And once we’d done that, I needed to get my chip checked out.
***
Aaron was pacing—his lithe body moving restlessly like a caged panther. He stopped when he caught sight of Malina and I, and his tense expression smoothed out to one of relief.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “You need to know that I’m sorry.”
Malina and I exchanged glances. Had he really thought we blamed him for what had happened?
“Fucksake, Aaron. None of this is your fault,” Malina said. “You’re a victim, just like all the other humans in Malachi’s grasp.”
He ran a hand over his head. “I could feel him inside my head, pushing, taking over and I couldn’t stop it. His words, the tone, everything was warm and welcoming and seductive.”
I stepped closer to the glass. “It’s what he does. Some are able to resist, others aren’t. He attacked the red zone with some kind of sonar, took a bunch of supernaturals and somehow made the others tear each other to shreds. He’s a cosmic god Aaron, you didn’t have a chance.”
“You managed to resist,” he said, mouth turned down. “And the worst thing is that I know what he’s planning just not how he’ll execute it. I’m fucking useless even with this direct link to his bloody mind.”
“Tell us what you know,” Malina said.
“I told Varuna. Malachi wants to take over all the minds in the city. Once he gains a foothold he’ll send his soldiers out into the surrounding towns. His reach will spread until he has every human in his thrall. I can feel him, even with the chip Patrick implanted in my brain; I can feel him inside my head.”
“Not for long,” Malina said. “We’re going to kick that fucker out of your mind, babe. I promise.”
Now was my cue to address the issue of her being here. “Malina, I think you should go back to Nagalok.”
She shook her head. “It won’t do any good. They’ve made up their minds. They won’t give the humans sanctuary.”
Aaron locked gazes with me and his eyes flared in comprehension. “I think she means you should go and stay there until this is over.”
Malina tensed. “Seriously? What the fuck? You think I can’t be useful here because I’m bloody pregnant?” She turned on me, eyes flashing. “Do you want me to kick your arse right here to prove just how fucking combat ready I am?”
Oh boy. “No. You don’t need to prove anything. But just answer me this question. Do you want to risk your kids growing up without a mum?”
She opened her mouth to respond and then snapped it closed. Her eyes glittered dangerously. “That was a shitty move, Hunter.”
Yeah, she was mad. She only ever called me Hunter when she was pissed. “I love you, Malina, and I fucking love your girls. Don’t you think you’ve sacrificed enough? Fought hard enough for everyone else? Isn’t it time to put yourself and your family first?”
The doubt flashed across her face. “I can’t just walk away….”
“Yes. You can,” Aaron said softly. “Malina, you saved us all once. Let us save you this time.”
She ducked her head. “Garuda was furious with me. He wanted me to stay. He wanted to come in my place and I wouldn’t let him.”
I pulled her into a hug, and pressed a kiss to the side of her face. “Go, babe. Go be with your family. Do it for me. Knowing you guys are safe will make me even more kick ass.”
She snorted into my shoulder. “I love you, chick.”
“I love you more.”
“I love you guys too!” Aaron said.
Patrick joined us. “Ladies, I’m going to have to ask you to leave. We need to run some tests on Mr. Black.”
Aaron’s expression sobered and he stepped away from the glass.
I released Malina. “What kind of tests?”
Patrick tapped at his tablet. “The chip we embedded in his cerebral cortex is beginning to deteriorate. It’s almost as if the connection with the cosmic god is whittling away at it. We need to mute that connection and slow things down.”
“What does that mean, exactly?” Malina asked.
“It means they need to put me into a coma,” Aaron said.
Fuck. “Can you not put in another chip?”
“We could,” Patrick said. “But I’d prefer not to poke around in his brain too much.”
Aaron chuckled. “I agree.” He gave us a half smile. “I’ll be fine. I promise. And when this is over we’re gonna have a proper get together, with booze and food and tons of catching up.”
His words brought a wave of nostalgia. “Yeah. That sounds perfect.”
Malina pressed her hand to the glass and he echoed the movement.
I turned to Patrick. “Can I have a quick word?”
He nodded. “Of course.” He led me away from the glass cage and into his office. “What can I do for you?”
“I think the inhibitor you put in is malfunctioning.”
He frowned. “Already? No. It should have lasted six months at least.”
Yeah, that’s what I’d thought. “I recently became the anchor to the skein for the coven. Could that mess with the inhibitor?”
“It depends what being an anchor entails?
I winced. “Acting as a bridge between a bunch of witches and the skein.”
His brows shot up. “So channeling a vast amount of power through your body?”
“Yeah, something like that.”
“Yes, that would certainly do it,” Patrick said. “I’m sorry, Carmella. With that kind of strain on your body it’s only a matter of days before the chip fails. We could even be talking a matter of hours.”
My stomach flip flopped. “Thanks.”
“This can’t be good for you,” Patrick said. “Our bodies, supernatural or not, aren’t designed to channel such vast amounts of power. How long have you been an anchor?”
“A couple of days.”
“Have you experienced nausea? Exhaustion? Aches and pains.”
All of the above. “I knew what was involved when I signed up. There is no other way to bring Malachi down. We need the skein to craft a binding spell, and I’m the only way to get to it.”
He reached for me, tilting my chin to study my eyes. He pulled down my bottom lid. “Say, ‘Aah.’”
I dutifully opened my mouth.
“Your glands are swollen,” he said. “Your body is working hard to keep functioning. It’s acting as if you have an infection.”
He pressed his lips together. “You tell the coven to hurry, and if you start to feel worse, you come and see me. We could try putting your body into stasis to minimize the damage.”
Stasis would put me out of action. Yeah, that wasn’t happening, but he didn’t need to know that. “Thanks, Patrick. I will.”
Leaving him in his office, I said my goodbyes to Aaron and Malina with promises to stay safe. I’d see them again once this was over. I left the lab, my mind churning with all the stuff that could go wrong if I lost focus. Patrick said I had days, maybe only hours before the chip he’d implanted failed and the needing returned, and then I’d be out of control. I needed to stay in control, and there was logically only one way to do that.
I’d need to mate with Vritra.
2
Okay, so I was a chicken. One look at him standing there in the lobby, jeans molded to his thighs, shirt pulled tight across that muscular taut chest of his, hair slightly tousled from the icy breeze outside, and I lost the power of speech. He was looking out the window, at the leaves which blew in mini tornadoes across the busy street, at a world which was a landscape of browns and yellows—the dying embers of autumn. In that unguarded moment, he was no longer harsh planes and a predator’s gaze. In that moment, he was just a man—a beautiful man—marveling at the world outside a window.
My heart hitched in my chest. I wanted the man behind the dragon. The man who’d supported me from the sidelines from day one, jumping in when needed but giving me the space to find myself. I’d believed the attraction between us had been at dragon level
only—primal and something out of my control.
I’d been wrong.
Whereas before the thought of mating with him had sent me into a tailspin of confusion and doubt, now the thought of not mating with him was like a shard tearing into my chest, but still there was that smidge of doubt, that fear that the word forever elicited. But it needed to be done. I was running out of time.
How to approach this? Hey, Vritra. Fancy mating with me? Hey, you wanna get dragon hitched? Shit. He’d told me he was backing off romantically, and although we’d had the odd look, the odd moment since then, nothing had been said to retract his statement. What if I was turning his concern into something else? What if I was seeing what I wanted to see? If I asked him to mate with me and he said no… Damn, that would hurt.
He caught sight of me, and the dragon mask fell back into place, feral and primal and intense. The man who’d been watching the autumnal world was gone.
I took a deep breath. The needing would take me whether I liked it or not, best to take control. I’d ask him tonight; it’d be the final thing on my daily to do list.
He held up the bag as I approached. “I hope you’re hungry.”
The smell of black bean sauce tickled my nostrils. “Gosh, yes.”
***
“Food, yum.” I shoved another forkful of noodles into my mouth and got sauce all over my chin.
The limo took a corner smoothly. We were almost at the Mayfair Mansion.
Vritra had just shoved a chicken ball smothered in sweet and sour sauce into his mouth. His lips were covered in the sticky orange substance, and the urge to lick it off was a wave of desire.
We locked gazes and his eyes darkened. He picked up another chicken ball, dipped it in sauce and then leaned forward, holding it out to me. My heartbeat accelerated, and I shifted forward on my seat. I licked my lips and took it in my mouth. His mouth parted as my lips closed around the ball, his breath coming in short bursts. I took a bite and sat back. I could feel the sauce clinging to my bottom lip.
I realized what he was going to do a split second before he did it. My breath caught in my throat and then he’d bridged the gap between us and captured my lips with his. Drawing my bottom lip into his mouth he sucked on it gently and slowly released it. A low primal moan tore itself from my throat.
“Fuck it.” He cupped the back of my head and claimed my mouth again, taking me with his tongue, pushing me back into my seat, so he was snuggled between my thighs, his torso hot against my core.
We kissed, open mouths, tongues tangling. My dragon slid out of her box, spreading through my limbs bringing the needing with her. It rolled through me like a mini tsunami, crushing the breath from my lungs and turning the blood into a roar in my ears. Suddenly I was the aggressor, clamping my legs around him, fingers digging into his shoulders as I pulled him closer.
We rolled onto the floor tearing at each other’s clothes. I wanted him inside me. I needed him inside me right now. Fuck, he was hard in all the right places, pushing against me. I was ready, wet and ready and…
“Carmella?” He rose above me, his gaze a desert storm, his chest rising and falling like the waves of a tempest. “You’re needing.” He inhaled and his eyes fluttering closed. “Oh fuck, Carmella.”
“So what? So what if I am?” I propped myself up and licked his chest.
“Oh, fucking hell, woman.” He fisted my hair and yanked my head back. “Stop. Or I will fuck you right now, right here in the back of this limo.”
The needing surged again, and I ground my pelvis against his eliciting a hungry growl from his lips.
“Do it.”
He tugged on my hair again. “Carmella, look at me.”
I blinked, the haze of desire clearing somewhat. “Vritra…”
He licked his lips. “Do you really want this? Do you want me as your mate? Do you want me forever?”
The word forever pierced my mind, and my body tensed.
He was off me and across the vehicle in a heartbeat. He sat back in his seat breathing heavily.
Shit, shit, shit. Tears stung my eyes. I wanted him. I wanted him so bad. He needed to know that I wanted him, but mated was forever. Was I ready for forever?
He held out his hand. “Come. We need to get you straightened up.”
I allowed him to tug me up and quickly adjusted my clothing. My cheeks burned with shame and I couldn’t look at him.
“Carmella. It’s all right.” He sounded tired. “Sometimes what our bodies desire does not correspond to our hearts.”
I glanced up. What was he saying?
His smile was sad. “I know you want me. But you don’t love me. Not yet.”
Something twisted inside me, an aching pain. I opened my mouth to say…what was it I would say?
“Don’t,” he said. He cupped my cheek. “I’m here for you. For whatever you need.”
The limo drew to a halt and I stared into the flickering ember in his eyes, my pulse jumping erratically, not with desire but with something else.
He broke contact and pushed open the door. “I’ll wait for you.”
Was that a double-entendre? And why did I need it to be one? Tearing my gaze from his beautiful feral face, I jumped out into the crisp cool air. We were outside the Mansion and it was time to switch gears to my game face. Without looking back, I strode down the driveway toward the imposing building where the high witch was hopefully wrapping up the spell that would eliminate Malachi.
***
“No,” Garnet said.
“No? Seriously?” I placed my hands on my hips. “Why not?”
“Because you’re asking me to prevent a bunch of vampires from accessing an all-you-can-eat buffet.”
“I thought you were the boss of that place.”
“Yes. I am. Because I make sure I monitor the level of temptation. I create an illusion of humanity for the vampires desperate to experience it. We have willing humans as our blood source and many vamps have taken human lovers who they also feed off. If I bring in a bunch of civilians—men, women and children—you’re asking for trouble. You’re prodding the demon inside the human suit.”
I exhaled. “I don’t see what choice we have. We either risk a few humans being fed on, or we leave them to be purged by Malachi.”
“The spell to bind him is almost ready.”
“And how do we lure him out?”
“The same way that the original thirteen drew him to our reality. With intermittent pulses of energy evoked through a chant. They sent out the signal and Malachi answered.”
“What makes you think he’ll take the bait?”
“Elora believes that Malachi is drawn to spikes of power, and that his very nature will compel him to at least investigate.”
“And if she’s wrong?”
Garnet’s left eye twitched. He had another plan. It was evident in the gleam in his eyes.
“You have a plan B don’t you?”
His eyes narrowed. “I’m working on it.”
I slumped down into the nearest chair. “I really wish we had some assurance that this plan will work.”
“Unfortunately, aside from the binding spell, we have no guarantee that any of it will work.”
“Which is why you need to give the humans sanctuary. If we fail, Malachi will take the city. We may not be able to save everyone, but we can save a large majority.”
Garnet turned his back to me, his shoulders tense.
“Garnet, come on.”
“On one condition.”
“Name it.”
“If we fail in summoning Malachi, you promise to aid me in putting my plan B into motion.”
Was that it? “Fine, you have a deal.”
“Do I have your word?”
“Sure.”
He turned to me. “Tell your people to make preparations. He walked over to the tiny writing desk, grabbed a piece of paper and scrawled a note. “Take this to Elorian. He’s my second in the city.”
“The dude with the lo
ng silver hair?”
“Yes. He’ll make the preparations for the civilians’ arrival. I need to stay here with Elora, and—”
The door opened, cutting him off, and the high witch entered. Her eyes were dark smudges on a pale face. She faltered at the sight of me and her face pinched in concern.
“Carmella, is everything all right? Are you all right?” She scanned me as if expecting to see limbs drop off. “Are you feeling ill?”
“I’m all right. Just tired and achy, nothing I can’t handle.”
She relaxed. “Oh good. We’re close to finishing the spell. This will all be over soon.” Her smile was filled with confidence. “What brought you here today?”
I jerked a thumb in Garnet’s direction. “I needed his permission to ship civilians to his underground city.”
Her brows shot up and she looked to Garnet. “You gave it, I assume?”
He nodded. “Your granddaughter makes an excellent case.”
It was the first time anyone had pinpointed our relationship in such a way, and yes, we weren’t related by blood, but still, was it silly that it sent a thrill of warmth through me. That sense of belonging.
Elora was watching me intensely. “There’s something else though, isn’t there child? Something else bothering you, I can sense a red haze in your aura.”
“You can read aura’s now?”
She smiled. “Not always. I get flashes sometimes. Like now. What’s bothering you?”
The needing. But there was no way I was going into that with her. Instead, I focused on the other task I needed help with. “I need to get a message to Yama. You don’t happen to know any rogue reapers do you?”
Elora’s eyes grew wide. “No, dear. I’m afraid I don’t. Garnet?”
He shook his head. “I’m sorry.”
Great. “So unless I’m dead there’s no way to get a message to him.” I sat forward, head in my hands. God, I felt like shit.
“Go home and get some rest, Carmella,” Elora said. “The spell is almost over and once we have Malachi you’ll be free from acting as a bridge.”
Yeah, she was right. A nap sounded great right now. “Keep me updated on the spell.” I left them in the sun drenched library and headed back out to Vritra’s waiting limo.
Unleashing Magick Page 2
