Kipa let out a harsh laugh, teasing me. He pressed in, just the head of his shaft, then pulled out again. Then, once again, he slid inside me but withdrew.
I groaned, almost unable to bear the hunger that rolled in waves through my body. Finally, his eyes turned dark and he drove inside, penetrating my folds, thrusting as deep as he could. He held me down with his body as I reveled in the feeling of him stretching me wide. Then slowly, he began to move, little thrusts at first that set me swooning, then harder and harder, grinding against me as I welcomed every inch.
I spiraled out of my thoughts and into the moment, my awareness focused only on him, on the feeling of his body joined with mine, on the feeling of his unrelenting passion as he thrust again and again. And then, before I had time to prepare, I started to rise, letting out a series of little ohs, and the next moment, I capitulated, falling into the orgasm as though I might fall off a cliff, the shock waves racing through me. I let out one last cry as the wave of passion dragged me under.
Kipa stiffened, groaning so loudly at first I thought he might be hurt, but then he threw back his head and his hips beat a rhythm against mine as he came, moaning my name.
As he slowly collapsed on top of me, I wrapped my arms around him, never wanting to let go, wanting to hold on to this moment forever. I was crying, I realized, although I didn’t know why. Everything felt so right, and the passion between us was so raw that it left every nerve unsettled. And yet, I was at peace. As the waves subsided, he slowly rolled off of me and I slipped into his arms, my face pressed against his chest.
“Raven, oh my Raven.” He kissed my forehead, then my lips, brushing my hair back from my face.
I smiled at him through my tears, unsure of what had just happened. Something in our relationship had shifted, leaving me both nervous and yet happy.
“I’ve never felt anything quite like that.”
He pressed his forehead against mine, smiling. “We’ll have to try for it again” was all he said before he kissed me once more.
Chapter Twenty
“I don’t want to perform the ritual inside my house,” I said. “There’s no way I want Arachana coming through my front door. And it’s too cold outside.”
Kipa came to the rescue. He held up a set of keys. “I have a place we can go.”
“Where is it? Is it far away? Your place?”
Kipa laughed. “No, it’s not my house and it’s not that far. Do you trust me?”
I nodded. “Do I need a coat?”
“That depends. Do you think you can make it across the street without one?”
I froze, staring at him. I was in the middle of getting dressed, and now I dropped my skirt on the bed, lowering myself to the mattress. “What did you say?”
“I’m the one who bought Buck and Minerva’s house. That’s why they moved so quickly. I paid them extra to get out. Actually, that’s why they moved in the first place. After I saw what an asshole he was, I paid a visit to him when you were out. I made it very clear that if there was any more trouble, I would allow my wolves to use him as a chew toy. And then I offered him double what his house was worth if he’d move within one day. I told him to put up a for-sale sign, and that I’d have the contracts drawn up and we could sign off immediately. It took a little juggling, but the house is mine, and he’s gone.”
I shook my head, at a loss for words. “Are you planning on moving in?” While I was overjoyed that Buck and Minerva were gone, I wasn’t sure exactly how I felt about having my boyfriend as a neighbor.
“I don’t know what I’m going to do with it. Maybe I’ll rent it out, and you can be damn sure I’ll check the references of whoever moves in. Or maybe I’ll keep it for other uses. I don’t know yet. But I do know that it’s the perfect place to hold the ritual. You don’t have to tell her that you live across the street.” He stared at me, a cockeyed grin on his face.
I slowly picked up my skirt again, sliding it up my hips and zipping it. The circle skirt was black with blue roses on it, and it had a built-in petticoat. I was wearing a low V-neck sweater in royal blue, and the roses matched the color perfectly. “It’s going to take me a little while to process all this,” I said. “But yes, we can do the ritual there.”
Kipa handed me my tights and my boots and as I slid my feet into my tights and shimmied them over my hips, it occurred to me that life was getting stranger the longer it went on.
It felt odd being in Buck’s house—or rather, Kipa’s house—without expecting a shotgun in my face, or some redneck yokel trying to make jokes at my expense. Buck and his family hadn’t bothered to clean, and it smelled like smoke and stale beer and old peanuts. But everything was gone, and I burned an entire smudge stick to clear out some of the odors and residual energy.
Kipa had brought over a couple of folding chairs and a folding table from my shed, and he set them up while I did my best to clear out the energy. Finally, he brought over the cooler with the heart in it and set it on the kitchen counter.
“Do you need anything else?”
I shook my head. “I think we’re ready. All Arawn told me was to hold a bloody heart in my hand and say her name three times. Shades of Beetlejuice, although right now, I think I’d rather have Beetlejuice standing in front of me instead of Arachana. I’m not looking forward to this. And before you start up again, I feel we owe it to Gunnar.”
“He’s been an excellent guard, and I’d hate to lose him.” Kipa caught my gaze, shrugging. “What can I say? He’s a good person, Raven, but the fact that Solveig fell through that crevasse wasn’t my fault. And it wasn’t Gunnar’s fault, but he didn’t have to tell her father that he felt he was to blame. He should have talked to me first, but his own conscience wouldn’t let him go. If we do help him through this, I’m going to send him away. He won’t be able to stay in the same village as the SuVahta, not with Kristian there. And I will not have a guard who second-guesses himself. Either way, Gunnar won’t be around much longer.”
I paused, my hand on the cooler. “Where will you send him?”
“Probably Finland. Maybe I’ll petition Mielikki to take him on. She’s fair. She won’t let her grievances against me cloud her judgment on what’s best for Gunnar. He could do a lot worse than working for Mielikki’s Arrow.”
That made me feel better. At least Kipa would do his best to find Gunnar a good job that he could be proud of. “All right. Let’s get this show on the road. Keep the lights on, because I don’t want to see her in the dark.”
I opened the cooler, peeking inside. I grimaced when I saw the pig heart lying in a pool of blood. It was bloody, all right. Grimacing, I glanced down at my clothes, hoping to hell I could keep from spattering myself. I lifted out the heart, gingerly holding it in front of me over the container. Kipa stood to my left, his dagger ready. I wasn’t sure exactly what good the dagger would do, although the gods were generally stronger than the Ante-Fae, but given Arachana was one of the oldest of my people, I had no doubt that her powers were honed and strong.
“Arachana. Arachana. Arachana, I need to talk to you.” I almost jumped as the heart in my hand began to beat again, and the chill from being refrigerated faded away, replaced by a warmth that felt unnatural and gruesome. “What the fuck—”
“Look,” Kipa said, pointing toward the center of the room.
There, in the kitchen, a black mist began to form. I forced myself to stand still, to wait as it coalesced into a figure. The lights dimmed, and then flickered out. I gasped, but felt Kipa’s hand on my back, shoring me up. I was about ready to tell him to ditch the ritual when the figure took on a light, emanating stripes of gold and red from along its body. It was definitely a woman, but she had six arms, and I could barely make out her features. The light around her was a trembling, full-body halo, a nimbus that made me think of all sorts of unhealthy things.
I could hear my heart racing in my ears.
“Well, well. What have we here?” Arachana stepped forward. It was difficult to see her
clearly. It was almost as though she were a smudge of ink against the air, with the chevrons of light outlining her body.
I waited, but she crossed all six of her arms and I realized I was going to have to speak first.
“I need information. Arawn told me you might be able to help.” Even as the words flew out of my mouth, it felt like her gaze drove a piercing hole through me, right into the center of my core. I felt exposed and vulnerable, flayed for everyone to see.
I glanced down at the heart in my hand. It was almost as though the pulsing organ had sped up to match the beating of my own heart.
She gazed down at the heart in my hand and smacked her lips together.
“And so did the Lord of the Dead tell you how to catch my attention? Did he offer you up to me? Is he so careless with his servants that he would willingly hand you over to me, to stick on a spit and roast over an open fire? And you, young insolent child, what could you possibly give me in return for my help? What would you be willing to give to me?”
Momentarily confused, I glanced at the pig’s heart. “I thought this… I brought you the offering Arawn suggested.”
“No, child. No, the heart is simply a way to catch my attention. Consider it a down payment.” She sounded crafty and cunning, as though she were spinning a web of words around me, a web that might tighten at any moment, trussing me up.
I swallowed the fear rising in my throat. “What do you want?”
Arachana stepped forward, close enough that I should have been able to see every nuance in her face, but still she appeared like a smudge in the air, an ink drawing that was out of focus. Only her eyes were clear and ruthless, and I felt very much alone even though Kipa was near, poised to help me.
As if reading my mind, she turned to Kipa.
“And you, Lord of the Wolves. You expect to fight me? You may be a god, but you have no comprehension of how powerful I am.”
I caught my breath, relieved that, for even a moment, I had escaped her attention.
“I am a god. And I am Lord of the Wolves. And Raven is my mate. I will not let you hurt her.” Kipa sounded deadly serious. For a fraction of a second it seemed like Arachana pulled back, but then she stiffened.
“Stand down, Wolf. I am not going to eat up your playmate.” She returned her gaze to me. “So your name is Raven? You are one of the Exosan.”
I swallowed again, wishing that Kipa hadn’t mentioned my name. I gave her a slow nod. “Yes, I am one of the Exosan.”
“Tell me why you have called for me. Do not waste my time, child.”
I stumbled over my words, but finally found my voice. “I need the spell to dislodge a fylgismadi from someone. I don’t have the bones so I can’t salt them. I need to know how to free it and send it on its way, so it won’t bother him again.”
That seemed to stop her for a moment. Arachana took a slow step back, still completely focused on my face. I wanted to look away, but I knew that wouldn’t be wise. It felt like facing a cougar in the woods. Turn away from a big cat and the cat will see you as prey, and that’s exactly the way it felt with Arachana.
She was silent for a moment, and then she spoke again. “I can tell you what to do, and it will work. But for that information I will require a favor in turn. Are you willing to make a deal?”
It was my turn to think. I scrambled, trying to decide what to do. “What kind of favor? What do you want from me? How can I help you?”
“One unconditional favor, to be called in when I choose. Will you pledge to the deal in order to save your friend?”
“No,” Kipa said. “Raven, you can’t give her an unconditional promise. That would give her carte blanche to ask you anything.”
“Your lover is correct. The wolf speaks the truth. Your promise to me will be without conditions. What I ask of you in the future, you will do without question. I ask you once more. Are you willing to help your friend, or do I leave and take my advice with me?” And then her face cracked into a smile that was more hideous than the cold stare.
I felt a sob arise but pushed it down, I couldn’t show fear even though she had to know I was terribly afraid. My words barely trickling out of my mouth, I said, “Tell me what I need to do to save my friend. But it better work.”
“Oh, this will work. The deal is struck. There is no going back. Listen well, take notes if you want to. You must perform the ritual exactly the way I tell you. First, you must find a corpse newly dead, within forty-eight hours. It must be a fresh kill.”
“Does the corpse have to be human?”
“Yes. And it must be the same sex as your friend.” As Arachana proceeded to explain what I needed to do for the ritual, I took down notes on my phone. I could barely hear myself think, but I forced myself to pay attention. I had just promised an alliance that struck me cold to the bone. But there was no other choice. Beside me, Kipa was silent. I knew that he was angry, but he stood there with me, true to his word and true to me, as the Queen of Spiders wove her web and taught me how to weave mine.
After Arachana left, I slid into the chair next to the folding table. I looked up at Kipa, shaking my head. “It seems like it would almost be easier to find the fylgismadi’s bones and salt them. What she’s telling me to do… I work with the dead, Kipa. I’ve worked with them since I was born. I’m a bone witch. But I’m not a grave robber.”
“I know it’s not the most desirable course of action, but I’ll help you however I can. You’ve already given her your promise, so we might as well go through with this. At least we should be able to save Gunnar’s life, and whoever’s body we find, well, they’ll already be dead and no longer using it.”
I felt squeamish, which seemed odd, given my choice of professions. But Arachana had seemed all too gleeful as she explained what I needed to do.
“Thank you. I feel like I’m caught between a rock and a hard place.”
Kipa reached across the table and took my hands in his. “I’m so sorry I got you into this. It’s my fault. I should have been the one to promise Arachana a favor. In fact, if you want, I’ll call her back now and offer to take your place. I can get another heart from somewhere, given she ate the last one.” He grimaced.
“I know. What was that?” When she had finished telling me how to dislodge the fylgismadi, Arachana had snatched the heart from my hand and popped it in her mouth, chewing with an all too horrible delight. I had a feeling I’d never get that visual out of my mind.
“Do you want me to do that? Because I will.”
I shook my head. “It was my decision. You tried to talk me out of it, but I decided it was something I needed to do. And since I’m the one she made the deal with, and I’m the only one of us who can cast spells like this, it’s my responsibility. I keep my promises. Or at least, I try to keep my promises. But I will take you up on helping me find a fresh body.”
I stood, trying to shake off the past hour, though I had a feeling my meeting with Arachana would haunt me for a long time. I washed my hands, declining to take the cooler back over to my house. Kipa rinsed it out, leaving it on the folding table. We headed back across the street, under the twinkling stars that had broken through the cloud cover.
“So what now? I want to get this done as soon as possible.”
Kipa gnawed on his lip for a moment, then motioned for me to go in the house. “Let me make a couple phone calls. I’ll follow you in a moment.”
As I entered my home, I flipped on as many lights as I could. I was creeped out and wanted some light. Raj was watching a movie on TV, some old glamour girls comedy. He glanced up at me, and I shook my head.
“Don’t even ask. You don’t want to know. Just go on watching your show, and I’ll tell you later.”
“Raven knows best,” he said nonchalantly.
I waited at the table until Kipa came in. He gave me a quick kiss, then sat beside me and leaned his elbows on the table.
“There’s a funeral tomorrow morning. We can get the corpse then. We’ll have to wait until th
ey’ve buried him and cleared out of the cemetery, so we probably should go in tomorrow evening. Since the man died late yesterday, and he’s being buried tomorrow, we should be within the time frame. Do you think that will be soon enough?”
Arachana said the corpse had to be freshly dead, within forty-eight hours. “We might be cutting it close, if we wait until night. What time did he die? Did you find out?”
“Eight p.m. last night. That gives us until eight tomorrow night. We’ll be taking a chance, but if we get there at five, it should be dark. Here’s hoping the storm continues. That would give us more cover.”
I checked the weather forecast on my phone. “We’re supposed to have another week of snow, and then the storm will pass and everything will melt off. Tomorrow night… Yes, snow. We should be good to go, but I want to be at the gates by five. We need plenty of time to not only dig him up, but transport him back here for the ritual. We’ll have three hours. We don’t have any room for error.” I paused, then asked, “How’s Gunnar doing? He looked worse this afternoon.”
“He’s trying to keep up appearances, but he’s fading. The fylgismadi is sucking his energy at an incredible rate, and he doesn’t have the strength to fight it off at this point.”
I paused, thinking about peripheral matters. I didn’t want the family of the corpse to realize that the grave had been plundered. “Do you have someone you can trust to come with us? I want to make sure the grave’s filled in. I don’t want to leave any signs that it was tampered with.”
“I can do that, no problem. We don’t need anybody else in on this.” He paused. “Do you want me to stay the night?”
Tiredly, I looked over at him. I didn’t have any energy left for more love play, but it would be nice to have someone by my side in the bed.
“If you can, I’d like that. I feel nerve wracked and shaken, and I really don’t feel like being alone tonight.”
Witching Bones Page 16
