"Here," Kyle thrust the flask in my face. "You use it. You're right. We're going to need that seriously messed up magic of yours to get out of this and protect that baby."
I stared at the flask and then looked at Kyle's face.
Some say our eyes are the windows to our souls. I've always considered that a pick-up line. Until I looked into Kyle's eyes that day. They weren't as dark as I'd always thought they were. His eyes were a mixture of colors, but mostly green, gold and brown. All of that amounted to hazel. But it was the impression of emotion that overwhelmed me looking into his eyes. I saw desperation, I saw despair and worry, I saw fear and I saw…love. I didn't know if apogee wolves could force a link the way Bastien had on me, but I did sense their relationship had matured deeper than anything Kyle had ever felt before.
All of his life, Kyle had fought for acceptance. Acceptance for being gay, acceptance for being the only male Hedge Witch in the Vervain family. Acceptance within himself for what the God Mother gave to him. And now he'd found someone seeking that same acceptance. A young man with a wolf's curse seeking acceptance and Kyle was willing, ready and thoroughly able to give it.
In that second my eyes locked with his, I knew there was no way I could sacrifice Jack's only chance at living a life with Kyle. There was enough potion for both of us—that much I was sure of—having tried several of Kyle's brews. And this potion was super charged not only with the power of its roots, herbs and plants, but with the desire and belief it would give Jack back to him.
A slam against the door caused the frame to crack inward. I felt the door shift against me. One more hit like that to the door and the big bad wolf was going to blow the house down. I had one chance and if I screwed it up, Jack would tear me apart, and then he'd go after my boys.
I couldn't let that happen.
I faced the door, but I moved to the side so when the door fell in, it wouldn't crush me underneath it. I held the flask in front of me and concentrated on the glass. If I could make a body vanish, why not make the glass vanish? Or something even better, why couldn't I transmute it into a container of air? Something that I could grasp without worrying about cutting Jack or myself. My shaking wasn't helping, or the fact my knees shook. I didn't know if this was from abject terror or the wolf fever.
And then the door came down and I didn't have time to think anymore. Jack loomed big, loud and in full stereo in front of us as he came through the door. At that moment, I realized any idea I might have come up with was heading out the window like paper caught in a strong gust of wind. Instinct and the need to protect my bacon, as well as Ivan's and Kyle's, became the singular thought.
I couldn't fight this behemoth as it came through the door. I wasn't strong enough to wrestle it to the ground and pour the potion in its mouth. My imagination and my over exuberant positive attitude really hadn't thought this one through.
As he swung at me, I ducked and moved behind him. That left the boys vulnerable and in Jack's line of sight. I had to think in seconds of something that could stop him and help me! If Jack's human mind were in control, I could just reason with him to be quiet and let me pour it down. He'd thank me later.
Be quiet…and still.
I didn't think about how I would do it. Nor did I spare a moment to consider what I was thinking wouldn't work. Holding the flask in one hand I reached out with the other and touched Jack's back with the thought of him freezing in place. When he suddenly stopped moving, I knew it'd worked so I looked at Kyle. "Take the flask and pour it down his throat. Hurry!"
Kyle scrambled around Jack's unmoving form to get the flask, and once he had it I watched him run back around. I saw determination in his expression as he pushed up on Jack's elongated snout, shoved the long cylindrical end of the flask between Jack's sharp teeth and poured it down. Some of it spilled over but it didn't matter as long as some of it went in.
As for me, the strain of keeping the Arcane power focused was a battle I was losing. My muscles felt like they needed oiling as I moved and I was losing the strength to stand. Wavering from the intent worried me as I felt my eyes close. Exhaustion paired with the venom zapped my strength and I didn't know if I was going to be able to stop Circe. This might be one fight I'll have to sleep through.
"Sam!"
I jerked up and looked at Kyle.
"Sam let go!"
But I couldn't. When I tried to pull my hand away I discovered it was covered in ice. In fact, Jack's lower half was being quickly encased in ice!
"Sam you have to let go!" Ivan was at my side.
"I…I can't." I wasn't strong enough. The Arcane was happy doing what it did best—causing chaos. And it wasn't listening to what I wanted. I stopped trying to pull my hand free as I my eyes closed again and this time I was pulled down by the lull of the Arcane.
-Such a monster shouldn't exist.-
No…it shouldn't.
-And we have the power to stop it. We have the power to take that woman down as well. We can stop all of the evil. Make it all go away.-
Yeah…make it all go away.
I knew I was half hanging off of Jack's back, my hand in ice with Ivan and Kyle yelling. Or talking. I couldn't tell. My body shook as I succumbed to that voice. I was so tired and it wanted control. It wanted to do the work for me while I rested. It wanted to treat me like the Queen I was.
came Bastien's snort in my mind as voices whispered to me.
<
Crwys! How was he chiming in on the pack link?
And then he was there, his mind brushing against my own, his magic cradling mine. I felt the Arcane pitch, buckle and protest its control being taken, but as it had when I had my Elementals, his magic was now guiding my new power and forcing it to do my will. I heard people talking, I heard whispers and I heard…
"Sam? Please, baby. I need you to open your eyes."
I did and found his amber red peepers looking down at me. I followed the crease of his eyelids, to the arch of his brows. The slope of his nose was enticing and I wanted to lick it before I kissed his sensual, pouty lips.
"She's smiling."
"That's great. Now get her up. We have to go down there and stop Circe!"
That was Ivan. I was cradled in Crwys's arms and he was so warm. I didn't want to move. But he pulled me up and into a sitting position so I could see the room. Jack was on his side, naked, his eyes closed, but no longer a monster. He looked as human as he ever had. Kyle pulled the duvet off the bed and covered his lover with it before he rested Jack's head in his lap.
Ivan moved to the window to look out as Bastien accompanied him. "She's still down there with Marilla. But I can't see what she's doing. What the hell does she want?"
<
I pushed away and Crwys and I stood. "She's going to kill both Marilla and the baby. We can't let that happen."
"But what about the zombies?"
Crwys led me to the window. I put my hand against the glass and watched the shadows of those Ina and Circe murdered for their foul magic. I didn't have the strength to run around the place zapping zombies into nothing, and if that last zombie was any example of my remaining strength? I'd just piss them all off by singeing them.
Abruptly, every moving shadow lit up like a roman candle and then disappeared. The whole scene reminded me of the day in the park when Dionysus's Ghouls ignited and went up in flames. I looked at Crwys and grinned at him.
"What zombies?"
I put my hand on his cheek. "I love you."
"I know," he grabbed my hand and entwined his fingers with mine. "LeBlanc, I need your pack flanking the garden. Keep her separated from anything or anyone else she might call in."
The big red wolf nodded.
"Ivan, you get on the net and see if you can bring in some h
elp just in case we need it."
"Who?"
"Arden for one. Find out where the hell she is."
"Roger."
He looked at Kyle. "You stay here with Jack. Make sure he's okay."
And then he looked at me. "Ready to go kick some Ceremonial ass together?"
"Roger."
TWENTY FIVE
We proceeded cautiously down the stairs. Mentally, I felt a bit more confident with Crwys beside me. Having Bastien and his pack there was also a big boost to the "yay for our team" side of things. Physically was a whole other state of being. I was in a full on fever now, and I moved in a sort of dreamlike state as Crwys held on to me. We walked through the sliding glass doors to the garden. Ina's beautifully tended grass was destroyed, marred by chunks of earth and roots. Or I hoped they were roots because they sort of looked like bones protruding up from the destroyed ground.
The house floodlights were on, illuminating the mess as we stood at the garden's edge. Circe stood in the center with Marilla at her feet. Did anyone even know if the wolf was still alive? It didn't look like she'd moved since we got there.
The pack appeared from the shadows, fifteen large, magnificent wolves in all. A powerful pallet of gray, brown, black, white and red. None was as big as Bastien who stood to my left. The garden no longer smelled of flowers, but of musk and freshly turned earth. With Crwys's arm holding me up, we walked across that mutilated ground toward Circe. I jumped at every noise; afraid another body Crwys missed was going to jump up and grab me again, and I was pretty sure I didn't have the strength to make it go away.
Circe watched us, and I noticed the smug expression on her face. She didn't think we were a threat, but an audience to watch her grand finale.
The circle contracted until it surrounded the stone circle. From this distance, I could see Marilla breathing. She wasn't tied down or anything, but she wasn't trying to get free. Her face was turned away so I couldn't tell if she was awake or unconscious.
"Interesting trick, Detective. I've only ever read about such control of fire, but I have never seen it. I think you are going to make an interesting addition to my army."
"Army?" I blurted that one out. All through this I had been looking for some kind of realistic, reasonable motive for her to be doing what she was doing. Crwys and Levi had taught me about motives, about what drives us to act a certain way and I got that. I understood Dionysus's motive to create the Changelings to drive Medbh's location into the open. I didn't agree with it, but I understood it. I understood Dionysus destroying Inamorata's life to survive. I understood Kennett's motive to seek out revenge on those he perceived were a threat to him and his continued existence after finding his body dead. Or Bastien's need to save the unborn baby by biting me and making me a part of the pack, which was going to be a permanent state of being if I didn't get this show on the road.
To some, motives may seem trivial. But by understanding a monster's reasoning, their kryptonite could be found. Sometimes.
Circe was looking at me. It was a weird look. "Yes. My army."
"What, you plan on taking over the world or something?" Levi asked as he appeared across the way between two large black wolves. "Gonna…make yourself a little army of yeti or something?"
She glanced back at him and sneered. "I wouldn't expect a mere Vampire to understand the expectations and dreams of a Ceremonial Magician. But Samantha knows what I seek. She and I are kin, she and I are of the same mind!."
"Screw that!" I nearly growled at her. "I don't want to bring Arcane into the world!"
Circe held out her arms, palms up. "But it's not just that, Samantha! I want to rid the world of the God Mother's children completely. Don't you see? The Faerie had it right—to destroy the children is to free the borders once again. To open the gates, the Cairns and the doors so that Arcane can be the one true magic of this plane, as it is of other planes," she raised her arms as if punctuating her dream. "I will give Arcane to the Ceremonial Magicians!"
Crickets pretty much filled the silence after her declaration. I looked up at Crwys. "Can she do that?"
He shook his head. "Naw. That would take access to certain Thrones and a lot of ritual and a few spells." He shook his head. "Nevermind! I'm afraid this crazy bitch doesn't have a VIP pass. The worst she can do right now is hurt Marilla and the baby."
I nodded in agreement.
Given the number of big wolves in addition to us, I didn't see how she thought she was going to survive. Then she held up a scroll of something. Looked like it had writing on it. "I have the Codex that will bring Arcane to the Magicians of the world!"
Crwys held out his hand and snapped his fingers. The scroll caught fire. Circe screamed and tossed the scroll away where it flew like a fireball and landed in one of the deeper pits of the garden grass.
"How dare you!"
Oh…shit. I had to side with Circe on this one. I glared at him. "You idiot! I needed that! Remember?"
Crwys put his hand his mouth and arched his brows. "Oops?" He said when he pulled his hand away. "Sorry."
I felt Circe gather her Arcane. My own reacted to hers, but not in a good way. More of a long time rival way. Like Mean Girls. Mine poured out from my hands as it formed a barrier of sparkling red light. Circe's power coalesced into a sphere around her and Marilla. I caught the flash of a knife just as Crwys did.
Just as the pack did.
"No!" I heard myself shout as we all started toward the center of the Circle at a dead run. The pack roared as it moved as one. I tried to stretch my magic out, extend it like an arm out to the Circle to stop the blade.
But no amount of speed was going to stop Circe from plunging that knife into Marilla's stomach. I saw the blood as it sprayed Circe's face and shot out over the girl's shirt. The pack screamed in my head as voices threatened to incapacitate me by their sheer volume. The part of me I sent out twisted as it built speed and knocked the blade from Circe's hand. She looked up at me, hissed and threw her own black Arcane at me. It fanned out around us and rose like a black sun above just before it shot its rays out to grab hold of every moving thing. Ropes of it entwined around the barrel chests of wolves and lifted them in the air. Their cries of agony told me those ropes weren't just holding them, but crushing them as well.
I heard Crwys cry out as well as Ivan and turned to see several of the ropes wrapping around Ivan's chest. Crwys's cry wasn't because he was trapped as the wolves were, but because he'd slipped his arms around Ivan to take some of the brunt of the vice-like grip.
Go!
I felt my mom's pain at that moment as it came through our connection. She was also in the throws of agony as that black sun crushed her chest.
-Listen to her. We can take this one. Just let us work for you. Let us eliminate her as we eliminated the animal.-
I knew the voice spoke of Fred. It viewed Fred as an animal.
I turned back to Circe. She stood with her arms out again, laughing as her black sun destroyed her enemies. She wasn't paying attention to me. I doubted she even realized I wasn't being crushed.
Why was that?
-We are protecting you.-
We?
-We will always protect you against all of your enemies. Let go.-
I wanted to let go. I wanted to take a hot bath and curl up in a warm bed and sleep. I'd gone beyond chills as my body temperature rose. I was now into the beginning stages of the shift. I didn't have much time left and there was no time for the antidote. I could feel my teeth sharpening and my skin crawling. I itched.
The wolf wanted out and Circe had to be stopped. Why not give in? Just let the shift happen and embrace the power of being a Lycan? Then I could rip her apart piece by piece and enjoy it.
No.
That wasn't Grey's voice. That was Crwys. How—?
Because we're a part of each other. It's so rare I have these feelings for a human, especially someone as troublesome as you. But when I mate, sweet Samantha, I mate for life.
There w
as something very odd about his mental voice. It sounded like his spoken voice, but there was a bass-like rumble. I didn't understand.
You have help. Use it. Touch my mind for strength, and don't give in to the Arcane voices.
How did he know about the voices? Did I tell him? I couldn't remember anything anymore. So when I looked for this help, I actively looked outside of my self and I found it. She was there, sitting on the edge of a particularly deep hole to my right, against the stones of the Circle.
My Undine.
She pointed at the hole. The bottom was filled with water. I looked at the black sun and made a calculated guess it was hollow. With a wink at my Undine, I knelt down and placed my hands on the damp grass and called upon Water as I would have if I weren't warlocked. I felt the ground tremble as red sparkles spread out from my hands and covered the ground in seconds. As I stood, I held my hands out to my sides and gently raised the sparkling net. With it came water. Lots of it. Held in the air by the net I'd woven from Arcane. Even when I was at my full height I continued to raise my arms as the water rose with it.
When I wavered, or lost strength, I touched Crwys's strength and knew he was preventing our friends from dying. In that moment, a single breath in time, I had removed all the water from the back yard and now as I brought my hands in close the net became a needle pointed funnel. I moved it over the black sun, drove it into the center and released the water. As it fell, so did I.
I watched as the black Arcane burst into millions of flecks of black and disintegrated in the night air. The water hit Circe like a falling piano and knocked her to the ground. Everyone took in deep breaths as the water washed over the Circle in a wave. I shivered on the ground as the cold water turned the dirt around me to mud and I clutched my arms around me.
The wolves, Levi and Ivan ran forward to the pregnant girl as Crwys came to me and took me in his arms. His warmth—Sweet Lady I'd never been so appreciative of his warmth before. He kissed my forehead and my cheek as I tucked myself into him as tightly as I could.
Elemental Moon: The Eldritch Files, Book Three Page 17
