Petroc had waded out into a deeper part of the river, just past her. The water barely covered his hips, revealing he wore nothing but briefs. Somehow, she felt comforted that even he wouldn't strip down to his skin out here.
"What are you doing?" Heat soaked her face when she realized just what a stupid question that was.
"Our camp is set up and I need a bath too, so..." He grinned, so much like the boy he had been, she wanted to punch him and laugh at the same time.
"It's not nice to sneak up on someone when she's taking a bath."
Facing down a Talroqi nest full of soldiers protecting their queen was easier than kneeling there in the cold river water, with Petroc only an arm's length away. What was wrong with her? Hadn't she been dreaming about his touch, the warmth of his skin, the taste of his mouth, the feel of him pressed tight against her, for years?
"We're married, remember?" His nasty chuckle and grin warmed her where pure nerves had frozen her a moment before. "Besides, I've seen you soaking wet in those exact same green unders before. Figured, fair is fair, so here I am."
"Petroc Ash--" Her mind flashed back to that one time she had indulged in an evening swim while she was scouting with Starfire. That sense of being watched hadn't been her imagination. "You are a dead man," she growled, and leaped at him.
Laughing, Petroc caught her by her wrists. He raised her arms over her head, so she was suddenly standing on her toes, off balance, leaning hard against him. His laughter died along with her pretend fury as he bent his head down to her. She didn't feel the cool of the water or anything else as she opened her mouth to his sweet, probing kiss. Blue sparks filled her mind, swooping down her body to nest in her belly and start everything inside her melting.
"Liar," she whispered, when he lifted his head far too soon.
"What?" Petroc laughed. With his chest pressed against hers, she felt the vibrations deep inside him.
"You weren't worried about taking a bath or enough soap. You didn't want to look silly, trying to get me out of my clothes." She tried to scowl, but his chagrin tore the laughter out of her.
"It worked, didn't it?" He rested her arms on his shoulders, then slid his hands down her sides, so slowly she thought he could count her ribs. Petroc adjusted his stance, allowing more of her weight to rest on him. Allowing more of his body to press full-length against hers.
"Easier on both of us?"
Petroc had the right idea, she realized. Neither of them had any experience, and she was glad, but she wanted this night to be perfect and not full of clumsy mistakes and awkwardness.
"You're not--"
"No," she hurried to say. "Not upset. This is perfect."
"You're perfect," Petroc whispered, and leaned in again to kiss her.
Rhianni had seen every bit of his body when she tended him after the rescue. She had admired his tanned, lean, scarred body, every swirl of dark hair and clean definition line. Petroc, unconscious and sweating poisons from his system, was a different man from Petroc healthy and aroused. Rhianni realized she was very glad to forego the awkwardness of disrobing, or disrobing each other this first time. Later on, it might be fun.
If they had a 'later on'. Either of them could be killed in the days to come.
No, I won't think of that.
It's all right. Petroc trailed kisses down her neck. We're forever, Anni. No matter what happens.
The gradual cooling of the air as dusk fell around them intruded on the sweetness of simply standing there, up to their waists in the river, kissing, entwined as tightly as they could be. They made a desultory attempt to find the dropped soap and finish washing, then Petroc growled and swung her up in his arms and splashed out of the river.
Their bed was a pile of blankets and cushions taken from the shuttle, arranged in a cup in the landscape large enough for a double-wide bed. Rhianni sighed as he knelt, still cradling her against him, and they stretched out on the blankets together. A tiny corner of her mind laughed silently, because they were both soaking wet. She didn't care.
Lying tangled with Petroc was as wonderful as it had felt in her dreams--the weight and heat of him, the tightness of his arms, the demands of his mouth. His groans met the soft sounds he evoked in her, to be crushed in their joined mouths. The night had barely begun, and Rhianni hoped it lasted forever.
"I finally got you out of your gisseg shell," he whispered. One calloused, tanned thumb caressed the soft spot in the hollow of her collarbone.
Their minds and souls spun together until Rhianni thought the entire world had vanished out from under them. Blue sparks like electric fire raced through her mind, swirling her up in a whirlwind of images and sensations so she could hardly breathe. All around them, electric blue fire hovered like a shield, guarding them, hiding them from the rest of the world.
Rhianni lay partially on her side, one leg hooked over Petroc's hip. His head tucked into the curve of her neck and shoulder and his limp arm curved around her, holding them together. She opened her eyes and thought for a moment she still dreamed. Blue fire sparkled and glistened all around her. Blinking, her eyes cleared, she realized that the cup of tangled, sweaty blankets was surrounded by Shadows.
"Roc?"
He mumbled something, his voice as creaky as a centenarian, but he managed to lift his head and prop himself up on one arm so he leaned over her. Rhianni settled onto her back and smiled to see the blue sparks still filled his eyes. Petroc's answering smile started that delicious, hot twisting sensation moving in her belly again. She sat up and gestured around them, for him to see before he started kissing her.
After all, she didn't want to be interrupted once Petroc resumed kissing her.
"Oh." He came more awake and his mouth hardened into a somber line as he turned his head and met the gazes of the Shadows surrounding them.
"Do they...do they come around like this every time Taken get married?"
"Not that I know of."
"Do you think they--" She swallowed hard, hating the dropping sensation and the cooling of the lava still flowing in her veins.
"Did that to us? Oh, I hope not." Petroc frowned as the Shadows suddenly turned as one and vanished into the starlit darkness. "Although, if tonight is just the beginning, I'm definitely a dead man." His grin returned as he stretched out in the blankets on his side and reached for her.
"Is that good?" she whispered, as she let him curl their bodies together again.
"Considering I feel like you half-killed me, oh, yeah."
"Half-killed you?" She tried to pretend to be insulted, but the laughter bubbled up from deep inside. "I should be furious with you for not dragging me home years ago. Think of all we've missed."
"The timing wasn't right." He dragged his fingertips down her back to cup her bottom and press her closer against him. It was a light touch, but made her tighten inside so her breath caught. "You were right, Anni. The Shadows have a plan for you. You're so important, if the Black Pit can use you, turn you to serve it, everything is lost."
"As long as you love me, everything will be all right."
"Yeah?" His crooked grin held such wistfulness and mischief mixed, Rhianni didn't know whether to laugh or cry. She settled for kissing him, which, she realized, was the most effective communication of all.
Petroc's hands moved over her in a strange, exhilarating combination of familiarity and newness. Hunger pulsed through her, but dulled by the sated, exhausted glory that still soaked her. It was enough to twine her legs with his and focus on the play of lips and tongues. Soon, though, exhaustion slowed even that.
"All right?" Petroc whispered. He kept them twined together and rolled over so she lay against him.
"For the first time in my life."
"It feels like everything's been a dream up until now." He lightly traced the line of her nose with one fingertip, then kissed the tip of her nose. "A bad dream, without you. Tonight feels like the first real thing since I don't know when."
"We didn't do too bad for two peop
le who didn't have a clue what to do." That earned soft laughter from him.
"I think we did enough practicing in our dreams."
"You think any of that was real? I mean, our minds touching, giving us a reason to wait?"
"Maybe. Even without those dreams of you... I would have waited. The first time is forever, with the Taken. Unmated Taken avoid physical contact with unmated adults of the opposite sex. The Shadows warned us that it could be dangerous. Dancing is about as sensual as we can handle."
"So you just save up all the fire for marriage?"
"Some of us have always known who our other half was. No doubts, no questions asked. You're the only one I ever wanted."
"According to Gan, there were plenty of girls who've tried to convince you otherwise."
"Tried. Nobody yanks me clear out of my skin with just a smile like you." When he claimed her mouth in another kiss, their minds intertwined and blue sparks swirled up behind her eyelids.
The next four days passed in a whirlwind of security measures, slowly tightening the noose around the conspirators on the Council and preparing for the full takeover of the planet. Dr. Carr increased his secrecy, but loyal Enforcers inside the science wing reported he acted more erratic and temperamental. The rumors of Carr's demands that the children of Taken be handed over to him to study became public fact. The Council made noises about considering the proposal, for the good of the entire colony. Rhianni said grateful prayers every night that more than three-quarters of the children born to Taken parents were unknown to the government. Every child that could be hidden was hidden, whether known to the government or not. Most important of all, Danil was among them.
Along with the stress of her work, a sense of physical unbalance worried her. Two times in her life she had felt this way, as if she rode a bucking beast, flinging her to the sky and then pounding her into the ground. The first time was when she had her contraceptive implant inserted after her first mense, and had such negative reactions until the Corps' medics found the right formula. The second time was three years ago, when the first long-term dose ran out in the middle of a mission and she couldn't get it renewed until nearly four months later. But her current dose still had two years to go--and that was another cause for upset. Rhianni dreamed constantly of children. The big family she and Petroc wanted. She wanted to be pregnant, with an intensity that surprised and frightened her. She had never really considered being a mother until she came home to Mallachrom and saw Petroc again. It wasn't just motherhood, she realized after some thought. She wanted Petroc's baby, as soon as possible.
Her hunger for a child, and knowing Mallachrom wasn't safe for children, gave her renewed determination to end this crisis, once and for all.
The one thing that got her through each day was at the same time a torment. Petroc, playing her bodyguard, was always there, physically as well as in her mind. They learned to open their minds to each other, sharing impressions and ideas while simultaneously carrying on conversations with other people. Rhianni drew strength from his mental touch, and yet being denied his physical presence frustrated and wearied her. Most nights, she wasn't able to hide in her quarters, close the door and lock out the problems of Mallachrom, until nearly midnight. Their time together, for privacy and sweet, hot pleasure, was short. Far too short.
The nightmare came in the early morning hours, when Rhianni had relaxed her guard. After all, how could any evil come near her with Petroc wrapped around her, body and soul?
Even through her sleep, she felt his arms around her, the warmth and weight of him. It merged with her nightmare, so at first she didn't realize it was a dream.
Petroc was on top of her, his mouth contorted in a snarl of effort. His hands clutched her shoulders, crushing her flat into the bed. An icy wash of fear stole her breath and she tried to push him off.
Instead of the blue of the Merger energy, his eyes were green. Fire tore through her body, shredding her from the inside. Petroc was the source of her pain, her enemy, her murderer.
"Anni!" Petroc shook her awake.
He dragged her upright and held her on his lap while she shuddered and gasped for breath. She ached deep inside, icy where just a short time ago everything was flame and joy. Rhianni cried, like she hadn't allowed herself to cry in years.
"Sshhh. You're safe. I won't let it get you. Nothing can get to you. We're all here, wrapped around you."
"It's angry." Rhianni flinched, startled. Yet she knew she had latched onto something. "It wants me. Untouched. Making love to you, bonding with you, it's made me harder to get to." A shudder tore through her. "It tried to make me think you were a danger because you got where it wants to be."
"Anni?" Petroc brushed sweaty hair out of her face. "I caught a part of the dream, but it didn't make sense."
"It's been trying to... I don't know, train me? Prepare me, maybe brainwash me in my dreams. Make me think you were a danger. Something wants to crawl up inside me. Invade me. Take me over." She closed her eyes tight against a sudden urge for more tears. This was not what she wanted to feel after making love to Petroc.
He lowered her back into the bed and lay down so they were face to face. He wrapped the blankets around them again, his arms around her. The warmth of him, his touch, soothed away the last tremors of her nightmare. Rhianni tried to tell herself she was a Rover and shouldn't let nightmares frighten her like a little child. Yet she knew it wasn't merely a nightmare. Just like she touched on the Merger in her dreams, something else touched her while she slept.
"Show me your dreams," Petroc whispered. "Maybe we can figure out what's going on."
"How?"
"I'm going into the Merger. Relax and let me take you with me."
"All right." Rhianni closed her eyes and tried to relax, curled up against his chest, cradled safe in his arms.
How could she reduce her awareness of him enough to relax?
Blue sparks teased and nibbled at the edge of her mind. Rhianni felt Petroc's presence grow stronger, a totally separate thing from his body pressed against hers.
Think about it now, he said.
Rhianni shivered as she turned her thoughts to the dreams that had haunted her ever since returning to Mallachrom. A doubled sensation of physical and spiritual arms enfolded her. He snarled as he shared the probing attempts at invasion, the certainty of what would happen if the green fire could part her legs and shoot inside her.
Petroc's mind let out a roar like a furious Shadow and blue fire blinded her for a moment. Then the sense of invasion vanished.
What is it? Do you recognize it?
It's the same thing I feel when I go too close to the Black Pit. It wants you, Anni. It'll never get you. I swear. It'll have to kill me, first.
Then the floating, warm, enfolding sensation shifted and the blue fire was shot through with silvery sparks.
What's happening?
Don't worry. Petroc took on form, appearing out of the haze; his face a barely distinct outline, his body a blur, his eyes the only clear and recognizable feature.
Where are we?
It's still the Merger. Others are coming.
What's up? an unfamiliar male voice called.
Rhianni felt a moment of panic. She knew she was naked, but when she looked, she had no body.
Other voices called and other formless shapes with diamond-bright eyes and a hint of faces appeared in the blue haze. They floated apart from each other, forming a wide circle.
Blackness boiling with slick, thick poison appeared in the midst of the haze. Green fire ringed it, protective and burning with edges sharper than razors. Something stirred in the depths and Rhianni recoiled, knowing that whatever was down there would destroy them all if it could completely emerge.
More blue sparks appeared, forming ovals like Shadow eyes, ringing the faces, which suddenly surrounded Rhianni in a smaller ring. Solid streams of blue fire arched between the Shadows and the people. Roots of blue fire emerged from them to wrap around Petroc. He didn't ma
ke a sound but his eyes widened with the shock. Rhianni tried to scream, to throw herself against him to protect and shield him, but she couldn't move.
Petroc held out a hand and blue fire danced along his fingertips.
You were right, Anni. We've been waiting for you!
The blackness roared, erupting like a malignant, poisonous lava flow. Streamers of green fire shot out from the boiling center, aiming directly for her. Blue fire shot from Petroc's hand and enfolded her. The green fire bounced off her like rain off a shuttle's shell.
A flicker of her imagination and will turned her body solid and hard. Her fingers spouted blue flames as she dove into the blackness. An exultant shout rose from her as she exploded with the knowledge that she could burn away the blackness.
"The Black Pit," Petroc gasped, sitting upright and drawing Rhianni with him, out of the Merger into waking again. "It's moving. For the last time."
They clung to each other, shivering with a cold that came from deep inside. Then, looking deep into Petroc's sparkling blue eyes, Rhianni knew what she had to do, what they had to do.
Chapter 20
Rhianni listened to every report at the pre-dawn meeting without raising her head from her datapad. Petroc worried for her. He knew she still felt the reverberation of the shock they had both endured, yanked from the exhaustion after lovemaking into space-cold battle readiness. She had managed to lock away her passion behind the facade of the Rover captain, and he approved. He was proud of her and ached to protect her from her duty.
Rhianni had been chosen, perhaps before birth, as the keystone the Taken needed to complete their shield against whatever waited in the Black Pit. Rhianni's mother had been befriended by Shadows. Perhaps the Shadows had foreseen this day, this need, and planned for Rhianni's birth.
Shadows of Mallachrom, Book 1: Blue Fire Page 21