Blood Before Sunrise

me, stars blinking in the inky blackness of a new moon.

Ruins.

In the mortal world this place was nothing but weathered granite with stones leaning and pieces missing, but the feeling of power was no less strong for its decrepit age. My body hummed with power, my bones singing under my skin. The energy here was unmistakable, but somehow I didn’t feel the magnetic pull of the stones the way I had in O Anel. Time once again ticked within my soul, seconds passing like a dual heartbeat, and I welcomed it. I was finally home, where I belonged. My knees buckled from sheer exhaustion, and I sank down on one of the toppled slabs of cold stone, rested my head in the crook of my arm, and allowed my eyes to close for the first time in what felt like forever. God, I was so…fucking…tired…

Chapter 32

“Oi! What do you think you’re doin’ out there?”

My head scraped against stone as I cracked my eyes open. Shards of sunlight pierced my vision like a thousand daggers digging their way into my brain. Turning my head toward the sound of shouting, I shielded my face with my hand. Two security guards ran across the expanse of short-clipped green grass, nightsticks drawn and at the ready. Not what I needed, considering I didn’t have a passport or ID, not to mention that I wasn’t exactly human. The faint glow of my eyes would raise more than just suspicion if they got a good look at me. I couldn’t lie here like a dazed disaster victim any longer.

“Charlie!” the security guard shouted to his partner. “Call it in! What the bloody hell does she think she’s doin’?”

The last thing I wanted to do was move. But being arrested wasn’t going to help me out at all. I rolled to the side, off the slab of granite I’d fallen asleep on, and became one with the light. Ghosting past the charging guards, I barely avoided the one in the lead as he skidded to a stop. Eyes bulging in disbelief, he pointed to the stone where I’d been lying a few moments before, mouth agape. His partner nearly crashed into him as they exchanged amazed expressions. I doubted seeing a woman’s phantom form disappear before their eyes was the strangest thing they’d ever witnessed here. This was Stonehenge, after all. The magical energy was palpable.

Careful to remain hidden in bright sunlight, I wound my way along the footpath, avoiding the crowds of tourists. It took longer than I expected; I didn’t have my usual energetic pluck. I managed to break away from the masses and put the ancient ring of stones behind me as I left the viewing area and passed through the main entrance into the parking lot. I had one thing on my mind: Find a phone. Meandering through the rows of parked cars, I finally came across an empty tour bus, the door left wide open by the driver. A cell phone rested on the dash. Thank God. I had no idea how much an international phone call would cost the poor guy, but I only needed a few minutes of his airtime. I wasn’t thrilled about stealing anything ever again. But hell, I’d already stolen time itself-pretty hard to top that act of thievery. Besides, the owner could dispute the charges later. I ducked behind one of the seats with the phone and stared at the blank screen.

I left my coat behind.

I didn’t think about dialing, or the fact that I’d scared the shit out of two security guards and stolen some poor guy’s cell. No. My only thought was that I’d left my fucking duster in that hotel room in Spokane.

I stretched my neck from side to side, lowered my legs from their drawn-up position against the back of the bus seat, and pushed myself upright. Stiff didn’t begin to describe how I felt. More like frozen in joint-locked agony. I felt through the tears in my shirt finding nothing but smooth, unmarred skin. Just like a comic book superhero, I’d healed during the night. I breathed a sigh of relief. It made me feel just a little less fallible to be my not so easily wounded self again. If only all of my troubles could be solved so easily.

Hands shaking, I flipped open the phone and dialed. A burst of nervous energy set my feet to bouncing as the call connected. I waited as the phone rang, and rang, and rang to the point that I almost gave up hope he’d answer. Just pick up. Answer, damn it. Please.

“Hello?”

Tears sprang to my eyes at the sound of his voice. I’d had no way of knowing for sure if he’d survived the attack at the hotel; it was only at this moment that I realized I’d been making myself believe he was okay. Knowing it for sure made my limbs weak with relief.

“Raif.” I choked on his name, a half sob.

“Thank the gods,” he said on an exhale. “Darian, are you all right? Where are you?”

“Wiltshire.”

I waited through the pregnant pause on the other end. No doubt Raif’s mind was going a mile a minute. “England?”

“Yes. Well, more to the point, Stonehenge. How fast can you get here?”

There was another space of silence. I almost wished I could see his expression.

“Xander has some connections, and I can call in a few favors as well. I’ll be there as soon as I can. No more than twelve hours.”

“Raif.” God, I couldn’t believe I was about to say this. “Come alone.”

His response was slow. “If that’s what you want…”

“It is. And one more thing-”

“Darian,” he said, cutting me off, “is everything okay? What the hell is going on? I would have expected-”

“I know what you expected.” It was my turn to cut him off. Of course he’d expect me to want Tyler to come instead of him. “But you don’t need to worry about that right now. Can you do something else for me? Stop by my place and grab a change of clothes. I have a spare coat in my closet. Bring that too.”

“Anything else?”

Yeah, my katana. But even I didn’t know where it was. “Just get here.”

“I’m on my way.”

I snapped the phone closed and put it back on the dash. For a second, I thought about curling up in one of the bus seats and going back to sleep. But it would be just my luck that the bus would take off to God knows where and I’d sleep through the whole excursion. I’d had enough adventure to last a lifetime in the past several hours. I didn’t need another one.

Stepping down out of the bus, I found a quiet spot away from the parking lot and sat down in the grass, my shoulders sagging in exhaustion. Drawing my legs up to my chest, I rested my arms on my knees and my forehead on my arms, effectively shutting out the rest of the world. Five words-five little words were all it would take to have Tyler by my side. But that was not the way I wanted it to go down. I didn’t want him to think I had so little respect for him that I’d leave without a trace and then just wish him out of thin air. I wanted him, though. I needed him. I ached to feel his arms around me, his breath on my face, to hear his voice whisper in my ear. Tears scalded my cheeks as they trailed silently to my chin. I missed him so much, it was a physical pain, a fist squeezing my heart. All I could think of was seeing his face again, but instead I’d done the right thing and called Raif to come get me. This journey had been about him, after all. I owed it to him to reunite him with his daughter.

As the day progressed, the tourists filtered in and out of the area. I did the smart thing and remained in my incorporeal form. It had been so long since I’d been able to join with the night, day, or anytime in between that I’d almost forgotten I could do it at all. It felt good to be invisible, uninteresting. If I could have, I would have lived the rest of my life this way, the wraith of Stonehenge scaring curious onlookers away.

It wasn’t long before I slumped over to curl up on the grass. I was still beyond tired, having been awake the entire time I’d been in O Anel, and who knew how long that actually was. The sun rose higher in the sky, its warmth lulling me back to sleep. There was something to be said for constancy. The sun rose, it set, it rose again-all in a glorious twenty-four-hour period. I appreciated that. My thoughts wandered as I drifted, and as I succumbed to sleep yet again, it was with thoughts of seeing Tyler comforting me.

“Darian!”

I stirred against the cold and felt around for a blanket.

“Darian! Where the hell are you?”