Both men ignored her. “I’ll take care of her,” Piers replied.
“Good—now we must go.”
Fallon left Tara’s side and came to stand beside him. The mist gathered, and they were gone.
“Oh well, at least we know where you got that pigheaded streak,” Piers said as the fog faded.
“I have a pigheaded streak?”
“A mile wide, sweetheart. It’s one of the things I love about you.”
She bit back a smile—it was the first time he’d said he loved anything about her; even if it was her pigheaded streak, it made her feel all tingly.
Piers glanced around the rooftop, his gaze settling on Tara. “Hey, he left the cat—he must be mellowing.”
He was right; Tara still held the big gray cat in her arms. She put him down and the cat was gone, replaced by a young man with tousled blond hair and a big grin on his face.
Roz rubbed the ring that hung around her neck. Would the Walker come if she needed him? She hoped she would never have to test him, but she suspected in the time to come they were all going to be tested.
A few days ago, she’d had nothing. Now, she had a father, a lover, and the possibility of a whole new life, with people who understood her, were like her. Of course, on the down side, there was a good chance that the world as she knew it was going to end any moment.
Oh well, nothing was ever perfect.
Chapter Twenty-one
A week passed.
Piers received regular reports, and it was clear the chaos was escalating. Thousands had died, and the humans were beginning to see a pattern. The religious types were talking about Armageddon. The rest had no clue. The demon attacks left no survivors so there were no witnesses, but that couldn’t last.
Asmodai had brought back news of a vast army building in the Abyss. Andarta was gaining support, but Asmodai was amassing his own army of followers. The Walker had returned briefly and promised to come to their side once his people had organized their defenses. So far, there had been no attacks on the Faelands.
Within the Order, their focus was on finding Andarta, but anytime they got near, she simply opened another portal and vanished.
The only good thing to come of this was Roz.
When she wasn’t in bed with him, which unfortunately was too much of the time, she was working with Jonas, learning to harness her power. But they were hitting a brick wall. She had a hidden core that they couldn’t touch. Locked up tight deep inside her.
They were working on that now, which was why he was up here alone on the rooftop—Jonas had sent him out, claiming he was a distracting influence. He liked the idea he could distract Roz.
With a start, he realized that the boredom and restlessness that had plagued him recently was gone. He’d always been a loner, had never been good at relationships, but for the first time since he’d become immortal he wanted to try. It was still new, but they had something special. He just hoped they would have the time to explore it. If Andarta had her way, the whole world would descend into disorder.
Once he had reveled in chaos. Now he’d hate to go back to the way things had been before the Shadow Accords.
He grinned. He was turning into a nice guy. But the truth was, he wanted to be the sort of man Roz would admire. Roz was a good person, one of the purest he had ever met, and the amazing thing was she didn’t even realize it. He knew she liked him, but he wanted more. And soon, because he was beginning to realize that this could very well be the end. There was no way they could stand against Andarta and survive. So time was slipping away. He wasn’t sure what happened to immortals if they were finally killed, but he suspected he was soon to find out.
So each time he held Roz in his arms, he willed her to speak the words. So far, she’d remained stubbornly silent. Christ, how many times had he dumped women because they were about to say the L word? The only L word he’d been interested in was lust. Now, he silently urged Roz to say it. Just once and he could accept whatever was going to happen. Mind you, he hadn’t said it to her either, but he didn’t want her to feel pressured —or maybe he was just a coward.
After all, his one and only foray into love hadn’t exactly ended well. Then again, while Roz believed she was bad, Andarta had been the real thing. Pure evil.
As though the thought had conjured her up, a portal opened, and there she was.
For long minutes, he just stared. He could look at her objectively and admit that she was probably the most beautiful woman in the world. And she did absolutely nothing for him. Long blond hair hung like a silken cloak around her shoulders, her eyes were dark—almost black—her skin pale and flawless, marked with swirling runes of power.
As she took a step toward him, he had to hold himself still so as not to back away. She would see that as a sign of weakness.
She came to a halt in front of him. “Piers.”
“Andarta. What do you want?”
Her lips curved into a seductive smile. “What have I always wanted?”
“Death, destruction and the subjugation of just about everyone?”
“Well, those as well. But I want you, Piers. I’ve always wanted you.”
“I would have thought two thousand years locked in a tomb with only Jack for company would have cured you of that.”
“I have to say, at first I was angry. But I came to realize that I’d behaved all wrong. I should have known you would react badly, but I loved you so much and couldn’t bear the idea of you dying.”
Piers studied her closely. Was she telling the truth? Or was this some sort of ploy to trick him?
She reached out with one slender hand and stroked down his cheek with her fingertip. “We were good together. We could be good together again. You have no loyalty to these people. Join with me, and rule at my side.”
She was wrong. Once long ago he had been loyal to no one but his gods, but now there were people he would fight for, die for. He kept his expression blank.
“I love you, Piers. All I want, all I do, is to win back your love.”
How he had longed to hear those words. Unfortunately, not from this woman.
“Tell me what I must do to make you see that.”
He turned away, strode to the edge of the rooftop, and stood staring down at the city below. At the people going about their lives unaware they hovered on the edge of darkness. Andarta would bring that darkness and cover the whole world in despair and madness. She gained power from the suffering of others. He’d always known that, even when he’d loved her. He had no love for her now. He hated her and all that she stood for. But he kept those opinions locked inside. Christ, after two thousand years he was finally learning restraint.
“You’re quiet,” she said from behind him. “Tell me what you’re thinking.”
“You’ve taken me by surprise, that’s all. I assumed you would hate me.”
“I could never hate you. Everything I do is for you.”
Jesus, it was dawning on him that she was telling the truth. He really wished she wasn’t, because a plan was forming in his mind. And he wished it wouldn’t. He wished it would vanish along with Andarta.
Earlier, he’d thought that he wanted to be the sort of man that Roz would admire. Well, here was his chance. But his whole mind recoiled from the idea. He’d accepted that this could very well be the end of the world as any of them knew it. Now, from the looks of things, he just might have it within his power to stop that.
But at what price?
Was he willing to pay it? A vision of Roz filled his mind. He wanted to give her a wonderful life. He knew she was becoming attached to him, but maybe if he went now—before her feelings became any deeper—she would get over him in time.
