Part 18 (2/2)

Tatiana. It's been a very long time. I thought you had abandoned me.

She shook her head. I have been occupied with other pursuits, Teacher. I have not had time to practice the shadow arts in which you so kindly instructed me. But I have not abandoned you. How are you?

Here on Shadow Mountain things are as they always are. You must come visit when you have time.

Visiting Shadow Mountain would require a level of trust Tatiana feared she no longer possessed. When she had first encountered Blossom Cheyenne, she had been suffering through a dark time in her life. Although angry and lost, she had been more trusting and open then. Now she was unwilling to relinquish the level of control required for one not a native to enter Shadow Mountain.

I cannot make promises I may not be able to keep.

I understand. What brings you to visit, Tatiana?

There is a nocturene, a non-reflect, who is haunting the dreams of someone I'm fond of.

Just fond of?

She nodded rapidly, unwilling to admit any stronger feelings for Jason, even to one she had shared so much with. Yes. I need to know who I'm dealing with so I can protect him.

He is a strong male capable of protecting himself.

Yes, in a fair fight when he can challenge his enemy on a level playing field. How can he prevail against a creature who can enter his dreams and turn them into living nightmares? In his dreams, he is helpless and she is gradually weakening him. Soon she will be emboldened enough to approach him while he's awake. If she's weakened him sufficiently, he won't be able to resist her. I will not allow her to corrupt him. Help me protect him.

The greatest protection for him will be the acknowledgment to him of your true feelings. Tell him how you feel and he can withstand the machinations of the strongest nocturene.

Tatiana sighed. My feelings are uncertain. As a healer, there must be something you can do to help me protect him.

He wears a charm on his neck.

Yes. I believe it holds a strong sentimental value. I've never seen him take it off.

Then get him to take it off.

Why?

It is the means by which she enters his dreams. As nocturenes go, she is very young and not very powerful. Her power over him lies in that charm. Have him remove it.

And he'll be free of her?

No. She has been haunting him for so long that while the talisman facilitates her entry into his dreams, it does not represent her sole hold over him. Have him remove the charm, remain vigilant, and you can thwart her.

When that is done, I'll kill her.

That may not be so easy.

She's very young.

She is also very evil. Evil of that magnitude is not easily extinguished. You may have to content yourself with saving him from her. Once you break her hold on him, it won't be easy for her to reclaim him.

Several hours later, Jace paused with a forkful of eggs and bacon halfway to his mouth. He tilted his head, frowning. ”You're joking, right?”

Tatiana sat across the table in her kitchen, training her intense blue gaze on his face. ”No.”

He saw nothing in her unblinking stare to suggest she wasn't deadly serious. He laid his fork on his plate. His free right hand closed over the precious charm which hung around his neck. ”You have to be, because there is no way I'm getting rid of this.”

”Why not?”

He considered her in silence. How would she react if she knew why he wore it? He shrugged, deciding if they were going to have the relations.h.i.+p he wanted, there could be no secrets between them. ”This belonged to the only other woman I've ever loved. She was killed a little over fifty years ago.”

”How?”

”She disobeyed Santiago and went after a powerful rogue on her own. She was skilled and well-trained and might have managed to take him down-had she been facing him alone. She had no way of knowing he had a few friends with him.

”They took turns raping her before they killed her. When I arrived, all I found was this, which she had never taken off from the moment I gave it to her, and pools of blood... ” He paused and sucked in a quick, gulping breath. ”The pools of blood held traces of v.a.g.i.n.al and a.n.a.l tissues in it. All the blood was hers, and there were ma.s.sive amounts of it, but we never found her body.”

Even after all these years, the pain of knowing he'd not only arrived too late to save her but also too late to wreak vengeance on those responsible sent a rush of angry tears to his eyes. He blinked hard to hold them at bay. He succeeded until Tatiana rose, walked around the table and linked her arms around his neck.

The ache he'd held in check for half a century broke free. His body shook and he turned his face against her neck, no longer able to stop the flood of tears.

She lifted him from his chair, cradling him in her arms. Her cool lips brushed against his forehead.

He stiffened and struggled. He didn't want her to see him in a light that would make him appear weak and unworthy of her love. Love? He wanted more than her love. He wanted something more powerful and all-consuming. He wanted her bloodl.u.s.t.

She spoke in a soft, caressing voice, her words shattering the remaining emotional barriers he'd maintained between them. ”Don't struggle so, Jason. It's all right. There is no shame in crying in the presence of a fem with whom you've shared p.u.s.s.y-flavored Ancient Delights,” she whispered, her sultry voice tinged with amus.e.m.e.nt.

He laughed and lifted his head to meet her gaze. ”I want to share so much more than that with you, Tatiana.”

”I don't know if that's possible, Jason. For all the pa.s.sion raging between us-”

”It's more than just pa.s.sion. Why can't you admit that?”

She pressed a warm kiss against his lips before setting him on his feet. ”Considering who we are, that's all we can share, and even that is barely acceptable.”

”Tatiana-”

She shook her head and wiped his cheeks dry. ”I'm sorry you lost the love of your life, but you have to remove the charm. Wearing it makes it easier for her to invade your dreams.”

He narrowed his gaze. ”It means too much for me to take it off.”

She reached forward, her fingers sliding under the chain. ”I can appreciate that, but it has to go.” She tilted her head. ”Besides, if I'm to believe your sweet nothings, I'm somewhat important to you as well.”

”You are, far more than you know.” He pushed her hand away from his chain. ”But don't count on that to change my mind. I'm not taking this off. End of discussion.”

”Jason-”

He stepped back and leveled a finger at her. ”Save it.”

”Don't be foolish enough to allow an ancient, useless love to-”

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