“Snick says it’s a portal to another world,” Jace yelled at us over the sound of our flapping wings. Sand billowed up under us and I lifted a little higher to get out of the backdraft.
“Can he close it?” Gareth asked.
“No, but he says the Elf should be able to.”
“Which one?”
“Amras.”
I nodded and turned for the water, flaming the stragglers while Gareth and Jace kept an eye on the opening, ensuring no more creatures bled through.
I landed in the water beside the other three and turned my head to Amras, who still looked slightly shaken. I realized he must have taken the brunt of the recoil from my healing of Spot. “Are you well?” I asked, lowering my head to look at him and realized I couldn’t see his aura. My eyes flicked to Cursed and Owen who appeared as they had before Mi had touched me. Interesting.
“I am fine, Princess” he told me, his eyes taking in the shape of me. Aside from a brief moment on the roof the other night, this was the first time Amras had seen me in Dragon form. No wonder he looked so shaken.
I nodded and told them, “Someone has opened a portal to another world. Snick seems to think you can close it”
Amras stared at me and seemed to think about it for few seconds. “I can try.
“You’ll need a lift over there. We haven’t completely eliminated all of the creatures yet.”
Amras bowed low and glanced at Owen. “Some leather clothing please?” he asked. “And my sword?” Owen snapped his fingers and Amras was dressed in clothing similar to the dark grey leather he’d worn yesterday.
“This won’t be pleasant,” I warned him as he eyed the sharp ridge down my back. “Owen, perhaps some padding, or a harness of some sort?” Across the room Jace yelled for me and I urged Owen to hurry, bending down so Amras could climb onto me once the saddle-like harness had been conjured. “Hold on,” I told him and vaulted into the air.
The hole was swarming again and Jace and Gareth were taking turns burning the black creatures as they appeared. I settled in behind the others at shoulder height so Amras could get a good look at the fissure. “I’ll need to touch it,” his mind whispered to mine and I turned to look at him with horror in my eyes.
“Can you not close it from here?”
“No Princess, I can not.”
Gareth and Jace turned to look at us. “We need to clear the area. He has to touch the wall to close it.”
“Stay here,” Gareth told me, his wing brushing against mine as he backed from the wall with a mighty sweep of his wings and twisted about. Jace followed him and the two of them crisscrossed the cavern billowing fire over the sand and rock as they went.
“Princess!” Amras yelled, and I swung back to the wall in time to see several little black bodies squeezing through. They burst into flames as I released fire at them and Amras yelped, holding his legs out away from my body.
“Sorry,” I told him and glanced around, then dropped lower to the ground as Jace and Gareth circled back around toward us and covered my flank. “Quick, Amras, before another wave appears,” I urged. He vaulted off me and ran to the wall, placing his hands flat on the rock to either side of the hole. In my mind I chanted ‘hurry hurry’ at him and dropped to the sand at his back. Nothing happened at first and then the rock seemed to shimmer and flow as it closed in on itself. Suddenly where there had been a hole, it was now smooth and solid. Amras stepped back and slipped sideways, his body hitting the ground before I could catch him.
Gareth yelled at me as I shifted and sank down on the sand beside Amras, turning him over in my arms. He moaned and I happened to glance at one of his hands and cried out softly in horror. All that fire on the rock had heated it. Amras’ long delicate hands were black and the skin was horribly blistered. My eyes lifted to Jace, who stood next to me, a sick expression on his face. “Can you heal him?” he asked.
I nodded and bent my head over him, remembering the smooth feel of his fingers as he touched me. How his palm had felt against my bare skin as I reached for his hands, biting my lip when he moaned a second time, the pain fluttering his eyelids. ‘Heal’… I breathed, pushing the weight of my command down my arms and out through my hands into his.
His eyes met mine as I lifted my head. “Thank you, Princess,” he whispered, then gently pulled his hands from mine and held them out in front of him.
Jace’s hand fell on his shoulder and squeezed. “That was very brave.” he told Amras. “Thank you for saving us all.”
There was a hint of something deep in Amras’ eyes as he looked back at Jace and nodded thoughtfully. “It needed to be done,” he replied and I hugged him briefly, then pushed up and onto my feet. Turning, I noticed we were surrounded by the rest of the men. Even Gareth had shifted. Apparently the crisis was over. At the water’s edge Spot was pacing back and forth, clearly still agitated, as every third step steam rose from his nostrils and his pale eyes swung back and forth around the cavern, obviously looking for more intruders.
“All gone?” I asked and got nods all around. “Great, maybe someone can explain to me what just happened?”
Gareth stepped forward and pulled me in against his chest, holding me silently for several minutes. I think the stress must have gotten to him because his grip was tighter than normal. Whatever the cause, I was happy to be held and wrapped my own arms around him, squeezing him just as tight as I could while he kissed the top of my head, then buried his face in my neck. When he finally released me, Jace was there and his hug was equally as tight. “Can’t leave you alone for five minutes,” he muttered against my ear. I couldn’t help but smile, especially when I realized I’d just healed Amras and didn’t feel the need to pass out.
Chapter 32
No one seemed to know who could have caused the tear but Gareth and Jace seemed pretty sure it was another attempt to sabotage the meeting. Owen admitted he’d seen the creatures before but didn’t have a name for them or any other information. Only that they appeared to be some sort of parasite or rodent from another world, and they hunted in packs. When I asked where he’d seen them before, he simply shook his head and refused to discuss it. Some things were best left unsaid.
Gareth insisted on sweeping the entire cavern and would have taken Kit and Amras off with him, but Owen pulled both Jace and Gareth aside for a little private chat. When they came back it was decided that Kit and Amras would go with me, while Owen and Cursed would assist Jace and Gareth. Not only were they planning to sweep the cavern, but also mentioned creating doors at all the entrances to the bedrooms and other passageways. Obviously they were done with uninvited guests and it was fairly clear that someone had gotten in again, and this time they had not only nearly killed Spot but opened the portal, neither of which they could have done remotely.
The four of them left us there and I had the distinct feeling that I’d had my dance card filled out for me, compliments of Owen.
“Ah… alone at last,” Kit smirked.
“Shall we?” I asked, then turned and headed for my bedroom.
Amras gave me a strange look and I reached out and placed my arm through his, dragging him along with us. “What is this about, Princess?” he asked quietly.
Kit moved up on my other side, then passed me so he could get the door for the three of us. “Apparently the Viking believes it is a matter of utmost security for the three of us to have intercourse,” he said.
I glared at Kit when Amras jerked to halt and stared in dismay at Kit. “With me,” I corrected. “Not with him!”
Kit laughed and skipped down the hall towards the bedroom. Amras looked relieved, then his eyes lit up and he nearly dragged me down the hallway toward my room. When he would have veered to the left I dug in my heels and yanked us to a halt. Amras skidded to a stop and turned to look at me with surprise on his face. “What is it?” he asked, his hand sliding down my arm so he could entwine my fingers in his.
I ignored him and reached for the door handle, turning it and pushing b
ack the door. The last time I’d been in here the room had been a pigsty with the Troll’s clothing everywhere. This time the entire area had changed and where one bedroom and a bath had taken up the space, there was now a hallway. I wandered in, towing Amras behind me. We entered a common room with chairs and a couple couches, much like the room off the kitchen, except here the color scheme was a little different. The couches and chairs were mostly black leather with accents in creams and a few splashes of dark red. There were four paintings on the walls all of the same forest scene but each depicting a different time of day.
At the other end of the room was a hall. I led Amras that way and wasn’t surprised to find four doors. Kit wandered in behind me, grumbling under his breath about impending doom and sightseeing and why was it that when it was finally his turn I suddenly decided to become a tourist.
I rolled my eyes and Amras pressed his lips together forcing himself not to laugh.
“This one’s mine!” Kit informed me, stepping around us and swinging open the first door on the left. I stuck my head in and pulled it right back out again. The room looked like a near carbon copy of the one I’d occupied briefly with him in Hell.
“How can you stand that?” I asked, closing my eyes to stem the slight feeling of vertigo I got from the oddly angled walls and floor.
Kit just shrugged and seemed a little annoyed but simply shut the door and moved off to the next one on the left. “And here’s the Goblin’s.” he told us, turning the knob and shoving it open. I hesitated, wondering if I should be doing this while Cursed and Owen weren’t there but, Amras urged me forward and I caught my breath when I glanced in.
The room looked more like something a Monk might occupy. It was utterly bare except for a woven mat on the floor and a door which I guessed might lead to a bathroom. I worried at my lip and glanced at Amras, who shrugged a shoulder and reached out to close the door.
“Not exactly warm and fuzzy. No wonder he prefers sleeping in your bed,” Kit remarked, then hurried across the hall and threw open the next one. “Guess whose room this is?” he said, rolling his eyes.
A fireplace and thick skinned furs lined one side of the room. There was a doorway leading to another bathroom I presumed. A bookcase filled with books lined one of the other walls and there was a chess board set up in the corner on a low table with a couple pillows strewn around. Kit pulled the door closed and we walked back to the first door on the left.
Kit reached for the knob but Amras beat him to it. My breath caught as I looked in on what appeared to be a forest glade. Amras’ hand at my back urged me across the threshold and into the room. The sharp scent of pine and rich dirt filled my nostrils and I glanced around at the trees, bushes, and ferns growing all around. A thick layer of pine needles lined the floor and filtered sunlight shined down from somewhere overhead. I couldn’t see the far wall or the ceiling and wondered just how big this indoor forest was.
Amras leaned down and whispered, “We could get lost in here.”
“I think I’ve got ants crawling on me!” Kit cried in mock horror. “Nasty little creatures!” he grumbled and moved back toward the door as I laughed at him. Amras smiled down at me and I winked back at him.
“Are we done now? Can we get on with it?”
I winced and Amras squeezed my shoulder his touch sympathetic. Damn Demon, it was just lucky for him I liked him and he was attractive or I might have taken my chances.
“Yes, yes I am, aren’t I?” he asked, turning to look at me. “What?” he demanded. “Did you expect me to romance you into submission? Please… you’d see through that in a New York minute!”
“Ah Kit, you do realize the conversation you’re having is outside your head, right?” I asked, slightly annoyed by his flippancy.
He stopped suddenly and glanced down at me. “Are you seriously irritated at me because I want to make love to you?” he asked, his voice sounding baffled.
I tossed up my hands and glared at him. “Yes, no! Ugh! Why do you have to be so… obnoxious?” I demanded.
“Oh I don’t know, maybe it’s because I’ve known you nearly all your life and you’ve made me wait until last!” he said, leaning forward and growling at me.
“You came first, before any of the other three,” I grumbled.
He frowned, put his hands on his hips and considered me for a moment. “Well maybe so but you still walked away from me.”
“I didn’t leave you there. And you said no last time, not me,” I told him quietly and reached for my bracelet, slowly rotating it around my wrist so that he knew I wasn’t talking about my bedroom the other day. We were standing in the common room, having made it that far. Amras was waiting quietly behind me, listening but not interfering in any way.
Kit heaved a sigh and delicately shuddered. “Is it wrong for me to want to show you my appreciation, Mistress?” he asked, reaching for me and slowly tugging me toward him. I went reluctantly, my hands coming up to brace against his chest.
“No, but is there some reason you have to make it feel so… dirty?” I whispered.
“I thought you liked my sense of humor?”
Truthfully I did… usually, even when it was irritating me. “Yes but not now. Not our first time.”
He nodded and bent down to lift me into his arms. “If you’re coming Elf, make yourself useful and get the door,” he told Amras, then turned and strode toward the hall.
Everyone’s clothing disappeared as we reached the bed and Kit climbed on with me still in his arms. “You didn’t snap your fingers,” I told him.
“My hands are busy,” he replied and settled me in his lap at the head of the bed amongst the pillows. “Now,” he told me, as he wrapped his arms about my waist and leaned me sideways against his chest. “Do you remember that night when you were…seventeen…no wait eighteen, and you were in the mountains outside of Albuquerque during one of your training exercises? There were four of you on your team and they dropped you in the middle of nowhere near a nest of young rogue Vampires?”
“Yes,” I replied, stiffening slightly in his arms.
He nodded and continued. “One of your team was a Vampire himself. What was his name….Brad or Brian?” I tried pushing up from his chest but he held me tighter and shushed me. “I just thought you should know that he wasn’t good enough for you, and that is why I made him impotent. And over the years, he wasn’t the only one,” he told me calmly, while my mind sputtered around the words he was speaking.
“What?” I demanded, twisting my neck to look up at him. His black eyes twinkled as he stared down at me with a mischievous look.
“And just so you know… that Were Lion the other night… well, he wasn’t for you either.”
“Oh my God!” I breathed, my hands clenching in my lap as I thought about what he was saying. “Each time I thought it was me! I thought they didn’t want me,” I whispered… my voice sounding oddly hollow.
“Oh no, Mistress, it was never you.”
“How could you? I thought you weren’t supposed to interfere, that it would nullify the contract?”
Kit smiled and shook his head. “It prevented me from approaching you, not from keeping track of you and preventing others from doing something to you which you would later regret.”
I growled and demanded, “How do you know I would have had regrets?”
“You forget I’ve been watching you since you were just an itty bitty little girl. You would never have been happy with a Vampire or a Were.”
“Wait… did you… do something to Gareth or Jace?”
He smiled and shook his head again. “Oh no, you showing up here was a complete stroke of good fortune. I simply made sure no one distracted you. The Dragons did all the rest. I can’t tell you how long I’d waited for just such an opportunity! You know only a real immortal will satisfy you, not a converted human. Admit it.”
I didn’t want to, but when I was done being pissed at him I would probably agree, and that made me even madder. At least he hadn
’t interfered with Jace or Gareth! Dang it, I never could stay angry in the face of logic. “Why are you telling me this now?”
He shrugged and admitted, “I just thought you should know because tonight we’ll come face to face with at least one or more Vampires, and I know of your aversion to them and the reason. I didn’t think it was fair to handicap you. Given what the Viking said, I just felt I should tell you so you wouldn’t be conflicted with any self doubts.
I glanced at my hands and nodded. “Every single time?” I asked softly.
He chuckled and hugged me tight. “You have no idea. I had to beat them off with an impotency stick. Even hiding behind your Plain Jane mantel the bastards still wanted at you. Heaven take me, you’ve got no idea how much trouble you’ve caused me over the years.”
I smiled, I just couldn’t help myself. His words lightened my heart and I took a deep breath and slipped my arms around him laughing. “How ironic…my very own Lust Demon and you’ve spent nearly my entire life keeping me celibate! You really were the chaperone from Hell!” And I fell against his chest laughing. Kit joined me and behind us on the bed I heard Amras chucking too.
“And now I am truly next. No escape for you this time,” he told me, his voice turning low and smoky with desire. Gooseflesh erupted on my arms and upper chest as he pushed me back onto the bed and leaned over me, his lips burning a path over my shoulder and up my neck. His hands wrapped around my wrists, pulling my arms over my head while he slid a knee between mine and nudged my legs apart so he could position himself over me. “Do you remember what I told you?”
Dragon Lust Page 38
