Phoenix: The Rising (28 page)

“The coward probably fled.” Eli flipped the TV off, sat on the bed beside her, and rubbed his eyes. Liana had warned him that he would experience a period of physical weakness prior to his transformation into the
Phoenix
just before The Rising. Maybe this was the start of it. His eyes burned like fire.

Lucy hugged her knees to her body. “Well, I’m worried that he’s going to show up at Yosemite tomorrow, or at
Mono
Lake
tomorrow night. He knows exactly what our plans are. Right now, I’m just about his only friend. He may come looking for me and,” Lucy blew out a long stream of air, as if she were finding the courage to finish her sentence, “this may sound silly, but what if the legend is true? What if the Penemues really are Nephilim? Julie could seriously be in danger if they suspect her of being the Fire-Child. I’m thinking maybe we should adjust our plans a bit.”

Lucy was right. All indications were that Kas was indeed a Nephilim, and with immortality at stake, that made him extremely dangerous. Julie could end up dead, and Lucy might end up as collateral damage. It was best if they changed their plans, even if it meant they would have to split up.

“What did you have in mind?”

Lucy folded her hands together. “I think that we could skip the hike, go stay at some secluded motel off the beaten path, and then head to
Mono
Lake
before dawn. Watching the sunrise from Paoha should be fantastic, and it may be our last chance before the first snow. If we aren’t at our homes, and we don’t show up at either of the times or places we planned on with him, then there’s no way Kas would stick around all night. He has to keep moving so the police don’t catch up with him. I’ll ask Simon if I can use his pickup to haul the canoe. Kas will never recognize it, even if he passes it on the way up there.”

Everything Lucy said made sense. Her desire to protect Julie and her insistence on going to Paoha, even in the middle of all this danger, only cemented the fact that she instinctually knew more about this than she even realize
d
.

“I agree. I think it’s best if we get the two of you out of here. I don’t think Kas would dare come around tonight, but tomorrow night’s a different story. I’ll call Julie and let her know what’s going on. You find a motel. Make sure it’s not on the main highway. I’ll talk to Simon about using his pickup. I’m used to getting my way with him.” Eli worked up a little smile, trying to convince Lucy of his intent. In fact, he dreaded speaking with Simon, knowing that he would also be saying good-bye to the man who had considered him a son for the past fifty years. But, he had to do it. This was probably going to be his only chance.

Lucy flung her arms around Eli’s neck. “Sounds like a plan.” She twiddled her thumbs through the hair on the nape of his neck. Eli crinkled his shoulders at the tickle. Maybe Julie was right. Maybe Lucy felt more for Eli than a “cousin” should.

“Umm ... I’m thinking that maybe you should reserve two rooms. I might spend most of the night up watching out for Penemue.”

Lucy raised an eyebrow. “Hmmm ... I think that is a perfect plan. Julie and I could take some time to get to know each other a bit more.” She smiled and winked as she dropped her hands from his neck. “But don’t be surprised if you have a visitor in the middle of the night. I’m getting pretty used to our three a.m. talks!”

Eli smiled in response. That could actually work. That would be the perfect time to reveal the secret of the medicine pouch. “So am I, Lucy.”

Lucy brushed her lips across his cheek, narrowly missing his lips. The kind of peck two good friends would share. “I’ll see you in the morning, Eli! Gotta pack!”

Julie bolted upright in bed, her eyes wild with terror. It had been chasing her again. The first time she had the dream almost two months earlier, the creature was faceless, but not this time. This time it had a face ... and a name.

“Kas?” Julie barely breathed the name out loud.

A figure stepped out of the shadows of her bedroom. “No, it’s me. Eli.”

“Eli?” Julie pulled the covers up to her chin, not wanting Eli to see the amount of damage the leukemia was already doing to her body. “What are you doing here?”  She watched in horror as he flicked on the lamp beside her bed. “No!” Her arm shot out, and she fumbled with the switch, her fingers too weak to turn it. Eli grasped her wrist and stared silently at the mottled bruises running the length of her arm.

“I came to make sure you were okay. Kas is on the loose, you know.” Eli’s eyes moved from her arm to her face. Without makeup on, she looked exactly like she felt: like she was dying. It was evident that Eli could see that.

Julie tugged her arm out of Eli’s hand and hid it under her quilt, even though the damage was done. “You explained that on the phone earlier.”

Eli nodded his head, then retrieved the bottle of Vicodin she left setting on her nightstand. His eyes glistened in the moonlight. “It’s back.”

It was a statement of fact, not a question. This was exactly what she had feared would happen when she let him into her heart. Her impending death was going to hurt him. It didn’t matter that he was only going to be Eli Sullivan for a few hours more. She wanted him to experience The Rising with the hope that they might have a future together in his new life. Now, he was going into this broken-hearted. And it was her fault.

With a lift of her chin, Julie attempted to acknowledge his statement with a bit of humor. “You weren’t supposed to find out. But, here you are, doing your stealth ninja, slip in the Mason mansion without being seen or heard act.” Julie smoothed the covers across her lap. “I just hope in your next life, you learn to knock.”

“My next life will be meaningless without you.” He sat next to her, his fingers entwining with hers. She raised his hands to her lips and kissed them.

“Like I said before, you won’t even know I’m missing. I just wish that we could have had more time together.” She raised her eyes to the ceiling as bitter tears brewed. “This wasn’t supposed to happen like this. I was supposed to be your wife. It’s not fair.”

“You’re already my wife in my heart, Julie,” Eli whispered.

“But I’ll never experience it.” Julie shook her head as her tears fell. “You said once that I should save myself for the man I’m going to spend my life with. Well, this is our time, Eli. I’m spending the rest of my life with you, even if it is just one day.” She searched his eyes for understanding. “Will you take me as your wife, Eli? Tonight?”

Silence.

Julie held her breath, waiting to be rejected once again. Then, without a word, Eli switched the light off. Moonlight bathed the room as he pulled her to him, his body boldly revealing the answer to her request. She would be his tonight, and he would be hers. There was no denying themselves now.

Eli’s eyes darkened with desire as they stood. A brush of his thumbs sent the straps of her camisole over her shoulders
. I
t dropped to the floor as his hands traced the curves of her body, catching the band of her panties and releasing them to join the camisole at her feet. Eli swept her into his arms and laid her gently on her bed, his eyes caressing every inch of her body. He tugged his t-shirt over his head and knelt beside her as she struggled to unbutton his jeans. She wanted to laugh and cry at the same time. Why did she have to be so weak at a time like this? As if he heard her unspoken plea, his hands suddenly covered hers, and in the blink of an eye, his clothes joined hers next to the bed. Julie’s breath hitched in her throat. She’d never seen anything so beautiful. He was an angel in human form. And he was hers.

Julie watched as her hands seemed to move on their own, reaching for him. Her fingers spread across the muscular expanse of his chest, then traveled down the hard ripples of his abdomen. She drowned herself in his beauty, her eyes and her hands exploring every curve, every muscle. Then, she pulled him to her.

Julie moaned in ecstasy as Eli pushed himself deep inside her, branding her as his over and over again with the exquisite searing passion known only to them. Faltering in her inexperience, Julie lost control of herself briefly, then met his rhythm once again. She was rewarded as her body responded in heated abandon, building to a crescendo until the colors Eli’s lovemaking elicited exploded in front of her eyes and his own body shook in waves of release.

Spent and content, Julie tucked herself into Eli’s waiting arms and closed her eyes. Even with the bruises of her illness and the knowledge that this would be the only night they would spend together, Julie had never felt so beautiful, or so loved, or so alive.

Eli nuzzled the back of her neck, his breath warm ... intoxicating ... irresistible. She wriggled back against him.

“Besa Soobedda,” Eli whispered, his voice already ragged with desire as he reached for her again, pulling her on top of him.

“
Besa Soobedda
.
” Julie smiled to herself, letting Eli’s hands guide her movements.
This is
how
it was meant to be
.

“Did you bring a warm jacket?” Eli asked as the girls loaded their bags into the back of the truck next to the canoe. “It’s going to be pretty cool up on the lake this time of year.” He saw Lucy tuck her book bag into the cab of the truck and breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that it contained the sacred medicine bag that would explain everything to her. She had to get that information tonight.

Lucy and Julie looked at each other, rolled their eyes and responded simultaneously. “Yes, Dad!”

Eli chuckled. Except for last night with Julie, he had never seen either of them so happy. Lucy was clueless about what was really going on and was just happy that they were doing something fun together. Julie was another story. Her happiness came from knowing that the two of them had become one, and nothing—not even death—could take that away from them. When they weren’t making love, they spent the rest of last night holding each other and accepting the fact that after sunrise Sunday morning, they would never be together again. Yes, she was happy, but she was also putting on a brave face. She was, in fact, the bravest person Eli had ever met.

Eli checked the canoe once again to make sure it was locked down tight, then fished the keys out of his pocket and twirled them on his finger. “Ready, ladies?”

Julie nodded and hopped in the cab, securing her spot in the middle. Eli’s heart seemed to flip in his chest. Even after last night, after spending hours making love, Julie still had that bit of jealousy in her. Of course, how could he blame her? After The Rising, Lucy would be his companion for at least the next seventeen years, until he came of age, and Julie would be just a memory. To Lucy. Not to him. Life wasn’t fair.

Lucy sauntered over to him and then snatched the keys off his finger. “I’m driving, Sullivan.”

Eli was tempted to snatch them back, but the exhaustion he was feeling held him back. He’d never felt so tired or so weak. He knew that this was just another indication that The Rising was about to take place, but this made him vulnerable ... and vulnerable was dangerous. In this state, he had to be especially careful to keep Julie, Lucy, and himself out of danger. Something as simple as falling asleep at the wheel would be inexcusable. He yawned and bowed to Lucy. “Be my guest. I’m exhausted. Think I’ll take a nap.”

“Eli Sullivan?”

Eli and Lucy turned in tandem to see two uniformed policemen standing behind them. The door of the cab opened. Julie stepped out and grabbed Eli by the arm. Already pale from the effects of the leukemia, her face seemed to ashen even more at the sight of the police.

Eli stepped forward. “Yes?”

The dark-haired officer placed his hand on his sidearm, as if he were readying himself to use it. “We’d like you to come down to the station with us. We have a few questions to ask you about the Charsey Winters case. Seems you may have been seen on a vid—”

“Can we talk about this privately?” Eli glanced at Lucy and then at Julie. He could feel Julie trembling as she clung to his arm. He knew exactly why she was worried. Were they talking about the video from the pool, or was there a video of him at the City Hall drop off box? He cleared his throat. “I’ll be glad to come to the station. Will it take very long? We were just heading up to
Yosemite
.”

The taller, blond officer squinted at the two girls, and then at Eli. “Depends on what you tell us.”

Eli turned to Lucy. “You two go ahead. I’ll meet you in a few hours. White Mountain Lodge, right?”

Lucy nodded, her mouth slightly agape. “Sure, but I don’t understand what’s going on, Eli.”

Eli ushered Lucy to the driver’s side of the cab. “It’s nothing. They have to follow up on everything in a murder case, and I was one of the last people to see Charsey alive. Don’t worry. I’ll be up there as soon as possible.”

Eli closed the door and turned to see Julie trembling and close to tears. He closed his arms around her, pulling her close. She melted into him. A pitiful trickle of electricity passed between them. Even this phenomenon, this strong connection that only the two of them felt, was fading. He whispered in her ear. “Don’t worry. It can’t be the pool DVD. They’d be hauling you down with me if it were.” Then he kissed her. He hoped it wasn’t for the last time.