She pushed her hands against the grass, trying to back away as the misty black form seemed to grow denser. The place on her arm where she felt the burn earlier started to hurt again.
Yardley stepped between her and the shadow and repeated the same three words over and over. Gwen sat and peered around him. It had taken its full furred form, with its teeth bared. While Yardley stood unaffected by the appearance, it scuffed its hooved feet in the grass and snarled.
It looked to her like it tried to come forward, but something restrained it. The three words were spoken again, and again. The demand they made seemed to aggravate the beast. The growling intensified, and then stopped.
When it stopped, so did the burning. All that remained of the shadow was a faint hint of char in the air.
She shifted her weight to try to stand up, feeling her head spin as she did.
“Not yet.” Yardley knelt down beside her. “Where did it touch you?”
She twisted, showing him the spot on her arm. There wasn’t anything to see, no bruises or burns, and it didn’t hurt anymore. “It doesn’t hurt.” There was something in the back of her mind. Laughter? No, something dark and taunting, but not laughter. “Do they get in your thoughts?”
His eyes narrowed. “Yes, I can fix that.”
“It might be Dmitry. Maybe he saw what happened? It was intense. My mind isn’t my own. You might not want to go there. Not at night.” She pulled her head away from his touch.
“Let me just check the little ones.” He pursed his lips, then rested his hands on her stomach. “I will check to make sure it hasn’t made a connection with you. Dmitry doesn’t frighten me. Not many things do.” He closed his eyes.
His touch relaxed her, but the urgency of day approaching took any peace away. “Yardley, the night. We have to go make sure Sebastian is okay.”
His eyes stayed closed and he shook his head. After a few more seconds he said, “Come,” and then he stood, giving her a hand. Once she was up, he brushed her hair from her face. “You were very brave.”
“No, I was terrified the whole time. I still am, but we can talk about what happened, after we make sure everyone else is alright.” She looked around, wondering where they were. The field was flat and covered in grass, with the occasional tree to break the horizon. It could have been anywhere. The breeze blew, carrying on it the scent of grass and dewy night. “We need to go. How do we track Sebastian? You say he has Shane?” She paused only a second. “Where is Sergei?”
“Sergei went after Fannie. Sebastian and Shane went after Dillon.” He reached out a hand. “We can follow Sebastian. Since he is taking Shane, he will be moving slow enough for us to easily track.”
As soon as they laced their fingers together they appeared back at Sebastian’s house.
“Do you feel him in your mind? Sebastian?” Yardley looked at her and waited for her to adjust from the jump, before she answered.
She stilled her thoughts, and listened for his soft voice, or the gentle feeling of his presence. “No. No, do you think he is hurt?”
“No, I don’t.” He wasn’t exactly sure that was true. Fannie could hurt Sebastian if she pinned him first and he was distracted with Shane and worry for Gwen. He walked around a few seconds. “We are going to move differently than you are accustomed to. Should you feel anything more than queasy, let me know and we will alter plans. I’d like to move fast before night catches him unaware.”
“It won’t hurt them?” She didn’t want to delay, but the babies came before everyone now, herself included.
“Nothing I do will ever hurt them. Understand?”
“Okay.” She reached out for his hand. “Did the demon? It touched me, did it reach them?”
“I will look more closely when we return. Initially, I would say no. I also don’t think it touched you deeply enough to leave a permanent mark.” He ran a hand on her arm.
She watched his face, getting the impression he wanted to say more. That was happening a lot lately. Unsaid things. They all felt important too. “Do you know what happens?”
“Fate can’t touch you anymore. What happens is no longer relevant. Never forget, Miss Gwen, you make your own path now.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Do you know when I was supposed to die?”
The intensity of her gaze made him flinch. “We need to go. You and I have all day to chat, should you truly need those answers.”
“You will talk to me about it?” That startled her since the general theme had been people keeping things from her.
“I will.” His fingers squeezed hers, reminding her they needed to go. “Ready?”
Chapter Twenty-One
L eaves crunched under Sebastian’s feet. Unlike the woods where Gwen was trapped, the woods he’d tracked Dillon to were filled with signs of life. The wind carried on it the smell of decay and bitter incense. Homemade incense, the kind you wouldn’t find in Shane’s shop.
Dark magic hung like a fog, thick and damp in the air. It was as strong as the odors, causing his skin to prickle with anticipation. His instincts went off as a force pushing back at him. The situation dictated he ignore them and press on.
He stopped abruptly and turned to Shane. His eyes danced from Shane to the direction he sensed Dillon. He didn’t get any hints of active magic, but he could hear the steady heartbeat of a weakened human. Dillon. In a few seconds he contemplated all of his options.
Josephine wanted Shane, he knew if he left him anywhere, she would swoop in and grab him. In spite of how he felt about him, that wasn’t going to happen. Gwen loved Shane now and losing him would hurt her. Sebastian never wanted to hurt her, not in any way.
He decided on them moving silently and instantly to the heartbeat. He wasn’t under the illusion it would be easy to swoop in and grab Dillon, but the element of surprise would help. They were nearing the range where a human witch might sense his magic and strolling up with Shane was asking for trouble.
“I trust you’ve traveled with Sergei.” Sebastian watched as Shane frowned slightly. “This will be unpleasant, but I need to surprise the hag if possible. Dillon is close and still alive, though barely.”
“We made it in time? Good.” Shane nodded and chewed the side of his lip. “Yeah, sure, whatever, let’s go. I’ll bitch about throwing up later.”
Sebastian smiled. Maybe with enough time, he could grow to tolerate Shane, though considering he was sleeping with his Gwen, it would take a hell of a lot of time. Even in time, not wanting to hurt him might be as far as his tolerance went.
When he took Shane’s hand he felt a warmth. With his mind preoccupied and his senses focused on finding Dillon, he hadn’t noticed the unraveling starting to happen until just then. Shane might become more useful just when he needed him to. It seemed like the stress of the night was starting to tug out something much stronger than empathetic sensations. Without much thought he decided to leave that to himself. If it came as a surprise to Shane, then Josephine would have no way to read it in his intentions.
They moved through the space between them and the beating heart in a flash, and came to a stop in a dimly lit room. The smell of the incense was strong and mingled with other burning odors, but did not cover the coppery scent of fresh blood, sweat, and suffering. Dillon had endured a lot.
Shane couldn’t focus on anything. His equilibrium shifted and swayed, and his hands rested on his knees while he hunched over and threw up until he was heaving bile.
Sebastian walked to Dillon, who was barely aware of him. A buzz pressed against him, and at first he thought it was Dillon, but he wasn’t magic, and was way too weak to be sending out anything.
Dillon muttered something. It seemed louder than it was against the sounds of Shane’s continued struggle.
Sebastian put a finger over his mouth and shook his head. Something was wrong. It was too easy. Why? She loved him, more than she loved Shane. Why had Josephine spared his life? Was he bait? Bait for who? Not Gwen, they didn’t want her, not yet. His concen
tration wasn’t as sharp as it usually was. Again his primal urges pushed him to leave.
He started to pick up Dillon, but his form wavered and pain raced across him. The smells became overpowering.
He couldn’t focus on anything. The pain sent white bolts through his field of vision. When his senses stabilized, he looked at Dillon again. A cursory check told him he had no mortal wounds. He was likely in shock from prolonged torture.
He focused briefly on Dillon, giving him enough of a healing to steady his heartbeat. He could fully heal him later. As soon as he pulled some of the magic damage from Dillon the pain came back. This time it came in black waves. He struggled to hang onto a form as his body shifted. The shift didn’t complete and he began to change back. His presence became locked in a cycle of shifting. Never completing the shift kept him in the pain in-between that usually only lasted seconds. Agony was his only awareness.
The sound of howling caught Shane’s attention, and he looked to see Sebastian struggling between two forms, half man and half wolf in some painful contortion.
“Sebastian what can I do?” He walked over, still shaken himself.
Sebastian couldn’t answer. Shane had no idea how to help him, but he knew he could get Dillon away. With an arm around him, he tugged Dillon from the bed. “Can you walk?”
Dillon grunted, the small healing from Sebastian allowed him to move, and it also allowed him to focus again. He knew that witch was there. She left only seconds before he felt Sebastian touch him. “Go, Shane. Gwen. Go.”
“Not without you, buddy.” Shane walked, dragging Dillon with him.
The laughter that filled the room startled Shane so much, he almost dropped Dillon. He looked back to Sebastian and noticed he was standing in some symbol. His eyes drew to the ceiling where another symbol was painted. A trap, something designed just for him since he and Dillon moved from it without suffering. The thought that filled his mind was they were screwed without Sebastian. He wondered if he could just tug him out of the circle.
“Go if you can.” Shane let go of Dillon and took a few steps back toward the table. When he got to the circle he reached for Sebastian. As soon as his hand touched Sebastian, it felt frozen, painfully frozen. He took a step back and ran full force at him, hoping that they would collide and it would send them both out of the circle.
As soon as he slammed against Sebastian, a pop issued and the electricity shot Shane back onto the floor outside of the symbol.
There was a disembodied laugh, followed by a voice. “Hello, lover. A reunion of lovers. Power of three be with me.”
He looked back to see Dillon who was still there, lean against the wall, and then go limp, falling over. A string of curses flew out of his mouth as he ran over to him. His body was cold. Shane tried to think quickly about what he could do. He couldn’t shadow walk, and he didn’t know magic. The vampires were not there. Sebastian was in bad shape. Panic settled in.
The laughter seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere. Saving Dillon was his only option. To keep trying with Sebastian would be foolish. There was magic at work he couldn’t counter. With a lot of groaning, he pulled Dillon back to his feet and took a few labored steps with him. “Jesus what did they do to you?”
“Gwen. Not Gwen.” Dillon muttered as they stumbled in the doorway.
Shane rested him against the frame, already needing to catch his breath. “Gwen’s not here. Relax, buddy, we’ll get out of this.” He tugged him and they bumped into something. “What the hell.”
They were in the doorway, the door was opened, he could see the woods outside, and he couldn’t walk through it.
He looked around, his eyes lingering on the strange form that Sebastian had become. A feeling of despair filled the room. He wondered if he could use his empathy to save them all. Fanciful, but not likely. Maybe he could buy some time. Sergei would come. If he and Sebastian didn’t come back soon, Sergei would track them.
He looked toward where the laughter seemed to come from. “You were hurt badly, betrayed. I feel that. I feel your pain.” He tried to remove the shake from his voice and replace it with compassion. “What he did to you, it’s unforgiveable.”
There was more laughter, and the air in the room grew thick with humidity. “You don’t know pain.”
A woman appeared. It was Gwen. She smiled sweetly at him, and held out opened arms.
He let go of Dillon. “Gwen.” He stepped toward her. “Thank god. You shouldn’t be here, but I’m so glad to see you. Sebastian he’s, he needs you.”
“Not Gwen.” Dillon muttered.
Before it registered, he wrapped her in his arms. “I love you.” He buried his face in her hair as he pulled her to him. The smell of her tresses was not roses. It was decay that filled his senses. Hate filled the air, making waves of sick wash over him. The witch hated more than he’d ever felt. His senses were overloaded. Compassion wouldn’t reach her. He pulled from deep inside, hoping he had something to give.
Nothing happened.
The old woman pulled back from his embrace, holding him motionless in her gaze. “One net, three broken hearts.” She laughed again.
A heat and anger rose in Shane like he’d never felt before. Fear and hate never came into his life, but they were both burning now. This woman intended to hurt Gwen. She would hurt anyone who loved in the family, and the men of the family would die. The family that was now his. His son, and his daughter would have to deal with her, if he didn’t do something. In his mind he saw flames envelope the old hag.
Her yellowed eyes watched him, seeming entertained by his attempted magic. She blew gently, sending his small spark to the corner, where it started to smolder on the curtain by Sebastian. “Working for me now? Poor Gwen just can’t keep a man.” Her laugh mingled with howls. She started to poke his chest with long wrinkled fingers. “You are first, daddy.”
He was unable to move as she ripped off his shirt, and tossed him on the floor. Chants filled the air. Powder was carelessly thrown in a circle around him. Something cold and sludgy was rubbed on his forehead.
More howls, not angry howls, pain. Something in the spell that trapped Sebastian, was tearing at his magical form, making it so he couldn’t hold either shape. Rendered useless. Agony. That was all this woman wanted. Agony.
Dillon’s eyes fluttered opened. When he saw Shane enduring similar treatment to what he’d suffered, out of habit he reached for a gun belt that was long gone. He’d tried everything against the woman since she showed up at his house appearing as Gwen. If he had been thinking clearly then, he would have realized it wasn’t her. He couldn’t let her kill Shane, or Sebastian. He started to crawl toward the center of the room where Shane was.
She laughed and flung him back against the wall, where cold froze his body and mind, while blackness took him with a wave of her hand.
Shane drew up more fire that sparked beside them, setting the circle of power to flames. It had no effect on her, other than to trigger more amused laughter.
Her fingers were back on his chest, digging between his ribs as she chanted. A sickening popping issued with each rib that gave under the assault as her hands dug deeper.
Pain like he’d never known spread out in a cold wave. More fires shot up, now randomly as his panic forced his own magic to develop.
Without any prior practice he was unable to focus it where he wanted to and the sparks filled the room, catching anything flammable. Candles and pots of powders burst to flames. Bedding and curtains went up.
When a spark landed on her shoulder Josephine made a tsk sound and waved her hand, making rain pour down from the ceiling.
The sounds of hissing flames losing the battle against the water she summoned, were lost under the sound of Sebastian crying out again.
Her attention turned to him momentarily and she licked her lips. “Wait your turn.” With a twist of her hand his form blurred and spiraled into a bleeding mix of man and beast that fell to its knees, with blood pouring from its eye
s. She knew she couldn’t kill him herself, but she enjoyed making him suffer while Fannie’s magic allowed her to do so. He had taken love from her family and it was a deep love that made her wish he had a heart to take.
She turned back to Shane, wrapped her fingers around the bone and lifted his sternum with the same ease and care as if she were cleaning a chicken. Snapping, and the sound of tissue tearing made her smile as she reached in, tugging at his heart.
He was aware long enough to see flames catch behind her and hear the suctioning sound as she ripped the organ from him. He choked on the word Gwen.
Josephine stood and walked toward a shelf where she rested the heart while she chanted and poured some oil over it. The sound of Sebastian struggling played like a musical accompaniment to her working as she followed the steps she had taken with the others to capture their souls in the still warm hearts.
Generation after generation she had taken the lovers, watched the women grieve and still felt no satisfaction. Gwen had been different from the start. She knew she would be when she watched her lose her mother and father. Gwen felt more. She felt so deeply. Her pain would be equal to her own. She seemed to hurt for them, with them. Suffering in a way like none before her.
The loss of Shane would be great, greater even would be Dillon, but Sebastian, Josephine knew the loss of Sebastian would kill Gwen inside. She wouldn’t need her heart, it would be as dead and black as her own. If Fannie did manage to kill her she would already be dead inside.
She flicked her fingers, first raining down on the new fires Shane managed to start, and then pulling the moisture of her rains back from the room, and from the candles she needed to burn at the shrine of sorrow. She stepped over Shane and lit the candles, while saying a few words.
Fateful Attractions Page 22
