Changeling Press Presents Hot Toddy #4 Guardians: Season of Sacrifice Rachel Bo All rights reserved.
Copyright ©2004 by Rachel Bo
No part of this e-book may be reproduced or shared by any electronic or mechanical
means, including but not limited to printing, file sharing, and email, without prior
written permission from Changeling Press LLC.
ISBN 1-59596-073-2
Formats Available:
HTML, Adobe PDF,
MobiPocket, Microsoft Reader
Publisher:
Changeling Press LLC
PO Box 1561
Shepherdstown, WV 25443-1561
www.ChangelingPress.com
Editor: Connie Alberts Cover Artist: Bryan Keller
This e-book file contains sexually explicit scenes and adult language which some may find offensive and which is not appropriate for a young audience. Changeling Press E-Books are for sale to adults, only, as defined by the laws of the country in which you made your purchase. Please store your files wisely, where they cannot be accessed by under-aged readers.
Chapter One Danni opened her eyes, sensing immediately that some sound had awakened her. A footstep? A cough? She wasn’t sure. She lay still, searching. Familiar shadows dotted the bedroom. Still, Danni tensed. She breathed in slowly, sorting each scent. Bonding to Grellix -- a Guardian commissioned by the gods to both protect and punish the creatures of Earth -- had conveyed a portion of his enhanced abilities to her, heightening her senses in addition to prolonging her life and halting the aging process. Yes. There. A sharp, bitter scent, out of place in her home. Not completely unfamiliar, however. Danni thought for a moment. Grellix. She had detected this odor before, clinging to her life-mate when he returned home from his nightly vigils. And always on a night when he came home battle-scarred and exhausted. Even as a tall shadow detached itself from the floor lamp next to their dresser, Danni was rolling toward the wall. She dropped through the gap between the wall and the bed as the intruder lunged across the room, reaching for her. Instead of crawling out past her attacker’s feet, Danni squirmed quickly to the left, out from under the foot of the bed, and darted into the bathroom. Slamming the door, she fumbled with the lock for a moment, then breathed a sigh of relief when it clicked into place. She heard a muffled curse, and something hard hit the door. Danni was already up and out of the window over the sink when she heard it burst into splinters behind her. Danni ran, scrambled over the chain link fence surrounding the back yard, and dashed across the alley behind the grocery store. Slowing, she walked around to the storefront, thankful that the supermarket was open twenty-four hours. She walked through the sliding door, avoiding the cashier’s gaze as she padded past a Christmas display and down an aisle toward the dairy section.
Rachel Bo
Guardians: Season of Sacrifice
-4-
With Christmas only a couple of days away, the weather had turned bitterly cold, which meant that Danni had been sleeping in an old pair of sweats, rather than in the nude, as she and Grellix preferred. But her feet were still bare, and she turned to the left, heading toward the aisle containing school supplies. Hopefully, it was still there. Rounding an end cap, Danni spotted the bin of five dollar, red and green tennis shoes and nodded in satisfaction. Feeling guilty, but seeing no good alternative, since she had no shoes and no money on her, she rummaged briefly for a pair her size. She was not nearly as strong as Grellix, but even so, she easily removed the string and security device attached to the pair of sneakers and slipped her feet into them just as she sensed someone watching her. Danni turned quickly. He was at the opposite end of the aisle. Tall and lanky, with dark, shoulderlength hair and piercing blue eyes. Danni felt a subtle shifting of the earth’s energies -- that primal music to which she had always been attuned. Feather-light fingers reached out, trying to hold her. Instinctively, Danni waited as though transfixed, her enemy moving toward her. When he was a scant three feet away, she darted back around the end cap and ran up the aisle toward the front of the store. Hesitating for just a moment, she grabbed a couple of frozen pizzas from a refrigerated bin near the front and walked up to the counter. Danni felt his presence behind her, radiating a malevolence that made her shiver involuntarily. “Hi!” she said brightly to the cashier, placing the two packages on the conveyor belt. The girl looked up. “Hi.” Her gaze flicked past Danni, coming to rest on the man behind her. “Hello, Tracy,” the man murmured in a deep, rich voice. Danni started as one strong hand clamped around her shoulder, while the other closed around her neck. “You’re so bored, aren’t you, Tracy?” Danni glanced at the girl’s nametag. Yep. Tracy. “Nothing ever happens at this time of night, does it?” he continued in a sibilant whisper. “There are never any customers. Oh, look. Some idiot left these pizzas out.
Rachel Bo
Guardians: Season of Sacrifice
-5-
You’d better put those up.” Tracy reached out, her expression slightly puzzled, but her eyes had a glazed, empty look. Picking up the two boxes, she stepped out from behind her station and walked toward the cooler. The grips on her neck and shoulder tightened, and Danni was pushed forcefully toward the exit. Closing her eyes, Danni mentally took hold of that tie within which bound her to her lover. Grellix, she thought, and opened her mind, letting him See her. Danni’s captor marched her out the door and around the building, back into the alley. He stopped abruptly, pulling her back against him. He had a hard-on, pressing roughly into the small of her back. Danni wanted to struggle, but she could feel the inhuman strength in his grip and sensed that he could easily snap her neck. A hot tongue flickered over the skin just beneath her ear. The man groaned. “Yesss,” he hissed. “Just a small taste. Peter will never know.” Danni felt something hard press against her neck. Heard a rush of wind, and then she was falling, thrown aside by her attacker as he turned to face the Guardian. Grellix’s kick snapped the man’s head back. The blow would have killed any human. This man simply rolled his head after the initial impact, like one stretching taut muscles, bone cracking audibly as he moved. Grellix dropped to the ground, landing heavily in front of him, his powerful legs tensed for another attack. With an inarticulate hiss, the creature turned and… Danni couldn’t say exactly how he moved. One moment he was standing in front of her, the next he’d melted down the alleyway, becoming one with the shadows as he disappeared into the night. Grellix knelt beside her. Danni wrapped her arms around his neck and clung to him as he lifted her and launched himself into the air with one surge of his powerful wings.
*** Danni sat, nursing a huge mug of hot chocolate as she watched Grellix pace the length of their small cabin by the lake. The cabin was their home away from home. The
Rachel Bo
Guardians: Season of Sacrifice
-6-
place they came to play, when things were quiet in the city and Grellix was able to spend an entire night with her. They weren’t playing tonight. “Something is happening,” Grellix rumbled. “The soul-eaters are becoming bold.” “Soul-eaters? What are they, some kind of demon?” Danni shivered at the thought. Grellix had fought a demon once, and come home with his flesh a mass of gaping rents where the beast’s claws had snagged him, though in the end he had been victorious. It was one of the few times Danni regretted their bonding, for their bonding was the only reason Grellix was now flesh at night, and the demon’s claws would never have been able to damage the obsidian gargoyle he’d been before. But thankfully, healing was another of the gods’ gifts, and he’d been fine by the next evening. “No.” Grellix was still pacing, his wings half-furled, his face a mask of concentration. “They are… you call them ‘vampires’.” “Vampires?” Despite the things she’d seen in the past six years, and the fact that she was bonded for life to a gargoyle, Danni still found it hard to accept that denizens of hell and creatures of legend actually walked the earth. And she shied away completely from the big question -- were Grellix’s gods and her God one and the same? Danni shook her head. She needed to focus. “So, vampires are real.” She thought back over the encounter. “Well, he definitely had the hypnotic eyes, but it didn’t work on me, for some reason.” “What do you mean?” “In the store. He was staring at me. He wanted me to stand there, waiting for him. But I could feel the energies he was commanding, like thick fingers of air trying to hold me in place. I ignored them, but pretended it was working, then turned and ran when he got close enough to try and grab me himself.” Grellix eyed her with concern. “Why?” he growled. “Why did he come?” Danni shrugged. Grellix knelt in front of her, taking her hands in his. His taloned thumbs caressed
Rachel Bo
Guardians: Season of Sacrifice
-7-
the back of her hands, his black skin soft and smooth, but polished and gleaming as obsidian in the flickering light from the fireplace. His eyes, dark as the night sky, tugged at her. “Did he say anything to you?” Danni shook her head. “No. Oh, wait. Well, he didn’t really say it to me, just said it out loud.” “What?” “He said, one taste wouldn’t hurt. That Peter would never know.” Grellix’s hands tightened unexpectedly, his claws piercing her thighs through her sweatpants. “Taste you!” He leaned forward, his wings outspread, his gaze searching her face. “Did he bite you?” “I -- I don’t think so. I felt something against my neck, but then he heard you and pushed me away.” “Show me.” Danni tilted her head, pulling her hands from his tight grip to push her hair away from her neck. Her thighs were throbbing painfully where he’d punctured the skin, but she ignored it, knowing the wounds would heal quickly and that he was crazy with concern. She ran a finger over the place where she’d felt the man’s touch. Her flesh seemed intact. “Well?” she asked. Danni winced slightly when he grasped her shoulder in the same place where the attacker had gripped so tightly. She felt his hands trembling as he examined her, but the tremors subsided, and he sat back with a deep sigh of relief. “No punctures.” Danni let her hair fall back. “Can they really make other vampires that way?” “I have heard it is more complicated than that. There’s a ritual involved, in the final process. But even one shallow bite can make you susceptible to their will. Like the Guardians, their saliva contains certain elements that can transform the bitten. Unlike Guardians, these elements are given by the forces of Darkness, and instead of conferring strength and healing, serve only the darkest purposes of the soul-eaters.” Danni shivered. “What did they want with me?” Grellix’s dark eyes were worried. “I have known this might happen.” He stood,
Rachel Bo
Guardians: Season of Sacrifice
-8-
pacing again. “Guardians are virtually immortal. Un-bonded, we are nearly indestructible.” He glanced at Danni apologetically, knowing that he was about to point out something that would appall her. “Bonded, we become more vulnerable. In the beginning, the gods allowed the Guardians to bond at will. Many unfortunate things happened because of this. Now, a Guardian must petition the gods to bind a life-mate, and if the gods do not deem the person worthy, it will not be permitted. And no Guardian less than a century old may bond.” He knelt again before her, resting his hands to either side of her on the couch. “We become vulnerable in more ways than the physical, Danni. Flesh once more, we can be injured, but it is still very difficult to kill a Guardian.” Danni gasped, the realization of what he was going to say hitting her like a brick. Grellix nodded. “Yes. There is virtually no way to kill an un-bonded Guardian. But, to kill a bonded one, you need only keep them from their life-mate for a moment more than twenty-four hours, and they will both die.” Danni leaned forward, hugging his neck. She had known this from the beginning, but this implication had never occurred to her. “Why is it like that, Grellix? Why would your gods leave you so vulnerable, simply for loving someone?” He was silent for a long moment. “I think… to impress upon us the importance of bonding the right person. To prevent casual unions that might disrupt the Guardians’ service. A life-mate must be completely committed to their Guardian’s purpose. A partner in a much deeper sense of the word than normal. Your assistance in the day world in the past six years has actually enhanced my service to the gods, and they are pleased. But it is not always that way.” Danni nodded. “I suppose that makes sense. And I guess they wouldn’t want hundreds of people out there like me. Not aging. Lugging their own personal gargoyles all over the country, drawing attention.” Grellix nodded. Danni leaned back, and he gasped, noticing the two circles of blood spreading across her thighs. “Da-ne.” She felt a thrill as he spoke her name, reverting to his ancient dialect as he often did in times of intense emotion. “Forgive
Rachel Bo
Guardians: Season of Sacrifice
-9-
me!” Danni shook her head. “It’s nothing,” she whispered. Reaching down, she grasped her waistband, wriggling out of the gray sweats. A premonition was settling in her bones, and unfortunately, her premonitions were rarely wrong. She had a terrible feeling she might never see her Guardian again. “Come, my love,” she whispered, grasping his hand. “It’s going to be dawn soon. Time to drink.” She drew the tip of his claw -- so sharp that she felt no pain at all as her skin parted -- along her inner thigh, staring into his dark eyes with a desperate hunger. Grellix guided her legs gently apart, spreading them wide, his dark gaze filled with a passion that raised goose bumps on her flesh. His long, forked tongue snaked out, lapping at the blood that welled along the wound. Danni sighed in contentment, leaning back into the couch. This was the moment she lived for. The moment each night when they shared the life-gift, their fluids mingling. Her blood binding them, allowing her Guardian to be flesh once more, at the fading of the light each day. His saliva making her quicker, stronger, healthier than ever, preventing her aging, granting her a fraction of the gifts belonging to him as Guardian. And his mind. Reaching into hers. Danni trembled as she felt the strength of his love, flooding through the bond, melting her heart, her blood boiling with his desire. These thoughts weren’t figurative, either. Danni opened herself completely to him, offering him control. Grellix’s mind manipulated her body in subtle ways. Capillaries dilated. Her heart rate increased, pumping blood into her groin, flushing her pussy with heat and heightening her sensitivity to his touch. Danni moaned as his tongue slicked along her thigh, its forked tip tickling her red-brown curls, the soft, moist underside absorbing her life-gift. Danni moved her hands, parting her labia and holding them wide, begging for his touch with an imploring glance. He grinned, baring fangs that still sent a shiver down her spine. He watched her, passion smoldering in his gaze, as he flicked his tongue quickly and repeatedly in and
Rachel Bo
Guardians: Season of Sacrifice
- 10 -
out of her pussy. Danni whimpered, thrusting her hips toward him. Grellix purred, a rumbling growl that sent tiny bursts of pleasure dancing through her abdomen. “Please, Grellix,” Danni begged. “Deeper.” His tongue undulated, working its way deep inside her, while he tormented her clit with the very tip of his smallest claw. “Yes!” Danni gasped. “Oh, yes.” Grellix reached beneath the couch and pulled out their box of toys, cleaned and made ready for their next visit at the end of their last passionate joining. The tips of his forked tongue stroked the sides of her pussy, his claw still teasing her clit, as he felt within the box with his other hand, withdrawing a slender, knobbed, glass rod and holding it up before her. “Oh, God. Yes!” Danni cried. Her cunt spasmed on the supple tongue dancing inside her. Grellix ran the glass rod against the underside of his tongue, wetting it thoroughly. Danni raised her hips eagerly as he slipped two fingers between her cheeks, rubbing fast and furious against the puckered, gasping opening there, creating a friction that pushed Danni over the brink, making her cry out as her pussy milked his tongue. Danni felt the cool glass pressing against her tight opening, driving a fresh burst of pleasure through her groin even before the orgasm faded. Danni shuddered as the climax passed, then pushed Grellix back. Turning, she braced herself against the sofa, poking her ass out toward him. Eagerly, Grellix thrust the glass rod between her cheeks, prodding at the opening. Danni uttered a sharp cry, rocking back, forcing the tip of the knobby toy past her rim. Grellix grunted carnally, and she felt his lust in her veins, knew he was watching her ass kiss and suck their toy as he drove it into her again and again. Danni gasped with pleasure as the rod twisted inside her, the smooth knobs massaging her heated, throbbing flesh. Danni pushed against the couch, driving herself back, harder and harder, until finally it was buried deep inside her and she was climaxing again, screaming his name. Grellix roared, all control gone as he rose up, pressing his abdomen hard against
Rachel Bo
Guardians: Season of Sacrifice
- 11 -
the end of the glass rod buried inside her. “Yes, baby,” Danni whimpered. “Oh, God, yes. Now!” The couch sank as he placed his knees to either side of her thighs. Danni felt Grellix’s mind withdraw from hers as he concentrated. Looking back over her shoulder, she watched as he manipulated his own body this time, allowing the flesh just below his belly button to fuse with the transparent toy. Danni grasped the rough weave of the couch tightly, bracing herself for the pleasure to come. His steely cock penetrated her with one powerful thrust. “Yes,” Danni sobbed. “Yes, my love.” He drew back, his cock gliding smoothly between her slick, heated folds. The glass dildo moved with him, Danni’s rim rippling deliciously against each smooth knob, sending electrical bursts of bliss rocketing through her abdomen. “God, yes.” Danni tightened her grip on the couch, wriggling her hips. “Fuck me, Grellix. Fuck me now!” Fireworks exploded in her belly as he plumbed her ass and her pussy again and again. Danni met him thrust for thrust, pressing her body back. “Yes,” she sobbed. “Oh, yes. Fuck them both, baby. Fuck them hard!” With a groan that sounded like thunder, Grellix grasped her hips and held her tight while he arched, burying both his cock and the dildo deep inside her. She felt his bulging head butting up against her cervix. Danni arched, both her pussy and her ass contracting violently around each thick rod as wave after wave of sheer pleasure enveloped her. Grellix’s cock pulsed, expanding and contracting within her, pumping his cool, dark essence into her core, soothing the fire of her need. Danni climaxed again and again, clinging to the couch, whimpering as her body wrung out every last drop of his seed. When she finally collapsed, damp with sweat and bone-weary, against the couch, Grellix withdrew gently. He grasped the glass rod and closed his eyes, his face a mask of intense concentration for a moment as he released his body’s hold on the device. His claws clicked against the polished wood
Rachel Bo
Guardians: Season of Sacrifice
- 12 -
floor as he strode to the sink. Danni lay back on the couch, legs splayed, pussy and ass throbbing deliciously as she watched him wash their toy and come over to slip it back into their box, closing the lid and sliding it back beneath the sofa. He settled on the couch next to her, moving a bit sluggishly. “The sun is rising,” he said. Danni snuggled up against him. “Be careful,” he murmured. “While I am gone.” He was referring to the daylight hours, when his body became stone and he could not move to save her. “It is a lie that the soul-eaters cannot move about during the day. They prefer not to. Night and Shadow are their natural allies. But they will brave the Light, if necessary.” Danni nodded. “Will they be able to find us here, do you think?” Grellix shrugged, the movement stiff and lethargic as the sky through the picture window lightened to gray. “They could not have followed us. I am too swift in the air.” He frowned, his handsome brow creased with worry. “Still, they will not give up the hunt easily, and we are not far from the city.” He shook his head. “I have destroyed many of their number these past days. I believe their Prime is up to something more than just wanting to see me destroyed. His success may depend on our demise.” Danni wanted to ask what a Prime was, but his hand was stiffening in her grip, and the first rays of dawn were peeking over the horizon. “I’ll be careful,” she promised. They watched together as the disc of the sun appeared on the horizon, its golden rays spilling through the picture window facing the lake. Grellix’s hand grew cold, his flesh hardening to obsidian against her palm, its black surface gleaming with a brilliant sheen in the sun’s light. Danni pressed a kiss to his cheek and stood, making her way to the bathroom for a quick shower and a fresh change of clothes before she lay down on the couch again, her head resting on her lover’s steely thigh as she closed her eyes and slept.
Chapter Two Danni woke around noon, well-rested and ravenous. She stood and walked over to the kitchen area, rummaging in the cabinets. She opened a can of ravioli and poured it into a bowl. While it heated in the microwave, she opened a can of pineapple, as well, then carried them both over to the couch. She still couldn’t get rid of that niggling premonition of disaster in the back of her mind. Their lovemaking had been so desperate last night. As though Grellix felt the warning too. Danni shivered, rubbing her arms to chase away the chill. She glanced at the silent obsidian gargoyle seated on the couch. Sudden tears sprang to her eyes. Something was going to happen. Tonight. She felt it in her bones. Danni stood and slowly undressed. She picked up the bowl of pineapple. Taking her spoon, she dipped out the sweet syrup, dribbling it over Grellix’s massive cock, always stiff and erect when he was stone. It drove him crazy, when she made love to him while he was frozen, because he was still aware. Could still reach out to her with his mind. Could feel her touch. She wanted to do this for him, one last time. And, to be honest, for herself. His touch fluttered at the edge of her mind, as he became aware of her ministrations. He was puzzled, but pleased. Danni drizzled the last of the syrup over his thighs, then set the bowl aside. Kneeling between his legs, she laved him with her tongue, cleaning glistening, sweet droplets from the gleaming black stone. She opened herself to his consciousness, feeling the subtle manipulations of his mind as he stimulated nerve endings, brought the blood rushing to her nipples. They swelled, ripe and erect, buzzing with need. Danni moaned and caressed them as she licked her way to Grellix’s cock, twisting and pinching the flushed peaks as her desire
Rachel Bo
Guardians: Season of Sacrifice
- 14 -
grew. A surge of approval flooded their bond, and Danni sat up, looking into the frozen eyes of her lover as she tasted her nipples, feeling his pleasure as her tongue darted across her own flesh. Danni reached beneath the couch and pulled out their box again. She lifted out a set of nipple clamps. Grellix’s delight raced in her veins, her pussy flooding with juices as she tightened each clamp on her plump nipples. Danni kissed and suckled the base of his cock, felt his control slipping as his spirit responded to her pleasuring. She worked her way up to the tip, searching every slight indentation and ripple for any trace of the sweet juice. Its broad head glistened invitingly. Danni straddled his lap. She brought the chain between the clamps up and over Grellix’s head, letting it fall around his neck, so that it rested on his shoulders. Looking into his eyes, she lowered herself, surrounding his gleaming cock with her succulent folds. A silent roar sounded in her head. Danni moaned, moving slowly up and down his shaft. Like lightning, sharp prickles of pleasure danced within her pussy, her anus, her nipples. She increased her pace, leaning back as she rode his massive, black cock, letting the chain around his neck tug on her nipples. She felt his rampant need, his desire to grasp her waist and impale her on his cock. Eagerly, Danni pumped her thighs, burying him deeper and deeper with each stroke. Her nipples stretched taut, the pain sending a paralyzing burst of pleasure down to her crotch. Danni froze, milking the obsidian stone buried inside her over and over again as Grellix’s deft mind prolonged the orgasm, until she was sobbing, begging him to stop, and to keep on going. She felt his control disappear completely, and her mind seemed to shatter into a million pieces, dancing with his in the ether as they both experienced a climax of the soul like nothing they’d ever felt before. Danni collapsed against him, moaning in disappointment as the last wisps of that incredible feeling faded. Thank you, she whispered, to whatever gods had seen fit to bless them. Thank you for this.
Rachel Bo
Guardians: Season of Sacrifice
- 15 -
She stayed there, pressing her body to his, for a long time. Feeling him --- inside her, against her --- his mind a warm cocoon wrapping her tight. Yet there was confusion in that mental touch, and concern. She pushed his questing thoughts away from that portion of her mind that harbored the strange premonition. The fire from the night before had burned down to embers, and Danni finally became aware of the chill. Reluctantly, she removed herself from her lover and dressed. Then she went outside and gathered up some dry underbrush, returning to feed it to the glowing red coals. When the flames rose up, she added two large logs. The phone rang, and Danni nearly jumped out of her skin. Frowning, she walked over to the kitchen counter and picked it up. Only three people knew this number, and she hadn’t let any of them know that she was here. “Hello?” “Danni?” a familiar voice whispered hoarsely, shakily, into Danni’s ear. “Thank God. I couldn’t reach you at home.” “Stacy! What’s wrong?” “They-they made me… Help me, Danni… They’re --” “You don’t have much time.” A new voice spoke into her ear. “If you aren’t here by nightfall, we’ll have to bring Michael into this. And the boy… what’s his name?” Her sister-in-law, her brother, and their son. “Bastard.” Danni’s grip on the phone tightened until her hand trembled. “What do you want?” “Why, you, of course!” The man’s voice was tinged with amusement. “Eric spoke so eloquently about you when he returned last night. It’s a pity he won’t be able to enjoy a reunion with you.” His tone conveyed the message that Eric’s failure the night before had not been dealt with lightly. “How appropriate for us both that tonight is Christmas Eve. I’m making a gift of you, to myself, this year.” Danni forced herself to speak calmly, though her heart was racing. “What do I have to do?” “You see? I like a woman who gets right down to business.” He paused for a moment, and when he spoke again his tone was harsh, no longer teasing. “We’re in a
Rachel Bo
Guardians: Season of Sacrifice
- 16 -
warehouse not far from your home. Seventeen-thirty-two Waterford Street. Come alone. And come before daylight fades.” Danni heard a click, and then the dial tone. “Shit!” Danni flung the phone at the wall. She could feel Grellix’s mental fingers prying at her as she grabbed a set of keys from their hook by the back door. Danni pushed the touch away. His frustration battered at the edges of her consciousness as she tugged on her socks and shoes. She went to the front door but hesitated, finally turning back to rush over and hug his frozen body fiercely. “I love you,” she whispered. “Forever.” Blinking back tears, Danni locked the cabin behind her and went to the shed out back. Crossing her fingers, she opened the door. Yes. Her brother David’s motorcycle was still there. She climbed aboard and said a quick prayer before she turned the key. The engine started immediately, growling like a caged animal. Danni silently thanked her Dad for treating her like one of the boys, and roared out of the shed, spewing gravel as she turned down the road that would take her back to town.
*** Danni pulled into the parking lot of a dingy-looking diner a block east and across the street from the warehouse. While she waited for the girl to bring her coffee, she stared at the building. The warehouse was very solid, a massive concrete building with only a few narrow windows just below the roof. There was one door, a formidable-looking steel affair with a massive padlock. Danni wondered if she could sneak in the back way. Her coffee arrived, and she held the cup between stiff fingers as she thought. Danni desperately wanted to find a way to survive the night, not because she herself would die, but because she wanted Grellix to live. His service as a Guardian should not be cut short just because he had fallen in love. That, of all the things she had witnessed in the six years she had been aware of the secret world behind human awareness, seemed the most arbitrary of his gods’ machinations. But the vamps had Stacy, her brother’s wife. And Danni was certain they
Rachel Bo
Guardians: Season of Sacrifice
- 17 -
wouldn’t hesitate to harm Michael, and her nephew, if she didn’t appear as ordered. Danni gulped down the remainder of her coffee and stood. She might as well get on with it. Daylight was fading fast. Maybe once she got inside, she’d be able to find a way to get both herself and Stacy out of this. And then what? her mind prompted. Why would they stop coming after you? How will you protect them all, day after day? And what about David and his new wife? Do they know about them? Danni shook her head as she trudged down the street toward the warehouse. Too many questions and no answers. A hand closed on her elbow, and Danni found herself being dragged down the alley between the warehouse and an abandoned storefront. She glanced up at her captor, taken aback for a moment when she found herself the captive of a petite, darkhaired woman. The woman glanced her way and smiled. Danni shivered as she caught a glimpse of the woman’s fangs. “Eric was right,” the vamp observed in a throaty voice. “You’re quite beautiful.” She grinned again, and this time there was no mistaking that she was displaying her fangs purposefully. “I hope Peter lets me play with you.” Danni swallowed. Her senses were clamoring, her very skin crawling at the woman’s proximity. For the first time, Danni truly felt she was in the presence of evil. Working with Grellix, she had hunted down dangerous men in the daylight hours, men that reeked of greed and brutality, finding their weaknesses. With the information Grellix fed her, and her own developing skills at investigation, she had managed to bring some of them down without the Guardian ever having to lift a finger against them. But their deeds paled in significance compared to the evil she sensed in this woman. They rounded the back corner of the warehouse, and another heavy steel door appeared, opening even as they approached. The woman thrust Danni through. Danni stumbled as the door shut, blocking out the light. The woman’s arm went round her waist, steadying her, even as her hand caressed Danni’s breast.
Rachel Bo
Guardians: Season of Sacrifice
- 18 -
Danni brought her elbow back forcefully, smiling grimly as the woman grunted and let go. Then her head snapped back as someone bent her backward over their knee, the grip on her hair bringing stinging tears to her eyes. In the dim light, she could see the woman bending over her. She smiled as though amused, but Danni could make out the anger in her eyes. “Feisty. Good. I like that.” She brought her mouth down, nipping Danni’s nipple, hard, through her shirt. Danni rolled, kicking out at the same time, biting her lip to hold back a cry as a chunk of her hair came away in the woman’s hand. Danni scrambled to her feet, backing toward the nearest wall as the woman strode forward, fangs bared. “Ysa.” A quiet voice cut through the gloom. The woman froze abruptly. A man appeared beside her, his arm draped casually over her shoulders. “You aren’t damaging my Christmas present, are you?” The woman called Ysa glared at Danni, but remained still. “Of course not, Peter.” Peter slapped her playfully on the rear, though from the sound of it, and from the bright flush of red that dotted her cheeks, the blow had not been playful at all. “Go away, Ysa.” Ysa’s eyes flashed. If she were a cat, she’d be hissing and spitting, and probably scratching the guy’s eyes out. But when he looked at her, Ysa bowed her head and backed away. “Yes, Peter.” The woman disappeared into the gloomy recesses of the warehouse, her footsteps echoing hollowly. “Where’s my sister-in-law?” Danni asked, appalled to hear her voice shaking. Peter glided forward. Danni’s breath froze in her lungs as his empty eyes plumbed hers, his dark gaze raking at her soul. He stared for what seemed an eternity, then smiled, and Danni knew that Ysa was nothing compared to the entity that stood before her now. “Oh, yes,” he breathed. “I have quite a night planned for you.” His hand snaked around her waist, pressing against the small of her back, drawing her along beside him. Danni trembled, as smoky tendrils of his dark aura
Rachel Bo
Guardians: Season of Sacrifice
- 19 -
seemed to clutch at her body, trying to wrap themselves around her. There was a bare bulb hanging in the very center of the warehouse, and Danni saw Stacy, sitting on a stool, her arms tied behind her, her legs bound to the stool upon which she sat. She looked scared, her cheeks dirty and tear-stained, but her clothing was intact, and Danni didn’t see any bruises. Peter let go of her as they entered the circle of light, and Danni knelt on the ground next to Stacy. “Danni! Thank God.” Stacy looked down, not meeting Danni’s eyes. “I’m sorry, Danni. I didn’t want to call you, but…” “It’s okay.” Danni brushed tears from Stacy’s face. “Are you all right?” Stacy nodded, though her eyes darted toward Peter, standing behind Danni. “He promised they wouldn’t hurt me, if I did what they said.” Danni stood and turned to him. “Will you let her go now?” Peter chuckled. “Not yet. She might feel compelled to go to the police, and then where would we be?” He met Danni’s gaze. “In the morning, this will all be over. We’ll let her go. And she won’t remember a thing.” His grin widened. “Literally.” Shit. Danni glanced around. Every nerve in her body was screaming at her to find a way out. Now! Peter raised his eyebrows knowingly. “Rika, take our guest to the pallet. Make her sleep.” Another man appeared from out of the gloom, and removed the ropes binding Stacy to the stool with a touch and a whispered command. Then he picked her up and carried her into the darkness. Danni stepped forward, wanting to follow, but Peter’s hand closed around her elbow. “Not you, my dear.” His other hand beckoned, and two more vampires entered the light, carrying a heavy box constructed of thick oak beams. Peter nudged the stool aside with one foot, and the vamps set the box down right below the bare bulb. When Danni saw the iron shackles at each corner, she started to struggle, but Peter wrapped his arms around her, holding her while the vamps caught her flailing
Rachel Bo
Guardians: Season of Sacrifice
- 20 -
legs. “Now, now, Danni,” he whispered in her ear. “That’s no way to treat your future lover.” He laughed. “However brief our relationship might be.” They lowered her to the box, fastening her wrists and ankles in the restraints. When they were done, Peter sat on the stool, leaning forward, resting his chin in his hands, his elbows on his knees. “I’d keep you company, love, but I’m afraid I would become overeager for my gift. So I’ll leave you alone for now.” He stood and sauntered into the darkness. Danni lay still on the box, wondering what his veiled threats meant. Surely his purpose in bringing her here was to keep her apart from Grellix until the coming of dawn. When the gods gave a Guardian a lifemate, they meant it. Danni’s blood was now essential to keep Grellix alive, and the same was true of his saliva for her. If a Guardian and his or her life-mate were apart from one another for more than twenty-four hours, they would both turn to ash. Peter’s comments, however, promised a game even more vicious than that. Danni forced herself to breathe deeply, calmly. She tested her restraints. Due to the bonding, she was stronger than the average woman. However, the broad iron cuffs were bolted securely to the sturdy oak beams. Straining against them, she confirmed that there was absolutely no hope of breaking free, and the bands fit around her wrist like a second skin -- there was no way to slip her hands out of the tight shackles. Danni knew immediately when dusk had fallen. Grellix’s mind reached out to hers, calling to her, willing her to answer. Danni closed her eyes, building a wall between his thoughts and hers, refusing to answer. There were too many vamps here. If he tried to rescue her, they would overwhelm him. If Danni’s love was going to die, she wanted him to go peacefully, not in the midst of being ripped apart, or of watching her being ripped apart, by vampires. As the night wore on, Danni grew increasingly restless and fearful. A low murmuring just outside the ring of light grated on her nerves. An occasional strange cry made her start, and wonder where Stacy was and if she was still okay. Her head throbbed in agony from the stress of blocking out Grellix’s call. She must have dozed, because the next thing she was aware of was a hand on
Rachel Bo
Guardians: Season of Sacrifice
- 21 -
her shoulder. “Wake up, sleeping beauty,” Ysa whispered in her ear. “Time to play.” The woman trailed her hand over Danni’s body as she walked the length of the box, joining Peter at the end where Danni’s feet were bound. Peter flexed his hands, cracking his knuckles, then held up one finger, tipped by a bright, sharp claw that gleamed in the light. “It’s almost dawn, my dear,” he murmured. “You didn’t really think I was going to let it be this easy, did you?” Danni swallowed as he stepped up onto the box, then knelt between her legs. “I want him here, Danni,” he hissed. “I want to watch the light leave his eyes.” He rested the tip of his claw lightly on her chest. “Bring him to me.” Danni drew in a sharp breath, holding her mental block tightly in place as he dragged his finger down between her breasts, parting the fabric of her shirt, a thin line of blood welling up where his nail scraped her flesh. “Will you do the honors, Ysa?” Ysa stepped over and perched on the box’s edge. She ran a hand inside Danni’s shirt, cupping her breast for a moment before she pushed the fabric aside. Danni pressed her lips together tightly, fighting the scream that welled up inside as the woman’s spidery fingers crawled across her flesh. Ysa pulled back the other half of the shirt. Danni fought the urge to reach for Grellix. To let him See her. To bring him here to save her. She would not let Peter and his like win this battle. She and Grellix would die this day, but the victory would be hers. Ysa bent over her, raking her tongue across Danni’s nipple. It seemed to Danni that her very flesh shrank from the woman’s touch. Ysa frowned. She licked Danni again, swirling her tongue around and across the dark tip, her gaze narrowing as the nub refused to rise and stiffen. Her hand stole across Danni’s waist, slipping beneath her pants to grasp her dark curls and tug. Danni breathed deeply and steadily, refusing to respond in either pleasure or pain. Truthfully, she felt neither. She belonged to Grellix. She was his, body and soul. Tears of relief and joy sprang to her eyes as she realized she could do this. She could die with dignity and grace. Ysa cried out in triumph. Obviously she thought that Danni was going to cry and
Rachel Bo
Guardians: Season of Sacrifice
- 22 -
plead, but the look faded quickly when Danni smiled. “I’ll never betray him. Never.” If Danni could feel anything, the woman’s fingers plunging suddenly into her pussy might have hurt, for she was dry as a bone. But she felt nothing, only smiled wider, and Ysa snarled in anger. Peter grabbed Ysa’s shoulder and pushed her away. Danni didn’t flinch as he grasped her waistband and ripped her pants from her body in one swift move. “I’ll make you wet,” he hissed. “I’ll make you beg for the opportunity to call him to you. Make you scream for the pleasure of having my cock buried inside you when you die.” Danni arched as his tongue entered her. She felt him growl in response, his foul lips pressing against hers as he delved deeper, thinking she was responding to his touch. But she felt nothing. Hers had been a movement of panic, at Grellix’s fleeting presence in her head. He was close, looking for her. She felt another brief, light touch as he cast his thoughts about. No, Danni thought. Please. Whatever gods are out there. Grellix would die in agony, if captured and forced to watch them do this to her as the sun rose. Send him away. Please. Please. She must have spoken those last two words aloud, for Peter raised his head, chuckling. “Don’t worry, my dear. I won’t stop.” Danni laughed. Peter’s face twisted into a mask of fury. Danni tasted blood in her mouth when he struck her across the face, but she only laughed again. A strange lethargy was stealing over her, and she glanced up toward the narrow windows in the eaves. “It’s dawn,” she whispered hoarsely. She finally felt something, like a fist around her chest. It hurt to breathe. “I win.” He raised his hand to strike her again, but the ground shook beneath them, and then a shower of broken glass and powdered cement rained down on them. The vamps scrambled, even Peter scrabbling crab-like across the ground as it shook. Grellix roared, landing hard next to her. He reached for Danni, but she shook her head. “Please,” she croaked. “Stacy.” She pointed toward a pallet in a corner, now faintly visible in the growing light.
Rachel Bo
Guardians: Season of Sacrifice
- 23 -
Grellix shook his head, but Danni pleaded with her eyes. Groaning, her love turned and strode over, taking the woman in his arms and launching himself into the sky. Danni lay on her back, each breath an agony that wracked her body. She wondered if it was as bad for Grellix. Her eyes searched the corners of the room for the vamps, but they seemed to have vanished, floating from the building like the dust motes dancing above her. Grellix returned within moments, landing heavily beside her. He moaned as he broke her bonds, each movement revealing his own agony, his flesh hardening even as he moved. Danni blinked back tears as he held her, his bright obsidian flesh fading before her very eyes, turning gray. “Stacy?” she managed. Safe, his voice in her mind said. Police station. Thank you, Danni thought. I love you. Danni swallowed hard. “Merry Christmas,” she whispered, her voice tinged with wry humor. “Merry Christmas, indeed,” a melodious voice spoke above their heads. Danni glanced up, eyes widening at the sight of a lovely apparition hovering behind Grellix’s back. The woman rested a hand on his head, as though in benediction. “You have served Us well, Guardian.” Danni swallowed again, feeling tears slip from the corners of her eyes. “Please,” she managed. The woman regarded Danni, her gaze serious and compassionate. “What would you have me do?” “Save him,” Danni whispered. Grellix could no longer move, but she felt him clawing at her mind, begging her to save herself. She pushed his thoughts away, meeting the goddess’s gaze calmly. With a faint nod, the woman disappeared, her body seeming to flow upward as a bright shaft of light pierced the dusty air.
Chapter Three Danni gasped as the vise around her chest disappeared. Opening her eyes, she glanced around in confusion at the moonlight-dappled lawn. Tentatively she moved, flexing her toes as she straightened. A strange pressure built between her shoulder blades. Glancing back, Danni gasped. Two great, leathery wings spread out behind her. “Grellix?” But no. They were hers, their unaccustomed weight dragging at her shoulders. Danni looked down at herself, fighting panic as she took in the muscular legs and torso, the claw-tipped fingers, taloned toes digging into the earth. Danni turned at the soft footstep behind her. Stacy and Michael stared up at her, their expressions tinged with both awe and fear. “How?” Danni managed. Stacy clung to Michael as she answered. “I took the police back to that warehouse. When I saw the two of you --” Her gaze flickered to the right, and Danni looked, to see Grellix standing quietly, his polished flesh gleaming darkly in the moonlight. Stacy swallowed. “I knew it was you. I don’t understand how this happened, but I knew that you were in there. I had David and Michael go pick the two of you up, bring you here.” Danni’s brother was shaking his head. “What is this, Danni? I don’t… I can’t --” “It’s a gift,” Grellix rumbled. He stepped forward, holding a hand out to Danni. “The most precious gift, in this most precious of seasons.” Danni understood, then. The gods had granted her request. They saved Grellix in the only way left open to them -- by renewing his Guardianship at the moment of his death. And for some reason, claiming her as Guardian also. That’s when she realized that neither of them was flesh. They both remained stone, though she moved as freely as she ever had as a human. In exchange for his life, she had sacrificed the bond that
Rachel Bo
Guardians: Season of Sacrifice
- 25 -
made him flesh. Though she could no longer feel his mind, he seemed to know what she was thinking. Shaking his head, he took her hand in his. Though his palm against hers was cold, a spark of warmth passed between them, traveling up her arm and down into her belly, to settle there as a familiar, burning need. “The bond between you and I,” he murmured. “That is something even the gods cannot break.” Danni felt that truth. She loved him, and would love him until the end of her days. Nothing could ever change that. She stepped toward him, an awkward, heavy tread that shook the ground. The raw power behind her movements took her breath away. Looking into his eyes, Danni’s dismay gave way to anticipation. Her head was nearly level with his now, her eyes no longer staring at his chest as they would have been when she was human. She swept that gaze along her form again, taking in her own strength. Her size. She smiled slowly, meeting his gaze, wondering how deep she could take him now. He grinned back, an answering hunger burning in his dark eyes. His gaze flicked down, a smooth hand reaching out to caress the curve of her buttocks, and Danni felt a stab of desire in her gut as she pictured bending over for him, taking him in her ass as she had never been able to do in her previous form. Michael cleared his throat, and Danni turned, knowing that if she were still human her cheeks would be blazing. She stared at her brother and sister-in-law, at a loss as to what to say. Stacy smiled tentatively. “Go on,” she said. “But… you will be watching over us?” She turned, looking up toward Ben’s bedroom. Danni pictured her nephew sleeping peacefully, and nodded. “Always,” Danni promised. “They will not come for you again, I think,” Grellix said. “They never planned to face me, save for the last moments of my life, when they thought I would be too weak to fight them.” His arm stole around Danni’s waist, and he grinned. “And now, there are two of us.” Stacy nodded, though she didn’t look convinced. Michael’s expression vacillated between confusion, awe, and brotherly protectiveness. “What about you?” he asked, his
Rachel Bo
Guardians: Season of Sacrifice
- 26 -
uncertain gaze flickering over Grellix’s rough-hewn visage, then returning to study Danni’s face. “Will you be okay?” Danni nodded. Stacy tugged on Michael’s arm, turning toward the house. “We’d better go,” she murmured. “I don’t want Ben to wake up and find us gone.” She glanced at Danni over her shoulder. “He’s sleeping on a pallet in our room tonight. He was pretty shaken up.” Danni nodded again. “And… thank you, Danni. I have a feeling none of this will seem real to me tomorrow, so, thank you.” Michael hesitated as Stacy pulled him toward the house. “You’re going to come back sometime soon, right?” He frowned. “Explain what’s going on?” Danni looked at Grellix, who shrugged. “I’ll try,” she told her brother. “Sometimes the…” Danni paused. She’d been about to say that the gods might not let her explain all of it, but that would be throwing her brother too much of a curve. “I’ll have to check with our superiors,” she said instead. Michael raised his eyebrows and nodded, allowing Stacy to urge him toward the house. Danni had a sneaking suspicion he was now convinced that she and Grellix were the results of some government experiment. Danni and her mate watched as her brother and sister-in-law walked across the lawn and up the stairs into their home. Danni felt a fleeting moment of regret for the life that had been, but when Grellix’s hand moved from her waist and he flexed his knees, preparing to launch himself into the air, she followed him. Soaring high above the houses, Danni reveled in the rush of wind against her, a thousand delicate fingers caressing her body. She tilted her wings, dipping and swerving above the trees. She felt a rush of wind behind her, and a gentle thump as Grellix wrapped his arms around her from behind, molding his body to hers. Danni gasped as they floated weightless in midair. “The wings are only for direction, and perhaps for effect,” he murmured in her ear. His finger found her clit, and Danni moaned as the tip of his claw crept beneath her clitoral hood, sliding in and
Rachel Bo
Guardians: Season of Sacrifice
- 27 -
out like he was fucking her pussy. Desperately, she pushed his other hand down, guiding a thick finger into her dripping cunt, gasping in delight as his claw scraped against the supple stone that was her substance now, sending piercing stabs of delight spiraling through her belly. “Oh, yes,” Danni breathed. Turning in his grasp, she reached between them, running her claws up and down his moonlit length. Grellix arched and shuddered. Danni wrapped her arms around his neck and lifted herself up, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively. “Do it,” she whispered. Grellix’s hands found her ass, parting her cheeks. Danni moaned as his broad shaft prodded at the narrow entrance. He eased into her slowly, her strange flesh stretching as he penetrated her, her ass beginning to throb with pleasure, every bit as sensitive as before. Danni arched in soundless ecstasy as he plunged into her -- once, twice, three times, and then his thick, dark essence was filling her. Suffusing her. Binding them once more. Danni cried out in delight as she felt his familiar touch in her mind. They might not be flesh any more, but they were still bound. “Merry Christmas, my love,” Grellix murmured in her ear. “Merry Christmas,” Danni whispered back. Her season of sacrifice was ended, and the blessings of a new year were still to come.
The End.
Rachel Bo Rachel Bo began writing at a very early age. Previously published in local newspapers (general interest articles) and science fiction/fantasy magazines (fantasy fiction), Rachel was unable to devote the time necessary to completion and marketing of novel-length titles. After years of working in the science field of the private sector, creativity won out and Rachel took a part-time job in order to devote herself to writing. Within six months, she had made her first book sale. Rachel loves to hear from her readers -- you can visit her website at http://webpages.charter.net/rachelbo or email her at
[email protected] 
