AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Oh wonderful. Just what I need.” The thought that Lannan was looking for me made me feel as cozy as a bed of nails. It wasn’t time for my tithe, so whatever the hell he wanted had to be some other plan his perverted mind had come up with. “I guess I have to tell them about our trip.”
“All of it.” Chatter’s voice was somber as he leaned forward. “Grieve was out in the woods, waiting for Cicely on our way home.”
Rhiannon jerked her head toward me, then back at the road as we swerved on black ice. “Grieve? Oh, Cicely.”
“We’re linked . . .” I shook my head and stared at my hands. “I have to save him, Rhia. I can’t leave him to Myst— he hates what he’s becoming. I can’t let him turn into a monster. And he will, if we don’t get him away from her.” I suddenly stopped, angry that I had to defend myself against my family as well as the vampires and Lainule. “I love him. I know it’s risky, but I love him. If you can’t handle it, I’ll move. I’ll find another place where I don’t put you in danger.”
“Stop this.” Peyton’s voice came from the backseat and she leaned up, nudging Chatter out of the way. “The both of you, stop it. Grieve and Cicely are what they are and there’s nothing we can do to change it—or change them. They will go on seeking each other out because they bound themselves together on a level far deeper than a promise. So we have to deal with it. Even if Grieve spills that he saw Cicely, what’s he going to tell Myst? That we were out in the woods? Big fucking deal. They don’t know what we were doing. So might I suggest we go home and concentrate on helping Kaylin?”
Rhiannon blinked but nodded. “You have a point.”
Chatter fell back against the seat, his arms crossed, looking mournful. “Grieve will never give up. He’s always gotten what he wants, and he wants to be with Cicely. I still think she’s in grave danger.”
“We’re all in grave danger,” I said, ending the conversation. “There’s nothing in this world that’s safe for us now.” And that finished that.
At home, Leo was stewing. “I can’t believe you took off like that without telling me. Geoffrey was asking where the hell you were—and so was Lannan.” He was in my face, making me angry.
I poked him in the chest. Hard. “The vampires may own me, but they do not spend every moment of my waking day telling me what I can and cannot do. Kaylin needed help. You were off somewhere, busy. You weren’t any help. But most of all, you need to remember that I don’t play by your rules, nor are you my big brother or uncle or father. So chill out, dude.”
Leo looked about ready to blow, but I skirted him and went up to the room Kaylin had claimed for his own. He preferred the attic, which was a comfortable nook. I knelt beside him and took out the fetish.
“Kaylin? Can you hear me? We’re going to bring you out of it—we’re going to help you.” I looked up, motioning to Rhiannon. I was exhausted, but the shaman had warned me that we had very little time in which to perform the ritual; that Kaylin would retreat further into his mind if we didn’t rescue him and wake his night-veil demon soon.
“What do you need? And are you sure we should do this now? You look absolutely out of it.” She pressed her lips together, a worried expression on her face.
“We have to. Can you bring me a sandwich first? Then we need a pound of sea salt, enough belladonna to ring the circle, and a dozen quartz spikes that are at least two inches long each.”
I slumped on the floor beside Kaylin’s bed, wanting nothing more than to drag myself to my room, crawl into bed, and crash for a week, but it wasn’t going to happen. As I leaned back against his bed and rested my head on the mattress, closing my eyes, all I could see was a swirl of colors. I let them play out, following them on the screen of my closed eyelids, as they whirled and dipped. Red, green . . . a splash of yellow . . . and then they began to take form.
A creature, winged and fierce, appeared out of the sparkles, and it homed in on me, flooding me with panic. I wanted to move, but I couldn’t, and it latched hold to my shirt and began dragging itself up, its claws holding tight to the material. I couldn’t open my eyes but I could see it nonetheless, and I knew it was headed toward my face—and toward my mind.
What are you doing? What do you want? Who are you, Cicely Waters? Do you remember who you were?
The words flooded my mind and I stammered, trying to answer, but I didn’t understand the questions. Who are you? What are you doing to me?
Are you prepared to unleash me? Are you ready to accept the consequences for what you’re about to do? And then it was face to face with me, and it leaned close. All I could see were flashes of light everywhere.
Ulean! Help me! What is this thing? I can’t break free. I was struggling, trying to disconnect from its energy, trying to shake it off. But it had hold of me on a psychic level.
And then, as Ulean swept into the room and rattled the door and shook the pictures on the wall, the creature let go and moved off. I opened my eyes, trying to catch my breath. As I looked down, the front of my shirt was rumpled and I knew I hadn’t been dreaming.
What was that?
I believe it was a manifestation of Kaylin’s demon.
Do you think I’m doing the right thing, Ulean?
I believe you have no choice. There are murmurs on the wind. Kaylin must live. We need him. And she would say no more.
Rhiannon brought me a ham-and-cheese sandwich, and she also handed me an energy drink, which I slammed down. I wolfed down the food, and then, as she and Leo—who was still simmering—brought in the ritual items, I went into my room and changed into a loose gown. Nightgowns were fine for ritual, and I needed to get out of my clothes. I held up the fetish, staring at the image of the creature. Sure enough, it was the same thing I’d seen in Kaylin’s room. A night-veil demon.
I closed my fist around the figurine and brushed my hair back, slipping a headband on to hold it back. Picking up my stiletto dagger, I double-checked to make sure I was wearing my moonstone pendant. Then, I returned to Kaylin’s bedroom.
“Help me get him in position. He needs to be on his back, arms out at his sides, legs not touching one another, naked.” We stripped him, and I stopped when we pulled off the loose kimono that Leo and Rhiannon had dressed him in. He was toned, muscled but not muscle-bound. I automatically scanned his body and I found myself wondering what it would be like to touch that smooth, inviting skin . . . to feel him touch me.
My wolf growled and I gasped, pressing my hand to my stomach. Never worry, Grieve . . . I might like to look, but you know you are my only love, my soul mate and lover. The wolf settled down but felt restless and antsy. And I . . . I wondered once again where this was all leading, and how I could possibly save Grieve when I wasn’t even sure I could save myself.
I motioned for all of them to leave. “I need one of you—Chatter, will you stay? Otherwise, the more people there are, the more it will complicate the ritual.”
