by Unknown
Zach pointed at Daniel, unsure if his brother would take the step or not. “How do you enter the circles three?”
Daniel was slower than the other two, but he bowed before Zach. He was eyeing the black, swirling circle with some misgiving. “In perfect love and harmony.” He entered the circles, shaking his head. “You sure know how to throw a party, bro.” He embraced Zach, pounding his back twice before letting him go.
Zach looked for Annabelle, but she was gone.
Huh.
He turned back to the altar. It was time to call the Lord and Lady, and his palms were sweating. The invocation to the Lord and Lady were more intense than the quarters and required his full attention and devotion. He glanced up at the sky, and understood why his instincts had been humming with pleasure. Tonight was no full-moon ritual.
Tonight was moonless. It was the dark moon.
“Lord of shadows, dark’s embrace,
Hear me now, know my face.”
He ignored the mutters behind him. He had to finish the invocation.
“Your faithful child cries out to Thee;
Join me in my circles three!”
Trembling, he lit the golden candle.
“Lady of the darkest night,
Hear me now, know my plight.
Your faithful child cries out to Thee;
Join me in my circles three!”
He lit the silver candle, and waited.
The breeze died down. The scent of lavender strengthened. Off in the distance, an owl cried out three times, and a wolf howled at the non-existent moon. He felt the pull of the Lord and Lady, knew they’d embraced him.
They would protect him from what he had to do next.
Zach picked up the white candle, traced the wheel of Hecate.
“Not yet, Zach.” Gen’s hand touched his arm. “Contemplation comes first.”
He shook his head. She would be right…if this was a normal ritual. “No. We have to remove the hex first.”
“Zach—”
He smiled. Something in his face must have shocked her, because she backed off, her face pale in the candlelight.
He began tracing the wheel again. If he truly was an Own, then the rest was up to him.
“Zach!” His head lifted. Jo was there, at the edge of the circle, her eyes wide. Her hands were on her hips. “Do I want to know?”
He almost laughed. “I’m fixing my M&M problems.”
“And you didn’t invite me?”
“You were sleeping.”
She glared at him. Why that look made him feel good, he had no clue. A woman staring at him like she couldn’t decide if she wanted to hug him or nut him had always made him run in the other direction before. Maybe knowing it was Jo who cared enough to debate it made it okay. He nodded toward one of Chris’s lawn chairs. “Have a seat if you want to watch.”
“Is that wise, Zach?”
He refused to roll his eyes at Gen. “Trust me, Jo can take care of herself, a platoon of marines and half a football team and go out for hoagies afterward.”
“Are you sure?”
He stared at Gen. Maybe she didn’t know who Jo was. “She teaches kids. Little ones. She’ll be fine. Can I spellcast now?”
The others raised their hands and backed away.
Zach once again began tracing the Hecate’s Wheel clockwise. “Anyone else? Beuller?” He thought heard Daniel’s distinctive snicker. “No? Good.
“Hecate, Lady of the Night,
Help this witch to put things right.
What this harmful curse has done
Let it now be undone.”
He reversed the flow of his fingers, tracing the wheel counter-clockwise.
“Lift from me this vicious curse.
Forever across this wheel traverse.
An it harm none, by the Law of Three,
As I will, so mote it be!”
Zach’s skin flared a vicious, horrid green, nothing like the serene green Gen had glowed with. There was something wrong, foul, about this color, like the green of rotting flesh. Zach almost dropped the candle in surprise, but held on, allowing the spell to run its course, pulling the curse from him and into the candle.
He’d never felt anything like it. It was like someone was trying to pull out his blood through a straw, but instead of blood they were pulling something thick, like tar. It resisted the spell, trying to cling to him, but Zach kept his focus, forcing the spell into the candle.
When it was done, the candle had turned darkest green, and Zach’s glow was once more pure white.
“Fuck me.” Gareth was scowling at the candle. “We need something to contain that.”
“Agreed.” Chris held out his hand. “Give me your athame. I’ll go get a velvet bag to put it in.”
Daniel piped up with, “A box might be better.”
“Copper lined?”
“At this time of night? Where would we pick that up, Spells ‘R’ Us?”
Zach just grinned and listened to his brothers bicker.
“Oh brother.” Jo got out of the lawn chair and approached the circle, stopping just at the outer edge. “Just hand it over to me and let me take care of it.”
“No.” Zach felt his lips curl in a snarl at the thought of Jo touching the tainted wax. “I’ll hold it. Someone get me a container.” If the curse left the candle somehow, Zach knew he could handle it. He’d lived with it for months.
He didn’t want anyone else to go through what he had.
Most of the self-doubt he’d been subjecting himself to fled with the curse. He felt more confident now, like he had right after saving Chris. He knew who, and what, he was meant to be.
And whom he was meant to be with.
Now he just had to convince Jo that being with him wouldn’t be the curse she might think it.
Chapter Ten
Dear Goddess, Jo didn’t think she’d ever seen anything like Zachary Beckett in action. The man who’d fumbled simple spells had just taken a very strong hex, one meant to eventually kill its bearer and everyone in his path, and poured it into nothing more than a carved wax candle.
There was no longer any doubt in her mind. Zach was powerful even for an Own. How had no one in his family seen this? How had Annabelle screwed up so badly? Zach couldn’t be in court to learn how to be a witch. He knew that instinctively.
What he needed to learn was how to be one of Hecate’s Own.
She hadn’t agreed with him when he said the curse should be removed before anything else, but when she’d seen the extent of the curse she’d reluctantly understood his reasoning. It had to come out, behind protections, where there were others who could stop him if things went south.
There was a lot she needed to learn about Zach. She was just happy he’d be there for her to learn it. “May I enter the circle?”
Zach stared at her, studying her. Whatever he was looking for he apparently found, because he nodded. He kept a firm grip on the candle, like he was afraid that, without the anchor of his body, it would somehow leap out and take one of his siblings or Gen.
Daniel picked up Zach’s athame, carefully cutting a “door” in the circle. “Go on in, the ritual’s fine.”
She rolled her eyes at him before stepping into Zach’s circles. She’d have to ask him how exactly he’d cast them; she’d been asleep when Annabelle came to fetch her, informing her of what Zach was attempting. Terrified that he’d screw up, she’d scurried into her clothes and run out the door, only to find the most…unusual circle she’d ever seen.
Sacred circles weren’t usually visible to the naked eye. Zach’s practically lit the night sky. Even the black one had an eerie glow to it, like starlight.
She made her way to Zach’s side, drawn to him in a way she’d never been to anyone else. “Are you all right?”
“I am now.”
There. Right in front of her stood the sexy, confident man who’d first entered Roland’s domain a few months ago. How she hadn’t seen what was happening to h
im she didn’t know. She’d been blinded by her own need to deny her attraction to him.
Hmph. Some teacher I am. She hadn’t seen that he was struggling under a hex. Instead she’d chosen to believe he was a screw-up, just like everyone else.
She had a lot of making up to do. “What do you need me to do?”
He blinked, the shock in his eyes cutting her to the quick. He hadn’t expected her to make the offer to help, and that hurt after what they’d shared earlier. “I need you to stay safe.”
Now it was her turn to blink. “I can take care of myself, Beckett.”
He winced, some of the confidence he’d gained leeching away. She bit her lip, realizing what she’d done. She’d just reduced him back to novice with one, unthinking word.
In apology she caressed his arm. “Sorry, Zach.” More sorry than she could ever tell him. She’d been an idiot, but at least she was an idiot willing to learn. “Let me help. Please.”
He leaned down, careful to keep the candle away from her, and brushed a sweet kiss across her lips. “Thank you.” He stared at the altar, his gaze turning inward. She could almost see the wheels turning. “I need to draw down the moon.”
Draw down the moon? He meant to gather more power, commune with the Goddess? “Why?”
“Because…” His shoulders twitched. “I have a very bad feeling?”
Jo stared at the altar, her mind whirling. She hated to say it, but knew she should. “Maybe Gen should help.”
“Why?”
“She’s an Own.” Although Jo would much rather be the one to stand by his side, she understood that Own were different from everyone else, even others of their kind.
He nodded slowly. “Maybe you’re right.” He leaned close, whispering in her ear. “Do you trust her?”
She gazed up at him and gave him the only answer she could. “With your soul? Yes.” With his body?
Hell no.
His eyebrows flew up. “Only my soul?”
She gripped his biceps, eager to stake her claim. “The body belongs to me.” She dared him to contradict her.
His feet shuffled. “About that…”
“Zach?”
Zach turned at the sound of Daniel’s voice. He looked oddly relieved. “Yeah?”
“I’ve got a black silk pouch. Will it do?”
Zach nodded. “For now, yeah. We’ll need something a little more permanent.”
“Cement, with copper runes imbedded in it, buried three feet into the ground and bound by a black cord with nine knots.” Jo stared back at the blank-faced brothers. “What?”
Zach snorted. “That sounds like enough.”
“Where that thing is concerned? There’s no such thing as enough.” Jo pushed her hair out of her face. “Gimme the pouch.”
Daniel held it away from her. “And risk getting my ass kicked again? No thank you.” He opened it. “Here, Zach.”
Zach maneuvered the candle into the pouch, careful to keep it from touching his brother’s fingers. Daniel snapped the cords tight and tied them three times. “That should hold it for now.” He placed it on the ground, away from the altar and Zach. “I’ll guard it until we can get the cement.”
Zach nodded his thanks. “Time to call down the moon.” Zach took his athame. “Anyone who wants out of the circles, now is your chance.” His brothers all shook their heads. Jo merely smiled and settled down on the ground, crisscrossing her legs. Gen went to the part of the circle farthest from Gareth and sat, watching the other man warily. That surprised Jo. She’d been certain the female Own would want to stand next to Zach for this, but instead she allowed a male to channel the Goddess on his own.
A lesson? Perhaps it was Gen’s way of proving once and for all that Zach truly was a powerful witch and blessed by the Lady.
Wait. Something felt a little off. “How are you calling down the moon when the moon isn’t in the sky?”
Zach used the athame to close the door Daniel had made in the circles. “The moon is in the sky.” He stood in front of the altar, feet braced apart, and raised his hands to the sky, taking the classic pose of the Goddess. He lifted his head and breathed in deep, already becoming one with the night sky.
Jo’s mouth fell open before she could stop it. He was calling down the dark moon.
Hecate herself.
This should be interesting.
Jo watched, intent on stepping in if anything threatened Zach. Even if that threat was Zach himself.
Zach poured himself into the call, opening himself up to the Dark Goddess. He was ready for her. Everything in him yearned for something he couldn’t quite name, but he knew who would grant it.
It was slow at first. Just a trickle of awareness at the edges of his mind. Something wanted in, something beautiful. Something powerful.
Zach probed back, tentative at first, but gaining in confidence as the power seeped into him, loving, giving, stern yet willing to forgive, willing to guide.
And when his heart opened completely, something reached out of the darkness and cupped his very soul.
Zach stared from the darkness of the bushes, not sure if he should be grateful for the light of the fire or not. A dark altar had been placed right where Zach could watch the horror unfold. A hooded man stood over a naked woman, bound to the altar with silver, enchanted chains. Blood stained that silver, a mark of the sacrifices that had gone before. He could see the woman straining at her bonds, her wrists chafed raw from the cuffs.
A low growl escaped his throat. His fur damn near stood on end. He knew that woman, knew her scent deep in his heart and soul.
He was going to kill the men who had hurt her.
A knife flashed into the air. The chanting increased in intensity. The foul language seared his ears. Below the girl, the runes on the altar glowed a vicious green. They were going to sacrifice her to the dark powers, and Zach was there to stop them.
The girl turned her head and pleaded with her eyes for someone, anyone, to save her. Zach gathered his legs beneath him, ready to pounce on the man who threatened his mate.
The hood fell back, exposing the face of Davis Godwin.
Zach blinked, his arms dropping wearily at his sides. The sensation of the Goddess within him faded, leaving him feeling both exhausted and exhilarated. “Fuck me.”
“No thanks. That’s just wrong.”
Zach looked down to find his brother Gareth seated on the ground next to him. In his hands was an open book. “What the hell are you doing?”
“Reading.” Gareth turned the page. “Thanks to you, glowbug, I’m almost done with this chapter.”
Zach looked around. His brothers were all asleep, curled around each other like puppies. Jo was snoring lightly, her hands curled under her head. And Gen was watching Gareth like the man was a snake ready to bite her at the earliest opportunity. Strangely enough, Alasdair was in the warlock’s lap, sound asleep.
“How the hell did Alasdair get through the circles?”
“How the fuck do I know? He’s a cat.” Gareth tilted his book and squinted down at the page. “Can you feel the love just for a minute more? I’m almost past the good part.”
Zach stared down at his hands. Sure enough, he was glowing. “Dork.”
“Hey, it’s a good book.” Gareth shut it with a sigh as Zach’s glow dimmed. “Fine. We done here?”
“Just about. We’re supposed to do cakes and ale.”
Gareth just raised his brows. “Do it with the ones who are awake, take the circle down, and let’s go to bed.” He pointed with his chin toward Jo. “Sleeping like that can’t be doing your mate any good, especially in her condition.”
Jo. Zach’s wolf growled, the threat to his mate bringing it to the fore. “We need to protect her.”
Gareth stood so fast Zach was startled. “What happened?”
“The Lady showed me a vision.” A real one, not the one the curse had twisted. “Jo’s in danger.”
Gareth grinned, and it wasn’t pleasant. “Then we’ll ju
st have to make sure she’s kept safe.”
“All right then. Let’s make this quick.” Zach blessed the food and wine, passing it to Gen and Gareth. Seeing them together, standing in front of him, Zach was hit by another certainty, one he was sure Gareth didn’t want to hear.
He’d have to make sure that this Godwin was forgiven the sins of her family, or Gareth’s life was going to be hell.
To make sure Gareth saw that Zach trusted Gen and to welcome the woman he knew would soon be his sister-in-law, he fed her the first bite.
By the time they were done weariness dragged at his steps. Zach released the Lord and Lady and the elements, thanking them for their presence. He undid the circles, his hands shaking on the final, white one. “Clean up tomorrow.”
“Mm-hmm.” Even stone-man Gareth was yawning. “Time for bed, bro.” He nudged Chris with his foot. “Mom’s coming.”
Zach laughed as Chris sat straight up. “Mom?”
Daniel smacked his lips and curled tighter around the pouch containing the candle. Even in sleep he guarded it for Zach.
Gareth nudged Daniel. “Daniel? Mom found your Playboys.”
Daniel stood up, picked up the pouch and shuffled into the house. “Fuck you, Gareth.”
Gareth scratched his chin and yawned again. “Huh. Wonder what bug crawled up his ass and died.”
Zach wondered, too. “Think I should check him out?”
The brothers exchanged a glance. “Nah.” Gareth shook his head. “It’s not the curse. His ass has been cranky for months now.” He shot a quick look at Jo, still sleeping on the ground. “But something tells me she’s going to be giving up the ring quicker than Lana did.”
“You think his wolf is howling?”
“And the stubborn bastard won’t do anything about it.”
“Shit.” Zach ran his hands through his hair. A yawn threatened to crack his head open. Zach talked through it. The extra energy fire had granted him had worn away, leaving him exhausted. “Want me to talk to him?”
Gareth shook his head. “I’ll do it. I can take it if he tries to bite me.” An evil smirk crossed his face. “I’ll order him, as his future king, to obey me.”