The Reluctant Amazon (Alliance of the Amazons) (22 page)

Her heart slowed to a more relaxed beat, and with its calm came
a rush of fatigue. Even standing up and walking sapped her remaining strength.
She soon found herself settled in a small lean-to they’d constructed of pine
branches and lined with moss.

“You two wanna sleep next to me?”

Both declined with a shake of their heads before morphing into
rabbits and scurrying away.

They’d be more comfortable sleeping in the woods as rabbits
anyway.

Rolling to her side, she laid her head on her arm and closed
her eyes.

No sooner had she begun to feel drugged by sleep than she
sensed someone near. Before she could even take a look around, Artair’s warmth
pressed to her back. He draped a muscled arm over her waist and kissed her neck.
She snuggled against him, drawing strength from his mere presence.

“Are you well, Becca mine?” he whispered in her ear, nuzzling
his nose into her hair.

She nodded. “Are you?”

“Aye.”

“Did you find the others?”

“Nay. But we can begin to sniff out their trail on the morrow,
and you can help me locate them. Or that device Johann gave you will bring them
to us.” He tugged her a little closer and fit his legs to the back of hers.
“Sleep now, sweeting. We face a long day tomorrow.”

His hands didn’t seem intent upon letting her get any rest, and
his body pressed to hers offered excitement, not relaxation. The caresses
started as almost absentminded strokes. Her waist. Her belly.

When he smoothed his hand over her shoulder and touched some of
the sore spots left by the bullets, Rebecca flinched and hissed in a breath.

His whole body stiffened. “Ye lied.”

“Hmm?”

“Ye lied to me. Yer injured.” He sat up, and even in the dim
light of the moon, she could see him glaring down at her. “Where are ye hurt?”
His brogue grew thicker as his hands became insistent, running over the painful
welts on her back and arms.

“I’m fine.” She tried to brush his hands away, but he was
already pulling her shirt off.

“How many times did the bastards shoot you, lass?”

“What does it matter? The bullets didn’t do any real damage.
I’m an Amazon. I’ll heal.”

Artair’s fingers touched her skin, stopping several times at
what she figured were bruises. “Why did ye nae let one of the changelings tend
to these?”

“Tend to them? With what? We’re in the middle of the woods.
Besides, they’re just bruises.”

“Aye, but—”

“No. No,
but!
” Not wanting to keep
shouting at him, she took a deep, calming breath. After everything she’d been
through in the last day, one breath didn’t seem to help much. Her temper took
control. “You’ve got to stop this.”

“Stop what?”

“Stop babying me. I’m fine. I got shot at. I’ll heal. I’m an
Amazon, Artair. I’m gonna get hurt. You need to face that. You need to let me do
my job.”

His silence did little to calm her irritation.

“I know I started out a little rough around the edges, but I’ve
learned. I’m fighting for a good cause, the best cause there is. Odds are I’m
gonna get hurt. A lot. I could die.”

“I ken it,” he snapped.

“Then why are you so upset over a few bullets bouncing off my
back?”

“I cannot lose you.”

The words were warmly received, but they didn’t change her
resolution. “I trust you, and I trust in your abilities. I don’t let myself
worry about what you’re doing in a fight, because I know you can handle
yourself.”

“Becca, I—”

Rebecca put gentle fingers to his lips to bid his silence.
“There will come a time when you’ll have to trust me, trust my skills and trust
my intuition. I need to know you will, or I’ll be too concerned about you to do
my job. I need to know you’ll have faith that I can do everything you and Sparks
taught me. I’ve accepted the fact I’m an Amazon. You need to accept it too.”

His lips pursed to kiss her fingertips. She slowly pulled her
hand back, but Artair grabbed her by the wrist. Tugging her hand to his lips, he
kissed it, and then smiled against her skin. “’Twould seem I owe you an
apology.”

“For?”

“For doubting you. You’re absolutely right, Becca mine. I need
to trust you.” His lips caressed the back of her hand before he turned it over
and kissed her palm. Pressing a kiss to her wrist, he let his lips trace a path
up her arm.

Fatigue was quickly swept away by passion, her near-death
experience adding fuel to the inferno she always felt around her Scotsman. She
needed Artair to help her know she’d survived and had lived to face another day.
Would the emotional aftermath of every fight be passion?

Clutching at his plaid, she worked on removing his brooch with
hurried, clumsy fingers.

He gently brushed her hand away, removed the brooch and again
reached for her hand. Pressing the jewelry into her palm, he smiled. “’Tis yours
now. You are marked a MacKay.”

“Marked a MacKay?”

“You’re of my clan. I take you as my own. I want you to keep
this close to your heart.” He closed her fingers over the pin. “I love you.”

“You love me?”

“Aye, Becca mine. I love you.” He squeezed the hand holding the
MacKay pin. “’Tis why I give you this now with all of my heart.”

That brooch symbolized the life he’d left behind, and he’d
given it to her. “But you’ll want this when you—”

He cupped her cheek. “I have made up my mind, lass. I’ll not
leave you.”

“You’re staying?”

“Aye. I’m staying. I give you this to show you I intend to
remain by your side, to be yours as you are mine. You need to say that you take
me as your own. Say the words, Becca. I need to hear them from your lips.” He
pulled his hand away from her face, jerked the plaid from his shoulder and
covered their joined hands. “Say the words.”

“I love you, Artair.”

“And…?”

“And I take you as my own.” She smiled. “Are we going steady
now?”

“’Tis a bit more than that. I’ll explain it all later. For now,
just know I will never leave you. Only death can part us now.”

Rebecca threw herself at Artair so hard she knocked them both
to the ground. Stretching out on top of him, she rained kisses on his cheeks,
reveling in his choice to stay.

Reality threw a bucket of ice water on her ardor.

He was giving up his life—his real life—to be with her. It
wasn’t fair to expect him to keep putting himself at risk simply because she was
selfish and wanted to keep him near. It wasn’t right to make him give up his
dreams.

She couldn’t let him make such a sacrifice for her.

Artair sat up on an elbow, put his other hand behind her head
and tried to pull her into a kiss.

She resisted.

“Becca? What’s wrong?”

“You can’t stay.”

“Why, sweeting? I love you. Why don’t you want me to stay?”

“Because you had plans,” she said, her voice choked with
emotion. “Because you want a wife, a child. I can’t be your wife. I—I can’t give
you a child. If you stay, all you’ll have is grief. More battles, more losing
people you care about, more of what you’ve grown to hate. I love you too much to
do that to you.” She bit her lip, trying to keep from showing him how much this
was killing her, how hard it was to let him go.

“Do you nae understand? I no longer wish to have a wife if that
wife isn’t you. I would find no joy in a child created with another woman. I
want
you
and only
you.
We are joined now. We said the words.”

“But—”

He stopped her with a kiss so filled with passion she had no
choice but to surrender.

His lips were insistent, almost brutal, his tongue thrusting
into her mouth in a silent demand. His hands grabbed at her sports bra he’d
seemed to figure out how to remove, breaking their kiss so he could work it over
her head before his mouth was again pressed to hers.

She reached out to remove his plaid and realized she still
clutched his brooch. Setting the clan pin on her discarded shirt, she took
Sparks’s Zippo from her pocket and reverently placed it next to Artair’s gift.
Then she went about undressing the man she loved more than life itself.

Clothes were quickly abandoned, and she found herself again
settled on his lap, easing him inside her with greedy abandon. He groaned as he
rocked his hips up, his body joining hers in the bliss she only found when he
filled her, making her feel feminine, beautiful and so very loved.

Artair rolled to drop Rebecca to her back, never breaking the
connection between them. With one of his naughty grins, he slowly withdrew
before pushing back inside her. Nothing had ever felt so wonderful, so right, as
making love with this man.

His rhythm grew stronger, faster, until she could only dig her
fingernails into his shoulders as he forced her body higher and higher in a
quest for release. At the pinnacle, she cried out his name as orgasmic spasms
rocked her body. He hoarsely whispered her name and his love as he came, sending
more waves of bliss washing over her when he bathed her womb in his heat.

Once the storm had passed, they quietly donned their clothing
and settled back to spoon in their meager shelter. As his breathing grew slow
and even, she let her mind wander freely down paths better left untraveled.

Where was Sparks? Where was Megan? Her gut told her they were
alive, but little else. She reached out for them both.

They never answered.

Chapter Twenty-One

Rebecca swallowed the last of the sticky berries,
grateful the changelings had scrounged up a breakfast, albeit a woodsy one. The
only thing she truly missed was coffee, but she wasn’t about to criticize them.
Beagan and Dolan had improvised a decent shelter, and they’d gone to a great
deal of trouble to find things for all of them to eat. Licking the last of the
berry juice from her lips, she smiled.

“Thank you so much,” she said, rising to stand beside the
changelings. She kissed each on the top of the head.

With blushing cheeks, they both shifted into rabbits and hopped
furiously toward the trees. Rebecca turned at Artair’s quiet chuckle.

“You flatter them more than they can stand. The lads think you
hung the moon.”

He kissed her forehead as he stroked her upper arms with his
calloused hands. “How do you feel, lass?”

“Look around. We’re still in the middle of nowhere. How do you
think I feel?” She immediately regretted the flippant response, knowing it was
misplaced. She wanted something caffeinated, some clean clothes and a long, hot
shower. “I’m sorry. I’m just really hungry.”

“’Tis fine. I’m hungry too.” His face grew serious. “When I saw
you grab the changelings, I feared I’d lose you. But you handled yourself well,
like a true Amazon. I’m proud of you.”

The words pleased her. “They were trapped in the sandpit, and I
was afraid you wouldn’t see them. I couldn’t just leave. They needed me.”

“I’m not scolding you. ’Twas brave, Becca mine.” He touched the
brooch she’d pinned over her heart. “You always seem to put yourself between
others and danger—a trait worthy of Earth.” A cocky smile crossed his lips.
“Rhiannon will be proud of you.”

She couldn’t help but snort. “I’ll
never
make Rhiannon proud.”

“I think you might. She has great love for Beagan and Dolan.
They’re the last of their kind. You saved their lives.” He grabbed his sword
from where it rested and stabbed it into the ground next to the log. “We best be
moving. We need to find Johann and the other Amazons.”

She closed her eyes, reaching out to find her sisters. Megan
and Sparks were still off her radar, but she could feel Gina. Then Sarita came
into her mind. “They’re close.”

“How close, lass?”

“Um…they’re not in these woods. I think they might have made it
to the closest town.” She sensed them enjoying food as Gina greedily chewed on
something sweet.
A donut?
Rebecca’s stomach
grumbled. “They’re eating something other than berries. Artair, I’m really
worried about Sparks and Megan. I can’t feel either of them. Do you think
they’re together?”

“Aye, they might be. I think Megan followed Sparks to keep an
eye on her. I worry about them as well.” After sliding his sword into his
scabbard, he picked up her quiver and bow. “Best gird your loins,” he said with
a wink. “’Tis time to be moving on.”

“What will happen to Avalon? Will we ever be able to go back?”
She slung the bow and arrows over her shoulder.

“Aye. Rhiannon will re-create it so we have a home again. ’Tis
not the first time it has been lost. The generation that helped end slavery also
had to leave their sanctuary. ’Twas moved from Virginia then.”

The man said the oddest things. “End slavery? You mean like the
Civil War?”

“Aye. The war between the states.”

“A demig caused that?”

“Nay. ’Twas humanity’s own folly. The lasses just stepped in to
be sure the right side won. Didn’t Sparks teach you that in class?”

“No. The last generation she taught us was your first
group.”

“You mean that wee trouble in France? She taught you about
that, did she?”

Rebecca had to laugh at his description of the bloody horror
that was the French Revolution. “Yeah.
That
one.”
With a shake of her head, she asked, “Can we please change the topic? My brain’s
already overloaded here.”

His deep chuckle was his reply.

The changelings came hopping back into the clearing. She bent
to pick them up. With a sigh that she had no more comfortable way to carry them,
she dropped the bunnies back into her shirt.

Artair gave her a smile so gorgeous it weakened her knees, then
he led the way into the woods.

After a mile or so, Rebecca’s mind wandered. “You said Sparks’s
sisters went back to the world to have a life. What did they do?”

“Do?”

“Yeah. Where did they live? Where did they work?”

He kept walking as she tried to stay close enough to judge his
expressions. “Sparks left, but nae for long. I don’t think she ever fit in with
people the way she would have liked. Maria loved the city, loved seeing the
buildings. Especially the tall ones. I believe she worked as a security guard in
the Empire State Building for a while.”

“What about Trishna?”

Artair grinned. “Ah, my Southern belle. She worked as a ranger
at Okefenokee Swamp, trying to educate people about wetlands. A true Water. Only
Sparks returned.”

“Why do you think she came back?”

He thought it over a good long while. “Sparks couldn’t separate
herself from this world the way the others could. She’d have nightmares that
made her shoot flames and set her home on fire. When she returned, she told me
Avalon was the only place she ever felt as if she belonged.”

Rebecca dodged a branch that flipped back at her as he pushed
his way past a tree. “And Helen?”

“She was much like you and tried to be a teacher. But she loved
books as well. Helen was always reading. She worked in a library for many, many
years. She loved to read more than anyone I’ve ever known.”

“What did she read?”

“Myths, histories, biographies, genealogies. She loved them
all. ‘Research,’ she called it.”

Rebecca settled back into hiking. If she could figure out where
Helen was, maybe together the two Earths could figure out a way to find Megan
and Sparks.

* * *

Glancing over his shoulder, Artair had a surge of pride
in Rebecca. Their hiking had been rough as the terrain grew rockier, but she
never complained, matching each of his long strides with two of her shorter
ones. He grinned when the changelings wiggled inside her shirt.

They finally came across railroad tracks that had to lead
somewhere. She assured him they were drawing closer to Sarita and Gina. The
trees cleared, and when they reached the summit of a large foothill, a small
city came into view.

Rebecca must have sensed her sisters, because she picked up her
pace, starting to jog. The poor rabbits were getting jiggled around. The tracks
crossed an asphalt road, and they followed it. She let out a squeal of delight
when the first restaurant came into view.

In a flash of bright light, Ix Chel popped up in their path so
fast, Artair was amazed Rebecca didn’t run right over her.

Skidding to a halt, she stared at the goddess.

Coming to stand at her side, he saluted Ix Chel. “We’re pleased
to see you, m’lady.”

“As I am pleased you were able to flee Avalon safely,” the
goddess replied. She reached into a deep pocket of her flowing red skirt, pulled
out a fat leather wallet and handed it to Artair. “There are riches in here to
aid you until Avalon is restored.”

He opened the wallet. A thick stash of currency was stuffed
inside, more than enough to help them through this situation. “Thank you,
m’lady.”

Ix Chel fished through her pocket again and pulled out a small
plastic card. “This is where you may stay. Johann and the other Amazons are
already there.”

“The Stay Inn?” Artair asked, reading the words on the
keycard.

“
Sí.
My high priestess’s husband
owns the company. A reward for her many years of service. I treat my followers
well. One of his inns is very near.” She pointed up the street. “That direction.
I have spun protective magicks around the place. For a short time, you may rest
there undetected and undisturbed. There are clothes for you as well.”

Rebecca breathed a sigh. “I don’t care how far it is, we’ll get
there. I need a hot shower and something to eat. Thank you so much.”

“I will take the changelings.” Ix Chel pointed to the movement
inside Rebecca’s shirt. “Rhiannon will welcome them in her temple until they can
be returned to your service.”

Rebecca pursed her lips before she nodded. Lifting the hem of
her shirt, she pulled out the rabbits and handed them to the goddess. “They’ll
be okay?”

“
Sí.
Rhiannon’s priestesses will
care for the changelings. Rest your troubled mind, Rebecca Massee.”

Rebecca reached out to scratch each rabbit behind the ears. “I
didn’t mean any insult. I just worry about them. They’re my friends.”

The goddess smiled. “You are a good Earth to worry about their
safety.” She turned to Artair. “We cannot offer more help, Sentinel. It is up to
you and the Amazons now. You must find Jin and his master and stop them. Lives
are at stake. And not just the Amazons’ lives. More humans have gone
missing.”

“How many?”

“I cannot help you, Sentinel.”

“Why not?” Rebecca asked, fisting her hands against her hips.
“You’re just like Rhiannon and Freya. Your rules seem to change to suit your
mood. You say the Ancients can’t interfere, but then you give powers to the
Amazons and you show up here with money and a place to stay. If someone’s going
to get hurt, why can’t you tell us who or where?”

Ix Chel narrowed her eyes at Rebecca. “Because I choose not to.
I have offered help to humanity by giving them my Amazon. I will not anger the
other Ancients simply to make your task easier. Humanity often faces
consequences I cannot forestall.”

“But—”

With a shake of her head, the goddess and the changelings
disappeared in a radiant shimmer.

“I don’t think I’ll ever get used to the goddesses. They’re
such a contradiction. First helping then refusing to help.” Rebecca sighed.
“They could make our jobs so much easier. They just don’t want to.”

Artair patted her shoulder. “Perhaps they can’t. Don’t ponder
their eccentricities. Your head will begin to ache.” Then he held up the
keycard. “A warm shower, m’lady?”

She smiled and imitated his brogue. “Oh, aye. ’Twould be heaven
for yer lass.”

* * *

Wrapping a towel around her head like a turban, Rebecca
considered the face she hardly recognized staring back at her in the foggy
mirror.

The days in the sun had tanned her skin, and the spray of
freckles on her nose had grown in number. She’d lost weight. Those chipmunk
cheeks she’d always joked about were gone. Her face held a mixture of high
cheekbones and big eyes, appearing…pretty.

Tempted to drop the towel she’d wrapped herself in and check
the rest of her body in the mirror, she bit back her vanity and chose instead to
throw aside the turban and rub her hair dry. Having worn her hair in a ponytail
or braid through her Amazon training, the length surprised her—it now reached
her shoulder blades. Just as her skin had darkened, her hair had lightened.

The face in the mirror was a stranger.

Did changes in her looks reflect the deeper changes she’d gone
through? There was a confidence she’d never known before, an assuredness that
she’d found her place in this world.

It felt damned good.

Artair had showered first and had donned a fresh plaid when she
came out of the bathroom. “Your clothes are on the bed.” He pointed to some
clean workout clothes.

“Looks like they think we’re going to be busy.” She held up the
soft, pink shirt. “I was hoping for something a little more elegant. For once,
I’d like you to see me dressed in something nice. You know, a dress or a skirt,
with some make-up and some hairspray.”

“Ah, but you look elegant in anything, Becca mine.” He brushed
the back of his hand across her cheek then tangled his fingers in her wet hair.
“You don’t need paint on your face or ribbons in your hair. You’re the most
beautiful woman I’ve ever known.”

The compliments squeezed her heart. “I love you, Artair.”

“As I love you.” He kissed her, his lips lingering. “You best
get dressed. We need to be about business. Should you stay as you are, we shall
not leave the room for a good long while.”

“Fine with me.”

* * *

An insistent knock ruined the intimate moment. Artair
answered the door as Rebecca grabbed her clothes and retreated to the
bathroom.

Sarita greeted him. “I
knew
she was
here!” She craned her neck, trying to look past him. On tiptoes, she barely
reached his shoulder. With a huff, she pushed him to the side. “Rebecca’s here.
I just know it.”

“Aye, she’s here. She’s in the washroom.” He shook Johann’s
offered hand, trying not to turn the firm handshake into a test of strength. “I
take it you found her with your wee implant.”

“Nope. Didn’t need it.” Johann tugged on Sarita’s braid.
“Sarita and Gina both knew she was getting close. We were getting ready to suck
down lunch when Sarita popped up from the table, saying she felt Rebecca.”

“Good lass,” Artair said.

“Hey! I felt her too.” Gina folded her arms over her chest. Her
dark eyes narrowed.

“Aye, I suspected as much. You both did well,” he replied,
giving the younger Amazons the praise they needed. Seeing as the world didn’t
have a way to thank them for the times they’d saved mankind, a few kind words
from a Sentinel did wonders for raising their spirits.

“We need to make plans.” Johann’s tone was solemn, matching
Artair’s mood. “Why don’t we all have lunch? Did you get some money,
MacKay?”

“Aye. Ix Chel supplied us with money and this room.”

“She did the same for us. The girls and I are just down the
hall.” His gaze wandered the small hotel room. “Our suite is bigger.”

“Damn right, it is.” Gina gave them a decisive nod. “She’s
my
goddess.”