by Nina Bangs
Conall didn’t waste his breath in answering him. Gerry had enhanced everything, but Sean was right. If the demon wasn’t armed, she’d have a chance, but he was an experienced swordsman. What to do? Her thoughts ran in panicked circles.
That’s when she saw Jinx. He was wiggling his way across the mantel above the fireplace. A ruby ring circled his little green body. In a few seconds he’d be directly behind Sean and about a foot above the demon.
She locked gazes with the snake. A silent understanding passed between them.
Unfortunately, she took her attention off Sean just long enough for him to drive his blade deep into her thigh. The pain doubled her over.
Conall shouted his fury as he swung his sword with berserker rage. At the same time, Jinx dropped onto Sean’s head.
Sean wasn’t a snake person. Cursing, he lowered his sword arm and reached for the snake. Jinx being Jinx, he bit Sean’s finger and held on.
Sean flapped his hand trying to make Jinx let go at the same time he stumbled back into the fireplace to avoid Conall’s sword.
Before Sean could recover, Edge chanted the words that would open the portal to hell.
Gerry saw everything happen through a haze of pain. Jinx released the demon’s finger, slipped to the floor, and slithered away. He’d lost the ring.
Suddenly, a bloodred vortex formed beneath Sean. Sounds of chaos rose from deep within the vortex. The demon screamed as he realized what was happening. The force of the vortex held him in place, though, when he tried to scramble out of the fireplace.
Ganymede didn’t need any chanting. He crouched in front of the hearth and simply stared at Sean. As he met Ganymede’s gaze, the demon’s eyes widened in terror. Then the vortex sucked him down. His panicked shriek echoed distantly and then was gone.
Edge once again chanted, and the vortex disappeared.
Everyone in the great hall was silent for the moment it took to realize what had happened. Then everyone started talking at once.
Conall knelt in front of Gerry. “What can I do? Do you need Eric or Donna?” Fear for her shadowed his gaze.
Good. As long as he was worried about her, he wouldn’t be working up a mad at her for interfering. “No. I’m fine. I’m already healing. It just really hurt.” Fine, so she was a wuss. “We still have a loose end to tie up.”
The loose end flapped her wings, rose into the air, and landed in front of them. Evidently Operation Tail Feathers was complete. “I’m reinstating the curse I removed. Consider yourself recursed, O’Rourke. I didn’t even get a chance to reminisce about old times with Sean.”
Gerry glared at Morrigan. “You can’t do that, you double-crossing old bitch.”
“Of course I can. I’m a goddess.” The crow’s eyes gleamed with satisfaction. “If you weren’t such an insignificant nothing, I’d curse you, too. But you’re not worth the effort.”
Conall seemed too involved with checking Gerry’s body for wounds to understand the full horror of what Morrigan had done.
The hall had grown strangely still. Gerry was so wrapped up in hating Morrigan she hadn’t noticed. She did now. Following everyone’s gaze, she stared at the suit of armor that stood at the entrance to the great hall.
A cat sat atop the armor. Sleek and elegant, her spotted coat gleamed smoke-colored in the dim lighting. She watched them from almond-shaped, pale green eyes outlined in jet black.
Asima leaped onto the buffet table to mentally broadcast her exciting news. “Bast, protector of cats and women, patron of sensual pleasure and secrets, and a superior goddess in every way”—she shot Morrigan a vindictive glare—“has honored you with her presence.”
Morrigan huffed. “Big deal.”
Gerry met Conall’s gaze. He hid his emotions behind an expressionless mask. Well, she didn’t care who saw the hope in her eyes. Could Bast force Morrigan to release Conall from the curse?
Bast leaped from the armor and seemed to flow toward them, all sinuous grace.
“Yo, beautiful mama, you make me forget my cheesecake.” High praise from Ganymede.
“You won’t be forgetting it for long when I shove your leering face into it.” Sparkle making her intentions clear.
When Bast reached Conall, she looked up at him. “I’ve come to you in my cat form, Conall. Do you remember me?”
Conall’s heartbeat quickened. So much of what he’d experienced during eight centuries had faded from his memory. But yes, he did remember this cat. “Egypt. Near the Nile. A lion.”
Bast nodded, clearly pleased. “You came upon a lion you thought was threatening me. Ignoring danger to yourself, you picked me up and escaped from the lion. That was a brave thing to do.”
Conall shook his head. “Not so brave. I was immortal. That was my only trip to Egypt. The Kavanaghs I protected didn’t wander far from home.” His lips tipped up at the memory. “You made my visit memorable.”
“The lion was my sister, the goddess Sekhmet, and we were having a sibling disagreement. I wasn’t really in danger, but that didn’t lessen my appreciation for your act. You showed a caring nature, so I took an interest in your history.” She cast Morrigan an enigmatic glance.
Morrigan cocked her head. “What?”
“I don’t like to interfere in the curses of other deities, but I think eight hundred years is long enough for any human to suffer. I want you to release Conall.” She cast Morrigan a dismissive look. “Oh, and you really need to find another hairdresser.”
“No. My curse, my decision.” Morrigan wore her stubborn-crow face.
Bast sighed. “I so hoped you’d see reason.” Without warning, the elegant and possibly even gentle goddess morphed into Evil Cat. Eyes glowing, she bared her teeth in a snarl. Her low growl echoed to the farthest corners of the great hall.
Then the lights went out, throwing the hall into complete blackness. Gerry’s childhood fear of the dark chose that moment to manifest at its panicky best. Chaos reigned in the great hall. The vampires seemed to know what was coming, because they stampeded for the exits. With everyone around her shoving and screaming, she got turned around. For a few frantic moments, she felt like she was lost in the hell Sean had just returned to. Terror clogged her throat even as she tried to convince herself that vampires weren’t afraid of the dark.
Then she felt someone wrap his arms around her. Gerry didn’t need him to speak. She recognized the warm comfort of his hard body, his familiar scent that promised safety. Wrapping her arms around Conall, she hung on.
Conall held her close. No matter what happened here, he’d made his decision. Morrigan could huff and puff until she keeled over from hyperventilation. He wasn’t giving up what he had with Gerry. They’d find a way to make a life together no matter how much Morrigan tried to interfere. The goddess could issue thou-shalt-nots until she ran out of breath, but he and Gerry would find ways around her attempts to make their lives miserable.
“Hang on to me, sweetheart. Things are about to get ugly.” He moved Gerry as far away from the two goddesses as he could without actually leaving the hall. This was all about their future, so they needed to stay.
“What’s going to happen?”
“Bast and Morrigan are going to mix it up. We’re the Bast cheering section.” He ran his hands up and down her back to soothe her. Conall wouldn’t admit it, but he probably needed some soothing, too. This was the closest he’d gotten to freedom in eight centuries. “Oh, and thanks for helping me out, partner.”
She was silent for about two beats, proof that he’d surprised her. “Partners always have each others’ backs. Morrigan cheated. Cheaters shouldn’t be allowed to win.”
Conall didn’t get a chance to comment on that because he felt a furry body rub against his leg.
“This is so exciting. I haven’t seen Bast battle another deity in over five hundred years.” Asima’s voice vibrated with excitement.
No matter how much he’d gag on the words—because she’d been a real pain in the ass—he owed As
ima a thank-you. “Look, we haven’t always agreed on stuff, but I want you to know I appreciate everything you did to try to keep me safe.”
“Thank you.” Asima sounded prim. “You were a very difficult man.”
“Amen.” Gerry’s agreement.
Then silence fell over the great hall. The last vampire had fled, slamming the door behind him. Conall assumed his friends still remained somewhere in the darkness.
The first warning of what was to come touched him. Static electricity, like what you felt before lightning struck, skimmed over his skin, raising goose bumps in its wake. He tightened his grip on Gerry.
Even though Conall thought he was prepared, he wasn’t. An explosion of light and sound drove him back against the wall behind him. He felt Gerry shudder in his arms.
In the flashes of light, he saw the goddesses struggling. They’d grown to fifty times their original size. They moved so fast that all he could see was a blur of teeth, claws, and beak. The booms and crashes from their power made him afraid for his eardrums.
Then came the wind. It whirled and swirled, threatening to pick Gerry and him up and then fling them into the high reaches of the hall’s ceiling. Planting his feet, he pressed himself against the wall, trying to anchor himself and Gerry. At some point he was aware she’d pulled one arm from around him to hang on to a column.
Gerry leaned her head back to look up at him. Her hair whipped around her face. She shouted, “My God, did I really have the nerve to yell at Morrigan? I didn’t have a clue about her power. Remind me to keep my mouth shut around goddesses from now on.”
Then as quickly as it started, it ended. The wind died, the light-and-sound show was over, and the electricity came back on.
Dazed, Conall and Gerry gazed around them. Furniture was reduced to kindling and food from the banquet table decorated the walls and even the ceiling. The few windows close to the ceiling were all blown out.
His friends were scattered around the room. They all looked as shocked as he felt. Except for Ganymede. He gazed at Bast with adoring eyes. “You’re one scary witch, babe. Love that in a woman.”
Sparkle was busy smoothing down her hair and checking her nails for chips. She paused for a moment to cast Ganymede a glance that promised lots of payback when they were alone. Poor Ganymede.
The goddesses had returned to their normal animal sizes. Conall wasn’t sure where the damage from Morrigan’s visit to Happening Hair ended and her battle with Bast began. But she was one sad-looking bird. Tail feathers all gone again. Conall refused to think about the implications of that.
Bast, on the other hand, looked untouched. She used one elegant paw to wash her face. Then she gazed at Conall.
“Morrigan has graciously agreed to release you from her curse. You’ll be human again, and she will never again interfere in your life.” She waited for his response.
Gerry looked up at him with love and happiness, along with a shine of tears, in her eyes. “Your freedom. After all those centuries you can do what you want.” Her joy was all for him, with no thoughts about how it would affect her.
He loved her even more for that. “No.”
Conall could feel the stunned response of everyone around him. Gerry reached up to run her fingers along his jaw. “Conall?” Confusion swam in her eyes.
Raking his fingers through his hair, he explained. “I want to keep the curse. I love Gerry, and I want to be around to serve and protect her and our descendants. A human life span is too short now that I’ve finally found her.” He looked at Morrigan. “But I want you to stay out of our business. We go where we want and do what we want. Understand?”
Morrigan sniffed. “I suppose. Of course, now that the kitty goddess has pulled out all my tail feathers again, I’ll have to stick around until new ones grow in. But I’ll find ways to amuse myself.”
There was a collective groan from everyone in the room.
Morrigan brightened. “There’ll be a wedding. I can help plan it. My friends from Happening Hair would be glad to offer their services.”
“Over my dead and unaccessorized body. I’ll take care of the clothes and hair for the bride.” Sparkle sounded close to violence.
Asima looked at Bast. “I believe I have some vacation time coming. Could I take it now? Someone with good taste needs to guide the bride away from them.” She glared at Morrigan and Sparkle.
Conall grimaced. They were all in cart-before-horse mode. He stared at Gerry. Here went the whole rest of his life. “Will you marry me, Gerry Kavanagh?”
She stood on tiptoe and kissed him. “Try and stop me, Conall O’Rourke.”
While their friends whistled and cheered, he clasped Gerry’s hand and turned to Bast.
“I appreciate what you’ve done for Gerry and me tonight, goddess.” Conall smiled at Bast even as Gerry and he backed toward the stairs leading to the dungeon. “To honor you, I promise we’ll always have a cat in our house.”
Bast nodded. “A wonderful honor. And you’re wise to leave. The battle has drawn the attention of your police. Even now they’re preparing to batter down the doors I sealed shut before Morrigan and I settled our . . . differences.” Without further comment, she disappeared into the great hall’s shadows, an ordinary cat to any human who saw her.
Conall and Gerry didn’t stop running until they were safely back in the dungeon. Laughing, she threw herself onto the bed, releasing its sensual scent. He could tell Sparkle neither of them needed a smelly bed to put them in an erotic mood.
Reaching up, she dragged him down beside her. “So what do we do now?”
“Make love. I’ll talk to Eric. Wouldn’t you like to know what was at the end of that left path?”
She slapped at him. “No, I mean for the rest of our lives.”
Puzzled, he shrugged. “Make love.” Then he thought about it. “Yeah, we’ll have to let Sparkle, Morrigan, and Asima mess with our wedding. I’d like to kick Morrigan out, but I can be a little generous because if it weren’t for her I never would’ve found you.”
She rolled over, and he caught her to him. “I released Jinx from the Securer. We came to an agreement during the fight with Sean. If he helped us, I’d release him. But I somehow don’t think Jinx will stay out of trouble long, so we’ll be tracking him down again soon.”
We. One of his favorite words now. They’d work at PUFF together. He frowned. Someone had to change that name.
“I have to leave for just a few days, and when I come back we’ll plan our wedding.”
Only one word registered. “Leave?”
“Edge promised me he’d go with me to jail. It’ll mean a promotion. Of course, he shouldn’t have any trouble proving he’s innocent. If they don’t believe him?” She shrugged. “Payton doesn’t have any way to hold a being with his power.”
“I’ll go with you.”
She met his gaze. “As much as I want to be near you, I need to do this alone. Sure, I know that staying close to me is part of the curse, but Morrigan doesn’t have the power to enforce it anymore. Probably other Kavanaghs would just order you to stay here, but that’s not what love’s about. So I’m asking you to please let me do this myself.”
“Whatever’s best for you. Don’t stay away long, though.” A week ago, he would’ve demanded she let him keep her safe. He’d grown a lot in that week.
She slipped her fingers under his T-shirt. “We’re all icky. Why don’t we take a shower? Together.”
“Mmm. Great minds think alike.”
“I guarantee it isn’t our minds doing the thinking now.” Laughing, she dragged him off the bed and into the bathroom.
She’d only been gone for three days, but Conall felt like her trip had lasted for weeks. Besides missing Gerry, he’d had to field all the congratulations, ribbings, and general pain-in-the-ass suggestions from everyone. Sparkle and Asima were driving him crazy with wedding stuff. What the hell did he know about that crap? Morrigan had the good sense to stay away from him, but he knew she was manip
ulating behind the scenes.
But now Gerry was home. When he finally released her from his arms, she drew him down on the couch.
“Lots of good and some weird news.” She rubbed her fingers along his inner thigh.
He sucked in his breath and tried to concentrate on her news.
“Once we got to the prison, Edge called in the favor I owed him. He asked me to arrange a one-on-one meeting with Payton.” She shook her head in wonder. “Payton never came out of that room. When Edge came out, he said he’d arranged a buyout for my boss. Payton moved on to a new plane.” Her expression said she suspected the new plane began and ended with a d. “And before Payton left, he appointed Edge the new boss. When I left, Edge was working on a different name for the organization. He was having trouble, though. If you can think of three words with initials that spell BAD, call him.”
“So that’s the weird news. Let’s hear the good.” With her hand still working its magic on his thigh, Conall knew she could easily see his good news.
“Edge gave me my promotion, and he assigned me to Galveston. So we won’t have to leave the island or our friends.”
Conall couldn’t keep his hands off her anymore. He pulled her into his arms and covered her mouth with his. Long minutes later, he released her with only one word in mind. “Bed.” Okay, two—bed and sex.
As he carried her to the bed, she ran her fingers through his hair. “Any news on the wedding front?”
He dropped her on the bed. “Yep. Sparkle says we’re getting married at Wicked Fantasy. What do you think?”
She nodded even as she pulled at his shirt. “Wicked Fantasy is our place of beginnings. We met there, so it seems sort of right that we start our married life there, too.”
His thought patterns were starting to scramble like they always did when she was close. “Are we finished talking?”
“Gee, I don’t know. I thought maybe we’d talk about our relationship for a while.” She laughed at his horrified expression, but her smile slowly faded. “I have one more thing to tell you. I wasn’t going to say anything, but I don’t want our life together to start with secrets.”
