by Brynna Curry
SEA’S SORCERESS
Elemental Magic, Book Four
By Brynna Curry
LYRICAL PRESS
http://lyricalpress.com/
KENSINGTON PUBLISHING CORP.
http://www.kensingtonbooks.com/
For Jackie. Ever and always, love.
Acknowledgements
As always, thanks to my husband Jackie and our son L.J. who brainstorm ideas with me, our daughters Anna and Kayla who inspire me. Thanks to my editor Piper Denna, Renee and Frank Rocco and everyone behind the scenes at LPI.
Every book requires an extensive amount of research and this one couldn’t have been finished without the help of Lisa Monahan, Clerical Officer, National Advocacy Unit, Quality & Clinical Care Directorate. of Co. Kildare, Ireland, who patiently answered my questions regarding marriage laws in Ireland, offering alternative scenarios when my ideas hit a wall. Thanks so much, Lisa.
Foreword
Dearest readers,
I wonder when we first met. Was it over a quiet dinner with Jack and Liv while they hid from a madman obsessed with stolen diamonds? Did you join Gabe and Lea on their race to return the gems before Smythe could retrieve them? Maybe you found your way here through Ryan’s quest for redemption on a rainy night with magic in the air.
When I began writing Rhiannon and Skye’s story, I knew it would end bittersweet. At times the journey was heartbreaking. Why not just heal Rhia’s father? Because even with magic there are rules.
Once barred from his lands by his own magic, no one knows this quite like Devin McLoch. A thousand years later he’s turned away from darker pursuits to lead a life of peace and protect those he loves and considers part of his clan, but there is one woman he can never forget. One who must be given a chance to change, to accept her heart and his.
Arianne is just as dangerous and intoxicating as her power. Devin is determined to save her from herself and show her heart’s true desire. Will you be there when the wizard falls?
Fire’s Ice
Author’s Note
Thank you for taking this journey with me. I hope you enjoy Sea’s Sorceress. Look for Fire’s Ice, Devin’s story and the final installment in the Elemental Magic Series coming February 2012. Love is the truest magic and with it life is an adventure.
Prologue
Cursing, Daemon watched his beloved step through the ring of standing stones. She would be stronger here, more so than her twin Arianne or even himself. It was a wise move and certainly a frustrating one. Because of what he was, he would not be able to break her circle and enter the dance unless she allowed him passage. And in her current state of mind, such a gesture was unlikely. Pigheaded woman. A smile curved his mouth at the challenge she presented. He tamped down the urge to release the demon. Not yet, and never against Brie, but Arianne? Definitely. He had to keep the dark hidden for a little while longer.
“Briella, love.”
At the sound of her name on his lips, she turned to him. Long black hair whipped in wild wet ropes around her face with the force of the storm. She was tall, slim like a fairy, her beauty unmatched, but her gentle nature and kindness was balm to his tortured soul. Where would he be, what would he have become without her? Never would he have betrayed her, if only she could see that truth.
Daemon pitted all his magic against the wall of her power in a fruitless attempt to break through her circle. Wave after wave of rolling water washed over the bubble surrounding the stones, but every drop fizzled, evaporating on contact.
Angry with her, himself, and Arianne, Daemon cursed the gods. If he couldn’t stop Brie, she would die. As would he, because of the link they shared. Who knew a simple, silly little spell, that could have been avoided had he been conscious, would do so much damage to so many? Like ripples in a pond, every act touched someone else and each one went on forever.
At one time, death would have been welcome, but she’d changed him with her simple gift. She gave him life, love and showed him what good magic could do. Then there was Arianne. Oh, he knew her power well. Dark and evil, it showed in the woman who cleaved to it like a lover.
He had to save Briella before she could break the bond holding them together. Nothing Arianne could do to them was worth the price of their lives or the loss of their daughter. He had lived hundreds of years and knew more about incantations than she ever would. He didn’t like the spell in mind, but it would put all this to an end without killing anyone. He hoped. They would still lose Sorca, but at least their daughter would be safe from her aunt’s trickery. Still, he had to be in her circle to cast it. He summoned all his magic and threw another wave of crystalline blue water against the barrier she had placed between them. It fizzled and evaporated.
“Daemon, stop this. I will see this through. This is the only way.”
“There are others. I swear to you, and I ask one last time. Please, don’t do this.”
The determination in her eyes wavered. She might be swayed.
“Go away, Daemon. You’re not invited.” Briella put no heat in the demand. She looked so tired, drained, but she would do this before she weakened and changed her mind.
He found it hard to face death with eyes wide open. Harder still to leave their daughter behind.
“The hell I will. Let me in.” The burr of his Scot blood came through loud and clear with his temper.
She only scowled at him, undeterred.
“Brie.” He spoke softly now, but she wouldn’t be coaxed. “Fine, woman, do what you will.” He threw up his hands in exasperation. “But I’d ask something of you first?”
“What is it you wish?”
“Don’t shut me out. If this is the way it must be, I want to remember the gift you gave, the love we shared. I want to grieve over the life we made and have to leave behind.” He pressed his hand to the wall of magic. “Please, love.”
The wall disintegrated.
Daemon entered the dance and pulled her into the circle of his arms.
“I love you. Whatever came before or comes after, know that is forever.” Holding her close, he regretted knowing he would have to betray her in these last moments. “Cast your spell. We’ll be right here for each other when the end comes.”
Tears streamed from her eyes, clouds and rain. She began to chant. “I call power to mind, mind to heart, heart to soul. That which binds us now must break its hold.” She buried her face in his chest and sobbed for what she was losing. Her tears broke him when she spoke the incantation a second time.
It had to be now. “By all the gods, I am sorry, so sorry, Brie. May they help us and all those who come after.”
“Daemon! No. Don’t!”
“There is no other choice. Sea that is my life, hear my call. Rise, form water into a raging wall. Earth that is my mate, Air who set this fate, both shall hear my cry and obey my call.”
The wind keened, carrying Arianne’s trapped screams to them. The ground rumbled underneath her feet, and the force of it threw Briella to her knees. A great wall of water rose up out of the sea, silhouetting him against the night sky.
Briella looked at him with a mixture of disgust and lust. He knew it was because of what he was, and it sickened him.
Up until now it had all been for show, as he’d tried to prepare her for the real magic to come. Gods he hated it, hated having to use the hideous beast that walked inside him. But it was love for her that had prompted him. He’d begun to wonder if he really had a choice. The demon in him loved her too, and would probably have gotten free on its own. It had before. He didn’t like to remember the destruction the monster had reaped. He’d been banished from the highlands by Laird McLoch, lost his younger cousin Devin to a father who couldn’t understand that magic had purpose both in battle and out. Who would te
ach him the craft, forge the fire rippling through Devin? Time was now his friend and foe. Time for it to end, for it to begin.
* * * *
Briella watched him fling his arms high and wide, felt the wave of power wash over him into her, through their link. She was smothering, engulfed by the most evil force she could imagine, but oddly enough, fear did not come with the sensation. For a moment, just an insane second, lust for that dark power overwhelmed her. She wanted to give over to it. In that instant, Briella understood why her sister craved it so. Completely calm now, she heard his words, clear as her own thoughts in her mind.
Briella, have faith. Time and patience will break the spell I cast. You need do nothing, but trust and wait.
Eyes glazed over with the sorcery he’d yet to perform, Daemon tried to explain. “This is the only way to save us. One day the children of our daughter’s children will have the chance to free us. Until then, all three will stay trapped in your circle. When their love breaks the spell, you and I will be released and Arianne will remain here forever.”
“I am Sea, endless, constant. Time is nothing to me. Raging waters, shifting tides, within our power she will abide.” Daemon lifted his hands and spread them wide to encompass the circle and Briella. “She is Earth, bearer of life, comfort in death, mate of Sea, thus by her right she holds the key. She that is Air all must take heed, a maelstrom of fury her dark deeds unknown, a lesson this one must be shown. I call her now here to me.”
And the wind roared, tearing at her robe, fighting Daemon’s power until Arianne appeared within the circle in a swirl of red velvet and wildly curling black hair. The mirror image of her sister, she was as dark as Brie was light. Water swirled around her feet and the ground shook.
“Earth, Sea, hold fast, hold strong.” Daemon shouted, “Hello, Ari.”
“What is this?” she demanded. “I don’t know what trickery you’ve conjured, Daemon, but I will break it. Such petty revenge.” Black lightning flew from her fingertips as she tried to strike him.
Daemon’s power was a shield and she could not touch him.
“You brought down the price on all three. Earth, Air, and Sea we shall ever be until our blood meets love, one times three.” He continued to chant. “My seal is set, our bargain met, if three can accept love’s pain and joy without condition, then Earth and Sea shall be set free, only Air will be chained to thee.”
For all she had done, Arianne was still her sister. The kindness in Brie wouldn’t allow her to damn her own blood. Tears carried the weight his words lay on her heart. “I know she has good within her. Please give her hope, though she doesn’t deserve it. It will be for her to decide what to do with it.”
He considered. A smile crossed his face when he thought of Devin, his young apprentice, and he sighed.
“Air may scream and howl, but it is her sister’s pleas you will hear now. Fire will come to wrench her free, if he is not bold and Air’s heart grown too cold, love will fail and your chains will hold. Still, if Fire can melt Air’s icy wind, then love will triumph once again. So mote it be, an it harm whomever it need.”
Daemon collapsed into her arms, spent from the spell.
“What have you done?”
“I am the lock, you are the key. Never forget my love for you. Five or five thousand years, my heart will seek yours.”
Catching the tear that slipped down her cheek, her husband smiled and dissolved into the sea, taking her tear with him. Her sister howled as she vanished into the air, forever trapped within the stone circle. An instant later, Briella became dust on the ground where she stood.
Chapter 1
Soft throbs of music hummed through the air of O’Malley’s Pub. Outside, the wind had quieted and rain tapered down to a drizzle. Heavens, she was tired, and the weather wasn’t helping. If Rhia could just have ten minutes off her feet, preferably out of the crowd, to gather her thoughts. Grrr. I can’t even hear myself think. Was it a crime to want a few blessed minutes of peace?
She lined up four mugs on the counter and began to build the Guinness for table three. Glancing over toward Amy’s section, Rhia noted everyone appeared to be content for the moment. Good.
“Whew. Sure is busy tonight, boss.” Siobhan passed by on her way from the kitchen to serve the platters she carried to a couple of gentlemen sitting at the bar. As soon as she set down the tray, one hand went to her lower back.
Rhia finished the last Guinness. “It is at that. Sure you don’t mind covering the kitchen?”
“Not at all. It’s a blessing to be out of the racket for a bit.”
“I appreciate it, but get off your feet when you can. I don’t want you to overdo it.”
Siobhan patted her swollen tummy. At four months along, she was still fascinated with her pregnancy. Every kick and flutter was celebrated at length to anyone within earshot. “I’m healthy as a horse. Besides, I’m sure your pet hunk will be back soon.”
“Lord, don’t say that in front of him. His ego is big enough already. And how many times do I have to–Oh, for cryin’ out loud. You’d think that bloody phone could stop ringing for five minutes.”
The pub was really packed this evening and as much as she hated to do it, she would have to call her mother and ask her to run the kitchen for the remainder of the evening shift. Siobhan might put on a brave front, but she wouldn’t be able to hold out another four hours until closing. Maybe her Da would be okay by himself for that long. What else could she do? Skye had all but run out of the kitchen three hours ago, mumbling something about Liv screaming inside his head. He needed to leave. Family comes first, always. So she’d told him to go.
Tucking her bar towel in the back pocket of worn jeans, Rhiannon picked up the phone behind the bar. If only she could rip the thing out and smash it against something. Her hands were full just working the bar and trying to keep an eye on her waitresses.
“O’Malleys,” she shouted over the noise of the crowd. “This is Rhiannon. How may I help you?”
“Hello, love.” His voice was silk, smooth, rich and very dangerous. Skye.
“Speak of the devil and there you are.” Her lips curved into a soft smile and her heart did a slow, soft flip.
“Mmm. Sometimes a little bit of wicked is a good thing.”
“Yeah. Sure. You keep on believing that.”
“Want me to show you?”
Yes please.
“You really are hopeless. How is Liv?”
“Aww, now you’ve dashed all my hopes of making wild–”
“We all have to live with disappointment and I’m busy, so…” She cut him off before he could paint any more pictures in her mind, and tugged at the collar of her button-down shirt. Was it really that warm in the pub?
“I miss you too, darling. Liv’s doing just fine. I’m holding one of the two most beautiful babies in the world. She gave birth to twins. A boy and a girl.”
Rhia heard the pride and joy beaming in his voice. “Wonderful, Skye, just wonderful. Babies are the sweetest gift of love.” Countless times she’d ached to hold her own child, but the man she loved didn’t have a clue in spite of all his psychic abilities. Skye, you idiot. Why can’t you see how much I love you? Desire and temper tore through her with frustration.
Skye gasped, pausing for a moment, his breath audible through the connection.
“Skye? Is everything alright?” she asked. Tell me I didn’t say that out loud. He couldn’t know. Could he?
When he spoke his voice was thick with emotion. “Little minx, you’ve a secret.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You can’t lie to me, love.”
Embarrassed and worried she might have ruined their friendship, she ignored the comment. “What did they name them?”
“Aiden Michael and Raine Elisabeth. We were all here to welcome them. It was amazing. Like nothing in the world. I wish you could have been here, Rhia.”
Michael for Liv’s father, she was sure, but Raine w
as an unusual name, maybe Jack’s choice? “I’m so glad both mom and babies are doing well. Tell Liv if she needs anything to call me, and we’ll be raising a glass for them tonight.”
“Thanks, I’ll pass it along.”
“I mean it. She only needs to ask, but I really have to get back to the bar. The rainy weather has sent all of Ardmore indoors and most of them are here.”
Siobhan caught her eye and put a hand to her chest, mimicking a wildly pounding heart.
Rhia laughed.
“So you do need me.” His voice deepened, honeyed.
Did he realize the underlying seduction in his words? Knowing Skye, he probably did. The devil. And because it was true in more ways than possible, she’d lie.
“No. Enjoy your time with your family. Tomorrow’s soon enough to slave in my kitchen. We’ll manage.” She hated asking for help, or taking it when needed. She was strong enough to do this, could take care of her father’s legacy. Ease his passing by standing in his place. I will do this. God, it hurt though, knowing she missed vital moments with her father to run the pub. There were days she wished the place would burn like kindling so she’d be free to sit at his bedside. Would she be the one there when he died? Her mother? Would he die alone? She couldn’t bear it.
“Who is covering the kitchen?”
Hearing Liv laugh in the background, she sighed. “Siobhan.”
“I’ll be there in twenty minutes.”
“You can’t–”
Silence. Skye had cut her off before she could refuse him. Then again, it was getting harder to refuse Skye anything. He’d always been an incorrigible flirt with every female who crossed his path, herself included. The playful banter between them was nothing new, but the hovering protective attitude was. It put her on guard. The last thing she wanted was his pity.
Though she had to admit his presence brought in more customers than on days when he didn’t venture out of his studio. Another rare thing. Skye opened at six for breakfast, served lunch, left for several hours, returned at six to serve dinner, and closed up every night. Rarely did he leave before midnight.