Instead of letting him lead her to the bedroom, Dr. Gastineau sat on the sofa, staring in admiration at the finely crafted furniture that filled the room. She looked at him, and for a moment, Rion was transfixed. There was something about her…something almost…magical.
“How is he?”
Rion sat in a large chair facing her, finding it difficult to look anywhere other than her exotic face. She wore jeans again today, and a loose cotton tunic with elaborate embroidery on the cuffs and neckline. He diverted himself from her face by studying the needlework. Had she done that herself?
“He’s asleep, but I believe he’s developed a fever. I don’t really know what to do.”
She nodded and Rion felt grateful that he could share his worry. “He probably has a secondary infection starting. I’ve got my kit in the car, and I’m sure we’ll come up with something to prevent him from being too sick.” She looked at the guitar sitting next to Rion’s chair. “Do you sing?”
It was an innocent question but he flushed a bit anyway, still uncomfortable about something he had little memory of. “Not much. I used to, but lost my voice.”
“That must have been difficult.”
She was clearly curious, but this was forbidden territory. To avoid answering, he picked up the guitar and began plucking a simple melody, keeping one eye on the doctor. The music seemed to ease her a bit. She sat back, looking a bit more relaxed.
“Mr. Hunter…”
“Rion, please.”
She smiled shyly. “Rion. I need to talk with you about something. You might think I’m crazy…”
He started to set down the guitar, seeing that she needed his full attention.
“No, please don’t stop. I enjoy listening.”
He took up the guitar again, playing softly, without any real thought.
“Did Rex mention that there have been other incidents involving young people in the area?”
“Yes, he did.”
She sighed and looked away, watching birds arguing at a feeder outside the window. “I’ve been here three years, and I’ve never before seen anything like it. It’s almost as though they are normal one moment, and then the next…”
“Possessed?”
“Yes. Exactly.” She flushed a bit. “I know that isn’t very scientific of me, but I can’t think of anything else to describe it.”
“Have you seen it happen before?” He continued playing, running through a series of chords.
“Not personally. I’ve had it described to me. They say the kids are normal one moment, and then their eyes…their very faces change.”
Rion stopped playing and returned the guitar to the rack. She was coming dangerously close to the truth. What she said next changed everything.
“Rion, I know that Rex isn’t human. I would guess you aren’t either.”
He froze, and to his surprise, Rex was there in the doorway, listening. He was supporting his weight on a wooden staff Rion had carved for hiking.
“What do you mean?” Rion’s mouth was dry, and the words had a hard time coming out.
“I mean that more than once I saw…features that no human could possibly possess.”
Setting the guitar aside, Rion rose and crossed to Rex, who was pale with illness and pain. “You shouldn’t be up, Rex.” He started him back to the bedroom, but the Sidhe resisted. Rion submitted for the moment, helping him into the chair he’d vacated. Rion hovered, not wanting to leave his side. Finally, he just settled to the floor next to the chair.
“What did you see, Dr. Gastineau?” In spite of his weakness, the Sidhe sounded in control. He also sounded slightly dangerous. They’d never before been outed. In all these years, no one had ever suspected. Rion had never even wondered what would happen in that eventuality. Suddenly, he was afraid for the beautiful doctor.
Her breathing was coming quick and Rion could see the pulse in her neck. She was afraid too. Afraid of what she’d seen, what she suspected.
“Before you woke, I saw…wings. They vanished, and I thought it was my imagination. But they came back. Wings like a butterfly, or a moth.”
Rex gave an abrupt little laugh. He ran his hand through his hair. The curls went messy, then fell back into place.
“Wings.”
“And a tail.” Her voice was hushed. “I’m not afraid of you.” But she was, her hand closed convulsively over the amulet she wore under her clothing. “You are something other than human, but you aren’t evil. Not like the thing that attacked you.”
Rion felt his lover go still in surprise. The room went silent. Even the birds had fled from the feeders. The very wind outside had gone still.
“What do you think it was that attacked Rex, if they weren’t humans?”
“Demon. It was a demon that attacked you, Rex. It was the same demon that I’ve been trying to catch up with for many, many years now.”
Dear God, why had she said that? Both men were looking at her as though she’d gone loopy. And really, what proof did she have? The phantom wings could have been her imagination. She had been keeping unusual hours the past month and was fatigued to the bone.
When the two men exchanged glances, she wanted to cringe in embarrassment.
“Rion, would you do me a favor? Would you start some water boiling? And bring my herb case?” Rex asked.
She watched the tall man rise with unearthly ease. He wasn’t right either. They were both too…other. They were something she’d never before encountered, and in her lifetime, Noemi had encountered much.
They didn’t speak again. Rion simply moved quickly around the kitchen, gathering cups and putting them on a tray, along with a ceramic teapot. When he returned, there was a selection of tea along with the hot water. She nearly stifled a laugh as the redhead gravely offered her green tea, or oolong.
Rex dug into his herb box and pulled out a muslin bag, measuring various herbs into the little bag, and set it in his cup to steep. He looked calm but his hands were slightly unsteady.
“Why don’t you tell us more about this…demon, and why you are following it?”
Noemi picked up the heavy mug and cradled it, letting the heat of the tea warm her hands. She hated being cold, even just a little. It was a by-product of growing up in a land dominated by ice and wind.
“My foster-mother called it Kelet. That’s what the Inuit call a demon-type creature. She had defeated it years before, when she’d found it stalking me. Kelet found her alone one day. She’d given me her most powerful medicine, and had no defense against the creature. I found her in the snow, bright-red blood all around her body. She lived long enough to tell me that the Kelet had defeated her.”
Noemi gripped the amulet, feeling the warm flow of magic in her hands. She hadn’t been tired, nor had she imagined those wings. When she’d seen the otherworldly features of Rex, she’d placed the amulet on his bare skin. It hadn’t injured him, but it had stripped his glamour. She could barely look at him now without recalling that shocking beauty.
“This Kelet—demon—had lost its original body and developed the ability to travel from person to person. It had taken the body of a trusted friend when it attacked her. It came for me then, but I had Ahnah’s magic to keep me safe. It fled, and I’ve pursued it since.”
“And you followed it here.” Rex winced as he drank. His hands trembled.
“Rex, you can drop your illusion. It’s taking too much energy.”
He apparently didn’t trust her, as nothing changed in his appearance. So she continued, “Anyhow, yes, about three years ago I tracked it to these mountains. The reservation had an opening for a doctor. I applied and got the position. The reservation is a place of power. In the past three years, the demon has never struck within the boundaries of the reservation, nor has it targeted the Native youth. And as far as I can remember, it’s never targeted a local like you. Always tourists or truckers. It only attacks people who are passing through.”
“It must have been pleased to find Rex at the side
of the road.”
She looked from man to man. “Your glamour is powerful. I don’t understand how it saw through your disguise.”
Rex sighed. “It didn’t. At some point during the fight, it bit me. Before it could figure out what I was, I dove over the hillside. But I was too injured to use my wings, so I tumbled down. It was enough to discourage them—for the moment, anyway.” His glance at the window spoke volumes. He expected company.
He was afraid it would follow him. She gnawed on her lip, thinking the situation over. “If the demon knows you’re here, we can draw it out.”
“No.” Rion sounded quite adamant, which surprised her. He seemed to be the more submissive of the two. “Rex needs to heal. The demon will wait.”
“No, it won’t. You have to understand, if it realizes who I am, it will run.” Noemi argued. She’d been hunting this bastard too many years to let it slip away. It was almost within her grasp.
“I’m sorry. I’m taking Rex somewhere safe. Tomorrow. He isn’t strong enough to take on a demon. Neither am I.”
“Is that why you always run?” Noemi nearly clapped her hand over her mouth in chagrin. Where had that come from? She didn’t even know what these men were, much less how they lived their lives. They were both staring at her as though she’d said something far more shocking than she had.
“What exactly are you anyway?” Rex’s voice was thick with suspicion.
“I’m a doctor.”
“And…” Rex’s eyes were far too sharp.
“I’m a demon hunter.” She watched their reactions—Rion looked skeptical and Rex showed interest.
“And how many demons would you say you’ve successfully…killed?”
“Lots. And no, I’m not giving numbers.”
Both men were quiet, again exchanging a meaningful glance. She wondered exactly how long they’d been together, to have developed such a sense of harmony.
“We’ve met demon hunters before. They usually aren’t human.”
Rex picked up Rion’s point. “In fact, most humans aren’t aware that we exist. Any of us.”
“Most humans weren’t raised in a tribal society with a shaman and a wise woman guiding their education. Most humans haven’t been stalked by Kelet.”
She could see she’d scored a win. More importantly, Rex wasn’t looking good. His color was fading fast. She rose and checked the temperature of his forehead. It wasn’t overly hot, but for a creature that had probably never experienced a fever before, it could be fatal.
“Rex, I need to know what you are, and what I can safely use to treat you. I don’t like the way this fever just spiked.”
He let out a breath, wincing against the pain in his ribs. “Fine. I’m Sidhe, a ghillie dubh. I’ve never taken human medicine before, but most plant-based medications should be fine.”
“Rex!” His lover was not pleased.
“Sidhe, as in Fairy?”
His smile was a bit cynical. “No. Sidhe is the blanket term for all Other. I’m sort of like a brownie or pixie rather than one of the Fae.”
“Like Jack in the Green?”
Rex smiled at the reference to the old folk character. “Yes. Exactly.”
She turned to the other man. If Rex was one of the less glamorous Sidhe, she wondered what in hell the Rion was. Because as Rex’s glamour faded, his beauty began to shine through. And those wings…
“Okay then. Rion, here are my keys. I have a black bag in the back of my car. When you bring it in, we need to move him to the bedroom.” She checked Rex’s pulse as Rion quietly left the room.
“What’s really going on? You shouldn’t be this sick.”
“It’s the demon bite. I don’t know why it’s this bad. Since the bite came from the host it shouldn’t be as venomous as from the demon itself.”
“Well, damn.” That certainly wasn’t good.
Rion returned with her case, and without a word, gently lifted Rex in his arms, carrying him through the arched doorway to the bedroom. Thankfully the Sidhe was wearing only a pair of baggy shorts. They rolled down easily so she could look at the bite. She did her best to ignore his slim, muscular hips and the sexy ‘V’ that ran down his belly. Ignoring his thick, uncut cock took even more effort.
She straightened, looking at Rion. “Where were you planning to take him?”
“To my people,” Rex answered, cutting off whatever Rion was going to say.
“Can they heal this? I don’t think it’s mortal, but you’ll be very sick for a long time. My guess is that the poison will eventually filter through your body, but since demon venom is designed to cripple their victims, it’ll be a long haul for you.”
Rex lay back, his good arm over his eyes. “There are those among us who can heal.”
“Plus, he’ll be safe with them. The demon will be able to follow us, but it won’t be able to cross into the Other Place.” Rion sat on the edge of the bed, retrieving a damp cloth from the headboard and placing it over Rex’s forehead.
“Is it a long trip? No airline will allow him to board this way.”
“I was going to rent a van or a car.”
“I can drive you.”
Their distrust was obvious and it frustrated her. “Look, you don’t need to show me this magical place, just accept a ride. He’s going to need medical support, Rion. And if you need me to watch your back, I’m pretty good in a fight.”
She opened her medical bag and drew out a syringe. “I’m going to treat you as though you’ve been bitten by an insect, with a simple antibiotic and a poultice for the wound itself. If you’d like, I can give you something for pain as well.”
He shook his head.
“Look, Rex. You need all your strength to fight the venom. That means we don’t need anything else in the way. Not infections, fatigue or hunger. You’ve got to eliminate your other weaknesses to give your immune system the best chance possible.”
She swabbed his hip, and when he didn’t object, smoothly gave him the injection. Glancing up at Rion, she saw that he looked pale, but approving.
“All that crap about not taking medical treatment? That wasn’t about religion, was it?”
“His wings and tail could show up on an X-ray. And I don’t know what the blood work would show.” He rose and retrieved the slowly drying cloth, taking it to the bathroom and re-wetting it. When he draped it over Rex’s forehead, the Sidhe didn’t move.
“Will it come for us tonight?”
She bit her lip and looked out of the window. Her sharp eyes caught subtle charms on the property, disguised as wind chimes and sun catchers. Good, but possibly not good enough.
“I’ll stay tonight and stand guard while you sleep.”
He paused then nodded, relief plain on his face. She followed him from the bedroom, watching as he went into the kitchen and started pulling food from the cupboards, a touch of normalcy in his disrupted life.
“He’s all I have in this world, Dr. Gastineau.”
“Noemi. Call me Noemi.”
He nodded and turned to the refrigerator.
“And surely you have family? Friends?”
“Yes…and no. We do move a lot. His people have taken me to their hearts. Still, without Rex, I don’t know what I’d do. I don’t even know who I’d be.”
She stood back and watched, then looked around the small, cozy house. “You’d be Rion Hunter, the man who makes beautiful musical instruments.”
He smiled as he quickly put together sandwiches. “I’d prefer to be Rion Hunter, the carpenter who is also Rex Clark’s lover.”
She sat on the sofa and accepted a sandwich. “And just how long have you been protecting him?”
“I don’t protect him. Not at all. If anything, Rex has taken care of me all these years.” He still hadn’t answered her question, so she waited. “I came to the Earth in the 1860s.”
Noemi froze, sandwich in her hand. Carefully, she set it back on the plate. “You came to the Earth—over a century ago? Where exactly
did you come from?”
He shrugged and took a bite of his sandwich. She watched in fascination as he slowly chewed his food. It seemed that once Rex had chosen to trust her, this one followed suit.
“I don’t really know. Another world, maybe another dimension. All I know is that I fell from grace among my people, so I was cast down to Earth.”
Noemi sat, her mind racing…partly in fear, partly in fascination.
“So you are…”
“An angel. A fallen angel, to be exact.”
“It is said that demons are the offspring of the Fallen.” Her throat was tight. Noemi set her plate on the table and reached for the talisman around her neck.
“I have learned over the years that not all demon-kind are evil. Not all Sidhe are good. Good and bad is a choice we all make, and we, as individuals, are solely responsible for our decisions.”
The talisman hummed with its normal, steady pulse, giving no hint of the great power it held. Odd as it might seem, the angel was speaking the truth.
“Tell me, Dr…Noemi. When you hunt demons, do you go after the incubi? The succubi?”
“No, they are fairly harmless. They feed off excess sexual energy. Of course, some cultures believe that male sexual energy should be held in by withholding orgasm. So the succubi are greatly feared among those people.”
“Such as Taoists?”
She nodded.
“Vampires?”
She shook her head. “Rarely. Most find enough willing donors that they don’t need to resort to predatory tactics.”
“So what sort of demons do you hunt?” Rion was settled in the big easy chair. Earlier, she’d been struck by his unearthly beauty. Now, she was growing uneasily aware of his raw male sexuality. He had one leg drawn up, and his jeans were old and worn, offering a glimpse of pale skin here and there. A dark-blue tank top displayed muscular arms. Tiny tattoos looked like calligraphy across his shoulders.
“What do you look like without the glamour?”
He blinked, startled at the abrupt shift in the conversation. “I don’t change in appearance that much. Rex can alter his age, even his size. I just try to tone it down.”
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