Chapter 28 Luna
Chapter twenty-eight
Luna
We walked the entire night and into the next morning without stopping. At this point, my aches had aches, and I all but dragged myself forward.
Damien, however, never stopped once. It was as though we’d switched roles from our trek to the Wolf Queen’s Crypt. Instead of him lagging behind, his strength magically sapped, now I could hardly keep myself upright.
And our pace was too slow. Fucking Marcel and his team were gaining on us.
Damien halted, his head tilted in that distinctive predator pose that indicated he was listening to something beyond my perception. His entire body went rigid with tension.
He whirled to face me. “I’m going to have to carry you, Luna. We have to—“
“Go faster.” I nodded and stepped toward him, more than ready for a breather. “I can’t do all-nighters. I might as well be ninety years old.”
“I’m 360,” he said, wrapping one arm beneath my knees and the other around my back before lifting me effortlessly. The coolness of his skin was a balm against my overheated flesh. “And you’re pretty spry for a ninety-year-old.”
“Yeah, yeah, Mr. Renaissance. So glad you could clear your busy schedule of lute recitals and plague avoidance to carry me through a jungle.”
“My schedule is flexible,” he said dryly. “And I haven’t played the lute in a while. I switched to the pianoforte when it became fashionable in Vienna. Mozart was insufferable about it.”
“Of course you did,” I muttered. “Name-dropping Mozart. Totally casual.”
With a heart-stopping grin aimed at me, the kind that transformed his handsome features into something dangerously appealing, he gripped the strap of my pack with the Shadow Fang piece inside to ensure we didn’t lose it and took off at an impossible speed.
I rested my cheek against his chest. “This is so much better than dragging my ass around.”
He moved his arm down and squeezed said ass, making me gasp. “Just making sure this particular ninety-year-old artifact is being properly preserved for future generations.” His eyes darkened as they met mine. “Still amazing.”
I threw back my head and laughed.
Since I didn’t have to concentrate so hard on each of my steps, I focused on the jungle blurring around me.
Birds called, insects buzzed, and colors flashed as wildlife darted through the undergrowth.
Under different circumstances, I would have liked to appreciate the raw beauty of the Darién Gap, one of the few truly wild places left on earth, even more.
After about two miles, give or take, Damien stopped again. His entire body coiled with tension, and his arms tightened protectively around me before he’d even spoken.
“What is it?” I whispered, checking for the Shadow Fang.
“Voices.” He scanned the dense foliage around us. “Southeast, approximately half a mile. Moving in coordinated formation. Eight of them at least.”
“Shit. They must’ve split up.”
Damien’s expression darkened. “We need to alter our course. There’s a river tributary north of here. Water will mask our trail and slow them down.”
Yeah, I wasn’t a big fan of that idea. The change in direction meant denser vegetation and more difficult terrain, not to mention all the dangerous animals that liked to gather around rivers.
But the alternative was worse.
Damien pushed forward with unnatural grace through the undergrowth, occasionally pausing to listen for pursuit. With each stop, he positioned himself so that his body formed a shield between me and the direction of potential threats, a subtle but consistent pattern I couldn’t help noticing.
“They’re changing direction,” he said after one such pause, his jaw tightening. “Following our trail.”
“They must have the thaumic resonator with them to track us so easily.”
Damien made a doubtful noise in the back of his throat. “This group has dogs from the sound of it.”
“Oh. Good. How far to the river?”
“Less than a mile, but the terrain drops sharply near the water.” His gaze lingered on my face. “Can you manage it?”
“Guess we’ll find out,” I said, despite the doubt weaving through me.
Damien pressed on. The jungle thinned slightly as he neared the tributary, allowing glimpses of muddy water through the trees.
Relief surged but sputtered out when I saw the steep embankment Damien had warned about—a treacherous slope of loose earth and exposed roots dropping nearly thirty feet to the water below.
“That’s our way down?” I asked. “Can you fly like a bat, Mr. Renaissance?”
“No,” Damien said, already scanning for the safest path. “And I’m not sure I can carry you safely on that unstable surface. I’ll go first and secure positions.”
He set me down and began his descent with that infuriating vampire grace, using roots and tree trunks as anchor points. I watched his technique, mapping my own path before following with considerably less elegance.
Halfway down, a root I’d put one hundred percent of my faith in gave way beneath my weight, sending me sliding uncontrolled down the muddy slope. I clawed desperately for purchase, my fingernails tearing as they raked through dirt and vegetation.
Damien appeared right below me with supernatural speed, his body positioned to absorb my impact, arms outstretched. But momentum carried us both the remaining distance in a tangle of limbs and curses.
We landed hard at the water’s edge, mud splattering in all directions. Pain lanced through my right ankle. Not broken, definitely sprained.
Fuck.
Damien disentangled himself, scanning for immediate threats before turning his attention to me. “You’re hurt.”
“Yeah, but the good news,” I said through gritted teeth as I examined my mud-covered leg, “is that rain-forest mud is good for the skin, so I’ve heard.”
“The bad news is that fall created enough noise to alert every predator within half a mile. Human or otherwise,” Damien countered, gently peeling down my sock to reveal my already swelling ankle.
He started to take off my boot, too, but I grabbed his wrists.
“That’s far enough,” I blurted. “I have…camel toes. I don’t want you to see.”
“Okay…” He fixed me with a strange look and then continued probing my ankle, leaving my boot on. “Sprained, possibly torn ligaments. You can’t put weight on this, Luna.”
“Watch me.” I struggled to stand despite the sharp protest from my injured joint.
Stubbornness got me upright, but the first step sent me pitching forward. Only Damien’s quick reflexes prevented another face-plant. His arm wrapped around my waist with possessive strength.
“Damn it. I hate being a liability.”
“You’re not a liability,” he said, his voice dropping to a fierce, low register that vibrated through me. “You’re irreplaceable.”
His eyes blazed with an intensity that suggested he wasn’t just talking about our mission anymore.
Warmth unfurled in my chest, but the next second stopped it cold.
Barking echoed from the top of the embankment, followed by shouts in Spanish.
“We’re out of options,” Damien growled, the sound rumbling from deep in his chest. “Into the water. Now.”
“That’s a terrible idea,” I hissed right back, eyeing the water. “You do realize this region has crocodiles, water snakes, and parasites that would make a vampire cringe?”
“All preferable to Marcel’s mercenaries or losing the Shadow Fang,” he replied, his expression hardening. “The current will carry us downstream, and water will mask both our scents. We can lose them.”
Damn it, he was right, but that didn’t make the idea any more appealing. With his support, I hobbled to the water’s edge, scanning the murky surface for telltale ripples that might indicate lurking predators.
“Stay close to me,” Damien commanded, guiding me into the warm, opaque water. “If anything approaches, I’ll sense it before you can see it.”
The tributary was mercifully shallow near the banks, allowing me to keep my feet on the muddy bottom while the water reached just below my chest. Damien moved ahead, creating a path through the floating vegetation. I followed, wincing each time my injured ankle brushed against anything.
Above us, part of Marcel’s team reached the embankment. Dogs strained at their leashes, barking frantically. Someone shouted orders, someone not Marcel, and the distinctive metallic sounds of weapons being readied echoed across the water.
“Down,” Damien gritted out, pulling me against his chest and lower until only our faces remained above water.
His body curved around mine, a living-dead shield.
A shot rang out. The bullet struck water just inches to our right. Not a warning. Not an attempt to flush us out.
That was a kill shot.
But I thought Marcel wanted us alive.
These must not be Marcel’s mercs.
Fuck. We couldn’t catch a single break.
“Move with the current,” Damien said tightly, his mouth close to my ear. “Stay submerged as much as possible. Surface only to breathe.”
I nodded, sucking in a deep breath before allowing him to guide me fully underwater. The Shadow Fang piece pulsed against my chest, in rhythm with my frantic heartbeat.
Damien’s hand gripped mine, pulling me along as the current strengthened, carrying us downstream. His grip was unbreakable, an anchor in the murky chaos.
We surfaced briefly between overhanging trees, just long enough for me to gasp for air before submerging again. I didn’t dare open my eyes for fear of what I might see. And for fear that a parasite might absorb my entire eyeball.
We continued for what felt like hours—surface, breathe, submerge, drift. Each cycle became more difficult as my fatigue compounded the physical strain. During one surface interval, I gasped for breath so hard that I thought I might pass out.
Damien’s eyes narrowed over my head, scanning the shoreline with focused intensity. Without warning, he pulled me toward the far bank where the vegetation grew thick enough to provide cover.
“We’re done with the water,” he said, his tone brooking no argument.
I glanced back, leaning against a tree to catch my breath, and did a double take.
We had company of the crocodile variety. Two eyed us from the water, steadily swimming closer.
My heart launched into my throat. “Go, go, go!”
Damien swept me up in his arms and went, his body coiling with supernatural strength before unleashing it in a blur of motion. The crocodiles didn’t stand a chance of following.
The tributary had carried us a decent distance from our pursuers, though the occasional distant bark suggested the dogs still tracked us along the shoreline.
The steady rhythm of Damien’s movement was almost hypnotic, lulling me into a drowsy state despite my best efforts to remain alert. I caught glimpses of his face above me—stern, focused, but with a softness in his eyes whenever they landed on mine.
“We need a change of plan,” Damien said, his voice cutting through my fog.
“M’kay,” I muttered, unable to fight my heavy eyelids. “Whatever you say.”
I had the vaguest sense of him laying me on a patch of soft leaves, then the steady drone of his voice as he spoke into the satellite phone.
“…extraction point coordinates… wounded companion… 50,000 extra balboas if you can get here in twenty minutes.”
When he finished the call, his thumb traced the line of my cheekbone in a gesture that seemed almost subconscious, as if he couldn’t help touching me.
Sometime later, he picked me up again and set off, his stride unwavering despite having already carried me for miles.
Our energy levels truly had switched from our trek to the Wolf Queen Crypt. Was that by design? Were the Queen’s magical wards somehow affecting me now instead of Damien?
Several minutes later, the sound of a helicopter jarred me awake. I didn’t even remember falling asleep again.
“Those are the good guys coming for us?” I asked, grabbing for my pack.
Nodding, Damien gazed down at my face and grinned, his pace unchanging. “We’re finally getting out of here.”
The jungle canopy had thinned, allowing glimpses of sky, and more importantly, making helicopter access possible.
“We’re almost there,” Damien said. “The clearing should be just beyond that rise.”
Sure enough, as we crested a small hill, a natural clearing opened before us, not large, but good enough for a skilled pilot to manage a rescue pickup. Damien set me down carefully against a fallen log before retrieving the satellite phone to confirm our position.
“The helicopter is five minutes out.” Damien returned to crouch beside me and gingerly touched my ankle through my sock, his blue eyes meeting mine with a warmth that siphoned into my heart. “How are you holding up?”
“Ready to check into a five-star hotel with room service and a hot tub the size of Texas.” I summoned a weak smile. “Think Dr. Felix can arrange that along with his magical medical care?”
“I’ll make the arrangements personally,” he said, with such certainty that I realized he wasn’t joking. “After Dr. Felix gives you the all-clear.”
I waved that idea off. “The Shadow Fang first. My comfort can wait.”
A contrary growl rose from the back of his throat. “Your health first, Luna. The Shadow Fang can wait.”
Even as he said it though, a shadow flickered behind his eyes.
The thump of helicopter rotors drifted across the clearing. Salvation approached at 150 knots.
Then it appeared above the tree line, a sleek black craft bearing no identifying markings, exactly what you’d want for a clandestine artifact extraction.
As it descended toward the clearing, throwing up a whirlwind of leaves and dirt, Damien curved his body over mine, shielding me from the debris storm with his broader frame.
Even though I’d cringed away at the idea of a partner, Damien had quickly morphed into an excellent one.
Then he’d switched to an expert lover who could make my body sing with a single touch.
Then he’d eased into the role of protector when he carried me through miles of hostile jungle and now stood shielding me from helicopter downwash.
Our “temporary alliance of convenience” was evolving into something more complex than either of us had anticipated.
Right now, I couldn’t complain.
“Ready?” Damien asked loudly as the helicopter settled onto the ground, its side door sliding open.
He bent toward me, his posture stating that he wouldn’t listen to any arguments about carrying me the final distance.
I grinned up at him as he picked me up and held me close. Settling my hand on his jaw, I brushed my thumb over his bottom lip, reveling in the tremble that worked its way through him at my touch and the twin flames that sparked in his eyes.
“Lead the way, Mr. Renaissance.”