Disclaimer: yadda yadda yadda… translation: the Forbidden Game trilogy and all recognizable characters belong to L.J. Smith.




The Resurrection


Part 5



She wanted to touch him. She really did, just to make sure that he was really there before her. But she was afraid even that, that one touch, was likely to lead to more. And more was not a good idea at the moment, not in front of the Shadow Men.

"Julian." His name left her lips a second time, in a whisper, but even then it was more articulate than the strangled gasp she had emitted earlier.

Those impossibly heavy lashes fluttered rapidly, eyes opening slowly as if waking from sleep. His head lifted and turned, a single angled movement, his gaze locking on her own. And Jenny was lost, lost in the confused cobalt eyes.

Before she could stop to think about what she was doing, Jenny launched herself into his arms, nearly knocking him over in his surprise. She felt his hands come up hesitantly to rest on her back, while hers roamed unabashedly over his shoulders, through his hair, over his face… anywhere necessary to reassure her of his presence.

She fought the urge to smother him in kisses because right now she wanted to be able to see him and look into his eyes. They were even more incredible than she remembered them—as blue as the arctic waters or the Colorado sky. Sapphires in the sculpted, ivory planes of his face.

"Jenny?" His musical voice soft, wondering, questioning.

She released a smile that threatened to consume her features. "Yes."

One hand came up and gently caressed the side of her face. "I would say this is just another one of my dreams…"

"But?"

"But you're wearing clothes."

It took a moment for Julian's words to sink into her brain, but when they did, the response was instantaneous.

"What?" Without actually leaving his embrace, she jerked back and regarded him with ripe indignation. "You've been having naked dreams about me?" she squealed.

He didn't even blink, his eyes just as innocent as they had been a moment earlier. "You haven't been having any about me?"

She gaped at him without replying, though her face flamed up, all but answering his question in that single gesture.

"So, what's the problem?" Knowing smirk, same as ever, and if it weren't for the fact that there was no Tom to worry about now, she could have sworn the last eight years had never passed.

"You have an awfully high opinion of yourself," she replied, giving him a withering glare. Okay, it was nowhere near withering, since it was taking most of her concentration to keep her smile from resurfacing. The issue of naked dreams aside, this was still a reunion she had been looking forward to for so very long.

Julian raised one dark eyebrow in response. "Coming from the woman who practically mauled me and is straddling me as we speak."

He was right about that, Jenny realized. When she had jumped on him, he had fallen, still kneeling, onto his lower legs, and now she sat on his thighs. She tried to pull away, her bag banging against her hip with the movement, but Julian's grip was firm on her back.

Oh God, the Shadow Men. Jenny's gaze ripped away from his and she glanced about the cold cavern, but to her surprise, they were alone, the two of them. The Shadow Men had left. It was strange because she hadn't even noticed their departure. But then, she had been understandably distracted at the time.

"What's wrong?" The words brought both her attention and her gaze back to Julian.

"The Shadow Men, they're gone."

Her answer seemed to kill his light mood and he glanced about at their surroundings for the first time. Of course, now was the time for those dreaded questions and worse, their answers.

His grip loosened, and then tightened as he lifted them both to their feet. Setting her on the ground to support her own weight, his arms remained around her.

"How?" he asked simply, his demanding gaze holding her in place.

"How what, exactly?" she replied weakly, a frail attempt to bide her time until she could come up with the most suitable way in which to reveal her deal.

Julian was not fooled by her tactics. "Jenny."

She bit her lip and managed to keep from tearing her eyes away from his intense stare. In a small voice she replied, "I offered them a game."

"You what?" He dropped his arms and took a step back.

Shivering from the sudden cold that invaded her body as she was left outside his protective circle, she wrapped her own arms around herself in a feeble attempt to recapture the lost warmth.

"Um, a game," she repeated, sure it was quite unnecessary. "For your runestave."

His eyes closed briefly and a muscle in his jaw twitched. When he reopened them she saw something there that made her want to retreat, that threatened to make her cower before from him. But she forced herself to remain where she was and brave whatever came her way.

"Why in the world would you do something so stupid?"

Jenny blinked in surprise, all fear and joy forgotten in that instant. "What?" Her voice came out sounding so small and hurt. She stared back into the sizzling, electric glare, knowing now the full scale of what she had seen there. Fury. Pure and simple, and directed, in its entirety, at her.

"Why did you come back?" he demanded. Leaning in toward her, every bit as dangerous and menacing as the predator he truly was. "You were safe. I made sure of it."

Oh.

Suddenly comprehending what was going on, Jenny felt her fear begin to fade, and her own anger snap into place. Her hands came up and she shoved him in the chest. Of course, he didn't budge an inch, but the gesture was clear, as was its message. "Cut it out," she snapped.

For a moment, the only emotion that occupied his face was surprise. But, as always, Julian was quick to recover from the blow. "Cut what out?" he growled in return.

"This whole trying to make me hate you thing. You've done it before, you know. Really Julian, predictability is not flattering on you," she stated, smug in the knowledge that she had figured him out and failed to behave as he had anticipated.

Another mercurial mood shift claimed him and he relaxed in his stance, the anger pouring out of him. He crossed his arms over his chest, his expression one of mild amusement. "So, this is supposed to make us even then?"

"Doesn't it?"

"Hardly," he replied. "You haven't exactly 'saved' me. In fact, you've just made me worse off by offering me up as a stake in this whole game."

Jenny paused. She hadn't told him about that part yet. "How did you know that?"

He gave her a derisive look and replied, "I know my elders well enough to know how their minds work. What I don't understand is how you managed to get this far, untouched." Sliding forward, he traced the oval shape of the pendant hanging from her neck—but not the rune itself, for even a simple gesture like that could unwittingly invoke its power—his eyelids lowering under the heavy weight of his lashes. She willed herself not to shiver under his touch, forced herself to remain absolutely still beneath the movements. "But I do have an idea."

Jenny's own hand came up. It was meant to slap his away. Instead, it enclosed around his fingers, gentle and almost caressing, pulling it back just enough to break contact with the amulet. The corner of Julian's lip curled up slightly as their flesh met.

And because it was suddenly so very difficult to breathe, and she knew it was anger, or irritation at least, that she should be experiencing, not this—whatever it was—she did the only thing she could think of. She distracted him.

"I can beat them," she whispered a little breathily, heart fluttering in her chest.

The flirtatious smile disappeared and his hand slipped out of hers. He took a step back, the spell broken, his mood abruptly and completely shifting to the other extreme.

"It's different this time," he replied, voice cold, his words dripping like icicles

Too overwhelmed to react immediately, Jenny found herself staring up at him a moment before she realized that her hand was still held in mid-air, where he had left her grip. She let it drop numbly to her side.

"Why?"

"Because you're not just playing against one Shadow Man—you're playing against them all. And they're far older and crueler than you could imagine. They won't hold back the way I did."

"You, hold back?" she replied incredulously. "I think your period of non-existence has left your pretty little head a little murky. When did you ever hold anything back?" She paused, eyes widening minutely as she realized what she'd just said. Face reddening slightly, she absorbed Julian's amused grin and single quirked eyebrow.

At least, the previous tension had dissipated, even if it had done so at Jenny's expense. Sullenly, she concluded, "I beat you fair and square. You're just a poor loser."

Julian suppressed his smirk and let out an exaggerated sigh. "And you're an ungracious winner."

"But a winner nonetheless," she replied, satisfied that she had managed at least that concession.

Julian shifted his attention from her, turning once more to look about the cavern carefully. "What sort of game is this?" There didn't seem to be any anger now, just concentration as he evaluated their situation.

"A maze. They gave me a riddle; a clue to where we are." She recited it for him, pausing a couple of times to make sure she had the words just right.

When she was done, he remained standing as he was, head bowed slightly, thoughtfully. The frost-colored hair fell forward again, into his eyes and she wondered how that could not bother him. It bothered her just looking at it, and her hand itched with the desire to brush the strands away.

"'Good finds it reward and Death its King,'" he repeated softly, so soft that she almost didn't hear him. He glanced alternately at the two tunnels, and then turned back toward Jenny. "Did you come through either of those?"

Shaking her head, "I came through the disappearing door." She shifted on her feet, awaiting further comment. "Do you know where we are?"

"I have an idea," he replied. Without elaborating, he began to walk in the direction of one of the tunnels. Annoyance flickering briefly through the nervousness she had otherwise been feeling, Jenny followed after a moment.

"Would you care to share that idea?" she drawled, keeping in pace with his steps, but making no attempt to lessen the lead he had on her. They continued like this for a while, until she was almost sure he wasn't going to answer.

But then Julian stopped abruptly, turning on his heels to face her. They had reached the archway of the passage, she realized. It was much closer than she had first imagined, the shadows of the dark cavern giving the illusion of distance greater than there actually was. Especially here, at the end, the light was so dim she could barely make out more than the outlines of Julian's body. His black clothes blended perfectly with the darkness, leaving his pale hair and features exposed in stark contrast.

Even here, his blue eyes blazed with a defiant brightness. "Do you know much of Greek mythology?"

Jenny paused, frowning. "Well, I know the myth of Hades and Persephone," she replied dryly, and she could see his teeth flash in a slight grin. "And a little bit of what I picked up from watching Xena, but that's about it."

"Xena?"

Oh right, post-Julian. "Never mind."

"Well," he said finally, "That myth is actually a lot more helpful than you might think, because we're in the Underworld."

For a moment she said nothing, thinking that she must have misheard him. He couldn't have said they were in the Underworld. The Underworld was where the dead went, and last Jenny checked, she was very much alive. "We're what?"

"The Underworld. Kingdom of Hades. Where 'Death finds it King.'"

Jenny swallowed and glanced back into the cavern. "Are you sure that's what it means? What about the rest of it? Maybe you got it wrong."

"No," he answered firmly. "Right now, we're under the Palace of Hades. This is the passage the souls of the dead must follow to get to Elysium… basically, the equivalent of Heaven."

"'Good finds its reward,'" she mumbled.

"Yes. One tunnel leads back toward the entrance, our way out, and the other leads to the Elysian Fields."

Jenny glanced from one to the other, seeing no differences to account for which led where. "How do we know which one to choose?"

"We don't. Trial and error."

"You're kidding," she replied, rewarding him with a look that told him just what she thought of his current mental state. "This isn't some math problem. If we choose the wrong one, won't there be some severe repercussions?"

He gave an indifferent shrug and glanced back to the other tunnel. "Not if we realize our mistake and turn back."

She wasn't pleased with his casual attitude and was tempted to tell him such. Instead, she said, "Why this one?"

"Why not?"

Jenny rolled her eyes and threw up her hands in defeat. "Who can argue with such logic?" She peered into the gaping threshold before her and found she could make out little in the path beyond. "Why don't you lead, oh wise one?"

He shrugged again, turning his back to her as he headed into the darkness. "Why not?" Even though she couldn't see his face, she was sure there was an expression of amusement there.

Jenny ground her teeth and kept any response she might have had to herself. That hazy feeling of being in the middle of a dream had already faded, leaving her to face the reality of her situation.

"Oh, hold on a sec." He waited as she pulled open the flap of her bag and fumbled about until her fingers enfolded around the object she sought. Yanking out the black flashlight, she flipped the switch and let the brightness spread out before her.

He went ahead of her, completely indifferent as to whether he walked in the dark or with the aide of the flashlight. She recalled that he could see in the dark probably as well as she could in the day—a perk, she supposed, of enduring your whole existence in the shadows—so the light was completely for her benefit.

She stumbled over an unnoticed stone and caught herself on the outstretched arm before, her fingers digging into the leather of his sleeve. Julian waited until she regained her balance before reaching down and grasping her by the forearm, to guide her along.

Suddenly self-conscious of the warmth of his hand that permeated the material of her sweater to the flesh beneath, she tried to distract herself. "Are you sure you know what you're doing?"

A soft sigh drifted to her ears. "We aren't going to get very far if you keep questioning my every decision."

"Well, forgive me if I fail to put my trust in your judgment," she shot back. "You haven't exactly given me much reason to trust you in the past."

"I could say the same about you," he replied easily. "But at least I kept to my word."

"Oh, get over it will you?" she grumbled irritably. "You hardly gave me a choice in the whole matter. That was the one and only time I ever intentionally broke a promise, and it was eight years ago. A lot has cha—"

Jenny yelped as her progress came to sudden halt when she collided into Julian's chest. Her flashlight dropped to the ground, flickering off with the impact and leaving her in the encompassing darkness. Her natural instinct to panic was overridden temporarily by her annoyance, and she was just about to throw a biting remark his way when his words stopped her.

"Eight years?" She couldn't make out his features in the blackness, but his tone was ominous.

It was eerie knowing that he could see her perfectly when she couldn't see him at all, but now didn't seem to the appropriate time to fumble about to find the fallen light. Well, she could always ask Julian to retrieve it, but that sounded even worse. So she resigned herself to the imbalance of the current situation.

She wondered how she must appear to him, now that he was probably studying her intently. In fact, she had been a little surprised that he had not noticed the changes immediately; after all, the difference between sixteen and twenty-four was vast, even in the purely physical sense. Her straight hair hung halfway down her back now and she almost always wore it loose, even though through the course of their relationship, Tom had still preferred it up. Her face was leaner, not thin, but the last traces of childhood softness gone, while other areas were fuller.

Jenny didn't respond, for this was nothing to say. Cool fingers enclosed around her left hand, and she jerked slightly, but did not withdraw. She felt his thumb rub over the plain band on her finger and knew that he recognized it. That he hadn't noticed it before, and perhaps its presence was confusing him now.

"Where's Tom?" he asked softly.

"Um, at home, I guess." The soft movement continued. "No, actually… he's probably at work."

Thoughts were muddling inside her head as he continued to stroke her finger, the back and forth motion across her flesh causing her breathing to grow shallower. Her lips parted slightly and her head tilted back in unconscious anticipation—and invitation. She waited, eyelids growing heavy. The stroking stopped.

"You haven't been wearing this long."

Her breathing stopped entirely and her eyes snapped wide open, even though it did nothing to aid her sight. There was utter silence until the harsh exhale of air broke it.

"No."

He released his grasp and her hand fell back to her side. A shuffling noise in the darkness and she could sense him moving. The flashlight clicked back on and he held it out, the base toward her.

"Thanks," she muttered, taking it from him.

Without a backward glance, he turned and continued their trek.


TBC