“That makes two of us.” Stiff, still achy, he turned so he could run his hand up and down her back. “I appreciate it.”
She managed what passed for a nod. “Tell me the rest.“
“You just cleaned and bandaged the rest. Whatever he did felt just the way this looks. Actually, it felt considerably worse.”
“You screamed.”
“Do you have to keep saying that? Its embarrassing.”
“If it makes you feel any better, I screamed, too. I woke up and you were—it looked like you were having a convulsion. You were dead white, bleeding, shaking. I didnt know what the hell to do. I guess I panicked. I grabbed you, started shouting. You went limp. Almost as soon as I touched you, you went limp. I thought—for a minute I thought you were dead.”
“I heard you.”
She stayed where she was another moment, fighting back tears again. “When?”
“After I hit the dirt the second time. I heard you calling for me, and it was like getting sucked back into the old transporter. I heard him, too, right as I was fading out. I heard him, but more inside my head: „Im not finished, he said. „I am not finished. And he was royally pissed. He couldnt keep me there. He wasnt done with me, but he couldnt keep me there.”
“Why?”
“You woke up.” Reaching out, Jordan ran his fingers over her cheek. “You called me. You touched me, and that brought me out.”
“Human contact?”
“Maybe as simple as that,” he agreed. “Maybe just that simple—when the humans are connected.”
“But why you?” She picked up the cloth and dabbed at the cut on his lip. “Why did he take you behind the Curtain?”
“Thats something we have to figure out. When we do—ouch, Dana.”
“Sorry.”
“When we do,” he repeated as he nudged her hand away, “well have more of the pieces for this particular puzzle.”
* * *
SIMPLE or complex, Dana needed answers. With Moe hanging his head blissfully out the passenger window, she drove to Warriors Peak to get them. Research and speculation were one thing, but her lovers blood had been shed. Now she wanted cold, hard facts.
The trees were still bright, and their color splashed across a dull gray sky layered with sulky clouds. But more leaves littered the road and the floor of the forest.
Already past their peak, she thought. Time was moving forward, and her four weeks were down to two.
What did she think? What did she know? She ran through everything that came to mind as she drove the last miles and then through the gates.
Rowena was in the front garden, gathering some of the last of the fall blooms. She wore a thick sweater of deep blue speckled with dull gold, and to Danas surprise, well-worn jeans and scuffed boots.
Her hair was tied back and rained in a sleek tail between her shoulder blades.
The country goddess in her garden, Dana thought, and imagined Malory would see it as a painting.
Rowena lifted a hand in a wave, then a smile lit up her face as she spotted Moe.
“Welcome.” She ran to the car as Dana parked, opened the door for the exuberant Moe. “Theres my handsome boy!” Her laugh rang out as Moe leaped up to kiss her face. “I was hoping youd pay me a visit.”
“Me or Moe?”
“Both are a delightful surprise. Why, whats this?” She put her hand behind her back, then brought it out again. She held out a huge Milk Bone that caused Moe to moan with pleasure. “Yes, it certainly is for you. Now if youll sit and shake hands like a gentleman…”
The words were barely out of her mouth when Moe plopped his butt on the ground, lifted his paw. They exchanged a shake, a long look of mutual admiration. He nipped the treat delicately out of her fingers, then sprawled at her feet to chomp it to bits.
“Is it a Dr. Doolittle thing?” Dana wondered, and got a puzzled glance from Rowena.
“Im sorry?”
“You know. Talking to the animals.”
“Ah. Lets say… in a manner of speaking. And what can I offer you?” she asked Dana. “Answers.”
“So sober, so serious. And so attractive this morning. What a wonderful outfit. You have such a smart collection of jackets,” Rowena commented as she ran a finger down the sleeve of the dullgold tapestry fabric. “I covet them.”
“I imagine you can whip one up just as easy as you did that dog biscuit.”
“Ah, but that would take the fun, and the adventure, out of shopping, wouldnt it? Would you like to come in? Well have some tea by the fire.”
“No, thanks. I dont have a lot of time. Were settling on our property early this afternoon, so Im going to have to start back pretty directly. Rowena, there are some things I need to know.”
“Ill tell you what I can. Why dont we walk? Rains coming,” she added, casting a look at the sky. “But not for a bit. I like the heavy, anticipatory feel to the air before a rain.”
Since Moe had made short work of the Milk Bone, Rowena opened her hand and revealed a bright red rubber ball. She threw it over the lawn toward the woods.
“I should warn you, Moe will expect you to keep throwing that for him for the next three or four years.”
“Theres nothing quite so perfect as a dog.” Rowena tucked her arm companionably in Danas and began to walk. “A comfort, a friend, a warrior, an amusement. They only ask that we love them.”
“Why dont you have one?”
“Ah, well.” With a sad smile, Rowena patted Danas hand, then bent down to pick up the ball Moe dropped at her feet. She ruffled his fur, then flung the ball for him to chase.
“You cant.” The realization struck, had Dana tapping her fingers to her temple. “Duh. I dont mean you couldnt, but realistically… A dogs life span is woefully shorter than that of your average mortal.”
“She remembered what Jordan had said about them being alone, about their immortality on this plane being curse rather than gift.
“When you factor in the spectacular longevity of someone like you, and the finite life span of your average mutt, thats a problem.”
“Yes. I had dogs. At home, they were one of my great pleasures.”
She picked up the ball, already covered with teeth marks and dog spit, in her elegant hand and threw it for the tireless Moe.
“When we were turned out, I needed to believe that we would do what needed to be done and return. Soon. I pined for many things of home, and comforted myself with a dog. A wolfhound was my first. Oh, he was so handsome and brave and loyal. Ten years.”
She sighed, and skirted along the edge of the woods. “He was mine for ten years. The snap of a finger. There are things we cant change, that are denied to us while we live here. I cant extend a creatures life beyond its thread. Not even that of a beloved dog.”
She scooped the ball up for Moe, threw it in another direction.
“I had a dog when I was a kid.” Like Rowena, Dana watched Moe streak after the ball as if it were the first time. “Well, it was my dads dog, really. He got her the year before I was born, so I grew up with her. She died when I was eleven. I cried for three days.”
“So you know what it is.” Rowena smiled a little as Moe pranced back, doing a full-body wag with the rubber ball wedged in his mourn like an apple. “I grieved, and I swore I wouldnt indulge myself again. But I did. Many times. Until I had to accept that my heart would simply break if I had to go through the death of another I loved so much, after so short a time. So, Im so pleased…”
She bent down to catch Moes face in her hands. “And so grateful that you brought the handsome Moe to visit me.”
“Its not all its cracked up to be, is it? Power, immortality?”
“Nothing is without pain or loss or price. Is this what you wanted to know?”
“Part of it. There are limitations, at least when youre here. And Kane has limitations when hes here. Limitations when he deals with something from our world. Is that right?”