by Bonnie Vanak
Cold sweat poured down Xavier’s back. His greatest fears were manifested in this witch.
The dark enchantress. Weaver of mystic dreams and men’s terror. Aligned with the Dark Lord and seemingly invincible.
His former lover and now his enemy.
Xavier rested his hand upon Ciara’s shoulder. Not invincible. “We will defeat her,” he murmured to Ciara. “Together, we are strong enough to take her down.”
Cadeyrn flicked his fingers and extinguished the black flames.
Andromeda sneered. “I have more power, Shadow Wizard. And I’ll scorch you and your little whore, Xavier. I’ll burn her until she screams and begs me to kill her. You will die with my name on your lips, pleading for me to save her.”
He had no fear of this bitch who had tormented him until he screamed. But when she raised a hand directed at Ciara, he knew real fear.
As Andromeda pulled Ciara toward a large, dead oak tree, he yelled to her.
“Ciara,” he yelled. “Use your wizard powers and counter this! Manifest an energy ball!”
She conjured a small, glowing ball of white energy and threw it at Andromeda, who laughed and swatted it aside like a gnat.
The witch had grown much more powerful than when she’d tormented him, he realized in horror. She was directly tapping into the Dark Lord’s powers, and Ciara was too young and lacked sufficient strength to conjure good magick to counter it.
The dead tree’s limbs stretched out, bent, and held Ciara fast to the trunk. Black flames licked and danced around the tree, drawing closer to Ciara.
“Burn, witch, burn,” Andromeda sang out. “Dark magick of my master, here is your first sacrifice!”
Power of the earth.
Lashed to the tree, the black flames drawing closer, Ciara knew her newfound powers would not suffice. Good, light magick could not save her.
The power of the earth could.
You are an Ogre. You are a creature of the earth, and your bond can manifest its magick.
Ciara searched through her memories, leafing through them calmly as the flames burned closer. She recalled her mother in the fourteenth century, singing softly to the earth to coax the herb garden to grow, remembered her witch mother from this lifetime calling to the trees to flourish and grow.
I am Ogre.
I am Nymph.
I am Witch.
I am Shifter.
The power of four. Ciara opened her mouth and began to sing the chant to the trees, bidding them to release her, to stretch out their limbs and ensnare Andromeda, the one who meant them harm.
Roots of the oak tree burst through the ground, snaking toward the witch as the tree limbs dropped, freeing Ciara.
Walking toward the black flames, not fearing them, she continued to sing, calling to the earth to rise up and smother the fire. Dirt boiled up, bubbling like a spring, and began to douse the black flames.
She raced over into Xavier’s arms. He crushed her to him, burying his face in her hair. “My Ciara,” he murmured. “I love you so much. I feared I would lose you again.”
Tenderly, she touched his bearded face. “Never. I am yours, for all time.”
He kissed her brow and stepped in front of her. Xavier seemed invincible, powerful, a wizard who would stop at nothing to destroy pure evil.
“Andromeda, your time here on earth is finished. Return to the Dark Lands forever. Reveal your true self to me.” He fisted his hand, glowing white, and with his other hand, pointed at her.
A banshee wail cut through the air as Andromeda tore at her hair. And then she changed, her glowing beauty fading. The delicate nose turned into a hook, her lush mouth a red slash, her once full figure into skin and bones.
She melted, shrinking and wailing until she stood only high as a cypress knee, her black robes puddling around her. No longer a woman, a witch with feminine wiles, she resembled a horrid gremlin-thing, two beady, red eyes glaring in a blackened face.
“You can’t kill me,” the thing whispered. “I will fade but live on and rise again. Nothing can kill me.”
“I think not,” Xavier said calmly.
When he opened his palm, a shining, white globe appeared. The light made her eyes water.
“Xavier, you said you have no power,” Andromeda screamed.
“I lied,” he said simply and threw a crystal lightning bolt at Andromeda. It sailed directly into her chest, but bounced off.
Andromeda laughed. “You cannot destroy me. I am bound to Duncan, and your pledge to him protects me as well!”
Xavier turned to the other wizards. “Tristan, Drust, Gideon, Cadeyrn, if you will.”
The four wizards conjured glowing balls of pure light. Silver for Tristan, red for Gideon, gray for Cadeyrn, and bright blue for Drust. They lobbed them at Andromeda, each ball hitting her and dissolving her flesh. Skin melted and flaked, peeling back like the years as she screamed and fought, until only a bone-white skeleton remained.
Then that, too, dissolved into a puddle of black goo.
The wizards stood in a circle around the goo. It began to bubble like hot tar.
“It is not finished until nothing of her remains on this earth,” Cadeyrn said solemnly. “Brothers, let us finish her.”
The other wizards nodded.
Ciara clasped Xavier’s hand, feeling the hum of his crystal energy increase.
“Not us,” Cadeyrn said suddenly. “Both of you, together, will destroy her. Xavier, you cannot do this. You must align your energy and your magick with Ciara.”
Cadeyrn stepped back, motioning to Drust, Gideon, and Tristan to do the same.
“I can’t do this. I don’t know how,” she protested.
Xavier’s eyes glowed white. “Then allow me to teach you, my love.”
Power hummed and sang, flowing out of her and into her like waves crashing upon the shore and receding. Her grip on Xavier’s hand tightened.
“Relax,” he murmured. “Relax and close your mind to everything except seeing Andromeda hurling into the Dark Lands. Tap into my powers and let your magick rise until you are filled with it and feel nothing but power. Seal her there with white light.”
Ciara closed her eyes. She saw the evil that had been Andromeda, the bubbling, black, tarry substance that wanted to kill, hate, and destroy, sinking into another dimension, flying back to the Dark Lands, a strong band of white light encasing her essence.
Power hummed and sang inside her as Xavier gripped her hand. And then he shouted, “Now!”
She hurled the power outward, toward the puddle of goo. Ciara opened her eyes, knowing they glowed white as Xavier’s did.
White light surrounded the black goo, and then the tarry mess vanished into thin air.
Utterly drained but feeling peaceful and satisfied, she collapsed into Xavier’s arms. He stroked her hair and gave Cadeyrn a questioning look. The Shadow Wizard smiled.
“Your babe is fine,” he assured him.
She sighed. “I still can’t believe I’m pregnant.”
Xavier kissed her brow. “Trust me, my love, you are.” He looked at Cadeyrn. “Why did you want us to destroy her? I thought I could not since I had made a blood-and-bone vow to Duncan, her master.”
“Combining your powers and your pure love for each other destroyed Andromeda.” Tristan gave a wry smile. “That is my guess.”
“An accurate one,” Cadeyrn agreed. “When I returned to Tir Na-nog for the Bloodmoon flower potion to restore Xavier’s powers, I conversed with the goddess. Danu revealed to me that times must change and we with them. Our powers combined are not sufficient to defeat the gathering darkness.” He rested a hand on Xavier’s shoulder and her own. “But love has the greatest power of all, especially a love lasting through centuries.”
“Love,” Gideon scoffed. “Love is nothing compared to pure power.”
The Shadow Wizard sighed. “Danu knows you feel this way, Gideon. And she reminded me that you, and I, still must face our punishment for aiding Tristan.”
<
br /> Gideon looked pale. “Does that mean…”
“Sorry, my friend,” Cadeyrn murmured. “She told me you are next.”
Gideon blinked in surprise and then vanished.
“Damn, I hate when she does that,” Xavier muttered. “What did he lose?”
The Shadow Wizard sighed. “What Gideon cherishes the most, just as you cherished your memories the most, Xavier. He has lost his powers.”
“All of them?” Tristan looked shaken.
“All but for the power he originally held as a Dark Fae.” Cadeyrn traced a rune in the air. “Danu sent him back to the Seelie Court.”
“Remind me never to piss off the Goddess as you four did,” Drust muttered.
“Oh, damn,” Xavier said, looking haunted. “And we can’t aid him.”
“No.” Cadeyrn sighed. “But the goddess has a reason for everything. There is a Fae there who stole his heart long ago. Perhaps our friend will get it back.”
Xavier looked at Ciara, and his expression softened. “If that is the case, then his punishment will be worth it, as it was for me. I would go through the fires of the Dark Lands and back to find you again, Ciara.”
As he lowered his mouth toward hers, the other wizards vanished. Ciara looked around. “Where did they go?”
“Back to Tir Na-nog. Their home. Our home now, my love.” He gazed into her eyes. “I will ask Danu to seal our union as mates.”
She smiled. “Can my mother and her colony attend?”
“Of course.” He winked at her. “But I want a quick wedding. I plan to spend many long hours making up the centuries I was without you.”
He snapped his fingers, and she found herself back in Xavier’s townhouse. It looked the same but for a note pinned to the wall with a crystal dagger. Xavier plucked the dagger and read the note. Then he laughed and showed it to her.
“It’s from Danu,” he told her.
Soon as she read the ancient writing upon the parchment, the note and the dagger vanished.
“The orphan girl Trolls. They’re now with Mark, the owner of the bar,” she mused. “He and his mate have been longing to adopt.”
“I never knew that was a strictly a bar for Others,” he admitted. “When I lost all my memories, I lost my ability to see the world as it really was. And the old widow next door. It was Danu, keeping watch on me.”
“The goddess does have her reasons.”
He gave her a tender smile. “You are my reason for life now, my love.”
Filled with joy, she stroked his cheek.
“All my life I’ve craved social acceptance. I wanted a clan, a colony, a people who would embrace me and give me a home, a place where I would feel free to be myself instead of trying to fit into their expectations of who I am. And now I know, all these years, all these lifetimes, I searched in all the wrong places and for all the wrong people. Because what I truly needed was to belong to only one person—you. No one else could ever satisfy me and give me the sense of feeling whole instead of broken. It was you I searched for all these centuries, Xavier, and I never knew it.”
He caught her hands in his and kissed her knuckles. “And now how do you feel?”
“I feel loved. Like I’ve finally come home, and here I’ll stay. Forever.”
Epilogue
Tir Na-nog, the afterworld and home to the wizards of the Brehon
Four days after Xavier and Ciara’s wedding
Ciara loved living in Xavier’s Crystal Palace.
She disliked how much her husband was gone, however. They had spent two glorious days in bed together, making love, and then Xavier had vanished to attend to his duties.
She had not seen him in the two days since then. Ciara knew this was the way of the Brehon, and she wasn’t as lonely as expected, for she’d met Nikita, Tristan’s bride.
The two of them had become fast friends.
Today they planned to explore their husbands’ world, daring to walk outside the boundaries Tristan and Xavier had outlined for them.
She found Nikita outside Tristan’s cottage, reading a book. As she embraced her new friend, Ciara looked around. “It’s a lovely day…”
“As it always is here,” Nikita finished, laughing.
“Let’s go for a walk.”
Nikita’s blue eyes sparkled with impish glee. “Our men left us alone. Shall we explore?”
“Xavier warned me to not disturb the homes of the other wizards.”
“Well, so did Tristan. And they aren’t here. So shall we?”
Ciara laughed. “Yes, let’s do that. Where?”
“Let’s let the wind take us where we should go. Close your eyes and snap your fingers.”
Holding Nikita’s hand, Ciara then snapped her fingers—oh, how she adored this mode of transportation—and they materialized before a thick forest, dark and gloomy, with trees twisting and turning, stretching to the sky. Ciara looked around in wonder.
“Where are we?”
“Gideon’s home.”
“It looks so eerie,” she marveled.
Nikita looked sad. “Yes. He created it out of memories from his own home. Tristan told me it is a dark but magick place. He took me here to visit. Gideon seemed so…lonely.”
Ciara’s heart ached as she studied the twinkling fairy lights in the forest, the waterfall glowing as if lit by moonlight. “Xavier said the wizards are prevented from aiding Gideon. But he said nothing about you and me.”
Nikita brightened. “Perhaps we can help him.”
“Maybe.” They went into the forest, smiling as the fairies flitted around them, their wings gently beating the air. Nothing could hurt them here, but an overwhelming feeling of sorrow filled Ciara. There was powerful emotion here, buried deep within.
They reached the house, a tangle of wood built into the tree. Lights glowed inside the structure.
“Tristan told me Gideon always has the lights on.” Nikita lowered her voice. “He would not say, out of respect for his friend, but I think he fears the dark.”
She didn’t want to intrude on his privacy. Ciara tugged on Nikita’s robe to coax her into turning back, when the door to his house slowly opened. Nikita blinked.
“It has never done that before. Tristan told me when a door opens in Tir Na-nog, it beckons someone inside. It is like an invitation from the home’s owner.”
They walked up the cobblestone pathway to the house and through the opened door. The house looked ordinary, almost like Tristan’s cottage in the woods. The living room was furnished with elegant, velvet settees, chairs, and stone tables. Over the fireplace was a portrait that took Ciara’s breath away.
“Oh, she’s lovely!” She peered at a frail-looking Fae woman with long, silver hair hooked behind her slightly pointed ears, bright green eyes, and a sad smile. “Who is she?”
Nikita touched the gilded frame, and it glowed golden. “Eleanor. She was the Seelie King’s daughter, sickly and delicate, but Gideon loved her. He was an Unseelie prince, a dark prince, back in his mortal life. He and Eleanor were supposed to marry to unite the Seelie and Unseelie courts and bring peace between their people to end the great Fae War. But her father was enraged, and rather than have a Dark Fae prince for a son-in-law, he killed his daughter.”
Shocked, Ciara stared at Nikita. “How could a father do that to his own flesh and blood?”
“Tristan told me the Fae courts have had a longstanding hatred of each other. Gideon sacrificed his own life to end the bloodshed and bring peace between the two courts. After Gideon died, he became immortal and the Crimson Wizard.” Nikita shuddered. “Tristan told me power means everything to Gideon. He was locked in darkness for ten years, never seeing light. The darkness drives him mad.”
Ciara touched the tip of a wicked-looking whip. “Why would he keep such things here?”
“Maybe it reminds him of his past and to never again be that powerless.” Nikita beckoned her to step out of the room.
They went outside, her new friend pensive.
“I have not lived here long, but Ciara, I believe there is a reason why we were led to Gideon’s house. He may need our help.”
Ciara thought of the runes Gideon had drawn on the walls of Xavier’s townhouse. “He told me the houses of the wizards hold their memories. Perhaps they act as their protectors as well, drawing people into them who can aid them in their time of need.”
Her friend nodded. “If so, we must be vigilant. Let’s explore some more. To the Shadow Wizard’s home.”
They dematerialized and then appeared outside a gray stone castle, in fields covered with soft, green grass.
“Cadeyrn’s palace,” Ciara murmured. “He is Xavier’s mentor.”
“A scary man.” Nikita gave a delicate shudder.
“Very intense. He needs to laugh more.”
A cat bounded through the tall, green grass, stopped, and looked at them with huge, yellow eyes.
“A kitten,” Nikita exclaimed. “Oh, let’s pet it!”
The cat blinked, seemingly curious. It began purring as they stroked its sleek fur.
“I’ve never had a cat before,” Nikita said. “What do cats do?”
“Never?”
Her friend laughed. “I was wolf, remember? Cats and dogs?”
Ciara remembered the house cat her parents let sleep in the forge back in the fourteenth century. “Kittens love to play.”
She snapped her fingers and conjured a bright yellow ball on a string. She and Nikita took turns pulling it, making the cat chase it.
Then she yawned. “I’m so tired. I need to rest.”
“It’s the pregnancy,” Nikita told her. “It’s such a lovely day…”
“Always is here,” Ciara cut in.
Tristan’s mate laughed. “I’m exhausted as well. Let’s take a nap.”
The cat lay between them, and they fell asleep in the soft, green grass.
Xavier returned home, eager to see his bride. He had spent two full days righting wrongs, vanquishing evil, and filling in for Gideon. It was time to see his lovely Ciara. But as he searched his home, he soon realized she wasn’t there.
Remembering how much she liked Nikita, he materialized outside Tristan’s woodland cottage. The Silver Wizard stood in the grass, frowning at an abandoned book.
