Page 55 of Outside the Veil
Finn leaned his head on top of Diego’s. “Your pardon, my love. I didn’t mean to distress you.”
“I’m not distressed. You’re just making me crazy.”
A plate of chicken salad and a long make-out session on the front porch later, Finn curled up in a patch of sunlight and went back to sleep.
“Must be nice,” Diego murmured, with a little smile. If only all his lovers had been so easy to please. He went back inside to make the belated call to the ranger station to call off the search for his dog.
As evening approached, Finn seemed calmer. He sat at the kitchen table engrossed in a drawing of red and orange water-droplet globs. When Diego returned from his ritual of checkingthe doors and windows, Finn stood and took him by the shoulders.
“Wish me luck, my love,” he said with a forced smile.
Diego’s heart sank. “Why? What are you planning?”
“You make me sound devious,” Finn protested, hand over his heart.
“Finn, don’t— Oh, God, please don’t.”
He pulled Diego into a fierce embrace. “I should have done this long since. Cowering here at night, instead of going out to face it. You have sheltered me and protected me from the first moment we met, my hero. Past time for me to return the favor. More than a favor. In this, it is my place to protect you.”
“But the last time it got hold of you—”
“I was ambushed and snared. I go out to issue challenge, to stand and fight as I should have done in the first place.”
Diego lifted a hand to smooth the silken strands of hair back from Finn’s face. “Don’t be an idiot. This isn’t some cheesy Western and it’s not high noon. We’ll find another way. I don’t want you hurt. Or worse.”
“Ah, he cares.” Finn kissed his fingers. “But it would do my heart good to know you had a shred of confidence in me. It nears, Diego. Kiss me and tell me you love me.”
“Finn, I—” The words stuck in Diego’s throat. He wasn’t going to talk Finn out of this.Dear God, oh, dear God.
“Well then.” Finn’s smile slipped a bit. “Kiss me at least and be prepared to give me a hero’s welcome on my return, eh?”
Long arms folded him close and Finn closed the distance between them, a lightning spark of heat in his kiss before he pulled back with a wink and a grin. He strode to the front door with Diego trailing like a dust mote in the wake of a hurricane.
“Finn!” He tried once more at the front door while anguish threatened to swallow him.
“Stay inside, my love,” Finn demanded as he strode onto the porch. “I must know you are safe. No distractions. Stay back from the doors and windows.”
The soft blue light danced over his skin as Finn spread his arms to the night. His form melted, grew and resolved into a Kodiak-sized black bear.
“But you said it can’t reach me inside,” Diego protested, his voice far too small against the rising wind.
“It can’t.” The bear turned back to give his shoulder a pat. “I can’t say the same for flying debris. Close the door. Do not open it, no matter what you hear. Not until the sun’s orb clears those trees. Promise me. Swear it.”
Diego swallowed hard, heartsick. No distractions. He had to give Finn that much of a chance. “I promise.Lo juro.Not until I see the sun over the trees.”
Bear-Finn shambled down the porch steps and rose onto his hind legs. “It is here.”
A piercing shriek shot through the rising howl of wind. Finn flung his head back and roared challenge.
“Oh…God… Finn,” Diego whispered as he heaved the door shut. Through the front windows, the bear remained visible as he charged toward a huge dark shape lurching from the trees. Then the wind slammed full force into the glass. The casements rattled and creaked. Diego retreated to the upstairs hallway, one of the few windowless spots in the house.
He gathered comforters into a nest. The temperature would plummet soon. A heavy thud vibrated through the wall. Roars mixed with unearthly shrieks. The wind tore at the house until he wondered if the roof would fly off. Did the magical prohibition extend to the roof? If the house lay in ruins, did the threshold rule still hold?
And the wind did howl, and the wind did blow…
The song rose unbidden from his memory and he whispered the words as he rocked back and forth in his blankets. “Get down, get down, little Henry Lee, and stay all night with me…”
Something screamed and a terrible crash hit near the back wall.
