“Honey, I’ve been in love with you since the day I pulled you out of the river.”
“Really?” She searched his gaze, felt a rush of excitement when she saw the truth in his eyes. This was what love looked like, she thought, not the coolness she had seen in Rajj’s eyes, but Killian’s expression of tenderness and concern.
“Really.” Drawing her into his arms, he held her close, his hand lightly stroking her back.
Annis closed her eyes, a part of her bubbling over with happiness even as another part of her ached for her daughter.
She rested her cheek against Killian’s chest, grateful for someone to lean on when she needed support, to comfort her when she needed solace.
* * *
“Love!” Marri exclaimed. “You can’t be in love with him. You’re married to another man.” As soon as the words left her mouth, she realized how foolish they sounded. Love gave no thought to right or wrong, made no distinction between peasant or king.
Settling back on the couch in her private chambers, she softened her tone. “Granted, your husband is rotten to the core and will surely be executed if he’s ever caught, but until then…” Marri shook her head. “Are you sure?”
“Desperately sure,” Annis said firmly. “Besides, who are you to tell me who to love or who to marry? Gryff isn’t royalty. Not even close to it.”
Marri huffed a sigh. There was no arguing with her sister on that point. Gryff had been working in a seedy tavern in Ironntown when she met him. She had been on the run from her brother, the king, who had wanted her dead; Gryff had been hiding from Serepta’s wrath.
“Even if you catch Rajj, you’ll never execute him,” Annis said. “Wyrick will never let that happen and I’m not sure anyone, even Nardik, can stand up to him.”
Frowning, Marri said, “I wonder what kind of sorcery makes Wyrick so powerful.”
“He kills people,” Annis said, so softly her voice was barely audible. “He tortures them in ways you can’t imagine and their suffering made him stronger.” She paused a moment, reluctant to say the rest.
“Go on.”
“Sometimes he...he drank their blood before he killed them.”
“Is he both witch and vampire?”
Annis shook her head. “He sacrificed animals, too.”
“And you saw him do all these despicable things?”
Annis nodded. “Men, women, and even children died at his hands.” She still had nightmares about the atrocities she had witnessed inside the citadel. Sometimes she woke with the screams of the dying ringing in her ears.
“And Rajj?” Marri asked. “Did he also participate?”
“I don’t know. If he did, it was never in my presence.”
“Where did Wyrick get the people he killed?”
“He hired hunters to raid prisons on distant planets. They took those who were sentenced to death. I asked Rajj once why his father wanted criminals. He said the power that lived inside evil men and women was stronger.”
“And the children?” Marri asked incredulously. “Did he think they were evil, too?”
“No, but Rajj said there was also strength in purity.”
Marri glanced at her baby, sleeping in her cradle beside her. How could anyone steal a life that had barely begun? Surely, if there was a Hel, Wyrick would spend eternity in the deepest, darkest pit.
Needing to change the subject, she said, “About Killian, does he have feelings for you, as well?”
“Yes.”
“You know you can’t wed until your marriage to Rajj is nullified.”
“I know,” Annis said glumly, and then brightened. “Isn’t there some loophole we can use? I mean, I was under a magical spell when I said yes. Isn’t that grounds for an annulment? If that won’t work, maybe you can you use your queenly powers to invalidate the marriage.”
“I’ll have Nardik look into all those options when he returns, I promise.”
Beaming, Annis threw her arms around Marri. “You’re the best sister in the whole galaxy!”
Later, alone in her chambers, Marri clasped her hands, unable to conceive of the carnage Annis had described. How had her little sister, who had once taken holy vows and lived sheltered behind convent walls, survived seeing such atrocities? Marri, herself, could scarcely imagine such evil.
She shook her head, wishing to dispel the images Annis had conjured -- Wyrick, drinking blood, murdering innocent children to increase his magical abilities. What if, as Annis feared, Wyrick could not be stopped? What if even Nardik’s formidable powers weren’t strong enough to put an end to the dark wizard’s malevolent designs?
Chapter 15
Quinn glanced out the side window of the space craft, one hand idly stroking the tattoo on his shoulder. He couldn’t help wondering why, if the dragon was so powerful, more witches didn’t just conjure one for themselves. Curious, he put the question to Seleena.
“I’ve given it a lot of thought,” she admitted. “You remember I told you Ser...” She stopped herself before saying Serepta’s name. “She must have used a wrong word when she conjured the tattoo. Even a wrong inflection in her voice could have changed the meaning of the incantation.”
Quinn nodded.
“I’ve seen similar inked figures -- dragons and the like -- that possessed powerful magic, but never one that took on physical form. She could have infused the spell with something else, although I have no idea what it might have been. Then again, merely the wrong word could have altered the spell without her being aware of it.”
“I guess now we’ll never know.”
“What are you going to do with her wand? Nardik asked.
Quinn shrugged. “You want it?”
“We should destroy it.”
Quinn pulled it out of his pants’ pocket and offered it to the wizard. “Be my guest.”
Instead of taking it, Nardik muttered an incantation and the wand disintegrated into a pile of wood chips at Quinn’s feet.
“Well, that was easy enough.” Quinn glanced at Alexxa, still bound by Nardik’s sleeping spell. “What are we going to do with her?”
“Leave her on Callidori once we have accomplished our mission?” the wizard suggested.
Quinn nodded. “Sounds good to me.” He glanced out the window again, wondering what they would find when they arrived at their destination. Was Steffon there? If not, how would they ever find him?
* * *
Nardik released Alexxa from his sleeping spell when the ship approached Callidori. Quinn had expected the planet to be warded against intruders, but they landed at the space port without incident.
As previously agreed, Nardik paid the pilot half his fee when they landed, with the assurance that the second half would be forthcoming when they returned to Brynn Tor.
After they disembarked, Quinn turned in a slow circle, his vampire senses probing their surroundings. He wasn’t sure what he had expected from a planet mainly inhabited by dark witches, but this definitely wasn’t it. It looked like any other modern city, he thought, as they left the space port behind.
Thriving shops and restaurants lined both sides of the main street. The people he saw on the street seemed to be ordinary mortals going about their business as usual. Most of them smiled and nodded as they passed by. He detected no hint of magic in the town, dark or otherwise.
Well-tended homes were located beyond the town. Children too young for school played in fenced front yards. From somewhere in the distance, he heard the distinct chiming of a church bell.
Seleena glanced around, then looked at Alexxa. “Are you sure this is the place?”
“Of course.”
Quinn shook his head. Something wasn’t right. He was about to question Alexxa when he caught his son’s familiar scent. Though faint, there was no doubt it was Steffon. “This way,” he said.
Seleena hurried to keep up. “Is Steffon here?” she asked anxiously
“I think so.”
Quinn glanced over his shoulder to make s
ure Nardik and Alexxa were still behind them. He frowned when the wizard shook his head. “What is it?”
“Something is not right,” Nardik said, his hooded gaze sweeping right and left. “I cannot quite put my finger on it.”
“Yeah,” Quinn said. “I feel it, too.” He stopped abruptly when they reached the end of the residential area. A single, one-story house stood on a fenced plot of ground perhaps half a mile in the distance. Painted gray with white trim, there was nothing remarkable about the place, except its location away from all the others.
“What’s wrong?” Seleena asked.
Quinn nodded toward the house. “Steffon’s scent is coming from there.” Grasping Seleena’s hand, he crossed the street.
“What should we do now?” she asked.
“I’m not sure.” Lifting his head, he took a deep breath. As Nardik had said, something wasn’t right. He had no sense of evil, no hint of dark magic. Concentrating on the house, he listened for the sound of beating hearts, the scent of blood, but there was nothing, just Steffon’s scent. Surely they hadn’t abandoned the boy here?
Coming up beside him, Nardik said, “Wyrick is not here.”
“Yeah, I figured that,” Quinn said, dryly. “I’m going inside.”
“Not alone, you’re not,” Seleena chided, grasping his hand more tightly.
“All right, Red. Nardik, you stay out here with the witch. Don’t let her out of your sight.”
Nardik folded his arms over his chest, obviously annoyed at being told what to do, but he let it pass without comment.
Quinn opened the gate in the fence. Three steps led to a small, covered porch. Seleena rang the bell.
When there was no answer, Quinn pounded his fist on the door. “I don’t think anyone is inside,” he said. “But Wyrick was here recently.”
Seleena chanted a few words and the door swung open, revealing a large living room, fully furnished. Still holding Quinn’s hand, she stepped into entryway, only to come to an abrupt halt when Quinn couldn’t follow.
“I can’t cross the threshold,” he said, dropping her hand. “There’s no one inside, but the house hasn’t been abandoned, so be careful. There’s no telling what traps they might have left behind.”
With a nod, Seleena cautiously made her way through the house, room by room. All were clean and tidy. Though the house was empty, she had the feeling that the inhabitants had left only recently and fully intended to return. She found food in the cupboards, clothes in the closets, a chess board in play on the table in the dining room.
And her son’s blanket on a chair in the last bedroom.
Picking it up, she held it to her face, breathing in his sweet scent as tears filled her eyes. Where was he? Had they taken him with them? Or...She refused to consider anything else.
Still clutching the blanket, she returned to the porch. “He’s not here.”
Quinn swore under his breath; then, overcome with rage and frustration, he flew down the stairs, his hands curling over Alexxa’s shoulders, his fingers digging into her flesh. “Where is my son?”
She glowered at him. “How should I know?”
“You will tell me,” he snarled, “or you’ll meet the same fate as your sister.”
Alexxa thrust out her chin. “Go ahead. Burn me up!” she dared him. “Then you’ll never find the brat.”
“She’s right,” Seleena said, laying a restraining hand on his shoulder. “We need her alive.”
“This isn’t Callidori, is it?” Quinn asked through clenched teeth.
Alexxa’s insane cackle filled the air. “No. And without me, you’ll never find it. Or your son.”
Quinn glared at Alexxa. Took several deep breaths. And tried to read her mind, but he couldn’t penetrate whatever wall she had magicked into place. And then, letting his eyes go red, he smiled, revealing his fangs.
“You have two choices,” he told her, biting off each word. “You can tell me what I want to know, or I can turn you into a vampire, in which case I will be your sire. If you don’t know what that entails, I’ll tell you. It means I’ll be able to read your every thought, compel you to do anything I wish. And once I have the information I need, I will let my dragon destroy you.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“No?” He jerked her body close to his and buried his fangs in the side of her neck. She shrieked as his fangs pierced her skin. “Let me go!”
He took only a single swallow, just enough to prove he meant what he said.
She squirmed in his arms, helpless against his strength. “Let me go, and I’ll tell you.”
Lifting his head, Quinn wiped the blood from his mouth with the back of his hand. “That’s better. Now, is this Callidori, or isn’t it?”
Alexxa ran her fingertips over the bloody holes in her neck. “No,” she replied sullenly. “It’s Dracca.”
“That wasn’t so hard, was it?” He took several deep breaths, willing the bloodlust to fade from his eyes.
A bit of the wizard’s magic transported the three of them back to the space port.
On the way to the Airship, Alexxa made a break for it, but before she could complete her incantation and vanish, Seleena hit her with an immobilizing spell, which left Alexxa conscious but unable to move.
Inside the craft, with Quinn’s threat hanging over her head, Alexxa gave the pilot the coordinates to Callidori, and then Nardik again put the witch under a sleeping spell.
Seleena took her seat, the blanket still clutched to her breast, her cheeks stained with her tears. “So close,” she murmured. “So close.”
Quinn put his arm around her shoulders as the Airship lifted off. “We’ll find him. I promise,” he said fervently.
And prayed it was a vow he could keep.
Chapter 16
Nardik released Alexxa from his spell when the Airship neared Callidori. Quinn had no doubt they had arrived at the right place this time. Under his renewed threat to turn her into a vampire, she grudgingly spoke the words necessary to get past the protective enchantment that veiled the planet.
As agreed, Nardik paid the pilot half his fee when they landed, the other half to be paid when they returned to Brynn Tor.
“Well, we’re here,” Quinn said as they made their way toward the city. “All we have to do now if find Wyrick, rescue the Steffon and Corrie, and head for home. Sounds easy enough.”
Callidori was a small planet, as was everything he saw growing. Trees, plants, flowers, all looked stunted, their colors pale and, in some cases, like nothing he had ever seen before. The land was mostly flat, though a few small brown hills could be seen in the distance.
They passed several residences on the outskirts of town. The houses were made of wood and green brick. Some were rectangular, others were round, a few appeared to be mostly underground, with only roofs and chimneys showing. Quinn noticed an old man watching them through a second-story window, a woman peering at them from behind lace curtains.
He paused at as they reached the town proper. Head lifted, eyes closed, he opened his preternatural senses, searching for his son. There were a number of people in the house, but the scent of Steffon’s blood stood out from the others. He breathed it in for a moment before saying, “He’s in there.”
Hope fluttered in Seleena’s heart. “Are you sure?” If Quinn was wrong, if their son wasn’t really here, they might never find him.
Quinn nodded. “I’m sure.”
“Is he all right?”
“As far as I can tell. What do we do now? We can’t just storm the place and hope for the best.”
“True,” Nardik said. “But there is little point in trying to hide our presence. I am sure Wyrick knows we are here.”
“Let’s go scout around a little,” Quinn suggested.
Nodding in assent, Seleena and Nardik followed him down the main street, with Alexxa between them.
The whole town exuded an aura of black magic. It hung over the place like a malevolent dark cloud. It raised the h
airs along Quinn’s arms, made his stomach muscles clench. The dragon felt it, too. He stirred restlessly, his tail lashing back and forth. “Not yet,” Quinn murmured, stroking the dragon’s back through his shirt. “Not yet.”
They passed a number of men and women as they strolled down the street. Most of them were witches who cast sideways glances in their directions, their expressions ranging from mildly curious to openly hostile. A few of the inhabitants were humans going about their daily lives, wandering in and out of shops, stopping to chat with friends, idling on street corners. Witch or mortal, male or female, they regarded the strangers with thinly-veiled suspicion.
“Odd,” Seleena whispered.”
“What’s odd?” Quinn asked.
She made a vague gesture with her hand. “There are no children.”
“Maybe they’re in school,” he said, though there was no school in sight.
“Maybe.”
“You don’t think Wyrick kidnapped them all, do you?”
“He has no need for mortal children,” Nardik said. “Unless...”
“Unless what?” Quinn asked.
“Some dark witches sacrifice young children to gain power.”
Quinn swore under his breath. And he’d thought Jagg was evil. Shit, the trader couldn’t hold a candle to Wyrick.
The houses grew fewer as they traveled onward.
“Steffon’s in there,” Quinn said, pointing to a two-story house located on a hill at the end of the street. This dwelling was larger than any of the others they had seen thus far. Black smoke rose from the chimney. There were no windows visible on the main floor.
Seleena shivered. “I can feel Wyrick’s magic, even from here.”
Nardik took a deep breath. “I believe the whole coven is inside.”
“And Annis’ daughter?” Seleena asked. “Is she in there, too?”
“I think so,” Quinn said. “I can hear the heartbeats of more than one child. They’re faster than those of the adults.”
“You’re all dead,” Alexxa predicted gleefully. “The three of you together aren’t as powerful as Wyrick.”