But she withdrew and spoke out loud. “The two witches were conducting their simple experiments, hoping to find a way to mind control the masses. They achieved only short-term success, as the fields surrounding this house will prove. I stepped in and arranged for you to be brought to this place so that I might receive five drops of your freely given blood—neither more nor less.
“This is a dangerous time. I believe you have seen a tiny portion of my army. The war is my first priority. You are intelligent. Curious. And unlike your mother, you do not hesitate to use the demon magic that lives in your blood.” Naberia rose from her chair, her movements graceful yet contained. The warmth of her copper colored gown was offset by the paleness of her skin. She might have been one of the most beautiful creatures in the three realms, except for her icy demeanor. “According to our bargain, in exchange for the five drops of your blood I will leave the vampire and his fae companions untouched. You will all arrive home safely and unharmed. What is your decision?”
I glanced at the floor, surprised to see a tiny mouse in the corner on his hind legs but not moving or even breathing. My eyes widened as I took in the rest of the dingy space. The hands of the clock on the wall hadn’t moved. No breeze stirred in the room despite the fact the window was still open to the night air. I swallowed hard before I spoke. “You’ve halted time.” Only a few creatures were capable of that feat. It shouldn’t have surprised me that she was one of them.
A sword appeared in a scabbard at her hip. “Choose, daughter of my daughter. For five drops of blood willingly given, you, your lifemate and his companions will live, as well as all the surviving innocent victims of these two witches. What say you?”
“Why must the blood be given voluntarily?”
“Blood willingly given is strongest, although blood shed in violence has its own benefits.”
“I’ll give you my blood if you let Garrett, the two fae, and all the other innocents go first.”
Her smile reminded me of Kennet’s—a smile born of ice and ancient hatreds. “Your three rescuers are safely gone, but unless I harm them I cannot stop them from returning. I can only delay their return for a few minutes.” She drew her sword, which quickly transitioned into a dagger—one I recognized as having been crafted by the same artisan who’d crafted mine.
“How do I know you aren’t lying to me?”
“You know the truth of me, as I do you.” My eyes widened. Had the influx of demon magic called her to me? Had it changed me? I wasn’t feeling it as strongly now that the demon-created torcs weren’t wrapped around my arms, but my core still heated with an energy I’d rarely felt comfortable using. “Unlike Adele, you will learn to embrace your demon.”
“No. What happened today was because of the magic in the torcs. I don’t carry that amount of demon magic normally. My cheetah—”
“Believe what you like, but if you don’t agree to give me the blood I’ve requested, I will take my time with your vampire,” she whispered. “His pain will nourish me for days and days. Perhaps a demonstration?”
A heartbeat later, Zora and Mellyn were sprawled on the floor at Naberia’s feet, panting and sobbing. She surveyed the two dirty, torc-wearing witches and laughed at them. “The mortal plain is well rid of you.”
“Dark Goddess, we worship thee,” Zora chanted.
Naberia laughed more loudly. “There is no Dark Goddess, you fools.” With a flick of her hands both females were on their feet at the other end of the basement, frozen in place.
They began to burn from the inside out, the sickening odor of cooking flesh seeping into my nostrils and forcing me to run to the empty bucket in the corner of my cell to eject my stomach’s contents. Their screams in the large, low-ceilinged room practically shattered my sensitive eardrums, but I felt no pity for them, other than wishing they’d died a cleaner, more humane death. They’d viciously murdered many unwitting souls, all to please a dark goddess who didn’t even exist.
My grandmother closed her eyes and drank in their pain and terror as if she were devouring the most delicious meal she’d had in centuries. Her mouth was pulled into a closed mouth smile that had the hairs on my arms bristling. Her skin glowed with power and her aura might have blinded me if I’d been at my true strength and was able to see it in all its glory.
Naberia was a creature with whom I’d rarely spent time, a being as ancient as Finvarra, the King of Faerie, and Khent, the Goblin King. That trio had ruled their realms for hundreds of millennia, choosing to hold their battles on the mortal plain. Lately, Charlie had told me he was working to ensure the battle took place far from where their armies could do damage to the indigenous population. But had they ever cared before? Would they be willing to change what had worked for centuries?
The beating of kelpie hooves and the thundering vibration of demons running in warrior form must have started earthquakes—taking out scores of villages. The magic they flung about had probably leveled entire castles, cities, maybe even sinking islands or creating new ones by urging the ocean floor to spit out lava. Who knows what those inconsiderate, power hungry creeps had done to the seven continents? Were they responsible for sinking Atlantis? No one would ever know.
The screaming had stopped. The witches had been reduced to ash.
“Why haven’t you killed me before now?” None of this made any sense.
She opened her eyes, her pupils now enormous inside the orange of her power-riddled eyes. I found I preferred the orange to the pitch black. “It would serve no purpose to kill you. Although you are powerful in your way, you are insignificant in regard to my future plans.”
“Lovely.” I scowled. “Did you kill the demon soldier who impersonated the Crone”?
“He is dying. It may take some months.” I winced. “As these witches, he thought to gain power from taking your blood.” She leaned closer. “Other than myself, no one in my realm may use my family’s blood to work their magic. You are of my line. He paid the price for his arrogance.”
“I’ve been told I have a target on my back.”
“It is not I who is aiming at it. Your murder is neither worth my time nor my energy.”
And that explanation didn’t hold water. Didn’t she want to slow Charlie down—to hurt him? My death would certainly accomplish that. Still, I wasn’t dumb enough to argue the point.
“I have done as you requested. Extend your arm.” She was losing patience fast.
I had no choice. I moved to the bars and she smiled, her eyes narrowing to slits when I hesitantly reached through the narrow opening. When she grasped my hand, the icy touch of her skin took my breath away. She reached through the bars and traced a mark on my forehead, whispering words in what sounded like Ancient Rux, a language rarely heard on the mortal plain.
She switched to Common Rux, probably knowing Isaiah had taught me his everyday language years ago. “You give five drops of blood willingly in exchange for your safety and the safety of your mate, his companions and the other innocents still held prisoner in this house as per our spoken agreement.”
“Yes.”
She held her ancient dagger on her two flattened palms and leaned over to kiss the hilt and the blade. My blade was locked in a safe in my bedroom closet. Unlike Charlie and Liam, I didn’t make a practice of carrying it around with me, but if I had, I might have been able to escape from the car trunk and fight off the two kidnappers. If I’d had any sense at all, Naberia wouldn’t be standing in front of me with a lethal weapon about to take my blood for some stupid forgetting spell.
She was lying. I knew it, but I could do nothing.
Naberia slashed my thumb and squeezed. The scarlet beads dripped into a clear glass vial she’d produced. One. Two. Three. The vial disappeared and she rubbed the last two drops on my forehead over the design she’d traced. Again she whispered and my brow began to heat as her magic came to life.
A rich voice echoed in my head, the words clear but confusing. “I was not here. You will forget these two days.�
�
My vision began to dim, the room darkening. Naberia stabbed her own thumb and smeared several drops on the blade of her dagger. She brought out the vial and added the remainder of my blood to the blade, mixing the two, all the while whispering in her guttural language, her eyes flaming with orange fire. Without warning she reached through the bars, pulled me flush against them and ripped at my shirt, exposing my chest. Naberia plunged her blood-tainted dagger deeply into my body, the pain forgotten before it began.
“You are demon now, daughter of Adele. Embrace it.”
Chapter Twelve
“Jackie. Jackie, are you all right?” Garrett’s chocolaty, orangey scent filled my nostrils. Was there ever a better aroma? I was sitting up…somewhere…a hard wall pressing against my back. I moved slightly and glanced around. No, it was metal bars. I was in a cell on a cement floor. My hands were shaking, my legs were shaking, even my shoulders seemed to be shaking. What was wrong with me? “Cold.”
Garrett draped his leather jacket around me. “Are you injured?”
I lifted my hands and stared at my arms. No blood. I touched my belly. No pain. “Not sure.”
Garrett took both of my icy hands in his and kissed my palms, then warmed them with his larger ones. He moved up to kiss my cheek and finally gently brushed my lips. It was almost as if he was afraid I’d break. He pressed his forehead against mine and whispered, “Have they kept you here the whole time?”
I eagerly drank in his scent, his warmth and his affection. Burying my nose in his hair, I rested my hands on his broad shoulders. “Where?” I looked around. “Where were you?”
“We came as quickly as we could. It’s been barely ten minutes since you called.”
“I called you?”
He gave me a concerned glance. “We were here for only a moment then repelled and held away for several minutes. I’m sorry we didn’t find you sooner.” He stroked my hair, then smoothed his hands over my back and arms to warm me. “Where are the others?” he asked.
“Who? Where am I?” I didn’t remember how I got here…wherever this was. I was so confused. Had there been someone else here with me?
Liam arrived through the lines, followed quickly by Farrell. With a twitch of his head Liam sent Farrell off to explore the rest of the basement. At least it seemed like a basement. Small barred windows were positioned at the top of the cement wall, exposed pipes were visible along the ceiling and a furnace hummed nearby.
“I finished searching the top floor. The house is empty,” Liam said, a furrow cutting across his brow as he crouched beside Garrett and me. “I found no evidence of anyone living here now and would guess the house has been unoccupied for some time.” Garrett and Liam exchanged a look. “There were footprints in the dust on the floor.” He glanced at my sneakers. “Probably Jackie’s.”
Farrell loped back after his inspection. “Not a person or a mouse in sight.”
“A mouse?” I asked. Why did that sound odd? “Can I see the rest of the house?” I struggled to rise, but Garrett lifted me in one graceful movement. My shirt fell open and I realized for the first time it was ripped. I rubbed my upper chest, smooth and unmarred, and drew my hand away. The skin over my heart was cold, colder than my hands.
“Are you in pain, my love?” Garrett set me on my feet, supporting me in case I felt lightheaded.
“No. I’m just…just cold. And confused.” I nestled closer to Garrett and he wrapped his strong arms around me in a welcome hug. “Why can’t I remember what happened?”
Liam leaned closer, sniffing my breath and my hair. “There’s no hint of poisoning,” he informed us. He clasped both of my shoulders and stared at my eyes. “Your pupils are not enlarged or dilated.”
“A head wound?” Garrett asked.
Liam examined my head with gentle fingers, probing to see if I had any bumps or pain. “Nothing.”
Great. So I was just crazy. “Let’s see the rest of the house before we leave. Maybe something will trigger a memory.”
They led me around the old abandoned house. Dust was everywhere, except where a line of footprints—definitely from my sneakers judging from the soles—came through the front door, up to a bedroom, down the same staircase and into the basement via a set of stairs off the kitchen.
The rooms were empty of furniture, rugs or curtains, yet some part of me sensed they’d been filled with those very items quite recently. Hadn’t this room been decorated in pale pink, this one in darker, richer shades? Yet I could not place any people in these rooms. Not one face or figure popped into my mind.
As I wandered, flashes of sounds assaulted my ears then disappeared as soon as they’d arrived: a cell door closing, a male screaming, a female laughing, and another crying. “Do you sense anything? Anything odd?” I asked.
“Smells like a dusty old house to me, except for your scent, Jackie,” Farrell said, smiling and sniffing the air.
I glanced at Garrett, but his expression was regretful. “I have to agree with Farrell. But what do you scent, love?”
I walked back into the hallway and took in a long slow breath. Burning flesh. I covered my mouth and gagged, then slid down the wall and found myself once more on the floor. “Someone was burned,” I croaked out. I covered my throat with my hands, feeling thirsty. “Water?” Garrett apologized for not thinking to bring a bottle with him. I pointed toward the bathroom in the bedroom we’d just left.
“None of the plumbing works,” Liam said. The three males exchanged meaningful glances and I hated it. I was not crazy! I got to my hands and knees, shaking off Garrett’s offer to help, and rose, keeping a steadying hand on the wall. I smoothed a hand through my hair, which was probably a useless gesture since I was certain I looked like some kind of refugee. Hadn’t I taken a shower? I’d stood in a bathtub and…and cried.
I roamed around the room again, peeking into the bathroom with it’s rusted tub and sink, standing near the window where the view of the forest was unobstructed. It was obvious no one had occupied the house for a long time. I slumped against the nearest wall, my energy leaving me all at once.
Garrett lifted me off the floor and into his arms, standing in one quick motion. “We’re going home. You’ve seen enough for today. When you recover, we can return if you’d like.”
“Yes,” I whispered, not sure if I could face going through the house again. “That might be the best idea.”
Farrell and Liam straightened at the same time, alarmed. “I smell smoke,” Farrell warned.
None of us hesitated more than a heartbeat. We took the lines and materialized on the grass in the front yard. The entire first floor seemed to be burning, tall flames bursting out through broken windows like angry inmates. The wood-framed house was old and the fire devoured it voraciously. It was gone in mere minutes. Suspiciously fast.
“This isn’t natural,” I whispered. “Something happened to me here. Something happened to other people here. I just can’t…I can’t remember.”
“I believe you.” Garrett kissed my forehead and I wrapped my arms around his neck. “We’ll sort it out after you’ve had a chance to rest.”
When we arrived back at our Crescent City home, Garrett helped me into the tub, washing my hair and examining me for injuries. I was in absolutely no pain and my skin was smooth and unscathed, the warm bath dissipating my bone-deep chill. The hum of the magic of the ley lines brought with it a feeling that all was right with the world, and I expected a good portion of my stress would swirl down the drain along with the bathwater.
I placed a hand on my chest. Even though my fingers and palm were comfortably warm, the area on my left side below my collarbone was still cold. Just above my heart. I sunk lower in the tub, covering my body in warm water. I didn’t like the feel of that patch of skin. It sent spider legs up my spine..
“Still cold?” Garrett asked. He’d settled himself on the edge of the tub, his expression concerned but also filled with desire. He was dressed in only a pair of gray boxer briefs. H
e must have thought if he sat there naked, I might feel pressured to do something I wasn’t ready to do.
But I rarely missed a chance to spend intimate time with the love of my life and today was no exception. I reached out my hand. “I’m lonely in here.” The tub was enormous and could easily fit at least three people, not that it ever had. At least not since he’d met me, and I’d long ago left behind any jealousy I might have felt regarding past lovers.
The briefs disappeared in a flash, but Garrett didn’t pounce like he might have if I hadn’t been through…through something I couldn’t remember. He approached me gently, enfolding me in his arms and kissing my cheek, my neck, my forehead, my ear, sending a happy tingle everywhere. I relaxed a little more with every touch of his lips, until I was threading my hands in his thick hair and pulling his mouth to mine. Our kiss was passionate, an attempt to make up for the two days we’d been separated, but also born of an urgent need to reconnect physically. Garrett and I were more than lovers, more than friends, more even than lifemates. Our magics called to each other, melding together, cheetah to cheetah.
“Open your mind to me, ma petit guépard.” I allowed the lines to sing in my body and reached out to Garrett with my cheetah energy, meeting only a blank wall.
“I… I… I don’t feel my cheetah.” Which also meant I didn’t have access to my healer.
“She’s there, love.” Garrett kissed my shoulder.
“There’s only demon magic inside me.” I struggled within the frame of his arms, my fear destroying the passion I’d felt a moment before.
His voice was soothing, but his words didn’t register. “You’re safe. You’re home. I’ll call Liam. He can come tomorrow. If you’d like, we can bring in Isaiah.”
For some reason the thought of seeing Isaiah made me cringe. “No. Not Isaiah. And don’t tell Charlie about this. He’s doing important work and…and it’s probably only temporary.”
Blood Spelled Page 10
