Craved

Damon:

Damon carried Renee in his arms toward the bus. Afraid to let her go even though she breathed normally, but she'd been attacked by a fucking ahool. An enormous bat-like creature that fed on dwarves, gnomes, and other smaller magical entities. Did the crystal draw it to her? Her wound on her back festered. Each of his inhales were sharp and painful like he had shrapnel inside his lungs. Shit! Poison would flood her body. He had to do something now. "Get Sofia!" he roared at Travis who hovered near his elbow.

"What happened?" Carla opened the back of the bus for him and unhinged the backseat, so it formed a makeshift bed.

Thankfully, she nor any of the humans would've seen the creature.

Damon laid Renee down, then checked her pulse. Hurry up, Sofia, Renee needs help now. None of the humans would have seen the ahool, but she had. Julia was right, the crystal somehow gave Renee the skill to view a magical or immortal creatures' true form. Which meant she could see his...for how long? Why had she not been falling all over him?

What was keeping Sofia? If she didn't bring an antidote and her magic, Renee would die.

"Should we call an ambulance?" Sarah asked.

"No." Human medicine wouldn't help. "I think she fainted. Travis went to get a doctor."

If the blasted gnome didn't hurry, Damon would sell him to a flesh-eating giant.

"Move," Sofia said, and Damon's heart stopped slamming against his chest. "Let me pass."

The crowd parted but his team hung near, mumbling in worried tones.

"Help her, please," Damon croaked, his throat raw.

"Why did an ahool attack her?" Sofia frowned as she examined Renee's wound. "They rarely attack humans especially in a crowd of them."

"The crystal," he whispered so the humans wouldn't overhear. "Renee saw the creature and cried out. Must have been coming for Travis, then her screams distracted it and it went after her."

Ahool loved the taste of gnomes and here among the human tourists stood two other gnomes. Or it might have been the crystal too since they liked shiny magical trinkets and lined their nests with them. While Renee danced, it flickered with a white light. Unless someone had used magic to coerce the creature to attack a crowd full of humans. If the ahool had gotten Travis, pandemonium would've ensued, and he'd have had to call for a backup of Sofia or others of his kind to wipe all the memories of the humans there. Or they would tweak their minds those resistant to a complete wipe that they saw a UFO.

And now he had another concern. With the quartz now glowing, he must convince Renee to give it to him 'cause no way would the crystal flashing be a good thing. She hadn't taken it off since the cave-in.

Sofia muttered, "If she dies, you could have the crystal. There is no one to claim it except you."

Bile lodged into his throat. Whatever happened to him, he needed Renee safe and alive. He'd give up his immortality and embrace madness if it meant he'd save her. "No. I can't let her die."

While Sofia worked on Renee, he motioned for those on his team to step away from the bus. The tingle of magic zipped across his skin like the sprinkling of an electric rain.

After an hour, the crowd had trickled to only his staff. "Go check into a hotel. I'll pay the bill."

Carla stared at the bus. The woman couldn't possibly feel the magic swirling around. "What about Renee?"

"An ambulance is on its way. Go get some sleep. Sofia, Travis, and I will stay with her." He hated lying, but he needed everyone gone. His staff dragged their heels, but they all left for the hotel.

If Sofia cured Renee, he wouldn't have to explain too much to the humans around him. They wouldn't see the ahool's scar.

While he and Travis waited for Sofia's magic to work and Renee to recover, the sky lightened with sunrise.

Damon paced behind the bus. What was taking so long? He peeked inside the back window. Sofia's hands glowed as she set them on either side of Renee's wound. Orbs of light with blackish purple ink floated around her. She drew out the poison from Renee's system using her witch side to gather the poison, trapping it since it was drawn to magic, and healing her.

A dervish offered Damon a breakfast roll, but he declined.

Transferring Renee to a hospital was too risky-the poison could spread quicker, and Sofia should concentrate without worrying about relocation. About an hour later, his team marched sleepily from their hotel rooms and joined him. They were as worried about Renee as he was from the dark circles under their eyes and grim expressions. She was asleep in the back of the bus; windows open to let in the breeze while Sofia trekked to the coffee shop for both of them.

"Is Renee going to be okay?" Phil, one of the interns, asked. "Shouldn't she be in a hospital?"

"I think she passed out." What else could Damon say? During the night, he'd gathered a pillow and blanket for her from the nearby hotel. "Paramedics released her. Said it was the alcohol and excitement. She's sleeping now and should wake soon." More lies.

"What about the bat-thing she screamed about?" Carla asked trying to look around him.

His group semi-circled around him and the back of the bus.

He tucked his hands into his back pockets. "Probably a shadow of a bat, and the lighting and alcohol made her think it was bigger."

A few minutes later, Sofia tapped his arm, a steaming cup of coffee in her hand. "Here."

"H-how is she?" Damon swallowed past the raw lump in his throat.

"She's fine." She patted his arm. "I told her she fainted and probably hallucinated from the Serbet she drank, but I don't think she believes me entirely. Tell Renee about the crystal before it consumes her." "What do you mean?"

"Speak with her about the crystal. It's worse than the ahool." Sofia's dark eyes filled with a mixture of sadness and sympathy. "Before it's too late."

Damon fought not to shove the others away crowding around Renee, but he hung back as she accepted hugs, and one of the dervishes handed her a plastic cup of water.

"Time to go." Damon motioned everyone to the bus. While they clambered in, he went to the back where Renee's legs dangled off the flattened seat. "Are you alright? We can stay here in a hotel if you're not feeling okay." She shivered. "I feel odd...tired. We are still going to Dr. Abany's, right?"

"No," Damon said. "You need to rest. We'll go tomorrow at dawn."

"I think you should go to the doctor." Sarah touched her forehead. "No, I'm okay now."

Once they arrived at their camp, Damon waited while everyone piled out. When Renee exited the bus and wobbled, he snagged her elbow. "We need to talk."

"Can't it wait until later?" She sagged and blinked a few times as if fighting off sleep.

"Now." He led her into a crop of juniper and olive trees. When they were out of earshot and view of the camp, he let go of her arm. "I think there's a problem with the crystal you found the one you're wearing."

She clasped it. "What do you mean?"

"I think it's radioactive or something." When her face clouded and her eyes narrowed, he continued, "Are you seeing bizarre things? Things that can't possibly be real?"

She paled. Julia and Sofia were right.

"H-How did you know?"

"It's the only explanation for you fainting last night." He held out his hand. "Give me the necklace, and I'll have it checked."

"Wait. How do you know I was seeing anything bizarre?"

Good question. "The giant bat you screamed you saw before you passed out. And the other day you paled when you met Julia. She said you looked as though you'd seen a ghost. I dismissed her concern at first, but then I remembered you've been acting strangely since you found the crystal." He unleashed a hint of his gift, not much to frighten her, but enough to draw her closer. The smoky quartz in her necklace appeared lighter than before. Probably the sunlight filtering through the trees.

A buzzing sounded, and the wind whipped up around them. Nearby, a helicopter hovered overhead.

"What in the world?" Damon shielded his eyes as he watched it land near their campsite.

He raced toward it and Renee followed him. Debris from the helicopter blades shook the tarps covering their excavation, and he shouted, "Turn the engine off."

A door opened, and Cynthia stepped out in a bright pink suit. Ducking, she crossed to him. "Damon? Did you not get my message?"

"What message?"

Her gaze went past him. "Oh, good, and you have the volunteer who found the urn." Her eyes widened. "My employers insisted on having a meeting with you and her. Immediately. I'm here to take you back to the museum."

He jerked as dread pressed against his gut. Something wasn't right. "I'm sorry, but we've been away and must get back to our dig. Perhaps next week would be better."

"No, I'm afraid it won't." She yanked out a pistol from her bag and raised it to Damon's chest. "Come with me now, and I won't have to use this."

If Renee weren't beside him, he could drift close enough to Cynthia to overload her aura and make her faint. He took a step forward.

"Oh, I know this won't persuade you, unless I use it on a better target...." She shifted her aim to Renee. "Both of you inside now."

"What the hell is going on?" Renee took a step backward.

He knew Cynthia would do anything if she made up her mind. "Alright." He strode closer, thinking to use his weight to throw her off balance and seize the gun, but she stepped to the side and out of his reach. "Inside."

"No." Renee's gaze darted to his and back to the gun.

"Then I'll just shoot you and take what I want." She cocked the trigger.

"Why are you doing this?" Renee asked.

He touched Renee's elbow. "Let's do as she says."

When he climbed into the helicopter, two men had their weapons pointed at his crew. Then Renee hopped in, and Cynthia's gun locked on Renee. "That's more like it," Cynthia purred.

After the helicopter ride, they landed in a private airspace, then drove in a truck into downtown to the museum. Cynthia kept her gun poised and ready. "Where are you taking us?" Renee asked.

"Patience. I'll answer all your questions when we're in my office."

Renee frowned and gazed out the window. Despite wanting to comfort her, he had to figure out a way to help her escape whatever crazy scheme Cynthia had planned. They rode in silence, pulling in front of the museum and climbing out of the truck. Cynthia kept her gun pointed at Renee and pressed into her side.

A note was pinned to the museum door-Temporarily closed from a water leak. Cynthia handed Damon the keys, then gestured with the gun in her blazer pocket to open the door. They squeezed in, then she locked the door behind them. "Let's discuss this in my office." She led them to her office, and the armed men waited outside.

"When I showed my employer your urn, he was intrigued and insisted we meet." Cynthia wore a toothy grin.

"I don't know what your boss has to do with guns." Renee folded her arms across her chest.

Cynthia's high-heeled foot swung front to back showing off her legs. "Oh, but you will. Now tell me, has Damon been extra sweet to you recently? Since around the time you found the urn? Or your necklace?"

"Shut up, Cynthia," Damon whispered. How did she know about the crystal? Alarm coiled in his chest.

She pointed the gun back at Renee whose expression changed to a mixture of concern and worry.

"Damon never does anything unless it benefits himself. So why do you think he's taken such an interest in you?" Cynthia crossed her legs. "We know you two shared a hotel room. Didn't you think it unusual he'd like you? Women like you have never fascinated him before; he prefers his women blonde, slim, and beautiful...like me."

Wait. She was acting like she recalled their sex together. How was that possible? He'd wiped her mind. Unless they re-sprouted over time. Rare, but not unheard of.

"Tell us what you want." Damon dreaded the answer.

Renee's mouth thinned, and she lifted her chin.

"Oh, Damon didn't tell you we were once lovers?" Cynthia blew him a kiss. "Until I found out what he really was."

"Enough." He shot to his feet. "Let Renee go, and I'll do whatever you ask." He had to get Renee out of here, then get Dax and the other elders to do a full wipe on Cynthia so she'd never remember again.

She ignored him. "Come now, you're a bright girl. A teacher, wasn't it? Surely, you wondered why he pursued you so earnestly." Her words were sticky sweet honey used to coat arsenic.

"What do you mean?" Renee asked, her voice low.

Cynthia whistled, and the two-armed men hustled into her office. She nodded to Damon and both men pinned him to the chair. After setting the gun down, she stalked over to the urn. "You were right, in part, of your interpretation of the urn, Renee." She pointed to the scepter. "A piece of this now lies around your neck."

"What?" Renee's fingers grazed the crystal. "How can you be certain?"

"The woman is not just any female ruler or priestess. She is the priestess of Damon's people, of his race." After replacing the urn, she faced Renee. "Should I spell it out for you? I thought, as a teacher, you'd be smarter than this." Renee looked from Cynthia to Damon. "What is she talking about?"

His fault they were in this situation, because he should've realized something wasn't right when she refused the first, second, and third man he'd sent her way. Regret and anger poured through him.

Cynthia took out a pen and notebook from her desk. "He tells everyone in an anagram of his last name." She wrote out C-U-B-I-N-S. "Need more time?" she asked sweetly, then below it wrote incubus. "Well, you have to add another U." "Incubus?" Renee shook her head. "You're crazy."

"Damon is an incubus who lives off sexual energy."

Cynthia recapped the pen and tossed it back along with the others. "And your crystal is the only reason he's been, shall we say attentive to you."

"You've lost your mind." Renee focused on Damon. "Is this some kind of joke?"

"Tell her, Damon," Cynthia purred. "Man up, spill the truth."

"Damon?" Renee asked.

He took a deep breath. "I'm so sorry, Renee." His words jammed in his throat.

"You're all insane, the lot of you." Renee jerked upright, knocking over her chair.

Damon's pulse thundered through his veins. One way or another, he was going to lose Renee. If Cynthia didn't kill her first, she wouldn't want anything to do with him once she found out the truth. The thought made lava burn a hole in his throat.