Revenant (30 page)

Confusion
and fear swirled through me as I lay completely helpless. His lips brushed
against mine and then every sensation around me began to fade away. Gage’s rich
voice surged around me, and I felt more than heard the power of his spell wrap
me in its dark embrace.

I call upon the elements

By all the names of the demon
princes, the
legion

Fulfill this ardent servant’s request:

May the heart I seek beat in
time with mine,

Her mind hold only thoughts of
me,

Her will be slave to my desires,

Make her bound to me as if in
deepest love,

Her soul oppressed by mine for
all eternity.

I
lost track of his words, of the world, as consciousness slipped away.

* * *

“Wake up, Colina. You must wake up.” I immediately recognized
my mother’s voice.

I
tried to open my eyes, but couldn’t. Then something softly touched each of my
eyelids and I blinked, able to see again.

My
mother’s face was only inches from mine. I lay on my back, my mother floating
above me. She had the distinctive looks of a dark Scot, with alabaster skin and
raven black hair that served to make her bright green eyes almost glow in
contrast. Her children had inherited the dark hair and pale complexion, but
none of us had received the beautiful green eyes. Instead, my father’s hazel
eyes stared at me out of the mirror every morning—strong eyes, but not
the stunning, attractive force hers granted.

I
sighed at the sight of her ghost. My mother—a woman whose strength I had
always counted on. My mother, killed by Macaven’s men. She floated in front of
me, a pale shadow of the woman she had been in life.

“You
were always the strongest of us,” she whispered, trailing her fingers over my
lips.

“Mama!”
I cried out. I could finally speak.

“I
never knew a child so full of life. When you were
little,
you always wanted to be outside playing in the sun. You
laughed
so much as a little girl.
You were so full of kindness and sweetness, so full of love.”

“Mama, I’m scared.”

“Hush, child, there’s nothing to be scared of.”

I could feel tears sliding from the corners
of my eyes. “I miss you.”

“You need to remember there’s light inside
you—such a strong light that burns so bright.
Almost as bright as the sun.
You must find that light inside you
and bring it forth.
Focus on it.
It’s
inside you, deep within you. You need to find it and let it fuel you, let it
give you strength.”

I squeezed my eyes shut, focusing inward. I
could only see a small flame of anger burning bright within the darkness. One
small flame that seemed so far away.

“You
must
find the light,
Colina
. You must not
forget who you are.” Her voice rose up and I opened my eyes again, watching her
ghostly form lift away from me.
A gray,
shimmering light surrounded
her, slowly dimming.

“Mama, don’t go. Don’t leave me again,” I
whimpered. I was so very afraid.
I don’t
want to be alone. I don’t want to die alone in this dark place.

“Find
the light,” my mother said. As the words left her mouth, the glow around her
disappeared and she left me in darkness.

I opened my eyes and looked up into Gage’s face.

I
was laying in a bed. He stood over me, dressed, as usual, in a dark suit, but
today he had on an orange-and-red-striped tie.

“How
are you feeling, my love?
Your temperature was
so high.
You had us worried.” He sat down on the edge of the bed next to
me.

“I’m
okay,” I said, lifting myself into a sitting position.
I felt so weak, so drained.
“I had
the
most
awful
nightmare.”

“Your
temperature was so high I’m not surprised you had wicked dreams.” His fingers
brushed across my forehead. “The healer said you could have some tea, and maybe
later, if you’re feeling better, a little soup.” He leaned down and kissed my
forehead. “We have to get your strength back.”

There
was a noise in the corner of the room. I looked over and saw Mildred standing
there. She looked uncomfortable.

Gage
followed my glance. “Mildred came to make sure you’re okay.” He gestured to
Mildred. “Come and say hello. See for yourself that she’s all right.”

Mildred
walked over to the side of the bed. She wore a brown dress covered in delicate
lace. The collar of it covered her neck, and a full skirt went all the way to
the floor. For a moment she looked down at me with the oddest look on her face,
but then it disappeared and she gave me a wide smile. “I’m so happy you’re
better, child. You had us all worried.” She looked over at Gage cautiously.

“See,
Mildred, everything is fine.” Gage gave a laugh before addressing me. “She put
up quite a fuss until I finally allowed her to
come
see
you.” His eyes narrowed and he scolded her. “Now that you’ve seen
her, you can go about your business, old woman.”

I wonder what she’s done to
annoy him? He’s talking so sharply to her.

He gave Mildred another hard look.
“Mildred, do you mind asking
them to bring in some tea on your way out?”

Mildred
gazed off into the distance silently for a long moment. After a few awkward
beats, she looked back at us and said, “Of course. I’ll do it right now.” She
gave me a good-bye wave and headed out of the room.

“Such
a lovely woman,” Gage said as he watched her leave. “She was quite worried
about you.”

“We
became close when we were in the asylum together.” I watched her leave, and for
the briefest moment I felt a terrible sense of dread. But then I looked up at
Gage, and when I gazed into his eyes, a feeling of happiness spread through me.

Gage
leaned in and kissed me. When he pulled away, I felt breathless.

“Now
you must rest. You need to be strong. It’s only two days away,” he said.

He’s so
handsome.
I love that bit of white in his
hair. It makes him look so distinguished.
“‘It’? What’s happening in two days?”

He
laughed. “The fever must have done a number on you. You honestly don’t
remember?”

“No…”
I said hesitantly, unwilling to disappoint him.

“Our
nuptials, darling.” He leaned in and kissed me again, and when he broke
away,
he whispered, “I can’t wait to make you
my bride.”

It
was my turn to laugh. “I can’t believe I forgot.” I was going to marry Gage,
the man I loved. I had waited so long for this day.

“Now
rest. Company is here, but I’ve told them you aren’t well enough yet to join
the festivities.”

“Is
everything going as well as you’d hoped?” I asked.
He’s so powerful, so strong, so smart…

He
patted my arm. “It is, darling. Just a little while ‘til the witching
hour
and the start of
the epic
party I have planned.” He got up off the bed. “I’m just
sorry you’re going to miss it.”

“I’m
sorry I can’t be there.” I gave him a smile. “Make sure you have fun.”

“I
will.” He grinned. “It should be a party that will not soon
be forgotten
.” He turned, starting to walk away
before stopping to look over his shoulder at me. “I’ll come and check on you
when the party’s over.”

I
looked at him standing there—so handsome, so fearless—and my heart felt
like it was bursting with joy. “I love you,” I whispered.

“I
love you, too,” he answered, his lips splitting in a wide smile.

The
room felt cold and empty after he left.

* * *

I opened my eyes and sat up in bed. I didn’t know what time
it was.
After Gage left, one of
his nameless servants brought me
tea,
and
later a bowl of soup. Like all of them, she moved quietly, efficiently, and
without any expression of character, almost as if a ghost had passed through
the room.
I did feel a bit better after I ate, but I was still so incredibly
bone-tired. I’d slept, but I kept waking up as
nightmares
plagued my dreams. In this last
one,
I’d
been somewhere closed in, unable to move or speak.
The fear I’d felt was so overwhelming.
My heart was still pounding
in my chest, even after I opened my eyes.

There
was a candle burning on a table nearby, but the rest of the room was awash in
shadows.

A
sound floated in the air and I knew I wasn’t alone. “Is someone there?” I
whispered. I almost screamed when a figure
emerged
from a dark corner.

Oh, it’s only Mildred. Why does
she look upset?

My
heart thumped hard in my chest as I thought of Gage in danger. “Is everything
all right? Is Gage—”

“Gage
is fine. He’s dancing the night away up top.” She motioned with her finger toward
the ceiling.

That’s
right,
they’re holding the party out in the woods
. A great sense of relief washed
over me.
Gage is safe
.
It’d
been silly of me to panic, but the feeling
of dread I had in my nightmares seemed to cling to me even after I woke.

Mildred
stood by my bed, her gaze searching my face as if looking for something that
wasn’t there. “Colina, what has he done to you?”

I
just looked at her, not understanding what she was asking.

She
reached out and snatched my arm. “It’s a spell. Some
kind of
brainwashing. Child, you have to snap out of it.”

She
was hurting me, her bony fingers digging into my skin. “Let go of me,” I protested.

Mildred’s
wild eyes scared me. Her hair fell around her face and stuck up in all
directions. She looked unhinged. Her grip tightened painfully. “Listen to me. We
don’t have much time. You have to get out of here.”

I
tried to pull out of her grasp. “I’m not going anywhere.”

“The
creature is here.” Fear blazed out of her face; it was contagious.

My
heart
raced
and my free hand flew to my
chest, though I wasn’t sure why. “Who?” I asked through trembling lips.

“The
demon,” she hissed.

“Of
course it’s here. It came to see Gage. You know as well as I do they work
together.” What was wrong with Mildred? Why was she acting so odd?

She
let go of my arm, bent down, and cupped my face with both hands. “I know you’re
in there somewhere, Colina. You have to fight the spell.”

“I
don’t know what you’re talking about.” Her erratic behavior was starting to
freak me out. “You’re talking crazy.” Mildred had always been a bit off-balance.

She
let go of my face and gazed away, thinking, before giving me a hard stare. “You
have to come with me
now
.”

I
backed up as far as I could in the bed. “I’m not going anywhere without Gage.”

She
gave a wicked laugh. “A day ago, given the chance, you would have killed him
without the slightest hesitation.”

Anger
replaced fear. “That’s not funny. Don’t say such things.”

She
looked around the
room,
uncertainty
stamped
across her face.

“Mildred,
I don’t know what’s going on, but you need to calm down. Everything is all
right.”

“I’m
sorry. I’ve made a mistake,” she said suddenly, reaching out and patting my
arm. She started to hum a tune, then stopped. “I don’t know what I was saying.”
An odd smile lit her face. “Promise me you won’t tell Gage I was here.”

“You
know I can’t do that. There are no secrets between us.”

“I
realize it was a mistake to come. You’re right. I was upset about something,
but I should have gone to talk to Gage about it.” She got up and started to
pace back and forth, wringing her hands as she walked. “I’ll
go talk
to him about it now. Just—please
don’t mention this to him. I was not thinking clearly. You know how I get.”

Even
though she was smiling, I could clearly see the worry in her eyes. She
really
was afraid of what Gage would think. He
would
be upset when he found out she was
acting out of her mind… “All right, I won’t say anything.”

“Thank
you.” She did a little jig and gave me another bright smile. “Are you okay? You
look pale.”

“I’m
feeling stronger. They say my fever was quite high.”

She
nodded her head. “Yes…the fever.” She looked around the room again. “And you’re
staying in bed tonight? You’re not going up to the party?”

“No,
Gage thought it best that I stay in bed and rest. I need to get my strength
back.” I smiled as I thought about Gage.
In
forty-eight hours, I will be his bride
. As if reading my thoughts, the
worry appeared again in Mildred’s eyes. “You know, you should be happy for me,”
I chided. “I’m finally getting married.” When she just looked at me in silence,
I asked, “Aren’t you happy we’re getting married?”

“You
and Gage are getting married,” she repeated back. Her expression
was filled
with shock. After a few moments she
seemed to catch herself. “Yes, of course—your marriage. I don’t know what
I was thinking. Of course I’m happy you’re getting married. Never get old, child—age
messes with your memory.”

“I
can’t wait. In just two days, I’ll be his
forever
.”
I realized I probably sounded like a gushing bride-to-be, but I didn’t care. I
was so incredibly happy.

Mildred
watched me with such intensity that I started to feel uncomfortable.

I
finally broke the silence. “You, uh, said you were going to
go talk
to him about whatever was bothering you?”

She
nodded her head. “Yes, yes. I’m going right now.” And without another word, she
twirled on her feet and headed out of the room.

I
nestled back down into the pillows, closed my eyes, and dreamed of Gage.

* * *

I woke with such a thirst, but the cup next to the bed was
empty. I pushed the blankets back and shivered. I was wearing nothing but a thin,
gray silk nightgown. The candle was still burning on the bedside table. I
slowly got up out of bed, noticing that my legs were less shaky and I felt a
great deal better.

I
started to make my way across the room, but a hand reached out from the shadows
and pushed me against the wall. I yelped in surprise.

“Don’t
be scared, my love.” Gage pressed his body into mine. He smelled of exotic
herbs and smoke.

“Is
the party over?” I gasped, enjoying his hands on my waist. I could feel the
heat of his fingers through the thin material of my nightgown.

“No,
but I couldn’t wait to get back to you.” His fingers came up and caressed my
lips. “I’ve waited a long time for you to be mine.” He kissed me.

It
was a hard and demanding kiss. As his lips moved with mine, his fingers trailed
along the curves of my body. I could feel myself responding to his touch, his
kiss.

Heat
raced through me. “I feel like I’m in a dream,” I whispered when his mouth
finally broke away from mine.

“No,
my love, this isn’t a dream. I’m sorry, I promised myself I would let you
sleep, but I couldn’t help it…I had to see you.” And then his fingers were
sliding across my shoulder, and I felt the strap of my nightgown slide down my
arm. His fingers grazed my naked skin. “It will be daybreak in a few hours.” He
bent
down
and started kissing my shoulder.

While
he kissed me, his hands explored my body. I started to quiver under his touch.
My heart pounded and my breath came out in small, ragged gasps.

He pulled away and looked at me with bright eyes.
“I can’t stop thinking about
having you in my bed.”

His
taste, his smell, his touch—it all filled me with such desire.

Someone
cleared their throat.