Between Light and Dark (34 page)

"I do not want to harm you or the child," he said.

Laurell shook her head. "You won't."

Needing no other prompting, his fingers made quick work
of her clothing. Cool air hit her skin as her shirt fell to the
floor, followed by her pants. Once naked, shyness overtook her. Her belly had grown so large over the past couple weeks,
her hips had widened. Stretch marks marred her previously
smooth flesh. Would he think her body ugly now?

Axiom discarded his own clothing and stood in all of his
nude, taut glory. His body was so beautiful. She stared,
committing every line, every hard and soft part, every inch
of flesh to memory. She wanted this vision with her always,
to remember in the days to come. His gaze swept over her
and goose bumps broke out on her arms and legs. He ran
his hands over her belly and hips.

"You are radiant, my goddess. Your body is exquisite."
His fingers dipped from her stomach to the thatch of curls
between her thighs. She gasped as one finger gently probed
her folds.

"So soft," he murmured. Then he dropped to his knees
and replaced his fingers with his lips.

"Oh!" She nearly lost her footing. He kissed her tender
folds once, twice, three times, and desire heated her blood.

Axiom lifted his head, and his hands circled her buttocks. He guided her to the bed, pressed her backward until
she lay sprawled across the mattress. He slid up her body,
and his broad chest caressed and teased her taut, aching
nipples. He kept his arms on either side of her, biceps and
triceps tight as he held himself slightly aloft so as not to put
any pressure on her belly. He rained kisses over her face and
neck before his tongue tickled one nipple.

Her breath caught. She twined her fingers in his thick hair,
urging him to deepen the caress, to suckle her. He obliged,
and her back arched as raw need coursed through her.

She trailed her hands over his back, then circled around
to his stomach, reached between their bodies to graze his
cock. He released the nipple he had been tugging between
his lips and raised his head to meet her eyes. His jaw was tense with the effort to control his desire. The length of
him rested against her hip, searing her with its heat. She
stroked him. He groaned, and his gaze went dark.

"I want you inside me." It seemed like forever since
they'd connected body to body, reached deep inside of each
other until they were one being.

"You must be ready for me first."

"I am," came Laurell's husky reply.

One of his hands dipped between her thighs, searching
her core, stroking her, deliciously titillating. Dangerously
arousing. She thought she might come just from those brief
touches. He lifted his hand. His fingers glistened with her
wetness. He touched those same moist fingers to his lips
and a jolt of lust struck her. "Please," she whimpered, lifting her hips to urge him on.

Axiom nudged her legs open, and she let them fall apart,
inviting his penetration. Then, his smooth length slid inside her entrance in one long stroke, piercing her to the
core. He rested a moment, making certain she had accepted him without discomfort. And when she gripped his
buttocks and pulled him deeper, he began slow, easy movements in and out. He held himself above her, careful not to
put too much pressure on her belly, his arms and neck taut
with his efforts to control his own passion so she could experience hers.

Each time he withdrew, only to merge more deeply with
her, a dizzying, ecstatic need pulsed through her veins. She
cried out in pleasure, over and over again. He tilted to his
side just enough to remain connected to her, yet able to
flick thumb and forefinger over the aroused nub at the apex
of her thighs.

Their eyes met, and granite glittered into hazel as they
both reached their peak, he with a shout of triumph, she with a moan of joy, and Laurell forgot for a brief, dizzying
moment where she ended and Axiom began.

"Laurell, please, talk to me."

Laurell lifted her eyes. Elaine strode toward her across the
sparkling landscape of the Astral Plane. Part of her wanted
to run, leave her mother there, but she knew the time for
running was over. She couldn't avoid her past any longer.
She needed to make peace with it. That included making
peace with her mother. After all, how could she teach her
child to love, to forgive, to live his life to the fullest, if she
herself couldn't do these things?

"Mother," Laurell said.

Elaine's silvery dress billowed in a lilac-scented breeze,
and her dark hair fluttered around her face. The Astral
Plane was silver and amethyst colored this time, dotted
with lavender flowers.

Her mother paused a few feet from her, dark eyes probing. "You look different this time. You glow." Elaine closed
the distance between them and raised one hand, grazed the
back of it over Laurell's cheek. "Yet there is still sadness in
you.

Laurell tilted her chin. "I am different. And I glow because of the baby I carry. As for why my life still has sorrow-" Her voice broke. She thought of Axiom. Of his
departure, which was near at hand.

"Not because of me anymore, I hope? I had to die to realize how much I hurt you when I was alive. My re-visioning
was awful." Elaine's eyes were full of tears. "Sweetheart, I'm
so sorry for all I put you through."

"I was never good enough for you," Laurell accused, an
old anger surging.

"I wasn't good enough for me either. No one was."

"All you cared about was work, your career."

Elaine sighed. "You're right." She focused on some spot
over Laurell's head, and her voice became distant. "It was
our dream to be actors, your father's and mine. We were in
all the plays in our high school and we usually got the lead
roles. He was a better actor than I was, but I was good too."
Elaine's lips curved into a smile as an old memory consumed her.

"Grandmother said Dad was the better actor, too," Laurell replied, remembering her conversation with her grandmother.

Elaine chuckled and returned her attention to Laurell.
"She was right about that. But once he died, it just became
so much more important to me to make it, to be a real Hollywood actress, to be famous. I thought by doing so, I was
honoring his dream as well. But I took it too far, I became
obsessed."

"If this is supposed to be an apology, I'm not hearing it,"
Laurell said, unable to control her sarcasm or the hurt she
knew was in her voice.

Elaine's brow furrowed, and she shook her head in selfderision. "Oh, Laurell. You have every right to hate me.
But in my own selfish way I did-I do-love you. So much.
I was horrible at showing it, but it's the truth."

Elaine's cheeks wore the tracks of her tears now, and she
grabbed Laurell's hands and squeezed them tight. Laurell's
own chest constricted with an ocean, a lifetime, of unshed
tears.

Elaine continued, "I didn't believe your grandmother
about the whole witchcraft, mothering-the-Earth-Balancer
thing. And by the time I realized it was for real, when
Anne showed up at my door and gave me a display of magic
like I've never seen, I was so afraid, I turned her away. I've
never been so terrified in my life. Then ... well, you know the rest." Elaine cringed. "So I owe you an apology for that
as well. Because of me, you are the one who has to make
good on my promise, made a lifetime ago, to the Council."

Laurell swallowed, and sucked in a deep breath. "Mom,
no. I'm not angry about that anymore. Really. If things
hadn't happened as they did, I wouldn't be a mother soon.
And I wouldn't know I was a witch or that I had all this
power inside of me. Besides, I apparently agreed to be the
backup plan in between lives, so it wasn't all your fault."

Elaine's eyes widened. "You forgive me?"

Laurell felt her lips curve ever so slightly. "Well, I can't
say that just yet." Dismay washed over Elaine's face. Laurell
squeezed the hands that still held her own. "But I'm working my way there."

Elaine smiled. She extracted her hands from Laurell's
and pulled her into a hug. "I'm proud of you, Laurell. I really am. You're a hell of a witch, and you're going to be a
fantastic mom."

At those words, Laurell couldn't stop the tears that sprang
from her eyes and washed down her cheeks. She couldn't remember ever hearing her mother say I'm proud of you, Laurell. She returned the hug, squeezing her mother briefly, then,
when she'd collected herself, she leaned back.

"Will I see you again?"

Elaine nodded. "Perhaps once or twice more. But I will
have to reincarnate soon. A new Liaison will likely be assigned to you."

Laurell's heart swelled, and she bit her lip. "Mom-"

Elaine put her fingers to Laurell's lips. "I know, sweetie. I
love you too."

Then, before Laurell could respond, Elaine arched her
eyebrows and her eyes lit. "Do you realize you haven't
called me Mom since you were a kid? I definitely prefer it to
your usual Mother."

Laurell shook her head. She hadn't noticed.

Elaine disappeared then, fading until all that remained
was the exquisite backdrop of the Astral Plane, brilliant
and luminous.

Fiona stood, hands on hips, eyes narrowed, as she scoured
the woods to her right. She made a full circle, wishing she
had the ability to see in the darkness. Her very human eyes
saw no sign of the birds.

Reese walked up and stood beside her. She glanced at
him. He still looked like Axiom, but she longed to pull his
face to hers for a kiss. He must have recognized the fire in
her eyes.

"No time for that now, Fi." He grinned. "First we fight
the bad guys. Then we get our reward."

She chuckled. "Sounds like a good plan."

"Oh, does someone actually have a plan for what to do
now?" Dawna asked from behind them.

Fiona turned. "The plan was to fight, but where did the
birds go? The protection circle has been open for hours. I
thought we were going to be besieged by feathers and beaks
and-"

"Umbrae," Thumper finished for her, shivering in the
biting cold.

Dawna sighed. "I don't know. I mean, I still look like Laurell, don't l?"

Thumper nodded. "Yeah, and it's really starting to freak
me out."

Dawna laughed. "You're just jealous because you have to
wear Wayne's mug."

"Yeah, I definitely got the raw end of the deal-er, spell."

Fiona, the only one of the group who retained her original
appearance, scanned the grounds of the retreat again. "You
haven't seen your little feathery friend lately, have you?"

Dawna shook her head. "I don't feel his presence anymore. I think he's gone."

Snow crunched under footsteps and they all jumped nervously. Relief washed over Fiona. It was just Lynn.

Still disguised in Hillary's much larger form, she crossed
the yard, holding a steaming mug. "I made coffee. Help
yourselves."

The aroma of Lynn's infamous, not-for-the-faint-of-gut
coffee drifted on the slight breeze. Fiona yawned. It was clear
she could use some of the hot brew. She started toward the
house, but a swishing sound emanated from behind, catching her attention. The noise increased in volume until it was
a high-pitched buzz. The buzz grew louder, and a sliver of fear
snaked up Fiona's spine.

"Tell me I'm imagining this," Reese said.

"I thought birds didn't fly at night," Thumper said.

"Umbrae-possessed birds apparently do," Fiona responded.

"Aw, shit," Thumper exclaimed.

Lynn's mug fell from her hands and hit the ground. "The
birds."

The creatures swarmed like black bees in the moonlight,
flying straight toward them. "Everyone get in the house!"
Fiona cried. They ran toward the main house, the back
porch light beckoning them.

Fiona glanced over her shoulder. The birds were fast.
They weren't going to make it. At least not all of them.

Lynn reached the porch first. She flung the back door
open. "Hurry! Get in!"

Reese and Fiona exchanged glances. An understanding
passed between them. They both stopped dead in their
tracks. Thumper landed on the porch and slid toward the
door head first, Dawna close on his heels.

"What are you doing? Come on!" Thumper cried, waving
them toward the door.

Fiona ignored Thumper and eyed the birds instead. "I really hate the idea of harming them."

"If we don't, they'll just attack the house and eventually
peck their way in," Reese said.

"Killing themselves in the process," Fiona added.

"So what do you think? Fire?"

Fiona shook her head. "Air. Less damaging."

"Air it is."

The two raised their hands in unison, but it was Fiona
who spoke the chant. "Element of the East, power of air,
we summon, stir, and call you up. Where our focus goes,
your current flows."

"So mote it be," Reese murmured.

The birds were less than twenty feet away when sparks of
golden light arched from Fiona's and Reese's hands. The
mild breeze of moments before turned swift and tumultuous. Energy surged inside Fiona, and she willed it toward
the birds, who flapped their wings wildly, stalling in midair,
unable to propel themselves forward. Their squealing and
squawking pierced the night.