Through The Veil

by Christi Snow

  Marcus and she had been playing cards on the couch for a couple of hours to pass the time. It turned out they were both pretty evenly matched and competitive, but after being cooped up for so long, this wasn’t a good enough distraction.

  Marcus suddenly jumped up and said, “Come on. We’re getting out of here for a little bit.”

  “What? Where are we going?”

  “Let’s go to the pub.”

  “You have a pub here?” Granted, she hadn’t seen much of the village, but what she had seen all looked like homes.

  He nodded with a flirty, boyish half-grin that took her by surprise just because it was such an unusual expression for him, but she liked it. “Yes,” he said. “It’s pretty low-key, but it’s a fun place to hang out and will give you a better idea about life here.”

  Well, she certainly wouldn’t pass up the opportunity to learn more about them. She hoped to bring the Others back here when she freed them, so she needed to figure out exactly how they would all fit into this new society. “Okay, sounds fun, but…” She glanced down dispiritedly at her extremely casual cargo pants and T-shirt. “I don’t have anything nicer to wear.”

  Before she even finished talking, he twisted his mouth and shook his head. “It’s very casual. I promise you, that’s actually perfect.”

  The bar was built like Marcus’s house, on several floors circling around the trunk of a huge tree. The main bar was located on the bottom floor where they entered.

  Every eye in the place turned to Lori as they walked in. There were more people here than she expected and all dressed very casually. Like the Warriors she’d already met, a lot of the women wore barely-there shirts, and the men wore none at all.

  At least twenty people stood and sat in groups around the room and that was just on this level. She hadn’t considered how much attention she would garner as the obvious newcomer. It made her uncomfortable. Marcus settled his hand into the center of her lower back, soothing her with his strong presence.

  “Do you drink beer?” he whispered over the noise of the bar. His breath brushed across her ear and sent a shiver down her spine.

  She gave a short nod. Suddenly a beer sounded very good. Swallowing hard at her nerves, she moved forward, following the gentle pressure of Marcus’s hand on her back as he guided her through the crowd. They stopped several times as Marcus introduced her to the villagers. Most were friendly and polite, but she still felt the surreptitious gazes and whispers. This had been a really bad idea.

  “Relax,” Marcus whispered into her ear. “We’ll get our beers and then find a quiet table on the floor with the live music. No one will bother us.”

  That sounded good and now that he mentioned it, she could hear some sort of acoustic music floating down from above. They found an open space at the bar and Marcus caged her body from behind. He leaned over to talk to the bartender, the motion pushing his solid body against the full length of her back. Damn, the guy was hard and muscular everywhere, not that that was any surprise, but there was just something so much more real about feeling all those muscles suddenly pressed against her.

  The bartender was a tiny little wisp of a girl. She couldn’t even be five feet tall, had short spiky blond hair, and the most incredible hot pink wings. Could that coloring be natural? Did they dye their feathers here just like hair? She wore a wrap top like Bethany normally wore, but hers was sleeveless and bared a good portion of her very toned stomach. Most of her exposed skin was covered with black swirls of inked tattoos. Overall, she appeared extremely bad-ass and sexy…and a lot like what children’s books referred to as pixies.

  “Marcus,” the bartender greeted him while she flashed an open smile to Lori. “We haven’t seen you here in ages. I heard you had a new friend.” She glanced at Lori appraisingly. “And I’m assuming that her lack of wings means this is her.” She reached across the bar to shake Lori’s hand. “Hi, I’m Roxi.”

  “I’m Lori. It’s nice to meet you and I have to ask…” She looked at the wild wings again. “Is that their natural color?”

  The girl gave a huge gusty laugh. “Yeah, Mother Earth knew what she was doing when she gave them to me. They definitely make a statement. It’s a good thing that I’m a statement kind of girl.” She winked at Lori. “I know what the big guy drinks. Do you like dark beers like him?”

  “Dark works for me.” Actually, she loved dark beers, but not many people did. It was nice to find something so normal in this unexpected bar in the sky.

  Roxi poured their beers, all the while flirting and talking to everyone who stood around it. She was most definitely a spitfire of energy and spark.

  “Thanks, Rox,” Marcus said. “Is that Eric I hear playing?”

  “Yep, he’s up on the third level. Go on up. I think the crowd is lighter up there so you can hear yourself think. I’ll come and check on you in about thirty.”

  “Sounds good.” He nodded at her and propelled Lori toward the stairs that circled up the trunk of the tree to the upper levels. They passed quickly through the second level, which looked like a games area. There were dart boards and card tables, including what looked like a couple of serious poker games.

  The third level featured lowered lights, little votive candles on the small conversational tables, and a spotlighted platform where a beautiful man with golden wings sat playing guitar. His eyes remained shut as he sang along to a tune she’d never heard before. It was beautiful, even somewhat mournful, and immediately, Lori’s nerves settled and soothed. He had an incredible gift.

  They found a table in the back and settled in to listen. Marcus threaded his fingers through hers and they both focused on the musician, although Lori had a hard time maintaining focus with the pressure of Marcus’s hand on hers. That small physical touch sent impulses of sizzling awareness throughout her entire nervous system. This man affected her like no other.

  The set lasted for another few songs that were just as beautiful as the first. Then the guitar player finally opened his eyes and stopped playing. There was a smattering of applause from the few inhabitants in the room. In the ES, this man would be a star, selling out concerts, but here it was so casual and laidback.

  “Thank you,” he said with a humble nod toward the audience. “I’m going to take a short break, but I’ll be back in about fifteen minutes.” He set his guitar next to his chair and left the stage.

  “He’s really good,” Lori said.

  Marcus nodded in agreement. “Yes, he is. He plays here three or four nights a week just for something to do. He writes all his own stuff, but doesn’t have anyone to share it with. He spends a lot of time alone. I think he comes here just so someone else can hear it.”

  “That seems kind of sad,” Lori said.

  Marcus stared into his beer. “Yes, I guess it kind of is, isn’t it? It’s too easy in our world to stagnate because nothing ever really changes. There are so few of us left…”

  His voice trailed off and there was no mistaking the pain in it. Who had he lost? The glimpses of hurt she’d seen in him seemed to be more than what could be attributed to the loss of his parents.

  Lori didn’t want this for their night out. They’d been having fun. “I have an idea. While he’s on break, let’s play a game. Tell me something about you.”

  Marcus looked up at her with a single cocked eyebrow.

  She grinned. “Tell me something no one else knows about you.”

  He gave a hollow chuckle. “Did I give you the impression somewhere that I’m more interesting than I am?”

  “Oh, come on.” She gave him a small shove. “I know there’s more to you than that. You can do it. I have faith.”

  “O…kay, but you have to play along, too,” he responded and then took a long drink of his beer while he considered the question.

  Suddenly, he turned bright red. Even in the darkened room, Lori could see it. “What?” she asked with a grin.

  “No, I’ll think of something else. Hang on, this is hard.”

&n
bsp; “No way, not after that reaction. You have to tell me now…so fess up. What is it?”

  “Um…” He looked around the room sheepishly. “I um…kind of have a phobia…about spiders.” His entire body shook as he shuddered and he finally met her gaze again. “All those legs, you know?” he said in a hushed whisper. “They’re just really creepy. And now you know…I’m a total wuss.”

  She bit her lip to keep her giggle contained. After a minute, she finally had enough control to say, “It’s okay. That’s why you have the big sword, right?” She snickered. She couldn’t help it.

  He rolled his eyes at her. “Thanks for the sympathy.” His eyes took on an evil glint. “Okay, I did it. Now, your turn. Let’s hear your deep dark secrets.” He rubbed his hands together in supposed maniacal glee.

  Now she laughed outright. “I’m not sure I can match that one, but I’ll try. Um, let’s see. Before the Veil, we were never allowed to have pets because my dad was deathly allergic. One day when I was seven, I found a mama cat having kittens. She ended up having three of them. I took her and the babies home with me and hid them under the house for a year, taking care of them and feeding them. My dad never did understand why he always started sneezing when I was in the room for that year,” she said with a soft smile.

  Marcus scowled at her. “I give you evil, hairy, terrifying spiders and you pull out a sweet, cuddly kitten family that you saved from starvation?”

  He sounded so disgruntled and disgusted she couldn’t help but giggle again. “I’m sorry. I promise to do better next round.”

  “Nope, not good enough compensation. I told you something that’s truly scarring to me. I think you owe me something more.”

  “Oh, really?” she asked with suspicion.

  “Yes, to truly call that round even, I think you owe me a kiss.”

  A frisson of nerves skittered through her stomach and then lower. Kiss this sexy man? Not exactly a hardship. Her gaze dropped to his lips.

  He nodded. “Yes, definitely, a kiss will help.”

  “Hmm, well, I can’t let you suffer, so if that will make us even, I guess I can accommodate your needs.” She leaned over simply planning to brush a soft kiss across his lips. But he reached up to cup her cheek as her mouth touched his. When she began to draw back, he pulled her closer and deepened the kiss. She could taste the smooth malty flavors from the beer on him. His kiss was slow and thoughtful. His tongue tangled with hers sending shivers of desire racing through her. She lost all sense of time and space as she sank further into the kiss. Slowly, he pulled them apart with a gentle final swipe of his tongue over her lower lip.

  Opening her eyes, she found his gaze to be intense, glittering in the golden candlelight. “I feel better now.” His voice was husky and roughened with desire.

  She touched her swollen lips, having lost any thought besides dirty ones about this man in front of her. “Good.” Oh God, that could not be her voice, sounding so breathy and turned on. She cleared her throat. “Um, can you point me toward the restroom?” She had to pull herself together again and she couldn’t do that with him looking at her like he wanted to strip her bare in the next five minutes. Was it possible to spontaneously combust from lust?

  “Sure, it’s right around the corner. While you do that, would you like me to get another round?” He gestured to their empty glasses on the table.

  “Yeah, that sounds good. I’d like to listen to at least one more set, if it’s okay?”

  “Absolutely.” He stood with her, watching her with concern for a moment. “I’ll meet you back here in five.”

  “Okay,” she agreed. He seemed so unsure all of a sudden, she wanted to reassure him. “I’m having a really good time, Marcus. Thanks for bringing me here tonight.”

  For the first time ever, he gave her a full smile that encompassed his entire face. Her breath whooshed out of her lungs at the pure, stunning beauty of it. Holy hell, this man was dangerously sexy.

  She scampered away, needing some separation from him immediately or else she was going to tackle him to the floor and ravish him in the middle of the bar.

  It took her a few minutes, but she did manage to compose herself in the bathroom. But when she came out, she ran into Roxi, waiting for her in the hall.

  Roxi grabbed her by the shoulder and pulled her back further into the dark recesses of the hall. For a moment, Lori worried about her intent. But the girl was so tiny it wouldn’t be that hard for Lori to overpower her. She wasn’t completely without skills.

  They halted and Roxi stared at her for a moment. “I don’t know you,” she began with an earnest, hard voice. “But it’s been years since I’ve seen Marcus smile. I like that. We all like that a lot. No one deserves happiness more than that poor man. When Audra died, I wasn’t sure that part of him didn’t die with her.”

  Audra. His pain had a name now. Who was she—a girlfriend or maybe more?

  “He didn’t deserve what happened to him,” Roxi said. “Right now you’re doing good and he’s happy. Don’t screw that up.” Her voice softened. “Please don’t screw that up.” For a moment, Roxi’s eyes filled with tears and emotion overwhelmed her before she drew herself up and pulled back on her tough-girl act. “If you hurt him, I will hunt you down and make you pay.”

  “Okay?” What could Lori say to that? She wasn’t offended. Although, she did wonder what happened to Audra, but it wasn’t her place to pry. It did make sense with the flashes of pain she saw in his eyes when he thought no one watched him. His friends just wanted Marcus to be happy. They didn’t know her, so they had no reason to trust her.

  And the fact was, she wasn’t planning on staying. She had to get the Others free or die trying. She planned to bring them back here, but there was no guarantee that she would be successful. Suddenly, this didn’t seem fair to that sweet man who had done nothing but try to protect her. She couldn’t start anything with him, especially knowing what could happen in the ES. She understood loss and how devastating it was. With the very real threat of death or imprisonment on the horizon for her, she couldn’t hurt him anymore. No, she needed to remain strong and avoid any more of his kisses.

  * * *

  Marcus hated the wariness that crept deeper into Lori’s gaze with each day that passed. He could feel a wall coming up between them and he didn’t like it. He hated to push her about her abilities, but they needed to know more. Bethany wouldn’t wait much longer for her answers. Marcus had put her off with the excuse that Lori needed to heal, but that wouldn’t work for either one of them much longer.

  The kiss at the pub had been incredible, but there hadn’t been anything more than flirty banter since. In the last two days, they’d settled into a comfortable routine that came from living together day in and day out, but Lori maintained a careful distance. Marcus kept reminding himself that no matter how connected he felt to her, they had truly only known each other for a small amount of time. On one level he wanted to delve into so much more with her, but he understood her reticence. Hell, he felt the same thing. No matter how good things felt between them, opening up for more also opened him up to the possibility of so much more hurt.

  But for now, Malcolm had given the all-clear for Lori to go down to the springs after he had dressed Lori’s wound with a waterproof dressing.

  They all had running water in their homes, but the village had been built near a natural spring source and most of them enjoyed the luxury of a soak there every couple of weeks.

  Marcus thought a soak at the springs would help her relax and re-energize after the ordeal of the last week. He hadn’t told her where they were going, though, because he wanted to surprise her. This would be her first trek outside the village.

  They walked along a narrow dirt path flanked by the dense foliage of the huge trees of the forest. She turned to him. “Where exactly did you say we’re going?”

  He smiled at her. “Hmm, I don’t think I ever said.”

  “Not even a hint?”

  “Nope. It�
�s not much farther. Maybe another quarter of a mile.”

  “I’m surprised you didn’t fly me there. Is there a reason for that?”

  “Yes, I wanted you to be surprised.”

  She mumbled, “Well, that didn’t help at all.”

  He chuckled low. “You aren’t very patient, are you?”

  “Not particularly, no.”

  She looked around the lush forest they were walking through. “Does the fog ever lift here?”

  “No, not since the Veil. The fog is ever-present, which has created a really fertile environment as you can see. We may have to deal with the fog all the time, but that means we don’t ever have to deal with snow or cold temperatures anymore.”

  “Seriously? It never snows here?”

  “Not anymore.”

  Suddenly they rounded the bend and he heard her intake of breath even over the pounding water of the falls.

  “Oh, wow.”

  He leaned down to whisper in her ear, “Do you see now why I wanted you to walk in?”

  She nodded mutely as she took in the amazing beauty of the natural falls. He loved this area and tried to see it from her point of view. The falls fell about thirty feet into the pool below. Lush foliage and huge trees surrounded the entire area. Rope swings hung off several of them. The pool itself was massive with crystal clear water except around the base of the falls where the mist boiled and roiled from the force of the falling water.

  Marcus gently pushed her forward as he explained, “It’s a double-fed pool. There’s a natural spring on this end.” He gestured to the end farthest away from the waterfall. “There the water bubbles up from the spring below, and it’s hot, so it heats the pool. If you sit in that area, it’s just like taking a hot bath. Then the waterfall flows from the high mountain passes so the water coming over the falls is colder. It creates a warm pool that’s just the perfect temperature for swimming and bathing. Come on.”

  He tugged her around an outcropping of rocks. “We even have our own natural changing room. There are extra swimsuits in there in the baskets or you can go au natural. No one has a problem with nudity at the falls, so it’s entirely up to you.” He smiled salaciously at her. “But if you’re asking for my vote…”