“Oh, shit,” she breathed. This was it. The mountain really was coming down on them.
Her view was mostly obscured by her position in Colin’s arms, but from what she could see, she’d almost swear they were being attacked by a swarm of bees. Fast-flying, multicolored bees dived all around them, sounding as if they pinged off the walls on every side of them.
She waited, expecting to feel the sting of attack any moment. Instead, it suddenly felt as if the ground had given way beneath them, the sensation one of falling a great distance.
Only the knowledge that Colin held her, his arms tightening around her yet again, gave her any measure of security as the black void closed in and reality slipped away.
Either the mountain had given way or all this had, in fact, been no more than a bad dream after all.
Nineteen
Find her, find her, find her . . .
The words echoed inside Flynn’s head, pounding at his mind even as the pain seared through his thigh in a hideous, utterly foreign sensation. Somewhere in the deep recesses of his old self, he recognized that it was the Bloodlust that had taken him. The Bloodlust that tinged his vision as though he viewed the world through a red prism.
Even knowing, he was powerless against it. He had become the Bloodlust.
He scrambled higher up the rocky hillside, his feet slipping on the loose gravel and twigs. A flash of white brushed his peripheral vision and he lifted his weapon, firing a shot blindly in that general direction.
No! Too dangerous. Can’t risk killing her.
All would be lost if that happened.
Must find her. Reason with her. Convince her to come with him.
“I know you’re close.” He called out in his desperation, hoping against hope they’d give their position away. “I’ll find you. It’s only a matter of time, you know. Make it easy on yourselves and give up now.”
Not far now. He could all but feel her. Could almost feel her heart beating in time with his own.
Must be systematic. Slow down.
He retraced his steps, stopping where the path curved into the trees.
Find her, find her, find her. . .
No longer able to ignore the throbbing in his thigh, he dropped to his knees, struggling to breathe through the pain.
It was then he saw it, dancing in the corner of his vision. A green light that seemed to glow from the misshapen branches to his right. Branches oddly growing from the rock face.
He stuffed the gun into the pocket of his jacket before he reached out to clasp his hand around the rough bark, intending to pull himself to it for a closer inspection. But the wood gave way, revealing an opening in the rock.
What had appeared as a mere glow through the branches burst from the opening in a shaft of brilliant emerald light, knocking him flat even as it bathed him in a flood of frenzied sparkles.
From this vantage, he could see beyond the opening, into the interior of the shallow cave. There, in the veryheart of the light, the woman he sought, cradled in the interloper’s arms!
He would have called out, would have dragged himself forward to claim what was rightfully his, but the world turned upside down and sucked him soundlessly into a vast, black void.
Twenty
Colin awoke in the dark, aware only that he was no longer in the cave. The Magic had worked, and though he sensed no immediate danger, where the Magic had taken him—or when—he had no idea.
Where or when it had takenthem.
Abby lay in his arms, her legs entangled with his. Warm, soft, and invitingly naked, her skin caressed his, seriously impairing his ability to concentrate on their surroundings.
When her hand slid up his chest to his face, tenderly guiding his mouth down to meet hers, what little sense he had deserted him completely. He ran his tongue across her lower lip before dipping inside. Just as he remembered, she tasted sweet, like a marvelous mix of mint and honey.
She anchored her hand behind his neck and pressedher body against his. He tightened his arms around her, deepening the kiss, losing himself in the moment. She moaned against him, a soft mewling, needy sound that drove him wild with desire.
