Blessed (33 page)

“Perhaps there is another reason they hiss and spit at each other?” the second voice said in an amused tone.

“They are too much alike,” Mentu agreed.
“Why did you call me, woman-child?”

Clearing her throat past the lump of fear, she said, “I don't think I called you.”

“Of course you did. You used my Chosen's aura to summon yourself to me,” Mentu said gently.

“Oh, I'm so sorry. I didn't know that was you. I saw the beautiful gold streaks in Devon's aura, and I wanted to see what they were,” she said apologetically. Devon remained still and silent next to her.

The second man's voice said, “It's not time for her to meet me yet, though I have found this entertaining. If she fails the trials of her Choosing, we may have a use for her as a way to annoy Devon into doing whatever we want.”

Their laughter filled her mind, growing fainter as her spirit sped back into her physical body. She came to with a gasp, falling back and catching herself with her hands.

In front of her, Devon was still with his eyes closed. She reached out a hand to touch him and jerked it back when his aura burned her hand, as if to warn her off. She waited and watched him. His full lips were relaxed and his broad chest rose and fell with each breath. After what seemed like an eternity, he opened his eyes and found her staring directly at him. He said nothing, only watched her until she felt flustered by the rush of heat through her stomach and looked away.

Abruptly Devon said, “We're done here.” He grabbed his boots and began to lace them.

“Hi, remember me? The chick who met your god dressed like someone from an
I Dream of Jeanie
porno?”

Devon glanced at her for a second and finished lacing his other boot. Standing, he adjusted the gun belt. “I can't talk about it.”

She grabbed his shirt for the third time in less than two hours and attempted to shake the truth out of him. “You tell me what's going on, you big walking, talking prick! I'm sick of this vague maybe I'll tell you, maybe I won't, let's keep the girl who everyone wants dead in the dark bullshit!” she yelled into his face.

With a growl, he gripped her by her forearms and pressed her back into the wall, pinning her there with his body. When she kicked at him, he put a muscled thigh between her legs.

“Look, I can't say anything. My god has me honor-bound not to speak of it until he releases me. So I would appreciate it if you would stop trying to tear my uniform.”

Devon hadn’t put his shields back, and his energy pressed into her and made her gasp. Her body went still in his arms, and she had to resist the urge to lose herself in the sensation. His eyes widened, and his thick shaft stiffened against her belly.

Maybe he has the bull tattoo because he's hung like one, her mind chattered as her body thoroughly approved of the hard male pressed against it. He slightly shifted his hips, pressing his leg deeper into the juncture between her thighs and rubbing against her clit. It required all of her willpower to not grind herself against him. It wouldn't take long to find the release he made her crave.

They both froze, breathing in each other's scent. Devon began to lean forward and stopped himself, stepping back and turning to the door. “I have to go. Take care of yourself.”

She didn't say anything, feeling guilty as she mentally berated her body for being attracted to such a prick. She only looked when he opened the door and left. Devon said something to Jack, who was waiting outside with an anxious look. Jack appeared solemn and nodded, going back into the TV room where Chrissy was waiting.

Devon half turned his body to look back at her then stopped himself and opened the front door. On the other side, a few of her friends from the floor happened to be walking by in full makeup and short skirts. They saw the expression on Devon's face, and they hustled past in a hurry.

The door clicked shut, and she let out a long sigh.

Jack popped his head back into the room. “I don't know what you guys were doing in here, but that was major magic. Chrissy wants to know what's going on. Since I can't lie to her, you had better figure something out. What in the gods’ names happened?”

She bit her lip. “I met Mentu, Devon's god.” As Jack's jaw dropped, she added in a hurry, “It was an accident. I didn't know what the streak of gold in his aura was so I touched it with my aura. I guess Mentu thought I was calling Him.”

“Bunny, did Mentu say anything to you?” Jack asked carefully.

“I'm not his Chosen, if that's what you're asking. He made that clear. There was another god there, but I have no idea who he was. Devon wouldn't let me look at him.”

“Devon is a smart man,” Jack said as he let out a breath. “You would have been driven out of your mind to look at a god full-on in the Spirit Realm without being a Chosen.”

“Well, at least he was telling me the truth.”

“Bunny, I've got to run. Chrissy is going to stay here with you tonight, though I'd love to take her home and show her my toys, I’d feel better if my kick ass witch was here to protect you.” Jack finished with a wicked grin.

Closing her eyes and shaking her head, she said in an amused voice, “Does Loki give you Viagra or something? Don't answer. Go home and change. We'll be fine. I'm going to call Aiden and catch him up on what's happened.”

Jack put on his tuxedo jacket. “I've already talked to him. I gave him a ring while you were doing your spell. It worked, by the way. I can see a small trace of Devon in your aura, a spark of ruby in all that sky blue.”

“Great,” she said weakly, not sure at all how she felt about carrying Devon's aura around with her.

Jack gave Chrissy a kiss good-bye and left. The room felt empty without his energetic presence. Chrissy slumped on the wall and sighed. “Oh, Eliana. I'm in so much trouble. I'm in love with a High Priest of Loki.”

“Love? You've known the man less than twenty-four hours! And what about Ryan?”

“Ryan is a meathead, all body and no brains. I can't have a relationship with a guy who doesn't get sarcasm.” Chrissy sighed theatrically. “Haven't you ever heard of love at first sight? Jack is so smart and handsome, and he knows his magic. And gods can that man eat pussy.”

Eliana made throwing-up noises, and Chrissy grinned at her.

Focusing on her, Chrissy said, “Speaking of magic, you two were doing major heavy shit in there. What's going on?”

Trying to keep her face as open as she could, Eliana said, “I'm looking into the Egyptian religions. Nuri sent him to explain different Egyptian gods and goddesses to me. Devon did invocations and a blessing spell. I think it attracted some Divine attention.”

“I'll say. Jack and I were on the other side of the wall feeling all buzzy. I can't imagine what it was like behind Devon's wards.”

Eliana's phone rang, and she saw Aiden's number on the caller ID. Looking back at Chrissy as she headed out the door, she said, “I'll be right back. I need to grab something from my car.”

“On the way back, can you grab me a Diet Coke from the vending machine downstairs?” Chrissy asked as she changed the sheets on her bed. With a nod, Eliana waved and left.

The wind blew a long strand of Eliana's hair over her face as she leaned against the brick wall of her dorm in a small outdoor picnic area. She was alone right now. It was too cold for anyone to want to hang out, even if the sunset was beautiful. Tugging her black leather jacket closer around her neck, she dialed Aiden's number.

“Hello, darling,” he said with obvious pleasure.

“Hi, Aiden. I miss you.”

“I miss you too?”

“Hold on one second,” she said as she set the phone down and twisted her hair into a quick bun.

“Sorry about that. The wind keeps blowing my hair in my face.”

“What are you doing outside?” He sounded concerned, and she smiled.

Shifting back and forth to keep warm, she said, “Chrissy is up in our room and mighty curious about my life right now.”

“I don't like you being outside alone. Tell me what's going on.”

Taking a deep breath, she told him what had happened that day with Devon and Jack. He laughed at the part concerning her throwing a shoe at Jack and laughed even more when she described how smitten Jack was with her roommate. She described the spell that Devon had done with her and the subsequent meeting with his god, Mentu. She didn't mention the harem girl outfit or the fact that Devon had almost kissed her. There was enough going on right now without adding that can of worms to the mix.

He was quiet after she finished. “Well, I think we can nail down your patron god as being of the Egyptian pantheon.”

“Aiden,” she asked as she watched the sun set in an orange ball, “what did that other god with Mentu mean when he said my time of Trial?”

“Sometimes that is what your time of Choice is called. Some gods put their Chosen through some type of moral test before they pick them. But I'm not sure if the Egyptian gods do that. You would have better luck asking Nuri or Devon.”

“I want to be with you, but Jack wants me to hang out with Chrissy tonight. Tomorrow is Saturday. Are you free?”

“I have to run some errands in the morning. Can I pick you up around 11? We can come back to my house and have lunch. Do some work on your shielding,” he said and then lowered his voice. “Or we can just come back here, and I can eat you for lunch instead.”

“Oh my.”

She watched the sunset and noticed Kyle walking toward her with a big smile on his face. He wore a black leather bomber jacket and carried a backpack. “I have to go, Aiden. I'll see you tomorrow.” She quickly closed her phone and smiled at Kyle.

He came over and grinned. “Hi, Eliana. Hey, do you drive a big white Cadillac with a pink bear on the dash?”

“Yeah, I do. Why do you ask?”

Kyle groaned and gave her an apologetic expression. “Ahh crap. It is your car. Your two front tires are flat. You must have run over something that punched your tires enough to give them a slow leak.”

“Fuck,” she said as she imagined the repair bill.

“That about sums it up. I have a couple cans of that stuff that's supposed to plug your tire and fill it enough to get it to a gas station. Let's go give it a try and see if we can save you a towing bill.”

She glanced toward the dorm where Chrissy was waiting for her. “Okay, but we have to make it quick.”

“No problem. It's getting cold out here, and I don't want my fingers to fall off. I find them useful for a variety of things,” Kyle said with a cheerful smile.

They moved out to the parking lot together, discussing how their classes were going and the chances of the football team doing anything special. Big Fran was parked toward the back of the lot. As they got closer, her heart sank. She could see the car tilting forward.

She darted around the side of the car and bent over to inspect the damage. “They are totally flat. Shit.”

As she started to stand, she felt a sharp jab and a burn in her hip. Confused as to what was going on, she turned around to see Kyle standing there with a needle and syringe in his hand and a wide grin on his handsome face.

“Night-night,” he said with a wave.

She felt whatever Kyle had injected her with flowing through her veins, leaving a path of fire in its wake. Stumbling against the car, she tried to run out into the aisle of the parking lot, but Kyle caught her around the waist before she made it more than a step.

“Whoa, easy there,” Kyle said with a laugh as he jerked her back into his arms.

She saw two guys walking past them. Frantically she tried to make a noise or raise her arms to get their attention.

They peered over at her with a questioning look. Kyle laughed again and held her close to him, kissing the top of her head. “She had too much to drink at the tailgate party. Poor thing, I told her not to do so many beer bongs.”

The guys laughed with Kyle and ambled on to the dorms. Hot tears began to trail down her cheeks. The darkness was beginning to close in on the edges of her vision now. Holding her with one arm, Kyle opened the door to his truck and tossed her in the seat.

She lay on her side, trying to keep awake. Before she completely lost consciousness, she heard Kyle get in the truck. He was whistling a merry tune as he tossed a blanket over her. With the darkness complete, the drugs overtook her.

****

Aiden hunched over in pain, the sharp recoil of the blessing he had used on Eliana breaking as it was released to correct some harm. His heart started to hammer in his chest and he launched to his feet, then crumpled to the carpet as more pain poured into him. Something bad had just happened to her, something seriously bad. Gritting his teeth, he rolled over to his side and jerked his phone out of his pocket.

Bracing himself against the agonizing sensation of fire flowing through his veins, he called Devon.

“Hello, Aiden,” Devon said. “What's up?”

“Eliana is in trouble. My blessing on her broke.”

Devon went silent, and he heard the sound of Devon's siren turning on. “I'm on my way over. I need your help as her Mentor to find her. I placed a tracking spell on her, but that'll only get me to her general area.”

“She was outside of her dorm a few minutes ago. We need to start there.”

“Okay, we'll start in that area and work out way out.”

“I'll pack up and call Jack.” His hands trembled as he yanked open the top drawer of his dresser and began to pull out boxes of ammunition. A Trijicon night sight joined the Colt M16 on the bed.

“We don't know what we're going up against, so pack some surveillance equipment as well and a medic kit,” Devon replied before he hung up.

Consciousness returned to Eliana like a slap in the face. Not daring to open her eyes, she remained as she was. She didn't want Kyle to know that she was awake. She needed to buy herself time to think and figure out what was going on.

Panic rose in her, a small animal with sharp teeth that gnawed at her willpower. The blessing bit back, giving her some Aiden's strength and careful self-control. For a moment it was as if he was with her and she could almost smell his psychic scent.