Damned and Defiant (21 page)

A flash of concern shadowed his face but she smiled and grabbed his hands. He smiled back.

She locked eyes with him, enjoying that look of lust out of control. “Yes, so good,” he murmured. The luscious quivering building inside her body was not her draining Dante of his chi. She was loved and they were both mortal. Her legs slipped down to wrap around his hips, and his thrusts continued with new fierceness.

Letting out a breath, she called his name. His eyes closed and his face strained. She knew he was fighting off his orgasm, making it last. The muscles in his thighs stiffened. Leaning forward over her body, he thrust into her faster. Her swollen clit rubbed against the base of his shaft with the new angle. Raising his hips, he shoved his cock inside even deeper, increasing the contact on her clit.

Another climax ripped through her. She screamed and dug her fingers into his shoulders. He gripped her ass hard then moaned as he thrust up within her. The pulses of his orgasm throbbed against her vaginal walls and she tightened around him. He continued to pump into her drawing out every last spasm of her climax.

Her body went limp. Wrapping his arms around her, he lay beside her, pulled her to his chest. He kissed her and brushed her hair from her face. “Beautiful, so beautiful.”

She laughed. “Right. And we’re both full of sand.”

“We managed to keep it out of the important places,” he said.

“Thank God.”

He pressed her head down to his chest. “In a minute, we can go in the water and rinse off. I think D.A. is ready to go home.”

“So am I,” Haley said. “So, I guess I’m not immortal.”

“Can you sense my lifeforce energy? Smell that rabbit hiding under the mesquite bush thirty yards away?” He pointed behind her.

She glanced behind her at the rabbit munching on grass and shook her head.

“Hear the flap of wings from the two hawks soaring overhead?”

She looked up and saw the hawks flying in lazy arcs high above. “I can’t, can you? I see them, but I can’t sense their lifeforce.” She hadn’t even noticed them.

“I may not be immortal, but I’m aware of my surroundings. Even while I make love. It’s the predator instincts from the coyote that remain. Maybe you’ll retain some snow leopard skill. Sakari kept her hawk eyesight after becoming mortal.” His hands cupped her face and gazed intently into her eyes. “I love you, Haley. You’ve saved me.”

Her heartbeat kicked up a few beats. After all these months, she never thought she’d hear Dante say those words. “No, we saved each other. We came through the portal together.”

Dante smiled. “Before you, I had no reason to stay behind on Earth, no reason to give up immortality. I was ready to go to Prygos. If I had remained on Anartia, I would’ve perished, so you did save me. You gave me a reason to give up immortality.”

Chapter Sixteen

The sound of car tires across stone gravel in the driveway made the hairs stand up on the back on Haley’s neck. She looked out the window. An old car with a damaged left headlight stopped in front of the cabin. The driver didn’t get out. “He’s here,” Haley whispered, her heart racing. She breathed in and out slowly, trying to calm her pulse. Even though she was mortal, she retained quite a bit of her excess psychic powers. She could see auras with ease now.

The aura from the driver in the car extended outside the vehicle. Muddied reds and black were the predominate colors—anger and evil. She’d see more once he got out.

“Want me to come out with you?” Dante asked.

“No, I need to do this myself.” She waited until her father got out of the car. He looked the cabin over, walked around the car and glanced over at the barn and horses. It was early morning and they were still out. D.A. and Siren gave Laurence Moore a cautious look with their heads upright and ears pinned back. Haley bet they sensed the evil in him too.

With him outside the car she had a clear view of the rest of his aura. He hadn’t changed. He was sober but worse than the last time she saw him ten years ago. Besides the swirling reds and black colors, dark forest green, an ugly shade, not a healing green edged the aura. It was the color of jealousy, resentment and blame. To her father, the world owed him, he never took responsibility for his actions. The one color that gave her courage was the muddy blue of fear. What was he afraid of? Getting caught? Going back to jail?

Haley walked outside and closed the door. Crossing her arms across her chest, she stood tall and remained on the porch. “Hello, Dad.”

He smiled but it was a cold expression. “Hey, baby girl. Nice place you have here.” He looked past her and waved. Dante must be looking out the window. She didn’t turn around. “Your man?”

She nodded.

“Big place. Looks like you need help working this ranch. Good thing I used to work a ranch. Remember those days?”

“You can’t stay here.” Her tone was calm and firm.

His smile faded and his face reddened. “Of course, I’m staying. I’m your father.”

She gave a short, dry laugh. “My father died the day my mother died. I have no use for evil, angry, self-righteous people in my life.” She pointed to the end of the driveway. “Leave.”

He took two steps closer to her and Haley heard the door behind her open. She stood her ground and didn’t take her eyes off her father. “You’re not welcome here. Leave and don’t come back. And don’t bother Aunt Lena again. She was very upset about your call.”

He scratched his head as if he was considering a new approach. How many manipulative techniques did he learn in jail? He bowed his head and raised his hands at his side, attempting to look like the broken man. She didn’t buy it for a minute. “I’m sorry for what I did to your mother and you. I was sick. I need your help now.”

“Then go back to the hospital where the doctors can help you,” Haley said with compassion.

Her father straightened and his face reddened again. “No! I’m not going back. I can’t. I… They’ll put me back in jail.”

“Why, because you left Texas?” she asked.

“Part of it.” He looked at his car. “They had a road block. I hit one of the cops.”

Haley groaned. “Did you kill him?”

He shrugged. “I didn’t wait around to find out.”

Haley shook her head. He hadn’t changed. The sound of cars, several of them approached the ranch from the distance. Good. “Don’t come back here.”

He glanced in the directions of the cars. “What did you do?” He moved toward his car but it was too late. Four police cars and SUVs raced into the driveway and surrounded Moore’s car in an arc. Several police were out, guns pulled and one ordered him to get down on the ground and place his hands over his head. Her father instantly followed instructions without flinching. Ten years in prison taught him something at least.

Dante wrapped his arm around Haley and pulled her back against his chest. “Are you all right?”

“Perfect.” She let out a breath and felt good, really good.

* * * * *

Haley leaned up against the fence of the corral and smiled at him. “Call them.” She tilted her head toward the horses.

He was human now. Would they come easily to him without his demon energies? Haley stepped away from the fence and pushed Dante toward it. “Call them,” she said again in a hushed tone.

He nodded. Both Siren and D.A. watched him cautiously. Dante whistled loudly. Their ears twitched but they didn’t move. His heart sank.

“Again,” Haley said softly.

He whistled again. “Come on you two. I don’t have all day.” D.A. tossed his head, nickered, then cantered over to the fence. He dipped his head low for Dante to rub his nose. “Good, boy.” Dante rubbed his snout then patted his shoulder. Glancing over at Siren, he saw she was watching intently, her ears pointed straight up. She was blowing puffs of air, curious or feeling left out perhaps. “Well, are you coming, Siren, or not?”

Siren shifted her feet, nickered then strolled over bumping into D.A., shoving him aside to make room for Dante’s attentions. Dante held out his hand and let Siren put her nose into his hand. She did and he swallowed a lump in his throat. Haley laughed.

The pure joy in her tone made his heart feel as light as the clouds. After a century and a half, he finally had all he wanted. A ranch, land to call his own, horses and a beautiful woman he loved more than he thought possible. He didn’t trust himself not to get all weepy. It must be the adjustment to becoming mortal again. His emotions were in overdrive.

“Now that you’re mortal and stuck here on Earth, do you still fear death?” Haley asked. The look she gave him was as if she’d do anything to take away any fear he had. She was an amazing woman. A Sha Warrior who didn’t even know the boundaries of her own powers yet. Maybe she could even take away his fears.

“Death terrifies me. But what terrifies me more is the thought of spending eternity, even a short lifetime without you.” He took her into his arms and felt her heart beating, her warmth, but thankfully not the flow of chi energy into his body. Making love unrestrained was going to be a thrill.

“Ready for a ride?” Haley asked. He felt her reassuring touch on his back.

He took a breath and turned toward her, taking her hand. He kissed her. “With you?” he asked in a husky voice.

She giggled. “Later. You need time with D.A. and Siren too.”

He bent down and gave her a deep, slow kiss that hinted of what would come. “I’m ready.”

After about a forty-minute ride, they reached the top of the bluff where they could look down into the valley and view the new lake. At one end a half-dozen trucks were parked and a several people about the size of small dots roamed the shoreline. Military vehicles and the United States Geological Service had set up camp around the lake to investigate the strange new landmark.

“Looks like this lake will be stumping scientists for a long time,” Dante said.

“I wonder what name they’ll give the lake,” she added as she eased Siren a little closer to the edge. “I’ll always call it Lake Anartia.”

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught movement at the bottom of the bluff, much closer than the trucks and people. “We have company,” he said to Haley, pointing to the group of people a couple hundred yards away. “Damnation, they vanished.” Dante got off his horse and Haley did the same. They secured the reins to tree branches, then walked to the edge of the bluff to get a closer look.

“There,” Haley said. The group moved without walking, vanishing then reappearing several yards closer. Immortals stepping in and out of different planes or dimensions of existence. “They’re coming toward us.” She gripped Dante’s arm and sucked in a breath. “How are they doing that?”

“Manipulating dimensions,” Dante said. They disappeared and this time reappeared much closer, only twenty yards away. Natesa stood beside her new consort, Tarik. Four other Drones, Joren, Rylus, Felicia and Zorian were also present. Tarik and Natesa gave Dante and Haley a brief nod.

“Otera’s entrance isn’t far from here,” Tarik announced. His tone was neither friendly nor hostile. “It’s not visible to mortals and will cause no harm. Do not attempt to enter our world. To do so, will be considered a threat and will result in death.” Tarik didn’t wait for a response. He raised his head slightly and the group vanished. All but Zorian. He held his boltstick upright like a staff.

At the bottom of the bluff, the group reappeared. The people at the other side of the lake didn’t seem to notice the group of immortals. If they saw them at all at this distance, they’d probably figured they were locals or tourists checking out the new lake. Surrounding the immortals, Dante noticed an arc of spectral lights, like a rainbow of colors suspended above the sand. A moment later, the Drones and Tarik vanished.

“Did you see that?” Haley asked.

“Interesting,” Zorian said. “The entrance isn’t completely invisible when immortals pass through.” He gazed around and looked out toward the horizon. “I think I’m going to like Earth. I don’t imagine I’ll be spending much time in Otera.”

Dante didn’t want to think what troubles the disciplinarian would cause roaming free on Earth.

“I’m glad you made it,” Haley said. “What happened to Anartia? Do you know?”

“When the walls of the temple began to collapse, I knew it was my time to leave.” Zorian looked at Dante. “I doubt they made it.”

Dante’s jaw tightened. “What about Valdon? Is he in Otera?”

Zorian chuckled and shook his head. “No, I left him chained to my column. If Anartia was destroyed, then so was Valdon. You got your revenge.”

Rubbing his forehead, Dante shook his head. “I almost lost the woman I loved in the process. I almost lost everything.”

“You really didn’t, Dante,” Haley argued. “If you truly wanted revenge, you would’ve killed him before you left.”

Zorian agreed. He walked up to Dante and held the nebula stone pendant in the palm of his hand. “You have the ability to enter our world with this.” He released the stone. “I’d advise against it. In fact, I’d destroy that stone so you’re not tempted in the future.” He vanished without another word.

“Are you going to destroy the nebula stone, Dante?” Haley got up on D.A. and moved the horse to the edge of the bluff and looked down.

Dante followed on Siren. “He’s not down there is he?”

“No. Gone like the others.”

A flutter in the trees made Siren startle and sidestep into the brush. “Easy girl, what’s the trouble?” Dante looked up and saw Bill sitting high in a tree.

“Nice day for a ride,” Bill said.

“Hi, Bill,” Haley said.

“Hello, little snow leopard.”

Haley chuckled. “I’m no longer a snow leopard. I’m mortal now.”

Bill disagreed. “You’ll always have the spirit of the snow leopard. It’s a powerful spirit with strong intuition. You’ll have the ability to teach others how to take great leaps and overcome obstacles. And you have divine protection with the ability to conquer demons.”

“I don’t feel all that powerful,” she replied.

A devilish smile worked at Bill’s mouth. “You’ve overcome demons and retained the gift of clear vision. The spirit of the snow leopard still resides in you.”

“That’s a nice thought,” Haley said. “I hope it’s true.”

“I’ll be around to teach you how to use those gifts,” Bill added, then turned to Dante. “You abused coyote spirit for many years but I had faith you’d find the wisdom of that spirit. I hung around because I owed you for saving my grandson’s woman.”

“The demon powers had given me life when I was near death,” Dante explained. “Even though coyote spirit is usually a trickster, his wisdom eventually won over the demon.”

Bill agreed. “You are a creator, a teacher and keeper of magic, but you still have much to learn. You’ll be seeing a lot of me.” Bill sighed as if he possessed a great weight with this duty and yet welcomed the task.

“I look forward to the teachings,” Haley said.

Bill gave her a slight nod, then shifted into his owl form and flew toward a large red rock formation in the distance.

Haley reached over and grabbed Dante’s hand. “Are you ready for Bill’s lessons? “

“I am now.” He sensed a strength in her she hadn’t possessed before. A pink sky reflected in the strange new lake. He wondered if the immortals could see this sunset in their small world. Haley gazed down on the lake with confidence and wisdom, he felt a rush of pride mixed with love run through. “We might need those lessons with immortals as our close neighbors.”

“True. Do you think they’ll be troublesome?”

A twinge of fear spread through him. What else survived from Anartia? What if Anartia wasn’t completely destroyed? What if Valdon or Gwyllain didn’t perish? “I don’t know. I’m not sure if Tarik needs the Drones to collect lifeforce energy to maintain it. We’ll see. But right now, we should go back to the ranch.”

“How come?” She frowned.

“I want to run my own experiment to see how long two mortals can exchange lifeforce energy during a session of hot sex until they’re completely exhausted.”