Chapter 8
Kaylin burst out in
laughter again and he swung his fist, connecting with my stomach to
send me reeling across the room. I landed hard on my tailbone,
feeling like my midsection had met a sledgehammer. But I still had
hold of the fetish. I wheezed, struggling to right myself as
Chatter landed a blow on Kaylin, my wolf growling low and
long.
“Cicely! Chatter!
What the fuck’s going on in there?” Leo pounded on the door. “Open
up!”
“Stay out until we
call you!” I didn’t want them in the way of those fists. As it was,
my midsection was going to be sporting a nasty bruise for a couple
of weeks. I rolled to my feet while Chatter and Kaylin engaged.
Chatter was stronger than I was, but Kaylin had suddenly developed
a strength that could match—or best—one of the Shadow Hunters. I
glanced around the room and suddenly remembered my street-fighting
days and the advice from Uncle Brody: When
facing the enemy, think dirty. Anything for a
weapon.
I grabbed a bottle of
cologne off Kaylin’s dresser and aimed it for his eyes, then
pressed the button. The scented spray of Spice hit him directly in
the face, and he let out a roar as he covered his eyes with his
hands and stumbled back.
Chatter tackled him,
knocking him to the floor as I scrambled over to his side and
brought the fetish down hard against his heart. The clay figurine
shattered into pieces and I leaned over him.
“Egrend . . . Egrend . . . I command you to submit
your will to Kaylin. You are no longer in control. Merge, and
become one.”
Kaylin’s eyes jerked
open, glowing with a pale yellow light, and he struggled, but after
a moment the light faded and he slumped on the floor, breathing
softly. I looked for any sign that the creature was playing possum,
but I was fairly certain the spell had worked.
Chatter gathered him
up and laid him on the bed. “He’s exhausted, I think. Being ridden
by a demon can drain a person in no time. And when his demon woke,
it rode him like a horse.”
“Yeah,” I said,
staring down at the bed. “It was out for blood, all right. I wonder
how this will change the Kaylin we know.”
“There’s no telling.
Not yet. We just have to hope for the best. If we hadn’t done this,
Cicely, he would have faded and never again been able to wake. You
saved his life.” Chatter placed a hand on my arm, and I smiled
gratefully.
“Then why do I feel
so strangely guilty? Like I’ve just altered him
forever?”
“Because you have.
But we had no choice. Come on, let him rest. He’s no longer
unconscious, just asleep. I can feel the difference.” Chatter led
me to the door and, with a backward glance at Kaylin’s slumbering
form, we left the room.
Leo and Rhiannon were
both looking terrified, although with Leo, an undercurrent of anger
ran through his worry. We told them what happened, and he just
shook his head in disgust.
“I thought we were
working together on this—why the fuck did you shut us out? Or at
least me. And you put Rhiannon in
danger.” The muscles on the side of his neck tensed and his ears
were turning red.
I had to nip this
attitude in the bud. “Listen to me, Leo. I did as Lainule asked.
She told me to take Chatter and Peyton with me, that you and
Rhiannon couldn’t handle the journey, and she was right. Until you
get up to speed on your fighting skills, deal with it. You’re a
healer—we need you in the background. You are vital to the
continued health of our group, and that’s not a front-line job. If
you get hurt, it hurts all of us. Got it?”
Though I’d started
off trying to appeal to his ego, I realized that what I was saying
was true. If Leo got hurt, none of the rest of us could work
healing magic or knew what to do with the herbs that my aunt had so
carefully cultivated.
I led them into my
room, away from Kaylin’s door, and dropped onto the bed. “Listen,
I’m exhausted. I have no doubt Peyton is, too—and even Chatter is
looking worn out. We had a long trip and haven’t slept since we
left.”
“Don’t try to make me
feel better,” Leo grumbled.
“I don’t have the
time or energy to patronize you. What I’m saying is true. You’re
the only one who knows what to do with that huge stash of herbs
down there. We can’t rely on anybody else. Who knows where Myst has
sent her feelers through this town? And the vampires aren’t going
to give a fuck about our health. You know that.”
He bit his lip,
glancing over at Rhiannon, who nodded, then plunked himself down on
the window seat. “Whatever. I never thought about it that
way.”
“No, you didn’t.”
Peyton stretched and yawned. “You just tripped over your ego like
most guys. But she’s telling the truth, you big goofball. So accept
that you have a vital place in the group and act accordingly.”
Peyton wasn’t particularly verbal, but when she did speak, she
usually had something to say.
“Honey,” Rhiannon
said gently, “they’re right. They aren’t shutting us out, they’re
protecting us. I’m not all that competent either when it comes to
fighting—I’m still learning the ropes. I can handle short
skirmishes like with the goblin the other day, but I couldn’t have
taken on this trip. I know it. We’ll be up to speed soon
enough.”
A smile broke over
Leo’s face and the gloom lifted. “Yeah, yeah . . . okay. Quit
making me sound like some pathetic basket case. I’ll quit being
such a jerk. Now that Kaylin’s back . . .” He stopped. “He
is back, isn’t he?”
I shrugged. “I hope
so. I did what the shaman of the Bat People told me to do. And
trust me, that was one freakshow of a trip. If someone will go fix
us some dinner, Peyton and I will take showers and then eat and
then sleep for a week.”
“Not a week.” Leo
frowned again. “As I said, Lannan’s been asking for you. He’s
pissed that you up and disappeared. I’m worried about what he might
do to you for running off like that.” He gazed at me, a bleak
expression on his face. Leo knew what Lannan wanted from me. What
Lannan had already done to me. And he
knew the vampires better than any of us.
I swallowed the lump
that formed in the bottom of my stomach. “Nothing I can do about
Lannan’s wrath right now, unless I want to drag myself over to his
place, and in this condition, there’s no way I can face
him.”
“No, but you’ll have
to confront him soon. And . . . as I said, I’m afraid what he might
do to you.” This time, Leo’s words were soft, almost
consoling.
“Crap. Yeah. Well,
I’ll deal with that when it gets here. Meanwhile, some eggs and ham
and waffles or pancakes would be great, before I crash. Peyton, you
should stay here. I don’t trust you driving. Why don’t you call
your mother and let her know you’re home and then use the
downstairs shower?”
She smiled. “I
already called her—while you and Chatter were busy with Kaylin. But
thanks anyway. I’ll definitely take that shower and a place to
crash. I’m starting to feel the lost time catching up with
me.”
She wasn’t the only
one. My body was suddenly aware I’d been on my feet pretty much for
two days and had walked for at least forty to fifty miles. Not to
mention the cold that had set into my bones, and the adrenaline
rush from the entire journey and the blow from our fight with
Kaylin.
I waited till Leo and
Chatter withdrew, then took off my clothes. Rhiannon and Peyton
gasped as they eyed the bruise blossoming across my midsection. My
wolf paced—or would have if the tattoo could have gotten up and
walked off my stomach—and I knew that Grieve had felt the blow to
me and that he was angry and feeling helpless.
Be cautious—he may be out tonight and he will surely be
looking for whoever hurt you. Ulean swept around me, a
gentle cloak against the raw nerves that jangled.
Hell, I can’t let him in here. If he got hold of Kaylin
while he’s sleeping, Grieve could eat him alive—literally. And if
Kaylin’s awake, then they might do each other irreparable harm.
What should I do?
May I suggest you calm your wolf down and take a mild
sedative to relieve the pain?
I laughed. Leave it
to my Wind Elemental to think of the most practical course of
action. Good idea . . . thank
you.
“Rhia—can you go ask
Leo if he has something for my bruise and to help me sleep? I have
to calm my wolf down before Grieve comes here to find out what the
hell happened to me. We can’t risk him getting hold of Kaylin.
Meanwhile, I’m heading into the bathtub.”
Peyton headed
downstairs with my cousin as I filled the bath with some of the
bubble bath my aunt had made before the Indigo Court caught her. As
I eased down into the warm suds, lying back against the porcelain,
my body groaned and then let go. I was so tired, my eyes were
beginning to play tricks on me and I was seeing sparkles—tracers
that spiraled and looped as I followed the sparks of light with my
fingers. I rested my head against the back of the tub and gave in,
closing my eyes as I softly breathed in the gentle scent of lilac
and lavender.
“Cicely? Cicely? Wake
up, Cicely.” My cousin’s gentle voice broke through the cloud of
sleep and I opened my eyes. I was still in the tub, only most of
the bubbles were gone and the water was lukewarm. “Come on, let’s
get you out of the water and into a nightgown.”
She helped me out of
the bathtub as I tried to keep my eyes open. We returned to the
bedroom, where she gently towel-dried me, then slid a flannel
nightie over my head.
“I brought a balm for
your stomach, and your food. And some chamomile tea with valerian
tincture in it. I figured you’d be too tired to come downstairs. I
found Peyton asleep in the tub, too.”
Laughing, I pulled up
my nightgown and let her gently rub the soothing balm across the
flowering bruise that covered part of my wolf. The colors were
spectacular—brilliant black and blue, in a rose
pattern.
I managed to corral
my thoughts long enough to ask, “How’s Kaylin?”
“Sleeping like a
baby. Here, eat this and drink the tea—it’s meant to ease pain in
the muscles and joints and will help your general fatigue.” She
guided me over to the desk, on which sat a tray. The plate was
stacked with pancakes and two eggs, scrambled, along with six
slices of bacon, a glass of orange juice, and a cup of tea in a
cute cat mug.
Spearing a piece of
egg, I popped it into my mouth and the rising scent woke my
stomach. “I’m starving,” I said, shoveling in the food. “I can’t
believe how hungry I am. I thought I was too tired to eat, but . .
.”
“You haven’t had food
for two days and you wore out your body. Of course you’re hungry. I
bet you lost about five pounds out there.”
“Not the way to lose
weight, and I don’t want to lose muscle. Next time I go on a trip
with Chatter, remind me to take some protein bars.” I bit into the
golden pancake. “Umm, a piece of heaven. I love maple
syrup.”
“Me, too.” Rhia
paused, then said, “Not to bring up distressing thoughts, but what
do you think Lannan wants?”
I took a long sip of
the tea, grimacing at the bitter aftertaste from the valerian, but
I knew it would soothe me and help me sleep deep.
“I know what he
wants—he wants to fuck me, humiliate me, and make me grovel. He
gets off on it. But other than that? I’m not sure. I don’t trust
him, but he can help us and I’m bound to him by contract. And
contracts with vampires are enforceable by law.”
“Yeah, I know.” She
played with the napkin she’d put on the tray, twisting the corners.
“Drink the rest of that tea—Leo said it will help.”
I nodded, chugging
down the orange juice first, then sipping the scalding hot tea. It
smelled faintly of licorice, and of earth and rock and root. But
the taste was slightly bitter, with a hint of summer infusing the
chamomile. The herbs settled in my stomach and my wolf stopped
growling as both balm and tea set in to soothe the aching
muscles.
“What I’m wondering
is how this is going to affect Kaylin. The night-veil demon that we
woke—it’s powerful, Rhia. Powerful, and very chaotic, and it didn’t
want to knuckle under.” I shrugged. “This is going to change the
Kaylin we knew, and whether that change will be for the better or
worse—I don’t know.”
My eyes were closing
and I could barely keep them open. Rhia pulled down my covers. “Get
into bed, and don’t worry about it for the night. Don’t worry about
anything. You need sleep.”
As she gently covered
me up, tucking me in like I was a little girl, I could hear the
great horned owl hooting in the oak, whispering for me to come and
play. I drifted off before I could answer his siren
song.
“Cicely . . . Cicely
Waters.”
I blinked, expecting
to see the morning light, but as I sat up, I found myself in the
middle of a swirling vortex. A creature sat at the distant center,
reeling me in, and I had a sudden squirming in my stomach that told
me I wanted nothing doing with him or what he
represented.
“Bring her here,” he
said, crouching like a spider. “Bring her forward and let me read
her future.”
“As you wish.” The
smooth voice by my side was too smooth—too polished—and I whirled
around to find myself facing Lannan. He gave me a slow smile and
wink. “My lovely young juice box. Guess where we’re
going?”
And then I knew—he
was taking me to see Crawl, the Blood Oracle.
“No—I won’t go. You
can’t make me go back to see that freakshow!” I struggled, trying
to get away from Lannan, but he held me tight and drew me in, his
black-as-night eyes flashing with fire.
“Give yourself to me.
Kneel before me. Acknowledge my superiority. You resist me and it
drives me crazy. You refuse to bend to my power and it makes me
want to reach out, to break you. You are not my better—you are not
above me!” He threw me to the ground, and I began to whimper as he
began to unbuckle his belt. “I’ll give you something to whimper
about, my pretty one.”
But then, creeping
through the slipstream, came Crawl’s raspy voice, like the wind
sweeping through hollow husks on a cold autumn night.
Bring her to me. She is a fulcrum to this war. Bring her
to me and do not tarry. We have no time. Blood is streaming like
the sands of time and our people are in danger. The girl is our key
to victory.
Lannan glared at
Crawl, then down at me, and then he buckled his belt again and
grabbed me by the wrist. “Just wait,” he whispered as we headed
toward the center of the whirlwind. “I’ve got so many special
things planned for you. You’re not going to be sitting down for a
month, girlie. And I will have my
satisfaction.”
I began struggling to
get away, but the whirling spiral pulled us in ever farther. As we
approached the Blood Oracle, I began to scream and scream . . . and
my voice echoed in the night.
“Cicely! Are you
okay?” Once again, I was being shaken awake, but this time it was
Kaylin, his eyes dark and flashing with an inner
light.
I struggled to sit
up, both terrified by the dream and leery of him. “Kaylin, what are
you doing here?”
He sat down on the
bedside and put a light hand on my shoulder, pushing me back
against my pillow. “You were having a nightmare. I came to wake
you.”
When I realized he
wasn’t going to clobber me again, I stopped resisting and scooted
back against the headboard. “Was I screaming?”
“No, but I could feel
your unrest.” Once again a flash of light echoed through his eyes,
and I felt a sudden rush of apprehension. “When you summoned my
demon to wake, you created a connection. I can feel your dreams
now.”
Hell. I hadn’t seen
that coming. Nor did I want it—I already felt bound to too many
people. Grieve, through my wolf; Lannan, through blood. Now Kaylin,
through dreams. What would this mean?
“How far away can you
feel me when I sleep? I have some pretty . . . interesting dreams
at times.” I blushed, but he didn’t seem to notice.
“I don’t think
distance is a factor. I don’t know if it will last, and don’t
fear—I won’t intrude,” he said, leaning in, his voice husky. “Not
unless you want me to.”
And that was not an innocent remark. Of that I was
sure, but I decided to ignore it for now. “Um, okay. Listen, how
are you? What time is it? How long was I asleep?”
Kaylin glanced at the
bedside clock. “It’s five in the morning. I’ve been awake since
three. I have no idea when you went to sleep.”
“Around nine.” I
stared at his face, searching for signs that the night-veil was in
control, but all I could see was Kaylin. After a moment, I blurted
out, “I dreamed about Lannan, and Crawl. He was taking me to see
the Blood Oracle. Dragging me, rather. And Crawl was saying that
I’m a fulcrum in the war and their victory depends on
me.”
Kaylin considered my
words, then gave me a slow nod. “I think your dream was predictive.
It sounds like something that may come to pass.”
I cringed, thinking
of Lannan’s part in it. I didn’t want it to be predictive; I wanted
it to be a nightmare. I decided to keep my mouth shut about the
rest of it—no use getting everybody stirred up over something that
might not happen.
But a voice inside
whispered, You know what Lannan wants, and you
know he’ll stop at nothing to get it. And that was worse
than thinking Crawl wanted to see me.
“Was it hard?” Kaylin
asked, and I stared at him for a moment, trying to figure out what
he was asking. All I could think of was Lannan and his sick
fascination with me.
“Hard?
What?”
“Forcing my demon to
submit to me?”
I did blush then, and
because I knew he’d find out one way or another, I pulled away the
cover and showed him the bruise on my stomach. By now it was the
size of a cantaloupe.
“Did I do that?” His
voice was quiet, and he looked taken aback.
“Yeah, you did. But
really, it was your demon. You never would have punched me like
that if you’d been in control.”
He pressed his lips
together and turned to go. Over his shoulder, he said, “I’m sorry,
Cicely. I’ll find a way to make it up to you. I would never
deliberately hurt you. I hope you know that.”
But even as he left,
I silently padded to the door of my room and locked it. No use
taking any more chances.
I went back to sleep
and slept dreamlessly until ten in the morning, when a splash of
unexpected sunlight filtered through the window to land on my face.
Blinking, I sat up, rubbing my eyes, and slipped out from beneath
the covers. My breath came in cold puffs and, as I padded to the
window to look over the frozen world below, it occurred to me that
I’d need to turn up the heat. The house had central heating, and
usually the second floor was a lot colder than the
first.
I shoved my arms into
my bathrobe and gazed down on the wonderland that spread out across
the backyard and forest. The snow was beautiful, picture-perfect,
and the sun glinted across the white diamonds covering the world
and through the icicles hanging off the roof of the house. One
icicle had grown all the way to the ground and must have been a
good thirty feet long. The sunlight reflected through it,
fracturing into prisms that skittered off the frozen cascade of
water.
Delighted, I let
myself sink into the beauty of the season, trying to put Myst out
of my mind for a little while. If she weren’t around, we could
enjoy the winter so much more.
If she weren’t around, the winter would be warmer and
raining, not a thick layer of snow. Ulean swept up behind
me, gently hugging me with her currents.
You were Myst’s daughter, you fool! She’s out to destroy
you for betraying her! Chatter’s words came tumbling back as
I gazed over the woodland. I had pushed them out of my mind,
focused on the job to be done but now . . . now in the clear light
of morning, after sleeping and regaining some semblance of
clearheadedness, I couldn’t ignore them.
Chatter said that Myst was my mother . . . in the other
life.
Ulean let forth a
sigh, which rolled over me like a cool wind on a spring morning.
Chatter should not have opened his mouth, but
he did. Yes, it is true. You are—were—Myst’s daughter. You were on
the verge of figuring that out on your own, though, so don’t blame
him for telling you.
I’m not sure what to do with that. I shook my head,
not sure how to process the information . . . not sure what it
meant for the future. I’m not Indigo Court
now, am I?
No, you are Cambyra Fae and magic-born. But you bear the
trace markers in your soul of that time—which is how Myst
recognized you. Do not worry, you don’t have their nature. Even
then, you didn’t have their nature—not unless your loved ones were
threatened. You were a misfit, miscast in your role as the Queen’s
daughter. Ulean enfolded me in her gentle breeze.
You are a good person, Cicely. Do not doubt
that.
I closed my eyes,
trying to summon the memories, but they were hidden still, and the
only glimpses I had were those that had already come to me. But
knowing who I had been—knowing what I’d been capable of—terrified
me. What if my nature from then came back? What if Myst wanted to
turn me, to use me against my friends like she was using my
aunt?
Too many questions
spinning in my head, I pushed away from the window as clouds began
to sock in and a light flurry of snow started. It was as if Myst
could read my thoughts and had come to douse any hope the sunlight
had promised.
“Cicely? Are you
awake?” Rhiannon’s voice echoed from outside my door as she tapped
on it lightly.
I hurried over to
unlock it. “Yeah, I’m awake.”
“Come down to
breakfast. Leo’s out and about, and he left you a message.” She
looked pale, and I wondered if the strain of all of this was
getting to be too much on her. Heather, her mother, had been
captured and turned by our enemy. Rhiannon was struggling to
control her own powers and heritage. And from what I could tell,
she wasn’t as strong as I was.
I cinched the
terry-cloth robe tighter and slid into a pair of fuzzy slippers,
following her downstairs to the kitchen.
There, next to a big
breakfast of sausage and eggs and toast, sat an envelope with a
bloodred rose seal, and my name on it. I recognized the slanted
writing—it was from Regina, Lannan’s sister.
I stared at it, not
wanting to open it. Not wanting to know what the vampires were
demanding from me now. I was their pawn, their hope in this war,
and after my dream about Lannan and Crawl, I longed to crawl away
and hide somewhere. Finally, I opened the flap and pulled out a
single sheet of linen paper, along with two checks.
The writing was,
again, Regina’s.
Cicely: Your monthly stipend is enclosed. Also: We request your presence this evening at a small soiree at Geoffrey’s, along with Leo Bryne and your cousin Rhiannon. Formal cocktail attire—use the enclosed to buy something appropriate for yourself. Lannan requests you choose something in black with red accessories. A limousine will arrive for you at 7:30 P.M. Attendance is required. Best, Regina.
I swallowed a bite of
toast, staring at the two checks. One, for twenty-five hundred
dollars, was my monthly pay, for my second month of indentured
servitude. The other was for three thousand dollars, and as I
stared at it, I realized the writing on it was not Regina’s, nor
was it Geoffrey’s—his I recognized on my monthly
paycheck.
Lannan . . . it had
to be from Lannan. Which meant that he was planning something and I
was his target. Angry, I folded the checks and slipped them into my
purse. I had to obey—they practically owned me. But that didn’t
mean I had to like it.
“Heads up,” I said to
Rhia. “You and Leo and I are required to attend a cocktail party at
Geoffrey’s tonight.”
She shuddered. “I
wonder just what kind of cocktails we’ll be expected to drink. Can
vampires eat or drink alcohol?”
“I dunno,” I said,
softly. “But contract or no contract, I’m not drinking any Bloody
Marys while I’m there.”
Rhiannon broke out
laughing. “Me either.” She glanced at the clock. “I keep thinking I
have to be at work, but the school’s shut for winter holidays from
now till the New Year, so what do you want to do
today?”
I thought about the
money burning a hole in my purse and shrugged. “Since we were gone
longer than we expected, Peyton and I put off opening our
headquarters. She has to work for Anadey today. What say you and I
go shopping? My treat.” And with that, for the first time in a
while, I felt like smiling. Lannan be damned . . . Even though I
hated giving him a reason to feel smug, the thought of spending a
few hours shopping with my cousin, and maybe taking in a quiet
lunch, seemed like heaven.
“Sounds good,” Rhia
said. “Finish your breakfast and then get dressed while I do the
dishes.” So I cleaned my plate, shimmied into a pair of jeans and a
turtleneck, and in no time, we headed out for the
mall.