Authors: Amanda Ashley
Annis glanced surreptitiously at Killian, her insides curling with pleasure at the mere sight of him. Through all her worry and angst over Corrie’s whereabouts, he had been a great comfort. When she was overcome with sorrow, his mere presence was soothing, somehow. When she felt depressed, he told her silly jokes to make her smile. When she felt listless, he insisted she get out of the castle. He accompanied her on walks through the gardens, took her swimming when the weather was warm enough, rode at her side when she wanted to go riding.
At Marri’s suggestion, Killian taught her how to use a bow and arrow. To Annis’ surprise, she was quite a good shot, perhaps because she pictured the monsters who had taken her daughter as the target.
Today, they were fishing at the river. At least Killian was fishing. Annis sat on the grass, watching him, admiring the way his linen shirt stretched across his broad shoulders, his muscular thighs, the sharp lines of his profile, the ease with which he cast the line, the way his eyes constantly scanned their surroundings. He was always on guard, no matter where they were or what they were doing.
She flushed when he turned his head and caught her staring, although he was surely used to it by now.
He jerked his chin toward her fishing pole. “You’ve a bite, Princess.”
“What? Oh!” She had been so engrossed in admiring him she hadn’t even noticed.
“Easy now,” he said as she reeled it in. “Don’t jerk the line.”
Lower lip clamped between her teeth, she concentrated on landing the fish, let out a hoot of surprise when she saw how big it was.
“Biggest catch of the day,” Killian remarked as he took the fish off the line and dropped it into the bucket.
She grimaced as he put a fat pink worm on her hook and tossed the line back in the water.
“What’s the matter?” he asked.
“Do you…do you think it hurts them?”
Killian frowned, then lifted one brow. “The worms?” He bit back a grin. “Are you feeling sorry for the bait?”
“And the fish,” she admitted sheepishly. Fishing had been his idea and as much as she like being with him, she didn’t think she wanted to do it again. She had always been too soft-hearted for her own good. It had always grieved her to see anything in pain.
Thinking Annis had to be kidding, Killian started to laugh, then frowned when he realized she was serious. “We don’t have to fish, if you’d rather not.”
“Don’t let me stop you.”
“Annis…”
Something in the tone of his voice made her stomach flutter with anticipation. She blinked up at him when he took the pole from her hand and laid it beside his.
Seconds stretched between them as his gaze met hers.
She licked lips gone suddenly dry when he reached for her hand.
“Annis.” He didn’t seem to be able to say anything but her name. But she knew what he wanted, because she wanted it, too, even though it was wrong. So very wrong. She was married to another man, a horrible man, but then again, maybe the marriage had been nothing but a farce, as had Rajj’s oft-professed love for her.
She didn’t protest when Killian enfolded her in his arms, holding her close, closer, until they were only a breath apart. At his nearness, warmth flooded her senses and with it, the feeling that she was exactly where she belonged, exactly where she was meant to be.
“Killian.” She yearned toward him. She wanted him, she thought, needed him the way a flower needed sunlight, a fish needed water. How could she be thinking of making love to him when Corrie was missing, she thought with a stab of guilt. She had no idea where her daughter was, if she was alive or...or not. And yet here she stood, longing for Killian to make love to her. What kind of horrible mother was she, to be thinking of such a thing at a time like this?
Killian frowned as he watched the play of emotions across her face. “Do you want me to go?”
She shook her head. Right or wrong, she thought, sighing, that was the last thing she wanted.
His gaze searched hers. “Tell me,” he whispered. “Tell me what you want.”
“Kiss me,” she murmured.
“Annis!”
Her eyelids fluttered down as his arms tightened around her. His lips brushed hers, tentatively at first, then with greater urgency. Somehow, they were lying on the grass, bodies pressed intimately together, arms and legs entwined. Having never known any man but Rajj, she had thought his kisses were wonderful. She knew now they were merely adequate when compared with Killian’s, just as she knew that Rajj had used his magic to compel her to love him, to think she was happy.
What she felt with Killian was a different kind of magic, she thought, as her fingers delved into his hair, a kind that couldn’t be compelled.
She shivered with pleasure as he caressed her, moaned softly as he kissed her again and yet again. His tongue traced her lips, stirring feelings and emotions she had never known with Rajj, could never have known with Rajj, because none of it had been real.
Killian realized they were no longer alone before she did.
Annis opened her eyes, feeling bereft, when he lurched to his feet. Felt her cheeks flame with embarrassment when she saw one of the Queen’s mounted guards watching them avidly, a smirk on his face.
Scrambling to her feet, Annis smoothed her skirt, ran her fingers through her hair.
“What is it, Gynn?” Killian asked brusquely.
“The Queen sent me to find you. Nardik has returned to the castle.”
Annis took a step forward, one hand pressed to her heart. “Does he have news of my daughter?”
“I do not know, Princess.” Gynn inclined his head in her direction, then reined his horse around and rode back the way he had come.
“Killian, hurry!” Body trembling with urgency, Annis quickly gathered her shoes and cloak.
Minutes later they were riding hard for Brynn Castle.
* * *
Annis’ heart was pounding like a blacksmith’s hammer when she ran into the Great Hall. She glanced quickly around the room, knew a sharp stab of disappointment when she saw Nardik standing beside the stone hearth. Marri sat on a high-backed chair before the fireplace. There was no sign of Corrie.
“Annie, there you are,” Marri said, patting the place beside her. “Come, sit with me.”
Annis took the chair her sister indicated but she had eyes only for Nardik. “Did you bring news of my daughter?”
“We found someone who may know how to find the witch who took her,” the wizard said.
“Then what are you doing here?”
He lifted one brow. “Getting a change of clothing. Spending a little time with my wife. Gathering a few things that may be useful in our search.”
“Of course,” Annis said, lowering her voice. “I’m sorry.”
“No need to apologize, Princess. I know how worried you are. Quinn, Seleena and I will be leaving in the morning to see if the lead we obtained on Ceta Five is valid.” He bowed in Marri’s direction. “If you will excuse me, Majesty?”
“Of course.”
“They’re never going to find her, are they?” Annis lamented when they were alone. “Wyrick’s magic is too strong.”
Marri took her sister’s hand in hers. “You mustn’t lose hope, Annie. Wyrick may be powerful, but I’ve never known Nardik to fail at anything he set his hand to. He found you. I know he’ll find Corrie, too. Now, then,” she said, her tone brisk, “What’s this I hear about you and Killian?”
Seleena sat in her rocker, idly stroking Freyja’s head, more discouraged than she had ever been in her life. The trip to Ceta Five had yielded nothing save an address that might or might not be valid. Her son and Annis’ daughter were still missing. What if they never found either child? Was it Wyrick’s intent to eventually see Steffon and Corrie wed in order to raise a new generation of dark witches? She shuddered at the thought of her son following the same path Serepta had taken.
“Oh, Freyja, I would almost rather see him dead than have that happen.” She clapped her hand over her mouth. What was she saying? She couldn’t give up hope. It was all she had left.
A wave of her hand brought a fire to life in the hearth. Staring into the flames, she remembered Quinn’s fears that their union might produce something dark and evil. She had assured him that would never happen. But what if she had been mistaken? What if there was something horribly wrong with her? She could be possessed of some demon spirit without even knowing it. Tears welled in her eyes. What if that was the reason Serepta had so readily embraced the Dark Arts? What if the same inclination toward evil lay dormant in her son?
Sensing Seleena’s distress, Freyja lifted a paw and stroked her mistress’s cheek.
Do not blame yourself. There is nothing dark within you, or within Quinn.
Seleena gazed into the cat’s yellow eyes. “How can you be so sure?”
“So sure of what?”
Seleena glanced over her shoulder at the sound of her husband’s voice.
“So sure of what?” he asked again.
“Nothing.”
Quinn dropped down on his haunches in front of her. Taking her hand in his, he let his mind brush hers, felt his insides twist when he read her thoughts and the cat’s reply. After setting Freyja on the floor, he drew Seleena down onto his lap.
“Don’t go blaming yourself for things that aren’t your fault, Red,” he murmured, running his fingers through her hair. “You’re the kindest, gentlest, sweetest woman I’ve ever known.”
“I love you, too.” She smiled inwardly, grateful that, whatever the future held, she wouldn’t have to face it alone.
Cupping her face in his palms, Quinn kissed her lightly, and then more deeply. The touch of his lips on hers chased everything from her mind - every fear, every worry, every doubt. For this moment, there was only Quinn, his voice whispering that he loved her, promising that everything would be all right as he stretched out in front of the fire and drew her down beside him. She melted like hot candle wax in his arms, returning caress for caress, reveling in the strength of his arms, the heat of his kisses, the sweet abrasion of skin against skin, the weight of his body on hers…
Later, Quinn cradled Seleena in his arms as she drifted off to sleep. It never failed to amaze him that she was his wife, that she loved him unconditionally. That she had given him a son. Holding her close, he vowed once again that he would not rest until he had found their son and placed him in his mother’s arms.
* * *
Apparently believing that evil was best confronted in the light of day, Nardik arrived at Seleena’s house early the next morning.
Quinn tamped down his annoyance as he opened the door. As usual, the wizard was clad in black from head to foot. They had two things in common, he mused as Nardik crossed the threshold -- their mutual love for Seleena, and a penchant for black attire.
He grinned when Seleena joined them a moment later. Clad in pale blue, she looked like a patch of azure sky caught between two thunderclouds.
“Ready?” Nardik asked.
Quinn nodded. “You got the address, wizard?”
“Yes.”
A brief incantation took them to the location in Ironntown. The house, situated on a narrow side street, had nothing to recommend it. One of the upstairs windows was missing, the chimney was aslant, the grass behind the broken-down wooden fence was brown. A tree, barren of foliage, stood forlornly in one corner. A scrawny gray-and-white cat sent them a baleful glance, then darted under the porch.
“It looks deserted,” Seleena remarked.
“Intentionally so I would think,” Nardik said. “But it reeks of magic.”
“Why am I not surprised?” Quinn asked. “Do you think Alexxa is as loveable as her sister?”
The wizard slid a glance in Quinn’s direction, what might have been a grin playing briefly across his face.
“Well, what are we waiting for?” Seleena asked. “I’m fairly certain she isn’t going to come out and tell us what we want to know.”
“I’m pretty sure she isn’t going to tell us if we knock on the door, either,” Quinn said dryly. “Nardik, you’re supposed to know everything. Got any brilliant ideas?”
“Perhaps you could go inside and work a little of that vampire charm you were boasting about the other day.”
Unable to help herself, Seleena burst out laughing. The scowl Quinn sent her way only made it worse. Taking a deep, calming breath, she said, “That’s enough, you two. We need to make a decision.”
“She is right, as always,” the wizard said. “We cannot just stand out here staring at the house all day. Let us knock on the door and see what transpires.”
Seleena shook her head. “I think Quinn should go in alone.”
He stared at her. “Why?”
“Well, Alexxa might be powerful, but I think she would feel more at ease talking to one man instead of to the three of us. Especially when two of us are witches.”
Nardik looked thoughtful for the space of a heartbeat, and then he nodded. “Perhaps you are right.”
“Okay by me,” Quinn decided, anxious to be doing something, anything.
Seleena laid her hand on his arm. “Be careful.”
“Always.”
“We will not be far away,” Nardik said.
Quinn nodded, but he couldn’t help wondering if he could trust the wizard. If he was out of the way, there would be no one standing between Nardik and Seleena except Nardik’s wife, an obstacle easily disposed of one way or another.
Approaching the rickety stairs leading up to the sagging front porch, Quinn thrust the disquieting thought away as he knocked on the door. He needed to keep a clear head while confronting Melinna’s sister. If she did, indeed, live here.
When there was no answer, he knocked a second time. He was about to knock a third time when the door opened a crack, revealing a bright green eye, a sharp nose, and a hank of spiked white hair.
“Who are you?” the witch asked, her voice as scratchy as dry leaves in winter. “What do you want?” She narrowed her eyes, nostrils flaring. “Vampire!”
At first glance, the sisters appeared to be as different as day and night. Alexxa was short and plumb where Melinna had been tall and thin. From what he could see through the crack in the door, the interior of Alexxa’s house was dark and dreary, where Melinna’s had been light and airy. But they both had the same sharp green eyes.
Wondering why everyone felt the need to point that out, Quinn nodded. “I need your help.”
“You are not welcome here.”
“That’s fine. Just tell me how to get to Callidori and I’ll be gone so fast you’ll think I was never here.”
Her gaze flicked over him. “What business have you on Callidori?”
“I’m looking for Wyrick.”
“Wyrick!” She spat the name. “Why are you looking for that ill-begotten son of a toad?” Apparently, neither Melinna or her sister had a kind word for the wizard.
“He kidnapped the Queen’s niece and my son. I was hoping you could take me there.”
Suspicion flared in her eyes. “Who told you I know the way?”
“A friend of mine.”
“And does this friend have a name?”
“The white wizard, Nardik.”
The witch glanced past Quinn, her gaze darting up and down the street. “Is he out there?” she asked anxiously.
“He traveled here with me, yes.”
“Well, he was mistaken.” She took a quick step back, one hand on the door.
Quinn stuck his foot in the doorway, felt the burn of the threshold’s power crawl over his skin. “I’m not leaving until you tell me what I want to know.”
“Indeed?” The witch pulled a long, crooked wand from inside her robe.
“I wouldn’t do that,” Quinn warned. “The last witch who pointed one of those things at me went up in flames.”
Alexxa sneered at him, then raised her arm.
Quinn ripped off his shirt. “Now, dragon!”
The witch recoiled when the dragon took physical shape and leapt from Quinn’s arm to stand between them, eight feet of tightly leashed power.
Quinn stroked the dragon’s shoulder. “I suggest you tell me what I want to know before you become a living torch.”
* * *
Seleena stopped pacing the alley where they had taken refuge when Quinn’s voice sounded in her mind.
Seeing the expression on her face, Nardik asked, “What is it?”
“Quinn wants us.”
“Did he say why?”
“What difference does it make?” she exclaimed, hurrying toward the sidewalk. “Come on!”
They found Quinn standing shirtless on the witch’s front porch. The dragon sat beside him, forked tail slowly swishing back and forth, ebony eyes focused on Alexxa. The witch stood in the doorway, her expression surly, her wary gaze fixed on the dragon.
Seleena glanced at Nardik. “What do you think happened?”
“I am guessing she refused to tell him what we want to know.”
Seleena climbed the stairs, careful not to get too close to the dragon. “Is everything all right?”
Quinn slid her a sideways glance. “It will be.”
“Does she know how to get to Callidori?”
“Indeed she does. She was just about to give me directions.”
Seleena glanced at the witch, then back at Quinn. “Can we believe anything she says?”
“I think so,” he said with a wink. “Since she’s going with us.”
“Is that a good idea?” Nardik asked, looking dubious.
Quinn shrugged. “If she’s lying, she’ll be toast.”
“Ah. When do we leave?”
“As soon as we find another ride.”
“I will take care of that.” Nardik jerked his chin toward Alexxa. “Keep an eye on the witch.”
“Where do you think he’s going, Red?” Quinn asked, never taking his eyes off Alexxa, or the wand still in her hand.
Seleena shook her head. “I have no idea, unless he knows of a space port nearby.”
Alexxa glared at Quinn, her whole body quivering with the force of her hatred. “I will kill you for this. All of you.”
“You can try. But so far, the score is dragon two, witches zip.”
“Who conjured that tattoo for you?”
“I don’t see as how that’s any of your business.”
Alexxa folded her arms over her breasts. “Who
are
you?”
“Nobody.”
She snorted.
“I’ve been a lot of things. Hunter. Assassin. Vampire. Statue.”
“Statue!”
Quinn nodded. “If it wasn’t for this lovely lady at my side, I’d still be locked in stone.”
Alexxa’s narrow gaze shifted to Seleena. “You must be a powerful witch.”
“I get by.”
“You’re Seleena, aren’t you?” Alexxa nodded, as though pleased that she had finally identified the other witch. “Of course, friend of Nardik and the Queen. Serepta’s mother.” The witch took a hasty step back when the dragon let out a roar. “What’s wrong with him?”
Quinn lifted one shoulder. “He didn’t like Seleena’s daughter much.”
The dragon hissed when Nardik materialized on the steps.
“Did you find a pilot?” Seleena asked.
“Yes, there is a space port not far from here. He will be ready to go by the time we arrive.”
Quinn jerked his chin at Alexxa. “How do we get her there without a fight?” The dragon was a nice threat in the flesh, but they couldn’t take eight feet of dragon onboard.
“Leave that to me.” Nardik produced his wand, spoke a few words, and the witch went to sleep.
Quinn caught her and her wand before she hit the floor, then held out his left arm. “Dragon?” He shook his head in wonder as the dragon grew smaller, smaller, then ran up his arm and melted back into his skin. “Amazing,” he muttered.
“Indeed,” Nardik said, and there was just the hint of envy in his voice.