The Amulet (23 page)

Suddenly, the sensation was gone. The expression on Gabriel's face went from calm to confused. Jessie wasn't sure why he was confused, but she knew it was to her advantage.

As Xander approached the manor, the effects of the long run and giving Alyssa his blood was beginning to wear on him. He returned to his human form and went inside. Being Nevar, and always prepared, he kept a stock of spare shorts on hand. He had been long overdue for a wardrobe malfunction and he was grateful that Nevar kept them stored for him.

He could feel her before he ever reached the room she was in. Her sadness told him that she knew what he had seen. He quickened his pace. When he reached the guest room, she was face down on the bed. Nevar was standing by the window like a sentry. He acknowledged Xander as he entered before returning to his vigil. Nevar had returned to his military training, which happened when he was trying to hide his emotions.

Regardless, Xander was outraged that he had turned his back on Alyssa to stare out a window while she lay in tears. He refused to let her suffer alone. In an instant, he was by her side. He sat beside her and stroked her hair while the wolf offered comfort through his thoughts. "We will get her back, 'Lyss. Gabriel will want to trade her for the amulet. He won't harm her."

Her body stopped shaking under her tears and she looked at him with eyes rimmed in red. "Oh, Xander, it's all my fault! If I hadn't found that stupid amulet, none of this would have happened!"

She fell into his arms. There was a lump in his gut and an ache in his heart that he tried to ignore. "Shh, Alyssa, there was no way you could have known this would happen, so stop blaming yourself." It was killing him to see her this way, and it was not a feeling he was comfortable with.

Xander's support, though it solved nothing, did ease her suffering. Alyssa wiped the tears from her eyes. She knew tears would solve nothing. Now, it was time to do something about it.

"Nevar," she said, amazed at the firmness of her voice, "where is the amulet?"

Xander and Nevar both looked at her with curiosity and worry in their eyes. "I have it in my vault," he answered simply.

"We are going to need our bargaining chip."

He said nothing, but faded into mist and left the room. She felt her resolve falter when she thought of having to carry the amulet. Xander's hand found her shoulder and she knew he was offering his strength. It encouraged her enough to attempt a smile, but it was half-hearted.

As she looked at him, a feeling passed between them. She wasn't sure if she felt it because he did, or if she felt it on her own, but it was definitely there. It was subtle at first, but as she examined it, she realized that it went so much deeper than it seemed. His thoughts were shielded, but his eyes told her everything. He was falling for her, and she knew it was time to make a choice before someone got hurt.

As if he heard her thoughts and had decided for her, he leaned in close to her and took her mouth in his. She was startled for a second but she didn't fight him. His lips were soft and warm and she felt electricity pass between them. His arms encircled her and he let her into his thoughts. He had been guarding his heart for so long that he had forgotten how to use it. He had held himself back out of respect for Nevar, but now, he planned to make his bid for her heart and to hell with the consequences.

The wolf in her purred with contentment. It would be so easy to give herself over to him, but her mind was still on Jessie. She put a hand to his chest for him to stop, letting her thoughts spill over to him. He pulled away so slowly that it was painful. A low growl escaped from her lips. She had angered the wolf, but she didn't care. There would be plenty of time for her to satisfy her desires after they had retrieved Jessie.

"Alyssa, your eyes," he said to her softly, but his thought was finished silently. The eyes looking back at him were the wolf's amber eyes, which made Alyssa look almost identical to her mother. She thought he would recoil from her, but he didn't. "Don't lose control," he urged her.

She inhaled deeply, enjoying the sensation of air, and Xander's husky scent, filling her now useless lungs, then exhaled to bring the beast back into her cage. Now in complete control of herself, she looked back at him. "I am sorry for what my mother and father did to you, Xander."

"Your father? What has he ever done to me?"

It dawned on her too late that she had not shared her revelation to Xander or Nevar. She bit her lip furiously for her slip, but decided now was as good a time as any to come clean. "I walked the planes again after my hunt with Jessie. I only meant to sleep to regain my strength. While I was there, I met Matthias." She saw him tense at his name. Her voice began to waiver and her eyes dropped to her lap. "He was waiting for me, like he knew I was coming. Xander, he looked just like my father. He said he knew I was coming because we were connected through blood and that I can walk the planes because I am his daughter."

He was silent after she finished speaking, which made her even more nervous. She busied her hands in the act of straightening the robe that had begun to slide open over her bust. She slowly peeked up at him, trying to get some read on his reaction. He was blank. There was nothing there for her to see. Even his thoughts were void of any emotion that she could read. It seemed forever before she heard him take a breath.

There was a silent moment between them before he recovered. Then, he faced her with a serious expression. "Alyssa, you do not have to be sorry for what they did. It happened centuries before your time and has absolutely nothing to do with you. I do not hold you accountable for their actions." His eyes softened and he brushed her cheek with his fingertips. "How they managed to have a daughter as kind and caring as you is beyond me. I'll let you in on a little secret. I've always been something of a fan of yours."

"You have?" She blushed ten shades of red.

He winked mischievously at her. "Yes, I have." He leaned in and gave her another small kiss.

He pulled away and they shared a quiet moment, but the moment stretched out into several and it felt as though something was amiss. "Nevar should have been back by now," he remarked.

He was right, of course. He had been gone too long. Alyssa started to worry about him. He had been distant and brooding since her encounter with the puma. She reached out, trying to reach him, but her link with him was weak. She couldn't find him. He must be far away, she thought, and from Xander's furrowed brow, he must have come to the same conclusion she had.

"I think he's gone after Jessie. I can't track mist, but he can. I would be useless out there and he must not want you to get involved."

"If he can track mist, I should be able to as well, right?"

"Yes, but I can't travel by mist and I cannot let you go alone. I would never forgive myself," he trailed off and didn't finish the thought.

"Then how did Katarina do it? The only way she could have vanished without leaving a scent was to change into mist, isn't it?"

"She must have been aided by a vampire, but our bodies aren't designed to travel that way. Short distances may not inflict much damage, but it's a gamble."

"Your body couldn't just heal itself? I know it takes a lot of energy, but would it be possible?"

"If anyone could answer that, it would be your mother, but I don't care to ask her personally."

She gave him a sympathetic look. In their current state, neither of them were fit enough to take on Gabriel without replenishing their strength first. Alyssa could only hope that she had given Nevar enough of her blood to give him the strength he needed if he did run into a fight. Idiotic male, running head-first into a trap probably, and there was nothing she could do about it, or was there?

"Xander, I could just walk the planes to find them! I have strength enough for that. I was able to pull the amulet through once before, and I pulled Gabriel onto the plane with me, maybe I could just pull Jessie through, too!"

"Alyssa, you're a genius! Are you sure you're strong enough? I could give you more blood if you need it?"

He still looked pale from giving her his blood. He had not yet recovered his blood count and she knew he needed a good meal before he would be fit to try again. Plus, his blood had been too hard to resist once the taste was on her tongue. It had been torture to stop and she had taken too much from him. It was lucky he was a werewolf and not human. He had healed fast enough that she had not killed him.

She smiled at him and ran her fingers through his hair. "I am strong enough, Xander, but thank you. I want you to walk with me through my thoughts, just in case I need help to find my way back. Matthias said it is simply a matter of focus and control, so he wasn't able to give me much guidance. I guess the only way to learn is to practice."

He looked anxious. "I wish there was more I could do," he said.

"Eat," she told him, "and regain your strength. I don't know how much energy this venture is going to take from me." It was unspoken, but her eyes held a meaning that he understood perfectly well. He nodded silently in answer to her. She hoped, if the time came, she would be able to stop herself from killing him.

Nevar's plan was still being formulated when he grabbed the amulet from his vault. He was hesitant to touch the thing after what it had done to its previous owner, Gabriel. He had touched it once already, soon after he bit Alyssa and changed her. Now, with Alyssa's blood once again flowing through his veins, he was counting on a similar result. As he opened the vault where it lay hidden, it had glowed warmly at him, as if inviting him to take it.

As soon as he picked it up, it had responded to his touch, charging his fingertips with energy like he had never felt before. The dragon's ruby eyes glistened brightly despite the low light. It truly seemed alive, just as Alyssa had told him, and now he understood how much it had responded to her.

With the amulet in his hand, he had made up his mind to find Jessie himself. Had the amulet rejected him, he may have been forced to enlist Alyssa's help. He considered it a sign that the amulet had accepted him as its rightful owner, at least while her blood still ran strong through him. He transformed into mist and returned to the place where Jessie had disappeared.

Once he reached the fallen puma, it didn't take long to pick up the faint traces left behind by the mist. He was confused by the trail, however. Jessie left behind a trail of her own. It was a trait specific to vampires. There was more to Jessie, he thought, than met the eye.

He followed the trail quite some distance, much farther than her body should have been able to sustain. His suspicions were growing stronger when the trail suddenly ended in midair. Something had happened, though he wasn't sure what it was. It felt like an electrical disturbance had somehow disrupted their descent.

They must be somewhere nearby, he thought. He descended with more grace than his quarry and changed back to his solid form. He sniffed the air to pick up their scent. The wind shifted in his favor and brought him the scent of Jessie. They were just north of him. The medallion grew warm in his hand, but it was not a friendly warmth now. It seemed to sense Gabriel's presence and the dragon was not thrilled to be so near.

He decided stealth would be the best approach, although, he was unsure if he would be able to sneak up on Gabriel. Silently, he asked the amulet to help, not knowing whether it could, but perhaps it had the power to keep Gabriel distracted long enough for him to get closer.

Jessie was tiring and she couldn't catch her breath. The wolf was stubbornly refusing to back down. Caged for too long, it was a hellion to be dealt with and Gabriel had become the target of her fury. She was fighting for full control, and it was only by some small miracle and an enormous testament of will that Jessie held onto herself. Still, the wolf was exhausting her energy and she doubted she could hold much longer.

Gabriel seemed content to bide his time. He was waiting for something. She didn't think he would have to wait much longer. Even the air seemed to be holding its breath. Fate paced idly, never taking her eyes off the vampire. She would like nothing better than to rip his throat out, if only he would give her an opening.

Alyssa laid down on the bed. Xander pressed a kiss to her lips, the closest he would come to wishing her good luck. Her eyes glistened as he pulled away and she closed her eyes to walk the planes. She had dropped her shields so he could easily walk through her thoughts. She was thinking of him, but when her thoughts turned to Jessie, he felt her mind slip from her body into another world.

She had given him strict orders to eat, and though he intended to obey, his appetite was distinctly lacking. He couldn't think about what he was doing. He didn't want to leave Alyssa's side, but he knew the only thing he could do to help her was to let his body heal in case she needed a meal when she awoke. The thought of being a vampire snack was slightly humorous and he managed a smile as he absent-mindedly left the room to scrounge for enough food to make a werewolf feast.

Alyssa emerged on the plane with purpose. Before she had barely even formed the thought in her head, the intersection opened up to her. It called to her with an eerie red glow. She could feel the pull of the amulet that told her she was on the right track. Jessie and the amulet were both through that path. She set her resolve and walked through more boldly than she actually felt.