Cora was uncharacteristically calm about the idea of taking a portal to Avignon, surprising Alec when, as she landed on the foam padding set up on the receiving end, she whooped and said she wanted to do it again.
"You are the strangest woman I have ever met," he said as he helped her to her feet, guiding her out of the way as the air sparked a few times, indicating another body was about to emerge through the permanent tear in the fabric of space that the portalling company maintained for the use of its customers.
"You told me that already," she answered, applauding when Pia appeared out of nothing and hit the padding with a whomp. "And the judges go wild!"
"Thank you. I think," Pia said, accepting the hand he held out to her. "I did try for a reverse gainer, but I'm not sure if I pulled it off or not."
"Seriously, tens across the judges," Cora assured her before turning to him. "Screw private jets - I want to portal everywhere from now on."
"Most people only use portals when they have no other choice," he warned her.
Eleanor appeared, screaming as she hit the padding. "Goddess above, I never want to do that again. Urgh."
He helped her to her feet, as well.
"Why don't they use portals?" Cora asked him.
He gave a little shrug. "Some beings don't like it. Dragons and elemental beings will do just about anything to avoid using a portal. Some of the Fae are opposed to it on the grounds that it desecrates their beyond. Others, like some spirits, cannot use it unless they are in corporeal form."
"I completely understand their feelings," Eleanor muttered, brushing off her pants.
Cora stared at him for a moment before turning to Pia just as Kristoff materialized and hit the padding. "One in ten words, maybe."
Pia laughed. "Believe it or not, I understood all of it. Give it time, and you will, as well."
"Uh-huh." Cora's mysteriously dark eyes considered him. "You're not any of those things that you mentioned, though. Are you?"
"No, I'm not, and I don't have an issue with using a portal per se, but it is also expensive."
"Really?" She moved aside as Terrin appeared about ten feet off the ground, arms and legs flailing as he dropped to the pad. "How expensive?"
He told her the price for all six of them to be transported from Florence to Avignon.
"Jesus wept! I could buy a house for that! A nice house!" she gasped.
"Am I here? All of me?" Terrin asked.
Alec hauled him to his feet, brushing him off, since the seneschal appeared to be somewhat disoriented by the portal. "You're here. Where to, Kris?"
"The lichmaster said she'd be waiting for us at the Chauvet caves."
"Caves? I love caves!" Cora said, her eyes bright with excitement as she took his hand. The fact that she did so automatically warmed him like nothing else had in . . . well, since his beloved mother had died. She had been the only person who touched him with genuine love . . . until Cora. He wondered if she loved him. He wondered if she knew he was quickly falling into that state.
"Caves? That ought to be interesting," Eleanor said.
"Do we have to meet there?" Alec asked Kristoff.
The latter gave him a sympathetic look. "She wouldn't budge from there. Evidently that is where her headquarters are."
"I've heard of that cave," Pia said as they exited the portalling company's building, and emerged into the soft darkness of the evening. "Isn't it where they found those pretty cave paintings?"
"I believe so," Kristoff answered, shooting him another look before he hurried off with Pia to rent a car.
"Caves," he muttered, disgusted with the turn of events.
"What's wrong with caves? They're awesome fun. I love the ones with the stalactites dripping limewater, making all sorts of creepy shapes. Kinda reminds me of ectoplasm, really, not that I've ever seen it, because I don't believe in ghosts.... Oh." She blinked at him, a wry smile making him want to kiss her senseless. "I guess I need to change that, huh?"
"There are many types of spirits," the seneschal said, consulting his watch. "But none, I believe, take on the form of wet stalactites. We have slightly over two hours left."
Avignon at night was enchanting, and Alec was possessed with the urge to watch Cora's face as she explored all the delights contained within it, but that would have to wait until after she was safe.
He became aware that Cora was watching him closely. He kissed her just to take that speculative look off her face, then kissed her again because once again he couldn't get enough of her sweetness, ignoring a rude comment by Eleanor as he did so.
You don't like caves?
No.
Claustrophobic?
He didn't answer.
I'm sorry. That's got to be the pits. You don't have to go into the cave if you don't want to.
"You're being silly," he said, releasing her lower lip when Terrin made a polite little cough. "I don't know what you're talking about. I am a Dark One. I fear nothing."
"Big talk," she said, but, with a glance toward Terrin, did nothing more than smile and take his hand, sending him wave after wave of reassurance and comfort. It'll be all right. You'll see.
"Well, as long as I'm here, I might as well windowshop," Eleanor said, moving across the street to browse in a store window.
"The mare you mentioned - she is anxious to have her grandchild out," he told Terrin, amused by Cora's attempt to soothe him, but not willing to hurt her feelings.
Terrin looked faintly surprised. "Of course. Wouldn't you?"
"It seems to me that she is in a very difficult spot. In a matter of two hours, she will lose her descendant forever to the Akasha."
"Yees," Terrin drawled, his gaze sharpening upon Alec.
What are you doing?
Trying to solve two problems at once.
"It also seems to me that without Cora's help Diamond cannot be saved in time."
"What do you want?" Terrin asked baldly.
Yes, what do you want? Do you think he can help you with the vampire council thing?
No. Alec smiled. "And the Sovereign . . . surely the Sovereign must be aware of the situation? I assume the mares keep it informed of all that goes on?"
Terrin's suspicious expression tightened. "I am told they do. What reward is it that you expect? I can reassure you that the mare Disin will be most grateful - "
"It's not the mare's help I seek," he interrupted smoothly.
Terrin's eyes opened wide at the same moment that Cora probed his mind, gasping into his head. Jesus wept, Alec! You can't blackmail God!
The Sovereign is not God, and I'm not blackmailing it. I'm simply ensuring we receive its help.
"The Sovereign does not take kindly to being used," Terrin said, scorn dripping from his voice. "If that is your intention, and I see by the expression on your Beloved's face that it is. I don't know what it is that you want the Sovereign to do, but it won't do it, I can assure you that."
"Then Diamond will remain in the Akasha," he said blithely, brushing off a bit of nothing from Cora's arm. "Love, I believe we have time to do some sightseeing after all."
Cora gaped at him, her mouth open just enough that he gently pressed his fingers under her chin to close it. "Alec, you're nuts."
"So I've frequently been told."
"You can't blackmail God!" she repeated.
"The Sovereign is not God per se," Terrin said tiredly. "Why do I have to keep telling you that? It's an easy concept to understand, after all. It's not like trying to plumb the unfathomable depths of a woman's mind."
"That sort of a crack isn't going to do you any good," Cora said with a sharp look at the little seneschal.
He apologized, glancing at Alec. "Just out of curiosity, not that it will happen in even the most bizarre imaginings, but let us say the Sovereign was feeling gracious. What is it you wish for it to do?"
Yeah, what? Cora asked, evidently not having probed far enough to see his plans.
"My Beloved is a Tool of Bael," Alec said, gesturing toward her.
"She is," Terrin agreed.
"There is nothing I can do that will relieve her from that burden."
Terrin eyed first Cora, then him. "No," he said at last. "Such a thing is beyond your power. Or indeed mine, for what that's worth."
"Every low sort of being in the Otherworld and mortal world will desire to use her for their own gain," Alec continued.
"Where exactly are you going with this?" Cora asked, looking a bit disgruntled. "Because so far, all it's doing is depressing me."
"Patience, mi querida."
"I imagine that is so, yes," Terrin agreed. "If you expect the Sovereign to strip the Tool from Cora, however, I'm afraid you're doomed to disappointment. Such a thing is not within the bounds of even the Sovereign. For all intents and purposes, the Occio di Lucifer and Corazon are now perfectly joined, and will never be able to be separated again."
"Exactly," Alec said, smiling.
"What am I missing?" Cora asked him.
He turned to her, taking her hands in his, kissing each one of her fingers before answering. "We must eliminate the biggest threat to you."
"The Tool? But Terrin just said - "
"That is the cause, but not the threat itself." He kissed her wrist, the hunger within him roaring to immediate life, twisting his gut with a need so great it almost made him dizzy.
She thought. "You mean the people who would use me to access Bael's power?" She shook her head. "You can't possibly eliminate all of them, Alec. That must be hundreds of people."
"Thousands, and they are just interested in the effect of you being the Tool. We must go after the source, the true danger that threatens you."
"But . . ." Her face twisted as she tried to reason it out. "The Tool gets its power from Bael. So . . . oh!" Her eyes grew round as Terrin sucked in his breath.
"You cannot think - " the little man started to say.
"You want to take down Bael?" Cora asked, her eyes searching his. "The devil? You want to destroy Satan?"
He sighed. "Cora, why do you persist - "
"All right, all right," she said quickly. "I know he's not Satan, but he's as close as dammit. Alec, you're bonkers. You can't just go after the head prince dude of hell!"
"Why not?" He gave her a reassuring smile. Really, she was the most alluring woman. Even as she was standing there fully flabbergasted, he desired her. He wanted to sink into her heat, to absorb her warmth, to let all those dark corners of his mind be lit up by the glow of her being. "Normally the princes have a battle each millennium to name a new premier prince. For some reason, Bael did not allow that, and has remained on the throne, so to speak, for well past his time. I simply seek the Sovereign's help in removing him."
Terrin's jaw worked up and down a couple of times before he could speak. "The Sovereign does not concern itself with the doings of Abaddon."
"No?" Alec pulled Cora into his arms, his mind preoccupied with the lush curves of her body, with her scent, with the beat of her heart. He let her see just how much he wanted her, needed her, at that moment. Awareness flared in her eyes, and she swayed against him, wordlessly offering herself.
"It is out of the question. Wholly out of the question."
"It would be a worthy cause," Alec murmured against Cora's temple as he breathed deeply.
"The Sovereign does not get involved with mortal concerns. It leaves that to the vessels."
"Ah, but this is not a concern that deals solely with mortals." He kissed the line of her jaw, leashing the overwhelming hunger that rode him so hard. "You yourself said that if the three Tools were brought together, they could be used to devastate the mortal world."
"Mortal world," Terrin emphasized.
"And what - " He paused just long enough to claim Cora's sweet, sweet mouth. "What is to stop someone from using the combined Tools against the Court? Or, for that matter, the Sovereign itself?"
Cora giggled into his mind. You're devious, do you know that? It's a good thing that he can't read your mind like I can, or he'd never believe this bluff. The idea of you threatening to destroy heaven - honestly, Alec, how can you even say what you're saying to poor Terrin with a straight face?
I'm not bluffing, mi corazon.
He caught her gasp in his mouth before lifting his head to meet the gaze of the seneschal.
"Down that path would lie destruction for many," Terrin said slowly, his gaze calculating.
"It would be preferable to the alternative."
Alec, you're . . . you're . . .
Insane, yes, I know. But it's the only way to save you, Cora. You can't stop being a Tool of Bael, and although I can protect you to a certain extent now that we're Joined, we will live our lives looking over our shoulders. Do you want that?
No, but -
We must eliminate the source of the threat. We must destroy Bael. We have no choice. And since I can't do that by myself, we're going to need help. The only being powerful enough to do so is the Sovereign.
"But . . . why don't you just wait until we get Diamond out, and then you can use all three of us against Bael?" she asked, stroking his chest in a way that left him growling with desire. "Surely that would be easier than trying to blackmail the Sovereign-who-isn't-God?"
"I would if it was possible, but I am a Dark One. By my very existence I have a tie to Abaddon. It's impossible for me to destroy that to which I owe my existence."
"Well, then, someone else will have to do it," she said, obviously distressed. His heart swelled with love at the thought that she was worried the Sovereign would be angry at him. No one - not in all the long centuries of his life - no one had ever worried about him. "Kristoff . . . oh, I suppose he can't, either. Pia, then."
"Pia does not have the knowledge to defeat a premier prince. She would not be able to control the power of the combined Tools. No, my love, there is only one being who can topple a premier prince, and we must simply point out that it must do so, or risk its own existence."
"You're threatening to use the Tools against heaven, but you couldn't against Abaddon? How can you do that?" Cora touched his face in such a gentle expression of love, it almost unmanned him.
"I have no ties to the Court," he said with a grim smile, fighting the need to feed from her, to make love to her, to hide her away where no one but him could ever feast their eyes on her. She was his, and he would do whatever it took to keep her safe.
She would have argued more, but Kristoff and Pia arrived at that moment, in possession of a sleek black car.
"As you do not need me for the summons, I will go and speak to the mare Disin regarding your request," Terrin said with a long look at Alec. "I will return here in an hour. That should leave us time to rescue the vessel."
Terrin disappeared into the evening just as Eleanor, bored with window-shopping, wandered up.
"OK, what did we miss?" Pia asked some minutes later as they were driving out of town, heading for the caves. "And don't ask me how I know we missed something, because Cora looks stunned, Terrin looked sick to his stomach, and you, Alec, you look like the cat who's gotten into the cream. Spill."
"I look charming," Eleanor added with thinned lips at Pia.
"Yes, you do, very charming," she hurriedly added.
Should we tell them? Cora asked as she leaned into Alec.
Yes, but not until we are private.
She looked surprised for a moment; then her gaze slid over to where Eleanor sat on his other side. Oh, you don't want her knowing?
I'd prefer not, no.
Gotcha. And I agree. I think we need to watch out for Eleanor, Cora told him, as Eleanor had looked oddly interested during the discussion concerning the Tools. I swear she intends on paying us back.
Perhaps. She seems sincere in her desire to return to the Underworld.
Yeah, but what's to stop her from wanting a little payback before she goes?
We shall see. Do not worry about the situation, Beloved. I will not let her harm you.
Fortunately for Cora's friend, it took a short time to reach the cave area.
"That sign says that the cave is closed to the public," Pia said, pointing at a sign headed with GROTTE CHAUVET-PONT-D' ARC.
"It is," Kristoff agreed, stepping off the path and pushing his way through the undergrowth.
"Then how are we going to meet the . . . oh. Side door, huh?"
A metal door set into the wall of rock was unlocked, by arrangement with the lichmaster. Alec allowed Kristoff to go ahead while he took up the rearguard position.
"Do we need a rear guard?" Cora murmured as he gestured for her to go in front of him.
He couldn't help but glance at her ass. "Yours will if you keep wiggling it at me like that."
She giggled, but stopped him, her eyes warm with concern. Now, Alec, I don't want you to feel like you can't tell me if you get panicky inside. I'm not claustrophobic, myself, but my mother is, and I remember how she used to have panic attacks whenever she had to go into our tiny little basement. There's no shame in feeling nervous in a cave, you know.
He debated telling her that he wasn't the least bit claustrophobic, that he was more concerned with walking into a situation where he couldn't defend her properly, but decided he enjoyed the feeling of being coddled. I assure you that you'll be the first to know if I panic.
Good. She gave him a bright smile and a pat on the hand, which she changed into a quick kiss before hurrying off the metal walkway after the others. Lights had been strung in this part of the cave, along with long black cables that snaked across the floor, no doubt there to bring electricity and air down to the lower depths, where the cave art was located.
The low echo of voices reached them as they followed the walkway, emerging in a small, low-ceilinged room. A half-dozen wooden crates were stacked tidily along one side of the room, lighting equipment leaning drunkenly against them.
Cora took his hand, her fingers gently stroking his as a tall, thin black woman clad in an orange down vest and hard hat popped up out of an inky hole on the far side of the room.
"Oh, good, you're on time. I can't tell you how annoyed I get with groups who don't understand that my time is very valuable these days. If you think it's easy to convince people that a union is really for their benefit, well, you're wrong. You must be Christopher."
"Kristoff. I take it you're the lichmaster?" Kristoff asked, eyeing the woman with open disbelief. If anyone looked less like the sort of person who controlled liches for her own end, it was the woman before them. She had close-cropped hair and wore a faded blue T-shirt that read Liches Are People, Too. "Erm . . . did you say union? "
"Yes, I'm Jane Woodway, the head of the Liches International Union. The union encompasses the first liches to organize themselves into a group dedicated to the preservation and betterment of their members. I am not a lich myself, but I am wholly dedicated to their cause. We also fight for higher wages - well, actually, any wages, since liches seldom receive compensation for their services - health benefits, education, and job placement. It's our goal that one day all liches will stand in such a way that members will no longer be used and abused. We will reign victorious over those who would subjugate our lich brothers and sisters!"
Jane's voice rang out with fervor, echoing off the low stone ceiling.
"Er . . . yes." Kristoff pursed his lips for a moment while they all considered the lichmaster.
"I like you," Eleanor told her.
Jane eyed her. "You are an unbound lich, yes? Would you like to join the union? We have need for many helping hands."
"I would, but I'm expecting to go back to my hour soonish," Eleanor answered. "Although it does seem like a worthy cause. What sort of work do you need done?"
"You wouldn't happen to know anything about Web sites, would you? We're trying to start a social network for liches called Lichbook, but our Web person got sucked up by that fiendish Brother Ailwin, and we haven't had time to replace her."
"Lichbook, hmm? I might be able to lend a hand with that," Eleanor allowed before turning to Alec. "I still expect you to find a way to send me home, if I do stay for a bit to help out this nice woman."
He bowed. "I will do all that I can to make you happy, Eleanor."
She snorted in derision, but said nothing more, leaving him hopeful that they might be able to have a little respite to take care of more troublesome problems before tackling hers.
She's not what I expected, Cora told him, squeezing his hand. You're not panicking, are you?
Not yet, no. Thank you for asking, though.
OK, good. Just let me know if you need me.
He thought the day would never dawn when he wouldn't need her, but luckily, she was too involved in watching the union lichmaster to chase his thoughts.
"Now, if you're quite ready, I'd like to get the summoning done, so I can get back to my members. We're planning a rally to be held in Monte Carlo next month, and you wouldn't believe how far off track the planning committee has gotten. Liches," Jane confined to Cora, who stood nearest her, "are absolutely horrible when it comes to organization."
"Are they?" Cora asked. "Then it's good they have you."
"Yes." Jane beamed at her. "It is. Shall we get started? "
Alec had seen a few ceremonies over the centuries, but never one to effectively steal a lich from one master to another. He assumed there would be a certain amount of ritual, however, and he wasn't mistaken.
Jane began the ceremony by asking Pia for some personal belonging of Ulfur's.
"I'm afraid the only thing we have is this," Pia answered, pulling out a small wad of yarn.
"Yarn?" the lichmaster asked, looking askance.
"No, it's Ulfur's horse. A very nice Summoner taught me how to bind spirits to things, so we bound the horse to this so we could bring him here. Ragnor, we need you now."
Cora scooted closer to him as the ghostly horse appeared out of nothing, bobbing its head up and down a couple of times before it tried to take a bite out of Kristoff.
"Don't even think about it," the latter told the horse, who just laid back his ears and snorted.
Is that what I think it is?
It is.
Cora whistled to herself. A ghost horse. OK. Horses can be ghosts. Don't you think I'm handling this really well, Alec?
I think you're acclimatizing yourself to the Otherworld very well, yes. Are you, by any chance, the one who is freaking out?
No! Not over a ghost horse. Cora looked at Ragnor as the horse snuffled her front. She put out a wary hand to pat it, but her hand passed right through its neck. OK, maybe a little.
He put an arm around her, kissing the top of her head. You have nothing to fear, love. I will not allow anything, mortal or immortal, to harm you.
You know, that sort of an attitude could be cloying and very annoying.
But you understand my need to protect you and cherish you, he said, making it a statement and not a question.
Something like that.
Jane the lichmaster seemed to be suffering the same sort of surprise as Cora. "A horse. Yes. Well. Can it take a corporeal form?"
"For short periods, yes," Pia answered. "Ragnor?"
The horse's form solidified. Cora pressed against Alec. Not because I'm afraid, she told him.
Of course not.
She snorted, then smiled when everyone looked at her. "A ghost horse. So . . . yeah. Um. Do I need to do anything for this ceremony?"
Jane eyed her. "Are you related to the summonee?"
"No. Well, not unless you consider the fact that we're now both - "
"She is not related," Alec said quickly. Beloved, this woman is a lichmaster. I don't think we need to tell her that in a few moments she'll have two of the three Tools of Bael in her presence.
Oh! I didn't think of that. She seems so nice. But you're probably right. I'll just keep my lips zipped on that subject around lichy people. How come she doesn't recognize what I am, like Brother Ailwin?
Probably he's much older than her, and has either seen a Tool or knows what signs to look for.
"'Now both' what?" Jane asked Cora, obviously curious.
"Both . . . having had contact with his boss. Alphonse de Marco, that is," Cora said with a toothy smile.
"Ah. Shall we proceed?" Jane drew a circle in the dirt floor, chanting as she did so. She directed Ragnor to stand in the middle of the circle, which the horse did, then held out a small silver dagger to Pia. "The lich is to be bound to you, yes? He will initially be bound to me when I summon him, but directly after that, we'll transfer him to you. This blood bond should help that transfer. If you would prick yourself with the dagger and squeeze six drops of blood into the circle, following with six strands of your hair. Then blow on the horse six times. I shall do the same."
"They have to blow on the horse?" Cora asked Alec.
"Blood, hair, and breath. They are the three common elements in summoning spells."
He could feel her turning that over in her mind, one part of her warning her to run as fast as she could from the concept of magic, the other part of her, the curious part, fascinated with the whole proceeding.
It took longer than he hoped it would take, requiring three separate summonses and an hour and a quarter before the air in the circle shimmered, pulled itself together, and resolved into the form of the former ghost.
"Ulfur!" Pia squealed, starting forward toward him. Kristoff pulled her back before she reached the circle at the same time that Jane called out a warning.
"Do not touch him yet! We must first bind him to me quickly before his master can summon him back, and then we will transfer him to you. By my blood I bind you, by my body, I bind you, by my breath, I bind you." Jane slapped her hands together, the sound reverberating with the intensity of a small bomb.
Too late. Cora clapped her hands over her ears. Jesus wept, what was that?
The sound of a lich being bound. It is done at last, and by my reckoning, we have less than an hour to summon your friend.
But won't de Marco just summon him back?
He can't, Alec answered.
Why not? Cora nodded toward Jane. She just did.
Jane summoned Ulfur because Pia had a connection to him in the form of his horse, who he was bound to in death. De Marco has no such link; thus he has no way to summon Ulfur from Pia.
Well, that's a relief.
The transfer to Pia went quickly after that, and in no time Kristoff was writing out a very large check while Pia repeatedly hugged a teary-eyed Ulfur.
"I will never be able to thank you for what you've done," he said, holding Pia's hands before turning and making a formal bow to Kristoff. "For what you've both done. I will be eternally grateful that you released me from my bondage to de Marco. But I must tell you - "
"I think we'd better be leaving," Alec interrupted with a telling glance to Kristoff, who nodded and shooed Pia toward the side door. "Beloved?"
"Right here. Nice to see you again, Ulfur. We have a lot to talk about, but I'm sure Jane is anxious to get Eleanor up to speed on her Web project, so we'll catch up back at the hotel, OK?"
Ulfur opened his mouth to say something, but evidently caught the undercurrent of tension, and simply nodded.
They made their good-byes to both Eleanor and Jane, using the time spent traveling back to the hotel at which they'd agreed to meet Terrin to fill in Ulfur on the recent happenings.
"I never thought other lichmasters would want to use us in that way," he said after hearing about Brother Ailwin's failed attempt to take Cora. "Oh, god, we're going to have to live with that forever, aren't we? Not to mention the fact that every lichmaster and necromancer who knows what we are will summon me away from you, Pia."
"Well, as to that, Alec has a plan," Cora said, giving him a worried look. "I won't say it's not crazy as a coonhound, but it's the only thing we can think of to fix the situation."
"A plan?" Ulfur asked, looking slightly worried.
"What plan?" Kristoff demanded to know.
"Crazy as a coonhound? Oh, it sounds completely up our alley," Pia added, patting Kristoff's arm. "Dish!"
"It's quite simple, really," Cora said as she leaned into him, her scent teasing him, as it always did. "Alec is going to destroy Bael."
The silence that met that statement wasn't particularly flattering to his ego, nor was the "He what? 'Crazy as a coonhound' is the understatement of the year" comment as issued by Kristoff. But Alec was a man driven, and he knew that if he wanted to have any sort of future with Cora, he'd have to do the impossible.
It was just a matter of organization, and if there was one thing he was good at, it was making plans.
