Burden Of Blood (16 page)

“That is our family, my dear.  The power you have has touched each of your ancestors but no one touched it.  You, I'm sorry to say, have a need for it,” she sighed.  Dark clouds drifted in front of the sun, casting shadows across the graveyard.  The birds stopped their lovely song and the once bright yellow flowers seemed to turn pale.  “This fight is far from over.  They know where you are now so they will return.  You must prepare for our family’s sake.”

“Isn’t there a way to stop this?  I don’t want to fight!”  Nicole stood clenching her fists at her sides.

“You do not get to choose the battles you fight.  They will choose you.  There is no escaping it.”  The old woman’s face darkened as her hair waved wildly around her shoulders.  Power was crackling in the air around them.  “You will fight or you will die.”

Nicole awoke, wide eyes staring at the ceiling above her.  She fought to calm her breathing as vertigo dissolved her vision.  The light from the full moon cast an eerie glow on the room.  The crickets were singing outside of her open window and the chant of the whip ‘o’ will echoed in the summer night.

“I have made an art out of pissing people off today.  I can now make them mad at me in my sleep.  That has to be some kind of record for me,” she covered her face with her hands as she chastised herself for being such a coward.

She took a deep breath, then rolled out of her bed.  She slid a pair of silk drawstring pants on over her panties and pulled a tank top on over her sports bra.  She walked down the stairs finding the kitchen light was already on.  Rhys stood leaning against the kitchen counter with a glass of water in his hand.  His chest was still bare but, to Nicole’s surprise, he was wearing a pair of her dad’s white drawstring sleep pants.  She had gotten so used to seeing him in a kilt that she caught herself gaping at him.

“Do ye like what ye see, princess?” he smirked, “Luke didn’t want me sleeping naked.  I think me brother is worried ye would change the ‘no touching rule’ if ye caught sight o’ me stalk.” Rhys sat his cup down, then placed his hands on the counter at his sides.  His tight muscles rippled in his chest as he leaned back, a smoldering look in his eyes.

“Wow, that is impressive,” Nicole purred as she walked up to him, keeping her eyes glued to his pecs, “I have never seen,” she slowly pried her eyes from his chest to meet his confident gaze, “an ego so damn big.  It must have taken you years to perfect.”

Laughter erupted from behind her causing her to spin on her heels.  Luke stood in the hallway doubled over in laughter.

“Poor Rhys,” Luke chuckled, “the pout on your face is the icing on the cake, my brother.” He walked to the refrigerator and took out a bottle of water.  “You see Nicole, women don’t turn down Rhys or,” he snorted almost choking on his drink, “that’s how Rhys tells the story.” He winked at Nicole, then sat down at the kitchen table.

“That’s where ye are wrong, ye dry shite,” Rhys glared at Luke, his large arms now crossed over his chest.  “The princess isn’t a slapper so she needs a little time to warm up to me.”

“Umm, okay.” Nicole furrowed her brows then turned to Luke.  “English translation please.  I didn’t understand a word he said.”

Rhys rolled his eyes, causing Luke to chuckle again.  “He called me boring and said that you weren’t a whore so you needed time to get to know his good side.”

“You sure do have a way with words, Rhys.  I should be kicking myself for not jumping under the sheets with you right now.” Nicole’s palms were starting to tingle with power as her temper began to rise.  She was sure if she glanced down they would be glowing brightly.

“I promise ye, princess, when ye do give in,” he stepped in front of her catching a stray curl and letting it slide seductively between his fingers, “ye won’t be worried aboot the words comin’ out o’ me mouth,” he let the curl drop back down to her shoulder then strolled out of the kitchen.

Nicole stood staring at the empty doorway as Rhys’ footsteps faded down the hall.  “What is his problem?” she asked shaking her head in disbelief.

“He’s used to women throwing themselves at his feet.  Most warriors are that way and they don’t know what it’s like to be told no.”

“You don’t act that way and you’re a warrior.”

“Well no, at least not anymore,” he paused holding his hand out in front of his face.  An orb of fire lit up the center of his palm.  Luke began tossing it from hand to hand as casual as if he were playing with a rubber ball.  “After centuries of gorgeous women throwing themselves at me, umm, I was empty inside.”

Nicole grabbed a bottle of water from the refrigerator then sat down at the table.  “Yes,” she giggled, “I can see how tons of sex with beautiful women could be hard on a man.”

“There’s where you have me all wrong, Nicole.  I’m not like Rhys because I appreciate more than physical beauty.” He leaned forward on the table so their arms were only inches apart, his eyes locked on hers.

Nicole’s heart began to beat faster.  She could feel his warm breath on her cheek and the distance between them was almost unbearable.  “What do you look for in a woman?” she whispered, her voice quivering as her throat went dry.

He dropped his eyes down to his arms deep in thought.  “I keep hoping that fate will push the right woman in front of me.  Life has a way of putting two people together who are perfect for each other.  They just have to be willing to take the chance,” he let his eyes move back up to her face.

Nicole noticed something in his eyes she had never seen in a man.  Vulnerability.  He was opening himself up to her in a way no one ever had.  A warrior showing weakness was far from anything she had imagined for such a tough man.  She wanted to reach out to him and ask him to stay with her forever.  To truly be
her
warrior, to be her everything but that nagging voice was still there eating away at her dreams.

“I’m sure fate…” she reached forward to grasp his hand but stopped herself, dropping her hands into her lap.  “I should be getting back to bed,” she sighed forcing her eyes away from his.  She walked to the hallway then turned back, “Good night Luke.”

He smiled, and called softly to her, “Sweet dreams.”

Chapter 10

“Alright princess, ye know how ta spew power when ye knickers are in a bunch but now it’s time fer ye ta learn ta call upon the gift.” Rhys stood with his arms crossed over his broad chest.  A deep green kilt adorned his lower body and his feet were bare in the dew-covered grass.  The sun was just starting to peep over the horizon casting the sky into beautiful shades of pink, orange and purple.

Nicole stood with Luke and Rhys in the early morning light.  Sweat was already starting to bead on her forehead as the August day warmed up fast.  Luke had suggested they train in the pasture so they would be out of sight of anyone driving by.  Nicole didn’t want to leave her dad in the house alone so she called Kat to sit with him.  Since she never got around to telling Kat about her gift, she told her they needed some time to talk police business away from James.  “The stress isn’t good for his healing body,” were the words Nicole used in the phone call.

“Ye have ta concentrate on pushing all o’ ye power into ye hands.”

“Okay,” Nicole planted her feet and shook out her arms like she was warming up for a marathon.  “Here goes nothing.”  She took a deep breath as she closed her eyes.  The air around her smelled of sweet morning glories and the birds sang merrily in the trees.  Serenity started to wrap around her as she relaxed. 
Alright Nicole, concentrate. 
She raised her hands out in front of her body and began to focus on channeling energy to her palms.  A tingling began in her chest that radiated out to tickle her palms.  Her curls lifted around her face as a soft wind brushed against her cheeks.  She pressed the power harder as fear of failing began to seep into her mind.  There was no heat in her palms yet, just the tingle.  She pushed with all she had as sweat began to leave trails down her face, but nothing happened.

“Ye are not focusing!  Dig deep, princess.  Try ta give us a wee bit o’ smoke ta start wif.”

“I’m trying Rhys!  It’s just not working.” She dropped her hands down, slapping them against her legs.  She gritted her teeth to hold back a scream as she held her face up to the sky.

“You have to be confident in yourself or this won’t work.  Try using a thought that has brought the power to you before.” said Luke.  He lounged against a tree along the edge of the pasture.  His black tank top defined the cuts of his chest and his slim waist.

Nicole nodded and closed her eyes again, trying to calm herself.  She began seeing images of the last time she had used her power, when she was mad at Rhys for being such a jerk.  Trying to feed off of the memory alone wasn’t working so she walked toward Rhys.  “Grab me.”

Rhys didn’t hesitate.  He pulled her with one powerful motion up against his body, letting one hand roam down to grab her ass.  He reached behind her head and seized a fistful of her curls, forcing her head back.

Nicole gasped at the sudden pressure on her lips as Rhys kissed her passionately.  His tongue dove deeply into her mouth as he tugged on her hair.  Her mind began to swim as she became lost in his kiss.  Fire was starting to burn deep inside of her but it wasn’t the kind she had intended.  She tried to pry her mouth away from his lush lips but her body was working against her.  Her fingers twined into his hair and her hips were pressed hard against the bulge under Rhys’ kilt.  She was eagerly returning his kiss, exploring every part of his mouth in heated ferocity.

Nicole felt an arm wrap around her waist pulling her roughly away from his embrace.  Immediately she was shocked at her own actions.  Embarrassment heated her face as reality crashed into her mind.  The tingle had not subsided between her thighs, making her all the more aware of her shame.

She stood in a daze watching Luke approach Rhys with his hands glowing with blue flames.  “You dirty piece of shit!  You know an honorable warrior never uses his power like that on a woman.” They circled each other for a moment then Luke swung a powerful punch connecting with Rhys’ jaw, knocking him to the ground.

Rhys slowly got to his feet, rubbing his face.  There were small blisters where Luke’s fiery knuckles had collided with his skin.  “The princess asked me ta grab her so I obeyed.  I thought I would help the beor’s mood along.”

“That was not the kind of mood you should have been projecting onto her and you know it!” Luke was toe to toe with Rhys again.  His hands were fisted and his jaw muscles were flexing with tension.”

“Don’t tell me ye are jealous, brother.” Rhys’ roared a deep laugh.  “Ye are afraid the princess will choose me over you!”

Nicole just wanted the two men to stop fighting.  She was mad at Rhys for using his power to turn her into a hormone-enraged teenager but she was more upset with herself for not doing something about it.  She closed her eyes trying to block out the fighting men and focused on the disappointment she felt inside.  She visualized balling the pain up in her chest then sending it out to her palms.  The wind whirled around her as she brought her hands forward.  One final push of her will, forced a massive gust in the direction of the two men knocking them to the ground.  They sat up slowly, staring at her with wide eyes.

“Holy shit Nicole!  I didn’t know you could control wind too,” Luke smiled at her as he dusted the dirt from his hair and clothes.  The air around him was still swirling slightly like a small dust devil.  His gaze pushed past Nicole toward the house and his face turned serious.