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"No," Desari gasped, unable to believe that her brother could be so close to turning.
It was Julian who shrugged casually. "Then we can do no other than return her to our family. She is
young, Darius, and human. It is natural for her to fear what we are, to fear your strength and power. You
are no easy man to deal with. You need patience."
The burning black eyes settled on Julian's face for a moment; then some of the tension eased from
Darius's shoulders. "She is hurt and alone. She does not understand the need to merge her mind with
mine. She fights herself continually. I am worried for her health." Darius sighed softly. "And she seems to
have a penchant for getting herself into trouble whenever I leave her on her own."
"That, I fear, is a woman thing," Julian declared with a wry grin.
Desari thumped Julian's chest. "Where is she, Darius?"
Tempest sat huddled on the seat near the window, peering out with sightless eyes at the countryside
flashing by. She had been lucky to flag down a bus once she made her way to main highway, even luckier
that the driver had allowed her on board. But the farther the bus carried her from Darius, the heavier her
heart had become. It was now like a leaden weight in her chest. Sorrow was pressing in on her. Grief. As
if by her leaving him, Da-rius had died. Intellectually she knew it wasn't so, but in her resolve to get away,
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she firmly forced herself to stay away from the path to his mind. And that left her feeling unutterably alone
and lonely.
She could hear small snatches of conversation flowing around her. A man, two rows back, was snoring
loudly. Several young people were laughing together, exchanging travel stories. At least four military men
were on the bus, returning to their homes on leave. Everything seemed to flow around her as if she wasn't
there, as ifshe were no longer alive.
Tempest knew blood was seeping from the puncture wounds on her rib cage and most likely from the
scrapes down her back. Someone was bound to notice if it didn't stop soon. She tried to concoct a
plausible story, but she couldn't keep her mind on anything but Darius. It took every effort, every bit of
concentration and control not to call out to him, not to reach for him when she needed him so
desperately. Her shoes were squishing with her own blood. If anyone really looked at her, they'd
probably turn her over to the authorities. She huddled down farther in the seat. She just wanted to
disappear, become invisible. Even her clothes were damp from her plunge into the stream. She hadn't
returned to the campsite, so she had no money, no tools, no plan. More than anything she wanted to feel
Darius beside her.
The miles accumulating between her and Darius were putting more and more of a strain on her. She
could feel tears burning behind her eyes. It was becoming difficult to breathe. Even her skin was sensitive,
needing the feel of his. Tempest closed her eyes tightly against the pounding in her head, the constant
strain of keeping her wayward mind from reaching out to his.
"Looks like we're running into a freak storm," the bus driver announced, peering through his windshield
at the sky.
The weather was indeed changing rapidly. Rising directly in front of them was a huge cloud shaped like a
dark, old-fashioned blacksmith's anvil. Almost instantly the bus hit a sheet of driving rain, so thick and
hard, i was nearly impossible to see. Swearing, the driver slowed the vehicle significantly. The rain turned
an ominous white. The driver ducked instinctively as hail pounded the roof and windshield. The sound
was alarming, like the chatter of a machine gun.
The hail soon took the driver's visibility to zero, am he slowed even more, trying to reach the side of the
road. The only warning the passengers had was the hair on their necks standing on end before the flash of
lightning struck directly in front of the bus. Thunder crashed shaking the mammoth bus, rattling the
windows. There was silence for perhaps ten seconds, then several girl screamed and a child began to
cry. Just as abruptly a the hail had started, it stopped.
The driver peered out, trying to see as he parked the bus, hoping he was safely off the road. Lightning
arced from cloud to cloud, and thunder crashed again. Staring out the windshield, he found himself
ducking as a huge owl flew straight out of the driving sheets of rain.
"What the hell?" he demanded, even as the creature veered away at the last possible moment. Thinking
he was safe, the driver leaned forward to check visibility Instantly a second bird, than a third, flew
directly at the windshield. The birds were huge and vicious-looking. He yelled and covered his face with
his arms.
There was another eerie silence, broken only by the rain. Then the driver found himself reaching to open
the door. He swore he saw a huge jungle cat flash by in the rain, striking terror into his already pounding
heart but even so, his hand continued to open the door. He couldn't stop himself, no matter how hard he
tried. Hi: hand was shaking as he gripped the release. Outside he could hear the beating of wings, strong
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and ominous. He could hear whispers, insidious whispers, urging him to open the door. Yet he sensed
that when he did, he would be letting in the devil himself.
A man's solid frame filled the entrance. He was tall, muscular, his face in the shadows. As hard as he
tried, the driver could not see his features. He had only the impression of enormous strength and great
power. The dark stranger wore a long, swirling black trench coat that added to his mystery. Only his
eyes, burning with fire and suppressed rage, gleamed like a predator's stare from the shadowed face. The
man ignored the driver and turned his black, merciless gaze on the passengers.
This time the silence was complete. The wind and rain ceased, as if nature itself was holding its breath.
Tempest peeked out at the imposing figure through her fingers. Despite his Old-World elegance, he gave
every impression of being a modern-day mobster. No one on the bus would dare defy that impressive
figure of sheer power. She huddled down, making herself into a small ball, even though her traitorous
heart was rejoicing and her treacherous body instantly went up in flames at the sight of him. He was so
incredibly sexy. Tempest wished she didn't think so, but there it was.
The burning black eyes settled unerringly on her face. "We can do this either of two ways, honey. You
can come out, quietly, on your own two feet, or I can throw you, kicking and screaming, over my
shoulder and carry you out." His voice was low, a purr of menace, a blend of iron and black velvet.
Sorcery. Dark persuasion.
Every head in the bus swung toward her. All eyes were on her, all ears waiting for her answer. Tempest
sat for a moment in silence before moving. She wanted to pretend she might resist him, but the truth was,
she wanted to be with him. She was only gathering her strength.
Heaving an exaggerated sigh, just to show him he was annoying her, she made her way down the narrow
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