Onyx Snippet #1

It's not Saturday yet - that's tomorrow. I just wanted to post a little somethin' somethin' about ONYX and what better to post than a snippet?

This is the other half of Chapter 1. The first half is in the back of BEAUTY AND THE ANGEL.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sampsa managed to get me and Henna out of the house with the promise that Bruce and his wife Missy would stay at a hotel. He kept his promise despite Bruce's very insistent begging.


The house wasn't as packed as it had been a few months ago because Doyle decided since Nevin hadn't tried anything in about a month, everyone was safe enough to leave the wards.

I put Henna back down in her crib, made sure the older babies were still sleeping soundly, and made my way to the balcony where Sampsa was standing. I watched the smoke from his cigarette dissipate into the air for a while before leaning against the railing next to him.

“I used to love looking at the stars,” I said softly, lacing my fingers through his.

“I remember. You would stare at the sky for hours. You probably would've stayed outside all day and night if we had let you.”

“I miss them.”

“Miss what? The stars?” I nodded. “They're still there. You can look at them any time you want.”

“They scare me. Everything about nature scares me now. Henry says that they probably make me aware that there's something bigger than me out there.”

“Why do you think they scare you?”

“At night when the stars come out,” I sighed and closed my eyes for a moment. “I'm reminded that I'm alone.”

Sampsa softly huffed and tightened his grip on me. “You're not alone, Sarah.”

“As a vampire, you had people to relate to. If you had an ache or a pain, you could find out why. You have the same thing now as an angel. If something's wrong, you have people to go to. There's nothing remotely similar to me out there. I am the only one of my kind.”

“And that scares you?”

“Wouldn't it scare you?”

“If I were the only one of my kind? I don't think it would. You being the only one of your kind scares me though. It makes keeping you safe and healthy pretty difficult.”

“Safe and healthy,” I repeated with a sigh. “Sampsa, I've died a dozen times and I will die a lot more I'm sure. I will live forever. I'm the only true immortal walking around here and I think that's one of the reasons the stars and nature and science in general scares me so much. When the world ends, whether it happens next year or not, I will still be here. Alone.”

“You won't be alone.” I frowned at him. “Guardians die when their charge dies, not before. You won't be alone.”

“Who told you that?”

“Dean did. He said that's the reason you're so scared of the whole 2012 thing. He wanted to make sure you wouldn't be alone.”

“It doesn't freak you out that we will possibly just be floating around in space?”

He shook his head and kissed my neck. “I'd throw it all away for you, vauva. The stars, the moon, Earth... none of it means anything to me. You're the only thing that matters to me.”

“What if the polar ice caps melt? You can't swim very well and I don't like the ocean.”

He snorted and rested his face in the crook of my neck and shoulder. “You can teach me how to swim like a fish and I will protect you from the teeth and the tentacles-”

“You're really not worried about it at all, are you?”

“Do you know how many times people have come up with an apocalypse in my lifetime? If you were anyone else, I'd mock you, but I know you and I know that you're genuinely freaked out by all of this so...”

“You're humoring me,” I finished for him.

“I guess you could say that.”

“Why do you humor me and no one else?”

“Because you're the only one that I care to humor. And it's not like you're making any of this up. These are your true feelings and thoughts. If they weren't, I could brush them off. Like when you told that vapid girl that there was a lion in the shed. I knew you weren't in any danger or distress because you just made it up.”

“But there was a lion in the shed. Delbin was working on Astor's birthday present in there.”

He started laughing. “I stand corrected. You didn't make up the whole lion-in-the-shed thing, but you have to admit you've come up with some pretty big lies.”

“They all had to do with getting an animal or something though, not to hurt anyone.”

“Vauva, I'm not saying you meant to hurt anyone. You asked me why I humor you and no one else, that's why. Other than the fact that you are the first person that I've ever truly loved, your... quirks are a major part of your personality.”

“My quirks? Is that a nice way of saying you love me because I'm crazy?”

“You may be crazy, but I wouldn't change a thing about you.”

“I would.”

“Oh, yeah? What would you change about yourself?”

I turned in his arms so I could look up at him. “I'd add a few inches. It's becoming painful to bend over backwards all the time.”

He got down on his knees and we were suddenly face to face. “How's that?”

I gave him a quick peck on the lips, knowing if I let the kiss linger, the conversation would end. “What about you Sampsa Auvo? Is there something about you that you'd like to change?”

“I'd take off a few inches. My knees are going to get sore after a while.”

“You're ridiculous,” I giggled.

He just chuckled and ran his fingers through my hair. “I need you to know that you'll never be alone. As long as I have air in my lungs, you will never be alone.”

“It kind of helps that you're stuck with me,” I teased.

“Sarah, I'm being serious.”

“I know, but I don't like it.”

“You don't like me being serious?” I shook my head. “Well, what would you like me to be then?”

“I have some ideas,” I said, biting my lip. I watched happily as lust replaced the seriousness.