She couldn’t refuse him. The need in both of them filled the room, though Gareth never demanded or forced more. She often thought about pushing their relationship, particularly when they were about to rush headlong to their possible deaths. Which seemed frequent.
The rise and fall of Gareth’s chest against her felt as steady as the tides of the earth. As always, they lived in the space of a moment, forgetting their fears and the bittersweet taste of reality. Soon they would be in peril again. These fleeting moments together were all that was allowed them.
Medieval spires rose above Grenoble, grey shapes in the milky sky. The city was frozen in time, still and serene, but not for much longer. Adele glanced at the man beside her, a man who always liked the shadows, and now stood in a world that had turned stark white.
Adele’s breath formed in front of her in misty clouds. Snow was falling and she couldn’t help watching it. Despite the fact that she was shivering in the deep drift, the gentle flutter of the snowflakes coming down around her was mesmerizing. Having spent her entire life in the tropics, Adele had always dreamed of seeing a driving northern snow. This, however, was not the circumstance she had conjured for her wintry fantasy. Her outfit was white and grey, made of heavy wool, but she still felt the chill in her extremities. Her clothes were rough and tattered, similar to what the humans wore inside the city. She had to look the part of a bedraggled human to avoid raising an alarm.
Gareth stood in just a shirt and coal grey pants and boots. He was bare to the elements, and completely unaffected by the bitter cold. Once they had left camp, he had shed his Greyfriar persona. His pack of clothes and weapons was gone now, buried under the piling snow.
“Another outfit lost,” she lamented, her teeth chattering until she clamped them shut.
“I’ll find it,” he said simply. “How close is your dragon spine?”
“It’s close.” She was much better at sensing them now, whereas before she tended to stumble across them. This was a relief given the possibility that her power could be triggered unexpectedly, a constant fear with Gareth around. She couldn’t bear to hurt him again.
Adele wrapped a tattered scarf tighter around her nearly frozen face with fingers that were already well past that state. Her attention tracked to the west, waiting for the sounds of the battle that she knew was set to commence. Still, she jumped when the first boom sounded and black smoke billowed into the ashen sky.
The March of the Galahads had begun.
Mobs of vampires inside the city walls veered toward the attack, black spots rising framed against the white flakes falling.
“This is it,” Adele said, her zeal growing, the chill in her bones forgotten. She rose, shaking the snow from her legs.
“Patience. The more that flock to Anhalt’s diversion, the fewer we will have to walk past.”
“It also places General Anhalt in more danger.”
“He welcomes the risk to safeguard you. His effort shouldn't be in vain.”
“It won’t.” Adele stepped away from Gareth, regarding him. “Follow the path I showed you on the map. I’ll be right beside you.”
She vanished before his eyes, leaving Gareth alone in the vast white field. The only thing that remained was the indentations of her feet in the snow. His eyes widened.
Her hand found his. He looked down but saw nothing.
“So you are not a ghost,” he said in amazement.
Her gentle laugh was carried on the wind. “No, I’m still here. Right beside you.”
Mamoru had explained it to Adele that geomancers hid from vampires in plain sight. They weren’t invisible, only camouflaged by the earth, like a chameleon’s skin. It was a very treacherous tactic, and Adele hadn’t told Gareth or Anhalt just how easily it could go terribly wrong. Vampires could collide with her or something might break her concentration, and then she would be visible.
“Your hand is hot,” Gareth said.
Adele immediately let go and saw his skin flush pink where she had touched him. Thankfully it was not burned.
His eyes narrowed to slits as he stared at the spot where he knew she was standing. “I can almost see you.”
“Really?”
“Because I know you are there. There is a shimmer, a gentle outline about your size and shape. If you hadn’t shown me, I would have missed you entirely. Your scent has changed too. More earthy, like wood and soil. Not like a human.”
“That’s fascinating. I’ll have to relate that to Mamoru when I see him. I doubt he’s ever gotten this kind of insight.” Adele’s hand brushed his one more time. “Lead on. I will follow.”
Gareth started toward the city walls, and she fell into step with him. Eventually they saw a small group of vampires near the crumbling gate. They weren’t soldiers, more likely citizens who were given watch duty that wouldn’t place them on the front lines. One was heavy by vampire standards. Another was thin and tall, though not as tall as Gareth. The last was old with long, thin graying hair and a craggy face. He was seated between the other two. There was a dead human at their feet, obviously a recent meal.