Run the Gantlet (9 page)

Mesopia ran to her with a piece of paper in hand. “Are you okay?” They both screamed when a bolt of electricity took out the potted geraniums at the entranceway. “Damn! I loved those.” She looked at her Eloise. “What have you done?”

Eloise looked at her in surprise. “Why would it be me?” Though in al likelihood it was with the whole Caitriona situation, but she stil didn’t want to be the first one to be blamed.

“Because you’re the one with a sexy vampire and a thousand-year-old woman wanting you to do tests.”

“Yeah, but you’re not exactly normal either, Mesopia.”

Her friend thought about that for a moment. “Okay, fair comment,” she conceded.

Arrow appeared like a lightning bolt. He went immediately to Eloise’s side.

“What have you done?” both women yel ed in unison, and moved in close to him for protection.

He looked at them in amusement. “Me? Why do you assume it has anything to do with me?”

Stuff like this did not normal y happen to Eloise. “It’s us combined that’s the problem.” That had to be it. There could be no other reason.

Arrow smiled at her words. “There’s an us?”

Damn he was gorgeous
. The instinct to throw herself into his arms and kiss him was powerful. But kissing did not solve problems. It started a whole set of new ones with them. Instead she remained stiffly at his side.

“Wel , of course there is. There is no way I could have gotten into al this trouble by myself.” Eloise decided to ignore the smile. It was safer that way. The whole idea of loving him was stil raw and new, and she didn’t want to give herself away completely. She was close but not there yet. Added to that, what had happened to Caitriona and her vampire lover was in Eloise’s mind. Arrow was a sensual, highly sexual man. He could have any woman he wanted.

That he wanted her now, regardless of the whole curse thing, did not mean he would want her after their job was done. Arrow had promised her no fairy-tale endings or deep love or commitment. He was just as likely to wander off and leave her when the dust cleared and she had to remember that. Eloise felt them both staring her. “What?”

“You went off into a little world of your own there.” Mesopia’s laugh was a little shaky. “That was a hel of a test that the Scottish broad put you through.”

That was true. “That had to be three bolts of lighting at least so that means three less tests to do.” Eloise knew that was an exaggeration but if she said it out loud maybe it would come true.

Arrow shook his head. “No, it’s only a test at a time if it’s you and me. This al started before I got here and Mesopia doesn’t count.

The woman in question looked less than impressed. “Wel , thank you very much.”

“You know what I mean,” Arrow told her.

“Wel , I don’t.” Eloise was more confused than ever. If that wasn’t a test from Caitriona, then what was it?

“I think there is someone else.” Mesopia looked thoughtful as she toyed with the piece of paper in her hand.

“Oh crap, who else do I have to deal with?”

Arrow nodded his head. “Mesopia could be right. This is a big thing. One thousand years have passed and there is the possibility that a long-dead woman can come back to life.”

Eloise hadn’t thought about it like that. She had only been concerned with her part in the whole scheme of it. “Do you think she had enemies?”

“Everyone does,” Mesopia responded. “And they would be extra mean if they have been holding on this long.”

One thousand years was a long time to hold a grudge and not be able to act on it. “So you’re thinking that someone believes fang face and I wil get together.”

“We are together,” Arrow pointed out to Eloise. “You’re just too stubborn to admit it.”

Am not.
Eloise preferred to think of it as being careful. “So if we pass the ‘tests’ and free Caitriona we piss off her enemies?”
Lovely. Can any of this get
more complicated?

“Exactly.” Mesopia nodded. “I’ve been thinking there has to be more to the whole Caitriona story than we know, so I did a little digging while you were off having sex with the luscious vampire. I emailed some contacts and I got this response.” She held out the paper in her hands to Eloise. “Don’t look at me like that. I only just downloaded it when the whole blowing-up thing started.”

Eloise took the paper and scanned the contents quickly. She herself should have thought to do this but unlike Mesopia, Eloise was too impatient to research everything.

“Witches? Like
Macbeth?
Seriously?” She handed it to Arrow.

Arrow did not look surprised. “I’ve heard of this before.” He noted Eloise’s look of shock. “Wel , I have been alive seven hundred years, shorty. I have picked up some knowledge. Wil iam Shakespeare wasn’t the only one who knew that these hags existed. Everything, no matter how smal or strange, has some basis in truth.”

Al Eloise could remember of the play
Macbeth
was a strong woman badgering a weak man to act and seize power while a bunch of old crones sat around a cauldron.
I should have paid more attention in English class at high school.
“Okay then, so these women don’t like Caitriona and they’re worried she’l come back to life, and do what?” What did her kinswoman have over these witches?

Mesopia shrugged her shoulders. “Wel , that’s the thing, isn’t it? Caitriona has to have something on them so getting rid of you is their only option to thwart her.”

And Arrow was immortal so he was safe. At least that was something. Eloise shook herself mental y. She chose not to analyze those thoughts any further for fear of feeling emotions she was scared to admit to. “Jeez, does life ever get any easier? Now I have to dodge tests and worry about three bitches from a thousand years ago out for revenge.”

* * * * *

“What?” Arrow’s hand stroked her stomach as they lay side by side.

“I don’t know,” she sighed. The whole lightning-witch thing had freaked her out. And that was not the only thing worrying her. She squirmed slightly. “I just know my skin is going to be a crisscross pattern when I get up.” Arrow being Arrow had made sure they had arrived naked at their destination. “I swear you have a one-track mind.” The hammock was large enough for two, but with Arrow at her side it was too smal and confined. This wasn’t a bad thing. It was actual y quite excel ent but it did not solve the problems they faced. She was supposed to be thinking about them and not how good it would feel to have him inside her once more.

Arrow laughed at her words and maneuvered Eloise so he was lying under her. “Better?”

Very much so. Eloise lay on his body, the warmth like a soothing balm.

“It wil be okay, shorty. You just need to relax.”

Eloise looked into his eyes and smiled. “How am I supposed to relax with that sticking into me?” She reached down and stroked his cock.

“I can feel how wet you are against my skin, why not slide on down over my friend and we’l al be at peace?”

“Sex doesn’t solve everything.” If only it were that easy.

“No, but a ninety-percent offering can often lead the way to a solution.”

Eloise looked into his beautiful blue eyes and felt safe with Arrow. No one had ever made her feel that way. “You have an answer for everything.”

“You make it easy for me.”

Did she? How was that when she had no idea what she was doing? “How is this going to work?”

Arrow smiled up at her. “It’s the old part A into slot B thing.”

She slapped his chest. “I don’t mean the sex.” The physical was easy. The emotional was much more difficult.

“I know. Do you know what your problem is?” His hands urged her pelvis onto his.

“I suspect you’re going to tel me.” Eloise rubbed her wet pussy against the head of his cock.

“You think too much.”

“Maybe.” She impaled herself on the length of his cock in one stroke. “How’s that for not thinking?” Eloise had just done what she wanted to. She began slowly rocking back and forward on top of him.

“Excel ent.” Arrow’s hands reached up and fondled her breasts. “Doesn’t that feel better?”

It did. There was only her and Arrow, and whatever problems they faced were far away. She leaned down and rested on his chest.

“Doesn’t any of this scare you?” Eloise wanted to be brave and fearless but it was pretty hard with so much going on.

“Only that you wil be stubborn and walk out on me.”

Walking away had never been the plan. Driving had though. However that idea was no longer feasible with her car a steaming pile of scorched metal beside the curb. But car or no car, Eloise needed to be with Arrow more than she needed to run from him. “Real y?”

“Yes.”

“How can that be?”

“That you have become a massive part of my life?” His hands moved down to caress her ass.

Eloise moved her body slowly back and forth. “We didn’t even know each other last week.”

“But we knew that there was this other person who would change our lives.”

She stopped and looked at him. “Did you want to change your life?” That concept had never occurred to her.

“Didn’t you?”

“Hmm, you’re being evasive.” What was he hiding? Why would he want to change his life? He was immortal. He could do anything.

“And you’re being slow.” Arrow slapped her ass.

“I’m scared that if I go any faster this hammock wil fal under our weight.” She sat up and looked at him in concern. Eloise wanted to go fast but she did not want bruises added to the crisscrosses on her skin.

“Trust me it’s solid.”

“Okay then.” Besides, if she fel it would be onto him and there were worse fates. Eloise started to move her hips faster, her breasts bouncing as she sought to give in to the feeling that was building up through her body. She encouraged Arrow’s hands back on her breasts and sighed as he tugged at the nipples. Just as she felt the orgasm hit, the rope on the hammock snapped and sent them crashing onto the sand. Eloise yel ed in ecstasy as the force of it drove Arrow’s cock hard up inside her, his pelvic bone hitting her clit one last glorious time. She col apsed on his body, shaking. “Wow,” she moaned, feeling him shoot high up inside her. “Are you okay?

“I’m in heaven,” Arrow growled in low contentment as he wrapped his arms around her body.

Eloise started giggling. Hammock sex was a mad idea.

“What?”

“You’re crazy, fang face.” She touched his face softly. Crazy yet wonderful. Eloise felt more alive and happy than she had in a long time.

“So are you.” They both started laughing at the tangled heap they found themselves in.” Arrow stopped and put his fingers to her lips. “I think I hear laughing. A woman.”

“Sounds like Caitriona.” It was light and soft and unmistakably pleased. “I’m not sure I like this voyeuristic side of my kinswoman.” It was a little too weird having someone who was technical y dead watching them.

“You know I think that was a test.” Arrow nodded at her confused look. “Think about it. What it shows is that we can laugh together regardless of what happens.”

That was not a bad test as tests went. A sense of humor was always important. “So we’ve had need, trust, faith and giving. What next? Flood, famine?

Boils?”

Arrow rol ed her over onto her back in the sand. “Let’s worry about that later and let me fuck you again now.” He kissed her hungrily.

Eloise automatical y wrapped her legs around his waist. She hated sand between her toes.

* * * * *

“The lightning failed.” Finel a did not sound impressed. “I told you it would. Lightning is only ever good if the target is outside.”

“Wel , you did nothing,” Sineag snapped angrily. “At least I tried to solve our problem.”

Darragh tried not to listen to the two women argue. She had spent an eternity doing just that. As soon as they quashed both Gaunt women, Darragh would be free of both of her companions. To be doomed through eternity with this pair was becoming unbearable. Only one of the three of them would survive if they did succeed in destroying Caitriona and her kin for it would weaken al three witches. Darragh planned to be the last one standing and usurp what powers they had. Fortunately for her the other two would probably stil be at each other’s throats and would not have time to chal enge her in the end.

If Darragh could outwit and outlast these two, then she could once again become mortal herself. She had lost that connection to humanity when Caitriona had died. For every action there was a reaction and it was not always positive. The power they had used to get rid of Caitriona’s lover had cost al three of them their humanity. At the time, Darragh had thought it was worth it. But it wasn’t. To al ow either Gaunt woman to live ruined her chance to live again.

Darragh thought about Caitriona. They had been very close friends once. In some ways like sisters. It had been so very long ago. Darragh had planned to maneuver Caitriona to marry the Lord of Caithness. His power had been immense. Darragh had been going to use the beauteous Caitriona to gain and enhance her own power. But the vampire had come between them and it had been necessary to remove him from the scene. Caitriona had been unworldly and it had been easy to make her believe he loved another. She had not realized that the “other” was merely a spel cast to make her think that.

Darragh had joined forces with the local witches Sineag and Finel a. The three of them had hatched a plan to get rid of the vampire and keep Caitriona under their control. The spel was supposed to make Caitriona despise her lover. But when she had kil ed herself instead, it had been a shock and so unlike the strong-wil ed Caitriona. Darragh had not believed it. Her death had kil ed any dreams of greatness Darragh’d had. While she was a witch in her own right, Darragh did not have the power she craved. Manipulating Caitriona would have gotten her what she wanted. Now the best Darragh could hope for was to become mortal. It wasn’t an ideal choice, but when she looked around the current state of the world, she knew that was her only option for survival. While Darragh had power, it was limited and in many ways could not complete with the power of the modern age.