Fierce Dawn

by Scott, Amber

  “Four.” She stepped away from him and for a moment, he thought he’d been dismissed. “If they find the Book, they’ll need the key to unlock its mystery.”

  He should get to Lyric. Elijah frowned. “A key? And here I’d thought Lyric knew you well. I don’t need riddles. Or games.”

  Charity’s eyes flashed. “Lyric knows far more than he’s willing to see. You think I play games, Elijah?” Her eyebrows rose. “No one said you have to play.”

  He narrowed his eyes. His jaw muscle twitched. Anger spiraled through him. He itched to unleash it. Instead, he strode to the door they’d come from. The hinges creaked, the rough weight felt good in his hand.

  “Elijah.” Her whisper carried despite the yards he’d put between them. It stilled his hand. He tasted blood in his mouth. “Don’t forget me, darling.”

  He left her. The church door slammed behind him, shutting the night and Charity away. Ignoring the swarm of startled stares, he strode to Holly and Lyric. He didn’t need to speak. They fell in step with him, heading for the exit.

  And though an urge to return to Charity clawed at Elijah, begged him to stay, he refused to risk even one glance back.

  ~ ~ ~

  Chapter Thirteen

  Sadie set the charcoal pencil down, absorbed in the black and white reproduction of the image in her head. The colors and aromas of the dream couldn’t be captured, but drawing it relieved the tension that had been building over the last week, the last day particularly. When Elijah touched her shoulder, Sadie gasped and hurled the pad at him. He deflected it with one arm and it landed at a tilt atop the bed covers.

  “Sorry,” Elijah said. “I didn’t mean to startle you.”

  “Isn’t there a way you can warn a person—?” Sadie shook her head. It couldn’t be more than an hour past sunrise. “How long have you been back?”

  His gaze lingered on her mouth. “I just returned.”

  “You were gone for hours,” she said.

  “Did you sleep?”

  She gave him a slight nod and reached for the pencil. The dream she’d been trying to capture had already faded like smoke in the wind, though, making her unreasonable irritation rise. “Don’t tell me we have to leave again.”

  “No, no leaving,” he said, his voice coarse. “I wouldn’t have interrupted your drawing, but I did promise.”

  Her heart blipped.

  He’d made good on the promise she’d forced on him.

  She groped the pencil and reached for the sketchpad, grateful she’d brought them from her home in the rush to leave earlier. Sadie rotated the pencil in her fingers, uncertain what to say.

  She’d dreamed of Elijah. Something with food, the smell of snow and winter all around them. A little rest combined with the dream had allowed her keen appreciation for the last twenty or so hours’ events. A few things were clear. She wasn’t in Kansas and she was in danger.

  Elijah went to the window and leaned against the wall, a pose Sadie counted now as his favorite way to play it cool. His attention remained on the outside view and something in the set of his jaw belied inner conflict.

  She struggled to find something to say. The faint tinges of dawn lit the view. “Where did you go?”

  “Hunting,” he said, turning her way.

  His eyes weren’t the sienna brown she’d grown to adore from afar in the library. In this light, his eyes were so sapphire blue that she wondered how she had mistaken their color for brown.

  “Did you catch them?”

  The shadow that flashed over his gaze spoke for him. No. He hadn’t.

  Elijah came to sit at the foot of the bed. He retrieved a long gold chain from under his shirt. Lifting it over his head, he handed it to her. Sadie turned the light, brassy compass on the chain over in her palm. The needle glowed pale green and pointed at a foreign looking symbol.

  “I can’t find its trace.”

  Sadie handed the compass back. The back of her neck prickled. “Is that unusual?”

  “For me, yes.”

  “Just…spell it all out for me. Really. I can take it. Get it over with.”

  For a moment, she thought he might smile. But he didn’t. “Think of it like humans. Varying identifying features and traits. It doesn’t stop at tall or blonde or funny for immortals. It’s wings, fangs, shifting. Instead of being fluent in Spanish, some speak in elements. An elemental speaks fire, air, water.”

  “Fangs? But you said vampires—.”

  “Vampire is a human term. Blood use is what some say made the separation of realms necessary.” He waved a hand. The bed jostled. “A hundred years ago we’d have called the addicts sleepers because of the way it knocks an immortal into a dead-like stupor. Vampire is a human term gone slang by immortals. Like junkie or tweaker.”

  “Fangs?”

  “A shifter often has fangs, depending on the animal he or she empathizes with.”

  Sadie frowned.

  “Like language. Humans are dog lovers or cat ladies. Shifters are the same. Only it is at a physical level. Their cells are that animal just as thoroughly as they are their immortal body.”

  “What happens if you don’t find who’s after me?”

  “You’ll transform. I’ll protect you.”

  A hot wave washed over her. Her sister had wanted to protect her. The doctors wanted to protect her. “I’d rather protect myself.”

  Elijah quirked one eyebrow up. “First, questions. After, protection. Agreed?”

  Sadie’s stomach flipped. What had him so intense this morning? “Okay. Let’s see if I have it all straight. Humans create myths about vampires and demons to explain the things we feel but can’t see. But in truth, the real thing is bigger, right?”

  He nodded. “Bigger. More powerful. Yes.”

  “I’m a changeling, turning into…what exactly?”

  “We can’t be sure yet.”

  Had he hesitated? Her heart thrummed for more reasons than the fear his words inspired. Just being near him gave her a sort of buzz.

  “Will it hurt?”

  He looked away. “I can’t be certain. If humans have ever been changelings, history has buried their secrets. Aside from the Book of Sorrows, there is no evidence of them—you.”

  “Book of what?”

  “Sorrows. It’s an ancient text akin to the human Bible. It describes immortal history, including when the realms were separated.”

  She thought of his wings, now hidden under his jacket. Angels and demons weren’t such a far leap. “What kind of immortal is after me?”

  He scooted closer. The blue depths of his eyes entranced her. “The changeling shifted into a wolf, but claimed she wasn’t a shifter at all.”

  The snarling teeth, the glowing demonic eyes. Sadie shivered. “Worst case scenario?”

  “I wish I could tell you, but I don’t know. Yet. Once I do, you’ll know. In the interim, I need you to trust me.”

  His knees were a breath from hers. She adjusted so they touched. A little spark of pleasure coursed up her leg. He didn’t react. Fleetingly, she wondered if she could get him to kiss her again. “Trust you to do what exactly?” she breathed, leaning in.

  Elijah’s gaze pierced hers. “I would never force you to remain with me. But I hope you will. If you refuse, I’ll take you to safety.”

  Thank God she’d gotten herself into the adjoining bathroom’s shower last night. Sadie’s other knee touched his. Again, awareness zinged up her thigh, burying sparks into her belly. She watched him for a similar reaction. Elijah didn’t even blink.

  She pushed down her disappointment and wrapped her mind around his explanations. “What happens if I stay with you?”

  “You’ll have my protection, as well as Lyric’s and Holly’s, who you’ll meet. With our healer Astrid’s help we’ll see you through the change. After, we’ll train you. You already have a high kick.”

  Sadie half-grinned. “Kickboxing.” The one thing her body remembered, even on meds. “I’m not sure I can stay,
though. I can’t exactly up and disappear. People will worry.” More like people would completely freak out, namely Heather. Sitting on a bed a few inches from the most perfect bow shaped mouth did a lot in the way of minimizing fears of Heather and doctors.

  “Whatever excuses you need to make, I’ll help. Work, your family. Is there anything you can tell them to give us a few weeks, maybe longer?”

  Sadie chewed her lower lip. No question remained as to if she would stay. She believed every word Elijah spoke. It felt true down to the bone. But what would she tell everyone in order to deflect worry? “Knowing Heather, without a brilliant story, there’ll be an all points bulletin on me as a missing person who may not know her name.”

  “Acting as your lover seemed to convince, albeit infuriate, your sister and Jen.”

  Sadie’s belly twirled. The warm sensation traveled lower. Much lower, and grew hot. “That might take a lot of convincing.” She refused to spell out how long it had been since she’d had a date, let alone more. “My sister didn’t buy it.”

  “Jen did. Trust me. I can handle it.”

  “I suppose we had a little practice.”

  “And time for more.” His eyes flashed, then grew guarded. “Lyric can help. He’s a feeder and can influence human perceptions. One thing humans did get right about their vampire is the power of mesmerism.” Something wavered in his gaze.

  “I feel like you’re not telling me something.”

  His gaze faltered. “I’m a little tense. Forgive me. A lot is at stake right now.”

  “No, it feels like there’s more.” He was so close. “Just tell me. I can take it.”

  “Lyric and Holly will get here any moment.” He glanced at his compass. “They were after the immortal following you.”

  Trepidation ran through her.

  Elijah placed a hand on each of her knees. “Sadie?”

  “I’m okay. It’s a lot to absorb is all.” A lot to absorb through the haze of being so close to him. Just like in the dreams, she longed to feel his hands on her body. What would it feel like if he meant to kiss her rather than faking it for Heather? Before she’d known he was real, and she’d kissed him then, had his reaction been sincere or just a tactic to keep her calm?

  He removed his hands. “It will get easier,” Elijah said. “Once you’ve transformed.”

  But he didn’t sound certain. “What if it doesn’t get easier? What then?”

  “I don’t know. But trust me. I can hear how awful and strange my world must seem to you. If it were up to me, I’d have left you alone.” That stung. “But it isn’t only me. And when it comes down to it, no one deserves to go through any of this alone. Whatever this change is.”

  Tangled in hope and longing, Sadie struggled to be logical, to listen to what was happening. She wanted a strategy. She didn’t want to be a prisoner for her own safety. It simply struck too close to her months living with Heather, the weeks in the hospital, all for her protection.

  “Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate everything you’re offering, Elijah. Really, I do. But,” she said at last, fisting her hands full of covers, ignoring the soft craving below her belly. “The room, the food, the protection. Pretending you’re my boyfriend.” The heat between her thighs renewed at the memory of his kiss, completely at odds with the dread in her belly. “One thing I don’t get. Why are you so willing to do all of this for me?”

  His eyes narrowed a bit. He got up. “Come with me,” he said and held out his hand.

  Sadie took his hand but he didn’t lead her away. He pulled her into his arms. Her breath caught.

  Elijah’s arms encircled her. His scent and the feel of his hard body enveloped her. “Close your eyes.”

  Instinctively, she closed them and tilted her chin up, anticipating his lips coming to meld to hers. Instead, a rush of cold hit her. Pins and needles prickled every inch of her. She couldn’t move or speak. In an instant, it stopped and her feet hit cool hardness. Sadie looked down, around. Seeing roof tiles under her soles, she wobbled.

  “Don’t worry,” Elijah said. “I’ve got you.”

  She let out a small yelp, her gaze darting from the cactus speckled landscape, to distant rooftops, to the burgeoning sky and back to Elijah.

  He grinned. “I transported you. Do you feel woozy? Sick?”

  “Yeah, I can see that.” She wanted to scold him, but decided whatever he was trying to prove, she’d go with it first. “I think I’m okay.”

  “Does your head hurt? Can you take a little more?”

  “If more means flying again or doing that again, no thanks.” Sadie held on tight to his arms. “Can you get us down the regular way?”

  He laughed and the sound quieted her nerves. His hands gripped her waist tighter. “No more transporting. I promise. But rather than explain why I’m willing to help you, I’d like to show you. Is that alright?”

  She wanted to go with him, to feel his body against hers again. But she also had to think rationally. Something didn’t add up. He’d done nothing suspicious so far, but she knew he was leaving something out.

  “Are you afraid of heights?” Elijah asked.

  “Uh, little late to be asking, don’t you think?”

  He chuckled. She liked making him laugh. It dissolved most of the tension in her stomach.

  “Trust me,” he said and pulled her in close again.

  Her heart beat harder. He lifted her, wrapped her arms and legs about him.

  His eyes glittered with a touch of mischief. “Don’t worry. It isn’t far.”

  She shut her eyes and held tight, feeling him lift off.

  “I have a confession to make,” he said. Her eyelids didn’t want to peel open to the brilliant morning sky or the wind. “I have ulterior motives in helping you.” His warm breath tickled her neck. “My oldest friend is missing. He’s like a brother to me and is missing because of me.”

  That couldn’t be easy to admit to. Sensing he had more to say, she didn’t respond.

  “If you transform into a messenger.” He shifted her weight, bringing her hips closer. “If you become a messenger, I am hoping you will help me find him.”

  “How?” She felt the weight of the question as well as the tightening in his arms. She forced her eyes open. “The simple version.”

  “A messenger could help locate him, possibly more.”

  The line of horizon between blue sky and brown mountains receded as he flew. The wind whipped her hair. The dread from before returned. It welled up her throat. “What if I don’t transform?”

  “I don’t know, Sadie. I only know the life you were living is gone now. I know someone is after you.”

  It wasn’t what she wanted to hear. She wanted him to say it didn’t matter if she changed. She wanted him to say her safety alone mattered. Or more.

  Elijah needed her to find his brother. He hadn’t come to her because of who she was but because of what she might do for him.

  What if she couldn’t? What then?

  What if she became something else? Would he still be so interested in her transformation, in protecting her?

  Sadie closed her eyes. She could feel him waiting for her to reply. But she had no idea what to tell him.

  ~ ~ ~

  Chapter Fourteen

  Guilt prodded at Elijah. Sadie’s silence worried him. “I should have told you up front. To be honest, I was following you. I was trying to see if you were in fact a changeling. To see if you might be transforming into the one kind of immortal who could locate Crusoe, my brother.” He honed in on her sound, hating how subdued it grew with every word he spoke. “In following you, I found you in danger. I interceded.”

  “You only want me for what I might become.”

  Tension nearly poured from her body. He held her tight and flew. “As harsh as that sounds, yes. You have to understand, there are reasons mortals are completely off limits for immortals. Our presence puts humans in danger. Humans think differently, live differently, hell, your blood is the mo
st powerful drug known to us.”

  Her hum softened even further.

  He pressed on. “At every turn, mortals are ripe for exploitation. I cannot begin to tell you the ugliness I’ve witnessed hunting my own kind, addicted to human blood or feeding off their rapture.”

  “What happens if I don’t become what you want?”

  “You will. I know it in my gut.”

  “That’s not good enough,” she said against his neck, the wind warring with her voice.

  He knew she was right. “Then you’ll be protected and you’ll become a fully transformed changeling in the safety of immortals. You’ll learn to harness your powers so that you can protect yourself. Please don’t begrudge me for believing you are a messenger, though. If your sister went missing,” he said, in spite of the sick beating in his gut, “what lengths would you go to find her?”

  “I would do anything. But we aren’t talking about my sister.”

  She didn’t sound defensive, or angry. Just quiet.

  Sadie shifted so their eyes met. The nubs of her hardened nipples grazed his chest. Heat flashed over his neck. His mind dug up the memory of her mouth on his.

  Lyric fed an image into his mind, blocking his jolt of attraction. Something had gone wrong; otherwise, they’d be at the safe house making the preparations they’d discussed last night. Unless, had they found the changeling? He’d have to show Sadie the vortex cavern and the realm reflection pool within another time.

  “Change of plans.” The scenery blurred beneath them as he changed course and sped to meet Lyric and Holly at the South Mountain peak Lyric projected. Sadie remained quiet. Elijah sensed she was weighing her options and got prepared to beg if need be.

  “I suppose,” Sadie said at last, pressing her forehead to his shoulder, “that if you help me I can help you in return, on one condition. You teach me everything I need to know in order to never need your protection.” Again, she pulled back to look at him. “I want to know I’ll be able to enter your world on my own, to survive on my own.”