The Stone Warriors: Nicodemus

by D. B. Reynolds

  But Antonia was stroking the leather and stretching out her legs, as if amazed at the comfort. She’d already paid a visit to the bathroom, not because she needed to go, but just to see what was there. She was like a kid, on her way to Walt Disney World for the first time.

  He knew he was staring at her, but didn’t even try to stop. He loved her so much, and still couldn’t believe he’d finally found her—that she was his to make love to, to hold in his arms while they watched a movie, or even to drop a casual kiss on her cheek at the breakfast table.

  She turned, saw him watching her, and wrinkled her face in embarrassment. “You have to stop—”

  The pilot interrupted to announce they were cleared for take-off and reminded them to put their seats upright and fasten their seatbelts. Antonia promptly complied and turned to him with sparkling dark eyes. “This is so comfortable. Why are people always complaining about how crowded planes are?”

  Nick couldn’t help but kiss her beautiful face.

  “What was that for?” she asked, patting her flushed cheeks.

  “Just because I’m happy to be sitting next to you.”

  “That’s because there’s no one else on the plane.”

  He grinned. “And that’s because I own this plane, and no one gets to fly on it but the two of us. And our friends. Occasionally.”

  She laughed. “That’s a lot of qualifiers, my love.”

  “They call this jet private for a reason.”

  “Now that’s the grumpy Nico I remember.”

  “I was never grumpy. I just didn’t like to be around people.”

  “Uh huh. Do your friends know this?”

  “My only real friends are my warriors and their mates, so yes.”

  “Well, I love your jet. Thank you for including me on the approved list.”

  “Any time, my love. And speaking of love, did you notice the bedroom?”

  She gave him a disbelieving look. “Ha ha.”

  “No, really.”

  She looked around. “Where?”

  “Across from the bathroom.” She started to unbuckle her seatbelt, but he stopped. “Not yet. We’re still taking off. Wait until we’re airborne, and I’ll show you.”

  Antonia eyed him suspiciously. “It’s a very short flight from Chicago to Florida. Even I know that.”

  “Are you accusing me of something?”

  “Yes.”

  He took her hand and kissed it. “The flight isn’t that short. But if you don’t want to see it—”

  “Not a chance. If I’m going to be flying private, I want to know all of my options. Oh!” She reversed his hold on her hand, gripping his fingers tightly, when the plane lifted from the runway.

  Cursing himself for forgetting that she’d never flown, private or otherwise, he held her hand and leaned closer. “That sensation is perfectly normal. It feels a little weird when the jet first leaves the ground and powers into the sky, but once we’re up there, you won’t even know you’re flying, unless you look out the window.”

  “What about turbulence?”

  “Have you been reading up on flying since yesterday?”

  “No, I saw a movie with Alec Baldwin. He had to fly from England to Washington DC, and he was nervous about turbulence. Something about warm air rising and cool air descending, making the plane sort of bounce. It was a good movie.”

  “Right, it was a good movie. I’ll be honest. We could hit some rough air, as they call it. But even if we do, my pilot is a former Air Force pilot, a former passenger jet pilot, and is also an instructor for current pilots on this and other jets. He’s super-qualified and can handle even the roughest air, which—I hasten to add—we will not be hitting, because the weather between here and Fort Lauderdale, which is the city we’ll be flying into, is clear. And lest you think I’m just telling you that, the pilot will tell us himself, just as soon as we reach cruising altitude. You know what that is?”

  “Yes. That one I know. It’s used in a lot of books and movies.”

  “Good. You want a drink? Some wine?”

  “No. It’s too early. Is there a bar?”

  “Sure. I fly this baby to California. There’s also food, though we should wait until we can take off our seatbelts for that one.”

  “I think I’m too nervous to eat.”

  “Don’t be nervous. In a pinch, I can fly this plane. And we have parachutes onboard.”

  “Now you are teasing me.”

  “I am, but only about the parachutes. I’ve had a lot of time to learn new stuff, so I really can fly the jet. Although I feel much safer with the captain doing it.”

  She squeezed his hand. “And now we’ll have time together.”

  “You need to be thinking about what you want to see, where you want to go. Anywhere in the world. Better yet, make a list.”

  “Let’s just get to Florida first, okay?”

  “Sure. How about a movie? Here.” He opened the control app on his cell phone and brought up the oversized screen on the bulkhead in front of them. “Take your pick. Use my phone for now, and I’ll add the app to yours.”

  While she scrolled the menus like a pro, proving just how very comfortable she was with a computer, he put on headphones and keyed in a private conversation with the pilot, asking him about the flying conditions to Fort Lauderdale. When the pilot responded with pretty much the same forecast that Nick had told Antonia, he asked him to make an announcement at the appropriate time, unless conditions changed. In which case, he should buzz Nick privately.

  “Understood, sir.”

  The note of humor in the man’s voice said he really did understand. But with any luck, the weather would hold. And if it didn’t, then hopefully he and Antonia would be in bed, and much too busy to worry about a few extra bumps.

  Chapter Five

  Pompano Beach, Florida

  “IS THIS THE CAR you take with you everywhere you go? It’s awfully big, isn’t it?” Antonia’s voice betrayed the nerves which had reappeared as soon as they’d left the plane.

  Nick glanced over and saw her staring at the Town Car that was picking them up at the airport. Walking over from where he’d been showing the porter which car was theirs, he pulled her into a gentle hug. “With everything you know about me, darling, does this look like the car I’d choose?”

  Her head tilted as she studied the Town Car, and then glanced around at the other vehicles in the Executive Airport terminal. “No. Definitely not.”

  He kissed the side of her head, pleased that the distraction had somewhat lessened the nervous quaver in her voice. “I’ll show you the real thing when we get to the house. It’s red.”

  “Of course, it is.” She rolled her eyes with a soft chuckle, only to stiffen against him when a big man approached.

  Nick tightened his hold in reassurance. “Antonia, this is Abe Putin. Abe’s my Head of Security. He usually wouldn’t be ferrying me from the airport, but these aren’t usual times.”

  As tall as Nick, but much broader and thick with muscle, Abe turned his disarmingly sweet smile on Antonia. “A pleasure to meet you, ma’am. Welcome to Florida.”

  Proving she still possessed the strength that had gotten her this far, Antonia bestowed her own megawatt smile on the big man, and held out her hand. “Thank you, Abe. And please call me Antonia.”

  Abe ducked his head, took her delicate hand in his wide paw and shook it briefly. “Antonia it is then. I’m at your service.” He glanced at Nick. “We should get you in the car.”

  “Right.” Opening the back door, Nick waited until Antonia was sliding across the back seat to ask Abe, “Any new developments I need to be aware of?”

  “Nothing that can’t wait until we’re behind the gates.”

  Nick got into the car, then c
losed and locked the door, while Abe finished helping the porter, tipped the man generously, then closed the trunk and climbed into the driver’s seat. Once they were on their way, Nick asked, “Did you let Lili know we’re here and on our way?”

  “I did. Damian and Casey are already at the house. Dragan and Maeve are close, and might actually beat us there. Kato and Gabriel are on hold. Once we have a target location, they’ll travel together. Raphael’s offered the use of his plane, if they need it.”

  Nick held back the sour retort that always leaped to mind when the California vampire lord was mentioned. He hated to admit it, but Raphael had been helpful more than once in pursuing Sotiris. But even that paled when compared to the fact that he’d saved Gabriel’s life after the curse was lifted. Nick’s spell, which had “cured” Gabriel of much of what had made him a vampire, had been broken along with Sotiris’s curse. Raphael was an old and incredibly powerful vampire, and the only one who’d immediately understood what was happening in time to save Gabriel. After seeing the way vampires in this world lived, specifically those in Raphael’s territory and thus under his protection, Gabriel had decided to accept his true nature as a vampire and serve as a member of Raphael’s security team. He remained totally loyal to Nick and his warrior brothers, however, and was as eager as any of them to see Sotiris dead.

  “Everyone’s excited to meet you, Antonia,” Abe said, glancing up at her in his rearview mirror.

  “Don’t worry, love,” Nick reassured jokingly. “They’ll be cool. No bear hugs.”

  She laughed. “There better not be. I’ve been experimenting with my magic, you know. I’ll bear hug ’em right back.”

  Abe laughed with her. “I think you’re going to fit in just fine with that crowd.”

  She leaned against Nick with a tired sigh, and he put his arm around her, pillowing her head on his shoulder. “It’s a lot to take in,” he murmured in understanding.

  “It is. But it’s also wonderful to be free again. To leave my safe neighborhood and see the world—at least what I’ve seen of it so far—is amazing.”

  “We’ll travel the world, love. Anywhere you want to go.”

  She nodded against him, then, her voice hardening, she said, “But first we have to fight, not only for ourselves, but for a world which doesn’t yet recognize its peril.”

  “First we fight,” he agreed grimly.

  ANTONIA’S FIRST glimpse of the “house,” left her speechless. Nico didn’t have a house. He had a compound, with full-size houses, and several smaller outbuildings both in front and behind. She caught the shine of turquoise pool water, too, and behind that, what had to be the ocean. Or probably one of the so-called waterways that she’d read were so prevalent in Florida. This would be her first sight of them, and for that matter, her first sight of the ocean—any ocean. Chicago was on Lake Michigan, which was huge, but this was the Atlantic Ocean, covering twenty percent of the earth’s surface with its water. She could hardly wait to see it.

  “Do you have a boat, Nico?”

  “Of course.”

  “Can we go out on the ocean?”

  “Any time you want, if the weather suits.”

  “Oh right, hurricanes. I’ve seen those on the news. So many lives destroyed,” she added sadly.

  “I can’t disagree with that. We’re out of the official hurricane season now, but the ocean has its own mind.”

  “How inappropriate to call this planet Earth, when it is clearly Ocean.” She glanced up at him and smiled. “Arthur C. Clarke. I told you. I did a lot of reading.”

  He kissed her upturned lips. “That’s why you’re so good at spells. You love research.”

  “Thank the goddess. One of us has to.” She gave him a questioning look. “Unless you’ve changed?”

  “Nope.”

  “I thought as much. Oh, Nico, the house is beautiful. This one anyway. Why two houses?”

  “That’s a long story, but basically, the last time we fought Sotiris, a lot of this house—” he nodded at the one directly in front of them, “—was damaged. That encounter, especially the way it unfolded, made me aware that I needed a bigger margin of protection. The house next door just happened to come up for sale while I was getting ready to repair this one, and so I bought it and combined the two properties into one estate.”

  “Wouldn’t that require all sorts of permits and, I don’t know, exceptions to code or something?”

  “Oh, yeah. I told you I keep track of local politics. That includes generous donations to various campaigns and causes, which helped speed up the approval process. It also helped that none of neighbors objected or complained, because they were aware of the violent “break-in” attempt, which was our explanation for Dragan’s courtyard fight with Sotiris. And since more security is good for everyone, and the property values went up with the enlarged estate, everyone was happy.”

  As the car rolled to a stop, the front door opened to reveal another big man. But this one, she recognized. “Damian,” she whispered, questioning her own memories. After all, she’d never actually met the warrior. She’d only glimpsed him from across the battlefield.

  “That’s him. And the woman behind him is Casey, his wife.”

  Suddenly nervous all over again, she ran her fingers through her hair, wishing she’d thought to brush it before they got this far. She pressed her lips together, confirming that her lipstick was still in place, and was checking her skirt for wrinkles when Nico took her hands in his.

  “They won’t care about anything except that you’re here, safe and sound. Take a minute and look at Casey. Does she look like someone who judges another woman by her hair and makeup? Or cares about a wrinkled skirt? Not that yours is wrinkled,” he added quickly. “I’m not saying that. I’m just saying if they can love me, then they’ll sure as hell love you.”

  Antonia breathed a long sigh. “It’s just . . . I can’t remember the last time I met someone new. Isn’t that pathetic?”

  “No,” he said firmly. “Am I pathetic because it took me fucking centuries to find you and my warriors? And even then, it wasn’t my doing that you or they were found.”

  “So you were smart enough to get others to help you.”

  He laughed. “That’s a charitable way to look at it. But that’s not my point. You and I know what magic can do in the hands of a powerful sorcerer. We know how much damage a curse from that person can do. What we’ve endured, my failings and your isolation, are the result of a very destructive curse cast by a master of the craft. Neither of us bears any responsibility for his evil. You got that?”

  She smiled slowly. “I love you so much, Nicodemus. I’m so glad you found me.”

  He bent his head and pressed his warm mouth to hers, rubbing his lips over hers slowly, softly, then gliding his tongue into her mouth. Antonia’s breath caught as emotion flooded her chest, and she clutched his arm, holding him to her. They took their time, not caring that there were people waiting. They took this moment for themselves in the quiet of the Town Car, before the hordes descended, demanding attention and asking questions, all with good intentions.

  Nico lifted his head, gently breaking the kiss. “You ready?”

  “Just one minute,” she said, and snatching a tissue from the box on the back of the seat, dabbed the tears from her eyes. “Happiness,” she assured him. “Happiness.”

  He took the tissue and dabbed his own eyes, though she wasn’t sure it was needed. “Happiness,” he said back to her. “Happiness.”

  And so, when he opened the door at last, the first sound his people heard was her laughter.

  NICK WASN’T WORRIED whether his people would love Antonia. As he’d told her, they loved him, and she was far more loveable than he was. Her magic was nurturing by its very nature. She was warm and giving, to his suspicious and doubtful. He liked to be alone, or
with only a small number of trusted friends, while she enjoyed meeting new people, getting out in the crowds and just watching. She soaked up and shared the happiness around her, while he couldn’t help wondering what the hell they had to be so damn happy about.

  Damian walked over to greet them, doing his best to seem non- threatening, which was a tough sell for a man that big and powerful, who looked exactly like the warrior he was—not to mention the magic that was an integral part of who he was as a result of the way Nick had summoned him into his world when they were just children. Antonia would not only sense that magic, but would identify it as belonging to Nick, as if Damian had bitten off a portion of Nick’s magic and made it part of himself. That wasn’t far from the truth, except it was Nick who’d made it happen, when he’d been too young to know what he was doing. Not that he’d change anything about Damian, or his summoning of him, even if he could. The big warrior was his first and most loyal friend.

  There was no need to worry, however. True to her nature, Antonia closed the distance between them, smiled, and said, “Damian. It’s wonderful to see you . . . alive and well.”

  He smiled in return. “That ‘alive and well’ goes for both of us. I’m surprised you recognize me.”

  “You’re a hard man to miss in a battle, and I watched too many of those to forget.”

  Grinning, Damian put his arm around Casey, who’d held back half a step, and pulled her to his side. “This is Cassandra, my wife, as of two weeks ago,” he added proudly.

  “He always says that now, as if he’s claimed his fucking prize,” Casey commented. “And it’s Casey. Not even my father calls me Cassandra.” She held out a hand that was rough with callouses from various weapons.

  Antonia took it easily. “I’m Antonia. Congratulations.”