by Sandy James
“Let me show you.” Zach skidded to a stop and started tapping away at his tablet. “They’re Sumerian, just like Artair thought.”
Sarita didn’t give a shit what Zach wanted to show them or what civilization the symbols came from. All she could do was worry about Ian. Figuring any excuse would work, she tugged on Rebecca’s sleeve. “I need to release the shabriris. I’m heading out.”
“Later.” Rebecca snapped the command while she concentrated on the ancient text Zach had pulled up. “You’re sure?”
Zach nodded. “She was going for ultimate power—all the elements at her beck and call. A few more sacrifices and she’d have it. But thankfully, they’re spread out—timed by moon cycles. We’ve got to stop her soon or we might never be able to stop her at all.”
“Then why in the hell would she let us know that’s what she’s doing?” Rebecca asked.
“She’s taunting us,” Artair replied. “Especially me. She cannae help herself from showing her Sentinel and her goddess what she’s become.”
“Twenty hearts,” Johann read from the tablet Zach held for them both to see. “That’s the right spell, Zach.”
“Yeah, but in this case I didn’t want to be right,” Zach replied.
“So she really had the COEs cut the hearts out of these people?” Gina asked.
“Yeah. No heart, no ability for you to sense the person the revenant used to be.”
“How could the other Ancients allow something this—this heinous? Ix Chel would never—”
Sarita laughed loud enough everyone in the group stopped and stared. “You think any of our goddesses give a shit? They’ve written us off. An Amazon created this problem, so it’s up to us to fix it.” She snatched up the jar of shabriris. The best approach was always the direct route, so she announced her plans. “I’m getting rid of these, then I’m getting Ian and bringing him back here. I want him away from that bitch. Now.”
“Are you insane?” Megan asked. “He’s on her side!”
“No...no, he’s not.” But Sarita wasn’t positive. Sure, he made love to her, letting her come to him in the night. And he’d never once told Helen about her visits.
At least that’s what she hoped.
“Funny,” Megan countered, “but I remember him getting ready to hand us over to Helen.”
“We don’t know what he would’ve done,” Sarita said. “I had Ganga get us out of there before he could decide. I’m going for him and I’m bringing him back here. End of story.”
Gina came to stand at her side. “Not alone, you’re not. If you want to get Ian, it’s not going to be easy. You’ll need help.”
Sarita stared up at her sister, wanting to know if Gina truly understood and still gave Sarita her loyalty. But again, her feelings were closed to Sarita. Rebecca and Megan were every bit as blocked.
Seior?
Perhaps.
Didn’t matter. She needed the magicks to get Ian. Then she might give closer examination to whether she would keep the powers Freyjr had given her.
Artair leveled a hard stare. “’Twould be bringing our enemy into the heart of the Amazons.”
“Ian isn’t the enemy. Helen is.”
“Aye, but my brother serves as her right hand.”
“I’m not going to stand here and argue with you,” Sarita insisted. About to close her eyes and wish herself to the middle of the Pacific Ocean so she could dump the shabriris, she gasped when a hand settled on her shoulder.
“Your sisters are with you,” Megan said.
Rebecca shifted her gaze between Artair and Sarita before moving to stand with her sisters. “All for one...”
Sarita smiled. “And one for all.” Her sisters’ thought flickered in her mind, but only for a moment. Then they were gone.
The men didn’t look convinced.
She figured her Sentinel—the man who’d known her from the day he came to reveal her destiny—was the best place to start. Johann had always supported her, encouraged her and believed in her. While he listened to reason, he wasn’t immune to an emotional appeal. “Johann...please. You know Helen’s eventually going to turn on Ian. Soon. She brought him back to hurt Artair. There’s only one way that can end, and you and I and everyone else here knows it. Please. Let me go get him.”
Megan gave Sarita’s shoulder a squeeze. “Look at it this way, Joeman... Worst case scenario, we capture him, bring him back here and interrogate the hell out of him.”
“We really don’t have anything to lose,” Rebecca added.
“Aye, you do,” Artair said. “Yer lives.”
Sarita rolled her eyes, pleased to see her sisters doing the same. “We can handle ourselves fine—especially now that I have a few dirty tricks up my sleeve.”
Not that she needed Artair’s approval, but she wanted it. This mission could easily end up being a battle if Helen somehow knew what Ian meant to Sarita or somehow figured out she was coming for him. But the longer they waited—even if only another day or two—the more power Helen gained.
“Please, Artair. Let me bring Ian home.”
He thought it over a good, long while—long enough to make Sarita fear she’d have to just pop out without his blessing. Then he nodded.
“I’ll be back soon,” she promised.
Chapter Eighteen
Ian shed his suit jacket and dropped it on the bed. The sweltering heat of the tropics was welcome, but not when he was wearing the cumbersome clothing Helen demanded he don whenever she teleported them to her temple. The many layers made him hot and left him feeling trapped. He missed his plaid and its freedom. Modern undergarments were far too...confining.
He hated the city, too. Dallas. In a place called Texas.
So many people. Buildings everywhere. Cars zipping around. Only when he was back here on the island could he breathe. Although much warmer and with a different landscape, the place was as calm and peaceful as dorcha àite. Only his friends were missing. Perhaps Helen would soon follow through with her promise to bring Old Ewan and Sile to him.
Right now, he needed tranquility. He had some serious thinking to do.
Sarita’s last visit weighed heavily on his mind. His memories of her were returning, but only of the heated moments they’d shared. He still wasn’t sure how she knew of the castle or what made her believe his brother wasn’t responsible for his death.
If only Helen hadn’t interrupted some of the mysteries haunting him might have been solved.
Today, Helen had revealed more of her grand scheme. When they’d returned to the city, she made a “big announcement,” placing a bounty on the heads of the Amazons. Ian’s job was to protect her—at least that was what she told everyone when she introduced him as her bodyguard.
His true purpose was to look for any magical opposition to her plans.
Helen had packed his mind full of information on everything from demons to demigods who might try to act as white knights. Should he detect anyone or anything launching an attack, he was trained to kill it. Swiftly.
Especially any Amazon.
What if Sarita decided to be one of the white knights? Could he drive his blade through her heart? Could he kill her and the other Amazons as Helen planned?
Helen had returned in a fine mood, although she wouldn’t tell him what made her laugh so freely. There had been some “ceremony” scheduled at her temple—one of many—but she hadn’t let him attend any of them. Whatever she was up to, he was better off not knowing. The more he learned about Helen and her plans, the more he wished he’d stayed in limbo.
Ah, but then he never would have known Sarita...
After he kicked off his shoes and socks, he walked out of the hut, heading to the beach. The smell of the salty breeze reminded him of Sarita, and he smiled when he remembered how beautif
ul and confident she’d been when she came striding out of the waves and into his arms. Something about her had been different. Not in a bad way. But different nonetheless.
Her vulnerability had vanished.
While he loved her taking the reins of their lovemaking, he mourned the innocence she seemed to have lost. He wanted time to talk to her, to have her explain everything she knew that he obviously didn’t. Perhaps she could fill in the gaps of his memory. Just being with her eased the ache in his heart, the burning hatred that had driven him for so long. When he thought of Sarita, Ian was able to sweep aside the destructive anger and revel in all he felt for her.
How had she managed to capture his heart so completely? In such a short time?
And what did she feel for him?
She touched him as though she knew her way around a man’s body, with the skill of an experienced lover. Just the thought of another man touching her made rage roar inside him, a primitive, possessive need to run his sword through any man who tried to take what belonged to him.
Then he remembered claiming her innocence. He was convinced she’d taken no other man to her bed since then.
No matter what angle he used to look at this situation, it could never end well. Sarita was an Amazon, and by pledging himself to Helen, Ian had made himself her enemy. When they faced each other again, it wouldn’t be to make love—it would be for one of them to destroy the other.
This bargain he made with Helen no longer seemed to be the answer to his prayers.
He tried to remind himself of all he’d suffered. His clan had shunned him when he’d wanted to be a good laird and help them survive the horror the Sassenachs inflicted after Culloden Moor.
They’d tied him to a stake and burned him to death.
They’d also murdered Sile and Old Ewan, the only clan members who supported him once he’d been cried a witch.
“It’s warlock, not witch.” Sarita’s voice filled his mind.
None of his past fired the rage any longer. His love for Sarita smothered it.
Love? Did he truly love this woman—this Amazon who might be the one to send him to his death?
“Ian!” Helen stood next to his hut. “Come along, I want to eat some supper. You will join me.”
No closer to the answers he needed, Ian sighed and nodded, wondering how long he’d have to wait before he could end this devil’s bargain.
* * *
“I’m ready,” Sarita said. “Let’s get this show on the road.”
Had she been Fire, no doubt sparks would have flown from her fingers and her hair. She was antsy, raring to get to Ian and bring him to safety. It had been agony to wait until after midnight, and she’d watched every minute of every hour tick by in agonizing slowness, not giving herself a chance to sleep. Not that she could have as wound up as she was.
The time had finally arrived, and she wasn’t about to wait a minute more.
“Calm down.” Rebecca slid her diamond-hilted sword into its scabbard.
“Don’t tell me to calm down.” Adjusting her own sword, Sarita resisted the urge to close her eyes and go to Ian without waiting for her sisters.
Zach flexed his fingers and then shook his hands out. “I’m ready. If Helen interferes, I’ll bind her good and tight.”
His binding powers were needed on this mission. Should Helen be there, he could control her until they could all escape. All Sarita cared was that Zach represented a better chance of rescuing Ian.
“I’ve got your back,” Gina said.
“Artair?” Rebecca looked to her husband. “Are you sure I shouldn’t take my bow and arrows? Rhiannon blessed them and if Zach can hold Helen—”
Artair shook his head. “’Tis tempting, but nay. You have no idea where Darian is and—”
“Ian,” Sarita said through gritted teeth.
“—if there are revenants, you’ll have to fight. I doubt she’d let you get a shot off. If we’re going to kill Helen, it must be better planned.”
“It’s a rescue,” Johann added. “A grab and run.” He brushed a kiss over Megan’s mouth. “Be careful.”
She nodded. “Are you sure you can take all of us, Sarita?”
Since the other Amazons and Zach were heading on this mission, it wouldn’t be easy. Yet Sarita had no doubt her powers had grown enough to take them all along for the ride.
“I can do it.” She started pacing, turning tight circles in her impatience to leave.
Artair and Johann retreated a few steps back, both frowning. She could almost hear their thoughts, their worries about how the Seior was affecting her. The furtive glances between the Sentinels were as powerful as spoken words.
“Stop worrying about me. I’ve had enough of your babysitting.” Yes, it was changing her, but for the better. She hadn’t turned into a rabid demon.
“Settle down, Sarita,” Gina said. “I’ve never seen you like this.”
Her temper snapped. “I’m fucking done waiting for all of you to decide whether I’m dangerous enough for Zach to bind me. You can all stop wigging out. I’m fine.” She made up her mind not to wait a moment longer. “Ready or not, we’re going.” Sarita held out her hand. “Put your hands together and I’ll get you there. Otherwise, sayonara.”
“Remember,” Artair said, his tone somber, “that this is a rescue, nae a battle. Fight only if you have to.”
“Get Darian,” Johann added, “and get out. Don’t give Helen a chance to catch you.”
Sarita scoffed. “If Ian’s in her temple, we’ll probably have to tangle with a few COEs. They try to hurt Ian, they’re dead.”
“This late at night?” Artair shook his head.
“I told you, I only picture Ian. I don’t know where he’ll be when I take us to him.”
“If they’re in the temple, ‘twill be empty of her people. With a little luck, he’ll be in his bed on the island. Ye can sneak in and talk to him, get him to agree to come with you and then get everyone back before anyone knows we’ve been there.”
“Fine, fine. We’ll do it your way.” Sarita’s nerves were stretched taut, and she was sick and tired of their patronizing her. “Let’s go.” She thrust her hand out again as the Amazons and Zach pulled into a tight circle.
One by one, they stacked their hands over hers.
“Here we go.” Closing her eyes, Sarita pictured Ian and wished the group could find him.
The smell of salt water announced where she’d arrived. Her sisters and Zach were there with her when she opened her eyes to look out at the familiar stretch of beach.
“I’m going for Ian.” She pointed to his hut. “Watch my back.”
“Hurry,” Gina said. “I don’t like this one bit.”
“Me, either,” Megan added. “Too damned easy. Too much like a trap.”
“Oh, for the love of—” Sarita fisted her hands at her sides. “It’s a deserted island. There’s no one here but Ian.” She stomped away before she totally lost her temper.
The hut was empty. Her heart slammed in her chest. She should have gone right to where he was. “Ian?”
Something was wrong. “Ian? Where are you?”
“Sarita!” Hearing him shout her name, she sprinted back to the beach.
She skidded to a stop and gaped.
Her sisters had unsheathed their swords and were all facing Ian as he walked out of the ocean. At least he wore boxers, although they were clinging to his hips and upper thighs.
She ran to him then threw herself between Ian and the blades, glaring at her sisters. “That’s Ian. Put your swords down.”
They obeyed but kept wary gazes on him.
“You’re really Darian MacKay?” Rebecca asked.
“His name’s Ian,” Sarita replied, not giving him the chance.
; “Then get us out of here,” Megan insisted.
“I know who you all are, and I want you to leave. Now.” He stepped around Sarita and marched up the beach toward his hut. “Ye can get the hell off my island. I’m not going anywhere with the likes of you.”
“Ian...wait!” Sarita jogged after him. “I came for you.”
Not even a faltering step to acknowledge he’d heard her.
“I want you to come back to my home with me.” She followed him into his hut.
“Is my brother there?”
“Of course he is.”
“Should I go with ye, loving, I’ll kill him.” He shed his boxers and grabbed the dry pair resting on his bed. He donned them and jerked on a blue T-shirt. “Are ye sure you want to take me there?”
She wrapped her fingers around his upper arm. “I have so much to explain to you, especially about Artair. Nothing is what you think it is. Please, jaanu, come with me. Let me have a chance to make this right.”
All she had to do was close her eyes, and they’d both be back in Avalon. But she couldn’t do that to him. His choices had always been taken away, and she wouldn’t add to his grief. She wanted him to want to come back with her.
“It wasn’t Artair’s fault.”
He snorted.
“Come back with me. Give me time to explain everything. Helen’s evil, Ian. She’s—”
“You think I don’t know that?”
“Then why? Why won’t you just listen?”
Before he could reply, the breeze shifted, bringing with it the stench of piss and decay—the smell of danger.
“Revenants.” Pulling her sword free, Sarita ran back to the beach. “Revenants!”
Gina’s shout followed Sarita’s. “She’s right! Revenants incoming soon!”
Helen’s laugh rang through the air, her voice booming as if through a loud speaker. “I knew you’d come right to me.”
Zach was the first to react. Palms out, he turned this way and that, clearly unable to figure out which way to send his invisible tethers.
The Amazons stood ready as well, four swords prepared to face any threat. If only they could see one...
