Eternal (25 page)

“She's here after Madóran,” I told him. I was hoping to distract him from his own vendetta.

“How do you know that?”

“Pirian told me.”

Savhoran grabbed my shoulders—a bit roughly, though he didn't quite shake me. “You talked to Pirian?”

“
Mad
ó
ran
was there,” I said hastily. “I just wanted to thank the guy for giving me the chance to escape.”

“I wish you had waited for me.”

“I kind of wanted to get it over with. He gives me the creeps.”

Savhoran let go, only to put his arm around me. “He is dangerous. He does not wish you well.”

“Yeah, I got that impression.”

He squeezed my shoulders, then after a minute he said, “Why is she after Madóran?”

“She—her name is Kanna, by the way—she's related to Gehmanin. He told her he wa
s coming to see Madóran, and Pirian told her Gehmanin's dead. She must have put two and two together and come up with five.”

Savhoran didn't say anything for a long time. Thinking, I figured. I leaned my head on his shoulder. He kissed me, so sweetly I felt like crying, then drew back.

You should go.

I didn't want to. I took a breath, hugged him tight, then got up and stumbled my way to the door. I bumped into the screen and almost knocked it over.

Amanda…

What?

I love you.

I wanted to run back to him and jump his bones. That would just bother him, so I stayed where I was.

I love you too.

I felt a flood of warmth—physical and emotional—so strong it took my breath away. Took an effort to make myself find the door handle.

I'm going, but not because I want to.

I know.

Once you've—hunted, lets spend some time together, OK?

He didn't answer right away. He hated the whole idea of hunting, I was sure. It was really just a polite term for something pretty awful.

I would like that.

I knew that was all I was going to get. I opened the door and slipped out.

A rush of fear went through me as I realized I hadn't checked first. Fortunately, the garden and the
portal
were uninhabited. I hurried to my room, sprawled on my bed, and fantasized about Savhoran until someone knocked on my door.

“
Man?” Len called through the do
or. “Lunch time.”

Lunch was subdued. The clan came and got plates and took them away to the library. I was a little offended, but
Mad
ó
ran
and Len didn't seem to care.

After we cleaned up,
Mad
ó
ran
fetched a couple of books and the three of us worked on ælven in his little sitting room. The afternoon went by fast. I felt like I was starting to get the hang of it.

Len and I
helped fix supper.
Madóran
had us set the table in the great room. Over dinner, they discussed the watch schedule.
Madóran
was going to share watches in the
plazuela
with Caeran while the other three watched outside. Caeran offered to take the second shift.

“Savhoran can help,” I said.

Faranin shot a look at me. “He needs rest.”

“He'd want to help.”

“Perhaps tomorrow,” Lomen said.

They spent a lot of time discussing how long they should stick to the defensive plan. I kept pushing for going back to Albuquerque. It was sunset when we all got up from the table, and dusk by the time Len and I finished cleaning up the supper dishes. I tagged along with her back to Madoran's sitting room. Madóran was there, and he'd taken his robe off. Fortunately he had pants on, so I didn't have a heart attack. But I did stand there staring.

He was making a bit of noise opening drawers.

“I cannot find my heavier tunic. I want to wear it for my watch.”

“Uh…bathroom?”

Did I mention that ælven guys have gorgeous bodies? All the ones I'd ever seen, anyway.

Mad
ó
ran
turned around and looked at me. I hastily looked at the floor.

“Um, I should go.”

“No, wait please.”

I heard sliding fabric and looked up. He'd pulled on a tunic, which he usually didn't wear except when gardening.

“You must not take everything Pirian says seriously, Amanda.”

“OK,” I said.

“He is alben, and while I believe he is not allied with Kanna, he has spent too long feeding on humans to see them as anything but beneath him.”

“Yeah, I got that impression.”

Never mind that we were beneath all the ælven, too. At least they didn't rub it in. Usually.

He offered to walk me to my room, and I accepted. Even with his company, I kept a nervous eye on the garden as we walked around the
portal
. When we reached my door,
Madóran
moved to open it.

“Actually, I'd like to visit Savhoran. He can see me home.”

“I will go with you.”

We continued a couple of steps, then he stopped. “Savhoran needs to feed.”

“Yeah, I was telling him that earlier. He said he was going to hunt tonight.”

“Ah. I hope he does so.”

When we reached Savhoran's door, he knocked. No answer.
Mad
ó
ran
frowned, then put his hands and forehead on the door like I'd seen before. After a minute he straightened up and opened the door.

“Savhoran?”

Nothing.
Mad
ó
ran
went in and I followed, heart suddenly pounding.

He flipped on a light switch. The room was empty.

M
ad
ó
ran
stood frowning at the empty room. He glanced at me, then relaxed his features.

“
He must have go
ne hunting.”

“Yeah,” I said, but it didn't feel right. My gut was telling me something was wrong.

I thought back to my last conversation with Savhoran. I'd talked about him needing to feed, and he'd agreed. He was upset that I'd talked with Pirian.

“Maybe Pirian heard him leave,” I said. The rooms were adjacent.

I felt stupid as soon as I said it. Even if he did hear, what would that tell us? That Savhoran was gone, which we knew.

Pirian was hungry too.

I swallowed. Now that I remembered I was his favorite food, his room was too close to mine for comfort.

Mad
ó
ran
looked at me. “Pirian has pledged to leave my guests alone.”

“And you trust him?”

“In this, yes, so long as he is not unduly tempted. Do not approach his room alone.”

“Right.”

He watched me as I tried to shake off the willies. “You are uncomfortable.”

“I'll be all right.”

“Would you help me in the great room? The table needs polishing.”

“OK.”

He was humoring me. It was a kind gesture, though, and I was grateful.

He gave me rag and a bottle of polish. I was surprised that the bottle was a modern plastic squeeze type, but I figured it was easier to use than a jar. The polish, of course, was homemade. It smelled like beeswax and oranges.

I worked the table over while
Mad
ó
ran
walked around the room tidying. I was just about finished when heard an owl outside. I peeked out the nearest window. No owl. Just Madóran, standing out in the driveway past Len's car.

I frowned. Turned around. Saw Madóran by the bookshelf.

I looked back out the window. The figure there moved. It couldn't be Madóran, but it was wearing the tunic he'd been looking for. Right after I told Savhoran that the alben had it in for Madóran.

He moved again, and I was sure. It was Savhoran. My stomach sank so hard I expected to hear a thud.

“No,” I whispered.

I ran for the entryway and the front door. No way could I let Savhoran set himself up as bait, not in his weak condition.

“Amanda—”

No time to explain. I opened the door and ran out.

“Amanda!”

I was out and on the driveway. Savhoran wasn't standing where he'd been. I glimpsed him running north across the field.

“Savhoran!”

He didn't hear me. I ran after him, kept yelling. Finally he turned around.

“Amanda! Go back!”

“Not without you!”

I was panting hard. I leaned my elbows on my knees, feeling sick. I still had the bottle of polish in one hand.

Savhoran came running back to me. He caught me by the shoulders.

Amanda, please go inside.

I know what you're doing, but you can't expect to win when you're starving.

He closed his eyes.
I have to try.

You have to eat. I'm not going back in unless you come with me or—or feed from me now.

Amanda!

I mean it. You're not going to leave me behind.

I heard
a shout from the house and looked back.
Mad
ó
ran
was running toward us.

Three things happened really fast.

Savhoran yelled to
Mad
ó
ran
in ælven.
Mad
ó
ran
tripped and stumbled to his knees.

And the alben female grabbed Savhoran.

I screamed, not in fear as much as in anger. She'd come out of nowhere, and she had Savhoran in a stranglehold, on his knees, in two seconds flat.

I did the only thing I could think of. I squirted furniture polish at the alben's face.

Yeah, not a great weapon. It was all I had, and it worked, sort of.

I'd got it in her eyes. She couldn't see, and maybe it stung a little. She sure screamed like it did. She shouted at me too; I figured it was ælven cuss-words.

She still had hold of Savhoran. I was worried she was hurting him. I moved around behind her, slid a foot out and hooked it around her shin, and tugged. Both of them toppled to the ground, but she didn't let go.

I stood over her and squeezed the polish all over her face until the bottle was empty, then dug in my pocket for my pepper spray. She had a mouthful of beeswax and was spluttering. She spat, coughed, and cussed some more.

There was shouting from the direction of the house. The alben heard it too; suddenly she let Savhoran go. She got to her feet, glared at me, and dealt me a roundhouse punch that sent me to the ground.

I was a little woozy for the next few minutes. I'd never been hit like that, not even in playground wars. My ears were ringing and my cheek throbbed.

Someone tenderly hauled me up to a sitting position. My head swam. Arms folded me close, and I knew it was Savhoran. That was his smell, underneath the beeswax.

Voices. I didn't pay attention. Too busy coping.

Savhoran loosened his hold on me and I felt
Mad
ó
ran's hands on my face. Usually they were warm; now they were cool. I sighed as he made the pain ebb away.

Someone carried me into the house. I was too stunned to notice who, but it wasn't Savhoran and I doubt it was Mad
ó
ran.
They took me to my room and laid me on the bed. I heard them talking in ælven. Savhoran said “no” to something; I had a guess what.

I tried to move, but my head didn't like that and my neck was sore. I opened my eyes.
Mad
ó
ran
was in the chair by my bed. Savhoran was sitting next to me; I could just see his profile.

Mad
ó
ran
looked at me and touched my face. “You are a brave child.”

I shrugged, then winced. “Can't let her beat on my guy.”

He laughed. Savhoran leaned over to kiss my forehead.

“She left, huh?” I asked.

“Yes,”
Mad
ó
ran
said. “Lomen and Bironan were coming from the house. They went after her.”

Here we go again.

I didn't want to think about it. Despite Madóran's healing, I felt unwell. I closed my eyes. Savhoran took my hand and squeezed it.

Mad
ó
ran
said something in ælven. Savhoran replied.

“Shall I leave?” I said. Too sarcastic, but I was getting cranky.

“I apologize for my rudeness,”
Mad
ó
ran
said. “I was telling Savhoran that he must feed tonight.”

“I cannot endanger my friends,” Savhoran said.

“To accept a small gift will not endanger anyone.”

“And another, and another?”

“This situation is unusual.”

I kind of thought that everything about the ælven was unusual, but I kept it to myself. If they picked up on my thought, they were polite enough not to show it.

I put some white light around myself. Better late than never.

The next minute I felt a strange prickling on my arms. Opened my eyes and saw them both staring at the east wall of my room. In that direction were the bathroom and the treatment room.

“Your hunger excites his,”
Mad
ó
ran
said. “Please, Savhoran, for the sake of harmony.”

Savhoran didn't say anything. I watched him, wishing I could hold him. Instead I squeezed his hand. Best I could do.

“I know,” I said. “I can drive Savhoran to Las Vegas in Len's car. Big enough town, right?”

“You are in no condition to drive,”
Mad
ó
ran
said.

“Let me nap for an hour or so. Be good as new.” I knew that wasn't true, but I did think I'd be able to manage walking and driving in an hour.