Timeless Moon

by C. T. Adams

  “Come on, come on,” he muttered under his breath. “Hang on. You can do it.”

  The plane skidded sideways across the wet pavement, with the smell of burning rubber coming from its brakes. It came to a shuddering stop after it fell off of the edge of the concrete and into the muddy grass partway down the runway.

  Rick and Josette ran to the plane. The machine was listing to the left, its weight forcing the landing gear deep into the viscous mud. Off-balance, it shifted uneasily as the door to the cockpit swung open.

  Raven stood in the opening. He was a big man, and had to hunch over to fit through the door. But his knuckles were white where he gripped the edge of the doorframe, as he vomited noisily into the grass. The black clothing he wore made the grayish pallor of his skin all the more noticeable. He was obviously shaken. He stepped carefully onto the metal step and down to the ground. There was no mistaking the wave of relief flowing off of him as his boots touched the earth.

  “Are you all right?” Josette was at his side almost instantly, and Rick felt a strange twinge of jealousy in the way she treated him. Did she know Raven better than he’d thought?

  “Fine.” Ramirez’s voice was hoarse, so he cleared his throat and tried again. He didn’t react to Josette like anyone he knew, but didn’t object to her touch, either. “I’m fine. Glad as hell to be on land again. If I never set foot on a plane again it wouldn’t bother me.”

  “But how—” Josette started to protest, but Raven cut her off with a wave of his hand.

  “Oh, I’ll do it, but you can’t make me happy about it.” She stepped back from him, but it was obvious she was still concerned.

  “Will we even be able to?” Rick gestured toward the plane that was listing more and more as it sank into the soft mud. He didn’t know anything about airplane mechanics, but it didn’t look good. Aside from having run off the runway and getting stuck in the mud, it looked like there was damage to the wheels and landing gear that would need work before they could take off.

  Raven turned around and began swearing. He motioned to Rick and grabbed onto the wing. “Here, give me a hand getting this back onto the runway.”

  It took all three of them to fight the wind and lift the plane high enough to scoot it back onto the concrete. Without their Sazi strength, there’s no way they could have done it.

  Raven bent down to inspect the damage. “Well, I can fix it, but I’ll need some tools.” He glanced over his shoulder at the locked shed. “We’ll have to ask Mr. Simmons if we can borrow his.”

  “Simmons?” Josette had stopped several feet short of the rest of them, keeping her distance. “John Simmons?”

  “That’s the name Lucas gave me. Why?”

  She laughed, and it made her eyes sparkle. “I’ve met him. In fact, he owes me a rather large favor.”

  Rick suddenly remembered the naked man who’d dallied with the wrong woman and laughed. “You sure you’re going to recognize him again with his clothes on?”

  Raven’s eyebrows raised just as Josette’s jaw dropped. She put her hands on her hips.

  “Richard Aleric Cooper! Get your mind out of the gutter!” Josette’s toe started tapping an impatient rhythm against the concrete as she mock-glared at Rick.

  Cooper. It’s a surname he hadn’t heard in a century. It was his given name, and the one he’d given to Josette when they’d married. But how stressed was she that she’d forgotten they’d changed it even as early as when they moved to Illinois?

  “If the two of you are done?” Raven was obviously tired and irritable, he glared at each of them in turn. “Aspen, since you already know Simmons, you should probably be the one to talk to him.”

  “Fine.” She turned and started to leave.

  “I’m coming with you,” Rick announced.

  She rolled her eyes. “Fine. But hurry up.” Turning on her heel she started across the pavement in the direction of the farmhouse. The wind whipped her hair around her face.

  Ah. The scent of his jealousy had finally caught up to her. Rick went after her at a half-trot. He had the sense not to touch her. Just matched his pace to hers. “I’m sorry. I’m having a hard time today. I’m not sure why. Please ignore me. You’re too important to me to upset.”

  When she spoke, her voice was soft, barely audible. He knew Raven wouldn’t catch the words, even with his keen hearing. “Then why didn’t you come back? If I’m so important, why did you let me mourn for a century?”

  He sighed. “Pride mostly, and fear. You can be damned hard-headed. That you didn’t come after me told me a lot. I didn’t figure you’d want me back, and I didn’t exactly fancy dragging in with my tail between my legs.”

  “What changed your mind now?” She’d started walking again, but more slowly, giving him the chance to come up beside her.

  Rick wanted to say something clever, to protect himself from revealing too much of what he felt. But he could hear the vulnerability in her voice. Lying now, making light of the question, might cost him his chance. So he steeled himself to tell the truth. “Charles said you were in trouble, and it occurred to me that if you got yourself killed I’d never get the chance to work things out with you.”

  “So you came riding to my rescue?” She arched an eyebrow at him. He didn’t miss the irony in the look.

  “Would it help if I told you that Lucas figured you’d kill anybody else on sight? And neither of us was positive that you wouldn’t do even worse to me.” Rick made his tone light. He knew better than anyone how much this particular lady hated the “helpless little woman” stereotype. Yes, he’d come to rescue her. Not because he thought she was incapable but because he loved her. Damn it. There it was. He was still in love with Josette Monier Cooper and it was time to stop playing around. And everybody needs help now and again, whether they admit it or not.

  She gave a full-throated laugh that tilted her head back showing a long expanse of pale throat, lighting up her entire face. “You certainly do know how to turn a girl’s head.”

  “We aim to please, ma’am.” He pretended to tilt an imaginary hat.

  She laughed again, her annoyance forgotten. She picked her way delicately around yet another deep puddle in the gravel drive. “Why do I have such a hard time staying angry with you?”

  “My irresistible charm?” he suggested. The two of them had started walking again. They’d almost reached the last bend in the driveway.

  “Maybe.” The smile she gave him made his heartbeat speed up, making him warm in spite of the wretched weather. The sight of her nipples pressed hard against the thin fabric of her top dragged a reaction from his body that was almost frightening in its intensity. He wanted her. Here, now…hell, any time, any place. But here and now would definitely be good. The reaction was ridiculously impractical, but that didn’t change a thing.

  She saw his reaction, or smelled the lust pouring off of him, and her smile grew mischievous. “We’ll talk more later. We’re almost there.”

  Rick stopped long enough to convince his unruly body to behave. They were rounding the last bend.

  The house was a large two-story affair with a wide front porch. It gleamed from a fresh coat of white paint, the trim a bright, fire-engine red that matched the barn a few yards away. Four trucks were parked in a straight row along the white metal livestock fence, which formed a pen next to the barn. All of the vehicles were large, four-wheel-drive monsters meant for heavy work and rough terrain.

  A man stood alone on the porch, lounging casually against one of the support columns at the top of the stairs. He wore jeans, which had been professionally pressed to have a perfect crease, under a heavy blue work shirt. His blond hair had been recently cut very short, a mark showed fresh skin against tan. Rick caught a glimpse of a red tattoo, half-hidden under the man’s collar. He was a good-looking fellow, with a strong build and open features. But something about him felt…wrong. Rick lowered his shields, using his gift to take a read of the other man.

  “Good afternoon! Did y
ou get the flowers I sent?”

  “They were lovely, thank you.” She gave him a smile that could have melted the polar icecaps. Rick wasn’t jealous. In fact, he barely noticed. This was the source of the aggression he’d felt earlier. Simmons was a consummate actor. His face practically glowed with bonhomie, but that wasn’t what he was feeling. Instead, he was triumphant, eager, and angry.

  Rick reached out to touch Josette’s arm, to warn her, when he saw the play of light reflecting off glass from the hayloft of the barn. Instinct took over. He tackled her just as the shot rang out. Rolling off of her, he drew the gun from the small of his back.

  Time seemed to slow. Rick saw everything with painful clarity: the rifleman; Simmons drawing his own weapon as he darted for cover; two more men were moving, the barrels of their guns propped on the bed wall of the largest of the trucks.

  There was no way he could shoot them all. He knew it even as he pointed his weapon at Simmons and pulled the trigger.

  “No!” Josette’s scream was as much from rage as fear. He felt a flash of heat as she gathered her power, followed in an instant by the crawl of electricity across his skin.

  Blinding light brought tears to his eyes as heat followed the screech of metal and an explosion of sound shook the ground beneath him. Dirt sprayed up into his face, deafening him to the screams of their attackers. A bomb. There was a bomb in that barn! Potholes littered the long strip of concrete and one wing of the plane was hanging by bits of wire. Simmons and his men had intended to murder them. The bomb had been placed near enough to the runway that if they’d taken off immediately as planned, they would be dead now. But why? Were they part of The Movement, or a brand-new threat?

  Josette leaped to her feet and started running in a zigzag pattern across the field, passing Raven, who had changed to wolf form. He was an impressive wolf, nearly the same height at the shoulder as Rick’s chest. He streaked by and leaped on one of the men, pulling him down with a scream that was followed closely by another rifle shot.

  Dirt sprayed inches away from his feet. Simmons was injured, but not down. He raised his weapon, aiming for Rick, but he was too slow. Before he could fire, his body jerked and blood sprayed the snow-white paint as Rick sent two more shots into his chest. It was quicker than changing.

  He was looking where he was firing, but he heard the blare of a car horn. Turning his head he saw the Volvo speeding up the lane, the front passenger door swinging open wide. He couldn’t spare more than a cursory glance. The men in the truck bed were stirring, shaking off their shock. With Josette out of range the rifleman turned his attention to Rick. His first shot hit the exact spot where he’d had been standing an instant before. Rick was gone. Running at Sazi speed he joined Raven in a mad dash across the muddy field to catch the car.

  The car had reached the gravel road and was fighting for traction. Josette was shouting for them to hurry. Raven reached the vehicle first. He jumped in the front door, entering as a wolf, but landing as a human before diving into the backseat. A moment later he was sitting on the windowsill he had guns in each hand, steadied on the roof of the car, firing continuously. Rick doubted he was hitting anything, but the gunfire would discourage his pursuers.

  Putting on a burst of speed he dived, face first, into the car. The door slammed closed behind him. Josette shouted, “Got him.”

  Rick felt the car lurch beneath him as gravel transitioned to pavement. Josette took a hard left and floored the accelerator.

  “Are you hurt?” Raven was back inside the vehicle, reloading his weapons from the bag on the floor as Rick climbed into the backseat. He dropped the spent clips onto the floor, his eyes on the road behind them.

  “I’m fine.”

  “Trucks coming, fast,” Josette announced and jerked the steering wheel hard to the left.

  “Shit!” Rick struggled to get to his hands and knees in the confined space. Neither he nor Raven were small men. Having both of them in the backseat made things damned crowded. There seemed to be arms and legs everywhere, all of them in his way.

  “I either need a different gun or more ammo for this one. I’m out.” He honestly didn’t remember firing that many shots, but he must have because the clip was empty.

  “In the bag,” was Raven’s curt response. His attention was on the vehicles behind them. He climbed back through the window, firing backward.

  Josette took a hard right that nearly threw Raven out of the car. He was only holding on by tucking his bare feet under the seat back and bracing his back against the window pillar. Fortunately, Rick had just enough room to maneuver himself up and over the seat to sit next to her. It would be better not to have them both hanging out. Dropping into a sitting position, he pulled a handgun and holster from the bag,

  “Left turn ahead,” she announced. It was good she’d warned them. She hit the brakes and steered sharply to the left, forcing Raven to brace himself, so he wouldn’t slide across the slick leather seats.

  Rick heard a crack, and the glass of the rear window exploded, sending small square chunks of glass raining through the backseat. Unspent, the bullet from the rifle continued through the windshield. More by chance than design, the glass missed Rick’s eyes. Raven, too, had been spared, except for a few minor cuts across his bare chest. But they healed almost faster than Rick could blink. Josette was huddled low in her seat, trying to keep her head out of firing range, while still peering over the dash to drive.

  Turning, Rick knelt on the seat, aiming his gun through the frame of the window, firing shot after shot behind them. He wasn’t aiming for the passengers. The trucks were moving too fast, and he was too out of practice. So he left that for Raven. His goal was to put enough holes in the radiators and engines of the trucks to stop them, because they weren’t going to be able to outrun them. The Volvo was a great car, and Josie was doing a damn fine job of driving, but they were on unfamiliar roads in bad weather.

  “Right,” Josette shouted to be heard over the wind and rain whistling through the vehicle. She slowed only marginally before taking the turn, and Rick felt the vehicle shudder as the electronic brake distribution and traction control kicked in.

  As Rick watched one of the trucks missed the turn, driving hard and fast into the middle of a muddy field, the vehicle lurched to a stop, the gunman in the bed being tossed in the air like a rag doll.

  The second truck was bearing down.

  “Hang on!” Josette yelled.

  Rick braced himself as the Volvo sped up an incline and over a railroad crossing, becoming airborne for a brief moment before slamming with jarring impact against the pavement on the other side.

  “Gun.” Raven reached down, exchanging his spent weapon for the one Rick had pulled from the bag.

  “Right!”

  Rick continued to fire into the grill of the remaining truck, not even noticing the shifting vehicle anymore.

  But the driver of the truck had apparently been waiting for just this turn. He gunned the engine, closing the distance between them until there were only inches between them.

  Raven and Rick were firing almost continuously. The truck was now too close to fire at the grill. Rick aimed at the eyes above the rifle steadied on the roof of the truck as Raven fired at the driver. Blood exploded from the driver’s chest. The truck lurched to the right as the dying man fell sideways. The vehicles impacted with the scream and grinding of twisting metal. Rick and the others were thrown into a tangled heap as the Volvo swerved out of control off the pavement and started to roll.

  Chapter Eighteen

  “HOW BAD IS it?”

  Rick could hear Josette’s voice as if from a distance. He wanted to open his eyes, but couldn’t seem to manage it. It was as if they were leaden, too heavy to move. He knew his body was in pain, but shock had set in, so it was more of an esoteric realization than an immediate agony. The knowledge that he was probably dying didn’t panic him. In fact, he wasn’t capable of feeling much of anything.

  “Bad enough.” Ra
ven’s voice was thick with exhaustion. “It was silver ammo. Then there’s the damage from the wreck. I don’t have the strength—”

  “You can use mine.” Josette’s voice was wet with tears, but there was an underlying steel to the words, a demand that would not be denied.

  “From…you? No, we can’t share energy. We’d have to have some sort of…bond.”

  She didn’t say a thing, but something must have passed between them because he heard Raven say, “Does Rick know?”

  “It doesn’t matter. Just do it. Take whatever strength you need. I don’t care. Just heal him.” The desperation in her voice cut Rick like a knife. He wanted to say something, but he couldn’t seem to make his body cooperate. Nothing seemed to be working right.

  The first sensation started in his spine. It began as a warm electric feeling that flowed in a long line from his skull to his tailbone. Only then did he feel pain. It was excruciating. Each breath he drew into his damaged lungs brought stabbing agony. His hips, pelvis, everything hurt. He felt his mouth open and ragged screams split the air. Again and again his body reacted to the damage. It wasn’t until long minutes later that strength began to build slowly, as blood vessels healed, bones reknit, and muscle and skin tissues repaired themselves. He forced his eyelids open and saw Raven kneeling on the ground beside him. The air around the healer’s hands glowed with the power that he was pouring into Rick’s chest.

  Josette stood behind Raven. Her hair was matted with blood that covered one half of her face, running and thinning in the rain that soaked all of them to their skins. She was steadying herself with her hands on the big man’s shoulders, and he abruptly knew why. He’d seen this before in other Sazi. The magic that was pouring into him came from her, filtered through the man who was…her mate.

  No wonder she’d rushed to him, was willing to wait until he arrived.