Burning (25 page)

Grey's fangs retracted and he cocked his head
, staring at her.  "Damn, she's right.  We can defend ourselves, but we can't kill if we have another choice.  Still, Hell is better than the possibility of parole or even a
Council
prison.  I can be satisfied with casting them into the pit."

"Ok
ay, I give in.  What do we need to send the demon and his human minions to Hell?" I asked, resigned. 

Grey tipped his head toward Chloë.  "Her."
 

"So without the bonding ceremony..." I began. 

"She dies, we die, and Hell comes out to play until someone with the same versatile magic as Chloë can stop them," Grey answered. 

"Eli could," I countered. 

"Yes he could.  But he won't.  Eli has lived for thousands of years.  He usually leaves the humans to themselves.  Honestly, if Chloë dies, Eli will probably follow her and the rest of the originals into the afterlife.  He can already come and go as he pleases.  It's part of what makes him so hard to track down."

"Can this day get any worse?" I said aloud
, turning my face to the moon.  "A terrorist group working with a demon.  Bridgett's dead.  Chloë looks like she is trying to book a trip on the River Styx herself.  And if she goes, we'll die trying to keep the gates of Hell closed.  We have an all-powerful original that won't interfere and may in fact be in the afterlife as we speak.  I really could use some good news." Anita slid her arms around my waist and looked up at me.  There was a twinkle in her eyes that I'd come to recognize as a sign that she was in a playful mood.  "Some good news, huh?"  She removed one arm from around me and tapped her chin.  "Hmm… Well, Grey told me that Chloë, the twins, and I are related."

"That's nice
, dear.  I'm not sure that qualifies as good news.  It is news, just not really good or bad." 

Her face flushed with heightened amusement.  This little game was entertaining her.
  "See, Carlos is Eli's grandson," Anita started. 

"Gah
!" Chloë exclaimed. "That makes me your great-aunt." 

Anita giggled and nodded enthusiastically.  "Since Eli is
the origin of everything supernatural, that makes you a little bit..." Anita said, leading Chloë. 

"Elf. Oh!" Chloë jumped a bit on Finn's lap.
  "Everything makes so much more sense now.  That means you are a little bit..." 

"Shifter," Anita finished.
 

"I think I'm going to call you kitten from now on," I told Anita
, allowing her to cheer me up.  "You aren't quite a cat, but you are a little bit.  That makes you my kitten."  And I wouldn't let her down.

Chapter Fourteen

Double Take

Anita

Dean and I sat on the back porch after everyone else went back inside.  Finn had carried most of Chloë's weight while leading her inside even though it was obvious his strength was waning too.  No one wanted to say it out loud, to admit that they might die, but our faith in our own invincibility was shattered. 

Watching Bridgett die
had really shaken me.  I hadn't even been able to wash the blood off my hands from playing nurse while Grey had tried to save her.  I’d believed she was going to live.  It had actually seemed impossible for there to be any other alternative.  All of the danger that had happened last year felt like playtime now.  I’d never believed, not really, that any of us could die. 

I stared up at the stars
, wishing, praying, and even begging for a miracle to happen.  I saw a shooting star race across the ink-black sky and disappear below the horizon.  Moments later, Eli Soaring Eagle, Chloë's father and my great-grandfather, walked out of the woods.

"Pretty dramatic entrance," I said
, nodding to where I’d seen the star disappear. 

He smiled from a gently lined face.  He looked like a father should, with tiny
wrinkles and a bit of silver in his black hair.  If I hadn't known better, I would have guessed that he was in his mid-fifties, but certainly not several thousand years old.  He was still very handsome with dark, coppery skin, long, thick hair, and a regal bearing.  There was also a bit of mischief sparkling in his eyes and showing in his smirk.

"Hard to cross between dimensions without a bit of flash.
  More fun that way too," Eli answered and winked.  He rubbed his hands together.  He seemed oddly amused considering how close to death his daughter was.  "I hear that I have ceremonies to perform.  Well, let's get these lovebirds prepped. The moon is almost at its peak."

"There is only one ceremony," Dean said in a weary voice.
 

Eli nodded.  "Yes, yes.  I suppose you could perform the other two ceremonies if you insist.  Although, since I'm here
, I might as well perform them all at once." 

Dean appeared
tired or too confused to ask the obvious question. 

"Three ceremonies?  How many does it require to bind Chloë and Finn?" I asked. 

"Only one, but the shifters have all bonded as well, have they not?" 

"You mean...Cooper and Josephine," I began. 

Eli nodded, his smile widening. 

"Ah, I get it," I replied. 

"Well I don't.  Can someone explain it to me?" Dean demanded. 

"Grey and Leah," I whispered. 

Dean laughed quickly.  "I understand the look on your face now Mr. Soaring Eagle."

"Dean,
please call me Eli.  I'm glad I get to perform this ritual.  I've been waiting for Grey to get snatched by a woman for generations.  He is one of the few living beings anywhere near my age that still chooses to reside in this dimension. 

“
The rest have all chosen to exist in what you think of as the afterlife.  Seeing him tied down is amusing.  Being the one to conduct the ceremony is quite thrilling.  Now, let's get these six outside.  I don't like hearing that my daughter is so weak."

There it was
—that flash of fatherly concern.  It was probably faith in his own abilities that had him calm and joking.  He might have been absent for large periods of Chloë's childhood, but he still struck me as a loving father. 

I
was turning to go help Chloë get ready when I heard the screen door flap open.  There she was, led out the door by her mother Marguerite.  Chloë's hair was curled, with pieces woven in a complicated pattern that pulled it away from her face.  Tiny roses in pristine white were pinned into the twists.  She was wearing a long-sleeved green dress, and the fancy beading made it seem to be made of leaves. On her feet were jeweled slippers that sparkled in the moonlight.

Behind her
, Leah and Jo walked out onto the porch.  All three were dressed similarly, except for minor changes in the themes of their dresses.  Leah's dress was a red so deep it appeared to be nearly black, with beading that resembled flower petals.  Jo's dress was a mix between copper and russet.  It was beaded to resemble fall leaves.  The twins both had shoulder-length hair, which I doubted would hold a curl.  Instead, the sides of their hair were twisted away from their faces, and a floral crown was pinned in place.  Leah's crown was made of small black magic roses nearly as black in color as her dress.  Jo’s floral crown was filled with orange spray roses.

I wasn't sure
that Grey or Cooper were actually ready to formally commit.  I'd only noticed Grey and Leah as an item for a little over a week.  Maybe I wasn't being very observant, but he seemed to be holding back with her.  Cooper and Jo were even harder to pin down.  They were both very private, and while I knew there was something going on between them, I hadn’t realized they had actually bonded.

My father stepped out on the porch and held the door open for the three soon
-to-be mated males to exit the house.  Finn was the first out the door, looking the most certain of all three of them.  They were all wearing dark suits with ties in the same color as their mate's dress.  It was very charming and obviously the work of magic considering my father and Marguerite were involved.

"Anita," my father
signaled.  I joined him and watched as he pulled a small leather book out of his inside jacket pocket.  "This is a very old grimoire.  In here, you will find a spell and a list of ingredients to banish a demon to Hell.  I need you to take Dean back to your place while we set up the ceremony.  Make it quick, because we start here in thirty minutes.  In the basement, Chloë has a trunk that was given to her by her mother.  You will find the salt, sage, and crystals needed for the banishing.  These things need to be ready the moment Chloë is strong enough to perform the spell with you."

"I don't understand why you and Marguerite don't perform the banishing ritual," I complained.  It was not a small issue in my mind.  Why did we have to continue to take such huge risks when they were invincible? 

"Invincible, not all powerful," my father said and affectionately tapped me on the nose.  I gave him a questioning look.  "It's hard not to read your mind when you broadcast your thoughts out there," he said, confirming my suspicion. 

"
Okay, since it is out there.  I don't understand why you don't step in.  Marguerite is pretty damn powerful, and so are you," I replied. 

"Neither of us
has a quarter of the raw potential Chloë does.  Besides, it will take more unique beings than we to banish a demon that has absorbed so much energy," he explained. 

I shrugged.  I wasn't going to win an argument with him.  I wasn't sure if I believed him, but it didn't matter. 
Chloë was going to be expected to perform the spell. I only hoped I could help her.

I stopped
to talk to Grey on my way to gather Dean. "Bet this comes as a shock to you?" I teased. 

He turned his onyx eyes on me, and for the first time
, I saw peace in them.  "A pleasant one though," he answered. 

I studied his face closer. 
Grey usually held a certain cold indifference to the world, even when he had been with Chloë. 

"You look happy," I muttered.

"I never really saw this for myself.  I wanted it.  We all know I've looked for it in the wrong places, but I feel like I've finally come home.  I should have asked her myself instead of having Eli announce it, but I didn't allow myself to hope I could be the one for her," he replied, still a bit shocked. 

"I'm happy for you.  We all really like Leah," I said and patted him on the arm. 
I left Grey to grab Dean. 

"Can you believe the way tonight is working out?" Dean asked, raking a hand through his hair.
 

"No
. This has been one of the worst and best nights for this coven," I commented.

"I feel her here," Dean said quietly. 

I didn't have to ask whom he meant because there was a whisper that could have been the wind and a flowery smell that could have been perfume but felt too much like Bridgett to pass off. 

"Yeah me too," I agreed. 
"Let's go get these things from the house.  I don't want to miss this ceremony."  

Finn

"You two ready for this?" I asked Grey and Cooper. 

Cooper didn't answer.  He was too busy staring at Jo like a
love-struck fool.  Yeah, he was ready.  Grey had a troubled expression on his face.  I’d never taken him for a guy who would allow himself to be pressured into anything he didn't want to do. 

"I'm ready, but I'm wondering if this is fair for Leah. 
She'll never have children with me.  I can't even take her on an afternoon picnic.  Her life will be half what it should have been from this moment forward," he said. 

"Do you love her?" I asked seriously. 

"With everything I am," he responded. 

"Does she love you?" I countered. 

"I believe she does," Grey answered. 

"Then trust her.  If she loves you
, the rest is just details," I said and patted his shoulder.

Dean and Anita rushed out, the screen door flapping noisily behind them.  "Did we miss it?" Anita asked, scanning the yard. 

"No.  Perfect timing though.  We are ready to begin," Eli announced. 

He gestured for the six of us to take our places.
  He started with Cooper, Jo, Grey and Leah.  Their ceremony was identical to Dean and Anita's in Vegas.  Eli handed Dean two gold-corded ropes, which he wrapped around their wrists.  Eli and Carlos chanted until the ropes flashed, leaving behind the Celtic band tattoo on their wrists. 

The glow of the moon lit up a circle around Chloë and
me like a spotlight amplified by a circle of crystals.  A single tear ran down Chloë's face.  "Bridgett," she whispered.  I hadn't realized she’d managed to make it to the store before she had been captured. 

"I figured she went through so much trouble
that I couldn't let it be for nothing.  I saw the bag and grabbed it while we were racing out," Dean stated, staring at the crystals. 

When the light filled the entire circle
, Eli extended his arms, palms down, and began another chant.  This one was different than the one for the shifter-bonding ceremony.  It sounded guttural and ancient.  Ivy emerged from the ground and began to snake around the two of us, alternating back and forth.  It reached our hands and began to tie us together. 

"When the Creator blessed me with companions from my body
, she made the first witch.  Soon, the Creator saw that her love was fickle and too much like the humans we lived amongst," Eli began in a booming voice.

"The Creator made my next companion from the earth and brought him to life with a drop of my blood.
  That was the first elf.  His emotions were not like the humans but steady as the ground beneath our feet.  When he chose a human mate, the Creator instructed me on how to tie their union back to the earth." 

Eli
looked us both deep in the eyes.  "The Earth is alive, even when winter descends and life seems to fade away.  Love, like the Earth, must be nurtured to grow and thrive.  Do you promise to work to keep your love alive and growing?" 

We both said, "I do," at the same time.

Eli began to chant again.  The ivy began to glow like the cord in the shifter ritual and disappeared into our skin.  A vine with tiny flowers marked Chloë's wrist, while mine had thorns instead of flowers.

"The flowers on Chloë's mark represent the female's ability to create life.  The thorns on Finn's mark remind him of his responsibility to protect his mate.
  These are blessings by the Creator and show that this is an excellent bond," Eli announced.

I vaguely registered when he announced the six of us bonded.  I had already grabbed Chlo
ë and kissed her.  I felt her dissolve into me.  I cradled the back of her head in my hand and allowed my tongue to explore and caress.  Nothing existed except her lips, the smell of her hair, and the feel of her body pressed against mine.

I probably shouldn't have forgotten
that it was her father who had performed the ritual.  I remembered quickly when he cleared his throat next to us. 

"I'm very glad you are both well matched, but I'd rather not witness how well seeing as she is my daughter," Eli grumbled.

I looked around and realized Cooper, Jo, Leah, and Grey had already left. 

Dean laughed.  "I'd make fun of the way the four of them ran out of here, but I remember the anticipation." 
He turned to Anita with a heated gaze.  "Actually, I think we could all take a small break before we start planning again."

I looked at Chloë.  Her color was brighter than it had been in months.  Her lips were swollen from our kiss, and her hair was mussed from my hands.