CHAPTER 11
Sunshine poured through the bedroom window creating a shimmering aura around Riley’s sleeping form, the golden light danced in her ebony hair. Crumpled bedsheets hinted that her sleep had been troubled and restless. Feeling the warmth of the morning sun against her body, she woke slowly. She yawned, stretching her tense muscles. Since her return from Avalyss, she had not exercised, her body craved a run. Sitting up, she spied Max lying in front of the closed bedroom room.
Grinning, she launched a pillow at him. “What are you doing? Guarding my honor?”
“Someone has to. You don’t seem to be doing such a good job of it yourself.”
He yelped as a barrage of pillows rained down on him. He leapt straight at Riley, pinning her to the bed. Squealing, she grabbed his neck trying to twist him off. Wrestling, they both fell to the floor, shrieking with laughter.
Drawn by all the hoopla emanating from the room, Cole stood silently in the doorway. It looked like they had wrestled for years, the giant wolf gentle with the slight human woman. The camaraderie existing between the two was something he had never experienced. For the first time he realized how isolated his life had been. All of his time had been spent studying, training, working towards fulfilling his destiny, eschewing any close personal relationships in a single minded pursuit of his goal. Shrugging off the jealousy that knifed through him, he snapped, “Stop behaving like children, we have work to do.”
Two pairs of laughing eyes met his frigid stare as a pillow sailed through the air and rapped him on the ear. Turning on his heels, he stalked out of the room, assaulted by fresh bursts of laughter.
Minutes later, Riley emerged, dressed in running gear. “Max and I are going for a run. Do you want to come?”
The red t-shirt and black running shorts hugged her body, showcasing each perfect curve. She looked slender, lithe and delectable. Shaking his head to stop his thoughts from drifting in a dangerous direction, he snarled, “Have you lost your mind? You cannot go running, we are being hunted, remember?”
She started to do some warm up stretching exercises. “I refuse to be cooped up here indefinitely. Besides we should be in top form in order to face the creatures that are hunting us.”
Cole reluctantly agreed but insisted that the three stay together at all times.
Running on the seawall in Stanley Park, a stone’s throw from Riley’s apartment, the trio made a striking picture. The majestic black wolf loping along, the graceful woman runner, and the tall, handsome man running with ease and power, honey hair flying in the ocean breeze.
Flushed, cheeks glowing after the run, Riley declared that she was ravenous, and elected to stop at the corner donut store. The pimply cheeked, greasy haired clerk behind the counter snapped to attention as she entered. Staring at her chest, licking his cracked lips, he smiled, revealing yellow, broken teeth. Riley, focusing on the vast selection of donuts, did not notice the direction of the clerk’s avid stare but Cole did. He leaned over, and whispered viciously in the clerk’s ear, “Put your eyes back in your head otherwise I will pluck them out.”
Bristling with indignation, he opened his mouth to swear at Cole, but one look into those frigid amber eyes and his anger died, replaced by a cold, numbing fear. With shaking hands, he filled Riley’s order, keeping his eyes fixed on the floor.
“That guy’s a creep,” Cole said as they headed back to Riley’s place.
“Wayne? He’s a bit of a lech but harmless,” she replied, munching on a Boston Crème donut, savoring the creamy filling. She held out the bag to him.
Cole picked one, took a huge bite, gagged and promptly spat it out. “Disgusting. It tastes just as vile as liver.”
She choked on her donut. “Did you just compare donuts to liver?”
“Actually they are worse than liver, since liver is good for you.”
“A life without donuts is a life not worth living.”
Chuckling, Cole realized that he was enjoying himself. He relaxed his guard a little. He walked right past the hooded figure and would have missed it entirely if he had not stopped to look at some jewelry in a window display while Riley and Max entered the apartment building.
Catching the reflection in the glass, he gasped, and spun to face the man cloaked in black.
His mentor, head of the Dark Mages and the closest thing to a father that Cole had, Tyror, stood in front of him looking so out of place on the busy street that Cole wondered why no one was staring. Then it clicked that Tyror was not there in the flesh, just his projected image which would be invisible to everyone else. He was taller than Cole by a few inches, skinny, almost emaciated looking, with a stern forbidding face, thin lips, and glossy black eyes. Since he seldom spoke, his voice was rusty. “What is taking so long? You must return immediately. Our plan needs to be put into place.”
Cole mumbled beneath his breath. “I need more time. She is not ready yet, and I cannot bring her back against her will. Her Guardian is always around. I need to get her alone. Just give me more time.”
“Hurry. We cannot delay much longer. Kill the Guardian if you have to. You cannot force her to come but you can trick her. Make it happen and soon.” His image slowly dissolved, until only his eyes were left floating in space. They slowly faded, and Cole was all alone, dark thoughts swirling in his head.
Cursing under his breath, he reflected that the day had lost all of its beauty and charm. How could he have been enjoying himself? Acting like a bloody tourist, like if he was on holiday. He liked Riley, hell, he was even beginning to like Max, but he had a job to do, a mission. He could not let feelings stand in his way. His destiny was at stake.
Riley stood in the shower, hoping the warm water would wash away her thoughts. She had enjoyed spending time with Cole. He was charming, clever and devastatingly handsome. Her heart kept doing little flip flops. There was one moment when he had donut crumbs on his lips, and she had fought the urge to stand on tiptoe and lick them off. She was both in love and in lust, pure unadulterated lust. She turned off the hot water and finished her shower with ice cold water. Wrapped in a towel, she stepped out of the bathroom and straight into Cole’s arms. Her heart stood still as his eyes raked her body, they seemed to see through the towel. The punch of arousal knocked the breath out of her body. She leaned into him, tilted her head up, heard him groan just before his lips crushed into hers. His mouth ravished hers. Standing on tiptoe, she kissed him back, her hunger matching his. Savouring the wild taste of him, she put her arms around his neck, letting her towel fall to the floor. Abruptly, Cole stepped back, retrieved her towel, dropped it around her shoulders and stalked off without saying a word. Riley stood gaping after him, reeling from hurt, confusion and embarrassment. Still feeling the pressure of his mouth on hers, the passion and promise of his kiss, she wrapped the towel around her chilled body and hurried to her room.
Max paced the living room, sneaking occasional glances at Cole and Riley, sensing that something had happened between the two. They were meeting to come up with a game plan, to figure out the best way to deal with future attacks. So far no one had said much. Sitting in the rocking chair, Cole’s face was an inscrutable mask while Riley sprawled on the sofa, biting her lip.
Sighing, Max said, “Any ideas?”
Cole stood, walked around the room, peered through the window at the westering sun. “I was not entirely honest with you.” Seeing Max’s narrowed eyes and hearing Riley’s gasp, he continued, “only the Light Beings are hunting me. The Dark Mages sent me here to bring Riley back.”
Riley sat up straight, a look of fury on her face. “You came here to kidnap me? Why?”
He shook his head. “No, you must come willingly. When the Dark Mages heard of the Higher Echelon’s decree that you marry Crane, they sent me here to convince you to marry me instead.”
Max snarled, “Over my dead body.”
Riley got unsteadily to her
feet, heart thundering in her chest, wondering if he loved her after all. “You want to marry me?”
He turned, his eyes frozen pools of amber. “If you marry me, then our destinies will be joined. We cannot then be forced to battle each other. We will be on the same side. The Dark Mages will rule Avalyss.”
Pain knifed through her while anger hit her like a fist. How could she be so foolish to even think that he loved her? “You mean you will rule Avalyss. That has always been your goal.”
“Yes. But will marrying me be such a hardship? You cannot deny the physical attraction between us.”
Riley stalked towards him, face tight, fists clenched. “Sex and power. Is that all you are interested in? I do not want the Dark Mages to rule. I do not seek power only balance and harmony.”
Cole, his own anger rising, kept his face and voice neutral. “Stop being so naïve. Power is the only path. Will you come back to Avalyss with me?”
The setting sun turned her ebony hair red and orange giving her a fierce and fearsome aspect. “I will not.”
Cole bowed. “Very well. You give me no choice.”
Raising his arms, he muttered strange nonsense words, whirled and transformed into a huge yellow lion. Tossing his luxurious mane, throwing back his impressive head, he roared, a blood curdling sound that echoed eerily around the small room. Without warning, Max charged but the lion batted him away with a gigantic paw. Max fell on his back and before he could get to his feet, the lion leaped on him, roaring in triumph as his enormous teeth descended towards Max’s throat. The lion’s amber eyes met Riley’s and spoke in Cole’s whisky voice “Either you come with me or he dies. The choice is yours.”
Max tried to free himself but he was securely pinned. “No, he cannot take you against your will.” He howled in pain as the lion’s paw slashed his face, blood poured from the wound.
“Shall I finish him? Or will you come? “ The lion growled, his teeth bone white against the deep black of Max’s fur.
Helpless, tears streaking down her face, Riley nodded. “I will go with you. Please don’t hurt him.”
Growling again, he hurled himself at her, grabbed her by the scuff of her neck, his breath hot against her skin. Wincing at the sharp pain as his teeth scraped her flesh, Riley fell into darkness.
Max watched as they disappeared. Howling in rage and despair, he dragged himself to his feet. He had not been hurt except for the gash on his face. He had to go after them. Cole had taken her to Avalyss but he did not know where. Besides he had to hurry. The magic Cole used had created a huge rent in the fabric of protection around the apartment. Not liking his chances of taking on a horde of saphyrs by himself, he teleported to Avalyss.