The COMPLETE Witching Pen Series, Boxed Set (82 page)

She caught her breath and heard her heart pounding in her ears. She felt like a deer caught in headlights, but the anticipation of
knowing
what she so desperately needed to know was a sweet, sweet thing she could practically taste. “I don’t know if I should trust you,” she whispered, and it was the last of her common sense making sense. She could feel it slipping, though, even as she spoke. “The way you’re looking at me – it’s as if half of you is dying for me to eat this and the other half of you would be crushed if I did.”

He smiled a grim smile. “You know what it’s like, don’t you? To be so torn in two you can barely breathe…”

“Maybe this is your way of killing the baby, and therefore the Dragon.”

He held out his hand to her.

Caught in the web of dark intrigue, she took it.

He brought her palm up to his head. “Read my mind – know me.”

She did, letting her magic seep into his thoughts, entwining them with hers… Yes, he was telling the truth: her baby wouldn’t come to any harm from this. The apple would do exactly as he’d stated. “Why are you offering me this … help?”

“For my own selfish reasons. It’s a habit I find very hard to kick. I don’t know what your deepest desires are, but I want to watch them unfold.”

“You’re a bit of a voyeur?”

“Very much so.”

“If my desires are dangerous, you’ll enjoy watching me fall apart.”

He nodded, slowly.

“And if they’re relieving, you’ll enjoy watching me find peace?”

Again, he nodded.

“You’re a strange one.”

“Torn between light and dark, Amy. I shall leave you to think things over. Goodnight.”

He disappeared.

She glanced down at the apple in her hand.

Of all the stupid decisions she’d ever made, this one had to win. They weren’t just warning bells going off in her head, it was a brass band orchestra.

But you’ve been so stagnant, not able to make
any
decisions at all – at least this would be a step in a direction … any direction will do.
 

She placed the apple down next to the fruit bowl; next to Pueblo’s note. ‘
You need time, and it’s not the kind I can give you.’
 

Would a bite of the apple do that? Would it give her time?

‘It’ll show you your deepest desires.’
 

She turned away from it and walked towards Paul’s room.

When she arrived outside his door, she knocked gently.

No reply.

Hesitantly, repeating her actions from earlier that evening, she opened his door to find his room bare, his bed made and not slept in. Lucifer was right – he hadn’t been home.

A sick feeling churned within her.

She hadn’t been without Paul ever since he’d told her about the pregnancy. Where was he? Was he safe? Was he with anyone? And who would that be at three in the morning?

Calm down. You’re running away with yourself – pregnancy hormones suck. Get yourself under control…

But she couldn’t shake the worry, or the million unanswered questions that now snaked their way into her mind.

It would be so good just to know…

And wasn’t that what everyone wanted, anyway? Pueblo had all but pushed her into Paul’s arms tonight. Paul had been persistently patient with her, but she knew the extent of his feelings…

And the extent of yours?
asked that pesky inner-voice.

Somehow, she found herself back at the kitchen counter, staring at the apple.

Did she still love him, or was everything she was feeling simply nostalgia? How did she separate the two? Could love be both old and new? Could it be as strong as it was then? Was it possible to be in love with both Pueblo and Paul at the same time? Both as much as each other?

But Paul’s going to die…
 

What was the use in knowing of any potential future she could have with him if he was going to die?

But can you let him die without ever really knowing?

She didn’t even realise that her breathing had turned shallow, the beginning of another panic attack just around the corner.

Fuck the questions!
Stubborn anger rose sharply.
I’m so sick of the fucking questions!
 

The apple didn’t seem to weigh quite so much when she held it the second time.

God was gunning for the Dragon’s head. There was a fifty percent chance everything might all end badly anyhow.

The thought of her baby not surviving, or coming to harm, sent a wave of nausea coursing through her, but what enhanced it, was the vision of her cradling her son, unable to tell if she loved him. Stupid really – she knew that on some deep level … I mean, how could you not bond with your child, right?

Except she knew some mothers left babies on doorsteps; she knew that post natal depression existed and Pueblo was right: she
had
been sad over the past two months.

She didn’t feel ‘bonded’ to her baby at the moment – not bonded in the way she believed she would thirty-odd weeks down the line – he had grown so quickly, without warning. And maybe this was the crux of it: he was the Messiah. Some new king or leader or … whoever … and she had no idea what she was supposed to do with that.

The overwhelm of it made her dizzy, so much so that she had pushed the truth of it to the back of her mind, refusing to dwell on it, insistent that the baby would not grow up with that burden on his shoulders. But now, with the growth spurt, it was painfully clear that this was
not
a ‘normal’ child. That revelation brought tears to her eyes. She wanted to love him, and she wanted to do the best that she could by him; to make the right choices, with clarity and surety. Wasn’t that a good thing for everyone?

Before another agonising question could be added to her repertory, she brought the fruit up to her lips, and bit into it.

~*~

The wind was biting in the West Country, but Elena had a shield up against it around both herself and Katarra. No use in having the cold drain their reserves.

“What are we doing here?” she asked.

“I told you I wanted to help. Just a little further up this way.”

They had teleported to Wiltshire, where Katarra had said she had housed the last remaining members of her tribe.

“Where exactly are we?” asked Elena.

“About a kilometre to the east of Stonehenge. This is New King Barrow.” The demon threw her a knowing look. “Fitting, right? This used to be a cemetery – a huge one. I’m sure you can feel it, what, with your powers of life and death and so on.”

Yes, she could. In fact, the energy was so great it was heady.

They made their way up the large hill … or grave.

“So,” said the she-demon, as if casual conversation was the done thing at a time like this. “Remind me what your plan is?”

Elena looked at Katarra. Her initial reaction had been to find Karl and … and that’s where her plan had ended. Find Karl, then what? Reason with God? Fight God? Fight Karl?

Besides, she hadn’t a clue where he was. He wasn’t answering his phone, she couldn’t sense him, and a location spell had been no use at all – whatever Karl’s energetic blueprint had been, it had clearly been altered with the mergence. That left her feeling all kinds of shitty, so she’d focused on the only plan that could be solidified for the moment: save the Dragon. And if saving the Dragon meant that all non-human entities died, maybe it also meant God would ‘die’ and leave Karl intact.

Okay, so it was lame, but it was all she had.

She cleared her throat, and her feelings of futility with it. “Go into the womb of the Earth and induce the Dragon to birth before anyone can kill it.”

“When.”

“ASAP.”

“Crazy. I like it. How are you going to do that? No one’s supposed to be able to reach the Dragon.”

Throwing a smile into the dark, she put her hand into her pocket and drew out the necklace she’d unearthed almost twenty-four hours ago. A corner of the gold Chinese lettering caught the moonlight.

“Mary’s pendant?” voiced Katarra in surprise. “I thought that was gone.”

“It was. I accidentally brought it back.”

“There are no accidents.”

“That’s what I’m hoping. If anything can give me direct connection to the Dragon, it’s this.”

Katarra let out a low whistle.

Elena assumed that meant she was impressed.

“And what if God turns up?”

She shrugged. “Better to face him down there than out in the open where anyone could get hurt. I don’t know if Karl can trace me right now; I can’t seem to trace him with my magic.”

“You mean God.”

“No, I mean Karl. Karl’s in there, Katarra – he’s not gone.”

“Even though you can’t trace him.”

Elena scowled.

Katarra sighed. “What will you do if he
does
turn up?”

“No fucking idea.”

“Glad to hear it.”

The slope became slightly steeper before flattening out.

“Elena, what if we get to the womb of the Earth and there’s no Dragon there at all?”

“We?”

“I’m coming with you and don’t say, no. I want to see a dragon before I die. But what if it’s not there? Or what if it is, and it turns on you? What if you
have
to kill the Dragon?”

“And potentially end the human race?” She threw her a sideways glance. “I won’t be killing any dragons. Besides, seems to me from what Michael was saying that Gwain’s sword is the only thing that can kill it, and I can’t carry it – Karl’s the only one who can.”

“But what if—”

“Look, I don’t know, okay? I haven’t got a blinkin’ clue. I’m going into this on faith alone – faith in Karl’s strength, faith that Gwain and Mary are inside that Dragon and will show some mercy, faith that the right decisions will hit me at the times when I need them the most, and faith that happy endings still exist even though the world’s gone topsy-turvy. Faith’s all I’ve got here. Other than that, I’m running on empty.”

“You know, if anyone can beat this thing, it’s Karl,” said Katarra, softly.

Elena gave her a grateful smile, although she didn’t know if she was saying it because she meant it, or just to make her feel better.

They stopped at the edge of a small wood, then Katarra swept her arm outwards and across the view, not that they could see anything in the pitch black that was the countryside at 3 a.m. “We’re standing directly between New King Barrow and Old King Barrow. This is a point of magical convergence. There used to be a procession path here that ran between the two barrows – you can still sort of see it. It leads straight to Stonehenge and begins south-east of here, in what a few thousand years ago was a village exclusive to magical workers – Druids and the like. Only those possessing the most potent magic and initiated into certain relevant teachings could live here. They were keepers of life and death, and of course, rebirth. They were both revered and feared. Royals from across the country – even further out – would be treated to the most elaborate burials by their hand. They were also called upon to midwife babies into their new lives.” She turned and stared at Elena. “We can reach the womb of the Earth from here – this is how we reach the Dragon.”

Elena stared back, wide-eyed. “Wow. But we’re so far out from London.”

“Distance can be as much of an illusion as time. You teleport – you know this.”

Yeah, she did, but still… “Where do you think the Dragon will rise?”

“The Malattal are saying the same as the Lagool: along the deepest curve of the Thames near Greenwich.”

“And what do you think?”

“I don’t dispute that, but the pull of its magic feels strongest to me here.”

Elena nodded. “Me too. How can that be? If the Dragon rises in London, how can we feel its energy so strongly here?”

“Out of my league, babe. They are questions for a future I’m no longer a part of.” She aimed a sad, lopsided smile at Elena that Elena had never seen on her before, and once again she was taken aback at how the catty Brujii had completely transformed.

Katarra took a step towards her. “I have a gift for you.” She raised her voice and spoke a command in her own tongue.

Out of the shadows surrounding them, four beings emerged and made their way towards them.

“Four left, and myself,” said Katarra. “These are the last of the Brujii.”

It wasn’t until they were close enough to be seen properly that Elena’s jaw dropped … again. They may share Katarra’s complexion and red hair, but there was a fundamental difference between them and her. “They’re men,” she proclaimed.
And butt naked.
 

And erect
, added her succubus as she reared her head at the possibility of the very visible reward.
Four
very visible rewards.

Katarra smiled proudly. “The first Brujii males ever to exist. Since Lokoli’s curse no longer mars us, we discovered that not all of us were truly female – the curse had forced the gender upon us, even as it made us sexless in other ways. Unfortunately, they are not only the first Brujii males, but also the last.”

She stood directly in front of Elena, presumably so she wouldn’t miss the point when she drove it home. Elena already knew what she was going to say…

“Their final wish is to experience pleasure, and you’ll need an extraordinary amount of energy to sustain you for what you’re about to do; energy for both the succubus and the witch.”

She numbly shook her head, although she was fully aware of her succubus beaming with delight that Christmas had come early. “Katarra…” She looked back and forth between the four males and their queen, finally letting her gaze fall on the queen.

“Think carefully before rejecting this,” she said. “They are giving themselves willingly – happily, even – and you need what they’re offering for your mission. Because magic flows through the Brujii, they will not only feed your succubus, but also your witch, and honey, you’re gonna need all the magic you can get.”

Her mouth felt like cotton wool, partly because her succubus was ready to pounce, and partly because Katarra was making sense.