Nightshine: A Novel of the Kyndred (20 page)
Read Nightshine: A Novel of the Kyndred Online
Authors: Lynn Viehl
Tags: #Romance, #Paranormal, #Fiction
“What would you have me do?” he demanded, taking her by the shoulders and dragging her to her feet. “Kill you to save them? I don’t
know
them. You are the other half of my soul. I can’t live without you. I won’t.”
know
them. You are the other half of my soul. I can’t live without you. I won’t.”
“How much time do you think we have left together?” She picked up a piece of seaweed and idly wound it around her wrist. “One season? Two?”
“What are you talking about?”
She eyed him. “The master will not wait forever.”
He said nothing at first, and then his mouth flattened. “If it comes to that, we will give him what he wants.”
Tlemi had been taught to be obedient. She loved Colotl, and she deferred to his judgment in all things. Except this. “No. Never.”
“Do you think it is easy for me to say?” he demanded. “To even think? But if I have to choose—”
“Then Segundo will have to bring you another woman,” she promised him, “because on that day I will go into the water, and I will swim out to where it is dark, and I will not come back.”
“Tlemi.” His voice broke on her name. “I cannot lose you.”
“I will never do it,” she said simply. “Not for him, and not for you. But you know your duty, Colotl. Tie me up. Lock me away. I still have fingernails, and teeth. My veins are not so deep.”
He lifted his hand as if to strike her, but Tlemi didn’t flinch. In all their years together, Colotl had never once touched her in anger.
His hand moved slower than it should have, not to slap her face but to caress her cheek. “If you go into the dark water, so do I.”
All of the fight poured out of her as sobs tore at her throat. “Colotl. Please. This could be our only chance to live. To be
free
.”
free
.”
He hauled her into his arms and held her as she wept. When Tlemi had no more tears, he used his shirt to dry her face.
“We cannot do this without the others,” he said slowly. “I will speak to them about the American tomorrow. If they refuse—”
Tlemi thought of Pici’s desperate eyes. “They will not.”
As Samuel brought the tray into the master suite, Charlotte rolled onto her side and looked at him. Although she smiled, her eyes were once more guarded and watchful.
“I was wondering where you were.” She glanced at the fruit salads he’d prepared. “Dinner in bed?”
“On the patio, I think,” he said, scooping up her robe and handing it to her.
She muffled a yawn with the backs of her fingers. “You want to watch the sunset?”
“Not especially.” He waited for her to rise before walking outside with her. “But if you stayed in bed, we probably wouldn’t be dining until well after midnight.”
“Or dawn.” She sat on the edge of one lounge and tightened the robe’s belt around her waist. “Are you a vegetarian?”
He sat across from her. “No.”
“That makes two of us.” She accepted the plate he offered and picked up a slice of mango. “You did notice that there’s no protein in our convenient little pantry.”
“That’s why I’m planning to do a little fishing in the morning.” He set his plate aside to watch her eat, which she did with delicate greed. She also kept her gaze averted from his face, which made him wonder what was going on in her head. “Are you having any second thoughts?”
“Why would I?” She bit into a strawberry and licked the red juice from her lips. “We’re consenting adults, we agreed on this together, and having sex with you will save me a lot of pain and suffering. It’s all good.”
He wondered whether she would feel the same in nine months. “Whatever happens here, Charlotte, I want you to know that when we return to the States, I’ll look after you.”
“That’s decent of you,
mío
, but I take care of myself.” She stood. “We should look around outside for the source of the electricity. They may have some tools or other things stored in a utility building that we can use.” She went back inside.
mío
, but I take care of myself.” She stood. “We should look around outside for the source of the electricity. They may have some tools or other things stored in a utility building that we can use.” She went back inside.
To give her some time for herself, Samuel ate and watched the sunset. He didn’t want to think about the possibility of pregnancy, much less discuss it out loud, but he couldn’t keep the speculation out of his head. They would be having sex at least once a day, and he had yet to find any form of protection they could use. If Charlotte had been on the pill for birth control, she no longer had access to it. That meant they could conceive a child together in as little time as a few weeks.
“No.” Charlotte emerged, dressed in two sarongs she had folded and fashioned into an impromptu halter dress.
“I beg your pardon?”
“I know what’s on your mind.” Her smile was a masterpiece of irony as she took his hand in hers. “Don’t worry.” As she spoke, she used one fingertip to trace three letters on his palm: I, U, and D. “We’re safe now.”
The relief he’d expected didn’t come over him; instead he felt a moment of stunning disappointment before he cleared his thoughts. “But you don’t want this, do you?”
“I’m fine with you and the sex for the duration.” She gestured around them. “I don’t want to be here. I’m useless here.”
He realized she was referring to their isolation. “Is it so different from being back in the States?” When her expression became incredulous, he added, “You told me once in chat that you hardly ever use your ability, although you never mentioned why.”
“Aside from it being a complete violation of someone else’s privacy,” she countered, “it’s too painful.”
“Using your ability hurts them?”
She gave him a bitter smile. “Oh, they don’t even know I’m in their heads,
mío
. It does a number on me. When I listen in, I not only hear everything someone thinks, but I feel what they feel. If they’re pissed off and I’m tapped in, I’m flooded with their rage. If they’re really upset, I start crying. If they’re in pain, I suffer, too.”
mío
. It does a number on me. When I listen in, I not only hear everything someone thinks, but I feel what they feel. If they’re pissed off and I’m tapped in, I’m flooded with their rage. If they’re really upset, I start crying. If they’re in pain, I suffer, too.”
“There’s always a price, isn’t there?” he murmured. “It must be terribly unpleasant for you.”
“Unpleasant?” Her cheeks darkened and her eyes flashed. “Do you know how many times ordinary people think about things like punching out their spouse, stabbing their boss in the chest, or ramming their car into the back of someone who cuts them off? Or how it feels to have the same urges pouring into you?” Before he could answer her, she waved a hand at him. “Of course you don’t. People like you never have to deal with the real world.”
“Wait.” He understood her anger, but not her contempt. “What do you mean, ‘people like you’ ? ”
“People with limos and chauffeurs and no-limit credit cards,” she said. “People who don’t have to work, or worry about the bills, or live paycheck to paycheck. I figured you were pretty comfortable from some of the things you told me online, but you’ve got a lot more than that, don’t you? How much are you worth, Sam? Do you even know?”
“At the moment I might as well be penniless,” he countered, “and you’d be surprised to know what I’ve dealt with, Charlotte.”
“You’re not making me feel guilty,” she snapped. “Not after the way you’ve been stringing me along all this time.”
“Stringing you along?” Now he was completely lost.
“Didn’t you think it was hilarious when I told you how you could save money by making your own tortillas?” Her upper lip curled. “What do you really do when you’re hungry? Ring a bell? Have some maid bring you a gourmet meal on a silver tray with cloth napkins and a rose in a crystal vase? Before we were dumped here, you probably never stepped one foot in a kitchen.”
“I do have someone who cooks for me,” he informed her gravely. “Lately he’s also had to bring my meals to me on a tray, but not because I choose to eat in bed. Until this morning, I’ve been so weak that when I wake I can’t sit up without a shot of morphine and two men to help me.”
“That’s right; you’re a cripple.” She looked him over. “For some reason I keep forgetting that.”
“I find it difficult to grasp as well,” he told her. “But you saw me on the bridge. Did I look as if I could run the hundred in five flat?”
“No, but you were bleeding from an open wound. Something
else
you forgot to mention.” She rubbed her temples as if her head ached. “Besides, whatever pain you were in was nothing compared to your driver’s. That guy was in agony, but even then all he could think of was protecting some woman.”
else
you forgot to mention.” She rubbed her temples as if her head ached. “Besides, whatever pain you were in was nothing compared to your driver’s. That guy was in agony, but even then all he could think of was protecting some woman.”
“You read James’s mind?”
“I picked up his thoughts when we got to the scene,” she said. “It was so bad I nearly passed out.”
A shrewd look came into his eyes. “You can read someone’s mind even when they’re unconscious?”
“I don’t do dreams or the subconscious,” she said. “For me to read anyone, they have to be awake and alert.”
“I see.” His mouth hitched. “James was shot before you arrived. I’m afraid he never regained consciousness.”
It took her a moment to put it together. “That was you?”
He inclined his head. “When the sniper opened fire on us, I had to drag James out of the car. At the time I was in no condition to do so.”
She drew back, visibly appalled. “That didn’t come from your wound. What made you feel that kind of pain?”
“It doesn’t—”
“Damn it, Sam,
tell
me.”
tell
me.”
“My back,” he said reluctantly. “One side effect of my ability has been causing damage to my spine.”
“But that should have healed.”
All of the Takyn had accelerated immune systems that allowed them to recover from injury many times faster than ordinary human beings—all but Samuel.
“When I was younger, it did,” he agreed. “I can’t tell you why, but as I’ve aged my ability to heal like you and the others has been compromised. For some time now my health and mobility have been steadily declining. Last summer my doctors told me that the damage had begun to accelerate.”
Her voice went low and husky. “How long did they give you to live?”
“Twelve months.”
New anger flared in her eyes. “What the hell were you doing on that bridge? If you were in that much pain, you should have been in a hospital.”
She wasn’t ready to hear about the gift of his foresight, not yet. “I received information from an anonymous source that one of the Takyn named Charlie would be killed on the bridge that morning. I couldn’t allow that to happen.” When she started to speak he shook his head. “It was supposed to be my final act of courage.” He thought of Lilah, and the utter stupidity with which he had behaved toward her, for which he could never atone. “Or perhaps one last attempt at redemption.”
She looked sick. “Why didn’t you ever tell me your condition was that bad?”
“There was nothing you could have done. I’ve investigated and tried every possible treatment; even one I should never have considered,” he admitted. “Nothing slowed the deterioration.”
“Then who healed you? And don’t tell me you did it yourself,” she added. “When I woke up last night you’d almost bled out. I nearly lost you.”
“I don’t know who to thank—or blame—for that.”
“Maybe I can run some blood tests later.” She glanced through the window and quickly released his hand. “We should go before we lose the last of the light.”
Samuel helped her collect the plates, carrying them downstairs to the kitchen. After he put them in the disposal bin under the sink, the lid closed with a snap and he heard the sound of suction. When the sound stopped, he lifted the lid and saw that the bin had been emptied.
“It seems we won’t have to argue over who takes out the trash.” He inspected the interior of the bin before he looked through the window over the sink, but saw nothing outside. The previous day he’d also noticed no cables or wires leading to the house. “They must have buried everything under the soil when they were building the house.”
“It would protect against storm damage.” She removed two candles from a drawer and turned on the stove, lighting the wicks in the gas flame. She sniffed, and then bent over and blew out the flame but left the dial on. “I have a gas stove at home. It doesn’t smell like this.”
Samuel went over and breathed in. “This isn’t commercial-grade methane.” He switched off the dial and looked again at the bin, this time crouching and thrusting his hand inside before he found the lid latch and pushed it down. Powerful suction yanked at his arm before he released the latch to shut it off. “The land surrounding the house elevates in the back, doesn’t it?”
“From what I could see. There’s a lot of landscaping back there.” She peered up at him. “What are you thinking?”
“I’ve never cared for our dependency on foreign oil, so over the years I’ve invested in a number of ventures researching and inventing alternative fuel sources. Solar, wind, and water.” He stood up. “And garbage.”
“I don’t understand.”
“I have to see the generator to be sure, but I think I know what they’re using for power.” He checked the window again. “We’re almost out of light. Come on.”
Charlotte followed him from the house to the back, where the land rose in a gentle slope toward tiers of shrubs and small trees. Samuel went first, pushing his way through the stiff branches of the sea grapes and squeezing through the narrow gaps between palmettos, holding back as much as he could for Charlotte.
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