Lazy Days (50 page)

Roth reached Ember Canyon and flew toward the
Cave of Thirteen. Although wearied by the long flight, he refused to rest. He
would demand answers from the co-Princes until he found Rainey. He banked and
started his downward descent, allowing images of their night in Cairo to play
non-stop—he didn't want to stop them. He wanted to kiss her over and over and
whisper words of love.

He directed his consuming anger at himself. He
should have taken Rainey to another location until he'd solved the mystery
surrounding her. He pumped his wings faster to accelerate his downward descent.
He landed on the ledge outside the Cave of Thirteen. Glancing at a glistening
ribbon of river in the canyon below, he bowed his head and arose tall and
angry—Roth Beowolf, Shapeling Protector, would not be thwarted in finding his
woman.

Moonlight reflected off his golden skin, and a
shake of his head whipped ebony hair behind massive shoulders. Blue eyes, lit
by the fire of love, threatened to incinerate anyone standing in his way. He
boldly entered the Cave of Thirteen co-Princes.

Walking past the fire torches, he approached the
rulers, but felt the presence of other shapelings in the shadows. Pausing at
the last torch, he knelt in respect, and said, "May the embers of truth
always glow."

"Rise Roth," commanded the Prominent
Prince.

Roth stood; his countenance fierce.

"Speak Roth," the co-Princes said in
unison.

"The woman you sent me to protect has been
abducted."

"Do you believe she is still alive?"
asked Prince Twelve.

"I do."

"What is it you desire from us?"
Prince Eight inquired.

"The truth."

"Continue," spoke the princes in
unison.

"The mother of Rainey Childress is a
shapeling. Unlike Endesha, she has remained a shapeling. Is her husband, Hank
Childress, a former shapeling?"

"No."

Roth considered his next words. "As a
Shapeling Protector, I have gained experience that brings me to the brink of
mastery. As such, my instincts have been honed for over two thousand cycles of
the sun." His gaze swept the line of co-Princes.

"What is your point, Roth?" asked the
Prominent Prince.

"My point is this: I know a mother's love
when I see it. Although the shapeling, Stella Childress, has tried to make me
believe otherwise, she cares deeply for her daughter."

"That is an accurate observation."

"My question, Prominent Prince, is this:
Why was I chosen to protect Rainey Childress?"

"What are your feelings for her?"

"Why is that important?"

"Answer the question, Roth."

"When you first gave me this assignment,
you said I had not attained mastery of being human. At the time, I disagreed.
However, I have come to realize the truth of your observation. My mission to
protect Rainey has allowed me to truly merge myself with humanity and overcome
the prejudice that once tainted my heart. I have experienced the weakness, and
I have experienced the greatness, of being human." Roth scanned the line
of co-Princes, looking directly at each one before stopping at the Prominent
Prince. "I love Rainey Childress. She is both my weakness and my
greatness."

"Love her as a human…or as a mate?"

"Both."

"What are your intentions toward her and
toward your shapeling heritage?"

"I intend to find her and win her heart;
then I intend to join with her. I will become human if that is the cost. Again,
I ask you, why was I chosen to protect Rainey Childress?"

"Perhaps that question would be better answered
by someone who has just arrived."

Startled, Roth turned to see a figure step forward.
Endesha, tall and strong, vibrant in youth, said, "It is good to see you
again, my son." He approached Roth and placed three-fingers over his
heart. Roth acknowledged with the same gesture.

Endesha placed a hand on Roth's shoulder and
said, "When I informed the co-Princes long ago that I intended to become
human, I made a request that before I died, I would be allowed to stand before
you in my former glory and reveal your heritage. That moment has come. After
tonight, I will return to Egypt and inhabit the same frail body. Shortly
thereafter, I will die in the same honor as I have lived. As I told you in
Egypt, I have no regrets."

"Explain, Endesha."

"When I came upon your parents after they
were struck by the swords of humans believing they meant harm to a young boy,
your father had already died as a wolf. Your mother had shifted back to a
shapeling. When I knelt to carry her, she bid me not to. She said she would die
beside her husband, and made me promise to raise and guide their son. Of
course, I agreed. And then she confided a secret. She said she had been
summoned to the Cave of Thirteen and given knowledge concerning ancient
prophesy." Endesha placed his other hand on Roth's other shoulder.
"That prophesy concerns you."

Roth nodded. "I'm listening."

"The prophesy, known only to the Thirteen
co-Princes and to the paternal family to which it is revealed each generation,
is that the father of the Great Prince will come through their lineage and that
the mother of the Great Prince will come through mixed lineage. Your parents
were protecting the child whose lineage would spawn the humanity of the mother
of the Great Prince, the Childress lineage."

Roth gasped.

Endesha pressed his fingers into Roth's
shoulders. "Rainey
must
be the mother and you
must
be the
father, or there is no Great Prince."

The Prominent Prince spoke. "We have always
known your destiny, Roth, but you have harbored ill feelings toward humans.
However, there is another aspect of the Prophesy unknown to you. The Great
Prince must be sired in love, not simply an act to procreate. It is that love
which enables the Great One to rule as none before him. The shapeling father
must come to love that which he despises: humanity. He must love the half-human
mother unconditionally.

"Throughout your missions as a protector of
humans, you have excelled. However, your resentment remained. Your mission to
protect Rainey was given in the hope that you would come to love her as your
own heart. For that purpose, we enlisted the help of others. Fawn, you may come
forward."

Roth watched Fawn step from the shadows and
place three fingers over her heart. He reciprocated.

"Hello, Roth. I must confess my part in
this. I didn't know about the prophesy until the co-Princes summoned me several
risings of the sun after you'd arrived. The detectives sent to follow Rainey,
both in the U.S. and in Egypt, were contacted by me. The tail in the U.S. was aimed
at forcing you and Rainey into hiding so you could spend time alone. In Egypt,
we knew you would figure a way to track the investigators, so we used them to
set up your encounter with Stella.

Prince Six spoke, "Stella, please share
your involvement in this mission."

Stella stepped from the shadows and placed her
fingers over her heart. Roth did the same. "Roth, you are correct in
observing my consuming love for my daughter, although she does not believe it.
When I was on assignment in Las Vegas, I met Rainey's father. I loved him immediately,
and after a time, he fell in love with me. I have never had the courage to do
what Endesha did, but neither could I live my life without Harold Childress.
When he asked me to marry him, I told him it could only be on one condition:
that I am allowed freedom to come and go as I please. I told him I would always
be faithful, but I would not become imprisoned by his life. He agreed. He does
not know that I am a shapeling. I have continued my missions as a Protector
since our marriage. When Rainey was born, the co-Princes made me aware of my
connection to the Prophesy of the Great Prince. They warned me that my daughter
must not know of her shapeling heritage. Early on, I realized that my presence
awakened those senses, and that is the reason for my absence in her life. As it
is, she has excelled as a human. I am extremely proud of her.

"Years ago, in a moment of weakness, Beth
McGovern found me crying and I confided in her, showing her my ability to shift
and begging her to care for my precious daughter. She became my trusted friend
and I have vicariously shared my daughter's life through her. She is the one
who lured Rainey away while I spoke with you in the field, and Endesha hid her
until you left for the Cave of Thirteen.

"Working with Fawn, my ruse in Egypt was an
attempt to bring the two of you together—to draw out your protective
instincts."

The room fell silent.

"Finally, the Prominent Prince spoke. There
is one last revelation, and it is mine."

Roth waited.

"I am Rainey's grandfather. Stella is my
daughter."

One rising of the sun after the night of
revelations, Roth and Fawn flew side-by-side back to the Childress Estate.
Stella remained with her father for a while longer. Before Roth had departed
the Cave of Thirteen, Endesha had spoken privately with him.

"My son, the time for our final parting has
come. Unknown cycles of the sun hence, we will once again soar together in the
land of the Source. Before you leave, I want you to know that at first I was
proud to call you my adopted son. Soon, however, you became as my own son. You
have honored me, Roth."

Roth swallowed the lump in his throat. "No,
Endesha, it is you who have honored me. Thank you for being my father and
teaching me the path of honor."

Endesha hugged Roth for the last time in this
life. "I will remain with the co-Princes long enough to memorialize my
human experiences for future shapelings; after which I will return to my
beloved country and die as a human. Live well with the woman you love, my
son."

After bidding farewell to Endesha, Roth had
prayed and shifted into an eagle—Rainey's eagle—and departed the Cave of
Thirteen with Fawn.

Two sun risings later, they approached the
Childress estate just before dawn. Soaring downward over the tops of pines, Roth
noticed movement in the field below. He flew toward it and Fawn followed.

* * *

Rainey ran through the field toward the forest.
Flowers no longer bloomed, and neither did her heart. She felt dead inside.
After the incident in the cellar, she'd awakened back in her room with Beth at
her side. In tears, the old cook had apologized for her part in the deception.
However, she'd stoically refused to divulge the reason for her uncharacteristic
behavior or name her accomplice.

Both Stella and Roth were gone. Stella had left
a letter for Hank, begging him to wait one week before pursuing any course of
action against Beth. She'd promised to return within that week and explain
everything. Although confused, Hank remained faithful to his wife's integrity.

Roth's disappearance had everyone confused.

Suddenly, Rainey felt electrified. She glanced
upward into a cloudless night lit by a brilliant moon. Two dark shapes passed
in front of the moon and swooped toward her. She gasped and covered her mouth
with the back of her hand. Her eagle, followed by another, smaller one, circled
in front of her. A strangled cry from deep in her heart escaped. Eagles mated
for life. Her eagle had a mate. Even as she ran toward the looming trees with
the intent of running until she collapsed, she was helpless to understand her
emotions.

The demarcation between the woods and the field
became more visible and she'd almost reached the first tree when her eagle
landed directly in front of her. She stopped suddenly and dropped to her knees,
bowing her head to the ground and sobbing.

"I love you. I love you. I'm so happy you
found your mate. Now you don't have to be alone—like me."

"Rainey, look at me."

Shocked to hear Roth's voice, she jerked her
head up. Long strands of hair lay plastered to her cheeks from her tears.

"Where did you come from?" she gasped.

"From the sky," he replied.

"I don't understand."

"I am your eagle, Rainey."

Rainey swiped a hand across her tear-stained
cheek.

Roth
said, "I am another species of creation, not human. I am going to change
my form for you. I don't want you to be afraid."

Although she didn't understand, she trusted him,
and nodded. She watched him bow his head and fade from man to eagle almost
instantaneously. She gasped and covered her mouth with both hands. The eagle
hopped until he stood directly in front of her kneeling form. Instantly, the bird
faded and Roth materialized, rising above her. She lifted her head to look into
his eyes. He reached to gently grasp her shoulders and pull her to her feet.

Dropping his hands to his sides, he said,
"I don't want any secrets between us. I am a shapeling and I want you to
see me in my true form.

Rainey nodded again.

He bowed his head. At the same moment the sun
crested, he looked up.

Her breath caught. Eyes bluer than a summer sky
gazed into her soul. Hair, blacker than midnight moved in the gentle breeze. He
stepped back, allowing her to see all of him. Naked to the waist, taunt golden
skin molded lean muscles and glowed iridescent in the morning light.
Intricately woven white breeches covered his loins and legs to bare feet. He
was the same, yet more.

Rainey felt fresh tears. Never had she seen such
ethereal beauty. His perfection made her feel insignificant and unworthy.

"Why are you crying, Rainey?"

"Because your magnificence astounds me, and
I feel awed in your presence."

"No, it is I who am awed by you. I love
you. I am the eagle seeking his mate. Will you receive me as yours?" He
lifted a hand to touch a tear on her cheek.

Rainey's barren heart opened at his touch and
blossomed. "Yes!" she breathed, and threw her arms around her mate
for eternity.

Roth laughed
and lifted her into his arms. "I have much to teach you about yourself and
our families. But that is for another time. I have other plans for now,
Soiuer.