by Ally Shields
His eyes flitted to hers for an instant, then he took it and lifted the lid. “The missing ring.”
“Yes, the Valvano crest, and the wand is the Valvano virge. Fredrico said it is much easier to control the magic with the virge in the beginning. Later you’ll be able to do everything through the ring.”
“You spoke with Fredrico?” There was a hint of wonder in Andreas’s voice.
“Several times. I grew quite fond of him.” She hesitated, then smiled. “I have so much to tell you, but it will have to wait.”
“Of course, you’re right. “ He lifted out the ring first and put it on his finger. “I can feel its magic.” He closed his eyes. “Last night I made the first real connection when it seemed I might be under attack, but this is calmer. As if it were a part of me.”
“That’s the way of witch magic.” Ari laid her hand on his arm. “You’ve made the breakthrough. My magic has always had its most powerful responses during times of crisis. Now you have the virge and the ring to control it. Speaking of rings, don’t you have something that belongs to me?”
“Absolutely.” He dug in his pocket and pulled out her rings. Taking her hand, he paused. “Would you marry me again, my wife?”
“As many times as you want.”
He slipped the rings on her finger, and this time, Ari initiated the kiss. They were both a little heated when they broke the embrace. He pulled her to her feet, and ran his knuckles across her cheek. “I am so glad you are home.”
“Me too. I suppose we need to deal with the elders now.” She sounded wistful, as if she hoped he’d say no.
“Yes, we should, but I want to delay just one more minute.” He picked up the virge, laying it across the palm of one hand. “It almost has a life of its own.” He transferred it to his right hand and stood, holding it in a firm grip. The end began to glow, and Andreas grinned. A streak of lightning shot across the room. A sharp crackle echoed in the enclosed space as it struck the wall.
The door burst open and Mike stood there with his rifle ready to fire. “What was that?”
“Nothing to worry about.” Ari laughed into her hands. “Andreas has a new toy.”
“Never mind.” Andreas winked at his wife and took pity on the confused werewolf. “We were just practicing a little magic.”
“Now?” Mike looked incredulous. “Prince Daron is waiting for you to join him.”
“Yes, we are coming. Right now.” Andreas slipped the virge in his pocket and motioned for Ari to precede him. The grin on his face began to slip as they neared the meeting room.
Mike opened the heavy doors to the audience chambers, and Daron stood to greet them. “Ah, here they are now.”
Lilith, Russell, and Gabriel immediately crowded around Ari to ask questions about “her trip,” and see for themselves that she was all right.
“It was interesting,” Ari admitted, “and I have a lot to tell. Later. It sounds as if we have a problem to solve first.” She lifted her gaze to Daron. “Andreas filled me in on most of what’s happened. While you’re figuring out what we should do about the hostages, I want to talk with Bastian.”
“A waste of time, I fear, but I have no objection,” Daron said.
“Actually, you might. I want to talk with him without guards, no iron shielding to block his magic.”
Andreas whipped his head around. “No. Not alone, and certainly not outside that room.”
The leaders and security people stirred restlessly, but deference to the vampire princes was strong, and none of them interrupted.
“I do not understand, Arianna. You want us to release him?” Daron drew his brows into a frown but his response was more measured than Andreas’s. “What do you gain by taking such a risk? A risk, I might add, to all of us.”
“You can’t keep him confined forever, unless you plan to kill him. I can’t believe you’re ready to do that. So why not release him now, and see what he does?”
Andreas interrupted again. “But, Arianna, why now? We need to rescue the Magic Council before we worry about Bastian.”
“He’s offered to help, hasn’t he? We need to know if he can be trusted. You said he’s been waiting for me to arrive, that he wants something from us. It can’t hurt to find out exactly what it is. Not if there’s the smallest possibility of gaining his help with Porbius.”
Daron’s gaze rested on Andreas. “Perhaps I can suggest a compromise. She can meet with him alone, but he stays in that room. The door will be left open, but if he attempts to use his powers or makes any hostile move, we will seal the door immediately.”
“If no one else is in the room, how will we know if something is wrong?” Mike, always conservative on security issues, was clearly not comfortable with anything that gave Bastian access to his powers.
Daron’s gaze moved from Ari to Andreas. “Andreas will know.”
Andreas gripped her shoulders and turned her around. “Will I?”
His meaning was obvious. Would she keep their link open if she sensed trouble or try to handle it herself?
“Yes, I promise you’ll know.”
He held her gaze, assessing her sincerity. Her magic stirred restlessly under the scrutiny, and suddenly his brows shot up. Doubt, disbelief crossed his face.
Her heart thumped. Not now. Not yet. Not this way.
His grip tightened reflexively on her shoulders, then he dropped his hands and stared at her. The questions…and then the dawning certainty. Oh, Goddess, he’d guessed her secret. She grabbed his sleeve and dragged him toward the door.
“We need to discuss this in private,” she said over her shoulder. “Give us a minute.”
He allowed her to pull him into the hallway. The moment the door closed, he swept her into his arms and swung her around in a circle, not once, but twice. “I never dreamed.” His eyes were no longer uncertain. They were excited. “I felt another magic. Can this be true?”
“It is true.” She studied his face. He looked happy, but what was he thinking? “I can explain.”
“You do not have to explain.” His voice softened as his hand touched her cheek. “Do you think a man ever forgets the first woman he loves?”
“I don’t understand.”
“You. Abigail.”
“You knew? All this time?”
“Not until I saw you in the old-fashioned dress with the dark hair.”
She shook her head in confusion. “If any memory was there… I thought vampires had perfect recall.”
“Only of what happens to them as vampires. The memories from before fade as you would expect after two hundred years…except for Abigail.” He caught her hand. “But a child. That I did not know.”
“No, she…I…I didn’t tell you. It seemed too cruel to tell you…him and then leave.” Her brows pulled into a frown. “Are you OK with this?”
“OK with it?” His eyes gleamed. “I am ecstatic. Why did you not tell me right away?”
“I wanted it to be special…and private. It seemed like we needed to focus on other things first.” But his obvious delight told her the time she’d spent worrying had been wasted.
“Easy for you to think about waiting when you had time to get used to it.” Grinning broadly, he swung her around again, then set her down and sobered. His brows drew into a fierce frown. “We need to get you out of Toronto. Away from the elders.”
“Don’t be silly. I’m not leaving.” She planted one hand on her hip. “We’re much stronger if we face this together. Let’s not waste time fighting about it.” Her voice softened and carried a glint of humor. “I have to make sure nothing happens to you that would leave me changing all those diapers.”
His eyes widened as if he was momentarily stunned by the idea of diapers, then he leaned forward, cradled her face between his hands, and kissed her tenderly. “Yes, mother of my child, we will do this together.”
* * *
When Ari and Andreas entered the shielded room, Bastian sat with his arms folded over his chest. He dropped
his indifferent posture and sat forward. “At last. I had begun to think you were avoiding me, Ms. Calin.”
“I had more important things to do.”
Andreas shot him a cold look. “My wife wants to talk with you alone, so we are going to clear the room. I trust you understand I will not be far away.”
“I do not doubt that for a minute.” Bastian focused on Ari. “I am intrigued by the conditions you have imposed. Please sit.”
Andreas waved Vernon and the other vampire guards out the door. He glared at Bastian one last time, then left, leaving the door open. Ari felt his strong misgivings through their telepathic link.
“An open door? Is this some kind of test?”
Ari had watched the elder in silence for the last minute or two. He appeared calm, composed, and yet he had been almost…relieved when she arrived. Why?
She pulled up a chair and sat across from him. “Of course it’s a test. If you pass, we won’t have to kill you. Frankly, I don’t much care either way.”
He smiled. “Direct, but not totally honest. You have a need for me, or we would not be talking. Does this mean you have accepted my offer of help?”
“What offer would that be?”
“Don’t be obtuse, Arianna. It does not become you.”
Her eyes hardened. “If you don’t quit being a smug bastard for just a few minutes, I’m going to leave.” She pushed back her chair. His power started to rise, and she pointed a finger at him. “If you do that, you die.”
Andreas tensed on the other end of the link. Ari made a conscious effort to relax so she did not precipitate an unnecessary response from either vampire. She would need to walk a fine line between them.
Bastian leaned back. “I understand you are to be congratulated on your recent marriage.”
She ignored his digression. “What did you offer?”
He gave an off-hand gesture with his hand. “To free you from your current situation with Porbius in return for a favor.”
“What kind of favor?”
“We had not gotten that far in the discussion.”
“Then let’s discuss it now. What do you want?”
“Without Andreas here?” He raised a brow. “Are you speaking for yourself or for both of you?”
“Quit stalling. Either tell me or we’re done. I have some crazy elder on the loose, and I don’t have time to waste.”
“Now sarcasm does become you. Very well. No frills. I want what you might call insurance. In the future, I want you to remember that I am not your enemy. That is all I ask. Is it so much?”
“Maybe.” She was puzzled. “That’s not very clear. You said something to Andreas about a prophecy, a vision of some kind. Is there a connection?”
He looked at her for a long moment, as if he was trying to get inside her head. “What do you know of your future?”
“Not as much as you seem to know. Zylla had a vision in which we had to defend ourselves from attack.” Her eyes narrowed. “Nothing particularly new about that since you won’t leave us alone.”
“Zylla.” He said the word slowly, breaking it into two long syllables, as if some question had finally been answered. “We had not heard from her in a long time. So she is here.” Bastian shrugged. “I figured the old crone was hidden away in a cave somewhere.”
Not so far from the truth. Ari should have known he’d recognize the name. After all, Zylla had been around at the time of the 1329 war between the vampires and witches in Europe…on the witches’ side.
“I’m sure she has fond memories of you too.”
Bastian chuckled. Probably the first genuine emotion he’d shown since she’d arrived.
“What’s the connection?” she asked again.
He frowned, obviously reluctant to reveal more. “The world is changing, and the elders’ council has not. Our ways are no longer accepted without question. If we cannot adapt, an unavoidable confrontation may arise.”
Ari blinked to cover her surprise. What was he not saying? Surely he didn’t think the O-Seven would lose?
“Doesn’t the O-Seven settle everything by killing off the dissent?” She tipped her head, considering. “Are you afraid of losing?”
“Of course not.” He lifted his chin in a display of arrogance, but his response had been too quick…too defensive. “The elders have nothing to fear from you.”
“Us?” She leaned forward. “Is that what this is about? You’re not seeking allies against some unknown threat. You’re waving a white flag to make peace with the enemy. You’re afraid.”
Bastian dropped his hand on the table with a loud smack. “I fear no one! Such insolence. I understand why Porbius wants to kill you.”
Andreas appeared in the doorway; Vernon behind him with the assault rifle.
“What happened?”
Ari looked at her husband. “You might as well come in. Vernon, please leave us. Everything’s fine.” She jerked her head toward Bastian. “Our guest has just discovered how irritating and blunt I can be.”
Bastian gave a grunt of humorless laughter. Vernon frowned as if he was uncertain what he should do, but he backed out anyway.
Andreas’s face remained stony. Ari pushed out the chair beside her, inviting him to sit. He did so, but kept his eyes on Bastian.
“Why are you bothering to talk with him?” Andreas asked. “We should concentrate on stopping Porbius.”
“Because I can lift the thrall from your council members,” Bastian said.
“So can we,” Ari said. “It might take longer, but we wouldn’t wind up indebted to the devil. Either tell us something we can use against him or quit wasting our time.”
“I think we are done.” Andreas pushed back his chair and stood.
Ari shrugged and started to join him.
“Porbius has a weakness.”
Ari paused and looked at the elder. He continued to show them a poker face as if he’d commented on the weather, but his eyes had grown calculating.
“I’m listening,” she said.
“Do we have a deal?”
Ari looked at Andreas and sat down. “Let’s say this big apocalyptic event occurs where you want us to remember you’re not the enemy.”
“Is that what he wants?” Andreas interrupted.
She nodded and continued. “If we granted this favor, would you remain a threat to us afterward?”
“Not unless you chose to pursue me.” He had one hand lying on the table; his index finger began a slow tap. Bastian’s focus seemed caught by the motion rather than looking at her.
Why wasn’t he looking at her? Was he lying? Or was the deal so important he didn’t want to jinx it by seeming eager? She just didn’t know.
She raised her brows at Andreas. “What do you think? Do you trust him?”
“No.”
“Me neither.”
“The best we could offer is what Daron offered. To consider your request.” Andreas’s voice was firm, no room for compromise. Take it or leave it.
“I’d remember that we owed you,” Ari said. “But I can’t guarantee that would change anything.”
Bastian lifted his gaze to meet hers. “You do not offer much, but I want Porbius stopped. I will not be a party to his capture, but I will reveal a flaw that may allow you to defeat him. Consider carefully what you do with it. If you kill him, you will start a war.”
His willingness to betray a fellow elder—even though it helped them—grated on Ari’s nerves. “I’d hate to be your friend,” she muttered.
“I have never claimed Porbius as a friend.” Clearly annoyed with her, Bastian shifted his attention to Andreas. “He has a narrow spectrum of mental energy, three wave lengths. Block those, and you will rob him temporarily of his psychic ability and release the council from his control. You should then be able to capture him, and we will attempt to negotiate a peaceful way out of this. Remember you will need to remove the deeper bespelling of the council, or he may regain control.” He paused and raised a brow. “I c
an do it for you, if you like. It is quite easy for me.”
Ari rose quickly, her voice eager. “Come on, Andreas. We don’t need him anymore. I know how to do this, and our own sorcerers can help.”
Andreas stood to follow her, and Bastian lost his nonchalance. “Wait! Surely you are not going to leave me in here.”
Ari stopped at the door. “You’ll get the promise we agreed too, but I don’t like it…or you.”
“But I can still help.”
By the time he’d finished his protest, they were gone. The door locked securely behind them.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Daron and the other leaders met Ari and Andreas as they emerged from the shielded room. Andreas stopped to explain what they’d learned, but Ari demanded to know where they were staying.
“I need to consult the Book of Shadows before we do anything else,” she said over her shoulder.
“Which one?”
“Both, I guess.”
When he joined her minutes later, she was rifling through his Valvano family Book of Shadows, muttering.
“Dispersal, dispersal. No, not that one.” She ran her finger down the page, then flipped to the next. “Removing all traces of a spell. No, not that one either.” She looked up. “What’s another word for dispersal?”
“Distribution, scattering.”
“Hmm.” She started flipping pages and reading. “Nothing there either,” she said after a while. “Maybe interrupt or intercept or interfere.”
“I might be more helpful if you explained what you are doing.”
“Looking for a spell to take advantage of what Bastian told us. We normally can’t use a spell against a vampiric bespelling, because you—vampires—have the ability to keep switching magical frequencies. Anything short of a total barrier is ineffective, not to mention impossible to maintain. But three frequencies are manageable.”
“He will notice the change in their behavior the moment you interfere. We cannot get close enough to protect them in time.”
“We’ll have to lure him out of direct sight of them.”
“He would still feel the recoil when his energy hit your counterspell.”
