Though I’d started off trying to appeal to his ego, I realized that what I was saying was true. If Leo got hurt, none of the rest of us could work healing magic or knew what to do with the herbs that my aunt had so carefully cultivated.
I led them into my room, away from Kaylin’s door, and dropped onto the bed. “Listen, I’m exhausted. I have no doubt Peyton is, too—and even Chatter is looking worn out. We had a long trip and haven’t slept since we left.”
“Don’t try to make me feel better,” Leo grumbled.
“I don’t have the time or energy to patronize you. What I’m saying is true. You’re the only one who knows what to do with that huge stash of herbs down there. We can’t rely on anybody else. Who knows where Myst has sent her feelers through this town? And the vampires aren’t going to give a fuck about our health. You know that.”
He bit his lip, glancing over at Rhiannon, who nodded, then plunked himself down on the window seat. “Whatever. I never thought about it that way.”
“No, you didn’t.” Peyton stretched and yawned. “You just tripped over your ego like most guys. But she’s telling the truth, you big goofball. So accept that you have a vital place in the group and act accordingly.” Peyton wasn’t particularly verbal, but when she did speak, she usually had something to say.
“Honey,” Rhiannon said gently, “they’re right. They aren’t shutting us out, they’re protecting us. I’m not all that competent either when it comes to fighting—I’m still learning the ropes. I can handle short skirmishes like with the goblin the other day, but I couldn’t have taken on this trip. I know it. We’ll be up to speed soon enough.”
A smile broke over Leo’s face and the gloom lifted. “Yeah, yeah . . . okay. Quit making me sound like some pathetic basket case. I’ll quit being such a jerk. Now that Kaylin’s back . . .” He stopped. “He is back, isn’t he?”
I shrugged. “I hope so. I did what the shaman of the Bat People told me to do. And trust me, that was one freakshow of a trip. If someone will go fix us some dinner, Peyton and I will take showers and then eat and then sleep for a week.”
“Not a week.” Leo frowned again. “As I said, Lannan’s been asking for you. He’s pissed that you up and disappeared. I’m worried about what he might do to you for running off like that.” He gazed at me, a bleak expression on his face. Leo knew what Lannan wanted from me. What Lannan had already done to me. And he knew the vampires better than any of us.
I swallowed the lump that formed in the bottom of my stomach. “Nothing I can do about Lannan’s wrath right now, unless I want to drag myself over to his place, and in this condition, there’s no way I can face him.”
“No, but you’ll have to confront him soon. And . . . as I said, I’m afraid what he might do to you.” This time, Leo’s words were soft, almost consoling.
“Crap. Yeah. Well, I’ll deal with that when it gets here. Meanwhile, some eggs and ham and waffles or pancakes would be great, before I crash. Peyton, you should stay here. I don’t trust you driving. Why don’t you call your mother and let her know you’re home and then use the downstairs shower?”
She smiled. “I already called her—while you and Chatter were busy with Kaylin. But thanks anyway. I’ll definitely take that shower and a place to crash. I’m starting to feel the lost time catching up with me.”
She wasn’t the only one. My body was suddenly aware I’d been on my feet pretty much for two days and had walked for at least forty to fifty miles. Not to mention the cold that had set into my bones, and the adrenaline rush from the entire journey and the blow from our fight with Kaylin.
I waited till Leo and Chatter withdrew, then took off my clothes. Rhiannon and Peyton gasped as they eyed the bruise blossoming across my midsection. My wolf paced—or would have if the tattoo could have gotten up and walked off my stomach—and I knew that Grieve had felt the blow to me and that he was angry and feeling helpless.
Be cautious—he may be out tonight and he will surely be looking for whoever hurt you. Ulean swept around me, a gentle cloak against the raw nerves that jangled.
Hell, I can’t let him in here. If he got hold of Kaylin while he’s sleeping, Grieve could eat him alive—literally. And if Kaylin’s awake, then they might do each other irreparable harm. What should I do?
May I suggest you calm your wolf down and take a mild sedative to relieve the pain?
I laughed. Leave it to my Wind Elemental to think of the most practical course of action. Good idea . . . thank you.
“Rhia—can you go ask Leo if he has something for my bruise and to help me sleep? I have to calm my wolf down before Grieve comes here to find out what the hell happened to me. We can’t risk him getting hold of Kaylin. Meanwhile, I’m heading into the bathtub.”
Peyton headed downstairs with my cousin as I filled the bath with some of the bubble bath my aunt had made before the Indigo Court caught her. As I eased down into the warm suds, lying back against the porcelain, my body groaned and then let go. I was so tired, my eyes were beginning to play tricks on me and I was seeing sparkles—tracers that spiraled and looped as I followed the sparks of light with my fingers. I rested my head against the back of the tub and gave in, closing my eyes as I softly breathed in the gentle scent of lilac and lavender.
“Cicely? Cicely? Wake up, Cicely.” My cousin’s gentle voice broke through the cloud of sleep and I opened my eyes. I was still in the tub, only most of the bubbles were gone and the water was lukewarm. “Come on, let’s get you out of the water and into a nightgown.”
She helped me out of the bathtub as I tried to keep my eyes open. We returned to the bedroom, where she gently towel-dried me, then slid a flannel nightie over my head.
“I brought a balm for your stomach, and your food. And some chamomile tea with valerian tincture in it. I figured you’d be too tired to come downstairs. I found Peyton asleep in the tub, too.”
Laughing, I pulled up my nightgown and let her gently rub the soothing balm across the flowering bruise that covered part of my wolf. The colors were spectacular—brilliant black and blue, in a rose pattern.
I managed to corral my thoughts long enough to ask, “How’s Kaylin?”
“Sleeping like a baby. Here, eat this and drink the tea—it’s meant to ease pain in the muscles and joints and will help your general fatigue.” She guided me over to the desk, on which sat a tray. The plate was stacked with pancakes and two eggs, scrambled, along with six slices of bacon, a glass of orange juice, and a cup of tea in a cute cat mug.
Spearing a piece of egg, I popped it into my mouth and the rising scent woke my stomach. “I’m starving,” I said, shoveling in the food. “I can’t believe how hungry I am. I thought I was too tired to eat, but . . .”
“You haven’t had food for two days and you wore out your body. Of course you’re hungry. I bet you lost about five pounds out there.”
“Not the way to lose weight, and I don’t want to lose muscle. Next time I go on a trip with Chatter, remind me to take some protein bars.” I bit into the golden pancake. “Umm, a piece of heaven. I love maple syrup.”
“Me, too.” Rhia paused, then said, “Not to bring up distressing thoughts, but what do you think Lannan wants?”
I took a long sip of the tea, grimacing at the bitter aftertaste from the valerian, but I knew it would soothe me and help me sleep deep.
“I know what he wants—he wants to fuck me, humiliate me, and make me grovel. He gets off on it. But other than that? I’m not sure. I don’t trust him, but he can help us and I’m bound to him by contract. And contracts with vampires are enforceable by law.”
“Yeah, I know.” She played with the napkin she’d put on the tray, twisting the corners. “Drink the rest of that tea—Leo said it will help.”
I nodded, chugging down the orange juice first, then sipping the scalding hot tea. It smelled faintly of licorice, and of earth and rock and root. But the taste was slightly bitter, with a hint of summer infusing the chamomile. The herbs settled in my stomach and my wolf stopped growling as both balm and tea set in to soothe the aching muscles.
“What I’m wondering is how this is going to affect Kaylin. The night-veil demon that we woke—it’s powerful, Rhia. Powerful, and very chaotic, and it didn’t want to knuckle under.” I shrugged. “This is going to change the Kaylin we knew, and whether that change will be for the better or worse—I don’t know.”
My eyes were closing and I could barely keep them open. Rhia pulled down my covers. “Get into bed, and don’t worry about it for the night. Don’t worry about anything. You need sleep.”
As she gently covered me up, tucking me in like I was a little girl, I could hear the great horned owl hooting in the oak, whispering for me to come and play. I drifted off before I could answer his siren song.
“Cicely . . . Cicely Waters.”
I blinked, expecting to see the morning light, but as I sat up, I found myself in the middle of a swirling vortex. A creature sat at the distant center, reeling me in, and I had a sudden squirming in my stomach that told me I wanted nothing doing with him or what he represented.
“Bring her here,” he said, crouching like a spider. “Bring her forward and let me read her future.”
“As you wish.” The smooth voice by my side was too smooth—too polished—and I whirled around to find myself facing Lannan. He gave me a slow smile and wink. “My lovely young juice box. Guess where we’re going?”
And then I knew—he was taking me to see Crawl, the Blood Oracle.
“No—I won’t go. You can’t make me go back to see that freakshow!” I struggled, trying to get away from Lannan, but he held me tight and drew me in, his black-as-night eyes flashing with fire.
“Give yourself to me. Kneel before me. Acknowledge my superiority. You resist me and it drives me crazy. You refuse to bend to my power and it makes me want to reach out, to break you. You are not my better—you are not above me!” He threw me to the ground, and I began to whimper as he began to unbuckle his belt. “I’ll give you something to whimper about, my pretty one.”
But then, creeping through the slipstream, came Crawl’s raspy voice, like the wind sweeping through hollow husks on a cold autumn night.
Bring her to me. She is a fulcrum to this war. Bring her to me and do not tarry. We have no time. Blood is streaming like the sands of time and our people are in danger. The girl is our key to victory.
Lannan glared at Crawl, then down at me, and then he buckled his belt again and grabbed me by the wrist. “Just wait,” he whispered as we headed toward the center of the whirlwind. “I’ve got so many special things planned for you. You’re not going to be sitting down for a month, girlie. And I will have my satisfaction.”
I began struggling to get away, but the whirling spiral pulled us in ever farther. As we approached the Blood Oracle, I began to scream and scream . . . and my voice echoed in the night.
“Cicely! Are you okay?” Once again, I was being shaken awake, but this time it was Kaylin, his eyes dark and flashing with an inner light.
I struggled to sit up, both terrified by the dream and leery of him. “Kaylin, what are you doing here?”
He sat down on the bedside and put a light hand on my shoulder, pushing me back against my pillow. “You were having a nightmare. I came to wake you.”
When I realized he wasn’t going to clobber me again, I stopped resisting and scooted back against the headboard. “Was I screaming?”
“No, but I could feel your unrest.” Once again a flash of light echoed through his eyes, and I felt a sudden rush of apprehension. “When you summoned my demon to wake, you created a connection. I can feel your dreams now.”
Hell. I hadn’t seen that coming. Nor did I want it—I already felt bound to too many people. Grieve, through my wolf; Lannan, through blood. Now Kaylin, through dreams. What would this mean?
“How far away can you feel me when I sleep? I have some pretty . . . interesting dreams at times.” I blushed, but he didn’t seem to notice.
“I don’t think distance is a factor. I don’t know if it will last, and don’t fear—I won’t intrude,” he said, leaning in, his voice husky. “Not unless you want me to.”
And that was not an innocent remark. Of that I was sure, but I decided to ignore it for now. “Um, okay. Listen, how are you? What time is it? How long was I asleep?”
Kaylin glanced at the bedside clock. “It’s five in the morning. I’ve been awake since three. I have no idea when you went to sleep.”
“Around nine.” I stared at his face, searching for signs that the night-veil was in control, but all I could see was Kaylin. After a moment, I blurted out, “I dreamed about Lannan, and Crawl. He was taking me to see the Blood Oracle. Dragging me, rather. And Crawl was saying that I’m a fulcrum in the war and their victory depends on me.”
Kaylin considered my words, then gave me a slow nod. “I think your dream was predictive. It sounds like something that may come to pass.”
I cringed, thinking of Lannan’s part in it. I didn’t want it to be predictive; I wanted it to be a nightmare. I decided to keep my mouth shut about the rest of it—no use getting everybody stirred up over something that might not happen.
But a voice inside whispered, You know what Lannan wants, and you know he’ll stop at nothing to get it. And that was worse than thinking Crawl wanted to see me.
