They passed the remainder of the flight exactly like that.

It was close to daylight by the time they landed.

“There should be someone waiting for us. One of our human companions. Most likely Max. I doona expect any Bodywalkers because—”

“They would be paralyzed by the sun,” she finished for him. “I remember.”

And it turned out he was right. When the jet pulled up there were two men waiting near a big SUV. One was relaxed back against the front bumper and hood of the car, his legs crossed at the shins and his arms were crossed over an athletic chest. He was black-haired, with a short, almost military-style cut and wore reflective sunglasses. The other man was big and burly, only slightly smaller than Ahnvil was and he stood in a hard stance with feet apart and arms over his chest. He had blond hair and also wore sunglasses, even though it was still dark. The sun was lightening the sky already.

“How far is it?” she asked nervously as she alighted from the jet and worked her way down the steps. Karma and Ahnvil came down hot on her heels.

“Fifteen minutes at best,” Ahnvil said. He was anxiously looking at the sky as well. “We’ll make sure you’re covered, Kat. I’ll no’ let any harm come tae you.”

She laughed incredulously. “It’s not me I’m worried about!”

“Let’s go folks. Night time is a-wasting,” the dark-haired man said. He reached out for Ahnvil’s hand and they shook.

“You didn’t have to come yourself, Jackson,” Ahnvil said reproachfully.

“Of course I did,” he said, looking at Ahnvil as if any other idea would have been preposterous. “And who is this?”

“This is Katrina Haynes. Kat, this is Jackson, the Pharaoh of the Bodywalkers, and Ram, his first lieutenant.”

“Good to meet you, Kat.” Ram greeted her.

“She needs to be protected from the sun just as we do. She has a disease. The sun will cause her to blister and burn.”

“Right. The windows are polarized. There will be no sun. We’ll pull directly into the garage.” Jackson turned and met her eyes through the tint on his glasses. “Let me introduce you to Max. He’s human, so he’ll be driving us in case we get caught in the sun.”

“We have tae go,” Ahnvil said. “I canna risk turning wi’out my touchstone. I’m too close.”

“I can see that,” Ram said when Ahnvil’s hands briefly shifted to a stone state. “Let’s go.”

But no sooner were the words out of his mouth than a searing blast of red light exploded between the group, blowing them all off their feet. Then another hit, this time catching Jackson dead in the chest. Kat couldn’t help the scream that erupted from her lips, even as Ahnvil got to his feet, grabbed her and thrust her behind himself.

Just in time for him to catch one of those beams right in his chest as well. He roared in pain and Kat could swear she heard his flesh sizzling as though it had been cooked. Yet he remained on his feet, only staggering back a step or two. She looked up and to her shock she could see two men and a woman literally floating in the air. The beams of light were being cast from their hands.

The light was called the Curse of Ra, and Ahnvil knew it well. It was a violent burning energy that could damage even a powerful Nightwalker, as was evidenced by the agonizing pain in Ahnvil’s chest. Jackson was down and Ram was under attack by two of the three Templar assailants. Cloud cover began to rush over them and thunder roared as Ram used his power over the weather to generate a tremendous lightning blast. It hit the first Templar and radiated to the second one, causing the both to falter and fall out of the sky. That left the female and she was focused on Ahnvil. Or rather the woman behind Ahnvil, who was the only one uninjured. Outside of Max, who was still in the car and wise enough to stay there. He was mortal and there was nothing he could do. Their attackers were keeping them back from the car and Ahnvil couldn’t risk sending Kat in that direction. Especially not when he was pretty sure the Templar woman was mistaking Kat for a Nightwalker. One hit by the Curse of Ra would kill a mortal human where they stood. It was Ahnvil’s worst nightmare come to life, and if he remained in flesh form there would be nothing he could do to protect her.

“No! Don’t do it!” she cried, somehow sensing his only course of action.

“I have no choice,” he said darkly before closing his eyes and calling his stone skin. It rippled over him at lightning speed, as if gleefully delighted to be let out of its cage. She had her hands on his back and felt it turn into rough stone. With one tear Ahnvil ripped away his T-shirt and his whole body seemed to grow even bigger. He caught another blast, this one to the face. The Templars on the ground were regrouping, but so was Jackson. He used his massive power of telekinesis to pick up both men and send them slamming into the fuselage of the plane. The ringing of the metal echoed into the pre-dawn sky. The woman in flight was completely fixated on Ahnvil, and she beat him back with blast after blast. Finally, he roared with utter fury, his back hunching up and suddenly … suddenly wings were growing out of the rear of his shoulders, below the scapula and near the spine. His entire body began to distort, growing ever larger and now more and more misshapen. When he turned to look at her he had horns curling back from his skull, his face was distorted and grotesque, wide lips and deadly fangs for his mouth and dark sunken eyes … but eyes that were still the beautifully warm amber she recognized and allowed her to see the man and soul beyond the flattened nose, flared nostrils, and sharp cheekbones.

“Go! Run tae the car!” he snarled at her through a mouth full of fangs.

She was frozen in place, but not from fear of the attackers. She was terrified because he had been forced to become this thing and it was possible he would not be able to change back. And all because he had needed to protect her. Once again she was too frail and too weak. Well, she wasn’t going to fail him. Not this time. She ran, watching all of the attackers from all corners and dodging one blast and then another. The second came so close she could smell her hair burning. Why were they trying to attack her? She was a nobody!

As she rounded the car, Max jumped out and protected her with the shield of his body as he shoved her into the back of the town car. Karma was hot on her heels and bounded into the car along with her. Then Max scrambled back in behind the wheel, his eyes darting back and forth and watching for anything he could do to assist the situation, she presumed. But now that he had wings, Ahnvil was becoming a force to be reckoned with and looked to be the only one of the three under attack who could take flight and meet the bitch in the air head-on. With a massive pumping of stone wings he launched himself into her like a huge granite missile. He plowed into her, tackling her like a linebacker and then pile-driving her down into the ground, tearing up asphalt and earth in a three-yard strip.