He laughed. “Doona insult my woman so. You doona want an angry Gargoyle on your hands.”
“I’m not afraid of you,” she whispered fiercely.
“Aye, but you should be,” he whispered back, his forehead coming to touch hers. He took in a slow breath, his lashes fluttering closed before he groaned. “You shouldna be so close tae me. You smell too fine for words.” He opened his eyes and she could see the raw appetite within them. Her breath snagged in her throat and her heart began to pound.
She knew he was going to drag her up to his hungry mouth long before he did it, and she did nothing to stop him. His kiss was like a virulent thing, a beautiful disease that grew and grew and overwhelmed every last defense she had to throw at it. She felt herself melting between his hands as he held her tightly to his body, bending her back over in her kneeling position.
His hand ran up her side, along the curve of her waist, over the ridges of her ribs and then, as gently as he could, he closed his hand over her breast. She drew breath straight from his lungs, her tongue, startled at first, suddenly leaping into the fray, tangling up with his in such an energetic attack that it was like setting fire to stone. Anything that could make stone burn was a powerful force, and she was literally wildfire to him. His mind was hazing over with the passion that was trying to overwhelm him, but he fought it back. He would not be the beast with her.
“No! Get away!” He shoved her away, reaching to unclasp his seat belt and stumbling away from her. “I willna do this tae you! Do you no’ ken? I’ll be a beast wi’ you. I’ll hurt you. You have to keep away from me. Please,” he said, his tone and body settling into quiet. “Please doona let me hurt you.”
“I won’t,” she promised just as quietly. “And you won’t. You couldn’t hurt a woman even if you tried.”
“But I have! Jan Li …”
“It sounds like she knew exactly what she was getting into. And you weren’t the one who hurt her. You have to stop blaming yourself for that.”
He looked up and met her eyes.
“There’s no one else tae blame.”
“There is. You blame those who attacked you. Those who hurt her. You didn’t—”
“I failed her!”
“You didn’t do it on purpose!”
“Neither will I do harm tae you on purpose, but it’ll happen just the same! Now keep your bloody distance woman!”
“Fine. Fine, I’ll keep my distance. I won’t let you touch me.” And Kat tried not to let his actions feel like a rejection. She understood his logic, and yes, he probably was right, but just the same it made her feel as though she were somehow lacking. Because she was a frail mortal. Even frailer than most. She had known that all her life, but not until now had it truly meant something to her. Meant that she honestly could not have something she wanted. Everything else had been easy to live without. Sun. The daylight world. Friends. Normalcy. But none of it had hurt like this. Never had she felt so inadequate. She knew that, had she been a Gargoyle female he wouldn’t be trying to hold back. He would probably take her right then and there, as hard as he could. As mad as he was. And it made her so angry that she couldn’t give that to him. He needed it, and she couldn’t provide it.
Most of the rest of the flight passed in tense silence. He paced the length and width of the cabin so constantly she thought she might go mad.
But she knew that if he didn’t do it, that if he stopped for even a second, he might not move ever again. She could see his hands, again and again rippling into stone. Sometimes it climbed all the way up to his shoulders. He would grit his teeth and fight it back.
She had reseated herself in the cabin, but at last she got up and crossed over to him. She reached to touch him and he jerked away.
“Stop,” she said softly. “Just stop.” She stepped up against his body, fighting his initial resistance and wrapping her arms around him.
“You promised tae stay away,” he ground out.
“And you’re burning energy every step you take. Quiet now. Be still. Shh …” She hushed him and quieted him, hugging him around his middle. After a moment he relaxed in her arms, his hands tentatively resting on her back and shoulders. They stood like that for almost thirty minutes, and never once did his hands flicker into stone. He calmed so much that he sat down with her, pulling her into his lap. He was wary at first, clearly afraid it might spark off something more than just comfort, but in the end he was able to remain peaceful with her in his arms and him in hers.
They passed the remainder of the flight exactly like that.
It was close to daylight by the time they landed.
“There should be someone waiting for us. One of our human companions. Most likely Max. I doona expect any Bodywalkers because—”
“They would be paralyzed by the sun,” she finished for him. “I remember.”
And it turned out he was right. When the jet pulled up there were two men waiting near a big SUV. One was relaxed back against the front bumper and hood of the car, his legs crossed at the shins and his arms were crossed over an athletic chest. He was black-haired, with a short, almost military-style cut and wore reflective sunglasses. The other man was big and burly, only slightly smaller than Ahnvil was and he stood in a hard stance with feet apart and arms over his chest. He had blond hair and also wore sunglasses, even though it was still dark. The sun was lightening the sky already.
“How far is it?” she asked nervously as she alighted from the jet and worked her way down the steps. Karma and Ahnvil came down hot on her heels.
“Fifteen minutes at best,” Ahnvil said. He was anxiously looking at the sky as well. “We’ll make sure you’re covered, Kat. I’ll no’ let any harm come tae you.”
She laughed incredulously. “It’s not me I’m worried about!”
“Let’s go folks. Night time is a-wasting,” the dark-haired man said. He reached out for Ahnvil’s hand and they shook.
“You didn’t have to come yourself, Jackson,” Ahnvil said reproachfully.
“Of course I did,” he said, looking at Ahnvil as if any other idea would have been preposterous. “And who is this?”
“This is Katrina Haynes. Kat, this is Jackson, the Pharaoh of the Bodywalkers, and Ram, his first lieutenant.”
“Good to meet you, Kat.” Ram greeted her.
“She needs to be protected from the sun just as we do. She has a disease. The sun will cause her to blister and burn.”
“Right. The windows are polarized. There will be no sun. We’ll pull directly into the garage.” Jackson turned and met her eyes through the tint on his glasses. “Let me introduce you to Max. He’s human, so he’ll be driving us in case we get caught in the sun.”
“We have tae go,” Ahnvil said. “I canna risk turning wi’out my touchstone. I’m too close.”
“I can see that,” Ram said when Ahnvil’s hands briefly shifted to a stone state. “Let’s go.”
But no sooner were the words out of his mouth than a searing blast of red light exploded between the group, blowing them all off their feet. Then another hit, this time catching Jackson dead in the chest. Kat couldn’t help the scream that erupted from her lips, even as Ahnvil got to his feet, grabbed her and thrust her behind himself.
Just in time for him to catch one of those beams right in his chest as well. He roared in pain and Kat could swear she heard his flesh sizzling as though it had been cooked. Yet he remained on his feet, only staggering back a step or two. She looked up and to her shock she could see two men and a woman literally floating in the air. The beams of light were being cast from their hands.
The light was called the Curse of Ra, and Ahnvil knew it well. It was a violent burning energy that could damage even a powerful Nightwalker, as was evidenced by the agonizing pain in Ahnvil’s chest. Jackson was down and Ram was under attack by two of the three Templar assailants. Cloud cover began to rush over them and thunder roared as Ram used his power over the weather to generate a tremendous lightning blast. It hit the fir
st Templar and radiated to the second one, causing the both to falter and fall out of the sky. That left the female and she was focused on Ahnvil. Or rather the woman behind Ahnvil, who was the only one uninjured. Outside of Max, who was still in the car and wise enough to stay there. He was mortal and there was nothing he could do. Their attackers were keeping them back from the car and Ahnvil couldn’t risk sending Kat in that direction. Especially not when he was pretty sure the Templar woman was mistaking Kat for a Nightwalker. One hit by the Curse of Ra would kill a mortal human where they stood. It was Ahnvil’s worst nightmare come to life, and if he remained in flesh form there would be nothing he could do to protect her.
“No! Don’t do it!” she cried, somehow sensing his only course of action.
“I have no choice,” he said darkly before closing his eyes and calling his stone skin. It rippled over him at lightning speed, as if gleefully delighted to be let out of its cage. She had her hands on his back and felt it turn into rough stone. With one tear Ahnvil ripped away his T-shirt and his whole body seemed to grow even bigger. He caught another blast, this one to the face. The Templars on the ground were regrouping, but so was Jackson. He used his massive power of telekinesis to pick up both men and send them slamming into the fuselage of the plane. The ringing of the metal echoed into the pre-dawn sky. The woman in flight was completely fixated on Ahnvil, and she beat him back with blast after blast. Finally, he roared with utter fury, his back hunching up and suddenly … suddenly wings were growing out of the rear of his shoulders, below the scapula and near the spine. His entire body began to distort, growing ever larger and now more and more misshapen. When he turned to look at her he had horns curling back from his skull, his face was distorted and grotesque, wide lips and deadly fangs for his mouth and dark sunken eyes … but eyes that were still the beautifully warm amber she recognized and allowed her to see the man and soul beyond the flattened nose, flared nostrils, and sharp cheekbones.
“Go! Run tae the car!” he snarled at her through a mouth full of fangs.
She was frozen in place, but not from fear of the attackers. She was terrified because he had been forced to become this thing and it was possible he would not be able to change back. And all because he had needed to protect her. Once again she was too frail and too weak. Well, she wasn’t going to fail him. Not this time. She ran, watching all of the attackers from all corners and dodging one blast and then another. The second came so close she could smell her hair burning. Why were they trying to attack her? She was a nobody!
As she rounded the car, Max jumped out and protected her with the shield of his body as he shoved her into the back of the town car. Karma was hot on her heels and bounded into the car along with her. Then Max scrambled back in behind the wheel, his eyes darting back and forth and watching for anything he could do to assist the situation, she presumed. But now that he had wings, Ahnvil was becoming a force to be reckoned with and looked to be the only one of the three under attack who could take flight and meet the bitch in the air head-on. With a massive pumping of stone wings he launched himself into her like a huge granite missile. He plowed into her, tackling her like a linebacker and then pile-driving her down into the ground, tearing up asphalt and earth in a three-yard strip.
Meanwhile the other two men were back on their feet and now that the attackers no longer had the element of surprise Kat could see exactly why Jackson was the leader of his people. His power was phenomenal. He was throwing the men around like rag dolls, and at the same time pummeling them with objects from the ground. Ram waited until Jackson held them pinned in one place then aimed another bolt of lighting directly into their heads. After that it was apparently game over for those two attackers.
But she barely noticed. She was transfixed on watching Ahnvil fly and then the sheer power it must have taken for him to tear up airport asphalt down into the dirt. When he stood up again, he grabbed the female by the front of her shirt and hauled back his fist …
… and hesitated …
“Beat the bitch!” she screamed at him, knowing why he was hesitating. The last Templar female he’d been near had needed his help and he had failed to provide it. And while his need to protect Kat had driven him this far, it was almost impossible for him to beat his fist into the dazed woman’s face.
He seemed to hear her scream and turned to look over his shoulder at her, but he couldn’t see her through the reflective glass.
He shoved the woman back into the ground and got to his feet. Ram and Jackson joined him and they helped to pull him back.
“Do we take her and question her?” Ram asked Jackson.
“No. There’s no time and no room in the car. Just leave her here. We’ll have drawn human attention by now. We need to leave before anyone can investigate. Whoever did this was damn foolish and impulsive.”
“This doesn’t seem like something Apep would do,” Ram said grimly. “It’s all a little half-assed.”
“I think I know the why of it,” Ahnvil said, his breath heaving from him, his big stone body shuddering. “But the sun is coming. If it touches me while I’m like this, there will be no coming back.”
“Change back to flesh, Ahnvil,” Jackson commanded of him. “The threat is neutralized. You don’t need to stay like this.”
“Doona tell me what tae do! I willna let them come for her!”
“Her?” Ram echoed. “You mean the girl.”
“Aye, I mean the girl!” he growled savagely, his body everything that was threatening. “I willna …”
Then he staggered, nearly dropping to his knees. Both men reached out to help him but he threw them off savagely.
“Ahnvil.”
The sound of her voice made him still, but his breath nonetheless came hard. She moved in closer and both men held out hands as if to stop her. She ignored them, pushing past them both. She knelt down and then moved her entire body into Ahnvil’s arms. She pressed herself to his granite rough chest, wrapping her arms around his sides and pressing her hands to his back. After only a moment his hand came to her back and he held her to himself desperately, and yet it seemed as though he were afraid he was going to hurt her at the same time.
The men watched with no little awe as this tiny little mortal woman calmed her big beast of a Gargoyle. His breathing eased and very slowly the roughness beneath her began to smooth out and soon she had her face pressed against warm male flesh. His shirt had been ripped away in the battle. His pants remained in spite of how much larger he had grown, but it was obvious they had been stressed to a near breaking point. They now hung loosely on his hips.
And yet stone still rippled over him in waves, more and more frequently. She could see it in the light of dawn.
They realized at the same time the danger that meant.
“Get her in the car. Cover her with the blanket. Go! Now!”
“We’ll make it before the sun crests,” Max promised after ushering them all in the car. He hit the gas a moment later and with a spray of dirt and gravel tore off the tarmac.
They sped the entire way there. Ahnvil knew if the sun crested and pure daylight touched him he would turn to a statue instantly. The windows were polarized on either side of them to keep the sun out, but still he was anxious. Any number of things could happen before they got to the compound. Not the least of which was another attack by Apep’s forces. If indeed it was Apep responsible. Ahnvil had a suspicion that this was far more about Panahasi than it was about Apep. Still, it was nothing to take lightly for any reason.
Ahnvil didn’t even relax when they reached the compound borders. He would not until she was safely ensconced within and he was finally in touch with his stone. Pain had begun to claw through him, as though his body realized the sun was over the horizon and calling for him to rest … yet he must resist. If he turned without his stone he knew nothing would bring him back this time. Not even the woman who still held him tightly. Truthfully, he had no idea how she had managed to bring him back the first time. It had felt l
ike magic, the soothing sensation she had sent into him. Just as everything she made him feel seemed like magic. Because God knew he had never felt anything like this overwhelming hunger he seemed to have for her. Maybe it was because of the threat of permanent being and the madness it brought. Maybe come the night, after his touchstone had recharged him, he wouldn’t feel the same for her.
But as he ran his hands gently down the length of her back he found that incredibly hard to believe. Damn it, he barely knew her! What else could it possibly be? Perhaps it was that he didn’t want it to change. Didn’t want to lose the hunger he felt every time he smelled the warm chocolate scent she seemed to carry around with her everywhere she went. How did she do that? How did a woman manage to smell like warmed chocolate? It was only one of the many mysteries of her. Mysteries he wanted to unlock one by one.
By the time they pulled into the garage he had broken into a cold sweat. He hurried her into the house, ignoring everyone and everything around him, including Marissa and Jackson’s sister, Docia, as both tried to greet him warmly and with relief to see that he was okay. The house also had polarized glass so not a stitch of daylight could get in, but still he worried. Glass was fragile. Even reinforced as this glass was, all it would take was one little chink.
He should have gone straight for his stone. It was kept in the center of the house. Jackson’s ambient energy recharged the stone every day, so it had to be kept centrally in order to draw the most energy from him. It only took a small amount, but still, as with all things, the more the better.
Ahnvil brought Kat and Karma directly into his rooms.
“This is my suite,” he said roughly. “Doona worry, you’ll be safe here wi’ my friends. All the glass in the house is protecting everyone inside. The forces again’ us canna attack in daylight any more than we can go out in it so we should be safe … unless there is a human attack. But I doona think they would dare. As long as we’re behind this glass we’re too powerful for them by far. These are my private rooms and I want you to sleep here today. Come the night I’ll be regenerated and back to my normal self and I’ll be able to protect you myself.”