Summon (33 page)

Baako’s head lifted, and he sniffed the air. He
twisted to stare at me pointedly. I waited for him to growl, giving me away,
but he nodded in understanding and kept walking.

Relieved, I leaned against the cold stone that used
to form an outside wall, and scanned my surroundings. Satisfied I wasn’t
watched, I slipped around the ruins and waited.

No cry of alarm went up.

I cannot
endure another second of waiting. I go alone.

Jaw clenching, I shut my eyes and visualised where
I needed to be.

Opening my eyes, I ignored the startled gasp of the
witch reclining on a bed of cushions and jumped off the dais to scan the room.

The Coven Wyld changed.

The nature Cael forced to flower inside the
building radiated the unnatural taint of black magics, but this was different.

Heart stuttering, I tripped over my feet rushing to
reach the female who consumed my dreams and waking thoughts since I’d first
known of her existence.

No wonder
Cael looked shaken when he spoke of her.

Rae sat beneath a dying tree. Leaves twirled from
the branches and fluttered to the ground. Creeping vines grew over her limbs.
Flowers entwined in her hair and sprouted at her feet. A stone statue, she sat
still. Her hands lay limp on her lap, her sad eyes open and staring.

“I cannot get her to hear me.” Tomas materialized
beside Rae holding her wrist. “Her pulse is faint but steady.”

I couldn’t find it within me to be angry with him.

If anything, I felt grateful she hadn’t suffered
alone.

I crouched and cupped Rae’s cheek. It was cold and
grey in colour. So was her skin. The only part of her retaining hue was her
eyes, still molten gold though the life in them had frozen.

I trembled, overwhelmed to be near her.

The godlings gathered behind me, but I felt no
immediate summoning of power to threaten my life mate or me. I ignored them,
preferring to focus on the reunion I’d teetered close to bludgeoning my loved
ones over if another moment’s delay prevented its occurrence.

“I love you,” I murmured. “Madly. I never should
have let you go thinking otherwise.”

“She’s gone,” Marinette said softly, settling
beside me.

Cautious, I spared the godling a look. Her angelic
face was beautifully shrouded by a complicated arrangement of braids and gold
ornaments. Runes of magic tattooed on her cheekbones glowed, revealing the
power that flowed through her veins. Her lips pouted, painted crimson to match
her extravagant gown, an intricate glamour I saw past to the body beneath.

“You did this,” I gritted through my teeth.

A heavy silence followed.

“She feared you wouldn’t come for her.” Tomas
stared sadly. “I told her you would, but she didn’t believe me. She never
believes me.”

The sound that tore from my throat was harsh. “
I
did this.”

Sighing, Marinette touched my arm. I watched
guardedly as her skin blackened and withered then plumped with life.

She smiled at my dumbstruck expression. “I am
patroness of the undead. You cannot hurt me.” She squeezed my arm. “Now you see
she is gone.”

Turning from her, I peered at Rae. She made not
even the most infinitesimal of movement.
Can
she not feel me?
I sensed her energy, but it was so muted it petrified me
to the core.

“I can lie now,” I whispered, shifting closer on my
knees. “I spoke an untruth. I swore I would not follow you, but I did. I always
will.”

Restless movement at my back made me tense, and
glare over my shoulder.

Damballah stared at Rae. His white brows pulled
together above onyx eyes. “This is sad.”

“I know,” Malice murmured.

Putting them from my mind, I stroked my thumb
across Rae’s brow. “Rae-love, please, look at me.”

“She came with the phantom,” Marinette said. “Her
actions are telling. First she chooses him over you then she withdraws from the
world.”

Tomas snarled, glaring balefully at the godling.
“He knows you lie, female.”

“Can you feel me touching your hand?” I gripped
Rae’s fingers. “Squeeze my hand. I know it is a lot to ask since you have been
so still for so long, but do it for me.”

Marinette breathed in my ear, “I desire you.”

Revolted, my lip curled, but I kept my eyes on Rae.
“I desire none but her.”

“Pathetic. Weak. Look
at me
.”

I winced to hear the words I’d used to stop me from
following Rae after the argument.
The
blame lies on my shoulders.
Rae told me she took strength from our love.
Imbibed power from my affections in a physical way most struggled to
understand. The thought of a life with me gave her courage to fight.

I blocked
her source of power by walking away.

I’d brought her back from the Otherworld only to
cruelly abandon her. She didn’t do what I wanted, didn’t tell me what I wanted
to hear, so I’d gotten angry and thrown a tantrum.

Rae had been proven right.

I regret.

“I am so very sorry.” My eyes stung. “Come back to
me, and I swear I will never leave you.”

“I want you,” Marinette crooned. “I’d never
overlook your needs.”

I ran my finger down the bridge of Rae’s nose, a
graceful curve that enchanted me. “I’m not going anywhere, Rae-love.” Scooping
her into my arms, I leaned her head against my chest and cradled her close.
“Let’s leave this place.”

“Her people have come,” Damballah boomed, his white
eyes glowing brighter.

Marinette looked aggravated.

Transparent, Tomas briefly met my gaze. “I will
tell them you have her.” He faded completely, and I felt his presence depart.

Discomforted by the dying environment, I strolled
past Malice who shrugged and pointed to a roughly hewn doorway that used to
lead onto a grass-covered cliff where Cael’s Wyld spilled outside. It withered
with the rest of the Wyld, becoming a barren wasteland of grey brick and dirty
rubble.

My eyes narrowed on the beleaguered movement of the
undead below. The streets were battlegrounds I felt loathed to travel though
with Rae weakened as she was. I skimmed air, but had no idea if I could do so
with Rae in my arms.

“I do not wish you to leave.” Marinette studied the
fighting dispassionately. “Stay with me. Your people may leave, but I want
you.”

“I’m going to take Rae into the forest. Our fairy
traits remain strong in us. She’ll do better there.”

“This isn’t an enchantment or spell to break,”
Malice said. “We guided her into the deep sleep. Only she can wake herself, and
if your presence does not revive her I doubt anything will.”

Marinette’s cold fingers stroked my shoulder. “Stay
with me.”

A shudder of revulsion shook my body. “Why are you
like this?” I shrugged her off. “There must have been a time when you were
different.”

“I was a Mambo.” Her eyes drifted out of focus. “So
long ago. Yes, I was different, softer, but my beliefs remain the same.” Her
gaze sharpened and clashed with mine. “You cannot hide your darkness. I feel it
and so will they. So will she.”

“What I am is a consequence of my own actions. The
resurrection–”

“Are you certain? The fae enjoy the dark.” She
smiled. “I remember tithes performed at the full moon where fairies revelled in
blood and death. Human sacrifice was a revered tradition. At such a revelry we
crafted the amulets to control the witches.” She cocked her head. “Surely you
know your predecessors were much like me.” Her eyes lingered on the runes inked
across my chest. “You were Wyld Guardian.”

“The old ways were left behind. Our people are
bringers of light.”

“The Tribes have become weak. Tamed. I wish you to
embrace what you truly are.” She brushed my wings. “You have old blood in your
veins to bear this form.”

“I wish you’d hear me when I say I desire only Rae
and our life together.”

“Your friends and family will die. My creatures
will destroy them and your precious mate will be so lost she will fade. As will
you unless you distance yourself.” Marinette gathered her power and lifted her
chin, eyes slitted. “If that is the fate you wish for yourself then please,
allow me to indulge you.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

Rae

The
fingers nestled under my cheek twitched. Tail curled around my body, wings flat
to the ground, I lay on a bed of plush grass. I was at ease. Heat beat down
until the sweet yet musky notes of my own skin permeated the air.

Lashes fluttering open, eyes widening with
pleasure, I smiled, and rolled onto my back. Stretched until my joints popped.

I was dressed in a backless cotton dress with long
sleeves. Gilded cuffs to match my circlet encircled my wrists. My feet were
bare. I scrunched my toes into the prickly grass.

A chill breeze stirred the air. I inhaled deeply
smelling earth and tasting the sweetness of nectar from blooming flowers.

Across the rolling lowlands of lush viridian,
snow-capped mountains paraded across the horizon. Hovering above the jagged
peaks floated an overcast of cloud, the sun an indistinct smudge behind it.

That advancing storm frightened me. The thought of
it crashing overhead quickened my heartbeat and plunged my breaths into shallow
pants.

When I’m
scared
he
protects me.

White-hot pain exploded behind my eyeballs.
Enjoyment of the stunning vista shattered. Temples pounding, I feared they’d
burst and splatter blood over the lovely scenery. I clutched my head in my
hands desperate to relieve the pressure.

A vague memory of drowning in misery assailed me.
My heart ached. Throbbed. I felt abandoned in this dream turned nightmare.

Fingers pressed to my face I glared at the
landscape, no longer fooled by its majesty. Lies. All lies. “Where the hell am
I?”

“How beauteous,” a voice cooed. It was an
unexpectedly deep baritone for a female, but utterly feminine in its breathy
cadence.

A figure walked into my line of sight and bent
over. I saw a black silhouette until she blocked the sunlight entirely.

Gold eyes, and a cascade of obsidian hair
contrasted starkly with cream-pale skin. She extended a slender hand. In it was
the head of a star shaped bloom.

Hesitating, I accepted the white flower with a
side-eyed look of curiosity.

“Silence?” The lady reared in astonishment. I
caught a flash of pointed ear. “How unlike thee.”

Conscious the questions eager to trip off my lips
might disadvantage me, I asked with amateurish nonchalance, “What?”

“Child, where is thine infamous scowl? Thy
charmingly vulgar demands of what I’m about. Is this not how thou customarily
precedes?”

“Um….” Plucking at grass with one hand, in the
other, the bloom held suspended on my palm, I chewed my lip until it bled. “I’m
sorry, who are you?”

The arresting stranger clucked. Smiled and flashed
enchanting dimples. The knowing look in her eyes dared me to ask again.

I sat up, shielding the flower, and failed to keep
the tremor from my voice. Throat tight, speech was a squeeze. “Mother?”

Her eyes crinkled at the edges as her smile
deepened. She sank to the grass beside me with exquisite grace. “Thy skill at
perceiving kin improves.”

I just stared.

“Perchance, I am not what thee envisioned.” She
arranged her skirts around her legs as if expecting to be judged on how the
folds draped across the ground.

Bunched at the top of my thighs, and dipping
between my legs, my dress was a muddle of creased fabric. One sleeve magically
worked its way up my elbow, and the other felt damp, a grass stain smeared
along the embroidery.

My wings flattened, and my tail curled in shame. In
comparison to this female, I felt untidy, weird and stupid. I remembered to
shake my head at her question, scratching my throat as if trying to reach my
voice box and claw it to submission.

“I suspect thee pictured a mistemper’d seductress.
Uninspiring. Selfish.” Her delighted peal of laughter infused the atmosphere
with warmth. She leaned in conspiratorially. “Shock seizes thee to know upon a
time I was a leader revered and beloved. All beings of creation worshiped at
the font of my glory. They perceived my peculiar habits as beguiling.” Her gaze
turned inwards, and her smile diminished to a rueful curve of the lips. “’Til
peculiar became deviant. I was a most unusual High Priestess.” Her gaze cut me
to me. “We are alike that way.”

Dazed, my mouth gaped. “W–We are?”

“We too share a fondness for humans.”

“They raised me.”

“I knew our lives safest among them. I meant us to
be with Cael’s father’s descendants. All my children were to journey with me.
Conall was….” Voice breaking on a pitched waver her hands folded on her lap.
“He was ashamed. Bid me gone with cruel words.” With a flick of the finger, she
brushed away the tear dangling from her lashes. “’Tis difficult when thy eldest
son hates thee. Thou were a babe, Cael newborn. I never meant … it went so
wrong. Cael was torn from me. Conall left behind. Thou moved with me forward in
time, but grief overcame my attempt to begin anew. I died unable to mend what I
broke. My family scattered in dishonor.”