Circus Wolf (22 page)

Abruptly, Hugh pulled back. “Let’s make sure this
demon never rises again.”

Stones crunched and a beam of light flashed on them.
Flinching, their gazes darted to the opening into the section of the tunnel
where the dreadful fight to the death had occurred.

“Amen to that,” Madam Mystic said, her wide eyes
revealing horror at the bloody sight while her breathy tone revealed relief.

“What the hell are you
doing here?” Hugh asked. D
eep furrows formed above
the bridge of his nose and his eyes glinted brightly.

The unexpected twist had
left Tigra momentarily speechless and concerned about the ramifications of the
mystic walking in on the bloodbath.

“I had to come back to help,” the mystic said, her
gaze taking in the oozing bites and claw marks that covered their bodies. “You
two risked your lives to save me. Being a woman familiar with voodoo and
demons, I’ve always been terrified of my own shadow and taken the path of least
resistance. But after you two blessed me with your unfailing courage, I’m not
willing to ever be a coward again.” She handed Tigra a silver cross. “I didn’t
return quickly enough to help take Skully down, but maybe this cross, once
blessed by the Pope, will keep him down.”

Tigra hugged, Madam Mystic. “Thank you. And for
insurance, I want to try everything any of us have ever heard. I don’t want the
Aptrgangr
,” she said, meeting Madam Mystic’s gaze,
“one who lingers after death in the form of the malevolent dead, to ever rise
again.”

Madam Mystic touched her hand to her chin. “None of
us want that, my dear. In addition to burying him with the cross, the methods
I’ve heard are burning the vampire’s heart, pouring an ancient iron element
over his corpse, and stabbing him with a sword made of yew wood.”

“Really?”
Tigra asked, horrified yet fascinated. “I also
heard he can be killed by bullets filled with liquid silver nitrate.”

Hugh snorted. “Do either of you have any of those
things or a gun with silver nitrate bullets on you?”

Tigra felt the heat rush to her cheeks as she and
Madam Mystic shook their heads.

“Don’t look so disheartened ladies,” Hugh said. “We
have options. From my experience, I think if we lay him upside down, burn him
to ashes, and then throw the silver cross on top of the ashes it will destroy
him forever.”

Madam Mystic drew a bag from her pocket and
sprinkled a few cactus thorns into her palm. “I picked these from a yard on the
main street on my way here.”

Hugh glanced up at the ceiling of the cave. “Why?”
he asked with what sounded like forced patience in his tone.

“Because one other viable suggestion to destroy a
demon, evil spirit, or a vampire for all eternity is to surround the grave site
with thorns and move a boulder on top directly above the spot where the
vampire’s ashes lay.”

Hugh’s mouth twitched as if he were holding back a
chuckle.

“Okay, those steps are doable. Now let’s get busy.
Find a sharp branch or stone and start digging this monster’s grave before
someone else comes along.” Hugh glanced at Madam Mystic. “No one followed you,
did they?”

Fear glinted in her dark eyes for a moment, and then
she slid her hands down her black, loose-fitting culottes. “No, I wore dark
clothes and stayed in the shadows. That should be good enough, shouldn’t it?”

Tigra prayed it was. More witnesses could bring the
kind of trouble that would land them all in the electric chair.

Chapter Twenty-Three

With the three of them digging, it didn’t take long
to dig a shallow grave. Tigra and Madam Mystic gathered kindling and then with
a silent prayer, Tigra watched Hugh as he laid the vampire upside down and used
a flaming torch to set him on fire.

“Being a part of this ritual goes against my soul,”
she said softly.

“Mine, too,” Hugh whispered, “but leaving this
monster free to kill again is unthinkable.”

“It will be all right,” Madam Mystic said, touching
Tigra’s shoulder. “I’ll call on the spirits to protect us.”

A chill slipped down Tigra’s arms as Madam Mystic
softly sang an eerie voodoo chant.

Edgy emotions ricocheted around the cave walls as
the flames slowly turned the body to ashes. With gazes fixed on the small pit,
they sat stiffly and silently in a circle. The cremating process took an
eternity. The choking smell of burning flesh, musty decay, and burning wood
filled their section of the cave.

“I’d suggest you go to the cave entrance to breathe
in some fresh air,” Hugh said, “but separating is too dangerous. Are you ladies
going to be all right?”

They both nodded.

 
When the
coals finally lost their glow, Tigra took a shuddering breath and tossed her
silver cross on top of the gray ash. The rocky earth began to quake and Hugh
grabbed her and drew her into the warmth of his strong arms. Sheltered and
protected, she watched in fascination as the dregs of smoke soared upward,
hopefully carrying the vampire’s curse away.

After the smoke cleared, they sat a few moments as
though hypnotized.

Tigra flinched when suddenly Hugh pushed her away
and sprang to his feet. His stance was alert, coiled as though wary. “We’re not
finished,” he whispered and then he thoroughly covered the ashes with dirt and
stones.

Dancing and chanting, Madam Mystic scattered the
parameter of the grave-site with thorns. When she completed her procedure, the
three of them worked together to roll a boulder over the grave-site directly
above the spot where the vampire’s ashes lay.

Tigra bowed her head and said softly, “Please, Lord,
forgive us for this hedonistic ritual. We’ve agreed to accept our part in
sending this vampire back to hell for all eternity for the sake all those who
have fallen at this demon’s hand and those who might have fallen in the future
had we failed.”

“Amen,” Hugh and Madam Mystic said.

****

With heavy hearts, they silently escorted Madam
Mystic to her caravan. Teary eyed, Tigra hugged the psychic. When Hugh hugged
the psychic as well, Tigra felt her warm connection to her
wolfman
deepen.

“It is agreed,” Tigra said in a choked voice. “None
of us will ever speak of this night again.”

“Agreed,” the psychic said.

Tigra shivered, moved beyond further words. The
three of them had accepted a pact that undoubtedly would change them forever.

****

Minutes later, inside Tigra’s caravan she studied
Hugh’s injuries. “Those gouges and bites are deep, and maybe infected. Let me
take you to the ER.”

 
 
Hugh laughed without humor. “You know with our
duality that’s impossible.”

 
She sighed.
He was right, of course.

 
He winked.
“Besides, I prefer your gentle touch.”

Apparently he wasn’t too injured to play. “Okay, then,” she
said. “We are covered in cave dirt and your wounds are numerous and wide
spread, so the most efficient and sanitary way to bathe them would be in the
shower.”

“You’re wounded, too. So for expediency and to save water,
I insist we shower together.”

She laughed, took his hand, and drew him toward the glass
enclosure. When she turned to get the antibiotics, he began to strip.
Seeing his
impressive phallic symbol pulsing and the glint in his eyes, she placed the
antibiotics on the sink counter and slipped out of her clothing.

When she stood naked before him, she smiled, slowly
taking in everything about Hugh, from the top of his dark hair to his
well-formed thighs. She found it difficult to breathe. She’d seen him naked
before, but that was prior to falling in love with him. Good heavens, he was
the epitome of the perfect man. He was, trim, long-muscled, and impressive.
Nothing about Hugh looked soft, except the expression in his eyes. That’s what
got to her; the love she saw there. Not just passion, but love.

She reached past him, turned on the shower, clasped
his hand and drew him with her into the warm, pelting, cleansing waters. Steam
swirled around them, wrapping their glistening bodies in enchanting vapors.

Worried about his injuries, she fought her desire
and gently cleansed his wounds with a soft cloth. She felt his eyes devouring
her.

When she finished, he said, “My turn to bathe your
wounds.”

 
“Believe me,”
she said with desire racing through her veins, “right now that’s not a good
idea.”

“Sure it is. We can’t let your wounds get infected.”

When he reached for her, she ducked away, lost her
balance, swayed, and braced herself against his firm, bare chest.
As though her hands had a mind of their own, she
smoothed his moist, steel-like abs.

Searing
heat shot between them. She felt his
heart pounding as hard as
hers.

He gazed down at her. She
moaned as he slid his index
finger from her left breast to her lower belly. “I love the way the shadows
emphasize your curves,” he whispered into her ear.

He caught her face between his hands and gazed down
into her eyes. “You were fantastic today, supportive and so brave.”

 
Hugh’s lips claimed hers and
he drew her closer. His hand skimmed down her side and explored her wet body,
while hot water rained down on them. He pinned her between the shower wall and
his own body. Tigra wound her arms around his neck and arched into him, seeking
all the contact he wanted to give. He cupped the swell of her breasts and his
tongue delighted her nipples with sweet torment. She gasped at the feel of his
strong arousal, pressing urgently against her belly.

She closed her hand over his shaft, massaging him,
discovering him. His grateful moans heightened her excitement. But it wasn’t
just the passion raging between them that eased her heartaches. It was love.
She’d found a man she could love completely—trust completely. And they were
bound together for eternity by the ritual they’d just performed in the cave.
She
accidentally bumped one of his deep gashes and he flinched.
“Oh,
no.
I’m sorry. Until your wounds are healed, this is insanity. We’d
better get out and let me smooth antibiotics on those bites,” she said past the
constriction in her throat.

“Only if you allow me to return the favor,” he said.

“Can I trust there won’t be any more monkey business
tonight?”

He chuckled.
“After what just
happened in the shower, probably not.”

 
Oh, God, his touch
is always so
arousing; but
I’ll have to grit my teeth and bare it. Releasing my tiger love must be
postponed until we’re healed and in better shape.

After they’d toweled off, she gently smeared
antibiotics on Hugh while saying her ABC’s backwards.

When she finished doctoring him, she said, “I’ll
spread healing salve on myself, but it’ll be a big help if you’ll lower my bed
from the wall.” She didn’t dare let him touch her again tonight.

 
“Of course.
And I insist you invite me to stay the night. I
need to be near you until I check the cave again tomorrow and verify the ritual
was a success.”

She laughed.
“Crafty way to
wrangle an invitation.
But don’t stray from your side of the bed. We
just proved neither of us has been rendered harmless, but I don’t think either
of us is up to a romp.”

The doubting side-long look he sent her way assured
her he felt she was wrong about that.

****

The next morning, silent as a shadow, Hugh got up at
sunrise, leaving Tigra to sleep, and headed toward the burial cave.
Anticipation and worry tightened his muscles. The sun rose higher, lining the
rolling hillsides to the east with radiant yellow light against patches of
green. The serrated purple mountains beyond caught the illumination with the
brilliance of the silver cross they’d buried with the ashes. He breathed in the
crisp air, unable to fully savor the myriad scents of a new day as long as his
thoughts were on the vampire’s grave-site.

 
He sighed in
relief when he found the burial ground as they had left it. From his
experiences in the past, he had a difficult time believing the ritual had been
a success and the danger was over. He was grateful they were all alive—yet
disappointed their curses had not been lifted. He and Tigra had put their lives
on the line for each other while destroying the demon, yet their curses
remained intact. He was still a werewolf and she was still a tiger woman. He
was also grateful they’d managed to rid the world of at least one demon and
saved many lives into the future. But he’d counted on having it all. He’d
fallen in love with the forbidden and the mesmeric gaze of a tiger woman he
couldn’t resist.