by Bonnie Vanak
“You can’t hold your breath that long. Neither can I.”
Kelly ran to the sunlit window. Flexing her fingers, she tried summoning her magick with a chant. Nothing worked.
Water rose to their waists now, sloshing around them.
They weren’t going to make it, Kelly thought. Despite Sam’s confidence, she knew it. Her breath came in little gasps.
“We’re going to die,” she choked out.
So strong and dependable, he looked calm.
Shay squeezed her shoulders. “No one’s dying, sweetheart. Thanks to my training, I can hold my breath for a long time.”
“So you’re giving me a crash course? Did I ever tell you I’m not a great student?”
His hands were warm against her cheeks. “You’re a terrific student,” he murmured, smiling. “I remember those lessons I gave you in the cabin and how much you learned so quickly.”
A flush heated her cheeks, and she laughed a little. Their lives were in jeopardy, and Sam made her think about sex.
Amusement and smoldering heat danced in his gaze. “I’m looking forward to teaching you more, Kelly. We’re going to get out of this, because we both have too much to live for.”
Gently he stroked her cheek as the water crept above their waists. “I’m not going to die until I make love to you again.”
Gathering her courage, she looked down. “There’s still time now. I heard sex in the bathtub is kinky but fun.”
Sam kissed her gently, almost reverently. “I’m here and won’t leave your side. We’ll swim upward until we meet the ceiling. Then I’m opening that window, and we’ll climb out. It’s a long drop, so I’ll go first and catch you.”
“I’m not a good swimmer. Remember that time when you saved me in the creek?”
“I won’t let go,” he repeated. “Strip down to your underwear. Clothing weighs you down, and you need to be buoyant.”
Following his instructions, she stripped. Sam gave a cocky grin as he removed his pants, shirt and boots.
“I lied,” he said suddenly.
Kelly licked dry lips.
“I only said that about the clothing so I could watch you undress.”
She sputtered and then splashed him. Flinging droplets from his hair, Sam laughed. “Good,” he said softly. “Now you’re smiling. Keep that smile on. I want to see it in the sunshine.”
As he instructed, she began breathing deeply, learning his hand signals for when they could no longer talk. With every breath, Sam centered his warm gaze on her. His sheer affection fed her strength.
She, too, wanted to live so they could make love again.
Together, they began to breathe in rhythm. When the water reached her chin, he motioned for her to float. At first she sank, but he grabbed her hand.
“Remember what I taught you in the creek that day? You did great. You’re doing great now, Kel. Hold on to me.”
As he treaded water, she wrapped her arms around his muscled waist. “That’s it,” he encouraged. “This is only a big pool, and I’m your giant noodle.”
Daring, she slid her hand a little below his waist. “Giant noodle. That’s a new name for it. As long as it isn’t limp.”
Sam laughed again. His attitude eased her fear. Confidence began returning. He was with her, and she could do this. As the water rose, she let go, treading water. Sam reached out and squeezed her hand.
With him at her side, she could make it.
Kelly believed it, even as the ceiling drew close.
“Remember, don’t panic and follow my lead.” Husky and reassuring, his voice was a life raft.
“Please don’t let go of my hand.”
“I have to, just to open the window. Hang on to my waist and you’ll be fine.”
Water filled the room. Now they were only a foot from the ceiling, high enough to reach the window. Sam tugged her toward it. Legs kicking hard, heart beating fast against her chest, she followed him.
Sam grasped the window and pulled upward.
Nothing happened. He didn’t have enough leverage.
Not going to panic. Sam could do it, even open a window that probably had been nailed shut. He was strong, a SEAL...
Water covered the window.
Panic pushed at the edges of her mind. Refusing to surrender to it, she clung to her belief in Sam.
“I have to let go, Kel. Take a deep breath while I open this damn thing,” he shouted.
His hand felt so strong and assuring. Oh, how she hated to let go. But she did and then watched him dive beneath the water and fumble with the window.
The ceiling approached. Sam swam upward, took a tremendous gulp of air and dived back down.
Water covered her lips, her nose. She nearly kissed the ceiling and took one last, enormous breath.
Think of something else. You and Sam making love. So good. He was tender and gentle and considerate...we never wanted to leave that cabin.
She blew out a few bubbles. The window was still jammed.
Her lungs burned. Kelly’s vision blurred. She opened her mouth to get air and gulped down water. Her airway shut as a terrible burning began in her chest.
Darkness engulfed her. She fell into its welcoming embrace.
* * *
As Shay kicked at the wooden window frame, he felt something nudge at his back. He glanced over one shoulder. Kelly floated, silky red hair wreathing her grayish face. Shay pushed back panic. Don’t think. Concentrate.
His lungs began to protest, but he grimly kicked again.
The wood cracked this time. Sam kicked harder. Aided by the pressure of the water, the window finally gave way, crashing outside.
The suction nearly pulled him outward. Sam swam back and grabbed Kelly’s hand.
No time to consider the actions of such a fall. Broken bones could be repaired. Legs first.
He’d need his arms and hands to revive Kelly.
Holding her against his chest, he spilled outside, aiming for the ground so his body hit first. Sam gasped, dragging air deep into his lungs, sputtering as he fell, never letting go of Kelly.
He hit the ground first, his body cushioning Kelly. The hard fall was broken by a stack of firewood. Pain exploded in his right leg, but Sam ignored it as he rolled off the stacked firewood and tumbled to the ground.
Kelly’s limp body followed.
He grabbed her and threw her on her back in the dirt. Adrenaline pumped through his body.
She lay pale and still, the pink lace of her bra and panties a bright splash of color against her grayish flesh. He opened her mouth and began CPR. With each compression and between breaths, he talked, urging her to live.
“Come back to me, sweetheart. C’mon, Kel, you can do it. Please, Kel, come back, come back, dammit. You’re not leaving me now. Think of the kids. You have to get to them, keep them safe.”
Tears blurred his vision. Not responding, she lay still and lifeless. One more compression. “I promised you we’d make love again, and goddammit, I don’t break my promises.”
Heartbeat.
She coughed. Sam quickly turned her on her side, letting her vomit out water. She coughed and coughed.
“Easy now,” he soothed, stroking her hair. “You’re here. It’s okay. It’s going to be okay.”
Blue eyes the color of cornflowers met his. Kelly gulped down air as he continued soothing her.
“I drowned,” she said between coughs.
Unable to find his voice, he nodded.
“You revived me.”
Throat tight, he nodded again.
“I did it on purpose...” She drew in another beautiful, glorious breath. “Just so you’d kiss me.”
He laughed shakily. Shay wiped tears with the back of one hand and
then lifted her into a sitting position and drew her into his shaking arms.
He kissed her hard, never wanting to let go again.
Chapter 15
Sam’s wet mouth trembled against her lips. He held her tight, his kiss frantic and urgent, reaffirming that she lived.
Closing her eyes, she clung to him as joy surged through her. Life was a precious gift, handed back to her by the man who’d refused to let her die, whose very mouth had breathed her back to consciousness.
Cupping her face, he kissed her harder, drinking in her mouth as if he were the drowning victim, drawing in her every breath as his own. A desperate kiss filled with passion, reminding her of the times when they’d made love until a scarlet dawn broke over the treetops. Sweaty, desperate, clinging love, each one never wanting to let go.
When they broke apart, he stroked a trembling finger down her cheek. Shadows darkened his hazel eyes. “I was so afraid I’d lost you. All because I had to let go.”
Her heart lurched at the pain in his expression. Kelly brought his hands up and kissed his scarred knuckles. “I’m here now. I trust you, Sam. I knew you wouldn’t give up on me and let me go for good. Besides, you promised to make love to me again.”
He gave a slight smile. “Right.”
“You kissed me like old times, Sam.” She brushed a lock of wet hair back from his face. “The way you once kissed me, when we swore to each other that we wouldn’t let anything come between us.”
As if she were his next breath, his entire world.
The familiar guarded look dropped over his face. As he shifted his weight, Sam flinched.
“You’re hurt,” she cried out.
“Just a small break. I can walk.”
“On a broken leg. Nothing serious. Sam!”
“I’ve had worse.”
Now she noticed the odd angle of his leg, the lines of pain bracketing his mouth.
“I’ll splint it, and we’ll get on our way.” He looked around the yard. “We have to get moving before those bastards return.”
Kelly lifted her face to the burning sun. “Let me try something. I can heal in the sunlight. You bonded us together. Maybe I can combine my powers with yours to heal your leg. Will you let me try?”
A rough nod. Water beaded his dark lashes and clung to the tip of his strong nose. His mouth was a firm slash, indicating just how much he hurt.
With one hand, she clasped the triskele, her other hand gripping his. Kelly began the lyrical chant her father had taught her.
Soothing light and warmth filled her as the sun’s healing rays surged into her body. Stunned, she watched the triskele pulse with white light. A glow suffused her body and traveled down her arm to their linked hands.
As the light touched him, it brightened to white, becoming stronger. Gasping, he shuddered as the warm energy pulsed down his torso to the wounded leg.
After a few minutes, the glow faded. Sam ran a hand over his calf.
“I’ll be damned,” he muttered.
Beaming, she touched his leg. “It’s the bond. Alone, we are not strong enough, but together we are practically invincible.”
Sam narrowed his eyes. “How did you do that? What exactly are you, Kelly?”
Stricken, she drew back. “It’s me, Sam. I’m just an Arcane. It’s the triskele. It works as an amplifier.”
“Not even the triskele can turn an Arcane into a healer. The power has to be within the Mage first.”
“Are you calling me a liar?”
Sam’s jaw tensed. “I’m saying your ability to heal isn’t normal. We’ll talk about it later. Right now, we need to get the hell out of here.”
She’d thought they could regain what they once had. Forget they were Arcane and Elemental. But the suspicion on his face threw up new barriers.
They found their packs on a shelf in the front room and swiftly dressed into a spare change of clothing. Sam retrieved his pistol from the shelf where the Mages had placed it. Kelly slipped into a pair of sandals, glancing at the still-flooded back room.
“Those were my favorite sneakers.”
“I’ll buy you a new pair.” Sam tucked the gun into his waistband. “Time to go hunting.”
“For what?”
A ruthless look entered his hazel eyes. “The son of a bitch who wears my face.”
* * *
Finding his duplicate proved easy.
From a shadowy doorway across the street, Shay watched the restaurant. His twin sat at an outside table, downing a bottle of suds. Several bottles sat on the table before him.
Same brand Shay enjoyed.
His hands itched to hook around the bastard’s throat and snap his neck. Shay curbed the urge. He was a SEAL and was used to waiting. Waiting to deploy. Waiting for the enemy to surface.
Waiting for Kelly to open her mouth and breathe again.
Waiting for Kelly to close her mouth about things he’d rather not discuss.
That kiss had been special. And kissing her had brought out all his fears about losing her. Damn if he could bring himself to admit it.
The old chemistry still flared between them. But taking it further was dangerous because deep inside, he still had feelings for Kelly Denning.
And then there was the little matter of Kelly’s very unusual powers. Shay wondered about that. Maybe it was the triskele, as she’d suggested.
The same waitress who’d served them earlier approached the doppelgänger with the wariness of a sheep serving a wolf.
Laughing, the fake Shay swatted her bottom. “Nice ass.” The words were a drunken slur.
As the girl backed away, his twin pulled her into his lap and began fondling her. Stark terror pinched the girl’s face. Patrons in the café turned their heads.
Bile rose in Shay’s throat. Why was everyone ignoring this?
“What the hell is wrong with those people?” he muttered.
“They’re enchanted,” Kelly said. “They don’t care about anything. It’s as if everything they cared about has been erased from memory. Including their own values.”
The frightened waitress pushed at his chest as his twin slid his hands beneath her skirt.
“If he takes her into the back, I’m going to be sick.” Kelly bit a knuckle.
Shay shook his head. “All he cares about is screwing her. And he thinks he’s my exact duplicate. That’s not me.”
She glanced at him. “No, it’s not. But you once were obsessed with women. Your reputation was well-known even among Arcanes. Oh, you had too much honor to do that,” she said, flicking a hand at his twin. “But all the servants talked about Master Samuel sneaking lovers out of the mansion when dawn broke.”
Guilt pricked his conscience. “House gossip. Rumors.”
“That’s what I said, until I cleaned your room and found boxes of condoms in your closet.”
No condemnation, just resignation. Stricken, he stared at the mirror image of himself, remembering his twin’s mocking words. Kelly was right. And he still was a womanizer. Everyone knew it, from his tight unit to the support staff on ST 21.
I’m not like this anymore.
Yes, you are. After the fire, the old ways were comforting and familiar.
It sickened him to see tears rolling down the young waitress’s cheeks as the fake Shay nuzzled her neck.
Shame gnawed through him. “He’s got my DNA stamped into his body. He’s like me. He uses women for sex and then moves on.”
“Did you ever force a woman?”
“No!”
“This one seems intent on it. And that’s not you, Sam. You may have been a womanizer, but you’re no bastard. If you were, I’d never have become your lover.”
“Why did you?”
Her soft gaze m
et his. “Because I believed in you, not your reputation. It wasn’t the sex. It was your kindness, your generous nature and your compassion for others. You always treated everyone, even the lowest servant, with great respect. And you saw me as a woman, not an Arcane.”
She looked at him tenderly, as if touching the broken pieces inside him, willing them to mend. Too overwhelmed by her deep faith in him, he could not speak. Reaching up, he caressed her cheek with a finger.
Then he dropped his hand and glanced at the restaurant.
“We’ve got to get him away from her. I have an idea.”
Two streets away, he turned onto a deserted street. Shay scanned the area and saw an abandoned hotel. He picked the lock and opened the door. A waft of stale air greeted him. The lobby smelled of mildew. Shay ran a finger over the dusty front counter. How long had this village been enchanted?
“How fast can you run?” he asked.
“I’m a good sprinter.”
“You don’t have to go far. Go back to the restaurant, lead him here and I’ll be waiting.”
“I can outrun him, but not if he calls on his Arcane magick,” Kelly said.
“He’s too damn drunk to remember how to use his powers.”
“Ah. I guess...it’s a good thing you know him so well.”
Guilelessly she looked at him. Sam’s heart kicked hard. So pretty, and honest. Honesty was something he valued, because in his job, he sometimes had to lie.
And in your personal life, too, the little voice inside him added.
“If he looks like he’s going to use magick, start screaming. No one will care but me.”
“Be careful.” Kelly touched his arm.
He hesitated, desperately wanting to kiss her and hold her against him as he had before. Shay nodded, watching her jog back.
Hovering by the doorway, he cupped his pistol and waited.
A few minutes later he heard the sound of footsteps in the street running fast. “Tag, you’re it,” she sang out.
Shay pointed his Sig and aimed.
“Can’t you run faster, you drunk monkey? Twenty feet behind me, and you’re ready to fall over.”