Tholan: Mystic Protectors: An Angelic Paranormal Erotica

by Kathi S. Barton

  “Yes, I’m wealthy. My da and I, we worked very hard to make it so that we’d never have to be without when we needed something. Not that we suffered all that much before, but it is nice to be able to help out others.” She leaned back on the seat, resting her head on the wing of the chair. “You do know that it’s considered rude to ask about one’s money, don’t you?”

  “I do now. That is one of those things that I have to work on. When I need an answer for something, I’ve always just found it was easier to ask someone.” She blinked several times, and he watched as she yawned. “I’m to become your friend. Do you think that would be possible? I don’t even know how that works, friendship with a human.”

  “I don’t have any friends. Well, the people here. And while I like them a great deal, they’re overwhelming all together. I think I might have said that.” She yawned again. “I’ve not been sleeping well. Since...well, since I was arrested. You know about that, don’t you?”

  The way that she peeked at him with one eye made him smile bigger at her. She was nearly asleep but working on talking to him as well. It was nice of her. And Tholan liked her all the more. As he watched her, she yawned again, and he could tell the moment that she drifted off. She was beautiful to look at awake, but simply gorgeous sleeping.

  Her face was relaxed, her lashes fanned out over her pinked cheeks. Tholan saw her freckles then. They were darkest over her nose and upper cheeks, but he could spot them all over her face and throat. When she frowned, her mouth turning down, he wasn’t sure what to think and crawled quietly on the floor to her. If she needed him, for whatever reason, he wanted to be close enough to do battle for her.

  Parker squirmed a bit, her moans softly spilling over her moist lips. Reaching for her hand, wondering if he might be considered rude again, he touched his fingers to hers and saw what she was looking at. Tholan started to pull away when he realized that she was talking to a demon. A delivery demon, as a matter of fact.

  “Where is my part? You will bring it to me this moment.” Tholan wanted to step in front of her but wasn’t sure what was going on. The need to protect her was stronger than he’d ever had as a protector for another human. The being began screaming at Parker, and Tholan realized that he should be paying more attention. “You are mine and will do as you are told. Or I shall slay you now and be done with your isomers.”

  “I think you mean insolence, dumbass. But it matters little to me what you’re trying to say when I know that you cannot take me until I am dead.” The demon said that he could arrange that. “No, you can’t to that either.”

  She was guessing. Tholan didn’t know why, but he knew that she was only guessing why the demon couldn’t take her. Leaning close to her, he whispered what to say to him. It appeared to him just then that the demon could not see him.

  “When promised to a demon, by whatever means, he has to have just cause to kill you. Like you’ve struck a bargain with another being, even his kind.” Parker looked at him when the demon asked her what she was doing. That confirmed that he couldn’t see him, and he felt braver for it. “Tell him that you will not be bullied. He cannot do that when you’ve been promised.”

  After she repeated what Tholan had said to her, the demon screamed and turned into his other skin. The large spider was bigger than a house, wider too. Not even counting his legs, he was that huge. That was when Tholan noticed that his front leg was injured and smoking. Parker had injured him. And not only that, from what he’d heard when he first arrived, she had that part of him too.

  The demon left her in a puff of dark smoke. The smell of sulfur was strong in the air, and Tholan pulled from her to wake her. But as soon as he was in the living room once again, she looked at him. Fear, pure and strong, was written all over her face.

  “I have you.”

  He was both shocked and happy that, when he pulled her from her chair, she went to him willingly. Her sobs, however, pulled at his heart in a way that he felt he would need to rub it to make it better. But as she continued to cry, he held her, telling her over and over that he had her.

  When the others came into the room, hearing her crying, Tholan waved them off, telling them that he had it under complete control. Tholan had never had anything under control, much less completely so.

  “Do you have wings, Tholan? The reason I ask, I wanted to know if yours were dark or white.” He told her that his were white. “Good. I have no idea why it matters, really, but I had hopes that was how you told the good guys from the bad. You know, sort of like the hats that cowboys wore in the Old West.”

  “I’m not sure what that means. I’m not good at jokes either.” He was trying to make her laugh, but she looked up at him, her cheeks stained with the tears that she’d shed. “I will not allow him to harm you, Parker. I will protect you.”

  “I haven’t any idea why I know that, but thank you.” He nodded, and she laid her head back on his chest. Not sure how comfortable she was, Tholan laid back on the floor, taking her with him. “As you’ve heard, someone promised me to that thing. I don’t know who else knows, that but I’m sure that it was Angela.”

  “You would be correct.” Boss speaking had Tholan wanting to sit up. But there was no desire for him to push Parker off him. She was his to protect. “When you told me his name, I didn’t know that he would come to speak to you, Parker. For that I am profoundly sorry. I would have stayed should I have thought he’d be that stupid. But, as you have guessed, she did promise you to him. But I don’t think that it will work for them, either of them, when he finds out the truth.”

  “Why is that?” Boss looked at him, and Tholan felt his defenses come up. Boss told him that there was no harm done when he apologized to him. “She is my friend. I should wish for her to be safe from this. And my Lord, she has a piece of him.”

  “I do.” Parker sat up and he felt as if he’d been set in a freezer. Her warmth was something that he thought that he could bask in forever. “I’ve put it in the safe at home. No one knows about it. My da and I put the safe in when we had the room remodeled. It’s amazing what you can find on the Internet. Anyway, he left me a letter too. I’ve yet to finish reading it.”

  “I would like to see the piece. But keep it where it is for now.” She nodded. “With his name and the piece of him, it’s a slam dunk that he’s not playing fairly. And I have to tell you, I’m impressed with you. And with Tholan at your side, I can hope that you’ll be safe too.”

  “He’s my friend.” Tholan felt as if he’d been handed the keys to the golden gates, he was so happy at what Parker told Boss. “I’ve only just met him, but I feel as if I have known him all my life.”

  It hit him right between the eyes just what she’d said. All her life. Their friendship was fast and solid. Tholan looked at Boss, and his wink did nothing to make him feel any better.

  You could do worse, you know? Tholan nodded at the voice in his head. Michael must have been in on this as well. Nay, not from the start. But the more I learn about this young woman, the more that I think she is the bravest and the strongest of all the others. You will come to love her, Tholan, and be her helpmate, just as she will you.

  I do not feel like I feel when touching the others when touching her. Michael laughed and Tholan snapped at him. This is not funny. I did not want...I’m not going to tell you that I did not want a mate, I just did not want to hurt one.

  She will be hurt, my friend, but not so badly with you there for her. And you will be, will you not? Tholan told Michael that he would. Good. I thought you would say that. Boss has...well, he has delayed the sexual feelings for the two of you. I did not understand it at first, but with the demon playing with her, I think it is best that you two are on your feet at all times.

  I believe that is toes, but I will be on everything to keep her well and safe. She is talking to Boss now. I should pay more attention, I think. Thank you, Michael, for telling me. I do not wish for you to be in trouble for telling me, but I do appreciate it. Michael said that B
oss knew. Then I shall thank him as well. She will be all right, this I can promise you.

  Of course, she will. I’m quite proud of you for helping her earlier with the demon, Tholan. Your knowledge—I had forgotten how well-versed you are in all the laws, including those that are with the other world. Tholan told him that it was his job. Yes, to learn the laws of our kind. No one asked you to learn so many. You are a good man. And I now think, which I hadn’t before, that the two of you will suit quite well together.

  Humbled, he thanked him again. And when Parker moved to the couch, so did he. He didn’t sit right next to her, but close enough that he could touch her should she need him. Tholan had a mate. He wasn’t sure what to do about it, but he was going to be her friend first. That, he thought, she could use more than she could someone kissing at her all the time. But he would have liked to do that, just once, Tholan thought.

  ~*~

  The house was quiet when she got back. Maggie had long since gone to bed, and Parker was exhausted as well, but had a few things that she wanted to take care of. Laying all the paperwork that she’d gotten from the others on her desk, she sat back and looked around the large room. She missed her da more and more every day, it felt like.

  The letter, as yet unfinished, was in the safe. She’d not felt good about just letting it lay about for anyone to touch. She wanted to be able to take it to her nose, smell her father’s cologne, as well as read it where she’d not have to explain herself. Going to her room that had been his when he was alive, she opened the safe, pulled out all the paperwork again, and got onto the bed.

  She had thought about changing, perhaps getting into the tub to read it, but she didn’t want to bother with all that. Parker just wanted to read the letter and take some notes on the little note pad that she’d brought with her.

  Parker was going to read it first, then make notes about it secondly. Just reading the words, feeling all the emotions that her father would have put on the sheets of his monogramed paper, would be enough for now. Finding where she had left off, she settled into the pillows behind her and opened the letter.

  Joseph was not skimming the accounts, as I had first thought, but he was taking things, mostly from the house when he’d come by, that he would give to Angela to be fenced. I’m not sure that they were having an affair. The thought of either of them in bed with anyone else sickens me. But if they were, that would explain a few things. But, smart man as I am, I closed that barn door as soon as I figured it out. He was no longer allowed to come to our home. On the pretense that I needed to get out more, I would meet him at a diner or such. But onward with this tale, my dear.

  Two more people that you should no longer trust are Maggie and her spouse. As much as it pains me to write this, they too are skimming the pots, so to speak. The billing from the grocery has doubled over the last few months, since you’ve been gone, and I would very much like to say that I’ve taken care of it. Alas, I just could not bring myself to fire someone that makes the best biscuits I’ve ever eaten. But, while the amounts weren’t high, only about four grand a month, it is something to be watching.

  Parker thought of the renovations she was having done and decided to talk to Dan, the man that would be in charge of it all and have him give her all the billing information. Also, she planned to take Maggie’s charge privileges from her. Parker wasn’t above firing her or having a face to face about this. But she had held down the house for her while she’d been gone. No excuse for theft, but she would get to the bottom of it first and foremost.

  Angela has some dirt on the judges that were at your trial. And I have come to find out, just recently, that some of the jurors had also been paid off, with a great deal of money. The police department will also need to be taken care of, as I’m sure you’ve figured out by now.

  I wish that I could have taken care of these things before the trial, or even after you were taken away. But I had to find people that I could trust, and there are few of those around anymore. More than likely less so since you’ve been released.

  How I wish I could have been there for you when you came home to me. I would have had a small celebration with you. Taken you to the finest restaurants and laughed over all the stories that you would have told me.

  You are my heart, my child. Everything that I did was for you and I. I missed you so much at times that I felt as if my heart were broken, blood no longer flowing to it. I hope that you can straighten this out for yourself and me. I know that you can, but please don’t be hurt. I don’t know what I would do if I were to look down at you from my perch in the sky and see you harmed in any way.

  I have more to tell you, my dear. But mostly I want to tell you not to let this make you hard. I should like for you to get married sometime, have children to fill that house that was much too big for just me. You don’t have to name one of your sons for me, but I must tell you, it would be a real hoot to know that you did. I love you with all that I am, all that I will ever be, and more so than I have loved anything or anyone on this earth.

  A man by the name of Benny Anderson has been by to see me several times over the last months. I would like for you to contact him as soon as you read this. (He cheats at chess. I’m telling you that so you know that is why I never won a game with him.) But he is a good man. A man with a great heart and a lovely wife. They’re not human—not that that sort of thing ever bothered us—but I’m telling you that so that you will not be surprised by his wings. His wife, Lily Anderson, she is something special as well. Her wings are as pure white as my love for you is.

  With all my love, your favorite Da.

  “You’re my only Da, you old poop.”

  Parker sat on the bed for another hour before she got up to get ready for sleep. Closing her eyes now was somewhat scary for her, but she thought of Tholan and how he’d made her feel when he helped her. No one had been that generous to her in a long time. And him being a complete stranger to her made it all the more special.

  I am here for you, Parker. She looked around the bathroom, terrified out of her mind that it was Bug again. Nay, it is I, Tholan. You and I have touched, so I can hear when you think of me.

  Why? Tholan asked her what she meant. Why do we have this connection? I mean, it’s nice, don’t get me wrong, but why do we even have it? From what I’ve known about—well, shifters and such, sex or at least bodily fluids must be exchanged. As far as I know, we’ve done nothing more than you holding me when I was upset.

  ’Tis enough. If you would rather I didn’t speak to you this way, I can understand that. This is all new to you. I could also feel your sorrow. Did you finish the letter from your father? She wanted to demand that he not look into her mind, but that would be stupid. He was a good man, one that she’d come to enjoy talking to. And he kept her solid when all around her was falling down. Nothing is falling down that you won’t allow to. You’re a strong woman. Stronger than anyone that I’ve had the pleasure of talking to.

  Sure, I’m stronger than the other women that you know. You think that Judith would sit on her bed and cry about her dead father? Doubtful. She would shed tears, I’m sure of that, but not like I have been. Like it’s my job. He laughed a little, and she had to smile. Now I’m being unreasonable. Are you sure that you still want to be my friend? I’m a little off my noodle right now.

  Yes. No hesitation on his part, and that too made her feel good. As I have said, you’re very strong, and it is my honor to be friends with you. You make me feel good about myself as well.

  In answer to your question, yes, I finished the letter from him. He gave me some names of people that I shouldn’t trust. And two that I should. I’m also supposed to find a man by the name of Benny Anderson. I don’t suppose you know him, do you? He told her that he did. You guys, you like, hang out together or something?

  Yes. There is a compound on the property that Riss owns. It’s huge, but magically so. There is a pool, some classrooms, as well as an exercise area. Not that we will gain any weight, none of us
, but we do need to blow off water on occasion. She corrected him. Then yes, steam. Though in my defense, I think they are the same. But the compound there is for several reasons. There are classes, as I said, and they teach protectors how to be more observant. To learn how to see things on a computer that we might not recognize or know what it is we’re looking at. I’m thinking that you’d be good at that as well, helping out the other protectors.

  Doubtful. I’m barely holding onto my own life right now. Tholan told her she was doing fine. I guess. I’m not going back to prison, yet anyway, and I’ve not gone screaming in the night when you guys pull your magical stuff on me.

  He was very quiet then, and she knew it was more than him thinking of something to say. It was more like he was thinking of a way to tell her something that was bad. Before she could ask him what he was going to say, he asked her if she was in bed or in her office.

  I’m in my bedroom, but not in bed. Why? Tholan told her that he wished to come and see her. I’d rather you just tell me what it is. I’m thinking that it’s bad news.

  Nay, not bad. When she came out of the bathroom, he was standing in the middle of her bedroom. “Nay, ‘tis not bad news, but something that I believe should be told to you face to face.”

  “Am I going to be pissed off?” He only shrugged at her. “I see. So, you think I will be, but you’re hoping that I won’t. Does this have anything to do with us?”

  “Yes. You are my mate. And because of that, there have been changes made to your body as well as mine.” He asked her if she could have a seat. “I should like to be able to leave quickly should you wish to take this out on me.”

  “Did you have anything to do with these changes? Or that we’re mates?” Tholan said that he’d not. “Then you have nothing to worry about. Just tell me. And so you know, you’re also going to tell me who made these changes to me without telling me about them.”