Ruby Shadows (5 page)

Laish made a
sound of disgust. With one swipe of the burning blade, he severed
the slimy tongue thing. It clung a moment longer, then slid down my
leg and fell back down into the pit to its owner. There was a
hoarse, awful howl of pain and the ragged stump of the tongue
hovered in midair, spurting foul, black blood. Then it withdrew,
whipping wildly from side to side, spraying the dirt sides of the
sink hole with slime.

I felt instant
relief the moment the thing was off me. I wanted to get out of
there right away but still Laish hovered for a moment more. He
shouted something after the thing—something in a sharp, cruel
language that hurt my ears—and then we shot upward and were
suddenly standing on my Grams’ bedroom floor—what was left of it,
anyway. Or I should say Laish was standing—the burning sword was
gone and I was in his arms.

Only I didn’t think
I could stay there much longer.

“
Let me go!” I struggled against him, pressing against his
broad chest. “Please, Laish, I have to…I need…”

“
All right.” He set me on my feet and I bolted for the
bathroom.

I barely got inside
and lifted the toilet seat before every bit of wine I’d had that
night along with everything else I’d eaten came straight up.

I
heaved again…and then again even though my stomach was now
empty.
The nausea
went on and on and
on.
I didn’t
know what was wrong with me—was it a reaction to the extreme terror
I’d just been feeling? But it was over now—why couldn’t I stop
being sick?

“
Gwendolyn…Gwendolyn…” Laish was suddenly beside me, sweeping
back my hair and looking at me anxiously.

“
Go ‘way,” I ordered him, trying to control my rolling
stomach. I might not like him very much but that still didn’t mean
I wanted him to watch me toss my cookies.

“
I
can’t. You’re having a reaction to the slime.”

“
The what?” I demanded, and then had to bend over the bowl
again. Nothing came up this time although it felt like my body was
trying to eject my whole stomach through my mouth. Finally the wave
passed and I sat back up and wiped my mouth with a swatch of toilet
paper. Laish passed me a cup of water and I rinsed out my mouth. My
hand trembled so much I nearly spilled it all over me. I was
shaking uncontrollably.

Laish was looking
more worried by the minute.

“
The slime. Look.” He pointed to my leg—the one the thing’s
tongue had been wrapped around. I saw with disgust that it was
coated up to the thigh
in grayish-black slime.

“
Ugh!” My stomach rolled again, threatening to eject the water
I’d just had. I put a hand to my aching midsection. “Get it off!” I
begged.

“
Of course.” Leaning over me, he turned on the tub. As soon as
the water began to steam, he grabbed me and dumped me
in.

“
Hey!” I protested. Half the water in the tub was icy cold and
the other half was too hot—they hadn’t had a chance to mix yet. I
didn’t know whether to shiver or yelp at the burn.

Laish paid no
attention to my protests. He grabbed one of Grams’ pristine white
hand towels—the ones she keeps for company only—and began to scrub
industriously at my leg.

I
wanted to protest his harsh treatment—it felt like he was trying to
rub my skin off—but I soon saw it was necessary. The grayish-black
slime that coated my skin didn’t
want
to come off. In fact, in places it looked like it was trying
to eat its way in. Seeing that made me feel panicky all over
again.

“
Get it off!” I begged, rubbing at my leg. “Get it off
me,
please!”

“
I
will,” he said grimly. “Just hold still, Gwendolyn.”

I
didn’t
want
to hold still. The stuff
was eating into my skin and now it started to burn…burn like acid.
I could barely keep myself from screaming as Laish scrubbed my
thigh and calf. As he worked, I heard him muttering more words in
that strange, harsh language under his breath. It hurt my ears
almost as much as the slime was hurting my leg.

At last the
burning stopped. Looking down, I saw that the slime was finally
peeling away—sloughing off like a snake skin in long, thin, ragged
strips.

The sight made me feel sick all over again but somehow I
managed to keep from heaving. When the last of the stuff was washed
down the drain (where it would no doubt play hell with Grams’
plumbing) I let out a little sob of relief
and looked at myself. Despite the acid
eating through my flesh sensation, my skin seemed intact, thank the
Goddess. It was still my normal creamy brown and just a little red
from the scrubbing. My stomach was beginning to feel better
too—well, as much as it could after heaving continuously for ten
minutes earlier.

Laish sat back
with a sigh and rested his forearms on the sides of the tub
wearily. I noticed that he was dressed in an immaculately tailored
black jacket and crisp white shirt—both of which were completely
drenched. His perfect inky-black hair was all rumpled and mussed
too. In short, he looked more human than I had ever seen him. Well,
except for the burning ruby eyes.

“
That was close,” he remarked, shaking his head. “I always
forget how fragile you mortals are. You nearly died, Gwendolyn.
Twice.”

“
I
know,” I said and burst into tears.

I
hate to sound like a girly-girl because most of the time I’m pretty
tough. But I had just been through a lot. Between being pulled down
a sinkhole by a demon’s tongue and having a puking reaction to the
disgusting slime which nearly ate through my skin like acid, it
wasn’t exactly the most peaceful night I’d ever spent.
And
I’d been forced to call Laish for
help and he had seen me at my absolute worst. Not that I cared what
he thought of me, I told myself, but still…

“
Oh, Gwendolyn…It’s all right. Everything will be all right.”
Heedless of his expensive clothes, he leaned into the tub and drew
me against him. “Cry if you need to,
mon ange
,” he murmured. “It’s all right. Cry if it
helps.”

Perversely, his whispered words of comfort made me
stop
crying and straighten up.

“
I’m fine,” I said, pulling away from him and swiping at my
streaming eyes. “I’m just…fine. Really I am.”

“
Certainly you are,” he said dryly. “You just escaped death not
once but twice after having to call on one you despise to save
you.”

“
I
don’t despise you,” I said uneasily. “I just don’t
like
you very much. Not that I’m not
grateful you came to save me,” I added quickly.

“
You don’t like me because I challenge you,” he
said. “You challenge me
as well, Gwendolyn which is exactly the reason I
do
like you. Very much. Especially as
you are now…wet and half naked.”

“
I’m
not
half
naked,” I protested, feeling my cheeks get hot.

“
Oh, no?” His ruby eyes swept over my body, reminding me that I
was wearing nothing but a thin white t-shirt and panties, both of
which were soaked and clinging to me. I became abruptly aware that
my nipples were so hard they hurt—both sensitive peaks clearly
visible against the nearly transparent fabric of
my t-shirt.

“
No,” I said defiantly, while at the same time trying casually
to cover my breasts with one arm.

“
I
would beg to differ,” he murmured, his deep voice low and teasing.
“You are half naked, mostly wet, and completely beautiful,
Gwendolyn.”

I felt a rush of
heat go down my spine at the way he was still looking at me but I
shook it off impatiently.

“
Five minutes ago I was covered in slime and puking my guts up
and now I’m sure I look like a drowned rat,” I said, frowning.
“Either you need glasses or you had a lot to drink just before you
came to save me.”

“
I
have perfect vision and alcohol does not affect me,” he murmured,
still giving me that look. “Come, let us get you out of that
tub.”

He helped me to my
feet and out of the tub. While I stood dripping on Grams’ best blue
bathmat, Laish grabbed a towel. But when I reached for it, he
pulled it back.

“
Not just yet,
mon ange.
First I must examine you.”

“
Examine me? What are you talking about?” I
demanded.

Laish didn’t answer
in words. Instead he dropped to his knees before me and began
running his big, warm hands all over my trembling legs.

“
What are you doing?” I tried to step away from him but he
held me firmly.

“
Making sure all the Hellspawn slime is gone. If you have so
much as a speck left on you, it can eat its way inside.”

My breath seemed to
catch in my throat. “It…it can?”

He nodded. “I am
afraid so.”

“
What would happen then?” I was looking down anxiously at my
legs myself now.

“
Eventually it would find your heart and rot you from the
inside out.” He looked up at me. “So you will pardon me for being
thorough.”

“
All right,” I grumbled uneasily. “But no funny
business.”

“
I
wouldn’t dream of it.” He smiled at me charmingly as he ran his
long fingers up my inner thigh. “If you wouldn’t mind parting your
legs just a little…?”

I did as he said,
feeling a hot blush creep into my cheeks. I was well aware that my
panties were completely soaked and the white cotton was
see-through. I was glad that I’d just had a wax the other day…and
then angry with myself for being glad. What did I care what Laish
thought of what Grams calls my “ladybusiness”?

I
could feel his hot breath against my inner thighs and I couldn’t
help thinking I’d never had a guy so close down there before. My
skin broke out in a rash of chillbumps
and my heart started to speed up as I
waited for him to make some kind of a move…or at least make a
lascivious comment.

But Laish surprised
me. He simply examined me thoroughly and then nodded, as though in
satisfaction.

“
All right. You’re clean.” He stood in one smooth motion and
wrapped the towel around me.

“
What—that’s it?” I couldn’t help asking.

He raised an eyebrow
at me. “Are you disappointed? I hope you didn’t imagine I would
make advances on you in your current weakened condition.”

“
I’m not weak.” I drew myself up, wishing it was true. “And
I’m
not
disappointed.
Just…surprised.”

“
Just because I come from the realm of lust and evil doesn’t
mean I am not a gentleman.” His ruby eyes flashed. “Besides—there’s
no sport in taking advantage of a woman already in a compromising
position. I much prefer a long, drawn-out seduction,
mon ange.”

I bit my lip, my
heart beating double time again for some reason.

“
You know you’ll never seduce me. I’ll never give it up for
you, Laish, even if you did save my life. Twice.”

His eyes flashed
again. “That remains to be seen. Now, have you anything dry to
change into? We need to talk.”

I thought
about going into my room for new clothes, but then I risked waking
Grams. Noises don’t bother her while she’s wearing her Darth Vader
mask but movement around her bed wakes her up every time. And while
she would have to be told everything that had happened eventually
(the giant sinkhole in her bedroom was going to be impossible to
hide) I decided I would rather wait until after Laish was gone to
let her know what had happened.

Looking around
the bathroom, I saw my fuzzy pink bathrobe hanging on the back of
the door. That should be warm and comfortable and it wouldn’t show
anything I wanted to keep hidden—aka, the aforementioned
“ladybusiness.”

“
I’ve got something,” I told Laish. “You can wait in the
living room.”

“
Don’t be long,” he said,
and left, closing the door behind him.

I slipped out of the
wet t-shirt and panties and pulled on the robe. Although I didn’t
like being naked beneath it, there wasn’t much else I could do.

Next I took a look at my poor fingernails. They were pretty
ragged from all the clawing I’d done at the lip of the sinkhole and
I still had a splinter beneath one of them—my right index finger. I
pulled it out, wincing at the sharp little pain and ran some cool
water over it. It was bleeding so I wrapped a band aid from the
medicine cabinet around it. That was going to hurt for a
while.

With my hands
tended to, I took a moment to brush my teeth, getting rid of the
last of the bad taste, and ran a pick through my hair. Then,
feeling more human, I belted the robe tightly and walked out into
the living room where Laish was pacing back and forth.

“
All right,” I said. “Let’s talk.”

Chapter Five

Laish

“
All right, let’s talk,” the little witch said, putting a hand
on her hip.