Touch of Magic

by Carin Rafferty

  “Then you’ve just made my case,” Ryan stated smugly. “If he can’t get involved, he can’t help us. So there’s no reason for us to go to him.”

  “You’re purposely misunderstanding me!” she declared in exasperation. ‘You know very well that when I say he can’t get involved, it’s that he can’t, as you said, ‘jump in with both feet.’ He can, however, give us the benefit of his knowledge. And several times, Oran told me that knowledge is power. We have to go see Sebastian.”

  Ryan gave an adamant shake of his head. He understood what she was saying, but he also recognized the threat Moira had just issued to him out in the woods.

  For whatever reason, Moira wanted them in the house, and she wanted them to stay there. He wasn’t about to risk Shana’s safety on a theory that might prove to be fatal.

  “It’s too dangerous, Shana, and if you’ll give yourself some time to think about it, you’ll see that I’m right. Moira is not going to stand by and let us run to Sebastian for help.”

  “We don’t have time to think, Ryan. I just told you that Moira has only four cards left to deliver, and she could deliver them at any time.” She shook a piece of paper at him. Then she pointed to it as she reiterated, “One of those missing cards is The Emperor, and I know that it represents Sebastian.”

  “I don’t care what the damn card is. Common sense says that your reasoning is not only convoluted, but suicidal.”

  “My reasoning is not convoluted or suicidal,” she asserted. “It’s a compilation of the facts. I’ve finally figured out the key to reading the cards, and Oran said that it’s how you deal with that knowledge that will make a difference, Ryan. So stop arguing with me and listen to what I’m saying. The Emperor card is the key, and combined with what Aric told us, it makes perfect sense for us to go see Sebastian.

  “So, we’re going to go see Sebastian,” she reiterated, “and we’re going to go see him right now. Now, contact him and ask him where we can meet him.”

  “I am not going to contact Sebastian, and we are not going to go see him,” Ryan said, crossing his arms over his chest and glaring at her. “And if you try to go on your own, you’ll have to step over my dead body first.”

  She perched her hands on her hips and glared right back. “And if you don’t do this, that is exactly what I’ll be doing—stepping over your dead body. Assuming of course, that you don’t have to step over my dead body first!”

  RYAN SUCKED IN a harsh breath, feeling as if she had just delivered a punch to his gut. Suddenly, his mind filled with a vision of Shana lying at the bottom of a ravine, her body bruised and broken and lifeless. It was such a clear image—so real—that it terrified him. He closed his eyes tightly, trying to shut out the vision, but the attempt only made it more vivid.

  With a vicious curse, he opened his eyes, and said, “Shana, you can’t . . .”

  His voice trailed off when he realized he was alone in the room. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that she was headed to see Sebastian.

  Stop her!

  As Moira’s furious voice erupted in his mind, a card floated past his face to the floor. Without even thinking, Ryan bent to pick it up. He quickly examined it. It had to be the Emperor card Shana had been talking about. It showed a man sitting on a throne with a crown on his head. His face was unfamiliar, but Ryan was sure it was this Sebastian character.

  I said, stop her! Now!

  The threat was apparent in Moira’s voice, and Ryan ran toward the front of the house. Since Shana hadn’t gone past him, she had to have used the front door. At least she’d be on the road, so he should be able to catch up with her. When he threw open the door a minute later, however, it was to see Shana turning into the woods from a spot several feet down the road.

  “Shana! Stop!” he yelled, but she ignored him.

  Wishing he had never cast the shielding spell over her, he ran after her. If he had contact with her mind, he’d at least be able to keep track of her. And he knew that keeping track of her was going to be a problem.

  He might be faster, but she had the advantage of knowing the woods. She could probably lose him in a heartbeat.

  By the time he reached the spot where he’d seen her disappear, he couldn’t even hear a rustle in the underbrush. She was already gone.

  A new wave of terror washed over him. If he didn’t stop her, Moira would. That’s why he’d had that vision of her lying dead. Moira had been showing him what she planned to do to her if he didn’t stop her.

  He leaned his head back and screamed, “Shana! Please! Come back! You can’t do this!”

  The only answer was the echo of his own frantic voice.

  AS RYAN SCREAMED for her to come back, Shana slid to a stop and turned to look back along the path she was traveling. His voice was filled with so much torment and fear that she felt as if a knife were being plunged into her heart.

  She wrung her hands together, feeling torn. He was her mate, and he was suffering. All of her instincts were clamoring at her, compelling her to go to him and comfort him. Yet she knew that if she went back, he wouldn’t change his mind about seeing Sebastian. Intuitively, she knew that it was imperative that she see him, even if it meant letting Ryan suffer for a while.

  Suddenly, a bitter cold wind swirled around her, and she shivered violently. But it wasn’t the cold that chilled her to the depths of her soul. It was the dark figure that began materializing on the path. Moira!

  When the specter fully took shape, it pointed a shrouded arm down the path. Go back or I’ll kill him!

  Again, Shana shivered violently. Though she knew Moira’s voice was only in her mind, she could hear the malevolence in her threat. But even as terror mushroomed inside her, urging her to run back to Ryan before Moira carried out her threat, her common sense surfaced. In the first place, Moira hadn’t delivered all of the cards. Shana was sure that Moira couldn’t harm Ryan until she had. Secondly, this was the first time Moira had said anything to her other than “The future is mine, and now yours will be mine.” The only reason Shana could come up with for Moira to suddenly change her infamous line was because she was afraid.

  Afraid? Of you? Moira let out a scornful laugh. You are nothing but a vessel for me. Like Terza, you have foolishly given your heart to a man who does not love you. Will never love you. It is me he wants. It has always been me.

  “That is not true!” Shana declared furiously. “Ryan loves me, or he wouldn’t have been able to accept the witch’s vow from me.”

  When he touches you, he is touching me. When he makes love to you, he is making love to me. When he took the witch’s vow from you, he thought he was accepting it from me!

  Shana shook her head in adamant denial. But even as she did so, she could feel doubt creeping in. Could it be true? Was it possible that when Ryan was dealing with her, he thought he was dealing with Moira? If she was existing inside her, then . . .

  Confused, she glanced down at the chart in her hand. It was dark, and she shouldn’t have been able to see more than a white blur of paper. But a shaft of moonlight was angled across the bottom right corner, and the words “The Empress” stood out in bold relief. She was pregnant, and the only way that could happen was if Ryan truly loved her.

  “You’re lying!” Shana declared angrily as she jerked her head up and glared at Moira. “You’re only trying to confuse me so I won’t go to Sebastian. Ryan does love me, and that’s why you keep bringing Aric out isn’t it? He knows his true love is dead, so he has nothing to lose. And a man who has nothing to lose is reckless. Ryan, however, has me to fight for, and that makes him a dangerous adversary. You’re afraid that his love for me will make him strong enough to defeat you. You’re afraid he’ll force you back into the cards, and you’ll be trapped there forever.”

  Fool! Moira raged as her image began to fade, and then, in the blink of an eye she
was gone.

  “I may be a fool about many things,” Shana said, “but love is not one of them.”

  With that, she turned and hurried down the path. She had to find Sebastian, because instinct told her that the final battle was near.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Justice Card

  Release

  WHEN SHANA ARRIVED at the campsite where Sebastian lived, she saw him sitting in a classic meditation pose in front of a small fire. Though he seemed oblivious to what was going on around him, she knew he was aware of her presence.

  She forced herself to stand at the edge of the trees and wait for him to surface from his trance, concluding that it was just as well that she was powerless. Otherwise, she might be tempted to connect with his mind and urge him to acknowledge her immediately. That would definitely be a breach of protocol, and not a good thing to do to the most powerful warlock alive.

  Shifting impatiently from one foot to the other, she surveyed the area. She had never had a reason to visit Sebastian before, and she was surprised by the setting. There was a lean-to, and that slight protection against the elements appeared to be the only indulgence he’d permitted himself.

  Why did he choose to live such an austere and secluded lifestyle? And she knew it was by choice. Sebastian was from one of the covens in Europe, so he didn’t have a home of his own in Sanctuary. However Lucien was his cousin, and because of their family bond, Sebastian could have lived with him and Ariel. But Sebastian had refused their offer to stay with them, saying that he preferred living in the woods.

  Shana knew some coven members felt Sebastian chose this lifestyle because it made him closer to the forces of nature, and that made him stronger, more powerful. She suspected, however, it was because Sebastian liked the air of mystery—of separateness—it gave him.

  Her musing was interrupted when Sebastian suddenly took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Realizing he was coming out of his trance, she nervously clutched the chart between her hands.

  “Hello, Shana,” he said as his eyes finally opened.

  “Sebastian,” she said, taking a tentative step toward him. “I hope I’m not interrupting anything important, but I need to talk with you.”

  “Actually, you saved me a trip,” he said, gesturing toward a spot on the other side of the fire. “I was about to pay you a visit.”

  She approached the circle and sat down. When she did, he eyed her critically. Frowning, he said, “You’ve mated since I saw you this afternoon.”

  “Umm, yes,” Shana said, glancing nervously away from his probing gaze.

  “Lucien didn’t announce it at tonight’s service.”

  “Well, Lucien doesn’t know about it yet, and I’d appreciate it if you didn’t tell him,” she said, fingering the chart, which she had placed in her lap. “In fact, I’d appreciate it if you don’t tell him about this visit until . . .”

  “Until?” he prodded. When she didn’t answer right away, he frowned again. “What’s going on, Shana? When I brush against your mind, all I get are pleasant images and thoughts. Yet it’s obvious that something’s wrong. If I didn’t know you were powerless, I’d swear you have a shielding spell in place.”

  “I do have a shielding spell in place,” Shana replied, “and that’s sort of the reason I’m here. I need your advice, but so much has happened, I’m not sure where to start.”

  Sebastian regarded her for a long, nerve-wracking moment, and Shana couldn’t help shifting uncomfortably beneath his assessing gaze. Finally, he said, “I suggest you start at the beginning.”

  “Yes, well, that would have been Samhain. You see, that night I was feeling particularly lonely, and—” She paused and sighed heavily, then confessed, “On Samhain, I used the enchanted Tarot deck and released Moira from the cards.”

  He glanced at some unseen spot over her head, and then returned his gaze to her, his expression grim. “I see. The prophecy.”

  Shana had braced herself for an explosion of temper, and she shivered at his unemotional response. His lack of feeling alarmed her, because she sensed that beneath the surface he was anything but calm.

  “You know about the prophecy?” she asked.

  “Of course, I know about the prophecy,” he said, his tone suddenly tense. “Why do you think I’ve stayed in Sanctuary all this time? If Moira regains existence, she becomes my problem. We’re talking about the most powerful witch who ever lived, and she’s not only evil but fully trained in the use of the dark forces. You can imagine the disastrous consequences to our race if she isn’t neutralized quickly.”

  Again, Shana shivered. Though she had already recognized the inherent problems of Moira regaining existence, hearing Sebastian verify her conclusions made them more substantial—more frightening.

  “You’re afraid of Moira, aren’t you?” she questioned softly, tentatively, hoping he’d deny her statement. If the most powerful warlock alive was afraid of Moira, how could she ever hope to defeat her?

  “Only a fool wouldn’t be afraid of her, Shana.”

  Shana nodded in fateful resignation. “So you’ve known all along that I had released her.”

  He shook his head. “I knew that she was due to be released. I didn’t know it had already happened.”

  “But you must have had some suspicions that I had done it, or you wouldn’t have visited me this afternoon,” she noted.

  “Shana, I’m the troubleshooter. I’m suspicious of anything that’s unusual and your mortal definitely falls into that category. When I stopped by, I was trying to check him out. It didn’t occur to me that Moira had entered the picture.”

  “Well, unfortunately, he entered the picture because of Moira.”

  He eyed her assessingly. “I see. What’s his connection to Moira?”

  She shook her head. “It’s a very long and involved story, and I intend to tell you every detail. But before I do that, can you tell me your version of the prophecy?”

  He gave her another one of those soul-probing stares. She had to force herself to breathe normally. A spell had restricted Oran from telling her the details of the prophecy, but Sebastian wasn’t under that restraint. However, she was taking a big chance by leading him to believe that she knew more than she did. If he figured out what she was doing . . .

  “Since it has already come true, I don’t see why not,” he finally said. “At the end of five hundred years, Moira will be released from the enchanted Tarot deck. At dawn, 183 days later, she must claim a soul to replace her, or go back into the Tarot deck forever.” He glanced toward the sky for a moment, and then returned his gaze to her. “If you loosed her on Samhain, then she only has—”

  “A couple more hours,” Shana completed, having just done some quick calculations of her own. Urgently, she asked, “Why was she given that specific amount of time?”

  “I don’t know,” he answered, frowning thoughtfully. “I’ll have to think about it. How did you know about the prophecy?”

  “Oran told me. You see, he gave Ryan the witch stone, and—”

  Sebastian stiffened and his expression became dangerous. “He gave the mortal a witch stone?”

  Shana gulped and wondered if she had made the right decision coming here. But even as she felt her confidence wavering, she reminded herself that she was Strength. She could handle anyone, even the most powerful warlock alive, if it meant saving her mate and her child.

  “As I said, it’s a long story.” Over the next several minutes, she told him everything, excluding only the intimate details between her and Ryan.

  When she was done, she said, “So, can you help me?”

  “That depends on what you mean by ‘help,’” he answered guardedly. “Because this is the fulfillment of a prophecy, I can’t become involved in your battle with Moira. That stage was set by the dark forces, and only the th
ree of you can carry it to a conclusion. However, if you want me to give you my opinion on the information you have, yes, I can do that.”

  “That’s all I’m asking for,” Shana assured. “Your opinion.”

  He nodded curtly and gestured toward the piece of paper in her lap. “Is that the chart of the Tarot cards you’ve received so far?”

  “Yes,” she said, handing it over.

  He quickly glanced over it, and then looked up at her. “Congratulations.”

  “Congratulations?” she repeated skeptically.

  “On The Empress,” he said. “It appears your mating night was successful.”

  “Oh,” she said, blushing. “Yes. Thanks.”

  He nodded and returned his attention to the chart. It seemed as if he had been looking at it forever when he finally handed it back to her.

  “Well?” Shana prodded as she took it.

  “You said that after using the wishing wand the first time, Ryan told you he was here to repeat a cycle. When you look at your chart, it appears that you and Ryan are reliving a parody of Moira’s and Aric’s relationship.”

  “What are you talking about?” Shana asked, glancing down at the chart in puzzlement.

  “In the first cycle, Ryan shows up unexpectedly in your life, just as Aric showed up unexpectedly in Moira’s life. I don’t know if any of the other cards in that cycle are significant. The regression didn’t give you that many details.

  “Now, move on to the second cycle,” he instructed. “You lose your powers and Ryan becomes powerful. Just as Moira gave up some of her powers so that Aric could become powerful. We know that Moira negotiated a deal with the dark forces, thus The High Priestess—a conniving witch—is significant in both your lives. We also know that she tricked Aric into mating with her by pretending to be Terza. You inadvertently gave Ryan the witch’s vow, so your mating was also done on the sly, so to speak.”