a tiny spec, miles in the distance, lit by the rising sun. Before me was a deep drop that opened up to a wide plain, and in the distance I could see another dusty road, this one much larger than the path beside Rabbit Flat, and several large trucks crossing it. Watching the main road, which led to Alice, I was struck by how odd it was that I didn’t really have much of a choice after all.
Chapter Sixteen
“Who were you talking to?” she asked when I returned, but I just shook my head.
“Any food?”
Claire let me pass her, entering the shack.
“I can make food,” she said. “Anything you wish.”
I walked to the faucet and poured some water in my hands, drinking the silty stuff.
“I’ll eat anything, just make lots of it.”
She smiled, waved her hand toward the bed and said, “Gwledd y duwiau,” and like if it was unfolding from the nothing, a massive feast rolled out atop the bed, including roast pig, breads, cheeses and skins splitting with wine.
I walked over and chuckled, grabbing a wine skin and unstopping it. “Forget eggs,” I said and poured the red fluid down my throat.
“So we’re staying?” she asked, taking a seat on the bed beside the food, but not bothering to eat.
I spilled some of the wine down my face and wiped it with my hand.
“We can’t, Claire. I’m sorry.”
She nodded, understanding the finality of my tone, but tried to convince me anyway.
“I know other places. Just as remote.”
Putting the wine skin down, I picked up a roll of bread, breaking it in half.
“That’s not really the problem,” I started, taking a small enough bite so I could still talk. “He’s out there.”
“Apogee,” she scoffed, shaking her head in disgust. “You have to save her.”
“I don’t know,” I said. “I mean, you’re right. She probably thinks I’m scum.”
She raised an eyebrow.
“Besides, it’s not even that,” I started, moving closer to her. “What’s to say that we’re playing house somewhere in the middle of nowhere, and Zundergrub shows up. Huh? What if he shows up with fifty guys?”
I knelt on the floor beside her.
“He would need more than that, my dear. You forget who I am. Frankly, you forget who YOU are.”
Shrugging, I said, “Maybe.” I sat there for a moment, until she reached forward and toyed with my long hair. I was still getting used to it, and apparently she liked it. “But I’ve also learned it only takes one lucky shot to ruin even the best laid plans.”
She nodded, bringing her hand to my cheek and raising my face to hers.
“He couldn’t give a shit about you, Claire. If I go, you’ll be fine. If I stay, you’re always in danger.”
“Toujours le héros,” she said, flashing a wide smile. “Always the hero,” she translated for me.
“Yeah, I’m not much of a villain.”
“If I had met you three hundred years ago,” she said. “I wouldn’t be, either.”
She reached down and kissed me, her soft, warm lips a loving caress. We parted and I rose back up to meet her, now kissing her fully. Claire welcomed me to the bed, dismissing the meal with a wave of her hand, then gripping me tightly as I settled atop her.
When we were done, I left the bed and ran the tub with cold water, throwing myself in when it was halfway full. Claire was an aggressive lover, as had been her demon-imp persona in the mind-prison, and I’d be sporting a few dozen nasty new scars on my back if my skin were that of a normal man. My shoulders, arms, and neck would be bitten up to hell as well.
I had to bend my legs to fit fully in the tub, but the cool water after that hard exertion in the mid-day heat was worth any contortion.
Claire had fallen asleep in my arms and I’d held her as long as I could before my arms started feeling numb and my longing to wash away the heat took over.
The water was surprisingly cold, as its source was a deep well, and it felt fantastic to just lie there. I felt myself fading, about to fall asleep, when she stirred in bed and sat up.
“Mind if I join you?” she said crossing the room and coming to the tub.
“If you find a spot where you’d fit, you’re more than welcome,” I said.
She raised a foot, placing it beside my hip, facing me, and then swung over so she was straddling me, her small hips