Blood of the Sorceress (23 page)

“There is nothing we can do right now, Demetrius. Sindar will contact us when he’s ready.”

He frowned, wounded to the core. “You told me once that you couldn’t lie. Has that changed, Lilia?”

She lifted a palm to his face, sliding it over his cheek, and he closed his eyes at the gentle touch. “Then believe me when I tell you that I love you like no human being has ever loved another. Believe that. Because it’s nothing but the truth.”

He wanted to kiss her, but the moment he thought it, she stepped away, picked up the cup and emptied it onto the ground. “Close up the circle, Indy. We’re finished here.”

He knew, with everything in him he knew, that she was lying. They had seen something in that chalice, and it terrified him that she refused to tell him what.

13

“I
don’t want to let you go,” Magdalena whispered.

They were in the kitchen, cleaning up dishes. No one had eaten, but the coffee and tea had been flowing all night. Lilia and Lena were alone together, but only for the moment.

“Watch what you say, Lena. If Indy or, Goddess forbid, Demetrius finds out, no one is going to let me go. But you know and I know that this is the only thing to do.” She was scared. Hell, she was terrified. She had no idea why he wanted her; she’d assumed Demetrius was his quarry. Her plan could be terribly dangerous. But he had Ellie. She had no choice. “Sindar said I had to come alone.”

“How did he manage to send a message through the chalice, anyway?” Lena asked, keeping her voice very low.

“He’s a powerful magician. You know that.” Lilia put a hand on her sister’s shoulder. “At least we got a glimpse of Ellie. Enough to know she’s okay, and that Bahru is with her.”

“Thank the Gods.” Lena brushed tears from her eyes. “It’s not fair that I can’t tell Ryan even that much.”

“You can—just as soon as I get out of here and have enough of a head start.”

“You could tell where it was?” Magdalena asked.

“You couldn’t?” Lilia returned, surprised.

Lena shook her head slowly, left then right, her eyes probing her sister’s.

Lilia only nodded. “Then you must not have been meant to know.”

“Lil—”

“Shh.” The others were coming into the kitchen now, bringing more dirty cups to be washed. The two sisters parted almost guiltily. Indira’s sharp gaze didn’t miss it, but she didn’t ask.

There wasn’t a person in the house who wouldn’t do anything necessary to save Eleanora. Not even Demetrius, Lilia thought.

Demetrius. If she went to Sindar, surrendered to him, he was undoubtedly not going to let her live. Demetrius had to ask for the last piece of his soul before she died because if she died before Beltane and could not revive, his soul would die with her. As would he. And then, if he died, it would be a true death. He would cease to exist. There would be no afterlife, no reincarnation, no blissful release. And that, she suspected, was Sindar’s goal. Keeping Demetrius from accepting his final soul-piece, so that he died and went to the afterlife, was not good enough for him. He wanted to destroy Demetrius utterly.

That meant, she realized, that he had to kill
her
in a way that would not allow her to revive. Which meant either destroying her body entirely, or killing her just before the moment of Beltane, so her time would run out.

But either way, it wasn’t up to her. To receive his soul-piece, Demetrius had to ask for it. Deep down in his heart ask for it. He had to want it. But not too soon. His powers might be the only chance any of them had, and he would lose them when his soul was restored.

“Are you all right?” His deep voice came from close behind her and sent a shiver down her spine.

She turned to face him, nodding once. “Fine.” Her hands started to rise, and she stopped them, realizing she’d been about to slide them up his chest, around his big neck, to thread her fingers into his hair.

He saw it, she knew he did by the reaction in his eyes. Fire flared up, but he forced it back down. She had to be at the meeting place at sunrise. That was less than six hours away. And it might very well be the last sunrise she ever saw in this life. It might be the end of her physical existence. More than anything, she wanted to spend those six hours wrapped in her true love’s arms.

“It’s 2:00 a.m.,” Magdalena said, closer to them than Lilia had realized. “I’m going to be up pacing all night. No one in this house is going to get any sleep tonight. You two might as well bunk in Bahru’s cottage. In the morning we’ll pick up the search.”

Indy rolled her eyes. “No one is sleeping. We’re gonna work the night through if that’s what it takes.”

“It won’t matter,” Lena said. “Look, I didn’t see anything in the chalice, but I felt something. I felt a knowing. Ellie’s all right. She’s with Bahru. She’s not in immediate danger. And this thing will not be over until Beltane, just over five hours from now. That’s when it all has to happen, whatever it is. We should get some rest, so we’ll be ready.”

Indy frowned at her, then snapped her gaze to Lilia’s. “Did you get any of that from the chalice?”

“All of it,” she said with a nod. “I’ve just been trying to...process it. Figure out if it was real. It was much more subtle than a vision would have been.”

“So we should get some rest, even just an hour or so,” Magdalena said. “We’re going to need to be sharp and on our toes for whatever tomorrow morning will bring.”

Indy looked from one of them to the other, then slid her gaze to Tomas’s. “Are you buying this?”

“I don’t think it matters who’s buying it,” he told her. “It’s Lena’s baby. She wouldn’t do anything to put her at risk. This whole thing has to be her call. If she says we sleep, then I suggest we sleep.”

Indy clearly didn’t like it. She drew a breath, pursed her lips as if to keep harsh words from escaping, then turned and headed out the door, grabbing Tomas on the way. “Fine. We’re quitting for the night.”

He let her tug him in her wake.

Lilia took the stack of bedding Magdalena had brought out for her, then hugged the woman who had once been her sister and, in every way that counted, was her sister still. She inhaled the scent of Lena’s hair and wondered if this would be the last time she would see her in this lifetime.

Lena hugged her back just as hard, and then Lilia and Demetrius went out the door together. He looked down at her as they walked along the driveway side by side. It was late, and the sky was a deep purple, as dark as it would get before beginning to lighten again. Night birds called; an owl hooted three times. Not a good omen. Crickets, a sure sign that spring had arrived, were singing a noisy chorus. The air smelled rich with the earliest of the apple trees already beginning to blossom, and some hyacinths, as well. It was beautiful. It was romantic. It was heartbreaking. Because it was, in all likelihood, the end.

“Your sister presumed we would want to spend this night alone together,” Demetrius said softly.

“Not such a leap of logic, really. You were the love of my life.”

“I was?”

“You still are, and you know it. Everything I’ve done for the past three thousand years has been for no other reason than to bring you back to me again. I’ve defied death for you. I’ve defied nature, commanded it to do my bidding, just so I could be with you again.”

“I know,” he whispered. “I know that now. And I’m grateful, more grateful than I’ll ever be able to express. You freed me from that Underworld prison, gave me a chance to know life again. But, more important, Lilia, you gave me a chance to know
you
again. To remember what we had.”

She smiled, tears leaking onto her cheeks. “You remember.”

“Enough to know that it was something far too precious to forget. But, Lilia, I can’t take the rest of my soul-piece back from you now,” he said. “You have to know that. As much as I might want to, I—”

“Shh. Don’t say you want to. Don’t even think it, or it will be done. You need to keep your powers a little bit longer. Rescue the baby. And then, if we’re lucky, there might still be time.”

“And if we’re not?”

“Then you and I will pass into the afterlife together, my love. And it will be all right.” She prayed it was true, feared it might not be, but told herself it wasn’t a lie. She wouldn’t let it be a lie.

He stopped walking when they reached Bahru’s cabin, turning her to face him, his eyes delving into hers so deeply she could feel them like a physical touch. “You saw more in the chalice than you’ve told me.”

“I only know it will all end by the hour when Beltane begins.”

“And when is that, exactly?”

“A little after 9:00 a.m. An hour after sunrise.”

His eyes widened. “That’s just over seven hours. We can’t sleep.”

“No. But we can make love. And then we can face whatever it is we
must
face.”

He stroked her hair back from her face. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry I didn’t listen to you to begin with. It wouldn’t have come to this.”

“Things happen the way they’re supposed to, my love.”

“I lo—”

She pressed her forefinger to his lips. “Keep it for later. Don’t open your heart too far, Demetrius, or it will cost us everything.”

“I don’t know if I can stop myself.” He bent his head, taking her mouth, kissing her deeply and building an inferno inside her that rose through her body and threatened to burn it down.

She clung to his broad shoulders as he stumbled with her up the three steps and through the cabin door. This was risky, but she couldn’t deny herself this one thing, not when she’d ached for him for so long. She vowed she wouldn’t let his soul-piece go as she fumbled for the light switch just inside, then found it far too bright once she’d flipped it on. But he stopped kissing her then, lifting his head, tearing his gaze from hers to look around, to get his bearings. He’d taken the stack of bedding from her. She’d forgotten all about it. The sheets could have been lying on the ground outside for all she knew...or cared.

Demetrius spotted the only bedroom and stepped into it. He swept the existing bedding to the floor, kicking it into a corner to be taken care of later. Then he spread the fitted sheet over the small bed while Lilia leaned in the doorway, watching him with love pouring from her eyes. He added the second sheet and a light blanket. Then, turning, he held out his hand.

She peeled her blouse off over her head. She’d skipped a bra.

He took
his
shirt off, too, and she stared at him and thought she would wear bras twenty-four hours a day if it meant getting to experience this delicious rush of desire, of wanting, this rippling excitement at the sight of his beautiful body. She went to him, loving the way his eyes devoured her, and then his hands were on her shoulders, sliding up and down her arms, wrapping around her waist, and her palms were skimming his chest, sliding up, around his neck. Their bodies pressed against each other, naked flesh to naked flesh, her chest to his, warm skin to warm skin. It felt as if she were absorbing him into her, letting his essence fill every part of her just through this contact. She tipped her head up, caught his eyes blazing down into hers, and then he kissed her again and lowered her to the bed.

When he touched her breasts she felt alive. When he kissed them she lost every other thought. There was only feeling now, only sensation. Delicious physical sensation, shivers of pleasure up her spine, the response of her body to his, the taste of his mouth, sweeter than honey wine, the scent of his skin, like sandalwood and myrrh. And the way his muscles rippled beneath it, firm and hard, powerful and strong. He was big, so big. His hands seemed huge on her small body. But she relished their touch, and shifted around beneath him until she managed to wriggle out of her remaining clothes, soft white draping pants and panties.

He slid his hand between her thighs as soon as her clothing was out of the way, finding her wet already, teasing her with his fingers before delving inside. She gasped in pleasure. Sex was one of the most amazing and wonderful parts of being human, she thought, and she relished every second of it as he drove her wild, made her want him even more than she already did. She reached for him, found his jeans in the way and tugged impatiently at the button, the zipper.

Her lover complied with her unspoken demand, shoving the jeans off, kicking them to the floor, lowering himself over her again. He stared down into her eyes, and she gazed right back up into his. What she saw there made her heart go soft, then jump in fear, and she had to force words and a tune to her lips, though they trembled with bittersweet joy.

“Hold your love,” she sang softly, in a song barely more than a whisper. “Hold it tight. Close your heart, for tonight. Be thou strong, love me not, let the past be forgot. Keep your warrior soul at bay, till the shining light of day.”

She didn’t know if he heard her with his ears, but his heart heard. She knew it. She felt it. Her enchantments were all but irresistible.

And then she was no longer capable of coherent thought, because he was settling over her again, nudging her open. When he filled her she gasped, because that moment of joining, that first instant, felt so powerful to her. Always had. The sensation of being one with him, of uniting with her soul mate in this most intimate way, was magic.

Her heart cried out,
I love you!
but she bit her lips to keep the words inside. Later, she told herself. Later, when the baby was safe and they were together again, be it in this life or the next. And then she prayed it would be one of those two options and not the third, unthinkable one where he simply was no more.

* * *

Demetrius lay in a tangle of sheets, satisfied to his toes. Making love with this woman was beyond anything he’d experienced in this lifetime. Or, he was certain, in the one before. And likely in every lifetime to come.

She hadn’t lied when she’d said that what they had was unlike any other relationship in the realm of mankind. He believed her completely. She felt like home to him. And soon, he thought, it would be that way all the time. Because he didn’t intend to stay soulless any longer. Once the rescue had been completed, he would ask Lilia to restore that final piece of his soul to him, because she was worth far more than his powers, more than his immortality, more than anything, really. Being with her again, loving her again...it was all he wanted from this life. He couldn’t believe he had ever wanted anything else.

She kissed his chest, and rolled out of the bed. “I’ll make us some tea.”

“We only have a few hours,” he told her, sending a worried glance at the bedside clock. 4:30 a.m.

“I know.” Naked, she walked to the tiny kitchenette, still in full view from the bedroom and he feasted his eyes on her. She filled a teapot, then set it on a burner. He drank in every movement of her nude form as if she were performing some erotic dance just for him. She was humming. His Lilia was always humming some tune or another. And then a few words, too soft for him to hear clearly, but she was singing. Happy, he thought. He’d made her happy, despite all that was happening. He must have, because she wouldn’t be singing otherwise.