Authors: Kate Douglas
Tags: #Romance, #Man-Woman Relationships, #Fiction, #General, #Paranormal, #Demonology, #Revenge, #Paranormal Romance Stories
Starfire (16 page)
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.”
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.
“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.
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.
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?
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.
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