Fire on the Island (35 page)

Yawning, Isla
leaned into Jeremiah and squinted at the screen. "What's that?" She
pointed to scrawled handwriting in the margin of the page and seemed to
struggle a bit with the pronunciation as she murmured the words.

"
Vetera
novis per loqui et respondere monent.
"

As soon as she
read the words, Jeremiah knew it was a mistake. Isla looked down at her arms
and scratched at them, as if bugs were burrowing underneath her skin. She
looked over at him, her eyes wide with fear, and he felt helpless to stop what
was happening.

Jeremiah
watched in horror as Isla threw her head back with a loud gasp, as if she
struggled to pull air into her lungs. Her body bowed against the back of the
couch as she twitched and convulsed, the tendons and veins in her neck standing
out in relief.

Fear lanced his
heart as he grabbed her arms to try and still the violent shaking. "Isla!
Answer me, sweetheart. Breathe!" Marduk bounded back into the room,
oblivious to his nudity, and stood behind Jeremiah, staring nervously at his
charge.

"What happened?"
he demanded.

"She read
some words in the book...I don't know if it was a spell, or what. Do
something!"

Before he could
respond, Isla finally drew a deep breath and her body fell still. When she
stirred and sat up, she looked out at them with empty eyes.

Jeremiah ran
his hands over her face. "Isla, honey. Talk to me. What happened?" He
began to panic when she just sat there like a limp ragdoll. Her face began to
flicker and change, like an old tube TV stuck between two stations. Slowly the
static coalesced into a face that was etched in his memory.

She had stick
straight ebony hair, dark skin, and milky opalescent eyes. The most
recognizable feature, however, was the large
signa
that writhed and
shivered on her left cheek.

Jeremiah was
stunned, rooted to his spot like an oak tree.
Impossible!
The spectre
that was once Isla swiveled its head around to stare at him through those
hollow eyes. “Hello again, young one,” she said in a gravelly voice.

“Wh—Who are
you?” Jeremiah flicked a glance over to where Drew sat, transfixed, which
assured him that his friend also had no idea what was going on.

“My name is
Leora. I am the
Bruixi
goddess of fire.”

Jeremiah
continued to stare. "Of course you are," he grumbled. "Who else
would you possibly be?"

The image of Leora
frowned at his sarcasm. Well, that was just too damn bad. He'd had about all he
could stand of the hocus pocus for the night. He frowned right back at her.

 "If
you're a goddess, then why were you telling fortunes in the
Vieux Carré
with all of the other gypsies?"

 "To
watch over you, my darling. Your survival was imperative.
Is
, rather.
And, as you well know, I was right to be concerned."

 "How
did you get here?"

 "The
little one here must have stumbled upon a channeling spell. Her power is so
great, she has but to speak the spell and it is cast. She need not put any
effort behind it."

 "Why
am I so important?"

 "Because
you are to be the mate of the most powerful
vigile
ever in existence.
You are to be the mate of the leader of the
Praedos.
Your fates are now
inextricably entwined. She cannot survive without you, nor you without her. It
will take both of you to win this war."

 "If
you know so much about all of this, surely you can tell us how to defeat
Alastore."

 Leora
shook her head regretfully. "Unfortunately, I cannot, because it has never
been done. The one thing I do know is that Isla is the only one who can do it.
Her particular...lineage is perfectly suited for it, but only she can harness
that power."

Rubbing his
eyes wearily, Jeremiah sighed. "Can you at least tell us how we will find
the
locus
?"

"The way
will be lit by the Samhain moon," she said with a half-smile.

"Well,
that's not cryptic at all," he muttered, and she laughed. "Thank you for
watching over us. If you would, please release Isla so she can get some
rest."

 Inclining
her head, Leora smiled at him. "If either of you should have need of me,
you need but speak the spell, and I will come."

 With a flash
and a pop, Isla's face was restored and she slumped over into Jeremiah's
waiting arms. As she stirred, she clutched her head and squeezed her eyes shut.
"There has
got
to be a better way to have a conversation with an
ancient
bruixi
goddess," she said weakly.

Laughing
uneasily, Jeremiah tugged her close to reassure himself that she was unharmed.
"Do you remember anything that was said?"

He felt her nod
against his chin. "I heard everything, clear as day. It was like I was
there...only I wasn't."

Kissing the top
of her head, Jeremiah looked at Drew and Marduk. "I think that's enough
for tonight, boys. Let's all get some sleep. Marduk, you can bunk out here for
the night."

As they split
up to go to their respective beds, Jeremiah couldn't help but wonder what would
become of all of them.

~~~

It was the
evening before Samhain when the small group gathered at
Taigh na Beinne.
Drew had come back to the island with them, refusing to take no for an answer.
The four of them, clearly on edge, sat around the fire, bodies coiled with
tension.

Sighing,
Jeremiah surged to his feet and ran agitated fingers through his hair. “This is
about ridiculous.”

Isla knew
exactly how he felt. She could do nothing but worry about the battle to come.

“Nothing is
going to happen until after midnight anyway, so there's no sense in worrying
about it right now." Tapping furiously on his phone, he dialed Callum and
told him to round up the crew and head to the cabin.

In less than an
hour, the cabin was alive with activity, filled to the brim with friends
talking, laughing, drinking. Only Jeremiah, Isla, and Marduk chose not to
imbibe, needing to keep clear heads for the battle ahead.

While Drew was
being introduced to the Expeditions staff, Isla sat back and watched her
friends, her heart swelling with pride and affection. This is family, she
thought. As her eyes roamed over them, she saw Drew flirting shamelessly with
Amy, with a disgruntled Kieran watching from off to the side.

Creeping over
to him, she bumped his hip with her own and smiled. "Why don't you just
tell her how you feel?" she asked, gesturing at Amy with her water bottle.

Kieran looked
back at Amy talking with Drew. "Are you kidding? She's...and he's... She
thinks of me like a little brother. She said that!"

Isla placed a
hand over her heart in mock pain. "Ouch! Kieran, maybe it's never occurred
to her to look at you that way because you keep your feelings to yourself. You
won't ever know what she would think until you give her a chance."

The young man
merely grunted and continued to glare at Drew. "Who would ever take me
over him?"

Setting her
water bottle down, Isla grabbed his hands and tugged him around to face her.
"If you don't believe in yourself, then there's no point in expecting
others to! You are handsome, smart, and resourceful, and anyone would be lucky
to have you."

Grinning,
Kieran bent down and kissed her cheek, his shock of black hair falling over his
forehead to tickle her skin. "Thanks, Mom."

He winced when
she punched him in the shoulder. "Go on, get over there!" As she
turned around to search for Jeremiah, her gaze landed on Brynna in a corner,
nervously eyeing Marduk.
Wonder what's gotten into the little Irish
, she
thought, but decided not to worry about it. Her friends could take care of
themselves and she needed to let them.

Isla sauntered
over to where Jeremiah was chatting with Jack and molded herself to his side.
The way his arm automatically went around her warmed her to the core. In her
periphery, she saw Amy excuse herself from Drew and go outside for some air.
She smiled to herself when she saw Kieran follow shortly after.

Amy stepped out
onto the porch and breathed deep of the crisp night air. She shoved her hands
into the pockets of her hoodie to fight the biting cold. She enjoyed spending time
with her friends, but she had to get some air and escape the slick
Doctor
Deveraux.

The man was
perfectly nice and incredibly gorgeous, but something about his cocky smile and
perfectly pressed clothes reeked of old money. That man had most likely wanted
for nothing in his life, and because of Amy's own hard experiences, his
attentions annoyed rather than intrigued her. She had no doubt that he expected
her to trip over herself at the opportunity to fall into bed with him, and she
didn't plan to give him the satisfaction of being right.

She yelped when
someone crashed through the door behind her. Afraid Deveraux hadn't taken the
hint, she turned, but smiled when she realized it was only Kieran. Breathing a
sigh of relief, she started toward him only to draw up short when she saw the
look in his eyes. It was dark and intense, almost...hungry.

Her sweet,
loyal Kieran was nowhere to be found. That was the last thought that passed
through her before he shorted out her brain.

He had followed
her with the intention of merely talking to her, possibly taking Isla's advice
to tell her how he felt. Best-laid plans went to dust when she turned around,
deep blue eyes wide with surprise, hand at her throat. Her cheeks were flushed
pink from the cold wind whipping over her skin—her plump lips were open
slightly on an inhale. The sight of her shot through him like a punch to the
gut, and all of his carefully thought out words flew out of his head.

Burying long, slender
fingers into her thick blond hair, Kieran held her still as he captured her
mouth in a searing kiss. It was as intense as it was unexpected. She tensed at
first. He felt her ball up her fist against his chest as if she wanted to push
him away. But just when he thought she would, her body relaxed against him and
she opened for him.

Keeping one
hand threaded deep in her hair, he let the other one glide up and down her
back. Silently cheering when he felt her start to kiss him back, he cupped her
jaw to tilt her head and deepen the kiss.

She pushed away
from him suddenly, eyes wild and chest heaving, as if she had just remembered
where they were...and
who
they were. He'd known there would be some
resistance, given her previous opinion of him, so he didn't allow himself to
get discouraged. He simply waited patiently, much like one would wait out an
unruly child's temper tantrum.

"You
can't—we can't...," she sputtered. "Kieran, you know I love you, but
babe, I've got five years on you...," she began rambling about all of the
reasons why this was not a good idea, eyeing him warily when he smiled.
"We're friends, and relationships, hooking up—whatever this is—ruin
friend—”

Her rant was
cut off when he pressed a finger to her lips. "Shut up." She gasped
as he swooped in for another assault, but this time she matched him in
intensity. Carding her fingers through his midnight-black hair, she gave as
good as she got, nipping at his lips and stroking his mouth with her tongue.

Amy let out a
little whimper as Kieran's hands slid down to her ass and jerked her against
him, bringing her in full contact with his arousal. She tugged on his hair to
bring them even closer, her head spinning.

This was an
unexpected development. He could feel her hesitation, and he knew it was
because she'd always looked at him as a friend—a younger friend who needed
protecting. But he most definitely was
not
a child, and he could take
care of himself.

He felt the
moment when she gave in. Hooking a leg around his hip, she plastered herself against
him, and he shuddered at the feel of her. His hand was just starting to wriggle
between their bodies, when they heard the doorknob turn and jumped apart
guiltily.

They waved
dumbly at Brynna, who ran out to her car to get something. Amy started for the
door then stopped to look over her shoulder at Kieran. "Let's go tell Isla
we're leaving. Take me home?" He gave her a dazed nod and followed her
inside.

Isla smiled to
herself as she watched Kieran ushering Amy out her front door like his pants
were on fire. She was happy for the two of them.

"You're
looking pretty pleased with yourself. What's up?" Jeremiah asked. Isla
shrugged and grinned at him.

"Not a
thing. Just happy to be here with you, and all our friends." Not buying it
for a second, Jere just shrugged and squeezed her tighter, turning his
attention back to their friends.

Chapter
Twenty-Three

As evening fell
and the full moon rose, the house began to clear. Brynna left shortly after
Kieran and Amy had, with Callum and Jack following an hour later. Jeremiah
looked around at who was left—their motley crew of demon hunters.

Drew was passed
out on the couch in front of the fire, and Marduk was yawning in the recliner,
no doubt exhausted from trying to keep from going furry all night. Clearing his
throat quietly to get their attention without waking Drew, Jeremiah gestured
back toward the bedrooms.

"We should
all get some sleep, because who the hell knows what we're going to be facing,
come the witching hour. Marduk, go on into the guest room. No one will bother
you." The young man nodded, stretched, poofed, and trotted off toward the
back of the house.

Practically
vibrating with nervous energy, Isla paced around the kitchen. "How can I
possibly sleep? Too much to think about...it's like Christmas eve, only Santa
is an evil, soul-stealing demon."

"Well,
that's not creepy at all," he said, chuckling. Moving into the path of her
pacing, he grasped her hands and kissed the protest from her lips. "Just
go take a long, hot bath and relax a bit. It'll help you get to sleep later.
I'll clean up out here and be in to tuck you in when you're done."

She snorted at
his cocky wink but followed his advice, heading back to the master bath. She
tossed a saucy look over her shoulder at him, causing the grin to disappear and
his eyes to fill with sensual promise.

After cleaning
up the mess from the impromptu gathering, Jeremiah headed back to their
bedroom. That thought caused him to stop in his tracks. When had he started
thinking of it as their bedroom? When had he started to think of
Taigh na
Beinne
as home?

Shrugging, he
decided that he liked the idea. Pausing in front of the door, he had an idea
that caused him to retrace his steps to the guest room. Knocking softly, he
entered, knowing he would receive no verbal acknowledgement from the wolf. He
laughed when he saw the grey lump of fur in the middle of the king-sized sleigh
bed. Whoever said canines prefer sleeping on the floor never met Marduk.

Jeremiah
plopped down on the mattress with a bounce, earning a low growl from the sleepy
beast. "Hey Fleabag," he said, as he nudged the warm mass.
"Sorry, I need you to humanize again for just a minute. We gotta
talk."

Marduk snarled,
but then Jeremiah heard the telltale pop and flash of the shift.
"What?" came the disgruntled response.

Rubbing tired
eyes, he tossed Marduk a blanket. "First, cover up. I've been doing a lot
of thinking about what's going down tonight." He paused and Marduk just
stared, waiting for him to finish and not volunteering anything.

"I'm not
sure if Isla is ready for this. Her powers are too new. And I don't know that I
would survive losing her."

"There
really isn't any choice in the matter. This is happening. The Samhain moon has
risen, and when it is at its pinnacle, Alastore
will
come for her."

"Yeah,
about that. I kind of have a plan...and I need your help." Jere had the
grace to look sheepish as Marduk eyed him warily.

"I'm
listening."

"I want to
look for Alastore myself."

Marduk blinked,
gaping at him, and then laughed. "You? What do you have to fight him with,
your bare hands? You can't possibly hope to defeat him on your own, a mere
human!"

He said
human
the way Jere's people would say
swamp sludge
. Like it was the most
repugnant thing he could think of.

"Nothing.
I have nothing but my bare hands and my intellect. But I have to try. Her life
is worth much more than mine! If something happens to her tonight, I would
never forgive myself for not having tried."

Marduk inclined
his head, conceding the point. "I think it's a suicide mission, but I get
why you want to do it. What do you need me for?"

Staring
guiltily at his hands, Jeremiah took a deep breath. Then he pierced Marduk
through the heart with anguished hazel eyes. "Keep her here."

"
I beg
your pardon?
"

Wincing at the incredulity
in Marduk's voice, Jere pressed on. "I just need you to buy me a couple of
hours. I figure, in that amount of time, I will have figured out one way or
another how this is going to go."

"Let's
pretend for one moment that I would actually do this thing that you ask. How
would you propose I do it? As you well know, she is quite powerful."

"I don't
know. Isn't there some sort of
feradux
spell that can seal a room?
You're the magician here, brother."

"I suppose
I could come up with something like that. The problem is that confining her
walks the very fine line between protecting and helping her and hurting her. If
I go against her, it will have terrible consequences for us all."

"Isn't
there a way around it? After all, if I pull this off, then it
will
be
helping her."

"Point. I
could put a caging spell on the bedroom that would prevent her from leaving and
from using her powers to free herself—"

"Great. Do
that."

"
However
,
if she realizes that I am doing it...if she calls me by name and asks me to release
her, there is nothing, and I mean
not a thing
that can prevent me from
doing so. Understood?"

Jeremiah nodded
gravely. "I'll leave after I'm sure she's sleeping deeply enough not to
hear me get up. I'll tap on the door when I pass by and that will be the signal
to cast the spell."

As Jeremiah
hopped off the bed, Marduk grabbed his arm. He raised an eyebrow in a silent
question.

"You
realize she may not forgive you for this."

Jere stared
down at his hands before answering. "I know. But that's a chance I have to
take. If it saves her life, it will be worth that and more."

The wolf-boy
looked at him and shook his head. "May not even be an issue, since you'll
probably end up dead anyway," he said, his smile taking the sting out of
the words.

"Gee
thanks, mongrel. Just be ready."

Just after 2
a.m., Jeremiah silently slid out of bed. He looked back at Isla, who was
sleeping on her stomach, the covers tugged down to reveal her bare back. Her
skin was flushed rosy from the warmth of sleep and their earlier lovemaking.

He wanted
nothing more than to curl up beside her and shut his eyes to the world. But he
didn't have that luxury. He had to protect her. His love. His life.

Dressing
painstakingly slowly to keep from making noise, he crept out of the bedroom and
down the hall, softly tapping on Marduk's door to give the signal. He gathered
a rucksack with a few choice weapons, a flashlight, and his Saint Lauren medal.
The Patron Saint of survivors had been with him in times of struggle ever since
Katrina, and he was counting on her now.

Without a word
or a sound, treading carefully so he didn't wake Drew, he left the house and
plunged into the night.

Marduk placed a
hand on the door to Isla's bedroom and pushed his power down his arm and
through his fingertips. He envisioned it as a light that enveloped the entire
room that enclosed his
domina
.

This was to
protect her. This was what he was born to do, he thought as he began reciting
the spell.

"Spiritum
sanctum in captionem hujus regni.

Luna non splendebit
in lumine est.

Sed invocato
nomine feradux ponet eam liberi."

He repeated it
over and over, allowing its power and meaning to trap his
domina
in a
gilded cage.

"Hold the
spirit in this hallowed realm. Let not the light of the moon shine on it. Only
invoking the name of the feradux shall set her free."

~~~

Trudging
through the shadowy forest, Jeremiah was unsure if he was going the right way.
The full harvest moon cast a ghostly glow that filtered through the thick
canopy of trees.

Stepping into a
clearing of sorts, he noticed that the ground spread out before him had
an...aura. A blood-red haze rose from it, and it reflected the eerie light of
the moon.

The Samhain
moon will light the way.
It looked as though Leora had been right. Sucking in a breath, he cautiously
followed the trail through the woods, keeping his eyes peeled for anything
unusual. Relatively, of course.

Soon the
terrain began to look unfamiliar, which was odd since he had explored nearly
every square foot of that island with Isla, especially the areas around the
cabin. Eventually the dense wooded area thinned and gave way to a wide-open
field. One that Jeremiah was sure he'd never seen before.

Crouching down
in the tall grass on the outskirts of the field, he surveyed his surroundings.
The flat tract of land was bathed in the same wine-colored glow as the trail
had been. The Blood Moon taunted him, as if it announced the presence of the
malevolence Jeremiah could feel swirling around the open landscape.

In the center
of the field was an enormous stone circle that looked to be close to two
hundred feet in diameter. Jeremiah thought to himself that it was nearly as
large as Stonehenge and looked to be made of similar Sarsen stone.

There was no
way he and Isla would have missed this. The
locus
must only be visible
during Samhain, and most likely Beltane as well.

Keeping low, he
approached the structure carefully. He circled around it, taking in the lay of
the land, familiarizing himself with the battlefield. He noticed that one of the
stones had some strange runic glyphs carved in it, the symbols pricking at
something in his memory that he couldn't quite place.

Leaning in to
see better, Jere ran his fingers over the depressions in the stone. Pulling out
his iPhone, he snapped a couple of pictures for later, hoping Drew could help
him translate the symbols.

He was so
engrossed in studying the ancient markings that he never saw the attack coming
until it was too late. Each arm was grabbed by a pasty-skinned, shadowy-eyed
auchrim
,
and they held him in place with an unnatural strength.

Alastore
materialized in front of him, impeccably dressed as always. But this time his
eyes were red-rimmed and the eye glyph etched in his forehead vibrated with a
bizarre red glow, almost matching that of the Blood Moon.

This time there
was no pretense. Jeremiah could clearly see that Alastore was done trying to
appear human. His mouth gaped open, serrated teeth dripped saliva.

Jere's eyes widened
as the demon gripped the sides of his skull, black-tinged nails digging into
the skin. For the second time in his life, he found himself staring into a pair
of dead, opalescent eyes with shadows dancing inside them.

He felt the
familiar tug at his consciousness, as the edges of his vision began to dim. He
felt a wrenching sensation deep within the core of him, as if his soul was
literally being ripped out of him.

Head spinning,
his knees weakened, and all he wanted was to let go and allow himself the sweet
oblivion of sleep.

No!
Something screamed at him to fight. He
had to push back. He had to end this for Isla's sake. Summoning all of his will
and what was left of his ravaged strength, he concentrated on the energy that
coiled inside of him. He had no idea what he was doing, but he had to try
something.

He imagined his
energy to be a lit fuse that would burn and build until it eventually exploded.
Alastore and his two minions were thrown back and landed hard about twenty feet
away from them.

Taking only a
moment to puzzle out what happened, Jeremiah looked down and checked himself
over. Everything was intact and he hadn't, in fact, exploded. Something,
though, had to have sent the nasties flying. And boy did they look pissed.

Striding toward
him aggressively, Alastore thrust out his hands and a wall of fire erupted
between them, causing Jeremiah to have to leap backwards to avoid getting
burned. He was well aware that while it may be conjured by magick, the demon
fire could burn like any other.

Alastore kept
blasting at him with those bursts of unholy fire as he approached, the flames
nipping at Jere and singeing his clothes. One final thrust of those flames
caused Jeremiah to trip in an effort to avoid it, and he tumbled back inside
the perimeter of the stone circle. Inside the locus.

Well, shit
, he thought. This was bad. Jeremiah's
heart lurched as he realized he had failed. God help them all.

Wake up...

Isla groaned in
her sleep and tugged a pillow down over her head to shut out the whispered
voice. She needed just a little more sleep. Just a little more before she could
face the battle for the fate of all humankind.