by D. G. Swank
“Of fire and storm,” he said under his breath.
“What about ‘of fire and storm’?” I demanded.
“He told me the world would change not of men and war but of ash and spirit, of fire and storm…” He turned to look at me. “And of blood and monsters.”
My blood turned to sludge. “Who told you that?”
He remained silent, now deep in thought. After about ten seconds, he pulled his car onto the side of the road. “You can’t do this.”
“Can’t do what?”
He whipped the steering wheel around and pulled out again, making a sharp U-turn.
“Abel! What are you doing?”
“I won’t let you do this.”
I grabbed his rock-hard arm and tugged. “Let me do this? Fuck you, Kieran Abel. Turn this car around right now!”
“No.”
“Abel!” I tried to open the car doors, but they were locked. Panic shot through me. I’d said something to set him off, and now he was going to take me up to his mountain house. Hell, he might even take me to Europe in an attempt to get me away from the demons.
My friends would be left as their prey.
“Abel,” I said, trying to sound calm and reasonable. “Please explain what’s going on.”
“You’re far more important than you seemed to be. I’m worried the demons have stumbled upon this realization before I have.”
“No,” I said. “They don’t know anything other than that I have power and I’m a way to lure the curse keepers. The seer said I wasn’t the endgame of their plan. I was only a piece. That doesn’t sound very important to me.” I leaned over and grabbed his arm. “Do you want me to beg, Abel? I’ll beg if you want. I’ll renegotiate our agreement. What are the demons going to do to my friends?”
“I don’t know.”
“Don’t lie to me. You know something.”
He frowned. “They have three. The perfect number. A trinity. I suspect they plan to make a sacrifice.”
My heart nearly leapt out of my chest. “We have to turn back,” I said more insistently. “I have to save them.”
“It may be too late.”
“But it may not!”
His mouth pursed as he considered it. “It sets a dangerous precedent. If this works, others will try it.”
“They’re my friends, Abel. I have to try.” When he didn’t answer, I tightened my grip on his arm. “Who’s your best friend?” I had a hard time believing that Abel had spent his entire life alone and friendless. There must have been someone or someplace he had loved.
He shuddered and looked insulted. “What does that have to do with anything?”
“Everything. Now humor me. Who is your best friend?” When he didn’t answer, I pressed on. “Tell me about your friends.” When he didn’t respond a second time, I tugged his hand from the steering wheel and linked my fingers with his. “Maybe you don’t understand my need to help my friends because you don’t have any yourself.” I squeezed his hand. “I think part of the reason eternity feels so long to you is because you don’t have anyone to share your life with.”
Abel pulled his hand from mine as though I’d scalded him. “This nonsense isn’t helpful and going back to save them is counterintuitive to my own agenda. No.”
“Abel!”
“No,” he growled, and I could feel power flooding out of him in a tidal wave.
My body reacted—craving his energy…and more. I breathed through my nose in an effort to keep myself from touching him. I would almost accuse him of using his power to control me like he did others, but I sensed it was involuntary. Which meant he might be close to breaking.
I needed to get through to him. What did Kieran Abel want? Other than for me to kill him, of course. There had to be something.
“I can take you to a world,” I said. “Anywhere you want to go.”
He shot me a sideways glance, then tightened his grip on the wheel.
“Maybe I can create one,” I said, thinking on the fly. “I just need a photo.” Abel was old, much older than photos. “Or a painting or drawing. I can conjure it and take you there.”
“You’ve conjured one world, Piper,” he said in a snide tone, “and in your childhood home. How do you know your memories and your love of the house aren’t part of what gave you the power to create it?”
Well, shit. He was right. Those factors could have played a role in my creation of Tommy’s safe haven. But the fact that he was discussing it with me at all implied I was onto something. “You said it took the others years to reach the level I’ve achieved in two weeks. How do you know I can’t?”
He kept his eyes on the windshield.
“Surely there’s one place you want to go. A place where you were happy.”
“Why haven’t you created a special place for yourself if you’re so sure you can?” he barked.
“I don’t have to,” I said quietly. “I’m already there. You’re right, I love the house I grew up in.”
“How can you promise me something you’re not sure you can deliver?”
“Then I’ll offer something else as a backup. What do you want?”
He pulled the car over to the side of the road, then turned to me with a predatory glare filled with lust and longing.
God help me, but every part of my body wanted him, even as my head suggested it was a very bad idea.
His brow shot up as he formed a mocking expression. “How much are your friends’ lives worth to you?”
I studied his face, his perfect features nonetheless molded into a look of anger and indifference. “What are you, Kieran Abel? Why are you destined for hell?”
He reached for my cheek, pushing power at me intentionally now, and I backed away from him until my back hit the car door. When his hand touched my skin, a jolt rushed through my blood.
“You want this as much as I do,” he said in a husky voice.
A wave of longing surged through me and I struggled to stay above the surface.
“You make me forget myself,” he said through gritted teeth. “You make me forget where I came from and where I’m destined to go. You make me connect with my humanity, but the only thing my humanity ever brought me was heartbreak and pain. No, Waboose,” he sneered, and while he’d always said my name with affection before, this time it sounded like an insult. “I do not want to go back to a place that made me happy, because in the end that place ripped apart my soul.”
“Abel…”
He let loose another wave of power and I could feel him drawing more power from me through his hand on my cheek. “Maybe I was wrong about why Caelius wants you. In a world where beings take what they want, whenever they want, maybe fucking you for power is reason enough to want you. Maybe I’m stupid not to do it myself.”
I trembled, as desperate to lean in to him as I was to pull away from him, and it was infuriating. But I also realized what was really going on here. Facing his humanity scared Kieran Abel. The only way for him to fight it was to unleash the monster inside him.
He leaned down to kiss me, pulling me toward him, and I turned my head, breaking the contact with his hand.
“Abel, stop.”
Losing access to my mouth, he slid down my throat, pressing his mouth to the base of my neck. He bit me hard enough to make me yelp in pain, then I felt his tongue lap at my collar bone followed by a sucking sensation. Was he drinking my blood?
Reason wasn’t going to tame him, which meant I had to resort to his level. I drew my left leg up between us, pushing him away as I grabbed Ivy’s hilt from the top of my right boot. He released a low growl, then his eyes widened in surprise as I shoved the blade under his chin, the tip pricking his skin. “Back off.”
His face lit up with excitement and lust. “The Waboose has become the deliverer. Do it.”
“You want me to shove this blade into your head?” I asked in disbelief.
“It won’t kill me.” Not until the moon appeared on my hand.
“Bu
t it will hurt like hell, and possibly give me the time it takes to dump your ass on the side of the road and get to the warehouse to save my friends.”
Indecision flickered in his eyes.
“You’ve made your point, Abel. You’re a monster. That’s what this demonstration is all about, right? Showing me that you don’t give two fucks about anyone or anything and you want to sulk until that stupid moon appears on my hand and it’s time for me to shove St. Michael into your heart.” I drew the blade out of my left boot and jabbed it into his chest. “Well done. You succeeded,” I lied. “You really are a fucking asshole. Which brings us to part two of this three-act play—the part where the dickhead decides whether he’d prefer to acquire a few holes that will hurt like hell but ultimately heal and get dumped on the side of the road, or to accompany Piper to the warehouse to save her friends. Your pick, shithead.”
“You do not tell me what to do.” His entire body tensed and his eyes glowed red, which I had to admit scared me a little—or a lot—but I’d committed to this path. There was no turning back now.
“Keep up. We’ve moved past that part,” I said, shoving the tip of St. Michael through his shirt into his skin. By luck more than skill, the blade was between his ribs, which meant I could do serious damage. “It’s decision time. Gentleman’s choice.”
He released another growl and his body hummed with power, which called out to mine, and I could feel my muscles relaxing.
No.
I harnessed the power in my mark, pushing it through the blade as I dug it into Abel hard enough to break the skin.
His eyes flew wide, and he drew away, sinking back in his seat.
But he hadn’t given me an answer, and I wasn’t about to back off. I flung myself at him and straddled his lap, this time shoving Ivy into his chest and St. Michael under his chin.
He stared up at me with hooded eyes and wrapped an arm around the small of my back, hauling me closer so that my crotch straddled his erection. This had nothing to do with his demonstration to scare and everything to do with the power lapping around us, so much stronger than the roiling power in Caelius’s sex parties. An overwhelming need took over me and I released an involuntary moan.
“Changed your mind about the fucking?” he asked with a wicked grin. Then he leaned forward and licked my neck. A bolt of heat shot straight to my core.
“Last chance, demon,” I said, fighting the urge to shed the pieces of fabric separating our flesh.
“Demon,” he growled, then painfully raked his teeth along my tender skin. “Maybe I am part demon.”
“Does this mean you’ve picked the stab wounds?” I shoved the blade into his chest even deeper than before, and he released a different growl this time.
He leaned back in his seat, sweat breaking out on his forehead.
“Do it,” he sneered.
“What point would it serve?” I asked, rising to my knees and leaning over his face as I put more weight into the blade under his chin. “This is a pointless game and a huge waste of time. We both know I can stab you multiple times and you’ll still find a way to get to the warehouse, so why don’t we call it a draw and agree that you hate this plan but you’ve been forced into it? We both also know that I’m going to figure out a way to do what I want. You might as well get on board now.”
He closed his eyes.
“Do you concede?” I asked.
He hesitated for several seconds, but he finally said in a defeated tone, “I concede.”
I drove to the warehouse. I didn’t trust Abel not to turn around again, and it turned out I’d stabbed him in the chest deeper than I’d intended. He said he only needed a few minutes to recover, and I hoped it was true. I had no guarantee he’d help me save my friends, but I wanted him strong enough to help me if he decided to jump in.
I spotted Ellie’s car parked about a quarter of a mile south of the warehouse, and I pulled up behind it. She and the two men were standing at the trunk of their car, and Collin shot us a glare as I got out.
“Was that U-turn a shortcut? And why are you driving now?”
“We had business to deal with,” I said, adjusting the sword strap over my shoulder, “but we’re here now.”
As I got closer to him, his eyes widened.
Abel got out of the car and stomped toward me, and he looked like his attitude had returned.
Collin’s gaze was pinned on him, and he stepped between us, his sword raised.
“Get out of my way, curse keeper,” Abel sneered.
“Not until you explain why both of you are covered in blood.”
Abel drew his own sword and his eyes turned red again.
Uh-oh.
I rushed over and put my hand on Abel’s chest to push him back. “Stop. You’re acting like an asshole, and I can’t deal with that right now.”
“Why is she covered in blood?” Collin demanded.
“I’d like to know that myself,” Ellie said, planting herself beside him.
I spun at the waist to look at them. “It was a misunderstanding. And the blood is his, but I think he’s healed now.” I turned back to him and held his gaze. “Are you healed now?”
“I’ll be fine. We need to rearm you,” he grunted, gesturing to the back of the SUV. “Come with me.”
I followed him to the back and stood to the side as he open the hatch. He winced when he reached inside and pulled out a wide leather belt.
“Let me look at your wounds, Abel.”
“I’m fine.”
“Let me look.”
Frustrated, he stripped off his shirt and tossed it into the SUV. “You can look at them while I strap on your belt.” He reached behind me with the belt and tugged me closer so there was only a foot between us.
His stomach was covered in blood, and there were two one-inch gashes on his left side, one a little below his heart. Both wounds were still oozing blood, but one looked worse than the other.
I gasped and looked up at him. “Why aren’t you healing?”
“I am,” he said, his eyes downcast as he buckled the belt around my hips.
“I thought you healed faster than this.”
He tugged the belt tight, making me stumble toward him before he started to fasten it. “You used a spelled blade. It heals much slower.”
Guilt washed through me. “Abel…”
He released a low growl. “If you threaten to stab someone, you need to be prepared to do it. You hesitated too long and should have thrust deeper.” His left hand curled around the front of my belt and jerked me even closer until I was flush against him.
Lust flooded my body.
Abel acted like he was completely unaffected. “I don’t have time for your guilt, Waboose.”
I shot him a scowl. “No guilt from me. You deserved that stab wound. I was going to ask if your wound would slow you down or if I can count on one hundred percent from you.”
A slight grin tipped up his lips. “Depends on what you need me for.”
“For fighting demons.”
“I’m about eighty percent for demons. I can be one hundred percent for fu—”
“Stop being creepy,” I said with a glower. “It’s not a good look on you.” I took a step back and inspected the multiple loops and attachments hanging from the belt. “I take it I should hang my various accessories on here?”
“Accessories?”
I slipped my sword strap down my arm and lifted the sheath to thread it through one of the loops. Abel took it from me and secured it to my belt, having me pull the sword out a couple of times to make sure it didn’t get caught up somewhere. He pulled two new sheaths for my daggers out of the SUV and slipped them into another two other loops on the belt, making sure they were secure. Then he squatted and slowly pulled my daggers out of my boots while his face hovered in front of my groin, his gaze holding mine.
I refused to look away, hoping my surging hormones didn’t give me away.
“Good God,” Collin muttered. “Why does no
one ever strap me up for battle like that?”
“Not happening,” Ellie muttered.
“Piper,” Collin called over. “Would you—”
Abel released a low growl. “She would not.”
I shot him a glare. “I’m not your possession, Kieran Abel, and you’d do best to remember that.”
He stood, his body grazing mine until he towered over me. His eyes dropped to my collarbone. “You’re wearing my mark. That makes you mine.”
I reached up to touch my neck where he’d bitten me and pulled my hand away, surprised to see fresh blood on my fingertips. “What does that mean?”
“The demons will have to challenge me to get to you.”
Had he purposely bitten me for this reason? Or was he bullshitting me? The look on his face suggested he was serious.
“Will they?” I pressed.
“It depends on what they know.” He slid the daggers into the sheaths.
“And if they challenge you for me?”
His face hardened. “They will die.”
“I thought you don’t kill demons.”
“I don’t, but I will if they defy me.”
“You’re pretty full of yourself, aren’t you?” Collin asked.
“This does not concern you,” Abel snarled as he closed the hatch on the SUV.
“Aren’t you getting a new shirt?” I asked.
“No,” was his curt reply. “Let’s go.”
Collin held his hands out at his sides. “We’ve been waiting on you. Thanks for getting us all hot and bothered with that demonstration.” He glanced at me, then motioned to Abel with a questioning look.
“It’s complicated.”
“I’ll say.”
We made our way toward the warehouse, keeping closer to the river than the road.
Collin sidled up next to me. “Let me get this straight; between the drive from your house and here, you took over driving and stabbed him?”
“Not exactly in that order.”
“You actually stabbed him.”
I arched my brow with a smirk. “Fair warning.”
Collin laughed and exchanged glances Ellie, who was following behind with David. “I like her.”