“No, you better let me.” I rose. “Maureen stripped off her clothes and is sprawled on the bed.”
He picked up the remote. “Leave my door open so you can come back in without the keycard.”
Outside, the humid night air hit me as if someone had thrown a hot, wet blanket over my face. Grimacing, I used my keycard to go inside as the ice machine between our rooms clattered and clanked out another load of cubes. The door swung open, and the Malamute waited eagerly just inside the threshold.
Maureen dozed fitfully on the bed. Careful not to brush against her skin, I pulled the sheet up over her breasts, turned the volume down on the television and left the room. As an afterthought, I let the dog follow me outside. He trotted to a small area at the end of the parking lot where half a dozen palm trees loomed in the darkness. He watered one and then hurried to my side. I let him back into our room.
About to shut the door, I paused as Maureen shifted and rolled on her side facing me.
“He’s here,” she mumbled.
I stepped just inside the door to see her face better, but her eyes remained shut, her breathing even.
“Don’t let him find you, Ruby,” she muttered, her brow wrinkling with worry.
“Are you awake?” I asked.
She murmured something silly and settled back into fitful slumber.
Coldness seeped into the soles of my feet and traveled upward, icing my body as if an invisible sheen of frost covered it. The remnants of my disturbing afternoon dream came to me. My breath hitched, and, with a final cautionary look around the room, I backed out, leaving the dog there to guard my sun-poisoned Marilyn Monroe.
Out on the sidewalk, I scanned the parking lot. Humidity shrouded the streetlamps, a silver halo around each one. The palm trees drooped as did the tropical flowers and plants. The motel sat back away from the major hubbub of Brunswick behind a 24-lane bowling alley. A Waffle House’s sign glowed yellow and white through the cloying atmosphere, and farther down the street a porn shop’s shingle blinked red, purple and yellow.
Big puffs of fog billowed across the asphalt. Heat lightning flickered across the night sky, thunder boomed, and the ice machine punctuated the night with the clunk and rattle of its refrigeration cycle. Tires screeched somewhere on one of the neighboring streets, and the rumble of motorcycles drifted to me.
Both my heart and breath stuttered. Were the bikers closing in on us? All the disturbing occurrences of the past few days corkscrewed through my mind. Solomon had ties to the bikers through the murderous hunters, but Maureen was an innocent bystander. It wasn’t fair to put her in danger, but how could I abandon her now?
And when the hell had my outlook on Maureen changed? I didn’t owe her a thing. It was my kindness that had allowed her to hitch a ride with me, so I could just give her a chunk of money and go my separate way before something terrible happened to her.
But what about Solomon?
Dumbass! I can’t fall for the guy.
I had to draw back, had to put distance between us and make it clear we couldn’t be sexually involved, There would be no more getting to know one another. I gulped, my heart hurting so badly it stole my breath.
The sound of the suicide machines faded, and I relaxed.
Calm down. Not every motorcycle is demonic.
The sound of footsteps spanned the parking lot, the noise hollow in the mist. I glanced around for the source, but no motel patrons moved through the humid night, no one went in and out of the lot, and not a single vehicle drove along the narrow side street either. A figure emerged from the rolling fog. A very large figure. One headed straight for me.
Off to the left, movement caught my attention. Another man, this one smaller, walked half stooped along the building’s side, as if he feared being seen.
Unable to move, my heart slamming so hard I saw spots before my eyes, I stood watching the second man come closer...closer.
He stood over seven feet tall. The fog obscured his clothing, but his eyes flashed yellow in the silvery murk. Fear exploded in my chest, and a pathetic whimper tumbled from my mouth.
Desire pierced me.
“Come to me, Ruby. Let me love you. Let us be together forever.”
Somehow I found myself wedged between the ice machine and the door to Solomon’s room. A thin column of golden light sliced through the opening where he’d left it ajar for me, but I couldn’t seem to make my feet go that direction.
Vaguely, I sensed the smaller guy almost upon me, but I wanted nothing more than to walk out into the parking lot, lie down on the asphalt, and let the big fellow take me body and soul. Lust raged through my core, settled in my loins. Moisture dampened my panties, and tingling assailed my folds.
I wanted him. I wanted sex. I wanted...
“Yes! You do want me, don’t you? Come to me, Ruby...”
“No!” The word burst from my lips, startling me.
“Got you!” a voice hissed, followed by hands fastening on my upper arms.
I looked up into Wayne Blacktree’s triumphant face.
“Finally! I’ll get my reward,” he said. Anticipation and zeal glowed in his eyes.
Fear smothered me, and a fiery sensation swept into my arms, down into my hands, my palms so hot I hissed at the pain. The area around me lit up. Wayne gasped but didn’t let go. Long tendrils of my hair hung around my face, each one infused with radiant orange.
The door opened wider, and the artificial light bathed me in its comfort.
“Ruby?” Solomon’s voice drifted out. “What the hell?” He rushed out, hitting Wayne with his body like a human battering ram. “Let go of her!”
Although surprised, Wayne didn’t loosen his grip. “Stay out of this, freak,” he snapped and tugged me toward the parking lot.
“You are mine!” the voice in my mind shouted. “The White King is not to touch you!”
I screamed, struggling against Wayne. “Let go of me!”
The power surged through my body and exited my ember-tipped fingers. This time white sparks flew from my hands, hitting Wayne across the throat and collar bones. He hissed and let go, stumbling back a couple of steps but he shook off my power and grabbed me again.
Solomon threw a punch. How he missed me and connected with Wayne’s jaw, I don’t know, but the resulting crack urged my belly to flip. Wayne cried out, released me, and toppled ass over teacup on the sidewalk.
“Fool!” the approaching big man shouted. “You let the White King get the best of you!”
Holding my hands out in front of me, I allowed the diamond-like fire to surge from my palms. It illuminated the night and dressed the fog with glittery periwinkle hues. The finger-fire hit the hulking man, but instead of a cry of pain, a scream of fury sliced the air instead. A security light blew up, and white sparks rained down on the pavement. Ozone permeated my nose, seared my sinuses.
Wayne scrambled to his feet, and, clutching his jaw, ran off the way he’d come, his footfalls echoing dully in the heavy mist.
Strong arms encompassed me, my surroundings brightened, and a door slammed.
I blinked up at Solomon, my senses returning.
Chapter Sixteen
“Are you all right?”
Mouth ajar, shock and awe on his face, Solomon looked down at me. He let go, and, lunging for the door, engaged the lock and slipped the chain on.
“I’m fine, it was just—”
The thud against the door frightened me so badly I stumbled and fell to my knees. Solomon slipped his arms around me and pulled me to my feet again.
“What the hell’s going on, Ruby?” he said next to my ear.
“I’m not sure.”
“Give her to me!” a deep, furious voice shouted through the door. “She is mine!”
“You won’t touch her,” Solomon shouted back. “I’ll kill you first.”
Silence.
I gaped at Solomon. A myriad of emotions twirled and danced through me. He’d kill the guy for me? Did he care about me tha
t much?
Visible tremors passed through his body. I could only imagine the fury and fear he felt
He jerked his thumb toward the door, his expression shifting into something I couldn’t identify. “Do you know the big guy?”
“No, not really.”
“I think we should call the police, especially since this is the second time we’ve had trouble with Wayne Blacktree.”
“It won’t do any good,” I said. The shudders passing through my body turned into a full-fledge earthquake. “Remember the hunters?”
He tightened his arms around me but turned an ashen color at my reminder, his face stoic despite the uncertainty in his eyes.
“If you open this door,” the voice on the other side growled, “I won’t hurt the White King. I will leave him in peace, but only if you go with me, Ruby.”
Sweat coated my body. My senses spun. I gulped and said as calmly as I could, “Your promises are worthless. You’re full of deceit.”
Did I just say that? Why did that sound like me and yet not, and why do I feel like I’ve said it before?
Solomon released me and placed both hands against the door. “What are you talking about?” he asked over his shoulder.
“I’m not sure.”
“Ruby,” the voice said in a verbal caress. “Come to me. You know you want to.”
Lust ravaged my body. Oh, how I wanted to throw open that door and let the big man have me. But I couldn’t. I knew the feelings weren’t real and that I’d be lost forever if I succumbed to them. How I possessed such knowledge didn’t matter, but I had to do something to protect us.
“Get out of the way, Solomon,” I said.
“No, you’re not going out there.
“I don’t plan to. I’m going to do something else.”
He backed away from the door, pausing to caress my cheek before moving to the window where he peeked through the part in the curtains.
“Damn, that guy’s huge,” he whispered, amazed. “I’ve never seen anyone that big before.”
“Don’t touch the window,” I told him.
“Ruby!” the man shouted.
Thumping assaulted the door, and I jumped at the barrage. The outline of hands appeared in the metal as if it was putty.
I had to do something and fast. If he could melt glass he could probably do something similar to metal too.
“What the hell?” Solomon said, his tone incredulous, eyes huge as he stared at the clay-like surface. He moved toward me, intending to pull me away from the door, but I shook my head sternly and motioned for him to stay put.
“I will have you,” the voice said. “This time you’ll be mine.”
“You asked for it,” I muttered and allowed the electrical current I despised so much to overcome me. With my hands pointed at the door, the power raced through my body and exited my palms. I didn’t know how I knew to blast the place where the man’s prints appeared, but the following howl of pain from him soothed my fear. White sparkles skittered over the door.
The unexpected sense of how to use my power shocked me. Closing my eyes, I imagined the current exiting my body, and then cocooned Solomon’s room in a protection bubble as well as the one I shared with Maureen. I blanketed the SUV for good measure. We’d be safe for now.
“I’ll find you, Ruby Nutter. You can’t avoid me for long.”
Something hit the door, the sound deafening. Shunka Wakan’s barks breached the wall separating our rooms. The door glowed red around the edges, and more ozone pervaded the air.
The dog barked one more time.
Silence.
“Is he gone?” I asked.
Solomon peeped through the curtains. “I don’t see anyone. After all that noise, it probably won’t be long before the motel manager tells us to leave too.” He let the curtain fall and looked over at me. “You know more about this strange stuff than you’ve been letting on.”
“I didn’t want to scare anyone unnecessarily, and I didn’t want you to think...to think...” I gritted my teeth and ordered the tears not to fall.
“To think you’re a freak?” he supplied. “To treat you like shit because you’re different, or that you’re not what people consider normal?”
“No,” I lied, “it’s just that—” The sob ripped free of me before I could squelch it.
Solomon crossed the room and folded me in his arms, holding me so close I heard his heartbeat. Now was the time he was supposed to go crazy with fear, yell obscenities, call me names, and then leave so fast his shoes caught on fire.
“Why?” he said.
Sobs still spilled from my mouth, but I managed to squeak, “Why what?”
He leaned back and peered deeply into my eyes. “Don’t do that.”
“Do what?”
“That.”
I pushed against his chest, but he held me still.
“Why do you clam up or run away whenever someone asks you something personal?”
I sniffed and tried to avoid his penetrating gaze. “Maybe because it’s none of your business?”
“Look, I’m not asking you to tell me all the deep dark secrets you might have.” He let me go and crossed his arms over his chest. “The fact that something unnatural is going on aside, I’d like to know a little more about the women I’m traveling with, that’s all.”
He had me there. Hadn’t I gone through the same thing with Maureen last night?
“For starters,” he said, “I’d like to know more about the incredible things you do.”
“I honestly don’t know how I do them.” I risked looking at him and wished I hadn’t. The expression on that man’s face said he was determined to find out more. “Can we discuss this another time?” I turned away, needing some space. Most of all I needed time to process the fact he wasn’t already packing his bags. “I promise I’ll answer a couple of your questions if we can do it some other time.”
“Fair enough.” He sighed. “So you really think that guy is tied to the hunters who murdered Gabriella?”
“Yes.”
“Come to think of it, the men who attacked my sister and me were really big too. I can’t remember many details about them now other than their yellow eyes and the smell of booze.”
“Solomon, you’re in danger if you travel with me. You should go home.”
“No. I refuse to leave you, Ruby. You might be able to ignore the chemistry and feelings between us, but I can’t.”
That was the last thing I’d expected out of him. For a moment I said nothing. I couldn’t let Solomon know how much I cared for him, how much I wanted him. If I did, there was no doubt it would all come crashing down. At least for now he was still with me.
Pressing onward, I changed the subject. “I should ditch Maureen, but I just can’t bring myself to do it. She’s...there’s...ah, hell. I can’t even explain it.” Irritated, I sat at the table and stared at the wood veneer.
“She’s your friend,” he said.
Nothing like hitting the nail on the head.
“I better go check on her,” I stood and looked out the window, “and make sure Shunka isn’t chewing a hole through the door.”
“You’re not going out there alone,” he said behind me. His hand settled on my shoulder. “I’m coming too.” Solomon gently pushed me aside and unlocked the door. Slowly, he opened it, peered out and nodded. “It’s okay.”
“Stay close to the building. I don’t know how far the protection bubble I created extends, but we should be safe for the night. Somehow I get the feeling they’re less apt to try anything in broad daylight.”
“How do you know this?”
“I honestly don’t know,” I replied, “but I know it’s true.”
We kept close to the building, skirted the ice machine and let ourselves in to check on Maureen.
The dog sniffed at the threshold but didn’t go any farther, as if he sensed the invisible barrier and was satisfied with its presence.
Maureen stepped out of the bathroom, pu
lling a light robe around her sunburned body.
“How do you feel?” I asked.
“Terrible, but it’ll pass.” She sat on the edge of the bed and winced. “Shunka woke me. Anything wrong?”
“No, just thought we’d check on you.”
“You’re lying again.”
I blinked, and Solomon chuckled.
“I feel too bad to even care right now.” She sighed wearily. “So I’m going to lie down and watch TV.”
“We’ll be next door if you need anything,” Solomon said and pulled me out onto the walk. He shut the door, propelling me back to his room. After he engaged both locks, he asked, “Want more wine? I have another bottle of Joseph Philips.”
“Sounds great. My nerves could do with a sedative.”
He withdrew the wine from a paper bag and opened it.
“It must be nice to enjoy the finer things of life when you want to. What did you do before you struck it rich?”
A gentle smile turned up the corners of his mouth as he worked the bottle. “I was a welder. I repaired coalmine equipment and came home on the weekends.” He refilled our cups. “Where are you from?”
“Columbus, Ohio.”
“What do you do for a living?”
“I’m the dayshift supervisor at a sewing factory—or rather I was until I caught my boss’ boobs on fire.”
He burst out laughing. “How’d you do that?”
Quickly, I relayed the incident.
Still chuckling, he tipped his head to one side, studying me. “But a sewing factory job sounds interesting.”
“Actually, it’s a boring job, but the pay was decent. My mom died when I was a teenager, so when I finally graduated, I went to work to help my dad with bills instead of going to college. I’m the only close family Dad has. He just gave up on life and stopped doing anything after she died.”
I sat on the bed, feeling a bit more secure since Solomon had turned the discussion to general life matters. It helped to talk about something mundane instead of worrying about the paranormal that might start banging on the door at any moment.
The Sorcerer King and the Fire Queen Page 15
