by Keri Arthur
“Well, of course it did. It’s not like this mara is the only one—” Gwen paused, then swore violently. The trepidation crawling across Kat’s skin sharpened. If her grandmother was swearing that strongly, something was seriously wrong. “What?”
“Their faces. Look at their damn faces.”
She did. And saw what her grandmother had seen. These things were the image of the two dead children.
“That’s what’s she’s using the souls for,” Kat whispered, sickened to the core. “She’s somehow transferring them into her offspring.”
“Yes, and I suspect that’s how a mara gets its human form.”
“Meaning if we kill these things, we’re killing the two kids all over again?”
“No.” Gwen’s gaze was hard as it met Kat’s. “The mara devoured their souls. They are dead, both in this lifetime and future ones. What we see here are grotesque echoes of what they were.”
“Then how—” Kat hesitated, glancing quickly behind her. Though she heard no sound and couldn’t feel the approach of anything evil, she had a vague suspicion they were no longer alone under the mountain.
She backed toward Gwen, knuckles white with the force of her grip on the knife as she watched the cavern’s entrance. “How do we get rid of these larvae?”
Gwen hesitated. “We’re going to have to stake them, then burn their carcasses with the holy water.”
Kat’s stomach was on the move again. Maybe it hadn’t been such a good idea to swallow that extra water. “What about the men those things are feeding on?”
“They’re mostly shifters. Staking should kill both host and parasite.”
Interesting, given that the kids the mara had stolen were also shifters of one kind or another. Maybe she could infuse her young with the echoes of only those who were not human.
Awareness crawled across her skin, sharper than before. She gripped the stake tighter. “Then we’d better hurry, because I’ve got a bad feeling the soul-sucker is headed our way.”
“If she isn’t, she soon will be.” Gwen’s voice was grim. “I’ll handle this. You keep track of the mara.”
Kat stepped out from under the human chandeliers, stopping close to one of the sickly fires. Heat caressed her legs, but it was more magic than actual warmth. Yet it had a different feel than the magic that throbbed all around them.
There was a grunt of effort from her grandmother, followed quickly by a high-pitched, inhuman scream. The cavern seemed to shudder as if in pain, then fury rent the air. Kat pulled a small jar of holy water free from her belt and waited.
A second scream followed. The air around her burned, and the tremor was more noticeable this time. Evil was an express train bearing down on them.
“Gran, I don’t think we’re in a real cave,” Kat said, raising the jar and getting ready to throw.
“No, we’re not,” Gwen responded. “The mara has changed the structure of the mountain to make this cave. It exists only through magic.”
The ground pitched, rolling like an animal in pain. Kat rode the waves and tried not to think about the force of hate and rage and desperation headed their way. Tried not to think about the fact that they still weren’t exactly certain how to kill this thing.
Smoke roiled into the room as Gwen flung holy water at the first of the soul-sucker’s offspring. Kat flicked the top off the jar and hurled the water at the angry, turbulent smoke, keeping it back and away from her grandmother. The air screamed, and the vibrations under their feet became more erratic.
Gwen flung a second vial of water. The smell of burning flesh joined the cauldron of smells, and Kat’s stomach began to heave as violently as the floor. The smoke twisted and writhed, as if it, too, was being burned by the water finishing its offspring. With another scream, it arrowed its way toward Gwen. Kat hit it kinetically, forcing it back again. She grabbed a stake and dove forward, slashing at the soul-sucker with the white ash.
Only to find the stake gripped in a fist of iron as the mara found form. Black eyes gleamed malevolently at her as the soul-sucker snarled, revealing teeth as pointed as any vampire’s. Kat didn’t give the bitch a chance to bite. She thrust her back kinetically, ripped free another stake, wrapped it in energy, and flung it hard. The soul-sucker dodged, but not fast enough. The stake buried itself deep into her thigh—not a deadly wound, but one that pinned the mara to human form.
But a human form that had a vampire’s speed.
With another scream, the soul-sucker blurred, arrowing straight at Gwen.
“Look out!” Kat ripped another jar of holy water free, but the earth rolled and heaved underneath her, and she staggered sideways. She swore, battling to keep her balance as she tossed the water. Most of it soaked Gwen as she rolled out from under the soul-sucker’s grasp.
Wood flashed, and her grandmother screamed. Fear hit Kat like a punch to the gut, and for an instant she couldn’t even breathe. All she could see was the blood flowing freely past the stake that pinned her grandmother’s arm to her side. Kat screamed a denial, grabbed another stake, and launched herself at the mara.
It swung and raised a hand. Energy bit through the air, but Kat hit it with her own, holding the surge in place as she rolled under the flashing flow of power and stabbed upward with the white ash.
Flesh and bone briefly impeded the white ash’s progress. Kat swore and thrust it through kinetically. A shocked look crossed the mara’s face, then the flow of energy died, and so did the soul-sucker.
An explosion rent the air, and the floor’s thrashing became even more violent. With a sob, Kat scrambled toward her grandmother, barely able to see through the tears coursing down her cheeks. The wound in Gwen’s side was bad, blood flowing freely, but the stake had also shattered bone as it had gone through her grandmother’s arm. They wouldn’t be flying out of here—that was for sure. Ripping out the stake, she grabbed a bandage from her belt and thrust it hard against the wound in Gwen’s side.
“Gran?” she sobbed, touching her grandmother’s face, then feeling her neck for a pulse.
Gwen’s eyes opened, the green depths hazy with pain. “Those little pigstickers sure do hurt when they bite into your flesh, don’t they?” She reached up, gently patting Kat’s cheek. “Don’t worry, Kitty-cat. I’ll live to give those kids of yours hell.”
Relief surged along with more tears. “Kid,” she said, helping Gwen into a sitting position. Kat grabbed the last of the bandages and quickly dressed the wound on her grandmother’s arm.
“Nope.” Gwen’s voice was little more than a wheeze. “I did a scrying. It’s twins. Runs in his family, apparently.”
Dust and bits of blackened flesh began to rain on them. Kat glanced up and saw a huge fissure snake across the ceiling. “This place is coming apart.”
Gwen nodded. “The mara’s magic created it and sustained it. Now that she’s dead, there’s nothing to hold it together.”
“Then we’d better get the hell out of here.”
“Best idea I’ve heard yet.”
Gwen pressed her hand against the bandage as Kat slipped her arm under her grandmother’s shoulders. They staggered forward, but any sort of speed was impossible against the pitching floor. It felt like they were wading through a sea of earth. The dust raining down became stone, and Kat swore as chunks got bigger and bigger, forcing them to duck and weave.
Her fear stung the air, and every breath was a rasp that tore at her throat. She was shaking as badly as her grandmother by the time they reached the tunnel. The moss slapped and swayed against them, wrapping around their arms and legs like dried snakes, impeding their progress even further.
They were never going to make it out of here. Not at this speed. There was only one thing she could do … She took a deep breath, then kinetically lifted her grandmother and ran like hell back up the slope.
Behind them, the vibrations erupted, and a deep, rumbling roar that sounded like a wave of water headed their way. Hot air punched her, pushing her forward at knot speed
. She battled to keep upright, battled to keep her grandmother wrapped in kinetic energy and moving far ahead of the immediate danger. But there were madmen in her head, pressing white-hot needles into her brain, and her vision was blurring with pain.
It couldn’t be helped. This was the only way she was going to get both of them out of there alive. Dirt and stone began to dance around her feet, racing her up the tunnel. The roar behind her was getting closer, and the floor cracked and heaved so that it felt like she was climbing unstable steps.
With a clap as sharp as thunder, the roof split and fell. She screamed, flinging up her arms to protect her head as dirt and rock rained down. Stones hit her back with bruising force and she crashed to her knees, tearing her jeans and skinning her knees against the jagged flooring. The madmen in her head were going crazy, and it felt as if her brain were about to tear apart. Her kinetic skills slithered away, and from up ahead came a distant grunt as Gwen hit the ground. Kat hugged her body, rocking back and forth, fighting to breathe and unable to move, yet knowing she had to if she and her grandmother were to survive.
The roar behind her was so close she could feel its approach rumbling across her skin. Waves of moist earth were lapping at her feet, getting thicker and deeper with every rapid breath she took.
Move or die, she thought, and thrust upright. Her stomach rolled, and for a second, the world went black. She staggered forward, trying to find her grandmother in the heaving, disintegrating darkness. The floor lurched again and she slipped, going down on both knees. Pain was a wave of red heat radiating down from her head. Her breath tore at her throat and every muscle trembled. She briefly closed her eyes, trying to find the strength to rise. To go on.
Hands grabbed her and pulled her upright. The warm scents of earthy spices and forest spun around, momentarily warming her soul.
Ethan.
He swung her into his arms and ran. She struggled against his grip, fighting to get loose. “We can’t leave Gran!”
“She’s safe.” His reply was little more than a throaty growl that vibrated through her.
Relief surged through her, even though she knew neither of them was safe yet. But if she had to die, at least she’d die in the arms of the man she loved. She wrapped her arms around his neck and held him tight. The river of dirt and stone was almost knee-deep, but it didn’t seemed to impede his progress as he raced them out of the tunnel.
Light began to invade the darkness, but it was the dusky glow of evening rather than the brightness of afternoon. Alarm spread through her, and she glanced quickly at Ethan’s face. His expression was fierce, determined. His eyes were the eyes of a wolf, and a golden halo of energy seemed to be forming around his dark hair. The arms that held her so close, so safe, were trembling, and his heart raced. Not with the effort of running her out of the tunnel, but fighting the change dusk was bringing ever closer.
The wave of earth behind them broke, then exploded, and it seemed as if the whole damn mountain was coming down on top of them. Ethan’s curse echoed in her ears as he dove for the tunnel’s entrance. He twisted as he flew through the air, cushioning her against him as they hit the ground and slid down the path and into a tree.
For a moment, neither of them moved. Rocks and dirt raced past them, but the flow quickly eased and silence fell.
Kat closed her eyes and breathed deeply. They’d survived. Against all the odds, they’d survived. She looked up as Ethan brushed his fingers across her cheek, momentarily losing her soul in the warmth of his wild eyes. But before she could say anything, before he could say anything, the firefly dance of energy flashed down his body, and it was a wolf she was staring at, not a man.
She silently cursed the moon and rolled to one side. He scrambled to his feet and leaped away into the trees. She climbed to her feet, waited until the world stopped spinning, then went to find her grandmother.
ETHAN WALKED INTO THE SMALL HOSPITAL WARD AND WAS relieved to find Gwen sitting up and looking well. He knew without looking that Kat wasn’t here, but she had been. The air still carried her warm scent.
Gwen didn’t seem all that surprised to see him, and her smile was full of mischief. “I told Kat it wouldn’t take you long to find us.”
It had taken him two days once the effects of the moon had worn off, and that was precisely forty-eight hours too long. “I’m a cop. Finding people is part of my job.” He handed her the roses he’d brought her and leaned forward to kiss her offered cheek. “But I was more than a little pissed that you and Kat didn’t leave contact details with someone.” In truth, he hadn’t been as angry as he’d been afraid that Kat had come to her senses and wanted nothing more to do with him.
“You know where we live, Detective. You would have found us there eventually.”
Eventually wasn’t good enough. There was too much left unsorted between him and Kat, and so much he had to tell her. “There are lots of good hospitals in Oregon. You didn’t have to fly to L.A. to get treatment.”
Gwen patted him with her good hand. “I won’t be flying anywhere for a few days yet. Not with this arm.”
He raised his eyebrows. “So you can also assume the shape of a raven?”
She nodded. “It’s not something we want the world to know, and especially not something we want the medical profession at large to be aware of.”
He glanced around the room. “So this hospital caters to your—our—kind?”
She nodded. “Funded by the Circle and staffed by its members. There are six centers altogether. This was the closest to Oregon.”
“And the private jet that swept you down here?”
“You have done your homework.” A smile dimpled her cheeks. “Also thanks to the Circle.”
This Damask Circle was obviously a whole lot bigger than what his investigations had led him to believe. “When are they letting you out?”
“In an hour or so, after the doc sees me.” Her eyes twinkled. “I know you didn’t come all the way down here to chitchat with me, Detective. If you want to see her, she’s in the gardens, getting some fresh air and having a cup of coffee. Seeing it’s so hot, I suggest you try the gazebo first.”
“Thanks.”
He kissed her cheek again and headed out of the room, making his way down the corridor and out the rear entrance. Sweat began to trickle down his back almost as soon as he entered the sun, and he beat a hasty retreat to shade, his heart racing a mile a minute as he followed the path through the trees. It felt like forever since he’d last seen Kat. Forever since he’d last held her.
He came into a small clearing and saw the gazebo—and her. The sheer force of love and passion that tumbled through him made him stop. All he could do was stand there and drink in her image. She leaned against the arch of the doorway, staring at the small waterfall dribbling into a lily-filled pond. She wore a short T-shirt and a soft, swirly skirt that caressed her thighs. She had never looked prettier or more desirable. He wanted to grab her and make love to her right there in the gazebo, but first he had to apologize for his stupidity. And for hurting her.
He took a deep breath, then continued on to the gazebo.
THE WARM SCENT OF SPICE AND FOREST HIT KAT. FOR A second she froze, certain it was only wishful thinking. Then she heard the soft footsteps behind her, and her heart leaped. Joy surged, but just as quickly fled. Because while she could hear him, she couldn’t feel him. It was as if he was keeping his emotions in check, and that scared her. What if he couldn’t answer the question she’d asked in the cavern? What if he decided it was simply easier to walk away? But if that was his intention, would he bother coming all this way to say good-bye? She didn’t know. She might love this man, but they really didn’t know each other. And right now, she wasn’t certain they ever would.
She put down her coffee and turned around. The nut-colored eyes that had haunted her dreams the last few nights met hers, his gaze all but consuming her. Her breath caught somewhere in her throat, and for a second all she could do was stand and stare. The
n his hands slid under her shirt and around her waist, his touch sending a flash fire of desire across her skin as he pulled her close to him. But that flash fire was nothing compared to the heat in his eyes. Her heart snagged right along with her breath, and the whole world seemed to spin around her. He leaned forward, his mouth capturing hers, his kiss passionate and tender and oh so wonderful.
“I missed you,” he whispered, his breath warm against her lips when he finally pulled away.
“It’s was only two days.” Even though it had felt like an eternity.
“Two days and one night,” he corrected, gently brushing the back of his finger down her cheek. “You have no idea how angry and how scared I was to arrive back at our cabin the following morning to discover you and Gwen gone.”
His words sent hope and joy tumbling through her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and lightly kissed his chin. “You were scared? I can’t even imagine that.”
“Then walk away from me now, and you’ll see true terror.”
His words seemed to echo through every fiber of her being. Never had she heard eleven sweeter words. She smiled and let her gaze search his. “Do you want me to walk away?”
“Not ever.” He hesitated. “Can you ever forgive me?”
She raised an eyebrow. “For what?”
“For hanging on to a dream that didn’t exist.”
“Jacinta?”
He nodded. “I loved her, but I don’t think I was ever in love with her. As my brother pointed out, I was never tempted to perform the moon ceremony with her.”
Her throat went dry, and the giddy sense of happiness died a little. “But you did perform it—the night before the full moon. It was Jacinta you were seeing, not me.”
The smile teasing his wonderful mouth made her heart do another heady dance. “Did I ever say her name?”
“Yes. When I told you your lady was waiting, you said Jac—”
He raised an eyebrow. “I also said no, if you remember.”
“Because somewhere deep inside, you knew she couldn’t be waiting for you?”
