Authors: Rachel Carrington
“You will pay for your interference, Wizard.”
The voice boomed, reverberating the ground
beneath them and Emily shook with fear.
Skye tried to soothe her, but she couldn’t hide her own terror.
Higher and higher Rane rose into the air until Skye could barely see
the hem of his robe.
The clash of metal
against metal startled her and she jumped to her feet, staring up into the
sky.
Red-gold flames swirled overhead,
creating a fiery vortex.
Skye stared
upwards, her knees weak.
Then, she made
her decision.
She had to help Rane.
She returned to Emily’s side and knelt down beside him.
“Emily, I can’t let Rane get hurt.
I have to go help him.”
She curved one hand against Emily’s
cheek.
“You may see me do things you’ve
never seen before.”
Emily squeezed Skye’s fingers.
“I know you’re a witch, Sis.
Now,
go kick evil’s ass.”
For once, Skye didn’t admonish her sister for the language.
***
Rane felt the enemy’s presence, but couldn’t see a visible
body.
He fought the creature’s aura, evading
the daggers and darts with expert turns and twists.
He kept his thoughts centered, his mind clear
until . . . hell!
“What in the hell are you doing here?” he
shouted as Skye rose to meet him.
“Helping you,” she responded, spinning closer to him.
“I do not need your help.”
Skye ignored the comment.
“What is this thing?”
“I do not know.
He has not
made his presence known.”
As they talked, the air quieted.
“Where is he?”
Skye turned
slowly, watching from every angle.
In spite of the danger, Rane couldn’t take his eyes off of her.
She held herself beautifully, carrying the
full weight of her magic and yet, still managing to appear as innocent as a
newborn.
“Do you even know what you are
planning to do up here?”
He desperately
needed to take his mind off his fantasies.
Skye held out one hand.
“I
told you.
I’m planning to help you.”
“Did you hear me call for help?”
“That’s not the point.”
Rane came toward her, anger propelling him quickly.
Catching Skye in the updraft, the wind tossed
her into his arms.
“Listen to me,” he
glowered down at her, “when I tell you to stay put, I need for you to stay
put.”
Skye poked his chest with her index finger.
“No.
You listen to me.
I’m not about
to let you get hurt or killed because of me.
This is my battle, not yours.”
Rane’s temper spiked.
“Every
battle is mine, if I so choose.”
“Oh, here we go.
I’m
surprised there’s room up here for you, me and your ego.”
Rane held her tightly around the waist and brought them lower toward
the ground.
“You have no business being
up here and the next time I tell you what to do, do it.
You could have gotten killed.”
He watched Skye’s shoulders stiffen.
“You’ve been the one constantly reminding me that I’m a witch.
It’s time I started acting like one and since
I’ve been around them all my life, I know what to do.
Magic runs in my family.
My grandmother was a witch.
My mother was a witch.
Hell, even my sister is a witch.
We can take . . .” Skye stopped speaking the
second Emily came into view.
“I knew it,” Emily said, her voice barely above a whisper.
“I’m a witch.
That’s the only way I could’ve gotten that key.”
She held out both hands.
“I’m really a witch.”
Awe filled her voice.
“Emily, no.”
Skye rushed
toward her.
“Inheriting the magic is a
big responsibility.
It’s not a
game.
I was going to tell you when I
thought you were ready, when we could discuss it at length and work together.”
Emily shrugged.
“It doesn’t
matter.
I think I already knew.
Now, are you two finished arguing because I
really am hungry.”
She jogged on ahead
of them.
Skye let out a sigh.
“I
didn’t mean to do that.”
“You worry too much about small things, Skye.
Your sister handled the information very
well.
She does not appear to be
destroyed by it.”
“And I suppose you think your well-being is one of those small
things I worry about.”
Rane laughed, a full deep-throated laugh, which started in the
center of his chest.
It felt good to
laugh.
He couldn’t remember the last
time he’d felt like this.
He wrapped one
arm around Skye’s waist and pulled her to him.
She resisted at first, but then she melted against him.
“I’m not laughing at you, Skye.
It’s just been a long time since anyone has
worried about my well-being, if ever.
The mere fact that I’m a wizard usually eliminates the need.”
“Then I guess I’m just being an emotional female.”
“Why?”
She blinked at him.
“What do
you mean why?”
“Why are you worried about me?”
Skye took a long moment before she finally answered.
“Because, for some strange reason, I care
about you.”
Rane grinned and nodded.
“That’s what I thought.”
He
grabbed her hand, ducked his head for a brief kiss, and took off after
Emily.
***
The closed gates surrounding Mystique lent a foreboding air to the
fortress beyond and for a brief moment, Skye wondered if she should bring her
sister to the wizards’ home.
The last
time she was here, they wanted to kill her.
She looked up and down the pewter spires and as if feeling her nervousness,
Rane tightened his fingers around hers.
As he walked toward the gates, they swung open.
Emily whispered, “Cool,” behind Skye and
whistled as they passed each new sight, which had bedazzled Skye only days
earlier.
“Skye, check out the unicorn.
I didn’t think they really existed.”
Rane smiled.
“Everything you
ever imagined exists on Mystique.”
He
looked over his shoulder.
“But only the
good things.”
The double doors to the wizards’ fortress swung open and the
thunderous sound of footsteps echoed against the marble tiles.
Jaxon led the pack.
“Rane, what are you doing?”
Rane stepped up onto the top step, bringing Skye with him.
“Skye and Emily will be our guests for a
while.”
“How long is a while?”
Rane met his brother nose to nose.
“Until I decide it’s time for us to leave.”
“This is not a boarding house for mortals and witches.
When will my family learn this?”
Tess tapped her husband on the shoulder.
“Perhaps you should not bandy that mortal
word around so casually considering you married one yourself.”
Jaxon glowered at her before directing his gaze back toward
Rane.
“I will ask you again.
How long are they staying?”
“Actually, we’re not staying at all,” Skye spoke up, taking Emily’s
hand and heading back down the stairs.
“Skye, wait.”
Rane didn’t go
after her, but his voice alone brought her to a halt.
“My brother is merely being the ass he has
always been.
This is my home as much as
it is his.
He has no say in what guests
I bring here.”
Jaxon’s shoulders stiffened briefly before he relaxed and grinned
slightly.
“One of these days, brother,
that smart mouth of yours is going to get you into trouble.”
Rane chucked Jaxon under the chin as he passed.
“What makes you so sure it has not
already?”
Then, he lowered his
voice.
“We need to talk.”
“Trouble?”
Jaxon’s concern
was immediate.
“Yes, but I do not know its nature.
I am not familiar with this particular enemy.”
“Were you hurt?”
Rane put his hand on Jaxon’s shoulder.
“No.
I
am fine.
We have much to discuss,
though.”
“Meet me in the Assembly Room in fifteen minutes.
That is, if your woman will allow you to
leave her so soon.”
Jaxon’s sly response
served its purpose.
Rane rubbed his chin and shook his head.
“You have not had your ass kicked in a very
long time, Jaxon.
It is starting to
show.”
Skye brushed past them both, Emily in tow.
“We’ll be in our prison once the two of you
get done comparing testosterone levels.”
Jaxon grinned.
“As I was
saying…”
“You were saying nothing.
You
know nothing,” Rane bit out.
“I believe your woman needs you.”
Skye stopped upon hearing the words.
“I am not his woman, Jaxon, but I will admit to needing him.
For now.
As soon as Emily is safe, she and I will leave your world and you won’t
have to endure our presence any longer.”
Jaxon winced a little at her words and his wife’s poke in the
ribs.
“A thousand pardons for my
rudeness, Miss Logan.
Our home is not
used to harboring witches.”
Skye whirled around, ready to defend her sister and their
inheritance, but Rane held up one hand to silence her.
“Skye, my brother is only trying to bait you.
It is what he does with those he finds
fascinating.
Apparently, he has been
fascinated by me for years.”
He waved
his hand and the door at the top of the stairs opened.
“Go now.
Rest.
I will be up to see you
shortly.”
“Yes, of course.
Because the
big, strong, men have much to discuss.
I’ll be up here cooking the porridge like a good, little woman,” Skye
snapped before slamming the door behind her.
CHAPTER SEVEN
The chill in the air warned Sabrina
that the Master was on his way.
She
wrapped her arms around her body and paced the distance from one end of the
clearing to the other.
She knew he’d see
Skye’s escape as a failure, but there was still time.
Ostara was days away.
None of her sisters joined her.
Sabrina’s lips curled into a sneer.
They were hiding, waiting for the chance to gloat at her demise.
They’d never liked her as the leader of the
Coven because her power outshone them all.
They’d whispered behind her back yet none of them had the backbone to
confront her, to challenge her.
They
knew they’d lose.
She thrust her shoulders back and walked to the center of the
clearing.
If she must go out, she would
not go out in fear.
She would face her
own destiny head on.
Lifting her head
high, she directed her eyes at the sky and called out, “I’m ready for you.
Speed your arrival.
I do not wish to wait for you all night.”
He arrived in a circle of fire and hailstones, his grotesque face
wreathed in smiles.
“So you have taken
it upon yourself to grow a set of stones, I see.”
He chuckled at his own wit and whipped past
her so fast Sabrina didn’t even see him move.
“Look behind you, witch.”
She turned around slowly, watching in agonized fascination as the
talons on the end of his fingers grew longer, reaching impossible lengths.
“I have not failed you.”
The words came out more of a plea.
He inspected his nails.
“Perhaps.
Perhaps not.
No matter.
I do not wish to devote any more of my time to tutoring you.
I’m sure you’ve heard the old saying.
If you want something done right, do it
yourself.
That is what I should have
done all along.”
He lifted his head and
his pupil’s glowed blood red.
“I have no
more use for you, Sabrina.
However,” he
reached out one hand, “I do require the use of your body.”
Chilling screams rent the air.
***
“You have your hands full with that one,” Jaxon noted the minute
Rane closed the door to the Assembly Room.
Rane strolled to the table.
“And do you doubt I can handle her?”
Jaxon smirked.
“The same way
I handle Tess.”
Rane caught the irony of the situation and grinned before settling
himself in one of the wooden chairs surrounding the long, polished top
table.
“Sitting would be a good
idea.
You will not like the information
I need to share.”
All humor faded from Jaxon’s face and he joined his brother at the
table.
“This enemy you mentioned, have
you ever seen the likes before?”
Rane propped one foot on a nearby chair and shook his head.
“No.
Never.
It was a thing, yet a
living being.
I heard his heart
beating.”
“And you are sure it was not the witch?”
“Witches are not this powerful, Jaxon.
This thing battled me in mid-air and never
lost his strength.
We could have fought
for days.”
Jaxon frowned.
“I have heard
mention of something like this in times past.
Perhaps Falcon would know more.
I
should contact him.”
“Now you see why I cannot leave Skye and Emily alone.”
Jaxon held up one hand.
“My
sense of loyalty to our Assembly consumed me, brother.
I spoke hastily and for that, I
apologize.
Skye and Emily are welcome
here . . . as long as you are sure she does not intend to make any more
attempts on your life.”
“That is no longer a concern.
Skye wants to make sure her sister is safe.”
“As well she should.
Now tell
me more about this enemy.”