Startled by the suggestion, Ana shook her head.
“He summons the Loa,” Roland shouted. “Hear the whispers? It’s them. They bring chaos. Kill him. Now.”
Baako took Roland’s impassioned plea to heart and roared. He lumbered forward, but with a single glance from Ana, Amelia sprinted the circle and pounced.
Twice the werelynx’s size, the bear thwarted her easily, rearing on his hind legs.
Amelia landed and slinked beneath him. She wrapped her jaws around his throat. Baako’s paws touched down, and he dragged her beneath him, but froze as her claws dug into his soft underbelly. He swatted Amelia’s head in warning. Her ears lowered, but she held on.
Planting her paws, she pushed down until he lay still.
Ana bound the shifter with a muttered enchantment. “I’m sorry, Baako.”
Obe continued the chanting, and shouted the words with savage joy now the threat was ended.
“His power is tied to the ritual.” Livid, a squiggled vein pulsed at Ana’s temple. “I have no one to replace him to sustain the flow.” She gathered her wits and yelled, “In the name of the goddess I serve I demand you relinquish your hold. Return it to me.”
The Houngan ignored her.
Desperate to regain the seat of power and steer the resurrection, she grabbed Obe’s arm. Dark magics launched her body into the air and slammed her into an invisible wall. She crumpled. The circle wouldn’t release her, not until the ceremony was done.
The athame bound me to the spot. I could do nothing but watch as order unravelled.
Lochlann jerked forward as he held out an arm to keep Daphne behind him. His eyes flicked between me, Ana and the Vodoun Priest. They settled suspiciously on Obe, hardening with purpose as he struggled closer. He began detaching from the magical flow he’d joined to confer power to Ana.
A ferocious tide of magics that now strengthened Obe.
Ana sensed the withdrawal of energy and rolling onto her stomach spotted the High Lord’s aggressive advancement. With a terrified cry, she cast her gaze around until it found me. “He mustn’t.” She groaned as a swell of magic ripped from her chest, drawn to the spell, and siphoned from her in gushing sparks. “Don’t give up.”
It went against everything inside me, but she was right. It’s too late to stop.
I let go of the athame handle, holding up a palm to halt Lochlann. “Leave him.” The blade shifted, twisted painfully, but remained lodged in my chest. Blood ran down my hand and dripped from my wrist.
Paling, Roland backed away from the disturbing growth of the pyre. Ghostly whispers escaping from it increased in volume. “Bad. We have done bad.”
Obe finished the chant with a bellow and grandiose swing of his staff.
An explosion of light lit the surrounding trees.
Horror-struck, I flung an arm over my face shielding my eyes.
Over the noise, I heard Ana’s voice. I felt the warmth of her hand patting my shoulder yet her supine body lay far away. “The athame must pierce her heart. It will anchor her here and complete the ritual. If the fire dies and you haven’t paid tithe….” Her magically whispered counsel cut ominously.
Pressure built and pressed on my torso. I squeezed my eyes shut and scrubbed at the liquid distorting my vision. I used a merciless grip as punishment and ripped the ceremonial dagger from my chest.
The ground shook.
Glittering flashes of light shot from the bonfire and rushed around the circle.
Dark purple, blood red, and brilliant white swirls of raw magic soared above. They zipped chaotically around the scattering demons. Veered dangerously close to colliding with the circle’s outermost edges, and sparked brightly as they did clip its borders.
The shimmering purple mass swooped low and slammed into Roland’s stomach.
He landed sprawled on his back, clawing at his gut. Tendons in his neck bulged as he pleaded for mercy. The vessels in his eyes burst flooding his corneas with blood. A skeletal ghost settled over him. Husky laughter and ribald taunts drifted through the air.
Another puddle of iridescent light tumbled from the swirls above and plunged into Obe.
Haloed in a white nimbus he yelled, joyous, and opened his arms wide. The light wriggled, spearing him repeatedly until the shadowy form settled. The clearing flooded with hot light as if there were noonday sun, and the smell of earth intensified until you tasted it. Eyes rolling, Obe’s legs folded and he collapsed into a shuddering heap.
My gaze fixed on the last Vodoun.
Lex gaped at Roland and Obe. She wrapped her arms around her head. “Not again. I can’t be a freak again.” Eyes wide and frightened, the tattoos on her cheeks glowed against her sallow skin as she turned and fled.
Ana scrambled forward on all fours. “Don’t break the circle. Rae isn’t through yet.”
Daphne moved with dizzying speed. Blocking Lex’s frantic escape, she crouched and snarled.
Lex skidded to a stop, arms wheeling. “We have to run.”
With menacing, darting movements Daphne forced her back. “You agreed to this. We all did.”
“I gave Rae my life. I just got it back.” She stopped retreating and widened her stance. Her hair whipped across her hauntingly beautiful face. “Don’t make me fight.”
The last apparition corkscrewed and sizzled like a firework. Sensing its approach, Lex spun to run blindly towards the pyre. It zoomed overhead and struck her breast.
Mouth wrenched open in a silent scream, Lex flew back but never hit the ground. She floated. Tendrils of smoky red skimmed her body. Gasping, deep and hollow, her back arched. The smoke rushed down her throat, and the spectral form settled over her writhing figure. The skeletal face chuckled, and Lex’s pained expression morphed into an evil grin. Thousands of screaming voices begged for mercy, and the smell of blood and death filled the clearing.
I ignored the madness and stared up, searching for another swirl of colour. Rae will look like pure gold. My breathing stopped as I waited for her spirit to emerge.
Nothing.
My lungs contracted in a rush of panic.
Swallowing a crazed bellow, I clenched my hands into fists to stave off frenzy. They grew cold from lack of circulation. “Where are you?” I searched the sky struggling for breath. Everything blurred. Darkness crept along the edges of my vision. “Please. Please.”
“Breandan.” Ana lurched onto her feet. The magic flowing from her leaked into the air, pooled around her in a black mess. “Rae has a body.” She pointed at the flames. “Drag her out and finish this.”
Startled by the vehemence in her tone, my gaze dropped to the pallet where we’d placed Rae’s body.
The flames slid over something, a solid mass moving in the centre.
A figure.
Mumbling thanks to other gods, my feet moved before I consciously made one foot step in front of the other. I reached the pyre and marvelled at the intensity of the hue.
A hand reached from the flames, fingers curling.
Tucking the athame into my belt, I clasped the seeking limb.
My heart raced in relief as I gripped hot skin, and my flesh remained unburned. I pulled. My muscles bunched from the strain of holding on. It felt as if I uprooted something buried in the earth rather than the other half of my soul, a small slip of female.
The weight grew, the firelight became blinding, and my grasp slipped.
My eyes slitted, and my body stiffened, defiant. I’d rather die. Fall into the flames and burn than let go. Grunting, I thrust in my other arm, seeking, searching. There. With a yell of triumph, I grabbed a fistful of soft hair and yanked.
The top of a head appeared, hair tangled and inky black.
The hand I held reached higher to clasp my forearm. Flesh-coloured talons dug into my skin. I ignored the sharp bite and fought to step back, pulling the body from the pit.
I will not let go.
The slender body emerged from the fire, skin reddened and damp with sweat, whole, and un
hurt. Her legs were all that remained trapped.
Rae whimpered and struggled in my hold.
“Breandan!”
My head snapped up.
Ana collapsed into a heap, blonde hair fanned around her twitching body.
Lex stood over her, grinning wickedly. Magics crackled at her fingertips. “My end will not be brought by a mere witchling.”
Obe pressed his palm to the invisible wall. After a moment’s contemplation, he pushed. The power of the circle became unstable as he breached it. “Cease teasing, Marinette.” His voice echoed profoundly. “We leave.”
Marinette scanned the gathering. Her gaze swept past me then wheeled back, eyes narrowing, covetous. “Patience, Damballah. I must leave the girl a gift.” She smiled slyly. “It’s because of her we return.” Her gaze slid to Roland. He patted his body with satisfaction. “You will enjoy this, Malice.”
Magics and shadows coalesced. Marinette’s red shimmer of power took shape.
Face lit with glee, Malice gurgled and rocked side to side.
I blinked.
Hard.
A male stepped from the darkness. Tomas’ head whipped around in bewilderment. Blanching as his gaze landed on me, his face tightened as his attention dropped to the female in my arms. Expression blanking, he skulked into the shadows, fading.
Shaking with anger, I ignored what must be a hallucination. “Come on, love.” I drew deep and yanked with all my might. “A little more.”
Marinette glared at the body cradled in my arms. “Douse the flames.”
Malice arched a brow then shrugged. He spun and unleashed a torrent of icy wind.
My power fuelled my strength, and I had no choice, but to curl my body over Rae’s and brace for pain.
Lochlann dove in front of us. He countered the loa’s airstream by weaving a shield of energy. The wind battered the arched shelter, but it held.
Weak-kneed, I rushed to free the rest of Rae’s body.
Malice whooped, and hurled brutal flurries of air, the casting becoming increasingly dangerous.
The epitome of a warrior, my brother blocked each assault.
Malice’s boyish features darkened with feral delight. He gloried in the deadly sparring, and laughed aloud as Lochlann counter-attacked with a blizzard of sparks that singed the hair on his head.
Enraged by the display, Marinette hissed. She pushed the mischievous godling aside. “Move, you grinning idiot.” She tossed her hair over her shoulder. “I’ll do it myself.” She swept Lochlann off his feet with a wave of the hand and curled her fingers into a fist.
Roaring in anger, Lochlann lifted higher into the air and rotated until he was upside down.
Marinette dropped her fist with guillotine-like-speed.
Lochlann slammed into the dirt headfirst. Blood pooled around his body. Racing to his side, Daphne’s eyes turned black as she dropped to her knees, and dragged his head onto her lap.
Electricity charged the atmosphere and Marinette’s hair stood on end. Her eyes glinted with malignant purpose before rolling up.
Lightning cracked the sky. The clouds rolled low and turned stormy.
A deluge of rain pelted the Wyld Heart, flooding the earth.
Marinette’s long hair plastered to her head and shoulders. She cackled, flinging up her arms to beckon wind hurricane strong. It swept across the clearing. Branches ripped from the trees. Leaves and twigs moved at ferocious speeds becoming deadly weapons from the sheer force propelling them.
The flames of the pyre shrank. The winds rushed into it as it imploded.
Slipping in wet soil that sucked at my boots, I ran out of time, and using the strength of gods, I pulled the body from the fire.
The flames shrivelled and plunged the clearing into darkness.
Rae’s footfall went wrong. I was too weak to support our weight, and we fell. The mud was cold and thick. It splashed onto my face and sluiced down my back and side.
Heart thumping, I wrapped my arms around the precious bundle. I buried my face in the crook of Rae’s shoulder. Inhaled the fresh smell of flowers and cut grass. My chest heaved, burned from smoke inhalation, but I couldn’t let go to gulp down the air my body craved.
After a beat, I eased my hold. I didn’t want to crush her bones.
Shaking, Rae wound her arms around me. Her hair tumbled around us as she pushed me back to lean up.
For an instant, I stopped breathing.
Defenceless against an onslaught of feeling, I fell into the depths of well-deep orbs, deprived of other sights than that of her face. There was no help for me, ever unable to fathom how her eyes enraptured with but a glance. How they irrevocably trapped this unsuspecting onlooker in love’s chokehold. A grip so assured, yet welcomed, no measure of bereavement eased the ache of its loosening.
I tumbled, no, leapt into the abyss of churning emotion draining me of strength to stand, to resist the firm weight of her palm on my chest.
Her pushing hand became a soft petting. I wanted the comforting touch to continue without end.
She blinked as if clearing a mist, and her gold irises locked on mine. Recognition averted her gaze before it snapped back. Her mouth parted, and her breathing turned shallow.
I wanted to shout in triumph as her surprise was swept aside by remembered adoration, a love that humbled me. Her feelings transformed her expression into the embodiment of beauty.
This creature I pulled from the fire was delicate. Exquisite. Her presence stirred a greedy need to hold her close. My heart seized, skipped a beat then thudded fast, unabashedly spurring me on, demanding I hold her to my chest and escape.
Dark wreathes of hair framed her heat-shaped face. Beneath the dirt, her cheeks were flushed from the heat, and translucent with youth. Her complexion glowed. It revealed the power restrained within. I felt it. Revelled in the glory of imbibing strength derived from our connection. A bond I unthinkingly cursed, but now clung to with brash desperation. Pulsing brightly, her magics were a damned flood waiting to breach its fragile confinement. A wave that crested then crashed when my own swell of power didn’t rise in challenge.
I stroked the curve of her sooty cheek, my touch reverent and light. I feared she’d break apart at too solid a contact. “Love, I–” Speech failed me. Shame absconded though my eyes were wet. I didn’t care if I looked weak. Rae was in the circle of my arms.
Eyes shifting to fix over my shoulder, her brows lowered in a frightening scowl.
I adored her for it.
Rae’s face was my sun, but I managed to tear my gaze away, and tipped my head to follow her line of sight. Gripping the rounds of her shoulders, I wanted to roll her under me for protection. Instead, I tensed and glared.
Three menacing silhouettes stood at the edge of the circle.
Damballah lowered into a battle pose yet he retreated. With a sweeping look at the demons cagily advancing, he balked. “There are too many to fight unprepared.” His husky rasp tinged with alarm. “We leave. Now.” Shooting a stern look at his fellow godling, he became a maelstrom of radiant light.
Winking at Daphne, cradling Lochlann’s bloodied head in her lap, Malice chuckled and threw up his arms. The motion conjured a thunderclap. He was consumed by heliotrope smoke that shimmered with amethyst.
Waiting until our gazes clashed, Marinette blew me a kiss. Her eyes gleamed with a promise. “We’ll meet again. Soon.” Laughing, she exploded into hundreds of black moths with scarlet-tipped wings.
The trio tore from the Wyld and disappeared into the night.
Rae moaned and wilted. She clutched at my shoulders as her soul separated from her body then fell back inside her skin. Energy poured from her mouth, eyes, and nose in wispy vapour icy to touch.
Panicked, I tried to scoop it into her body.
“Breandan.” Ana’s voice was a shout in the silence, her frame limp on the ground. Though she fought to keep them open, her eyes closed. “Finish it.”
I snatched the athame from my waist, the bla
de wet with red liquid, dripping with it.
Grabbing the back of Rae’s head, I looked her dead in the eye to warn her, but she slipped away, fear-widened eyes staring as her hands fitfully groped. Her body became rigid against mine as her magics spilled from her and floated around our tangled legs, the chalky cloud chilling our flesh.
My face twisted as I plunged the blade into her chest.
Back arching in a violent buck, Rae’s misty gaze snapped into focus and she screamed.
A blast of energy knocked those standing off their feet.
The last ember of the pyre died.
CHAPTER THREE
Lochlann
Hair wild about her elfin face, Rae skirted the edge of the group. The boughs of ClanTree arched overhead and entombed her in its smoothly twisted branches as if it was sentient and drawn to her nature.
Clothed in dead flowers and blackened leaves on shrivelled twine, Rae resembled a dryad crafted by nature itself. The vines twisted around her leg, draped across her hips, waist, and blanketed her upper torso.
The burnt remnants were her burial shroud. An ugly reminder of what she’d suffered.
Rae stroked the shrivelled flower on her waist and it bloomed. She continued this idle stroking across her stomach and hips until the entire length of twine regained its lush green beauty.
As she walked the soil beneath her feet sprouted weedy grass.
The atmosphere surrounding her teemed with life. Vitality. It was brighter, vivid, and elemental. Power seeped from her skin and rejuvenated everything she brushed past. The wind rushed through the leaves, and they rustled in harmony. Night birds chirruped and flitted across the tree canopy. Owls hooted. Nocturnal animals scurried in the undergrowth, and from dark places peeked at her.
Kian, a fairy Knight and loyal follower from my Tribe, followed her with hawkish eyes.
He gawped as flora shrinking in the cooler autumn air bloomed and strained on their stalks as she aimlessly wandered. He turned to me with hope blazing in his eyes.
The kind of faith I’d hoped she would inspire. Just not like this.
“We have an affinity for nature,” he said. “Our magics is born of the earth, but she is breathtaking. What is she?”