“Oh, Hazel, it is what I think.” Her mother came to the end of the bed, her hands curling on the footboard, jewelled rings on several fingers that helped her target specific spells, sparkling with crystals that amplified her magic when required. “I realize now that he was sacrificing himself for you. Right? When he opened himself up, an empath of his ability and years of training would know what that would do to a Bacchus Demon. Like offering drugs to an addict. He drew that demon away from us so that you could join the Circle.”
Um…what?
“Not the Circle, Mother.” Hazel tried to keep the anger out of her voice. He didn’t want her to join that circle.
“That’s what he said, isn’t it? Claim your destiny. You know what your destiny is. It’s etched in stone. He was so selfless, protecting the Promised One. That’s what everyone is saying—all of your companions on the trip, that Healer Hart took special care of you. Acted as an appropriate mentor, took you under his wing, and helped to guide you to new understandings of your powers. I will forever be indebted to him for that.”
Hazel choked on a surprised laugh and disguised it with a cough. Oh yes, he’d taken special care of her all right.
“He came so highly recommended. Years of dedicated service.” She reached out to stroke Hazel’s cheek. “He’s a strong Healer. Deserving of special care. We could save him.”
“What?” Hazel sobered immediately.
Her mother moved around the bed to her side, an arm over her shoulder. “If you join the Circle now, I can use the power to heal him. Wake him from this coma.”
Hazel looked up with surprise. “You need my power?”
“Oh Hazel, it was foolish of me to send you out on that field trip. To expose you to such danger. I realize that now. And you must feel such responsibility. Too much. You always cared too much.” She squeezed Hazel’s shoulder. “That’s what makes you such a good Healer. But, child, I was wrong to send you out. I hope you can forgive me.”
“Mother, no, I—”
“And now you feel responsible. But I’m telling you, Healer Hart can be restored and you can be safe and sound, if you join the Circle now.”
“But my training…”
“It was just to appease the Board. I have petitioned them for leeway here and, after they heard what happened, they have agreed. It is better for you, and for everyone, if you forgo your training and unite with the Circle now. Claim your role, Promised One, and help me save Healer Hart.”
“Duke,” Hazel croaked.
“Indeed.” Her mother bent down to kiss the top of her head. “Duke has made quite an impression on you.”
“Mother, I—” She looked up, wanting so badly to just spill it all out, to tell her mother what had actually happened. How she felt about Duke, everything.
“You want to save his life, don’t you?” Her mother was looking at her with one of her signature half smiles, the kind that said there was something she wasn’t saying. “Because, of course, he will die if left in this coma for too long.”
“What?” She’d looked it up, Bacchus feedings could result in comas, yes, but they didn’t last forever, a strong witch could—
“Those dreams he’s having. They’re killing him. The Bacchus left a nasty toxin behind. It must have been infected with something. If we don’t get it out, well, I’m afraid that he’ll probably only make it another day, maybe two before he succumbs.”
“A toxin?”
“Yes, a terrible one. His breathing will get more and more shallow, his heart slowing until it can’t sustain the vigour of his nightmares.” She spread her hand along the edge of the bed, smoothing the sheet as she walked down the length of it. “There is only one way to reverse it. A spell that takes years to master.”
Hazel felt her throat seize.
“I can do it, though. But only if you join the Circle.”
Hazel couldn’t form words.
“I know you will do the right thing. The worthy thing, for the most deserving Healer Hart…Duke… You are after all, the Promised One.”
She watched her mother leave. Bewildered. Her heart aching so badly that she thought maybe her mother had ripped it out before she’d left.
“Duke.” She turned back to him, tears falling silently on the sheets.
This was the choice? This was how she chose her destiny? Was it really a choice?
“Duke.” She projected it loud, using all of her magic to send it into him. “Wake up! Please! This isn’t how it’s supposed to be.” She clasped his hand, wrapping her fingers around his. His skin was so clammy, so cold. “Duke! Wake up!”
But he didn’t. Instead he cycled into another nightmare and thrashed, and screamed, and pleaded for her to stop…to stop what? Was she hurting him? Had he conjured some image of her that was torturing him endlessly?
Another hour passed, another revolution of his endless process of terror, calm, then terror again. It was agonizing to watch. His muscles got so rigid, veins popping in his neck, like he was struggling to get himself out of the world that the toxin was making him endure. His eyelashes fluttered as if he was struggling to wake, erratic movement behind his lids suggesting anything but peace. And his breathing was slowing, his mouth gaping with short pants. She laid her head on his chest and heard not the thundering roar of his heart but the soft thud of a dying and withering thing.
He was going to be dead before the day was over. She could feel it. He was too weak to fight. Her mother knew. She always knew what to do, or what had to be done.
And really, Hazel had no choice. When it came down to it. Her life was about sacrifice. That’s what she’d always believed. And her mother was right. She owed Duke a life. He’d made a worthy sacrifice so she could have hers even if her mother had gotten part of it wrong. He didn’t want her to join the Circle, but if she didn’t then he would die and he couldn’t die—not when there were so many witches who needed his help, so many tribes he hadn’t discovered. He still had so much healing left to do.
She checked to make sure no one was around, then leaned in and kissed Duke on the lips and on the forehead. “It’s a worthy sacrifice. For love. I will be selfish for you. I can’t imagine this world without you, Duke. I want you to live.”
She didn’t need to stop anywhere. She didn’t need to get anything from her room. When she entered the sacred vaults, she would remove all traces of her old life, don one of the long white robes worn by the members of the Circle. She would be anointed with little fuss and then she would join. No ceremony beyond that necessary. And she didn’t want the pomp and circumstance. Her mother would know immediately. All Healers would. Hazel joining the Circle would send a ripple of power out. And then nothing else would matter but maintaining the source of power so that Healers could do their jobs effectively.
So that her mother could save Duke.
The sacred vaults were just on the other side of the building, a bit of a walk, crossing the main stairs that went down to the lower level but conveniently located close to where Duke was. The doors lay ahead, twins in design, with intricate carvings in the dark mahogany wood, warded against intrusion from hostile visitors. They went from floor to ceiling and had huge iron rings that acted as door handles. They would open for her as she approached—she’d tested it before. Like the doors knew who she was and what her purpose would be.
This was her destiny. What lay past those doors.
“Hey, Hazel!” Mahdyia shouted from down the hall. “Wait up!”
Shit. Okay, this was a roadblock. Mahdyia would never understand. She’d never accepted Hazel’s destiny. She wouldn’t be okay with it. Hazel sucked in a deep breath, knowing what she had to do to keep her cousin out of this decision.
“Hazel, what are you doing?” She grabbed Hazel’s arm, intent on spinning her around based on the force and grip.
Hazel armed herself with a spell, ready to jolt Mahdyia back. She began to pivot, with the spell crackling on her fingers.
“Oh no you don’t!” Mahdyi
a reacted before Hazel could fully turn, armed herself with a whopper of a spell and jolted Hazel back. “What the hell, Haz?”
Hazel stumbled backward, more surprised than hurt by Mahdyia’s spell as she fought to keep herself on her feet. “I have to go!”
“Go where?” Mahdyia was recasting, arming herself again.
But so was Hazel. “Please, Mahdyia, you don’t understand. Mother can save Duke.”
“What? Of course she can… So can—”
Hazel sent her spell out, wrapping Mahdyia in a binding of rope that would keep her busy. “I don’t have time for this.”
“Tate!” Mahdyia shouted. “Stop her!”
Hazel turned, ready to run, and instead met a wall of Tate. How’d he get there?
He put his hands on her arms to steady her. Looking down with concern. “Mahdyia thought it might come to this.” He winced. “I’m sorry, Haz, but it’s for your own good.”
And then he electrified her.
Oooouuuuuch.
26
Okay, this was different. Duke had grown used to the dreadful cycle of his erotic dream with the horror twist. It didn’t make it pleasant, especially since he didn’t remember the dream itself until it was over. So when he didn’t cycle through on cue he felt a little disoriented… Well, more disoriented than he had been for the last…however long he’d been in the hellish loop.
Instead of finding himself in a dream, he was floating…outside of his body.
Cool, astral projection. It was a skill that the humans could do seemingly with little trouble, especially those with familiars but Duke had never before been able to wilfully project his essence outside of his meat locker.
He felt a wave of dizziness when he made the mistake of looking down. His body was there, looking peaceful. Alone. He frowned.
Hazel had been there. He had sensed her at his side.
He glanced around the room. But she wasn’t there now.
Nice room though.
Okay, focus, Duke. He was projecting—there was a reason for it. Either he was dying, which by the look of his body, was entirely possible, or his instincts were pushing him out because he had something to do.
He looked around again. He couldn’t walk. He waved his arms. He couldn’t fly. So what the fuck was he supposed to do?
He strained to remember. The humans had given him a process for achieving astral projection—he just didn’t exactly recall all the steps. He was already out of his body, presumably the hard part. Now he needed to move.
Vibrations.
Right.
There were vibrations. Magic waves that he could use to help him move. Focus.
He closed his eyes, calmed his mind. Opened himself up to the vibrations. Show me what I need to see. Take me where I need to go. Help me find the way.
And then he felt movement. A slight breeze on his face, tickling his scalp, cooling his skin. Fuzzy noise, like wind passing, or conversations buzzing in his ears.
He opened his eyes.
He was moving, quicker than he thought. Floating through things, walls, doors, people. It was only slightly weird. Only freaky if he let himself consider that perhaps this was what being a ghost felt like. Was he that close to death? Perhaps.
But he was flying, fast. Up two floors, down corridors he wasn’t completely familiar with. Was he going to find Hazel? Was she in some kind of trouble?
He tried to shake his fear for her. Tried to keep his mind clear. Help me find the way. Take me where I need to go. Show me what I need to see.
When he came to an abrupt halt, he was disoriented once again. The vibrations stopped, the white noise that came with it stopped as well. He was in a grand library, shelves stacked with books from floor to ceiling. No, wait, not a library—there was a huge desk, with an ornate chair, red brocade fabric, lion heads on the arms, fit for a king…or queen.
“Will she obey?”
Bridget’s voice was clear suddenly, the tone all business. She walked into the room, moving through Duke as she did.
She shuddered, looked back, almost as if seeing him, then shook it off.
Mother Knight was just behind her, looking her usual militant self.
“Of course she will obey,” Mother Knight said dismissively. “She’s my daughter. She knows what she has to do. It’s her destiny.”
Her destiny. Duke’s stomach plummeted.
“And Duke?” Bridget watched as Mother Knight moved to the other side of the desk, laying some files down before taking her seat.
“I will see to Duke once Hazel has taken her place. I explained that to you already.”
“Because the amulet is broken, right? You need her there to bolster you for that reason?” Bridget winced, lowered her head briefly. “Perhaps I can locate another crystal instead. Give Hazel enough time to achieve her training. A year would do her good. She showed such potential, such strength in the field. I just think—”
“No.” Mother Knight glared at Bridget, a fiercely dark look that spoke of dangerous things. Mother Knight was frozen in her movements, hands clenching on the top of the desk. “She is a powerful witch as it is and has had enough experience already. You think I don’t know what’s been going on behind my back? You think I’m not aware that my daughter is in love, or what she perceives as love with that man?”
“I didn’t know—” Bridget did her best to look surprised, shocked, mortified.
Nice try, but not even I’m buying that act.
“Well, I know, Healer Rose. I know my daughter, I know every move she makes, every thought she thinks is clear on her face. I knew when she was sneaking out to see the humans to participate in their celebrations.”
But she didn’t know that she’d been sneaking out to be with him. She didn’t know everything her daughter was thinking. Duke would dare say, she didn’t know her daughter at all.
“I indulged it because I knew I could always call her back if necessary. The amulet gave me that peace of mind. She was keeping herself happy, not going stir crazy, not putting herself in danger. The humans are harmless really and everyone needs an escape. I am not without compassion, understanding.” Her expression softened, as much as a hateful stone of a face could. “But now she is in danger. The feelings she thinks she has for Healer Hart, those are too dangerous to indulge. She will join the Circle and fulfill her obligation to me… To all Healer-kind. That is her purpose. That is her duty.”
“And you will heal Duke?” Bridget asked.
“Of course I will. That is the promise I have made to Hazel and that is what I will do. As soon as she joins the Circle.”
So that was what was drawing him there. To learn that Hazel was about to be lost to him and there was nothing he could do about it. He clenched his fists and roared, his frustration making him want to rip his way through the building to find her.
If she joined the Circle she was gone. Forever.
“Now, Healer Rose, I have things to do.” She waved her hand at the file in front of her. “What was it you needed to ask me about your patient?”
“Oh, yes, let me show you. I have the x-rays right here.”
Bridget turned away, bending to retrieve something from the pack on her hip, then looked directly at Duke, her lips moving soundlessly, her voice suddenly a whisper in his ear.
“I’m buying time. We have a plan. Don’t panic. Yet.”
27
Hazel felt like she’d been hit with a sledgehammer.
“Owwwwch.” She tried to lift her hand to her head but found her arms bound. “What the…” Her vision cleared. Mahdyia was standing in front of her in a room she felt she knew intimately. She darted her eyes around. Duke lay on the bed, the rise and fall of his chest reassuring her somewhat.
“Don’t freak out.” Mahdyia lifted a steaming cup to Hazel’s lips. “Drink this. It will help with the pain.”
She didn’t give Hazel a chance to argue, not unless Hazel wanted to wear whatever was in the cup. She drank tentatively. Tasted pepp
ermint and ginger, something else, but it did seem to help with the pain, taking it down a notch or five.
“What happened?” she croaked once Mahdyia took the cup away. “And why am I restrained?”
Mahdyia sighed as she laid the cup on a table then sat on a stool in front of Hazel. “It was the only way to stop you.”
“Stop me from…oh, Mads, I have to go, Duke is dying, I have to get out of here! Mother said she’ll save him if I join the Circle now. He’s dying, Mads. His heart—it was barely beating…how long have I been unconscious? How long?” She was watching Duke’s chest, couldn’t take her eyes off the steady rhythm of his breathing.
Tate was sitting there, partially concealed by a curtain. He leaned forward so Hazel could see and waved. “Guess it wasn’t unwanted attention after all, huh?”
Hazel blanched. “I’m sorry…I—”
“It was my lie,” Mads said. “Hazel just went along with it. She thought pushing Duke away was best for everyone. She loves him, Tate, she’s always loved him.”
“He’s dying,” Hazel pleaded. “We don’t have time for this.”
“If his heart stops, Tate will zap him.”
“That won’t work!” Hazel yelled. “His heart can’t take it, he’s too weak. That will just kill him faster.”
“Hazel, please.” Mahdyia put her hands on Hazel’s knees. “Please, calm down.”
“I can’t calm the fuck down!” Tears burst from her eyes, embarrassing considering the audience. “He’s dying and Mother is the only one who can fix him!”
“No.” Mahdyia gripped Hazel’s knees harder, digging her nails in. “She’s not. She lied to you.”
Hazel tried to stomp her feet on Mahdyia’s, the words registering on a delay. “W-w-what?” She stopped struggling.
Mahdyia relaxed her grip. “Your Mother lied to you. She wants you in that Circle where she can safely siphon your power. Especially now that the amulet is broken.”
The Witches of White Willow: A Witch Hospital Romance Page 21