Dark Ghost

  "I can fly. By myself?"

  He nodded. "There are a lot of ways to do it, but the easiest is to take the form of a bird. We use owls at night because they are more common. Owls are found anywhere. As long as you know which species is native to the area, no one will ever know you are even in their neighborhood."

  Her eyes were shining up at him. He couldn't stop himself. He wrapped her up in one arm and pulled her tight against him, fitting her into his side. With his other hand he tipped up her face and brushed a kiss over her mouth. He couldn't stop there, not once he got the taste of her. She was so addictive. He didn't want to go into a village full of humans with her. He wanted to spend a few risings in bed with her. He poured that into his kisses, letting her know without words just how he felt.

  Teagan blinked at him when he lifted his head, making him want to groan in frustration. Another thing that happened with emotion was the loss of his great control over his anatomy. She seemed more in control of his body than he was. The moment he pulled her close, or she got that dazed, confused, sexy look on her face, his body went as hard as a rock.

  "I love when you look at me like that," he admitted.

  She smiled at him and touched the pad of her finger to his mouth. "I think your lips should be bronzed or something. Really, Andre. You're smiling, but you have no idea."

  He had an idea because he felt the same way about her mouth--her entire body--but especially her mind. He loved the crazy way her mind worked. He never knew what she was going to say, or think, next. She made him laugh. He'd lived centuries and he hadn't known he could laugh. She'd given that to him. That gift. So many gifts and she still had no idea what she was to him. What she meant to him.

  He would guard her, protect her and the only way he could do that was to make certain she was with him at all times. He couldn't chance her running around the mountain in the daytime when anything could happen to her and he couldn't save her. She would come to understand the need once she'd spent time in his world and had come to terms with it. Right now, he knew, she couldn't help feeling he'd betrayed her.

  Kissing him the way she did, even knowing she was upset, that she was afraid and felt he had deceived her, was a miracle in itself. He was a man who had given up on miracles. He'd given up on life. He'd thought to die with honor, and in that moment of absolute despair that he would have to continue, she had come to him with her laughter and kisses and a bright, bright light that shone from her soul.

  "So how? How do I go from this . . ." Teagan swept a hand down her body. "To that?" She pointed to the sky.

  "I will show you first. And then I will talk you through the steps."

  She nodded, her lower lip caught between her teeth. He could see the flash of fear in her eyes, feel it in her mind, but she wanted to know how to fly. She wasn't about to allow fear to stop her from learning. Andre felt his heart flutter and the knots in his belly he'd had since he'd risen loosened a little. Teagan faced life head-on. His Teagan.

  He brought her hand up to his mouth and pressed a kiss to her knuckle because if he kissed her mouth they wouldn't be going anywhere other than back inside the cave. Dropping her hand, he stepped back, giving himself room and her space. He didn't want her to panic when he shifted form.

  "The change always starts in your mind, Teagan. Stay in mine and see the image I project. It can be anything from putting clothes on to taking them off. Shifting is more difficult in the beginning because you have to have your image in perfect detail. You will learn how to do that and it will become second nature. You will no longer have to think about it, your body will just do it."

  She nodded, but she took another step back. He didn't like that, but gave her the space.

  "Sivamet, if this is too soon, there is no need to start yet. I can take you to the village. You will enjoy that as well."

  She took a breath. "I want to learn. This is something that would go on the pro side of being like you. I have to have a lot of pros right now, Andre."

  He smiled at her. He couldn't help it. She was so adorable. So determined. He didn't think a man could love a woman more than he did Teagan in that moment. He didn't wait, because she only had so much courage and she'd already faced so much.

  Andre deliberately pictured the owl in his mind. He chose the medium to large Ural owl because he was certain Teagan would have seen it numerous times. Grayish feathers, dark eyes, no ear tufts, chest heavily streaked in gray and white. A good four-foot wingspan. Fierce. Free. Beautiful in flight or sitting quite still, waiting for prey. They punched with their talons and protected their territories, nests and owlets with a ferocious and very aggressive single mind.

  He gave her the information as well as showing her the feather structure and detail. As he did, he reached for the change, the shift to that amazing creature's form. He was lightning fast as a rule. He could shift in midair in the blink of an eye. He'd been shifting for centuries and it was second nature to him, but he did this one slow so she could see it happening.

  Teagan's gasp nearly made him stop midchange, but she stepped closer to the forming bird, her eyes wide with shock and wonder. Her entire face lit up. He stayed firmly in her mind.

  While you are shifting, it will feel strange to you, but you must keep only the image that you want to be in your head the entire time.

  "What will happen if I mess up?"

  Even in the owl's body, he heard the trepidation in her voice. I will be with you and can guide you back. Keep your mind in mine. Focus on the image of the owl. Study my form before you attempt it. Have no fears, Teagan, I will not allow anything to happen to you.

  Teagan took a deep breath and walked around the owl. It was a powerful creature. Intelligent and, she could see, fierce, just as Andre had described it. Its facial disc was prominent and mostly a grayish color. There was a rim around the disc that had beautiful, pearl-like spots in light and dark. The head was round and the tail, with its wedge-shaped tip, was long.

  She wanted to make the change. She had watched him do it. Andre, going from his tall, broad-shouldered, thick-chested frame to that of an owl had been unbelievable. She'd seen it with her own eyes and still couldn't believe it. To think she might be able to do that was . . . well . . . extraordinary.

  She licked her suddenly dry lips. She had to do this. It might be more thrilling than climbing a V13, which was crazy difficult but utterly mind-consuming and absolutely satisfying.

  "Shifting starts in the mind," she murmured softly. Determined. She could do this. Andre had brought her into his world because he'd been too afraid to allow her to remain in hers. She didn't have to worry that he would ever want her to do anything he considered dangerous to her. That gave her confidence. He gave her confidence, because in spite of everything, she knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that Andre would never let anything happen to her.

  She took another deep breath, held the image of the owl in her mind and willed her body to shift. The moment she felt the pull on her skin she startled, but she felt Andre there with her. He was warm and strong in her mind. Steady. Calm. So calm, as if this was an everyday event, not the monumental phenomenon it truly was.

  His calm spread to her. Her heart followed the steady beat of his. Her lungs followed his. She held the image firmly. Held to the command, willing her body to cooperate.

  When it happened she was so shocked the female owl nearly fell over. She hadn't really believed it was possible for her. Andre, yes. He could do anything. She wouldn't be surprised if he moved a mountain. But for her to shift. To feel her body changing. Reforming. The sheer exhilaration was alarming because it meant she was already accepting there were good--no--great things about being in Andre's world.

  I did it, Andre! Look, I really did it. This is the most amazing thing in the entire world. The best. Well, she hedged. That's not strictly the truth because kissing you is the best. Umm. Okay, that's almost the best. Making love with you is the ultimate, but this really, really ranks right up there. But not as good. Jus
t cool. Maybe cooler.

  She felt his laughter. Right there in her mind even though she was an owl. She was an owl! She wished her sisters were around. Not Grandma Trixie, because she'd stake her with that vampire-hunting kit she bought off the Internet, but she was fairly certain her sisters would think it was cool that she was an owl.

  Um. Andre. Can we go to church? Because Grandma Trixie is big on church. If I melt or go up in smoke inside a church, she isn't going to be happy with me. I'm already in danger of being staked by her.

  The male owl shook his head as if she was being crazy, but it was all the truth. The church question is absolutely legit. Have you been inside a church, like ever, since you've been this way?

  I was born this way. Spread your wings, csitri. Get used to moving in the owl's body. And no, I do not go to church, but Ivory and Razvan and Mikhail and Raven do. I know both couples very well. Neither has ever gone up in smoke in a church, although all four of them could easily become smoke if they wished.

  She flapped her wings like a wild bird, very enthusiastically. It was totally awesome. Can I become smoke? She could scare the pants off her nephews with shifting. How cool would that be?

  I think you should try flying first. Smoke is more complicated. Take a few hops. You will have to land. And, Teagan, I know this feels amazing to you, but you have to stay in control. Stay close to me at all times. There are vampires close by. We do not want them to know we are anywhere close. I believe they are still nursing their wounds, and gathering strength, but they must feed, and that means they will come out each rising to do so.

  Do they know you killed their friend? She continued to flap her wings and hop around on her taloned feet. So cool. The best--except for kissing and sex with Andre, of course.

  Vampires do not have friends. In the old days, if they met one another, they fought to the death to keep territory. Now a master vampire will find fledglings, those who have just turned, and he uses them as his pawns.

  She couldn't help but notice the contempt in his voice. He had such a sense of what was honorable in battle that he found the practice appalling. She opened her beak in a semblance of a smile.

  The vampire will have connected all of his pawns. They all are aware I defeated the undead in battle. He did not return to his master with a victim to feed from.

  She went still. She stopped hopping around and folded her wings. Are you telling me that he would have taken me back to his master so his master could feed off of me?

  Each of the pawns will be sent out to bring back a victim for their master. He was wounded far worse than the others in our battle. Had they not come to his rescue, I would have killed him.

  You fought him, and that's why you were wounded when I found you.

  I was in bad shape, he admitted. I could not open the earth enough to crawl in. I was that weak. Fortunately, I was able to open it just enough that the nutrients in the soil helped to rejuvenate me enough that I could eventually heal myself.

  I would have healed you, she said quietly. Not like you can do it, but I really can heal people tuning crystals to them and centering on the problem. She had wanted to heal him. That had been important to her, but when she saw his gift--it had been so much more than hers.

  Not so much more, sivamet. Different. Move to the top of that little mound of dirt just above the drop off.

  Do you think they have found another victim to bring to their master instead of me? She couldn't help the tremble in her voice. She couldn't imagine how it would have felt to be taken to someone worse than the vampire she'd encountered.

  I do not know. I will hunt him, but if he has someone with him, csitri, it is already too late.

  The gentleness in his voice turned her heart over. She even felt a caress inside her mind. How was that even possible, and yet he soothed her with his nonphysical touch.

  He would kill them immediately?

  He hesitated, and her stomach churned. She wasn't certain she wanted the answer, not if he was hesitant about revealing what a master vampire would do to his victim.

  There is no way of knowing. I doubt it. He would want to feed as long as possible on his victim while he heals. He knows I am hunting. He will not wish to move until he thinks it is safe.

  That said volumes. Teagan realized the master vampire had to be afraid of Andre. He had taken on the master vampire and several of his pawns. She couldn't help the little surge of pride she had in him as well as the fear for him. She wanted him to stop the vampires from taking any more victims, but at the same time, she didn't want him hurt. Not one scratch.

  Stop thinking about vampires, Teagan. This will require complete concentration. You have to allow your owl to take flight. You will need to recede into the background enough that whatever form you take can behave naturally with you present enough to guide it. Do not try anything else. One skill at a time.

  He didn't have to remind her of that. She was a climber and she was terrified of heights. She knew how to focus her entire brain on a single problem, especially when she was afraid. She was about to try to fly. She didn't risk looking at the sky, because she considered the sky pretty much as high up there as she was ever going to get.

  Um, Andre. Her heart began to hammer. She heard it. The birds heard it, and so did he. There's something you should know about me.

  Tell me.

  I often, as in every time, completely fall apart when I'm around fifty feet up. I freeze. I always cry. It's a total panic thing. I can't stop it. I talk myself out of it, or my climbing partner does, but no matter how often I climb--and it's a lot, both bouldering, and with ropes on the higher trad climbs--I always panic.

  Teagan.

  Her heart turned over. No contempt. No arguing. No telling her not to do this. Just her name. Tender. Sweet. Silk and velvet. His voice helped to settle her.

  I will be with you. If you get too high and panic, I can talk you out of it. I will be right beside you. Look to me. I have got you, always.

  She believed him. That calm, absolutely confident man wouldn't allow anything to happen to her. He didn't seem to mind that she needed reassurance, or that she confessed she panicked. He was there, right next to her, and she sensed that he was proud of her, whether or not she actually got into the air.

  You are allowing me to show you my world, csitri, and I am honored and privileged to do so.

  He was so formal. So gallant. She so wanted Grandma Trixie to meet him. She knew her grandmother would love him. So would her sisters. Unless of course, Grandma Trixie didn't take the time to know him and staked him instantly.

  Teagan. Keep your mind on flying. You are distracting yourself.

  Of course she was. She was about to take a leap of faith and throw herself off a very high cliff. She'd looked down, and it wasn't pretty. Rocks. Below that, trees. She needed a minute, but if she didn't just close her eyes and go, she might never experience flying on her own.

  She deliberately retreated in her mind, sliding back to allow the owl to the front. Instantly the bird spread its wings and took flight. No hesitation. She was in the air. Almost immediately she was aware of the night. The mist on her. The way her down feathers trapped air and provided insulation. The fringe on her primary wing feathers actually broke down the turbulence from air rushing over the surface of the wing. She realized that was the reason the owl was silent as it flew across the sky.

  She was flying. Teagan Joanes, flying. Crazy cool. If she didn't let herself look down--let the owl do it--she would be fine. Perfect. The sensation of the air moving through her and over her was amazing.

  You have to guide the owl. You are the owl, and yet you are not. I am right beside you. Nothing will happen if you look down. Seeing through the eyes of an owl is wonderful and not to be missed.

  That's total bribery. If she was being honest, bribery was working. She wanted to see through the eyes of the owl. Fear shimmered through her. I don't want you to see me in panic mode. You already think I'm irrational. I don't need you thinking
I'm unreasonable as well.

  I do not think you are unreasonable, Teagan.

  That's because you haven't seen me in full panic. I am unreasonable. It takes me forever to get myself under control.

  Open your eyes and let yourself see. I am guiding both owls and you are perfectly safe. I will not let you fall.

  Teagan had spent years learning to meditate and doing deep breathing to remain calm when her fears got the best of her. She wasn't in the least prepared for this situation. He didn't understand, and she was a bit ashamed to confess.

  I boulder, Andre. I can trad or sport climb using a rope, but I prefer bouldering.

  And this means? he prompted.

  She hadn't realized his opinion of her meant so much. She had never much cared what others thought of her. She went her own way and did her own thing. But it mattered what Andre thought of her.

  Bouldering is just me figuring out a problem. Controlling the climb. If I climb with a rope, I'm relying on someone else to save me if I'm in trouble. It shamed her, that she didn't have enough trust in her that she could allow a climbing partner to belay her properly. She'd never been able to get past that one fear--placing her life in the hands of another without falling apart.

  Teagan.

  His voice brushed over her. Through her. So much silk and velvet. Inside the owl, she shivered, unable to stop her reaction to his mesmerizing voice. She'd never liked her name so much as when he said it in that tone.

  You have placed your life in my hands repeatedly. You have great courage facing my world whether you think so or not. The idea of shifting has to be frightening, yet you followed my instructions and were successful.

  She hadn't considered that she trusted him to get her out of a bad situation if she messed up. The idea of shifting had been incredibly fascinating. She had been determined to learn how. Yes, she'd been scared, but she could feel Andre there in her mind. His presence, even without his physical body was so incredibly large and powerful--so steady. Like a rock.

  How could she possibly trust him with her life--almost a stranger who had forced her into a world she wanted nothing to do with--and yet not trust the people she knew for years? While astonishing, she realized it was the absolute truth.