Monday night—day two

Alton, first son of Chancellor Artigos of the Ruling Council of Nine and heir apparent to the throne of Lemuria, leaned against one of the golden columns in the Inner Sanctum of the Lost City and cursed.

Quietly, of course. It wouldn’t do to upset the status quo.

Even though he was bored to tears with the status quo.

It didn’t help his disposition any that he was heir to the throne of an immortal king. Not that he wanted anything to happen to his father, but there wasn’t much hope for job advancement.

Since he was also immortal—though he could be killed, old-age and illness weren’t issues—he’d been heir apparent for what felt like forever. Dear old Dad was just as healthy and hard-headed now as he’d been back before the citizens of Lemuria had packed up their doomed kingdom and moved to a separate dimension within the mountain known as Shasta so many thousands of years ago.

Of course, the sanctuary the elders had chosen was deep inside a dormant volcano, one that tended to erupt every six hundred years or so, which meant packing everything up and evacuating until the mountain settled into dormancy once more. During the last eruption they’d moved through a portal in the vortex to Sedona in the American Southwest. Fascinating country, rich with ancient spirits and unique connections through a different set of dimensional portals and vortexes.

At least it had engendered a bit of excitement.

Anything was better than the endless philosophical discussions that now occupied the ruling class of Lemuria. Arguing dogma got old after a few thousand years, especially when no conclusions were ever reached. Alton had only needed a couple of clandestine journeys to the world outside Mount Shasta to be reminded once again that there was more to life than philosophical discourse and unending debate.

Earth was amazing, its humans even more so. They seethed with emotion. Humans seemed to act without thought or concern for the common good.

No…they felt, and then they reacted, generally without thinking, but damn, they certainly seemed to enjoy the ride. Alton envied humans their emotions. What would it be like to feel, to experience joy, passion, excitement, even fear again?

Not since his long-ago childhood had he been free to feel. It wasn’t proper, now that he was grown. It was unseemly to allow the baser passions their freedom.

To hell with unseemly. What would it be like, to feel passionate enough about something to be willing to take risks for it? His thoughts drifted to a night many years before when he’d left this hallowed place and walked with his bare feet through rain-washed dirt.

A storm had recently passed, and the ground was muddy and slick. It stuck to his bare soles and stained the pristine hem of his white robe, but he’d buried his feet in the soft, wet muck and watched it ooze up between his curled toes. Cold and slimy and so very real…he’d felt a connection to the earth unlike anything he’d known before.

He’d even stepped on a sticker. Hurt like blazes until he’d found it and pulled it out of his heel, but he’d actually relished the pain, the small dot of blood that was a persuasive reminder that yes, he was alive.

It was so easy to forget, down here amongst the elders of his world, men who could spend months arguing a simple point merely for the sake of the argument.

What would it be like to fight over something that actually mattered? To believe strongly enough to risk everything for a cause bigger than himself?

“Alton? What are you doing here?”

Jerked out of his musings, Alton glanced up as Taron, his one true friend, approached. Tall, lean, with his single vermillion braid hanging as neatly bound as always down his back, Taron looked the part of the brilliant mathematician he’d grown to be.

It was easy to forget they’d once been boys together in old Lemuria, racing through sand dunes and swimming in the pristine sea without a care or worry to their names. They’d known passion then. The joy of being children in a world surrounded by azure seas beneath cerulean skies.

Alton glanced up at the intricate design in the gold leaf overhead and sighed. “Just wondering how to fill my days without going crazy.”

Taron frowned. “Crazy? You? Shouldn’t you be preparing to one day lead the citizens of Lemuria? As heir apparent…”

Alton shrugged. “Apparently you haven’t paid attention. When one’s father, also the world’s ruler for life, is immortal, ’tis foolish to aspire to his position.” He raised an eyebrow.

Taron laughed out loud. “I see your point. Actually, I’m pleased to find you here otherwise unencumbered. I need to talk to you.” He glanced right and left, as if assuring that no one would hear what he was about to say, and then spoke very softly. “We have a problem. Large numbers of demons are passing through the vortex from Abyss to Earth. I’m concerned. Their numbers appear to be increasing exponentially.”

Frowning, Alton gestured to Taron to follow him around the column he’d been leaning against, to the quiet alcove behind it. “How do you know this?”

“I noticed the influx about a week ago.” Taron shrugged. “I stepped beyond the golden veil for a change of perspective and happened to notice a new portal in the vortex leading directly to Abyss. I was curious and decided to watch it for a while. Demon stench was impossible to ignore. I counted many demons taking the form of wraiths and disappearing through to Earth. It didn’t take long to realize their numbers are increasing.”

“Did you report it to the council?”

Taron merely raised one expressive eyebrow. Alton sighed. What was the point? Demons entering Earth’s dimension had nothing to do with Lemurian politics—at least as far as his father and the ruling body were concerned.

“Some day my dear father and his eight fellow senators are going to be shocked when they discover their arguments are worth no more than dust on the feet of demons in the overall scheme of things.” Alton glanced over Taron’s shoulder at the small, mannerly groups of white-robed figures filling the great plaza.

Taron nodded. “How quickly they forget we were once fearsome warriors, that our people fought demonkind to a standstill.”

Alton cut loose with a derisive snort. “If they were to remember those days, they’d be forced to recall the days when our swords still spoke to us as fellow soldiers.”

Taron merely shook his head in disgust. “We were once a proud people, Alton. Not anymore. Look at what we’ve become.”

Alton looked, and then he sighed. The debates went on as usual: the level of voices never raised. The arguments remained the same. Century after century of the same discussions, the same gentlemanly disagreements.

Why in the gods’ hells couldn’t someone just get angry once in a while? He glanced down at the same white robe he wore every day. The one that made him look exactly like every other male in the huge auditorium.

He was going to end up exactly like them. A clone of his father—a man without imagination or passion. Without a ray of hope for anything more from his life.

Hells…what would it be like to fight for something important, to earn his sword’s respect, to have it actually acknowledge him? Obviously he hadn’t proved himself worthy enough to bear it, which was why he’d left the damned thing in his quarters. He’d never actually witnessed a sword that spoke, but history was rife with examples. His, however, was not one of them. When he raised his head, Alton caught Taron staring at him with an odd glint in his bright green eyes. “What?”

“You truly do look bored and dissatisfied.”

“I am. Very.” Alton huffed out a frustrated breath. “Day after day, the same conversations, the same arguments, the same talk, talk, talk. It goes nowhere. Solves nothing.” He glared at Taron. “I can’t stand it!”

“Come with me, then. I have something you might find interesting. Something that may be linked to demons.”

Without waiting, Taron turned away and headed down a long hallway leading to another level, one where the technicians labored to keep their society on its usual level footing. Alton had often envied them their caste designation. At least they had purpose, a job to do, one that society actually depended upon.

“Slow down,” he said, taking longer steps to catch up to Taron. “Where are you taking me?”

“We had a rather unusual incident this morning.” Taron grinned at Alton, as if he carried a secret much too good to keep. “I only learned of it by accident, but it appears a couple of humans managed to cross through the golden veil.”

“Humans?” Alton caught up to Taron. “How’d they get in?”

Taron shook his head. “I’m not sure, though rumor has it one of them reeks of demon. I was headed down to see them when I spotted you. Thought you might be interested.”

“Does my father know?”

Once again Taron raised his eyebrows. He kept going. “Of course. He gave orders they be incarcerated and forgotten.”

Alton practically growled. “Typical. So they’re locked up?”

“Why do you think we’re going to the dungeons, my friend? Pay attention!”

Alton blinked. Taron was right. He really did need to pay closer attention.

“Who passes?”

A guard stepped out of the shadows with his sword raised. Taron and Alton stopped. Alton glanced at the guard’s shiny steel sword. At least the man didn’t have to worry about his sword refusing to speak—only the ruling caste carried crystal. Alton stepped forward. “Heir Apparent Alton to interrogate the prisoners. Take us to them immediately.”

The guard saluted, and, without question, turned and led them through a large gate and then into another long hallway. This one was even darker and narrower than the first. Alton glanced at Taron and flashed him a quick grin. At times like this, being the heir, apparent or otherwise, had its pluses.

The guard stopped in front of a barred door. Inside, behind the bars and a barrier of pure energy, two terribly dejected-looking humans and a rather odd animal covered in curly yellow hair sat huddled together on a single sleeping cot. Alton dismissed the guard. As soon as the man was gone, he glanced at Taron. “Shall we?”

“I’m ready if you are. Between the two of us, I think we can take them should they offer resistance.” He grinned after making his dry comment, obviously not all that concerned with any particular threat from the prisoners.

With a wave of his hand, Alton directed the bars to part. The energy field winked out of existence. The sense, but not the scent, of demon wafted from the room. Alton glanced at Taron and frowned. He received a questioning shrug in return.

Totally confused and not just a little uncertain, the two Lemurians entered the cell.

 

Dad was going to be so disappointed in his much-lauded Lemurians. Jackasses! Eddy and Dax had barely stepped through the flowing wall of gold when they’d been nabbed by a couple of big bruisers who looked tough enough to work for the Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Department—except the deputies back home were a hell of a lot nicer.

The guys that caught them this morning were sorely lacking in diplomatic skills. Brawny and powerful-looking in spite of the blue robes that reminded her of something you might wear at an expensive spa, the Lemurian guards hadn’t said word one to either her or Dax.

No, they’d merely trapped them in some kind of energy beam so they couldn’t do anything but follow orders, and marched them down a dark tunnel, straight to this damned little cell. Eddy glanced at Dax, but he wouldn’t even meet her eyes. She couldn’t imagine how awful he must feel. Sent to save the world with only a week to achieve the impossible, and they’d spent at least the last two hours locked in a stupid cell, Lord knows how far under the ground. A cell with bars across the doorway and, for added assurance, some kind of sizzling, sparking beam that looked like it would fry anyone who tried to go through.

Obviously some of the stories she’d heard about the Lemurians and their advanced technology were true, but the part about them being honorable and brave warriors was a crock. All her dad’s talk of Lemurians battling demons throughout history was just that—nothing more than hot air. It looked like none of it was going to help them a bit.

Now how the hell were they going to get out of here?

Bumper whined. Eddy stroked her blond curls. “It’s okay, girl. We’ll think of something. They can’t leave us here forever.”

Says who?

Willow’s telepathic voice carried the sound of tears. Eddy glanced to her right and saw the sprite’s little face barely peeking out of Dax’s shirt pocket. Her wings were droopy, and there was no shimmer to her at all.

Not a blue sparkle to be seen.

“We’ll get out, Willow,” Eddy said. “Don’t give up hope.”

Dax raised his head and looked at her. “How do you do it?” He shook his head. “You never show fear. You never give up. I wish I were more like you, Eddy Marks.”

His sad smile made her heart clench. Then she remembered the taste of his lips on hers and the kiss they’d shared. “You’re not giving up, Dax. None of us are.” She wrapped her fingers around his hand and squeezed. “I’m not sure how, but we’ll get out of here. They have to help us.”

She felt the slightest pressure against her fingers as Dax returned her squeeze. Just the warmth of his hand in hers made her feel better. More connected. Stronger.

She looked around the tiny room that seemed to have been carved out of solid rock. It was light, and the air was fresh, even though there were no windows or visible light fixtures.

And no way to contact anyone, anywhere. She thought about the cell phone in her pack and almost laughed. The company said you could get a signal anywhere, but she figured that must mean as long as you were in the same dimension.

Bumper yipped. Eddy’s head shot up. She stared at what they’d figured had to be some kind of energy field blocking the door. The bars clanged, though she couldn’t see them through the brilliant glare. Then the wall of light between them and freedom suddenly winked out of existence.

It took her eyes a minute to adjust to the lack of glare. She blinked and looked way up into the eyes of two of the tallest, most beautiful men she’d ever seen in her life.

Well, almost the most beautiful. She tightened her grasp on Dax’s hand and realized there was no comparison. As beautiful as these two strangers were, they weren’t even close to her fallen demon. She shivered, more aware than ever how possessive she was beginning to feel about a guy she hardly knew at all. A guy who’d already explained he was here on borrowed time.

At least he was smiling, and with that smile, Eddy felt as if things looked brighter. Willow poked her head out of Dax’s pocket, and her glow was once again brilliant. Sapphire blue sparkles exploded behind the little sprite as Willow leapt into the air. Dax stood and held his hand out to the first of the two men. “I am Dax. I’m glad you’ve come. I was wondering if anyone would help us.”

The guy had to be close to seven feet tall. He had long, shiny blond hair that fell past his waist, and the greenest eyes Eddy had ever seen on any man. He paused and glanced at Dax’s outstretched hand. After a brief hesitation, he reached out and very briefly shook hands.

Then he stepped back, in an obvious move to put more space between them. “You carry the sense of demonkind, though not their stench,” he said. His eyes narrowed, and he gave Dax a look of absolute loathing. “Even without their stink you are not welcome here. We do not deal with demons.”

“Excuse me.” Eddy popped to her feet, but she clasped her fists at her sides to keep from taking a swing at the pompous ass. “How dare you! Damn it all, he’s trying to save us all from demons, and you’ve got us locked in here for Lord knows how long when we don’t have any time to…”

Eyes wide, the Lemurian took a quick step back, even though he was almost a foot taller than her five foot ten. At least she’d gotten the jerk’s attention. Willow flitted through the air and then hovered in front of the second Lemurian. He grinned at her, obviously fascinated by both Eddy’s outburst and the little blue flash of Willow’s feminine fury.

Dax wrapped his fingers around Eddy’s arm and gave her a slight tug. Willow continued to hover, Bumper whined, and Eddy clamped her lips together. Attacking the guy you were here to ask favors of probably wasn’t a very smart move on her part.

She took a deep breath. “I’m sorry,” she said, well aware she didn’t sound sorry at all. She held her hands out, though, to show she meant no harm. “Look, it’s been a really, really shitty day.” She glanced at Dax, and she was almost certain he was biting back a grin. She wanted to hit him. How the hell could he find anything in this to laugh about?

She turned back to their two visitors. The men stood perfectly still, studying them as if they were monkeys in a zoo, though Eddy had to admit that Willow was getting more than her share of the attention. At least the guy with the red braid was actually grinning at the sprite.

“I’m sorry,” she said again, stiffly. “My name is Eddy Marks. This is Bumper, and that’s Willow. We came here to request your help. We didn’t expect to be thrown into jail.”

“I see.” The one with long blond hair turned to the other guy with the red braid that went to his butt. It was more than obvious they were somehow talking without any sound, though the one with the braid acted as if he’d rather just watch Willow.

After a moment of silent communication, the blond one nodded at Eddy. “I am Alton. This is Taron. We will speak with you of your reasons for invading our home. Why, human, have you and this creature who is demon in human form, come to ask for our help? And why do you think we would be willing to give it?”

 

Dax watched the emotions playing across Eddy’s expressive face and figured this might be a good time to step in, even though the Lemurian had addressed her, not him. He rested his fingers on Eddy’s forearm and stepped forward. “Because if you aren’t willing to help us, Lemurian, we all—your world included—risk losing everything.”

The tall one with the red braid down his back finally shifted his gaze away from Willow and raised one very expressive eyebrow. “Everything? That’s fairly inclusive, isn’t it?”

Dax nodded. “Everything,” he said. “Demonkind have launched an invasion of the small town of Evergreen, the first step of what is feared might be an assault on all of Earth. I’ve been charged with the task of halting them before they gain a foothold. The balance of power is tipping, and if it tips too much…” He let the sentence hang there in the still air between them.

The Lemurians shared another telling glance. The one with the long red braid folded his arms across his chest and stared at Dax. The blond took a more aggressive stance. “We are aware of the demons’ incursion onto Earthen soil.” He made a dismissive sound and slashed his hand through the air. “You’re saying you are all that stands between our linked civilizations and the chaos of demon rule?” He shook his head. A condescending smile curved his full lips. “I find that hard to believe. One man, a demon in human guise, at that, cannot expect to fight all of demonkind.”

Dax glared at the arrogant fool staring down at them and fought a powerful desire to punch him in his long, aristocratic nose. If he’d still been in demon form, he could’ve dealt with him in a couple of quick bites. “One man who retains his demon powers,” he said, squaring his shoulders and tapping himself on the chest. “Accompanied by one loyal beast, a will-o’-the-wisp with her own set of unique powers, and one very brave woman.”

He turned and looked at Eddy with pride. “I do not fight alone.”

Eddy snapped her head around and stared at him, wide-eyed. Dax squeezed her arm and winked at her. Didn’t she realize how much he needed her? He slipped his arm around her waist. “We may be a small band, but we know our enemy. For now, demonkind are contained in one little town where we have a chance at victory. At least we have the courage to fight. Do you?”

The blond one, Alton, blinked. He looked like he wasn’t used to anyone disagreeing with him about anything.

Or challenging him, either.

The one with the red braid covered his mouth and coughed, but he looked more like he was hiding a smile.

Alton took a deep breath, as if he seriously pondered Dax’s comment. “Why Lemuria? There must be others more capable of fighting. We’re philosophers, teachers—no longer warriors. And why is it that, while you appear human, I sense demonkind in you? Explain, please…. How is it you possess demon powers?”

Dax took a deep breath. He looked at Eddy. She squeezed his hand, sharing her amazing self-confidence.

“They asked,” she said.

Dax nodded…and then he explained. Both Lemurians listened with surprising patience while he told them of being cast out of Abyss, of his first strange meeting with the Edenites in the void, and of the trip through the vortex into Earth’s dimension while still unaccustomed to his new human body. He described the demon’s attack and the curse he constantly battled.

“The curse lives within your own demon powers?” Taron frowned, as if confused by Dax’s description. Dax opened his shirt to the snake tattoo, writhing in a slow yet hideous dance across his body. Alton and Taron exchanged horrified glances.

“Dax, wait.” Eddy pressed her hands to the snake. The pain lessened. Dax sighed in relief as the writhing tattoo stilled. The Lemurians gazed at Eddy with new respect.

Dax felt stronger when he buttoned his shirt and continued with his tale. The one with the red braid actually smiled when Dax told of his first meeting with Eddy. Both Lemurians laughed aloud as he described the battle held in Eddy’s small living room. It hadn’t been funny at the time, but…

“And when Eddy told me of the mythical Lemurians with their special powers, with their illustrious history of battling demonkind, I knew we had to at least try to find you.” He looked directly into Alton’s green eyes. “You are right. I know we can’t defeat an enemy as powerful as this demon horde by ourselves. That’s why we’ve come here. We’re not too proud to admit we need your help. Your people have to recognize the risk to all our worlds. We need your assistance to halt the invasion before it extends to other cities, other countries on Earth. There’s very little time before a tipping point is reached. Before it’s too late.”

“Dax has less than a week,” Eddy said. “Then his powers and this body he’s been loaned will be gone. We need you.”

She gazed at Dax, and her deep brown eyes glistened. Tears? For him? No, he thought, of course not. For her world. She wept for her world. As well she should.

Alton studied Dax for a long, silent moment after he finished speaking. He glanced at his companion, and his full lips quirked up in a smile when he spotted Willow perched on Taron’s shoulder. She seemed perfectly at ease with him. Dax found that reassuring—if Willow wasn’t concerned, these two must be okay.

Even Bumper had given her approval. She’d sprawled on the floor between the Lemurians with her butt on Taron’s sandaled foot and her nose resting on Alton’s bare toes. Neither man seemed to mind, though Dax noticed Alton was surreptitiously rubbing Bumper’s ear with his big toe.

As tall as Dax was, these two towered over him, though their bodies were leaner, their muscles long and spare. They looked as if they would be strong warriors, though neither man carried arms.

Alton slipped his foot out from under Bumper’s head. “I will speak to the Nine immediately,” he said. “I would free you if I could, but I am loath to countermand my father’s orders. Taron? Will you see that our guests are fed and that they have sufficient bedding for the night?”

“The night?” Eddy almost jerked free of Dax’s arm that was lightly draped around her waist. He tightened his hold when she clenched her fists.

“We don’t have time to stay here for the night! Don’t you understand? We’re running out of time. Dax told you—he has less than a week before this body he’s in disappears. We’ve used up an entire day and accomplished nothing.”

“Eddy.” Dax looped his fingers into the waistband of her jeans and held on tight. “We must eat and rest and replenish our strength. Alton will return.” He turned and looked steadily at the tall Lemurian. Alton met his gaze. He nodded.

Dax realized he trusted him, pompous ass or not, to do the right thing. That was all anyone could ask at this point. And he did need rest, if only to gain enough strength to fight the curse feeding off his demon powers. The pain was worse, growing more difficult to control. If not for Eddy’s soothing touch…

Alton turned toward the barred door and paused. “I’ll return at dawn with news of the Ruling Body of Nine’s decision. Taron will see to your needs. Rest now.”

He raised one hand. The bars slid aside, and he left. Taron stared toward the open door for a long moment. When he held his palm next to his shoulder, Willow stepped to the flat of his hand. He held her out in front of his face and stared at her with an expression of intense joy. Then he handed her to Dax with a regretful smile, as if he truly hated to part with the sprite.

“Amazing. I’ve heard of the little people before, but never…” He seemed to catch himself and nodded to both Dax and Eddy. “I’ll return shortly with food and more bedding.” He leaned over and patted Bumper’s head, glanced at the narrow cot bolted to the wall, and shook his head. “I apologize for the lack of amenities. I’ll be back shortly.”

He was as good as his word. Within a few minutes he returned with two guards carrying folded blankets and big pillows. He’d also brought bread and cheese and fresh water, and food for Bumper that looked like dry cereal but kept her long, curly tail wagging. He gave them brief instructions on using the facilities that were hidden behind what had looked like a wall but was really a door into a small bathroom.

Eddy was obviously pleased with that bit of information.

Before Taron left, he paused in the doorway to their cell, sighed, and then gave them a helpless look. “I promise to let you know as soon as Alton has word. The Nine can be…”

He shook his head without finishing the sentence, and left.

Dax sat on the edge of the narrow cot and chewed slowly on a hunk of bread while Eddy paced the small cell. He forced his frustration under control, though he had a feeling the one who had first lived in this body had not been a patient man. He was anxious to meet the enemy. He wanted to fight, not sit on his ass eating bread and cheese. There wasn’t a damned thing he could do, stuck here in this little cell.

Nothing. He glanced at Eddy. She’d stopped pacing and stood in the middle of the small space with her shoulders bowed and her head down. She nibbled on a piece of cheese and stared at the bedding, looking so dejected he was afraid she might cry.

Dax stood up. “Eddy? I…” He sighed. How the hell could he bring her spirit back? He had to do something, but what? Caring about another was a completely unfamiliar responsibility. As a demon he’d cared only for himself, had worried about nothing beyond his own survival. Now he had so many others—Willow, Bumper, and Eddy. Even Eddy’s father. He was concerned about every one of them.

Something in him had changed. Continued to change.

The Edenites wanted a demon—a killer—for the very traits that made him a demon. His vicious temper, his murderous skills, his willingness to kill without regret. Compassion hadn’t been part of the package, until they’d stuck him in this human body. Was its original soul causing this? He’d not been totally evil as a demon, which was exactly why he’d been booted out of Abyss, but he hadn’t been a very nice guy, either. No matter. He was what he was—and what he was becoming. He had to help Eddy. Anything to encourage her. To encourage himself.

Bumper jumped up on the mattress where he’d been sitting, stretched out full length on the narrow bed, and groaned. Willow zipped across the room and snuggled under Bumper’s chin, obviously prepared to get some rest.

“What?” Eddy stared at him. Dax realized he must have been talking to himself. “Let me help you,” he said, reaching for a thickly folded pad.

Eddy didn’t say a word. She merely nodded and grabbed the other end. Together they spread it out on the floor. Working quietly, they built a bed with two pillows at one end and soft blankets covering the thick pad.

A bed that seemed to offer options Dax wasn’t certain how to pursue, or even if he should. Part of him ached to take her, to satisfy the churning need that built in this body with every second they spent together. At the same time, he realized he was staring at her again, thinking of giving her comfort, of wrapping his arms around her, feeling the warmth of her body close against his.

Who was he? Demon or human? Saint or sinner? The questions roiling in his head had his tattoo burning in angry turmoil. As much as he wanted the satisfaction of plunging deep inside Eddy, of taking his pleasure with her perfect body, he wanted the woman who’d stood beside him in battle. Wanted her filled with spirit and strength and that amazingly strong sense of purpose. It hurt him to see her like this.

She looked beaten, unfocused.

From the beginning, when she’d found him in that damned potting shed, Eddy had seemed such a powerful force to him. Sure of herself. Intelligent and forthright.

Her discouragement and frustration made him ache. She was a woman of action. A woman of strength. Now, even though her body needed rest, she fought it.

Even as she fought her attraction to Dax. He knew that instinctively, just as he knew he had to control his growing feelings for her.

Demons have no feelings.

Except he wasn’t entirely a demon anymore, and the man he was becoming more like by the hour seemed to be telling him this was neither the time nor the place.

But will it ever be?

He silenced the persuasive voice in his head, sat down on their makeshift bed, and reached for Eddy. She stared at his outstretched hand and frowned. He wasn’t sure what she was thinking, so he lowered his hand and patted the mattress beside him. “Rest beside me, Eddy. Bumper and Willow can have the lumpy bed. This will be more comfortable. We both need to rest.”

She finally seemed to come to a decision; she folded her long legs and sat on the mattress. A moment later she sighed and lay down, facing away from him. “I’m not sure if this is a very good idea,” she said.

“I promise to behave.” Now he merely had to hope his demon side was capable of keeping that promise. Dax stretched out behind her and wrapped his arm around her slim waist. She went taut as a bowstring. After a moment she relaxed and let him pull her against his chest.

Her perfect bottom snuggled close against his belly, where it fit into the curve of his hips. At least she fit at first. Then her warmth seemed to raise the temperature of his. He felt his cock stir, swell, and come to life. Fighting his demon-driven needs, he ignored it and silently begged Eddy to do the same.

The scent of her hair was sweet. He nuzzled his nose into the short, silky strands, inhaling as much of her as he could drag into his lungs. Memorizing her scent.

His fingers rested against the waistband on her jeans. He spread them wide across her lower belly and felt her suck in a tight breath, but she didn’t say a word.

He wasn’t certain what she wanted. He didn’t really know what he wanted, either. He had his demon self under control for now, but this human body of his obviously had ideas of its own. His pants grew tight, and the ache in his groin left him wanting to do a lot more, to rub against the full curve of her bottom, to wrap her as close to him as possible.

His demonic side thrummed with sexual desire, with the carnal lusts that had once ruled his body. The feelings he had for Eddy were different. They confused him; they were so hard to define—not based entirely on his instinctive interest in her woman’s curves and valleys.

Not limited to the powerful drive to want, to take, to conquer. They were something else. Something impossible to define within the parameters of demon knowledge and what little he’d figured out from his human body.

Eddy shuddered against him. Dax’s wandering thoughts flashed out of existence. He raised up on one elbow and gazed at her face. “Tears, Eddy?” He trailed his finger across her damp cheek, beneath her eye. Then he lifted his finger to his lips and tasted salt. “Why?”

“Why?” She rolled over on her back, sniffed, and scrubbed her face with the heels of her palms. “How can you ask me that? We’re stuck here. They’re never going to let us out, and the days are going to pass, and if all you say is true, the demons will take over and…” She sniffed and turned her face away.

“And what, Eddy?” He wasn’t sure what drove him, but Dax leaned over and touched his lips to hers. Again he tasted salt, but he pressed harder, mouth to mouth, tongue to lips. It reminded him of the kiss they’d shared only hours earlier, before they passed through the golden veil into the land of the Lemurians.

Then he’d wanted to give her courage. To take courage from her, because she was truly the bravest woman he could possibly imagine. Now, when her lips parted, it was the most natural thing in the world to slip his tongue between and run the tip over her sharp teeth and then across the slick inner surface of her warm mouth.

She moaned and kissed him back. Her lips sealed over his thrusting tongue, and she sucked him into her mouth. The tip of her tongue dueled with his, dragging an unexpected groan from deep in Dax’s chest.

Eddy whimpered. She rolled over into his embrace, grinding her hips against him, pressing her soft belly close to the erection trapped behind his taut denim jeans. His body responded even more, reacting to everything Eddy did—every touch, every sound—with purpose. With intent. There were instincts ruling him that were more powerful than anything he’d known as a demon. Instincts tempered by a need to protect, to guard the woman.

When he was still a demon in a demon’s body with a demon’s will to survive, it had been merely kill or be killed. Fuck or be fucked. Eat to survive. Kill to survive. Killing and eating were often each a part of the same act. If you ate your enemy, he was your enemy no longer.

If you were lucky, you fucked him first.

Dax wasn’t going to eat Eddy, though the minute the thought filtered through his mind, he imagined her intimate flavors on his tongue and knew he’d eventually taste her.

He wasn’t going to fuck her either. Not now. Not tonight. Tonight they needed rest. They needed to recharge bodies weary from lack of sleep, from fear, from the stress of so many lives, so many worlds, resting on their very slim chance of success.

He forcefully subdued the demon within, calmed his human needs as well, and rolled away, lay beside her, and pulled her close against him once again. She sighed and silently acquiesced. Rolled to her side, snuggled her bottom in the curve of his hips, and rested her cheek on his biceps. Her short, dark hair felt like silk where it brushed his chin. Once again, he breathed her in, took her scent deep into his lungs.

Absorbed her. Remembered everything about her and stored those memories for the time when he’d not have her close.

He pressed his palm against her belly, slipped lower over the worn denim fabric, trailing one finger along her zipper. He knew that somehow he skirted an edge, a line neither of them was ready to cross. With that knowledge came a surprising sense of control. The pressure on his body eased; his cock lost some of its tumescence and no longer ached. He curled his fingers over the softly rounded mound at the apex of Eddy’s thighs and rested his hand against her.

She clasped his fingers between her legs, and her breath shuddered out of her lungs. He held his hand still, caught in the feminine warmth of her strong thighs, held tightly against her woman’s mound. Held her there, pressing her close so that her bottom rested against his groin. The soft globes of her buttocks cushioned the length of his cock.

It was good, this closeness. This comfort they took from one another, shared with each other. Her cheek rested on his left arm, his right held her close, and his fingers felt the warmth, the heat, and life of her. It was enough, for now. It would have to be enough.

After what seemed like forever but was probably no more than a couple of minutes, Dax felt Eddy’s body relax in sleep.

He’d never known such contentment in his life. Had never imagined anything so sweet as Eddy Marks asleep in his arms. His plans were going to hell. They were trapped in a prison cell somewhere deep inside the mountain in another dimension from the community he’d been sent to help, and he had no idea if they’d already failed, if there was any hope at all for success.

Eddy sighed and snuggled closer. Her body relaxed, and in spite of all that had gone wrong this day, Dax realized he was slipping into sleep with a smile on his face.