And somehow, someway, this particular doorway had been left open. And it fell to Rena to close it, to finish what her mother had started. Something had happened that night, something he missed that was keeping the gate open. He needed to discover what that something was. One way or another, he would rectify the mistake he made on that tragic night when he’d foolishly saved a little girl and left the portal to the demon world wide-open.
As Rena drove down the dirt road, she took a deep breath to ease the tightness squeezing her chest. Many times in the past few months she had driven out to this place, had sat in her car, staring at the trees only to be seized by terror. Even now, fear was nipping at her nape. She took a deep breath and focused on the relaxation techniques she had learned at Vindecare.
Doing the portal series for Kaydin’s gallery was the best opportunity she’d ever had to showcase her work and make her mark. She couldn’t turn back now. This place, this nightmare was her demon to slay and she would do it. She was tired of living in fear. Of hiding.
Kaydin’s words came back to her. He was right, she thought with annoyance. She’d been so afraid of proving Grandma right, of being crazy, she had hidden herself away, had sabotaged her own dreams. Not anymore. She wasn’t crazy. She had a gift and it was time she used it.
She grabbed her stuff and walked down the long path though the trees. She felt the wind’s gentle breeze on her face and could almost hear her mother’s voice whispering in her mind telling her about the woodland sprites and faeries, unicorns and imps. Her mom had made everything seem so magical. Rena had loved this place, until the darkness came.
One by one, the memories came to her, dissipating the tension, overshadowing the fading tendrils of her nightmares. Here, there were no monsters hiding in the thicket, only the heartfelt and happy memory of her mother. These woods had been her mother’s favorite spot. She’d brought Rena here to pick wildflowers in the spring and blackberries in the summer. It was their special place.
And the last place Rena ever saw her.
Rena wanted her art to portray her mother’s magic. This series of the forest’s enchanting lights would be a tribute to her mom. To the woman she’d missed so much. Rena lugged her canvas and easel and large pack full of supplies down the path, breathing in the fresh summer air. And with each step deeper into the woods, happiness and a sense of well-being filled her. A sense of doing what was right.
Those feelings were something else she’d carried with her all her life, along with the nightmares and the voice, sometimes she just had a certainty of knowing when something was right. An instinct that had never steered her wrong. And as that instinct hit her once again, she felt even more certain that she was exactly where she was supposed to be.
After another half hour, she walked through a thick grove of poplar trees and saw the lights shimmering in front of her, every color in the rainbow bending and moving. Rena reached out her arm, stretching her long tapered fingers toward the magical light brought forth and worshipped by mere mortals such as herself for centuries.
She stood mesmerized. She didn’t know what the lights meant or why she was the only one who was able to see them, she only knew that they called to her. She longed to take her shoes off and walk barefoot through the grass and into the center of the lights, to let them dance around her.
And she would.
When she was done. But now, she had to get started on this painting. Kaydin was right. She’d let her obsession with the beast get in the way of what was important. Her goals. Her future. She had a long week ahead of her before the opening and she had best get started.
She took a deep breath and circled the lights in the clearing, finding the spot that spoke the loudest to her then set up her easel, laid out her paints, a jar of water, turpentine and brushes on a large blanket. She stood before the blank canvas, brush and pallet in hand, staring once more at the lights and heard the voice again. It talked to her in soothing whispers, cajoling, bolstering her confidence, promising of rewards to come.
And it had always been correct.
She first heard the voice when she was young. And again after her mother died, when she’d had to go away and live with her grandmother. Even then, the voice promised she would be all right, that she was destined for great things.
At first she didn’t believe. But then things started to happen. Good things. Competitions won. Hearts stolen. Wishes granted. As she mixed the paint, the soothing voice entered her mind once more, putting her fears to rest. She would finish this paining. She would be successful. She would impress Kaydin. All she had to do was focus.
She picked up her brush, dipped it in the turpentine then in the paint on her pallet, mixing the colors, sweeping red into white and yellow, mixing a large array of varying shades.
And she wondered, as she often had as a child, if somehow it was her mother whispering to her, helping her find her path. But then grandmother had found out, yelling she insisted that her mother was dead, that she must be left to rest in peace.
After that, Rena learned to keep the voice a secret. Not to talk about it or tell anyone. And she didn’t. And after a while, she’d stopped listening. Until Grandma died, and the voice had become the only comfort she had. Even now, the whispers urged her to walk into the light. To feel it circling around her, to let the warmth and the colors cascade across her skin.
The wind picked up, sending the clouds racing across what had moments ago been a clear blue sky. She pushed her hat down onto her head and dipped her paintbrush into the vibrant red, swirling it around and pressing it against the paper. But was red the right color? Or was it more magenta? Purple?
As she mixed and swept the paint across the canvas, she frowned. She wasn’t getting the exact hue right. She had to get closer. She had to see. She picked up her easel with the canvas held tight in her grasp and walked toward the lights, moving so close she could see them reflecting off the paper.
Better.
She started mixing again. Yes. So much better. She moved her arm up and down in long sweeping strokes, the bristle brush blending one color into the next. So intent on the images revealing themselves, she hadn’t realized she had moved into the light until it was flashing across her skin.
She stared at it, mesmerized, hearing her mother’s voice in her mind.
Look at it, Rena. Isn’t it beautiful? Isn’t it powerful? It’s magical and it’s going to make all of Mommy’s dreams come true.
“Yes,” she whispered.
Rena tingled everywhere as electricity fired her nerve endings. The small hairs on her arms stood upright. She knew this place was special. It was where she belonged. She set down her brush and walked deeper into the center of the lights. She saw what looked like a doorway and beyond the door—darkness. She focused, staring through the shimmering lights into the shadows beyond, her heart kicking up its beat.
The low menacing sound of a growl echoed around her. Fear froze the air in her lungs as a shadow filled the corner of her eye. She knew she should look, but she couldn’t make her head turn. She didn’t want to see. To know….
“Rena. Help me,” the voice from inside the doorway called to her.
Her mother’s voice?
“Help me, Rena. Call my name.”
Horrified, she stepped forward, focusing on the darkness within the lights. “Mom?”
“My name. The one She gave me.”
Rena stared as confused horror seeped through her chest.
“You know it, Rena. You’ve heard it so many times before.”
Panic filled her. It couldn’t be possible. “Mom!” She reached for the darkness, for her mother.
“Remember, Rena! Remember the blood.”
Images flashed through Rena’s mind: Her mother dancing. Lights pulsing, glinting off the large gold locket hanging from her neck. There had been someone else, someone she was smiling at. A knife, long and sharp. Grabbing the blade, her mom pulled the sharp edge through her hand. Blood dripped. Her mouth slashed a br
ight smile against a pale face. Her fingers dripping crimson reaching….
Tears filled Rena’s eyes. She cried out and stepped backward, brushing up against something behind her.
Something big. Something pliable.
This wasn’t happening.
Not again!
It was only a dream. A nightmare.
Not a memory.
And still she wouldn’t turn. Couldn’t.
Thunder cracked across the sky.
The disappeared into a rush of ominous black clouds. She turned quickly looking behind her, but nothing was there. She turned back and a large black panther appeared before her, its yellow-green eyes gleaming, its ears standing straight up pointed toward the dark sky. It was snarling at her, baring its long sharp teeth. It was unlike any cat she’d ever seen. But she had seen it before. That night. Then she knew it wasn’t a cat. It was a demon.
Rena…
She stared into its feline eyes and a deep feeling of calm washed over her. Would it hurt her? The cat looked up at her with wonder. Its big golden gaze locked onto hers, and she felt a whisper in her mind, an urge to move forward. To touch. To whisper the name—Ubasti.
Damn!
He was too late.
Kaydin stood off to the side watching Rena paint. She seemed focused on her work but then started walking toward the portal. A witch in direct contact with an open portal was all the invitation needed to set the demon loose.
He would not let that happen. Not again.
But it already had. Somehow she had pulled the light to her, without even moving. How was it possible? Unless she had already been in contact with the demon. The demon’s familiar spoke to her now, beckoning her forward, enticing her with its words of seduction. Words that made so much sense. That spoke to a human heart telling it exactly what it wanted—no, what it needed to hear.
And the witches fell for it. Time and time again.
This was all happening much quicker than he’d expected. He stripped out of his clothes, calling on the ancient gods to help him. He stretched, reaching for the sky as he pulled the strength of Kratos into him, the fire from Hephaestus and begged protection in the pit from Hades. His limbs lengthened. His arms bulging. His neck thickened. Bones popped. Tendons tore. A roar of pain and triumph filled the air as he reshaped to his true self.
He could smell Rena’s fear, her confusion, but most of all her special enticing scent that called to him like no other. The light swelled, encircling, moving around her, pulling her into its grasp as long tentacles of reds and purples reached for her grasping, soothing, caressing.
He extended his back, going up onto his hind legs. He roared; the sound echoing into the afternoon and bouncing off the trees. Forest animals scurried in fright running far and wide away from him. As if he was fire, as if he were the one bringing destruction to the land.
If she saw her mother behind the gate… If she muttered the demon’s name then he’d have no choice. He’d have to do whatever it took to kill the demon, no matter who it was using as its vessel. He only hoped he could stop Rena before that happened.
Running into the lights, feeling the heat of the fire and the pull of the pit, he lunged. A roar bursting from deep inside him split the air.
Damn, he thought he’d have more time.
Chapter Three
Rena’s fear crawled up her throat as the beast from her nightmares charged into the clearing and leaped on the panther, bouncing off its back and skidding to a stop beyond it. The panther snarled, baring its sharp teeth. Rena gasped a disbelieving breath, her eyes widening painfully as she stared at the large wolf. It was real!
Pierced with fright, she inched away from the animals and farther into the light. Dizziness swept through her. She faltered, stumbling, reaching out to steady herself as the two creatures, snarled, gnashed and thrashed one another.
She took another step then froze. Her hand fluttering to her mouth as she let out a small cry. A woman stood before her looking just like her mother had that summer day all those years ago when she’d walked into the lights and never came out.
Rena blinked, stunned and astonished.
Before she could step closer, could speak, the panther flew past her and smashed into a tree. The beast skulked, moving toward her. It was bigger than she remembered from her dream and Kaydin was right, it did look like a wolf. A very large, very dangerous wolf. She should run. She knew that, but she couldn’t seem to make her legs move. Soft whimpering noises came from her throat as she lowered her head, letting the beast know she was not a threat.
And still it continued toward her.
Heart pounding, adrenaline surged through her. She screamed, long and loud, letting loose all her fear in one steady stream as she turned and ran away from the beast, away from the strange lights and straight into the cat. She skidded to a stop. It snarled, pushing her back toward the lights, toward the beast. She tried to move around it, but it came at her, swatting its paw, its outstretched claws swiping down her arm.
She screamed as fire burned through her body. The pain was excruciating. Blood flowed down her stinging arm. She grabbed the wound to staunch the flow, but it seeped between her fingers.
In a fury of horrific growls, the beast charged at the cat. Rena didn’t wait to see what was happening, she turned to run but stopped.
She had to.
Her mother stood clear as day before her, beckoning, gesturing for Rena to come to her. “Rena. Help me,” she called from inside the doorway.
But how could it be her? It had to be a trick. An illusion.
“Call my name, Rena. Please. Set me free.”
Rena’s insides twisted with anguish. Could it really be?
“Mom!” she cried, and hurried toward her into the lights. But as she neared the strange doorway, sounds intensified. Suddenly she could hear water rushing from a nearby river, wind moving through the trees and, above it all, the grunts and snarls of the two beasts posturing behind her.
But it wasn’t just her hearing that was affected, suddenly her vision was off, greens were more muted, looking almost yellow and the sky had become a kaleidoscope of various shades of blue and gray. She saw her mother clearly now, standing in the darkened doorway, her feet hovering just beyond the edge, inching forward as if she wanted to come out, but couldn’t. As if she were…trapped.
“Oh my God, Mom!” Fear filled Rena to the bursting point. Had her mother been trapped here all these years? Horror saturated her brain at the thought. As she moved closer, she saw that the darkness behind her mother wasn’t as dark as she’d originally thought. Flashes of light flickered within. What was that place?
“Come, Rena.” The words whispered through her mind, pulling, enticing.…
She’d almost reached her mother when she heard the quick pants of the wolf behind her. She glanced over her shoulder. The beast was barreling toward her. The cat was nowhere to be seen. Rena knew she couldn’t outrun a wolf, but there was no logic left inside her. Only fear. And the instinct to flee.
“Rena….”
She couldn’t. Not now. She ran, feeling the power of the muscles in her legs as they carried her away from the clearing, away from her mother, away from the beast.
Once more, dizziness swam through her mind. Her strength left her and she fell to the forest floor. As she lay on her back, staring past the lush canopy of green at the bright blue sky, fatigue and sorrow washed over her. Her eyes drifted closed. Suddenly, she was so tired. She couldn’t run anymore. Would the beast would find her? Would she die here all alone?
Rena woke to darkness but she was no longer lying on the ground. It was infinitely softer, warmer. A bed. She turned her head and saw a figure sitting in the shadows. He stood towering over her. She gasped and jerked back.
“It’s okay,” he said, softly. “You’re safe.”
She knew that voice. She stared into the gloom, her eyes trying to fill in the lines the dim light hid. “Kaydin?”
“You’re going to b
e okay now.”
“But how?” she asked, her head aching with confusion. She tried to sit up but pain fired through her shoulder. She winced and fell back into the soft pillows.
“Don’t try to move,” he said.
She looked at her arm and saw the oozing wounds. He leaned forward rubbing a thick oily salve across the deep gashes in her skin.
Immediately she felt better and as she watched his long fingers stroke across her arm, she realized she wasn’t wearing anything but her panties under the sheets.
You undressed me?” she asked as heat flamed her cheeks.
“I had to. Your clothes were ruined.”
“But how on earth did you find me? The last thing I remember…” She paused. How could she say what she’d last seen? What had happened to her? He’d think she was crazy. She was crazy. She had seen her mother.
He waited for her to continue, his gaze sharp with expectation.
“I’m not sure what I saw,” she finally said.
“From your wounds it looks like you tangled with a raccoon.”
She almost choked. “A raccoon?”
“Crazy, I know, but they can be ferocious little beasts.”
She thought of the two animals—no, not animals—monsters fighting one another in the clearing and closed her eyes. Yes, it was crazy.
“Are you hungry?” he asked.
“Starved,” she admitted, at once noticing the uncomfortable yearning in her stomach.
He picked up a bowl of strawberries off the nightstand, chose a berry and brought it to her lips. It looked wonderful. He looked wonderful. She took a bite, the juice spilling onto her lips. She slipped her tongue out of her mouth to lick it away then warmed as his eyes followed the movement.
How was it possible she was lying here naked in Kaydin’s house and he was feeding her berries? She must be dreaming.
A clattering of rain beat the roof.
“Oh, no! My stuff!” she cried, and tried to sit up but stopped as pain arced through her shoulder.
Wolf Magick Page 2
