The Mortal Falls

by Anna Durand

  Numbness tingled over my scalp, down through my face, to paralyze my mouth. Oxygen, I needed oxygen. I swallowed. Bit my lip. My lungs refused to work, but I mentally yelled at the bastards until they drew in air spiced with his essence. When I'd regained mastery of my lips, I said, "Tell me why you're here. I told you to stay away."

  In my peripheral vision, I couldn't help but notice his every move. His head slanted left and right, his gaze hot on my skin. A squadron of butterflies took flight in my stomach and fanned out into my chest.

  "Have you eaten?" he asked. "You look a bit peaked."

  I hadn't eaten since breakfast, but for darn sure I wouldn't tell him that. My stomach growled. Traitor. "I repeat, what do you want?"

  "We need to talk, love."

  "No." My hands tightened on the wheel. "We don't, love."

  A twinge of guilt pinched me at the sarcasm dripping from my voice on the last word. But dammit, if he called me "love" or "darling" one more time, after what he did to Sandy…

  His tongue flitted over his bottom lip.

  I fidgeted in my seat, unable to get enough clearance from him. The far side of the moon wouldn't have been enough. I threw a sideways glance at him. "I saw what you did."

  "I don't understand what you're implying."

  "You know damn well what I'm implying." I blustered a breath out my nose. "Sandy. She could barely speak, she was so out of it. You claimed you enchanted her, whatever that means. For all I know, you drugged her."

  He pulled away, withdrawing his arm. "I've no need of drugging anyone. I may have whatever woman I choose, whenever I choose."

  I bristled. "Great. Go pester one of those hordes of women who throw themselves at your feet. I'm not one of them."

  "No, you are not."

  The silken tone of his words slid over me like velvet on bare skin. "I am positively not interested in cavorting with a woodland lothario. Poof out of here immediately."

  "Poof?" He lifted one eyebrow.

  "Yeah." I slowed the Malibu for a curve before speeding up on the straightaway. Silhouettes of trees whizzed past, the headlights flashing over them. "Poof. As in disappear."

  "Ahhh, I see." He adjusted his position with a sideways rock of his hips. I successfully resisted the urge to glance at his crotch. Score one for me, ten thousand for him. He sighed. "I will gladly poof away once we discuss what you witnessed earlier."

  "I keep asking and you keep deflecting."

  His gaze settled on me with physical weight. Crazy, but true. The intensity of his stare aroused certain parts of me and chilled others. I longed to look at him, to drown in those alien eyes, but I feared what I might find there.

  Instead, I concentrated on the highway and locked my hands around the steering wheel. The headlights glanced off a road sign up ahead. Black letters on the rounded, triangular sign declared this highway U.S. 41. The sign marked one mile from the rock shop. One mile closer to home. If a cheap little apartment with peeling wallpaper counted as home.

  The Malibu raced toward the highway sign.

  Nevan bolted upright. "Stop the car."

  "Excuse me? Why on earth would I — "

  "Stop the car!"

  "I will not."

  Nevan seized the steering wheel and yanked it to the right. The car fishtailed. It straightened out, veering straight toward the roadside ditch. I rammed my foot on the brake. The tires screamed, the car skidded and slammed to a stop. The force thrust me forward, my seatbelt tore into me, pain ricocheted through my shoulder and stomach. The car's bumper just missed the highway sign.

  Nevan released the wheel. He grabbed my face in his hands, turning me toward him. My breaths huffed hard and fast, my mouth was agape. He ran one hand up my face to my forehead and back down again. "Are you hurt?"

  "No." I shook free of his grasp. "What the hell were you thinking?"

  "I… " Unidentifiable emotions, dark and intense, flickered across his features. He bowed his head, exhaled a long breath, and lifted his face. The tension eased out of his shoulders. His features relaxed into the familiar expression of serene confidence. He eased his arm across my seat's back. I folded my hands on my lap and his big, warm palm enveloped them. "I don't wish to talk while you're driving."

  "Gah!" I threw my head back, bumping the headrest. "Are you kidding me? You nearly got us both killed. Brilliant plan, Romeo."

  Lines creased his forehead. "Romeo?"

  "You know, like Romeo and Juliet. The play. Shakespeare wrote it."

  "I understand the cultural reference. I have visited playhouses." A hint of annoyance colored his tone, but it dispersed into the ether as he threaded his fingers between mine. "I'm asking why you called me Romeo. It didn't strike me as complimentary."

  "I meant to call you Casanova."

  "Unflattering as well, I gather. As is the term lothario, yes?"

  I wrestled my hands out of his. The cool air erased the heat of his touch. "Do you always lurk in the woods hunting for women to seduce?"

  "No, I lurk in the shop." He flattened two fingers over my lips to silence my objection. "And I had no intention of seducing the girl."

  I batted his fingers away. "Why were you enchanting her? Assuming I believe in any of this nonsense."

  "You do." He captured a lock of my hair and twirled it around his forefinger. A shadow seemed to enshroud him, weighing down his shoulders. "My duty requires me to seek out mortal women who possess a touch of the Unseen realm. I sensed the energy within her. The next step is a test, to determine if she is the one I'm tasked to find."

  "I don't get it."

  He combed his fingers through through my hair over and over, clearly fascinated with the task. "One hundred years ago, a prophecy was issued. It told of a human female who would become the gatekeeper of the realms. This mortal is known as the Janusite."

  "Janusite? Sounds like a disease."

  His fingers skimmed up my neck and began to massage my nape. The headache stabbing pangs into my skull fled at his ministrations. It felt so good I almost moaned, but choked it back just in time. Score another one for me. What exactly are you competing for, huh?

  I peeled my lids apart and shrugged his hands off. "Thank you, but I'm okay."

  "You dislike accepting help of any kind, don't you?"

  "None of your concern." I propped my elbow on the window frame and rested my head on my fist, my face aimed toward Nevan. "What is a Janusite?"

  "The one I seek." His teasing smile elicited a tickle in my chest. "Janus was, in your world, the Greek god of doorways and transitions, beginnings and endings. Have you ever seen a Janus coin?"

  "A picture of one, yes." I scratched behind my ear. I could at least get rid of this tickle, if not the strange one behind my ribs. "On the coins, Janus is shown with two faces looking in opposite directions. Sometimes, though, he was depicted with four faces, pointing to the four corners of the world — the cardinal directions. North, south, east, west. This represented his dominion over the whole world."

  His hand on my nape went still. "Are you a scholar?"

  "I'm a minimum-wage slave."

  He looped a lock of my hair around his finger, lifted it to his face, and inhaled deeply. His eyelids drifted half shut.

  I coughed — loudly.

  His eyes sprang open and he released my hair. The lock unwound, falling to brush my neck. "Few mortals, aside from scholars, know so much about Janus."

  "I like mythology." I yawned, shielding my open mouth with one hand. "You mentioned a test."

  He spread his thumb and forefinger wide over his forehead. "Yes, the test. Once I detect a touch of the Unseen realm, I must determine if the energy I sense in the candidate is strong enough to warrant taking her to Skeiron."

  "What is the Unseen realm?"

  "The place I come from. A world of magic."

&nb
sp; "The separate realm you mentioned earlier."

  He nodded.

  "And what does this test involve?" I worked my fingers under my shirt collar to pull it away from my skin. The air in the car seemed to have gotten warmer, though the AC still blasted away.

  Nevan traced the glowing numbers on the dashboard clock with one finger. "The test is a kiss, which you already knew. Why does it bother you so?"

  "Doesn't bother me. You can suck face with anyone you please." Heartburn simmered in my chest and I had the sudden urge to punch something. "When we first met, you claimed you sensed energy in me. But you didn't kiss me."

  His head swiveled toward me. Those eyes flared hot. His lips curved into a slow smile. "Would ye like me to?"

  "Would I like you to what?" I could be evasive too. So there.

  Nevan edged closer. His hip brushed mine. He sneaked his arm over the back of my seat, the hollow of his shoulder too near my body. His voice smoldered like his eyes. "Would ye like me to kiss ye?"

  "No." A part of me said yes, but I shut that slutty girl up quick.

  "Don't be jealous, darlin'."

  "I am not jealous." Was I? No, absolutely not.

  His hand slid down the seat. His fingers lighted on my shoulder. "You are a feisty one. I can't for the life of me deduce why the sheriff called you an ice princess. Unless you're of royal blood and hail from a cold climate."

  "I'm far from royal and I hail from nowhere."

  Ice princess. Travis's words lashed my mind. I'd battled long and hard to earn that insult and my practiced restraint had rescued me more than once. Yet Nevan stripped it all away with two words — hello there. The ease with which he'd unraveled me made my stomach churn. Me off balance was exactly what he wanted. Therefore, I would not give it to him.

  Not often, anyway.

  I ratcheted my spine straight. "Why did you help me with Travis? The sheriff, I mean."

  Nevan's smile crumbled. He gave a tiny shake of his head. "I don't know."

  "What are you? I demand you explain yourself."

  His face pinched. "Love to, but I can't."

  "You already told me about the Janusite and your duty."

  "That I did." He groaned, his gaze distant. "I oughtn't be here at all."

  "Drop the cryptic bullshit." I nodded toward the highway sign. "Or I'm driving past that sign. You don't want me to do that, do you? It's why you freaked out when you saw it."

  "Can't tell ye that either."

  I shoved his arm off my seat. "I want answers. Pronto."

  He stared at me for several seconds. His attention shivered powerful currents through me. Cool as fall air. Crisp as green grass. Strong as hurricane winds. I flattened my back against the door and hugged my shoulders.

  His expression morphed into stone. "I must go."

  "Wait. You have to tell me — "

  I was speaking to empty air.

  *****

  I trudged into my apartment and slung my purse over a coat hook. The door clicked shut. The faint scent of burned toast wafted over me, a remnant of my scorched breakfast. The only thing I'd eaten today. Toast flambe, drowned in cinnamon and sugar.

  The lights outside my door cast a wan glow through the windows. I flicked a switch on the wall to power on the floor lamp by the sofa. Its pinkish-white light soothed my nerves. I flopped onto the sofa, tossed my phone onto the table, and sank into its overstuffed cushions. A sigh whispered out of me as the padding cradled my throbbing head. I removed the holster and gun from inside my waistband, setting both on the table.

  Finding, then losing, a dead body could really damage a girl's brain. Mine hurt like somebody stabbed a trio of red-hot pokers into the base of my skull. I shut my eyes and succumbed to the weariness. I should've dragged my butt into the bedroom before passing out, but my muscles vetoed that idea. I let my body go limp, my thoughts draining away into the oblivion of sleep.

  The phone rang.

  With a groan, I flailed a hand out to grab my cell phone from the table. My fingers knocked it off and the phone clattered to the floor. It rang again. Ugh. Without getting up, I bent over to fumble for the phone until my closed around it. Two more rings assaulted my tired ears before I lifted the phone and grumbled, "Hello."

  "Lindsey, honey."

  My mom's voice blared through the receiver, her cheer twanging every nerve in my head. I rubbed my eyes, yawning. "Hey, Mom."

  "You sound tired. Have you eaten anything?"

  Why did everyone keep asking me that? I must look, and sound, worse than I thought. The mere idea of hauling myself into the kitchen to reheat some leftovers made my limbs ache. "I'm okay. How are you guys?"

  "We're fine. Your dad's meditating and Ash is reading his comics, but he wants to say hi. I need to talk to you first, though." Her voice got muffled as she, no doubt, held her hand over the phone while shooing my brother away. "Ash says he'll text you. Lindsey, I've got wonderful news."

  "Mmm?" My eyelids drifted shut, beckoned by the allure of sleep, wonderful sleep.

  "We're coming for a visit, sweetie. We'll be there Friday."

  I bolted upright, punching my fingers into the cushion so deep my nails almost punctured the fabric. "The day after tomorrow? Oh, uh, it's not a good time for me."

  "Why?" Mom's voice took on a suspicious, mother-knows-all tone. "Is something going on? You don't sound like yourself."

  I found a dead body that poofed out of existence and met a Tarzan wannabe who poofed into my car and nearly crashed us both into a tree. Other than that, I'm peachy.

  My mind flashed back to this morning, in the woods, when Nevan cornered me against a tree, his vortex eyes blazing. I envisioned his sculpted chest, his broad shoulders, the loincloth draped around his hips, and those luscious lips tantalizingly close to mine. Tarzan wannabe? No, not him. He was my UFO — an unidentified flirtatious object.

  "Lindsey? Are you still there?"

  Mom's voice shattered my fantasy. "Yeah, I'm here. I've got to work Friday, all day and way late into the evening. Maybe you guys could stop by another time."

  "Your aura is practically screaming at me through the phone. Something is not right, honey. We're coming Friday and that's that."

  "How does an aura scream?"

  "Don't get smart with me."

  I gave myself a mental slap and rubbed my temples again, but I couldn't ward off the headache drumming through my brain. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be testy. It's just that this week's really, really not a good time."

  "Eat a good dinner, get plenty of rest, and we'll see you soon."

  "But Mom — "

  "Good night, Lindsey."

  What was the use? Parents did what they wanted. "Good night, Mom. Say hi to Dad and Ash for me."

  We hung up and I tossed the phone onto the table. It skidded, thunking into the lamp's base. I leaned my head back, closed my eyes, and sighed. Just what I needed, a visit from the gurus of all things metaphysical. I'd never told them the truth about Calder, too ashamed to broach the subject, which was the reason I'd kept them at a distance — literally — for three years.

  Static electricity sizzled over my skin, from toes to scalp.

  I jerked my head up, glancing left and right. Goose bumps flared up on my arms. The sensation skittered up my spine, chilly at first, then warming into a curtain that enveloped me like a large, muscular body. Oh hell no, it couldn't be. I did not sense —

  An electrical charge jolted me. I recognized this feeling. Inexplicable, undeniable, and unique. I sat forward. "Nevan?"

  Silence answered me. Maybe I was insane after all.

  Three crisp knocks rattled the front door.

  I sprang to my feet but stared at the door, my feet glued to the frayed carpeting. Seconds elapsed, with nothing but my heartbeat to break the quiet.

  Three more knoc
ks, quick and precise, resounded through the door.

  I sucked on my upper lip, then freed it with a smacking sound. My intuition — a faculty I'd long ignored, and worse, scoffed at — told me the identity of the person on the other side of the door. But it couldn't be. I mean, he'd zipped off to who-knew-where to escape my questions.

  Another surge of electricity zinged through me. Hell with it. I marched to the door and yanked it open.

  Nevan smiled that sensual smile, the one my body lapped up like an alcoholic swigging booze. He wore nothing but the loincloth. The interplay of shadow and light accentuated every hard line of his body. My breaths grew shallower, the air thicker, and my breasts heaved up with each intake of air. He caught sight of them and wet his lips. I fought my every impulse, because I'd learned the hard way impulses led to bad, bad things. At last, I peeled my gaze away from his body.

  That's when I noticed the wooden tray he balanced on one palm, waiter style. The tray held a plate and two small bowls, each shielded by a half-dome lid. He gestured at the tray. "May I come in? I've brought you sustenance."

  He offered me food, but his tone promised so much more. My mouth watered. "Not hungry."

  Somewhere between lashing out at him after witnessing his encounter with Sandy and experiencing the inexplicable rush of anticipating his arrival, my anger had reduced to a simmer. I kept flashing back to his shamed expression when he enchanted Sandy and his defeated tone when he explained his duty. Looking at him now, I couldn't stop the simmer from fading away. Maybe he was his king's pawn.

  "You're pale." He brushed the backs of his fingers across my cheek. "You must eat. But if nothing else, please accept this food as recompense for my poor behavior in your car."

  "Are you apologizing?"

  His eyes burned into mine, suffusing me with a liquid heat. "In this world, I might express gratitude. But alas, I'm simply stating a fact. I frightened you and nearly caused you harm." He reached for my hand, but when his grazed mine, he pulled his hand away. "I've no wish to ever harm you."

  A door slammed further down the concrete walkway. I leaned out the door to peer down the length of the second-floor walkway hemmed in by metal railing. A gray-haired woman toddled toward us, heading for the stairwell beside my apartment. Oh great. Mrs. Kantola, a busybody of the first order, was about to see me conversing with a half-naked man.