back down on Alton's booted foot.
Alton continued to study the map. Ed made a show of looking over his shoulder. Dax seemed totally unaware of the undercurrents in the room, or the fact that, for the first time since they'd met, he and Eddy were going to be totally alone.
Eddy hadn't really appreciated her king-sized bed or the fact her room had its own bathroom until now. She paused beside her big bed and touched Dax's arm. "Go and get a shower. You'll sleep better."
He looked at her as if sleep was the last thing on his mind. She felt a little curl of heat in her belly and shoved him toward the bathroom. Sometimes it was necessary to remove temptation.
Still, Eddy followed Dax and grabbed a couple of clean towels out of the linen closet. She left them on the counter, along with a toothbrush still in the wrapper and a new razor.
Did Dax even know what everything was for? She raised her head and caught him watching her with a bemused smile on his face. Once again, she wished she had an idea what he was thinking. He was still so hard for her to read. She slapped a tube of toothpaste next to the toothbrush. "Here," she said. "If you need anything else, just yell."
Then she scooted past him before he said anything, and made a point of closing the door behind her as she left. She heard the water go on, the sound of the shower door sliding open and then closed. She paused beside the bed. Pictured his big body sprawled out across the rumpled covers and immediately turned to stare instead at the closed bathroom door.
Now she imagined him in there under the warm spray, with his hair slicked back behind his ears, brown eyes closed, face lifted to the pulsing jets of water. His thick, dark eyelashes would be all clumped together from the spray. Water would glisten like tiny beads across his broad, broad shoulders.
The muscles in her belly clenched. A spike of need so strong it felt like a physical touch raced from her suddenly taut nipples to pool in her lower abdomen. Her vaginal muscles tightened in reflexive reaction. She sighed.
Damn. Just like his curse, her response to Dax was growing stronger by the moment. Her need for him seemed to have taken on a life of its own, but there'd be no cooling touch from Dax to control her beast. No. If Dax touched her, things were just going to get a whole lot hotter.
"Get a grip, girl." She couldn't stand here watching the bathroom door like an idiot! She had to do something, anything, to take her mind off Dax naked.
By the time she heard the taps shut off, Eddy had the bedding changed and the blinds drawn. The room was comfortably dark, even though it was only a little after one in the afternoon. They had at least six or seven hours before they had to go out on patrol.
Dax stepped out of the bathroom followed by a cloud of steam, and all her good intentions to think of anything but him flew out the window. His dark hair clung to his cheeks and neck. He hadn't shaved, and the day-old stubble on his chin and cheeks made him look even sexier, if that was at all possible.
Water beaded his chest, and the tattoo glistened, crawling up his belly from the lower right, crossing the left side of his chest, and curling around his well-defined pectoral. He'd wrapped a short towel around his hips, but the tail of the snake peeked out beneath the towel on his right leg, just above his knee. The jaws still gaped over his nipple---right over his heart.
All Eddy could think of was where the snake traveled between those points. How it crossed the soft skin where his thigh met his groin, passed over the thick root of his penis through the dark thatch of pubic hair, and curled up the left side of his belly.
The visual was crystal clear, the way she remembered what he'd looked like naked when she found him in her potting shed.... Was it only the night before last? Hours ago, actually. How could she feel as if she'd known him forever? Already her relationship with Dax had an intimacy she'd never experienced with another man, even if they'd been lovers.
Would she and Dax ever...? She wasn't ready to go there. Not yet. Eddy cleared her throat and ducked past Dax, into the steamy bathroom. She dug into her stash of disposable razors and showered, quickly shaved her pits and legs, washed and conditioned her hair...all without allowing herself to think about the man in the next room.
Whether it was from denying her mind the directions it wanted to take, or the schedule they'd been on the past couple of days, when Eddy finally shut off the shower she realized she was completely exhausted.
And confused. Really, really confused. She stared at her image in the foggy mirror and admitted she didn't have a clue what she wanted with Dax. Pregnancy wasn't a fear---she was on the pill---but was she ready for that level of intimacy?
Was she ready for sex with a guy who wasn't even human? Did Dax even want her? He'd kissed her, touched her as if he cared, but he was the first to admit he wasn't human.
Except he was more human, more of a man, more than any man she'd known. She rubbed her short hair dry, slipped quietly out of the bathroom...and realized all her worry was for nothing.
Dax slept soundly on the far side of the bed. The blankets were pulled up to his waist, but he lay on his back with his left arm stretched above his head. The other draped across the blanket covering his belly.
His lips were slightly parted, and his face, relaxed in sleep, looked angelic in spite of the shadow of a day's growth of beard. Without any self-consciousness at all, Eddy dropped the towel on the floor and crawled into bed to lie naked beside him. She snuggled close and wrapped her right arm over his, across his chest. Her palm rested on the snake's head.
She could have sworn she felt the smooth, hard surface of fangs, but that was impossible. She felt heat, though, and the slightest movement, as the curse tried to fight her cooling touch. She thought of healing, of goodness and love, and within a few moments the skin beneath her hand was cool and blessedly still. Dax sighed. The tension left his body with his warm exhalation, and he relaxed into deeper sleep.
He was such a big, powerful man that holding him like this, watching him sleep, hit her like a punch to the heart. She'd never been needed by anyone before, not like this. She actually had the power to help him, to ease his excruciating pain and help him get some much-needed rest.
His skin still felt damp from his shower. His dark lashes were so long and thick they looked almost fake lying against his face in dark half moons. So beautiful. So absolutely perfect.
Except, he was a demon. Silently, she spoke the word, wrapping her lips around the shape of the sound. Demon.
Impossible. All of this, utterly impossible. Smiling, her hand still covering the snake's head, Eddy slipped into sleep, surrounded by the feel, the scent, the very essence of the most amazing man---the most human man---she'd ever known.
He'd never felt so refreshed, so completely rested. Dax lay there for a moment in that blissful period between sleep and full wakefulness, and silently categorized the many sensations he wanted to take with him if he ended up back in the void.
Eddy's amazing scent was a seductive lure all by itself. Her touch that both excited and soothed him, the soft puff of her breath as it left her lips. The warmth and life of her, the soft swell of her bare breast against his chest, the slow, even cadence of her breathing. Even the weight of the one leg she'd somehow wrapped across him.
Paradise was a dream, but he couldn't imagine any paradise even remotely as wonderful as waking up in a clean, warm bed with a beautiful woman sleeping beside him.
One particular beautiful woman.
His eyes remained closed, but he smiled. Paradise had to be waking up with Eddy Marks curled against his body with one shapely leg stretched across his thighs. Her hand rested on the tattoo, her fingers gently caging the vicious-looking mouth with its four sharp fangs. She must have held her hand there even as they slept, soothing the pain, cooling the fire.
No wonder he'd slept so soundly.
The house was quiet. Alton and Ed must still be sleeping. Regretfully, Dax opened his eyes. He had no business lying here in such comfort when demons prowled the earth. He had work to do, and it was growing late. The room was almost dark---a glimmer of light leaked in around the blinds---but it had to be close to dusk. He should be thinking of waking himself fully, of getting out of bed and preparing for the night ahead.
For the battles to come.
But all he could think now was how good this felt, how perfect. Eddy sighed and snuggled closer. She was warm, and her skin was as smooth as silk. Her hair smelled like flowers, and he wanted to bury his face in the short, sweet tangle. Her fingers curled against his chest, and her lips touched the sensitive skin stretched across his ribs. When she exhaled, he felt the little puffs of air against his side. It sort of tickled---in a good way---and it was a feeling unlike anything he'd ever experienced.
His cock was hard as a post. That was sort of familiar---he'd been hard most of the time in his demon form, though it hadn't felt anything remotely similar to this. For a demon, an erection wasn't a thing of pleasure---it was merely a way of life when on Abyss. You had to be ready to kill or eat or fuck, or else you were the one who ended up dead, eaten, or screwed.
Now though, he was hard, and his cock was trapped beneath the smooth muscles of her thigh. Close, but not close enough to another taste of Paradise. Dax lay there for a few minutes, imagining how it would feel to part Eddy's soft nether lips and slide the thick head of his cock between them. She'd be tight.
He'd been huge as a demon---he was almost as large in his human form. Her feminine muscles would have to stretch to give him entry. Once he was deep inside, she'd clasp him with those muscles, and he'd be able to feel the soft, rhythmic ripples all along the length of his shaft.
He lay there a moment longer, imagining the tightness, the moist heat, the sense of belonging she would grant him, should he ever find himself buried deep inside Eddy Marks.
Imagination was about the only way he was going to know.
Now certainly wasn't the time for sex. For making love. He'd never made love before, and it would definitely be lovemaking if he took Eddy. This body knew how. As each hour passed, Dax felt the symbiosis with his borrowed body grow more powerful, his understanding of the things it had done and what it knew becoming clearer, easier to understand.
He knew this had been a soldier's body, one plucked from the morass of swirling time accessible through the void. Nameless to him, the soldier whose face Dax wore, whose body was now a strong and healthy receptacle for the demon's consciousness, had fallen in a fierce battle at a place called Normandy during the prior century. He'd died a hero, and his badly damaged body had been buried as one of many unknown soldiers at a place called Colleville-sur-Mer in France.
The names meant nothing to Dax now, though the brain within this body retained the memory of its final resting place. Most of the memories of the man would be with the body's original spirit, resting now, he assumed, in Paradise.
Dax was glad he'd been given the body of a hero, a man in his prime who had been in his midthirties when he fell in battle. Repaired and strong, now, it gave him hope that his demon spirit might somehow learn whatever the body could teach.
From the beginning, he'd known to touch softly, to proceed with caution. Things like shaking hands, brushing teeth, combing hair. Shaving and dressing and putting on pants and shoes and the cadence of speech, of reading expressions. In the beginning, he'd needed Willow's help to understand, but now he seemed to manage quite well on his own.
He still needed her for drawing energy, both to access the demon powers within his tattoo, and to fight the curse inhabiting the damned thing. When Eddy wasn't there with her healing touch, it was Willow he turned to for help.
Eddy snuggled closer against him. He thought of waking her. They needed to get moving. Then he thought of waking her and making love to her. He knew she wanted him. Knew they would both be swept up in the intimacy, the act of love, but dare he risk it? Lovemaking with Eddy could be highly dangerous to her.
If they were fully intimate, their dynamics would surely change. How would he control the curse if he was buried deep inside her feminine heat? It took all his strength to hold the growing power of the cursed tattoo under some semblance of control, yet he knew, without any doubt at all, that sex with Eddy would take away every bit of his control.
And what of the demon? What if his demon self surfaced? What if that creature decided to make Eddy his own? It wouldn't be lovemaking then. No, it would be fucking, pure and simple.
Eddy deserved more than that. She deserved better than Dax.
She moved again and wriggled closer, and then he heard a soft little gasp of surprise and knew she was awake.
Awake and fully aware of how close she lay beside him, how intimately their bodies touched. She knew how his body responded to the weight of that one delicious thigh---knew by the way his erect cock pulsed between her warm, muscular leg, and his belly.
"Did you sleep okay?" he asked.
All heavy-lidded and warm, she blinked and rubbed the side of her face against his chest. "I did," she said. And then she yawned. "How about you?"
"I slept well, thanks to you."
"What'd I do?" She blinked and then slowly closed her eyes, as if it was too much effort to keep them open.
"You kept your fingers over my tattoo. You drew the pain through all the hours. I slept entirely without pain, without any action from the curse at all. Your touch is magic."
She arched her back and pressed herself against his hip. He felt the brush of that small thatch of hair between her legs, the way it tickled his flank. Her thigh moved over the length of his cock, a slow, seductive slide that effectively destroyed all his good intentions when he swelled even more against her.
There was no sense of his demon self, but he couldn't relax. Not while she kept up the slow slide of her thigh over his shaft, moving just enough to drive him wild. Her body writhed and undulated against him. He thought of the snake tattoo, the way it moved in a painful dance over his torso.
This was almost the same, and yet so amazingly different, this rhythmic dance of Eddy's. There was no pain, but the pleasure was so extreme it was torture to lie here and accept it without responding.
"Eddy?" He groaned, leaned close, and kissed her soft lips. "Do you have any idea what you're doing?"
Eddy's eyes stayed shut, but she nodded, smiling broadly. She kept up the slow thrust and retreat of her hips against his flank, of her thigh over his erection.
Dax slipped away from her clasping legs, wrapped his legs around hers, and rolled over on top of her. He trapped her wrists in his hands above her head and held her legs close together. His cock pressed against her pubic mound...close, but not close enough.
"We have to get moving," he said, leaning down and kissing her. She grinned at him, totally unrepentant.
"You're not moving nearly enough." She pouted. He leaned close and nipped her full lower lip.
"We don't have time. Not now," he said, though there was nothing he wanted more than to lift his hips, allow her to spread her legs the way she would if he didn't have them trapped between his, and sink into her heat.
Just thinking about it made him groan. He leaned his head down and rested his forehead on Eddy's. "I will make love to you, Eddy Marks, but it's going to be when we have the time to do it right. Not when your father is waiting outside the bedroom door."
"Oh shit!" She twisted away, stared at the door, and whispered, "Dad's out there?"
Dax nodded, grinning, and whispered just as softly. "He is. I'm getting up now. You can let him in when you're decent."
Dax slipped out of bed, but not so fast that Eddy didn't get a good glimpse of what she'd been holding trapped beneath her leg. She'd never seen him erect. If she had, she might not have let him escape so easily.
Damn, but he was absolutely gorgeous with his muscular butt and flat belly, the ripple of muscles across his chest and shoulders. The smooth line of his back and the way it curved into the most perfect manflank she'd ever seen in her life.
She swallowed back the first thought that popped into her head, how she'd just love to take a big bite of that beautiful sweep of muscle and warm male.
Even the tattoo was beautiful in a terrible way. The curve and color emphasized Dax's powerful physique, the natural strength in his long, ropey muscles. When he paused beside the bed and stretched his long arms up over his head, she heard the sound of his spine popping and joints cracking.
The snake's mouth gaped open. She was almost certain she saw a gleam on one of the long fangs and a spark of intelligence in the creature's eyes, but then Dax turned away and grabbed his clothes off the chair beside the bed. While he pulled on his pants, Eddy snatched up her clothes and raced into the bathroom.
She glanced over her shoulder as she clutched the door and realized Dax had turned and watched her bare-assed run across the room with typical male appreciation. He winked at her. Then he reached for the bedroom door.
Giggling, Eddy slammed the door to the bathroom shut before Dax opened the bedroom door to her father. She heard her dad's voice but couldn't tell what he said, or if the men even stayed in the room. She used the bathroom, washed her face, and brushed her teeth. Then she carefully opened the door.
The bed was straightened up, though not made. The room was empty, and Dax and her father were gone. Eddy wrapped a towel around herself and dug through her old dresser in search of clean socks and fresh underwear.
In just a couple of hours, they'd be going into battle. For some stupid reason, her mother's warning about always wearing clean undies in case you have an accident was planted firmly in her head.
It was easier than thinking of what lay ahead.
Tuesday night---day three
Dax and Alton sat at the table, poring over the city map with a plate of sandwiches and a bowl of chips in front of them. Dax heard Eddy come into the kitchen, but he didn't turn around. When she stood behind Dax and reached for half a roast beef sandwich, he tilted back, leaned the top of his head against her belly, and grinned up at her. "Ed makes good sandwiches. I could get used to these."
She shook her head, and the damp strands of her short hair slapped the sides of her face. "Then you'd better learn to make them. I only cook when I have to." She took a bite and pointed to a spot on the map. He glanced down and followed where her finger led.
"There's a big nursery here. I thought of it while I was in the shower---it's got a whole section devoted to ceramic garden creatures. Deer, mice, birds---all sorts of things. There's a huge statue of a grizzly bear just outside the front. I can't remember if it's stone or plastic or maybe concrete. I guess it's okay if it's plastic, right?"
Dax nodded. "Stone and ceramic seem to be the avatars of choice. I'm not sure about plastic. Its basic component is petroleum, but that might be a stretch."
"Well, we haven't seen any plastic flamingoes flapping around, and all the garden gnomes I've seen have been made of cheap ceramic." She chewed and swallowed a big bite. "Alton, the nursery is here on the southeastern end of town, so you and Dad need to check it out."
Alton nodded and made a note on a small tablet. His list was already long. Willow buzzed across the room and hovered in between the Lemurian and Dax, but her focus was entirely on Dax. Her tiny wings beat so fast they practically disappeared.
You must see if you can achieve the transfer, she said, speaking telepathically to him.
Damn. He'd completely forgotten. Dax nodded, and Willow zipped across the room again to hover beside Bumper.
Dax turned to Eddy and shrugged. "Maybe I need to make lists the way Alton does. Willow just reminded me I have to see if I can disincorporate and transfer into Bumper." He grabbed a sandwich and pushed his chair back. When Eddy started to follow, he stopped her. "Watch from here if you like, but don't come close. Not until I've done the transfer a few times. There's a risk that I could take over the body of the wrong living entity. I only want to do this with Bumper. It might be too confusing if I end up sharing your body."
Eddy stared at him a minute. Then she burst out laughing and leaned close. He caught a whiff of her fresh scent and the flowery essence of her shampoo. His delight in her scent was so great he had to close his eyes. Would he ever grow used to such pleasure?
Whispering in his ear, so close that her breath tickled him, she said, "Dax, you can share my body any time you want."
Dax took a long, slow breath, giving himself time to grasp whatever control he could. Then, as calmly as he was able, he cast her a sidelong glance. "How come you didn't tell me that before I fell asleep?" Before she could move away, he planted a quick kiss on her full lips.
She blinked in surprise. He liked that he'd gotten her back after her tease. Then he stood up, grabbed another half of a sandwich off the plate, and went out in the backyard with Bumper and Willow on his heels.
He left Eddy sitting in the kitchen with a big smile on her face. One almost as broad as the smile on his.
Dax found a quiet corner out in the backyard near Ed's workshop. Someone nearby had recently mowed their lawn, and the rich scent of freshly cut grass tickled his nostrils. The air was still, the early evening quiet. It was as good a time as any to practice something he wasn't really certain he could do.
Bumper sniffed around the bushes, peed on a tuft of grass, and then planted her butt at his feet. Willow flitted around, checking the area as he'd asked her to, making sure there were no demons in hiding. He knew he'd be vulnerable until he got the hang of this.
"Okay, Willow. Have you explained to Bumper what we're planning?"
Willow hovered in front of Dax's face. Bumper yipped. It appeared they were ready. He wished he felt better prepared. Wished he had a better understanding of what he could and couldn't do.
"You'll need to show me what to do first."
She continued to hover in front of his face. Instead of speaking in his head, Willow let him see visually how to transfer his consciousness from his human body into a living creature. It was a three-part process---moving his consciousness, the part that made him Dax, out of the human body; reducing the human body to all its separate molecular components so that he wouldn't be leaving a mindless shell behind that could be captured or destroyed by his enemies; and transferring his consciousness into a living avatar.
It was essentially what the Edenites had done to him after they found him in the void. He'd existed there as consciousness only. His demon form had stayed in Abyss, probably as a meal for one of his many enemies. The group from Eden must have reached into the maelstrom of time and found this soldier's body after its spirit had already flown.
Of course, they had refurbished it, added the tattoo and a few upgrades, and Dax had been sent through the portal as a human. Yet in essence, he was still the demon. The very soul of this body was demonkind. The powers that coursed through the tattoo, bound though they were by the curse, were still those of a once-powerful demon.
He vaguely recalled he'd been quite powerful on Abyss. So many of the memories of his life before the void were faded, the recollections twisted and confused by the memories still a part of this body.
He hoped the power he'd once wielded as a demon would help him now. He stared at Willow, studying the process she showed him, imagining each step that would disassemble the molecules of the human body and yet leave his conscious mind intact.
It all made such perfect sense. He had to be certain to separate his consciousness first, or even his thoughts would dissipate with the evening breeze, never to recombine again.
Still, what sounded complicated and confusing was really a very simple process---as long as he didn't screw anything up. The idea of floating free of his body without an anchor scared the crap out of him, but he had Bumper standing by, ready and willing to play host, and Willow for advice. He should be fine.
He glanced once toward the house and saw Eddy's face in the kitchen window. Her hands were clasped in front of her lips, as if in prayer. Knowing she was so close, so worried about him, gave Dax the courage he needed to take the next step.
He gazed once again at Willow. She glowed brightly, drawing energy out of the air and sending it to him. Dax absorbed it, inhaling as if he filled his lungs with oxygen, but taking all the energy Willow had to give.
He paused a moment and allowed his mind to absorb the energy. Felt the pressure build inside until power literally pulsed in his veins. Then he began the process that should separate him from his human body. The sensation was unlike anything he'd felt before---a sudden twisting of reality, as if he'd been sucked down a long, narrow tube.
Then nothing. He blinked. Looked down at his human hands, his large human feet. Ran his fingers over his arms and stared at Bumper.
She wagged her tail and yipped.
He tried it again, drawing power, taking each step that should free his consciousness and disassemble his body.
He should have been looking at the world from less than two feet off the ground. He wasn't. He was still Dax, still human, still staring down at the dog and wondering what had gone wrong.
"Willow? What the hell happened?"
There was no sign of the sprite. "Willow? Willow, where are you?"
I am here.
He stared down at the dog. Bumper's tail swished in rapid delight. There was a suspicious blue sparkle in her big, brown eyes.
"You're in Bumper? I'm supposed to be in Bumper. What happened?"
Obviously your human body is unable to disassemble. Mine, however, does it beautifully.
"I can see that." He planted his hands on his hips and realized he felt mildly ridiculous talking to the dog. "How come you can do it and I can't?"
Bumper yipped.
Willow answered. I imagine it has something to do with your powers, the tattoo, and the curse. If you disincorporated your body, what happens to the tattoo? If it dissipates, do your powers disappear?
Dax let out a big sigh. "I hadn't even thought of that. So, you can take on an avatar but I can't."
That's how it appears.
"Will you be able to get your body back?"
He heard Willow's laughter. Feminine, almost sultry, she said, I certainly hope so!
"Great." He wasn't used to being bested by a sprite. Dax folded his arms across his chest and tried once more to draw the power, to make the switch.
And again, nothing happened.
He glared down at the dog from his usual height.
She stared at him out of intelligent eyes.
"Willow? Are you still there?"
Yes. I like this body. I can't fly, but I'm stronger and I feel more sensations. Watch! She took off and ran around the yard a few times. Dax watched, frustrated, as Willow discovered what it was like to run like a dog, to smell the different scents and hear the sounds through Bumper's ultrasensitive ears.
Obviously, this was one demon power he'd lost. At least he still had his fire and ice. "Willow?"
I'm here.
"I want you to come out so I can see how long it takes you to get your body back."
Do I have to?
"Please, Willow. This isn't a game. Even though I can't switch, we may have need for you to be able to do it. I need to know how fast you are."
I know. Okay.
Willow took a bit longer than Dax expected, but within a few seconds she buzzed by him, leaving a trail of blue sparkles in her wake.
I want to do it again!
Should he really feel jealous of a sprite? "As often as you like, Willow. As long as Bumper doesn't mind."
Willow buzzed around him, then disappeared into the dog. Bumper didn't seem the least bit concerned when Willow popped in and out of her consciousness.
Disappointed in his own lack of ability, Dax watched as the sprite improved the speed of her shift with each attempt. The tattoo throbbed across his torso, energized most likely by his failed attempts and frustration. It seemed that the thing was more painful whenever he used his demon skills. The pain appeared to be worse, if that was at all possible, when he attempted something and failed.
How long before it was too much? How long before he couldn't handle it, couldn't keep the damned thing from gaining sentience? That's what was happening. He knew it, sensed the snake growing stronger, more self-aware each time it began to move across his body.
"Dax? Are you okay?" Eddy walked across the lawn. He could barely see her. Hadn't realized it had grown dark while he'd been out here. "Alton and Dad are ready to leave. I thought we should probably get going too. Are you okay? Are you ready?"
He nodded. "I am." He studied his shoes. "I failed to make the transfer."
"I know. We watched." She grabbed his hands in hers. "I'm sorry. Did Willow? We couldn't tell for sure."
He nodded. "Yes. With ease." His failure left a sour taste in his mouth. He couldn't believe he was jealous of a will-o'-the-wisp, but Willow had managed something he'd been so sure he could do, and she'd done it perfectly.
Eddy gazed into his eyes with more awareness than he wished she had. "It's not really an ability you'll need, is it? I know you thought for sure you'd be able to make the switch, but it shouldn't affect how you fight, should it?"
He shook his head. "I can still fight. Willow thinks it's because my powers are in the tattoo. Maybe I can't disassemble the tattoo and retain my demon powers. I wish I had a better understanding of what I can and can't do."
Bumper shoved her nose against his leg. He rubbed her curly head. "At least Bumper didn't seem to mind a bit when Willow moved in."
Eddy reached down and rubbed Bumper's ears. "Bumper doesn't mind anything as long as someone's paying her attention, do you, girl?"
Bumper leaned against Eddy's leg and groaned.
"See? What'd I tell you? C'mon. The guys wanted to talk to you before they leave."
Dax grabbed her hand. "First, I need..."
"I wondered if all that stuff would make this worse." She sighed, shook her head, and quickly unbuttoned his shirt. When her cool hands covered the snake, he almost wept. The moment she touched him, the pain seemed more manageable. Even his frustration faded away. The longer she pressed her palms to the tattoo, the better he felt.
When Eddy leaned close and pressed her lips against the snake's vicious head, the pain disappeared entirely. His body felt strong again. Whole. He leaned forward and rested his forehead against Eddy's. "I could not do this without you. Thank you."
She flashed him a bright smile, though he still sensed the worry she hid from him. Then she buttoned his shirt closed for him, touched his cheek with her fingertips, and turned toward the house. "C'mon. They're waiting."
He heard the tremor in her voice. She was definitely worried. What could he do, to take the worry away?
The only thing he knew. Kill the demons. Make the world safe before he either returned to the void or took his place in Paradise.
For some reason, he didn't find the same sense of satisfaction those options had given him in the past. Wondering about his changing frame of mind, Dax followed Eddy back into the house with Bumper and Willow right behind.
Alton stood in the kitchen with his sword out, checking the blade in the bright overhead light. He glanced up, saw Dax, and quickly sheathed his sword, but it was obvious the weapon fought him. It looked as if it took all of Alton's considerable strength to force the thing back into the scabbard.
Dax stood back, waiting in the doorway until it was safely encased in leather.
"It doesn't understand why I won't let it kill you, Dax." Alton laughed. "Don't ever try and sneak up on me. The sword will know the moment you get within striking distance."
"I'll remember that." He eyed the thing respectfully. The blade was at least five feet long and appeared to be made of pure diamond, sharp as a razor. Not something he wanted to go up against in battle.
Dax put the evening's failure out of his mind. Tonight they faced their first true test. "Alton, you and Ed are going to take the southern part of town and cover the area around to the east. Eddy and I will go north and west. Be careful on the eastern side since that's closest to the mountain. If you discover heavy demon infestation anywhere, I want you to contact us. Ed's got a cell phone, and so does Eddy. I can't count on my telepathy in this body. It's not consistent."
"No problem." Alton strapped the scabbard across his back and checked to make sure the grip was perfectly placed for quick retrieval. "Maybe we'll get a little action tonight and my sword will finally tell me its name, eh?" He flashed a grin at Dax and took a step toward the door. "Ed? You ready to go?"
"I am." Ed wrapped his arms around Eddy and gave her a tight hug and a kiss on top of her head. "Be careful, sweetheart. Don't take any chances. Be sure and listen to Dax."
She hugged him back. "I will, Dad. You be careful too. Do you and Alton want Bumper?"
"You keep her. We'll be okay." Ed glanced at Dax. "Take care of my little girl, Dax. Keep her safe."
"Yes, sir." Dax held a hand out. Ed took it in a firm grasp. "You have my promise."
Ed nodded. "Remember to lock the house up, Eddy. I've got a key." He looked around the kitchen as if he couldn't quite believe where he was going. Then he flashed Eddy a huge grin, turned away, and followed Alton out the back door.
Eddy stared at the door for a moment after it closed. Then she shook her head, laughing. "All the years my dad's believed in flying saucers and ghosts and demons and I've teased him about it. Now I find out he was right and I was wrong."
Dax shrugged. "I can't say much about flying saucers, though I understand Atlanteans have a form of transportation that might appear..."
"No!" Eddy laughed and held both her hands over her ears. "Let me hold on to at least a few of my delusions. Please?"
"If you say so." Dax waited while she grabbed a jacket for the cool night air and locked the back door behind her dad and Alton. Then she led him out the front door.
Dax followed close behind and stood at her side while she locked the door. Eddy left the porch light on, as if they were just going out for a regular evening.
As if you could call hunting demons a regular anything. He wondered how they'd fare this night, if all of them would still be alive come morning. It was so beautiful out, but when Dax glanced up at the night sky, he felt as if time were spinning by at Mach speed.
The tattoo shivered across his chest, and he felt the heat beginning to build once more. Three days almost gone, and they'd yet to face demonkind in force. Three days since he'd been cursed, and the curse grew in strength by the hour.
Dax gazed along the dark and silent street and wondered, once again, what the night would bring.
"I've made a list of the places with stuff demons can use as avatars, all on the way to the cemetery, but that's not even counting all the little garden statues in everyone's yards and the ceramic stuff in houses." Eddy raised her head and caught Dax looking back at her. She smiled at him, and for a moment she wasn't terrified of what might come. She wasn't afraid for Dax and the pain he suffered from the curse. For just a moment, she was a woman gazing at a man and thinking things a woman in love would feel.
Things she'd better stop thinking right now. Damn...where'd that come from? Double damn....She'd been avoiding the L word really well until now. Eddy blinked herself back to the job at hand and tore her gaze away from Dax. Took a deep breath and willed her heart to stop racing.
She glanced once more at her list and then much more carefully at Dax. She wasn't about to let herself be caught up in those gorgeous dark eyes of his. Not now. "Okay, how about we set the cemetery as our eventual destination, and just check as many of these places along the way as we can." Eddy took a final look at the list, folded it up, and stuck it in her pocket. Then she grabbed Bumper's leash and zipped her jacket closed. It was cool out, but not cold. She wondered what kind of weather demons preferred.
Willow flitted around for a moment and then settled in the curls between Bumper's ears. Dax clicked on the flashlight he'd borrowed from her dad. Then he turned it off, and on again. There were no streetlights in this part of town, and they'd need the light.
"You lead," Dax said. "I'm not really sure where we're going."
Eddy nodded and took off with Bumper leading the way. They followed the road to the main boulevard and headed north. Shops were closed, but there were still a few restaurants open, and all seemed normal for a Tuesday night. Music filtered out of a small bar. There was a burst of loud laughter, more music, and voices.
"It's a nice town, Eddy. Good people live here."
Eddy nodded. "They do. That's why I hate to think of anything awful happening here. Demons! It's so hard to believe. Like something out of a horror movie."
Dax wrapped his fingers around her hand. He was so big, his hands so much larger than hers that he made her feel almost petite. She looked up at him and smiled. It was such a natural thing, even if highly unusual for her, to be walking down Lassen Boulevard holding hands with a really gorgeous guy.
His fingers suddenly tightened around hers. He pulled Eddy into the shadows beneath a decorative awning. Bumper whined.
So much for natural.
"Shush, Bumper."
Bumper's ears went back, but she didn't make another sound. Dax tapped Eddy's shoulder and pointed to a shadowed area across the street. At first she didn't see what he pointed at.
Then part of a shadow detached itself from a darker area. What looked like a small panther moved clumsily along the sidewalk. Eddy stared a moment longer and realized it was a carved stone cat, one that had sat upright in front of the store for years.
Now, though, it slunk along the sidewalk. Awkward at first, it seemed to gain coordination with each step, sniffing at the ground and then raising its head in the air as if to sniff the wind. It paused with one paw raised, nose in the air, its posture preternaturally alert.
Bumper growled, low in her throat. Eddy pressed her jaws together with her fingers. The dog whined, but she stopped growling.
As Eddy watched, the stone cat turned and stared directly at her. Instead of blank stone eyes, she faced red, glowing coals. The cat opened wide an improbable mouth framed in flashing rows of razor-sharp teeth. It screamed a piercing banshee howl that raised all the hairs along Eddy's spine.
It crouched low, and, without warning, leapt halfway across the street in a single bound.
"Eddy! Get back!" Dax raised his hands. His brow furrowed in concentration. The cat leapt again. This time Dax caught it with a wall of frozen air that knocked it to the ground. Bumper barked and growled, jerking hard at the leash. Eddy wrapped the strap around both her hands and held on. Willow flitted over Dax, gathering energy to fight the demon.
The stone cat sprawled on the ground, stunned. Dax shot it with a burst of flame. The stone cracked open. Black mist oozed through the fissures. Dax caught the mist with his icy blast once more, freezing it into shards of ice. Then he seared the frozen demon with flame. It sizzled and dissipated into the air.
Before the last wisp of steam had vanished, Dax grabbed Eddy's hand and tugged her along the street, around a corner and behind a small crystal shop, with Bumper bouncing joyfully beside them. As soon as they got into the shadows, he wrapped his arms around Eddy and covered her mouth with his in a hard, uncompromising kiss.
She heard footsteps thundering by and laughed against his mouth. "And here I thought you just couldn't stay away from me."
He chuckled and pressed his forehead against hers. "I can't, but I also don't want to have to explain what we're doing to your curious police. Not yet."
She stepped up on her toes and kissed him hard and fast. Then she grabbed his hand. "Let's go. That mess in the street will keep the cops busy for a while."
They slipped out from between the buildings and headed away from the commotion, down the street toward the old library. Bumper trotted alongside as if fighting demon cats were an everyday event, but she slowed her pace when they reached the library. The stone building was empty now, merely a shell of its former glory, and, according to laws regarding earthquake safety, badly in need of restoration.
At one time there had been two gargoyle statues on the roof at either side of the main front door. Years ago, one had been vandalized and destroyed, but the remaining gargoyle had survived. They'd both seen it there, holding court from the corner mount earlier today.
Now the corner was empty. "It's gone." Dax's flat words gave just a hint of the frustration he must be feeling as they stared at the point where the gargoyle had been attached since long before Eddy's father was born. Now the shelf of quarried stone stood empty, mute testimony to the demon that had chosen the statue as its avatar.
"Listen!" Eddy tugged Dax's hand and pointed toward the west, in the direction of the cemetery. The faint sound of screeching and deeply resonant howls barely registered. Bumper growled and tugged the leash.
"We need to see what's going on."
Dax stared at her for a moment, as if trapped by indecision. "Eddy, maybe you should try and find your father and Alton. Go with them."
"You're kidding, right?" She glared at him, silently daring him to give her such a stupid order. He looked as if he'd like nothing better than to send her home. "I'm going with you, Dax. We're a team, remember?"
He sighed, long and loud. "I remember. That doesn't mean I have to like it." He rubbed his chest and took a deep, shuddering breath.
Eddy reached for his top button.
"We don't have time," he said.
"Don't be stupid." She was angrier than she had a right to be. Angry at Dax for wanting to keep her safe, at the demons for creating this mess, at Harlan for firing her. Angry at a life that was currently spinning totally out of control. "We don't have time not to. Hold still." She parted the buttons and gasped. The snake stared directly into her eyes with a malevolence she'd not expected. Eddy took a deep breath and slapped both hands directly over the serpent's head. She was almost certain she felt the texture of his scales, the hard surface of fangs, but the intense heat quickly overwhelmed any other sensations.
Holding her hands against the tattoo, she drew the heat into her own body, aware of a difference this time, as if she dealt with an actual creature, not merely a cursed tattoo. It took longer to cool the heat, and when it was done, her arms felt heavy and her heart thudded in her chest.
The curse was growing stronger. How much longer would she have any effect on it? How long before the thing attacked her when she tried to cover it with her hands?
What the hell would she do if it did attack?
"Thank you," Dax said. He bowed his head. "It's worse, isn't it? I can feel it. It's coming to life. Just now, when I zapped the demon...the first time, nothing happened. It was harder to draw my powers. I felt as if they were fighting me, refusing to respond."
"Yeah, but they did respond. You're still in charge. It's okay, Dax. I can handle the pain if you can." She forced a laugh. "Ain't no tattoo gonna get the best of me!"
She wanted to wrap her arms around him and hold him close, just hug him hard until the damned curse was gone, but when he held his hand out, she took it. Then she followed him down the dark lane that would lead them to the cemetery.
In the distance, Eddy heard faint screams and banshee howls, interspersed with the nearby chirp of crickets and the hoot of an owl. She shivered, held tightly to Dax's hand, and kept her senses on high alert.
There was a small hardware store with a nursery along the road to the cemetery. Dax held a finger to his lips as they drew near. "I sense demonkind nearby," he whispered. "Stay alert."
Bumper growled and strained at her leash. Willow zipped around the side of the building, while Eddy and Dax crossed the parking lot. Two large dusk-to-dawn lights illuminated most of the asphalt and the front of the store, but the dark shadows could have hidden an entire army of demon-powered avatars.
They peered through the windows into the store, but nothing seemed amiss. Dax used the bright beam on the flashlight to illuminate the gardening area, but all seemed quiet.
Willow returned after making a full circle around the building and nursery. She hadn't seen a thing, but the feeling persisted, so strong now that even Eddy felt it.
The distant cries and howls ebbed and flowed with the wind, but the sound was so eerie it made Eddy shudder. "Maybe you sense the demons at the cemetery," she said. "It seems quiet here."
"I know," Dax said, flashing the light across the parking lot once more. "But the quiet feels wrong. Do you hear crickets? That owl that was hooting earlier?"
Eddy stared at him, wide-eyed. He was right. There was no sound other than the occasional roar of a truck going by on the freeway and the distant cries from the direction of the cemetery.
They stood together beneath the light in the parking lot, listening for anything---even the normal sounds of the night that should have created a backdrop for the silence. Eddy's muscles tensed, almost as if she waited for a blow.
An earsplitting shriek shattered the silence. Eddy spun around to face the sound. Dax stepped in front of her, protecting her body with his, as something large and dark flew by just over their heads. The force of its passing threw Willow into a spin. Dax threw his arms high and shot flames into the sky. Eddy looked up just in time to catch the silhouette of the gargoyle circling overhead, getting set up to come back at them once again.
The thing circled high and then dove straight at them, jaws agape, mouth filled with rows of sharp teeth. The eyes glowed red as it zeroed in on Dax. As he raised his hands to fire on the demon, Bumper tore free of Eddy's grasp and leapt into the air. Dax pulled his hands back just in time as Bumper's jaws closed around one wingtip. The gargoyle spun in a tight circle and slashed at the dog's tender nose with a clawed foot.
Bumper yipped and turned loose of the wing, rolling and tumbling across the parking lot. Eddy ducked as the gargoyle dove straight for her. Dax couldn't use his weapons, fighting so close, but he grabbed for the creature's wing and managed to knock it off balance.
It missed Eddy and skidded across the parking lot with Bumper once again hot on its tail. Dax took a quick look at Eddy, then raced after the dog and the gargoyle. Eddy ran right behind him and dove for Bumper's leash. She managed to catch the strap at the end and tugged as hard as she could. She had to get Bumper out of the way so that Dax could hit the demon with fire and ice, but by the time she got control of the frantic dog, the gargoyle had leapt into the air once again. It circled high above and screamed as if it cursed them all.
The thing hovered a moment. Its wings made a loud, grating noise as they slowly flapped, moving much too slowly to actually keep a stone statue airborne. The visual was disconcerting, to say the least.
Then it tucked its wings, bared rows of glistening teeth, and with an earsplitting screech, dove straight for them once again. Willow zipped behind Dax.
"Move, Eddy. Out of the way!"
Eddy rolled to one side. Gravel cut into her elbow and forearm as Dax let loose a barrage of flame. The gargoyle screamed a banshee cry of pure frustration that seemed to echo off the rooftops, but the flames didn't slow it down, nor did the icy wall that Dax threw next.
Bursting through the sheet of ice as if it were only so much mist, the gargoyle totally disregarded Dax's most powerful weapon. Willow shot off to the right. Dax dove to the ground and rolled to the left. The creature slashed at his face as it passed.
Lying on his back on the asphalt parking lot, Dax pointed his fingers at the gargoyle once again. Nothing happened. He looked for Willow and spotted her nearby, sparkles dimmed but still gleaming in the darkness. Again he tried. Nothing!
Thank goodness the demon didn't seem to notice Dax was suddenly powerless. With a vicious snarl, it kept going and disappeared into the darkness, flying toward the cemetery.
"Shit. Shit, shit, shit." Eddy gently rubbed her scratched elbow to dislodge the embedded gravel and broken bits of glass. She glared at the dark sky until she finally spotted Willow. Her sparkles were almost gone. Slowly she dropped down out of the sky to land on the asphalt, obviously exhausted.
Then Bumper whimpered. "Oh! Baby..." Eddy knelt down and wrapped her arms around the dog. "Dax, shine the light on her, please? I want to see how badly she got hurt."
Shaking his head, Dax slowly rolled to his feet. Cursing beneath his breath, he scooped Willow up in one hand and held the flashlight close to the dog. There was a long scratch that cut across Bumper's nose and ran under her eye, but it didn't appear too serious. She stretched her tongue out and licked the tiny drops of blood away. Eddy stared at the scratch a moment longer and then turned to Dax. "Could it be poisonous?"
He shook his head. "I doubt it. The demon is still mist, even though it's in an avatar, and the gargoyle is made of stone, not living flesh. If she'd been struck by demon claws, I'd say it was definitely poisoned, but I don't think they have that power with an avatar."
"I need a weapon." Eddy crouched there with her arms around Bumper and thought of what she could have done to the gargoyle. It was the one who'd cursed Dax, and now it had come after them.
"I agree. Eddy, I'm so damned sorry. I never thought of arming you." He sighed. "I didn't think you'd need anything. I thought I was strong enough to protect us both."
Willow's wings fluttered, and she stared up at him, obviously upset. Dax shook his head. "No, Willow. It was not your fault. You sent me plenty of energy, but the snake was stealing it." Sighing, Dax held his hand out. Eddy took it, and he pulled her to her feet. "There was nothing there when I tried to hit the demon a second time. No flame, no ice. If it had turned on either of us then, I couldn't have done anything to stop it."
He glanced down at her torn sleeve and bloodied arm. "Crap. You're bleeding."
"I'm okay." She looked at the scrapes and scratches. Then she gazed into Dax's dark eyes. "I want a baseball bat," she said. "A big, heavy baseball bat. I know how to use one. I could have hit that thing when it flew over me if I'd had something I could swing at it."
"Where would I find such a thing?"
"That's easy," she said, aware once more of the sound of crickets. "My dad's got a couple of them. Good, sturdy northern white ash baseball bats. I played on the boys' Little League team when I was a kid, and I was pretty damned..." She glanced up at Dax. He stood perfectly still. His jaw was clenched, his eyes closed.
This time Eddy didn't even ask. She merely stood up, unbuttoned his shirt, and pressed her palms against the snake. It was definitely moving, pulsing like a thing alive beneath her hands. Willow perched on Dax's shoulder and watched.
Eddy realized the snake gained more strength each time Dax battled demons, and tonight he'd lost his powers after taking just a couple of shots at the gargoyle.
Whatever energy Willow sent to him appeared to strengthen the curse as much as, if not more than, it empowered Dax. After only three days, it was almost more than he could handle.
The sounds coming from the cemetery grew louder. With her palms pressed to his chest, Eddy stood on her toes and planted a quick kiss on Dax's mouth. Before he could kiss her back, she pulled away. "I'm calling Dad and Alton," she said. "Personally, I want backup. You can just stay clear of Alton's sword."
Dax didn't say a word, but his gaze was on Eddy's bloodied arm when he nodded in agreement. As soon as his burning flesh had cooled, Eddy dug out her cell phone and called her father.
Late Tuesday night
Ed leaned against a thick oak, gasping for air. After a few deep breaths, he cocked a wary eye at Alton. "I've discovered that building model-train layouts and birdhouses doesn't get a guy in shape for hunting demons."
"Neither do esoteric arguments and philosophical discussion, but we're doing well, Ed." Taking a few deep breaths himself, Alton gazed proudly at the sword he clasped in his right hand. It still hadn't spoken to him, but it had definitely drawn blood, if that black demon stink could be considered as such. It felt warmer when he held it now, almost as if it pulsed with life. The grip fit his hand better; the weight seemed more perfectly balanced. "How many is that? I've lost track."
Ed frowned. "I don't know." He began counting off on his fingers. "The first two---the garden gnome and the stone goose we found just down the street from my house. Then there were three more in the church parking lot. I never expected a demon attack by two angels and the Virgin Mary!"
"I guess Dax was right when he told Eddy they could use angels as avatars. I wondered that myself."
"True, but wonder no longer." Ed frowned. "Let's see, there were the three ceramic cats next to the gas station, the ones you got in midair...what, maybe four or five of those metal hummingbirds?"
Alton nodded. "At least five." The little metal birds had the potential to be deadly adversaries. Quick and able to maneuver as well as their live counterparts, they'd been armed with sharp beaks and had no hesitation using them. The puncture wound in his left shoulder was proof of that.
"I'm running out of fingers...that's thirteen so far, and there were at least half a dozen more between the gas station and the nursery---squirrels, a couple more stone cats, the turtle, a frog..."
"Don't forget the one that jumped us near that fast-food restaurant."
Ed shook his head, but he was definitely grinning. At least he appeared to have finally caught his breath. "I'll never see Ronald the clown in the same way," he said. "All those teeth!" Ed gave an exaggerated shudder. "Okay, that's at least twenty before we got here, and I have no idea how many were waiting for us in the parking lot. Eddy was right to send us here."
Alton glanced at the parking lot outside the small nursery. "They did seem to be waiting, if not for us, for something. It was odd, the way they were all massed here."
The asphalt was littered now with piles of scorched ceramic and stone rubble. The stench of sulfur hung thickly in the still night air. They'd been attacked by an entire army of garden gnomes, stone squirrels, turtles, and rabbits---even a concrete bench designed in the shape of a pig.
Alton's sword had quickly proved adept at dispatching demons. If only he knew for certain they were actually dead. He feared they might merely have been returned to Abyss. At least with the portal closed, sending them back to Abyss was as good as dead---until another portal in the vortex was created.
"I'd guess we destroyed at least another two, maybe three dozen more here." Ed gazed about the littered asphalt as if he couldn't believe what they'd done. He cast a sideways glance at Alton. "Retirement's certainly more exciting than I expected."
Then he shook his head and took another deep breath. "All these years Eddy's looked at me like I had a screw loose whenever I mentioned Lemurians. Not that she doesn't love me, but she's such a pragmatic kid, a 'seeing is believing' sort. More like her mother than me, but I always hoped I'd get a chance to prove I wasn't a complete whack job. I certainly never expected anything like this."
He gazed off in the distance. Then something seemed to catch his attention. He stared at the entrance to the store and scratched his head.
Alton sheathed his sword and flexed his fingers. He liked Ed. The man had a good heart, an accepting nature, and an open mind. While he enjoyed a good discussion, he didn't seem to feel the need to prove his opinion over anyone else's. It was obvious he loved his daughter enough to let her be her own woman.
A love like that was more special than most realized. Alton thought of his father, a man who saw his son as an extension of himself, not as his own man. He had no respect for Alton's beliefs, his needs. No respect for Alton as a man grown.
Ed saw Alton in a different light entirely. As a warrior, a savior come to help protect those Ed loved from the demon threat. Alton realized he felt like a warrior, as much from Ed's belief in him as from the circumstances.
They'd fought their first battle, and they'd done well. Not only did he and Ed enjoy one another's company, they made a good team. The evidence of their skill was scattered all about. Alton realized he'd gained more confidence in this one battle fighting beside Ed Marks than in anything he'd done over his entire life---a life that already stretched for thousands of years.
He'd discovered new strengths in himself, new abilities. A sense of fulfillment for having accomplished something entirely physical. There was an amazingly invigorating quality about armed combat. It was even better with a brave companion standing beside him.
He thought of Taron. His friend would love every moment of this fight against demonkind, but the battle Taron waged on Alton's behalf was an important one, if Alton ever hoped to return to his home.
If I have a home to return to.
What if the bad guys won this one? He hadn't let himself think of anything other than victory, but their odds weren't all that great.
He wondered how Dax and Eddy fared, if they'd met much resistance. Dax suffered greatly from the demon's curse. Alton had the feeling it was a race to see if Dax's short span on Earth would outlast the power of the demonic curse that was slowly strangling him. They were almost at the end of his third day. It had been obvious this evening that Dax was in constant pain. Would Eddy's touch be enough to keep the cursed tattoo under control?
There was more strength in the woman than Alton had thought possible. Women on Earth were nothing like the women of Lemuria. No, here their power and intelligence was equal to that of the men. But would it be enough?
So much weighed against them. There'd been no word from Taron, no sign of Lemuria electing to help. Maybe his people had lost their desire to fight, their need to protect their own. It was difficult to believe they'd once been a race of warriors.
Alton flexed his fingers and thought of how good it felt to grasp the hilt of his crystal sword, to swing that shimmering blade through stone as if he cleaved butter. It was becoming more an extension of his arm than he'd ever believed possible, though he'd carried it all his adult life.
Yet it still had not shared its name. What kind of warrior was he, that his sword refused to acknowledge him? He tried to remember the last time he'd seen a sentient, speaking Lemurian sword. His culture abounded with tales of ancient warriors and their partnered swords, but if he'd ever heard one speak, it had been many long years ago.
Alton squared his shoulders. He knew he fought bravely, but was bravery enough? Did they have the strength they'd need to see this through? It was difficult to imagine their small band overpowering all the demons who'd made it through the portal.
If only he knew how Taron was doing. Was his friend having any luck convincing the Lemurians to take up arms against their age-old enemies?
Would they even remember how?
He knew from his history lessons that his people had once been powerful warriors who'd kept demonkind under control, but once that control was achieved, they'd continued to fight other peoples until their many battles had almost obliterated the more civilized aspects of their society.
The art of negotiation had saved them, and once they'd established secure treaties with their known enemies, their skills had shifted entirely to the art of debate.
Now they'd merely argue a person to death before they'd actually lift a weapon. Unfortunately, you couldn't argue with a demon. They knew only three things: eat, fuck, and kill. Demons weren't known for diplomacy, and a demon never surrendered.
Still, even though their days as warriors were long past, each Lemurian male carried a sword, if only for ceremonial purposes. All males were trained in the art of swordsmanship, though what they learned was more ritual than reality, especially when their swords remained mute.
Would his sword ever awaken?
How many demon deaths did it take to impress a crystal sword of Lemuria? How many more demons would he kill before the creatures were finally gone from this dimension? Would they be able to kill them all? He felt as if his thoughts whirled in ever more convoluted circles. Circles that merely took him back to the beginning of his original argument.
Obviously the Lemurian talent for debate and discussion was more deeply ingrained than he'd suspected, if he could carry on such a discussion with himself, and manage it all in the course of mere seconds. Shrugging off the sense of doom settling over his shoulders, Alton turned his attention back to Ed. The older man had fought valiantly, swinging a six-foot pry bar as if it were an iron mace.
From the beginning, they'd worked well together. Alton's superior strength and size had given him the upper hand, and he'd destroyed almost half of the avatars waiting here at the nursery on his own. He'd whipped his sword in wide arcs, slicing through the creatures as they attacked. The crystal blade had cut through them as if they were made of paper, not stone or ceramic.
Ed had gone for the rest, crushing their brittle bodies with his heavy iron bar. Once Ed destroyed the avatar, Alton had merely swept his sword through the stinking demon mist, and they'd disappeared in a flash of fire and smoke, leaving behind the unmistakable stench of sulfur.
He hoped that meant they were dead. He needed to check on that with Dax. A demon, reformed or otherwise, should know what it took to kill one of the bastards.
"Alton, I just realized what's bothering me."
Alton looked in the direction Ed pointed, toward the entrance to the store.
"Remember earlier, when Eddy mentioned this place? She said it was the store with the big grizzly bear in front. Notice anything missing?"
Alton shifted his gaze from the noticeably barren store entrance and carefully studied the surrounding area. "No sign of a bear. Any idea where it might have gone?"
"When we first got here, the creatures were all in the parking lot, as if they were waiting. Remember? We thought they were massing to attack us, but I'm wondering if they were merely getting ready to join up with others somewhere else. We were walking east, and they were all facing us. What if they were getting ready to go somewhere west of town when we showed up? They might have been as surprised as we were. They certainly didn't put up an organized fight."
Alton tried to picture the creatures as they'd first seen them. He really did need to pay closer attention, as Taron so often reminded him. "They were definitely facing west. If you're right, that would take them into town."
"Or, it would take them out to the cemetery, where Eddy and Dax were headed." Ed slung his pry bar over his shoulder. "I suggest we follow the same route. I bet we'll find the bear along the way. As big as it is, it's probably got more than one demon running it."
"I don't like that a bit. If you're right..." Alton shook his head. "When demonkind begin to cooperate, they get scary."
Ed's dry laugh sounded anything but humorous. "You mean they're not scary like this?" He waved a hand in front of him, encompassing the shattered pieces of stone and ceramic littering the parking lot. "I really wonder where that bear went...."
"Let's find out. Which way will lead us to Dax and Eddy?"
"This way." Ed pointed to a narrow country lane. "This road leads us back to the main street where we can take a jog over the freeway, and from there go directly to the cemetery. Almost due west, which is the direction all these guys were headed."
Alton merely nodded. Everything he saw showed evidence of cooperation among demonkind. Unheard of, but so were a lot of the things he'd witnessed over the past few hours. He followed Ed, worrying even more how this would all turn out.
The closer they got to town, the more demons they found. Ed thought of calling Eddy, but he was too busy ducking overhead attacks from small bronze hummingbirds with deadly beaks or bashing in garden gnomes that raced out of yards and leapt off of porches as they tried to block the way.
"I had no idea how many people put little statues in their yards," he said, swinging his iron bar at a pair of ceramic gnomes. Both shattered. A sulfuric stench filled the air as the demon mist floated free of the avatars.
Alton stepped up with his sword and with one swing of the crystal blade, quickly sent them off in flames. "It's an odd human custom, that's for sure. Why so many with pointy hats and round bellies? Is it some sort of religious icon?" Alton knocked another metal hummingbird out of the sky, sliced it with a flick of his wrist, and destroyed the demon as it escaped.
"I'm beginning to wonder." Ed stepped over a pile of broken gnomes. His cell phone rang. He grabbed it out of his pocket and flipped it open. When he saw the number, his heart gave a lurch. "Thank goodness, it's Eddy." He took the call quickly, relieved to hear her voice. She sounded confident, though concerned enough that she and Dax wanted Ed and Alton's help. He was smiling broadly when he put the phone back in his pocket.
"Just what I thought. They're still working their way to the cemetery. She said they've killed a couple of dozen demons so far, but they can hear sounds that make them think there are a lot more at or near the cemetery, which is just west of their location. They want us to join them before they go in. She and Dax don't want to attempt to enter the place on their own. It's a pretty good hike for us, about twenty minutes or so."
Alton stared toward the west, as if he were trying to hear the banshee howls and growls of demons, but the night was quiet. "Do you think we should go back for your vehicle?"
"No." Ed shook his head. "We'd miss any demons along the way."
"I agree." Alton started forward with what appeared to be a new sense of purpose. Ed had to stretch his legs to keep up with the long-legged Lemurian.
"The whole point of this exercise is a foot patrol to see what we're dealing with. Hopefully we'll find your missing bear between here and there." Alton started to sheath his sword, stared at it a moment, and kept it in his hand.
As many demons as they'd come across, Ed figured that was a pretty good move. He rested his pry bar over his shoulder as if he were carrying a rifle. He and Alton swung to the right and headed north on Lassen Boulevard. "We can cross the tracks at West State Street," he said. "That'll take us to Fir, which'll get us over the freeway to the cemetery."
It was unusually quiet in town. Even the small bar on the corner was dark. They passed a few piles of ceramic and stone pieces. "Looks as if Eddy and Dax have been this way."
Alton merely nodded, and continued scanning the alleyways and side streets they passed, but all was quiet.
They were almost to State Street when a scream cut through the night. Close by, human, not a banshee howl. Ed and Alton both stopped. It was difficult to tell from what direction the sound had come.
She screamed again. Ed was certain it was a woman. "This way!" He held his pry bar like a spear and raced down the street to a small minimart just around a bend in the road.
Alton quickly passed him, running full tilt with those long legs of his. He held his sword out in front of him. The crystal blade shimmered with its own light, but even with such a brilliant beacon, it was all Ed could do to keep him in sight.
Alton rounded a corner and disappeared just as the woman screamed again.
It appeared they'd found their bear. Alton skidded to a halt at a point where the main route they'd been following jogged to the left. Streetlights illuminated the corner. A small group of people had gathered, but most of them were all on the far side of the road, away from the action.
A young woman had wedged herself behind a large garbage Dumpster. Armed only with what looked like a slat from a wood pallet, she was trapped against a wall with the huge demon-powered grizzly shoving at the metal container and taking swipes at her with his paw.
She swung at him with the broken slat, but claws at least six inches long barely missed her as the creature forced its broad shoulders between the Dumpster and the brick wall. She retreated as far as she could, still poking ineffectually with the slat. The massive concrete bear appeared to be moving the Dumpster, widening the gap where the woman was trapped with the force of his powerful shoulders.
A couple of young men were trying to help, but the rocks they threw merely bounced off the concrete hide. From the sound of their curses and the lack of cooperation between them, Alton thought they appeared to be more than a little inebriated.
The grizzly's jaws gaped wide, but there were no grunts or bestial roars. Instead, an eerie, banshee-driven wail echoed off the surrounding buildings and raised the tiny hairs along Alton's spine. The creature swung its huge head in the direction of the two young men.
One of them glanced up and saw Alton as the bear took a swipe in his direction. The kid screamed and ducked. "I'm outta here," he said, scrambling away on all fours. The other young man was right behind him.
Disgusted, Alton worked his way around behind the bear and stabbed at it with his sword. The bear deflected the blade, swatting it away with its huge front paw. Screaming its banshee howl, the huge creature reared up on hind legs as thick as tree trunks and pivoted, towering over Alton's tall frame as if he were but a child.
At least Alton had turned its attention away from the woman. She'd wedged herself between the Dumpster and the wall, as far out of the bear's reach as she could go.
Ed was still trying to catch his breath, but he swung his iron bar at the backs of the bear's concrete legs. The iron rang out like a church bell as one leg shattered. Ed scrambled out of the way. The creature dropped to three legs, barely missing Alton. Alton stabbed again, piercing the creature's chest this time, but for whatever reason, the crystal sword penetrated but didn't shatter the concrete.
The grizzly screamed again. It turned toward Alton with its jaws spread wide. Multiple rows of razor-sharp teeth reminded the Lemurian of pictures he'd seen of ancient sharks, but this was no fish.
Screaming in that eerie, otherworldly wail, the bear whirled once again, pivoting on three legs as easily as it had moved on four. It swung a huge paw at Ed. Alton reared up over it like a matador sticking a bull and drove the sword between the creature's concrete shoulder blades, burying the crystal blade to the hilt.
The bear jerked back and swung in a circle on three legs. Alton tried to hang on, but the hilt of the sword ripped from his hands. The woman screamed when the bear faced her once again. Alton had no time to consider the stupidity of his actions. He leapt to the bear's rough, stonelike back and clung there, scrabbling for a good hold on the sword's hilt.
Enraged, the bear twisted and turned as it tried to shake him loose, tossing Alton about as if he clung to the back of a rodeo bull. Finally it stood on one hind leg, moving with impossible dexterity in spite of the missing limb, roaring and screaming that bloodcurdling banshee wail.
The crowd of spectators was growing. Alton was vaguely aware of shouts and cursing, words of encouragement, the distant wail of sirens. As the bear dropped back to three legs, Alton pulled the blade free of the creature and swung in a mighty arc.
The bear's massive concrete head fell to the ground, and the body crumbled beneath Alton's legs. Four separate demons emerged in a thick, black sulfuric cloud. Once again Alton swung the sword. His blade passed through three of the demons, exploding each in a burst of flame.
The fourth paused in midair. Then it turned, as if consciously considering an attack in this form. Alton slashed the crystal blade through the stinking mist. A brief flash of flames and the mist disintegrated until only the sulfuric stench and a pile of crumbled concrete and stone remained.
Alton sheathed his sword and slipped between the metal Dumpster and the wall. He held out his hand, and the woman ran to him, sobbing now that the danger had passed. Gently Alton lifted her in his arms and held her close, running his hand along her spine.
She was long and lean, and he felt each vertebra as his fingers soothed her. She breathed in short, choppy gasps, obviously terrified but, for the moment, trusting him as she curled close against his chest. It was a unique sensation to hold her close. Women in Lemuria would never allow a man to touch them so, but then a woman in Lemuria would never have been in jeopardy such as this one had been.
Nor would a Lemurian woman have had the courage to try and defend herself against demons with only a scrap of wood as a weapon.
"It's okay," he said, talking softly. "You're safe now. The creature is gone."
Ed stood beside him. "Alton, the police are coming. What do you want to do?" Then he peered closer at the woman in Alton's arms. "Ginny? Is that you, sweetheart? Are you okay?"
She struggled in Alton's grasp. Reluctantly, he set her feet on the ground. She stepped away from him.
"Ed? Where's Eddy? What are you doing here? What happened? Who is...?" She raised her head and looked directly at Alton. For the first time, he got a good look at her face. He could have sworn his heart stopped beating. She was utterly beautiful, with skin much darker than Eddy's and golden eyes that reminded him of the stone called tiger's-eye.
He knew that Roman soldiers wore the stones when they went into battle, and somehow that trivia seemed terribly important to him at this moment. Tiger's-eye for protection, to help focus energy on the fight.
Nine hells! He needed to focus.
What was he doing, staring into those mesmerizing eyes? Ed tugged anxiously at his sleeve.
"Alton? How the hell are we going to explain this? The police are almost here."
"We're not." Alton waved a hand in front of Ginny's eyes. She blinked and turned toward Ed.
Alton held both hands out to the crowd of men and women who had gathered to watch his battle with the demon bear. Without a single word exchanged between them, the two young men who'd fought the grizzly stepped in front of the group and swung roundhouse blows at each other. Within seconds, there was a full-scale brawl on the corner---men fighting men, women rolling on the ground, fighting other women.
Ed shot Alton an inquisitive glance. "Effective," he said. "Ugly, but very effective." Then he took Ginny's arm. "Ginny? You need to go home now. You're just half a block from your place. We'll walk with you."
Ginny jerked her head back and forth in a definite negative and tugged her arm free of Ed's grasp. "Ed, what the hell is going on?" She glared at Ed and then turned her attention on Alton. "Who are you? What was that thing that attacked me?"
She should have forgotten. Alton stared at his fingers and then at Ginny. He'd just wiped away the memory of her attack. At least he thought he had.
Obviously she had a very strong will.
Ed frowned at Alton. Alton shrugged. Once again he concentrated on the young woman. Passed his hands across her eyes. Strengthened the powers of his mind to block everything that had happened.
She turned her head slowly and gazed at Alton. Frowned, as if trying to place him. "What are you doing to me?" She stared at him, her eyes unfocused and confused.
Fighting him. Still strong enough to fight his powers.
Alton felt caught there in time, as if the world around them ceased its spinning, as if the demon threat no longer existed. He was not an immortal, not a Lemurian here on a mission of such otherworldly importance. No, he was merely a man, enthralled by the soft, confused gaze of the most beautiful woman he'd ever beheld. She blinked, her lips parted.
Alton took a step back. What was he thinking? She was human. Not even royalty. He was a Lemurian warrior, the son of Lemuria's leader. The heir apparent.
Ginny blinked, still obviously confused. She shook her head again and looked at Ed.
Ed tugged gently at her elbow. This time she allowed him to lead her as they turned away from Alton. Ed walked down the street with his hand wrapped around her arm, supporting her. Alton followed closely behind.
Two patrol cars raced by as the three of them disappeared into the shadows along the side street leading to a quiet neighborhood.
"She lives here," Ed said. He nodded toward a small duplex set back from the street. "Let me get her inside. Then we need to find Eddy and Dax."
"No. Wait." Ginny stopped and planted her feet. Frowning, she gazed up at Alton. "You never told me what that thing was. That bear wasn't real, was it? What the hell's going on? Ed? Who is this guy? What'd he do, that funny thing with his hand?"
She brushed her hands over her face, scrubbed at her eyes. Planted her hands on her hips and glared at Alton.
Standing behind Ginny, Ed shrugged helplessly and shook his head. They couldn't let her remember what she'd seen.
Alton wasn't sure it would work, but he reached for Ginny, lifted her up to her toes, and leaned over and kissed her. Their mouths connected, hers slightly parted in shock, his firmly covering her soft, full lips, and he poured the strength of his hypnotic powers into her startled mind.
She fought him for but a second, until the strength of his mental touch calmed her, confused her, left her breathless and wondering who she was kissing and why. Alton felt her confusion, sensed her blossoming desire, and realized he could end the kiss at any time.
Slowly, reluctantly, he moved his lips over hers for one, last taste and then set her gently back on her feet. Ginny blinked, touched her fingertips to her mouth, and then turned away.
Ed gently took Ginny's arm and walked with her into her house.
Alton waited impatiently. He refused to think about the kiss, but it had been the only way he knew of to overwhelm her strong will. He couldn't risk her recalling that she'd almost been killed by a concrete statue of a grizzly bear.
One that was powered by not one, but four demons. Four of the evil beings, cooperating...demons, working together.
It was worse than he'd thought.
So was his reaction to the woman. Ginny. Her name was Ginny, and his kiss had made her forget.
Unfortunately, the taste of her lips, the soft curve of her breasts against his chest, the taste of her sweet mouth were all he could think of. He'd never reacted to any female on such a visceral level, especially not one so inappropriate. He had no time for a human woman. None at all for one with a will as strong as Ginny's.
He grabbed his sword out of its scabbard and focused on the blade. Focused on the fact it hadn't spoken to him even now, after he'd vanquished the bear.
This was important---the battle, the sword, destroying demons. Not the woman.
What was the point? Lemurians were immortal. Humans had a life span that barely registered on his own personal calendar.
So why did he care? Would she wonder what had happened tonight? How she'd gotten home?
Would she remember him?
He hoped not. She had to forget, just as he would.
Ed walked out a few minutes later. "She'll be okay," he said. "Ginny's tough. She and Eddy have been friends for years. She's a nine-one-one dispatcher so she's perfectly aware there's some strange stuff going on, but she doesn't have a clue what it is. Hopefully we can keep this under wraps for a few more days, but with things like that bear..." He glanced up at Alton. "What do you make of that? There were four demons inside that thing."
"Nothing good," Alton said. He put thoughts of Ginny behind him and focused on the here and now. "It means our enemies are learning to work as a single unit. They're cooperating, as if there's actual intelligence behind them. That's something demons just don't do---at least they haven't in the past. It makes them a lot harder to fight."
They walked faster now. Both Dax and Eddy could be in danger. Alton didn't like being so far from them. Even so, no matter how he tried, Alton couldn't get the image of Eddy's friend out of his head.
"You're sure she's okay?"
"Who? Ginny?" Ed nodded. "Yeah. Ginny's tough. She's going to be fine."
"Did she seem to remember anything?"
"She remembered a brawl in front of the minimart. I let her think she'd gotten pushed around a little. Told her I recognized her and grabbed her before she could get hurt. I think she bought that." He laughed. "I have to admit, whatever you did when you kissed her left her really scrambled."
Alton laughed, but he didn't answer Ed. He couldn't. He had no idea what he'd done or why he'd done it. Stupid. What a stupid move.
Except his kiss had worked when his usual method hadn't. He'd done what he had to do. No more, no less. He'd always been a man of focus---why must he remind himself of his purpose? He had a battle to fight, not a woman to woo.
Alton paused and listened as a sound came to him on the evening breeze, a fierce whisper on the wind that sent shivers along his spine. He recognized the distant howls and shrieks of demonkind, blending almost innocently with the steady hum of traffic passing by on the freeway beneath the overpass.
"We need to hurry. There's something building---I hear the cries of demons. That way." He pointed to the west, beyond the freeway.
"That's where the cemetery is. Where Eddy and Dax were headed. Lordy, I hope they're okay. C'mon!" Ed took off at a slow, awkward trot down the quiet street. It was well past midnight, and they'd already fought many battles. Ed was older, a human male past his prime. It was obvious his strength was waning, though his love for Eddy, his fear for her safety, kept him going.
It was so easy to forget how fragile humans were. Their passion and their bravery made them seem more powerful, as if nothing could ever slow them down or defeat them.
Yet the power of their passion could carry them just so far. They were hampered, always, by their frail human bodies. Not only a finite life span, but the physical limitations that were part of their humanity.
Limitations they must somehow overcome if they were to win this fight against demonkind. There was no room for defeat. No time for failure. Ed would have to find the strength to fight, just as Alton must. He whipped his sword out once again and held it high. He stared at it a moment, waiting for the voice.
Why wasn't it speaking to him? Where had he failed as a warrior? He was doing exactly what he'd feared all along: going into battle beside Dax before he could converse with the sword.
Until he could order the sword not to attack Dax, it would see the demon in his borrowed human body as the enemy. They'd have to fight far from one another.
Dax had more than enough on his plate. He certainly didn't need to fear Alton and a sword that, so far, denied communication. What in all the nine hells did he need to do to prove himself worthy?
The crystal blade glowed brighter than ever, almost as if it mocked him, even as it lit their path along the dark country road.
Dax raised his head from the low berm where he and Eddy waited near the cemetery. There was no wind. The waning moon cast a silver glow across the stone monuments and statues, though much of what he wished he could see lay in darkness. It was difficult to define what was shape and what was shadow, what moved and what merely appeared to shift in and out of the bands of light that stretched between the trees.
Still, the constant screams and howls of demons fighting amongst themselves hinted at the vast numbers gathered here tonight. Demons were not known for cooperation, but it appeared one among them was attempting to organize the ungodly host.
Eddy's heat bled through Dax's jeans and flannel shirt. He felt the soft rise and fall of her body with each breath she took, sensed the curiosity that overpowered her fear. She'd not hesitated tonight to stand beside Dax when they'd run across demons during their patrol of the city streets. She'd found a crowbar alongside the road, something that must have fallen off a workman's truck, and while it wasn't her requested baseball bat, she'd swung it with enough power to crush any number of demon-powered avatars.
His own powers had returned. As long as he used them sparingly, he'd had enough to destroy all the demons Eddy had set free. They'd left a trail of shattered stone and cracked ceramic from the center of town to the cemetery. Eddy had the clawed weapon in her hand right now, ready to use it against their enemies. Dax leaned close and kissed her cheek. He wasn't sure why, only that he knew he had to touch her.
She turned, smiled at him, and whispered, "What was that for?"
He shook his head. "I'm not sure, but I know I want to do it again, when we're someplace a little more private."
"Your timing sucks. You know that, don't you?" She covered her mouth with her hand to muffle her laugh and bumped him with her shoulder. Dax bumped her back; then he raised up on one elbow, turned his head, and looked down the dark road leading to town. A pale glow shimmered in the distance.
Alton's sword. "I see your dad and Alton," he said, lying back down beside Eddy. A stone angel circled nearby, screaming in an unholy voice. Another joined in, circling beside the first. They might have been placed beside graves representing holy messengers, but now they flew with powerful beats of marble wings and their eyes glowed either yellow or red in the night.
Dax and Eddy both ducked their heads. Bumper whimpered and shivered beside him. Even her tail had quit wagging. Willow hadn't left Dax's pocket since they'd nestled down into their hiding place.
"We're awfully close, here," Dax said. "I suggest we go back up the road to meet your dad and Alton. I think I'd rather decide our next move a bit farther from the action."
"Agreed." Eddy slithered backward on her belly until she was below the top of the berm, out of sight of the demons massing in the cemetery and the hellish angels flying overhead.
Dax was right beside her. He stood first and grabbed her hand, pulling Eddy to her feet. She stumbled when Bumper nudged her leg. Dax held even tighter to her hand and tugged her along beside him.
Willow popped out of Dax's pocket and flew toward Alton and Ed. They all met at a point a few hundred yards from the cemetery, under the protection of a huge cedar. Alton sheathed his sword as they drew close. He and Ed remained clearly visible in the pale moonlight.
Eddy gave her father a quick hug and got a kiss on the cheek, but Dax noticed how quickly she returned to his side. He wrapped an arm over her shoulders.
"What's going on? We could hear the noise all the way from town." Alton held his palm out for Willow. Once she landed, he set her on his shoulder. "Any idea how many there are?"
"It's hard to tell," Dax said. "Have you noticed the demons teaming up? We've destroyed a number of large avatars powered by two demons working together."
Ed nodded. "Alton had quite a fight with the bear statue from the nursery. That big grizzly? It put up one hell of a fight, but when Alton finally beheaded the damned thing, it had four demons inside. It almost got Ginny Jones over near the minimart on North Mount Lassen."
"Is Ginny okay?" Eddy's fingers tightened on Dax's. "What happened?"
Alton shrugged. "We're not sure, but we heard a scream and found her trapped behind a Dumpster, putting up a good fight with a wooden slat. The bear had his shoulders wedged between the Dumpster and the wall, trying to shove the container aside using brute strength. We stopped it before it got to her, so she's okay. Shaken, but I made her forget the attack. As far as she and the people who saw it know, she got too close to some people fighting."
"How'd you manage that?" Dax pulled Eddy close and wrapped his arm around her.
Ed laughed. "Alton used his power of suggestion to start a street brawl. When the police arrived, there were at least twenty men and women fighting in the middle of the street."
Alton shrugged again. He actually looked embarrassed. "I'm sorry. It was the best I could come up with in a hurry."
"As long as it worked..." Dax paused. "Get back. Quick" He grabbed Eddy and dragged her and the dog close to the thick tree trunk. Alton and Ed moved with them, until they were all pressed up against the rough bark.
"Listen." Dax held a finger to his lips. "Do you hear that?"
Bumper whined. Eddy wrapped her fingers around Bumper's muzzle and gazed up at Dax. "What's that noise?"
"More demons. It's too dark to see them, but I can hear them. I sense them, too, moving along the road. They're coming this way."
Alton rested his fingers on Dax's shoulder. "Look toward the freeway. Where the glow from the overhead light hits the frontage road. There are hundreds more of them."
"I see them now." Ed wrapped his fingers around his iron pry bar. "Eddy, when they get close, why don't you turn Bumper loose? That way she can get away if she has to."
Eddy glanced at Dax. He nodded. Ed's suggestion was a good one. As far as they knew, no humans had actually been harmed by the demon-powered avatars, but a number of pets had fallen victim. The demons appeared to be gaining strength and mobility within their chosen creatures. Dax hated to think of harm coming to any of his little band, including Bumper. She'd proven to be a loyal beast.
"She's a good fighter with the little ones," he said, running his fingers through Bumper's curly blond topknot.
"That's because she thinks they're chew toys." Eddy smiled when she said it, but she quickly released the snap on the leash and held on to the dog's collar.
Willow zipped off Alton's shoulder, shimmering in a whirlwind of blue sparkles. Dax inhaled the energy she pulled out of the air for him. He felt it pulse along his spine and the length of the snake tattoo, which had remained somewhat quiet for the past hour or so. He wondered if it was merely biding its time, preparing to attack.
It was definitely affecting his powers. The first time, when he'd called on the fire and flame in Eddy's little house, he'd felt as if he could throw bolts of either for as long as he needed to fight. This evening, though, he'd discovered there was a limit to his strength. It appeared the cursed serpent had the ability to siphon off the energy Willow sent him. After killing just a handful of demons, he'd had to stop and allow Eddy to use her healing powers to control the pain.
The last time, he was certain she'd felt the snake's fangs beneath her palm. The thing was growing stronger. He feared it was becoming sentient, that soon it would turn on him. Would he have the strength to fight a battle against a creature that was literally part of his own flesh and blood?
The demons coming up the road drew closer. Alton was right---there must be hundreds of statues. Moonlight illuminated all kinds of garden critters: pot-bellied gnomes and concrete benches that looked like pigs and cows, metallic hummingbirds flittering overhead, and stone cats, squirrels, and antlered deer creeping along the ground. They all moved with obvious intent and purpose, somehow drawn to the cemetery.
The screaming and banshee howls seemed to have settled a bit. Then a loud, familiar wail split the night. Eddy grabbed Dax's hand. "The gargoyle. Look!" She pointed at the creature flying low over the berm where they'd been lying. It followed the road and swooped over the advancing horde of stone and ceramic creatures.
Dax raised his hands as the gargoyle drew close and shot a bitter-cold blast of icy wind at the creature. It encased the gargoyle in solid ice. The creature dropped to the ground, bounced once, and lay still. Bumper tore loose from Eddy's grasp and raced toward it. The crowd of demons marching closer paused in the middle of the road.
Then they began to mill about in confusion. Dax thought of the way an anthill looked if you disturbed it. The demons seemed to lose their focus, to wander without leadership now that the gargoyle was down.
A banshee wail cut through the clattering and banging of stone creatures in turmoil, and the gargoyle raised its head. It swung one huge, clawed paw at Bumper and sent the dog tumbling and yelping. Dax hit the gargoyle with a blast of freezing air.
The stone should have shattered, but instead the creature rose slowly on awkwardly shaped hind legs and stared directly at the little band of warriors hiding beneath the branches of the cedar. It hissed what sounded like a curse between long, curved teeth and mimicked Dax---holding its clawed hands out toward him as it called out in an unknown language.
An invisible blade slammed into him. Dax felt hot steel pierce his chest. Crying out, he slapped his hand over the snake tattoo and stumbled to his knees. Blinded by pain, he raised his hands and sent another blast of ice in the gargoyle's direction.
The creature hissed, but the sound died in the frozen air, and it toppled over on its back. Dax ran his hand across his chest, searching for the blade that struck him, but there was nothing there. The tattoo burned as if acid had been poured along its length, writhing from his knee, across his groin to his heart. He bit back a cry as agony seared his body. The strength went out of his legs. Shaking uncontrollably, Dax fell, collapsing face-first into the dirt as his world went dark.
Eddy screamed. She leaned over, grabbed Dax's shoulders, and somehow found the strength to roll him over to his back. His eyes were closed, his lips twisted in agony. He gasped for air through slightly parted lips. Her hands shook as she ripped his shirt open. The snake tattoo hissed and undulated across his chest. The eyes sparkled with life, and its long tongue flickered away from Dax's flesh.
Eddy slammed her hands down on the tattoo and sent every good, healing thought she could muster straight from her heart and down through her palms. The tongue flickered between her fingers, a living entity empowered with whatever curse the demon had fired at Dax.
Eddy's arms quivered with the strength it took to hold the snake in place. It shuddered and pulsed beneath her hands, burning her flesh with its hot scales and hotter tongue. Once again the forked tongue flickered between her fingers, and she felt the slick length of curved fangs beneath her palm. When the broad head pushed against her hands, Eddy pushed back.
She refused to think of the fangs, whether they were venomous or not. Refused to consider the fact she might not be strong enough, her questionable abilities not powerful enough to hold the filthy thing at bay. She wondered if the tail of the serpent moved with the same alacrity as the head, but she couldn't worry about that, not now. She had to hold it back. Had to keep it from growing any stronger.
Dax shivered, and his body jerked as convulsions wracked his powerful frame. Eddy wasn't sure if it was from the pain or her touch or the internal battle he was having with the curse. His breath still huffed in and out in short, sharp bursts, and Eddy felt the pain rising through her hands, up her wrists to her forearms as the snake fought her.
As she fought the curse.
"Go!" she screamed, glancing over her shoulder at Alton and Ed. "Don't let them get away!"
Ed touched her shoulder. "Is he...?"
"Just go. He's alive. There's nothing you can do for Dax, but you have to stop them."
Cursing furiously, Alton took off running, pulling his sword from the scabbard as soon as he was out of striking distance from Dax. Ed ran with him, swinging his metal bar like a long golf club, crushing the stone and ceramic creatures.
Alton's sword flashed, destroying demon after demon in bright bursts of sulfuric flame. Eddy heard Bumper barking with a sense of relief. If she could make that kind of noise, she couldn't be too badly hurt. Eddy glanced up to see where the dog was and realized Bumper had begun working the huge group of avatars like a herd of sheep, circling from the rear and herding them toward Ed and Alton.
Her dad marched through the middle of the throng of avatars, swinging his big iron bar and leaving shattered stone and pottery in his wake.
Alton fought like a berserker. His sword flashed overhead, striking the demons as Ed destroyed their avatars. The snap and pop of demon mist bursting into flame filled the night.
The scent of sulfur drifted their way. It made Eddy's eyes burn, but she took it as a good sign. Alton's sword must be killing the demons, not just sending them back to Abyss. The sparking fires, the stink of burnt demon---it was exactly what happened when Dax struck them with his fire.
Willow stayed close to Eddy, hovering overhead and sending energy through her. Eddy felt it racing along her arms, through her fingertips, and into Dax, dulling the pain in her arms, strengthening her sense of control over the cursed serpent.
The sounds of battle, the acrid stink of sulfur, and the screams and wails of many demons dying faded away as she held her hands to Dax, as she willed him to be strong, for the curse to sleep once more. She didn't turn around, didn't allow her concentration to waver. She was vaguely aware of her father's shouts, of Alton's battle cries.
Bumper's barking was a thing of joy, as if she'd finally found her true calling in life: herding demons.
Dax's eyes opened, clear now, and focused. He reached up and grasped Eddy's wrist. "What happened? The gargoyle...?"
Eddy glanced to her right, to the point where the gargoyle had fallen. It was gone. There was no rubble, no sign it had died. "It got away, I think. That last curse it sent might have weakened it. Are you okay?"
He took a few deep breaths, closed his eyes, and exhaled. "The pain is gone. Unfortunately, so is my strength. Thank you, Eddy. I've never experienced anything like that, even when I was a demon." Dax tried to sit up. Eddy pulled her hands away from his chest. She noticed with relief that the tattoo was once again merely colored art on Dax's chest. The eyes were flat, the tongue no longer flickering. Her hands still burned, though, and she felt the shape of the fangs against her palms.
She rose shakily to her feet and offered Dax her hand. He took it and slowly stood. Willow hovered, flitting about them until Dax finally held out his hand. She landed in his palm and glared at him with her tiny hands fisted against her hips. It was obvious she was reading him the riot act.
Then, when she was done, Willow buzzed away in a flurry of blue sparkles.
Dax raised his head and gazed at Eddy with horror. "Willow says the snake came alive, that you had to hold it with both hands to keep it from crawling off my body." He grabbed her hands with both of his and turned them palms up.
The skin was blistered but not broken. "Did it bite you?"
She shook her head. "No, but I felt the fangs. The serpent's tongue actually slithered between my fingers. It acts as if it's trying to crawl away. Dax, what happens if it does? What if I can't hold it in place?"
He lowered his lips to her hands and kissed one palm, then the other. When he raised his head, Eddy was positive there were tears in his eyes. "I can't let you do that anymore."
"What happens if it crawls away?" She tugged her hands free of his. "Answer me, Dax. I deserve the truth."
"I will die." He gazed toward the sounds of battle, where Ed and Alton, with Bumper's assistance, had destroyed almost all of the avatars and their sulfuric demons. The gargoyle was nowhere to be seen. The cemetery had grown silent.
"I don't understand. I thought the tattoo only held your demon powers."
Dax turned back to her. He looked defeated, as if he'd reached the end of his strength. He spoke in a monotone. "I'm a demon, Eddy. My demon powers are who and what I am. If the tattoo succeeds in gaining sentience and crawling off my body, it will take my powers with it. Those powers are all that keep this body alive. I'll be just another demon, a black smudge of sulfuric stink. Something for Alton's sword to destroy."
Eddy shook her head. "No, you won't. I'm not leaving your side. If I could hold the snake back tonight, as powerful as it was after the demon cursed you again, I can control it for as long as I have to." She grabbed his hands and held on. "You're mine for three and a half more days, Dax. Don't forget that."
She heard the crunch of boots on gravel and turned around. Alton and her dad were walking toward them. Bumper bounded alongside, obviously delighted with the battle they'd just fought. From the silence and the grins on the men's faces, it appeared it was a battle they'd won.
"Dax? Are you okay?" Alton sheathed his sword as he drew near. His concern was obvious as he stepped up close to Dax.
"Good to see you standing, son." Ed wiped his hand across his forehead. "Whatever that damned thing hit you with sure knocked your pins out from under you."
"I'm fine, thanks to Eddy...."
Dax turned and stared at her, and once again, Eddy wished she could read his mind.
"Did you get all of them?" She tore her gaze from Dax's face and looked beyond the two men, but it was too dark to tell if anything moved.
"We did." Alton frowned and gazed toward the cemetery. "It's gone quiet. What's happened to the demons that were gathering over there?"
"I don't know." Eddy turned toward the now silent cemetery. "I can't tell from here. We're too far away."
They walked toward the silent memorial park, following the beam from Dax's flashlight. When they reached the berm, he swung the beam across the parklike grounds.
Eddy ran to the top of the low rise. "Look! The statues are back in place!"
Angels stood guard by the mausoleum door, and cherubs rested upon headstones. Everything appeared as it should.
There was no sign of the gargoyle.
Standing on top of the berm, she planted her fists on her hips and shook her head in disbelief. "We've been here for almost an hour watching them. Every single one of those statues was animated. Could the demons still be in them, waiting?"
"There's one way to find out." Alton strode forward, far enough away that he could safely unsheathe his sword. He held it aloft and crossed over the berm. When he reached the first stone angel that stood beside a grave, he swung his sword in a shimmering arc that decapitated the angel.
The head landed on the grass and rolled to one side. Blank eyes stared blindly toward Eddy and Dax. Nothing flew forth from the hollow body. There was no scent of sulfur, no black mist.
Nothing.
Eddy clung to Dax's hand. "Where'd they go? I remember that angel. It flew overhead, and the eyes were glowing red." She turned and gazed up at Dax.
He shook his head. "No idea, but the gargoyle is gone as well. Somehow, it has to be the key. We have to kill the damned thing, but I have no idea how to defeat it." He held up his free hand and stared at his fingertips. "I gave it everything I had, tonight. It wasn't enough."
Eddy glanced at Alton. He shook his head, answering her question before she even had a chance to ask. "I don't know." He reached over his shoulder and lovingly caressed the hilt of his sword. "It's a powerful weapon, but I'm not even sure if it's killing the demons I strike, or merely sending them back to Abyss. If only it would speak..."
"I'm convinced they're dying, Alton." Eddy looked to Dax for confirmation. "Aren't they going back to the void? They flame out when he hits them. The smell of burned demon and sulfur is the same as when you hit them, Dax. The sword has to be destroying them."
Dax shook his head. "There's no way to prove it. Even if they're not destroyed, they're gone. Into the void, back to Abyss...it's not important. With the portal closed, either works. We can only do our best and hope it's good enough."
They all looked at one another, but there were no firm answers. Ed yawned, and it was obvious he'd reached the end of his strength. Willow perched on Alton's shoulder. Dax turned and began walking back toward town. Eddy grabbed his hand and walked beside him. Ed and Alton followed, while Bumper, still unleashed, bounded and bounced around them as if this was the greatest event in her life.
"Eddy, will this road take us through town, near the library building?"
"It can." Eddy glanced at Dax. The sparkle was back in his eyes.
"I want to see if the gargoyle is back in its place where we saw it today. If it returns there to rest..."
"You're thinking maybe you can sneak up on it?" Ed moved up beside them. "Maybe if we went after it during daylight hours..."
Dax nodded. "That's what I'm thinking. Alton with his sword, me nearby with whatever powers I can muster." He squeezed Eddy's hand. "I'm sorry. I'm not proving to be a very powerful DemonSlayer, am I?"
"I disagree." She squeezed back, wrapping her fingers tightly around his. She didn't say any more. As far as Eddy was concerned, there was no room to argue.
Ed was practically asleep on his feet when they finally reached the library building. "Eddy? Stay with your father, please?" Dax glanced at Ed and back to Eddy, hoping she'd understand.
She nodded. "We'll wait here." She called Bumper to her and put the leash back on the dog. "C'mon, Dad. I'm beat. Will you sit with me?"
Ed didn't say a word, but he didn't complain when she sat down on a park bench in front of the old library and patted the spot beside her. Eddy set her crowbar on the ground by her feet. Ed leaned his iron pry bar against the seat and sat heavily on the wooden bench.
Eddy glanced over her shoulder and mouthed something to Dax. He wasn't sure what she said, but the look in her eyes gave him a fresh burst of strength. He realized she'd quickly become the most important thing in his life. The reason he fought. The reason he would continue to fight, no matter how hopeless the battle might seem.
His gaze lingered on Eddy, on the curve of her lips, the line of her jaw, the long sweep of her throat. It required a conscious act of will to turn away, but somehow he found the strength to focus on the job.
How had she become so important to him in such a short time? He shook his head. It didn't really matter how, only that she had. He realized he was smiling when he and Alton walked across the worn patch of lawn to the front steps of the library.
Dax flashed the beam from the flashlight across the corner pieces. Both platforms were empty. The gargoyle had not yet returned to its resting place. Disappointed but not entirely surprised, Dax flipped the flashlight off. The soft glow of a nearby street lamp illuminated the sidewalk well enough to see.
"What now?" He spoke quietly. There was no need to worry Eddy any further.
Alton stared toward the bench where Eddy and Ed waited. Then he turned and quirked one eyebrow at Dax. "Now I think we go back to Ed's and rest," he said. "Tomorrow we need to see where the gargoyle is hiding out when he's not where he belongs. You said he was here this morning, right?"
"He was, but in daylight the streets are busy, people are around. I couldn't very well climb up there and engage him in a fight."
Alton smiled his agreement. "True, but if I'm with you to do a little manipulation of what people see and remember..."
Bumper growled.
"Dax?"
Eddy? Dax turned and raced across the lawn with Alton right behind. Eddy held on to her father's arm. Both of them stared at a grotesque figure standing not twenty feet away, staring right back at them. It stood perfectly still for a moment longer. Then it seemed to straighten up on bowed legs and made a low, keening sound that raised the hairs on Dax's arms.
He'd seen the creature in flight and this morning when it was sitting in place on the corner of the library building. He'd seen it lying on the ground after he'd hit it with his freezing mist, but he'd never seen it stalking its prey on the ground.
The gargoyle turned its head and surveyed the area around them. Then it began to move slowly toward the park bench. It walked awkwardly, dragging its stone wings, using its front legs or arms or whatever they were to pull itself forward while the hind legs hopped more than walked. Its eyes glowed an unholy shade of red, and saliva dripped from a gaping mouth filled with rows of sharp teeth.
It stopped when Dax and Alton moved into position, one on either side of the bench. "Eddy? Can you and your dad slip over the back of the bench and get out of our way? Alton and I will have a better chance with just the two of us."
He heard movement, but didn't want to take his eyes off the creature staring so steadily at him. He felt the snake writhing across his chest. The pain seemed to grow with each beat of his heart. He forced it down. Buried it, for now.
Alton moved farther to his right. "I'm going to see if I can get around behind it," he said. After a few more steps that took him away from Dax, he drew his sword. It pointed toward the gargoyle, not toward Dax, and Alton breathed an audible sigh of relief.
Bumper whimpered. Dax heard Eddy whisper quietly to the dog. Willow buzzed close by and settled on his shoulder. He felt the pulse of energy as she drew all she could out of the air and sent it into his body.
And still the gargoyle sat and stared. It seemed larger on the ground than it had looked flying overhead, at least six feet tall when it stood, with wings that spanned more than twice that distance when it stretched them out to either side.
Dax wished he could search its mind, but he sensed only hatred. There was no real intelligence, as far as he could tell, but that didn't feel right. There had to be intelligence in some form directing the attacks, yet the gargoyle appeared oblivious to Dax. It ignored Alton's cautious movements as he circled around behind the thing.
Dax set the flashlight on the park bench with the light still pointing toward the gargoyle. When the beam moved, he knew Eddy had picked it up.
"Keep the light on him," he said. Slowly, Dax shifted his position to the left, almost preternaturally aware of the way the creature's eyes followed him. At least now it wasn't looking toward Eddy and her father.
"Dax?" Alton's calm voice carried softly in the stillness. "If you can freeze him, I can probably get close enough to try and decapitate the thing. That's worked with the others."
Dax nodded. Pain rippled over his thigh, across his chest. The tattoo was moving. He felt the life pulse of a separate entity, the struggle of its body as it tried to slither away from the cells that locked it, ink to skin.
Was the gargoyle calling it? Was that hideous creature hoping to steal Dax's demon powers for himself? He hadn't thought it capable of such a thing, but now, with the serpent beginning to move, almost as if the gargoyle directed it through the curse...
No! He couldn't allow himself to fear worries of his own creation. He had more than enough to keep him awake for the rest of the week allotted to him. Dax focused on the gargoyle. He ignored the sense of life, the power of the demon's curse as it fought to free itself in the guise of the snake. As it struggled to tear away from his body. He raised his hands, spread his fingers wide, called on his demon powers.
Nothing!
Stunned, Dax stared at his outstretched fingers. Stared even harder at the gargoyle. Was the damned thing smirking? Did it mock him?
Was it stealing his powers even now?
Dax kept his eyes on the gargoyle as he called out to the sprite. Willow? I need more energy. All you can give me!
She buzzed into the air and circled him, drawing energy, sending more to Dax than he'd ever needed before. The pain spiked, as if the tattoo ink turned to boiling lava searing a diagonal line of fire across his body.
He bit back a scream of agony and focused on the pain. Instead of trying to stop it, Dax called it forth, drawing the pain as power from the snake, calling it to him, owning it. He teetered on the edge of consciousness, certain that flames would burst from his body, consuming him.
He hung there, aware of the snake writhing and twisting in place, sensing Alton's concern, Eddy's love, Ed's confidence he would succeed. And then he felt it, his demon powers bursting to life---serving him, not the snake; following his direction, not the gargoyle's---and racing down his arms to the tips of his fingers.
Power. Familiar, steady...his.
He held it there.
Allowed it to build.
His torment grew stronger, intensified. He should have been unconscious, or at the very least, on his knees. He should have been screaming in agony, but he was using it, owning it, working the pain as if pain were a power entirely its own.
The snake trembled against his skin, and the tongue lashed his throat. Fire burned along the tattoo, and he was almost certain he smelled the acrid scent of burning flesh, but he held his hands high, spread his fingers wide, and sent a blast of fire, instead of ice, fire to engulf the gargoyle.
The creature howled and raised up on its misshapen legs. Dax followed his fire with a freezing blast that should have cracked the aging stone.
Should have, but didn't.
Screaming, eyes flashing red and filled with hatred, the gargoyle launched itself into the air just ahead of the mighty swing of Alton's sword. With the ragged screech of stone wings flapping, it disappeared over the treetops.
All that remained was a scorched circle on the asphalt.
Dax stared down at his hands. He'd never felt so much power coursing through his body, had never sent so much energy at any creature during an attack, yet the gargoyle still lived. He gazed in the direction it had flown. It might have been a little pissed off, but the creature hadn't shown any sign of injury.
Dax's body throbbed with a combination of pain and adrenaline overload. He swayed on his feet. Then Eddy was in front of him, touching the side of his face with her cool fingers, tearing his shirt open. From the look of horror on her face, Dax knew it was bad, but she slapped her hands against his burning skin and held them close over his heart.
Immediately he felt the cool strength in her, the healing power that calmed the snake and doused the fire burning him from the inside out. Thank goodness he managed to keep his legs under him this time while Eddy worked her magic. Barely.
Long minutes later, when she took her hands away, the pain was gone, as if it had never been there at all. She leaned her forehead against his chest and sighed. Her entire body trembled from her efforts, even as his own trembling eased. Dax wrapped his arms around her and held her close. Ed stepped up beside his daughter and patted her shoulder.
"I don't know how you do that, honey, but it's an amazing thing to see." He raised his head and looked at Dax. "That tattoo on your chest's alive, Dax. I saw its eyes. It's got fangs that were almost entirely free of your body. The tongue's a good two inches long, whipping out of the snake's mouth. It slid between Eddy's fingers, but she didn't flinch. Not a bit."
He kissed Eddy's cheek, but his eyes were focused on Dax. "How long do you think Eddy will be able to stop the damned thing without it turning on her?"
Dax shook his head. Speech was beyond him right now, but even if he could speak, he didn't know how to answer Ed. He had no idea how long Eddy could continue to help him until the risk to her became too great. But he had to wonder, what was risk when so many lives were at stake?
What was the safety of a town when Eddy's life was at risk?
There was no answer. They had a war to win, no matter what it took.
He had to see the positive. Something good had come of the night. He'd managed to use the pain. He'd drawn on it, worked with it. He hadn't been strong enough to defeat the gargoyle, but it hadn't gotten him. It hadn't hurt the ones he loved.
Neither had the snake.
In the overall scheme of things, he had to see this in a positive light. It was a good thing. Unfortunately, if they were going to defeat the demons, Dax was positive it wasn't good enough.
There was no discussion of sleeping arrangements tonight. Ed paused for a moment in the kitchen and gazed about the brightly lit room with a blank expression. "Food in the fridge," he mumbled. Then he stumbled off to his room, practically asleep on his feet.
Alton fed Bumper while he stuffed down a leftover sandwich and drank one of Ed's cold cans of beer. He set the can down and turned to Dax. "I'm sorry," he said. "You had him tonight, Dax, but I missed. I wasted a good shot. There's no excuse."
Dax frowned. "The sword..."
"No." Alton shook his head. "I can't keep blaming the sword for my own failure." He smiled and turned his head away. "I guess I'm not much of a warrior. At least not as much as I'd like to be."
"I disagree." Dax forced Alton to look him in the eye. "You left your home, gave up your life with your own people to fight a battle that isn't really yours. You're a brave companion and a true friend. I could not do this without you, Alton. I wouldn't want to, and I'm proud to have you fighting beside me."
"Thank you." Then Alton chuckled. "I'll fight beside you, proudly. Just not too close."
Dax smiled. "At least not within striking distance. Good night, my friend."
"Good night, Dax. Eddy." He gazed at Dax a moment longer. Then he turned and went straight into the guest room with Bumper on his heels and Willow curled up on his shoulder, already asleep in a nest of his long hair.
Eddy cleaned up the few dishes left in the sink, while Dax finished off the last of the leftover sandwiches. He studied the long curve of her spine, the graceful way she moved, and felt the now-familiar rush of desire he'd learned to expect whenever he had a moment to actually sit and watch her.
She glanced over her shoulder as she wiped down the faucet and counter. Her smile seemed forced. Dax felt her concern. For him.
"You okay?"
He nodded and pushed physical arousal into the background. "I'm okay now," he said. "Other than feeling really pissed off and frustrated." He shrugged and slowly shook his head. "We need a plan. That thing's powerful."
Eddy nodded and draped the damp cloth over the edge of the sink. She turned and leaned against the counter with her arms folded across her chest. "I know." She raised her head and stilled, until, somehow, he fell into her brown-eyed gaze. She blinked, and Dax could have sworn he felt the brush of her long lashes against his lips. She took a breath, and he felt her breasts rise against his chest.
She shook her head, almost as if she had to physically break the connection between them. He heard her deep sigh clear across the room. "C'mon," she said, pushing herself away from the counter. "We're both exhausted." She glanced over her shoulder as she passed him on her way to her bedroom.
Dax silently followed her into the room they'd shared earlier today...or was it yesterday? He was losing track, but he was much too aware that the night was almost gone. When a new dawn began, he could check off another day.
Three days gone. The fourth only hours away. So much had happened, but there was so much yet to do. At least now he knew who their enemy was: the gargoyle appeared to command the lesser demons. They followed it like a mindless army, intent on doing its will. If only he could figure out what the creature's weak point was---if it had any. Right now, Dax was the weakest of the bunch. Even Eddy's strength was more than his.
DemonSlayer. He'd taken pride in the title when Taron had named him, but now it felt like a bad joke. Without Eddy to control the curse, Willow to feed him energy, and even Ed and Alton there to fight, he was less than useless.
Even Bumper had accomplished more than he had tonight, herding the army of demons toward Ed and Alton. They'd destroyed all the avatars, either killed or banished hundreds of demons, but more kept coming. The portal was closed, but Taron hadn't been kidding when he said there'd been a sizable invasion.
They'd all greatly underestimated how sizable.
How the hell were they going to win over such terrible odds? What was the gargoyle's weakness, if it even had one?
Eddy closed the door behind him. Dax's focus shifted from demons and the battles to come, to the woman moving silently from door to bed. Wordlessly, she sat on the edge of the bed, untied her boots, and slipped them off. Dax did the same, taking a chair on the far side of the room where he could watch her every move.
Eddy tugged her shirt off over her head and slipped the jeans down her long, long legs. She stood up to unhook her bra as Dax reached for the belt holding his jeans. Suddenly Eddy's mouth split into a wide grin. "Look at us," she said, laughing softly. "Undressing like an old, married couple when we've only known each other for three days."
Dax's first thought was, Has it only been three days? I feel as if I've known this woman forever. He paused with his hands on the belt buckle. "Is this how an old, married couple acts?"
She nodded, but she didn't lose the smile. "I think so. I'm not sure. I've never been part of a married couple, old, young, or otherwise."
"Well, if it is, I think I would like to be part of an old married couple...or otherwise." He held her gaze for a moment longer; then he undid his belt, unbuttoned and unzipped his jeans, and slid them down over his legs. His boxers went down with the pants. When he straightened up and stepped out of them, Dax knew there'd be no doubt in Eddy's mind what was on his.
There was nothing at all subtle about his erection. It jutted out in front, aiming directly for Eddy. She stared at him, her eyes bright, lips slightly parted. He knew she was exhausted. He was as well, but there was something in the space between him that seemed to take on its own life. He felt a thrumming in his veins, a pulse that was hot and rich as liquid gold. It had his mind buzzing, his body reacting.
He tried to compare the feelings, the sense of arousal he felt now in this human body, with what he remembered from his life as a demon, but there was no comparison. Nothing similar at all beyond the anxious sense of need, the pressure that seemed to encompass his groin and belly, buttocks, and balls.
Similarity ended there. Ended, and expanded with feelings that went so far beyond the physical that he had no way to describe them, no way to fully understand the ache in his heart, the thickness in his throat, the feeling that he wanted, that he needed...but what did he need?
More than Eddy's body. More than her touch, her soft skin. His lips hungered for her taste, his fingers itched to roam across the hills and valleys of her body, exploring secrets he'd barely suspected...but it was more.
Still more, but what?
It had to be this human body. The demon only wanted to ease its need for blood or sex. This human body wanted more. Saw more. Desired only Eddy Marks.
She was everything to him. Beauty. Kindness and humor, the sound of her laughter, the salt in her tears, the sweet scent of her skin, and the taste of her lips. All these things, each separate, each a necessary part of the whole. All the parts that made the woman.
All the parts that made him ache. Made him want more than four more days. More than a night in her arms.
She stepped close and took his hand. He noticed there was a definite flush to her cheeks, a rosy tint that crossed over her breasts and spread across the soft curve of her belly. She tugged lightly on his fingers, pulling him toward the bathroom. He followed her, curious about what she intended, happy just to know that whatever it was, she wanted him with her.
She turned his fingers loose and reached for the faucet on the shower, and he studied the line of her back, the smooth sweep of her hip and thigh. When she turned the tap and checked the temperature of the water, he realized he was caught on the subtle play of lean muscles beneath her smooth skin.
Then she slid the glass door aside and stepped in. Held the door open, silently inviting him to join her. His mouth went dry. He wasn't sure what he'd expected, but he'd not really thought this far ahead. Hadn't considered the implications of Eddy, naked and wanting, her lips parted, eyes clear and filled with his reflection.
Suddenly the demon rose up in him, almost a separate entity beneath his human skin, struggling to emerge. To take. Power flowed through his body. The snake began to writhe across his chest, and heat surged through his cock. Dax paused with one foot in the shower, one on the cold tile of the bathroom floor.
He grounded himself on the cold tile. Swayed with the effort it took to force the demon down. Took a deep, controlling breath. Another. The tattoo stilled. The demon retreated, but Dax sensed it waiting. Sensed its displeasure.
He'd had no idea his demon self still existed. No idea it clung so tightly. No idea it retained such power. He needed to think about that. Be aware of his demon side. Later.
Much later.
Steam rose over the top of the door and enveloped Eddy in a misty cloud. In control now, Dax walked into a dream. He stepped into the big shower and closed the door behind him. Water beat down on both of them. Eddy held a clean cloth, and she carefully rubbed soap into the thing.
"Turn around. I'll wash your back. Then you can do mine."
He wasn't about to argue. Dax turned, leaned forward, and planted his palms against the tile wall. Eddy rubbed the soft cloth over his shoulders, down the length of his spine. The water pounded out a steady rhythm against him; the cloth left swirls of soapy sensation. He realized he was groaning softly with each sweep across his skin.
All too soon she stopped. "My turn," she said. Dax moved aside, and Eddy took his place while he soaped the cloth and carefully washed her back.
He ran the cloth across her shoulders, down her spine, and over the curve of her buttocks. Up the same path until he detoured. This time he swept the soapy cloth around to the front and swirled it across her breasts, over the taut nipples that had gone from soft, pink buds to tightly ruched points.
When he ran the nubby washcloth across the tips, Eddy arched her back and pressed her breast into his palm. He stepped closer and used the cloth to wash down the soft curve of her belly and then dragged it lightly between her legs.
The soft whimpers she made told him he must be doing something right, but he backed away and grabbed the shower nozzle out of its holder, pulled it close, and rinsed the soap from her body.
She dipped her head beneath the spray and washed her short hair. Dax hung the nozzle back in its holder and did the same. When he rinsed the soap out of his, Eddy was already through, but she grabbed the wet cloth once again and began soaping his chest.
He stood beneath the hot spray while she carefully ran the cloth over the quiescent tattoo. She washed down over his hip, along his flank, the full length of one long leg all the way to his toes. Then she did the same to the other. Anticipation made him harder than ever, and his penis bobbed obscenely in front of her nose, but Eddy didn't seem to mind at all.
She took the cloth, added more soap, and carefully washed all those human male parts, gently lifting his thick shaft and sweeping the cloth along his full length. She cradled his testicles in the palm of her hand and gently bathed him. The soft sweep of soapy cloth took him to the edge. His hips jerked when she swept the cloth between his legs, up the crease of his buttocks, and back over his flank.
He might have felt embarrassed at such human intimacy, probably should have, but it felt too good, too right for him to be concerned. He searched for the demon, but it remained quiet, satisfied with Eddy's perfect touch. When she was done and had finished washing him and then herself, she rinsed both of them off as if they'd always bathed together, had always shared such astounding familiarity.
She got out of the shower and handed him a towel. Dax carefully dried himself and followed Eddy back into the bedroom. She brushed her tousled hair back from her face and handed the hairbrush to him with a smile that couldn't be anything but seductive. This act of bathing had turned into more than flirtation. It was, instead, a serious prelude to mating, a dance of desire---Eddy's own brand of foreplay taking both of them to another level of awareness.
She turned off the bright overhead light and then leaned over and turned on a lamp beside the bed. It cast a pale glow about the room, lighting the bed, but leaving most of the bedroom in dark shadow.
Dax dragged his gaze away from Eddy's sleek body and looked down at the hairbrush in his hand. He brushed it through his wet hair and dragged it all straight back, but he realized he was once again watching Eddy through eyelashes still wet and spiky.
They were both clean now, but in spite of all her flirtatious moves, Eddy hadn't actually said she wanted him sexually. The night was late, and Dax figured she'd want to sleep, though he was oddly disappointed at the thought that this might be all that would happen between them.
His tattoo was beginning to burn. His demon stirred. He'd felt in control while they showered, but now, here in the darkened bedroom, watching Eddy pull the bed's sheets and blankets back, Dax was aware of the subtle slither and slink of the art taking on life, pulsing slowly over his skin, of the demon rising, watching Eddy through eyes dark with lust.
He touched his abdomen, where the wide body of the snake crossed just above the thick root of his erection. He ran his fingers over the design and felt the distinct pattern of scales beneath his fingertips, as if the pain itself took on form and substance. Was his demon working within the curse? Taking back the tattoo? Following the heat of the snake's body, he trailed his fingers across his belly and up his chest.
The pain was growing, burning him from thigh to belly to chest, but he worked it, touched it, tried to make it his as he'd done earlier tonight. His hand trembled when he traced the line of the snake's head. Its tongue flicked across his palm.
"Shit!" He snatched his fingers away, raised his head, and stared directly into Eddy's eyes. She stood on the far side of the bed with her fingers pressed against her lips, her eyes wide in absolute horror. The pain intensified. His demon roared a silent scream of frustration. Dax felt a tearing sensation---the snake tattoo was pulling itself away from his body.
Eddy suddenly sprang to life. She raced around the end of the bed and slammed her hands against his chest, against the three-dimensional head of the snake as it twisted away from Dax.
"No!" She raised her head and stared at him in wide-eyed horror. "No," she said, softer this time. "I won't let it do this to you. I won't."
Dax covered Eddy's hands with his. Together they pressed the snake's head back down against his chest; together they held it in place. He had no sense of the demon now, but the snake writhed and twisted, and the heat was intense. Eddy never wavered. Neither did Dax, though it killed him to think of the pain she endured...for him. She held her hands to the scalding heat of the snake with a look of grim determination on her face.
Slowly the three-dimensional head of the snake flattened out beneath their hands. The texture of scales and muscle faded back to mere ink over cool skin, until, after a few long minutes, it seemed the most natural thing in the world for Dax to tilt his head, for Eddy to raise hers, for them to find a connection of hands and hearts and lips.
Dax had kissed her before, but never with the intent of taking the kiss beyond a meeting of lips and teeth and tongues. This time, with Eddy holding the snake at bay, with Dax holding Eddy and their bodies fresh from the shower, both of them still damp and warm and entirely naked, it felt right to draw close. Right to wrap an arm around Eddy's waist, right to pull her slim body tightly against his.
Right to spread his legs wide and draw her in to the cradle of his thighs, to tilt forward just so, until the heat of his erection nestled at the juncture of her thighs, pressing upward along the soft swell of her belly.
Her hands moved away from the now cooled and quiescent tattoo and slipped higher, trailing over his pectorals, across his collarbones. Her fingers tangled in the damp hair curling against his neck. One fingertip traced the edge of his ear, raising shivers along his spine.
She tilted her hips forward, pressing harder against his erection, teasing him with the soft brush of her pubic hair where it tickled the underside of his shaft. Her lips parted for him; her tongue dueled his in a sensual dance that left him breathless, wanting more.
Needing more. He cupped her firm buttocks in his palms and lifted her. She seemed to flow against him, and her long legs wrapped around his waist. He walked her to the bed and leaned forward with her still clinging tightly to his body.
When her back touched the mattress, she released him and sprawled shamelessly across the sheets. Her lips were swollen and shiny from their kisses; her nipples had tightened to dark points that called to him.
He couldn't avoid comparisons. Eddy was perfect, and there was nothing in his past to compare. Demons were neither male nor female. They'd been created out of the muck and residue of all creation, not born. Some had breasts and genitalia that included multiple penises or both male and female organs on the same body. Others had no genitalia at all. It didn't matter. When one demon conquered another it either ate the vanquished foe, or dominated it sexually. No matter if there wasn't a conventional orifice. Anything would work.
A demon's cock was as much a weapon as fangs or claws, as apt to ejaculate murderous venom as any other demonic fluid. When two demons came together, it wasn't about sex or pleasure or desire. Sex was a weapon, another method for conquering the opponent. It was all about force and pain, about taking control of a weaker foe.
He had survived untold millennia as a demon, had defeated and known defeat, but the law of survival was one that allowed no weakness. There was no emotion, no desire beyond an uncontrollable frenzy to vanquish and subdue.
Win or lose, conquer or be conquered. Fuck or get fucked. It was all about domination and power and survival.
This was different. So wonderfully different.
Dax looked down at his hands and realized his fingers trembled. They were hands with the power to throw flame and ice, yet they trembled before a woman. Standing here now, beside the bed, with Eddy sprawled in all her soft and feminine splendor, unmanned him as no more powerful foe ever had. He wanted her so much he ached.
He feared her just as badly, though not for what she could do to him. No, he feared loving her, knowing it would change him forever. And he realized, in that brief moment when all his battles, his wins, his losses, and all his timeless past flashed before him, that it was worth the risk. Worth the pain when he finally lost her. Worth whatever it cost him for this one night. This moment in time, spent in Eddy's arms.
He leaned over her, one knee planted firmly on the edge of the bed, one big hand hovering over her breast. He had to touch her, wanted to taste her. He glanced from her inviting breasts to see an even greater invitation in her eyes.
"Make love to me, Dax." She raised her hands and brushed her fingers across his chest. Ran her fingertips over the snake, beginning at the fearsome head and trailing along its sinuous length. When she trailed one fingertip across the hard planes of his belly, he sucked in a harsh breath.
Her fingers brushed the thick root of his cock, lingered but a moment and then moved beyond, to trace the multicolored snake along the top of his thigh to the very tip of its tail. Fire followed her touch, but it wasn't the fire of the demon's curse. No, this heated his blood, made his heart beat faster. His breath escaped in tiny puffs, so quick and short he was hardly aware of drawing air inside in order for it to escape.
He'd never made love, never covered a woman before with a human body. Had no idea how to make it right for her, no knowledge beyond plunder and plunge deep, thrust hard and fast, take or be taken.
"Eddy...I..."
She brushed her fingers across his lips. "It's okay," she said. The knowledge of ages was in her eyes. "Follow my lead."
He nodded, but he moved slowly, still unsure. His body thrummed with growing pressure, with a need that filled every cell, tightened every fiber of every one of his human muscles. Eddy sort of rolled up and curled around until she was kneeling in front of him as he half knelt, half stood beside the bed. She sat back on her heels and gazed up at him with her velvety brown eyes sparkling. She ran her fingers over the tattoo once again, as if she calmed the beast within.
Then she cupped his balls in her warm hands and wrapped her fingers lightly around the hard length of his shaft. Dax groaned and thrust forward into her grasp. His demon roared to life, and he fought it back until his entire body quivered with the restraint he forced on himself. Denying the instinct to shove hard and fast, to cover Eddy with his larger body and force himself deep inside her feminine heat, had him trembling as if he suffered from a palsy.
Eddy held him a moment longer. Her gentle touch had him clenching his muscles until his buttocks and thighs, chest, and jaw were hard as rocks. Then she leaned close, curled her spine, and brushed her lips over the broad crown of his penis.
Dax sucked in a breath. His body went rigid. He held himself still, concentrated on maintaining control, on holding the beast at bay while her lips and tongue ravaged his senses. He clenched his fists at his sides and felt the nails dig in to the fleshy swell beneath his thumbs. Her lips danced along his heavily veined length, and when he thought he couldn't take it any longer, Eddy opened her mouth and wrapped her lips around the upper third of his cock.
He arched his back, but she held him in place with one fist wrapped tightly around his shaft while the other cradled the heavy sac beneath. Held him and took him to heaven and beyond with the sweep of her tongue and the warm suction of her full lips and the wet cavern of her mouth.
Time seemed to stand still as she loved him with her mouth, but when he knew he couldn't last, that he couldn't hold on another moment, she slowly released him, licking along his full length, nibbling the flared crown. She dipped the tip of her tongue into the weeping slit at the end of his cock, swirled lightly, and then sat back on her heels.
Her lips were shiny and soft, her breasts seemed somehow fuller, and when given the choice between lips and breast, Dax, leaned forward and wrapped his lips around her nipple, right over her heart. She threw her head back, thrust her chest forward, and he suckled her nipple into his mouth, tonguing the tip, nibbling, and then licking, until she held his shoulders in both her hands and pressed her breast against his mouth.
He didn't remember moving, but he was above her now, his knees between her thighs, his cock resting against her damp cleft. He suckled first one breast, and then the other, fascinated by the taste and texture, the sense that this amazing act was something his human body recognized.
Dax, who'd never nursed at a mother's breast, had never touched a woman, seen a woman...made love to a woman. Suddenly presented a feast, he was unsure where to begin. He trailed kisses along Eddy's ribs, dipped his tongue into her navel, kissed the crease between her groin and thigh.
So close, he was drawn by her scent, by the rich, feminine perfume between her thighs. He scooted back and lifted her legs, presenting her for his own perusal. At first she tried to close her knees together, but when he glanced up, stared solemnly at her, and shook his head, she lay back down, and the tension went out of her thighs.
He leaned close, touched his tongue to her mound, and swirled the tip through her crisp curls. Her labia glistened with tiny drops of dew, and he ran his tongue between her feminine lips, lapping slowly. He quickly realized that when he laved the small bump at the top of her cleft, her body jerked and she pressed closer to his mouth.
So he did it again, and again, slowly, lightly, teasing Eddy just as she'd teased him until she suddenly cried out. Her body jerked, and her thighs closed against his ears as she arched closer to his mouth. Acting purely on human, not demon instinct, he pressed his lips around the swollen bud and sucked lightly for a moment longer, until her convulsive movements ended and her body relaxed in his hands.
Her eyes were bright in the dim glow from the bedside lamp when he finally moved over her, settled himself between her legs, and used his hand to guide his erect penis between the damp and swollen entrance to her body. She arched into him as he thrust forward.
Her opening was hot and very slick, yet he was so large the fit was tight and his progress slow and not so steady. He buried himself deep, and deeper still until he was fully engulfed in hot rippling flesh.
He'd never felt anything remotely as wonderful, nothing that could compare to the hot clasp of Eddy's sheath around the thick length of his shaft. She filled him with life. Her muscles pulsed along his taut length; heat and moisture enfolded him. She lifted her hips and took him deeper; he recognized her rhythm and slipped into it as if they'd done this act together all their lives.
In and out, thrust and retreat, instinctive movements as old as time, but it was nothing like he'd ever experienced before. Nothing in his entire life had prepared him for this, for the overall sense of fulfillment, of pure, unadulterated ecstasy as his body became one with Eddy's, as his heart found a rhythm that matched perfectly to hers.
And he knew, somehow he understood, that this was not the way it always was for all humans. That this perfect synchronization of hearts and bodies, of minds and needs, was unique to the two of them, totally encompassing every desire he'd ever had, every dream he'd never known to dream.
This was what Eddy said when she called it making love. This was love. This was more than their bodies, more than their minds---it was every cell, every thought, every need and desire, fulfilled and made whole.
Eddy's body tensed beneath his. Electricity arched between them, dragging Dax into a new rhythm, a more powerful lead. The demon stirred, slipped beyond his defenses, and took control.
A deep, unearthly roaring filled his ears, a familiar, fearsome sound, one Dax thought was gone forever. He---both the man and the demon---thrust into her hard and fast, his hips moving in a compelling tempo racing against the beat of his heart, the rush of blood, the harsh intake of breath. Slamming into Eddy time and time again, until his balls slapped the curve of her buttocks and the sounds of wet flesh and hot suction and gasping breath all mingled and melded with Eddy's cries and Dax's hoarse roar of completion.
A final thrust, and his body hung rigid and unmoving above her. His sac drew up hard and tight between his legs. His cock jerked deep inside Eddy's clasping sheath as he emptied himself in spurt after spurt, trapped as he was by clenching, spasming muscles, the hard muscles of her thighs wrapped around his waist, her heels locked together against the small of his back.
He had no idea. Hadn't suspected, hadn't known enough to even wonder what this would be like. Rearing back on his heels, Dax wrapped his arms around her and dragged her against his chest. Slowly the demon subsided, retreated, and faded into the back of his consciousness. Dax held Eddy close with her legs wrapped around his body, his cock buried inside, still jerking with each pulsing release, filling her...claiming this woman as his own.
Long moments later, her body relaxed, and she slumped against him. Her cheek rested on his shoulder; her arms dropped listlessly to his sides. She panted, breathing in and out with quick bursts of air that tickled his sweaty skin.
Dax lay her down on the soft bed, loath to separate entirely. Her closed eyelids fluttered but didn't open. Perspiration beaded her chest and forehead, and a rosy flush spread over her breasts and belly.
Carefully, Dax pulled away. Regretfully he withdrew from her vagina. Her slick muscles still rippled around his shaft when he slipped free, almost as if they tried to hold him close, but he backed away and went into the bathroom to find a damp cloth. He quickly washed himself, rinsed the cloth carefully in warm water, and returned to Eddy.
He was almost afraid to think of what they'd done. What he had done. He'd felt the demon come to life, felt the power of his demon lust, the comingling of human and unworldly creature, taking Eddy, making love to Eddy.
He'd been afraid, but not enough to stop. He'd wanted her too much. Needed her too badly. Now she slept soundly just as he'd left her. One arm covered her eyes, one knee was still raised, the other sprawled limply to one side. Carefully, Dax washed between her legs, bathing his seed from her body, and then drying her with a warm towel.
When he was done, she rolled to her side with a soft sigh on her lips. He put the damp cloth and towel in the hamper, turned out the light, and crawled into bed behind her. His body fit perfectly against the curve of hers. He lay there with her warm bottom tucked against his belly and her damp hair tickling his chin.
It was a long time before he slept, not because he couldn't relax, but because he forced himself to stay awake. He didn't want to miss a single minute of the sweet experience of holding Eddy close. Of knowing that she slept so peacefully now because her body was sated from his loving.
Human and demon. Together they'd left her satisfied and smiling. He needed to think about that. Needed to understand how the two could work together.
Four more days to defeat the demons. Four more days in Eddy's bed before his life on her world ended. How could he bear to leave her?
How could he not?
At least the death of his human body would be acceptable if he knew he'd be leaving Eddy safe. Alive, unharmed, and safe, in a world free from demonkind.
There was no other option. There was no point in saving the citizens of Evergreen if he couldn't save Eddy. No point at all.
She wasn't certain what woke her, but Eddy was suddenly wide awake and terribly aware of the man sleeping beside her. Dax must have turned off the bedside lamp before he slept, because the room was softly cocooned in total darkness. The sun hadn't begun to rise, yet she felt energized, as if she'd slept soundly for many more hours than their late night should have allowed.
Reacting purely by instinct, Eddy placed her palm over the tattoo, finding it easily even in darkness by the intense heat radiating along its length.
The moment she covered the snake's head with her palm, Dax sighed. His body relaxed, and he rolled from his back to his side, enveloping her in warmth and muscle. One heavy, hair-roughened leg slid across her thighs, and she felt the thick length of his partially tumescent erection against her hip.
They'd made love just the one time before exhaustion had claimed her, but Eddy's body still hummed with the aftereffects of the most amazing climax she'd ever experienced in her life.
When the sun rose, Dax would be starting his fourth day. More than half his time would be gone. Eddy didn't want to think about life after Dax, but she couldn't help herself. She knew she'd never know another man like him, a man as much demon as human, one who loved her even as he sometimes left her feeling just a little off balance, a bit unsure. No, she would never find anyone even remotely as close to perfect.
Wasn't this just like her usual luck? She'd never wanted a permanent relationship with any guy until now. Until Dax. He was the first man she'd ever known who pushed all her buttons. He filled every need she'd ever had, including a few she hadn't even been aware of.
Typical. Softly, she stroked the tattoo, aware now how his skin cooled beneath her fingers. Dax sighed and snuggled close, nuzzling the sensitive skin beneath her ear. His hand drifted across her belly, slipped upward over her ribs, and settled around her left breast. His palm was rough, his fingers gentle, as they lightly plucked at her suddenly attentive nipple.
She felt him growing erect against her hip, knew he hovered on that plain between sleep and wakefulness. His lips pursed in a drowsy kiss against her throat; his hips thrust forward.
He began to take form in the thin, gray light of early dawn. The dark sweep of hair across his brow, the straight line of his nose, the curve of his jaw. With the growing visibility of his face came the full awareness that their time was growing shorter with each minute that passed.
The sun was rising.
Another day had ended. The new one began. Eddy rubbed her hand slowly across the firm muscles of his chest and cupped her palm over his shoulder. Gently, she applied pressure and pushed him over on his back. He rolled over with a grunt, but his eyes stayed closed.
Eddy raised up on one elbow to study him. His thick lashes curved in dark half moons above sharply defined cheekbones. His lips were pursed, but when Eddy leaned close to press a soft kiss to his mouth, they softened and reformed beneath hers, returning her kiss.
She smiled against his mouth. His muscles firmed beneath her hands as he awoke more fully. He returned her smile. His big hands found her in the darkness, stroking her flanks, her sides, cupping her breasts.
He lifted her, and, as if they'd done this uncountable times, Eddy slipped her leg across his body and straddled his hips. Rose up, grasped his thick erection in one hand, and guided him between her legs.
When she settled down over him, he sheathed perfectly within her, filling her completely. She wriggled her hips just enough to settle all of his length inside. He groaned. The faint light spilling through the blinds glinted off his sleepy smile.
Eddy began to move. She quickly found a rhythm that took Dax deep and then slipped him almost free of her tight channel, lifting and then lowering herself above him. Teasing him with tiny, rocking motions of her hips, she managed to make contact exactly where she wanted to on each rise and fall. She used the muscles in her thighs and calves to lift her up, to slowly lower her down, to take both of them to the very edge.
Fully awake now, Dax's eyes glinted in the growing light of dawn. His lips were tightly drawn as he grasped her around the hips with both hands, lifting her up, pulling her down. He lifted his hips to meet her, faster now, and harder until the slap, slap, slap of their bodies coming together seemed to echo against the harsh rasp of their breathing, the soft whimpers from Eddy, the deep groans from Dax.
She leaned forward and pressed her palms against his shoulders, anchoring herself as he drove into her, raising his hips hard and fast to meet her.
Her body hovered, nerves stretched thin on the sharp edge of orgasm. Eddy ran her tongue across her lips and gazed down---directly into the eyes of the snake.
Its forked tongue darted toward her with a malevolent and deviant sensuality anchored in pure evil. Eddy slammed both hands over the gaping mouth as the snake's scaled head slithered entirely free from Dax's chest. She felt the curve of its blunt snout, the strength of muscle beneath its hot, reptilian skin. With a harsh cry, she shoved the serpent back against Dax.
He seemed unaware of the impossible battle taking place over his heart. With eyes closed and lips stretched thin in what could have been either a grimace of pain or extreme pleasure, he slammed his hips upward, driving into her. Eddy arched her back, held the snake in place, and gave in to orgasm. Wave after wave of pleasure rippled from the point where she and Dax connected. Rippled and grew in a tide of sensation.
The snake moved beneath her hands, and Eddy channeled the sharp waves of pleasure, worked the full thrust of arousal, and cast it forward, calling on all the love she felt, the fears for this man, the need in her she knew no other man would ever satisfy---channeled all of it from her heart, through her hands, and into Dax.
Owning it, working the multiple strengths of her own pleasure and need, she sent it blasting into the snake.
A brilliant pulse of energy passed from her fingertips into the reptile. Eddy felt the thrill of completion as Dax cried out, as his body tightened beneath hers and his hips thrust upward and held.
Her muscles clenched, and still the power passed from Eddy, through the snake, into Dax. Back again to Eddy, a circle of power surrounding the snake, trapping it within a golden light that actually glowed along the sinuous edges of the tattoo.
Eddy felt it along her thigh, where she connected with the tail end of the snake, felt it against her pubes, where the thick body of the snake passed over Dax's groin. Felt it beneath her hands, where the snake's head stopped its powerful thrust and once again flattened into a seemingly harmless tattoo, a mere piece of art adorning her man's broad chest.
The last ripples of orgasm rolled through her body, in wave after wave of pleasure so powerful it verged on pain. Eddy fell forward as Dax's arms wrapped tightly around her and held her close. The tattoo was a cool presence between her breasts. She knew it lived, but for now she knew without any doubt she had subjugated whatever evil curse gave it strength.
Smiling, Eddy turned her face and rested her cheek against Dax's chest. Rested it directly over the snake's venomous fangs, feeling almost smug in her awareness that once again she'd bested evil.
Sunlight found them, drowsy yet complete. Dax was still buried deep inside her body, and his arms still encircled her waist. But the snake was quiet, and Eddy knew Dax felt none of the curse's pain right now. Whatever she'd done had stopped the creature, though probably not for long.
Even so, she couldn't help but smile. They'd conquered its strongest attack yet, and they'd done it with love. Maybe that was the secret to fighting the demon. There was power in love. They just needed to figure out how to use it, and there were very few days left to get it right.
Wednesday morning---day four
The bedside telephone woke Dax from a troubled sleep---a night filled with dreams of searing fire, hopeless battles, and armies of demon-driven gargoyles. He was still trying to associate the persistent clamor assaulting his ears with the images in his head when, mumbling incoherently, Eddy crawled across him.
Dreams evaporated like a fireshot demon in the welcome distraction of Eddy's sleek, naked form gliding over his suddenly wakeful body. Still grumbling, she planted an elbow against his sternum and reached for the phone, but it stopped ringing before she could answer.
Groaning, Eddy flopped down, landing crosswise over his chest. Sunlight glowed around the edges of the blinds. He knew it was time to be up, but he felt no inclination to move, beyond the automatic sweep and stroke of his palm along Eddy's spine. She wriggled closer and groaned, but now her sleepy sounds held a note of pleasure.
As did Dax's. Somehow, all her warm parts had connected perfectly to his corresponding and now wide-awake parts.
"That feels so good," she mumbled. "Please don't stop."
Her lips moved against his shoulder, and he grinned at the improbability of their position. Less than a week ago he'd been a spirit lost in the void. Before that, a scaled demon fighting to survive one more day within the hell of Abyss.
Now he was lying in a comfortable bed with a beautiful, naked female sprawled over him. This, he thought, is paradise.
What could the Edenites offer that he hadn't already found here in bed with Eddy Marks? His body tightened as he imagined even more pleasure they could share. The physical side of love as his human body experienced it went beyond anything he'd ever known or even imagined throughout his long demonic life.
Though he couldn't deny his demon side either. Hadn't it added to Eddy's pleasure?
A sharp rap on the door stopped his musings. Ed's voice ended them entirely. "Eddy? You two awake in there? I need to talk to you."
Eddy groaned. "Sorry," she whispered. "Be right there, Dad." She pushed up with both arms, kissed Dax much too quickly, and crawled off him and off the bed.
He watched her bend over and grab a robe from the floor. Covering that gorgeous body seemed somewhat sacrilegious, but he understood the human need for modesty.
She ran her fingers through her short, tousled hair and reached for the door. Dax covered himself with the blanket as Ed stepped into the room. He gave Eddy a quick hug and acknowledged Dax with a brief smile.
"Sweetie, that was Harlan calling. He actually groveled, something I never expected from that horse's ass." He chuckled. "He had the nerve to say you took being fired much too literally, and he wants to know when you're going to get your story in for the afternoon paper. In his words, in light of the current 'events' in town, he doesn't understand how you could possibly let him down like this."
"Let him down?" Eddy snorted inelegantly. "He told me to get out and not come back."
Ed merely shrugged, but he couldn't seem to hide the grin on his face. "He claims it was a simple misunderstanding."
"Simple, my ass. The man's a jerk." She glanced at Dax. "I've had a few other things on my mind besides Harlan." Shrugging, she added, "Anyway, if we're not successful in the next couple days, there's not going to be a paper to write for or a town to write about."
Dax shook his head. "Don't even think that way. We'll succeed, Eddy. We have to."
She glanced his way. "Okay. But what can I write? Do you want me to actually do a story about the demon invasion? What can I say?"
Dax thought about it a moment. Things were coming to a head. Enough citizens had seen the demons' avatars in motion now to be feeling real concern about either their community or their sanity. "Can you put some kind of spin on things, make it sound like unusual but explainable behavior?"
Before Eddy had a chance to answer him, Bumper raced through the door and jumped up on the bed, wriggling all over as if she hadn't seen Dax in years. He grabbed her muzzle to avoid a thorough face washing, Bumper style. Willow buzzed by and landed on the headboard. When Dax finally got Bumper under control and glanced up, Alton stood in the doorway with both hands looped over the top of the frame.
Obviously, any private plans Dax might have had with Eddy were officially out of the question.
"Good morning." Alton grinned, obviously well aware of Dax's opinion of all the interruptions. "I heard what you said, Dax. I agree. If we can come up with a plausible explanation for things to run in the local newspaper, and if I cast a community-wide compulsion, we might be able to contain news of the invasion for a few more days, at least until we destroy the rest of the creatures."
"Eddy?" Dax grinned at her and received an even warmer smile in return. "Can you do that?"
"Sure," she said, with an exaggerated wave of her hands. "I can do anything. Just call me Lois Lane, ace reporter...as much as I hate doing anything for Harlan, after the way he fired me."
Dax laughed. "I have to agree, but unfortunately, it's not about Harlan, or any of us, right now."
Eddy's eyes seemed to bore into his for a long time. Then she quickly turned to her father and pressed both hands against his chest. "Go. Take Alton, Bumper, and Willow and let me get some clothes on. You guys think of an angle for the story, and I'll get it written, but go. Now."
The room seemed unusually quiet when they'd all left. Eddy closed the door behind them, and Dax threw the covers back. She turned and smiled at him. "You're not going anywhere. They can wait for a few more minutes. For that matter, so can Harlan and the rest of the universe."
He frowned, but she was coming toward him with a subtle exaggeration to the natural sway of her hips, slipping the robe over her shoulders to expose her perfect breasts.
Dax's mouth was suddenly too dry to form words. His brain seemed to have gone entirely on hold. Thank goodness his body didn't have any problem knowing how to react.
It really wasn't all that much more than a few minutes. A very pleasurable few minutes. Until now, Dax had no idea just how much pleasure two people could find in such a very short time. Or, how powerful the act of love could be between two souls who truly cared for one another.
The glow returned to his tattoo. Once again, the pain was gone.
Eddy figured she probably should feel embarrassed walking into the kitchen at the tail end of another of her dad's big breakfasts. Her cheeks were pink from Dax's beard, her lips were swollen from his kisses, and her body still hummed with the power of their lovemaking, but she'd skip a meal any day to spend the time with Dax.
Nor was she at all embarrassed that both her father and Alton obviously knew what she and Dax had been doing, especially when she knew time with him was so short. She glanced down at their clasped hands. She couldn't bring herself to meet Dax's gaze, even though they'd both discovered an added benefit to sex.
The term afterglow had a whole new meaning.
The moment they'd both climaxed, a soft, golden glow had once again surrounded the cursed tattoo and contained the curse, as far as they could tell. For now, at least, Dax's pain was gone.
As were half of his days on Earth. Already they were well into his fourth day, yet they were no closer to ending the demonic invasion than they'd been the day before.
Eddy was, however, way too close to being in love with him. In fact, she knew she was fooling herself not to admit she'd gone and fallen head over heels beyond lust with a man predestined to leave her much too soon.
Not something she wanted to think about when the fate of her entire community---crap, the whole world---was at stake.
Her dad stood by the sink, scraping leftovers into a bowl for Bumper. He glanced up as she and Dax stopped at the counter to pour themselves cups of coffee. "I saved pancakes, bacon, and eggs for you," he said. "Just give me a minute."
"Thanks, Dad. I'll have to go on a diet if I eat many more of your meals." She glanced away before Ed could respond and followed Dax to the kitchen table.
Alton joined them as Ed set plates in front of Eddy and Dax. "I've been watching the news out of Sacramento," he said. "No mention yet of anything here, but we're going to have to come up with something to satisfy the local population."
"I wonder if Ginny could help?" Eddy set her fork down. "She's a nine-one-one operator. I could at least check with her and see what kinds of calls she's getting. If anyone would know what's going on around here, what people are complaining about, it would be Ginny."
Alton cleared his throat and glanced away. Eddy got the strangest feeling he was hiding something, but then he turned his open gaze on her and merely shrugged. "Whatever you think. You're not going to tell her the truth, are you?"
Eddy thought about that a moment. "I wish I could, and if anyone can keep a secret, it would be Ginny Jones, but I think the fewer people who realize what's really going on, the better. I'll call her and see what she's heard. She'll tell me what she can, though obviously a lot of what she knows is private information that she can't share."
"Be sure and ask her how she is, will you?" Alton's soft question brought Eddy up short.
"Will she remember the concrete bear coming after her?"
Ed interrupted. "Alton let her think she got caught up in a street fight. You'll be able to tell by her answers how much she actually recalls."
"Right." Eddy stared at the plate she'd hardly touched. Food was the last thing on her mind. "I'll find out what I can, but you guys need to work on an angle for a story."
"If you think that will work, I'll send it to Harlan." Eddy glanced over the brief story she'd written about the current spate of vandalism taking place around the community of Evergreen. She'd blamed it on a suspected influx of gangs from the Central Valley.
Ginny was the one who had given her the idea, since it was what the local sheriff's department was attributing all the broken statues and lawn decorations to: gangs moving into the area, trying to establish their own turf. There was just enough truth behind their suspicions to make the entire story plausible, and it meant Eddy didn't have to write an outright lie. She was merely reporting what she'd been told.
There were problems, definitely, but not any that required military intervention. Dax was the one who'd explained that gangs today were inherently evil, and probably run by demons who'd made their way to Earth the old-fashioned way, by becoming human after spending time in the void. They weren't, however, part of the current invasion. More the standard, run-of-the-mill bad guys as compared to demonic invasion by the truly malevolent.
"Well," she said. "Will this work? It's not much of a story."
Dax stood up. "It sounds good to me. Alton? Ed? What do you guys think?"
"I think a little backup compulsion is all we're going to need." Alton stood beside Dax. "Why don't you come with me? We can walk into town, check out the library, and see if the gargoyle is back on his perch. It's a good, central location where I can cast a compulsion over the entire community. I'll make them suspect that gangs are behind all the demonic activities. Eddy's story will confirm their suspicions."
Ed glanced up from Eddy's computer. He'd been reading the screen over her shoulder. "How long can you make the compulsion last?"
Alton shrugged. "Three, maybe four days." He looked at Dax. "I can make it last as long as Dax. He's only got until midnight Saturday, if we've got the days properly figured. If we haven't got the problem solved by then, we'll need a new plan."
Eddy caught Dax's steady gaze. He wavered and danced before her eyes, but that's what happened when you looked at a guy through eyes filled with tears. Damn. She wasn't ready to think of him leaving. Not yet. Blinking rapidly, she turned back to the computer, finished her brief note to Harlan, and hit SEND. "It's all done," she said. "What next?"
"Alton and Dax shouldn't be gone all that long." Ed straightened up. "Why don't you and I take a walk around the neighborhood, just see what people are saying?" He held out his hand.
Eddy took it. Dax leaned close and kissed her lips. It was obvious she was the only one he saw in the room. She couldn't control the fact her body swayed toward his, that her heart pounded at the merest touch of his mouth to hers.
"Be careful," he said. "We won't be gone long."
Alton grabbed Bumper's leash and snapped it to her collar. "Do you mind if she comes with us? Willow hates to be away from her."
Eddy laughed. The tall Lemurian with the curly pit bull watching him with pure adoration had no idea what a babe magnet Bumper was going to be. "You don't think Bumper's going to let you go without her, do you? Go, you fickle beast."
Dax opened the door, and Alton went through first. As he closed it, Dax gave Eddy one last, lingering glance. Then he shut the door behind him.
Eddy stared at the door. They'd never been separated before. Not since she'd found him in the potting shed. This was the first time, and it felt horrible.
What was it going to be like when he was gone forever?
Her dad ruffled her hair, the way he'd done when she was little. "C'mon, sweetie. Let's go check out the neighborhood."
Nodding, Eddy finally tore her gaze away from the door.
They'd covered about three blocks without seeing anything out of order before Ed finally spoke. Eddy'd been waiting for "the talk." Her father rarely criticized her, but she knew he was worried. There was no way to hide her feelings for Dax.
No way that she wanted to. She loved him. For however long he had left, and long after he was gone, she was still going to love him. Some things couldn't be changed.
"It's not going to be easy, no matter how this battle pans out."
There was no point in pretending she didn't understand what her dad was saying. "I know. It's already hard."
"Any way that you can back off how you're feeling? Put some distance between the two of you?"
Eddy shook her head. They'd paused under a big ponderosa pine shading the sidewalk. Around them, the sounds of the neighborhood were as they'd always been: birds, the occasional barking dog, cars passing, lawn mowers going.
Eddy raised her head and stared into her father's sad eyes. It was obvious he worried about her. Just as obvious he wasn't going to try and change her mind. "Dad, if you'd known, before you and Mom got married, how young she'd be when she died, would you have called off the wedding?"
Smiling, Ed slowly shook his head. "Every day with your mother was worth the pain of losing her. Not only do I have you, I have the memories of our life together. But Eddy, we had years. You and Dax only have days. Knowing that..."
"Knowing that, Dad, I'd still do exactly what I'm doing now. I know it doesn't make sense, but even knowing he's not really human, I love him."
He wrapped his arms around her waist and hugged her close. She felt the kiss he planted on top of her head. "I know you do, sweetie. He's a good man. Worth loving. I just hate thinking of what it will be like for you when he's gone."
She looked up at her father and thought of all the things he could have said, but hadn't. Instead, just as always, he'd known exactly what she needed to hear. She laughed, well aware it sounded more like she'd choked off a sob. "It's gonna be really shitty, Dad, but there's not a thing I can do about it. Not a damned thing, except not waste a minute while he's here."
"As long as it works for you..."
She nodded, tucked her hand through his elbow, and started walking. Swallowed back the huge lump in her throat. "It's going to have to work, isn't it?"
"Yep."
Arm in arm, they continued down the street.
Dax and Alton strolled north along the main street. Bumper trotted alongside with her head high and her tail curled over her back. Willow remained in Dax's pocket, entirely out of sight.
They crossed the small park in front of the old library building. The gargoyle sat on its parapet, as innocent and innocuous as could be. The area was filled with the laughter of children---what appeared to be an entire group of preschoolers with a couple of harried-looking teachers. An elderly couple fed the pigeons, and half a dozen tourists walked by, obviously traveling together, pointing to their maps and speaking in a language Dax didn't recognize.
Reluctantly, Dax and Alton continued on in search of a quieter spot. There were too many potential witnesses here for Alton to try a compulsion.
They finally found a quiet corner behind the library.
"Will this compulsion of yours affect Ed and Eddy at all?"
Alton shook his head. "No. They're too immersed in the battle, too aware of what's going on. Just give me a moment. I need to try and cover a much larger area than I've done before."
He closed his eyes, raised his hands, and appeared as if he prayed. Almost five minutes later, he lowered his head and his hands and took a deep breath. "That should do it, at least for a few days."
Dax nodded. "I have a favor to ask of you, my friend."
Alton raised an eyebrow and looked at him.
"When I am gone, can you take any memories of me away from Eddy? I love her, and I will treasure my memories, knowing they are more than I ever deserved or expected. Eddy deserves more. I don't want her to grieve when I'm gone. It's not fair of me to leave her alone, but I have no choice." He looked into the dark green eyes of the Lemurian, hoping that somehow, some way, he could convince him. "I don't want to think of Eddy missing me."
He glanced away, wondering. Was his a totally selfish request? Was he assuming too much? Maybe Eddy didn't love him the way he loved her. Maybe she wouldn't miss him at all, but if she felt anything at all the way...
"Is that fair to Eddy?" Alton rested his hand on Dax's shoulder. "I think it should be up to Eddy whether she wants to remember you or not, don't you?"
His shoulders slumped. He stared at the scuffed boots he wore, her father's boots. "I don't know, Alton. This is all so new to me. Emotions...love. Worrying about someone besides myself. Can I trust you to do what you think is best?"
"You honor me, Dax." Alton spoke solemnly. Then he gave Dax's shoulder a light squeeze and turned him loose. "That's something I can promise."
Dax tried not to think about the endless future without Eddy, but the days were speeding by, he hadn't ended the demon threat, and eternity in the void was looking like the only option left to him. Eternity without Eddy.
He might as well be back in Abyss.
"Let's go back by the library and check on the gargoyle. Can you use your powers to keep people from remembering me if I engage the demon in battle?"
"I can try."
Only the elderly couple remained in the small park. They sat on a stone bench under a tree at the corner farthest from the building, feeding a flock of milling pigeons. The space in front of the library was empty.
Bumper growled. Blond curls rose all along her back. Dax put his palm on her head to calm her, and looked up into the malevolent eyes of the gargoyle. It glared down at him from its perch on the parapet. The expression on its stone face was one of haughty arrogance, a confidence born of past battles, the knowledge it had bested Dax on more than one occasion.
Dax felt a shiver race along his spine, an awareness that he was being studied as closely as he studied the demon. Would it try and fly away, even under the brilliant morning sun? He glanced around. No one seemed to notice him.
"Alton? Can you hide us?"
The Lemurian nodded. "I can muffle sound and make us appear vague and unnoticeable, though we won't entirely disappear." He stepped to one side, looped Bumper's leash through his belt to hold the growling dog close, and spread his long arms wide. A transparent bubble of energy formed, enclosing the vacant library, the gargoyle, the dog, the sprite, and the two men.
All sound beyond ceased.
"I can hold this for but a few moments. No sound will escape, though determined outsiders can see through it. Work quickly, before I grow too weak to hold it."
Willow zipped out of Dax's pocket, and drew what energy she could from within the bubble. He felt the burst of strength racing from his head to his fingertips, raised his hands, and sent a blast of fireshot at the gargoyle.
The creature rose up on stubby legs, screaming its banshee wail. Wings unfolded. Its eyes glowed red, and it focused on Dax as swirling flames rolled off its stone chest.
Bumper tugged at her leash, snarling and growling and then frantically whining her frustration at the leash.
Dax drew more power, but now he threw an icy mist. Immense cold following extreme heat should crack the stone. All it seemed to do was piss off the demon. Dax focused more energy as Willow fed it to him. The creature stumbled and fell back upon the parapet. Dax hit it again, with flame this time, but his power was waning. Willow's glow dimmed. The tattoo across his chest began to writhe and twist. He felt the cold slice of a forked tongue beneath his chin.
Willow's light faded entirely. Dax's fire sputtered and died. The gargoyle rose to its stubby feet once more, and while its stone head sagged as if the creature were weary and hurting, it was still intact, still strong enough to take its position on the parapet.
It spread its wings in a brief show of defiance, then folded them across its back and once again took on its original guise of an innocent gargoyle protecting the abandoned library.
Agony raced through Dax. The tattoo moved! The subtle rhythm of the snake's body was impossible to ignore as it slowly writhed the length of his. He looked down in horror as the denim covering his thigh bulged and shifted over the squirming length of the snake.
Staring at the rise and fall of denim over his thigh, Dax reached deep inside for his demon. Nothing. Vaguely, through his own screaming desperation, Dax sensed Alton swaying beside him. He knew the instant the Lemurian fell. The surrounding bubble popped out of existence, and the sounds of the world returned. Bumper's leash tore free of Alton's belt, and she took off running. Dax pressed his hands to his chest. The snake's head rose to meet him, but he wrapped his fingers around its powerful jaws and held them shut.
Again he called on his demon. This time he sensed contact, a surge of power. The muscles in his biceps, shoulders, and chest bulged as he and his demon forced the snake's head back against human flesh. Burning agony shot along the tattoo's length.
Black spots flickered in front of Dax's eyes. He tightened his grip around the snapping jaws with both hands. The tail twitched and slithered over his thigh. The thick body undulated across his groin, over his belly.
He turned his face away from the flickering tongue and gasped. Willow lay on the freshly mowed grass, her light extinguished, her tiny wings spread wide---a tiny butterfly as still as death. Alton lay beside her, unconscious.
Dax couldn't tell if the Lemurian breathed or not.
The pain grew. His strength faded. His demon retreated. Was it cowed by the gargoyle? He'd not thought it possible, hadn't wanted to admit it could happen, but the tattoo was winning. Without Eddy's strength to hold the creature at bay, there was no way for Dax to stop its cursed attack.
Blinded by pain, he raised his head and caught the gargoyle's gaze. Weakened by the attack, the creature still clung to its resting place atop the library, glaring at Dax with undisguised malice. Dax returned its evil stare, even as his legs collapsed beneath him.
He fell to his knees, still gripping the snake's head in both hands. The gargoyle's red eyes boring into his were the last thing he saw before blackness overtook him.
Eddy and her dad walked briskly along the main street of town. They'd been through the neighborhood, and all had seemed perfectly normal. No demon activity to speak of, and no stench of sulfur. It had seemed like a perfectly normal morning, but Eddy's sense of unease grew stronger with each step she took.
"Let's go by the library. I'm worried about Dax."
Ed nodded. "Me too. We should have given them a cell phone. I don't like being out of contact like this."
Eddy forced a smile. "I'm sure they're fine. What can happen to a DemonSlayer, a Lemurian, and a will-o'-the-wisp, as long as they have Bumper?"
Ed laughed, but he picked up the pace.
Eddy recognized Bumper's frantic barking before she saw the dog streaking toward them, leash flying in the air behind her. "Ohmygod! Bumper!" She raced toward the dog and managed to grab the trailing leash. "Where's Dax?"
Bumper yipped once and tugged Eddy back up the road at a full run. Ed ran beside them. "She's taking us to the library. Hurry!"
Eddy wasn't about to waste breath talking. She unclipped Bumper's leash and gave the dog her freedom. Bumper raced on ahead, but seemed to know not to let Eddy out of her sight. The three of them rounded the corner at almost the same time.
Dax and Alton were sprawled on the freshly mowed lawn. It wasn't until Eddy fell to her knees beside Dax that she realized Willow lay on the ground as well. "Dad, check Alton and Willow."
She ripped Dax's shirt open, heedless of buttons flying everywhere. The snake reared up with glowing eyes and jaws spread wide. Without thinking, Eddy grabbed the creature by the throat and held it mere inches from her face.
The forked tongue lashed out, and she fought the power beneath the scales. Pain lanced her hands, raced up her arms as she absorbed Dax's agony.
She'd finally realized how her touch worked. She pulled the pain into herself, controlled it somehow with her touch, but the agony she felt right now was merely a fraction of what Dax must be suffering.
She was vaguely aware of Alton sitting up beside her, of Willow's wings beginning to flutter as Ed scooped the tiny will-o'-the-wisp up in his hands. Bumper had stopped barking. Now she merely paced around the small group, whimpering and growling as Eddy battled the snake.
It glared at her with a malevolence powered by pure evil, and it was all Eddy could do to hold the thing by the throat and keep it from striking at either Dax or herself. The flesh above Dax's heart, where the snake had ripped itself free of Dax's body, was a bloody open wound.
Determined not to lose, Eddy tightened both hands around the snake's throat and forced it back against Dax's chest. She hated the thought of hurting him, of pressing against his ragged and torn flesh, but there was no other way. Nothing she could do that wouldn't cause him more pain. As long as he was unconscious, she could only hope that he wasn't able to feel it.
The snake appeared to weaken. Dax's jeans no longer rippled and bulged with the sluggish movements of the partially bound reptile. Within a few moments, the fabric flattened out to cover the natural curve of Dax's muscular thighs and the flat contours of his belly and waist.
The snake seemed to lose a third dimension within Eddy's grasp. She gently flattened the image once more in its position around Dax's perfect, copper-colored nipple, pressed the snout into his flesh, positioned the gaping jaws over his heart.
Carefully, she smoothed the brilliant reds, greens, and blues of the tattoo over Dax's sweat-soaked skin. Then she sat back on her heels and took a long, shuddering breath. Dax breathed slowly, evenly. His eyelids fluttered. He blinked, opened his eyes, and gave her an unfocused stare that lasted but a moment; then he closed his eyes again. She wrapped her hand around his and held on.
She heard a siren, the sound of brakes, the loud slam of a car door. She glanced over her shoulder as one of the local sheriff's deputies walked across freshly mowed lawn and headed straight for them.
It was only then that she realized a small crowd had gathered. At least a dozen people stood to one side. How much had they seen? Frantically she looked at her father. He shrugged and shook his head, but she noticed that Willow was safely hidden in her dad's pocket. Only the tip of her blond head was visible.
The deputy frowned when he saw Dax lying on the ground with his shirt ripped open. He reached for his radio.
Alton rose to his full height, towering over the man. "There's no need," he said, holding his fingers in front of the deputy. "Our friend occasionally has these spells. He'll be fine."
Dazed, the deputy nodded. Alton turned away and waved his hand in the direction of the curious onlookers. Slowly, shaking their heads and talking quietly among themselves, they dispersed. When Eddy glanced once more at the deputy, he was already walking back to his car.
She felt Dax's fingers tighten around hers. When she looked at him, his eyes were open, though still a bit unfocused. "You're here. How?"
She leaned over and kissed him. "Bumper came and got us." She glanced up at the gargoyle and shuddered. "She knew you needed help. Are you okay?"
Dax slowly sat up. He shook his head. "I am now. How did you stop it? The thing was sentient. I felt its hatred. It was crawling off my body."
"She grabbed it by the throat." Ed held his hand out to Dax and helped him stand. He swayed, but stayed upright. "Held on to the damned thing with its tongue whipping around her wrist. I don't know how much longer she..."
"Enough, Dad. I can do it as long as I have to." Eddy stood up without help and pointed at the library. At the creature perched on the parapet. "What about that?"
Bumper growled. The gargoyle stared down on all of them, but its eyes were mere stone and there was no sense of life in the thing.
Dax stared at it for a long moment. "I don't know. My powers aren't enough. I'm thinking we need to let Alton take his turn with it. Maybe that sword of yours..."
"It's too dangerous for you, and I can't do it alone. Not until we're able to communicate. Damn." Alton swung away and stared off toward the mountain. Shasta loomed over the town, like a benevolent guardian. "I'm sorry, Dax. I don't know what I need to do to bring it to life, but until we can communicate, I can't use it anywhere near you." He sighed. "I'm not enough of a warrior to take on the gargoyle myself and have any effect." Looking at his hands in disgust, he added, "That's probably why my sword isn't talking."
"Is there any way for you to check with Taron, find out if he's had any luck with your people?" Eddy touched Alton's wrist. He jerked his head up and caught her in his brilliant emerald gaze. She was shocked to see tears in his eyes.
"He will contact me if there's news." Sadly, he shook his head. "I am outcast, now. I can never go back, not unless my people decide that my actions were taken for the good of all."
Dax swayed on his feet. Ed quickly slipped a hand beneath his elbow. "Let's get you home," he said. "Maybe something to eat will help restore your strength."
Eddy slipped her arm around Dax's waist, surprised by how much of his weight she actually supported. He was obviously much weaker than she'd realized.
It was just as obvious that he didn't want the others to realize how much he suffered. Eddy flashed a bright smile at her father. "It amazes me how you stay so skinny," she said, "considering how you solve every problem with food."
Ed just grunted in response. Dax smiled, but there was no light in his deep brown eyes. Only the look of a man who knew he'd failed at his greatest challenge. Failed and put those he loved at risk.
Eddy gave her head a sharp, determined shake. "I know what you're thinking," she said. "And you're wrong. You're going to beat this thing. I know it." She placed a hand over his heart, over the now quiescent tattoo. "I feel it, here. This thing is not stronger than the two of us together, and that's how we're going to fight this battle. Together."
Dax stared at her for a long moment. Then he leaned close and kissed her. His lips were firm, his kiss filled with renewed confidence. "With you beside me, Eddy Marks, there's nothing we can't accomplish, is there?" He kissed her once more. He was smiling when he backed away, but this time she saw the matching glow in his eyes.
They turned and walked back toward Ed's house, aware the malevolent stony stare of the gargoyle followed them until they turned the corner.
Wednesday afternoon---day four
Dax tried to listen, but Eddy's voice was barely audible. She was on the phone in another room next to the kitchen, but Dax couldn't hear her well enough to know who she spoke with. He wasn't sure where Ed had gone, but he'd stepped outside a few minutes earlier. Alton sat beside Dax. He finished his sandwich and pushed his chair back.
Dax grabbed his hand before he stood. "Once again, I owe you my life, my friend. Thank you."
Alton stared down at their joined hands and shook his head. "I did nothing. I failed. I can't draw my sword, without fear of harming you. I couldn't contain the battle within the sphere..."
"A battle I'd already lost." Dax glanced at their clasped hands and felt more discouraged than he had since the beginning. "Quite an army we make, eh? What can we do to beat this thing?"
If only they could destroy the gargoyle...
Alton tightened his grasp on Dax's hand and then released it. He sighed. "I thought, when I made the decision to leave my people, that I could help you, but so far, I've done nothing but fry a few demon spirits and muddy some memories. Not very warrior-like. Right now, I intend to get some rest. We will try again this evening." He shrugged. "What more can we do?"
Eddy walked into the kitchen and stopped behind Dax's chair. She rested her hands on his shoulders. That simple contact seemed to give him a sense of calm he'd been unable to find with her in the next room.
"I think that's a good idea, Alton." She lightly rubbed Dax's shoulders. "I just talked to Ginny. She's getting all kinds of calls at work about what she's calling 'woo woo' stuff. It sounds like there are rumors flying about everything from the water system being poisoned with hallucinogenic drugs to an alien invasion." Eddy laughed, leaned over, and kissed Dax's cheek. "No mention of demons. If they only knew."
She turned toward Alton. "She remembers you, Alton. I thought you said you'd made her forget. She asked about my dad's friend with the long blond hair. The one who kissed her." Eddy's eyes crinkled up with her big smile. "Is there something you're not telling us?"
Alton flushed a deep rose. "I had hoped it would make her forget."
"Obviously it didn't work the way you planned." Eddy's laughter bubbled over.
Dax leaned his head back against her belly and gazed up into her twinkling brown eyes. He never grew tired of watching her, of her touch, her scent. Her smiles. He swallowed back a million things he suddenly wished he could say, and concentrated on Eddy's conversation with Ginny. "I'm sure Alton was thinking only of our mission," he said, winking at the Lemurian.
Eddy grinned at Dax. "I'm sure he was."
Alton grunted and changed the subject. "Any talk of calling in the army? Help from neighboring law enforcement?"
"Not yet." Eddy shook her head. "Luckily, folks here tend to take care of their own problems. There haven't been any deaths or serious injuries, thank goodness, so I guess no one's totally freaked out yet. I'm wondering if things are going underreported simply because people don't believe what they're seeing."
"Could be." Ed walked into the room. "I just saw Mr. Puccini. We chatted about the weather and the vandalism at Eddy's house, but he didn't say a word about the turkey cornering him on the front porch. Looks like Alton's hypnosis is still working."
"Good." Alton grabbed his scabbard with the crystal sword and slung it over his shoulder. "I need sleep," he said. Bumper stood up and wagged her tail, ready to follow him. Willow buzzed across the room, did a little loop in front of him, and then zipped down the hallway. A pale scattering of blue sprinkles blinked out in her wake. Alton nodded and then followed the dog and the sprite.
Eddy grabbed Dax's hand and tugged him to his feet. He reached for his plate, but Ed already had it in his hand. "Go," he said. "Get some rest. I have a feeling we're going to have a busy night."
Eddy kissed her dad's cheek and headed down the hallway, but the wink she gave Dax left no doubt what was on her mind.
Dax turned to wish Ed a good rest. Ed's dark eyes, so much like his daughter's, held him in place. Dax closed his, unable to meet the man's direct gaze. He took a deep breath, opened his eyes, and found Ed still watching him. "You know I love her," he said. "I would do anything not to hurt..."
Ed rested a heavy hand on Dax's shoulder, interrupting him. "I know," he said, "Sometimes life hurts, but we do the best we can. Dax, my daughter is smart enough to know what she's gotten herself into. As much as I hate to think of her in pain, I would never try and make her choices for her."
Dax couldn't help but wonder, if he had been in Ed's shoes, how he would feel about his daughter loving a demon. One scheduled to disappear in a few short days.
"I have much to learn," he said, "and so little time to learn it all." He sighed and glanced out the window at the bright sun, the deep green of the trees around the house, the blue of the sky. All so beautiful, so foreign, and, for him, so entirely temporary. With a long sigh, Dax turned away from Ed and walked down the hallway to the room where Eddy waited.
"Take off your shirt." The shades were drawn, leaving the room in shadows. She stood beside the bed with her arms folded over her chest. "I want to see what that snake did to you."
Dax shrugged out of his shirt. The top two buttons were missing, so it only took him a few seconds. Eddy's eyes went wide, and she stepped up to him. "I can't believe it's right back where it belongs." She ran her fingertips over the tattoo, from the snake's broad snout to the point where it disappeared beneath his jeans. "What about on your leg?"
He glanced up at her and grinned. "Is that an invitation?"
She blinked. "What?"
"You're asking me to take my pants off. I merely wondered..."
"I hadn't really thought about it like that, but now that you mention it..." She reached for his shoulders and ran her hands over the curves of muscle and lumps and bumps of bone, from his collarbones to his biceps. Suddenly her smile faltered. Brown eyes glistened with tears. "I can't do this. I can't treat it like play, as if everything's okay. Dax, you scared me so badly today. When I saw you and Willow and Alton lying on the ground..."
"It's okay. I'm okay now. Your touch saved me." He put his arms around her and pulled her close. She leaned her cheek against his chest. Her lips rested on the snake. Her tears glistened against the brilliant colors, and he thought of how brave she was, how powerful her love was.
"We're both exhausted and we need to rest. The battle took a lot out of me...saving my life took a lot out of you." He kissed the top of her head, and she tilted back and raised her lips to his. When he took her mouth, she was everything he could have asked for. More---she was answers to questions he'd never known to ask. Love and kindness, humor and tears, bravery that was so much a part of her that she could stand beside him in battle despite her fears.
She could love him in spite of the fact she knew he'd be gone in mere days. She was more than he, stronger and truer, and yet he knew she loved him. Knew it though she'd never spoken the words.
She'd faced the demon's curse to save him. There was no greater testament to her love.
No greater love. He felt her smile against his mouth. "I agree," she said, kissing him. "We need to rest, but we really have to make love first."
"We do?" He nibbled her lower lip.
She nodded and kissed him again. "Of course we do. It seems to contain the demon's curse when we make love. I'm thinking of making love as taking proactive steps to prepare for tonight's battle."
"You are?"
She kissed him once again. Then she reached for his belt buckle. "I am. I need to see if the tattoo is where it belongs. Then I need to make sure it stays there."
"And you intend to do this how?" He watched her fingers move over the belt buckle. Watched as, tooth by tooth, she slipped the zippered fly on his jeans open.
She ran her fingers under the elastic band of his knit shorts, and he almost groaned from the light touch of fingertips against his flanks. Then she was shoving the fabric down over his hips, baring him entirely.
Dropping to her knees, Eddy traced the brilliant edges of the tattoo with her fingertips. "I can't believe it's back where it belongs," she said, stroking gently along the design. When she followed the sensitive areas her fingers had touched with the light brush of her lips, Dax almost collapsed. He reached back and grabbed the oak headboard to steady himself as she tugged his jeans down to his ankles, untied his boots, and slipped everything off of him.
She shoved the pile of clothing, socks, and boots to one side and ran her hands up his long legs. Then she paused, kneeling before him, her hands resting on the jut of bone at his hips. He stood there, entirely nude, his body so hard and ready for her touch he practically quivered beneath her steady perusal.
He wondered if the demon would rise to meet her, wondered what Eddy thought when she looked at this human body. Did she realize the demon still existed? Did anyone understand how much of him was human, how much demon?
How much of him was purely Dax, a combination of the two?
In spite of his demon side, Dax felt a stronger connection to the man who had died so bravely while clothed in this shell.
Stronger even than the connection to his demon self, but wasn't it better to connect to a hero than a demon interested only in self-preservation?
Dax wondered, would he be as brave as that hero when his time came? Would he be able to walk away from Eddy, from all those he'd already grown to love, without faltering? Had that other man, the soldier who died in battle, left behind a woman? Children? People who loved him?
When Dax thought of leaving Eddy, his heart actually ached. He reached for her, touched the thick, dark hair that tumbled over her forehead, and ran his fingertips along the line of her jaw as she gazed up at him.
"I love you, Eddy." He hadn't meant to say the words, hadn't wanted to burden her with the emotions churning in him, but they spilled out, and once they were said, he couldn't stop himself. "I never knew what love was until you. I never understood how it felt, what it meant. Make love with me. Love me." He reached for her hands. She placed hers in his, and there were tears sparkling in her brown eyes.
Dax tugged lightly, and she came to her feet. "I love you too, Dax." She clung to his hands, her fingers gripping his so tightly her knuckles turned white. "I love you so much. I tried not to, but I..."
He leaned over and kissed away the words. She turned his hands free and wrapped her arms around his waist. The worn denim of her jeans teased the sensitive underside of his erection, and the taut peaks of her nipples pressed through her T-shirt, hard against his chest.
Dax had to be inside her, now.
He reached down and looped one arm beneath her knees, the other across her back, and lifted her.
"Dax!" She grabbed his neck and her sandals fell to the floor, but he managed to drop her on the bed and cover her body with his in one quick move.
"No more talking. You've got too many clothes on."
She giggled and twisted beneath him. He slipped the T-shirt over her head and dragged her jeans and panties past her slim hips until she was as naked as he was. She squirmed beneath him, laughing and grabbing at his hair, his shoulders, his back, pulling him close even as she pretended to push him away.
He kissed her breasts, her belly, the line between her groin and her thigh. Then he dipped his head between her legs and ran his tongue lightly along her damp slit. She arched against him with a cry of pleasure, so he did it again. Then he drove his tongue deep, licking and suckling as she squirmed and whimpered beneath him.
Her fingers twisted in his hair, and she arched her hips against his mouth when he found the tiny bundle of nerves with his lips and suckled her. He used his fingertips to separate her petaled folds and slipped first one and then another finger deep inside.
She was wet and slick and so very hot, and when she climaxed, he felt the muscles clasping his fingers, pulsing in rhythmic waves as she found her pleasure. She was still grinding her hips against him, still whimpering when he slipped his fingers free of her sheath, moved up her body, and placed the thick crown of his penis where his mouth and fingers had been.
She parted for him, welcoming him inside her liquid heat with sighs and soft sounds of pleasure. He thrust hard and fast, and at the same time he covered her mouth with his, swallowed her cries as he filled her. He felt the hard curve of her womb, the taut mouth of her cervix riding against his sensitive glans, and he dreamed an impossible dream, of someday planting his seed deep inside, of filling her with his child, one born of the two of them.
Eddy, growing round with his child. Could anything be more lovely? Only the sight of her nursing their babe. The image swelled beneath his heart until he saw a tiny fist against her breast, perfect cherry lips encircling her rosy nipple.
Demon and human? Or would a child of theirs be entirely human? This body was human, the seed he gave her, human.... But it was not to be. Eddy had already said she took pills to prevent pregnancy, and he would be gone in three more days.
It was good that she prevented creation.
What kind of father created a child and then abandoned it?
That was something he wouldn't do. Ever. He couldn't allow himself to dream the impossible. Even to begin to imagine a life with Eddy---to imagine creating life with Eddy. It was not to be. His life was finite and his days poorly numbered.
That didn't mean he couldn't appreciate now, couldn't cherish each moment with Eddy as long as those moments lasted, couldn't love her, find fulfillment loving her. Eddy's channel pulsed around his thick shaft, and he plunged in and out, matching her rhythm with his own.
He kissed her again. She opened her eyes when the kiss ended, and then she pressed her fingertips against his tattoo. He felt a cooling wash of energy, as if she poured all the love in her heart through her hands, into the curse.
Into Dax.
Instead of the steady drain of power he'd felt since the demon's curse, this time he experienced something more, a new sense of strength, as if Eddy channeled his demon powers through herself and gave them back to him, cleansed of the curse.
He straightened his arms and raised up on his palms, wrapped his arms around Eddy and lifted her as he knelt back and sat on his heels. Her legs went around his waist, and she leaned into his embrace. Hips thrusting, heart singing, he held her close while her fingers danced over the angles and lines of the snake tattoo.
It glowed in the twilight of the room, a deep golden glow that made him think of a halo. There was no sense of evil about it, none of the sinister malevolence, the stench of corruption Dax associated with the curse. Eddy healed whatever evil it contained, and once again she held the curse at bay.
Dax thrust deep and steady. By himself, this time, without the demon. As he loved her, as he tied the two of them even more deeply together, he gazed into Eddy's shining eyes and felt hope rise in him once more.
She wanted to remember everything about this act of love. Everything about Dax. The way he felt, the smooth flow of powerful muscles and hard bone as he lifted her, filled her, loved her.
The way he smelled, an enticing blend of clean sweat and some other scent she couldn't identify. It wasn't soap, or shaving lotion or anything remotely familiar, yet it was intoxicating, addicting...and unique to Dax.
His touch, his kisses, the trace of an accent she'd never been able to identify, the power of his muscles, the sweet sound of his laughter.
She knew that for the rest of her life, every man she met would be compared to Dax---and every single one of them would come up short.
He made love to her as if she were the only woman on Earth. He treated her as an equal, deferred to her in so many things, and yet she knew he would gladly give his life to protect her.
Was giving his life to protect her. Three more days. Could she possibly save enough memories in three short days to last a lifetime?
She was going to have to. Eddy pressed her lips to the glowing tattoo and willed it to behave. She sensed no threat from the curse, at least for now. What she did sense was her own growing climax, a shiver of need and fulfillment racing through her nervous system, building a power of its own, screaming for release.
Dax reached between them and brushed his fingertips across her needy clit. She bit her lips to contain the scream that even her father might hear.
Now, wouldn't that be embarrassing?
Dax stroked his fingers over her once more, and then again.
Eddy screamed.
But no one heard. Dax's mouth covered hers. His tongue thrust in time with a final, powerful thrust of his hips. He swallowed her scream with his own silent cry of completion.
Perfect memories, she thought as her body pulsed and clenched, released, and tightened once again.
Absolutely perfect.
The loud knocking on the bedroom door brought Eddy awake much too fast. She grabbed her robe off the end of the bed and raced to open the door. Alton stood outside with his fist raised to knock once again. His hair hung in blond tangles down his back, and he looked as if he'd just been awakened as well.
"Your dad said to wake you. Ginny called. She's getting reports of statues and stuff massing at the freeway exit south of town. Almost as if they're trying to prevent people from leaving."
"Crap. We need to get down there. But why'd she think to call here?" Eddy grabbed her jeans off the floor and looked around for her T-shirt. Dax was already zipping his pants as he grabbed for the clean shirt he'd borrowed from her dad.
"I guess you told her your boss at the paper had hired you back. She figured you'd want to know for a story." Alton turned to leave. Then he stopped and said, "Dax? Ed's packing sandwiches."
"Thank you, Alton." Laughing, Eddy shut the door behind him. She needed to get dressed, and Dax was the only audience she really wanted.
He'd found a brown plaid flannel shirt. It hung open and unbuttoned as he reached for his boots. The tattoo across his chest still glowed. He glanced up as Eddy leaned back against the closed door and said, "Even in an emergency, Dad's going to make sure no one goes hungry."
Dax paused in the midst of pulling on a boot. "I have to agree with Alton," he said, nodding seriously. "That is a very good thing."
They were both laughing as they left the bedroom, but in the back of her mind, Eddy wondered when they'd find anything to laugh about again.
They'd all piled into Ed's Jeep for the short drive to the exit south of town. Cars were lined up near the on-ramp. Lights flashed from a couple of highway patrol black-and-whites, and a group of about half a dozen sheriff's deputies and California Highway Patrolmen stood off to one side.
Ed pulled in behind one of the flashing black-and-whites. Eddy grabbed her camera and climbed out of the backseat. Local law enforcement officers were used to seeing her at the scene of any accident or disturbance, so she slung the camera over her shoulder and carried her tape recorder, notepad, and pen.
"What's up?" She stopped beside a couple of the local guys. Milton, the taller of the two, shoved his hat back and scratched his bald head.
"Hey, Eddy. Haven't seen you in a while." He pointed toward the on-ramp, where dozens of stone statues and ceramic garden gnomes sat in silent rows across the lane. "Craziest thing. Got a call that the ramp was blocked, and came out here to find this mess."
"I just don't see gangbangers lining up little animal statues." Bud, Milton's partner, laughed out loud. "Shit. This is just nuts. Who'd do something stupid like this?"
Alton, Ed, and Dax joined the group. Eddy noticed that Alton wore his sword in the scabbard across his back, but her view of it appeared to fade in and out. He must have used some sort of hypnotic compulsion or glamour to hide it. Neither Bud nor Milton took any notice, but as intent as they were on the mess blocking the road, they might not have needed hypnosis to miss Alton's sword.
"Milt, Bud," she said, snagging the deputies' attention. "I want you to meet a couple of old college friends who've been visiting." Eddy nodded toward Alton and Dax.
Alton held out his hand to Milton. "Interesting roadblock you're using." The men all chuckled. Bud scratched his head and grunted. Alton added, "Dax and I would be happy to move this mess out of the road for you."
Eddy jerked about and caught Alton's eye. He merely smiled at her. Then he winked. Before she could figure out what he was up to, Alton raised his hand and made a sweeping gesture that encompassed everyone in uniform.
Milton blinked. Bud stared blankly at the massed figurines. Then he looked toward Alton and smiled. "Why thank you. That's very kind of you. We'll let you take care of things."
He and Milton turned away, climbed into their car, and drove off. The highway patrolmen followed suit. Moments later, Eddy heard the scream of sirens. Lights flashed. Highway patrol and sheriff's cars raced back toward town.
Alton remained focused on the cars parked along the on-ramp. He repeated the gesture, passing his hand through the air in the direction of the cars backed up along the road.
Engines roared to life, and people began backing their vehicles up, turning around, and leaving. Eddy took Bum per's leash from her father as the last car disappeared. Alton's talent definitely made things easier for them, but she wondered what was going on in town that would require a code-three response from all the law enforcement Alton had just dismissed.
Alton glanced at Dax. Dax nodded, and the two of them split up. Dax went to one side of the silent group of innocent-looking stone and ceramic pieces blocking the road. Alton moved to the other.
When he reached over his shoulder and unsheathed his sword, Eddy gasped. The blade spun in Alton's hand and pointed directly at Dax. Alton's shoulders strained, and the muscles bunched along his arms as he firmly grasped the hilt in both hands and directed the blade at the silent army of statues and gnomes.
After a brief struggle, he regained full control of the sword. "Bastard," he muttered, staring at the shimmering blade held upright in front of his face. He made a sweeping slash through the statues, beheading all of those within his long reach with a single stroke.
Without pausing, he struck again. And again, until the ground was littered with rubble. Dax held his hands at the ready while stone and ceramic heads clattered to the asphalt. Eddy clutched Bumper's leash in both hands, holding her tightly as the dog strained to go after the first moving target.
A bird chirped nearby. A truck passed by on the overpass, and the road rumbled with the rattle and clank of empty trailers. Alton destroyed the final figurine. He and Dax took a step back from the mess and silently stared at the beheaded and shattered statuary.
No demon stench escaped. There was no sign of black mist. No rows of razor-sharp teeth or glowing eyes. Alton raised his head and glanced at Dax. "Nothing here. What've you got?"
Dax shrugged. "No scent of demon at all. I don't get it."
Eddy's cell phone rang. She flipped it open and took the call while Dax and Alton shoved the rubble to the side of the road with Ed's help.
Ginny's frantic words made Eddy's blood run cold.
"Dax! Alton...Dad! Hurry. There's a riot in town. The statues from the cemetery are gathering near the library. People are showing up armed to the teeth to fight them. Ginny said it sounds like it's absolute chaos!"
Alton took the passenger seat beside Ed. Eddy, Dax, and Bumper piled into the small backseat. Eddy was still fastening her seat belt when Ed gunned the motor. "What do you make of that?" She nodded toward the pile of broken statues and figurines as Ed backed up and spun the Jeep around.
"A decoy?" Dax glanced at Alton. "Could the demons have enough intelligence to stage a false attack, one that would draw all of us away from town?"
Alton nodded. "One of them could."
"The gargoyle."
Dax's softly spoken statement sent chills racing along Eddy's spine. She turned to Dax and caught his serious gaze. "Working together's one thing. What's this mean, if they're using decoys, actually planning and organizing an attack?"
Dax just shook his head and grimly glanced away. He didn't need to say a word for Eddy to realize this was something altogether new. Something none of them had counted on.
Instead of being weakened in the fight with Dax this morning, the gargoyle appeared to be growing stronger. More cunning.
Already a powerful opponent, it had just taken the war to an entirely new level.
The Jeep bounced and rattled over potholes in the road as Ed gunned it along the short distance into town. Dax's fingers wrapped around Eddy's hand. When she glanced at him, his expression was bleak.
"Are you in pain?" she asked. "Is the tattoo burning?"
He shook his head and parted the top two buttons on his flannel shirt. A soft, golden glow still surrounded the quiescent tattoo. "Your love appears to have conquered it, if only for a little while. There is no pain at all, though I sense the curse, almost as if it lies in wait."
"I'm sorry." Eddy ran her fingers over the brilliant colors. "I wish I could do more." She blew out a gust of air in frustration. "There is something going on with the gargoyle. Something that doesn't make sense. It's not anything like the other demons, but I can't figure out why. How come it's so smart and they're all so stupid? It's like they're two different species of evil."
Dax nodded. "When I was a demon," he said, "I thought as a demon. I lived for the moment. Eat, fuck, kill. All that concerned me was the need to survive. Survival was my life, my only goal for eons. Life continued without change, one day after another. I didn't think of politics, of other demons. I had no friends, no real language to speak of, as there was no need to communicate. I went on that way from my beginning. Then a time came when I knew, somehow, I wanted more. I had no idea what it was, only that there had to be something more than eating, fucking, and killing."
He looked down at their clasped hands as the Jeep rattled along the bumpy road. Then he focused once more on Eddy. "With that realization, I began to change, to evolve into something other than a demon. Something no longer suitable for Abyss. That's when I was cast into the void. That's when the Edenites found me."
"What are you saying?" She was almost certain where this was leading. She wanted to be wrong, but Dax was shaking his head. Agreeing with her unspoken thoughts.
When he looked at her, his expression had grown, if anything, even more bleak. "What if someone on Earth, or even Eden, was so evil, so vile and depraved, that when he died the leaders of Abyss, whoever they might be, sought him out? What if they recognized absolute evil and did exactly what the Edenites did with me?"
Chills raced along her spine. Raised the tiny hairs on her arms. Bumper whined, as if she picked up Eddy's tension. Willow's head poked out of Dax's pocket, and Eddy focused on the tiny sprite as the reality of their situation hit her. "You're saying we're not fighting a mindless demon? That creature might be something with human intelligence, with the ability to plan and organize?"
Dax nodded. "How else could it have known the precise moment when I was to enter your dimension? It could have already been here, waiting for me. Aware I was coming, for whatever reason. Possibly all is not so perfect in Eden. What if there are factions there, at war with one another? What if there is intelligence beyond what I know at the upper levels of Abyss? I know nothing of the politics of my world, nor do I understand the realm of Eden. Someone chose me. What if someone else, someone just as powerful, chose another soul? An evil soul. The gargoyle seems to gain strength as each day passes. For all I know, it carries powers far beyond any natural demon. Far beyond mine."
"Could it be drawing on the demons whose avatars are destroyed? Somehow absorbing them into itself?" Alton turned around and leaned his arm across the back of the seat. "What if, instead of those demons without avatars returning to Abyss, they're being absorbed by the gargoyle? What if it's taking on the powers of the ones we miss? That would explain its growing strength over the past few days. I don't know for certain that my sword is killing the ones I hit. I've been wondering if I was merely sending them back home to Abyss."
"Or to the gargoyle. What if it's able to grab the souls of the ones we actually do kill? Grab them before they vanish into the void? If that's the case, even the ones we kill provide more energy for the creature." Dax squeezed Eddy's hand as Ed parked the Jeep at the tail end of a traffic jam blocking the main street in town. The cars ahead of them were all empty of people. A few vehicles sat with motors idling and doors flung open.
"Listen," he said.
Shouts and curses, a woman's scream. Dogs barked. Bumper strained anxiously at the leash. Eddy wrapped the leather strap around her wrist and tightened her fingers through the loop for good measure. She quickly got out of the vehicle. Dax and Alton took off at a full run and raced toward the commotion.
Eddy, Bumper, and Ed ran after them.
The scene that greeted them ranked really high on the impossibility scale. Eddy skidded to a stop and stared at the battle lines drawn across the intersection of Lassen Boulevard and State Street. On one side stood townspeople---both men and women, and a few older teens. Thank goodness there were no young children in sight. Many in the crowd of more than a hundred were carrying hunting rifles and shotguns; others held axes, shovels, and pitchforks. A group of collared priests and ministers from the various local churches had gathered off to one side. Some had their heads bowed in prayer, though one priest stood apart with hands raised, as if he was attempting an exorcism. An acolyte stood beside him, holding a cross.
Across from them, stretching from storefront to storefront and filling the entire road, were row after row of stone angels and other guardians of the dead from the cemetery. Eddy noticed a few small ceramic and stone dogs and cats. She frowned as she tried to place them until she remembered those had graced some of the plots. Now, instead of standing protectively over their masters' graves, they barked and growled and snarled their banshee howls while the stone angels stood impassively behind them.
In between, lined up as if they actually hoped to quell any potential violence, were the highway patrolmen and the sheriff's deputies. Milton appeared to be arguing with a large man at the head of the human group, while the others were lined up, facing the encroaching army of statues.
All of them looked more than a little confused.
Eddy caught up to Dax and grabbed his arm. "What are they waiting for?" she asked, pointing to the demon angels. Eyes glowed red or yellow in the growing darkness. The sun had already set, but there was more than enough daylight to see that this group was entirely animated, unlike the statues they'd just destroyed at the other end of town.
"I believe they're waiting for night to fall. The demons will have more power under full darkness." He shook his head and sighed. "We haven't seen any deaths or serious injuries so far, but I'm afraid that could change." Dax swept his hand toward the seething mob. "With all those weapons, someone is bound to be hurt. The gargoyle will use any death as a sacrifice. We have no idea how much power he could gain."
"Where is the gargoyle?" Eddy had been searching the skies, but there was no sign of the creature.
Alton and Ed scanned the evening sky as well. Milton's argument with the man who appeared to be leading the townsfolk grew louder. Bud was back in the patrol car, talking into his radio. One of the highway patrolman conferred with his partner. Another was on his radio, but his head moved from one side to the other, as if he didn't know which group posed the biggest threat---the citizens of Evergreen or the cemetery statues.
"Alton? Can you do anything at all here?" Dax rubbed his hand across his chest. Eddy wondered if the tattoo was coming to life. If it still glowed. Dax glanced at her and shook his head. They'd grown so close, so quickly, he probably knew what she was thinking.
"I can try," Alton said, "but when emotions are this high, it's not quite as easy." He raised his hands and narrowed his eyes in concentration.
For the briefest of moments, a mere fraction out of time, Eddy heard nothing. An unnatural silence settled over the entire area. Then an earsplitting banshee howl rolled over the small town.
Wednesday evening---day four
As if the demons took Alton's raised hands as a signal, they attacked. Another howl rattled windowpanes and drew shrieks of fear from the people in the street. The horrible screeching was so earsplittingly loud, Dax had to consciously fight an instinctive reaction to cover his ears.
Some of the angels took flight, leaping into the air like a flock of startled ducks, flapping their wings and passing low over the astonished group of humans, but most of the demon-fueled avatars charged directly into the crowd.
Some people scattered. Others fought back against the unholy horde. A discordant cacophony of banshee howls, frightened screams, gunshots, and enraged curses rent the air. The ring and crunch of stone shattering and statues crumbling grew and expanded as the melee took on its own terrible rhythm of destruction.
Alton reached for his sword and started forward.
"Wait." Dax held up one hand. "Watch the battle. The demons are no match for these folks! Let's see what happens, what he's planning." He turned his gaze back in the direction of the gargoyle.
It flew in low over the town, paused a moment as if surveying the area, and then dove straight toward the angry, frightened humans. It swooped low over the uniformed men in the center of the fight, moving with such speed that the wind whistled over its wings. Deputies crouched behind their squad cars and raised their weapons. One patrolman dove for cover as the gargoyle zeroed in on his position. Gunfire rang out. Sparks flew from the creature when bullets bounced harmlessly off its stone body.
It circled the crowd, shrieking. Then it glided toward the spire of a nearby church, circled it once, and landed with surprising grace on the steep, shingled side of the steeple. One taloned fist grasped the top of a golden cross, and its clawed feet rested against the shingles.
"Dax! Look at that!" Ed pointed toward a large stone angel. With measured steps and wings spread wide, it marched directly toward a powerful-looking farmer wielding an ax. The angel's mouth opened, exposing row after row of sharp teeth. Its eyes glowed crimson in the waning light.
The man didn't hesitate. He swung his ax at the angel. With both hands grasping the thick, wooden handle, he aimed at shoulder height and put his entire body into the blow.
The angel's head rolled out into the street. The red eyes dimmed, and the mouth closed. The body tottered in place for a moment, weaving slightly before it toppled to the ground.
The man stared at the head of the statue as if he couldn't quite believe what he'd just done. Dax watched the body. Black mist rose from the angel's shattered throat. It hovered a moment over the large man, pulsing as if it drew breath. Then the mist collapsed into the shape of an arrow.
It shot straight for the gargoyle.
Clinging to the cross atop the spire, the gargoyle rose up on its hind legs, stretched out one powerful arm, and captured the streaking mist. Jaws stretched wide, it seemed to either inhale or swallow the demon. It was hard to be sure, as dark as it was so high above the street lights, but as the mist disappeared, the gargoyle seemed to grow larger. Its eyes glowed brighter. Wings flared out from its wide, bony shoulders.
Dax stared, fascinated, as it rose up straighter, unfurling its wings to their fullest. They stretched out into the night until the gargoyle took on the appearance of a monstrous vampire bat. Then it turned slowly, pivoting about until it glared directly at Dax. He felt its hatred, the remorseless sense of pure evil---a vile loathing and malevolence aimed at him and those he loved.
He glared back, caught in the unholy malice and venomous hate, as if the creature held some personal rancor for Dax and his small band of fighters. Their gazes locked. Dax tried to see into its mind, but there was nothing familiar, nothing characteristic of demonkind or human.
Nothing but hate.
Eddy stood close behind him. She wrapped her fingers around his arm. Her presence, her confident touch, gave him strength. She was most definitely not a victim. No, Eddy was a fighter, and she'd stand beside him until his end. It was almost midnight of the fourth day. His end was coming closer, and the battle was far from over.
Even now, the street fight between humans and avatars raged, but the gargoyle ignored the brawl. Instead, it watched Dax, and now that she stood beside him, Eddy as well. Dax broke away from the malevolent stare and tugged Eddy closer.
He turned his attention back to the battle, but the image of the gargoyle grabbing that demon out of the night sky wouldn't leave him.
At least the good guys were ahead. There was no doubt the humans were winning. Shattered statuary littered the road. Windows in a few nearby shops had been broken, but most of the damage was limited to crushed and broken statues.
Of course, they weren't killing the demons inside, but maybe once all the avatars were destroyed, the demons would be forced back to Abyss. Two women systematically beat a stone cherub into pieces with shovels. The statue was quickly reduced to rubble, but the black mist escaped.
Once again, as Dax watched, the mist hovered overhead and then shot toward the gargoyle.
A ceramic angel floated down out of the sky. One of the women hit the torso with her shovel. The other knocked its head off. Again, the black mist coalesced overhead. Again, after a brief pause, it raced directly to the gargoyle and his wide-open mouth. The mist disappeared inside the gaping jaws.
The sky was filled now with streaks of darkness, demons freed from their avatars, all of them streaming toward the gargoyle.
"We have to stop them." Dax shouted at Alton. "Every avatar they destroy feeds another demon to the gargoyle. They're not his army. They're his source of energy!"
Alton shook his head. "I see that, but how can you use your powers here, with all these townsfolk around?"
"The same way you're going to use that damned mute sword of yours," Dax said. "Very carefully. C'mon."
"Look!" Eddy pointed at the gargoyle as it grabbed yet another wraith out of the sky. "Hurry. He's getting bigger!"
Dax kissed Eddy and raced toward the fight. He wasn't sure how to use his powers without creating a panic, but he had to keep as many demons away from the gargoyle as he could. Alton moved to one side, closer to the church. A dark mist flew toward him. He intercepted it with his crystal blade, and the demon disappeared in a shower of sparks.
The gargoyle howled.
Alton pumped his fist in the air. "Proof at last that I'm actually destroying the damned things. He's pissed now!"
Dax shot Alton a quick grin. Then he found a spot close to the crowd, but still far enough away not to draw too much attention. He glanced toward Eddy to make sure she was safe. She stood in the shadows, holding tightly to Bumper's leash with Ed close beside her.
The stench of sulfur filled Dax's nostrils. He glanced up and spotted the mist just over his head, already forming into a long, dark arrow.
Controlling his flame wasn't easy. He was accustomed to frying the damned things with all the fire he could throw, and finesse had never been necessary. He sent a small burst of ice, then a quick flash of flame.
The demon mist dissolved and disappeared. Willow buzzed overhead in a flash of blue sparkles. She pointed to yet another demon. Dax spun around and fired at the black mist, but it dove beneath the icy blast. Alton caught it with the tip of his crystal sword. The stink of sulfur blossomed as the demon disappeared in a flash of light.
The gargoyle howled again. His frustration echoed over the town.
Dax gave the Lemurian a thumbs-up. Alton grinned and took a swipe at yet another demon mist. Sparks exploded overhead.
Within seconds, Dax found a rhythm of ice and then fire, keeping his bursts as small as possible. Alton managed to catch most of the demons Dax missed.
The gargoyle got the rest.
Dax raised his hands and zapped yet another. "We were wrong, Alton," he said. "He's not commanding the demons at all. They're not his army. He might be encouraging them to fight, but he doesn't want them to win."
"No, he just wants them out of their avatars." Alton slashed his sword through another demon. One just behind it got away. "Those suckers are fast."
"So's the gargoyle." Dax watched as the gargoyle captured the stinking demon soul. It wrapped clawed fingers around the mist and popped it into its mouth. Then it turned and grinned at Dax, spreading thick lips wide, exposing row after row of razor-sharp teeth.
The tattoo shivered over Dax's flesh, as if the strength of the demon's glare was enough to bring the snake to life. There'd been no pain from the thing until now, no sense of the curse. He willed it down and remembered how it had felt to call its power, to own the pain.
Could he do that again? Could he once more use the evil that coursed across his chest, that crawled over his thigh and across his groin? He felt the tattoo pulse in a slow yet relentless rhythm. He concentrated on the ebb and flow of energy and attempted to link the rhythm to the beat of his heart.
Nothing. Tonight, the tattoo had its own rhythm, its own life force.
Eddy's soft touch on his shoulder startled him. "The tattoo? It's moving again, isn't it? Are you in much pain? Here, let me...." She reached for the buttons on his shirt.
Dax shook his head and covered her hand with his. Black mist against a dark sky sped by, and he reached out with one hand, sent a freezing burst.
The mist escaped, circled beyond Alton, and reached the gargoyle. Once again he'd failed. He covered Eddy's hand with his. "No, Eddy. There's no time. I'm okay."
He spun away and froze another burst of black mist, but another just beyond it got away. Alton missed as well, and the gargoyle snagged yet another black soul.
Dax hit the frozen shards of black ice with his flame. It sizzled and dissipated in the night air. Eddy gazed up at him with tears in her eyes and frustration in every move she made as she persisted. "You can't fight as well when you're in pain. Let me help."
It hurt him more than the demon's curse, to see the worry in her eyes. "Later. I'll need you later." He leaned down to kiss her. A bloodcurdling banshee scream jerked him upright. Eddy grabbed his hand.
The gargoyle leapt from the church spire and glided low over the milling crowd. Its eyes glowed red with an even brighter fire than before. The wings had lost the look of stone. They beat now with long, smooth, leathery strokes as the creature passed over the scene of the brief yet messy battle.
Most of the statues lay on the ground. Dax had no idea how many of the demons the gargoyle had absorbed. He and Alton had destroyed dozens, but the gargoyle had caught just as many. Now it looked powerful. Invincible.
Alive.
It no longer appeared to be an avatar made of stone. No, the stone had come to life. The body appeared supple, as if blood rushed beneath the surface. As if the accumulated power of so many demon souls had given their enemy unimaginable strength.
The red eyes glowed with a new intelligence---an intelligence focused entirely on Dax.
He grabbed Eddy's wrist and jerked her behind him. Alton came closer, yet remained far enough away to safely use his sword. Ed held on to Bumper and dragged the snarling dog even farther away from Dax.
The gargoyle tucked its long wings and dove at Dax. It feinted at the last moment, pulling up like a fighter jet on a strafing run. Air whistled over the sleek wings. Dax curled his body around Eddy and ducked, but the sharp slash of claws left bloody ribbons across his back and shoulders.
He felt searing pain, but the rush of adrenaline gave him strength. Alton was too far away to connect with his crystal sword, but he moved into position near Ed, ready to protect Eddy's dad on the creature's next pass.
Willow burst into the air in a flurry of blue sparkles. She drew energy from all corners, feeding it to Dax.
"You're bleeding!" Eddy reached for Dax, but he grabbed both of Eddy's arms and stared intently into her wide, brown eyes. "Eddy. I'm okay. Go to Alton. Hurry, before that thing returns." He fully expected her brief hesitation---he knew she was just dying to argue with him. He felt a burst of pride in her when she reached up, cupped his jaw in both hands, and kissed him hard. Then she broke away and ran to her father's side, where Alton stood with his sword raised.
Dax would give his life to protect hers, but she wasn't going to allow him that choice. She'd accepted the fact that if she remained, she'd put him at risk.
He knew it hadn't been an easy choice for her. Eddy was brave, and she wanted to fight, but she was smart. Too smart to take unnecessary risks---or to force Dax to take more risks than he should.
With Eddy out of harm's way, Dax focused all his attention on the demon. The pain in his back receded. He ignored the tattoo. The gargoyle circled the church steeple once again, screaming its bloodcurdling cry. Then it paused in midair, slowly flapping huge wings up and down as it hovered in place, staring directly at Dax.
He felt the evil in its glowing red eyes and braced himself for attack. He risked a quick glance at Willow. She glowed a brilliant sapphire, brimming with the roiling energy she'd absorbed, yet still she pulled in more. He opened to her, drawing the natural energy into his body.
The burst of Willow's power exploded into overwhelming pain.
He gasped. Taken by surprise, Dax barely remained standing. Blood poured from the deep slashes across his back and shoulders, and the added charge of energy empowered the curse. As he absorbed the energy he desperately needed for the coming battle, agonizing pain rippled across his chest, over his belly.
The snake was feeding from Willow's energy!
As Dax gained strength, so did the curse. The tattoo writhed and shimmied its acid dance across his flesh. The bleeding slashes across his back burned with their own fire. It was all he could do not to scream in agony.
Willow flitted about, obviously worried. Dax didn't have time to explain. He felt the heave and thrust of the snake's body, but he concentrated on the pain, on the strength in the reptilian muscles. Desperate, he called on his demon. Called for the soldier, for whatever strength his allies could share.
Then he called for the pain, and made it his own.
He would not fail. Eddy was too close, her safety tied to his success. He might have been sent here to save the Earth from demons, but Eddy was his focus, the one who mattered most.
Dax glanced upward, sensing the gargoyle's attack. The creature stared back at him, a vision of evil incarnate with hatred glowing crimson in its eyes. Once again it screamed out a chilling banshee wail. Long wings arrowed back along its body, turning the gargoyle into a weapon of pure malice. Still screaming, it launched itself at Dax.
He raised his hands and sent an icy blast that solidified the air immediately ahead of the gargoyle. The creature hit the thick ice, shattered it, and blasted through, but the force of impact threw it off course. Screeching furiously, it circled right over Ed and Eddy. Alton stepped to one side and took a mighty swing with his crystal sword.
The tip of one leather wing hit the ground with a loud, wet splat. The gargoyle shrieked and streaked back to the church, trailing thick drops of whatever blood coursed through its veins. It caught its balance against the steeple, holding tightly to the cross at the peak. Thick fluid still oozed from the wing where the tip had been severed, but even as Dax watched, a new tip formed.
The gargoyle stretched its healed wing out to its full length, as if testing it. Then it launched itself once again. This time Dax hit it with flame. He felt the snake tattoo rise up from his chest, but he fought it, drawing on the pain as well as the energy Willow continued to feed him.
His demon roared to life, and he felt the soldier's strength of purpose. The gargoyle approached, flying directly into the streams of flame shooting from Dax's fingertips. Willow sparkled brightly, almost as if she were enjoying herself.
She hovered off to one side, drawing energy into her body, sharing it with Dax. The gargoyle kept coming. Dax felt as if he watched its approach in slow motion as the creature drew closer. He viewed the beast with preternatural clarity---its talons extended, jaws gaping wide, and teeth shimmering red in the light of Dax's rippling fireshot.
Without hesitation, it flew directly into the river of flames.
At the last possible moment, it veered off.
Directly at Willow.
Dax didn't have time to warn the sprite. He watched in horror as the gargoyle snapped her up in his slavering jaws and veered sharply away.
Silence descended. His flames sputtered out. Stunned, Dax stared after the gargoyle as it banked low and flew off into the darkness, bypassing its perch on the steeple and disappearing into the nighttime sky.
Willow was gone. He felt her absence, a physical amputation of an integral part of his body. She'd been so intent on helping him, she'd not had time to save herself. The gargoyle had feinted at the last moment and struck.
Dax had been terrified it would go after Eddy. He'd never even thought to worry about Willow. Never realized she might be an even more vulnerable target. Heartsick, Dax turned to Eddy.
She raced across the street and flung herself into his arms. "Willow? Where is she? What happened to Willow?"
He couldn't speak. He wrapped his arms around Eddy and hung on, as much for himself as for her. The image of those foul jaws closing around his tiny friend sickened him. Alton walked slowly across the street. He looked as stunned as Dax felt. Ed trailed after him, tugging Bumper's leash.
The dog's curly head hung low, and her tail dragged, as if she, too, mourned the loss of her tiny friend.
"What about them?" Ed motioned blindly toward the crowd of townsfolk standing off to one side, each and every person staring wide-eyed at Dax and Eddy, Alton, and Ed.
Staring and trying to make sense of what they'd just been a part of---a most improbable battle. One that Dax could not allow to make the evening news. He nodded toward Alton. "Can you do anything at all?"
Alton raised his hands and bowed his head. A moment later, he raised his head and gazed at Dax. Tears coursed down his cheeks. "They won't want to speak of what they saw. I can't erase their memories---they're much too intense---but I've clouded them. They won't want to talk about any of this."
He sat down hard on a low fence beside the road. "I wish I could cloud mine. Poor, dear little Willow. What a horrible end to a brave soul. I never imagined the gargoyle would go after her."
Dax sat heavily beside him. He tugged Eddy into his lap. "He must have guessed how much I need her. She collects the energy I use to power my demon abilities, the fire and ice I throw. Without her, I'll have only a fraction of my strength. Without Willow, I..." His voice broke. He'd been on this world for such a short time, yet Willow had been with him since the beginning.
She'd been part of him. In his head, and very much in his heart. Not only had he lost the tiny engine that ensured his powers, he'd lost a dear and loyal friend.
Eddy buried her face in his shirt and cried. Ed stood beside them, softly rubbing her back, but he looked ready to burst into tears as well.
Almost as if it were an afterthought, Alton stood up and walked back across the street. He leaned down and picked something up off the ground, and then returned with a triangular piece of stone. He stared at it a moment, frowning. Then he held it out to Dax. "Look. It's stone again. This was the demon's wingtip. I wondered what would happen without the demon to power it. The thing had the texture of leather when I cut it, supple and strong. It looked as if it were really alive, but this is nothing more than stone."
He turned it over in his hands and pointed at a dark stain. "It's just a rock, now, but it bled when I cut it. I saw fluid pouring from the wound. It might have been green, but it's still blood. The demon bleeds when it's hurt. If it bleeds, we can kill it."
Alton's quiet statement carried the resolve of a blood oath. Dax stared into the darkness, thinking of Willow, of her horrible death, trapped in the gargoyle's jaws. He shuddered and absentmindedly rubbed his chest. It was good to know the gargoyle bled. The creature would die. He would see to it.
Eddy sniffed. "Are you in much pain? Those cuts on your back aren't bleeding as much, but I can't tell how deep they are. The tattoo..."
Dax frowned. He rolled his shoulders. His back and shoulders stung, but the pain wasn't nearly as fierce as it had been. Instead he felt a dull ache and the stickiness of drying blood. He rubbed his hand over his chest once again. The tattoo was nothing more than colored ink. There was no pain, no sense of life. The glow was gone, but so was the pain. He shook his head. "It doesn't hurt. I tried working the pain, drawing on it for power, instead of letting it control me. It appears to have worked." He sighed. Little good it would do. Without Willow, he wouldn't be able to draw enough power to fight. Without Willow...
Eddy hugged him close and pressed her cheek against his chest. Dax rested his chin on her head and stared off into the darkness.
Where he watched a small, glowing speck of blue grow and solidify before his eyes. "Willow?" He lifted Eddy off his lap and stood up. "Look! Do you see that?"
Bumper barked. They all stood and watched as Willow slowly reformed and materialized in front of their eyes. She buzzed up to Dax and hovered mere inches from his nose.
Willow?
The little sprite spun in a swirl of blue sparkles. Sorry to worry you, but I disincorporated so quickly, I sort of misplaced some of me.
"Where have you been? We thought the gargoyle..." He couldn't say it. His eyes burned, and his throat felt tight, but he didn't understand why, only that it had something to do with Willow. With the fact she was safe and alive and showering him in blue sparkles. He cleared his throat and tried again. "I've been worried sick about you! We've all been worried. We thought...damn it, Willow! Where were you?"
She tilted her head and grinned at him, cocky as ever. I was in Bumper, she said. Where else?
Before Dax could come up with a suitable answer, Willow buzzed over to Alton and crawled into his breast pocket. Dax glanced at Alton and almost burst out laughing at the bright grin on the big man's face. Then he smiled at Eddy and her dad and shrugged. "She was in Bumper. Where else?"
"Where else?" Eddy was still chuckling a few minutes later. She waited on the corner under a streetlight with her father while Dax and Alton checked the area for more demons. She didn't mind the wait at all. She didn't mind much of anything, now that she knew Willow was safe. She'd been so certain the little sprite had been swallowed by the demon gargoyle that the relief was unbelievable.
Bumper nudged Eddy's thigh with her nose, obviously searching for a little more attention. Eddy complied. "Bumper, if not for you, Willow might not have made it. You are such a good girl."
Bumper wriggled and danced, practically turning herself inside out for more of Eddy's attention. Talk about living for the moment. Nothing seemed to faze the dog---not a demon attack nor sharing her consciousness with a terrified sprite. Eddy ruffled Bumper's blond curls and wished she could be a little more doglike.
It had to be sort of a Zen thing...but it would be great not to worry about things she couldn't change. Wonderful not to always be thinking of what could happen next. She stared across the intersection and thought of all the things that could have gone wrong.
Bumper licked Eddy's fingers, and she sighed. Maybe she needed to think of the things that had gone right, instead, but it was hard. None of the avatars had survived the battle, but with so many of the crushed statues or garden gnomes, the gargoyle had gained another demon's energy. At least things here in town had settled down for now, and the gargoyle was gone. The townsfolk had already dispersed, confused, no doubt, by Alton's special brand of group hypnosis.
It wasn't as powerful as the first time he'd used it, but so far it appeared to be working, which meant the people weren't immune to it yet. She wondered how they'd have handled the community without the Lemurian's help.
Okay. That was a good thing---the fact Alton had the courage to choose exile in order to join them. She wondered if Taron was having any luck with the rest of Alton's people. Dax needed more help. So far, they'd survived everything the demon had tossed their way, but they weren't winning. Not by a long shot.
Eddy heard men's voices and glanced toward the scene of the fight. The highway patrolmen had taken off right after Alton's spell, but Milton and Bud were hanging around, checking the damage. Their voices carried on the still night air.
Eddy touched her dad's sleeve to get his attention. "I'm going to have a chat with Milt and Bud. I'm curious to see how they're explaining all this." She leaned over and patted Bumper's head again. "Be good, beast." Bumper yipped and licked Eddy's fingers. Then she sat and planted her butt on Ed's foot.
Eddy walked across the intersection to chat with the deputies.
"Hey, Eddy. I thought I saw you over there." Milton glanced up from his perusal of a shattered angel. "What do you make of all this? First the blocked on-ramp, and now this mess."
She shrugged. "I have no idea, Milt. What's your guess?"
Milt shoved his hat back and scratched his head. "I'm wondering if we've got some sort of cult we weren't aware of. Someone had to bring these things into town, but I have no idea what got into that mob. I watched 'em with my own eyes. It was mass hysteria, beating these statues into dust. Can you imagine desecrating graves like this?" He swept his hand to encompass all the broken statuary. "Every gosh-darned one of these was guarding a plot at the cemetery. I wish I knew how they got them all here. Even more, why did those people think they had to destroy every single one?"
Eddy knelt down to examine the angel. She glanced up as Bud joined them. "Do you think any of these can be repaired?"
Bud shook his head. "I don't think so. What a mess." He took a few steps and knelt down beside the shattered body of a tiny cherub. "This looks like the one from my grandma's grave...sick bastards. I need to go see if hers is still there."
He lurched to his feet and brushed the dust off his hands. "Ya know, it doesn't look like somethin' a gang might've pulled. I'm leaning more toward a satanic cult. Devil worshippers, maybe. Most of 'em are angels," he added softly, pointing to the broken wings scattered about.
Eddy nodded gravely. "I noticed that." She stood, slipped her digital camera out of her pocket, and got a few pictures of the mess, along with shots of the two deputies. "Should I mention that in my story? The cult angle? You never know.... I can see if it gets you some leads."
Bud nodded. "You do that, Eddy. Folks around here look out for each other, but this was just weird. What would make them all go so nuts that they'd destroy all these statues? They're good people...most of the time."
"Did the call come through Shascom?" she asked, referring to the 911 dispatch center in Redding, south of Evergreen.
Milt frowned. "I'm not sure. I can't really remember, but we got a call from someone after checking out a disturbance at the south end of town. Bud, what was the problem there?" He chuckled. "I must be getting old. I know we had something near the freeway."
"That's okay." Eddy gently touched his arm. "Don't worry about it, but if you think of anything important, let me know, will you?" She pocketed her little digital camera and went back across the street. Dax and Alton were there, talking softly with Ed. Her dad yawned and stretched his arms high overhead. He'd been up since dawn, and it was obvious he was running out of steam.
She flashed him a sympathetic smile and nodded toward the deputies. "They're talking satanic cult and devil worshippers. Nothing about the demon gargoyle or the shots they fired at it. They're going to notice they've fired their weapons, so that might confuse them, but whatever you tossed their way, Alton, it certainly took them off track."
"It's nice to know I can do something right," he grumbled, glaring over his shoulder at the sparkling hilt of his sheathed sword. "I can't believe this thing still refuses to speak. What does it want from me?"
Dax grinned. "It probably wants you to kill me, so I'm perfectly content that the two of you aren't communicating. I've grown attached to all these human body parts."
Alton grunted. "I'd laugh," he said, "but I have a feeling you might be right. We'll have to continue to fight separately." He glanced at the waning moon hanging low in the sky. "It's after midnight. I say we go by the library, see if the gargoyle is there or not. I doubt he's expecting us to hunt for him any more tonight. There's no sign of him here."
"Eddy?"
She turned toward the question in Dax's soft voice.
"Are you okay with that?"
"I am, but Dad looks beat." Bumper whined and rolled over on her back. Her tail flopped slowly against the ground. "And it looks like Bumper is, too." She laughed. "Dad, why don't you take the dog home and get some rest. We'll be there in a bit."
Ed gave her a hug. "Great idea. I'm ready to fold." He rested his hand on Dax's shoulder. "Check out the gargoyle, son, but I'd feel a lot better if you just looked. We're all exhausted, and I'd prefer to see you live to fight another day. You probably need to get those cuts on your back checked too." He took a closer look. "Maybe not. They're already closing."
Dax nodded. "Part of my demon powers---we heal quickly---but I agree. I want to see if the gargoyle returned to the library. Then we need to rest and figure out how to beat this creature in battle. He grows stronger by the day."
"It's all those demon souls he had for dinner." Ed patted Dax's shoulder, tugged Bumper's leash, and gave Eddy a quick kiss on top of her head. Then he slowly walked down the street to the Jeep, climbed in, and headed back toward the house.
Eddy watched him until he turned the corner and disappeared from sight. He was obviously exhausted, but she had to admit he looked better than he'd looked in years. As if the last few days had given him purpose. It had definitely confirmed all his wild theories and wilder beliefs. She smiled even as her heart clenched when she thought of how lonely he must have been before Dax came into their lives.
How lonely both of them were going to be when he was gone. How was she going to cope when Dax was no longer here? She knew she'd never love again, not like this. She couldn't allow herself to think about the future without him. Not now, while he was standing so strong, so alive, beside her.
As if he read her thoughts, Dax grabbed her hand and tugged. She linked her fingers in his and looked at the way they fit so perfectly together. Then she matched his steps, walking between him and Alton down the dark street toward the library.
"Eddy? What are you guys doing out here in the middle of the night?"
Eddy spun around. "Ginny! Hi...uhm, I was just out with Dax and his friend Alton. You just getting off work? You've met Dax, but this is..."
"Yeah," she said, focusing intently on Alton. "We've met. Hello, Alton." She turned her back on the Lemurian and smiled at Eddy. "My car's in the shop so I got a lift with one of the deputies. I told him to drop me off here. It was on his way, and not too far for me to walk home."
"Is that safe?" Alton asked. His deep voice seemed to startle Ginny. "Walking alone at night? Isn't that how you got hurt before?"
Ginny nodded, almost as if she were in a trance. "Yes. There was a street fight. I got knocked around, but I'm okay."
Eddy glared at Alton. "What are you doing?" she whispered.
Alton shook his head. "Nothing," he said.
"Yes, you are." Ginny glared at him. "I know, because you've done it to me before, but for some weird reason, I can't remember exactly what it is."
Alton's eyes narrowed. "I'm not really sure what you're..."
Eddy interrupted. "Do you think it's safe for you to be walking home alone this late at night?"
Ginny grinned at her. "C'mon, Eddy. This is Evergreen. That fight in town was a total aberration."
"But it happened," Alton said, "and you could have been badly hurt."
Now why did Alton sound like he had a bee up his butt? Eddy watched the Lemurian as he glared at Ginny.
Suddenly, Alton seemed to come to a decision. With a grim smile plastered on his face, he took Ginny's arm in his. "I'll feel better if I walk you home, Ginny. I remember where your house is. It's not far."
Ginny frowned and immediately tugged her arm out of his grasp. "That's not ne---"
"Yes. It is." Alton stared down his long nose at Ginny, and Eddy bit her lips to keep from laughing. No one gave Ginny Jones orders. Ever.
Before Ginny could explode, Eddy interrupted. "Ginny, I'd feel a lot better if you let Alton go with you. There's been so much weird stuff going on lately, you can't say for sure it's safe. Which reminds me, thanks for the tips today. There really were statues and garden gnomes blocking the on-ramp. It was nuts. Then someone stole a bunch of statues from graves at the cemetery and left them at the intersection of State and Lassen. Some folks from town showed up and bashed them all to pieces. Really screwy stuff. The cops think it could be devil worshippers. Whatever's behind all this stuff, I'd rather you weren't alone. I know it's not far to your house, but please let Alton go with you."
Ginny laughed. "Oh, give me a break. Devil worshippers? In Evergreen?"
"Or gangs," Alton said. "Whatever is causing all the problems, they're not good. I'm going with you." He glared at Ginny.
Ginny rolled her eyes at no one in particular. "All right," she said, matching Alton's glare with one of her own. "But only so Eddy won't worry."
Once again, Alton grabbed her elbow. Ginny shook him off, but when he started walking, she went with him. Alton glanced over his shoulder at Dax and Eddy. "You guys check things out, and I'll meet you at Ed's later."
"Don't hurry on our account." Giggling, Eddy dragged Dax toward the library. "I've never, ever seen that look on Ginny's face in my life."
"What? The furious 'I'd like to kick your ass' look?" Dax laughed and kept walking.
"No, silly." Eddy gazed back at the two figures crossing the street. "There's something between those two. I'd bet on it." She sighed and turned away to follow Dax. "Okay. One look at the library. That's all you get. Then we're going back to the house."
"I think Alton likes her." Dax gazed over his shoulder at the tall Lemurian as he escorted Ginny home. He sighed and turned away, still keeping pace with Eddy.
"What's wrong with Alton liking her?" Eddy wrapped her hands around his arm as they walked.
"He's got the opposite problem of mine." Dax sighed again. "He's immortal, and Ginny's not. If he falls in love with her, he will have to watch her grow old and die while he remains much as he is now. Forever."
"In just a couple more days, I'll have to watch you die, or at least disappear." Eddy leaned her cheek against his arm as they crossed the small park to the library. "It hasn't kept me from loving you, Dax. And I won't regret it. Not one minute of the time we've had."
He paused and turned to face her. "Are you certain?"
She shook her head. "No, but that isn't going to change a thing. I love you. I'm not sorry, either. But it's going to hurt when you're gone. It's going to hurt like hell."
He pressed his forehead to hers. "I know. It hurts already. I had no idea what it would be like, to love someone. To love you."
"Well, now we both know." She tugged his arm. "And it's stupid to waste what time we have worrying about the time we won't have. Now where's the gargoyle?"
They stepped out of the shadows and stared up at the parapet. The gargoyle sat there as it had before, perched on the stone platform. Even in darkness, it was obvious the creature had changed. Tonight, instead of looking like a carved stone statue, it appeared to live.
Leathery wings were folded across its back, and the toes of one foot twitched, as if the creature dreamed. Its chest moved slowly in and out as its lungs expanded with each deep breath it took.
Dax and Eddy stood and watched it for a long time. Neither of them spoke, but Eddy knew that Dax's worries were the same as hers. How did one fight a creature that not only continued to grow, but to evolve? One that gained strength from the death of other demons.
Each time they fought one of the avatars and won, unless they destroyed the demon inside, they provided more demon energy for the gargoyle.
It rested, almost as if it could relax now, as if it knew they were weaker.
So obviously confident it would win in battle.
More exhausted than she'd imagined possible, Eddy grabbed Dax's hand and silently turned away. They needed to sleep and plan, but they were running out of time.
She glanced at her watch. It was well after midnight, which meant Dax was into his fifth day. At midnight on the seventh, his time on Earth would end, whether or not the battle between good and evil had been resolved. Not a particularly comforting thought as they headed back to her father's house.
Thursday morning, well after midnight---day five
"Where are you from, Alton? I don't remember Eddy ever mentioning you before."
Ginny had quit grumbling half a block back. Now she looked at him with what had to be more than merely polite interest, and added, "I can't believe she wouldn't have said something about someone like you."
Someone like me?
What could she possibly mean by that?
Lemurian women were nothing like Ginny Jones. She was amazingly self-assured. Confident. He still wasn't certain if that weighed in Ginny's favor or not. She'd looped her arm through his at some point while they walked, and her tall, lean body was close enough that he felt her heat and scented her subtle perfume.
Walking down the street in the quiet hours after midnight with a beautiful woman on his arm was an entirely new experience.
So was lying.
He'd never felt so marvelously off balance in his life.
Or so dishonest. "I've been here and there," he said, shrugging as if it made no difference. "There's no reason Eddy would have mentioned me. We weren't really close friends. We met in college, but I've been traveling since I graduated."
"I'm jealous." Ginny flashed him a bright smile. He realized he was smiling back, as if her jealousy were the best thing in the world.
"But why?" he asked. "You live in such a beautiful place."
She gazed around the quiet neighborhood. "I guess, but it's all I've ever known. I've never lived anywhere else. I've been to Arizona a couple of times, to Sedona to see my cousins, but Evergreen has always been my home. I keep thinking there's got to be more out there than a sleepy little town full of people who've known me all my life."
Alton stopped a couple of steps beneath her when they reached her front porch, which put them at eye level. He gazed into her beautiful golden eyes and realized he could easily lose himself in their depths. "There is indeed a wonderful world," he said. "If you want to badly enough, I imagine you'll see it one day. But to be honest, I doubt you'll find anywhere else as perfect as your town."
Ginny seemed as interested in gazing at Alton as he was in studying her, but then she sort of shook herself, looked down, and dug through her purse. After a minute of pushing stuff around, she pulled a ring of keys out of the bottom of the bag.
When she glanced back at Alton, her beautiful tiger's-eyes sparkled. "You might be right, but I'll never know until I have something to compare it to. Thanks for walking me home. It really wasn't necessary, but you were better company than I expected."
Alton drew himself up to his full height. "What did you expect?"
She laughed. "I'm not really sure. My first impression was..." She shrugged.
"Was what?" He planted his hands on his hips and glowered at her.
Ginny's full lips pursed in an angry moue. "Exactly that. I thought you were arrogant and overbearing. I guess I was right, after all."
Even when she was insulting him, Alton couldn't take his eyes off her. He'd never seen a more beautiful woman in his life than Ginny Jones, with her smooth dark skin and thick black hair. Her eyes, though...her eyes were what held him in thrall.
Those amazing tiger's-eyes with every shade of brown, amber, and gold sparkling in their depths. He'd thought her beautiful the night he saved her, but seeing her like this, cocky and downright rude, hearing her low voice with the rich, honeyed tones even as she insulted him, had an effect on him unlike anything he'd ever experienced.
He wondered if she could hear his heart, thudding away in his chest as if it might pound clean through his ribs. He had to swallow twice to get his voice to work. "You might be right," he said. "I can be a bit arrogant at times. But I beg to disagree. It was more than necessary."
As if someone else controlled his hand, he reached out and touched her dark hair. She raised her chin and frowned, obviously confused by both his comment and his gesture.
"I haven't forgotten you, Ginny. When I saw you tonight, I realized just how much I needed to see you again, so yes, it was necessary that I walk you home."
He dropped his hand to his side and stepped back before he lost all control and did something even more insane. "Good night, Ginny. Sleep well. Please go inside and lock your door, or I'll be forced to stand guard." He glanced at a small wrought-iron chair on her front porch. "I doubt that would make a comfortable bed."
Ginny burst into laughter. Then, to his utter amazement, she planted her hands on his shoulders, leaned close, and kissed his cheek. "You're nuts, Alton. Absolutely nuts, but in a really crazy way. I like you. You drive me up a wall, but I still like you. I think. I hope I get to see you again." She unlocked the door and slipped inside. "Now get off my front porch. Go back to Ed's and sleep in a comfortable bed. Take your ego and go home."
She closed the door. He waited until he heard the sound of the dead bolt sliding into place. He hoped it was a good strong lock, with demons running the streets. He had to be certain Ginny would be safe. He stared at the door a moment longer. Then, before he could talk himself out of it, he raised his hands and sent a powerful compulsion toward the woman behind the door.
Sedona. You really miss your cousins in Sedona.
With the satisfaction he'd done what he could to get Ginny out of harm's way, Alton trotted lightly down the stairs and headed back to Ed's house. He wasn't quite sure why he was smiling.
Sending Ginny away until the demon threat ended was a good idea, but offering to walk her home had to be one of the stupidest moves he'd ever made in his life. He sighed. There was something about Ginny---something that wouldn't let go of him---and he had to admit, he liked the feeling.
Of course, there was no future for the two of them. None at all, not for an immortal Lemurian and a human woman. He'd be a fool to try and see her again, but as that cautionary thought entered his head, he swung around in midstep, walking backward so he could see the place where she lived.
The little duplex sat dark and quiet. She wasn't staring out the window, watching him walk away. He grimaced, going over their brief conversation. She was probably wondering what kind of idiot had just walked her to her front door.
A lacy white curtain twitched ever so slightly. Alton grinned like the idiot Ginny probably thought he was...but that had to be her peeking through the window. She was watching him.
No doubt about it. Whistling, Alton turned around and headed toward Ed's house. Definitely one of the stupidest things he'd ever done, but knowing that probably wouldn't stop him from trying to see her again.
Once she came back from Sedona.
They'd paused in front of her dad's house, and when Eddy glanced down at Dax's strong fingers wrapped around hers, she realized she needed a moment alone before she lost it altogether. First she checked the slashes that had torn through his shirt and into his skin.
They'd closed completely. Dried blood stained the shirt and his back, but he was okay. For now. She rested her palm against his chest. "Check on Dad, will you? I need to see if I can find my baseball bat. I think it's in the garage."
Dax stared at her for a moment, and she prayed he wouldn't notice how her hands trembled.
"Do you need it tonight?" He squeezed her fingers over his heart. "I know you're tired. We both are. Let's look in the morning. I'll help you find it."
She shook her head. He probably thought she was nuts, but she felt frantic, and frightened beyond belief. Time was speeding by much too fast, and he was going to be gone in just a couple of days---and she didn't know if she could handle it.
"I lost my crowbar," she said. She forced herself to take slow, even breaths. "I didn't have it tonight, and I don't know where I left it. I felt naked without it."
"It's late, Eddy. C'mon inside. You don't need it tonight."
She shook her head again and tugged her fingers free of his grasp. "You never know. I might. I need to find my bat. Really. It'll just take me a few minutes." She raised her head and stared directly into his dark brown eyes. She knew he didn't understand. He couldn't.
But at least he tried.
She hated feeling powerless, hated the fact her world was spinning out of control. Hated knowing there was nothing she could do to change things. Nothing she could do to keep Dax.
But maybe she could find her damned baseball bat. It was good, solid ash, a Louisville Slugger her dad had given her the year she turned twelve. She'd hit more than one homerun with it. Her coach had bragged about her fantastic control, that when she connected, she didn't just hit it out of the park, she'd been able to place the hits.
Which was exactly what she needed now. Fantastic control.
She gazed up at Dax. Finally he nodded his head, leaned over, and kissed her quickly. He trailed his fingers through her messy curls, as if there was something else he wanted to say, but whatever it was went unsaid.
He sighed when he turned away, but he went into the house. Eddy watched him until the door shut behind him. Then she walked to the garage, opened the door, and slipped into the darkness. She shut the door firmly behind her and hoped like hell she could keep from crying.
Her emotions were all over the place, but she had to hold herself together. Dax needed her strong, not blubbering over things that couldn't be changed.
She couldn't hold him here past his allotted seven days, but she could at least find the stupid bat. That much she could do. She took a deep breath, and then another. The lump in her throat was still there, but the stinging in her eyes eased.
Two more days. How was she going to make it without him when he was gone? A shudder rippled through her body, a mere prelude to the pain waiting for her. She'd meant what she'd said to her dad, though. Even knowing how short their time together would be, she'd never regret loving Dax.
What she was always going to regret, though, was losing him. A tear escaped her left eye and burned a trail over her cheek. She brushed it away, angry at herself, and, unaccountably, with Dax, which was definitely stupid and wouldn't do her a damned bit of good.
Well, damn it all, Eddy. That's just too bad.
She could argue with herself all she wanted, but it wouldn't save Dax. She flipped on the light and stared at the neat rows of shelves filled with boxes and bags. One thing about her dad---even with all the stuff he'd collected over the years, it was always organized.
"Now where is that blasted baseball bat?"
Dax stared out the window at the dark garage for a moment longer before walking from the kitchen into the front room. He'd fully expected to find Ed already in bed, but Eddy's father was sitting alone, sipping a glass of brandy, with Bumper snoring at his feet.
He acknowledged Dax with a brief nod of his head, but he appeared lost in thought.
Willow popped out of Dax's pocket, zipped across the room, and found her favorite spot on Bumper's curly back. Dax figured she must be exhausted, as she only left a smattering of blue sparkles floating in the air with her passage. He watched her settle herself close to the sleeping dog before he sat down on the couch across from Ed's recliner.
"I thought you'd be asleep by now," he said.
Ed shook his head, but his focus was on the dark amber liquid he held in front of his eyes. "No. I couldn't sleep until I knew you two were home safe. Where's Eddy?"
Dax shrugged. He knew it would take him years to understand the way women thought, and with only a couple of days left..."Looking for her baseball bat. She lost her crowbar. I don't know why she had to find the bat tonight. She's exhausted."
Ed chuckled. "Be right back." He struggled to get out of the chair. It was obvious he was hurting after so much activity. He left the room for a moment and then returned with an empty glass, poured it half full of brandy, and handed it to Dax.
"She's looking for her Louisville Slugger, I'll bet." He took a sip of his brandy. Dax tasted his. It burned like fire, but tasted surprisingly good.
"Is that her bat? Why does she need it tonight?" He stared into the glass and wished things weren't quite as complicated as they'd become.
"Because it's something she can find. Something familiar that belonged to her when life was good, when her mother was alive, when demons weren't running amuck. Dax, all our lives have been turned upside down in the past week. None of us, save you, know what's going to happen next."
Dax took another sip before he asked, "What do you mean?"
Ed settled back in his chair. "You have a finite life span. In a few more days, no matter how the battle on Earth between human and demon plays out, your role in the fight will end." He sighed, and spoke very softly. "I'm gonna hate to lose you, boy. Already you feel like the son I never had, and it's going to hurt like hell when you're gone."
His voice was much firmer when he nailed Dax with a hard-edged glare and added, "But it's not going to hurt me half as much as it is my daughter, no matter how brave she tries to be. She loves you. I honestly believe you're the first man she's ever really loved, and I hate to think of what my little girl will go through when you just wink out of her life."
It took every bit of strength Dax had not to look away, but what Ed was saying was true. Painfully true. "I don't know what..."
"No." Ed set his glass down and leaned forward. "There's not a damned thing you can do differently. All you can do is love her for as long as you're here. She asked me if, knowing her mother would die so young, would I have still wanted to love her. I realized then that I wouldn't give up those few short years with Eddy's mom for anything. That woman was the best thing that ever happened to me. Maybe you're the best that will ever happen to Eddy. I hope not. I hope she'll find love again someday, after you're gone. After enough time has passed---but she's right. You go after love. You hold on to it with both hands and your heart, no matter how briefly it lasts, no matter how painful the end might be. It's too precious to waste a moment. I hope you and Eddy hang on to every second you've got."
He tipped his glass and emptied it. Then he stood. Stronger this time. More sure of his step. "And right now, young man, you're wasting what little time you've got with my daughter, sitting in here yammering with her old man. Go help Eddy find that bat of hers. Let her know you love her enough to help her wrestle her own demons along with yours."
Dax stood as Ed left the room. He held the glass of brandy up to catch the light. Then he glanced at Willow. She appeared half asleep, nestled snuggly in Bumper's thick coat of curls. "Rest, little one," he said. "Stay with your friend. I'll be with Eddy."
Willow flashed a tiny flicker of blue light. Dax finished off the last swallow of brandy and turned out the lights as he left the room. He met Alton at the kitchen door. "Is everything quiet?"
Alton nodded. "Ginny's home safe. I took a swing back through town on my way here. Nothing is stirring. I drew my sword, and there was no reaction, no sense of demonkind. I'm wondering if we've gotten all of the ones that crossed over, other than the gargoyle. I hesitate to go after him until we've all rested. I don't think either of us has the power to take him on our own."
Dax nodded. "I agree. Willow and Bumper are asleep in the front room. Ed's gone on to bed." He nodded toward the garage, where a pale light glowed through the window on the small side door. "I'm going to get Eddy. We'll be in shortly." He rested his palm on Alton's forearm. "Sleep well, my friend. Thank you."
"You, too, Dax." Alton nodded. "Tomorrow we go after the gargoyle. Again."
Dax watched Alton enter the house. Then he quietly opened the door to the garage. Eddy didn't appear to hear him. She sat on a wooden box near the rows of large shelves in the back. She had her back to Dax and held a large book in her lap. A smooth, wooden baseball bat lay on the floor beside her. She'd clipped a shop light to the closest shelf, and it spotlighted the place where she sat and the book she looked at so intently.
"Eddy? What is that?" Dax squatted down beside her and realized she was gazing at a book of photographs.
"It's one of my grandmother's old albums. See?"
She pointed to a picture of a little dark-eyed girl sitting in the lap of a powerful-looking elderly man. A sweet-looking woman who could have been an older version of Eddy stood beside them with her hand on the man's shoulder. Everyone was smiling, their eyes alight with what had to be love.
"That's me when I was about six," Eddy said, pointing to the little girl. "That's my grandfather holding me, and that's Gramma standing beside us. She died the year after my mom passed away." Eddy glanced up at Dax. There were tears in her eyes. "Grampa died years before when I was still a kid, and when Mom died, it was like a light went out of Gramma. She just sort of slipped away, but she was already pretty old. She and my grandfather were married for almost sixty years."
"You still miss her, don't you?" He brushed her hair back from her eyes. She nodded and smiled at him, but she was biting her lip and he knew she struggled not to cry. Always so brave, so intent on putting on a strong face for him that it made his heart ache to see her grieving now, to know she would grieve even more when he was gone. "I love you, Eddy. No matter what happens, I will never forget you."
She touched her palm to the side of his face and leaned her forehead against his. "I won't ever forget you either, Dax. I love you so much." She shook her head. A tear landed on the back of his hand. "I never imagined falling in love with anyone like this, not this hard, this fast." She took a deep breath, closed the album, and carefully put it back in a large, plastic box. Then she replaced the lid and made certain it was on tight.
Dax reached for the box and picked it up before Eddy could. She didn't say anything, but she pointed to an empty spot where it belonged. Dax slipped the heavy box back on the shelf and reached for Eddy's hand.
She slipped her fingers into his, and they left the garage together. Eddy turned out the light and locked the door. She was yawning when they reached the bedroom, but the tears in her eyes were gone. She held tightly to her baseball bat with one hand, and just as tightly to Dax with the other.
They showered together. Dax helped Eddy rinse her hair, and she carefully scrubbed the blood off his back and shoulder. He held her beneath the soothing spray while she cried for a few minutes. He had a feeling that tears didn't come easily to her, that she rarely showed any kind of weakness to anyone. The fact she felt comfortable enough to be herself with Dax told him more than mere words might ever say.
They stepped out of the shower, and he grabbed a towel off the rack to dry her silky skin. She brushed her teeth; he shaved. It all felt terribly domestic, and he was struck with the fact that less than a week ago he'd never done any of these things.
He'd never shaved, never showered, never bathed with a woman, yet his body seemed to know everything. How to use a razor, how to brush his teeth and tie his shoes and eat with a fork and knife. He knew the language, knew what things were, knew how to interpret his feelings, his fears, his needs.
And he knew how to make love to Eddy. He paused and stared at himself in the steamy mirror. White shaving cream covered his chin and throat, and his hair was slicked back from his head. It looked almost black in this light, though he knew it was really a very dark brown. There were even a couple of gray strands in it, though he knew he wasn't very old, even by human standards.
He'd wrapped a towel around his waist, and it hung low on his hips. A dark trail of hair ran from his belly button to his groin, and the snake tattoo ran through the trail. The thing had been quiet since the battle this evening, though he was always aware of its existence. The glow was gone, but it hadn't hurt since the fight with the gargoyle. The gaping jaws remained poised over his heart, and the beady eyes were fixed and lifeless, but he'd seen them sparkle with intelligence, had felt the tongue lash between his fingers. He'd seen the head pull away from his flesh and strike at his throat.
The demon's curse wasn't gone. Not by a long shot. It waited patiently, ready to strike when his defenses were down, which meant he needed to remain alert to it at all times.
He rinsed the razor in the sink and took another careful stroke along his jaw and down his throat, and then another. He actually enjoyed the ritual of shaving, the way the lather felt so cool on his skin, the slide of the razor over bristles that hadn't even existed earlier in the day.
Usually Eddy stayed in the bathroom to watch him, but she was so tired tonight, so dejected, she'd gone on to bed. He finished shaving and cleaned the razor. Then he rinsed out the sink and wiped it down with an extra towel, wondering, even as he performed the simple tasks, if the man whose body he owned had done the same things.
It was so easy to forget that he wasn't the original resident of these parts---these hands and feet, this strong back, and these wide shoulders. That his pair of legs had carried another man, these hands had probably made love to other women.
The only woman Dax wanted was Eddy. He rinsed his face once more, dried his skin, and looked at the man in the mirror. He'd grown accustomed to this face, to this body. He hardly thought of it as borrowed.
Hardly thought of himself as demon.
He didn't want to think of the fact he only had use of this body for a couple more days, but that was the truth, and he hated to waste a moment. Not when he could be lying beside Eddy. He glanced over his shoulder. The bedroom was dark, which meant she was already in bed. He draped the towel over the shower door and turned off the bathroom light.
Then he quietly crawled into bed beside Eddy. He lay there for a moment, listening to the soft, even sound of her breathing that told him she slept. Then he rolled to his side and pulled her unresisting body into his arms.
He immediately grew hard and aroused. The merest touch was all it took when he was around her, but he ignored his body's reaction. It was enough to hold her. Enough to feel her body close to his, to hear the soft puff of her breath, the steady beat of her heart.
With Eddy's small sounds soothing him, Dax drifted off to sleep.
His dreams in the past had usually been nightmares of his life before coming to Earth. Fire and fights and the fear of death, terrible battles with hideous creatures of the night---the kinds of creatures that once were common in his life.
The kind of creature he once had been.
Tonight, though, was different. He was aware he was dreaming, though it had the quality of memory, not imagination. He was Dax, yet he wasn't. He struggled to hold his balance on a strange, flat boat in rough seas. He was surrounded by other men, all of them wearing the same uniform. Round metal helmets covered their heads; heavy, olive green uniforms gave little protection from the wet and the cold. He was holding a rifle, and he was terrified, absolutely scared to death, but it was okay, because everyone else was just as frightened. Some of the guys were seasick, and they'd been heaving their guts over the side of the boat. He wondered if they were too sick to be as scared as he was.
It was early in the morning, and he knew the date was June 6, 1944, and he was off the coast of Normandy, just one of tens of thousands of men making the landing on Omaha Beach.
He could see the beach ahead, and the heavy fortifications they'd have to go through or over. The boat lurched, the front opened up, and salty spray hit his face and soaked his uniform, but it didn't matter. Like lemmings going over a cliff, they all raced out into the icy sea, carrying their weapons, weighed down by heavy packs loaded with way too much gear and ammunition. The water was deeper than they'd been told to expect, but he was taller than most and it hit him at his chest.
Fear drove him through the pounding surf. He saw one of the smaller guys floundering beside him, held down by his heavy pack and ammo and the big rifle in his arms. Dax grabbed him by the arm and hauled him along, all the way to shore, where both of them hit the cold, hard sand to avoid the hail of bullets whizzing by their heads.
He crawled on his belly and made it as far as the first set of barricades, but when he looked around, there were more bodies than live soldiers scattered around him. The little guy he'd helped was with him, just a few feet back and doing his best to stick close.
There should have been tanks with their heavy weapons covering them, but he couldn't see if any tanks had survived the landing. The noise was indescribable. Gunfire and screams, and the horrible cries of dying men. Waves crashed with booming thunder, and the air shook with explosions as big shells fell all around. Confusion reigned supreme. It was Hell on Earth, and there was no hope.
He knew with a certainty he'd never known before that he would die today.
The enemy had the superior position, high up on the bluffs, hidden from sight. The infantry coming ashore were nothing more than ducks in a pond, and he was just one more duck.
He would die today, but not yet. He refused death, refused to even consider his end before he'd accomplished something worthwhile. He couldn't stay here, and damn it, their mission was to storm the beach, to take the bluffs and wipe out the mortars, to get rid of the machine gun nests and the artillery. If he was going to die on the beach at Normandy, he'd be damned if he'd die before his work was done.
He wasn't sure how it happened, but somehow he managed to get beyond the first barricade and then another, and another, and the next thing he knew, he was at the base of the bluffs. The smell of death made him want to vomit, and the unrelenting noise made it impossible to think.
So he acted. There was no one else near him, at least no one alive. He looked to his left, where the little guy from the beach had been, and there was a body lying in the wet sand. He thought it was the one he'd saved, but half the kid's face was blown away and it was hard to tell who he'd been.
All he knew was that, just moments ago, whoever that kid was had been as young, as alive, as he was now.
There was nothing he could do for the kid. Not now. He'd done the best he could when he pulled him from the water. Given him ten more minutes of life. He hoped the bullet that found the soldier had made for an easier death than drowning in the cold waves with a full pack on his back and a rifle in his arms.
He turned away from the body and began to scale the bluff. His fingers slipped on the cold, rough rocks, and he left a trail of blood behind wherever he'd grabbed hold. Hiding behind rocks and brush where he could, trusting to blind luck when he couldn't, he managed to slowly but steadily make his way up the rugged face.
Somewhere above him was the machine gunner sending death down on the men below. Probably the same one who had killed the kid he'd pulled out of the water. That knowledge gave him a sense of duty even more powerful than what he'd felt when he started up the cliff. If it was the last thing he did, he was going to take the nest out. He'd avenge at least one young man who'd lost his chance at life.
Voices drifted around him, and while he didn't know the language, he recognized the accent. German. There were German soldiers close enough for their voices to carry, which meant they couldn't be any more than a few feet above him.
His focus narrowed. He recognized that this was more than a dream. This was happening now, or at least in what he accepted as now. The burning streak of pain along his shoulder was the trail of a bullet that could have killed him, the rocks beneath his hands, cutting into his palms, were real, and that kid lying on the beach below had lived and breathed just as he did.
Pulling himself hand over hand, he ignored the sixty-plus pounds on his back and slowly worked his way across the face of the bluff. There was a lip of rock to one side, and he managed to get around it. Somehow he ended up just above the group of three men firing on the troops below. He grabbed his sidearm. His rifle was gone, and he had no idea where he'd lost it, but the Remington Rand forty-five felt good in his hand, and he'd kept it dry during the landing.
He aimed carefully, taking his time with the first shot, and his target dropped without a sound. Before the other two had a chance to react, he shot the second soldier, the one manning the gun. It happened so quickly he didn't have time to consider what he'd done, though he was surprised that their deaths meant so little to him. He aimed at the third man as the fellow whirled around with a pistol in his hand.
For the briefest of moments, he stared into eyes as blue as his were brown, into a face of a man even younger than he was, and he saw fear. Absolute terror that he would die today.
So be it. At least Dax knew he wouldn't die alone. He felt nothing when he pulled the trigger. He didn't see the young man die. No, he was too busy dying himself.
The slug slammed into his forehead, just below the curve of his helmet. There was no pain, no sense of loss, no feeling at all. One moment he was alive and aiming his weapon at a kid no older than he was.
The next, he was sitting upright in the big bed next to Eddy, and his heart was pounding and his breath rasping in and out of his lungs. Eddy was beside him on her knees, eyes wide, hands reaching for him.
He shook his head and tried to clear his thoughts, but his death was too immediate, the sense of loss too close merely to brush away. He took a deep breath, then another, breathing slowly, steadily. Assuring himself he still lived. That he was Dax and he slept beside Eddy Marks and, for now at least, all was well.
"Dax? Are you okay? I heard you thrashing in your sleep. You must have had a nightmare, but..."
He took another deep breath and reached for her. Eddy tumbled into his arms, and he sat back on his heels, holding her as close as he could.
"I dreamed my death," he said, surprised that the dream remained as clear now as when he was living it. "Not as I am now, but my death as a soldier on the beaches of Normandy. This body, the man who lived in it, was a soldier who landed at Omaha Beach. He was terrified. He knew he would die that day. Tonight, when I dreamed, I was with him when he died."
"Oh, Dax." Eddy cupped his face in her palms. "How horrible. I'm so sorry you had to..."
"No." He shook his head. Then he turned and kissed her palm. "No, don't be sorry. I think he's with me. Not just his body, but his soul as well. I thought the Edenites had given me an empty shell, but I feel his spirit, here." He pressed his hand to his heart and felt tears well up in his eyes, but he had to explain to Eddy, had to tell her what he'd learned.
His dream, if that's what it was, had changed him. It had changed everything. "I've sensed him before, but not as I do now. I know him. He was such a brave man, Eddy. He knew he faced death, yet he didn't quit. He saved the life of another young man, who was killed by a bullet a few minutes later. When that happened, he threw caution to the wind and climbed up a bluff near the beach, and he managed to kill three men who were manning a machine gun. They were Germans, young men like he was, following orders, but they were the ones mowing down the American soldiers. The ones who had killed the one he'd saved. The last man---a boy, really---that he shot put a bullet in his brain. He died bravely, and he died fighting. He was following orders to the very end."
Dax stared into the darkness, wrapping those feelings around his body, absorbing everything he'd experienced. "Eddy, when it happened, at the very moment of his death, he was no longer afraid."
"What is it you're trying to tell me, Dax? This isn't just about a dream, is it? I don't understand." Eddy leaned back in his embrace so that she could look into his eyes. She was sleep rumpled and warm in his arms. Her hair stuck out on one side and lay all squished flat on the other. She was the most beautiful, most precious thing he'd ever known.
And she deserved the truth. "I've been afraid of failing, Eddy. So afraid. I'm not as strong as the demon gargoyle. Maybe I'm not as crafty, either, but I've got you. I have Alton and Willow, your dad, and Bumper---even my demon self is still part of me. Together we make a formidable team, but all along I've felt as if I didn't have what it was going to take to win the fight. When I dreamed tonight, when I felt the strength of the man who first lived this body's life, I realized he was sharing his courage. He was letting me know him so that I'd understand what it meant to die bravely. He's sharing that with me."
Eddy wrapped her arms around his neck and drew him close for a kiss. When their mouths finally parted, she smiled against his lips. "I've never doubted you, Dax. You're the only one who thinks you can't win. I know better. Those Edenites wouldn't have chosen you if they'd had any doubt. Let's go back to sleep. We've still got a few hours before morning. When we go after the gargoyle tomorrow, you will win. I don't have any doubt at all."
She kissed him again, and he realized he wasn't nearly as sleepy as he'd thought. When her hands slipped around his waist and traced the bumps along his spine, it seemed perfectly natural to lay her down and stretch out beside her.
But when he made love to her, he couldn't stop thinking about the man who'd died on Omaha Beach. A man who'd gone into battle terrified, yet faced death bravely. A man who had followed orders, even as they led him to his death.
Dax needed to remember the orders he followed. His death was a given. His duty was to remove the demons from this small town, to ease the pressure of evil against good before a tipping point was reached. He was well on his way to accomplishing that mission. As much as he loved Eddy Marks, the mission was for the good of all, and he must not fail.
Failure was not an option. He was destined to die at the end of his week, no matter how the battle against the demons played out, so he'd better be damned sure that the outcome was what he wanted.
He would win, no matter what, because he had no fear of death. Just as the one who'd first inhabited this body had known his own death was imminent when he went against the enemy, Dax knew he'd be gone by the end of the week. That was the deal.
Ed Marks was right---Dax knew what to expect. There were going to be no final surprises. The only surprise, in fact, had been Eddy.
He realized then, as their bodies reached that final peak together, that it wasn't death he feared, not the failure of his mission, not pain, or the demon gargoyle and his curse.
No, he'd thought his only fear was leaving Eddy in a world that was no longer safe. It was worse. It was something he couldn't change, no matter how the battle on Earth ended.
He feared moving on to whatever might come next without her. He could face the demon and whatever it might do to him, and he could face him without fear, but eternity without Eddy scared him more than death.
Thursday morning---day five
Eddy sipped her second cup of coffee and stared at her laptop. She'd been working on a story for the paper since she'd gotten up this morning, writing about the vandalism of the cemetery statues. So far, nothing she'd written sounded all that convincing.
Organizing her thoughts with all that was going on wasn't easy. Writing lies made it even more difficult. Grumbling, she highlighted the paragraph she'd just written and hit DELETE.
Ed, Alton, and Dax studied a street map of town and threw out different plans to destroy the gargoyle. Eddy'd only been paying partial attention as they went back and forth with various ideas, coming up with plans and discarding them just as quickly as she'd been deleting story ideas. So far, it appeared that the only thing they agreed on was that the gargoyle would be at his weakest around noon, when the sun was high in the sky, but she tuned out the rest of their discussion while she worked on another angle for her story.
At least Harlan had quit giving her grief, and there'd been a paycheck in yesterday's mail, so she knew she still had a job.
She wasn't certain she still wanted it.
Convincing the citizens of Evergreen that all the damage and weird situations affecting their town were the acts of nonexistent gangs or satanic cults wasn't easy. Even with her deputy buddies, Milton and Bud, agreeing with her---thanks to Alton---she could offer no proof beyond guesswork by local law enforcement.
At least they were still in line with the hypnotic suggestions Alton continued to plant. Of course, there wouldn't be any proof, since gangs weren't responsible. She almost felt sorry for the nonexistent gangbangers and satanic cultists who were taking the heat for the current mess.
As far as she knew, people weren't talking about the battle on Lassen Boulevard. She wondered if they were having nightmares instead. She hated to think they might be reliving the horrible things they'd seen. Things they'd been compelled not to discuss.
"How long do you think people will continue to buy this crap?" She waved her hand over her laptop. "I haven't got a lick of proof, no facts and nothing but made-up guesswork to explain what we all know is a demon invasion."
Alton laughed. "And you think they'd believe that before they'll believe that gangs or cultists are behind everything?"
Eddy frowned. "Good point. I just feel like such a fraud. I'm writing lies. It bothers me. It goes against everything that journalism stands for. Haven't you heard of the Journalist's Creed?"
Alton gave her a blank stare.
"Sheesh." She shut her laptop. "Well, essentially it's a promise to write only what I believe, in my heart, to be true."
Dax smiled. "Doesn't it also have something about suppressing the news for the good of the welfare of society?"
Eddy blinked. "How'd you know that?"
"I found it framed on the wall in your dad's workshop and read it. I know the stories you've been writing are bothering you, and when I saw a document titled The Journalist's Creed, I looked to it for answers."
Alton laughed. "Sounds as if you found them."
"That I did. The truth could cause a panic." Dax glanced once more at the map, and then at Eddy. "If people knew that a demon invasion was behind all this, they'd call in the military, and we'd have a full-scale war on our hands."
Alton agreed. "The minute we get a military presence, the fear and potential bloodshed would cause nothing but chaos, not to mention the kind of negative energy demonkind thrive on."
"I'm still lying." She crossed her arms over her chest. Anger and frustration had been her constant companions all morning. "So much of this is all lies." It wasn't just what she was writing. What about Dax? A demon, disguised as a human. And Alton? He wasn't even human.
"It's for the common good, Eddy."
Dax's soft voice broke through whirling thoughts. She was beginning to feel outnumbered, especially when her father added to Dax and Alton's argument. He glanced up and caught Eddy's stubborn gaze. "No one has been seriously injured or killed. We're dealing with nothing more than vandalism at this point, no matter what the cause, but I'm afraid the guys are right. If that gargoyle gains more power, if he reaches a point where he can proactively destroy life and steal the energy of human beings..."
Eddy swallowed back a gasp. "I hadn't even thought of that. Do you think that's all that's holding him back? That he's not strong enough to take a human life?"
Dax nodded. "Quite possibly. Not that he can't kill. Slicing my back open is proof he can do damage. He just hasn't evolved enough to harness the energy a human death could provide. I'm hoping Alton's right. If all the demons that crossed over have been destroyed, that would mean the gargoyle's energy supply's gone, at least for now. I was wondering where he got his strength. It's not like he's got his own Willow, pulling energy out of the air for him." He grinned at the little sprite. She twirled in a shower of blue sparkles at mention of her name.
Alton glared at his sword. Encased in its leather scabbard, it hung from the back of a kitchen chair, a mute reminder of its lack of voice. The jeweled hilt sparkled beneath the overhead lights. "I was worried the ones I thought I was killing with my worthless sword were merely going back to Abyss, or worse, directly to the demon. At least, last night, it seemed to be killing them, but even so, I'm ready to leave the damned thing here when we go out and fight, for all the good it's done me."
Eddy interrupted. "Alton, it's a good weapon even if it's not speaking to you. It cut through those stone statues like they were made of butter, and when you hit the demon mist, it flashed and sizzled and the gargoyle was totally pissed. That alone is proof to me that you're destroying them."
"We'll never know for sure, though, unless the thing decides to acknowledge me." He dismissed it with a wave of his hand. "The problem is, as long as I'm wielding it, I can't fight beside Dax. It's dividing our strength because I can't trust it." He stared at it, mumbling, "A man should be able to trust his own sword, shouldn't he?"
"I agree." Dax gave the crystal sword a wide berth, even when it hung innocently in its sheath. He stared at it a moment and then looked away. "As far as the gargoyle, I think we've been feeding him all along, with every avatar we've destroyed and every demon we've missed, but there's a good possibility the last of the demons are gone after yesterday's battle. If that's the case, there's nothing more for him to absorb, or inhale, or whatever it is he does to the demons who revert to mist. It should keep him from getting any more powerful than he already is." He glanced toward Alton. "I hope. He's already stronger than I am."
Alton laughed. "My money's still on you. I think you can take him."
Dax shook his head, but Eddy noticed he was smiling too. Alton and Dax had forged an amazing friendship in such a short time. In a way, it made her feel better, knowing she wasn't the only one who loved the man with the powers of a demon and the heart of a warrior.
"I'm hoping that piece of wing you sliced off has cost him," Dax said. "It takes a lot of energy to regenerate parts, and he grew that wing tip back last night. If I hadn't been in such sorry shape myself, I would have gone after him, but I didn't have anything left. I'm stronger today. Here's hoping he's still feeling weak and puny."
Chuckling, Ed stood up. "It's almost nine, and the last thing I need is to be worried about you guys feeling weak and puny. How about a big breakfast so you won't need lunch? Have you figured out yet how we're going to do whatever it is we have to do?"
Alton ran his hand over the map and jabbed his finger on the spot he'd circled in red, where the old library building stood. "I can use a compulsion to keep people away from the park at the library. Once it's cleared, Dax and Willow are going in."
"Agreed." Dax studied the map and glanced at the clock. "If we're there a little before noon, you should be able to keep folks away. If they're already there eating lunch, it might be harder to get them to leave. Eddy?"
He flashed her a smile that seemed terribly relaxed, considering what they were discussing. "I want you to hang on to Bumper and stay fairly close to me, just in case Willow needs a place to hide."
"I can do that." She glanced at her father. "What's Dad going to do?"
"You mean besides cook?" Ed laughed and waved his spatula.
"Ed, I want you watching the perimeter. Make sure there aren't any demons hanging around. Don't destroy any avatars, because we don't want the gargoyle to get them, but watch for anything that might be demonkind."
Eddy placed her hand over his. "And what do you intend to do?"
He flashed her a cocky grin. "I intend to kill the gargoyle. The demon has bonded so entirely with the stone gargoyle that it's gained a corporeal presence in this dimension, but it's got to take a lot of energy to maintain the body. It's no longer animating stone. It's breathing now, and it bleeds."
"Green blood. I saw it when Alton sliced off the tip of its wing. Yuck."
"Green, red, brown, or black. It doesn't matter," Dax said. "If it bleeds, it can die. We couldn't kill the gargoyle because it wasn't alive, and we weren't able to destroy it and get to the demon inside. It appears somehow to have attained life, which means mortality. The flesh should burn; bones can be broken. It may have better mobility and possibly cognitive reasoning, but I'm guessing it's lost its indestructible edge."
Alton laughed. "Well, it sounds good in theory."
"It does, doesn't it?" Dax stood up and pushed his chair back from the table. "Ed? How long before breakfast?"
"About fifteen minutes." Ed added more bacon to the pan. The sizzle and pop filled the air with enough good smells to make Eddy's mouth water. She stared at her closed laptop and pondered not sending anything to Harlan at all.
Dax rested a hand on her shoulder. "I want to take a quick walk around the block and see if anything's stirring out there that shouldn't be."
Eddy grabbed his hand. "Do you want company?"
"Always," he said, smiling at her. "C'mon. We'll be back in a few minutes."
He held her hand as they stepped off the porch and started down the sidewalk. The morning was cool. Pine needles and dry leaves crackled underfoot. Birds chattered and chirped, a dog nearby barked. Eddy heard a lawn mower roar to life. She noticed the distinct lack of stone deer and ceramic garden gnomes. The neighborhood had been full of them just a week ago.
"Could the demons have run out of things to use as avatars? A lot of statues have been broken over the past few days."
Dax shook his head. "No. You'd be surprised. There's still a lot of stuff around. Look." He pointed to a front porch where a pair of metal birds hung in a wind chime. Then he showed her a weather vane designed like a rooster on top of a nearby garage. "There are all kinds of lifelike replicas made of stone or metal. If there were demons around who needed avatars, they'd still be able to find them."
They continued on around the block. Dax seemed so totally relaxed, it was hard to believe he'd had that horrible dream last night. He'd still been awake when she'd finally gone back to sleep, her body sated from his lovemaking.
She wasn't sated anymore. In fact, the familiar sizzle of arousal was once more awakened, merely by the touch of his hand, the sight of him walking beside her. She'd never seen such a beautiful man, never been as attracted to anyone before, the way she was to Dax, but when she'd rolled over this morning and reached for him, he was already gone. She'd found him out in the kitchen having coffee when she'd finally crawled out of bed.
"Did you get any sleep at all last night?" She stopped walking, wrapped her hands around his arm and held him close.
"Some," he said. "I had a lot to think about."
"Dax?" She tugged him to a stop and looked into his clear, dark brown eyes. Every time she looked at him, she wondered how many more chances she'd have. "Are you afraid?"
He frowned. "Of the demon?"
She shook her head. "No. Of it all ending. Of what will happen when your time is over. I can't imagine what that must be like, knowing exactly when you're going to die."
"Ah, Eddy. Sweetheart, I'm not going to die. I'll just be moving from this life to another. I'm hoping I'll end up in Eden if I'm successful with my mission, but even if I don't, I'll merely go back into the void. It's not a frightening place. It's just..." He sighed. "It's boring. Eternity with only memories of the life you've lived isn't an exciting proposition. I've lived for a very long time, but the only thing I want to remember is the time I've spent with you. I'm hoping these memories will be enough. The past few days have been amazing. I need to stretch these memories out and make them last."
She thought about that, about facing eternity with only memories. She'd always have such amazing memories of Dax. They started walking again. Within a few minutes, they'd circled the block, and her father's house was right in front of them.
"Eddy?"
She turned to him. "What?"
"I love you. I don't want to spend eternity feeling guilty about leaving you. Promise me you'll find love again. Please? I have to know you're able to accept what's coming if I'm going to be able to concentrate on my mission. Can you do that?"
She stood on her toes and kissed him. "I promise. I will be fine. Let's go eat before Dad sends out a search party for us."
He followed her into the kitchen, and she was glad he was behind her and couldn't see her face. It hadn't been all that hard to make an impossible promise, but there was no way she could keep the truth out of her eyes.
It was actually sort of odd, to think she worried so much about lying in her newspaper articles, yet she had no qualms at all about lying to the man she loved.
By the time they got inside, she had her emotions under control once again. The last thing she wanted was for Dax to spend his last days on Earth worrying about her worrying about him.
She sat down at the table, opened her laptop, and quickly finished her article. Then she attached it to an e-mail to Harlan and hit SEND. Lies. All of it lies.
She merely had to remind herself they were all for the common good.
The noon sun hung high overhead. Eddy clung to Dax's hand while all of them stood motionless as a bunch of statues in the sunlit park and stared at the empty parapet atop the library. Finally, Ed broke the silence.
"Where the hell'd the bastard go?"
Dax shook his head and rubbed his chest. "I have no idea. I was certain he'd be here. Alton? Any ideas where he might be?"
"No. I figured he'd still be healing."
"I think I know." Eddy turned away from the library and stared at Dax. "You said he gets his strength from the demons whose souls he takes, but we're fresh out of demons. Could he be trying to open a new portal?"
Alton jerked his head around and stared at Eddy. "Gods, I hope not. If he's in the mountain, there's no way to stop him."
"Why not?" Eddy frowned. "You closed the other portal without any trouble."
"That was before any of us had a Lemurian death sentence hanging over our heads. I can't be positive if it's actually been posted or not, but what I did when I broke you guys out of your cell is punishable by death. I went against my father's orders, and he's the head of the Council of nine. As far as you and Dax, before we left Lemuria, the council had already determined you two should die for your transgression of actually trying to help my people. If we go back inside the mountain, we might not make it out alive."
Dax crossed his arms over his chest. "If the demon opens a new portal, no one will make it out alive. Another gateway to Abyss could tip the balance beyond redemption." He shrugged. "If more demons gain entrance to this dimension, if the gargoyle achieves ultimate power, a death decree is a moot point."
Alton stared at Dax for a moment. Then he slowly nodded his head. "There is that," he said.
Ed shoved Bumper's leash into Eddy's outstretched hand. Then he swung around and headed down the sidewalk. "I'll get the Jeep," he said, shouting back over his shoulder. "Then I'll meet you back here in a few minutes. Keep looking."
They drove as far as they could and stopped at the same gate where Ed had picked them up just five short days ago. Dax was surprised when Ed chose to join them on the hike up the mountain. He and Eddy both tried to argue her dad out of it, but there was no way Ed was going to be left behind at this point.
Now, as they drew close to the portal that had let them into the dimension that led to Lemuria, Dax had to respect Ed's dedication to their cause. He was obviously in pain from his bad hip, but he'd managed to keep up as they made their way along the faint trail winding higher and higher up the steep slopes of Mount Shasta.
The hillside was beginning to look familiar, when Willow suddenly popped out from behind Alton's long hair and buzzed into the air in front of them. She left a comet's tail of blue sparkles behind her as she zipped toward a tumble of rocks just ahead. Bumper barked and jerked the leash out of Eddy's hand.
Dax grabbed for it and missed. The dog took off, scrambling over the loose scree littering the side of the mountain. Her leash trailed behind her.
"Bumper! Come back. Here girl!" Eddy started after the dog.
Dax grabbed her arm and held her back. "Wait. See what she's after."
"But what if the gargoyle's there?" Eddy tried to jerk her arm free, but Dax held on. She glared at him. "Let me go."
He shook his head. "Look."
The gargoyle lurched from behind the largest rock, walking awkwardly over the rough surface. Bumper yipped and made a perfect U-turn. She raced back toward Eddy as the gargoyle spread its wings and rose to its full height, twice as tall as it had been the night before.
Eddy grabbed Bumper's collar when the dog ran into her legs in her mad scramble to get away from the monster. Alton moved to one side and drew his sword. Ed grabbed Eddy's free arm and tugged her and Bumper out of the way.
Surrounded at a safe distance by his friends, Dax stood alone on the hillside, not a dozen feet from the massive creature.
He glanced to his right. Alton was slowly working his way around the gargoyle's side. It ignored the Lemurian. Its focus was entirely on Dax.
Ed and Eddy waited off to the side as they'd planned, well out of the way should the gargoyle use any sort of weapon. Dax was unsure of its powers in this form. It was obviously alive. There was no sign of the stone creature it had once been.
Now its wings waved slowly back and forth with supple grace. The muscles in its long arms bunched and stretched, and the leathery skin over its massive chest rose and fell with each breath it took.
When it opened its mouth, razor-sharp teeth gleamed white, and its disgusting tongue was long and sinewy, colored a deep grayish green. Saliva dripped from its jaws. Eyes that had once gleamed like red fire now glowed with an inner light that was both alive and cunning.
The gargoyle raised its head and let out a roar. No longer the eerie wail of a banshee, this time it had the full-blown depth of a living, breathing creature, a sound somewhere between an enraged lion and an angry bull elephant.
Bumper dropped to the ground and shivered when it roared a second time. Willow had moved to a point behind Dax where she was protected from the creature, yet close enough to Dax that she could draw energy from their surroundings and feed it to him. He felt the warmth of Willow's energy pouring into him, strengthening his arms and legs, even as it awakened the cursed tattoo now rising over his chest.
There was no way to avoid the pain. Whenever he called on his demon powers now, he called the curse to life. They were one and the same. His only hope was that he'd be able to work it once again, to make the pain his own and withstand the agony long enough to battle his greatest foe.
He stared into the gargoyle's eyes and sensed the creature's keen intelligence. No longer a mindless demon working through the body of a stone avatar, it had become---somehow, some way---a sentient, living, breathing demon. Dax wondered what its form had been on Abyss. Had it somehow found its likeness in the stone gargoyle on the library building?
Dax had been a demon since time began, but it had only been in his later years that he'd had enough self-awareness to care about his existence, to wonder if there might be something better to life than the unending hell of Abyss. Had that happened to this demon as well? Had it finally begun to question its existence?
Had it, too, been kicked out of Abyss? If so, it certainly hadn't been for questioning evil. There was nothing good about this creature. No, it was evil incarnate, with a cunning unlike anything Dax expected.
He took a step closer to the gargoyle, drawing the creature's attention. Alton was able to move a few feet closer without being noticed. Now he stood behind, not beside, the gargoyle.
It didn't appear to see him, so intent was it on Dax. When Dax took a step, the creature moved as well. When Dax moved to one side, the creature mirrored his shift. As Dax played out his little dance, testing the gargoyle's responses, Alton slipped closer to the creature's back. He'd drawn his crystal sword and held it high overhead, but he wasn't yet close enough to strike.
Dax raised his hands and let loose with a burst of fire. The gargoyle leapt in the air, barely avoiding the flame. Alton jumped to one side and swung his blade. The crystal glimmered with power as he slashed just beneath a clawed foot.
The gargoyle flapped his wings down with a powerful stroke as Alton prepared to swing. One heavy wing caught his head and shoulders and flung the tall Lemurian to the ground. He swung the crystal sword as he fell, cutting a broad slash across the gargoyle's torso.
Thick, green, acidic blood poured from the wound, burning whatever it touched. Grass shriveled and turned black as the gargoyle tried to gain altitude. Dripping blood splashed Alton's shoulder and along his sword arm, dissolving his flannel shirt and burning through to his flesh.
Alton cried out in pain and collapsed to the hard ground, clutching his injured arm. His sword lay beside him on the burned grass.
Dax threw more flame. The air filled with the stench of burnt flesh, and the gargoyle tumbled to the ground. Blood still flowed from its wound, but it managed to turn and rise to its feet just as Dax encased it with a frozen mist. The creature broke through the ice, rising up on its stumpy legs, spreading its wings wide.
It roared, trumpeting anger, pain, and frustration in a mind-numbing bellow. Dax waited for Willow to recharge him with more energy. Maybe now he'd finally have enough to kill this thing.
Alton grabbed his sword and struggled to his feet. He held the jeweled hilt in both hands as he prepared to strike a powerful blow. Dax raised his hands to throw more flame at the wounded gargoyle.
For a moment in time, it felt as if everything stood still, yet Dax's body pulsed with the power flowing into him from the tiny sprite. Willow hovered barely within his peripheral vision, a volatile whirlwind of blue light feeding energy directly to Dax. Power coursed through his veins, charged his muscles, and fired his demon abilities.
He was invincible, a demon inhabiting the body of a strong soldier with right on his side. He could not be defeated. Not now, with his mission so close to success. Nothing could stop him.
Nothing would stop him.
And then he felt it. The first stirrings of the cursed tattoo as it fed off Willow's shared energy. Waves of pain slithered over his body, across his thigh and groin, above his heart.
Eddy screamed as the tattoo came to life and raised its head away from his chest. Dax felt the cold stroke of a forked tongue beneath his chin and the burning twist and turn of the serpent's body as it moved across his torso. Quiet until now, almost as if it had been lying in wait, it came to life with more strength than ever before.
Alton stumbled, apparently from the pain of his acid burns. He lowered his sword as weakness gained the upper hand. His body visibly trembled. The gargoyle raised its wings and then lowered them in a powerful downstroke. Slowly it lifted off the ground.
Green blood still oozed from the wound across its belly, but the flow was slowing as the creature flapped its wings again and gained a few more feet of elevation. Dax tried to send fire against his enemy, but the pain from the curse sapped his strength. Somehow, the serpent had tapped into Willow's flow of energy and must have commanded it all for itself.
Dax wrapped his hand around the snake's head to keep the fangs away from his throat. He flung a short burst of flame with his free hand, but it was barely enough to singe the tip of the gargoyle's left wing.
Barking and growling, Bumper fought her leash with an unending cacophony of frustrated complaints. The gargoyle turned its eyes on Dax, and Ed set the dog free. Bumper leaped for the gargoyle and managed to catch one wing in her jaws.
She pulled the creature to the ground where it knelt, snarling. Instead of racing for safety, Eddy and her father ran directly at the gargoyle. Eddy swung her baseball bat and connected with the gargoyle's shoulder. It flinched, obviously surprised by the blow. Ed held his iron pry bar with the chiseled tip like a jousting sword. He raced directly at the beast.
Horrified, Dax tried to send another burst of flame, but there was nothing left. The tattoo had absorbed all his reserves, and it was all he could do to hold the snapping jaws and extended fangs away from his throat. Willow no longer sparkled beside him. She lay on the trampled grass, a tiny little sprite without a hint of light.
Eddy took another swing at the gargoyle, but it rose to its feet and brushed her aside with one vicious swipe of its taloned paw. She tumbled inelegantly to the rocky ground and lay still. Ed swung his bar and connected with the gargoyle's head.
It grabbed the end of the iron bar and ripped it out of Ed's hands. Then it simply bent the sturdy bar into a twisted circle and threw it. Ed stumbled back. The heavy length of iron barely missed him. He dropped to his knees and grabbed Eddy under the arms as Dax reached the two of them.
The gargoyle hesitated a moment, as if considering the easy target lying on the ground just a few feet away, or freedom. Screaming an unintelligible battle cry, Alton ran at it from behind with his sword held high, but the gargoyle flapped its huge wings once again and lifted into the air with another earsplitting roar. Bumper took one last leap into the air, snapping at the huge, leathery wings, but she missed. She came down hard and rolled along the steep slope. Then she scrambled to her feet and stood up, barking, as the gargoyle flew down the mountain, heading directly for town.
Dax fell to his knees beside Eddy as she struggled to sit up. She didn't say a word. She just slammed her hands over his and held the writhing snake against his chest. He felt the strength go out of him as Eddy gently pushed him back to the ground. Everything faded to black.
It must have only been a few moments later that he came to in the small patch of grass, gasping for air while Eddy calmed the cursed tattoo. He wrapped his fingers around her wrist. Her head snapped up, and she stared into his eyes. He tried to tell her, without saying the words, how much he loved her. That she was much too good for him. That once again he'd failed.
If he'd spoken those last words aloud, Eddy would deny them, but he couldn't ignore the truth. The gargoyle would heal from its wounds and be ready to fight another day.
But what of them? How had his small band fared?
Dax struggled to sit up. "Eddy? Are you okay? What about your dad? Alton? Willow?"
Eddy sat back and grabbed his hands, tugging him into a sitting position. "I'm fine," she said, staring at his chest as if she dared the snake to move. "Dad's okay. He's resting over there. Alton's got Willow."
Dax looked over his shoulder and saw Alton lifting Willow from the ground. "Is she okay?"
"I think so," Alton said. "She's alive."
"What about you? Did the blood burn you?"
Alton carried Willow over and sat down beside Dax. "Damned right it burned. It's some sort of acid. Ate right through my shirt and into my arm." He held out his right arm. The burns were deep and ugly, but the demon blood had cauterized the wounds so there was no bleeding. He had a particularly nasty wound on his shoulder where the white of bone showed through.
"Is the stuff still burning you?" Dax leaned close to study Alton's injuries. "Did you wash it off? The pain must be horrible."
Alton nodded. "I'm using some self-hypnosis to control the pain. Ed washed the wounds out with some bottled water. I'm concerned about my sword arm. I think the one on my shoulder went into the muscle."
Dax shook his head. "A little more than just muscle, I'm afraid."
Willow sat up in Alton's palm, stood up, and buzzed into the air. She hovered over his injured shoulder for a moment, gathering energy in the form of blue sparkles. Then she clapped her tiny hands together and pointed at him.
The sparkles came together in a perfect arrow that went directly to the deepest part of the wound. Alton blinked. "Amazing, Willow. The pain is gone."
"So's the hole in your shoulder." Ed stood behind Alton. "Look at that."
"Willow, you're just full of surprises, aren't you?" Eddy held out her hand, and the sprite landed in her palm. "Can you heal the rest of Alton's burns? They look horrible."
Willow repeated the process over Alton's damaged arm. Within minutes, healthy, pink flesh covered what had been blackened, disfiguring injuries.
Dax stared at Willow and shook his head. "Amazing," he said. Then he glanced at the pile of rocks. "I need to go inside, see if he managed to open a new portal."
Alton slowly stood up. "Thank you, Willow." He flexed his arm, now healed and strong. "Dax, I'll go with you." He leaned over, slowly picked up his sword, and shoved it in his scabbard.
Dax frowned at him. "Your sword didn't try and behead me. What's up?"
Alton gave him a puzzled look. "I don't know. I wasn't thinking about the risk at all when I sheathed it. I'm sorry. Gods. That was stupid."
Dax shook his head. "Not really. It ignored me, yet we're close enough for you to have struck a fatal blow. I don't understand."
Alton reached back and touched the hilt. He shrugged. "Me neither." He held his hand out to Dax. "C'mon. We need to get down the mountain before dark."
Dax took Alton's hand, and the Lemurian pulled him to his feet. He leaned over and kissed Eddy. "We'll be right back. Wait here."
She nodded and then went to sit beside her father on a fallen tree. Dax gave her one last smile. Then he stepped through the portal into the vortex with Alton.
The portal Alton had closed showed signs of tampering, but it was still closed to Abyss. Whatever the demon had intended, it hadn't had time to finish. Dax and Alton stared at the melted stone for a moment. Then both men turned away.
Alton gazed toward the portal that opened into Lemuria. "I keep hoping we'll hear from Taron, receive some news from my people. It saddens me to think they would ignore such a threat as the one the demons pose."
"It saddens me that you've cut ties to your family, your home. I hope that, when this is over, you'll return to your world as a hero."
Alton chuckled. "If this sword ever decides to talk to me, I just might do that. C'mon. We need to go back. Eddy and her father will be worried."
Dax nodded and followed him through the portal. Another day gone and only two left, yet so far the gargoyle had emerged the victor from every confrontation.
He thought of the hero who had lived and died in this body. He needed some of that man's confidence, his personal strength. Hell, he needed something, anything, to give him an edge.
Without it, Dax feared he didn't have a chance of winning.
Thursday night---day five
It was dark by the time they reached the Jeep. Dax and Alton linked their arms with Ed and helped him for most of the journey. He grumbled a bit about getting old, and apologized for holding them back, but it was more than obvious he was in agony after all the climbing they'd done today.
He never mentioned the pain. Never complained about hurting, though he didn't turn down the offer of help from Dax and the Lemurian.
Dax's admiration for Eddy's father grew with each step the man took. His heroism was in his quiet strength, his willingness to suffer if it was the only way to stay close to his daughter and protect her.
That was something Dax understood. He felt that same need to protect Eddy. It gave him a sense of peace, knowing she would have her father here for her when Dax's time on Earth ended.
"Dad?" Eddy held the passenger door open. "I want you to sit here. I'll drive."
Ed nodded. "Probably a good idea. I doubt I could handle the clutch." Obviously resigned to riding shotgun, he slipped gingerly into the front seat. Dax lifted Bumper into the back and climbed in beside Alton.
Eddy glanced over her shoulder as she started the engine. "You two big bruisers going to fit back there?"
Alton laughed and threw his arm over Dax's shoulders. "We fit fine. Just a little closer than we're used to."
Bumper squeezed between the two of them and licked Alton's face. Dax laughed. He turned and caught Eddy's smile. The love in her eyes melted his heart. He shrugged and slowly shook his head. They should have been going home victorious. Instead, they were merely heading down the hill to regroup.
Eddy grinned and shook her head at his unspoken comment. "We might not have won today, but we didn't lose either. Quit looking so glum. It was a good day, Dax."
He agreed. "You're right. It was. There's always tomorrow."
Eddy's smile got bigger. "That there is. Don't you forget it."
She turned around, shifted gears, and backed the Jeep around on the narrow road until she found a wide enough spot to turn. The loud roar of the engine made conversation with Eddy and her dad impossible.
Dax turned to Alton. "How're the burns? Are you okay?"
"They're almost entirely healed. I had no idea Willow could do that."
Dax laughed. "I don't think Willow knew she could, either, though the slashes on my back healed quickly. I never thought to ask her if she'd helped. You are immortal, after all. Have you been injured before? How long did it take you to heal?"
"Just because I'm immortal doesn't mean I can't be injured. And yes, I've been hurt. I heal quickly, but it usually takes a lot longer to get better." He flexed his burned arm. "No pain at all. Just pink, healing skin. It's amazing. Which reminds me...where is Willow?"
Dax reached behind Alton's back and lifted his long hair. Willow peeked out from her spot on his shoulder. "Where she usually is, when she's not in my pocket. I should be jealous."
Willow buzzed out from her hiding place and hovered in front of the two men. Then she zipped into Dax's pocket and disappeared.
Alton grinned and winked at him before turning his attention to the road they traveled. The Jeep bumped along through the ruts, and the lights of the town of Evergreen grew closer. In just a couple of hours, Dax would have only two short days left to complete his mission.
He searched for some sense of the soldier whose body he shared, a soul he'd come to regard as a sort of talisman. A gentle, now-familiar warmth spread through him. He smiled as he found a more comfortable position in the tiny backseat. Eddy was safe, his friends were all together, and the soldier had not abandoned his post.
Dax settled back for the ride home and let his thoughts drift. More and more, now, he felt as if he channeled the once-unknown entity who had first inhabited this body. Now, he saw the other as a friend, a mentor, an advisor. Not necessarily as a separate individual, but more like another side to his own existence, another aspect of himself.
Channeling the other's memories gave Dax a new perspective. Opening his mind to a different approach gave him new options, new ways of dealing with things. A new focus.
His ultimate focus must remain on the gargoyle, and how he could successfully fight and defeat his foe. Like the machine-gun nest and the enemy firing down on his fellow soldiers, he had to make the demon gargoyle the target of everything he had.
Where once he'd climbed an almost sheer wall of stone to slay his enemy, now he must somehow overpower a creature physically more powerful, more deadly, more cunning.
Eddy, Ed, Alton...even Bumper and Willow---they were the soldiers he had to protect. Granted, the mission was to save many lives, not merely a handful of his personal friends, but it was easier to face the whole by concentrating on the few.
The few who mattered most of all.
It was well after midnight before they practically carried Ed into the house and helped him to bed. When Alton shut the door behind him, Ed was already half asleep. Dax wrapped his arms around Eddy and kissed her soundly. "Your dad will be fine. Stop worrying. He's taken some pain medicine for his hip, and a good night's sleep should work wonders. Go to bed. I'll be there in a minute."
"Why aren't you coming with me?" She kissed his chin and rested her cheek against his chest.
"Alton and I want to make a last pass around the yard. We'll take Bumper out. She's been stuck in the backseat of that Jeep for much too long."
Eddy giggled. "So have you. I'm surprised you and Alton both fit."
"Me, Alton, and a large dog. It was tight. Good night. I'd say don't wait up, but you have to know I hope you're still awake when I come in."
Eddy covered her mouth as she yawned. "Then you'd better hurry." She kissed him quickly and walked away. Dax watched the gentle sway of her hips and almost followed. Then Alton stepped into the kitchen with Bumper's leash in his hand.
"You ready?"
Dax nodded. They'd decided not to take any chances, which meant not letting their guard down at all. He whistled softly for the dog. Bumper trotted out of the bathroom with a sloppy grin on her face and wet chin whiskers. She left a trail of drips behind her.
"I see she's been drinking at her favorite fountain." Alton leaned over and snapped the leash on her collar.
Chuckling, Dax followed them out the back door. The night was clear and cool, and stars twinkled brightly overhead. He gazed at the sky and took a deep breath, filling his lungs with clean air that was perfumed with pine and cedar.
That had been one of the nicest surprises of being human---breathing air that didn't stink of sulfur. Nights here carried the scent of the evergreens that defined the neighborhood, of flowers in bloom, of hot asphalt in the afternoons and wood smoke on cold mornings. He'd grown to love the smell of a freshly mowed lawn, or the rich scent of curry when Ed's neighbor down the street cooked dishes from her native India.
This world was filled with good things to feed the senses. Tastes and smells...touch. Whether it was the clean, crisp sheets on the bed or Eddy's soft hands, Bumper's cold, wet nose nuzzling his fingers or the firm grasp of another man's hand when they met, all of it was good. All a powerful reminder of what he'd be leaving in just two short days.
Yet he couldn't help but be thankful for every single experience, every touch, every taste, every smell. He wondered what new thing he would miss the most, and realized it in the very instant he asked himself the question.
Love. He would miss love most of all. Not just Eddy's, though that was by far the greatest. No, he would miss the love he felt for her father, for Alton. He'd miss Willow and Bumper, two amazing creatures who would always hold places in his heart.
Thank the gods he would always have his memories.
"Dax?"
Jerked out of his musings, Dax spun around at Alton's soft alert. Bumper growled. "What is it?"
"I'm not sure, but there are lights on all of a sudden at Mr. Puccini's. Should we go check on him?"
Dax nodded. He hadn't seen Ed's old neighbor since the ceramic turkey had attacked the man on his front porch. He and Alton walked across the street with Bumper trotting along between them.
The old man was sitting on the front porch.
Dax waved. "Hello, Mr. Puccini. How are you? Everything okay?"
"Who are you?" Mr. Puccini grabbed the railing and hauled himself to his feet. "What are you doing?"
"I'm Dax. This is Alton. Remember? We're friends of Eddy Marks. We met you the other day when you tripped and fell."
The old man stepped out into the light and glared first at Dax and then at Alton. "I remember you. And I also remember that I didn't just trip. I was attacked. That damned turkey of Muriel's somehow came to life and attacked me. And you..." He pointed at Alton. "You did some kind of magic and made me forget. Well I remember now, and I want to know what's going on."
Alton looked as innocent as a three-week-old puppy. He shook his head. "I have no idea, Mr. Puccini. That morning, we heard you yell, and we came over to help. You'd fallen, and you kept saying something about the turkey, but it was in pieces here on the porch. Did you ever go to the doctor?"
The old man frowned. "No. I didn't need to see the doctor for a cut on my hand. That's all that happened."
"Are you sure you didn't bump your head?" Dax leaned against the corner post. "That could have scrambled your memory of what happened."
"I remember just fine." Mr. Puccini leaned over the railing. "Now you two get out of here before I call the sheriff. I'm not sure what you boys did, but I know what happened and it's not the way you say it was. Now get!"
Dax tugged Bumper's leash. "We're going. C'mon, Alton. He's awfully ungrateful, considering the fact we came over here to see if he was all right."
"I agree. Good night, sir." Alton nodded, but he lifted his hand before he turned away and swept it slowly across the old man's line of vision. Mr. Puccini blinked, frowned, and then smiled at both Dax and Alton.
"Thanks for stopping by, boys. I'm fine, but I appreciate your checking."
Alton nodded. "You're welcome, sir." He smiled, turned, and followed Dax across the street to Ed's house. They walked Bumper around the yard once more without saying anything. Then they went inside.
"It's wearing off," Dax said, the minute the door was closed. "The compulsion you gave him...I thought it would last longer."
Alton leaned against the closed door. "So did I, and I don't know how long the new one will last. If it wore off on him, that means it's got to be wearing off on the townsfolk too. Or it will be, shortly."
"It's not human nature to live a lie." He should have thought of that. Eddy's difficulty with her newspaper articles was an obvious clue. Humans wanted the truth. They didn't want to be protected. Thoughtfully, Dax rubbed his chin, felt the new growth of whiskers, and realized how quickly time was passing. "I imagine they fight the compulsion instinctively. We have got to get rid of the gargoyle by tomorrow."
Alton stared at Dax. "And what if we don't?"
Dax shook his head, but he grinned as he turned out the porch light. "Then we'd better do it the next day, because after that, you guys are on your own."
He wasn't smiling when he reached the bedroom. Standing outside the closed door, Dax thought of the woman inside. She'd gone after the gargoyle today with that stupid baseball bat as if the demon were nothing. She and her dad, both mortal humans, had stood up to a creature that was stronger, meaner, more cunning than any of them, and they'd done it for love.
They'd gone after it without any thought for their own safety because it threatened those they loved. The power of that single emotion was enough to bring him to his knees, and yet, as much as he loved her, Dax knew his time was running out. His chance to destroy the gargoyle grew slimmer every day the creature lived.
It grew stronger, and he grew weaker. As the gargoyle gained sentience and strength, so did the snake crawling over his body. The tattoo had almost gotten him today. He didn't know what would happen if it ever managed to bury those long fangs in his throat, but it couldn't be good.
Quietly, Dax opened the bedroom door and slipped inside the room. The bedside lamp was still on, but Eddy slept, curled up on the far side of the bed. He went into the bathroom and took a quick shower, though he didn't take time to shave. He was too tired, too dejected to worry about whether or not he had a dark shadow of beard on his chin.
When he crawled into bed beside Eddy, she surprised him by rolling over and wrapping her arms around him.
"I thought you were already asleep." He kissed the end of her nose.
"You told me to wait up for you." She kissed him back.
"Do you always do what you're told?" This time he nuzzled the soft skin beneath her ear and rubbed his beard-roughened jaw along her neck.
"Never," she said, arching away from the tickle and scratch. "Unless I want to. Unless you're the one telling me."
"What if I told you to take your nightgown off?"
"I imagine I'd do as you asked." She sat up, slipped her short gown over her head, and lay back beside him.
His breath caught. She was lovely. So absolutely perfect he didn't know where to look, what to touch first. He lay beside her, propped up on one elbow for a better view, and ran the tips of his fingers along her rib cage and over the rise of her hip.
Her breasts called to him. He leaned forward and took one taut nipple between his lips. He could never grow tired of this, her sweet taste, the way the rosy peak pebbled between his tongue and the roof of his mouth. When he sucked on her, she moaned and thrust her chest forward. Her fingers fluttered over his shoulder and down his arm, leaving shivers of sensation in their wake. He rubbed against her like a cat marking its owner, dragging his face with his stubbly chin over her breasts, down her belly. He could have spent the night like this, touching and being touched, but she wouldn't have it.
Eddy rose up on her knees beside him and pushed against his big shoulders. For such a slender thing, she was much stronger than she looked. Of course, he put up absolutely no fight at all as she tumbled him to his back. He thought she was going to come astride him, but instead she slithered down between his knees and, without any warning at all, took him in her mouth.
One moment he was erect and waving in the cool night air---the next much of his length was engulfed in the liquid heat of her mouth. She took him deep, sliding her lips and tongue around him, scraping gently with her teeth, sucking hard so that her cheeks hollowed with each powerful draw.
He moaned and fought to keep from thrusting into her mouth, but the demon inside him would have none of it. His dark side roared to life, and his cock slipped forcefully past Eddy's lips.
She wrapped her hands around his thick shaft and held on, controlling Dax, controlling the demon. Dax fought the need to rut like the creature he'd once been, but the struggle tested him, had him clenching the tumbled blankets beneath his rigid body in both fists. His muscles tensed and knotted as he struggled to hang on to some semblance of whatever sanity Eddy chose to leave him.
He raised his head and looked down the length of his body, over the shimmering colors of the tattoo, directly into Eddy's deep brown eyes. Her lips stretched wide around his shaft, but she still managed to smile at him as she worked her mouth slowly up and down his length.
Again he felt the demon's frustration, but he worked it now, raising and lowering his hips to a rhythm Eddy set. Then, so slowly he almost cried out, she raised her head until her lips clasped nothing more than the broad flair of his crown. She suckled him there for a moment, ran the tip of her tongue beneath the lip, and dipped it into the tiny eye at the center of his glans.
Then she released him.
Cool air brushing over his damp skin made him shiver, but when he raised his head, the look in Eddy's eyes made him burn. Dax felt the demon growl with barely contained need as he reached for her. She crawled up over his body, kissing his belly, his ribs, the scar where the demon's fireshot had first struck and burned him with its deadly curse just five days ago.
Five short days. He'd lived a lifetime during those hours, and yet there was still more to learn, more to experience. Eddy straddled him. She came down slowly over his erection and took him deep inside. He felt the powerful clench of feminine muscles, the strength of her thighs clasping his hips.
He fought his demon side even as he gave himself over to Eddy. She leaned over and kissed him, dragging her pointed nipples across his chest while her lips plucked at his mouth and her tongue teased his. His demon grumbled, but Dax held firm until the darkness faded into the background.
Then, without warning, as he raised his hips to thrust into her heat, the snake came to life.
Eddy's eyes went wide. She stared at his chest. Then glared at him, as if the colorful tattoo writhing painfully over his body were all his fault. "It's moving, damn it. Why, when all I really want is to make love with you, does that damned thing have to show up?"
She slapped her hands down over Dax's heart and scowled at his chest. Dax realized he was grinning as he kept up the steady rise and fall of his hips. Her irritation was actually endearing. From what he'd learned of the females of the race over the past week, most women would have been screaming and recoiling in horror.
Not Eddy Marks. She just got pissed.
She'd shown him she could handle his demon, and it was obvious she could handle the snake. She was tough, and she loved him. He didn't doubt her abilities at all.
Warmth radiated from her palms to his heart. He felt the snake twitch along its full length. The tail flicked against his inner thigh; the tongue slipped out between Eddy's fingers.
She held it down, pressing the serpent close against his body while Dax continued his thrust and retreat, lifting her up with each rise of his hips, then dropping low to do it again.
After a moment, she raised her head and grinned at him. "I'm actually getting used to the little sucker. Are you in pain? Is it hurting you when it moves?"
He shook his head. "When he comes to life while we're making love, it's different. The pain is part of the pleasure. I feel it rippling over my thigh and across my chest, I feel the heat in my groin, but it's one more sensation, another part of the whole."
He arched into her. Eddy closed her eyes, groaned in pleasure, and ground herself against him. Her palms held the snake in place, and she tilted her head back. Dax wrapped his hands around her hips and held her close. Then he rolled with her, until she was beneath him, smiling at him as he took her higher with each powerful thrust of his hips.
Suddenly she arched her back and cried out. Her palms flattened against his chest, and he felt the heat flowing into him, felt her strength and her love. The snake thrashed along his body, rippling in time with Eddy's tight contractions. Lifting away from his flesh, then clinging once more as if it were merely a colorful tattoo without life or form.
The combination of writhing snake, shivering woman, and the knowledge that she loved him enough to fight for him, loved him enough to stay even as his days grew short, took him over the edge. He felt the rolling charge of power radiating from the base of his spine, spreading out through his balls and along his hard length.
He groaned with his final thrust as orgasm took what little control he might have thought was his, stole it away, and left him sated and sweating in Eddy's warm embrace.
Quiet now, the snake glowed between them, the soft golden glow they'd ended with before. There was no pain from the tattoo, no sense of the curse. Even his own demon lay quiet. Dax wrapped Eddy in his arms and rolled to one side. Her palms still pressed against the tattoo, and her vaginal muscles clenched in a rhythmic pulse along the full length of his shaft.
He thought of rising long enough to find a soft washcloth to bathe her. Thought of it for a good ten seconds or so. And then he thought of nothing.
Eddy woke during the night. The house was quiet, the bedroom dark. Dax must have shut the light off at some point. She'd loved making love with him with the light glowing softly beside them tonight. He was such a beautiful man, all broad shoulders and muscled chest, with more muscles defining his thighs and the most perfect butt she'd ever seen on any man.
Now though, the only light came from the softly glowing tattoo that ran from the top of his thigh to his heart. She lay beside him, propped up on her elbow, studying everything about him, saving and savoring the memories.
When she'd first seen him, he'd been so badly hurt she'd not noticed what a perfect specimen of a man he actually was. Now, though, the deep burn on his chest was mostly healed, and the four holes along his side where the garden gnome had stabbed him with a pitchfork were gone altogether. The glowing tattoo should have freaked her out, but it was part of who Dax was. Not a good part. No, nothing that hurt him was good, but it had been there as long as she'd known him.
And she alone could keep it in check. Eddy had no idea how she did it, why the mere touch of her hands to his tattoo should have the power to quiet the serpent, but as long as it worked, she'd be there for him.
As long as she could. She glanced at the bedside clock. It was almost four in the morning. They'd be getting up soon, but the sixth day had already begun. Not even two full days left, and he'd be gone.
She would not cry. She wouldn't do that to Dax. She loved him too much, and he had no control over when his time here ended, when his borrowed body went back to wherever bodies waited for things like this.
She lay back beside him and stared at the ceiling. Who'd have thought, less than a week ago, that she, of all people, would be having this conversation with herself. She'd teased her dad for years about his acceptance of all things weird.
She grinned into the darkness. It didn't get any weirder than this---lying in bed beside a demon turned warrior, a man in a borrowed body with an impossible deadline to save her town.
She rolled her head to one side and gazed at him for a moment. Well, maybe it did get weirder.... He was a glowing demon turned warrior. She traced the golden outline of the shimmering tattoo with her finger, and realized she didn't know quite what to make of it.
The tattoo was cursed, and it kept turning on Dax, trying to kill him, but she had the power to stop it. That fascinated her, that she could stop the pain, stop the whole damned thing, something as dangerous as a demon's curse, merely with her touch.
Not only stop it. She made it glow.
Life would never be the same again. She'd always been so pragmatic and rigid in her thinking, so quick to tease her dad about his acceptance of the strange and unusual. No longer. She'd experienced things she'd never imagined existed, never in her wildest dreams would have accepted as real.
Now she believed.
She'd never been in love before either. Never expected it to find her, but it had, and it was wonderful. She refused to think of the future, of going on without Dax, but just as she'd told her dad, she honestly wouldn't have traded the past few days for anything. Dax had changed her life in so many ways.
All of them for the better.
Eddy stared once more at the ceiling, smiling into the darkness. "And I'm the one who makes him glow," she whispered. Still smiling, she closed her eyes.
Friday morning---day six
Dax awoke with Eddy's arms and legs wrapped around him and her nose buried against his chest. Her tousled hair tickled his chin, and she was naked. Vaguely he recalled waking once during the night, turning to her, making love yet again.
Or maybe it was a dream. She pursed her lips and licked his nipple, and it all came back to him. No, they'd definitely made love. He remembered that part really well, when she'd run her lips across his chest, sucked on his nipples and shocked him with how sensitive they were. He'd had no idea.... He ran his fingers through her dark curls. "Eddy? Wake up, Eddy," he said in a singsong voice. "It's almost seven."
"Mmph." She wriggled her hips and snuggled even closer.
He kissed the top of her head. "I forgot to tell you that Mr. Puccini remembered the turkey coming to life. Alton and I saw him last night."
She muttered against his chest, grumbling, "And you're waking me up to tell me this why?"
He laughed. "Because it changes some of our plans for today. Alton gave him another compulsion, but he doesn't know how long it will last. If Mr. Puccini's memory came back, you can bet the townsfolk are beginning to remember stuff. Alton needs to strengthen the earlier compulsion, and he has to do it today."
Eddy raised her head and glared at him. "Did you really need to tell me this before my coffee?"
"Yep. I did. Now get moving." He smiled when he said it, but there was no time to waste.
A shower helped, but Eddy still felt spacey when she finally wandered into the kitchen. Dax and Alton sat at the kitchen table, but her father was nowhere in sight.
The guys both mumbled a sleepy "good morning."
Eddy glanced around the kitchen. "Where's Dad? Is he okay?" She poured herself a cup of coffee and added two teaspoons of sugar for more energy. She had a feeling she'd need it today.
Alton nodded over his steaming cup. "He's fine. I've got him soaking in a hot bath for a bit. He's stiff and sore from all the walking yesterday, but he'll be okay."
Eddy leaned over and kissed the tall Lemurian on top of his blond head. "Thank you, Alton. Did I ever tell you what a good guy you are?"
He leaned back in his chair and grinned at her. "No, but you're welcome to whenever you like."
Dax raised his head from the map he'd been studying. "Watch it, Lemurian." At least he was grinning.
"You watch it." Eddy leaned over and kissed him full on the mouth. "You boys play nice."
"Yes, ma'am." Dax gazed at Alton. "Don't ever, ever make her mad."
Alton grinned and nodded, and went back to reading the morning paper. Eddy's father had the Sacramento Bee delivered daily, and so far they'd not seen any articles about the odd events in Evergreen. Alton was careful to read the paper from cover to cover each day, just in case.
He folded the last page. "So far, so good. Eddy, we need to get to some of the central points in town today so I can strengthen the compulsions I've used."
"Dax told me about Mr. Puccini." Eddy still hadn't figured out all of Alton's Lemurian abilities, but so far he'd managed the seemingly impossible on more than one occasion. "Can you cover an entire community? How do you do that?"
"I can," he said, as confident as always. "There are various points of energy around town, places I can sense when I'm near them. I already know a few, but I want to see if there are others. If I stand at those points when I broadcast a hypnotic compulsion, it has more power and affects more people. Remember, though, that it's never as strong after the first time. I'm hoping that if I renew it today, it will hold through the weekend."
Eddy nodded. Alton didn't need to say what he meant---that he hoped it would hold until Dax was gone, because it wouldn't matter after that. If they didn't defeat the demon by tomorrow night, there was no telling how long the battle would go on.
But it would go on without Dax. Keeping the invasion of demonkind a secret if they failed wouldn't change things or help at all. People were going to find out, eventually, what evil faced the world. At least while Alton and Dax worked together in secret, they had some chance of success.
A very slim chance, but still a chance.
Eddy glanced up as her father walked slowly into the kitchen. He was using his cane, something he only pulled out when he absolutely had to. "Hurting pretty bad this morning?"
Ed nodded. "I'll be better once I loosen up. Alton insisted I soak in the tub. I have to admit, the hot bath helped." He hung the cane over the back of his chair. Eddy jumped up to get his coffee.
"Sit down, Eddy. I'm sore, but I'm not a cripple."
"Sore and stubborn, it appears to me. Sit." She glared at him. He sat. She flashed a big grin at Dax. "You're right, you know. It's a bad idea to make me mad."
She poured coffee for her dad and set the cup in front of him. "Okay, guys. I'm cooking, so don't expect miracles."
A short time later, Ed pushed his empty plate away and smiled at Eddy. "I taught you well. Delicious!"
Dax glanced at Alton. "I though she didn't like to cook."
Alton nodded. "She doesn't. Doesn't mean she can't. Plus, she swings a mean baseball bat. The girl is definitely multitalented."
Feeling inordinately proud of herself, Eddy stood up and began grabbing empty plates. "Woman. I am not a girl."
Dax patted her fanny. "Definitely all woman."
Ed laughed. "Watch it. That's my daughter you're groping."
Eddy walked away from the table with an exaggerated sway of her hips, and the men all laughed. Inside she felt close to shattering. They'd been laughing and teasing for the past hour, as if their world didn't hang in the balance of what they accomplished over the next couple of days.
They'd laughed as if Dax would still be around and Alton didn't have a death threat hanging over his head. Willow buzzed through the kitchen, and another thought hit Eddy. Willow! What would happen to her when Dax was gone? Would she just disappear? Would she go back to Eden?
She heard the scrape of chairs as she rinsed the dishes in the sink. Warm hands circled her hips, and she felt Dax's broad chest against her back.
"All will be okay, Eddy. I can practically hear your thoughts, but please don't worry. Let's see what today brings. Tomorrow we'll see what comes, but only when it's actually tomorrow. We don't need to ask for trouble, but we will win this fight. I have to believe it."
She carefully wiped her hands dry, turned in his warm embrace, and placed her palms against his cheeks. "It's not the fight I'm worried about. It's you, Dax."
No. She had to stop lying---to herself and to Dax.
She leaned her head against his chest. "Oh hell, I'm totally being selfish. You'll be fine. You'll be in Eden, loving your life in Paradise." She sniffed. "I'm worried about me...about me missing you." She laughed, but it broke off in a sob that somehow managed to escape. "I'm even worried about Willow! What will happen to her when you're gone?"
He raised her chin with his fingertip and looked at her with so much love in his eyes it broke her heart. "I don't know," he said. "I never thought to ask. She's a creature of Eden, but for all I know, Willow didn't exist before. If she was created to be my companion and my source of energy, she might end when I do."
Eddy shook her head. "That's as wrong as you ending. Willow is a living, thinking creature. She's got a mind of her own. She's compassionate and caring. Just like you, Dax. Just like you. No one in Eden could ever love you like I do."
His arms tightened around her waist. "I know, Eddy. I know."
He didn't say anything else, but he held her for a long, long time. Eddy listened to the steady sound of his heart and tucked the memories of his scent, his strength, his love away in her heart.
They would have to last a long, long time.
Late Friday afternoon---day six
"Where could he have gone?" Alton leaned against the cold fireplace. Willow perched on his shoulder, and Bumper lay at his feet. If he hadn't been almost seven feet tall with silky blond hair falling in a straight line to his butt, he might have looked like any other rangy cowboy in town for the weekend.
"I don't know, and I don't like it. I fully expected he'd be back at the library. That's been his home base all week." Dax sprawled in her dad's recliner. He, like Alton, was wearing faded jeans and a worn flannel shirt. They'd both pulled their boots off, and both men looked frustrated and exhausted.
At least her dad was doing better this evening, though he'd chosen the couch, where he could stretch out and rest all his "old man's aches," as he referred to the hip that definitely needed replacement.
"If we don't find the gargoyle, I imagine he'll find us." Eddy shrugged, but then she smiled at Alton. "And you got the compulsion reset. Thank goodness! I'm really glad you managed to get that done." Now that had been a shock when they'd walked to town this morning. Total strangers coming up to her, getting in her face, and complaining about her newspaper articles.
All those stories about the so-called vandalism, every single one blaming the problems on gangs or, as she'd alluded to in one story, an unknown cult---except some of the townsfolk remembered things differently. Remembered, and wanted to talk about them.
One man had said it felt as if he'd had fog on the brain, but the fog had cleared. Thank goodness Alton had reset the fog!
As much as she hated writing lies, Eddy hated getting caught even more, which was a fairly selfish and dishonorable way to look at things. Discovering that lack in her own ethics hadn't been a very pleasant revelation.
She'd just have to keep reminding herself it was all for the common good, but she was glad her father had stayed home. She would hate for him to see her defending stories that weren't true. Someday, she hoped she could come clean on all this, but she couldn't do it yet. Not now.
Damn but it had been a long, frustrating day. Even more frustrating knowing that Dax only had a little over twenty-four hours left. She couldn't dwell on that, though. She just couldn't.
Willow buzzed through the room, followed by her usual trail of sparkles, but instead of her usual blue, they were dark red, almost as if she were angry.
Or frightened. Dax held his hand out, and she skidded to a halt in his palm. He stared intently at the little sprite, then practically jumped out of the recliner.
"Close the shades and turn out the lights," he said, moving swiftly toward the kitchen and the window that faced the backyard. "Check the locks on the doors. The gargoyle's outside. Willow said he's flown over Ed's workshop twice now."
Ed struggled to his feet. "How'd it find us?"
Alton turned away from the front door he'd just secured. "I'm not sure, but this changes things. We've been hunting it. Now it appears the gargoyle is hunting us."
Eddy helped her dad into the kitchen and grabbed a straight-backed chair for him. Dax had already turned out the lights and stood in the darkened window, staring toward the workshop. He glanced over his shoulder as Eddy slid the chair across the floor and set it near the window. Ed carefully sat down where he could see outside.
"Look." Dax pointed at Ed's shop.
Eddy felt her blood run cold. The gargoyle perched on the roof like a huge vulture and stared directly at the kitchen window where all of them were gathered. It leaned forward, supporting itself on its hands and feet with its leathery wings folded against its back.
Its eyes glowed with incandescent fire reflected from the nearby streetlight. It swung its head from right to left and back again, as if assessing the area in preparation for an attack.
Bumper growled low in her throat, but she seemed to know enough to keep it quiet. Dax patted her head, and she whimpered. It was obvious she knew there was something out there that she really didn't like at all. Willow stood on the windowsill with her tiny hands planted on her hips. Anger absolutely radiated from her little body.
The sun had set, and there was just enough light left to see the gargoyle's dark silhouette, but the eyes seemed to grow larger and brighter as darkness fell.
Eddy was glad they'd turned off the lights inside. The kitchen was almost entirely dark. She didn't want to think the gargoyle was watching them, though she imagined he probably had much better vision than she did. It gave her the creeps.
Alton slipped his crystal sword out of the sheath hanging over the back of a kitchen chair. It ignored Dax. Alton stared at it a moment and then held it down at his side. "I'm going out the front door. I'll work my way around behind the shop."
Dax kept his eye on the sword as he agreed. "I'll go with you until I can find a good spot to attack, but I'll wait until you're in position before I show myself. I don't want him to see us leaving the house." He glanced at Eddy. "Is there a backyard light you can turn on from inside? I have a feeling the gargoyle can see in the dark much better than me."
She pointed to the set of switches by the wall. She realized they were all whispering, and wondered if it was necessary, but the damned thing had gone from stone to flesh in a matter of days. For all they knew, it could hear through walls.
She kept her voice low. "A couple. There're lights on both the back porch and the door to Dad's shop, but nothing that will throw a beam on the roof."
Ed moved slowly, but he got up and opened a utility closet by the back door. "I've got this." He held up a heavy flashlight shaped almost like a handgun with a halogen bulb. "It throws a pretty good beam a long way."
"Good." Dax nodded. Then he leaned over and kissed Eddy. "Stay out of the creature's sight, and hang on to Bumper. I'm taking Willow with me." He glanced down at the baseball bat she'd grabbed without even realizing it, and laughed. "It's good to know you're armed."
"You're making fun of me, but I'll get the last laugh. This is one fine baseball bat." She kissed him and stepped back. "Be careful, Dax. I love you."
"I love you too."
She wasn't sure how long they stood there staring into each other's eyes, but she didn't want to turn away. Dax was the first to break the spell that had so quickly trapped them both.
"Ed, as I recall, there's a ladder against the north side of the shop, so Alton will be using that. I want you to shine the beam directly on the gargoyle---in his eyes if you can---the minute Alton signals you. That should momentarily blind him and might give us an advantage. Can you get outside without him seeing you?"
"I'll use the sliding glass door from my bedroom. I should be able to flash this at him without leaving the house." He held up the flashlight. "It's really bright. With any luck, he won't be able to see me once the light's in his eyes."
"Eddy, don't turn the lights on until after your dad flashes the spotlight. Then we'll need both yard lights. Alton, can you just raise your sword so Ed knows you're ready? That crystal should show up just fine. If you're behind the gargoyle, hopefully he won't see it. Ed, watch out you don't get me or Alton with that beam."
Ed nodded. "I will. Be careful, boys. Both of you. And Willow? You be careful, too." He grabbed his cane and the spotlight and slowly made his way down the hallway. Dax hid Willow in his pocket, and he and Alton slipped out the front door. Eddy waited alone in the kitchen with only Bumper for company. She heard the steady tick, tick, tick of the clock over the kitchen sink. The sound of Bumper panting. A car passed by on the street out in front.
Darkness closed in. The gargoyle was barely visible now, though its eyes still glowed an unearthly shade of red. She had no idea where Dax or Alton were. They had to be getting into position.
Eddy sensed a change in the pressure inside the house and knew her father had opened the bedroom door. Bumper whined and stood close beside Eddy in the darkened kitchen. Her curly blond hackles rose along her spine, and her whine turned to a rather startling growl that seemed to roll out of her chest.
Eddy kept her gaze on the gargoyle, though all that really showed right now were the flashing red eyes. Then Alton's crystal sword glowed behind the creature's dark silhouette. Immediately after, the brilliant beam from Ed's spotlight caught the gargoyle directly in the eyes.
It rose up, roaring. Its loud trumpeting cry echoed throughout the neighborhood. Eddy flipped on the backyard lights as the gargoyle leapt from the roof and shot directly toward Dax with leathery wings outspread.
Alton's sword swept through the air and severed a large section of the gargoyle's right wing. The piece spun off in a shower of dark blood and landed in Ed's rose garden just outside the workshop.
Dax stood at the edge of the yard, partly hidden beneath a sycamore tree. Fire flashed from his hands and burned away more of the gargoyle's wing as the creature landed on the ground just a few yards away from him. It screamed this time, an earsplitting cry of absolute fury. Then it turned on Dax.
Flames still shot from Dax's fingertips. The heat of the fire singed the gargoyle's chest, but it continued its awkward walk directly into the flame, drawing closer with each step it took.
Dax switched from heat to cold. Icicles formed on the gargoyle's face and hung from its damaged wing as well as the good one. Still it moved forward, listing toward the injured wing. Bumper growled and clawed at the door. Alton was clambering down the ladder and racing toward the gargoyle with his sword raised.
Dax switched back to flame. Suddenly his body jerked. The flames died. Alton took another swing with his crystal sword as Dax went down with both hands pressed to his throat.
The tattoo! She'd totally forgotten the damned tattoo! Ignoring danger, Eddy swung the door wide and raced out into the yard. Snarling and barking, Bumper went directly for the gargoyle. She sank her teeth into the creature's one good wing. It spun around, reaching for the dog, but Bumper managed to hang on and stay out of reach of the long claws.
Alton raced across the yard and swung his sword, but he missed as the gargoyle leapt into the air. Bumper hung on to its wing until only her hind legs raked the ground. Then she let out a sharp yelp and dropped, rolling and frantically rubbing her face in the damp grass.
Eddy fell to her knees beside Dax. His eyes were closed, his mouth open as he gasped for air. The tattoo rippled and slithered over his skin, but he held on to the head of the snake with a white-knuckled grasp. The forked tongue whipped between his fingers. He held the viper's mouth shut with both hands.
There were two perfectly round puncture wounds in his throat, just beneath his jaw. Already the skin was beginning to swell. Alton dropped to his knees beside Eddy. "What happened?"
"The damned snake bit him." Her voice cracked with fear as she pressed her hands over Dax's and forced the serpent down. Beneath her touch, it slowly lost dimension. Within a very few seconds, it was nothing more than a tattoo, though pain radiated up Eddy's arms all the way to her spine.
She ignored it. "Dax? Can you hear me? What can I do? How can I help you?"
Ed stood over them, leaning heavily on his cane. He handed a small plastic box to Eddy. "Snake-bite kit. It's old, but the theory's the same. It might help if you can get the poison out."
She tried to open it, but her hands were shaking too badly. Alton took it from her, flipped open the catch, and removed a razor blade wrapped in a sterile covering, along with a small suction cup. Eddy grabbed the packet of disinfectant and tore it open. She splashed the alcohol over the puncture wounds, took the razor from Alton and, with surprisingly steady hands, made a quick slash in Dax's throat to connect the two holes.
She used the suction cup to draw blood and venom out of the wound and prayed the creature hadn't struck a vein or an artery. Dax's head lolled to one side as she suctioned blood and venom and emptied the cup. It was so damned slow!
She shot a quick look at Alton, but his attention was entirely on Dax. Willow stood on Alton's shoulder, but she was sending blue sparkles the length of Dax's body. Frustrated, terrified, Eddy finally leaned over and put her mouth to the seeping wound. She sucked hard, filling her mouth with his blood and something with a vile, bitter taste that burned her lips and tongue and had to be venom.
Over and over again, she sucked at the wound on his throat, turned her head and spit, and sucked again until the taste changed and she knew she drew only pure, clean blood from the bite. Finally she sat back on her heels. Ed handed her a damp cloth, and she wiped Dax's blood from her lips. Then she folded the cloth to a clean side and pressed it against the slowly seeping wound on his throat. He seemed to breathe easier, but he was still unconscious.
"Should I carry him inside?"
She blinked and gazed at Alton. "Can you lift him? He's awfully big."
Alton smiled gently. "So am I, Eddy." He stood up and handed his sword to Ed. Then he pulled Eddy to her feet. "Get the bed ready. I'll carry him into your room."
She nodded, took one last look at Dax, and raced toward the sliding door to the master bedroom. Alton followed a moment later. He carried Dax in his arms like a very large child, through Ed's room and down the hall to the room Dax shared with Eddy. There Alton carefully laid him down on the big bed. Eddy removed his boots while Alton unbuttoned his shirt. Bumper sat near the foot of the bed with her chin resting on the edge of the mattress while Alton and Eddy finished undressing Dax.
Willow took a position on the headboard. Blue sparkles still rained down over Dax, but even with Willow's energy, his skin felt hot. Sweat beaded his upper lip and glistened across his chest. The tattoo gleamed, but it was just a tattoo---for now.
Eddy glared at the thing. Then she went into the bathroom and found a clean washcloth, rinsed it out in cool water, and used it to bathe the sweat and blood from Dax's face and chest. "I feel so helpless," she said, running the cool cloth over his shoulder. "What kind of poison comes from a cursed tattoo? How do you fight it?"
"With love."
Alton's soft words brought her to a stop. "What do you mean?"
"He's breathing easier. His color is already better. Even the place where you slashed through the puncture wounds with the razor has begun to heal." He grinned and gazed up at Willow, sitting on the headboard. "Of course, some of that could be due to Willow and her marvelous blue sparkles, but Eddy, everything you do for him, you do because you love him. Evil can't fight that. It's a powerful weapon, and you wield it well."
She sat down beside Dax. He did seem to be breathing better. She touched his forehead. His skin felt cool beneath her palm. "Alton, I sure hope you're right. I didn't even think of the snake when both of you went outside. All I could think was maybe now you guys could beat the gargoyle at his own game."
She raised her head and looked at the tall Lemurian. "Purely selfish, on my part. I wanted Dax all to myself tomorrow. I don't want him fighting the gargoyle on his last day on Earth. I want him with me."
Alton swept his hand over her hair and brushed it back from her eyes. "I know. I feel the same way. I don't want to lose him. Not tonight. Not tomorrow. He's become a very dear friend in a very short time. Only Taron and I are this close. When Dax is gone, I will have lost a brother."
Dax reached up and wrapped his hand around Alton's wrist. "You haven't lost me yet, my friend."
"Dax!" Eddy covered her mouth with her hand to bite back a cry. "I've been so worried!"
"What happened? I was fighting the gargoyle and the tattoo at the same time. Something bit me, I think, but..."
"The snake bit you." Eddy traced her fingers over his throat. The puncture wounds were no more than tiny pinpricks now. The razor slash was a narrow pink line, connecting the dots. "I think I got the poison out, but I was so scared."
"How?" Dax planted his hands on the bed and carefully shoved himself upright. He leaned against the headboard and gazed from Eddy to Alton and back at Eddy. "What did you do?"
"She played lady vamp." Alton grinned at Eddy. "Pretty impressive, actually."
Dax frowned. Obviously he didn't get the reference. Eddy shrugged and said, "I used a razor to open up the puncture wounds and sucked the poison out."
"Well, that's gross." Dax gazed steadily at her for such a long time, Eddy blushed. "You really did that? Sucked blood and poison out of my neck?"
"Well, it's not like I could ask anyone else to do it." Eddy stood up and planted her hands on her hips. "What else did you expect?"
"Only you would do something so courageous."
He reached for her hand. She took his and squeezed. "It wasn't brave. I was terrified you might die. Your neck was swollen where it bit you, and you were having trouble breathing."
He stared at her a moment longer. Then he tugged, and she tumbled to the bed beside him. "So, what happened to the gargoyle?"
She glanced at Alton. "Alton sliced off a big chunk of its wing. It fell in the rose garden, but it didn't keep the gargoyle from flying away."
"Your fire and ice slowed it down, but it still escaped." Alton patted Bumper's curly head. "Bumper got it by one wing, but as soon as she bit through and got a mouthful of that corrosive blood, she let go."
Eddy reached down and rubbed Bumper's head. "I don't blame you, girl. I would've let go too." She tried to part Bumper's jaws without any luck. "Did she get any burns on her mouth?"
"No. She's okay. I checked. No burns." Ed eased himself into a chair next to the bed. "I found the piece of gargoyle wing. It's now a big, delta-shaped slab of stone. It smashed my Peace rose."
"It may be flesh and blood, but it still reverts to stone. It's not entirely alive." Dax looked at Alton. "Where do you think the gargoyle is now?"
"Holed up someplace where he can heal. After I sliced that piece of wing off, the bleeding stopped almost immediately, so it's definitely stronger and healing faster. Your flame burned it, but not enough to stop the damned thing."
Dax sighed. "And it knows where Ed and Eddy live." He turned his focus on Alton. "No matter what, we need to kill it, but we have to find it first. Any idea where it's gone?"
Alton shook his head. "Have you thought about sending Willow out to scout for us? She can sense the demon. She might have better luck."
Dax shook his head. "I can't risk her like that." He looked up at Willow, sitting atop the headboard. "She's too important to all of us."
Willow fluttered blue sparkles over the pillows, but she'd helped Dax heal from the serpent's bite. Eddy figured she could afford to celebrate a bit.
Ed stood up. "I've got a pot roast in the Crock-Pot that's probably cooked itself into soup by now. Dax? Are you okay to come out to the kitchen for a meal?"
"I actually feel pretty good, thanks to Eddy." He swung his legs over the side of the bed and grabbed her hand.
Alton stood up and grabbed his sword. It didn't react to Dax at all. "I wonder if I'll ever figure this thing out?" He shook his head. "Ed, save me something for dinner. I want to go out and check the area before I eat. You guys go ahead."
In the kitchen, Eddy watched Alton slip into the harness that held his scabbard. He carefully sheathed the sword. "I'll be back in a while," he said. Then he quietly walked out the door and left them to their dinner.
Alton walked swiftly through the quiet neighborhoods, alert to the sounds of the night. He made a point of going by Ginny's house, but the shades were drawn, the lights out.
With luck, she'd be in Sedona by now, well away from whatever chaos occurred here in Evergreen. He gazed about, absorbing the sense of peace in the quiet streets and darkened homes. Homes filled with families, with mothers and children and fathers, older couples enjoying the later years of their lives, expecting a peaceful old age.
What if he and Dax failed? What if the gargoyle prevailed? What would happen if demonkind took over this peaceful town? If they eventually ruled this world? If the tipping point were reached in spite of everything they did to stop the creature?
What would happen to Lemuria? He might be an outcast there, but he still loved his people, his world. He'd expected to hear from Taron by now, but his friend's continued silence didn't bode well. Of course, with the elders capable of discussing even the simplest of questions for millennia, it was probably asking far too much to expect a decision on such a weighty topic in less than a week.
He heard a sound, as if someone walked through dry grass. Drawing his sword, Alton slowly turned to face the enemy.
He looked into the dark eyes of a large doe. Her speckled fawn stood beside her. Sighing Alton turned away and headed back to Ed's house. His sword glowed brightly, showing him the way.
Glowed but did not speak. Maybe it was all a myth, nothing more than mere legend. Maybe the swords had never spoken and he expected the impossible.
Or maybe, just maybe, he'd already failed. Maybe he didn't have what it took to be a warrior, to help Dax and Eddy save Earth from demonkind.
He paused and stared into the glowing crystal, but there were no answers in its shimmering depths. With a soft curse of pure disgust, Alton sheathed his sword. Then he walked swiftly through the darkness along the quiet road to Ed's house.
Eddy awoke with the unfamiliar sense that she was alone in the bed. She'd fallen asleep wrapped tightly in Dax's arms, well aware this was their last night together. Even more aware he was still not feeling a hundred percent after the attack by that damn serpent tattoo. She wondered if they'd have a chance to make love at least one more time before he was gone.
Then she wondered how it would happen. Would he just disappear? Would the body die and Dax's spirit go on to Eden? She hadn't even thought to ask him. Didn't really want to know.
She sat up in bed and glanced around the dark room. He wasn't in the bathroom. She got up, wrapped her robe around her light gown, and went down the hall toward the kitchen. The back door stood open to the cool night air.
Quietly, she slipped through the open door. Dax sat on top of the picnic table, staring into the darkness. His legs were folded, and his elbows rested on his knees. He wore nothing but a pair of boxer shorts against the cool air.
"Dax? Are you okay?" She slid her hands over his shoulders and leaned against his muscular back. He tilted his head back and smiled at her.
"I'm fine," he said. "Just needed a little time to think."
"About what?" She sat beside him on the edge of the table.
"You. Me. Tomorrow." He gazed off into the darkness and spoke softly. "Nothing has happened the way I expected. I didn't expect the demon to catch me unprepared. Didn't expect the spirit of the soldier who first owned this body to still be hanging around." He grinned and leaned against her shoulder. "Now that's an experience I'm still getting used to. I'm sensing him more every day. Maybe he wants his body back."
"Maybe he just wants to help?" She kissed his cheek.
"Actually, I think you're right, and I've grown to depend on his presence, and that of another as well. I didn't realize I'd still have part of my demon self to contend with, but he occasionally rears his head, especially when we make love."
He smiled into Eddy's wide-eyed look of surprise. "It's true. I've managed to keep him under control, but I don't stop him entirely." He leaned close and kissed her lips and trailed kisses along her jaw. "He's a much better lover than I am."
"I find that hard to believe." She tilted her throat to give him better access.
Dax kissed her again. "I didn't expect Alton or your dad, or Bumper. Didn't realize how fond I would become of Willow. When the Edenites first came to me, I figured this would be a simple job. A lot more exciting than mere existence in the void. I thought I'd come in, clean out the demons, and get my ticket straight to Paradise. It hasn't worked at all the way I planned."
"You'll get him tomorrow, Dax. I know you will."
He shook his head. "Eddy, he knows where you live. When I'm gone tomorrow, I can only hope and pray that Alton will stay here to protect you. I can't imagine Paradise as anything more than hell if I'm there and you're here---especially if you're in danger. Of all the surprises, you are the biggest one of all. I love you. I never understood what love was, and now all of a sudden it's the most important emotion I never had before. It's more important than doing my job, than spending eternity in Paradise. You're more important, but you're not one of the choices they've given me."
She ran her fingers through his dark hair. "No chance to choose what's behind door number three?"
Dax frowned. "I don't understand."
"Stupid game show on television." One more thing he'd never understand because he wouldn't be here long enough. She felt the tears threatening to choke her and swallowed them back. She wasn't going to cry. He didn't deserve the burden of her tears. Not on his last night and day of life on Earth.
She held his face in her hands. "Dax, I love you too. Don't worry about us. We'll be fine. You've done the best job you can, and you've still got tomorrow. You'll find the demon, and you'll get rid of him. I know you will."
She stood up and took his hand. "Come to bed. Make love to me. Let's spend what time we can doing things that will give us good memories to last." She tugged.
He gazed down at their entwined fingers and sighed. Then he untangled his long legs, slid off the table, and stood up. Eddy wrapped her arms around his waist and pressed her cheek to his chest, well aware it rested against the serpent.
One more day. He was going to be gone in one more day.
But we still have tonight. Eddy pulled slowly out of his embrace and, still holding his hand, led Dax to her bedroom.
Memories. It was all about making memories at this point, and she refused to think about tomorrow.
Saturday morning---day seven
The sun was high in the sky when Eddy awoke. Dax slept so soundly beside her that she had a moment of panic. Had they miscalculated his time left? Was his spirit already gone? She leaned over him to see if he still breathed.
His eyes popped open. She bit back a scream. "You're still here."
He frowned. "It's Saturday, isn't it? What time is it?" He sat up and leaned against the headboard, blinking himself awake.
Eddy snuggled against his side. "It's almost eight. We slept in."
He gave her a drowsy kiss. "That's because we had a busy night."
Eddy blushed. They'd definitely been busy. As proof, her body ached in places she wasn't normally all that aware of. Then reality came tumbling down, and she sighed. Would she ever awaken again with this marvelous sense of having been so well loved? She gazed at Dax, at the dark shadow covering his jaw, the sleepy smile on his face, and couldn't imagine ever loving anyone the way she loved him.
And there wasn't a damned thing she could do to change that. She kissed him hard. Then she spun around, and her feet hit the floor. "I need a shower," she said. She glanced over her shoulder. "Want to join me?"
He nodded, still smiling at her. Then he followed her into the bathroom.
Alton greeted them when they walked into the kitchen a little while later. He sat with the Sacramento newspaper and a cup of steaming coffee. Dax poured himself a cup and one for Eddy and joined them at the table. "Where's Ed?"
Alton glanced at the clock. "He's in the tub. It helped him yesterday so he's soaking again this morning." He folded the newspaper and set it aside. "Still nothing in the Bee." He frowned and gazed around the room. "Where's Willow?"
Dax glanced up. "Isn't she with you?"
Alton shook his head. "No. She didn't sleep in my room last night. I just figured she'd chosen to stay with you for your last night. She didn't?"
Dax shook his head and turned to Eddy.
"I haven't seen her." She whistled for Bumper. The dog trotted into the kitchen. "Bumper? Where's Willow? Have you seen Willow?"
Bumper whined. Alton turned to Dax and said, "You don't really think the dog understands her, do you?"
"She does when Willow's around to help her. Willow? Are you here?" Dax shoved his chair back. He hadn't thought of her once during the night. He'd only thought of Eddy, of how much he loved her. How much he was going to miss her. Now where the hell was Willow?
He went to the back door and opened it. There was no way she could have gotten outside. Even with all her abilities, she still needed an open door or window to get in and out of the house.
He glanced up at one of Ed's decorative birdhouses that was nailed to the back porch. Willow's tiny blond head appeared in the round opening. She slipped out and sat on the perch in front of the house. There were no blue sparkles, and her tiny wings drooped.
"Willow!" Dax reached up and held out his hand. She crawled into his palm and curled up as if she was totally exhausted. Frowning, Dax carried her into the kitchen. "She must have gotten locked out last night, but how?" He sat down at the table with Willow cradled in his palm. "Willow? What happened."
Slowly, she roused herself and stood up. Dax heard her musical voice in his head.
I searched for the demon most of the night. I should have told you, but you probably wouldn't have let me go.
"You're right. Willow, you're exhausted!"
I'll be okay with a little rest. She held her chin up and planted her hands on her hips. A very pale blue glow outlined her tiny figure. I found him. His wing is completely healed. He's up on the mountain, inside, working on a passageway to Abyss. He needs more demons if he's to grow stronger, but he won't be able to complete the portal until late tonight or early tomorrow. That is where you'll find him.
"How long do you need to rest, little one? I never would have thought to hunt him there. You've done a very brave thing."
Blue pulsed brighter around her. A few hours, she said. Then she zipped off of his hand and found her favorite spot in a nest of blond curls on Bumper's head.
Dax turned to Eddy. "Did you hear what Willow said?"
"I did. I can't believe that little thing flew all that way alone. What are we going to do?"
With a thoughtful look on his face, Alton watched Willow settle herself. "We need a plan," he said. "One that will not fail." He gazed at Dax and then at Eddy. "This is our last chance to go after the creature with a united front. We can't afford failure."
Ed stepped into the kitchen, walking carefully but without his cane. "What's up?" He poured himself a cup of coffee.
Dax explained. Then he asked, "Do you think you can drive?"
Ed nodded. "I do. I'm sore, but nothing like I was yesterday. I doubt I can hike very far, though."
"Not necessary," Dax said. "You've got a weapon---a shotgun, I think it's called. I want you to take it with you, along with plenty of shells. Eddy, you've got your bat, and you've got Bumper. The dog has no fear of the demon. If we set her free to go after the creature as soon as we find it, it might be distracted enough for Alton and me to get closer. Alton's crystal sword might not be talking to him, but it's quit trying to kill me."
Alton laughed. "Last night it definitely wanted a taste of the gargoyle. I think it's decided you're one of the good guys. That's a good thing."
"A very good thing." Dax smiled at him, and a wave of emotion almost brought him to tears. He would miss Alton terribly. A good friend, a powerful warrior, an honorable man. The gods had been smiling on him when he'd found Alton in Lemuria. He swallowed and took a deep, steadying breath. "As soon as Willow's rested enough and can start channeling energy, we're going after the demon."
It took much longer than he'd expected. It was late afternoon before Willow finally regained her energy and they loaded into the Jeep for the ride up the mountain. It was dusk by the time Ed parked the vehicle beneath a small copse of shrubs and stunted trees, but he'd driven them as high as he could possibly go. Once the tires began slipping on the loose scree, it was time to continue on foot.
Dax climbed out of the Jeep and stopped beside Ed. "You've got the spotlight and the shotgun. Stay alert. If the thing tries to get away from us, it'll probably come this way. Hopefully it will be wounded and weak." He rested a hand on Ed's shoulder with the realization he might never see the man again.
"It's a double-barreled twelve gauge. I'll let the damned thing have it with both barrels. You can count on me, Dax. Good luck."
"Be careful, Daddy." Eddy leaned over and kissed him.
Ed kissed her back. "You haven't called me 'Daddy' in a long time. You be careful too, sweetie. Don't take any chances."
She laughed and swung her bat over her shoulder. "It's a little late for that, don't you think?"
"It was too late about the time you turned twelve and started hitting the ball out of the park. Good luck."
Dax refused to look back, but he held Ed's words close to his heart. Good luck. He hadn't had much good luck hunting the demon this past week. It was about time for his luck to change.
It was almost dark on the dormant volcano by the time Dax stopped and put a finger to his lips. "There," he said, pointing to the now-familiar pile of rocks. "I don't see him outside. He must be within the vortex."
Alton studied the surrounding area. "Let's hope he hasn't completed a new gateway to Abyss."
"Wouldn't there be signs of demons if he had?" Eddy leaned on her bat. "There's no scent of sulfur at all. The air smells clear."
"You're right. Okay...we need to go in together." Dax glanced at Alton. "I would imagine he's trying to repair the passage you destroyed, rather than attempting to create a new one."
"I agree. That puts him just beyond the entrance. When we pass through the portal, be ready to move quickly." Alton unsheathed his sword.
Dax laughed. "I still don't trust that thing."
Alton nodded. "The important thing is, it's obviously decided to trust you."
Dax agreed with a quick jerk of his head. He took Eddy's hand in his. Willow snuggled down deep in his shirt pocket. Alton leaned over and removed Bumper's leash and stuck it in his pocket. He held on to the dog's collar with his free hand.
The three of them exchanged glances, and once again Dax felt the tide of emotion wash through him. They trusted him. In spite of his failings, they still looked to him as their leader.
He would not disappoint them. Not this time. With a deep, steadying breath and Eddy's hand held tightly in his, Dax stepped through the portal.
Ignoring the brief sense of disorientation, Eddy immediately turned loose of Dax's hand and crouched low the moment she entered the cavern. She moved to one side as they spread out, according to plan.
The gargoyle spun around. Obviously it hadn't been expecting them. Bumper didn't make a sound when Alton released her. She merely launched her curly blond body like a guided missile, straight for the gargoyle.
Willow'd been right. The creature's wing was entirely healed, but here, inside the cavern, there was no room to spread them, no way for it to do anything but turn and fight with teeth and claws.
Bumper didn't bite. She threw her solid body directly at the gargoyle's knees. One buckled, and the creature slipped as it tried to regain its balance.
Eddy stayed back to give Alton and Dax the freedom to use their weapons. Alton swung his sword. The gargoyle feinted, moving faster than a creature his size should be able to move. The blade left a shallow cut in its shoulder, but Bumper latched on to a rear leg as Dax threw a barrage of flame. The gargoyle let out a horrifying scream and dove straight for Eddy.
She stepped aside, swung her bat, and connected solidly with the creature's left arm. There was a resounding crack and another satisfying scream. Eddy ducked and rolled across the uneven ground as the gargoyle spun around and came at her with jaws gaping wide.
The quarters were too tight for Alton to swing his sword, but he resorted to short, sharp jabs that penetrated deep. Dax measured the use of his burning and freezing, using his powers to herd the creature out of the corners and into the center of the cavern, where Alton had room to swing his sword to his best advantage.
Willow buzzed about in a shower of blue sparkles, careful to avoid the green blood oozing from numerous wounds on the infuriated gargoyle. Dax hit the blood with flame, incinerating it where it fell. Bumper backed off and resorted to barking and growling. The deafening cacophony echoed off the cavern walls.
Eddy dodged a swipe of the gargoyle's talons, and then another. It had chosen her as a target, obviously hoping to draw Dax's attention, but fear lent her speed. Twisting, turning, and rolling, she stayed out of reach of its sharp claws.
Bleeding profusely, screaming in rage, the beast lunged past Eddy with Bumper at its heels and burst out of the vortex through the portal.
Dax grabbed Eddy's hand while Alton hung on to Bumper, and they followed the gargoyle out into the night. Full darkness had fallen, but red, glowing eyes glared at them. Labored breathing echoed on the still night air, and the sound of leathery wingtips dragging over the rocky ground had a hollow, almost drumlike quality.
Alton didn't pause. He materialized out of the rock, released his hold on Bumper, and charged the gargoyle. Swinging his crystal sword, he aimed for the creature's neck. The gargoyle raised one clawed arm and grabbed the sword in its powerful fist.
Two long, bony fingers tipped with razor-sharp claws dropped to the ground when Alton pulled the sword free. Trumpeting its anger, the gargoyle launched itself into the air. Its mighty wings stretched out, knocking Eddy to the ground as it coasted down the mountain, riding the wind currents.
"It's headed straight for Dad." Eddy didn't even pause. She leapt to her feet and took off running down the rubble-strewn hillside. Dax, Alton, and Bumper followed close behind, slipping and sliding in their haste to reach Ed and the Jeep.
An explosion echoed off the mountain. "Both barrels," Alton said, racing on ahead of Eddy. Dax grabbed her arm as they made the trip down in a fraction of the time it had taken them to climb the same distance.
Another loud bang, closer this time. Obviously the first shots hadn't stopped the thing. Dax let go of Eddy's hand and raced on ahead.
Pale moonlight illuminated the area where Ed had parked. The Jeep lay on its side. There was no sign of Ed. Dax thought he must be hiding behind the wreck. He hoped the man wasn't under it.
Alton followed the gargoyle. He'd landed a few minor hits, but every time he went for the kill, the creature eluded the shimmering blade. The gargoyle stalked the Jeep, bleeding now from a dozen wounds. The grass and weeds beneath his feet sizzled and smoked wherever drops of blood landed. Dax raised his hands and threw a column of fire.
The gargoyle turned around and snarled. Then it said, very clearly, "Die."
Sentience. Speech. There was no doubt the thing grew stronger by the day. More dangerous. It had to be destroyed. Now. The image of the machine-gun nest filled his mind, along with the knowledge that both he and the gargoyle would die today.
Dax pulled more energy from Willow. Power surged through him and erupted from his fingertips in wave after wave of fire, searing the creature with roiling flames that rolled off its grotesque body.
A few small trees and shrubs burst into flame, lighting the darkness. The cursed tattoo slithered to life, beginning its writhing dance across his flesh. Dax ignored it. He felt Willow's strength falter. He called on her for more. Somehow, she gave it.
Eddy arrived, gasping and out of breath, but she circled around behind Dax to get to Ed. Alton moved into position beside Dax, sword in hand, ready to strike.
Bumper growled but stayed back, out of the way of the fire. The serpent pulsed against Dax's body, and agony ripped through him as it pulled itself free. The tongue slashed beneath his chin. He had mere seconds before the snake buried its fangs in his throat.
Then he felt Eddy's hands grabbing the serpent. She stood behind him with her arms around his body, holding the snake, preventing it from attacking.
Protected now for however long she could hold it back, Dax continued throwing flame at the gargoyle. It had almost doubled in size since the day before, and like a giant living torch, it lunged toward him.
Alton leaped forward and swung his sword, but the creature knocked it aside, twisted around, and landed fully on Alton, crushing the Lemurian to the ground beneath his huge body. Then, moving almost too quickly to follow, it leapt to its feet, reached up, and snatched Willow out of the air. Huge talons impaled and crushed her tiny body. Her blue sparkles disappeared. Dax's flames died.
The gargoyle popped the sprite into his mouth, chewed obscenely, and swallowed. Eddy cried out in protest, but she still held on to the serpent as Dax backed them both away. Another loud shot rang out. Ed leaned against the side of the Jeep and fumbled with the spent casings as he struggled to reload the shotgun.
He'd obviously aimed wide to draw the creature's attention. It worked all too well. With its leathery hide smoking but no longer flaming, the gargoyle launched itself at Ed before he could reload. Dax pulled out of Eddy's grasp and raced after the gargoyle.
He had no weapons, and he sensed that his time was almost over, but he was sure he had what he needed: focus and his will to complete his mission, to save Ed Marks. To leave Eddy in a safer world. He threw himself at the gargoyle and landed on its back between the huge wings. The creature's hide was slippery with its corrosive blood, and it burned through Dax's clothing and into his skin.
Bumper rushed at the creature and sunk her teeth into its back leg, biting deep in spite of the burning blood. The gargoyle kicked hard, and Bumper went flying. Her body bounced off a stunted tree and lay still.
Flames still flickered from a few burning trees and shrubs, but in their wavering light, Dax couldn't tell if the dog lived or died. The serpent on his body came to life once more as he wrapped his arms around the gargoyle's throat. Ignoring the slithering reptile, Dax squeezed with all the strength left in him.
It wasn't enough. The gargoyle reached around and plucked him off its back as if he were nothing more than a nuisance. A very small nuisance. It held him high, staring into Dax's eyes with much more intelligence than Dax ever expected the creature to possess. The cursed tattoo chose that precise moment to sink its fangs deep into Dax's throat. Agony seared his flesh. Corrosive venom poured into the big vein in his neck.
Then the gargoyle lifted him high in its powerful talons and twisted his body, snapping bone and tearing muscle.
Dax winked out.
"No!" Eddy screamed. Dax hit the rocky ground in a twisted, bloody heap. He lay without moving. The gargoyle ignored Eddy completely and turned its attention back to her father. She looked to her right, to Alton for help. He lay still, either unconscious or dead, barely visible in the flickering light from a few burning shrubs. Bumper had stopped barking. Eddy couldn't see her anywhere. It was too dark.
But she could see the crystal sword. It lay beneath Alton's body, glowing brightly. He'd warned her not to touch it. Had told her she could be killed if she ever tried to wield it.
At this point, she didn't give a damn.
She'd lost her bat when she'd tried to quell the cursed serpent on Dax's chest. Now she reached for the crystal sword. She wrapped her fingers around the jeweled hilt, surprised by the perfect fit. She tugged, and it slipped from beneath Alton's body, lighter than she'd expected.
She spun around, held it high, and raced toward the gargoyle. The creature hovered over her father, arms spread wide and talons extended as Ed crouched down low beside the wrecked Jeep. He grasped the useless shotgun in both hands like a club.
Eddy didn't pause, didn't take time to think. She merely leapt at the gargoyle to gain the height she needed, and swung the crystal sword.
It made a clean pass through the thick neck and came out the other side. The creature's head wobbled a moment, and then toppled neatly to the ground as Eddy collapsed beside it. She didn't have either the energy or the will to go after the thick, sulfurous mist that poured out of the body and disappeared into the night.
A body that shattered into fragments of stone and toppled to the ground.
Dax blinked and saw nothing. Felt nothing. No heartbeat. No need to breathe. Darkness was absolute, silence complete.
Damn. He recognized this place. He was back in the void.
He'd failed. He searched memories and realized the last thing he recalled was the horrible pain when the serpent sunk its venomous fangs into his throat and the gargoyle mangled his human body. The body he no longer had.
If he could have, he would have sighed. When he failed, he did one hell of a job. No chance at Paradise now. No opportunity to tell Eddy again how much he loved her. At least he had his memories, but time had no meaning here, and he'd brought fear with him, too. Was Eddy okay? Had she escaped the gargoyle? And what of Alton? Was he killed when the creature crushed him?
And Willow. Poor Willow. Gone. What a horrible end to a loyal and faithful friend.
He wanted to weep, but there were no tears. Not here.
He sensed change. Darkness, and then light, swirled about him, and he was back in his borrowed body, healed now, sitting at a long table surrounded by men in white robes. Blinking, he gazed at the silent faces until he saw one that stopped him cold. It was his own face, smiling back at him.
"It's you," he said, recognizing the soldier. Sensing his familiar aura of courage. His focus.
The man nodded. "Yes," he said. "Thank you. You fought bravely and with honor. Because of you, I've gained Paradise."
"Because of me?"
"Because of you."
His image faded and was gone. And just as quickly, Dax sensed the void in himself, the space the other had occupied. It wasn't painful, and there was no sense of loss, but he knew he was alone now in this body that was suddenly all his.
But why? There was no need of a body in the void. He raised his head, and his gaze connected with the man sitting closest to him. Though he'd never seen him before, it was a face he recognized. Somehow, he knew the white-haired gentleman was one of the elders who had offered him the chance to battle demons on Earth.
Was it only a week ago?
"We have made a terrible mistake," the man said. "Because of our error, you failed. It was not your fault. It was ours." He bowed his head. Then he raised it again and once more looked at Dax. "To atone for our wrong, we offer you eternity in Eden. You are welcome in Paradise, even though you've not completed your part of the bargain. It's only fair."
A mistake? "What kind of mistake?" Dax met the eyes of each man at the long table. Every one of them looked away. Suddenly his mind was spinning. He felt hope. Unbelievable but true.
"What if I said I had already found Paradise?" Heads turned in his direction, and he forced each man to make eye contact. "What if I were to ask you for something else to ease your troubled souls?" He put his hands on the table and smiled at all of them, well aware of the feral quality in his eyes. Focus, he thought. It's all about focus. "Gentlemen? Are you at all interested in a deal?"
Eddy sat beside Dax's body and held his cold hand in hers. Though he'd died horribly, he actually had a peaceful expression on his face. There were two deep puncture wounds in his throat, and his back had been badly twisted, but Alton had helped her straighten him out so that now he looked merely asleep.
Asleep. Not dead. She'd run her fingers through his thick hair and straightened the tangled strands. She'd used her dad's clean handkerchief dipped in some of her bottled water to wash the soot and blood off of him.
She glanced up as Alton walked out of the darkness, carrying Bumper. "Oh." Eddy's free hand went to her lips. She was not going to cry. "Is she...?"
"She's alive. Still a little stunned, but she was trying to get up and walk." Alton sat down beside them and set Bumper on the grass beside Dax. She rested her chin on his chest and sighed.
Ed sat down beside Eddy. "I've looked all over and can't find a trace of Willow. I was hoping I was wrong, that I didn't really see her die, but I can't find her."
Eddy wiped her hand across her eyes. None of this seemed real. She glanced over her shoulder, just to make sure the gargoyle was really dead. The crumbled pile of stone hadn't moved. "It hasn't sunk in yet, what's happened." She ran her fingers through Dax's hair again. "I keep thinking he'll wake up and tell me there was a big mistake, that he's okay."
She laughed and sniffed back a sob. She'd promised herself she wasn't going to cry when he was gone, but damn, it was hard. "The demon's not dead, you know. I blew it. I had the sword, and I saw the mist escape, but I just couldn't get to it."
Alton wrapped his big hand under her chin and turned her face to his. "You saved all of us, Eddy. You managed to do what none of us could---you destroyed the demon's avatar and sent him back to Abyss. Yeah, he may return, but we're still alive to fight. We wouldn't be, without your bravery."
"Thank you. I just...I wanted to do it for Dax. I wanted him to succeed at his mission. That was all he asked for, to complete his mission with honor."
She wanted to lie down beside his still body and hold him until he was warm again. It didn't feel right, that he should be so cold and still. She touched his throat, slipped her hand beneath his shirt, and wondered if the curse had died along with Dax.
For some reason, she needed to know. She unbuttoned the top buttons on his flannel shirt. There was no sign of the snake's head. Frowning, she undid the rest of the buttons, all the way to his waistband.
"Eddy? What are you doing?" Ed gently rubbed her shoulder.
She shoved the flannel shirt open and ran her fingertips over the fresh colors across his chest. The snake was gone. In its place was a new tattoo, some sort of a bird. She wasn't sure what it was. "Alton? Dad? Do you recognize this?"
Alton nodded. "It looks like a phoenix. The symbol of rebirth. But how...?"
Eddy felt the tears come. This time she didn't try to stop them. "Don't you see?" she sobbed. "It means he made it. He got into Eden. He's been reborn in Paradise." She grabbed his hand again, and she could have sworn it felt warmer. He'd made it. Thank goodness he'd gotten his dream.
Bumper whined. Alton ran his hand along her rumpled coat. "You okay, girl? You took quite a wallop when you hit that tree. I bet you're a little sore."
I'm okay, but the demon ate my body. I think I'm stuck in Bumper for good.
"Willow?" The familiar flutelike voice filled Eddy's mind. She snapped her head around and stared at Alton, who looked right back at her with a stupid grin on his face. Then she stared at Bumper. "Is that you?"
It's me. I got my consciousness free just in time to hide in Bumper, but I have no body to return to. Bumper says she'll share. She doesn't mind.
Eddy heard what could only be a sigh.
I've always liked Bumper. At least I'm still a blonde. And Eddy, Dax is back!
Stunned, Eddy looked at Dax's hand. She'd been so sure the phoenix meant he'd made it into Paradise, but...did his hand really feel warmer, or was that her imagination?
She stared at his throat. The puncture wounds were gone. A pulse beat, slow and steady. "Dax? Dax, wake up." She leaned over him, crawled across him, straddled his body, and held both his hands against her breasts.
"Eddy? He's not..."
"Yes he is, Dad. Yes. He is." She leaned down and kissed his perfect lips.
He kissed her back. She burst into tears. She felt his hands come up around her back, felt the steady beat of his heart beneath her chest, and cried even harder.
Bumper barked and licked his face. Alton sat beside them with tears streaming from his eyes, and Ed just sat back and grinned. Still sobbing, Eddy scooted down Dax's legs and helped him sit up. He folded her in his arms and rested his cheek against the top of her head.
Finally, she managed to get herself under control. "What happened? I thought you were dead. I saw the gargoyle literally break your body; the snake had his fangs in your throat. Damn you, Dax! You scared me to death!"
"I'm sorry, Eddy." He kissed her. "But you'll never guess what happened."
Alton rested his hand on Dax's shoulder. "Whatever it was, I'm glad you're back."
"Me too, son." Ed handed him a bottle of fresh water, and Dax took a long swallow. "Now tell us what the hell happened."
"They made a mistake."
Eddy burst out laughing. "I was sitting here thinking you couldn't be dead, that someone must have made a mistake."
Dax hugged her. "You were right. We haven't been fighting a typical demon. I told you I was kicked out of Abyss because I was too good to be a demon. Well, our demon was originally from Eden. He was banished because he was evil, sent into the void. The same way I was recruited by folks from Eden, he was recruited by leaders of Abyss---leaders I didn't even know existed. He lost much of his intelligence in the transition, but he gains it back the longer he's on Earth, and he does get his strength from the demons he devours. The Edenites' mistake was in sending me against him unprepared. They didn't expect the curse, and they didn't know I'd have more to fight than the usual run-of-the-mill demons. Sending me in woefully unprepared was their fault. They're the good guys, and they're not supposed to make mistakes like that. They were willing to deal."
Eddy couldn't stop touching him. She finally contented herself with slipping her hands inside his shirt against warm, living flesh, and hugging him close. "So, what's the deal?"
Dax kissed the top of her head. "They offered me eternity in Eden, even though I failed my mission. I got my shot at Paradise."
Eddy frowned. "But you're..."
"I turned them down."
"What?" She reared back and gaped at him.
He smiled at her and ran his fingers down her cheek. "I told them I'd found my own paradise with you, Eddy Marks. Nothing else could compare." He kissed her lips. "They sent me back to continue the fight. I still have my demon powers, plus a few I've yet to discover, only now they're in the tattoo of the phoenix. Because this body is mine eternally, I can use them without Willow's help."
He ran his fingers through Bumper's curly coat. "I'm still going to need you, Willow. Both of you." He stroked Bumper's ears. Then he raised his head and turned his focus on Eddy, even though she knew he spoke to all of them. "It's not going to be easy, and I told them I couldn't do it without my warriors. I made a huge decision without consulting you, and I don't know if it can be undone if you don't agree, but I did the best I could. I've got immortality for you and Bumper, and for me."
He glanced at her dad. "I tried, Ed. I think you've got a new hip, but I couldn't swing the rest. I'm sorry."
Ed shook his head and grinned. "I wondered why the pain went away. Thank you. Don't worry, son. I've got a damned good life. I'll leave immortality to you kids."
Dax nodded. He ran his hand through Bumper's curly coat. "I know you're in there, Willow, and it was the best I could do once your body was gone. You're tied to my mortality and would have ended when I did. This way you're part of our team, but you're stuck in Bumper. I hope it's okay."
Bumper sat up and barked. Her tail went like a metronome set to a polka. There's got to be a better way to communicate, Willow said. Then she barked again.
The sun was rising before they felt rested enough and ready to head back to town. Alton and Dax eyed the Jeep. It wasn't damaged, merely tipped over. "Do you think we can right it?" Dax checked the ground beneath the downhill side. At least the gargoyle, in his fury, had pushed it uphill when he'd rolled the thing over.
"We can try." Alton took his sword out of the scabbard and set it on the ground. He and Dax each grabbed an end of the Jeep and shoved. It rocked back and forth. Then with grunts and groans and straining muscles, the two men managed to right the vehicle.
Blowing hard from the effort, Dax stepped back and grinned. "That's good. I really didn't want to walk all the way back."
Ed laughed. "I didn't want to pay the fine for leaving a vehicle up here when they're not allowed on this part of the mountain in the first place."
Eddy wrapped her fingers around Dax's. It was almost impossible to let go.
Alton leaned over to pick up his sword and very softly said, "Nine hells."
"What's the matter?" Dax spun around as Alton reached down and lifted two identical swords off the ground.
"I've heard of this, but never seen it. The sword replicated itself." He held both of them out, spinning and twisting each. "I can't tell which one is mine."
"I am, you fool."
"Holy shit." Alton stared at the sword in his right hand. "You talked."
"You've been wanting me to all along. So what's the problem?
"But you never said a word. Why now?" Alton shot a quick glance at Dax, Eddy, and her dad, and then stared wide-eyed at the sword.
"I had nothing to say. You managed to figure things out without conversation, but the least you could do is learn to recognize me. Have a little respect."
"Okay." Alton shook his head and took a deep breath. "Then explain why there are now two of you."
There was a long silence. "There are three, actually. I am HellFire. DemonFire, in your left hand, is my twin. He belongs to Dax."
Alton frowned. He handed the sword to Dax, who very gingerly wrapped his hand around the hilt. He stared at the crystal blade, studying its length and width, testing the balance. "Where's the third?" he asked.
His new sword answered formally, in a voice completely unlike Alton's sword. "It was born of the first," it said. "We are three."
"It's here." Eddy pointed to the spot on the ground where the other two had been. A third sword, identical in every way except for its smaller size, lay shining in the dirt. Like filings to a magnet, she felt drawn to it. Very carefully, Eddy reached down and picked it up.
The jeweled hilt fit perfectly into her palm. She held it up and turned it in the morning light so that the sun slanted through the crystal blade. It threw a multicolored rainbow against Bumper's curly coat.
"I am DemonSlayer."
The sword's voice was decidedly feminine. Awestruck, Eddy raised her eyes and stared at Dax. "That was the name Taron gave to you," she said.
Dax wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her close for a long kiss. "True. But it's the name you earned, Eddy Marks. I'm afraid it's one we'll all have to continue earning until we defeat the demon threat."
Eddy gazed at him. She not only had Dax back, she had him for all time. She wrapped her fingers in his and raised her sword. Dax raised his, and Alton held his high. The three of them touched the tips together, and a brilliant light flashed where they met.
There was no need for words, no oath they had to swear. It was there---in their hearts, in their hands, in the stone remnants that had once been a gargoyle born of demonkind, now lying in a pile of rubble on the side of Mount Shasta.
They lowered their swords and turned their backs on the remnants of the gargoyle. Then with Ed at the wheel, Alton riding shotgun, and Eddy, Bumper, and Dax in the tiny backseat, they headed down the mountain to town.
If you enjoyed DEMONFIRE,don't miss Kate Douglas's
HELLFIRE.
Read on for a special previewof this next thrilling paranormal romancein the DemonSlayers series.
A Zebra paperback on sale in September 2010.
Ginny Jones wrapped a clean kitchen towel around her torn fingers and glared at the screeching cat she'd finally managed to shove into the carrier.
Her cousin Markus leaned over her shoulder and sighed. "Poor Tom. I sure hope he's not rabid."
"No shit, Sherlock." She glanced at the blood-soaked towel and then at Markus. "And what do you mean, poor Tom? Did you see what that cat of yours did to my hand?"
Markus shook his head, sending his long dreads flying. "I don't understand. Tom's a sweetheart. He's never even scratched anyone, much less bitten before."
"Tell that to your neighbor. She's going to need stitches in her leg, not to mention what he did to my hand. C'mon. We need to get him to the vet so they can quarantine him before animal control shows up, or they might just take him and put him down."
Markus grabbed the keys off the hook by the back door and picked up the carrier. Tom screeched, a long, low banshee wail that sent goose bumps racing along Ginny's arms and raised the tiny hairs on the back of her neck. Tom didn't sound anything like any cat she'd ever heard. Why did that screech sound so eerily familiar?
Like it was skirting with the edges of her memory?
She stared at Tom glaring back at her through the bars of the carrier, but nothing clicked. She'd never seen a cat with eyes like his. They flashed blood red. When he snarled, she was almost certain he had extra rows of teeth.
She shivered again and wrapped her arms around herself. Beyond weird. Everything about the stupid cat was freaking her out. Frowning, Ginny followed Markus at a safe distance through the back door to the garage and watched while he stowed the sturdy carrier in the backseat of the Camry.
Tom howled again. Ginny shook her head. "I don't like this one bit. Shouldn't we maybe put him in the trunk?"
Markus ignored her suggestion and got into the driver's seat. "Get in. No cat of mine rides in the trunk."
Ginny stared at the red-eyed cat. Tom returned her stare.
Markus glared at her. "You scared of a cat? Cripes, Ginny. Get in."
She took a deep breath. The last thing she needed was to look like a coward in front of her baby cousin. "Well, if he gets loose from the carrier, you're putting him back in---and I'm outta here. I've bled enough for the cause." Ginny slammed the door and reached for her seat belt, wondering for the hundredth time what she was doing visiting her cousins in Sedona anyway. It wasn't like they were all that close, but for some reason she'd gotten a wild hair, packed her bags and headed to Arizona without any plans or advance notice at all.
So far, her timing sucked. She'd barely parked the rental at her aunt's house when the shit hit the fan. Old Tom, the fattest, laziest-looking cat she'd ever seen, had suddenly launched his porky butt off Aunt Betty's front porch, screaming like the devil was on his tail.
He'd practically flown over the six-foot hedge separating Aunt Betty's house from the one next door. Every hair stood on end and he looked like a flying fur ball with fangs. He'd gone straight for the poor neighbor lady who was just getting out of her car with her arms loaded with groceries.
The bags had gone one way, the woman the other, but Tom latched on to her left leg and buried his teeth deep. It had taken both Markus and Ginny to pull the cat off the poor woman, and then he'd taken off, still screaming. Aunt Betty freaked out, grabbed the two little ones, and as far as Ginny knew, she was still hiding in the bedroom with the kids.
Markus with typical teenaged thinking had gone after the cat with a big bass net like it was a four-legged fish. Ginny'd been the one who finally cornered Tom against the fence, but he'd gotten her good with claws and teeth before she managed to shove him in the carrier and latch the damned thing.
Not quite the entrance she'd imagined on the flight from Sacramento to Phoenix. If she had to go through a course of rabies shots, she was going to kill Markus, and anyone else who gave her grief.
Like Alton. Especially Alton.
Now why in the hell would she be thinking of her friend Eddy Marks's tall, drop-dead gorgeous, egotistical jackass college buddy Alton? They'd barely met, though for some reason Ginny kept associating him with her being here in Sedona, which made no sense whatsoever.
Neither did the fact he'd kissed her the first time she saw him. For some reason, her memories of that kiss were all fuzzy, but she knew they'd locked lips, if only for a moment.
And very nice lips they were, in spite of his bossy attitude. He was a spectacular kisser. She remembered that much, but little else.
Like why. She couldn't recall anything leading up to the kiss, or even what happened directly after. This wasn't like her. Not at all, but confusing memories of Alton were all jumbled up with boarding a plane for Phoenix and grabbing a rental car for the drive across the desert to Sedona.
And now she was headed to the local vet with a crazy cat, her crazier kid cousin, and a hand that was bleeding through the dish towel she'd wrapped around the scratches.
If this was a vacation, she'd definitely had better.
"Is it always this busy?" Ginny rewrapped the towel around her hand while Markus drove around the block again, looking for a parking place. All the slots at the vet's clinic were taken and there wasn't a single empty spot along the road.
Markus shook his head. "Never. Especially on a Saturday morning."
He finally pulled into the parking lot in front of a grocery store a block away. "I'll carry the cat." He glanced at Ginny and seemed to notice the blood-soaked rag for the first time. "Is that still bleeding?"
"Yes, it's still bleeding. Your sweetheart of a cat nailed me good." She got out of the car and started walking toward the clinic. Markus fell into step beside her with the carrier clutched in one hand. Tom had quit screeching, but his incessant growling and snarling was almost as bad.
Markus was big for eighteen---at least six foot six with broad shoulders and legs like tree trunks. As tall as she was, Ginny had to look up at him. He might not be the sharpest tack in the box, but she figured if he couldn't protect her from a stupid cat, no one could.
Though, come to think of it, she was the one bleeding, not her cousin. She was still thinking along those lines when Markus grabbed the door to the clinic and held it open for her. Ginny stepped into total pandemonium.
The small clinic reeked of sulfur, which made no sense at all. Usually vet clinics smelled like cat pee. This one was filled with crying kids, screeching animals---most of them in cages, thank goodness---and a couple of staff members who looked as if they were ready to run and hide. Ginny turned and looked at her cousin.
Markus stared wide-eyed at a large cage holding a big blue macaw. The bird spread its beak wide and screeched. It sounded just like Tom. Markus swallowed with an audible gulp. Ginny took a closer look at the macaw. Teeth. Rows and rows of teeth.
Now, she was no expert, but she'd never heard of birds with teeth. Ginny blinked and refocused, but the macaw's mouth was still filled with way too many razor-sharp teeth. A sharp yip caught her attention and she glanced down at a scrawny little Chihuahua that was, thankfully, wearing a muzzle.
More teeth. Not just sharp doggy fangs, but rows of shiny, razor-sharp teeth filled the little mutt's mouth. A lop-eared bunny in a cat carrier just like Tom's snarled and hissed and curled its lips back. More teeth. Every single animal in the clinic looked like something out of a cheap horror film, all of them snarling and screeching and trying to take bites with mouths filled with way too many rows of sharp teeth.
And just like that, her memories crashed back into her head. The big concrete bear chasing her that night back home in Evergreen, her best friend Eddy's dad, Ed Marks, and Alton---though she hadn't known him then, that tall, good-looking friend of Eddy's from college---rushing out of the darkness and attacking the impossible creature, saving her life.
She saw it like a movie on fast-forward---Alton carrying a huge sword made of glass or crystal, jabbing it into the concrete bear like the thing was made of butter. Jumping up on the creature's back, riding it like a bucking bronco, with the bear screeching and wailing.
Screeching and wailing, just like the animals here, in the veterinarian's clinic.
Ginny sucked in a breath as images flowed into her mind. Alton lopping off the concrete bear's head with a powerful swing of his sword, the crystal blade flashing by in a slashing arc.
The bear crumbling, just turning into a pile of rocks and dust and sulfuric stink, like it had never been alive at all. And the smell. That horrible stench.
Just like this vet clinic in Sedona.
She remembered Alton and Ed walking her home. How could she have forgotten that night? That was the night Alton kissed her! A girl didn't forget a night like that. It made no sense at all.
Except she was remembering, now. Remembering it as clearly as if it had just happened. The bear, the battle...Alton's lips. Oh Lordy...his lips, warm and full and so sweet, pressed against hers, moving over her mouth in a whisper of sensation and seduction.
The noise, the screeching animals, the stinky veterinarian's clinic all faded away as Ginny pressed her fingertips against her lips and let the memories flow.
There'd been another night, too. She blinked as it came into focus. Just the two of them, walking arm in arm down the street to her house, standing on her front porch. She was thinking of inviting Alton in. He'd been just as bossy and arrogant as the first time they'd met, but she'd laughed with him, too, and even though they'd only met the night he'd saved her life, he was really very nice under all that bluster.
How could she forget that he'd offered to stay the night on her front porch? Offered to protect her. That was sweet, even though she didn't need any protection. Not in her little town of Evergreen on the slopes of Mount Shasta. Safest place in the world.
She remembered saying good night and for some reason she'd kissed his cheek when she'd really wanted nothing more than to drag him inside and take him straight to her bedroom. Her toes actually tingled, remembering. Her womb felt heavy, her breasts full, recalling now how she'd gone in alone and closed the door. Leaned against it, thinking of Alton. Hearing his voice.
Hearing his voice? How could she have forgotten his voice in her head, that sexy whisper...giving her orders?
Damn it all!
Telling me to come to Sedona.
Ginny clenched her hands into fists and bit back a scream that would probably have shut up every screeching animal in the room. It was Alton's fault! Somehow he'd hypnotized her. That had to be it. He'd hypnotized her and made her forget the bear and his kiss and...
She growled. The macaw shut its big mouth and stared at her, but all Ginny could see was Alton. That insufferable jackass had sent her here. He'd saved her from a bear made of concrete with rows of razor-sharp teeth, a bear that couldn't have been real, and he'd sent her down here to frickin' Sedona, Arizona, where the cats and bunnies and birds had the same kind of impossible teeth.
Ginny spun around and glared at her cousin.
Markus took a step back. "What'd I do?"
"Nothing. Not a damned thing." She took a deep breath and let it out. Something very weird was going on, and Alton was involved, all the way from the tips of his sexy cowboy boots to the top of his beautiful blond head. "I have to make a phone call. You sign in. I'll be right back."
There wasn't a stitch of clothing covering her perfect body. She was tall and slim and her stylishly bobbed hair swung against her jaw with each step she took on gloriously long legs. If she hadn't been trying to kill him, Alton might have found her attractive. Instead, he wrapped both hands around the jeweled hilt of his crystal sword and swung with practiced ease.
The blade sliced cleanly through the juncture between her neck and shoulder. He watched with grim satisfaction as the mannequin's head bounced off the wall and rolled across the sidewalk. The jaws gaped wide, exposing row after row of razor-sharp teeth framed by perfectly painted pouty lips.
Alton stepped back out of the way, giving Eddy Marks plenty of space to aim the point of her crystal sword. She held DemonSlayer high, slashing through the demonic mist as it flowed through the hole in the mannequin's plastic neck.
The eerie banshee cry of the escaping demon sent shivers down Alton's spine. The screech ended abruptly the moment Eddy's sword sliced into the mist and it burst into flame. All that was left was a puff of foul-smelling smoke.
"Well done, my lady."
Eddy smiled at the sword in her hand. "Thank you, DemonSlayer." Then she sheathed her weapon and rose up on her toes to accept a kiss from her beloved Dax.
Alton couldn't help but think that Dax was one very lucky ex-demon, to find a woman like Eddy Marks, one brave enough to have gained immortality along with her own sentient sword. There weren't many women like her, not in the world he'd come from.
In fact, there were none like Eddy in the lost world of Lemuria. As far as he knew, she was just as unique to Earth.
"That was a new one," Eddy said when she finally peeled herself away from Dax. "Have you seen any more like her?" She nodded in the direction of the mannequin lying on the sidewalk.
Alton dragged his gaze away from Eddy and Dax and stared at the mannequin. "Thankfully, no, but this isn't good. It was bad enough when demons were using ceramic and stone creatures as avatars, but plastic's a new medium for them. Can you imagine the chaos they're going to cause? There's no way to get rid of all the potential hosts for the damned things."
Dax knelt down and ran his hand over the body, as if he needed to see for himself what it was made of. "What I want to know," he said, "is where the demons are coming from. All of a sudden, there's no shortage of them, either. There shouldn't be so many. Not since Alton sealed the gateway from Abyss."
Eddy shoved her bangs out of her eyes. "Maybe they've opened a new one."
Nine hells.
The three of them stared at one another. A new portal was the last thing they needed. Alton sighed. Not two weeks ago he'd been a perfectly bored resident of the lost world of Lemuria, wondering why nothing exciting ever happened. Then he'd helped two humans, a tiny will-o'-the-wisp and a mongrel dog escape from a Lemurian prison deep within Mount Shasta, and nothing had been the same since.
Exiled from Lemuria with a price on his head, he'd joined the battle against demonkind's invasion of Earth. Not that he was complaining about all the changes in his life, but was there no end to the demon invasion?
Of course, Dax and Eddy's lives had changed just as drastically. Dax the demon had become a DemonSlayer, working for the good guys to halt the demonic invasion of Earth, and Eddy Marks was a newspaper reporter who had saved Dax's life without a clue what she was getting into. Alton figured she probably hadn't expected immortality, a demon lover or a crystal sword that talked to her.
And Bumper had been just a dog. The dog barked. Alton leaned over and scratched her curly head. Bumper looked up at him, and Willow's thoughts flowed into Alton's mind.
I think that demon was the only one. Bumper and I checked.
Thank you, Willow. And Bumper.
He couldn't imagine Willow's life now, trapped inside a mongrel like Bumper. The tiny will-o'-the-wisp had been sent as Dax's companion, able to draw energy from the air to fuel his demon powers. In that last big battle on Mount Shasta when the demon ate Willow, she'd managed to transfer her consciousness into Bumper just in time. While Dax no longer needed Willow for energy, Alton knew they all needed her as part of their team. Whether she looked like a tiny fairy or a curly blond pit bull, Willow had the soul and spirit of a warrior.
Just like his other companions.
Alton carefully sheathed his sword. HellFire, the crystal sword he'd had since reaching manhood, had finally, after so many millennia, gained sentience and begun to speak. Proof that it finally considered Alton a warrior, a man of respect.
They'd all earned that respect in the final battle with the gargoyle, which explained the crystal swords Dax and Eddy now wielded as well, replicates of his own sword.
DemonFire for Dax, DemonSlayer for Eddy.
Sentient crystal swords, perfect for fighting the demon invasion that threatened to offset the balance between good and evil. Three warriors, their sentient swords and a mongrel dog melded to the mind of a will-o'-the-wisp.
They were all that stood between a demon invasion of Earth and the unsuspecting citizens of this world.
Alton couldn't help but worry they might not be enough.
Eddy's cell phone played Ode to Joy. She reached for the phone and turned away to take her call.
A chill raced along Alton's spine.
Eddy stared at the phone in her hand for a long, long time. Then she slowly slipped it back into her jeans pocket. Alton and Dax were deep in conversation, and it looked like BumperWillow was right in there with them.
BumperWillow. Eddy couldn't think of one without the other. Not anymore. Thank goodness she'd been able to get things straightened out with the shelter and they'd agreed to let her adopt her foster dog, Bumper, or they'd really have been in a fix. When the gargoyle had eaten the little sprite's body and she'd slipped into the closest available host, at least she'd found one who loved and welcomed her.
The symbiosis between the brave little will-o'-the-wisp and Eddy's funky mutt couldn't have been better, though after seeing how gorgeous Willow'd been as a sprite and how silly she looked as a pit bull crossed with a blond poodle, Eddy couldn't help but wonder if Willow ever had second thoughts about her choice of borrowed body.
But that was the least of Eddy's problems. Ginny Jones's phone call had just opened up a whole new can of worms.
"Guys," Eddy said. "We've got a problem."
Alton kept his arms tightly folded across his chest. He was afraid if he didn't hold himself contained, he'd fly to pieces. Ginny was in danger, and it was his fault. All his fault, for sending her to Sedona.
He'd known there was more than one vortex in that Arizona town, but he hadn't even thought of the demons using one as a passage from Abyss to Earth's dimension. No, all he'd thought about was getting Ginny away from Mount Shasta and the demon invasion here, but this community was probably the safest one around for now, especially with the three of them keeping things under control.
He glanced at the headless mannequin lying in the alley.
Well, moderately under control.
This was not good, but the problem in Sedona sounded even worse. Family pets with glowing eyes and multiple rows of razor-sharp teeth? Loving animals suddenly going berserk and attacking their owners? It sure sounded like demon possession to Alton, and he knew the others agreed. Until today, they'd thought demons could only animate things of the earth---ceramic or stone, concrete or clay. Plastic was essentially more of the same, just a different material, but taking on living creatures as avatars took a lot more power, showed more intelligence.
Ginny could be in terrible danger.
BumperWillow whined. Alton looked at Dax and Eddy, and realized they were staring at him too. All three of them. What had he missed?
"Well?" Eddy slapped her hands down on her hips.
Alton blinked. "Well, what?"
She rolled her eyes. "Are you going? Is there a passage through the vortex that will get you to Sedona now so you can check on Ginny? My best friend's in danger because you sent her there."
He cringed. "I know. Yes, there's a passage, and yes, I'll go."
Eddy's sudden smile hinted at something more than mere concern for Ginny. "Be sure and pack some extra clothes," she said. "You might be gone for a while."
Eddy's dad, Ed Marks, gunned his old Jeep up the last steep stretch of dirt road. He'd offered to take Alton as far as he could up the rough flank of Mount Shasta, but they'd just about reached the end of the road. Alton knew he still had a good hike ahead of him to find the portal.
The way was steep, the ground slippery with loose rock and scree that often meant slipping back two steps for every step forward, so the ride this far was welcome. Plus, he enjoyed spending time with Ed.
It shouldn't have surprised him, how much he liked Eddy's dad, but their close friendship had been an unexpected bonus. Alton figured it was as much his need for a father figure who treated him with respect as the fact Ed was just a hell of a nice guy. His own father still hadn't accepted that he was an adult, a capable man able to make his own decisions. Ed saw Alton as a warrior, a brave companion to Dax and Eddy.
And he treated Alton like a man grown, which might have been silly under other circumstances. As an immortal, Alton was already centuries older than Ed Marks, something that didn't seem to bother Ed at all.
He wondered if his own father would ever see him as anything other than a disappointment. What would the ruling senator of the Council of Nine say if he knew his son's sword was now sentient, that Alton had proven himself as a warrior?
Fat chance of that ever happening. Now that he had a Lemurian death sentence hanging over his head for helping Dax and Eddy escape from their prison cell, Alton had to accept the fact that going back to his world inside the volcano probably wasn't going to happen.
Still, it was something to dream of---his father actually learning his only son had accomplished what no other Lemurian in recent history had done---he'd established communication with his crystal sword. Even though the story of Lemurians as warriors and demon fighters was a huge part of their history, no one alive now could actually remember anyone strong enough or brave enough to bring their sword to life.
Yet Alton's sword spoke to him. Respected him enough to communicate, sword to Lemurian.
In fact, he was the only Lemurian alive today who'd actually taken part in a battle with a weapon other than words. While his people took pride in being known as philosophers and statesmen, they'd lost their fighting edge---the very qualities that had kept their society safe for so long.
Just as they'd lost their strongest allies---their sentient, speaking crystal swords. The sword each young man received when he came of age had become nothing more than a fancy ornament.
Crystal swords had no reason to speak to men they didn't respect. Why talk to a warrior who didn't know how to fight and wasn't willing to risk his life for something of importance?
Alton had not only risked his life, he'd discovered an inner strength he hadn't known he possessed. He'd proved to both his sword and himself that he was a warrior, one willing to die for a cause he believed in---protecting the known worlds from the threat of demonkind. All of them---Eden, Earth, Atlantis, and Lemuria---were at risk from the encroaching evil of Abyss.
The danger of reaching a tipping point, of the ages old balance of good and evil finally slipping over to the dark side was still very real. Thank goodness the demon invasion of Earth had barely gotten under way before the Edenites recognized the threat and recruited Dax, a fallen demon, out of the void. With his borrowed human body and Willow by his side, he'd become the perfect leader in the fight against demonkind, against a demon king powerful enough and smart enough to lead the demon hordes to victory.
Gaining strength by the hour within his stone gargoyle avatar, the demon king had almost won. Dax's brave sacrifice and Eddy's strength and determination in the face of certain death had bought a temporary victory when Eddy'd courageously risked death by wielding Alton's crystal sword.
The demon king was gone, for now. But, he'd be back.
Had he resurfaced in Sedona?
Alton stared at the trees they passed and thought about Dax and Eddy and the love between them that seemed to grow stronger each day. He'd be jealous if he didn't love both of them so much. Eddy was brave and true, and Dax, a man who had begun as a demon, had shown more integrity and good than anyone Alton had ever known in Lemuria. Dax and Eddy deserved the immortal love they'd found with one another.
So why did that make him think of Ginny Jones? She was nothing like Eddy Marks. Nothing at all. Ginny was mortal, her life no more than a tiny blip on his life's screen. Plus, she was stubborn and opinionated and had no respect for a woman's place---a woman's role as the helpmate to her man. Not that Eddy was anything like the Lemurian women Alton had known, either, but she was Dax's problem.
Did that make Ginny his?
The engine revved up and the Jeep's wheels spun as forward motion ceased. Alton glanced at Ed.
The older man shrugged. "This is as far as I can go, Alton. You'll have to hoof it the rest of the way." He slipped the gears into neutral but left the engine running. The trail wound upward from here, climbing through the last of the trees before it crossed areas of slippery scree, the shattered stones that littered the sides of the dormant volcano above the tree line.
Alton climbed out of the Jeep. He checked his scabbard to make certain his sword was secure, grabbed his pack and slung it over his shoulder. "Thanks, Ed." He glanced around, orienting himself. A harmless-looking pile of rocks lay beside the road.
Harmless now, but they were the remnants of the gargoyle that had become the avatar of a powerful demon. Eddy had destroyed the avatar with her singular act of bravery, but she'd missed the demon's soul and it had escaped back to Abyss. Unfortunately, it could still return to create havoc on Earth.
Alton shook his head. "Hard to believe this is the same place where we fought the demon---and almost lost."
Ed sighed. "I'll admit, I've never been so afraid in my life. For myself, for my friends---the image of that monster twisting Dax's body and throwing him to the ground still wakes me up at night. I never thought I'd see the boy alive again." He cleared his throat, wiped a hand over his eyes. "The truth, though? Mostly, Alton, I was afraid for my daughter. Her bravery astounds me, even now."
Alton reached out and shook Ed's hand. "We don't need to worry about Eddy. She's a lot tougher than she looks."
Breaking into laughter, Ed threw the Jeep into gear. "That she is, son. Now you get. I'm worried about Ginny. She doesn't know what we went through here, so she doesn't have any idea what she's up against. You go take care of that girl." He winked, turned the Jeep and headed down the hill.
Alton watched until the Jeep disappeared into the forest. Then he started the long hike up the hill. The mountain might be the vortex, but there were only a couple of places where he could cross into the other dimensions and access the portal that would take him to Sedona.
Or the one that led to Lemuria.
No. He couldn't think about home. He'd made his choice when he helped Dax and Eddy escape from their Lemurian prison cell. He'd walked away from everyone and everything he'd known and loved his entire life, but he'd chosen for the greater good.
He wondered if his friend Taron had had any luck at all convincing the council to join the battle against demonkind. That was Alton's only hope of ever going back home. Taron could be persuasive, but were his powers of persuasion a match for the council's stubbornness?
The sun had moved to the west by the time Alton paused in front of a mass of tumbled boulders and knew he'd reached the portal. He wrinkled his nose against the stench of sulfur. There shouldn't be any sign of demons here, but their smell was all around him. That made no sense. He'd closed the portal to Abyss.
Unless they'd managed to open a new one.
Alton faced the lichen-covered rock, but before he stepped through, he removed his sword from his scabbard. As he wrapped his fingers around HellFire's jeweled hilt, he realized how much the sword's sentience had changed things. He no longer felt alone---not when he had HellFire beside him. Addressing the crystal blade, he asked, "Do you smell their stench as I do?"
The hilt vibrated in his hand. "I do," the sword answered. "I'm ready."
With a nod, Alton stepped through the portal, walking through what appeared to be solid rock. The dark cavern he entered glistened with the light from the various gateways leading to other dimensions---the green and turquoise that led to Atlantis, the gold and silver that would take him to Eden---and certain death should he attempt to pass into that hallowed land.
The portal glowing gold would take him home, to Lemuria, a land where he'd always been welcome. Now, were he to attempt to cross into Lemuria, he feared he faced death as surely as if he'd tried to enter Eden's sanctuary.
Facing Ginny Jones and a whole passel of demonkind sounded a lot safer.
Alton turned his back on the gateway to his home world. The one that had once led to Abyss was still sealed shut. Why, then, did he smell the sulfuric stench of demons? Where were they coming from?
He held his glowing sword high and used the light HellFire cast to search along the stone walls. A small portal, tucked into a nook toward the back of the cavern, glowed with the colors of a setting sun.
Sedona. He recognized the multicolored hues of red rock and blue skies, but swirling within the portal's depths he sensed something else.
Demonkind.
Demons had passed this way, and not so long ago. Were they somehow making their way from Abyss to Sedona, and then north through the connected vortexes to Mount Shasta? He'd have to ask Eddy and Dax about that.
After he got to Sedona.
He touched the cell phone Eddy had tucked into his pocket and wished it worked within the portals, but Eddy'd explained to him how they needed towers to carry the signal, and there certainly weren't any deep inside the volcano.
Alton took a step toward the portal, but he caught himself, pausing in midstep as a dark mist slipped through the multicolored gateway. Silently it flowed along the wall toward the portal leading to the flank of Mount Shasta.
Demon!
His sword vibrated with power. Alton swung. The crystal blade connected with the black mist and it screeched and burst into flame. Crackling and sizzling, it disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving only the stench behind.
Alton stared at the spot where the demon had emerged. A shiver raced along his spine. This one had come directly from Sedona. His heart gave an unfamiliar lurch. Ginny was in Sedona---and so were the demons.
Demons powerful enough to take on living creatures as their personal avatars. Creatures strong enough to kill.
Holding his sword aloft, Alton stepped through the portal.
"Who'd you have to call?"
Markus's question snapped Ginny out of her convoluted thoughts. "Eddy. I called my friend Eddy Marks."
"I hope it was important." Markus backed out of the parking place he'd taken at the supermarket. Without Tom. The vet had insisted on keeping the cat for observation, which suited Ginny perfectly. Damned cat had really chewed up her hand. She peeked under the bloody towel and wished she hadn't looked.
"You were gone so long I had to take Tom into the vet by myself."
Ginny scowled at him. Her hand still hurt like the blazes and not once had Markus thanked her for risking life and limb while catching his stupid cat. "Well, Tom is your cat, cousin of mine, and I would really like to get back to the house so I can clean up the mess your sweetheart of a cat made of my hand."
Markus stared straight ahead. "Aren't you gonna ask me what the vet said?"
Ginny shook her head. "I figured you'd tell me if he had any idea what happened."
Markus curled up one lip and made a snorting noise. "He says they're all possessed. I knew he was into crystals and vortexes and all that New Age stuff, but I thought it was just for show. He's dead serious."
"Possessed? By what? The ghost of Christmas past?" Ginny stared out the side window as Markus drove the few blocks home. Possessed. It sounded totally unbelievable, but how else do you explain a cat with four rows of teeth, glowing red eyes and a scream like a banshee on meth? A scream that sounded horribly familiar.
Since her memories of that crazy night in Evergreen had begun to resurface, Ginny'd had the sound of the bear's ear-shattering scream in her head. A scream that was nothing more than a louder version of the strange howl coming from Markus's fat old cat.
Had the bear been possessed? Had some sort of evil entity turned a concrete statue into a slavering, screaming killer? Something made it come to life. She hadn't imagined the damned thing, though she'd thought it was just a weird nightmare.
But all those animals at the vet's---the birds and bunnies, cats and dogs---every last one of them acted unnervingly similar. Screeching, trying to bite, flashing those rows of sharp teeth, and staring out of glowing eyes.
Possession didn't sound all that crazy when you took it in context with what they'd seen today.
With what had attacked her just a few days ago.
Markus drove the car into the driveway and pulled into the garage. He shut off the engine and turned in his seat to glare at her. "You're making fun of it now, Ginny Jones, but how else do you explain all those animals? They weren't normal. Birds don't have teeth. Rabbits don't hiss and snarl and screech like that little bunny we saw today. Something's making them act crazy. If they're not possessed, what's going on?"
Without waiting for an answer, Markus got out of the car and slammed the door. Ginny sat in the front seat for a few minutes, thinking of Tom and the other animals they'd seen at the veterinarian's clinic, thinking of the concrete grizzly that had attacked her.
Thinking of Eddy's friend, Alton. Why did she know he was the reason she couldn't remember anything? Now that she was away from him, the memories were coming back. She recalled him saving her from the bear, walking with her, even laughing with her.
Most of all, she remembered his kiss.
What she couldn't remember was why he'd kissed her---or why she'd kissed him. One thing she knew for certain---he was the only reason she'd come to Sedona.
None of this made sense, and Eddy hadn't been much help, either. She'd merely said to hold tight, that she was sending someone, but she wouldn't give Ginny any details about who or why or what the hell was going on.
Muttering under her breath, Ginny rewrapped the bloody towel around her hand and followed Markus into the house.
Covering vast distances via the vortex was more disorienting than moving between dimensions, but the one thousand and thirty miles between Mount Shasta in northern California and Bell Rock in Sedona, Arizona, took less than a minute down a dark tunnel lit only by HellFire's crystal light.
The sun was beginning to set when Alton sheathed his sword, passed through the portal and stepped out on the rocky ground near the top of Bell Rock, one of many vortexes in and around Sedona. He stood for a moment, lost in the glory of a desert sunset and the brilliant red of the rugged, wind-shaped bluffs. The gentle breeze seemed to sing to him---a deep hum that resonated within his...
"Where the hell did he come from?"
Alton spun to his left and blinked. Row after row of men and women, most of them wearing loose robes or colorful skirts, sat cross-legged in the dirt.
Meditating?
Well crap and nine hells. He'd materialized out of solid rock, right in the middle of a yoga class.
Straightening to his full height, Alton pressed his hands together beneath his chin and bowed his head. His waist-length blond hair, unbound, flowed over his shoulders like silk; and he knew his almost seven feet of height, aided a bit by his boots, made him look pretty impressive.
With any luck, his appearance alone might help him get out of here without too much trouble, considering the audience.
"I come from within." He kept his voice unnaturally deep and bowed his head once again. Then, biting back a powerful urge to laugh, he looked straight ahead and walked past the rows of stunned yoga practitioners.
Popping out of the portal in the midst of an evening meditation class hadn't been an issue the last time he was here. Of course, it had been a while---give or take six hundred years.
Obviously, he really needed to get out more.
Alton found a well-traveled trail that took him down off the mountain and into a parking area. The light was beginning to fade and only a few cars and one old, beat-up-looking bus remained. He figured the bus must be here for the group he'd surprised up on top.
Maybe he could catch a ride into town with them...or not. Grinning at the thought of Lemurian royalty hitching a ride on an old bus painted with rainbows and flowers, Alton set his backpack down and pulled the cell phone Eddy had given him out of his pocket.
He carefully followed the steps Eddy'd shown him, found Ginny's number, and pushed the button to connect the call. He almost shouted when Ginny answered on the second ring, but he managed to control himself.
"Is this Virginia Jones?" he asked.
There was a long silence. Long enough that Alton wondered if he'd done something wrong.
"Who's this?"
Nope. That was Ginny. "This is Alton. Eddy Marks's friend."
"How'd you get my number?"
Definitely Ginny.
"From Eddy. Ginny, I'm in Sedona. Would you be able to come get me?"
"Sedona? How the hell did you get to Sedona so fast? I just talked to Eddy a couple of hours ago, and there's no way you could have come..."
"I'm here, Ginny, and I'll explain everything once I see you. I'm in the parking lot at Bell Rock. Do you know where that is?"
"I'll be there in fifteen minutes. And you'd better have some answers for me because I've definitely got questions for you."
Before he could answer, the line went dead. Alton stared at the phone for a moment before calling one more number. Eddy's voice mail came on. He left a message and wondered where she'd gone, why she hadn't answered the phone. Then he tucked it in his pocket and leaned against a rock. Folding his arms across his chest, he waited impatiently for Ginny while the night grew dark around him.
The DemonSlayers
ZEBRA BOOKS
KENSINGTON PUBLISHING CORP.
http://www.kensingtonbooks.com
"Crystal Dreams" in Nocturnal
Demonfire
Erotic Romance by Kate Douglas
Wolf Tales
"Chanku Rising" in Sexy Beast
Wolf Tales II
"Camille's Dawn" in Wild Nights
Wolf Tales III
"Chanku Fallen" in Sexy Beast II
Wolf Tales IV
"Chanku Journey" in Sexy Beast III
Wolf Tales V
"Chanku Destiny" in Sexy Beast IV
Wolf Tales VI
"Chanku Wild" in Sexy Beast V
Wolf Tales VII
"Chanku Honor" in Sexy Beast VI
Wolf Tales VIII
"Chanku Challenge" in Sexy Beast VII
Wolf Tales 9
"Chanku Spirit" in Sexy Beast VIII
Wolf Tales 10
Published by Kensington Publishing Corporation
To Doug for...well, everything.But most of all, for making me laugh.
I remember thinking---back in my saner days---how much fun it would be to write books. What could be easier than sitting down and allowing the words to go directly from my brain, through my fingers, to the page, just the way my favorite authors did?
Little did I know how many hours of work went into their books---the books I devoured over the course of an evening. My sincere thanks go to the wonderful people who take my stories and make the books happen---to my fantastic agent, Jessica Faust of BookEnds LLC, my wonderful editor, Audrey LaFehr, her ever-patient and multiskilled assistant, Martin Biro, Kensington's truly talented art department, the publicists, sales personnel and production people...all of them so good at what they do, and so patient with those of us who love to write the stories but haven't got a clue how the rest of the process really works.
Thanks also to my great beta-readers---the ones who take my flawed first drafts, tell me what needs fixin', and do it without making me feel like a complete idiot. On this project, those intrepid souls were Rose Toubbeh, Karen Woods, Rhonda Wilson, Jan Takane, Treva Harte, Amanda Haffrey, and my agent, Jessica Faust. It really does take a village to create a book, and I'm blessed to exist in one of the very best villages around. Thank you, all of you.
I want to add a special thanks to reviewer Suzie Housley, who, way back when, read one of my very first e-published romances and said she just knew I'd make it. Suzie, I may not "be there" yet, but I'm working on it!
The Legend of Lemuria...
Thousands of years ago, the continent of Lemuria disappeared beneath the sea, much in the manner of the lost continent of Atlantis. However, unlike the Atlanteans, Lemurians are not considered lost---legend says they relocated their entire society to a sanctuary deep within the dormant volcano known as Mount Shasta in the rugged mountains of northern California.
Much has been written about these tall and graceful beings, of their great intelligence and beauty, their advanced technology and supernatural abilities, but no actual proof of their existence has ever been discovered.
That doesn't mean, of course, that they're not really there, living in quiet splendor in their cities of gold, deep within Mount Shasta. Nor does it mean they've not had their interactions with humans.
Actually, Lemurians have maintained a peaceful and entirely nonviolent civilization in a separate dimension within the volcano for millennia, though many among them are beginning to recognize the importance of keeping Earth's population safe to protect their own secretive society---a society that has kept secrets even from its own citizens.
Now, when demonkind from Abyss threaten not only Earth but all worlds in all dimensions---including Lemuria---descendants of ancient Lemurian warriors are once again taking up arms in the ages-old battle between good and evil.
Ginny Jones wrapped a clean kitchen towel around her torn fingers and glared at the screeching cat she'd finally managed to shove into the carrier.
Her cousin Markus leaned over her shoulder and sighed. "Poor Tom. I sure hope he's not rabid."
"No shit, Sherlock." She glanced at the blood-soaked towel and then at Markus. "And what do you mean, poor Tom? Did you see what that stupid cat of yours did to my hand?"
Markus shook his head, sending his long dreads flying. "I don't understand. Tom's a sweetheart. He's never even scratched anyone, much less bitten before."
"Tell that to your neighbor. She's going to need stitches in her leg, not to mention what he did to me. C'mon. We have to get your stupid cat to the vet so they can quarantine him before animal control shows up, or they just might take him and put him down."
Markus grabbed the keys off the hook by the back door and picked up the carrier. Tom screeched, a long, low banshee wail that sent goosebumps racing along Ginny's arms and raised the tiny hairs on the back of her neck. Tom didn't sound anything like any cat she'd ever heard.
So, why did that screech sound so eerily familiar?
Something about it skirted the edges of her memory. She stared at Tom, glaring back at her through the slats of the carrier, but nothing clicked. She'd never seen a cat with eyes like his---they flashed blood red. When he snarled, she was almost certain he had extra rows of teeth.
She shivered again and wrapped her arms around herself. Beyond weird. Everything about the stupid cat was freaking her out, but then, so was this entire trip. Frowning, Ginny followed Markus at a safe distance through the backdoor to the garage and watched while he stowed the sturdy carrier in the rear seat of the Camry.
Tom howled again. Ginny shook her head. "I don't like this one bit. Shouldn't we maybe put him in the trunk?"
Markus ignored her suggestion and got into the driver's seat. "Get in. No cat of mine rides in the trunk."
Ginny stared at the red-eyed cat. Tom returned her stare.
Markus glared at her. "You scared of a cat? Damn it, Ginny. Get in."
She took a deep breath. She wasn't about to let herself act like a coward in front of her younger cousin. "Well, if he gets loose from the carrier, you're putting him back---and I'm outta here. I've bled enough for the cause." Ginny slammed the door and reached for her seat belt, wondering for the hundredth time what she was doing visiting her cousins in Sedona anyway. It wasn't like they were all that close, but for some reason she'd gotten a wild hair, packed her bags, and headed to Arizona without any plans or advance notice at all.
So far, her timing sucked. She'd barely parked the rental car at her aunt's house when the shit hit the fan. Old Tom, the fattest, laziest-looking cat she'd ever seen, had jumped up, shrieked like the devil was on his tail, and launched his porky butt off Aunt Betty's front porch.
He'd practically flown over the six-foot hedge between her aunt's house and the one next door---like a flying furball with fangs. He'd zeroed in on the poor neighbor lady who was just getting out of her car, arms loaded with groceries.
The bags had gone one way, the woman the other, but Tom latched on to her left leg and buried his teeth deep. It had taken both Markus and Ginny to pull the cat off the screaming woman, and then he'd taken off, still screeching. Aunt Betty had freaked out, grabbed the twins, and as far as Ginny knew, she was still hiding in the bedroom with the kids.
Markus---with typical teenage thinking---had gone after the cat with a big bass net like it was a four-legged fish. Ginny'd been the one who finally cornered Tom against the fence, but he'd gotten her good with claws and teeth before she'd managed to shove him into the carrier and latch the damned thing.
Not quite the entrance she'd imagined on the flight from Sacramento to Phoenix. If she had to go through a course of rabies shots, she was going to kill Markus, and anyone else who gave her grief.
Like Alton. Especially Alton.
Now why in the hell would she be thinking of her friend Eddy Marks's tall, drop-dead gorgeous, egotistical jackass college buddy Alton? They'd barely met, though Ginny kept associating him with her being here in Sedona, which made no sense whatsoever.
Neither did the fact he'd kissed her the first time she saw him. For some reason, her memories of that kiss were all fuzzy and dreamlike. She knew they'd locked lips, if only for a moment, but her memory should be sharper. A lot sharper.
He had perfect lips---full and warm and soft---and he was a spectacular kisser. She remembered that much, but little else.
Like why. She couldn't recall anything leading up to the kiss, or even what had happened directly after, which wasn't like her. Not one bit, but confusing memories of Alton were all jumbled up with boarding a plane for Phoenix. She'd rented a car and hung out in Phoenix for a few days, feeling confused and off-kilter before giving in to some weird need to see her aunt and cousins in Sedona. Early Tuesday morning, she'd finally hit the road for the two-hour drive across the desert to Sedona.
And now she was headed to the local vet's with a crazy cat, her stupid kid cousin, and a hand that was bleeding through the dishtowel she'd wrapped around the bites and scratches.
If this was a vacation, she'd definitely had better.
"Is it always this busy?" Ginny rewrapped the towel on her throbbing hand while Markus drove around the block again, looking for a parking space. All the slots at the vet's clinic were taken and there wasn't a single empty spot along the road.
Markus shook his head. "Never. Especially on a Tuesday morning. Weekends, maybe, but not today. I don't get it."
He finally pulled into the parking lot in front of a grocery store a block away. "I'll carry the cat." He glanced at Ginny and seemed to notice the blood-soaked towel for the first time. "Is that still bleeding?"
"Yes, it's still bleeding. Your sweetheart of a cat nailed me good." She got out of the car and started walking toward the clinic. Markus fell into step beside her with the carrier clutched in one hand. Tom had quit screeching, but his incessant yowling was almost as bad.
Markus was big for eighteen---at least six-foot-six with broad shoulders and legs like tree trunks. As tall as she was, Ginny had to look up at him. He might not be the sharpest tack in the box, but she figured if he couldn't protect her from a stupid cat, no one could.
Though, come to think of it, she was the one bleeding, not her cousin. She was still thinking along those lines when Markus grabbed the door to the clinic and held it open for her.
Ginny stepped into total pandemonium.
The small clinic reeked of sulfur, which made no sense at all. Usually vet clinics smelled like cat pee. This one was filled with crying kids, freaked-out grownups, screeching animals---most of them in cages, thank goodness---and a couple of staff members who looked as if they were ready to run and hide. Ginny turned and looked at her cousin.
Markus stared wild-eyed at a large cage holding a big blue macaw. The bird spread its beak wide and screeched. It sounded just like Tom. Markus swallowed with an audible gulp. Ginny took a closer look at the macaw. Teeth. Rows and rows of teeth.
Now, she was no expert, but Ginny was sure she'd never heard of birds with teeth. She blinked and refocused, but the macaw's mouth was still filled with way too many teeth---all of them razor sharp. A screechy howl caught her attention and she glanced down at a scrawny little Chihuahua that was, thankfully, wearing a muzzle.
More teeth. Not just sharp doggy fangs, but rows of shiny, razor-sharp teeth filled the little mutt's mouth. A lop-eared bunny in a cat carrier just like Tom's snarled and hissed and curled its lips back. More teeth. Every single animal in the clinic looked like something out of a cheap horror film, all of them snarling and screeching and trying to take bites with mouths filled with way too many rows of sharp teeth.
And just like that, memories crashed into the forefront of her mind. The big concrete bear chasing her that night back home in Evergreen, her best friend Eddy's dad, Ed Marks, and Alton---though she hadn't known him then, that tall, good-looking friend of Eddy's from college---rushing out of the darkness and attacking the impossible creature. Alton had saved her life.
She saw it like a movie on fast forward---Alton carrying a huge sword that glowed like a freaking Jedi lightsaber, jabbing it into the concrete bear like the bear was made of butter. Jumping up on the creature's back, riding it like a bucking bronco. And the sound! The bear'd been screeching and wailing.
Screeching and wailing, just like the animals here, in the veterinarian's clinic.
Ginny sucked in a breath as images flowed into her mind. Alton lopping off the concrete bear's head with a powerful swing of his sword, the glowing blade flashing by in a slashing arc.
The bear crumbling, just turning into a pile of rocks and dust and sulfuric stink, like it had never been alive at all. And the smell. That horrible stench.
Just like this vet clinic in Sedona.
She remembered Alton and Ed walking her home. How could she have forgotten that night? That was the night Alton kissed her! A girl didn't forget a night like that. It made no sense at all.
Except she was remembering now. Remembering it as clearly as if it had just happened. The bear, the battle...Alton's lips. Oh, Lordy...his lips, warm and full and so sweet, pressed against hers, moving over her mouth in a sensual whisper of sensation and seduction.
The noise, the screeching animals, the frantic humans, the stinky veterinarian's clinic, all faded away as Ginny pressed her fingertips against her lips and let the memories flow.
There'd been another night too. How the hell could she have forgotten? It was only a few days ago! She blinked as it came into focus. She and Alton, walking arm in arm down the street to her house. The two of them laughing and talking about lots of nothing---flirting, for crying out loud! Both of them standing on her front porch.
She sucked in a breath as the memories cleared. She'd been thinking of breaking all her rules about guys and inviting Alton in. He'd been just as bossy and arrogant as the first time they'd met, but she'd had fun with him, too, and even though they'd only met the night he'd saved her life, she'd been drawn to him on an almost primal level.
The chemistry had certainly been there---so intense the need she'd felt was almost painful. Even now, just thinking of him fired a slow burn of desire deep in her core.
How could she forget that he'd offered to stay the night on her front porch? Offered to sit out there to protect her. That was sweet, even though she didn't need any protection. Not in her little town of Evergreen on the slopes of Mount Shasta.
Safest place in the world.
She remembered saying good night. She'd kissed his cheek when she'd really wanted to drag him inside and take him straight to her bedroom. Her toes actually tingled, remembering. Her womb felt heavy, her breasts full, recalling now how she'd gone in alone and closed the door. Leaned against it, thinking of Alton. Hearing his voice.
Hearing his voice? How could she have forgotten his voice in her head, that sexy whisper...giving her orders?
Damn it all!
Telling me to come to Sedona.
Ginny clenched her hands into fists and bit back a scream that probably would have shut up every screeching animal in the room. It was him! This was all Alton's fault! Somehow he'd hypnotized her. That had to be it. He'd hypnotized her and made her forget the bear and his kiss and...
She growled. The macaw shut its big mouth and stared at her, but all Ginny could see was Alton. That insufferable jackass had sent her here. He'd saved her from a bear made of concrete with rows of sharp teeth, a bear that couldn't have been real, and he'd sent her down here to frickin' Sedona, Arizona, where the cats and bunnies and birds had the same kind of impossible teeth.
Ginny spun around and glared at her cousin.
Markus took a step back. "What'd I do?"
"Nothing. Not a damned thing." She sucked in a deep breath and let it out. Something very weird was going on and Alton was involved, all the way from the tips of his sexy cowboy boots to the top of his beautiful blond head. "I have to make a phone call. You sign in. I'll be right back."
There wasn't a stitch of clothing covering her perfect body. She was tall and slim and her stylishly bobbed hair swung against her jaw with each step she took on gloriously long legs. If she hadn't been trying to kill him, Alton might have found her attractive. Instead, he wrapped both hands around the jeweled hilt of his crystal sword and swung with practiced ease.
The blade sliced cleanly through the juncture between her neck and shoulder. He watched with grim satisfaction as the mannequin's head bounced off the wall and rolled across the sidewalk. The jaws gaped wide, exposing row after row of razor-sharp teeth framed by perfectly painted pouty lips.
Alton stepped back out of the way, giving Eddy Marks plenty of space to aim the point of her crystal sword. She held DemonSlayer high, slashing through the demonic mist as it flowed through the hole in the mannequin's plastic neck.
The eerie banshee cry of the escaping demon sent shivers down Alton's spine. The screech ended abruptly the moment Eddy's sword sliced into the mist and it burst into flames. All that was left was a puff of foul-smelling smoke.
"Well done, my lady."
Eddy smiled at the sword in her hand. "Thank you, DemonSlayer." Then she sheathed her weapon and rose up on her toes to accept a kiss from her beloved Dax.
Alton couldn't help but think that Dax was one very lucky ex-demon, to find a woman like Eddy Marks, one brave enough to have gained immortality along with her own sentient sword. There weren't many women like her.
In fact, there were none like Eddy in his own lost world of Lemuria. As far as Alton knew, she was just as unique to Earth.
For some unfathomable reason, a fleeting image of Ginny Jones flashed through his mind---her body tall and lean with skin dark as night, and those gorgeous tiger's eyes of hers.
The image popped out of existence so fast it left him shaken. Blinking, he realized he was still watching Eddy and Dax.
"That was a new one," Eddy said when she finally peeled herself away from her lover. "Have you seen any others like her?" She nodded toward the mannequin lying on the sidewalk.
Alton dragged his gaze away from the two of them and stared at the mannequin. "Thankfully, no, but this isn't good. It was bad enough when demons were using ceramic and stone creatures as avatars, but plastic's a new medium for them. Can you imagine the chaos they're going to cause? There's no way to get rid of all the potential hosts for the damned things."
This latest demon invasion had begun less than two weeks ago. So far, demons could exist in Earth's dimension only as formless wraiths---smelly black mist without substance. They'd started out possessing ceramic, stone, and metal figurines, though they'd not managed to do too much damage.
This was scary, though, this move to plastic. The demon who'd possessed this mannequin seemed to have a lot more control than the ones who'd taken on the more primitive avatars. The creatures were somehow gaining power, even intelligence. It appeared they were actually evolving---and doing it way too fast.
Dax knelt down and ran his hand over the mannequin's body, as if he needed to see for himself what it was made of. "I want to know where these new demons are coming from. There shouldn't be so many. Not since Alton sealed the gateway from Abyss."
Eddy shoved her bangs out of her eyes and glanced at Alton. "Maybe they've opened a new one."
Nine hells. A new portal was the last thing they needed. Alton really didn't want to consider such a thing. He stared at Eddy and Dax and sighed. Just over a week ago he'd been a perfectly bored resident of Lemuria, wondering why nothing exciting ever happened. Then he'd helped two humans, a tiny will-o'-the-wisp, and a mongrel dog escape from a Lemurian prison in a separate dimension deep within Mount Shasta.
His life hadn't been the same since.
Exiled from Lemuria---a mythological world, according to humankind, which showed how little they actually knew---with a price on his head, he'd joined the battle against demonkind's invasion of Earth. Not that he was complaining about all the changes in his life, but was there no end to the damned demons?
Of course, Dax's and Eddy's lives had changed just as drastically. Dax the demon---kicked out of the hell of Abyss for good behavior---had become a demon slayer, working for the good guys to halt the demonic invasion of Earth. Eddy Marks was a newspaper reporter who had saved Dax's life without a clue what she was getting into. Alton knew the pragmatic journalist hadn't planned on becoming a demon slayer---or gaining immortality, a demon lover, and a sentient crystal sword that talked to her.
And Bumper was just a dog---a foster mutt Eddy had brought home from the pound to save from euthanasia. The dog barked. Alton leaned over and scratched her curly head. Bumper looked up at him, and Willow's thoughts flowed into Alton's mind.
I think that demon was the only one. Bumper and I checked.
Thank you, Willow. And Bumper.
He couldn't imagine Willow's life now, trapped inside a mongrel like Bumper. The tiny will-o'-the-wisp had been sent as Dax's companion, able to draw energy from the air to fuel his demon powers. In that last big battle on Mount Shasta when the demon ate Willow's tiny body, she'd managed to transfer her consciousness into Bumper just in time. While Dax no longer needed Willow for energy, Alton knew they all needed her as part of their team. Whether she looked like a tiny fairy or a curly blond pit bull, Willow had the soul and spirit of a warrior.
Just like his other companions.
Alton carefully sheathed his sword. HellFire, the crystal sword he'd had since reaching manhood, had finally, after so many millennia, gained sentience and begun to speak---proof that it finally considered Alton a warrior, a man worthy of respect.
They'd all earned that respect in the final battle with the gargoyle demon, which explained the crystal swords Dax and Eddy now wielded as well, replicates of his own sword.
DemonFire for Dax, DemonSlayer for Eddy.
Crystal swords, perfect for fighting the demon invasion that threatened to offset the balance between good and evil. Three warriors and their sentient swords, along with a mongrel hosting the mind of a bodiless will-o'-the-wisp.
They were all that stood between a demon invasion of Earth and the unsuspecting citizens of this world.
Alton was terrified they might not be enough.
Eddy's cell phone played "Ode to Joy." She reached for the phone and turned away to take her call.
A chill raced along Alton's spine.
Eddy stared at the phone in her hand for a long, long time. Then she slowly slipped it back into her jeans pocket. Alton and Dax were deep in conversation, and it looked like Bumper and Willow were right in there with them.
Bumper and Willow...BumperWillow. Eddy couldn't think of one without the other. Not anymore. Thank goodness she'd been able to get things straightened out with the shelter and they'd agreed to let her adopt her foster dog, Bumper, or they'd really have been in a fix. When the gargoyle had eaten the little sprite's body and she'd slipped into the closest available live host, at least she'd found one who loved and welcomed her.
The symbiosis between the brave little sprite and Eddy's funky mutt couldn't have been better, though after seeing how gorgeous Willow'd been before and how silly she looked as a pit bull crossed with a poodle, Eddy couldn't help but wonder if she ever had second thoughts about her choice of borrowed body.
But that was the least of Eddy's worries. Ginny Jones's phone call had just opened up a whole new can of worms.
"Guys," Eddy said, "we've got a problem."
Alton kept his arms tightly folded across his chest. He was afraid if he didn't hold himself contained, he would fly to pieces. Ginny was in danger, and it was his fault---all his fault---for sending her to Sedona.
He'd known there was more than one vortex in that Arizona town, but he hadn't even thought of the demons using one as a passage from Abyss to Earth's dimension. No, all he'd thought about was getting Ginny away from Evergreen and the demon invasion here.
Who in nine hells was he trying to kid? He'd wanted Ginny away, period. She was the most unsuitable distraction he'd ever seen and he wanted her gone because she was a danger to his own peace of mind. She'd have been safer if she stayed. This community was probably the safest one around for now, especially with the three of them keeping things under control.
He glanced at the headless mannequin lying in the alley.
Well, moderately under control.
This was not good, but the problem in Sedona sounded even worse. Family pets with glowing eyes and multiple rows of razor-sharp teeth? Loving animals suddenly going berserk and attacking their owners? It sure sounded like demon possession to Alton, and he knew the others agreed.
Until today, they'd thought demons could only animate things of the earth---ceramic or stone, concrete or clay. Plastic was essentially more of the same, just a different material, but taking on living creatures as avatars took a lot more power, showed more intelligence.
Ginny could be in terrible danger, and it was all his fault.
Bumper whined. Alton looked at Dax and Eddy, and realized they were staring at him too. All three of them. What had he missed?
"Well?" Eddy planted her hands on her hips.
Alton blinked. "Well, what?"
She rolled her eyes. "Are you going? Is there a passage through the vortex that will get you to Sedona fast so you can check on Ginny? My best friend's in danger because of you."
He cringed. "I know. Yes, there's a passage, and yes, I'll go."
Eddy's sudden smile hinted at something more than mere concern for Ginny. "Be sure and pack some extra clothes," she said. "You might be gone for a while."
Eddy's dad, Ed Marks, gunned his old Jeep along the last steep stretch of dirt road. He'd offered to take Alton as far as he could up the rough flank of Mount Shasta, but they'd just about reached the end of the road. Alton knew he still had a long hike ahead of him before he made it to the portal.
The way was steep, the ground slippery with loose rock and scree that often meant slipping back two steps for every step forward, so the ride this far was welcome. Plus, he enjoyed spending time with Ed.
It shouldn't have surprised him, how much he liked Eddy's dad, but their close friendship had been an unexpected bonus. Alton figured it was as much his need for a father figure who treated him with respect as the fact Ed was just a hell of a nice guy. His own father still hadn't accepted that he was an adult, a capable man who could make his own decisions, but Ed saw Alton as a warrior, a brave companion to Dax and Eddy.
And he treated Alton like a man grown, which might have been silly under other circumstances. As an immortal, Alton was already centuries older than Ed Marks, something that didn't seem to bother Ed at all.
He wondered---would his own father ever see him as anything other than a disappointment? What would the ruling chancellor of the Council of Nine say if he knew his son's sword was now sentient, that Alton had proven himself as a warrior?
Fat chance of that ever happening. Now that he had a Lemurian death sentence hanging over his head for helping Dax and Eddy escape from their prison cell, Alton had to accept that going back to his world inside the volcano probably wasn't going to happen.
Still, it was something to dream of, his father actually learning his only son had accomplished what no other Lemurian in recent history had done---he'd established communication with his crystal sword. Even though the story of Lemurians as warriors and demon fighters was a huge part of their history, no one alive now---except maybe the reclusive Crone, a woman of legendary stature who had chosen exile for some unknown reason eons ago---could actually remember anyone strong enough or brave enough to bring their sword to life.
Yet Alton's sword spoke to him. Respected him enough to communicate, crystal sword to Lemurian.
In fact, as far as Alton knew, he was the only Lemurian alive today who'd actually taken part in battle using a weapon other than words. While his people took pride in being known as philosophers and statesmen, they'd lost their fighting edge---the very qualities that had kept their society safe for so long.
Just as they'd lost their strongest allies---their speaking crystal swords. The sword each young man received when he came of age had become nothing more than a fancy ornament.
Legend said the swords' sentience came from the spirits of demon fighters from long ago, the souls of powerful and brave men who'd bested demonkind in a war that had kept Abyss in line for millennia.
That didn't explain the sexy female voice in Eddy's sword, but it certainly accounted for the silence in every sword presented to every young Lemurian male. Why would any warrior's spirit want to speak with a man who didn't know how to fight and wasn't willing to risk his life for something of importance?
Their silence was understandable.
Alton had not only risked his life, he'd discovered an inner strength he hadn't known he possessed. He'd proved to both his sword and himself that he was a warrior, one willing to die for a cause he believed in---protecting the known worlds from the threat of demonkind. All civilizations linked to Earth, no matter what dimension, were at risk from the encroaching evil of Abyss.
The danger of reaching a tipping point, of the ages-old balance of good and evil finally slipping over to the dark side, was still very real, especially with the new threat of a demon king powerful enough and smart enough to lead the demon hordes to victory.
Gaining strength by the hour within his stone gargoyle avatar, the demon king had almost won. Dax's brave sacrifice and Eddy's strength and determination had bought a temporary victory when Eddy'd courageously risked death by wielding Alton's crystal sword. She'd beheaded the stone gargoyle and sent the demon king back to Abyss---for now.
But they knew he would be back.
Had he resurfaced in Sedona?
Alton stared at the trees they passed and thought about Dax and Eddy and the love between them that seemed to grow stronger each day. He would be jealous if he didn't love both of them so much. Eddy was brave and true, and Dax, a man who had begun as a demon, had shown more integrity and honor than anyone Alton had ever known in Lemuria. Dax and Eddy deserved the immortal love they'd found with each other.
So why did that make him think of Ginny Jones? She was nothing like Eddy Marks. Nothing at all. Ginny was mortal, her life no more than a tiny blip on Alton's life's screen. Plus, she was stubborn and opinionated and had no respect for a woman's place---a woman's role as the helpmate to her man. Not that Eddy was anything like the Lemurian women Alton had known, either, but she was Dax's problem.
Did that make Ginny his?
So long as she was in danger because of his screwup, Alton figured it must.
The engine revved and the Jeep's wheels spun as forward motion ceased. Alton glanced at Ed.
The older man shrugged. "This is as far as I can go, Alton. You'll have to hoof it the rest of the way." He slipped the gear into neutral but left the engine running. The trail wound upward from here, climbing through the last of the trees before it crossed areas of slippery scree, the shattered stones that littered the sides of the dormant volcano above the tree line.
Alton climbed out of the Jeep. He checked his scabbard to make certain his sword was secure, grabbed his pack, and slung it over his shoulder. "Thanks, Ed." He glanced around, orienting himself. It took a moment for him to realize where they were. Everything looked totally different in the light of day.
A harmless pile of rocks lay beside the road.
Harmless now, but they were the remnants of the gargoyle that had been the demon king's avatar, the one Eddy had destroyed with her singular act of bravery. She'd saved their lives---unfortunately, she'd missed the demon's soul.
Alton shook his head. "Hard to believe this is the same place where we fought the demon---and almost lost."
Ed slowly nodded in agreement. "I'll admit, I've never been so scared in my life. For myself, for my friends---the image of that monster twisting Dax's body and throwing him to the ground still wakes me up at night. I never thought I'd see the boy alive again." He cleared his throat, wiping a hand over his eyes. "The truth, though? Mostly, Alton, I was afraid for my daughter. Her bravery astounds me, even now."
Alton reached out and shook Ed's hand. "We don't need to worry about Eddy. She's a lot tougher than she looks."
Breaking into laughter, Ed threw the Jeep into gear. "That she is, son. Now you get. I'm worried about Ginny. She doesn't know what we went through here, so she doesn't have any idea what she's up against. You go take care of that girl." He winked, turned the Jeep, and headed down the hill.
Alton watched until the Jeep disappeared into the forest. Then he started the long hike up the hill. The entire mountain was an energy vortex, but there were only a couple of places where he could cross into the other dimensions and access the portal that would take him to Sedona.
Or the one that leads to Lemuria.
No. He couldn't think about home. He'd made his choice when he helped Dax and Eddy escape from their Lemurian prison cell. He'd walked away from everyone and everything he'd known and loved his entire life, but he'd chosen for the greater good.
He wondered if his friend Taron had had any luck convincing the Council of Nine to join the battle against demonkind. That was Alton's only hope of ever returning home. Taron could be persuasive, but were his powers of persuasion a match for the council's collective stubbornness?
The sun had moved to the west by the time Alton paused in front of a mass of tumbled boulders and knew he'd reached the portal. He wrinkled his nose against the stench of sulfur. There shouldn't be any sign of demons here, but their smell was all around him. That made no sense. He'd closed the portal to Abyss.
Unless they'd managed to open a new one.
Alton faced the lichen-covered rock, but before he stepped through, he removed his sword from his scabbard. As he wrapped his fingers around HellFire's jeweled hilt, he realized how much the sword's sentience had changed things. He no longer felt alone---not when he had HellFire beside him. Addressing the crystal blade, he asked, "Do you smell their stench as I do?"
The hilt vibrated in his hand. "I do," the sword answered. "I'm ready if you are."
With a nod, Alton stepped into the portal, walking through what appeared to be solid rock. The dark cavern he entered glistened with light from the various gateways leading to other dimensions: the green and turquoise that led to Atlantis, the gold and silver that would take him to Eden---and certain death should he attempt to pass into that hallowed land.
He stared at the gateway to Eden for a long moment. They'd been the first to recognize the demon invasion of Earth, the ones to recruit Dax to fight demonkind, yet they remained in their insular world, unwilling to take part in the battle---and the demon king had been one of theirs.
Damn them.
He turned and stared at the portal that would take him home to Lemuria. Now, were he to attempt to pass, he feared he risked death as surely as if he tried to enter Eden's sanctuary.
Facing Ginny Jones and a whole passel of demonkind sounded a lot safer.
Alton turned his back on the gateway to his home world. The one that had once led to Abyss was still sealed shut. Why, then, did he smell the sulfuric stench of demons? Where was it coming from?
He held his sword high and used HellFire's glowing crystal blade to search along the stone walls. A small portal, tucked into a nook toward the back of the cavern, shimmered with the colors of a setting sun.
Sedona, Arizona. He recognized the multicolored hues of red rock and blue skies, but swirling within the portal's depths he sensed something else.
Demonkind.
Demons had passed this way, and not so long ago. Were they somehow making their way from Abyss to Sedona, and then north through the connected vortexes to Mount Shasta? He would have to ask Eddy and Dax about that.
After he got to Sedona.
He touched the cell phone Eddy had tucked into his pocket and wished it worked within the portals, but Eddy'd explained to him how they needed towers to carry the signal, and there certainly weren't any deep inside the volcano's energy vortex.
Alton took a step toward the portal, but he caught himself, pausing in midstep as a dark mist slipped through the multicolored gateway. Silently it flowed along the wall toward the portal leading outside to the flank of Mount Shasta.
Demon! This certainly answered part of his question.
His sword vibrated with power. Alton swung. The crystal blade connected with the black mist. The demon screeched and burst into flames. Crackling and sizzling, it disappeared in a puff of smoke.
Only the stench remained.
Alton stared at the spot where the demon had emerged. A shiver raced along his spine. This one had come directly from Sedona. His heart gave an unfamiliar lurch with the proof he couldn't deny. Ginny was in Sedona---and so were the demons.
Demons powerful enough to take on living creatures as their personal avatars. Creatures strong enough to kill.
Holding his sword aloft, Alton stepped through the portal.
"Who'd you have to call?"
Markus's question snapped Ginny out of her convoluted thoughts. "Eddy. I called my friend Eddy Marks."
"I hope it was important." Markus backed out of the parking space he'd taken at the supermarket. Without Tom. The vet had insisted on keeping the cat for observation, which suited Ginny perfectly. Damned cat had really chewed up her hand. She peeked under the bloody towel and wished she hadn't looked.
"You were gone so long I had to take Tom in to see Dr. Buck by myself."
Ginny scowled at him. Her hand still hurt like the blazes and not once had Markus thanked her for risking life and limb to catch his stupid cat. "Well, Tom is your cat, cousin of mine, and I would really like to get back to the house so I can clean up the mess your sweetheart of a cat made of my hand."
Markus stared straight ahead. "Aren't you gonna ask me what the vet said?"
Ginny shook her head. "I figured you'd tell me if he had any idea what happened."
Markus curled his lip and made a snorting noise. "He says they're all possessed. Idiot. I knew he was into crystals and vortexes and all that New Age stuff, but I thought it was just for show." He laughed. "He's dead serious."
"Possessed? By what? The ghost of Christmas past?" Ginny stared out the side window as Markus drove the few blocks home. Possessed. It sounded totally unbelievable, but how else do you explain a cat with four rows of teeth, glowing red eyes, and a scream like a banshee on meth? A scream that sounded horribly familiar.
Since her memories of that crazy night in Evergreen had resurfaced, Ginny'd had the bear's ear-shattering scream stuck in her head. A scream that was nothing more than a louder version of the strange howl coming from Markus's fat old cat.
Had the bear been possessed? Had some sort of evil entity turned a concrete statue into a slavering, screaming killer? Something had made it come to life. She hadn't imagined the damned thing, though until her memory had started coming back, she'd thought it was just a weird nightmare.
But all those animals at the vet's---the birds and bunnies, cats and dogs---every last one of them acted unnervingly similar. Screeching, trying to bite, flashing those rows of sharp teeth, and staring with glowing eyes.
Possession didn't sound all that crazy when you took it in context with what they'd seen today.
With what had attacked her just a few days ago.
With Tom's vicious attack this morning. Damn but her hand hurt, but then, so did her brain, just thinking along those lines.
Markus turned the car into the driveway and pulled into the garage. "Okay. So maybe he's not an idiot." He shut off the engine and turned in his seat to stare at her. "How else do you explain all those animals? They weren't normal. Birds don't have teeth. Rabbits don't hiss and snarl and screech like that little bunny we saw today. Something's making them act crazy. If they're not possessed, what's going on?"
Without waiting for an answer, he got out of the car and slammed the door. Ginny sat in the front seat for a few minutes, thinking of Tom and the other animals they'd seen at the veterinarian's clinic...thinking of the concrete grizzly that had attacked her.
Thinking of Eddy's friend Alton. Why did she know he was the reason she couldn't remember anything? Now that she was away from him, the memories were growing clearer by the moment. She recalled him saving her from the bear, walking with her, even laughing with her.
Most of all, she remembered his kiss.
What she couldn't remember was why he'd kissed her---or why she'd kissed him and then totally forgotten it. She hardly knew the man, and Ginny Jones did not come on to strange men. Not ever. But she knew one thing for certain---Alton was the only reason she'd come to Sedona.
None of this made sense, and Eddy hadn't been much help, either. She'd merely said to hold tight, that she was sending someone, but she wouldn't give Ginny any details about who or why or what the hell was going on.
Muttering under her breath, Ginny rewrapped the bloody towel around her hand and followed Markus into the house.
Covering vast distances via the vortex might be more disorienting than moving between dimensions, but the 1,030 miles between Mount Shasta in northern California and Bell Rock in Sedona, Arizona, took less than a minute down a dark tunnel lit only by HellFire's crystal light.
Alton entered a cavern very much like the one he'd just left in Mount Shasta. HellFire quivered in his grasp. Portals to other worlds glowed against the rock walls. He looked into one that seethed with shades of red and black. There was something inherently loathsome about it, something foul.
No doubt about it---this portal led to Abyss.
HellFire was drawn to the gateway between Abyss and Sedona like filings to a magnet. The sword's vibrations transferred to his hand, his wrist, up his arm. Anger flowed from the crystal. A powerful sense of purpose.
This, then, was the demon's newest entrance, the one that allowed them access into Earth's dimension. It was only a few feet from the portal he'd just crossed through. Obviously the demons had discovered a new route to Mount Shasta, coming through from Abyss here in Sedona and switching to the Shasta portal, bypassing the need for the more direct gate he'd closed between Abyss and Mount Shasta.
HellFire glowed brighter, stronger. Alton felt the pull increase as the sword tried to reach the portal to Abyss. "As you wish, my friend." He stepped close to the swirling gateway and aimed the sword. A burst of power shot down the length of the blade and the portal suddenly glowed deep red, then orange and yellow, hotter still, until the rock turned almost white and began to flow and melt beneath HellFire's attack.
Within moments, the portal had melted shut. The sword no longer vibrated. Breathing deeply, Alton lifted the blade away from the quickly cooling rock. What had been an active portal between Abyss and Sedona was now nothing more than a smooth black wall of cooling, melted stone within the Bell Rock vortex.
Alton sheathed his sword, passed through the Sedona portal, and stepped out on the rocky ground near the top of Bell Rock. It had been centuries since he'd last been to the Arizona desert. He'd forgotten just how beautiful it was. The sun was beginning to set and he stood for a moment, lost in the glory of a desert sunset and the brilliant reds and golds of the rugged, wind-shaped bluffs. The gentle breeze seemed to sing to him, a deep hum that resonated within his---
"Where the hell'd you come from?"
Alton spun to his left and blinked. Row after row of mostly gray-haired men and women, many of them wearing loose robes or colorful skirts, sat cross-legged in the dirt.
Well, crap and nine hells. He'd materialized out of the solid rock, right into the middle of a geriatric meditation group.
Straightening to his full height, Alton pressed his palms together, fingers extended beneath his chin, and bowed his head. His waist-length blond hair, unbound, flowed over his shoulders like silk and he knew his almost seven feet of height, aided a bit by his tooled cowboy boots, made him look pretty impressive to this group of humans.
"I come from within," he intoned. He kept his voice unnaturally deep and bowed his head once again. Then, biting back a powerful urge to laugh, he looked straight ahead and walked solemnly past the rows of brightly garbed folk.
Popping out of the portal in the midst of an evening meditation class of aging New Agers hadn't been an issue the last time he was here. Of course, it had been a while---give or take six hundred years.
He really needed to get out more.
Still chuckling, Alton found a well-traveled trail that took him down off the mountain and into a parking area. The light was beginning to fade. Only a few cars and one old, beat-up, but artfully decorated bus remained. He figured the bus must be here for the group he'd surprised up on top.
Maybe he could catch a ride into town with them...or not. Grinning at the thought of Lemurian royalty hitching a ride on a dilapidated bus painted with rainbows and flowers, Alton set his backpack down in the dirt and pulled out the cell phone Eddy had given him.
He carefully followed the steps Eddy had shown him, found Ginny's number, and pushed the button to connect the call. He almost cheered when Ginny answered on the second ring, but he managed to control himself.
"Is this Virginia Jones?" he asked.
There was a long silence. Long enough that Alton wondered if he'd done something wrong.
"Who's this?"
Nope. That was Ginny. "This is Alton. Eddy Marks's friend."
"How'd you get my number?"
Definitely Ginny.
"From Eddy. Ginny, I'm in Sedona. Is there any way you can come get me?"
"Sedona? How the hell did you get to Sedona so fast? I just talked to Eddy a couple of hours ago, and there's no way you could have come..."
"I'm here, Ginny, and I'll explain everything once I see you. I'm in the parking lot at Bell Rock. Do you know where that is?"
"I'll be there in fifteen minutes. And you'd better have some answers for me because I've definitely got questions for you."
Before he could answer, the line went dead. Alton stared at the phone for a moment before calling one more number. Eddy's voice mail came on. He left a message and wondered where she'd gone, why she hadn't answered the phone. Then he tucked the little contraption in his pocket and leaned against a rock. Folding his arms across his chest, he waited impatiently for Ginny while the night grew dark around him.
Ginny hated to admit how glad she'd been to get away from Markus as she drove her little Ford Focus into the parking lot at Bell Rock. She'd barely seen her aunt and younger cousins all day, and she had the feeling Aunt Betty was as freaked about her as she was over the damned cat.
In fact, this whole trip was turning out just weird.
Then the headlights swept over a tall, breathtakingly familiar figure, and thoughts of Aunt Betty and Tom slipped out of her mind. Damn, she'd forgotten how gorgeous Alton was.
Why didn't she have any old college friends who looked that hot? She'd not seen his hair hanging loose before. On any other man, long silvery blond hair hanging all the way to his waist would look horribly effeminate. On this guy, it was flat-out sexy. Her fingers practically twitched with the need to run them through the silken strands.
A twitch she'd damned well better get under control right now. She knew for a fact she couldn't trust this jerk any farther than she could throw him, and as big as he was, she sure as hell couldn't throw him very far.
He pushed himself away from the rock he'd been leaning against and walked toward the car. He had that long-legged, self-confident saunter that made Ginny's stomach muscles clench at the same time it set her nerves on edge. She unlocked the door.
Alton opened the door and looked inside the little car. "Hello, Ginny," he said. Then he frowned, tossed his bag in the back, folded his lanky frame like a pretzel, and slid into the passenger seat.
Or at least tried to.
"Hi." She cleared her throat and hoped her voice wouldn't crack again, but the man literally took her breath even as he pissed her off. "You'll have to push the seat back. Little lever down on the side."
He fumbled with the catch and shoved the seat back as far as it would go. His knees still stuck up in front of him, but he managed to get the seat belt fastened and the door closed.
He was too close. Much too close. Too tall, too sexy, too overpowering. Too...everything. The combination scared the crap out of her. She'd never dealt with a guy like him in her life. "How tall are you, anyway?" She checked the rearview mirror. No one was coming, so she pulled ahead to the parking lot exit.
"Eddy measured me. I'm six feet, eight inches tall. But I'm wearing boots. I think they give me a couple more inches." He tilted his head and stared at her. "Why? Does it matter?"
"Matter?" Ginny glanced to her right and then back at the road. "No, it doesn't matter. I was just curious." She shot him another quick glance. He was still just as hot. "What matters is how you got here so fast. I just talked to Eddy a couple of hours ago. You haven't had time to catch a plane, and even if you did, how did you get to Bell Rock? Why not a bus station or an airport?"
"What happened to your hand?" He reached across her front and softly touched the thick bandage wrapped around her left hand.
"My cousin's cat bit me. The one with teeth like something out of a cheap horror movie."
"Will you be all right?"
Now that was a question she could answer on a lot of different levels. Sitting so close to him was doing things to her insides she didn't want to think about. He got to her on so many levels she didn't know where to start. Even the low timbre of his voice seemed to vibrate deep in her bones.
She reminded herself that same voice in her head was the reason she'd come to Sedona. She was not going to trust him, no matter how hot he was. Ginny took a big breath and let it out. "I'll be fine, if it doesn't get infected."
"Did you see a healer?"
"A healer? You mean a doctor?" Crap, she knew absolutely nothing about this guy, other than the fact he was Eddy's friend, and she'd trusted Eddy as long as she'd known her. As pragmatic as Eddy Marks was, Ginny couldn't picture her being close friends with someone into all that mystical stuff, but a healer? Next thing, he'd probably be offering herbs and magic crystals. She shook her head. "I haven't had time."
He nodded. "I will look at it later."
"You?" She laughed. "Dr. Alton?" She glanced at him one more time before looking back at the road. "What is your last name, anyway? All you told me was your first."
He hesitated a moment too long. Ginny shot him another quick look and he turned away. Then he looked back at her and smiled. "Artigos," he said. "Alton Artigos."
"That's different. What nationality?"
He shook his head. "I'm not sure. It's an old family name. Probably changed over the years. Greek, maybe?"
"Yeah," she said, watching the road ahead. "Maybe." It came to her, just how little she really knew about Alton Artigos---if that was his real name. She really needed to call Eddy and find out a little more about this guy. Working for the Siskiyou County Sheriff's Department had turned her into a total cynic when it came to men, but it was her dating history that had really taught her the truth---the nicest looking guys could hide some pretty ugly secrets.
Then he chuckled. She wondered what he was laughing about, but she remembered the sound of his laughter. They'd laughed a lot that last night when he'd walked her home from town.
Before he'd sent her to Sedona.
She really needed to ask him about that. In fact, she needed to ask Alton Artigos a lot of things.
They drove in silence through town. Ginny spotted a Burger King about the time her stomach rumbled. She didn't hesitate and pulled into the parking lot. "I haven't had a thing to eat all day. Let's stop here, okay?"
She turned off the ignition without waiting for his answer, and Alton followed her into the restaurant.
Alton wasn't certain what it was about Ginny Jones that threw him so totally off balance, but one thing he was sure of---walking behind her and watching the shift and sway of that perfectly heart-shaped bottom atop her long, long legs had suddenly become one of his favorite pastimes.
She was so tall and lean and moved with such a fluid grace that she mesmerized him. When he stood behind her in line, the top of her head came almost to his chin. Even Lemurian women were not as tall. He liked that about Ginny.
Liked the fact she looked him straight in the eye without backing down or turning demurely away as a Lemurian maiden should. Liked the intelligence swirling in her fascinating tiger's eyes.
"You want a Whopper? Cheese on that?"
Alton blinked. "A what?"
Ginny laughed. "Earth to Alton? I asked if you wanted a Whopper with cheese or would you rather have something else?"
He shook his head. He had no idea what she was talking about. "Whatever you're having." He dug in his pocket for the wallet Ed had given to him. He still wasn't certain if he had their currency straight in his mind, but...
"I'll get it. You can buy when we go somewhere expensive."
She smiled at him. He loved the way her eyes twinkled and her full lips spread into a wide smile. Loved the glossy, dark red color she'd painted on her full lips, and...oh, my. Loved hamburgers and French fries. The tray Ginny grabbed carried a raft of scents that made his mouth water. He'd had these once before when he'd been out with Ed Marks. Alton followed Ginny to a booth in the nearly empty restaurant. He slid into the seat across from her.
Ginny handed him a wrapped burger, picked up the two bags of fries, and dumped them out on the open paper. Then she proceeded to squirt a huge glob of red catsup next to the pile.
Luckily, he'd had similar meals and knew what to do with the fries. He dragged one through the catsup, popped it into his mouth, and sighed. It was so easy to forget demons when faced with a really good French fry.
This was fast becoming his favorite Earth meal. Lemuria had nothing like this. Nothing at all.
They ate in silence for a few moments. Then Ginny took a swallow of her drink and wiped her mouth with a napkin. Her golden eyes gleamed.
Alton swallowed and carefully wiped his lips with his napkin.
"Why did I come to Sedona?"
He hadn't expected that. Didn't think she'd make the connection between his compulsive suggestion and her trip.
"Because you have cousins here?"
"Cousins I haven't seen for years because we're not all that close. Then all of a sudden you walk me home one night and I have this overwhelming need to fly to Sedona and hang out with cousin Markus and the twin brats. Why? What did you do to me?"
Alton sighed. Eddy and Dax had suggested he bring Ginny in on everything, but he hadn't really thought of how he was going to do it. When in doubt...
Honesty generally worked best. He'd learned that the hard way when he was a kid and tried to lie his way out of trouble. Lying just got you into more trouble.
"I wanted to keep you safe and I wanted you gone. You were a distraction I didn't want or need, but my compulsion put you in worse danger. I'm sorry, Ginny. That was not my intent."
"You arrogant son of a..." She glared at him. "I knew you did something. I knew it! You hypnotized me, didn't you? I can almost hear your---"
"Not really hypnotism. More of a compulsion." He reached across the table and gently took her hand, the one that was wrapped in white gauze. "This never should have happened. It's all my fault."
Ginny looked at his hands supporting her injured one. Then she raised her head and stared directly into his eyes. "I don't understand. How could I be a distraction? I hardly know you. And what do you mean by a compulsion? How could you compel me to do something I don't want to do? Why did you want me to come here? And what is going on with the animals?"
Alton glanced around and realized the restaurant had emptied out entirely since they'd been eating. "I have a story to tell you that you will find unbelievable. Open your mind, please, and accept what I say. I'm not going to lie to you, Ginny. Your life is in danger. Many lives---an entire way of life---are in danger unless we prevail."
Ginny slipped her hand free of his grasp and sat back in her booth. She folded her arms across her chest and her dark brows knitted together in a very attractive frown. "Why do you sound like you're frickin' nuts?"
He smiled. Then the absolute impossibility of the situation caught him by surprise. He burst out laughing. "Maybe because I find myself wondering exactly the same thing?" He reached for her hand again, the uninjured one this time. She let him take it. He gently squeezed her fingers. Ginny didn't pull away, something that pleased him more than it should have.
He gazed directly into her beautiful eyes and tried his best to explain. "Just a little over a week ago, some strange things began happening in Evergreen. Eddy told me that it was right after she went out for coffee with you, that very night, that she first discovered Dax."
Ginny's eyes went wide. "She told me Dax was a friend from college. That you were a..."
Alton nodded. "I know. She had to come up with something quick, something to explain two men who couldn't possibly exist. In fact, Eddy found Dax unconscious in her potting shed. He was badly injured, a man on a mission, very much in need of help."
Ginny sputtered and he said, "Bear with me, Ginny, and I promise to answer your questions after I tell you everything. Will you just listen?"
Ginny stared at him a moment. "Okay. But that means I get to ask you a lot of questions."
He smiled. "I promise to answer all of them." He squeezed her fingers and took another sip of his drink. "Dax is not human. He was a demon, cast out of Abyss, the place you call Hell. He was hired as a mercenary and promised he would receive his place in Eden, your Heaven, should he prevail. His job was to fight a demon invasion in Evergreen. He enlisted Eddy's help and the two of them, realizing they couldn't stop the demons on their own, eventually came to my world---"
"Whoa!" Ginny shook her head so hard her thick black curls slapped her cheeks. "Not human? Your world? That's a little bit too much to---"
Alton held up his head. "Ask when I'm done. There's more."
She glanced at their clasped hands, raised her head, and glared at him. "If you're just puttin' me on, I'm gonna be so pissed."
He grinned. "Not putting you on, Ginny. I am not human, either. I am Lemurian, from the---"
"No." She shook her head so hard her dark curls bounced and she covered her eyes with her bandaged hand. "Please. Do not tell me that Ed Marks was right and there really is a lost world of Lemuria. I don't want to hear that at all."
He really shouldn't be enjoying this so much. Gently he tugged her hand away from her eyes. "I know. Eddy's had to, as she puts it, eat some crow, though we never thought of Lemuria as lost. It's been in the same place in a separate dimension from yours, deep inside the volcano you call Mount Shasta for many thousands of years. Except when the volcano erupts. Eruptions tend to cross dimensions. Then we move everything to Sedona and wait until stuff settles down again."
He looked down at Ginny's long fingers nestled against his longer ones. Her dark, chocolaty skin against his fair color emphasized their differences as nothing else could. She was human. Mortal. He shouldn't feel this way about her. Attracted by her beauty, her sense of humor, her beautiful golden eyes.
He was the closest thing to Lemurian royalty they had. She was a 911 dispatcher in northern California. He was immortal, already thousands of years old. She was, according to Eddy, only thirty-one. He shouldn't be looking at her and hoping against hope that she would believe him, that she would fall in with his story, no matter how absurd it might sound to her.
He shouldn't care so much.
He raised his head and looked at her. She watched him warily, like an animal held in thrall by a predator's eyes. He didn't want her to fear him. Didn't want her to think he was nuts. "I would like to take you there, to Lemuria, someday. If I can ever go back."
"If? Why can't you?"
"When Eddy and Dax and Bumper and Willow found their way through the dimensional portal into Lemuria, they were arrested and put into jail. When I helped them escape, I went against the edict of our ruling body, the Council of Nine. For ignoring their ruling, I most likely have a death sentence on my head, but I believed Eddy and Dax when they told me that the fate of many worlds rested on the battle they were fighting."
Ginny was shaking her head now. He couldn't lose her, but all of this had to be more than any mortal could accept. She tilted her head to one side, and it was almost as if he could see her mind processing what he'd told her, trying to figure out what, if any, of his tale was true.
"Those weird reports we had in Evergreen, the ceramic and stone figurines turning up in pieces around town, that big battle where people destroyed all the statues from the cemetery. Was that part of this so-called demon invasion? What about the garden gnome that ate Mrs. Abernathy's cat?"
He couldn't have stopped his smile if he'd wanted to. "And the gargoyle that was supposed to stay put on the old library building but kept flying away, and the bronze statue found in pieces inside Eddy's house. We discovered that demons from Abyss were slipping through a dimensional portal to Earth. Unable to exist in their natural form outside of Abyss, the demons needed avatars, but they had to be something of the earth. Stone figurines, ceramic, metal, concrete..."
"The bear? That bear that attacked me? It was a demon?"
He nodded. "Actually, it was a bunch of demons, working together. That's part of what makes this invasion even more sinister. They're working together, under the orders of a powerful demon we've been calling the demon king, for want of a better name. We thought it was marshaling demons as an army, but we discovered that it was actually bringing them to Earth's dimension as a source of power. They came through the portal and found avatars so they could remain, but once the avatars were destroyed, the demons turned back into wraiths. Their energy was absorbed by the demon king. Eddy was finally able to destroy the gargoyle a couple of nights ago. It was a horrible battle. We could have died if not for Eddy."
Ginny leaned back in the booth. Her hand slipped free of his. He flexed his fingers and thought of reaching for her again, but she was shaking her head, laughing as if he was telling her a really funny story.
"You're nuts, aren't you? I swear, Alton, you almost had me going, at least until you said Eddy was the one who destroyed the gargoyle. Eddy has the softest heart on Earth. She couldn't destroy anything, even if her life depended on it."
The images of that last battle flashed into Alton's mind. Like Ed, he still had nightmares. "That's quite possible, but in this case, Dax's and Bumper's lives---and her father's---depended on her. She took my crystal sword when I was injured---a brave act that put her in grave danger---and destroyed the gargoyle. The demon king survived and escaped back to Abyss, but Eddy not only saved my life and her father's, she gained immortality for herself and Dax, and even for Bumper. Of course, that's because Willow now resides within the---"
"Uh-huh. Immortality? A crystal sword? This I've got to see to believe." Ginny stood up and gathered the remains of their meal. "Alton, you're quite the storyteller, aren't you?"
She walked away with the tray filled with their trash. Alton checked the sword strapped across his back and thought of removing the glamour that kept it hidden from human eyes. Then he glanced up and saw the teenage employees watching him from behind the counter. Later. He couldn't do it here.
Ginny walked out of the restaurant without a single glance to see if he was coming. Alton followed her through the door.
She was halfway to the car when he noticed movement in the shrubs ringing the parking lot. A skinny animal that looked like a feral dog was slinking along the edge of the bushes, barely visible in the dark. It stalked Ginny, shadowing her as she walked toward the car. The scent of sulfur carried on the gentle breeze.
Alton drew his sword and raced toward the creature. At the last moment, the animal turned toward him and screeched, a loud banshee wail that raised the hairs along Alton's spine. As it crouched low, its eyes glowed red. Light from overhead lamps glinted off rows of razor-sharp teeth.
It jumped, springing at Alton with impossible speed. Alton turned to meet it. He swung HellFire.
The sword balked at the last moment. Alton's arm jerked with the unexpected change in direction and he hit the beast beneath its ear with the flat side of the blade.
It toppled to the ground, unconscious but still alive. Ginny screamed and came running. The questions tumbled out of her, faster than Alton could answer.
"What was that? Ohmygawd! It's a coyote. They never attack people! What did you do? Where'd that sword come from? You didn't have it in the restaurant. I would have seen it! What happened?"
He wrapped an arm around Ginny's shoulders. She was shaking like a leaf. "It's okay," he said. "Hold on, just for a moment."
He held his sword up. "HellFire. You stopped my swing when I would have killed the demon. Why?"
The crystal sword glowed and he felt the power race from the hilt to the blade. "It is wrong to kill a living avatar. The death of an innocent creature will feed the demon's power. Touch my blade gently to the beast, over its heart. I will draw the evil to me."
Alton heard Ginny's soft gasp, but he concentrated on the sword, on gently laying the tip of the blade against the coyote's chest where he thought the heart must be.
A black mist began seeping out of the stunned animal. Alton drew it forth with the crystal blade until the coyote shuddered and relaxed. The mist reeked of sulfur, but before it could escape, Alton slashed through the wraith with his blade.
The mist burst into flames. Ginny's short little scream cut off as the air filled with the stink of the dead demon and a puff of black smoke disappeared into the darkness.
Before Alton could explain what had happened, the coyote sat up, shook its head, and took off in a wobbly run toward the nearby fields.
Ginny stared at the sword in his hand. "That smelled just like the veterinarian's clinic. Oh shit. Everything you said? No. It can't be. Okay, bud...your moment's over. Explain."
Alton held the sword out in front of them. The light it cast was bright enough to leave shadows. "Ginny, meet HellFire. I've carried this sword since I was a very young man. It has only recently begun to speak to me. A couple of nights ago when Eddy destroyed the gargoyle, we fought a terrible battle, one where all our lives were at risk. Dax's borrowed body, his avatar, was killed, but because of Eddy's bravery, all of us achieved status as warriors. Dax was given his life back and he and Eddy were gifted with immortality when Dax made a deal with the Edenites. My sword replicated itself, creating two more exactly alike, so that Dax now carries DemonFire while Eddy carries DemonSlayer."
Ginny didn't say a word. She stared at the sword. Then she raised her head and stared at Alton, and he realized she was in shock. He did the only thing he could think of.
After carefully stowing HellFire in the scabbard once more and setting a glamour on the glowing sword so that others might not see it, Alton wrapped both his arms around Ginny Jones, pulled her body close to his, and kissed her.
How could she possibly have forgotten what his kisses felt like? Ginny's memories hadn't even come close. His lips were full and soft, sliding over hers with warmth and possession.
Everything he'd said, all the crazy stories and the crazier things she'd witnessed faded away beneath the sensual glide of his mouth over hers, the warm, wet thrust of his tongue against her teeth and the sensitive roof of her mouth.
She'd never been kissed quite so thoroughly in her life, never felt her body go soft and pliant so that it fit against a man's with such perfection. His angles and ridges seemed to correspond perfectly to her curves and valleys. Where she left off, Alton began. When Ginny breathed out, he inhaled. Even their hearts beat in a synchronized rhythm, pounding at breakneck speed, faster and faster, yet keeping perfect pace.
One with the other.
Ginny moaned.
Alton groaned.
She plucked at his shirt. It pulled loose from his jeans and her fingers found warm, living skin beneath. His callused palm slid against her back, skin to skin, leaving a trail of heat and sensation wherever he touched her. His fingers wrapped around her ribs and softly stroked the full side of her breast.
She arched into him, silently begging for more. Her nipples puckered up against the lace of her bra as his fingers glided closer.
A car pulled into the parking lot. Lights flashed over them, dousing Ginny like a bucket of cold water. She ripped her mouth free of Alton's and backed as far away as his arms allowed, breathing in and out in harsh, explosive breaths.
He leaned his forehead against hers and she felt his laughter before she heard it.
"Nine hells," he said, gasping for air with each harsh breath. "Nine hells and then some. Woman...what you do to me!"
For the weirdest reason, his curse alone convinced her. No one said nine hells. Not anyone from this world. Still sucking air, she stared at his chest. If she concentrated hard enough, she saw the leather strap that crossed from one shoulder, over his chest, and around his waist on the opposite side.
"Turn around." Ginny stepped out of his embrace and planted both hands on her hips. Damn it all if he didn't do as she said. He turned slowly and she saw it then, the tooled-leather scabbard across his back with that damned crystal sword glowing through the design. The jeweled hilt stuck out of the top, glinting silver in the reflected parking lot lights.
"I can see it now." She walked around him until she stood directly in front of him again and folded her arms across her chest. "I couldn't see the sword before. Not at all. How come?"
Alton smiled and his green eyes twinkled. "It's called a glamour, sort of a spell I cast to hide the blade from curious eyes. If you really want to see it, or if you know of the glamour, the sword will be visible only to you. It's a simple compulsion, one that doesn't take a lot of energy but it works for most people."
He shrugged and laughter crinkled the corners of his eyes. "If it's any consolation, I learned early on that a simple compulsion doesn't work on you. For some reason, you're much too powerful. That's why I had to kiss you the night the demon's avatar---that bear---attacked you. I tried a simple compulsion to make you forget, but it wouldn't stick. I finally had to resort to a kiss."
"That's the only reason you kissed me? To make me forget?" She ran her tongue over her just-kissed lips, aware of a horrible hollow feeling in the pit of her stomach.
He at least had the good graces to look embarrassed. "That's what I told myself, and it did work, at least for a couple of days." He placed both his hands on her shoulders. His palms rested, warm and solid, against her. "Truth? I was looking for any excuse I could find to kiss you, Ginny. I'm not sure why, but I thought you were absolutely fascinating the first time I saw you, huddled down behind that filthy garbage bin, swinging a piece of scrap lumber at a concrete bear five times your size. Even then I knew you were special."
"You did?" That was the best she could come up with? Shit.
He grinned. "I did. I still do. I'm so sorry I got you into this mess. I sent you here because I wanted to keep you safe. I never imagined the demons would invade Sedona, but it looks like that's what's going on."
"Markus told me that's what the vet said---that the animals were possessed."
Alton nodded. "The vet is very perceptive. They're possessed by demons---which means the demon king can't be far away. I need to get Dax and Eddy here. BumperWillow, too. I can't fight a full-out invasion by myself."
"BumperWillow?" He'd mentioned someone named Willow, but wasn't Bumper that mutt that...?
"Bumper is Eddy's dog and Willow is the will-o'-the-wisp who drew energy out of the air to drive Dax's demon powers. The demon king, when it was using the stone gargoyle as its avatar, attacked and ate Willow."
"Ick! How awful!" She didn't even know Willow, but---
"Yeah. It was pretty horrible and we thought she was gone, but she'd managed to slip her consciousness out of her little fairy body just in time. She hid inside Bumper. With her body gone, though, she's stuck there, sharing Bumper's body."
He laughed. "The two of them seem perfectly content with the situation, but since both of them are in there, we've been calling them BumperWillow. Dax doesn't need Willow to access his powers anymore, not since he got rid of the cursed snake tattoo and got the phoenix, but---"
"Whoa. You're losing me here." Shared bodies and cursed tattoos. She needed some quality time with Alton if she was ever going to make sense of any of this. The weird thing was, she believed him. It was too crazy a story for anyone to make up.
And there was that disappearing, talking sword, Tom the cat and his glowing eyes, and the coyote with way too many teeth. Too many visuals to ignore, but they still made her head spin.
She really needed to sit down.
Alton's arm went around her waist. Once again, he was much too close, his body too perfectly aligned with hers.
"Where are you staying?"
And that voice. She wanted to sigh. Just sigh and melt against him like a stupid damsel in distress, except she wasn't in distress and she was no weak-kneed damsel. And just because she believed him didn't mean she trusted him. "I just got here today," she said. "I was planning to stay at my cousins', but I don't think that's going to work."
She stopped and took a deep breath, stepped back out of his embrace, and planted her feet. She needed the solid feel of pavement beneath her sandals. Needed to know she was standing under her own power. She'd never been quite as pragmatic as Eddy, but even if she was a little more open-minded than her best bud, her head was reeling with everything Alton had said.
Crazy as all of it sounded, his wild explanation answered so many questions.
"You just got here today?" Alton tilted his head and looked at her with a frown. "But I sent you days ago. I checked your house over the weekend to make certain you were safe. You weren't there. I thought you were already in Sedona."
She shook her head. "I flew into Phoenix on Friday, but I hung around and shopped. I really didn't want to come here. I mean, we send cards at Christmas, but I'm not that close to my Aunt Betty, especially since my mom, her older sister, died."
She glared at him and tried to look fierce. "I couldn't get past the feeling that I had to be in Sedona." Then she lost it entirely and laughed. This was all just way too bizarre. "I finally gave up, rented a car, and drove the two hours to my cousins' house, where I was immediately attacked by their cat. Now I find out it's all your fault."
Alton groaned. "I am so sorry for that. Will you ever forgive me?"
She wanted to be angry with him, but how could she? He'd wanted to protect her. She couldn't think of another man who'd been as thoughtful. All the men she knew wanted something from her, whether it was sex or money or help for one thing or another. She'd gotten quite good at saying no to all requests.
Alton had only wanted to keep her safe.
"Let me think about it," she said, teasing him, but it was obvious he didn't get the joke.
He merely nodded his head and stared at the ground. She bit her lips to keep from laughing again. "Alton? I was teasing. You're forgiven. There's nothing to forgive."
He raised his head and smiled at her and she was sure she felt it all the way to her toes. "Thank you, Ginny."
She shrugged. "You're welcome, I guess. Look, we need to find a place to stay. My Aunt Betty is already freaking out since their cat went nuts this morning. She doesn't need any visitors right now, and I couldn't take you there with me anyway. There's no room, and no way to explain you."
She grabbed her cell phone out of her purse and punched in her aunt's number. When Markus answered she told him she'd decided to stay in town. He sounded relieved when he promised to pass the message on to his mom. Ginny tucked the phone back in her purse after checking for messages.
Nothing. Not even a message from Eddy, but if what Alton said was true, Eddy probably had other things on her mind.
Like an immortal lover? Sheesh...
"C'mon." Ginny grabbed Alton's hand and tugged him toward the car. "Let's find a motel somewhere and figure out what we're going to do next." She glanced at him and caught the raised eyebrows. "Don't even think of it. I'm tired and we are not sharing a bed."
Alton laughed. "If you say so." He walked with her, hand in hand, to the little car.
She hardly knew the man and she was planning to stay with him in a motel room tonight. This was not the way she did things. So why was she smiling like a total idiot?
Because the world was suddenly not the world she'd always known. Because there were demons and magic and her best friend forever was now immortal.
And there's a man walking beside me who's not even human, yet he makes me feel things I've never felt in my life. Good things. If she added it all together, it still made no sense, but Ginny knew she couldn't have wiped that smile off her face for anything.
She just wished the little frisson of fear that accompanied it would quit coiling along her spine.
Ginny made him wait in the car while she got a room in a place called a Super 8. He wasn't sure what that meant, but she seemed to know what she was doing, which was a good thing. He wondered if he'd ever figure things out.
This dimension was nothing like Lemuria.
No, it was so much better, so much more alive, that he couldn't get enough of it.
Couldn't get enough of Ginny either, for that matter, which probably wasn't his smartest move, but she fascinated him. Everything about her, from her attitude to her tall, lean body, and her beautiful tiger's eyes that flashed with life and light. He loved her dark, dark skin and the subtle scent that was all hers, the soft fullness of her lips and the way she kissed. He leaned his head back against the seat and closed his eyes.
Damn, but the woman could kiss. Her lips were so soft and sleek and her mouth fit perfectly to his. He realized he was running his fingertips over his lips in a vain attempt to bring back that amazing sensation.
He wasn't even close. Feeling like a complete idiot, Alton folded his hands in his lap and gazed toward the office. Ginny stepped through the door and got into the car beside him. "The place is pretty full, but I got us a room in the back. Two beds. I could only get it for tonight. They're booked solid tomorrow."
He nodded. "That should give us time to figure out what we're going to do next. I really need to get in touch with Eddy, but I'm not getting an answer on her cell phone."
Ginny drove around the back of the motel complex. "Have you tried the house?"
He shook his head. "I don't have the number, but you're right. Ed would know what's going on." Why hadn't he thought to get Ed's phone number?
Maybe because he still didn't quite understand how cell phones worked. Telepathy was so much easier. Unfortunately, he'd been unable to maintain his link with Taron back in Lemuria, and he, Eddy, and Dax had never established a very strong connection.
Come to think of it, he had no connection at all with Ginny, so maybe it wasn't all that great.
Ginny drove slowly through the parking lot, staring at the various doors they passed. "I'll call once we get in the room," she said. "I know all of Eddy's contact numbers." She pulled into a parking space and turned off the engine. "It's that one up there."
She pointed to a room on the second floor. Alton unfolded himself from the small front seat and got out. He grabbed the scabbard with HellFire and the pack with his extra clothes and followed Ginny's instructions on how to lock the car door.
She handed a little plastic card to him. "That's the key to get into the room. C'mon. I'll show you." She tugged a small bag behind her that rolled on wheels and he followed her to the stairs. She did something to the handle on the bag and suddenly she had a tote bag. He grabbed it out of her hand to carry it for her.
"Thank you." She smiled at him and went on up the stairs. Alton followed, pleased that he'd obviously done something right by carrying her bag. With human women, one never knew. They were terribly independent.
It had bothered him at first, when he'd watched Dax defer to Eddy on so many points, until he realized that Eddy knew more about this world and her decisions usually made more sense than something he or Dax might choose to do. It had taken some getting used to, women who were so self-assured, who had no problem taking the lead, even in battle.
He wondered what Ginny would be like if she were ever to fight beside him. The image of her striking out at that concrete bear when it had her cornered that night in Evergreen flashed through his mind.
Ginny would be an amazing warrior. Unfortunately, she was a mortal and no match for demons. Then he remembered that Eddy had been mortal when she'd bested the demon king, and she'd come through that battle in better shape than any of them.
He was still pondering that when they paused in front of a door that looked like all the others along this stretch. Ginny slipped her square of plastic into a slot on the door, waited until a light blinked, shoved the handle down, and entered. It all seemed relatively simple. Taron would love it here. His friend was fascinated by technology. There were so many amazing things humans used to make their lives easier---as well as a lot more complicated.
Alton followed Ginny into the room. It was fairly large with two big beds and a small table with two chairs sitting by the window. He really couldn't let himself think about the beds, not when he knew Ginny would be sleeping in one while he tried to sleep in the other.
It was going to be impossible, actually sleeping with her so close beside him, yet not with him. He put that out of his mind. No reason to borrow trouble.
He opened a couple of doors and found a closet and a bathroom. Everything they'd need for the night, though he could have done without the extra bed. Ginny tossed her purse on the one by the window and punched numbers into her cell phone. Alton left his bag on the bed by the door and slipped his scabbard off his shoulder. He left everything lying on the colorful bedding and went into the bathroom.
He still smelled the stench of demon on his skin and in his hair. While Ginny was on the phone, he took a quick shower. There were little tubes of shampoo and conditioner, similar to what he used in Lemuria, though at home they came in ceramic pots set into the walls of a natural hot spring in his private rooms.
He was scrubbed and out of the shower in a matter of minutes, but he'd forgotten to bring clean clothing into the bathroom. He ran his fingers through his hair and tossed the tangled mess over his shoulder. He'd comb it out later, maybe braid it the way he usually wore it. He'd hardly had time the past few days. Life in Earth's dimension was so much more complicated than Lemuria.
He glanced toward the closed door and listened. Ginny was still speaking to someone, so he wrapped a towel around his hips, grabbed his dirty clothing and walked back into the room.
Ginny's back was to him. He dug through his bag and found clean underwear and a new shirt. The jeans he'd been wearing would have to do for tomorrow. He didn't plan to sleep in them.
He dropped the towel and slipped on a clean pair of the soft pants Eddy'd called boxer shorts. After millennia wearing nothing but his flowing robes, he'd had a hard time getting used to such restrictive clothing, but the navy blue knit shorts with the narrow white stripes weren't too uncomfortable.
He was folding up his dirty clothes and stashing them in his bag when Ginny ended her call.
She stared at the phone for a moment. To think that just a few short hours ago, if anyone had mentioned demons she would have thought they were nuts. But the conversation she'd just had with Ed Marks had thrown an entirely new light on the situation.
She heard Alton behind her. She'd been vaguely aware of the sound of the shower, and the thought of him in there naked might, at any other time, have made her crazy.
Not now. There was just too much weird, unbelievable, and truly scary stuff going on---but when she turned around, she almost dropped the phone.
He was on the other side of the bed, his fair skin glowing and damp from the shower, his long hair hanging loose over his shoulders in thick, wet, streaky blond tangles. A fitted pair of knit boxer shorts hugged his slim hips and muscular thighs, but they didn't come close to hiding the rest of him.
He certainly looked human, though surprisingly muscular. She hadn't expected the ripple of muscle across his chest, the dusting of pale gold hair connecting two perfectly shaped, coppery nipples, or the hard ridges defining his flat belly. Water beaded on his skin and glistened in the perfect dip of his navel. A darker line of hair trailed down from the indentation and disappeared beneath the elastic band of his shorts.
Ginny swallowed. She raised her chin and caught Alton grinning at her, obviously well aware of what she'd been admiring. She felt heat rising from her chest to her cheeks. "I just talked to Ed," she said. Or tried to say. She cleared her throat. "Eddy and Dax are somewhere up near Grant's Pass, Oregon. There've been reports of cats and dogs acting crazy, sort of like what we've got here in Sedona."
Alton walked around the bed and sat on the side closest to her, totally unconcerned about the fact he was wearing nothing but his underwear. "I was afraid of that," he said. "There's a place I've heard of in southern Oregon. Eddy says it's just a tourist spot, but in Lemuria we've long been aware of it as a lesser vortex. It's similar to Mount Shasta---the same idea, anyway, though not as powerful. The demons must have created another portal to cross through from Abyss."
She would not look at anything but his eyes. It was impossible to carry on a conversation with all that beautiful bare skin so close---so clean and damp and utterly touchable. At least he had gorgeous green eyes. She could do this. Maybe.
"Where's their entryway here?"
His grin spread even wider and she was sure he knew what she was thinking. How much she wanted to look and touch and even taste. She was not going to go there. Absolutely not.
"Bell Rock," he said. "Though it might not be the only one. There are multiple energy vortexes in this area, but I found and sealed a portal in Bell Rock on my way here from Mount Shasta. We use the portals to move between dimensions---they're powered by the energy of the vortexes, and no, I have no idea what causes the power. They are what they are---and where they are. That's how I got here so fast, using the portal in the Shasta vortex. All of them connect on another dimensional plane. When I entered at Shasta and exited at Bell Rock, it was the equivalent of about a hundred yards down a tunnel. In reality it's over a thousand miles."
"I know. I flew here in a jet, remember?" She still couldn't believe she was having this conversation. It was just wrong on so many levels, beginning with the fact he was sitting here practically naked and they were talking about interdimensional travel. It would be so much easier if he'd just put his jeans back on...and if she could go back to thinking he was nuts. Unfortunately, everything was making such a weird kind of sense, she had to believe. Especially after talking to Ed.
Eddy's dad had sounded too concerned to be putting her on.
Alton nodded. "I know. And it's all my fault."
"You already said that. It's okay. You're forgiven." She sat on the bed and realized it was a mistake the moment she sat down. Their knees practically touched, so she slowly curled her legs under her and scooted back on the bed, like it was the way she'd planned to sit in the first place.
Except Alton's big grin said he knew exactly what she was up to. She decided to ignore him. Or at least ignore what she thought he might be thinking.
"So what now?" she said. "We've got demons taking over animals in Sedona, possible demon issues in southern Oregon, and demons in Evergreen. Your entire army consists of one ex-demon and my best friend, both armed with talking swords, Eddy's dad, who has a bad hip and has to be in his late sixties, and a dog with a fairy stuck in her head. And you. I hate to be a killjoy, but that doesn't give me much confidence."
Alton laughed. "You forgot to mention my sword, or the fact that Eddy, Dax, Bumper, and I are immortal. We're not easy to kill. And Ed's hip is all better. That was part of the deal Dax made with the Edenites." After dropping that little nugget without more explanation, he sighed. "You're right, though. The demons are gaining strength and there are too few of us. I would like to study some of these possessed animals up close. Can you take me to the vet's clinic in the morning? With so many avatars caged, I might be able to destroy the demons within their hosts without harming the animals."
"You're kidding, right? You're just going to waltz into the clinic with your glowing sword and start killing demons?" He obviously didn't have a clue how the real world worked.
He shook his head. "Not quite. I want to be there before the clinic opens for the day. Hopefully a few staff members will have arrived early so they can let us in. I don't want to break your laws, but I'll use a compulsion to hide our presence. Once I have an idea how the demons are gaining control over their avatars, I'll know better how to fight them."
Maybe he did have a clue, after all. She'd forgotten about his ability to hypnotize people. Did that mean he was going to kiss everyone at the vet's? There'd been a couple of really cute assistants working there when she and Markus dropped Tomoff, and...Ginny touched her fingertips to her lips.
Alton's soft chuckle had her blinking and staring at him. "What?"
"Your face is too expressive for your own good. No, I won't have to kiss anyone to compel them to forget my presence. Remember? You're an exception, Ginny. I merely have to wave my hand in front of most people. You I had to kiss."
"You keep saying that like it's punishment." She tilted her head and cocked an eyebrow, well aware she was flirting with him. She never flirted. It just led to expectations she wasn't about to fulfill, but there was something about Alton. No. Flirting with him was an even bigger mistake, especially since they were sharing a motel room.
Before he had a chance to respond, she straightened up and said, "Tell me about your world. About Lemuria. According to Ed's books, you're supposed to have a horn in the middle of your forehead, wear long, white robes and lots of weird jewelry, and be close to twelve feet tall."
He flipped his long legs up on the bed, plumped the pillows, and leaned back against the headboard. He was so tall, he'd have to sleep crosswise, even on the queen-size bed, but he wasn't anywhere close to twelve feet tall.
He'd already told her his height. Six feet, eight inches tall. Wow. His green eyes twinkled with good humor and Ginny realized she was grinning right back at him.
"I've read all about your concept of Lemurians. Ed Marks had more than enough of our supposed ancient history. Not much of it, beyond our name, is right. Our name, and the fact that our world sank beneath the sea many thousands of years ago."
"That really happened?"
He nodded. "It did. I was still a child when the end came, but I remember our lives before, playing on the beautiful beaches, swimming in the sea. The island continent of Lemuria was a wonderful place to be a child."
"Wait a minute. You said it happened thousands of years ago. So how could you remember? You're what? Maybe thirty? Thirty-five?"
He got an odd, uncomfortable look on his face. Then he slowly shook his head and sat up, grabbed a comb out of his bag, and began running it through his long hair, tugging roughly at the wet tangles. After a moment he stopped. His shoulders rose and fell with the deep breath he inhaled and then exhaled.
He raised his head and smiled sadly at her. "I told you I was an immortal, Ginny. My world sank beneath the sea around twelve thousand years ago. I have existed, since my birth, for almost fifteen thousand of your years. Among my people, I am a young man. My father, who is much older than I am, remembers a time when we traded with the people of Atlantis, when our older members traveled among the stars."
He stared down at the tangles he'd snagged with his comb and sighed. When he raised his head, Ginny was almost certain there were tears in his eyes. "I've lived through the birth of your civilization, through wars and climate changes, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. But never, in all my long years, have I seen a threat as terrifying as the one our worlds face now. Demons have always existed, but not like this. Not with the strength to actually offset the balance between good and evil. The strength to destroy your people. To end mine."
His pain arced between them, so powerful it was almost tangible. Ginny stood up and crossed the small distance between the two beds. She took the comb out of his hands. "Turn around, Alton."
He gazed at her a moment, and then he turned and sat in the middle of the bed with his legs crossed. She knelt behind him and worked the comb slowly through the long, silky strands of his hair, carefully removing the tangles one by one.
"You said Eddy and Dax went to Lemuria to see if your people would help fight. What happened with that? Why'd they end up in jail?"
He sighed. "It's a long, sad story. Lemurians were once great fighters. Your legends say we almost destroyed ourselves with thermonuclear war, but that's not true. We were a people of honor, armed with our sentient swords, and our fight wasn't with Atlantis or any other humanoid peoples. We fought demons and we kept balance between the worlds. Then, shortly before my birth, when Lemurians had the demon threat under control, my people began to fight among themselves. They came very close to destroying Lemurian civilization. By the time I was born, level heads had prevailed and our soldiers had become philosophers instead of fighting men.
"No one realized, though, that when our swords stopped speaking to us, it meant we had gone too far in our quest for peace through philosophical discourse. We had lost something important. Something that we, as a people, still needed---our strength in battle and our honor. When Dax and Eddy asked for Lemuria's help to fight demons, they were imprisoned. I think it's because the senators of the Council of Nine were embarrassed by their request. Embarrassed to admit they've lost not only the will, but the ability to fight."
Ginny finished combing out one section of his hair and went to work on another. "So why are you different? What made you decide to help total strangers?"
"I had been talking with my friend Taron. You would like Taron. He's like a brother to me, only Taron's a lot smarter." He laughed. "I was telling him how dissatisfied I was with my life. How I sensed there should be more, that our lives within the mountain were meaningless because we accomplished nothing. Essentially, I complained that we had nothing to fight for." He chuckled and turned to smile at her. "Don't ever tempt the gods. They often take your wishes seriously."
"So you met Eddy and Dax and just like that, up and left the only home you'd ever known?" She concentrated on a thick tangle and tried to imagine everything Alton had given up.
"It wasn't that simple. I went to the council and asked them to consider the captives' plea. I tried to convince them that the demon threat was real, that Taron, who discovered the threat even before Dax and Eddy arrived, had lost count of the demons passing through from Abyss into Earth's dimension. The council said it was not Lemuria's problem. That Earth must save itself and we should not get involved. What they don't seem to realize is that if Earth falls to demon rule, a tipping point could be reached. Lemuria and Atlantis could be next, and if they fall, even Eden might be lost. The battle between good and evil has gone on since time began, but we are faced with the fact that---this time---evil could very well prevail. If evil wins, the battle is over for all time. It's a terrible risk. One I couldn't ignore."
"Have you heard from your friend? From Taron?"
Alton shook his head. "No. I'm beginning to think that it might be worth the risk to return to Lemuria. We need help. My people were warriors once; maybe they can be warriors again. We need them. Our small band can't defeat demonkind on our own."
He reached across the bed for his scabbard and withdrew HellFire. The glowing blade fascinated Ginny, the sense of life she felt when he freed the sword from its sheath. She reached out and touched the blade, ran her fingers over the crystal. "It's warm," she said. "Almost like it's alive."
"I am alive. Haven't you been listening?"
She snatched her fingers back and stared at Alton. He looked just as surprised as she felt. Ginny turned back to the sword. "Well, Alton merely said you could speak. I guess I didn't realize the full ramification of that. I'm sorry."
She stroked the blade once again and ran her fingers over the jeweled hilt. "Alton, have you asked HellFire for advice? I mean, if the swords have been around for as long as you say..."
"Of course he hasn't thought to ask me. That would be too much to hope for."
Alton's snort disappeared behind the hand he pressed over his mouth. Ginny had to bite her lip. A snarky sword?
"HellFire, I apologize, but after carrying you for thousands of years with nary a word, I've not yet grown accustomed to conversing with you on a regular basis." Alton glanced at Ginny with raised eyebrows. Then he picked up the sword and held it across his lap. "Do you have any idea what we can do?"
"You and this woman must go to Lemuria. Speak with your father and the Council of Nine."
"Great. What if they throw us in prison, or worse, decide to kill me on the spot?"
The sword glowed a brilliant shade of blue. "They would not dare, not when you are accompanied by a sentient sword and a lost daughter of Lemuria."
Ginny felt a shiver run along her spine. She slowly pulled the comb free of Alton's snarls and stared into his green eyes when he turned to look at her.
"Lost daughter of Lemuria? Ginny?"
"Me?" Ginny cleared her throat and tried again. "You're saying that I..."
The blade glowed. "Descended from one who ventured forth from the continent before it disappeared beneath the sea. Her veins carry the blood of ancient Lemurian royalty, from a time before Lemuria was ruled by the Council of Nine. Her presence and mine shall ensure safety."
The crystal went dark. Ginny ran trembling fingers along the blade. Now it was merely cool and empty, like a beautiful piece of glass. "I don't believe that." She swallowed. "I'm not Lemurian. Look at me. I'm black!"
Alton still had a bemused expression on his face. "There are some among us who are darker skinned, though none as dark as you. Some of our men have crossed into Earth's dimension to consort with human women, but our fertility rate is so low, I never dreamed there might be children of such matings. Who's to say what woman that ancient Lemurian fell for." He laughed as he carefully slipped HellFire back inside the scabbard and set it on the little table by the window. "HellFire said you're descended from royalty. I knew you were special the moment I saw you. I just didn't know how special."
He turned around and pulled Ginny into his arms, but he didn't kiss her. No, he merely pressed his forehead to hers and stared deep into her eyes. "It explains why I couldn't use my compulsion on you. It doesn't work at all against Lemurians."
"I don't believe it." But she did. Deep inside, she knew the sword was telling the truth. Maybe that's why she'd never wanted to leave the little town of Evergreen, so close beside Mount Shasta. She'd felt drawn to the volcano. Always knew she wanted to live close by, even though she'd never believed any of that mystical stuff that people always talked about.
Maybe she should have been listening a little closer.
"What were your parents like?"
She blinked and stared at Alton. Shook her head. "I don't know. I was adopted. All I know about my mother is that she was an unwed teenager from Sacramento. I was adopted by a couple in Evergreen when I was a newborn, but they were a lot older. They've both been gone for a few years now."
"Then Markus isn't really your cousin? Your Aunt Betty...?"
"Nope. Adopted family. Aunt Betty was my adoptive mom's baby sister. No blood line to me at all."
Alton scooted back against the headboard, dragging Ginny with him. He held her in his arms as if she weighed nothing at all, and she had to admit, she liked the way it felt to be cuddled by a man as big and powerful as he was.
"So," she asked, "now what?"
"I wonder if you were targeted? Tom the cat, the coyote. Do demons recognize you as Lemurian? See you as an ancient enemy?"
She shivered, thankful for Alton's embrace but not at all happy about his suggestion. "I hope not. I'd rather think it was coincidental if you don't mind."
He chuckled softly. "If you like. Now we sleep, if we can. Then we pack up our stuff and get any supplies we might need, go to the clinic early, and check on the animals. Then we go to Bell Rock, hike to the top, and step through the portal into the mountain. Once we're inside, we'll take the gateway into Lemuria and hope HellFire knows exactly what he's talking about."
Ginny tilted her head and, for some unexplainable reason, kissed his cheek. "You're saying you'll believe a snarky sword?"
Alton laughed. "He is snarky, isn't he? I don't understand why. Dax's sword is very polite, and Eddy's is definitely a very brave and calm female, which is really weird, if the sentience in our swords comes from the souls of fallen warriors. Lemurian women don't fight. As far as I know, only one woman may have ever seen battle, and her story is more likely legend rather than fact." He shrugged. "For whatever reason, Eddy and Dax have polite, even friendly swords."
"But you got snark?" She cuddled close.
"I got snark."
Ginny didn't realize they'd fallen asleep until she awoke hours later. She went from sound asleep to wide awake in a heartbeat, immediately aware she was cuddled next to Alton with her cheek pressed against his chest. The room was dark, and they were lying down instead of sitting up against the headboard.
Alton was warm and their skin damp with perspiration where they touched. She was struck with the intimacy, the fact she'd actually fallen asleep beside him on the bed. She was still dressed, but all he had on were his knit boxers, which left a whole lot of Alton exposed.
He slept soundly with one hand resting on her hip and she lay there for a moment, silently critiquing the sensation of waking up with such a tall and powerful man curled around her. She'd never once slept through the night with a man.
Not that the opportunity hadn't been there, but she'd never known any man before whom she cared enough about or trusted enough to let her guard down around him. For some reason, she trusted Alton, which made no sense. She hardly knew him. Even more bizarre, he'd already admitted he wasn't human.
Neither am I.
Oh, God. She'd avoided thinking about what HellFire said. That was going to take some getting used to. Was she just going to accept the word of a talking sword? For that matter, was she going to accept the fact a sword could talk?
Hard to ignore a talking sword. Especially a snarky talking sword. This was all just way, way too over the top.
Never in her wildest dreams...
Biting back an impending case of nervous giggles, Ginny carefully slipped out from under Alton's arm, grabbed her overnight bag, and quietly went into the bathroom. She hadn't had a shower since leaving Phoenix so many hours ago, and even though it was almost three in the morning, washing off the grime of travel was her number-one priority.
She showered quickly, towel-dried her hair, and resigned herself to the fact she'd have frizzy instead of smooth curls in the morning. Then she slipped into her cotton knit sleep pants and the soft cami top and padded quietly across the room to her own bed.
A blue glow on the little round table by the window caught her eye. Could HellFire be awake? She glanced at Alton. He snored softly, but he'd rolled over on his side and his back was to her. Before she could talk herself out of it, Ginny carefully grabbed the hilt and slipped the sword out of the scabbard.
Alton's warning slammed into her thoughts just as she pulled HellFire free. He'd told her she couldn't use his sword in battle without risking death. She stared at her fingers wrapped solidly around the jeweled hilt, at the way it fit her hand, and hoped the threat didn't extend to quiet conversation.
Nothing happened. She let out a soft, shaky breath. Then she quietly lay the glowing sword on the floor beside the bed and sat down next to it, out of Alton's line of sight.
The blade shimmered with a soft, blue-toned light. She ran her fingers along the crystal, careful not to cut herself on the razor-sharp edge. Whispering softly, she asked, "HellFire? Are you awake?"
I am.
The voice was in her mind! Clear as a bell and not nearly as snarky as it had sounded earlier. She answered with her thoughts and hoped she was doing it right. May I ask you a question?
You may.
Oh, this was just too weird, but she'd been afraid of waking Alton and she had so many questions! You said I was a daughter of Lemuria. How can that be?
There are very few who walk upon the earth with the blood of Lemuria in their veins. Only when like meets like does the blood run true.
She thought about that a moment. When like meets like...Are you saying that both my birth mother and the man who fathered me carried the blood of Lemuria?
The sword glowed brightly and then went dark. Ginny stared at it for a moment before whispering, "Guess that's an affirmative." Maybe she should have asked HellFire if she could ask questions, as in plural.
A snarky, literal sword.
Smiling at the thought, she carefully slipped the sword back into its scabbard and set it on the table. She started to crawl into her bed when Alton rolled over and blinked sleepy eyes in her direction. "Ginny? Is something wrong?"
"No. I felt grimy. I just took a shower."
"Come back to bed. We have a busy day ahead." He was lying on top of the covers, but he raised the sheet, inviting her to join him.
She glanced at her empty bed and shivered. She didn't want to sleep alone. Not with Alton so close, but at the same time, she had a feeling she could be making a terrible mistake...or not. With a last glance at the dark sword, she walked around the extra bed and crawled in beside Alton. He covered her with the sheet and tugged her close against his side.
Within seconds she knew he slept, but Ginny lay awake for a long time, wondering about the blood in her veins and the legacy she'd not known of until now. Wondering what it meant, and how this knowledge might change her life.
Alton awoke once more during the night. Ginny slept close beside him, tucked up under his arm with her nose pressed against his ribs. When he'd reached for her earlier and realized she'd gone, he never dreamed she'd come back to his bed.
The fact she'd fallen asleep in his arms in the first place had thrilled him more than it should have. He'd been afraid to move for fear she'd wake up and leave his side, but she'd come back. Awake and aware, she'd still slipped into bed beside him.
There might be a sheet between them, but she was closer than he'd expected, more relaxed beside him than he'd dreamed.
Her hair had dried into tight little curls. He inhaled and smelled the same shampoo he'd used on his hair. With the warmth of her body beside him and the clean scent of soap and shampoo tickling his nose, he drifted back to sleep.
It was light when Alton awoke again. Ginny stood beside the bed, dressing. He barely caught a glimpse of smooth, dark thigh and curved buttock when she slipped out of the soft pants she'd been wearing. Within seconds she'd pulled on a pair of pale blue underpants and a matching bra, followed by snug, faded blue jeans and a stretchy T-shirt. Her hair was pulled back in a tight ponytail this morning. She pulled the end out of her shirt and fluffed the frizzy black curls with a look of pure disgust on her face. While she was fiddling with her ponytail, he sat up in bed and waited for her to notice he was awake.
She turned around and bit back a short shriek. Then she glared at him. "How long have you been awake?"
He faked a big yawn and stretched. "Just now. Give me a minute and I'll be ready to go." He noticed the fresh bandage wrapped around her fingers and palm. "How's your hand?"
She shook her head. "Healing pretty fast, actually. There's no sign of infection." She held her hand up and showed him how she could flex her fingers in spite of the bandage. "See?"
"Good. I'm glad it's better. What time is it?"
"It's early. Barely six. I don't think the clinic opens until at least nine."
"Someone may come early to feed the animals," he said. "We can park nearby and wait."
Ginny drove through a fast food place and they bought a couple of breakfast burritos and cups of coffee. It was only quarter to eight when she parked the Focus down the street from the clinic.
Alton reached in his pocket for his cell phone. He'd remembered to charge it at the hotel, but there were no messages on it. He tried calling Eddy, but it went straight to her voice mail, so he left a message that they were at the clinic to check on the possessed pets, ended the call, and stuck the phone back in his pocket.
He'd thought about telling her of his plans to take Ginny to Lemuria. Thought about it, and discarded the idea. If Eddy said it was too dangerous, what would he do? He still wasn't sure it was the right move, but he had to do something. Had to find out if his people were going to help fight this battle that seemed to be growing more involved, more confusing, by the day.
They had a good view of the parking lot and employee entrance as well as the front of the clinic. Alton sipped his coffee and studied the building. Ginny nibbled on her egg burrito and studied Alton.
He filled the passenger side of the little car. Even though the seat was shoved as far back as it would go, his long legs were bent and his head nearly touched the top. Still, he seemed relaxed as he stared at the little adobe building that housed the clinic.
As big as he was, he moved like a man confident in his body. He'd slept the same way, on his back most of the night on top of the covers, his long hair like a tangled blond halo around his head. This morning he'd pulled it into two long, thick braids hanging forward against the sides of his face. The ends were tied with colorful twine he'd woven into the braid.
She thought about how her opinion of him was changing. He'd been so arrogant and overbearing when they'd first met. Cocky to the extreme. She still thought he was arrogant and cocky, but why didn't it bother her as much?
She'd need to think about that one. She had no patience for arrogant men, never liked their attitude or the way they treated her. She'd definitely had her fill of macho types while working as a 911 dispatcher. There were the ones who looked down on her, either because of her race or her gender or both, or the ones who thought she was the kind of girl to lie back and spread her legs merely because she was female and they were such hot stuff.
She'd certainly straightened them out in a hurry. In fact, she was damned proud of her reputation at work as a ball-buster, but at least it kept the jerks away. She had no patience for them. None at all.
She wasn't sure if Alton had backed off on the attitude that bugged her so much at first, or if she was just getting used to him. For whatever reason, Ginny was actually looking forward to spending the day with him.
She wasn't all that certain about going to Lemuria, but in the back of her mind she fully expected Alton would stop at some point and tell her it was all a joke.
What if he didn't? She wished she could get ahold of Eddy. There was an awful lot she really wanted to ask her best friend. So many questions Eddy might be able to answer.
An SUV pulled into the parking lot beside the clinic. Ginny recognized the veterinarian when he got out of the vehicle---the same fairly young man, with dark, shaggy hair, and a neatly trimmed beard, whom she'd seen yesterday. Though Ginny hadn't met him, she'd admired the way he calmly checked out the animals when she and Markus had brought Tom to him. He'd been equally patient with the stressed-out owners hovering over their pets. He seemed like a nice enough guy---tall and lean with such kind eyes. He'd acted competent, if a little confused by the strangely acting animals filling his clinic.
Yesterday? Ginny let out a deep breath. Not even twenty-four hours ago. How could so much have happened in less than a day? She couldn't wait to see what was coming next. Alton set his coffee on the dash and climbed out of the car. Ginny followed him across the street to the clinic.
"Good morning, Doctor." Alton nodded to the vet.
The man jerked away from the door he'd just unlocked. "Goodness," he said, tilting his head back to look up at Alton. "You startled me." Recovering quickly, he smiled and paused with his hand on the door. "We're not open yet. And even if we were, all my cages and pens are full. I can't take any more patients, at least until we figure out what's wrong with the ones we got in yesterday."
Ginny smiled. "My cousin brought his cat in yesterday. You have Tom here already."
Before the vet could comment, Alton added, "Ginny's cousin said you believe the creatures are possessed. I happen to agree with you. I would like the chance to observe the animals, if you don't mind."
The man blinked. He took a step back and Alton passed his hand in front of the vet's eyes. The man blinked again, smiled, and held the door. "Come in. Please. Take a look. I just need to get everyone fed."
Ginny glanced at Alton. He winked at her and waved her through the door. She entered the clinic with Alton and the vet right behind her.
The place was quiet. She'd expected banshee screams and the reek of sulfur, but it smelled like a regular veterinarian's clinic, sort of doggy and antiseptic with an overlay of cat pee. Alton glanced at her and frowned, but he spoke to the veterinarian. "Where are the affected animals?"
The vet didn't speak, but he led them through a set of double doors. Cages and wire kennels lined the room along both sides. As soon as they entered the room, dogs started barking, but they sounded perfectly normal. The veterinarian had to raise his voice to be heard. "Dogs are here, cats in the next room. I need to get everyone fed. Feel free to take a look."
He walked away without a backward glance.
"Wow. Just your everyday mind control, eh?" Ginny stared at him for a long moment with her hands planted firmly on her hips. "Definitely effective, isn't it? That's what you did to me?"
Alton smiled as he stepped close to a kennel holding a large German shepherd. "That's what I tried to do to you. Didn't work, remember?" He sighed dramatically. "And that is why I was forced to kiss you."
Ginny flashed him a flirty grin. "Hmm...should I apologize for being such a tough sell?"
Alton smiled down at her. "Never apologize, Ginny. Not for being who you are. You're really quite amazing." Then, after dropping that bombshell, he merely added, "Notice anything?"
She blinked. Talk about switching gears! Going back to the subject of possessed animals, she shook her head. "Other than the fact they sound like normal dogs? No stink of sulfur, either. Look at that guy. Normal dog teeth. Where'd the demon teeth go? For that matter, where'd the demons go?"
"I imagine they've gone back to the void, unless they could find new avatars after leaving the caged beasts. Let's go check the cats."
They found the vet staring at the rows of cages filled with cats. A couple meowed quietly. He turned to Alton and shook his head. "This doesn't make any sense. All these animals were screeching yesterday. Their teeth had changed, their eyes were glowing. Today they're regular cats. I don't get it."
"I'm not positive, but I imagine once the demons realized the animals were going to stay caged, they lost their value to the demons. Demons took possession of the animals to give themselves mobile avatars in this dimension. It's the only way they can stay here and move about. Caged avatars don't do them any good."
Obviously confused, as much from Alton's compulsion and his offhanded explanation of the patently impossible demon possession as he was by the perfectly normal animals filling his clinic, the vet stared at Alton and shrugged. "I still don't get it. Where are the demons now?"
Alton glanced at Ginny. "I wish I knew. They can't last long in Earth's dimension in their mist form, but they could have searched for new avatars. Wild animals or pets running free, not caged. I imagine you'll be seeing an entirely new group of patients, animals possessed by the same demons that once inhabited the creatures you've got here."
The vet scratched his head and stared long and hard at Alton. "How do you know this? When I told people I thought their pets were possessed, they looked at me like I was nuts."
"That's because the truth is often frightening." Alton stared at the rows of cats staring at him from their pens. His words had a sense of destiny to them, as if he was making a pledge as much as explaining himself to the vet. "I come from a long line of demon fighters. This is the job I was born to do."
Then he seemed to reach a conclusion. "I want you to remember my visit after I'm gone," he said, brushing his hand in front of the veterinarian's eyes. "You're going to want to keep me informed of any new and unusual activity."
The doctor blinked and shook his head. He smiled at Alton, but now his eyes were bright, focused. "What did you say your name was again?"
Alton stuck out his hand. "Alton Artigos. And this is my partner, Ginny Jones. We were talking about the animals you saw yesterday. As I said, the demons probably fled once they understood their avatars were caged, but I'd appreciate it if you'd let me know if you have another rush of animals like these. I forgot to ask---how long has this been going on? Is it a recent phenomenon?"
"It's just bizarre. Yesterday was the first day folks showed up with their pets acting so strange. I've never seen anything like this."
"Then how did you know it was demon possession?" Alton's question seemed to catch the vet by surprise.
"Why...I..." He shrugged. "I don't know. They felt wrong to me. They looked wrong. It seemed obvious, though I guess most people wouldn't phrase it quite the same as I did."
"Here." Ginny dug a business card out of her handbag. "My cell phone number is here. I'm so glad to see Tom looking normal and healthy. He was scary yesterday. He got me good." She held up her bandaged hand. It still hurt.
"He bit you?" The vet took her card. "That's not typical behavior. Normal, socially adjusted pets don't bite people." He blinked and stared at the rows of caged cats. "They're nothing like they were yesterday. I need to call their owners to come and get them. Strange. It's all very strange." With a last, somewhat confused glance over his shoulder, he walked out of a room filled with perfectly normal cats.
"What now?" Ginny tilted her head. She gazed up at Alton standing so quietly beside her.
He shook his head. "I guess we go to Lemuria. There's nothing for us here. I sure hope HellFire knows what he's talking about."
The little half smile he gave Ginny wasn't all that reassuring. Not when he'd told her he had a death sentence hanging over his head.
It was cool and overcast when Ginny parked the car in the empty parking area at Bell Rock. She stuffed a few things from her suitcase into her daypack while Alton checked to see what he wanted to take in his. There was no point in carrying any more extra weight than they had to.
After locking the car door, Ginny slung her pack over her shoulder and adjusted the weight. Alton grabbed his. It didn't weigh much at all, as he'd pared it down to the minimum, but he didn't take more than emergency overnight stuff. With any luck, he figured they could be back before sunset.
He wished he felt luckier. He stared up at the deep red sandstone of Bell Rock and tried to imagine what awaited them, but he had no idea what might happen once he and Ginny crossed into Lemuria. HellFire remained dark and silent, though the solid weight of the leather scabbard across his back was a surprising comfort to him. More so, now that HellFire had found his voice.
What would his people think of his sentient sword? As nervous as he was about entering Lemuria after the way he'd left---sneaking out with escaped prisoners in the gray light of early dawn---Alton couldn't help but feel a sense of achievement. His sword spoke to him, proof he'd gained status as a Lemurian warrior.
And, petty as it seemed, he hoped his father would be proud. It was not easy, living an immortal lifetime as a failure, feeling as if he'd always been a disappointment. He hated to think what his father had been thinking of him over the past week. All the chancellor knew was that his son had failed once again---he'd broken a Lemurian edict and, as far as anyone in Lemuria knew, Alton was nothing more than a common criminal.
He shivered, seeing himself as his father saw him. Seeing himself as someone even worse than a failure.
"C'mon, Alton. What're you waiting for?"
Jerked out of his black thoughts, Alton shook his head. "Nothing. Just thinking," he said, but before Ginny had a chance to ask him what he'd been thinking about, he took off at a brisk walk along the well-marked trail.
Leading Ginny up the bluff, he realized he'd not thought of his lack of accomplishment since leaving Lemuria. He hadn't dwelled on his supposed failings, on the fact he'd not measured up as the son his father wanted. Only now, knowing he would be facing his father in a very short time, was he suddenly swamped in self-doubt and insecurity.
Since he'd left Lemuria, he'd been filled with confidence and he'd acted bravely, with honor. He'd changed. He wasn't the same man he'd been just over a week ago.
He was a warrior. A confident fighter, one who'd met demons in battle, all because he'd chosen to take a stand for the right reasons and risk everything for a principle he believed in.
The self-confidence that had begun to ebb reappeared. He walked tall, proud of himself, proud of the woman beside him---just as proud of the sword slung across his back.
Pride goes before a fall. He shook his head. Now was not the time to be thinking of old human sayings.
They followed the worn path that led up and around the towering red rock. It was still early and the threat of rain hung close in the dark and heavy clouds.
They crossed a large, flat area where the wind had scoured the rock smooth. Alton recognized it as the spot where the class had been meditating when he arrived from Shasta. A few fat raindrops fell, sending up tiny puffs of red dust as they hit. Alton grabbed Ginny's hand and tugged her toward a perpendicular bluff of deeper red sandstone. "This is the portal," he said, stopping in front of the smooth wall. "We pass through here."
Ginny shook her head. "How? There's nothing there but solid rock."
"Watch my hand." He pressed his palm against the rock, hesitated a fraction of a second, and his arm disappeared into the stone. Ginny gasped and her fingers tightened around his.
"That's impossible. Absolutely impossible."
He grinned at her, and then, because he really couldn't help himself, leaned over and kissed her. Her full lips immediately softened under his, so filled with invitation that it was harder to break away than he'd expected.
He finally ended the kiss and ran his tongue over his lips, tasting Ginny. "Actually, it's not," he said. "I just did it, and so will you." He held her palm against the wall. "Imagine a tunnel. It's dark and cool with light glowing at the other end."
She rolled her eyes in his direction with a look that let him know exactly what she thought of his instructions. Then she stared at the wall, closed her eyes a moment, and her hand disappeared all the way to her elbow. Immediately she jerked it back out.
"Shit! I did not see that."
He laughed. "Well, you would have if you'd opened your eyes."
"I did open my eyes, about the time my arm disappeared." She twisted and turned her arm, as if she needed to make sure her parts were still where they belonged. "That is just wrong."
"I hope not, because we're walking through before we get soaked." The storm was moving quickly across the desert. It looked like a dark gray wall coming closer by the second. Raindrops splattered all around them, faster now. Harder. "Hold my hand and follow me."
"I really don't want to...oh, crap."
He grabbed her hand and stepped through the portal. Ginny followed close behind and within seconds they'd cleared the gate. Alton turned her hand loose and pulled HellFire out of his scabbard. The glow from the crystal sword lit the dark cavern.
Ginny's eyes were tightly shut.
"You can open your eyes now. We're inside." He laughed and held HellFire overhead. Shadows danced off the shimmering walls. Thankfully, there was no sulfuric stench, no sign of demons having recently passed.
He turned and smiled at Ginny. She was staring at the shimmering walls, her eyes wide, lips parted in absolute astonishment. "What is this? What am I looking at? How can we be inside a solid chunk of rock?"
"We're not actually inside Bell Rock. It's merely a portal. It led us into another dimension using the power of the energy vortex in the rock." He pointed out the various gateways. "That will take you to Atlantis, the one next to it goes to Eden, though if you try to pass through uninvited, you will die. That melted splotch on the wall was a portal directly to Abyss, but I sealed it when I was here yesterday."
"Un-frickin-believable."
Laughing, he dragged her down the tunnel a short way. "If you pass through that one, you'll end up in Mount Shasta. Takes just a couple of minutes to cover the distance. That's how we'll go home when it's time."
Ginny shook her head so hard her frizzy ponytail slapped the sides of her face. "This is absolutely unreal. Where's the one to Lemuria?"
"This way." He tugged her back to the main part of the cavern. The gateway to Lemuria beckoned with a golden glow. Alton tightened his grasp on Ginny and held his sword in front of them. "HellFire? You're sure this is safe? I don't want to expose Ginny to any danger."
"Every war is fraught with danger, but no one in Lemuria would dare cross a sentient crystal sword. Nor would they harm a daughter of Lemuria. Go."
Alton raised his eyebrows and glanced at Ginny. She looked like she was trying not to laugh. "If you say so," he said. Holding the sword high, he and Ginny crossed through the swirling gold portal and stepped onto the pathway that would take him home.
"What's that noise?" Ginny grabbed Alton's arm and planted both feet. She wasn't going to take another step until he explained the deep roaring sound that echoed throughout the tunnel they'd popped into once they passed through the portal. Gold light shimmered on the walls around them, but the sound seemed to pulse within her skull, so powerful, so all consuming that she was certain her heart had taken up its beat, that her breathing was locked to its cadence.
"It's energy---nothing more than visual and audio effects set up to protect Lemuria from invaders." Alton slipped his pack higher on his shoulder, grabbed her hand, and tugged her forward. "You'll see. It's pretty cool, actually."
"I'll believe that when I see it." Grumbling, Ginny wrapped her fingers around Alton's. They followed the pathway for a short distance. The roar grew louder with each step they took, until Ginny felt as if she'd become part of the noise, as if her own heartbeat contributed to the din. The tunnel ahead seemed to glow and shimmer in time with the echoing sound.
Alton stopped. His fingers tightened around hers and he turned to look directly into her eyes. "This is it, Ginny. Once we go through the veil, I'm a wanted man. I don't know what's happened since I left, what's waiting on the other side."
"You said your friend stayed behind. Is there any way to reach him?" She wriggled her fingers in the air between them. "You know, like telepathy?"
He shook his head. "Not until we pass through the energy veil. I'm going to try as soon as we're on the other side."
She stared at the pulsing golden wall in front of them. It reminded her of a waterfall, but it could have been molten metal. The air was cool, though. Melted gold would have to be really hot, wouldn't it?
Still, when Alton stepped through, she just about freaked, but he tugged on her hand and gave her no choice. She shut her eyes and followed him through the flowing wall of gold.
There was absolutely no sensation at all as they passed through. Within seconds they'd popped out on the other side into a long, wide tunnel that wound deep into the earth. Ginny planted her feet once again and stared around her, at the tunnel leading forward, at the flowing wall of gold at their backs. Not in her wildest dreams could she have imagined anything even remotely as unbelievable as all of this.
"C'mon. We might as well just go for it." Alton tugged her hand once again.
Ginny shook the tension out of her shoulders, squeezed his fingers tightly, and walked beside him down the wide tunnel. So this was Lemuria? She almost giggled as she thought of her friend, Eddy, and all the years they'd teased Eddy's father about his fervent belief that Lemuria existed. Eddy'd definitely had to eat some crow over this.
They passed a few smaller tunnels that led off to the right or left, but Alton kept to the main route. Suddenly he stopped.
"Nine hells," he cursed. He dropped his pack and his fingers flew as he unbuckled his scabbard and shoved the sword and scabbard into Ginny's hands. "They're coming for me. I reached Taron, but it's too late. He said there are armed guards on the way. Here's my pack. Take HellFire and find Taron. Use the sword. It should be able to lead you."
Ginny slung his pack over her shoulder and clutched the leather scabbard. "But, I don't---"
"Hide. They're almost here." Alton leaned over, kissed her hard on the lips, and shoved her into a narrow passage.
Ginny stumbled and almost fell, but she managed to slip back into the shadows as a group of soldiers dressed in weird blue robes descended on Alton. Heart thundering in her chest, she bit down on her fingers to keep from crying out as two men even bigger than Alton grabbed him roughly and twisted his arms behind his back.
He didn't look her way. Did nothing to betray her. He didn't fight his captors, either, even when they lashed his hands behind his back and tied his arms tightly all the way to his elbows. He never made a sound, though the pain had to be excruciating.
The one who appeared to be the commander of the small force shoved Alton forward with a muttered curse. Then they marched him quickly back the way they'd come.
It had taken less than a minute from the time the soldiers had arrived until Alton disappeared from sight. Ginny stayed behind, hiding in the shadows with Alton's sword clasped to her chest, praying that no one would hear the staccato pounding of her heart.
The sound of the men's heavy footsteps grew distant as the soldiers marched away with Alton. Ginny waited, paralyzed as much by fear as indecision. Should she try and find Taron? Or should she go back and try to contact Eddy and Dax?
No. She had to stay here. She couldn't leave Alton alone.
Trembling, alone in the dark passage in a strange, unfamiliar world, she tried to figure out how she could possibly rescue her Lemurian.
Ginny had no idea how long she remained huddled in the dark corridor with HellFire clutched in her arms. She had to find Alton if she was going to be able to help him, but she wasn't ready to go after him yet---not until she was sure they were far enough ahead that she wouldn't stumble over the soldiers who'd taken him. They'd been heavily armed. Their swords didn't appear to be crystal, but a blade was a blade.
She held perfectly still, conscious of the distant roar of the energy field they'd passed through and the thundering beat of her heart.
Then another sound intruded. Footsteps.
Trembling, she squeezed back into the shadows and held her breath.
The whisper sounded just beyond her hiding place. "Ginny? Ginny, are you here? It's Taron. I'm Alton's friend."
Ginny let out a huge breath. Taron! Finally. She poked her head out of the opening. The man in the long, white robe walking softly toward her, studying the ground as if he searched for prints in the dust, was every bit as tall as Alton, though his skin looked almost tan, not nearly as fair. Instead of silvery blond hair, his was so red it was almost scarlet. He wore it pulled back from his face in a long braid that looped over his shoulder. His eyes were as emerald green as Alton's.
She slipped out of the shadows. "I'm here," she whispered. "I'm Ginny."
Taron's head snapped up and he grinned. "That you are," he said. "Exactly as Alton described you. Come quickly, before someone sees us."
She nodded, clasped the sword against her chest, and adjusted Alton's pack and hers over her shoulder.
"Here. Let me." Taron grabbed both packs, took her hand, and led her down the tunnel, in the same direction the soldiers had taken Alton. After about a hundred yards, he turned off to the left and followed a narrower route. They walked in silence along a tunnel that appeared to be lit from within. There were no visible lights, yet Ginny could see perfectly.
After about ten minutes, Taron turned down another, darker tunnel, then another and another until Ginny realized she was hopelessly turned around and entirely confused.
She couldn't have found her way back to the portal if she'd tried. She had to trust Taron, trust the fact that Alton trusted him. It wasn't easy, hanging on to a strange man she'd never met before, following him through unfamiliar tunnels deep within a mountain that actually existed in another dimension from the only world she knew.
Oh crap. She couldn't let herself start thinking along those lines. Not if she wanted to stay sane and help Alton.
Taron stopped in front of a swirling wall of light. "In here," he said. He let go of her hand and stepped through, the light swirled shut behind him, and he disappeared. Ginny stood, locked in place, staring at the light. She could do this. She had to do this. Just walk right into...what?
Suddenly a hand popped out through the mass of colors and light. A hand, part of an arm, and a swirl of light and color. Crap, crap, crap... Closing her eyes, Ginny latched on to the hand so tight her knuckles turned pink, and shut her eyes when Taron---at least she hoped it was Taron---dragged her through the doorway.
Because that's exactly what it was. A portal of sorts, one leading directly into what must be his private quarters. She'd stepped through a wall of light and color into a comfortable living area with furniture that could have graced any suburban family room back home in Evergreen.
She knew she must look bug-eyed to the tall Lemurian standing in the middle of the room with his arms crossed over his chest. At least he was smiling.
"So, you're Ginny," he said.
She swallowed. "So, you're Taron," she mimicked. Then she grinned at him. "Thank you. I had no idea what I was going to do next. I was terrified when they took Alton away, but he seemed to expect it. Do you know if he's all right?"
Taron nodded and tapped a finger to the side of his head. "We've been close friends for so long, our telepathy is very strong. I've been in contact with him. They've put him in a holding cell, but he's okay. He'll be going before the Council of Nine in about an hour, which is comparable to light speed in this place. He wants me to bring you with me once he's taken into the court. You're sort of his ace in the hole, to use a human saying."
Ginny let out a deep breath. "He said he has a death sentence hanging over him. What if...?" She hugged HellFire close. When it came down to specifics, she hardly knew Alton, but if anything happened to him...
She couldn't think about that. She just couldn't.
"I think they've decided to drop the death sentence. Have a seat." He gestured toward a low couch. "There's really nothing we can do until he contacts me." Taron reached into a cabinet and pulled out two glasses. He reached into another and grabbed a bucket of ice and filled the glasses. Then he poured an amber liquid into each of them. "It's tea, nothing more." He handed one to Ginny. She sat with HellFire in her lap and a glass of what had to be the Lemurian version of iced tea in her hand.
Taron seemed perfectly relaxed when he dropped into a chair across from her. If he wasn't worried, maybe everything would be okay. She hoped.
He took a sip of his tea and set the glass on a low table beside his chair. Then he leaned forward, planted his elbows on his knees, and rested his chin in his hands. "I've been arguing with the council ever since Alton left. I think the capital crime he was charged with has a lot to do with Alton's unhappy relationship with his father. Artigos hates to admit an error, and he has to know he acted precipitously by sentencing the two humans to death without a trial. That's not the way we as a people behave. I don't want you to think that."
Ginny nodded. "Alton said as much. That's why he helped them escape. He said it was wrong---that Dax, once a demon, had acted with more honor than the Council of Nine."
"He's right, and most of the council agrees. It's been a rough week for Alton's father. He is not a man to admit an error, and having the son show more honor in his actions than the father has been difficult for Chancellor Artigos to accept."
"You're not kidding it's been a rough week." Ginny sipped at her cup of tea. It had a totally unfamiliar but wonderful taste. And it was cold and refreshing. A good thing when she needed to keep her head clear and her thoughts in order.
"How are Dax and Eddy? And that little sprite, Willow?"
Ginny shook her head. "Good, as far as I know. I'll let Alton fill you in on the details since he was there and I wasn't, but I did hear that Willow is now living inside Bumper the dog since a demon ate her body."
Taron leaned back. "Nine hells. Really? Is she okay?"
Ginny shrugged. "As far as I know, she's fine. According to Alton she slipped her consciousness out of her body before the demon swallowed." She waved her hand in the air and laughed. "Sorry. It's all still beyond me, but Alton said Willow is happy inside Bumper and they're both just fine."
Taron suddenly focused on the sword clasped in Ginny's hands. "Isn't that HellFire you're holding? Alton's sword?"
Ginny nodded. "It is."
Taron shook his head. "But how can you handle it without risk? We're taught from birth that only a man may wield a sword, and only the one he's gifted when he comes of age. I don't understand how you can hold it without harm."
Ginny stared at the sword in her lap. HellFire glowed a soft blue through the leather scabbard, proof he was listening to them. She carefully slipped the sword free of the leather and set it on the couch beside her. "HellFire? Did you hear Taron's question?"
Taron's soft gasp caught Ginny by surprise. "The sword speaks?"
"I do."
"Nine hells. He's sentient." Taron moved closer and knelt beside the couch, but he kept his hands folded tightly across his chest. Obviously he wasn't willing to risk touching the blade.
Ginny shrugged. "Alton told me he started talking after a big battle they were in with a demon. It was up on the side of Mount Shasta and Dax was actually killed before the Edenites brought him back to life, but then Eddy grabbed HellFire and destroyed the demon's avatar, which Alton said was enough to send the demon back to Abyss. The problem is, he's not going to stay there, or at least we don't think he is, because now we've got demons in Sedona and---"
"Whoa." Laughing, Taron held his hand up to stop her rapid-fire flow of words. "You're going to need to go slower. So Alton's actually been in battle? He's fought demons in Earth's dimension?"
Ginny nodded. "He said that's when HellFire finally started talking, though Eddy's sword and Dax's started speaking as soon as they appeared."
"Wait a minute...Eddy and Dax have crystal swords, too?"
Again, Ginny nodded. "That's what Alton said. He told me that HellFire replicated himself, except Eddy's sword is female, which I think is just cool." She laughed with the tale she was telling. Bizarre didn't even come close.
"Anyway," she said, stroking her fingers along HellFire's glowing blade, "now you've got me curious, too. HellFire, how is it I can hold you and speak with you when you belong to Alton?"
The blade shimmered brightly, then dimmed just a bit.
"You are a daughter of Lemuria. Your loyalty to Alton is pure. You hold him in your heart. Alton, son of Artigos, is a warrior true. You stand beside him, not behind him. You honor the warrior, therefore you honor Lemuria. You are worthy of bearing crystal."
Taron sat back on his heels. "Amazing," he said. Then he scrambled to his feet, crossed the room, and opened a closet door. Reaching inside, he pulled out a scabbard similar to the one holding HellFire. Inside was a sword of the same design.
The blade was dark. There was no sense of life to it when Taron removed it from the scabbard. He held it up and let the light shine off the crystal blade, but there was no fire from within. Nothing like HellFire's inner glow.
Taron studied his sword, turning it to catch the light before setting it on the couch beside Hellfire. "Each male carries a crystal sword." His rough voice, barely above a whisper, sent a shiver along Ginny's spine.
Clearing his throat, he continued in that same harsh rasp. "Mine will glow, but has never spoken. Swords never do---not anymore---but we've all heard the stories of their sentience, of swords coming to life. They're supposed to be the souls of fallen warriors come back to be our brave companions in battle."
He turned to Ginny and his eyes sparkled. "Did you know that legend says a sword dies if the warrior who bears it is killed in battle? The blade turns black, like obsidian. If a warrior acts in a cowardly manner, the blade shatters. All my life I've heard of swords coming to life, heard of them speaking...but until now, I've never actually heard one speak."
He stared at Alton's sword with pure longing written in his eyes, on his face. Finally Taron sighed. "May I touch you, HellFire?"
"You may. But only the blade. Do not touch my hilt."
Taron raised his head and his eyes twinkled. "Wouldn't think of it," he said, but Ginny noticed that his fingers trembled when he ran them the length of the crystal blade.
His sword remained lifeless and silent. Taron stroked HellFire for a moment. Then he quietly returned his own sword to its leather scabbard and once again stowed it in the closet. "One day I hope to join Alton in the battle against demonkind. For now, though, I've discovered that my strengths lie in another direction. My powers of persuasion are better than I'd realized. My arguments are what swayed the council to drop the death sentence."
Ginny replaced HellFire in the leather scabbard. "Does that mean your people will join the fight?"
"Not yet, but I see more and more of the men leaning in that direction. It's not going to be easy to change thousands of years of inaction, even with Alton's sentient sword. We are no longer warriors."
"Alton is. If he is, so are you. So are the other men. I don't think it's something you lose, not if it's born inside of you." Ginny stood up and started pacing. She couldn't sit still, not when Alton was a prisoner. Not when demons were taking over pets and wild animals in the town of Sedona and somewhere up in Oregon. Not when she hadn't been able to reach Eddy and had no idea if her friend and Dax were safe or not. And what about Evergreen? Was her town okay? Now that she was free of Alton's compulsion, she remembered all the weird stuff that had happened in her hometown just last week.
How could she ever have forgotten that horrible bear with all those teeth? Or Alton's bravery? He'd leapt up on the bear's back and risked his own life to save hers. She'd never seen anyone act so bravely---or foolishly---in her life. And he hadn't even known her. He'd acted purely on instinct.
A warrior's instinct.
For that matter, Alton hardly knew her now. They were still essentially strangers, yet she was here, hoping to help him, somehow, hiding out in another dimension deep within a dormant volcano---only she wasn't really in the volcano as she knew it on Earth. She'd entered through Bell Rock in Arizona---yet here she was, same place, same Mount Shasta she saw outside her window in Evergreen, California, only a different dimension, and it was all so unbelievable it made her head hurt.
But she was here for Alton, just as he'd been there for her. She needed to think about that, why and how he'd suddenly become so terribly important to her, but not now. Now she needed to act. Ginny raised her chin and looked into Taron's bright green eyes. "Alton's the bravest, most honorable man I've ever known," she said. "How can they treat him like a criminal?"
"That's what I've been trying to tell them, how I've attempted to sway Alton's father, Chancellor Artigos. He's the head of the Council of Nine and his feelings, one way or another, will affect how the other senators decide to vote. I've tried to convince him that Alton has acted honorably to protect our world, that the other men should be following his example, not censuring him for it."
"Alton says they've forgotten how to fight." Ginny paused in her pacing and glared at Taron. "Is that true?"
He shook his head. "I don't know. There are no warriors still living, none beyond Alton. The men living today were but children when the first demon wars were fought. They only remember fear and hardship. The oldest surviving member of our race, the only one who might remember, is a female, who, for some unknown reason, has chosen to exile herself from Lemurian society."
"I thought Lemurians were immortal. Doesn't that mean you live forever?"
Taron sat on the arm of the couch while Ginny paced back and forth. "Immortality means we have the potential to live forever, but our elders reach a point where they no longer find joy in life. When that happens, they choose to leave their physical bodies and become spirit."
"Like ghosts?" At least this conversation was taking her mind off Alton. A little. She wondered how long it would be before he called Taron to bring her. She wished she shared his ability to use telepathy. Not having contact with Alton was making her crazy.
"In a way," Taron said. "Much of our history is more legend than known fact. Most of our records disappeared when Lemuria sank beneath the sea, but we're taught that the swords our warriors once carried held the departed spirits of ancients. That Alton's HellFire, for instance, might have fought demons in the DemonWars thousands of years ago. Legend says there are spirits within the swords, but they don't want to converse with a man they don't respect."
Ginny nodded. "That's sort of what Alton said, why he was so frustrated even after battling demons, when HellFire wouldn't talk to him. Then when HellFire finally acknowledged Alton and started talking, he was"---she glanced at the sword, now tightly bound within the leather scabbard, and whispered---"sort of snarky. Like he was really pissed about being stuck in Alton's sword." She covered her mouth to keep from giggling.
"Snarky?" Taron glanced at the sword and grinned. "Alton got a snarky sword?"
"Yep. And what's really bad is that, according to Alton, Dax, the ex-demon, got one with a really classy voice, but the best is Eddy's. She's got a female sword that chatters away with her like they're girlfriends."
"But where did theirs come from?" Taron stopped in front of the scabbard Ginny'd hung over a straight-backed chair.
"Alton said after the battle with the demon, when Eddy used his sword to destroy the avatar, HellFire replicated himself."
"Nine hells. The council's going to have a fit." Taron paused and gazed off toward the door. Then he smiled. "Alton's being taken before the council now. Are you ready?"
Ginny straightened up. "I am," she said. And she realized as she said it, that she was ready. Calm, self-confident, and sure of herself. Sure of the role she would be playing---whatever that role might be.
She grabbed the leather scabbard and held HellFire in her arms, close against her chest. Taron picked up both packs, and when he stepped through the swirling doorway of lights, Ginny followed. She kept her eyes wide open this time, and her hands didn't tremble at all.
In the past, when he'd come before the Council of Nine in the huge cavern they called the great hall, Alton had been intimidated by the sheer age and power of the group, not to mention the icy stare he usually got from his father.
Of course, in the past, he'd usually been dragged up before the eight senators and his father, the chancellor, for some minor transgression or another. This was a first. He'd never actually been arrested before and brought here in chains. Never had to stand before his father as a wanted criminal with a price on his head.
He hadn't been told anything, though Taron had assured him that the death sentence---unofficially, anyway---had been lifted. He certainly hoped so. Dying wasn't on the list of things he hoped to accomplish with this trip home to Lemuria.
No, he wanted his peoples' help. The combined worlds needed their help. He had to bring together enough strong young men---men of the aristocracy, like himself---who wielded crystal swords and were willing to fight. Men brave enough to go up against the demons invading Earth's dimension.
Men willing to fight the powerful demon king when he returned from Abyss. There was no doubt in Alton's mind the demon king would be back if he wasn't already, and when he returned, Alton wanted his army ready with men who still carried the blood of demon fighters in their veins. Men like his friend Taron.
And women like Ginny---only there were no Lemurian women like her, even if she did have Lemurian ancestors. Lemurian women would never fight. Their lives were spent keeping the home calm and peaceful for their mates, not training and preparing for battle. He certainly couldn't see Ginny in the traditional, subservient role like that. Ginny was a warrior. She'd been one surprise after another. She was tough and strong and, for whatever reason, she believed in him. She trusted him.
Damn, but he hoped she was okay. Taron said she was fine, that she had HellFire and seemed to be holding up well, but Alton hated that she'd been frightened. Hated to think of her being treated with any kind of disrespect. At least he knew Taron would watch over her. So would HellFire.
He actually felt a connection to his sword. What a great surprise that had been, to think that even though Ginny carried the sword safely locked away in its leather scabbard, he remained aware of and connected to his sword's sentience. The feeling was so powerful, Alton actually felt that if he called HellFire to him, the sword would come.
He hoped he had no need to test such a theory. No, this was not the time for theatrics. He merely wanted to get the council talking about the possibility of actually engaging in the war. He didn't expect immediate action---not from Lemurians---but he wanted to know they'd not closed their minds to the idea.
Now, though, as he stood in front of the empty dais, there were soldiers on both sides of him, traditionally dressed in the blue robes and stout sandals soldiers had worn for as long as Alton could remember. He'd seen images, though, of warriors of old, and they wore pants and boots. Tightly fitted, protective pants that allowed for freedom of movement, and high-topped leather boots for quick maneuvering and protection.
A robe would tangle too easily in a man's blade.
It was obvious to him now, since he'd actually been in battle himself, that the robes and sandals his people wore were a part of their nonviolent tradition. By dressing in a manner of scholars, not warriors, they made a physical display of the type of men they were.
Alton looked down his long legs at the blue jeans he now found so comfortable and practical, at the sturdy western-style boots covering his feet, and he felt like a warrior. His plain black cotton T-shirt made an informal statement as well. He had taken on the trappings of a warrior. He no longer wore the garb of a Lemurian scholar.
He was not the same man who had left Lemuria like a common criminal less than two short weeks ago.
The door behind the dais opened. Alton raised his head proudly. He had no reason to bow before the council. No reason to act in a subservient manner.
He was a warrior. He had battled demons, and his sword spoke to him. With those thoughts in mind, Alton held his head high and smiled grimly as the nine members of the council entered the room. And when his father glowered at him, Alton merely dipped his chin in a show of respect.
Nothing more. He would not prostrate himself before these men. He had no reason to feel shame. What he'd done when he freed Dax and Eddy, Willow, and Bumper was right. It was done for the good of Lemuria. He stood proudly behind his decision.
Just as Ginny now stood behind him. He didn't need to turn around to know she was there, to know that she carried HellFire for him. He sensed Ginny, sensed her dismay that he was standing here in chains, but he heard the sword!
HellFire was in his mind, as was Taron. He wished he shared that telepathic connection with Ginny, but even without it, he knew she stood proudly behind him, supporting him. He felt her confidence and it lifted him. Gave him even more courage than he'd had mere moments ago.
Gave him the courage to stand tall and stare directly at each member of the powerful Council of Nine as they sat in judgment of his supposed transgressions.
His father stood. As the ruling chancellor, it was his place to pronounce sentence, but that should come only after a trial. In the past, Alton might have lowered his eyes beneath his father's critical gaze. Now he looked directly into his narrowed eyes and saw the man who had raised him.
Saw how much he had aged. Had Alton's actions brought about this change? If so, he regretted only his father's reaction, not the choice he had made to free prisoners unjustly held.
Chancellor Artigos stared directly into Alton's eyes, as if daring him to look away. Alton held his father's glare and returned it without rancor. Calmly he stood with his feet apart as far as the chains would allow, his hands bound behind his back with a chain that linked his wrists and stretched down to the one holding his ankles together.
Alton's father cleared his throat. Then he looked away. Startled, Alton realized the father was the one unable to meet the son's eyes.
"Before the proceedings begin," Artigos said, "I wish to make a declaration." He nodded to a scribe who sat to one side of the dais. "Strike Alton's name from the Artigos line. He has brought shame to our family. He is no longer my son."
Ginny's soft gasp and Taron's shock vibrated through Alton. He refused to react to his father's bald pronouncement, even as his heart stuttered in his chest. He'd never imagined his father taking such a terrible step. Never imagined it, but realized it made no difference to the choices he'd made. The choices he would continue to make.
Alton stared at his father---with nothing more than his will he forced the older man to look his way. Artigos had already turned to walk back to his seat at the center of the Nine, but he paused and stared back toward his son.
Alton raised his head as he spoke. "I imagine, Chancellor Artigos, that it is much easier to condemn a man who is not of your line. What you don't seem to realize is that it makes it that much easier for me to defy your unjust ruling. We are at war, Chancellor. Your denial of that war will not make it go away. Your refusal to accept my actions does not make them wrong. I have met demons in battle and they are a fierce and deadly threat. A threat to all of Lemuria, to all of the inhabitants of all the worlds connected through the dimensional gates. Denying that threat doesn't make it any less dangerous to our tightly linked societies."
"Guards? I would have you remove this man from our presence."
Maybe this was a time for theatrics, after all.
Before the soldiers at either side of him could react, Alton spun about and shouted, "HellFire!"
As if she'd read his mind, Ginny had already released the sword from the scabbard. She tossed it into the air. Alton turned his back and stretched his hands away from his body as best he could. The sword spun overhead, glowing with white fire as it twisted in midair, appeared to pause a moment, and then dove straight for Alton's back.
Screams and gasps of surprise filled the huge cavern. The crowd surged back, away from the dais. The guards stumbled over themselves, scrambling to get out of the way. Alton stretched the chains tight. HellFire flew true and the blade cut through the links as if slicing through butter.
Then it hovered in the air, defying gravity, awaiting Alton's hand.
Spinning around, Alton grabbed the sword with both hands, slashed through the chains holding his ankles, and spun once again in a perfect pirouette that put him between Taron and Ginny with the glowing sword clasped over his head.
He held the sword high and the light that burst forth from the crystal blade was blinding. The senators scrambled for safety, hiding ingloriously behind their chairs and beneath the long table. The guards had formed a loose circle between Alton and the dais, but it was obvious they were in awe of the glowing sword and unwilling to mount an attack.
After a moment, Alton lowered the sword, though the blade still shimmered with its own inner fire. Holding it firmly in his right hand, he reached out for Ginny. She slipped her hand into his, and with Ginny on his left and Taron walking beside him on the right, Alton led them up the nine steps to the dais.
The chains had fallen away entirely. He left them in a small pile on the floor. Alton's father was the only one still standing, obviously too shocked to move. "Sit down, Father." Alton stepped forward and pulled the chancellor's chair out for him.
Artigos sat.
Alton retrieved Ginny's hand, squeezed her fingers tightly, and then he turned and gazed out over the huge crowd that had gathered in the great hall. All wore white, so that only hair color and faces set them apart. He saw friends he'd not seen in years. He saw his mother standing off to one side, her hands clasped nervously in front of her, and he couldn't help but wonder what she thought of his father disowning him. Had she been warned that would happen? Did she approve?
Did it really matter, in the overall scheme of things? Alton gazed down at the sword in his hand and looked to his left, at Ginny's broad smile. Taron stood beside him at his right, and Alton knew he could ask for no stronger allies. He held HellFire aloft once more. A brilliant beam of light flashed from the blade, encompassing Alton, Ginny, and Taron.
A unified gasp filled the great hall.
You're on, my friend. Alton's fingers tightened around the jeweled hilt.
HellFire spoke. Once more, gasps of surprise filled the room. Light blossomed and pulsed, until the entire sword glowed like a beacon as HellFire's words, somehow magnified, filled the huge cavern. "Lemuria is at a crossroads," he said in a strong, true voice. "Ignore the danger facing you now, and deny your descendants a future. Demonkind will rule into eternity unless you put aside your cowardly ways and take up the sword again. Discuss if you must, for that is the way of Lemuria, but you cannot ignore the threat that grows more powerful by the day."
The glow dimmed. Silence followed the sword's brief yet powerful warning. Alton took the scabbard from Ginny, fastened it across his shoulders, and carefully slipped HellFire into the sheath. Then he turned to face the Council of Nine. The men had scrambled out of hiding and now sat in their respective seats as if nothing had sent them scampering.
Again, Alton squeezed Ginny's hand and tugged her forward. "Gentlemen, this is Virginia Jones of Earth. Ginny carries royal blood of Lemuria in her veins. You will treat her with respect." He grabbed Taron's hand next and placed it against his own heart.
"Because of Taron, we were warned in advance of the demon threat. Because of his powerful love of our world, he has stayed to argue the need for Lemuria to enter the fight. He, too, deserves your respect, as well as your thanks. Because of him, we may yet have a chance to prevail."
He released Taron's hand and once again faced his father. "You have disowned me as your son, but you will always be my father. I am sorry to have been such a disappointment to you, Father, but you were the one who taught me the importance of putting love of country ahead of all else. My love for Lemuria is worth more to me than my father's love. I regret it is a choice you have forced me to make."
Chancellor Artigos stared into his son's eyes with an expression of frigid disdain. Seeing his own future in that cold image, Alton realized there would never be a true meeting of minds with this man. Where Alton was open to all that was possible, his father saw walls. Where Alton's dreams were limited only by his idealistic imagination, Artigos would be forever trapped by boundaries and rules and the need to conform.
Alton could no more exist within his father's dark and hopeless world than Artigos could understand Alton's passion, his intensity, his powerful expectation of a future world free of the taint of demonkind.
They had reached an impasse. Alton finally acknowledged the painful truth---if he wanted to survive with his spirit intact, it was time to move beyond his father's narrow view, time to abandon his desire for the man's approval.
It wasn't going to happen. Alton accepted that now.
A rumble of voices caught his attention. Alton turned toward the sound and saw the crowd parting, but even from his vantage point on the stage, he couldn't see who or what they parted for. Holding tightly to Ginny's hand, he turned his back on Artigos, and watched and waited as the crowd slowly surged and separated, like a wave flowing across the cavernous room.
Finally a tiny woman, stooped with age and wrinkled beyond belief, came into view. Taron's soft curse had Alton looking away from the small figure approaching them to see what Taron knew.
"It's the Crone," he said, slowly shaking his head. "It has to be. I've heard of her, but she's not shown herself for thousands of years."
A chill spread over Alton's spine and raised the fine hairs on the back of his neck. He knew of the Crone, of the story of how Lemuria's only warrior woman chose to live in exile until her successor appeared. He grasped Ginny's hand tighter as the Crone reached the nine steps and slowly climbed them, one by one.
She was tiny for a Lemurian, barely five and a half feet tall. Her back was bent with age and her white hair hung in long tangles almost to her knees. Instead of the plain white robes most Lemurians wore, hers was a shimmer of amethyst that glowed with a dark light. Alton realized there wasn't a sound in the huge room. All attention was focused on the old woman and her painstaking climb up the steps.
Taron was the one who stepped forward and offered his arm.
She looked up at him and smiled. As wrinkled and aged as she appeared, her smile was that of a young woman, filled with the joy of life. Alton realized he was smiling back at her as she clutched Taron's arm and ascended the last few steps.
When she walked across the stage area of the dais, it was Ginny she saw, Ginny who was the focus of the Crone's attention.
She paused in front of Ginny and tilted her chin to look up at her. Her smile grew even wider and her eyes twinkled. Golden eyes, just like Ginny's. "Finally, you have come," she said. "I have waited a long time for you, my dear. Give me your hand, child of my lineage."
"Yes, ma'am." Without any hesitation, Ginny held out her hand. The Crone took it between both of hers and brought it to her face. Ginny didn't take her eyes off the old woman, and Alton couldn't take his eyes off either of them.
"You are indeed a child of Lemuria. I felt your power the moment you entered our land." The Crone raised her head and studied Alton for a moment. "She is of my line, of my blood, and the power of the ages runs through her veins. Royal power. There is an ancient prophecy..." Her golden eyes twinkled and she laughed. "More ancient even than I, and believe me, I am very, very old." Then, still chuckling, still clasping Ginny's hand, she looked at her and began to recite---

Tall and dark as raven's wings,
yet in her veins runs blood of kings.
Her tiger's eyes and heart are bold,
her hand a crystal sword will hold.

The Crone paused and smiled, nodding as if at some private joke. Then she added, almost as an afterthought,

My gift to you, oh daughter mine,
Long life to battle demonkind.

The Crone raised her hands. She placed her palms on either side of Ginny's face and pulled her close. Then she kissed her full on the lips. Ginny trembled. Alton lunged forward as Ginny's eyes rolled back in her head and she began to sway.
Alton grabbed her as she slowly crumpled to the ground. The Crone, smiling once again, tipped her head to both Ginny and Alton, and backed away.
Stunned, Alton grabbed Ginny up in his arms and held her close against his chest. Her eyes were closed, her body limp. The Crone stood still for a moment at the edge of the stage, gazing at the two of them, still smiling as if she held a wonderful secret. Then she collapsed and fell slowly to the ground, folding in upon herself.
There was a collective gasp. All who could see the raised dais watched in horror as the old woman crumpled to the stage and her frail body and violet robe turned to dust.
Ginny struggled to consciousness in Alton's grasp. A breeze sprang up out of nowhere, lifted the dust particles, and dispersed them into the air. Nothing remained but a few ragged pieces of the Crone's violet gown.
Ginny shook her head and blinked. Then she looked from Alton to Taron. "What the hell just happened?"
"I'm not certain," Taron said, slowly shaking his head, "but I think the Crone just gave you immortality."
"Holy shit. Put me down. Please!" Alton lowered her legs to the ground, but she swayed as if they were made of rubber until he wrapped his arm tightly around her waist and supported her.
He glanced over his shoulder and cursed. "Nine hells. It appears HellFire has something for you, too." He slipped his scabbard off his back and pulled HellFire free. Directly behind his sword, a crystal blade glowed---but instead of the brilliant blue of HellFire, it shimmered purple, like a black light. "I imagine this one is yours." He held the scabbard out for Ginny.
She looked at him wide-eyed, without saying a word. Then she reached for the sword, wrapped her fingers around the silver and jeweled hilt, and pulled it free. She held it aloft, turning it slowly this way and that. "I don't understand. I'm not a warrior. I don't even like violent movies. I've never been in a battle. Why me?"
The sword vibrated in her hand and the glow deepened, shimmering with an eerie pulse of life. A vibrant yet familiar woman's voice rang from the depths of the blade. "I am DarkFire. You are the warrior woman of prophecy. You will have need of me in the days to come, as I have needed you."
Then the sword went dark.
Ginny raised her head and gazed at Alton. "It's the Crone's voice. A younger version, but I swear it sounds just like her." She shuddered, stared at the sword for a long time, and then shook her head hard enough to send her ponytail bouncing. She looked directly into Alton's eyes. "You said things could be a little dicey if we came back here, Alton. Just what is the Lemurian definition of 'dicey'?"
He stared at the dark blade. He'd never seen anything like it. Of course, he'd never seen anyone like Ginny, either. He leaned close and kissed her. "You have the spirit of the Crone within your sword. She's ancient and her knowledge of demonkind could prove to be invaluable. You are a warrior, Ginny. You fought the demon bear with nothing but a broken scrap of wood and your courage. You have Lemurian blood in your veins."
He paused and ran his fingers along her cheek. "Ginny, listen closely." Do you hear me? You have me in your mind, just as I have you. Somehow you've received all of the gifts of your heritage. You truly are Lemurian.
Eddy sheathed DemonSlayer and leaned against the thick trunk of the redwood tree, sucking one deep breath after the next into her tortured lungs. Dax sat on the ground beside her with his head between his knees, breathing just as hard.
Even Bumper looked exhausted, standing with her feet spread wide and her head hanging low. Her curly blond coat was matted with twigs and other bits and pieces of the forest floor.
The air reeked of sulfur. A couple of dazed squirrels sat on the ground beside Bumper, oblivious to the small group of demon hunters.
Only moments ago, they'd sported rows of razor-sharp teeth and clawed talons. Now they were just typical gray squirrels suffering a demon-possession hangover.
Eddy finally caught her breath enough to nudge Dax with her toe. "Do you think we got all of them?"
"For now." He rolled his head back against the tree and smiled up at her. The sight of his sexy grin was enough to make her heart stutter in her chest. "This is a small vortex with just the one portal from Abyss and the one linking us to Shasta. The one to Abyss is sealed tight. You did well."
Eddy ran her fingers over the jeweled hilt of her sword. This was the first portal she'd ever sealed on her own, and she'd decided immediately it was a chore she'd never grow tired of. In fact, sealing the gateway to Abyss had given her an amazing sense of elation---and power. Wielding DemonSlayer made her feel like a warrior, but sealing the demons' gateway had been something else altogether---something only a crystal sword could do. Now, instead of backing Dax up with a crowbar or a baseball bat, she was truly armed for battling demons.
What a rush.
Bumper barked and Willow's voice blossomed in Eddy's mind. There are no more demons nearby, but I'm worried about Alton and Ginny. We haven't heard from them since Alton left for Sedona.
Eddy nodded. "I know, but we've been out of cell range since he left. I figure he can't possibly get into too much trouble in just one day. Still, we need to head back." She glanced at the two spaced-out-looking squirrels and laughed.
"At least no animals were injured in the making of this battle," she said, mimicking the disclaimer for a television commercial. "I'm glad we figured out how to force the demons out without hurting their hosts."
Dax nodded. He flicked his fingers toward the two dazed squirrels. "Get, you two. And don't play with demons." The squirrels ran up the closest tree, sat on a thick branch, and chattered indignantly at Dax as he slowly rose to his feet. "We need to contact Alton and see how he's doing. When you last talked to Ginny, it sounded as if the demons were possessing animals in Sedona, too."
Aching in every muscle and bone, Eddy shoved away from the tree. "We need to check on Dad and make certain all is okay in Evergreen first."
"And sleep," Dax said. "We've been awake for over twenty-four hours. We all need time to recharge." He rubbed Bumper's curly head. She butted his hand when he stopped, blatantly asking for more. Willow didn't say a word.
Too tired to agree with Dax, Eddy merely nodded. They gathered up their packs and hiked quietly through the woods to the vortex. This one had long been a popular tourist attraction, but it was closed for the day. Luckily they'd arrived early, before the spot had opened, because the portal was in full view of the main attraction. Now, though, with the day growing late, it was easy to slip through the portal in the hillside that led to their gateway.
Once through, they'd still have to hike down the mountain to the road where Eddy'd parked her dad's Jeep. Dax was right. They were exhausted. Even immortals needed a few hours' sleep a night. Holding on to Dax's hand, with Bumper following close behind, Eddy stepped through the gateway to Mount Shasta.
Alton took Ginny's hand and walked down the steps from the dais to the stone floor of the great hall. Taron walked beside them. They didn't look back at the eight senators or Chancellor Artigos.
Neither did the soldiers try to stop the man who had been brought before the Council of Nine in chains. What had just occurred was unprecedented. HellFire's speech, Alton's warning, and the Crone's prophecy and death---and rebirth in the heart of a crystal sword---would be discussed, dissected, and argued for many years to come.
If they had that many years. Alton paused halfway across the room and turned to his friend. "I would give almost anything to have you come with me, Taron, but I believe your place is here. We have to convince them. You have to convince them. What happened today helped, but knowing the way they argue a point to death..." He shrugged helplessly. "It isn't going to be enough."
Taron nodded. "I agree. What are your plans? Will I see you again before you leave?"
Alton slapped Taron's shoulder. "Definitely. We both need food and rest." He tightened his arm around Ginny's shoulders. "And I should speak with my mother. Come to my rooms for the evening meal. We'll talk tonight, but Ginny and I must be away by daybreak."
"I'll be there." Taron glanced toward the dais. "I think I should meet with the senators and your father now, while they're too deeply in shock to argue."
Alton laughed. "As if that ever happens. Later, my friend. Thank you for rescuing Ginny."
She reached for Taron and laid her fingers on his forearm. "And for being Alton's friend. That can't be easy." She laughed and winked at Alton. "In fact, I've already discovered just how difficult it can be."
"Alton, have I told you how much I like this woman of yours? Thank you, Ginny. I agree. He's a pain in the butt." Laughing, Taron slipped their packs off his shoulder and handed them over, then he turned away and walked back toward the dais where the nine council members were already in heated discussion.
"Come with me." Alton adjusted his pack on his shoulder, grabbed Ginny's hand, and dragged her across the crowded floor of the plaza. Lemurians watched them pass, but no one tried to stop them or engage them in conversation. For all the questions people must have had, no one was willing to break protocol and ask.
Protocol. Alton glanced at Ginny and felt his heart twist deep in his chest. What was protocol when you'd suddenly discovered someone like Ginny? All of his obligations had changed from the first moment he saw her---yet his sense of duty had never been stronger or more clearly defined. What he did now, he did as much for her as for Lemuria.
Interesting thought, that. Ginny was Lemuria, in so many ways. The future of his world---a piece of its past.
Smiling with the surge of knowledge, he raised his head and caught the answering smile of a tall, fair, and breathtakingly beautiful woman waiting for him under a carved stone arch. Alton knew the resemblance between him and his mother was strong. He'd never been happier than he was at this moment, to know he favored her and not his father.
He stopped in front of her and tugged Ginny close. "Mother, I would like to present Ginny to you." Still holding on to Ginny, he took his mother's hand in his, connecting the women who mattered most in his life through his grasp. "Ginny, my mother, Gaia. I find it terribly apropos that she's named after Mother Earth, since it appears that is where my destiny lies."
Gaia leaned close and kissed Alton's cheek. Then she took Ginny's hand in hers. "It's good to meet you, Ginny." She sent a twinkling glance at Alton with eyes as green as his. "I have a feeling, my son, that your destiny lies more with this young woman than with the world that carries my name."
Alton couldn't have wiped the grin off his face for anything, nor did he want to. Ginny flashed a quick yet questioning look at him. He winked at her, and Ginny seemed to relax a little.
Smiling, she turned back to his mother. "It's good to meet you, ma'am, though that destiny thing remains to be seen. Alton and I hardly know each other. We've been sort of busy since we met."
"Fighting demons is rather time-consuming." Alton wrapped a possessive arm around Ginny. She might not have figured it out yet, but he wanted his mother to know his feelings, even though he wasn't all that sure of them himself. So much had happened in so little time.
"Will you be staying, my son?" From the look of sadness on her face, it was obvious his mother already knew his answer. She'd tried for years to make peace between him and his father. After today's events, even she must know it would never happen.
He shook his head. "No, Mother. Ginny and I will be meeting with Taron tonight and leaving early in the morning. The threat to Lemuria is more dangerous and immediate than we realized. I need to be where the battles will be fought. I need your help as well. If there is any way you can convince Father..."
Gaia slowly shook her head. "Oh, Alton. There's no changing that man's mind." She touched her fingers to his cheek. "When he was young, he was as open and idealistic as you are now, but he lost his idealism and his soul somewhere along the way. It was as if he changed overnight, but suddenly he was no longer the man I'd fallen in love with. Don't ever let that happen to you, my son. Keep your mind open to the promises that exist in all our worlds." She sighed. Her brilliant green eyes sparkled with unshed tears. "Most important, beloved son, keep your heart open to love."
Her fingers fell away from his face. "Your father forgot what love was long ago. He remembers only duty, and even that sense has become stale and perverted over time."
She leaned close and kissed Ginny's cheek. "Bless you both. Be safe. Come back to me soon and tell me how it goes in the worlds outside." Then she stood up on tiptoe and kissed Alton's cheek as well. "I love you, my son, and I am very, very proud of you. In spite of your father's cruel pronouncement, never, ever doubt my love for you. You are always my son. Only a very brave man would have the courage to make the choices you have made."
Before Alton could say anything at all, Gaia turned away. Her back was straight, her head high as she walked through the archway to the living quarters she shared with her mate.
Alton tried to imagine all the thousands of years his parents had been together. How lonely his mother must be. Yet even after all this time, she still remembered hope and love, still clung to promises made.
His father clung to nothing more than his sense of self-righteousness. What a miserable legacy for a man to leave. Shaking his head over all of life his mother had to live without, Alton drew Ginny into his arms and hugged her close.
Shock didn't even come close to describing her state of mind. Not only was she clutching a crystal sword in her hand and hearing Alton's voice in her head, but the fact was, Ginny felt different.
Was this how immortality felt? She couldn't explain it. Wasn't even certain she wanted to, but her steps felt lighter, her body stronger, and the hand holding the sword...Wow. Just wow.
She glanced for the millionth time at the way her fingers curled around the silver and jeweled hilt as if she'd carried a sword all her life, and wondered how it could possibly feel so right in her grasp. The grip, perfect. Balance, perfect.
Alton stepped through a swirling wall of light and Ginny followed without hesitation. Energy portals? No big deal. She'd been through them before.
But she'd never been to Alton's home. She stopped dead in her tracks, aware of the sudden intimacy, the sense they were entirely alone. At least until she glanced at DarkFire in her hand and then at HellFire strapped to Alton's back.
The giggles hit her without warning. Within seconds she was doubled over, laughing so hard she couldn't catch her breath.
"Ginny? Are you okay?" Alton planted his big palms on her shoulders and his gaze was so serious she laughed even harder.
"I'm...I'm..." Tears streamed from her eyes and her legs felt like rubber. She did what any normal woman would do under similar circumstances---she sat on the floor, right in the middle of the room.
DarkFire shimmered in shades of lavender across her lap. Alton squatted down in front of her, concern in his eyes, in his body language, in every careful move he made.
He probably thought she was nuts. Well, wasn't she? Ginny forced herself to take slow, even breaths. She scrubbed at her streaming eyes, sniffed, and bit back another wave of giggles before they escaped.
"Ginny?"
She flattened one hand over her eyes, waved him off with the other. "Just a minute."
Another breath. Then another. Then one big, deep one that she held inside and slowly released. Alton handed her a glass of water and she smiled gratefully. She sipped slowly and finally got herself under control.
"Okay," she said. "I think I'm okay. Just a minor melt-down. No big deal, considering."
Alton plopped down beside her, leaned close, and kissed her cheek. "Actually, I think you're handling everything quite well. It's not every day that a human finds out she's descended from Lemurian royalty, is granted immortality, and gets her own crystal sword."
He laughed and stroked her damp hair back from her forehead. "Actually, the fact that two crystal swords have now been presented to women and a third to an ex-demon is totally unheard of." He ran his fingers along DarkFire's amethyst blade. "As is the color of your sword. I wonder what the color signifies? I also need to make certain our scholars know of the blades that went to Dax and Eddy. I imagine they're already deep in discussion over yours. Maybe they understand the significance of the swords going to women."
Ginny swallowed more water. "Maybe the significance is that there aren't enough male Lemurian warriors. Dax obviously earned his sword, but so did Eddy. Maybe, in order to win this war, women need to take up arms."
Alton shook his head. "I hate to think we've come to that. I was raised to believe women are the weaker sex. Eddy, and now you, are showing me differently. For whatever reason, if the spirits of ancient warriors inhabit the swords, those women in your swords had to come from somewhere. I need to learn more of the Crone's history. Who she was and how old. I've never seen a Lemurian old enough to actually look old before."
Ginny ran her fingers along the blade of her sword. "Are you in there, DarkFire? Can you tell me what your name was? I can't imagine your mother naming you Crone."
"Ginny!" Alton snorted. "You can't ask your sword things like that!"
"Why shouldn't she?"
The voice really did sound like the Crone's.
Ginny flashed a cocky grin at Alton. "Thank you, DarkFire. Will you answer my question?"
The blade glowed brightly, then dimmed just a bit. The sword spoke. "I was called Daria in my youth. I fought alongside men during the DemonWars. In those days long ago, Lemurian women were expected to take up arms in the fight to save our way of life from demon rule. Many women warriors carried crystal, and many lost their lives in those horrible battles, but they fought bravely, though our numbers were sorely depleted when the wars finally ended. Then the dark times came and the women warriors were taken away. Only I, because I chose exile before the purge, remained free. I have waited all these years for the one who would fulfill the prophecy. The one who would call me DarkFire and carry me once more into battle. You are that woman. The DemonWars are upon us once again."
The dark light in the blade dimmed. Ginny raised her head and looked into Alton's serious gaze. "I think DarkFire just answered a few of my questions. The 'dark times' must refer to when Lemuria sank beneath the sea. What do you think?"
Alton shook his head. "I've never heard any of this, but crystal doesn't lie. The Crone, Daria, must have been a fighter during the DemonWars. It's hard to believe, but it explains so much. I wonder exactly what she meant by 'the purge,' and why this knowledge was kept from us?"
He stood and held his hand out for Ginny. "I have a scabbard that might work for DarkFire. I always wondered why my grandmother left me a scabbard that was too small for my sword. Now I wonder if it was hers."
He opened a closet and rummaged through for a few moments before dragging a cloth bag out of the back. Then he lifted out a beautifully tooled leather scabbard and handed it to Ginny.
"It's beautiful. Alton, are you sure you want to give this to me?" She ran her fingers over the leather, which felt as supple and fresh as if it were newly tanned. "Your grandmother's? It must be ancient."
He nodded. "She chose the spirit world shortly after I was born. I don't remember her, but my mother gave that to me when I received my sword. My father insisted I use the scabbard from his father, and since this one was too small, I put it away."
He ran his fingers over the leather. "I never dreamed I was saving it for you, Ginny, but that must be the way of it." You are the woman warrior of the prophecy. I can think of no better demon fighter to carry this into battle.
Ginny blinked back the sudden rush of tears. Will I ever get used to your voice in my head?
I hope so. Come. I don't know about you, but I could really use a long soak in a hot pool.
Ginny nodded. Carefully, she slipped DarkFire into the leather scabbard. The fit was perfect, as she knew it would be. Then she took Alton's hand as he tugged her to her feet, grabbed her bag, and followed him down a dark hallway that led toward the back of his rooms.
She felt strangely disconnected, as if her feet moved independently of her mind. Was this her way of accepting and adjusting to so many changes? She clung to Alton's strong hand, hating the weakness in herself that had her counting on him to guide her. She was not one to blindly follow, yet what choice did she have? Until she understood her new reality, she'd have to follow his lead.
They emerged in a naturally formed cavern with a small pool on one side. Candles burned in sconces along the wall. Their dim light reflected off spring-fed bubbles churning in the middle of the pool. Dark water overflowed and trickled out through a narrow crevice at the far end of the cavern. The air was hot and humid, the steam coming off the roiling water an invitation that was seductive beyond belief.
Ginny drew up short at the edge. There was only one problem. She hadn't brought a suit and she wasn't all that sure about getting naked with a guy she hardly knew.
Alton's eyes twinkled. "You know me better than you think. Don't worry. I may look, but I promise not to touch." He cocked one eyebrow in her direction. "I was a good boy last night, wasn't I?"
Ginny shook her head, laughing. "Yeah. You were a perfect gentleman. I'll admit, such behavior was highly unexpected." She glanced at him, unwilling to tell him the entire truth, the fact she couldn't think of a single guy she'd ever known who would have been as well behaved. She'd never once felt threatened by him, even when they'd slept all curled up together.
Even though he'd obviously been aroused, he'd not pushed the issue at all. She'd trusted him then. She trusted him now, but as tightly strung as she felt, it was herself she was a little concerned about. She flashed him a cocky grin she was far from feeling. "Anyway, I'll trust you, but you'd better be good. I've got a sword now, big boy."
"And a fine sword it is," he said, but she thought his laughter sounded forced. He stared at her for a long moment, but his thoughts were hidden from her. Then he set his sword and scabbard aside and pulled his shirt over his head, removed his boots and slipped his blue jeans over his long legs.
Ginny caught herself staring and quickly turned away. She gently placed DarkFire beside HellFire, slipped out of her shirt, sandals, and jeans, and with her back to the pool, unhooked her bra and removed it. She curled her fingers in the elastic waistband, closed her eyes, and quickly shoved her blue panties down over her hips.
She should have felt embarrassed, undressing like this in front of him. She didn't. No, she felt powerful. Not merely feminine, but very, very powerful. After everything that had happened to her today, how could she not?
Turning with complete confidence, Ginny walked across the stone floor and sat on the edge of the pool. Not until she'd slipped into the warm, bubbling water did she raise her head and look into Alton's eyes.
He watched her with a secretive little half smile on his lips. She frowned, more curious than she wanted to be. What?
You're beautiful. More beautiful than any woman I've ever seen. Beautiful and strong and nothing like I first imagined.
Oh? She laughed, and glided across the pool until she stood directly in front of him. The water came just to the tops of her breasts. She figured her dark skin against the dark stone pool made her almost invisible and that helped her relax. She wondered if she was all teeth and reflecting eyes when she smiled at him, which made her smile even wider. "So," she said, staring into his twinkling eyes, "are you going to tell me what you first imagined?"
Alton threw his head back and laughed. "If you like, but it'll probably get me in trouble. I thought you were brave and beautiful and a complete pain in the ass. I remember thinking that Dax had chosen Eddy, which made her his problem. I wasn't sure I wanted you to be my problem."
She knew she was asking for it. Couldn't help herself. Couldn't stop the words, the body language, the unwelcome need rushing through her arms and legs and the very soul of her. She drifted closer. "So, what's the problem now?"
"That I'll never, ever get enough of you." He reached for her. She shoved her worries aside. Forgot the promises she'd made herself. She didn't hesitate, didn't think about appropriate behavior or whether she should be the one to behave. Didn't even worry about her longtime hands-off policy with men or the fact she'd once thought him arrogant and rude.
No, she did the only thing possible. She kicked off from the sandy bottom of the pool and floated into Alton's waiting arms.
He was naked. Ginny was naked. The water was warm and bubbling with natural effervescence springing forth from deep within the world's crust. Alton's blood thundered through his veins, powered by a heart that couldn't have beat faster or harder if it tried.
She slid against him like a wet seal, all sleek woman and perfect curves. When the taut, puckered points of her breasts connected with his chest he thought he might lose it altogether. He'd never felt so aroused, so terribly in need.
His intentions flashed from well behaved to wanting Ginny now in a heartbeat, and when she wrapped her gloriously long legs around his waist and settled her warm and perfect sex against his belly, he didn't even try to bite back his groan.
Part pleasure, part pain, all need. Desperate, clawing need growing stronger each second, more powerful with every point of connection. Her long, strong arms around his shoulders, her fingers buried in his hair, muscular thighs clasping his waist, and the erotic tickle of dark pubic curls caressing his belly.
He searched for her thoughts and found only sensation. Her mind was spinning in a riot of color and light, of fire and ice and song without words. Pure sensation, pure desire and need.
She raised her head and found his mouth with hers. The warm, wet brush of her lips sucked him into everything Ginny was feeling, deeper into her mind, her thoughts without words. Their teeth clicked, tongues twisted and danced as Alton turned his head just so, as Ginny's lips molded that way. He ran his hands along her spine, tracing each vertebra with flying fingers, cupped her firm bottom in the palm of his hand, and lifted her against him.
His cock strained hard and hot, trapped tightly between her body and his, but he didn't try to force entry, didn't shift his hips in search of that next step, that final thrust that would lead to penetration and that much-desired connection. Her sex felt swollen and hot against the underside of his erection, her body strained close against him, undulating with a slow, sensual rhythm that called to him, enticed him---took him to the edge.
He wanted her as he'd never wanted anything in his life.
But he'd promised and they were too new. They both understood their situation was too precarious, their worlds at risk and now was not the time, no matter how much his body argued he take her, that he make love to her.
Somehow he managed to hang on to that one point of sanity---the words they'd spoken, almost in jest, the promise he'd made to behave. That stupid, idiotic promise he'd give anything to break right now.
Ginny was the one who ended the kiss, the one to finally break their connection. Her chest heaved with each labored breath as she rested her forehead against his breastbone. He felt her shoulders shaking, her whole body trembling, and his breath caught.
"Ginny? Are you okay? Sweetheart, what's wrong?" Gently he touched the line of her jaw with his fingers. Lifted her chin.
She raised her head. Tears streamed from her eyes.
Tears of laughter?
"Aarrrgggh!" He lifted her high, tossed her into the pond, and dove after her. They both came up laughing. Standing in front of him, Ginny shook her head like a wet dog. She sent water flying in all directions, took a deep breath, and grinned at him. Then she raised her arms and looped her hands over his shoulders.
She was still giggling. "I am so sorry, Alton. I really am. I tell you to behave and then I act like a damned hussy."
He kissed her nose. "Hussy works for me."
"Well, it doesn't work for me." She shook her head slowly, but at least she was smiling. "I don't do sex with guys I hardly know." She chuckled and glanced away, obviously embarrassed to say the words out loud. "I rarely have sex with guys I know. That's not me and it's not smart."
"I agree, but there's something about you..." He kissed her again, a mere meeting of lips that wasn't nearly enough. Leaning his forehead against Ginny's, he took a deep breath while he gave his heart a chance to find its normal cadence. "Like I said before, from the first time I saw you, I was interested."
"I know the feeling." She kissed him back, a gentle press of lips to lips that left him wanting so much more.
Obviously, Ginny felt the same way, as reluctantly as she pulled away. She shook her head. "Damn." A short, sharp laugh punctuated her soft curse. "That's not easy. Oh, Alton...I don't want to rush into anything. So much has happened in the last day since you called me from Bell Rock.... I feel as if my life has been tossed into a vortex and it's still spinning."
"For what it's worth, it's really good to know that at least you're interested."
She snorted in a most unfeminine manner. "That's probably the understatement of the year. Keep that thought in mind."
Alton was the one laughing now as he tugged her toward the edge of the pool. "I'll be lucky if there's room to think of anything else. C'mon. Taron's probably already drinking my beer."
"Lemurians have beer?"
"Of course. We got it from the Atlanteans. Where do you think humans learned to make it?"
Taron wasn't drinking Alton's beer when they slipped in through the back door. No, he was pacing a hole in the floor.
He jerked to a stop when Alton opened the door and Ginny stepped into the room ahead of him.
"Where in the nine hells have you been?"
Alton kept his hand planted on Ginny's shoulder. "Bathing. What's up?"
"Your father. What else?" Taron flopped down on the long, low couch that stretched along the back wall. "He's trying to convince the other members of the council that you staged everything, that the talking sword's a fake and that thing where it cut your chains was all sleight of hand. He's got them doubting their own minds, searching for records of the Crone to prove she's only a myth, that she didn't exist. And he's still trying to get you arrested."
Alton shook his head in obvious frustration. "What is with that man? He's had it in for me for as long as I can recall."
Ginny felt the tension in his body, sensed it in his mind, though his actual thoughts were a jumble of disconnected words.
She really needed to work on this telepathy thing.
Alton's fingers tightened on her shoulder. "Taron, what about the soldiers you've talked to? What's their feeling? Is anyone willing to join the fight?"
Taron shook his head and stared at his clasped hands hanging loosely between his knees. "Not yet. A couple, maybe, but most of them are afraid of the chancellor's power and they all think he's just a little bit insane. They saw how easily he wrote off his only son." Taron waved his hand around the room. "You realize you're going to lose your rooms here, don't you? He's having the eviction notice prepared. He's talking total exile from Lemuria if he can't get the death edict reinstated."
"I should have figured as much. Damn." Alton took a deep breath and his fingers tightened on Ginny's shoulder. "I was hoping we could get some rest here tonight, but we probably need to get out while we can." He let out an explosive breath and rubbed Ginny's shoulder. "Now that you have my grandmother's scabbard, there's not a damned thing here I want to keep." The look he gave her spoke volumes. "I'm sorry, Ginny."
She covered his hand with hers. "It's not your fault, Alton. You have nothing to be sorry for, but I agree with both you and Taron. We should leave while we can."
"Do you want me to take you home? To Evergreen?" Alton ran his fingers over her shoulder and down her arm. He left a trail of shivers behind.
She'd never had a man affect her as he did. Never responded so quickly to any man's touch, but as much as her body loved it, that thinking part of her wasn't so sure.
She sighed. Attraction was one thing, demons another. They'd better keep their priorities straight. "Why would you want to do that? The demons are in Sedona. Isn't that where we should go?"
Alton cupped her shoulders in his hands and stared into her eyes. Damn. His were so green they didn't look real. More like those fake, glittery glass eyes in stuffed animals, the kind that seemed to look right through you.
The way Alton was looking through her right now. Seeing inside Ginny where she kept her most private thoughts, her deepest needs.
"It's going to get really ugly when we go back, Ginny. There's no doubt in my mind there are demons in Sedona. We're going to be on our own unless we can reach Dax and Eddy and get them to join us. I brought you here hoping we'd find people willing to help, but we're going back the way we came. Just the two of us."
Ginny shook her head. "No, we're not the same. Not at all. I'm going back with an entirely new identity. I'm Lemurian, Alton. Just like you. I've got DarkFire. You've got me. That makes us another team that didn't exist before. I can be more than just moral support for you now."
She flexed her arm and made a muscle. There wasn't much of one, but it made him laugh. "See?" she said, pumping her muscle. "No demon's gettin' by me."
Alton shook his head, but at least he was still grinning. "Taron, it looks like it's up to you to convince the council. They can't deny what happened out there, just as they can't continue to deny the demon threat is real, that it's going to affect the safety of Lemuria sooner rather than later."
Taron took Alton's hand and the two men grasped each other's forearms. "Be safe, Alton. You're the brother I wish I'd had. I don't want to lose you."
"You are my brother, Taron. You always have been. Always will be. I wish you luck with our hardheaded council."
Taron laughed. "Wish me luck with the one who denies being your father. His is the hardest head I have to deal with. Take care, my friend. I promise to do my best." He turned to Ginny. "You, too, Ginny. Be safe. Take care of Alton for me. I'm not at all worried about you, but that guy is something else altogether."
Ginny rose up on her toes and surprised Taron with a kiss to his cheek. He blushed to the roots of his brilliant red hair.
"I promise, Taron. I just wish there was a way we could keep in touch." She glanced at Alton. "Can we plan to meet in a few days? I think we need to know how things are going here. If there's any change in the council's decision."
"Bell Rock?" Alton hugged Ginny close.
Taron nodded. "Bell Rock it is. Three days from today, at sunset. I'll meet you at the portal within the vortex." He held his vermillion braid in one hand. "I'd rather not risk exposure in human society."
"Agreed." Alton leaned over and kissed Ginny. "You're already thinking like a warrior. Planning ahead. I like that."
A soft chime rang---three crystal-clear tones. Alton glanced quickly toward the doorway. Taron looked at Alton. "Are you expecting anyone?"
He shook his head and grabbed Ginny's arm. They both gathered up their things and slipped into the hallway that led to the pool, out of sight of the door. A moment later, Taron called to them. "It's okay. Hurry."
A large man in a blue robe stood uncomfortably in the front room. Ginny recognized him immediately as one of the soldiers who'd brought Alton to the great hall in chains. She squeezed Alton's hand but kept her eyes on the guard.
Alton asked, "What's going on?"
The guard nodded his head toward Ginny and Alton. "I am Roland of Kronus, Sergeant of the Guard. I've come to warn you. Chancellor Artigos has convinced the council to hold you under house arrest until they've had time to discuss the current situation." He looked at Taron and shrugged. "We all know what that means. Months of discussion, no action while the demons gain a stronger foothold. You need to leave immediately, but the route to Sedona's Bell Rock is guarded."
"How about the one through Mount Shasta?" Alton was slipping his scabbard over his shoulders as he questioned the sergeant.
Grinning, the man nodded his head. "I'm covering that one. Hurry. Those charged with your arrest are on their way, though they promised to take their time. You're going to have to get through the veil before my troops are in place. I'm not sure where all their loyalties lie." He turned toward the swirl of light and color, poked his head through, and then popped back into the room. "It's all clear."
Ginny buckled her scabbard in place and grabbed her pack. Taron gave her a quick hug and propelled her toward the portal. Alton looped his pack over his shoulder and grabbed Ginny's hand. Without another backward glance, they followed the sergeant of the guard into the tunnel.
Sergeant Kronus moved quickly, running in the opposite direction Ginny and Alton had taken earlier. This way was dark, the walls close on either side. Their pounding footsteps echoed eerily against the walls. After a short race down the hall, they turned in to an even narrower passage. Alton seemed familiar with the route. Ginny kept her mouth shut and her feet in motion, but she'd never been so thankful for all the miles she was used to jogging or the hours she'd spent at the gym.
Finally they slipped out through a narrow tunnel that appeared to be nothing more than a crack in the walls between two passages. The sergeant looked both ways and then stepped aside. Alton tugged Ginny through the opening. "Thank you, my friend. Can you come with me? We could use a warrior like you."
Roland shook his head. "My wife and child are here. I can't leave them, but I want to know our world and their future are safe from demonkind. If I can help from here, I will. I know what I saw today was true. You did not fool me with sleight of hand---I heard your sword speak and I believe the warning. Good luck to you." He turned to Ginny. "And to you as well. My grandmother fought in the DemonWars before she disappeared. Her brave story is part of our family's lore and Lemuria's shame. Daria the Crone was a great and powerful warrior. The council can deny our history all they want, but the truth is known to the common people. I wish you well."
He turned and slipped back through the opening. Alton's eyes were shining when he grabbed Ginny's hand once more and tugged her across the passageway, down another and another until she heard the roar of the golden veil and knew they were close to the vortex.
Alton drew his sword and used HellFire's glow to light the way along the dark tunnel they entered. This one took them perpendicular to the main passage with the golden wall marking the boundary between Lemuria and the energy vortex where the portals were located.
They popped out beside the curtain of gold. Alton held his finger to his lips. Ginny looked back toward Lemuria and saw the same man who had helped them just moments ago, marching into place with his troops. He studiously ignored their hiding place and set his men to look back along the tunnel, toward Lemuria.
Alton grabbed Ginny and the two of them slipped into the shimmering gold. Within seconds they were through, but something felt wrong. Ginny glanced over her shoulder at Alton. He was slipping HellFire into his scabbard.
She pulled DarkFire out of hers.
"What's wrong?"
She shook her head. "I don't know." She wished she could explain the strange sense of danger that seemed to wrap her body in cold chills. "Something's wrong. Can you smell sulfur?"
"A little." Alton sniffed the air. "Okay. A lot." He drew HellFire once more. Ginny stood back, scanning the space around them as he used the glow to check the nooks and crannies around the cavern. The various portals glowed as they should. There were no dark wraiths, no sign of demon mist.
This cavern was different than the one they'd entered from Bell Rock. Ginny followed Alton into the main part where sections of rock pulsed and swirled around them. "Where are we?"
Alton pointed toward a shimmering area along one wall. "These are all dimensional portals, powered by the Mount Shasta vortex. If we go toward the back of the cavern, we'll be able to take the same one I traveled before to Bell Rock. We're literally at a crossroads, here. The choice is yours---back to Sedona or home to Evergreen?"
Ginny flashed him a grin. "I've still got a week of vacation. I choose Sedona."
"Fighting demons is not necessarily my idea of a vacation, but I highly approve of your choice. Thank you." Alton adjusted the pack on his shoulder and held his sword high for light. Ginny followed him down the tunnel. She almost ran into his back as Alton skidded to a stop.
The portal was there, glowing in reds and golds, but it was almost lost, buried beneath the swirling black mist pouring through from Sedona. Not just one demon, but what looked like an entire cloud bank of demon mist gathered in front of the portal.
Cursing softly under his breath, Alton stepped directly into the mist.
Ginny held her sword in a white-knuckled grasp and stared at the pulsing cloud of demons. DarkFire shimmered, brilliant purple flashed. Beneath her dark light, demons suddenly glowed in fluorescent brilliance. The shapeless black wraiths took on details not visible before---incandescent eyes and phosphorescent teeth glimmered in grossly malformed faces. Twisted arms and legs protruded from misshapen bodies with scales and fangs and protruding spurs of bone.
Hideous creatures, ugly beyond belief, yet they flowed almost gracefully in their mist form, without true substance, light as air yet charged with corruption.
Ginny saw them truly for the first time and recognized evil in its purest form. Then she sucked in one terrified breath, clasped DarkFire tightly in her hand, and plunged into her first-ever fight against demonkind.
He'd not seen the likes of this before---such vast numbers of demonkind pouring through the gateway from Sedona. Their thick, sulfuric stench was suffocating. The naturally cool air in the cavern dropped several more degrees as demon after demon spilled out of the portal, bringing the chill of evil with them.
Had they come directly from Abyss, merely using a previously undiscovered portal around Sedona as their gateway, or was Sedona entirely overrun with the bastards? Was something driving them out? Or even worse, was something luring them here?
Had the demon king reappeared near Evergreen?
He'd have to worry about the details later. The sense of malevolence surrounding the massing demons made his skin crawl. Alton stepped directly into the black cloud and slashed HellFire through the thick collection of demonic souls.
Sparks flew. The ear-shattering screams as several creatures exploded beneath the crystal blade made his head spin. His eyes watered from the disgusting stench while his sword twisted and danced through the roiling black mist, but he swung with care---he sensed Ginny beside him, but he couldn't see her through the thick wall of demon mist.
"Ginny? Are you okay?"
"I'm great," she said.
Damn if she wasn't laughing!
He glanced to his right. The dark flash of her unusual crystal blade and the horrific screams told him DarkFire had cut through more of the demon wraiths. The air began to clear, enough that Alton could finally see Ginny as he destroyed the demons surrounding him.
She moved with the grace of a dancer, reaching high for demons trying to escape overhead, twisting and diving for the ones that slipped out along the ground. But it wasn't Ginny's beauty that caught Alton's eye. Not this time.
Caught in the fluorescent glow of Ginny's sword, the demon wraiths had come to life. Where he saw only black mist as formless clouds, DarkFire illuminated their true nature. They might be wraiths without true substance, but beneath her dark glow, demonkind showed their true form---and they were hideous, inherently evil, and ugly beyond belief.
Yet Ginny didn't hesitate. She danced and swung her amethyst blade and the demons fell, one by one, screeching as their lost souls exploded in bursts of dark purple sparks.
Alton clenched his jaw. He had to concentrate on his own battle as more of the filthy creatures flowed through the portal, but it was different now that their image was so firmly planted in his mind. They had to be stopped, but how? He couldn't close this portal or he and Ginny would lose their route back to Sedona, but he had to know---where in the nine hells were the bastards coming from?
"Behind you!"
He spun around. A tower of black wraiths hovered at his back, pulsing with a sense of evil. Not one demon, but many, connected within their swirling black consciousness, coming together to attack.
Taking on form and substance even to his eyes---a head, arms, legs. Even a thick body floating in and out of sight.
Ginny swept DarkFire over the massed wraiths and their true nature glowed in all its incandescent fury, a monstrous blend of many creatures into one.
Alton struck the middle with HellFire and watched the roiling mass collapse as the ones in the center burst into stinking sparks. Immediately, the demons reformed, billowing up and out and taking shape once more. A thick, oily cloud rippled and flowed, coming together again in what seemed to be an unprecedented, organized attack.
Demons in this dimension, limited by their mist form, were generally nothing more than wraiths. He'd never known them to function outside of Abyss without an avatar. Away from their world, they existed as formless, mindless beings of energy that appeared as black, stinking mist until they'd commandeered something to animate---or they looked that way to anyone without a sword like DarkFire.
Was that something new, that demon shape within the mist? Had DarkFire evolved because the demons were changing? So many questions without answers, but one thing had always been consistent---the demons' need for an avatar. In the past it had been something of the earth---stone or ceramic or various metals. In Sedona, they'd graduated to living creatures, though he'd not heard of them taking on a human host.
In Evergreen, they'd taken on plastic, but at least none of their avatars, so far, had given them the natural weapons that kept them alive and able to fight on Abyss.
On their own world, they were massive, multi-limbed creatures with scales and claws, huge fangs, and armored hides. Poisonous and powerful on Abyss, it took them time to gain strength in Earth's dimension, to function as corporeal beings.
Before, they'd needed a borrowed body of some kind---an avatar. Something to give them form and function, to house their wraithlike souls before they could begin the slow evolution from mindless demon mist to living, functioning creatures.
At least that was the way things had been. These already appeared to show intelligence while still in their mist form. Under DarkFire's light their demon shapes appeared. Had they always held that form in Earth's dimension, or was it something new? A more powerful aspect of evil?
They were obviously evolving, beginning to work together. There was a pattern to their fight. Instead of trying to get away, they were actually mounting an attack. They'd managed to cooperate in a rudimentary fashion last week in Evergreen, but he and Dax had thought maybe the demon king was directing them for his own purpose.
There was no sign of the demon king here, yet the towering creature began to reform. Demons working together. Showing intelligence. Merely using the Sedona portal to reach the portal in Mount Shasta should have been beyond them, at least in the beginning.
Dax had explained it, how demons crossing from one dimension to another lost what little intelligence they had. It took time and experience in Earth's dimension before they could begin to act with true cognitive thought. Only the demon king had shown actual intelligence, the ability to plot and plan.
Demonkind was changing. Evolving almost before their eyes.
Alton swung HellFire through the demon wraiths that formed the legs. Sparks flew, demons screeched, and the stench of sulfur burned his nostrils.
The entire creature collapsed.
Just as quickly, it reformed. New demons flowed into position to build a new set of legs. This time, when Alton swung his sword, the creature of mist opened its black jaws wide. It screeched in defiance---the sound of many voices working as one---and twisted out of the way.
Alton leapt forward and slashed HellFire through the body of the beast. More wraiths exploded and disappeared, but this made no sense. What in the nine hells was it trying to do? As mist, it had no real weapons. A beast of cloud, no matter how foul, had no way to cause damage.
There was so much they didn't know, and as soon as they thought they'd figured something out about demonkind, the damned creatures appeared to evolve into something different, breaking their own rules.
At least they still died beneath HellFire's fury. Alton swung his sword and watched with great satisfaction as the demons he touched with the crystal blade exploded on contact.
He heard Ginny's grunts and soft curses. The screech and howl of dying demons added its discordant song. Yet still they came. Even more wraiths poured through the gateway from Sedona, but why here? What drew them and where were they going? Were they headed for Evergreen or Lemuria?
Either choice was bad. Somehow he had to stop the demons' access. He'd closed off their gateway from Bell Rock to Abyss. Were all these demons already in Sedona? Were they using the power of the vortex to move from one part of Earth's dimension to another, or were they somehow new demons, fresh from Abyss, coming in through an undiscovered portal?
Alton slashed through the last of the demons and the beast disappeared in a puff of stinking black smoke. Alton coughed and his eyes watered. He stepped back, took a deep breath, and turned to check on Ginny.
The only thing left in the cavern was the stench of sulfur. He raised HellFire. The brilliant glow of crystal illuminated the entire cavern. There was no sign of Ginny. The only sound he heard was the blood pounding in his ears, the harsh intake of one breath after another. A chill raced along his spine. "Ginny?" he shouted. "Ginny! Where are you?"
Panic ripped through him. He searched for her thoughts, for any sense of her. Breathing hard enough to hyperventilate, Alton forced himself to find calm, to take slow, even breaths and narrow his searching mind to Ginny and only Ginny.
He listened for her thoughts. They really needed to work on their newly discovered telepathy. He could barely pick her up when she was next to him, but...
There! In the next room, the main cavern they'd just left. He glanced once more toward the Sedona portal. It was clear of demon mist for the moment. He spun around and raced through the tunnel, skidding as he rounded the turn into the main cavern.
Ginny had her back to the Lemurian portal. Framed in its golden glow, she fought a gathering of demons. Beneath DarkFire's purple glow they snarled with shining teeth and struck with shimmering claws, though they were still only harmless mist. DarkFire flashed through the insubstantial wraiths with unbelievable speed and blinding grace. With a flick of her wrist, Ginny caught one of the demons as it launched itself in her direction.
It exploded in a burst of flames and sulfuric stench.
She fought like an expert swordsman---feet dancing, her bandaged left hand raised behind her, DarkFire grasped firmly in her right as she twisted the blade through demon after demon.
Mesmerized by her grace and beauty, Alton stood in the entrance to the cavern and stared.
"You just gonna stand there watching, or you gonna help?" Ginny flashed him a bright grin and lunged for yet another snarling wraith.
Alton joined her. Standing shoulder to shoulder, the two of them blocked the portal to Lemuria and protected Alton's world with their crystal swords. They found a perfect rhythm, swinging right and left, slicing through the dark wraiths---visible now as malignant demons in DarkFire's purple fluorescence, black, smoky ghosts under HellFire's blue light---and watching the bursts of sulfuric flame with growing satisfaction.
"Who goes there?"
With sword upraised, Alton spun about as four Lemurian guards stepped through the portal. "Roland! Have you come to help us?" Alton quickly turned his back on the four and slashed through yet another wraith.
"Hey, Roland!" Ginny waved her bandaged hand and leapt forward. With a feral grin on her face, she caught two wraiths with her dark crystal blade and watched the demons explode.
"What are these things?" Roland stepped up beside Alton and slashed his steel sword through a dark ghost. The black smoke merely divided along the blade and reformed on either side. "My sword doesn't stop them!"
Alton cut through another demon. Sparks flashed and it disappeared. "I was afraid of that. Only crystal seems to kill them." He lunged forward once more. Another demon died. "Why are you here? I didn't think the guard ever left Lemuria."
"Right after your escape, orders came down for your arrest. I'm sorry, Alton, but they were directly from Artigos. He truly has disowned you. I was told to bring you back for trial, even if it meant finding you in Earth's dimension."
Ginny spun around with her sword raised high. Roland took a quick step back.
"You've got to be frickin' kidding me!" she said. "We're out here protecting Lemuria from a demon invasion and you're going to arrest us?"
Her voice rose on the last word. Alton glanced her way, caught her eye, and winked. She glared at him in return.
"To your left! Quickly!" Roland pointed and Alton caught yet another demon. "Those are my orders." He glanced over his shoulder at the other men. They stared wide-eyed at the battle going on in front of them and didn't say a word. Roland turned back to Ginny. "I didn't say I intended to follow them."
"What? You're going to ignore the chancellor's direct orders?" Alton faced Roland and stopped dead in his tracks, ignoring the billowing cloud of demonic mist beginning to take shape and form behind him. "Then what do you intend?"
Roland dipped his head. "I intend to do as my Lord Taron asked---warn you not to return to Lemuria until he brings the council around to his way of thinking. Already favor is turning against your father. He has angered many by his disavowal of your birthright as much as his denunciation of the Crone. She is a much beloved figure among the common people. He has publicly denied her sacrifice and called it nothing more than show."
"What?" Ginny's sword flashed and DarkFire spoke. "Who in the nine hells does he think he is?"
Roland blinked. Then he suddenly dropped to one knee. "Lady Daria." He looked up at Ginny. "I recognize her voice. I knew this wasn't some kind of trick."
"Of course it's not a trick." The sword glowed with each word. "Stand, Roland of Kronus. I remember your grandmother. She was a brave warrior and true to her people. As are you."
Roland stood up. It was only then that Alton realized the other three soldiers with him had gone to their knees as well.
"Alton!"
Ginny's cry spun him around. A massive black beast towered over them, so tall its head touched the ceiling and the span of its arms could have gathered all six of them at once.
Ginny held her sword high and dark light illuminated the beast. Beneath DarkFire's light, it was a horrifying blend of many demons, a monster writhing with dozens of foul creatures melded together.
Ginny lunged toward the abomination. DarkFire slid through the middle, leaving flames and sparks in her path. This creature appeared to have more substance than any they'd seen before and all its many parts were screeching and howling, creating a horrifying cacophony that echoed within the cavern.
Alton slashed through the neck, expecting the head to tumble, but in spite of the flames from the demons he killed, the mist reformed and the beast remained intact.
It shrieked and circled on thick legs. Members of the guard spread out around it, but their steel swords had no effect. Slashing through the roiling mist, they passed through harmlessly without doing any damage.
Alton and Ginny fought on, cutting and jabbing, attacking and retreating and yet the creature remained upright, its many voices undiminished. When Ginny withdrew, it appeared as nothing more than roiling mist in the shape of a beast, but when she slashed out with DarkFire, the purple light illuminated the many foul demons still forming the arms and legs, the thick body and huge head.
They continued to fight, tiring now but driven to beat this thing before it crossed into Lemuria. Each crystalline strike brought forth howls and shrieks and flashing sparks. As more and more demons were destroyed, the beast grew smaller, though the wraiths remained connected, changing within the fluid structure to take the places of those Ginny or Alton killed.
Finally, it was no more than waist high when Alton's sword slashed from top to bottom and Ginny cut from right to left. Fire flashed and the last wraith disappeared.
Panting, Ginny leaned against the wall with DarkFire hanging loosely in her grasp. Her body trembled as she sucked in great, deep breaths. The four soldiers of the guard stood in stunned silence while Alton walked back along the tunnel and searched for more demonkind, but the trail was clear and there were none to be seen.
He hurried back to the main cavern. "I don't get it. The demons were trying to go through the portal into Lemuria. What could they possibly do in mist form?"
"Creatures such as these would cause terrible panic among our people." Roland glanced at the sword in his hand and shook his head. "My weapon was useless against them. Those who carry crystal have forgotten how to fight. They don't have the balls to defend our world." He glanced at Alton and blushed a deep red. "Present company excepted, sir."
DarkFire glowed once again. Ginny turned to Roland. "Hold your sword out, Roland."
He frowned, but he did as she said. Ginny touched the crystal point of her sword to Roland's steel. His began to glow as the other three soldiers gathered close. Within seconds, it was too bright to look directly at the blade.
Then, with a sound as clear as a bell, the blades rang as if they'd come together in battle. Ginny stepped back. Roland gasped and held his sword high. The crystal facets glowed in the reflected light of the surrounding portals, but where Ginny's sword was dark, Roland's blade glowed with crystalline purity.
Once again DarkFire pulsed with light. "Your blade carries the spirit of Hesta, your grandmother. She cannot speak, not yet, but she will."
Roland stared at DarkFire as if neither Ginny nor Alton existed. "Only the aristocracy may carry crystal." His words faded on a sigh of wonder. He held the sword high, turning and twisting it so that light cascaded from the facets.
DarkFire flashed and her voice echoed off the cavern's walls. "That is the council's law. Do you serve the Council of Nine, or do you serve Lemuria?"
With that final question, DarkFire's glow faded. Ginny stared at her sword until the blade no longer cast its own dark light. She carefully stuck it inside her scabbard. When she looked at Roland, her golden eyes were shining. "Well, Roland? How do you answer DarkFire's question?"
Roland's dark eyes flashed from Ginny to Alton. Open-mouthed, he gaped at his stunned and speechless men. They watched the crystal sword he clutched in his hand with wonder and obvious envy. "I serve Lemuria," he said. His voice was barely above a whisper.
Alton's eyes burned with unshed tears. He was flooded with a sense of loyalty and pride for his world he'd not felt for hundreds of years. This was the spirit of Lemuria. These were Lemurian soldiers. He cleared his throat and quietly asked, "Who do you serve?"
Roland held his sword aloft and repeated his vow, stronger this time. "I serve Lemuria." He glanced at his men. They held their blades aloft, steel to his crystal. All of them, this time together, said it again. Loudly and with great pride.
"We serve Lemuria."
Light burst from Roland's crystal sword. One of the men gasped as cold fire traveled from the linked blades along each man's powerful sword arm, then back up to the points. The light flashed again, every color of the rainbow. This time, everyone in the cavern gasped.
Four perfect crystal blades shimmered. Light from the golden portal into Lemuria reflected from their many facets.
Alton stared at the crystal, almost mesmerized by the light. Then he shook himself and stepped forward. He held his hand out to Roland. The Sergeant of the Guard stared at Alton's hand for a moment and then clasped it in his.
"I am not Lemuria's ruler," Alton said, well aware his heart was pounding in his chest and sweat trickled down his spine. He'd never seen anything like this. Never heard of common soldiers bearing crystal, but then he'd not known of the women warriors of Lemuria, either. Times were changing and the threat against his people grew by the hour. With the power of the swords, maybe they did have a chance against demonkind. He looked into Roland's clear gaze. "I have no authority other than that as a citizen of Lemuria, but I would ask you to return to Lemuria with your story. Show the councilmen your swords. Explain the threat as only an honest soldier can."
Ginny grabbed Roland's arm. "You have to make them understand, Roland. Imprisoning Alton serves demonkind, not Lemuria. Once you convince them, come back. Join us. You're armed with crystal now and we need you on our side."
Alton stepped aside and left the path to the portal clear. "Go to Taron. He'll help you. We need soldiers who carry crystal. That's the only way we're going to win this fight."
Roland glanced at his soldiers. The others held their swords proudly, ready to follow whatever orders he gave. Without exchanging a word, Roland turned to Alton. "They have to believe us. We carry crystal. Everyone knows if you're not meant to wield a crystal sword, it will turn on you."
He stared at the beautiful sword in his hand, slowly shook his head, and spoke with great reverence. "I carry crystal with Hesta's spirit still locked inside. We'll go to Taron, but first we're going to the barracks. Once the men see what's happened, we'll have the entire guard on our side."
They marched through the portal to Lemuria. Alton watched them go with a powerful sense of pride. Common soldiers, yet common no longer. They'd shed millennia of dust from their sandals with their decision. Old ideas, tired philosophies, and eons of inaction.
Their army was growing. One brave soldier at a time.
Ginny shook her head and wondered if she'd ever experience anything even close to normal again. "Do you think they'll be okay? I have a feeling your father's out for blood."
Alton turned away from the portal and threw an arm over her shoulders. His casual hug felt so good and she was absolutely beat. All she wanted to do was lean against him and just let Alton carry her burdens...for a little while, at least.
"Roland's decision to go to the other men first is a good one," Alton said. His fingers idly stroked her arm. Ginny wondered if he had any idea what his touch did to her.
Obviously not. He was all business.
"If Roland has the guard behind him," he said, "the council will at least have to hear him out. The fact he now bears crystal will carry a lot of weight with the other members, even if my father refuses to acknowledge its importance."
He leaned over and kissed the top of her head. "I'm just glad you're safe. When I realized you were gone, I panicked."
She wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him. "I'm sorry. I didn't meant to frighten you, but I missed a couple in the other room and followed them in here. I thought they'd be heading out through the portal to Mount Shasta, but they were gathered together in the middle of the cavern. There were more than I expected. They'd already formed a huge creature all morphed together, and they were headed straight for the Lemurian gate. I didn't have time to call for help."
"You did really well, Ginny. Your first fight, and it was a big one. How did you know what to do?"
His praise had her heart pounding in her chest and a lump forming in her throat. All of a sudden, the enormity of the past hour's battle, the meeting with Roland, and the changes in her life hit her at once. It took her a minute before she felt she could speak. Then she merely reached over her shoulder and stroked the hilt of her sword. "DarkFire," she said. "She was in my head, telling me how to swing, what to do. I never once felt like I was on my own."
"You never were," Alton said. He tilted her chin up and stared into her eyes. Ginny was almost positive he was going to kiss her, and it wouldn't be just a quick little peck to the lips. She ran her tongue over her lower lip. Alton's focus shifted and he stared at her mouth. "I was with you, too, Ginny. I'll always be beside you."
He leaned closer. She felt the clench of muscles deep in her belly. Her eyes drifted closed.
A dog barked. Blinking, Ginny spun around. What was a dog doing inside the vortex? It barked again, closer this time, and then a flurry of blond curls scrambled out of the darkness. "Bumper? Isn't she Eddy's mutt? What are you doing here?" The curly blond dog raced past her and leapt at Alton, all wiggles and yips and wet doggy kisses.
Alton! Alton! You're here! What are you doing here?
The dog was talking? Ginny slapped a hand to her forehead, where the voice seemed to echo in her mind. She stared at the silly-looking mutt as Alton slipped his arm from Ginny's waist and dropped to his knees, laughing and hugging the frantic dog.
"That's Willow you hear," he said, dodging doggy kisses. "Remember? I told you she's inside Bumper now."
Feeling as if she'd been hit with maybe one too many impossible things, Ginny glanced up as Eddy and Dax stepped out of the shadows. Finally---someone familiar! Arms wide, Ginny raced across the cavern. "I don't believe this. Eddy! What are you doing here?" She grabbed her best friend in a hug, but her eyes were on Dax.
"Me?" Eddy laughed and hugged her tight. "What are you doing here?"
College buddy, my eye! Ginny hugged her best friend ever, but her mind was absolutely seething with questions. She wasn't about to let go of the one with all the answers.
Dax grabbed Alton's arm and dragged him to one side. "What are you doing here?"
"I was going to ask you the same thing." Alton shook his head, but he kept his eye on Ginny and Eddy. After what they'd just been through, he wasn't letting Ginny out of his sight.
"Demons are thick in Sedona," Alton said. "We needed some answers and I figured we'd better look for help, so I took Ginny with me to Lemuria."
Dax frowned. "How'd that go?"
Alton grinned at him. Then he burst out laughing. Both women stopped hugging and looked his way. Ginny had a huge smile on her face. When Alton held his hand out, she reached for him and wrapped her fingers around his. He looked into her shining eyes and was immediately caught up in their depth and unexpected heat. He cleared his throat and squeezed her hand.
"Well," he said, dragging out the word for emphasis, "I'm still a wanted man. Ginny is Lemurian. She's immortal. She's got her own sword, a different kind of crystal that shows the real demon beneath the demon mist. Other than that, it was just your typical trip to another dimension."
"What? Ginny?" Eddy gaped at Ginny. "What do you mean, you're Lemurian?"
Ginny merely shrugged and glanced at Alton.
Alton wrapped his arm around her shoulders and hugged her close. "It appears Ginny is descended from Lemurian royalty, from a time when we still had a king and a queen. HellFire was the first to tell us. Then the Crone, an ancient woman I always thought was more myth than reality, presented Ginny with her own sword---along with the details of her Lemurian birthright."
Eddy laughed out loud. "Ginny, you got some 'splainin' to do."
Ginny flashed her a bright grin, let go of Alton's hand, and carefully withdrew DarkFire. "It was so weird," she said, staring at the darkly glowing crystal blade. "As soon as we got to Lemuria, Alton was arrested, but his friend Taron took me with him. We all met up again in this huge underground plaza, and after HellFire cut through Alton's chains, this really old woman walked through the crowd, and it was like Moses parting the Red Sea. She met us up on the dais and spoke a prophecy that she insisted was about my coming to Lemuria. Then she kissed me, walked away, and turned into dust."
She grabbed Alton's hand and squeezed his fingers. Shaking her head in disbelief, she said, "Next thing I knew, HellFire had birthed a twin, except my sword glows with this weird light and she's definitely female." She held the crystal sword out for Eddy and Dax. "Meet DarkFire. She carries the spirit of the old woman known as the Crone, whose real name was Daria. She was a woman warrior who fought in the Lemurian DemonWars."
"Hello." The sword's voice was soft, almost melodic.
Eddy's eyes opened wide. "Woman warrior? I didn't think Lemurian women were soldiers."
"Then who is the voice of DemonSlayer?"
Alton's soft question seemed to catch Eddy by surprise. She reached back and touched the pommel of her sword, rising above the leather scabbard. "I hadn't thought of that," she said, stroking the smooth metal.
Dax grinned. He dipped his head, acknowledging Ginny's sword. "It appears they were. Greetings, DarkFire."
The sword pulsed in brilliant shades of lavender and purple.
"Ginny, this is so cool." Eddy reached out and touched the crystal blade. "Hard to believe, but cool. It's good to meet you, DarkFire. I had no idea there were women warriors in Lemuria."
"Ginny will tell you my story. DemonSlayer will tell her own when the time is right. For now, beyond you, Edwina Marks, Ginny is the only woman warrior among our kind, the only one willing to take up the fight against demonkind." The blade darkened. After a moment, Ginny returned it to her scabbard.
Eddy blinked. "How the hell did she know my name was Edwina?" Then she yawned and slapped her hand over her mouth. "Oops. Sorry...we've been up since yesterday. There was a nasty infestation in southern Oregon, but Ginny! I want to know everything! How did you find out about, well...everything? You're coming back to Evergreen, right?"
Ginny glanced at Alton. He shook his head. "No," he said. "Not yet. We have to see what's happening in Sedona. There were hundreds of demons pouring through the portal from Bell Rock just before you arrived. There shouldn't be any. I closed the portal there when I first arrived, so they must have opened a new one. Sedona's full of vortexes that can power the gateways."
Dax nodded. "Makes sense. We'll try and join you once we check in with Ed and get some sleep. We've been fighting a small invasion north of here, but I think it's under control."
Alton grabbed his arm. "They're changing, Dax. It's like they have a sense of purpose. They massed and tried to get through the portal to Lemuria. If Ginny hadn't stopped them, they might have made it."
"At least we've got some Lemurian soldiers on our side." Ginny glanced at Alton. "You tell them what happened. I'm still not sure."
Alton nodded and quickly described the battle, Roland of Kronus and his sword's amazing transformation from steel to crystal. "DarkFire sort of replicated herself," he said.
"Sort of?" Dax frowned and glanced from Ginny to Alton.
"It was amazing," Ginny said. "She created a sword for Roland, much larger than she is, out of his own sword. She turned his steel to crystal."
"She said it holds the spirit of Hesta, Roland's grandmother, who was also a woman warrior." Alton shook his head. "Why didn't we know there were women who fought for Lemuria? What happened to them? Roland said their story was known to the common folk. Why not the rest of us?"
Dax shrugged. "We need to find out. Did his sword speak?"
Alton shook his head. "Not yet. He still has to earn his sword's respect in battle, I guess. But when he held his sword up for his men to swear loyalty to Lemuria, not to the council, the other three soldiers' steel blades all turned to crystal."
"Wow." Eddy shook her head. "That just happened? Here?" She swept her hand wide, encompassing the cavern.
"Right here," Alton said. "About two minutes before you guys showed up."
"Well, crap." Eddy grabbed Dax's hand. "Our timing sucks." She yawned and leaned close to her ex-demon lover.
Dax brushed her short hair back from her face and she snuggled against his shoulder. Even Alton could tell she was ready to fold from exhaustion. "We can catch up on all of this after you get some rest. Ginny's got her cell phone with her."
"Okay, 'cause I want details." Eddy sighed and stared at the portal Alton had sealed just one week ago, the same gateway that had allowed so many demons into the tiny community of Evergreen. She seemed every bit as frustrated as she was tired.
"Did Dax tell you that the ones we fought in Oregon had taken on living animals as avatars?" Eddy clung even tighter to Dax's arm. "They're evolving even faster than last week. It's as if something is pushing them, enabling them in ways we haven't seen."
Alton nodded. "We saw the same thing in Sedona. They're taking on animal form there as well. Household pets and wild animals, though if the animal is caged, the demon goes in search of another host that's still running free."
"Wow." Ginny barely whispered the word, but everyone immediately glanced her way. Ginny held up her hand. She'd removed all the bandages. "Look. It's all healed. I had some really deep scratches and bites."
Eddy grabbed her wrist and turned Ginny's hand. Pink flesh against her dark skin left bright patterns from the healed wounds. "What happened to you?"
"Tom the demon-powered cat happened." She shrugged, obviously fascinated by her healed hand. "My cousin's cat was possessed and went crazy. I was helping Markus catch him and he---the cat, not Markus---attacked me. I had some pretty ugly bites and scratches, but I haven't had time to see a doctor." She looked at Alton. "How'd this heal so quickly?"
He ran his fingers over the newly healed flesh and smiled. At least this was some good news. "More proof you're Lemurian. We heal fast. Broken bones take longer, unless Willow can still do her healing stuff from inside Bumper...." He glanced at Dax.
Dax shrugged. "Don't know. Haven't needed any healing since...well, since Willow and Bumper became more closely acquainted."
Eddy laughed and grabbed his arm. "That's a nice way of putting it, dear. We can discuss this later. I need sleep and we still have a long hike down the mountain to Dad's Jeep."
Ginny gave her a quick hug. "Call me after you catch up on your rest. Girl, we really need to talk."
Eddy hugged her back and then turned and gave Alton a long, slow, assessing look. Laughing, she shook her head. "You're not kidding," she said. She hugged Alton, grabbed Dax by the arm, and whistled for the dog. "C'mon, BumperWillow. Time to go home."
The three of them passed through the portal. Alton watched them leave. Then he held his sword high and searched the nooks and crannies and corners of the cavern. There was no demon sign, at least for now. Finally he glanced over his shoulder at Ginny. "You ready to go?"
She nodded, but she was still staring at her healed hand. "Ya know, the sword is really cool and I love the telepathic link, but for some reason, this just blows me away!"
Alton grabbed her arm and tugged her toward the portal to Sedona. "Well, let's hope it blows you this way. I want to get back before dark."
"Where are we going to stay?" Ginny planted her feet. "I don't have all that much money that I can pay for hotels and meals in restaurants for very long."
Alton reached into his pocket and pulled out a small leather pouch. He'd totally forgotten about it. "I grabbed this when we were in my rooms in Lemuria. Hold out your hand."
Ginny spread her fingers wide. Alton dumped a small pile of diamonds into her palm.
"Holy shit. Talk about bling! Are those for real?" She picked one up with her free hand and turned it, catching the light from Alton's sword in the diamond.
"Definitely real. We'll sell a few as we need cash, but just a couple of those should be good for more than the time we'll need to be in Sedona."
Ginny carefully helped him pour the stones back into the bag. Then she burst out laughing. "You're just full of surprises, aren't you?"
"Oh, I hope so," he said, tugging her hand and pulling her close. "Now let's get to Sedona and find a place where we can get comfortable."
"At least we can each afford to have our own rooms now, right?" She glanced up at him out of the corner of her eye. He was certain he saw her lips twitching.
"I don't think so," he said. He tugged her close and they paused in front of the portal to Sedona. "It's dangerous. I need to keep you close. Besides, we have to work on our telepathy."
Ginny poked him in the back. "I've heard lots better lines than that, Alton."
They were both laughing as they stepped into the tunnel.
The stench of demon was faint, but enough sulfur lingered that it was obvious demonkind had come this way. Alton held HellFire high and carefully checked the full length of the tunnel between the two vortexes---one in Mount Shasta, California, the other in Sedona, Arizona.
A thousand miles' distance in Earth's dimension, yet only a matter of a few yards when passing through interdimensional portals. "Look." He held the sword close to the wall. "I didn't even notice these before. I wonder where they go?"
"What are they?"
He shook his head, studying the pale wash of light and color in the stone. "Portals, but they're very low energy. They don't appear to draw much from the vortex, which means they probably don't cross vast distances."
"I know of at least four energy vortexes in Sedona." Ginny stepped up close and stared at the wall. "According to my cousin Markus, they're scattered all around the area." She shook her head, laughing softly. "Of course, I always thought vortexes were fake---something to attract tourists. I never imagined they were real." She gestured at the smaller portals. "Maybe these are just for moving around Sedona." Then she touched the wall and gasped when her fingers disappeared into the rock. Immediately she yanked her hand back. "I will never get used to that. Never."
"Four?" Alton walked back along the tunnel. "I only know of one other, at Cathedral Rock, though I've not used it before." He flashed her a grin. "It's powered by feminine energy as opposed to the masculine energy of Bell Rock."
"Well, I don't know if they're boy vortexes or girl vortexes, but Markus told me there's one out north of town in a place called Boynton Canyon, and another one in town, near the airport."
Alton turned and stared at her. "Girl vortexes and boy vortexes?"
"You said masculine and feminine. What else would it mean?" She looked so serious, she almost got him.
Almost. Laughing, he turned away from the tunnel and grabbed Ginny's hand. "Let's go. We can come back and check on these tomorrow, after we've eaten and gotten some sleep. It's been a long day."
Ginny linked her fingers with his. "Agreed." She skipped a step to catch up to his longer stride. Chagrined, he matched his steps more closely to hers when she punched his arm and added, "Then you can tell me more about little girl and boy vortexes...after we find a room."
He couldn't stand it. Alton stopped dead in his tracks, turned, and wrapped his arms around her. He drew in a deep breath, absorbing her scent and wondering if he could ever get enough of her. He nuzzled the top of her head and held her close. She molded her body to his as if they'd been perfectly designed to fit together. "Ginny?" he asked, breathing deep once again of her natural perfume. "What would I do without you?"
But he didn't give her time to answer. Instead, he lowered his head as she tilted her chin and raised her lips to his. Once again, the connection was perfect, the fit as if they'd been designed for each other.
Her lips were full and soft and slightly moist. The way her fingers clutched at his biceps and slipped easily around his neck was the most amazing thing he'd felt in his life. All the reservations he'd had, the fact she was mortal and human and he a Lemurian of the ruling class no longer applied.
She was more royal than any son of Artigos could ever hope to claim. More beautiful than any woman he'd ever seen. The question now was, could she be interested in an exiled Lemurian warrior, one whose own father had publicly disowned him?
Not only was Ginny royal, she was immortal, descended of one of the women warriors of Lemuria, an unheralded group of heroes unlike anything he'd heard of in his long, long life.
She was also the one who broke the kiss, who took a step back and then sucked in one deep breath after another. "Okay. I think we really need to back off a bit and find something for dinner because I am starving. Then we need to find a decent room." She pointed at the pocket where he'd stuck the pouch of diamonds. "No. Let's change that request. Not just decent. I want gorgeous."
She flashed him a sly grin, but with her lips moist and swollen from their kiss, it was more erotic than anything he could possibly imagine. "In fact," she said, cocking one hip and planting her hand firmly on the perfect curve, "it appears you can afford the best, and after the day I've had, I can honestly say I'm worth it."
"I couldn't agree more." Feeling unbelievably lighthearted, considering the demon invasion going on just beyond the portal, Alton tugged Ginny along behind him as he stepped through the gateway and out onto the rocky side of Bell Rock. The sun was beginning to set and a fresh breeze lifted Alton's long braids.
Ginny's little Ford Focus sat all alone in the parking lot below them. The meditation group wasn't here this evening, and the air was free of demon stench. Of course, the wind would have blown it away by now if the demons they'd battled earlier had come through this portal.
"What now?" Ginny stood beside him, clutching his hand tightly in hers.
"Now we find food and a place where we can stay for a few days, and we get some sleep. Then we need to go out and about and see what we've missed in the past hours."
Ginny stared at the colorful sky where the sun had just disappeared behind dark cliffs. "Hard to believe it's only been a few hours. In the span of one day, my entire life has changed." She turned and studied Alton while the wind blew little dust devils through the shadows. He tried searching her thoughts, but her mind projected a blank wall to him.
She might not be that great at her newfound telepathy, but she'd certainly figured out how to keep her privacy barriers in place.
Alton grabbed Ginny's hand and, with a light tug, drew her alongside for the walk back to the car.
It was dark by the time they pulled into a gorgeous resort in Boynton Canyon, northwest of Sedona. It wasn't all that far from the vortex Ginny'd heard about, but at this point all she was interested in was a long, hot shower and a comfortable bed.
They'd grabbed a couple of tacos at a fast food place. After they ate, Alton found a jewelry shop owner willing to accept his story of wanting to sell a couple of diamonds he'd inherited. Of course, it had taken that weird power of his that compelled the jeweler into not asking too many questions.
Which, of course, made Ginny wonder if she'd inherited the same power, except she was too blasted tired to worry about it tonight. They'd walked away with a check for more money than Ginny'd ever seen at one time---more than she earned in an entire year as a 911 dispatcher---and it was still only a fraction of the value of the few gems Alton had traded. He didn't seem to mind a bit that he'd gotten the short end of the deal. At this point, Ginny didn't care either...she was hot and tired and dirty and just wanted a room, though it still felt weird, taking so much money from a man she barely knew.
She'd stopped at an ATM to deposit the jeweler's check in her account. That was another thing. It was Alton's money, but he'd just handed the check over like it was nothing. Of course, she was the one with the credit card and the bank account.
There was no such thing as banking on Lemuria. What was the need for personal wealth when everything was free? Still, it helped her relax a bit over swiping her card to pay for the beautiful little adobe house the resort called a casita that was going to cost them almost seven hundred dollars a night.
She paid less than that for a whole month's rent on her duplex in Evergreen, where she even had a view of Mount Shasta out the kitchen window.
Here she looked out on towering red bluffs---or she would, the concierge assured them---once the sun came up in the morning.
They had one bedroom with two beds, a nice little kitchen, a sitting room, and two large bathrooms. There was a second bedroom available, but the door to it was locked. Ginny'd thought about renting the entire casita so they could each have their own room, but it seemed like a waste of money...they'd shared a room the night before without any problem.
Who was she kidding? She didn't want Alton that far away.
She grabbed her bag and headed into the bathroom closest to the bedroom and closed and locked the door behind her. She needed to pee, she needed a shower, and she needed to think.
Not necessarily in that order.
When she joined Alton on the deck a little while later, she was clean and every bit as confused as she'd been while standing under the spray.
She'd at least come to one conclusion: There was no denying the attraction she felt to the tall, slim man sitting so comfortably in the semidarkness. For some reason her convoluted feelings for him made her angry, but even her anger confused her. Too many changes. Too much, too fast.
A couple of candles flickered on a small table beside the deck chair where he sat. He faced away from her as he gazed out across the desert. The light flickered off his blond hair and etched his strong features with light and shadow.
He wore his long white Lemurian robe and his hair hung free, still damp from his shower. He should have looked more feminine with his fair skin and flowing mane, with the soft fabric that molded his chest and shoulders and draped over his long legs, but she'd never seen a sexier, more masculine sight in her life.
He rested his chin on his big, bony knuckles and stared out into the darkness. His long, narrow feet were bare, with one ankle exposed beneath the hem of the soft robe. He reminded Ginny of a Grecian god contemplating the fate of the world.
The image almost made her laugh. In some ways, he was a god, and more likely than not he actually was contemplating the world's fate. Immortal, pure of heart, brave and kind. The gods she'd read about could take a lesson or two from this man. Still, she wondered what he contemplated, staring so solemnly into the darkness?
She cast out a thought, still not quite certain how this new telepathy thing worked. Alton?
He spun around. "Ginny. I didn't hear you." Then he smiled at her, and the desire in his eyes took her breath.
She walked slowly across the deck. Even though she wore nothing fancier than a comfy old pair of cotton sleep pants and a soft cami top, Ginny grew more deeply aware of herself as a woman with each step she took. A desirable woman. A woman of power unlike anything she'd known before, and she wasn't thinking entirely of her newfound immortality and her crystal sword.
No. This was also about the subtle strength that seemed to spring from her core. Her allure as a female of worth, of value. She walked with the knowledge this beautiful man---a man she liked and admired more every moment she was with him---wanted her. That simple fact strengthened and empowered her new reality.
Alton pulled a bottle of wine out of a bucket of ice, poured some into a bell-shaped glass, and handed it to her. It felt almost dreamlike to take the glass from him. A couple of hours ago she'd been fighting demons with a crystal sword deep inside the Earth. Now she stood on a small deck overlooking the Arizona desert and sipped chilled wine from a crystal goblet.
Definitely surrealistic. Alton patted the space beside him and she sat close, leaned back, and propped her feet on the deck railing in front of them.
The desert night stretched out before them---a blanket of black velvet scattered with diamonds. They sat together in silence, sipping their wine, staring into the night.
Alton slipped his arm over Ginny's shoulders and she leaned close against him. "It feels so good to be clean," she said. She sipped the icy pinot grigio he'd poured for her. "I reeked of sulfur. I've come to the conclusion there's nothing more disgusting than smelling like dead demon. Yuck."
Alton laughed. A coyote howled somewhere nearby. It was a nice, normal howl without any hint of banshee scream.
For some odd reason, the purity of the sound made her feel like crying. Ginny glanced at Alton. He was staring at her. "It's nice to hear something that sounds so normal," she said.
He nodded. "I wondered if that was a natural sound. We don't have anything like it in Lemuria. What is it?"
"A coyote. The same kind of animal that was stalking me last night. The one that was possessed. That's the way they're supposed to sound."
He nodded and took a sip of his wine. "We have no animals in Lemuria. Did you notice? No birds. No bees or butterflies or mosquitoes. Neither fish nor fowl," he added with a melodramatic flair.
He sounded terribly sad.
"No pets? You don't have dogs or cats?"
Alton shook his head. "We've given up so much to live as we do within the mountain, part of, yet apart from, the Earth that was once our home. I remember swimming with dolphins as a boy before our continent was destroyed. Watching birds against a blue sky. Catching frogs with Taron."
"You and Taron have been friends for a long time, haven't you?"
Alton nodded. "He was the only boy my age and we were the best of friends. Like brothers, as we are today. Our people have very few children. We are so long lived that we would quickly overpopulate our world if we could easily breed. Only a very small percentage of our women ever conceive, and then only once. There seems to be a natural law that allows conception only when someone has passed to the other side. It's all about balance."
"But is that really living?" She hadn't noticed many women in that huge auditorium. A few, but they'd stayed in the shadows, much as Alton's mother had. "What do your women do if they don't have children to care for? I didn't see any woman council members. Do women have jobs?"
Alton stared out into the darkness. "No. A woman's job is to care for her man, to raise a child if she is blessed by the gods. We have many more men than women, so if a man is lucky enough to find a wife, he treasures her and protects her. She keeps his home a calm and peaceful place where he can find comfort in her warmth and her loving company."
Ginny stared at him for a long, slow heartbeat. Was he serious? "You're kidding me, right? Making a joke?"
He frowned. "Why would I joke about this? That is a woman's place, to care for her man. To defer to him in all ways."
"Well, crap!" She snorted her wine. Coughed. Embarrassed, she giggled and glanced away. When she looked back at Alton he stared seriously at her, obviously perplexed.
"I'm sure glad that's not our way," she said. She grabbed his hand and squeezed to make her point. "I'd go frickin' nuts, Alton. Tell me why? Why did your women let this happen to them? They were once warriors. Brave soldiers. Equals. I carry a sword with the spirit of a female demon fighter. At one time, they fought beside their men. Why did they give up their equality? What happened to them?"
He shook his head, but at least he was smiling. "I have no idea, though I wouldn't be surprised to learn my father had something to do with it. Women fighting in the DemonWars? That's a part of our history I've never heard before, but your sword and Daria the Crone are proof the women warriors existed. My father is a terribly chauvinistic male who clings to power. He has surrounded himself with similar men on the council. It surprises me my mother's spirit isn't broken, but I can't help but wonder what role he and the others on the Council of Nine might have played in subjugating women."
"I bet DarkFire can tell me." She started to rise. Alton stopped her with a soft hold on her wrist.
"Later. Sit with me. Enjoy the quiet. I imagine, sometime in the near future we'll wish we had this moment back."
Ginny sat. "You're probably right." She ran her fingertips along the side of his face. "Just don't ever expect me to defer unless it's something I would have wanted to do anyway."
Alton laughed and grabbed her hand. Kissed her fingertips. "I was right the first time I saw you. I knew you were going to be trouble."
Ginny glared at him, but she had to fight the twitch in her lips to keep from smiling. "Drink your wine, Alton."
"Yes, ma'am."
Alton lay awake in the bed beside Ginny's and stared at the shadows a small nightlight cast against the ceiling. Ginny'd slept soundly for the past few hours. It had been an unspoken yet mutual agreement to choose separate beds. He'd sensed Ginny's desire for him even as he'd struggled to bank the power of his own heavy arousal, but they were both exhausted, both overwhelmed by all that had happened over the past thirty hours. Tonight was not the night for any more excitement.
Ginny had gained a legacy. Alton had lost a father. He hadn't allowed himself to think of his father's proclamation today, but now, lying alone in the darkness, the words echoed hollowly in his mind.
Strike Alton's name from the Artigos line. He has brought shame to our family. He is no longer my son.
How could any man of honor disown his own child? Granted, there'd been no love lost between the two of them; not that Alton hadn't tried. He'd played by his father's rules most of his life, and when that hadn't garnered him any love or attention, he'd changed course and broken those same rules.
It never seemed to matter, one way or the other. Now, though, when he'd finally taken a position he could be proud of, his father had disowned him. It made no sense. None at all. What made even less sense was how much it hurt. He was a man grown. A good man who'd made a difficult choice to help save his world.
He shouldn't be so easily affected by a father's love---or lack of same---yet he was. He couldn't believe how badly it hurt. He'd given up all that was dear to him, and for what? To be treated now as a common criminal. He needed to get past this foolish need for a father's approval. It was never going to happen, and he might as well accept it.
The bed dipped. The covers lifted and Ginny's sleep-warmed body snuggled against his. He tucked her close beside him and murmured, "What are you doing here? I thought you were asleep."
She grumbled and rubbed her face against his bare chest. "I was, but you woke me up."
"How? I've been quiet as a mouse."
She pushed and he rolled over to his back. She rolled with him, sprawled across his body and wrapped her arms around him. He stroked her spine and she purred like a warm, sleepy kitten.
"You were not. You were thinking really loud. And besides, what do you know of mice? You told me you don't have any animals in Lemuria."
"Thinking loud?" He chuckled and nuzzled the soft skin where her slim throat dipped and curved toward her collarbone. "I didn't mean to. And you're right. We don't have animals now, but I remember them. Remember? I told you we had them before our world sank into the sea."
"Even mice?" She lifted her head and stared into his eyes, blinking owlishly.
He kissed her nose. "Even mice," he said. "Ginny? You need to go back to your bed."
She rested her cheek against his chest. "Why? You make a wonderful mattress."
"And you make a perfect blanket, but if I hold you like this much longer, I'm going to make love to you. And if I do that, you're going to be really angry with me tomorrow."
"Why? Are you a really horrible lover?"
He chuckled and felt her slim body bounce against his. "No. I think I'm an adequate lover, but I know you don't take sex lightly and neither do I. I don't want you feeling any misgivings come morning."
Ginny raised her head and looked at him again, only this time she was clear-eyed and obviously wide awake. Running her fingertips along the line of his jaw, she whispered, "No misgivings. No regrets, and no way am I going to miss this chance."
He frowned. Turned his head and kissed her fingers. "I don't understand. What changed your mind?"
She kissed him. As kisses went, it was nothing more than a simple little peck to his lips. But as kisses can, it sent a surge of heat spiraling from lips to groin while firing all parts in between.
"You changed my mind," she said. "Lying here in your bed wondering why that bastard of a father of yours would disown you, while I'm lying in my bed wondering why I was over there all alone when the most honorable, decent, wonderful, brave, and beautiful man I've ever met was within my reach."
She cupped his face in her hands and looked into his eyes with so much feeling, so many emotions in those beautiful tiger's eyes of hers that Alton felt a tightening in his throat and a burning in his eyes.
"I can't say I love you, Alton. I've never been in love, so I don't even know what it feels like, but I know that I care about you. I admire you, I want you and I need the connection that making love with you will give me. Does that make sense? Can we do this without being in love and not fracture whatever it is we've got so far?"
"Ah, Ginny." He closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around her, holding her so close he felt her heart beating against his chest, felt the rush of air in her lungs and breathed in the air she exhaled. "I want you. I need you like I've never needed anyone in my life, but you have to be absolutely certain. I know this isn't something you take lightly. I don't think you take anything lightly, but I swear, if you come to me tonight I promise to make it good for you. I promise we'll find that connection you're looking for. Is that enough?"
She sat up, straddled his waist with her long legs bent close against his hips, and tugged her camisole top over her head. There was barely enough light to see her, but her dark skin glistened where the dim glow from the nightlight caught her curves and valleys.
Watching as Ginny slowly unveiled herself, Alton's heart pounded so hard and fast he felt light-headed. She leaned down and kissed him, and again it was just a tease, the light touch of her full lips to his. "Is that ever enough? Alton, you amaze and confound me, but I want this like I've never wanted anything before. However..." She sighed, a movement so slight that he barely felt the brush of her turgid nipples across his chest. "What I don't want is to get pregnant." She laughed, but there was a shaky, nervous sound to it. Abruptly, she sat up and pressed her palms to his belly. "Do Lemurians use condoms?"
He chuckled, but it was over her nervousness, not the question she'd asked. She always seemed so self-assured---he found it rather refreshing that she hesitated now. He rested his hands on her hips, over her soft cotton pants, and spread his fingers across her firm bottom. Then he shook his head. "We don't, but only because it's so difficult for our women to conceive. But for you, Ginny, I will do whatever you ask."
She nodded. "I have some in my bag. I always keep them with me, just in case. For what it's worth, I regularly throw them out because they never get used and go out of date." She gnawed on her full lower lip for a moment. "I was a mistake. My mother gave me up for adoption because she was an unwed teenager who got pregnant when she shouldn't have. That's one family tradition I don't plan to continue."
"You're not a mistake, Ginny. Never a mistake." He ran his finger over her dark cheek, across her damp lips. Then he trailed it along the line of her jaw, down her throat to a point between her breasts. She had absolutely lovely breasts, small and perfectly round with dark, dark nipples. He ran his thumb over the left one and watched it tighten into a taut little point. When Ginny moaned, he repeated the same touch on her right side. "Were you to conceive, my beautiful Ginny, I would cherish our child, but now, with demonkind threatening our worlds, is not the time to take such risks with innocent life. When the time is right, and if the gods are willing, I hope you will someday consider taking a chance with me."
She nodded. Then she clambered off of him and reached for her bag, dug out a small packet, and clutched it in her hands. Wearing nothing but her sagging sleep pants hanging loosely around her hips, she glanced over her shoulder and smiled. The long line of her spine called to him. The soft curve of her bottom. The sleek muscles from shoulder to fingertips.
He wanted to touch her, to taste every part of her, and he knew he was fast losing his control. He tried to remember the last woman he'd been with, but it had been too long ago, and obviously not at all memorable. "Come here, Ginny." He held out his hand and she took it, but for all her brashness and blatant self-confidence, she was once again shy and hesitant. He tugged.
She stepped to the side of the bed. Alton slipped his fingers beneath the waistband of her cotton pants and cocked an eyebrow. She huffed out a breath. Then she shimmied out of the pants and stood there gloriously naked, yet still much too unsure of herself. Alton threw the covers back and sat up. He turned and sat on the edge of the bed and tugged Ginny close until she stood between his legs, caught in his embrace. Standing while he sat, she was exactly his height. Their lips came together so naturally there was nothing to do but kiss her.
She parted her lips beneath the gentle prodding of his tongue. He ran his fingertips along her spine and traced the perfect curve of her bottom, pulling her closer until he held her---between his thighs, in his arms, with his mouth. Connected, yet not. Not nearly close enough.
He still wore his knit boxer shorts, but Ginny suddenly ended the kiss and hooked her fingers in his waistband. "I don't think I should be the only one naked, do you?" Laughing, obviously a bit more confident now, she tugged and he lifted his butt so she could slide his shorts over his hips, over his painfully swollen erection, and down over his long legs. She knelt to tug them over his feet and stayed there, kneeling in front of him with her tiger's eyes twinkling as she studied the length and breadth of his cock.
Her steady perusal was more erotic than fingers stroking or tongues licking. Arousal spiraled through him like a living creature taking over his senses. When Ginny reached out and stroked her fingers along his full length, Alton groaned and his hips jerked. His sac tightened close against his body and he felt another hot rush of blood to his groin.
She flashed him a big smile as she slowly circled his broad glans with the tip of one finger. Slowly, she stroked down his full length. Her gentle touch left fire in its wake. When she wrapped her fingers as far around him as she could and began the upward journey once again, he caught her wrist in his hand. "Do that again and this entire evening could end quite soon."
She laughed, leaned close, and kissed the very tip. As her lips connected with his damp flesh, a shock raced from his penis to his balls and back again like a circuit connecting.
"Ginny." He barely croaked out her name. So much for smooth. "Enough. Please." He was not going to beg. Didn't want to, but...
She held the packet between her thumb and forefinger. "Should I help you put this on?"
He nodded. Breathing heavily he leaned back, supporting himself with his hands. At this point, it was the best he could do. Ginny tore the packet open with her teeth and brought out a flimsy disk made of some kind of plastic. He'd heard of these but still wasn't quite certain what she intended to do with it.
She placed it on the head of his penis and slowly rolled the covering over his full length, smoothing it over his sensitive skin until it covered him in a clear sheath.
So this was the protection he'd heard humans used. He groaned as she stroked it. Merely putting it on was arousing.
Anything that Ginny Jones did to him was arousing. He'd been fighting his growing desire for her since the first night he'd seen her, caught behind that Dumpster with the demon trying to get to her. Fighting the feelings, yet never once imagining they'd ever actually make love.
"Come up here, Ginny." His voice sounded unnaturally hoarse as he grabbed her fingers and tugged her close. She crawled up on the bed as he spun around and tangled his legs with hers. He didn't know where to touch first, what to kiss next. She was dark perfection, all warm and willing woman. She was in his bed, in his arms, and the night stretched out ahead.
Ginny felt as if she moved in slow motion even as her heart pounded so hard and fast she was afraid it would beat right out of her chest. She'd tried opening her thoughts to Alton's, but his mind was a dark jumble of need and desire, almost frightening in its intensity.
She couldn't believe they were doing this---that she was naked with a man she hardly knew, a veritable giant of a man who could physically overpower her if he wanted, yet she wasn't afraid of him. Never of him. Alton was every wonderful thing she'd ever dreamed of in a man. She hardly knew him, yet she felt closer to him, more familiar with him than she had with any man she'd ever known.
Like she'd known so many. She'd had sex exactly twice in her life, and both times it had been a disaster. Both men had led her to believe they cared for her, but they'd cared only for themselves. She'd learned her lesson. She liked men just fine. She had lots of guys for friends, but not as lovers. Never as lovers.
Until now. She should be terrified. She wasn't. Not with Alton looking at her as if she were some sort of goddess. Not with his gentle touch, his wonderful kisses, his sweet and loving smile. He was so big, though. So tall and broad with wide shoulders and long arms and perfectly formed legs.
He was big everywhere. She bit back a giggle. Thank goodness the condom stretched as well as it did. Then he ran his fingers over her thigh and cupped her bottom, and she quit worrying about his size or his muscles or the fact they were going to make love right now, right here, tonight.
He leaned over her and trailed kisses from her knee to the crease between her thigh and groin. He teased her with his tongue before moving higher and taking first one nipple and then the other between his lips. Her muscles quivered and jumped beneath his gentle touch, and her body trembled.
While his mouth was making her crazy, his fingers were walking a trail along her inner thigh to the moist center between her legs, slipping between her softly swollen folds and dipping inside. She shivered as much with anticipation as nerves when he touched her so intimately. Neither of her lovers had explored her body.
Neither one had touched her heart.
She arched against him and whimpered as two fingers brushed her inner walls and curled against her tightly clenching muscles. The rough pad of his thumb found her clit and her hips bucked as wave after wave of sensation rolled over her.
She clenched the crisp sheets with both hands, and her heels pressed down on the mattress. The trembling spread until her knees and thighs shivered and her body quivered on the very edge of orgasm.
Alton suckled her breast and his fingers slowly thrust in and out, taking her close but not close enough, taking her high but not over the top. She heard a noise, the sound of whimpering, and realized she was making those soft, silly little cries. When he slipped his fingers free of her, she cried out and arched her back, reaching for him.
Alton settled himself between her thighs and pressed the broad head of his penis against the mouth of her vagina. Slowly, so very slowly, he pushed forward, withdrew, then slipped forward again just a little bit more. Filling her, stretching her so much her inner walls burned, taking her someplace new, some dimension so intense, so unbelievably sensual she felt the tears rolling from her eyes, trickling into her hair.
When he filled her completely, he paused and gave her a moment to adjust to his size. The burn eased until she was filled with a delicious sense of fullness. Her muscles quivered and rippled around him. He traced through her tears with his fingertip. "Ginny? Are you okay? I'm sorry, sweetheart. I didn't mean to hurt you." He sighed and his breath shuddered out of his lungs. "We'll stop. Right now, we'll end this."
"Don't you dare." She grabbed the thick fall of his hair. Wrapped her fingers in the strands and practically growled. "Now, Alton. Fuck me now."
"Praise the gods," he whispered. And then he began to move.
She'd never experienced anything even remotely like this. He was big and strong and powerful and long. There was so much of him. Big hands, long arms, long hair, broad shoulders, and those wonderful hair-roughened legs rubbing against hers as he thrust hard and fast and so deep. So very deep, touching the mouth of her womb on every forward press of his hips, sliding in and out with so much strength, so much gentle, loving strength.
Ginny raised her hips to meet him. She grasped his shoulders and thrilled with the ripple of those long, lean muscles beneath her fingertips. He took her to the edge and held her there, making love to her as if she were someone fragile and small, then turning loose and thrusting hard and fast until she gasped with each deep penetration.
Each time she came close to her climax, he slowed the pace, teasing her, making her whimper in need and overwhelming pleasure. She'd never been played so well---played like a fine instrument wielded by a master.
Finally, he reared back on his heels and carried her with him. Ginny wrapped her legs around his waist and he held her close. His big hands lifted her bottom, holding her against him as he rolled his hips forward, tilting her perfectly so the thick length of his cock rode over her clit on every thrust.
He picked up the pace, driving into Ginny harder. Faster. So deep she felt the pressure inside when he touched the farthest reaches of her channel. So perfect she wanted to cry, but it felt too good, so good she almost laughed, amazed how her emotions seemed to fly from one extreme to the other.
Once more he thrust deep. His groan vibrated through her body. He filled her again and she flew. Flew high and far in a cascade of sound and light, of hearts pounding and breath rasping out of billowing lungs.
She'd been so close for so long, hanging on the precipice of completion, shocked now by the intensity, by the sheer force of pleasure that had her crying out and arching her back, driving herself down hard as Alton rammed into her, shouting something totally incomprehensible.
Or was that hers? That cry of unbelievable ecstasy?
He tightened his arms across her back and tumbled them both to the bed. Connected. Caught in the pulsing rhythm of muscles clenching and releasing, of hearts thudding, of lips parted to catch as much air as possible.
Lying on her side, facing the most beautiful man she'd ever seen, Ginny slowly blinked herself back to the here and now. Amazing. Absolutely amazing.
She'd never experienced anything like this in her life.
Alton opened his eyes and smiled at her. "You okay?"
She nodded. Took a moment to catch her breath. "Adequate lover, eh?" She chuckled. "That's all? Just adequate?"
"I hope so." He kissed her. "I do hope you were satisfied."
She had to bite her lip to keep from giggling with the sheer bliss of utter satiation. "If you were any more adequate, I think you might kill me."
He nodded sagely. "Don't worry. I promise we'll get better with practice."
She nuzzled the soft hair on his chest and drew in a deep breath filled with the scent of clean male sweat. Her body rippled with orgasmic aftershocks. She felt him begin to stir deep inside. "That's good to know," she said, planting a kiss at the base of his throat. "Especially since I think lesson number two is about to begin."
It took Ginny a moment before she realized why she was awake. Struggling out of a deep sleep with Alton's long arm draped over her chest and his perfect patrician nose buried in her hair, she thought seriously about ignoring the irritating noise coming from her backpack, of just rolling over and going back to sleep.
Then recognition kicked in.
It was the new ring tone on her cell phone. She'd downloaded it Tuesday morning before she'd left Phoenix and headed to Sedona. So this was Thursday? Only the third day since...crap. So much had happened in such a short time it made her dizzy just thinking about it. Shaking her still-muzzy head, she crawled out from under Alton's arm and left the big Lemurian sleeping soundly as she reached for her pack.
The phone quit ringing just as she pulled it out and checked the number. She had no idea who it was who'd called. A moment later the phone beeped. Whoever called had left her a message. Yawning, she sat on the floor beside the bed and checked her voice mail.
There was only one message. Markus? Now why would her cousin be calling at...she rolled her head to one side against the edge of the mattress, squinted, and looked at the clock beside the bed. Six o'clock in the morning? Sheesh. Ginny punched in her code. An icy shiver rolled down her spine as she listened to Markus's frantic message. His final anxious words left her mind spinning.
Ginny? What in the hell's going on?
She let out a deep breath and leaned against the bed. "Alton? Alton, wake up."
He groaned. Ginny grinned. It appeared she'd worn her more than adequate lover out last night, though if they hadn't run out of condoms, he might have lasted even longer than he had. Of course, if they'd made love any more than they had, she doubted she'd have been able to walk this morning.
Not that she was complaining.
Alton snorted, groaned, rolled over, and started to snore. Ginny stood up, yawned again, and made a quick trip to the bathroom. While she was in there, she decided to shower. Whatever was going on with Markus would just have to wait until she was clean and a little more awake.
She stepped out of the bathroom a few minutes later and caught Alton sitting up in bed with her cell phone in his hand. "It keeps beeping," he grumbled. Then he dropped the phone and his irritated frown turned to a welcoming grin, which was a really nice compliment, considering she didn't have so much as a stitch on.
"Good morning." He held out his hand and she sashayed across the room until she was close enough for Alton to curl his fingers around her bottom and pull her up against the edge of the mattress.
Amazing how one night of really good sex with a talented and definitely more-than-adequate lover could take away a girl's self-consciousness. Ginny leaned close and kissed him.
He drew her closer until she was straddling his long body with only a thin sheet between them. His hair was tangled and mussed, but the disheveled look only added to his sex appeal. She leaned close and slipped her hands into the thick strands, sliding her fingers across his skull as she brought him close for a kiss.
They'd barely touched, lips to lips, her hands tangled in his long hair, his firmly grasping her hips, when her phone beeped again.
"Not that I'm complaining, but that's what woke me," Alton grumbled. "It won't stop beeping."
Another message? "Damn. I forgot about Markus!" Ginny scrambled out of Alton's embrace, grabbed the phone off the bed, and checked the messages. Markus's deep voice had risen a note this time, and his frantic plea added a layer of guilt.
Ginny! Where are you? I'm getting worried and all hell's breaking loose!
She raised her head. Alton nodded and stroked her hand---the one holding the phone. "He's right, you know. All hell is breaking loose. Let's check on your cousin. We can hike up to the vortex and check on the portal later."
Ginny laughed as she hit redial. "If you want the truth, I wasn't even thinking of the hike to the vortex." She glanced at the tented covers over Alton's lap. "And don't try and tell me you were, either."
Markus answered the phone as Alton swatted her on the butt and headed to the shower.
"Markus?" she said, eyeing Alton's perfectly shaped rear. "What's up?"
Ginny brought him a cup of coffee in the bathroom as Alton carefully plaited his long hair in a single braid down the middle of his back. He wrapped a towel around his hips and reached for the welcome cup. He'd certainly developed a taste for the hot brew during his week at Ed Marks's house.
He took a swallow and sighed. It had to be his imagination, but he was sure the stuff got his synapses firing with the very first sip. "What's going on with your cousin?"
Ginny perched on the counter beside him. "Markus said he picked Tom up yesterday morning after the vet called and said he was okay, and everything was just fine until last night when Tom let out a shriek and so did Markus's little sister. Markus was afraid the cat had gone crazy and attacked her, but he said when he went to check, the cat was fine and Jamilla was holding him in her lap and petting him."
"So what's the problem?"
"That's the weird part. Markus said Tom was purring, but then he yawned. The teeth were back. All those extra rows of sharp teeth, and his eyes were, as my dear, demented cousin said, 'freakin' evil.' But Tom was acting perfectly normal."
"What do you make of it?" Alton turned and propped his hip on the bathroom counter. He loved to watch Ginny when she was thinking through a problem. She'd frown and nibble her lower lip. Her body would be so still it amazed him, that Ginny, who was generally in perpetual motion, could remain motionless.
"They can't be smart enough to use subterfuge, can they?" She raised her head and frowned. "I'm still getting used to the whole concept of demons invading Earth, but it's easier to handle when I think they're just stupid clouds of mist. The idea of demons taking over a creature's body and then acting as if everything is just fine is pretty scary. That's consciously using deception, which means they're thinking it through. I hate to think they're getting that much smarter this fast."
Alton focused on the strands of his braid to keep from reaching for her. "They're generally brainless---evil but not too bright---when they're away from Abyss. Not smart enough to be devious. I agree with you." He raised his head and looked into her beautiful eyes. "Deception requires a certain amount of intelligence, so if Markus is right, we've got more of a problem than I thought."
"He sounded scared. Markus is almost as big as you. It takes a lot to scare him."
Alton chuckled. "I look forward to meeting this large cousin of yours." He tied off the end of his braid with a rubber band and caught himself staring at the little red loop. Now that was something else humans had that was lacking in Lemuria---rubber bands. So simple yet entirely practical, and a lot less trouble than tying a piece of twine around the end. He held the braid up and studied the way the little band held everything in place. Such a simple yet perfect solution. The more time he spent on Earth, the more he loved it here.
And it wasn't just the rubber bands.
He'd been right all along---humans didn't always think things through, but they acted with passion. They felt more emotion in a single day than some Lemurians experienced in a lifetime, and he was quickly learning the importance of feeling, the visceral need to experience emotions with all their pain, if only for the chance to know the glory.
He'd experienced the glory of passion just last night. Making love with Ginny had rocked his world. In fact, it had shaken him to his very roots, to the point where he had to shove those feelings aside or he'd not be able to function.
And function he must. His role here had changed. It was no longer imperative that he fight demonkind to protect Lemuria. No. His focus now was to protect the people of this world.
To protect Ginny. A sense of urgency gripped him. "Let's go." He shoved away from the counter, tugged Ginny's hand, and led her into the bedroom. They'd have to check out the Boynton vortex later. First order of the day was Tom the cat.
Demons behaving well was just wrong.
Markus was waiting on the curb when they drove up in Ginny's little rental car. Ginny hadn't been kidding---he was one big kid. He was only a couple of inches shorter than Alton, but he probably outweighed him by close to a hundred pounds. With skin as dark as Alton's morning cup of coffee and long black hair hanging in strange coils that Ginny called "dreads," he cut a pretty imposing figure for such a young man.
He eyed Alton suspiciously. When Ginny got out of the car, Markus stalked around the front to meet her on the driver's side. "Who's the blond dude?"
Ginny just laughed. Obviously she wasn't the least bit intimidated by her cousin. "The blond dude is Alton. He's here to help. Alton, meet Markus, owner of the devil cat."
"Not funny, Ginny. He's freaky. Bad enough that I don't want Jamilla or Jamal playing with him. Mom's scared to death. She was ready to call the pound last night to come pick him up, but I couldn't let her do that. He's my cat. I've had Tom for ten years, ever since he was a kitten."
For just a moment, Alton thought the big guy was going to break down and cry, but Markus just shook his head and turned away. "He's not right. He---" Markus abruptly stopped talking and stalked toward the house.
Ginny grabbed Alton's hand and they followed him in. "Can you see DarkFire? I tried to set a glamour on her the way you told me. Is it working?"
He squeezed her fingers. "I can see her, but she's very faint. I doubt Markus can see her at all. You're learning quickly."
She flashed him a huge grin that made his heart soar and reminded him how much he was rethinking so many rules he'd been taught while growing up. It was almost as if the basis for everything he'd learned denied the man he truly wanted to be. He'd discovered very quickly that he was a creature of emotion, just like Ginny. He felt passion, he understood fear and sadness, yet he'd spent his life trying to believe what he'd been taught---the dangers of acknowledging emotion, the necessity for remaining in control at all times.
Following Ginny into the house, he felt a shiver of excitement, a sense of adventure just waiting up ahead. There was no doubt in his mind---being out of control was totally new, more frightening than anything he'd ever experienced in his life, and definitely entertaining.
Markus pointed to a fat, gray cat sleeping on an old couch in a sunbeam by the front window. Tom didn't look at all threatening and certainly not dangerous, but the stench of demon clung to him. Alton felt a pulse of energy from HellFire. He turned Ginny's hand loose and walked past Markus without waiting for the young man's permission.
Squatting down on his haunches in front of the couch, Alton reached for the cat. Tom raised one eyelid and glared at him out of strangely luminescent eyes. Then he blinked, sniffed the air, and growled. His ears lay flat against his broad skull.
Alton glanced at Markus. "Is that a normal sound for your cat to make?"
Markus shook his head. "Not like that."
Alton stood up. "Markus, stand back, will you? Ginny, draw DarkFire."
Her head snapped up. She looked at Alton as if to reassure herself he'd really said what he'd said. Then she shot a quick look at her cousin. "Are you sure?"
"It's all right." Alton drew HellFire from his scabbard, ignoring Markus's soft curse. He turned the blade, making sure to catch what light he could on the crystal facets so that it glowed even brighter than usual. He almost laughed. He'd never realized before what a flair for showmanship he had.
"Markus, what you're going to see and what I'm going to tell you are top secret." He turned and caught Markus in what he hoped was a commanding glare. Markus didn't move a muscle. Nor did he shift his gaze from the glowing sword in Alton's hand.
"Ginny and I are working for a secret government agency that's aware of the demon invasion. You can't tell anyone what we're going to do right now. Do I have your promise?"
Markus kept staring wide-eyed at the glowing blade on HellFire. He nodded, but when Ginny stood up and drew DarkFire from her scabbard, he stumbled back another couple of steps. "Holy shit. What the fu---?"
Ginny flashed him a look that shut him up in midcurse. "You heard Alton. Stand back."
What now?
Alton struggled to keep from laughing. She was a natural. For that matter, so was he. This was not the way things were done in Lemuria. I'm going to hold the sword to Tom's heart. When the demon is forced out, it's all yours. Make it look good.
Tom seemed to suspect something was going on. The cat rose to its feet and snarled. Alton glanced toward Markus. "I'm not going to hurt your cat, but you have to stay out of the way."
Markus nodded and backed up a few more steps. He kept his gaze glued to the two shining swords, not his beloved cat. Alton dipped the blade beneath Tom's belly and pressed it against his heart. Tom screeched. Wailing like a banshee, the cat launched itself at Ginny. She twisted out of the way just in time.
As Tom made the leap from the couch to the floor, a black wraith, stinking of sulfur, exploded out of his back and spiraled toward the ceiling. Ginny caught it with DarkFire in a shower of purple sparks and sulfuric smoke, but just before it died, the demon took shape.
There was no disguising the twisted face, the sharp teeth, or the long, curving claws. This was most definitely a demon, hiding in plain sight within the body of Tom the cat.
The smell of sulfur filled the room. The three of them paused, caught in the sudden stillness and the foul stench. At that moment, Ginny's aunt walked into the room.
"Markus? What is that awful smell? Oh! Ginny? When did you get here?"
"Aunt Betty. Uh...good morning." Ginny shot a frantic glance at Alton.
He raised his hand and swept it slowly in front of her eyes. Aunt Betty smiled, turned around, and went back into the kitchen. Then Alton turned to Markus, who was holding Tom against his shoulder, stroking the fat cat's silky fur. "Is your cat okay?"
Markus frowned. He lifted the cat out in front of his face and stared at him. Tom hung there like a fat rag doll and purred. Smiling, Markus brought him back to his shoulder. "Yeah. He's fine, but what was that thing? How'd you get rid of it? And how'd you get rid of Mom? She's usually like a dog with a bone when there's something going on. She wants all the details now."
Ginny glanced at Alton and carefully slipped DarkFire into her scabbard. "Alton and I really are government agents and what he just did to your mom is a special form of hypnosis. Demons are invading Sedona and it's our job to get rid of them. That's why I came down here, Markus. You guys are my cover and I'm trusting you not to say a word to anyone."
Markus stared at Ginny, glanced toward Alton, and stared at Ginny again. "Holy shit. I thought you were making that up." He swallowed and held on to Tom. "I won't say a word. I promise. Is there anything I can do?"
Alton nodded very seriously. "There is. You've got Ginny's cell phone number. Call if you see something suspicious. Let us know immediately, but don't get near creatures you suspect might be possessed. They're very dangerous."
Ginny wrapped her fingers around his wrist and gave him a comforting squeeze. "Thank you, Markus. We'll be in touch."
Ginny managed to hold on to the giggles until they'd pulled away in the little blue rental car. "This would be a lot more effective if we could shoot out of here in the Bat-mobile, or leap into the air and fly away like Superman. Somehow, rolling away in a Ford Focus doesn't have the same impact."
Alton's confused frown just made her laugh harder. It took her a moment to get things under control. "When this is all settled down, and if you plan on hanging out on Earth, we need to rent some movies, make a ton of popcorn, and catch you up on popular culture. For now, though, what's next?"
He still looked a little confused, but then he merely shrugged and sat back while she drove. "Boynton Canyon, I imagine. I want to check the vortex and see what, if any portals, exist there."
"Boynton Canyon it is. But food first."
This time he smiled. "I do like the way you think."
Ginny already knew Alton liked breakfast burritos, so she pulled through a drive-in window. They loaded up on stuff they could eat along the way.
As Alton was unwrapping his second burrito, he glanced toward a small strip mall and shouted, "Stop!"
Ginny hit the brakes and pulled to the side of the road. "What's the matter?"
Alton swallowed and pointed at a drugstore. "Does that store sell condoms?"
Ginny couldn't believe she was blushing. Not after what they'd been up to last night. "Well, yes, but..."
"Take me there." He swallowed the burrito in a couple of quick bites. "I need some money." He held out his hand. Ginny fumbled in her purse, grabbed a twenty-dollar bill, and handed it to him.
"I'm not going in there with you."
He grinned, swallowed, wiped his face with a paper napkin, and then leaned close and kissed her. "You don't have to. I've discovered that the young women who work in stores are always very helpful."
He got out and walked across the parking lot. Ginny didn't even want to think about all those helpful young women, especially with Alton shopping for protection. A few minutes later he returned with a large plastic bag. "What did you buy?"
"I told you. I wanted to buy condoms." He opened the bag.
She looked inside and giggled. "Two boxes of extra large? My goodness. You are an optimist, aren't you?"
He tossed the bag in the backseat, looked at her down his long nose and raised one dark eyebrow. "I'm following your advice. I merely want to be prepared."
He sounded so serious it threw her for a loop. Recovering, she quipped, "Are there Boy Scouts in Lemuria?" Alton didn't answer. When she tried to reach him telepathically, there was absolutely nothing there.
Now why would he be blocking her? Sometimes she was so sure she knew this guy, but at other times he totally confounded her. She turned her attention to the road and tried to ignore the oversized hunk in the seat beside her. It wasn't easy.
There was hardly any other traffic as they passed through neighborhoods that grew more and more rural, until Ginny was driving past small ranches spaced out along the two-lane road.
"What are those?"
She glanced to her right, saw what Alton pointed at, and pulled over to the side of the road. The fenced and irrigated pasture was unnaturally lush and green for desert country, but she knew it wasn't the thick grass that had attracted Alton's attention.
She leaned across him to get a better look out of his open window. "I think those are Spanish fighting bulls. They're bred for the bull ring in Spain and Latin America, where they live like kings until they're old enough to fight against matadors, guys who dress weird and carry very sharp swords. It's pretty ugly---the matadors stab the bulls in a ritualized battle in front of an audience until the bull dies in the ring."
Alton turned and stared at her. "They kill these beautiful animals for sport? These creatures will die?"
Ginny shook her head. "Not here. Bullfighting in this country is illegal. These are probably some guy's hobby, more like pets."
Alton nodded. He seemed fascinated by the small herd. "They look placid enough, but their horns are quite impressive."
"That they are. Impressive and very sharp." She checked for traffic and pulled out onto the road once again, but she noticed Alton's gaze stayed on the grazing cattle with their long, curved, and deadly looking horns until they were out of sight.
He remained quiet, staring out the window as they wound along the two-lane road until they reached the parking lot at the trailhead in Boynton Canyon. Ginny checked her watch. Considering all they'd done this morning, she was surprised it was barely eight o'clock.
Other than her little blue rental car, the parking lot was empty. Gray clouds hung low in the sky and a cool wind was beginning to blow. Ginny grabbed her day pack and a bottle of water, checked to make sure her scabbard was adjusted comfortably, and then followed Alton along the well-worn trail.
"Do you feel anything different here, Ginny?" Alton paused a few steps ahead of her.
"No." She glanced nervously around, noting the wind-shaped red bluffs and unusually twisted juniper trees. "Should I?"
Alton shrugged. "The energy in this vortex is supposed to be a blend of masculine and feminine. You never did ask me about girl vortexes and boy vortexes."
He didn't look like he was joking. Ginny folded her arms across her chest and stared at him. "Are you flirting with me, Alton?"
He shrugged, but he didn't smile at all. "Maybe a little. Don't I need to?"
He seemed terribly serious for such an odd question. "It never hurts," she said. But they continued on in silence, only pausing while Alton consulted his map.
"This way," he said. They veered off to the left. When Ginny tried to connect her thoughts to his, again there was nothing where she expected Alton to be. Instead, she felt as if she'd run smack dab into a wall.
Alton couldn't shake the uneasy sense he was being watched, and it wasn't by the gorgeous woman walking along the trail behind him. No, it was an all-over uncomfortable sense of something wrong.
He'd been blocking Ginny most of the morning, mainly because he wanted to think about the fantastic time they'd had together last night and he certainly didn't want her tagging along on such personal impressions. Now, though, he was glad he'd been keeping her out of his thoughts.
It had started with the bulls and a strange uneasiness he'd felt when he saw them. He'd never been prone to premonitions and didn't think of himself as all that imaginative, but the feeling had grown stronger, even after they'd left the bulls behind. Now he sensed something about this gorgeous canyon with the red rock bluffs and the gray sky hanging overhead that had his skin prickling and his nerves on edge. The last thing he wanted to do was make Ginny as nervous as he was feeling, though he really missed her comforting thoughts in his head.
He hadn't realized how quickly he'd become accustomed to her subtle but constant presence. Just as he'd grown used to HellFire. Maybe the sword could tell him what was going on.
HellFire? Is it just me, or do you sense something here is not right?
I wondered if you were ever going to ask.
He definitely wasn't in the mood for attitude. Just your impressions of the canyon, HellFire. Please. I don't need a lecture.
Well...all right. I feel it as well, but there's no stench of demon. No sense of anything specifically evil. More of an unrest, as if the spirits walk uneasily in this place.
Spirits? Demons were bad enough. Now he had to worry about spirits, too? He glanced over his shoulder. Ginny was about five paces back. She stopped when he did.
"Something wrong?"
He shook his head. "I don't know. What do you think? Do you feel anything at all that you shouldn't?"
She gazed at the rock bluffs on either side of them and frowned. Then she slowly shook her head. "I'm not as relaxed as I'd like to be. Maybe it's those girl and boy vortexes you were talking about." She flashed him a quick, if uneasy, grin. "Maybe they're not getting along."
He knew his smile was a pretty halfhearted attempt. "What does DarkFire say?" The feeling seemed to be growing, the sense they should be anywhere but here.
"I'll ask." She closed her eyes, reached over her shoulder, and stroked the jeweled hilt rising above the scabbard. Then her eyes flashed open. "She says be prepared to fight. She doesn't know who or what, but to be ready."
Ginny drew her sword.
Alton nodded and drew HellFire as well. They walked another hundred yards or so, and the sense of wrongness grew. Dark clouds swirled overhead. The soft shush of wind through the canyon and the harsh caw of crows in the distance were the only sounds beyond the scuffle of their boots on the rocky trail.
"Alton?"
The uncertainty in Ginny's soft call brought him to an immediate stop. "What?" He spun around.
She stood behind him and stared up at the sky. He followed her gaze and his heart practically stood still. Where moments ago there'd been only rain clouds, the sky was thick with dark shapes circling above them. The crows they'd heard weren't the only black birds gathering. Others with longer wings and ugly, naked heads dipped and swerved soundlessly on the rising air currents. Birds by the hundreds, soaring and gliding above them in a dark circle that rose high into the threatening sky---a veritable tornado of birds.
Yet none of them made a sound.
"What in the nine hells are they?" He realized he'd tightened his grasp on HellFire. The sword quivered in his hand, as if anxious to act.
Wide-eyed, Ginny slowly shook her head in what had to be utter disbelief. "I recognize crows, ravens and turkey vultures. Some of the smaller birds might be blackbirds or starlings, but they don't usually circle together like that. There have to be almost a thousand birds up there."
She took a few steps and closed the space between them, but she kept her head raised, her eyes on the growing flock overhead. "This is freaky. It reminds me of an old Hitchcock movie---The Birds. For what it's worth, that one did not end well." She touched Alton's arm. "How far to the portal?"
Alton glanced at the map he'd shoved in his pocket and looked around for landmarks to help him get his bearings. "This way." He grabbed her hand again, but now they ran along the trail until it came to a fork with a sign that said VISTA TRAIL.
"It's not much farther." Still hanging on to Ginny's hand, lungs heaving with the short, hard uphill run they'd made, he raced along the fork to the right. "We're close," he said.
A raven dove at them, screeching like a banshee straight from hell. Ginny ducked just in time as it slashed inches from her face with a beak filled with rows of sharp teeth and wickedly curved claws at the end of each toe. "Crap," she said, turning Alton's hand loose and holding DarkFire high. "I was afraid of that. They're demons."
"We'll fight later. This way." Alton grabbed her free hand and tugged. "That spire over there is called Kachina Woman. The knoll with the vortex must be"---he laughed---"right in front of us. There, where the rocks are piled? Someone's left a marker."
"You sure we'll be better off inside? Isn't that where these suckers are coming from?" Ginny trotted backward, still watching the circling birds.
"Inside they should still be harmless mist. Besides, if they're using a portal here to come through from Abyss, we could fight possessed birds forever and never kill all the demons. We need to close the gateway first."
A turkey vulture shot out of the sky, vicious beak extended and red eyes glowing. Alton pushed Ginny down and bent over her, protecting her with his body. The bird hissed as it passed overhead. As soon as it took off, Alton clambered up the side of the small knoll. He ran his hands over the sandstone face until he found the portal. "Here! Ginny, hurry up. They're coming!"
He leaned down and reached for her. She grabbed his hand. "Hurry!" he shouted, and hauled her up the side of the rock just as a huge phalanx of screaming birds headed straight for them. Alton shoved Ginny through the portal first. He tumbled in behind her, along with half a dozen screeching ravens.
The cavern was filled with the stench of sulfur. Dark wraiths streamed through a seething red portal. Ginny immediately went after them with DarkFire and the screams of dying demons echoed off the walls. The stench of their burning souls polluted the close air inside the cavern.
Alton battled the birds, but on his own it was more difficult to stop the possessed creatures without harming them. At this point, all he could do was keep them away from Ginny.
"I need to close the portal. There's no end to them," she cried. "What do I do?"
"Command DarkFire to shut it. She'll know." He shoved a raven aside, but not before it managed to leave a trail of bleeding slices across his forearm. Even their claws were demonic---long and sharp and probably worthless for perching.
Perfect, however, for ripping and tearing.
He sensed the surge of energy in the cavern as Ginny focused DarkFire on the portal. The banshees already through the gateway screeched and screamed, as if they understood what Ginny was doing. Alton knocked another bird aside and quickly reevaluated his opinion of mindless demons.
These obviously knew they needed that portal. The wraiths began to gather, piling one upon the other, taking shape as they'd done in the Shasta vortex. Alton shoved another attacking raven aside and slashed HellFire through the demon mist. All those he connected with burst into flame and died, but others flowed in to take their place.
He felt a burning slash across his shoulders and knew he'd taken a direct hit from a raven, but his focus now was protecting Ginny, giving her the chance to close the portal. She held DarkFire in both hands while the sword's dark fire covered the shimmering gateway in the rock.
Glowing in shades from deep purple to an incandescent green, DarkFire slowly but surely melted the portal shut. Demons on their way through were immediately destroyed. The ones already in the cave screeched and cried out, their voices growing louder, more frustrated as their gateway to Abyss melted away, as more and more of their evil brethren died.
When it was done, Ginny spun about and grinned at Alton with a triumphant look on her face. It quickly faded when she saw the blood. "Good Lord! How badly are you hurt?"
"Later." He shook off her concern. "It's going to take both of us to handle all of these. I'll knock them down and drive out the demons. Don't let any get away if you can help it."
"I'm ready." She took her position behind him as he swung at an attacking raven, knocked it to the floor, and held it down with HellFire's sharp tip. The demon immediately escaped from its avatar, but Ginny was there. With a single slash of her sword, the demon burst into flames.
They repeated the moves on the rest of the birds. Alton quickly gathered up the birds, filling his arms with dazed ravens and carrying them through the portal. They were beginning to recover their senses by the time he set them gently on the ground outside, but the sky was clear of their brethren.
Which meant that untold numbers of demon-possessed birds were most likely now winging their way toward Sedona.
It was such a strange feeling to be alone in a cavern filled with demon wraiths. Ginny glanced toward the portal and willed Alton to return. She wasn't afraid, which was weird enough...crap. If anyone had told her just a couple of days ago that she'd be armed with a crystal sword, fighting demons inside an energy vortex somewhere in Sedona, she'd have thought they were certifiable.
She slashed through another dark wraith and wrinkled her nose against the sulfuric stench. Then another, and another. She'd positioned herself in front of the portal that led out of the rock, but she was afraid a few of the demons had still managed to slip by her. Hopefully Alton would catch them outside.
She sensed movement and turned to her left. The demons were gathering again, coming together to form a huge, seething creature with arms and legs and long, sharp teeth. All still made of mist, but she couldn't see it as a harmless wraith.
Not beneath DarkFire's illuminating light. Their demonic features were made much too obvious. Out of curiosity, she stuck her hand into the dark mass of demons. Other than feeling icy cold, there was no substance to the joined creatures at all. She slashed DarkFire through the middle and smiled with satisfaction when a dozen demons burst into flames and sparkled away into nothing but stinking smoke.
Suddenly Alton was beside her. "You doing okay?" he asked.
"I am," she said, lunging forward and catching two demons as they tried to circle around and get past her. "How are you?" She risked a quick glance. "You're still bleeding."
He slashed HellFire through a pair of dark wraiths. "I'm okay. Most of the cuts are on my back and shoulders. They don't hurt as much if I can't see them."
She laughed. Only Alton..."What about the ravens?"
"They flew away. That's what took me so long. I waited to make sure they could fly. I didn't want something to get them while they were helpless."
"What about that huge flock?"
HellFire glowed as Alton slashed through another gathering of demon mist. "The birds are gone. It seems they lost interest once we disappeared through the portal. Unfortunately, I have a bad feeling they've headed toward Sedona."
"You're probably right." Ginny slashed through the last of the demons within sight. Alton leaned on his sword beside her.
The smell was making it difficult to breathe, but Ginny searched the entire cavern. She didn't see any more portals or demons. They'd killed over a hundred before she lost count.
Best of all, she and DarkFire had closed the gateway. She stepped close to admire her handiwork. Alton looped a long arm around her shoulders. "Beautiful, Ginny. It's completely destroyed. You did it perfectly."
Ginny lifted DarkFire. "No, the credit goes to DarkFire. All I did was hold on for the ride."
Alton sheathed his sword. After a moment, Ginny did the same, but when she turned to walk toward the portal, Alton drew her into his arms. "Ginny, I am so sorry. Once again, I must apologize. I never would have sent you here if I'd realized the danger." She felt the warm caress of his lips against her hair and didn't know whether to laugh or rip his shirt off.
Laughter won, and then it took her a minute to catch her breath. Alton stared at her because he obviously didn't have a clue what was going on.
She leaned back in his embrace and held his face in both palms. He was frowning, which made her laugh even harder. "Alton, you can be such a jerk. Quit worrying! You're the one who's bleeding, damn it!" She dragged him close for a quick kiss, and backed away before he could deepen it. "I wouldn't have missed these past days for anything. My life has changed in such wondrous ways, and I'm having more fun than I ever imagined. None of this would have happened if you hadn't sent me to Sedona, and the only thing that would make it better is if Eddy and Dax were here."
He smiled at her. Then he leaned over and gave her a quick kiss. This time, Ginny was the one who tried to make it last, but Alton pulled away. He straightened up and looped his hands around her hips. "Then it appears we need to call them," he said. He stared at the melted wall where the portal from Abyss had allowed untold numbers of demons to enter Earth's dimension.
After a long moment, he shook his head. "We need to check the other portals---the one by the airport and the other at Cathedral Rock. Then we have to hunt down the demons who've made it through. There were at least a thousand birds out there, Ginny. That's a thousand evil souls at the very least, and right now, only two of us."
Ginny checked the fastenings on her scabbard, grabbed Alton's hand, and tugged him toward the portal. "And you think two more demon hunters will make a difference?"
Gazing about the small cavern, Alton merely shook his head. "It's going to have to," he said. "They're all we have unless my people decide to join the fight."
With that depressing thought hovering between them, Ginny and Alton stepped through the portal into a downpour. Rain boiled out of the seething clouds and water raced in muddy streams across the rocky ground.
Ginny took off down the trail at a full run with Alton right behind her. The situation was dire---Alton was bleeding from dozens of cuts and scratches, they were both getting soaked, and they were outnumbered by demons.
Yet for some stupid reason, both of them laughed as they ran through the rain, all the way back to the car.
Ginny's laughter---in fact, her entire good mood---ended the moment they got back to their rooms when she followed Alton into the bathroom and helped him peel his shredded shirt off his shoulders.
All the way back in the car, she'd thought most of the dark splotches on his flannel shirt were rainwater, that the wounds the possessed ravens had inflicted were nothing more than scratches.
She'd been dead wrong. His dark red plaid shirt was torn to ribbons and drenched with his blood. Bits of fabric were actually buried in the deeper cuts, where at least the flannel had helped staunch the bleeding. Ugly gashes stretched across the top of his shoulders and along his left forearm, the one he'd used to protect his face from the attacking ravens.
"Oh, Alton. I had no idea." She felt like crying as she threw his shirt in the sink. His crimson blood smeared against the white porcelain made her feel even worse. Her hands shook as she grabbed one of the pristine white towels off the rack next to the sink, soaked it in warm water, and began dabbing at the deeper cuts. Most of them were no longer bleeding, though as she washed the caked blood away, some continued to seep.
Alton pulled a small makeup bench close to the counter and sat there while Ginny cleaned away the blood. Even though she knew her amateur first aid had to hurt him, he never said a word. It made her feel sick inside, to see him injured and bleeding.
"You need to see a doctor. Some of these are really deep." She rinsed the towel once more, wrung it out, and watched the blood-stained water swirl down the drain. As she turned to clean more of the cuts, Alton grabbed her wrist.
She stared at his long, pale fingers wrapped around her arm and wondered if he could feel how badly she was trembling.
"Please. Don't be upset. It probably looks a lot worse than it is." He raised his arm and studied the bloody scratches. Then he smiled and shook his head. "See? They're not that bad. I don't need a doctor, Ginny. Eddy stuffed some bandages in my pack, if you want to use some on the deeper cuts, but I really don't need them. Lemurians heal quickly, remember?"
She sighed, shaking her head with dismay. "I didn't know you'd been hurt this badly. I feel terrible. I was treating it as a big game, like it was all for fun, and you're bleeding all over the place. I can't believe I was laughing all the way back to the car! I'm so sorry."
"Now you're being the jerk." For some reason, his gentle laughter made her tense up. "If you'll recall, I was laughing, too." He pulled her close until she gave in and sat on his lap, though she certainly wasn't able to relax.
She could, however, disagree with what he'd said. "I should have been more aware you were hurt. This happened because you were protecting me. You always remember to watch out for me." She shook her head so hard her wet ponytail slapped the sides of her face. "I was so caught up in the fact that I was actually inside the rock fighting demons with my own sword that I think I got a little carried away."
He laughed again and hugged her. "It was pretty exciting. I think you had a right to be a little carried away."
She dabbed at the bloody cuts on his forearm and decided they weren't quite as bad as they'd looked, but she still felt guilty, as if she needed to do something to atone. She hated the fact he'd been hurt protecting her. Hated feeling guilty over his cuts and bruises and bloody slashes.
Yet even as she worried, she felt panic rising. How had she allowed him to become so important to her so quickly? When had he started to matter so much? They hardly knew each other and yet she was sitting in his lap, dabbing at his wounds like they'd been together forever. She was worrying about him as if he was her responsibility, as if they were actually involved in a really serious relationship.
Which they weren't. She didn't do relationships. She didn't let guys matter to her, because the minute she did they started demanding things she wasn't ready to give. Even though she'd known him only a few days, already she realized that Alton was everything she'd ever wanted in a man, which was exactly why she shouldn't be getting so close to him.
Men never hung around, no matter how perfect they might seem at first. They got what they wanted and then they left, or they started making a woman's decisions for her, taking away her sense of control, her choices, her life. No way was she going to get involved with a guy to the point where he wanted to take over her entire existence.
No way was she willing to give up everything she'd worked so hard for---her sense of herself, her independence, her control.
It wasn't going to happen.
Except, she had a terrible feeling it was happening already. Whether she wanted it or not, her life was changing. It had been changing since the night she'd been cornered by a demon-possessed concrete statue of a bear, and rescued by a drop-dead gorgeous guy from another world.
If she really thought about what had happened to her since that moment, if she closely examined what they'd done last night when they made love, or this morning when she'd fought demons with a powerful, magical sword, she'd probably end up hiding in a dark corner somewhere, babbling like an idiot.
Life was never going to be the same. Most of what had happened was totally out of her control, but part of the fault was hers---she'd broken her own rules. She'd laughed when he bought all those condoms. Why hadn't she thought about the implications of Alton buying two big boxes? She should have known what he was thinking, but instead she'd let him inside her shields, those barriers she'd kept up around her heart since she was just a little girl.
She and Alton had made love last night, and it had been unlike anything she'd ever experienced in her life. She'd never be content with any other man, not after a night with him. He'd set an entirely new standard, one no one else could ever come close to meeting.
Even more frightening were all the other changes in her once perfectly normal, comfortably boring life. This morning alone, she'd run from demon-possessed birds and found shelter inside an energy vortex. She'd fought demons with her own sentient crystal sword. She'd used DarkFire to close a portal between dimensions.
Ginny Jones didn't do things like that. At least she never had before Alton, but she wasn't just plain old Virginia Jones anymore. She was an immortal Lemurian with a sexy lover and an important job.
"Oh, crap!" She slapped her hand over her mouth.
Alton's head shot up. "What?"
"I have to be back at Shascom by Saturday. That's where I work as a nine-one-one dispatcher. My vacation's over Friday and I'm on swing. That means I have to work late afternoon until eleven."
Alton's fingers gently caught her chin. He was smiling broadly when he turned her to face him. "Ginny...think of what you're saying! It's impossible. You must tell them you're not coming back. Your work with me is more important."
"What?" Ginny's skin flushed hot and then shivered icy cold, and she could swear she heard her heart pounding in her throat. She wrapped her fingers around Alton's and set his hand back in his lap so she could finish cleaning the cuts. She couldn't look him in the eye, so she busied herself dabbing at the blood. "You're a terrific guy, Alton, and I know this battle is important, but I can't quit my job. I've been there for seven years. I'm good at what I do. How do you expect me to support myself?" She laughed, but she knew he could tell it was forced.
"Why do you worry about supporting yourself?" He shook his head. "I have money. You said the diamonds were worth a fortune. We'll sell them as we need them. Earning money to live on should be the least of your worries. We have a war to fight."
She slipped off his lap and stepped back, out of his reach, aware she was shaking her head so hard she probably looked like one of those stupid bobble-head dolls. "No, Alton. It doesn't work that way. I support myself. I'm in charge of myself. I don't take money from a man---not from you, not from any man."
"I don't understand." He leaned back on the bench and folded his arms across his chest. "You didn't mind taking the money to pay for this room. How is that different?"
"This is for one week, Alton, and you sort of owe me for this one because you're the only reason I came to Sedona, remember? One week, that's all, and I'm okay with that, but now you're talking about the rest of my life. If I'm immortal, that's a damned long life. I've got a job so I can take care of myself. That's important to me. I take care of me. You don't."
He smiled at her like she was a complete idiot and shook his head in total denial of everything she said. "In Lemuria, a man cares for his woman. He makes sure she wants for nothing, that anything she needs is provided for her. She in turn cares for her man. She makes his home..."
Ginny slashed her hand through the air. "...a calm and peaceful place where he can relax. I know. You told me all about women in Lemuria. Well, I may be Lemurian, but I was raised human and in our world we're equal partners---when we're partners." She paused and took a deep breath, spun around, and paced across the room. She really needed to put some distance between them.
"We're not really partners, Alton. I'm not your woman. We hardly know each other. Three days ago, you were practically a stranger to me. Three days is not enough time to build a relationship, much less a partnership."
If she hadn't been so busy making her point, she might have been paying closer attention, but it suddenly dawned on Ginny that Alton had gone very still, that anger practically radiated from him in waves.
"I see. So, saving your life doesn't count."
She'd never heard his voice sound so perfunctory, his words offhand yet very precise. He leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees, tilted his head, and steepled his fingers beneath his chin.
Blood continued to run down his forearm. It soaked the towel in his lap. He ignored it, but she couldn't stop staring at that steady stream of crimson blood. Blood he shed from wounds he'd gotten protecting her.
She stood perfectly still, frozen in place, feeling smaller and more insignificant with each word he said.
"So...if what you're saying is true, then saving your life, making love with you...we were not building a relationship. Taking you to my home, to Lemuria, sharing the discovery of your heritage---that didn't count either, I guess. Sharing your joy when you received DarkFire, fighting shoulder to shoulder with you against demonkind...not even when I held your hand and we ran through the rain, both of us laughing." He shook his head. "All these things we did together. I must have misunderstood. I thought these were the things couples did as they built a relationship, as they learned to care for each other. I guess I was wrong."
She folded her arms across her chest so he wouldn't see how badly her fingers were shaking. Everything he said made her feel like an utter fool, which made her dig in her feet and defend her defenseless position even more. "It's not like anything that's been going on with the two of us is even remotely normal, Alton. We've been thrown together under such strange, extraordinary circumstances, that---"
Her cell phone rang. She'd never been so glad to hear that stupid thing in her life. She clamped her mouth shut, spun away from Alton, and dug through her pack.
She answered the call, unbearably aware of the way Alton watched her. Even more aware of his thoughts battering at her mind as she kept him out. Kept him away from all those twisting, screaming fears that were racing through her mind.
She ended the call and looked at him. "That was Eddy. She and Dax are waiting in the parking lot at Bell Rock. I'll go pick them up." She didn't invite him. Didn't want him with her. Not now. She couldn't handle it if they were stuck close together in that stupid little car.
Alton nodded as if everything was perfectly okay, as if he wasn't absolutely furious with her. "You do that, Ginny. You run away and get Dax and Eddy. I will wait here."
She nodded, a short, sharp jerk of her head. "Fine. I'll have the front desk send someone to open up the other half of the casita. That way Eddy and Dax can stay with us. And, for your information, I am not running away."
Except she was. As fast as she could get her skinny butt out of here. And maybe, just maybe having her best friend here to talk to would help her figure out why she was so horribly confused---and, why the conversation she'd just had with Alton had left her feeling like pond scum.
It was less than ten miles but took a good twenty minutes to get to Bell Rock from the resort. By the time Ginny pulled into the parking lot her head ached and she was beginning to feel physically ill from the confusing thoughts bouncing around in her mind.
Eddy and Dax sat together on a red sandstone boulder waiting for her. The first thing she noticed was the fact they were holding hands. How come Eddy hadn't had any trouble figuring out her feelings for Dax?
Ginny rolled to a stop. Eddy and Dax got in. Eddy took the cramped backseat and Dax filled up the passenger seat beside Ginny. Any other time she would have been laughing hysterically at the sight they made, all of them squished into the little car. At the moment, nothing seemed funny.
"Okay, Ginny. Give. What's the matter?"
Ginny glanced over her shoulder as she backed out of the parking lot and caught Eddy's eyes boring into her. "It appears you haven't lost your touch," she said. "Later, okay? We've got more important things to discuss."
Eddy nodded, and Ginny filled them in on the upsurge of demons in Sedona and the possessed birds attacking them at the Boynton Canyon vortex. She didn't mention her fight with Alton. She couldn't, not if she wanted her eyes clear enough for driving.
By the time they got back, the adobe casita already had been opened up to allow access to the second bedroom, where Dax and Eddy dumped their things. Dax grabbed a cold beer out of the refrigerator and met Alton on the front porch, but Eddy cornered Ginny on the small back deck off Ginny and Alton's bedroom.
Ginny glanced up nervously as Eddy opened the bedroom door and stepped out onto the deck. She flashed Eddy a nervous smile. "Where's the dog?" she asked. Anything to avoid the inevitable.
Eddy took a seat beside Ginny. "She stayed with Dad. She can sniff out demons really well, and we didn't want to leave Evergreen totally unprotected. Dad can get in touch with us if there's any sign of demonkind around town."
She grabbed Ginny's hand and squeezed. "Okay, now that we've got BumperWillow out of the way, what's going on? Alton looks terrible and you're not much better. What's the matter?"
Ginny opened her mouth, shut it again, and then took a deep breath. "I'm not positive, but I think I'm the matter."
Eddy frowned. "Oh. Okay. That makes absolutely no sense at all. Explain?"
Well, crap. If she couldn't even explain it to herself, how was she going to...? Crap, crap, crap. She dove in. "I'm starting to care about him too much. He's making decisions for me, about me, and I've been letting him do it. I can't stop thinking about him." She waved her hands helplessly in front of her, realized what she was doing and clasped them firmly together in her lap. "See? Look at me! I'm acting all girly, like a nervous female without a thought of her own. That is not me. I won't let it be me!"
Eddy's soft chuckle wasn't what Ginny wanted to hear. "C'mon, Ginny. Alton's not the controlling type. I've never seen him do or say anything that wasn't fair. Are you saying he's pushing you to do things you don't want to do? Has he been mean or unkind to you?" Eddy leaned forward in her chair and gazed steadily at Ginny.
It was impossible not to meet her serious stare. Ginny shrugged. "It's not that so much, though he keeps talking about how Lemurian women don't fight, how their entire goal is to make their homes a calm and peaceful place for their men. Look at me! Can you see me playing the little woman, taking care of hearth and home?"
Eddy laughed. "Not exactly. You can't cook and you're certainly not what anyone in their right mind would consider the peaceful type. I'd put you over in the chaos-and-crisis column."
Ginny leaned back and folded her arms across her chest. "So, do you see my problem?"
Eddy shook her head. "Not really. Alton's not about to insist you act like a typical Lemurian woman, Ginny. For one thing, he knows you were raised on Earth and think like a human woman. An independent human woman. Besides, you've got a sword. The fact you're carrying DarkFire means you're destined to be a warrior, not a housewife. Even Alton has to accept that. Is he telling you he doesn't want you to fight?"
Feeling more like an idiot, Ginny shook her head. "No."
"Does he try to keep you out of danger? I mean, does he get in the way of you doing what you're obviously destined to do?"
"No." Grudgingly, she added, "He said he liked fighting shoulder to shoulder with me. We fought really well together today. The birds I told you about? They really cut him up badly, but he kept them away from me long enough that I was able to close the portal to Abyss."
"Wow. Is he okay? I didn't even notice he was hurt." She folded her arms across her chest. "But that's not why you're upset, is it? Ginny, what the hell is really wrong?"
Ginny grabbed both of Eddy's hands and squeezed. How the hell could she put her problems into words? All the fears, the way she'd felt when she realized how badly Alton had been hurt while he was keeping her safe. Her eyes burned with incipient tears. Crap. She did not want to cry.
"Everything's wrong," she said, and damned if it didn't sound like she was crying. She sniffed and cleared her throat. "Alton's wrong. Eddy, can't you see it? Everything about the man is perfect! He's absolutely gorgeous. He's strong and brave and he protected me so I could do my job. He made love to me last night and it was so wonderful. I've never felt the way he made me feel, but I don't want to feel this way!"
Eddy's soft chuckle grated on her nerves. "Ginny, you are not making one lick of sense. The man is perfect and that's what's wrong? Explain. Please. I'm all ears."
Eddy squeezed her hands and Ginny felt like an even bigger idiot, but she had to make Eddy understand. "I don't want to care about him. I don't want him to be perfect. Don't you see? It's like I'm getting sucked into a relationship with a man who's everything I've sworn I never wanted but still everything I've ever dreamed about. He's arrogant and self-assured. He's rich and he wants to support me. He expects me to quit my job and fight demons with him, and I've only known him for a few days. I can't make decisions like that when I don't even know him. What if he's not really what he seems like now? What if it's all a lie and he turns out to be just like every other loser I've dated?"
"Alton's not a loser. He's everything you think he is and more. Can't you trust him? Can't you give the guy a chance?"
"I have to be back at work on Saturday. I'm not ready to quit a job I've worked at for seven years after knowing a guy for less than a week. I don't want to end up being one of those women calling nine-one-one because her life's turned to shit."
Eddy sighed. She turned Ginny's hands loose, stood up, and leaned against the deck railing. "Look...when I met Dax, I didn't want to believe he was as perfect as he seemed, but we had a pretty big problem that had nothing to do with whether I had time to get over my hang-ups and fall in love. He only had a week before he was supposed to lose his borrowed body and return to the void. In other words, he would be dead."
She gazed off toward the desert. Shocked, Ginny realized Eddy's eyes glistened with tears.
"I spent half that week trying to figure out if I really believed what he was telling me, and I almost lost him. By the time I realized I was head over heels in love with the man, that it was worth loving him even though I knew I was going to lose him, our week was almost over."
She turned toward Ginny. Tears fell. They left silver tracks down her cheeks as she softly added, "Then I did lose him. I saw him die, Ginny. I held his hand. His body grew cold and I knew he was dead. A miracle brought him back, but during those long minutes, when he was dead and I was left alone..."
"So what are you saying?" Ginny crossed her arms tightly, protectively, across her chest.
Eddy brushed the tears away with a swipe of her hand. "I'm saying you're a fool if you don't take what Alton's offering you---a chance to explore a relationship with a perfect man. Don't waste a minute worrying about what might happen. We're in a battle that's so much bigger than any of us. We're fighting demons, Ginny. Creatures from another dimension hell-bent on destroying not only us but our entire way of life. We could all be dead by the end of the week. Do you want to spend what time you've got with Alton debating whether he's as good as he seems? Good Lord, Ginny. That doesn't make any sense at all. You're smarter than this."
Eddy stared at her for a long, silent moment. "And another thing," she said. "Alton gave up his home, his family, his friends---he gave up everything to fight a battle that isn't even his, and you're worried about a stupid dispatcher's job?" She shook her head as if she couldn't believe how foolish Ginny was acting. Then, without another word, she shoved herself away from the railing and went inside the casita.
Probably in search of Dax. Ginny watched her walk away with a terrible ache in her heart. She and Eddy had been best friends since they'd been old enough to have friends. They had grown up on the same street. Ginny was two years older and little Eddy had followed her around like a devoted puppy.
Never, not once in all the years they'd known each other, had Eddy ever called her a fool. They'd been through boyfriends and heartache together. Eddy'd been there when Ginny's parents died---first her dad from a heart attack and then her mom just a couple years later from cancer---just as Ginny'd been there for Eddy when she lost her mom.
Like sisters, they'd supported each other, loved each other, argued with each other, but never once had Eddy criticized Ginny's actions. Not like this. She wasn't sure how to take it. Wasn't sure if she should be hurt or thankful that Eddy loved her enough to tell her the truth.
Knowing Eddy, that was the way it was meant. She was so damned honest she didn't know how to lie, but where did that leave Ginny? She couldn't just give in to Alton, quit her job, and let him make all the decisions and take over her life, because that's the way it worked. Once a guy was financially responsible, once he got a woman's heart, he took everything. She saw it time and time again.
As a 911 dispatcher, she'd seen the result of controlling men who became abusive. Domestic violence accounted for way too many of the calls she handled, and it always seemed to start when a woman turned over her life to some guy.
But Alton's not abusive or controlling. He's definitely not just some guy.
"Crap." He was so much more than that, which was, of course, the reason she was having all this trouble. If he was just any guy she could walk away without a problem, but he was so far beyond any man she'd ever known.
He'd already saved her life at least once, and today he'd ended up slashed to ribbons while he was keeping her safe. She still hadn't finished bandaging his cuts, and she knew she owed him an apology. But she wasn't going to quit her job. She was going back to Evergreen on Friday night and she was going to show up for work, as scheduled, on Saturday at three.
She wasn't ready for more. She wasn't!
Alton was just going to have to deal with it.
He'd felt Ginny's confusion ever since she'd returned with Dax and Eddy, but he had no idea what to say or do to make things better. Now he sensed her drawing closer, though he couldn't read the roiling thoughts that were flashing through her mind. He wished he understood her better, but obviously something was getting lost in translation.
He most definitely did not understand women.
Dax gave him an encouraging smile and even Eddy stroked his shoulder as she walked past him and flopped down in Dax's lap. Alton wished he and Ginny had a relationship as easy and comfortable as Dax and Eddy, but those two had known each other longer.
Almost two weeks, now. Maybe that was the secret. Did he have to be patient and wait for Ginny to fall as hard for him as he'd already fallen for her?
She stepped through the open door and all his patience went the way of demon mist. Nine hells, she was something. Even standing there looking so confused and unsure of herself, she took his breath. He'd never dreamed he'd be attracted to a powerful woman, a warrior as strong and true as any man he'd ever known, but when he saw Ginny now and thought of how she'd looked in battle today, swinging DarkFire with all the grace and skill of a seasoned fighter, he'd wanted to pick her up, throw her over his shoulder, and carry her off to their bedroom.
Which would probably really make her angry. Dax had tried to explain what it was with human women, how their physical strength might not be equal to a man's, but their sense of purpose and their desire to control their own destiny was every bit as strong.
If that was what Ginny wanted, he'd do his best to comply, but it wasn't going to be easy.
"Alton?"
He nodded, acknowledging her greeting.
"I wanted to apologize."
Now, this was more like it. He sat up straighter. "Yes, Ginny?"
"I'm sorry I didn't finish bandaging your injuries. If you'd like, I can do them now." She stood there with her hands folded in front of her like a rebellious child trying to behave, and then she apologized for not bandaging his wounds?
They were already healing, without the bandages. What about an apology for denying their relationship? For denying him? He took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. "My injuries are almost healed. There is no need to concern yourself."
Then he stood up and brushed past her on his way into the house. It took all his strength not to grab her as he walked by, but he decided it was more satisfactory to leave her standing there with a perplexed frown on her face.
He almost laughed when he heard her exhale in frustration as she asked Eddy, "What'd I do?"
He wanted to tell her. Wanted to go back out there and grab her by both hands and say what was in his heart, that he wanted her to care as much for him as he already did for her.
But that wasn't what Ginny wanted to hear. She'd already made it perfectly clear she didn't want him. Didn't want his money, didn't want his protection, didn't want a relationship of any kind.
She was right when she said they hardly knew each other, and the few days since he'd first seen her fighting for her life were but a blip along the way for a man who counted his life in thousands of years, but he'd known from the beginning. He'd seen her and he'd known she would be important to him, even before he thought they had any chance at all.
He'd also known she was going to be nothing but trouble.
Even when he was the immortal son of the chancellor of the Council of Nine he'd been fascinated by the human woman who would have been nothing more than a commoner in Lemuria.
Was that it? He stopped dead in his tracks. Of course it was! He felt like such a fool. Why hadn't he considered her feelings since so much had changed? She'd nailed him. He was an arrogant jackass, setting himself above her when he'd first noted the impossibility of any kind of relationship between them. Now she'd discovered she was not only immortal, Ginny was a descendant of Lemurian royalty.
While he, once the son of Lemuria's ruler, the only child of the chancellor of the Council of Nine, was no one. Lower than the lowest of the common people. Disowned by his own father, an exile from the only home he'd ever known. What could he offer a woman like Ginny? She was a woman of royal blood. An immortal who carried crystal. He couldn't even offer her his honor. That had been stripped from him as well. He was no one, not even a citizen of the world he loved. Was that it?
She was so far above him now, there was no way in the nine hells he could ever dream of courting her. He'd been so caught up in the passion of the moment, he hadn't even considered their change in station. He should have known it would affect her feelings for him, as it should. A woman of Ginny's stature would want an equal as a mate, not a loser like him.
He would have laughed if he hadn't felt like crying. Instead he continued on through the casita and went out through the back, vaulted the low deck, and took off through the desert. Maybe a good, brisk walk would clear his head. A walk anywhere as long as it took him far from Ginny.
But what about tonight? They'd be sharing a room again. The same room with memories of their lovemaking filling his heart and soul. He walked faster, putting distance between him and an unattainable woman as his long legs carried him out into the Arizona desert.
The resort's version of room service looked better than anything Ginny'd seen in any upscale restaurant. She went in search of Alton while Eddy and Dax set the table for lunch and put the food out.
He wasn't in the bedroom, though his scabbard with HellFire lay atop one of the beds. She checked the bathroom, but the towels were dry, so he hadn't been in the shower. She cast her thoughts and searched. There was no sense of him. None at all.
She went back into the kitchen. "I can't find Alton. He's not in the casita and I don't see him outside."
"He can't have gone far. He was here just ten minutes ago." Dax gave the plates of food a longing glance. Then he went toward the back deck and gazed out over the desert. Ginny and Eddy stood beside him. Gray clouds heavy with rain boiled over the horizon and framed the red bluffs in stark relief.
One area seemed to seethe and swirl, rising and falling on the horizon. As Ginny watched, the darkness came together and dove, then swept high into the sky again. She opened her mind and sensed him then. Alton. He was out there, unarmed.
And the birds were back.
"Grab your swords. Follow me!" She snatched her scabbard from the back of the chair where she'd hung it earlier this morning, slipped it over her shoulder, and checked the buckle. Then she raced into the bedroom and grabbed HellFire out of his scabbard.
She slammed one hand on the top rail and vaulted over, hitting the ground beyond the deck with Dax and Eddy right behind her.
"What is it? What do you see?" Eddy caught up and ran beside her.
"That black formation. Those are the birds, the ones possessed by demons that attacked us earlier. I'm not sure, but I think they're after Alton. Hurry. There's no place out here for him to take shelter."
Dax put on an extra burst of speed and quickly outpaced them. As they drew closer, it was obvious the birds had someone or something cornered against a huge saguaro cactus. Dipping and diving, their banshee cries carried on the sharp breeze that whistled through the sagebrush and over the red bluffs.
Finally they could see Alton. He'd grabbed a length of scrap iron and was using it to swing at the birds as they dove at him, attacking in an almost military precision. Dax skidded to a stop, raised his hands, and shot a powerful blast of icy air at the demonic flock.
Hundreds of birds dropped. The rest wheeled away, spinning above the blast of freezing air. Ginny tossed HellFire to Alton. He grabbed the sword without a word and immediately pressed it to the stunned birds littering the ground in front of him. One by one, dark smudges of demon mist escaped from each bird. Ginny and Eddy caught the wraiths with their crystal blades and filled the air with the sulfuric stench of dying demons.
Dax blasted the second wave of birds, dropping hundreds more to the ground. With Alton driving the demons from their feathered hosts and Eddy and Ginny killing each one as it tried to escape, they worked their way through the fallen birds and destroyed each demon before it could go in search of a new avatar.
Ginny lost track of the number of times she swung DarkFire through demon mist. Each one showed its true demon self, flashing fangs and claws in the seconds before it died, but they all died---just as all their avian hosts survived.
By the time the birds were gone and the demons destroyed, Ginny's arm felt like a lead weight. She glanced at Alton. He leaned on HellFire and stared at her. "Are you okay?" she asked.
He nodded. "Other than feeling pretty stupid. I can't believe I came out here without HellFire. They were on me within minutes, almost as if they were lying in wait."
Ginny took a deep breath and willed her heart to stop pounding. "They might have been." In fact, they probably were, but she didn't want to think about that.
"Let's go back and eat." Dax slapped Alton on the arm. "C'mon. We left a lot of really good food on the kitchen table."
"Is it as good as Ed's cooking?" Alton sheathed HellFire and followed Dax. Eddy and Ginny walked beside them.
"Nothing is as good as Dad's cooking." Eddy flashed him a grin. "But this looks like a close second."
They laughed and teased one another all the way back to the casita. Ginny did her best to take part, but she couldn't stop thinking about Alton. About what Eddy had said about the dangers facing them.
There'd been a moment, that very brief moment when she'd realized Alton was alone in the desert, unarmed and under attack, that she'd known she would risk anything---anything---to keep him safe.
Including her freedom?
Yes, she admitted. Even that.
But what about her heart? Ginny Jones was never going to fall in love. She flat out refused to make herself that vulnerable to any man.
But then she glanced at him, walking beside her with that sexy, long-limbed stride of his and the cocky smile on his perfect lips, and she wanted him. Wanted him so badly she felt like screaming.
No, damn it. She refused to allow it. She was not going to fall in love. Not as long as she had anything to say about it.
The four of them stood beside the little blue Ford Focus and stared at the car. Ginny cocked an eyebrow at Eddy, who was obviously having a hard time fighting a case of the giggles.
"What's so funny?" Ginny bit the inside of her cheek.
"It's awfully small," Dax said, bending over to peer through the open window on the driver's side. "The three of us barely fit. How are four...?"
Eddy snorted. "Reminds me of the circus where about ten big clowns all climb out of an itsy-bitsy car after it pulls into the ring."
Alton shook his head. "I'm not sure how big a clown is, but I have a feeling the four of us won't fit in this."
"If you guys knew how to drive, Eddy and I might fit in back, but there's no way I'm turning either of you loose with any car I'm responsible for." Ginny reached for the door. "Alton, you're taller than Dax, so you take the passenger seat. Dax and Eddy will have to squeeze into the back. It's less than ten miles to the car rental place. I saw it when we drove through town."
Ginny waited to get into the car until the others had managed to squeeze into their seats. There was much shuffling and good-natured cursing as they rearranged long legs as well as scabbards and swords. Ginny maintained until the other three were situated, but as she buckled herself in, she made the mistake of glancing up and catching Alton's twinkling green eyes staring directly into hers.
The humor in his gaze did it. She'd been so tense all through lunch, so unwilling to let down her guard. He'd moved his seat as far forward as he could to make room for Dax and Eddy in the backseat, but now, seeing him squished into the small front seat with his long legs folded tightly and his jeans-clad knees poking up in front of the dashboard was just too much. Laughter bubbled up out of her chest and exploded in a burst of giggles.
She leaned her forehead against the steering wheel and let the laughter flow. Alton's deep chuckle was quickly joined by Dax's and Eddy's unrestrained laughter and the tension melted away. Finally Ginny raised her head, turned toward Alton, and caught him smiling at her, laughing with her, and she knew.
Whatever happened, she and Alton would figure it out. If they could laugh at the stupid stuff and deal with the tough issues, they'd get through whatever came their way.
Even the convoluted feelings that seemed to affect every thought Ginny had, every move she made?
Even those. They could be friends. They could care about each other without falling head over heels in love. Without all the issues that went along with a deeper, more emotional relationship. All it meant was keeping things on an even keel. Remembering that she was an independent woman who had done well without a man in her life for the past thirty-one years, who could continue to succeed with a man as a friend, not the other half she'd need to complete her whole.
She was already whole. A woman complete unto herself.
And don't you forget it.
With that admonition planted firmly in mind, Ginny got her giggles under control, wiped the tears from her eyes with both hands, and then started the car. First things first.
They definitely needed a bigger car.
"Okay." Ginny handed her cell phone to Alton. He tucked it into her bag as she smiled at Eddy in the rearview mirror. "Watch for Airport Road. The same company where I got this car has an office at the Sedona airport. The guy I just talked to says he's got a Yukon. It's a big four-wheel-drive SUV that should be perfect for us."
Eddy leaned forward. "How are we going to pay for it? You can't keep sticking things on your charge card, Ginny. That place we're staying in must be costing you a fortune."
Alton interrupted. "That would be my department. I grabbed a handful of diamonds when we were in Lemuria and we sold a couple to a jeweler."
Eddy's mouth fell open and she grabbed his shoulder. "You mean he didn't ask you where they came from?"
Alton shrugged. "He was more interested in paying us a fraction of their actual value and getting us out of his shop."
"There's our turn." Ginny flashed a glance at Eddy as she made a right onto a side road. "No thanks to my navigators."
"Sorry about that, but I'm still trying to figure out how you were able to sell loose diamonds and not get arrested." Eddy laughed and sat back in her seat.
"There was a little Lemurian compulsion involved." Ginny flashed a quick glance at Alton, but Eddy didn't seem appeased.
"Alton? Didn't it bother you to know he'd cheated you?"
Alton thought about that a moment. He knew enough about human currency to recognize the value of the perfect stones and the fact the jeweler had definitely made out better on the deal, but Alton and Ginny had still gotten more money than they needed. And he had played what Ginny referred to as his Lemurian mind games on the man.
Alton turned toward Eddy and shrugged. "He gave us enough to pay for the room and to rent the car. Enough that we won't need to sell more diamonds for many months. My compulsion helped him accept our explanation, and the deal worked for us as well as it worked for him. Plus, I still have many more stones."
"And here I'm totally frantic, wondering how I'll pay bills if I'm not writing for the Record. I gave notice this morning before we left for Sedona."
Ginny parked the car in front of a small building. "You quit your job?" She frowned at Eddy and then shot a quick glance toward Alton.
He kept his features as expressionless as possible. The decision whether to leave her job was one Ginny needed to reach on her own.
"I did," Eddy said. "And Harlan was less than pleased, but I really didn't have a choice. It's not like you can ignore a demon invasion, but at the same time, I'm totally freaking out about what I'm going to live on."
Ginny nodded. "So true, Eddy. No one ever explains how superheroes pay the bills, but that's not going to be a problem for us. For one thing, I'm not quitting my job."
Alton held back a frustrated sigh and turned back to Eddy. "I've put more than enough money in Ginny's account for all of us." He glanced at Ginny and wondered what she would think of his offer. "If Ginny doesn't mind, we can take some of those funds and transfer whatever you need to your account."
Ginny frowned at him. "Why would I mind? It's your money. Do whatever you want with it. I think it's a great idea, Alton."
He merely nodded.
"Really?" Eddy flashed him a big grin. "Wow. That would definitely make a difference. Thanks. And Ginny, good luck on the job. I couldn't do it, not with all the interdimensional running around we've been doing."
"You say that like you're just hopping a Greyhound from one town to the next." Ginny slowly shook her head.
Alton picked up a few scattered thoughts, mostly about all the changes in her life, how unbelievable everything seemed. Maybe, once it felt real to her, she'd understand she couldn't go back to the life she'd once had. It was gone. Forever gone.
Just as his had forever changed. Had Ginny even once considered how much he'd given up?
Ginny climbed out of the car and held the door for Dax. Alton did the same for Eddy. Ginny's thoughts filtered into his head as Eddy slid out of the small backseat.
Thank you, Alton. I hadn't realized what a huge favor you'd done all of us. The money from the diamonds really does make this a lot less stressful.
He wanted to laugh, but he merely nodded. The money was nothing---merely one more weapon in their battle against demonkind, and there was no way anyone could take the stress out of hunting demons. Still, he couldn't hide the pleasure her telepathic message gave him. She'd been blocking him since earlier today. Hiding her thoughts so successfully, he'd not had any idea at all what she was thinking.
For that matter, he still didn't, but at least she'd reached out, if only to be polite. That had to be an improvement. As Ginny led them into the car rental agency, he opened his mind to her, searching for more of her thoughts.
He slammed into a seething wall of fury.
There was no sign of Ginny. No, what he found was pure evil. The demon king was back, and he was very, very close.
Alton reached for Dax, linking their thoughts as gently as he could. He didn't want the demon to know he was aware of his presence.
Dax? Do you feel it?
He's nearby, isn't he?
He is. Tell Eddy to be alert and I'll warn Ginny. We need to find out where he is, what avatar he's taken.
Dax nodded and slipped an arm around Eddy's waist. Alton stepped up close beside Ginny. I sense demonkind nearby, possibly the demon king. Dax and I are going to search for him. Rent the vehicle. Don't worry about us. If we have to, I'll use a compulsion to hide our activities.
Ginny nodded, turned, and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "Be careful." Then she walked away from him.
Alton stood there, bemused by the soft kiss that seemed to shimmer over his cheek, and wondering why she confused him so. Then Dax lightly punched his shoulder.
"Don't even try and figure them out." He nodded toward the women and then turned back to the door they'd just entered. "Demons are a lot less complicated. Let's go."
Alton followed. "You're telling me you don't understand Eddy? Even now?"
"Not a bit." Dax grinned at Alton and stepped out into the bright sunshine.
"But, how...?"
"I follow her lead. I listen to her heart. I love her." He stopped and stared directly into Alton's eyes. "Do you love Ginny?"
His question brought Alton to an immediate stop. "Love?" He shook his head. "I don't know." He glanced back toward the small office building shimmering in the afternoon glare. "At first I was concerned because I was Lemurian, an immortal, and she was..." He shrugged. "Nine hells, who am I kidding? I saw her and I was drawn to her. She's brave and beautiful and smart and funny, but she was human and I thought maybe we could spend time together, though not anything serious or truly important."
"And now?" Dax had turned and continued walking, heading quickly down the road they'd driven in on.
Alton followed. "Now I know Ginny is not only Lemurian and immortal, she's also of royal blood." He laughed, aware of the bitterness in the sound. "I thought her a lesser person and I find now that I'm the lesser one. I am an outcast, an exile from the only world I've ever known. Even if I were to love her, she would not want one such as me. So, whether I love her or not can't really matter one way or the other."
"You're thinking like the spoiled son of the Lemurian chancellor. Think like a man interested in a woman, if you are. Because you once put yourself above Ginny and believed she was not worthy of you, now you think she'd do the same." Dax sent him a look that was much too perceptive.
"I don't understand. Social standing is an important part of relationships." Alton paused again as the sense of demon grew stronger.
"Think of what you're saying, my friend. I'm an ex-demon. Eddy was a newspaper reporter. We didn't ask to be thrown together, but we were. We didn't expect to fall in love, but we did. Do you think she questioned my origin or I questioned hers? We were both too busy trying to stay alive, hoping to enjoy the one week we thought was all we had together."
Dax turned and gazed toward a small saddle in the nearby hill. "When you love, it is the object of your love who matters. Not where they came from or even what they are. It's who they are. Ginny is a brave and giving soul, an independent young woman who has been thrown into a battle without any warning at all. Remember, you chose to join this fight. Ginny didn't. Don't push her, but don't underestimate her, either."
Alton rested his hand on Dax's broad shoulder. "How, my friend, did you grow so wise so quickly? You've been human for less than two weeks."
Dax gazed at him with eyes that had seen too much. "In my short span on Earth, I've fallen in love, I've watched those I love fight to the death. I've died and been reborn." He laughed, but there was very little humor in the rough sound.
"All of those things tend to force you to focus on what counts. I learned that love is what counts. Only love." Dax blinked, tilted his head, and turned away. Walking quickly, he headed across a small parking lot toward the saddle. "It's up here," he said, increasing his pace to a jog.
Alton had no choice but to follow. His mind seemed to spin with what Dax had said, but he'd have to study those ideas later. The sense of demon was growing stronger, as was the pulse of energy---a powerful masculine energy emanating from the nearby rise.
Ginny'd said there was a vortex near the airport. This must be it, but it appeared the demon king had found it first.
The big, bronze-colored SUV looked a lot more practical than her little Ford Focus, at least for hauling around a large ex-demon and a very tall Lemurian warrior. Ginny stood beside their new rental and searched for Dax and Alton. "Do you see them anywhere?" She glanced at Eddy.
"I don't see them but I'm in contact with Dax. They're climbing up to that small saddle, just over there." Eddy pointed toward a shallow dip in the surrounding hills. "There's another vortex up there. Dax thinks it's where the demon king might be."
"C'mon." Ginny climbed into the driver's seat while Eddy got in beside her. "I wish Alton and I were clearer with the telepathy. I'm getting better at finding him, but I really can't tell what he's thinking most of the time." She pulled out of the parking spot and drove back toward the main road.
"It'll come with practice." Eddy giggled. "Sex helps." She blushed dark red and turned away. "Park there."
Ginny ignored the comment about sex, pulled into the parking lot, and found a space for the Yukon. Suddenly she felt anxious, as if something bad was going to happen. She scrubbed at her arms. "Do you feel anything?"
Eddy opened the door and jumped out. She adjusted DemonSlayer so that the sword was perfectly placed for a quick grab. "That anxiety is how you're reading either the sense of demonkind or the energy of the vortex. I feel it more specifically now, but at first it was mostly a vague sense of something really horrible about to happen."
"You nailed it. This is all so new to me. I can't always interpret what I'm sensing or feeling." Ginny locked the doors, shoved the keys in her pocket, and followed Eddy. She hated this, the sense that her body was picking up messages, but it was like they were in a foreign language and she couldn't read them.
Yet she knew they were important. Knew that their lives could depend on her understanding of the warnings given. The feelings grew stronger as they climbed the hill, the sense of anxiety, of something terrible about to happen.
Her teeth were actually chattering, and it had to be at least eighty degrees outside. Ginny opened her mind to Alton and immediately felt his presence.
Ginny? We're in the saddle above you. Follow the twisted juniper trees. They'll lead you to us.
Thank goodness she understood Alton's words for once, if not the other signals buffeting her mind and body. She glanced at the trees alongside the trail. Their trunks were twisted, as if someone had wrung them out like wet rags. A shiver ran along her spine at this visible effect of the power of the vortex. Her sense of apprehension grew and icy shivers raced over her spine.
Alton and Dax waited in a narrow saddle between low hills of red rock. The sun was warm but a brisk wind lifted biting sand to scour exposed flesh. Eddy immediately went to Dax and took his hand, as if to anchor herself. Ginny decided it was time to swallow her pride. When Alton reached for her, she gratefully grabbed his hand. There was something about this place that made her want to be anywhere else but here.
"Where's the portal?" Eddy studied the town of Sedona stretched out below them.
Dax shook his head. "We're not sure. The sense of demon is strong here, but we can't smell them. I've asked DemonFire and he's not sure if there's an actual gateway here or not." He rubbed his hands over his arms. "I can feel the bastards. I'm certain they're close."
Ginny glanced at Alton. He shrugged. "I can't find a portal either. I can tell you, though...I don't like it here."
The hill to your left, Ginny. Look there. DarkFire's soft tones filtered into her thoughts. Ginny stared at a small hill, hardly more than a bump to the left of their position. With a slight tug on Alton's hand, she headed toward the rise.
"Where are we going?"
"DarkFire told me to look at the hill on my left." She pointed. "I think she means that one."
The others followed. Ginny's sense of anxiety grew, the feeling that they should be anywhere but here in this place of power. None of the other vortexes had affected her this way. She'd battled actual demons without experiencing the dark sense of foreboding that seemed to pervade this whole area.
The snick of crystal on leather caught her attention, and she knew Dax had drawn his sword. Alton set HellFire free, and Eddy grasped DemonSlayer in her right hand. Another, stronger shiver raced along Ginny's spine as she freed DarkFire from her leather sheath. The sword quivered in her grasp, and she knew DarkFire was anxious for a fight.
An idea crept into her mind, one she knew must have come from DarkFire. "Let's try the power of our swords." She held DarkFire high. The crystal glowed with its impossibly dark light when the others touched their crystal tips to hers. A blast of amethyst flame burst from the center, rose high, and then shot as if fired from a cannon, straight toward the windblown red rock.
Purple light bathed the surface and disappeared into the hillside. Dax stepped forward and placed his left palm against the spot. His entire arm slipped neatly through the rock. He'd found the portal, exactly where their swords had marked it with their fire.
"I have a bad feeling about this." He pulled his hand free and glanced at Alton. "Why don't just you and I take a quick look inside?"
A spark of anger flashed through Ginny. Didn't Dax think she and Eddy were strong enough to fight?
But Dax wasn't through. "Then, if something goes wrong, we'll have backup." He leaned close and kissed Eddy. "It wouldn't be the first time she's saved my ass."
"Mine, either. Ginny? Is that okay with you and Eddy? We'll step through, check it out, and return within two minutes to let you know what we've found. If we don't come back in that time span, you'll have to come in with the knowledge that there's probably something really nasty on the other side."
Her thoughts were still spinning, interpreting this new reality, the one she didn't expect. Both Dax and Alton were treating their women as trusted fighters, as warriors equal in strength and cunning to their own. Their trust made Ginny think seriously before she replied.
"I don't like this. I'm not sure why, but something feels wrong." She thought of how she'd felt when Alton had been out there in the desert with possessed birds attacking him from all directions. There was no demon stench around them now, but that didn't mean the bastards weren't in there, waiting.
"I don't like it either, but I'll feel better with you and Eddy as backup. We'll be careful, but you take care as well." Alton gave the surroundings a quick check. Then he leaned down to kiss her. He paused, as if he wasn't quite sure of the reception he'd get.
Ginny raised up on her toes and kissed him hard and fast. "You be careful." It was an order he'd better obey.
Dax stepped through first. Alton followed, mere seconds behind. The cavern pulsed with deep red light. There was no portal visible, nothing leading to Shasta or Atlantis. Nothing that seemed to lead to Lemuria or even to the worlds of Abyss or Eden, but the sense of something other within this vortex was strong enough to have Alton and Dax taking up a defensive mode and turning, back to back, to study the small enclosure.
Light flashed from both their swords, illuminating the area, turning the red glow to a deep yellow. Alton peered into the corners, glanced around the few stalactites hanging from the ceiling a good twelve feet above them. "I don't like the way it makes me feel," he said, "but I can't see anything in here other than that weird light."
He focused on his sword. "HellFire? Can you sense anything? Is demonkind nearby?"
The sword glowed, almost as if in thought. "I sense evil, but it is all around. There's nothing specific and yet I know danger exists. It is everywhere, but nowhere in particular."
"It's got to be coming from somewhere. Should we call the girls?"
Alton nodded. "I'll get them. Ginny's sword might be able to help. DarkFire illuminates things in ways the other swords can't."
He slipped out through the portal just as Ginny and Eddy prepared to enter. "What's up?" Ginny's eyes flashed tiger-bright.
"Come on. We're not sure, but be wary. It's really strange in there." Immediately he turned and stepped back through the portal. Ginny followed with DarkFire clasped tightly in her hand. Eddy was right behind her.
They passed through the portal and entered the vortex.
Dax was gone.
"Where is he? Where's Dax?" Eddy stepped into the small space and quickly spun about.
"I just left him." Alton's heart thudded in his chest. His lungs burned with each sharp gasp for air. He lifted his crystal blade high. "Where is he, HellFire? What's happened to Dax? Do you sense him? Do you feel DemonFire? Are they here?"
"Draw DarkFire."
Ginny held her sword high at HellFire's terse command. Her blade flashed with dark light. The hideous faces of thousands of demons burst into view, shadows intertwined throughout the cavern, camouflaged within the very structure of the rock, so thick they looked as if they were part of the stone itself.
A glint of blue flashed through the seething mass of dark wraiths. With a horrifying scream, Eddy leapt toward the bulge against the far wall and slashed through the clinging mist.
Demons screeched and hissed and died. Ginny and Alton were right beside Eddy, burning through the demon mist that somehow held both Dax and his sword prisoner beneath their roiling, writhing bodies. The stench of sulfur polluted the air as demon after demon died, and their ear-splitting shrieks echoed off the walls, but as Eddy or Ginny or Alton managed to free an arm or a leg, more demon wraiths rushed to hold Dax immobile.
"Can you reach him, Eddy? Can you hear him?" Alton ran his blade carefully across Dax's torso. Demons burst into flame.
Eddy's sobbing breaths echoed in the small space. "No," she cried. "There's nothing. No sense of his mind. I can't reach him at all. Hurry!"
Ginny swept her sword through masses of demons and they died horribly, shrieking and wailing, but they weren't dying fast enough. Enough survived to keep Dax as their prisoner.
Alton's sword flashed and twisted and more demons died, yet the truth remained---from everything they'd learned of demonkind, this shouldn't be happening. Demons were mist, mere ghosts in this dimension, wraiths without power or strength. Somehow they'd managed to capture a powerful warrior. It should be impossible, yet they held Dax against the cavern wall, immobile and apparently unconscious.
Alton hoped that was all that was wrong. Dax couldn't be dead. Not in such a brief time. He'd only left him for a few seconds---not even a full minute. He wore the phoenix tattoo. Didn't that ensure his immortality?
Eddy fought like a woman possessed. Her sword flashed and demons died. Still more came, but where were they coming from?
Ginny's sword not only dealt death, it showed them the true nature of the demons, their actual appearance as they looked on Abyss---foul, ugly creatures with fangs and claws and shimmering scales. Here, though, they'd only existed without substance or strength. How could they hold a man as strong as Dax?
How could they hold a crystal sword?
Alton glanced around the small space, searching for some sign of the portal. Somehow demons were slipping into this dimension, but he couldn't tell where they entered. The walls were covered in demons, clinging like slime mold to the red rock. More crawled across the ceiling overhead, undulating like dark smoke through and around the stalactites, all of them heading for Dax.
So many had died that their ghostly bodies began to litter the floor with black soot, yet Dax remained trapped. Frantic, unsure how to rescue his friend, Alton thrust his hand into the demon mist and managed to wrap his fingers around Dax's cold right arm. He pulled with all his strength, yet Dax seemed frozen. His arm remained clasped against his body. DemonFire was wrapped in fingers gone white with the strain of their grasp.
Alton sheathed HellFire so he could use both hands. He reached through the icy chill of the massed demons holding Dax against the wall of the cave and managed to wrap his long arms entirely around his waist. He latched his long fingers together against Dax's lower back. Then, using the wall for leverage, he braced one foot beside Dax and slowly pulled.
Ginny's and Eddy's swords slashed all around Dax, killing the wraiths that seemed to connect him to the wall. Dax was limp, his dead weight beginning to lean forward into Alton's embrace. His head wobbled loosely on his shoulders, his eyes were closed and his features slack. Alton couldn't tell if he breathed or not. If he still lived.
More demons died and their hold on Dax seemed to loosen, yet still Eddy and Ginny fought on. Alton continued to pull, yet something held Dax. Something powerful refused to give him up.
Eddy moved to one side and Ginny to the other. Ginny raised her sword and DarkFire's light flashed through the space between Dax and the solid wall of the cave.
Something large and dark rose up, a creature of boiling black mist and too many long, snaking arms. Arms that grasped Dax and continued to hold him. Light from Ginny's sword bathed the creature and his features sprang into full relief.
This, then, must be the demon king. Hideous beyond belief and as tall as Alton, as powerfully built as Dax yet still an insubstantial wraith here in Earth's dimension.
Or was he? Two sets of multi-jointed arms with clawed hands wrapped around Dax's waist as the demon pulled his captive close once again. Ginny swung her sword, but the crystal passed through the dark body. Eddy stabbed deep and hard, but there was no spark of dying demon, no stench of sulfuric smoke.
"Why doesn't it die?" Alton hung on to Dax, frantically tugging him away from the demon. At that moment, Eddy and Ginny pressed their swords together, deep within the demonic mist.
Sword points met---dark crystal to light. Energy flashed. The creature screamed, but it wasn't a cry of death. The banshee screech bounced off the walls, reverberating and growing in volume. It was a sound of fury. Pure, unadulterated rage that filled the cavern.
Then, without warning, the creature suddenly turned Dax free, swirled like a miniature tornado, and streaked upward, through a portal no one had seen, a narrow, glowing gateway to Abyss, hidden within a dark cleft in the stone overhead.
Dax lay on the littered floor of the cavern with DemonFire beside him. The crystal blade was dull. Dax's chest rose in fits and starts. He made strangled, gasping sounds as if he wasn't getting any air. Eddy leaned over him, listened for his heart, and then blew air into his lungs. Again, and then again, until he coughed, gasped, and then sucked in a huge breath.
He took another, and then another, and his chocolate-brown eyes flashed open, flickering wildly in obvious confusion as he slowly returned to consciousness.
"DemonFire?" Dax's hoarse whisper brought an answering glow from the crystal sword. Dax touched the blade and sighed. "He's all that kept me alive," he said. "The spirit in my blade shared his life force with me."
Stunned, Eddy sat back on her heels. Alton knelt beside Dax and helped lift him to a sitting position. Ginny stood back, away from the three of them. I'm staying here, she said. We need to close the portal, but not until we know Dax is safe.
Alton raised his head and gazed at her. She was absolutely lovely, standing beside them, a powerful warrior with her sword clasped in her right hand. He felt pride in what she'd done, even though he'd had no hand at all in her abilities. He was proud just the same. Both she and Eddy had proved themselves once again as women worthy of carrying crystal.
Carefully, with little sign of effort, Alton lifted Dax and carried him through the portal to the SUV. Ginny was sure Eddy wanted to remain beside her ex-demon lover, but she opted to stay with Ginny and help her close the portal to Abyss. It took them only a few minutes working together to seal it entirely.
The red glow disappeared. Even the stench wasn't as bad, though Ginny wondered if maybe they'd just fried some of their scent receptors during the height of the battle. "Let's make a quick pass and make sure we got all of them."
Eddy nodded, but she moved as if on automatic pilot. They quickly checked walls, ceiling, and floor, making certain the demons were gone and the gateway to Abyss sealed shut.
Together, Ginny and Eddy stepped out of the vortex. The anxious sensation was gone. Ginny drew in a deep breath of clean air as they walked the short distance down the hill to the SUV. Dax was sitting up in the backseat, a little woozy, but at least he was conscious. Eddy crawled into the back beside him, wrapped her arms around his waist, and burst into tears.
Feeling close to crying herself, Ginny got in and started the engine. Eddy slowly got her emotions under control. Alton was quiet, sitting beside Ginny, staring out the passenger window. His thoughts were entirely closed to her. He didn't speak all the way back to the casita.
Ginny unlocked the door while Alton and Eddy helped Dax inside. Not a word was said as they separated and went to their rooms to bathe. Somehow, it was most important to wash the stench of demon from their bodies before they sat down and tried to figure out what they'd just experienced.
It was a rather subdued group that met around the dinner table a couple of hours later. Ginny'd ordered dinner from the restaurant on site and they chose to eat inside at the kitchen table rather than out on the beautiful deck with the view of the desert at sunset.
Somehow, after Dax's brush with the demon king, it was more comforting to sit at the small table within the solid walls of the little adobe casita. More relaxing, knowing that a demon-possessed creature wouldn't be showing up unexpectedly during their meal.
At least not unless one knocked on the door.
Ginny toyed with her wineglass while Eddy passed around the plates of enchiladas, beans, and rice. A bowl of fruit sat in the center of the table for all of them to share, and under any other circumstances, they'd probably be drinking margaritas and having a party.
Not tonight. Alton reached for Ginny's hand and she wrapped her fingers in his. His hair was still damp from his shower, hanging long and loose over his shoulders. Ginny thought about running her fingers through the damp, silky strands, but she didn't have the energy. She felt absolutely lethargic after a long soak in a very hot tub---her mind as well as her body still numb from the battle this afternoon.
It was so much easier not to think about anything. Not to let her thoughts wander down the torturous trails of the utterly impossible, of demons and Lemurians and Dax's beginnings. Of talking crystal swords and other worlds in dimensions apart from this one.
Of the fact Eddy'd actually quit her job and embraced her new reality---not only as a demon fighter, but as the forever partner to a man she'd known for less than two weeks.
No wonder Ginny'd slept so soundly once they'd returned this afternoon. She'd needed to escape a reality that seemed more impossible every day. She'd crawled out of the tub, dried herself, and slipped into a soft terry robe. There'd been no question of lying down on her own bed. She'd joined Alton on his. They'd stretched out together and held hands the way they were holding on to each other now. He'd been her anchor then.
He was her anchor now.
They'd talked for a while, lying there on the big bed in the room darkened with a heavy shade that shut out the late afternoon sunlight. Alton had filled Ginny in on more of the details of his week with Dax and Eddy, a week of terrifying battles and even some laughter as they'd discovered all the different kinds of creatures demons had possessed.
Killer garden gnomes? Check. Mrs. Abernathy hadn't been off the mark at all when she'd called 911 the night Ginny was working dispatch to report that a garden gnome had eaten Twinkles the cat.
Impossible but true.
Ginny'd finally learned the truth behind the battle in Evergreen when demons had taken on cemetery statuary as avatars and marched against the townsfolk in what had turned out to be an almost epic battle orchestrated by the demon king. It had actually seemed humorous when Alton told it. Humorous until Ginny considered the danger behind each act the demons had committed, each amazing and terrifying sign of the accelerated evolution of their abilities.
Even more terrifying had been the full story of that last battle on the flank of Mount Shasta. How the three of them---Eddy, Alton, and Eddy's father---had sat beside Dax's dead body and felt him grow cold as time passed, knowing their friend and fellow warrior was truly gone. His return to life had been no less than a miracle, though even that had been eclipsed by the replication of Alton's sword.
Out of HellFire, DemonFire and DemonSlayer were born, and the war against demonkind had truly begun.
So many things had changed that day. Willow had lost her body and taken up residence in Bumper the mutt, Eddy and Dax had achieved immortality, and while Ed's mortality hadn't changed, the bad hip that had crippled him for years was totally healed.
The oddest thing in Ginny's mind as she'd finally drifted off to sleep was the fact she believed every word Alton told her. Demons were real. Earth was the fulcrum that kept other worlds in balance, and she really was an immortal Lemurian, charged with defending more than one world against demonkind.
Never in her wildest dreams...
In truth, her dreams had never been this wild, and her life, by comparison, had been merely a shadow of what she was living now. As unbelievable as today had been, it hadn't been unusual, at least when she compared it to her new reality---a reality that had changed forever the night that stupid concrete bear cornered her behind the garbage Dumpster, and she'd been kissed by the most beautiful and amazing man she'd ever known.
She glanced at their hands, at the way her dark fingers entwined with Alton's fair ones, at the strength in his hand, the muscles in his forearm, and she mentally dragged herself back to the small kitchen, to the friends surrounding her at the table. To the amazing fact it was all real. All happening to Ginny Jones, Shascom 911 dispatcher.
What a weird day it had been. Today's attack on Dax had been totally unexpected...but at least Dax was safe. Ginny raised her head and caught his dark-eyed gaze and she thought of the first time she'd met him, when Eddy had introduced him as an old college friend in that little coffee shop in Evergreen. Was it only a week and a half ago? She'd liked him immediately without even realizing who or what she was actually meeting.
With that memory firmly in place, the present rushed back into focus. They could have lost him today, and while she would have lost a friend, Eddy would have lost the man she loved. The one she'd promised to love for all time. It was a sobering thought. One Ginny wasn't prepared to dwell on, especially with Alton's fingers clasped so firmly in hers.
She let go of his hand, picked up her wine, and lifted her glass. "To Dax," she said. "May you always stay safe, no matter how dangerous the fight."
"Hear, hear." Eddy leaned close, kissed Dax's cheek, and clinked her glass to his beer bottle. Alton joined them. They all sipped at their drinks. Then, one by one, they set their glasses down and an uncomfortable silence hovered over the small group.
Ginny couldn't stand it a minute longer. "Does anyone know what happened today? From what you've told me, that wasn't normal demon behavior, if there is such a thing."
Dax nodded. "It certainly wasn't what I expected. The second Alton stepped through the portal and left me alone in the cavern, the demons attacked. I've never seen anything like it. They practically exploded off the walls. We hadn't seen them because they'd somehow taken on the shape and color of the stone, but they flew at me like an explosion of black mist. It was too fast for DemonFire to warn me. There was enough force behind their attack and enough substance to the creatures that they caught me off balance. It felt like a harsh wind picked me up and threw me against the back wall."
"But what was that thing holding on to you?" Ginny covered his big hand with hers. "It didn't look anything like the other demons. It was huge, and it was one entity. I'm sure of that. Not a collection of demons trying to appear as a single beast." She shook her head. "It was real, real ugly. A hideous face. Scales, long fangs, and what looked like four multi-jointed arms with hooked claws even on the joints. Yuck. Definitely ugly."
Dax raised an eyebrow, nodded, and glanced toward Alton. "You guys got a better look at it than I did. I could feel it---feel at least four scaled arms around my waist, the strength in muscles and bone. It wasn't just mist. Was it the demon king?"
"I think so," Alton said. "But if it was, it's more dangerous than we realized. Tell Ginny what you learned about the demon king when you were in Eden. It might help explain why we have reason to fear him."
Dax nodded. He glanced at Eddy and the look in her eyes spoke volumes. Ginny knew they must be thinking of that terrifying time when Eddy thought Dax was dead, when they couldn't find their tiny will-o'-the-wisp companion, Willow.
Dax's voice was rougher than usual. He squeezed Eddy's hand and exhaled a frustrated breath of air. "I've told you how I was originally a demon from Abyss. Well, the one we're fighting now began in Eden. He had it all---he was a creature of Paradise, but he threw it away. They told me he was the only son of one of their leaders, a young man of uncommon beauty and impeccable lineage. They banished him because he embraced the darkness. He was sent into the void as punishment for his evil acts, where he should have remained forever entombed, except he was recruited by leaders of Abyss---leaders I didn't even know existed---and turned into a demon."
"You had no idea your world had rulers?" Ginny tried to imagine Abyss, a dimension of total chaos and unadulterated evil. What kinds of creatures ruled such a place?
What kind of creature would choose Abyss? Even the void sounded preferable.
Dax shook his head. "No. I was merely a nameless demon, one of untold millions of creatures who exist merely to survive at all costs. I wasn't concerned with kings or rulers. My biggest worry was not getting fucked or eaten by someone bigger or smarter than me. Our recruited demon, however, never actually existed among the masses. He was transformed while still in the void and given the body of a demon."
Frowning, Dax stared at Ginny. "It almost sounds, from your description, that he got my old body. If I ever actually see him, I'll let you know if he looks familiar, but I was a pretty scary guy, once upon a time."
Eddy leaned her cheek against his shoulder. "Love, you're still a scary guy. Anytime you doubt yourself, just ask me."
"I'll try and remember to do that." Laughing now, Dax planted a kiss on top of her head. "Anyway, it appears he was sent to Earth as head of an invasion force, but he lost much of his intelligence and the knowledge of his purpose in the transition from banished Edenite to mercenary demon. Unfortunately, it seems he gains it back the longer he's on Earth."
"But he just went back to Abyss. Shouldn't that make him lose what he's learned?" Ginny looked to Alton for confirmation, but it was Dax who answered.
"We don't know for sure he even goes back to Abyss. He started out in the void. Maybe that's where he returns. Maybe the rules don't work the same for this guy. He wasn't born a demon. He was sent somewhere once before when Eddy destroyed his gargoyle avatar. He seems to have returned this time as an even stronger entity." Dax stared at his clasped hands, both of them wrapped around one of Eddy's. When he raised his head, the look in his dark eyes left Ginny feeling chilled to the bone.
"He directed the attack on me in the cavern. When he grabbed me and held me against the wall, I felt his teeth at my throat. Smelled his foul breath on my face. He was more than just mist. He felt solid. He shouldn't---not in this dimension. I tried to break away, but I had no strength. I still feel weak. I think he was somehow siphoning my energy, absorbing it much as he did from the demons he took at the battle in Evergreen. If it hadn't been for DemonFire sharing his own life force, I don't know if I could have survived even that brief an attack."
"Are you certain?" Alton leaned across the table. He held his fork in his hand as if he'd forgotten he was planning to take a bite of his enchilada. "If that's true, Dax, we've got an even bigger problem than we thought. Do you think the other demons have that ability, or is the demon king unique?"
"The others were able to shove me into the demon king's grasp, but only the demon king was stealing my energy." Dax shook his head. "It was the weirdest sensation, as if my energy were spiraling up and out of my body, like it was being sucked out of me. At the same time, I felt the pulse of power from DemonFire, small amounts at a time, not enough to interest the demon king, but enough to keep me alive."
He pulled his T-shirt collar aside, showing the smooth column of his throat. "I think the demon king is like an energy vampire. His mouth was against my throat, though he didn't pierce my skin with teeth of any kind."
Eddy ran her fingers over his skin and shook her head.
"See?" Dax said. "Nothing. Not a mark. Not even a bruise. There aren't any marks on my body, either. As tightly as he held me, I should have bruises, even scrapes from the talons."
Dax released the cotton band and it settled back against his neck. "I felt him. His scales, his claws. He was very strong and my ribs still ache from the way he held on when Alton was pulling me away, yet there's no visible sign of his touch." He shook his head, as if denying the lack of evidence.
Ginny glanced from one somber face to the other. "How long before you think he'll be back?" She took a bite of enchilada, hardly tasting the spicy flavor, but she chewed anyway. They all needed to eat---they'd need all the energy they could get to fight this threat.
"A couple of days at the most. It's been less than a week since Eddy sent him back to Abyss." Dax turned and gazed on her with such pride it made Ginny's stomach do a strange little flip.
Dax and Eddy had only known each other a week and a half, and yet they seemed so sure of themselves, of their feelings for each other. How did you know when the guy was right? When the time was right? Ginny couldn't believe Eddy'd quit her job! As much as she hated Harlan, Eddy'd loved writing for the paper.
Almost as much as Ginny loved working at Shascom as a 911 dispatcher. She felt as if she actually did things to help people, like her job mattered.
And demon fighting doesn't?
She blinked. What was DarkFire doing in her head?
You are a warrior now, Virginia Jones. It is your destiny to fight demonkind. You have strength and intelligence, and you have me. Your position in your world can be handled by another. This one can't. Only you can wield DarkFire. Do not squander the gift presented to you by Daria the Crone. Do not keep me away from this battle I long to fight.
DarkFire's presence faded from her mind, but her admonition left Ginny rattled. She turned and frowned at Alton. He was taking another bite of enchilada, but he turned with his fork poised halfway to his mouth and frowned right back at her. "What? Why do you look at me that way?"
"Have you been talking to DarkFire?"
"Of course not. Your sword only speaks to me with your permission. Why do you ask?"
"No reason," she mumbled. "No reason at all." DarkFire, too? Feeling horribly outnumbered, Ginny switched gears. "Okay, if it's going to take him a couple of days, we might have more help by then. That's when Alton and I are supposed to meet Taron inside the portal at Bell Rock. He should have word of the Council of Nine's plans."
Alton finished his meal and shoved his plate aside. "That's true, but we can't count on their help. Unfortunately, as long as my father is the council leader, they're going to listen to him, and he has no desire to do anything his son might suggest."
Dax seemed obviously perplexed by Alton's comment. "Are you saying he would condemn an entire society to prove his point? He'd let demonkind win rather than accept that you might be right in this instance?"
Alton merely shrugged, but Ginny knew how badly his father's narrow attitude hurt him. She covered his hand in hers. He gave her a quick, sad smile. Then he sighed and turned his attention to Dax and Eddy.
"Dax, why don't you and Eddy stay in tonight? Get your strength back so you'll be ready to go out when we patrol the area tomorrow. Ginny? Would you be willing to take me into town? I think we need to look around Sedona at night when demonkind tend to be more active. I want to know if they're still taking over pets. We haven't heard from your cousin or the vet. I fully expected a call from at least one of them by now."
Ginny folded her napkin and set it next to her plate. "I think that's a good idea." She turned to Eddy. "Are you guys okay with that?"
Dax was the one who laughed. "You're kidding, right? You're asking if I want to stay here and sleep? It sounds wonderful."
Eddy punched his arm. "Actually, he's been eyeing that big-screen TV and the remote control." She rolled her eyes in dramatic fashion. "He's discovered the joys of reality TV."
Dax frowned. "I'm merely trying to learn more about Earth's culture in the twenty-first century. My body's original owner died over sixty years ago. I have a lot of catching up to do."
Ginny snorted, covered her mouth, and did it again. "Sorry, but this conversation just struck me as totally unreal. We're sitting here in this ritzy little resort in Sedona, Arizona, paid for by stolen diamonds from Lemuria, talking about fighting demons and Dax's borrowed body and reality TV. Don't you think it's just a little bizarre?"
Eddy stood up and grabbed her plate and Dax's. "Tell me about it. What's really freaky is that my father has never been happier. Every weird legend, every myth he's studied or crazy tale he's heard is suddenly coming true. It's given the man a new lease on life."
"Ya know, I miss your dad." Ginny grabbed the rest of the dishes and carried them to the sink. All they needed to do was scrape the dishes and leave them in the sealed carrier for housekeeping to pick up off the front porch.
"I miss him, too, but he's home with BumperWillow for company. I'm going to call him in a bit."
"Tell him hi for me." Ginny turned and leaned against the counter, well aware of Alton's silent perusal of her. She opened her thoughts to his and found only impressions of contentment as he watched her. She'd not expected thoughts as comforting and calm.
"Will do. You guys be careful." Eddy poured herself a glass of wine and grabbed another cold beer for Dax. "We'll be thinking of you out there battling demons while we're sipping our drinks and watching the moon rise over the desert from our lovely room in this luxurious resort."
Laughing, Ginny pushed away from the counter. "Thank you so much. Your concern overwhelms me."
Alton waited by the door with a hopeful expression on his face and the keys to the Yukon in his hand. "No," she said, grabbing her keys as she walked past him. Laughing, Alton shrugged his broad shoulders and followed her out the door.
Ginny drove slowly out of the resort grounds. She glanced at her cell phone for messages. Then she handed it to Alton. "Call Markus. See if he's seen anything unusual."
Alton took her phone, found Markus's number, and punched the key. There was no answer. He left a brief message and then handed the phone back to Ginny. "Now what?"
"Wasn't this your idea?" She laughed. "I guess we drive. Open the windows. Keep your senses alive to anything that feels wrong." She slanted what should have been just a quick look in his direction. Light from the dashboard reflected off the curve of his chin and the sharp line of his nose. His hair was dry now, hanging like pale yellow silk over his shoulders and pooling in his lap. Damn, but she was jealous of that hair. Why was it the guys always got the beautiful, smooth tresses? She loved that he'd left it unbound. His black T-shirt was tucked into his jeans---it stretched over his muscular chest as if it had been painted on him.
She had to force her attention back on the road stretching out in front of them. Concentrate, girl. Pay attention. "I felt the demons at the airport," she said, though she hated recalling that awful feeling. "It was a horrible sense of something really wrong, like a slow-motion anxiety attack that just kept building and getting worse."
Alton's big palm covered her right knee and she smiled at him, then quickly looked at the road ahead. "I wasn't sure if it was the vortex I was sensing or the demons, but once we went through the portal I knew it was demons making me so anxious."
Alton nodded. "I sensed them as well, but I'm wondering now if it was the lesser demons we sensed, or the demon king. I've never noticed that kind of physical reaction before, but this was a feeling of something truly evil."
"Maybe it's because he truly is evil. Think about it. A demon that's born a demon, that's always a demon, is acting true to his nature. In Abyss, he's not evil, he just is. As Dax said, his only concern was staying alive, so the demons invading Earth's dimension aren't inherently evil---they're merely acting the way they're supposed to act---like demons. The demon king, though, was once a creature in a world without evil, so for him to choose the darker side means he consciously chose to be bad. Doesn't that make him worse than a natural-born demon?"
Alton's burst of laughter caught her by surprise. "What?"
"Ah, Ginny...If I'd had any doubt that you were Lemurian, your argument just now would have convinced me of your true nature. Lemurians live for the debate. You're a natural."
She chuckled. "Eddy's always said she hates to argue with me because I refuse to lose even when I'm wrong." Grinning broadly she added, "Of course, I'm never wrong."
"I'm glad you told me. I'll remember that when we disagree." Alton settled back in the comfortable seat and smiled as if he were enjoying his own private joke. At her expense.
"You say that like it's not going to happen."
Alton cocked one expressive eyebrow and rolled his head to one side to watch her. "I was being facetious. I imagine we'll disagree many times in the many years ahead. Don't expect to win every time. It would be bad for my self-image."
Many years? Would they really be together for many years? How could Alton say that when they'd known each other such a short time?
She really didn't want to think about that right now. No, she just wanted to check around Sedona for demons and then get back to the casita and sleep. Except where was she going to sleep tonight? In the same bed as Alton? And if they slept in the same bed, would they make love again?
Just thinking of the possibility made her stomach clench---but was it nerves or expectation? Ginny glanced Alton's way, but he was staring out the window as they sped toward town. She wondered what he was thinking, but when she searched, she came up against a solid wall blocking his thoughts. Turning her attention to the road ahead, she drove through the darkness toward the lights of Sedona.
Alton hadn't felt this relaxed in ages. There was something about Ginny Jones that seemed to make him feel complete in a way he'd not been in thousands of years. It didn't make sense, really, since she'd certainly not committed herself to him. They'd made love only that one night and she certainly didn't treat him with the respect and deference a Lemurian female traditionally offered to her mate.
Which, he'd finally decided, was part of the attraction. Ginny deferred to no one. She was tough and outspoken and fearless in battle, as aggressive on the battlefield as she'd been in his bed. There was a lot to be said for a tough, self-confident woman.
At least he finally understood why Dax loved Eddy so---she was his equal, a woman to stand beside, to count on, not one to treat like spun glass. Eddy was a woman worthy of respect.
Just like Ginny.
She drove slowly once they reached Sedona. At the intersection of Highway 89, she stopped for the red light and then turned left into town. Traffic was quiet---not nearly as heavy as it had been during the daylight hours. It was still comfortable out, so they drove with the windows down.
Alton fiddled with the radio. He was quickly growing to love the different kinds of music he could find with the mere flip of a switch. For all their advanced technology, Lemurians had nothing to compare to the music humans made. They couldn't.
Good music was passionate. It stroked the emotions.
He stopped at a country-western station, listened a moment, and then sat back to enjoy a slow, sad ballad about lost love and missed chances.
Ginny laughed. "You always go for the most depressing music, Alton. What's wrong with something fast and sexy? Some of these songs just make me wanna cry."
"That's because they make you feel emotions." He steepled his fingers beneath his chin. "I was raised in a society where emotions are frowned upon. In Lemuria, it's all about logic, about the common good. Humans are all about passion and emotion, about getting in touch with their feelings." He sighed. "I envy you the life you've led, the freedom to enjoy emotional highs and lows, to feel sadness and joy with equal measure."
Ginny was quiet for a long time, staring straight ahead as they slowly drove through town. After a couple of blocks, she softly sighed. Her voice was so quiet he barely heard her.
"I know it sounds great in theory, Alton, but emotions aren't always a good thing. I still feel horribly sad when I think of my parents and how much I miss them. I'm scared to death of the changes in my life right now." She stopped at a red light and turned to stare at him.
"Most of all, I'm really terrified of what I feel for you." She shook her head. "I don't want to feel all twisted up inside, unsure of how you feel about me, afraid of what I'm beginning to feel for you."
The light changed and she pulled forward, but her soft words hung in the air between them, emphasizing the charged silence.
He had no answer for her. Dax had asked him if he loved Ginny. How could he know what love was if he'd never felt it before? He liked her. Liked being with her, admired her, but like and admire weren't necessarily love. His lack of response only added to the silence between them.
A silence that didn't end until they heard a blood-curdling scream. Ginny hit the brakes and skidded to a stop at the side of the road. "Do you hear that?"
"C'mon!" Alton jumped out of the SUV, drew HellFire, and raced back the way they'd just come. Traffic continued past them on the road as if no one else heard the terrified screams. Alton skidded to a quick stop in front of a narrow alley, slid around the corner, and ran down the dark passage between two buildings.
Ginny's feet pounded the sidewalk behind him. He held his sword high. HellFire's brilliant glow illuminated the shadows, spotlighting an older woman cowering in a doorway, surrounded by huge gray rats.
He saw seven of them, though others might be lurking in the shadows. Their eyes glowed blood red. Naked ears lay flat against ugly heads. It took Alton a moment to place the odd clicking noise echoing around him---it was the rhythmic snap of teeth as the rats closed in on their prey.
She was wearing shorts and hiking boots. Her legs were bleeding from a dozen deep scratches, though Alton was relieved to see she didn't have any visible bites. She looked about sixty or so in human years. Her gray hair framed her face in a wreath of curls and frizzy tangles. She grasped the broken handle of a broom in both hands and held it like a club. The rest of the broom lay just beyond, along with the bodies of two dead rats.
"Don't worry about finesse," Ginny said. "I hate rats."
"Whether you hate them or not doesn't matter." Alton swept his loose hair over his shoulders to get it out of the way and moved around to the other side of the advancing circle. "If you kill the living avatar, the demon will take its life force. The last thing you want to do is feed demons. It's better to force them out and kill them in their mist form."
"Damn. I was afraid you'd say that." Ginny touched DarkFire to the first rat. It screeched and rolled over. The demon shot straight out of its belly in a dark swirl of stinking mist. Alton swung HellFire. The demon burst into flame and disappeared in a thick cloud of sulfuric smoke.
Another rat, another demon gone. Then another. Suddenly Ginny sensed a movement to her left. She spun around as a large black cat launched itself from the top of a pile of boxes. Ginny slapped it down with the broad side of her blade and Alton forced the demon from its body. Ginny swung DarkFire through the screeching wraith and watched with absolute satisfaction as the black mist burst into flames.
The cat sat up and shook its head, hissed once, and raced away. "Ungrateful beast." Ginny turned her attention to the rats once more. "The least he could have done was hunt a few rats."
Only four of the creatures remained, but they continued to circle in front of the woman. She'd moved to the top step. Trembling, she hung on to the door, watching wide-eyed.
Advancing slowly, Ginny and Alton methodically destroyed the rest of the demons. The stunned rats wobbled to their feet, blinked with beady but normal rat-colored eyes, and scattered. The woman stared as the last of the vermin disappeared into the shadows.
Then she focused on the light from the two swords. Slowly she moved down the three steps, but she didn't turn loose of the broom handle. "What the hell happened? There've always been rats in the alley, but never once have they come after me."
Ginny sheathed DarkFire and stepped forward. "Are you okay?"
The woman nodded and glanced at her legs. "I scratched myself when I fell. I was trying to get away from them." She pointed at the dead rats. "Those two came flying out of the dark and scared me half to death. I knocked them both down before I had a chance to think about it, but the broom snapped in two."
She grabbed the short banister beside her and hung on. Her entire body shook as she stared at the dead rats. Then her head snapped up and she looked at Alton as if she were seeing him for the first time. Her terrified gaze settled on his sword. "Who are you? Are those lightsabers you're using? I've only seen those in the movies." She reached for HellFire.
Alton quickly pulled the blade out of her reach and slipped it into his scabbard. He checked Ginny's sword to make sure her glamour was in place. Then he swept his hand across the woman's eyes. She blinked owlishly and looked down at her legs.
"Oh, wow! How'd I do that?" She touched one particularly deep scratch and then looked up at Alton. "Who are you?"
He ignored her question. "We heard you scream. My friend and I came to see if you needed help. Are you okay?"
Still somewhat dazed, she nodded. "I'm fine. I must've fallen. I'll need to clean these up, but thank you. It's nice to know someone will still stop and help a person."
She gazed into the shadows and shuddered. "Weird," she mumbled. "Just weird." Then she turned, opened the door to the back of the shop, and went inside.
Alton gazed at Ginny for a long moment. A sound caught his attention and he turned quickly, drawing HellFire. Nine hells. He quickly sheathed the sword.
A small crowd of onlookers had gathered at the far end of the alley, obviously drawn by the woman's screams just as Alton and Ginny had been. Alton grabbed Ginny's arm and they walked quickly toward the group. As they drew closer, Alton realized they were mostly teenagers and young adults.
At least a few of them had been drinking. "Hey, man." One who'd obviously had too much, a tall, lanky kid, stepped forward. "Cool sword."
"Sword?" Alton gave him a confused look. "What sword?"
The kid frowned. He looked at Alton's hands. One clasped Ginny's arm, the other hung at his side. He shook his head. "I was sure I saw a sword." He looked over his shoulder at his friends. "Man, I need another beer," he said. Then he spun around, stumbled, and laughed. "Make that two."
He took off down the street with his buddies laughing and teasing him. Alton watched the group go with his thoughts in turmoil. He wasn't thinking of the demons or the fact they'd just saved a woman from an unprecedented attack, one that almost seemed too organized for demons as they knew them.
No, he was thinking of what it was like for young humans. The friendships they had, the opportunities to go out in the world and do stupid stuff, to take chances. To learn and grow and experience life in all its wonders, even if that wonder was nothing more than hanging out on a street corner with friends.
The best memories of his life were of his times with Taron when they were still children, but then their world had changed and they'd been thrust into a life without any challenges at all. A life so tightly directed they'd never had the chance to grow, to find out what they were capable of.
And what had he done with the life he'd had? Disappointed his father. Left his mother without the one child she'd been able to have. Abandoned his world, his people, and any chance at redeeming himself to his family and friends. Had he made the right choice when he'd left Lemuria? Would his sacrifice make any difference at all, or was he merely using this battle against demonkind as an excuse, a chance to see what there was beyond the only world he'd ever known?
He was still learning. Still discovering who and what he was. Even Ginny knew more about living than he did. She'd lived more in her thirty-one years than he had in all the long centuries of his existence. What did he have to show for his long life? What had he done to make his mark on his world?
"Alton? Are you okay?"
Ginny's soft question dragged him out of his dark thoughts. Pulled him away from a lifetime of regrets and worries about his future---if he even had a future.
"I'm okay," he said. "Just thinking about a lot of stuff I can't do anything about."
Ginny squeezed his hand and hugged his arm close against her side. "I know. Life's like that. Lots of questions and not nearly enough answers."
They quietly walked away from the alley and back to the SUV. When they reached their vehicle, Ginny paused and stared at Alton. "I wonder where the demons that were in the rats she killed have gone?"
He shook his head. "I don't know, but odds are they've got the life force of the rats to give them more power. Demons are definitely growing more aggressive, but rats?" He rolled his shoulders. "Nasty things." He gazed around the area where they'd stopped, in a part of town filled with small shops, restaurants, and bars. A few tourists wandered from store to store and most of the businesses were still open. "Let's walk," he said. "Can we leave the vehicle here?"
"It's fine here. I actually parked legally."
She flashed him an uncertain smile and slipped her hand into his. They walked along the sidewalk like the rest of the people enjoying a balmy evening in the desert. Alton searched her thoughts and found the same disquiet he felt within himself.
Sometimes he wondered if he and Ginny were more alike than he'd thought. Maybe Ginny was the answer to his questions, if he only knew what they were. Was Ginny as confused as he was?
Sounds of laughter filtered out of a small bar they passed, but it was the country-western music that brought Alton to a stop, made him back up, and drew him toward the sound. He gazed in through the open door. Once his eyes adjusted to the gloom, he realized the place was filled with young adults around Ginny's age, all gathered in couples or groups. They were laughing and talking and doing all the things young couples in this world did to get to know each other.
It wasn't this free in Lemuria, but even at their more formal gatherings the objective was the same. Spend time together, see if the person you met would make a proper mate, a potential parent to the child you hoped to have one day. Here it was called dating. He understood the concept, how human men and women interacted as they grew to know each other.
He glanced at Ginny and wondered what it would be like to go on a date with her. Would it hurt to take a moment for themselves, just the two of them?
Feeling absolutely reckless, he leaned close to Ginny's ear and whispered, "Hey, sweet thing. Can I buy you a drink?"
She giggled and leaned against his arm. Then she gazed up at him with a look of pure adoration that he knew was absolutely fake. "Can you afford a girl like me?"
He blinked and straightened up. That certainly ruined his line. "Well, no. I gave all my money to you."
She laughed, hooked a finger in the waistband of his jeans and tugged. "C'mon, cowboy. I'm buyin'. It is, after all, your cash." She winked. "How's that work?"
"Works for me." He looped an arm over her shoulders and they stepped into the shadows. There were at least a dozen young men lined up along a wooden bar. Light reflected off of various bottles and glasses along the wall. Most of the tables were filled with couples or groups of single men or women sitting and drinking, talking and laughing.
The noise level dropped as he and Ginny walked through the door. Alton was immediately aware of the avaricious looks some of the women gave him. Any other time he might have enjoyed the attention, but tonight he only wanted Ginny. She clung tightly to his arm. He wanted to think she was staking her claim, but he figured that was only fantasy.
Still, he couldn't help but wonder if she ever gazed at him in such a covetous manner. If she ever looked at him as if she were mentally undressing him. He doubted it. Not Ginny. She had more pride, unlike these ladies. Some of the women they passed looked like they wanted to eat him alive.
One particularly busty blonde tried to make eye contact, but Alton quickly glanced away. Luckily, the music that had caught his attention when they'd walked by was still playing.
"I thought I knew this song." He grabbed Ginny's hand and dragged her over to the colorful machine in the corner that seemed to be the source of the music. "What is this? Is it like the radio in the car?"
"No, silly." Ginny leaned over and read a list of titles across the front. "This is an old-fashioned jukebox. I haven't seen one of these for years. Look---it's actually flipping real records. Wow...Johnny Cash and Folsom Prison Blues. I haven't heard this one for a while."
"It was on the radio in your little blue car. That's how I recognized it." He turned and caught Ginny looking at him, but she was only curious. At least he didn't think she was imagining him naked, and since her thoughts were blocked he couldn't really tell.
Her thoughts were always blocked, it seemed.
"It's an old song," she said, glancing at the list of titles once again. "I used to know all the words."
He nodded. "I've only heard them once before, but the lyrics made me think of my life in Lemuria, when I knew there was a whole other world outside and I was stuck inside a mountain with nothing to look forward to."
She raised her head and her tiger's eyes seemed to look right through him. "You thought of Lemuria as a prison? For all those years?"
He shrugged. "Not always. When I was younger, shortly after our continent sank beneath the sea, I was excited about our new home. When I was old enough, I helped with some of the early construction, but then it was done and there was nothing. No challenge, nothing to dream of. It became even more of a prison after I began sneaking out and visiting your dimension. The personal freedom here made me realize how much more there could be in a man's life. When I heard this song on your car radio yesterday, it reminded me again of how I felt within the stone walls of our world. Earth was the train, forever moving, knowing freedom."
His words drifted off as the song ended. Ginny continued to stare at him and her look was one of timeless wonder, as if she might finally have started to understand more of the man he was and not just the man he preferred to show her.
But was that a good thing or bad? He'd never been close to anyone other than Taron, never really shared his more intimate feelings and thoughts. Maybe it was a mistake to let Ginny get too close. She'd already said she didn't intend to stick around.
She had her job to go back to, a job she seemed to think was more important than fighting demons, than saving the world...than him.
Nine hells...he hoped his mental barriers were strong. They could still communicate, but he didn't want her wandering around inside his self-pitying thoughts. Another song came on. The same singer, but with a totally different sound. Something about naming a boy Sue? Alton tried to make sense of the silly lyrics, but he couldn't give them his full attention. Not when Ginny was so close, her eyes focused solely on him.
He reached out and touched her hair. Her dark curls were springy beneath his fingers, so unlike the straight, smooth feel of his. Hers had life and energy, just like Ginny. They fit her. Everything about Ginny fit. She was perfect, exactly as she was, a woman comfortable in her own skin.
"Son of a bitch!"
Ginny pressed close. Alton focused on the group of young men at the bar. He recognized two of them. They'd been part of the small crowd watching from the end of the alley when he and Ginny took care of the demon-possessed rats. He'd left them all with a compulsion to forget, but the tallest one had been particularly inebriated.
He was the one who'd shouted the curse, though he sounded more frightened than angry.
Alton grabbed Ginny's arm. They edged over so he could see the guy better. His compulsions generally worked really well on drunks. They didn't have the mental clarity to fight his suggestions, but there was something weird about this guy.
He was there, wasn't he? He looks familiar.
Yes, Ginny. I want to watch him. Something's not right.
I agree.
She moved with him and they took two empty stools close by the young man. He was leaning over the bar now, staring at his mug of beer and mumbling incoherently. His shoulders jerked, his legs twitched, and there was obviously something very wrong about him. The bartender was serving another customer, but he was definitely keeping an eye on this one.
Even his friends seemed to have noticed something was wrong. A couple of the guys had their heads together, but they kept their focus on the drunk. Suddenly he straightened up, screamed as if the gates of hell had been flung wide, and lunged toward Alton and Ginny. He swung his arm around and caught Ginny hard on the shoulder with a roundhouse punch.
She flew off the stool before Alton even had time to react. He caught her before she hit the floor. The guy's buddies were all over him. Within seconds they'd grabbed his arms and pinned him against the bar.
"I'm okay." Ginny shook her head and tried to sit up, but Alton held her down between the legs of their barstools while the battle for control went on over their heads.
"Stay down. I have a horrible feeling that I know where those two demons pumped up with the life force from the dead rats went." Alton pulled HellFire from his scabbard.
Despite his orders, Ginny scrambled to her feet and grabbed DarkFire. Five men were trying to hold the drunk, but he managed to shake them loose one by one whenever they grabbed an arm or a leg. The bartender was on the phone, calling for help.
"Now, before the police arrive." Alton stepped forward and waved his hand over the group of men as they struggled with the drunk. All five suddenly turned the tall kid loose. He shook them off, completely unaffected by Alton's compulsion. His eyes glowed red. He snarled a curse and the sharp points of his teeth glowed in the reflected light.
Alton leapt forward and pressed his crystal blade against the drunk's chest. The kid jerked and his body went totally rigid. His arms flailed, his mouth opened in a soundless scream.
Then another piercing screech poured out of his mouth, along with a thick, black mist. Ginny caught the wraith with DarkFire's blade and it burst into amethyst sparks and sulfuric smoke. A second dark cloud shot out of the man's mouth and Ginny got that one as well.
The drunk stared blindly at Ginny. His eyes rolled back in his head and he slowly crumpled. Alton grabbed him before he hit the floor and eased him slowly to the ground. Ginny quickly sheathed her sword and Alton managed to get HellFire in the scabbard before the sound of sirens and screech of tires warned that the police were pulling up out in front.
Alton quickly set a compulsion over everyone in the bar. He knew it wouldn't last, but hoped it would at least give Ginny and him time to escape.
He grabbed her hand and slipped out through the door just as the police raced toward the bar. Alton and Ginny stepped to one side and the two officers ran by them without seeming to even notice they were there.
"What'd you do? How come they didn't even look at us?" Ginny frowned and stared over her shoulder at the bar as Alton dragged her down the sidewalk toward the SUV.
"I used the same glamour on us that we use on our swords. They were so intent on getting inside the tavern that they weren't looking for us, so they didn't see us."
"Oh. I never would have thought of that." Ginny wrapped both her hands around his left arm and matched her steps to his. "Well, Alton. I must admit...you certainly know how to show a girl a good time."
He snorted. He couldn't help it, and it made her laugh. "Good times like that we can do without." Then the reality of what they'd done slammed through the adrenaline rush that had him practically giddy with relief. "You know what this means."
Ginny's smile disappeared. She nodded. "That's the first human possession we've seen." She stopped and frowned at Alton when they reached the SUV. "But he was drunk, Alton. And there were two demons filled with the rats' life force."
"I know, but remember, they're evolving. When they first showed up, it was inanimate objects of the earth. They could only take over stone, metal, or ceramic. Then they moved to family pets and wild animals, and I was with Dax and Eddy when we discovered they're taking on plastic avatars. That's still of the earth, but definitely processed."
"From rats to humans is a pretty big leap to make so quickly, even if it was a drunk human."
Alton opened Ginny's door for her. She climbed into the Yukon and buckled herself in. He stood there in the open door, watching her as she latched the seat belt over her trim hips, but his mind was spinning a thousand directions at once---and not a single direction was good. "In some ways," he mused, "that's even worse. Two demons working together were able to take over a human's mind and body. That's more than an evolution of abilities---it's showing more conscious thought. More cooperation."
"Well, we knew they were beginning to cooperate when they started bundling together in the cavern and turning themselves into über-demons."
Alton backed away and shut her door, but he leaned his elbows on her open window. "I know. It's another step forward for them, though. And it means none of us are safe, if they develop the ability to possess someone who's sober."
Ginny's eyes opened wide. "How do we fight that?"
Alton shook his head. "I don't know, but we need to figure out something. I have a feeling the gloves, if there ever were any, are off."
He circled around the front of the Yukon and climbed into the passenger seat. Ginny flashed him a tired smile. "I take it you're not interested in more barhopping?"
He shook his head. "No. I'm worried about Cathedral Rock. There's another vortex there, which means there might be another portal allowing demons through. We've closed the portals at the airport vortex, Bell Rock, and Boynton Canyon, but we haven't even checked the one at Cathedral Rock."
Ginny stuck the key in the ignition and turned to smile at him. "Let's worry about it tomorrow. I'm not too concerned about that one."
"Why not?" Alton paused in the process of fastening his seat belt. The big grin on Ginny's face seemed out of place with the current discussion.
"Because Cathedral Rock is a girl vortex." She started the engine and eased out into traffic. "Remember that discussion we never had about boy and girl vortexes? Well, I read about them. The actual source of the vortex is on the creek at a place called Red Rock Crossing. It's got lots of feminine energy. You know---kindness, compassion---the good things women are known for."
"I see." Alton bit back a smile. He settled into his seat and watched Ginny while she navigated the narrow streets on her way back to the road that would take them to their rented casita, back to Eddy and Dax and, hopefully, an uneventful evening. "So you think the demons might avoid this particular energy source?" He chuckled when Ginny flashed him a wide-eyed, innocent look.
"Well, wouldn't you?" She blinked. "All that sweet goodness should be absolute poison to any right-minded demon."
Alton rolled his head to one side and played along. "It might, Ginny m'love, if all feminine energy were nothing but sweet goodness, and if there were such a thing as a right-minded demon. There's no such creature."
She turned and headed out the rural road that would take them home. Then she deadpanned, "You're such a killjoy, Alton."
He leaned back in the seat and folded his arms over his chest. In his best Johnny Cash voice he said, "I know, but when you've got a talent, you learn to work it."
Her soft laughter shivered over his shoulders as he settled back for the short ride. The evening hadn't gone anything like he'd planned, but they'd worked well together. They'd made a difference, and they'd learned more of their enemy's abilities.
In battle, at least, they were a perfect team.
And now they were headed back to the casita where all he could think about was the fact they'd be sharing a room again tonight. He stared at the headlights sweeping over the road ahead and carefully blocked his thoughts.
No wonder they'd not gotten very good at their telepathy. They spent more time blocking thoughts than sharing them. He wasn't certain he wanted to think about the implications of that, the fact that they still didn't trust each other with their deepest thoughts, but at some point in the not too distant future he and Ginny really needed to learn to communicate.
Of course, they'd need to learn to trust each other, even when they weren't surrounded by demonkind. That might be the most difficult lesson of all.
Ginny parked the Yukon in front of the casita. There was a light in the main room but the rest of the little house was dark. Her mind had been spinning all the way from town, and she really wished her thoughts didn't keep bringing her back to the same crappy conclusion.
Alton reached for the door handle. She put her hand on his arm. "Wait." She glanced toward the house and back at Alton. His face was hidden in shadow, but light from the front porch reflected in his eyes.
"What's wrong?"
"Dax. I'm worried about Dax." She shifted around and leaned her shoulder against the back of the car seat. "Today he said the way we described the demon king sounded like we were describing his demon body, the one he gave up. What if it is his body? What if the demon king has targeted Dax? Maybe there's still some sort of link between the ex-demon part of Dax and the body he used to have, and maybe that's why he's the one the demon went after today. Not because he was left alone near the portal, but because he's more susceptible to the demon's powers. Does that make sense?"
"Unfortunately, yes." Alton shifted around and faced her. "I wasn't thinking of that so much, but I have been worried that, in his weakened state, Dax might be easier for a demon to possess. If demons could take him over, they'd have his demon powers along with his considerable strength. He's not himself right now. What happened today weakened him."
Ginny sighed. "I hadn't thought of that, but that's another part of the same problem. We need to talk to him. He's got to be aware of the danger he could be facing."
"I agree." Alton leaned his head back against the seat. "Dax is my closest friend, besides Taron. We have fought together and faced death together. I don't want anything to happen to him."
"I don't want anything to happen to any of us. C'mon." She got out of the Yukon and followed Alton into the casita. Eddy was sitting by herself in the front room with the television on.
"Hi, guys." She waved them to a couple of empty seats. "It's not looking good. Demons have hit the nightly news."
Alton sat beside her on the couch. Ginny took a seat on the footstool in front of him. "What's going on?"
"Unexplained animal attacks. The local shelter is full, but after a couple of hours in the cages, vicious animals are suddenly just fine. Ravens swarmed a couple of outside restaurants, attacked customers, and broke windows. A few of them were killed running into cars or getting shot by armed citizens. Toxicology tests show nothing unusual, though there're reports of some sort of toxic chemical being released." She turned and shrugged. "Oddly, people say it smells just like sulfur."
"Go figure." Ginny shook her head. "I wish we knew how many were left out there."
"Demons?" Eddy sat back and stretched her long legs out over Ginny's lap. "More than we had in Evergreen, I think."
"Alton! Look...that's the bar we were in tonight." Ginny scooted forward as the newscaster described the fight in one of Sedona's more popular nightspots.
"The young African-American woman who was attacked left the bar before police arrived. Witnesses didn't recall if she'd been injured or not, but everyone has mentioned the sulfuric odor." He raised his head and sniffed the air. "I can still smell it. It's very faint but it reminds me of the smell of striking matches. Everything appears calm now, but toxicology tests are being run to determine whether some sort of hallucinogenic chemical is responsible for the strange behavior of local animals and now, a visiting tourist. Back to you..."
"Ginny! You were attacked? Are you okay?" Eddy grabbed her hand and gave her a quick once-over.
"I'm fine." Ginny shrugged and pulled her hand free of Eddy's grasp. "Really. He caught me in the shoulder, but there wasn't much power behind his swing. I don't think the demons had very good control of him."
Just then Dax wandered out of the bedroom. His hair was mussed and he looked half asleep. "What's going on?"
Eddy waved at the screen. "Demon attacks made the nightly news and Ginny and Alton were in a barroom brawl. Just the usual."
"We're fine, Dax." Ginny stuck her tongue out at Eddy. "Eddy's exaggerating."
Dax sat down on Eddy's side opposite Alton and gestured at the television where the news had moved on to sports. "They know they're demons?"
"No, but they're going to figure out something's not right before too long." Eddy grabbed his hand. "How are you feeling?"
"Better, but still not up to full strength." Dax linked his fingers with hers and turned to Alton. "What did you guys come across in town? Other than a fight in a bar."
"He really knows how to show a girl a good time." Ginny elbowed Alton's thigh.
Alton ignored Ginny. "We came across rats," he said. "Demons had taken over a bunch of rats and had a woman cornered in an alley. She'd killed two of the rats but the others were moving toward her in formation and a crowd had begun to gather."
"Alton and I took care of the rest of the rats and demons," Ginny said, "but the demons that escaped before we got there took over a human." She focused on Dax. "He was drunk, so his defenses were down, and the demons had probably grabbed the life force when the rats died, but still, there were two demons working together in him. They didn't seem to have much control, but Alton says it's a sign of their continuing evolution."
Dax leaned back in his chair. "That's not good. A human? If they can control a human, they've definitely evolved."
"The question is," Eddy asked, "what are they evolving to? Do they have a plan?"
Alton shook his head. "The only one who appears to have a plan so far has been the demon king. Are we still in agreement that he was drawing lesser demons to this dimension for their energy?"
Shrugging, Dax glanced toward Eddy. "He was definitely absorbing their life force during that fight in Evergreen," he said. He turned back toward Ginny. "If we destroyed an avatar and the demon got free in the form of that black, wraithlike smoke, the demon king would pull the wraith toward him and inhale it."
"And he'd get bigger and stronger almost immediately," Eddy added. "That's when we realized he wasn't actually gathering a demon army. It was as if he needed the demons stored in this dimension for his personal use. To stay here, they needed an avatar. When he needed their energy, he'd set up a situation where the avatars were broken and the demon's soul set free, at which point the demon king was able to siphon off their energy. He needed to catch demons in their mist form before they could be drawn back to Abyss."
"At first, we were actually helping him." Alton glanced toward Ginny. "We'd destroy an avatar, but sometimes missed the demon. Then we realized they were drawn to him, like metal to a magnet. It was scary to watch. Every time he swallowed down another demon, he got stronger, more lifelike. At first his avatar---the gargoyle---was stone. By the time we fought him on Mount Shasta, he was alive---supple, breathing, and bleeding."
Dax was shaking his head. "If you can call that acidic muck leaking out of him blood. Pretty nasty stuff. The biggest difference now, though, is that those lesser demons were mindless creatures. Pure energy, definitely evil, but there didn't appear to be any real cognitive thought involved in their actions. Now we're seeing intelligence."
Eddy wrapped her fingers around Dax's hand and frowned. "Dax, you said that the longer the demon king remains in Earth's dimension, the more of his intelligence he regains. Could the same thing be happening with the lesser demons? Obviously, if the demon king was originally an intelligent creature from Eden, he's got more to start with, but what of the lesser demons? What do you know of them? What kind of demon were you?"
Dax stared down, as if he focused on their linked hands. "I probably started out as a lesser demon long ago, but by the time I was cast out, I had become a fairly formidable creature. I know I was intelligent enough to question my existence, but, for whatever reason, I retained my intelligence when I was given this body by the Edenites."
"But, you had to learn to use it, just as the demons are learning to use their avatars." Eddy touched the side of his face. "You learned very quickly."
Dax smiled, turned, and kissed her palm. "If you'll recall, I had Willow feeding me info the whole time. I had my powers and knowledge stored in the tattoo, and I still had the remnants of memories from the human who first owned this body." He smiled. A smile that was all for Eddy. "Plus, I had you."
"That you did." Eddy curled her fingers against his lips.
Ginny watched the emotion flare in Dax's eyes, noticed the dreamy look in Eddy's, and felt a tight clench in her stomach. She wondered what they were remembering, what shared events had drawn them so close so quickly.
They'd known each other less than two weeks, yet they loved as powerfully as if they'd been together forever. Ginny wished she had Eddy's certainty. Wished she understood her own feelings better.
Dax seemed to catch himself, as if he suddenly realized he and Eddy had an audience. He glanced at her. "Things have changed, though. The demons have changed, and they're doing it without any help that we know of, unless the demon king is somehow able to affect their behavior." He turned his attention to Ginny and Alton. "Alton, remember how you described the demon king, as if he looked the way I used to? Eddy and I are wondering if I was targeted, if he..."
Alton glanced at Ginny and they both nodded. "Great minds think alike," she said. "Alton and I were wondering the same thing, if maybe the fact he's got your old body makes you more susceptible to his demon strength."
"Exactly, and it's got me worried." Eddy leaned against Dax's shoulder. "I want to get this guy back to Evergreen for at least a couple of nights, away from that soul-sucking bastard. Dax needs to recuperate before we face him again. He's tried his demon powers, but he's definitely not at full strength."
Dax's expression was almost sheepish. "I know I'm not carrying my weight, but Eddy reminded me I haven't had this human body very long---and I was dead just a few days ago."
Eddy's eyes sparkled with unshed tears. "I don't ever want to go through that again. You're not a cat. I don't think you get nine lives."
"She's right." Alton nodded and reached for Ginny's hand. His long fingers wrapped around hers and he squeezed. "It looks like we'll be fighting demons for a while. We'll need you at full strength."
He dropped her hand and stood up, as if he had too much energy to sit in one spot any longer. "Look...Ginny and I were planning to check the vortex at Red Rock Crossing tomorrow, the one near Cathedral Rock. There might be a portal there that will get you to Mount Shasta, and if there's one to Abyss, I want to close it. Tomorrow morning okay with you?"
Dax gazed at Eddy for a long moment. Ginny wondered if they communicated silently. When Eddy nodded and stood up, tugging Dax with her, Ginny was certain of it.
"Works for us. Get us up early." Eddy wrapped both arms around Dax's waist. "I hate to leave you guys here on your own, but he needs to stay away from that damned demon. Just long enough to get his strength back."
"No problem." Alton turned away and stared out the window toward the dark desert.
Ginny watched Dax and Eddy leave. When the door to their room closed, she turned to Alton and caught him watching her. Irritation rolled off of him in waves, and he was frowning. She raised her chin, folded her arms across her chest, and stared right back at him. "What's wrong?"
He let out a frustrated gust of air and glared at her. "Everything's fine. Just perfect. You're going back to that important job of yours while I hang around and fight a bunch of fucking demons by myself. Other than that, I'd say it's all good."
A bolt of panic flashed along Ginny's spine. "Taron's coming Friday. He's got a crystal sword, right? Just tell him you need his help. He'll stay."
"Not quite." Alton shook his head. "Taron's got crystal but it's not sentient. Besides, we need his voice, not his sword. He's the only link we've got between us and the council and we need him there. Communication, Ginny. You know that---it was your idea. It's the only reason he's coming, to fill us in on what's happening in Lemuria. He can't stay."
It felt like the room was closing in on her and it was hard to breathe. Her heart pounded unsteadily in her chest and her damned hands wouldn't stop shaking. "I have to go, Alton. I don't want to lose my job. I don't..." She stood up, clutched at the scabbard with DarkFire, and hugged it against her chest, against her pounding heart.
There was no glow at all from the dark crystal.
"So you've said." Alton grabbed his scabbard and his voice had gone cold and flat. He stared down that long patrician nose of his like she was nothing but scum on the sole of his boots.
"Think about this, Ginny, when you worry about your damned job---I gave up my home, my family, my entire world to join this fight. And no, I'm not complaining, but I sure hope your dispatching job's worth it."
She cringed beneath the lash of his gaze, the condemnation in his voice. "You chose this fight, Alton...I didn't. I..." She swallowed back the lump in her throat. How could she defend an indefensible position? "Where are you going? Aren't you coming to bed?" Damn. She hated sounding so needy, but she was scared and pissed off and he didn't seem to understand what was going on in her head at all. And she didn't want to be alone. Not tonight. Not after all the changes in her life---changes she had no control over, changes that made her feel like a volcano ready to blow its top.
Alton shook his head. Obviously he didn't want anything to do with the original bitch on wheels. "Later," he said. He had his hand on the door like he was ready to bolt. "I need some air." He stepped out through the sliding glass door and quickly shut it behind him.
Ginny stared at her reflection in the glass. Alton's cold rejection left her feeling nauseous and light-headed. She'd been so sure he wanted her with him tonight. So positive while they were driving home that he was thinking of sex, of making love.
At least, that's what she'd been thinking of, when she wasn't worrying about Dax, or about keeping her mental shields up. She'd imagined what it would feel like to crawl into that big bed with Alton and just do the deed until they both quit worrying about demons and her job and what exactly was going on between the two of them. Quit worrying and fall asleep.
Only it looked like she'd been alone thinking along those lines. Obviously their minds weren't nearly as synchronized as she'd thought. Ginny stared at her reflection against the dark glass a moment longer. Then she picked up her scabbard and her silent sword and went into the bedroom by herself.
Alton sat in the darkness on the back deck, cocooned by the quiet night sounds of the desert. An owl hooted nearby. In the distance, a coyote howled. Crickets chirped from their hideouts beneath the deck. Bats squeaked overhead as they hunted on the still night air. All normal nighttime noises.
Not a single banshee scream among them.
Slowly he slipped HellFire out of the scabbard, laid the sword across his lap, and stared at the glowing crystal blade. He was filled with questions, but Taron wasn't here. Taron, who'd been his anchor in so many ways for so many, many years.
Taron. Alton chuckled. He could almost hear his buddy telling him to pay attention. To be aware of the world around him, or in Taron's phrasing, to get his head out of his ass. So pragmatic and focused---so aware. Taron was the one who always had the answers. The one Alton counted on.
He'd thought he could count on Ginny the same way, but now he had his doubts. He didn't understand her well enough. Was she too complex, or was he just stupid?
He ran his fingers over the shimmering crystal. HellFire had become his trusted companion. He wondered...could the sentience within the sword help?
Ginny hadn't hesitated to ask DarkFire, and DarkFire had answered. Alton swallowed back his fears. A man shouldn't be afraid of the weapon he carried, but Alton had feared this sword for most of his life. It had been the constant reminder of his failure as a man, as a warrior.
And then, when it finally chose to speak to him, it had generally been insulting. Probably served him right, that he carried a sword that still didn't respect him. He was a man without honor. Now, a man without even a family name.
As if Taron whispered in his ear, prodding him to take a leap of faith, Alton made his decision. "HellFire? Are you awake?"
The soft chuckle surprised him. "I am always awake. What troubles you?"
Now that was the question. Alton wasn't certain he wanted the answers for what truly troubled him. His feelings for Ginny felt like an open wound, too tender to probe. Instead, he asked, "Who were you?" He ran his fingertips along the blade. "DarkFire was a warrior named Daria. Who were you before you became spirit? What is your story?"
The blade pulsed dark blue, then light, then dark again. Alton wondered if he'd somehow insulted HellFire's spirit. It wasn't like he had a set of rules to follow. How to talk to one's sword without screwing up? He wished.
He could have sworn HellFire sighed.
"I was called Justice. Like you, I was the spoiled son of one of Lemuria's leaders. I was a sycophant, foolishly proud of my position as a parasite upon the world as a whole. I existed with the same sense of entitlement you had for so long. I believed Lemuria owed me a living. I was young and handsome, and I enjoyed every unearned moment. Until the demons came."
Frowning, Alton stared at the blade. He hadn't expected an answer like that, though in retrospect, he knew he deserved it. Knew HellFire described him perfectly. "Am I still that way? A parasite? The spoiled son with a sense of entitlement?" Alton thought of the person he'd been when he first left Lemuria. Hadn't he changed even a little?
"I would not speak to you if you'd not moved past your childish ways."
Childish? A man grown, one who'd lived thousands of years? He'd laugh, except it was too true to be funny. He sighed, accepting. "Why did it take me so long, HellFire? What was I lacking? I left everything I knew to fight demons, yet you refused to speak. What was I doing wrong?"
"The same things I once did. Your motives were not pure, though another sword might have recognized your growth sooner than I did. Since I saw myself in your actions, I knew you could be so much more if properly challenged.
"You left Lemuria because you were bored. The chance to fight demons was a diversion for you. The excitement of going into battle was all about you---your needs, your wants. You could have stopped the demon gargoyle on many occasions, but you were unwilling to risk your safety. Instead, you put Dax and Eddy at risk by your cowardice."
HellFire certainly wasn't mincing words. Alton felt the heat in his face and knew his humiliation must be showing. The sword was right. He'd been afraid each time they fought the demon, and he'd pulled back. He'd been terrified during that last big battle on Mount Shasta. As difficult as it was to say the words, he admitted his fears to HellFire.
"Ah, but in that battle, even though you were afraid, you didn't falter. You attacked."
Alton snorted. "A lot of good it did. The damned gargoyle just about crushed me. I'm surprised it didn't kill me."
"Yet knowing you might die, you attacked to save Eddy and her father. To help Dax. You failed, but you were willing to give your life for your friends. Do you recall your thoughts at that moment, Alton? It wasn't all about you. It was about keeping others safe. You finally showed me that you have what it takes to carry crystal."
Alton stared at the glowing blade for a long time. The sounds of the night ebbed and flowed about him and he thought of the battle he'd fought, how frightened he'd been.
How angry he'd been, to think they might somehow lose, that demonkind might actually overrun an innocent world. Nothing else had mattered then. Not his life, not how terrified he was or the chance he probably wouldn't survive. He hadn't felt particularly brave when he'd attacked the gargoyle. No, he'd been desperately afraid, not only for himself, but for his friends. He'd been willing to do anything to save his friends and his people.
Anything, including risking his life.
But he'd failed and the gargoyle had completely overwhelmed him. He'd been unconscious when Eddy had grabbed his silent crystal sword and decapitated the gargoyle. She'd faced death to save her father, to avenge Dax's death, and she'd succeeded. No wonder her sword had spoken to her from the beginning.
And Dax! He'd actually died---horribly, painfully. He'd thrown himself on the gargoyle, knowing he couldn't possibly prevail. He hadn't, and the gargoyle had killed him.
Thank the gods Dax had been given another chance.
Alton wondered if Dax remembered those last moments when the demon had broken his body---snapped his spine as if it were nothing more than a twig. Ed had given Alton the gruesome details later, when they'd had time to talk about those last frantic, frightening moments. Alton had missed the worst and the best of it---Dax's death, Eddy's selfless bravery.
He'd been unconscious. Not a very brave participant in that one big battle, but it had changed him forever. He'd come away from it believing in himself for the first time in his very long life. Believing in his value as a Lemurian, as a man.
It had given him the courage to face his father, to stand up to the Council of Nine. He hadn't even faltered when his father had publicly disowned him. He never would have been brave enough before that battle.
That was the first time he'd truly been tested---and he'd passed. There'd never been a reason to doubt Dax's bravery. Knowing he had only one week to live, Dax had sacrificed everything for the cause. In that respect, Alton's first opinion of his friend had been right---Dax had more honor and integrity than any man he'd ever known.
He ran his fingers along the sharp edge of the crystal blade. "HellFire? You said you were like me, a spoiled young man with a sense of entitlement. What changed you? What was it that turned you from that worthless parasite into a warrior brave enough to be reborn in a crystal sword?"
"My death changed me." The light of the sword dimmed. "I fought a battle we had no hope of winning, but my stand allowed some of our citizens to escape to safety. I didn't intend to die that day, but that was my path."
"You sacrificed yourself so that others might live." Alton felt the burn of tears in his eyes. "A truly brave act."
Again he heard the soft chuckle. "It was both a brave and foolish act. I was terrified. My actions were those of a coward with no other choice than to act bravely. If I'd fought a smarter fight, I could have survived and gone on to fight another day. As it was, I died less than a week before the demons were finally vanquished. All these thousands of years I've waited for my rebirth. It's about time you got it right."
This time it was Alton who laughed. "I never claimed to be the sharpest sword in the scabbard."
"No, Alton. That is my job. Your job is to help build a stronger force to take up the battle against demonkind once again. There are so few of you. Go to Ginny. You must convince her to stay. Without her courage and strength, without DarkFire, our chances of success against the demon invasion are slim. Their leader is a new malevolence, something we've not seen before. Something I still don't truly understand. It will take a powerful force to defeat him. Without DarkFire's unique talents, without Ginny..."
Alton sighed. "But how? Ginny is determined to follow a path of her own choosing. How can I hope to change her mind?"
HellFire shimmered brightly. "You must give her a reason to stay that is within her grasp. The concept of saving many worlds against demonkind is too much for any mind to comprehend, but there are other reasons for her to stay, for her to risk everything. Think of how you have focused yourself in this fight. Think of the adjustments you've made in your own goals. Then ask yourself---do you love Virginia Jones?"
The blade went dark and silence closed in around Alton.
Alton stared at the sword. What did loving Ginny have to do with anything? Nine hells. He had no idea if he loved her or not. How could he know if those feelings tearing him up inside were really love? Love shouldn't hurt this much.
Except he knew, in the deepest, most private part of his soul, that HellFire had been right about everything else. Alton's motives had been entirely selfish when he first left Lemuria. Thinking back to his feelings at the time, he'd seen helping Dax and Eddy escape from the Lemurian prison as a grand gesture on his part, a chance to find some excitement to liven up his dull life.
So why had HellFire asked him if he loved Ginny? What an odd question. Or was it? Hadn't he realized from the first time he saw Ginny that she was the one he was fighting for? Not for Lemuria, not for Earth or the people of Atlantis and Eden. No. It was Ginny who mattered. Ginny's safety, her future.
By focusing on Ginny, he'd been able to face a battle beyond anything he'd ever imagined possible. He'd discovered strengths he hadn't realized he possessed.
What if he were to put the battle against demonkind into words that made more sense to Ginny? Show her something to focus on besides worlds she barely believed in, people she didn't know. If she realized how Alton felt about her, how much she meant to him...He shook his head. First he needed to get his own thoughts in order before he tried organizing anyone else's.
Still, he had to admit that maybe HellFire hadn't been so far off the mark after all.
It came to him, then, what had been different about the conversation he'd just had with his crystal sword. No snark. None at all. HellFire had spoken sincerely, as if they were comrades of long standing. As if Alton were an equal.
Justice. His name had been Justice, and he'd been young once, and spoiled. And then he'd died, though he'd obviously redeemed himself with his death. Alton stroked the silent blade with his fingertips, imagining the young man HellFire had once been. Then he picked up his sword and carefully slipped it into the scabbard.
An errant thought filtered into his mind. Had Justice ever been in love?
The blade remained dark.
"Well, Justice. It appears it's up to me to convince Ginny to stay and fight. Is loving her the key? Is it really something so simple?" He shook his head, chuckling softly. "Like love is simple? Nine hells. If I screw up, lose track, and forget, please remind me it's about the fight and it's about Ginny. About winning against demonkind for the good of all. That it's not about me."
The blade flashed a quick spark of blue, almost as if HellFire winked at him.
Alton stared at the scabbard. "Though it would be nice if all this could happen without me having to die first, don't you think? I'd like to hang around and reap the rewards of victory, if there actually is such a thing against demonkind."
There was no response from the sword.
Alton stared at the tooled-leather scabbard and thought about their strange conversation. Then, with one last look across the dark and silent desert, he went inside.
Alton paused in the bathroom doorway after his shower. Ginny slept soundly, but she'd chosen the bed he'd slept alone in the night before. Her arms were tightly wrapped around his pillow, her face buried in its soft depths.
He wished he understood women better, but he hoped it was a positive sign.
Standing here, warm and relaxed from the shower, Alton opened his mind to Ginny's and gently entered without leaving any hint of his presence. He found her sleeping thoughts unguarded, her dreams open and filled with questions.
He folded his arms across his chest, leaned against the doorjamb, and wandered through her most private images and ideas without any sense of trespass whatsoever. He'd gained a pretty strong feeling of entitlement while he'd stood there beneath the biting spray, his body aching with need for the darkly beautiful woman sleeping so soundly just beyond the bathroom door.
Entitled, because he'd finally admitted that she'd stolen his heart. He wasn't about to let her get away with it---not without giving her own to him in return.
He wanted her smile---the one she shared with him and no one else. He wanted her touch, wanted the warmth of her long, lean body close to his. He wanted the joy of her laughter.
But even more, he wanted Ginny's trust.
It was more than a feeling---instead, it was a powerful sense of the inevitable that Ginny was meant for him, just as he was meant for her.
It seemed counter to the lesson he felt HellFire'd been trying to give him, but at the same time, Alton knew these potent feelings went deeper than merely satisfying his own desires. He wanted to satisfy Ginny's. He wanted her to stay, not only to fight demonkind, but because she'd discovered exactly what she needed to fill all those empty spaces in her heart, to make her life complete.
Somehow he had to convince her he was the one. That only he could fill her emptiness, just as she filled his.
It wasn't easy to admit he'd never be whole without Ginny in his life. HellFire had forced the issue, but it was something Alton had sensed from the very beginning, from the moment he'd seen that beautiful woman with the tiger's eyes fighting off a demon-possessed concrete bear with nothing more than a scrap of wood. He'd known even then she was special.
Of course, then his concerns were a little bit different. He was still hung up on his rank in Lemurian society and the fact he was immortal while Ginny wasn't.
All that had changed pretty dramatically when he'd been disowned the same day they'd discovered Ginny was a descendant of Lemurian royalty. Which meant that all the issues keeping them apart weren't issues anymore. So why wasn't he any happier about it?
For one thing, that sleeping beauty in his bed obviously didn't feel the same way about him as he felt about her, not if she was so willing to take her beautiful, shapely butt back to work this weekend. Unfortunately, he didn't think there was much he could do to change the way he felt, and he had no idea how to convince Ginny.
What a mess. He'd never imagined love could be so confusing, if that's what this was really all about. Was this love? This sense that nothing in his life would ever be right again if Ginny wasn't a part of it? The powerful pressure that squeezed his heart and forced the air from his lungs when he thought of her returning to Evergreen without him, when he imagined going on in this battle without Ginny at his side?
He was incapable of imagining life without her beside him. Not behind him, as a proper Lemurian mate would be, but next to him, shoulder to shoulder, whether it be fighting demons or, if they were ever so blessed, raising a child. When he thought of his future, he thought of it with Ginny.
She was his future. She was also very much his present.
What else could he call it, if not love? What did Ginny call it? She was every bit as confused as he was. He confirmed that little tidbit of information even now, tiptoeing through her sleep-bemused thoughts.
Then he found something that stopped him cold.
It wasn't the job calling her back to Evergreen---it was her fear of a future she didn't understand. Her fear of committing herself to a man who'd not promised her anything beyond the next fight. No wonder she clung to the familiar security of her work. He'd offered her nothing.
Nothing at all.
Of course, what did he have to offer a woman like Ginny? His heart? She already had it, even though he'd not said the words. He'd hardly admitted them to himself. She was, after all, Lemurian royalty and he was nothing more than the exiled son of a pompous jackass.
Have you already forgotten our conversation, Alton? It's not all about you....
He almost laughed out loud. Generally HellFire waited to be addressed before making comments, but in this case, the warning was welcome, and right on the mark.
It wasn't about him. Right now it was all about Ginny. It was about her needs, her desires, and her fears.
He'd been brave enough to face a demon-possessed gargoyle. Was he brave enough to accept that this horrible, wonderful, terrifying feeling he had was love, and then face the woman he loved? Brave enough to lay his heart out for her to mangle and stomp on as she saw fit?
Nine hells, he hoped so.
He stepped back into the bathroom and hung the wet towel over the shower rod. Then, naked, aroused, and still damp from his shower, he quietly walked across the room and crawled into bed beside Ginny.
She turned to him and rooted against his chest as if she wanted to bury herself inside him. Alton wrapped her slim body in his arms and drew her close. He tucked her head beneath his chin and rubbed his cheek against her springy curls. Her scent was all warm woman and invitation, but she slept so soundly he didn't want to disturb her.
Nine hells...he was disturbed enough, all by himself. How does a man with nothing tell a woman who has everything---who is everything---that he loves her? How does he convince her that she needs him every bit as much as he needs her?
They'd been together such a short time. How could he possibly trust desires he didn't really understand? He'd never felt this way about any woman before. He'd never known the same sense of expectation---of desire or excitement---in his entire life. It wasn't all about sex, though he had to admit that the thought of burying himself in her hot, wet sheath had him so hard he ached. No, it was something else altogether, a feeling that the disquiet he'd lived with for most of his life had finally found the calm he'd not even known to search for.
The feeling of having traveled for countless miles before finally stumbling upon the perfect oasis, a flowing spring that offered salvation to his weary soul and brilliant color to a life lived in nothing more than shades of gray. It was such a simple thing, really, now that he admitted it. Now that he allowed himself to accept it.
He loved Ginny. She gave him hope. She was hope, and he'd felt hopeless for so very long.
Never again.
With that promise uppermost in his mind, Alton closed his eyes and willed himself to sleep.
The faces were pure evil. Twisted, loathsome things coming at her from all directions---horrific creatures beyond even her worst nightmares.
Demonkind.
She stood alone---all alone except for DarkFire. She grasped her crystal sword in her right hand and planted her feet firmly. She knew she had to fight, had to protect...someone. She wasn't sure whom she guarded, but she knew it was important.
Knew she could not afford to fail.
She called out to DarkFire, but the crystal didn't respond. The voice was silent. The shimmering crystal blade had gone dark and dull. She stared at the flat, dark blade, shocked by DarkFire's silence.
The creatures loomed closer. Voice or no voice, she had to fight, but why couldn't she lift her sword? Her arm had no strength, her hand no sense of touch. As she stared at her fingers clutching the hilt, DarkFire fell from her grasp. When the sword hit the ground, the crystal blade shattered. The sound of breaking crystal echoed, repeating over and over like waves against the shore growing louder, more strident with each repetition.
She stood there, alone in the darkness with a broken sword, an arm without strength, a hand that had failed her, and she was more afraid than she'd ever been in her life. Terror washed over her, fear unlike anything she'd ever known, but it wasn't the advancing demons that frightened her, or even the sword that lay in scattered shards of amethyst across the dark floor. No. Her fear was based on something worse, something beyond the monsters, more than shattered crystal.
She was alone. Isolated by her own choice, set apart to fight or flee by her own design. DarkFire was gone---destroyed now, her sentience lost because Ginny had been too cowardly to commit. Even Alton had abandoned her and turned away in disgust. She'd proved herself unworthy in so many ways. She no longer deserved to carry crystal. Even worse, she'd shown herself unworthy of love.
Her life was empty and the demons were coming, but she had no strength left to fight, no will to continue.
No strength, no help, no hope. The demons were all around, but this was the choice she'd made. She'd done this to herself.
She'd chosen this path. Chosen it all on her own.
Ginny lay there in the darkness as reality slowly pulled her free of the nightmare. Her arm was numb, probably from sleeping on it. Something big and heavy held her down. She should have been terrified, but she was warm and cozy and it was still dark in the room. Instead of fear, she felt protected as she rubbed her face against a solid, warm wall of...Alton?
Blinking, Ginny struggled the rest of the way out of sleep, away from a dream of horrific creatures and fears that were even more terrible to imagine. Thank goodness Alton was here, his body close and warm, the weight of his leg across her thighs the physical proof he'd not really turned away.
Only in her nightmare, in the deepest fears of her subconscious mind.
But what of DarkFire? Would the sentience in her sword abandon her if she refused the challenge she'd been offered? What kind of coward walked away from sentient crystal, from a battle that was nothing less than a holy war pitting the powers of good against the encroachment of pure evil?
I did. I have.
Good Lord.
No wonder Alton was disgusted with her.
Or was he? Would he be here beside her if he didn't still like her at least a little? What if he didn't? What if he'd finally realized what a fool and a coward she really was?
She'd never really thought of herself as a needy person, but right now, Ginny needed. Forget pride, forget fear, forget everything that might deter her from her goal. She needed Alton, but she wasn't sure how he felt about her.
Crap, she wasn't even certain how she felt about him! She liked him a lot, but she didn't know if she loved him. Did that really matter? She didn't have any promises that either of them would live through the coming battle against an unthinkable foe, but if her dream had taught her anything, it was that she had to get her priorities straight.
DarkFire had nailed it perfectly. There were other women who could handle her dispatcher's job at Shascom, but only Ginny could wield DarkFire. Only Ginny Jones had the strength and the ability to carry the dark crystal sword, the only sword they knew of that showed demons in their true guise.
It was time to stand up in spite of her fears. Time to act like a grown-up, which meant she must accept DarkFire's challenge. Somehow she needed to find the strength to face the evil that was coming, to stand against the threat of demonkind.
She needed the strength to take a chance, to take control of her own future. But first, she had to admit that, for all her bravery and all her tough words, she needed the man who slept beside her.
It was definitely time for that.
The question was, could she open herself enough to allow him inside those private recesses of her heart? Inside her mind? No man had ever touched her heart, not like this. No man had ever made her feel needy and uncertain. It terrified her even as she felt tempted by the strength of his arms, seduced by the honesty of his character and by the innate goodness of the man.
He treated her as an equal even though he came from a world that looked at women as lesser beings. He'd never tried to hold her back, had never asked her to be less than she was. He'd been proud of her fighting strength, proud of her ability to carry crystal. Not once had he treated her as if she didn't matter.
Because, to Alton, she did matter. She mattered greatly. No one---man or woman---had ever held her in such high esteem. She had no doubt of that, but was it enough? Enough to change her life, to give up all she'd worked for, what she was familiar with?
Not if you're a frickin' coward, it's not.
Is that what this was all about? Was she just too big a coward to take a chance on whatever was building between them?
Ginny Jones isn't afraid of anything.
Well, not usually, but this was all new, unexplored territory. Not just fighting demons---this meant accepting love.
Giving herself over to love.
There. She'd labeled it, the thing that had her so freaked out. Was it fear of falling in love that held her back? If that was it, she was a bigger coward than she'd thought.
She drew in a deep breath and inhaled his scent, the warm, sleepy smell of shampoo and soap and man. Tears filled her eyes, unexpected and unwelcome. What the hell was wrong with her?
"Ginny?"
Alton's drowsy mumble tickled her ear.
"Hmm?" She nuzzled his chest and quickly blocked her thoughts. Damn. Had he been snooping around in her head?
"Are you okay?"
His words were clearer, his body suddenly taut, muscles tense and hard.
"I'm fine. Go back to sleep." She forced herself to relax.
His long fingers stroked along her flank, over the curve of her buttock. Her hips tilted of their own volition, bringing her belly up close against his rising erection. He fit tightly against the swell of her stomach, a burning brand she couldn't ignore---didn't want to ignore.
"I'm awake now." He nuzzled the soft skin beneath her jaw and nipped her throat with sharp teeth. "I want you, Ginny. I need to be inside you. I want to taste you and touch you and make love to you."
He punctuated his soft whispers with kisses that traced the swell of her breast and ended when his lips fastened around her tightly puckered nipple. He sucked hard, drawing it into his mouth.
She arched her back and cried out. His teeth scraped the sensitive tip and his fingers stroked her flank. He moved to her other breast, suckling and licking, pulling the nipple painfully tight between his full lips. She concentrated so intently on the way his mouth ravaged her breast, she lost track of his roaming fingers.
But not for long.
His tongue pressed her nipple against the roof of his mouth at the same time his long fingers slipped beneath the elastic waist of her panties and slowly but certainly plundered the cleft between her legs. Two long fingers, stroking deeply inside while his thumb made tiny circles over her clit.
She whimpered as he teased her, as he showed her what her body was capable of feeling. All so new, so unbelievable. She wasn't like this---she'd never been this responsive, her body so sensitive, her heart so unguarded. His mouth and lips, teeth and tongue, and probing fingers took her to the precipice and over before she even realized what he'd done. Gasping, arching her back, Ginny pressed her breast against his mouth and clamped her legs around his wrist.
Her whimper became a cry, the cry a soft scream of surprise and completion. Writhing within his tender hold, she didn't know whether to press close or pull away from so much, so fast. He held her there, caught in the midst of an orgasm that wouldn't end, carrying her through wave after wave of sensation until her body shuddered with its final release.
Not until her spine lay flat against the mattress once more did Alton release the pressure on her nipple and gently lick the sensitive tip. He eased his fingers out of her, swirling them in damp circles over her sensitive clitoris as he slowly pulled his hand out of her panties.
Her hips jerked in response. Alton's laughter was strained when he leaned close and kissed her mouth. Then he rolled away and she heard a sound that could only be Alton ripping his way into one of the boxes of condoms. A moment later he rolled back to her, hugely erect, fully sheathed.
She expected him to penetrate her immediately, but he scooted down between her legs and slipped his long arms beneath her thighs.
Ginny raised her head and glared at him. "What are you doing?"
He looked up and smiled at her from between her raised knees. "Something I've wanted to do since the first time I saw you." His palms slipped under her butt.
She tried to shove her knees together. His wide shoulders held them apart. He leaned close and blew a soft little puff of air over her damp and swollen folds. Her hips jerked in response.
"Hold still." He was laughing softly. Ginny tried to squirm out of his grasp but he held her in place without any effort at all.
Held her in place, dipped his head low, and slowly ran his tongue in one long lick between her legs. She giggled, embarrassed and flustered and a little bit afraid. She had no idea what to expect, how to act, what to do. He swirled his tongue around her sensitive little nub and then speared her deep, licking and suckling as if he loved every taste and all the different textures of her feminine parts.
No one had ever done this with her before. No man had tasted her so intimately. She should tell him to stop. Really. It was too personal, too much, too soon. She hardly knew him. She'd never know him well enough to allow him to do this.
He licked and sucked and explored with teeth and tongue and lips, and she wanted to die. She should be embarrassed. She was embarrassed...she was so close to coming and his tongue felt so amazing that if he'd suddenly decided to quit she was sure she'd scream and pull him back down between her thighs to finish what he'd started.
Then he wrapped his soft lips around her clitoris and sucked, exactly the way he'd suckled her nipple.
Ginny screamed. Arched her back, thrust her hips forward, and screamed again. Laughing softly, Alton moved over her body, covered her mouth with his and she tasted him and more---she tasted herself.
Her first thought should have been how gross, how disgusting, but it wasn't. Not at all. This was something shared, a taste so intimate she wanted to cry, a climax so perfect she sobbed with the pulsing, quivering ripples still racing through her body.
Once again Alton shifted his position, moved his long, lean body over hers, and pressed the broad head of his penis against the mouth of her vagina. Slowly he surged forward, filling her, stretching her inch by full inch, sliding along sleek, sensitive muscles until he was buried deep inside.
He held perfectly still, giving her body time to adjust. He was huge and the size of him made her burn, but she remembered when they'd done this before, how the burn had quickly eased and the pleasure of his size and his skill had taken her places she'd never expected to go.
She'd thought it could never be better than it had been that night. She was wrong. This time she felt a connection to Alton she'd not known before, a sense that they were meant to be together, meant to love each other.
Almost a sense of destiny.
If only she knew for certain how he felt. His muscular body covered hers, warming her, protecting her. His long, silky hair draped over them both and tickled her shoulders and breasts like a thousand tiny fingers across her skin, enclosing the two of them in shimmering golden strands.
He turned her on, he made her feel safe, and she knew without a doubt she wasn't going back to Evergreen. Not yet. Not until this fight was finished. Not as long as Alton needed her by his side.
Slowly rolling his hips, he stroked her, deep and full, and her body rippled and clenched around him, holding him close, loving him. Still, there was a sense of something missing, a feeling there should be more between them. A connection she'd somehow missed. Slowly she raised her lids, looked into his beautiful emerald-green eyes, and knew exactly what that was.
For the first time since she'd learned of her Lemurian heritage, Ginny consciously lowered her mental barriers and opened her thoughts. She chose trust, and with that one small step, she opened herself entirely to the man who made love to her so perfectly. She shared her fears, her needs, and most of all, she shared her love.
She felt him connect, felt the wonder of his love, and her body shivered in reaction. He was as fearful as she, as unsure of her feelings toward him, but so very certain of his for her.
Ginny raised her hand and traced the curve of his jaw and the sharp ridge of his eyebrow. "I love you, Alton. I'm not sure how or why it's happened so quickly, but I can't deny what I'm feeling."
His eyes sparkled with unshed tears and his beautiful face wavered in front of hers. Dear God, she was crying, and it made her feel so stupid, to be making love with this gorgeous man and weeping for absolutely no reason whatsoever.
He leaned close and kissed her lips, kissed the tears that leaked from her eyes and rolled into her hair. Whispered against her temple, kissing her between every word. "I love you, Ginny. I can't explain it either, but I know how I feel, what I feel." He chuckled softly, and still he kept up that perfect rhythm, filling her over and over with each slow and powerful thrust.
His thoughts were as open to Ginny now as if she read a printed page. Open and full to bursting with feelings neither one of them could deny or even put actual voice to. Her nerve endings were all on fire, her heart pounded out a wild tattoo within her chest, yet her mind was calm, open, and gloriously, unbelievably free.
Free, yet filled with Alton. She knew now how he worried, how he'd felt so undeserving of her love. Knew that he'd once been selfish and self-centered, that he'd looked down on her as a lowly human female, as nothing but trouble, yet couldn't help but be drawn to her, as unsuitable as he thought she was.
"So, I'm unsuitable, am I?" She frowned, or tried to, but he was kissing the sensitive skin beneath her ear and it was impossible to even fake being angry.
"So terribly unsuitable," he said. "Extremely unsuitable. Wrong in every way." He nipped her earlobe and tugged. "I think that's part of your allure. It's what caught me from the very beginning. Your unsuitability, your amazing spirit, your bravery and your beautiful tiger's eyes." He kissed her lids, she tilted her hips, he drove deep and hard, and suddenly her heart was thundering in her chest, her back arching as she lifted to him, reached for him with her body, with her heart, with her mind.
This time her orgasm started slow and deep, a hot coil of energy radiating from her womb to her toes, to her fingertips to the sensitive peaks of her breasts. Alton wrapped his arms around her waist, lifting Ginny, rearing back on his heels. Her legs tightened around him, her heels locked tightly at the small of his back, and she pressed her cheek against the hard wall of his chest.
Powerful heated spasms filled her. Muscles rippled and pulsed and her body enfolded his, holding him deep inside, contracting around his heat and length, forging a connection unlike anything Ginny had ever experienced in her life. Alton's strong arms held her close, their bodies shuddering as each of them drew deep, gasping breaths of air. Finally, Ginny's muscles all went limp as the last spasm slowly faded away, as the heat and rush of climax gave way to enervation.
Alton's chest shuddered beneath her cheek. Ginny raised her head and gazed drowsily into green eyes sparkling with laughter. "I think I want to sleep now. Why are you laughing at me?"
He chuckled softly and nuzzled the top of her head with his lips. "I'm laughing at both of us. At how stupid and stubborn we've both been, at how perfect we can be. I love you, Ginny Jones. No matter what happens over the coming days, don't ever doubt my love."
She planted a kiss just above his heart. "Never, Alton. I promise. Now put me down. I need sleep, preferably without nightmares."
Laughing softly, he slowly withdrew. Ginny stretched out on the bed, totally replete and unbelievably relaxed. Vaguely, she was aware of Alton bathing her with a warm washcloth, of his big body settling in beside hers.
Of his lips brushing her temple, her chin, the corner of her mouth, before he lay back. The night was dark and still and the man she loved slept beside her. Wrapped in his arms, Ginny slept without dreams.
Alton awoke in a cold sweat. He fought the instinctive urge to jump out of bed and search for whatever it was that had disturbed him. Instead, he lay perfectly still, listening to the silence of the predawn hours.
Ginny slept quietly beside him. Her nose was pressed against his shoulder and the tousled tangle of her hair tickled his chin. He opened his senses to the darkness. Something was off but he couldn't tell what.
HellFire? Would the sword answer him, sheathed and stored in the corner where he'd left it?
I am here, Alton.
Thank the gods! Is anything wrong? I have a sense of something not quite the way it should be.
After a brief pause, HellFire said, I sense evil. Something moves within this dwelling. Something that does not belong.
"Ginny?" Alton leaned over and brushed his lips across her brow. "Ginny, wake up. Something's wrong."
Her eyes flashed wide, barely visible in the darkness. "What's the matter?"
"I don't know, but HellFire agrees. Get something on, grab your sword. I don't want to open the door unless we're both armed."
She nodded and slid out of bed. He heard the rustle of her clothing as he was slipping into his jeans. A moment later, DarkFire burst to life in a brilliant flare of amethyst light. He slipped HellFire out of the scabbard and rested his fingers on the doorknob.
Ginny? Are you ready?
Ready.
She rested her fingers on his hip. Slowly, Alton opened the bedroom door. The stench of sulfur was thick in the main room separating the two bedrooms. Ginny held her sword high, but there was no visible sign of demons.
Alton flipped on a light and the room was bathed in a soft glow. Everything looked fine, though curtains flapped at an open window. The screen was still in place, but he remembered shutting the window against the evening's chill.
He glanced over his shoulder and nodded to Ginny. Quietly the two of them moved across the room to the door that led to Dax and Eddy's room. Alton listened at the door, glanced once more at Ginny, then turned the handle and shoved.
The door flew open and Alton raised his sword to illuminate the dark room. The stench of sulfur almost flattened him. In HellFire's blue glow he saw Eddy trapped against a corner wall, surrounded by a thick, black mist that seethed and boiled around her. Her eyes were wide, her mouth moving as if she screamed, but no sound escaped.
Dax still lay on the bed, struggling beneath more of the stinking mist that somehow held him prisoner. Only his right arm and one foot were visible beneath the mass of demons in the light from Alton's sword. Ginny slipped in beside Alton and flipped the light switch. The dark shadows seemed to draw back, as if afraid of the brightness, but they didn't leave.
Ginny held her sword high, and suddenly the mist took on shape and form. Hundreds of lesser demons grappled with Eddy. Their hideous faces leered and twisted arms and legs and prehensile tails held her arms at her sides, covered her mouth, and kept her captive. More of the disgusting beasts held Dax down, but the largest one, the demon king, straddled his chest. He covered Dax's face with his in a disgusting parody of a kiss.
Alton lunged at the creature with HellFire. He slashed through the wraithlike body with his sparkling crystal blade, but the demon rolled away unscathed. He didn't appear to be injured or damaged at all. The lesser demons stayed in position, still holding Dax to the bed.
Alton took a quick look over his shoulder to see where Ginny'd gone. She'd grabbed Eddy's sword, DemonSlayer, and held the leather scabbard in her left hand while she slashed at the demons holding onto Eddy with her right. DarkFire glowed. Screams rose as demons flared into brilliant flashes of flame and died, but their banshee wails seemed to embolden the demon king.
As Eddy reached out of the boiling, seething mass of demons, DemonSlayer leapt from the sheath and into her grasp. The demon king rushed for Alton with his four powerful arms spread wide. Alton feinted and dipped to his left, grabbed Dax's sword, and loosed DemonFire from the scabbard. He swung HellFire at the demon king and forced him back from the bed, away from Dax.
Alton swung again. Once more the creature twisted out of the way and evaded the blow, but Alton now had his back to the bed, between the demon king and the ex-demon who was Alton's friend.
"Dax? Can you hear me? Reach out with your right hand. I have your sword." Alton glanced down between blows, saw Dax's fingers twitch, and managed to slip the jeweled hilt into his hand. Dax took DemonFire from Alton, gave a mighty yell, and rose up from the bed. Demon mist scattered in all directions. Others clung to his body, writhing and twisting over his bare flesh, almost as if they tried to form a cage about his torso.
Dax lunged to his feet, still covered in demonkind. Shaking like a big dog, he quickly dislodged the filthy creatures. Alton swung HellFire through the wraiths as they slowly floated to the ground. Dozens burst into flames and sparks.
Dax swung his head around. "Where's Eddy?"
"She's fine. I've got her." Ginny's shout came from the far corner. "Don't let that bastard get away."
Alton glanced toward Ginny's voice and saw Eddy standing beside her, sword in hand. The women were fine. The air around them was filled with the sparks of dead and dying demons. Eddy and Ginny appeared to be working their way across the room, killing demons as they came.
The demon king was nothing more than black roiling mist beneath the bedroom lamp and the light of DemonFire and HellFire. Swinging and slashing through the mist, their swords seemed to disrupt the creature, but for some reason they couldn't kill him. He surged and then recoiled, like black smoke in a capricious wind, constantly evading a killing strike and then reforming once the blade had passed.
"How the nine hells do we kill this bastard?" Alton swung once more, but the darkness reformed behind the slashing blade.
"I don't know. He's getting stronger. He managed to siphon off more of my energy." Dax was breathing hard and his strikes were not as clean.
"And here I thought you two were just making out." Alton slanted him a quick grin. Dax rolled his eyes and jabbed DemonFire completely through the wraith.
A flash of amethyst light caught the edge of the mist and turned it into a twisted, scaled arm. Ginny moved even closer and held DarkFire overhead, illuminating the beast beneath her sword's violet glow. The entire demon king burst into view. It towered over them, all scales and talons and slavering fangs---hideous beyond belief, a vision of evil incarnate.
"Holy shit." Dax took a quick step back. "It's me! That's my old form. There were none like me. The bastard's definitely got my old body, my demon form."
Alton caught the look of horror on Eddy's face, the anger in Ginny's eyes, the confusion in Dax's expression. "It's not you now, Dax. Whatever you were before, you're not that thing anymore. But he's after you. You're his target."
They circled the hulking creature. It was larger now than it had been earlier in the day, when it had trapped Dax in the vortex. Now it pivoted on powerful multi-jointed legs with clawed feet and reached out with four powerful arms tipped with vicious claws. Always it watched Dax, reached for Dax. Saliva dripped from a mouth filled with razor-sharp teeth, and curved horns protruded from its forehead.
Its eyes glowed with an unholy light and a terrifying intelligence. It knew what it wanted. It wanted Dax.
"I want to know how it got here. We saw it go through the portal to Abyss, but that portal's been closed." Alton drove his sword into the creature's body. Black mist swirled around the blade, reforming after the crystal passed through. But the creature kept glancing at Ginny's glowing blade as if he feared it, pivoting and spinning away from the dark violet light.
Whenever it escaped the glow, the demon king became mist once more, yet it still remained untouched by their swords.
"There's got to be another portal." Ginny stepped closer and held DarkFire high. The demon king lunged in her direction. Without hesitation, Ginny lashed out.
The demon shrieked and recoiled. Sparks exploded where she'd hit him with the blade. "Interesting." She flashed a brilliant grin at Alton. "He doesn't like DarkFire." She lunged forward and slashed at his torso. The demon king twisted and evaded the blade. Again and again Ginny went for the kill, but each time she managed nothing more than a nick and a spark. The sharp stench of sulfur told them she'd wounded the beast, but not seriously enough to stop him.
Alton stood at Ginny's side with his sword at the ready, but there was nothing he could do, not if Ginny's DarkFire was the only blade that could kill the damned thing. Still, watching her fight was amazing. She danced around the demon and her crystal sword flashed almost faster than the eye could follow.
The demon king roared his anger, but he backed steadily away from Ginny's assault. His eyes flickered from Dax to Ginny, to the flash of her sword. She forced him into a corner. Alton caught her eye. What if we go at him together? Maybe the strength of two swords?
Ginny nodded. Ready?
"Ready!" Alton leapt toward the demon king as Ginny drove her sword deep. It screamed, a horrible banshee howl, and leapt into the air, away from the dark-light glow of Ginny's blade. Out of the violet light, it once again appeared as formless mist that suddenly swirled into a violently spinning tornado of black, sulfuric smoke. Spinning faster and faster until it was little more than a midnight blur of stinking mist, it flew through the open bedroom door and out toward the window in the main room.
With a loud whoosh the demon hit the screen and disappeared into the early morning darkness.
The room seemed unnaturally quiet after the creature escaped. Ginny leaned on her sword, blowing as if she'd run a mile. Alton checked to make sure she was okay before turning away to see if Dax and Eddy were all right.
Dax sat on the edge of the bed, breathing hard, with DemonFire grasped in both hands. Eddy stood next to him with her arm wrapped around his shoulders. There were fresh tear tracks on her cheeks. The room reeked of sulfur, but the demons were all gone, presumably destroyed by Ginny and Eddy's attack.
Alton knelt in front of Eddy and Dax. "What the nine hells happened in here? How'd they get in?"
Eddy shook her head. "Through the window, I guess. We were both exhausted. Dax was asleep before I even got out of the shower, but the fight earlier had already taken so much of his energy." She shuddered. "I didn't awaken until I was already covered in demonkind. When I tried to get to my sword, they trapped me against the wall." She shook her head, a short, sharp jerk of utter frustration, and wiped the tears from her face with the back of her shaking hand. "I couldn't break free."
Alton pondered that a moment. He hadn't thought demons in this dimension capable of such an attack, especially without avatars. Once again they'd proved him wrong. "How'd they manage to hold you? They're just mist, aren't they?"
"Yeah. Right. Toughest mist I ever saw." Eddy slowly sheathed her sword. "They look like smoke but there's substance there. They're not like they used to be. I remember passing my hand through them before and they felt like cold smoke."
She swept the tousled hair back from her forehead. "They still look like smoke in regular light. I couldn't see their demon shapes without Ginny's sword, but I could feel them. When they had me covered, I felt scales and claws. They couldn't bite or scratch me, but they were certainly capable of holding me down." She took a deep breath and shuddered. "The worst of it was the fact I was screaming and cursing for all I was worth, but there was no sound. None at all. I knew you guys couldn't hear me. God, that was so scary."
Dax slipped an arm around her waist and leaned his head against her belly. "I couldn't see you. I was buried in the damned things. Thank goodness you're okay." He planted a kiss on the bare strip of skin between her cami top and cotton pants.
Then he raised his head and focused on Alton. "We know that the demon king was once from Eden, that he was intelligent and evil. He seems to regain more of his cognitive abilities every time we see him. Now that I know for certain he's got my old demon body, I'm wondering if I'm the only one he can siphon energy from."
Ginny sat down on the edge of the bed beside Dax, but she looked up at Alton. With Dax weakened, he felt as if more of the weight of this battle had fallen on his shoulders. At one time, he might have taken pride in their trust. Now it terrified him. This fight was not going as well as he'd expected. Not at all.
Ginny's question confirmed it. "Are you sure it's just energy he wants? Could he be after something more?" She turned toward Dax. "Your life force, whatever it is that makes you immortal and gives you your powers. Could he be stealing that?"
She leaned close and kissed Dax on the cheek. "Nothing personal, Dax, but you look like shit. A lot worse than you did this afternoon at the vortex. I think he's taking some important stuff from you. We need to stop him before he gets any more."
Eddy nodded. "I agree." She laughed, but it came out sounding like more of a sob than anything else. "I want to get you home for some of Dad's cooking." She wrapped both arms around Dax's shoulders and rested her chin on top of his head. "Hell, I just want to get you home. I'll feel safer back in Evergreen."
Dax tilted his head and kissed her. "We have demons to fight, Eddy. Staying safe isn't how battles are won."
"I know, but going into battle when you're not fit isn't how to win, either." She raised her head and stared at Alton. Her dark-brown eyes were swimming in tears, but she didn't give in to the emotions that were obviously choking her. "We'll go with you like we planned this morning and find a portal back to Evergreen, either at Red Rock Crossing or Bell Rock. We just need a couple of days. I promise we'll come back by Sunday. I know Ginny's got to go back to work in a---"
"No." Ginny interrupted, shaking her head. "I'm going to call Shascom and tell them to find a replacement. I'm not going back. Not until we win." She wrapped her fingers around Alton's.
He almost wept with relief.
"What?" Eddy's mouth hung open. "You've been there forever. You love your job. You swore you weren't going to quit."
Ginny shrugged. "Sort of like you said you weren't going to quit the paper?" She laughed. "I think it's finally sunk in---this is a lot more important."
Eddy wrapped her arms around Ginny and hugged her tight. "I am so glad you've finally come to your senses!"
"Gee, thanks." Ginny hugged her back. "I love the way my best friend in the whole world backs up my decisions."
Laughing, Eddy patted her head. "That's what friends are for, right?"
"What? To drive me crazy?"
"Well, that among other things." Eddy's expression sobered. "I'm really glad, Ginny. It's the right decision. I know it's not an easy one, but it's the right one."
Ginny nodded. Then she grabbed Alton's hand and hung on like she'd never let go. "This all happened so quickly. It took awhile before I realized there's a lot more going on than just some big adventure. It's a war we can't afford to lose." She lifted DarkFire and stared at the glowing blade. "The Crone is the sentience in my sword. She lived so long, waiting to give DarkFire to me. Then she gave me immortality. I feel like an idiot now, but it took me awhile to realize the responsibility that came with her gifts."
Dax slipped an arm around her waist and gave her a quick squeeze. "We can't do this without you, Ginny. It appears only DarkFire has any effect on the demon king, and he's the one we need to defeat."
She nodded. "I know. Do you have any idea how scary that is?"
Alton pulled her into his arms and hugged her close. "Yes, Ginny. I know exactly how scary it is. I was terrified, watching you go after that bastard."
She kissed his chin, leaned back in his arms, and grinned at him. "I notice you didn't try to stop me, though. Thank you for standing beside me, for trusting me."
Alton laughed. "Trusting you? Nine hells! I was hoping you'd kill the damned thing for me. I'm beginning to think the warrior women of Lemuria were a lot tougher than the men. I wish I knew what happened to them, but that's probably why their history's been hidden. The fragile male ego couldn't handle it."
Both Eddy's and Ginny's swords flashed brilliantly and then the blades went dark. Alton stared at the fading glow on Ginny's sword and shook his head. "I'm not saying another word. Not a single word."
HellFire glowed within his grasp. "That's probably an excellent idea, Alton."
"What do ya know." Eddy flashed a huge grin at Alton. "No snark this time." Laughing, she and Ginny sheathed their crystal blades.
Alton pulled Ginny close after they crawled back into bed. It wasn't even four yet---too early to get up, too late for any really restful sleep. Unfortunately, he was way too wired to sleep at all. The images from the battle they'd just fought kept flitting through his mind like scenes from a movie---Dax covered by demons with the demon king sucking his energy or life force or whatever out of him, Eddy held against the wall by the mass of demons, and Ginny, his beautiful Ginny, spinning and twirling like a dancer, striking out against the demon king as if she enjoyed every minute of the fight.
Thank goodness she'd chosen to stay, not only because he couldn't bear to lose her, but because it was painfully obvious she was the best weapon they had to defeat the threat posed by the demon king.
A shiver ran along his spine. He hated to think of the danger this could expose her to. The thought of Ginny battling that monster...He wrapped his arms around her and held her even closer.
She nuzzled his chest and planted a kiss above his heart. "I thought you were asleep."
"You're kidding, right? I only came back to bed so Eddy and Dax would try and get some sleep."
Ginny sighed. "I know. I'm worried about Dax. Whatever that thing is doing to him, it's not good. He looks awful."
"Dax will be fine. Once he gets back to Evergreen and takes a day to catch up on food and sleep, he'll be himself again." At least Alton hoped that was true. The demons were growing stronger by the day, but there were only four warriors armed with crystal, and they were all tired and frustrated. And Dax! What had the Edenites been thinking, to send one man against demonkind? Poor Dax hadn't had a chance on his own. Alton wished there was some way to contact the Edenites, to find out if they had any ideas how to vanquish the demon king.
That strange creature was, after all, one of them, an inhabitant of Eden, so evil he'd been kicked out and exiled to the void. Too bad he hadn't stayed where he belonged.
Ginny's fingers swept along Alton's flank and settled on the curve of his butt. Arousal seared him with her touch and he felt himself stir in response. They'd made love for hours last night. He'd been worried about her, wondered if she might be too tender this morning to...Nine hells! What was she doing?
She'd scooted down his body while he'd been lying here worrying. Now her soft lips trailed across his belly and lower, to the sensitive crease between his thigh and groin. Her tight curls brushed the length of his cock as she nibbled and kissed her way around all his suddenly alert parts.
Warm, wet lips traced a path over his belly, down to the base of his erection. He fisted both hands in the soft blankets and groaned when she trailed kisses his full length, all the way to the weeping tip.
"Ginny? What the nine hells do you think---" He gasped as her lips encircled the crown and she drew him deep inside the sleek, wet heat of her mouth. Her tongue and lips and teeth held him in place, and all conscious thought disappeared like demon mist on the wind.
She knelt between his thighs and curled her slim body in a graceful arc to take him in her mouth. One hand cupped his sac while the other encircled the base of his shaft, holding him in place so he wouldn't choke her with an uncontrolled thrust of his hips.
As if he had any control left! Her mouth was so perfect, the sensation of full lips, stroking tongue, and sharp teeth taking him right to the edge where she held him on the precipice, teasing and tormenting him until he knew he couldn't take any more.
Carefully she rolled his balls within their sac with one hand. With the other, her long, strong fingers applied pressure around the base of his erection---just enough to keep him from coming, even if he'd wanted to.
He didn't. Not yet. Not until he'd found his place deep inside Ginny. She slipped him out of her mouth and blew a soft breath of air across his damp tip. He shuddered and arched his back, but met only the chill morning air. He heard the sound of tearing foil and almost lost it when her fingers wrapped around him once again and held him still.
Slowly Ginny rolled the condom over his sensitive length.
Then she was moving over him, straddling him, sinking down on his erection and taking him deep inside. Her sleek thighs locked against his hips and powerful vaginal muscles rippled over his full length, drawing him in, taking him home.
Ginny was his home, the one woman he would ever need, the only one he could ever love. Now, with her thoughts and heart open, he shared her deepest needs, her fears, her love.
Last night had been their debut, their first time together with the knowledge they loved each other. Today was a confirmation, the proof that what they'd felt before was real and true, that they could fight the evil facing them, so long as they faced it together.
Alton wrapped his arms around his lady love and rolled her over. She smiled up at him as he filled her. Her thoughts, so simple and yet profound, filled his mind.
I love you, she said. I will always love you.
As I love you, he replied. And then her body tightened in his arms and he set himself free to join her. Together they soared, and together they tumbled over the edge.
Ginny was the last one into the kitchen after finally crawling out of bed and taking a quick shower, but she'd slept so soundly after making love with Alton she hadn't even heard him get out of bed. As revved up as she'd felt after the fight with the demon king, she hadn't expected to sleep at all.
Dax looked up from his newspaper. "G' morning. Alton's out on the deck."
Ginny nodded and poured herself a cup of coffee. "Where's Eddy?"
"Talking to her dad. He's going to drive up the mountain and meet us near the portal." Dax shoved the paper across the table to Ginny. "People are beginning to notice things."
Ginny looked up from her cup. "What kinds of things?"
"Strange animal behavior, birds attacking pets and people. They've discounted rabies. Now they're talking about some new virus, or maybe toxic poisoning of some kind. So far no mention of demons. Are you sure you and Alton can handle stuff here if we leave?"
Ginny glanced at the paper. The articles were small, more like stories used as filler. At least they hadn't made the front page. "We'll be fine. You need to get stronger. You still don't look like yourself."
"He's not." Eddy stepped out of the bedroom, leaned over, and kissed Dax on top of the head. "I got into bed naked after the demon fight this morning, and all he did was hug me, roll over, and go to sleep. I'm definitely concerned."
Ginny snorted. "I imagine so. Did you call nine-one-one?" She slapped her hand to her forehead. "Crap. That reminds me. I need to call Shascom and tell them I'm not coming back to work."
Eddy pulled Ginny's cell phone off the charger and handed it to her. "Do it now. I have a feeling today's going to be really, really busy for you guys."
She took her phone out to the back deck. Alton was sitting on a long, low bench beneath the shade with HellFire on his lap. Ginny leaned close, kissed his cheek, and sat beside him.
"I need to call work and give notice, effective today." She punched in the numbers and made her call. It took no more than a couple of minutes to end a career she'd spent the past seven years building. When she completed the call, she stared at the phone in her hand.
"You okay?" Alton slipped an arm around her shoulders and tugged her close.
"I am." She leaned her head on Alton's shoulder and thought about how it felt to be unemployed after so many years on the job. It felt weird, to be honest. She'd once seen her job at Shascom as the door to her future. A good, solid job with a steady income and hours she could count on, maybe going back to school to study law enforcement if she could save enough money.
She wondered how fighting demons compared to life as a sheriff's deputy. "My supervisor said if I ever decide to come back, to let him know, that he didn't want to lose me. That was nice of him. I need to stop by next time I'm in town and fill out some papers and empty out my locker, but that's it."
Alton planted a kiss on her temple. "Thank you. I know it wasn't an easy decision, but we need you. I need you."
Ginny leaned back so she could look him square in the eyes. "I need you, too. You're right. It wasn't an easy decision. Thank you for understanding that." She stared off into the distance a moment and then she flashed him a wide smile. "It was my only choice. I love you." She grabbed his hand and stood up. "C'mon. We need breakfast, and then we need to get moving."
Ginny's cell phone rang as she was turning onto Highway 89. Alton took the call while she watched for the exit leading to the vortex at Red Rock Crossing near Cathedral Rock.
Alton's burst of laughter had everyone staring at him. By the time he ended the call he was wiping tears from his eyes.
Ginny turned left onto the narrow road that led to the vortex. "What's so funny?"
"That was Dawson Buck, the veterinarian we met the other day." He turned in the seat so Eddy and Dax could hear him. "I used a mild compulsion on him so I could explain the demon possession without raising too many questions, but he'd had a clinic filled with demon-possessed pets. Once the animals were caged, though, the demons fled. I asked him to let us know if he had more brought in."
"And?" Ginny slowed down as the road narrowed.
"And, he's figured out a way to catch demons, but now he doesn't know what to do with them."
"What? How?" Dax leaned forward.
"He says he's using his shop vacuum. When the demons slip out of a caged pet, he's somehow sucking them up into plastic bags and popping them into the freezer. He said they turn into little black ice cubes, but he's not sure if they're dead. He wants us to stop by later and take care of them."
Eddy giggled. "Demon cubes? Wonder how they'd taste in a margarita? Run them through the blender with a little tequila, add some triple sec and lime juice, salt around the rim of the glass..."
Ginny pulled up to the park entrance, paid the fee, and drove on in. She went as far as she could, parked the Yukon, and turned in her seat. "Don't demons have issues with salt?"
Shrugging, Eddy turned to Dax. "I don't know. Is salt a problem for you?"
"Only if there's not enough on my steak." Dax unfastened his seat belt. "What are we looking for at this vortex?"
"He can be such a poop." Still laughing, Eddy got out of the SUV and gazed at the surrounding country.
Alton and Ginny joined the two of them. Ginny glanced at a map she'd picked up in one of the local shops. "This way." She grabbed Alton's hand and tugged him down a trail that followed the creek.
"Actually," Dax said, "demons do have issues with salt. It's a pure substance, whereas demons are impure beings. If you're in fear of demons, make an unbroken circle of pure salt around the interior of a room or around your bed when you're sleeping. They can't cross it."
"Now he tells me." Eddy snorted. "Why didn't we do that last night?"
"Because demons aren't supposed to be able to do what they did last night. They shouldn't have that kind of strength in this dimension. Not without an avatar." Dax hugged Eddy close as they walked. "I'm sorry. I really am. We have to quit underestimating the bastards."
Ginny turned and walked backward a few steps. "Well, obviously demonkind has interacted with humans before, or we wouldn't have so much mythology about them. Someone, somewhere had to learn the stuff about salt keeping them away. Every religion has demons." She laughed. "Where would Hollywood be without demons?"
Dax nodded. "Occasionally a demon will manage the crossing from Abyss to Earth and maintain his demon form, but it's a rare occasion; it takes an unusually powerful demon with old skills, and they'll try to possess someone as quickly as possible before getting sucked back into the void. What's happening now is unprecedented, the way they're coming in such huge groups, the evolution of their abilities. The demon king, or whatever the hell he is." He shook his head. "I wish we had more information. It's like the rules keep changing but no one has thought to update the playbook."
"Just like a man," Eddy said, hugging his arm. "Human for just a few days and he's already making sports analogies. Don'tcha love it?"
"Playbook or not, they're definitely stronger at night. That's when we're seeing them without avatars." Alton glanced around. "I wonder where they go during daylight?"
Eddy gazed up at the clear sky. "They appear to be in the birds and other animals during the day. I wonder if they leave the avatars behind now, once it's dark? Could the ones that came after us last night have spent the day inside animal avatars?"
Ginny shuddered. "That makes way too much sense."
Alton stopped everyone with a wave of his hand. "Do you feel anything here?"
Ginny was the first to look at him with a big smile. "It feels good. Almost as if we should all be happy."
Eddy frowned. "You're right. How weird. Usually when we get close to a vortex, I begin to sense demonkind and I get really anxious."
Dax stepped closer to the creek. The cliffs rose high above them at this point, blocking the view of the beautiful monument known as Cathedral Rock. "The vortex is here. I sense it, but there's no scent of demons. Interesting. They've been at every single one we've found so far."
Alton hugged Ginny. "Ginny can answer your questions."
"Me? How so?" She frowned at him.
"Remember what you said about girl vortexes? That this one is known for its feminine energy? Only goodness exists here." He leaned close and kissed the frown off her face. "And we all know how sweet you women are. Filled with nothing but goodness and light."
Laughing, Ginny stepped close to the wall of the cliff. "Obviously he doesn't know me very well." She slanted a look at Eddy. "Or you, either. Goodness and light. Right." She ran her hand over the cliff, searching with all of her senses for the portal. She really wanted to find it on her own, if only to prove to Alton that she was learning to handle her new skills.
Her hand slipped through the stone. "It's here," she said. She reached for DarkFire and pulled the sword free of her scabbard. The others unsheathed their swords. Together, they stepped through the portal and into the heart of the vortex.
Alton wasn't certain what he expected, but the tiny cavern with only two small portals wasn't it. One led directly to Bell Rock, just a few miles away. The other appeared to link to Lemuria. There was no scent of demon, no sign of other gateways to other worlds. Just Lemuria and Bell Rock.
"I expected more," he said, holding HellFire high to search for other portals. "Cathedral Rock feels so powerful, but there's not much here at all. I wonder why?"
"I can answer your question."
"HellFire?" Alton turned the sword so that the crystal blade faced him. Not that HellFire actually had a face or even a mouth or brain or anything else remotely functional, but he always felt better conversing with the spirit that lived in the crystal if he was looking at the blade.
Go figure. "Explain, please. I'm curious."
"During the last eruption of Mount Shasta, when the people of Lemuria relocated to Sedona, this portal was put in place as a secret route back to Lemuria. It was used by members of the Council of Nine."
"But how could they go back? Wasn't Lemuria destroyed by the eruption?"
"No, Alton. That fear was propagated by your father and other members of the council. Lemuria is not in the same dimension as Mount Shasta. The volcano's eruption had no effect on your world, only on the exterior portals. There was no reason to leave your home."
Alton's legs felt like they might fold beneath him. He leaned against the cavern wall and stared at the glowing blade. Eddy, Ginny, and Dax waited silently while he tried to figure out exactly what HellFire was telling him. "Why?" he asked. "It doesn't make any sense. Why would my father want to uproot an entire people, move families and all that was familiar to them to this place in the desert?"
"Your father wasn't always the head of the Council of Nine. The move to Sedona was entirely political, all designed to strengthen his position as chancellor. It had worked for him before when Lemurians abandoned their sinking continent. He used that first move and the chaos that ensued to subjugate and then purge the women warriors from Lemurian society, as well as usurp the power of the man who was then the leader---his own father."
"I've never heard any of this. Couldn't anyone stop him?"
HellFire's glow pulsed and faded. "Your father rules by fear and lies. Lemurians love debate, but they are a trusting people. No one questioned him. He stepped into the role of leader by virtue of his forceful nature. The move unsettled the status quo and further strengthened his position. Now no one risks crossing him."
Alton straightened up. "Why haven't you said anything about this before?"
HellFire shimmered. "We may only give knowledge in its proper time. I am sorry. There are powerful limits on what we may share."
"Well, shit and nine hells." Alton glared at the blade. "If that's true, someone has to stop my father. He's the reason our people won't join the fight against demonkind, isn't he?"
HellFire pulsed a brilliant blue and fell silent. Alton stared at the gateway to Lemuria. Only a few steps and he could be home. He could find out for himself what lies his father was spreading.
Ginny wrapped her fingers around his forearm. "Not now, Alton. Wait until we speak with Taron. He'll meet us at the Bell Rock vortex in a few hours. Dax needs to go back to Evergreen, not to Lemuria."
He wrapped an arm around her waist and hugged her close. "You're right. That doesn't mean I don't intend to have a heart-to-heart discussion with my father. He has a lot to answer for."
Dax clapped a hand on Alton's shoulder. "I agree. It's beginning to sound as if he's using his position for the good of Artigos, not for the good of Lemuria."
"I think you're probably right." Alton took another look around the small cavern. He couldn't think about his father right now. Didn't want to even consider some of the terrible things he'd done, and for what? What was his motive? Why would one man force an entire civilization to pack up and move? Of course, Alton couldn't figure out how he'd convinced them to do it, either. None of this made sense and his mind seethed with questions, but Ginny was right. This was not the time. He stared at the two portals for a moment, then turned to Eddy and Dax. "Do you want to go straight through to Bell Rock from here?"
Dax glanced at Eddy. She shrugged. "We might as well," she said. "Dad will be on Mount Shasta to meet us in about an hour. It'll take us at least that long to walk down the mountain to the spot where he'll be." She turned and hugged Ginny. "You guys be careful, okay? And call me as soon as you talk to Taron. We're all going to be really anxious to hear what he's got to say."
Ginny grabbed Alton's hand. "Let's go with them. At least as far as Bell Rock."
Alton nodded. "Sounds good. Do you have everything you need?"
Eddy patted the bag hanging from her shoulder. "All in here." She grabbed Dax's hand and stepped through the portal. Ginny and Alton followed right behind them.
Within a few steps they'd popped out into the energy vortex in Bell Rock. The difference was noticeable the moment they left the purely feminine energy of the vortex at Red Rock Crossing. Here, where masculine and feminine energy was in balance, there was neither a sense of joy nor fear. Instead, Alton felt energized and ready for whatever he might need to face.
"The seal is still holding." He ran his fingers over the melted stone that marked the portal to Abyss. "I closed this the first day I arrived."
Dax sniffed the air. "There's no sulfur stench at all. They haven't made a new gateway."
Eddy gazed around the large cavern. "I don't see any others that might lead to Abyss. Ginny, you closed the one in Boynton Canyon, right?"
Ginny nodded. "I did."
"Okay, that's Bell Rock, Boynton Canyon, and the one at the airport. There wasn't a portal to Abyss at Red Rock Crossing, so unless there's a vortex we're missing, that should be all of them." Eddy looked from one to the other. "Agreed?"
"Which means the only demons we should need to worry about are the ones that are already here---and the demon king, who doesn't appear to need a portal, which is just plain scary." Dax took a deep breath. "So, how many is that?"
"A bunch," Alton said. "Hundreds, at the most, a dozen or so at the least, including the demon king. There was a huge flock of possessed birds that got away, though we did kill an awful lot of demons early this morning."
"Yeah, but the vet is still seeing possessed animals at the clinic," Ginny added.
Alton agreed. "We need to get over there. I can't wait to see how he's catching and freezing the bastards."
Eddy stood on her toes and kissed his cheek. "You do that. I'm taking Dax home. We'll be back in a couple of days. Sooner if he's feeling better or if you need us, but call as soon as you talk to Taron." She turned and gave Ginny a big hug. "And be careful. Don't take any chances."
Laughing, Ginny hugged her back. "You're kidding, right? You're leaving me here with this crazy Lemurian to hunt demons and telling me not to take chances? A little late for that, don't you think? Go. Now. Give your dad a big kiss for me. Dax? Get healthy and come back." She gave Eddy a slight shove toward the portal to Mount Shasta.
Dax grabbed Eddy's hand and they stepped through the gateway and disappeared. Ginny stared at the pulsing color that marked the portal and sighed. "She's the best girlfriend I've ever had." She leaned her head against Alton's shoulder. "But I realized today, you're my best friend. You know me even better than Eddy does."
Alton wrapped his arm around her waist. "Thank you." He kissed the top of her head. "I feel the same about you. It's a good feeling, but I understand your feelings for Eddy. Though Taron is my oldest male friend, I've grown closer to Dax because of what we've shared. I worry about him. He needs to regain his strength before he fights the demon king again."
Ginny tugged his arm and turned toward the portal that would take them back to Red Rock Crossing. "I know. I just hope the demon king hasn't followed him back to Evergreen."
Alton stared at the portal Eddy and Dax had just passed through. He took a deep breath and let it out in a long, slow sigh. Reassured there was no stench of demon about, he followed Ginny through the portal that would take them back to the Red Rock Crossing vortex at Cathedral Rock.
They checked the vortex at Cathedral Rock one more time. Nothing at all. No sign of any other gateways beyond the one to Bell Rock and the other to Lemuria. Ginny felt Alton's anger even without telepathy---thank goodness they wouldn't be seeing his father anytime soon. She didn't want to think about what that meeting would be like.
They left the vortex and walked the short distance back to the Yukon. It was cool and clear out today. The air smelled fresh and clean. No scent of sulfur, no hint of demons.
Ginny stopped beside the car door. "We've got time to go see the vet."
Alton nodded, but it was obvious his mind was on other things. He climbed into the passenger seat without a word. Ginny got in beside him and stuck the key in the ignition. Before starting the engine, she turned and stared at him until he raised his head and returned her steady gaze.
"Alton, you're not your father," she said, shaking her head for emphasis. "You have no control over the things the man has done, and no reason to feel guilty about his misdeeds."
He looked away, stared straight ahead, and sighed. "I can't believe he is so obsessed with power that he's willing to destroy an entire civilization. I don't understand it. He's got to be stopped, Ginny. Whether he's my father or not, the man has to be stopped."
She stared at him long enough that he finally tilted his head and looked at her once again. "I agree, Alton. And I imagine you're going to be the one to stop him. I just don't want you to feel guilty for doing what has to be done."
"Thank you." He reached across the console and wrapped his fingers around her arm. "If you're beside me, I believe I can do anything." His lips quirked up in a half smile. "Now let's go check out Dr. Dawson Buck and his demon cubes."
It was almost noon by the time they reached the clinic. Ginny parked in the back and she and Alton walked around to the front door. The CLOSED sign was up. "They must shut down for a lunch break." She knocked sharply on the door.
Dawson Buck opened it almost immediately. Ginny'd forgotten how attractive the man was in his own quirky way. He was tall and lean with unkempt, shaggy dark hair, neatly trimmed beard, and a definite twinkle in his dark blue eyes. The creases beside his mouth and the laugh lines around his eyes said a lot about his sense of humor.
"I'm glad you're here," he said, stepping back and inviting them in. "This is good timing. The staff's gone to a luncheon for one of my employees. A bridal shower." He laughed. "Thank goodness they don't expect me to show up." As he talked, he headed toward the kennel in the back of the clinic with Ginny and Alton right behind him.
There was a large chest freezer against one wall. "I have this for animals that need to be preserved for testing, or for the occasional client who wants their pet stuffed or freeze-dried."
"Freeze-dried?" Ginny shook her head. "Stuffing Fido is bad enough, but freeze-drying?"
Dr. Buck chuckled. "It sounds a bit macabre, but they actually look okay when they're done right." He raised the lid on the freezer and pulled out a cardboard box. "I've been keeping the little bastards in here."
He opened the box. Inside, baggies filled with little black chunks of ice were neatly stacked in rows.
"Wow." Alton shook his head. "That's fantastic. You must have fifty or sixty of them."
"You're good. Fifty-seven, actually. I got the last one yesterday. Haven't had any new patients brought in today, and neither have any of the other vets in town, or the animal shelters. Everyone's aware of the strange animal behavior and we're all sort of keeping up with each other, though I haven't mentioned demons." He laughed and shook his head. "Enough of my peers already think I'm nuts without that. I'm wondering, though, if we've got most of them."
"Wouldn't that be nice." Alton reached for one of the baggies and set it on the tile counter. "Let's see if this works." He carefully opened the sealed plastic bag and dumped the frozen demon in the sink. It clunked and rattled just like a regular ice cube.
Ginny drew her sword as Alton pulled HellFire out of the scabbard.
The vet stepped back out of the way. "Where the hell did those come from? I didn't even see them when you walked in."
Ginny flashed him a quick grin. "They're magic," she said. "You can only see them if they want to be seen." She almost giggled when Dawson Buck merely nodded, as if magic made perfect sense. Of course, in her new reality it did. She wondered if Alton's compulsion was still working on the man.
DarkFire flashed a brilliant violet light over the frozen demon. All its demonic features were exposed, twisted and frozen in a dark parody of evil.
The vet hissed a soft curse and stepped back. "Holy shit. If I'd known how nasty they looked, I might have thought twice about trying to catch them."
"They're definitely ugly." Ginny held DarkFire in place, almost mesmerized by the disgusting creature lying frozen against the white porcelain sink. "They only show their true colors in the glow from my sword."
"Let's hit this together and see what happens." Alton's words snapped her back to the present. He touched HellFire's sharp point to one side of the frozen demon. Ginny tapped the other side with DarkFire's tip. The demon sizzled and burst into a shower of blue and violet sparks and sulfur stench. The steam dissipated almost immediately. Only the foul odor remained.
"Now that we know that works..." Alton shoved the box toward the vet. "Doctor Buck, why don't you open the bags and dump them in the sink. We'll get rid of all of them before your staff returns."
"Call me Dawson, and there's no rush. Lunch is at a good Mexican restaurant that serves the best margaritas in town. I don't expect anyone to show up for a couple of hours. Besides, they'll all be next to worthless when they get back." He grinned. "I've left the afternoon schedule free."
Ginny glanced at Alton and they both cracked up. All Ginny could think of was the demon margarita Eddy'd been joking about earlier, as one after one they sent the frozen demons sizzling and sparking away to the void.
Ginny zapped the final demon with DarkFire and carefully slipped her sword back in the scabbard while Alton cleaned up the used baggies. They reeked of sulfur.
"Throw them in here. This is for toxic waste." Dawson opened the lid of a heavy-duty waste can and Alton threw all the used baggies inside.
"I want to see how you trapped them." Alton rinsed his hands off in the sink. "I'm really impressed. I never would have thought of using a vacuum."
Dawson dragged a big shop vac out from under the counter. "I just stick the possessed animal in one of the smaller pens. It only takes a minute or two before the demon realizes it's trapped, and it pops out of the critter. I imagine they're looking for an animal that's not caged, but the minute I see the black mist hovering in the air, I suck it up with the vacuum, grab a baggie, put it over the nozzle and reverse the airflow. That blows it into the baggie, I seal it shut and toss it in the freezer."
"Amazing." Alton slapped him on the shoulder. "Be sure and call us if you come across more. Ginny and I can come back and get rid of them."
"Sounds good." Dawson shoved the vacuum back under the counter and walked them to the door. "Can you tell me what's going on? Where they're coming from?"
Alton shot a quick glance at Ginny. Silently, she replied, He deserves to know, don't you think?
I agree.
Alton paused by the door and gazed out at the quiet street that ran in front of the clinic. His thoughts were wide open to Ginny, the fears he had that this could all end if the demon invasion were successful. He looked directly at Dawson when he explained what they were involved in.
"The balance between good and evil is tipping toward darkness as demons move into this world. Ginny and I are part of a very small group fighting demonkind. We've closed the local pathways into Earth's dimension, but the battle's far from over. We can't let any of them escape, and those we've not caught are growing stronger by the hour." He placed a hand on Dawson's shoulder. "Be careful. They've already possessed at least one man we're aware of. Be alert when you're around them."
"Why are you keeping it secret? Shouldn't the army be brought in?"
"We can't risk it," Ginny said. "They'd come in with guns blazing. Every death in the fight against demonkind, even of cats and birds and dogs, means another soul lost and more energy for the demons."
"Imagine the panic," Alton added. "People would see demons in everything. It would feed right into the demons' plans. They thrive on chaos."
Ginny laughed and bumped him with her hip. "Imagine explaining you." She smiled at Dawson. "Alton's not human. He's actually from another dimension. One of our guys is an ex-demon in a human body. I'm not fully human, and there's a dog hosting the spirit of a will-o'-the-wisp that can communicate telepathically."
Dawson's eyes got bigger with each little bit of information they shared. Finally he sat down on his desk and started to laugh. "I was going to say thank you for trusting me, but now I'm wondering if I really want to know all this. My staff already thinks I'm nuts. Harmless, but nuts."
Dawson held out his hand to Alton. "I've got a million questions that I hope you'll be able to answer for me someday. I promise to keep all this to myself." He laughed again as they shook hands. "Hell, if I tried to tell anyone what you've just told me, they'd have me committed. I wouldn't believe a word of what you've said if I hadn't seen those little bastards myself."
He stood and walked them to the back door of the clinic. "You've got my number. If there's anything at all I can do to help, call me. Anything. I mean it."
Dawson closed the door behind them and Alton and Ginny walked back to the Yukon and took their seats.
"I'm glad we told him," Ginny said. "I don't think he'll say anything."
"I agree. Sometimes you have to learn to trust people." He caught Ginny's eye and she smiled at him. They were both living proof that trust didn't always come easy.
"What next?" Ginny stuck the key in the ignition.
"I think we need to check with Markus."
"Markus? What for?" She backed out of the parking place and headed toward the neighborhood where her aunt and cousins lived.
"Because we're secret government agents and we need to keep him informed. Besides, there's a really good taco stand on the way to his house." He flashed her a bright smile. "Unfortunately, I don't think they serve margaritas."
"Gotcha." She pulled a pout. "I just hope I'll survive."
"I hope we both do," Alton added.
She turned her head and caught him looking at her. He wasn't smiling anymore.
While they ate lunch, Ginny called ahead to make sure Markus was home. He met them outside, sitting on the front porch steps with Tom in his lap. When Ginny parked the Yukon at the curb, Markus set the cat down and walked quickly out to meet them. He didn't even give them time to get out of the SUV.
Alton rolled the window down. "Hey, Markus. What's up?"
Markus looked over his shoulder. Then he quickly glanced at the house. "Probably not a good idea for you guys to come in."
"Why not?" Ginny leaned across Alton to talk to her cousin. "Is something wrong?"
Markus let loose a dramatic sigh. "Everything's wrong. Aunt Betty's convinced you brought the devil to Sedona. She's blaming you guys for all Tom's weird shit, and whenever one of the twins acts up, now she says they've got the devil in them." He made his voice all high and squeaky and said, "All this bad shit's because of your cousin Ginny and her weird friend."
"What?"
"Shush." Alton bit back a laugh, but Ginny's shriek made his ears ring. He held her hand and listened to her grumble before asking Markus, "Are the twins okay? They're not acting possessed, are they?" When Markus shook his head no, Alton asked, "Why would she blame us? I don't get it."
"There's all kinds of crazy shit going on. Pets attacking their owners, some guy in a bar going berserk and talking in a weird voice, a lady in town said she was attacked by rats that stalked her like they knew what they were doing. It all started the day Ginny arrived."
He shrugged and gave Ginny an apologetic smile. "Mom knows you were adopted and she never could figure out how your folks could take in a baby when they didn't know anything about her background. She always said they were asking for trouble taking in a stray kid, and now she says you're probably a demon child."
"Aunt Betty said that?" Ginny sat back in her seat. Alton turned around and caught the look of utter devastation on her face. His first reaction was to punch Markus in the nose, but he controlled himself and concentrated on Ginny.
"Your aunt doesn't know what she's talking about." Alton leaned close and kissed her. "She's an idiot."
"For what it's worth, I agree." Markus leaned on the open window. "I tried to tell her she was talking crazy, but she won't listen to anything. That's why I haven't called you. I didn't think it was a good idea for you to come here, at least until whatever's going on stops. In fact, I'm glad I caught you just now, before you actually knocked on the door and freaked Mom out entirely. We're all okay, Tom's just Tom, and the twins are their usual spoiled-rotten selves." He smiled apologetically at Ginny. "If they get extra rows of teeth or their eyes start to glow, I promise to call."
Alton glared at him. "You do that, Markus."
Markus slapped the roof of the Yukon and backed away. "Yeah. Ginny? I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that. Mom's, well...she's just Mom. I probably got my big mouth from her."
"Yeah." Ginny's audible sigh broke Alton's heart. "We'll see you around. Be careful. Call if something comes up."
"Will do." He stepped back up on the curb.
Ginny drove away from the house. She'd wiped all the expression from her face, but Alton could feel the sadness flowing off of her in heavy waves of pain. Her voice sounded totally flat when she asked him, "Where to now?"
He stared at her a moment, wondering how he could make things better. Nothing came to mind. "Let's make a quick drive through town," he said. "Then we can check the Boynton Canyon vortex again. Maybe go by the one at the airport. I want to make sure all the portals we've sealed are holding."
"Okay. The airport first. It's closest."
Her voice had totally lost its spark. Alton wanted to strangle Markus, but the kid hadn't realized what he was saying.
"That explains so much."
Alton leaned back in his seat and watched Ginny. "What explains what?"
"What Markus said. My mom and his mom were never very close even though they were sisters. I always thought it was their age difference, but it could have been over things Betty said to my mother about me."
Alton nodded. "Markus should have kept his big mouth shut."
Ginny laughed. "'Discretion' and 'Markus' are never used in the same sentence. He says what he thinks, generally before he actually thinks it. He's always been that way."
She clammed up, turned at the light, and drove down the highway that led to the airport. After a minute she patted his leg. "Alton, I have no doubt that my mother and father loved me. I was their only child. They chose to adopt me and they were such good parents. Even though they were older, they loved me and did the best they could for me. Look at it this way---Markus has had to live with my Aunt Betty all his life. I was the lucky one, don't you think?"
Alton leaned over and planted a quick kiss on her cheek. "No, sweet one. Your parents were the lucky ones."
"Thank you."
The rest of the trip to the airport was made in silence. Alton wondered about Ginny's thoughts, but he decided not to intrude. In some ways he couldn't help but feel jealous. Ginny had loved her parents and they'd loved her. She was proud of them and she missed them, but she'd always have such good memories.
He wished he could say the same. He loved his mother, but it was hard to respect a woman who'd stay with a man like his father. She'd chosen to remain his mate all these years, no matter how Artigos had treated her or their only son.
Had she known about the other stuff? What in the nine hells had his father done? What was the man thinking when he forced an entire civilization to give up a home it had finally grown comfortable in, after their traumatic move from the original continent of Lemuria?
And what was his plan now? With demonkind attacking and the future of all life balanced on a razor's edge, what could his father possibly have in mind, that he was willing to sacrifice so many worlds, so many lives?
Alton hated to think of Ginny hurting over her cousin's thoughtless words, but even more, he hated wondering what his father might be planning. What the man had in mind. A showdown was coming, and as much as Alton loathed the idea, he was afraid it was going to be more personal than he'd ever imagined.
He was going to have to face his father. Not as the man's son, but as the one who would somehow remove Artigos from his position as the head of the Council of Nine.
Artigos was powerful. He was canny---a smart man without morals or ethics to impede his actions. But why? What would make an intelligent man turn on his own people, his own family---his own son? He couldn't do more to help demonkind if he'd tried.
A chill raced along his spine. Could that be it? Was Artigos literally in league with the devil? Had his father somehow, during his long life, become the tool of demonkind?
It would explain so much. Alton had to find out. Then he had to face the man who had been his father.
They walked back to the Yukon after checking out the vortex near the airport. Ginny reached for Alton's hand and wrapped her fingers around his. He'd seemed distracted most of the morning. At first she'd thought it was because Dax and Eddy were gone, but now she was almost certain it was over the information they'd gotten from HellFire this morning.
It was bad enough that Alton's father had disowned him, but it might be so much worse. She'd been in Alton's thoughts, following his convoluted mental process as he'd worked his way through his father's transgressions. Could Alton be right? Was Artigos somehow in league with the creatures of darkness? She glanced at Alton and figured she'd be distracted, too, if she'd suspected such devastating information about one of her parents.
"Are you still up to checking out the vortex at Boynton Canyon?"
Alton nodded. "It shouldn't take us long. There was no sign of demonkind here, and I'm hoping that one will be just as clear. Then we need to rest a bit before we meet Taron. He's due around sunset."
Ginny unlocked the Yukon and opened the door. She glanced up at Alton, standing beside the SUV, staring off into the distance. When he didn't answer her, she said, "I think you need to learn to drive."
He turned and stared at her. "What?"
She smiled. At least this was taking his mind off his father. "You need to learn to drive the Yukon. If anything were to happen and I couldn't drive, I'd want to know you could get us away safely. There're plenty of roads out here without much traffic. Do you want to give it a try?"
He grinned and held out his hand. She dropped the keys into his palm and they traded sides of the car. She crawled into the passenger seat and made a big show of buckling herself in safely and pretending to put on a crash helmet.
Alton did the same. She watched while he inserted the key, checked to make sure the gears were in Park, and started the engine. Then he shifted to Reverse and slowly backed out of the parking space. With a flourish, he shifted to Drive and headed for the main road.
"You act like you've been driving for years. How?"
He flashed her a bright grin. "I've been paying attention. Taron always tells me I don't pay attention like I should, so I've made a point of watching you."
He braked at the stoplight and smiled at her again. "I've discovered it's very easy to pay attention when you're the subject I'm supposed to be watching."
She blinked, aware of a warm glow that seemed to heat her from the inside out. She was still thinking of his words when the light changed. Alton signaled and turned right, back onto the main road. He drove down the highway as if he'd been driving for years. Within minutes he'd turned again, onto the road that would take them back to the Boynton Canyon vortex, and then to their little casita at the resort.
After a few minutes, Ginny realized she'd totally relaxed. "You're really a good driver. You even remember to signal. I'm impressed."
He flashed her a bright grin. "Thank you. You should be." Then he turned his full attention back to the road, frowning with intense concentration as he drove along the two-lane highway.
He slowed as they passed by the green field where the fighting bulls were pastured. It was a large herd, but they grazed peacefully on the lush grass. Their horns shimmered in the bright sunlight. One huge bull raised his head and watched the Yukon as they slowly passed by. After a moment, he lowered his big head and returned to munching on the grass.
"I think we've just been dismissed by the lord of the pasture." Alton chuckled. "Those things fascinate me. They're huge and they look like nothing but muscle." He accelerated and they continued on past the herd. "With attitude," he added. "They've definitely got attitude."
Ginny laughed, and with her laughter tension flowed out of her. What a morning they'd had. She slanted Alton another quick glance and sighed. Talk about attitude! Alton had it in spades, but his was well deserved. He looked so good sitting beside her, all broad-shouldered and long-limbed and so damned male. How a guy who was as flat-out pretty as Alton, with all that gorgeous long, blond hair and perfect bone structure could epitomize everything masculine made absolutely no sense at all.
But somehow, Alton had it nailed.
Even now, wearing a black T-shirt that stretched over his muscular chest and tucked into his tight-fitting jeans, he only needed the horse to pass for a cowboy, or a motorcycle to look like he belonged on a Harley. He'd braided his hair this morning into a single long braid that hung down the middle of his back. With his baseball cap on, he looked like a regular guy---a regular drop-dead gorgeous guy.
His green eyes sparkled and with the hair pulled away from his face, his sharp cheekbones, the line of his jaw, and his long, straight nose looked like something a sculptor might create. She thought of him the way he'd been this morning, lying beneath her when she'd straddled him, made love to him. How he'd flipped her over so effortlessly and taken her even higher.
She sighed again.
Then she thought of the demon king and the danger facing them, and all the tension came flooding back.
"Don't."
She turned to him, blinking. "Don't what?"
Alton shook his head. "Don't worry. Enjoy a few minutes without worrying about what's coming next. You look so gorgeous sitting beside me with stars in your eyes. Much prettier than when you've got your eyebrows all tied in knots."
"Stars in my eyes? Me? Ha!" She sat back in her seat and folded her arms across her chest. "I never have stars in my eyes. That's for dreamers."
Alton merely grinned as he pulled off the highway and turned down the road leading to the Boynton Canyon vortex. He parked the Yukon in the lot, turned off the ignition, and stuck the keys in his pocket. Then he turned in his seat and rested his arm against the back. "You had stars in your eyes this morning when we were making love. I looked up as you straddled me, when you took me deep inside you, and I saw them. Brilliant stars in those tiger's eyes of yours. Don't ever lose them."
His soft words left her speechless. He leaned over and kissed her and her eyes filled with tears. Damn him. She kissed him back, but she'd never been so afraid in her life. She'd gone and fallen in love and they still had a war to fight. She'd never had so much to lose before, never wanted anyone as much as she wanted Alton.
Immortal they might be, but what kind of future awaited them? She kissed him again, almost desperately, but she knew he understood. His eyes hinted at the same desperation she felt as they slowly broke the kiss.
Together they got out of the SUV and hiked up the canyon to the vortex. One more to check. Then they had to hope they'd found all of them.
But how many demons were left? How many had already made it through from Abyss to Earth? There were other vortexes around the country. Did they contain portals between Earth and Abyss? As the two of them hiked the trail to the energy vortex, Ginny kept glancing at the sky. The last time they were here, they'd been attacked by possessed birds, but no birds circled them now.
Who knew what the afternoon would bring.
Hopefully it would bring Taron with some good news for a change. But what about Alton's father? There were just too many things that could go wrong, too many variables out of their control.
Alton reached for her hand and wrapped her fingers in his. "C'mon. Let's check this place out so we can get back to the casita."
She was going to ask him what for, but then she glanced up and caught the glint in his sparkling green eyes and knew exactly what was on Alton's mind. Warmth flowed through her at the promise she saw. She didn't hesitate when he tugged her toward the portal.
This time, the air inside the cavern was free of demon stench, musty and dry as caverns should be. There was no lingering scent of sulfur and the melted stone where the portal had once led to Abyss hadn't been tampered with.
Alton ran his fingers over the glassy rock. "No sign of demons here. Unless there are other vortexes we're not aware of, I think we've got them stopped, at least for now."
"So it's a matter of finding the ones that are already here?" Ginny ran her fingers over the melted portal. "Where do demons go in the daytime? I wonder how many are left?"
"I wish I knew. The demon king knows where we are, though. I have a feeling he's going to come to us. I imagine he'll bring his army with him."
Ginny folded the last of the laundry she'd done while they waited to meet Taron. She poured a couple of glasses of iced tea and took one to Alton.
"Thank you." He took a long swallow and then set it aside to go back to his project.
"What are you doing?" Ginny curled her legs and sat on the floor beside him.
Both HellFire and DarkFire lay side by side on the couch. Alton sat on the floor and leaned against the couch with Ginny's scabbard in his lap. "Oiling the leather. It keeps it supple, so it won't crack."
"Where do you get leather in Lemuria if you don't have animals? In fact, where do you get your food without farms to raise stuff?"
"Everything we need is brought in from other dimensions. Lemurian tradesmen handle the commerce."
"But what do you trade? What kind of product can you offer?" Ginny ran her hand over the supple leather and wondered what kind of animal it had once covered.
Alton laughed. "Remember those diamonds? We have an endless supply of precious gems and metals. We spend them carefully so the markets aren't flooded in any one world, but that's the basis of our economy. They're so prevalent in our world that they're worthless to us, but valuable in every other dimension."
"But who does all the work? I was there such a brief time, but all I saw were security guards in blue robes and the rest of the people wearing white and sort of hanging around. Who cleans and cooks and teaches school?" She laughed and leaned her head against his shoulder. "I guess I want to know where the people like me are."
Alton leaned close and kissed her. "Ginny---there's no one like you anywhere. You're unique."
"That's no answer. I have this image of dark little drones working in the bowels of the earth. Do you have a working class?"
Alton shrugged. "Yes and no. Our technology is so advanced that there's very little we have to do to make things work. We learn by absorbing information while we sleep and then we test our knowledge in discourse and debate. We pick up our meals at food centers, and those who are interested in the economy and other worlds take positions where they deal with those things."
"What about you, Alton?" She cupped the side of his face in her palm. "What have you prepared for?"
He turned away and shook his head. "I've been groomed to take my father's place, but when one is the son of an immortal ruler, there's not much hope for job advancement."
"How'd your father get his title?"
Alton raised his head and frowned. "I don't know. He's been the head of the Council of Nine as long as I can remember, and his father before him. I honestly have no idea what became of my grandfather or how my father took over the position."
Ginny nodded. Then she gazed directly into those beautiful emerald-green eyes of his and made a suggestion she hoped she wouldn't regret.
"Maybe you need to find out."
Alton drove out to Bell Rock just before sunset. Ginny'd just handed over the keys as if she expected him to take the wheel, and he sure wasn't going to disagree. Lemuria was such a small world and there were so few citizens that there was no need for mechanized travel.
That was definitely a huge mark against his home. Driving was wonderful. No wonder Ginny had hesitated over letting him handle the Yukon.
The parking lot was empty. Dark clouds billowed high in the western sky and hid the last rays of the setting sun. A cold wind raised dust devils across the asphalt lot. Ginny zipped her hoodie sweatshirt and tucked her hands in the pockets. Alton zipped up his windbreaker and wrapped an arm around Ginny's shoulders.
The weather here could change from hot to cold in a heartbeat. With the sun already gone behind the red rocks, it was definitely chilly ahead of what appeared to be an incoming storm.
"Do you think Taron will be there?" Ginny slipped out of Alton's embrace and headed up the trail.
"If he's not already there, I expect him within the hour. Our time seems to coincide with Lemuria's, though sunset in a world without sunlight is a fairly abstract concept."
Ginny flashed him a big grin. "So how do you tell time?"
He stopped and frowned at her. "We have clocks." Then he laughed. "Sorry. I didn't mean to sound insulted. Our light works on a twenty-four-hour clock, just as it does in Earth's dimension. It's a carryover from when we were part of this world. We have our sunlight during day and darkness at night. The artificial light illuminating our world covers the full spectrum of the sun so that we get the necessary nutrients our bodies need. It's all very scientific."
Ginny waved her hand across the wide horizon. "What about storms and clouds? Do you have rainbows and seasons? How can you stand it, not having the surprises that nature gives us on a daily basis?"
"We don't have earthquakes or tornadoes. Our people don't live in fear of hurricanes or typhoons, of freezing to death or dying from the heat. I think it works both ways."
Ginny stopped and turned around. She stood above him on a smooth red slab of sandstone with the towering form of Bell Rock behind her, and when she planted her hands on her hips she practically screamed her exasperation. "But when are you tested, Alton? How do you know if you can meet a challenge if you're never faced with one? When life is perfect, there's no need to be brave, no reason to stand up for anything. What keeps you sharp and alert? I think I'd go nuts."
He reached out and grabbed her hand, brought it to his lips, and kissed her fingers. "You're right. And I was going nuts, which is why I chose to leave it all and join Dax and Eddy in their fight against demons. Our perfect world isn't enough. It's not healthy for people to live without challenges. We need to be tested if we're to survive. The demon threat is testing us now. I hope I can take that message back to my people. I'm going to have to if Taron doesn't bring us good news. Somehow we need to convince them that they're going to have to fight if they want to continue. We can only hope they pass the test."
Ginny nodded. She wrapped her fingers around his and tugged him up on the rock with her. They hiked the rest of the trail in silence.
Alton spotted the portal first and pressed his hand against the smooth rock. When it passed through, he tightened his grip on Ginny and the two of them walked through the portal into the vortex. Taron waited just inside.
"Taron. It's good to see you, my friend."
Taron reached for Alton and the two of them embraced. He nodded in greeting to Ginny, but his expression was somber.
Too somber for good news. Alton sighed. "I guess there's no need for me to ask if you've been successful."
Taron shook his head. "There's no arguing with fools, but even more discouraging is the news I'm hearing from Roland and other members of the Guard."
"They have their swords. What does the council want to---"
"The members of the Council of Nine, led by your father, wanted to take the crystal swords away from Roland and his men."
Ginny's eyes flashed. "They can't do that!"
Taron chuckled. "They figured that one out very quickly, when the soldiers refused to give up their swords and the entire guard backed the men. The people are standing behind the soldiers, and the men of Lemuria are digging their own crystal swords out of storage and carrying them proudly."
Alton clapped Taron on the back. "This is a good thing. Maybe the members of the council will get their heads out of their butts and---"
Taron interrupted. "Don't count on it. Alton, there is more going on here than merely your father's stubbornness. Rumors are flying ever since the Crone made her appearance. Rumors of the women warriors who fought during the DemonWars, and what happened to those women."
Alton glanced at Ginny, and then again at his friend. "What are you hearing?"
"That they were purged from Lemurian society. Enslaved and sent to work below in the mines. Rumor has it their daughters toil there still, guilty of nothing more than their birthright, as the children of good and loyal warriors."
It felt as if a shaft of ice had replaced his spine. Alton couldn't even look at Ginny when he asked the question he knew must be burning in her mind as well. "Who was responsible for that purge? For such horrible treatment of brave citizens."
Taron's sigh and the shift of his always steady gaze to a point beyond Alton's shoulder was all the answer he needed. "My father?"
Taron nodded. "It appears so."
Ginny interrupted. "Does the Lemurian Guard know of these women warriors?"
"It seems they do, now." Taron shrugged. "Roland said he's heard rumors for years, but had no way of following up on anything without going through proper channels. His paperwork never went anywhere. He finally made a search for himself, breaching the lower levels in order to see where the prisoners were kept, how they fared."
Alton folded his arms across his chest, as much to still the sudden trembling in his limbs as to give himself a moment to calm his racing heart. "And what did he find?"
"Women. Young women working the mines as slaves. Their mothers, those brave women warriors, are all gone, but their daughters live on."
"Alton?" Ginny's fingers tightened around his forearm. "We have to do something. We can't leave them like that."
He nodded, covering her fingers with his. "The Lemurian Guard is sworn to protect the citizens of Lemuria, and that includes the Council of Nine. The only way we can successfully bring about change in a peaceful manner is with a coup at the top."
Taron coughed and cleared his throat. "That's not going to be easy with your father in command."
Alton nodded. "I agree. Easy or not, my father has to be stopped and a vote taken to choose a new council---one that includes women. Taron? This fight I'm in now consumes me. What does the council say about joining our war against demonkind?"
Taron shook his head. "They want no part of it. They've lifted the charges against you and Ginny, much to your father's dismay, but as far as helping with this fight? Their decision is to bury their heads beneath their blankets and hope the demon threat goes away."
"That's probably because all their warriors are working as slaves." Ginny glared at Alton. "You want soldiers? I imagine the women you're talking about are the ones you need, which means you're going to have to deal with your father first." She folded her arms across her chest. "I didn't like him from the moment I saw him."
Alton wrapped his arm around Ginny's waist and laughed. Taron looked at him as if he was absolutely nuts. Maybe he was, but only a nut would consider organizing a rebellion of women slaves on one world in order to fight demonkind on another.
And wasn't that exactly what he was planning? "Well, Taron if you have a plan, I need to hear it now. We have work to do." He glanced at Ginny and caught her smiling, but she was still in his mind and knew exactly what he was thinking. "That includes you, Ginny. Where do we start?"
She'd never been more proud of anyone than she was of Alton at this moment. He didn't hesitate, even when faced with overthrowing his own father. Even though none of them had any idea where to begin.
Ginny reached over her shoulder and withdrew DarkFire. Alton's eyes lit up and he reached for HellFire. They lay their crystal swords side by side on the rock outcropping. "DarkFire, are you aware of the women who toil in Lemuria's caverns, the daughters of your fellow warriors?"
DarkFire pulsed a deep violet. "It is the shame of our people, that our women warriors were treated as criminals. Their daughters are the innocent victims of one man's hubris."
Ginny glanced at Taron first and then Alton. There was no doubt what man DarkFire spoke of.
Alton didn't flinch. He touched HellFire's blade. "What happened to the crystal swords the women once carried? Do they still exist?"
HellFire glowed with a soft blue light. "They were confiscated and destroyed by members of the Lemurian Guard loyal to the new council. Their sentient spirits were cast out."
Taron stared at HellFire's blade. "Do those spirits still exist? Could they inhabit other swords?"
HellFire pulsed blue. DarkFire's violet glow flickered and sparked, and it was DarkFire who answered Taron's question. "We believe they could. There are one hundred daughters laboring in the caverns. One hundred daughters of brave women warriors. The spirits who once inhabited the mother's swords would welcome the daughters."
Alton sat back on the outcropping beside the swords. He glanced from Taron to Ginny. "Where in nine hells are we going to get a hundred crystal swords?"
HellFire shimmered blue. "DarkFire and I are needed to battle demons on Earth. Taron, take your sword into the deepest caverns, those forged of crystal far beneath the mines where the women labor. Carry food and water for one week. Remain beside your weapon. Be prepared to do as it asks."
DarkFire glowed violet and her voice sent shivers along Ginny's spine. "Taron, your blade awaits you now. At the end of one week, you will carry the newly replicated crystal swords to the women. The blades will know their mates. When all are armed with crystal, your course of action will be clear."
Alton rested his hand on Taron's shoulder. "Can you do that? Spend a week in the crystal caverns by yourself?"
Taron smiled at Alton. "I've heard of them, but I've never been that deep before. If I can find them, I'll do whatever it takes. HellFire said to be prepared to do what my sword asks. That means it's going to speak to me." He shook his head slowly, adding softly, "Finally, after all these years."
Ginny shook her head, but she couldn't quit grinning. "If we know we have an army of a hundred brave warriors coming to join us, I imagine we can hang on for another week. Eddy and Dax will be back in a day or two."
She stood up and sheathed DarkFire.
Alton slipped HellFire back into the scabbard. Then he reached for Taron and the two men clasped hands. "This wasn't the meeting I expected. It was so much more. I'm not sure how I'm going to get my father out of his council seat, but trust me when I say that I'll do everything I can."
"What of the Lemurian Guard?" Taron glanced from Alton to Ginny. "They've sworn a loyalty oath."
"Exactly," Ginny said. "An oath to Lemuria. I have no doubt they'll realize, just as Roland and his men did, that Lemuria and the council are two separate things. I think the current council is headed for a change."
Alton looked toward Taron. "We've learned that when Lemuria was relocated to Sedona during the last explosion of Mount Shasta, it was a totally unnecessary move. The members of the council were continuing to travel by a secret portal back and forth between Sedona and Lemuria. We have no idea why, but now that we know there were women laboring below all that time, women who remained behind unharmed by the eruption, it's hard to trust any of our council members for anything."
Taron shook his head in disgust. "They have a lot to answer for. Why would your father turn against his own people?"
"I have my suspicions," Alton said. "When I know more, I'll share everything with you."
A scrape of feet on rock had everyone spinning toward the Lemurian portal. Roland of Kronus, the sergeant of the Lemurian Guard, stepped into the cavern. He saluted Taron and bowed his head to the others. "You must return now, before the watch changes. It's easier to move you through when I'm sure of the men under my command."
"Thank you, Roland."
"Thank you, Taron. And good luck." Ginny held Alton's hand while the two Lemurians slipped through the portal. Then she glanced at the tall Lemurian standing by her side. "Wow," she said. "Definitely not the meeting I expected."
Alton slipped his arm around her waist. "Ginny, I had no idea. None at all, but the story of the enslaved women explains so much. Why we have no history of women warriors. Why there's no obvious reason for our women to be so terribly subjugated in what should be a free society." He bowed his head. "DarkFire blames it on one man's hubris. She had to have been speaking of my father."
"Probably." She sighed. "I don't know. We have as many questions as answers, at this point." Ginny tugged him toward the portal leading out of the vortex. "Like what happened to your grandfather, and why your father would want to be rid of the women who were such brave warriors. And why he orchestrated the move to Sedona. That's one I don't get."
"I know." Alton paused at the gateway and took a deep breath. Then he let it out and sighed. "Ginny, there's another question you asked me this morning, one that I wasn't able to answer."
Ginny glanced up at Alton, expecting a smile.
He was frowning. "What's that?" she asked.
"Where demons go during daylight." He shook his head. "I'm not certain, but I think I have an idea."
Ginny was frowning as well when she followed him out of the vortex, into the Arizona night.
Alton used the light from HellFire to guide them down the trail skirting the flank of Bell Rock. Within fifteen minutes they'd made it back to the Yukon. Ginny held on to his hand the entire way, but neither of them spoke during their brief hike.
Alton opened the passenger door and Ginny climbed in without question. As he pulled out of the parking lot, Alton glanced her way. She stared straight ahead, frowning. Softly he asked her, "What are you thinking?"
She shook her head. "I don't know what to think. I've been so focused on the demon threat that it's hard to switch gears and realize we have an issue that's almost as big and every bit as important, waiting for us in Lemuria."
He couldn't help smiling. "We? It sounds as if you're taking on the women's fight as your own."
"Well, of course I am." She tilted her head and stared at him. Her eyes glinted in the darkness, reflecting the lights from the Yukon's dash. "I'm Lemurian, I carry crystal, and I'm a woman. Why wouldn't I feel it's my fight?"
Her words, spoken with such frank conviction, settled warmly against his heart. "Thank you, Ginny." He glanced at the dark road ahead, then looked her way once more. "I mean that. Thank you very much."
"I don't get it." She leaned back against the seat with her arms folded across her chest. "Why are you thanking me? What for?" She was still frowning and she was absolutely beautiful.
Alton turned his attention to the road when he spoke. "For embracing your Lemurian heritage, even though it appears it's not one you have any reason to be all that proud of. For seeing the women warriors' fight as your own." He glanced her way again. "For being exactly who you are. I love you. Never more than at this very moment." He turned his eyes back to the road. "I'm very proud of you. Proud to know you stand beside me."
"Always, Alton." Her soft laughter sent shivers along his spine. "It may have taken me awhile to figure it out, but there are no doubts in my mind. Not anymore."
Ginny unlocked the door to the casita and walked in ahead of Alton. She went straight to the refrigerator and grabbed two cold beers, popped the tops on both, and flopped down in a chair at the kitchen table. Her mind wouldn't stop spinning---where should they begin? How in the hell were they going to get rid of the demon king and manage a coup in Lemuria on their own?
Who in the hell was she trying to fool? Ginny grabbed her cell phone and handed it and one of the beers to Alton as he walked into the kitchen. "Call Dax. Tell him what's going on."
Alton took the beer and the phone. "Good idea." He took a big swallow of beer, hit the speed dial for Dax, turned on the speakerphone, and set the phone on the table between them.
Eddy answered. "What's up?"
Alton sighed. "More than you want to know." Then he explained all that they'd learned from Taron. "So...any suggestions?"
"Wow. That's some story. And you're right. There could be a connection between what's happened in Lemuria and the demon threat on Earth. Dax actually has an interesting theory."
Dax's deep voice rumbled out of the speaker. "Hello, Alton. Eddy and I have talked about your father, how he came to power around the time the demon wars ended. Isn't that when he took over?"
"Yeah. It was during that period when the wars were ending and we were evacuating to Mount Shasta. Why?"
"Why did you have to leave Lemuria?"
Alton flashed a quick "save me now" glance at Ginny. She had a feeling he was tired of explaining his father to everyone, especially himself.
"Your story," she said, shaking her head. "You tell it."
He sighed and began, but she realized how painful it must be for him. He was, after all, condemning his own father with each retelling.
"There was a series of devastating earthquakes," he said. "Our scientists concluded the continent was sinking into the sea. The war was just ending, our civilization was foundering and everything was chaos. The move was made very quickly."
"Could Abyss have been behind the earthquakes? Was there any hint these were not natural phenomena?" Dax's question hung in the air between Ginny and Alton.
"Not that I know of," Alton said. "But I was just a kid. I wasn't aware of a lot of what was going on."
"Wait a minute." Dax's and Eddy's voices filtered through the phone, but they were obviously speaking to each other. Ginny thought she heard Eddy's father make a comment. Then Eddy came on the line.
"Alton, this might sound way out there, but what if Abyss was behind the destruction of Lemuria? What if somehow the demons were able to infiltrate the council, maybe even affect your father's decisions. Dax says there are all kinds of demons. If it's a lesser demon, it might not exert full control, but it could influence the way decisions are made. It sounds as if there were a lot of drastic changes in Lemurian society, especially in respect to the treatment of the women warriors and the status of women. They were all made relatively quickly. This doesn't sound like a natural progression."
Alton took another swallow of his beer. "My mother said my father changed very quickly, from someone idealistic and loving to the man he is today."
Ginny frowned, remembering Gaia's comments. "Actually, she said he lost his soul. I remember thinking that was a strange way to describe her husband, but a wife would recognize a change like that before anyone else. She wouldn't have had a reason to associate it with demon possession, but if that's the case, how do we tell? Wouldn't our swords have sensed the presence of demonkind in Artigos?"
"Not necessarily." Dax sounded thoughtful, as if he pondered all the different aspects of demonkind. "Over time, if a demon remains within a corporeal host, it melds almost entirely with what is essentially its permanent avatar. The relationship becomes symbiotic---one can no longer exist without the other."
"Which means that if we try and remove the demon, the host dies?" Alton's question hung in the space between Evergreen and Sedona.
There was a jumble of conversation from the Evergreen group. Then Eddy answered. "Possibly true. If your father has been possessed long enough, it might require his death to destroy the demon."
Dax interrupted. "But if you kill a man to free the demon inside, you've just given the demon a powerful life force to take with him when he possesses another. You could create an even stronger and unknown enemy by destroying the one you know. I would encourage attempting to remove it, or at the very least, imprisoning your father so he can do no more harm."
"I will not kill my father." Alton's comment left no room for argument. "I'll help remove him from his position of authority, but I won't kill him."
"That's good." Dax left little doubt either. "We'll think of something, Alton. For now, concentrate on finding the demon king. Eddy and I will be back tomorrow around noon."
Tomorrow? Ginny shot a quick look at Alton. "Dax, are you sure you'll be okay by then?"
Eddy answered for him. "He'll be fine. Dad's been stuffing food down him since we got here and he's beginning to fidget. Plus, he can't keep his hands off me. I think he's healed. We'll see you around lunchtime." She laughed.
Ginny heard Dax grunt. I think she punched him, she said to Alton.
He probably deserved it. Alton laughed. "We'll see you tomorrow. Call when you want us to meet you at Bell Rock."
Ginny ended the call and plugged the cell phone into the charger. "What now?"
"We walk down to the restaurant and get something to eat and then we get some rest. We'll make sure the windows are tightly closed so we don't have any visitors. From the lack of demon activity today, I'm wondering if the demon king is on his own, or close to it."
"What about all the birds? There were hundreds of them circling you the other day."
"We've destroyed hundreds of demons since then. At least two or three hundred last night when they attacked us here in the casita. We would have seen some hint of demon activity today if there'd been any still around. Remember, the portals are all sealed, so there aren't any new ones coming in. I'm beginning to think there aren't many demons left in Sedona at this point."
"I prefer not to take chances." Ginny stood up. "Unless he got sucked back into the void, which I doubt, we know the demon king is still hanging around. Look, I'm hungry, I'm tired, and I'm in desperate need of a bath. I want a shower and some clean clothes before we go down for dinner." She kissed him briefly as she walked past him toward the bathroom. "And I want your promise we're going to discuss anything but demons during dinner. Got it?"
He tried to catch her for another kiss, but she evaded his quick grab. Then she paused in the doorway, raised her eyebrows, and waited. He sighed dramatically. "Got it," he said.
With a quick bump of her hips, Ginny left him sitting in the kitchen, nursing the end of his beer and wondering about the fate of Lemuria and Earth and everything in between.
Hand in hand, Alton and Ginny walked back to their casita after dinner. The restaurant had been less than half full this evening and their meal and service were both excellent. Ginny'd dressed in a flowing red skirt and a white camisole top with tiny little buttons down the front. She had her wild hair braided and tamed and tucked up on top of her head, and she'd finished off her outfit with some really high-heeled red sandals that made her long legs look even longer. Her full lips were painted the same deep red as her skirt.
He hadn't been able to take his eyes off her all evening. They'd had a quiet dinner and talked about everything but what lay ahead of them. Alton decided it was a pretty nice way to spend the evening---dinner with a beautiful woman who would most likely be sharing his bed in a very short time, and a conversation that did not include any life-or-death issues.
Now, though, with the dark desert night all around, he faced the fact they needed a course of action, sooner rather than later.
In one week, the daughters of the women warriors would rise up and expect to reclaim their place in Lemurian society. He tried to imagine how the people as a whole would react. Somehow he needed to prepare the citizens of Lemuria for the changes destined to come. You couldn't just bring an entire army of angry young women armed with crystal into an established society ruled by men and turn them loose.
They had been treated terribly, as had their mothers. It was too late for the women warriors of old, but their daughters deserved their freedom---and so much more. Yet the introduction of all those young women was bound to cause a huge shift in their fragile civilization.
The balance of men to women, for one thing. So many men who'd not thought of marriage because there were so few women among them would suddenly be faced with an entirely new group of females, but these females were not going to be the typical subservient women Lemurian men had grown to expect.
No, they were going to be strong and tough and a lot more like Ginny.
"Nine hells." Alton stopped dead in his tracks, looked at Ginny, and burst out laughing. When she returned his look with one brow raised, he laughed even harder.
"What?" she asked. At least her lips were twitching.
He took a deep breath and got control of himself before he started giggling like a schoolgirl. "It just came to me that when the women rise up, armed and angry and ready to claim their place in Lemurian society, it's going to be like turning an entire army of Ginnys loose on my unsuspecting world."
Ginny glared at him. "You say that like it's a bad thing. Explain yourself, bud!"
There was definitely a twinkle in her eye.
"Let's just say it's going to come as a shock to the average Lemurian male."
Ginny wrapped her arms around his waist and smiled up at him. "Are you still in shock?"
"I am," he said. "And loving every minute of it. However, I am not your typical Lemurian male."
"I know," she said, standing on her toes to plant a kiss on his lips. "You're so much more." She nuzzled her cheek against his chest. "So how do we break it to those average Lemurian males that women have rights, too?" Backing away, she gazed at him with a more serious expression. "Actually, I hadn't thought about what a huge shift in behavior this is going to require. American men have been faced with liberated women for over fifty years and they're still not all that cool with it."
"No one wants to change the power structure when they're on the top. It's going to take planning and a lot of diplomacy."
They walked on to the casita. The evening clouds had blown through and the air was comfortable. Alton sat on the top step and pulled Ginny down beside him.
"So, what's your plan?" she asked.
"We'll wait until Dax and Eddy are back. In the meantime, we'll watch out for demons and make sure things are okay here. I think it's dangerous to divide our attention right now. First we need to concentrate on defeating the demon king. I think our fight with him will come sooner rather than later." He stood up and tugged her hand. "Let's go in. I'm beat."
She blinked slowly and pulled her perfect lips down in a pout. "Oh. I was hoping you weren't too tired."
Alton tightened his grasp on her hand and pulled her slowly to her feet. "I'm never too tired for that," he said. He tugged and she came into his arms, curled her long, lean body against his, and kissed him.
He leaned over, grabbed both their swords and scabbards, and followed Ginny inside.
Ginny checked the windows while Alton made certain the front door was securely locked. He left HellFire by the front door and Ginny set DarkFire by the back door. The sentience within the swords never slept, and they'd decided to try using them as an early alarm system.
Ginny swept her fingers over the softly oiled scabbard and thought of all the changes her life had gone through in just a few short days.
Of all of them, the most important was Alton. She glanced up and saw him standing in the doorway, watching her with a funny little half smile on his full lips. "What?"
"You're beautiful." He shook his head. "Every time I look at you, I see something else about you to love. You look absolutely gorgeous in red, did you know that? Your skin glows and your eyes sparkle." He stepped closer, so close she had to raise her chin to see his face.
He was so much bigger than her, so much more powerful, and yet she'd never known a more gentle man. He reached out and ran the backs of his fingers over her cheek, down the side of her neck, and across her exposed collarbone.
When he reached her throat, his long fingers cupped her jaw and tilted her face perfectly so he could lean close and kiss her. His lips were soft and slick, and his tongue slipped between hers and brushed the sharp edges of her teeth, delved deeper, and stroked the sensitive roof of her mouth.
She moaned, and it was a sound of need and desire, of joy and even fear. There was so much ahead of them, so many things that could go wrong and sunder this perfect beginning to love.
A sense of desperation lanced along Ginny's spine. She threw her arms around Alton's neck and hugged him tight. He kissed her deeper, slipped his arm beneath her legs, and lifted her high against his chest. He kissed her again. Then he carried her down the hall to their room.
When he carefully laid her on the bed she looked up at him through eyes blurred with tears. Her emotions were churning tonight, but she and Alton hovered on the peak of great events---events that would affect them both for all time to come. Maybe tears were apropos, but she forced her fears away until they waited in the shadows, out of sight of the here and now.
Alton kicked off his boots and slipped off his shirt. He unbuttoned his jeans and slid them down his long legs. Then he stepped out of his pants and stood before her like a fair-skinned god. His hair hung loose in shimmering waves of pale gold and the muscles over his chest rippled with each breath.
She was still fully dressed, but it was so good, lying here and looking her fill at him. He was perfect, so tall and lean, with those long, strong muscles and the dusting of fine, golden hair across his chest and the tops of his thighs. The thicker growth over his groin was only a shade darker, a perfect setting for the absolutely beautiful erection thrusting high and hard against his belly.
He bent his knee and rested it on the bed beside her, reached for her skirt, and slowly tugged it down over her legs. Then he unbuttoned the tiny row of pearls holding the camisole top closed across her breasts. When the seam parted and bared her breasts, a hiss escaped from his parted lips.
She'd not worn a bra tonight. His emerald eyes sparkled at the discovery as he spread the top apart and then carefully slipped it over her arms.
She wore nothing now but the tiny scrap of red panties. Not quite a thong, but not much more, they skimmed low on her belly and barely covered her pubes. Alton crawled over her legs and nuzzled her belly with his lips, nipped at the elastic on her panties, and tugged at them with his teeth. She lifted her hips and it seemed to be all the invitation he needed to pull them down over her legs and toss them aside.
Then he sat back on his heels and stared at her.
Again she gave him some attitude, rose up on her elbows, and said, "What? Just what are you staring at?" She had to bite the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing.
He cleared his throat, yet his voice still sounded gruff, almost as if he'd been overcome with emotion. "I'm staring at the most beautiful woman I've ever seen in my life." He leaned close and kissed her mouth, then her throat, and finally her nipples---first one and then the other. He tightened his lips around the one over her heart and sucked hard, pressing the tip against the roof of his mouth with the flat of his tongue.
She felt the draw all the way to her toes. He sucked harder, licking and suckling until she was writhing on the bed, her body growing wet and ready from nothing more than the pull of his mouth against her breast. He switched to the other one, sucking and tugging until she wanted to scream.
Then he turned her loose, dipped his head lower, and put his mouth between her legs.
Ginny screamed. He laved her with long, slow strokes of his tongue, dipping between her soft folds with the very tip, stroking, nibbling, and licking as if he couldn't get enough of her taste. Her body shuddered and jerked beneath his sensual assault. He slipped his warm hands beneath her buttocks and lifted her high. Her thighs rested on his forearms as he sat back on his heels and pleasured her, licking and nipping, using his tongue and teeth to take her higher, and higher yet again until she hovered there, crying out on the sharp edge of desire.
He raised his head and looked at her---she felt the heat of his gaze like a physical touch and opened her eyes. He hovered over her, his blond hair tangled over his shoulders, twisted around her legs and across her belly. His eyes smoldered with green fire and his lips and chin were shiny from her fluids. He licked his lips slowly, as if savoring her taste, held her gaze, and dipped his mouth closer to her. Then he sucked her clit between his lips and tightened down on that most sensitive bundle of nerves.
Fire sparked from his mouth to her spine and her heart stuttered in her chest. She arched her back, pressing herself against his mouth, sobbing with the power of the climax that continued to grow and expand with each thundering beat of her heart.
He lay her back down on the bed, sheathed himself to protect her, and slowly pressed the thick length of his erection between her legs. She was so sensitive she cried out, but she lifted for him, pressed her heels to the bed, and thrust against him as he slowly entered her.
Ginny wrapped her arms and legs around his long, lean body. She drew in his scent, the softness of his hair as it flowed over her shoulders and arms, the firm strength of his muscles rippling with each thrust of his hips. Physically it was all perfect, emotionally it was so right it scared her.
She'd never allowed herself to love like this; never had she been so vulnerable before. Loving Alton opened her to pain unlike anything she'd ever experienced. Their future was so terribly uncertain, she couldn't allow herself to dwell on what might be.
She had to live for now, for the wonder of these few moments when everything was perfect---when the world wasn't at risk, when their lives weren't in danger. This moment when their plans weren't hovering in the wings, waiting to ruin the perfection of this place in time.
She heard his heart pounding in his chest and knew it matched the rhythm of hers. She opened her heart and her mind and found herself there within the deepest part of his soul. She felt the coil of desire rising once again within her body and recognized its kindred spirit in Alton's.
This time when she hurtled from the top, she didn't fly alone. He was there with her, his heart and mind linked irrevocably to hers. And when it was over, when they lay on the bed, wrapped in each other's arms, their chests heaving with each labored breath and hearts still pounding in a wild rhythm, Ginny realized she didn't cry alone.
The tears in Alton's eyes blended with hers. The sense that every moment stolen could be their last, tempered by the knowledge that no matter what was to come, they had now, tonight, together.
Sunlight slanted across the bed. Alton blinked, and then blinked again when a dog barked nearby. Slowly he sat up in bed. Ginny slept soundly beside him, but the sun was high in the sky and if the clock was right, it was almost noon. He shook his head and looked again.
Definitely almost noon. He leaned over and kissed Ginny's shoulder. She twitched, as if she was trying to dislodge a fly. He kissed her again and she opened one bleary eye. "It's almost noon, my love. We need to get moving."
She popped up and shook her head. "Noon? When are we supposed to meet Dax and Eddy?"
There was a loud knock on the bedroom door and it swung open. Without waiting, Dax stuck his head in. Ginny shrieked and pulled the sheet up over her bare breasts. Alton made sure he was properly covered just before Eddy popped into the room. "You were supposed to meet Dax and Eddy around noon," she said, laughing. "It's noon and we're here."
There was a mad scramble behind them and BumperWillow came flying into the bedroom and jumped up on the bed. Ginny shrieked again and pulled a pillow over her face. The dog wriggled and barked and licked Alton and her tail was going a million miles a minute.
Ginny poked her nose out from under the pillow. "I thought you set DarkFire and HellFire up as sentries. How'd these guys get in?" BumperWillow turned and gave Ginny's face a big lick. Ginny screamed and ducked back under the pillow and the dog went back to work on Alton.
Laughing, he finally grabbed her by the shoulders and held her back from his face. "I'm glad to see you, too, beast, but settle down!"
BumperWillow barked again. I missed you, Alton. I missed you a lot. We both did.
Alton hugged the dog. "I missed you, too, Willow. And Bumper. So how'd you guys get here? And how'd you get past our sentries?"
Dax laughed. "You mean your swords? We're the good guys, remember? HellFire and DarkFire both wished us a good morning when we arrived."
"Great." Alton rolled his eyes at Ginny.
She giggled. "Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time."
Eddy sat on the foot of the bed and pulled Dax down beside her. Dax said, "We came back earlier than planned and popped out in the middle of your New Age meditation group, or one just like it. Anyway, they were just finishing up and gave us a lift here in a really cool bus."
Alton laughed. "I think I know the one you mean."
Eddy could hardly talk through her giggles. "We're talking psychedelic mid-sixties art and clothing---and people---but they were really nice and didn't seem the least bit surprised when we stepped right out of the rock. We're invited to a craft and music fair they're putting on this afternoon. It's just down the road, across from that ranch where the Spanish fighting bulls are pastured."
"Okay." Alton glanced at Ginny. "Those bulls remind me. I have a theory about the demons..."
Ginny frowned. "We haven't seen any since Dax and Eddy left. I know that doesn't mean they're all gone, but..."
Eddy and Dax immediately sobered. Dax wrapped his arm around Eddy's waist. "You probably haven't seen them because I think I'm their target at this point. The demon king has done all he can with the demons he brought with him. We talked it over with Ed last night and he agrees. The demon king needs me now, if he's going to get any stronger. Since it's my old demon body he's using, we think he's able to capture my energy and siphon it from this form into the one it's familiar with. At this point, we need to be alert, but we agreed---there's no need to hunt the demon king. Not when he's going to be hunting me."
"There's only one problem." Alton caught everyone's attention. "I think the demons are hiding out in the fighting bulls during the day. At least, I think that's where the demon king goes. If we go to that craft fair, we're going to be heading straight for the demon. He won't need to hunt very far."
Eddy fixed bacon and eggs in the small kitchen while Ginny and Alton showered. When Alton finally got to the kitchen, Dax handed him a cup of coffee and they wandered out to the back deck with BumperWillow right behind. Alton sipped his coffee and stared out over the desert. It was another warm, sunny day. Yesterday's threatening storm had never materialized. Today's blue sky created a perfect backdrop for the red rock formations.
"It looks so beautiful, doesn't it? Peaceful and absolutely perfect." He turned to Dax and grinned. "Have you thought of how we're going to stop this bastard?"
Dax shook his head. "It's going to take all of us. Ginny's DarkFire appears to be the most powerful weapon we've got, but it's stronger in tandem with another sword. It's almost as if her blade can focus the energy from ours. Eddy and I brought Willow along because she can sense demons before the rest of us. Maybe if we get a jump on this guy..." He shrugged.
Alton glanced at Dax and then returned his gaze to the desert. "I'm convinced he's spending his days inside the lead bull in that pasture just down the road. I'm not sure about the other bulls, but the big one there seems much too aware of us every time we drive by. Plus, it's like I'm drawn to him for some reason. HellFire can't tell for sure if he's there, but I have a feeling the demons are getting better at masking their presence."
Dax nodded. "If we go to that fair, it'll give us a chance to check and see if you're right. Let's assume you are. I'll feel better if we're all together, but we need to be prepared."
Eddy stuck her head out the door. "Come and eat. Breakfast is ready."
Alton followed Dax back into the kitchen. He felt a strange prickling along his spine, as if his senses had suddenly gone on alert. He glanced at BumperWillow. The dog didn't seem to notice a thing, so he relaxed and joined the others in the kitchen.
Still, he'd been feeling more suspicious of that bull since the first time he saw it. If the demon king was using it as an avatar during the day, could it somehow give him the strength to roam in his demon form at night? Maybe the fact it had taken on Dax's old body gave it an added boost of energy. It wasn't a true avatar because it was a wraith like the other demons, but it also had physical properties the others lacked.
It was so hard to know, especially since the rules of engagement seemed to change by the day. Alton glanced up as Ginny entered the kitchen. She grabbed a cup of coffee and took the seat beside him. When he took her hand in his, he felt her tension all the way through his body.
Something was going to happen today. He wasn't sure what and didn't know how he knew what he knew, but the sense of dread that cloaked him suddenly had all of Alton's senses on alert.
Last night when they'd made love, he'd realized how very much he now had to lose. Of course, that was also more incentive to fight harder and smarter.
Come hell or demons, he was not going to lose Ginny.
Dax and Alton cleared the dishes away and Eddy wiped the table down. Ginny brought fresh coffee for all of them and took her seat beside Alton. "Do you realize this is the first time we're actually going on the offense?" Her gaze slipped from Eddy to Dax to Alton. "We've fought a defensive fight every time with the demons, at least since I've been involved. What do we need to do to be ready?"
Alton took her hand. "We have to find the bastards first. I'm guessing they're in the bulls. I could be wrong."
"Let's assume you're right," Eddy said. "We can't just go on someone's property and attack the livestock. How do we draw the demons to us?"
"If we go to the craft fair, it might bring the demon king out of hiding," Dax said.
"But then you're putting innocent people at risk." Alton shook his head. "We can't endanger innocent lives."
"Let's go to the fair, walk across the road to check out the fancy cattle, and see if we feel the demons' presence." Ginny squeezed Alton's hand. "Then if there's no sense of them, we can go to the fair and enjoy ourselves, and figure the demon king will find us here tonight."
"And if they're in the cattle?" Alton raised an eyebrow.
Ginny grinned. "We go to plan B."
"Which is?" He grinned back.
"You hit the entire fair with a compulsion while we kill off the demon king and end the threat to all humanity. Seems like a simple enough plan to me."
"Oh, yeah," Alton muttered. "Real simple."
Dax pushed his chair away from the table. "Unfortunately, Ginny's idea is about the best we've got. I say we go and see what happens."
It seemed as if Ginny and Eddy had spent hours in the bedroom getting themselves ready for the fair. Alton sat next to Dax on the back deck and stared at the door to the casita, willing the women to finish up whatever they were doing so they could get this over with.
He'd never been to a craft fair, had no idea what one was, and was certain he wasn't going to enjoy it, but if it was being held near the bulls and if his theory about the demons using the bulls to hide during daylight was right, he wanted to go now, before it got dark.
"What do women do that takes them so long?" Dax glanced at Alton and shook his head. "They're both beautiful. What are they doing in there?"
Alton rolled his eyes and sighed. "I have no idea, but trust me. It'll be worth it. Ginny informed me that even though our main goal is hunting demons, this is still the first real date for either of them with either of us. They want to make it special."
"Hunting demons is a date?" Dax shook his head. "I don't get it. Even BumperWillow's been in there forever."
"Relax, Dax. They're all women. They seem to work on a different timetable than we do."
The door slowly opened. BumperWillow walked out and posed. She had red bows in her curly blond topknot and another one tied to her tail. Alton slapped Dax on the back and laughed. "See? What'd I tell you? She's gorgeous, don't you think?"
Ginny stepped through the door next. She wore the same outfit she'd had on the night before, but now her hair lay close to her scalp, braided in tiny dark rows and caught at the nape of her neck with red ribbon and white beads. With her dark eyes accented with a touch of makeup, she looked both exotic and mysterious.
Alton didn't even realize he'd stood up until he had her hand in his and had pulled her close for a kiss. "Breathtaking," he said. And she was. Absolutely stunning.
Dax's sharp indrawn breath had both Alton and Ginny turning to look at Eddy. Almost always dressed in jeans and a T-shirt, she was hardly recognizable in a flowing, gauzy dress that clung to her slim frame. Barely touching the tops of her knees, it shimmered in shades of dark blue, purple, and black. She wore strappy sandals that added to her height and made her long legs look even longer.
Ginny giggled. "My shopping trip in Phoenix paid off."
Eddy blushed and did a slow pirouette. "It's not really me, but..."
"You look amazing." Dax walked toward her, moving almost like a man in a trance. "Absolutely amazing." He glanced at Ginny. "What have you done to her? I can't take her out in public like this."
Eddy frowned. "Why not?"
Dax took her hands in his and slowly shook his head. "Because every man there will want you for himself."
Eddy self-consciously tugged one hand loose and touched her short, tousled hair. That was the only thing about her that really seemed familiar. Then, before the moment could grow uncomfortable, Ginny leaned past Alton and high-fived Eddy. "Looks like we did okay, eh, girls?" BumperWillow barked and the spell was broken.
Alton checked out their long legs and the sandals both women wore. "Can you fight in those shoes?"
Ginny scowled. "Better than you can in those pointy-toed boots, buster."
Eddy crossed her arms over her chest and leveled a long glare at both men. Alton held his hands up in defeat. They grabbed their swords, added a fresh compulsion to hide them, and climbed into the Yukon. Alton took the wheel and dangled the keys in front of Dax. "If you're good to me, I'll give you lessons one of these days."
Dax reached for the keys but Alton snatched them out of the way. Laughing, teasing, almost as if they were a pair of normal couples going off on a regular date with the dog sitting in the back, Alton headed for the craft fair.
A steady stream of cars pulled into a long driveway just across the road from the pasture where the bulls quietly grazed. Alton stared at the big animals as he pulled the Yukon into line. They looked just like what they were: big animals grazing in the sunshine. Nothing about them appeared at all threatening.
He turned his attention back to the fair. Multicolored flags flew along the drive. Dozens of people dressed in colorful costumes wandered about, selling everything from hand-carved toys to mysterious-looking foods that smelled absolutely mouthwatering.
Alton parked the Yukon in a big field that had been marked in neat rows, and they all got out. Ginny had tied a long red ribbon to BumperWillow's collar so that there wouldn't be any complaints about a dog roaming free.
"First let's check the bulls." Alton tugged Ginny's hand. Dax and Eddy followed and they walked across the two-lane highway, just another group of tourists curious about the huge bulls grazing so peacefully in the pasture.
BumperWillow stuck her nose under the fence and sniffed. The big bull stared at them, slowly chewing his cud. Some of the animals slept in the shade of a cottonwood tree, while the rest munched on the lush, green grass.
Alton shook his head. "No sense of demonkind at all. I was so sure they'd be here." He glanced at the dog. "Willow? Do you or Bumper sense anything at all?"
The dog barked. One of the bulls ambled close and sniffed noses with her beneath the bottom rail of the fence. Ginny reached over the top and touched the rough, black coat. A fly buzzed and landed on the bull. Muscles twitched and the fly took off. Nothing, Alton. No lingering sulfur, no sense of demon.
"HellFire? What about you?"
"Cattle. Nothing more, nothing less."
Shrugging off his disappointment, Alton tightened his grasp on Ginny's hand and turned away. "That's it, I guess. We might as well check out the fair." He'd been so sure.
They crossed the road and wandered through the tents and booths set up over an area that was even larger than the central plaza in Lemuria, which Ginny had already told Alton equaled the size of a football field.
He was still trying to figure out how football was played, though the sheer brute force of the game was enough to keep him interested.
Wonderful smells rose from a number of the booths and there was even a large, open pit with what looked like an entire pig spinning slowly on a spit over a fire. The event had the feel of a historical reenactment, with old-fashioned crafts and various art forms on display. Lots of the visitors and all of the participants wore brightly colored costumes.
None, however, were even remotely as beautiful as either Ginny or Eddy. Alton caught Dax's eye and the two men grinned at each other. Dax's thoughts slipped into Alton's mind.
You were right. It was worth the wait. I'm glad there were no demons here to spoil our date.
Alton couldn't recall when he'd had a more relaxing time with Ginny. Since he'd known her, there'd been one crisis after another. They'd either been in fear for their lives or trying to escape from or kill demons, and while the risk still existed, for this moment in time it was good to merely enjoy the company of the woman he loved.
Alton sniffed the air. There was no scent of sulfur, no sense of demonkind. Even Dax appeared to have relaxed enough to actually enjoy himself with Eddy. The two of them held hands and wandered from booth to booth with the silly-looking curly blond dog trotting along beside them. If there'd been any risk of demons at all, BumperWillow would be the first to notice, but she held her head high with her tail curled over her back.
All was well. He glanced at Ginny and she smiled at him. Better than well. Damn. She was so perfect it almost hurt to look at her. He swore to himself she'd always have a closet filled with red dresses and skirts and anything else that women liked---as long as everything was red.
Ginny in red stirred his senses. She took his breath with her beauty and dazzled him with her smile. He had to look away before he lost his composure altogether. He'd never, not in his wildest dreams, imagined feeling this way about a woman. Never dreamed he'd fall in love---or have that love returned.
Ginny squeezed his fingers and tugged him toward the next booth. Like a well-trained puppy, he followed. Dax and Eddy were just across the aisle from them. Eddy held up a beautiful scarf and draped it across her face so that she looked like a mysterious Eastern princess.
Dax tugged it down and kissed her. Ginny watched the two of them and laughed.
BumperWillow's hackles went up. Her lips curled back in a snarl. Demon. I sense demonkind. I don't know where they are, but they're coming closer.
Dax grabbed Eddy's hand and tugged her through the moving bodies. They worked their way across the flow, toward Alton and Ginny.
Alton turned to Ginny. "Did you hear BumperWillow?"
"I did." She set down the wood carving she'd been admiring and stood on her toes, searching over the crowd. Just then Eddy and Dax broke through and joined them.
"Any idea where?"
Alton shook his head. "No, but I'm still betting on those bulls. Let's move back the way we came in, toward the front of the fair."
They threaded their way through the crowds of fairgoers, moving against the flow of bodies. Music was playing behind them at the far end of the fair, drawing the crowd toward a stage at the back side of the gathering. BumperWillow yipped when someone stepped on her toes. Dax leaned over and picked her up in his powerful arms, holding the fifty-pound dog as if she weighed nothing at all. Now they could move more quickly and BumperWillow had a better view above the crowd.
Someone screamed. The crowd surged against them. A shout echoed over the group. Another scream. "C'mon!" Alton grabbed Ginny's hand and broke into a run. People moved aside as he raced against the surging throng, toward the growing commotion.
Dax and Eddy followed right behind.
"The bulls are out." Eddy's breathless comment was punctuated by Dax's curse.
The stench of sulfur surrounded the herd of black bulls that milled about at the front of the craft fair, not far from the parking area. The biggest bull raised his head, sniffed the air and turned. He focused on Dax and bellowed out a challenge.
People screamed and ran from the area. A couple of men tried to herd the big animals back across the road, but they refused to move. Someone yelled to anyone listening to call animal control.
"No one's controlling those suckers," Dax said. He set BumperWillow on the ground and untied the red ribbon attached to her collar. "Stay close, my friend. Be careful."
Alton stared at the small herd. The sense of demonkind was strong now, almost suffocating. Where had the bastards been earlier? Had they somehow managed to mask their presence?
Obviously, because they were here now. Here and seething with power. This was not how he'd wanted to make their stand against the demon king, not how any of them had planned to fight. They were surrounded by innocent bystanders, people without a clue as to the threat that faced them.
At least the sun was still fairly high in the sky. The demons weren't at their peak strength.
BumperWillow braced her feet and stared at the bulls. First one and then another of the big animals turned to face the small group. There were at least twenty of the beasts, all of them heavily muscled with long, sharp horns. Their black coats shimmered in the sunlight. The largest animal pawed the earth and threw huge clods of dirt over his shoulders, but it was one of the smaller bulls that lowered its head and made the first rush.
Dax drew DemonFire as the bull picked up speed and raced toward him. Lightly he spun out of the way of the thundering beast, tapping the animal's shoulder with the tip of his sword as the bull charged by. Blue fire surged from the crystal blade. The animal stopped, shook his head, and stared at Dax. Two dark shapes floated free of its back. Eddy slashed through one with DemonSlayer while Alton caught the other. The demons burst into sparks and disappeared.
The bull lowered his head. Confused now, he pawed the ground, shook his head, and then trotted back toward his pasture on the other side of the road. The few bulls that had stayed behind bellowed a welcome.
Ginny glanced at Alton. "Do you always have to be right?" At least she was grinning. She nodded toward the small group of bulls still watching them so intently. "Keep an eye on that big guy. I think he's the demon king."
Another bull rushed, and then another and another, three huge bulls with their heads down, charging across the open space directly toward them. The ground rumbled beneath their feet. Alton heard Ginny curse her platform sandals, but she still managed to swing her sword, slap bulls with the glowing blade, and spin out of the way with grace and good effect as demon mist poured forth. It terrified him to watch her---terrified him and turned him on.
Damn but she was amazing---and one hell of a fighter. Within a few minutes, they'd destroyed almost a dozen demons sheltering within the four bulls.
This wasn't possession as they'd seen in the past. No glowing eyes, no demon teeth. It was almost as if the demons were merely using the bulls as places to hang out during the daylight hours. Hiding within their powerful bodies, somehow controlling them yet not taking full possession.
But why?
Alton spun to the side as more bulls charged. BumperWillow helped to keep them contained within a small area, nipping at heels and throwing her curly body beneath powerful hooves. Crystal blades flashed, and the stench of demonkind lay over the small area of ground that was now churned and carved as if it had been plowed.
A crowd had begun to gather as fairgoers filtered back toward the battle. Breathing hard, Ginny slanted a look at Alton. "They think we're part of the program."
"Beautiful girls and lots of action. Why shouldn't they?" He flashed her a wink but kept his attention on the biggest bull. There were only three others besides the big one left now. He had to presume they were possessed.
Or were they?
Alton glanced toward Dax. "Have you noticed? Their eyes aren't glowing. They haven't got demon teeth. Those demons that attacked us were in mist form. Could they merely be using the bulls as places to hide in daylight? Are they somehow drawing strength from the animals without actually possessing them? Maybe they don't need an avatar after dark anymore."
"More evolution?" Ginny asked.
"Possibly. Or learned ability? I imagine it takes a certain amount of power to possess a living creature. Merely hiding within a living shell...Could they be drawing on the bulls' life force? I need to know what their motive is."
Ginny took up a position near him. "We didn't sense them in the bulls. Neither did Bumper. Maybe that's their motive---hiding in plain sight."
Alton nodded. The explanation almost seemed too simple, but it had obviously worked. "I'm worried about the big one," he said. "He's waiting for something. You can almost hear him think."
One of the three smaller bulls rushed them. It went toward Alton first, then feinted and charged Eddy. Dax was on it. He slapped his sword against the creature's back and Eddy caught three demons with DemonSlayer as they escaped.
The crowd of onlookers cheered and applauded. Alton glanced at Dax. "Maybe you should take a bow," he said. Dax merely grunted.
There were two smaller bulls and the one large one left. The rest had trotted peacefully back across the road to their pasture once their demons were gone. Alton glanced over his shoulder. The crowd had moved closer. Parents held their children in front so they could see. "Get back," he said, waving his arm. "Get those kids out of the way. These things are unpredictable. They're dangerous."
"Great show," one idiot yelled. Someone clapped. Someone else blew on a horn and others yelled encouragement---some for the bulls, a few for the ones fighting them.
Alton looked at Dax and they both shook their heads. Didn't these people realize lives were in danger here? Ginny glanced his way and then turned around to the crowd. She held DarkFire high and yelled, "Get back, now. All of you." Purple fire shot from the blade and people moved back a few steps.
With a look of disgust, she turned away and stood beside Alton once again. "Stupid jerks," she muttered. "What now?"
Alton shook his head. "We wait and see what he does next. I'm afraid to make the first move. With three of them, we can't control what direction they go. I don't want anyone hurt."
"Can you use a compulsion? Send people out of the way."
"Yes. Why didn't I think of that?" Disgusted with himself, Alton turned and waved his hand over the crowd. After a moment they surged back and moved closer to the tents and booths. "That's better." He leaned over and kissed the top of Ginny's head. "I knew there was a reason I loved you."
She flashed him a bright grin. "What? Because I'm smarter than you?"
"Well, I wouldn't exactly say---"
"Alton! Look out!"
Eddy's shout spun them around as the two smaller bulls charged directly at Alton. He twisted to one side, slapped his sword down on the first bull, and ducked out of the way of the second. Ginny caught the demons from the first one and sidestepped the second. BumperWillow charged the second bull, raced beneath its belly, and came up under its throat.
Ginny swung DarkFire and slapped the blade between the animal's horns. The crystal flashed violet. Two demons shot out of its back, just out of reach of Alton's sword. They swirled high overhead and then shot straight for the one huge bull standing alone in the center of the field.
It bellowed, and as it stretched its neck out and opened its mouth, both wraiths shot inside and disappeared down its throat. The smaller bull that had been their temporary home shook his head, looked around stupidly, and trotted back across the road to join the others.
The huge bull that remained pawed the earth and lowered his head. Dust flew over his back; muscles rippled across his broad shoulders. The crowed had moved closer, but now, even without Alton's compulsion, they surged back out of the way.
The bull raised his head and his eyes glowed with an inner fire. It bellowed again, only this time there were rows of teeth, razor sharp and glinting in the sun, and the full-throated bugle was more the cry of a banshee than a fighting bull.
Alton, Ginny, Eddy, and Dax lined up and faced the creature. BumperWillow stood to one side, ears on alert, tail high. Dax looked her way. "You okay, Willow?"
I'm ready.
Dax grinned at Alton. "BumperWillow's just too big a mouthful. They know we're talking to both of them."
Alton shook the tension out of his shoulders and tightened his grasp on HellFire. "Works for me. Ladies? Are you ready?"
"Definitely." Ginny slanted him a quick look. I love you. Don't you dare get hurt.
The same goes for you.
Silence had fallen over the crowd, standing now at a careful distance. The bull lowered his head once again and pawed the ground. Sand and rocks flew over his shoulders. His powerful muscles bunched and rippled as he started forward, slowly at first, but building up speed as he got his massive weight in motion.
Alton felt the sense of evil grow, almost as if the creature projected fear and danger ahead of him. Someone behind them screamed. He heard the sound of shuffling feet, but he couldn't take the time to look. He had to hope people were moving back, out of the way and not into danger.
He glanced at the others. Dax and Eddy had moved to the right while he and Ginny took the left. Ginny stood bravely with her red skirt blowing against her legs and her sword held aloft. BumperWillow had moved and now stood her ground dead center between them, making herself the focus of the animal's wrath.
The bull raced directly toward the dog and then, in a split second that caught them all off guard, he twisted his huge body faster than any creature his size should have been able to move, lowered his head, and came up beneath Dax with his deadly curved horns. Eddy screamed and lunged with DemonSlayer but the crystal blade glanced off the bull's thick neck.
Dax grabbed the horn aimed at his belly and brought his knee up against the bull's snout, pushed and twisted and managed an awkward flip over the animal's head. Blood streamed from a shallow wound in his side, but he landed on his feet with DemonFire still clutched in his fist.
The bull shook his head. Thick streams of saliva dripped from his open jaws. He glared from Dax to Eddy and back at Dax once again. Alton slipped around behind the beast and BumperWillow charged the animal, barking frantically, going for his face. True to her pit bull nature, she baited the bull, teasing him with barks and growls and snapping teeth. At the last possible second, she jumped and clamped her powerful jaws down on the huge animal's tender nose.
He bellowed and shook his head, a sharp side-to-side jerk. BumperWillow hung on. Her back legs flailed as she reached for purchase against the ground, but the bull swung his big head high and then low, battering her muscular body hard against the dirt, knocking the wind out of the tenacious dog.
Still she hung on, until he jerked his head rapidly from side to side again. The sudden change in direction tossed her a dozen feet in the air. Someone in the crowd screamed. BumperWillow landed with a thud and a puff of dust, lying there in the dirt without sound or movement.
The bull spun quickly. Blood poured from his snout and his eyes glowed red, shooting angry sparks visible even in the daytime sun. His horns had grown longer and sharper---they glinted now like polished steel in huge, sweeping curves above his broad skull. Alton saw his chance and stabbed for the bull. He was willing to risk killing the creature if only to stop the demon's attack, but his crystal sword balked at taking an innocent life.
HellFire slipped off the thick hide in a trail of blue sparks, but a single puff of black exploded into the air.
"That's one of the demons it just absorbed." Dax reached high and caught the wraith with the tip of his sword. The mist exploded into stinking sparks, but his reach overhead left him exposed and vulnerable.
The bull swung its big head and caught Dax just beneath the ribs. He cried out, swinging DemonFire even as the bull gored him deep with another sharp jerk of its head. As Eddy reached for Dax, one of the bull's hooves caught her thigh and scored a long slash beneath her skirt. She twisted away as her leg crumpled beneath her, but she still managed to pull Dax free before the bull could force the sharp horn any deeper into his side.
Alton took a running leap and jumped on the bull's back as Eddy dragged Dax to safety. He couldn't tell how badly his friend had been gored, but the ground was slick with blood. Clinging to the animal, Alton swung his sword beneath the beast's throat.
The bull twisted away from the blade. It lunged and dipped, twisting like a whirling dervish, spinning faster than nature had ever intended. It was all Alton could do to hang on for the ride and try to avoid the thrashing swing of razor-sharp horns. Then the bull bucked high, came down stiff-legged, and landed hard on all four legs.
Jarred by the impact, Alton grabbed on to the horns with both hands to keep from flying off. HellFire flew from his grasp in a spinning arc and buried itself tip first into the ground.
Fighting panic, Ginny quickly weighed her options. Dax was down and bleeding badly. Eddy's leg had a deep slash. BumperWillow was either unconscious or dead and Alton was clinging to the bull's back without HellFire. Ripping off her skirt, Ginny stood her ground in her white camisole top, black lace panties, and red platform sandals, waving the red fabric in front of the bull like a matador's cape.
She didn't know if demons liked red or not, but this demon-powered bull was putting his head down and blowing huge blasts of hot air from bleeding nostrils---thank you, Bumper. And he was glaring at the billowing red skirt.
Alton flashed her a thumbs-up and nimbly jumped from the bull's back. He reached for HellFire. The sword burst out of the dirt directly into his grasp. Alton held his weapon high and raced toward the bull. Just as he got within striking distance, the animal swung his head.
One of the long horns ripped into Alton's side and lifted him high overhead. Ginny screamed. She felt Alton's agony through their mental link as the horn sliced deep into his body. The bull swung his head and Alton tumbled over his broad back like a rag doll. HellFire once again landed in the dirt, but this time Alton lay beside his sword, unmoving.
Ginny searched for his thoughts and found nothing.
Then the bull charged.
Ginny stood her ground as best she could with her sandals sinking into the torn and shredded dirt. The bull lunged toward her red skirt. She whipped it out of the way as the animal passed and struck him across the shoulders with the flat of her blade.
A black wraith flew from between his horns---the second demon it had absorbed. Ginny lunged for it and barely caught the trailing end of mist. The demon burst into violet sparks as the bull raced by. Dirt flew when it twisted and slowed its huge bulk enough to turn and charge her once again.
She glanced toward Alton. Blood pooled around him but he hadn't moved. Eddy was on the far side of the field, kneeling beside Dax. Both of them were covered in blood, and BumperWillow still lay in the dirt where she'd fallen.
Ginny was alone and the bull was coming back. Her white camisole top was stained with blood and her bare legs were covered in mud and blood and saliva from the bull's last charge.
She linked with DarkFire and felt the power of the crystal pour into her as she faced the bull. The ground vibrated beneath her feet from his pounding charge and though he moved with the speed of a rolling freight train, he seemed to come at her in slow motion. Ginny stood her ground until the last second, then swung her red skirt to attract his charge. He lunged for the fabric and she ducked and rolled out of the way.
She came to a stop beside Alton. He lay in a crumpled heap in the dirt and blood poured slowly from a deep puncture in his side, but there was no time to check on him, no time to assure herself whether he lived or died. DarkFire seemed to vibrate within her grasp and she saw an answering glow in Alton's sword. Bending from the waist, Ginny swept HellFire up in her left hand. She put her head down and, with a glowing sword in each hand, raced across the field, as far from Alton as she could get.
She stopped in an open space, far from Dax and Eddy, farther from Alton and BumperWillow. She couldn't think about Alton now. Couldn't allow her mind to travel through all the terrible possibilities of whether the man she loved lived or died. Focus. She had to focus.
The demon king must be stopped---she was the only one left who had a chance to do it.
The bull paused in its attack. It lowered its huge head and stared toward Dax and Eddy on the far side of the field. Ginny was sure he weighed the odds of getting to Dax before Ginny got to him, because he swung his head around and lowered it, staring at her out of flame-red eyes.
Once more he pawed at the hard ground, throwing clods of dirt high over his back and shoulders. Blood still dripped from his torn nose, and saliva hung in long, nasty ropes from his jaws. He bugled his banshee scream and charged.
Ginny screamed even as she attacked. Running directly toward the crazed beast, she flung her red skirt over the bull's head and whirled out of the animal's way.
Bellowing its ear-splitting wail, the bull stopped and twisted his head, trying to dislodge the fabric that hung from his horns and covered his eyes. The sharp horns came perilously close to Ginny and he kicked out. One hoof caught her square in the chest. She grunted, gasping for air as she spun to the side with DarkFire raised high in her right hand, HellFire grasped tightly in her left.
Then she lunged forward and brought the flat sides of both DarkFire and HellFire down hard, right between the bull's horns. Power burst from both blades in a shower of amethyst and blue flames. The bull stopped as if stunned. He shook his head. Then, with a wrenching cry, the demon king burst forth.
Ginny lunged for the demon with both blades.
Caught in DarkFire's purple light, the huge, black wraith burst to life in all its demonic shape and form. Both blades passed through its legs and the demon howled in frustration. The bull shook his head again, but he couldn't dislodge Ginny's red skirt still twisted around his horns and covering his eyes. He trotted away with the demon struggling, half in and half out of his massive body.
Even away from DarkFire's light, the demon king was fully visible as a demon. A very pissed-off demon.
Still hanging on to both swords, Ginny raced after the bull. She leapt over the torn earth in a desperate dash to catch the demon king, but just before she reached him, he screamed a banshee cry and then with a horrible sucking sound, pulled his body entirely free of the bull.
She swung at the hideous shape with DarkFire. Sparks flew, but the wraith reformed as the one blade passed harmlessly through both his legs. She tried to reach him with both blades, but he was just out of her reach.
Moaning and screaming, the demon king hovered overhead for a moment, its four arms spread wide, its mouth gaping and fangs dripping saliva. Then with an even louder shriek it suddenly coalesced into a spinning tornado of sulfuric stink that collapsed in upon itself, growing smaller and smaller as she watched.
There was a tiny atmospheric pop and the demon winked out of sight. Seething with frustration and rage, unable to fully catch her breath, and absolutely exhausted, Ginny would have crumpled to the ground, but she knew that Alton needed her. Calling on her last bit of strength, she turned toward him with both swords dragging in the dirt.
It took her a moment to comprehend what she saw.
He had one hand pressed against his side and he was trying to sit up. Blood still ran from his wound, but he raised his head, caught her eye with a look that spoke volumes, and smiled at her despite his obvious pain.
He was alive. Energy surged and Ginny raced across the field on wobbly legs. She collapsed beside him. Alton reached for her and dragged her close. The warmth of his embrace and the love in his eyes was all it took.
She burst into tears.
He'd never seen anything more awe-inspiring than Ginny's battle with the demon king. Holding her now, loving her with all his heart, Alton had no doubt she'd saved all their lives. He glanced over her shoulder, to the place where Dax lay in the dirt.
Eddy and another man were bent over the ex-demon. Willow had dragged herself over to lie beside them. At least Eddy wasn't crying. Alton figured that was a good sign but he wasn't sure who was with them.
Right now, it didn't really matter. All that mattered was that Ginny was safe in his arms. Safe in spite of her bruises and her tears. His side hurt like the blazes, but as deep as the bull had gored him, he didn't sense that anything vital had been injured. Already he could feel his wound beginning to heal.
He brushed Ginny's hair back from her face. Her perfect braids had pulled loose, she was covered in blood and muck and dirt, and tears left dusty tracks over her cheeks. He'd never seen her looking more beautiful or wanted her so much.
He planted a soft kiss on her lips. She sniffed and turned away. He dug a handkerchief out of his pocket and she wiped her face and blew her nose. When the tears were gone, for now, anyway, she turned back to him. "Are you okay? You're bleeding. Let me help...."
"I'm fine. And you? Ginny, you're absolutely amazing. You did it. All by yourself, you stopped that bastard. I think you sent him away for a while."
She sobbed and shook her head. "I couldn't kill him. I tried, but..."
"Ah, sweetheart. You were magnificent. Absolutely magnificent. C'mon. Let's go check on Dax." Slowly he rose to his feet, but Ginny was up before him and helped him stand.
She grabbed HellFire out of the dirt and handed his sword to him. Then she slipped DarkFire into her scabbard.
They helped each other across the field. Dawson Buck, the vet, was kneeling beside Dax. "Are you guys okay?" He looked at Alton's ripped shirt and torn flesh. "How bad is that? It's bleeding pretty heavy."
Alton shook his head. "I'll be okay. How's Dax?"
"Anyone else would need surgery, but he's something else. Literally. I think stitches might help. He said he doesn't want a doctor, but I can at least sew him up. I've got my kit with me, but I'll have to follow you back to your place." He glanced around. "It's illegal for a vet to treat a human."
Dax chuckled. "I'm not human. I'm an ex-demon. Alton's Lemurian. I doubt the licensing board covers us at all."
Dawson just shook his head.
Alton held tightly to Ginny. "Sounds good, Dawson. Let's get out of here. I need to do some crowd control first. Ginny, can you get the car?" Alton kissed Ginny's cheek when she nodded. He turned away and walked toward the crowd of curious onlookers, raised his hands, and let the compulsion flow from his mind through his fingertips.
Ginny headed toward the parking lot. Alton watched her walk slowly across the torn field wearing nothing but her stained camisole top, her tiny black lace bikini panties, and those silly platform sandals that made her long legs look even longer.
No one in the crowd seemed to notice. No, they were all talking about the great entertainment and what a wonderful show it had been. His compulsion had worked, but then with a vision like Ginny starring, it had to have been amazing.
Alton had to agree it had been a great show. They were all still alive. He went back and knelt down beside Dax again. His friend's face was pale, but his eyes were open. "I'll be okay," Dax said. "We need to get out of here before the authorities arrive. Is the demon king dead?"
Alton shook her head. "No. But damn, Ginny was amazing. She fought him with both HellFire and DarkFire. Neither blade was able to kill him, though she managed to send him somewhere. I don't know if he's gone to Abyss or the void, but he feels gone."
Just then Ginny pulled up in the SUV. She'd found the remnants of her red skirt somewhere along the way and had it tied around her waist, but when she climbed out of the Yukon, she still looked a little shell-shocked by what had happened.
Dax reached for her hand when she knelt down beside him. "I hear you were the hero of the day. Thank you."
She shook her head. "I couldn't kill him. Not even with both swords. And Dax, I could see him in his demon form, in your old form, without the light from DarkFire. Just before he disappeared, he was entirely visible. DarkFire wasn't close enough to illuminate him. I'm hoping I sent him to Abyss or the void, at least for now, but he's getting stronger. How do we stop him? There's got to be a way."
Dax didn't answer. He merely closed his eyes and clung to Eddy's hand. She looked at Ginny with tear-filled eyes and shook her head.
Alton and Dawson carefully loaded Dax into the SUV. Eddy climbed into the backseat beside him and held a towel they'd found in the Yukon over his deepest wound.
Alton didn't even ask for the keys. His side hurt like hell and he was feeling a little light-headed from blood loss. Ginny helped him lift Willow into the back. Still feeling dazed, they headed back down the road to their casita with Dawson Buck, the veterinarian, following close behind.
Ginny carried cold beer and a fresh plate of cheese and crackers out to the back deck. They were all bathed, their injuries tended and bandaged by the local vet, and the worst of their wounds almost completely healed by Willow. Even trapped inside Bumper, she hadn't lost her skills.
Dawson was still here, obviously fascinated by the stories Alton and Dax were telling him of the ongoing demon invasion and the lost women of Lemuria. Willow had parked her fuzzy butt against his leg and was shamelessly begging for treats.
"Thanks, Ginny." Dawson took the beer she offered and turned his attention back to Alton. "How many days do you think you have before the demon king comes back?"
Alton shook his head. "We have no idea. He could return tonight, as powerful as he seems to be growing, but we're hoping he's gone for a while. We think all the portals to Abyss are sealed, so hopefully he'll have to work harder to get back."
Dawson frowned. "How's that work? If the portals are sealed, how do they go home?"
Alton merely shrugged. They'd never quite figured that one out. "Somehow, they can be sucked back to Abyss or sent to the void without a portal, but they can't get back into Earth's dimension until they can find a functioning gateway. At least regular demons can't. The demon king seems to have his own rules."
"That's no good." Dawson took a sip of his beer.
Alton traced the condensation along the neck of his brew. "No kidding. Especially since he's targeted Dax, and with all the other problems we have to worry about, the demon king is the last thing we need. We still have to figure out how to deal with the mess in Lemuria. Taron's going to have the replicated swords ready in a week, according to DarkFire, which means it's imperative that we get my father under control before then."
Dax shifted in his seat. He was still obviously hurting, but at least he was able to move around since Willow and Dawson had treated him. "My suggestion is that we heal first and then worry about Chancellor Artigos. Eddy's covered in bruises and still has a pretty deep gash in her thigh, BumperWillow isn't any better, you've got a frickin' hole in your side that needs to close, and Ginny's a mess of contusions from that damned bull kicking her."
Dawson finished his beer and stood up. "I agree. You're all walking wounded right now, though it looks like you've got everything under control. At least no one appears to be bleeding." He chuckled softly. It was obvious he felt a bit like Alice after falling down the rabbit hole. "I hope you all have a good night and get some rest. You need it."
Alton stood up to walk him out. Dawson paused in the open door. "If there's anything I can do to help, anything at all, please call me. It appears this is more than just a battle between a few demons and a small army of demon fighters. You hold the future of worlds in your hands. It's a cause that affects more than any of us can imagine."
Alton nodded. "I know, and believe me, we will call on you. We need everyone we can trust. Thank you."
He stood in the doorway and watched as Dawson's tail-lights disappeared in the darkness. Then he softly closed the door and went back inside to Ginny.
It was barely dark when Ginny and Alton crawled off to bed. Alton decided on another shower. His puncture wound had closed and no longer bled, but dry blood streaked his belly and thigh.
Plus, he insisted he had to wash off the last of the demon stink. He seemed convinced his first brief shower hadn't done the job. Ginny couldn't smell any sulfur on him at all. She wondered if he was trying to wash away the fear they'd all experienced this afternoon, the risks they'd faced, the dangerous attack that had almost cost lives.
She watched him leave the room, but the bedroom felt horribly empty with him gone, so she quickly stood up and followed him into the bathroom. He was just reaching for the faucet to turn the water on when she softly closed the door behind her.
"Ginny?" He turned and his eyes were troubled.
She didn't want to know what thoughts filled his mind. Not now. Instead, she reached for his hand. "You're hurt. I don't want you to shower alone. I worry about you falling."
He paused with one hand resting on the shower rod and reached for her. She clasped his hand and stood there, feeling slightly self-conscious in her worn flannel pants and stretched cami top.
"I don't particularly want to shower alone, either." He watched her with such intensity that she felt herself blush.
Then, before she lost her nerve, she let go of his hand and slipped out of her clothes.
"Nine hells!" Alton moved toward her so quickly she almost jumped back.
"I had no idea. Ginny...love, you've been hurt worse than I realized." Lightly he brushed his fingers over the ugly contusions covering her ribs. The bull's hoof had caught her square in the chest. The dark and bloody bruise covered most of her torso between her breasts and navel in a horrible map of black and blue and red.
"Ah, Ginny. This is awful." He raised his head and gazed at her with troubled eyes. "Are any of your ribs broken?"
She shook her head. "No. Nothing's broken. It doesn't hurt. Not that much." She felt embarrassed for some reason and stared at her toes.
Alton lifted her chin with his fingertips. "Why won't you look at me? Ginny, what's wrong?"
She felt her throat close up, fought the burning in her eyes, and cursed the tears that suddenly spilled down her cheeks.
Alton wrapped his arms around her and gently hugged her close. "Why are you crying, sweetheart?"
"I thought you were dead." She sniffed. "I tried to reach you and there was nothing. No sense of you. Only the demon and the smell of blood and Dax so badly hurt and Eddy crying and BumperWillow lying in the dirt. I've never felt so alone in my life. Never."
"I'm sorry. I must have been unconscious for a few moments. Not for long. I came to in time to watch you." He leaned away and stared at her. "My gods, Ginny." He tilted her chin up with his fingertip. "I wish I had that battle on video. You were amazing. So powerful and self-assured. Absolutely magnificent!"
She gazed up at the wonder on his face, but all she could think of was how frightened she'd been. Frightened and angry at that damned bull for hurting Dax and Eddy, for goring Alton. She'd wanted to kill the bull and the demon inside, even though the bull was innocent. The demon wasn't, though. Damn him, he was still out there. Still trying to figure out how to steal Dax's energy and how to kill the rest of them. Was there any way to stop him?
Alton kissed the top of her head. Then he reached inside the shower and turned on the tap, stepped in, and carefully dragged Ginny under the warm spray with him. The warm water soothed her aches and washed away her tears. She ran a soft cloth over Alton's side and rinsed away the dried blood still caked there.
Even though he was healing quickly, she felt like crying again when she saw the size of the healing wound and knew how badly it must have hurt.
Alton gently dried Ginny with a soft terry towel before he toweled himself off. When they went back into the bedroom, there was no question of what bed they'd sleep in. No hesitation when they pulled back the covers and crawled in together.
And even though they both were hurting, there was no question of what they wanted.
Alton fluffed the pillows behind him, leaned against the soft pile, and reached for Ginny. He drew her close and she went to him with the certainty that this was where she belonged. At his side, no matter what was to come. There was trouble ahead. She knew that as well as she knew her name. Unseating his father wouldn't be easy, but it would have to be done. She'd be there beside Alton, no matter the risk.
He cupped her face in his hands, drew her close, and kissed her. Then his fingers traced the swell of her breast and she felt his lips turn up in a smile against her mouth. "Ah, Ginny...I knew you were going to be trouble. Nothing but trouble from the start."
She ran her hands over his chest, and carefully rolled and twisted until she straddled him without brushing against his injured side. His erection was trapped between them, held in place by the soft, damp folds of her sex. She leaned over and pressed a kiss to his perfectly shaped nose. "I bet you forgot the condoms."
He chuckled and her body bounced with the soft rise and fall of his chest. He reached for the table beside the bed and held up a shiny foil packet. "Not me. I never make mistakes."
Ginny grabbed it out of his hand and tore the edge with her teeth. "I knew you were arrogant, right from the start. Arrogant and cocky and such a bossy know-it-all." She rose up on her knees until his erection sprang free. Carefully she sheathed his full, hot length. Then she lowered herself, but this time she positioned his shaft against her sex and slowly, so slowly took him deep inside.
They both sighed as she settled herself down over his full length. Alton wrapped his arms around her slim waist, nuzzled her neck, and kissed the side of her throat. "Did I ever tell you how much I love troublesome women?"
"No." She sighed as she adjusted to his size, to his heat and the amazing connection that linked them---body, heart, and mind. Then she slowly moved her hips in a gentle rhythm with his. "But I'd really love to hear."
Smiling, touching, kissing, laughing, and loving, he told her. In great detail. Over and over again.
And here's a special previewfrom Kate's next sexy DemonSlayers title,
STARFIRE,
to be published by Zebra Books in April 2011!
Selyn pressed her back against the sharp stones lining the cavern wall and attempted to become one with the shadows. She listened intently as Roland's footsteps receded in the distance and faded into silence, yet still she waited.
They were too close to success to take any chances now. Too close---finally---to tasting the freedom that had forever eluded the forgotten daughters of the exiled women warriors of Lemuria.
Anger welled up inside, a harsh and biting pain reminding Selyn once more of her need for revenge, of her soul-numbing hatred for the people who had condemned her mother, her sisters---all of them---to lives of slavery.
Such was the reward mighty Lemuria gave its bravest warriors. Slavery until death brought release from toiling in the fetid mines far beneath the levels where the free folk lived. Toiling where the air was thick with the pollution of their labors, fouled by the seething anger carried within the hearts and souls of the Forgotten Ones.
Selyn clenched her fists and closed her eyes against the simmering pain of resentment. Not now. She could not allow herself the luxury of anger. Roland had cautioned her, and she would listen. He was a good man---one of the few good men she'd ever known. A true son of Lemuria, not one of the sadistic guards who kept the women imprisoned in the mines, and definitely not one of those damned aristocrats who thought themselves above the common folk.
No, Roland understood honor and integrity. His loyalty was to his world, not to the few who governed so unfairly. He'd become a good friend, braver than most because he had more to lose---a wife, a child, his position as a respected sergeant of the Lemurian Guard.
Selyn risked nothing. She'd long accepted the fact that as a slave, her life had no value. As a free woman---even if she were of the aristocracy---she would have no voice. Gods willing, that was soon to change. She remembered the stories her mother had told, and they gave her hope.
There'd been a time when women held positions of leadership as members of the Council of Nine, when mothers had fought demons beside their men as respected equals, and gender had neither defined nor limited status or personal autonomy
Finally, Selyn and the other Forgotten Ones sensed freedom.
Freedom and change, and a chance for revenge.
Roland of Kronus caught Alton's terse warning the moment he reached the upper levels of Lemuria. Damned telepathy was useless in the mines and useless between dimensions, but obviously it was working now.
This was a message he'd been dreading ever since the invasion of demonkind into Earth's dimension had begun. Alton's steady voice carried more assurance than Roland felt, but Alton had been raised to a life of privilege, destined to one day rule their world. It appeared he was finally getting his chance, but nine hells! The risk to all of them could not be denied.
We're moving against my father tonight, Alton said. Ginny and I are hiding out in Taron's rooms until it's time to act. Artigos must be removed from the Council of Nine as soon as possible. There's no doubt he's possessed by demonkind. I need to have a firm grasp of the council before Taron arms the Forgotten Ones.
Roland nodded as he answered, considering their next steps even as he replied. The Forgotten Ones needed to know what was going on. Somehow he must locate Selyn without alerting her guards. Taron should be notified as well, though that would mean traveling even deeper into the bowels of Lemuria.
Taron had been far below and out of touch for days, creating enough crystal swords to arm each of the Forgotten Ones. He should have close to the full one hundred blades by now, each awaiting her owner.
One hundred crystal blades capable of sentience---alive with the souls of ancient warriors and Lemuria's most powerful weapon against the scourge of demonkind.
With the thought of the crystal blades in his mind, Roland replied to Alton. I'm returning to the mines now. I'll inform Selyn that the timetable has been moved up, and contact Taron as well. I should be back before you move against Artigos.
Roland also sent a quick message to his beloved wife. Chara was used to the long hours he kept, though she had no idea the danger he faced. There was no point in alarming her with the truth of his actions. No point at all. Sighing, he turned back along the dark tunnel, quickly retracing his steps, returning to the lower levels where the Forgotten Ones toiled.
The steady drip, drip, drip and the soft hum of overtaxed air purifiers were the only sounds Selyn heard as she cautiously pushed herself away from the cavern wall and moved silently through the darkness to the sleeping level.
With any luck she might be able to catch a couple hours of rest before her shift started, but she'd missed the evening meal and it would be a long time until she had another opportunity to break fast.
A hulking shadow suddenly filled the narrow passageway. Light glinted off pale eyes set in a massive frame a full foot and a half taller and three times wider than her own.
As usual, luck sucked. Selyn straightened to her full height, raised her chin and looked the guard in the eye. That alone should be enough to piss him off. If she could make him angry enough, he might even forget to ask why she was wandering along a passage so far from her cell.
"Ah, Birk. Fancy meeting you here." She folded her arms across her chest and hoped to the nine hells he couldn't see how she trembled. Showing fear was the same as giving up.
Selyn never showed fear. Never would she give up.
The huge guard didn't say a word. His fist came out of nowhere. The crushing blow to her cheekbone left her lying dazed and barely conscious on the ground.
He planted his hands on his hips and leaned over her. "So, bitch. You want to tell me what you're doing out here?"
Blinking back the shooting lights blinding her vision, Selyn shook her head.
He grabbed her hair in a meaty fist and jerked her to her feet.
"Ouch! Nine hells!" She twisted, but he grabbed her breast through the thin cloth of her robe and squeezed, digging his thick fingers into soft flesh.
"Ah!" Excruciating pain made her nauseous. Frantically, Selyn bucked and writhed, but his fingers only tightened on her breast and in her hair. She lashed out with her bare foot, connected just below his right knee.
Birk cursed. His leg buckled and he lost his grip on her breast. Selyn jerked her head up as he fell and slammed him under the chin. Her long hair was still tangled in his fist and he pulled her down with him.
Scrambling beneath his massive weight she broke free, kicked again and caught him soundly between the legs. Birk roared in pain and clutched his balls, but her hair was still trapped in his fist and he jerked her head sharply down and caught her between his thighs.
Twisting, turning, Selyn struggled for freedom. Birk flipped her beneath him, clamping down on her head and shoulders with his powerful legs. Enraged, he tore his hand free of her hair and punched her with both fists, landing powerful blows across her chest and along her ribs.
She felt one rib crack, and then another. Gasping, unable to move or catch her breath, her vision clouded. She couldn't breathe, couldn't fight, could not give up. Not this close. Not with freedom only days away.
Blow after blow slammed into her ribs. Frantically Selyn sucked in a breath of life-giving air and tasted blood in her mouth. Darkness broken by fitful flashes of sparking lights closed in on all sides as the terrible pounding continued, yet somehow, she floated free, apart from the beating, as if she hovered in a separate space, beyond pain, beyond fear.
Maybe freedom would finally come as her mother's had---in death. Did it really matter anymore? Selyn no longer felt the blows, even as Birk continued to pummel her unresisting body.
A beautiful, achingly familiar face swam hauntingly just beyond her reach. With split and bleeding lips she whispered her mother's name.
"Elda?"
There was no answer, no sign of recognition, but it was okay. Her mother had found peace in death, and she'd been reborn to fight again. Reborn in the crystal sword called DemonSlayer.
Was that to be Selyn's path out of this hellhole? Through death? No matter. Not anymore. Giving in to the darkness, Selyn gratefully embraced the only freedom she had ever known.
At last.
Freedom, and darkness, and death.
As soon as he reached Selyn's level in the caverns, Roland cast out his thoughts. Always before, the young woman had responded immediately, even if he awakened her from sleep.
There was nothing. A great void where her active mind should be. He glanced along the shadowed tunnel and prayed to the gods he'd not be discovered. He had no business at this level. None at all, but Selyn should have answered by now.
He grasped his crystal sword and walked purposefully down the dark passageway. Calling silently for Selyn, he rounded a slight curve and stopped dead.
A body lay in the middle of the corridor. A woman's body. From the long tangled mass of her coal black hair and the coppery color of her skin, it could only be Selyn. Roland glanced both ways, saw no one, and raced to her side.
Her eyes were closed, her face battered and swollen, her slave's robe badly torn. Bloody saliva foaming at the corner of her lips was the only sign Selyn still lived.
Roland couldn't risk a call for help. The only ones strong enough to have hurt Selyn this badly were the guards who watched the Forgotten Ones. Selyn's trips to the surface must have been discovered, but how could anyone have done such a horrible thing? Roland had to get her out of here, now, and hope like the nine hells she lived long enough for him to get her to a healer.
Carefully, he gathered the broken young woman up in his arms and carried her down the dark tunnel. He reached the stairs without anyone spotting him, and began the long climb to the surface. He couldn't take her to anyone in Lemuria. Members of the aristocracy either did not know of the Forgotten Ones, or if they did, they refused to admit their existence. It would have to be someone on Earth.
Selyn was still alive, but barely, when Roland finally reached the upper levels and made contact with Alton. The young aristocrat didn't hesitate. He set his earlier plans aside and told Roland where they could safely meet.
Almost an hour later, Roland passed through the Lemurian portal that led directly into the energy vortex in Bell Rock, a large formation outside of Sedona, Arizona. Alton waited in the dark cavern with his woman, Ginny Jones, close beside him.
The Lemurian heir to the council took one look at the battered woman in Roland's arms and cursed, shaking his head in dismay. "Ah, Roland, my friend. How could this be?"
Roland was shocked to see Alton's eyes sparkling with compassionate tears---tears that reaffirmed Roland's decision to follow Alton no matter where he might lead.
Ginny gasped and stepped close. "Oh, my god." She lightly touched the pulse point on Selyn's throat and looked up at Roland. "She's still alive, but her pulse is so weak. Who did this to her?"
Roland shook his head. Anger, frustration and the strain of carrying Selyn so far had him blurting out, "One of the gods-be-damned guards, I imagine. They treat the women most cruelly, but I've never seen one beaten so badly."
"Will she live?" Alton's soft question calmed him.
He sighed. "I don't know. I'm sure she's got broken ribs, internal injuries. She's a tough one, though. She's still breathing."
Alton wrapped his arm protectively around Ginny. "I had no idea when you contacted me that she was hurt this badly." He glanced at Ginny. "Do you think Dawson can help her? He's a veterinarian, after all, not a doctor for humans."
Ginny stared at Selyn so intently, Roland felt as if she were trying to force the injured woman to heal by the strength of her will alone.
"He's going to have to," she said. "Alton, we have to see if Dax and Eddy can bring BumperWillow. Willow might be able to help, but we need to hurry. Roland? Can you come with us?"
He'd not spent much time in Earth's dimension, and never here in Sedona. It was forbidden, after all, but a young woman's life was in his hands. "Yes," he said, gazing at the battered girl in his arms. "I can."
Alton led the way through another, smaller portal. They stepped out into a cavern almost identical to the first. "We just moved from one side of Sedona to the other," he said. He pointed to a shimmering gateway on one wall. "That's a secret portal we've discovered that leads directly to the chambers of the Council of Nine. I don't have time to explain it now, but do not use it to return. It's too dangerous. We'll go this way." He nodded toward another glowing portal. "We're meeting a friend of ours here who should be able to help the girl."
Lightly he touched Roland's shoulder. "I can take her if you're getting tired. He's got his vehicle waiting nearby."
Roland nodded. "I'm okay. Let's hurry." Even though his arms ached from carrying her, Roland didn't want to risk further injury by shifting Selyn to Alton's grasp. She hadn't stirred, but she drew soft, shallow breaths, proof she still lived. Thank the gods she was unconscious and unaware of her pain.
They stepped out into a star-filled night. Roland had seen stars once before, when he'd fought demons less than a week ago on the flanks of Mount Shasta, but he knew he'd never see them enough. Damn it all, but his people had lost too much when their continent sank beneath the sea.
They had survived these many millennia, but at what cost?
Lives without stars, without the warmth of the sun? Anger gave Roland strength for the short hike down a dark path. He was still grumbling to himself when they rounded a curve in the trail. Alton flashed his handheld light at a large vehicle waiting in the shadows. A tall, lean, dark-haired man climbed out and quickly opened the back door. Roland nodded without speaking and carefully slid into the wide seat with Selyn still in his arms.
Ginny took the seat just ahead. Alton got in beside the driver in the front. The two men conversed softly, but Roland couldn't hear what they said. Ginny remained quiet, though she'd turned and was watching Selyn.
After a short drive, they pulled into a well-lit yard with a low, sprawling building that appeared to be made of smooth stone. Holding Selyn as carefully as he was able, Roland quietly followed as the other three led him inside the structure. They walked down a long hallway into a brightly lit room behind a heavy set of double doors, where he finally laid his bruised and bleeding burden down on a narrow bed.
Finishing up after a long day at the clinic, Dawson Buck had been prepared for another quiet night at home when his cell phone rang. He'd certainly never expected to hear Alton's voice. When he'd recently offered to help his new friends in their battle against a demon invasion, Dawson honestly hadn't thought anyone would ever call.
He was, after all, merely human. What good could a mortal do among creatures who were not only immortal but capable of things he'd only read of in his favorite science fiction novels?
But when Alton told him that one of their kind was badly injured and needed medical attention, Dawson hadn't hesitated. He'd quickly finished up the nightly feeding of his canine and feline patients, locked the doors to his clinic, and raced to the parking lot at Red Rock Crossing near the energy vortex at Cathedral Rock.
And there he'd waited. He'd had plenty of time to think about the changes in his life since that morning a little over a week ago when he'd arrived a bit late to work and discovered the clinic was already filled with dozens of animal patients, all exhibiting the same unbelievable behavior.
He knew his staff thought he was slightly nuts when he'd suggested the pets were all possessed by demons. Of course, he was well aware that the women who worked for him figured it was part of his charm. They loved to tease him about the fact he was so open to the odd stories about the land around Sedona and the energy vortexes that most folks thought of as nothing more than fodder for the tourist trade.
His Aunt Fiona had been the only one who truly understood him. When he was little and talked to his imaginary friends, she'd called him fey. As he'd grown older and lost himself in books with tales of the unusual and unexplained, she'd merely nodded and said he was learning to understand things that a lot of his real-life friends would never be able to see.
The imaginary friends had eventually faded away, cast out by a teen-aged boy's need to act like everyone else, but Aunt Fiona had understood. She'd told him that when he was ready, they'd come back.
Now, as he led this most amazing group of obviously mythical creatures into the small clinic he kept at home, Dawson sent a silent thank you to his long-departed aunt.
He could almost swear he heard her chuckling laughter and the soft, Gaelic lilt to her voice whispering, "I told you so, me boyo. I told you so."
Dawson glanced at his wristwatch. It was almost five---the time when he normally crawled out of bed---but he'd worked on Selyn most of the night. By now, he figured Alton and the big Lemurian guard he called Roland were probably sacked out on the couches in the main quarters of the house.
He hoped Ginny had gotten some sleep. She'd looked exhausted and a little bit numb from all the blood by the time they'd finished, but the poor girl's injuries had been extensive, and well beyond his training. He'd suctioned blood out of chest cavities for dogs and cats that'd been hit by cars, but he'd never done it for a woman with a punctured lung---at least, not until last night.
Dawson gazed down at the young woman now sleeping in the spare room of his home and hoped he'd done the right thing. He was a veterinarian, for crying out loud! He dealt with dogs and cats, birds, rabbits and the occasional hamster or guinea pig.
Not young, beautiful women barely clinging to life. What if he'd screwed up? What choice did he have? None at all, according to Alton. They couldn't take her to a human doctor, couldn't take her to one of their own healers. It had been Dawson Buck or no one. Her lung had been the most serious injury, along with bruising to her spleen and liver. Her cracked ribs would hurt like hell for awhile, but they'd heal. He'd stitched a couple of spots on her side where heavy blows had actually split her skin, but most of her injuries were bloody scrapes and bruises and contusions.
The darkly defined fingerprints on her right breast sickened him. More than once during the long night he'd thought of killing the one who did this to her. That was so unlike him. Dawson had never been the violent sort. He abhorred conflict of any kind, which was why he'd chosen animals as his patients. Dogs and cats were more what you see is what you get kinds of patients. They rarely came with baggage, and they didn't hold grudges.
Even now, he wasn't sure what he'd expected when Alton called, but it certainly hadn't been a beautiful young woman who'd been beaten nearly to death.
He rested his fingers on her shoulder, one of the few spots without the mottled black and blue and red from bruises. "Dear God. Let her live. Please, let her live." Taking a deep breath, Dawson tried to ignore the rapid pounding of his heart. For a brief moment, he thought of all the laws he'd broken by treating a female victim of an obvious assault. Any other medical doctor would have followed the law and reported this to the police. Another veterinarian would have made sure she was treated properly, in a hospital for humans.
Then he bit back a nervous laugh. Who was he trying to kid? She wasn't human. Maybe he hadn't broken any laws after all, but after he'd looked at all her injuries and realized how terribly she'd been hurt, Dawson had known there was no question at all as to whether or not he'd treat her.
Now he could only hope and pray that his efforts had helped and not harmed her. He gently touched a dark bruise on her cheek. Thank goodness the facial bone was merely bruised, not broken. Her bruises would fade, the ribs heal. Within a few days she should be feeling better.
But what of her state of mind? A beating this horrific had to leave more than bruises on the body. He'd learned that these Lemurians healed much faster than humans. They were obviously a lot tougher, too. Her injuries might have killed a human woman.
They would definitely leave emotional scars with a human, as well. He had no idea how a Lemurian might react to such horrible treatment. Alton said she was a slave.
Then he'd really confused the issue when he told Dawson that Lemurians were a free society, that they didn't believe in slavery. He, Alton of Artigos, the son of Lemuria's Chancellor, had not even known of the slaves' existence. Not until Selyn had bravely escaped her captors and told his friend Taron of their plight. And then, so as not to raise any alarm, she'd returned to her untenable captivity deep in the mines.
Obviously, there were things going on in Lemuria that were every bit as convoluted as human politics. And even more obviously, this young woman was unquestionably a hero.
Dawson carefully pushed her tangled hair away from her face and tucked the soft blanket around her badly beaten body. He couldn't bear to look at her injuries now. He'd done all he could as a doctor with the proper professional detachment his role required.
Now that he was finished repairing her injuries, he realized he saw her as any man would a beautiful woman. Those dark bruises and bloody contusions were a travesty, a horrible insult to such perfection. He'd never seen anyone as beautiful as Selyn. Even battered and bruised, she was lovely.
Never once in his life had he lusted after a patient.
Shaking his head with the convoluted stupidity of his thoughts, Dawson left the room, mumbling under his breath, "Of course not, you idiot. All your other patients have four legs."
Selyn drifted awake in a world of pain. Eyes closed, she took a moment to catalog the various parts of her body. Obviously, she had survived Birk's horrific beating, though she wondered if she'd be whole, even if her injuries healed.
She wriggled her toes, then her fingers. They worked. That was good. Slowly, cautiously she licked her dry, cracked lips with the tip of her tongue. Her chest ached and it hurt to breathe, but at least she could draw sufficient air as long as she did it carefully.
Taking another breath, she noticed the stench she'd long associated with her world was missing. Instead, the air lacked any discernible scent at all. Squinting through swollen lids, she saw cream colored walls and shelves neatly filled with books and jars and unfamiliar stuff. There were cabinets with closed doors and light streaming in through a window.
Window? She knew what windows were, but in the mines they looked out onto dark caverns and poorly lit passageways. Blinking, curious enough now to risk drawing attention, Selyn tried to sit up. "Nine hells and then some!" Gasping, she lay back against the pillow and tried to catch her breath.
The door flew open and a tall, lean man stepped into the room. "Don't move. You'll hurt yourself."
"I just figured that out on my own, thank you." Aware she wore nothing beneath the blanket, Selyn tugged the soft folds higher, almost to her chin. "Who are you? Where am I?"
He smiled. "I'm Dawson Buck. You're in my clinic, in Sedona, in Earth's dimension. Roland of Kronus brought you here last night, but you were unconscious." He shook his head and smiled even wider. "I wasn't sure you'd awaken this soon. You must be healing faster than I expected."
There were dimples in both his cheeks that were only partially hidden by his neatly trimmed facial hair. She'd never seen a naked man, but she'd been told that Lemurian men had body hair in places besides the tops of their heads, though rarely on their faces. She knew absolutely nothing about human men, but she found the dark hair framing this one's lips and covering his chin absolutely fascinating. Besides, it was easier to concentrate on the odd hair on his face and those delightful dimples than to think of what he'd just said.
She was on Earth? But how? Lemurians were forbidden to leave their world, though she knew Alton of Artigos had crossed through the portal. But Roland?
"It was last night?" She wanted to sit up. She wanted her clothing and she wanted to get away while she had the chance. Earth! She'd dreamed of one day seeing Earth. Maybe she could disappear into one of the cities she'd heard tales about.
Disappear and never return.
Never have to face Birk or any of the other guards again.
Never hold the crystal sword Taron is replicating for me even now.
Selyn thought of her mother's spirit, bravely fighting demons once again as the sentience in the sword called DemonSlayer. Who would inhabit the sword Taron might have already finished making for her? What woman warrior would be her partner in battle? If Selyn left now, she'd never know.
She'd be forever a fugitive, trying to exist in a world where she didn't belong. No, she couldn't leave. As one of the Forgotten Ones, as the daughter of a woman warrior, Selyn knew she was honor bound to stay.
ZEBRA BOOKS are published by Kensington Publishing Corp.119 West 40th StreetNew York, NY 10018
Copyright © 2010 by Kate DouglasStarfire Copyright © 2011 by Kate DouglasDemonfire Copyright © 2010 by Kate DouglasHellfire All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the Publisher, excepting brief quotes used in reviews.
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ISBN: 978-1-4201-2485-9

