The Stone Protector (Keepers of the Flame, Book 1) Page 5

  Fight! Dammit Luanne, I said bloody fight him!

  Suddenly she stopped fighting and went limp. With my heart in my mouth, I saw Morrison stumble, then he bent to try and pick her up. I have no idea what happened then. One minute he was bending down to pick Luanne up, and then suddenly a huge ball of flame engulfed her. He shouted and jumped back, but she was like a spinning ball of fury. She went after him and wrapped her fiery arms around him then shot up through the roof, into the air.

  It all happened so fast that I was still wondering whether I'd hallucinated what had just happened. Before I could get my breath the room filled with protector agents and the other vampires were quickly overpowered. The platinum bonds holding me were broken and I shot up, after Luanne and Morrison.

  As I hovered in the night air, I was instinctively drawn to a solitary figure. Hovering a good distance away, dressed in black, with a river of golden hair flowing almost to the waist, the solitary figure stayed motionless, alone in the night. Even without checking, I knew it was Luanne. I moved beside her and though she must have known I was standing there, she didn't turn to look at me.

  “What happened to Morrison?”

  “He's gone.”

  “That's good, but we need to get you out of here before he returns.”

  She made no move. I tried to get into her mind, but as usual, it was air tight. “Luanne?” I understood that she must have been suffering from shock but every moment we wasted was crucial.

  “He's gone, Dylan. Gone as in dead. Turned-into-ashes dead.”

  She turned to look at me then and I could see she'd been crying. There were still tears in her eyes. I wanted to know what had happened, who had finished off Lord Morrison. I had a thousand and one questions, but I drew her close to me instead and enfolded her in a hug. We stayed there in silence and it felt so right. Even though I was the one offering comfort, I felt like the loneliness which had been my companion for as long as I could remember was being slowly drained out of me.

  “I killed my grandfather, Dylan,” she said in a small voice.

  “Shh...don't talk like that.” I ran a hand over her hair, trying to soothe her. “Lord Morrison would have killed you, you know that don't you? You didn't have a choice.”

  “But he was my grandfather. That's the only other family I have, except for Katrina.”

  I knew how she felt. Mortal or vampire, your first intentional killing is always traumatic and for this young woman, it was probably more heartbreaking. Still, I needed to make her understand.

  “He would have killed Katrina, Lu,” I said as gently as I could. “You did what you had to.”

  She didn't say anything for some time then she nodded, her head bobbing against my jacket. Finally she drew back and just like that, I felt the emptiness and loneliness flood back inside me.

  I looked at her searchingly and she finally met my gaze, hers was like the sky on a rainy day. She smiled tremulously and I felt something give way in the region where my heart was supposed to be.

  “Thanks, Dylan. You've been great,” she said shyly.

  I stared at her and then closed my eyes briefly, before opening them again. I knew I shouldn't do what I was about to do, but for the life of me, I could not help myself. Very slowly, giving her the opportunity to escape and hoping fervently that she would take it, I cupped her cheek with one hand and leaned down to do what I'd wanted to do from the first moment I'd seen her in her grandmother's kitchen. As my lips touched hers, she sighed softly and closed her eyes. I couldn't have stopped then even if I'd wanted to stop. And I didn't. I suddenly felt like kissing her was as essential to me as my essence and even though I didn't understand it, I was far too preoccupied to question it.

  ***

  My heart was beating rapidly as his mouth came closer. I knew he was going to kiss me and I wanted him to with everything in me. I sighed softly and closed my eyes just as his lips touched mine. The kiss was sweet and gentle, but I felt his passion simmering beneath the surface. Passion for me, Luanne Kylor. It was a heady feeling and I allowed myself get lost in it.

  He pulled away gently and I finally opened my eyes. I gazed into his eyes and the expression in them made me catch my breath.

  “We need to get back to the house,” he said softly.

  I nodded and the warm feeling returned when he took my hand. This time there was no teleporting and we took our time moving through the night skies toward my grandmother's home. Reliving my first kiss, I knew that as horrible as my life had been, it was finally going to get better.

  TO BE CONTINUED IN BOOK TWO: The Stone Keeper - Book 2