The stallion lets out a dignified grunt and shakes his head around with a figure-eight motion.
“Is that a yes?” I ask, not sure if I want it to be or not.
Diablo gives a low whinny, then slowly bends his front two legs so his knees are touching the ground. His back is still so high up…but maybe I can reach it…
I stand and hobble over to him. Clutching his long, silky mane with both fists, I attempt with my good leg to propel my body over the enormous stallion’s back. I miss by a mile, kick him in the flank with my achy foot, and promptly land on my back again, this time yelling more from frustration than from pain.
Dammit!
Clenching my fists into angry balls I pound the soft dirt beside me. This whole idea is so stupid. Why in the world would I willingly return to Thiberoux? And why do I want to talk to Bones so badly? Even if I don’t hate him as much as I used to, he’s still one of them. Why do I even think he can help me? And why am I risking breaking my neck trying to get on this oversized horse from Hell? And how am I going to get home with this busted ankle?
I feel like such a pathetic loser sitting here in the middle of the woods, tears forming pools in my eyes. I give Diablo a pleading look. “What am I gonna do, big guy?” I groan, defeated.
He raises his nose high in the air, and looks down on me with one fiery eye.
“Please. I need your help,” I whisper.
He takes a few steps back to me and lowers himself again, this time lowering his haunches as well so that his underbelly rests on the ground.
“Thanks,” I say, now able to clear his expansive girth. When he begins to rise, I clutch his mane tightly with both fists, and squeeze my thighs together as tight as I possibly can. I hold my breath and lean forward, praying I don’t fall off.
I manage to stay on, and once Diablo reaches his full height I feel a little better. This isn’t so bad. I don’t know what I was so afraid of.
“Okay, boy, I need you to take me to see Bones. You know where he is, right? Take me in his direction but DON’T RUN! Only walk. Okay? Can you do that? Go really, really slow. Okay?”
Diablo starts off at an easy plod into the thickets of the dense forest. I can see the well-worn path he’s traveled numerous times with Lucky on his back, but still the trail is narrow, flanked with low-hanging branches, jutting tree roots and perilous jagged rocks. Once or twice I’ve been aware of this journey as Lucky and Diablo raced to Dryndara in pitch darkness. Even in the bright sunlight, going as slow as he’s probably ever moved in his life, the path is nothing short of treacherous.
I feel Diablo’s frustration at our slow pace, and I’m almost tempted to let him go a little faster. But as I eye the sharp branches and other hazards in our path, I resist the urge. How does Lucky manage to not get herself impaled every night?
Almost an hour later, I recognize the familiar surroundings. Somewhere around here should be the Portal. Diablo stops, raises his long snout in the air and releases an ear-splitting neigh.
“Come on, guy…you gotta take me inside Thiberoux,” I say, giving him a light tap with my heels. He doesn’t budge. Great. He takes me all this way just to stop at the last minute?
And then I remember. The Boumeaux. I need the black diamond in my possession to pass through the barrier separating the land of Dark-angels from the world of Man.
Crap crap crap!
I let out another frustrated scream, inexplicably devastated. I must speak with Bones today…it’s now or never. I don’t know why, but the urgency is almost overwhelming. But there’s no way I can make another round-trip out here before the sun goes down.
“Bones!” I shout as loud as I can. “Bones, can you hear me? Bones!”
My voice strains against the silence of the forest, and Diablo echoes my cries with another high-pitched whinny.
I shout out his name several more times to no avail. There’s no one out here for miles other than me and Diablo. And right now I can only pray that he knows how to get me back home to the cabin.
“Hey, you…what are you doing out here?” a gentle voice asks.
I twist my neck around so fast I nearly get whiplash. “Bones!”
I eye the ground with apprehension; it’s quite a long drop from atop Diablo’s back. “Hey, wanna kneel again?” I ask him, leaning forward to stroke his muscular neck.
Bones wanders over to us. As Diablo sinks lower, he lifts me effortlessly into the air and sets me gently on the ground.
“Liora?” His toffee eyes are round with confusion. “Are you okay? What are you doing way out here?”
“I…I don’t know, exactly. I just know I need to talk to you,” I reply with a hint of a smile. No wonder Lucky loves being friends with him so much. Just looking at him and his tanned, ripped body and chiseled features that switch from being devilishly sexy to sweet and caring…it’s an irresistible combination. Deadly, almost. “How’ve you been?”
“I’ve been okay,” he says, giving me his trademark smoldering gaze. “More important, how are you?”
My insides turn to butter. “How’d you know I was here?”
He cracks a half-grin. “I heard Diablo. And I felt you…”
“Felt me?”
He shrugs. “Something’s wrong. What is it?”
I take a deep breath and stare at him, unsure where to start. Just the sight of Bones makes my stomach tingle with happiness and my skin grow warm. “I-it’s kinda a long story…”
He motions me to a clearing where there’s a fallen log we can sit on. As I start to hobble over to it, he stops me. “Wait, what’s wrong? Are you hurt?”
I shake my head and limp forward. “It’s nothing. Super stupid. I tripped and twisted my ankle. No big whoa—!” Without any warning, Bones scoops me up in his arms as if I’m a doll and carries me the rest of the way to the makeshift bench. I have to admit, it’s not exactly torture being in his strong embrace again.
He sets me down and wraps his hands around my ankle. The searing warmth emanating from his palms instantly removes any traces of pain. “You have to be more careful,” he says, sitting back up as I gape at him in awe. “You are very important. You need to take care of yourself.” His mouth is set in a hard line.
“I do take care of myself…I just tripped is all. How did you do that?” I ask, pointing at my miraculously healed foot.
He shrugs. “No biggie. Anyone can do it.”
“Can Lucky?” As I ask, a hidden memory surfaces…one of me touching Kayla’s leg and fixing it, just moments before we were attacked by the Amazèa.
“Sure. With humans it’s easy. Now, tell me what’s going on.”
I clasp my hands together and stare at the ground. Truth is, I’m not sure why I came to see Bones…only that I had to.
“Liora…?” he gently urges. There’s something in his eyes…something that wasn’t there the last time I saw him. They seem more intimate somehow, yet somehow...mysterious.
“Bones, there’s something going on and I need to talk to you about it. I don’t know who else I can go to.”
“It’s about saving Kieron, isn’t it? You’re worried about what Lucky’s going to do. Can’t say I blame you…” His handsome face is sad, and he glances away.
My throat constricts. “What?” I gasp.
Bones shrugs, still staring off into the forest. “It is pretty dangerous, I admit. But we do have a better chance of survival with Aria on our side. Not that it’s ever a great idea to attack an entire demon tribe with only a few fighters, but hey, what do I know? It’s Lucky’s world, I guess. We just live in it. Maybe we can actually save the poor guy. Maybe we can’t. Guess we’ll find out soon enough.”
“Bones, what are you talking about?” My head spins at his words. Lucky knows where Kieron is? And she’s going to save him? From what?
Bones gives me a quizzical glance. “I assumed that’s why you came…you’re worried about what might happen tonight. Just know that I’ll do everything in my power to keep you safe, jus
t like I always have, and just like I always will.”
“I don’t know anything…I haven’t seen or heard from Kieron since that night he took me and Lucky to see the Amazèa. I’ve heard nothing. Are you telling me she knows something?”
Bones shrugs. “Well, yeah. Don’t get too upset, ‘cause she really hasn’t known for very long. She thought he’d disappeared. Then after we were attacked, we discovered he’d been held hostage this whole time by some former allies of ours who were looking for some payback because of a…misunderstanding. ”
“Kieron’s being held prisoner somewhere, and Lucky is going to rescue him?” I reiterate, dumfounded.
Bones nods. “Well, we’re gonna at least try. That is, if she still wants to after what happened…” His voice trails off.
“After what happened?” I ask when he doesn’t finish. “Why wouldn’t she want to?! If Kieron is alive and trying to get to us, she has to save him!”
He squints his eyes and focuses on me. “Liora…do you have any idea of anything Lucky may have done last night? Do you feel any…different at all today?”
I shake my head. “No, I don’t know what she did last night, and I don’t care. But now that you mention it, I do feel pretty good today. Better, in fact, than in a long time. I figured she just took it easy last night and let me get some good sleep or something…”
Bones’ soft chuckle starts the butterflies in my stomach dancing. “Believe me, she wasn’t sleeping last night—”
I hold up my hand. “Ugh, stop. I don’t want to hear it. I learned a long time ago the only way for me to not go completely crazy at sharing my body with a demon is to not know what she does.” Bones smiles wickedly, and I flash him a look. “I’m serious, Bones. Don’t tell me anything. I don’t even want to hear that I might die tonight. That is what you’re trying to tell me, isn’t it?”
He cocks an eyebrow and gives a sexy wink. “No, actually, I’m telling you we might in fact survive. That is, if we even still go…”
“I can’t believe Kieron’s been someone’s prisoner this whole time,” I mumble, dazed as the words sink in. “Why? And do you really think you can save him?” Suddenly everything is different…everything has changed. Kieron didn’t abandon me…he was prevented from coming back. It wasn’t by his own choosing.
“Thought you didn’t want to hear anything,” Bones smirks.
I groan with exasperation and roll my eyes. Truth is, I really don’t want to know the sordid details. “Just tell me he’s coming back to me soon,” I finally whisper.
An odd look flashes through Bones’ eyes, and he shifts his gaze away. “Only time will tell what will happen,” he mumbles. He stands and takes a few steps away, then turns back to me. “So, you needed to talk about something. If it wasn’t about Kieron, what was it?”
I chew my lip, trying to think. “I was wondering if you would have any idea why I’d see a scar on someone that no one else can see.”
Bones furrows his brow. “Come again?”
“There’s this guy…and this girl. I’ve known them for some time, and ever since the first day I saw them I noticed they were both covered in scars. But I just found out that not everyone can see them. I don’t know if it’s just me or what—”
“Liora, I don’t like the sound of this. If you’re able to see through the glamour of a supernatural being, and the creature wearing the disguise is trying to go unnoticed, well, that can put you in great danger. You may inadvertently ‘out’ yourself as paranormal and become a target.”
Supernatural being? A disguise?—I hadn’t even considered the possibility that Tristan was anything but a regular human. I’d thought it must be something about me. I lower my head.
“Well…” I begin sheepishly.
“What?” Bones looks at me through narrowed eyes.
“He kind of already knows. About me. That I’m special. Not all the dirty details, but enough.” Bones scowls down at me. “I thought he was human!” I add, defensive at his obvious disapproval.
“You told someone who you thought was a human your secret?” Bones asks in utter disbelief.
Blood rushes to my cheeks. Now that I’ve said it out loud, I can’t believe how stupid I was.
“Liora, I think you need to tell me everything. Now.”
I relay everything I can about Tristan’s and Casandra’s arrival. About how I felt, what Corrine had said, and how I found out about the scars.
“And Tatiana…she said you’d been somewhere with him, and you have no memory of it?” he asks, deep in thoughtful concentration.
“Yes,” I whisper. I feel so foolish…and even more horrified. Was Tatiana right? Had we really been in the mines after all and I just didn’t remember it? And why in a million years would we go there?
“Liora…there’s something that’s been bothering me about Lucky for quite some time, but I couldn’t really put my finger on it. But she seemed to be, well, for lack of a better word, less of herself lately. At first I chalked it up to Kieron being gone, but it’s more than that…it’s as if her strength…her essence, is slowly disappearing—”
Disappearing…that’s the same word Corrine had used.
“That’s how I felt, too.”
“I wonder…Tristan, you say…if he’s a demon, it’s possible he’s an Energy feeder. Do you…have you…?” He breaks off and looks away.
“Have I what?” I prompt.
“Have you and Tristan…have you been…intimate?”
I shake my head. “No. Of course not. We just kiss a lot.” The words fill me with guilt and shame. I was off kissing Tristan when the one I really love was being held prisoner.
“Liora, kissing is intimate,” Bones chides. “You know how many different types of demons drain the souls of Sapies that way?”
“So you think Tristan is a demon and has been draining my soul? Why?” I ask. Now when I think of Tristan I feel sick. And angry at myself for being such a weak idiot.
Bones shakes his head. “I have no idea. But I don’t like the sound of this one bit. I always knew this could be a problem, that one day someone could really come after you in your human form. At least when Kieron was around, he could protect you when I couldn’t…”
“What should I do?”
“For now, avoid him at all costs—”
“But if he was trying to hurt me, couldn’t he have just done it already?”
Bones shakes his head. “Who knows what the agenda is? Some drag it out for one reason or another…Aw, shit!” He shakes his head again and clenches his fists, muttering profanities to himself as he walks around.
“What is it?” I ask, alarmed.
He grabs his hair with both hands. “I’m just realizing how important it might be that we actually rescue Kieron tonight. Before, I wasn’t really that eager to, but now that I know you’re in danger…I need him here to keep an eye on you. I can’t very well do it, and obviously someone is after you…damn!”
“Whatever Tristan is trying to do, I don’t think he wants to hurt me,” I offer after a moment. Bones sure is sexy when he’s mad, with his hard set jaw and his eyes practically glowing with dark intensity.
“I’m not sure why I feel that way, but I do,” I add.
Bones gives a derisive laugh. “Liora, if you have a demon messing with your head, then there is no way you can trust anything you think you feel.” He looks down at my body. “But you say you’re feeling better today, physically? Even though you spent the day with him and kissed him again?”
I nod. “Yeah…It’s almost like I woke up from a fog. I know there are things I don’t remember yet or don’t quite understand, but they’re getting clearer now…like whatever hold he had on me is fading. I don’t feel the attraction to him I felt before.”
Bones raises a dark eyebrow thoughtfully and the corners of his lips twitch. “Did you feel any certain way when you woke up today? Happier, maybe?”
I shrug my shoulders. “I don’t remember. I don’t think so?
??I think I just felt…better.”
A slow smile spreads across his mouth. “Well, it’s a start.”
~~~
“Thanks for the lift, but you don’t have to hang around. I’ll be fine, and Lucky’s coming in a few hours. If anything bad happens, I have Tatiana.” I smile at Bones and give him a hug, pulling him close. He always smells and feels so perfect. As if he were the living form of everything I’ve ever desired, or ever will.
“All the same, I think I’ll hang out around here until Lucky shows up. Don’t worry, I’ll stay outside. But just in case…”
“Okay, okay. Do what you gotta do. Bye, Bones.” I rise on my tiptoes and plant a kiss on his cheek. “It was really good seeing you again. Thanks for talking with me.”
“Anytime, Liora. I’m always available for you…you know that.”
I give him another long hug before heading inside the cabin. I’d wanted to be home when Lucky showed up, and had made Bones promise not to say anything to her about my visit to see him. She hates me interfering in her life as much as I hate her butting into mine.
The door is cracked, and I peer in cautiously. “Tat?”
No answer. I head into Tatiana’s room and am relieved to see her sitting next to her cauldron. Her eyes are closed and her face is pinched. For a moment, I just stand there looking at her. She seems so tiny and frail right now.
Her eyes flutter open. “Hello, sweetheart.”
I smile. “Hi, Tattie. I went to see Bones today.”
“Yes, I know.”
“You might’ve been right about me going to the mines that day.” I take a seat on her bed. “I’m beginning to believe my friend Tristan isn’t really my friend after all…” I want to ask her why she hadn’t seen it, why she didn’t know that Tristan was a demon in disguise. But I hold my tongue. Now doesn’t seem the right time to drill her for info.
She closes her eyes and wobbles ever so slightly on her chair. “Tat, you okay?”
Her eyes open again, and she cracks a wan smile. “I’m fine, dear. Just sleepy. There is some beef and potato stew on the stove. You better eat before it gets dark.” She pauses and fixes her opaque eyes on my body, her face brightening almost imperceptibly. “You must keep up your strength.”