Rated: X-mas: Twice Blessed by Rachel Bo

over, then dropped to the ground on the other side.
    There was at least three feet of snow on the ground and she shook her head as she slogged up the drive. She seemed to be making a habit of freezing her butt off in the snow for these two.
    Except that she wasn’t cold any more. As a matter of fact, she was extremely warm.
    Too warm. She stopped and tugged off the light jacket that had seemed so inadequate up to this point.
    That was better. A stiff breeze cooled her fiery cheeks. Jenny opened her arms and raised her face to the sky, closing her eyes.
    The ground beneath her feet seemed to pulse in time to her heartbeat. She opened her eyes and sat down, pulling off her shoes and socks. Standing, she buried her feet in the snow until she felt the hard earth beneath. Yes. She could hear it now, a rhythm that sang in time with her Blood.
    She was on fire. She tugged off her sweatshirt, panting as the cold mountain air dried the sweat on her skin. Damien, she thought.
    A sound traveled up through the bottom of her feet. The scrape of a claw against stone.
    It came from the northwest, and she turned in that direction. Abruptly, she was running.
    Flying between the trees like a hart, she opened herself to the song, letting the Blood guide her.

    66 Rachel Bo
    She ran into the center of a clearing, surrounded by great, tall trees the likes of which she had never before seen. Her feet refused to move, frozen in lush, green grass that couldn’t possibly exist in these temperatures. A warm breeze caressed her face. She felt a surge of joy so strong it brought tears to her eyes. She had felt this way when she stepped back into her father’s house a few weeks ago. It was like being welcomed home.
    She enjoyed the serenity for a moment more, then grew anxious. She tried to feel Damien again, and couldn’t. “Devlin,” she whispered. The clearing was still and silent. Even the breeze had stilled. It was as though the earth itself were waiting. Waiting for something from her.
    “I don’t know what you want,” she cried. “Please!” The words disappeared as soon as she spoke them, deadened by the still air.
    She tried to move again, but the earth held her, silent and patient. “Please,” she whispered. She dropped to her knees.
    When she looked up, she noticed a stone slab, half-buried in the circle’s center, that she hadn’t seen before. Without thinking, she stood and stepped toward it. A warm tendril of air touched her cheek. She took another step, and another, until she stood before the stone slab.
    There was a shallow depression in the center of the stone, from which a sliver of obsidian gave back the light of the moon. She reached for the sliver and picked it up carefully. A sudden image of blood, running in thick rivulets over the stone, made her drop it. Jenny knelt before the altar, resting her head against the cool stone. She was frightened, but more afraid of losing Devlin and Damien forever. “All right,” she whispered. “If that’s what it takes.” She closed her eyes, shivering as the image of blood sprang to her mind again.
    “I love them.”

    Rated: X-mas: Twice Blessed
    67
    She opened her eyes, and the grass, the trees, the stone were all gone. She was kneeling on a snow-dusted trail, staring at a circle of moonlight on the ground. She stood. She’d been tested. Had she passed?
    She started walking, the fabric of her wet pants clinging to her flesh, seeming to drag with every step. Jenny stopped, removing the cumbersome garment. A shaft of moonlight dappled her form. She removed her bra and panties, as well, turning with her arms held out, allowing the moon’s radiance to bathe her.
    A twig cracked behind her, and she turned. Bright blue eyes regarded her steadily from beneath the trees. A branch creaked to her left. Another set of blue eyes studied her from the shadows.
    “Catch me,” Jenny whispered, then turned and ran.
    Her Blood sang. She leapt through the trees like a forest sprite. Damien