“Please don’t slam the door on me yet, Lusahn. We’ve got almost two weeks together, if everything goes right. At least let us have that much.”
His face with those dark whiskers felt prickly against her skin. She liked the strange sensation, but then, she liked most everything about this male. If she gave in to the temptation of Cullen Finley, it would very likely kill her when—and if—she was able to send him safely back across the barrier.
She was already risking her life by keeping him in her home. How much worse could it be to risk her heart?
“I…we must slam the door.”
She felt his frown against her cheek right before he stepped away from her and shoved his hands in his pockets. “I will give you some time to get used to the idea of us, Lusahn. But don’t believe for an instant that this is over.”
Even with the space between them, he was crowding her, making her feel edgy and angry. She changed the subject, hoping that would give her room to breathe. “We must make plans. I have duty today and can’t risk being late.”
“Okay, we can talk.” But his brown eyes burned dark with a heated promise that later they’d be picking up where they’d left off.
She simply nodded. He might not be ready to accept that they had no future together, not even this handful of nights, but she knew better. Still, something deep inside her whispered that a few stolen hours in Cullen’s bed would never be enough.
Cullen sat back down at the table and nudged the chair next to his toward her with his foot. She ignored the invitation and chose the seat across from him.
He frowned, but then let his mouth quirk up in a small smile. “Chicken.”
Another reference she didn’t get. She gave him a suspicious look, but didn’t pursue it. They needed to get on with their plans.
“What did you want from me?”
Cullen arched an eyebrow and let the laughter in his eyes answer that question, obviously the wrong one to ask. Her cheeks flushed hot as he finally answered.
“Barak said you might be able to help us trace the source of the blue stones. Or at least find out how people from my world are contacting yours.”
“My brother…” Her voice stumbled over the reminder that Barak was alive, but choosing to live in the human world. She closed her eyes and centered herself before speaking again. “Barak’s note said to cooperate with you. What do you already know?”
He ran his fingers through his hair as he leaned forward, elbows on the table. “We don’t even know what you use the blue stones for, or of what use they would be in my world. We have red stones called garnets that have a similar crystalline structure to your blue ones, but nothing exactly like them.”
So Barak had kept her world’s secrets. Good. At least he hadn’t shamed their family name completely.
She sat back and considered how to answer Cullen. If Barak had not shared much about the nature of the blue stones, he must have had his reasons. Why did he want her to be the one to explain what they were dealing with?
She had loved and admired her brother even when he’d taken controversial stands on the problems their world faced, but maybe she could no longer trust her brother’s motivations. Yet Cullen Finley was sitting right here in her kitchen, at great risk to himself. That kind of bravery she understood and believed in.
Looking out of the small kitchen window at the early-morning sky, she told him, “Our world grows darker.”
Cullen followed her line of sight. “Your sun is failing?”
She frowned as she considered his choice of words. “Yes, failing. It’s been going on for centuries, and most of us have adapted to living in the increasing cold and shadows. The gods have gifted us with a few like my brother, who have an affinity with the blue stones and who can call forth their light and warmth—a gift much prized by my people. Barak can also read the moods of the mountains and knows when the barrier will fail.”
Cullen heard the underlying pain and hated how much Barak’s desertion hurt her. From what he’d seen of the Other male, though, Barak was a man of dignity and honor, so something powerful must have driven him from this world. Barak wouldn’t have left his sister behind easily.
“So stealing the stones takes more than just their beauty from this world. They aren’t just jewels for decoration.”
“No—if handled by the right person, they provide a great deal of light and heat. Even a small one”—she held up her fingers in a circle about the diameter of a golf ball—“can heat a house or provide enough energy to raise a crop.”
It didn’t take a physicist to understand the stones’ possibilites on the other side of the barrier; a new energy source would be worth billions. But the greedy bastards were stealing the light from a world where it was already in short supply.
A loud knock suddenly sounded at the door, and judging by the startled expression on Lusahn’s face, she wasn’t expecting company.
“Get below!” she ordered. “Quickly, before one of the children answers the door.”
It went against his grain to be ordered out of the line of fire like a child, but he wouldn’t endanger Lusahn and the children. “I’ll have my sword in hand if you need me.”
Her gray eyes met his as she stood up. “It is most likely one of my Blade. They would come if the Guild needs me earlier than planned.”
“Fine. But if you need me, just yell.”
She nodded. “Go now. I will return when I can.”
When he started past her, she surprised him by grabbing the front of his shirt and pulling him down for a quick kiss. If she wanted him to hurry, she’d picked the wrong way to do it. Only the knowledge that he would further endanger her kept him from finishing what she’d started.
He went two steps down the stairs and pulled the door almost closed, hearing Lusahn whisper a warning to the children. Though he wouldn’t be able to understand the conversation with her guest, their tone would give him warning if something went wrong.
However, Lusahn sounded relaxed and friendly. Whoever was at the door may not have been expected, but he was certainly welcome. She laughed at something the male said, which should have reassured Cullen. Instead, it pissed him off. He was feeling less and less like the Professor his friends knew, and more like the Terminator, about to go kick some Other butt. This powerful need to hit somebody brought him up short. If he didn’t know better, he’d think he was actually jealous of the Other male.
The front door opened again and then closed loudly. Was Lusahn letting him know the coast was clear? Being cautious, he counted to twenty; then he stepped out in the hallway with his sword drawn, pausing to listen. Nothing. Not even the sound of the children talking among themselves, which alarmed him even more. He turned the last corner to confront a scene that would have made him laugh if it hadn’t been so very sad.
Bavi and his sister were staring right at him, the boy’s pale complexion washed out with fear. He had shoved Shiri behind him and stood bravely ready to defend her, should Cullen decide to attack. The weight of the heavy carving knife made Bavi’s hand shake, but there was no doubt that the boy would use it.
Cullen did what warriors did when confronted with a superior force: he surrendered. He immediately laid down his sword and held up his hands as he moved away from the blade to sit on the closest bench. They’d probably been raised from birth hearing horror stories about the Paladins.
“I won’t hurt you.” He doubted they understood his words, so he kept his voice soft and even, hoping to reassure them that he meant them no harm.
Bavi wasn’t buying it. Keeping his eyes carefully on Cullen, he motioned for the girl to escape to the kitchen. When Shiri stopped and smiled at Cullen, her brother barked an order at her. She gave him a stubborn look and took her own sweet time sashaying out of the room.
Once she was out of sight Bavi backed toward the kitchen, leaving Cullen alone. He shivered, feeling colder than the temperature warranted. Was this how Barak felt all the time? How had he stood it so long?
Feeling frustrated, he reached into his pocket for his deck of cards and cleared a spot on a nearby table. After shuffling the deck several times, he quickly dealt a game of solitaire and began playing the black cards on the red. Whether he won or lost didn’t matter; he found relaxation in the familiar routine.
After about five minutes he got that itchy feeling on the back of his neck, the one that warned him he was no longer alone. Was his little friend back?
He gathered the cards back into a pile and picked them up. Careful to keep his eyes on the table, he started shuffling the cards again, fanning them out and using every showy trick he knew.
The soft whisper of cloth over the tiled floor stilled his hands briefly as his lips twitched. Flashy moves were the right bait for this particular trap. He risked a quick look up, which sent Shiri skittering back a step or two. He went back to shuffling, listening for signs that his audience was drawing nearer.
When he saw a pair of small feet at the edge of his peripheral vision, he stopped shuffling and began building a house out of the worn cards. At four stories tall, it collapsed. The little girl giggled around the thumb in her mouth.
He winked at her and started over, this time with more success. When he’d reached about as high as she would be able to reach, he held out a card and motioned for her to try. Naturally, the cards collapsed. Her eyes were huge as she held out the card to him.
“That’s all right, sweet pea. I knock them down all the time myself.” Once again he regretted that he didn’t speak her language.
“Let’s try it again.”
He built the base and then gestured for her to give it another try. This time the cards held as she carefully placed the one he’d given her. Her bright smile over her success warmed places inside him that he hadn’t realized were cold. Together they alternated placing cards until her brother stormed into the room, grabbed Shiri by the arm, and began dragging her away.
“Stop pulling on her!” Cullen forced himself to stay seated, knowing any aggressive moves would only worsen the situation.
Bavi glared at him, although he did ease up on Shiri’s arm. He gave his sister her marching orders in their language before rounding on Cullen again. “My sister. Not yours. Stay away, human.”
His accent was so strong that it took a second or two for Cullen to realize that the boy was speaking English. Even if the pronunciation was off, the meaning was clear.
He looked Bavi straight in the eyes. “I mean her no harm.”
Bavi stubbornly shook his head and repeated himself. “My sister. Not yours. Stay away, or Lusahn will kill your heart.” He pantomimed stabbing himself in the chest before walking away.
So Lusahn would kill Cullen’s heart if he bothered the children. That sounded like a promise she would have made to Bavi. Cullen wasn’t sure how he felt about that. It was only logical that she would choose to protect her newfound family from an outsider. Trouble was, despite their brief acquaintance, he didn’t feel like an outsider.
Rather than torment Bavi anymore, he picked up his cards and went back downstairs. The light from the two narrow windows did little to dispel the gloom in the room, but he didn’t want to risk attracting the neighbors’ attention by opening the door or burning the candle while Lusahn wasn’t at home.
He began pacing the floor, wishing he’d brought something to read or even his laptop with him. He could have at least done some work on the security program updates that he and D.J. were working on. Inactivity didn’t set well with any of the Paladins, and Cullen was no exception.
For lack of anything else to do, he removed his scabbard and began going through his usual exercise regimen. It would help him keep in shape, but also take the edge off his mood. If he worked hard, he might get tired enough to take a long nap to pass the time until Lusahn returned.
It was better than doing nothing at all, but not by much.
“Where were you yesterday?”
Lusahn ignored the sinking feeling in her stomach as she considered how to answer her Blademate’s question. She settled on part of the truth. “I was home with the children yesterday evening.”
The ploy failed miserably.
Larem shook his head. “No, earlier. Didn’t Bavi tell you that I stopped by?”
“No, he must have forgotten. I regret that I wasn’t there if you had need of me.”
She concentrated on finishing the paperwork that the Guild thought was crucial, but she and her Blademates thought was a waste of their time. What did the Guild do with all of the paperwork anyway? Once it was turned in, no one ever saw it again. Maybe the Guildmaster heated his home with piles of worthless reports. She wouldn’t put it past the greedy fool.
“I was more worried that you might need me, Lusahn.”
Her hand froze as she slowly looked up at her friend, hoping the panic she was fighting didn’t show. “Why do you say that, Larem? Do you think that I can’t handle two children?”
“It’s not them I’m worried about.” Larem wasn’t smiling. “We’ve been friends since we were their age, Lusahn. I know when something is bothering you. I haven’t seen you look this sad since Barak embraced the light.”
She flinched at the mention of her brother’s name. “I have been thinking of him lately.”
Larem reached across the table to place his hand over hers. “He’s been gone for a long time, Lusahn. I understand that you miss him, but I thought you were getting past the grieving. What has happened to make it all come back again?”
She had chosen Larem as part of her Blade because he knew her so well. Until now, she’d never had reason to regret that decision. Pursing her lips, she forced the pen to continue its journey across the page.
“I’m sorry if I’ve been worrisome, but truly I am fine.” She managed a smile. “It’s just, sometimes it all hits me again, and I hurt for a few days. It will pass.”
“Yes, it will. I know it was harder because no one expected Barak to be among those driven to cross the barrier. We all thought his gift for the stones should have protected him from that madness.”
“The strength of Barak’s gift was rare enough that we have no way of knowing how it worked. My own gift has never been as strong as his was, so maybe weaker is somehow better.” She pretended to check over the form for mistakes, but at that moment she couldn’t have recognized her own name.
Larem started to say something else, but then the other two members of the Blade entered the small room that the four of them shared with two other Guardians and their Blades. The high-ranking members of the Guild were stingy with the Guild’s resources. Since Guardians and Blades did most of their work out in the world, it was considered a waste of space to grant them much room in the luxurious offices enjoyed by the management.
Larem ceased his questioning, for which Lusahn was grateful. It had started to have the feel of an inquisition, which bothered her a great deal. Maybe she was suffering from a guilty conscience that made her react too strongly to a friend’s well-meant concern.
Or did Larem have some reason to suspect that she was hiding something? It was a struggle to act normal when so much of her life was reeling out of control. She fought the urge to run home just to make sure that Cullen Finley was still safely tucked away in her house.
Instead, she had hours of patrol to get through before she could go home. The strain was giving her a headache, but she could ignore that. What troubled her more was how much of her energy was focused on a human male whom she’d known less than a day. Cullen’s dark brown eyes had been haunting her since she’d left the house that morning.
How was Bavi handling the human’s presence?
And what could she do to help Cullen solve the problem of the stolen stones? Who among her friends could she trust with such a
dangerous mission? Did she have the right to involve them, after she’d already made the decision to allow the human to live?
If the two younger members of her Blade hadn’t walked in, maybe she could have talked to Larem about her predicament. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust Kit and his brother Glyn, but the more people who knew a secret, the less likely it was to remain one. Besides, as their leader, she wouldn’t risk ruining their careers.
She straightened the pile of papers and shoved them into a file. That’s when she noticed the unusual silence in the room. The worried look was back in Larem’s eyes, but the others were grinning at her.
She leaned back in her chair and glared at the three of them. “All right, what did I miss?”
Kit laughed. “I asked you twice if we were about to leave. That paperwork must be enthralling. Maybe we should mention to the Guildmaster that you have a newly discovered talent for it. I’m sure he could find you enough forms to fill out to satisfy you.”
His younger brother snickered and elbowed him in the ribs. “Maybe that is why she never invites a male to her bed—she requires everything to be done in triplicate.”
Now all three of her Blade were laughing at her. Normally she tolerated a bit of rough humor, but right now, she was in no mood to think about her empty bed and a certain human male.
If she reacted badly to their teasing, though, it would only alarm Larem even more. “Next time I have paperwork that needs doing, gentlemen, maybe I’ll see if any of you are up to the job.” She wiggled her eyebrows at them in a parody of flirtation. When they laughed, she reached for her sword. “Gentlemen, our patrol awaits us.”
The three males fell into their usual formation, with the younger two flanking her while Larem covered her back. As they walked in formation through the heart of their city, any civilians on the road stepped aside and bowed their heads as Lusahn and her Blade passed by. She hated that they were feared rather than respected, but the nature of their job kept their fellow citizens at arm’s length.
Redeemed in Darkness Page 4
