Edward swept Elizabeth into his strong arms only to be hit by the intoxicating aroma of her arousal. At least her body didn't hate him, and that was as good a starting place as any. He could feel the heat from her body as she lay against his chest, and the electricity popping between them was more than the residue from the charged light show that saved his life.
Christal held the door opened then turned to help the twins into the back seat. He tenderly placed Elizabeth in the car, and she went limp against the leather seats. He immediately missed her body heat against his body and wished he could hold her a little longer. He looked down at her as she braced against the door and realized how frail she seemed on the outside in contrast to the warrior on the inside. Their lives were in danger and all he could think about was making this woman his.
During the ritual he had been preoccupied by the beauty and simplicity of Elizabeth's face. The blood red robe draped just off her shoulder exposing soft creamy skin. He was imagining running his tongue over that spot when a noise to his left drew his attention. From the shadows of the cabin Edward noticed that Ms. Cornwall was already on the move toward the trespassers. One intruder unknowingly walked past him heading toward the group of women. Edward pointed the gun and took out the first of the four men hitting him in the chest dead center. The second man went down just as quickly leaving two more moving in fast.
Ms. Cornwall ran to his side and her right hand held a white spinning fireball. That's cool was the first thing that popped in his head. When the ball took off flying across the yard taking out another man, he change his mind. That was much more impressive.
There had been one last man, or so he thought, but because he had been watching the witch shoot fire from her hands, he had lost sight of him. He moved around behind a fountain with a large statue of a goddess holding the moon in her hands. Movement coming from within the coven circle drew his attention to Elizabeth causing him not to see the agent coming at him from the side.
One good strike from a pair of shit kickers had his gun flying into the dark. Two unsuccessful attempts with a punch and a painful jab to his ribs had Edward seeing red.
Years of being on the wrestling team prepared him for a fair fight, but this wasn't a fair fight and more than a trophy was at stake. An image of his dad chastising him after losing a match transported him back in time and all of a sudden in the place of the agent was his dad, but he wasn't that small weak boy anymore. No, now he could defend himself and that is what he did. If the guy hadn't hit the ground, he may not have ever stopped swinging at the face that now only lived in his nightmares.
Edward was shaking himself from the dazed fight with the agent that was now lying below him bleeding from a mutilated face when Elizabeth once again drew his attention. Her ebony hair was whipping in the wind and her red glowing eyes were focused on something just over his shoulder. That wasn't what held his attention. No, it was the fact that she had ascended and hovered at least six feet in the air. There was an electric current zapping from her finger tips. He turned around just as a cloud to ground lightning bolt hit the man approaching from his rear.
The smell of burnt flesh burned his nose as the man fell to the ground beside his buddy. The crowd went silent and all chanting stopped. He turned back to Elizabeth in time to see her fall from the sky. Instinct took over and he ran to her side. Scared he had lost her, he pulled her into his lap.
Relief washed over him when she opened her eyes. No longer red, their hazel color was hypnotizing and spoke volumes. This was the most vulnerability he had seen in this otherwise guarded vault, and he wanted to hold her until the weakness passed and she was confident that everything would be all right. Even though he wasn't so sure of that himself.
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Elizabeth moaned in her sleep causing his cock to take notice. Edward wondered what she was dreaming about. He had pulled over near the airport and found a hiding spot for the car. While the ladies slept, he thought he would get some rest too. It had been a long night, hell it had been a long week, but sleep evaded him for a replay of the night's events. Taking inventory, he tried to fill in the missing pieces. Something didn't measure up; some piece of the puzzle was missing. It was just on the edge of his brain unable to be dislodged like a snack stuck in a candy machine.
"What is an airplane?" Elizabeth asked jerking him from his conundrum. Her head was propped against the door window and her hair hung hiding her face.
"You should be resting. You had a long day." Edward pulled a blanket from the back and draped it over her.
"I slept for two centuries. I've had plenty of rest." She turned to face him and pulled the blanket up to her neck. Her beautiful face shaded by the sliver of dawn creeping over the horizon. "Why does your uncle want to take me? I would have thought after all this time humans would have learned to control their fear of the unknown. Are witches still hunted and killed like animals?"
Edward brushed her hair away from her face. Telling himself that it was not a need to touch her. "I am not sure it is that he fears you more that he wants to control you."
"I don't understand. I have nothing to offer him."
"Other than the fact that you can kill someone with lightning."
Elizabeth scowled and a worry line appeared on her forehead. He wanted to wipe it off and destroy anything that caused this women stress include himself. "I wasn't trying kill that man. I was only trying to protect you. My emotions were out of control and the next thing I knew lightning materialized. I was just as shocked as everyone else."
"Well, I am glad you did it. Elizabeth, don't feel bad; the man was going to kill me."
"No, abuse of power will corrupt your soul. Just a taste of evil leads to a road straight to hell. We should never use our powers to harm in anyway because the gift was given by the gods to benefit human kind. That is the code." Elizabeth sagged her head as if ashamed. "I have never been good at controlling my temper when it comes to the people I care about."
"Are you saying you care about me?" Edward said with a smile in his voice.
Elizabeth's head whipped up and he could tell her face had turned a rosy blush color. Edward wondered what else he could do to get her that color and if that blush cover other places on her body.
"Power is addicting Elizabeth and people like my uncle are always in pursuit of it. He will not give up until he has the three of you in his clutches and sadly the government will eagerly back him up because they need an edge in this war the government has been trying to peddle to the people. Propaganda, posted everywhere, is brainwashing Americans. Posters, ads at the theater, and on the radio are all pushing us toward the war with Germany. U-boats have been sinking our ships giving Americans a reason to scratch their war fighting itches. Imagine how many of our soldiers that would be saved if the government had troops that could control the weather and heal the injured. Hell, we may even end the war before it even starts." Edward expressed with the passion of any red blooded American.
"I do not want to see your people die Edward, but using special powers is playing unfairly." Elizabeth stopped and stared at the car roof as if she was thinking of the best way to explain.
"There was this game that we played in the colonies." She finally continued. "It was called tennis. It requires two opponents. One on each side of a net. One player would use a racquet to hit a ball over the net. The other would serve it back over the net. The objective was to get the other player to miss the ball that was served. Do you know this game?"
"Yes, tennis is a very popular game today. But what does this has to do with war and protecting your country?"
"Both players wanted to win. Just like war. Both players thought they deserved to win. Just like during war time. But time we had a player that elected not to use hard work and skill to win the game. This player instead poisoned his opponent's food the night before the big game. His opponent was too sick to play well, giving him the advantage. You see Edward, using us in your war would not stop your adversary from fighting or prevent people from dying, it will just give you the unfair advantage. And I will not be used in that way. My gift is to protect and you want me to destroy." Elizabeth's words were calm but vehement.
"What you described was just a game. This is not a game. This is war." Edward corrected.
"War is a dangerous game played by politicians where you and I are the pawns that can be sacrificed." Elizabeth countered.
Edward gave himself a moment to absorb the information.
"Is this witch code why you didn't use your powers back two hundred years ago to kill the men responsible for your sisters' death and stopping the hanging?" he asked.
"Yes and No. You cannot stop fate, but you can point her in a different direction. Even If I had my powers at that time, I couldn't have stopped or changed the events already written. Maybe I would have tried to save them, but that would have only gotten us all killed. Plus, I would never have used my powers as a tool for vengeance, my clan is more of the turning of the other cheek and letting karma do her thing kind of reprisal."
Edward gave her a knowing look. "Not even a little curse. You know where someone wouldn't have long life or be happy?"
"Okay, so I may have helped karma along, but there was always a way out of your family curse. Their hearts of greed kept it going this long." There was that blush again and Edward wanted to pull her over into his lap.
Elizabeth looked away and cleared her throat. "None of that matters. I had not turned twenty-one yet and had not come into my powers, but my sisters were very powerful. Governor William Stoughton arrested them and with a threat of prosecution, he tried to get them to use their gifts to help with the colony's fight against the Native Americans. The colony was growing every year and he was hungry for more land. My sisters refused to help him with his tyranny even after innocent women were arrested as witches as well."
Edward wanted to bring the Governor back to life so he could slowly drain the life out of him. The torment this girl and his cousins endured had made them strong and he admired them for standing their ground. Thanks to her quick wit and endurance, she now had a second chance with her sisters and life. He was determined to make this trip around go better for them all.