Dark Protectors: Provoked Part 5

Amber shoved against the ex-soldier, Kane's coat in her hands. Her eyes sparked a deep black, and her cheeks had turned a lovely crimson. The soldier held her upper arms in his beefy hands.

Kane let a low growl loose.

Amber turned her head, eyes widening. "The sun is coming." Kicking the soldier, she jumped off the porch, heading straight for Kane with his coat.

He opened his mouth to stop her when she took a flying leap and landed full force on him, covering him with his overcoat.

Her knee hit him squarely in the b.a.l.l.s.

"Holy f.u.c.king Christ." He bent at the waist as pain shot down both his legs. Nausea swirled in his belly. A frightening numbness followed the pain. He opened his eyes and only saw dark fabric.

"It's okay." Amber pressed down on his throat, frantically patting the coat around him. "I won't let the sun get you, but you're only covered to your knees. Will you burst into flames?"

He coughed for air. "Get . . . off . . . my . . . windpipe." His breath bounced off the material and warmed his face.

She released him and tucked the wool around his head. "Sorry."

He'd laugh. Really, he'd laugh at the ridiculousness of the situation if his t.e.s.t.i.c.l.es weren't on fire. And not in a good way. "Amber?" The coat m.u.f.fled his voice.

She stretched across him, keeping him covered. "It'll be okay. Should we try to run for the house?"

Enough. "Hold on, sweetheart." With a growl, he yanked both arms up and in, using physics and his rapidly returning strength to rip his arms free. His shoulders protested, but the ropes gave. His hands gripped her thighs, hauling her into a sitting position as he sat up. The coat fell between them.

Surprise widened her eyes as she straddled him. "Kane?"

"The sun doesn't hurt me." As he spoke, the sun filtered down to warm their heads. He lifted an eyebrow, his groin feeling suddenly better with her perched on it.

"Oh." She frowned, thoughts scattering across her face. "I, ah, don't understand."

She really didn't. How was that possible? "You don't know anything about vampires . . . or demons, do you?"

"Um, no." She gently pushed against his chest and attempted to rise.

He tightened his hold to keep her in place. "Stay." Releasing one thigh, he grabbed the rope tied around his ankle and jerked it free, following suit with the other leg.

The soldier edged toward them, a baseball bat in his hands.

Amber shook her head. "Mason, now isn't the time to hit people."

Kane stood in one swift motion and shoved Amber behind him. "Don't make me hurt you."

"Why didn't you fry?" the soldier asked, his knuckles turning white around the bat handle.

"Legends are bunk." Kane stiffened as the sound of Amber's teeth chattering filled the quiet morning. Half-turning, he slid his coat around her shoulders while keeping his gaze on Mason. "I'm not here to hurt anyone."

"You're a vampire." Mason shook his head, his fear scenting the day with old gra.s.s and sulfur.

"Yes." Kane scrubbed both hands down his face. "Vampires are just a different species from humans. We don't take blood unless we need it in battle, we can't turn you into one of us, and we mean you absolutely no harm." Well, they took blood in s.e.x, too. But Mason didn't need to know that.

"Another species?" Amber stepped even with him, her gaze thoughtful as she peered up. The coat covered her to her toes.

"Yes. Different genetic composition." Unease had Kane clearing his throat. One of their laws included keeping his people a secret from the humans-was he failing on this mission or what? "I'd appreciate it if you would make up a story for the rest of your group, Mason."

The soldier frowned and shook his head. "This is unbelievable." He gestured with the bat toward the farmhouse. "Were the two guys you killed vampires?"

"No. Demons, who are another species." Kane was taking a huge risk in trusting the old soldier. "Bury them later today. The demon nation will leave you alone once I get Amber out of here."

"She's not going anywhere." Mason settled his stance.

"The demons will keep coming until they get her." Kane glanced down at the quiet woman. "They'll kill you all and then her."

"Why?" she whispered. "Why do they want me?"

How in the world could she not know who she was?

"You have powers that hurt them, sweetheart." Kane scratched his head. "Though I don't know why you're broadcasting your skills all of a sudden. Has anything changed in the last couple of weeks?"

Amber shrugged, then paled. "Well, Grandma Hilde has a head concussion and is in the hospital."

The air whooshed out of Kane's lungs. "You have a grandmother?" Holy h.e.l.l.

CHAPTER 6.

Amber clutched the armrest of the truck, her heart beating so hard she needed to throw up. "There's no cell service this far out."

Kane flipped his phone shut. "No kidding." He drove the truck at unsafe speeds, somehow keeping all four tires on the ground as he sped over ice and around corners. He had nice hands. Tapered, strong, and capable, they handled the steering wheel of the Suburban with ease. As the SUV whipped around dangerous curves over black ice, Amber reached for her seatbelt. His nice hands wouldn't save her from crashing through the windshield if he hit a Ponderosa pine.

He glanced her way. "How long has your grandmother been in the hospital?"

"Just a few days." Amber settled in the seat and forced her shoulders to relax in case they crashed. "One of the horses got antsy and kicked her in the head."

"Ah. Any other relatives? Do you have a mother or father?"

"No. I never knew my father, and my mother died when I was a baby-some weird cancer."

"I'm sorry." Kane turned his attention back to the road just in time to slam on the brakes, flip around a corner, and punch the accelerator. The rear of the SUV fishtailed before sailing straight. "Is your grandmother gifted, too?"

Amber dug her nails into the armrest, stiffening in her seat. "Gifted?" Psycho Bend was around the corner. "You need to slow down." If he didn't, no way would they make it around the hill.

"I'm fine. Years of defensive driving training." Kane ran a hand through his hair. "Yes, gifted. You sensed the demons earlier, didn't you?"

Amber sighed. "If you mean my head wanted to explode in pain, then yeah, I sensed them." She retracted her nails from the leather and clasped her hands in her lap. Once the pain receded, her brain had been working overtime. "This is so confusing."

Kane nodded. "I'm figuring your grandmother knows concealing spells-something probably handed down through your family. That's the only conclusion I can come up with."

That was too unbelievable. Amber took a deep breath. "Grandma Hilde performs both morning and evening prayers . . . more like chants." Amber had promised she'd continue the tradition if anything ever happened to her grandmother, but she'd been so busy lately, she'd shrugged them off.

"Chants?" Kane maneuvered around Psycho Bend without a hitch. "In Gaelic?"

"No. Just a series of sounds . . . almost like humming an old song without words." While there had to be some sort of logical explanation for everything, there was no doubt Kane had fangs. Real vampire fangs. Maybe the two guys sent to kidnap her had been demons. And if demons existed, maybe so did destroyers.

If somehow she had a gift, and it had been hidden since her grandma had taken ill, then the chants had to have been important. "I'm in the dark here, not clueless." She said the words for herself as much as for Kane.

"Chants in song form without words. Very interesting." He took a deep breath. "Do a chant. Now."

"No." The response came naturally, easily. "Do you boss everyone around, Kane?"

"Yes." The calm inflection in his deep voice didn't change. "When it comes to experiments, medicine, and science, I do tend to give orders. I apologize." His smile reached his odd violet eyes. He hadn't bothered to put the colored contacts back in. "Would you please do me the honor of performing one of your grandmother's chants?"

Amber's lips twitched. "Do all vampires have charm, or is it just you?"

Surprise filled those eyes as he glanced at her. "n.o.body has accused me of having charm. Ever."

What a load of baloney. "I watched a movie once where the vampires were charming and handsome because they were the ultimate predators. You know, they drew in prey and then . . . bammo."

Kane barked out a laugh. "Bammo?"

"Yeah." Amber shifted in her seat, heat climbing into her face. "Bammo. They sucked the poor humans dry."

"Sunshine, I promise you, I've never sucked a human dry." His voice lowered just enough to cause a fluttering in her lower belly. "Now, how about a quick chant?"

"Why?" Could she trust him? The guy had fangs, for goodness' sake.

"Good question."

The approval in his voice should not cause such warmth in her belly. "Thanks."

"Most immortal species can sense other species as well as enhanced humans. You're an enhanced human, and you're broadcasting strong enough to bring wolf shifter scouts from miles away to check you out. That's how we found you. I want to see if your chant shields you from detection."

"Wolf shifters? Like people who turn into wolves?" Where had reality gone to? Maybe she was in the hospital with Grandma.

"Sure. Several of my friends can turn into animals."

Amber shook her head, searching for calm. "What kinds of animals?"

"Most kinds. Shifters have three main cla.s.sifications: feline, canine, or multis, who can turn into anything except felines or canines."

She tilted her head to study him, her mind spinning. He couldn't be serious. "You really are saying that shifters live among us."

"Yes. You have my word."

Wow. Not only was that incredible, it was awesome. Her mind ran through various possible scenarios. What would a person look like who could change into a wolf? Had she ever met a shifter and not known it? "Good G.o.d. Have you ever seen a jackalope?"

He laughed. "Of course not. Jackrabbit and antelope mixture? That's a Pacific Northwest joke. No such thing."

"I don't believe you." Her mind spun with the new knowledge. "Man, I want to see a jackalope."

"There's no such thing in the immortal world, sweetheart."

She wasn't so sure. A second ago she hadn't thought wolf shifters existed. "So, immortal? You guys can't die?"

"All species can die. Some of us are just harder to kill. You have to behead a vampire, otherwise, we can repair ourselves. And we only need your blood in extreme cases of battle . . . or well, sometimes s.e.x."

Amber swallowed hard. Okay. Taking blood during s.e.x was gross. Definitely gross. The b.u.t.terflies in her stomach were from nausea, not interest. No way. She was not interested in the s.e.xy-as-h.e.l.l vampire driving like a capable stunt driver. "So you take blood. What happens if you run out of blood?"

"We basically go brain dead. So we try to never run out of blood." He flashed a grin.

That grin was beyond s.e.xy. Concentrate. She needed to concentrate. "You say I'm enhanced. Some sort of demon destroyer. Am I immortal?" Now that would be cool.

"No."

"That sucks."

"You could always mate a vampire, shifter, witch, or demon." Kane sped through the entrance to downtown. "Then your human chromosomal pairs would increase until you were immortal."

"I am so far down the rabbit hole." Much better to concentrate on the possibility of different species on earth than the word mate.

"The chant?" While he phrased it as a question, the tinge of a command echoed in the low tone.

She rolled her eyes. "Fine." Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and centered her thoughts.

Peace lowered her shoulders.

Calm stilled her movements.

The tune rose easily to her lips, soft and sure, the melody without words.

Humming through all five verses, she opened her eyes as Kane pulled into the parking lot for the hospital. Gooseb.u.mps rose on her arms as she finished the last note, pitching her voice just high enough to hit it.

The air in the front seat heated. Pressure popped her inner ears.

Kane's eyes widened. He grabbed her head and shoved her face toward her knees. "Get down."

With a shattering crack, the windows exploded. Cold wind whipped inside. The world stopped moving for two seconds. Amber lifted her head, her heart pounding. "What the heck?"

"That's some power you have." Kane released her seatbelt, gently wiping snow off her cheek.

"No." She hadn't broken all the windows. "That's never happened before. We don't break gla.s.s with the chant."

"Well"-Kane rubbed his chin-"maybe since you haven't shielded yourself in a week, the power came out stronger. Or maybe it's because your grandma isn't here to help temper the power. Either way, that's all you, sunshine."

Amber blinked against the freezing wind, taking in the damaged window. Gla.s.s had flown far enough to hit the few snow-covered vehicles in the silent parking lot. "Butch is going to kill me." The bartender loved his refurbished Suburban.