Her Lycan Lover (17 page)

“What about wands? Do you have one?”

She arched a brow. “You’re looking at it.” In one sure movement, Sherry brought the blade down and pierced the floor with the point. “Okay. I’ll notch the symbols. And you can trace the ring with the salt. Pour it as evenly as possible.”

Quinn moved slowly behind her and watched her with a protective force that bombarded her senses. Was he concerned about the gouging to his floor? The honed dagger easily scored the upper level of the wood. Plank and after plank, she dug the knife into the smooth surface, at times flicking tiny chips of wood out of the groves formed. The pile of rocks Quinn had formed served as the center point and she slowly moved, dragging her blade, scarring the oak flooring an equal distance from the stones to form the circle. When she came to her starting point, she was sweating—not from exertion but from the stress of ruining the smooth floor. She moved the rocks into five points, then drew the dagger over the floor, scoring symbols for the four elements along with spirit at the top.

“Where do you want me?” he asked, depositing the salt bag on the cocktail table. He came up next to her.

She stopped in her tracks. “You don’t have to do this. You know that, right?”

“Well, love, you’re wrong there.” His lips curved upward.

“Take my hand, keeping your dominant hand free. Repeat after me.” She began to recite the invocation to join in light and love. She couldn’t look into Quinn’s eyes for fear of what she’d find. She started to invoke fire for the South and the Earth for the North.

His large hand, firmly held onto hers as he repeated the incantation substituting the elements she’d assigned him. She ended with the Sisterhood’s devotion.
An bhfuil cad beidh tusa in ainm an tsaoil, in ainm an ghrá, in ainm an eternity. A chaomhnú, a dhéanann muid go mbeidh thy Aeir, Dóiteáin, Uisce, na Cruinne
”

“What does that mean?” Quinn asked.

“
Do what thou shall in the name of life, in the name of love, in the name of eternity. To preserve, we do thy will
. We ask to be mindful of the air, to will Fire, dare Water, and always keep silent as we preserve Earth.”

Incrementally, the space became saturated with an energetic force, then stronger as though a laser focus empowered the space within the circle. The essence of sensuality swam about her as though she were in the sea and smooth fish were grazing her skin. From the moment they’d kissed, the feel of Quinn’s hard body worked her imagination. Now, she was overwrought by sensation and a furious longing for him.

The earthy, masculine scent of him filled her, so much that blood pounded in her temples. Standing inside the circle, she was overcome by the craving to strip bare and rub up against the hard planes of his body. She struggled to draw a breath. This lustful hunger boiled in her bloodstream, overriding her sense of decorum. Her brain buzzed with ancient sacred words and works aimed at sensual play with the intent to bring a man to his knees. But what about a Lycan?

His shifter body held her rapt attention and if this continued, there be a chemical combustion hotter and brighter than the Fourth of July.

“Steady,” he whispered, coming up behind her. “We’re almost done. Right?”

“How… did you know?” Sherry trembled in front of him.

“I sense the heightening of your desire. I feel the exact same.” Quinn’s hot breath bathed her skin. Searing tingles rocketed over her flesh. Up close, she absorbed his shifter dominance and allowed herself a moment to admire the raw sexuality that pervaded him, the predator that lurked barely concealed beneath the surface. Dangerous and at the same time, luscious. Overpowering. “Finish your work. Then I’ve mine to complete.”

Is this what it meant to give herself to a protector? She felt safe in his presence even though he was a sentinel and the most sensual male she’d ever met. Totally aware of the erotic effect that he had on her, she leaned back against him.

“So certain…” she murmured half dazed.

“What’s the next step?” He dug his fingers into the flesh at her hips. His voice was a low growl that reverberated in her body.

She captured a quick, sharp breath. “The invocation of the Horned God. Immediately afterwards, the doorway into the ley line here in Denver will show itself. I’ll be in my energetic state so I can travel through the realms.”

“Can I do anything to help?”

“Pray. I need to repair whatever hole exists. Otherwise more and more Fae will come through.” There was no reason to tell him, she might get caught in the realm or that the Fae could consume her life force completely. She did not move from him as she solemnly requested the blessing on this ritual. For the first time, she did not feel the welcoming of the Sisterhood that was akin to a sense of joy rocketing through her being. Was it because she’d seriously messed up?

Sherry closed her eyes, focused the four elements into being and cast up a shield around the house. She turned toward each of the cardinal directions, calling into her mind’s eye all the elements. Each appeared into being along with the Wiccan goddesses who gave their approval. The Horned God was absent, his place empty. She hesitated a moment, unsure if she should proceed. Her heartbeat thundered as she hovered on the brink between her physical state, and her pure energetic form.

The pulsations rippled along her nerves, her blade became a beacon both physically laced to her hand and as a highly conductive force she manipulated with her mind. She slipped through the first portal. In this place, she hovered, becoming accustomed to the transition from human body to pure energy. She was shocked to find her lifeline was deeply embedded into Quinn’s and together they formed a brilliant hue that sparkled, flowing endlessly.

Through the vastness of the Sisterhood, the lines of energy from spellcasters and the eternal goddesses were visible as well. In this outer realm, she stepped through another doorway, deeper into the universe
of interspace.
All beings had lifelines, rays of energy that were connected and fed the ley lines that covered the Earth. Sherry pulled taut the elements positioned before her as she worked her blade.

She waited while sacred spirits along air, fire, earth, and water took hold, compressed and realigned in pure molecular energetic structures. Without moving, she worked her mind to counterbalance the elements, cinching tighter and tighter the universal energy that flowed abundantly until she was filled and had the capacity to hyper leap between the realms.

In her freeform state of pure energy, she glided away from the warmth of Quinn’s body. The sparks his lifeline emitted were similar to fireworks that caressed her invitingly, until she moved farther and farther, and then a majority of his energy reconnected with the ley line, an unbroken ray feeding into the static energy-rich fault line. Tiny tendrils of Quinn’s life force remained connected to her as she slipped farther into the energy corridor, moving within the interspace between the realms.

Gliding instinctively, she made her way back to the ley line center along passages where an eternal night sky presided. There were no words to describe what she saw. Until two Fae materialized. Their presence was felt rather than seen. Cold, noxious, and draining. They too wouldn’t see her, only perceive her life force. Sherry drew in her energy, and dropped to another level in the ley line, praying it would be clear.

There were dark shadows slinking nearby, lower energy forms, and she sensed they were unable to leech an iota of strength from her. She bolted down a passage, this segment of the realm familiar to her. Sweeping against her were free moving currents of energy. Then, a blast of rigid wind tangled her mind. Before her was a hole in the shield.

Using her blade, she telepathically invoked the sacred words and her blade glowed, making it possible to cauterize the edges of the tear. She had to seal the entry before any more Fae came through. They’d have the ability to render her life force void if they crossed over and through her.

The universal forces were powerful, not easily contained, and required her utmost concentration to shape. She faltered and the elements burst apart, shattering, and the pain slashed within her psyche, a repulsive ache deep in her soul.

Dimensional forces pressed against her. Her strength ebbed. She lacked the ability to weave her blade, let alone repair the shield. Even though her blade was pure energy within the ley line realm each movement required her complete mental acumen and she’d let herself become depleted. Soon her energy would diminish entirely and she’d be lost within the interior of the ley line. She had one chance but it required she show her location and Dark Fae would know her whereabouts. If she waited, she’d lack the nimble control to do complete work. She focused her strength, and sought the assistance of any spellcaster within the realm. A psychic SOS of sorts. Bleeps of light arrived, joining with her soul. Each time one packet of energy connected with her, she mentally expanded her own force field out in front of her in an effort to wield more power. Finally, the elements coalesced. She wielded her dagger rapidly weaving elements together.

One more pass and the shield would be stabilized. Using her blade, she made the draw, bonding the elements that formed a temporary patch sealing the tear. The edges pulsed with interstellar wind. She’d have to recharge in human form and then return, forging the edges for a more permanent seal. But for now, the shield was in place as it should be for the Denver ley lines.

She began to glide back down the passage, seeking the familiar life line of Quinn. That was the only way she had to find her way back. Scanning the lines, she perceived Quinn’s unique energy print and hyper leapt from level to level, weaving their lines together. Coming upon an unfamiliar passage, she flinched at the sensation encountered. A piercing sound stabbed at her neural pathways. As if shoved, she stumbled at the edge of the passage, and released a scream within her mind.

Slipping, unable to regain her balance, she fell, tumbling backward, dropping between the passages on the ley line. Reaching out, she swiped at the familiar energy lines that were still connected to her, those of Quinn, forging a connection with her lifeline. His protective energy acted as a tether, stopping her fall. As though a safety net, his life force immediately grew stronger around her, until she stabilized and had her bearings. She’d lost so much energy on her fall, the effort to rise took all her strength. Another level upward, the doorway was nearby, and she burst through reconnecting with her physical body.

When she opened her eyes, she was back in the circle, quivering under the onslaught of the raw force of the Horned God who demanded to know why she’d acted without his permission.

From her lips, she moaned the only name she could recall. “Quinn.”

Quinn growled, the sound primal upon his vocal cords. His instinct to protect had been on full alert this whole time, a crushing feeling that had a razor-sharp anger in agreeing to let her do something so dangerous. His name on her lips unchained a chaotic mix of foreign emotions that swept over him. Relief gave way to a spiked fervor to claim her. Until they completed the mating cycle and were truly bonded, he was denied the ability to fully protect her. The liquid flame to possess Sherry surged in his blood, urging him to make his mark upon her, and then she’d be his.

He’d watched her for several hours as she appeared in some deep trance, moving about the circle. At one point, she screamed so loud, he’d tried to wake her, finding her unresponsive. He held her in his arms, rocking her. Then without warning, she jolted, flailing against him and opened her eyes.

“Jesus. Finally, you’re back.” He picked Sherry up, at first roughly dominating but that dissipated into a tenderness at the feel of her secure in his arms and responding to him. Her limp body, chilly to his touch, shook uncontrollably. The clothes she wore were saturated by a cold perspiration. She must have been drained from the ritual.

Hell, he felt as though he’d done a mountain run over a challenge course by the end. The amount of concentration he’d witnessed her exert must have taxed her system.

“How do you feel, angel?” he asked, leaning over her face and brushing his lips along her ear.

“The shield is in place. I was able to travel back to the main part of the ley line to do some minor repairs. The property is warded from the Fae. We can do a few more things, nothing major until I hear from the council.” Sherry’s face was ashen, her eyes bloodshot.

“I asked about
you
.”

“Tired.” Shivering, she hugged her arms around herself.

“You’re freezing. We need to get you warm. Thirsty? You should eat and drink something.”

“Yes. And you, too.”

“Jesus, I was the audience. Sher, I’ve never seen such abilities.” Weakly, she smiled up at him. A wholly different side from the one she demonstrated at the Den. Efficient, brilliant, beautiful—she was all still all of those, but there was a sense of fragility to her strength. As though she housed a secret too taxing.

“We are connected. Your energy line and mine,” she murmured. He didn’t understand specifically what she’d meant. Nevertheless, satisfaction thrummed in his veins—he’d have no difficulty protecting her to the end of time. And then he realized, with the danger of the Dark Fae, that could be days from now once they mated if he wasn’t on his game.