Guardian of My Soul (17 page)

”Kyle,” she sobbed with a panting breath.
Sally drew in a sharp breath and forced herself to get a hold of her emotions.
Her hands pressed over the still seeping, bloody wound and she gathered more of
her magic, her resources depleting quickly. She Healed him partially, her
skills not strong and the methods far messier than a professional. Kyle, she
knew, would bleed to death long before she could get him to a proper Healer,
however, and she knew he would not begrudge her the sloppy work under the
conditions they were in.

Sally lifted Kyle’s head and shoulders and
half sat him in her lap, her fingers tenderly stroking his cheek and forehead,
massaging him as she called out his name over and over. She reached for him
spiritually, begged him to come back to her and when his eyelashes fluttered
but remained closed she firmed her voice and shouted at him.

”Kyle, get back here right now! I need you.
I can’t do this without you. You promised you’d always be here with me and so
help me if you don’t return I’m coming after you. I did not kill that bitch
only to be left by you. You’ve always sworn you’d follow me, so now it’s my
turn to return the favor. You have to come back or I will come after you
myself.”

Sally’s gaze roved over Kyle and just as
she thought she would have to try to do something drastic his eyes fluttered
once again and he cracked the thinnest slit of one dark blue eye open to her.
He mumbled and she cupped his face in her hands, kissing him passionately in
sheer relief. He tried to speak again but she hushed him, pleased only to find
he was alive and here with her.

Kyle tried again to speak and she pressed
her fingers to his lips.

”Let me get you some water, love, you’ve
been through a lot and we need to get you to a Healer,” she insisted. Before he
could try to talk again she jumped to her feet, though she found herself wobbly
and weak. Still, she quickly made her way to the sink in the small corner
kitchen and she filled a glass with water. Returning to her partner she helped
him sit up again and assisted him to sip at the glass.

Finally he nodded to where Bonita’s prone
body lay. Sally had forgotten about the witch entirely, her whole focus purely
on her wizard.

”Is she dead?” he asked huskily, his voice
faint and thready. Sally nodded.

”I believe so,” she spoke softly. She
caught Kyle’s eye and held his gaze somberly. “She took me to some sort of
middle limbo, part way between my darkness and hers. She thought we were the
same. She had been hurt in love and I believe she turned to the black magic
because of it. I almost gave in to the demon, accepted a gift from him for
assistance in killing her, but you stopped me. Kyle…I broke her neck with my
own hands.”

Kyle sighed and took her hands almost
delicately in his own, as if she would break should he be too rough. Sally
smiled at him, her heart overflowing with love.

”You are nothing like her, and I am glad I
could be with you, my love. You did the right thing, never doubt that,” he
soothed her. Sally sniffed and shook her head.

”Look at you, consoling me when you’re all
but half dead. Let’s get to the car, I need you to see a Healer, right now. I
can’t do this without you, not now we’ve finally really discovered each other.”

”Check she’s dead first, please, Sal? Just
for my peace of mind?”

Sally assisted Kyle to his feet and held
him upright as he didn’t have the strength to stand by himself. She pushed a table
back up onto its spindly legs and Kyle held himself against it for a moment
while Sally checked Bonita truly was dead. Sally then went to the phone only to
find it destroyed.

”We can call Morgan from the Healer’s,” she
insisted. “Everything else can wait. Let’s get you patched up before my
terrible flesh closing charm wears off. Please?”

Kyle placed an arm around her shoulders and
Sally grunted as she half carried half assisted him out of the mostly crumbled
wall of the cabin. She noticed Kyle glance sadly at the devastation of his
getaway and she stroked his chest soothingly.

“We’ll rebuild it, Kyle,” she swore to him.
“We’ve shared so many memories there and now so much love. We can do anything
together, rebuilding one small cabin is child’s play compared to what we have
faced.”

”You’re right, love,” Kyle insisted. He
indicated for her to stop and she paused, turned to face him curious and
worried she might be jolting another wound she had missed. Kyle lifted her chin
with his fingers and he pressed his lips warmly to hers. Sally melted into him
as her body caught fire with passion. She moaned and ate hungrily at his mouth,
wishing she could push herself directly inside his entire body, their essences
melding together to never part again.

”I’m glad I was there with you,” he said
softly. Sally huffed out a small laugh.

”You’re always with me,” she chided him. “We
live in each other. We share a love and bond nothing could ever sever or
replicate. I’ve always known that. It just took me time to look past my demons
and embrace all that we could be together.”

”Always together,” Kyle demanded. Sally
nodded and kissed him again.

”Always,” she swore.

“We need to get you to the Healer,” she insisted quietly as
they clung to each other. Kyle snorted but tellingly he did not argue her
point.

“Morgan is going to be pissed we killed Bonita and the three
wizards,” he said instead. Sally snorted and looked around the carnage that had
been her partner’s retreat.

“Considering the ruin your home away from home is, Morgan and
the Tribunal can just live with the disappointment I’d say,” Sally replied back
sharply. She would calm down once Kyle healed and regained his strength back,
but her priority was currently him, not the feelings of a bunch of witches and
wizards who had rarely been anything but trouble to her mind. She didn’t hold
much sympathy or pity for them just now.

“We will need to call him,” Kyle suggested. His voice had
become thick as exhaustion appeared to wash through him. Sally nodded but
pulled Kyle’s weight onto her own and tried to assist him toward where they had
parked the car earlier in the evening.

“We can,” she assured him as they made their way out of the
cabin. “I’ll do it from the Healer’s home. The phone is dead and you need to
rest. Let me take care of you for a change.”

Kyle snorted softly in laughter and after a few minutes of
painful progress she finally helped him sit in the passenger side of her car.
He sucked in a deep breath, relief evident all over his face and posture. Sally
pressed soft kisses to his cheek until the tension left his body.

“You can relax now, love,” she intoned to him, her voice
light and aimed to make him easy. “It’s over. We’re owed plenty of leave, and I’ll
never leave your side again. I swear it.”

“I love you,” Kyle replied huskily, clearly on the edge of
passing out. Sally checked his vitals and realized the effects of overusing his
magic was just catching up with him.

“I love you too,” she said. “Stay with me, Kyle. Don’t go
too far.”

“I just need some rest,” he said weakly. Sally kissed him
again and then walked swiftly around the car and climbed in behind the wheel.

“I know, you close your eyes love. I’ve got you from here.
It’s all over and you can recuperate. When you wake up you’ll be just fine.”

“I’ve always wanted you to play nurse with me,” Kyle said
with a small laugh. Sally chuckled and took his hand in hers as she drove them
the few miles to the nearest Healer they sometimes met at the beach while
vacationing. She knew everything would be just fine, but she drove recklessly
and fast nevertheless.

“The moment you have your strength back we can play every
game you’ve ever dreamed of,” Sally promised wickedly. Kyle murmured in evident
interest and fell asleep. Sally kept a close eye on him as she pulled into the
Healer’s home. With not a single feeling of guilt Sally raced up the front
porch and knocked loudly and steadily upon the door until the Healer answered
her summons.

Together they managed to carry Kyle into the Healer’s spare
bedroom and Sally hovered while her partner was checked thoroughly out. Only
after she had been reassured multiple times he was tired, drained but perfectly
healthy did Sally manage to thank the Healer and climb into bed beside her
love.

Wrapped protectively around his body she stood guard for
them, as Kyle had many times for her. Sally watched as dawn crept over the
horizon, pale and beautiful. In a sense it symbolized the fresh, clean start
she and Kyle were embarking upon. She jerked in surprise as a warm hand closed
over hers. Huffing out a soft laugh she gently nudged Kyle in reprimand for
shocking her.

“You need more sleep,” she scolded him. He pressed an
unrepentant kiss on her lips.

“I need you to rest beside me,” he answered more clearly
now. “Not worry and fret.”

“The Healer said you would be fine, you just need to
recuperate and gather your strength,” she informed him. Kyle shrugged
unconcerned, as if he had never thought otherwise.

“Sleep, my love,” he ordered her as they both shifted into a
more comfortable spooning position. Sally rested her chin on Kyle’s shoulder,
cupping him from behind.

“I will,” she assured him as her eyes fluttered shut. “I
just needed to watch over you.”

“Come fly with me,” he said thickly, sleep crawling back and
taking him over. Sally smiled and pressed a kiss to his neck.

“Any time, love. Any time.”

With love deep in her heart Sally waited until Kyle had
fallen into another, this time much deeper sleep, and in seconds had once again
followed him. She knew they would never be parted and always protect and guard each
other. Everything would be perfect.

Sally fell asleep with the scent of sandalwood surrounding
her, comforting her and guiding her into the sky as she flew with her partner,
her best friend and the wizard who held her heart.

Elizabeth Lapthorne has been writing professionally since
2002. She has been astonished by the success of her Rutledge Werewolf series,
and finds immense pleasure in hearing from her fans. To date she has more than
ten books out, a few of those even in paperback.

Elizabeth regularly goes to the gym to chew over her ideas;
many a book has begun or been worked through while cycling on the bikes. She
also loves to read, eat chocolate and talk for hours with her friends.
Elizabeth would love to hear from her fans, and checks her email religiously.

Liz welcomes comments from readers. You can find her website
and email addresses on her
author
bio page
at
www.ellorascave.com
.

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Guardian of my Soul

ISBN 9781419993442

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Guardian of my Soul Copyright © 2014 Elizabeth Lapthorne

Edited by Rebecca Hill

Cover design by Allyse Leodra

Cover photography by Shutterstock

Electronic book publication September 2014

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