Elemental Moon: The Eldritch Files, Book Three (16 page)

"Roger."

W
e proceeded cautiously
down the stairs. Mentally, I felt a bit more confident with Crwys beside me. Having Bastien and his pack there was also a big boost to the "yay for our team" side of things. Physically was a whole other state of being. I was in a full on fever now, and I moved in a sort of dreamlike state as Crwys held on to me. We walked through the sliding glass doors to the garden. Ina's beautifully tended grass was destroyed, marred by chunks of earth and roots. Or I hoped they were roots because they sort of looked like bones protruding up from the destroyed ground.

The house floodlights were on, illuminating the mess as we stood at the garden's edge. Circe stood in the center with Marilla at her feet. Did anyone even know if the wolf was still alive? It didn't look like she'd moved since we got there.

The pack appeared from the shadows, fifteen large, magnificent wolves in all. A powerful pallet of gray, brown, black, white and red. None was as big as Bastien who stood to my left. The garden no longer smelled of flowers, but of musk and freshly turned earth. With Crwys's arm holding me up, we walked across that mutilated ground toward Circe. I jumped at every noise; afraid another body Crwys missed was going to jump up and grab me again, and I was pretty sure I didn't have the strength to make it go away.

Circe watched us, and I noticed the smug expression on her face. She didn't think we were a threat, but an audience to watch her grand finale.

The circle contracted until it surrounded the stone circle. From this distance, I could see Marilla breathing. She wasn't tied down or anything, but she wasn't trying to get free. Her face was turned away so I couldn't tell if she was awake or unconscious.

"Interesting trick, Detective. I've only ever read about such control of fire, but I have never seen it. I think you are going to make an interesting addition to my army."

"Army?" I blurted that one out. All through this I had been looking for some kind of realistic, reasonable motive for her to be doing what she was doing. Crwys and Levi had taught me about motives, about what drives us to act a certain way and I got that. I understood Dionysus's motive to create the Changelings to drive Medbh's location into the open. I didn't agree with it, but I understood it. I understood Dionysus destroying Inamorata's life to survive. I understood Kennett's motive to seek out revenge on those he perceived were a threat to him and his continued existence after finding his body dead. Or Bastien's need to save the unborn baby by biting me and making me a part of the pack, which was going to be a permanent state of being if I didn't get this show on the road.

To some, motives may seem trivial. But by understanding a monster's reasoning, their kryptonite could be found. Sometimes.

Circe was looking at me. It was a weird look. "Yes. My army."

"What, you plan on taking over the world or something?" Levi asked as he appeared across the way between two large black wolves. "Gonna…make yourself a little army of yeti or something?"

She glanced back at him and sneered. "I wouldn't expect a mere Vampire to understand the expectations and dreams of a Ceremonial Magician. But Samantha knows what I seek. She and I are kin, she and I are of the same mind!."

"Screw that!" I nearly growled at her. "I don't want to bring Arcane into the world!"

Circe held out her arms, palms up. "But it's not just that, Samantha! I want to rid the world of the God Mother's children completely. Don't you see? The Faerie had it right—to destroy the children is to free the borders once again. To open the gates, the Cairns and the doors so that Arcane can be the one true magic of this plane, as it is of other planes," she raised her arms as if punctuating her dream. "I will give Arcane to the Ceremonial Magicians!"

Crickets pretty much filled the silence after her declaration. I looked up at Crwys. "Can she do that?"

He shook his head. "Naw. That would take access to certain Thrones and a lot of ritual and a few spells." He shook his head. "Nevermind! I'm afraid this crazy bitch doesn't have a VIP pass. The worst she can do right now is hurt Marilla and the baby."

I nodded in agreement.

Given the number of big wolves in addition to us, I didn't see how she thought she was going to survive. Then she held up a scroll of something. Looked like it had writing on it. "I have the Codex that will bring Arcane to the Magicians of the world!"

Crwys held out his hand and snapped his fingers. The scroll caught fire. Circe screamed and tossed the scroll away where it flew like a fireball and landed in one of the deeper pits of the garden grass.

"How dare you!"

Oh…shit. I had to side with Circe on this one. I glared at him. "You idiot! I needed that! Remember?"

Crwys put his hand his mouth and arched his brows. "Oops?" He said when he pulled his hand away. "Sorry."

I felt Circe gather her Arcane. My own reacted to hers, but not in a good way. More of a long time rival way. Like
Mean Girls
. Mine poured out from my hands as it formed a barrier of sparkling red light. Circe's power coalesced into a sphere around her and Marilla. I caught the flash of a knife just as Crwys did.

Just as the pack did.

"No!" I heard myself shout as we all started toward the center of the Circle at a dead run. The pack roared as it moved as one. I tried to stretch my magic out, extend it like an arm out to the Circle to stop the blade.

But no amount of speed was going to stop Circe from plunging that knife into Marilla's stomach. I saw the blood as it sprayed Circe's face and shot out over the girl's shirt. The pack screamed in my head as voices threatened to incapacitate me by their sheer volume. The part of me I sent out twisted as it built speed and knocked the blade from Circe's hand. She looked up at me, hissed and threw her own black Arcane at me. It fanned out around us and rose like a black sun above just before it shot its rays out to grab hold of every moving thing. Ropes of it entwined around the barrel chests of wolves and lifted them in the air. Their cries of agony told me those ropes weren't just holding them, but crushing them as well.

I heard Crwys cry out as well as Ivan and turned to see several of the ropes wrapping around Ivan's chest. Crwys's cry wasn't because he was trapped as the wolves were, but because he'd slipped his arms around Ivan to take some of the brunt of the vice-like grip.

Go!

I felt my mom's pain at that moment as it came through our connection. She was also in the throws of agony as that black sun crushed her chest.

-Listen to her. We can take this one. Just let us work for you. Let us eliminate her as we eliminated the animal.-

I knew the voice spoke of Fred. It viewed Fred as an animal.

I turned back to Circe. She stood with her arms out again, laughing as her black sun destroyed her enemies. She wasn't paying attention to me. I doubted she even realized I wasn't being crushed.

Why was that?

-We are protecting you.-

We?

-We will always protect you against all of your enemies. Let go.-

I wanted to let go. I wanted to take a hot bath and curl up in a warm bed and sleep. I'd gone beyond chills as my body temperature rose. I was now into the beginning stages of the shift. I didn't have much time left and there was no time for the antidote. I could feel my teeth sharpening and my skin crawling. I itched.

The wolf wanted out and Circe had to be stopped. Why not give in? Just let the shift happen and embrace the power of being a Lycan? Then I could rip her apart piece by piece and enjoy it.

No.

That wasn't Grey's voice. That was Crwys.
How—?

Because we're a part of each other. It's so rare I have these feelings for a human, especially someone as troublesome as you. But when I mate, sweet Samantha, I mate for life.

There was something very odd about his mental voice. It sounded like his spoken voice, but there was a bass-like rumble. I didn't understand.

You have help. Use it. Touch my mind for strength, and don't give in to the Arcane voices.

How did he know about the voices? Did I tell him? I couldn't remember anything anymore. So when I looked for this help, I actively looked outside of my self and I found it. She was there, sitting on the edge of a particularly deep hole to my right, against the stones of the Circle.

My Undine.

She pointed at the hole. The bottom was filled with water. I looked at the black sun and made a calculated guess it was hollow. With a wink at my Undine, I knelt down and placed my hands on the damp grass and called upon Water as I would have if I weren't warlocked. I felt the ground tremble as red sparkles spread out from my hands and covered the ground in seconds. As I stood, I held my hands out to my sides and gently raised the sparkling net. With it came water. Lots of it. Held in the air by the net I'd woven from Arcane. Even when I was at my full height I continued to raise my arms as the water rose with it.

When I wavered, or lost strength, I touched Crwys's strength and knew he was preventing our friends from dying. In that moment, a single breath in time, I had removed all the water from the back yard and now as I brought my hands in close the net became a needle pointed funnel. I moved it over the black sun, drove it into the center and released the water. As it fell, so did I.

I watched as the black Arcane burst into millions of flecks of black and disintegrated in the night air. The water hit Circe like a falling piano and knocked her to the ground. Everyone took in deep breaths as the water washed over the Circle in a wave. I shivered on the ground as the cold water turned the dirt around me to mud and I clutched my arms around me.

The wolves, Levi and Ivan ran forward to the pregnant girl as Crwys came to me and took me in his arms. His warmth—Sweet Lady I'd never been so appreciative of his warmth before. He kissed my forehead and my cheek as I tucked myself into him as tightly as I could.

I sensed Bastien coming to us through the link and watched as he blurred and became the tall, broad, handsome LeBlanc I knew. "
Chérie
, we need your help. The knife…" he glanced back at the Circle. "Marilla is fading. I'm afraid we're going to lose them both."

"
S
hit
," Crwys moved with me in his arms toward the Circle as the wolves stepped back, their heads bowed. Crwys put me back on my feet before he and Levi knelt down beside Marilla. The water had washed most of the blood away but it was obvious Circe had struck into the girl's belly.

Grey came up beside me. Even her wet, damp fur felt warm. "Crwys, did she hit the baby?"

"I don't think so, but Marilla’s lost a lot of blood. Bastien, can you hear her?"

"
Oui
. But she is very faint. We can't hear the child."

I looked from Crwys to Bastien. "Is…is that bad?"

"It can be for a wolf." Crwys and Levi stared at one another, but didn't speak. When I got a good look at Levi's face, his eyes were black and his face…different. His demon was in control and they were communicating a different way.

Crwys looked up at the circle of wolves. "I need all of you to concentrate on her through your link. Keep Marilla here," then he looked at me. "Come here and put your hand on Marilla's side. I need you to find the baby in the link."

"Me?" I knelt down and Grey knelt down beside me. "But I don't—"

"Use the Arcane to find her. We need her to stay. Help her find her way back."

"Arcane? Crwys, I can't use that. It's just destructive power. I'll end up doing something awful—" Images of the house imploding and Fred disappearing came to mind.

Crwys put his hand on my shoulder. "Witches fear Arcane because of its power, because it can and will destroy you if you let it. You control it. It does not control you. You have your Undine—she's there on your shoulder. You have me. You control the power," he moved his hand to my cheek. "I can't do this for you, babe."

I blushed. I was shaking, blushing and feeling all kinds of confused. But his pep talk worked and I could feel the fear and the anxiety in the link when I pulled the door open. "Crwys…do you know what you're doing?"

"Delivering a baby?" He gave me his best smirky grin and his eyes were solid red. "I've delivered more babies than a hundred of your lifetimes. Just keep her with us."

I closed my eyes and put my hand against the side of Marilla's belly. And then I fully opened the link's door.

I gasped at the cold I felt when I stepped through. And the darkness. I was in a wild wood, with blinking red and green eyes peering at me from the trees. Fear moved up my back like the whispering touch of spider legs. I wrapped my arms around myself as I took a few steps in the overgrown grass. Twigs snapped beneath my weight and I cleared my throat. "Hello?"

My voice echoed in the darkness and I felt kind of silly, though I felt the presence of dozens of minds. "Hello? Are you there?"

Something stirred in the brush to my right, beside a tree with roots extending above the ground. I saw something move, something white and small. With my first spark of hope, I moved toward it and had the impression it was hiding behind one of those roots. "Hello? It's okay. I'm not here to hurt you. Your mommy's very sick and you need to come out so you can see her."

I had no idea where these words came from, but they felt right. I looked to my right to see the faint outline of my Undine as she swam through the air and pointed behind the root. Nodding, I moved carefully and sat down on my side of the root. The tree was cold against my back and I was pretty sure my ass was wet from the damp ground.

"It's okay." I held out my hand on the edge of the root. "You can sniff me. I promise I won't chase you or hurt you. But I need you to trust me so you can see your mommy."

I waited. Watched the space above my hand. I heard rustling and thought I saw…

Sweet Lord and Lady of all things precious in this world.

The face of a tiny wolf pup with the whitest fur peered over the side of the root. She wasn't beside my hand, but a hands span away. She looked at me with fearful but curious dark eyes. I smiled at her and leaned my head to my right shoulder. "Hello, beautiful. Go ahead and sniff. You can even bite."

When I said that, I didn't think she would. But as soon as she could, the little pup disappeared and reappeared at my hand. She sank tiny teeth into my finger and I held my tongue. When she let go there wasn't a mark on me. No blood, and abruptly no pain. "Are you satisfied, little one?"

The pup stumbled over the root and landed on her butt before she righted herself and came to my leg. I carefully moved my hand and offered it to her again. And this time she made a little noise that was kind of like a baby squeak before she tumbled into my lap. I rubbed her soft fur and made cooing noises at her as she gnawed on my fingers. And when I sat back, she climbed into my arms and rested her head at my neck.

"Sam?"

I laughed as she licked me and squeezed her tight.

"Sam? You can let go now."

The shrill cry of a baby snapped me out of the dream, or place or wherever I'd just been. I looked around for the pup but she wasn't there.

You bonded quite nicely. She thinks you're her grandmother, Grey said.

"Say what?"

Grey stuck her snout in my side.
Look at Crwys.

I did, and my heart, like the Grinch's, grew about twenty sizes. He knelt on the wet, stone Circle without his jacket, because he'd bundled a tiny little pale baby inside of it. I put my fingers to my lips as he turned a bright face to me and smiled. He really, really smiled. "You did it! She's here!"

Yes, she was. But I turned and looked at Marilla, whose eyes had been closed. The mother had passed. Too much blood loss was my guess. But the child…

Ma petite!
Thank you!>
Voice upon voice crowded in my head as the wolves crowded around to get a look at the little pale perigee

Wait…

I touched my face. Straightened my back.

"What is it?" Ivan said from where he stood behind Levi.

"I don't have a fever anymore. On no! Bastien!" I turned to him where he knelt beside Crwys. "The antidote."

"You have it," he said before he looked at me. "Our littlest gave it to you."

Huh?

"When she bit you, she released you. But you will hear us for some time as long as the pack wants you there."

Oh great. I'm going to have pack voices in my head. As if it wasn't already crowded enough in there as it was.

"Look out!"

The warning came through the link and in the open as someone shouted. We all turned in the direction of the voice to see Circe on her feet, the long knife raised above her head.

My ears popped and I swallowed. Everyone else waited for Circe to move, but she didn't. She looked like a tall, weird statue about to strike. A few wolves whined and lowered their heads and flattened their ears.

"I'm afraid that's not going to happen, dear Olivia," Cromwell Dryden's voice rang out above everyone.

I stood and turned to see him and the Clerics walking from the house out to the Circle. Of course, the ear popping. They'd set up a cap. If the mounds of turned earth bothered their progress, it wasn't evident. But what made me very nervous was there were still four Clerics and I knew Fred wasn't among them.

Cromwell paused in front of me and was careful to give Marilla's still body a good berth. He put his hand on my shoulder, smiled and squeezed.

Cromwell…smiled? I didn't know his face could do that!

He moved on to Olivia as the wolves parted. She was frozen in place but her eyes moved, following him. And I saw some serious hatred in those eyes. Cromwell put his hand on her shoulder as well. "Olivia Graham, magical name Circe, it is by the order of the Magical Parliament that I hereby arrest you for crimes against the faith, against the God Mother and against the Order of Ceremonial Magicians. I'm afraid Blackwood wants you incarcerated as much as I do."

One of the hooded and robed Clerics threaded their way around the Circle to Ivan. I was about to say something when she threw her robe back to reveal she was Miss Water. She abruptly wrapped her arms around Ivan's neck before the two started a deep and embarrassing kiss. My jaw dropped.

"I guess we know who he's been seeing," came Crwys's voice in my ear. He was still holding the baby and bouncing her up and down. I looked into her face and she opened her eyes.

I knew this was the little pup in the forest. I also knew she was forever a part of my life.

Great. I had a perigee for an adopted niece.

Bastien moved in on Crwys and took the baby. My boyfriend stood to the side as the wolves crowded in and they idly walked away toward the house. I thought I heard Bastien cooing at the baby and shook my head. Several wolves that had shifted back to their human forms lifted Marilla's body and carried it with them.

Ivan, Miss Water, Levi, Grey and myself stood in the Circle and watched as three of the robed Clerics clamped irons on Circe and led her away. I wondered if those irons they used would stop her from using her Arcane Magic.

Cromwell stepped up and clasped his hands in front of him. "I would at this time, like to thank the detectives for their involvement in catching Circe. Given your knowledge and," he looked at Levi. "Your own secrets, I can be assured you will keep this particular incident quiet?"

"Always," Levi said.

Crwys smiled. "Maybe."

Cromwell looked a little uncomfortable. "Maybe?"

"You going to lift Sam's warlock?"

"Detective—"

"I'm just saying, Mr. Dryden, that you have most of what you want. No you don't have your magic scroll, but you have Circe and you have the Hammer. Release Sam."

"Please," Miss Water said as she stepped into the conversation. "You saw how well she worked with her Undine, even while warlocked—"

"Dharma," Cromwell said with a hand raised. "We'll talk later about your part in all this, and about your new boyfriend. But for now," his gaze came back to Crwys. "The Codex was the bargain."

"Lift it, or I will ask for a Tribunal." I narrowed my eyes at Cromwell.

His smile sort of faded. "We'll be in touch," he motioned for the others to follow.

Dharma came up to me and looked sort of lost. "I couldn't stop her. She missed you so much, and with me getting to know Ivan," she glanced back at him. "She belongs with you."

"It's okay. And thanks. Was that you that told me to bring the water out of my sink."

"Yes."

"How did you know I had water in my sink?"

"Because when I asked her where she was, that's what she told me."

I looked at the retreating backs of the Clerics. "Where's Fred?"

Dharma shrugged. "I don't know and I don't care. Cromwell fired him yesterday, so good riddance. But…I gotta go. And don't worry." She patted my arm, gave Ivan a kiss and ran off to catch up with her Hive.

I immediately rounded on Ivan. "Does she know—"

"No," he put up his hands. "She knows what Arden knows. That I'm a good hacker and my Dianic Gift makes it possible for electronics to work around magic. That's it."

I narrowed my eyes at him.

Crwys grabbed my hand and pulled me to the house. "Come on. Let's go check on Jack and Kyle and then get the hell out of here."

I really liked that idea. "To where?"

He smiled. "Levi's…" And then he laughed as we hurried inside.

"Wait…what?" Levi said as he caught up to us.