Sacrifice

by Heather McCollum

  Since his first week of life, it had been Drustan against Drakkina, Drustan against Semiazaz and the demons, just one soul against the entire world. But now he’d found Anna, his mate, the other half that made him whole. It would be the two of them forever. He would not allow time, death, or evil to separate them. His heart swelled, and he gripped Anna tighter until she shifted. He loosened his hold and closed his eyes with her scent filling his every breath.

  In the dark silence of the night forest, a growl pulled Drustan’s awareness to waking. Untucking the blanket, he rolled away from Anna and into a crouch. Tenebris paced in the open mouth of the cave. Images from the wolf struck Drustan. Horses with metal between their teeth, men on their backs with glinting swords. The accelerated pace of the images slowed as relief at Drustan’s waking rippled through the wolf.

  Thank you, Drustan thought. Go. Tenebris loped off into the snowy woods. Seconds later the thudding of horses stopped in the tangle of trees outside the cave. “She could be in one of these caves, but don’t ignore any snow-covered boulder in case she didn’t make it.” William Maclean’s voice rang out, and Anna pushed up to sit. Her hair lay like a silk mantle over bare shoulders. She held the wool blanket up over her breasts.

  “Drustan?”

  “They cannot see or hear me, as I will it,” he said as William Maclean suddenly filled the opening to the cave.

  “Anna?” William called.

  “I…I am here,” she said, meeting her brother-in-law’s gaze.

  William entered the small space, so Drustan stepped back and snatched up his clothes from the rock floor. The moment he touched the material it vanished from sight. William wouldn’t notice the quick disappearance in the dim light. Drustan shrugged into his clothes as William scanned the small space, taking in Anna’s naked shoulders above the blanket. Two other Maclean warriors stood in the entry.

  Hamish scrubbed at his red whiskered jowls. “What happened to yer clothes, lass?”

  Anna’s dress lay over a branch in the corner.

  “I was wet from the snow, frozen,” she said, her back straight. She lifted the blanket up to her chin. “It was the quickest way to warm myself in this dry blanket.”

  William examined the close quarters. “Patricia is frantic. Ye left without guard or proper preparations.”

  “It didn’t start snowing until after I left,” she said and rose, the blanket around her like a royal robe.

  “As night was coming on,” William continued.

  “I refuse to discuss this before you and your men while naked, cold, and exhausted,” she said.

  The two warriors in the door backed away to a respectable distance, their gazes searching the trees behind them. Even William seemed to shrink slightly from her admonishing tone. “I will dress if you give me a moment.”

  William grunted and stepped out into the snow, presenting his back. Drustan brought Anna’s gown from the stick and her chemise from the floor. “The gown is still damp,” he said. When she opened her mouth to reply he held a finger to his lips. “They can’t hear me, but they can hear you responding. And William is listening.”

  She nodded. He caught a glimpse of her beautiful curves as the material floated down around her form. She shivered.

  “I would warm you, but then they would see me,” he said, his jaw tight.

  “Maybe I don’t care about them seeing you,” she whispered.

  He handed her the stiff gown. “In the shadows of night when the scent of me still clings to you, you might be willing to reveal all. In the brightness of day with society’s eyes cast down their noses, you might think differently.”

  “Hrmph,” she snorted as she struggled to hook the buttons up her back without his help. She bent to yank on her boots.

  “I will meet you back at Kylkern after you’ve slept,” he said. She raised one delicate eyebrow. “I must check on my house,” he responded.

  She pulled her wool cloak around her shoulders and tied it closed under her chin. Reaching to grab the blanket, Drustan pulled it away. “Leave it,” he said. “They will wonder at the blood.”

  She met his gaze and held it for a moment as if she wished to say something.

  “Are ye ready?” William asked from the entrance.

  “Yes.” She turned.

  “Where is the blanket?” he asked.

  “I only had my cloak,” she said.

  William’s eyes narrowed and swept the interior. Anna walked out, and Drustan watched her weave among the horses.

  “I brought yer mare for ye to ride,” William said. “She returned without ye.”

  Anna inhaled quickly and hugged the mare’s neck. She glanced back at Drustan where he stood at the mouth of the cave. “You’re alive, Mazy, alive and well. Thank you.”

  William helped her up into the saddle. “And whom are ye thanking?”

  “God,” Anna said. “Or the Earth Mother, or anyone who decides whether a simple animal should live or die and chooses to preserve her life.” She turned away from William, and urged Mazy through the trees. William turned back to frown in Drustan’s direction, his intuition obviously telling him someone else was present.

  Drustan stood in the snow outside the cave, watching them ride away. Alone, and shrouded in white iciness and muted moonlight. But instead of the familiar sinking feeling of forced solitude, a quiet elation rose up in Drustan. For he would never be alone again. Even as each stride increased the distance between them, Drustan knew he was bound to Anna. She was his now. Forever.

  ****

  The early glow of sunlight filtered down onto Drustan as he stepped onto the deck the next morning. The fresh breeze blew but not enough to wipe the cloying scent of death from the air. He ignored it and levitated quickly to the ground. The snow lay mixed with fallen leaves, undisturbed except for his own footprints, those of Tenebris as he met him on his return, and the skittering marks of a squirrel. The air held the chill that came in with the snow, and the tree limbs shifted, shedding more colored leaves upon the soft, white landscape.

  He pulled upon his magic to bend the miles between him and Anna.

  “I would talk with you, son.” Semiazaz’s voice came from behind though Drustan knew he could be anywhere. Semiazaz drifted over the crystalline landscape to stand beside Drustan. Even though the image and quiet gave the impression of solitude, Drustan knew there were twelve more sets of ears and eyes taking in every detail.

  “I am about to return to Kylkern,” he said.

  “She is beautiful,” Semiazaz said. “I can see why you wish to make her your queen.”

  “She is my queen,” he said, waiting for Bast’s outburst, but the feline demon kept her fury to herself.

  “She weakens you,” Semiazaz said and floated along beside him as he began to walk.

  “She strengthens me,” he contradicted. He could just leave the demons and wizard behind, but he must be certain they weren’t planning to kill Anna.

  “That is the lie behind love, Drustan. You feel invincible at first, but when the feeling is not returned you become weak.”

  “Is that what happened to you with Drakkina?” Drustan said and felt satisfaction at Semiazaz’s hesitation.

  “That was a very long time ago, but yes, emotions made me weak, which was why I chose power over the heart. Power never betrays while people do all the time.”

  “Anna will not betray me,” Drustan murmured.

  “Have you asked what she is planning with Drakkina? I’ve sensed the witch around her. She speaks to Anna, tells her how to make us fail.”

  Drustan turned his face toward Semiazaz. “How could you know that? You cannot. Speculation from the outside creates paranoia.” Anna wouldn’t listen to the witch, the very woman who urged his mother to turn him over for execution. “If anything, Drakkina has warned her that we will cut all the temporal threads, which would be chaos.”

  They continued to move between the trees, Drustan crunching through the snow and Semiazaz gliding over it. “Dr
akkina doesn’t stop long enough to listen to me,” Semiazaz said. “Or she would know that we intend to only cut a few threads, important ones, like the one that will bring your mother back to life.”

  Drustan stopped. “And all the people that were alive at that moment in time. A billion people perhaps.”

  Semiazaz gazed directly at him. “Your brethren will cull out those who do not need to be here, upon your command or if you prefer, upon mine.”

  “And so they will die again.”

  “Yes, but quickly to return to wherever they were. Then we can cut another thread, one that holds all the holy sisters of that orphanage where you landed. A thread where they are all alive and do not know of your deadly taint yet. They will care for you, love you like any other boy.”

  “And the demons? What will they get out of this?”

  “The orb we discussed before, Drustan,” Semiazaz said and floated upward to avoid a fallen log that he could have slid right through. “We pair that with Drakkina’s amulet, the dragonfly one she wears, and we will have the power to form real bodies once more. Together they create life.” He chuckled. “And corporeal life is very valuable.”

  They continued on while Drustan cautiously tried to decipher Semiazaz’s thoughts. “Think of it,” Semiazaz said, his words almost giddy. “We will have the power over life and death. We can resurrect anyone from any time, a time before they learn a secret or a time before they turn bitter. We can bring them back from a thread when they are happy, loving and beautiful.”

  Drustan stared at the man who had acted like a father to him. There was hope in his features. “And who will you bring back?” Drustan asked.

  As if catching himself, Semiazaz’s features tightened, cooling into his usual tolerant expression. “I but yearn for my own life back, a real body with real sensation, and distance from these constant companions.”

  The demons moved with them now, visible like a trailing cape behind Semiazaz. They hovered above the snow, a gliding spill of darkness over the white, sparkling beauty. Remaining silent and uncommonly subdued.

  “Why do you despise Drakkina?” Drustan asked.

  “Because she bound us together of course.”

  “Why did she do that?”

  Semiazaz moved in silence for a long moment. “She was jealous of the power I possessed. That I had been able to call forth those who would help me.” He indicated the demons.

  “Help you cut the threads of time,” Drustan said casually.

  “Yes, to rule over life and death is the greatest power in existence, and I was close to harnessing it,” Semiazaz said. The wizard’s words flowed smoothly as if rehearsed.

  Dripping clumps of snow fell from lofty trees to pockmark the snowy ground. “Did you have anything to do with the drastic shift in weather last evening?”

  Semiazaz looked around him like he hadn’t noticed the snow and ice. Without bodies they did not feel cold. “Isn’t it supposed to be winter here now?”

  “Not so quickly. There’s something unnatural about it, as if someone used magic to try to kill Anna as she traveled.”

  “Did the woman leave?” When Drustan didn’t answer right away Semiazaz continued. “They always leave. Remember that, son.”

  “Did you try to kill her last night?” Drustan asked, his jaw tight.

  “No,” Semiazaz said. “I had no idea the woman had left you.”

  “She didn’t leave me,” he lied because she had. But then they’d kissed, touched, and loved each other all night. Didn’t that erase her desertion?

  Well, it didn’t matter. She was his now, the two of them forever.

  “Maybe Drakkina caused the cold,” Semiazaz suggested. “She wanted you dead. Perhaps she wants your mate dead, too.”

  “I am leaving,” Drustan said and felt the flame in his chest expand with his intent.

  “Be careful,” Semiazaz said. “The woman mutes your powers. Her touch makes you vulnerable. If she is in league with Drakkina, you are in jeopardy.”

  Without another word, Drustan let the power within manifest outward, blurring reality, bending the miles while he walked along his erected bridge of space. The wilderness on either side sped by, trees, boulders, snowy landscape until he stopped fifty strides before the start of Kylkern’s village. Drustan followed the curving central road to the castle wall. William was there to greet him, probably having seen him materialize on the moor.

  “Anna is well?” Drustan asked and kept walking past the Maclean.

  William fell in line. “She’s awake but hasn’t come downstairs yet. Where have you been?”

  Drustan could sense that William thought he’d been with Anna in the cave. “When I couldn’t find her I returned to my home and slept.” He glanced at the Maclean leader. “Being among so many people fatigues me. The barrier, which I keep up in case someone bumps into me when Anna isn’t in contact, is tiring.”

  “You are welcome to keep away from us,” William said.

  Drustan’s jaw tightened. “As soon as you can convince Anna to live with me.” William didn’t respond as they walked up to the castle steps. “I will see Anna now.”

  “You should wait downstairs,” William said. Drustan looked at the deep frown marring the leader’s face. “Give her some time,” he said.

  Had Anna said something to William? Did she regret their time alone, wrapped in each other’s arms? Did she despise him? A tide of foul emotions swamped through Drustan’s mind while he kept his expression neutral. A quick sift through William’s thoughts showed no revealing conversations, and Drustan relaxed his hands that had fisted, without his conscious thought.

  The crunch of gravel drew Drustan’s gaze. William left him to greet a coach stopping in the bailey. The door banged open, and William reached in to capture a gloved hand.

  The woman’s voice was soft over the distance, but her thought nearly screamed.

  “Is he here?” she asked.

  Am I too late?

  The woman’s blonde hair lay coiled upon her head in a bun, and she wore a wrinkled traveling costume. She took both of William’s hands and squeezed as she looked up at him. A tall, broad man followed the woman down the coach steps. As the graceful woman looked up, her eyes widened.

  “Hello, brother,” she said.

  Drustan bowed his head in greeting. “Hello, Kailin.”

  ****

  She wanted to know if he’d killed anyone, but was too polite to ask. Drustan frowned in the silence at his forty-three-year-old sister as they sat across from each other in the great hall.

  Kailin and her mate, Jackson Black had come when William sent word that Drustan was here. Had Jackson brought the Orb of Life with him? He was the only person who could make it work right now. The orb could only belong to one soul at a time, one soul that could wield its power over death, and Kailin had gifted it to him.

  Questions hummed through the minds around him, yet Kailin questioned William about his bride and his sister, Margaret, who had gone with her husband to visit some relations in Denmark. They had left their two daughters and one granddaughter in William’s capable hands. The answers registered briefly in Kailin’s mind only to fade away as her questions about Drustan overran them.

  “Is Emma well?” Drustan asked, referring to their daughter whom he almost killed when she was a child.

  “Yes,” Kailin said. “She is married to a handsome farmer near us. She is happy and sends her regards.”

  “Then there were no…problems after she was healed?” Drustan asked.

  “We discovered a disease that attacked her nervous system,” Jackson said. “A year later. It was easily fixed with the orb.”

  “We do not know if it was something your touch started,” Kailin said. “But she is well now, expecting her first child in the spring.”

  Drustan nodded, relief loosening his chest. “And your son?”

  Kailin’s eyes narrowed. “Drakkina has taught me a thing or two about shielding my thoughts, but apparently yo
u can maneuver through. It’s not polite. Ask what you wish to know instead of reading my mind.”

  It seemed the calm pretense of normal conversation was over. Drustan bowed his head slightly in acceptance. “Habit,” he said. “I haven’t lived in polite society for a long time. You have a son?”

  “He is being educated at Washington University. He’s on the rowing team,” Jackson said.

  “We lost track of you when you left the United States.” Kailin continued her line of questioning. “Have you been here this whole time?”

  “Near Kylkern, but not here, or else William would have contacted you sooner.”

  “Drakkina says you will bring an end to the world,” Kailin said.

  He exhaled and rubbed the back of his neck. His sister was certainly straightforward once she surrendered social dictates. Anna would like that.

  “She would say as such,” Drustan said. “She hasn’t discussed it with me, though.”

  “She has a scrying bowl that predicts the outcome of the final battle. It shows you banding together with the pack of demons led by Semiazaz to kill my sisters and me.”

  “Is that the only outcome she’s seen?” he asked, curious.

  “No. There are some that show us winning against evil.”

  “And where do I fall in all that?” he asked.

  “That is what I came all the way from Missouri Territory to find out,” she said. “Do you hope to kill us, cut the temporal threads, and destroy the world as we know it?”

  The group in the room was small. William and a few of his men along with the visitors, but they all held completely still, staring at Drustan.

  “I do not hope to kill you or any of my sisters,” Drustan said, glancing toward the empty staircase. Would Anna come soon?

  “But you hope to destroy the world,” Jackson finished. “Cut the threads of time.”

  “Not all the threads. There are certain ones.” He looked at Kailin. “I will bring back Gilla, Druce, too. All our sisters can be on the same plane with us again, reunited, if I cut certain threads.”