by C. D. Hersh
The tone caused Rhys to return his gaze to Eli’s face. Gray. Like his buddies in Iraq before they died. “You okay?”
“Aye. Keep going.”
Tapping into the double heartbeats, Rhys let the rhythm drop into a muted background noise, keeping a steady focus on Eli’s face. His features doubled and then wavered. Rhys blinked, and a woman’s face appeared, partially transposed over Eli’s. Startled, Rhys tried to drop Eli’s hands but the old man gripped tighter.
“Dinna stop,” he commanded. “Concentrate.”
Rhys focused. The woman’s features shifted, and Eli disappeared completely. His grip changed, his hands becoming smaller and softer. Rhys yanked away and stumbled backward.
A woman stood where Eli had been, staring at him with a startled expression that matched Rhys’ confusion.
“By the Druid’s beard,” she said. “What did ye do?”
“Where’s Eli?”
The woman’s form wavered for a second, and Eli appeared in her place. He staggered forward and grabbed Rhys’ shoulder, steadying himself. “Isnae there anything ye canna do, laddie?”
“What just happened?”
“Ye pulled oot my alter ego.” His knees dipped, and Rhys grabbed his elbow. “And I think a bit o’ my life force.”
“Let’s get you seated.” Rhys led Eli to the kitchen and lowered him onto a chair. “Your alter ego is a woman?”
“Aye. And sae will yours be. All the men have female alter egos.”
“And the women have men?” That would explain the man he’d seen Alexi change from the night he discovered she was a shape shifter.
“How did ye do that?” Eli said.
“You mean you don’t know?”
“Nay. I’m hoping ye can describe it, for I’ll be wanting ye tae do it agin, but without the life force pulling part. While I can withstand it, I doubt the other council members could. We’ll not be wanting tae kill one o’ them tae prove yer a true Promised One.”
“Not sure what I did. I think I unfocused my vision. Listened for my heartbeat and, somehow, started hearing yours, too. I saw a woman float to the surface, and I concentrated on her. Wham! She was in front of me. Don’t know how that happened.”
“Let’s try agin, but this time when ye hear my hirtbeat, dinna concentrate on it as long. Go directly tae trying tae pull oot the other ego. Mayhap ’tis the listening tae the hirtbeat that pulled sae much o’ my life force oot o’ me.”
“We should wait before we try again. You look like hell.”
“I’m a resilient auld man. I can take whatever ye dish oot, laddie. Ye’ve no need tae worry on my account.”
But he did worry. He didn’t want Eli’s death, or anyone else’s, on his hands. What if he couldn’t control this life force thing? What if the next attempt to bring out an alter ego killed the person?
“Half an hour wait, old man. Then we’ll try again. Don’t want my mentor passing out on me. Wouldn’t know what to do.”
“Don’t ring the life squad. Wait ’til I wake.”
Didn’t sound good, but since he had such a sketchy idea of what made a shifter tick, it was probably all right. No need to clue anyone else in on this weird world.
By the time three o’clock rolled around, Rhys had met Eli’s alter ego so many times they were practically best friends.
“Yer going tae do just fine, laddie. Do everything like we practiced.”
He wasn’t as confident, but had no choice except to believe. Negativity had never worked for him anyway. The doorbell rang and he answered it with Eli at his shoulder. Delaney stood on the stoop. Rhys opened the door wider and motioned her in, glad to see someone he recognized.
“Alexi said to give you this,” she said as she hugged him and planted a kiss on his cheek.
“How’s she doing?” he asked.
“Fine. Chaffing a bit because she can’t be here. I practically had to tie her to the bed rails.”
He laughed. “Sounds like Lexi.” He closed the door, but the bell rang again as soon as it clicked shut. When he opened it, four men stood on the stoop. He turned to Eli for verification. For all he knew the men in front of him could be criminals casing the house or religious missionaries.
Stepping in front of Rhys, Eli greeted each man, shaking hands as they entered. By the time he’d finished, a woman had arrived. He welcomed her in the same manner, then shut the door.
“Council members, this ’tis Rhys Temple. The man who ’tis the reason yer all here taeday. Rhys, these are council members Cornelius McCormick, Devin Wallis, Lowell Stanford, Griffin Linley, Veda Diamond, and Delaney Ramsey, who ye met this mairning.”
Rhys shook each member’s hand, assessing him or her as he did. The three older men, Cornelius, Devin, and Lowell, gave him a cool greeting, as if they had better things to do. He tended to agree. His arguments that this should wait until he had control over the ring’s magic had rolled off Eli like rain on hard packed clay. The younger man, Griffin, stared at him with undisguised interest. The woman, Veda, reacted to him as all women did when they first met him, her physical attraction unmistakable. Her interest in him made him uncomfortable. He was engaged to Alexi. Of course, Veda didn’t know about the engagement.
“Let’s get on with this,” Cornelius said. “I’ve got a plane to catch.”
Eli led them to the living room indicating Rhys should stand in the middle of the room, while the council members all took seats. “I know this ’tis highly irregular, but I promise ye once ye’ve seen what the laddie can do, ye’ll know ’tis the proper thing tae do. I’ve seen him, with my own eyes, pull oot life force and the alter ego.”
A murmur ran through the room. “Impossible,” Devin said. “No one has ever been able to do that.”
“Until now. Come on, laddie. Let’s give ’em a demonstration.” Eli held out his hands to Rhys. “Just like we practiced,” he whispered.
Rhys wiped his sweaty palms on his jeans. Practicing with Eli, alone, was one thing. A command performance was quite another. He exhaled loudly then grasped Eli’s outstretched hands. “Break the contact if you need to, old man.”
“Dinna worry aboot me. Show them what ye’ve got.”
He let Eli determine the amount of grip he wanted. When he nodded, Rhys concentrated on the old man’s face. Rhys’ heartbeat, staccato and rapid, pounded in his ears within seconds of focusing. Eli’s heartbeat joined his, beating steady and slow. How could he be calm?
Rhys tuned Eli out, concentrating on the woman who floated to the surface. He willed her image forward. Within seconds, Eli’s hands changed from gnarled to soft as the old man disappeared and the woman took his place. A startled gasp ran around the room. The woman squeezed Rhys’ hands and let go.
Facing the group, Eli’s alter ego addressed them. “Council members, I give ye the new, true Promised One.”
Cornelius jumped to his feet. “Can’t be. This has to be some sort of trick.”
Eli morphed into his natural form. “Nae, ’tis not a trick.”
Cornelius strode forward and thrust his hands at Rhys. “Do it again. To me.”
Eli nodded his approval. “Go ahead, laddie. Show them what ye can do.”
“I don’t have full control of this,” Rhys told Cornelius. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
Cornelius addressed the other council members. “I told you he was a fake.” He sneered at Rhys. “You won’t hurt me because it is a trick.”
Rhys’ temper flared. No one called him a liar and got by with it. “I may not know how to completely control it, but it’s not fake.” He took Cornelius’ hands and held them lightly in spite of his urge to give him a caveman grip.
“You hold hands like a sissy,” Cornelius said.
Rhys crushed Cornelius’ hands in his. “Do you
want me to kill you?” The anger crept into his voice.
“Laddie,” Eli said. “If ye kill him, not even I can protect ye.”
For a split second, fear raced across Cornelius’ features, then he recovered.
Rhys loosened his grip. “You control the touch. If you feel your life is threatened, let go of me. Otherwise, hold on and introduce me to your lady.”
Cornelius’ head bobbed curtly. Rhys concentrated on Cornelius’ face and listened for their heartbeats. This time he was slow and steady and Cornelius’ heart beat like a double time, marching drum. He nearly jerked out of Rhys’ hands as the heartbeats melded, but when Rhys tuned him out, his hands relaxed. Bringing his alter ego to the surface was a little harder than with Eli, and Rhys recognized Cornelius was fighting the change, trying to make him fail. He redoubled his concentration, and a woman’s face with a pert, upturned nose transposed itself on Cornelius. A good-looking woman. One Rhys knew he could charm.
He smiled at the thought and she popped to the forefront completely, taking over Cornelius so quickly it startled Rhys. Cornelius’ figure melted into a petite 4’ 8” woman who staggered out of Rhys’ grip and fell onto her bottom with a smack.
The council members jumped to their feet as if they were one, everyone talking at the same time. Offering her his hand, Rhys helped the woman off the floor.
“You okay?” She nodded mutely, her blue eyes as big as ping-pong balls. “Believe me now?” Her head shook hard causing her curls to bob.
“Me next,” Griffin said.
Rhys took his hands and repeated the process. Eager to experience the alter-ego shift, Griffin was almost as easy as Eli had been the last time. When he finished the transformation, Griffin’s lady stood rotating her hands in front of her, clearly disbelieving, for several minutes before she shifted into his natural self.
“Well,” Eli said when the excited chatter died. “Dinna I tell ye he ’twas special?”
“Can he pull the man from the woman?” Lowell asked.
“We dinna know. Do we have a volunteer?”
Delaney stepped forward. “I’ll do it.”
Rhys took her hands. “Same rules as before,” he said. “Since I haven’t done this with a woman, yet, you need to be very careful. The minute you feel anything unsafe let go.”
“Okay.”
Rhys followed the same procedure as before to draw out the male alter egos, concentrating on finding Delaney’s heartbeat. When it surfaced, he sent it to the background and focused on her face, searching for some hint of her male counterpart. She did not resist him, but still nothing happened.
Backing out his focus, he stared deeply into her eyes. Maybe he had to charm her as he had Cornelius. He gave her a slow, disarming smile, which Delaney returned. An emotional response rose from her, something akin to the normal female response to the Temple charm.
He probed a little deeper, but still nothing. Calming his breathing, he listened for his heartbeat. It came slow and steady. Within seconds, her heartbeat joined his, rapid and irregular. He tried to mute hers, but instead of quieting, it grew stronger and louder. As her hands tightened around his, he directed his concentration away from the beat of their hearts and tried to focus on Delaney’s face. She wore a strange expression, like someone dreaming something extremely pleasurable. A surge of energy shot through him as she moaned. The air around them shimmered.
Eli’s voice, urgent and panicked, broke into his thoughts. “Yer taking her life force, laddie. For the love o’ Stonehenge. Let her go.”
Rhys tried to loosen Delaney’s hands, but she held on tighter. “She won’t let go, Eli. Help me.”
Eli rushed to his side and pried Delaney loose. Shudders racked her, and she fell into an ungraceful heap. Rhys reeled backward. One of the council members caught him before he hit the floor. As soon as he had his balance, he rushed to Delaney. Eli had his fingers on her neck, checking for a pulse.
“Is she okay?”
“I think sae. What happened?”
“I couldn’t see a man. I tried to relax her. Used some Temple charm. Works on all the women, but not like this.”
Delaney’s eyes fluttered open. When she saw Rhys, she smiled. “Humm. That was nice.”
“Nice? I darn near killed you.” What had she found so alluring?
She shifted on the hard floor, and Rhys immediately recognized the motion. The peaked tips of her breasts pressed against her blouse. He’d given her some kind of orgasm. That wasn’t going to fly at all.
The hint of a smile creased Eli’s bearded face. “Seems ye used too much charm on the lady.”
How was he going to explain this to Alexi? Even worse, what would Delaney think when she came fully to? Controlling all this new power was going to be one monster learning curve.
Eli removed the afghan from the couch and laid it over Delaney. “We’ll let her sleep it off.” He motioned for the rest of the council to follow and led them and Rhys to the kitchen. “Do ye all agree Rhys can be presented as a potential Promised One, with his final tests tae be next Samhain?”
A round of ‘ayes’ gave consent.
“Who’ll be his mentor?” Cornelius asked.
“I will,” Eli said. The council members started to protest and Eli raised his hand, silencing them. “I know ’tis not what’s normally done, but under the circumstances I feel ’tis no one who could withstand his powers, should they go awry, except me. I’ll nae put anyone in that kind o’ danger.” A couple of the members continued to grumble, but reluctantly agreed.
“Can we expect updates?” Griffin asked.
“Do ye normally get updates?”
He shook his head.
“Then I’d nae be expecting any. There’s one other thing, there’s those who would kill for knowledge o’ him, and until I know the full extent o’ his power, what ye’ve seen today ’tis tae go nae further. Understood?”
“Understood,” they said.
Eli showed them to the door, with Rhys trailing behind. “Thank ye for coming. If I need anything mair from ye, I’ll have Delaney contact ye.” He closed the door behind the last member then headed for the living room. “Let’s see if Sleeping Beauty ’tis awake and can tell us what she experienced.”
Rhys wasn’t sure he wanted to know.
Chapter 4
Delaney awoke lying on a hard surface with Eli and Rhys staring at her. “What happened?” she asked as she rose onto her elbows.
“We were hoping ye could tell us,” Eli said.
“Did Rhys bring out my alter ego?”
“Nay, but he did start tae pull some life force, or that’s what I think was happening. Ye were a wee bit reluctant tae let go o’ his hands.”
“That’s an understatement, old man. Eli had to pry you loose.” Rhys cleared his throat, an ill-at-ease expression on his face. “If I did anything . . . umm, disrespectful, I’m sorry.”
Heat flooded her chest and cheeks as she remembered what happened. An orgasm. In front of the entire council. “Did I do anything embarrassing? What did they see?”
“They thought ye fainted from Rhys pulling yer life force. Can ye tell us what happened?”
Yes, but not everything. Admitting Rhys had pleasured her was too awkward. She stared at him. What kind of Promised One had Eli brought to them? A life-sucking, sex-crazed, shape-shifting savior didn’t seem like someone the council would want to align with. But then he had apologized. Maybe the sexual part had been unintentional. She hoped the life sucking had been, too.
“Other than the part I . . . umm . . . think you know about, he was in control of me. I’d have done anything he asked.”
“I certainly didn’t ask for what happened,” Rhys said.
“Maybe not consciously, but when you smiled at me, it was like being sucke
d into a vortex. My heart started racing, and well, you know.”
“What about when the air shimmered? What did you feel then?”
“My eyes were closed. I didn’t see shimmering, but right before Eli dragged me away it felt as if something in my chest opened and I was being drained.”
“Were ye fighting it, lassie?”
“Not after what he’d done. I was willing to be sucked dry. Almost pushing it out to him.”
