Having reactivated the security system by pressing the device mounted beside the inside frame, Harmony closed the window with plenty of time to spare before the system detected it. She lingered until the metallic lock clicked in place, then began moving. She knew Dane and Ryan. They would be watching from the pines above the house that would afford a clear view of the land surrounding it. Slipping past them might not be easy, but she had done it before, and she was confident she could do it again. And she could smell the Breed watching the house. Despite his attempt to stay upwind, his scent drifted to her.
Smiling triumphantly, she slipped from the area, finally sliding along the ragged hills and shallow arroyos until she reached the open spaces beyond.
She breathed in roughly as the sun peaked further over the horizon, casting the valley and narrow canyon beyond in a multitude of colors.
The land wasn't desert, nor was it really grassland. It was a mix, blending together with pockets of colorful desert flower bursts and shading trees that created a wonderland. Smiling, she settled her utility belt about her hips. A small water bottle was anchored behind her back, a utility pack on the other side. Her weapons rested comfortably on her body and she was ready to run.
__________
Harmony ran until the blood was singing in her veins and her legs had gone from burning and weak at the exertion to powerful and sure-footed. The rough terrain and shallow gullies were a challenge. This was land she didn't know, and running across it wouldn't have always been considered the brightest move. Not the way Harmony ran. Full tilt, the wind whipping over her body, filling her pores and energizing her. She could feel the sun kissing her. The cool, early morning air still lingered, yet the promise of heat filled the land. And she loved it.
Running was the one pleasure she had always fought to allow herself. Being confined made her nervous, ill. She hated the walls closing in on her, and craved the wide open spaces. And she found that here. Civilization hadn't encroached far enough to take away the sense of aloneness, the merging of spirit and land.
Finally, the exertion took its toll though, and Harmony knew she would have to stop, rest. She wouldn't have much longer before she had to head back. Lance would be furious when he found her gone, despite the note she'd left. But she needed this. She needed to focus, to clear her mind, to accept the unacceptable.
She couldn't kill Mason. Even as Death, that wouldn't have been acceptable. Death didn't strike until first blood had been shed. But Death had never allowed herself to become involved as Harmony had.
Panting, she slowed her run until she was pacing, cooling off and letting the blood settle naturally in her veins. She inhaled deeply, lifting her face to the cooling breeze and feeling the sweat that poured from her body.
The memory of Jonas rose in her mind. How he would come to her the moment he arrived from a mission, as though he knew the pain that wracked her body. He would move her from the thin cot in the cells and take her to the comfortable private room he had been assigned. And there, he would ease her onto the cool, soft sheets. He would brush her hair. Sometimes, she thought, he might have crooned lullabies.
"Fuck this!" She snarled at the memories. Those days were gone. The girl she had been. The brother he had been.
"Such language from such pretty lips. Would you speak in front of a child in such a way?"
Pivoting to a crouch, her weapon clearing its holster, she stared back at the old man watching her from the shade of a cottonwood several feet away.
Great. She was so damned messed up now that old men could creep up on her. Then her eyes narrowed.
"You're Lance's grandfather," she stated, sliding the gun slowly into its holster as she kept a wary eye on him. "Why are you here?"
"Because you are." His smile flashed with an edge of male charm that reminded her of Lance.
"Fine." She shrugged, still watching him closely. "Now what do you want?"
"Perhaps to get to know my new grandchild." He walked toward her slowly, his bowed legs carrying him to an outcropping of boulders that sat beside a grassy knoll. He waved his hand over the rocks. A hiss, a scurrying in the brush around it, and a second later a disgruntled rattler slithered from the rocks.
Harmony stepped back, watching the serpent make its way to a narrow ditch, then between the rocks farther below in a shallow arroyo.
"Cool trick." She lifted her brow as though impressed.
Joseph Redwolf grunted. "That is nothing. All creatures of the earth have such abilities. They have only to learn how to use them. Come, sit with me." He patted the wide rock with gnarled fingers.
"I don't know, you remind me too much of Lance. That could be dangerous to my mental state." She crossed her arms over her br**sts, seeing the pleased smile that creased his weathered face.
"Ahh, you are a charmer." He shook his finger chidingly at her. "And think to turn an old man's head with flattery."
"I have a feeling flattery is the last thing that would turn your head." A reluctant smile edged at her lips. "Did you know I would be here?"
She stepped over, easing down on the rock as she pulled the water bottle from her utility belt. She remembered her first impression of him and knew he was like Lance. Only stronger. This was a man the earth listened to as well as spoke to.
"I knew. The winds whispered your name and led me here. So I came." She uncapped her water and handed it to him. When he waved it away, she tilted it back and took a long, refreshing drink.
"So, why would the winds lead you to me?"
"Ahh, the winds sometimes keep a few secrets." He sighed. "I merely follow their guidance."
Somehow, she doubted that.
"You are uncertain of my grandson still?" he asked her then. Harmony braced her elbows on her knees as she stared at the ground.
"I'm not uncertain of him." She shrugged, uncomfortable. She didn't talk to others easily. Lance was an exception. But she couldn't not talk to his grandfather. She had a feeling he wouldn't let her ignore him anyway.
"Perhaps you are uncertain of yourself," he said softly.
She lifted her head, staring into the distance with a frown.
"Perhaps," she finally admitted softly. "No matter how much I want what he offers, Death is still there."
"And Death bears great guilt and much responsibility."
She nodded at the statement, not even bothering to question how he knew the difference between Death and Harmony.