His smile disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. “I’ve learned to trust your people instincts. I just wish I knew more about him.”
“Here’s what I can tell you. You were right about Eli having secrets, ones he shared with me before the two of us... well, let’s just say neither of us wanted our relationship to be based on lies. He knows my secrets, too.”
She glanced back toward the man standing on the porch, his arms crossed over his chest, and smiled. He gave her a slow nod and then disappeared back into the cabin to afford her and her father more privacy.
“However, he told me I should share his with you, too, because he doesn’t want to cause problems between us. I won’t tell you everything, but I’ll tell you this much—he’s not Martin’s distant relative. He’s Martin’s grandson, the one who died in that helicopter crash.”
She paused to let that much sink in. It didn’t take long for her father to connect the dots and come up with the right answer. “I’d heard rumors that Martin’s father was Kalith, not that you would’ve guessed it from looking at him. Maybe my dad would know for sure since he and Martin were friends.”
Her father turned around to lean against the fender of his car. “If Eli walked away from a fatal helicopter crash, then we both know which genes he inherited from Martin’s side of the family. He’s a Paladin, with all that means. Does he know?”
“He does now. I told you both Vedin and I assumed he was a Paladin. As it turns out, we were right about that.”
“You know he’ll develop a compulsion to be near the barrier now that he lives up here on the mountain, and it will only grow stronger over time. That could cause problems for our people who want to cross from one world into the other even if it isn’t the light disease driving them to do it. They’re not going to appreciate running into him, and it could turn violent quickly.”
He wasn’t telling her anything she didn’t already know. She hadn’t thought to tell Eli that, but she should have. Her father was talking again. “Our people tell a lot of stories about Paladins, most of them the stuff of nightmares.”
“But he’s not like that.”
“I never said he was. Let me finish before you rip into me.” When she nodded, he picked up where he’d left off. “Now, I figure our picture of what it means to be a Paladin is probably about as accurate as them thinking that all Kalith are crazed killers. Having said that, there are a few things about them that I do believe are true. One is that compulsion to be near the barrier.”
Okay, she believed that. She’d seen Eli’s reaction when she first introduced him to the barrier. Clearly awestruck by its awful beauty, he’d wanted to touch it. He’d also been reluctant to walk away from it, both on that occasion and later when she’d helped Vedin and his men return to their world.
Her father kept right on talking. “You already know they can heal from almost anything that doesn’t involve dismemberment, and I’ve heard rumors that even that’s possible if their medics get to them fast enough.”
She hadn’t asked Eli how he had died, and she never would. If he ever felt compelled to tell her, she’d listen, even if the picture of him injured and trapped in a burning helicopter had already given her nightmares.
Then she realized her father was frowning at her. “What?”
“Have you been listening to me at all?”
“Yes, you said Paladins need to be near the barrier and that their ability to heal is far stronger than what most Kalith have. Do you think that there’s something about their human DNA that enhances that ability?”
He frowned as if giving the matter some thought. “I’ve never heard that was why, but it only makes sense that the mix of genes would produce some interesting results, some better than others.”
She didn’t like the sound of that last part. “Meaning?”
“All Paladins have an immense capacity for violence and a higher tolerance for its effects than other folks, both human and Kalith. Over the years, I’ve met a few people who have witnessed them in action. Everybody says the same thing—those bastards are hard-core killers, every last one of them.”
He held up his hand to stave off her protest. “Honey, I do realize they’re protecting their world, but it’s also part of who they are. I’d go so far as to say that the ones like your Eli who don’t know what they are often end up in the military or maybe law enforcement for a reason. If that inborn need to fight, to protect, isn’t given the right focus, they might have problems dealing with how normal folks live.”
Once again, she protested. “Eli is not like that.”
She wasn’t sure which one of them she was trying to convince, but she suspected she failed in either case. After all, she’d seen Eli charge into battle twice without hesitation, once against what should’ve been overwhelming odds. Not that she was complaining. After all, he’d been trying to save her ass on both occasions. But now that her father had brought up the subject, she had noticed that Eli had seemed remarkably unaffected by the incidents. Maybe that was his military training, but maybe not.
“Well, I’d better be going. As soon as I learn anything, I’ll let you and Eli know.” He gave her a quick hug. “Don’t be in any rush to get back to town. The other deputies will cover your shifts for the next three days. They’re glad to get the overtime, and the town can afford it. Besides, you never use as much vacation time as you’re entitled to take.”
“Thanks, Dad.” She kissed his cheek. “One way or another, we’ll take care of these rogues. This has been hard on all of us. I’ll be glad when things settle down again.”
“Me, too.” As he opened the car door, his shoulders slumped. “I just have a hard time forgetting that each of those rogues is leaving behind someone who loves them.”
Like her mother had.
There wasn’t anything Safara could say that hadn’t been said a hundred times before. Knowing the disease had already destroyed the woman her mother had once been didn’t make the manner of her death any easier to accept.
“Tell Granddad to behave.”
Her father’s laugh sounded rusty. “Yeah, like that ever works with him.”
