by Brenna Lyons
Jayde cradled his head. “You have to release it, Curt. Listen to me. We’re going to lead you to her. You go unarmed and guarded. Hunter will give you an amulet. If you don’t fight, they won’t. Their plan depends on you attacking. If you love her, you won’t attack. Do you understand me?”
Curt nodded slowly, releasing his bloodlust despite the sound of battling from other areas of the house. Please. Not Erin. It’s too early for her to go into labor. “If I do this, Hunter does it, too. We both get to our wives alive. Agreed?”
“I can’t. I’m a true elder hunter,” the Lord Crossbearer whispered fiercely, his jaw tight as he worried for his wife.
Adam reached into his pocket. “Actually, you can and you will. My father sent a Maher amulet with me. He sent me here to fight — or I suppose not to fight, and he said I would know what he gave me this for. It’s for you, Hunter. Put it on.”
Hunter looked at him in shock. “The stone ordered him to do this?”
“Must have.”
Hunter nodded and dropped the offered amulet over his head, tucking it beneath his shirts. He dropped Curt’s over his head. “Now yours,” he ordered. “Tuck it so it can’t be severed.”
Hands released him, and Curt did as he was ordered.
Adam dragged him to his feet and nodded slowly. “We’ll get you there,” he promised.
“Your weapons,” Talon ordered. “Both of you.”
The pair flashed each other pained expressions as they handed over their belts.
Hunter squared his shoulders as the other Warriors surrounded them. “I feel like an idiot,” he growled. “Twelve years of training for what? When the chips are down, I have to act like a child before first night.”
Curt grinned. “At least I’m not forced into this as a König born.” He sobered slightly. “I’ll swallow my pride, if it gets us our wives and children.”
Hunter nodded his agreement. “Let’s go.”
* * * *
Erin found the largest belt she could and loaded it with three training blades, then strapped it low over her hips and under her babies. The training weights were essential for the grip size, but she cringed at the loss of mass compared to her own weapons.
Sarah watched her nervously. “You’re not really going to use those, are you? In your condition?”
“Only if I have to,” Erin assured her.
“You can’t leave this room. You know that.”
“I’m well aware of that fact. I have no intentions of making that mistake again.”
“Then, why would you need them?” Sarah persisted.
“I never trust beasts. Lorian is up to something. Attacking now with so many? He knows we’ll be in this room. He’d have to. He knows my condition and the fact that you have Mikel here. No, he has a plan.”
“Maybe, he thought we wouldn’t see him coming. Maybe, he thought we’d be out in the house somewhere,” she suggested hopefully.
Erin shook her head. “Not a chance. Between the two of us, he knew we’d be secluded in here. So, what is he up to?”
Sarah shrugged. “Beasts can’t enter here. Not even elders. I can’t see what plan he could possibly have.”
“He’s got something up his sleeve. I don’t know what, but I have a feeling we’re not going to enjoy it.”
Sarah’s eyes widened. “Christ! They’re here. They’re everywhere, and they’re still arriving.”
“How many?”
“If they ever stop coming, I’ll let you know.” Sarah sounded slightly panicked.
“Where’s Lorian?”
“He’s still floating around out there, waiting for his troops to get in place.”
“How many? Give me an idea, here,” Erin demanded.
“We have thirteen plus the three of us.”
“I know that! What about them?”
Sarah swallowed hard and shook her head. “Call it ten to one. It would be close enough to the truth.”
Erin couldn’t tell if the sick swirl she was experiencing was her own or Sarah’s. From the moment she hooked in to see it for herself, Erin knew Lorian had outdone himself. She closed off the connection with a sob. She couldn’t watch it.
“It will be all right,” Sarah whispered. “I know Hunter can handle ten.”
Erin crossed to her and hugged her, though whether she was seeking comfort or giving it, she wasn’t sure. She furrowed her brow. There was no battle. What were the Warriors doing? Taking every name out there in preparation?
Sarah sucked in her breath and pointed a shaky finger at the stone pedestal. Erin followed her line of sight, turning with a hand on the hilt of her right blade. Standing next to the stone, large as life, was Lorian.
The beast smiled his rows of perfect, white teeth. “Good evening, ladies,” he crooned. “Both of my mates in the same place. How convenient for me.”
Sarah let out a squeak of protest, but Erin only narrowed her eyes.
“It’s an illusion,” she decided. “He can’t come here.” To prove her point, Erin threw one of her blades.
Lorian caught it. The stench of beast blood filled the air. The elder threw the blade aside and raised his hand to show the deep, flowing cut on his palm.
Sarah took an unsteady step back. “I tried to tell you. That is not an illusion,” she breathed.
“I can see that. Don’t scream. He wants us to scream to cause turmoil.”
Lorian reached his cut hand toward the stone, and Erin held her breath, her eyes widening in shock.
The beast laughed. “You think I can’t touch the stone?” he taunted. “The stone and I are old acquaintances. It stole my soul and made me what I am today.”
Erin laughed. “You gave your life. You offered it in fair trade for practical immortality and invulnerability. You lasted the longest. I think it was a fair trade.”
Lorian’s eyes narrowed. “It wasn’t remotely,” he informed her coldly. “Promises were made and broken. I thought I would still have my property, my freedom, and the right to choose a woman. I thought I was giving up so little: the sun, food, and children.”
“Emotions, your soul...” Erin drawled. “Cut the act, Lorian.”
Lorian laid his hand on the stone, and Erin shuddered at the sight of it.
“But, now the promises can be made right. I can have everything I was promised and more.” He smiled at them, a smile that seemed open and honest. “You remember what I showed you, Erin? Despite your belief, it’s all I’ve ever lived for.”
His hand slid off the stone, leaving a smear of his foul blood that she ached to wipe away. As if the stone agreed, blue fire lit it momentarily. When the fire receded, the smudge was gone with it, and she thanked the god Dobler for that gift.
Erin met his eyes again, letting his speech sink in. “I’m printed now. Nothing you do can change that. We print for life. You know that.”
“I’m capable of more than you can imagine. I can take you in a way that your body and mind, even your soul won’t recognize the difference.”
Erin shuddered at the concept. “Impossible,” she decided.
“Very possible. Nothing is beyond me.”
“Except love and caring, watching the sun rise, enjoying a meal lovingly prepared for you—”
“You think I can’t express love? You think I can’t touch another in tenderness?” He moved toward them smoothly, silently. “Such things are not beyond me. I am capable of differentiating between things that cause you pleasure and those that cause you pain. I can live forever causing you pleasure.”
Sarah clamped her free hand on Erin’s shoulder, tugging gently to remind her to back away from the elder as he came for them. Sarah’s voice was sure and strong. “I concede that you can. Why would you want to?”
Lorian shook his head sadly. “No emotions. Erin accused me of having no emotion, but you’re wrong.”
“No kind emotion, then,” Erin qualified quietly, trying not to panic the cornered Warriors. “You feel no kind emotions, so why wou
ld you want to evoke them?”
Lorian moved suddenly. His hand reached for Sarah’s cheek. She ducked further behind Erin with Mikel in her arms, screaming in terror, knowing what shattering pain his touch would bring.
Erin lunged her blades at him, forcing the elder back. “Don’t touch her. Stand down,” she ordered.
The beast nodded grimly. “That hurts, Erin. Your mistrust wounds me. Your blades cause me pain. I feel loneliness and grief. I want! I crave! I long for companionship and touch, a simple kind eye. Is that so hard to understand?”
“Why? What happiness can it possibly give you?” she inquired, still shaking lightly from the close call with Sarah.
“None,” he admitted. “Not in the way you feel it, but it would give me respite from the emptiness and hurt. Even that would be a bliss of a sort after these long centuries.”
“Why us? Choose a human woman we don’t expect. It would be easy enough for you,” she reasoned.
“I want,” he repeated. “I want children. The two of you are the only women that can provide children for me.”
Erin ran a hand over her squirming babies nervously. “Why now?” she breathed. He was going to use her babies against her somehow. She could feel it.
“You’re close to term. It will be easy now. I have only to take you into my custody with no fears of you losing that which you carry.”
“What difference would it make? You can’t possibly want another man’s children.”
“Not in the way you believe. I want my own, but I can be kind because of your feelings, and you are mortal. I can’t change that fact. If I’m right...”
Lorian lunged suddenly. Erin held her ground to shield Sarah. His hand barely brushed her cheek, the merest whisper of a touch, but the force sent her staggering back into Sarah and Mikel before she could regain her balance. Sarah’s scream of fear echoed in Erin’s ears, as the beast smiled widely and backed away from Erin’s flashing blades again.
He laughed. “You carry my next mate within you, just as I hoped you would. I heard musings that you carried twins, but I thought the information at fault.”
Erin backed further into Sarah for comfort, her hand splayed over her babies, her mind in a riot. There had been ultrasounds. Of course, there were. They knew that at least one of the babies was a boy. In four attempts, they had only seen equipment on one baby. By the last time, Jeremy theorized that both of them were boys, and they were simply seeing whichever baby felt like being social that day. She groaned at the thought that Lorian might be right as much as the completely ridiculous thought that if they made it out of this, girl clothing would have to be purchased. Everything was bought for little boys.
The riot intensified as impressions of the battle outside the door reached her mind. Kord and Lewis were both dead. Garret, Colin Hunter’s youngest son, was dead. Patrick was gravely wounded. Miraculously, the rest were still alive.
She looked at Sarah. How many? What’s the score?
Sarah shook her head. They’ve only lost twenty-five so far. The sheer numbers we’re facing make this impossible.
Erin furrowed her brow. That makes no sense. With the Königs wading in, the body count should be much higher. What is going on out there?
They know the secret of winning. They are making their way to you with no violence.
Erin’s eyes widened, and she snapped a look at Sarah, but the voice wasn’t hers. She knew it wasn’t!
The older woman looked at her in confusion. What is it?
Are you hooked in to me fully?
Are you kidding? Of course I am!
You didn’t hear that? You didn’t sense it?
Sense what?
Who are you?
Fear. Erin, don’t crack on me.
Shush! There’s someone else in my mind.
Who?
Shut up and let me find out!
Sheepish apologetic agreement…
Who are you?
Only silence met her.
Why are they using no violence?
To approach the stone, the beasts must intend no violence. They cannot attack, though they may defend themselves.
Who are you?
Silence again.
Where are you?
In you. Lewis of Maher is gone, now. You are the new chosen. The voice said it simply, a serene statement of fact.
But my mark... It’s not Syth. Erin’s mind seized on the truth. There was no Syth. Another hadn’t been born. Had anyone realized that? There was no Syth, and the stone lord was dead.
You are correct. There is no need of a Syth, now.
“What are you up to?” Lorian demanded.
“Watching the battle,” Sarah informed him. Whatever you’re doing, do it fast. He’s getting edgy on us.
“And you?” he asked Erin pointedly.
“The same.” What must I do?
Come to me to claim your power. Cross your blades and touch them to the surface of the stone. I will instruct you.
Erin nodded and backed Sarah away at an angle toward the stone.
Lorian followed, cocking his head and narrowing his eyes suspiciously. “What are you doing?”
“Getting breathing room,” Erin snapped sarcastically. “Your breath smells like centuries of death.”
“A small fault that is easily remedied.” He shrugged, allowing them a bit more distance since they were headed away from the door. Erin placed the pedestal between them, and Lorian smiled a predatory smile. “You think that small barrier means anything to me?”
“Probably not. What’s your plan?” she countered. Erin needed to get him off balance, unready for her move. “For the sake of our children, you cannot force us to give up our amulets. What will you do when the sun rises or when our family reaches us? You cannot resort to violence, or you lose.”
His smile disappeared and his eyes glinted dangerously. “How can you know that?”
“Sarah is a telepath. She read it from Lewis’ mind and told me,” Erin lied smoothly.
Sarah’s hand tightened on the back of her shirt. Who really told you?
Don’t ask what you don’t want to know. Reassurance.
Him? You’re connected to that beast? Panic and disbelief.
Don’t be ridiculous!
Lorian tightened his jaw. “If Lewis of Maher knew it, why didn’t he heed it?”
Sarah laughed weakly. “He didn’t ask the stone until it was too late,” she lied. “Leave it to a man not to stop and get directions.” What are you doing? You’re tensing.
Break off, now.
What? Confusion and unease.
I don’t want backwash on you. I don’t think it’s possible, but I can’t take that chance. You need to break off before I do this.
I’m leaving. Don’t get us killed.
Erin waited a long moment before meeting Lorian’s eyes again. “What’s your plan, Lorian? You can’t win this one. There can be no battle in this room. You know that. All we have to do is wait you out.”
“You don’t have the time.” His smile widened again. “You give birth tonight. Already, you feel discomfort. You know you do. If they try to remove you from this room, the rules of engagement change. It will be a standoff. The question is who will give in first.”
Erin searched her memories. She ached, but she had attributed it to stress and exhaustion. There was nothing that she would have labeled as labor pains. Her eyes narrowed and her chin rose in challenge. “I never yield.” Without warning, she crossed her blades before her face and laid them over the stone.
Somewhere in the distance, Erin could hear her mother’s voice.
“No,” Lorian bellowed.
He surged for her as the flash of blue fire seemed to eclipse Erin’s whole world. As her eyes fluttered closed, she saw the elder tossed away from them, his outstretched hand blackened and smoking.
He intended harm, her mind supplied numbly.
Welcome, daughter. The stone’s voice was more natural this way, with the
contact. I have waited countless centuries for you. So many times, the plan has gone awry, because I tire. With you, I find true rest. There will be no more wars, no more beasts, no more pact to defend. All will be freed this time.
How? What must I do?
Learn. Information, boundless and pure, poured through the blue mist and into Erin. Time lost all meaning. The stone’s history flowed through her, countless battles reaching back to pre-first cursed history. This wasn’t the second beast war or even the third, though it was the longest. So many plans which had been foiled over the years— The stone had been thwarted again and again, Her plans disrupted so that the end was long in coming.
How? You are all powerful!
No. I tire. I am weary and in need of rest. Man shall lose my protection, but he shall also lose the threat I pose. I die.
It’s not over, yet! Panic.
Calm. You and yours shall be the end, once my threat is gone.
How?
Learn. The stream of information started again. The stone’s power and limitations flowed into her. Even in its weakened state, the depth of that power was almost unfathomable. A plan took shape, a frightening plan.
I can’t!
Then, all is lost. The voice was weary, sad. I cannot force your compliance.
What will happen to me? To my babies, if I do this?
See what will be. You are my peace.
An ocean of light washed over Erin, bringing images of the future the stone would write, if she agreed.
Will you be my salvation? The voice was a mere whisper full of desperate longing.
I thought no one could do what you’re showing me.
Unless I wish it. Only to grant me death. Will you grant me the death I seek? You know I am incapable of lying to you. Will you?
The timeless, powerful stone was begging favors of Erin? The thought shook her. I am your servant.
A light caress touched her mind. Laughter. Love. Then, do what you must, my child. I have given you the power you will need to complete your task — with my deepest gratitude.
The blue light faded away, and Erin collapsed to her knees, fighting for an end to the flat spin her senses were in. She dragged air into her lungs painfully, seeking for the way back to her current reality.
