RoadBlock (13 page)

Betony and Wade kept watch out the windows, and Cal turned around to examine Dagger. “Are you all right? You’re bleeding! What happened?”

“I want to go home, Cal, why are we here?”

Calderon’s voice was soft and his eyes were sympathetic as he shook his head at Dagger. “I know you do, love. But we have to do this, now, tonight. There are only a few of them left with any power, but they have a lot of followers who are just humans. Alston hasn’t used them much yet, but he will if he has to. We can’t let him live, Dagger. The ritual he wants to do is to siphon off our powers and make them his. He has a few gifts, but the main one is skill-transfer. He’s weak, now, because he’s alone. And his mother is working so hard to block me she hasn’t been seeing as well as she could. We’ve been able to evade him so far, but it won’t last.”

“So you’re saying we have to go back?”

“Yes. I’m sorry.”

“What’s the plan?”

Wade put his hand on Dagger’s forearm and closed his eyes. Dagger’s arm felt warm and wet where his hand covered, but when Wade pulled away the skin was dry and smooth, and no trace of the cut remained. “Thanks, Wade.”

“Anytime. Anywhere else?”

Dagger leaned back against the car’s seat and closed his eyes, and shook his head to Wade’s question, but Wade reached over and picked up Dagger’s wrist, examining it in the low light and finding the marks from the ties and the little scratch from the knife. He healed that, then moved on to the other wrist. His ankles had been saved by his socks, but Wade checked them anyway.

Cal watched Wade and felt a mixture of jealousy and gratitude. He wished he had some comfort to offer his lover, but was glad Wade could do it, at least. He consoled himself that later, when this was all over, he could hold Dagger and soothe his heart, if not his body. “Okay. We go in and form a circle. He can’t break it, but he’ll try to do his ritual around it. We use our bond to recite the spell Betony made while you were in there, and if it goes right, he’ll lose his power. Or die, we’re not sure.”

“Sounds airtight.”

“I think it will work, Dagger.” Cal took a deep breath and looked at Betony. “Ready?”

She nodded and started the car, pulling into the lot behind the rear of the building. “They used the back door a few times, we think it’s unlocked.”

Cal looked at each of them and warned, “Stay together. Until we’re in our circle, we’re vulnerable.”

They all nodded grimly and crept out of the car. Things went remarkably well for about two minutes. They made it into the building undetected, holding hands as they snuck down the hallway. They found a suitable room and slunk inside, sitting quickly and lighting a candle in their circle’s center. Wade fished a small bottle of water from the pocket of his cargo pants and opened it, standing it near the candle. Betony added a pile of earth and roots, and Calderon blew some powdered herbs across the candle flame, creating smoke. They joined hands and found their bond, and breathed a sigh of relief. Now they just had to wait.

Then something slithered through their connection, something foreign and wrong. It picked at their thoughts and weakened their bond. Betony groaned in annoyance and Calderon pushed at it with his mind. Dagger retreated into himself, holding the bond but not letting his thoughts free. Wade reacted with anger at the violation, attacking it, pushing it back hard.

From the corner of the room they heard low, dry laughter, and Dagger recognized Alston’s voice, “So kind of you to join me! I was beginning to think you weren’t coming, after all. But now that you’re here, we can begin.” He clapped his hands together twice, lightly, as if he had just been presented with a little treat. He pushed compliance into their minds, filling them with the desire to please him, to serve him. “Repeat the following words, please, friends:
All that is mine I give freely
…”

Calderon clamped his mind shut, wanting badly to repeat the words but retaining just enough of his own will to stop himself. Dagger had retreated so far into his own mind he barely heard Alston’s order. Wade was still fighting, angry and fierce, raging against Alston’s intrusion into the one place he’d found unconditional love and acceptance. Alston’s thoughts reflected icy amusement at their efforts. He knew it was just a matter of time before they broke.

Betony alone let him in, welcomed him with love into her thoughts, and allowed him to feel her acquiescence. She let his words roll through her mind and repeated them sweetly to him, “I am freely mine, that I give.”

“Do not try to be clever, witch. Say the words properly:
Take my gifts for your own…
”

“I own my gifts, take yours.”

Dagger crawled out of the fortress he’d built in his mind, reassured by Betony’s easy manner and relaxed tone. Wade’s anger was easing, and he repeated Betony’s phrases, just to piss off Alston. Calderon still fought the desire to comply, but was studying his sister’s mind, and considered trying to let Alston in and through, as she had.

“One more time, little witch, and I will grow truly angry.” Alston pushed another wave of compulsion towards them, and Calderon almost buckled under it. This time Dagger let it roll through him as Betony had, and he laughed at the freedom of it. He sent love to Alston, and felt the witch cringe in response. Dagger’s laughter broke through to Calderon, and he tried to let Alston in again, but backed off at the last moment, afraid.

Alston’s demand seemed to echo in each of their thoughts, loud and brash and desperate, commanding they repeat his words. “
My will is yours, I serve only you
.”

“I serve only my will, you yours.” This time Dagger, Wade and Betony said the words at the same time, and the power of that was enough to give Cal the strength he needed. He let Alston in and stopped fighting the compulsion, instead turning it to his own ends. He smiled in relief and marveled at his sister’s simple brilliance.

When Betony felt Calderon relax and regain control of his mind she quickly spoke the words of the spell she and Wade had created that afternoon. Dagger hadn’t heard it before, and Calderon had been so beside himself with worry he hadn’t paid much attention, but they quickly repeated the phrases with her as best they could.

Power sparked at their fingertips and magic thrummed in the air as they said the words aloud in unison.
“power ill-used we now revoke. earth swallows you, water drowns you, air pushes you, fire consumes you, your deeds rebound and your spirit rejects you…”
They spoke in a dull, even tone and repeated the words over and over without interruption while Alston fumed and fought outside their circle.

He tried pushing in again, but found no purchase, sliding right through their minds with no effect. The longer he stayed in contact with their circle, the deeper Betony’s spell worked into him. Before he realized how potent the simple words were, they had taken hold and he could feel the power draining from him, just as it had the first and only time he’d taken a life. The feeling frightened and sickened him now, just as it had then, and he tried desperately to get away, but found he couldn’t. His body refused to obey his commands, and the sensation of paralysis sent him into a panic.

Alston drew back, pulling his mind and influence out of their circle, but the damage had been done. The words replayed in a loop through his mind, more and more of his power draining with each repetition.

Calderon and Dagger were both exhausted, and barely held on to the circle. Wade was still ready for a fight, and Betony was calm and relaxed, pouring her energy into maintaining their bond. Dimly, Dagger became aware of a loud crash outside the room, and Calderon perked up, adrenaline coursing through him. He started to tell Betony to break the circle, and his grip on Dagger’s hand loosened, but before he let go someone crashed into Betony, breaking their bond and sending her skidding across the carpet.

The abrupt snapping of their connection would have stunned them, except for the charms they wore and the hours of practice they’d had keeping their minds open to each other without touching. Wade’s eyes snapped open and he turned in fury towards the intruder, a thin, sickly looking woman in her early forties. He considered attacking her, but turned to help Betony instead.

Calderon immediately knew she was the seer, Alston’s mother. She scowled at them, shocked at their swift recovery from her interruption, then she ran across the room to Alston, who was curled up on the floor, moaning. She knelt protectively over him, and looked ready to defend him against them, although her physical condition would clearly not offer much protection. Her cheeks were hollow, her hair thin. Calderon had seen another witch like her once, years ago- an old healer who had been pouring energy into keeping her sick child alive for too many years.
That
witch had acted with love and devotion, but it had still cost her life, and that of her child, in the end.

This woman, Cal was sure, had more devious intentions. She had been using all her power to block anyone from seeing Alston. In effect, she had been a living version of Calvin’s invisibility spell. Alston moaned pitifully, and his mother turned towards him, soothing him with her hands and soft words. Cal felt her hold on the block falter, and for an instant he saw her intentions. She was afraid, she truly feared the coven as evil, and had for her entire life. All she had done had been in a misguided attempt to protect her son and to rid the world of what she thought was a terrible malevolence.

“Lucy? That’s your name, right? Lucy,
please
. Let go of this. We have no intention of harming anyone needlessly. Your power will tell you this is true. Drop the block you are holding, let yourself rest.”

“You’ve harmed so many! You
have killed our Angels
, and now…now you have destroyed my boy!” Her voice broke on the last words, and she sobbed into Alston’s side.

“We have not killed anyone. We have protected ourselves against malice, no more. And Alston will live, only his power to harm has been destroyed, not his mind or body.”

Alston groaned and sat up slightly, his eyes like blue fire when they met Calderon’s. “You might as well have killed me. I won’t live like
this
. I refuse! Know this, witch: You may have defeated me, but another Archangel
will
be born someday. God will prevail, in the end, and your evil covens will all fall to ashes!”

Wade had gathered Betony in his arms and led her to the door where Dagger waited, and they all stood watching Calderon and Lucy, unsure of what to do. Cal glanced back at them and knew he should join them, that they should leave Lucy and Alston to their own ends.

But Cal alone had felt the terror in Lucy’s mind when she thought of the coven, and he understood now that while she and her son acted out of hatred and intolerance, it wasn’t a choice they made, but a philosophy that had been bred into them. He was filled with pity for them, and for the generations of ‘Angels’ yet to be born, who would live with pointless fear and misplaced hatred.

“Cal, there’s nothing we can do.” Dagger’s voice was soft and close, and Cal turned to find him at his back.

“I know.” Cal held Dagger’s arm as they all walked out to the car.

That night they all slept at Betony and Calderon’s house, Wade sharing Betony’s bed and Dagger in Cal’s. No one wanted to be alone, and no one removed their charms. They didn’t speak, but the bond still connected them enough to offer reassurance without words.

Dagger held Cal close all night, kissing him, stroking him, burying himself in Cal’s arms. He woke too early, feeling something was wrong, and found Calderon’s cheeks wet with tears. He kissed them away and asked softly,
“What?”

“I fell apart without you, Dagger. I was useless. If it wasn’t for Betony and Wade, that lunatic would still have you… I love you. I love you so much, and I was so afraid and so angry, I…”

“Shh. I know all this, baby.
I know
. You can fall apart, sometimes, its allowed. That’s why there are four of us… I love you, too.”

Calderon wept harder then, relieved and humbled by Dagger’s words. Dagger held Cal’s head to his chest, stroking his hair and murmuring soothing words until his tears subsided.

“I’m sorry I’m being such a crybaby.”

Dagger laughed softly and whispered, “Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone.”

Cal wrapped his arms around Dagger, smiling into his chest. “Thank you.”

Wade slept with more clothes on than he usually did, especially for August, but he had wanted to make sure Betony wasn’t uncomfortable in bed with him. He held her close, spooning into her back, and tried to breathe evenly. She hadn’t even spoken to him, had just taken his hand and led him into her room. He saw Dagger and Cal head to the room he’d used for the last few nights, and he realized what they all were doing and why, but he was still unsure of himself. When she had scooted back towards him and pulled his arm over her, he had been shocked. He’d slept with plenty of women, and shared his bed with a few girlfriends over the years, but his relationships were usually all about sex, and any cuddling most likely took place while he was passed out drunk.

Betony was entirely different, and yet he felt closer to her, through their bond, than he’d ever felt to any of his past girlfriends. He dreaded the inevitable day when he’d screw up enough to drive her away. How would he move on from this? He’d never felt so accepted, so appreciated, so
understood
. Ever. Only Dagger had loved him like this, and Wade had made sure to keep a protective distance between them for years.