Darius nodded and smiled at the couple, though Mari figured he probably didn"t have a clue what an obstetrician was. The doctor stared at him and frowned. "Darius? I thought your mother said your young man"s name was Bradley."
Oh, c.r.a.p. "Wrong young man, Doctor. Bradley and I broke it off awhile back." "Wrong young man, Doctor. Bradley and I broke it off awhile back."
"You did?" Mrs. Franklin stared at Darius. "Weren"t you planning to marry him? What happened? Your mother hasn"t said a word about you breaking up with him."
"I, uh..."
Darius"s arm slipped around her waist. "Mari changed her mind," he said. "That"s all that matters." His look didn"t invite further comment.
"Oh. I see." Mrs. Franklin"s nose went higher in the air. She stepped back, obviously offended.
Mari groaned. She figured her mother would know all about Darius before lunch. She wouldn"t be surprised to see Spirit at the shop before the day ended. Mrs. Franklin was a horrible snoop, though as usual the conversation appeared to have flown right over her husband"s head. He leaned close and patted Mari"s knee.
"Well, don"t take too much longer to find the right man, Mari. Not if you intend to give Spirit and Freedom those grandbabies they"re so anxious for. You"re not getting any younger." With that, he turned and guided his wife to a booth toward the back.
Mari turned around, planted her elbows on the counter and leaned her head in her hands. Groaning, she shook her head. "I so did not need to hear that this morning."
Darius laughed. "So. You"re not getting any younger? How old are you, Marigold Moonbeam Schwartz?"
Her head popped up. "How did you know my name?"
He leaned close and planted a kiss on the end of her nose. "I saw it written on a piece of paper in the kitchen and figured it must be you. I like it. Being named after moonbeams and flowers is wonderful. Are you going to tell me your age?"
"I"m thirty-three. That makes me an old maid in Dr. Franklin"s estimation. I think he"s delivered every baby in town for the past fifty years and he wants to deliver mine. So how old are you?" She poked him in the ribs.
He sighed and looked away. "It doesn"t matter," he said.
"Hey! Fair"s fair. I told."
Darius glanced around, as if checking to make sure no one heard. Mari felt like giggling. He really seemed bothered.
When he finally answered, he spoke softly. "We judge time differently in Lemuria. By your calendar, I was born a little over ten thousand years ago, but I"m considered a very young man in my world."
She shook her head. Obviously something got lost in translation. "You wanna run that by me one more time?"
He smiled and shrugged. "Lemurians are immortal. Sort of. We can be killed, and no one really lives forever. Our older members eventually grow tired of life and choose the spirit world, but I won"t reach middle age until I"m at least fifteen thousand of your years old."
The waitress set their plates down in front of them. Scrambled eggs, hash-brown potatoes, thick strips of bacon. She refilled their coffee cups. When neither Darius nor Mari acknowledged her, she turned away to the next customer.
Mari felt as if her brains were as scrambled as the eggs, but so far, she"d seen no proof that Darius had ever lied to her. What he said was outrageous, but...She shook her head. "I had no idea. So when I"m old and wrinkled and gray, you"ll still look like you do now?"
He nodded, but he didn"t look very happy. "I will."
"Eat your breakfast," she said, chagrined at how sharp she sounded. More softly, she added, "We need to get going so I can open up the shop by ten."
Darius stared at her a moment. Obviously, he was surprised by her non sequitur. He"d probably expected her to comment on the immortality thing, to say something besides ordering him to eat his breakfast.
There was nothing she could say. Nothing at all, especially after what they"d shared this morning.
He nodded, an almost imperceptible gesture. Then he dug into his breakfast. Mari spun around on her stool and stared at her plate. She didn"t want to think of what she"d just learned. The idea of growing old and ugly while Darius remained as young and perfect as he was now left a foul taste in her mouth. She felt like throwing up.
Instead, she methodically ate her breakfast and wondered at the stupid dreams she"d had all morning. Dreams of keeping Darius here with her. Dreams of finally finding the perfect man to tie her star to, to spend her life with.
She"d actually thought seriously of Dr. Franklin"s comment about babies. Experienced a short, sweet dream of holding Darius"s son in her arms. Of raising his daughter.
So much for dreams.
Chapter 7.
Darius spent the day exploring Evergreen. Occasionally he checked in to see how things were going at the shop and he kept his senses open for any hint of demon activity. He listened for messages from Roland, but so far he"d heard nothing from his cousin. Still, he felt no need to worry. He was enjoying himself more than he"d imagined possible.
He liked Evergreen. The town was small, the people friendly, and the sunshine a blessing. For a man raised beneath an artificial sky, the limitless blue canopy and the brilliant sun, the occasional white, puffy cloud overhead, and the sounds of birds singing in trees of all shapes and sizes was close to overwhelming.
He was filled with questions, filled with joy, and depressed. More depressed than he"d imagined possible.
What to do about Mari? He found himself returning time and again to the little shop, merely to rea.s.sure himself she was okay, to see her, hear her speak, watch her move.
Since learning of his immortality, she"d thrown up a wall between them, one he had no right to break through, to tear down, or to climb over.
So why did he hope to do exactly that?
The sun was sinking behind the horizon when he realized his new boots were giving him blisters and his legs were somewhat raw from the unfamiliar chafing of fabric against tender skin. He ended his exploration and walked slowly back to the shop. The sound of angry voices brought him to a halt outside the door. When he glanced through the window, he saw Mari speaking with a small, round woman with long gray hair.
Mari had her arms wrapped tightly around her chest in the defensive posture he"d already learned to recognize. The older woman leaned forward, shaking her finger in Mari"s face, berating her about something.
Darius stepped into the shop. Mari raised her head and her eyes went wide. The older woman spun around.
"You!" she said, shaking her finger at him now, instead of at Mari. "Just who do you think you are, moving in on my daughter and filling her head with foolish stories? You"re no more a Lemurian than I am. Everyone knows Lemurians are at least twelve feet tall with a horn in the middle of their foreheads. You are nothing more than an oversized interloper."
Darius glanced at Mari. He wasn"t sure if she was going to laugh or cry, but something was ready to give. He swept his hand in front of the woman who claimed to be Mari"s mother.
Her mouth snapped shut. Her eyes glazed over and she stared blankly into s.p.a.ce.
"Mari, what-"
"What did you do to my mother?" Horrified, Mari raced around the counter and reached for her mother.
"No! Don"t touch her." He shook his head. "She"s fine. I merely used a compulsion on her to give me a minute alone with you. I wanted to find out what"s going on."
"A compulsion? Like you do with your sword?" Mari leaned down to look directly into her mother"s glazed eyes.
Darius shrugged. "Well, what I do to my sword is actually a glamour, which is a bit different, but yes, sort of the same. It"s a mild form of hypnotism, but this won"t last long. What"s going on?"
Mari sighed. "Mrs. Franklin called Mom and told her I"d broken up with Brad, something I hadn"t mentioned yet because I didn"t want to worry her while Dad"s recovering. She also told her about the man I was having breakfast with, which obviously meant we"d spent the night together."
Darius frowned. "We did spend the night together."
"Well, it"s none of her business! Anyway, Mom came charging into the shop yelling at me like I"d lost my mind, I tried to explain the demons and you, and she went nuts." She huffed out a big breath and added, "Which isn"t all that unusual for my mother."
"I can help her accept what you"ve told her, or I can remove her memories. It might be easier if she doesn"t know my origins or anything about the demons, at least not yet."
"Anything. Please?"
He laughed, altered the compulsion to remove the memories of Lemurians and demons, and slowly released Mari"s mother.
Spirit blinked, turned to Darius, and smiled. "So you"re Darius," she said, holding out her hand. "It"s a pleasure to meet you." She glanced at Mari and then up at Darius. "Where did you say you met him, Mari?"
"In San Francisco, Mom. Through friends. I"m sorry I didn"t tell you about Brad, but it all happened around the time Dad fell and you were so busy at the hospital, I didn"t want to worry you."
Spirit nodded. "I understand, sweetie. I never liked Brad anyway. Will you and Darius be joining us for dinner?"
Darius interrupted. "Not tonight, thank you. I was planning to take Mari out this evening."
Spirit beamed. "Wonderful. Please, though, before you leave Evergreen, you must stop by and meet Marigold"s father. He"ll be so glad for company. He"s not used to all this inactivity."
When Spirit finally left, Darius closed the door firmly behind her and turned toward Mari. He wasn"t sure what to expect.
She burst out laughing. "d.a.m.n. I wish I"d had that compulsion thing of yours while I was growing up! It would have really come in handy. My mother can be like a dog with a bone."
"How is a dog with a bone? We have no dogs in Lemuria."
"No dogs? How sad." Mari shook her head. "It means she can be very, very persistent. As in, unwilling to give up, ever. I hadn"t intended to tell her anything about you or demonkind, but she managed to get it out of me. She could always do that. She just sort of wears a person down until you spill everything."
"I hope you don"t mind that I lied to her." He stepped close and took Mari by both hands. "I"m not planning to take you out tonight." He looked into her unbelievable blue eyes and softly added, "I thought we"d stay in."
She looked at their clasped hands and then raised her head and stared so directly at him, he felt as if she read his very thoughts. "What are we going to do about...?"
Mari didn"t need to say the words. He knew exactly what she meant. Her mortality and his immortality would be an issue for as long as she lived. "Do we have to do anything? Can"t we just wait and see what happens?"
She smiled. "I think we both know what will happen, but it"s tough." She shrugged and pulled her hands free of his grasp. "There can"t be any future for us. I"m not the kind of person to get involved with a man, knowing it won"t go anywhere."
"Who"s to say it won"t? I hope to be around for a while. I will have to return to Lemuria at some point, if only to check in, but I don"t know that I can ever live there again. Not knowing what I know now of Earth. Of you."
"Darius, even if you"re around forever, I won"t be. I"ll grow old and ugly and you"ll still be the gorgeous young man you are today. I"d hate that. You"d hate it. It won"t work."
He shook his head. "It"s a long way off. Your body might age, but the woman you are will remain the same. That woman is the one who"s caught my heart. Don"t write us off as impossible. Not yet."
Darius! Where are you?
Roland? Darius glanced at Mari. "Hold that thought. My sergeant is finally contacting me." Darius glanced at Mari. "Hold that thought. My sergeant is finally contacting me."
Mari nodded and looked away.
Darius concentrated on his cousin"s voice. Then he answered. I"m in Evergreen, a small town at the base of the volcano. I fought demons last night. They appear to have targeted a young woman who lives here. I"m in Evergreen, a small town at the base of the volcano. I fought demons last night. They appear to have targeted a young woman who lives here.
Darius smiled at Roland"s audible yet cerebral sigh of relief. Thank the G.o.ds I found you! Protect the woman from demonkind. Unexpected events will keep me in Lemuria. Leland and Matthias are coming to you as soon as they can. I closed the portal yesterday, but demons reopened it this evening. It"s sealed once again, but I don"t know for how long. Many demons have pa.s.sed through. We"re fighting them now, on the upper flank of the mountain. Once everything is under control and the portal secured, Leland and Matthias will join you. It may not be until much later tonight. Thank the G.o.ds I found you! Protect the woman from demonkind. Unexpected events will keep me in Lemuria. Leland and Matthias are coming to you as soon as they can. I closed the portal yesterday, but demons reopened it this evening. It"s sealed once again, but I don"t know for how long. Many demons have pa.s.sed through. We"re fighting them now, on the upper flank of the mountain. Once everything is under control and the portal secured, Leland and Matthias will join you. It may not be until much later tonight.
Darius gave Roland the coordinates for the shop and wished him well. Then he turned his attention to Mari. "It"s almost time to close, isn"t it?" He glanced out the window, at the shadows deepening along the street outside.
Mari nodded. She flipped the sign on the door to show they were closed and then counted out the cash drawer, collected the register receipts, and stuck everything in a zippered pouch as she"d done the night before. "Are you ready?"
Darius nodded. He checked the area around the front of the store for signs of demonkind, but all was quiet. Together they made the short walk to the bank, but tonight he held Mari"s hand as they walked down the dark and quiet street.
"I hardly saw you today. I mean, I saw you checking in through the window, but you hardly ever stopped in." She glanced at him and her fingers tightened around his.
"I did not want to bother you while you worked. I walked around town, went into many of the shops, talked to some of the people." He ran his thumb over her hand. "You have a wonderful town. Was it hard to choose to live elsewhere?"
Mari shook her head. "No. Not so hard. I wanted to experience life in a city and I do love San Francisco. Plus, the kind of work I do, I really can"t do here in Evergreen. There aren"t any big banks or investment houses."
They reached the bank. The sun was gone now and street lamps cast a glow over the parking lot. Mari slipped the deposit bag through the slot and stood there a moment with her hand against the metal. Then she turned to Darius. He was surprised to see tears in her eyes.
"Who am I kidding?" She shook her head. "I couldn"t wait to get away from my parents and the town. All I saw were the bad things. My mother and father seemed like such flakes to me. They were so caught up in their drugs and their off-center thinking that I often felt as if I was just an obstacle in their path to further enlightenment."
She laughed and shook her head. "I had to live away to realize how much good was here, too, but growing up with parents like mine..." She shook her head and her shoulders slumped. "It"s hard to explain."
Darius tilted her chin up with his fingertip. "I could feel your mother"s love for you. She worries."
"I know. I couldn"t see that for a long time. I saw it as interference, saw their flamboyance as something embarra.s.sing. I was always expecting them to get arrested, and it was an honest worry. I was terrified child protective services would come and take me away, at the same time hoping it would happen. Somehow they managed to skirt the rules without ever getting caught."
She looked so sad, like a lost child staring across the empty parking lot. Darius cupped her face in his hands and turned her toward him. "And yet they managed to raise a beautiful daughter like you. One who knows the rules, yet who thinks for herself, who is brave and beautiful and very, very exceptional."
She gazed at him with such longing it broke his heart.
"How can you say that? You hardly know me."
"Ah, Mari. I know you better than you think." And standing there beside the bank, beneath the bright overhead lights, he leaned close and kissed her.
He"d wanted to taste her lips all day long. Wanted to hold her close and feel her heart beat against his chest, the way he"d felt her this morning, but he"d stayed away. He"d honored her unspoken request for s.p.a.ce-had given her time to think.
And yet he"d been the one thinking all day. Thinking of holding Mari in his arms. Of kissing her, the way he was kissing her now. He"d dreamed of how it would feel if she kissed him back.
Just as she was doing now. Kissing him. Holding him close, opening her heart even as she parted her lips. Letting him know she was willing, if only for a little bit, to put aside her fears for the future. She was willing to experience the moment, to experience Darius, if only for now.
Darius might have been the one to kiss her, but Mari was really proud of herself for finding the strength, finally, to pull away and put a bit of s.p.a.ce between them.
A very tiny bit. It took her a moment to bring the world back into focus, to remember that they were standing in the parking lot of Evergreen Community Bank, that it was dark outside, and that there were demons about.
Probably not a very good idea to be so caught up in kissing the man that she"d not noticed there were people coming and going, cars pulling in and out of the nearby grocery store, a world pa.s.sing by outside their embrace.