by Brenda Trim
“Where the hell would she be practicing dark magic without being caught? The elders would never allow that at the academy. Hell, they wouldn’t allow it anywhere, for that matter. Don’t they have a ward set up to detect the use of such power?” Isis inquired, setting the half-empty bottle of tequila on the coffee table.
“My guess is that she practices at her house. It’s definitely big enough, and no doubt, she has found a way around the elders ward,” Suvi mused.
“We need to find out if she is. The realm isn’t safe if she is accessing dark power. We also need to find out what her plans are for us.” Isis was itching to take action. That family had put hers through enough and she wanted to put an end to their reign.
“You’re right. We can’t allow her to get away with it. The price for such magic is high and she could bring down all witches with her. But, we can’t just go to the elders and accuse her. They’d never listen to us,” Pema said as she began to pace the room, her hand running across her chin, clearly contemplating.
“So, we go to her house and get proof,” Suvi suggested. The simplicity of Suvi’s idea was brilliant. Isis glanced at both of her sisters. It went unspoken between them that it was their duty to find out what the High Priestess was up to. No one else would even suspect her of wrong-doing.
“Okay, but we can’t just go up to her door and knock. She will have protections set around the property,” Isis pointed out.
“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” Suvi asked.
A smile broke out over Isis’ face as she high-fived Suvi. “Yep, breaking and entering.”
“When Ronan said to have fun, I bet he didn’t mean this, but I’m in. But, we can’t go in what we are wearing,” Pema said, looking down at her short skirt.
“You should wear those leather pants I gave you,” Suvi replied as she jumped up from the sofa and ran to the stairs. Suvi had given them leather pants last year for their birthday and Isis had to agree, if they were going to do this, they would be perfect. She quickly followed suit and hit the stairs running.
“Are we really going to break into her house? That’s illegal in both the human world and the realm,” Pema pointed out and Isis heard her just a few steps behind. Her sister wasn’t one to break the law, but Cele didn’t play by the rules, either.
“We don’t really have another choice,” Isis pointed out as she grabbed her pants from a drawer and kicked off her sandals. She quickly slipped on her leathers, loving the soft, buttery feel against her skin.
“I do want to see Claire for myself. Not that I doubt her vegetative state, but I need to see it,” Pema added as she undressed and dressed in the same black pants. Isis hated the guilt she saw on her sister’s face, but Claire had brought the condition on herself.
“You did nothing wrong, Pema. Karma’s a bitch. Remember, if Claire had her way, you’d be dead right now. Besides, we need to find out what’s brewing in that mausoleum.” Isis was more than happy to lend karma a helping hand.
CHAPTER FIVE
“Who would want to live in a place like that? And who does her yard work? Oh my Goddess, she totally has a penis hedge. Look,” Suvi said between peals of laughter, throwing her arm across Pema’s chest, pointing to something in the distance.
Isis chuckled but shook her head. Her baby sister always had sex on the mind. Although, Isis had to admit, the shrub did look a little phallic in nature. “Get your mind out of the gutter, that’s a mushroom. What really pisses me off is that she pays for all of this with the tithing she makes the witches pay her. That’s why mom and dad never had any money.”
“Calm down, Isis. We need to stay focused. There are several layers of protection spells and we need to be on our game,” Pema said.
“Get down! That’s Cele’s limo leaving the property. I wonder if she’s in the car,” Isis warned, shoving Suvi’s head down when the headlights flashed through their car.
“You two stay down. I’m going to try and see if I can see her,” Pema said as she lifted her head. Thank the Goddess that Suvi had insisted they wear black beanies, even though, at the time, it had seemed a little overboard. “I can see Edgar in the front and someone in the back, but it’s hard to tell. I’m guessing she wouldn’t send her driver off without her. I say we take the chance that she was in the car, and give it a go.”
“You think she has Claire in there? What if she really has mashed taters for brains? I feel kinda bad for her,” Suvi voiced.
“She tried to kill our sister. Twice!” Isis snapped, thinking of when she watched Pema laying on the floor, barely conscious after Claire had poisoned her. “I don’t care if she shits herself all day long. Pema could be dead right now. Hell, we could all be dead if we’d been anywhere close to Pema’s car when that bomb went off. There are some things that are unforgivable. If you ask me, she got exactly what she deserved,” Isis spat, trying to reel in her temper when a crack appeared in the passenger window of Pema’s car.
“I should have controlled my magic instead of letting it get away from me. I didn’t intend to hurt her. I should have taken her taped confession to the elders for punishment. Maybe if I had, we wouldn’t be sitting outside Cele’s house about to commit another crime just so we can find out her plans for revenge. I’ve put you guys in danger,” Pema said as she gazed out the window.
Isis had known that her sister felt responsible for Claire’s state because she lost control and cast the spell that left her incapacitated. But she hadn’t realized Pema’s real guilt was because she believed she had placed them in danger. “Claire is the one who placed us in danger. If you hadn’t done something that night, I would have. Nobody messes with my sisters. Besides, I believe there were greater powers at play. You can’t try to cheat fate and get away with it.”
Pema captured Isis’ gaze. “I love you, too. Both of you,” Pema said, rubbing her arms as if she was cold. For several moments, the three of them sat in silence while Pema was lost in thought. “I have a feeling fate isn’t done with us. There is something big waiting on the horizon. Can’t you feel it?” Pema asked, breaking the quiet.
“I feel it, but I can’t think about fate or what awaits us right now. We are about to break into the house of the most powerful witch in the realm. Let’s do this, before we change our minds” Suvi said, anxiety lacing her words.
“You’re right, she is only going to be gone so long, and we need to get in and get out quickly. It will take all of our effort to take down her wards,” Pema muttered, taking control as she always did. Pema was the leader, and true to form, rebounded before they exited the car. As she looked at Pema standing strong and sure outside the iron-gate, Isis knew she would follow her anywhere.
Isis momentarily questioned the sanity of their plan to break into Cele’s house. No going back now, she thought, as she muttered a conceal spell, shielding their car from view. When they stepped within a couple feet of the property line, Isis saw the shimmer of the spells. There were many layers that had been cast by various witches. The signatures were all similar, and Isis surmised that family members had cast them. It may have been Cele and Claire who cast them, or previous ancestors that had left their mark. Either way, they would need to access the power of three to get through this amalgam of enchantments.
“How do we approach this?” Suvi asked in a whisper. Isis found herself distracted from her sister’s question by a faint masculine scent which reminded her of Braeden. Of course, that led her to think about her Fated Mate and her confusion about the compulsions she was bombarded with.
She had watched Pema and Ronan go through their ups and downs, but Ronan had returned to Pema within hours to sate his desires. How could a cambion, a creature known for their voracious sexual appetites, ignore the mating compulsion so easily?
Pema’s voice intruded and Isis put her concerns aside to focus on her surroundings. “The only way we can, with our combined magic.” Pema tucked a few of her blonde locks back up into the black beanie, flashing them a devious smile. �
�Power of three, baby.”
Mirroring her grin, Isis stood in the middle and grabbed both of her sisters’ hands. Their power was stronger than usual and Isis wondered if that was because of the addition of Pema’s mating stone. When she mated Ronan, Pema’s mating stone had embedded in her palm instead of becoming a freestanding gem. At that moment, the stone was heating between their clasped hands, and she instantly felt stronger from the warmth and power.
They walked closer to the gate and began to chant, intensifying the force. It felt as if the black turtleneck she was wearing was strangling her. Suddenly, she realized that it was the protections squeezing the breath out of her. She held tightly to her sisters and shut out all other thoughts.
“Focus on unraveling the spells. They are intricate and varied, so let’s start at the top with the most recent layer and go in from there. I have a feeling that some of these are centuries old, left here by ancestors of the Wells family,” Pema instructed, voicing Isis’ suspicions aloud.
Isis steadied her breathing and did as Pema indicated. She imagined the individual threads, and found the end of the closest one. Taking hold of it firmly, she mentally began pulling it from the nexus, encouraging it with her chanting. Vibrations traveled up her arms and shook her body, but the thread came free and she and her sisters released it to dissipate in the moonlight.
They repeated the process, experiencing increased resistance with each level. The vibrations became painful and Suvi cried out. Isis stepped closer, lending some of her strength to Suvi and felt Pema do the same. When they had stabilized once again, they tackled the final thread. With a great heave, it came loose. The shattering of the final ward echoed through the earth, causing a low-level earthquake. The smell of burnt sugar enveloped them as they quickly scaled the fence.
“I feel like double-O-sixty-nine with the way I scaled that fence just now,” Suvi whispered when they landed on the other side.
“I can’t believe you didn’t break your ankle in those six-inch heels. Seriously, Suvi, you need help,” Isis retorted, thinking of her sister’s idea of appropriate footwear for espionage.
“These are my ass-kicking boots, dammit,” Suvi said as she crouched down and kicked her left leg out.
“Shhh,” Pema hissed and continued toward the house. They moved through the shadows to the side of the house. Suvi reached out and twisted the doorknob on the back door. None of them were surprised when the door swung open. Cele wasn’t prepared for someone tearing down her wards. She had too much faith that they were unbreakable.
“Nothing can stop us,” Suvi boasted.
Isis followed Suvi inside and stayed tight against the wall. Isis wasn’t surprised to find the house richly decorated with valuable antiques, paintings, and rugs, much like the Vampire King had in Zeum. Unlike Zeum, however, this home didn’t have a welcome or homey feel to it. In fact, her skin crawled with a million ants, a decidedly vile sensation. Isis expanded her senses and detected one life form on the second level and one down in the basement. She detected three or four more somewhere on the property. It was hard to tell exactly how many from this distance.
“There are at least two individuals in the house. We need to make sure they aren’t guards and then check her office,” Pema whispered, echoing what Isis has sensed.
Cautiously, they made their way up to the second floor. Isis pulled out her wand and chanted a soundless spell on their shoes after Suvi’s echoed loudly on the wood flooring. They headed directly for the room where she had sensed someone, passing several empty rooms on the way. Pema snuck her head around the corner of the open doorway and waved them around. They all stood gaping at the figure lying on the bed.
Claire was semi-propped up in the middle of a large bed covered with thick, blue quilts. Drool was streaming from one corner of her mouth and her hands were curled up against her chest. Isis may believe that she had done it to herself, but it was still a sad sight.
“Holy shit, she really is veggie-tales!” Suvi exclaimed, her eyes bouncing back and forth between the bed and them.
As sad as the sight was, Suvi’s statement brought a chuckle from both her and Pema. “I am so going to hell for saying this, but that is what Fate is…a fickle bitch that will leave you drooling if you cross her,” Isis added.
“Fate and the Goddess both,” Pema added. “There is nothing we can do here.” Pema turned and they followed her back down the stairs.
The wood and plaster of the house gave way to stone and brick as they reached the basement level of the home. At the base of the stairs, they encountered a short hallway that had two rooms off to each side. Someone was in the room to the left. As they crept toward it, they passed the open door on the right. Peeking in, they saw it was Cele’s Dark Spell Room, located as far away as she could get from the light of the moon that witches used to enhance their light magic.
“C’mon,” Pema hissed at her. “We can check that out in a minute.”
Isis hurried over and stood next to her sisters outside the other room. Pema once again stuck her head partially around the doorjamb. Isis saw Pema’s eyes go wide before she rushed into the room. Isis and Suvi followed hot on her heels and the three of them stopped short at the sight of the small male huddled in a large, crystal ball. The room was empty, save the odd prison. Isis gasped and raced across the room, bringing the stripling’s head up as he turned to see who had entered.
He scrambled to his knees and crossed to the side, placing his hands on the clear walls. “Help me,” he cried out, tears gathering in his frightened blue eyes. Something about his eyes was familiar to Isis, and stirred something in her chest. She was shocked at the depths to which Cele had sunk. She crossed to the stripling’s side and placed her hand against his, the glass the only barrier between them.
“We need to break him out of there,” Isis shrieked and grabbed her sisters. At Pema’s nod they began to try and dissemble the threads of magic binding the prison.
They struggled against the intent of the spell and realized at once that it was cast using dark magic. It was thick, black, and oily, and left a residue on their souls. At once, they all pulled back. “How do we counter dark magic?” Suvi asked.
“The only way I know how is together, calling upon the light of the moon,” Pema explained.
Just as they were about to try again, a shriek echoed from outside the house. It must be Cele. She was back and probably aware that someone had broken through her layers of protection. They turned, knowing they had to leave immediately.
“Don’t leave me. Please don’t leave me with the bad witch,” the boy cried.
“We will be back to get you,” Isis promised the blue-eyed male, “but you can’t tell the bad witch we were here; otherwise, she will keep us from you. I swear we won’t leave you here,” she vowed before they raced up the stairs and ducked into the nearest room. Moments later, the front door slammed shut and they all held their breath as they listened.
Cele stormed into the house, calling out Claire’s name as she rushed up the stairs, followed by three guards. Pema motioned for them to follow her and Isis knew this was their only chance. They inched their way out of the room and headed to the back door. Before Isis and her sisters could get out of the house, Cele was storming down the stairs. Isis grabbed Pema and Suvi then ducked into a closet seconds before Cele passed their hiding spot and rushed down the stairs leading to the basement.
Once the sound of footsteps ceased, Isis scanned their immediate area. The coast was clear and they quickly made their way out of the house. Cele’s raspy voice echoed up from the basement, setting Isis’ teeth on edge. She had to shut out the way Cele was interrogating the stripling.
“We can’t leave that poor, young male in her clutches. She is beyond evil. Did you see her Spell Room? It was full of dark magic.” Isis clawed at her shirt, trying to get air into her lungs. As they crossed the lawn to their car, every part of her was rebelling against their leaving the stripling in Cele’s clutches.
CHAPTER SIX
“You dare come back to me without the information you have been tasked to obtain!” Cele shouted, her eyes flashing black with her anger. Braeden had to clench his fists to keep from striking out at her. He had been unable to garner any information aside from the fact that Isis was his Fated Mate.
The revelation had shocked, terrified, and exhilarated him all at once. He was elated that he had been blessed by the Goddess, but at the same time, he was terrified of Cele discovering this. He didn’t want the female using anything else against him. He was already between a rock and a hard place.
He had tried to elicit his mate’s help freeing his son, but was unable to get words out. He had even tried to write it down in a letter and failed. E-mail, text and messaging through TRex were all unsuccessful, too. There was no way for him to communicate about Cele and his son with his mate, or anyone else, for that matter. It looked like he was going to be forced to betray Isis and her sisters to save his son, something that didn’t sit well with him.
Every cell screamed at him to protect and shelter Isis from all harm, not cause it. But his son was an innocent stripling, who had no way to save himself. There was no way for him to win in this situation. Even if he was able to save his son, Isis would never forgive him for betraying her.
Just thinking of Isis cased the mating compulsion to resurface with a vengeance. It had been wreaking havoc on him for the past twenty-four hours. His cock was rock hard and ached for Isis, and his mate mark burned like a motherfucker. There was nothing short of going to her and completing the mating that he could do to relieve the discomfort.
He wanted nothing more than to be planning a mating ceremony, rather than standing in Cele’s basement. The more time he spent with Isis, the more he liked who she was. She was fun, full of life and made him laugh. Her unique view on the world was refreshing and a welcomed relief. And, she was sexy as hell. He could scarcely think of anything else. He wanted her more with each passing minute. He wanted her in his life and his bed and his shaft twitched at the thought of having her in his bed. For cambions, once they found their Fated Mate, they weren’t able to have sex with another and he was anxious at the thought of having her again.
