"Talon, this was a lesson in reality. You want to be in Draagon's face when you go after him. Right? Well, I'm showing you why that will never happen."

Talon locked his knees to keep them from buckling at her heartless words.

"Has all this," he waved his arm to encompa.s.s the area around them but meaning everything since he sobered up, "been a game to you? Is that what you'll tell Dak? That I couldn't cut the training? That a blind man can't possibly learn to stand on his own?"

Her lack of faith in him was crippling his ability to think beyond the sense of betrayal he heard in her words. The first time in a very long time, he lowered his guard and let someone matter to him, and this is what happened.

"Why, Shadow? If you're so sure I'll fail, why?" He had to stay focused on her answer but his gut instinct was to hide and lick his wounds like an injured animal.

"If not for those new crystals Kierin sent we wouldn't even be having this conversation. Talon, you couldn't see a tree or a rock when we got here. I had to lead you through town. It's so much better now but you've stopped using the auditory skills that carried you through the last couple of years."

Talon gave up his stance and dropped to the ground. His hands brushed against dry leaves and twigs blown from the surrounding trees during the recent storms. He heard the rustle only because he was three feet from the source. She was right. His special skills faded with his improved vision.

"I guess this means we signal for a pick up?" If he couldn't fulfill his vow of vengeance there was no reason to stay here. She's a reason to stay but you won't admit it. He shoved that voice of reason into the deepest pit he could find in his mind.

Shadow saw the pain he was trying so hard to hide from her. Her heart screamed at her to find a better way to help him. One that didn't break his spirit-even temporarily. If there was any chance for him to have a life after Draagon was no longer a driving force then she had to finish what she started.

"Not unless you're ready to quit." She held her hand up when he opened his mouth to speak. "Let me finish. I said you would never be able to get in his face, not that you couldn't take care of business another way."

She waited until he looked straight at her before she continued.

"I'm listening."

She bit her cheek to keep from smiling. He had to accept the change in his quest for vengeance before she could lead him into more personal changes.

"Remember the sniper rifle I pulled out when those prisoners came back?" She waited for his nod. "It's accurate to a thousand yards. Don't give me that look! I have a ninety-seven percent accuracy at six hundred yards so I know it's possible."

His face said he didn't believe her but his body language wanted a reason to accept it as true.

"Is there game on the island bigger than a kava but smaller than an eldorak?"

"There used to be a wild boar colony in the swamp on the far side of the marina. I haven't seen any sign of them but I haven't been looking. The adults are about half the size of the eldorak."

"Good. Now for the hard question. Do you have a range limit with your vision? How far can you see and still be able to identify a target?"

"Never tested the limits."

Shadow scanned the area where she and Talon sat. The tall gra.s.s and scrubby bushes in the valley didn't offer what she needed. "Stand up."

When Talon stood beside her she pointed up the mountain. "What's the farthest landmark you can identify up there?"

He studied the terrain for several minutes before sighting down his extended arm.

"Do you see that rock formation that looks like a pitchfork with a missing tine? Straight up from the tine on the left is a large, single tree. Everything past that is a blur."

She had no trouble locating the spot. "Your single tree is actually a cl.u.s.ter of three or four so come back to the rock formation. Is that a clear image for you?"

"Should I count the clumps of lichen clinging to the side for you?"

Shadow laughed. Her sarcastic Talon was back. "That's just over four hundred yards so we set your limit at four hundred. Let's head home and see if I can salvage enough of that...meat for a meal. Tomorrow you learn more about a sniper rifle than you ever thought possible. In a couple of weeks you'll be able to take out a beetle at that distance. Then you can go after Draagon."

Chapter Twenty-Four.

"Why do I need to learn how to take the rifle apart and put it back together? Just leave it in one piece." He resented being talked to like a school kid.

If he were honest with himself, he was still nursing his resentment from yesterday. Not his most ill.u.s.trious performance, but she was carrying his lesson a little far. She wouldn't even let him in her bed last night. Her 'we need to get back to a professional work environment' was c.r.a.p! His morning started with an uncomfortable bulge in his pants and a bad mood. It didn't look like his day was going to get any better.

"You have to clean it after you use it and you can't get to all the cruddy gunk without taking it apart. Now stop asking the same questions and just do it."

"I wanted to do it last night but you...."

"Dammit, Talon! I swear I'm this close," she held her thumb and index finger about an inch apart, "to shooting you with this gun. And don't even think about making me kiss you. Now pay attention!"

Her current position, leaning across the table, gave him an inviting view of cleavage. "I like you better without that binding business. I can see your nipples through the shirt. Did you miss me as much as I missed you last night?"

The growls coming from her side of the table would scare the h.e.l.l out of a lesser man. He was up for anything she wanted to throw at him. Making his Blue lose her control was the highlight of his day. She's not your Blue. He ignored the voice of reason and just enjoyed the moment.

"Take a deep breath, baby. I'll behave...mostly." She obviously couldn't be teased this morning. He picked up the rifle and quoted her first lesson of the day while he dismantled the gun.

"This is a U.S. Marine M40A1 sniper rifle. Hand made in Virginia, wherever that is, total length forty-four inches, barrel length twenty-four inches. It weighs fourteen and a half pounds; has a maximum effective range of a thousand yards; magazine holds five rounds and it cost approximately twenty gold coins."

The gun lay in pieces across the table in the exact order she had demonstrated earlier. "Did I get it right?" He managed to keep a straight face and meet her 'you're-dead-meat' glare.

"You...how...what a low down...."

She dropped into her chair. Eyes squeezed shut, lips pulled completely flat; his Blue was ready to blow.

"Cute." She managed to speak only after taking several deep breaths.

Sarcasm was better than hostility. He could work with that.

"Did you retain the information on anything else?"

"I have an excellent memory, Blue. Do you want me to repeat the steps for cleaning the weapon?" Her glare screamed no. "You located the mayor's house and the blacksmith's shop."

"What are you talking about? If this is another...."

"Relax, Shadow. I recognize the harbor painting. It hung above the fire pit in the mayor's house. The blacksmith only painted the central square and for some reason, he was the only person who painted that area. They look nice in here."

How can one man make her crazy enough to kill and turn her to putty all in the s.p.a.ce of three hours? You wanted the old Talon back. Be careful what you wish for....

"Thanks. I think it makes it look more...homey, I guess." She watched for any reaction to the H word.

"If you say so." He shrugged and began putting the rifle back together.

You can shut me out but you can't shut me up. I'll break through that wall you have around your heart if it kills me.

"As of this minute, you're the official meat provider for everyone living on this island. When you're comfortable with the weight of the rifle and how she handles, stretch you limits until you're four hundred yards-minimum-from what you aim at. Understand?" She laid five rounds on the table. "I'm a long way from Earth so use these sparingly. Bring the casings back and I can reload them. Ammunition isn't included in my base fee and I charge by the bullet, so make them count."

"Just how big is that magic closet, Blue?" Talon loaded the rifle before looking at her.

"Didn't ask and as long as it holds my weapons, ammo and reloading station, I don't much care. Any questions?" She needed him to leave so she could set the stage for the next phase of Operation Darius.

"I'll be somewhere around the marina. Just in case you can't go a few hours without seeing me. Do I get a kiss before I go?" He asked after swinging the rifle across his shoulder.

She didn't know if she wanted to shoot him, hit him, or kiss him. Every time she thought she had him figured out-put into a tidy little box in her mind where she knew what to expect-he did something or said something that ripped that little container apart.

"Go! Get out of here before I do something we'll both regret."

Talon took the two steps that separated them and cupped her face in his hand.

"The only thing I regret, Blue, is not being able to see your face when I'm buried b.a.l.l.s deep inside you."

Ah, d.a.m.n. Why couldn't we have met before your accident? Then again...you wouldn't give me the time of day back then. Would you?

"Talon...."

"Anything special you want for dinner?" He picked up a water skin and a freshly charged lantern and turned toward the door.

"Whatever's tender and easy to prepare." She quipped, grateful for his instant change in att.i.tude. It was much easier dealing with the no-nonsense Talon than it was the gentle lover Talon. Her life hadn't offered opportunities to learn how to be around such gentle caring.

She stood staring at the door long after he left. The emotional upheaval of the past two months threatened to crush her. From the first moment she spotted the bounty hunter, staggering drunk and holding court among the crowd of rowdy men and women, her thoughts, her plans...even her basic belief in her place in the universe...was ripped away. Every truth she held now seemed to twist and bend at the least whisper of that wind of change. There had to be a way to force Talon to acknowledge his past. She didn't know why it was so important; but she didn't doubt for a second that it was more important for him to embrace those memories-good and bad-than it was for him to take down Draagon.

Shaking away her pensive thoughts, Shadow headed to her chest. She needed another visual trigger but wanted something that would touch him. When her search came up empty she refused to admit defeat. With a snap of her fingers, she pushed herself up from the floor, brushed the dust from her knees, and headed out. The perfect item for the next step in her campaign was in the hidden room inside the vault next door.

Talon's memories of the marina weren't painful to remember like those of the central square. The men and boys brought here for execution simply disappeared. He believed back then that Draagon's men carried them away in their sh.o.r.e craft. Sailing captains weren't above forced servitude to replace lost crewmembers but he heard the never-ending shots that afternoon. If they were shot wouldn't the bodies be floating near the docks? Or on the beach? Not a single body appeared so he would never have his questions answered.

The slosh and creak of wreckage rocked by the gentle swells of the inlet created an eerie serenade. The soft sough of the wind through the bits of tattered sails added their own mournful notes. A fanciful man might hear the bits and pieces of a hundred boats crying out for their masters-or mourning their loss of purpose. He could relate. A laser blast changed the path he planned. While he was grateful that Kierin had the knowledge to help him keep his vow, he couldn't ignore the hard fact that his purpose in life would end with Draagon's death. He honestly and truly never thought about what would happen after. Before the injury, it was easy. He would continue as a bounty hunter-an a.s.sa.s.sin for justice.

You wouldn't be having this confusion and thinking about the past if Shadow would just stick to what Dak paid her to do. That spitfire is determined to...what?

He didn't know what maggot crawled into her head about him and his past or what she schemed in that head of hers to change his att.i.tude. Until he kept his vow he couldn't remember the good parts of his early life. He had to make her understand, but how?

Grunts and squeals erupted from the heavy growth of vines at the edge of the swamp. Three young boars came charging onto the small strip of beach that curved from the end of the marina to the base of the cliff. Their short, straight tusks put their age at around two years. They were probably going through their first mating rut and all three wanted the same female.

Shadow wanted him to be farther away when he took his shot; but his mental wanderings put an end to that plan. Moving slow and quiet, he shifted away from the posturing animals. They were still testing the seriousness of the compet.i.tion but it wouldn't be long before the fighting started if none of them backed down. They may be young but those tusks could rip a man's leg to the bone and leave him to bleed to death.

Taking careful aim and following Shadow's instructions to breathe in, hold it, and squeeze the trigger, Talon fired-and missed all three. They took off into the swamp, screaming their displeasure.

"Dammit!" He rubbed his shoulder where the recoil hit. He'd have one h.e.l.lava bruise before morning. "You left out the part about how hard this thing kicks, Blue!" His bellow sent seabirds soaring from their roosts in protest. There was no way he could track the frightened boar. Already the sound of their distress was fading. For such squatty-legged creatures, they could move fast when necessary. He already lost the feeling in his fingers from the jolt of the rifle and it was travelling up his arm at a rapid pace. No more shooting today. He was responsible for dinner and he suddenly remembered the spot where he used to dig huge mollusks from the sand. He jogged about thirty feet when he remembered to go back after the sh.e.l.l casing.

Chapter Twenty-Five.

Shadow spent the morning carting the desk and chair from the hidden room and arranging the pair under the front window. They made a nice addition to the room. She placed a pot of late-blooming flowers on one corner and a family photo alb.u.m in the center. "Let's just see what mister grumpy has to say about this."

What she found under the hinged seat of the chair excited her. She recognized the strings for the vioharp but the other items in the box were a mystery. She almost tossed the wad of sticky something but decided to leave it until she had more information. If she ever got through to him, maybe she could persuade him to play for her. She loved the soft, mournful sounds of a vioharp. Those notes spoke to her heart.

She grinned thinking about her secret weapon. Talon wouldn't know what hit him when she pushed him to the point of insanity. "I love it! I love it! I love it!" She shouted, dancing around the room.

"Somebody's in a good mood." Talon pushed the door closed with his foot and slid the rifle to the floor.

"You're back early." She gasped, trying to catch her breath. A reprimand about the care for her rifle was on the tip of her tongue when she noticed he wasn't using his arm. "What happened?"

He eased his shirt off his shoulder and she got her first look at the ma.s.sive bruise spreading across his shoulder and upper arm. "Recoil. Nothing's broken and the stinger should fade by tomorrow. Hurts like a biG.o.d, though."

Shadow flipped a chair around for him so he could sit down while she ran for the first aid kit. There wasn't much she could do about the bruise but there was a tube of liniment that would help relax the muscles. She stepped between his spread knees and rubbed the smelly cream anywhere there was the slightest hint of color. Her fingers found nothing chipped, cracked, or broken.

"What's the matter, Blue? Aren't you going to lecture me about gun safety?"

"Don't tempt me." A sling would help support his arm and, hopefully, make him think before trying to use it. She stepped away from him satisfied there wasn't permanent damage. "This made a deeper impression on you than anything I could say." She grinned at the stunned expression on his face and handed him two of the mild pain relievers. "You'll pull it tight to your shoulder next time, won't you? There's time for a nap before dinner. I'll just grab the rifle and run...."

"Whoa, Blue." He chuckled when he grabbed her arm to stop her from leaving. "There's a bucket of mollusks on the porch." A gentle tug had her seated in his lap. "I'm responsible for food, remember?"

There was just no way she could ignore his whisky-rough voice or the teasing sparkle in his eyes. She had a serious weakness for this green-eyed man. All he had to do was whisper a few words and wink and she was ready to haul his b.u.t.t to the nearest flat surface.

"Where'd you find the bucket? I scoured the entire village and couldn't find anything bigger than that stew pot." If she kept her mind on neutral subjects and away from panty-melting conversations she'd...she'd what? Get over her obsession? Forget about the mind-blowing pleasure they shared? No way in h.e.l.l!

"On one of the partially submerged boats in the marina. It's rusty and has a hole in the bottom but it worked."

"Grilled mollusks it is." This time he let her go. She may have to expand her salvaging to include those boats. Hauling the bucket inside, she pumped water into the sink so she could prepare their meal. With her back to Talon she was forced to rely on sound to tell her when...if...he noticed the desk.

"I think I'll follow your suggestion and rest for a while."

She turned to acknowledge him but couldn't speak around the tears clogging her throat. He was turned away from her and the room, heading for his bedroom but she knew he saw the desk. His normal tanned complexion was pale; but his eyes held that haunted look again.

Was she being intentionally cruel? She hoped not but whatever happened between them, she knew in her heart that he had to come to terms with his past. Would he ever forgive her? Walk away from what she hoped was a more permanent connection? That insidious voice in her head warned her she could lose him. If I do then he was never meant to be mine.

Talon tossed and turned on the lumpy mattress but he knew it wasn't the condition of his bedding that kept him awake. Every time he closed his eyes he pictured his mother sitting at her desk. It was where she corresponded with the parents of her music students and monitored the household accounts. On cold, rainy nights when his father would be attending council meetings or lecturing at the Advanced Studies Hall, he would join her. They would drink warm tea sweetened with honey and read to each other. At the end of each Chapter they would discuss the pa.s.sages. Sometimes he'd play for her and....