Sexual Shift (17 page)

“I’d fight anything for you. Face any horrors for you. You’re worth everything to me.”

“Then fight
with
me, Tanner.”

His features hardened, his jaw clenched. “Okay. If you’re ready, how can I not be ready to do the same? You’re right. I’m done with kowtowing to her demands. Somehow we’ll make her see she has nothing to gain by hurting you. If she does, she’ll lose me, too. She won’t want to risk that.” He laughed, pulling her down on the bed along with him. “At least I don’t think she will, but with my mother, you never know.”

Bryna’s eyes flamed red. “Why did you ask me to come to your home? And what the fuck is
she
doing here?”

She paced over to stand in front of Hilly, but Tanner stepped in between them, blocking his mother’s path. “Hilly’s here because we have something to tell you.”

He could feel the rage pouring off his mother. If she grew any angrier, there’d be hell to pay. Literally hell to pay.

“What could you possibly need to tell me with her in attendance?”

Bryna tried to reach past him to Hilly, but he grabbed her arm. Although he released her in a flash, the fire radiating from her seared his skin. He winced, then used his powers to heal the burned flesh.

“Mother, calm down. You haven’t even heard us out.” Not that he expected the news to make any difference, except to ratchet up her ire.

She crossed her arms and arched an imperious eyebrow. “Get on with it. Then when you’re finished, I’ll do as I warned.”

Hilly moved to his side and took his hand. Bryna’s nostrils flared and small tendrils of steam floated out of her ears. He had to make his mother accept his decision or they’d both suffer her wrath.

“Mother, you’ve always told me you wanted me to be happy.”

Bryna snorted. “I think you misunderstood, son. I’ve always wanted you to be taken care of and even content. But…on my terms. I think you mistake me for one of those pitiful human mothers who bend over backwards to do anything to keep their children happy.”

Tanner scowled. “You could never be mistaken for a typical mother. However, I have always felt that you do love me. Was I right? Or have I been delusional my entire life?”

She pursed her lips, and he could tell she’d relaxed a little bit. A very little bit. “Fine. If you must hear the words. Yes, I do love you. As much as any demon can love her child. Especially when said child has a father like yours.”

Her concession wasn’t much, but he’d take anything he could get. Hilly squeezed his hand, giving him encouragement. “Well, you can’t choose your parents any more than you can choose your child.”

A flicker of amusement at his joke covered her face, but was gone in an instant. “Get on with this, Tanner. I find my patience wearing thin.”

He glanced at Hilly, saw the love in her eyes and gathered strength from that. “Mother, I know you don’t like Hilly—”

“I detest changelings. They’re beneath the son of a demon. Especially the son of a demon of my stature.”

Hilly started to move forward, but he tugged her back to his side. She was no match for any demon, especially his mother. “I’m sorry you feel that way. However, we’ve fallen in love.”

He hadn’t expected Bryna to laugh, but with his mother, he should’ve been prepared for the unexpected. He slid his arm around Hilly and tugged her closer.

Bryna spun around and paced to the other side of the room. “Love? You two think you love each other? In such a short time? Nonsense.”

“Time doesn’t mean a thing when the love is real. Love doesn’t have a timetable and isn’t dictated by anyone other than the two people involved.” Hilly stood taller, ignoring the way Tanner tightened his arm around her, urging her to remain silent. “I knew from our first kiss that I loved him. If you hadn’t interfered—”

“Interfered?” Bryna cackled, her red hair swirling around her head like snakes. She pointed at Hilly. “I haven’t begun to interfere, you little bitch.”

Fury whipped through Tanner. He’d taken his mother’s verbal abuse for years, uncaring of the barbs she’d thrown at him, but he wouldn’t stand by and let her berate Hilly any longer. “No more!”

Bryna looked taken aback. “Don’t you dare speak to me like some insolent human brat.”

“I’m not a child, Mother. Sorry you haven’t noticed before now. I’m a man, and I’m not letting you dictate my life any longer.” He strode over to confront his mother. “Whether you like it or not, Hilly and I are going to stay together.”

“If you do, you’ll lose everything. All the fortune, all the homes, everything.”

“All that is worthless without Hilly.”

“You, son, are an idiot. An ungrateful, selfish idiot.”

“Whatever you say, Mom.”

“Do not call me Mom!”

The air around him thickened, making it difficult to breathe. He stumbled away from his mother and watched as she grew to seven feet, then eight, then ten feet tall. Blood-red eyes glared from her pale face as it contorted into a monstrous mask of evil. Rotting skin dripped down her chin and puss oozed from blisters popping out over her body. Horns burst onto her head and her fingers extended into long, pointed claws. She roared, the sound deafening.

Bryna lifted her arm in a swift arc above her head, then jerked it forward. A lightning bolt blasted from her fingertips toward Hilly. Tanner shouted a warning, but Hilly seemed frozen in place, horror in her wide eyes and her mouth open in a silent scream.

“No!” Mustering all his strength, Tanner threw his body in front of Hilly. The bolt of power struck him in the chest, blinding him with a thousand points of pain. Blackness overtook him as he hit the floor, knocking the air out of him.

Hilly screamed and flung her body on top of Tanner’s. His face was as white as his mother’s, and his eyes were closed. Blood streamed down the front of his shirt and she flattened her hand against the wound in an effort to stem the blood flow, but it was useless. Blood covered her hand, seeping through her fingers.

He couldn’t die. Not when she’d only now found him.

“Get away from him, you slut!”

Hilly tore her gaze away from Tanner to glare at his mother. Frantically she searched for anything she could transform into that would tear the demon’s head from her shoulders. “Look what you did! He’s your son, for God’s sake!”

The tendrils of hair intertwining around Byrna’s head sped up like frenzied serpents. Her eyes blazed, sending out a crimson light that lit the rest of her body in a red haze. “For God’s sake?” she screeched. “You’re the cause of all this. You’re the reason he lies dying in your arms.”

“Go back to hell where you belong.” Hilly shifted, spreading her hand wide to form a large bandage. She increased the pressure against his wound and cringed as the blood filtered into the bandage. A sob racked her body.

“Stop your sniveling and prepare to die, changeling. The next time I see you will be to watch your skin slough off your body in a vat of boiling oil.”

Fear edged its way into Hilly’s rage as she watched Bryna raise her arm to strike again. She closed her eyes and shifted again, turning her body into a shield to cover Tanner.
Please, let me live long enough to keep him safe.

Brilliant white light erupted around them. Hilly, even in shield form, was almost blinded by its intensity. Keeping her hand as a bandage, Hilly morphed back to her human form and stared at the white-haired man. He spread his wings wider as he floated next to the demon mother.

“Bryna! Stop this madness!” The man dashed in front of Bryna’s next strike. A powerful arc of lightning struck him, knocking him backward a few feet, but he quickly recovered.

“Get out of the way, Setias.” The demon raised her hand again for a third attack.

Hilly gaped at the angel. Was this Tanner’s father? She held her breath, mentally urging him to win.

Setias grew larger, his wings spreading even wider, hiding Bryna from Hilly’s view. “You will stop now or face the consequences. I don’t want to harm you, but I swear I will if you touch a hair on this woman’s head.”

Although she couldn’t see Bryna, Hilly could sense the palpable rage battering the angel. For several minutes, a stalemate ensued until, at last, the demon let out a screech, ran to the opposite side of the room and returned to her normal size. Setias landed next to Hilly, his fists on his hips and his feet planted apart.

“Leave our son alone and return to where you belong.”

Bryna’s anger hadn’t dissipated. She snarled and pointed her finger at Setias. “Don’t think this is over. One day, somehow, I’ll make her pay for taking my son from me.”

Setias shook his head and adopted a rueful smile. “When hell freezes over. Go away, Bryna. Now.”

The demon’s lip curved into a sneer. Growling, she snapped her fingers and disappeared.

Hilly pillowed Tanner’s head in her lap and struggled to keep from giving up. His heart still beat in the pulse in his neck, but he looked even paler than before. She looked up to stare into the handsome face of the angel.

“Please help him.” Her voice broke as she beseeched him.

Setias folded his wings behind him, tucking them into his back. He fell to his knees on the other side of Tanner and took his hand. “I don’t know if I can. He may be too far gone.”

Her sob racked her body, but she didn’t give in to the exhaustion sweeping through her. “He saved my life. I can’t, I won’t give up on him.” She reached out to Setias. “Please. Isn’t there anything you can do? You’re his father. You’re an angel. Do something.”

A cloud flitted over his face as he studied Tanner. “This is wrong. Against all the rules and I’ve already interfered too much. But—”

“Please. I don’t care how many rules have to be broken. I’ll do anything. Give anything. Please don’t let him die.” She couldn’t stand much more. Every ounce of blood seeping into her hand broke her heart a little more. If she lost him, how could she go on?

“If I save him, there’ll be consequences.”

“I don’t care.” Her tears fell onto Tanner’s face to run down his cheeks as though they were his own tears.

“Listen to me. If I use my power to save him, I’ll have to face possible rejection from heaven again. Still, that’s not my greatest worry.”

“I don’t understand.” She sniffed and wiped away another tear. “You’ll risk being cast out for your son. So what else could happen?”

“I’d risk anything for my son, even eternal damnation.” He looked at Tanner and stroked his cheek. “But he won’t be the same afterward. He’ll not only lose everything Bryna gave him—”

“He said he didn’t care about those things.”

Setias shook his head, warning her to stay quiet. “He’ll not only lose all those things, but he’ll lose the powers he possesses. He will, by every definition, be human.”

Hilly gazed into the face of the man she loved. What would he want? He’d said he’d give up his home, his wealth, but would he be as willing to give up his powers?

“What would Tanner want?” Her heart pounded. If Setias thought Tanner would rather die than lose his powers, what would she do? Accept it? Or force the other decision on him?

Sadness filled Setias’s blue eyes. “I never thought my son would ever fall in love. He seemed too much like his mother, loving the playboy life, the life of the spoiled rich. But since he met you, he’s changed.”

Hilly watched as his pulse slowed down and became weaker. “Then do it. Do what you have to do.”

“One other thing.” His gaze bored into her. “Your sacrifice must be as great as his. You must give up your powers for him. Are you willing?”

She nodded. The sacrifice was nothing if it saved him. “Yes. Can you do it? Now?”

“Good.” His smile covered her in warmth. “Don’t move until I say you can. Do you understand?”

She nodded, nerves closing off her throat. Steeling herself for whatever came next, she brushed Tanner’s hair away from his face.

Setias lifted his hands, holding them over Tanner’s body. Closing his eyes, he began speaking in a language Hilly had never heard. His words were soft, comforting. But she sensed an underlying intensity, stronger than anything she’d ever felt. She swallowed and said a silent prayer.

A bright white light surrounded Setias, then spread outward to envelop Tanner and Hilly. She gasped, her fears suddenly wiped away by the warmth of the light. Nothing could hurt her as long as she was in its power, and in that moment, she was certain Tanner would live.

Setias spread his wings and kept his hands over Tanner. The white light pulsed with energy and rolled over his body in waves of soothing heat. Hilly stared at her hand, letting the waves wash over her, too.

Slowly the room around her faded, furniture, paintings, walls and windows dissolving until nothing was left.

At once, the white light was gone. Hilly shaded her eyes as the bright sun streamed down on them. Grass waved under a warm breeze.

Setias looked toward the sky and cocked his head as though listening. He nodded once, his face growing grim. “I have to leave now.”

Hilly spread her hands over Tanner. Blood no longer flowed from the now-healing wound. “Is he all right?”