The demon would adore the feast.
“You don’t even know if you can ride the change.” Rhys paced three steps, turned back. “We have time to track the demon.”
But they didn’t. Others could die while they hunted, and she couldn’t live with that knowledge. Others would not die for her cowardice. She’d considered the point and made her decision.
“I’m going to call the demon. Rhys, I can control the change. It’s what all my martial arts training is for—discipline.” She wouldn’t get lost in her own terror, or worse. There were stories of ghouls who’d become addicted to the terror, using it to generate more among humans and then feeding off that new terror. In effect, they became monsters.
Her mouth set firm. “You have to trust me.”
“I do.” Rhys faced her, fists clenching and unclenching. “God, don’t I have a right to worry?”
“Time I left,” Paul said. “I’ll be needed at the hospital since you won’t be around. Good luck, Carla, and be careful.”
The door closed behind him, and Rhys reached for her, holding her tight. “I don’t want to lose you.”
“That’s how I feel,” she whispered.
His arms tightened further. “If you’re doing this for me—”
“For the city,” she interrupted him. She wouldn’t burden him with personal responsibility. If something went wrong, he had to know this choice was hers. She kissed the corner of his mouth where the skin showed the tension of taut muscles. Then she stepped back. “I have to read Paul’s chant.”
His hands slid down the silk of her dress and rested at her hips. His fingers massaged her bottom, and she closed her eyes a moment at the erotic caress. Her nipples tightened and pressed against the thin red silk of her dress.
She wanted to surrender to his care.
Uncertainly, she smoothed the crumpled paper Paul had given her. The words of the chant were simple enough. “Green things growing. Ripe harvest. Love forever.” The nurturing cycle of life, not precluding death, but accepting it in its place. “Birth, life, love forever.”
“All the things the demon wants to destroy,” Rhys said. One large hand crept up and cupped her breast. His thumb brushed her nipple. “According to Paul Li, my interpretation of the jade symbol was crudely accurate, but a closer translation is ‘typhoon’. The demon is ‘Great Wind’.”
“Old windy one.” Carla half-smiled. She arched into his caress. “That doesn’t sound so impressive.”
“We’ll see.” He was terse, worried. He stepped close, pressing from chest to thigh.
The thunder of his heart accelerated her pulse. She hugged him, gathering courage.
He smoothed her hair. “Where do you want to call the demon?”
It wasn’t a question of wanting, it was an analysis of where Great Wind could be teased to answer her call. She eased back a bit so she could see his face.
The skin was tensely drawn over the strong bones. He was unhappy with the situation, but he was trusting her.
She could do no less. “The building where it made its first kill. The memory of feasting should overcome its caution.”
“Okay,” he said slowly. His hand trailed slowly down her back. “But not inside. My dragon form needs room and I don’t want civilians involved. We’ll take to the roof.”
Chapter Five
The roof of the neglected apartment building was grimy, littered with drug paraphernalia, condoms and collapsing furniture. Carla and Rhys walked out to the cleaner eastern edge and she handed him her jacket.
The wind was cool up here, teasing at her short skirt and plastering the thin silk explicitly against her body. She shivered at her vulnerability.
“You don’t have to do this.” The words jerked out of him.
“In a few moments, I won’t even notice the temperature.” She walked a few steps away. By all commonsense it was too soon, but it felt inevitable, and she couldn’t hold back the words. “I love you, Rhys.”
A muscle twitched by his mouth. His power reached out to her and stroked her with the fire of dragon loving. “I love you, too.”
She nodded. Their love had to be mutual to be this intense. Stating it was their defiance of the demon’s hatred.
“Are you ready?” She was about to terrify her new-found lover to the point of losing his mind.
“Go ahead.” Legs braced, he folded his arms and narrowed his eyes against the evening sunlight.
Carla closed her eyes and reached inside. Her ghoul nature shimmered along her veins, excited by the emotions of the last twenty four hours. She traced the shape and power of it, accepted its hunger, and whispered. “Wake.”
Her hair unraveled from its tidy knot and swirled around her, crackling with energy. Her skin prickled, tightened and radiated terror. Her eyes opened, seeing the world in shades of black and purple. She felt the heartbeats of everyone in the city block. She tasted their secret fears.
Spiders, heights, sex, exposure, capture, guns, death. The kaleidoscope of human terror dazzled and stimulated. Dizzy and enraptured, Carla spun in a slow circle.
Her gaze returned to Rhys. She saw his black figure and the purple shadow of his dragon nature. He was scared for her, and terrified by nightmares only he could see; nightmares her ghoul nature was creating and feeding. The knowledge pierced her ghoul delight.
Her fingers flexed and raked the air. Terror was all around her, strong enough to levitate her if she didn’t control it. She screamed her agony. She was alone, so alone. Why had she done this? How had she thought she could survive?
“Call the demon.” Rhys’s voice cut through her panic. “Call it.”
She flung her challenge north, following instinct, and jolted as the demon caught her terror. It was a plaything to him.
Run, hide, her instincts shouted. She reeled in her power, the terror fighting for control. When the demon came, she had to be herself, not a creature of terror. “I have to be me.”
Hurry, hurry. The terror didn’t want to be leashed, but Carla had spent a lifetime fighting her nature. She knew her strength was truth. “I am not a monster. I am Carla, Rhys’s lover.”
The black shadows lifted, color returning to her world. Rhys’s hair blazed red in the glare of sunset. His eyes were emerald green, intense and determined. Even the terror she’d broadcast hadn’t moved him. She had a moment to appreciate that fact before her ears caught the gathering sound.
Demonic laughter ate at the edges of the world. “A challenger?”
It didn’t look how she’d expected.
Two feet tall with the over-large eyes and the mouth of a gargoyle, its nakedness exposed the cellulite bumps of its grey skin. It licked its lips with a yellow, forked tongue. “Delicious.”
Hatred slammed at her. The demon wanted to possess her and consume all her terror, all the grief and pain her ghoul nature had ever absorbed. It was what she’d counted on, but the force of the demon’s hunger shook her mind.
“Birth. Life. Love forever,” Rhys shouted.
The words of the controlling chant flowed back to her. That was what she had to hold to: the demon’s weaknesses and Rhys’s strength.
“Birth. Life. Love forever,” she repeated.
The demon hissed. It advanced two steps. “Your dragon pet won’t save you.”
She felt the edge of its hammering blow, but the force of it was directed at Rhys. He dropped to one knee, head bent. She was a ghoul: she absorbed his pain.
“Birth. Life. Love forever,” she shouted louder. With her mind holding the meaning and pattern of the words, the demon couldn’t reach her. She blocked the anguish of worry for Rhys.
The demon laughed. One hand flicked out.
The rush of a tortured wind struck the building. It sent all the litter flying into space. Carla staggered back three steps.
“Great Wind.” Why hadn’t she thought what it meant? He would torture and devour her spirit by whirling her body out into chaos.
She tried to will herself
deeper into the concrete roof, but there was nothing to hold onto. The rhythm of the chant faltered before she caught the lash of the demon’s triumph and slammed back with the words. “Birth. Life. Love forever.”
However, she knew she couldn’t hold against the demon wind which would tear her away physically. Somehow she had to find the way you sent a demon to damnation. How? It wasn’t words. They were merely a steadying point. It wasn’t wishing or needing to banish the demon.
Great Wind howled. A hurricane hit her, lifted her from her feet and sent her hurtling toward the roof edge. Once over it, she’d be dependent on the demon’s wind to save her physical body. But then, it would claim her soul.
No! She hurled terror at the demon, and felt him gobble it, greedy and powerful.
She was losing the fight, tumbling, helpless—
“Ride me.” The words were Rhys’s, directly into her mind.
He’d changed to dragon form, solid and supportive against her back. He lowered his great neck, and she scrambled on, barely settling before he rose into the sky, cutting powerfully through the wind to circle the roof.
Power bolted out from Great Wind, the same force that had crippled Rhys before. This time Carla caught it. Her ghoul nature expanded on its raw hate. She drank.
The demon shrieked. It blasted again, proving itself a slow learner.
Carla sunk hooks more securely into the demon’s hate and consumed it. Forget the ritual for exorcising demons. She was a ghoul. She’d do this her way. “Come here.”
The storm of energy she drained was huge, crashing through her like a tsunami. Great Wind went transparent. Carla struggled to stay sane.
Hate crawled through her veins. Cruelty crackled along her bones.
“Carla.” Rhys landed heavily on the roof and changed. In human form, he gripped her arms and forced her to face him. “Carla.”
She saw his face through vision distorted by the demonic energy she’d taken. He was terrified, and something in her exulted in his terror. It was human terror, satisfying.
“Yes,” the demon hissed.
It had sidled up to them. Now it touched Carla’s knee. “Feel his terror, your dragon pet. Eat him.”
Shaking with all she held and all she felt, Carla absorbed each word of the sly attack. The pressure was immense.
“No,” she whispered. Then hugely, rocking the building. “Begone!” And she touched her lips to Rhys’s and gave him the sweet, powerful trust of her love.
The demon screamed with rage and fear. In a heartbeat, it had lost. Hell claimed Great Wind.
“Thank you,” she murmured against Rhys’s mouth.
“For what?” He held her hard against him.
“Trusting me. Standing your ground even when I went ghoul form.”
He shook his head slightly, lips brushing hers, dismissing her thanks and her worries. “Whatever you are, you’re you.”
“Mmm.” She relaxed against him. “I love you.”
Love. It had banished the demon. So simple, and yet so problematic. It made you incredibly vulnerable. But when the other person returned your love, then you became invulnerable. Through surrender came victory.
“I love you, Carla.” Rhys traced a hand up her spine to curve under the fall of her hair. “Let’s go home.”
“Yes.”
To her surprise, he released her. He stepped back and changed into dragon form. He glowed red-gold in the twilight.
Now she had time to admire his form. He was beautiful. Wings reminiscent of crystal folded along his back, and he was roughly the size of a bus with a sharp edged tail, diamond talons and incandescent fiery eyes. He nudged her gently with his huge head.
“Oh yes,” she exclaimed happily. They were going home, but not by human transport. The car they had arrived in could wait till morning.
She settled at the base of his neck, feeling the bunch of his powerful shoulder muscles, and then, they were airborne.
Delighted laughter bubbled from her. She hugged his neck, pressing her face to the warm, smooth scales. New York sprawled beneath them, tangled in light and darkness, filled with people living and loving.
Rhys angled a final time before landing lightly on a flat, clean roof.
She slid from him and watched the change to human form. He was so beautiful. She launched herself at him.
He caught her and swung her in an exultant circle, bringing them to a breathless stop by the door to internal stairs.
“Where are we?” Not that she cared. Only, she wanted privacy to love him. Her hands slid over the fabric of his uniform, enjoying the warm, muscled reality of him. She planted kisses along the line of his jaw and flicked her tongue against the hard pulse at the base of his throat.
He answered her question distractedly. “We’re home. My home.” His hands moved from the bare skin of her back to the edge of her halter neck. His thumbs stroked the rounded fullness of her breasts. She purred, and he smiled. “My cousin Izzy’s a real estate agent. She found me a place with a dragon landing zone.”
“Smart woman,” Carla managed. Through the thin silk, the light tease of his fingers burned and incited. She wanted him to suckle and ease the ache.
He caught her nipples in the V of his fingers, and plucked gently. “Come.”
“Almost,” she gasped.
He laughed and gripped her hand. They ran down the stairs to his apartment.
Her breath came short as he closed the door behind them and advanced on her.
“I’ve been wanting to do this since I saw the dress. It’s designed to drive a man mad.” He reached behind her neck and undid the halter tie.
Released, the gathered silk unfurled like a petal, falling to her waist.
Rhys watched the revelation of her breasts, then the slow fall of the dress as it skimmed down her hips, her thighs and in a swift, final slither, fell to the floor.
Carla smiled. She felt feminine and desired, an essential wildness freed by his obvious adoration.
“You’re beautiful. Perfect.” His hands followed the path of the dress, then he stooped and picked her up. “All mine.”
She clutched his shoulder. “Caveman.”
He growled against her ear, the playful sound resonating through her. She looped her arms around his neck, rubbing her face against his like a cat marking her territory. She nipped his earlobe, then licked the tiny hurt as he carried her through the starkly functional apartment to his bedroom.
The bed gently accepted her weight, the linen smooth and cool against her skin.
He straightened and unbuttoned his shirt. His chest muscles shifted in the shadows as he shrugged it off. She gave a soft sigh of approval, and he hesitated. He reached over and switched on a bedside lamp that cast a pool of warm light over his skin.
She wet her lips as he stripped off the rest of his clothes and stood a moment, naked. Wide shoulders and powerful torso narrowed to strong hips and thighs. His arousal hardened further beneath the stroke of her gaze.
The proof of her effect on him was incredibly empowering. She pushed up against the pillows, cupping her breasts and offering them to him, her own touch intensifying their ache. She arched, provocatively. “I need you.”
He came down on the bed, rolling her over him. “Where do you need me?”
She couldn’t answer for the fierce kiss that stole her breath. She gripped his hands and placed them over her breasts. The nipples pressed into his palms.
Luxuriously, he massaged the plump, firm handfuls.
“Rhys. Oh, yes.”
One hand released her, trailing down the sensitive skin of her stomach. It reached her intimate heat, so insecurely guarded by gossamer silk panties, and a nail scraped gently the length of the barrier.
She bucked. The hand withdrew and gripped her hip. His arousal pressed, and she rocked against it.
“Yessss.” She was wild for the feel of him inside her. She rose up on her knees and inched down her panties, wriggling sideways to shed them.
&
nbsp; He used her movement to tip her onto her back, then bent his head and kissed her. Warm and firm, his tongue invaded. The imitation of full loving parted her thighs. He took advantage with a knowing hand, stroking her to climax.
“Rhys.” She felt drugged yet desperate. Her body pleasured but knowing it had been cheated. She tugged at his hand. “Don’t tease.”
“Darling, you have the energy to be teased and pleasured all night.”
She shivered at the husky promise, but pouted. “I want you.”
“You’ll have me.” He kissed a path of fire down her throat to a painfully tight nipple. He licked it. “Strawberry?” A second tasting was required.
Carla writhed under the onslaught of lips, tongue and tenderly teasing teeth, climaxing again. She panted, glaring up at his taut smile with all the passion he’d roused. “Just wait.”
She wriggled down the bed, sliding beneath him till she could suck a tight male nipple and feel the slam of his heart, the urgent thrust of his powerful body. His arousal pressed into her belly, and she smiled, beginning to slide lower.
“Carla.” He lifted up, arm muscles trembling.
She slid back, fitting their bodies together. “Yes?” With the smile still curving her mouth, she kissed him.
“Witch.” His tip tested her folds, parted them and slid with agonizing slowness into the fire. “I love you.”
The truth burned in his eyes.
“I love you.” She held his gaze as he entered fully.
Strong, controlled strokes established the rhythm of their loving. He would always have a care for her. Carla exploded in the joy of it, and came back to herself to feel Rhys still within her, hard and full. He waited, smiled tautly at her stunned expression, then thrust a final time.
“I saw fireworks,” she said minutes later.
“I rode a firecracker.”
She laughed. “That’ll teach you to tease.”
“Oh, I think you’ll find me a poor student, darling.” He smiled at her, hands drifting again. “You are a delight to love.”
Embracing the Ghoul Page 4