by Jami Gray
Dropping to her knees in front of Cheveyo’s still form, she dragged in a shuddering breath and placed her hand on his dirt-encrusted hair. The lightning storm of the battling magic around her faded, replaced by the steel door connecting her and Cheveyo.
Back on the psychic plane, she pounded on the door. “Cheveyo!” she yelled. “Open the damn door!”
She sent a strong surge through the weakening tie snaking under the barrier. Nothing. Panic clawed at her. Her mind worked furiously. There wasn’t time to coax the door open. There had to be a way to force it.
Stepping back, she narrowed her concentration on the immovable object in front of her. Gathering ever bit of magic she could find, she created a ball of burning bright flames in between her cupped palms. She was about to drag the stubborn-ass witch back into the land of the living whether he liked it or not. With a fierce effort of will, she forced the burning orb into the fragile threads, feeling them stretch and warp.
Sacrificing skill for speed, she shoved ruthlessly, sending the speedball of painful energy through. When it found Cheveyo, it would detonate, shocking the witch into a response. She felt it hit and the resulting explosion shattered the vault door into thousands of shards of colorful glass. The agony reverberating through the bond sent her to her knees.
She had just enough presence of mind to shut down the tie between her and Gavin before it could drag him under. Then there was no time to worry about the repercussions of her actions. Her vision whited out under the rising tide of pain as her unruly magic looped between her and Cheveyo.
The maelstrom of power swept over her in a crushing tide. She struggled to the surface, fighting to break through the cresting waves. They continued to suck her under. The lull between waves became longer and she was wrenched back, as if snagged on a hook. The sharp sting was lost amid the numerous other pains. A wave began to crest and she felt the tug, deeper this time. She grasped the phantom hook only to find herself holding her connection to Cheveyo. Clumsily, she wove her magic with his, strengthening the tie and, finally, she broke through the surface of her rampaging magic.
Dragging her tired body out of the whirlpool of power, she collapsed next to a very pale, worn-looking Cheveyo.
“You have got to be the most stubborn, pigheaded woman I’ve ever met!”
“Screw you,” she gasped. “You’re welcome.” She looked at him, fighting not to let her shock show. The reason behind the weakening bond became obvious. Instead of the rugged warrior, she found a fragile-looking old man. “What the hell, Cheveyo?” Her voice was soft.
“Nomȃhtsé’héōò Adanata.” Soul Stealer. His short answer and the way his gaze seem to focus on something only he could see sent ice careening through her veins.
Ignoring her body’s whimpers, she scrambled to her feet. “Come on.” She offered her hand to the unnerving image of her mentor. “We’re getting you out of here this time.” When he continued to look at her blankly, a sick feeling spiraled through her. Lowering into a crouch until she was eye level, she waved a hand in front of his face. “Cheveyo? You in there?”
There was a flicker of recognition, there and gone.
“Damn it,” she muttered. “Fine, we’ll do this the hard way then.” Leaning down, she wrapped one arm around his waist and lifted. Hauling him to his feet, she slung his arm around her neck, and held his wrist to steady him.
Stuck on the psychic plane, she would need Gavin’s help to pull the weakened Cheveyo back. Reaching for their bond, she tore down her hastily erected barrier, flinching as the sharp pull on her already-stressed magic almost dropped her to her knees.
She gritted her teeth, knowing if Gavin was drawing this much, things were not going according to plan on the other side. Stumbling, she made her way back to the metaphysical doorway, or what was left of it. Between trying to keep Cheveyo on his feet and the draining of her magical strength as Gavin continued to reinforce his own magic, the journey took forever.
She almost didn’t recognize the remains of the mental door. Twisted and torn metal lay like discarded shrapnel, and she could see the other side. She tried to figure out how to bring the battered spirit of Cheveyo back to his physical body. Frustrated tears sprang to her eyes as exhaustion and pain waged a seemingly never-ending war.
“Raine.” Her name was spoken so quietly she thought she imagined it.
It came again and she realized it was Cheveyo. It was awkward but she managed to look at his face. Awareness fought for supremacy as he tried to focus on her.
“Watch…” His cracked lips moved, the word escaping on a breath.
Scattered images seared through her mind. Even forewarned, it took effort not to let her natural defenses rise as he pushed his memories into her consciousness. She remembered what he told her when they had first discussed their newly formed tie. If either one needed knowledge the other held, all they had to do was ask.
She was definitely asking now.
The answer came. To reunite his spirit and body completely she would have to break the tie the Soul Stealer had erected. To do that required undoing the magical weave of the Stealer’s bonds to Cheveyo’s spirit. Considering how interwoven that was, it wouldn’t be easy.
As his memories and lucidity faded, she gently set him down. Calling her leopard forward, she let it curl around her mentor’s spirit. It was the best protection she could offer. She had to go back and face the Stealer.
Touching her anchor with Gavin, she let her mind go back to the physical plane. She opened her eyes to find she was still crouched over Cheveyo’s motionless body in the dark cave.
Uncertain how much time had passed, she turned. Gavin was standing between her and the mouth of the cavern, wielding both magic and blade against the stalking monster of the now physical Soul Stealer. Her doppelganger was nowhere to be found. Getting to her feet, she gritted her teeth against her body’s protests. Her wrist blades were in both hands as she stood beside Gavin.
Never taking his eyes off from the threat in front of him, he snapped, “Did you get him?”
“Yeah.” Utilizing their telepathic connection, she shared her plan.
His spark of concern was quickly squashed. “Let’s do this,” he growled and went on the offensive. Using the distraction of his sudden attack, she dropped her psychic barrier.
The dark weave—of what she now knew were consumed souls which gave the Soul Stealer its power—filled her sight. Every inch of her spirit cringed from touching the fouled magic, but she had no choice. Using the information Cheveyo shared, she lunged.
She expected pain. She hadn’t expected the sadistic, twisting pleasure flooding her mind. Every monstrous urge she fought to conquer, every dark desire haunting her nightmares, and every lethal temptation she walked away from, slammed into her, sending her into a huddled ball of agony. Everything she locked away, broke free into a howling mass of vicious joy.
The Soul Stealer’s essence found her, rejoicing as it began to suck the meat of her soul from her bones. As each mental lock shattered under the attack, her spirit shuddered under the blows. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t rise above it. The whirlwind of darkness was winning.
She was going to fail Cheveyo.
She was going to fail Gavin.
Again.
The soul tearing agony of that realization seared through her mind. Fear and despair disappeared under a fatalistic determination. Failing him was not an option. She loved Gavin. Never again would someone she loved suffer because of her actions. Least of all him.
Deep inside—where she never looked—the determination to win grew, fueled by rage and an even older anger that something so twisted and dark took joy in her suffering. Buried deep in her magic, where the Stealer couldn’t sense it, pulsed the silver blue bond securing her soul to Gavin’s. Strength flooded into her, bringing her to her feet, blades in her hands.
Baring her teeth, she waded in. On some distant level, she was aware she was mimicking Gavin’s attack in the physical world. Between the t
wo of them, they began to shred the Stealer apart.
Unable to defend against their joint attack, the monster began to pull back from the physical world, focusing on what it perceived as the weaker threat. Raine. As its physical body began to dissipate in the real world, the one on the magical plane became stronger.
It was the moment she had been waiting for. She had one chance to cut the connection between the Stealer and Cheveyo’s fading spirit—when the Stealer fully manifested on the magical plane. Gavin would use the spell she shared, retying Cheveyo’s body and spirit together, leaving her alone to face a very pissed off Stealer.
She waited, baiting the Stealer with sneak attacks, drawing it back to the psychic plane. There was a flash-bang of an earth-toned flare deep within the Stealer. With a roar of undiluted fury, the monster pulled itself completely into the magical realm.
She threw her blade. Not waiting to see if it struck its mark, she sliced out with her magic, cutting the tie between the Stealer and Cheveyo. The monster screamed, the unnatural sound making her ears bleed.
Unfortunately, she was directly in the path of its massive claws. The pain of the impact was lost with the others as she went airborne. She hit the wall but stubbornly clung to consciousness as she fell. Until Gavin was done, she had to stay on her feet or they risked losing Cheveyo. She tried to stand but failed miserably. Her breath sawed through her aching chest, and she had trouble focusing.
“Get up! Get up!” She knew that mumbled command was her own voice, but her body wasn’t listening.
“Damn it!” she screamed hoarsely. “Move!”
Somehow, she made it to her feet, swaying, but upright. Something warm dripped into her eyes, but she wiped it away. When her vision cleared, she looked up to find the evil creature bearing down on her.
Her blades were gone, so she reached for her magic. Her desperate prayer was answered as white flames burst into life. She threw the first volley. The white flame hit the Stealer in the face, bringing it to an abrupt stop. It began clawing at the silent, ghostly flames, letting out a high-pitched squeal of agony that echoed off the walls. Through her shock, she focused on the flames writhing over the creature, making them burn faster and deeper.
The squeals turned into howls. The cacophony was deafening. Then, just when she was sure her eardrums would shatter under the barrage, the Soul Stealer disappeared.
Dumfounded, she stood in the vast magical tapestry, staring at the rips and tears giving mute testimony to the battle waged. Her knees weakened and she dropped to the ground. Debilitating fear rose in her. Gavin! What if the Stealer had gone back to the physical world? Her spirit shuddered, but she reached out to their binding and dragged herself back.
This time when her spirit dropped back into her body, the jolt was excruciating. She curled into a ball as every muscle seemed to spasm at once, stealing her breath. A weak whimper made it past her clenched jaw. Even worse were the tears she felt escaping her tightly closed eyes.
She breathed through the worst of it and—when she was sure she wasn’t going to scream—unlocked her jaw. Prying her eyes open, she was met with the sight of Gavin’s back. He was crouched over something. Her natural barriers were back in place and the thought of lowering them to see what was happening was too daunting.
Slowly, like an old woman, she pushed to her hands and knees. Although the space between them wasn’t more than a few feet, it felt much longer as she crawled over to him. When she was within touching distance, she reached out and brushed his back weakly.
He half rose and spun, his green eyes glowing with magic. If everything hadn’t hurt so bad, she might have faltered under his coldly distant gaze. Instead, she stared up at him mutely.
His jaw softened and he knelt, gently gathering her sore body into his arms. He settled back on the ground, cradling her. Together they faced Cheveyo’s still form.
“Did it work?” she whispered. Even with her barriers up, the skin-tingling sensation of Gavin’s magic flowed over her.
“Yeah.” His voice was rough and his jaw tight.
“But?”
He looked down at her, the magic that swirled in his gaze slowing. “We may have reunited the spirit and the body, but I’m not sure if it’s enough.”
She wanted to ignore the warning in his words, but she understood. She studied the unconscious witch in front of them. “The rest is up to him.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Gavin held Raine as he worked over Cheveyo. She could feel him drawing on her magic as he continued to weave another piece of the spell Cheveyo had given them. The tingling sensation of his power dulled the sharper complaints from her aching body and she fell into a semi-conscious state.
Sometime later, she jostled awake when Gavin adjusted his hold. Leaving her head on his shoulder, she pried her eyes open. Her night vision flickered with the familiar hues of yellow, green, and red in the lightless black of the cavern.
Gavin rested his chin against the top of her head. His shoulders relaxed under her cheek as exhaustion replaced his body’s earlier tension. She let her lids drift down, cherishing this small respite with him. Silent moments passed.
“We need to get moving.” His low voice blended into the surrounding darkness.
Licking her dry lips, she coughed. “How long have we been here?”
“An hour and a half. Maybe two.”
She didn’t want to move, but they were racing the clock. There was no way to tell what damage their fight with the Soul Stealer had done to it, or to the one holding its leash. If they were lucky, they managed to score enough hits to make the hellish duo hole up somewhere and lick their wounds. Please gods, just a little break would be nice. Just long enough to get Cheveyo out of here and back to Tala’s. Thinking of which…
“How are we going to get him out?” Considering the shape they both were in, hauling out the deadweight of a six-foot-six male was going to be a challenge.
“The passageway is narrow, but I think we can use a travois to transport him.” He rubbed his chin against her head. “Finding a couple of long branches shouldn’t be too hard.”
Remembering the ratty blanket on the cot in the cabin, she added, “We could use that blanket up there as well. I’m just not sure how long it will hold.”
“My jacket’s down here somewhere,” he muttered. “Think you could get us a little light?”
Checking, she was unsurprised to find her magical reserves precariously low. But she’d worked with less. A soft word and the fey light winked into being. She squinted against the barrage of white spots dancing in her vision. When they cleared, she stared into Gavin’s drawn face. Worry plagued her. His skin held an unhealthy pallor making his eyes appear sunken and his cheekbones sharper. “You okay?”
He shrugged. “I’ve been better.” He studied the prone witch in front of him. “The spell was a bit more difficult than I anticipated.”
She struggled out of his lap, trying not to moan as her movements increased the complaints of her battered body. Once on her feet, she took a mental inventory, knowing their night was far from over. Her magic was sluggish, but there. Reaching a little farther, she met the eerie silver gaze of her cat. It was curled up, the tip of its tail twitching.
Using Gavin’s shoulder for support, Raine stretched a bit farther, this time focusing on their bond. The worry in her belly unclenched as she confirmed he wasn’t lying. He was drained, more so than expected, but he’d be okay.
There was one last metaphysical tie to check, then she could concentrate on getting out of here. She searched for her tether to Cheveyo and found…nothing. Startled, she tried again. Unable to find the familiar earth tones of the witch, she sent a questing spark and received a weak answer. Mentally turning until she faced the direction of the dim pulse, she discovered a new addition to the tapestry.
At first, what she saw didn’t make sense, but as she studied it, pieces fell into place. Cheveyo’s magic was unrecognizable because it was no longer just his. Instead
, his translucent signature was nestled inside a silver-blue cocoon. Looking closer, she found delicate tendrils weaving through his damaged magic. She and Gavin were providing the only psychic protection the witch had. No pressure, she thought darkly, bringing her physical surroundings back into focus.
Gavin found his dust-covered jacket, balled it up, and tucked it under Cheveyo’s head. Rising stiffly to his feet, he said, “I’ll head up and get the branches.”
He was about to disappear through the stone archway when she called, “Gavin? You want some light?” She sent the little floating orb toward him with a small, mental push.
“Sure, thanks.” He vanished down the passageway, the glow from the fey light eaten up by the shadows in the tunnel.
Without the comforting light, her night vision kicked back in. Sighing, she settled next to Cheveyo. With nothing to do but think, she turned the situation over in her mind.
Considering how damaged Cheveyo’s magic appeared, it was a wonder he was still breathing. There was no doubt much of his strength had gone into fighting the Soul Stealer. Even though she had severed the parasitic ties, it didn’t mean he was out of the proverbial woods.
If she believed Gavin’s magic-muscle theory, then Cheveyo was going to have a damn long road to travel before his magical strength returned to anything near normal.
What would that mean for the Northwest Magi House? Would there be witches and wizards waiting to challenge him for leadership when he got home? Or, would they allow him the time he was going to need to recover?
She snorted. Knowing that crowd, there was no way they were going to cut the wounded Cheveyo any slack. Until recently, she never paid attention to the political games the Kyn leaders played, believing the bigger threat existed with the humans and their inability to accept what they couldn’t understand. Thanks to Gavin’s questions, she needed to reassess where possible threats would come from.
If they really were being studied by the Kyn leaders, would those same leaders find the metaphysical tethers she and Gavin had woven between them and the most powerful magi in the Northwest a threat?
