Beyond the Veil (8 page)

“It is my incredible honor to get to love you,” Costin told her sincerely.

She closed her eyes once more and opened herself up to him. She wanted him to know how she felt, and now that she had no doubt about how Costin felt about her, she opened the gates to her heart.

Costin pulled Sally tightly into his arms. He felt the wall between them crumble and Sally finally letting him in. Though
his
love was a crashing wave, her love was no less fierce. It came more in the form of a unswerving river that flowed steadily out of her. As water filled any opening, so Sally’s love filled every empty place in Costin. Any space, no matter how big or small, was now flooded with it.

When he opened his eyes, it was to Sally’s sweet smile. Her beautiful brown eyes looked at him in adoration.

Finally
, he thought.

Sally’s eyes widened. “Did you just speak out loud? I didn’t see your lips move.”

“No, what did you hear?” he asked.

“You said, 'finally'.”

Costin grinned. “That was in my mind, love. It appears our bond has opened all the way.”

Costin’s smile widened as he used their new mental bond. He repeated her earlier words.
“You love me.”

Sally smiled back at him.
“I do.”

“Say it, please.”

“It?”
Sally teased.

Costin groaned and growled at her through their bond.
“You know what I mean, woman.”

Sally laughed and pulled him close. She pulled his face down close to hers and leaned in so her lips were next to his ear.

“I. Love. You.” She let her warm breath brush his skin as she spoke and felt his hands tighten where they gripped her hips.

“Good. We will do the bonding ceremony and blood rites tonight.”

Sally squeaked out, “What?”

Costin only laughed as he helped her off the table and led her by the hand out of the room. “Come on, my sweet. I have plans for you,” he teased wickedly.

“Tick-tock, tick-tock, little wolves. Do you feel time slipping away from you? Do you feel the urgency to pursue me, the one who plans your destruction? I am coming, little wolves. Tick-tock, tick-tock; I am coming for you. And one by one you will fall. One by one the wolves will be silenced.” ~Desdemona

Mona had waited long enough in the In Between. It was time to put her plan into action. She left the sanctuary in a flurry of smoke and called to her faithful steed Octavian. Using back roads and staying off the beaten path, she pushed Octavian as hard as he could run, heading for the border of Bulgaria. She had been told by a helpful little warlock that he had a clan located just beyond the border.  Apparently there was someone there who could tell her what she needed to know. Though she made it a point to never trust anyone, she had no clue where to start looking for the information she needed, so she had decided to make an exception just this one time. Of course, she had threatened to choke the little warlock with his own intestines if he was lying.

Mona rode through the Carpathian Mountains, the cold winter beginning to become a memory as spring started to emerge from its long rest. Mo
na rolled her eyes at the life
flourishing in the forest, the blooming plants and trees bearing fresh new leaves. It gave her a bit of satisfaction knowing that Octavian’s dark hooves killed every living thing on the ground which they landed. The evil that filled her could no longer be contained and was leaking out into the areas around her. She laughed a soul-cringing laugh that bounced off the rocks and trees, creating a disturbing echo. Once she left the cover of the forest, she tried to avoid major towns or cities. She didn’t rest at night, and only stopped briefly to water Octavian. Yes, she was an evil witch, but even evil witches needed to make sure their mode of transportation was properly cared for.

Time slipped away as she rode on.  Mona’s thoughts were consumed with the plan she was concocting. She had done some research while she had been in the In Between and discovered that she might have the ability to raise an army like no other. The Fae we
ren’t the only ones with a veil, t
urns out that the veil leading into the underworld had a doorway, one that had been closed and sealed long ago because of the evil that lay behind it. She needed to know more. She needed to make sure that she could control the darkness that she planned to unleash – the darkness that would orchestrate the ultimate destruction of her foes.

Mona finally crossed the Bulgarian border and followed the Yantra River into the Balkan Mountains. The warlock had told her that the one she needed to speak to would find her and that
she just needed to make herself known. He said that the mountain and the trees would let them know of her intentions and to be wary. So once she entered the forest she brought Octavian to a slow walk and kept her eyes moving constantly, roving over the landscape around her. After several hours she felt a presence; it was nearly as evil as
her
.

“Show yourself, brother of the craft.” Desdemona spoke confidently into the silence.

After several seconds a tall figure emerged. He was shrouded in a deep green cloak that blended well with the lush forest around him. His hair was black as night and he had pointed ears – his face was close to human in form although his nose was sharper in appearance and his lips were so thin they were nearly nonexistent. Most strikingly, his eyes were almond-shaped, a little more separated than a human's, and glowed an eerie yellow like that of the harvest moon.
.
He was strong of stature with a broad chest and long powerful legs.

Even with the unusual features he was dazzling. Mona thought she might have found him attractive if she cared for that sort of thing – which she didn’t. He carried a sword across his back, and various other knives decorated his form.

“Why do you bring your evil stink into my forest, witch?” The power that rolled off of him and through his words told Mona that what she really had hoped was indeed the case. This was a royal warlock.

Not just royal, no
, Mona thought to her pleasure. This was Cypher, the King of the warlocks.

Mona laughed, a sound that came out as an evil hiss. “The evil that permeates these woods is not disturbed by me, Warlock King. My evil simply adds to the allure, don’t you think?”

Cypher took a step closer to Mona, not to threaten, but more as a warning. “Since when is there a witch left in this realm? Did not the Fae take care of your kind?”

“I am the last of my kind. I am not so easily destroyed.” Mona lifted her chin a
nd arched a brow. “To business then,
I do not come
to bring you problems,
I come seeking information and perhaps a trade of some sort.”

Cypher scoffed. “What could you possibly possess that I would want to trade for?”

“Tsk, tsk, great King. Do not so quickly dismiss me. Will you not at least hear my proposition?”

Cypher stood silently. His eyes narrowed as he considered her request.

“Fine. I will hear you and then you will leave.” 

“If I recall correctly,” she began slowly, “there was a time when the warlocks were very interested in the stones of the Fae. In fact, I think your kind was seeking them rather fervently.” Mona watched as the warlock King straightened at her words.

“The Fae have been absent from this realm for quite some time. I have come to tell you that I have seen the stones.”

Cypher took several menacing steps toward her. “Why should I believe you? The Fae would never be so reckless with such powerful objects.”

Mona laughed. “Oh, they would if they were threatened by an extremely powerful witch out to destroy the Canis lupis and steal two gypsy healers.”

“What!” Cypher was taken aback by her words. “The wolves have healers? How long has it been since a healer has been a part of a pack?”

“Too long,” she replied.

“Even if you have seen these stones, how could you possibly get close enough to steal them? What is it that you want so badly that you are willing to take such a risk?”

"I have my reasons. Now is neither the time nor place to discuss them," said Mona sharply.

"Damn your reasons," Cypher spat. “Get out of my realm, witch."

“Have you taken a mate, great King?” Mona asked quickly, before the King could get away.

Cypher turned, slowly freezing her with his narrow, eerie, glowing eyes. “What would know of warlocks and their mates?” His words were a growl and the threat in them was not lost on Mona.

“I know that the females of your race are dying out. I know that your own magic has waned ever since the Fae left this realm and took so much of the power with them. I know that you, like the wolves, are much more powerful when mated.” Mona began to walk in a slow circle, taking measured steps as she reeled the warlock King in with her promises. “What if I told you that I can get you a mate? You can begin to rebuild your race and, with the stones, you can ensure that you get your magic back.”

She could tell immediately that Cypher was intrigued. His lips tightened as he considered.

Finally he spoke. “I need to consider your offer and discuss it with my clan.”

“Surely you, as their King, do not need their permission.” Mona sneered.

Cyper growled and was in her face in the blink of an eye. “Watch yourself, witch. Appearances are not always what they seem. Speak to me with such disrespect again and you will discover firsthand whether or not we have lost as much magic as you assume.”

Mona raised her hands in surrender and took a slow step back. “I meant no disrespect, King. I will be close, so simply speak my name on the wind and I will hear you.” She backed away, careful to continue facing the King, and climbed onto Octavian.

“One more thing,” she said as she turned to go. “Consider this – are your people moving forward or backward?  Can you survive the future in your current state? Where do you see your clan in a decade, or a century?” With that, she turned her steed and took off at a run.

Cypher watched as the witch took her leave. He realized that she knew she was pushing her limits with his patience. He had to admit that her offer was very tempting. But he was a realistic being; he knew it would not be as simple as she made out.

“
Desdemona,”
he thought to himself.  He knew of her, knew of the evil that had taken root deep inside her. If she had come to the point of doing something as desperate as trying to steal the stones of the Fae, then there was no hope left for her, regardless of what she had planned.

He also knew of the darkness inside his own spirit. Over the centuries, Cypher’s clan had slowly been forced into extinction because of the Fae’s selfishness and disregard for the other supernaturals in this realm. He had willingly turned to dark magic in an attempt to save the females of his race. What he did not know was that once the evil was allowed through even the smallest opening, even with the best of intentions, it could not be controlled. It had a will of its own, creeping into the dark places of a being’s heart and feeding said being’s thoughts and desires.

One day he had woken up and realized that the help had only been an illusion, a lie so carefully crafted into such an appealing idea that he hadn’t even realized it had slowly ensnared him and his clan. He believed that he had reached the point of no return. He was convinced that his heart was so dark that any amount of light that attempted to pierce the darkness would be immediately extinguished. If this was the case, then aiding Desdemona wouldn’t be adding to the darkness inside him. But, if by some small miracle there was a chance for him, then helping the witch might seal his fate, and he would be controlled forever by the evil that he'd naively welcomed with open arms.

~

Peri sat with Adam and Elle in the library of the Serbian pack mansion. She had summoned them after leaving the council of the Fae and asked them to help her gather information through their underground connections in the supernatural realm to see if there was any word of Mona or
her workings. Peri had talked to a warlock that confessed to speaking with Mona, but he would not discuss what they had talked about. Adam and Elle had been able to follow a faint trail of magic from the In Between Veil through the Carpathian Mountains. Based upon the direction Desdemona was heading, Peri believed that she was heading into the Bulgarian Mountains. That couldn’t be a good thing, considering that according to the last rumor Peri had heard, there was a warlock King and his clan residing there.

“Desdemona must be getting desperate if she's seeking help from someone who could destroy her,” Adam pointed out the same thought Peri had just had.

“She’s getting desperate if she would even consider unleashing demons from the Veil on this world.” Peri added.

“What are we going to do?” Elle asked. “If our own people won’t help what chance do we have?”

Peri took a deep breath. Adam and Elle had known Peri for a very long time and this was the first time they had ever seen her truly worried.

“I’m going to use the stones to petition the Great Luna.”

Elle gasped. “It’s that bad?”

Peri looked at her two friends, her comrades in arms. She wouldn’t lie to them. It wouldn’t be fair. After all, they were sacrificing to be here with her.

“The Werewolf Wars and the Great Purge were cakewalks compared to what it will be like if those demons are allowed on this side of the veil.”  Peri stood. “You two need to lay low until the meeting tomorrow night. I’m going to have to get closer to the Veil so that I can draw on its power and add it to my own and that of the stones.”

“Perizada, you watch yourself.” Adam’s eyes narrowed. “You know there are many who would not hesitate to send you into the next life to get their hands on those stones.”

Peri’s lips curled up in a small smile. “Adam, even as old as you are you are still so very young. You do realize who you are speaking to, correct?”

Elle grinned and Adam tried to hide his own. “Yes, I know you are...what does the Serbian’s mate say? A bad ass?”

“You’d do well not to forget that, fairy boy.”

Adam rolled his eyes at the nickname she had no doubt picked up from the American girls.

Peri left them staring after her as she headed once again into the Transylvanian Alps.