Page 152 of Kick the Candle (Knight Games 2)
The romantic scene in front of me brought my eyes up to the cage where Poe was nudging Rick with his head and beak. "He will not wake," Poe said, worriedly. "I cannot cut him down like this. I might kill him."
I nodded, sheathing Nightshade and rushing to the place the rope was tied to a nearby tree. I worked the knot free, then carefully lowered the cage. When Rick was at my level, I could see how bad he'd been hurt. His fight with the nekomata had left him with an arm bent at an awkward angle, probably broken, and long shredded wounds, still oozing blood. I swung open the door and he collapsed into my arms. With two fingers I felt for his pulse. Weak. He was barely alive. I positioned myself to feed him my blood, then stopped. Was he human? Did the candle burn all the way down? If it had, my blood could make him sick. I had to find out.
"I need to get him home." I looked from Soleil to Silas to Poe.
It was Poe that came to my aid. "I can not deny a witch who knows what she wants." He rolled into a ball, stretched and gathered himself, morphing into a beautiful black stallion.
"I love you, Poe," I said.
"I know," he answered.
Calling on my witchy strength, I slid Rick's body over Poe's shoulders and pulled myself up behind him.
"Can I trust you two to protect the book?" I looked at Silas and Soleil.
Soleil spread her arms to display the gash across her collarbone. "There is no place safer than with me. I will keep it for you. Save your caretaker."
I nodded. "Silas, which way to Rick's cottage?"
The detective looked at me with pity. "About a mile that way." He pointed into the trees.
Just as I thought. We were near Avery's cottage in the woods behind Rick's place. Using every ounce of strength I had left, I gripped Rick against my chest and prodded Poe forward, praying for the first time to my goddess mother for help.
* * * * *
By the time I reached Rick's house, my arms and legs burned. I was exhausted, mentally, physically, emotionally. But I refused to give up. This man in my arms who had always seemed larger than life, now so human, so fragile, was suddenly more important to me than anything-even the Book of Flesh and Bone. I still couldn't believe I'd left the tome under Soleil's watch. If you added up all of the minutes I'd been in the same room as the fae, it wouldn't equal a day. Maybe not the smartest thing I'd ever done, but necessary.
The door to Rick's cottage was hanging open. But then Silas's werewolf probably didn't have good door closing skills. I thanked Poe, and half carried, half dragged Rick inside. A ring of skulls glowed from behind the couch. At the center, the three-inch thick, purple candle I'd seen before with the scarab beetle imprint had burned down to its last inch of wax. A tiny blue flame struggled at the top of a pool of wax.
"Rick? How do I stop this?" I jostled him carefully in my arms.
His eyelids fluttered. "Out the flame."
"Put out the flame before it burns down? And you'll get your power back?"
His head listed to the side, in what I interpreted as a nod.
Carefully lowering him to the floor beside me, I licked my fingers and shot my hand out to snuff the candle. Bad idea. My fist bounced off the barrier of the skulls and a magic zap landed me on my ass.
"Rick?" I shook his shoulder. "How do I get to the candle?"
He opened his eyes and looked up at me, the ghost of a smile crossing his lips, a deep breath of air escaping through his nose. "You don't." His gray eyes were wet.
"Bullshit. There has to be a way."
"Only I can do it."
"Then do it! You'll die if you don't."
He shook his head. "I do not want to live this way. I've loved you too long to spend a lifetime watching you love someone else."
I lowered my head until my mouth was almost touching his bloodied face. "You won't have to. I promise you, I am yours. Only yours."
"You are saying this to save me. I don't want your pity. I want your heart."
I lifted his hand and placed it on my chest, my eyes searched each of his as tears welled and spilled from my face. "You have it. How can I prove it to you, Rick? I am yours." It wasn't enough. If I was going to give myself to him, I had to give it all. "I... love you. I love you. Not the memory of you, not what you do for me, but you. I think I always have. I was just confused because everything happened so fast. I didn't want to get hurt again. Everyone I've ever thought I've loved, I've lost. My mother, Gary, a dozen boyfriends, even my father has pulled away from me. I just couldn't open myself up to it. You suffer enough pain and the walls come up. It's a protective instinct. But I'm opening up now. Fuck, I am wide open. I've painted a bull's eye on my chest, okay. I love you. I do. Please don't hurt me again." The last part came out on a whisper that cracked in the middle like a brittle bone. With my whole self, I begged him to stay with me, tears falling, lips hovering over his, and my body tensed as if one heavy word from him would break me. My muscles shivered with the strain of waiting for his answer.
He swallowed hard, closed his eyes, then opened them again. "On one condition."
