Mortal Sin (53 page)

Rafe inspected Moira’s wounds. “You need stitches.”

“So do you. And Phineas.”

“Moira—I thought I’d lost you.”

“We’re even.”

“It’s not funny.”

She sighed. “I thought I’d lost myself. I felt… the urge to use magic. I felt it swirling around me, my own anger and fear, pulling it out of me.”

“But?”

“You. But for you. And Father Philip and me.” She took a deep breath and her chest ached. Her limbs were heavy as they walked slowly toward the road. “I understand now, the difference between magic and gifts, as Father called them. I feared my powers because I thought they came from evil, but they don’t.” She hesitated, not knowing how to explain it. “For the first time, I felt something…
else.
Something good. Like I had made the right choice and everything shifted inside and clicked.

“I don’t hate Fiona. Well, I don’t like her, but she’s dying, Rafe. All she’s done, all the pain she’s caused, and she’s dying. She aged in front of me, years! Before, she had the power of fear. All the things she did to me, the people she killed in front of me, the monsters she sent to torment me… the past controlled me. Now, it’s gone.”

Rafe kissed her forehead. “We need to go.”

Phineas led the way off his compound and toward the dock.

“Where’s Rico?” Moira asked as the navigated through the trees.

“I don’t know.”

“He made it,” she said. “He had to.”

She stumbled in the dirt. “Whoops, I tripped.” Her head spun.

“Moira, you can barely stand.” Rafe picked her up in his arms.

“Don’t,” she said. “I’m fine.”

“You’re still bleeding, Moira. You’ve lost a lot of blood.” He cradled her in his arms and she put her head on his shoulder.

“I love you,” she whispered. Tears fell down her face. She didn’t want to cry, but she couldn’t stop. “I love you so much it hurts, Rafe. If Fiona takes you from me—”

“She won’t. We did the right thing.” He kissed the top of her head.

“We let her go.”

“She escaped.”

“No, we let her go. We could have killed her to stop her. But we didn’t because we were selfish, worried about our own souls. What about all the souls of the people she’s going to kill from this day forward?”

Rafe stopped walking and sat on a fallen log, Moira cradled in his lap. Phineas hesitated, then said, “Rafe, ten minutes down this path and we’re there.”

“We’ll catch up. We need a minute.”

Rafe offered Moira water, and she drank greedily.

“Moira,” Rafe said, “I don’t have the answers, but what Fiona does is on
her
soul, a soul she has already sacrificed. That’s what she’s dealing with now, the aftermath of her actions. The power, the youth, the command of covens—it’s slipping away. You are killing her, because you have free will and said no to her plan. She is dying, and there’s no coming back from that.”

“I hope you’re right.”

“I am.” He smiled and kissed her again.

“You know how a wounded animal is more dangerous? Fiona is wounded. Mortally wounded. And she’ll take as many people as she can with her when she dies.”

“And we will be there to stop her.”

“I’m glad you have faith.”

“You do, too, Moira,” he said. “I see it in your eyes.”

“Because they reflect yours.” She wrapped her arms around him and let his love soothe her.

#

Rafe walked down the path carrying Moira. She was sleeping. Or unconscious. She needed medical attention, food, water, sleep.

They’d had a partial victory, but what Fiona said about Santa Louisa had chilled Rafe to his bones. Rafe had left Santa Louisa knowing that Wrath was in town… and days had passed. He hadn’t spoken to Skye. He didn’t know if Anthony was still in a coma or worse, dead; he had left Santa Louisa to save the woman he loved because the woman he loved was the only one who could save Santa Louisa.

And she was near death.

Moira didn’t realize it, which troubled him as well. She was weak, pale, and thin. He feared Fiona had done something to her, something irreversible. But Moira would know, wouldn’t she?

Except she was passed out.

If she died…

She’s not going to die. I will not let Moira die!

He kept telling himself that, over and over. They hadn’t come this far to have her give up. She was a fighter. She
was
fighting.

Rafe heard something in the trees. He stopped walking. He was exposed, unable to defend himself holding Moira in his arms.

Phineas rounded the corner, followed by Glenn Younger. Rafe breathed easier.

“I thought you might need help with Moira,” Phineas said.

Reluctantly, Rafe handed her over to Phineas to carry the rest of the way. “Did the others make it?

“Jonah and Savannah are standing guard over the others. They are sick, but getting better thanks to Glenn.”

“Rico? Nikolas?” Rafe asked.

“Both on the boat. Rico’s leg needs attention,” Glenn said.

“We need to get Moira help,” Rafe said. “She’s unconscious.”

“She’s freezing cold,” Phineas said. Glenn took off his coat and put it over Moira.

A few minutes later, they’d reached the dock. Rico stood there, waiting, using a stick as a cane. “I just spoke to Anthony.”.

“He’s okay?” Rafe asked. “Thank God.”

“Juan Martinez saved him, sacrificing himself to do so. He left a notebook for you. No one can read it.” Rico paused. “But I suspect you will be able to.”

“I’ll try.”

“We have many problems.”

“What else is new?” Rafe said. He watched as Glenn took Moira from Phineas and into the main cabin. He started to follow.

“Raphael, I need your attention.”

Rico’s tone had Rafe stop, turn, and stare at him. His chest tightened as he realized something very bad had happened.

“What is it?”

“Matthew Walker kidnapped Kyle Callahan in Victoria earlier tonight.”

“Why?” There was no viable reason, except to use him as bait.

“I suspect that what Moira and Kyle did in Victoria, and how Kyle can communicate with spirits, they want him to talk to one of them.”

“He won’t.”

“Walker put Father Brody in a coma. A coma very similar to yours.”

“Where are they? We need to rescue him.”

The boat started moving and they pulled away from the dock.

Rico said, “Everyone is working to track Kyle. But there’s one more thing, and it’s much worse.”

How could it get worse? But Rafe didn’t say a word. It could always get worse.

“Lily. Somehow, an ancient spirit possessed her while she was at Olivet. The spirit broke into the vault. All the protections we had were to keep the Demons Envy and Lust trapped.”

“But Lily’s the
arca
,” Rafe said, the horror of what had happened hitting him. “They are drawn to her.”

“Andrew and Tristan reviewed the security tapes. All she had to do was touch them and they were freed. At least, freed from Olivet traps.”

“They’ve taken her. How?” They’d done everything in their power to protect Lily from the Seven. How could anyone have gotten inside Olivet? How could Lily have been possessed and used? “Father Philip baptized her. When the demon Envy tried to take her three months ago, it couldn’t.”

“I don’t know. Maybe Father Philip was wrong about baptism protecting her,” Rico said. “Many baptized people have become possessed. I can’t think of another explanation.”

Phineas shook his head. “I have a better one.”

Rafe and Rico turned to the leader of Gabriel’s Sword. Phineas said, “It’s a spirit. They can get inside, Baptism or not. Once there, it can suppress any of Lily’s internal protections. A buffer.”

Rafe said, “You said
while
Lily was at Olivet. Where is she now?”

“We don’t know.”

“They’re going to Santa Louisa,” Rafe said.

“How can you be sure?” Rico said. “I don’t have any information that Walker left Victoria with Kyle.”

“Why would he stay when Santa Louisa is the key to everything? Fiona said something when we were fighting back there. About how we’d be too late to save Santa Louisa. They’re going back to where it all started.”

“On the cliffs?” Rico asked.

“If they want Kyle to talk to spirits, there’s only one place that has answers that they need. The mission.” Pieces of the puzzle started falling into place. “Something had been bugging me during the walk back. Why was Fiona here alone? She relies on Serena and Walker for strength. But she was here with only a couple young witches who clearly had no idea what they were up against.”

“So?” Phineas said.

“She was weak and sick.”

“Did you kill her?” Rico asked bluntly.

“No.” He glanced at Phineas. “I wanted to, but I didn’t. It wouldn’t have been in self-defense. Moira had an opportunity and hesitated. We don’t know if killing her would set off a supernatural chain reaction of sorts, but neither of us were comfortable with either decision.”

Rico showed no sign that he was pleased or disappointed. But he said, “Her time is nearly up. That’s why they’re rushing now. Making mistakes.”

“What if Walker and Serena are planning to continue without her? They must know how weak she is, and yet they sent her to Anacortes with little protection? That makes no sense.”

“We know they have three of the demons,” Rico said. “We have to assume they have Lily, and Moira said Serena controlled Greed in the Box of Cain.”

“Wrath is in Santa Louisa. Maybe they found a way to control it as well.”

Phineas said, “Could they now bring them together? Unite the Seven?”

“It would destroy the town.”

Rico called down into the cabin. “How long until we reach the airport?” he asked Glenn.

“One hour, take or leave.”

“Go straight there,” Rico told him.

Rafe put his hand on Rico’s shoulder. “I’m glad you made it out. I’m going to sit with Moira.”

Rico nodded. “I’m glad you’re here as well.”

#

Fiona stumbled into her house on a small island off Seattle. She fell to the cool tile floor and forced herself to calm down.

Moira could not live. Next time, Fiona would kill her. She should have killed her long ago, but Matthew always stopped her.

Tiffany and the others… pathetic witches. Fiona had taken care of all of them, but Tiffany had escaped her wrath. Not for long.

Slowly, Fiona pulled herself up. Where was everyone? Had Matthew already left for Santa Louisa? Serena? She was back early; she thought they might still be here.

She walked to her chambers, her room with all her potions and stored spells. The room with her bottles and herbs and the blood of virgins. She washed her skin with the special ointment, then showered in pure water. Only then did she look in the mirror.

Her beautiful red hair was half white. Her skin folded in wrinkles. Dark bags had formed under her eyes.

No, no no!
She was not dying. She wouldn’t allow herself to die!

For an hour, she worked up spells and summoned small demons to fix the problems to her skin and body. She almost looked right. Except her hair. She couldn’t get the white out of her hair.

She called Matthew’s cell phone; he didn’t answer. She called Serena’s cell phone; her daughter didn’t answer.

Fiona sat on the couch and stared out the window into the black night.

She sat for hours.

Then she rose and went back to her chambers. She took out her divining crystals. Slowly, carefully, she cast a circle, laid out the crystals in the proper order, and sat in the middle. She completed the ritual by using a bit of Matthew’s hair, a bit of Serena’s hair.

It was always useful to keep trinkets around that could help in situations like this.

“Show me the truth,” she commanded her crystals.

All around her rose scenes from the past. Of Matthew and Serena, heads together, planning. Every time Fiona had walked in on them, then seemed casual, just talking.

But they were plotting.

She saw that Matthew had commanded Elizabeth Ellis to approach Lily and scratch her, thereby obtaining her blood under Elizabeth’s finger nails. He never punished the woman, he’d given the order!

And Serena… she used Lily’s blood and the
Conoscenza
to summon the spirit of Jezebel. How in the world had Serena done it? And she’d sent Jezebel to claim Lily and possess Envy and Lust.

But the scene that made Fiona’s blood boil was the one where Matthew thought she was a fool.

Matthew and Serena were on the dock nearby. “Mother is obsessed. Moira can’t serve as the liaison, as the amicitia, but Mother doesn’t believe it.”

“She’s dying.”

“I know.”

“It’s her own fault, this obsession of hers. Youth? Beauty? You, on the other hand, sweet daughter, were wise. You asked for the right gifts. The book is the power.”

Serena smiled. “If she ever found out I went through the same ritual
—
”

“Shh, that’s our secret. Every decision we make, Fiona thinks is her own. She’s walking toward her own destruction.” He sighed. “I love her, Serena.”

“I know.”

“But I can’t abide by her lack of focus, her vision, her obsession with Moira and Raphael.”

“I want them dead.”

“They will be.”

“Thank you, Daddy.”

“When we’re finished, and we are granted the power of the Seven and return them through the portal, there is nothing we can’t do. Nothing we can’t know. The future is ours, precious girl. I am so very proud of you.”

Fiona screamed. She lost control of her magic. Every glass shattered in the room; every window cracked in the house.

“Traitors!”

They would pay for betraying her.

Tears streamed down her face as she packed in preparation for battle.

They would die. They would
all
die.

Skye arrived at the mission at dawn with two large coffees, fruit, and a breakfast sandwich. She’d already eaten hers while driving. Like Moira, Anthony preferred tea, but he’d asked for the extra caffeine after working all night.