by C. C. Wood
She laughed. “Goddess, this is harder than I thought it would be.” Kerry paced next to the bed, her movements frenetic. Suddenly, she stopped and faced me. “Don’t you think I would tell you if I could?” she asked. “I want to. I want to more than anything, but I cannot interfere with your destiny. I know that you understand that even if you don’t want to accept it.”
Her eyes were earnest and the ring on my finger glowed blue. She spoke the truth and I hated every word.
“It’s been two thousand years, Kerry,” I murmured. “Over twenty lifetimes. I’ve created new memories, a new past, but I still know nothing about who I once was. Did I have children? A husband? Who was I?”
Kerry’s eyes were wet as she looked back at me and her voice caught as she spoke. “I can’t tell you, Ava,” she whispered. “I can’t.”
Tears filled my own eyes as we stared at each other. I hated that she was right. “I know.”
I did know. I had before I even entered the room, but I couldn’t stop myself from asking. From yearning to know the truth.
Kerry moved forward and hugged me. Other than Savannah, a woman hadn’t embraced me for a very long time. I returned her hug, wrapping my arms around her waist.
“You’ll know the truth soon,” Kerry assured me when she finally stepped back and released me. “One way or another.”
Before I could ask her what that enigmatic statement meant, the house shuddered violently as the protection wards that surrounded it were breached.
The hair on my arms and the back of my neck stood on end just before an unearthly shriek pierced the air and flashes of lightning crackled up the walls.
I held on to Kerry and dragged her out of the room just before the window imploded, scattering glass throughout the interior of the house. The blast threw us to the floor in the hallway and our bodies crashed against each other before we hit the hardwood floor.
I cried out as my shoulder connected with the boards but immediately rolled to my side and rose up on my knees.
Kneeling over Kerry, I lowered my face close to hers. “Kerry, are you hurt anywhere?”
She shook her head, clearly dazed, and I moved my hands in the air over her body, using magic to search for any wounds. It took her a few moments to gather her wits and she sat up, bumping my hands with her shoulders.
“I’m okay,” she declared, lifting a hand to brush her curly hair out of her face. “The fall just knocked the wind out of me.”
“Are you sure?” I asked, leaning down once again so we were at eye level.
“I’m sure,” she replied, her voice turning hard as the sound of fighting in the yard reached us. “They need our help out there.”
I stared into her eyes for one more long moment before I nodded and jumped to my feet. I reached down and helped her up.
“Stay behind me and protect our flank,” I commanded.
She took the order with a nod and we moved down the hall. As soon as we emerged into the dining room, bolts of energy and magic rained down on us. I lifted a hand, the power rising to my demand, and the lightning and spells bounced harmlessly off the shield I created.
“Oh, that’s badass,” Kerry murmured behind me. “You’ll have to teach me how that works.”
“Later,” I replied, my focus on protecting us from the destruction that pelted us from all sides.
I looked around, but there was no one in sight. The front door was shattered, splinters of wood scattered throughout the living room. Outside, the storm of lightning and magic continued. I realized that the spells and electricity hitting my shield were ricochets or badly aimed attacks.
Gathering more power, I invoked one of the other wards I’d placed on the property. This one would hide whatever was happening while protecting those outside the circle from what lay within it.
Essentially, I’d trapped us on the property with our attackers. The spell would only break if I died and I had no plans to die today.
“See anything?” I asked Kerry.
“No. The house looks clear.”
“Let’s move to the front,” I stated.
As a unit, we wove through the debris in the living room and out the front door. The scene in the yard was something out of one of my nightmares.
Rhiannon stood at the edge of the yard, her feet planted shoulder-width apart and her arms lifted as her lips moved. Power surged from her body, rolling across the grass toward the men. Harrison and Finn stood shoulder to shoulder, their bodies tense beneath the onslaught as they blocked and parried her magic.
But that wasn’t what caught my attention. It was Macgrath and Rhys and the creature they battled. It had once been a man, a beautiful man, but his eyes were no longer human. Instead of colored irises and the whites of his eyes there were only two burning black orbs. His sightless obsidian gaze was fierce and the snarl he wore was more feral than human.
His head turned and his eyes narrowed when he saw me standing there. I shuddered when I saw the side of his face that had been turned away. One half of his profile was unmarred, beautifully sculpted, but the other half…
His skin was charred and twisted as though he’d been burned by his own magic and unable to heal. Within the cracks of the burns, I could see tiny arcs of blue-white lightning so bright that it hurt my eyes. His attention only rested on me for a moment before he turned back to the men, but it was enough to halt me in my tracks.
My body froze, inside and out, the cold seeping deep into my bones. How had Rhiannon created another animavore so quickly? Gaius’ grimoire had only been in her possession for a day. It shouldn’t have been enough time to create him. Or to recharge her power. The process would have drained her to the point of near death.
Yet here she was, brimming with malevolent magic. As my eyes drifted over the animavore, I knew. Rhiannon sent him out into the world to consume innocent souls and then transferred that power to her own body. She used him the way she had intended to use Rhys when Gaius made him. The way she would have used Cornelius if he hadn’t been deranged.
I watched in horror as the animavore hurled another energy ball toward Macgrath and Rhys, one that was larger and more powerful than the last. Without thought, I lifted a hand and blew the energy blast apart. Nothing but a shower of harmless sparks hit Macgrath.
The creature hesitated then, his gaze locking on me before he smiled a sadistic, nasty grin. He roared and his body twisted toward me. I knew I only had a split second to protect Kerry and myself from a fierce and powerful attack. I gathered up the magic, as his hands lifted. Time slowed as I braced myself, encasing Kerry and I in the strongest protection spell I knew.
The creature flung a hand in our direction and I saw a crackling ball of energy flying through the air. It was so hot that I could feel its warmth from ten feet away. I barely had time to suck in a breath to warn Kerry.
When the bolt hit the shield, it held, but tendrils of the electricity encased us, creating a cage. I gasped when the first shock snuck through and touched my skin. The cage shrank, crackling and sizzling as it fought to break through the shield. I felt my magic shudder against the onslaught before solidifying once again. The shield was in place and would remain unbroken. The thin streams of electricity that seeped through were painful but they weren’t strong enough to even leave a mark on my skin.
This creature’s power was similar to Rhys’ but wilder and more unpredictable. Still, it wasn’t strong enough to break through.
“Kerry, you okay back there?” I asked.
Her reply was shaky but loud enough for me to hear. “Yeah, I’m good.”
“We’re going to be fine,” I stated. “Everything is going to be—”
Suddenly, another blast of energy hit the shield. This time a shard broke through and pierced my side.
I screamed as fire consumed my abdomen, but when I looked down at my body, there was no flame, no smoke. But the pain was all-consuming, sucking the strength from my limbs.
For the second time in two days, I collapsed, too wracked with
agony to catch myself as I fell. Gritting my teeth, I shoved more power at the shield.
“Ava!”
I finally understood the expression made my blood run cold when I heard Savannah cry my name. The veins in my body felt as though they were filled with ice water. My entire body grew chilled and still, and the fine hairs on the back of my neck rose in terror. I tore my eyes away from the creature and twisted my head to see Savannah darting down the porch steps and across the yard.
“No.” I tried to scream the word, but my throat was still tight from the pain in my side.
Movement out of the corner of my eye caught my attention. The creature walked toward me, a smirk once again tugging at the undamaged side of his mouth.
Kerry managed to call out, “Savannah, don’t!”
The creature stopped walking and faced Savannah, its lips parting in another wicked smile. It was a scene out of my nightmares. He lifted an arm and I knew exactly what he intended to do. Savannah had no power to protect herself and Rhys was too far away.
Desperate, I screamed and lashed out at the creature with everything I had, but it was too late. The ball of energy left his fingertips and flew toward her. I heard Kerry speaking though I couldn’t understand what she said and felt the spell snap into place a fraction of a second before the crackling electrical bolt hit it.
But Kerry’s magic wasn’t strong enough.
There was a flash of light and I watched in horror as Savannah flew back, her limbs flailing wildly, and her body crashed into the side of the house.
I shrieked again, magic exploding out of my body as shock and horror overtook me. The electrical cage encasing us sizzled and vanished beneath the onslaught of raw power.
Another roar split the air, but this time it was Rhys’ voice I heard. There was a bright flash of light, the sizzle of electricity against magic, and Rhiannon’s creature vanished.
I looked over my shoulder and saw Rhiannon standing at the edge of the yard, her eyes on Macgrath. She didn’t look triumphant or even pleased that she and her creation had wreaked so much havoc on us.
It was anguish that painted her features. Regret and pain. I could read the emotions so easily that I was surprised I hadn’t noticed them before. Rhiannon existed inside a well of pain so deep that it twisted her and drew her farther into the shadows.
Her eyes moved to me and the expression cleared from her face so quickly I briefly wondered if I’d imagined it. Our gazes clashed, a moment of understanding passing between us and I knew I hadn’t misinterpreted what I saw. Beneath the hunger for power, Rhiannon was also a woman who wanted to be loved.
But the one person she desired didn’t want her in return.
I tensed when she lifted her arms, preparing to fight for my life, but as her lips moved, her body shimmered and faded until only a glittering cloud remained. I watched as it moved through the protection wards I’d activated around the house, filtering through the magic in a slow surge forward.
Once the cloud was clear of the wards, it faded away. But I didn’t have the luxury of time to process what her actions meant. Savannah needed my help.
“Ava,” Kerry muttered, dropping to her knees next to me. “Ava.”
I shoved her hands away. “Go see to Savannah,” I demanded. “I’ll heal myself.”
“Your wound is too severe,” she argued.
I twisted my head to glare at her and she stopped speaking. I knew my eyes were glowing with power, the colors within my irises pulsating. The few times I’d looked into the mirror and saw the phenomenon, I thought that I looked somewhat like a vampire without fangs.
“Go,” I commanded, my voice pitched low and filled with my power.
Kerry nodded and jumped to her feet. I watched as she ran over to the porch where Rhys held Savannah’s crumpled form. His shoulders were lowered and rounded as he spoke to her, his hands brushing her hair away from her face.
Groaning, I turned onto my side and put a palm on the ground. I needed to stand up and go over to help Kerry. Savannah was dying, I was certain of it.
Before I could push myself into a sitting position, Macgrath appeared at my side.
“You need to lie still,” he demanded.
I shot him a look that should have melted him to the spot.
He growled and reached for me, his hands hovering near my shoulders when I spoke.
“If you try to make me lie back down, I’m sending you to the Russian steppes. You’ll freeze to death before you can trace back here.”
Instead of pushing me back down, he scooped me up into his arms, his hold gentle. I moaned as the burning sensation in my abdomen shot through the rest of my body, seizing my arms and legs. He rose to his feet, the motion smooth enough not to jar me further. His steps were so light and graceful, I felt as though I were floating through the air as he carried me to the porch. The pain in my stomach lessened with each breath and I wondered if my magic was healing me.
Or maybe I was just going into shock because when I reached down and pressed a finger to the edge of the wound, a fiery lick of pain flared.
“Don’t touch the wound,” Macgrath stated.
“Now you tell me,” I shot back.
He scowled at me but didn’t say anything else. My eyes moved to where Rhys cradled Savannah in his arms. Tears streaked down his face as he smoothed her hair away from her pale face.
My own pain was forgotten when I saw the scorched remains of her dress. I glanced at Kerry and she returned my gaze. We both knew what was happening. Savannah was dying and there was no way to heal that wound in time. The life was draining out of her before our very eyes.
Kerry leaned over Savannah and I stiffened when I saw the listless way my friend’s eyes moved to her.
“Heal her,” Rhys demanded. His voice was rough and the words broke as they fell from his lips.
Kerry kept her focus on Savannah. “You’re badly injured, Savannah. I can save you but I’ll have to use a spell. It’s not for healing, but for binding. I can bind your life force to Rhys and your body will use his power and abilities to heal your wounds.” She paused. “I’ve done it before. But, in the future, if either of you dies, the other will follow.”
“I don’t care,” Rhys said. “I won’t survive without her.”
Kerry’s eyes moved to his briefly. “But it’s her choice, Rhys.”
He snarled at Kerry but Savannah’s weak voice interrupted the conversation.
“I don’t want to go,” she murmured. “I want to stay with Rhys.”
Kerry nodded and twisted her head toward Finn. “Get me a bowl, my herbs, and my athame.”
He vanished into the house, moving so quickly he was a blur.
“What can I do to help?” I asked her.
Kerry shook her head. “Nothing. I’ve done this spell before.” She laid a hand over Savannah’s chest and I saw the golden glow of healing magic beneath her palm.
I realized then what she was doing. Savannah was at death’s door. If Kerry didn’t heal at least a portion of her wound, she would die before the spell was complete.
I couldn’t allow that to happen.
I tilted my head back and looked up at Macgrath. “Move closer and crouch down, please.”
To his credit, he didn’t argue. He did as I asked. Somehow he understood what was at stake. I reached out and placed a hand on Kerry’s shoulder and took a deep breath. The wound in my side ached with the movement but I ignored it.
The well of power within me was still full, brimming with magic. It wasn’t the power that was used up. It was my body. But it didn’t matter. My body would have to endure for a little longer. I siphoned a small, steady stream and pushed it into Kerry, giving her healing magic a boost. Immediately, some of Savannah’s color returned and her breathing improved.
Kerry didn’t take her eyes off my friend, but I could feel her gratitude through the bond. What we were doing wouldn’t heal her completely, but it would help her hold on. Now that I was touching Kerry, I coul
d feel the extent of Savannah’s injuries and there were too many for us to fix in the time we had left. Too much blood and too many broken bones. Her spine was broken in two places.
I felt tears slip out of my eyes as I saw all the ways that my friend was shattered. I refocused my efforts on easing her pain and noticed that her chest rose and fell with larger breaths.
Finn appeared with a bowl of water, a knife, and a pouch filled with glass and metal vials full of dried herbs. Kerry took the items and set to work.
Moving quickly, she added herbs to the bowl, murmuring the words of a spell as she stirred them.
“Rhys, your hand,” she demanded abruptly.
Rhys held his hand out to her, palm up. He didn’t even wince as she pierced the tip of his finger with the knife and held it over the bowl until several drops fell into the water.
My eyes widened at the sight. It was familiar somehow, as though I’d performed the spell before, though I couldn’t remember doing so. Which was strange. This was old magic, a spell lost eons ago.
“Hold out Savannah’s hand,” Kerry stated.
Rhys complied and Savannah groaned as the knife pierced her finger. Once her blood joined Rhys’ in the bowl of water and herbs, Kerry continued the invocation, the water trembling and swirling inside the bowl.
Then she lifted it to Savannah’s lips. “Drink. At least two or three swallows.”
Savannah choked a bit as the liquid trickled into her mouth, but her throat moved as she swallowed the brew.
When she was done, Kerry held it out to Rhys. “Your turn. Finish it.”
Rhys complied immediately.
As soon as the bowl was empty, Kerry repeated the invocation. I felt the power stirring all around us, lifting my hair and tugging at my clothes. My wound was throbbing once again, but I ignored it as I watched Savannah for any signs of improvement.
Suddenly, a crack sounded as a lightning bolt cleaved the dirt of the yard ten feet from where we sat. My head jerked back toward Savannah and I watched in awe as the blackened flesh of her chest began to shift and fade. It returned to the pale, freckled skin of a healthy Savannah.
She gasped and arched in Rhys’ arms as the magic began to work on her internal injuries as well. Her eyes flew open and I saw the color change. They turned as black as the creature’s had been earlier, the darkness swallowing both her irises and the whites of her eyes. Then she blinked and her eyes once more returned to their typical dark brown.