Again her shields slipped, and the ping of energy went straight to her core.
She ate a few more bites thanks to Livy’s admonishing, and they headed out to Dante’s Jeep.
They rode in silence in the crisp morning air. It was a silence that was both comfortable and edgy. “Where are we going, exactly?” Arabella finally asked.
“Seven Sister Springs. Aiden is drawn to that place. Loves to hang out there. I’m guessing they know each other.”
“What if it’s dangerous?”
He patted a gun strapped into the center console between them. “They’re big and loud, but easy to kill with the right weapon.”
The terrain slowly dipped from the bluff where Haven was located, and they exited the main road onto little more than a dirt trail. Rounding a bend, they crossed the river on a wooden bridge. Climbing again, they made their way into rougher territory for another quarter mile.
“We walk from here.” Dante pulled into a partially-shaded nook and killed the engine. It was a beautiful mountainous landscape. The pale green of sagebrush and trees contrasting with barren boulders and brown grasses. They followed a trail that wound around the largest boulders and climbed steadily.
“If you get tired, I can always give you a ride.” Dante said it like a challenge.
“I can handle a little hike, thank you.”
Keeping her shields up was a constant effort. Every instant her attention wavered was accompanied by the pulse of his energies. It was a temptation she was loath to resist.
Finally they came to a clearing at the top of a rise.
Arabella caught her breath. On the far side of a natural pool, seven falls cascaded into the water below. Here was an oasis. Vibrant green vines and trees encompassed the space.
And then she saw it.
A beautiful silver, she had ridges from head to tail and glistened in the morning sun. The thing took up nearly all the space as it splashed and repeatedly dunked its upper body.
“She’s beautiful. And big,” Arabella whispered.
The beast snapped its head up and eyed them.
“Greetings, dragon. I’m Dante Liekos and this is Arabella…damn, woman. What’s your last name?”
“Visante.”
“This is Arabella Visante.” He finished.
“Don't know each other very well, do you?” The dragon’s voice boomed across the pool and echoed off the stone walls.
Dante smiled. “Arabella is new to the area. Just wanted to come and say hello.”
“You wanted to make sure I wasn’t going to be a problem.”
“That too.”
“You have nothing to concern yourself with.” The booming voice was marginally quieter. “I am Nadia. I came to see my brother.”
“Aiden?” Dante asked.
The dragon nodded.
Arabella smiled and the beast gave her a wink. She nodded in reply and silent greeting. She made a mental note to return someday soon and enjoy the pool herself.
A picture-perfect image of Dante and herself swimming nude in the cool water appeared in her mind.
Dante kept his eyes on Nadia, but the smirk he wore spoke volumes.
Wolves may not have magic, but this shifter was doing something to her.
They’d just returned to the Inn when there was a horrendous clanging sound followed by a blaring alarm.
She slapped her hands over her ears. “What is that?”
Dante turned as Hunter strode into the room with impossibly fast strides. Slung over one shoulder was a rifle and he carried another gun of some kind that had a massive barrel on it.
“What’s going on?” She went with the two men out to the deck and across the lawn.
They reached the precipice that dropped to the river. Below, twenty or thirty elves were crossing the water.
Hunter raised the larger gun and fired. A silver cylinder shot into the air. In a fluid movement he shouldered the large gun and retrieved the rifle.
“No!” Arabella raised her hand to stop him with a spell, but Dante grabbed her palm just as Hunter fired.
“What are you doing?”
The canister exploded sideways, sending a sheet of glowing embers raining down over the elves. They scattered, running back to the forest amid cries of pain as the debris hit their mark.
“What was that? Why did you do that?” She couldn’t believe what she’d just witnessed.
“Protecting our own, sweetheart,” Hunter said.
Dante growled at the endearment.
Hunter glanced at their hands, still held in the air. “Let your boyfriend explain.” He left them and started down a steep staircase etched into the natural stone wall of the bluff.
The energy coursing into her from Dante's touch was breathtaking. She tried to pull her hand away, but he laced their fingers together and pulled her close. He was rock solid, including the ridge pressed against her abdomen.
She couldn’t breathe. She’d never been in such a euphoric energetic state.
Dante’s look was deadly serious. “We going to acknowledge this thing between us?”
“There isn’t anything between us.” That didn’t come out right.
He smirked as his free hand slid to her ass and he pulled her against his erection. “You want me to let you go?”
She shook her head no. “Yes.”
“Actions speak louder than words, sugar.” He lowered his head and her world tilted on its axis as his lips pressed against hers.
Their energies tangled and swirled in a sensual dance. Never had a simple kiss possessed her so completely. She wanted him. Wanted to be skin on skin. Wanted him inside her and—
“Holy Mother.” She yanked her hand free and pushed away.
He was every bit as breathless as she was.
She dragged her hands through her hair. “What…No. No. We can’t do this. You’re married.” And he was a shifter. What was she doing? Where was her mother’s voice when she needed it?
“Not married.”
“What?”
“I was married. Not anymore. Ours is more a political alliance now. Not. Married.”
But that wasn’t really the problem, though, was it? She spun and retreated to the Inn.
“Arabella.” He was at her side, keeping pace but not touching her. That was smarter than he knew.
She stopped and faced him. “Sorry, Dante. I’m not interested.” What a lie that was, and his expression said he knew it. Terror laced through her at the way he made her feel.
“We need to talk about this.”
“No we don’t. What we need, what I need, is for you to back off. Think you can do that? Think you can keep your alpha bullshit away from me?” That was harsh. Far more than was called for, but she was near panic. Had to get away from him.
“We need to know what this is.”
“No we don’t.”
He started to speak, but she held up her hand. “Stop. Can you back off or not? It’s a simple question, wolf. Yes or no, because I can pack and be gone within the hour.” Goddess knew she didn’t want to leave this place, but part of her needed him to push her into it.
His face turned to stone and he backed up. A curt nod of his head was his only answer. He turned and headed toward the forest.
Jinx and Lido came bounding across the lawn with Livy huffing and puffing on their heels.
“Elves come. Bad elves.” Jinx said, running past her to look at the river.
“Jinx! Lido!” Arabella shot out her hand and the two lifted into the air.
Their little legs flailed, and Lido’s wings whooshed out, smacking Jinx in the face.
She pulled them back to her, holding them at eye level. She scowled at them, but it was impossible to be angry at cuteness incarnate.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Livy huffed and puffed.
The young shifters bowed their heads.
“Remind me not to offer to watch next time your parents are traveling. Don’t know if I’m going to last t
wo more days.”
“I can help,” Arabella said without thinking. “Look, you two, I can and will turn you both into sloths for the duration if you don’t behave. Got that? No more running off.”
They both nodded furiously and she set them on the ground.
“I mean it.”
“Now get back to the house,” Livy said.
To her right, Dante’s form disappeared from sight.
“Sure you don’t mind helping?” Livy asked as they followed the boys.
A pang of unease settled over her. It was a commitment to stay. “Positive. I’m rather fond of those two.” Her gut was in knots, torn between two truths.
Livy eyed her sidewise. “They the only ones you’re fond of?”
Arabella blew out a breath and ran a hand through her hair. “No.”
“And that troubles you.”
“Yes.” She wasn’t ready to talk about it yet, though. “What’s the situation with the elves? We have a healthy trade with them back home. What’s this all about?”
“Probably best to show you, then I’ll explain.” Livy veered to the right, where a dirt road led to barns in the distance.
As they approached, she heard the clucking of chickens and the snorting of pigs. It smelled like the farm owned by her coven. Memories swamped her. She and her friends used to sneak out at night during the summer and head to the barn closest to the castle. It was a safe place to blow off some steam and dance till the early morning hours. More than one first kiss had transpired during those summer nights. Her best friend, Jace, had started the tradition. Would they ever do that again? Or were they too old. Too grown up?
A pain of longing stabbed her abdomen. She’d been gone too long. But no. She’d given her word, her commitment to be their healer. Later. When she was finished here, she’d go home.
“I didn’t realize you had a full working farm.”
“It’s part of a coop in Haven. There’s three in total. Old Cantor grows grain and rotates a few other crops. We’ve got chickens and pigs and we provide shelter for the horses.” On cue, a neigh echoed from within the barn.
“Smithy grows citrus on the north side of town. She’s got a lovely arboretum as well. That woman has a knack for flowers. Everything comes together at the market on Saturdays. The bacon and eggs from this morning came from here.”
Lido and Jinx whipped around the corner of the barn and scattered a group of chickens.
“Were they in any danger out on the bluff?” Arabella asked.
“Probably not. The elves don’t have anything that can reach us here from the across the river. The danger is if they’re on our side. In fairness, they’ve never hurt one of us. It’s the horses they’re after.”
“Why?”
They entered the barn through double-wide doors that stood open. The smell of hay and horse mingled into a delightful haze of childhood memories.
“Because these are special animals.”
Three white horses leaned over their stalls and eyed them with curiosity. On closer inspection, they were dappled with faint, black, leaf-shaped spots.
Arabella approached the nearest one and let her energies expand.
The horse neighed low and bobbed his head. A sense of inquisitiveness washed over her. He was male. Proud. Peaceful and powerful at once.
“Hello, gorgeous.” She stroked from behind his ears to the shoulder. He was muscled, his coat soft.
He nuzzled in the nape of her neck, his whiskers tickling as he smelled her.
“He likes you,” Livy said.
A wave of affirmation flowed from the animal. “He understands?”
“Yes. They all do. They don’t speak, but you can know their intention if you’re open to it.”
“I feel it.” The horse nudged her with his head, sending her down the line. She laughed. “The others want to meet me.”
The creatures were beautiful, a mare on the end heavy with foal. “When is she due?”
“’Bout a week. That’s why there’s so many of them here now. They live in herds, but the ones that have gotten to know us know there’s a safe place for them here. Last year we had five foals. It was great fun.”
Livy lead them through the other end of the barn and around the corner. A large pasture ran for acres beyond.
“Our property is protected within the confines of that fence. She turned in a circle, pointing. “Encompasses the entire grounds of the Inn. Other pockets of Haven are likewise safeguarded.”
“From what?”
“Wolves, mostly. Wild ones. Foxes, anything that would prefer easy pickings for a meal. The chickens and pigs got no threat here. And the horses, if they choose to stay.”
“And protection from the elves?”
“Them too. Although that’s an active effort. Unlike the animals, we have to make sure they stay at bay. Hunter’s got a network of sensors and animal sentries keeping an eye on the place.”
“Okay, so, why the horses.” They leaned their elbows on the wooden corral fence. The pasture was green, but the leaves on the trees were turning, and the air was crisp.
“Those horses are shifters,” Livy said.
“What?” Nothing about them felt like shifters.
“They’re unique, as far as we know. They prefer their animal form and only shift once in a while. They’re gentle beings in their human form. Hunter thinks the only reason they shift is to retain some element of humanity, but no one knows for sure.”
“But, their intelligence…not sure I understand. I sensed that they understood, but it wasn’t like…I don’t know, other shifters.”
“You’re absolutely right. They are intelligent, but not entirely in the human way. If you see one in its human form, it might help explain. They’re gentle and mild.”
“Do they talk?”
“Very little. I kind of liken them to creatures such as dolphins or whales. They have a whole life we don’t understand. Alien, if you will.”
“Wow. That’s extraordinary. And why do the elves want them?”
“Those animals can go for days without stopping. They don’t need to sleep like others do. The elves have a binding rope that prevents them from shifting. They capture them and use them for their own purposes.”
“That’s horrible. Slavery.”
“That’s why Hunter protects this place. Why he hates the elves. Dante too, but his anger is more tempered.”
They made their way back to the Den a short while later. Livy wound around the side and opened the gate to a garden. Lush and green, it was a thing of beauty.
“Wow. Someone’s got a green thumb. Impressive for this late in the year,” Arabella said.
“Oh, I can keep it going year-round. Jamison has a temporary cover goes over the top when the snow comes.”
Jamison was older and scruffy, he also had a thick Scottish accent that reminded her of home.
“Year round?”
Livy smiled with mischief.
“You’re an elemental. Earth.”
“Very good. Half, actually. I love this little garden. Love eating food grown from here.”
It made sense.
In the distance, a wolf howled, a hauntingly beautiful sound picked up by others in the woods. Dante. Her soul called out to him.
Sweet mother, what had she gotten herself into?
Chapter 3
The following morning brought winds and pelting rain against the window in Arabella’s suite. She showered and made her way downstairs, catching sight of Dante in the dining room as she entered the kitchen. He was already tucking into his meal.
Livy wasn’t around, so she helped herself to breakfast. Once her plate was full, she hesitated.
“Come on in here, sugar.” He said it too low for a human to hear from this distance.
She tightened her shields as best she could and walked in.
“Good morning.” Dante slid the chair next to him out with a booted foot.
“Morning.” This time he was the one bl
ocking his energies. The void between them was vast. Empty. Wrong.
“I’m heading up North for a few days. Scouting a site for a new project. I told Maggie you’d be in.” He met her gaze for the first time. “That okay with you?”
“That’s fine. I'll be assisting Livy with the boys.” She didn’t like the absence of his energy. Not at all, in fact, but it was for the best.
“Good luck with that. Those two are a handful.”
She ate a few bites. Not sure what to say. “Livy told me about the horses and the Elves.”
“You meet the horses?”
“Yes. They’re intriguing.”
“Intriguing.” His energy pinged her with a feather-light touch. “I like that word.”
Her stomach tightened. He made her nervous as hell, but at the same time, being near to him was soothing. His essence flowed through her like the undercurrent of a river. Calm, strong, bold.
He reigned in his energies and finished his meal. “Sorry, but gotta run to make a meeting. I’ll see you in a few.”
“Sounds good.” Another brush of his energy, and he was gone.
Every time he walked away, she couldn’t help but watch. He was beautiful. He turned the corner into the kitchen. Her energies bled into his. He’d been waiting to see if she’d come. She cupped her face in her hands and let them mingle, knowing he felt everything she did. She should stop. They should stop, but it felt so amazing. So exhilarating. She wanted more.
More. The thought flowed into her from his soul. Another few seconds of nirvana and he was gone.
She opened her eyes and scanned the room. The light was muted from the storm, but it was the same place, and yet everything in her life had changed.
How could this possibly come to fruition? Of all the people of her coven to betray the creed, the High Priestess’s child would be an affront on so many levels. She couldn’t move forward, but how could she not?
She gave up on breakfast and found the boys watching television upstairs. At least they’d be easier to track cooped up inside. She sat on the floor between them and cuddled for a while. What would it be like to watch them grow? Watch them discovering their human forms and life as an adult? What kind of trials and tribulations did shifters go through? She’d never realized, growing up the way she had, how little she knew about other paranormals.
Magic, New Mexico: Tainted Magic (Kindle Worlds Novella) Page 3