Alliances (Guardians of White Light, #1) (12 page)

Witnessing the surge of power enforcing the barrier, Silas signaled his men to cease their assault.
Time to change tactics with the witch. And I know just the thing.

“Tell me, how would a human prevent the vampiric change once they had already been sired?”

There was no response from Alna. She was awash in concentration. Silas pushed harder. “Rumor has it that you would be the one to speak to about that?”

Still, Alna maintained her concentration. Her eyes narrowed at him, but she didn’t respond.

“Come on, Alna. I know Graven didn’t just sire Mathias that night. You were there. How did you stop the change?”

“What you’re suggesting is impossible,” she finally said.

The very reminder of Graven shot ice through her veins. He was a monster beyond all others. Far worse than Silas and any other supernatural beast that she had encountered.
He’s still alive. But where?
Just over six centuries ago she and Mathias had faced him. She had been an accomplished witch. A renowned, highly-respected coven, The Coven of Elders, had just welcomed her into their fold. They were impressed with her natural ability for magic. She had been romantically involved with a young magician. Mathias. The monster had found them intending to illicit their cooperation for his evil ends. She and Mathias had refused. He had turned them. It was the worst fate for two people who had lived and breathed white magic. Vampires were the ultimate abomination to the natural order. Alna had been unable to stand it. She had found a way to reverse the turning. But back then she’d only had the power to do it to one of them and Mathias had insisted she be the one. It was what tore them apart.

But Alna hadn’t been able to reverse all of the effects. Immortality plagued her and she had been excommunicated from her coven and refused entry to all others. Now, she was losing the battle to Graven’s despicable curse. She didn’t have long before it consumed her. But no one could ever know about it, certainly not Silas. Word would spread and chaos would reign if it became known that she had found a way to temporarily reverse the vampiric condition.

True to form, Silas lost his patience. “Grenades! Now!” he roared to his troops.

The thirty soldiers in the front line threw their grenades and then rushed back a few feet and took cover on the ground. The explosions happened in rapid-fire succession. Alna wavered a little on her feet as she fought to maintain the barrier against the violent onslaught of so many detonating explosives. She felt Luke rush to her side.

“Stay back!” she yelled to him.

She withdrew her right hand from the barrier and held it up to the sky. The strain of holding the barrier with half the power forced her onto one knee. She gritted her teeth and groaned under the force of Silas’ onslaught. With her right hand she stretched her fingertips and looked up to the black sky.

“Yield…to…me,” she whispered.

Seconds later the black clouds parted and a bolt of lightning split the darkness in half. Blinding blue light shot towards her and struck her outstretched hand. Her body shuddered at the impact and the painful rush of formidable power, but she held steady. It was dark magic,
black
magic that she had just called forth. It was powerful and dangerous, but she had control. She always had control.

Her right hand crackled with lightning. She thrust it at the barrier. It traveled through it and exploded on the other side, firing a fusillade of lightning bolts at the enemy. As bolts touched the soldiers’ skin, it decimated them—instantly they were dust. They roared in horror and even as Silas ordered a hasty retreat they could not get away fast enough. Alna struck again and again. She needed them to be further away so that when she pulled back she and Legion would have enough time to escape.

After the third strike she felt an uncomfortable wave of light headedness. Her ability to control the burden of powerful black magic was waning.

As her second knee hit the ground, she heard Luke calling to her.

“Alna, release the magic now!”

“I can hold it!”
Forever. Nothing feels like this. Black magic. Ultimate power. Indescribable. Oh yeah, I can feel it, taste it. Power in its absolute. What a rush.

Luke studied her. Her blue eyes were now tinted with black. A few more black streaks were evident in her hair. She was moments away from letting the black magic take control of
her
.

“Let go!” he persisted.

She didn’t respond. Her hands shook, her eyes grew blacker.

“Mathias is waiting for us. Let’s go. Now, Alna!”

He knew it was a cheap shot to mention Mathias’ name to her given their history, but it was also a surefire way to reach her.

She flinched and lowered her hands heavily. Her legs buckled. Thanks to his vampire reflexes she never hit the ground. He swept her up into his arms and carried her towards the extraction point that had been worked out with Valta.

He eyed the barrier. Silas met his gaze with narrowed eyes that promised retribution. Luke turned away. He watched Silas’ army resume their attack against the barrier now that Alna had withdrawn power.

“That was black magic,” Luke spoke as he hurriedly carried Alna towards the van in the distance.

“Any magic involving doing harm to another is black,” she clarified wearily.

“It’s dangerous.”

“Not when you know how to control it.”

“What about the veins? The black?”

“My use of black magic is not the cause of those. The hair is a different story, of course.”

“Then what?” Luke wondered.

“It’s not your concern.”

Luke saw the tired look in her eyes, a look brought on by years of harboring a painful secret. Whatever it was, she wasn’t willing to reveal it to him. If that was her wish he knew there was no possibility of trying to press her for an answer. Alna was as stubborn as he remembered.

“Just get me to Mathias.”

Luke nodded his understanding. She and Mathias had business to discuss. It was probably why she had agreed to help him out by protecting Legion. It meant Mathias owed her one. And when a witch as powerful as Alna requested the repayment of a favor you did it immediately—refusal or delay was out of the question.

“Legion appreciates your assistance. I know
he
does too.”

“This war requires alliances to be brokered, sides to be chosen and choices to be made. I’ve made it clear where I stand to both Mathias and Silas,” she responded without any trace of sentiment.

“You’re a hell of an ally.”

“So is The Hunter. You mustn’t discount her importance in this war.”

Luke studied her eyes. They were glowing silver.

“You can barely walk but you can still summon the strength to read my thoughts?”

Alna smiled. “That doesn’t use great physical power. It just requires concentration.”

“She’s a slayer
and
an enemy to Legion and Eternus.”

“Mathias can see beyond the black and white. It’s what made him such a revered leader. Their partnership brings great power, a power that can be felt by all who deal in magic. The underworld is rife with talk of it.”

Luke heeded her words. “Perhaps you're right.”

“Silas told you tonight to inspire dissent. You must not let that happen. You must be united or Immortalia will prevail. She will not betray you.”
Even though his heart will betray him. Oh, Mathias, how tragically predictable.

“What is it?” Luke noticed the look of concern that had spread across her face.

She shook her head. “Nothing. I just need to rest for a while.”

It was clear that Luke wasn’t satisfied with her lie. But he could not know. It would just antagonize the already touchy subject of his leader’s alliance with a slayer.

Before anything more could be said, they reached the van. Luke eased her to her feet and she climbed into the back seat beside Tanya. Just behind them sat Thomas and John. Luke went around to the passenger side.

“Drive like hell,” he told Valta as he took his seat and slammed the door closed.

CHAPTER TWELVE

Jenna’s fists drove into the bag powerfully with a controlled, measured pace. After one final punch she gave it up and lowered her hands. She was still recovering from the stab wound in her side so she couldn’t go at the bag full force or full speed. It was beyond frustrating to be forced to hold back. She felt her tank top. Not even moist. She couldn’t even build up a sweat with such a toned down, weak workout. Her frustration quickly evolved to anger as she stared at the bag. Before she knew what she was doing, she slammed her fist at the bag with her full power and speed. Immediately, she cried out as a sharp pain shot through her side. She’d pulled against the stitches.
Crap.
She stepped back from the bag and lifted her shirt to get a look at it. The stitches were fine.
Phew.

“Give it a couple more days,” Mathias’ voice suddenly came from the other side of the room.

She had sensed him a while ago, but she’d wanted to see how long it would take him to speak up. She turned towards the basement stairs. He stood at the bottom with his elbows resting on the banister watching her curiously.

“Finally, he speaks,” she muttered as she took a seat on a bench at the far side of the room.

Other than the bench and the punching bag, there wasn’t much else to the unfinished basement. It wasn't insulated. The walls were exposed brick, the floor rough concrete. It was obvious that it had barely been used by the former owner, Liana.

The basement was in Liana’s former research lab that had doubled as her home before she’d relocated to Mathias’ estate after they’d married. Jenna had felt the change in his demeanor as soon as they’d arrived. Over the last couple of days he had become far more pensive and noticeably withdrawn. She couldn’t imagine what it was like for him to be in the home of his late wife. But Jax had been right when he’d suggested it. They’d had to relocate after Arthur had tracked them to Jax’s place and Liana’s lab was the last place that Silas would expect Mathias to take shelter.

“You sensed me immediately?”

“You gave me your blood. I can sense you from a great distance right now.”

“It’ll pass soon enough, if that makes you feel better.”

She ignored his reassurance. “Why didn’t you say anything sooner?”

“I didn’t want to interrupt your work out.” He approached and took a seat beside her. “Jax is still locked away in the lab working on the antidote. Sun’s up.”

“And you can’t sleep.”

“Legion will be here in a few hours. There’s too much going on to sleep.”

Jenna stood up and muttered, “I’m not in a social mood right now.”

“You’re still mad about me feeding you my blood?”

“You
forced
me. You violated me. You didn’t have my permission.”

“Sorry for the lack of chivalry, but I was preoccupied with saving your life.”

“It wasn’t your decision to make!”

“Then next time I'll let you die!” he shot back, bolting to his feet.

“Make sure you do!” she yelled over her shoulder as she started towards the basement steps.

Before she could even make it to the first step, that familiar rush of ice-cold air enveloped her. His fingers gripped her arm, forcing her to turn around. To her surprise she looked into eyes filled with concern not ire.

“This isn’t about the
way
I saved your life. It’s the fact that I saved you, period.”

Jenna couldn’t suppress a small chuckle.

“That's amusing to you?”

“I just can’t believe a vampire is about to lecture me on the value of human life. Come on, Mathias, what words of wisdom do you have for me?” she snapped.

He let go of her and stepped back. “You want to die?” he asked, incredulous.

The disappointment in his voice struck a nerve and she jerked towards him, not caring about the pain that shot through her as she made the sudden movement.

“This is a curse!” she bellowed, gesturing to herself. “Darkness that never ends. A dead man’s existence. The Sorceress won’t release me; I’ve pleaded with her. The only escape is
death
.”

“Like I said before, you live the life of a vampire.
Except
, you can step out into the light without burning to ashes. You have our strength but none of our weaknesses. Sounds more like a gift to me.”

Jenna suddenly felt the heat between them and it unnerved her. She stepped back. “You’re kind, for a vamp,” she said.

Before she could protest he gripped her arms. “I don’t like it when you do that.”

“Do what?” She looked up at his towering figure.

“Keep bringing up the vampire thing
incessantly
.”

“Why not? It’s who you are.”

He forced her closer. “It’s
what
I am, not
who.
”