Frost and Flame

by Showalter, Gena

  “Right now, the girl’s ability is weak,” Aveline persisted. “All she can do is spirit walk. If she isn’t stopped, she’ll learn how to kill anyone she desires, at any time, and we won’t know until it’s too late.”

  How had Jayne—The answer arose from deep in his memories. Before traveling back, she’d had to make a blood sacrifice.

  He sucked in a breath. The implications of this...

  If Nola made a human sacrifice, she could travel back in solid form, rather than splitting spirit from body, leaving the two intangible. To save someone, another had to perish. Blood for blood, life for life. But she wasn’t a cold-blooded murderess, and he could not—would not—ask her to be.

  Therefore, she would not be going back to save Meredith.

  Decision made. A tsunami of relief flooded him, guilt nipping at its heels.

  They would forge ahead, as originally planned.

  Bane had much to think about and much to do. Namely, keep Micah away from Nola.

  Ready to end the call and whisk her to safety, he told Aveline, “I’m in danger.” Truth. He was always in danger. “I must go.”

  As she sputtered a protest, he pressed his thumb against the ring. The light died.

  With no time to waste, Bane rushed outside to unhook the RV, just as the previous owner had instructed him. Then he plopped into the driver’s seat, programmed the GPS, also as taught, then buckled in and keyed the engine. Minutes later they were on the road, heading to Roswell, New Mexico, no longer stationary targets for Micah.

  * * *

  NOLA AWOKE ALONE. No, not true. She had her memories. Bane, making sweet love to her. Bane, all but begging her to save his wife. Bane, holding her while she sobbed about her murdered parents.

  He was a wonderful man, with a tragic past, a big heart and a smoking body—literally! But...

  Our romantic relationship is over. She wouldn’t sleep with a man who would move heaven, Earth and Adwaeweth to resurrect his dead wife. Lucky, lucky Meredith. His warrior woman. The female able to fight at his side. How could Nola compete?

  I wanted to mend his heart, and in the process, I broke my own. Grief scalded her.

  She drew in a big shuddering breath and fixed her thoughts on the RV. Dappled sunlight slipped through a crack in the curtains, revealing a ransacked bedroom. Four perfect claw marks marred the headboard. Clothes were scattered over the floor and splattered with blood.

  The urge to curl into a ball and throw the best pity party in town struck her. Instead of attending, Nola forced herself to stand to shaky legs and prowl about. A plethora of weapons covered the kitchen table. Guns, knives, a crossbow. Bane must have gathered more while she slept. No doubt he was seeing to their defenses even now.

  Worried for him, she stalked to the bathroom to brush her teeth, shower and dress in a pink T-shirt and skinny jeans. “This was a new day,” she told her reflection. She wasn’t in the midst of a painful flare and she wasn’t battling withdrawal. Like Bane, she had goals. When Bane trained her, she wanted to learn the dirtiest, most sinister moves he knew. I will be like a virus. I’ll sneak up on her, rip through her body and leave destruction in my wake. She’ll never know what hit her.

  Before, Nola hadn’t looked forward to Aveline’s murder. Now?

  Die badly, bitch.

  Nola returned to the living room, rested a knee on the couch and leaned forward to peer out the slats in the window. She frowned. Blinked. Shook her head. She’d fallen asleep in an RV park, but she’d woken up in a dirt-filled flatland. Where were they, and why had Bane brought them here?

  She took a photo with her cell phone, just in case Zion’s tracking skills didn’t elicit the desired results.

  Hinges wailed as the door swung open. A hoodie-wearing Bane stomped into the RV. He wore the goggles and a leather jacket, too, but removed and tossed both on the couch. The leathers he kept on.

  Ready, set, go. Her heart took off in a mad sprint.

  Their gazes met, and he went motionless, tension thrumming from him. “Your sadness remains,” he said, a statement, not a question.

  “Yes,” she whispered. Why lie?

  The last time he’d entered the RV like this, they’d had sex. Now, her body expected it. Demanded it. Addicted... Now that she knew the bliss of being filled, she felt empty without him.

  Her nipples beaded and pressed against her bra, the little hookers doing their best to draw his notice. Her belly quivered, and her knees weakened, liquid heat pooling between her legs.

  A plain white T-shirt molded to his muscular physique, and those black leather pants hugged his thighs. His fair hair was askew, the golden stubble on his beard thicker than before.

  “Tsk, tsk,” he said. “You are leering.”

  “Oh. I’m sorry. I’ll stop.”

  “Don’t you dare!” His tension grew as he looked her up and down. His shaft hardened, pressing against his fly.

  The sight made her mouth water.

  “Are you sore?” he asked.

  Good job, hookers! No. Bad job. Bad! A flush spread over her cheeks. “A bit.”

  He scrubbed a hand over his mouth, as if he needed to wipe away drool. “There’s much we need to discuss, but right now I have a better use for our mouths.” He stepped toward her.

  She licked her lips and walked backward. “We can’t be together. Not again.”

  “Can’t?” Like a bullet, he shot across the RV to loom in front of her. “Explain.”

  So commanding. So intense. Just the way she liked him. “You aren’t over your wife. When she comes back, and she will, probably, I’ll be a third wheel. No, thanks.” Say nothing more. “I hope you know you’re a fool! Whether you like it or not, I’m super good for you. You need fun the way most people need air, and I’m your dealer.”

  Okay, so she’d said something more.

  “Meredith isn’t coming back.” He reached out to hook a lock of hair behind her ear, as casual as if he’d announced they were having salmon for breakfast.

  “I don’t understand.”

  “I’m happy to explain...after.”

  Shivers coursed through her, his scent teasing her nose. His body heat pulsed over her skin.

  Had he meant after sex? “I won’t be a fill-in for Meredith,” she said, jutting her chin. “I won’t be Miss Right Now, only to be cast aside when she comes back.”

  “You are no one’s fill-in.” Too fast to track, Bane cupped her butt and yanked her against him. His heart thudded in time with hers, a shocking revelation. She made him nervous and needy. “The reason I don’t want you going back doesn’t matter. Do you want me?” he asked.

  “Yes,” she whispered. “But—”

  He leaned down, at the same time lifting her to her tiptoes. Their mouths smashed together, their tongues frantically tangling. Another lift, and she wrapped her legs around his waist, using him as an anchor.

  He lowered her to the couch, the length of his erection pressed against her aching core. A hoarse groan left him while she moaned a prayer of thanks. How she’d missed his weight.

  Maybe she’d been too quick to decide they shouldn’t sleep together again. Maybe, if she fought hard enough, she could win him...forever? She could have this forever.

  Forever...with Bane...

  I want it, she realized. More than anything!

  But a royal versus a beloved wife? Even though he’d claimed Meredith wouldn’t be coming back, the odds weren’t in Nola’s favor. But, if she wanted him, shouldn’t she fight for him, no matter the outcome?

  He deepened the kiss, thrusting his tongue with more force in a mad dash to reach the finish line. The rest of the world began to fade...until the entire RV shook, dishes rattling. A panting Bane jerked his head up, ending their kiss.

  A terrible scraping sound rang out, and she cringed. “What is that? An earthquake?
”

  He leaped to his feet, strapped on multiple weapons and wound two links of chain around her waist. “Do you know how to shoot a gun?”

  Trepidation slithered down her spine, plucking at her nerve endings. “I do, yes.” As part of her and Vale’s self-defense training, they’d taken a course on gun safety and handling.

  “Good. Because Aveline contacted me and confirmed her kill order to Micah. He’s here, and he’s hunting for you.”

  Smiling, she purred, “Let him come.” Dark Nola had a surprise for him.

  Bane did a double take. “I think he’s here, and I think he’s in beast form.” He placed a semiautomatic in her hand, then lifted a battery operated...nail gun? “Stay here while I—”

  Suddenly the roof of the RV ripped from the vehicle and was thrown aside, cool air and dirt whipping all around them as a great and terrible beast was revealed.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  Personality makeover!

  BANE HISSED AS sunlight bathed him, his eyes watering and blurring, his body shaking. Must stop Micah. Must protect Nola, no matter the cost.

  Only seconds ago, Bane had luxuriated in primal arousal, needing his woman more than breath. He needed her...always.

  I’m keeping her. Never letting her go.

  Drogo prowled through his mind, enraged at the sight of the other predator.

  Micah would die in blood and pain. But first, Bane had to transform. To defeat a beast, he must become a beast. Only another beast’s teeth and claws could slice through those inch-thick, steel-hard scales. Not yet. Hold... He wouldn’t risk harming Nola or his weapons.

  “Stay away,” Nola shouted at Micah, relish in her tone. It was clear she wanted to hurt him, that she craved vengeance...like a true queen. Bane wasn’t sure what to think, or how to feel, his every thought upside down and inside out.

  The beast hovered above them, watching, no doubt trying to make sense out of what he was seeing: a comrade in arms guarding an enemy.

  “You cannot stop him with your commands. You merely slow him,” Bane said, shoving her behind him. “Your orders contradict Aveline’s. As a queen who’s killed hundreds, thousands, she’s far stronger than you. As a warrior dedicated to her cause, Micah isn’t like me. He’ll have no desire to align with you, so you’ll have no real sway with him.”

  Micah’s beast had a longer-than-normal snout, and an extra row of teeth, his scales red rather than green. Black claws tipped both his front and back paws.

  As the bastard tilted back his head, preparing to spew fire, Bane computed facets of the other male’s plan. The fire would do no damage to Bane. But Nola...

  Wings burst from Bane’s back. In a storm of fury, he grabbed a bag of weapons and Nola, and flew up, up, out of the decimated RV. They landed several feet away—and got kicked back into the air when the entire conveyance erupted in flames.

  When they landed again, Bane palmed the first weapon he could get his free hand on—a machine that shot small, sharp pieces of metal known as “nails.” He hammered at the trigger, aiming for the beast’s mouth to discourage another fiery stream.

  The bastard darted through the sky, zigzagging to avoid further injury, but Bane never stopped firing. The beast had nowhere to run. Or fly. Bane had chosen this spot for its lack of cover. No cover, no hiding places.

  Despite a hot flood of adrenaline, Bane’s shoulder radiated pain through every inch of his body. Still, he kept hammering at the trigger. “Teleport. Now! I must transform.” Even as he fought it, he felt the urge to change migrating to his bones, his body preparing. Would rather die than hurt Nola. “You’re in danger.”

  “So? I’ve been in danger since the moment we met. I can help you,” she insisted, then screeched as Micah spewed a twenty-foot circle of fire around them. Sweat trickled from her brow. “His fire won’t kill me, right?”

  Sweat trickled from Bane’s brow, too. Over every inch of him, pouring in rivulets as tendrils of smoke thickened the air, shielding his sensitive eyes and skin from the harsh rays of sunlight. “His flames will begin your Blood Rite, weakening you so he can more easily kill you. Once it starts, it can’t be stopped. Go. Please.” He opened a portal through the flames.

  As he led her through it, emerging on the other side, she gasped out, “Slowing him down is better than nothing.”

  The smile she’d displayed moments ago flashed through his mind. Cold, merciless and mighty. Magnificent. She’d impressed the hell out of him. Now, she refused to run, displaying zero fears, exactly what he’d thought he’d wanted from the sickly girl he’d first met, and he feared for her life.

  Swooping down with preternatural speed, Micah unleashed another stream of fire. Shit! Nowhere to go. Bane enfolded Nola in his wings, the flames dancing over him.

  If she wouldn’t go on her own, he’d have to portal her. But where would he send her, without stumbling upon Erik’s bombs? Or Micah following?

  Mind racing, Bane crafted a new plan. Portal Micah. Micah would portal right back, yes, but by then, Nola would be hidden away. Yes!

  Bane rubbed the Rifters, opening a portal to shark-infested waters. His favorite combatant dumping spot. The other male hadn’t noticed—yet.

  “Do not release my hand. Understand?” Bane said as he linked his fingers with Nola’s. He didn’t wait for her reply, just led her into a sprint back to the RV, around it, through it. The beast chased them.

  Ten seconds...thirty...fifty. Now! Bane ushered the beast in the direction of the portal. Of course, Micah noticed it then and stopped midair. Too late. During their trek, Bane had gotten his hands on a crossbow and shot off a round of arrows, nailing the beast in the eye, sending him wheeling back. He vanished in the portal—water splashing.

  Whoosh. The portal closed.

  Any moment, the bastard would return. Bane had to send Nola somewhere he’d never been, a place he’d only seen in a photo. Like...the photo of young Nola, with her bright smile.

  “What’s the plan?” Nola asked.

  “This.” With no time to spare, he opened a portal to the playground and prodded her inside.

  A snarling, soaking wet Micah hurried through a portal of his own, spotted the other portal and tried to zoom through it.

  Bane shot into the air and blocked with a swing of his sword—a sword he then tossed into the portal, followed by his goggles and the chains. “Keep them safe,” he shouted at Nola.

  She had landed on a plot of grass and now leaped up, her furious gaze locked on Bane. “Don’t you dare take this away from me!” One step, two, she rushed forward.

  The sight of her, so determined, so fierce, nearly felled him. “I’ll be your hand of vengeance, princess.”

  “Bane!” The portal closed before she reached it, her rage-darkened face the last thing he saw.

  Send Micah to his grave, go to Nola.

  Bloodlust boiled in his veins. Fueled by adrenaline, his fury mounting, Bane stopped fighting his transformation. He dropped the nail gun and charged toward his enemy. Drogo overtook him along the way, emerging with a world-rocking roar.

  Let the battle begin.

  * * *

  IT TOOK A moment for Nola to gain her bearings. Bane had dropped her in Oklahoma, on the outskirts of a park she and Vale used to frequent as young girls. Sunlight and trees surrounded the area, a cold breeze chilling her bones. Kids laughed as they climbed monkey bars. Parents, babysitters and guardians perched on benches, watching over their charges, almost everyone wearing some sort of costume.

  Why—oh, right. Days had passed, and Halloween had arrived. Thankfully, no one paid her any heed.

  Nola gathered the items Bane had flung at her and hid in the shadows of a bank of trees. Though aches and pains flared up, and her stomach grew queasy, she secured the metal links to her arms, fit the goggles around her neck and anchored the sword to her back. Time was her gr
eatest enemy right now. If she began to vomit, she wouldn’t have the strength to teleport.

  She wished she’d already undergone the Blood Rite. Wished she possessed the ability to heal all of Bane, not just part of him. Wished she could defeat Micah.

  Yeah, Bane had been smart to send her away. In her previous frame of mind, she would have challenged the POS and lost. But. She could fight Micah in other ways. Unlike Bane, she could use Aveline’s orders against Micah.

  Frantic to return, Nola closed her eyes and concentrated on their mental link...yes! She picked up emotional fragments. Frothing rage. Sizzling hatred. Incomparable pain. Jagged frustration. All-consuming concern. An-n-nd suddenly, she could see through Bane’s eyes. A smoke-doused sky, neon red eyes and the glint of scales.

  Urgency vibrated in Nola’s bones, and she whipped out her cell phone. She typed a rushed message to Zion, attached the photo of the desert and asked for help. Zion could prove his tracking skills another day.

  The foundation at her feet vanished. For a moment, she floated, weightless. Then, a new foundation appeared.

  She’d done it! The smoke filled her nose, and she coughed, her eyes burning and watering. Rapid blinking cleared her line of sight—

  Horror devoured her, a living nightmare unfolding.

  Only a few minutes had passed, yet everything had changed.

  Streams of fire had charred sections of land, tendrils of smoke curling up, up and away. Bane was in beast form, the two creatures tearing at each other with teeth and claws. Vicious predators at war.

  Micah clawed the gash in Drogo’s shoulder. With an agonized bellow, Drogo reared back. Both of his wings were mutilated, the left hanging at an odd angle. The sight sickened her. He was a beast, yes, but he was her beast.

  Heart galloping, she shouted, “Micah!” The two beasts swung around, pinning her with the weight of their neon red gazes. She kept her gaze on Micah. Remember, your orders cannot contradict Aveline’s. Very well. “You will ignore Bane’s beast completely. No matter what he does, you will only try to kill me, the princess.”