"We may not have a choice, but I guess we can figure that out once the Shaman's done."
"I agree." He kissed her head and held her close.
She might never be his to hold like this again, but that didn't mean he wouldn't watch over her, and protect her, and cafe for her from a distance. No one would ever hurt her again.
He would die before he let that happen.
Kara's gaze took in the long, narrow interior of a comfortably decorated house as she followed Lyon down the stairs a short while later. As they'd dressed, Lyon had told her this house actually looked like a row of town houses from the outside, while inside it was open, with passages running from one end of the block to the other. The Therians had lived here for well over a century.
Her hand brushed the fashionable pastel floral skirt the Therian, Marina, had loaned her along with a long-sleeved coordinated blue sweater. These people might live for centuries, but they kept up with the fashions.
Paenther met them as they reached the bottom step. Lyon extended his arm in greeting and Paenther accepted the greeting with a bow of his head. But when Lyon released him, Paenther's attention went to her.
His usually hard eyes were nothing short of sad. "I'm sorry, Kara. For not protecting you. For believing you were the enemy."
Kara reached for his hand and squeezed it. "It wasn't your fault, Paenther. I didn't even know if I was Mage or not."
Paenther lifted their joined hands to his lips and kissed the back of her hand. Not as a chivalrous act, but as an act of deep contrition.
"I'll make it up to you. I'll find a way."
Kara smiled. "Just give me the benefit of the doubt next time, and we'll call it even."
To her amazement, his mouth twisted into what could almost be called a lopsided smile. "You have a deal."
As they started into the main living area, Jag joined them. His eyebrow lifting with surprise as Lyon extended his arm. Jag clasped Lyon's arm in return.
"Chief," Jag said. His gaze slid to her. "You're looking better. Got a little color in those cheeks." He glanced down at the floor, then up at Lyon in a way that told Kara he wasn't sure about what he was about to say. "I'd like to speak to our Radiant for a minute." His jaw clenched, but his eyes remained uncertain. "Alone."
She felt Lyon tense, but he glanced at her with a lift of his eyebrow.
Kara nodded.
"You won't be out of my sight," Lyon promised her.
Jag reached for her, then seemed to think better of it and dropped his hand. "How about we stand by the window over there where the king of beasts can keep my hide in the crosshairs?"
He led her toward the window, then turned and glanced back at Lyon before meeting her gaze.
"Here's the thing, Radiant. Kara. I owe you a humongous apology. I may shift into a jaguar, but I'm a jackass, through and through. Always have been." His mouth twisted. "I'm sure any of the others will agree."
He propped his hip on the back of the sofa behind him and crossed his arms. "We haven't had the best luck with Radiants. I didn't much like either of your last two predecessors, and I didn't expect to like you. I suppose when I first saw you in the media room, I wanted to let you know that in my own charming way."
He smiled at her, but there was no humor in his eyes. There was something about him that made her think he didn't like himself very much.
His smile died, and his eyes turned hard. "I saw what Vhyper did to you. That snake lost it." He looked away, shaking his head with revulsion. "I'm just saying I'm sorry for being an ass in the way I treated you. You're okay." He said the last as if he were surprised. "Not only have you tamed the beast" His glance flicked to Lyon as if he knew exactly what they'd been doing upstairs.
Kara's cheeks heated.
"But you won Pink over, too, and I'm kind of fond of the bird. She sent me to the grocery yesterday to get a surprise for you for your Ascension celebration."
"Really?" Kara smiled. Pink had forgiven her. "I'm glad to know that, Jag. Thank you." She had an instant's temptation to give him a hug, hesitated, then gave in to it. Stepping forward, she wrapped her arms around his lean, hard waist.
He hugged her back, then tugged on a loose lock of her hair when she pulled away. "See? I can be a good cat."
She laughed. "When you want to be."
He winked at her. "Don't tell anyone." He rose. "Come get some breakfast. Marina's doing waffles. I'm not usually into bread, but her waffles are a treat."
As Kara started back with Jag, Lyon waited for her, his eyes guarded. "Everything okay?"
She smiled. "Perfect."
At Lyon's hooded glare, Jag lifted his hands in surrender as he passed, chuckling.
Lyon shook his head and laid his hand on her shoulder. "Get breakfast. I have some things I need to do."
She nodded and followed Jag, who was entering the kitchen in the middle of the open house. Tighe was already there, seated before a plate piled high with bacon and eggs.
When he saw her, he stood and opened his arms to her, leaving the choice up to her.
With a smile, she accepted his hug. "Hi, Tighe."
"Hi, yourself." When she pulled back, he gripped her shoulders and held her in front of him, his smile dying as he inspected her. "You look a hundred times better than the last time I saw you. I never thought anyone could be that pale." He squeezed her shoulders. "Are you feeling better?" His mouth kicked up, a small gleam entering his eyes. Apparently everyone knew the Shaman had ordered her penetrated.
"I'm feeling much better, thank you," she said primly. But she flashed him a smile that said she knew full well what he'd been asking.
"Roar!"
Tighe was just pulling out a chair for her when Paenther's shout made them all freeze.
The two men beside her started forward, then as one, turned back to her. Jag grabbed her hand and pulled her with them to where Paenther waited in the foyer.
As they rounded the corner, three men she'd never seen before were entering the house, two large men helping a youth with long, dark hair and old-fashioned clothes who looked like he was drunk. Or drugged. Behind them, was Hawke.
"What happened, Shaman?" Lyon demanded.
To her surprise, it was the youth Lyon addressed. A man he'd told her was ancient.
Without looking at her, Lyon reached for her hand, took her from Jag, and pulled her against his side.
The Therians pressed the Shaman into one of two upholstered chairs in the wide foyer, then backed away as the Ferals pushed forward. The Shaman's head tipped against the wall behind him, his body shaking, his flesh white as snow.
"I couldn't get near the house. Halfway up your front walk, I passed out. Hawke drove me back."
"Magic?" Lyon asked. His hand tightened around hers.
"Yes. Stronger than I've felt in millennia. Old magic. And woven throughout that magic"His gaze rose to pin her. "I felt your Radiant."
CHAPTER 20
Lyon's blood went cold, a warning growl rumbling deep in his throat as he pulled Kara in front of him and wrapped both arms around her, ready to protect her with his life.
"You said she was innocent."
"I did. Innocent, yes. But I felt her in the magic, and I believe the Mage for this is clearly a Mage attack has been using her. The cantric you found in her was doing more than I thought it was. More than it should have been able to."
"There's a Mage in Feral House?" Lyon roared.
"Yes. A strong one. No one else could wield that kind of magic."
Lyon looked at Paenther. "Let's go."
The Shaman held up his hand. "Wait, Warrior. This attack isn't new. The magic I felt has been there for months. If you haven't found it before now, you're not likely to."
Lyon snarled. "You want me to let the Mage have Feral House?"
"No." His weak gaze went to Kara. "There's another way. She holds the key."
Lyon shook his head, knowing where this was headed. "No mind-skinning. She's been through enough." He looked at his men. "We're going out there. Now."
Jag snorted. "We're going to waltz into a full-scale Mage attack without any clue what's going on? Sounds like a hell of a plan."
Lyon glared at him. "I'm not forsaking my men."
"So said the seventeen," Jag muttered.
A strained silence blanketed the foyer.
"What's the seventeen?" Kara asked, breaking the silence.
Lyon's jaw clenched. "Centuries ago, seventeen Ferals were lost in three days."
Kara turned her head to look up at him. " Seventeen ? But I thought there were only nine of you."
"There are now," Tighe said. "There were almost thirty at that point. Six warriors walked into a cave they'd never seen before and never came out. Over the course of the next two days, eleven more went into that cave searching for them, every man certain he'd be the one to save the others. The last group included the chief. He gave direct orders to Lyon, his second, that if he failed to return, no more would enter. None did. Fourteen days later the bodies of the seventeen men littered the ground outside the cave. Apparently unharmed, yet quite dead."
"I thought new Ferals were marked when the old ones died, just as new Radiants are."
"They're supposed to be. But none of those animals ever came forth again."
"Jag's right," Paenther said, meeting Lyon's gaze. "We don't know what we're walking into." His gaze went to Kara, regret in his eyes. "We'd be fools not to use the one weapon we have."
"I agree." Kara shoved her way out of Lyon's arms and stood in front of him. "You have to use me."
He gripped her shoulders. "You don't know what you're agreeing to. Trust me on this." He started to turn, but she grabbed his hand, her grip surprisingly strong. Her eyes and voice stronger still.
"Then you're going to do this for me. You owe me this, Lyon. After the hell I went through in that house, I can finally find out why. I want to know. For you, for me, for all the Ferals. We need to know."
"She's right, Chief." Paenther's mouth was grim as his gaze met Lyon's. "I swear to you, I searched that place top to bottom when I was looking for the dark charm, and found nothing. Without more to go on, we could be wasting our time."
Lyon's grip tightened on Kara's shoulders as he turned back to her. "It's going to hurt."
She shrugged, her eyes filled with a determination as strong as any warrior's. And he realized it was his own pain he was trying to avoid. The pain of watching her suffer yet again.
But she was right. As was Paenther. He'd be a fool to go into battle blindfolded when sight was but a short, heart-ripping procedure away.
"Let's do it, then." He looked to the Shaman. "Are you up for it?"
"Yes." The man looked at him with weary humor. "I don't suppose you're willing to wait for me to clear this magic?"
"I'm not."
"I didn't think so."
As Tighe helped the Shaman to his feet, Lyon turned to Hawke. "Get yourself laid while we do this. We'll fill you in on the way to Feral House."
Hawke nodded, his eyes grave.
Marina, standing nearby smiled at Hawke and held out her hand. "Come, Warrior."
Lyon gripped Kara's hand as they followed the Shaman to one of the offices off the main living area, lending her strength. And stealing it back again.
The Shaman stood at the door and held up his hand. "The Radiant and one other only. I won't have an audience."
But the Ferals ignored him, brushing past the Shaman's outstretched hand with a rumble of low growls.
"We stay." Lyon spoke for all of them.
The Shaman frowned and looked at Kara. "You may not want them to see this."
But Kara only shrugged. "From what I've pieced together about the scene in the dungeon, they've seen just about all there is to see of me. They stay."
The Shaman shrugged. "All right, then. Sit in the chair." His gaze turned to Lyon. "I have to be standing behind her, but you'll need to keep her in the chair."
Lyon's muscles tensed. He wasn't going to like this. He wasn't going to like it at all.
He led Kara to the chair and knelt in front of her, holding one of her hands as he placed the other on her shoulder.
"I'm here, little one." He looked her in the eye. "Whatever happens, I'm here."
She gave him a small, rueful smile. "If you're trying to reassure me, a nice lie might work better. Something like, it's not going to hurt a bit?"
"I'm not going to lie to you."
Her expression turned serious, her gaze softening. "I'm glad." A soft emotion sifted out of her to wrap around him, dulling the edges of the apprehension they shared.
"I learned this trick from a Mage a long, long time ago and haven't practiced it much. It may not be pretty."
"Do it."
The Shaman began to chant in a language even Lyon couldn't identify. A language probably long gone from the Earth.
Kara's hand clenched his as the first wave of her pain hit him. A moment later, a second, stronger wave hit, making her gasp. As the third ripped through her, she cried out.
He wasn't going to survive this.
"How much more?" he snarled.
"Not much, but the worst is yet to come. Hold her down."
Lyon had barely tightened his grip on her shoulder when the scream rose from her throat, her pain so sharp, so excruciating as it pierced his own flesh, an answering yell escaped his own.
He felt strong hands on his shoulders and knew Paenther was at his back. Through a haze of white-hot pain, he saw Tighe reach for Kara as she fell forward.
"Kara."
Her pain flew at him like daggers, ripping apart his organs, clawing out the chambers of his heart.
He felt a hand go around his wrist.
"Let go of her, Chief," Paenther said.
"No."
"You're not going to do her any good if you pass out, too."
" No ." He could take it from her. Take the pain. Or at least help her carry it. He wasn't letting go of her. Ever. Ever .
He didn't know how much time had passed when he was finally able to start breathing again.
Kara stirred with a heart-wrenching moan.
His vision cleared enough for him to realize his men were tight around them, having pushed the Shaman out of the way. Tighe was standing beside her and had her head lying on his arm. Jag was kneeling on her other side, her free hand tight in his. Paenther remained at his back.
Lyon struggled to his feet, glaring at the Therian who'd caused such pain. "Can I move her?"
The Shaman lifted his hand, then dropped it again as if he didn't have the strength to hold it up. "Yes. You're not going to cause her any additional pain by moving her."
His men stepped back as Lyon lifted her into his arms, then settled onto the deep leather chair with her on his lap. Kara's pain blanketed him in raw agony, but he wouldn't leave her to fight it alone.
Her head lolled on his shoulder, then jerked, her entire body going tense as a high wire.
And suddenly it wasn't only pain attacking him, but fear. Terror in its purest form.
"Easy, sweetheart. You're safe."
"No. No. Oh, God," she moaned.
"She's remembering," the Shaman said behind him. "Reliving the things she's forgotten. You can talk to her. Ask questions. In fact you need to, before she gets lost in there."
Lyon squeezed her close, "Kara. Kara, I need to know what you see. What's happening?"
"Cut me." She gasped. " It hurts . She wants it to hurt. Wants me to hurt."
"Who cut you, Kara?"
"It hurts."
"Where? Where does it hurt?"
"My hip. So much blood. So much pain."
"Who did this to you, Kara?"
"Can't say. Can't make a sound."
"Try another question," the Shaman suggested.
"Why, Kara? Why do they want you to hurt?"
"To feed her pets."
Paenther stepped into his line of vision. "Did this happen recently, Kara? Or in the past?"
When she didn't respond, Lyon tried the question another way. "Kara, sweetheart, how old are you?"
"Twenty-seven."
"How old were you when they cut you?"
"Twenty-seven."
Lyon met Paenther's gaze. "Kara, where were you when you were cut?"
"My bedroom. The Radiant's bedroom."
"Shit," Jag said behind him.
"Who cut you, Kara? Who did this to you?"
"Vhyper. And Zaphene. She has strange eyes. Copper rings around her eyes."
"Zaphene's Therian," Tighe said. "Kara's not remembering correctly."
"Maybe she is," the Shaman said. "In the old days, there were Mage who could change small aspects of their appearance for short periods. Their typical trick was to hide the copper rings of their eyes in order to bewitch a Therian. It takes powerful magic. But there's no doubt we're dealing with that kind of magic here. The kind I haven't seen in centuries. Tens of centuries."
"Kara, was Vhyper helping Zaphene?"
"Yes."
A muscle leaped in Paenther's jaw. "Vhyper wouldn't help a Mage. I know him . He would never team up with a Mage, not for any reason."
"It's always the ones you don't expect," Jag muttered.
Lyon shook his head. "She's bewitched him."
"Kara, was it Zaphene who freed you and Vhyper from the prison cells?"
"Yes."
"Did she help Vhyper stab you?"
Kara moaned, jerking back as if reliving the pain. "Vhyper didn't stab me. Bleeding spell to bleed me quickly. They knew they knew you'd come for me. Didn't have much time, but the pets needed feeding, and you'd taken the cantric." She began to gasp.
"Easy, Kara. Easy, little one." He pulled the terror and the pain from her as hard and fast as he could. "Who stabbed you?"
"The ones in the robes."
"Did you see their faces? Anything?"
"No. Only their knives."
"How many?" Paenther asked.
"I don't know. More than four."
Lyon stroked her hair. "Where were they? Where was Zaphene? We didn't see anyone but you and Vhyper when we got down there."
"Hiding. Zaphene was hiding with her pets."
"Were her pets the ones that stabbed you?"
"I don't know."
"They have to be somewhere in the dungeons," Paenther said. "I never searched them. I checked that door when I searched the house, Chief, I swear it. I thought it was sealed tight, like it always is. I missed it."
The Shaman lifted his hand and dropped it again. "Warding. Magic to hide the truth from you."
Lyon looked at Paenther. "Call the house. Warn Kougar and Foxx there may be Mage hiding in the dungeon. I want them out of the house until we get there."
"What about Wulfe? We can't just leave him to them."
"Leave him. If it turns to war, he could turn on us as easily as the Mage." Lyon turned back to Kara, his sense of urgency to return to Feral House growing by the second. But there was more he needed to know. "Why, Kara? Why did Vhyper and Zaphene do this to you?"
"She needed my blood."
"Her pets needed your blood?"
"The ritual needed my blood. She didn't have enough, but you were coming. Vhyper told her to hide. He'd get the rest later."
His grip tightened on her. "Like hell.. They're never coming near you again." He glanced up as Hawke joined them, then turned his attention back to Kara. "What ritual, sweetheart? Why did they need your blood?"
"To free the Daemons."
Lyon felt his men's shock as clearly as his own.
"They can't free the Daemons." Tighe's voice was hot. Indignant. "No one can do that but us."
"That may be, Stripes, but we've already blooded that blade," Jag drawled. "And if I remember correctly, doesn't the ritual to free the bastards require the blood of an unascended Radiant?"
Silence burst over the room, punctured by Tighe's groan.
"Beatrice. Her death was no accident. She died right after Foxx brought Zaphene home."
Kara's body slowly began to relax against him, the fear and pain draining away.
"Are you still with me?"
"Uh-hmm. I feel like I just went three rounds with a grizzly bear. Or any one of you."
He slid his hand into her hair, pressing her head against his shoulder.
"If the Mage mortgaged their power to imprison the Daemons, too, why would a Mage try to free him?" she murmured.
"I don't know. Evil can take any form. This time it seems to be taking the form of a Mage witch."
"Zaphene probably bewitched Foxx into opening that window," Paenther said. "She's probably had him bewitched all along."
Tighe nodded. "Which is how Foxx wound up bringing that Daemon blade to the goddess stone the night we raised the power of the lion. And why he couldn't remember doing it."
"Dammit to hell." Lyon stood, still holding Kara tight against him. "We've got to get back there and find her. And when we do, she's dead." He looked at the Shaman. "Can you do some research? See if you can figure out what in the hell her pets are and how she means to free the Daemons?"
The Shaman nodded, straightening from the wall. His color seemed to be coming back. "I'll work on it."
He kissed Kara's head. "Can you stand?"
"Yes. I'm okay."
He let her slide to her feet, but kept her close against him as she rearranged her skirt. "If Kara's memory was right, the witch wants more of her blood. She's still in danger. I need someone to guard her."
"I'll do it," Hawke said.
Lyon nodded. "Jag, get the Hummer. We need to roll." He turned Kara to face him. "Rest while we're gone. I'll come get you as soon as we get this situation straightened out."
"I wish I could come with you." A hot spark of malice lit her eyes. "I'd like to kick Zaphene's butt for what she did to me."
"She won't live another day," he snarled. "I'll take her head myself. I promise you that."
She reached up and touched his face, her soft fingers stroking his heart. "Okay. But you have to make me a second promise as well."
"What's that?"
"Come back to me, Lyon. Whole. I couldn't bear it if anything happened to you. I love you."
And he knew he'd battle a hundred armies if he had to, to keep her by his side.
Kara heard the front door close behind Lyon and the others. She was afraid for them. If what she'd remembered was true, they were in serious danger. The entire world could be in danger.
The Shaman started tor the door. "I've got magic sticking to me like glue." He turned to look at her, the eyes in that youthful face as old as the ages. "If you're feeling better, Radiant, I'm going to get myself cleared."
Kara nodded. "I'm fine now. Thank you." She followed the Shaman out of the office and saw Hawke coming toward her from the foyer. She tried to smile at him, despite her worry for Lyon.
"So you're my bodyguard today?"
He nodded. "We need to go."
"Go where?"
"To one of the other enclaves. Lyon doesn't want you to stay here. Too many people know you're here."
"Oh. Okay. Do we have to go right away?"
"Immediately."
The Shaman stripped off his clothes, enjoying, as he always did, the sight of Esmeria removing her own. He felt lousy. Like the magic from that place had seeped into every pore and was eating away at his body like acid. The sooner he got rid of it, the better. He wondered if one release would do it. He might need a second. Or even a third.
He smiled to himself. The life of a Shaman was a trial, to be sure.
Esmeria unhooked her bra, pulled off her panties and lay down on the bed, opening her thighs. She pushed her fingers between her legs, slipping them inside her body until the damp, sucking sound told him she was ready. When she pulled out glistening fingers and motioned for him, opening her arms wide, he joined her, kissed her neck as he positioned his body over hers and pushed himself home.
Oh, yes . This was what he'd needed. Whenever the magic rode him, it took him a while to find his release, as if the magic fought to hold on. But, finally, he felt his body tighten, felt the rush of orgasm and the cleansing of his spirit. As he found completion, and collapsed into Esmeria's warm arms, his mind began to tingle in a way that had him turning to stone.
"What's the matter, Shaman?" Esmeria rubbed her hand along his back.
"Bewitchment." He felt the veil lift from his mind like a fog dissipating in the sun.
And he remembered.
"Damnation."
Esmeria released him as he levered himself out of her. "What's wrong?"
"Get Lyon on the phone and tell him to get back here. Quickly ."
"Which enclave are we going to?" Kara asked Hawke as she slid into the front seat of his car.
"You'll see."
Kara flicked the warrior a glance, then turned to look out her own window as he pulled away from the curb. She supposed it didn't matter since she didn't know one from the other. And Lyon would be able to find her no matter where she was, thanks to his finder skills.
"Did you know Zaphene very well?" As soon as the words were out or her mouth, she wanted to take them back. For all she knew, all the men had slept with her at one point or another.
"No," Hawke replied.
"That must have been a shock. I'm sorry about Beatrice."
"Yes."
Kara quit trying to engage him in conversation. For her, it was an attempt to take her mind off Lyon and the others, but he didn't seem to want the distraction. She knew he had to be immensely worried.
They continued in silence, driving through the busy streets, through traffic unlike anything Kara had ever seen. They didn't have traffic like this in Spearsville.
When Hawke took the on-ramp to I-495, the Washington Beltway, Kara looked at him in surprise. She'd thought the Therian enclaves were all fairly close together.
"Hawke, where are we going?"
He didn't answer.
"Hawke?"
He glanced at her, his eyes cold.
"I'm not Hawke."
CHAPTER 21
"The witch's pets?" the Shaman said. "They're clones."
"Explain." The phone in Lyon's hand creaked from the white-knuckled pressure of his grip.
"When I got out to Feral House, Hawke and Zaphene met me at the door. Except it wasn't Hawke. The man who drove me back to the enclave is a draden."
"Turn the car around," Lyon barked at Jag. Into the phone he said, "That was no draden."
He held on as Jag made a fast, illegal U-turn across the median. "Back to Georgetown?"
"Yes."
"It started out as a draden," the Shaman said through the phone. "The witch has split your souls, Warrior, and used your souls to animate the draden. She implanted the cantric into Kara to stimulate her fear, then channeled that fear to the draden to feed and grow them into clones of you and your men. It's the clones who will free the Daemons."
Raw fear twisted his girts into knots. "Where's Kara? Get her away from Hawke!"
His heart pounded as he heard the Shaman moving down the stairs. He heard a distant scream.
Kara.
A commotion in the background had his breath catching. He heard shouting.
"Shaman!" he yelled into the phone.
"Marina's dead. Drained as if by draden. She took the clone to bed."
" Find Kara ." But she wasn't there. His senses felt her moving. Away from the enclave.. Away from Georgetown. "She's gone. He's already got her."
"I'm sorry."
"Jag, get on the Beltway. East." He clutched the phone. "How in the hell did she split our souls?"
"One by one. You trusted her enough to let her touch you, correct? All she had to do was touch you to enthrall you long enough to do what she needed to."
"How can we live with half a soul?"
"You can't indefinitely. In the short term, you probably can't tell the difference, though you may start losing control more quickly than normal. Control of your anger, your actions."
"That's already happening. One of my men has lost control completely."
"He was probably the first to have his soul split."
"How do we get our souls back?"
"Kill the clones."
"Done. The way we kill any draden? By pulling their hearts out?"
"Yes. But be careful, Warrior. They may look identical to you, but they're not. They're energy creatures. They won't bleed. And like any draden, if they get their mouths on you, they'll try to drink your life force. And these draden are as big and strong as you are. They might well kill you."
"Understood."
"Lyon," the Shaman said. "Beware the witch. She's strong. Stronger than any Mage I've run across in more than a thousand years. She's come into possession of old magic. Powerful magic. Be very, very careful."
"I'll do whatever I must to stop her, Shaman. That's the only promise I make."
He snapped his phone closed and reached for his knife.
"Want to explain what's happened to our souls, Chief?" Jag drawled.