“It’s my father!”
They both bolted upright on the bed, each scrambling for clothes until, with another curse, Jensen waved his hand and clothed them both. She gave him a thankful smile and swung her legs over the side of the bed, needing to intercept her father or any other intruder before the bed could be seen. No one would need to be told what had taken place inside that bedchamber if such evidence were provided.
As she stood, her balance failed her, and she sank back onto the mattress.
“What is wrong?” Jensen was at her side instantly.
“Nothing. My brain just isn’t as relaxed as my body is.”
He brushed her hair back from her face, smoothed it around her shoulders. “He’s almost outside the door. I’ll take you.” One arm around her waist, Jensen whisked her into the corridor, this trip much more smoother than any others he’d given her.
“Papa!” Once steady on her feet, Charlie ran into her father’s outstretched arms. Her legs protested the activity, but she didn’t have time to think about what might be happening
Her father folded her in his embrace, squeezing her tightly, and for a moment, she relaxed against him, her exhausted body craving his strength.
“Let me look at you, girl.” He held her at arm’s length and smiled, his eyes crinkling in that familiar fashion. “Dena wanted to come, but now I’m glad she didn’t. I wouldn’t want her to see you looking so tired.”
Charlie had barely heard the rest of his words. The moment he’d said her mother’s name, her sense of relief dissipated. The gruff voice sounded like her father’s, and the man standing in front of her certainly looked like the man who’d raised her. But that wasn’t who he was.
She managed to keep a smile on her face. “Have you finished your talk with Falcon?”
“No. His majesty has kept me waiting all this time. So I chose to look for you instead.”
Jensen swept a hand toward the opposite end of the hall. “Apparently, an issue has arisen that has required Falcon’s immediate attention. He has just asked me to show you to the Assembly room.”
“Ah, the hallowed halls of the Assembly room. Wait until I tell the others.”
If she hadn’t already known the truth, Charlie would have realized at that moment, this man wasn’t her father. No matter his feelings, he always treated fellow wizards with the utmost respect. She could not imagine he’d do differently for the Assembly.
“I’ll come with you,” Charlie whispered, slipping her hand into Jensen’s. His silence implied agreement, and she fell into step beside him.
Whoever this man was who’d invaded the Assembly, she wasn’t going to let him harm anyone inside this fortress. Her legs wobbled as though to remind her she hadn’t shaken the effect of the telepathic paralysis. Certainly making love with Jensen hadn’t given her much time to rest.
But her health didn’t matter. She might not be able to protect the wizards, but she could let Jensen know the truth…if he didn’t seem so far away.
Her grip on his hand went slack, and as he turned to look at her, Charlie watched his face fade from view. What was happening? Everything around her segued to black, and her chest constricted so tightly, she gasped for each breath.
“Charlemaine, what’s wrong?” Jensen snatched her close to him, only his arms holding her aloft.
“I don’t know,” she whispered. “Hard to breathe.”
“Don’t bother trying to help her. She’ll be dead in a matter of seconds.”
The cold voice carried her into the emptiness.
Chapter Seven
“Who the hell are you?” Jensen curled his fingers around Riordan’s throat while still holding Charlemaine with the other.
The man didn’t blink. He simply stared back at Jensen with a slight smile on his face. “Why I am her father, of course.”
“The hell you are. Her father would not harm her.” He shook the smaller wizard like a rag doll. “Tell me what you did to her.”
“Jensen, step away from him.” Falcon’s sharp tone brought an immediate response, and Riordan dropped to the floor, still wearing the same grin.
Returning his attention to Charlemaine, Jensen lifted her into his arms. “She is not breathing.”
“She’s not supposed to be,” Riordan replied as he picked himself up off the floor. “In fact, I’m quite surprised she’s lasted this long. I thought she would be dead long before I arrived.”
Jensen’s hand shot out and with the force of furious magic, he pinned the man claiming to be Charlemaine’s father to the wall. “What. Have. You. Done.” He enunciated each word so coldly, so clearly, the wizard could not mistake his life was in serious jeopardy.
“I only opened the gate, my friend. The Pravus took care of the rest.”
“Where is the Dagger?” Falcon interceded, breaking the bond of magic. “That is why you are here, correct? You came to kill one of us or all of us.”
The façade of Riordan fell away, replaced with a shorter wizard with shoulder length brown hair and cold eyes. “I came here to kill you, Falcon. Cut off the head of the creature, and the creature dies.”
Though Jensen could hear the conversation, he’d transferred his focus to Charlemaine, summoning the Healer with all of his energy.
The elderly man didn’t waste any time examining her then delivering his prognosis. “She is in a tranquil state, hovering close to death. I am sorry, Jensen, but it is only a matter of time before she leaves this psychical realm.”
“No!” Jensen clutched Charlemaine close to his chest, rocking her. “She will not die.”
“You cannot stop this.” The Healer touched Jensen’s shoulder in an attempt to offer comfort, but Jensen jerked away, standing with Charlemaine in his arms.
“I will not allow this, Falcon.” His eyes met the leader’s. “I only have one option. You know that.”
Falcon didn’t ask questions, just gave an abrupt nod of his head as though to give permission.
Still holding Charlemaine tightly, Jensen spun around, taking his precious cargo well beyond the gates of his people.
Jensen traveled for what seemed like hours, but he could reach the Ancient One no other way. As the oldest living wizard, the elder never left his home. Few dared to seek him out for any assistance he could provide always required a price.
When he finally stopped, Jensen tried to ignore the cloying sweet smell of honeysuckle roses as he carried Charlemaine to the entrance of what was little more than a shack. He’d never been inside the Ancient One’s domain before and didn’t really know the protocol. So he just knocked.
Several moments passed, prompting Jensen to bang a little more loudly against the wooden door. Being as old as he was, the elder might have poor hearing.
Metal hinges creaked, and the door burst open so suddenly, it smacked Jensen squarely in the chest. “Who is it?” A voice, ragged with age and irritation, called out into the darkness.
“My name is Jensen, and my guild is the Assembly.”
“What do you want, boy?”
“I need your help.” Jensen didn’t care how annoyed the old wizard was. He wasn’t leaving until the elder saved Charlemaine’s life…no matter the price.
The gap widened, and the filtered light provided Jensen ample view of the stooped wizard. He wore his hair so long it touched his waist, but he’d foregone the beard of lore. Bright green eyes stood out from a face thickened with wrinkles and darkened by the sun’s rays. And his gnarled hand held the knob of a sapwood cane.
“Well come in then, but be quick about it.”
Falcon and the other older wizards had told stories about the Ancient One. How he’d traded immortality for the ability to help wizards in need. And the many ways he’d battled the Universe to save his own kind. But none of the tales ever mentioned the wizard’s unpleasant disposition.
Jensen carried Charlemaine into the cabin where flickering candle light cast shadows over the sparse furniture. He took her to the only bed inside and
laid her down. “She needs your help. The Pravus have essentially killed her.”
The Ancient One’s face puckered like he’d ingested a foul meal. “How would the Pravus get so close to our kind?”
“They were working with one of ours.”
“How distasteful.” The sharp response accompanied the thumping of the wizard’s cane as he crossed the plank flooring to view Charlemaine’s unconscious body. He peered down at her for a long time before shaking his head. “She is not long for this world, boy.”
Jensen gritted his teeth. He didn’t want to be told what he already knew. “But you can reverse the process. Save her.”
Green eyes zeroed in on Jensen’s face. “And are you willing to pay the price?”
“Yes.”
“Before you even know it?”
“Whatever it takes, I will pay it.” His heart beat so rapidly, he could hear it in his ears. From the moment he’d seen Charlemaine look up at him with those liquid brown eyes, he knew she would be a part of his life forever. There was no doubt in his mind he would do whatever it took to make that happen.
The Ancient One muttered below his breath and continued to shake his head. “Changes such as this require much sacrifice. The Universal rules are clearly defined. A life for a life. There is no other way.”
A solid kick to the stomach would have been less painful. “Then take mine.”
The stooped wizard swiveled, his cane pointing out like a ruler. “Those are not choices I get to make, young one. The Universe will decide the life that is lost.”
“So to save her, I must condemn someone else to death?”
“’Tis the law of the Universe.” The wizard placed his hand over Charlemaine’s face. “Make the decision quickly, boy, for she hasn’t much time.”
Sweat dripped down the back of his neck. How? What if the life taken was that of his brother or Falcon? Would he be able to live with himself if his journey shortened the life of someone he loved?
“There has to be another way,” Jensen bit out each word. “Surely the Universe can see this was done by evil. If I sacrifice the life of another for Charlemaine’s, evil wins. That cannot be what is best for this world.”
The wizened elder’s gaze returned to Charlemaine’s face, and he stroked her hair with a gentle hand. “Life is not always fair.”
“This is not about equality. Evil has invaded our home. Even now it is threatening the lives of those I care about, and it seeks to remove the life essence from the woman I love.” He did love her. Even though he hadn’t said the words aloud until now, the emotion had been growing in his heart. Hadn’t that been why he’d taken this journey? Left his own family behind to battle a rogue wizard?
Jensen cleared his throat and kept talking. “How just will it be if evil is allowed to prevail here? You know what this will mean to us all. Already we have rifts within the guilds. A triumph of this magnitude will shake our very foundation.”
“Your battle is not with me, boy. It is with the Universe, and ‘tis one you will not win.”
Pain lancing through him, so heavy it threatened to cripple him, Jensen shook his head. “I cannot sentence someone else to die for my own love.” He brushed past the Ancient One to kneel at Charlemaine’s side. “Your death will be avenged, my love. May your journey be tranquil and your cares dissolved.” Tears stinging his eyes, he pressed a kiss to her lips and stood. “I should take her back to her family.”
The elderly wizard placed a hand on Jensen’s shoulder, showing the briefest glint of emotion in his eyes. “You will not travel alone, my boy.”
Jensen didn’t ask what the Ancient One meant for his heart had started to shatter.
“Does she live?” Falcon met Jensen outside the Assembly room.
“For now, but there was nothing the Ancient One could do.” Jensen could not to go into all the details. The pain of the knowing Charlemaine would be dead within a matter of hours nearly strangled him, making each word an effort.
Falcon laid a hand on his shoulder, much like the ancient wizard had earlier. “I am sorry.”
The sympathy was too much. Jensen swallowed the lump in his throat and changed the subject. “The other wizard, the one pretending to be her father, what has happened to him?”
“He has given us no information. After you left, the remaining faction outside the gates disappeared. We have sent our best guards to Nocturne in an attempt to locate Charlemaine’s real father.”
“Where is the wizard?” Jensen wanted to see the man who had killed Charlemaine. No, he had to see him. He would have no peace until justice had been served.
Falcon shook his head, snowy white hair drifting over one shoulder. “No, Jensen. That is not our way.”
“He killed her.” Jensen ground out each word.
“We do not take lives unless we are given no choice.”
“What then? Is he simply to be defrocked and sent from his guild? Will he be left to his own vices where he can use his magic to inflict pain upon others?”
“His magic will be stripped, but you know that already. I understand you are feeling a great depth of pain, but our rules are concrete. We cannot change them to alleviate your suffering.”
“Jensen?”
The soft voice sent him spinning around, and for a moment, Jensen thought he was hallucinating. But she called his name again, and it registered.
“Charlemaine?” He walked toward her slowly, afraid she would disappear if he increased his pace.
She didn’t wait, racing across the marble floors and launching herself into his arms like she’d merely taken a nap. Her arms tightened around his neck, and she held on as he spun her around and around.
“How can this be? The Ancient One said you would not live.” Jensen buried his face in her hair, inhaling her scent. Just breathing in her. She was alive. How mattered not to him.
“I felt myself letting go one moment, and the next I’m here.” Charlemaine cupped his face. “And I don’t even know what happened. What made me come so close to dying?”
Jensen opened his mouth to reply then quickly snapped it shut the second Falcon disappeared. “I believe you will have your answer in a moment.” He lowered her feet to the floor but kept her in his embrace. “I thought I had lost you.”
“I thought I’d lost me, too.” She smiled up at him, the bright gleam in her eyes like a perfect sunset.
“I do not know if I can let you go again, Charlemaine.”
“Was I asking?” She stroked his cheek.
“You mean you will stay?” He could never have imagined having this much happiness in his life.
The air sliced open with brilliant sparks, silencing further conversation. When the divide closed, Falcon had returned, his hand around the arm of the prisoner.
Charlemaine gasped. “Uncle Galen?”
Chapter Eight
“This is your uncle?” Jensen stepped in between Galen and Charlie, using his large frame to shield her from whatever potential harm he thought might exist.
But Charlie pushed past him, her steps sure and determined. “Was it you, Uncle Galen? Did you try to kill me?”
Those eyes, resembling her father’s, bulged, both surprise and horror stamped across his face. “B-but you’re supposed to be dead.”
Fury snapped her hand out, and she caught him across the cheek with a slap so loud it bounced off the walls. “How could you? What did I do to you to deserve your animosity? And my father? Does he know you’re here?” She looked over her shoulder at Falcon. “He would never have approved this.”
The leader nodded, but Charlie barely noticed it for her stomach had dropped. She was right. Her father wouldn’t have allowed this, and he would have stopped his brother were he able. In a quiet, hesitant voice, fear coating her body with slick wetness, Charlie asked, “Where is my father?”
Galen lifted one shoulder and let if fall, the epitome of carelessness. “I would imagine he is still circling the atmosphere.”
Charlie ga
sped and turned to Jensen who was already snapping his fingers to the nearest sentry. She watched him carry on a brief, urgent conversation with the tall, broad-shouldered man, but she couldn’t hear a word he said. Maybe she didn’t want to hear.
Could her father survive in the ethos? Did he have enough oxygen? Was it too cold? She quelled her tortuous thoughts and gave her uncle her full attention. “I don’t know what made you do this, and I don’t care. As of now, you are not my uncle. You are no longer part of Nocturne. I will make sure you are stripped of your magic and sentenced to the same punishment you delivered to my father.”
With glittering eyes, Galen tried to shake off Falcon’s hand, but he held too tightly. “You don’t know what made me do this? How could you not know? Surely you’re not that innocent. My family was brutally murdered, and this guild, the hallowed Assembly, did nothing to save them. They could have intervened. I sent them a message, begging them to fight with us in the war, but they ignored me.” He screamed the last two words. “And my family perished because of their indifference.”
“No one here is responsible for my aunt’s death, Galen. If you had allowed yourself to think clearly, you would have realized that long before now. Your message couldn’t get through the battle lines. The witches intercepted anything coming through the gates, even our flight messengers. The coven was simply too powerful, and we were lucky more of us didn’t die.”
“But the Assembly had to know we were under attack.” Galen refused to see reason as he strained against Falcon’s grip. “Even your father admitted that.”
Jensen intercepted Charlie’s response, providing one of his own. “How often has your guild shunned us because you believe falsehoods? Many times Nocturne has battled covens, and never once did it call upon us for assistance. You handled your own wars. How could we possibly know this one was any different, that our inference would not be appreciated?”
“Other guilds have called upon you before!”
“And we responded when we received the request for help which we did not in this instance,” Falcon replied.
The First Spell Page 6
