took a few moments for her vision to clear. She was in the cave with Z. Of course she was. Her books and most of her things were stacked neatly in the living area. How long had she been out?
"Are you kidding me?!" she shouted.
Z prowled around her in his panther way. He barely seemed human.
"You are staying here in this cave with me," he said like it was some edict from on high. "It's far too dangerous in that death trap you call a cottage. You've been kidnapped from that place three times now, for God's sake!"
"Two of them were you!"
"Yeah, well... still. You see how easy it can be done. You're a sitting duck there."
Fiona crossed her arms over her chest, glaring.
He knelt next to her, taking her hands in his. "Come on, Fiona. Don't be like that. I'm a wild animal. I'm not good with the words part. I didn't know how to ask you. I don't know how to do relationships."
That much was obvious. "So, then, you're asking me to live with you? Not ordering me and keeping me prisoner?"
The look on his face said he was thinking it over. Kidnapping was good enough for cave men. At least he hadn't hit her over the head with a club and dragged her there. Chloroform was moderately more civilized, but this had better be the last time.
He sighed. "Yes. I'm asking. Fiona, will you move in with me?"
She looked around again, not sure she wanted to let him off the hook so easy. "Well, all my stuff is here. It would be inconvenient to move it back. And I like this cave."
"So yes?" He looked too hopeful for her to stay mad.
"I thought you said you weren't that guy."
"When I found out you'd been kidnapped, I just wanted to snap necks. I don't know if I'm that guy or not, but I can try to be. I know I can't stand you not being here or worrying about you all the time. And I don't like my bed empty in the morning." He stood and pulled her up with him. This was about as close to a declaration of undying love as was possible for him. Knowing that made the speech endearing.
When his lips met hers, it seared her from the inside. Her arms threaded around his neck, and he deepened the kiss. When her brain started working again, she pulled away. "Okay," she sighed against his mouth. "I'll stay. But I need this place wired up for Internet. I need to be online for work."
"Done."
Then he dragged her back to his room to practice being boyfriend material.
Click to the next page for an excerpt of Life Cycle (book 4)
Prologue
123 A.D. A hidden cavern near the waters of the Blue Grotto in Italy.
Tamar shivered with her twelve companions. They were about to attempt their most daring incantation. An opening at the top of the cavern allowed the light from the full moon to shine down on them, illuminating their secret gathering and adding its own power to the unfolding ritual.
Salt water splashed on her from a waterfall in the nearby pool. They'd searched for the water of immortality, a legend that had spread since before her birth. Far and wide, people had spoken of water that could make a person eternal and young.
But it wasn't the water that conferred immortality. It was the creatures that lived inside the water. They were transparent and hard to see, with spongy tops and long tendrils on the bottom that could sting if you got too close. They didn't die. Instead, they could age backward, reaching the end of their life, and then, without dying, start over again.
"We'll freeze to death if you don't hurry." Tamar glared at the man in the middle of the circle. The irony of freezing to death while seeking immortality caused her to stifle a dark laugh.
"The potion must be altered with other ingredients unless you want to come back as a newborn each time. You'll find that frustrating," Jacob said. He was their leader and the best with potions.
Tamar made a face, but huddled closer to her sister, Naomi, for warmth. A circle of salt had been poured around them. Candles were already lit. A large stone had become a makeshift table upon which the coven leader worked. The sea creatures had been pulverized and added to an iron pot. He poured the herbal infusions into the potion.
Jacob passed a sharp knife to the person on his left. "Each of us must contribute blood to the potion or it will fail. The magic is in this creature, but they have no blood. Our blood must bond with this animal if we hope to succeed."
"Are you sure that's necessary?" Naomi asked. Tamar nodded her agreement. Cutting themselves and mixing their blood seemed extreme. What would be the consequences of linking together eternally?
"I am sure," Jacob said, losing patience with their squeamishness. Magic like this had a price, and they all knew it. But the consequences always showed themselves when it was too late.
One by one they sliced the center of their palms with the ritual knife and added their blood. Jacob stirred the concoction with a wooden spoon; it smelled like death. When he was finished, he dipped a silver goblet into the brew.
"We each drink and then we chant," he said, passing the goblet.
Tamar couldn't help feeling pride at the chant she'd written. When they'd all drunk, they clasped hands and turned their faces up to the moonlight. The cavern echoed their words back to them. "Da immortalitatem. Renatus sine oblitus. Numquam moriens. Da immortalitatem. Renatus sine oblitus. Numquam moriens..."
And then they all died.
Tamar jolted as oxygen flooded into her body. Something felt very strange. Had the spell worked? She glanced around at her companions, each of them coming back to life one by one.
"We're all children."