The Darkening (8 page)

"Problems?" Darius asked.

"No." She tried not to sound annoyed. Now was not the time to act like a werewolf-in-heat trying to keep the only available virile male to herself. "She'll see us, but she lives out in Jersey, so the sooner we leave, the better."

Leading him out of the office, she stopped at the front desk to get the keys to the company car from Marge. "We're going out."

Marge smiled knowingly. "Take your time. I'll tell Jonathan that you called in sick, shall I?"

"No, that won't be necessary," Lexi told her sharply. "I'll be back when I'm done." To prove her point, she grabbed the top folder in her in-box, opened it and then snapped it shut again. "Why is this back in my box?"

"Because TJ gave it back. He says he refuses to go after Irish mobsters."

Lexi swore under her breath but didn't put the folder back. "Fine."

After a quick walk to the parking garage at the end of the block, they reached the company's black Yukon. Lexi hopped in behind the wheel and turned to check on Darius-and smiled. The last passenger to ride in the SUV hadn't been as tall as Darius, and the seat was so close to the dashboard his knees were hitting it.

"Why don't you slide the seat back?" she suggested. "Reach down on the floor. Feel that lever there? Pull up."

She waited for him to comply, but wasn't too surprised when he couldn't find the lever. There were people who rode in cars every day, knew the lever was there and still couldn't find it. How could she expect a man who'd only been in a car once before to know where it was or how to operate it?

"Hang on." She leaned across the center console and tried to reach under his leg to reach the lever, but

the angle was awkward. She couldn't help noticing the way his leather pants molded to his skin, clearly defining the muscles of his legs-and other parts. She was in a small quandary. Unless she wanted to get out and go around to the other side, she was going to have to reach between his legs, and that meant practically lying across his lap. Was she willing to sacrifice her dignity by putting herself in that situation?

She almost smiled. Oh, yeah.

Leaning across, she rested the upper part of her body against his thigh. Her breasts pressed against hard muscle, and she put one hand on his knee to keep her balance as she reached her other arm between his legs.

She felt her heart pounding in her chest and worried that he'd notice it too. It occurred to her that a man who looked the way he did probably had women throwing themselves at him all the time-which might explain his earlier behavior in her apartment.

Had he actually found her attractive when he'd suggested they have sex-or had that been seven hundred years of abstinence talking?

Once again she cursed the full moon that had gotten her emotions so out of whack that she couldn't do the simplest task without thinking of sex.

Her hand found the lever, and with a nearly desperate effort, she pulled up and the seat shot back.

Pushing herself to a sitting position, she offered him a weak smile. "That's better. Oh. Seat belt." She pointed to it and tried to explain. "That strap there-it's supposed to go across-buckles there-keep you alive."

He raised an eyebrow, and she knew she was rambling. He was immortal, and so there wasn't much point in him wearing a seat belt. "Except that I can't afford the ticket if we don't click it," she muttered. "Excuse me." She reached across him again, this time purposely not touching him any more than necessary as she drew the belt across his chest and buckled it.

She moved back behind the steering wheel, and they were finally ready to go.

"Hang on," Darius said just as she was about to start the engine. When she turned to see what he wanted, he smiled and leaned across her, his arm just brushing her breasts as he oh so slowly reached for her seat belt and dragged it across her lap. She was all too aware of the friction it created when it grazed her hip. Then he buckled it. "Okay," he said in a deep voice that held a note of amusement. "Now we're ready to leave."

Lexi's concentration was in shambles as she pulled out of the parking spot and maneuvered the Yukon through the garage. They were halfway across the George Washington Bridge before she could finally relax. "Are you all right?" she asked him. "You've been quiet

"You seemed very focused on what you were doing," he replied. "I didn't want to bother you."

"I don't get a chance to drive
very
often," she explained. "I'm sorry if I made you nervous."

"You didn't. You are very comfortable to be with."

Comfortable, like an old chair.
She gave him a wan smile and changed the subject. "It must be"--she searched for the right word-"disconcerting not to know who you are

"It is," he admitted. "You tell me that I lived in an immortal realm for the past seven hundred years, and yet I remember nothing about it." He paused, seeming to get lost in his thoughts. "You said we were together last night at the Crypt? Were we searching for the demon?"

"Not exactly."

A knowing smile touched his lips. "I thought not."

She gave him a reproving look. "We weren't doing
that,
either."

"Then what were we doing?" he asked, confused.

"Arguing," she said dryly.

It wasn't the answer he'd expected, but after a moment's hesitation, he chuckled.

They drove on a bit, and he grew serious once more. "I've been thinking about what you told me in your office-about how I was Called. If the Immortals were born to protect the world, why weren't we Called before the demon acquired so much power?"

"My friend Heather knows more about this than I do. But she told me that as the human race matured, they learned to defend themselves. The Immortals were Called into service fewer and fewer times until they stopped being summoned altogether. Over the centuries, the Calling spell was completely forgotten. We're just lucky some witches in Europe were able to locate a copy of it."

"How'd you get involved?" Darius asked.

"Heather. She belongs to the Coven of Light. They're the ones Amber Silverthorne contacted when she and Adrian realized what the demon was doing and needed the extra help to perform the Calling."

"Are you part of the Coven?"

She gave him a smile. "Being a werewolf sets me apart from other witches. They like working spells around the time of the full moon, and I like to ... well, let's just say the full moon isn't a good time for me to be around increased levels of magic. I like to practice on my own, but I can't learn it all on my own, so a couple of years ago, I asked Heather to be my tutor.

Now, we're friends." She gave him another quick look. "She's good. If anyone can help you regain your memory, she can."

"And if she can't. .." Darius left the rest of his sentence hanging, and Lexi couldn't bring herself to complete it with empty words of reassurance. If Heather couldn't help them, they'd deal with it.

They both fell silent, and fifteen minutes later, Lexi was turning into Heather's driveway. She was more than ready to find some answers to Darius's problems.

As she pulled the Yukon to a stop, a young woman in a long, flowing, terra-cotta gown made up of multiple diaphanous layers came out to meet them. Her hair was loose about her head in a wild, chestnut tangle, and the thick glasses she wore made her eyes appear unusually large for her face. Instead of making her look mousy or bookish, Lexi thought it just added to her earthy beauty.

"There you are. It's so good to see you," Heather said, wrapping Lexi in a huge embrace.

"Heather, you act like I haven't seen you in months, when it's only been a week." Lexi returned her friend's hug and then pulled back to introduce her to Darius. "Heather, this is the Immortal, Darius."

Heather stood back, visually assessing him, and Lexi felt another uncomfortable stir of jealousy. Heather would have to be dead not to find the man attractive, and from the way he was looking at Heather, he clearly found her interesting.

"Come inside," Heather urged, leading them into her living room, which had floor-to-ceiling windows along one entire wall. It gave the room the feeling of being part of the wooded area surrounding Heather's home. The other three walls of the room were paneled, and the floor was tiled. There was little furniture in the room, but the few items sitting about were covered in earth-toned fabrics.

Heather led them down a hallway, stopping before a closed door. "We'll use this room. I've already purified it."

Lexi followed Heather and Darius inside and found herself standing in a large room with a packed-dirt floor. The four walls were painted a pale green, and the ceiling was a pale blue, emulating earth and sky.

The only lighting came from four dim lamps standing in the corners of the room, but it was enough for Lexi to be able to see the four white pillar candles sitting on the floor about ten feet apart, marking the four corners of an invisible square. Lexi knew the candles marked north, south, east and west.

The last spell Lexi had participated in had been the Calling, and the disastrous outcome reminded her of the type of forces they were dealing with. Maybe trying to break the curse on Darius wasn't such a good idea.

She turned to Heather, wanting to share her concerns, but already they had moved past her into the room. She opened her mouth to say something, but at that moment, she and Darius both turned and her gaze met his. An immortal man, brought to Earth to vanquish a demon too powerful to be stopped by the combined power of witches all over the world. If anyone was taking a chance here, it wasn't she.

"Lexi?" Heather asked. "Is there a problem?"

She swallowed and shook her head.

"Good. In that case, if you'll join us, we can get started."

CHAPTER FIVE

"Lexi, if you would sit there." Heather pointed to the south corner. "As your power lies in fire, we will use it to strengthen our energy." She turned to Darius. "Sit here, in the center," she told him. "So the energy of the four elements will flow through you

They did as she asked, and watched as she picked up a bowl of soil. "I call upon Earth, the power to make," she intoned, setting the bowl down in front of the north candle. She returned to her collection of items and picked up a censer. Lighting a match, she touched it to the incense until it caught fire. Then she blew both out and carried the censer to the east corner and set it down. A small stream of smoke curled upward, and Heather waved her fingers through it. "I call upon Air, the power to take."

Next she turned to Lexi and nodded. Lexi conjured forth a small fireball and held it in her hands.

"I call upon Fire, the power to grow," Heather said.

Then she returned to her collection, picked up a bowl of what Lexi was sure had to be rainwater or water from a nearby stream and carried it to the west corner. "I call upon Water, the power to flow."

Earth, air, fire and water. The four elements had been called, so now it was time to cast the circle.

Heather picked up a large container of salt and, starting at the east candle, poured a small stream onto the floor behind it. She continued pouring as she walked in a Deosil, or clockwise, direction, making sure she stayed inside the circle she was creating.

"Green power and gold; red power and blue; here the power we do unfold; quarters' might, strong and true. Four the winds to weave the round, 'tween the worlds the power be bound. Till we send it at the last, guardians keep it strong and fast."

It was the chant for calling the elements; Lexi recognized the words from Rhiannon Ryall's
West Country Wicca.

"The circle is now closed," Heather said when she was once again at the east corner.

She set the salt down and picked up an eloquently carved white pillar candle, which she placed in the center of the circle, in front of Darius, and lit. "Greetings, Mother Goddess. She who was, is and always will be. Maiden, Mother, Crone. We welcome you and beseech you, guide and bless our efforts here today. We ask your help as we try to break the spell on your son." She reached up and unclasped a necklace from around her neck. When she lowered her hands, Lexi saw there was a dark green stone with reddish-orange spots hanging from the chain. "We ask that you bless this moonstone, which will help to unblock his mind and allow him to reclaim his memories." She laid the moonstone at the base of the candle and then returned to her collection of items to get a bouquet of

flowers. These she also laid at the base of the candle. "We welcome you, Mother Goddess, into our circle. The wisdom and powers is yours. So mote it be."

Then she picked up a cast-iron cauldron and carried it to the north corner, where she sat down. For several seconds, she sat there quietly, eyes closed, and Lexi knew she was grounding herself; gathering her energies. A prickle of magic skittered across Lexi's skin, and she found herself looking around to see if the others had noticed the increase of magical energy inside the circle.