She giggled again, locked her fingers behind my neck, and pulled me in for another kiss.
When she broke it off, I saw her eyes went back to the mirror.
“Cynthia is just going to die with envy.” Her face froze and she seemed to remember yesterday for the first time. “Oh, my, Cynthia.”
I took Cris’ hand and pulled her away from the mirror. “Everything will be all right, Cris. I think Cynthia has realized she chose poorly. I expect she’ll be coming by to apologize later.”
I found my bag where I’d left it in the bedroom and took out one of my last changes of clothes. Cris leaned against the bedpost and watched me, still resplendent in her birthday suit, without speaking. When I was dressed, including my leather jacket, I turned to her.
“You’re leaving, aren’t you?” she asked. There was a slight pout to her lower lip and I was afraid she was going to cry.
“It’s my time, Cris. You knew this wouldn’t last.”
She came to me and wrapped her body around me, her soft bare skin against the rough leather of my jacket. “I thought we’d have a few days, maybe a week or two before you had to go. You just survived an incredible battle, don’t you get a little time off?”
“Not in this lifetime, Cris.” I stroked her back from shoulder blades to the curve of her cheeks. I gripped both cheeks and gave them a squeeze. I’d hoped for a laugh, a giggle, or maybe even a squeal of delight, but her response was to squeeze me tighter as if she could keep me here if she didn’t let go. I eased her hands off me, making sure not to exert any real pressure. When I had her arms by her side, she cast her gaze down, and wouldn’t look at me.
I lifted her chin until our eyes met. “Cris, you’ve done more for me than anyone in a long, long time. I won’t forget you.”
“You said you’d come to Atlanta if you could.”
“And I will. I don’t know when, I never know, but as soon as I have a few days to myself, I swear I’ll come see you. As long as you realize, it may be weeks or maybe even years. You can’t plan your life around me; it wouldn’t be right.”
Her damp eyes suddenly brightened. “I can come with you. I’ll take a sabbatical for a few months. There’s no reason I can’t ride along with you.”
“Think it out, Cris. You know how dangerous this week was. If you were with me, eventually something would threaten you and distract me. I can’t be responsible for your life and I couldn’t bear it if you were killed.”
“I can take care of myself—” she began.
I hushed her by pulling her lips to mine. When I broke the kiss, a tear slid down her cheek.
“I know, damn it all,” she said in a pout that almost brought a laugh from me. Sometimes it’s easier to laugh, especially when it can keep you from crying.
“Come on, it’s nearly dark. Beast will be waiting,” I said.
She started for the door and I caught her arm. “Ah, at least put a robe on if you’re going outside with me.”
She glanced down, giggled, and entered the closet. A few moments later, she emerged wearing one of the large white robes and matching slippers.
I gathered up the clothes I had that were salvageable, threw them in my bag, and draped it over one shoulder. Cris sidled up to me and put an arm around my waist. At the front door, I cancelled my wards, and we stepped outside and into twilight.
An unmarked car sat at the curb; its sole occupant a woman. The driver’s door opened and Biers emerged. We met her halfway down the walk.
“Good evening, Agent Biers,” I said.
“Hello, Semmes, Ms. Ronue,” she responded.
We stood facing each other for a moment, then I said, “I was just leaving town. Is there something I can help you with?”
She laughed but choked it off abruptly. “Help? If I had any more help from you, I’d be looking for a new job. Do you realize how many questions I couldn’t answer when the local police reclaimed the center of Huntsville?”
“I imagine they were a little upset by the destruction,” I offered.
“Yeah, a little. They seem to think I’d have some answers to what caused all that, after all, it was my request that evacuated downtown.”
“They ought to be thanking Rafe for keeping things from getting worse,” Cris said.
“I agree, but I can’t really tell them that,” Biers said.
“What are you telling them?” I was curious, but only mildly. Last night had been more destructive than anything I’d done in a long time, but I rarely stayed around to see the aftermath of my work.
“I’m telling them I have no damn idea. I told them I had a tip to get everyone away from the courthouse square and that’s about all. I’ve dodged a half-dozen phone calls from the police commissioner, the mayor, and my superiors in Atlanta.”
“I’d say give them my apologies for the collateral damage if I thought it’d help.”
“It wouldn’t.” She stared from me to Cris and back. “I’m not forgetting you saved my life, but you should leave town, go somewhere quiet for a while. I’m not going to be able to keep your name out of my report when the local police will have it in theirs.”
“Like I said, I’m on my way out now.”
“You do this regularly?” Biers asked.
I nodded. “Something like this, but it’s usually a little less flamboyant.”
She stuck two fingers in a pocket and pulled out a card. She extended it to me. “If there’s anything I can do, contact me.”
I took the card, glanced at it, and slipped it into a pocket. “That’s not likely to happen, but I appreciate the offer.”
“Well, yeah, I guess. Anyway, I feel I owe you something.”
“You were a help, Biers, even if you couldn’t see what difference you made.”
Air moved around us and Beast, hidden by his hawk glamour, landed in the drive.
I glanced down the street in both directions. There were a few kids playing near the other end of the block, but it was getting dark. “You can drop the glamour, Beast. I don’t think we’ll draw any more attention than we did last night.”
With a soft pop, Beast appeared standing in the drive. “You’re different, older.”
“Yeah, I’ll tell you about it later.” I held out my hand. “Agent Biers, it was a pleasure knowing you.”
She took my hand in a firm grip and shook it lightly. “You too, Mr. Semmes. Safe journey.”
“Thank you, you also.”
Biers returned to her car and drove away.
Cris walked me to Beast. He sat down when we neared and yawned, displaying teeth that would have made a great white envious.
“Beast, I enjoyed the flight you gave me,” Cris said.
“My pleasure, lady.”
Cris turned to me. “You still owe me a ride on your Harley.”
“Next time, I promise. Right Beast?”
“Of course, who could resist the charms of such a lovely young lady?”
Cris gave him a warm smile. “I’ll look forward to it.”
“Time to go, Beast,” I said.
He stood, shook himself mightily, and then morphed into my Harley.
I stowed my bag and then turned back to Cris. We embraced once more and I was the one reluctant to pull away.
We separated; I slung my leg over Beast’s back and reached for my shades.
Cris grabbed my face in her hands and pulled my lips to hers. She gave me a kiss more intended for the bedroom than the street and my pulse was racing when she pulled away.
She looked me in the eyes and said, “That’s to make sure you don’t forget your promise.”
I smiled. “If the moon forgets its place in the sky and falls to earth, I still won’t forget.”
Okay, it came out a little silly, but it was the best line I could think of at the time. I think all the blood had rushed out of my head.
Cris didn’t act as if it sounded silly. I felt her hand on my calf and she drew my knife from its sheath. Before I could stop her, she gathere
d a lock of her hair in one hand and cut off six inches of her gorgeous mane.
“What?” I asked.
Cris slipped my knife back into its sheath. She tied the lock of her hair in a knot and handed it to me. “In case you need me or can’t find me in Atlanta. You can do a locator spell, right?”
I smiled and put the lock into an inside pocket. “I think I can manage one.”
She kissed me once more, softly, tenderly, and then stepped back from Beast.
I donned my shades, started the motor, and pulled away from the woman who had done more to help me than anyone had since I became a Wanderer.
I cast a glance back as I turned the corner. She stood in the driveway and raised a hand in farewell. I returned the wave and then was gone.
CHAPTER 33
Midnight found Beast and me at a riverside campground in eastern Tennessee. A few campsites were occupied, but we found a place far back from the highway. Beast morphed back to his normal form and I generated a little fire. We talked a little about nothing in particular for some time and then Beast excused himself to go hunting. It’s fortunate I have a familiar who can fend for himself; I don’t have to lug a ton of food around with us. There were plenty of deer in the forest and he’d have no trouble finding a meal.
I hadn’t stopped for food along the way, but I found a bag of jerky in my saddlebags. It wasn’t too old and I ate most of it. I was still hungry when I finished, between the healing spell and the vampire spell, I’d lost some body mass. There are some advantages to maintaining a little spare tire. Tomorrow was another day and there were bound to be opportunities for breakfast along our route.
I didn’t have another calling yet but staying around after something like this week would have been awkward and made my eventually parting from Cris even harder than it had been. I sat on a low rock enjoying the flames’ heat on my face. Taking Cris’ lock of hair from my pocket, I held it between finger and thumb. I should toss it in the flames. Wanderers didn’t have women giving them favors, but then we didn’t have women who would risk their lives for us either. I stroked the lock across my cheek and a flash of Cris’ lips on mine warmed my face even more than the fire.
There was movement at the edge of my firelight. I returned the lock to my pocket. I held one more stick of wood but didn’t feed it to the fire. I turned toward my guest.
“It’s been a long time,” I said.
The woman came fully into the light. Fate looked the same as I’d last seen her, tall, at least six feet, long auburn hair, fantastically proportioned, as befitting an immortal. Her dress was hardly more than a shift, but it covered her from bosom to ankle in white. When she moved, I saw her feet were covered with elaborate leather sandals attached with long straps that wound up her calves.
“You’ve been busy, Raphael,” Verðandi said.
“Just doing the jobs you’ve sent me. Care to sit?” I motioned toward a large rock opposite the fire from where I sat.
“No, I can’t stay. I have business.” She moved closer to the fire and even raised her hands to warm them in a human motion. “You encountered Rowle yesterday.”
“That’s right, but then you must have known I was going to be fighting him.”
“Yes.”
“Couldn’t you have given me a warning? I mean, hell, I go from battle to battle for you and in more than forty years you’ve never actually given me a heads-up on what to expect.”
“That’s the way it’s always been,” Verðandi said.
“But my opponent hasn’t always been Rowle and his objective hasn’t always been the opening of the Gates. You know about that, don’t you?”
“Of course, I am Fate.”
“Do you want him to open the Gates and bring Ragnarök?”
“What I want doesn’t matter. If he acquires the pages and casts the spell it will bring Ragnarök.”
“I lost the page too. I kept him from getting it, but I lost it,” I said with bitter distaste.
Verðandi dipped two fingers into her bodice and drew out a single sheet of paper.
I gaped. “How?”
“If Fate couldn’t see what happened to a single sheet of paper, what good would she be? The spell on this page is important, anything important enough to shape men’s destiny is in my purview.” She held it out.
“You’re giving it to me? Why?”
“I cannot keep it, it’s not my…duty, but you can. Keep it safe until you need it for it can change your destiny.”
“My destiny is Ragnarök?”
“That’s for you to decide,” she said.
“But that’s the twilight of the gods, you included. Are you looking to die?”
She didn’t answer. A breeze ruffled her hair and made her dress quiver. The flames sputtered and the fire’s smoke shifted in my direction, met my personal ward, and flowed around it.
“Aren’t we the stoic one? Verðandi, since you felt no need to tell me about this before it started, why have you shown up now?”
“Because you are the pivotal one.”
“Excuse me? The pivotal one? What’s that mean?”
“Whether the Gates open and Ragnarök begins depends on your actions. No matter who else is involved, in the end it comes down to you.”
I shook my head. “How can that be? All I do is what you call me to do. It’s not like I have a choice.”
Her eyes softened and I felt a deep sorrow in her. “You have always had a choice, Raphael. The Wanderers always have had choices. Rowle made his choice and every day you make yours.”
“Wait just a minute. Are you telling me I could stop what I’m doing and just go about life ignoring your summons?”
“If that is your fate.”
“That makes no sense. How can it be my fate if I can choose a different path?”
“You are human; all humans are born with free will,” Verðandi said.
“Then how can there be a Fate or even fate?”
“We were all created sometime, even the gods. You can’t expect us to know everything. We understand more than you humans do mostly because we’ve been around a really long time. I am Fate. I see what is fated to happen, but not necessarily who chooses to make that fate happen.”
“This sounds like a load of crap to me. Rowle told me I could join him and bring about Ragnarök. Was he telling the truth? Can I choose to join him and open the Gates or am I fated to stop him.”
“You are fated to make the determination that will either open the Gates or postpone Ragnarök for millennia to come.”
“Why would I want to open the Gates? I can’t even figure out why Rowle would want to.”
“Why either of you would is a mystery to all. We gods can see many things, but the hardest thing to see is a human’s soul.”
“So then, are you here to persuade me one way or the other?” I asked.
She shook her head sharply. “No, not to persuade, just to let you know that it’s your choice.”
I threw the stick I’d been holding into the fire. Sparks flew. “Hell and damnation! It can’t be my choice. What about the other Wanderers?”
Fate looked off into the dark forest for a minute. When she turned back, there was moisture in her green eyes. “You know I’ve always felt that you Wanderers were my children.”
Strangely moved, I lowered my voice, “No, I didn’t know that.”
“You didn’t need to know then, but it’s time now. Why else would I give you so much power?”
“But you gave us the power and told us to go out and use it. We die, thanks to your gift.”
“Yes, you die and each time one of you dies, I die.”
“Metaphorically speaking, of course,” I said.
“Not really. I gave each of you a small part of me when you became a Wanderer. When one of you dies, that part of me dies too.”
That was news to me. I’d never considered what it took to make each of us a Wanderer. “Oh? I’m sorry. Look, can’t you call the Wanderers together to stop
Rowle. I mean he may be strong, but he couldn’t handle all of us.”
“He handled all of you last night,” Verðandi said.
A chill crept into my marrow. “What? What are you talking about?”
“Rowle has killed the others.”
I was frozen in shock. I’d met a couple of the other Wanderers over the years. They were powerful people who would not die easily. That Rowle could have taken them all out was impossible. Wasn’t it?
“Why didn’t he finish me when he had the chance?” I asked at last.
“That was his choice, but I cannot fathom why he would kill the others and let you live.”
“And that’s what you’re here for; to tell me that I’m it?”
“Yes. I’ll find you an apprentice, but in the meantime, be careful, Raphael. Whether Ragnarök comes or not, I’ve lost all the children I care to lose to this man.”
Without another word, she vanished.
I sat alone at the fire, staring into its blaze and feeding it fuel from time to time. Sometime before dawn’s gray light arrived, I took out Cris’s little notebook, copied from Abigail’s grimoire. I read each of the spells until I had a grasp of their purpose.
As the sun lit my campsite, I selected a bare spot of skin on my belly; it was going to be painful as hell and couldn’t be accomplished in one sitting, but it was time to start.
I held the notebook in my left hand and began to burn the night magic spell into a tattoo.
THE END
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