Woman Beheld (2 page)

If this was some sort of trick, it wasn’t funny and he didn’t appreciate it. Over the years he’d heard the Fates were bitches until Artu and Kyl told the defenders in their group otherwise. He was keeping his opinion to himself until they brought him together with his own woman.

From what he could see, they
were
bitches.

I don’t like the direction of your thoughts, Defender. Perhaps we should not bring you together with your woman.

Stop it, sister,
said the owner of a younger voice. It sounded almost like a child—perhaps a teenager. It could only be Skuld, the maiden Norn and seer of the future.
You know as well as Urd and I do that we must bring them all together. The fate of the universe depends on their making their matches. If even one should go mad, it could mean the end of the entire space-time continuum. Like it or not, we must come to terms with that fact.

Yes, we must.
The last sentence came from an older woman, but not as old as Verdandi. It could only be Urd, the mother and Norn of the present.
I have found her and she is in distress. Her world has no defender and four thugs have set upon her. She is injured and pregnant. I fear for her and her unborn child.

Were the Norns telling him the truth? Did he truly have a mate—and she was in danger? “Take me to her.” He didn’t miss the fact that Urd had said she was pregnant. It didn’t matter. He was no virgin. It would be ridiculous to expect his mate to be one. He didn’t care how many children she had. If she had a dozen, he would love them as he would love his mate.

Unfortunately, we, cannot. We do not have the power to send you to another world just like that,
Skuld said. She must have snapped her fingers because he heard the common sound punctuate her sentence.
We need help. Fortunately, Verdandi is contacting him now.

Before he knew it, the cliff below his feet gave way, breaking up into little pieces and he fell downward, sucked into some bizarre, dark abyss, where he landed on his feet in a strange place, surrounded by darkness. When a beam of light illuminated the center of the shadowy circle, a man stood before him, his arms crossed over his chest, his feet spread shoulder-width apart and a scowl on his face.

Had Daffyd not been a defender, he might have thought the man fearsome in his black leather vest, wearing the gold armbands of a warrior. However, until he bore children capable of taking his place as defender of Mikkant, he could not age or die. Such was the curse of the defender.

“Who are you and what brings you here?” the man demanded, narrowing eyes as blue as the sky on Daffyd. He balled his hands into fists as though ready to fight. It was almost as though the man had never seen another male before.

“I am Daffyd Soduur of Mikkant. The Fates sent me.”

The man jerked back as though he’d struck him. “The Fates?” He shook his head. “I do not believe this. So far they have only bid me to transport women.”

“I’m sorry to disappoint,” Daffyd said, raising his brow. “However, that does not make it any less true.” He moved to walk around the man in an effort to size him up. He was big, to be sure, but Daffyd was certain he could take him in a fair fight, if the need arose. His only worry was whether he would get a fair fight. This was no normal man. He was no defender, either. By the looks of things, he was some otherworldly servant of the Norns, or the Fates. What they were called depended on who one was talking to at the time.

“Who are you?”

The man straightened and scowled as though he took affront to Daffyd’s statement. “I am Garrick, the Gatekeeper. I stand guard over the gates between dimensions. I have done so for several millennia.”

“Gates between dimensions?” He hadn’t been aware such a thing existed, though he supposed it shouldn’t surprise him. He’d often wondered if the legends on his world about faeries and the like didn’t hold more truth than most thought.

“Do you call me a liar?” Garrick stood straight, his muscles bulging as though expecting a fight.

“No. Certainly not.” Daffyd held his hands up. “I meant no offense. As I said, I am Daffyd Soduur, Defender of Mikkant. The Fates have sent me to collect my woman.” Why waste time arguing with this angry man when his woman needed his help?

Garrick pulled a strange device from his pocket with a frown. “I shall check the thread locator.” He waved the device in Daffyd’s face. “It never makes a mistake.” He glanced down at the device. “Though, it has been known to stop working on occasion.”

“I know about the women—at least two of them. They have twice sent women to worlds I know. No one has ever said anything about them sending any men.”

“They have never
asked
me to transport a man before,” Garrick replied with a frown as he looked at the thread locator. He slapped the thing against the palm of his hand a few times and frowned. “Well, I’ll be damned.” He glanced up through narrowed eyes. “It looks like you’re going to get your mate, you lucky bastard. I have no idea why I cannot bring her to you.” He shrugged, pointed the device toward Daffyd and waved his arm. “I’ll see you later.” He grinned. “Though, you will not see
me
again.”

The ground gave way to little square bits and Daffyd fell through the surface, hurtling downward. After what seemed an eternity, he landed in a dark and cool place. He made a face at the stench of rotting food and mildew filling his nostrils. Bent over with one hand on his knee, and the other pressed against a cold stone wall, he shook his head to chase away the strange dizziness he acquired from the odd transportation.

“Please don’t do this. Please!” A woman’s fear-filled voice rang in the darkness.

Nothing got his blood pumping and cleared his head as well as a woman who needed his help. “Finally, I have something to do.” He pushed away from the wall with a growl. “Don’t worry, sweetheart. I’m on my way.”

It wouldn’t take him long to reach her. Though his hearing was exceptional like all defenders, he could tell she wasn’t far away.

A quick look around showed him that he was at the end of an alleyway. The woman’s cries came from the other end. The sound of rending cloth reached him and he put on a burst of speed.

He heard many male voices and scowled. He wanted to stop whatever assholes assaulted the woman, especially if she turned out to be his mate. Still, mate or not, she was a woman in need and he could do nothing less than save her. After all, it was his job.

He stopped a few feet back and took stock of the situation. Four young men held a woman down on the ground. The youngest appeared to be in his early twenties. Still a boy when measured with Daffyd’s age, but he was a grown man assaulting a defenseless woman, nonetheless.

Eager hands pawed almost bare breasts while the woman begged them to leave her alone. That she was obviously very pregnant, didn’t escape his notice. Mate or not, she needed his help.

A shock hit him square in the gut when she raised her tear-filled eyes and met his gaze. She lifted a slender, arm toward him. “Help me. Please, help me.”

He wouldn’t have known what she said if it weren’t for his exceptional defender’s hearing. Daffyd doubted the others heard her. The words barely left her lips. One male had his hand in the center of her chest, pressing down while he pawed her with the other. She could barely breathe, if her shallow gasps were any indication.

Daffyd’s control snapped at that pleading whisper. Reaching out, he grabbed the closest youth by the back of the neck and pulled him away from the group with a jerk.

Turning him around, he brought the man’s face so close, their noses almost touched. “Didn’t your mother ever teach you to respect women?” he asked before he none too gently pushed the thug away. The man flew backward, hitting the wall opposite him with a satisfying crack.

With a groan, the young man slid to the ground, unconscious.

“Hey! What do ya think you’re doing, man?” the tallest of the four asked. The snick of a switchblade sounded and Daffyd tried not to smile. It seemed as though he would get his much-needed workout after all.

Elle watched, terrified as the new man yanked the four boys off her with little effort. It appeared as though the man had more strength than any one man should possess. Tall, his short brown hair streaked with gold, he looked like a body builder or a model. Perhaps he was one of the two. Though model seemed more likely. He was beautiful. At least he had his size to help him. He was at an unfair advantage with the three youths he hadn’t knocked unconscious glaring at him as though
he
were the one committing the crime.

The leader of the gang pulled a knife, the sickening sound of the blade snapping open had her shutting her eyes to say a prayer of forgiveness. Her heartfelt plea would most likely get the poor man killed. No matter how big he was, if he didn’t know how to defend himself against an armed attacker, he would die here tonight because of her. Elle gathered her tattered blouse around her and scrambled away from the scene. She didn’t want to watch, certain that the man was about to die and it would all be her fault.

Still, she couldn’t look away. She kept staring at them with some morbid fascination, wanting, needing to know that the man would prevail, even with the odds stacked against him. Grabbing two of the youths, her hero slammed them together, their heads cracking against each other audibly while the leader stabbed at him with the knife.

With a scream, Elle moved back, her hand to her chest. Still holding up the shredded remains of her shirt, she held her coat close about her as she attempted to put distance between herself and her attackers. She didn’t want to leave the man alone, but she knew that she would be no help at all. If anything, she knew her presence could distract the poor man and get him killed.

Standing, she made to run away, but a sharp pain had her doubling over, her hands against her stomach. “No!” She couldn’t lose Barry’s child. The baby was a small part of him—all she had left. “Please. God, please don’t take my baby.”

She fell to her knees, unable to do anything but grip her stomach and watch as the leader of the group kept stabbing at the man who would have been her savior had the criminal not had a knife.

Blood seeped from several wounds and the man laughed. He actually laughed! “Do you think your puny efforts will harm me?” He grinned at the thug. “I am Daffyd Soduur, Defender of Mikkant. You cannot harm me. I never sustain lasting damage.”

He ripped his shirt from his impressive torso and wiped the blood from his wounds, only there weren’t any wounds. His tanned skin was as smooth as though his injuries had been nothing more than an illusion.

“I know I cut you!” The gang leader thrust his knife forward, stabbing the man again. “Ha! Wipe
that
shit away, you bastard.”

The man merely smiled, revealing an irresistible dimple. Elle gasped as she watched the gore disappear and his wound heal before her eyes.

“What the hell are you, man, some sort of vampire or something?”

The man who called himself Daffyd Soduur just gave him a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “I have already told you. I am Defender of Mikkant. You cannot permanently injure me, nor can you kill me. I am immortal.” Reaching out, he grabbed the front of the criminal’s shirt. Twisting the material, he lifted the young man off his feet. “No one assaults a woman in my presence.” He lowered his voice until it was little more than a growl. “No. One.”

With a flick of his wrist, he flung the thug against the wall on the far side of the alley. The kid hit the wall with a sickening thwack. Turning, the man faced her, his expression filled with concern. “Are you okay?” He moved toward her and though Elle feared the worst, she still couldn’t seem to look away from his sculptured male perfection.

What was wrong with her? Closing her eyes, Elle shook her head. “I-I think I’m losing my baby.”

Strong arms scooped her up from the ground and held her close. “Don’t worry. I have you now. I won’t let anything happen to your child. I swear it.” He looked down, meeting her gaze with eyes the color of the darkest chocolate. “Do you have other children, or is this your first? Do you have children at home who need assistance?”

“This is my first,” she said with a shake of her head. “Please take me to a hospital. I don’t want my baby to die.”

“Your baby will not die. I swear it.”

Elle wanted to tell him that he shouldn’t make promises he might not be able to keep, but another sharp pain made her gasp, then cry out. “It hurts. I can’t stand it. It hurts so much.”

“Shhh…love. It will be all right. You’ll see,” he said as he carried her toward the entrance of the alley. He didn’t bat an eye when the pavement started to ripple and break away, swirling in a strange pixilated whirlpool before them. “I will see to all of your needs.”

Elle screamed when he stepped into that strange pool. Darkness surrounded them and they fell for what seemed an eternity. “What’s happening? Where are we? Where are you taking me?”

“I am taking you to a place where the people can save your baby. I am taking you to my home planet, Mikkant. I am defender there. My people will do whatever it takes to see that you and your baby live. I promise you this.”

“Oh, God!” Elle sobbed. “You saved me from a group of murderous thugs, but you’re not much better, are you?” Just my luck, she thought. The man who rescued her from four young men bent on raping and possibly killing her would turn out to be a nut case himself. How could such a beautiful man be that crazy?

She clutched her stomach and tried to force his image out of her mind. How could she even think about how he looked when her baby’s life hung in the balance? She clutched her middle, tears streaming down her face. She didn’t want to be alone with this man, but she knew that she would never make it to help on her own.

Like it or not, Elle knew she had to trust him whether she wanted to or not. It was the only chance to save her baby. Perhaps, once she was better, she could escape him if he didn’t want to let her go.

After a while, the falling sensation eased. It felt as though they flew through the air instead of plummeting to the earth. The air temperature had changed as well. It wasn’t as cold. In fact, it was a bit on the balmy side. A warm breeze ruffled her hair and she turned her face into it. The strange quiet was soothing, her nerves calmed and the almost unbearable ache in her stomach eased for a short time.