Shadow Borne (15 page)

I pursed my lips and
sat back on my knees. The sky above was a dark pearl in the midst
of full dusk. Another day was about to be put to rest and another
night was just beginning. Beside us, the still waters of the lagoon
sparkled with the rich color I'd already shimmered and spread along
the pool's edge. Pinks, blues, golds, greens, and vibrant reds
glowed along the surface and reflected their merry light. It was
magic, just like this day had been, just like the night promised to
be...just like him.

I cupped my hands
and brought them to my face, taking a deep breath and considering
all of the miniature animal shapes and bright stars I'd made over
the years for the children in my village. And then I stared at the
green eyed, sandy haired man sitting across from me on the smooth
brown rock ledge. Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes and
pictured a color. Red, I thought, my lips curving briefly before I
visualized the light, concentrating hard, more so than I normally
would, but I wanted this to be perfect.

Very gently I
exhaled into my cupped hands, feeling the light well up from
somewhere deep within, feeling the heady rush as it spilled over.
Warmth filled my palms and when I opened my eyes, a brilliant,
shimmering ball of scarlet light pulsed in my hands.

Mike leaned forward
and watched with rapt, unblinking attention as I carefully slid one
hand out from under the light, moving it up so the raw energy was
cradled top and bottom. My fingers moved expertly, bending and
dipping and subtly weaving the light into an intricate shape,
smoothing here, swirling there until it was done.

"Here." I murmured,
handing the glittery, glowing red rose blossom to Mike.

His hands shook, a
quick tremor which he hastily steadied, as he reached out to accept
the gift. "It's...incredible."

"There's no stem." I
quietly told him, daring to scoot forward on the dark sandstone.
"No thorns." I explained at his quizzical look.

"Aries." he
murmured, closing the miniscule distance that remained between us
and reaching for me.

"Don't leave
tonight." I whispered a second before his lips pressed over mine,
warm and tender and wonderful.

"I'm not going
anywhere." he promised.

Behind us,
children's laughter carried on the balmy evening air and we broke
apart, turning to see a group of four or five children dart from
the cover of a leafy fern and run away. A gentle breeze caught the
fading sound of their high pitched giggles and threw it back at us
as they disappeared from view, probably heading for the waterfalls
at the end of the dome.

I leaned over the
water and cupped my hand, my laughter joining Mike's as I splashed
him and then dove into the lagoon, glancing back to be sure he was
following, grinning wildly when I saw that he was.

“
Ari?”

His voice pulled me from my reverie and I
blinked up at his warm green eyes, relaxed as I so rarely was these
days. Maybe that's why I sat down on the edge of Ashley's bed when
Mike suddenly, impulsively asked me to stay, to sit with him for a
few minutes more. "You're already late getting home." he pointed
out reasonably. "What could it hurt?"

What could it hurt? I didn't particularly
want to give serious thought to the question. Still, I managed to
not bolt when Mike lowered himself to sit facing me on the edge of
Sienna's bed. Our knees were almost touching and I sucked in a
lungful of air, hoping it would calm my nerves. It didn't, but I'm
pretty sure it kept me from doing something embarrassing like
blacking out.

I was hoping Mike wouldn't notice, but I'd
forgotten just how deceptive his easy charm was. Deep down, Mike
was anything but casual. He was paranoid and intense and his shrewd
eyes missed nothing. Damn him. Those eyes narrowed on me now, but
his voice was soft when he said.

"I make you nervous, don't I?"

"Not really." He made me want to vomit but I
was pretty sure it wasn't the same thing.

His fingers reached out and skimmed the back
of my hand, subtly moving lower. My skin was pleasantly warm where
his hand rested over my wrist. His fingers circled until he held my
wrist securely, with his fingers pressing lightly over my skin. His
hold tightened, and I could feel the force of my frantic pulse
throbbing against his fingers. I jerked my hand away and held my
arm as if I'd just been scalded.

There was no point in asking if he'd noticed
the way my own heartbeat had just made a liar out of me and he
didn't bother to say anything for several long, charged moments. I
glared at his bent head; when he did finally speak, his words were
hushed and his eyes didn't waver from mine.

"Nothing to say?"

Oh, I had plenty to say. Most of it probably
fell into the category of stuff he wouldn't want to hear, but he
wasn't leaving me much choice. This made twice now in less than
twenty-four hours that Mike Roberts had cornered me and arrogantly
assumed I had nothing better to do than allow him to grace me with
his presence. "What would you like to hear?" I demanded. "That I'm
so glad you're here, I'm ready to burst from happiness?"

He leaned back and regarded me thoughtfully.
"And are you?"

"No." I exhaled and studied him. "I wish
you'd never come back at all."

"That's too bad." he shrugged.

"Obviously." My eyes narrowed. "You're
already here."

"True. I'm here and I'm staying but that's
not what I was referring to; I meant it's too bad you feel that way
because most days I wish I'd never left this place."

“
But you did leave.” I
stressed, beginning to wish he would just shut up. Sure, we
probably had at least one or two things to legitimately discuss,
but in my opinion, all except one could wait. “Are you going to
take a look at the Coatyl?” I asked, desperate to put the
conversation–and us, really–back on an equal footing. I knew that
after this morning's meeting, Mark and Bob had asked Mike to
perform an autopsy on the creature and I had a hard time seeing
Mike refuse the chance to explore something new and
different.

Although, who knew if this was really his
style: after all, there wasn't much a dead Coatyl could do to harm
him. It might not be exciting enough to garner his interest. Mike
was one of those people–and why did they always seem to be men–who
was literally a walking contradiction. For a man who took phrases
like 'safety conscious' and 'cautious' to a whole new level of
paranoid, he was usually, surprisingly, willing to rush headlong
into the fray when adventure came calling.

Maybe he was only overprotective with his
family and friends, but when it came to himself, all bets were off?
It was hard to say; Mike wasn't an easy man to figure out.
Sometimes, he burned with an intensity that made him seem
invincible and overwhelming, and other times he was so indifferent
that he simply turned and walked away. No, I corrected, not
indifferent, exactly, but...distracted. Definitely distracted. Not
that it mattered, not at this stage in the game, and these days I
had other things to worry about besides the shattered remnants of
my short lived love life.

"Okay." Mike's shrewd eyes seemed to narrow
infinitesimally on my face.

It was amazing how similar and all at once
how different they were from his sister's. Claire's eyes were green
but with a coffee color that added warmth and depth and expression.
Mike's were dark and cool and a little bit murky, more like a moss
covered lagoon or the darkest part of the forest in midsummer. In a
lot of ways, those eyes mirrored his personality.

"I get it." Mike was saying, thankfully
making no move to touch me. "I finally did what I promised to do
almost two years ago. I came back." he added dryly when I remained
silent. "You aren't ready to forgive me, are you?"

"No." I answered in all honesty, but there
was so much more to it than that. How could I explain to him,
something I didn't fully understand myself? Not yet, anyway. You'd
think knowing in advance that Mike would return to Terlain would
have given me an edge in having this sort of thing figured out. Not
so. If anything, I was even less certain than I had been three
months ago.

Before that, I'd been sure I never wanted to
set eyes on him again. And really, even then the more practical
side of my nature had dictated the complete and utter hopelessness
of a reunion with him. He wouldn't want me if he knew...what I'd
been through. I was sure, deep down, if he ever found out the
trouble I'd run into, Mike would see me as forever damaged. Without
a sliver of doubt, I was certain to look into his eyes and see
either pity or revulsion, and maybe both, in the deep green depths;
I wasn't sure which would be worse.

Probably the pity, I decided, bracing both
hands on the mattress and shoving off the bed, my moment of calm
effectively shattered.

Mike rose to his feet and held his arm out
to me. "Shall we rejoin the family?"

I shook my head and strode past him without
touching the offered arm. "I really do need to get home."

"But it's dark." he protested.

"Yes." I replied with a shrug. "That usually
happens around this time of day. I've walked in the dark, you
know."

The simple statement seemed to shut him up,
even if the welcome respite wouldn't last long. Judging by the set
of his mouth as we made our way, side by side, down the curved
staircase, he was occupied with thinking about exactly how many
times I'd walked alone in the dark since he had been gone.

Claire waited with her mother at the foot of
the stairs. Maybe it was my imagination, but Mrs. Roberts didn't
look overly excited to see her only son descending the stairs with
me at his side. A second later, the older woman faced me and took
both of my hands in her much cooler ones to halt my progress into
the room and I figured I must have imagined the quiet
disapproval.

"Aries, I want to apologize for...earlier.
My husband and I are still," the woman exhaled and shook her head,
"I suppose the correct term is 'in shock'. I hope we didn't seem
awfully rude."

They had, but I didn't think it was polite
to mention it. "You weren't at all rude." I reassured the older
woman.

"Oh. Well." Tish shrugged, seemingly
flustered. "I felt like we may have given you the wrong impression
earlier."

"Really." I smiled and gave the cool hand
around my own a brief squeeze before gently pulling free of her
hold. "No harm done. I imagine this is somewhat of a trying time
for your family."

"What an understatement." Tish Roberts
heaved a tired sigh and smiled ruefully at me. "First to find out
what sort of trouble two of our adult children were in," she paused
and shot a look first at Mike and then Claire, before continuing.
"Then to find out a place like...this, exists." Her eyes grew wide
in her pale face and she shook her champagne blond head, as though
she were trying to make sense of it all over again.

"I can't imagine." I murmured
sympathetically.

Mrs. Roberts nodded. "Let's just say it's a
good thing Andrew and I have strong hearts."

"Yes, it is." Claire agreed with an
indulgent smile. Mike winced and couldn't seem to hold his mother's
gaze.

"So." Mrs. Roberts clapped her hands
together. "Now that that's out of the way, who's ready for supper?
Not that I feel much like eating at the moment, but the pot roast
smells delicious."

"It will be." Claire steered her mother away
from the stairs and toward the kitchen. "Marta is a fabulous cook.
Besides, I have a feeling that if we don't want Megan to spend the
rest of the night holed up in a bedroom, we need to provide a good
example."

"Yes, I'm afraid you're right, dear." Tish's
voice trembled a bit at the mention of her oldest daughter.

Their voices faded out the closer they got
to the kitchen. I moved and bumped into Mike as he slipped into the
space Tish had just vacated. True to character, he refused to move.
I planted both hands, palms flat, between us on his chest, applied
light pressure and fixed him with a glare I knew from experience
would have sent a normal man running for the hills. But then, when
had this man ever been accused of acting 'normal'?

"Move." I resorted to glowering.

"Why?" he asked idly, staring down at me
with infuriating ease. "Are you going to stab me again?"

I exhaled and counted to ten, a technique
I'd seen Claire use often enough. "I wish you would forget about
the damned knife."

"Not likely." He shook his tawny head. "What
a welcome."

"It wasn't meant as a welcome." I ground
out. Eleven, twelve, thirteen...

"You can't leave before supper." he pointed
out in that why-wont-you-see-reason tone, still refusing to
budge.

"I'm not hungry. And that's not your
business, anyway."

Mike rested one arm on the railing and I
quickly ducked beneath it, twisting around him and striding toward
the front door. I hoped he wouldn't follow because right then I was
sorely tempted to use the knife he refused to shut up about.
Fourteen, fifteen, sixteen...

"Aries, come on, be reasonable. It's dark
out there. Aries, would you stop?" He reached out and grabbed a
handful of the back of my shirt, holding fast when I would have
rounded on him.

"Mike." I ground out. "I'm only going to
tell you this once. Let. Me. Go."

"I'm sorry." he sighed. "But you know I
can't do that. It's just too dangerous for you to walk home like
this."

"So, you won't let me go?"

"No." His grip eased before I felt him stand
up straighter at my back. He seemed to gather his will then because
in the next instant his strong fingers had become vice-like once
again. "Let's go and have dinner with the rest of the family and
then you and I can sit down and discuss this. If you still want to
leave, I'll take you back to the dome, where it's safe. Please be
reasonable about this, Ari."