Blade Song - By J.C. Daniels Page 0,75

bow in there is fifteen hundred dollars. That means it will cost you three thousand. You got that on you?” he asked, his voice edging into belligerence.

I looked at Damon, deflating a little. I didn’t, damn it. But I had to have what was singing to me…singing so sweetly, I almost wanted to cry.

“I got it,” he said.

I couldn’t stop the smile that spread over my face.

When he opened the cabinet, I saw her.

Oh, sweetheart…come to mama…

“Oh.” Blindly, I shoved the compound at Damon and greedily reached for her. She was…oh. “She’s lovely.”

Long and elegant, carved by hand. I touched her and listened to her song for a moment. I half-expected to hear the tribal flutes and drums of Native America, but that wasn’t what I heard. It was tribal, all right, but this sounded of Africa.

“She wasn’t made by Native Americans.”

“No.” That was all he said.

It didn’t matter. I didn’t need to know the story behind her. She was mine. “How much?”

“Two thousand dollars.”

I grimaced. Damn, this was getting to be a costly shopping trip. This beauty wasn’t going into the park with me. I wanted to get to know her better before I did anything with her. Wooden, carved with pride, by knowing hands…I could feel it.

Stroking a finger down the carved surface, listening to the beat of her song, I smiled for a moment, just enjoying the music of her. Finally, I pulled myself away and then turned to Damon. “I could use both,” I said quietly. “We can take it out of my fee.”

“I got it.”

By the time we were done, the total was almost six thousand, including the arrows. Fiberglass for the compound, but the traditional bow had wooden arrows to go with her as well. They were almost as pretty to hold as she was. I thought I might try my hand at carving my own sometime.

The man tried to charge a few hundred for sales tax, but Damon stared him down. “You and I both know you’re not reporting these sales to the IRS, so why bother?”

A beatific smile curved the man’s weathered face. “True, true…you sure the steel tips will work for you? I’ve got others.”

“Others?” I asked absently, still stroking the bow. Next to my blade, I’d never had a weapon talk to me so sweetly. Never.

“Silver tipped. Hollow and solid. Iron. Copper. In case something other than steel is your preference.”

He said it casually, so very casually.

But there was no way on earth those words had a casual meaning.

Next to me, I felt Damon tense. Blood crashed in my ears. Roared. Rage thundered and I tasted the fury as it climbed up my throat. Silver—silver for shifters. Iron—iron hurts witches, weakens them and affects their ability to cast magic, heal themselves…copper? What is affected by copper? And I couldn’t ignore the very simple weapon of a wooden arrow—wood through the heart of a vampire.

“No.” I gave him a smile. “We’re good with the steel. I just want to get in some target practice.”

I prayed I wouldn’t have to drag Damon out of there.

I stashed my lovely new toy away even though what I wanted to do was use her for the very first time on the man with his kind smile, liquid eyes…and black heart.

He knew what he’d been offering.

If he’d known what Damon was, he wouldn’t have made that offer.

Good thing Damon had throttled back in the store and hadn’t let it loose yet, but damn.

I could feel the intensity of it lurking, though. He was furious and I was almost afraid of what was going to come boiling out of him. After I’d hid the bow, I left the other one in the trunk in plain sight and shut the trunk. Not meeting his eyes, I stared down the road. “Who drives?” I asked, keeping my voice level.

Careful, careful…

“I will.”

I nodded and started for the passenger side, but he stopped me, caging me in at the trunk, one arm on either side. “You’re afraid,” he whispered, ducking his head and burying it against my neck.

I shivered a little and then my mind went blank as I felt the scrape of his teeth against my neck.

Colleen’s message rushed through my mind.

Hey, don’t let the sexy asshole bite you. I think that’s kind of their sign they’ve accepted it.

Hitching up my shoulder, I shrank away from him a little. “I’m not…shit. Look, we don’t have time for this. You feel like a time bomb in my head and I understand