Guardian of the Storm Read Online Free PDF Page A

a blur of motion that made it almost impossible to deflect the animal’s assault.
    Abruptly shaking her stupor as she saw blood oozing from dozens of wounds on Kiran’s hands, arms, and chest, Tempest clapped her hands together to make a loud smacking noise. “Stop!” she yelled. To both her surprise and Kiran’s, the grat jerked at the sound of her voice and whirled to look at her, its red eyes glowing in the light of the moons. Scooping up a handful of rocks, Tempest began pelting the small cat-like creature. “Shoo!”
    It let out a cry of pain as several of her missiles found their mark, leapt off of Kiran and slunk into the darkness as suddenly as it had appeared.
    Gasping with a combination of effort and fear, Tempest stood stock still for several moments and finally rushed to Kiran as he pushed himself up to a sitting position.
    “Are you hurt badly?”
    He winced, but shook his head. “She did not reach my throat.”
    Tempest knelt beside him, looking him over worriedly, but she saw that he had not tried to minimize his injuries. There were a dozen or more deep scratches and several nasty looking bites, but none appeared particularly life threatening. Ripping a scrap from her tattered shirt, she dipped it into the water, grasped one of his hands and began to wipe the blood away so that she could see the injuries better. Despite her concern for him, or perhaps because of it, her heart jumped and her stomach clenched as she looked down at his hand, felt the warmth of his palm seeping into hers. The sharp contrast in their skin tones fascinated her almost as much as the difference in sizes, making her feel, strangely enough, dominated—fragile next to him even though he’d given no outward appearance of doing so.
    “You do not need to do this,” he said tightly.
    She glanced up at his comment. There was pain in the taut lines of his face, but something else, as well, that made her feel suddenly self-conscious about the fact that she’d knelt virtually astride one of his hard, muscular thighs. She’d thought nothing about it when she’d done it, intent only upon getting close enough to him where he sprawled on the ground to examine his injuries. “Don’t be silly. You’re hurt. Do you have medicines with you?”
    “Yes. In my pouch.” He sounded relieved.
    Smiling at him reassuringly, Tempest left him to bathe the wounds while she went to retrieve his pouch. He joined her near the fire while she was still searching for it. Settling beside her, he took the pack from her and emptied it beside the fire. His medicinal pack was at the bottom of the pack. They both reached for it at the same time, but Kiran was faster. “I can apply the salve myself,” he said when she tried to take it from him.
    Tempest sat back, torn between hurt and confusion. “You can’t see to put it on yourself. I’ll be careful not to hurt you.”
    He ignored her comment, dipping his fingers into the vial of salve and swabbing it over the abrasions. Tempest watched him critically, still feeling more than a little hurt and angry that he’d rejected her offer to help. When he’d finished and reached to place the vial back in his pouch, she took it from him and moved closer. “You missed more than you hit,” she said chidingly as she carefully dabbed the spots he’d neglected.
    To her surprise, he caught her upper arms in a grip painful enough that she winced. Immediately, he relaxed his hold, but he didn’t release her, merely stared into her eyes for one long moment before he set her firmly away from him.
    “Thank you.”
    Tempest’s surprise gave way to hurt and confusion once more. She stared down at the salve on her fingers for a couple of moments and finally replaced the top on the vial and dropped it into his pouch. “You’re welcome,” she said, standing abruptly and moving to the pool to wash the salve from her hands.
    When she’d finished, she stood, contemplating the reflection of the moons on the water’s