Delaneys mind fought to draw her weapon, to fight, but her body remained still and trembling before the monster who wore Tighes face.
What have you done to me? She stood before him on a wide, flat rock high above the Potomac, the cool wind whipping at the loose tendrils of her hair.
As shed waited in the foyer of Feral House, armed and ready for whatever came, shed felt this sudden, inexplicable need to leave. At first, shed thought it had something to do with the strange new connection she had to Tighe and feared hed needed her, so she hadnt fought it. But the moment she was outside, her feet took off as if they had a mind of their own, and shed felt him. The clone. Controlling her.
Inside her.
He reached for her now, cupping her face in his hands, shooting cold through her body as his face took on an expression shed often seen on Tighes. As if she were the most precious thing in the universe.
What have you done to me? she demanded a second time.
His mouth turned up in a smile that froze her from the inside out. Ive made you my channel key.
She didnt know what he meant by that. And was pretty sure she didnt want to know.
I see the questions in your eyes, fair Delaney. A channel key is made by infecting a human with a bit of Daemon consciousness. And letting it grow.
She stared at him. Youre taking over my mind?
No, just a small piece of your will. Enough to use you for the keys true purpose.
Her insides quivered with dread. Which is?
A single, icy finger slid down the slope of her nose. To open the channel to the dark power deep in the earth. Power I need in order to call the other half of my soul and to find the master of the witch who created me so that I might add my strength to those who work to free Satanan and the Daemons from the blade.
Her mind flared with denial. She wouldnt help him! You cant free them from the blade. Only the Ferals can do that.
For a time, that was true. But the dark powers are amassing, and that time is gone. He stepped back and motioned to the rock behind her. Bare your chest for me, Delaney, and lie down in the center of the pentagram.
Her blood went cold. Her brain screamed with refusal. But her body obeyed. She tugged off the long-sleeved tee shirt, pulled off her bra, and lay on her back on the cold stone in the middle of the blue-painted star.
As she looked up at the glowing clouds against the dark sky, her mind and heart reached for Tighe. Pouring her love into that link, unable to hide her terror or her outrage that she was to be used as the instrument of his death and that she was powerless to stop it.
As the clone looked down at her, for a desperate moment, she thought Tighe had come. But then she saw the flash of a wicked blade and knew that the nightmare wasnt over at all. It was just beginning.
As the knife pierced her chest and began a downward slide, a scream launched through her head, echoing off the walls of her skull and tearing, like blades of ice, through her brain. But no sound left her mouth, no sound shattered her eardrums. The clones control over her was total.
The knife slid down, then beneath each breast as if cutting a design in her flesh, engulfing her in a river of agony from which there was no escape. Blood ran down her sides. And the scream in her head went on, and on, and on.
Tighe lifted his head and let out a ferocious roar of misery and fury.
Tighe? Lyons voice.
Tighe knocked into another tree, stumbling through the woods, blind, blood caking his fur from the dradens bites. He has her on the goddess stone. He intends to use her to access dark power. To steal my soul and help free Satanan.
Like hell. Can you reach her?
A wild rage ripped through his tigers body, sending him thrashing through the trees. Not until I can free myself from this damned vision!
Well converge there as fast as we can.
Sweat ran with the blood, but he kept moving, following the sound of Delaneys terror.
He was cutting her.
He had to get out of the vision!
Quit feeding, shitbag. Let me get out of your head. But he watched as the knife carveda pentagram. On her chest. He was going to be sick.
Breathe.
The vision suddenly disappeared in the same moment the draden took off. A weird frisson of energy pierced the air, but Tighe wasted no time wondering about it. He ran on all fours, parting the woods in a flash of orange fur.
Somethings happening, Lyon said.
Tighe gave a ferocious roar. Hes trying to raise the dark power. Im on my way to the goddess stone, now.
As he raced through the forest to reach his heart, to save the woman he loved, he prayed he wasnt already too late.
Tighe reached the goddess stone at the same time as the other Ferals.
What the fuck? Jag said, still in his jaguar form.
As one, they stared at the goddess stone. Or at the spot they knew the goddess stone should be, because they sure as hell couldnt see it.
The draden swarmed the stone by the thousands, the millions.
And Delaney was there.
With a roar, Tighe leaped down the rocks on his tigers paws, following the sound of the scream, Delaneys scream, flowing down the line that connected their hearts. He felt the others close behind him as he launched himself into the draden.
The collision knocked him back on his haunches as if hed run into a concrete wall.
What the hell? He should have gone through!
As he sprang to his tigers paws, he saw the others picking themselves up, too.
Magic, Lyon said. Damn powerful magic.
Ill make it, Tighe growled. He had to make it. Delaney needed him.
Opening his mouth wide, he tried to grab the little suckers in his jaws, but his teeth scraped the surface of the magic and never touched the fiends themselves.
His frustration tore through the night on a furious roar. In a desperate move, he shifted to human, praying hed draw them out of the magic to attack him.
They didnt move. The draden wall remained solid.
Delaney!
His blood boiled even as his heart felt as if it had been shot through with ice. He had to reach her. He had to reach her!
With a rage born of desperation, he slammed his fist into the unnatural wall and felt it sink up to his elbow.
It worked.
But the pain and tearing had him instinctively yanking back, only to stare, disbelieving at what was left of his arm. Little more than shredded remnants of flesh clinging to the bone.
Holy shit, Jag murmured, taking human form. Then tried to slam his fist through, too, but his fist only bounced off as his jaguars body had.
Lyon, Kougar, and Hawke, too, shifted and tried to punch through, but only Tighe was able to breach the wall.
Lyons gaze met Tighes. Looks like this is your fight.
Tighe nodded. As he dove headfirst into that feeding frenzy, he heard Lyon behind him.
Kill the son of a bitch.
As he pushed through, inch by inch, he felt his flesh being devoured by savage mouths, his life force being sucked from his body. When he finally emerged onto the goddess stone, he stumbled, barely able to stand.
Tighe. Delaney lay as hed seen her in the vision, but so much worse, her eyes tight with pain and despair, and horror at the sight he must be with his flesh nearly gone. Her own flesh was open, her blood spilling over the rock too fast for her to possibly be still alive and conscious.
Opening himself to her, he felt it. The dark hold the clone had on her, the talons gripped around her heart. It was all that was keeping her alive.
And in a shattering moment, he understood. The second the clone died, so too would Delaney.
His fury swung to the one responsible.
The clone stood a few feet away, his face and chest raised to the heavens like a man inhaling airor power.
Tighe tried to shift into his tiger form, his stronger form, but he was too weak to do even that. So he did the only thing he could. He launched himself at the clone. And took a fist to the face that sent him reeling back into the wall of draden. The small bits of flesh that had started to regrow were chewed off before he could push himself out of the little monsters grasp again.
The clone chuckled, grinning Tighes grin. You cant stop me, Feral. Im nearly through, and when Im done, youll be dead.
Youll never get away.
With my draden guard, whos going to stop me?
The Ferals would stop him. He prayed to the goddess theyd be able to stop him. But he wasnt at all certain they could.
Tighe. Delaneys voice floated through his head, soft and weak. Come to me.
Im here, sweetheart.
No, my tiger. Come over here where I can touch you. I need to touch you.
He wasnt sure how she could even stand to look at him, let alone touch his decimated flesh. Though second by second his body regenerated, he still looked more ghoul than man.
Lowering his center of gravity to a fighters stance, he began to circle the clone, inching his way toward Delaney until his feet were slick with her blood.
Brown eyes. Grief swept through him, swift and terrible. She was going to die, and there was nothing he could do to stop it. Sweetheart, Im sorry. I should have been there to stop you. To protect you.
We tried. It was a good plan.
Are you in terrible pain? Hed been able to feel her pain initially, but either it had waned, or his own was blotting it out.
I feel nothing but my love for you, Tighe. Ill always love you. Ill always watch over you.
His heart cried with anguish. Dont give up, D. Im going to find a way to save you. I have to find a way to save you!
Another step, and he felt it, her too-cool fingers sliding around the bones of his shredded ankle.
I love you, Tighe. Her love flowed through him on a rush of warmth. The tiger spirit inside him stirred and raised his head. Strength began to flow once more through his body. She was pouring her love into him, making him strong. Healing him.
Brown eyes, I love you. More than life.
He felt her smile enfold him through the connection between their hearts.
Tiger! Delaney called softly. Help him.
The animal spirit inside him leaped to its feet. With a ferocious roar, he sent power rushing though Tighes body. Perhaps power enough to shift. But enough to fight?
He wouldnt know until he tried.
Let go, D. Let go, sweetheart.
As her fingers fell away, he prayed to the goddess this worked, and pulled on the energy inside him to access his tiger form.
The lights flickered, then died, then flickered again as he fought to shift. He had to shift. Only in his tiger form could he possibly beat the man who had his own strength but who was whole and strong, as he wasnt.
Finally, finally, the transformation slid through his body, with none of the accompanying rush of joy. Hed shifted. But the draden had taken too much from him.
The clone whipped out his dagger, the light of battle in his eyes.
Tighes vision wavered. His heavy tigers body lurched drunkenly, and he doubted he could rally the energy to ward off the clones attack, let alone launch one of his own.
He had to. For Delaney, he had to.
He started forward on unsteady legs, watching as the clone lifted his dagger, ready to plunge it into his brain. A single stab wound wouldnt kill him, but in his weakened state, it might be all the shitbag needed to drive him to his knees, where he would cut out his heart. And no creature survived without a heart.
I love you, D.
Dont give up on us yet, Tighe. That small power boost from your lovely tiger spirit went both ways. Ive broken free of his hold. I can move again.
As the dagger began its deadly descent, Tighe bunched his hind legs, desperate to find the strength to ward off the attack. To protect Delaney.
The first explosion rang through his ears, sending him back on his haunches. Two more rang out, the clones eye disintegrating, holes erupting in his face, before he understood what was happening.
Delaney. Shed reached her gun. Round after round exploded into the clones face.
Giving him a chance.
Tighe stumbled forward, grabbed the clones bloodless leg between his powerful jaws and tore it off his body, sending the demon spawn crashing to the ground, his dagger skittering away. With another powerful bite, he tore off an arm and tossed it aside. Collapsing across the clones broken body, he pulled off the other arm, then turned and gnawed off his second leg.
But the creatures heart remained. And his head.
Tighes own heart cried out with the knowledge that destroying them meant destroying Delaney as well.
Tighe. Move me! Out of the pentagram. Hes still sucking the power. Hes still trying to steal your soul.
Rallying what little strength his body had managed to renew, he changed once more into a man, then stumbled to Delaneys side and knelt in her blood.
Oh, D. Her skin was white as the clouds. As bloodless as the clone. With shaking hands, he scooped her up and into his arms, cradling her against him as he turned to his foe.
In a squawking frenzy, the draden took off, disappearing into the dark, as if suddenly released. The Ferals rushed onto the stone to surround him.
Delaneys head lolled over his arm, as she fell unconscious. But her heart continued to beat.
The clone met Tighes gaze, his own face staring back at him. You can kill me, Feral. Youll retrieve your soul. But youll lose your heart. Shes mine. He grinned, dimples flashing, evil gleaming from eyes almost completely covered in black shards.
Jag kicked the demon spawn in the head, but the clone just continued to grin.
Jag pulled out his knife. Mind if I do the honors?
Dont, Tighe growled. Hes right. Hes tied himself to Delaney. When he dies, so will she.
Tighe. Lyons palm squeezed his shoulder, transmitting a fine tension. You see his eyes? Theres only a sliver of green left. Yours are the same. When that last bit of green goes, you die. You may only have minutes. We cant lose you.
His soul cried. Delaney must live.
Inside, his tiger paced and leaped, growling and snarling. With a jolt, he realized the spirit was trying to get his attention. He was trying to
Hes trying to pull my soul back through Delaneys body, he murmured. And suddenly he understood. Pulling the soul back through her might just undo that evil connection.
Tighes gaze snapped to Lyons. I need a power raising!
Done, Lyon barked. Now!
The tiger inside him gave a powerful roar, his approval flowing through Tighe like a warm river. They would raise the spirits of the beasts. And in doing so, empower the spirit of the tiger.
Please, goddess, let this work. Let her live.
Jag and Lyon were already naked from their shifting, as was Tighe from the decimation of his flesh. Kougar and Hawke yanked off their shirts.
Tighes flesh was quickly reknitting and almost healed again.
Lyon helped Tighe hold Delaney as he handed Tighe a knife. Tighe sliced his chest, slapped his palm to the blood, and shoved his fist into the air. The men formed a circle around the clone on the broad, flat goddess stone, and, one by one, sliced their own chests, slapping their bloody palms on top of his.
Tighe began to chant. Spirits rise and join. Empower the beast beneath this moon. The others joined him, the rhythmic words weaving with his heartbeat and Delaneys, flowing around them, through them.
Thunder rumbled, the ground trembled as the great force of Mother Nature herself rose from the depths of the Earth, through the bodies of flesh and bone and up through their arms to the blood raised to the heavens.
Empower the spirit of the tiger! Tighe shouted.
A flash of lightning lit the sky, burning through the flesh of Tighes hand, sending power twisting through his body.
His tiger told him what he had to do.
Cradling Delaney in his arms, he knelt before what was left of the clone and held his hand out to Lyon for the blade.
The clone looked up at him with cold eyes. The Daemons will rise again, he murmured.
Tighe lifted the knife over the clones heart. You wont be alive to know, will you? He plunged the blade through the chest wall, cutting and hacking, then reached his hand in.
Inside, his tiger waited, their minds meeting in a way they never had before. The tiger flicked his nose up with a growl, urging him to complete the task. Tighe curved his hand around the beating heart and plucked it from the clones chest, crushing it in his fist as he poured his love into Delaney.
Inside him, the tiger pulled the missing half of Tighes soul through the woman they both loved, freeing her from the evil and, please goddess, healing her body and saving her life.
For a breathless heartbeat, Delaneys body jerked, then filled with air and life as her wounds began to heal at the rate of miracles.
Joy filled him, twining with the amazing rush of life flowing back through his own body, and reuniting his soul.
He could hear her heartbeat, firm and steady, as he watched her blood-coated chest rise and fall beneath the healing wounds. Her hand twitched, lifting slightly, then relaxing as she stirred.
Dark lashes fluttered, slowly rising as her gaze took in the sky. He waited, breath caught, as those dark eyes turned to him.
Brown eyes.
She smiled at him. Yours are green again.
Emotion caught in his throat and he hauled her up until he could bury his face in her hair. We did it, D. We did it.
Is he dead?
He is. He blinked back the moisture blurring his vision and raised his head to meet her gaze as his brothers gathered around him, their hands slapping his now-healed shoulders in an outpouring of joyous relief.
Lyon stood at his elbow, his hand glued to Tighes shoulder, his eyes gleaming. Damn, that was close. But you pulled it off. Brilliantly.
Tighe just grinned.
Delaney wrapped her arm around his neck and pulled herself up in his arms, looking down at herself. Uh, I know you cant see a lot through the blanket of blood, but I need a shirt.
Hawke tossed Lyon his own black silk shirt. As Lyon helped her into it, Delaney groaned.
I can really do this myself. And Im pretty sure I can stand. I feel fine.
Im not letting you go, Tighe growled. Ever. He met Lyons gaze. I want the Shaman to look her over.
I was thinking the same. Lyon turned. Hawke, if youve still got a cell phone, call Wulfe and have him bring clothes, then call the Shaman and ask him to meet Tighe back at the house. Weve got to get out of here before the humans come to investigate the gunshots.
What about the blood? Delaney asked.
Lyon nodded. Ill call a Feral Circle. Theyll never see it. Then the rest of us are going draden hunting. He turned to the others. Weve got to get that menace under control!
As Lyon called a Feral Circle, and the others shifted back into their animals before any humans arrived, Tighe held Delaney against his heart.
He kissed her hair. How do you feel?
Fine. Which makes no sense. I should be dead after what he did to me.
Tighe smiled into her eyes, falling into the love shining in those dark depths, a love that stretched between them like an unbreakable cord. When my soul returned to me, it passed through you, healing you.
Thats amazing.
It was the tigers idea. A damn fine spirit, that one.
Delaney smiled. I love you both.
The tiger positively purred.
Its mutual, brown eyes. Both ways. He brushed his forehead against hers.
Its really over? she asked softly.
The rush of grief he felt rise in her nearly brought him to his knees.
She still meant to leave him.
He felt as if she were cutting out his heart. His excuses for keeping her here were all but gone. If the Shaman gave her a clean bill of health, hed have no more reason not to cloud her mind, as he should easily be able to do now that the clones hold over her was gone. Taking her memories of this whole ordeal.
Taking her memories of him.
D, he said softly. He needed her. But somehow he had to convince her she needed him.
CHAPTER 30
Tighe, I can walk. Delaney tightened her hold on Tighes neck as he swung her through the front door of Feral House. I feel fine.
Hed been carrying her constantly since he lifted her off that pentagram, as if he were afraid to let her go.
Not until the Shaman gives you a clean bill of health.
Stubborn man, she muttered, loud enough for him to hear. But she kissed his cheek, softly, loving that he cherished her so.
Loving him.
How am I ever going to live without him?
A glad cry rang from high up the stairs, and Delaney looked up to see Kara running toward them, her face wreathed in joy. You did it! She wrapped them both in a big hug. Lyon said youd gotten him, but I had to see for myself. Karas gaze swung to her. Are you okay? The uncomplicated friendliness in Karas eyes warmed her all over again.
As I keep telling Tighe, I feel fine. But he refuses to let me down.
Kara stepped back, a knowing smile lighting her eyes.
The sudden tightening of Tighes grip on her had her looking at him with question.
Whats the matter?
Have you met Pink?
No, but Karas told me about her. She knew Pink was their cook and housekeeper. And half-flamingo.
She felt the stiffness go out of his hands. Good. Pink, come join us.
Delaney turned to look down the hall, where the extraordinary creature walked slowly toward them. The size of a woman, she possessed a human-looking face and hands, but her legs were those of a flamingo. In place of skin, she was covered in pink feathers.
Kara had told her that Pink should have been a Feral many centuries ago, but the animal spirit had flown to her in the womb, just before the egg split, creating twins. And possibly destroying the animal spirit. Pinks twin had been killed in an attempt to free the animal, but it hadnt worked. So Pink kept house and cooked for the Ferals, safe from the prying eyes of humans.
Let me down, Tighe. I want to greet her properly.
With a grumble, he did, and Delaney turned to the unusual woman. Hi, Pink. Im Delaney. She held out her hand. Do you shake?
The bird-woman inclined her head and held out her own.
Delaney took it, gently curling her fingers around the soft feathers. Its nice to meet you.
Unblinking birdlike eyes watched her, then slowly lit. A smile formed on her not-quite-human-looking mouth. Im happy to make your acquaintance, Delaney. I wish you and Tighe much happiness.
Thanks, but The words caught in her throat. Wereonly a temporary item.
Pinks expression clouded. Tighes a good man.
Delaney was horrified to feel tears pricking her eyes. I know. Its just She smiled unhappily. Im human.
Without warning, Tighe swept her back into his arms. She forced a laugh, trying to make up for the damper shed thrown on the mood, even as misery burned in her chest, and her eyes filled with tears.
We need to have a talk. Now. As he swung her toward the stairs, he called back to Kara. Send the Shaman up when he gets here.
How about I call you first to make sure youre notbusy?
Talk, Kara. I said were going to have a talk.
But he said nothing until Delaney was sitting in the middle of his bed and hed paced the room a good seven times before finally swinging to face her, his body and expression as fierce and rigid as a man going into battle.
I dont give a damn that youre human. I want you to stay.
Tigheits impossible. She swiped at the tears running down her cheeks, but more just followed. I have to go back. I cant stay here.
His expression turned almost hostile. Why not? In his eyes an emotion flared. Pain.
Oh, Tighe. Delaney climbed off the bed and went to him, sliding her arms around his rigid body as she pressed her damp cheek to his chest. Its not that I dont love you, because I do. But I dont belong in this world. You know that. I cant stay.
Tighe gripped her shoulders and pulled her away from him. The desperation in his eyes nearly crushed her heart.
Ill make you happy, D. I swear it. You can carry all the guns you want, and all my knives. You can come draden hunting with me anytime, or you can stay here with Kara and Pink. Whatever you want.
Tighe, youre not thinking this all the way through.
His hands caressed her shoulders. I know Im being unfair in asking you to give up everything for me. I have no right, brown eyes, no right. But I need you.
Its because you bound yourself to me. You shouldnt have done it.
He squeezed her almost painfully. Do you think thats what this is? The bond? Youre wrong, Delaney. I was already in love with you. His voice rose, his words turning angry. This isnt the ritual speaking, dammit, this is my heart!
His anger tore at her. His pain twisted inside her, merging with her own until she was almost doubled over from the onslaught.
Its your heart, Tighe, for now. But youre not seeing the big picture. If you keep me here, youll be tying yourself to a woman you wont want in twenty years. Maybe far, far sooner.
He looked at her as if he was ready to draw swords and fight it out. Ill always want you.
No. You wont. Think, Tighe! I wont stay this way. In forty years, Ill have gray hair and wrinkles. My figure will be gone. Ill be an old woman.
With a snarl, he gripped her face. And Ill have fangs. And orange eyes every time I look at you, because Ill always want you. Always.
The fight went out of him, his face crumbling into a mask of aching tenderness as he slid his palms over her jaw, cradling her face with infinite tenderness.
Dont you understand? His words were soft as silk, yet woven with a thread of desperation that tore at her heart. Im going to use your own words back at you, D, because they healed my soul. When I look into your eyes, I see you. I will always see you, no matter what changes time makes to the body youre in.
Her tears turned slowly to sobs as she slid her hands over his and held him as he held her, wanting to believe. But she couldnt.
You think that now. But
Dont doubt me, D, he snarled. But his thumbs were feather-soft as they stroked her skin. If you live longer than most humans, Ill still only have, at most, another seventy years with you. Thats a blink of an eye in my life. For six hundred years Ive made love with women. Most young-looking, I admit. Most beautiful. Scores of women, D.
Is this supposed to be making me feel better? She tried to laugh, but it caught in her throat, tangling with her tears.
Other than those few short years with Gretchen, not a single one has ever touched my heart. Until you. Beauty is meaningless without love, D. I know this. His hands were beginning to tremble. Its lust. Little more than scratching an itch. But its not that way with you. From the moment I first saw you, it hasnt been that way with you. Its you I want to spend the next seventy years with, not your breasts. Not your skin. You, D. Your heart. Your soul.
He bent until his gaze was nearly at a level with hers, his eyes as certain as the sunrise. His love poured into her through his gaze and rushed into her through that warm connection between their hearts, filling her. Lifting her.
He pressed his hand to her chest, over her heart. You belong with me. And I with you. You fill me, Delaney, in a way no one ever has before. And never will again. No one. He pulled her tight against him, stroking her hair, as his big body shook. If you really want to go, I wont make you stay. His voice was hollow, his eyes bleak as he pulled her back where she could see him through the glaze of her tears.
Moisture glistened in his own eyes. I would never do anything to hurt you, brown eyes. But, sweet goddess, D, I want you to stay.
As she clung to him, she thought of all shed be giving up if she took the risk and followed her heart. All her adult life, shed sought revenge for her mothers murder with a drive born of a need shed never really understood. A need to make her life right. To make her self right. But, she knew now, no number of arrests were going to do that. Not even if by some miracle she caught the man whod killed her mom.
Because the thing shed been truly lacking all these years wasnt closure. It was love.