“Shlova.”
I looked at him and realized I wasn’t shielding. I took a deep breath to calm down. “A shlova yan.”
He smiled. “A shlova yan jer.”
After putting the beer bottles down on the chair next to Jasper, I went to him, stood on my tip toes, and kissed him hard. Everyone seemed to think this was an appropriate response to our situation and didn’t interfere. Of course, the blond man wasn’t nice enough to take his blade away from Jasper’s throat, either.
“Dernaugh da moin jarbs,” I whispered into his ear.
His hand snaked under the sweater I was wearing and came to rest against the small of my back, on his dagger. I ran my hands up his chest and rested them just under the blond man’s hand.
Jasper pulled the dagger out of my pants and thrust it blindly past his own side. I grabbed the Maj’s wrist and pulled away from Jasper’s neck. The man grunted as Jasper’s blade stabbed into his belly. I stepped back, grabbed the beer bottles and let one fly at the dark haired man who was coming to interfere as Jasper turned and stabbed the blond man again. The bottle hit his forehead with a loud thump. He fell to the ground and lay still.
Jasper had moved on to a red headed man that had been behind the blond one. I had time to see him get kicked in the gut before I threw the other bottle at Dave.
Dave ducked and the bottle smashed against the wall. He turned back to me and smiled. “Come on, Hayden. Make this easy on yourself.”
“There’s no such thing as easy anymore, Dave.”
His dark eyes bore into mine and his grin widened. “How are my chances of getting a date after this?”
“Not very good.” I took off the bunny hug and pulled out my own dagger.
He shrugged. “Can’t blame a guy for asking.”
Someone grunted behind me and I resisted the urge to look back. Dave looked over my shoulder. I lunged at him and stabbed at his chest as hard as I could. He dodged sideways before I could plunge it into him but the tip of the blade slid across his chest and left a shallow cut that started to bleed.
“Damn, Hayden. I didn’t think you’d actually try to kill me.” Dave’s eyes were wide.
“And why the hell shouldn’t I, Dave?”
“I just… I don’t know. I know you. You know me.”
“I don’t know you.” I crouched low and moved so I could see what Jasper was doing. He was facing away from me and I saw the blood soaking into his shirt from a cut on his back. “And even if you weren’t a shifter come to take me to Rainen, do you think you would deserve any less?” I watched Jasper slice his dagger across the red headed man’s throat just as the second blond man came at him from the side. Jasper ducked and turned. I caught my breath.
Dave looked back at what had made me react. Jasper’s shirt was soaked in blood. His cheek had a deep cut that bled freely and the eye over it was swollen shut.
I felt a tremor start deep inside of me. Jasper jumped backward to dodge a kick and tripped on a piece of the broken table. He fell and his opponent stood over him, a sneer on his lips. Without thinking I threw my dagger as hard as I could. It buried itself to the hilt in the man’s side.
The short instant I had been distracted was enough for Dave to capitalize on. I felt the blade slice across my belly, not deep enough to kill, but enough to make me double over with pain. I looked down at my hands and noticed how bright my blood was.
Jasper’s growl sounded over everything and was followed by his opponent’s final cry of pain.
Dave’s blade pressed against my throat and he pulled me to his chest. “Stay there, Jasper.”
Jasper’s eyes met mine and I could see the fear in them. He took one step forward and stopped short as Dave moved the blade just under my collar bone and cut me through my shirt. I cried out in pain and tried to stay as still as possible. The tremor got a little stronger.
“I’m impressed, Jasper. Those four were the best in my pack.”
I was impressed too. Jasper looked horrible, but from what I could see, all of the damage was superficial. He took one step closer and I hissed when Dave cut me again, this time just over my breast.
The tremor was getting stronger with each cut. I clenched my hands and tried to keep from visibly shaking.
“Shlova?”
“Jesus, what’s wrong with her?” Dave loosened his grip a bit but didn’t take his dagger away from my throat.
I closed my eyes and concentrated on standing.
“Hayden!” Jasper’s voice cut through my concentration and I opened my eyes to look at him. “Put her down!”
“No way!” Dave took a few steps back and stopped when he realized he was supporting my full weight.
Jasper threw his dagger to the floor and took two long strides toward us. Dave cut me again. I screamed and reached back so I was holding his head in both of my hands, trying to stay standing. My whole body was burning. I knew I had to get rid of the energy in me before it engulfed me. I started to push it out and away from me and stopped when I realized that Jasper would be in the line of fire.
I saw him tense to take another step closer. “J…J…Jasper! Stop!”
His eyes widened and he did as he was told. “Dave! If she dies, Rainen will kill you.”
Dave lay me down and placed his dagger pointedly against my arm. “You get any closer, I cut her again.”
Jasper nodded.
Dave leaned closer to me. “Hayden? Are you alright? What do I need to do?”
I looked away from Jasper and into Dave’s dark eyes. I twitched and his blade cut across my arm. The heat intensified. I saw him glance down at the blood on my arm and watched his tongue slip over his bottom lip. I swallowed hard and tried to keep from throwing up at the realization that he was getting turned on by cutting me. I arched as a spasm raked my back and he glanced at the blood on my chest. Suddenly, there was nothing I wanted more than for Dave to be dead.
“K...k...k...kiss…m…m…me…” I managed to stammer out.
His eyes widened and he turned to give Jasper a wicked grin. He moved so that his dagger was pointed into my side. He grinned when I twitched again and I groaned in pain as the tip of the blade pushed into me. The heat running through me was scorching.
I reached up and pulled his head down so that his lips brushed against mine. Dave placed a hand on either side of me, his right one still on his dagger. I felt the heat try to cross from my lips to his and I held it back. The effort made my muscles clench and I arched against him. He groaned and pressed himself down on me. I jerked back when he bit my lip hard enough to draw blood.
Jasper growled and I held my hand up so he would stay. There was one thing I wanted Dave to do before I transferred the heat from me to him and that was drop the dagger. I swallowed hard, knowing I was going to hate my next words once this was over.
“T…t…t…touch…me…”
Dave ran his left hand up my shirt and rubbed the palm of his hand over my breasts. I jerked under him as another spasm raked my body. He seemed to think that meant I was enjoying myself. He let go of the dagger and placed his hand behind my neck so he could pull my face up to his. I wrapped my arms around his back and my legs around his waist as tightly as I could and threw myself into the kiss.
Dave pressed down on the cut under my collar bone and I gasped. I was shaking like I was standing outside naked in freezing temperatures. I pushed the energy out of myself and into him. He gasped and tried to pull away. I clung to him and pushed the heat as hard as I could.
Dave screamed. Dark circles appeared around his eyes and blood dripped from his nose. His body heaved with a spasm and I heard bones breaking. The last of the heat seeped into him. I let go and pushed him to the side, trying to catch my breath.
Dave moaned and I glanced at him. He was locked in a spasm that had him bent almost in half backwards. He had blood dripping from his eyes and ears as well as his nose and mouth.
What had I done? How had I done it? There was no magic here. There was no way
I should have been able to project any sort of energy whatsoever. I closed my eyes and started to cry. “Jasper?”
He was at my side in an instant. “Is it safe to touch you, Shlova?” He pulled me into his lap at my nod. “Are you alright?”
“Yes.”
Dave gave another choked moan.
“Jasper, do you think…? I mean, could you…?”
Jasper looked at Dave. “I can do that, but only for you. If it were up to me, I’d just leave him that way.”
My breathing was starting to get back to normal and I made myself watch as Jasper set me down, grabbed his dagger and walked up to Dave.
“You know, she’s actually sorry she did this to you. After everything you’ve put her through, after everything she knew you were going to do to her, she is still sorry that she’s hurt you.” He placed the dagger to Dave’s throat. “I don’t think you deserve to die.”
Dave twitched as Jasper’s blade cut deeply into his neck. His body relaxed and Jasper dropped him on the ground.
He picked me up and carried me to the couch. “By the moons, Shlova. What was that?”
I took a deep breath and tried to stop crying. I shook my head. “I don’t know.” All I could manage was a whisper.
His cell phone started to ring and he grabbed it off of the coffee table. “Hello? Shawn. Just the man I needed to talk to.”
He glanced at the mess in the dining room. “Is there any way you can get your trailer over here right away?” He listened and nodded.
“Just back it up to the front door. They came for Hayden. We have a bit of a mess to clean up before the landlord comes to get his rent tomorrow morning. I don’t think he needs to see this.”
I could hear Shay’s voice loud in the background.
“No. She’s fine. She projected magic. No, I don’t know what it means. Alright. We’ll see you in a bit.”
He put down the phone and hugged me tightly to his chest. “Do you need to sleep? Are you tired?”
I shook my head and looked up at him. His cheek was swollen and the bleeding had slowed so that the blood was thick and sticky. I reached up and touched the other side of his face. I tried to pull the color waves to me and started to cry when I couldn’t.
Jasper kissed my forehead. “You can’t do magic here, Shlova.”
“What the hell do you call what I just did?”
“I have no idea. But don’t feel bad about the color waves. I’m sure I’ll rebreak the nose when we go back and you can straighten it then.” He smiled at me.
“But your cheek…”
He shrugged.
I sat up and looked at it carefully. “Let’s go wash it. It might need stitches.” I stood and pulled him up. “Take your shirt off. I’ll clean you up.”
We headed upstairs to the bathroom. I pulled out my little sewing kit and got the needle ready. Only two of the cuts needed a stitch or two; the one on his cheek and the one across his shoulder blade. I wiped him down with a cloth then taped on the bandages.
“Your turn.” He helped me pull my shirt over my head and I sucked in a breath. My one bra strap had been cut by Dave’s dagger and Jasper carefully removed the whole thing.
I heard him swallow hard and I looked up at him.
“Oh, Hayden.”
“Shush. I’m fine.” I handed him the cloth and tried to stay as quiet as possible while he cleaned the cuts Dave had inflicted.
When he was done putting the last bandage on, he kissed me softly. “I’m sorry.”
I started to laugh. “For what?”
“When I saw it was him at the door I underestimated him.”
I laughed even harder. The tears were starting to stream down my face and the cut on my belly was aching.
“What in the world is so funny?” Jasper was frowning.
“You!” I tried to catch my breath. “This was not your fault!” I leaned my forehead against his chest, careful not to put it against one of his cuts. I was giddy with relief and I started to giggle again. “If you’re sorry, then I’m sorry.”
“Why would you be sorry? You were upstairs!” He ran his fingers up my back and I shivered.
“Well, they were here for me, weren’t they? It’s my fault everyone breaks your nose and tries to kill you.”
He took a breath to object and started to laugh. “I’ll give you that one. But don’t be sorry. I don’t mind.”
I looked up at him and a lump formed in my throat. “Your poor face.” His one eye and cheek were swollen and his nose was slightly crooked once again. He leaned down and kissed me softly before smiling.
“Just think. It’s a good thing they insist on breaking my nose.”
“Why is that?”
“Well, I still have all my teeth, for one.”
I started to laugh and he flashed me a beautiful smile.
“I don’t think you could replace those even with magic.” He handed me a green tank top and pulled on a clean pair of jeans.
We walked to the bottom of the stairs and looked over the mess.
“What the hell are we going to tell the landlord?” The house had come fully furnished.
“The truth. It won’t sound as bad when the mess is gone. We’ll say a group of drunks broke in and tried to rob us.”
The front door flew open and Shawn came running into the house followed by Tara, Ben, and Shay.
Shay stopped short and her hands flew to her mouth. Shawn walked to Dave’s body and nudged it.
“Hmm. Who would have thought?” He looked up to us and his eyes widened. “Are you guys ok?”
I nodded.
Jasper walked to Shay. “Shay? Are you alright?”
She was staring at the blond man who still had my dagger in his side. “That’s…that’s Hayden’s.”
He nodded. She looked up at him, her eyes wide. “Which one did that to you?” She looked at his face and chest.
“A combination of all of them.”
She turned her attention to me and started crying. “Did they…did they…”
I shook my head and tears welled in my eyes. Of all of us, Shay was the only one who had no combat experience and though she had been told of how things were in Quelondain, knowing about something and actually seeing it were completely different. She took a deep breath, wiped the tears from her eyes and looked at Shawn as though she was seeing him in a completely different light.
Shawn watched her closely and I saw worry flit across his face before being replaced by relief when she came to him and wrapped her arms around him. He kissed the top of her head.
Ben grabbed a broken chair and started carrying it out to the horse trailer that was backed right up to the front door. Tara and I grabbed our own and followed suit. Jasper and Shawn moved the bodies of the men.
When everything was in the trailer we grabbed buckets of soapy water and washed the blood that was covering most of the dining room.
“Hun, you’re bleeding.” The cut on his back had reopened and the blood had soaked through the bandage.
He stopped and smiled at me. “So are you.”
I followed his gaze to my side. The puncture wound had soaked the bandage enough that the blood was showing through my tank top. “There’s no point in worrying about it now. Let’s get this done first.”
He kissed my forehead. “You’re feeling alright?”
I nodded. “That wasn’t my energy I pushed into him. I have no idea where it came from.” Actually, for some reason I couldn’t explain, I was feeling more than alright. I knew it was a normal thing for me to feel sexual after a tense situation like this, but what I was feeling was almost overpowering. It was taking everything I had not to drag Jasper upstairs so I could have my way with him. I let him get just a hint of what I was feeling and looked into his eyes.
He looked around at everyone cleaning the room and gave a low groan that only I could hear. I felt everything in me tighten at the noise.
“Alright. I think that’s it.” Tara came to stand by us. �
�We’d better get that trailer out of here before someone says something.”
Jasper cleared his throat and nodded.
Tara, Ben, Shay and Shawn jumped into his truck and Jasper and I got into ours. He had pulled on a black t-shirt that made his eyes look even paler than usual. Kip gave an excited bark from the box of the truck and we were off.
We drove directly to the back of Shawn’s field and unloaded everything into a pile. Shay made a point of not looking at the bodies. Ben dumped a can of gasoline on it all and threw the match at it. We all sat on the ground and watched as wood and flesh burned.
I leaned back against Jasper, careful not to push too hard. “Is that ok?”
He pulled me closer to him. His smell engulfed me and I closed my eyes. It reminded me of my first night in Quelondain when he had fought three Majs to keep me safe. I had woken in his arms thinking there had to be only one man alive who could smell so good after sweating and bleeding.
I moved his arm off of my shoulder and put it around my waist to get it off of one of my cuts.
“Sorry.” His voice was just a whisper.
I leaned my head back against him and closed my eyes. “How do you think Shay is doing?” She had gone to sit in the truck.
“I think she’s tough.”
I nodded. “She is. Remember how she took the news that Shawn was from a different world and could shift into a lion?”
“She’ll be fine.”
“I’ve been thinking about the energy. Could it be what the Gysp was telling Marilynn about? My curse?”
He thought about it for a moment. “That might actually make some sense.”
Tara glanced over at us. “Why don’t you guys head back to the house and take care of those cuts? We’ll make sure everything burns properly.”
Ben nodded and looked back to the flames.
“Alright.” Jasper stood and helped me up. “Keep an eye out. They may not have been the only ones.”
Tara patted her bow and arrow on the ground.
We drove back to the house and made our way to the bathroom.
“We’ll stop at that Friendly’s Furniture on our way back and buy a new dining room set.” I took my jacket off and was glad that there was minimal blood on it.
Journey 'The Chosen One Trilogy: Book Two' Page 28
