The Banshee's Embrace (7 page)

             
Guardians.

             
Was that why Eric Huston had married Jacqueline? To guard her? Surely, it wasn't coincidence that a wizard had married a woman of banshee heritage. The question was… what had he been planning?

             
Murder seemed unlikely. He could have done that without marrying Jacqueline. Turning her into a half banshee hadn't been part of his plan either. In fact, that had appeared to be an accident as a result of Eric trying to protect her. Then what? Was it possible that he really hadn't known what he was marrying?

             
Nope. Toby just couldn't buy that. There was always a method to a supernatural's madness. Always.

             
As he scrubbed soap everywhere, thoughts of Jacqueline popped into his mind that was not related to her husband. Seeing her cozied up to the imposter in the kitchen had affected him more than he would have imagined. In the stranger's arms, something about her appeared different. She'd been…turned on, aroused maybe. And by the person she thought was him.

             
The steam in the shower grew hotter, billowing up into white puffs in the air. He indulged himself in a small spell that made the mist take the form of a woman. Using magic, he sculpted a water image of Jacqueline, pleased when it smiled at him. He could feel a familiar tightening in his groin as he looked at her.

             
Desire could be such a bitch.

             
"Toby?" Jacqueline's voice through the bathroom door caused the misty figure to dissolve with the soap bubbles. "Do you need a towel?"

             
A towel? What he needed, she couldn't give him. At least, Toby didn't think so. Still, he couldn't help but replay the image of her in the imposter's arms. She hadn't seemed too unhappy.

             
"I'm fine, Jacqueline. I'll be out in a minute," he called over the sound of the shower.

             
Get your head back in the game, Toby. She could never be interested in you.

             
Drying himself off, Toby studied his reflection in the mirror. He was solidly built and thanks to the gym, his body was toned. The mark of the Brotherhood was the only thing that marred his skin, and it was something that he didn't mind. While he may not have had much to do with the Brotherhood, he would never be ashamed of his heritage.

             
The mark. Of course! It was a way to keep Jacqueline from ever being fooled again.

             
Slipping on his pants, he called for her.

             
"What's up?" she asked, coming to the open bathroom door. She blushed at his shirtless chest. "Oh, sorry. Thought you were dressed."

             
"See this mark on my arm?" He pointed to the tiny black bird that had been branded on his skin so long ago. "That's the symbol that represents my family. No one can imitate it. Not even a shape shifter. If you're ever unsure about whether or not you are talking to me, look for that mark."

             
She nodded and then hurried away, her eyes looking everywhere but at him.

             
He couldn't help but grin. Damn, she was cute when she wasn't in his way.

****

             
"Okay, tell me everything."

             
They were back in the kitchen, seated across from each other. Between them sat a number of items: the blue divinity crystals and a gray box that had belonged to Eric.

             
Toby picked up the crystals and placed one in each of Jacqueline's hands.

             
"Have you ever seen these around your house before?"

             
"No. I don't think so."

             
"Anything similar?"

             
Jacqueline thought for a moment. "Yeah, actually I have seen something similar now that you mention it. My husband liked to collect rocks. I think he has a collection of crystals somewhere."

             
"I figured he might. The Huston clan is considered to be guardians and healers.
Crystals
are important to them."

             
"So are all of Eric's family members…well, are they all in the family business?" Jacqueline asked.

             
"Most of the men, but not the women. The Huston's tend to keep their women in the dark about magic. They have the luxury of being able to do that since they aren't fighters."

             
"That can't be true. Eric was a cop."

             
"Cops are guardians, right? Sworn to protect?"

             
"True."

             
And he always had been very protective of her. Jacqueline smiled at the memory of Eric reminding her to keep her cell phone close or teaching her basic protection moves. He'd always put her safety first, even that last night.

             
"Do you think Eric knew about me? Knew what I was?" She watched Toby's face closely, unsurprised when it became guarded. He was a little like Eric--always trying to be cautious.

             
"I think he might have."

             
So what did that mean to her? Had Eric loved her or had he married her out of duty?

             
"He loved you," Toby said, as if he could read her thoughts. "It's obvious to me that he did."

             
"Yeah, he did," she said, unable to fight back the tears. "I know that he did. Maybe he got interested in me because of my heritage, but I know his feelings for me were real. You can't fake the kind of love he showed me."

             
"I saw the two of you together once," Toby admitted. "You were in the grocery store and I was tracking Eric. I knew another wizard was in town, but I didn't know if he posed a threat. So I followed you both around for a while. I knew by the way he looked at you that he was in love. It's actually one of the reasons I never really got in touch with Eric Huston. I figured he was trying to create a normal life. Who was I to stop him? Besides, the Brotherhood would have told me if there was a problem."

             
"Tell me more about the Brotherhood, Toby."

             
He frowned and she sensed that she'd touched on a sore subject.

             
"The Brotherhood is an ancient order. They've been around in some form since the medieval ages protecting wizards."

             
"So it's a very elite club," Jacqueline smiled.

             
"Very. There are only a fifty known wizards still alive."

             
"Why is the Brotherhood interested in me?"

             
"Because you didn't die when you should have. And because banshee blood is rare. Really rare."

             
"What can it do?"

             
Toby leaned forward and ran a finger over the silver box.

             
"A banshee is a harbinger of death. They appear to people in certain families to foretell the passing of an important person. It doesn't matter where the family is located either. Sure, the myth may have started in
Ireland
, but the banshee knows no boundary. If the important person is in
New York
or
Chicago
, that's where the banshee is called," Toby said. He kept his eyes on Jacqueline, watchful of her reactions. "The thing is--you aren't like that. You didn't die all the way and now you see the dead soul of anyone who is about to pass on."

             
"Great. I feel really blessed." Jacqueline couldn't help the sarcasm that rolled out of her mouth. "So how does that make me a weapon? You're imposter said I could do more."

             
The guarded expression clouded Toby's face again.

             
"Just give it to me straight, Toby. I'm a big girl. I think I can handle it."

             
"Can you?" he asked, doubtful.  "Here it is. You can kill people by thinking about it."

             
The silence stretched between them like a tenuous rope while she processed that information.

             
"Nope," she finally said, with a shaky laugh. "I'm not buying it."

             
"It's true. You focus enough, and you can rip the soul right out of another being."

             
"No. I wouldn't do that!"

             
"Of course, you wouldn't on purpose. But in the right hands, you could be such a powerful force," Toby said. "The wizards want you because it isn't just people you can rip souls from. It's other supernaturals. Other wizards."

             
His face was serious, more serious than she'd ever seen it before. Sitting there in the kitchen, listening to the surreal nature of his words, Jacqueline was struck by how handsome Toby was. Odd that such a thought should occur when she'd been given such awful news. Such painful and ridiculous news, really. There was no way she could ever harm someone the way he was suggesting.

             
"Think about it," Toby continued. "If you were a wizard who wanted to wipe out other wizards, having someone like you that could do the dirty work would be a great thing for them. Not for you, of course. I've already seen what happens when they harness an actual banshee."

             
"The hag?" Jacqueline thought back to the strange woman outside the bar the night before. "How did they capture her?"

             
"I don't know, but I do know that there can be only one family banshee. That particular hag--she belonged to yours. Your 'almost death' a year ago, made her vulnerable. Any spirit can be controlled when its powers are split. I bet the wizard who wants you had been using her to track your movements."

             
"I don't understand. If I'd died, what would have happened to the woman?"

             
"She would have gone on to the other side, her job completed."

             
"And I would have become the banshee?"

             
"Yeah," Toby leaned back in his chair. "Yeah. I think that's what would have happened. In fact, she probably knew you were going to die and was even there that night, ready to pass on the power. Only Eric messed that up when he saved you. So the power became split."

             
"I didn't hear any wailing or singing," Jacqueline pointed out.

             
"The rain," Toby said. "It was raining, right?"

             
"Yes. And just on my house." She said the words slowly, trying to fit the puzzle pieces together. "So that was her?"

             
"I think so," Toby said. "I've never really encountered a banshee transfer before so I’m just guessing here."

             
Another short silence surrounded them as Toby anxiously watched her. She reached out to touch the silver box.

             
"So what is this?" she asked. "I found it in Eric's things, but haven't been able to open it. It looks old."

             
"It belongs to you." Toby pointed to a symbol etched into the top of the tarnished box. "That represents an Irish knot, very powerful magic. It is the symbol of one of the Irish families that banshees belong to."

             
"Which family does it represent?"

             
"I'm not sure, but if it's your family then you should be able to open it."

             
"I've tried, but it's stuck."

             
To prove her point, she lifted the box and tried to pry the lid off with no success.

             
"Damn it," she said, dropping the box back on the table. "I'm dying to know what is inside it."

             
Toby got up and pulled a knife out of one of the cabinet drawers.

             
"Let's try this," he said and handed it to her.

             
Determined, Jacqueline took the knife and ran it in the groove that separated the lid from the rest of the box. Unfortunately, the knife slipped, pricking her finger.

             
"Ouch!" She watched as a drop of crimson blood grew on her skin.

             
Toby reached out to examine the wound, shaking his head as a spark of electricity caused a drop of blood to fall onto the silver box. His touch warmed her, and as she watched, he placed the finger in his mouth and slowly sucked on it. A delicious tingle ran through her and her breath quickened.