And she thought being human was hard. At least she had a choice about marriage and procreation. "You really have no control over the mating?"
"None whatsoever. Believe me, if we did, I would have never chosen a human for mine."
She didn't know why, but those words stung her. "You know, we're not all so bad."
He made a rude noise. "Pardon me if I reserve judgment on that."
Well, honestly, she couldn't blame him for his feelings. He'd been damaged rather badly by the actions of a single human. And it made her wonder what kind of woman would toss away a chance to have a man like Ravyn in her life. "So did you and Isabeau do the deed to finish off the mating?"
"No, I stupidly chose to be noble and to tell her what I was before I finished the ritual with her. Since she was human and it was the Renaissance period, she got a little... wiggy on me."
To say the least. "And the rest is history."
He nodded.
Man, she felt for him. How awful to lay himself bare before someone and have her betray him so badly. It made Alex leaving her because he didn't want to be tainted by her soiled reputation seem mild by comparison. His actions had been insensitive, but Isabeau's had been downright cruel.
"So what was the bonding thing you mentioned to Phoenix?" she asked.
"It's a special bond that we can make with our mates if both parties choose it. It combines our life forces together so that if one of us dies, the other dies, too. Instantly."
"Romantic and scary."
"Yes, it is. On the night our village was attacked, it was how we knew what was happening. Several members of our clan who were with us just keeled over. One minute they were with us and the next, they were dead at our feet for no known reason. Since so many of them fell, we knew someone was killing our families."
She let out a long breath as she tried to imagine the horror of that. "I'm really sorry, Ravyn."
"Thanks." But still she noted the way his grip tightened on the steering wheel and it made him ache for him.
They fell silent while they made their way over to Angie and Jimmy's. This time of night, the neighborhood was absolutely silent, with only an occasional house showing a light or TV on. Susan had always liked staying up late at night. There was something peaceful and pristine about the world. The silence was almost tangible.
As they neared the house, Susan spotted a patrol car parked on a curb. "Looks like they're watching the place."
Ravyn nodded. "After the day we've had, I'd expect no less."
Well, there was that.
He drove them past the patrol car, down the street, turned the corner, then parked. "We can go in the back way on foot."
"You know, it's a pity that with all the magic you guys have you can't just pop us into the house."
"Actually a typical Were-Hunter could."
"But you can't?"
He shook his head. "Not anymore. When I became a Dark-Hunter, I lost that power. It seems Artemis wants us to live chronologically, so I can no longer teleport. But I do have stronger powers in other ways and in cat form, unlike other Dark-Hunters, I can survive sunlight. It's not comfortable, but it doesn't kill me."
"Hence the burning cat-hair smell in my car earlier?"
"Exactly."
Susan watched the streetlight cut across the handsome planes of his face. Even though their time was limited, she had to admit he was stunning. And she would give anything to be able to kiss those lips again... to drape herself over that body of his until they were both sweaty and spent. But given his feelings about humans, she figured she was only one step up from an Apollite mauling him.
Sighing, she put that thought away. The last thing she needed after this day was rejection. "I guess life is nothing but trade-offs, huh?"
"What's your trade-off?" he asked as he opened his car door.
She thought about that as she got out and shut her door without slamming it. "I guess I got to keep my sanity and life, in exchange for working a really shitty job."
That seemed to amuse him. "Leo isn't that bad, is he?"
Susan wrapped her arms around herself as they doubled back toward Angie's house. "Actually, Leo is an unpolished gem most days. I just hate working for that paper so much that daydreams of torching it are a constant fixation for me."
Ravyn grabbed her and pulled her down behind a shrub as a car came down the street. The two of them huddled there while they listened to it passing by at an excruciatingly slow pace.
Afraid of being caught this close to their destination, Susan held her breath until the car vanished out of sight. Her gaze fell down to Ravyn's taut hand that held her in place. He had long, slender fingers that warmed her even if his grip was a little too intense.
As if he heard her thoughts, he loosened his hold and rubbed her wrist soothingly. That little gesture meant a lot to her as he peeped up to look.
Without another word, he motioned her forward and led her to Angie's house. They cut across the neighbor's backyard to avoid the patrol car that might see them if they approached from the front. Ravyn picked her up effortlessly and helped her over the fence before he jumped over easily.
She knew he was a cat, but whenever he did things like that it was almost spooky. Crouching low, he kept them in the shadows as they headed up Angie's deck. Again he did the strange hand gesture that allowed him to push open the sliding glass door without breaking into it.
Susan entered the house first. As she reached for a light switch, she caught herself. "This is useless. I can't see anything and if I turn on a light, the police will see it. "
"It's okay." She was startled to find Ravyn so close to her that his breath fell against her cheek as he spoke. The warmth of his body reached out to her and actually calmed her nerves. "I have perfect vision in the dark. Tell me what I'm looking for."
Closing her eyes, she summoned a mental diagram of what the house looked like. "Upstairs, the second bedroom on the right is set up as an office. Jimmy's laptop should be there. Grab it and look around for a leather-bound journal that should be within easy reach."
"Anything else?"
"I don't know. If you see something else that he might have used to jot down notes, grab it."
He reached out and gently pushed her toward a bar stool. "Okay. Wait here and I'll be back."
Grateful that he'd helped to ground her in the darkness, Susan nodded as she leaned against the breakfast counter. She listened to Ravyn moving stealthily up the stairs... like a cat.
Yeah. This was an odd life she was having.
And as she glanced around the darkened house where all too familiar furniture faded into the shadows, grief settled deep in her chest. The last time she was here had been Angie's birthday a few weeks back. Jimmy had been teasing Angie about how she was becoming Merlin and aging backwards.
"You get more beautiful every year. "
This had been the third time Angie had turned thirty-five. Angie had taken their jokes in stride as she reminded Susan that she wasn't that far behind her.
What she wouldn't give to be able to go back and live that night one more time...
"Oh, Angie," she breathed, aching with the loss of them. How could they be gone? It was such a waste. Such a senseless tragedy.
"Don't think about it." And yet it was impossible not to. She wasn't supposed to grow old without her friends. They were her family. Without them, she felt completely lost and alone.
Adrift.