by Sela Croft
After releasing enough power outward, Seth seemed to regain his equilibrium. His body stopped shaking and the look of terror in his eyes abated. Then he began to pull away from me, causing me to panic. I might lose the battle and be absorbed into Seth’s world.
Deep inside, I held onto my hope of overcoming the evil sorcerer by forcing him to explode from too much power. Yet it seemed like my chance was slipping away. Seth had handled the energy flow and remained in charge. He and my power-hungry self might win, after all. If so, the part of me that was good would be lost forever.
Chapter 43
Logan
In the craziness of all the raw sorcerer power spinning around, transforming the Fae and the very city itself, I managed to break free. Seth had placed magical bonds on me to limit my ability. But he’d forgotten one important thing.
He’d made me stronger when he’d arranged for me to drink Callie’s blood, because I possessed her sorceress power to aid my own vampire magic. Thus, I was more difficult to disable than Seth had anticipated.
The Fae held back, waiting for their master’s command. But he hadn’t called for assistance. His standoff with Callie was his sole focus. His overflow of energy swamped the masses, making them cringe in pain as the currents hit them.
Rosamon stood close to Amalia, who had risen from the floor. Florian was still out cold but breathing. Protectively, Noah hovered close, looking prepared for just about anything. I doubted his mist ability would function in the face of Seth’s takeover. But I was certain that he’d use any strength he possessed to save the others.
Callie was my main concern. It was obvious that she intended to sacrifice herself, if she had to. I couldn’t let her do that. It appeared that she’d rattled Seth, significantly. So much so that he’d begun exuding magical energy to dump the overload.
The evil sorcerer had managed to regain his balance, so loomed over her in his all-powerful stance. Callie didn’t back away. But if she faced Seth alone, in his current state of exaltation, she might die. Vampire or not, she could be killed by such powerful magic.
Or Callie might be absorbed into his power, so that her goodness was gone. I would not allow the monster to wipe Callie out, so moved forward to make a rescue attempt. She’d been willing to give her life to defeat Seth and save the rest of us, and I could do no less. I would not allow her to be lost to Seth.
The terrified masses of Fae writhed from the tortuous energy that distorted their forms. It was difficult to avoid being trampled by the masses, and flying was out of the question. Seth’s fury had filled the room with white-hot ambience gas, like radiation from an unseen sun.
Plus, I wished to remain disguised in the throngs of others until the last moment. Whatever I did, the element of surprise was important. It might be the only advantage I had. I was filled with love for Callie, and my motivation surged.
Everything about her touched me, deeply. Her humanity had been so foreign, but I understood it better now—and remembered my own from the dim recesses of the past. Her bravery moved me to tears, as well as her cleverness against an impossible enemy.
Callie my love, with her dark shiny hair and deep violet eyes that I could get lost in. She was a beauty, inside and out. My admiration had no end, just as my love was eternal. The steel bond between us pulled me to her. The heat of my desire to get to her, to save her from a demise she didn’t deserve, drew me to her.
In my passion to save her, my emotion surged forth, clearing a path to her. I stepped through the chaos that had swamped me to stand by her side, relieved that I could join her in the confrontation. Whatever she faced, I would accompany her. She was no longer alone.
I sensed that Callie was aware of my presence. Yet when she turned to me, I was startled by what I saw. The woman I stared at wasn’t my love, although she looked like her. I flashed back to when I’d spoken to Callie through the mirror.
She’d been so afraid and had begged to be rescued. I’d known with growing horror that her father’s influence could destroy her, that it could overwhelm her and blot out her true self. What would be left then?
If Callie still lived, she’d be recreated in her father’s image. His debased desires would become hers, and having taken her power, there would nothing to stop him. The woman before me had Callie’s violet eyes but they flared with hatred.
For a moment, I thought she didn’t recognize me, that the trauma she was going through had blocked her memory. But that wasn’t it. She was very aware, and I could tell she recognized me. Yet it was as though Callie had split in two.
I faced her alter-ego, just as she must have in the mirror. It was her reflection, only an evil version. She radiated sordid magic, just as Seth did. I saw no mercy or kindness in her expression. She was unbending, insensitive to my reaction.
Callie had become a monster, a version of her father. The sight of her stabbed my heart, as sharply as if she had plunged a knife through my chest. If my love had a dark side, the woman I confronted was her. It occurred to me that Callie had struggled to escape her father’s demented grasp, while having to fight off this version of herself.
Whatever fury Callie’s dark, power-hungry side had unleashed upon her was now directed at me. The evil energy formerly directed at my love’s good self, now carved its power into my soul.
In a flash, I understood what had happened. The preponderance of evil could only mean that Seth had been temporarily knocked off balance but had regained control.
The mad sorcerer had taken hold of Callie by demeaning her real self and cloaking her mind. It was magic of a magnitude that I hadn’t witnessed before. From a distance, I’d watched her resist and launch her counterattack.
And it had almost worked. It had looked to me as if it had. But then the balance had shifted. Seth had removed the blockages, so that any defense had been destroyed. Whatever Callie had used to keep him from perverting her true self was no longer effective.
Callie had been manipulated by Seth. Even as she’d tried to defeat him, he’d managed to create enough self-doubt in her that he’d won. Callie’s certainty had been put asunder, so that her goodness and her ability to act in kind, had merged with the whole of her.
That whole had taken form as the evil one.
Callie seethed with the wrath that consumed her. Sparks of energy crackled from her fingertips and her eyes pierced into me like arrows to my heart. “You…” She seethed with the darkness she’d become. “You dare to defy the lord of this land and to take me away from his power.”
Before I could defend myself, Callie flicked her wrist and a hefty bolt of light struck my chest. The impact knocked me over. Then she lunged for my face with her fangs bared, and her hands emitting evil magic.
She intended to kill me, and in the fraction of a second it took for the sharp tips of her fangs to graze my jugular vein, I deflected certain death. The energy in her fangs wasn’t supernatural; it was abnormal. I sensed the poison on their tips, and averted disaster before her bite found its mark.
Urgency ignited my mental focus and telekinetically I threw her off my body. The force nearly killed her. Callie’s body thudded to the stone floor, then the breath went out of her. On my knees, I hovered beside her, relieved to see life behind her dark eyes.
Chapter 44
Logan
Callie jumped to her feet with renewed vigor. Then she whipped her arm through the air like a sword, the energy cutting across my abdomen. I doubled over and fell to the floor.
When I looked up, Callie was upon me, ready for another strike. When her gaze locked with mine, I looked deep into her eyes, flowing love. She thrust her fist at my heart and potent magic shot forth. But the emotional connection between us caused her to falter in her aim. I’d contacted the real Callie. Looking at me with our bond as strong as ever, she had resurfaced and was herself again.
She’d only grazed me, but I shut my eyes and my head lolled to the side. To any observer, I appeared dead. Callie could read minds, although she coul
dn’t intrude on a vampire’s thoughts. Just this once, I allowed her to read mine.
“Let Seth to think I’m dead, so you will have an advantage. Convinced that I’m out of the picture, and that you are his victim, he will be caught unaware.”
Callie understood, though no one else perceived the communication.
With that sneaky betrayal, Callie might be able to trick Seth. She had gained an opportunity to attack while he was unsuspecting.
“Well done, my daughter,” Seth said from his throne. “Come hither, so we can proceed. I knew you’d come over to my side.”
Barely opening my eyes, watching through tiny slits so I still appeared unconscious, I watched Callie approach the steps. She ascended with confidence, but only I knew it was my true love, much stronger than her dark side now.
Callie reached the top step then edged closer to Seth, who welcomed her. At the last minute, while he was vulnerable, Callie went for the kill. With her magnificent fangs protracted, she went for the crazy sorcerer’s throat.
But Seth was too agile. He dodged and tossed a bolt of light to throw Callie off balance. She stumbled then fell to the ground. Enraged, she yelled, “I will kill you! You’re a maniac…you threaten all that I love!”
Rosamon was up the stairs in a flash. She lurched for Callie, but her father would have no part of it. He wielded his hand magic, sending a flame at daughter. The fire singed Rosamon’s arm, drawing blood. Further angered, Callie swore at Seth then turned, her eyes searching for me.
Noah was on the scene and held onto Rosamon, turning his back to the sorcerer to shield her. I had righted myself and was instantly at Callie’s side. She drew strength from the humanity within her, determined for goodness to win. She tapped into my thoughts, so I communicated my undying support.
Ignoring the evil that surrounded us, I pulled Callie into my arms and kissed her sweet lips. “My love for you is pure and cannot be marred by another. You have my heart. Together we are stronger than apart.”
Callie kissed me back with a passion that stole my heart, all over again. And I heard her other-self scream, dying its final death. When we were united, evil could not overcome her. Our bond was forged of goodness that was more powerful than any dark side.
An earsplitting howl cracked through the room. Seth’s infuriated whine grew louder as he emitted his dark energy. The currents became violent knocking me back. Callie fell with me, spinning in the maelstrom of power.
Chapter 45
Callie
Reeling, I clung to Logan, but not weakened by my father’s drama. Like a miscreant child, he behaved badly. Filled with ire, he encircled the room with his ill-gotten magic. For surely, he had stolen what he possessed.
Seth’s howls were so piercing, the sound was about to split my eardrums. Then Rosamon staggered forth, bloodied but not incapacitated. She was my twin and we were more powerful together than apart. Fearing for her safety, I rushed toward her with Logan close behind.
Rosamon screamed at Seth. “No true father would do this! You must stop!”
His reply was another earsplitting scream. “You will obey me!”
At the pinnacle of his power, the maniacal sorcerer appeared more desperate than serene. It struck me that my father had made a grievous error. He’d imbued two daughters with his own blood, allowing sorcery to flow in their veins as it did in his.
Could that be his undoing?
It was possible that Seth could be weakened by his own magic, by the daughters he spawned through deception. And who now defied and fought against him, using the very magic he’d bestowed to defeat him.
It seemed that the more years his blood had flowed in my veins, the more ability I’d gained. And being within the walls of the palace, close enough to touch Seth, that ability had taken another leap forward. I recalled what he’d chanted in an ancient language, when Rosamon and I had helped cast a spell.
That spell had created a wall between the realms. We’d held hands and Seth had delivered the incantation. I hadn’t known then—but I knew now—what he’d said. In a language so old that no one could decipher the meaning, he’d spoken the words to seal the magic needed for the spell.
It dawned on me that I recognized the words. I could translate the incantation into English. His magic blood had given me abilities beyond what he’d anticipated. Certainly, he didn’t have a clue that I understood what he’d said.
In my mind’s eye, I heard him chanting as he had. “Keep me safe from human touch.” An odd plea, to be sure. Yet it revealed his Achilles heel. Even an evil sorcerer had at least one weakness.
My confidence surged, while I stared daggers at my dangerous father. He matched my glare with one of his own. Then I smiled. “I know how to kill you.”
Seth flinched. “You can’t. That’s impossible.” But horror flashed in his eyes. Taking no chances, a silver stake magically appeared in his hand which he aimed at my heart.
The throw was good. But, using his skill for manipulating objects, Logan tossed up a metal shield. It blocked the trajectory, just in time. Then my vampire prince levitated a golden sword and, without hesitation, impaled Seth to the wall.
Logan’s telekinetic strength had been restored. He’d unexpectedly recovered. But then, he had the sorcerer’s blood too. He’d sucked the blood from my vein, so was both vampire and sorcerer. It was a magnificent combination.
Seth squirmed but could not get free. He dangled from the sword, enraged like a bear woken from hibernation. Since he was held to the wall by force, he could not do his disappearing act. Pressed that way, his power to vanish had been deactivated.
Logan knew what was in my mind, as I knew what was in his. Seth’s attack on me had enraged him. And an angry vampire, who was very strong and magical like Logan, made a formidable enemy. Fearing that my father had been about to kill me, Logan’s abilities had kicked into high gear.
Logan wasn’t about to allow any harm to befall me, or any of the others. And he had the strength to keep the despicable sorcerer pinned to the wall. Clearly, Seth hadn’t predicted the full consequences of the blood exchange. He’d coerced Logan and I to drink each other’s blood, claiming it would make each of us more powerful. I wondered if he regretted encouraging us.
Chapter 46
Callie
There was satisfaction in witnessing Seth, trapped against the wall. I envisioned bloodsucking, drinking my father dry like watching his magic spiral down the drain of a tub. But there wasn’t time. The powerful sorcerer might get free, at any moment.
Whatever I did, I had to do it fast. Slowly, I advanced, watching Seth as I approached. When I was close enough to smell his breath, I smirked. Finally, I had him where I wanted him.
“There is only one way to kill you,” I said then paused for effect.
Seth’s eyes widened.
“The force that created you,” I said, “left a failsafe—in the event, you turned into an evil being, as you have.” I took a breath and leaned closer.
Rosamon had followed and stood beside me, in case I needed her. “I can turn you into a mere mortal and you will die on that wall with the sword in your belly.”
Seth stared at me with wild, crazy eyes. I noticed the burns on the palms of his hands. They’d partially healed but he’d been seriously injured. The skin had been seared, even though covered. “It’s why you wore gloves when you held hands with Rosamon and me to create the wall. And why you wore them when I arrived here, and you touched me.”
My pulse pounded; I was right. Seth’s expression confirmed what I already knew. “You have a weakness, evil sorcerer that you are.”
Seth shook his head, but terror was in his eyes.
I pointed a finger at him. “You must never touch human skin.” That was his secret; that he could not embrace even a shred of humanity and hope to survive it.
“The human touch will instantly take away your magic, as if had never been gifted to you,” I said.
“No!” Seth screamed. “Stay back!
”
Chapter 47
Logan
Callie and Rosamon held hands then edged closer to their father. But he’d put up a force field to block their path. Yet I sensed it was taking all his focus to keep it in place. He’d been weakened by his recent energy expenditure, whether he would admit it or not.
Even though he’d been affected by Callie’s power game, and weakened, he was difficult to kill. And he was electrified by his daughter’s declaration of his vulnerability. But the fact remained that she had to get close enough to touch him.
It was unlikely that Seth would allow that to happen.
Yet I perceived a change. Callie and Rosamon’s confidence had been boosted by knowing Seth wasn’t impervious. Their increased confidence had magnified their strength, which had begun to rival the sorcerer’s.
I read Callie’s thoughts of the power she’d retained in the struggle with Seth. Having been willing to give it all up, including every shred of ability and even her life, she’d yet retained one very potent part of herself. Deep inside, she had her humanity, though she was vampire to all who watched.
That humanity compelled her to save the realms…if only she could get close enough.
The situation hung in a delicate balance. Seth’s energy was strained by having to maintain the force field, while mine was tested by keeping him pinned to the wall. Callie and Rosamon’s determination rose, and I could almost smell a heroic deed about to happen.
Yet how could Callie’s final act against her traitorous father be achieved?
I had to assist, as I was aware no one else could. Noah had been depowered, since arriving in the Fae palace. I glanced at him, sending the message that he shouldn’t do anything crazy.
Amalia huddled with a couple of her rebel allies, but she had no power at all. Seth had seen to that.
The sorcerer began to fight harder against his detainment. His terror of being touched elevated the intensity of his power. I ramped up the telekinesis, forcing him to the wall. Yet it was a contest of wills. Seth wouldn’t stay immobilized much longer.
