Never More

by Dana Marie Bell

  Well…

  She’d have to think of something, because that? Wasn’t an easy one to pass off.

  “Come with me.”

  Amanda glanced up to find Shane Dunne standing in front of her, holding out his hand. Something about his tone of voice, the expression on his face, had her putting down her glass and following him to the front door. She’d heard enough from the others to know that Shane had some sort of ability to see the future. The fact that she was the only one he’d approached scared the holy bejesus out of her.

  She took her coat out of the closet and hurried after him into the brisk evening. The man hadn’t even stopped for a jacket, just hurried out the door to the front porch. He practically flew down the porch steps, racing down the path that led to his studio.

  What the hell was going on?

  He pulled open the studio door and took off inside, leaving it open for her. She followed him in and pulled it shut behind her, surprised to find he wasn’t there. Another door was open, however, leading into what looked to be a bedroom.

  Inside, Shane was tearing out of his party clothes.

  Amanda turned around swiftly and walked back to the front door. She’d seen the way Shane looked at Akane, his wife. Whatever he was doing, he wasn’t trying to seduce her.

  But just to be safe, Amanda pulled out her cell and called Ruby.

  “Hello? Mandy? Where are you?”

  “Shane just pulled me into his studio, and now he’s in a bedroom getting naked.”

  “Oh.” A pause, then, “Oh. Okay. I’ll send Akane.”

  “Thanks. Let Raven know where I am.” She trusted Shane, she really did, but something in his gaze had been wild, and for just a second she’d been afraid. Then she remembered who she was dealing with and realized whatever it was that was driving him wasn’t directed at her. “Oh, and save me some cake,” she added as Shane dashed out of the bedroom toward a worktable he had set up against one wall. “I have the feeling this will take a while.”

  Amanda watched in disbelief as Shane held his hands over the table. He grunted, and glowed, and suddenly metal and gems were dropping from his hands, along with what looked like glass shards and…sand?

  The door opened behind her, shoving her forward, and Akane was there, her belly in the room before the rest of her was. “Hell. Jethro’s at it again.”

  “Sit, before you fall down.” Amanda pulled a chair forward and pushed Akane into it, much to the woman’s disgust. “What’s going on? One minute I’m sipping punch, the next I’m running into a silo with a half-naked crazy man.”

  Akane blinked, the funky golden star in her eye widening for a moment before she grimaced. “He’s having a vision, and you’re part of it. I think.”

  “Oh.” Amanda watched as Shane gathered his materials together, sorting them effortlessly into what looked like piles of stuff but probably had huge meaning for him. “Is that why he dragged me in here?”

  Akane nodded, watching her spouse work with a grim expression. “When the visions ride him this hard, it’s usually something bad.”

  Wonderful. “How do we stop the bad stuff from happening?”

  “We don’t know. The only thing we do know is, if things stay on their current track, the bad stuff will happen.” She tilted her head. “But sometimes the bad stuff has to happen so that the good stuff will too. It’s a crapshoot.”

  Amanda huffed out a breath. “How long will he be?”

  “However long he needs.” Akane settled back in her chair. “I’d get us something to drink from the fridge he keeps in the other room. We might be a while.”

  Amanda wandered into Shane’s inner sanctum and quickly found the mini fridge. She pulled out two bottles of water, thinking that would be best for the pregnant Akane, and returned to Shane’s workroom. “So.”

  “So?”

  “What’s it like to be with someone who can see the future?”

  Akane shrugged and opened her water. “I can see the now, so I guess it’s the same for him as it is for me. Kind of freaky, very damn hot, and useful like you wouldn’t believe.”

  “I guess that would be.” Amanda opened her own water and took a sip, watching Shane as he worked. The man was huge, but his hands moved with a delicacy and strength reserved for dancers. “Any idea what he’s seeing?”

  Akane shook her head. “Nope. And I won’t unless he drops his Seeming and allows the visions to be visible, or until he’s done his sculpture.” Akane patted her knee and yawned. “I’m going to go take a nap, okay?” She patted her tummy. “These two are sapping all my energy.”

  “Go on, I’ll be fine. Hell, if he takes too long I might join you.”

  Akane laughed. “I wouldn’t. When he’s done he tends to flop into bed.”

  Amanda looked at the bulk of the man and back toward Akane. “Does he ever land on you?”

  Akane winked and stood. “Let’s just say I’m glad I’m a dragon.” She yawned again and turned toward the bedroom, waving. “’Night, Amanda.”

  Amanda blinked. “’Night.”

  Dragon? Akane was a fucking dragon?

  Damn it. Amanda wanted to be a goddamn dragon. That was wicked cool. She sat back, thinking about what it must be like to be a stinking dragon, flying through the sky and giving the big old fuck you to the poor land-bound creatures below. Hey, and she could have hot wings to go!

  Man, that would be sweet.

  The furnace flared, startling her from her thoughts. Shane was doing something over there, something she couldn’t quite figure out, but the glass beneath his skilled hands was beginning to take weirdly beautiful shape as he worked his tools. In a way it was almost soothing the way he manipulated the glass. Knives and what looked like scissors, colored sand and shards of glass, all were used on the molten bubble he’d created. He blew through the pipe, the bubble expanding, before a blowtorch was applied to the glass. It was twisted, marked, before a new bubble was added, or a bit of molten color was applied in a swirling motion that left her dizzy. Delicate wings appeared, shaped and formed from the glass, before Shane nodded and attached them to something dark, something with the sheen of obsidian. Blood-red streaks were added here and there, his back making it difficult to see much more than the pipette he used to twist the glass together.

  Shane reached for some metal, heating it up, pouring it into the glass somehow. Glass was once more taken up, dipped into molds, colored, dipped again and repeated over and over until finally Shane was satisfied with the blend of colors and shapes he’d achieved.

  Hours went by as the artist worked his magic, the piece growing in size and distinction with each layer he added. The heat and the flame became almost unbearable as he continued to work. No wonder he’d changed, put on a set of overalls and little else. He was sweating up a storm, but Amanda, in her sweater, jeans and boots, felt overwhelmed. She swallowed some more water, but it too had become too hot.

  He was muttering to himself now, the glass coming together piece by piece. He flattened some of it out using some sort of metal table and paddles, the smoke coming off of it smelling of burnt sand. Flames leapt between the paddles, dying down when he lifted them off. More molten glass was added to the table, creating a flat base of sorts. He then picked up the whole piece and put it in the flames once more.

  Amanda grabbed her cell and called Ruby. “He’s not done yet.”

  “You okay?” Ruby sounded half asleep.

  “Did I wake you?”

  “Hmm.”

  Amanda could hear sheets rustling. It must be later than she thought. “Sorry. I just… It’s getting really hot in here, and I…”

  “Stay there. I’ll send Raven.”

  “Thanks.” Amanda hung up, once again entranced by the magic Shane created with his glass. Tools seemed to fly in and out of his hands with a thought, one almost jumping from the table when h
e absentmindedly reached for it. She doubted he even knew it happened. Things that should have needed two or three people to work on just came together for him.

  No wonder he was such a popular glass artist. He really did create visions in glass.

  “What’s he making?” Raven whispered in her ear.

  Amanda jumped, but managed not to squeak in alarm. “Damn it, Raven!”

  He chuckled and settled into Akane’s seat. He blew gently in her face, and the heat of the forge dissipated. She’d swear she smelled cool mountain air rather than the inside of a glassmaker’s studio. “Thank you. You have no idea how badly I needed that.”

  He smiled and glanced toward Shane, but unlike her he didn’t seem nearly as fascinated by the piece coming together. “Did he give you any hints what this is all about?”

  “I got the impression even he’s not sure. He makes the picture, but it’s up to us to interpret it.” Even the water in her hand had cooled under Raven’s breath. She took a grateful sip as Shane hammered something, making a clinking sound. “He pulled me in with him though. I think I’m supposed to see whatever it is when he’s done.”

  Raven nodded. “Sleep. I’ll wake you when he’s finished.”

  “No. I’m pretty sure he’s almost done.” She stood and began walking toward Shane, who stepped back and stared at the piece on the table as if he’d just seen it for the first time.

  Amanda tilted her head and stared at the beautiful black birds captured under deep blue glass, their wings slowly coming out of it as the last bird broke free completely, only a splinter of glass holding him to the rest of it. A silver moon hung in the sky, burnished and somehow glowing. If you turned it just the right way, you realized that the piece was fully three-dimensional, for from the back it looked like the birds were being sucked into a vortex, with the last raven the only one not quite taken yet.

  In that last raven’s claw was a strand of gold that looked like…

  “Hair. It looks like hair.” Raven touched hers, his grip tight on her ponytail. She had no doubt who that raven—or that hair—belonged to. “Shane?”

  Shane wiped his brow. “Look at the back.”

  Amanda stared at him for a moment before tugging her ponytail free and walking around the table. “What is that?”

  Raven walked around the table and cursed in a guttural language that sent shivers down her spine. “A djinn death trap.”

  “Here’s the million-dollar question. Are you flying in, or out?”

  His silence did nothing to reassure her.

  Chapter Fifteen

  What did that strand of hair mean? Was he saving her? Was he being sucked in, and she’d tried to save him? The gods knew that was a stupid stunt she was perfectly capable of attempting.

  Worst of all was the fear that she’d been sucked into the djinn death trap and he’d failed to save her. Any of those was possible, and with Shane passed out next to Akane they weren’t about to get any answers soon.

  He couldn’t look away. The possibilities paralyzed him. One thing he knew for certain: he would die before allowing Amanda to be taken. He would let Sayyid have him, bow before the Dark Queen or slit his throat himself before one strand of Amanda’s sunshine hair fell into the wrong claws. He was ready to send her away, even back to D.C., if that was what it took.

  She took his hand, her palm still warm from the heat of the room. “I’m not leaving.”

  Raven snarled, but carefully kept his claws to himself. Perhaps his father would help spirit her away? He’d done the same to his bondmate when danger had been present. Surely he’d see the need to send away Amanda as well.

  “Do it and you won’t get sex for the next ten years.”

  He couldn’t stop the laugh if he tried. She was probably the only woman in the world who would threaten him with a lack of nookie.

  He pointed to the symbol Shane had carefully etched into the very small base of the spiral. Really, the man’s talent was astonishing, but the amount of magic he used to bring his visions to life was staggering. No wonder he’d collapsed so soon after finishing. It wasn’t the heat that had dropped the mate of the dragon, or lifting the heavy glass. It was sheer energy expenditure, the flavor of it still dancing on Raven’s tongue.

  A hybrid’s unique power signature, one Raven had rarely had the chance to breathe in, let alone taste.

  She leaned close, her nose almost touching the glass. How he’d cooled it so quickly without cracking it was also a mystery, but Raven had learned not to question the impossible when it came to hybrids. The only other one he’d met besides Shane and Akane had nearly killed him.

  Raven, of course, had defeated him, but at a heavy cost. He’d almost lost his eye that day, and if it hadn’t been for a Black Court siren he would have lost the use of his arm.

  “What is that?”

  He stared at the tiny red image, wishing he had a magnifying glass. Just the border was enough to set his teeth on edge. “It’s…” He couldn’t quite think of a way to explain it. “Have you ever heard of M. C. Escher?”

  “Who?” She stared curiously at the symbol. Thank the gods it had no power attached to it, or she might have found herself sucked in by accident.

  “M. C. Escher was a graphic artist who did some amazing work turning two dimensions into three, then confounding your eye with twists and turns in his work that were amazing.” He pulled out his cell phone and pulled up some pictures. “Here’s one of his most famous ones. It’s called Relativity.”

  “It looks like that staircase in the movie Labyrinth.” Amanda stared, fascinated, at the picture. She kept tilting his phone this way and that, no doubt trying to make it make sense.

  “It sort of is. Once you’re sucked in, there’s no real way out. It’s why it’s called a death trap. You’ll starve to death before you find an exit.”

  “So it’s a slow death, not a quick one.” She made a face and handed his phone back to him. “Me no likey that.”

  “Neither do I.” He pocketed his phone and began dragging her to the front door. “Which is why you’re leaving right now.”

  “Hold on there, bird boy.” She dug her heels in, forcing him to stop. “No fucking way.”

  The determined scowl on her face would have been hot if he wasn’t so thoroughly terrified. “I will force this if I have to.” He cupped her head between his hands, hoping he could make his point. “I will not lose you.”

  She took a deep breath. “No one messes with what’s mine.” She stepped back, glancing once at the sculpture before turning back to him. “There’s no saying that what he saw will come to pass. Now that we know it’s a possibility, we can take steps to make sure it doesn’t.” She held up her hand when he started to protest. “What if sending me away is what causes this to happen, hmm?”

  He shot the sculpture a dirty look before sighing. “Fine. We wait for Shane to wake.”

  She gave him a happy, sunny smile. “Then we grill him like a cheeseburger for answers.”

  He shook his head, but already some of his fear was dissipating. He had to think, had to figure out a way to keep her out of this mess. “Let’s go, then. We could both use some rest.”

  “Good deal.” She leaned against him and yawned. “I’m tired.”

  “Not surprising.” He led her out of the silo and into the cool night air. “Let’s get you to bed.”

  She nodded, quiet as they walked toward the Dunne house. “Raven?”

  “Hmm?”

  “Will it be all right?”

  He tightened his arm around her. “I don’t know, but I’m going to do my best to make sure it is.”

  She chuckled. “You know, that’s one of the things I like best about you. You don’t lie to me.”

  “Even when you wished I had?”

  “Even then.” She pulled free of his grasp and walked up the steps
to the house. “Are you coming up too?”

  He eyed her. “Not yet.”

  Amanda glanced at him over her shoulder. “Too bad. The cold woke me up.” She winked, her hips swaying as she entered the house. “Have fun talking to your dad.”

  The door shut behind her, and Raven heard the soft chuckle. “Your bondmate is quite observant.”

  “Yes, she is.” Raven turned to his father. “You need to see something.”

  There was a flash of green, and the Hob was off the porch, striding toward Shane’s workshop. “I was concerned when the two of you did not reappear.”

  “Been waiting up for us?” Raven sped up to catch Robin. He walked beside the Hob, both of them silent. Neither of them wanted to wake the rest of the Dunne household. “You would have loved my teen years. I was never home on time.”

  Robin sighed. “I would have.”

  Raven bumped his father with his shoulder. “I know.” They entered the silo, careful to keep their noise to a minimum. “Over here.”

  Robin stared at the piece Shane had created, his form vibrating, his true form almost bursting forth. He got it under control, but not before Raven caught another glimpse of the creature behind the man. “Who must we kill?”

  “This is Sayyid’s work, I’m certain of it.” Raven paced around the piece, searching for clues. “Only problem is, I don’t know where he’s set the trap.”

  Robin touched the golden strand, his thick black nails long and sharp. His eyes were still an eerie green, and his posture was one Raven had seen before. His father was enraged, ready to deal death to the person who’d threatened Raven and Amanda.

  Raven was all on board for that one.

  “Then we find out where, and make certain it is taken down before this happens.” Robin stared at him. “I’m informing the High King of this. He’ll want to know.”

  Raven nodded. “Of course.” As the head of the Knights of Oberon, aka Blades, Robin was responsible for keeping Oberon apprised of just such threats to the Court and the Blades. That Sayyid had mentioned Michaela as one of the targets would also make this an issue in which Oberon would be interested. She was technically the second-to-last Tuatha Dé Danann. “I’m surprised you didn’t mention it to him before.”