Garrick’s mercenary guards were no match for Kai. Some might have had his strength, but none could match his speed. It was a significant advantage which he used it with deadly skill. A few of the remaining guards closed ranks in front of Garrick. He’d not budged an inch throughout the battle. He’d stood and watched with sadistic pride at all the devastation. Even the lifeless bodies of his own men. He didn’t care. They were expendable, dirty mercenaries.
There were no guards left to fight other than the ones holding the line to protect Garrick from Kai. Still he looked smug and secure in the knowledge that he too was immortal. Kai, covered in blood, stalked toward him. Garrick stepped out from behind them. He clapped his hands together.
“Bravo. I’ve underestimated you. You’ve annihilated my men. And you made it look so easy. It really is too bad you and I are enemies. You could be my greatest asset. We could own this world.” Garrick was drunk on what he saw as his ultimate power. Nothing could kill him.
“I don’t need to own the world.” Emma crept out from under the table where she’d hid during the fight. She looked uninjured save for some scratches.
“That’s too bad. This sense of duty and morality you have ingrained in you wouldn’t last. So where does that leave us? You can’t die, so my men can’t beat you. I’m afraid we are at an impasse.”Garrick commanded his men, “Guards! Grab the girl.” Two grotesque guards left the line and came at Emma. Kai prepared for them. He stepped in front of Emma and hacked the guards down before they could reach her.
“I plan to keep her for myself.” He couldn’t win yet Garrick wouldn’t let it go. “The thought of taking your woman is too tempting to resist. As a bonus, inflicting you with pain and humiliation gives me such a rush.” The man was insane. Someone should have taught him not to poke the bear. Kai held back. Garrick was only digging his grave deeper. “You will suffer imagining her with me, beneath me, imagining all the things I will do to her, have already done to her. I might even share. I’m not very good at it but in this case…Yes, that seems like a fitting punishment. Maybe when she is old and useless to me I will send her back to you, or maybe I will just kill her.”
Despite recognizing it for what it was, Garrick’s last taunt fueled Kai’s anger. Enraged, he roared and launched himself at the line of mercenaries still standing between them. He fought his way closer to Garrick, body by body. “My plan is no longer an option. I was looking forward to spending more time with her. She has been very entertaining,” Garrick goaded some more. He twisted and fiddled with the knife he’d used earlier to cut his hand. He exaggerated a bored expression while he watched Kai defend Emma against his men. He kept his emotions in check throughout it all until near the end when he finally realized Kai was unstoppable.
Garrick’s confident façade cracked as Kai charged through the final barrier of guards. He backed away. Blood spattered every inch of Kai as he stalked Garrick.
“You’ve lost Garrick.”
“You don’t deserve to win!” Garrick screeched like a child in the throes of a tantrum.
“I already have.”
“I can’t let you have everything.” He flipped the blade in his hand and caught it by the tip. His hand shot forward, with a flick of his wrist Garrick sent the dagger hurtling at Emma. The sharp tip entered the center of her chest, slicing through the edge her heart. She crumpled to the ground.
“NOOOO!!!” Kai howled in agony as if the blade had struck his own heart.
“Bulls eye!” He’d defeated Kai with Emma’s death. “Now you have nothing!” Garrick laughed at the pain he’d inflicted.
Kai roared Emma’s name as he drew back his sword and swung. He released the jeweled hilt and it spun in the air. Garrick’s eyes widened in shock mere seconds before the blade sliced through his neck. Garrick’s head toppled from his shoulders and rolled onto the blood-slick floor.
“And neither do you!” Kai’s tone was cold. He didn’t wait for the body to fall. He raced to Emma’s side. Blood pumped from the wound where the hilt and a few inches of the blade protruded from her chest. “Don’t you die on me Emma.” Kai gathered her in his arms and draped her across his lap. “Please just hold on.”
“Kai, no…choice…” Emma’s voice was thready and weak. “So much…I need…to tell…”
“You will sweetheart, I promise.” As he assured her, he dug another flask from inside his shirt. Removing the blade could make the bleeding worse. She only had minutes before she’d bleed out either way. “I saved some for you.” He grit his teeth, gripped the dagger and pulled it from her with one hand while simultaneously sloshing liquid over the wound. “I’m so sorry. I was going to let you choose. But I don’t want to live without you.” He lifted the flask to her lips and poured the rest into her mouth. Emma swallowed every last drop then slumped back in the cradle of his legs exhausted from the effort.
Kai watched as the blood flow slowed. The wound no longer gaped in her chest. The water was working its magic to restore Emma. Kai checked the gash again before he shifted his attention to Emma’s face. Her pale skin looked even paler from the loss of blood. Her eyes were closed. She was so still, he wondered if he was too late. No! He refused to believe she wouldn’t make it. The wound had almost healed. It wouldn’t be healing if the magic didn’t work. Would it? No! She can’t die, she had to live. He’d waited an eternity for her.
Emma’s lashes fluttered. Kai drew her close in his arms and buried his face in her neck. Relieved tears formed in the corners of his eyes. He did something he hadn’t done since he was mortal. He lifted his face to the heavens and whispered a heartfelt prayer of thanks. “I’m here sweetheart. I’m here.”
“What happened?”
“You’re gonna be ok.”
“But that’s impossible. I had a knife in my chest. I was dying. I felt myself slipping away." She looked up at him, suspicious all of a sudden. “What did you do?”
“Em, I’m sorry. I had no choice. I was going to offer you the choice. I wanted you to choose whether you wanted forever with me. Then you were dying, and I couldn’t let you go.”
“Kai! What did you do?” Kai heard her distress rise.
“I saved some of the spring water. What I gave Garrick was only a few drops diluted with regular water. I had no intention of wasting it on him. I wanted it for you. When Garrick threw that knife, and you collapsed…I couldn’t bear the thought of losing you. If I hadn’t made the decision, you’d be gone. I couldn’t live with that.”
“You mean I’m immortal like you?”
“Not exactly like me but yes. I’m sorry I just couldn’t let you go. Honestly, I was going to offer you the choice.”
“Oh, Kai,” Emma said. Kai was confused. Why the anguish? Was the thought of forever with him so horrible? “You don’t know what you’ve done.”
“What do you mean?” Wary now, he pulled back to look at her.
“I had so much to tell you. Kai while you were away, I discovered I’m pregnant.” Kai felt the punch to his gut. Emma was pregnant!
“I’ll kill him again!” Kai roared as he started to move away from her to do just that.
“What are you talking about?”
“Are you alright? I knew I couldn’t trust him, but I never thought…”
“No, Kai. It is your child.”
“Mine? But Garrick said…”
“It doesn’t matter what he said. He never touched me. Well, at least not like he wanted you to think.”
“What did he do to you?” Kai asked, suspicion heavy in his voice he leaned back to look at her from different angles. Only then did he notice the fading bruise along her cheekbone. He brushed her hair away from her cheek. An instant flare of anger burned in his eyes.
“It’s not important now. What’s important is this child. What’s going to happen?”
“We’ll love it and be there for him or her.”
“You don’t know how glad I’m to hear you say that, but it’s not what I meant. I just drank from th
e same eternal spring that made you immortal. What’s going to happen to the baby growing inside me?” Emma’s voice quivered as she asked the all-important question. The seriousness of the situation hit him like another hammer.
“I don’t know, but I know someone who will.”
Chapter 26
The last several weeks had taken their toll on Emma. She was exhausted. Pregnancy did that to a person in the early months. Coupled with her ordeal, and near death experience, it was no wonder she drifted off when she rested her head on Kai’s shoulder. She slept almost the entire flight as Kai whisked her away on the private jet he’d chartered for their journey.
She dreamed she and Kai were alone at the cabin. They were happy.
Kai held Emma’s hand as they walked the mountain trails. They laughed together as they walked. They’d made love at the cabin in front of the fire before going on their walk. Emma had never felt so content in all her life. Everything was perfect.
The forest surrounding the cabin suddenly grew dark. The temperature dropped. Thick, hairy arms snaked around her middle. He captor squeezed, cutting off her air as he pulled her away from Kai. The hot, fetid breath of her captor burned her cheek as he taunted Kai. A creature with bat-like wings, thick leathery skin and large glowing black eyes held Kai at bay with a knife to his throat.
The scene changed abruptly. Emma was no longer in the forest with Kai or held by the hideous beast that captured her. She was cold, wet and alone in a dark cavernous prison. There was only the tiniest shred of light illuminating the bars in front of her. Something cold and slimy slid across the naked flesh of her thigh then another around her rounded bare belly and another and another until several slimy vines (Oh help me, I hope they’re vines), snaked around her torso and limbs. The binding force pulled her further into the darkness, into the waiting arms of a horde of evil flesh crawling creatures.
Emma screamed.
“Easy Em. I’m here.”
Emma struggled to wake from her nightmare. She slumped back against him when she realized it was Kai holding her in his arms.
“Oh.” She looked around the cabin of the airplane. She’d forgotten where she was. “Okay. Just give me a sec.” The terror she felt from her nightmare receded. Kai flipped up the armrest and removed Emma’s seatbelt before he pulled her across the space separating them, onto his lap. He snuggled her against his body.
“Shhh. It’s okay. It was just a nightmare. We’re safe.”His whispered words soothed her.
“Oh my,” she said. “That was some vivid nightmare. It felt real. I thought I was back in Garrick’s compound only somehow it was worse.”
“It was just a dream. Garrick’s dead. He can’t hurt us anymore.”
“I know, but it felt so real. And the creatures…” Emma shuddered. “I have a new found fear of lizards and salamanders and anything reptilian.” She shuddered.
Kai chuckled. “I’m sorry sweetheart but you have nothing to fear from the garden variety reptiles and amphibians.”
“You say that cause you’re you. I never liked them to start. Now they just creep me out.”
“Saurians and Dragas are underworld creatures and they’re hatched that way.”
“I know a Saurian is lizard like but what’s a Draga?”
“They’re a race descended from dragons.”
“Dragons? You’re not helping.” Laughing, Kai hugged her to him. “I don’t want to think about it anymore. What do you say about taking our minds off our problems?”She nuzzled Kai’s neck with her lips. She’d become quite the temptress in the last little while.
“Are you sure about this?” He asked. Emma couldn’t help smiling. He was always looking out for her.
“Of course I'm sure. Why wouldn't I be?”
“You've never said what went on while I was gone. You still have bruises.”
“It's not what you think. Garrick didn't touch me, neither did his men. Not like he tried to make you believe. I would tell you, I promise. He kept that part of the bargain. As for not hurting me, let's just say Garrick had a bad temper and never learned to hold it in check. I'm okay.” Kai looked skeptical. “I am. We don’t need to talk about what went on while you were away. It won’t change anything.” She raised her face to his and kissed him. “I’d much rather spend happy time with you before the world intrudes again.” Emma kissed him again in case he had any doubt about what she meant by ‘happy time’.
Kai was putty in her hands. They had each other’s clothes off in minutes. Their heated bodies writhed and strained against one another. Neither of them wanted slow. They’d waited weeks to be reunited. Emma wanted it hard and fast. Kai was happy to oblige. Nothing short of total surrender would satisfy them.
“Kai!” Emma called out his name as she reached her climax and with a shout of satisfaction he joined her.
Emma tumbled reluctantly back to reality. She slowed her breathing to a normal rhythm. She said she wanted to forget it all but she and Kai had so much to discuss. There were questions she needed answers for. They had to talk before anything else.
“Kai, as much as I would like to ignore the world and stay like this forever, we really have to talk. I wanted to avoid it but we can’t.”
“I know.” Emma slid off his lap and gathered their clothes. She handed his jeans to him then dressed herself before settling in the seat beside him.
She laid her head on his shoulder. “What’s going to happen?”
“I don't know but the Guardian might. She's expecting me to return her sword. She’ll know the answers to our questions. She has to.”
“Won’t the Guardian be angry when she sees me there with you? I thought the place is supposed to be forbidden to mortals.”
“It is. You’re not mortal. She's expecting you.”
“How can she be expecting me? Does she want to kill me? I didn’t pass a challenge.”
“Didn’t you?”
“What challenge?”
“You saved me.”
“I think your memory is slipping. You saved me.”
“You don’t get it. I was tired of my endless existence. I was fast losing hope there was anything worth saving in this miserable world. Until I met you. You are everything that makes a person worthy enough to pass the challenge.”
“ No. I’m not. I’m not brave. I was terrified while you were away. How is that passing a challenge?”
“The challenge is different for everyone. And you are one of the bravest most loyal people I’ve ever met. And I’ve met more people than most.”
“But how can that be enough to make me worthy?”
“Apparently, I’m a tough case. She saw the change in me and she figured anyone brave enough to love me had to be worthy.”
Emma laughed so hard she had tears streaming from her eyes. “What’s so funny about that?”
“Well it’s very flattering for me but not so much for you.”
Kai laughed too. “Yeah. I guess you’re right. I know I had little use for mortals. I thought they were an ungrateful, entitled burden. The underworld crowd’s no picnic either. I didn’t feel like I belonged in either world. You make me feel like I belong. Like I have a purpose. I’d forgotten why I protect humankind. Did you know that I’m scary and intimidating?”
“Umm, yeah.” She rolled her eyes.
“I mean I’m supposed to be when I’m doing my job but I didn’t realize I was like that all the time.”
“Oh Kai,” Emma was laughing again.
“Quit that. I’m being serious.”
“I know. That’s what is so funny.” Emma wiped her eyes. “So seriously, she’s not gonna kill me?”
“No. It wasn't easy, but I convinced her to let me take the flask of water. She didn’t care about Garrick. She knew he couldn’t beat me. She gave me her sword so I could kill him if he drank from the flask. She was clear. I had to sever his head from his body with her sword. We have to return it to her. She also thought I deserved a reward for my service and she belie
ved you’d passed a tougher challenge than she’d have devised. The flask was meant for you.”
“What if I didn’t want it?”
“I planned to give you a choice." Emma shot him a skeptical look, "Don't look at me like that. I did. Then you were dying with a knife sticking out of your chest. I either wasted precious time convincing you to stay with me forever, or I could make the choice for you. It was no contest. I couldn’t let you go. Not yet and not like that. I’ve only just found you. I hope you’ll forgive me someday.”
“In case you’ve missed it.” Her eyes smoldered as she remembered their recent loving. “I’ve already forgiven you. You did what you felt you had to. How can I be angry with you when all you wanted was for me to live?” Kai leaned over and kissed Emma.
“I hope you’ll still feel that way in time. Everything and everyone will pass before us.”
“As long as I’m with you, I know I will. Right now my concern is for the baby. What’ll happen? Will the child grow normally or will it grow to a certain age and then stop aging altogether?” A horrifying thought occurred to her. “What if the child remains just that, a child or worse, an infant unable to develop or grow?”
“I don’t know,” Kai pulled her into his arms. His support comforted her. “I don’t. Let's not over think this. We can’t worry about the unknown. It’ll drive us crazy. I’m sure the Guardian will have answers for us.”
Emma knew he was right. She tried to relax. There were still things they’d left unsaid nagging at her. Unable to wait any longer for him to volunteer the information, she blurted, “How do you feel about the baby?” She’d surprised him with her sudden outburst “I sprung it on you in a highly intense moment. We haven't talked about it yet.”
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