Her Wild Magic (8 page)

* * * * *

Over two hours had come and gone since Caleb had entered the cave, and still no signal. Max had spent the time pacing nervously, peering constantly into the darkened interior of the cave as if she could will him to appear. She’d even sent up a few fervent prayers, promising all matter of things. But the minutes had slowly changed into hours, and still no sign of Caleb.

Fighting back tears of frustration, Max sat on a small boulder near the cave’s entrance and tried to think of a rescue plan that the others would agree to. She wasn’t surprised when Noori walked out of the thick foliage ringing the cave and sat down beside her. Since Caleb had left, he’d kept a silent vigil, never more than a few feet from her side.

“Caleb is a fortunate man,” he said softly. “He has a mate who cares deeply for him.”

Max turned to look at the man sitting next to her and, not for the first time, wondered why it was the bad boys of the world always had velvety voices and impossibly long eyelashes. Not to mention, he had a smile never far from his lips that would make a saint think of forbidden pleasures. His black hair, held by a strip of leather at his neck, looked as if it would flow like silk down his back when unbound. He was as potent as a shot of Jack Daniels, and handsome enough to make a nun lust in her heart. But he wasn’t Caleb. He didn’t growl protectively when another male got too close to her, he didn’t inhale her scent as if it was the finest of perfumes, and he didn’t look at her as though she was the very air he needed to breathe.

“He will return,” Noori assured her when she remained silent. “He has no equal when it comes to sheer cunning and ferocity in battle.” He turned to look at her. “But more importantly, he has found you. He will not leave the one thing he has always hoped for but never really believed he would find.”

“You speak as if you’ve known Caleb a long time.”

“I believe I have always known him, but in this life we met as small boys, heralded by our seers to be the ones who would stand on the front lines in the coming war against the dark mages. I came from Peru, Stefan from England, Ronan from Africa, and Caleb from America to spend our formative years together and learn from our greatest teachers. It was a wise decision. When you are envied for your birthright and feared for the power you wield, the world can be a lonely place.”

“You were feared…even as children?”

Noori nodded solemnly. “We came into our powers at an early age, and like all children, we made mistakes. Not many, but enough that we were kept separate from the others of our kind until we learned discipline.”

“I know what it’s like to be feared because you’re different, but at least you had each other.”

“Forgive me, Max.” He touched her lightly on the shoulder, his manner comforting. “That was thoughtless of me. But we will speak of other things now, such as your plan to go after Caleb.”

Max looked at him in mild surprise. “Is mind reading one of your gifts?”

His lips turned up in a wicked smile. “Many who have found pleasure in my bed believe so, but the truth is you have an open face. I believe you are right to be concerned. And the others believe something has gone wrong also, but they won’t discuss it in your presence. They think to protect you.”

“He needs my help, Noori. My mate bond with him tells me he’s alive, but my body burns with the danger surrounding him.”

Noori shook his head. “I know I am going to regret it, but I will ask anyway. What is your plan, little sister?”

“I wish I could say I’ve thought of something extraordinary, but the truth is, I’m so worried I can barely think. But if you can open a vortex for me, similar to the one you opened for Caleb, I know I can find him and get him out of there. And don’t ask me how I know that, I just do. Just as I know that without my help, he won’t make it out of alive.”

His eyes narrowed, and Max knew he was seeing her with his magic, delving into the deepest corner of her soul, before answering her. Something he saw there must have convinced him to help her, because he took her hand in his and rose to his feet.

“I will help you, but I don’t know if the others will. And I will need their aid to create another vortex.”

When Kayla, Stefan, and Ronan suddenly appeared in a circle around her, Max realized Noori had silently communicated with them. It was a little disconcerting the way they talked to each other without words, but Max found comfort in Caleb’s claim that as her gift grew in strength, she too would gain the ability to mind link with others.

Stefan broke from the circle and walked over to stand directly in front of her, his gaze unblinking as he looked down at her. “Caleb will not be pleased,” he stated flatly, his tone so cold a shiver raced down her spine. “I—” He winced, as if someone had screamed in his ear, and he shot a cool glance at Kayla before continuing. “I do not think your plan is wise, little sister, but my bride has reminded me that I owe you a boon for saving her life. I will aid you in whatever way I can, but you are mate to my brother, and it is his wish that your life be placed before his. If at any time I deem the risk too great, I will remove you to a place of safety.”

Max gave him a small nod of thanks, but she smiled at Kayla before looking across at Ronan. The Warlock stood off to her left, hands folded into the sleeves of his robe, his head bowed. He looked to be meditating, but Max knew he was aware of everything that happened around him and that he could, and would, stop her if he deemed it necessary.

“I can do this, Ronan.” Max tried to sound confident, but she had a feeling the warlock knew she had locked her knees to keep them from shaking. “You know what the prophesy says. You know what I did to Michael.”

Ronan lifted his head, his bleak eyes giving nothing away as his gaze met hers. “I know you are impetuous and overflowing with a wild magic you have yet to master. Are you certain you wish to do this?”

“No, but I am certain I’m the only one who can do what needs to be done. I admit I’m impetuous and don’t have full control of my gifts, but I
can
disrupt mage power. So check your egos at the door. I’m Caleb’s best chance of getting out alive, and
your
best chance at avoiding a bloodbath. So unless one of you has a better plan, let’s get on with it. Anyway—” Max shrugged. “—if I fail, you can always fall back on plan B.”

Stefan hissed, clearly displeased with her words, and Max narrowed her eyes at him.

“What? Do you think I don’t know you guys have a Plan B? I may be the new kid on the block, but it doesn’t take much of a brain to see Noori is a master manipulator, Stefan’s middle name is Tyrant, and Ronan is a really scary combination of the two. I know
you
guys have a plan B, you’re just not sharing it with me.”

For several long seconds nobody said a word, and Max realized they were doing the mind link thing again. Max tried not to let it bother her, but she had just about run out of patience when Kayla spoke out.

“Forgive our rudeness, Max, but we were attempting once again to communicate with Caleb. The spell blocking us is impenetrable, and since none of us believed that was even possible, our Plan B, as you call it, needed some revising. We are in agreement now. We’ll form a vortex for you, but you’ll have to agree to a blood link.”

Max frowned. “You mean you want Stefan to take my blood?”         

“No, that’s not what she means,” Stefan snapped. “I am not Dracula. You have only to prick your thumb, and one of us can link with your essence.”

“Sorry,” Max said with a sheepish grin, “I didn’t mean to offend. I’m relieved to know forming a link doesn’t involve blood sucking. But even if it did, I’m sure Caleb would understand. You’re his brothers, and all that stuff about weres being territorial and unable to tolerate other males near their mates doesn’t apply.”

Max looked at the others for confirmation, but no one said a word.

It was Kayla, her eyes alight with suppressed laughter, who stepped forward to prick Max’s thumb with a small dagger. The men remained at a respectful distance.

* * * * *

Max stood with Ronan, watching as little wisps of white smoke coalesced and swirled in a circular pattern at the entrance to the cave. The others stood several feet off to the side, heads bowed and eyes closed as they channeled energy into the forming vortex.

“It is quite deceptive in appearance,” Ronan said, studying the whirling mass. “But it is quite literally a door across time and space. When you exit the vortex, you will be in the cellar of Michael’s ancestral home. His home is heavily warded and possessed of a malevolent magic. So take care to keep your gift buried deep inside you until it is needed.” He pulled a dark, hooded cape seemingly out of the air and draped it over her shoulders. “Wear this with the hood pulled about your face. The garment is identical to the kind worn by Michael’s human servants, and as long as you keep to the shadows, no one should question your presence. If you are stopped, keep your eyes downcast and address everyone as Master or Mistress. And remember, you have only an hour to find Caleb. After that, we attack with whatever force is needed to destroy the Stone of Asreal.”

She gathered the cape around her, but before she could step into the vortex, Stefan blocked her path.

“Take this.” He held out a small tube filled with some sort of dark red liquid. “It will mask your life force and magical essence from the dark mages. To anyone using magic to scan for intruders, you will be undetectable.”

Max nodded her thanks and, with a deep breath to steady her nerves, stepped into the whirling wisps of smoke. It was like walking into a cloud on the ground, and she literally had no idea where each footfall would land. But she kept moving forward, praying with each step that she reached Caleb in time.

She had walked only a few feet, when the whirling wisps of white smoke dispersed, and she found herself standing in a small dark room.
Damn
. Max breathed through her mouth to combat the stench that assailed her nostrils. Ronan had told her she would exit into a cellar, but he failed to mention it would smell like a sewer and look like a medieval dungeon.

Fortunately, a small vent afforded some light from the outside, and Max was able to make her way up a flight of narrow stairs to the room’s only door. She carefully cracked it open and peered out into a narrow hallway lined with several doors. No one was about, and she stepped out into the corridor, allowing her senses to flare outward in search of Caleb.

To her surprise, he was only a few yards away, behind one of the nondescript doors lining the hallway. Remembering Ronan’s instructions, she pulled the hood over her head before making her way along the poorly lit passageway. If anyone saw her, she was certain her disguise would hold, but she doubted anyone would stop her. She’d worked as a maid on more than one occasion, and she knew servants were expected to be seen everywhere and as a result were seen nowhere.

Max had taken only a few steps when a door along the corridor swung open. Two men dressed in the blood-red robes of the dark mages came out.

“What are you doing here?” the one closet to Max asked. His tone was only slightly suspicious, and his companion looked annoyed that he’d even bothered to speak to her.

Max walked over to the two men, making sure she kept her eyes downcast and her head bowed subserviently. She knew from the cool gray of the men’s auras her presence didn’t alarm them, but that didn’t stop her heart from racing with fear.

“The master wishes a report on the status of the prisoner. Your presence is requested at once.” Max told the lie without hesitation. She
knew
Caleb was in the room the men had exited, and it was a safe bet these men were his jailers. If she could get them to leave, even for a few minutes, the team could swish them to safety in seconds.

“May our magic protect us,” he said on a heartfelt groan. He looked at his companion, his fear evident in the beads of sweat forming on his forehead. “He will not be pleased with our lack of success.”

“No doubt,” the other mumbled, pulling the door closed behind him. “But I do not think he will be surprised. The Lycan is like no other. I only wish there was time for us to have a meal. I haven’t eaten since noon, and the way things are going I doubt we will be allowed to dine with the master.” He fell silent, and Max sensed his eyes on her, but she kept her head bent in the manner of a well-trained servant. “Girl, there is no need for you to return immediately to your master. We will inform him of our progress, and you will go to the kitchen and gather sustenance for us. A simple meal of bread and cheese will suffice. Wait here for our return, but do not attempt to enter the room. It is heavily warded against intruders and could well cost you your life.”

“And bring plenty of wine,” the other added. “Breaking the bastard is hard work, and I intend to burn every inch of flesh from his bones if necessary. He probably won’t tell us much of anything, but it is work I will enjoy. I lost my brother less than a year ago to his damned hand of justice, and he will pay dearly for my loss.”

The two men hurried off, and Max waited until they had taken the stairs leading to the upper floors before reaching for the doorknob. As soon has her hand made contact, she felt the sting of a thousand hot needles piercing her arm. She held on, despite the pain, and reached for her gift. It rose swiftly, and almost at once the burning eased.

Max silently said a small prayer of thanks and slipped inside the room. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the darkness.

Caleb lay unconscious atop a high wooden table, his nude body covered from the chest down in a series of red markings resembling Egyptian hieroglyphics.

Max hurried to his side and did a quick assessment of his body for injuries. He didn’t appear to have any broken bones or serious injuries, but what she had thought were markings drawn on his body with red paint were actually symbols burned into his flesh. Bastards. They’d pay for what they’d done to him, but first she had to get Caleb out of harm’s way.

“Caleb.” She grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him. “Caleb, wake up! We have to get out of here.”

He slowly opened his eyes, and Max bit back a cry of anguish at the pain reflected in them. “Caleb, honey, we have to get out of here. The mages could return at any moment.”

“Max, what are you doing here?” He groaned weakly. Then more forcefully, as he came to full consciousness, he said, “God, I’m going to kill them for letting you come here.”

“Yea, well, you’ll have to get out of here first. Do you think you can stand?”

He shook his head. “They’ve bound my powers, and my strength has been siphoned away. Don’t know how they’ve done it, but somehow they’ve managed to bind me using my own blood.” He paused to fill his lungs with air, and Max realized even breathing was difficult for him. “Leave me. It’s more important to get a message to the others. Tell Ronan he was right. Michael is the front man, and the real danger lies with the one he serves. I don’t know who he is, but he has the undiluted strength of a Watcher.” He coughed, and Max lifted his head off the table, hoping to make it easier for him to breathe, but he tried to pull away from her. “Don’t worry about me. I can hold out until the others get here. Go now. I’ll be okay.”

“Like hell you will,” Max snapped. “I’m not leaving you here for them to burn all the flesh from your bones. If I go, you go. Do you think by disrupting the wards I could undo what they’ve done to you?”

“No, just go. Whatever Michael used, you’re no match for it. I can hold out until the others get here.”

“You’re lying. You forget this mate bond thing works both ways. How do I free you? And make it quick. Your jailers could return at any moment.”

Caleb’s eyes narrowed, and Max knew there’d be hell to pay later, but he dropped the machismo and answered her.

“Your gift is mostly wild magic. If anything can release me, it can. But the risk to you—”

“Drop it, Caleb. The only thing I want to know is whether my magic is dangerous to you.”

He shook his head. “Lycans are impervious to most forms of magic. That’s one of the reasons dark mages hate us so much. But power comes at a price. To release me, you’ll have to fully embrace your gift. Once you do that, there is no going back. It will live as you live, and die as you die.”

“Will we be able to be together?”

“Yes, but—”

“Then nothing else matters.” Max stepped away from him and reached for the thing locked away inside her. She whispered her willingness to accept it as a part of her and asked forgiveness for the years she’d kept it a prisoner behind a wall of ignorance and fear.

“Max, don’t!”

She heard Caleb calling to her, but his voice sounded far away. He feared she would lose herself to the thing rising up to cover her like a warm blanket. But he was worrying needlessly. She had lost nothing and gained everything.

The word
home
whispered through her mind, and Max opened her eyes and smiled.
It
was home. For the first time in her life, she felt whole.

“Max, someone is coming,” Caleb whispered, bringing her back to the present. “Hide behind the curtains. If we’re lucky, they won’t scan for intruders.”

Still slightly disoriented, Max stumbled across the floor and hid behind the heavy tapestries adorning the room. She managed to make a small opening between panels, just enough to give her a view of Caleb and the room beyond. She was well hidden, and though Caleb didn’t know it, with Stefan’s vial in her pocket, a magical scan wouldn’t detect her.

She had barely managed to conceal herself when Michael entered the room, followed closely by the two mages Max had met earlier. A third figure, completely cloaked in a deep purple robe, followed several steps behind. Max was certain it was a woman, not only because of the exotic perfume that filtered through the room, but because the air was suddenly charged with sexual tension.

Michael went to Caleb and waved a hand over him. The burns covering his body faded slightly, and his breathing grew easier.

“You will find speaking easier now,” he informed Caleb. “But movement will remain impossible, and any further efforts to escape, will be met with swift punishment.” Not bothering to wait for a response, Michael turned and waved the purple-clad figure forward. “I have brought you a gift.”

“No thanks,” Caleb said dryly. “I’ve already been the beneficiary of several of your gifts.”

“But unlike my previous gifts, you will like this one immensely. Sasha, my dear, come closer and let Caleb get a good look at you.”

The purple-robed woman took a step forward, drawing back her hood to reveal a face of astonishing beauty.

“She is exquisite, is she not?” Michael purred, untying the strings that held her cape in place. “But the best is yet to come.” With a dramatic flair, he snatched the cape away, leaving the women completely nude except for the coverage provided by her waist-length black hair and a thin gold chain that hung low across her hips. Max expected the woman to show some reaction to being bared before the men, but she merely appeared bored by the adulation in the lust-filled eyes of the two lesser mages.

Michael kept his attention on Caleb, clearly gauging his reaction to the woman. When Caleb merely arched a questioning brow at him, Michael’s face hardened. “Sasha’s beauty commands a high price in our world, yet I see you are unmoved. When we toured the brothels of Europe in our youth, I don’t recall you being so difficult to please.”

“I am a mated were. Your gift offends me.”

Max couldn’t keep the grin from her face. When this was all over, she was going to make sure the big guy got something good for that remark. He was definitely a keeper.

“Yes, I have met your mate.” Michael sneered. “It is unacceptable that one of your pure bloodline, destined to be a future king of the Lycans, should mate with a mixed-race human of no standing. But Sasha will ensure your line remains untainted. It would have made things easier if you had felt some attraction to her, but it isn’t necessary. She is a skilled whore and will do whatever it takes to earn her fee.”

Sasha sent an ugly look Michael’s way, but with his attention focused on Caleb, he missed it. Max doubted it would have had any effect on him anyway. Michael was a megalomaniac who clearly didn’t give a damn about anything except his twisted plans.

“I am aware of the quaint mating habits of the were,” Michael continued, “but Sasha is succubae. You will not be able to resist her. But before Sasha earns her fee, you will assuage my curiosity. Did your spies inform you of the role you will play in the coming war?”

“Why don’t you tell me your plans, Michael? There’s nothing better than first-hand information.”

“Not my plan, Caleb, but the plan of one who is greater than any who has come before. He will create a master race, and you will help him.”

“Don’t think so. And I hate to burst your bubble, but the master race thing has been tried before, more than once, and the outcome was the same.”

“What the human monkeys attempted with their world wars cannot be compared to what will be achieved,” Michael snapped, obviously angered by Caleb’s words. “In the past year, Sasha has visited those of our kind known for the strength of their gifts. She appears to them in the guise of an erotic dream, but the release of their seed into her body is all too real. They are left sterile, and their harvested seed is used by the master to breed Rephaims with the strength of the old ones. And since no others of comparable strength will be born—”