Elixxir (The Brethren Series) (22 page)

“Wha— oh, okay.” She laughed nervously and did as she was told, so the gentle curve of her neck lay bare for his hungry lips. He breathed her scent in, closed his eyes briefly, and laid feather-light kisses upon her. She purred, stretched up, and raked one hand through his damp locks.

He replaced his lips with the necklace, secured it, and traced the chain with his fingers so it rested just above the swell of her breasts. “Look in the mirror. Tell me what you think.”

She turned to it and gasped. “Oh, Nate, it’s beautiful! Angel wings, how perfect!” She leaned in closer. “And they make a heart around the sword. Is that a diamond in there? Oh my. You are amazing.” She turned and dazzled him with her flushed cheeks. “I will wear this always. Thank you.” She grabbed his hands and laced them with hers.

“Always? I like the sound of that.” He leaned down to kiss her gently on the corners of her eyes, where tears had gathered. “I hate to say it, but we have to go. We can’t stall this meeting any longer. Hold on tightly to me, Red, and I’ll get you there safely. Close your eyes now, sweetness.”

She wrapped her arms around his waist and squeezed. “Okay, I’m ready.”

His wings fluttered open and wrapped protectively around her. He raised the two of them off the floor and began to spin like a top. As his speed increased exponentially, they became a human tornado and he heard her scream. The room fell away into a blur of color and then brilliant white light showered over them. He slowed their whirling to a stop, lowered them to the floor, and all was calm. Ariana tilted her head back and gawked at him, dazed and confused. Relief washed over him as he saw her come around a bit and that she didn’t seem any worse for the harrowing trip.

“We’re here.”

“Ohhh….” She turned away from him, fell to her knees, and retched.

Chapter Eighteen

Am I dead
?
Am I dreaming
?
Are we in heaven
? As Ariana regained her composure and capacity to hold the contents of her stomach down, she took a tentative glance around at the landscape. She rinsed her mouth with the spring water from a stream that crossed their path. Nathanael gave her a bandana to wipe it dry, and as she sat down on the gleaming ground, her gaze swept over the craggy, snow-topped mountains to her right. To her left stood a host of tall, marble buildings. All were awash with a white glow, making it seem as though she’d been transferred to a foggy English countryside with the sun ready to burst through. Before them loomed a huge temple-like structure with Roman pillars and innumerable steps leading to its entrance.

She leaned against her angel in amazement. “Nate, I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore.”

The rumble came first, and then his laughter. Peering up at him, she saw relief in his eyes. She giggled, too. “Rather cliché, I know, but the statement seemed to fit.”

“Well, we are definitely not in Kansas anymore, sweetheart. I’m glad you’re alive and standing on two feet. Speaking of which, are you able to walk on your own or do you need me to hold you up?”

She reached for him and he helped her to her feet. “Let me see if I have my sea legs yet.” She tapped each foot on the shimmering sand. Solid. That was a good sign. “I’m okay. It’s quite beautiful around here, Nate, although does this fog ever lift?”

“Fog? Oh, ha ha. Can’t say that it does. But it’s not really fog. It’s more of a haze, wouldn’t you say?”

“We can go with that. Sure.” She snorted. “So where is everyone? Or wait—” she continued in a hushed whisper, “is everyone already here and they’re just invisible to me?” She looked about and groped tentatively through the space around her.

Nathanael stood there shaking his head and laughing.
But really, what could he expect from me
?
A cowering little flower
? She was a fighter through and through. And she had questions about this place and wanted answers. He wiped his eyes and took her hands in his. “No, they are not invisible. No one is around because there is no one to be around, save for E.L. and his secretary. The only time you’ll see others is when a meeting is called.”

“So I suppose this is going to be a private meeting, then?”

“You suppose correctly.” He kissed each palm and released one hand while putting a choke hold on the other. She didn’t mind, though. The inevitable was upon them both. She knew it and needed all the support he could muster. “Time to head inside. It’s up these stairs and through those huge stone-slab doors.”

They walked in unison and silence, step by step, as the gravity of the situation had turned starkly real. Her doom or salvation loomed ever closer, and there were so many things she still needed to say. As if in slow motion, he extended a hand to open the door.

“Wait!” She heard herself cry out and tugged at him, refusing to go any farther.

Nathanael looked quizzically at her and must have mistaken her actions as those of fear, because he grabbed her to him in a fierce embrace. He murmured comforting words as he nuzzled her hair.

“Nate, I’m okay.” She disentangled herself and went on. “You misunderstand. I need to say some things to you before we go inside. There are things I need you to know before…before whatever’s gonna happen happens.”

“Come on. You can tell me after.”

“No, I can’t. I mean, I might not be able to. I don’t know what’s gonna go down in there. So let me say my piece here and now.”

He scrubbed his stubbly chin with his hand and nodded. “Okay, go ahead.”

She started pacing in front of him. If she stood still, she would explode. “Okay, well, first of all, I want you to know how much I appreciate everything you’ve done for me. I’d be dead by now if it weren’t for you, twice over at the very least. And you’ve helped me discover the truth of my past so I could put my parents’ murders to rest.” She stopped before him and grabbed his hands. “Secondly, I wanted to thank you for helping me trust again, for showing me that sex can be a beautiful thing and not something to loathe. Finally, I want to say how much I admire your strength. I know that you will manage your addiction with all the tenacity that a warrior and bounty hunter like you has inside.”

She released his hands and rubbed her arms for comfort. “I care for you so much, Nathanael. Words can’t even begin to describe what you mean to me. Love seems so inadequate. But it’s the only word I’ve got. I’m in love with you, and wanted you to know.” She turned away and leaned against a pillar.

In this, she regarded herself a coward, afraid to see the hint of rejection. If it were any other day, she never would have shared her true feelings about him. But she had a strange notion she’d regret it for the rest of her life to keep it inside. “I don’t expect you to say anything back. I needed to say it, to get it out of me and out there in the ethos. I’m done, so let’s g—”

The next thing she knew, she found herself spun around, wrapped in Nathanael’s arms, and smothered by a blistering-hot kiss. When he finally relinquished her lips, he pressed her up against the column and stood so close she could feel heat pouring off him in waves.

“Ariana Kupi, I’ve been in love with you ever since you equated my being in a bath towel to a Las Vegas strip show. You’re sarcastic as hell, stubborn as a mule, and a royal pain in my ass most of the time. But Red, you are the only safe haven I’ve got in my maddening life, my own personal Elixxir, and you have kept me sane during the most trying of times.” He cupped her face and regarded her with watery eyes. “I cannot, will not, lose you now. So, we hope for the best and fight for the rest. Okay?”

She could only nod, fearful that if she were to utter a sound, it would unleash a torrent of sobs, and she refused to give way. Grief mixed with joy and jubilation as she acknowledged the words he’d spoken. He was in love with her, too! Why, oh why, did this have to happen now? But he said he’d fight for them. She would, too. Taking a deep, shaky breath, she sniffled and caressed his cheek. “I’m ready.”

He nodded and pushed open the monolithic doors. She followed him down an expansive white marble hallway filled with floor-to-ceiling angelic murals depicting scenes of serenity. They stopped at a desk that sat outside the big man’s office.

“Hello, Shalisha, we are here to see E.L. He’s expecting us.”

“Nathanael, it’s been a while. You’re looking no worse for wear. Have a seat. He’ll be right with you both.”

“Thank you.” He smiled pleasantly at the young woman, turned to Ariana, and grasped her hand in his. They moved over to a plush bench and sat down to wait for what seemed an inordinate amount of time. Her knees worked overtime in the bouncing department. Just as Nathanael placed his right hand across her knees to calm them, the doors to E.L.’s office opened.

By themselves.

She couldn’t help but roll her eyes and snort at the egotistical display. That was enough to get her courage solidly in place. “Is he for real?” she whispered in his ear. “When I get back to Sedona and find a new place to live, I want that kind of door, too.”

“Come on, wiseass. Time to meet the head honcho.”

They got up from the bench and marched hand in hand into the office to sit before E.L. Nathanael reluctantly let go of her since the chairs were so far apart. As she leaned back in her seat, without his comfort to ease her racing heart, she sized up the enigmatic boss of the Brethren. A touch of salt and pepper in the hair, a bit of graying on the sides, a chiseled jaw line and straight nose. A white suit with a satiny sheen showed off a fit upper body. He made an imposing first impression. He seemed to be sizing her up, as well. She sat up a bit straighter and met his stare with confidence.
Good
!
Let him see I’m nothing to be trifled with
.

“Ariana Kupi.”

“Yes, that’s my name.”

“You’ve had a most challenging life up to this point, shall we say?”

“I think that sums it up well enough.”

“I regret we didn’t know of you sooner, or we could have averted much trauma in your life.”

“I appreciate that, but it’s only served to make me stronger.”

“Yes, and stronger is what saved two of my angels, and the Elixxir, from Evil’s clutches. I thank you for both.”

“You’re welcome.”

“We’ve got a bit of a conundrum, though. The Elixxir needed to be secured away, out of everyone’s reach, but it’s inside you at the moment, and making you ill.”

“Is that going to be a problem? I mean, I don’t want it inside me any longer, either. I know it was an impulsive move on my part, but it wasn’t because I wanted to be immortal or anything like that. It just seemed like the right thing to do at the time.”

“We need to retrieve it from your body somehow and restore your good health. That presents a problem. Extracting the Elixxir from your cellular structure is no easy task. But do it we shall.”

Nathanael interjected with a shaky voice, “Could she die from this procedure?”

“I said it will be no easy task, not impossible. And she’ll be fine after. So sit back in your seat and relax.” He turned his attention back to her. “It takes only a few minutes for me to do it, during which time you will be in a sacred sleep. Otherwise, I fear the pain might overwhelm you. Once done, all will be as it was before.”

“Oh, good.” Relieved to hear so, she slumped back in her chair.

“Before what? All will be as it was before what, E.L.?”

“Now, Nathanael, I think you know better than to ask that question. What possible other outcome could you have envisioned other than a memory swipe?”

“Son of a—E.L., she deserves more than having all of this erased from her memory. She’s done so much for us, and through this experience has learned how to handle her traumatic past. If you wipe her memory, she’ll be back at square one! This is how you repay her for her multiple selfless acts?” He got up and stormed around the room, his fists opening and clenching in turn.

Ariana could tell a rush coursed through his veins, readying him for a fight. She stood up and glided over to him, obscuring his view of his boss.

“Nate, look at me,” she said quietly, her voice controlled. “You need to stay calm. It will do neither of us any good to get worked up over this. Come sit down and I’ll stand by your side. Let’s see if we can reason with him.”

He grumbled something unintelligible but listened to her and sat back down. She stood behind him and rested her hands on his shoulders.

“I can wipe her memories of the Brethren’s existence without harming her progress in recovering from a traumatic childhood.”

“I don’t want her memory wiped, period, E.L. Take the Elixxir. You don’t have to take her memories.”

“So it’s like that, is it? You’re in love with her?” His boss tapped his fingers on his desk. “I’m afraid that’s not enough. She’s mortal and cannot know of our existence. It’s that simple.”

“It’s not just that I’m in love with her. She’s the only one who can temper my addiction. In all my years of being on earth, no one has ever been able to do that. I need her more than you can know. And since you’ve been of no help to me, I have no choice but to seek out my own recovery and new life.”

“I’ll do what must be done, with or without your compliance. So which will it be, Nathanael?”

He shrugged out of Ariana’s hold and lunged out of his seat toward E.L.

“Nate! No!”

With a wave of his hand, E.L. rendered him unconscious. His limp body dropped to the desktop and slid down to the floor.

“Oh, dear God! What have you done? You’re as much a monster as Satan!” She scrambled to Nathanael’s side and checked for a pulse, glaring at the imperious man as he sat calmly, shaking his head.

“He’ll be fine. It’s time.”

As she felt a slow but steady beat that proved E.L.’s declaration, relief washed over her. She hugged her angel close to her and kissed him softly on his warm lips.

“Wait! My parents. Can you at least tell me if they are at peace now? Are they here?”

“They are indeed at peace. You need not worry. But they are not here. They reside in your heart and mind, forever and always. Now relax. We must begin.”