Haunted (7 page)

“I must be,” said the other woman haltingly, as though she hadn’t spoken for a while. She didn’t seem surprised to see Gillian. “Yes, I must be.”

“That’s my… That’s Shayne. He doesn’t belong here.”

“I know,” Galia said, turning back to him.

Her fingers gently traced the line of Shayne’s jaw. It was an intimate gesture––a lover’s touch––that shook Gillian in a way she couldn’t explain.

“What has happened to him?” Gillian asked. “Why does he lie as if he were dead?”

“I want to keep him with me,” Galia said.

“But you know that he’s not your–”

“Yes, do you think me blind? I wouldn’t mistake the two with my eyes. It is only my heart that knows differently.”

“What does your heart know, Galia?” Gillian asked cautiously, not sure she wanted to hear the answer.

Galia barely glanced up.

“That he will not die in front of me,” she said. “He will not be forced to die in front of my window again. That will be someone else.”

“And what will you do?” Gillian asked.

“I will sit here and listen,” Galia said, her voice fierce. “Below my window, they will find him, and they will kill him. I will live my hell. In this room, with the window open, I will live my hell.” The woman rested her hand on Shayne’s. “I know that what is immortal of him lies in this form. What I loved, the mortality of him, will die outside my window, as he does every night.”

“
Every night?
” Gillian said, unable to keep the horror from her voice.

Outside the sun had set.

Galia nodded without taking her eyes from Shayne.

“Every night until what is left of us finally fades away,” she whispered. “Cursed by the city.”

Gillian shivered. “How can a city curse anyone?” she asked.

“The Goddess demands a price,” Galia said. “And when she is denied, a punishment is given.”

“So the Goddess is punishing you?”

Incredibly, Galia smiled at her, an expression as beautiful as it was rare. Or perhaps beautiful because it was rare.

“She is.”

“You…don’t look sorry.”

Galia’s smile grew tender, as if she was reliving memories.

“Could you be sorry for your first breath of fresh air?” she asked. “Would you take back your first moment of love?”

Gillian shook her head slowly.

“I suppose I wouldn’t,” she said quietly. But at the talk of first love, a thought occurred to Gillian. “Galia, Mina is here too.”

Galia winced.

“My poor beloved. Our story goes back so long ago. We are the luckiest and unluckiest girls to ever travel through that portal. If we have a damnation, it is love, but if we have a saving grace, it is love.”

Galia glanced up at Gillian. “Have you ever loved more than one person?”

Gillian stared at the woman, the point-blank question skewering her. She glanced at Shayne, peacefully asleep. She thought of Mathias’s wild eyes and mad grin.

“I have.”

Galia stared off into space for a moment. But Gillian realized that no matter how distracted she got, her hand stayed on Shayne’s.

“Wise men tell us to kill the things we love before they grow great enough to hurt us.”

“What a terrible thing to say,” Gillian said with a shudder. “You can’t believe that.”

“Whether I believe it or not, there would be no way for me to fulfill it. I might as well carve out my own heart as harm one of my lovers.”

She stood.

Now that Gillian looked at Galia closely, she could see that they were not identical, though very close. Galia’s nose was just a shade longer, her eyes just a bit wider. There was a scar that nicked her jaw line, and a smatter of copper freckles across her cheeks.

“I know that he is not mine,” Galia said. “I know this. Even if I were alive, he is not the man I love. Still, he is whole and sound, and…” She paused and sighed. “It reminds me of a time that would be best forgotten.”

“Would you give up your memories?” Gillian asked quietly.

Galia lifted her chin proudly.

“I would sooner give up my life.” She gave Gillian a tiny smile. “I do not always do what is best.”

She reached to a side table for a crown of sparks that Gillian hadn’t noticed. As she set it on her head, it made her look every inch a goddess. Her face went blank.

“I can feel it happening,” Galia said. “I can feel myself forgetting. You should wake him now and leave. For all things, a price must be paid, and this is mine. Take him.”

Gillian hurried to Shayne’s side and shook his shoulder. To her relief, he woke immediately. Though he looked startled, Gillian put a finger to his lips.

“Come on,” she said softly, “We’re leaving.”

He stared at Galia, who was turning to the window. “Is that–”

“Yes,” Gillian whispered. “Come on.”

They tiptoed to the door and slipped out, closing it behind them. They hadn’t gone but a dozen steps down the hallway, when they heard it. Galia’s shriek was like an animal being gutted. Shayne started to turn, but Gillian grabbed his arm.

“There’s nothing we can do for her,” she said. Her voice sounded harsh in her own ears. “There’s nothing we can do. Come on.”

Galia was a memory, or maybe not even that. She was a ghost of a memory. There was another shriek, and Gillian nearly broke into a run, tugging Shayne along. No one should suffer like that, not even a ghost.

“What happened?” Shayne asked, catching up to her. “Are you all right?” In response, Gillian pulled him out of the main hallway and into an alcove. “Gillian, what–”

“Shut up,” she said, and kissed him fiercely.

He was fine, he was whole, and he was alive.

MOVING PAST THE growing and increasingly agitated crowd, Gillian and Shayne made their way back to the small library. Shayne closed the door, and lit a fireball in the dark. He dragged a table from across the room and blocked the only entrance.

“So are you going to tell me what happened?” he said, turning back to her.

There was so much to tell, but she started at the beginning.

“I took more dragon’s eye seed,” she said.

Shayne stiffened. “Are you all right? You don’t feel ill?”

She realized she had a headache, but only a small one.

“I feel fine. But it seems like I could have waited. If you could see Galia, I don’t think I needed it.”

“I saw a shape. I could see there was a woman, but that was all.”

“I think she kidnapped you while you slept.” Gillian thought back to their conversation. “But she never meant you harm.” In fact, quite the opposite. “She’s trapped in a cycle and, for a little while, you gave her hope.” Shayne cocked his head at her. “I’m not sure I can explain it.” She shook her head. “I’m not sure I even understand it.” Then she remembered the delegation from Cush. “But while I was searching for you, I think I may have figured out how to get the gate open.”

Shayne stood a fraction taller and leaned just a little closer. “How?”

Gillian had to be careful. If Shayne thought there was any risk to what she planned, he would never allow it. Sticking as close to the truth as possible was best.

“I saw a delegation go through,” she said. “The seeds let me see it all clearly. There was a hidden switch in the ground. You would never know it was there, unless you had seen them use it.”

Shayne shook his head. “What a paranoid city.”

“You have no idea,” Gillian agreed. “Though I would never have believed it, I think this was a terrible place. Something was wrong with it, and I think that’s why it fell.” She paused. “And why no Wiccans have ever come to reclaim it.”

Shayne stepped in and wrapped his arms around her waist. “Except for you.”

For a moment, she wondered if Galia had ever thought of her last time with her lover, the way his embrace felt, the way he looked in firelight. Her arms wound around his neck.

“Still,” he said, “I’m glad we’re here.”

She smiled at him. “You didn’t even believe Tenebris existed. When we first met, I was your punishment.”

Shayne’s grin was quick. “Who knew punishment could be so good?” Slowly his smiled faded. “As long as I can be by your side, there is nowhere in the world I won’t go. I’ll always…”

The flames of the fireball danced in his intent eyes.

Say it,
the small voice in the back of her head said.
Say it. You might not get another chance. Tell me you love me.

“…be by your side.”

She deflated a little. Despite knowing that he loved her––even if he didn’t––her heart sank a little.

His eyebrows furrowed. “Are you all right?”

She smiled sadly. “I guess I’m just…looking forward to being home.”

He cocked his head at her and glanced at the blocked door.

“It’s dark but, if you like, we can try to find this switch you saw.”

Gillian shook her head. There was nothing she wanted more than just to be with Shayne. Tomorrow would take care of itself. Suddenly an idea occurred to her that made her go still. It felt a little bit wild, maybe even impetuous. She understood where the desire came from, but would Shayne?

“Shayne, will you initiate me?”

Though it would make her immortal to have unprotected sex with another Wiccan, that wasn’t the point. What she wanted most in the world was to be as close to her lover as she could. There would be nothing between them and nothing in the way of their love.

Shayne was silent for what felt like a small eternity. She bit her lip.

“Gillian, are you sure?”

It was something that had come up between them at the Midnight Market. He’d been incredulous she hadn’t done it yet.

“Very,” Gillian said lowly. “I want it to be you.” She gripped him a bit tighter. “I need it to be you.”

“I’m honored,” he finally said, his voice a velvet rumble.

With a gentle gesture, he lofted dozens of small flames into the air, ringing the room. The effect was beautiful, as though the library was filled with candles. Carefully, almost gingerly, he began to undress her, slipping her tunic off over her head. But it wasn’t just candle flames that Gillian saw. The crown of sparks that Galia had worn had cast a similar light.

Everything travels in a circle,
she thought, undoing his belt.
Here we are again.

In moments, she only wore her gloves, and Shayne stood naked under the soft light. Gently, he took her hands and eased her down on the bed. For a long moment, he only looked at her, as though he might say something. But the time for words was over.

He came to rest on his elbow, leaning down to kiss her mouth with a tenderness that made her melt. His lips were warm and lingering, and he took his time. His tongue slid along her upper lip. His mouth nibbled her lower lip. There was a reverent tenderness about him at odds with the power of his body. Tonight wasn’t about the savage passion they had experienced before. Tonight was a new kind of learning. He explored her mouth as though he’d never kissed her. When she reached for him, he pressed her hands down gently. The message was clear.

He brushed his fingers over the tips of her nipples until they stood erect. They ached under his grazing touch. She arched her back just a little, trying to find his palm with her breast. His lips smiled against hers, still kissing her, taking her upper lip between his. His finger drew a line down between her breasts, and slowly circled her navel. She sighed into his mouth as her back settled down. But as the circle of his finger widened, her hips made a tiny gyration. His mouth covered hers, drawing her attention back to the incredible kiss.

How well he knew her body, playing her as though she were an instrument. He smoothed his hand down to her mound, and she gasped. But rather than cup her, he moved lower. As the tip of his tongue danced across hers, his strong hand spread her legs. Slowly, his fingers slid up the inside of her thigh. They hovered just outside her entrance. Her hips had just started to rise, when his tongue slid into her mouth. She froze again, her mind split in two. Her jaw dropped, inviting the sweet invasion, just as his fingers slid along her slit.

Gillian shuddered and drew in a sharp breath through her nostrils. As he stroked her, she moaned softly into his mouth. He kissed her deeply then, as though the passion he’d held in check finally had to escape. His mouth enveloped hers, as his tongue roamed. But when he dipped his fingers into her folds, she realized how wet she was, and how ready. With but a few deft touches, he had opened her in a way she’d not thought possible.

Take me.

The sensations thrumming through her body began to compound. Her nipples hardened though he no longer touched them. Her core pulsed for him, though his fingers had yet to part her.

Take me
.

Need like the pangs of hunger filled her to overflowing. The nearness of his body, the tenderness of his touch, the drugging kiss that would not end. It was going to drive her mad.

Then he stroked her clit.

She arched completely off the bedding, their mouths separating with a final tug. The pleasure was terrifying in its intensity, frightening in how easily he’d stoked it. Gods, she needed him––more than air, more than anything, more than life itself. She gasped a ragged, deep breath. Then he stroked her again.

Her body was strung out and tight as a bow. She could feel herself wanting to push over the edge. That beautiful oblivion was so close. But at the last second, she pushed his hand way, and collapsed back to the ground.

“Let me have you,” she breathed. “All of you.”

“You’ve always had all of me,” he murmured softly, his erection hard against her thigh. “You’ve always had the best of me, I swear.”

When he came to rest on top of her, every inch of his body fit with hers.

He’s home,
Gillian thought hazily.
Shayne is my home.

He pressed the head of his cock along her slit, smoothing it along the passage until she was moaning. Without the sheath of latex, it was warm and unbearably sweet.

“I need you,” she whispered. “I need you so much.”

With a slow steady pressure, he pushed into her, making her cry out. This was what she had been waiting for. This was what they had been made for. They joined with a perfection she had not imagined.