Isobella choked back an embarrassed laugh at her sister's unwitting words. By all the saints, she knew precisely what the Beast did when he had her in his clutches.
And it had been the most extraordinary experience of her life.
"Dinnae fear," she muttered as her sister's gaze narrowed in suspicion. "The Beast will not harm me."
"Ye cannot know that."
"But I do," Isobella retorted in tones that defied argument. "I have discovered the means to bring an end to the curse."
Silence filled the chamber as Katherine regarded her with a stunned disbelief.
"What did ye say?"
Isobella reached out to lightly touch her cheek. "The curse is to be lifted."
"Nay." Katherine gave a shake of her head, clearly too frightened to allow herself hope. "The curse cannae be broken. Father swore that—"
"Father never made the effort to discover if the curse could be ended," Isobella interrupted in disdainful tones. "It was far easier to cower in his castle and proclaim that yer sacrifice was inevitable than to risk his own neck."
"Ye must not be so hard upon him, Isobella. He has never possessed yer courage." She smiled sadly. "Few of us do."
Isobella gave a dismissive wave of her hand. She was not about to waste her last few moments with her sister discussing a man who would have condemned his own flesh and blood to death.
"It no longer matters." Leaning forward, she regarded her sister with a somber expression, willing her to believe the truth. "Ye are free of the curse."
Katherine blinked in confusion, still unable to accept that the threat that had haunted her for her entire life was at an end.
"Sweet saints, Isobella, are ye certain?" she breathed.
"Quite, quite certain, my love."
"I…" She swallowed heavily. "I can barely believe it."
"I assure ye that it is true."
"But what must be done?"
Isobella smiled as she squeezed her sister's hand. "There is nothing for ye to do. I shall take care of everything."
Still stunned, Katherine gave a slow nod of her head. Isobella was thankful for her bemusement Had her wits been clear, her sister would never have accepted such a vague assurance. She would have badgered Isobella until she was certain of every gruesome detail.
"It seems an impossible dream."
A warmth flowed through Isobella as she watched the dawning joy light her sister's countenance. Although Katherine had never complained or bemoaned her fate, it had always hovered like a dark cloud over both their lives.
Now a hope that Isobella had never dared possible bloomed to life in the green eyes.
And reminded Isobella that time was swiftly passing.
As long as the curse still existed, there was the danger Katherine could be enchanted. Bane himself claimed his sacrifice would come to him whether he called or not.
She would not risk failure now.
Squaring her shoulders, she rose to her feet. "Katherine, before I leave, I have a boon to ask of ye—"
"Of course. Ye know I would do anything for ye, Isobella. Ye have only to ask."
"I wish yer pledge that ye will tell Douglas of yer feelings."
Katherine's eyes widened at the unexpected request. "What?"
"No matter what our father or anyone else might say, ye should not settle for any man less than one who loves ye," Isobella said with steady conviction of a woman who knew precisely what she spoke of. "Riches and power are meaningless when compared to true devotion."
Katherine gave a slow shake of her head, a hint of wonder dawning in her eyes.
"I have never before given myself leave to even consider a future with a man. Or a family."
"Ye may do so now."
"Aye." Katherine pressed a hand to her heart. "Oh, Isobella, how can I thank ye?"
"Just be happy no matter what the future may hold."
"How could I not be?"
Satisfied she had done all that was possible to ensure her sister would have the future she deserved, Isobella reached down to brush her lips over Katherine's cheek.
"I must go."
Without warning, her sister reached out to grab Isobella's cloak, forcing her to a halt.
"Isobella."
Turning back, she gave a lift of her brows. "Aye?"
"Ye will take care?"
"All shall be well." Isobella gently removed the cloak from her sister's grasp. "Good-bye, Katherine."
Hurrying from the chamber before she could be halted again, Isobella slipped into her own rooms to retrieve the dirk she had left near her bed. She did not bother with the leather sheath as she held it tightly in her fingers and made her way back out of the castle.
More than one servant attempted to halt her progress, but Isobella did not even note their calls of greeting and occasional request for advice.
Her thoughts were utterly concentrated upon placing one foot before the other as she crossed the courtyard and headed through the gates. Once on the main path she turned toward the nearby forest.
All too soon she arrived at the clearing she sought.
With a silent prayer she slipped off the heavy cloak and lowered herself to her knees.
Only when she was fully prepared did she allow herself to glance toward the mist that hovered so close.
"Forgive me, Bane," she whispered, lifting the dirk and plunging it toward her heart.
Bane cursed beneath his breath as he paced the edges of the mist.
By the fires of hell. He could feel Isobella. He had felt her the moment she had left the protection of her father's castle and entered the forest.
At first he had been nearly consumed by a rush of relief as she neared. Despite her assurance that she would come to him, a part of him had still harbored a biting doubt.
What if she came to her senses and realized that she could easily wed a man who could offer her a family and place within her clan? Or concluded she could not bear to accept the monster who would soon take her sister?
She did not yet know the curse was broken. And he had no means of revealing the truth until night once more descended.
Who could blame her for concluding her feelings for him were not worthy of the sacrifices she would be forced to endure?
Certainly not him.
But then his fears had been dispelled as she hurried in his direction. Indeed, he had nearly fallen to his knees in gratified relief.
She was coming to him.
Bless the heavens above, he was not to be condemned to an eternity of aching loneliness.
Anxious to greet her, he had gone as far as he dared in the fringes of the mist. And there he had waited, a growing hollowness filling his heart as she had halted in the clearing, just out of his reach.
What was she doing?
He could sense no one about to halt her passage. Not even a stray animal that might have frightened her.
Why did she linger?
"Isobella…" he at last called out, any thought of pride long forgotten. "Isobella."
"I fear she cannae hear ye." Appearing in the mist, the old witch regarded him with a glittering gaze. "At least not at the moment."
"Ye." Bane narrowed his gaze, his every instinct tingling with warning. "What have ye done?"
With a rattle of her carved bracelets, the witch calmly adjusted the plaid about her shoulders.
"Done?"
Bane took a step forward, his hands clenched at his side. He was in no humor for her riddles. Not when Isobella was behaving so oddly.
"Ye were with Isobella in the cottage. What did ye do to her?"
The witch shrugged, not at all intimidated by his dangerous tone.
"I did nothing but offer her what she most wished."
"And what was that?"
"The answers she sought."
Bane stiffened in annoyance. He should have suspected that there had been more than ill fate that had allowed Isobella to discover the truth of him.
"Ye gave her the portraits an
d revealed that I am the Beast of MacDonnell," he accused.
"Aye."
"Did ye hope to frighten her away from me?"
A smile touched her lips. "She is a woman of courage. I knew she would not be so easily frightened."
Bane's brows snapped together. This woman might very well have driven Isobella away from him. He would not forget.
"And that is all ye revealed?"
"She demanded the means to break the curse."
"She was the one to break the curse?"
She gave a slow nod of her head. "For a price."
The ghastly tingle once again flooded through his body. "What was the price?"
"A sacrifice willingly given."
"Nay." Reaching out, Bane grasped the witch and glared into her wrinkled countenance. He did not care if she returned him to his grave. All that mattered was that Isobella did not pay for his sins. "Fires of hell, I will not allow it. If a sacrifice is what ye demand, then ye will take me, not Isobella."
"The sacrifice must come from the daughter of a Foster."
"Never. I will—"
Bane's desperate words were brought to a sharp halt as a piercing pain flooded through his chest. For a moment he thought the witch must have struck him with a spell. It would not be beyond her to punish him in such a manner. But as he pressed a hand to what must be a mortal wound, he realized he was untouched. His eyes widened as he accepted that the pain was not his own. It was Isobella's.
Without conscious thought, Bane tossed the witch aside and charged out of the mist. The morning sun would surely kill him, but he had to try and reach Isobella. He had to do something to save her.
Stepping directly into the forest, he raced through the shadows, barely aware of the mist that continued to shroud about him or the witch who easily kept pace with his swift motion.
It was her magic no doubt protecting him from the sun, but he felt no gratitude. Not when he could see Isobella crumpled on the ground, her dirk stuck directly in her heart.
Falling onto his knees beside her, Bane tenderly pulled her into his lap, his hand compulsively smoothing back her tangled curls.
"Blood of the saints… Isobella," he whispered in broken tones, his tortured gaze lifting to plead with the witch at his side. "Return the curse."
A deep sadness settled on the lined countenance. "'Tis not possible. The curse was broken the moment she offered ye her love."
Bane grappled to know what she was saying. "Her love?"
"Aye." With gentle care the old woman removed the dirk from Isobella's chest and lowered her shawl to cover the bloodstained body. "Hatred conjured the curse. Only love could end it."
"Then why has she done this?"
"She thought this the only means to save her sister as well as ye."
Fury far beyond anything he had ever experienced before raced through Bane. He had done this. His selfish need to punish those who had hurt him had led to this moment. Now he would truly comprehend the meaning of hell.
Gritting his teeth, he cradled Isobella to his chest, willing to barter with the devil to save his beloved.
"Ye can save her," he growled, holding the witch's gaze with a lethal intensity. "Ye possess the powers."
She gave a slow shake of her head. "Nay, the powers are not mine."
"What do ye mean?"
She reached out to lightly touch his cheek. "The powers are yers. They always have been."
Bane flinched as if he had been struck. "Mine? That is ridiculous. I am nothing more than a simple bard. I have no powers."
"Aye, ye do. ‘Twas yer will that brought ye from the grave, I only assisted ye to focus that need."
His lips parted to deny her charge, only to close when he forced himself to recall that brutal eve.
There had been pain and anger and overall an aching sense of loss.
But even as the darkness and cold had closed about him, he had refused to accept defeat. With fierce concentration, he had wrenched and molded it into a weapon of his own. Like his father carving music from a piece of wood, he had created life out of death.
"My powers," he whispered.
"Ye must believe in them, just as Isobella believed in ye. If ye cannae, she will die."
With a last pat upon his cheek, the witch turned to disappear in a swirl of mist.
Frantically Bane glanced down at the pale woman he held in his arms.
He could save her. But only if she was willing to share the existence he had chosen.
He would not force it upon her.
"Isobella?"
For a moment there was no response, and he desperately feared he was too late. Then at last her heavy lashes fluttered upward.
"Bane?" Her voice was terrifyingly weak. "Ye must not be here. The sun…"
His muscles knotted. Had there ever been such a lassie? Even now her concern was for him rather than herself.
"Be at ease," he soothed. "We are in the mist."
"In the mist? But how?"
"It does not matter."
With an obvious effort she lifted her hand to touch his arm. "I am happy ye are here. I feared I would not be able to say good-bye to ye."
Pain greater than any dirk to the heart could cause lanced through Bane.
"Damn ye, Isobella. How could ye be so foolish?"
A strained smile curved her lips at his furious tone. "I am sorry, but it had to be done."
He briefly closed his eyes. "Nay, Isobella, it dinnae."
"Katherine…"
"Katherine was in nay danger," he softly confessed. "The curse was broken. Ye ended it the moment ye offered me yer love. This torc about yer neck was proof of that."
Her lips parted in shock, the hazel eyes darkening with disbelief. "My love?"
"Aye."
"Och…" Her lashes briefly lowered before she raised her gaze to regard him with a weary amusement. "I was so determined to be a martyr. In truth, I was very proud of myself. Now even that is denied to me."
Bane's nose flared with fierce emotion. Hellfire. He thought her a woman of intelligence. An obvious mistake if she thought he could allow her to sacrifice herself for him and not ken he would soon join her in the grave.
"Do ye believe that either Katherine or I desired ye to be a martyr?" he rasped. "We would both rather die than lose ye."
She shivered in his arms. "'Tis too late now."
His grip tightened as he leaned over her. "Nay, it is not too late, my love."
"Bane, I can feel the truth." She struggled to speak, her delicate features etched with pain. "I am dying."
He gazed deep into her shadowed eyes, battling his instinct that demanded he simply use his powers upon her before it was too late.
"I can keep ye from death if ye will let me."
Her fingers briefly tightened upon his arm before she sucked in a ragged breath. "Nay. That is not possible."
His lips twisted at her ridiculous words. "I am proof it is possible," he reminded her softly, pausing as he forced himself to confess the stark truth. "But such a life doesnae come without cost, my love."
"Cost?" She frowned, her thoughts clearly becoming more confused. "Ah… the sunlight."
"Aye. I cannae bear the sunlight, nor fire." He instinctively squared his shoulders as he prepared himself for her predictable horror. "And to survive I must drink the blood of others."
Her eyes widened in shock. "Blood?"
"'Tis the only means."
He could see the struggle waging deep within her, and he sternly resisted the urge to dismiss the price of immortality. He might be capable of swaying her decision, but he could not force her to accept what such a decision would mean to her future.
"Ye kill others to stay alive?" she at last demanded in a faint voice.
He gave a sharp shake of his head. "Nay, 'tis not necessary to kill. Indeed, those I choose dinnae even ken I have fed upon them."
Her brows drew together as her hand lifted to lightly touch her neck.
"Ye fed upon me…
that first night."
"I dinnae feed, but I did use my magic to make ye forget our encounter," he corrected with a wry smile, easily able to recall every moment of that first eve. He had ken from the beginning this woman was destined to rattle his peaceful life. "Not that it proved to be successful. Ye are clearly more stubborn than most."
That brought a small smile to her lips. "So I have been told."
It was that smile that was Bane's undoing. With a choked moan he buried his face in her hair. He could not survive without her. Not even for a moment.
"I would do anything to have ye with me, Isobella, but the choice must be yers," he whispered against her cheek. "I cannae force this existence upon ye."
He felt her fingers gently stroke his hair. "We will be together?"
"For all eternity," he swore.
"Do ye know, Bane, I am not certain if that is long enough."
Bane stiffened before slowly raising his head to regard her with a searching gaze.
"Ye agree? Ye accept the cost?"
"Nay cost is too great to be with ye."
Heady relief rushed through Bane as he pressed frantic kisses to her upturned face. Thank the heavens above he was not to lose her.
"Isobella."
"What must I do?"
Pulling away, Bane tossed back his cloak and shoved up his sleeve to reveal his bare wrist. Then steadily holding her gaze, he allowed his fangs to lengthen.
He did not miss the sound of her breath catching at the sight of his true form, but she never flinched as he raised his arm and sank his fangs deep into his flesh.
Waiting until the blood ran freely, he lowered his arm and pressed his wrist to her lips.
"Feed," he urged gently.
Holding his gaze, she opened her mouth to allow the blood to trickle past her lips. It took less than a heartbeat for her pallor to be tinged with a hint of color and the horrid rasping of her breath to ease.
Bane stroked her cheek as his power raced through her, healing the wounds and altering her from within. She trembled with the force of the change, but Bane knew there was no pain. Soon enough she would become accustomed to the sensations flowing through her body.
At last she gathered her composure and regarded him with wide eyes.
"That is all?"
"Nay. I must feed as well."
Without hesitation, she reached up to scoop her hair away from her neck, her expression one of calm acceptance.
Highland Vampire Page 24
