The Reluctant Amazon (Alliance of the Amazons)

by Sandy James

  Sparks sat up, staring at Rebecca with obsidian eyes that sent a foreboding chill racing through her. Sparks was headed for a fall—a potentially fatal fall—and Rebecca was helpless to stop her.

  “Once you die, there’s no turning back, either. Maria’s dead. Trishna’s dead. I have to save Helen. If I have to sleep with— “ She closed her eyes and swallowed hard at her own harsh words. “If Freyjr is willing to teach me a couple of dirty tricks so I can find her, that’s the price I’m willing to pay.” She flopped back down, her pale face full of despair that told Rebecca this wasn’t as cut-and-dry as she wanted her to believe.

  “Then you found Helen? If Freyjr’s such a fantastic help and Seior’s so freakin’ awesome, you found her. Right?”

  Sparks didn’t answer.

  “Did you?” She couldn’t stop the small ground tremor. With the myriad of emotions surging through her, she was having a hard time controlling her powers. If she kept causing tremors and whipping trees into a frenzy every time her feelings got the better of her, she was eventually going to create a disturbance that the real world would notice.

  “He’s still looking,” Sparks answered, not sounding horribly convinced of her own words.

  “Oh, I’ll just bet he is. And what else will he want you to trade for more information? You’re the one who warned us about screwing around with the Ancients. You’re the one who told Artair to stay away from Rhiannon. You—”

  Sparks flicked her wrist in a blatant dismissal that made Rebecca clench her hands into fists.

  “That was different,” Sparks scolded. “Rhiannon only wants him because he turns her down all the time. He’s nothing but a game to her, and she doesn’t like to lose. No one, including Artair, takes her seriously. Freyjr isn’t like that. He promised he’d help me find Helen—no matter what.”

  “He promised? That’s all you’ve got to say? He promised?” Rebecca wanted to scream in frustration. “C’mon, Sparks. You’re a helluva lot smarter than that. He promised what you wanted to hear to seduce you. You’re an idiot, a damned idiot.”

  Sparks sat up again and drilled her gaze through Rebecca. Small, lazy puffs of smoke rose from her head in a pathetic show of power. “I can still kick your ass, little girl.”

  “Doubt it. You look like you’ve aged twenty years since yesterday. You should see yourself. You’re like something the cat dragged in. You could barely make it across the compound without collapsing. Kick my ass?” Rebecca shook her head. “I guess screwing a god takes a lot out of you.”

  “As opposed to fucking the Sentinel?”

  “I’m not the one who sold myself for a handful of black magicks that’ll bring nothing but misery.”

  “Rebecca, I don’t want to hurt you, but so help me…”

  The Sparks she knew would never have put up with impertinence. The fact she was still sitting on the bed and not pinning Rebecca against a wall spoke volumes as to what using Seior had cost Fire.

  “Bullshit,” Rebecca growled. “You’re bringing danger to Avalon. You’ll hurt us all. Some dumbass demig’s going to trace those magicks right to us, right to our front door. You taught me that, remember?”

  “I did what I had to do to find Helen. And I’d do it again. You’d understand if you’d lost a sister. I’ve lost two.”

  “I would never whore myself out to some sex-crazed god for Seior. I sure wouldn’t give myself over to some Ancient like a brainwashed priestess. Freyjr won’t help you. He’ll use you, then he’ll leave you to deal with the consequences.”

  “You’re always so damned melodramatic. It’s just a little black magick, just a couple of dirty tricks to find Helen, that’s all.” She flipped the back of her hand to shoo Rebecca away and lie back down. “Go on. Go train. I’m exhausted.” Sparks closed her eyes.

  Rebecca heaved a weary sigh. “This isn’t over. Not by a long shot.”

  Sparks folded her hands over her chest, looking like some fresh corpse awaiting burial. The image of Trishna’s body prepared in just such a fashion sent chills racing through Rebecca. A premonition? She brushed the idea away and left, slamming the door as she left.

  * * *

  Standing in the sandpit as he sparred with Johann, Artair eased up when Rebecca exited Sparks’s cabin. He held up a hand and brought Johann to a halt mid-swing. “I must talk to…her.” Artair inclined his head toward Rebecca.

  “Go on, MacKay. See what Rebecca found out.” Johann’s lopsided grin reminded Artair of the mischievous smile his brother Darian had worn on many an occasion.

  The man was more astute than the girls knew. Perhaps the game just got a bit more interesting now that the scales had tipped the other direction. “How long have you known?”

  “Since the moment I saw their faces on my screen. There wasn’t anything Earth about Megan. She’s Fire through and through. I know not every Fire’s a redhead, but one look at Megan? How stupid do they think I am?”

  “A fair amount, lad. Do you wish to let them know yer on to their wee farce?”

  “Nah. Let them think they’ve put one over on me. I’ll trap them soon enough and hopefully teach them a lesson in the process.”

  “’Tis good you have a sense of humor about you. Amazons are full of mischief, and the faster you learn to tolerate it, the better off you’ll be as their Sentinel.”

  Johann chuckled. “When I went with Ix Chel to get Gina, she told me to take a hike and shot me with a paintball gun. Sarita laughed in my face, threatened to call a security guard and had one of her trained seals chase me around SeaWorld. If I didn’t have a damned good sense of humor, I wouldn’t still be here.”

  Artair slapped Johann on the shoulder and followed Rebecca to her old cabin.

  The change in the place was amazing. Beagan and Dolan—efficient as ever. The cabin that had been awash in Becca, colored in earthy tones and full of her things, like brushes and hair ties, was now stark. All of her belongings were gone, and nothing remained but a bed and a dresser. No doubt he would find her personal things in his own cabin. Their cabin. He glanced over to see her wringing her hands as she nibbled on her bottom lip. “Your things are surely in our cabin.”

  “It’s not that.” Rebecca shook her head, refusing to give him her gaze. “I’m a hypocrite, Artair.”

  “Lass?”

  “Sparks is right. I’m a hypocrite. It’s fine for me to—you know—with you. But if she…”

  “Freyjr, aye?” He couldn’t keep the disgust from his tone.

  She nodded.

  “’Tis not the same, Becca mine. What we share isnae what Sparks wanted with Freyjr. Nor is it what he wanted with the lass.”

  “She sacrificed herself to save her sister. That’s more noble than—”

  “Than what we share? Nay. Sparks chose the wrong path. What she did was the wrong thing for the right reasons. It has nothing to do with us.” She turned to him and started to say something, but he cut her off. “Becca, you cannot blame yourself.” Her eyes flew wide. “You thought I didn’t know? You thought I didn’t see you struggling to reach your powers out to find Earth? I’m your Sentinel. I know all my Earth does.”

  “Sparks told you I was trying to locate Helen.”

  “Aye, lass. Sparks told me.”

  “I failed. I couldn’t even get Helen to appear in my thoughts. I’m never going to be an Amazon.”

  “Becca—”

  “I’m Earth. I should be able to find another Earth.”

  He shook his head. “Not if she doesn’t want to be found.”

  “Why wouldn’t she want to be found?”

  “Helen might nae want to be an Amazon any longer.”

  “You mean she walked away? She could do that?”

  Artair sat on the bed and tugged Rebecca down beside him. He cradled their joined hands in his lap. “Once Chernabog was gone, we figured the age of the Amazons had passed into history. All four lasses survived. They brought down the threat to humanity, but the world had changed. They felt their
work was done.”

  Rebecca squeezed his hand. “They went back to their lives.”

  “Nay. Their lives could never have been the same. They had come too far and changed too much. They stayed at Avalon for a while to be sure the danger had passed. But as the years slipped away, they grew restless. Helen was the first to leave. She was a teacher for a while, much like you. Trishna and then Maria followed. Each to a career, a life, but none married. No Amazon has ever taken a husband. It was forbidden, but once they left, they could have done as they pleased since no one was watching. Perhaps they stayed alone because they could outlive a husband, or perhaps they feared abandoning them if duty called. Sparks was the only one to stay near Avalon, though even she left for a while. She’s the reason I’m still here.”

  “You know, she says she didn’t want to be the Guardian, but that’s what she was anyway. Wasn’t she?”

  Artair nodded. “Maria kept the power to summon the next generation, but Sparks stayed nearby. I think she knew in her heart it wasn’t over. Not yet.”

  “Just like you did.”

  “Aye, Becca mine. I never held the hope the lasses did that evil had simply died in this world. Evil will always be, just as good will always be.”

  She reached up to brush her fingertips across his cheek. “Then why are you leaving?” Another small word was missing from the end of her question—the word me.

  “Because I knew I couldn’t face losing any more friends. And yet, I have. I’ve lost Maria and Trishna.” She tried to interrupt, but he stroked his thumb against her soft lips. “I didn’t like how hard I’d become. I needed to reclaim my humanity, and you’ve helped me do that. You’ve brought life back into my world.” He leaned over to press his lips against hers.

  When Artair had meant nothing more than a quick brush of his lips across hers, Rebecca changed the rules. Looping her arms around his neck, she pulled him to her. She was the first to deepen the kiss, slipping her smooth tongue past his lips to stroke his mouth until his tongue chased hers. A growl of need rose from his chest, echoed by her moan.

  He would never be able to get enough of her taste, her touch and her affection. With great regret, he eased back, knowing the others were waiting. He sighed, and she nodded, clearly understanding why he didn’t immediately strip her and make love to her as he longed to.

  He took a couple of deep breaths to bring his body back under control. Her cheeks flamed, and her breathing sounded a bit labored. “We shall have tonight, Becca mine. And every night.”

  “Until you leave.” She marched out of the cabin without a backward glance.

  He should go to her and soothe her. But what would he say?

  The flash wasn’t unexpected. Artair had known Rhiannon would soon make her anger over his taking Rebecca as a lover known. The goddess sat in the same spot on the bed that was surely still warm.

  He talked about business instead. “Have you found any trace of Helen?”

  “Nay.” The goddess sounded discouraged. “I fear you may be right about her fate, Arthur. Just as you were right about Fire turning to Freyjr. What will you do to bring your wayward Amazons back into line?”

  He let the slip of his name pass, knowing she was seeking attention. “I must think on it for a spell.”

  The goddess ran her index finger down his arm, scraping her long fingernail against his shirt. “I think you have no plan because you are too occupied finding your…amusements with my Amazon.” Her gaze settled on him as she folded her arms over her breasts and frowned. “You bedded her. I should punish you both.”

  “Nae the lass. ’Twas not her doing. I went to her.”

  “Ever the gallant Sentinel, putting your head on the chopping block for one of your charges. I should send her away.”

  Exactly what he’d been afraid of hearing. “Nay, you cannot. The Amazons face trouble. Earth must fight alongside them, or they shall be too weak to win.”

  “She disobeyed me. You disobeyed me. After everything I have done for you. Ungrateful wretches, the pair of you!” The ground rumbled with her anger. “Aye, ungrateful.”

  If she meant to make him feel guilty about what had happened between him and Rebecca, she was failing miserably. The Lady of the Lake’s childish tantrum only showed him even more why he loved Rebecca, why he loved her grace and charm. “I promised to serve you, m’lady, and I have. I’ve given my best for you and the Amazons for so many years, you’ve nae right to tell me who I may take as a lover. My service was pledged to you, but my life is still my own.”

  “She should leave.”

  “Do you wish me to beg? After all I’ve done for the Amazons, after all I’ve given in your service, you’d force me to beg yer forgiveness when I’ve done nothing wrong?”

  A few agonizingly long moments passed before Rhiannon spoke. “I said I should send her back, but I will not. I have more important things to occupy my mind than whether my Earth throws herself at your head.”

  Artair arched an eyebrow, waiting for the other boot to drop. Rhiannon always had something planned in that busy head of hers, and she always enjoyed launching her surprises on him. “Jin has shown himself,” she said.

  “He has?”

  “Because he now has the power to move in a different realm. The demon has learned to alter himself to live in this modern world, not the world you have always known.”

  She was talking in riddles simply for the pleasure of confusing him. She might be angry, but he didn’t have time for her shenanigans. “M’lady, lives are at stake.”

  “You forget who you talk to, Sentinel.” She regarded him with cool eyes. “I am an Ancient. I will not shed a tear over the loss of a few humans.”

  “I know better than that,” he replied. “If you didn’t care about the humans, you wouldn’t be here. How does Jin travel?”

  “He becomes patterns and energy.”

  Artair waited patiently for her to explain. She didn’t.

  “I don’t understand.”

  The saucy smile that bloomed on Rhiannon’s face didn’t come as a surprise. She always loved having the upper hand, and since she was still angry, she was sure to make this as painful for him as possible. “Of course, you do not understand. Ask the Sentinel—the other Sentinel. He will know. He will understand. He is of this world, not one long dead and buried.”

  So since she couldn’t punish him physically, she’d wound him with words.

  “What will you return to, Arthur? You straddle two worlds, neither of which needs you any longer. Your clan is gone. Another Sentinel has taken your place.”

  Her words held the bite of a slap across the face. “Aye.”

  “What will you choose? Her? Or a real future? I can make your transition back to the human world easier,” she purred.

  “What do you mean?”

  “I can give you knowledge of all the new toys, the ones the new Sentinel uses so well. Will you let me grant you all you have dreamed of lo these many years? Will you let me grant you your mortality and your family, all that your heart desires? Or will you stay in Avalon with her and watch another take your place as the world slips farther away?”

  The goddess disappeared in a blinding flash of light.

  Artair simply sat there for a moment, considering Rhiannon’s words. What world was he going back to? And what world was he leaving behind?

  He wasn’t going to be able to leave Avalon, not to return to mortality. The thought struck him with the force of a Highlander’s blow. He would have to leave too much behind. Avalon was his home. The Amazons and the changelings were his family.

  And Rebecca was all he’d ever wanted.

  Artair wasn’t going back because he could never give her up. He would fight by her side and keep her safe. He’d make sure he didn’t lose her as he’d lost so many before her.

  His time as Sentinel might be coming to an end. Yet he still had much to give in service of the Amazons, even if it meant letting Johann take the lead.

  Somehow h
e would carve a new place for himself in the Amazon world because it was the only place he belonged.

  Chapter Nineteen

  “Energy? Rhiannon said he was energy?” Johann asked.

  “Aye. She said Jin moved in another world—the modern world. That he was patterns and energy.” Artair despised the confusion in his voice. A Sentinel led, he didn’t follow.

  “That’s all she said?”

  “Aye. She loves her riddles, as do all the goddesses.”

  Johann seemed lost in thought, so Artair left him to contemplate the information Rhiannon had shared. This whole mess had something to do with those damnable computers that kept people glued to them with useless nonsense and games. He strode toward the sandpits, happy to see that Rebecca had Sarita on the retreat before Earth disarmed Water.

  Rebecca smiled and reached down to help Sarita to her feet.

  “Well done, lass,” he said, slapping Rebecca between her shoulder blades.

  “Thanks.” She reached over her shoulder to rub where he’d pounded her.

  Megan and Gina stepped forward for their turn at sparring.

  Gina had the clear height advantage, but Megan immediately went on the offensive, taking short swings and pounding against Gina’s sword. It wasn’t long before Gina took a few faltering steps back. Two more swings found her sword in the sand as Gina fell to her knees. Megan let out a triumphant cry.

  Johann came to stand at Artair’s side. The new Sentinel set his hands on his hips and scowled at his Amazon. “You’re gonna let her get the best of you? You should’ve taken her. I taught you better than that, Gina. Get up and show her what you’re made of.”

  Old Sentinel pulled new Sentinel aside. “You shouldn’t inspire the lasses to feel that kind of rivalry. They need each other. They have to work together as a group.” The lad had much yet to learn.