Page 45 of God Touched

And now you have the hots for a guy from a different world altogether. A guy who left that world for this one because he thought you would be in danger…Imogen's entire body went hot, and her insides turned to mush whenever she thought of his angry confession.

She knew then and there she would do stupid fucking things for him. The fact she was on a damn horse at the moment was proof enough of that. Not just any horse; a war stallion of Annwn that could travel literally between the worlds of the living and the dead. As a bonus, all of her weapons now hummed with the new charms Arawan placed on them.

"I'm not taking you into a fight with weapons that are useless against the dead," he had said gruffly before they had left. He had pulled a face at her taking guns with her, but she had slid on a holster with two of her favorite handguns just in case. Without arguing, he had charmed them too.

Arawan had also made her change into her proper hunting gear, which was lightweight body armor. It was all in black, and a tight fit, with reinforced kevlar panels in all the important bits.

Arawan's face was priceless when she walked out in it. He looked like he would cancel the raid and fuck her all over again. It had made squeezing into the damn thing worth it.

Arawan had placed magical protective shields over her before wrapping her in a black, fur-lined riding coat. With her ax strapped to her back, she looked damn badass, if she did say so herself.

Imogen didn't know where they were heading, only that it was vaguely south. Arawan was using magic to find the location and followed some kind of inner beacon. The horses seemed to instinctively follow his lead.

"It won't let you fall, no matter how fast we ride," Arawan reassured her. "If you want, you can always ride with me."

It was an argument they had already had before they left. Twice.

"I'm not going to let your warriors think I'm some dumb bitch fair maiden that's coming along for the fun of it," Imogen replied sternly.

Arawan gave her a knowing look. "You don't think fighting is fun?"

"Shut up."

Arawan laughed, making some of his warriors around them give him funny looks. He mustn't have laughed very often, which was a shame because his laugh was a wicked thing that made Imogen want to jump him whenever he did it.

Arawan drew his horse closer to her. "You should know that this might not be like a normal fight you've been in. The creatures that Hafgan can control are unpredictable and can dematerialize at will. Keep close to me. Don't let anything get behind you."

"I promise," she said with a firm nod. There were times to argue with him for fun, but this wasn't one of them. He trusted her abilities enough to be willing to let her come with them, and Imogen was determined to prove to him it was the right choice.

You want to impress him? You are so gone on him, it's disturbing,Imogen snapped at herself. She didn't really care, though.

"That's the estate," Arawan said, slowing his pace. They were on top of a small ridge, and lights were glowing in the middle of a sloping valley. Imogen could barely see a thing in the darkness, but it didn't matter. The horses were bred in darkness and wouldn't put a hoof wrong.

"Shouldn't there be some guards or something? Scouts at least?" Imogen asked, not liking how quiet it was.

"There's no reason for anyone to suspect us. Owain said this was the night and place Hafgan agreed to a meeting for new orders. It's not a regular base for them to need to protect," Arawan replied.

"I suppose if we are wrong, we could always kick Owain about for it."

Arawan shook his head. "Not exactly. He was executed."

"How does one execute someone already dead?" Imogen asked and then bit her tongue. It really did have a mind of its own.

"You shred their shade and scatter them to the four winds so that they may never join together again or find peace," Arawan replied, his voice so cold that Imogen flinched. She forced herself to look at him.

"He betrayed you, so I can't say I'm sorry to hear it," she replied.

"You really should be more disturbed by what I am, Imogen Ironwood," Arawan said, his dark eyes filled with something she couldn't place. Despite his words, he looked…relieved.

"You are what you are, Arawan. I'd have no interest in changing it, even if I could." Imogen turned back to the valley, trying to push down the soft, squishy feelings that threatened to choke her. "So how are we going to do this? Sneaky or loud?"

"We will encircle the property and work our way in. I don't want anyone to escape us to warn Hafgan."

Imogen pulled her ax from its holster. "You don't think he is here."

Arawan shook his head. "I would feel him. He wouldn't ever expose himself for a meeting so low level either. Owain was an ambitious little rat, and Hafgan exploited that. He wouldn't lower himself to deal with him in person."

Imogen gripped her ax with one hand and the reins with the other. "Then let's go rat hunting, shall we?"

---