by C. C. Wood
I sighed and shifted my butt on the sofa cushions.
“What’s wrong now?” he asked absently, his eyes moving steadily over the page.
“Other than you kidnapping me, you mean?” I asked him belligerently, crossing my arms over my chest. Strangely, since the bathroom window incident, I was no longer afraid of him. He’d had every opportunity to harm me then and he hadn’t.
“Yes, other than that.” His voice was mild as though we were talking about the weather rather than the fact that he had forcibly taken me from The Magic Bean.
“I’m bored and I’m hungry. So if there’s no TV or books around here, then the least you can do is feed me.”
His eyes lifted then, focusing on me. “You’re probably hungry because you expended all that energy calling me names earlier.”
I shook my head. “No, it’s my dinner time. You’re obligated to feed me.”
The corners of his mouth twitched and I knew he was trying not to smile. “Obligated?”
I shrugged. “I wouldn’t be here if you hadn’t grabbed me from the coffee shop. Therefore you’re required to feed me.”
“I’m not required to do anything,” he replied, going back to his book.
“Fine,” I said, crossing my legs. “Maybe I’ll sing. Do you like Ninety-Nine Bottles of Beer on the Wall?”
His book closed with a snap. “I’ll see what I can find.”
I smiled smugly behind his back.
“Get your ass in here and help me. I don’t trust you not to try and run off again.”
I got to my feet and followed him into the kitchen. I sat at the bar as he studied the contents of the fridge. In turn, I studied him. He was good-looking, clearly intelligent, and strong. I sensed no evil from him. I couldn’t understand why he was working with Rhiannon.
“Go ahead and ask,” he said as he turned from the fridge with a package of mushrooms in his hand.
“How did you know I wanted to ask you a question?” I queried.
He tapped his temple with his free hand. “You’re thinking so loudly that I can practically hear you even though you’re not speaking. Just ask me whatever it is so I can get some peace and quiet.”
I rolled my eyes. He acted tough and abrasive, but his behavior with me and his emotions, what few I could discern, told a different story. “Why are you helping Rhiannon? You’re not evil, I could feel it if you were. And you don’t enjoy causing pain. So what do you get from this?”
He tossed the mushrooms next to the sink and braced his hands on the counter. “You don’t beat around the bush, do you?”
I shook my head. “But you’re evading my question.”
He ripped open the package of mushrooms and began taking them out one by one. “She has something I need.”
I studied his face then looked deeper. Whatever it was, it was vital to him. I could sense his regret and his desire to be free of her hold.
“What’s that?” I asked.
“The name of my maker.”
“You don’t know who made you?” That was strange. Most vampires had close relationships with their creators. It was considered an important relationship in vampire culture, similar to that of a parent and child. Or in the case of mates, a husband and wife.
He shook his head, and to my utter shock, answered my question. “I-I can’t remember,” he replied. “I can’t remember anything about when I was turned or even before. I woke up one day and knew nothing, not even my own name. I was fully grown, but couldn’t recall my childhood. Then the first time I needed to feed…” He trailed off, his jaw clenching. “I need to find my maker and find out why they abandoned me with no memories in a land that I didn’t understand.”
Sympathy welled inside me. I couldn’t imagine waking up one day without a name or friends and family. The very idea scared the heck out of me.
“Don’t pity me,” he said gruffly. “I’ve done well enough.”
I pushed my sympathy for him aside. This man had kidnapped me. He didn’t deserve pity, even with a story like that. “How long have you been with Rhiannon?”
“A few years,” he answered cryptically, his attention on the mushrooms as he cleaned them.
I stared at him in consternation. Macgrath wasn’t stupid. How could he believe after years with Rhiannon that she still intended to help him?
He stopped what he was doing and turned his eyes to me. “You’re doing it again.”
“Doing what?” I asked in confusion.
“Thinking so loudly that I can nearly hear every word.” He sighed and reached beneath the counter for a cutting board and knife. He began to chop the mushrooms.
I watched as he sliced the mushrooms neatly then turned and took an onion from a basket on the counter. He removed the skin and chopped it as well.
Finally, he said, “I know she isn’t going to help me.”
“Then why are you still here?”
“Because I have nowhere else to go.”
I couldn’t imagine that feeling. Despite the problems my abilities caused me, I had friends and family to help me if I needed it. Though I often felt alone, I wasn’t. Not truly. Not in the way that Macgrath had been and still was.
I didn’t say anything else as Macgrath took the ingredients to the gas range and began putting together a meal.
A few minutes later, the front door opened and Rhiannon sauntered inside, looking cool and fresh despite the heat outside.
“Good evening,” she greeted me pleasantly, as though I were an invited guest rather than a victim of a kidnapping.
She didn’t wait for my reply, moving directly toward Macgrath. “Darling, you’re making dinner. It smells fantastic.”
Rhiannon stopped next to him and rose on her toes to kiss his cheek. Even from across the kitchen, I could see his body tense beneath her touch and feel his repulsion.
“Rhiannon,” he greeted her as he sidestepped her hand.
A swell of emotions filled the room, but they weren’t Macgrath’s. Anger, pain, and desperation took over the space. I stared at Rhiannon in shock at the amount of chaos that surrounded her. I immediately understood that she wasn’t hiding her abilities right now. Her pale skin glowed with an inner light and her dark eyes shimmered with power. I was also surprised at the loneliness that filled every part of her soul. Rhiannon might have been a powerful witch, but she was also an innately damaged woman. Sympathy filled me for her emotions weren’t so different from mine.
The tempest inside her suddenly quieted as though she slammed a door between us.
Then she smiled and I began to rethink my assessment of her because the smile was malicious and calculating.
“I think it’s time we made a phone call, don’t you?”
She reached into her bag and removed her cell phone. After pressing a few buttons, she put it to her ear.
“Hello, Ava. I believe we have a few things to discuss.” I could hear the sound of Ava’s voice from across the room and Rhiannon’s smile widened. “Now, now, is that any way to talk to someone who’s hosting your friend?” She paused briefly. “I didn’t think so. I believe you know that I want the animavore. I’m going to give you some coordinates in a few moments and you will bring him to me at ten tonight. If you’re late or you pull any kind of shit, Macgrath will rip the little empath’s throat out. Is that understood?”
Without waiting for a response, Rhiannon disconnected the call and leveled her eyes on me. “The same goes for you, Savannah. If you try any sort of stunt, I’ll peel the skin from the witch’s bones and make you watch.”
Rhiannon Temple might be a writhing pit of despair and emptiness, but she was still evil. She wasn’t deserving of my compassion.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Savannah
My heart beat a fast tattoo against my ribs as Macgrath steered Rhiannon’s Land Rover down a gravel road. We’d been driving for a while, heading toward the middle of nowhere it seemed.
After Rhiannon called Ava, she disappeared into a
nother part of the house and came back wearing a pair of jeans, boots, and a black shirt with the sleeves rolled up. That should have been my first clue of what was to come.
Then she insisted we sit down and eat dinner together, as though she were hosting a dinner party. She set the table with white square plates and water goblets. There were even candles and a small centerpiece of burgundy calla lilies.
Macgrath dished out servings of mushroom risotto and roasted asparagus while Rhiannon poured out glasses of chardonnay. We sat around that table and ate the food in silence. Though I hadn’t been lying when I told Macgrath I was hungry, I couldn’t eat. I pushed the risotto around on the plate, thinking about Rhys. I knew that I would be freaking out right about now if I were in his shoes. I was sure he was doing the same.
When the meal was over, Macgrath washed the dishes and Rhiannon disappeared again.
At a quarter to nine, she came back into the living room. “It’s time to go.”
We’d been on the road for nearly forty-five minutes when Macgrath turned off the gravel road and drove down a narrow dirt trail. It definitely wasn’t a road. More like a track that had been worn through the woods.
Finally, he stopped the Land Rover and put it in park. He looked over his shoulder at me. “We’re here.”
I climbed out of the vehicle and felt a shiver run over my skin. Though we were in the middle of nowhere, there was no sound. Not a single insect or bird made a noise. There wasn’t even a breeze to stir the leaves.
Something was very wrong here.
Macgrath took my arm at the elbow and set off through the trees until we reached a clearing. The moon didn’t pierce the canopy created by the trees and he didn’t use a flashlight, yet he walked through the woods as though he could see perfectly.
However, I couldn’t. I tripped over rocks and branches, nearly twisting my ankle when I stepped in a low spot. With a heavy sigh, Macgrath stopped and swung me up in his arms. I squirmed and shoved at his shoulders.
“Put me down,” I insisted.
His arms squeezed me tightly enough to push the air out of my lungs. “Quiet. If you break an ankle, I’ll have to carry you anyway and you’ll be in a lot more pain.”
I smacked his shoulder. “Can’t. Breathe,” I gasped.
His arms loosened but he didn’t put me down. I huffed and crossed my arms over my chest. Over his shoulder, I caught a glimpse of Rhiannon’s face. She wasn’t happy with the situation. At all.
“Can we get on with it?” she asked, putting her hands on her hips.
Once again Macgrath’s hands tightened on me, but only just a little. Though his emotions were tightly leashed, I could feel a flare of anger toward Rhiannon. He resumed walking, carrying me as though I weighed nothing.
Since I didn’t have to worry about watching where I was walking, I stared ahead into the darkness and thought about Rhys and what was happening. I couldn’t let him give himself up to Rhiannon for me. I would never be able to live with myself.
I didn’t have Macgrath’s strength or the power that Ava and Rhys had. There was only one thing I could do to stop this and everything within me repelled the idea. Despite what everyone believed, I wasn’t completely helpless.
Ava had been right when she said that emotions were part of the soul. And the soul was necessary for survival. If I drew on Rhiannon’s emotions, draining them from her, I would also be taking her soul. I probably wouldn’t be able to kill her, but I could weaken her enough so that Rhys or Ava could. I had to give them a chance to help me because there was no way in hell I was letting the man I loved give himself up for me. I also couldn’t believe that I was thinking so calmly about the possibility of snuffing out someone’s life. I had always tried to use my abilities to help people rather than hurt them.
Then I thought of Rhys and all the pain he’d been through, all the pain that Rhiannon likely had planned, and my resolve hardened. I would do whatever necessary to protect Rhys, even kill.
Macgrath emerged from the trees into a large field and he put me on my feet without a word. His jaw was clenched and I feared that I’d been thinking too loudly and he’d heard it all.
“Don’t move,” he commanded.
I stood still and watched as Rhiannon walked around, murmuring beneath her breath while light spilled from her palms. A large glowing circle formed on the ground, about twenty feet in diameter, leaving the three of us in the center.
I felt the weight of the magic surrounding me, and my heart sank. Ava was strong but I didn’t think she was powerful enough to break this spell.
“Why are you doing this?” I asked Rhiannon. “Why do you want Rhys?”
At first I thought she was going to ignore me because she continued what she was doing without answering. Then she murmured, “He has something I want.”
“What could he have that you want?”
Her eyes came to me, the dark depths piercing and cold. “Power. Power like I’ve never seen.”
I shook my head. I’d never seen Rhys exhibit magic on that level. “You have to be mistaken.”
Rhiannon laughed and it raised goose bumps on my skin. “You have no idea what you’ve had in your bed, do you?” she queried. “The animavore is the key to what I want. I helped create him for that singular purpose and Gaius betrayed me.”
“You helped make him?”
“He was my finest creation. I intended to create another such as Macgrath, but my magic wouldn’t comply, but Cornelius and Rhys proved to be a far better substitute. They would have helped me achieve my goal.”
“And what’s that?” My voice was soft, barely above a whisper.
“I will be a goddess, a being so powerful that all will tremble before me.”
I stared at her and shook my head. “And what use is that? What use is all that power if you hoard it for yourself rather than helping others?”
“Helping others?” she scoffed. “I spent decades helping others, giving them everything I had to offer, sharing the gifts I’d been given. Do you know what they did to me?” she asked, stalking closer. “When I fell ill, after all that time spent helping them, they left me alone to die. No one came to aid me when I was in need. I was old and weak but none of the people I helped, the people I loved, could be bothered to feed me or keep my fires burning as I had done for them hundreds, nay thousands of times.”
“How are you here?” I asked.
Her eyes burned with frigid fire. “On my deathbed, I cast a spell. I recalled every drop of power I expended to help the villagers. Everyone I healed, everyone I ever helped, no longer benefitted from my aid.”
“What happened to them?”
“Most died. Some were able to survive, but they learned that they shouldn’t have taken me for granted.”
I shook my head. I could understand her bitterness at being abandoned by the villagers she’d helped so much, but to kill them in retaliation? “Do you truly believe the punishment fit the crime?”
Rhiannon waved a hand. “It doesn’t matter if it did or not. I no longer concern myself with the help people might need. What I want is what matters.”
“What do you expect all this power to bring you?” I truly wanted to understand. “Do you want people to bow down to you? To serve you?”
“Bow down to me, yes, that sounds nice,” Rhiannon laughed. “But I have no desire to be empress of this realm.”
I frowned at her strange word choice. “Then why do you want all this power?”
The manic light in her eyes faded slightly, replaced once again by the pain I sensed roiling inside her. “There is one who made me what I am, for every creature has a maker. She abandoned me in my time of need and then punished me for doing what was necessary to save myself. She doesn’t deserve to sit in judgment of me or of anyone. My magic is not for her to give and take.”
I stared at her in disbelief. “All of this is for revenge?” I questioned. “You want to punish your maker so you’re killing people? Do you not see how crazy that is
?”
The witch scowled at me, the power swirling around her as she lifted her hand. “You—”
“They’re coming,” Macgrath said, stepping between us.
Still glowering at me, Rhiannon moved toward the edge of the circle. I watched the headlights that halted on the road that ran along the edge of the field and felt my heart thud against my ribs.
I could feel the energy gathering around us as the headlights shut off. From across the pasture, I could hear the doors slam as they climbed out and began walking toward us. The ground trembled beneath us as a light encircled the entire field, radiating upward until it closed high above us, creating a pulsing dome of glowing magic.
I’d known since the moment I stepped out of Rhiannon’s car that something wasn’t right. Now I knew why.
The trap was ready and waiting and now Rhiannon Temple had sprung it around us.
There would be no escape unless we defeated her.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Rhys
As the dome of light formed over us, I looked over at Ava. “I should have traced to them.”
Ava shook her head and lifted a hand, pointing to where I could see three figures waiting. Another circle, this one about twenty feet across pulsed with red light. “That’s a very nasty protection spell,” she stated softly. “If you managed to get tangled up in it, you would have been burned to a crisp or something worse.”
I shrugged. “Maybe, or maybe not. She wants me alive, doesn’t she?”
“It doesn’t matter now,” Ava replied. “We’re here and we’re trapped. We have to figure out a way to get past Rhiannon’s spells before we can put a plan in motion.”
In truth there was no plan. Kerry had been unable to help us locate Rhiannon or Savannah. She was insistent that we talk, that she had important information, but it would have to wait. If Rhiannon hadn’t called Ava, we still wouldn’t know where Savannah was or if she was unharmed. The only accord we had been able to come to was that Ava would deal with Rhiannon and I would kill Macgrath. As we approached the red circle, I could see that she was fine, standing unaided but clearly frightened.