Hellfire (36 page)

She heard his heart pounding
in his chest and knew it matched the rhythm of hers. She opened her heart and
her mind and found herself there within the deepest part of his soul. She felt
the coil of desire rising once again within her body and recognized its kindred
spirit in Alton’s.

This time when she hurtled
from the top, she didn’t fly alone. He was there with her, his heart and mind
linked irrevocably to hers. And when it was over, when they lay on the bed,
wrapped in each other’s arms, their chests heaving with each labored breath and
hearts still pounding in a wild rhythm, Ginny realized she didn’t cry alone.

The tears in Alton’s eyes
blended with hers. The sense that every moment stolen could be their last,
tempered by the knowledge that no matter what was to come, they had now,
tonight, together.

Sunlight slanted across the
bed. Alton blinked, and then blinked again when a dog barked nearby. Slowly he
sat up in bed. Ginny slept soundly beside him, but the sun was high in the sky
and if the clock was right, it was almost noon. He shook his head and looked
again.

Definitely
almost noon.
He leaned over and kissed Ginny’s shoulder. She twitched,
as if she was trying to dislodge a fly. He kissed her again and she opened one
bleary eye. “It’s almost noon, my love. We need to get moving.”

She popped up and shook her
head.
“Noon?
When are we supposed to meet Dax and
Eddy?”

There was a loud knock on the
bedroom door and it swung open. Without waiting, Dax stuck his head in. Ginny
shrieked and pulled the sheet up over her bare breasts. Alton made sure he was
properly covered just before Eddy popped into the room. “You were supposed to
meet Dax and Eddy around noon,” she said, laughing. “
It’s
noon and we’re here.”

There was a mad scramble
behind them and BumperWillow
came
flying into the
bedroom and jumped up on the bed. Ginny shrieked again and pulled a pillow over
her face. The dog wriggled and barked and licked Alton and her tail was going a
million miles a minute.

Ginny poked her nose out from
under the pillow. “I thought you set DarkFire and HellFire up as sentries.
How’d these guys get in?” BumperWillow turned and gave Ginny’s face a big lick.
Ginny screamed and ducked back under the pillow and the dog went back to work
on Alton.

Laughing, he finally grabbed
her by the shoulders and held her back from his face. “I’m glad to see you,
too, beast, but settle down!”

BumperWillow barked again.
I missed you, Alton. I missed you a lot. We both did.

Alton hugged the dog. “I
missed you, too, Willow.
And Bumper.
So how’d you guys
get here? And how’d you get past our sentries?”

Dax laughed. “You mean your
swords? We’re the good guys, remember? HellFire and DarkFire both wished us a
good morning when we arrived.”

“Great.” Alton rolled his eyes
at Ginny.

She giggled. “Well, it seemed
like a good idea at the time.”

Eddy sat on the foot of the
bed and pulled Dax down beside her. Dax said, “We came back earlier than
planned and popped out in the middle of your New Age meditation group, or one
just like it. Anyway, they were just finishing up and gave us a lift here in a
really cool bus.”

Alton laughed. “I think I know
the one you mean.”

Eddy could hardly talk through
her giggles. “We’re talking psychedelic mid-sixties art and clothing—and
people—but they were really nice and didn’t seem the least bit surprised when
we stepped right out of the rock. We’re invited to a craft and music fair they’re
putting on this afternoon. It’s just down the road, across from that ranch
where the Spanish fighting bulls are pastured.”

“Okay.” Alton glanced at
Ginny. “Those bulls remind me. I have a theory about the demons…”

Ginny frowned. “We haven’t
seen any since Dax and Eddy left. I know that doesn’t mean they’re all gone,
but…”

Eddy and Dax immediately
sobered. Dax wrapped his arm around Eddy’s waist. “You probably haven’t seen
them because I think I’m their target at this point. The demon king has done
all he can with the demons he brought with him. We talked it over with Ed last
night and he agrees. The demon king needs me now, if he’s going to get any
stronger. Since it’s my old demon body he’s using, we think he’s able to
capture my energy and siphon it from this form into the one it’s familiar with.
At this point, we need to be alert, but we agreed—there’s no need to hunt the
demon king. Not when he’s going to be hunting me.”

“There’s only one problem.”
Alton caught everyone’s attention. “I think the demons are hiding out in the
fighting bulls during the day. At least, I think that’s where the demon king
goes. If we go to that craft fair, we’re going to be heading straight for the
demon. He won’t need to hunt very far.”

Eddy fixed bacon and eggs in
the small kitchen while Ginny and Alton showered. When Alton finally got to the
kitchen, Dax handed him a cup of coffee and they wandered out to the back deck
with BumperWillow right behind. Alton sipped his coffee and stared out over the
desert. It was another warm, sunny day. Yesterday’s threatening storm had never
materialized. Today’s blue sky created a perfect backdrop for the red rock
formations.

“It looks so beautiful,
doesn’t it?
Peaceful and absolutely perfect.”
He
turned to Dax and grinned. “Have you thought of how we’re going to stop this
bastard?”

Dax shook his head. “It’s
going to take all of us. Ginny’s DarkFire appears to be the most powerful
weapon we’ve got, but it’s stronger in tandem with another sword. It’s almost
as if her blade can focus the energy from ours. Eddy and I brought Willow along
because she can sense demons before the rest of us. Maybe if we get a jump on
this guy…” He shrugged.

Alton glanced at Dax and then
returned his gaze to the desert. “I’m convinced he’s spending his days inside
the lead bull in that
pasture just down
the road. I’m
not sure about the other bulls, but the big one there seems much too aware of
us every time we drive by. Plus, it’s like I’m drawn to him for some reason.
HellFire can’t tell for sure if he’s there, but I have a feeling the demons are
getting better at masking their presence.”

Dax nodded.
“If
we go to that fair, it’ll give us a chance to check and see if you’re right.
Let’s assume you are. I’ll feel better if we’re all together, but we need to be
prepared.”

Eddy stuck her head out the
door. “Come and eat. Breakfast is ready.”

Alton followed Dax back into
the kitchen. He felt a strange prickling along his spine, as if his senses had
suddenly gone on alert. He glanced at BumperWillow. The dog didn’t seem to
notice a thing, so he relaxed and joined the others in the kitchen.

Still, he’d been feeling more
suspicious of that bull since the first time he saw it. If the demon king was
using it as an avatar during the day, could it somehow give him the strength to
roam in his demon form at night? Maybe the fact it had taken on Dax’s old body
gave it an added boost of energy. It wasn’t a true avatar because it was a
wraith like the other demons, but it also had physical properties the others
lacked.

It was so hard to know,
especially since the rules of engagement seemed to change by the day. Alton
glanced up as Ginny entered the kitchen. She grabbed a cup of coffee and took
the seat beside him. When he took her hand in his, he felt her tension all the
way through his body.

Something was going to happen
today. He wasn’t sure what and didn’t know how he knew what he knew, but the
sense of dread that cloaked him suddenly had all of Alton’s senses on alert.

Last night when they’d made
love, he’d realized how very much he now had to lose. Of course, that was also
more incentive to fight harder and smarter.

Come hell or demons, he was
not going to lose Ginny.

Dax and Alton cleared the
dishes away and Eddy wiped the table down. Ginny brought fresh coffee for all
of them and took her seat beside Alton. “Do you realize this is the first time
we’re actually going on the offense?” Her gaze slipped from Eddy to Dax to
Alton. “We’ve fought a defensive fight every time with the demons, at least
since I’ve been involved. What do we need to do to be ready?”

Alton took her hand. “We have
to find the bastards first. I’m guessing they’re in the bulls. I could be
wrong.”

“Let’s assume you’re right,”
Eddy said. “We can’t just go on someone’s property and attack the livestock.
How do we draw the demons to us?”

“If we go to the craft fair,
it might bring the demon king out of hiding,” Dax said.

“But then you’re putting
innocent people at risk.” Alton shook his head. “We can’t endanger innocent
lives.”

“Let’s go to the fair, walk
across the road to check out the fancy cattle, and see if we feel the demons’
presence.” Ginny squeezed Alton’s hand. “Then if there’s no sense of them, we
can go to the fair and enjoy ourselves, and figure the demon king will find us
here tonight.”

“And if they’re in the
cattle?” Alton raised an eyebrow.

Ginny grinned. “We go to plan
B.”

“Which is?” He grinned back.

“You hit the entire fair with
a compulsion while we kill off the demon king and end the threat to all
humanity. Seems like a simple enough plan to me.”

“Oh, yeah,” Alton muttered.
“Real simple.”

Dax pushed his chair away from
the table. “Unfortunately, Ginny’s idea is about the best we’ve got. I say we
go and see what happens.”

It seemed as if Ginny and Eddy
had spent hours in the bedroom getting
themselves
ready for the fair. Alton sat next to Dax on the back deck and stared at the
door to the casita, willing the women to finish up whatever they were doing so
they could get this over with.

He’d never been to a craft
fair, had no idea what one was, and was certain he wasn’t going to enjoy it,
but if it was being held near the bulls and if his theory about the demons
using the bulls to hide during daylight was right, he wanted to go now, before
it got dark.

“What do women do that takes
them so long?” Dax glanced at Alton and shook his head. “They’re both
beautiful. What are they doing in there?”

Alton rolled his eyes and
sighed. “I have no idea, but trust me. It’ll be worth it. Ginny informed me
that even though our main goal is hunting demons, this is still the first real
date for either of them with either of us. They want to make it special.”

“Hunting demons is a date?”
Dax shook his head. “I don’t get it. Even BumperWillow’s been in there
forever.”

“Relax, Dax. They’re all
women. They seem to work on a different timetable than we do.”

The door slowly opened.
BumperWillow walked out and posed. She had red bows in her curly blond topknot
and another one tied to her tail. Alton slapped Dax on the back and laughed.
“See? What’d I tell you? She’s gorgeous, don’t you think?”

Ginny stepped through the door
next. She wore the same outfit she’d had on the night before, but now her hair
lay close to her scalp, braided in tiny dark rows and caught at the nape of her
neck with red ribbon and white beads. With her dark eyes accented with a touch
of makeup, she looked both exotic and mysterious.

Alton didn’t even realize he’d
stood up until he had her hand in his and had pulled her close for a kiss.
“Breathtaking,” he said. And she was.
Absolutely stunning.

Dax’s sharp indrawn breath had
both Alton and Ginny turning to look at Eddy. Almost always dressed in jeans
and a T-shirt, she was hardly recognizable in a flowing, gauzy dress that clung
to her slim frame. Barely touching the tops of her knees, it shimmered in
shades of dark blue, purple, and black. She wore strappy sandals that added to
her height and made her long legs look even longer.

Ginny giggled. “My shopping
trip in Phoenix paid off.”

Eddy blushed and did a slow
pirouette. “It’s not really me, but…”

“You look amazing.” Dax walked
toward her, moving almost like a man in a trance.
“Absolutely
amazing.”
He glanced at Ginny. “What have you done to her? I can’t take
her out in public like this.”

Eddy frowned.
“Why not?”

Dax took her hands in his and
slowly shook his head.
“Because every man there will want you
for himself.”

Eddy self-consciously tugged
one hand loose and touched her short, tousled hair. That was the only thing
about her that really seemed familiar. Then, before the moment could grow
uncomfortable, Ginny leaned past Alton and high-fived Eddy. “Looks like we did
okay, eh, girls?” BumperWillow barked and the spell was broken.

Alton checked out their long
legs and the sandals both women wore. “Can you fight in those shoes?”

Ginny scowled. “Better than
you can in those pointy-toed boots, buster.”

Eddy crossed her arms over her
chest and leveled a long glare at both men. Alton held his hands up in defeat.
They grabbed their swords, added a fresh compulsion to hide them, and climbed
into the Yukon. Alton took the wheel and dangled the keys in front of Dax. “If
you’re good to me, I’ll give you lessons one of these days.”

Dax reached for the keys but
Alton snatched them out of the way. Laughing, teasing, almost as if they were a
pair of normal couples going off on a regular date with the dog sitting in the
back, Alton headed for the craft fair.

A steady stream of cars pulled
into a long driveway just across the road from the pasture where the bulls
quietly grazed. Alton stared at the big animals as he pulled the Yukon into
line. They looked just like what they were: big animals grazing in the
sunshine. Nothing about them appeared at all threatening.

He turned his attention back
to the fair. Multicolored flags flew along the drive. Dozens of people dressed
in colorful costumes wandered about, selling everything from hand-carved toys
to mysterious-looking foods that smelled absolutely mouthwatering.

Alton parked the Yukon in a
big field that had been marked in neat rows, and they all got out. Ginny had
tied a long red ribbon to BumperWillow’s collar so that there wouldn’t be any
complaints about a dog roaming free.

“First let’s check the bulls.”
Alton tugged Ginny’s hand. Dax and Eddy followed and they walked across the
two-lane highway, just another group of tourists curious about the huge bulls
grazing so peacefully in the pasture.