Lure of Forever

by Doris O'Connor

  Ion's curse matched Lucas when he replied.

  "Damn it all, I'm going to check this out. I knew Carmen couldn't trust that fucking fairy. Stay where you are. You're not strong enough to venture into the sun, Lucas. I'll be around to get you of that cellar, as soon as I find out what the hell happened."

  "I tell you what the fuck happened, Ion. He's got Coralie, that's what happened. I can't fucking sense her anymore, Ion."

  There was an ominous pause on the line, before Ion spoke slowly.

  "I didn't think you could sense her?"

  Lucas's dry laugh made Ion growl down the phone.

  "I couldn't, but I can now. Fuck, Ion. I know exactly what that thing is doing to her. I've no idea how Coralie can project to me, only that she can, but now she's gone. Damn it, Ion, she's gone. But I know where she is, and we have to get her out of there, before it's too late for all of us."

  ****

  Coralie came to, chained to a cold stone floor. Every bit of her hurt, her nerve endings on fire. The slightest movement chafed, and she bit back the groan threatening to erupt out of her split lips. The air around her was thick with sulfur and the sweetly sick smell of human sweat, sex, and blood. Bile churned in her gut when she realized that she was the source of the stink. The minty smell of fairy overlaid everything else and the ache between her legs confirmed Coralie's worst fears. She curled into a ball on the floor, unable to stop the whimper this time. At least she'd passed out before Bughar violated her. Be grateful for small mercies, girl.

  Coralie bit back the hysterical sobs, as she remembered one of her mother's favorite sayings. She was alive, but at what cost? What the hell did they want with her? An ice-cold gust of air travelled over her and raised the bloodstained straggles of hair off her face. Her heart stopped for an instant, before racing at the beloved voice in her mind that she thought she'd never hear again.

  I'm here, Coralie, we all are. I'm so sorry we didn't get here sooner. It will all be okay. This was always your destiny. Embrace it, my girl, and all will be well. Trust in yourself and trust the power in your heart. Trust in forever. He will come…

  Heat flowed through her veins until it pooled in her fingertips. The power of centuries’ worth of knowledge poured into her until her head felt light and the aches and pains in her body disappeared. When the room stopped spinning Coralie sat up gingerly, her chains clinking against the stone floor. She was back at the warehouse, in the middle of the ancient symbol she remembered all too vividly. Humans were scurrying around in the shadows, whispering to each other, their excitement and expectation a palpable presence in the open space. Damn the whole sorry lot of them. There was no fucking way Coralie was going to be the proverbial lamb to the slaughter.

  Soft, approving laughter echoed in Coralie's head and peace flowed over her. Her heartbeat slowed and her senses heightened. Lucas's fury took her by surprise. He was closing in. She knew the minute he clocked her as his mind focused on her essence. Their heart rates synchronized and some of his desperation ceased. Coralie smiled, secure in the knowledge that Lucas was indeed coming. The intensity of his feelings took her breath away, and her heart clenched with renewed worry. She didn't want him near this place. Lord only knew what he would do, and if he got hurt... She swallowed the threatening panic down and cleared her mind with a regretful whisper to Lucas.

  His silent growl of denial reached her through the invading mists, as her own power grew and swelled until she was sure she must be floating. Alas, she was still chained to the floor, her hand still bloody and broken when she lifted it to her face.

  "I see our sacrifice is awake."

  The chilly voice sliced through Coralie and a thousand feminine voices hissed in her head. Coralie pushed the hair out of her eyes in time to see the scaly, clawed hand descend and grab her chin. The scent of sulfur burnt her nostrils and Jacomo pulled her to her feet. The image from her nightmares stared into Coralie's soul. Green eyes set in a red face, his cruel mouth in a grim smile revealed a set of razor-sharp teeth. Jacomo looked her up and down. He used one claw to trace a path down her throat, his eyes narrowing at her lack of reaction. She swallowed down the bile of loathing balling in the back of her throat and locked her spine. The action thrust her breasts into Jacomo's hand and the demon's grin widened.

  "Seems the little lady wants more. Bughar, you're losing your touch." He smiled over Coralie's shoulder and goose bumps broke out over her skin as the smell of mint in the air warned her of the fairy's approach. She closed her eyes and willed her breathing to stay even. She had to bide her time. The tug on her hair brought tears to her eyes. Bughar bit her ear as his hands dug painfully into her hips, and his hot breath heated her skin with pure revulsion.

  "Get your fucking hands off me, fairy." Coralie's voice shook with contempt and she put all of her force into the head butt. Bughar's nose broke with a satisfying crunch and he let go of her with a growl. Jacomo's laugh echoed through the suddenly quiet warehouse and his eyes flashed fire.

  "If you're going to kill me, get on with it already, Jacomo. That is what I'm here for, isn't it?"

  The chill of his icy smile in response would have frozen the Sahara. Coralie flinched as he stepped closer and the heat of his skin scorched hers. The flames in his eyes intensified. He settled one clawed hand on her abdomen.

  "Such a shame, that silly human baby ruined you. Our union would have given me a much stronger child. Alas, once I kill her mother, the child will belong to me."

  "You stay away from Jerry, you freak. You'll never get her. She's protected." Coralie hissed the words. Fury balled in her gut and her fingers grew hot, as the power surged within her.

  Jacomo sneered and punched her in the face. Her head spun with the force behind that punch and she once again tasted her own blood in her mouth. Terror froze her words when she opened her eyes again. With a wave of his hand, Jacomo projected an image of a lifeless Jerry, little Suz standing in the corner, thumb in her mouth, watching Jenkins doing CPR.

  "Nooo." Coralie's voice broke on a sob when the image changed. Lucas and Ion covered in blood, fighting an invisible enemy, with Carmen at the rear shouting orders.

  "They won't get through the protection in time to save you, little human. Your blood spilled on the holy circle will rip open the gate and my army will surge through. Nothing is going to save you or those you confess to love. This world is mine." Jacomo's evil laugh echoed round the warehouse and the humans chanted. A rise and fall of many voices united in their purpose. Coralie shook her head in disgust. Did they know what they were doing? How could humanity be that stupid?

  Jacomo pulled an ancient dagger out of its jewel-encrusted sheath and the chanting reached a fever pitch. The light glinted off the ceremonial dagger and Coralie closed her eyes as the onlookers lurking in the shadows closed in and formed a circle around them. The voices inside her also chanted, a reassuring, melodic rise and fall, as the power surged inside her. The chains fell off at the same time as Lucas and Ion broke through the magic barrier around the warehouse.

  Too late, Lucas, I am so sorry.

  Lucas's furious growl echoed through her and she hugged the knowledge of his presence to herself like a blanket. He would make sure there were no loose ends after she was gone.

  "Never in a million years, demon. You won't ever hurt what's mine again." Her voice carried with it centuries' worth of shared pain. Jacomo frowned and raised the dagger higher. Coralie laughed as the dagger sliced through her chest and Jacomo stepped back. Disbelief and fear registered briefly on his face, before the ancient witches’ powers sparked out of Coralie's fingertips. She fell to her knees amidst a ball of flame, the demon's screech of pain surrounding her. She barely registered Lucas's hoarse shout of her name. Bughar flew through the air, and Coralie smiled. Her eyes glazed over and saw no more.

  Chapter Nineteen

  "Coralie!" Lucas’s scream died a gurgling death.

  Fury, terror and despair surged through his veins. The red mist descended over
his vision and he gave the beast in him full reign. The astonishing spectacle of fire shooting from Coralie's fingertips as her blood hit the stone floor passed him by. The gates to hell swung open, and all of Lucas's pent-up rage fell on Bughar. His vision narrowed and his hands formed claws. One blow shattered Bughar's breastbone and the fairy's heart exploded in his hands with a satisfying pop. Green blood splattered over Lucas as he pulled the monster apart with his bare hands. Unthinking and unfeeling, he continued in his murderous quest, joined by Ion's pack and Carmen's vamps. All hell broke loose as demons spilled forth through the portal. The cries of the humans joined the eerie demon howls as the slaughter continued, until not one person remained standing and the ground was red with the spilled blood of Jacomo's followers.

  The ground shook violently and Lucas swung around, his claw-like hands raised to inflict more damage, just as the porthole closed. Jacomo's remains curled into thin air with one last puff of smoke until a thin coating of ash was all that was left of the demon.

  Lucas shook his head to clear his vision, not daring to believe his own eyes. The demon was dead. It was truly over. But how?

  "It seems your pet sacrificed herself to kill Jacomo, Lucas. Brave, but foolish." Carmen's cool voice held a hint of respect and reached through the fog in his brain and the roaring in his ears.

  Coralie, non, mon dieu, Coralie.

  The sound coming out of Lucas's mouth was not human as his senses registered what had happened.

  Ion crouched next to the lifeless form of Coralie, his lips drawn in a pinched line, as he checked her body for any sign of life. It was useless. She was gone, their connection severed the minute Jacomo's dagger had pierced her heart, splintering what was left of Lucas's humanity into a thousand little pieces. Lucas shut his eyes, not wanting to see the futile attempts to revive the woman he'd sworn to protect. He had failed again. The demon may be finally dead, but at what cost? He had enough of this—no more.

  "Lucas, get your butt over here, now."

  The urgency in Ion's call shook Lucas out of his misery. Surely not…? Hope flared in his chest briefly to be extinguished at the look on Ion's face and the choice he was now faced with. His feet moved of their own accord, even as his brain screamed: God, no.

  He sunk to his knees next to Coralie and cradled her head in his lap. Glazed eyes looked up at him, the barely visible pulse at her neck, and the ragged, unsteady shallow breath she occasionally managed a testament to how close to death she was. Lucas howled at the injustice of it all. Pain filled every fiber of his being and his heart turned to stone.

  "What the fuck did you do, Ion?"

  Ion reared back and Lucas shook Carmen's cool hand off his shoulder.

  "I gave you a chance to save the woman you love, Lucas. It's the least we can do for her after everything she's sacrificed. What are you waiting for, man? Turn her already, she won't last much longer." Ion shouted the words and Lucas flinched.

  "Condemn her to the life of a monster, you mean. She wouldn't want that. I can't do that to her."

  "So, you're just going to let her die? Get your head out of your ass, man. Now is not the time for noble sacrifices and moral dilemmas. You only get one chance at this, so don't blow it."

  The pain in Ion's voice matched Lucas's as the memory stirred of another human long ago. They had been too late to save Zoe, and both men carried the guilt for their part in the human's death. But Coralie was as different from Zoe as could be. Instead of freaking out, when confronted with the true identity of both shifter and vampire, Coralie had fought in Lucas’s corner, just as Ion's wife Marnie had. Marnie had chosen Ion, but damn it if Coralie wasn't his.

  She would hate him for turning her, and Lucas would never be able to forgive himself, but so help him, he couldn't let her die.

  "Oh for heaven's sake, Lucas, turn the girl, or I will damn well do it for you. Ion is right, it's the least we can do for her, and with her abilities she will be a valuable asset to our community."

  Bile rose in Lucas's gut and his eyes locked with Carmen's.

  "She doesn't have any abilities you're going to use, Carmen. You'll have to go through me first."

  "Spare me, Lucas. I'm not stupid. I knew there was something about her. I just didn't know what it was. No mere human defeats a demon in the way she did. Now, get out of my way." Her fangs ran out and she was about to bite Coralie’s wrist, when Lucas's growled denial stopped her. She smiled at him and with a muttered curse he bit into his own wrist and held it to Coralie's lips. He pulled her up into a sitting position and watched with grim determination as her body responded to his blood. She drew a long shuddering breath into her lungs, before her mouth clamped on his wrist and she sucked in earnest. Lucas buried his head in her hair. "Forgive me, mon coeur."

  ****

  "She's dead, you know."

  "No, she's not. She's breathing, look."

  "That's not breathing, that's just a reflex."

  "What's a reflex?"

  "How should I know? That's what that vamp doctor said."

  "Oh, I'm telling. You've been listening at doors again, Lando."

  "Have not."

  "Have too, Lando. I am telling."

  Coralie smiled at the hushed whispers of children invading her consciousness. They were back again, then. Any minute now some adult would come and shoo them away. Sure enough, a familiar deep baritone soon told the kids to scarper. The bed dipped and an incredibly warm hand settled on her cold forehead.

  "Damn you, Coralie, you need to wake up. I don't know what he will do, if you don't. There are people waiting for you here. Fight and come back."

  Coralie tried to respond, she really did, but it was useless. Whilst the voices grew stronger every day, her useless body would not respond at all. She couldn't move a muscle. Why couldn't she wake up?

  "Anything, Ion? I'm sure her eyelids fluttered just then."

  "Yes, they did, but you know what the doc said, little one. It's just a reflex. Fuck it, what have I done, Marnie? Lucas is never going to get over this. She would be better off dead, than like this."

  "Don't even think it, Ion. She'll make it. If only Lucas would come and see her, I'm sure she would respond."

  Lucas, I want Lucas. Damn it, I need to move. Lucas is alive?

  Coralie's heart gave a hard thump inside her chest. The last thing she remembered before that knife came toward her was Lucas hurtling through the crowd, looking as though he was ready to murder the whole world. Blood had covered him head to toe. And Bughar…terror rose at the thought of the fairy and her body convulsed.

  "Shit, that's new. Get that doc back now, Marnie. We need to…"

  When Coralie next came to, all was quiet. She blinked in the darkened room. One lonely ray of sunlight broke through the heavy curtains at the other side of the room and a tear trickled down her cheek.

  "Don't cry. You'll be okay now."

  She blinked again, focusing on the child's voice until she spotted the toddler standing next to her bed. She forced her lips into a smile and the little boy beamed back at her. This had to be Marnie's child. He was the spitting image of her and he had his father's eyes. Fresh tears welled up at the thought and little Lando climbed onto the bed, so he could wipe the tears off her face.

  "I'm okay, really. Where's your mummy and daddy?"

  Lando's eyes widened and Coralie grimaced. Did that scratchy, hoarse voice really belong to her? Before she could ponder that further, Lando jumped off her bed with an eardrum-piercing, "Daddy!"

  Ion burst through the doors and Lando launched himself into his father's arms. Ion laughed and ruffled his hair.

  "Go tell Mummy, Coralie is awake." He looked after the little boy with a small smile on his craggy face before facing her. "How are you doing? I was beginning to think you changed your name to Sleeping Beauty and I'm no Prince Charming."

  He chuckled at the blush that crept into Coralie's cheeks before sobering. "Unfortunately your prince has taken a leave of absence, the damn stubborn
fool."

  "My prince?" Confusion made Coralie's head hurt. Her foolish heart, however, leapt at those words. "Lucas. Where is he?"

  Ion sighed and ran hand over his face.

  "He took off, after he turned you, he—"

  "He turned me?" Coralie's voice rose in her agitation to something resembling her normal timbre, thankfully. "What do you mean he turned me? I don't feel any different. I mean I haven't got fangs, have I?" One hand flew to her mouth to check and Ion smiled again. But there was wariness behind that smile. His muscles coiled for action and Coralie froze.

  "No, you don't seem to have fangs, yet. None of us are quite sure what you're going to do or what you are capable of. You have been out of it for almost a fortnight. At first we thought your body was just healing. Carmen sent some blood and you had several transfusions, yet you wouldn't wake up. In limbo, the doc called it. Yesterday you showed signs of waking up, so we had someone at the door watching."

  "A guard dog, you mean?" Coralie pulled her knees up to her chest and bit her bottom lip, hurt welling up inside her at Ion's instinctive recoil. "What do you think I'm going to do? Turn into a monster and feed on you all? Give me some credit."

  "Damn it, Coralie. If I thought that, would I have brought you back here, straight into the heart of my pack? Would I let my son near you? Regardless of what I promised Lucas, before he took off…I don't risk my pack for anyone."

  The eyes of Ion’s wolf looked at her and it was Coralie's turn to shrink back. He was growling low in his throat and the air around him shimmered. Great going, girl, you woke up a fangless vampire and you've pissed off an alpha wolf. Wonderful start to your new life, whatever that may be.

  "Ion, calm down. I don't blame Coralie for feeling hurt." Marnie stepped in through the door and put a hand on Ion's shoulder, and he calmed down. "See it from her point of view."

  Marnie smiled at Coralie and the open kindness was Coralie's undoing. Tears fell in earnest and Ion threw his hands in the air, looking uncomfortable. Marnie enveloped Coralie in a bear hug, ignoring her husband's mumbled warning to be careful.