Denai Touch: Excalibar Investigations Series

by Tiffany Shand

  “She started calling us for more circles, said that it was good practice for…before Beth we met only once a month,” Cerys answered. “It was exhausting. I fell asleep for almost twelve hours.”

  “Good practice for what?” Jason prompted.

  “That’s the thing, I don’t remember.”

  “Weren’t you the least bit suspicious that something was wrong?”

  “Beth said it was normal, but the energy within the circle was intoxicating. I’d never felt anything like it.”

  “What kind of spells or rituals did you perform at the circles?” Cate prompted.

  Cerys shook her head. “That’s the thing, I've forgotten. I mean, I remember being there, but not what we did exactly.”

  Cate broke contact with Jason as she leaned across the table staring into Cerys’s blue eyes. “Tell me what you remember.”

  Cerys shook her head again. “I can’t – every time I try the more blurry it all seems.”

  Think Bethany compelled them to forget? Jason asked silently.

  More than likely.

  Cate said, “Cerys, would it be okay if I went into your mind to find out what happened?”

  Cerys’s eyes widened. “My mind? Why?”

  “Because we think Bethany may have compelled you into doing things against your will,” Jason said, “then made you forget so you wouldn’t question her.”

  “But why would Beth do that? She – we trusted her. We all trusted her!” Tears filled her eyes.

  “That would have made you all easier to compel,” Jason muttered.

  “Cerys,” Cate put a hand on the other witch’s shoulder, sending out calming waves of reassurance. “I know you never meant for any of this to happen. You put your faith in the wrong person, someone you thought was your friend. But if you let me enter your mind and see what happened to you, it may help us bring Bethany to justice.”

  Cerys stiffened. “Why must you enter my mind? I’m not sure I want to remember the things we did.”

  “Because, by seeing through your eyes, I’ll be able to feel as well as see everything that happened. Any detail of your experience could give us a clue as to what Bethany is planning.”

  “Will it hurt?”

  Cate shook her head. “Not if you let me in willingly and try not to resist.”

  “I doubt my resistance would do much good. My magic is nothing compared to yours. Denais can easily go into someone’s mind – like Beth did.”

  “Compulsion and tele-empathy are different. Yes, some telepathic Denais can and will go into someone’s mind without permission, but I’d like your consent all the same.”

  Cerys reluctantly nodded. “What do I have to do?”

  “Just look into my eyes.”

  Cerys met her gaze, blue on sapphire blue then Cate’s eyes shone silver, instantly locking the other witch within her power. She felt no resistance, not that it would matter. A weak mental barrier wouldn’t have made much difference.

  Cate closed her eyes, seeing swirls of coloured light as her senses passed into Cerys’s mind. Cerys? she asked her silently. Can you hear me?

  Yes, my lady. Er - Cate. How odd, I’ve never experienced telepathic communication before, Cerys’s voice sounded slower due to the compulsion.

  Okay, I want you to think back to the last night you attended a circle led by Bethany. When was it?

  She paused and Cate could feel her mulling it over. It was three days before our circle last night. She’d been preparing for it.

  Good, go back to Sunday night. What do you remember? Picture it in your mind.

  Cate felt a sharp jolt; blinking she found herself standing outside in the cool night as air brushed across her face.

  Candlelight flickered in a large spell circle as the coven members all stood around, waiting patiently. She glanced around, seeing Cerys standing there, looking just as dazed as the other witches. Instead of seeing through Cerys’s eyes, she’d ended up in the memory itself.

  Odd. This had never happened before. Usually she was on the outside looking in, or sometimes she witnessed events through the eyes of the person she telepathically connected to. She didn’t end up being part of the vision in any way.

  Cate looked down at her hand, seeing the birthmark on her right palm. The Goddess Mark, in the shape of a blue, seven pointed star; it often glowed or sparkled when she used her powers.

  She raised her head and saw a woman with dark, red hair and brown eyes. She wore a long, dark red, almost black silk, sheer and low-cut robe, unlike the other witches who wore loose-fitting, practical cotton robes in earthy colours.

  Clearly, it was Bethany and she’d done nothing to disguise her appearance. She was doing something within the centre of the spell circle, placing what looked to be some kind of black crystal there. “Now ladies, I want each of you to take this athame and cut your hand with it. Be sure your blood touches the crystal.”

  One by one, each witch blindly and automatically did as they were told without question or hesitation.

  Compulsion; a true High Priestess would never do such a thing. This went against all Denai training but then Bethany wasn’t a true Denai.

  Why would she make them smear blood on a crystal? Cate wondered.

  The crystal crackled with red sparks as Bethany added a few drops of her own blood to the mix. It pulsed with energy, like a bright beacon in the night.

  Bethany muttered a few words Cate couldn’t quite make out, probably a spell or a command of some kind. The crystal blinked before a projected image of a woman with short, red, cropped hair appeared in glowing red light.

  Tasha Phelps.

  Well, bugger me, Cate thought. Fancy seeing you here.

  “What do you think you’re doing, Bethany?” Tasha demanded. “How dare you try to speak to her!”

  Bethany’s eyes narrowed, but she smiled. “Tasha, how nice to see you again.” Obviously Phelps wasn’t the one Bethany had planned to contact. “I need to speak to Raven.”

  “I’m not in the mood for your grovelling, Turner.”

  “But Tasha, I could be of service to you.”

  Tasha glanced around. “The Thorn looks even more pathetic than it did the last time we spoke.”

  “These aren’t part of the Thorn,” Bethany sneered. “I’m just using these fools for energy. Tasha, we did as you asked when you last came to the city. My coven has started distributing the drug just as you told us to.”

  “Only two dead – you call that progress?”

  “People are different here in the city. Seline has spies everywhere.”

  “Which is exactly why I want more victims to test the drug on. We need the Denai coven to be distracted. You know how important this plan is.”

  Bethany nodded. “I know, but we can do more than passing the drug around. I’m trying to recruit new, powerful members to Thorn. We could add to the Covenant’s collective power.”

  “Just do as you’re told, or I won’t bother using you as a lackey again!”

  Bethany bowed her head. “Yes, Tasha.”

  “Good. Do not disturb me or Raven again. Or suffer the consequences.”

  The image blinked out and Cate gasped as her eyes snapped open. She felt something wet roll down her face and reached up to wipe it away, only to find that her nose was bleeding. Argh, not again!

  “What happened?” Jason quickly handed her a hanky.

  Cate swiftly covered her nose and fled from the room. Goddess! She couldn’t believe this was happening again. It was the second time this week her body was having an adverse reaction to her powers.

  She rushed into the women’s toilet. Going to the nearest sink, she splashed cold water on her face and washed away the blood. The buzzing in her head grew more intense and she could feel a headache already throbbing across her temples. Damn it, why was this happening so much lately?

  Usually, Cate only had some form of bleeding when she used a lot of power and pushed her magic to its limit, but lately she seemed to be drai
ned from using only small amounts. Could it have something to do with her being close to ascension?

  Damn! I’ll have to make an effort to attend circles and start training in preparation for it. Over the weeks and days close to ascension, a witch’s powers would rapidly become stronger and grow until her magic reached its peak. It was a very painful and dangerous process; if a witch wasn’t prepared or trained enough, the ascension could kill her before she had the chance to gain her immortality.

  For the past few years, her powers had started growing rapidly stronger and manifesting into full abilities, so ascension was something she’d been longing for. Cate had yearned to finally be free of the confines of her mortal body and not having her goddess powers wreaking havoc on it. Once immortal, she would no longer be as vulnerable to death, disease or injury; she would heal much more quickly and require less energy.

  Although Cate wouldn’t be at the mercy of the power inside her, at the same time she was scared. Death at the time of ascension was rare but it did happen, especially to weaker witches, and occasionally the more powerful ones. A witch’s power grew to its full strength when she ascended; her mortal body could barely contain hers as it was – what would happen when she did finally ascend?

  Cate wasn’t just a Denai or the Goddess Marked. Part of an ancient prophecy said she would be the most powerful witch ever born, possessing all of their mother goddess’s gifts, but she was also half Ashrali. The Ashrali were a race of very powerful fey and one of the five elder races that had existed since the beginning of time. Whilst she didn’t really show signs of having any Ashrali abilities, she knew her fey side definitely made her witch powers stronger.

  Cate wiped the blood away and stared at her reflection in the mirror. At six foot she towered over most people, inheriting her height from her Ashrali side. She had dark smudges under her eyes and her skin was pale. I look like hell, she silently groaned, wiping away more blood.

  She heard the door leading into the toilets banging open. “Cate?”

  Cate looked around in surprise. “Jason? You’re not supposed to be in here.”

  “Are you alright? What happened?” he demanded. “Fuck, why are you bleeding again?”

  “I’m fine, now go away.” She pressed the tissue to her nose again.

  “I can’t believe this is happening again. This isn’t normal.”

  Tell me something I don’t know! “It’s nothing.”

  “Don’t think I haven’t noticed the bloody tissues in the bathroom at home.”

  “I’m fine and you shouldn’t be spying on me.” She dropped the tissue. “There, look. It’s stopped. Please go before someone sees you in here.”

  Jason held out his hand. “You should tell me when you need to feed, damn it.”

  “I don’t and I’m fine,” she insisted. “Go!”

  He gave her a hard look. “You’re not fine. I’ve known you long enough to recognise when you need energy. Just take what you need from me.”

  “What is with you? You’ve been on edge all morning and now you’re being a right pain in the arse!” she snapped. “Did something happen whilst you were away?”

  “No. Everything is fine, except you clearly need to take better care of yourself.”

  “I take care of myself just fine, thank you. Goddess, you’re the one with all the secrets and now you’re pissed at me for no good reason.” She grabbed his hand, feeling a warm rush of energy flood through her. “Happy now?”

  “What’s happening to your hair?”

  “What?” Cate turned to look at her reflection in the mirror and saw her hair sparkle faintly with silver orbs; as it turned a redder shade of auburn, its straight lines curved into thick spirals. “Oh hell, what’s happening to me?”

  “I hear that an Ashrali’s hair changes when they feel strong emotions.”

  “I’m only half Ashrali and this shouldn’t be happening. I’ve kept my hair under control for years now.” As she spoke the waves of hair moved down her back, well past her shoulders.

  “I like your natural hair,” he smiled and moved closer to brush it off her face. “You should keep it this way.”

  “It’s annoying this way,” she said through gritted teeth and tried to focus her emotions to get things under control, but her hair refused to comply.

  “It’s beautiful.”

  “You’re not helping!” The mirror in front of them suddenly exploded, shards of glass scattering in all directions.

  Jason grabbed hold of her, pulling her tight against him as currents of air swirled around them, a mini tornado of energy deflecting the glass away from them.

  “Would you please go now?”

  “You’re welcome.”

  “This wouldn’t have happened if you hadn’t been so – so damned annoying. I don’t need you to protect me from everything!”

  “I’m your Mavis, I’m supposed to defend and look after you.”

  “No, you’re supposed to provide me with energy when I need it and help me with work. I don’t…” The sinks and cubicle doors suddenly began to shake violently as silver orbs sparkled around them. Now what was happening?

  Cate could recognise her own magic when she saw it, but she hadn’t consciously done anything to make it act this way. Hell, she’d be setting off numerous alarms throughout the Tower. Everyone would probably think it was an attack or something wrong with the computer systems.

  “Cate, you need to calm down.”

  “Don’t tell me to calm down! You’re the one that started this,” she snapped.

  Jason sighed. “I’m sorry. I can’t help but worry about you.”

  Cate sucked in a breath and gritted her teeth as she fought to get her powers back under control. He reached out and touched her hand; everything suddenly fell still.

  She pulled her hand away. “Gran says my ascension is getting close and my powers will grow stronger and more uncontrollable.”

  “But I can help you — it’s what I’m here for.”

  “If you keep being so overprotective, I’ll blow you up!”

  He smiled. “You can’t blow me up. If you need energy, for God’s sake take it.”

  “I don’t want to hurt you. You might be the most powerful Elemental I’ve ever met, but even you don’t have unlimited energy.”

  “Yes I do – I mean like you said, I’m stronger than others and you can’t hurt me.”

  “You’re either way too confident in yourself, or you’re a lot more than you appear to be.” She was willing to bet the latter and knew full well he had secrets. She hoped one day he’d be willing to share them with her.

  “What did you see in the witness’s mind?” he asked.

  “We have work to do.”

  They headed back to the interview room.

  “Am I to be sentenced?” Cerys asked, face turning ashen and starting to wring her hands.

  “No, not yet. We’re keeping you here in protective custody for the time being,” Cate replied. “But I need something from you first.”

  Cerys frowned. “Protective custody? Why would you protect me?”

  “I’m willing to put in a good word for you, if you let me take on your identity for a while.”

  Cerys looked bemused. “What do you mean?”

  “We want to draw Bethany out and I believe you’re the key to doing that. She knows you and believes you’re under her control.”

  “But how?”

  “By feeding from you, Cate can take on a part of your essence and use your knowledge to convincingly portray you,” Jason explained. “It won’t harm you, but you may be unconscious for a few hours.”

  “How does it work?” Cerys asked.

  “It would be like me reading you but on a more intense level. I take on your memories and physical appearance – it’s like a glamour, but added to some very cool tech made by my brother.”

  “Then you’d know everything about me? All of my memories and secrets?” Cerys shifted uncomfortably.

  “Only fo
r a while. When I return your energy, you’ll be as you were before and I’ll erase your memories from my mind.”

  “What about my shop?”

  “I’ll take care of it. You don’t need to worry about anything.”

  “Your coven will remain in custody for now,” Jason said. “Everyone will think Cate is you. We’ll spin a story saying that you’ve been released on bail.”

  “And Declan? He’ll know you’re not me.”

  “We’ll talk to him.”

  Cerys laughed. “Declan hates Enforcers, he won’t care that you’re Excalibar. He’ll demand that I be released or I’m afraid he’ll do something stupid.”

  “I’ll be posing as Declan,” Jason added.

  “Declan won’t work with you – oh goddess, you won’t hurt him, will you?”

  “Of course not. Will you agree to this?”

  “Do I have a choice? You’ll do what you want to me, whether I allow it or not.”

  “In exchange for your cooperation, I’ll see to it that you’re let off with a warning.”

  “And my coven? They’re victims in this too. I’m the one that deserves to be punished for letting Beth in.”

  Cate sighed. “Fine, I’ll see to it that your coven is let off with a warning, but I suggest you be much more careful with your next choice of High Priestess.”

  “Oh, thank you!” Cerys threw her arms around her. “Thank you so much, my lady.”

  Cate flinched at the sudden onslaught of thoughts and emotions. Most people never touched a Denai for fear of her power. She drew back. “Okay, I’ll take that as a yes then.”

  “What must I do?”

  “Nothing.” Her fingers gently wrapped around Cerys’s throat, as they would if she were unleashing the darker side of her gift.

  Cate’s eyes shone bright silver as Cerys was locked within her control. No one could escape the touch of a Denai for their power could move at lightning speed. She closed her eyes; colours swirled through her mind as her senses passed deep into the very essence of Cerys’s soul, energy rushed through her fingers as thoughts and feelings passed into her own mind. She staggered back as Cerys slumped against the table, unconscious.