EveStar smiled vaguely. Such an adventure. The handmaids ethereal golden beauty was rightly called timeless. She was one of the few to endure the Iron Age and the brutal court battles that spawned the steel-born phae. The Queen kept her as a reminder of a lost era. And maybe as a warning. None of the iron-born left the phaedrealii. Ever.
Adelyns burst of envy at EveStars pristine silk slippers was eclipsed only by her desire to stay in the court too. I am hunting a Hunter who will likely slaughter me.
The handmaid clicked her tongue. Why, Ive heard a dozen phae have chased after the runaways, never to return. And now a musetta sweet as yourself is cavorting with a dark Hunter? How times have changed. The soft gold of her eyes glinted with something much harder, something angry.
Unease twisted in Adelyns belly. Rumors of insanity haunted the iron-born. Some whispered the handmaid pierced herself with iron to burn off the cold guilt that so many had perished when she had not. Nothing really changes here, Adelyn soothed. Which is just as it should be.
Maybe you should change, considering, EveStar shot back.
Adelyn stiffened in shock. You know better than most, the phae were devastated in the last upheaval. These fugitives cant risk revealing us again.
The handmaids vague smile returned. Change yourself? Is that what I said? Ah, words are slippery as serpents. I meant, be sure to change your glamour, child, lest yet another human sees you and falls in love.
Adelyn winced at the reminder. Damn her eyes for inspiring that odious ode. And damn her pointless preoccupation with pretty slippers that kept her from asking the handmaid about the sunlit world. After all, EveStar had walked among humans back when the phae had been known and feared and revered. Now she never left the phaedrealii; how was Adelyn, small and steel-born, supposed to survive?
Before Adelyn could ask that plaintive question, the corridor ended in a small, empty chamber.
The end of the road. And the beginning of one.
While wisps drifted in dreamy helixes, EveStar eased the satchel from Adelyns tight clutch. The handmaid sprinkled a pinch of spores in a circle. May you find what youre looking for, child, what you truly seek.
Adelyn saw nothing past the rapidly sprouting spores. Tears blurred everything else. When the mushrooms were knee high, a gust of otherworldly air whirled through. Her breath hitched on the overwhelming fusion of wet dirt, hot metal and air chilled to a biting edge. Would she ever again feel the sanctuary of the courts magic around her? Her thighs twitched with the desire to run. But there was no place to hide in the phaedrealii. Which left her no choice.
Clamping one hand over her nose and mouth, she stepped into the circle, into the sunlit world.
Chapter 2
At the bottom of the river valley, Josh Reimer halted his horse to watch the morning sun break over the hills. The peaks thrust out of last nights snow, crisp against the blue sky. In moments, sunlight bathed the icy dell, raising curls of mist, straight out of a fairy tale. Eastern Oregon knew how to do late-winter mornings: pure, serene and wide open.
Of course, some people called it barren, boring and lonely as hell. Josh blinked as the snow glare clouded the vision in his one bad eye and reined in the wayward thought with a harshness hed never use on Bunco. Now why had he gone and thought of his ex on such a pretty day? Probably because last night has been cold as a cast iron commode.
Couldve used a hot body in my bunk. He glanced down at the cattle dog, waiting patiently beside Buncos hooves. Besides you, boy.
Wolly wagged his red stub of a tail agreeably but kept his gaze on the three-story house at the far end of the field.
Something up? Josh drew his rifle from the saddle scabbard. Closing his scarred eye, he sighted down the scope, sweeping the homestead. Nothing. He had already made plans to check his neighbors cabin after the hard freeze, so he kept the rifle in hand as he steered Bunco down the valley, skirting the creek that burbled under the retreating ice.
With the Hunters out of town, hed offered to keep an eye on the placesaid hed use his good eye, which always got a laughsince that spot of strangeness last spring had left them all on edge. The unexplainable lights and noises had been the last straw for Danielle, though shed had one foot out of the valley long before that.
I dont want my fifteen minute of fame to be a News of the Weird report about getting mutilated by aliens, shed snapped.
Aliens only mutilate cattle, so no worries about those fifteen minutes unless youre a cow. As soon as the words cleared his lips, he knew hed made a mistake.
She packed the next morninghe hadnt tried that hard to stop her, had he?and he signed the divorce papers, postmarked California, without another word being exchanged. Still, Danielle had lasted longer than his brother, Cole, who had ditched the valley a week after graduation.
This place is crushing me, like it crushed Mom, hed said as he folded the bus tickets labeled New York into the back pocket of his jeans.
Josh had protested. The sky goes on forever here.
Yeah, thats even worse.
Watching them leavefirst his mother, then Cole, then Daniellehad torn at Josh like the spring snowmelt undermined the willows along the stream. But nothing could uproot him. As his father had said often enough before dying (another kind of leaving) some people just wouldnt see the wonders of the valley. They would always want more, and it was best to let them go.
Josh wished he could let go of the memories as easily as they had forgotten him.
Grateful for the distraction ahead, he focused on the homestead. Vaile and Imogene Hunter had built a beautiful place. The huge timbers of the cabin had been harvested seemingly without touching the surrounding old growth, and a three-story picture window flawlessly reflected the valley beyond. The house emerged like a dream from its surroundings.
Vaile had said they might have a few guests, but they had come to the mountain valley to get away from it all. Joshs impressionthough they hadnt been specificwas the Hunters had left some strangeness of their own behind. Hollywood, he guessed, or some other foreign land. They were both stunning enough to be movie stars, though the exotic lilt in their accents suggested maybe their country of origin was farther off. Regardless, they were here now and obviously loved it.
Other than some coyote tracks and the harsh calls of scrub jays, the homestead was untouched, quiet. Josh circled Bunco around back, Wolly at heel. Behind the house, tall blackjack pines created a sheltered space without snow. When both Bunco and Wolly lifted their heads to focus on the porch, Josh thumbed off the rifle safety.
Okay then, you come on out now, whatever you are. He kept his tone steady. I aint fond of surprises.
Bears and cougars, even wolves, prowled the valleys, but Vaile didnt keep any lunchable livestock. Still, even something as small as a porcupine could do serious damage if it set up a woodshop in the log cabin.
Josh dismounted, stepping on a circle of toadstools that sprouted out of the pine duff. A dry snake skin wound between the rounded caps, which was odd. Too cold for snakes.
He ground tied Bunco and gave Wolly the stay signal. No sense setting himself up for a dog bath if the intruder was a skunk.
He ground tied Bunco and gave Wolly the stay signal. No sense setting himself up for a dog bath if the intruder was a skunk.
He took two steps toward the porch and the door opened.
A woman.
His jaw dropped. No, not a woman. An angel. A porn star. Some baffling mix of the three. His heart slammed against his ribs, as hard as if he accidentally shot himself through the chest. Which would be embarrassing. Almost as embarrassing as standing here with his jaw hanging loose, staring.
A dress of long scarves bound her from neck to foot. The shifting edges only emphasized her curves. Breasts and hips in widespread, man-hand-sized glory, with a sloping dip at the waist like a welcoming pass between summits. Against the pale veils, her hair spilled in a midnight waterfall, dark and shining.
And her eyes...Oregon was known for its greenery, but every hue was captured in her brilliant eyes.
Damn, his mouth was still hanging open. His neighbors hadnt mentioned theyd be hosting Arabian princesses. His mind drifted to a thousand and one nights.
Miss. He swept the hat off his head and clutched it between his hands.
Im wet, she said. Come inside.
His heart stopped. Wet? She didnt mean...
She stepped back. Come. Her voicesoft and huskywas like a velvet hook set in his stupid open mouth. But if she wanted to play catch and release, he was willing game.
His boot hit the bottom step before he realized he was moving. The snake skin stuck to his heel, and it rustled across the plank. He paused to kick it free. Damn snakes, he muttered. He propped the rifle and his hat by the porch railing as she backed into the house.
Its wet everywhere, she said. And cold.
Cold sort of snapped him out of his daze. That and the splash of water under his foot spreading across the slate tile.
Well, hell. Distracted by the plumbing problem, he glanced around. Busted pipe. I warned Vaile about insulating.
She stiffened. The Hunter is here?
Josh shook his head. The Hunters are away. Not sure when to expect them back. Now that he thought about it, seemed odd they hadnt mentioned a return date. Now that he thought about that, seemed odd he hadnt questioned it before.
First things first. I need to find that pipe.
He edged past the woman. The scent of herlush and mysterious and dark, like the tiny seep springs in the woods, trickling from rocks and rootsswirled around him. He inhaled, and his boots angled to follow her without his conscious effort.
In the kitchen, the mini flood washed away his distraction. Shit. He dragged one hand through his hair, trying to get his head on straight. The freeze last night must have broke a pipe. He crouched by the sink and opened the cabinet underneath. There, right at the wall. Best to turn off the whole house until we check the rest. Vaile will kill the contractor. When he turned and straightened, the womans face was drawn tight. Hey there. You okay?
He put his hand on her arm. Through the silky fabric, she was cold to his touch. But the spark that leapt between them was hot. Crazy-hot scorching, like his nerves had turned to electrified fence.
She flinched. When she pulled away, the edges of the veils separated, revealing bloody streaks.
The water, the spark, everything faded as he took her arm again. Miss, are you hurt? Where did this blood come from? Fuck, now that he thought about it, where had she come from? His head seemed all hazy, but he forced himself to concentrate.
Without touching her again, Josh used the mass of his body to steer her out of the kitchen mess. In the adjoining living room, an overstuffed leather couch faced the valley view. Buncos hoof prints had melted into dark circles in the snow, the only sign of life. No tire marks, no ski tracks, no sweep of helicopter blades pushing up snow. How had she gotten here?
He herded her toward the couch. Sit.
She did and when he took a half step back, she looked up at him, green eyes sparkling. Tears? God, he hoped not.
Though she had recoiled from his touch before, she reached out and flattened her palm on his groin, just off center from the stamped bronze of his belt buckle. It was his turn to jump. What?
The intensity of her gaze pinned him as effectively as her hand. Where is the Hunter?
Distracted againhoo boy, was he distractedby her hand so close to his fly, he shook his head and tried to pretend she wasnt touching him. Vaile and Imogene said they were going...somewhere. For...awhile. Everything seemed vague lately. His body was reacting to the womans innocent touch as if hed been alone forever...
What do you know of the Hunter? Though her hand trembled, her tone held an irresistible insistence.
But he reacted more to the fear she tried to hideand the bloody bandages wrapped under the sleeve of her flimsy dressthan the demand in her voice. Vaile is a good guy, Josh said gently. If you need a safe place to stay, hell give it to you.
She shook her head, and the smooth darkness of her hair slid forward over her shoulders. There is only one place for me, and I cant go back.
From his standing position, Josh looked downinadvertently, helplesslyat the upper curves of her breasts and the shadow between revealed by the shifting veils. Only one fragile lacing seemed to hold the thing together. He stepped back before her hand on his thigh triggered greater embarrassment for them both.
The womans gaze arrowed up to him. I need to find the Hunter.
You can wait until they get home, but you wont have any water except what you pump from the well. And youll be cold as a witchs... His face heated, and the words popped out of him. You can wait for them at my place.
Her eyes widenedso did his; he couldnt believe he just offered this gorgeous creature a bunkthen narrowed with judgment. He knew hed be found wanting. He always was.
Very well. She pushed to her feetwas she wearing gold slippers?which put the top of her dark head below his chin, but she never dropped her gaze. Take me there.
Imperious little thing. Misgivings nipped at him. But what choice did he have? He couldnt leave her there alone. Really, taking her back with him was the neighborly thing, the only thing he could do.