The P.J. Stone Gates Trilogy (#1-3) (83 page)

“Paige,” He replied in the same even tone.

Him not using his pet name for me was a twist of the knife in my gut, but I outwardly remained steady. “Morag thinks I’m ready to remove the Rider from Jenna.”

Khol nodded, his cool demeanor towards me was in stark contrast with the flames in his eyes. “Jeremy is with her.”

I snorted. “Jeremy is always with her.”

“Do you think it’s wise to have him present when you attempt the removal of Jenna’s Rider?” He asked.

“Would you leave me if I was in her situation?”

Khol turned away from me, his muscles clenching. “You’ve made your point.”

I reached up to push the door open and I allowed my nerves to stall me for only a moment. As the door swung open, I marched in with both Khol and Morag tightly on my heels. Both Jeremy and Jenna whipped their heads around to face us with surprise.

Hope flitted across Jeremy’s face as he looked at me. “Does this mean … ” His voice trailed off as if he couldn’t even allow himself to ask because he couldn’t take the disappointment.

I attempted to smile but was sure I donned a grimace instead. “Yes, I’m here to remove the Rider from her.”

I glanced over at Jenna, still chained to her large bed and noticed that her hair was now purple. My heart squeezed at the sight, because it was almost the same shade it had been before all the craziness with the Riders had begun. It seemed like a lifetime ago. “Jenna before I try—” My voice was cut off by thick emotions. I swallowed and tried again. “I just wanted to tell you—” but again I couldn’t bring myself to tell her what I really wanted to say. What if telling her that I loved her would somehow jinx it by preparing for her possible death? But what if she died and I didn’t say it to her?

Understanding donned on her face and she smiled thinly. “I know, P.J., you don’t have to say it.”

Tears welled up in my eyes and I nodded at her, the two of us in perfect understanding. The Rider inside of her was another story. Its face that shined out from inside of her took on a panicked expression as it pushed for control of Jenna’s body. Jenna contorted as the Rider forced her to fight her bindings. It was in that moment, when I could no longer see my Jenna, but only the Rider, I pulled forth my fire magic. It was now or never and there was no real point in dragging the whole affair out. What would be would be no matter how I wished otherwise.

As I pushed the magic into the dragon pendant and then through into Jenna’s body. Jeremy took a step towards me as if he meant to stop me. Khol was there in an instant to restrain him.

The Rider inside of Jenna screamed. Sweat trickled down my spine and I gritted my teeth as my heartbeat seemed to pound in my ears. This particular Rider was proving to be more difficult to remove than I was used to, but finally it was ripped from her. The Rider screamed again as it floated briefly in the open air before disappearing like all the rest had within a flash of bright light preceding the disappearance of the red glow emanating from my pendant. Morag had explained to me that all of them—all the Riders that I pulled out of their hosts were contained inside the stone of my necklace. The thought that I carried them with me around my neck really skeeved me out, but at the moment I didn’t even contemplate that fact. I rushed towards Jenna, who was laying too still for my taste. I was thankful that Khol was still restraining Jeremy.

I leaned over my friend’s still body and reached out a shaking hand. Just as I made contact with the skin on her neck in an attempt to check for a pulse, her eyes snapped open and I screamed. But then my scream of being startled turned to one of joy. She was alive! I pulled the Rider out of her and it hadn’t killed her! Without thinking I hurled myself at her and wrapped my arms around her small frame. “I did it! I exclaimed. “I actually did it!”

The next thing I knew I was being pushed out of the way and Jeremy was pulling Jenna into his arms. I watched as the two of them began to kiss like they hadn’t seen each other in over a year. Soon they were doing more than kissing, and I thought it was time to leave the two of them alone, at least for now. I really didn’t need to see them get naked. Now I knew how they felt when I did that stuff in front of them.
Blah!

But even with my seemingly unappreciated role in saving Jenna from her Rider, I couldn’t wipe the smile off of my face as I left the room with Khol and Morag closely behind me again. “Khol,” I said with glee as I reached up to touch him. “I did it, I saved her.”

Before I could make contact with him, Khol sidestepped me and I frowned at him. “I knew you could do it.” He said with obvious pride in his voice. But not only had he avoided my touch, but he didn’t call me by his term of endearment either.

“Khol, we need to talk.” I said while still wearing a frown.

Khol answered mine with one of his own. “No, we don’t. You already know what you need to do to fix things between us. There’s nothing else left to discuss.” The muscles in his jaw ticked as he looked off over my head, not wanting to meet my eyes. “I’m not staying here. I’ll be at my brother’s, but I will still hear your call if you’re in danger or need me for something important.”

My stomach rolled. “Zen—” But I wouldn’t ask him, that’s what he wanted. Would Zen be at his brother’s with him? Would he be seeking comfort in her arms? Or did he just want me to think he was so that I got jealous and gave him what he wanted. “Fine.” I finished up with instead. I turned to Morag who was shaking her head with a bemused smile on her face. “Will you stay here then? Please?”

“I’d be happy to stay here for a bit, niece, maybe see what the local scenery has to offer an old dragon like me.” She winked and disappeared, clearly not meaning scenery as in landscape. Again with her … ewww.

I turned back towards Khol but he was already gone. I was left in my moment of victory, completely and utterly alone … well except for my unborn child, but I hardly thought he counted yet. I didn’t even have anyone to tell about how that not only had I saved Jenna, but I had changed the course of the future so to speak. The vision I’d had before hadn’t come to pass. Maybe things were finally starting to look up. As I trudged to my room … .alone … I couldn’t help but doubt it though.

I was in my room for only about twenty minutes when the door swung open, and in rushed Jenna, her purple hair flying and her face aglow with delight. Behind her trailed five squeaking rats. I should have been surprised but somehow with her, I was only taken off guard when things were normal. The unusual was completely normal for Jenna, with her the unexpected is expected.

“They’re talking to me again!” She exclaimed.

“I can see that.” I laughed despite the fact that five huge rats were now getting acquainted with my room. I scrunched up my face. “Can you please tell your little friends to keep their dirty paws to themselves when they’re in my room … like literally?”

“You can’t get anything from them unless they bite you, you know. And they won’t.” Jenna stated as she crossed her arms over her chest. She glared at me a moment before another ear-to-ear grin broke out across her face. “You have no idea what a relief it is to have that thing out of me!”

“I’m glad I can only imagine. So … ” I said trying to ignore her little friends who were not complying with my hands off policy. “That was a pretty quick reunion with Jeremy.” I stated distractedly. Why did the filthy rodents have to be so smart? One of them was currently opening my desk drawer to peer in. They better stay out of my clothes drawers because I so wasn’t in the mood to rewash everything.

“Oh, we’re going to catch up more thoroughly later.” Jenna winked at me.  “I was just too excited about everything else to have anything more than a quickie. Plus with Jeremy, all that’s needed is for him to touch me, for him to take care of business. But what about you, have you done the deed with Khol yet? Are you guys like dragon official?” She made a move to look at the back of my neck.

I quickly ducked out of her reach and blushed as I remembered from first hand experience how Jeremy’s Gatekeeper powers could take care of a girl with little more than a kiss.” No, we haven’t bonded as
Anam Caras
yet.” I said with a frown.

Her lips tightened with disapproval. “Well why not? At least you said yet. Although I thought I’d convinced you that you were just torturing yourself by denying yourself the lusciousness of all that is Khol. Please don’t tell me you ignored my advice, as usual.”

“Everything’s just so complicated, Jenna.” I started, but she most certainly didn’t let me finish.

“Well duh, life is complicated, and you’re always so angsty and overly dramatic. Watching you and your love life is like getting to see the real life version of a soap opera.”

“Hey, that’s a little uncalled for and over the top. My life does not—”
Well hell, maybe it kind of does.

“You’re thinking about it now, aren’t you? Realizing you have a problem is half the battle.”

“I’m not overly dramatic.” Was my nose growing? I had to fight the illogical urge to check. I decided to fill Jenna in on some stuff she’d missed recently. “Sooo …  I found out that Bryn being in my life basically kept me from becoming a super slut. And I do mean super, I would have made you look like practically a nun.”

“Whaaa?” Jenna guffawed. “Ummm … this I need to hear.”

So I spent the next thirty minutes filling Jenna in on everything that I could think of, and it was the longest in our entire lives that she’s ever remained silent.

“Hooooly shit.” She drawled out when I’d finally finished. “That is a lot to take in.”

“I know.” I sighed with the relief of finally getting to spill everything to her. I’d missed her so much.

“Your life would make the best made for T.V. drama ever. I had to fight the urge to tell you to hold on while I went and popped some popcorn.” She laughed.

“Jenna,” I grumbled. “You’re kind of missing my point … my life could be a made for T.V. drama.” I stared at her expectantly.

“Yeah, things are a bit more complicated than I thought. Except for one part.” She said as she twirled a purple piece of hair around her finger.

“What?”

“Just sleep with Khol and get it over with already.”

I groaned. “Oh my God, I just had a flashback but instead of you saying that about Khol you were saying it about Bryn and we were in the school cafeteria, and you were eyeing up Evan Thompson … hell your hair was even almost exactly the same shade of purple.”

She grinned at me. “Would you have really left me with sloppy seconds if Bryn hadn’t been around?” My face flushed with mortification, which was answer enough for her. “Niiiice.”

“Eww. I can’t believe you just said that.”

“It’s funny because it didn’t really happen. Trust me, if you would have done that to me for real I would have had to smack you around some.”

Time to talk about something she probably didn’t want to, which also served as the perfect distraction and subject change. “Have you seen Macon yet?”

She grimaced at me. “No, and why would I want to?”

“Because he still cares about you and was worried. At least let him know you’re okay now.” My tone sounded eerily like my mom’s used to.

“I’m sure he’s heard by now.” She responded flippantly.

“Jenna, you have to listen to me, Red Dragons feel things differently, more deeply. Even if he isn’t in love with you, his feelings for you are probably more intense than any normal guy.”

“More reason to avoid him. A clean break is better—easier. Besides he seems to think I’m only with Jeremy because of that little trick he can do with his powers. I find that super insulting.”

“Easier for who? And are you?” I asked with exasperation. Being with a guy who could get you off from little more than a kiss definitely was an added bonus but not a reason to be with him. Jenna seemed to genuinely be into Jeremy, more than I’d ever seen her be into anyone before. But sometimes it was hard to figure out what was really going on with her.

“It’s easier for me, of course. And his Gatekeeper mojo certainly doesn’t work against him.” She grinned at me and her brown eyes glittered. It was hard to stay mad at her when I’d just gotten her back. “By the way, it was pretty kick ass what you did for me, you know I love you, right? I’m sorry I—well that I tried to kill you.”

“It wasn’t you.” I said gruffly, trying not to spiral down into a sappy moment and cry.

“That’s what I keep telling myself.” She grumbled. She then quickly changed the subject, and I for one was glad. “So now that you’ve figured out how to remove the Riders, and you saved my ass, now what?”

“Yeah, I hadn’t really gotten past the saving you part. That was kind of high up on my list.”

“And next on your—” She demonstratively cleared her throat. “–
to do
list, most definitely should be Khol.”

“Jenna, come on. Seriously … I’m starting to feel déjà vu all over again. Don’t you understand about Bryn?”

“Sure I do. But you can’t bring him back, P.J.” Her face grew serious. “I miss him too, you know.”

“I know you do, but it’s just not the same.”