Dark Fates (A Paranormal Anthology)(115)

“Parents. You wouldn’t have tolerated it from a man.”

The assessment startled her. She’d had her share of masculine interest over the years, and, truth be told, she seemed to be a magnet for the worst types. Scowling, she looked into the tea and sniffed it. Then she took a drink, consequences be damned. If he’d wanted to hurt her, he’d had a dozen chances to do it.

A smile touched his lips at the act, and he nodded approvingly. Warmth unfurled in her chest. His approval brought her pleasure, and no sooner did that thought dawn than she began to scowl again. “What’s wrong with me?”

“You’ve had a very difficult day.”

“No,” Jubilee disagreed. “That’s not it at all.”

Difficult days were normal. Today definitely didn’t qualify as normal in any of its definitions. The tea tasted of herbs and citrus and something floral. It was hot, and she drank half of her cup before she finally picked up one of the sandwiches. The salve he’d rubbed on her shoulder had smelled of cinnamon and something stronger, but it had also all but numbed the pain and made the throb a distant memory.

“No?” Amusement colored Fox’s question, and she remembered he’d wanted to tell her something.

“I’m doing it again. I’ll stop.” She mimed zipping her mouth closed and turning a key before tossing it over her shoulder. He snapped his hand out and closed his fist. When he drew it back and held his hand open, a small golden key lay against his palm.

“Don’t ever throw a part of yourself away,” he said, all solemn and stern. Then he tapped a finger to her lips. “But do stay silent because you are far too charming and we cannot delay any further. Not if I plan to share this bed with you tonight.”

Oh, hell. Her stomach bottomed out all over again. Tingles spread out from the contact of his finger to her mouth; he traced the line of her lips and finally withdrew his hand. Still, he kept the key. Jubilee stuffed a sandwich in her mouth before she abandoned all caution to climb back in his lap. The sooner she complied, the sooner she would find out exactly what he meant about sharing the bed with her.

“You saw what happened to the men earlier.”

It wasn’t a question, but she nodded anyway. He shifted and turned the key over in his palm. “And you heard me when I called about your injuries.”

Like the first statement, it wasn’t a question, but he stared at her expectantly, so she nodded. He’d detailed her injuries, and he’d sounded damn concerned. A flush warmed her face. She hadn’t been awake when he stripped off her clothes, but she’d been very aware of her nudity, and, since she’d not seen another soul in residence, Fox had to have been the one who’d undressed her. Considering she’d just sat nude on a kitchen counter while he treated her shoulder, she wasn’t sure why the earlier incident embarrassed her.

All playfulness fled from his expression. “I am forbidden to tell you what I am about to tell you, and the penalty for disobedience is death.”

She opened her mouth to say “Then don’t,” but his look silenced her.

“For millennia beyond reckoning, a war has been waged between heaven and hell. A quiet, deadly war for the affections and faith of mankind.”

Yeah, the crusades weren’t that quiet. Nor were the witch trials. And she’d yet to meet the television evangelist who could keep his mouth shut while calling on the righteous to stand up. Her skepticism must have shown because Fox chuckled, and the distinctly masculine sound sent a pulse of need to warm her all over.

“Yes, I suppose it doesn’t look that quiet from the outside, but heaven’s gates remained closed, as do hell’s. Those demons that walk among us have been here for centuries or were spawned here. As were the nephilim. You see, these abandoned souls know that, in a true war, humanity will be exterminated, and they will find themselves cast out. Heaven doesn’t want them, and hell can’t stand them. So, like man, they will fall.

“As it happens, two of the most unlikely forged a unique friendship. The child of an angel and the child of a demon. They are like brothers despite their differences. Between them, they concocted a plan and made a pact. Together, they and others like them would work to maintain a balance and avert the plans of heaven or hell should one or the other seem to gain an advantage.”

A tight smile formed on Fox’s mouth. “As long as the two sides remain at an impasse, the apocalypse cannot happen because the war machines will not be freed. Over time, however, these two were joined by others and by another host of unlikely allies, humans. But there was an inherent danger when humans aided them. Because humans are especially vulnerable to the influence of demons and angels alike. Determined to see their pact through, the two friends sought the counsel of a third even more unusual source—the witches. You see, witches are both human and not human because they are gifted with the sight to see beyond and to affect the forces of nature itself. You don’t need the whole history of their creation, but the witch they went to understood their concern and advised of one way in which they could be certain the humans who sided with them were always loyal and could not be swayed to bind them by blood and turn them.”

As stories went, this was a good one, but she was frozen in place, listening to the danger threading sinuously between the words.

“To be blood-bonded to a nephilim or a demon is to be turned and to become something more than human. With the witch’s magic aiding the transformation, we become shifters. As shifters, we’re the Watchers. We hold the line, and we maintain the balance. So that we can keep true to our oath, no human is ever allowed to know of us. If one discovers our identity, our purpose, he or she is given a choice between being turned or death.”