Darkness Binds

by Brandy L Rivers

  He shook his head. “You’re the more powerful one. I told you. Remember, I have other skills as well as the sorcery.”

  “Ever going to tell me what all you can do?”

  “I’ll show you, but not tonight. You need to learn this first. Now, ask them to bring you the bottle of wine.”

  She rolled her eyes.

  He laughed. “I know, you can’t drink it, but I can. And as I understand, you’ll still feel the effects once it’s flowing through my blood.”

  Her breath caught. “You want me to bite again?”

  He nodded. “I can be your only source of blood. Maybe not until we deal with Crom Cruach, but soon.”

  “Do you believe in fate?”

  He nodded. “You are my fate.”

  “And you’re afraid I’m your end.”

  “I’m starting to believe that was fear talking. And even if I die, you can find me in my next life. Eamon always finds you. Even if you don’t always want him.”

  She dropped her gaze. “True.”

  “Do you want him?”

  She shook her head. “Not really. While I was drinking, I remembered what it was like in the past, but then I remember what he is, what he’s done, the fact he wants to bring Crom Cruach into this world.”

  “Amelia, perhaps if you were honest with him about what Crom is, why he frightens you, and how creating vampires was never your intent, he may come around.”

  “You think I can pull it off?”

  He nodded. “If you can convince him, I think I know a way to purge Crom from this world without destroying Eamon. But only if you can trust him to join our side.”

  “How do I tell Eamon without Crom learning of my plan?”

  Brent rubbed at his face. “That, I don’t know. You could tell him he’ll need to trust you. Leave it at that.”

  “Don’t even suggest me fucking him—”

  He leaned forward, kissing her slowly. When he sat back, Brent smiled. “Not making that suggestion again. Now, ask the spirits to bring you the wine.”

  Her eyes narrowed, but she smirked. “Wine, please.”

  The bottle scooted off the end table and started to fall, but floated in front of her as a corkscrew drifted through the air, followed by a glass.

  She gasped. “Holy shit!”

  Brent grinned. “And they aren’t the least bit upset. They offer their help freely. Just don’t abuse the gifts. Don’t expect them to fight your battles. But with Zoe helping you with the physical aspect, I know you can handle that.”

  Amelia nodded. “I can. And I can protect you, better than I ever imagined.”

  “Aye, but I can protect you as well.”

  She smiled. “I believe you. Now what else?”

  “Basic magic. Form ice in your hand. Nearly all sorcerers have some ability with the elements. Like this.”

  He held out his hand, staring at his palm. Ice crystals formed over his skin, then expanded, forming a ball.

  “And if I can’t?” she whispered. “I never could in any other life.”

  “No, but you have some of my magic in you now too. Try.”

  She called ice and her hand started to grow cold, but nothing much happened.

  “Focus on the coldest winter you can remember,” Brent offered.

  She remembered the snow, the ice, the freezing cold wind. The ball formed slowly, floating in her palm.

  “Now ask for help from the winter spirit in the room.”

  “Spirit, how do I make it colder?” she asked.

  A shiver traveled down her spine, then ice shards shot up from her hand, straight into the ceiling. She shook her hands, blinking at Brent. “Was that supposed to happen?”

  The spirit giggled. You’re a conductor for our energy. Simply ask, and you shall receive, but don’t do what other spirits ask of you. They can trap you within your body.

  Brent nodded. “Don’t worry, Frost. Amelia is wise beyond her years.”

  She’s had many lives, Kalbrenthis. More than even you.

  Amelia looked into Brent’s eyes. “I understand the concept. Please tell me we can be done with this part.”

  “Yes, we can.” He stood, and she popped to her feet. He picked her up and carried her back to the room.

  Chapter 21

  The next sunset, Eamon woke, wishing Oriana were beside him. She’d been his sunshine, his ray of light. The one person who didn’t expect anything from him, and he cherished that more than anything.

  And once he became king, when his parents died, everyone wanted something from him. Oriana wouldn’t have. And now, Amelia didn’t want anything from him. But what did he want? Everything from her. He wanted her love, but maybe he didn’t deserve it.

  How many women had he bedded over the years? In life, he’d taken other women to bed, even after marrying Oriana. He’d taken what he wanted in the moment and felt guilty for it later.

  Perhaps it was fitting she was already in love with another. Still, he needed her help to finish what she’d started ages ago. In her death, she gifted him the greatest strength. Crom had granted strength, power, everything he could wish for, except Oriana by his side.

  It was time to set her free once Crom Cruach had his own body.

  There was a knock on the door. He walked the distance and turned the knob.

  Nolan and Niall burst into the room.

  Niall started in. “Inuala is trying to reach Amelia. No one is answering in the room, though we all sense her there. Inuala has been with the captives all night, but I wouldn’t put it past her to have something planned for your woman.”

  Eamon nodded. “Very true. She didn’t even argue when I sent Drummond away. She normally does. Perhaps she knows we suspect her of something.”

  “We’ve been careful,” Nolan stated.

  “I know. Please continue to watch Inuala. If she makes any move against Amelia, kill her.”

  Nolan nodded. “Then it’s good we’ve found an interested sorcerer. Oswald Endrin. He’s expensive, though.”

  “I don’t care. I’ll pay the price. We simply need him available. And if I find Amelia, I may have you deal with Inuala now. I’m tired of waiting for her to slip up. What Drummond told me was more than enough to kill her on the spot. But she did the right thing for once and punished someone who deserved it.”

  “Not worth saving her. You should have killed her last night.” An evil smile lit Niall’s face. “I could kill her now, if you’d let me.”

  Eamon considered it, but ensuring Amelia’s safety was more important for the moment. “No, watch her for now. Listen in if she calls Amelia somehow. I want to know.”

  “You have our word,” Nolan answered.

  Before they could leave, his phone rang and a smile burst across his face. Amelia, not ten minutes after sundown. “Wait,” he beckoned, then answered the phone. “Evening, Amelia.”

  Nolan smiled.

  “Eamon, how are you?”

  “Better now that I know you are safe. No one has heard from you since I left your room.”

  “I needed time to think about everything.”

  “Come to any decisions?”

  She breathed in and let it out. “We should talk, Eamon. I’m not sure how you will take what I have to tell you, but you need to hear it.”

  “That you don’t choose me?” That hurt, but he was starting to believe that may be the only way.

  “Right now isn’t about choosing. This is more important. Your life, possibly. This is about your faith. We need to talk, Eamon.”

  “About Crom Cruach?”

  “Yes, and Inuala. This is important.”

  His brow furrowed. “Of course, Amelia. Where would you like to meet?”

  “In your home, a place you know well, I assume.”

  “Very well. I’ll pick you up outside of your hotel. I’ll be there soon.”

  “Until then.” The phone went dead.

  He wasn’t sure what to feel. It was too soon for her to choose, but he didn’t
think she would choose him. That was both depressing and freeing. Maybe she was right. Maybe she was too different now. But that didn’t mean they couldn’t be friends and they couldn’t work together for the same cause.

  “Follow Inuala. I’ll go to Amelia,” Eamon stated before leaving.

  * * * *

  Brent took one last kiss from Amelia before opening a portal to the hotel room. She could shower there, before going to Eamon. If he stayed in her presence, he wasn’t letting her go, and they both had things that needed to be done if they were going to deal with Inuala and attempt to give Eamon a chance.

  The vampire had gone ages without doing anything too destructive with a piece of Crom Cruach locked inside him. Could he do it longer? Would he be willing? That was the real question. Was it worth the risk?

  Shit, he wanted to say no. If Eamon continued to believe Amelia belonged to him, Eamon would die. It was that simple. Brent would murder the bastard before he let him have Amelia again.

  Yes, every incarnation of Amelia that had met Eamon had felt something for him, but it wasn’t pure love. There was some combination of fear and obligation. If love had been all she had felt, Brent could have let her go. He had tried many times, but she always held onto him.

  “I’ll help you reach me as soon as I find the captives.”

  “If he’ll take you there.”

  She lifted a shoulder. “I’m hoping I can make him understand that we were both pawns in all of this, and what he really needs is a fresh start, without me in his way.”

  “But you’ll have to monitor him from time to time, make sure he hasn’t slipped into his old ways.”

  “We’ll figure it out. He’s been so hung up on me, I don’t think he’s tried. He believes I did what I did on purpose. That it was a gift, that I was trying to make him stronger.”

  “Thousands of years believing that. What if he still believes, regardless of what you tell him?”

  “Then I figure it out. I don’t know what you want me to say. I can’t not go. If he doesn’t listen, I’ll find the captives in his mind before I kill him.” Her eyes squeezed shut.

  Brent gripped her shoulders. “Be careful. And if anyone can get through to him, it’s you. You have your oldest memories, but new life experiences. Make him see this is a new world and things have changed. And that the essence he carries is dark, evil, and he’d do well to keep it locked up and forget about summoning Crom Cruach.”

  “I hope you’re right. Maybe he’s changed. It’s been a few hundred years since we’ve run into each other. Why couldn’t he just find someone else?”

  Brent laughed. “You’re a hard woman to forget. I believe Inuala took my memories, and I still remembered you. Go. We need to hurry.” He lifted his hand and called the portal. “I’ll be waiting for any contact, even through spirits.” Though he hoped they could communicate mentally. They hadn’t tried yet.

  “See you as soon as I can.” She backed through the portal, and he closed it before opening another to Toryn’s office at Ward Tower Security.

  Robert, Preston, and Zoe were already there. Brent dipped his head.

  “No news?”

  “No, not yet,” Toryn answered. “They’re too well-hidden. I’m not sure how they slipped between realms so thoroughly. The Old House has always rested more on this side of the veil than not. Now, it’s lost to us, at least for now.”

  “I believe it’s Crom Cruach’s doing, to ease entrance into our world. This does not bode well, but we may have a solution that does not include Eamon’s death, if Amelia can get through to him.”

  Preston shook his head. “Wait, you really think that’s a good idea? After she’s been with him so many times in different incarnations?”

  “She also winds up with me in those same incarnations, and the ones she hasn’t met him. He may be part of her, but he isn’t her one true love.”

  “How do you know you are?” Robert asked.

  “I just do. He doesn’t know about me. I think that’s the only reason he doesn’t hunt me down and kill me every time. We have a bigger concern, though. Inuala. She knows who I am to Amelia in past lives. Thankfully, she hasn’t figured out I’m Amelia’s pet.”

  Preston’s head lifted, his brow arched. “What?”

  Brent rolled his eyes. “I acted as her pet when I went with her to meet the vampires. I was right there, and Inuala didn’t realize it was me.”

  “Thankfully, you can mute your power signature enough to pass as something weaker,” Toryn muttered.

  Brent continued. “My first life, she tried to cram Crom Cruach inside of me. That didn’t work. He went after Amelia, who was just a girl then, only I didn’t realize that until recently. It’s all tied together. I think Amelia and I need to be the ones to banish Crom, before Inuala gets any bright ideas. I just wish I had a way to banish Inuala’s spirit to keep her from reincarnating and causing trouble later.”

  “Can Inuala summon Crom Cruach on her own? Why hasn’t she in the past?”

  “I’m not completely sure. If she still has access to her sorcerer skills, then yes. The problem is, she can create a worse monster than Eamon, who seems more pawn than mastermind behind it all. Or she will succeed. Either way, we must stop her. And if it comes to it, we’ll stop Eamon too.”

  Toryn sat back in the chair. “I hope you both know what you’re doing. Amelia especially. She’s going to be surrounded by vampires who likely won’t be happy when their king’s supposed soulmate chooses another man.”

  “Which shouldn’t be much of an issue if she can get some kind of message to me so we can follow her in.”

  Robert ran his hands down his lapels. “Are you sure we’ll be able to? I had hoped I would be able to follow Christian in and that didn’t work.”

  “This is different. She won’t be unconscious when she gets there, and Amelia is smart. She’ll manage without endangering herself.” He fucking hoped that was the truth. He was purposely ignoring everything to do with Yuri just a few months back. She had gotten herself in deeper than she could get herself out of, and because someone in her family had locked away her magic, she couldn’t protect herself, even though any sorcerer or sorceress was ten times more likely to be possessed, especially without access to their magic.

  Maybe he should have asked them to find the grandparents, instead of just learn about the curse. Later, after they dealt with Crom Cruach he could find out why they’d kept so much from Amelia. And that also meant there was a good chance Delilah had some powers, though sorcery wasn’t typically a skill that survived the change to werewolf. If she had the ability, it died with the infection.

  Robert patted his shoulder. “Sorry. I know this has to be stressful. After what you went through with her and Yuri, and you two finally binding, this is a whole new problem.”

  “She can handle herself in this case. She has a lot more knowledge going into this than she did chasing the previous case. And so you’re warned, she has more talent with her magic than I do. I need to know why her family took away the power.”

  “They were involved in something similar to Crom Cruach, and to prevent their family from being responsible for that kind of shit, they sealed off the magic while still young,” Toryn explained.

  “I think that’s why she seems to draw trouble in this lifetime.”

  Zoe smirked. “At least she’s well-trained.”

  Not nearly enough by his standards. She didn’t have much practice in this lifetime where magic was concerned. As far as fighting, she had never faced an opponent who truly meant her harm. There were a million ways their plans could fall apart.

  “Let her do her part. What’s our plan?”

  “I don’t know now,” Preston muttered, then sighed. “We had a plan to go in there and destroy every vampire, with the exception of Amelia. With killing Eamon off the table, I assume we need to rework this plan.”

  “Not all the vampires deserve to die. Some still feel as they are Eamon’s peasants, if you will. Some
are his servants. They aren’t all evil.” Brent lifted a shoulder. “And honestly, after tapping into some of my memories and hers, I think Eamon is less in control than he, or most of them, believe. So, if there is a way to allow him to live, I’m fine with that. As long as he gives up on summoning Crom Cruach.”

  “Hopefully you can banish the demon in such a way he can’t come back,” Zoe offered.

  “He’s not a demon, he’s something far more powerful.” Brent sighed. “I’m not sure if banishing him will work the same. I thought about a soul prison.”

  “Nope, that can go wrong. Very wrong,” Preston stated.

  “Yeah, but he wouldn’t be able to escape without help, and if Eamon doesn’t know where, he won’t search. Because the moment Crom Cruach leaves the world for good is the moment he’ll lose contact with him. If they succeed in shoving the demon in someone, like Gina, then we’re all fucked.”

  “Why like Gina?” Robert demanded.

  “This is theory, but her injuries tore a part of her soul out. It was the only thing that kept her functioning through her ordeal at Axel’s hands. She has a void within her. Something someone placed on her to protect her from the angry spirits around her. There’s an empty space, like a cushion inside her. A place Crom could slide into and take over. He would change her completely.”

  “Something else could take its place?” Toryn asked, his brow pinched.

  “Possible, yes, but it would take someone versed in the old ways. Spells long-forgotten. I’m still curious who placed such protection on her.”

  Robert straightened his jacket. “Does that matter?”

  “Might. Might not. Could have been someone who did it for protection. Could have been someone planning ahead. There is no way to truly know.”

  “Could it be similar to what was done to Amelia’s family?” Zoe asked.

  “No, they took her powers. Gina has none. The gap opened her to sensing things most don’t. Theory is, it awakens parts of the brain that are generally dormant. She may be able to resist possession if her will is strong enough.” Brent moved to the center of the room. “Unless one of you have an idea where to find the Old House now, we’ll have to wait until Amelia gets there.”