by Krista Walsh
Still, she didn’t give him the option of looking away. She waited, barely breathing, and finally, he met her gaze.
She felt the pull of his power like fingers grabbing hold of her mind, stirring up memories that had long been buried — memories of childhood, of her mother, of her first day of school. She remembered her parents laughing and smiling at each other as she ate a piece of birthday cake. They were so much in love, and she had gone to bed that night praying to find someone who made her that happy.
The images stirred up emotions, and each emotion set her pulse racing, her skin tingling. The longer she stared, the more intense the sensations became, and she couldn’t tell if they were lasting only a second or an hour. At some point, her mind settled and she relaxed, staring deeply into the green and gold of his eyes. The pupils were narrow, almost slitted, reminding her of snake eyes.
Beautiful.
She might have said it out loud, but her attention was too focused to know for sure. Gently, she pulled him closer and brushed her lips against his. When the first taste proved not to be enough, she shifted to trap his bottom lip, her teeth nipping, exploring, tasting the spices on his tongue.
At the heat of his kiss, her blood caught fire. It washed away all hesitation and doubt and drew her into its consuming power. Her fingers found their way into his thick hair, pulling him closer, and his hands responded in kind, trailing up and down her spine, slowly tugging her shirt upward so his fingers caressed the small of her back.
The fire spread to every place he touched, and as more of her skin swept into the blaze, she found herself craving a deeper heat. She had believed her earlier walk through the fields had opened her eyes to the joys of liberation, but it was nothing compared to this mindless frenzy. She forgot about her to-do list waiting for her, thinking only of keeping Gabe’s kiss going forever.
A niggle of awareness wanted to pull her out of her haze — the possible complications that could push things past the point of resolution — but she pushed it aside. None of it mattered, because this moment would never end.
Without breaking their kiss, Gabe grabbed the blanket from the couch and threw it onto the floor, then wrapped his arms around Vera’s waist and lifted her as though she weighed nothing. She wrapped her arms around his neck as he set her on the blanket in front of the fire.
Her tension slipped further away, leaving her oblivious to anything but the fire within and without as his lips finally left hers and trailed over her neck and shoulder, following the path of her shirt as he tugged it down. She stroked her fingertips over his chest until they discovered the row of buttons and one by one began to pull them apart. Each button added coal to the flames, removing any lingering desire to turn back. His fingers brushed across her thigh as he pulled away her slacks. She wrapped her hands in the softness of his T-shirt to pull it over his head as he wriggled out of his jeans and threw them to the side.
The fiery warmth of his skin seared against hers as he laid her back on the blanket. The muscles in his arms and chest flexed with each movement, the ridges and valleys defined in the ripples of light cast by the fire. Vera ducked her head to kiss his collarbone, tracing patterns up his neck to catch him in another kiss.
He shifted between her legs, and the added contact sent another wave of passion over her, making it impossible to feel anything except him.
Their eyes met —
— and Vera’s mind tugged forward, as though his ability were trying to pull her out of herself and devour her. She held on, wanting exactly that. For the moment, she wanted to be lost.
Gabe’s eyes widened, then softened, and the look within the green-and-gold swirls screamed of a longing that had been so long denied he had no clue what to do with it anymore.
She rested her hand on his cheek and tilted his head down so she could kiss his brow, then his cheek, the tip of his nose. He smiled as her lips once more met his.
Her gasp broke through their kiss as he entered her, her wish granted as she became lost in a tide of pleasure, forgetting everything except the fire.
***
Vera drifted in the place between sleep and waking. Her mind urged her to rest, but fear kept her from passing over. She didn’t want to be caught in the twisted unworld of the ancient power’s creation. She was so warm and comfortable that under other circumstances, she believed she could have slept better than she had in years, but it was not to be.
Opening her eyes, she stared at the open beams above her, at their careful design and subtle detail. All built with the love of a man for his wife and children. Giving them a safe place to be themselves and to hide from the world.
Vera understood how this farmhouse could become a haven for a child like Gabe, who would have carried the burden of understanding the danger he posed to the people around him. He would have seen that his ability kept him apart from others.
Gabe’s loneliness had been thrust on him by a genetic quirk, something he could never escape. Except with her. Yes, she understood how much that would mean to him, and why he had been so drawn to her.
Her own loneliness was self-induced, a personal choice to keep her life neat and tidy. It was a decision she had made when she was twelve years old and had come into the possession of a powerful, dangerous book. It wasn’t the life she’d imagined for herself growing up, but it was the only one that made the rest of her responsibilities manageable.
Was the connection she had discovered here with Gabe enough to justify throwing her world on its end? The question choked the breath out of her, and she let it go without an answer. For now, she would simply enjoy the comfort. Let the morning bring its own problems.
As though someone out in the world had been waiting for her to reach the conclusion of her thoughts, Vera’s mind jerked out of her body, and she found herself standing in a candlelit living room. She glanced down quickly to ensure her psychic projection was decently dressed, then turned her attention to the room. A television flickered through the doorway in front of her, highlighting the framed pictures on the walls. A family, by the look of things. Mother, father, three young children — all of them smiling.
But even the nicest photos could cover the nastiest realities. She wondered what secrets lay hidden beneath the façade, and whether it was husband or wife who would pay the price for it.
Vera glanced around the room, and her gaze landed on a figure crouched in the corner. Wide eyes stared at her from under an arm.
“Hello?” she said.
The figure cowered, covering its face. Vera’s heart skipped a beat as she realized it was one of the children.
“Are you hurt?” she asked, working to keep the anger out of her voice. It wasn’t the first time a young client had summoned her, the victim of crimes she didn’t care to dwell on, but never one this young. “Come on out now. You’re safe with me.”
The child raised his head, revealing a shaggy bowl cut and a pair of truck-patterned pajamas.
“What’s your name?” Vera asked.
“Henry,” the boy said, keeping his voice soft.
Vera crouched down to be on a level with him as he stood up and shuffled toward her. “Did you summon me, Henry?”
He nodded and wiped his nose with his sleeve.
“Do you know who I am?”
He nodded again. “You’re the lady we can call when we want someone punished for doing bad things.”
“Has someone done something bad to you, Henry?” It was taking all of her effort to remain calm.
“Really bad. Mommy tried to feed me broccoli, and I hate it. It’s gross. She didn’t make Tommy eat it. He’s my younger brother, and he gets to eat everything all blended up and it looks so much better. So can you go and punish Mommy for me?”
Vera realized her mouth had fallen open and fixed it shut, her fury washing away in a wave of relief. But under her sincere happiness that the child was not only unharmed but well-fed, the heat of irritation prickled. All she’d wanted was one quiet night.
“
How did you know the way to bring me here?”
“Rob — that’s my older brother — he found a book in Daddy’s room. He told me what to do.”
Vera clenched her teeth. Someone might as well have scrawled her summoning spell on a bathroom wall from the number of contacts she’d been receiving lately. And to have it just lying about in an office where the whole family might read it? She was tempted to enter Henry’s father’s dreams to give a bit of a lecture, but decided to leave it for now. She was too tired to deal with it.
“It’s dangerous to play with books like that, all right?” she said. “You don’t know who you might meet.”
Henry bowed his head. “So you won’t help me?”
“I’m afraid I agree with your mother. But I’ll give you a secret — ask her to melt cheese over it. I promise it’ll taste better.”
He bobbed his head in a disappointed nod. “Okay.”
“Now go on to bed, and don’t forget to blow out these candles.”
Vera stood back up, and waited for the first candle to go out to break the connection.
She sat up in a rush, and her back cracked, stiff from being pressed against the floor.
“Are you all right?” Gabe asked, his eyes wide with concern.
Vera released a breath and settled back down. “I’m fine. I’m sorry if I woke you up.”
“You didn’t,” he said. “Bad dream?”
She grimaced. “A summons. From a five-year-old who hates his vegetables. I don’t understand how so many people are hearing about me.”
Gabe tucked her hair behind her ear. “It can’t be easy, doing what you do.”
Vera shrugged. “It is what it is. I’ve been doing it for so long, I don’t even think about it anymore.” She raised her gaze to his, enjoying the jolt in her mind. “And I don’t mean that to sound callous. I never lose sight of the fact that my role in this world ends lives, but you have to turn your heart off when you do it. Does that sound horrible?”
Gabe stared at her in silence for a moment, then said, “This world is full of horrible people. Although I don’t like the idea that anyone can decide the fate of those who wrong them, you can’t help that you were born to serve as an instrument to their whims. You’re not a killer, you just happen to kill.”
Vera relaxed into the blankets. “Or help children find a way out of eating broccoli, apparently. It really doesn’t bother you?”
“The fact that you’re worried it might tells me you still have a conscience hidden under all that vengeance,” he said, kissing her forehead. “It’s part of who you are. I’d be a hypocrite if I turned away because of it. But what about you? When we met, you said you were tired of it.”
She groaned. “I am. It’s dull and exhausting, and I’d give it up in a heartbeat if I could. But then every now and then, I hear some terrible story from someone who’s been through hell, and I’m given the chance to make things right for them. To offer some kind of closure. On those days, as rare as they are, it’s not so bad.”
Vera rolled onto her back and stared up at the ceiling, letting her mind drift as the silence stretched out.
“What are you thinking about?”
She jumped at the sound of Gabe’s voice, having believed his even, deep breaths meant he’d fallen back to sleep.
“Nothing in particular,” she said, figuring the answer was close enough to the truth. “Just staring into the void and hoping I’ll find some explanations.”
“Any luck so far?”
“No, but there is a neat spider web over in that corner.” She pointed into the beams where the soft firelight — nearly lost from time and neglect — cast shadows through the spirals.
“Beautiful,” said Gabe, but when Vera turned to look at him, he wasn’t looking at the spider web. She flushed, then rolled onto her side toward him, determined to change the subject.
“You told me about your dad yesterday, but what about your mom? I realize I kind of…hijacked the conversation the first night I was here.” Embarrassment over her drunken behavior caused her voice to falter, but Gabe laughed and kissed her.
Then he shrugged and sat up long enough to grab the throw pillows from the couch, tucking one under her head and the other under his. He wrapped one arm around her waist and pulled her closer to him, pressing her length against his.
“She was an incredible woman. Patient, kind. She was just…Mom, you know? Always had the answers and knew the right things to say when everything seemed to be falling apart. She never showed if it bothered her that one of her children was a walking weapon she could never look in the eye. And she’s the one who looked like she was holding it together the best after Rick died.”
He fell silent and rolled onto his back, rubbing his brow. His arm around Vera kept her close, and she draped her knee over his thigh. “Now I realize she must have suffered more than any of us, but I was too young and then too selfish to notice. Sometimes I wonder if I’m the reason my family fell apart. My dad disappeared so soon after Rick’s death, and after they were both gone, Mom was never the same. I think she saw me as the end of the family line. Hoped that wasn’t the case, maybe, but how could she believe I would find someone to settle down with and have a family of my own? So she had nothing to look forward to. In the end, I think maybe that’s what killed her. Stress and a broken heart over what she saw as the failure of her family.”
“I’m sure that’s not true,” Vera said, her heart twisting at his loss. She shifted against him and rested her hand over his chest, feeling the steady heartbeat under her palm. “If she was the mom you say she was, she wouldn’t have seen you as a failure. I’m sure she would have loved to stick around as long as possible to see what you made of yourself. She would have been proud of what you’ve accomplished.”
Gabe turned his head toward her and caressed his knuckles over her cheek. “You’re probably right. She never would have let me keep my office in a shady building like that, though, that’s for sure. And likely would have popped into my apartment weekly to make sure it was clean. I confess I’ve neglected a lot of what she taught me about tidiness. She’d be horrified.”
His smile warmed as he imagined the scene, then it faded again. “Too bad cancer took her before she could decide for herself. Uterine. Swept all the way through her because she was too busy taking care of me and this house, keeping it ready in case Dad came back, the bastard. She didn’t even notice she was sick. When she finally did, it was too late. It took her in a few weeks.”
“I’m sorry,” Vera said, with as much empathy as she could squeeze into the words. Taking care of her father during his decline had been horrible, but at least he’d had time to put his affairs in order, time with her and Ara before the end.
Gabe shrugged. “I was twenty-four years old, with a decent client base for my home business, so at least I had something to keep me busy after she went. Mom was the one who introduced me to computers when I was a kid. She thought it would be a good way for me to stay social. So there’s me on an old 286 working on the bulletin board system. I taught myself the basics, the ins and outs of computers, and ended up getting paid for it working remotely from home. With the money I earned, I had enough to rent a shitty apartment, so after she died, I ended up in New Haven of all places. I couldn’t stay here, you know? It felt too empty after everyone was gone.”
He looked around, and his attention fell on the dying fire. “This is the first time the place has felt like home since I left.”
He turned his head back toward her, and as she caught his gaze, her memories stirred again. His eyes danced in the light, his pupils narrowing.
Fascinating.
“What does it feel like?” he asked. “Looking me in the eye. Anything at all, or is it just like looking at anyone else?”
“Definitely not like anyone else.” She stared at him, working to put the effect into words. “It’s strange, but not unpleasant. Have you ever had a conversation with someone who stares at you so intently, you thin
k they’re trying to work their way into your head and figure out what makes you tick? It’s like that, but you actually succeed. Old memories suddenly pop into my head that I’d completely forgotten, half-formed. Then a moment later it all settles.”
He shuddered and wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her even closer against him. She felt as though there was no part of her that wasn’t touching some part of him. “I’m still kind of afraid that the next glance will be the one that steals you away. I like your memories in your own head. I don’t want to carry them around in mine.”
She wondered about his comment, but didn’t ask him to explain. Maybe one day they would come around to it. She watched him scan her face and rest his attention on her lips.
“How are you immune to me, anyway?” he asked. “Is that something you get from being a…what do you call yourself? A semi-goddess?”
His fingers trailed over the curve of her body as his gaze grew more intense, and fresh waves of desire tightened Vera’s skin, raising goosebumps that only increased her sensitivity to his gentle touch.
Arching into him, Vera chuckled at her and her mother’s tongue-in-cheek joke. Enough ichor in her blood to inherit her ancestor’s vengeance racket, but not enough to be included in the family get-togethers.
His lips flit across her shoulder, and her breath hitched in her chest, scattering her thoughts into the air.
Distracted, barely aware of what she was saying, Vera replied, “I’m not sure, to be honest. It must be, but Mom didn’t have the same protections. She told me once about how she was attacked by warlocks during one of her contracts and they nearly killed her. Maybe it skipped a generation? I don’t know about my grandmother. But Dad was human, so it had to come from her.”
“Then I thank your mother’s genes,” Gabe said. He leaned in and caught her bottom lip between his teeth. A deep burn stoked up from the pit of her stomach. As he moved his lips downward, she allowed herself once more to be lost in the fire.