Ascension (34 page)

Taig moved her so his full length pressed against hers and then he lowered her to the floor. The moment her feet touched it, she felt the net that Gregori had spread over the area, a tangled web of magic that would feed his senses. She looked at him out of the corner of her eye, her hair causing the image of him to stutter as it blew across her eyes.

Lealandra crouched and held her hand out above the ground, feeling the threads of magic he had woven over the helipad. They were strong and tuned to her. She released her magic a fraction, letting it steal more control from her, and the change shocked her. Strength surged through her, erasing the fatigue she had felt and filling her with a sense of invincibility that ran bone-deep and bathed every fibre of her being.

Taig moved back again, her sentinel, always there if she needed him. She knew he would help in a heartbeat if she faltered. He wouldn’t let things go on so long this time. He wouldn’t allow her to endanger herself again.

Lealandra stood and faced Gregori, readying herself. It all came down to this. One moment that would decide both of their fates. Their magic was in control now, guiding their destiny, choosing whether their carrier should live or die.

Her mind receded but her consciousness remained, joined with her magic, one with her power at last. All of her faith, all of her trust, was with the magic and its reaction surprised her. It didn’t snatch control or fill her mind with dark thoughts this time. There was no sense of threat about it. It truly was one with her, a part of the same being, joined in a common purpose.

Eradicating the man that had dared to hurt them.

Gregori raised his hands. Black wires of magic twisted around his arms, sucking the light from the area surrounding him. Lealandra’s eyes widened.

She knew what she had to do. The moment she realised it, her magic began the process. It burrowed into her flesh, dark red ribbons that sank into her, going down into her bones, into the depths of her body and her core. It fused with them, with her, and in her mind she heard the words, heard the magic’s will and intention. Revenge.

Her magic reached out to Taig but it didn’t have to reach far. His power was right there with her. She latched onto it, absorbing as much as he would let her so she could cast a spell beyond her dreaming, beyond her abilities, and beyond her knowledge. It was a spell that her magic knew, one that only a powerful demon could help her cast. She needed Taig’s full strength to summon the incantation, all of his dark power and his connection to the underworld. The words jumbled together in her mind, weak and fading.

A spark, a tiny leap of electricity bridged the gap in the connection between her and Taig and then immense power coursed into her through the bond, mixing with her own magic. Power so strong that her magic wrapped around it, entwined itself with the invading force and drained the strength from it. Her magic used it to grow and become stronger, until it was powerful enough to form the words in order and to bring about the spell that she needed to cast.

The stilted wires around Gregori’s hands grew wider, jagged, menacing as they writhed against his flesh. His eyes darkened to black. The wind rose, sending Lealandra’s hair floating upwards and her power rose with it. The words fell into line in her head and she raised her hands. Red magic seeped out of her skin, soft smoke-like ribbons that wound themselves around her arms, illuminating the darkness.

Her mouth opened and silent words fell from her lips, each landing heavily in the air and shaking the world.

A dark void opened around her, chasing outwards from her back, from where Taig stood immobile, her bridge to the world that she was calling. It was his power that allowed her to do this, that would see her end this fight and become the victor. It was his strength all along that had helped her, through both the ascension and also through what lay ahead. She would always need him and his power, his support and guidance, but most of all his love and devotion.

She needed him as she needed no other.

And she knew he felt the same.

The darkness swept past her, covering the helipad and focusing on her enemy. Gregori’s magic stuttered, faltering and shrinking away, growing small and weak, tiny strings that hid on the far side of his forearms. His eyes lightened to red.

Lealandra focused, using all of her remaining strength to control the world that she was opening, a world of darkness and shadows where spirits were born and fed upon those who strayed into their land. A place where Gregori would become a feast, his magic drawing the creatures to him, his power his downfall.

“No,” Gregori hissed and backed away but it was too late.

The shadows moved around him, taking form in the darkening night. The stars winked out of existence above them and nothingness blanketed the lights of the world. Not an absence of something but a presence, a joining of worlds, a shift that Taig had made possible.

This wasn’t a weak version of the shadow world as Gregori had created and used to torture her, and it was stronger than the form of the world that Taig had opened before. This was the shadow world brought to Earth in its entirety so the strongest darkest creatures that inhabited it could come forth and it was difficult to contain, even with Taig’s power flowing through her and controlling it.

Twisted shapes rose up from the shadows, contorting into new forms, jagged creatures that she could see through and that she feared. She held that fear inside, knowing instinctively that if she showed it, they would turn their attention to her too.

Lealandra glanced over her shoulder at Taig. He stood behind her in his larger demon form, dark brown scaly skin covering his muscular bare body, his thick arms folded across his broad chest. He snarled, exposing his sharp teeth to the gum, and narrowed his eyes on Gregori. They burned brightly, flickering in time with the flames that danced at his back. The inferno silhouetted his massive dragon-like wings and reflected off the twin horns that curled from the back of his head. Hell. It stood there for her to see, a fiery pit of despair and destruction that caused a chill to creep over her skin. A place she had promised herself that she would go to in order to find Taig’s parents. It frightened her now that she saw it but she would still go there, for his sake, to heal his pain and end his uncertainty.

Beyond the flames, there was infinite darkness. The shadow world. The unspeakable horror that Taig had helped her call to this world.

Taig’s power wrapped around her, masking her presence with his own and rendering her invisible to the creatures. Her magic would be just as alluring as Gregori’s. She turned back to him. No matter how much her skin crawled or how deep her fear went, she had to remain calm and within Taig’s reach. She had called this world to her own. She had to face it and see what it was that she had done.

The shadow spirits wound themselves around Gregori’s legs. He blasted them with spells, one after the other, but to no avail. Any shadow that he hit divided and became two, and those two rose up to bring him down, clawed black fingers stretching for him, scratching at his clothes and dragging him down into their waiting mass.

It was as though the night itself was swallowing him. He fought hard, desperate bright coloured blasts of high-level spells that drained him. She sensed his magic recede, felt the moment it gave out and left him no more than mortal, watched as the shadows dug their claws into his shoulders and pulled him down, covering him, drowning him, and then she turned away and buried her face into Taig’s chest, hiding there as Gregori’s scream rent the still night air.

Strong arms folded around her and then there was silence. Warmth suffused her as Taig’s wings closed over her back, completely surrounding her, and he pressed a kiss to her hair. The twisted dark connection within her to the shadows snapped and she sensed the air lift, her world returning to fill the gap she had created in it.

Her magic relinquished control as Taig’s power left her and she collapsed against his dark scaly chest. He held her close and tightly, protecting her in a way that would always make her smile and make her feel safe. She held on to him in return, her hands against his bare ridged back. The feel of his demon skin beneath her palms didn’t frighten her. She clung to him and felt the love in his strong embrace. She could never fear Taig. She only feared losing him. The skin beneath her fingers smoothed and warmed, and she knew that he was changing back, regaining his human form. The darkness within her faded, stealing away the evil words that had danced around her mind and the sense that she was drowning in the shadows along with Gregori.

She looked up at Taig to find him smiling at her, a cocksure one that barely tugged at the corners of his lips.

“You can come out now, nothing frightening out here except me.”

Lealandra didn’t let him go. She held on to him and stared deep into his eyes, watching the way they flickered red like flames. Her eyes half-closed when Taig touched her cheek, lightly brushing his fingers over it, and smiled wide. It didn’t alleviate the worry she could feel in him, or the hint of it in his eyes.

“You okay?” he said with a small frown. She nodded.

“More than okay.” She rested her head against his soft chest. He unfurled his wings and they shrank into his back. The chill night air washed over her, calming her. Looking around, she saw no sign of Gregori or the shadows. They were gone. She didn’t know where to and she didn’t want to know. Whatever gate Taig had opened, it had been to a place far worse than where Gregori had sent her. She would never see him again. It was over.

The twinkling lights of the city grew dim in the distance where the sky was lightening. She could sense the sunrise coming and it drained the remaining strength from her. Turning back to Taig, she held her smile inside when she saw that he was naked, standing unabashed and watching the sunrise as the wind tousled his dark hair. He really was divine like that but she didn’t want others to see what was for her eyes only. She clicked her fingers and his black jeans encased his legs, his boots reappeared, and his black t-shirt moulded itself back onto his delicious broad muscular torso.

Taig shot her a smile, lifted her into his arms and unfurled his wings again, tearing through the t-shirt she had so carefully constructed. She pressed a hand to his chest to stop him from leaving with her. She couldn’t leave yet. She desired nothing more than to sleep in peace with him, to recover her lost strength and power, but she had unfinished business. She couldn’t leave the coven without a leader and they would look to her now.

“Tell me you’re not staying.” Taig frowned and she smiled and rubbed her thumb between his eyes, smoothing away the crease it had caused.

“Never. I don’t want to be their leader, but I can’t leave right now without making sure that everything is over and that they’ll be okay without me.” She could feel that the war below her feet had ended, that the witches had felt the loss of their leader and stopped fighting one another, and that it wouldn’t be long before some of her side came to the helipad to see if it was true. She would wait for them here in Taig’s arms and then together they would decide what would happen to the coven now.

She owed them that.

Taig rolled his eyes. “And the victory sex?”

Lealandra smiled up at him and looped her arms around his shoulders. “As soon as you’re ready mister.”

He grinned. “I’m always ready for a fight or a f—”

Lealandra cut him off with a glare. He gave her an innocent look, his now black eyes twinkling with it. He could pull that face all he liked but it wasn’t going to change her mind.

“I want more than that,” she said and he frowned again.

“More than what?”

“Than screwing.”

Taig rolled his eyes again but she knew he wasn’t unnerved by what she was asking or about to refuse any kind of commitment. He lowered her back onto her feet and touched the mark on her arm, staring at it. It tingled. There was such heat in his look but so much love and tenderness too. He was happy that she wore his mark.

Lealandra moved his hand away and stroked the intricate red lines of the mark. It still looked like a heart to her. She stared into Taig’s eyes.

“What does it mean?”

“You’re mine for everyone to see... just like our deal stated.”

Her gaze fell to the mark on her left arm again. It was petty revenge for what she had done to him. Typical of Taig. Or wasn’t it revenge? The things he had whispered during her ascension came back to her and her cheeks blazed and heart burned. Maybe he was using marking her to make them equal as an excuse to claim her as his. That was definitely just like him.

“It’s permanent.” He stroked the mark, his touch so light it tickled and a warm shiver raced through her. “I guess we’re stuck with each other... a demon hunter and one of the World’s most powerful witches. We make one hell of a combination and one hell of a team. Not a soul in this world will like us.”

He hesitated.

Lealandra’s eyes locked with his ebony ones. She had waited for this moment for six long years and she wasn’t going to rush him now that he was on the precipice of saying what she wanted to hear. The black spikes of his hair drifted across his forehead, tousled by the chilly morning breeze, and an awkward look settled on his face for a moment before his expression turned serious.

“You know I’m crazy about you, sweet cheeks. I know I can be hard to handle sometimes and I can tell you now that it won’t be easy, but how about all that stuff we talked about the other night?”

Lealandra fought to keep her expression blank and expectant even when she wanted to smile over what he had said. It was his way of telling her that he loved her but she wasn’t about to let him get away without saying it straight.

“I think you can do better than that.”

His look turned boyish and then his lips curved into a sexy smile that had her heart galloping and her legs trembling.

“I love you,” he whispered and took hold of her hand. His thumb swept over her knuckles.

Lealandra smiled into his eyes. “I love you too.”