Chapter Eleven
What, I ask you, do
you say to a statement that you are someone’s only means of
salvation?
Oh, yes, I completely
disregarded the part about Eleanor also filling that role, because
Alec obviously didn’t want her. That thought kept me smugly content
for about thirty seconds, until I realized that if I didn’t do the
job, Alec wouldn’t have the choice—he’d have to Join with Eleanor
just to save himself.
An image rose in my
mind of him feeding from her, bound to her for the rest of his
life. It was not a good image.
On the other hand,
that whole “for the rest of his life” part had me a bit skittish.
“You’re kidding, right? Because I did the saving thing, already.
Twice, if you count having Alec yanked out of the
Akasha.”
“Third time’s the
charm,” Pia said with a smile, but judging by the look she slid the
vampire next to her, she didn’t really believe what she was
saying.
“Yes, you did already
save me, twice, as you point out,” Alec said smoothly, his fingers
withdrawing from where they’d slipped down between my back and the
couch. “And for that, I will be eternally grateful. It is enough.
This problem with the council is not yours, Cora. I will find a
solution.”
Alec’s words
disturbed me almost as much as the fact that his friends clearly
agreed with him. It rankled that no one there believed that I would
exert myself to save Alec. Oh, I was no fool—I knew I’d brought
this on myself with my reticence to become involved with anything
vampirish, but dammit, I was involved
now, and I wasn’t so closed-minded that I couldn’t adapt to a
situation.
My inner devil
rejoiced, and made plans for what dress she’d wear to the Joining
party. I told her to go jump in a lake.
You are distressed, Alec said, the words as soft as
his touch on my mind. Do not let yourself
be, cielito. I will find a way out of
this situation.
I didn’t answer him,
too busy fuming over my growing sense of injustice to bother
pointing out the obvious.
It took a half hour,
but we explained the happenings of the last two days to a rapt Pia
and Kristoff. By the end of it, Eleanor had evidently worked out
the worst of her temper tantrum, and rejoined us, sullen and prone
to shooting me nasty looks, but she appeared to have accepted the
fact that she wasn’t going to end up with Alec as her boy
toy.
Unless, of course, I
didn’t want him . . .
“So your friend is
still there?” Pia asked when Alec finished by detailing our arrival
at their house. “In the Akasha, I mean?”
“Yes. And even though
Alec says time operates differently there, I can’t help but think
that at some point Diamond is going to get tired of all those
managerial meetings and want to leave. Not to mention what my ex is
going to think about her disappearance. I left a voice message for
the office when I picked up my passport, saying that I was going to
take a little time off, and Diamond was going to fly out to Hawaii
to join Dermott at his real estate conference, but it’s been two
days now. If anyone from the office calls Dermott, he’ll be bound
to notice that his wife isn’t there with him.”
“Hmm,” Pia said,
looking thoughtful. “As I see it, we have two problems to tackle:
saving Alec and rescuing Diamond. Well, the latter, at least,
should be easy enough. You simply contact that Guardian who got you
out.”
“Alec has offered to
finance that, yes,” I said with a grateful glance at him. He was
looking particularly gorgeous, his hair slightly mussed from our
sojourn in the mouse-infested room, a rich brown manly stubble on
his chin and cheeks that left me feeling shivery inside, as if he
were rubbing his cheeks along my skin. His leg was warm next to
mine, making me want to just curl up against him and forget
everything else.
Eleanor glared at me
as I leaned into him just a little. “How very generous of
him.”
“So that just leaves
Alec to save,” Pia said, ignoring the sarcasm in Eleanor’s
voice.
“I can save myself,”
he answered, his hand sliding down my back again, his fingers
gently stroking the curve of my hip.
Eleanor
snorted.
“And if you get sent
back to the Akasha, what’s going to happen to Cora?” Kristoff
asked.
Alec’s fingers
stilled.
I frowned. “What do
you mean, what will happen to me?”
“Alec is acting as
your protector. Who will assume that role if he’s banished to the
Akasha? ” Kristoff’s eyes were a pale blue as he watched
me.
“That’s right,”
Eleanor said, considering me with something other than hostility, a
speculative glint to her eyes. “She is a . . . what did you call
it? Earwax of Lucifer? ”
“Eyeball!” I
corrected her. “I’m the eyeball of Lucifer, not the
earwax!”
“Eye of Lucifer,
actually,” Alec corrected.
“Hmm,” Eleanor said
softly, looking pleased with herself.
She’s totally going to try to use me to blast you to
smithereens, I warned Alec.
He laughed.
Perhaps, but we will not allow
that.
Hrmph. He might not be concerned, but I made a
mental note to keep a close watch on Eleanor for signs she would
try to use me against him.
“That’s a good
question. Is there anyone else who can protect Cora if Alec is
banished?”
“Like Alec,” I said,
straightening up from where I was slumped against him, “I can take
care of myself.”
“Can you?” Kristoff
asked. “Can you protect yourself against a wrath
demon?”
“Well . .
.”
“Leave it, Kris,”
Alec said, his fingers once again stroking gently down my
side.
“Can you protect
yourself against the Ilargi who captured Ulfur?”
“If I had to, I
might,” I said hesitantly, thinking about the gun de Marco had
wielded. My leg had healed, but even so . . .
“Kristoff,” Alec said
with a distinct note of warning in his voice.
“What about Bael
himself? He makes frequent appearances in the mortal world,”
Kristoff said, pounding home the point. “How will you protect
yourself against him?”
“Bael . . . he’s . .
.” I stopped, knowing it would do no good to lie to myself and the
others. “He’s pretty bad.”
“That’s an
understatement,” Kristoff said drily.
“Stop trying to
pressure her,” Alec told his friend, a frown between his
brows.
“Yes, god forbid
someone should actually want to save
you. It’s far better to force that on a person, instead,” Eleanor
said acidly.
Kristoff ignored the
comment. “I’m simply trying to point out the obvious. Her life is
tied to yours now. You need each other.”
I was about to
protest, but Kristoff’s words resonated in my head in a way that
made a warm glow kindle. Alec did need
me. I’d never before been vital to anyone’s life, and yet here was
the answer to everything I’d ever wanted—someone who truly did need
me.
He’s a vampire, my devil pointed out, just to see
what I would say to that.
But he’s not a bad vampire! I answered her. I knew
now that the pain that had driven him almost past sanity would have
been enough to excuse all his actions, but despite that, he still
carried guilt about it. He had committed sins, but had paid his
penance a thousandfold.
He needed me.
Do not let Kristoff make you feel you must do something
that is personally repugnant.
You need me.
I want you, yes. I desire you above all women. But I could
not live with making you feel as if you had no choice. I will find
the means to hide you away, with a protector other than me to guard
you.
You need me.
He sighed into my
head, the words coming reluctantly. Yes, I
need you.
“I think—” I started
to say, but a bell pealed from the courtyard.
“Hold that thought,”
Pia said, hurrying to see who was at the door. “I won’t be but
a—ack!”
Pia backed into the
room as Kristoff, with a growl that sounded downright feral, leaped
across the room, skidding to a halt when a man lunged forward,
grabbed Pia, and pressed a wickedly long, slightly curved dagger
against her neck.
“Do not make a move,
or your Beloved will be without a head.”
Isn’t that the monk guy who was here a little bit
ago? I asked as Alec slowly rose, reminding me of a panther
on the prowl.
I told you that he was no monk.
“Brother Ailwin,”
Kristoff said, his voice filled with threat as he stood about eight
feet from Pia, his hands at his sides, but anyone would have to be
a fool not to read Kristoff’s body language.
“Hello again!”
Eleanor said brightly. “Interesting things have happened since you
were last here. Would you like to hear about them? I’m thinking
about detailing my experiences on a blog. And maybe a Facebook
page. I wonder how much the domain ‘alecisajackass. com’ would
cost?”
“I have come for the
Tool!” Brother Ailwin announced after giving Eleanor a disbelieving
look.
“OK, that is really
going to get old fast,” I muttered, glaring at him.
“Release my Beloved,”
Kristoff demanded.
“I have no argument
with you, Dark One,” Brother Ailwin told him in a dramatic tone,
pausing to add in a much less aggressive voice, “and will, in fact,
be able to summon that lich for you later, since the bank transfer
went through. Would you prefer I summon him here, or in
town?”
I think Kristoff may crack a tooth or two if he doesn’t
stop grinding his teeth like that, I told Alec. I had gotten
to my feet, as well, intending on moving to Alec so he could use me
to blast the bad monk, but Alec had moved very slowly behind the
couch, obviously getting into a flanking position to help
Kristoff.
Move to the windows, Cora.
Why?
You’ll be out of harm’s way.
I may be afraid of mice, and I may not be up to tackling
Bael, but I am not such a coward or a wimp that I have to be kept
out of the way, I said indignantly.
“Release my Beloved,”
Kristoff said again.
That is not what I am worried about.
“I will if you give
me the Tool of Bael.” Brother Ailwin shot me a look that had me
upping the wattage in my glare. “It is her I have come
for.”
“Oh, sure. Everyone
wants her and the soul she stole from me. Not to mention my man.
But let someone resurrect you into lich form, and you can’t get so
much as the time of day,” Eleanor snarked.
“Look, I’m sorry that
you were resurrected after I was born, and thus my soul is stuck to
me, but I did not steal Alec. He said I didn’t. So you can just
knock off the guilt trip, because it’s not going to work!” I told
her.
She sniffed and
looked away.
Brother Ailwin
clapped his hands together. “Brother Godwin! Brother
Esmund!”
Two men appeared out
of nothing, both clad in long brown monk’s robes, ropes bound
around their middles. Their hair wasn’t tonsured, but other than
that, they looked straight out of a medieval fair. One had a short
beard, while the other had a bad case of acne.
“Now, see, those are
monks,” I told Alec. Are they ghosts or
something?
Liches, like Eleanor. Brother Ailwin is a
lichmaster.
“Take the Tool,”
Ailwin ordered the two liches, who started toward me, but Alec
leaped in front of me.
“Like hell you will,”
he growled.
“Halt!” Brother
Ailwin cried, spinning Pia around so we could see her face. The
point of the dagger slid a tiny bit into her neck, making her eyes
open wide. She stared at Kristoff, who obviously was only barely
restraining himself from smashing Brother Ailwin into monk pulp.
“One move from either of you, and I’ll remove her head. You, woman.
Come here.”
“How do you know I’m
a Tool?” I asked, then closed my eyes for a moment. “I cannot
believe I just said that sentence.”
“I can,” Eleanor
said.
I took a deep breath
and asked, “How do you know that I’m a Tool of Bael?”
“You are glowing,” he
said simply, and added as an afterthought, “And I heard that one of
my rivals had a lich who stole the Tools, but they were later
imbued into three individuals. You are obviously one of those
individuals, and with you at my side, I will have no difficulty in
destroying the other lichmasters.”
“What an excellent
idea, one I heartily approve of. Please keep her in chains, too,”
Eleanor requested, but by now, no one was paying her comments any
attention.
I put my hands on my
hips as I faced Brother Ailwin. “You seriously think I’m going to
let you use me to hurt other people? You’re nutso. Hey,
now!”
The two robed liches
moved fast, both grabbing one of my arms and pulling me forward,
past Kristoff.
Cora—
If I can knock them down, do you think you can use me
against him?
You will not risk yourself in such a
manner.
Yeah, well, I’m not going to let him use me to hurt other
people, either. Especially Pia. She’s nice. I like her. Eleanor is
starting to get on my nerves, but I suppose it would be wrong to
hope she’s knocked out or something.
It would be wrong, although I understand your sentiment.
And I like Pia, as well, but I will not allow you to come to harm.
He will become distracted in a moment. When that happens, I want
you to run toward me.
How do you know he’s going to be
distracted?
Because Kristoff is about to strike.
I glanced at
Kristoff. He looked furious, but I didn’t see any signs he was
about to leap forward.
I have a better plan. One that won’t put anyone at
risk.
Cora—
“Right, here I am,” I
said, shaking off the two monks, striding forward until I stood
next to Pia. “Let her go.”
“Gladly,” he said,
releasing Pia and giving her a shove toward her
vampire.
Less than a second
later, he grabbed me by my hair, spinning me around, the knife now
at my throat as he started to pull me backward through the door,
the two monks on either side of him. “Now we leave.”
Oh, yes, that was a better
plan, Alec said in a disgusted tone.
O ye of little faith. Get ready. You’re about to wield a
bona fide Tool of Bael.
“No,” I said, digging
in my feet, wincing when the knife cut into my flesh.
“Come, woman,”
Brother Ailwin said, jerking my hair backward.
Here we go. Ready?
Corazon !
Rather than fight
Brother Ailwin, as he clearly expected me to do, I threw myself
backward against him, relieving the tension of the blade against my
neck enough to allow me to spin around and face my abductor. I
slammed my knee into his groin at the same time I jammed a thumb
into his nearest eyeball, sending him to his knees screaming bloody
murder.
Before I could do
more, an Alec-shaped blur flashed by me, and I was thrown across
the room, narrowly missing a table to careen first into Eleanor
before rebounding onto Kristoff, who shoved me toward a chair and
leaped forward to help Alec. Brother Ailwin had stopped screaming
as Alec lifted him off the ground by his throat.
“Now, lichmaster, let
me tell you how I deal with those who would use my Beloved,” Alec
growled, his voice so menacing it made me pause for a moment. It
was the voice of the man who had seen his salvation cut down before
him, the man who had murdered a woman, the same man who was filled
with so much agony, it would have driven anyone else insane long,
long ago.
“Dear god, I think my
back is broken.” I helped Eleanor to her feet from where she lay
smashed against the wall, her arms and legs moving feebly.
“Seriously, man-stealer, you need to go on a diet. Ouch. Double
ouch.”
I pushed Eleanor
gently onto the couch, and spun around to help Alec.
The spotty monk, who
had been sent flying when Alec attacked Brother Ailwin, suddenly
yelled and tackled me, throwing me to the floor. “Harm him, and I
will use the Tool against you, Dark One!” he cried, one hand
clutching my hair, his knees on my back as he pinned me to the
ground.
“The hell you will!”
I snarled. “I refuse to be used!”
“You cannot refuse.
You are a Tool,” Brother Ailwin said, his face turning bright red
as Alec’s stranglehold eased up.
The spotty monk
yanked me up to my feet, holding me in front of him like a
shield.
“Yeah? Well, maybe
I’ll just use myself, then!” Can I do
that?
No.
Damn! “Fine, then. I won’t use myself. But I refuse
to let you use me!”
“You cannot refuse,”
Brother Ailwin repeated, his color fading as Alec released his
death grip on the lichmaster’s neck. “You are a Tool; the power
flows from Bael through you.”
“Well, maybe I just
won’t let that power out of me. Did you ever think of
that?”
“Oh, let him use
you,” Eleanor said, passing a hand over her forehead. “I’ve got a
hell of a headache and want to get out of here. I just want to go
home.”
“Home?” I asked,
distracted. “You were dead!”
“Even the dead have
homes,” she said primly, brushing her blouse. “I had a very nice
little cottage in the seventh hour of the Underworld. My roses were
about to bloom when I was yanked out of there. Since Alec has so
plainly lost his mind, I will go back to my cottage and roses and
Gregory, the handsome soldier who lived next door.”
“You have a boyfriend
in the Underworld and you’re yelling at me for stealing Alec?” I
asked, aghast at her nerve.
“Gregory isn’t a
boyfriend. He’s more a friend with benefits.” She considered Alec
for a moment before she sighed. “He’s not as handsome as Alec, but
he’s not a bastard like him, either.”
“Lich!” Brother
Ailwin told Eleanor in a haughty tone of voice. “You will be silent
while your betters speak!”
“Oh, that’s going to
go over well,” Pia muttered.
By the time Eleanor
got done chewing out Brother Ailwin, everyone was
snappish.
“Right, we got off
track,” I said, trying to look as badass as Alec. “But the fact
remains that I will not let Bael’s power pass through me, so you
might as well just give it up.”
Unhappily for my
plan, Ailwin looked anything but worried. In fact, he shrugged and,
with a petulant look at Alec, smoothed out the collar of his shirt.
“You would destroy yourself if you were to try that.”
Alec—
No ! I forbid you to even try that. Now we will do this my
way. “Let go of my Beloved and I will not destroy you,” he
said in a conversational voice to the monk holding me.
“Brother Godwin would
not be so foolish as to do that,” Brother Ailwin said, nodding to
the spotty man who held me. “Perhaps a little demonstration of how
serious I am to possess the Tool is in order. You may use her to
destroy the Dark One, Brother.”
“Jesus wept!” I swore
at the same moment Alec lunged toward me.
The same sense of
standing in a river swept over me, and I knew the monk was pulling
on the power of Bael. I also know that it was directed at Alec, and
that I absolutely could not allow.
You will not sacrifice yourself for me! he yelled
into my head.
I’m not going to let you suffer any more, Alec. You’ve
done enough of that. I wrapped my arms around myself as the
power built and built within me, wanting to escape me, wanting to
flow out of me and nail Alec in the chest. I fought it, spinning it
around and around inside me, trying to contain it, but knowing in
my heart that I hadn’t the strength to do so for long.
Brother Godwin
dropped me as I curled up on myself in an attempt to hold back the
power, and sneered, “You will only destroy yourself, Tool. Release
the power!”
“Never!” I panted,
writhing on the ground with the agony of the still-building power.
Alec reached me just as the second monk threw himself on his back,
sending both men to the floor. Kristoff started forward to help,
but Brother Ailwin screamed something about Pia, his dagger
glinting as he jumped over the ottoman toward her.
Eleanor yelled god
alone knew what, dancing around on the fringe, waving a vase and
threatening pretty much all of us.
Inside me, the
pressure continued to grow, pain lacing every breath as I struggled
to hold it back. I felt like a stuffed potato in a pressure cooker,
my entire body twisting upon itself as I screamed in
anguish.
Corazon! We must Join! Now!
This is not really the moment for
this!
If we don’t, you’ll die!
Jesus wept! It hurts, Alec! I don’t know how long I’m
going to be able to hold it. Get out of here! If I lose control,
it’ll destroy you!
Alec, whom I could
barely see through the tears that blurred my eyes, was fighting
like a madman with the monk. In the middle of clawing desperately
at the floor to reach me despite the monk trying to bash his head
on the floor, he did something that boggled what was left of my
mind—rather than biting the monk and draining him of his blood, he
bit his own thumb, then with a tremendous effort dragged himself
and the monk toward me. Take my blood, Cora.
You must take it to complete the Joining.
I didn’t argue the
point. I didn’t question my need to obey his command. I didn’t even
debate with myself the wisdom of taking a step that I knew would
change the course of my life forever. I’d already made that choice.
I rolled over toward Alec, kicking out at Brother Godwin as I did
so, every last atom of my body in torment with the need to fight
the power. My control started to slip just as Alec’s hand loomed
before my blurred eyes. I opened my mouth, praying the few drops of
blood on his thumb would be enough.
As the blood touched
my tongue, the power surged within me, spelling certain death to
Alec. I screamed an oath of vengeance as I made one last, desperate
attempt to turn it back onto myself. “Hide!” I yelled at Alec.
For the love of the saints, hide from
it!
My back arched as the
power broke free, pouring out of me, slamming into the man in front
of me before sucking me down into an ebony pool of
oblivion.