Bonedust

walking down the sidewalk side by side. Gabriel’s arms ached from his shoulder to his fingertips, feeling like dead weight, but he felt a sense of renewal. A sense of hope. True, targets didn’t move and vampires did, but it gave him optimism that they could, quite possibly, beat the Bonemaster.
    Gabriel walked fast, racing the darkness casting deep shadows all around them. Urban reached out and caught his arm, making him slow down. “Easy. Breathe, babe.”
    “I just feel…naked. Vulnerable.” He hunched his shoulders. “I don’t like it.”
    “But you can’t control it.”
    “I can. I can go inside.”
    “Gabe…” Urban shook his head. “You can’t control it, bottom line. Jeremie could show up here in two seconds and you can’t do a damn thing to prevent it. You think being inside a cheap motel’s gonna stop a bloodsucker hell bent on revenge? Hell no. He’ll just come through your window. Or burn the entire motel to the ground. Or hire a sniper to knock you off during the day.”
    Gabriel looked at him quickly. “He doesn’t want me dead.” Maybe he wouldn’t be so damn scared if he knew that Jeremie wanted to kill him. No. Jeremie had an obsession with Gabriel. He wanted him as his immortal plaything, something to shatter into a thousand pieces, glue him back together, only to shatter him again. He hunched his shoulders. No. He’d rather die. “He wants to Change me.”
    “Lovely.”
    He huffed out a breath of relief as Hardy’s came into view, the buzzing streetlight casting a yellowed glow on the building. He pulled his keys out of his pocket and unlocked the door. Pandora gave a shriek that sounded like a mix of pain and happiness and lunged nearly into Urban’s arms. Urban laughed and hugged her around the middle. She squirmed, lashing his face with her tongue, and together they headed out the door.
    Gabriel sighed and glanced around the room. He picked up the trash the dirgehound had gotten into; little flecks of paper plates and napkins littered the floor like a dusting of snow. He got down on his hands and knees and gathered it all into a pile, scooping it into a bag. Next time they went out, Pandora was being locked in the damn bathroom. What could she do in there? Eat the toilet?
    The door squeaked open and Pandora bolted towards Gabriel. He stiffened and twisted, nearly falling on his ass as he struck the hound with the back of his hand. Pan blinked, docked her ears, and stared back at Urban, who was calling her name. Gabriel stood on shaky legs, threw the trash away, and waited until Urban had tied her up to the doorknob before relaxing.
    “She just wanted to say hi.”
    “You don’t say hi by lunging at someone’s face, especially if you have fangs,” he muttered. Shucking off his jacket, he reached for the hem of his shirt and pulled it up. “Look.” His hand reached back, fingers splaying across a scar punctured into his flesh. He felt the feather light brush of Urban’s fingers against it.
    “Hounds did that. They pinned me and Jeremie just…watched. And laughed.” His voice grew hard at the memory, the feel of the hounds’ teeth slicing against him, and the scar ached as if it’d just been done yesterday. “I have several more on my calf. Get bit by one of those fuckers, then see about trusting one. They scare the living piss out of me.”
    “I’m sorry.” Urban’s voice was a deep rumble, his fingertips still tracing the scars on Gabriel’s back. Then fingers became his hand, slowly sliding around the other man’s torso and Gabe felt the hot press of lips at his shoulder. He couldn’t control the shiver that trembled through him. “I wish I could take it away, baby, but I can’t. I don’t have that power…”
    “No one has that power,” Gabriel said, moving to pull away, but Urban held him fast. He felt the brush of the snake’s stubble tickle his spine as the man trailed a path of kisses downward. “Urban…” His breath caught in his throat. He tugged free, collapsing onto the bed. He turned himself around so he was facing the other man, heart hammering in his chest. “Don’t. Please.”
    “I won’t hurt you.”
    I don’t know that, he wanted to cry. And at the same time, he wanted to crawl into the warmth of Urban’s arms and let the man kiss each and every fear away. He worried his lip between his teeth and shook his head. “Not tonight. I…”
    Urban smiled softly. “Deal.” Patting Pan on the head as he passed, he turned