Love and Brimstone

Chapter Twenty-Nine

The next morning, Taz got up and unlocked the cabin door. Moe and Curly stood guard outside and tipped their heads in silent greeting. She nodded back and closed the door again. She needed a shower. Even though she hadn’t physically touched Rafael, she still felt him, like she was wearing him, like he was still there with her. And those horrible dreams…

Note to self, never ever do that again to anyone.

Ever.

When she emerged from the bathroom, Matthias sat on the single bed, watching her.

“I’m sorry about yesterday, Taz. You have every right—”

She threw herself at him, kissing him, wrapping her arms around him.

He seemed surprised but quickly put his arms around her. She sat in his lap and kissed him, erecting a barrier in her mind, keeping him out, still too ashamed to admit what she’d done.

He gently pushed her back. “What’s wrong?”

She shook her head, kissed him again. “I’m sorry, Matthias. I’m so sorry.”

He held her, breathing in her scent, his hands on her back. “It’s okay. You’re not ready, and I’ve dragged you out here and thrown all this at you. It’s understandable you’re upset. You were right. I was wrong to let him kiss you, and I was wrong to spy on you the way I did. I had no right. I should have told you I could do that and would be there to keep you safe. I should not have kept that from you. I’m not mad that you kissed him, Taz. It’s okay. It was just a kiss. I know you two hit it off. I should have told Rafe to go easy on you. I could never be angry with you.”

She cried, sobbed. God, she hated that she felt so weak. She’d cried more in the past few days than she had in the past few years. Even when her parents died, she didn’t cry this much.

Matthias kissed her neck. “I owe you everything. I owe you my life. I can never repay you, Anastazia. I drag you out here and put you through hell and you still love me.” He rested his forehead against hers. “I have never loved anyone as much as I love you. I don’t know how, but I promise I will make this up to you.”

He kissed her once more and gently extricated himself from her grasp. “We need to eat breakfast. The meeting is at ten, at Canyon. Will you please come with us?”

She nodded. She owed him, not the other way around. She owed him more than he would ever know.

“Good,” he said. “I need to take a shower.”

“Okay.” She waited until he was under the water and bolted out the door to Rafe’s cabin. Moe followed her, and when she arrived, she held her hand up to the guard, wanting him to stay away. He stopped just out of earshot, but close enough he could help.

She knocked on the door and it swung open.

“Rafe?” she called. No lights on, total silence.

His cabin didn’t have a raised stoop like hers. She noticed two strange grooves in the gravel by the front door, disappearing around the corner. She was about to investigate when she heard a noise inside, and Rafe emerged from the bathroom.

She could have sworn it had been empty.

His eyes glittered in the early morning light. “Yes?”

“Can I come in? I really think we need to talk.”

He didn’t turn on the light, just stood there looking at her. He was bare from the waist up, and she blushed as she remembered what he looked like the night before without clothes, even though it was just in her mind.

“I have to get ready,” he said.

She felt something out of sorts. When she tried to reach out to him with her mind, he took a step toward her. “I can’t talk now. Go.”

“Rafe, are you mad at me?”

His smile chilled her, and she suddenly had an overwhelming urge to run, a voice screaming the command in her mind.

Rafael looked at Moe standing behind her. “No, I’m not mad,” he whispered, his right hand on the doorframe. “I’m not mad at all.” She glanced at his ring. It looked wrong somehow. And he wasn’t rubbing it.

Rafael pushed the door shut and locked it. Taz stumbled backward, almost tripping.

There was something else, something she couldn’t place. Then she was sprinting, Moe barely able to keep up, back to the cabin.

Matthias was stepping out of the bathroom when she bolted in and collided with him.

He saw her face. “What is it?”

“There’s something wrong with Rafe.”

“What?”

She stammered. This wasn’t the time to try to talk. “I don’t know. He’s—there’s something wrong.”

Matthias grabbed a shirt, pulling it on as he ran. Moe was getting quite the workout this morning.

By the time the three of them reached his cabin, Rafael had climbed into his rental car, waving as he drove off.

Matthias turned. “What was it, Taz?”

She couldn’t tell him, not like this. Especially not in front of Moe. She swallowed hard. “I don’t know. There’s something really wrong with him. I can’t explain it because I don’t know what it is.”

With a look at Rafael’s disappearing taillights, Matthias strode back to their cabin, buttoning his shirt as he walked. Taz and Moe jogged to keep up with him. Matthias grabbed his cell and tried calling Rafe, but couldn’t get a signal.

“I can’t call him.” He grabbed her shoulders, and she almost lost her mental barrier. “What happened?”

She told him about how he acted aloof, and she knew it didn’t make sense. Not without telling Matthias about her activities the night before. And not without telling him the conversation they had at dinner.

Or how she felt about Rafe. And why she knew with dead certainty there was something really, really wrong with him.

By this time, Albert and Robertson were in their room, also concerned. They were trying to decide what to do when they heard a car approach.

Rafael.

Her gut twisted as they all piled onto the cabin stoop. Rafael emerged from the car, smiling. “Sorry I blew you off. I wanted to run over to the ranger station and see when the next Old Faithful eruption was.”

Matthias was obviously relieved, but Anastazia regarded Rafe with suspicion. There was something different. She tried probing and came upon a prickly, icy wall. He coldly smiled at her as he felt her probe.

He felt pissed at her. Obviously. Hopefully, that was all.

Maybe I’m overreacting.

They went to breakfast while Rafe left, going ahead to Canyon Village to prepare for the meeting.

In the Land Rover, Matthias reached over and took her hand. “Are we okay?” he asked, and she knew what he meant.

No, I’m not okay, it won’t be okay for a long time because I’m a rotten bitch. She kept her thoughts safe behind her mental barrier.

“Yes,” she said, forcing a smile. “We’re okay, big guy. I’m sorry about yesterday.”

He smiled back, but she felt him gently bumping against her mental barrier like a mosquito against a screen. He wasn’t trying to push or pry, but she sensed his confusion.

She brought his fingers up to her lips and kissed them. “I’m nervous,” she said. That, at least, was the truth. “I’m trying to practice.”

He looked relieved. “Okay.” He gently squeezed her hand. “That’s good.”

She felt his mental probe withdraw. When they pulled into the Canyon Village complex, her stomach tightened when she saw Rafe’s car.

She had time to do a little shopping before the meeting. Instead of keeping her there, Matthias let her go with two of the guards. He knew he couldn’t fight her, had to let her find her own path as much as possible, and it would help her relax. She found a backpack and a hat she liked then realized how thirsty she was. The high elevation and low humidity were playing hell with her body. She bought four bottles of cold water and tucked them into her new pack.

When she felt Matthias tap against her mind, she checked the time. The guards escorted her to the private meeting complex where Matthias greeted her with a smile and a kiss.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

She nodded. She felt his concern, but he thought it was just her nerves. He still didn’t know.

He pulled her into a private room and took both her hands in his. “You don’t have to say anything. No one expects you to speak if you don’t want to. Or you can talk, if you wish.”

“Or tell them to go to hell?”

He smiled. “Or tell them to go to hell. A couple of them changed planes in Atlanta, so I imagine they feel like they’ve already been there and back.” She smiled and he continued. “The point is, if at any time you feel overwhelmed, reach out to me.”

She nodded, and he kissed her forehead. “It’s probably better to block them all strongly if you need to. But if anyone tries to probe you, see if you can figure out who it is so we know. No one here today is strong enough to mark you without your knowledge or consent. Especially if you have your super-duper barrier up. Rafael told me last night he explained it to you.”

Guilty, guilty, guilty…

“But,” he continued, “you do have to be careful. I’m more concerned for your safety than I am for those”—he hooked his thumb over his shoulder at the wall—“people in there. Got it?”

She nodded, and he squeezed her hand. “Good. You’ll do fine.”

He led her to the conference room, where she counted ten people besides them, Albert and Robertson, and Rafe. The guards stayed in the hallway.

There were six men and four women of varying ages. They could have been an assortment of volcanologists or academics instead of vampires. The youngest looked a little older than Taz, while the oldest appeared to be in his sixties. She already knew that was misleading and waited for the introductions.

She shook hands with the newcomers, keeping her barrier firmly in place. No one tried to probe her, and she didn’t try to probe any of them.

Matthias motioned everyone to sit. She realized Rafe had positioned himself at the far end of the conference table. He sat with his hands clasped and motionless in front of him, and she looked at his ring again. Something kept working at her intuition, but she couldn’t grasp it.

He wouldn’t meet her eyes. She couldn’t blame him. And there was still something, that…

No one was wearing cologne as far as she could tell. But someone smelled—

Wrong.

She sat through the first three hours of the meeting, trying to listen to Matthias outline what happened up until that point, things he’d found out from his trip overseas and other investigations. All the while, she tried to figure out what was wrong with Rafe. But he was blocking her. And she wasn’t about to force her way in.

At one point, Matthias looked at her and realized she wasn’t okay. He reached over and touched her hand, caught her eye, and she shook her head.

“Let’s take a break,” he announced.

Robertson and Matthias flanked her as they returned to the private room.

“I don’t feel good,” she said.

Boy, that was the truth.

Matthias looked concerned, and that made her feel worse. “Do you want to go back to the cabin?” He already had the Land Rover keys in his hand.

She shook her head, but took them from him anyway and slipped them in her pocket. “Not yet. I’ll be okay. Just let me stay here for a few minutes to catch my breath.”

He nodded. Moe stood guard outside while the others rejoined the meeting.

She felt better after lunch. She was standing at the window, looking down the hillside, when the door to the private room opened.

The guard left, and she immediately smelled something not right. Then the chill.

She turned. Rafe stood in the doorway.

“I told my cousin I would check on you,” he said.

Something was wrong. Something was horribly wrong, besides Rafe apparently being mad at her. He held his hands at his side, his fingers still.

“Don’t let it touch you, Taz!”

She didn’t know whose voice that was in her head, but she listened. Rafe slowly approached, and she backed away, around the room, trying to edge her way toward the door, keeping furniture between them. She didn’t dare drop her barrier.

Rafe smiled. “That was interesting, what happened last night,” he said, and her stomach rolled.

“I’m sorry, Rafe,” she said, rounding a large leather sofa.

“Don’t be.” His smile looked cold and hard, without a hint of warmth. Had she really kissed him yesterday and liked it? His lips were two sharp, thin wounds of color in his pale face. What had she done to him? Did she hurt him?

Then in her mind, what almost sounded like Rafe’s voice screamed at her.

“Taz baby, please, get out of here! Run NOW!”

The guard stuck his head in. When Rafe turned, she bolted, her terror taking over.

She heard the guard call for Matthias, but she was in the Land Rover and on the road before they even reached the front door of the conference center.

Taz hesitated, then turned west toward Norris, instead of south, which would take her past West Thumb and then to the cabins. She could loop around the other way. She just had to—

“Get away, Taz. Don’t stop. Keep going.” If only that voice in her mind, the one sounding so much like Rafe, would stop backseat driving.

She felt Matthias tugging at her mind, pleading with her to let him in, and someone else.

Something else.

She slammed the barrier down. She’d been acting like a child and gotten herself in a jam. It was time she acted like an adult and cleaned up her own mess, took control of the situation. She’d let Matthias lead her through this—look where it got her—and now it was time to quit blaming him and do something about it.

Come to think of it, she was in this mess because Matthias insisted on being in charge. Bossing her around. Not telling her vital information. Hell, she’d gotten more information out of Rafe than she had out of Matthias. What if she hadn’t known about being marked and someone tried it at the meeting? When was Matthias planning on telling her?

Was he planning on telling her? Maybe he’d been planning to mark her, before she caught on, and Rafe spoiled it for him.

Maybe she’d picked the wrong cousin to settle down with.

She boiled, seethed, then tried to calm herself. No, she’d seen inside Matthias’ heart. He was telling her the truth. He didn’t want to control her. He wanted her to love him of her own free will.

That didn’t mean she couldn’t be pissed off at him.

On top of everything else, she felt like she was crawling out of her skin. They weren’t kidding when they told her she might feel overwhelmed. Whether it was her activities last night or the stress, or even really horrendous PMS, there was something different inside her today. She felt changed somehow.

Also, there was something horribly wrong with Rafe. In her gut she knew she was the cause. She couldn’t face Rafe, Matthias, or anyone right now. She needed to calm down, get hold of herself. She needed time to figure out what was going on, what to do. And she had to be alone to do it.

It was luck more than anything that got her to the Museum of the National Park Ranger, near Norris Campground, without running anyone off the road. Her original plan was go to Mammoth Hot Springs and double back later, but this sounded interesting. She could play tourist.

Except she couldn’t focus on the exhibits. She felt edgy, flighty. The new voice in her head drummed at her, worrying her, pressed her to keep moving, not to stop. She ignored it and asked the volunteer at the desk for information on the Norris Geyser Basin, close by but to the south, and returned to the Land Rover.

The men watched her peel out of the parking lot in a spray of gravel. Matthias started to run after her, but Robertson caught his arm.

“You’ll never catch her. We’ve got to get them out of here first.”

Rafe hung back. Matthias turned on him. “What happened?”

He shrugged. “She’s upset about something. I went to check on her, and she ran like a scalded cat.”

Matthias smelled a whiff of sulfur, unusual at the conference center but not impossible, he supposed, if the winds were right. He adjourned the meeting. Ten minutes later they piled into the other Land Rover while Rafe got into his car.

“I’ll head back to the cabins,” Rafe said, “and wait there for her in case she shows.”

Matthias nodded. He was driving the other Land Rover and stopped at the intersection, not following Rafe south.

“What is it?” Albert asked.

Matthias turned right, heading west. “I don’t know. I don’t think she went south.” He tried to find her, feel her. “I think she went this way.”

“Is Rafe okay?” Albert asked.

“What do you mean?”

“Taz was right. He seems off today.”

“I don’t know.” Matthias had bigger things to worry about than his perpetually horny cousin’s mood, but he did sense something out of the ordinary.

Matthias noticed the car trailing them. He was moving fast, ignoring the posted speed limits and passing slower-moving vehicles, and it passed, too. He didn’t say anything at first, then motioned to the others to look.

There were two picnic areas on the way to the west road. Matthias felt the need to stop and check them. When he reached the Norris Junction, he closed his eyes, prayed, and turned north. At the Museum of the National Park Ranger, Matthias had a sudden flash, wheeled in, and parked.

They poured out of the SUV. “Split up,” he said, even though the other Land Rover wasn’t there. “Let’s see if she’s been here.”

He walked to the far end of the parking lot and watched as the other car pulled in. It carried three men, all apparently dressed in identical Windbreakers. They dropped one off and left.

Matthias stepped back to the Land Rover, got what he wanted, and looked across the parking lot at Albert. Albert caught Robertson’s eye. The stranger went inside, returning a few minutes later.

Matthias covered the distance in less than five strides, the sword in his hand. Albert caught one of the stranger’s arms, Robertson the other.

The daemon pulverem glared at Matthias. “So, you finally figured it out?”