I panicked. My wolf barked, scratched, and clawed against the violet wall that was now keeping me prisoner in my own mind. My heart thundered in my throat and, for a moment, I thought I would choke on it.
She was saying something, talking to me in a calm and collected voice. How the fuck could she be so calm? My heart and mind were racing with images of all the things she could do to me, to Dean and Patrick. Shit! Dean and Patrick were frozen in this hell too. She was talking. I had to listen. HAD TO. I could see her mouth moving but the sounds were distant and so far off. It took all my concentration to listen, hear, and understand.
“I didn’t expect you to fall so easily into my hands. I’d heard so many amazing things about The Blushing Death, you understand,” she said, waving her hand in front of my face. “I thought this would be more difficult.” She got up on tiptoes and searched my gaze, peering from eye to eye investigating for any signs of life. A wicked grin turned up the corners of her mouth as she presumably got the answer she wanted.
“Humh,” she snorted and turned on her heels, leaving Dean, Patrick, and I alone. It wasn’t like we were a real threat since we were frozen like fucking statues in her living room.
I’d managed to calm my wolf down, putting her on the scent of other prey, namely Celeste. Panicking wouldn’t help. Finding a way around her magic would. I set all my magic, The Golden Anidae, the Fertiri, even the fae magic from Baba Yaga free, and focused on searching the depth of Celeste’s power for a hole.
Immense power permeated through the room, power that didn’t belong to Celeste. Even through the violet haze of the abyss, I felt it in every bone in my body. Power, intense and familiar, weaved through the room like a serpent, wrapping around me from one leg to the other as it slithered up my body. First, it touched my fingertips and a shiver ran through me. It was . . . excited. It knew me, and I knew it. I could feel its pull as the power called to me, begging me to come play almost like a child meeting a new friend.
Celeste came back through the French doors with a large book, leather bound and dingy, as if it had seen many centuries of life. In her other hand was what could only be described as a goblet of bright, shining gold. She set both items down on the dining room table next to the floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the quarter.
“Now,” she said, turning to face me. “This book says the Chalice needs blood. Mine didn’t work but listen to it hum.” A malicious and pleased little grin lit up her face. “It must like you. I think it will like your blood too.”
To my right, a soft growl emanated from Dean and it resonated deep in my bones. He was fighting his way back too. If he could do that, he was working hard to climb his way out of the abyss. I could hear Patrick’s heart racing, thundering in his chest as he pushed himself to the limits of the magical barrier keeping all three of us prisoner.
“All of your blood. You two won’t be left out. I promise.”
Shit. I wasn’t about to wait and see what she had planned. I shoved all the magic I had down into my right hand, focusing on moving a finger. Just one finger. I squeezed and my grip tightened around Gladi’s hilt and I knew it was working. Once I knew I could move all my fingers, I focused on my toes, shoving the magic down into them. First the big toe and then one by one, I could move all of them at the same time.
Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a flash of light glinting off metal and I slid my gaze over, not yet able to move my neck. That bitch held a knife. Mother-fucking-sonovabitch! She inched closer to Dean and his growl grew fierce as it reverberated in his throat.
“Oh, you are strong. I gave it all I had but you’re still fighting it, aren’t you?” Her eyes lit with menace and I knew I had to hurry. “I shouldn’t kill you yet. I may need more.” She hesitated before she sliced across Dean’s neck and waited for the blood to pool and flow over his skin. The wound closed quickly but it didn’t matter. Catching it in the chalice, the power of his blood surged through me and I fought to free more of my body from her hold.
Next, she stepped to Patrick and raised the knife to his neck. “Is your heart beating?” she asked, eyes wide with disbelief. “Fascinating!” She sliced quickly and his blood ran thick and rich from his throat with each beat of his heart until the wound closed. His blood flowed into the chalice mixing with Dean’s and I was hit with another wave of magic, freeing my legs. The violet cloud around my brain thinned until I could see clearly beyond a few feet in front of me.
Before I could stop her, Celeste was standing before me with a blood-coated knife in her hand. “Must be careful with the human,” she chided before snatching my left wrist and slicing down my forearm. Blood, warm and thick, slid down my arm and around my wrist before dripping in an echoing splat on the floor. She pressed the Chalice against my skin and waited as my blood mixed and mingled with the blood of the men I loved. Power percolated and waited to explode as our blood mingled inside the ancient relic. Focusing all my strength on the blood in the Chalice, I knew I had only a moment-two at the most-and slammed a wall around Dean and Patrick. The protective barrier pulsed with the strength of my racing heart making the blush wall shiver around them.
Before I could test its strength, magic exploded from the Chalice in a bright light of power that physically knocked me and Celeste off of our feet. The shockwave sent Celeste into the next room and me into my own blood-wall behind me. Gladi skittered across the floor. The Chalice of Isis flew from Celeste’s hands, plunking down on the cushions of the sofa without a scratch on it. The cushions didn’t fare so well, drenched in splattered blood.
Our combined power and that of the Chalice of Isis filled me, releasing the grip Celeste had on my mind and body. Recognizing me, the Chalice’s magic flooded my being-mind, body, and soul. I gasped as it consumed me, burning through my body as if to identify each cell down to the smallest protein of DNA.
From the other room, Celeste staggered to her feet, shaking her head. She searched the room with a quick glance. When her eyes lit upon me, her gaze flashed violet but I was running on all cylinders and filled with too much potent magic to be consumed again. I shook off the push of her energy and got to my feet. Behind me, Patrick and Dean were freed from her hold but couldn’t break my wall. The Chalice had given me an extra boost of power.
“Baby,” Dean growled, his voice rough and dangerous through the shield. “Let us out.”
No time to respond as I forced myself up and on my feet.
“Dahlia!” Patrick shouted as Celeste stepped closer.
“What are you?” she asked, tilting her chin up to crack her neck first one way and then the other. “No one has ever been able to break my hold.”
“I’m Fertiri,” I said, glancing at Gladi in the corner and back at the vampire in front of me. “It’s kinda what I do.”
Chapter 38
Celeste was quicker than I’d thought.
Stronger than I’d thought too.
She collided into me, her smaller body slipping under my arm and slamming into my middle. Together, we fell to the floor in a heap of limbs and hair. Her fists, one after the other, connected with my kidneys as she straddled my lower body, keeping my legs out of the game.
I started rocking back and forth, moving my hips until I could get a little momentum going to buck her off. It worked . . . a little.
While I tried to free my legs, I grappled with her arms. Grabbing her wrists, one in each hand, I spread her arms wide and jerked myself up and slammed my head into her nose.
Blood gushed from her face, soaking the front of her and me. As she flinched back and scrunched her eyes shut from the force of my blow, I rolled, tossing her. Leaning away from her, I kicked out with both feet, using all the power of my lower body to make the most of my strike as my feet connected with her gut.
“You stupid bitch!” she bellowed as she doubled over on her side.
I got to my feet, slow
ly, still feeling each and every blow from her, from the power that had knocked my ass half way across the room, and from a week of fighting vampires, shifters, and fucking alligators. Taking the few steps to close the distance between us, I drew back and slammed my foot into her face and upper body. Once. Twice, and then a third time. I felt a rib or two break under the force of my boot but I kept on going. When she stopped moving, I glanced over my shoulder to where Gladi lay on the floor, nestled between a chair and an end table.
I strode across the room, crouching down and clutching Gladi tight in my grip. Something slammed hard into my back, forcing me forward and my head into the wall. “God Damn IT!” I shouted, bracing myself with my free hand against the chair. Teeth sunk into tight flesh at the base of my throat and I cried out.
“You fucking asshat!” I screamed and shoved off from my crouch, slamming us back into the floor. Using my greater height and weight, I crushed her beneath me.
“UMPH,” she groaned but didn’t let go.
With my left elbow, I slammed it back into her middle beneath my ribs again and again. She drank deep and I started to tremble with a chill as pints of my blood left my body and slid down her throat. The shield behind me dropped as I focused all of my energy on Celeste instead of keeping Dean and Patrick safe. Turning Gladi in my hand and angling her down, I plunged the blade into her middle between her ribs.
Celeste withdrew her teeth from my shoulder and gasped. Screaming with a choked gurgle, her voice echoed in the now-quiet apartment.
I rolled off of her and drew Gladi from the soft flesh of her body. On hands and knees, I crawled away, leaving a trail of blood from Gladi and myself on the floor.
“Varick will avenge me,” she whispered.
Raising Gladi above my head, I said, “I’m counting on it,” and brought the blade down hard across her throat. Celeste’s irises flashed a bright violet just before her head rolled back and away, her nose smashing into the hardwood floor as I severed her spinal cord. I slumped back on my haunches. Wiping the blood from Gladi’s blade on my jeans, I took my first real deep breath since walking in the door.
Making a beeline for me, Patrick scooped me up into his arms as Dean searched for wounds. Patrick squeezed me to him and I fought again to get air. “Can’t. Breathe.” I groaned against his ear. Slackening his hold on me, I was able to put some space between his iron grip and myself. “Put me down, please,” I said. As much as I wanted to crawl into bed against both of them, there was still work to do. We had to secure the Chalice and get Ev back before this night became more of a shit show than it already was.
He set me back down on my own two feet and Dean took Gladi from me, gingerly. I wavered a little but managed to stay upright. Peering up at Patrick, I asked, “Do we need to worry about Varick?”
“Yes,” a deep voice said from behind me. Whipping around to address the new threat in the room. Konyam and Baba Yaga stood in the doorway grinning like Cheshire cats. “I’m afraid you do.”
Chapter 39
“Varick is already on his way,” Konyam chuckled. Stepping into the apartment, he closed the door softly behind him. “My dear,” he said, turning to Baba Yaga, “would you mind retrieving the Chalice? We have much to do.”
Amazingly, Baba Yaga said nothing. She grinned at me through her veneer of beauty and I could’ve sworn a flash of darkness was visible in her mouth where teeth were missing. Her beautifully glamoured smile was faltering, allowing a bit of the crone to sneak out through the shimmering goddess.
As she made her way to the sofa on light, soundless feet where the Chalice of Isis lay, I turned to Konyam. “Do you even know who you’re dealing with? What you’re doing?” I bit out, as the adrenaline of the fight wore off and my body started to ache. All of this made me a little mouthy.
“ENOUGH!” Konyam roared and the floor shook violently beneath us. “I am Lord and Master here. You are nothing. A nuisance to be wiped out. And Varick will accomplish this quite nicely. I’ll permit him to take his revenge in any way he wishes.”
“Can you not take us yourself? Do you fear the implications if we best you? Varick will not be a problem for us,” Patrick cooed, stepping beside me. “And you well know it. He is hot-tempered and brash. He acts without thinking and makes too many mistakes in the process.”
“You are too impressed with yourself and your little whore, Cavanaugh.” Konyam stepped closer, and I moved back, turning slightly to keep my gaze on the ancient witch behind me. She plucked the Chalice up into her greedy hands and petted it, stroking the images etched in the gold with reverent fingers.
“I am only informed. More informed, it would seem, than you are.” Patrick’s reply was short and pointed as his dark eyes darted to Baba Yaga.
Konyam snickered as if Patrick was a wayward child needing corrected. “Babcia’s power is still new and untried. Soon, she’ll be ready to take over the Fae court, Saeran, and his Seelie band of ungrateful miscreants. Once she is in power, the Fae will be regulated to an afterthought.”
I couldn’t help it. I started laughing. Out loud. Deep, rich, belly busting laughter. Tears streaked down my cheeks and my diaphragm ached with the rough abuse of laughing so hard and stealing my breath. Beside me, Dean’s deep chuckle caressed my skin and as I glanced over at Patrick, his full kissable lips were turned up at the corners in an amused smile as he shook his head in disbelief.
“What about this situation do you find amusing?” Konyam snarled through clenched teeth.
Panting, I stopped laughing and met Konyam’s glaring black irises. His confusion peered out at me from under his prominent brow with his deep inset eyes. The mirth left my face and I let the monster peek out from behind my eyes. “You’re an idiot,” I said simply.
“You, little girl . . .” he started.
“The child is quite right, you know,” Baba Yaga said, her tinkling voice filled with pleased amusement. “Durak.”
“What?”
“She called you a fool,” I snapped, finally letting out the anger churning in me. “And, for once, I agree with her.” Turning to Baba Yaga, I said, “What do you want Baba?”
“Why . . . you, of course.”
“NO!” Patrick and Dean both roared.
Before either of them could reach out and grab my hand, the world around me disappeared.
Chapter 40
I awoke, my head throbbing, my arms and legs stiff and aching, and a sharp stone digging into the small of my back. I tried to rub my temple but couldn’t. A silver cuff held both arms against the stone wall pressed against my back. Spread eagle and stretched tight, I was restrained at four corners with silver cuffs and iron chains. I’d seen this a thousand times on TV and never really understood how fucking painful it could be. My shoulders and hips felt like the joints were about to pop.
The chamber was small, about 200 square feet, lined with torches that glowed a bright white flame. There was no scent of smoke, however, only the rich sharp odor of wet metal. Iron. A claustrophobic rush of panic swept over me as the memories of being trapped under Baba Yaga’s mountain made my heart race and my breaths shallow. I was absolutely fucking positive I’d heard the shrieking roar of a dragon, somewhere in the distance. Having had first-hand experience with a dragon’s cry, I recognized it the instant that shrill noise pierced my eardrums.
“Khorosho, you’re awake!” she chirped with glee.
“Good?” I snarled. “You’ve got me tied to a God damned wall. I wouldn’t consider this good.”
“Oh, so testy.”
Rattling the chains that bound my wrists, I glanced up at them and then back at her. “Covering all your bases? Huh?”
“I’m cautious. Besides, I saved you from that wicked man. You have no idea what he had planned for you,” she said, a pout pursing her lips. This version of her, the beautiful woman with long
black hair and rose-colored lips, was disorienting.
“I have an idea,” I answered. And I did. I didn’t have to see inside Konyam’s mind to know he’d wanted what Ethan had once wanted, to use and abuse me until I did his bidding. Whatever form that took. Torture. Rape. Killing those I loved. I didn’t need to know specifics; my imagination was all too familiar with the horrible things the preternatural world could inflict upon itself.
“You do. Don’t you? Such a clever devooshka. This is why I like you. I don’t have to explain.”
“Yes, I am a clever girl. Now, where is the Chalice?”
Baba was right. She didn’t have to explain. I’d known from the moment her dark fae magic contaminated my blood under her mountain in the Outer Realm that she would be coming for me. As powerful as she was, curator and creator of monstrous things, she didn’t control everything. She needed that boost in power from me, from my Fertiri magic, and the magic of The Golden Anidae to take over the world and remake it to her liking. I’d seen what little of her darkness she’d permitted. It was enough to scare the shit out of me and I knew we couldn’t let her win.
She opened her hand, palm up, and the Chalice appeared glowing brightly in the torch light of the small chamber. “See.” She beamed with delight. “Your prize is safe.”
Yeah, I wasn’t so sure.
“Now,” she began with a sneer, “I have you. I have the Chalice. You and I can come to an agreement.”
“I won’t submit to you. I won’t become your puppet.” My pulse raced through my veins. By defying her, the likelihood of escaping this chamber alive was slim. I knew it. But, I couldn’t let her have the Chalice and I couldn’t let her have me. I just hoped Patrick and Dean would be sheltered from whatever was to come.
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