Sacrifice (The Gryphon Series Book 3)

by Stacey Rourke

  “That was actually quite clever,” Bernard begrudgingly admitted. “Well done.”

  “Thank ya,” Caleb stood up and ran his fingers through his sweat-dampened locks. “Did it perhaps earn a free pass for our fated Chosen One?”

  Just as quickly as the newfound appreciation came on, it vanished and Bernard’s go-to scowl returned. “Free pass? What does that mean? Allowing her to run the streets like a hooligan?”

  Caleb struggled to suppress the grin that tugged at the corners of his heart-shaped lips. “Nothin’ like that, I assure ya. Just an evenin’ off to allow the lovely Celeste a chance to recharge her batteries. Any and all attempts at hooligan runnin’ will be thwarted. Ya have my word.”

  This was so completely unexpected and unheard of with Bernard’s strict training regime that I crossed my fingers behind my back at the prospect of him actually agreeing to it.

  Bernard shook the last of his berries from the satchel onto his palm and mashed them in his mouth. He’d started to sway, and leaned heavily on his cane to remain upright. “Fine, the night is yours. One night off. That’s it. Tomorrow you train and patrol without complaint.”

  “Agreed!” I clapped my hands and bounced on the balls of my feet.

  “Hey, does that go for us, too?” Gabe asked. “We don’t have to patrol tonight?”

  Bernard waved one hand in the air. “All of you! One night off. But that’s it!” He didn’t bother with any further pleasantries. Two raps of his cane against the ground and he vanished into thin air. No doubt heading off to replenish his berry supply (or abduct a Barbie).

  Gabe jumped off the ground in one fluid, cat-like motion. “Don’t have to tell me twice!” He extended his hands to Keni and Alaina, and yanked them both off the cold cement floor. “I’m thinking pizza and watching the game on TV. What do you say, babe?”

  Alaina’s moss-green eyes glimmered with excitement. “I’ve got a better idea! I recorded a marathon of A Wedding Story on TLC. We can watch it and take notes on things we like!”

  “That is even better.” Gabe’s broad shoulders sagged, but he did his best to feign enthusiasm. “Can we at least order a pizza?”

  Kendall raised her hand. “I vote ‘yes’ to pizza. Grams is staying at Dr. Allyn’s again and we have limited food options. It’s pizza or week old Chinese.”

  “Pizza it is,” Gabe declared and ushered them both out of the garage. “You guys coming?”

  “No.” The way Caleb gazed at me made butterflies dance in my belly. “We’ve got plans.”

  “Suit yourselves.” Gabe shrugged one massive shoulder and yanked open the side door. Snow and a bitter cold wind whipped in as the door opened and shut behind them.

  “Alone at last.” Caleb grinned.

  In a puff of black smoke he appeared in front of me and cupped my face in his hands. His lips found mine in a delicate caress. My hands wandered over his back. I reveled in the feel of his taut muscles under that thin layer of cotton.

  Hot breath against my ear sent waves of euphoric bliss coursing through me as he murmured, “Are ya ready tah take a trip tah paradise, lovey?”

  CHAPTER Two

  I wriggled my toes deeper into the sand and readjusted my sketchpad to get a better angle. Sea gulls screeched their high-pitched call, interrupting the sweet serenade of the gently lapping waves. A small fire crackled in front of me, more for ambiance than necessity. It was a comfortable seventy-five degrees in our tropical paradise. I glanced up from my artwork and gazed at Caleb. He strummed softly on his guitar, his skin aglow thanks to his kinship with the fire. I shook my head and cast the sketchbook aside. It was pointless. In no way could I capture his true beauty or the vitality he drew from the elements.

  I leaned back on my elbows and stretched my legs out. “Are you ever going to tell me where this place actually is?”

  A glossy lock of hair fell across his forehead as he looked up with the half-grin I adored. “Whar’s the mystery in that, lovey? Isn’t it better tah think it’s just a bit o’ heaven carved out for you and me?”

  I closed my eyes and tipped my head back. “If it was heaven, I wouldn’t have to take Dramamine to get here.”

  The sand crunched as Caleb set his guitar down. “The Dramamine is just so ya don’t turn green when we teleport. Has nothin’ to do with the end location.” He rose from the rock he’d been sitting on and rounded the fire pit. His bare foot nudged my hip. “Sit up. The show’s about tah start.”

  I pushed myself up and brushed the sand off my hands. Caleb slid behind me, and pulled me back against his chest. I took a deep breath and exhaled slowly to savor the moment. I was right where I was meant to be—where I belonged.

  Purple, pink, and gold zigzags decorated the sky. Their image reflected off the water turning it the color of melted gold. “It’s gorgeous.”

  “As are you, my love.” He dotted a kiss just below my ear.

  I snuggled deeper into his arms and watched as the sun disappeared behind the water’s edge and the sky darkened. Unfortunately it also signaled our time together was drawing to a close. “What time is it in Tennessee?”

  Caleb rocked onto his hip to slide his cell phone out of his pocket, and then clicked the screen to life. “Ya’ve got about thirty minutes until ya’re curfew.”

  “Thirty minutes, huh?” In a brazen move totally out of character for me, I swung both my legs over one of his and tried on a saucy grin. “What could we possibly do in thirty minutes?”

  “Well, not that.” His emerald eyes burned with barely concealed desire. “’Cause this beach isn’t quite that isolated. But there are other things … ”

  He freed my hair from its ponytail and weaved his fingers through it to shake the strands loose. Gently at first, his lips found mine but the heat and intensity quickly grew.

  His hand slid up my leg and lingered on the curve of my hip. “Ya know,” he whispered, his voice low and husky, “it’s been far too long since I’ve made ya purr. I’m beginning to think I lost my touch.”

  I brushed my cheek against his and moved up to deliver a soft kiss to the tip of his ear lobe. “I’ll let you in on a little secret. I’ve been stifling it. Didn’t want you to get lazy.”

  His head fell back as he laughed. “Lazy? With you on me arm?” He wrapped both arms around my waist and flipped me so my back was in the sand. Raven locks fell forward and framed his handsome face when he leaned over me. “That’s an impossibility if e’er there was one.”

  I ran my hands up his chest, over the raised ridges of the lacework of scars that decorated his torso, and linked them behind his neck. “And you love it.”

  In a blink his humor vanished, burned away by the intensity of his gaze. “No,” he corrected. “I love you.”

  Our lips met in a fiery explosion and we lost ourselves in each other’s touch. My hands raked down his back, wanting to free him from the burden of his shirt.

  He caught my wandering digits and tried to pull away. “Celeste, the fire … ”

  “I know. It’s fantastic,” I murmured and reached for him again.

  He swatted my hands away and nodded past me. “No, lovey, the fire. Look!”

  I didn’t want to look. I knew whatever it was would ruin the moment. I wasn’t wrong. From within our small fire visible hands had formed. I sat up and cocked my head to watch; my eyes narrowed in confusion. The flaming fingers clawed and reached skyward, digging their way out. The fire blazed up toward the evening sky. Arms grew from the hands.

  “What the heck is that?” I asked, more irritated than surprised.

  “Safe to say it’s demonic in nature, aye?”

  “Of course it is,” I grumbled.

  One fire arm slammed against the sand and dragged itself in our direction. The center of the fire pit crumbled away and the head of the demon appeared—a flaming skull with vacant eye sockets and a wide grin. Horror movies had become significantly less scary since I became the Conduit.

  Caleb pushed against my back.
“Up we go!”

  Sand kicked up as we scrambled to our feet and got some distance between the demon and us. Its fiery fingers dug into the sand to pull the lower half of its body out. Caleb shoved me behind him and held up a protective arm to keep me there—as if that would work.

  Fully emerged, the demon rose up to its full height. It towered over us, a geyser of orange, yellow, and red flames that acted as a pedestal for that creepy bonehead. It raised one arm and pointed at me. Flames snapped and hissed a warning. Its sinister grin widened to something that looked like twisted delight.

  “Stay behind me,” Caleb ordered.

  Out of the corner of my eye I noticed the diamond-shaped waves of blue that shimmered to life across the surface of Caleb’s skin as he called water to him. Helpful, yes, but still not enough to make me sit out a fight.

  “Yeah, right,” I snorted and sidestepped him.

  I didn’t even have time to assume a fighting stance before a lasso of fire flew out from the demon’s extended digit and cinched around my neck. The pain of my skin scorching knocked me to my knees. My fingers blistered and cracked as I scraped and clawed against the flaming noose for a whisper of air.

  Through blurred, teary eyes I watched Caleb raise his palms toward me. “Just once I wish you’d listen.” He unleashed a blast of water that doused me from head to toe and extinguished my assailant’s weapon. Coughing and gasping for air, I tumbled forward and ate a mouthful of sand.

  A puff of black smoke and Caleb was at my side. He crouched beside me, but kept his gaze fixed on the demon. “Ya a’right?”

  “Do me a favor,” I wheezed. “Go kill that thing.”

  “Gladly,” my Irishman growled, then rose for battle. His shoulders squared and his chest expanded. The power of the ocean was his to beckon. The fire demon didn’t stand a chance. I would’ve smiled if I weren’t a heaping lump of prickly, writhing pain.

  Mr. Flaming-Skull curled and then extended his pointer finger like he was casting out a fishing line. Flames reeled from the tip of his digit, hungrily licking their way toward Caleb. As they neared Caleb slowly raised his arms in the air. Behind the demon the formerly calm seas rose up. A lone wave materialized. It festered and churned, rushing toward the shore with the strength and speed of a freight train. The brunt of the massive tidal wave crashed down right where the demon stood. When the water rescinded, nothing remained of our blazing attacker except a lifeless skull that drifted out with the tide.

  I pulled myself up to sitting. Wet sand clung to every inch of me. The pain lessened by the second, thanks to my nifty rapid healing, but it still hurt like heck. What I needed was to submerse myself in a tub filled with aloe vera.

  “Just once I’d like us to have a normal date.” I turned my hands over and admired the bright pink scars that now decorated them. “Free from demons, shapeshifters, muses, and anything else supernatural.”

  Caleb squatted down next to me and wiped sand off my cheek with his thumb. “With that criteria, lovey, neither of us would be allowed on that date.”

  I scowled. Yes, that was the truth. But I didn’t want to hear it. Before I could open my mouth to request he leave rational thought out of this conversation thundering footfalls and snapping foliage cut me off.

  “What now?” We both spun toward the noise on high alert.

  The ground shook as a stampede of deeply tanned island folk broke through the line of palm trees. Saplings broke, palm leaves flew. Terrified men, women, and children pushed and shoved in their scrambles to get away from … something. Women desperately tried to keep hold of their screaming children in the chaos. One man fell to the ground. Some of the crowd parted, while others trampled over him.

  “Well that can’t be good,” I grumbled under my breath and hopped to my feet.

  Caleb rose beside me. His gaze fixated in the opposite direction. “I’m guessin’ it has something tah do with that.” He jerked his chin, motioning at the water.

  I turned and followed his stare. A shape in the distance moved across the surface of the water. It had a human-like form, but couldn’t be confused for a person. Partially for the whole “walking on water” thing, but mostly because of the charcoal grey storm cloud that swelled and rolled around it like a living cloak. Bursts of lightning sparked through the angry cloud. Rumbles of thunder trumpeted its arrival. The being raised one hand and drew the lightning from the cloud. Absorbing it made the shadow man spark and crackle. He raised one black, translucent arm and sent a jolt of lightning careening toward the shoreline. Sand flew as the lightning exploded not twenty feet from us.

  I shook my head and tsked. “That’s a scary lookin’ dude.”

  “I’ve got this, lovey.” Caleb kissed the top of my head and murmured into my wet, sandy hair. “Why don’t yah make sure everyone else makes it tah safety?”

  “I’ll get them to safety, then I’m coming right back. You don’t get to have all the fun without me,” I said with a half-smile and pulled myself away to go wrangle the panicked masses.

  Or … formerly panicked masses.

  “Uh, Caleb?” I pointed.

  He turned and gaped. “Blimey! They’re like zombies!”

  “Very well behaved zombies.” The running and shoving stopped. The crowd slowed and walked in-land in an orderly fashion. Two gentlemen hoisted the man still sprawled on the ground to his feet. They draped his arms around their necks and ushered him along. The crowd parted and moved seamlessly around a bronze-skinned figure on the rise of a small sand dune. His hands were shoved casually in the pockets of faded jeans. The pale blue shirt he wore hung open to showcase sculpted abs.

  “Miss me?” Sun-bleached hair fell across his forehead as Rowan gave me a cocky leer.

  I should’ve known. Leave it to Rowan to turn a stampeding crowd into a bunch of trained circus monkeys without lifting a finger. An ex-member of the Dark Army, he had a talent for mind control. Fortunately, his power only worked on me when he touched me. A fact I found out the hard way. (I don’t wanna talk about how.)

  Rumor had it that before being turned into a half-demon member of the Dark Army he was a real life pirate. Occasionally he even broke into a bit of the lingo. Personally, I thought it was just a gimmick he used to impress girls. However, he was about as trustworthy as a pirate. Everything he did or said was in some way self-serving.

  His bare feet sank into the sand as he sauntered over. Turquoise eyes gave me an appreciative once over. Caleb noticed and tensed beside me.

  The intimacy of his gaze prompted me to cross my arms over my chest. “What are you doing here?”

  “Could ask you the same thing, Poppet.” One golden eyebrow rose. “Shouldn’t you be drudging through snow-covered mountains, saving the world all by your lonesome?” He ran is hand through his hair, leaving it in a tangled mess of waves.

  “I got the night off.” Even I was surprised by my sharp and unforgiving tone. I guess Rowan brought that out in me.

  Another bolt of lightning struck, this time close enough to rain sand on us. We shielded our heads until it passed.

  “I’m guessin’ your friend there missed that memo,” Rowan said, then nodded at Caleb. The two had a very long history. For a couple hundred years, they were the closest thing to a friend each other had. “Cal, always good to see ya, mate.”

  “Been too long, brotha.” Caleb stared out at the shadowy creature moving across the water like a tropical storm and brushed the sand from his shoulders. “Maybe we could save the reunion for af’er ya use that nifty talent of yars on that thing?”

  “Wish I could.” Rowan shrugged and shook grit out of his shirt.

  I caught myself staring at the specks of sand that clung to his tanned and toned chest and quickly averted my gaze to the menacing shadow dude. Odd that I found that the safer option …

  “I tried for him before I went for the crowd. Can’t reach him. He must be pure demon, my ability is human specific. Without a hint of humanity in him, I can’t break through.” He bump
ed me with his shoulder. “You might want to think about that, lass. Maybe you’re not as human as ya think. Could explain that touch factor.”

  I chose to ignore his attempt to get under my skin—right after shooting him a ‘do me a favor and drop dead’ glare. “So if we can’t control him, what’s the plan?”

  Caleb’s jaw flexed and his hands clenched into fists. Darkness fell over his features, giving him a dangerous and deadly appearance. “Row, get her out of here. I’ll handle this.”

  “Uh, hello?” I snapped and shoved one hand onto my hip. “I’m the Chosen One, remember? Not some meek little girlie-girl that needs you to protect her.”

  Caleb’s battle-ready exterior softened—but only for a moment. He stepped closer and pressed his palm to my cheek. “That’s right. The Chosen One—whose death would both break my heart and bring about the end of the world. So, off ya go.” He waved one hand to dismiss me.

  If looks could kill, my boyfriend would’ve been on the ground twitching. “I’m not going anywhere,” I hissed through clenched teeth.

  Caleb’s eyebrows rose in expectation. He cast a sideways glance to the blond pirate. “Row?”

  A hand clapped on my arm. My body fell limp and my mind went as blank as a freshly shaken Etch-a-Sketch. Rowan caught me and scooped me up in his arms before my head could hit the ground. Together we disappeared in a puff of black smoke.

  CHAPTER Three

  As soon as my feet sank into the snow and the paralysis wore off, I spun on Rowan and slammed my fist into his stupid, chiseled jaw.

  “Take me back! Now!”

  “No can do, lass.” He laughed and rubbed his reddened face. “See, most of the time I spent in that tropical haven I was slightly—correction, majorly—inebriated. I’m afraid I couldn’t find it again if I tried.”

  “Oh, don’t even try that!” I jabbed my finger at him, more than willing to hit him again if I thought it might help. “You know exactly where we were. And you’re going to take me back. Because if you don’t, and something bad happens to Caleb, I’m gonna snap you in two over my knee like a stick. Got it?”