Storm Born Page 0,65

held my mother. "If Odile Dark Swan so much as looks threatening, kill this woman."

"Odile Dark Swan always looks threatening." The spirit spoke in a deadpan, nonsarcastic voice. Apparently this elemental's minions had as good a sense of humor as my own.

"You know what I mean," snapped the elemental. He came closer to me, so only a few inches separated us. "Now. I will let you live. I will let your mother live. All you have to do is not fight me while I do what I've come here to do. When I am finished, we will depart in peace. Do you understand?"

Anger and fury were raging in me, and I could feel tears burning at the edges of my vision. I wanted to reach out and claw his eyes. I wanted to kick between his legs until no one could tell if he was male anymore. I wanted to deliver him to Persephone in a pile of body parts.

But I was scared. So scared that if I even blinked wrong, they'd break my mother. She already hung uselessly in the spirit's arms like a rag doll. For all I knew, she could have been dead, but something told me she wasn't. I couldn't gamble if she might be alive.

So I nodded in acknowledgment to the elemental and felt one of the tears leak out of my eye as I did.

"Good." He exhaled, and I realized he was as scared of me as I was of him. "Now. Undress."

Bile rose in my throat. I couldn't get enough oxygen again; it was like the air was thick and heavy around me. Another tear stole from my eye, and I slowly pulled down the pajama pants, removing the gun I hadn't been able to use. It occurred to me briefly that I could probably manage to shoot the elemental right now, but I wouldn't be fast enough to save my mother.

What did it matter? If he was telling the truth, I would still live if I could only endure this. I was on the pill. I probably wouldn't actually get pregnant. I'd only have to lay there passively while this big anthropomorphic pile of dirt had his way with me. Things could be worse. Probably.

I looked at him, imagining those hands on me. The air grew thicker to me, making it still harder to breathe. The lighting seemed darker, as it had when the spirit choked me, and I wondered if I was going to faint. Maybe it'd be easier that way. Less to remember.

"The rest," he said impatiently. He too was breathing heavily.

I moved my fingers to the edges of my underwear. I had dressed for comfort in plain, gray cotton bikini-cuts. They were nice but not sexy. They didn't match the pink top. Of course, it didn't matter to the elemental what I wore. Naked desire glowed on his face. I stared at the lumpy, misshapen body and worked hard not to whimper. I knew what I had to do, but I didn't want to. Oh, God. Oh, Selene. I didn't want him to touch me. I didn't want him pressed up against me. Nausea rolled up in my stomach, and I wondered desperately where Kiyo was. I knew he couldn't follow me 24/7, and I suddenly regretted my snide comments about his protection. I wished he were here now. I needed him. I'd never felt so defenseless in my life, not even in that long-lost memory. It was not a state of mind I liked.

As I was about to pull the panties down, a slap of wood on glass made all of us jump. The elemental jerked his head around, and I followed his gaze. The patio door was open, and the wind had blown in, knocking over a picture frame on my coffee table. It was a strong wind, one that kept blowing, scattering papers and other objects around. Yet, outside, the sunshine and azure skies of late spring reflected no such disturbance.

"What...?" began the elemental.

That sharp sound had sort of snapped me out of my anger and fear, and I was suddenly able to notice details more sharply. I could see everything with a new clarity. The air really was thick, the lighting truly darker. I hadn't imagined those things. The angry wind rose and fell with my breathing. Brilliant light slashed the dimness, and we all cried out as it danced around from object to object. At the same time, a deafening roar of thunder filled