His pale eyes gleamed in the darkness with an unholy joy. “Are you going to beg for your life, little girl?”
“No.”
Her answer didn’t surprise him; they both knew pleading her case would do no good. The man Tiel used to be would’ve never lifted a hand against her; the man he was now only craved her death and pain. In a surprise move, he spun her around and twisted her arm up behind her back hard enough to make her scream. Laughing, he dragged the tip of his knife across her throat just hard enough to leave a thin trail of blood in its wake.
Just when she thought he was going to finish the job, he shoved her away. “Run, little one. Maybe I’ll let you escape so we can play again another night.”
But he wouldn’t. They both knew he couldn’t risk her getting word to her father, the local chief of police, or back across the barrier to the Sworn Guardians, who enforced the law in Kalithia. Neither side wanted a rogue like Tiel running loose in their worlds. Before she took three steps, he lunged forward, carrying Safara to the ground and trapping her beneath his heavy body.
He rolled her over, and his damp breath on her face made her sick as he forced her legs apart. The proof that he was enjoying himself was rock solid and impossible to ignore. She got one hand free long enough to rake her nails down the side of his face. Now they were both bleeding, but he seemed impervious to pain. After capturing both her hands, he pinned them down above her head with one of his.
Even with the extra strength generated by the adrenaline pumping through her veins, she remained trapped beneath Tiel. When he used his free hand to squeeze her breast hard enough to bruise, she screamed again. She did so partly out of pain, but mostly out of desperation, although it was highly unlikely that anyone else was close enough to hear her cry for help.
Tiel lapped up the blood on her neck with his tongue and then smacked his lips as if she tasted delicious. “Sweetling, this is going to be so good between us. It’s a shame that we will only have this one night together.”
He’d succeeded in scaring her while creeping her out at the same time. “Tiel, we’re cousins. We grew up together. You don’t want to do this.”
His accent thickened, making his English harder to understand. “Oh, but I do. You’ve always thought you were better than those of us stuck living in the darkness of Kalithia.”
Maybe if she kept him focused on talking, the crazed fever burning in his gaze would fade away long enough for her to escape. “That’s not true! I’ve never thought I was better than anyone. Besides, I was only a child, hardly even walking yet, when my father and grandfather brought me here to live.”
Wrong thing to say. His pale face flushed with rage. “Yet they left me behind, knowing the same illness that drove your mother to die on a Paladin’s sword also ran strong in my bloodline.”
His fist connected with the side of her head. As he hauled his arm back to swing again, a deep voice rang out across the clearing.
“Hit her again, and you’ll lose that arm for good!”
Tiel surged up to his feet to plant himself between Safara and the intruder. “This woman is mine. Find your own.”
She took advantage of Tiel’s inattention to scramble backward. When he realized she was heading right for her sword, he kicked it out of reach, leaving her gun as her only defense once more. She’d never had to shoot anyone and hated to start now. Regardless, she wouldn’t hesitate to pull the trigger if he came after her again. It was tempting to run away while his attention was split between her and the second man, but she couldn’t leave her would-be rescuer to face Tiel alone.
The man circled around the edge of the clearing to get closer to her. When she got a good look at him, her fear jumped to a whole new level. He was a Paladin, one of the human warriors who made it their life’s mission to keep her people from crossing into this world from Kalithia. Had to be. Considering his incredible size and powerful build coupled with the ease with which he handled that broadsword, there could be no other explanation. How had he found her? She and the others of her kind who lived in the area had worked long and hard to prevent their age-old enemy from discovering their existence. They were all as good as dead if the murderous Paladins had tracked them down.
She had to get away. Had to warn the others now while all of his attention was on Tiel. Safara drew her gun and backed away until she reached the edge of the trees. But with her eyes still fixed on the two dangerous men and dazed from shock and fear, she lost her balance when her foot caught in a shallow hole. Her gun went flying into the bushes as she hit the ground hard enough to knock the wind out of her. Gasping for breath, she tried to stand, only to fall on her ass again when her ankle gave out on her. Damn, could this night get any worse?
Waiting for the pain to fade, and hidden behind the thick trunk of a tree, she stared across the clearing to where the two men were now locked in battle with their swords. If the fight hadn’t been so deadly, it would’ve almost been a thing of beauty. Her cousin was lighter on his feet as he swung his curved Kalith-style blade hard and fast. The stranger’s technique had less finesse and more brute strength as he blocked each of Tiel’s blows with ease, gradually forcing her cousin to retreat step by step back up the mountainside. Her cousin favored his left side as if he’d taken a solid hit to his ribs. For his part, the stranger was breathing hard and dripping blood from his forearm.
Suddenly Tiel broke and ran, most likely heading back to the cave that shielded the entrance to his world. The Paladin started to follow, but then turned back in her direction. She had to get moving, but her ankle still refused to cooperate and gave out as soon as she put any weight on it. That left her to face an implacable enemy, unarmed and unable to defend herself or warn her people. That didn’t mean she would go down without a fight. Using a sapling for support, she pushed herself to her feet again and tried to hobble away, but the Paladin quickly closed the distance between them.
His big hand clamped down on her shoulder. She tried to fight free of his grasp, which only sent her stumbling backward. Once again, he reached out to capture her arm, easing her fall. As soon as she was safely on the ground, he released his hold on her and retreated a step.
“Leave me alone! I’m not your enemy.” She scooted back a few inches. “Can’t you forget you ever saw me?”
The deep rumble of his voice when he answered destroyed what little hope she had. “All things considered, that would be a little hard to do, don’t you think? Besides, we need to tell the authorities that some nutcase is up here on the mountain attacking people with a sword.”
He was clearly talking about Tiel, but she gave his broadsword a pointed look. “You really want to call the police in on this? I thought you Paladins were all about secrecy. You wouldn’t want the world to find out that you guys have a free pass to kill all of the innocent Kaliths you want with no repercussions even when they don’t present any kind of threat to you or anyone else.”
To her surprise, he leaned his sword against a rock and knelt on one knee right in front of her, his expression reflecting nothing but concern. “Are you all right? Maybe you hit your head when you fell, because right now you’re not making any sense. I’ve never heard of anybody called a Paladin outside of a history book, much less Kaliths. Is that guy one of them?”
His concern sounded genuine, which surprised her even more than his denial of any knowledge of the Paladins. From everything she’d ever been told about them, they swung their swords first and asked questions only if there was anyone left alive to answer them.
Right now, he was still talking. “I realize you don’t know me from Adam. My name is Eli, and I have no intention of hurting you.”
As if knowing his name made him any more trustworthy. He tilted his head to the side as if waiting for her to introduce herself, but she ignored the unspoken invitation.
“Okay, then. Let’s see what’s wrong with your ankle.” He moved toward her slowly as if afraid of startling her into trying to escape again. Finally, the warmth o
f his big hands settled around her ankle, his touch gentle as he did a quick assessment of her injury. “My guess is that it’s only sprained, but you might want to get it x-rayed to make sure of that once we get you back down the mountain.”
Before she could do more than squeak in protest, he suddenly swept her up in his arms. “I live just over that ridge. Once we’re there, I’ll wrap your ankle and then we can decide what to do next. We can’t risk hanging around here in case that guy comes back again. I managed to hold him off this time, but that was pure luck. It’s not like I have any experience fighting with swords for real.”
So if he didn’t usually fight with swords, how did he happen to have one when he came charging to her rescue? Nothing about this guy was adding up right, but she was in too much pain to think straight. For sure, it was stupid to let a total stranger carry her off to his cabin. On the other hand, she was probably in less danger going with Eli than she would be stuck out in the woods on her own, especially if Tiel did come back. To make matters worse, it had started to rain, which would only make her position even more precarious.
Resigned to her fate, whatever it might prove to be, she settled against Eli’s muscular chest. Besides, once he wrapped her ankle, she’d stand a better chance of slipping away from him if necessary. The less time she spent in his company, the better. He was bound to start asking questions she couldn’t afford to answer.
After taking only a couple of steps, he spun back around and leaned forward a little. “Can you grab that sword? I could come back for it later, but I’d rather not leave it out here if at all possible.”
It took both of her hands to lift the heavy weapon, but the added weight didn’t slow Eli down at all. He wasn’t even breathing hard when they crested the ridge. She spotted the lights from his cabin in the distance and thought she recognized the place. If she was right, it had belonged to Martin Jervain, one of her grandfather’s old chess partners. She’d been in it once or twice, but that had been years ago.
As far as she’d known, the cabin had been vacant since Martin’s death several months ago. Just how long had Eli been living on the mountain? No one in the police department had mentioned anyone new taking up residence in the cabin. As a deputy herself, she was pretty sure she would’ve heard if anything had been said about it.
Safara waited until Eli carried her inside the cabin before asking any questions in case she was mistaken. But no, as soon as they crossed the threshold, she knew she was right. The place hadn’t changed much at all since the last time she’d visited with her grandfather. “Isn’t this Martin Jervain’s cabin?”
Eli set her down on the overstuffed sofa and propped her ankle up on a pillow. Once he had her situated to his satisfaction, he carried the sword over to the kitchen counter and dried it off with a couple of paper towels. After inspecting the blade, probably checking for any damage from the fight, he returned it to its place on the wall surrounding the stone fireplace. Wow, she’d hadn’t realized Martin had such a huge collection of bladed weapons.
She had about decided that Eli wasn’t going to answer her last question when he finally glanced in her direction again. “Yes, this is Martin’s cabin, or it was, anyway. He left it to . . . his grandson when he died six months ago.”
Had she only imagined that slight hesitation in his explanation? She couldn’t be sure. “How long have you been living here? I’m pretty sure I haven’t seen you around town.”
“Just about a month.”
Eli disappeared down the hall, returning a few minutes later with a first aid kit in his hand. He’d also changed into dry clothes. “Let’s get that ankle wrapped and then I’ll make an ice pack to keep the swelling down. Afterward, I could drive you back to town tonight, but it would be better to wait until morning. The road isn’t all that good at the best of times. With the way it’s raining right now, mudslides are a distinct possibility, so I’d rather not risk it. We also can’t call anyone. I never get reliable cell reception up here, and the landline is out thanks to the storm.”
A quick glance at the clock on the mantel showed it was nearly midnight already. A few more hours wouldn’t make any difference. “That’s fine.”
He sat down on the edge of the coffee table in front of her and pulled an elastic bandage out of the kit. With the greatest of care, he untied her shoe and slipped it off. When she winced, he apologized. “I know moving it hurts, but your ankle will feel better once it’s wrapped. Okay?”
She bit her lip and nodded. Judging by his skill in wielding the bandage, he’d obviously had first aid training somewhere in his past. He quickly had her ankle wrapped and propped back up on the pillow. By the time he covered her ankle with a plastic bag of ice wrapped in a kitchen towel, the pain had already faded to a more manageable level.
Which reminded her that he had his own wound to take care of. “It looked like you took a bad cut to your arm during the fight. You’d better get it cleaned up and some antiseptic on it before infection sets in.”
He flinched as if her words hit a nerve. “It wasn’t a bad cut. Barely a scratch, really.”
When he tugged his sleeve up far enough to prove that was true, she could hardly believe what her eyes were telling her. She would’ve sworn she’d seen a fair amount of his blood dripping onto the ground from several feet away. Tracing the small scratch with her fingertip, she looked up into his dark green eyes. “It looked worse out there on the mountain.”
He shrugged and averted his gaze as if to avoid making eye contact with her. “Guess I’ve always been a fast healer.”
Which was another trait all Paladins shared, despite him denying any connection with her people’s mortal enemies. She didn’t call him on it; after all, she had her own secrets she didn’t much want to talk about. Like, for instance, her reason for being out on the mountain in the middle of the night in the first place. So far, Eli hadn’t asked, which was odd in itself, but she wasn’t about to offer any explanations if she didn’t have to.
Starting with the fact that it was her fault that Tiel had escaped Kalithia in the first place. Her grandfather had been on an extended visit with family in Kalithia. She’d made the long climb up to the cave to see if he was ready to return. People from her world varied wildly in the gifts that were handed down from one generation to the next. In her case, she’d inherited the ability to control the barrier from her grandmother’s side of the family. Tonight, she’d weakened it enough to see if anyone was waiting on the other side.
As soon as she could make out the dim outline of a male figure through the fading light, she’d collapsed the barrier completely. But instead of her grandfather, it had been Tiel waiting there. He had acted normally at first, but he’d turned on her as soon as they were clear of the cave.
She had no idea where he was now or where he’d likely go to ground. How would she live with herself if he went on a rampage instead of returning to his homeworld?
As Eli closed up the first aid kit, he glanced at her. “You still haven’t told me your name.”
“It’s Safara.” Then she added her last name in the hope that he would share his.
“Safara Dennell.”
He stood up. “Well, Safara, would you like something to eat or drink?”
“Nothing, thanks. I’m mostly just tired.”
“Me, too. I’ll help you down the hall to the bathroom. When I was getting the first aid kit, I laid out a toothbrush along with a set of my sweats for you to sleep in. While you get out of those wet clothes and, um, take care of any other business, I’ll get you a pillow and a blanket. I’ll also add more wood to the fire. These late spring nights can still get pretty cold.”
“Sounds good.”
She meant that. His clothes would be a gazillion sizes too big, but it would feel great to get out of her muddy, wet clothes. Then maybe she’d finally shake off the last of the chill she’d taken out there in the rain.
Fifteen minutes later, she opened the bathroom door to find Eli waiting to carr
y her back to the couch. She gave him credit for not laughing at how silly she looked in her makeshift sleepwear even if there was a hint of a grin he couldn’t quite hide. After setting her back down on the sofa, he covered her with the blanket. “After breakfast, I’ll drive you to the police station in town so you can report what happened. I’m sure they’ll want to start looking for that nutcase who attacked you as soon as possible.”
She shook her head. “A formal report won’t be of much use. The rain will have washed away any evidence by now, and I’m sure that guy is long gone.” Might as well tell him everything. “But I will tell my boss everything when I go into work, though, since I’m a deputy myself, and the chief of police is my father.”
If anything, Eli looked even more worried. “Look, tell him whatever you feel is important, but I’d appreciate it if you downplayed my role in all of this. All I got out of the deal was a small cut, so the focus should really be on why this guy attacked you. You might not want to pursue the investigation, but I’m betting your father will feel differently about it. If you were my daughter, I wouldn’t rest until the guy’s ass was behind bars where it belongs.”
Her father would definitely agree with Eli on that, except he’d more than likely want to toss his nephew back across the barrier into the waiting arms of the authorities in Kalithia. It would be better for everyone concerned if Tiel faced justice in his homeworld. It would endanger everyone if one of their people were to end up in a human prison. There was no telling what would happen if Tiel started shooting off his mouth as his illness grew worse, not to mention they couldn’t risk his alien DNA being detected by a human doctor.
“You can trust my dad to make sure justice is done.”
“Good. Shout if you need anything during the night.”
He turned off the lamps in the living room but left the light on over the stove in the far corner. She waited until he’d started down the hall before bringing up one last subject. “Eli, the last I heard, Martin’s only grandson was in the army. Does he know you’re staying here?”
In Darkness Transformed Page 2
