In Darkness Reborn

by Alexis Morgan

  “So who are we waiting for?”

  Maybe Penn would answer; more likely, he’d tell Barak it was none of his damn business. Before Penn decided which he’d do, the door opened again.

  “He’s here.”

  A balding, middle-aged man paused inside the doorway, probably waiting for his eyes to adjust to the dim interior of the bar. After a few seconds, he spotted Penn waving at him from the back. He started forward, his steps faltering when he realized that Penn wasn’t alone. He pasted an insincere smile on his face as he approached the booth.

  Sliding in next to Penn, he nodded in Barak’s direction. “Sorry I’m late, but our departmental meeting ran overtime.” Rather reluctantly, he held his hand out. “I’m Ben from IT. You must be that Barak fellow everybody’s been talking about.”

  “I must be.” Barak shook the man’s hand. Was it fear or something else that had the man’s palms sweating?

  Something about the man teased at Barak’s senses. He hadn’t seen the man before, but there was something about him that was familiar. He closed his eyes briefly and drew in a slow, deep breath, tasting the air surrounding the booth. He’d smelled the same aftershave in the lab when he’d found that his notes had been shuffled through and left out of order. He met Ben’s nervous gaze and smiled slightly.

  It wouldn’t hurt to prod a little. “You seem familiar, Ben. Have we met before? Perhaps in the geology lab?”

  “No!” Ben immediately realized he’d overreacted to a simple question. “Sorry, I didn’t mean that to come out the way it sounded. It’s been a long day, and I guess I’m more stressed than I realized. I should have said that I haven’t been into the research wing in months.” He pulled a handkerchief out of his hip pocket and dabbed at the sweat on his forehead. “How about I buy the next round?”

  Penn had been watching the interchange with interest. “That would be great. After that, though, Barak and I need to hit the road.”

  Why would Penn make it sound as if he and Barak had plans together? Barak didn’t know anything about Penn’s personal life, but it seemed unlikely that he and this Ben fellow were good friends. As a rule, Paladins hung out with other Paladins, especially when they were on the wrong side of too many deaths. Barak had to wonder if Penn suspected Ben was up to something.

  Like stealing the blue garnets from Barak’s world? Barak accepted the second beer and studied Ben as he and Penn got into a long-winded discussion about the Mariners’ chances of taking their division. Barak had yet to develop an interest for the sports the humans seemed to be addicted to.

  Lacey wore the occasional T-shirt with a team logo emblazoned across her chest and he always admired the snug fit of the shirt, though he knew little about the team it stood for. Perhaps it would be wise to study the various sports in greater detail in order to fit into society a little better. Maybe he could coax her into taking him to a game or two.

  But right now, Penn had almost finished his second beer. It was time for him to do the same. As Barak lifted the bottle to his lips, Penn slid out of the booth with no warning.

  “It’s time.” The Paladin nodded in Ben’s direction. “Thanks for the beer, Ben.”

  Then he walked away, leaving Barak to follow or not. Since Barak had no desire to be left behind, he took one last swig of his beer and set the bottle down on the table. “I thank you as well.”

  If Ben was surprised to be abandoned, he hid it well. “You’re welcome. Any time.”

  Somehow Barak doubted that, but it didn’t matter. At least now he was reasonably sure that Ben was the one who had been sneaking around the geology lab. The problem was what to do with that information.

  Outside, he spotted Penn standing a short distance down the street. What was going on? Penn was up to something, and there was only one way to find out what.

  Barak deliberately crowded Penn and demanded, “When I first started working with your sister, why did you send Ben to search the lab?”

  Penn had been leaning against the brick front of the tavern, but he immediately straightened, his fists clenched at his sides. “What the hell are you talking about, Other? I never sent him anywhere. I hardly know the man.”

  The temper rang true. So Ben had been exploring on his own. Again, why?

  “Right after I started working in the lab, someone went through my papers. Until just now, I didn’t know who it was,” Barak replied, allowing a small smile to soften his words. “I even thought it might have been you.”

  Penn’s blue eyes narrowed. “Well, it wasn’t. How the hell do you know it was Ben?”

  “I recognized his scent: sickly sweet cologne mixed with too much sweat.” He doubted the Paladin would believe him, but that was his problem.

  To his surprise, Penn nodded. “We need to move on before he decides to leave.”

  Barak fell into step beside Penn as they headed up the block.

  “He’s been hanging around me lately for no good reason.” Penn kicked a small rock, sending it flying out into the street. “He wants something.”

  “It would seem that he’s interested in both of us.” And it had to do with the blue stones, but he couldn’t tell Penn that yet. He only had Penn’s word that he wasn’t involved in whatever Ben was doing. He’d have to check with Devlin, since the Paladin leader was determined to limit the number of people who knew about the ongoing theft from Barak’s world.

  Penn continued on in silence. Finally, he stopped and turned on Barak. “If you’re doing anything that would endanger or hurt my sister, you’re a dead man.”

  Then he walked away, leaving Barak staring after him.

  “We’re almost there.”

  Lacey couldn’t keep the excitement—tinged with relief—out of her voice, because sharing the ride with Barak had made the interior of the truck seem crowded and small. She loved studying all of the volcanoes in Washington, but Mount St. Helens was special. She glanced at her silent companion, wondering what he was thinking as they drove the switchback road that would take them to the visitors’ center closest to the mountain.

  She frowned, noting the tension in his expression. “Are you all right, Barak? I hope you’re not getting altitude sickness again.”

  He shook his head slightly, all the time keeping his eyes firmly on the road and the periodic glimpses of the mountain. “I’ll be fine.” He glanced down the steep drop to the valley below. “After seeing the places that have been replanted, I’m surprised that so much of the area immediately around the mountain is still so barren. It hurts my soul to see it.”

  She tried to see how it all must look to him, and she nodded. “They show a film of the 1980 explosion in the visitors’ center, if you’d like to see it. It doesn’t last long, but it’s pretty amazing.”

  “I’ll think about it.”

  He craned his head to look behind them, once again letting the silence settle between them. Although he wasn’t given to long conversations, he’d been unusually quiet since leaving the lab. It bothered her more than she cared to admit, because she suspected that it was due to what had happened between them.

  Had he also had trouble sleeping, thinking too much about how wonderful that intense burst of passion had felt? Even when she had finally dozed off, her sleep had been filled with images of Barak’s silver eyes and serious smile. Not quite the stuff for soothing dreams. Though she rarely bothered with makeup, today she’d needed some to hide the dark circles under her eyes.

  The mountain directly ahead reminded her of Barak in some ways. For the moment, the volcano had only a few plumes of steam rising off the peak, a quiet reminder of the power and heat hiding behind that deceptive façade. But no one who lived in the Northwest would forget that the mountain was capable of violence. And Barak, for such a reserved man, was capable of some pretty intense moments.

  The last one had left her shaken for hours afterward. As a result, she’d spent a good part of last night debating the wisdom of bringing him along today. But she wasn’t a coward, and if the
y couldn’t be lovers, then somehow they’d have to learn how to be friends.

  She made the last turn that led into the parking lot at the end of the road. “Let’s get the equipment unloaded, and then we can decide if we have time to watch the movie.”

  Barak looked like a statue, frozen in position as he stared out at the mountain. Finally, he closed his eyes and took a handful of slow, deep breaths.

  “Are you all right?” She’d already asked him that once, but he was starting to worry her.

  Without opening his eyes, he snapped, “Quit hovering. I have already said I’m fine, Lacey. I’m just adjusting to the mountain.”

  Adjusting? What did he mean by that? She could be snarly, too. “Okay, fine. You just sit there and do whatever it is you need to do. Meanwhile I’ll unpack the gear I promised to leave for the university students to disperse on their next hike.”

  But when she reached the back of the truck, Barak was already there to help her lift the equipment down to the ground. When they both reached for the same box, his hands covered hers. Once again a jolt of awareness shot up her nerves, making her jerk away. On the surface he seemed to either be unaware of the reaction his touch caused, or else he didn’t care. Then she met his gaze and knew she was wrong. He’d felt it, all right, and was fighting the same rush of heat that she was.

  “I’m sorry, Barak.” Not for the accidental touch, but that neither of them could afford to give into temptation.

  He went on unloading the boxes as if she hadn’t said a word. That was fine with her. Really. “I’m going to go borrow a dolly from the rangers. I’ll be right back.”

  When she walked away, she could have sworn that she could feel his gaze following her each step. When she reached the door of the Center, she risked one quick glance back to check. His back was toward her as he lifted another box from the truck bed. His dedication to his duties was to be admired; at least one of them seemed able to cope with the attraction between them.

  Barak wondered at the number of people who were willing to venture so close to the mountain. Humans might not have his affinity for stone, but no one could look at the surrounding area and not recognize the volcano’s taste for destruction. He stood near the seismographs, their needles etching the ground movements in ink. Only a few minutes before, the needles had swung wildly from side to side, indicating a slight quake. He’d held his hand out, tracing the energy back to its source. Murmuring under his breath, he siphoned off some of the tension and spread it out over a greater area. After a heartbeat, maybe two, the needles slowed their wild dance and resumed a more sedate pace.

  Barak leaned against a handy counter, pretending an interest in the items displayed there as he caught his breath. It had been a long time since he’d last worked stone, and then it had been in his world. As he still struggled to learn this new world, even the simplest of techniques—like soothing the momentary spasm in the stone—took a lot out of him.

  Even so, it felt good to stretch muscles he hadn’t used in a while. Once he caught his breath, he looked around for Lacey. He spotted her standing across the room, talking to a group of children about a “spider,” a clever piece of machinery vulcanologists used to monitor the mountain. This particular piece of machinery had been damaged when Mount St. Helens had been in one of her moods.

  Lacey knelt down on the floor to speak to the children at their level. Right then she was listening intently to a little girl. Lacey frowned slightly, her eyes alight with intelligence as she answered the question in terms such a young one could understand.

  He could have watched her all day, inspiring the small child with her love for her chosen field. Did she have any idea how beautiful she was? Somehow he doubted it. But even across the crowded room, he could feel her warmth, selfishly wishing he could keep it all to himself.

  He’d overheard one of the Paladins bragging about a recent conquest, describing a night spent burning up the sheets. That’s exactly what would happen when he convinced Lacey to share his bed.

  As if she’d felt his scrutiny, Lacey glanced in his direction. Her smile faltered slightly as she gave him a puzzled look. He carefully banked the fires and turned away after a quick nod in her direction. He was trying to give her time to adjust to his presence in her life, but it was growing increasingly difficult. Her friendship was a double-edged sword. There was so much he had to hide from her while at the same time he badly needed her to trust him enough to let him get close.

  He had secrets to protect. But, damn it, it hurt to be this alone.

  The small theater was cool and comfortable—for her. Barak, on the other hand, was clenching the armrest between them in a white-knuckled grip. Telling herself she would have offered comfort to anyone, she gently pried his hand free and threaded her fingers through his, noting how chilly his skin felt.

  She could understand his reaction to the movie of the 1980 explosion of Mount St. Helens; it was nature unleashed and destructive beyond description. But it had happened close to thirty years ago. Why was it bothering Barak so much?

  The screen went blank and disappeared back up into the ceiling. The drapes covering the windows drew back, revealing the mountain in all of its deadly beauty. Her heart skipped a beat, just as it always did at the sight of all that barely controlled rage. She’d always wondered just how strong that glass was, in case the mountain decided to blow again.

  Barak’s hand squeezed hers almost to the point of pain, although she doubted he was aware of it. He slowly rose to his feet, his eyes never leaving the mountain. She let herself be tugged along in his wake as he slowly approached the windows.

  When he stepped into the bright sunlight streaming in through the glass, she was surprised to see that his lips were tugged up in a slight smile. He drew a deep breath, letting it out slowly as the tension in his stance disappeared. It was only then that he noticed how hard he was gripping her hand.

  “I’m sorry.” He brought her hand up to his lips.

  The warmth of his breath both tickled and soothed her hand, but it had a different effect on the rest of her body. Without thinking, she turned to face him, the desire to be held in his arms suddenly overwhelming her.

  “Have you thought about what I said?” he whispered.

  The reminder of the choice she had yet to make acted as a splash of cold water, causing her to back away from him. No, she hadn’t thought, which showed how comfortable she’d become with him regardless of his alien nature. When she backed away, he let her go without protest. She cast around for something to say, something that would ease the renewed strain between them.

  “We’d better be going. It’s a long drive back home from here.”

  Barak’s mood remained cold and angry all the way to where Lacey dropped him off in his apartment parking lot. He had spent the ride down the mountain silently cursing himself, cursing Lacey’s understandable reluctance to accept the passion he could offer her, and cursing the mountain even more. He’d promised himself earlier that morning that he would make an effort to be casual and relaxed with Lacey.

  He’d known beforehand that being shut up in the small cab of the truck with her would make it difficult to control his growing attraction to her. She warmed him in ways he’d thought gone from his life for good. If she’d been of his world, he would have known better how to court her, how to lure her to his bed.

  He’d worried that he’d driven her away for good with his blunt statement that it had to be all or nothing for them. It was the simple truth, but he could have softened his words so they wouldn’t have hurt her so much. It spoke of Lacey’s innate kindness that as they’d approached the mountain she’d seemed more concerned about him than she was about herself.

  He closed his eyes and thought about the mountain. He’d known Mount St. Helens was restless, but he hadn’t known how powerfully she would call to him. He’d been able to sense the murmurs deep under the slopes as powerfully as if he’d reached out and touched them with his hands.

  Even the m
ovie had held him captive, reveling in the power of the rock and stone that made up the mountain’s heart. And these foolish humans had watched as if it had been just another special-effects extravaganza. Lacey and the rangers who worked near the mountain were the only ones who understood the danger they were all flirting with by being so close to the restless volcano.

  He walked up the stairs to his apartment, wishing he could find some release for the energy building up within him. Another good fight with Penn would help, but Barak couldn’t very well call up the Paladin to say that he either needed to spar with Penn or bed his sister. Imagining the volatile Paladin’s response made him smile for the first time in hours.

  Devlin and Trahern would understand the strong feelings a man felt for a woman he wanted to claim as his own. But they weren’t likely to accept Barak’s pursuing a human female, especially a fellow Paladin’s sister.

  When Barak reached his door, he could hear the phone ringing inside. He charged through to the kitchen and snatched up the receiver.

  “Barak here.”

  “Hi, Barak.” Laurel Young’s calm voice washed over him, soothing away some of the day’s stress. “You sound breathless. Did I catch you at a bad time?”

  “It is never a bad time to speak to you, Laurel.” He pulled a stool closer to the phone and sat down, content to stay on the line with his friend as long as possible.

  “I was wondering if you’d like to come to dinner tomorrow night. Devlin, Trahern, and Brenna will be there.”

  He could tell she was holding her breath, waiting for his answer. “I would enjoy an evening out, if you’re sure the others won’t mind.”

  “I wouldn’t be asking if I didn’t want you there.”

  And if the two Paladins had strongly objected to her inviting him, she wouldn’t have been calling. If she’d bothered to mention the idea to them at all.