by Deanna Chase
Clearly shocked at her tone, he dug his fingers into my muscles. Or maybe it was her response. I wasn’t sure, but none of us had seen Bea this intense since the day she’d sacrificed herself to the black magic, saving me and the entire coven from sure death.
“What do you want us to do?” Lucien asked.
Bea rubbed a small amount of the potion she carried onto Kat’s forehead. “You’re going to use Jade’s strength to reverse the spell.”
“What?” we both cried as Lucien yanked his hand from mine and took three steps back.
Bea stood straight and rigid, her small frame filling the room. Her gaze bored into Lucien’s. “You’re the only one who can reverse it. So that’s what’s going to happen. But since Jade’s a witch—a very powerful white witch—you’ll push it through her. She’ll be able to fight anything that goes wrong.”
Goes wrong? I leaped from the bed, but Kane stepped in front of me.
“No.” He crossed his arms over his chest, his forearm muscles bulging. “Jade’s been through enough today. Hell, the last six months. She can’t temper a spell that put her best friend in a coma.”
“Her magic is out of control now. Containing someone else’s seems risky at best,” Meri said.
“She can, and she will.” Bea scooted around Kane and pulled on my arm. “You are the only one strong enough. I need you to focus. You’re strong. Stronger than you think.”
I glanced down at Kat, horrified by her gaunt cheeks and wasted body. “But what if Lucien can’t handle it?” I whispered. “He’s done this before.”
“I already know,” Bea said softer, more understanding in her tone. “That was a long time ago, and Lucien is a different man now. Please, Jade. For Kat.”
My head snapped up. I’d do anything for Kat, and Bea damn well knew it. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to. I just didn’t trust Lucien, especially since he looked as if he were ready to bolt. But who else was going to save her? If Bea said Lucien was the only one who could reverse the spell, I had to take her word for it. I touched Kane’s shoulder. “It’s okay. I have to help her. Bea won’t let anything happen to us.” I met her eyes. “Right?”
“Of course.” She glanced up at Kane. “Can you give us some room?”
A torrent of emotions passed over his face, but at my nod, he gave me a quick hug and went to stand near Meri, who was still positioned in the doorway, frowning with her eyebrows pinched.
I wanted more than anything to know what was running through her mind right then, but Bea was already putting my hand in Lucien’s. The buzz of coven magic zipped through me as soon as our flesh touched. Though I should have been scared out of my mind, I wasn’t. The magic felt right, made me finally feel in control. Somehow our connection had stabilized me. Lucien squeezed my hand tighter this time, though he still appeared as if he wanted to run.
“Suck it up, Boulard. Kat needs you.” I gripped his fingers, wanting to crush them, but backed off when I realized I was tightening my grip on Kat’s hand as well. Jesus, I needed to calm down. People fed off other’s emotions and although Kat wasn’t an empath, if I was going to transfer magic to her, my turmoil could very well accompany it. That was the last thing she needed.
“All right, Bea. We’re ready.” I held my gaze steady and tried to think only about the magic I needed to control.
“You’re sure? You’re both centered?” She eyed us, holding up her potion.
“Yes,” I said firmly. Kat had always been there for me. Now it was my turn.
Lucien cleared his throat. “Yeah.”
It took all my willpower not to yell at him. Couldn’t he be a tiny bit more confident? What had happened to my second in command? He was a damn powerful witch. I pushed back the guilt filling me. I certainly hadn’t helped matters by attacking him. I turned what I hoped were kinder eyes on him. “We can do this. Together we can help her. Whatever it was that went wrong, we’ll reverse it.”
Surprise and then something close to gratitude flickered over his features. His voice was low and husky. “I couldn’t do it before.”
“Well, you didn’t have me before, did you?” I asked, smiling brightly, though my heart was ready to crack down the middle. “We fought a demon and won. After that, we can do anything. Right?”
He didn’t look convinced, but he nodded anyway. I supposed I wouldn’t be either if I’d spelled someone and the person…I shook my head, dislodging the thought. Don’t think about that now.
“Bea?” I prompted.
“I’m ready.” She moved to place a thumbprint of potion first on Lucien’s forehead and then mine. “Jade, this is going to be a lot like the energy transfers you’ve done in the past. Once I loosen the spell on Kat, you’ll need to draw it through you so Lucien can reclaim it.”
Oh, Goddess. I hadn’t done much magic since I’d lost half my soul. And then there was the control issue. I sucked in a tentative breath. This was Kat we were talking about. I’d give up the rest of my soul if it meant saving her, and everyone in the room knew it. I nodded and clutched Lucien’s hand harder while keeping a light hold on Kat’s.
Bea handed the potion to Kane and shuffled him back into the hall. “Whatever happens, do not interfere,” she told him. Then she glanced at Meri. “Make sure he doesn’t break her concentration.”
Meri stretched her arms out, grabbing both edges of the doorframe. “You got it.” She glanced at Kane. “Maybe it’s better if you wait downstairs.”
Kane ignored her and stared at me through the doorway, the question clear in his eyes. There was only one person who could convince him to leave. Me. And I really didn’t want him to. I forced myself to nod anyway. Bea knew what she was doing, and if something went wrong, Kane would try to help me. No doubt about it.
“I’ll wait right here,” he said.
Bea’s lips formed a tight line of irritation as she turned toward him. She opened her mouth, but Meri held up a hand. “I can keep him out. I am an angel after all.”
Kane and Bea locked gazes, and a few moments later, Bea relented. “Fine,” she said to Kane. “But stay there unless I call for you.”
Dread coiled in my belly. In all the time we’d been wielding spells together, she’d never once demanded Kane or anyone else leave before we started. After Kane nodded, I asked, “How dangerous is this?”
Bea turned to face me. “Very. If you drop the magic, it could bounce back and kill her. Or Lucien.”
My heart raced, and I suddenly felt lightheaded. I was going to be holding both their lives in my hands. Literally.
“You’ll be fine, Jade,” Lucien whispered. “You’re powerful. More powerful than anyone I’ve ever met. If anyone can do it, it’s you.”
I was grateful for the words but had trouble believing them.
“Focus now.” Bea raised her arms. “Goddess of the living, hear my call. We ask for your help, or your mortal daughter will fall.”
The air in the room grew thick and heavy with humidity, despite the steady draft of artificial cool air. It embraced me, holding me rooted to my spot.
“Reverse the poison that taints her blood. Help us bring her back to those she loves.” Silver light shimmered around Bea’s short stature, and I tensed.
The last time we’d called on a Goddess, she’d shown up in Lailah’s body.
Bea brought her hands together, studying the ebb and flow of the silver light. When her fingers touched, a ball of silver magic pulsed in her palms. She smiled, said a quiet prayer, and stepped up to the bed. “Jade, when it hits you, slow it down so it filters through your magical spark before transferring it to Lucien. Your essence will neutralize it. Got it?” Bea moved over Kat, ready to touch her chest with the pulsing light.
“Yeah,” I breathed, praying I could control it.
Bea reached down and barely grazed Kat’s chest.
The effect was instantaneous. White-hot fire rushed into my fingertips, seared through my veins, and shot straight to my heart. I gasped and struggled to keep my
hands clutched in Lucien’s and Kat’s. My knees weakened, and I couldn’t stop myself from sinking onto the edge of the bed. It was either sit or fall.
“Concentrate, Jade!” Bea yelled. “The magic is out of control. Slow it down.”
The intense pain seizing my arm and chest were almost too much. How had Kat survived this? How would I? Rocking back and forth to distract myself from the horror within me, I thought of only one thing: the magical spark that usually resided just below my breastbone.
Nothing.
Come on. Where was it?
The fire rushed into my heart. My eyes bulged, and bile rose in my throat. My chest was exploding. I couldn’t do this. Pain shot down both arms, different from the heat burning me from the inside out. My muscles spasmed, and I fell backward, suddenly unable to hold myself up.
“Jade!” a faint voice called. Kat? Or was that Bea? I couldn’t be sure. The sound was too far away. My eyes blurred, and a rancid stench almost choked me as the potion took over. Frantic, I reached deep within myself, searching for my spark. The hollow space below my heart was empty. Void. My magic was gone. Lucien’s death magic was too much for it. I closed my eyes and shook with equal parts anger and despair.
“Jade!” a louder voice shouted in my ear. Firm hands gripped my shoulders, shaking me. My eyes flashed open, and I focused on the deep gray ones in front of me. They were slanted, piercing, and frantic. “Get control. Your magic is there. Trust me. I can feel it.”
“No, it’s gone,” I mumbled.
Meri shook me harder. “It’s not. Now grab hold of it. You’re a white witch, dammit. Don’t you dare give up now. You’re too damn stubborn. If the council couldn’t take your soul, then this sure as hell shouldn’t.”
My soul. Right. She had the other half. Clarity pushed away my despair. I had kept half my soul. I’d refused to die last month. And I wouldn’t now. Not when Kat needed me.
“Kane,” I said. “Get Kane.” Voices mumbled around me. “Now!” I demanded.
The fire was almost burning my hand, which was still attached to Lucien’s. If I didn’t get it under control, he could die when it slammed into him unfiltered.
“Jade.” Kane’s deep voice caressed my psyche.
“Don’t touch her,” Meri advised.
“You are,” I spat at her, longing for Kane.
“You can’t hurt me. It’s the soul connection.”
I bit back a curse and focused my tear-filled eyes on Kane.
“Jade,” he said again, though this time I didn’t miss the anguish in his tone.
My burning heart pulsed and there, just beneath it, something fluttered. Kane’s mere presence had given me the strength I’d needed. I almost cried out in relief as I grabbed hold of the faint threads of my magical spark. It was there, buried under the magic trying to claim me.
The instant I connected with my spark, the burning rushed to my center. “Oh Goddess,” I croaked under the weight of the pressure trying to fill my center.
“What’s happening to her?” I heard Kane ask, but I couldn’t see him through my blurry vision.
“She’s all right,” Meri soothed. “She’s just getting a handle on the magic. Give her a second.”
If this was all right, I would’ve hated to see what the alternative was. Slowly, the pressure started to seep from my spark down my left arm.
Lucien fidgeted beside me, his nervousness coating me even though I knew I shouldn’t be able to feel his emotions. Maybe it was Meri’s touch that brought a hint of my old gift back. Whatever it was, he was growing more panicked by the second. If I didn’t get some magic into him, he might bolt.
My fingers dug into his, and a moment later, the warm, prickly magic reached our joined hands. I stood once more, fortified by the magic.
Lucien flinched with the jolt, but his nervousness fled, followed by grim determination.
“That’s it,” Bea coaxed. “Good. Nice and easy now.”
The burning magic was concentrated to just my right arm, the poison seeping from Kat. My power swirled in my chest, taming whatever spell Lucien had used, forcing it back into him, though slower than I would’ve liked. My energy was failing fast. It took all I had to stay sitting upright. By the time the last dregs of magic filtered into Lucien, my breathing was shallow and my eyelids heavy. If I hadn’t been so worried for Kat, I could’ve drifted off right then.
“Kat?” Bea said, leaning over my friend.
I glanced down at her. The fragile appearance of her skin had disappeared, replaced by her usual pale, pinkish tone. Firm muscle tone replaced the gauntness, and she appeared healthy even. The only problem? She hadn’t yet opened her eyes.
“What’s wrong? Why isn’t she waking up?” I stood, my knees buckling under the stress of the spell we’d wielded.
Kane rushed forward and scooped me in his arms, saving me from landing on my backside.
I clung to him, grateful for his support.
“She needs time,” Bea said, though I sensed her worry. It washed over me. I glanced at Meri. She’d moved back across the room. How was I still feeling emotions? I shook my head. I’d worry about that later.
“No,” Lucien ground out. “This isn’t happening. It can’t.” He sat down in front of me and placed a tentative hand on Kat’s leg. “Not like this.”
We all stared at him.
“What do you mean?” Bea asked carefully.
Lucien’s jaw worked as he tried to force the words out.
I grabbed Kane’s hands, terrified of the expression on Lucien’s face.
“I didn’t know.” Shaking his head, Lucien whispered, “I’m sorry.”
“Didn’t know what?” I asked, fear taking up residence in every corner of my heart and mind.
He stood and walked to the door. With his hand on the knob, he hung his head. “It’s my fault. It’s a curse.” He turned then, anguish lining his face. “I thought once the magic was reversed, she’d wake up. But now, seeing her so perfect as if under glass, I know.”
“What are you trying to say?” Bea touched his arm gently.
“It was a black magic curse. I walked into it years ago. I honestly thought it had died with Alannah.” He paused, seeming to try to find the right words. “I didn’t realize until just now…”
“What kind of curse?” Bea’s voice had a tremor of fear and, without warning, tears fell unchecked down my cheeks.
Lucien looked as if he might break at any moment. “A black heart curse. As long as I’m alive, she won’t wake up.”
Chapter 10
“And you’re just telling us now?” My voice was laced with a hard edge. Kat’s life was on the line! Magic zipped down my arms, making my fingers ache from holding it back.
“Jade!” Bea scolded. “Take a deep breath and try to calm down. Losing control of your power again isn’t going to help.”
I tamped down the magic. Pain clutched my heart, squeezing until I thought it would shatter right in my chest. Not Kat. She didn’t deserve this.
“Let’s go downstairs and let Lucien explain.” Bea gently took my hand in hers, but I didn’t move.
“No. I won’t leave her.” I physically could not move. Though Kat was lying down with her eyes closed, a small smile tugged at her lips, her complexion as fresh as if she’d spent a day at the spa. Pink skin and rosy cheeks. Peaceful. As though maybe she was having a really pleasant dream.
“She’s fine right now. I promise. Whatever this is, we’ll fix it,” Bea said.
Kane’s warm hands slipped over my shoulders. “Do you want me to stay again?”
My body started to tremble, and coherent thought fled my mind. They were crazy if they thought I’d leave now. I shook my head violently and moved back to sit on the bed beside my best friend. I was the reason she knew witches. If I hadn’t come to town, she never would’ve met Lucien, and this wouldn’t have happened. Of course, she could’ve ended up being controlled by a demon, but that was another matter entirely.
“I’m not leaving,” I said again and placed a protective hand on Kat’s arm.
Bea stared at me.
Lucien hung his head and moved to the door. “I should probably go.”
“Lucien,” a faint voice called from the bed.
Startled, I jerked and peered down at Kat. Her eyes hadn’t opened, but she’d shifted, and her eyebrows were furrowed.
“Kat?” I asked, praying I wasn’t imagining her voice.
“Hmm.” Her eyes fluttered.
“Oh, Jesus,” Lucien uttered and rushed to Kat’s other side. He reached for her but pulled away before he touched her. “Kat? I’m here. I’m so sorry. Can you hear me?”
This time when her eyes fluttered, they stayed opened. She blinked, focusing on him.
Lucien let out a guttural sigh of relief. “There you are,” he said softly.
“Thank the Goddess,” I whispered and pressed my lips softly to her hand. “Don’t ever scare me like that again.”
“Hey.” She glanced around the room, paused to take me in and once again focused on the man hovering beside her. “What happened?”
“An accident. Something with the spell went wrong. I’m so, so sorry, love.”
Love? I narrowed my eyes at my second in command. What was going on here? Hadn’t Lucien said a black heart curse? What did that mean exactly?
I brushed Kat’s curls from her eyes. “You okay?”
Her hazel eyes met mine, and she gave me a small smile. “You helped me. I can feel it.” She tapped her chest. “In here.”
Tears burned my eyes again, but I blinked them back.
“I’m okay now. Thank you.” She turned her attention to Lucien again. “Would the rest of you mind giving us a moment?”
I sucked in a breath but let Kane guide me toward the door. “We’ll be downstairs if you need us,” he said.
She nodded but didn’t break her gaze from Lucien. He sat there, studying her, appearing heartbreakingly miserable. His entire body was tense as if he were holding himself back. From what? Leaving? Or wrapping her in his arms? I was pretty sure it was the latter.
I forced myself to give them the privacy they obviously craved but paused in the hallway.