Eternal Rider - Larissa Ione [53]
“Agimortus. And yes. Though Guardians are immune as well. They wear enchanted jewelry to ease the effect. I’m the reason they started enchanting their bling in the first place.”
He seemed proud of that. “Good for you.” She frowned, remembering how she’d thrown Sestiel across the York street so easily. “What else does the agitatus do that I should know about?” Yes, she knew she was pronouncing it wrong, but she was out of her element, and she wanted to have control over something, even if it was one little word.
“Nothing.”
“Is it possible that it could somehow make me stronger?”
“Why?”
“Because… I can’t really explain it, but I feel like I could lift an extra hundred pounds.”
His face darkened. “It’s killing you, so if anything, you should be weaker.”
God, how she hated that word. “Well, I’m not weaker. Now, tell me if there’s another way I can get rid of it besides transferring it to an angel.”
“There isn’t a way.”
“Do you have a computer? Books?”
He regarded her as if it was a trick question. “Why?”
“It’s called research, ancient biblical legend guy. I’m not going to sit by and do nothing. Maybe there’s something you’ve overlooked about getting rid of the agithing and getting unbonded to hellhounds.”
One eyebrow crawled up his forehead. “On the internet?”
She sniffed. “You can Google anything.” She ignored his snort. “Can you release me now?”
“I don’t know.” He leaned into her, and whoa… he had an erection to go with that low, husky voice. Her brain wasn’t sure if she should be seriously nervous or seriously aroused, but her body had made up its mind. Heat built between her thighs, her breasts tightened, and her breath quickened. “Will you promise to do what I say? Because here’s the thing. You die, the world ends. You listen to me from here on out, because you’re nothing but a… a—” He scowled as if searching for the right word, and when he spoke again, his voice was little more than a snarl. “A pawn. You’re nothing but a pawn in this game, and I play to win.”
A pawn? A goddamned pawn? So much for the arousal. She’d concede that she needed him, and that without him, she was lost in this world. But, according to him, she was, right now, the most important human on the planet.
“I’ll listen to you, but you need to treat me with a little respect. Because it doesn’t sound like I’m a pawn. Sounds like I’m more of a queen.” A vein in his temple began to throb, and she grew bolder, the sense of power emanating from the mark on her chest filling her with the mettle she’d lost after the break-in two years ago. Lowering her voice to a tense whisper, she nipped his earlobe. “Checkmate.”
Ten
For the second time in two days, third time in six months, Arik was back at The Aegis’s Berlin headquarters, which normally wouldn’t be a problem—Arik loved German food, beer, and women. But he hadn’t had time to indulge in any of those things, and he was starting to get cranky.
Worse, in order to get in on Aegis inner workings, he’d had to swear in as an official Guardian. The organization was a little too radical, secretive, and unorganized for him—he preferred the stricter, more structured management of the military. But once it became clear that The Aegis wasn’t going to budge on this, he’d handed over the only piece of jewelry he wore—his Army ring—so The Aegis could engrave it with their shield symbol and imbue it with protective magic.
He wiggled the fingers on his left hand, feeling the heft of the ring on his middle finger. Somehow it felt heavier than it had before, as if the Aegis spells that enhanced his night vision and gave him a number of other handy abilities, had added weight.
Regan greeted Arik in the antechamber, which was decked out to resemble an accounting office. Anyone who came in to deliver mail, food, or whatever thought the building belonged to a firm that kept personnel records for large corporations. The Guardian riding desk duty was from a local Aegis cell, trained to act like a secretary. She pressed a button, and one wall slid back, revealing a seemingly endless hallway lit by flickering