by Lisa Kessler
“So Ch’en must have been reincarnated…”
Zafrina nodded solemnly.
Gretchen watched the fire, lost in its flames and her jumbled thoughts, and finally shook her head. “What am I supposed to do? Find her and ask her to sacrifice herself again? What if she’s not so willing this time?”
“I am certain the brothers are searching for her now. That is not why I brought you here.”
“Then what do you need me to tell them?”
Gretchen shivered when Zafrina tenderly caressed her cheek. Her orange eyes sparked again, reminding Gretchen that this was no ordinary woman. Zafrina leaned in closer until Gretchen found her uncomfortably close, like a lover. Zafrina’s breath brushed over her lips.
“I know what the Demon is thirsting for. The brothers have misunderstood her hunger.”
Gretchen swallowed the lump in her throat, unable to turn away from Zafrina’s stare. She couldn’t move. Was Zafrina hypnotizing her? Finally, she managed to find her voice. “If it’s not death and destruction, then what does the Demon want?”
“The most primal need in this world, Beautiful One.” Zafrina kissed her lips tenderly, then her forehead before meeting her gaze again. “Camalotz is fertile. Her body yearns for a child.”
“The Demon is trying to reproduce?”
“It is an undeniable instinct as old as time itself.”
“But two of them…they’d kill everyone on this planet,” whispered Gretchen.
“Everyone in this world will kill themselves in order to feed them.” Zafrina rose to her feet. “So you understand why you must tell the brothers.”
Gretchen shook her head slowly. “Not quite. How can this help them stop her?”
“Because they believe they should fear her slaughter of the mortals, but the real fear should be a baby growing in her womb.”
Gretchen got up, pacing the cavern while she struggled to articulate the questions bouncing inside her head. “But I thought demons couldn’t reproduce… You said she’s not part of this world. How can she have a baby here? Wait—” Gretchen stopped and looked over at Zafrina. “How can you possibly know this is what she’s after?”
Zafrina stepped closer to Gretchen, rubbing her hands together with every step. Without a word, she placed one hand at the small of Gretchen’s back, and before the scientist in her could protest, Zafrina placed her other hand over Gretchen’s lower abdomen.
“Your body is still fertile, aching to feed and birth a new life.” Zafrina stared into her eyes and added softly, “But you must mate in order to conceive. It has been years since you shared your body with another.”
Gretchen yanked her hands away. “Don’t touch me, okay? None of this”—she gestured to her body—“is any of your business.” Gretchen’s brow furrowed as she went on. “And I blocked my thoughts. How did you get inside my head?”
“I did not.” Zafrina took a step back, letting her hands fall to her sides again.
“Then how could you know?”
“It was not your thoughts I heard. It was your body.”
Gretchen rolled her eyes. “Please, Zafrina, I can’t take any more riddles, just answer me. How could you possibly know those things?”
Zafrina’s brow furrowed. “I know nothing of riddles. I was worshiped on this island for centuries because of my gifts. I am a priestess of fertility. My abilities are not like the other Night Walkers of this earth. I am in touch with the body’s instincts and desire to reproduce. That is what speaks to me.”
Gretchen gnawed at her lower lip. “I’m supposed to believe that my body told you I haven’t had sex in a few years and that it wants to have a baby?”
Zafrina nodded slowly.
Gretchen smoothed out her shirt. “So, did you touch the Demon like that? Is that how you know what she’s after?”
“No. No one touches the Night Demon but her lover. He is our Guardian from her wrath, but even he cannot halt her feeding completely.”
“If you didn’t touch her, how do you know she’s pregnant?”
“I do not,” Zafrina answered. “But the thirst to reproduce is heavy in the air whenever I sense her nearby. If she is not already with child, she soon will be. That is what the immortal brothers must know. They must stop her before—”
Gretchen finished the thought. “Before she has a child.”
Zafrina nodded, and turned toward the fire. “You must find the brothers and warn them.”
“You won’t come with me?”
“I cannot,” Zafrina corrected.
Gretchen started to reply, but a familiar voice interrupted.
“Gretchen?”
Chapter Twenty
The Guardian settled his weak patient back into the corner of the cavern, covering her shivering body with a poncho he’d taken from the city. She still couldn’t speak, but he’d fed her all that he could without suffering himself. His strength would be required in order to hunt and bring her more blood.
A distinct rattle sounded behind him. The Guardian spun around and froze when he saw the serpent writhe into the cavern and coil up, preparing to strike. The snake’s venom would do little harm. He would feel the pain of the bite, the sting of the poison in his veins, and then he would heal.
It wasn’t the threat of attack that held his attention as the snake rose up, furiously shaking the tiny rattles in its tail, its forked tongue rapidly flicking out toward him. He waited for the serpent to strike, but the attack never came. The Guardian took a cautious step closer and shook his head in disbelief.
The snake had no eyes.
He kept himself between the rattlesnake and the defenseless woman in the corner, his gaze wandering over the large reptile. But before he could reach out to catch the snake, the scales melted, blending with one another until they became tanned skin. His eyes widened as the form continued to mutate, until his Camalotz stood before him. Blinded.
He reached out to cup her cheek, coaxing her a little closer. She nuzzled into his arms, burying her face in his chest as her hands wandered over his body.
“In tial?” Her voice was a harsh whisper, almost an exhausted growl.
“Yes. Always yours,” he whispered in answer, wrapping her safely in his embrace.
Her hands made their way up his chest, along his shoulders, and he contemplated her condition. Who had maimed her so severely? Surely it was one of the gods, maybe more than one. Camalotz was not of this world. Her body could heal from any injury, but this was no ordinary wound. Part of her immortal body was missing.
Would blindness slow her destruction of this world? Perhaps. He wasn’t sure the Demon would remain blind. Could Camalotz grow new eyes, or would she be forced to rely on her other senses? She had returned in the form of a snake, after all, finding her way back to him with the animal’s keen sense of smell. Would she be forced to take the form of animals that use senses other than sight?
He looked down at her, pondering her fate as her hands made their way up his chest to touch his face. Suddenly, she answered his silent questions without a word. The Guardian growled in fury, gripping the Demon’s wrists as her nails clawed into his skin.
She wanted his eyes.
“Gretchen?” Lukas knew it was her—he’d tracked her scent—but seeing her silhouette in the firelight, alive and unharmed, made him fear he might be dreaming.
She turned toward him. “Lukas?”
He took a step forward and only then noticed the native woman behind Gretchen. “Who is she? Did she bring you here?”
The woman’s orange eyes blazed. Another Night Walker. Lukas tensed, ready to attack.
“I have told you all I can. Blessings, Beautiful One.” And she was gone before Lukas could question her.
Instead, he rushed to take Gretchen in his arms. He held her tight and nuzzled into her hair, breathed her in, relief soaking into his body. She was alive.
He drew back from her, resting his forehead against hers. “You shouldn’t be here.”
Gret
chen rolled her eyes and stepped back. “It’s good to see you, too.”
“I told you not to come back here. If the Demon found you…” He couldn’t finish his thought. Now that he saw she was safe, he needed to keep her that way. “Let’s get out of here. I’ll take you someplace safe, and once the sun comes up you can fly back to the states.”
“No.” Gretchen crossed her arms, lifting her chin a notch with that stubborn glint in her eyes that gave him the urge to kiss her senseless. “You don’t get to swoop in here like some kind of supernatural knight in shining armor. I’m not a damsel in distress. If we don’t stop this Demon, there won’t be a safe place for me to go anywhere.”
He clenched his jaw, grinding his teeth to keep from saying something he would probably regret. Reaching out to hear her mind, he hoped he might discover why she seemed determined to remain in the jungle when common sense should be telling her to leave.
Instead, he found a lullaby being sung over and over. He frowned but couldn’t suppress the wave of pride that washed through him. Gretchen shielded her thoughts, keeping her secrets safe from any who might try to ascertain her motives.
She must have learned the technique from the Night Walker who brought her here. How could she have mastered the skill already?
“Your mind is closed to me now.”
She nodded. “Zafrina explained how to shield my thoughts.” She relaxed her stance slightly. “I also know how the wolf and the Goddess of the Moon fit into the puzzle now.”
Lukas took her hand. “I didn’t want you to sink even deeper into this.”
She pulled her hand away. “Did you honestly think I would walk away after you called me a fool and shifted into an owl? Really?”
The corner of his mouth threatened to curve into a smile. “I never believed you were a fool.” He sobered, bottling his emotions as best he could. “I don’t think you realize what a temptation you are to me. Is it so wrong for me to want you to be safe?”
She groaned and walked past him out of the cave. Lukas frowned. Gretchen was an intelligent woman. Why couldn’t she grasp that he wanted what was best for her? He followed her out, standing beside her under the stars.
She glanced at him, then back up at the white lights in the sky. “Is it wrong for me to be incapable of turning my back on someone I care about? I’m not stupid, Lukas. I realize this is dangerous, and there’s a chance I’ll be injured or even worse.” She cleared her throat. “But if I ran now, I’d have to live with knowing I could have helped and I didn’t. Forgive me, but that’s not who I am or who I’ll ever be.”
He stared up at the moon and closed his eyes. “If something happens to you, I will have to live with that guilt. Forever.”
He felt her warm hand slide into his. Her fingers entwined with his as he opened his eyes and stared down at her. She smiled and he wished he could freeze time.
“Then we should be sure nothing happens to me.”
Lukas laughed, surprising himself at the sound. “If only it were so simple.”
Gretchen’s heart fluttered at the sound of Lukas’s laughter. If she lived through this, she hoped she’d get more chances to hear him laugh, to see the sexy smile that he hid from the rest of the world.
All she had to do was survive. The sudden dose of reality sent a wave of adrenaline through her body. “I guess we need a plan.”
“I’m assuming my plan to send you as far away from here as possible is off the table?”
“I’m not leaving.” She bolstered her courage. Maybe she was a fool, after all. “We’ve got to get to the pyramid at Chichen Itza. Zafrina told me the Night Walkers from the altar glyphs are actually four immortal brothers, gods. I have information for them about the Demon.” She felt him tense beside her. “They won’t hurt me, Lukas. They’ll need me alive to help them.”
“If the Night Walkers from the glyphs still exist, they’re ancient. My power increases every year. I can only imagine how strong they are. I won’t be strong enough to protect you from them.”
He let go of her hand and walked toward the jungle. She stared at his back, the way his broad shoulders gradually narrowed down his muscular back to his trim waist. It just figured that she’d finally found a gorgeous man who understood her passion for her work, but with one small hitch…
He wasn’t human.
A week ago, she would have thought that sounded like a television sitcom. Today, it wasn’t nearly as funny.
She followed him through the jungle for over an hour in silence. When the vegetation started to thin, she realized he’d led her to the beach.
“How are we going to find a water taxi at this time of night?” she asked.
Lukas looked over his shoulder at her with a small smile. “We’re not taking a boat.”
Gretchen frowned. “It’s over a mile back to the mainland. I’m not that strong a swimmer.”
Lukas held out his hand to her. “Trust me.”
Issa stalked through the jungle, using his preternatural senses to track Mulac. If there was any hope left of stopping the Demon, he needed to locate the God of the North before Kane did. Kane had never had a tight rein on his emotions, and since the murder of his mate, Issa didn’t feel like he could trust Mulac into Kane’s care. Not right now.
Because Mulac could fly, tracking him was difficult. Issa was forced to rely on his hearing more than his sense of smell or sight. Night creatures sang around him as he moved silently through the jungle. Until he caught a scent that caused his entire body to freeze.
Tentatively, the cat raised his large head, taking in another whiff of air through his nostrils.
It couldn’t be.
The cat’s whiskers twitched as energy surrounded him, mutating his form until Issa’s dark skin blended into the night. Although he hadn’t fed, his skin burned hot, his heart raced.
Ch’en was nearby. He could never forget her scent.
Ducking under branches, stepping over roots, he made his way closer, until he heard a familiar voice.
Mulac.
“You waste time with your questions and your doubt. If you choose not to heed my warnings then so be it, but do not look to me for help when they find you. I will not aid you. Either of you.”
Issa burst through the foliage into the clearing to find his white-haired brother with another Night Walker who resembled the Spanish conquistadors who eradicated their people so long ago.
And beside him… Her skin was a lighter shade now, the angle of her jaw softer, but her eyes remained unchanged. The moon still lit the lower part of the iris of her right eye.
She lived again.
“Ch’en!” Issa took a step toward her, but her companion gripped her hand and ran.
Issa’s animal spirit consumed him almost without thought as he pursued Ch’en and her companion through the jungle. The moment he’d seen her face, hope flickered in his heart, hope that Camalotz could be silenced forever. But deeper inside, he felt an ancient wound tear open. Ch’en lived. Would he be forced to steal the light from her eyes again?
His earlier anger with Mulac dissipated with every stride as he called to him with his silent voice. Mulac, the Goddess of the Moon must not escape. She is our only hope to cage the Demon.
Issa saw the mighty bald eagle take flight, the moon casting Mulac’s shadow on the ground ahead of him. With Mulac in the air tracking Ch’en and her companion, Issa felt confident they would not escape. He and his immortal brothers could cage the Demon the following night, as soon as darkness blanketed the earth.
His black jaguar loped through the dense rainforest, following the faint moonlit shadow of Mulac’s wings. Relying almost completely on his sense of sight, Issa barely registered that Ch’en’s scent was no longer ahead of him.
He’d been certain that Mulac could see them from the sky above. He didn’t realize that his ears no longer heard footsteps ahead, and finally, he halted. Weakened from his earlier altercation with Camalotz, and further slowed by the rising of the sun, his
energy was depleting fast. He should have fed and replenished his strength.
I cannot run any longer. I must rest.
Shifting back into his human form, Issa watched Mulac soar down from the twilight sky, his eyes rimmed with red from the burning of the rising sun. He landed on the jungle floor as a man, his eyes on his brother.
Clasping Issa’s shoulder, Mulac led him deeper into the rainforest, to a resting place safely hidden from the daylight. “We will find them, Issa. They, too, must rest. At nightfall, they will be ours.”
“You spoke to them. I heard you.”
Mulac nodded. “I tried to convince her that she needed to stay with us to avoid the Demon, but you approached and frightened her mate.”
Issa followed Mulac to shelter, but rage smoldered in his gut. He’d heard his brother speaking to Ch’en.
Do not look to me for help when they find you. I will not aid you.
Mulac was lying to him.
Chapter Twenty-One
Lukas held out his hand to her. “Trust me.”
As she took it, electricity shot through his body. He’d tried to be careful, keeping their working relationship on a strictly professional level from the start. But in the end, it hadn’t mattered. Seeing her sleeping at night, in the hour right before dawn, when that hint of a smile passed over her lips as he stroked her hair back. Or the nights he had to carry her to her cot when she tried to stay up with him and ended up falling asleep at her work table. Somehow, she’d knocked down all of his defenses. And although the entire world was in danger, for the first time since he became a Night Walker, he wanted another night.
Fate had a sick sense of humor.
He looked down into her lush green eyes. He hated himself for wasting so much time. How many nights passed by that he could have touched her skin, kissed her lips? He’d been so lost in his “curse” that he let it all slip away.
Lukas swept a stray lock behind her ear. “We’ve got to get you back to the Jeep, and I’ve got to get to my cave in the jungle before the sun comes up. I want you to drive to Cancun. Stay in a populated area away from ancient Night Walkers and the Demon until I meet you there after the sun goes down. Deal?”