Runestone (18 page)

“Sean, what’s going on?”

“I was discussing our path with Dante. We’re about an hour away from our destination.” One little fib wouldn’t hurt, would it? After all, he was only protecting her.

“And that’s all?”

“Yes.” He swallowed, trying hard to keep his voice even.

Just then, Gracie’s voice drifted back to them. “Land ho! A village,” she bellowed.

Sean caught Evangeline’s hand and towed her quickly up the path to the place where Gracie, Javier, Lillian and Nathan stood on a rock ledge overlooking a valley. The hollow spread before them for miles. Black patches of cloud shadows dotted the verdant green patch of earth, and far to the left there were small wisps of smoke from cook fires, and even the needlelike point of a church steeple.

His stomach lurched.
This is it.
He had no clue how he knew this was the site of the impending battle, but his gut verified it was true. He turned to look at Dante, who was staring back.

Maria shifted into action. “We should stop here and eat before we make the long walk down the mountain. Evangeline, will you help me find some kindling for a fire?”

“Of course.” She gave Sean’s hand a departing squeeze before following Maria into the surrounding brush.

Sean, Dante and Nathan broke away from the group. Sean’s cell phone was in hand the moment his wife was out of sight. “What should I tell him?” he hissed.

“To look to his tattoo for answers.”

“How the hell will he see it without a mirror?”

“There’s another immortal with him, right? He can take a look.” Nathan’s response brought a surge of unease to the surface of Sean’s psyche. He didn’t like the thought of anyone gazing upon Will’s tattoo.

Shaking it off, he hurriedly texted him.
Look 2 ur tattoo 4 answers.

He answered immediately.
I have. We’re here.

Sean read this aloud, and Dante released a long sigh. Nathan scrubbed his hand over his face. “Fuck,” said Sean.

His thumbs flew over the keypad.
The army is coming.

I know. Keep back.

No fucking way.

Keep E safe!

Sean met Dante’s brooding gaze. “It’s time to make a plan for the women. Will can’t go into a fight fearing for his mate. He has to know she’s all right.”

“Agreed.” He pointed over Sean’s shoulder at the distant vista. “See that church? That’s our destination.”

Sean blinked at him incredulously. “How do you know that from stars and latitude lines? It can’t be that precise.”

“It’s not,” Dante said. “It was written in the runes too. ‘Sacred house,’ it read. Damn, I wish it didn’t have to come to this.”

“Lillian isn’t going near that village,” Nathan said in a hard tone.

Dante shook his head. “Absolutely not. The women will stay here on the mountain. We’ll go down to a lower altitude, and leave them with Javier as guard.”

Sean was shaking his head before the name was out of Dante’s mouth. “Not Javier.”

Dante’s eyes narrowed with confusion. “Why not?”

For no reason Sean could pinpoint, he didn’t trust him. He’d feel better if Dante or Nathan remained with the women. But then again, they were probably the better fighters.

He sighed. “All right. Fine. I’ll tell Will.” He texted their decision.

Will’s response make him laugh out loud.
Who the fuck is Javier?

How to explain through a text message? It was better to let it slide.
She’ll be safe. I swear on my life.
He hadn’t realized Will was close enough to hear their voices, and the thought of his nearness was a warmth.

You’d better, you little pissant.

Warm affection spread through Sean at his insult. He could easily picture Will’s auburn hair falling into one eye, his mouth tipped up in a wry smile.

Sean suppressed a shiver. In a short time, he’d be with Will. In the thick of battle, but with him. And if there was time, he was determined to tell him his feelings.

As he heard Evangeline’s rasping voice clear the brush, he quickly texted his lover.
She’ll be safe. I’ll see you soon.

I suppose I can’t stop you.

No.

Then hurry. It’s about to get heavy.

The small stucco church was nestled against the hillside. Will scanned the exterior for signs of immortals. Seeing none, his mind switched to preparations for battle. As he walked the perimeter of the structure, the sun burned the back of his neck. He felt hot and dried up from the beating heat and the long day’s walk. His clothes clung to his sweaty body, and the weapons and ammo he carried felt heavier than usual.

Amsdell pointed around the building, and Will nodded in understanding. After hunting immortals for so many days together, he knew Amsdell’s way of thinking—he’d check the street while Will made sure the back was secure.

Keeping his weapon at the ready, Will searched the short bushes that hugged the back of the church, lamenting the fact that their battle was to commence here. The small village would mourn the loss of their charming little place to worship. While his tattoo, the coordinates on his scalp, and the runes on the triple stone revealed this was the site where a battle was to take place, Will hoped to lure the immortal army away, maybe into the hillside where no one could be hurt.

He looked up at the mountain where Sean told him Evangeline was safely waiting for them. But he didn’t need a text message to tell him that. Will could feel her. Her presence was a balmy breeze in the cold, hard world where he’d existed for the past days.

And when she’d been at the triple stone, he’d been mere steps from her.

He cradled his head in his hands, battling the madness of separation. When he and Amsdell had snuck up on his friends and loved ones at the triple stone, Amsdell had literally had to hold Will up. His debilitating shakes had doubled him over, and helpless tears had poured down his face at the sight of Evangeline’s slender form. Her shoulders slumped. Her breathtaking profile was twisted in anguish that Will knew so keenly, he felt he’d die.

Amsdell popped around the corner. In an instant, he recognized Will’s strain. His arm snaked around his waist as his other hand plunged down his abs. The scrape of his rough fingers against his tattoo—even through the thick denim he wore—simultaneously sparked need and calm in him.

Will dropped his head to his lover’s shoulder and hung on him for a moment while the tremors ebbed.

“I’ve got you, man.” Amsdell planted a kiss on the side of Will’s head, near the other tattoo. Curiously, this tattoo did not offer the ease of an immortal’s touch—it truly was just a marking, a series of numbers which would help them.

Shortly after they’d discovered it, they had gone into a larger town and found a map, and also a book on runic symbols. In one glance, Will had memorized the pages. Maria was right about Evangeline’s tattoo being a map which would lead her both to him and to the immortal army. It had also helped him and Amsdell read the triple stone after the others were well away from it. The pair of them had hauled ass through the rainforest to reach the church before everyone else did. Will’s muscles throbbed from the exertion.

Again, he glanced at the mountain. “Sean better make sure she’s safe, goddammit.”

Amsdell tightened his hold as a full-body shudder tore through Will. “He did. He’d never allow her near this. He loves her as you do, right?”

“Yes.” Emotion shredded the last of Will’s control. Within minutes, he’d be fighting alongside his lover—his love. Sean. But Amsdell’s closeness warred with his feelings. He knew it was possible to love more than one person at a time—Sean’s presence in his life proved that.

The bigger question was…what did he feel for Amsdell, this beautiful Saxon warrior who had seen Will through some of the roughest times of his existence?

“Amsdell.”

In the falling darkness, Amsdell’s gray eyes appeared black. A soft breeze ruffled his pale hair, and his thick beard coated his chiseled jaw in a dangerous fashion. If Will were a member of the immortal army, he would take one look at this ancient warrior and piss his pants.

“There are things to be said, before we fight.”

Amsdell’s full lips pursed and then relaxed. “There always are.”

Will straightened up and gripped his shoulders, turning him so his back was against the stucco wall. Will placed a hand on either side of him. The wall still held the day’s heat, and it radiated up his arms and spread through his chest.

“You know I care about you. We’ve been through much together.”

Amsdell’s voice was hoarse. “Yes.”

“You share my blood.”

“Yes.”

“You’ve shared my bed.”

Rougher: “Yes.”

“And I want you in my life, but I don’t think it’s fair to ask you. Evangeline and Sean take up my world. If she is the sun, he is the moon.” He rifled his brain to find better words to say to this man who meant so much to him. “And while you are no less than a moon, I can’t ask you to share my time or attention. You deserve much more, Amsdell.”

The sharp point of Amsdell’s Adam’s apple bobbed. Will feared it would slice open his throat and he would bleed all the hurt Will had caused.

“I never should have messed with your emotions,” Will said grittily, his tears near the surface.

Amsdell’s face softened and his own tears glittered in his eyes. “No, don’t be sorry. Never be sorry for it. I’ve loved the time we’ve spent together. And while I do wish things could be different…” He choked on the word and then swallowed hard. “I will forever relish the memories.”

Will leaned his forehead against Amsdell’s. “It might not be the end. But I want you to be prepared if it is.”

Amsdell’s breath was minty from the grass he’d chewed earlier. His nose bumped Will’s as he nodded. “I understand. Thank you for being honest with me.”

Releasing an uneasy sigh, Will said, “I hate to let you go.”

“Don’t think of it like that. Think of it as a small part of our lives that was enriched by knowing one another.”

“You’ll always mean so much to me.”

“And you, my lover. My. . . love.” Amsdell crushed his mouth to Will’s. The hard brush of his beard, the violence and passion behind his kiss set Will ablaze. For long minutes, they held one another, tongues at war against their separation.

Suddenly, the faint noise of approaching feet reached them. Will jerked away, though he covered Amsdell’s moist lips with his thumb. “They’re coming. It’s almost time. Come, my friend.”

Will took his hand and led him around the building. In the failing light, he made out the figures of three men. But the broad shoulders of the man on his right made his heart trip out of control.

In three strides, he had Sean in his embrace. Sean’s arms snapped around him, squeezing him, wringing more emotion than he’d allowed himself to feel in so long. Too long.

“My God, man, what happened to your hair?” Sean rubbed his bald crown.

Will issued a snort—part laughter, part sob. Instead of answering, he found Sean’s mouth. He drew on his lips, his tongue, sucking in all his flavors—beef jerky and musk. And Evangeline.

He lost it. Her flavor exploded in his mind, and he gave himself up to his need for long minutes before realizing his link was gaping open. Before he could slam it shut, he saw her clearly.

“Fuck.” The word was bit off harshly. “Running. She’s running.”

Sean whipped around to stare up at the mountain. Dante and Nathan turned as one, each man holding his head as he silently communicated with his mate. Amsdell stepped up beside Will, looking off in the direction of the mountain.

“I thought you said she was safe on the mountain with this new immortal.” Will’s voice started out loud, and then he pitched it low. The immortal army was descending on them at any moment, and Evangeline was running into the thick of it.

“You know you can stop her, Will, if you’d only Call to her.” Sean’s dark gaze raked him. Ran him through. Razed his composure.

At that moment, a single shot rang out through the night. Will nudged Sean with his shoulder hard. “No time. Get your weapons up, men. We’ve got a fight on our hands.”

As the sun sank behind the mountain range, the valley was submersed in shadow. Evangeline paced the small clearing where the men had set up a women’s camp with Javier as guard. Her feet churned the leaf mold, and her heels stomped the earth, daring any reptile to even show her its fangs.

For the fifth time in ten minutes, she shielded her eyes against the red-orange glare and squinted into the valley where Sean now was. When he’d told her he was going with the other men to gather supplies, she didn’t buy it. She still didn’t. She couldn’t pretend she didn’t see the bulge of a gun tucked against his spine or feel the hard blade lying flat against his thigh. He and the other men were dressed for a reconnaissance mission.

She only hoped the goal was to recover Will.

A fresh round of tremors hit her and she braced herself for them by hugging her torso. A few steps from her Gracie sat with her knees pinned to her chest, her long hair covering her face, and Lillian and Maria were no better off. Each woman was tense and grim-faced, but the women who were bonded were already suffering from the effects of separation.

Evangeline wanted to scream, to demand they tell her what they knew. Were the men going after Will, and how much danger was really involved?

She sank her fingers into her hair and fought off her tears. She was shaking so badly, it was like standing with a foot on two separate tectonic plates. The earth literally seemed to shift beneath her.

“Oh, Evangeline.” Gracie’s worried coo came to her. “Let me help you.”

She stood up and put her arms around Evangeline’s shoulders so one hand curled around the tattoo on her throat. Evangeline’s soul felt as if it was cracking under her need for Will. How many days had it been since she was in his arms? She couldn’t remember anymore. The days blurred together in her mind—endless hikes through rainforest and mountains, relieved only by the few short journeys they’d made by car to get them closer to the next spot. And relieved only by the ease she took in Sean’s embrace.

Her heart throbbed for both of her men. All at once, she saw her mate. Knew his hard mouth against Sean’s.

Her control caved into the gorge in her soul. A sob rushed up her throat. She began to fight against Gracie’s arms. Shaking and sobbing and burning and aching. A scream tore from her chest. The immortals surrounded her, hands reaching, fingers splayed, trying to give her calm, but she didn’t want their touch. She wanted—needed—Will.

She slapped away their hands, spun on her heel, and took off sprinting.

“Evangeline!”

Several cries sounded behind her, but she kept running. The forest was thinner here than she was accustomed to hiking in, so running was easy. She darted around bushes and massive trees. Her lungs seared with every breath, but she kept running. Behind her, there were thrashing sounds as the other immortals followed. Javier was yelling for her to return, but she heeded no one.

She tripped, almost diving headfirst into the earth, but somehow she righted herself and kept on. Will’s heat filled her being, making her limbs tingle to life and endorphins flood her system. She tasted him. Smelled him.
Felt
him. Kissing Sean, their mouths working together, the erotic swirl of their tongues feeding through her link with Will as if she kissed both men at once.

She opened her mouth to gasp, but swallowed it when he slammed their link shut.

Hot tears squirted from her eyes.
No, no, no! Will, please.

It didn’t surprise her that she got no response, but it still carved out a bit of her heart. No matter what dangers he faced, she deserved to know, to see, to experience them through him. She was horribly hurt, and though his brief contact had soothed her shaking minutely, it returned with a vengeance.

Downhill she sped, her feet suddenly crunching on grave. She skidded to a stop and glanced around to find herself on a narrow road. The village was within a few hundred yards of her. Will was within a few hundred yards of her. Happiness was within a few hundred yards of her.

Her sobs rose and fell as she stumbled on. Javier burst onto the road behind her and she heard the women not far off, yelling for her to stop.

But she couldn’t. Will, Will, Will,
her mind chanted. Sean, Sean, Sean.

Elation filtered into her muscles, making them pump harder. She’d be with them soon, no matter what perils they faced. They’d face them together.

In a minute, you’ll be better
. Suddenly, her logic gave way to terror when the shot rang out. Her heart flipped, tripped, and almost stopped. She faltered to a stop, staring wide-eyed at the place where it had come from. She bent in half, panting with fear.

And then Javier was gripping her elbow and leading her, running hell bent through the fading daylight to the men she loved.

* * * * *

She burst into the sanctuary of the church, blinking rapidly to make her eyes adjust to fiery glow of electric lights. Dust motes danced in the streamers of light, hovering over the altar where Sean stood shoulder to shoulder with a tall, wild looking blond man and a man with a shaven head. The space overflowed with immortals, and gunfire flashed around them. The blond man fired and the immortal advancing up the aisle dropped.

Her senses reeled. Will. Somewhere in this room, somewhere close.

The shock was wiped from her mind. Recognition flooded her. “Will,” she cried.

His gaze flew to hers, the warm depths melting a hole through his barrier. He opened to her, and she fell headlong into his soul.

She started forward, and he jumped off the low riser, sprinting through bullets to her. She threw herself into his arms with a rasping sob. He caught her up, lifted her onto tiptoe, and smashed his mouth down upon her tattoo.

Her strength fled and she hung limply in his hold as he manipulated her runes and stars into pools of utter desire and bliss. Though tension coiled his muscles, he felt so good, so perfect.

“For Christ’s sake, man, put her down before you’re both killed,” Sean bellowed, hurtling through the bullets and landing inches from them. Will snagged him, yanking him into a triple embrace.

A hollow scream sounded from the rear of the church and Evangeline looked up as Nathan plunged his knife into a man and ripped it upward, gutting him. Nearby, Lillian stood with her hands plastered to her mouth.

“Get the women together. Sean, hurry,” Will instructed over the din of machine gun and handgun fire.

Evangeline stared with horror at the spectacle. At least two dozen immortals were aiming at them. With all the flying bullets, it was a wonder one of them hadn’t yet fallen. And their immortality wouldn’t help a fucking bit in this situation.

Sean whipped her off her feet and ran with her. Her ears popped and crackled as shots splintered the small support columns around them. Sean threw her behind the thick wooden altar and then dodged back out.

“No,” she screamed, popping up. But the blond man shoved her back down with a hand on her head.

“Stay put. Stay quiet. Let us fight.”

She leaned against the thick wooden leg and sobbed. In a moment, Gracie and Lillian had joined her. And that meant Maria was the only woman still out there.

Where the hell were Sean and Will?

She sneaked a peek, only to see them mowing down man after man. Blood poured from a cut high on Sean’s forehead, tacking his dark hair to his skin. As Will turned into profile, a ripple of alarm tore through her. What was the blue-black stain upon his head?

But before she could give it much thought, Maria darted from behind a pew and gunned down two immortals.

Their bodies fell to the floor with sickening thumps.

Shots echoed off the high ceiling. Beside her, Gracie’s low keening sobs mingled with the cries of the army and Dante’s bellows for Maria to get down, get safe.

And then Sean and Will were in the fray, fighting back to back. Sean emptied his gun into an immortal, but the man simply stood up again with a bloody smile and started toward Sean with his weapon raised until Will picked him off with a well-placed bullet through the heart.

“This would be easier if I was immortal,” she heard Sean say.

Will thrust another gun into his hand. “Just don’t get killed. I don’t have time for it.”

Evangeline’s heart shuddered. The remaining immortals were scattered, hidden behind pews and columns. A bullet whizzed past Evangeline’s temple and she ducked just as the blond man used his boot to shove her back.

Nathan was holding his own in hand-to-hand combat with two immortals. He wielded a knife in each fist. He bashed one man’s nose with his elbow before slitting his throat. Maria picked off the other man, who fell headfirst over a pew, and landed with his feet in the air.

Dante took out a man whose gun was trained on his immortal mate. Evangeline shivered at the thought of losing Will or Sean.

She couldn’t stand it another moment. She had to see if they were okay.

She jumped up just as a bullet tore through her husband. He folded in half, his hands slowly crossing over his shoulder. Red-black blood burst behind his fingers and his face paled as he fell.

“Sean,” she screamed with every vibration of her vocal chords. She shoved past the blond immortal and launched herself toward him. Her mind spun. Panic fogged her brain and it seemed that she ran miles before she reached him. The shots grew silent. The cries were hushed. From the corner of her eye, she saw a statue of the Virgin Mary sliced in half by machine gun fire. It crumpled, the blue-veiled head lolling on the polished wooden floors.

Will tossed Sean over his shoulder and ducked behind a pew. Evangeline hurled herself into the small space with them, frantically scrabbling at Sean’s shirt.

“Let me.” With one violent jerk, Will ripped it open. Evangeline pressed her hands into the gaping shoulder wound. He was pumping out so much blood. The hot, sticky substance welled through her splayed fingers.

A voice in the back of her mind yelled at her to get her pocket knife and Make him immortal. It was the only way.

All at once, her hearing returned, but she only noticed the bubbling breaths Sean drew and Gracie’s cries from the altar.

“Hurry, Will. My knife. It’s in my pocket.”

Nathan dropped to his knees on the floor between the pews, positioned at Sean’s head. “Evangeline.”

“Hurry! Someone get my knife before it’s too late,” she sobbed. If she released the pressure she was holding on Sean’s shoulder, he’d bleed to death. Her gaze zeroed in on his handsome pale face.

Two more shots rang out as she met his eyes. They were hazy and his mouth worked against the pain.

“No, no, you’re okay. You’re okay, baby. You will be. I’ll Make you. Will!”

“Evangeline, he won’t die from that injury.” Nathan’s voice seemed to come from very far away. “He doesn’t have to be immortal.”

The blood drained from her face, making her dizzy.

“Baby.” Sean’s thick plea brought her gaze back to his. “It’s up to you. In your. . . hands.”

Her heart throbbed. With the flick of a blade, she could share her blood with him, heal him and Make him one of them. But that meant he would be bound to another mate. Could she be so selfish as to keep him mortal, allowing him to grow old, sicken, possibly be harmed in countless ways?

But if he was immortal, she’d lose the strength of his love when he inevitably gave it to another mate. Even if it was two hundred years from now, it would eventually happen. And if he wasn’t in danger, she wouldn’t be helping him, but poisoning his existence.

She bowed her head and let her tears drop onto the backs of her hands like rain. Will grasped her shoulder and Sean touched her face.

He seemed to know her answer without her speaking it. “It’s all right, baby. Like you said, I’ll be okay.”

Will whipped off his T-shirt and wadded it up. He pressed it to Sean’s wound. “Damn right you’re going to be okay. We need you.”

“Will, I’m sorry I didn’t say it before, but. . . I love you, man.”

Nathan stood and walked down the length of the pew into the aisle, leaving them alone. Here between the dark wooden pews, Evangeline felt isolated from the world and from the happenings in the church, although silence filled the space, pressing on her eardrums. The battle was over.

Will’s eyes flooded and his throat worked. “I love you too, you stubborn ass. You should have stayed back like I told you.”

Sean gripped Will’s forearm. “No text message could keep me away. I’m just sorry I trusted that fucking Javier to keep watch over Evangeline.” His voice echoed through the church.

Evangeline’s mind reeled. Text message? They’d been communicating all along?

From the front, Gracie said weakly, “Javy’s dead.”

Evangeline’s stomach flipped. So easily, it could have been one of the men she loved, or both. At that moment, she didn’t give a damn what they’d hidden from her. She was only happy they were alive.

“What can I do to help?” The blond immortal edged into the pew with them. Something passed over Will’s face that she didn’t understand, but Evangeline suddenly read everything in his mind. The passion shared between him and this immortal named Amsdell—an immortal he’d re-Made. She watched the images slide through Will’s mind and heat pooled in her core.