“Rambling and explaining are two different things, you infuriating, kidnapping, mocking Caradon scoundrel. Just because I have agreed that we have a task to accomplish, that doesn’t mean I will tolerate your continuing disrespect. I am no longer your prisoner. I am now your partner. No, I am your superior, and you will treat me as such. I have attempted to be amiable, but my efforts apparently mean nothing to you.”
She took a deep breath, and her face flushed in anger.
Joryn sighed. So much for his promises to himself. Like it or not, he would lie with her before this was done. He was drawn to the queen in such a way that he could no longer deny the blaze that danced between them. He was male, she was female, and before this journey was over, they would share that which they both so obviously needed.
With that in mind, he decided that perhaps it would be best if he did not annoy her overmuch. Women could be quite spiteful when it suited them. Still, he could not allow her to take control of the situation. “Partner, I can tolerate. Superior, I cannot.”
Her eyes narrowed slightly. “Unlikely as it seems, I can be your partner, but you must treat me as such. I am no longer your prisoner, Joryn.”
“I apologize for my angry words. I am simply frustrated, Keelia.”
She nodded, and he could tell by the expression on her face that he had been forgiven. “Very well, then.” She continued walking down the path, and he remained beside her.
“Some things which should be clear to me are not,” she said, “but I have been getting quick and sporadic visions as we move deeper into Caradon Territory. Flashes of truth. Pictures from a mind not my own. The Isen Demon has allied with a vile Caradon wizard who has been practicing dark magic for many years.”
“Caradon do not practice dark magic.”
Keelia snapped her head around. “This one did, and does. I know it is difficult to face, but you do not know every member of your species. This one has been hiding for years, building his skills and... and murdering Anwyn and Caradon alike.” She shuddered in obvious distaste.
He wanted to believe that his people were inherently good, but he knew there were some who had chosen a wilder, darker path. “I suppose for now I have no choice but to take your word on the matter.”
“That will do,” Keelia said gently before continuing. “At the demon’s instruction, this Caradon wizard made and cursed a number of talismans. He placed these talismans around the necks of Caradon, males and females, who were neither dark nor light, but somewhere in between. They possessed gray souls until the stones of the talismans touched their flesh. When that happened, the demon took their souls, and they...” She shuddered, as if she saw and felt all that had happened. “They transformed into soulless creatures trapped between human and cat. They move at the silent instruction of the wizard who made them, and the wizard is under the control of the demon.”
“Their numbers are increasing.”
“Yes. The evil that infected them has become a disease which is spread through their bite. Their saliva enters the blood, and in that way the curse is spread.” She looked up at him, and her already pale face went snow white. “It can be spread to Anwyn as well as Caradon. If we don’t find this wizard and stop him, the Mountains of the North will be overrun with soulless creatures from your people and mine, and nothing will ever be right again.”
***
Sitting cross-legged on the stone floor of his cave home high in Caradon Territory, eyes closed to shut out the distractions of the things around him, the wizard Maccus smiled. He could feel the Red Queen coming closer, as if there were an invisible tug between then. His blood burned as it rushed through his veins; it danced in anticipation.
The power he had been promised by the Isen Demon was so near he could taste it on the tip of his tongue.
Realizing she was moving near, as he had always known she would, he ended his meditation and leapt to his feet. He had made a fine home, here in these connected caves. All the comforts any man might want were here. They were his. Soon they would be hers, too. He walked to the table where he often worked, and lifted the medallion which was resting there. It was a circle of silver adorned with a protruding gem. He had infused that stone with his power, with his enchantment, every day since the first full moon of the past winter. With an anxious finger, he caressed the stone. It was meant for the Red Queen. It would make her his in all ways.
Maccus wore a similar medallion against his own chest. It was through that metal and stone that the Isen Demon infused him with an incredible power that had seemed unimaginable just a few years ago.
There were times when the wizard was certain that the demon was actually inside him, but those feelings never lasted long. They did connect on occasion, when the demon had commands to issue, but Maccus’s soul remained his own, at least for now. He had a feeling that would not be true much longer.
The power he had always craved was finally his, and the cost did not seem too high, not to Maccus. What he had accomplished was remarkable, but when the Red Queen arrived, he would be elevated to a status higher than he had ever imagined possible.
Again, his blood danced, and the stone in the medallion which hung from his neck sparkled, green and black and bottomless.
Chapter Four
There hadn’t been a single day in her life that Keelia hadn’t felt different. As an Anwyn, as a psychic, as a woman. Always different. It would make sense that she’d become accustomed to those things which set her apart from others and embrace the fact that she was unique, but in truth the reality that she was not like others grew more painful with every passing year. She spent most of her life in human form, and yet she was not entirely human. Her Anwyn blood set her apart, so that even though she might appear to be of the same species as her many lowland cousins, she was in fact quite dissimilar. While it was true that there were lowland humans as well as Anwyn among her ancestors, both of her parents had Anwyn blood. That was unusual, or had been before her mother’s arrival in The City had changed everything. It was expected that she and Giulia would continue the tradition and produce more children who could be called pure Anwyn, but that could not happen until her mate presented himself. Her Anwyn mate.
She longed for a touch of normalcy in her life.
Taking a Caradon as her mate, as the prophesy had mistakenly said she would, would only set her further apart from the others. No, her supposition that the destined union was a purely political one made more sense than the idea that she might spend a lifetime with this creature who had kidnapped her. Even if she did experience sensations she had never felt before when she looked at him, even if the dreams did tell her that there would be more than a political alliance between them, she could and would be the mistress of her own fate. She was in control and could choose not to follow the natural—or unnatural—instincts.
Traveling with Joryn proceeded more smoothly than she had imagined it would on this, the first day of their journey. He had some dried food and hard bread in a small rucksack he carried over one shoulder, and carried fresh water in a wineskin, for those days when they might not find good drinking water along the way. The dagger at his waist would likely provide fresher meat at some point in the journey, if he did not hunt with balls of fire. For today they existed on the provisions he carried.
If he’d expected her to behave like a frail female who needed constant attention and care while traveling on foot, then she’d surprised him. She had energy and strength, and did not mind calling upon all she had in order to accomplish her objectives.
She did try to be well mannered.
Keelia lifted her bound hands gently. “This is not necessary,” she said in an emotionless voice. “I want to stop the darkness that has invaded these mountains we call home as much as you do.”
“Why?” The fire Joryn had started with a flick of his fingers illuminated his face in the dark of night. The line of his jaw was tight, tense. Like Anwyn males, he grew no hair on his face or chest, so that jaw was smooth, as always. His
lips were thinned, his eyes hooded. “Your people have not been affected.”
“Not yet,” she whispered.
She saw that they would be if the unnatural Caradon creatures were not stopped in time. The disease which distorted their bodies and stole their souls would spread if they didn’t find the wizard responsible and... and... Keelia closed her eyes. She could see the wizard, working in a cave much like the one Joryn had made her prison. His face was unclear, and she wasn’t sure if the darkness she saw around him was caused by his evil or his coloring. Did he have black hair, or was that his energy she saw? All she could see well were his hands, strong, male hands, neither young nor ancient, which cupped a green stone that glowed on his palm. She caught only a brief glimpse of that stone, but she immediately realized its importance.
If they destroyed that stone, the spell would be reversed.
Long, strong fingers closed over that stone in her vision, as if the wizard realized the enchantment was threatened and sought to protect it.
“What do you see?” Joryn asked.
“I see the Caradon wizard who set this misfortune into motion,” Keelia answered without opening her eyes. Joryn did not want to believe that one of his own could be responsible for the curse which had sent him to her, but he did. For some reason, he did believe her.
“A name, a face, a place...” he said sharply.
“Not yet,” Keelia whispered. “In time perhaps I will see more, but not tonight.”
“I thought you were an extraordinary seer,” he snapped. “I thought nothing was secret from the fabulous Red Anwyn Queen.”
The vision was gone, over in a flash, and Keelia opened her eyes. “Once that was true. Almost true, at least. It isn’t meant for anyone to see all. I can’t even imagine how crippling that would be. There was a time, not so long ago, that if I reached for knowledge I could find it, unless it pertained strictly to my personal life.” She pursed her lips. It was every psychic’s downfall that his or her own future was difficult or impossible to see. If she knew all, then she would’ve seen her mate years ago. If she knew all, then she would’ve known that this Caradon would kidnap her. If she knew all, then perhaps she could know whether or not she would ever find a mate.
Of course, Keelia’s father had the ability to block his wife’s talents when he so chose. Former Queen Juliet said no one else had ever been able to keep their thoughts from her the way her husband did.
“What happened?” Joryn asked sharply. “Why have your abilities changed?”
“I believe the same evil that affected your Caradon wizard dampened my inborn skill. Months ago I began to have trouble interpreting visions, and there were... are... blank spots in the knowledge that I reach for. It takes a powerful magic to interfere with energy in that way.” Her mother thought it very possible that the impaired visions were her body’s protest against not taking a lover, a price she had to pay for failing to fulfill her duty to create Anwyn princes or princesses, but Keelia had never believed that theory. Yes, she was distracted by the increasingly demanding fertile times, but that wouldn’t affect her magical abilities. Would it?
She lifted her hands again, and silently asked Joryn to release her. After all, she had been cooperative since the moment she’d realized that they must work together in order to defeat the powerful dark magic that threatened to ruin everything she held dear.
He shook his head.
Keelia sighed. If she released herself, displaying her superior power, what would he do? Bind her more securely? Cease trusting her at all? Releasing herself from iron bars had not been possible, but her current bonds were nothing more than a rough length of rope.
Of course, Joryn could always render her unconscious, as he had when he’d taken her. Somehow she didn’t like that idea. She was meant to be here, meant to stop the evil that threatened her home. She could not do that while senseless, which meant she’d best not surprise her captor. Her partner. “I’m simply being polite. I could rid myself of these bonds quite easily on my own, but I’m trying to honor our supposed truce.”
“Supposed truce?”
“If it were a true truce, you would not feel the need to restrain me.”
“I need to sleep,” he said, as if that were explanation enough.
“So do I, and this rope is very uncomfortable. It’s chafing my skin.”
“Already?” Joryn stood with grace and crossed their small camp to drop down beside Keelia.
She found herself holding her breath as he moved the rough rope aside and examined her skin, which was somewhat reddened. By morning her wrists would be raw if he insisted that she wear the bonds all night. She would heal quickly once they were removed, but until then the irritation would be uncomfortable. At the moment her thoughts were more focused on the way his fingertips brushed against her skin. The transformation from woman to wolf came with a kind of lightning that coursed through her body, and his touch elicited the same sort of sensation. Lightning. Fire.
To lie with a Caradon would make her forever different.
“How do I know you won’t run in the night, or slash my throat with your claws while I sleep?” Joryn asked.
Keelia stared at his strong sun-kissed hand against her pale arm. That simple sight reminded her of many dreams, of fantasies she had retreated to when her fertile time demanded release. Thank goodness it was not time for that heat to be upon her, because if she was caught in that frenzy and he was here, she would not be able to contain herself.
If that were to happen her firstborn child would be half-Caradon, and forever different.
It was not her fertile time, however, so a half-breed child was not a concern. She did not think of their differences at this moment, but of what they could share if they chose to do so. Not as lifelong mates, but as temporary lovers. If he could ease the quivering need inside her, if he could offer her delight and pleasure in a difficult time, shouldn’t she allow it to happen?
As the unwanted lightning coursed through her body, she dismissed all her reservations and wondered what it would be like to take Joryn as a lover. Not during her fertile time, but now, or tomorrow, or in the days to come, just so she would know if reality was better than fantasy. No one but the two of them would ever have to know, and when their duty was done they would part forever, and she would be free to discover the Anwyn male she was meant to spend her life with.
Had the priestesses not told her time and again that it was not only her right but her duty to celebrate all aspects of the body? Hadn’t her mother offered the supposition that if she took a lover her powers would be restored in their entirety? Logically Keelia realized she was grasping for any excuse to allow her mind to accept what her body already knew... and she didn’t care. Not when Joryn was so close.
“I promise I will not harm you, nor will I escape. I am as dedicated as you to finding the wizard and destroying the stone he called upon to begin this blight.”
“Stone?” Joryn asked.
Keelia sighed. She had not yet told him all about the vision. “A green glowing stone. The wizard we seek works in a cave, and he protects the stone because he knows if it is destroyed the curse will be ended, and the demon will destroy him in retribution.”
Joryn nodded. “We will need something more specific than a cave as our destination. There are many caves in these mountains. Perhaps together you and the Grandmother will be able to discover more.”
“I will find him.” Keelia said confidently. Joryn said the Grandmother had answers they would need, but she wasn’t sure about involving the old woman in their truce. She had put her faith in Joryn, but to ally herself with an endless number of Caradon... she could not quite grasp the possibility. “Trust me.” She leaned slightly closer to him, and the backs of her fingers caressed his arm. “Trust me.”
He hesitated only a moment, and then he retrieved the dagger from his belt. The dagger had a simple but pretty handle, she noticed as he used the blade to slice the rope he had earlier utilized to bind her h
ands. The weapon wasn’t fancy, but there was a simple scroll pattern in the cross-guard. The blade was well tended, sharp and without nicks in the steel.
Keelia stretched her freed arms and rubbed her wrists as Joryn backed away from her. The bracelet he wore kept her from peeking into his mind, but she saw one comforting truth in his green eyes.
He wasn’t entirely happy about the fact, but Joryn did trust her.
***
It was likely the only time the pampered queen had slept on the ground was after she’d run beneath the moon as a wolf. Did she indulge in that pleasure, even though she could contain the animal when it called? Judging by the way she settled very comfortably on the ground with no pillow, no bedding of any kind, he had to believe yes, she had done this before. After her hands were free, she very quickly fell into a deep slumber.
Joryn’s eyes were drawn to the redness of her wrists. Her skin was so delicate, it hadn’t taken any time at all for the rough ropes to begin to rub her flesh raw. She would soon heal, so he should not concern himself with such a minor injury. He’d wanted only to contain her, not harm her. He needed rest, but could he sleep with Keelia so close and so free? What, if she changed her mind in the night and fled? Or worse, killed him in his sleep?
The Red Queen will guide you, the spirit had told him. She is good. The spirits he spoke to on the other side of this life had no reason to lie, and he had to admit that his instincts were in line with what he had learned in the land in-between. She was not washed in dark energy. In the beginning he had thought her talented at hiding her evil, but now...
She confused him in many ways. He wanted her, but he was afraid she would bewitch him with her body. Queen Keelia was a talented seer; she could shift her body at will and maintain her womanly shape beneath a full moon. She freely admitted to being a witch, so what other gifts might she possess? Might she possess the power to entrap a man—of any species—if she so desired?
There were moments when he felt as if he were halfway there, almost enchanted, almost trapped. He should not have been moved by the sight of her raw wrists, but the very idea of hurting her had touched and annoyed him.
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