Cin Craven - Wages of Sin Part 26

Finally I opened my eyes, floated gracefully off the stone, my cloak swis.h.i.+ng behind me, and walked to Thomas. Amelia was a quivering ma.s.s of hysterical womanhood and I couldn't use her for what I needed to do now. Thomas knelt with the Craven family arrogance, tall and proud in the face of certain death. Only he knew I didn't mean to kill him and that made him braver, at least until I reached down and pulled the sapphire-tipped dagger from my boot and raised it high. He turned several shades paler at that.

I raised the dagger and paused. Creasing my brow in what I hoped looked like thoughtful confusion, I lowered the dagger and turned to Kali.

"No," I said, "the spell is wrong."

"What do you mean it's wrong?" she spat. "It cannot be wrong. It was written by witches much more knowledgeable than you."

"No, sorry, I don't mean the spell is wrong, I mean your interpretation of it is wrong."

I thought her head might actually explode she was so angry."What?" she hissed, stalking toward me.

"The blood of two, it's not they who need to bleed."

She paused, c.o.c.king her head. "What do you mean?"

"It's not their blood, it's ours. Their blood isn't going to call forth your crown. Their blood isn't going to have the power to do it, only our blood, yours and mine."

"Yes," she said slowly, "I see your logic."

"Come," I said and walked back to the altar stone. I think Amelia actually fainted when I turned my back on her and Thomas. That was probably for the best.

I knelt on the stone, placing her in front of me. She offered me her wrist.

"Your knife," she said, gesturing to her exposed wrist.

"No," I said, shaking my head. Here was the dangerous part. I remembered when I had drunk from Michael the night I was made, remembered being in his mind as his blood flowed into me. I saw myself as he saw me, felt what he felt. I was hoping that if I bit her I would get a similar result. What I needed was an image of that crown, one flickering image from her thoughts, something I could use to draw her into the binding spell.

"No," I repeated, "I want you to offer me your neck."

Her eyes widened in shock and perhaps a little fear. "No," she replied. "I don't trust you enough for that."

"Do you want your crown or not?"

"I have offered you my blood," she argued, holding her wrist out to me again.

"I don't need your blood solely on the stone," I said softly. "I need it inside me, flowing through me."

Her lips parted and she stepped closer.

"Be honest," I whispered, pus.h.i.+ng her ebony hair back over one shoulder to expose her neck, "you've wanted the same thing since the first night we met."

She said nothing but tipped her head to the side, offering me her neck.

I took a deep breath, bracing myself for the unpleasant task ahead of me. I wrapped my fingers around her shoulders and bent down. Against the dusky perfection of her skin I whispered, "Now, think of your crown, what it looks like, what it feels like. Call to it as your blood moves through me so that I may bring it home to you."

She shuddered and I felt her nod. I took a deep breath and cleared my mind, for if even one glimpse of what I meant to do pa.s.sed to her during the exchange then all was lost. I drew back and tore into her throat. I wasn't gentle and by the soft mewling sound she made, that was fine with her. Images flashed through my head, brief vignettes of a large, ornately-worked crown of polished white bone, red stones set throughout it like the stone set in Kali's talisman which was hidden in the pocket of my cloak. It was enough. I drew back and she swayed into me, her eyes liquid black with l.u.s.t. I pushed away from her and stood.

"It's done," I said, raising my arms and gathering my power once more. The letting of blood swelled something dark in the power that rolled up from the earth and briefly I wondered exactly what had been done here all those centuries ago. Pus.h.i.+ng it down, I moved to the standing trilithons opposite Thomas, Amelia, Sebastian and Philip. They were about to experience something none of them would ever forget.At my gesture Kali moved with me. I reached out and wiped some of the blood off her neck, smearing it on the stone. Then I took the dagger from my boot and made a shallow cut on my left forearm. I squeezed the cut until blood welled up and then I spread my blood on top of hers on the face of the stone. I didn't think this was exactly blood magic, it was my own blood and hers, freely given, but it was a very close thing. I sent a silent prayer to the G.o.ddess for understanding.

I moved back to place her between me and the stone and then I pushed my will into the stone. It would have been much easier if I'd been able to say the words I needed aloud, but I couldn't. I had to make a s.p.a.ce in the stone to trap her. It was like calling the elements, for the stone was part of the earth, only this was much harder. I pushed my will out into the stone, feeling what I wanted from it, calling to the earth to do my bidding. Sweat beaded on my forehead and the veins in my head throbbed. Finally, just when I felt dizzy with the effort, the face of the stone s.h.i.+mmered and appeared to fall in on itself.

The opening looked like the narrow hall of some ancient castle, a small tunnel lit with flickering light, and inside that tunnel was Kali's crown. It wasn't really her crown but a simple glamour imposed within the stone, a picture that I projected from the memories she had given me. Kali's breath caught and I wished I could have seen her face. She reached out one hand, stepping forward to reclaim what was hers. Her hand moved through where the stone should be. It swirled like mist around her, the crown just out of her reach. Come on, I thought, just a little farther. And then she did it. The minute she stepped fully into the stone I allowed my concentration to break.

The solid face of the giant stone flicked back into reality, trapping her within. An unearthly scream sounded from within the rock as I reached into the pocket of my cloak, pulled Kali's talisman out and smashed it against the rock face. Sparks flew from the disc as the conjured ruby burst like a ripe melon. A backlash of wind flew from it, sending my hair flying out behind me. The blood from inside the ruby rolled down the face of the stone, mixing with the two streaks already there.

I gathered my power and shouted over the wind and the screaming rock, "Kali, the Destroyer, by blood I bind you! By the power of this circle I bind you! By the power of my will I bind you! I bind you behind this stone door. Until the end of days, walk no more. So mote it be!"

There was snap of power, like the clicking of a lock, and the wind that was streaming uninterrupted from the stone reversed itself, sucking back into the rock and sealing her inside. I'd done it. Dear G.o.ddess, I thought as my body quivered with exhaustion and I fell to my knees, I'd really done it!

And then from behind me I heard Sebastian's roar of denial.

Chapter Thirty-Nine

"What have you done?" Sebastian screamed. He rushed at me and I braced myself for the attack.

Michael, I silently pleaded, now would be a good time to show up.

The breath I'd been holding exploded in a grateful whoosh when Sebastian brushed right past me and went to stand before the rock, pounding on it with his fists, pacing around it, calling to her.

I glanced across the circle and saw Thomas staring at me with his mouth open, his eyes gone wide with amazement, or possibly horror. Amelia was still blessedly unconscious. Philip lay on the ground, well and truly dead now that Kali's power was no longer there to animate him.

A shadow caught my eye outside the circle. I watched, as if I had nothing else in the world to worry about, as the shadow moved behind the stones. Wolf, I thought and then chided myself. Wolves had been extinct in England for centuries. Still, this animal didn't move like a dog. I watched it, its head down and its hackles raised, as it trotted around the edge of my circle. The way it moved, that floating suspended motion between each step, was not how a dog moved. It really was a wolf, and it was looking for a way inside. Until one of us inside the circle broke it, though, nothing else could get in. I turned my head back to Sebastian and wondered if I wasn't safer out there with the wolf.

"What have you done?" Sebastian hissed, turning toward me. "It was the talisman, wasn't it? I knew you had it but she swore it must have burned in the fire. She said you didn't have the guts to take it from her. She said she'd be able to feel its energy if you had it. You b.i.t.c.h, I'll kill you for this!"

I sat there in the gra.s.s, shaking and weak from the power it had taken to work the binding spell. He rushed me then, hands outstretched, fingers bent like claws. I just sat there, waiting. The second before he fell on me I rolled backward and kicked up with my legs, hitting him in the stomach and throwing him over my head. Pus.h.i.+ng myself upright I turned to see that he'd landed not a foot from the edge of the circle. The wolf was growling now and throwing itself at the invisible barrier of the circle behind me.

Sebastian pulled himself up. "Bring her back," he snarled.

I shook my head, "No."

"Bring her back or I'll kill both your pet humans," he said, drawing his sword, "and then I'll kill you."

I sighed. "If I have to sacrifice all of us to save the world then I will do it, Sebastian." I reached behind me and used one of the bluestones to pull myself up. The muscles in my legs quivered but I managed to stay on my feet. "Now, if you want to fight then put down your sword and fight me. Or are you so much of a coward that you need a weapon to fight one unarmed female?"

The muscles in his jaw clenched. He turned his back on me, to show that I posed no threat to him, and sank the tip of his sword into the ground... and d.a.m.n the man if he didn't reach right through the edge of the circle to do it. The invisible s.h.i.+eld fell with a pop that made my eardrums hurt.

"Sebastian, you fool!" I yelled as a warmth of fur brushed my right thigh.

Sebastian had turned and taken several steps toward me before his brain processed exactly what he was seeing. The large gray and black wolf raced through the center of the stone circle, bounding onto the altar stone and springing into the air with a growl, its teeth flas.h.i.+ng white and deadly in the moonlight. Sebastian had just gotten his arms up in a defensive reflex when the wolf slammed into him, knocking him to the ground. Sebastian's screams broke the stillness of the night.

"Dulcie!" a female voice yelled from across the circle. My head snapped up and around. At some point Amelia had regained consciousness and she and Thomas were frantically tugging at the ropes that bound them.

"I'll get you free," I shouted. "The knife! Where's the blasted knife?"

I crawled on hands and knees, searching through the gra.s.s for the dagger I had dropped. I had to get them free. Once the wolf was finished with Sebastian it would turn on the rest of us. I couldn't let them die like that. I was so intent on my search I didn't notice when Sebastian's screams stopped.

"Dulcie, behind you!" Thomas shouted.

I whirled and the wolf was coming toward me at a slow walk. I screamed and scrambled to get my feet underneath me. I crab walked backward but there was no place to go. The wolf was panting, its tongue hanging out of the corner of its mouth. Blood stained its jaws but it didn't act as if it were inclined to eat me. I stopped moving, my breath coming in shallow gasps. I fixed my gaze on the ground in front of it, not looking it in the eye, hoping that if I didn't do anything that threatened it then maybe it would just go away.

When it was inches from me it gave a little hop, its front paws coming up and hitting me squarely in the chest, knocking me back to the ground. Amelia screamed. My gaze involuntarily flew to the wolf's face, its amber eyes blazing with intelligence. And then its head bent toward mine... and licked my cheek.

I lay there in a cold sweat, blinking at the black, starry sky. A thousand thoughts and emotions flooded through me, not the least of which was shock that I wasn't screaming and bleeding. The wolf sat on its haunches and waited, its head tilted to one side. I rose up on my elbows and looked at the animal. There was something about those eyes...

The wolf threw back its head and howled, standing every hair on my body straight up. And then I felt it. Power. Power and a nebulous s.h.i.+mmering of magic that tingled along my skin. The wolf walked into a spill of silver moonlight and its body convulsed, its legs lengthening, its muzzle shortening, its hair seeming to pull into its own skin. In the s.p.a.ce of a heartbeat or two the wolf was gone and a naked man stood where it had been.

He was tall and solid, his muscles large and well-formed, quivering slightly from the stress of the change. My gaze flew to his face as heat crept into my cheeks. He was still handsome, his face having neither Michael's beauty nor Devlin's stark masculinity, but somewhere comfortably in the middle. His hair was still too long, still black streaked liberally with gray just like the fur of his wolf pelt.

"I knew it!" I crowed. "They asked me when you disappeared from the warehouse if you were a vampire and I said no but I knew you weren't human either." I laughed.

"Woman," he said, "I don't have a great deal of time. Do you know how much energy it takes to hold my human form under the full moon?"

"Sorry," I muttered, trying to keep my eyes from wandering away from his face. "How did you get here?"

"I've been following you," he said, as if that explained much of anything.

"But... why?" I asked, realizing it must have been him and not Michael I had sensed watching me the night before.

"You saved my life and now I've saved yours. My debt is repaid, vampire, and honor is satisfied."

I nodded. I wasn't going to waste time arguing that he didn't owe me anything for saving his life, especially when he considered it a matter of honor. Men are very particular about that sort of thing.

"Is he dead?" I asked, jerking my chin toward where Sebastian lay unmoving in the gra.s.s.

"No, but he will be. His life is not mine to take though," the werewolf said. Turning his head as if he'd heard something I hadn't, he inhaled deeply. "Your mate comes."

I spun around. "Michael?" Distantly I could hear horses' hooves. Relief spread through me. He was coming.

When I turned back the man was gone and the wolf stood in his place.

"d.a.m.n," I muttered. "I wish I'd asked your name."

The wolf let out a small woof.

"Woof, huh? Well, Woof, would you watch Sebastian while I untie my cousins, please?"

Woof loped over and jumped up on the altar stone, lowering his head and soundlessly showing his teeth. It looked vaguely like a canine grin. I found the dagger in the gra.s.s and crossed the circle as quickly as my shaky legs would carry me. It took longer than I expected to saw through the ropes but I soon had Thomas and Amelia free. She fell into his arms, weeping hysterically. He held her close and smiled at me over the top of her head but the smile didn't quite reach his eyes, there was a sad distance to it.

I felt my chest tighten but I nodded back before I turned away. No, things would never be the same again. No matter how much I loved them, no matter how much they may still love me, they were human and somewhere deep inside they would forever think of me as one of the monsters. It was part of the sacrifice I had made, I knew it, but it didn't make it hurt any less.

I walked to the edge of the stone circle, my arms wrapped around myself. I could see Michael now, riding at an insane pace across the Plain. When he saw me he pulled the horse up. Its head tossing violently, he trotted it through the obstacle path of stones that littered the area.

It was a testament to Michael's will to get to me that he had gotten on the back of a horse. The poor animal was clearly terrified of him. He managed to maneuver the horse to a stop and slid off its bare back. Quickly unhooking the bridle, he slapped the horse on its rump and the poor thing tore off across the Plain, sending divots of earth flying behind it. The bridle fell to the ground with a clinking of metal and I gathered the last of my strength and ran to him.

His face was etched with strain and worry but he slid his hands inside my cloak, grabbed my thighs and lifted me. My legs locked around his waist and I stared into those blue-gray eyes, ran my fingers over his cheekbones and down across his lips as if to make sure he was really real.

"I know you said to stay back but when I heard you scream..."

"It's all right," I said, unable to hold back the tears that I had been pus.h.i.+ng down for days. "Everything is all right. Thomas and Amelia are alive and the spell worked, Michael. Kali is trapped in the stone. It worked."

He spun me around and kissed me. If I live another hundred years I don't think anything will ever feel as perfect as that kiss. His lips were warm, moving softly but urgently against mine, and I kissed him back as if I wanted to crawl inside him and stay there where it was safe and nothing could ever harm me again.

"Dulcie!" I heard Thomas shout from the stone circle. "He's moving!"

I pulled back and looked at Michael's confused face. Eyes wide, I whispered, "Sebastian."

Chapter Forty

Michael swung me down and set me firmly aside. Flinging off his greatcoat to reveal his high black boots, breeches and a black s.h.i.+rt similar to the one he'd worn the night we first met, he pulled his sword free and stalked with lethal purpose toward the center of the circle. What greeted him there made him pause.

Thomas held Amelia close, his eyes going wide when he saw Michael approach, the wicked looking claymore firmly in his grasp.

The wolf was crouched on the altar stone, teeth bared, and Sebastian was sitting on the ground beyond. His throat had been nearly torn out. It wasn't a wound that would kill him but it would take a long time to heal and it would hurt like h.e.l.l in the meantime. I hoped he'd enjoyed his sport last night because I didn't think he'd be drinking again any time soon. I suppose that just goes to show that any evil you do will come back and bite you in the a.s.s, or the throat.

"Cin, darling," Michael said warily, "do you know there's a wolf in your circle?"

"Oh, yes, that's Woof. Don't hurt him, he's a friend," I said, rus.h.i.+ng to Michael's side, the muscles in my legs and arms still shaking with slight tremors.

Michael arched a brow at me and Woof blew out a puff of air which I supposed was the canine version of a snort.

"Well, all right, maybe not a friend but he did attack Sebastian and save my life. I'll explain it all later but he's on our side so don't hurt him."

Woof grunted and looked pointedly at Sebastian and then at Michael before turning his amber gaze to me. It was as if he were saying that after what he'd done to Sebastian he doubted that Michael could harm him either.

"Oh please," I said to the wolf, "he's one of The Righteous, not some newly-made lackey. Give him some credit."

Woof looked at Michael, did his doggie snort again and lay down on the altar stone, resting his head on his front paws. I wasn't fooled.

He looked at ease but his hind legs were tucked under him in case he needed to leap up on a moment's notice.

"If you two are quite finished?" Michael asked.