Damian's Immortal (War of Gods 3) (8 page)

“
You freed all of us,” the
vamp continued. “It just took the rest of us a while to shake off
the bonds.”

Jule shook his head. None of the vamp’s
words made sense. Darkness was creeping from the edges of his
mind.

“
Find me when you’re
ready,” the vamp said. He stood. “The Oracle will know where I
am.”

The dream faded, and Jule slumped to the
ground again, unable to fight the darkness.

The sound of voices woke her. Jule had moved
and collapsed in a heap a few feet away. He was mumbling in his
sleep. Yully moved towards him and dragged his fevered body close
to the fire again.

She worked tirelessly all night to clean the
blood off of Jule. She marveled at his muscular body and the
perfectly sculptured chest, shoulders, ridged abdomen, and biceps
too large to wrap her hands around. His skin was soft despite his
strength, a combination the woman in her found appealing. Removing
the blood, she found every part of his exposed skin was covered in
the colorful tattoos. She cleaned him up then took a shower and dug
out musty clothing from a trunk at the bottom of one wardrobe.

Finally, she settled beside him, willing him
to make it through the night. If he could shake his fever and take
care of himself, he’d be okay alone. She knew she’d have to leave
him. Her father would hunt them both down, and if he didn’t, the
sword-wielding maniac would. They weren’t safe together, especially
since the powerful connection between them was driving her body
crazy just sitting so close.

Yully dozed twice and forced herself up.
There was no food in the cottage, so she turned a small log into
cans of soup. Just before dawn, she made herself soup and turned a
box of cornmeal into bread. The cottage had grown warm quickly, and
she kept the stove’s belly full of wood.

Jule slept past dawn then into midday. She
sat beside him and touched his skin. A strange energy ran between
them, as if she could absorb the faint stream of his magic. There
was more, though. It was not just his magic, but his soul that
flowed into her. She pulled both into her body.

Her brow furrowed, and she straightened. She
withdrew then touched him again, this time pushing the energy she’d
absorbed-- and her own-- into him. His body took it this time, and
his soul didn’t laugh at her as it had when she tried to turn him
into a rock. In fact, his sleeping body welcomed her energy. Magic
hummed between them, and she began to realize he wasn’t human, and
he wasn’t like her father. The sense of communicating with him
through their magics relaxed her, made her drowsy. She didn’t know
what he was, only that the ebb and flow of magic and energy between
them felt … natural.

She fell asleep beside him again, their
bodies humming in silent communication, until he awoke some time
later. Yully woke with him and pushed herself up, expecting the
worse.

“
Hungry,” he
whispered.

Elated he was somewhat alive, she bolted to
the kitchen for soup. Jule’s shaking had stopped, and he looked
pale rather than flushed from a fever. He’d managed to push himself
into a sitting position when she returned with soup and water.

“
How are you?” she asked
and sat beside him again.

“
Good as new,” he
said.

“
I don’t think you’re
there yet,” she replied skeptically. He accepted the bowl of soup
and sipped in silence for a few minutes. When he’d finished, he
swapped out the soup for the water. “You were mumbling in your
sleep about killing people.”

“
I’ve got a list of people
I probably should,” he said with gentle humor. He studied her. “You
believed that, didn’t you?”

She pursed her lips. “Yes, because you’re a
Guardian.”

“
And?”

“
It’s what Guardians do.
They kill people.”

“
According to who?” he
asked. “Let me guess. Your father.”

She nodded.

“
And you believe
him?”

“
You may be the
exception,” Yully said.

Jule studied her. He lowered the soup, and
their arms brushed, opening the gateway for energy between them.
His gaze went to their arms.

“
Interesting,” he said.
“You’re absorbing what little power I have.”

Flustered, Yully started to rise. Jule
rested a large hand on her forearm, and she stilled, meeting his
intense gaze. His direct look warmed her body on the inside in a
way she knew wasn’t appropriate for the time, place, or man in
front of her.

“
You always run,” Jule
said in his soft growl. “You don’t need to run from me.”

She flushed and looked down. Jule lifted her
chin, his warm touch and nearness stirring her blood.

“
Can you channel the
energies you feel?” he asked.

“
I’ve never felt anything
before you,” she said. Her face grew hotter. “I mean, I never
tried. I don’t interact with people much.”

“
I understood,” he replied
with a smile. His energies flexed, the hum between them growing
stronger. Intrigued by the sensations, she found herself unwilling
to look away from him this time. “You feel it?”

“
Yes, I feel
it.”

“
You can channel
it.”

Instead of responding, she concentrated on
pulling his energy into her body then pushed it back. The
connection she’d experimented with when he slept grew intimate when
he was awake. She hadn’t thought twice about how personal it was to
touch another’s soul, until fire and interest sparked in his warm
gaze. His touch turned electric, and his magic skimmed her blood.
Her breathing quickened, her heart fluttering. The room suddenly
seemed too small for the both of them, and she became as aware of
his heartbeat as her own. She wanted more of Jule’s magic caressing
her from the inside, and his soft skin caressing her on the
outside.

“
You called me beautiful
last night,” she breathed. “Were you in shock?”

“
Yes,” he said with a soft
laugh. “But I meant it.” His thumb caressed her cheek then her
bottom lip.

Yully closed her eyes, entranced by the
sensations. His first kiss was light, as if he were testing her.
She responded, shivering at the energy that fluttered through her
when their lips touched. His lips turned more demanding, and he
took her hands in his. His energy rippled through her, making her
gasp at the intensity of the touch that lit her blood on fire.

She leaned into him, needing more of his
magic and his touch. For the first time in her life, she wanted not
to feel completely alone. She’d touched his soul, and now she
touched his body. If she could just have both …

Jule groaned, not out of pleasure but pain.
Yully snapped back to her senses, her eyes opening. In her haste to
be close to him, she’d planted a shoulder in his injured chest.

“
You’re determined to do
me in,” Jule said with a husky chuckle.

“
Oh, god!” she gasped.
“You’re bleeding again!”

He looked down, and she bounded to the
kitchen, surprised to find her breathing ragged after such a simple
kiss. She tried to regain her composure, unable to compare the
brief experience with Jule to anything else she’d ever felt. She
wanted more …

She shook her head and took a wet washcloth
into the living room. Jule was resting against couch cushions she’d
put on the floor for him. The sight of his muscular, bare torso
made her heart flop in her chest. Handing him the washcloth, she
sat out of arms’ reach, afraid of what would happen if she touched
him again. She was even more afraid of what he’d say, if he thought
something was wrong with her like everyone else did.

“
Pretty useful gift you
have,” Jule said without looking at her. He dabbed at the blood on
his chest. “I can see why they’re after you.”

“
So I can turn things into
something else,” she said. “Doesn’t seem too great.”

“
You can turn someone
else’s energy into yours and amplify it. For someone who needs more
power, it’s a very useful talent.” His calm voice assured her he
wasn’t going to pass judgment on her gift. He didn’t seem like the
kind whose moods shifted like her father’s.

“
I guess,” she
murmured.

“
You really have no idea
how special you are, do you?” he asked and met her gaze.

She wanted to think he was talking about
more than her powers, but such an idea was out of the question. Her
father hated this man for some reason, and being near him put them
both in danger.

“
What happened?” He
reached for her face, and she flinched away. “Your father does
this?”

Yully touched her swollen eye and cheek
self-consciously.

“
Want me to kill him for
you?”

She smiled and met Jule’s gaze. He was
serious.

“
He’s my father, Jule,”
she said. “He just has a hard time controlling his temper, and I
don’t pay him enough respect.”

“
You don’t believe this is
your fault.”

“
It is. I shouldn’t have
taken you the blanket, but I didn’t want you to ...” Tears filled
her eyes again, and she paused, embarrassed.

“
You didn’t want me to
hurt like you do,” he finished for her.

She nodded. “It’s stupid, I know.”

“
No, it’s incredible. Like
you.” His voice was soft, and she fought the urge to reach out to
him.

“
I’ve tried to run away so
many times.” She cleared her throat. “But when I do, whatever I am,
I can’t get far without terrifying the people around me. I always
end up running back to Father. He doesn’t even notice anymore when
I disappear for a day or so, because he knows there’s nowhere for
me to go.”

“
He’s not your biological
father?”

“
No. He adopted me when I
was ten. I lived in foster homes stateside up until then. He
brought me here. Tried to put me in school, but my strange gift
frightened everyone. I learned what I know of the world from
reading in his library, and I learned to fight.”

“
You fight very
well.”

She wiped her eyes and smiled. “I know. It’s
the only thing I do well.”

His gaze was warm. The fever had left him,
and while he looked pale beneath his cocoa skin, he was alert and
his speech coherent. She knew she needed to leave him but couldn’t
find it in her to abandon the only place she’d ever felt safe. She
tried not to flinch when he touched her cheek. His hands were rough
and calloused, but his touch was light and opened the comforting
flow of energy between them. She marveled at the combination of
strength and gentleness. Jule was so much bigger than her father.
He could do so much more damage.

Or he could protect her.

“
In the alley, when you
blasted me, what were you trying to do?” he asked. He lowered his
hand and took one of hers. As if worn out, he rested his head
against the cushions.

“
Turn you into a
rock.”

“
You can do
that?”

“
I think so. I can turn
anything into something else the same size, but I’d never tried
with a person before.” She lifted one of the spare pillows and
turned it into a rolled-up blanket. She draped it over him. “Jule,
what are you? You’re not like me, and you’re not like my
father.”

“
It’s a long
story.”

“
You’re too weak to go
anywhere,” she pointed out. For the first time since they met, Jule
seemed to withdraw for a moment. Yully waited curiously.

“
It’s not easy admitting
what you are sometimes,” Jule said.

“
You aren’t alone in
that,” she said with a small smile.

“
True,” he replied and
smiled back at her. “I think you put a spell on me, sweetheart. I
can’t refuse to answer you.”

Her face warmed again. He took her hand and
pulled her close enough for their bodies to touch. The flow of
energy soothed her, and she relaxed against him.

“
I’m an immortal who’s
older than dirt. I don’t remember much of my time before coming to
this world, except I was expelled. Apparently, I chose a woman over
life in the immortal realm.”

Yully’s disappointment was soul-deep at the
mention of a potential wife for the immortal.

“
Her name was Cassandra.
She was a human who died soon after I came here.”

“
How’d she die?” Yully
asked.

“
There was an era called
the Schism, where the heavens and earth separated. A lot of people
and immortals died during that time. The world was flooded in some
areas and on fire in others with still other parts blanketed in
outright war.” His gaze grew distant. “She drowned. I was with my
immortal brothers fighting the Others, the ancestors to your
father.”

“
How awful. Do you miss
her?”

“
I did for many, many
years. That type of heartache is rough, but I came to peace with it
and was pretty happy with my expulsion, until a few days
ago.”

“
When you met me,” she
guessed, frowning.

“
You’ve been the
highlight. There is a state of constant struggle between good and
evil here on earth and a similar struggle in the immortal world
between the Others and another faction called the Watchers. The
leader of the bad guys on earth died and was replaced. It sort of
wreaks havoc on the balance. All the Guardians, like me and Sean,
your bartender friend in that pub where we met, lost our
magic.”