The Illuminated Witch

by Imogene Nix

  Her bosom heaved as she inhaled. She was clearly agitated by his naked nearness. “Can we do this later?”

  He could read the storm of emotions in her eyes. He ran tightly clasped fingers through his hair and exhaled. “Of course. I need you to come help me with the artifact anyway.” He turned away and grabbed his discarded clothing, tugging it on with greater speed than finesse. “When you’re ready come down to my office.”

  He turned to see her nodding, then without another word, he left.

  * * * *

  The team gathered around the table, engaged in a robust discussion, now that the last of the final four candidates had left the office. The candidates would wait in one of the communal seating areas, but Celina was pleased she wasn’t one of them, waiting for the news. She sipped her coffee and scanned the people sitting at the heavy white marble table. The chairs at least were comfortable, she thought.

  “I didn’t like the woman. She didn’t mix at all last night, and I thought she felt we were less of a nest because of the casual structure we have chosen.” Bertha shook her head. “I can’t see her working at all well here.”

  Celina sat quietly, surveying the group. Javed had been watching her. She could feel his gaze like a palpable entity, and she had to suppress a shiver. She needed him. She wanted him. She just couldn’t have him. Pain pierced her heart at that thought.

  Celina curled her fingers, welcoming the bite of nails in the palm of her hand while she fought for internal control.

  Another piece of paper was shelved, leaving them two possible options. One was a man in his late forties but something about him felt wrong to Celina. The other was Daniel. He’d been personable, interested. Not at all buttoned up—something she strongly felt would be in his favor. He’d made his way around the groups of nestlings, shaken hands and chatted freely.

  “Celina, you haven’t said much.” Javed’s voice broke into her introspection.

  She jumped a little before blushing. “I don’t think I have much to offer to the discussion right now.” Her words sounded lame, even to herself, and she wanted to shrink under the table. But at his words, all eyes had turned to her. The others at the table shook their heads at her words.

  “You’ve been asked to participate, Celina. Your thoughts will be taken into account.” Bertha nudged her in the ribs and Celina grimaced. She just hoped Bertha hadn’t worked out what any of her errant thoughts were.

  “Well, for my money, I think Daniel had the most in common with the members of the nest, and Javed said he wanted it to be democratic. I felt he was open to others’ thoughts and ideas. I liked him, too.” She finished her words quietly. Javed’s lips thinned as if her final admission had angered him. The situation had become so fraught that neither was keen to rock the boat. Yet it was clear he didn’t like where her thoughts were going, even though she was sure he knew it wasn’t in the least bit sexual.

  The others agreed, and another voice piped up from the end of the table. “I felt that too. It was something in the way he met our eyes. He actually talked to us, not at us, and showed an interest in what we wanted and not just what we do for the nest. The others didn’t seem to do that. I felt like they were sizing us up.”

  Javed nodded, and Celina scanned him from under her eyelashes. He turned to Kharisma. “Your thoughts?”

  “Well, I don’t think either would be a negative influence on the nest. Gerald patently has more experience in the business aspects, but I have to agree with the others. Daniel would fit into the nest better. It really depends on how you want the nest to function, but you must make the final decision.”

  “Then that’s it. We have a decision.”

  Javed pushed the older man’s information sheet to one side. “Let’s go welcome the new Yeux Secondes to the nest.” They rose, and the intensity of emotions was palpable. The group broke up, but the grins on the others’ faces showed that the nestlings agreed wholeheartedly.

  As they were leaving the room, a hand caught hers. She tingled at the touch and knew who it was.

  “Celina? After this, we talk.” Javed’s lips were so close to her ear she could feel the whispering caress of his breath. This time nothing could stop the shiver that racked her body or the pulsing warmth that pooled down low, urging her to turn and kiss him.

  He growled low in his throat. She had to stop herself giving in to the urge. She fought it, eyes closed. But she refused to look at him. If I do… She moved fast, uncaring whether he followed or not.

  * * * *

  The evening wore on, stretching his nerves to near breaking point. His proximity to Celina and yet his inability to touch her was playing hell with his libido. He was also aware that Kharisma noticed his distraction.

  They’d joined the candidates where they waited and the decision had been accepted good-naturedly. He’d noticed that Daniel smiled broadly at Celina and he’d had to contain the sound that rose in his throat.

  She’s mine! The primal roar remained unvoiced.

  Something must have telegraphed in his stance because Kharisma leaned over his shoulder. “She’s not interested in him. You do know that, right?”

  “I’m not discussing that with you.” It was private, between him and Celina. Some boundaries still existed. This was one that he was marking clearly.

  Kharisma might’ve been his friend and second, but it wouldn’t be right to be talking about their relationship.

  He glanced over his shoulder as Kharisma shrugged and laughed lightly.

  “You’ve got it bad, haven’t you? Okay!” She raised both hands, stepping away. “I won’t raise it again. Unless it interferes with the running of the nest.”

  He nodded soberly, cutting the discussion off as he observed the tableau unfolding before him with a mixture of satisfaction and concern. What if he offers Celina something I can’t?

  Celina was human. Daniel was a human. He was a vampire. A master. Daniel could give her children. The insistent uncertainty gnawed at him. He gritted his teeth and strode forward to shake Daniel’s hand, once most of the nestlings had walked away.

  “Welcome to the nest. How soon do you think you can make the transition?”

  Daniel frowned. “Well, so long as I can bring my father with me… That was in my application.” Daniel cast a glance at him, and Javed agreed wordlessly with a simple tipping of his head. “I believe I can relocate within the week.”

  “That is acceptable. I’ll have Kharisma allocate you both rooms. We don’t have apartments in this nest, so that’s the only private area, apart from your office.”

  He turned away, realizing that he needed to talk to the other candidates—to thank them for their efforts. He didn’t want to, though.

  What he really needed was to take Celina in his arms, with everyone and everything melting away. But that wasn’t going to happen. So instead he made small talk with the people who had been unsuccessful, shook their hands, and wished them well.

  Celina had wandered over to Bertha and they talked quietly. Bertha cast a glance in his direction and gestured. They both left the room, and he gave his full attention to the people who were ready to leave. “Thank you so much for applying,” he intoned to each unsuccessful candidate, softening the words with a handshake.

  Javed walked with them to the door and waited as they climbed into vehicles in the gloom of night. Lights cut through the darkness as engines roared. The crunching sound of gravel filled his hearing as they drove down the long drive and through the imposing gateway.

  He turned and headed inside. There was still plenty to do, and Celina had promised to talk to him before she retired.

  * * * *

  The artifact and the piece of paper sat on the table between them. They hadn’t examined it yet. “I’ve asked Cressida to send over someone who knows more about such artefacts. But to me it looks as if it’s come from a book. A very old book.” The paper was yellowed, brittle and sported a tattered edge. He wasn’t quite sure if he should touch it, so one of the ne
stlings had acquired an acid free box to keep it safe. But it bothered him that time was leaching away. There was only one week until the new moon.

  “Cressida said she was sending someone tonight to inspect it.” The email on his computer had instructed them to leave it in the box until the professor arrived from the local university. He was already on the way. Javed checked the time stamp. The email was already over an hour old. “They should be here any minute.”

  “What if it doesn’t answer the question?” He heard the concern in Kharisma’s voice and screwed his face into a frown.

  “Then it has to be a clue. A way to find where the answer is hidden.” At least he hoped so. Doubts and concerns assailed him. He felt so out of his depth. Xavier never seemed to have these issues.

  But Xavier’s nest was established when he arrived. There were already structures in place.

  He knew that on an academic level, but it didn’t help. He had nearly fifty humans, his guards and all the others to assure the safety of here.

  The hot bubble of frustration rose inside his chest. He wrenched his gaze from the screen, swiveling the chair to glare out of the window. He cleared his mind and settled his thoughts… Until a knock on the door broke the silence.

  “Javed?” Kharisma reminded him that he needed to give the order to enter. She called out to the person waiting outside. He faced the door once more.

  A short and paunchy man shuffled in. Light shined off the bald spot on his head and he seemed out of place in his immaculate gray suit, clutching an aging briefcase.

  “Counsellor Cressida requested me to attend you, Master Javed? I am Professor Junat. My specialty is print culture.”

  With a squeak of the chair, Javed rose and extended a hand to the academic. His grasp was cool and slightly limp. Javed was pleased when he retreated a few feet. “This is my second, Kharisma. We need to know about this.” He indicated toward the box on the table, and the professor squinted at it.

  “Hmm. Just let me grab my gloves.” He glanced around and carefully placed his case on the long marble table with a clatter. Two clicks opened the locks and he delved inside, before holding up two white cotton gloves and a piece of material, which he spread on the table. The professor’s movements were precise as he opened the box and pulled the contents out and carefully laid the paper out for inspection.

  He reached back into his case tugging out an eyepiece before inspecting the paper with a grunt. “Without radiocarbon dating, it would be difficult to say if it’s truly as old as I imagine, but my gut says two or maybe even three hundred years old, judging by its fragility and the telltale hints in the ink.”

  “Damn.” Javed swung away, ignoring his second’s searching glance. Celina had been right. This was indeed significant. Now they needed to find out what the book was. He glanced back. “Can you tell me what book this came from?” It was a vain hope, but he had to ask.

  “Oh well, as to that, I can make an educated guess. It’s from a study of the Lost Queen’s Pyramids.” He placed the sheet back into the box then sealed it. Next he stripped off the gloves and dropped them back into his briefcase. He grabbed a tablet device and tapped on it.

  Javed waited in silence. “Yes. That would be correct. There are only six copies of that title left in existence. One is missing this particular page. I would say that is key to whatever you need to know.”

  The man stared at Javed, a question in his eyes. Javed rolled the known information over in his mind before he nodded. “These pyramids… They would have hieroglyphs?”

  The professor beamed. “Oh yes. They are truly amazing. I visited there last summer with Professor Anderson. She’s on staff with the college.”

  Javed moved reflexively. “She can read hieroglyphs? She’s here, in town now?”

  The professor stopped with a frown. “Yes. She can. And she is here on contract until the end of winter.”

  Javed ignored the question in the man’s eyes. “Kharisma, make arrangements.”

  Her face tightened. “I’ll get right onto it.”

  * * * *

  Celina stepped into the office, tiredness dragging at her, and she feared the confrontation to come. She shook and repressed the tears that threatened to fall. Damn it. It isn’t fair! She’d not done anything wrong. But the relationship that could grow between them couldn’t happen, either. Bertha had told her that most of the nests forbade it because it was unfair to the master. They had to watch those they loved wither and die. Such relationships had been outlawed because of how they negatively affected the vampires and nestlings.

  In her whole life, she’d walked alone. Been unwanted.

  Her parents hadn’t even kept her, instead leaving her at some hospital like a superfluous package.

  Things had just started to fall into place. She felt like she belonged here, but she didn’t know if she could remain, seeing him every day. Wanting him. Unable to be with him. It would be the cruellest form of torture imaginable.

  He waited, and in his eyes she could already see the smokiness of desire. She gulped and clasped her fingers tightly together. “I’m here, master. Just like I promised.” She damned the huskiness of her voice. How could she make him believe she didn’t want this if she couldn’t even control her own outbursts? It left her feeling weary.

  She pushed the door shut and waited for him to advance. He didn’t. He kept the distance between them. She squirmed inside, wondering what he had planned. How would he react to what she had come to say?

  All the phrases she’d carefully memorized and rehearsed fled. She stared, unable to tug away from his magnetic pull. Hunger flared, but she tamped it down. She shoved it into a corner of her mind to reflect on, in the empty years that stretched before her.

  The force of her emotions crashed upon her. The pain of leaving and never seeing him again finally made sense. This wasn’t a mild interlude. It had never been mild. Not even at the beginning.

  This was bigger and all-consuming. She realized she’d fallen for this man. Her resolve quavered as she absorbed the blow, swaying for an instant before struggling to control her reactions.

  “I won’t let you go.” His quiet words broke the spell.

  Her eyes burned in reaction—it was as if he’d known what she’d prepared herself to say. “You have to. We can’t be together. You’re a master. I’m a nestling.” Her heart shattered as she said the words out loud, “I won’t let you suffer. I won’t. It’s wrong that for my happiness, you have to experience loss. I can’t do that to you. To us.” She advanced without thought. “I won’t let you see me wither and die. You have to let me go.”

  Her voice splintered as tears dripped down her face and she noted the twin of her anguish on his face, the flattened lips and drawn face as he pulled her close. “We will find a way. Just believe in me. In us.”

  She shook her head and pushed against his chest. “Please let me go, Javed. Please.”

  His eyes closed at the entreaty in her words.” There will be a way. I just need time.”

  She laughed even as she cried. “You have time. I don’t.”

  “No. Those are old rules. We can make our own. New nest, new ways. Please don’t do this to us, Celina. Please.”

  She squeezed her eyelids together. Her resolve weakened. “I don’t…”

  “Give me time. I’ll find a way. I promise.”

  Her snicker was tense. “I don’t want to leave. When I’m old you’ll still be perfect, though. The man I—” She stopped short, swallowing the words that nearly escaped.

  “I’ll be the man you…? You didn’t finish.” His soft words lanced her, and the last ounce of willpower seeped away.

  “The man I love,” she whispered as his mouth closed over hers.

  He slid his hands beneath her legs and lifted her up to his chest. Her words, the fact that she loved him, hammered into his brain, filled his chest to bursting point.

  Javed had to show her just how much he wanted her. Needed her.

  Emotion t
hreatened to overwhelm him as he strode toward his rooms. The passage of time seemed impossibly long as she curled into him. The tension wound itself tightly in his gut. But once within his quarters he kicked the door shut. He loosened his grip and she slid down his body. He hissed as she brushed past his urgent erection.

  He devoured her in an open-mouthed kiss. Her taste left him heady as he feasted. He tugged at her clothes and the sound of ripping cloth filled the air.

  He stopped and she gasped while his gaze traveled over her form. Her eyes, puffy with exhaustion, were still watery and pink. Her face was flushed and her lips were swollen from his kiss. He placed a shaking finger to her mouth, and she gazed at him, then sucked the digit within. She played the tip of her tongue over his fingertip while sparks flew within his body.

  Her actions were so innocently erotic. Celina’s hair had escaped the usual fastening and lay free around her shoulders. A red-gold cloud of silk and he wanted to reach for it. With a pop, he tugged his finger away.

  Javed knew she found his intimate perusal of her highly arousing, so he let his attention roam. Her shirt lay on the floor, torn off in his urgency, so she wore only a white bra.

  “Javed?”

  “Shhhh…” Slowly he traced his fingertip over one of the straps, barely grazing her skin. The pulse point in her neck jumped and quivered like a mad thing, while he continued his slow caress.

  Her eyes closed and she moaned in the silence. His heartbeat sped up, but he refused to rush this time. He needed to show her how good it could be. What she would be walking away from.

  With great care, he leaned forward, laying tiny kisses on her collarbone. She shivered beneath his touch as he stretched behind, finding the clasp. The bra opened, releasing her breasts. He cupped her, feeling the weight of them in his hands.

  “So damn beautiful.”

  This time when he raised his eyes he observed the tinge of red that suffused her skin, the way her nipples had pebbled beneath his touch and the blaze of desire in her eyes. “Always mine.”

  She fumbled with his shirt, but he brushed her hands away. “Not yet. Soon, my beauty.”