Chosen at Nightfall (Shadow Falls #5)(78)

"Me neither," Burnett said.

Kylie looked at the sword and realized it didn't even feel cumbersome anymore. The awkwardness had vanished. Her grip on the sword felt solid, the object in her hand became almost a part of her. She turned her wrist and saw an inscription on the knob at the top of the handle.

"Here. There's an inscription." Kylie nodded, then pointed with her left hand.

All four of them moved closer.

"It's in Latin," Holiday said. "It says holy warrior."

"You know, I can check the Internet and see what I can find, but..." Derek looked at her as if with an apology, as if he knew what he was about to say was going to upset her. "But there is someone here who knows a lot about swords."

Burnett nodded. "I just now remembered that." The vamp looked at Kylie with the same apologetic look as Derek.

Oh, shit! She knew without them saying who it was.

Burnett pulled out his phone. "I'm calling Lucas."

Kylie shook her head. "How? What does a werewolf know about swords?"

Burnett arched a brow. "His ancestry goes back to the Scandinavians."

History wasn't her forte. "And what does that mean?"

"Fighting with swords had been in his family a thousand years. He was trained when he was a kid."A moan slipped out of her mouth. She'd hoped to keep as much distance as she could from Lucas.

"Fine, call him. Show him the sword. But can I go now?" Kylie started to set the sword down.

Burnett frowned. "Actually, I'd like him to see it glowing."

"Lucas," Burnett said into his phone. "Can you come to the office? I have something I want you to see."

Burnett looked at Kylie. "Yes." Pause. "Yes. No, she's fine." Pause. "You'll see when you get here."

Pause. "Great." Burnett hung up.

"He's actually just at the dining hall," Burnett said.

Kylie knew then that he'd probably followed them to the office and was waiting to see if something was wrong. The fact that he cared did another number on her heartstrings. She closed her eyes for just a second and prepared herself for seeing him.

The sound of rushed footsteps on the office's porch filled the silence. The office's front door banged open.

A knock sounded on Holiday's door. "Come in," Burnett and Holiday said at once.

Lucas rushed in, his gaze shooting to her. His eyes, filled with worry, met hers with a touch of panic.

She felt that look of concern brush against her nerve endings. Nerve endings that felt raw, exposed. Real physical pain stirred in her chest.

"What's ... wrong?" His gaze shifted to the glowing sword, which she now held by her side, and his breath caught. "Damn!"

"Do you know anything about this type of sword?" Burnett asked.

Lucas moved in. He reached for her wrist, gently, but his touch shot tiny pinpoints of pain inside her.

Her focus shifted off the sword and on his touch.

He raised her hand and the sword. She heard him breathing, soft easy breaths that somehow seemed emotional. She sensed his mind wasn't only on the sword either. She bit her lip to keep the sigh from leaving her lips.

"And?" Burnett asked.

Lucas inhaled. "It's from the twelfth century." He turned her hand a bit to get a good look at both sides.

"More than likely a crusader sword."

"I pretty much knew that," Burnett said. "Any knowledge of why it would be glowing?"

Lucas looked up at her. "It has to be Kylie."

His thumb brushed over the bottom of her wrist. His touch was sweet and bitter at the same time. She wanted to cry. She swallowed again, praying to keep the tears at bay. But damn it! Even angry at him, even feeling certain their relationship was doomed, she loved him so damn much. The desire to lean against him, to beg him to hold her, was strong, but she forced herself not to give in.

"Yeah, we know that, too," Burnett said. "But why?"

Lucas's gaze continued to caress her. "That I don't know. I mean, I could guess."

"Then guess," Burnett said, lacking patience.

Lucas glanced at Burnett. "She's a holy warrior."

"No, I'm just a protector." Kylie pushed her Lucas issues aside to focus on the issue of the sword again. "I'm not a warrior. I don't even like war."

"But that is exactly what the sword says," Burnett said. "Holy warrior."

Lucas looked back at her. "Where?" He glanced down at the sword again.Kylie turned her wrist and showed him the inscription.

"Holy shit. You really are a holy warrior." He looked awed. Impressed.

There was a time she'd been thrilled to see that look in his eyes for her. But not right now. And oh yeah, she wasn't so impressed either. She didn't want to think of herself as Joan of Arc, or any kind of warrior. "You can't believe everything you read," she said.

Lucas looked puzzled by her reaction. "It's almost the same thing as a protector, but to me, it's even more amazing. There are legends written on it. I don't remember them all, but my grandmother has a book on them."

"But you've never actually met a holy warrior, right?" Kylie asked.