Retribution (78 page)

His heart squeezed as he watched her grief, and he quickly dried her tears with kisses before finding her eyes. “There's nothing to forgive, Layla. Just because you can see the future, doesn't mean you can change it.”

“But I should have warned you, Quin. I should have told you.”

“Yes, you should have told me, but not to warn me. I wouldn't have changed my path even if I'd known the details of your vision. But I want to help you carry your burdens, Layla, and that’s a big one. I hate that you went through that alone.”

“I didn’t. You’re always there for me, always making it better, even when you don’t know what’s wrong.”

“I’m glad, but I’d like to know why you felt you couldn’t tell me.”

“Because it scared me. I know that’s not a good reason, but I couldn’t bring myself to say it out loud, to describe the horrible thing I saw, and I didn’t know how it happened, so I couldn’t stop it. I’m sorry, Quin. I don’t think I could ever say that word enough to make up for the things I’ve done.”

He scowled and laid a finger over her lips. “You’ve done nothing wrong, Layla. I know you’ll probably never believe that, but you need to hear it. You’ve faced incredible adversity and did what you needed to do to survive, and you saved a lot of lives along the way. So no more saying sorry. Not to me or anyone else. We know you never meant for any of this to happen, and nothing you did caused it. Now…” He moved his finger from her lips and gave her a kiss. Then he reached into the nightstand, finding a loaded pipe. Perfect. “Get high with me while we talk about what we’re going to do next.”

“What do you mean?”

Summoning a small flame from his thumb, he used one hand to take a hit. Then he pulled her to his lips, giving her half the smoke with a kiss. “Well,” he finally answered, watching her exhale, “your schedule has blown wide open. So what do you want to do first? Radium Hot Springs? Or should we give Travis a call?”

She hesitated, her eyes anxiously searching his. “There are things we still need to deal with, Quin… sad things, difficult things. Did your dad not tell you?”

Quin played with her hair as he watched her face, feeling blessed to have such a beautiful reprieve from the pain. “He did, and we'll deal with all that before moving on. But we will move on, and when we do, we'll need something to move on to.” He paused and took another hit. Then he held the stem of the pipe to her lips, urging her to take one on her own. “So what will it be, my love? Angel's choice.”

She eyed him as she blew out a puff of smoke, still unable to relax. “What about the Crusaders? And all those people in the volunteers' clearing?”

“The people in that clearing have no relationship with you whatsoever, so you’re not obligated to them. We’ll tell them to go home and leave you alone. As for the Crusaders, I owe them a thank you, and I plan on giving it to them, but that's on me, not you.”

“You're wrong, Quin. They saved my life, too. But they're not waiting around for thank yous. They're waiting around for favors.”

“Are you interested in hearing what they want?”

“I don't know. I have no idea what I should or shouldn't do.”

“Then whatever they want from you will have to wait until you make up your mind. We can tell them you're taking a break, and that if you do decide to hear them out, you'll let them know. Maybe you and I will take a trip to Europe in a couple of weeks and drop in on them. Maybe we'll forget about them altogether, but whatever we do, we're going to do it for us, not them.”

“I like that solution.”

“Good, because if it doesn't work for you, it doesn't work for me.” After taking one more hit, he offered her another. Then he sent the pipe away and hugged her closer. “So, what's it going to be, my love? We could leave for Radium in a couple of days, spend as long as you want there, then come home and have Travis visit. Or we could blow off the whole world and take a cruise.”

“It all sounds wonderful, Quin, and as long as you're there, it will be.”

Her muscles had finally relaxed, and her aura had slowed, so he repositioned the pillows and lay on his side, tucking her in with him. “We'll do it all, Layla, but you have to be awake to enjoy it, so now it's my turn to watch you sleep.”

Moisture filled her tired eyes as her bottom lip trembled. “I don't want to sleep, Quin.”

“You have to sleep, love, but I won’t make you. Your body and that weed will do the job for me.”

“You’re sneaky.”

He smiled as he brushed a thumb across her pout and kissed away her tears. “Maybe a little.”

She desperately searched his face, her eyelids getting heavier. “But I just got you back.”

“I'm not going anywhere, love. I'm staying right here, and I'll be holding you when you wake up.”

“Promise?”

“Yep, and the first thing I’m going to do is summon you a cup of coffee, because I’ll need you awake for what I plan to do next.”

“Please tell me you mean me.”

He laughed as he ran a hand down her back to her butt. “Yes, my frisky angel, I mean you. I’ve faced the possibility of losing this perfect body of yours, and I’ll never go another hour without finding a way to appreciate it, but right now I need to take care of it and let you sleep.”

“You’re really going to stay?”

“Yes. If I go anywhere, it will be the bathroom, and I’ll come right back.”

She watched him for another moment, no doubt wondering if she had the energy to argue, and apparently she didn’t. “Okay.”

He smiled and leaned in, giving her a soft kiss that took her breath away, and as her heart stuttered and stopped, his did the same. They both froze, leaving their lips together as they savored the moment. Then her heart and breathing resumed, and so did his.

His smile stretched around her lips as he cupped her face in his palms. “You're amazing, Layla. What you do to me is incredible, and it's unbelievable how much I love you. You make everything better than okay, you make it perfect, and I'm going to make it perfect for you. I'm going to make it so that you're not afraid to close your eyes and sleep.”

Layla didn’t know if she’d ever be able to live without fear, fear for herself, for him, and for those they cared about, but now more than ever, she knew she could live
with
the fear, because as long as she feared losing Quin, she hadn’t lost him yet. And one thing was for damn sure – she’d never go down without a fight. She didn’t know why she had extraordinary powers, and she didn’t fully comprehend how to use them, but until the day her crazy heart stopped working altogether, it would beat for one purpose – to protect the people she loved.

And she loved no other more deeply than the man kissing her tired eyelids and stroking her messy curls.

Epilogue

The morning sun crept toward the horizon, blurring the lines between Paris and the sky. Bryce was familiar with the city from a bird’s-eye view, but today he stood on a sidewalk, looking at the fading metropolis through smog and the pillars of the Charles De Gaulle Airport.

His first trip on an airplane hadn’t been unpleasant, but he had no desire to do it again, and it would be a cold day in Death Valley before he’d climb into one of the taxis lining up for the hexless.

He took off walking, unfamiliar with his surroundings and the shoes on his feet, but all he needed was a shadowed corner, which he soon found. Slipping into the dark, he vanished his shoes and summoned his cloak. Then he concealed himself and reemerged. A quick glance around assured him no one witnessed the magic, so he soared toward coral sky, anxious to leave the stress of the hexless behind.

The Crusaders’ home base was more than a hundred miles away, but after being on a plane for hours, soaring free felt amazing – the cold wind flowing around his warm and weightless body. And his feet; they could breathe. He was pretty sure hexless shoes were made by people who hated feet.

With Paris far behind him and Belgium growing nearer, Bryce descended into the French Ardennes Mountains, landing halfway into a valley dug out by the oldest river in the world – the Meuse. Trees and undergrowth owned the incline, obscuring the world around him, but he didn’t need to see where he was going. This was his home, and he was glad to be back.

Hiking a few yards up the slope, he came to a rocky ridge and looked around, finding the auras of two of his comrades. Bryce revealed his body and offered them a wave. Then he looked at the stone ridge, watching as a crack widened and cool air rushed from dark depths.

Ducking inside, Bryce cast a light from his palm, and the stone closed behind him. The rocky corridor ahead was several miles long, twisting and delving deeper than the Meuse, so he flew, eventually coming to a bright golden door guarded by a wizard in baby-blue.

“Tiernan,” Bryce greeted, landing and extinguishing his light. The guard smiled and moved aside. “Bonjour, Monsieur Bryce.”

Bryce crossed the golden threshold then followed a golden corridor further into the Crusaders' home base. Upon entering the great hall, he found the four magicians he'd come to see sitting in a circle, intently listening to a soothsayer named Gavin.

“I’ve located another guardian,” Gavin announced.

A witch named Andraste swept her knee-length, silver hair out of the way as she replied. “Where?”

“Southern California. He’s much like the other one – a bonded child seeking a dream.”

A wizard named Roarke impatiently rapped his knuckles on the table. “If only the dream would seek him. We’ve located two wizards, yet the witch remains a mystery. Perhaps your original vision was tainted, Gavin.”

“You know I can't guarantee my work,” Gavin countered. “We've been running on obscure prophecies for more than twenty-two years.”

A witch named Kassandra stood and paced the floor. “Yes, and smoky visions were fine twenty-two years ago, before the threat encroached. But we're running out of time, and our knowledge remains pitifully inadequate.”

“I agree,” Gavin conceded, “but we've recruited nearly every soothsayer renowned for their accuracy, and they hold not one shred of perception regarding the earth angel. I seem to be the only one with answers about the witch, obscure or otherwise, and I've given you everything I know. Her fate is far more legible than she, and even it remains cryptic. The goddess of mercy took pity on us more than two decades ago and no doubt got reprimanded for meddling in human affairs. To defy Mother Ava is to risk eternity, which would explain the lack of visions. It appears we’re on our own from here.”

“What about the double-bonded male?” Andraste asked. “Finley. He’s loose, powerful and aware of the earth angel. Perhaps he sought her out after killing his handlers and escaping the Dark Guild.”

“I search for visions of him daily,” Gavin assured, “but receive nothing.”

“We're wasting time,” a wizard named Lorcan interjected. “Let's follow up on the young man in California, see if he's found his dream girl.”

“That may not be necessary,” Bryce interrupted.

The five magicians turned, smiling at their company.

“Bryce,” Lorcan greeted. “Welcome back. Join us, will you?”

Bryce accepted the glass of wine Kassandra summoned him then sat next to Lorcan. “We have every reason to believe we've found her.”

“The earth angel?” Kassandra asked, eagerly taking a seat next to him.

“Yes,” he confirmed. “Venetia had us tailing Alistair Murdoch's mercenaries when we came across the most powerful witch I've ever seen. She's young, early twenties, and her beauty… well, it’s unique to say the least. She single-handedly defeated Agro after taking out over seventy of his men.”

“Agro's dead?” Andraste interjected.

“Yes,” Bryce confirmed. “The witch literally ripped his heart out.”

“Where is Venetia now?” Lorcan asked.

“She's camped outside the witch's community, keeping the enemy at bay while waiting for the witch to agree to counsel. Venetia didn’t want to waste time, so she sent me here on a plane.”

Roarke laughed. “How was that?”

“Fast but uncomfortable.”

“Yes,” Lorcan agreed. “My first time on a plane was my last. Where is the witch's community?”

“Oregon.”

“Is she willing to talk?”

“I don't know. Her family suffered many losses during the battle with Agro, so the witch is hiding out while she copes. However,” he added, leaning forward, “we've already won favor with her.”

“How so?”

Bryce grinned and raised his eyebrows. “Venetia saved the life of her bonded mate.”
 

“Bonded mate?” the council responded.

“He’s not her bonded mate,” Gavin corrected.

“She thinks he is,” Bryce noted, “and they have the golden lights.”

“Hmm…” Gavin hummed. “That’s a little surprising. I figured they’d differ from traditional bonded lights.”

“Well they do,” Bryce conceded. “They’re laced with silver.”

“Ah… the color of the Heavens.”

Lorcan scowled and looked between them. “Explain what this means, Gavin.”

Gavin stood and paced, thoughtfully staring off into the distance. “If this witch is indeed the earth angel, she isn’t bonded, not in the traditional sense, and the same rules don’t apply. In anticipation of the earth angel’s arrival, Willa – the well-meaning goddess of mercy that she is – blessed the unborn babies of seven bonded females, thereby providing the earth angel with seven suitable mates, all born with the ability to see her to purpose. But only one gets the job, and the earth angel must choose to give it to him. Nothing about the situation fits our idea of soul mates, except, perhaps, the way the bond is sealed. But consummating the relationship wouldn’t change anything unless she’d already surrendered her life to him, and he’d have to earn that honor. Bonded mates start with that connection and merely have to decide to keep it. The earth angel will feel a connection to all seven prospects, but her trust won’t come so easily. The guardian will have to work for it, and if he succeeds, their bond will surpass those of bonded mates. It will be a union unlike any other.”