“My mother went crazy because of magic?” she managed to choke out as her world shook from its foundations.
“That’s what Edward claimed. She couldn’t stay away. Kept tapping all kinds of energy. Said it was uncomplimentary. That what she was using canceled each other out, and in the process drove her insane.”
She grasped onto the details like a drowning woman. Facts. Focus on facts. Jack’s voice drifted through her head, offering her an anchor. What Hugh said about magical risks wasn’t too far off from what Jack had told her. Think of this as another analysis project, she told herself as she distanced from the tumultuous emotions surrounding the revelation about her mother. “That’s why knights don’t use magic. They have too much imbued in them when they take the oath, right?”
Hugh was silent.
“Right, Uncle?”
“Correct. It’s not that the Order doesn’t want sorcery or mages. Immortality, healing, strength, the senses and skill enhancement, they have a price. You should consider that long and hard before you take the oath, Raine.”
“I can be fixed. They promised me I can be fixed once this is over.”
“If by they, you mean Ramon and his dogs, they’re probably telling a kind of truth that winds up being a lie when you look close enough. That’s how they operate.”
Lately, that’s how everyone she knew seemed to operate. Except him. “Why didn’t you tell me this years ago?”
“What? About your mother? What purpose would it serve?”
That was Hugh. Pragmatic, unbending, unbreakable. He would no sooner recognize that a young orphaned girl might want to know about her mother and father, good and bad, than he would recognize the value of a love sonnet, or a Valentine’s card, or even a simple hug. Hugh was ever and always a knight in service to the Order. Everything else was a distant third for him. Hugh was the same. But she had changed. Old tactics didn’t work when dealing with this one of her demons. Time to make her future, on her terms.
“When this is over I want you to tell me about her. All you know. Doesn’t matter how sordid or not, I want to know about her. And my father.”
“Has Madden revealed anything about the conspiracy?” he asked, changing the topic. “Has he given you any cause to think he’s playing a part? Is he a viable target?”
Yes. No. “Too early to tell. I’m serious about this, Uncle Hugh. I want to know, and you owe it to me to tell me the truth.”
“You think I’ve lied?”
“I think…” She took a steadying breath. What did she think? I think you’re telling the kind of truth that winds up being a lie when you look closely. The hair on the back of her neck stood on end. She glanced out the window again at the tarmac. Jack was gone. She looked up and saw him boarding. “I need to go,” she said quickly, and hung up.
Jack smiled engagingly at her, and her stomach tightened with pleasant anticipation. It struck her then, that her old world was fast disappearing. Wearing away, like leather on the soles of shoes worn too long and walked too far. She couldn’t get Hugh’s words out of her mind. But she needed to. Jack would be onto her in a second. They were close, and growing closer. And she wasn’t sure how she could keep him out. But it made her wonder, how in on him could she get? Maybe her uncle’s contact could help her figure that out.
Jack sat across from her and buckled up. “We should be back in New York City in no time. After dinner, I want to do some analysis on the jar. Then I’d like to try a deeper form of mystical searching.”
“How deep?”
“Trance-deep, in a formal temple setting, with a circle and magic and all that fun stuff.”
Deep enough to trigger the same response as last night? The thrilling, dark notion made her pulse pick up. It was an excellent antidote to Hugh’s bomb about her past, so she let her attention slide away from the unpleasant and unsettling and into the daring and delicious. Sex was an excellent distraction, so was the puzzle of the artifact, and the curious mystery surrounding magic. Anyone of them was worth her time, to keep her from screaming at the top of her lungs, and lapsing into that whiny woman she used to be until she started taking things on her terms and her terms only.
“I have some analysis of my own I’d like to do, before dinner.”
“Anything I can help with?” He was genuine, free of the leer, or the sultry suggestive undertones that often permeated his every word and mood.
“I’m doing some digging on Zep Tepi, the Atlanteans, and the magic associated with that era. My background’s in a different branch of arcane lore, so I want to bone up.” Not too far from the truth. That was on her to-do list. “If I can put things in context I think I can contribute more than unfocused energy.”
“I have an extensive library, digital and regular. You’re welcome to use both.”
“Thanks.” She fingered the comforting smooth stone beads. “I’ve worked with artifact retrieval teams before. We found this one so fast, with so little trouble.”
“We did. Which means, by the laws of averages, we should run into a world of hurt when we go after the next one.”
She liked the way his eyes sparkled with mischief. He had a youthful vibrancy that only enhanced the elegant lines of his face. He moved with defined grace and purpose, never rushing even when he moved quick. He would be killer in bed. Better than all those stories circulating about him. Certainly enough to take her mind off the fact that her mother was crazy. Not the good kind. The psycho kind. And here she was, at thirty-one years, learning about it, in the middle of a save-the-world-or-we-all-die kind of situation.
“Something’s bothering you.” His rich voice intruded on her thoughts, scattering them to the wind.
She shrugged, restless with energy she longed to release. Energy she realized dimly was building into a chaotic kind of anger. She pushed back at the anger, using every bit of her skill at compartmentalization. She needed to throw Jack off the scent. Like she’d done with that vampire. She forced herself to relax, placing her palms on the butter-soft leather chair cushion. “Do you get those urges every time you use magic?”
“If you’re lucky, yes.” His expressive mouth turned up at the corners and his eyes darkened with heat. “Worried about tonight?”
“Not at all.” Hell yes. Worried. Hopeful. Mixed-up. Maybe this was the wrong topic to use as a diversion. It only served to stir her senses up more, get her riled when she was striving for the opposite. “Are you?”
“Did you know many mages and wizards keep companions who are there expressly to provide relief for, as you so nicely called them, ‘those urges’?”
“That’s kind of creepy.”
“When you’re really high-end, and burning up with the juice, you tend to get a little mono-focused and paranoid. It’s not like you have a regular steady, or even a friend with fringe benefits. You need a release, but you need someone to be discreet, not a threat to your power base, and not offended if you roll out of the bed the next morning and disappear for a week back in your lab.”
She knew a fair amount of magic users tended toward the kinky, the way most vampires gravitated towards games of dominance and submission. She just assumed it was the normal perversions expected of “that kind”. Yet another holdover from her uncle, she supposed. Until now, she hadn’t realized how narrow her field of vision was because of these absorbed opinions and prejudices. “Did you have one of those?” Probably did. Probably had many.
“Nope. That involves too much close connection. I liked to keep things light back in the day. And now? My magic’s bush-league at best, and I’m kind of jaded when it comes to companions. I sort of keep to myself.” He stretched out his long legs and she admired the flex of muscle beneath the fitted leather pants. Her gut tightened recalling the wonderful ride she’d taken on his leg. “Why do you ask? Are you considering me for the role?”
His gaze turned laser hot. It transferred the burn into her blood. Her cheeks flushed as warmth traveled low into her sex. One look and she was ready to tear
off his clothes and her own. And she already knew what his touch could do. It was unbelievable, the way she could so easily slip into this wanton state, despite the fact that the dimension teetered on the brink of destruction, and her own life had pretty much crumbled away. She had no sane answer for it, but was coming to realize she didn’t need an answer for it anymore than she needed an answer for anything she did.
She wanted the man, plain and pure and simple. She wanted the pleasure he promised. And she wanted to pleasure him back. The desire that raced between them seemed to exist in its own world, in its own time, separate from all the other heavy earthly concerns that weighed her down. The magical bad boy she once disdained now offered her the one thing that seemed capable of distracting her from herself. Mind-blowing, edge-of-the-knife, orgasmic sex. And she didn’t need to really think past that, because that’s all it was.
She licked suddenly dry lips. “Why are you telling me this?”
“Tonight, we’ll be safe. In my home, in a magical space. Not on a train, racing through Manhattan, minutes away from our stop. I’ll have you all to myself, all night long. I plan to make the most of it, for both of us.”
“Don’t we have more important things to work on?”
“I can multitask.”
“You’ll have to convince me.”
“I aim to please.”
And where he aimed, he hit, with thrilling accuracy. The anticipation of pleasure to come helped take the edge of the restlessness. The banter was an excellent antidote to anger, and left her strangely clear-headed.
“There,” he said gently. “That’s better. You’re a beautiful woman, Raine, but when you smile, you light the world.”
The corny compliment brought out a blush. “You don’t talk like most of the men I know.”
“They’re all boys,” he purred, laying the accent on thick. He casually threw an arm across the top of the seat next to his, lapsing into a suggestive sprawl. “I came of age in Regency England. No better place to learn the fine art of love and debauchery, while still maintaining gentlemanly comportment. Today’s man has forgotten what it means to be a man. And isn’t quite sure how to treat a woman as a result.”
He was male arrogance personified, and she found his sexual confidence supremely arousing. No wonder he was considered hell on wheels. “You’re pretty sure of yourself.”
“You weren’t complaining last night.”
“I wasn’t.”
“You won’t tonight, either.” His tone, while seductive, held a playful edge, enhanced by the bawdy wink he shot her way.
She laughed lightly at his clowning around. He shifted moods and energy as fast as a tornado tore through Texas flatlands. Sometimes it was dangerous, other times vexing, but right now it was exactly what she needed. “Don’t you think of anything other than sex? We have one of the artifacts, Jack. We found what no one else could.”
“Because we didn’t look for the artifact, we looked for who sold it, who shipped it, and who bought it. That’s way easier. You can’t help but stumble across it in the process. But you’re right, we have one primary objective in hand, and all we’re doing is chit-chatting.” He got quickly to his feet with a look that clearly said he was up to no good, and damn proud of the fact. “What we really should be doing is celebrating. I have some champagne, straight from the Elven homeland, that will blow your mind.”
* * *
“What did your niece tell you?” Kerr kept his tone neutral. Hugh seemed angry. His stoic features remained the same, and his body showed no signs of distress, but his eyes were full of fire.
“Jack Madden is up to something.”
“That’s a given.” He resisted the urge to probe further. A man like Hugh could not be pushed. Kerr needed his support. He couldn’t rush, even though he longed to get it over with. “Why didn’t Raine give a full report?”
“She’s following protocol, and keeping everyone on ‘need to know’. I told you, she does the right thing. Despite her blood.”
Hugh’s harsh words about Raine’s blood gave Kerr hope. It was the Covenant his paladin was vested in, not the half-breed bitch. “She hasn’t told you anything?”
“She tracked down some intel on the artifacts last night. That’s all I know.”
“Stay close to her. We need more if we’re to learn the truth.” He picked up the remote from his desk. “I want to show you something.”
He pressed play and the video cued up.
Hugh turned to the wall mounted plasma screen as the image of Ramon’s brownstone appeared. “What’s this?”
“Surveillance of Ramon Salazar’s, taken after our meeting. There’s Jack entering the house. Notice the color of the radiant glow around the structure? It’s chromasta. That aura signature is usually present when a God has manifested.”
“It’s not very strong. Doesn’t that register for some of the Elder Wardens?”
Hugh’s rough voice stated facts. There was no challenge in the words. But it irritated Kerr. “I’ve never seen it register for Ramon.”
“Ever had him under surveillance before?”
Kerr cursed silently. Hugh had a clever streak. And he knew all the protocols of running ops. “Not recently. The technology to register chromasta and several other esoteric aura shades was only developed last year.”
Hugh made a non-committal grunt. He crossed his massive arms, and the muscles flexed menacingly. “You think Salazar is in league with a God?”
“Salazar, and Madden.” Kerr relaxed as Hugh bought into the idea he was pitching. “There’s Jack entering.”
He skipped ahead to where Raine entered. “There. See? As the door opens, the reading becomes stronger. Now watch what happens when I move ahead a little.”
The video advanced to the point where the auric signature flared briefly, then went dead. It stayed that way for several minutes, then, reappeared in the same anemic tone as it had when the feed first started.
Hugh pointed a thick finger at the screen. “Looks like something suppressed the energy signature. Once the suppression was off, it returned to baseline. The flare-up could be an enchantment triggering.”
“Two kinds of magic, canceling each other out. It’s happened before. Only usually the mystics are the ones who can see it. Not the rest of us.” As far as anyone knew. But Kerr knew, the old ones, the powerful ones, like himself and Ramon, could see far more than they let on.
“I’m in the middle of a tactical training exercise with your new cadre. Is there something you want me to do about this new information? Organize a strike team? Pursue more aggressive surveillance?”
Hugh’s leap to action took him by surprise. Perhaps he’d misjudged the need for caution with his paladin. “If Salazar radiates the same power as a God, even if it’s something he’s using to protect his dwelling, we need to keep a closer guard on this mission. Maybe intervene if necessary.”
“Even if intervening is off-protocol?”
“We have a mandate to protect this mortal realm and this dimension. You would ignore that?”
“Give me an order. I’ll carry it out.”
The line was pure Hugh Spencer. Straight and to the point. Yet Kerr had the feeling something was off with his paladin. “Things didn’t go well with Raine.”
“This is bigger than me or my problems with my kin.”
“It’s bigger than all of us.” Kerr decided to push a little further. “I have one more thing to show you. A close-up. I want your thoughts on what we’re going to view, but you must release this to no one outside of us.”
Hugh did not move a muscle. But in that space of seconds when Kerr spoke his last words, the air around the big knight changed. He became dangerous. Kerr knew this as well as he knew his own name. Hugh Spencer was primed to strike.
Excellent. Things had not started off so well, but Kerr was confident they were again back on track. He rolled the remainder of video, a slow motion close up of the door opening while Raine stood outside, waiting. “The
re. Does that individual look familiar to you?”
“Seth,” Hugh spat.
“I thought the same, though this isn’t the clearest shot.” Kerr clicked the remote and shut down the display. “The loss of the artifacts led mystics to believe that in some way, them being in play would start up the war between Seth and Horus. A war that began centuries ago, all because Seth killed his brother Osirus, the beneficent deity and father of Horus.”
Hugh flexed his fists but otherwise remained immobile. “Is any deity beneficent?”
“Some are better than others.” Kerr chose his next words carefully. “What would this world be like if Osirus had not died? Many of the chaotic turns that ripped the dimension up occurred after his murder, including the one that erased the Atlanteans from history and memory. In fact, some rumors have it that Osirus is indeed Atlantean. Had he instead been alive, taken a role as a living God, instead of ruling from the underworld as a sacrificial, dead God, what would our world now be like?”
“Where are you going with this, Kerr?”
There was iron in Hugh’s voice, but also a bare, fractional hint of question. It boded neither well, nor ill. Kerr pressed on. “I’m going nowhere, my friend. Only wondering aloud. Don’t you ever tire of this endless struggle? Especially in light of the conspiracy at work in our own ranks?” He walked over to the hand-carved wet bar and poured himself a cool draught of water, taken straight from Brigid’s Well in Ireland. “I sometimes think we are doing less than holding the line, that we’re backsliding against the onslaught. That it’s only a matter of time before all we’ve strived to accomplish is undone. I long for order, Hugh, for peace and solace. This eternal war grows tiresome.”
“The good fight never ends. We know this, and still we fight. We must hold the line, Kerr, no matter how tired we grow, or how lost the battle appears.”
“And if we could find a way to rest, to lay down arms because we no longer needed to fight?” Kerr studied Hugh, but to no avail. His man was as closed as ever.
“If that day comes and I live to see such a thing, I’ll lower my blade and stand the first round for all my men.”
ImmortalIllusions: The Eternity Covenant Book2 Page 17