Fallen (10 page)

Maddie didn’t flinch. “I
am
sure. Now tell me all of it.”

“Very well. Wherever you touch me, your power binds me. And that physical binding burns.”

Maddie lifted his arm gently and studied the wound. “So my—-marks did this?” She felt a little sick at the thought that she could harm him without knowing it.

“No,” Lyon said sharply.

“Then what?”

His fingers locked on her hair for a moment. Then he pushed away, striding through the silver light of dawn and opening the door to the balcony.

Maddie’s marks followed him. They flared out in circles around him, restless and bright.

“
Why
do they follow you?”

“It is too soon.” Lyon’s voice was harsh with need and yet Maddie heard its tenderness. He moved outside and gripped the metal rail of the ornate balcony, staring east where dawn burned against the horizon.

Maddie moved beside him and rested her hand on the angry line of his shoulder. “Explain the rest. Please, Lyon.”

His eyes locked on the distant ridge. “You cannot understand.”

Over their heads dark wings arrowed through the air, and then plummeted toward the moat’s edge. Aeryx settled on a rock, his eyes like flame against the last gray remnant of night. “I will explain. You are his to bind, but he will not. And every second you are near, the Guardian burns with greatest pain, needing your touch and full joining. Because you are his home. That is by both Law and prophecy.”

Maddie had a sharp image of Lyon’s body, strong and muscled, driving deep against hers in desire. Was that what Aeryx meant?

“So…what you’re saying is these marks—this bond between us—it’s just about sex?” The words felt awkward.

Lyon glared at the dark figure settled on the rock below them. “No. The bond is far more than that. Once chosen, there are dangers. Added to that, the bond cannot be revoked.”

“Not good for divorce lawyers, I guess.” But Maddie found herself wondering what it would be like to have Lyon beside her every night, their bodies hot and intimate, their lives entwined. On some deep level she already knew that she could trust him. His actions had proved that to her more than once. And yet…it was so hard for her to trust. Everyone in her life had lied or left or betrayed her.

“I still don’t understand what happened to your arm.”

“You give him power with the touch of your marks.” Once again it was Aeryx who spoke. “And yet that same power will overwhelm him if it is not tempered. So he draws the power away. Pain is how he keeps himself sane.”

“Aeryx, no,” Lyon said harshly.

“I must, Guardian of Acre and the Lands of the North. She must understand the power of her marks and her body. He burns because of you, Rose. His pain and only that will balance his need, which is enflamed by your bright energy. But your transformation has been speeded up, just as time itself has been speeded up. Soon…you will have to chose.”

“Chose what?” Maddie felt sick at the thought that Lyon must feel such pain. How much more had he hidden from her?

Aeryx’s amber eyes locked on her face. “They will come for you and the Guardian. It is a mere question of time. They must sense your awakening and it will stir their darkest hungers. It would be safest if you and the Guardian are blood-bound before that happens. But as he told you, this bond cannot be changed or revoked. It is forever.”

Lyon growled at Aeryx in a language Maddie did not understand, and the great figure blew out in a sound of anger.

“And if I…chose not to do this?” Maddie asked softly.

“Then he will gain power from you again and again until it overcomes his control, his honor and finally his sanity. A Guardian searches the centuries for his Rose. Once he finds her, he must bond. This is for
your
need as much as his.”

Maddie’s hands felt damp. “Go on.”

“As your energies grow, you too will lose your balance. Those energies will push you to madness just as they do your Guardian.”

Madness. Okay, that was definitely bad
.

“And…I take it we’re not talking about holding hands or saying a few quick wedding vows? Because I can do that.”

“It will take far more than words.” Lyon turned stiffly and Maddie felt the force of his angry gaze. “You face danger and madness—perhaps even death. And now you make a joke of it. But understand this. I have searched for you and it was my life’s duty and honor over the centuries. Now that you are here, you can no longer be a child. It is time for you to grow up, Maddie. You have to choose who you are and who you can become, and you must do all of this now, before the Walkers find you.”

She swallowed uneasily at his words. “You mean those…people back in London?”

Lyon nodded. “Except they are no longer
people
. Their souls are long gone, consumed to ash and angry dreams. Their bodies are all that remain. They would do the same to you,” he said grimly.

“Why? Who are they?”

“Their battle is as long as time. They hate all life. Where they come from we do not know. They came on air and thought and dark wings and their only joy is to consume and destroy whatever lives. Their hunger is infinite.” A muscle tightened at Lyon’s jaw. “Because of the light you carry, you are a rare prize and they will track you without end. If you are not afraid of that, then you should be.”

“I’m getting afraid really fast,” Maddie whispered, glad to feel his strong arm, glad for the warmth of his body near hers.

“Do not mock or underestimate them. But do not underestimate yourself either.” His eyes filled with longing. “You are still too young, though I have waited and wanted you for the ages.” His hands moved gently over her hair. “You have been betrayed. You have lost your dreams so young. But I promise you this. We will make new dreams—if you can trust me.” His thumb traced the curve of her cheek.

Maddie swallowed hard.

She had never trusted anyone—not since she was fourteen. She wasn’t sure how to start. But she couldn’t look away from this man’s honesty and when he held out his hand, she took it without hesitation. In the link of their fingers she felt safe. Maddie did not understand why or how, but this truth she knew.

Somehow they were already connected.

And in the deep awareness between them, she felt the moment his attention turned and he looked out across the abbey grounds.

“Lyon, what is it?”

With their fingers still linked, he pulled her back inside. He opened the dresser drawer and held out her phone. “Call your friend. You have a duty to discharge, and I will not stand in your way.” His eyes were grave. “But while you wait for him, we must work. There is much to teach you and very little time. We will talk about…the rest of what Aeryx said after that.”

“You promise that?”

Lyon looked down at their linked hands, watching Maddie’s silver circles restlessly. “I do. But see how your marks grow more powerful already. We must not delay. We will start upstairs in the Long Gallery. There is a painting you must see.”

“Art? What’s important about a few blobs of ink on a canvas?”

Lyon smiled faintly. “I am desolated to contradict you, but this painting is one that you will find most interesting.”

“Not likely.” Maddie frowned, still wondering about these things she had to learn from him. “Want to make a small wager?”

Lyon’s eyebrow rose. “Intriguing. What is it that you will give me when I win?”

“
If
you win.” Maddie tilted her head, studying him intently. “Let’s make it something easy. If I win, you explain everything about those marks on your arms. And if you win—though that’s not going to happen—I promise to pay attention and learn whatever you need to teach me. No complaining. But remember—I have to finish my work for Izzy. I made a promise.”

Lyon nodded. “I would expect nothing less. And I may occasionally provide you a little help in that area. I have resources that you do not.”

Maddie had no doubt about that.

“Deal.” She nodded and held out her hand. “But I still don’t have a clue how I’m going to explain you or Aeryx or any of this to Izzy Teague.”

On her way out, Maddie grabbed her cell phone and returned a call to Izzy, who was worried and also angry. When Maddie assured him that she was safe, he seemed to back off a little and assured her he would be at the abbey in about an hour.

“What is this mission that you have been given?” Lyon studied her curiously. “It seems important, yet you give me no details.”

“Because I have no details.” Maddie studied the beautiful winding staircase lined with paintings that even her untrained eye could tell were priceless. She had seen pictures of private houses like this one. They had dazzled her like a guilty pleasure. But Maddie had never expected to set foot inside one herself, so she was soaking up the experience.

“What have you been told? This man called Teague must have given you some details.”

“They were looking for something at the British Museum. You know that much because you were there. I noticed they were in the early British Galleries. At least that’s where their tracking devices went. But I don’t know what they were searching for or whether they found it. We’ll have to wait until Izzy gets here.”

“So this man Izzy—he arrested you?”

Maddie nodded slowly. She wasn’t proud of that part of her past, but she wouldn’t lie about it either. “I was fourteen. I got in with a weird group. Two of them were older and happened to be hackers.”

Lyon frowned at her. “I do not know this word.”

“People who break into secure computer systems. We weren’t doing it for money. We simply wanted to see if we could. Lame, I know.”

“Ah.” Lyon nodded slowly. “You were young and reckless. Lame, as you call it?”

Maddie shrugged.

“Two of the others knew what they were doing. They’d done that kind of thing before, I found out later. They were getting paid too. But bad luck for me. My computer was the first one that triggered an alarm during the hacking. Izzy Teague tracked it and they fingered me for the ringleader. One of the others was the son of a local politician. Another came from a wealthy family.” Maddie shrugged. “That’s life.”

“It was gravely unfair,” Lyon said harshly. “And you had no one to speak on your behalf?”

Maddie looked away. She thought about the mother who was usually lost in a drug-induced fog and the father who had bailed on his family when Maddie was just ten. “Nope. No one to put in a good word. I went to jail, juvenile facility, for nine months. I guess it could have been worse, since we happened to break into the secure Pentagon data system in Virginia.” She didn’t smile the way she once would have done. She had no sense of glory or pride about what they had done. Too many people had been hurt that day—herself included. “Izzy was the one who caught me. Turns out he had been watching my computer for six months. To be fair, I think he was shocked when he found out I was only fourteen.”

“You did this thing—this hacking thing—when you were
fourteen
? You broke into highly protected government equipment when you were so young?” Lyon looked at Maddie in disbelief. “Where did you get the skill—and equipment? I believed that you were without money for things like that.

“I was. But I’m a fast learner. And my friends—the people who I thought were my friends—had all the computers and equipment they needed. When they gave me some books to study, I caught on fast.” Maddie ran a hand through her hair. “I wish I hadn’t, frankly. Because it was all a rush. I was good at something and for the first time in my life I had friends—or so I thought. Then I was caught. And there was no one to be there for me. The wheels were in motion. I was taken into custody. After that…it only got worse.”

“I would like to hear the rest. I would like to understand all of your life, Maddie.”

She hadn’t spoken of those years to anyone. There wasn’t anyone to help her, so why bother? But now, as she looked into Lyon’s calm eyes, she blurted out the shock, the guilt, the painful transition to incarceration and a total break with any kind of a normal life. Distrust and betrayal had become her whole life after that, along with humiliation and intimidation.

Lyon’s eyes were chips of darkness, yet he listened with the same silent, keen focus that he did everything. When she was done, he didn’t speak. But his hands were locked in tight fists. “You will not suffer so again. I swear this to you. Your life may not be an easy one, but this kind of captivity and humiliation will not be part of your new life,” he said grimly.

His promise made Maddie feel better, though it shouldn’t have. After all, this new world she had fallen into held every sign of being worse than her old world. At least she had understood the rules back in DC on that grimy street she called home. But now…

Soulless creatures from the past. Madness. Death.

She looked down at her hands, with their restless silver light. What about these? What about the legacy that came with them? How was she going to figure everything out before those…creatures showed up on their doorstep.

No point in worrying about it now. You’ll go crazy if you do
.

When they reached the top of the stairs. Lyon led her down a long corridor to the back of the house. He studied the wall and then pressed a small button. The room was swept into shimmering light from fixtures scattered over the beautifully painted ceiling.

Wealth could buy you this kind of beauty, Maddie thought. Wealth added to great taste, she corrected herself. She had seen paintings like this in magazines and on her visits to the Smithsonian. But nothing came close to how it felt right now, standing in this room with its living, breathing history. Maddie instantly knew that the figures in the paintings were ancestors of the current owner. She wondered if the man who had argued with Lyon had a portrait here. Something told her that he did—that he would be the most proud and arrogant of all the lot.

She glanced around slowly, taking in the beautiful paintings and the weight of the cold eyes that looked back from the walls. “What is it I’m supposed to see? Nice jewelry? A lot of very rich aristos and women with seriously weird hairdos?”

Lyon cleared his throat and Maddie was pretty sure he was hiding a laugh. “Look closer. Open your eyes and really see, Maddie. It is time you took control of your life. No longer will others take that choice away from you.”

So there was something important here to see. Maddie looked down the row of elegant paintings, studying each one in turn, trying to figure out what Lyon was trying to teach her. She always hated school, because her teachers were jerks and the other students were bullies.

Maddie frowned and ran a hand through the chaos of her hair, fighting irritation. But the truth was, if she’d had a hunk of a teacher like Lyon, she might have paid a lot more attention in European history classes. And if that teacher had had Lyon’s calm eyes and rugged body—

Well, morality laws might have been broken. If she had her way at least.

The simple truth was, Lyon made a great teacher. He didn’t push, he didn’t argue, he didn’t raise his voice. All he did was wait and let you come to the conclusions you needed to find. There hadn’t been anyone else like that in Maddie’s life.

She looked around her, wanting to succeed, because Lyon had asked it of her.

“How do I start? I mean, I don’t know anything about art. I’m not so great with English history either.”

“Open your eyes. And then open more than your eyes,” Lyon said quietly. “Let this room speak to you and listen to all that it says. Listen to your heart and feel these walls. Don’t just see them.”

Now this was weird talk, even for a man most people would consider a serious psycho. But because it was Lyon and because everything else he’d said had turned out to be true, Maddie did as he advised. She took a deep breath then let it out slowly, opening her eyes and then her mind to the room, letting the beautiful images play through her mind. She studied the colors, let the beauty of the bright silks and painted lace drift through her unconscious mind as she tilted her head back. As she began to relax, she stopped seeing any particular painting and began to see the overall room.

There was a pattern in the colors. One end was all pink and red. The middle of the room was greens. The pieces near the door seemed to be mostly blue. Was that important?

But Maddie didn’t ask for help. She was an expert in reading patterns, after all. Code work and computer hacking were largely about seeing patterns that other people didn’t understand. It was just a gift she had.

Maddie turned, looking from painting to painting, watching the blues merge into the greens and then finally to the shades of red at the far end of the room.

Was it something about the numbers? There were seven pink paintings. Three greens. Nine blues. Nineteen all together.

What else?

Maddie chewed on her nails. The room seemed to breathe in and then breathe out around her, almost alive. As if waiting for her to say something.

For her to understand its secrets.

She forced herself to relax, opening even more to the sense of the room itself, not to the paintings, but the feelings that room gave to her.

There was something off. She focused harder. One of the paintings near the center, the first of the pink paintings. Although very small, it carried the weight of a much bigger painting and seemed to pull at her.

Maddie walked toward it slowly.

It felt…heavy. Dense.

A woman smiled down at a child. Both were dressed in exquisite silk with lace at cuffs and collar. In the far distance Maddie saw the towers of a castle, and she thought Draycott Abbey must have looked like that centuries before.

The woman’s face was kind, she thought. The child radiated joy, lifting arms to his mother.

The beauty of the place was suddenly so dense, so
physical
, that Maddie could almost touch the warm silence of the summer afternoon and feel the sun against her shoulders.

So why was she frozen, rooted to the floor? What was it about this one piece of art that broke the pattern of the room, since none of the other paintings were having the slightest effect on Maddie?

“This one,” she said softly. She couldn’t take her eyes from the image. “This one feels more important than the rest. Heavier. And in some crazy way it’s familiar.” Maddie cleared her throat. “Or something.”

Lyon moved closer. “Familiar in what way, Maddie?”

“I don’t have a clue, damn it. Why do you keep asking me these things? I’m just—just telling you the crazy thoughts in my head. That’s what you wanted, isn’t it?”

She shoved her hands in her pockets feeling angry and confused, suddenly overwhelmed by the beautiful house with all its priceless art and exquisite taste. Maddie knew then that she didn’t belong here. Probably she would never belong anywhere.