by Kari Thomas
“Keep in mind that if you dare try to cast your spells, I’ll destroy you in an instant. Before you can draw your next breath, you ignorant bitch. And, in case you have forgotten, I do have a back up plan. I would hate to call Lena, but she is more than capable of offering the assistance I need. The question now is whether or not you’re willing to do the same. Will you sacrifice your life for another’s?”
He was crazy. Insane. Kira could see it in the too-bright glint of his eyes, hear it in his voice. She had to think quickly.
Her life, and others’, depended on what she would choose to do next.
“What has this to do with Riana’s illness?” She had to have all the answers before she could act. The slightest mistake could be their downfall.
Warren clasped his hands together, almost childlike with his desire to share his heinous plan. “Ahh…that was brilliant. I’d tried and had countless failures. None were strong enough to consummate the Spell. I knew the Calhouns were the strongest of their kind but the risk to my life, should I go up against one of them, was too great to consider. I was so sure I could use someone else…one of the lesser and more easily controlled ones…and gain the results I wanted. But, just in case, I decided I might need a back up plan.
“Riana was the most obvious choice. The most accessible. She and Lena have been friends for years and she was easy to deceive. Took no effort on my part. She fell into my hands like a ripe peach.”
It started to make sense. Was becoming perfectly, sickeningly clear.
Kira stared at Warren in disbelief and shock. “The black ‘presence’ inside her, the one I sensed when I tried to help her, you…you put it there? Why? What purpose does it serve?”
“The Calhoun females have the strongest DNA. By placing the spell on Riana, I knew I’d eventually be able to use her to complete my incantation, receive the power destined to be mine. Her death will be blamed on some ‘mysterious illness’. I doubt her brothers will be any wiser at the end.”
Her death? DNA? Kira wasn’t sure she could take much more of this cryptic conversation. It was like living in a nightmare you were unable to awake from.
Countless questions spun like a chaotic whirlwind in her head.
Warren gestured at the bear in the cage. “But there is one little complication. If I try to use Riana, the process will kill me.” He frowned darkly, irritated that he wasn’t quite strong enough…yet…to drain the essence he required. Rumor had it that ingesting a shape-shifter’s life-force could be stimulating.
“The ‘darkness’ got a bit out of control while waiting inside her and I’ve had to accept that. Unfortunately, I’m not strong enough to complete the Spell using her in that fashion…at least not right now. That simply meant I had to approach my little problem from a different direction. You can do what needs to be done in my place.”
“Do what?” Kira heard the edging hysteria in her tone and drew in a deep, calming breath. As she exhaled slowly, her mind raced. She had to stay in control!
Loss of that hard-won control would lead to panic...which was not an option.
“Heal Riana…well, maybe not heal her, but remove the ‘darkness’ I initially placed inside her. I guess I should tell you that there seems to be a small, unforeseen complication that resulted after I used my Spell. The ‘darkness’ has, kind of, imbedded itself within her spirit. It seeks domination of her. All for its own purpose, of course. It’s being very stubborn, resisting every attempt I’ve made to control It…not very accommodating of It, in my opinion. Apparently I need more power than I actually have right now. And that will come, once you have given me what I want.” He snorted, disgusted at having to admit such a failure. “After you remove It, you will need to drain her life force so it is completely purified once it passes through your system. That way I don’t contaminate myself when I, in turn, remove it from you.”
“Remove her essence?” Kira nearly choked on her shock. “But that will kill her! It’s her life force!”
“I’ve thought of that possibility and knew you might have some objections to the process. I have discovered a way you could drain her, and she would survive, but it is very inefficient.” He noticed his niece’s concern and sighed. “I could put a spell on her… I believe there is something like a fifty-fifty probability it will keep her from dying while you’re draining her dry. But, as you know, there are never assurances when it comes to complicated procedures like this. If she is able to walk away from this…alive…she won’t remember a thing…Which will probably be a good thing. Her mind will be a clean slate.” Warren thought for a moment. “Hmm…that might actually be the perfect solution.”
“Let me get this straight...” Kira managed to keep her voice low and calm…but just barely. “You trust me to heal her then remove her life force…the essence that is Riana…just so I can transfer it over to you? Are you insane?” She clenched her hands into tight fists of rage. “You crazy fool! First off, despite what you’re so mysteriously referring to as the ‘Calhoun DNA’, Riana is human. Her life force won’t benefit you any more than taking the mailman’s. Secondly, I can heal her without your permission and solve her ‘illness’ without involving you in the process. Thirdly, I would never risk anyone’s life…no matter what type of threats you make…just so that someone else could benefit from their pain and suffering. You hold no aces here, Warren. I won’t do this. I refuse!” For a moment she almost expected him to start foaming like a mad dog as he sputtered, seeming at loss for words at her determined denial to go along with his irrational, insane plan.
Warren glowered at his niece, stunned she would dare to take such a stand against him. After a long moment he managed to regain his composure.
Kira found his sudden calm far more frightening than his dementia.
He stared hard at her, intoning, “Then she dies. Here and now. And so do you.”
Kira decided she had nothing to lose and bravely scoffed at his theatrical threat, despite the insidious dread racing through her soul. “It doesn’t matter. Riana isn’t here so it makes no difference. I won’t let you harm her, Warren. We’ll fight this out right here, right now.” She forced a cold smile of her own, praying she actually had the power to back her boast. “You’re right in thinking my powers are strong. And I’m beginning to understand just how strong you think yours are. Obviously this is a stand off. I have enough confidence to believe I can survive this. Do you?”
“Oh, by the way…I knew there was something else I forgot to mention,” Warren smugly announced. Kira cringed at the odd tone of his voice. “If by some chance you do manage to defeat me, then later try to heal Riana, the Spell I set in place will kill you both. It’s irrevocably linked to her life force so that the only way to save her is to drain it from her life force. The you must immediately transfer It or die. The scroll did say that the carrier’s death is not at all pleasant…supposedly very painful…so, if I were you, I’d probably want to keep that in mind. The Spell forces the transference to be sent into the one who placed the Spell there to start out. Plus, you are far too weak to contain it.”
He rubbed his jaw as if in deep thought. “Your decision. You could try it either way…after all, you have nothing to lose. Either choice, one or both of you will die.” He glanced at his watch, tapping the face admonishingly. “Time to decide, Kira. Tick tock, tick tock. Riana only has a few more hours to live if you don’t heal her now.”
Was Warren telling the truth? Indecision clouded her senses. Her mind raced with her options, which seemed extremely limited, and she wanted to scream in frustration.
Something in the a corner of her soul, a thing she never knew existed, threatened to break free, rise up and strike out at Warren. The insidious and dark entity whispered ‘Destroy him’. ‘Now!’ That urge frightened her and she resolutely pushed it away, burying it in the farthest corner of her psyche.
She was a white witch. She would not use her powers for evil. It seemed that stalling for time…for now…was her only option. I
f she could only get to Aiden…send word…
Kira decided to play it cool and calm. No use giving the madman any more ammunition.
“Then we should leave now if Riana is so close to death. It’s going to take us at least ten minutes to get to the Calhoun estate.” Her uncle started laughing but she didn’t see what was so funny. Disgusted at his weird sense of humor she started toward the door, hoping she could come up with a plan on the way to the compound.
Warren stopped laughing when he saw Kira walking toward the door, disgusted he was once married into such a stupid family. Luckily that little problem hadn’t lasted long after he had found the scroll. “You can stop right there. No need to go anywhere. You can heal her here.”
Kira stopped. She turned around and frowned at her uncle, further confused by his twisted thought processes. “Even you have to realize I can’t perform any type of healing spell from this great of a distance. And I need Riana’s permission before I can start anything anyway. That is the crede.”
“You are going to make me start laughing again with your absurd, moronic comments, and you seem to have an adverse reaction to that,” Warren commented dryly. He gestured toward the bear. “Go ahead, Kira. Ask her permission.”
Kira’s eyes moved from Warren to the bear. Her heart stuttered and her throat tightened as she noticed the bear – who seemed to have been following their conversation – nod its head in affirmation of her uncle’s claim. While her uncle laughed at the look of horrified shock on her face, her knees threatened to buckle from the shocking blow. Please, Goddess. This can’t be true…he has to be…completely…insane. It just can’t be…true. That would mean that Gavin…and…oh, my God!!…Aiden!
“Yes, my dear niece…surprise, surprise.” Warren gleefully announced. “The bear…and your ‘friend’, Riana…are one and the same. And she’ll be stuck in her animal form until the day she dies, unless you do what I want. She is a shape-shifter…the same brand of creature as the panthers I ‘hired’ to rid me of your parents…your young sister…as well as you and Sonia. Imagine…you’ve been socializing with a whole family of shape-shifters, icons of the community. I have always wondered if Baby Marissa inherited their ‘gene’ pool. Should we ask Riana?”
Kira heard someone scream out the word ‘No!’ and realized it was her own voice she heard. The shock penetrated deep, leaving her numb and dizzy. She tried to deny his words, and the bear’s obvious comprehension of their situation. It was too surreal. It can’t be true! This was just a nightmare. Nothing more. Any minute she’d wake up. Please, Goddess! Tell me he is wrong…show me the truth…
And She had. So many of Kira’s questions had been answered...if only she had ‘listened’…
Bending down she looked into the bear’s eyes and saw the truth. Riana’s soul is reflected, through those eyes. Why didn’t I recognize it?
Careers in wildlife conservation – the perfect cover. A wildlife sanctuary – the perfect home. Riana’s paintings of ‘ancestors’ with animal counterparts…which were which? Were the brothers the ‘guard pets’, the same as Aiden claimed Riana guarded Marissa? And if they were…who was which – cougar or wolf, Gavin or Aiden? Was this why Marissa’s aura had been amber…and not the Douglas lavender? Was ‘little foxy’ more than a family nickname? Kira couldn’t stop her hysterical giggles as she thought back on some of the comments that had been made. This explained Marissa’s odd remarks, and the mysterious playmates whom Kira had never met. It was all there…why didn’t I see it…?
Uncle Aiden…equaled…’Big Kitty’...
The sudden rush of nausea, hitting the back of her throat, made her eyes water. Aiden…
She had fallen in love with him…made love to him! A shape-shifter; a man as much wild animal as human. When he had warned her of the darkness in his soul she hadn’t fully understood, had thought he was still tormented by his need for vengeance, that he fought the hatred he held for her sister…and all magic-users. How could he have been so sanctimonious? His species surviving, living alongside mankind was…magic. And he hated magic! How could she have fallen in love with a man who was…part beast? Especially after what happened to her family!
The thought of his heritage being the same as those animals who had cold-heartedly murdered…no…slaughtered!…her family, made her feel slightly nauseous.
And he knew…knew why she was terrified of animals, especially big cats! She had opened her heart…and he had ripped it out.
Had this been the cause of Sonia’s breakdown? Did she discover the truth about her husband…and child…and the death of their family members? Did it push her over the edge? Had Warren urged her to destroy herself, and husband, because of this…genetic defect?
Her headache returned in full force with all the questions, the torment of her pain nearly blinding her. But the agony of her head wasn’t a fraction of what her heart was experiencing.
Shredded, bleeding, shattered, broken – how would she ever survive?
“Are we having fun yet?” Warren needled, his tone viscously humorous. “Now you’re left with choices. The decision of whether or not to save Riana’s life in your hands. Eeenie, meenie, minie, moe…do you have a cougar by the toe?” He couldn’t stop his snickers at his playful pun. That was a good one…!
“You will have to take inside yourself the essence of an animal, a wild creature, your worst nightmare. In order to save her you will suffer a thousand levels of hell. And you will, because you care…care about an animal. If you think to trick me after you heal her, I will kill you. That will force me to use Lena.” Warren sighed overdramatically. “The transference will probably kill her…and Riana. I really will miss her, you know. But time’s up…choose, Kira. Now.”
There really was no choice. Kira wouldn’t risk either Lena, or Riana’s, lives. They both meant too much to her. How could she choose between family, and friend? She would fight to save them both, with her last breath if need be.
Would Marissa survive a second crippling emotional blow, so soon after the first? First her mother then her loving aunt. And Riana had proven herself to be a loving, caring person…and that was exactly how Kira would think of her, regardless of the fur and fangs.
She wasn’t so sure she hadn’t caught Warren’s insanity because…Goddess help her…fur and tail aside, she had thought about it and still loved Aiden! Deep in her heart and soul she knew that, no matter what happened this day, her love for him would never change. But how could she ever face him and admit she had not tried to save his sister from a madman? She knew she had to do this, for Riana, Lena, Aiden…and herself.
It’s given him a brief advantage. He counted on me being shocked. And I am. She knew he’d counted on the reminded slaughter of her family, which he admitted to engineering, to blend with discovery about the Calhouns’ heritage. And I played right into his hands...
With her comprehension, came compassion. It suddenly didn’t matter that Riana was a shape-shifter; she was a living creature and Kira had taken an oath to protect all living creatures, if it was within her power. It was a moot point now. For her friend – for Riana had always been a friend – needed her help, and Kira was determined to do what was right. She managed to stand and, for a dizzying moment, the room seemed to swirl around her. She defiantly lifted her chin and the look she gave Warren would have scared a braver man.
But he was no mere man.
He was an insane witch.
“I’ll do it. But I demand a guarantee that you will protect Riana, keep her alive during, and after, the transfer. You will also set her free with the guarantee that you’ll leave the Calhoun family alone after this.” She held his gaze, unconsciously projecting a challenge of authority in her tone. “You must swear an oath, Warren. It must be a ‘binding’ ritual oath, one that will hold you to your promise, or destroy you. Are you willing?”
He glared at her, thinking that perhaps he should have made sure she had died those many years ago. She was turning out to be almost as big a pain
as her mother. “You think you’re so smart, don’t you. I’ve been planning this a long time, thought it through, covered most of the possibilities. This was one I should have foreseen, but didn’t. Who knew that obtaining immortality could be so complicated? What do I care about Riana, or the rest of her family, once this is over? I agree.”
Kira was stunned by his admission. “Immortality?” she choked out. “You’ve done all of this…murdering your own family, butchering innocents, breaking hearts, all for the foolish quest of obtaining immortality? You’re truly, irrevocably insane, Warren! It can’t be gained in that fashion. Not even the strongest of us has that power to take immortality into their soul.”
“Ahh, but that’s where you’re wrong. The scroll told me of my destiny, invited the ‘black spirit’ to guide me on my journey. It whispered to me the secret to obtaining my greatest desire. Shared ancient knowledge that would culminate in my ultimate prize. It doesn’t matter if you know…you can’t stop me now…why do you think you can once we are done here?
“Combining a powerful witch’s spirit with the ‘correct’ life force essence of a shape-shifter, and adding them with my own, will be my crowning achievement, my climax. My powers have strengthened over the years, aided by the small essences and amulets I have ‘used’ over the years. My studies in the transport of energy has yielded some surprising results, but nothing could surpass this. Adding your energies to mine will be the final catalyst.” He studied her for a long moment. “I thought I had found the perfect specimen with Sonia but you carry a far stronger, more potent energy force than she ever dreamed of acquiring. And yours is natural…I just can’t figure out how you became so strong. You were always the most fragile, physically, of the family…”
She may have been defeated once by Warren’s madness, though she had not known it at the time, but she was not about to allow him to beat her down again. She was stronger now. She refused to give in to his insanity. No matter what…she would stop him.