“Who is this?”
The voice was that of a cultured young gentleman, not the rough accents of a coachman.
“A friend,” Leona said. “He is in mortal danger and so are we. There is no time to explain. I have the stone. We must get out of here at once.”
“I do not understand. How is it that you encountered an acquaintance inside Delbridge’s mansion? One of the guests, perhaps?” Cold disapproval laced the last question.
“Please, Adam, not now.” Leona hurried forward and opened the carriage door. “I will explain everything later.”
Adam was clearly unconvinced, but he evidently concluded that this was not the time to debate the matter.
“Very well.” He pocketed the weapon and scrambled lightly up onto the box.
Leona stepped up into the unlit cab. Thaddeus watched her disappear into the intense darkness inside. Through the growing haze of his nightmares it suddenly occurred to him that he would never see this amazing woman again, never know her secrets. She was about to vanish, and he had never even held her in his arms.
He moved closer to the open door.
“Where will you go?” he asked, needing to hear her speak one last time.
“Back to London, of course. For heaven’s sake, why are you standing there? Get into the carriage.”
“I told you, I cannot come with you. The nightmares are closing in quickly.”
“And I told you, I know something of nightmares.”
Adam looked down at him. “You are putting all of us at risk,” he snapped in low tones. “Get into the carriage, sir.”
“Go without me,” Thaddeus commanded quietly. “There is something I must do before the visions take control.”
“What is that?” Adam asked.
“I must kill Delbridge.”
“Huh.” Adam sounded abruptly thoughtful. “Not a bad idea.”
“No.” Leona’s face appeared in the opening. “You cannot risk going back to the mansion, sir, not in your condition.”
“If I don’t kill Delbridge, he will search for the crystal,” Thaddeus explained.
“I told you, he will never find me,” Leona assured him.
“Your new friend has a point,” Adam said to her. “I suggest we follow his advice and leave him here. Where is the harm in letting him try to kill Delbridge? If he succeeds, we will have one less problem to worry about in the future.”
“You don’t understand,” Leona insisted. “This man is in the grip of a terrible poison that is creating hallucinations. He does not comprehend what he is saying.”
“All the more reason to leave him behind,” Adam said. “The last thing we need tonight is a madman for a traveling companion.”
Thaddeus looked hard at Leona, trying to catch one last glimpse of her face in the moonlight. “He is right. You must go on without me.”
“Absolutely not.” Leona reached out and caught hold of his sleeve. “Trust me, sir, I give you my word, there is a very good chance I can help you. We are not leaving without you.”
“Damnation,” Adam muttered. But he sounded resigned. “You may as well get into the carriage, sir. It is difficult to win an argument with Leona when she is convinced she is right.”
It wasn’t Leona’s stubbornness that was making him hesitate, Thaddeus realized; it was her conviction that she might be able to save him.
“Concentrate on the positive, sir,” Leona ordered bracingly. “It is not as if there is anything to be gained by dwelling on the negative.”
“She is also very keen on the powers of optimism and positive thinking,” Adam grumbled. “It is an excessively annoying trait, to be sure.”
Thaddeus looked longingly at the open door of the carriage, unable to extinguish the tiny flicker of hope Leona had ignited.
If she saved him he would be able to protect her from Delbridge and claim her as well.
That logic tipped the scales. He vaulted up into the carriage and dropped down onto the seat across from Leona.
The vehicle jolted forward immediately. The horses moved into a swift trot. In some vague, still rational place in his brain, Thaddeus realized that Adam had not turned up the outside lamps. He was using moonlight to guide the team along the curving lane. It was madness, but it was all of a piece with everything else that had occurred tonight.
Inside the cab he could barely make out Leona silhouetted against the dark cushions. He was fiercely aware of her, however. The very atmosphere seemed to shimmer with her feminine essence.
“What is your name, sir?” she asked.
“Thaddeus Ware.”
How odd to think that although he had just shared a harrowing adventure with this woman, he had no clear vision of her looks. Thus far he had seen her only in the dimly lit museum gallery and the moonlit garden. If he were to meet her tomorrow in a London street he might not even recognize her.
Unless she spoke. The sound of her voice, low and warm and intriguingly sensual, was impressed on his memory for all time. He would know her scent, too, he thought, and something of the shape of her, as well. He had been vividly aware of her compelling curves when she was pressed against him. And there was something else, a faint whisper of seductive power that could only be coming from her aura.
Oh, yes, he would know her anywhere.
Because she is yours, one of the demons whispered.
Mine.
Without warning, the last of his defenses disintegrated. The monsters were freed. They leaped from the shadows of his mind straight into the carriage.
In the blink of a demonic eye, the interior of the cab was transformed into a dark dreamscape. A creature the size of a large dog perched on the seat beside him. But the monstrosity was no dog. Eight feathery legs projected from its glistening, bulbous body. Moonlight glinted darkly on soulless, multifaceted eyes. Poison dripped from its fangs.
A ghostly face appeared at the window. The eye sockets were empty black holes. The mouth opened on a silent shriek.
He caught a hint of movement to his left. He did not need to turn his head to know that what crouched there possessed scaly, clawed feet and antennae that writhed like tormented worms.
The windows of the carriage no longer looked out onto the night-darkened woods. Instead they revealed unearthly scenes from another dimension. Volcanic rivers flowed through trees fashioned of black ice. Strange birds with the heads of snakes perched on the frozen branches.
He possessed just enough awareness to know that he was a fool to believe that willpower alone could contain the nightmares. Delbridge’s poison had been churning through his blood for at least fifteen minutes, doing its foul work. Now it was in full control.
The astonishing thing was that he no longer gave a damn.
“Mr. Ware?”
Leona’s voice, the voice that he would know anywhere, came to him out of the darkness.
“Too late,” he said, amused by her tone of concern. “Welcome to my nightmare. Things aren’t so unpleasant here once you get used to the place.”
“Mr. Ware, you must listen to me.”
Hot lust surged through him. She was only inches away, his for the taking. He had never wanted a woman more, and there was nothing to stop him.
“I can help you fight the hallucinations,” she said.
“But I do not wish to fight them,” he said softly. “Indeed, I am enjoying them. And so will you.”
Impatiently she yanked off the wig, reached inside her coat and removed an object. He could not see what it was, but a few seconds later moonlight glowed between her hands.
Now he saw her for the first time. Her dark hair was pinned into a tight coil on top of her hair, revealing features that could only be described as striking, although not in the way that was generally associated with great beauty. Instead he saw intelligence, determination and a certain delicate sensitivity in her face. Her mouth looked very soft. Eyes of molten amber gleamed with feminine power. Nothing was more seductive.
“Sorceress,” he w
hispered, fascinated.
She flinched as though he had struck her. “What?”
He smiled. “Nothing.” He looked down at the crystal, intrigued. “What is this? Another one of my hallucinations?”
“It is the aurora stone, Mr. Ware. I am going to walk through your dreams with you.”
3
SHE HAD NOT HELD the aurora stone in her hands since her sixteenth summer, but it responded instantly to the energy she sent into its heart. No longer a dull, murky white, it glowed with the faint inner light that signaled it was now alive with power. She held it in the palm of her hand and gazed into its depths, focusing all of her senses. The stone brightened visibly.
She could not explain how she was able to access the energy of certain crystals. It was a talent passed down through the generations on the female side of her family. Her mother had possessed a gift for working crystal. So had her grandmother and the many great-grandmothers before her for at least two hundred years.
“Look deeply into the crystal, Mr. Ware,” she said.
He ignored the instructions. A slow, sensual smile etched his mouth and raised every hair on the nape of her neck.
“I would rather look deeply into you,” he said, employing the dark, irresistible voice he had used earlier to try to mesmerize her.
She shivered. The atmosphere had altered. A moment ago Thaddeus had been waging a savage battle to hold on to his sanity in the face of the rising tide of hallucinations, but now he seemed to be reveling in the fantastical dream in which he found himself.
She fought to regain control of the situation. “Tell me what you see in the crystal.”
“Very well, I am in a mood to humor you tonight. At least for a time.” He looked at the stone again. “I see moonlight. A clever trick, madam.”
“The light you see is the crystal’s natural energy. It is a very special power that resonates with the energy of dreams. All dreams spring from the paranormal side of our nature, even in those who do not believe that they possess any such sensitivity. If one alters the currents generated by the dreams, one can alter the nature of the dreams themselves.”
“You sound like a scientist I know. His name is Caleb Jones. He is always going on about the scientific aspects of the paranormal. I have found that it makes for dull conversation.”
“I will try not to bore you with the reasons why the crystal works,” she said, stifling her growing unease. “Please pay attention. You are having a waking dream. We are going to diminish the force and power of that dream. We cannot erase it altogether, but we can weaken it to the point where it will no longer seem real or compelling. But you must cooperate, sir.”
He smiled his slow, dangerous smile again. “I am not in the mood to play your crystal games. I prefer other entertainment this evening.”
“Mr. Ware, I ask you to trust me, just as I trusted you earlier tonight.”
In the light of the crystal she saw Ware’s coldly brilliant eyes narrow faintly. He leaned forward and drew a fingertip along the underside of her jaw. The caress sent a small shiver through her.
“I saved you because you belong to me,” he said. “I protect what is mine.”
He was slipping deeper into the hallucinations.
“Mr. Ware,” she said, “this is very important. Look into the moonlight and concentrate on your hallucinations. Describe them to me.”
“Very well, if you insist.” He looked into the crystal again. “Shall I start with the demon at the window? Perhaps the viper clinging to the door handle would be of more interest.”
Power jumped in the heart of the stone, a great deal of it. The moonlight flared. He was finally focusing on the crystal as she had directed, but she had not allowed for the strength of his talent. She had to concentrate harder herself to keep the currents under control.
“None of the creatures that you see around you is real, Mr. Ware.”
He reached out and ran his thumb across her lower lip. “You are real. That is all that matters tonight.”
“I have not been acquainted with you long, sir, but it is obvious that you are possessed of a formidable will. You are not entirely lost to your nightmare, sir. Some part of you is still aware that you are hallucinating.”
“Perhaps, but it no longer concerns me. You are all that interests me at the moment.”
The light in the crystal faded. Thaddeus was no longer concentrating on it.
“I cannot do this without you, sir,” she said firmly. “You must focus harder on the moonlight. Together we will use its energy to dissolve the fantasies in your mind.”
“Your therapy will not work on me,” he said, amused. “It appears to be a form of mesmerism, and, like you, I have a natural immunity to hypnosis.”
“I am not attempting to hypnotize you, sir. The crystal is merely a tool that will allow us to tune the waves of your dream energy. At the moment, that energy is generating the hallucinations.”
“You are wrong, Leona,” he said softly. “The vipers and the demons are not hallucinations; they are real, and they are mine to command, my servants, bound to me by all the forces of hell. You are bound to me also. Soon you will comprehend that.”
For the first time she began to fear that she might lose him. Anxiety flickered inside her, shattering her concentration. He looked down at the crystal and laughed.
The light in the stone abruptly darkened and changed color. Leona stared, shocked. A storm was brewing in the heart of the crystal. Instead of moonlight, strange dark currents swirled ominously. Thaddeus was pouring his own power into the crystal, overwhelming her carefully directed waves of energy.
The storm coalesced, gathering strength. She watched with gathering dread as the disturbing forces surged and flared. She had never encountered anyone who could do what Thaddeus Ware was doing. Because he was so completely in the grip of his dream, she doubted that he even realized what was happening.
A monstrous insect, its eyes composed of a thousand small mirrors, appeared on the seat beside Thaddeus. The creature’s fangs glistened wetly.
She froze in horror. There was nowhere to run. Nowhere to hide. Her fingers and toes tingled painfully with prickles of fear. Perspiration dampened her shirt. She tried to scream, but the sound was locked in her throat.
“Calm yourself, my sweet,” Thaddeus said. “It will not hurt you. It is my creature to summon. I will protect you.”
Instinctively she reached for the door handle. She snatched her fingers back just before they closed around the head of a red-eyed viper.
“You see them now, don’t you?” Thaddeus asked, pleased. “You have entered my world.”
It dawned on her that he was somehow drawing power from the crystal to make his hallucinations visible, not just to himself but to her as well. If she had not witnessed the astonishing scene with her own eyes she would not have believed it possible for anyone to do such a thing.
Out of nowhere one of Uncle Edward’s sayings came to her: “Remember, Leona, you must control your audience from the moment you step on the stage. Never allow your audience to control you.”
She had to regain control of the crystal, or she would be sucked into the dreamscape along with Thaddeus Ware and they would both be lost.
Calling on every fragment of her willpower, she forced herself to look away from the terrifying insect and focused instead on the raging currents inside the crystal.
“Look into the stone, sir,” she said, putting all the authority she could muster into the command. “It is your only hope. The hallucinations have taken control. You must fight them.”
He smiled. “I would far rather you joined me here in my dream. Together we will rule our own little corner of hell.”
Before she realized his intent, his hands closed around her shoulders. He drew her toward him.
“Release me at once, Mr. Ware.” She fought to keep the fear out of her voice, but she knew that he sensed it.
“Now, why would I do that?” Thaddeus asked, voice roughening wi
th a dangerous sensuality. “In this world you are mine. It is past time I tasted your power and let you feel my own.”
She tried to pull free of his hands, but he tightened his grip. Instantly she stilled, her intuition warning her that resistance would only provoke him. Frantically she considered the few courses of action open to her. If she screamed for help, Adam would surely hear her and come to her assistance. But Adam’s solution to the crisis would likely be to lodge a bullet in Thaddeus Ware’s brain. That not only seemed somewhat excessive but extremely unfair, given the fact that Ware had likely saved her life earlier tonight by rendering the two guards unconscious.
It was her job to save him now. She must be strong for both of them.
“You will not force yourself on me, sir,” she said with a calm she was far from feeling. “You saved me tonight. It is not in your nature to do violence to a woman.”
He pulled her closer. In the light of the stone his eyes gleamed with a dark passion.
He studied her mouth as though it were some rare and exotic and very ripe fruit. “You know nothing of my nature. Not yet. But soon, my sweet, very soon, you will comprehend the bond that exists between us.”
“I know that you will not hurt me because you are a man of honor,” she said evenly.
He responded by unfastening the collar of her shirt. She was intensely aware of the way his fingers brushed against her throat.
“Honor is a complicated concept when it comes to this sort of thing,” he said.
“There is nothing at all complicated about it, and well you know it,” she whispered. “The forces of your nightmare are controlling you.”
“No one and nothing controls me, not even you, my lovely Leona.”
“I am not the one who is manipulating you. It is Delbridge who is doing that with his poison. Surely you will not allow him the victory.”
Thaddeus hesitated, eyes narrowing. “Delbridge. If he ever discovers that you took his crystal he will stop at nothing to get it back.”
She realized that somewhere in his dreamscape a door to rationality had just cracked open. She seized the opportunity.