LEGEND Read online

  A phantom, vaguely shaped like a man, but as dark as a shadow, vaulted toward the men, its body covered with parts of the eagles until it looked like a two-hundred-pound bird ready to attack.

  Cole had tied wings onto his arms; more wings encased his strong legs. His face had become the beak of the bird of prey, the distinctive white feathers of the bird covering his head and neck. He looked like a spirit set on avenging the deaths of his murdered brothers.

  If his appearance weren’t enough, there was his screech, the piercing call of an eagle, but louder, more maniacal, that cut the air like one of Cole’s knives.

  The three hunters, in a marijuana stupor, sat up slowly, looked at the gigantic eagle looming over them, then seemed to take an eternity before they could gather their wits enough to be afraid.

  Cole, who seemed to be enjoying his role of terrorizing the men, spread his winged arms and flapped them over the head of one man until Kady almost felt sorry for the hunter. The other two men didn’t need such close persuasion, as they leaped up, bumping into walls as they fought disorientation as well as terror. When they tried to grab their rifles and handguns, Cole’s screeches became almost demented, as though the eagle was going to tear them to pieces.

  Within minutes, the men, their boots under their arms, left everything else and began the mad scramble down the mountain path. And Cole was right behind them, his long arms outstretched as though the eagle he’d become would engulf and devour the men.

  After the men had fled, Kady sat absolutely still for a long time, staring into the light in front of the ruins, looking at the empty campsite.

  She was sure she should get up, go find Cole, and tell him his performance was great. She should thank him for terrifying the hunters because she was sure that those men would never again shoot an eagle. But instead, she just sat where she was. There was something so chilling about Cole’s performance that, truthfully, he had frightened her. It was as though he actually were the spirit of those dead eagles. It was as though he’d cast a spell and the eagles’ souls had entered his body and told him how to move. Even his screech had been as much like an eagle’s as one could be.

  Kady expected Cole to come across the ravine to get her, but he didn’t. It seemed that every atom of her body was listening for him on the path behind her, but he didn’t come.

  When what seemed like hours had passed, Kady stood and listened, but she could hear no sound of the three hunters or of Cole. As quietly as she could, she started walking toward the end of the ravine and found the little bridge of earth that led to the ruins.

  She was at the edge of the ruins, looking at the smoldering fire and realizing that the smoke was drifting her way, when out of the dark trees, Cole came screeching down upon her. He had a knife in his teeth and what skin that wasn’t covered with feathers was caked with cracked mud. He was a formidable sight and involuntarily, Kady stepped back from him. He wasn’t a choirboy now. Now he looked like something from the worst nightmare anyone had ever had.

  Taking another step back, Kady almost fell into the smoky fire. I don’t know this man at all, she thought, and when he came closer, she put up her arm as though to protect herself.

  But Cole, grinning, grabbed her in his strong arms, lifted her off the ground and swung her around. When she struggled against him, he buried his face in her neck, feathers, beak and all, and said, “Trust me, my little wife. Give me your life and trust me.”

  Kady was still stiff in his arms, repulsed by the feathers and what they represented, but maybe the smoke affected her, because when he began to twirl her about, going round and round, holding her close, she started to relax.

  “Let go, Kady, my love,” he whispered. “Let someone else take care of you. Give yourself to me.”

  “I can’t,” she answered, but she could feel her body becoming more pliant in his arms. “My life is elsewhere, in another time.” She’d meant to say the words with conviction, but instead, she began to hug him back, began to feel the way her face fit so perfectly into the curve of his neck. It was beginning to feel right that this man was clad in these gorgeous feathers, for she almost felt that he could fly away with her.

  “You don’t have to be the best little girl in the world,” he said. “You don’t have to be perfect. You don’t have to do anything to make sure people love you. I love you just as you are.”

  “Just as I am,” she said, feeling as though burdens in her life were lifting. It was all too much to think of—that she didn’t have to be the best cook, the best daughter, the best at everything in the whole world. Maybe it might be . . . What was that word she’d heard but understood so little? Fun. Yes, that was it; it might be fun to—

  Leaning back, Kady looked at Cole for a moment, with the eagle head over his own, the brown feathers of the poor creature’s body tied under his chin so only the lower half of his face showed. The dark man in her dreams always had the lower half of his face covered, but Kady was sure that if she had seen the man’s mouth, he would have lips just like Cole’s.

  It seemed the most natural thing in the world to bring her mouth down on his and kiss him.

  She was dizzy with the sensations that ran through her body. Maybe it was the smoke, maybe it was the thin mountain air, or maybe it was this beautiful man with his big muscular body that made Kady react with such feelings of sensuality. It seemed quite natural when he put his hands under her seat and lifted her so her legs could slip about his waist.

  “Kady, I love you, I love you,” he whispered again and again as she leaned her head back and allowed him free access to her neck.

  And Kady knew that at that moment she had never wanted any man as much as she wanted Cole Jordan. Maybe she wasn’t in love with him, and maybe the great clouds of marijuana smoke were making her react in a way that was not normal for her. All she knew was that she desperately wanted him to make love to her.

  “It’s not true, is it?” she whispered as she buried her face in his neck. “You aren’t a eunuch, are you?”

  “Do you believe everything you’re told?” he asked as he hugged her to him.

  “Pretty much,” she said, laughing, then brought her mouth to his to kiss him again.

  They’d kissed several times since they’d met but each time it had been chaste, closed-mouth kisses, and they had suited Kady, as she’d wanted nothing more. But now she opened her mouth over his, wanting more than chasity.

  But Cole did not respond. He did not kiss her back. Instead, he set her down on the ground and said, “Wanta put on some eagle feathers?”

  Kady’s head was too full of smoke—and maybe lust too—to respond to his words. “I . . . I, no, I don’t want to wear the eagle feathers.” She started to say more, but Cole put his hand to his forehead and seemed to sway on his feet and instantly, Kady went to him, concerned.

  “I don’t think I like your marijuana smoke,” he said as he sat on the ground, his back against the wall of ruins.

  Smiling, Kady kicked dirt over the fire to bury the last of the embers, and when she returned, Cole had slid to the ground and was sleeping with all the innocence of a child. Without any hesitation, she lay down beside him, and he snuggled her to him as though she were a teddy bear. Smiling, she fell asleep.

  Chapter 11

  KADY AWOKE TO THE SMELL OF FRYING, AND SHE FELT SO emotionally exhausted from the last several days that she didn’t even try to guess what it was that Cole was attempting to cook. Wordlessly he handed her a thick white square that was a cross between a biscuit and a cracker and about half a pound of bacon. She ate some but not much. He’d obviously been up for a while because he’d washed off the mud and was wearing clothes. There wasn’t an eagle feather anywhere to be seen.

  After a while, Cole doused the fire, rolled up the goods the men had left behind and carefully stored them inside one of the ruined houses; then he bundled his and Kady’s belongings and slung the pack over his back. “Ready?” was all he said, and Kady nodded, then got up to follow him.