“She said she was sorry she never told us more about our heritage, our people, our purpose in life. We never gave it much thought growing up. Now it’s all lost, except for this.” Meredith held up the pendant—a square chunk of iridescent green stone encased on three sides by a heavy, intricately engraved silver setting.
“Nanna wore it all her life. She tried to give it to Elena that night, since she was the first born and actually has more Native American blood than I do. But you dropped it, remember? You said ‘ow,’ like it burned you or something.” Meredith smiled.
“Don’t be silly. It’s just that I don’t like it. Never did. I couldn’t promise her that I would never take it off, like she asked,” Elena said.
“I don’t like it much, either,” Meredith said. “The first thing I did was put it on a longer cord so I could tuck it under my shirt. She said I had to follow it wherever it led, even to the gates of hell. She also kept repeating some kind of riddle—remember, El? We never could remember the words. But fortunately, it’s brought us nothing but good luck. Right after that I started the book.”
Finally
. “As you can imagine, I am very curious about that,” Dax said. “How did you come up with the plot—the characters? Did you do a lot of research?”
The light in Meredith’s eyes dimmed. “It came to me in a dream. I just wrote it all down. Sounds silly, but that’s the creative process, I guess. And I’m truly sorry that part of that process involved you, a real person.”
Her blue eyes were pools of emotion. In a flash, he could hear a stream babbling, feel slippery pebbles under his black Spanish boots, the sun through the layers of cloth on his back. His chest tightened.
What is going on
?
Dax reminded himself why he was there. Demonic activity was intruding into the everyday lives of people around the world. Demon expediters were gaining strength and power. Dax and the rest of the Warrior Council believed the next battle would occur much sooner than the previous 250 year intervals. Meredith’s book added to the problem. It also took valuable time away from their development of battle plans.
Dax repeated the question several different ways, but Meredith’s responses remained vague and apologetic, as if she were embarrassed. Something about a little girl who told her the story in her dreams. The waitress put the ticket on the table. Meredith reached for it as Elena excused herself and headed toward the restroom.
He was getting nowhere. Perhaps she was a demon expediter and didn’t know it, although that had never happened before. Perhaps the fact that Meredith was so tantalizing was clouding his judgment. The only solution would be to let the entire Warrior Council question her. That would require getting her to the ranch, as he had suggested in his letter. Since neither had mentioned the letter, he had to assume she never received it. He had only a few minutes to persuade her before she was gone for good.
“Thanks for lunch,” he said. “But I hate to cut short our time together. You must be curious about how your book corresponds to real life. Besides my name, I mean. Why don’t you spend the afternoon with me? I can introduce you to the ranch hands and you can get a sense of what the real thing is like. You might even get ideas for your next novel.”
She smiled—a good sign—then let it fade. “Unfortunately, my creative process seems to have dried up, even though my publisher is pushing me to start my next book. Besides, Elena has to get back to San Antonio for a meeting. Maybe some other time.”
Elena would no longer be part of the equation. Meredith had to be.
“I saw Elena putting boxes into two cars earlier—yours and hers. She could go to her meeting. You could follow me in your car and leave any time,” Dax said, softening. “It’s only fair. You’ve given your readers such a wonderful treat. All I’d like to do is return the favor with a little horseback riding, sipping iced tea on the porch—whatever you’d like. You deserve a change of pace.”
Elena returned, cell phone in hand. “It’s Judith. She wants to meet with you next week about your contract.”
Dax saw his opening. “Did I mention that there’s no cell phone service at the ranch?”
“Tell Judith I’ll call her tomorrow,” Meredith said. “I’m going to extend the book tour for a few more hours.”
Chapter Two
Three hours later, Meredith and Dax sank into rocking chairs on the porch of Dax’s contemporary two-story log home. The porch overlooked the steepest canyon that Meredith had ever seen in the Hill Country. Late afternoon shadows began their crawl across the craggy landscape.
An older woman emerged from the house holding a tray with two glasses of lemonade.
“You read my mind, Cara. Thanks,” Dax said, kissing the woman on the cheek. He took the drinks and handed one to Meredith. “And now you get to meet my Aunt Cara, who raised me and still spoils me rotten.”
Cara looked like every stereotype of the nurturing aunt. Sturdy but not overweight. Conservatively but not primly dressed. Snow-colored hair swept back into a casual chignon to show off substantial diamond stud earrings.
“Nice to meet you, Cara,” Meredith said, standing to take the woman’s free hand in her own. She took a sip. “This is delicious! Just like my grandmother made years ago. It’s a shame that people don’t go to the trouble to hand-squeeze lemons anymore.”
“It’s no trouble at all, dear. And it’s a real pleasure to have you with us. Please make yourself at home. I’ve got a few things to do but I’ll see you two later,” Cara said as she went back into the house.
Dax and Meredith sat in silence, enjoying the view. Meredith puzzled over what she’d experienced while horseback riding. They had stopped at a stream to cool off and let the horses drink. When Meredith turned to take in the view, she had seen bright yellow and pink wildflowers carpeting the valley, and she felt her long hair skimming her waist in the breeze. When she looked again, she saw the more appropriate summertime greens and browns. Was her mind playing tricks? Perhaps she needed this mini-vacation more than she realized.
“I can see why you never left. I love it here. To tell you the truth, I used my own money to host the book signing today. My publisher said it wouldn’t be profitable, even though San Saba is the setting of the book. But once I got the idea, I couldn’t stay away. Something drew me.”
“I could never live anywhere else,” Dax said. “Tell you what. Now that you’ve had a look around, I’d like to introduce you to some friends—the ranch hands. They would love to meet a real-life author. And you could see how they compare to the ones in your book. Let’s grill some steaks and enjoy the sunset. I’ll ask Cara to give them a call. They can join us once they’ve finished the day’s work.”
“I’d love to, Dax,” she said. “I can be back in San Antonio in a couple of hours, so there’s plenty of time. I’m so glad you talked me into this. Thank you.”
She held up her drink in an informal toast.
Dax clinked his glass against hers, then downed his drink and put the empty glass on the porch railing. His skin shone like burnished copper and his shirt was an unnatural white in the late afternoon sun. His jeans clung to his body in all the right places.
“The pleasure is all mine,” Dax said. “I’ll go ask Cara to prepare the food.”
Meredith’s pulse raced. Was this too-good-to-be-true hero she brought to life in her book for real? If she succeeded in describing Dax as she now saw him, a million more women would buy her novel. But for now, she had to find out what he wanted from her.
Within minutes, a fire roared in the barbecue pit. Two steaks marinated in a pan beside a huge bowl of tossed salad and the fixings for baked potatoes.
“Would you do the honors while I tend the fire?” Dax nodded toward a bottle of Cabernet.
“Sure.” Meredith went to work. The corkscrew was unlike any she had used before, and she struggled. Embarrassed, she turned her back to Dax.
His grip on her shoulder startled her. The corkscrew landed with a thud on the grass.
“How clumsy of me!” Meredith said. “Would you show me how to . . .”
“How to what?” Dax’s breath, hot and sweet on the nape of her neck, seemed familiar somehow, the echo of a hundred previous embraces. He took the wine bottle from her trembling hand. Wrapped his body around hers.
His lips caressed her neck and face. Tenderly at first, then with increasing urgency. Finally, when she could take no more, his mouth found hers. Meredith’s body exploded into a sky of shimmering stars. This perfect place—with hills and caves and babbling brooks—was real. Even better, this perfect man that she had conjured out of her dreams was real.
For once, she would take Elena’s advice and live fully in the moment. No second guessing or worry about consequences. She would push contracts and deadlines from her mind and enjoy herself. She would let herself create this one delicious memory, an escape from ordinary life that no one could take from her.
Meredith opened her eyes to take it all in. Dax’s half-opened eyes met hers.
Instead of the rich chocolate brown she was expecting, they were gold. And glowing. His embrace suddenly felt cold, reptilian.
Meredith pushed him away, heart pounding. Her novel had many crazy elements, but it was fiction. Nothing but entertainment. This was all too real.
The once-magnificent reds and pinks of the fading sunset now seemed lurid. She had no idea who this man was. She was alone in the middle of nowhere. With no cell phone service.
****
Damn it! Only one thing could have made Meredith shut down so suddenly and completely. He had been so wrapped up in Meredith’s vibrant, sexy energy that he had not sensed that anything was wrong.
“Meredith—wait,” Dax said as she stepped back, out of reach. “We have to talk. Now.”
She didn’t move. Her eyes were as wide as the moon looming on the horizon.
“We were not brought together by chance,” he said, inhaling deeply. The next few minutes were crucial. “Just about everything you wrote about is true. As in, it really exists. Right here. You got the major points right—my name, the demon portal in a cave on a ranch near San Saba. Demon-warriors. The next showdown over the fate of Earth.”
He had no idea what she was thinking.
“I don’t know how you did it—where you got the information. But we have to find out. My eyes look weird because I’m one of the good guys—one of the demon-warriors you wrote about. That’s one thing you missed—that our eyes turn gold when something bad is about to happen. But I’m also half-human.”
“Dax, I...”
“Let me finish,” he said. “This isn’t a game. We’re expecting the worst. Demons attack every 250 years. Like clockwork. This time, though, there’s evidence that the next one will happen much sooner. Any day now, in fact.”
Finally, she moved. Fiddled with her pendant. Opened her mouth. “But who are you, really? Nobody can be just half-human.”
“You might be surprised,” Dax said. He sighed. That was a topic for another day.
“My family came here from Spain in the mid-1700s to fight the demons in the most recent attack. My mother’s side was human. Father’s side was demon-warrior. I’m a half-breed. I’ve been here ever since, watching and getting ready.
“If we vanquish the demons, I will be allowed to become either all-human or all-demon-warrior. The truth is, after two and a half centuries, I’m tired of being on the prowl. Honing my skills as a warrior meant leaving my human heart behind. But I cannot let myself think about that. Not yet.”
She looked at him with glassy eyes.
Embarrassed, he turned away. “I’m sorry, Meredith. You remind me of someone, so I told you things I have never said to anyone. I shouldn’t have burdened you.”
“It’s just that what you’re saying is so bizarre. Who would ever believe you?”
He pressed on. “What’s important is that we defeat the demons once and for all. You have no idea what they’re capable of. What life would be like for the next two centuries with them in charge. But you can help. Tell me where you got the information that you wrote about. Please.”
Meredith’s shoulders dropped. The magic was gone.
“It sounds impossible, but I was telling the truth earlier. The plot came from a little girl, about eight years old, with black hair and brown eyes. She showed up in my dreams just after my grandmother died, and told me stories. They were so vivid I started writing them down. I have no idea who she was. She doesn’t come to me anymore. That’s why I haven’t started another book. I’m afraid I can’t help you more than that.
“And now I need to get going.” She turned and walked briskly toward the porch.
Dax could not force her to stay ... to believe him.
“Please think about what I’ve said. We need you.”
She did not even look at him as she got her purse and walked around the house. He followed just long enough to see the red glow of her taillights disappear after the first bend in the road.
****
Open door. Put key in ignition. Breathe.
Meredith knew she could cope if she broke things into their smallest components.
What was she supposed to think? She dialed her phone, hoping against hope to reach Elena. To kill time as she put as much distance as possible between herself and this monster. Her phone was dead. She switched her headlights to bright and hit the gas as she made another sharp turn.
It was darker now. All she could see was a blur of trees and fields as she sped past.
She tried to remember what Elena told her as they said their good-byes in the restaurant parking lot. Elena had used the e-mail access on her cell phone to review the private investigator’s findings about the man who called himself Dax Thelassian.
There wasn’t much. Family had ranched the same three thousand acres beginning a century before Texas was even a state. Respected, but kept to themselves. No one had ever joined a civic organization, run for city council or volunteered for community service projects. Over the years, the family had dwindled to just Dax and an elderly aunt. A few ranch hands stayed on. They made enough money to be self-sufficient.