“So, what do you think of the water?” he asks, sighing contently and peering around at the trees beyond us. “Nice, right?”
“It’s lovely,” I say, feeling wildly exposed but unsure I want to be anything else.
In all my years as a Guardian, being vulnerable has been a rarity. There wasn’t much I couldn’t take head-on and win. But this…
Liam smiles, raising his right hand to the side of my face. His fingertips brush the side of my cheek before sliding behind my ear. He bends in, brushing his lips against mine. The kiss is soft and sweet, and he breaks it as quickly as it started.
I sway on the spot, wishing it hadn’t ended. Sighing deeply, I open my eyes.
“Come on, I want to show you one more thing,” he says.
Without another word, he lets go of me, twists around, and dives into the water. I watch his naked backside swim away and disappear farther into the depths.
I hold my breath, waiting for him to resurface, but the moment takes longer than expected.
“Liam?” I call out, searching the water for any sign of him.
Silence extends between us, and anxiety takes hold in the middle of my stomach. I narrow my eyes and lean forward on the tips of my toes. Suddenly, he breaks the surface halfway across the lake.
“What are you still doing over there, silly?” he says loudly. “You were supposed to follow me.”
“Follow you? How?” I ask, shaking my head.
“Swim,” he laughs.
“But I’ve—” I take a deep breath and cast my eyes on the water between us. “I’ve never swam before. Angel, remember? We don’t really deal with the realms of water. I’m not a mermaid. Space and time is more my thing.”
“Oh, right. I sorta… I wasn’t thinking. Hang on. I’ll come back for you,” he says, diving back in.
Within a few moments, he’s again beside me, flicking water from his hair as he stands back up. His body glistens in the afternoon sunlight as it starts to get lower in the afternoon sky. It casts deep shadows in the crevasses of his carved torso.
“We can just walk. It’s not very deep,” he says, waving his arm out in front of us to suggest we begin.
“Thanks,” I grin. “It’s not that I wouldn’t try swimming, you know.”
“Well, do you want to learn?” he asks, turning to me.
I narrow my gaze, thinking. “Maybe?”
“It’s not that hard. In fact, if you want to just float on your back, I’d be okay with that,” he says, a hint of a mischievous grin breaking across his face.
“Why do I get the feeling there’s more to the story than that?” I say, narrowing my gaze.
“Well, it might be a little self-serving, I suppose,” he chuckles. “I’d be able to admire you a bit more.”
My face flushes.
Not having this kind of interaction throughout my existence puts me at a disadvantage at understanding some of these nuances. Even now. You’d think after all the years of hearing his thoughts—and the many charges I’ve had before him—it would have helped me know where his mind is at. Instead, I’m more wrapped up in my own thoughts.
“I’d be okay with that,” I finally whisper, biting the side of my lip.
Liam’s chin tips upward, and he takes a step toward me, “Well, then, dear Eva. I suggest we get started with your first swimming lesson.”
“What do I have to do?” I ask, laughing softly.
“Do you trust me?”
“With my life,” I say, locking eyes with him.
The depths of his hazel eyes darken as his pupils expand. His cheeks tighten. “Good. Then all you need to do is lie back and lift your legs. I’ll catch you.”
Doing as he asks, I turn so I’m horizontal to him and lean back into the water. The cool, wet liquid races across my back and into my scalp, dampening my hair and sending a chill up and down my spine. As promised, his hands catch me as I lean back and I raise my legs in response.
“There you go,” he says, smiling. “How does it feel?”
“Cold,” I laugh, shivering slightly.
“Yes, I can see that,” he says, allowing his eyes to travel my body. They rest on my torso for a beat longer than anywhere else and the skin across my breasts tightens in response.
“Now what?” I ask, trying to be more confident than I feel.
“Gently kick your legs. They’ll propel you,” he says.
I kick out my legs the way I’ve seen my charges do over the years, and my body moves backward in the water. Liam takes a step back, allowing me a little space to float on my own as I move away slowly.
“See? You’re getting it,” he says, walking alongside me.
“This isn’t so hard,” I say.
“That’s debatable,” Liam says under his breath.
I turn my head, eyeing him quizzically.
His cheeks brighten, but he raises his eyebrows, clears his throat, and points behind me. “So, I wanted to bring you over there,” he says, flitting his gaze behind me.
I roll in the water, dropping my feet back into the soft sand. Following his gaze, I see that the waterfall is much closer now.
“Why didn’t you just say so? I mean, it’s beautiful, but I could see it from over there,” I say.
“Not the same. Besides, there’s more to it than that,” he says, grabbing my hand again. “Come on. Let me show you.”
We trudge through the water together, moving slowly through its resistance. It presses against my skin in stark contrast as it floods past the warmth growing between my legs. As we reach the waterfall, rainbows of light spring off in various directions as the sunlight hits the spray.
“Wow,” I say, unable to help myself.
“Pretty, isn’t it? Are you ready to go through it?” Liam asks, eyeing me over his shoulder.
“Through it? Isn’t there rock on the other side? I mean, look at it—”
The waterfall springs from a cliffside of jagged rocks, flowers, and mosses. It’s gorgeous but doesn’t look the most inviting.
“Well, sure. But there’s also a small alcove on the other side. When the sun is setting, it’s the most magical thing I’ve ever seen in my whole life,” he says, taking a step toward the waterfall. “We just won’t want to stay long after. It tends to get dark pretty quickly, and we’ll want to get back to camp.”
“Okay,” I nod. “Is the water colder at the waterfall?” I eye the way it crashes against the lake.
“Tremendously,” he chuckles.
“Oh, goodie.”
“I’ll keep you warm,” he says, tugging me closer. He presses his chest against mine, wrapping his arms around my lower waist.
Shuddering at his close proximity, I nod. “Okay, let’s do it.”
There are plenty of other things I could think of wanting to do more, but I get the impression Liam is trying to walk the fine line between being a gentleman and giving in to his own desires.
Without another word, he turns toward the waterfall and walks straight into it. The force from its downfall breaks our hands apart, but I continue to follow behind him, not wanting him to be left on the other side alone. As quickly as the water cascades over me, it ceases, and we’re both behind the waterfall.
He wasn’t kidding—there is an alcove here, but it’s larger than I’d imagined. The back wall is jagged and wet but carved in a semi-dome. The pool of water continues on for another ten feet or so, then fades into a ledge of stone and sand. Beyond is a platform of rocks to the left that meanders up into the ceiling and to the right is a sandy area that fades into the mosses and vegetation as it makes its way inside.
“The way I figure it, someone—maybe lots of people, I don’t know—must have used this as a shelter at some point. See the rocks back there? They’ve been dug away with a tool of some kind,” Liam says, pointing.
Walking forward, the lake fades quickly as I reach the inner shore. Stepping out of the shroud of the lake, the water drips from my body, but I can’t find it in me to be ov
erly self-conscious. Instead, I turn back to Liam and hold out my hand.
“Show me what you mean,” I say.
He nods, walking forward and out of the water. It cascades off of him, sending a wave of desire rolling through me, but I settle into it, wanting everything with him to unfold naturally. The way he’d want it to.
“See this section?” he says, stepping past me and pointing at the rock. “The lines of it aren’t natural. Some of the rocks have been broken off and this alcove enlarged. I think originally, the rock came all the way out to there.”
He points to the left side, where the shore’s edge looks more like a rocky cliff.
“But wouldn’t that have taken a long time?”
“Definitely. At least, without the proper tools,” he says, nodding. “And I highly doubt they had any C4 out here.”
“What if the person who did this comes back? Do you think we should leave?”
“I don’t think anyone has stayed here for a long time,” he says, shaking his head. “There was a small fire pit over there, but you can tell it hadn’t been used in ages.”
“Hmmm, if that’s the case, why didn’t you just take this over? It seems like natural protection from predators. When I first got here, I could have sworn there was something in the woods following me. Plus, there are other animals and creatures. I saw a deer out there.”
“Like I said before, I tried. My first night here, I stayed in this very spot. But I couldn’t for the life of me keep a fire going. It was too wet from the back spray and any wood I managed to get in here was soaked.”
“I see…”
“Plus, I’m not a fan of wet clothes. Without a fire, they take forever to dry,” he says, winking. “At least I learned that lesson before coming back.”
“Regardless of a fire, it would still be a better shelter than out in the woods.”
“Trust me. At night, something crazy happens out there. It’s damn scary and everything changes. There are noises out there—howls and cries. All of that I can handle in comparison with this place. I found fire does the trick, though. Whatever it is—they don’t like the brightness of it. The lake takes on an eerie quality, too. It emits a strange light, but nothing bright enough to keep whatever’s out there at bay. So, I’d rather stay where the light is,” he says, scratching the back of his head.
The muscles on his arm contracts, drawing my eyes back to his torso.
I shiver, wishing we were somewhere warm and safe and tangled up in each other. Instead, my Guardian background begins to kick in, processing ways to keep us safe. I wish I had access to my weapons. I’d feel a lot better. I wrap my arms around my body, and Liam steps forward and takes me in his arms.
“Are you cold?” he asks.
“A little.”
“Okay, how about we come back another time. The light is getting low anyway. Looks like we may have missed the magic moment I was trying to show you, anyway. We can try again tomorrow. We should get back to our camp before nightfall,” he says, tugging me back the way we came.
A strange mixture of relief and trepidation swirls inside me. We’re definitely stronger together than apart, but I wish I knew what we were dealing with. It’s hard to plan an attack when you don’t know your attacker.
As much as I hate to admit it, something gnaws at the back of my mind. It’s an annoying sensation, telling me I’m forgetting something. Or that I should know something vitally important, but for some reason can’t access it.
When we come out the other side of the waterfall, the sun is hanging low into the tree line. So far, nothing is eerie, but I sense a shift in the breeze, like a storm that’s coming, even if you can’t see it just yet.
“I don’t know how it could have gotten so late already. We really do need to make it back to camp and get the fire started. I’m sorry, Eva. I should have been paying more attention—” Liam pulls up short as his eyes lock onto the other side of the lake.
“What is it?” I say, following his gaze.
Walking along the edge of the shore, I can barely make out the form of a man as he shifts slowly toward our pile of clothing. His walk is funny, like he’s hurt his foot or something, as he drags it slightly along.
“Hey—hey, are you okay? Sir—?” Liam begins, his eyes narrowing.
The man doesn’t look up or even acknowledge anyone is talking to him.
“You don’t think he’ll take our clothes, do you?” I ask, suddenly self-conscious about my lack of attire.
“I sure as hell hope not,” Liam says, his eyes widening. Before we can take a step forward, the man reaches our clothing and bends down, pulling at the fabric.
“Hey, mister, get away from our…” Liam’s voice trails off and he glances back at me. “Does that guy look a little weird to you?”
Narrowing my gaze, I place a hand over my brow and try to get a better look. Recognition comes far too slowly, but it hits me in the gut. The sickly gray pallor of his skin and mannerisms awaken the memory of something I was forgetting. The man’s body is malnourished, for sure, but that’s not the scary part. He’s not a man, not anymore. He’s become something else entirely.
A wraith.
“Liam, we need to go back,” I command. “It’s not safe to be anywhere near that man.”
“What are you talking about? He just a frail old man. Maybe he’s lost? We should help him,” he begins.
I shake my head, holding out an arm and backing both of us up. How could I have forgotten about wraiths? It’s angelic history 101. And where there’s one, there are sure to be more.
“Oh, he’s lost, all right,” I nod.
“Eva, we need to go, and what about our clothes? We can’t let him take them,” Liam says, pointing.
“He’s not interested in our clothes. He’s interested in us.”
Liam’s face darkens. “What do you mean?”
“You’re right. There’s dark, evil forces roaming this place at night. I should have remembered. I should have gotten us to safety right away. I don’t know why I didn’t…” My voice trails off and I stand in the water, shaking my head.
How could I have been so careless?
“Eva, talk to me. Why can’t we get our clothes?” Liam says, placing his hands on my arms and spinning me toward him.
“We can’t come into contact with him. If we do, he could syphon what little life-force we still have. Wraiths are like an incubus that way, and they never travel alone. They’re herded by the energy of life force that’s in proximity to it. It’s like a calling card. We need to stay as far away as possible,” I say, my pulse quickening.
Liam was right; something very nefarious goes on here at night, but it wasn’t the lake that was the problem. It was Liam himself.
And if I remember rightly, this is no ordinary lake, either.
“Wraiths?”
“Come with me. We’ll go back into the alcove and I’ll tell you everything I remember,” I say, spinning us both around.
We need to devise a plan to protect our life-force, not only from the wraiths, but from Purgatory in general. Even without coming into contact with a wraith, this place will steal it from us on its own and if we’re not careful, we’ll both end up as one.
It’s what happens when a being is trapped in Purgatory too long.
Chapter 13
What Happens in Purgatory Stays in Purgatory
Liam’s eyes narrow and he wraps his arms around his legs.
“You’re telling me if we continue to stay here, we’ll eventually become one of those things?” he finally says.
I nod, hoping my face isn’t as grim as my insides feel. He might not realize the significance of this as a previous human, but as an angel, this is bad. Really, really bad. And I don’t know how I could have let this happen. It’s not as if I didn’t know how Purgatory works but being here—it’s a whole new experience. It’s like everything is upside down. Maybe it’s the close proximity to Liam? Or the fact that I’m soooo close to having every
thing I’ve ever wanted? It’s like I can’t see the dangers lurking just in the periphery.
“Well, what do we do? I mean, wouldn’t it be better to make a run for it, grab our clothes, and make it to the woods? I can start a fire pretty quickly,” Liam offers.
“I’m sure you can, but it’s not the one wraith I’m afraid of,” I say, taking a deep breath and wrapping my arms around my legs the same way Liam has.
The mossy ground is soft enough to sit on, but I can see how this might become a very uncomfortable night. There’s no real soft place to rest. No blankets. No pillows, beds, or even clothes.
It’s strange how exposed a person feels when not in the throes of desire. As much as I still wish we could go back there—the need to protect us has trumped all of that. What I wouldn’t give to have our clothing back.
“What is it you’re afraid of? Are there more?” Liam asks, his eyes wide.
“Liam, where there’s one wraith, there are always more. Lots and lots more. I’d imagine the sunlight keeps them at bay during the day, but as the night comes on, they can move more freely. They’ll sense us and our life force, and they’ll be innately drawn to it. We may not have much, but it’s more than they have. And they crave it,” I say, trying to remember back to the various Purgatory lessons I’ve had over the years.
“Why?” he asks, shaking his head.
“Why, what?”
“Why do they crave it?”
I run my fingertip along my eyebrow and sigh. “I suppose it’s because they’ve lost theirs and, instinctually, they know it’s what they’re missing.”
“So, if they touch us, they could take it from us?” he says, his jaw sets and eyebrows tugged in tight.
I lock eyes with him for a moment and slowly nod.
“Shit. How are we ever going to get outta here alive?” he says.
A surprised chuckle erupts from my chest. “We aren’t. Liam, you’re already dead. Remember? You shouldn’t even be here. You should be…”
My face falters. Liam really shouldn’t be here, even if I am. He should be on his way to heaven—his soul should be enlightened and moving back into the ether so it can be reincarnated. He shouldn’t be trapped here with me. He shouldn’t be facing extinction.
Playing With Fire Page 88
