Fire Me Up (28 page)

His hands slid down my arms, a slight smile playing around
his mouth. My anger melted at the sight of it. "You don't need me to rescue you,
kincsem. You never did."

"
That doesn't mean it wouldn't be nice once in a while," I
said, relenting. I knew in my heart he was right—he hadn't left me in as dire a
situation as I could have found myself. I did possess power, and although I
didn't have the confidence he seemed to have in my brain's reasoning abilities,
there was a certain satisfaction to be found in the fact that I didn't have to
rely on a man to save me. "You're going to have to work very hard tonight to
make up for all that time I stood shivering on the top of the bridge."

His hands swept up my exposed back, his dragon fire leaping
between us. "I will do my best, mate."

I leaned forward to lick his lips. "I know you—oh, crap!"

The ornate carriage clock on the bureau behind him chimed the
half hour.

I gave him a crooked kiss, then gathered up the skirt of my
dress and ran for the door to the living room of the suite.

"Aisling? I thought you wanted me to bathe you in fire?"

The room was empty of dragons, but my purse and wrap were
sitting on an end table where I'd thrown them before storming into Drake's
bedroom to chew him up one side and down the other. I grabbed them, racing for
the door. "I have an appointment with Nora. It's the apprentice ritual. It has
to be done tonight or else I'll be expelled from the conference. Be back as soon
as I can."

I started to close the door, then popped my head back through
it to blow a kiss to Drake. "Keep your fire stoked, dragam. I'm going to need a
lot of warning."

It was only thirty-five after by the time I ran, breathless,-
into a now dark and empty coffee lounge, Nora was sitting at a table reading by
the light of one small floor lamp. She looked up when I started sputtering my
apologies.

"There's no need to apologize," she said, tucking a bookmark
in the book and closing it carefully. "As long as the ritual is completed by
midnight, you will be fine. Are you ready to begin?"

"Yes." I said, trying to catch my breath, calm my beating
heart, and focus my mind to whatever task she was going to ask.

"Very well," she said, making a gesture to take in the
immediate area. "The first test of the ritual is to locate the five wards that I
have drawn. Please point them out to me."

I looked around the room. The coffee lounge was a large
alcove off the main lobby, with a long counter bearing a couple of espresso
machines, a number of small round tables, and a couch along one wall. I didn't
see anything that looked wardish, not that I knew what a ward looked like.

"Um. Wards. Do I get a hint as to what kind of wards?"

She shook her head, her eyes dark and watchful. I frowned as
I looked around again, walking the perimeter of the alcove, looking carefully at
the tables, chairs, walls, pictures . . . everything. Nothing jumped up and said
"Warded!" to me.

Even Nora's body language screamed that I was failing the
test. I was going to be kicked out. Before I even had a chance to learn, I was
going to be kicked out. It just wasn't fair! I didn't ask for this, it was
pushed on me. One minute I was fine and dandy, and the next minute people like
Amelie, the shopkeeper in Paris, were telling me I had to look at all the
possibilities to see beyond the mortal world.

Hmm. I turned back to the room, my eyes scanning it again.
Nothing. But what if I opened that magic door in my head? I closed my eyes and
did that, released the power of my mental sight, and suddenly the room burst
into glorious color. Reds, greens, deep indigos—all the colors that I had seen
before were heightened tenfold, so bright it was almost blinding. And glowing a
sparkly gold, five intricate, knotted symbols floated above various objects in
the room.

"There's a ward on the big espresso machine, one on the tall
palm in the corner, two more on the two windows, and the last one is on the tile
at your feet."

"Correct." Relief was visible for a moment in her eyes, but
it was gone before I could do more than smile weakly. "Now you will draw the
following five wards on any object of your choice: binding, protection,
restraint, luck, and forgiveness."

Panic, sharp and hot, filled me at her words. I didn't know
how to draw wards! Jim had told me a little about them, saying there were
various types used for a number of purposes, but other than that, I had no idea
how to go about drawing one. I looked at Nora with my heightened vision, about
to admit to her that I hadn't the slightest idea how to draw one ward, let alone
five, but something in the aura that glowed around her kept my mouth shut. She
was silent. But her eyes flickered to the wards that I had seen scattered around
the room, then back to me, just as if she was trying to tell me something.

I grinned and walked over to the palm, tracing the pattern of
the ward that hung in front of it onto a nearby lamp.

"The protection ward. Very good," Nora said. I shot her a
look of gratitude before continuing to the next ward.

"
The luck ward. Well drawn."

The patterns I drew in the air didn't last like Nora's did—I
assumed it had something to do with my inexperience—but the symbols burst into
sparkly life for a second before dissolving away into nothing. By the time I
drew the last one, I was feeling much better. Nora might be bound by the rules
of proctoring to avoid helping me outright, but she was obviously taking my
unorthodox entrance into her world into consideration as she set the tests. I
thanked my stars that she, rather than Marvabelle, had offered to conduct the
ritual.

"Excellent," Nora said as I finished and came back to stand
before her. There was the usual momentary sense of loss as my vision returned to
normal, but it took a lot of energy and concentration to look at the world the
pretty way. I could do it for only short amounts of time, "You will now please
recite the names of the eight princes of Abaddon."

Now that was something I knew. I hadn't read all those
ancient medieval demonology texts for nothing! "In alphabetical order, they are
Amayon, Ariton, Asmodeus, Ashtaroth, Bezlebud, Oriens, and Paymon."

"Very good. Now name for me three demons and the demon lords
they are bound to."

I almost laughed out loud. "Ilarax is bound to Magoth,
Bafamal is bound to Ashtaroth, and ... er ... Effrijim is bound to me."

Laughter flashed in her eyes. "That is correct. The last part
of the ritual involves you drawing and closing a circle with which you might
summon a being."

"
That's it?" I asked, a little stunned. "I just need to draw
and close a circle? I don't have to summon a demon or anything?"

"No. Applicants to the position of apprentice generally do
not have the experience or skill to do something so demanding as to summon a
demon."

Well, hell! I could draw a circle with my eyes closed. I
knelt carefully on the wood tile floor, accepting the piece of chalk she handed
me, drawing a circle about two feet in diameter. I didn't have any blood, ash,
or salt to seal the circle (all of which were used for varying purposes), but
since it wasn't intended to do anything, I pulled a strand of my hair out and
carefully laid it across the point where the circle started and ended. Then I
stood and called the four quarters, which had the effect of extending the circle
from the mortal world to the Otherworld.

"I guess that's it," I said, as I stood looking at the
circle.

"Yes, that is it. And it was very well done, too. I
especially liked the peace signs you drew as wards when you called the quarter,
A very unique and fascinating touch."

I gnawed my lip, wondering if my improvisation would count
against me, but Nora was smiling. She rubbed out the chalk circle with the toe
of her shoe and gave my arm a little squeeze. "You needn't look so worried,
Aisling. You completed the ritual successfully, and with seven minutes to spare.
I will inform the committee tomorrow morning that you have done so. You are free
to seek a mentor with the goodwill of the L'au-dela."

"Thank god. I don't think I could stand to be kicked out of
one more thing."

She walked with me to the elevators, and I wished with all my
heart that I could summon up the nerve to ask her to be my mentor. But I had
read the etiquette in the conference packet—it wasn't polite to pressure a
potential mentor. There were more apprentices than mentors, and some people
ended up waiting years before they found a mentor willing to take them under
their wing. Much as I wanted to beg Nora to teach me, I kept my mouth shut and
simply thanked her for making time in her schedule to oversee the ritual. "There
is one thing I'd like to know," I said while we waited for an elevator. "Why do
some people call it L'au-dela and others refer to it as the Otherworld?"

"The words are interchangeable, and it's just personal
preference which you choose to call it. L'au-dela is the closest approximation
to Otherworld to be found in mortal languages. Amongst other things, the words
translate to 'beyond,' which I believe is really a better name for the society
than 'Otherworld.' It's not an other world ... it's just a state beyond the
mortal one."

"Yeah, I guess that makes sense. I think I'll stick with—oh,
hi, Tiffany. Off to virgin?"

She stepped from the elevator clad in a length of translucent
silver material draped in toga fashion. It didn't take much of a glance to see
that she was naked underneath the material. "Good evening, Aisling. Good
evening, Nora. Yes, the Mages have contracted me to conduct cleansing rituals by
the light of the goddess. It is said that a drop of blood from a virgin under a
full moon will restore a man's virility and a woman's purity, will reclaim a
lost soul, and remove even the most stubborn tarnish stain."

"Wow," I said, trying hard not to laugh. "That's some
powerful blood you have!"

"Oh, yes, very powerful. Now you see why being a professional
virgin is such an important job. Just think of all the people whose lives I am
making better with just one tiny little drop of my perfect blood I AIL those men
able to make happy little babies, and women who will be able to be as they once
were. It is a gift I share with the many peoples."

"Selfless to the core," I said, giving her a little wave as
she headed toward the front door, where a group of men in expensive suits and
shiny shoes were waiting for her. "What I'd give to have that sort of belief in
your own abilities."

Nora laughed as we got into the elevator. She asked for my
floor number, pressing her own, just one floor above Drake's. "I suspect the
chastity she must embrace would soon have you wishing for a little less
self-confidence."

I slid a curious glance at her, aware that we had just a few
seconds before the elevator arrived at Drake's floor. Would I kill any chances I
had with her if I asked her what I wanted to know? No. My chances were long
since blown. It couldn't possibly hurt. "I realize this is going to sound very
invasive and rude, but I have a really good reason for asking. Have you ... have
you ever summoned an incubus?"

Her eyes widened just a little. "That is a very personal
question."

I couldn't help it. A faint blush rose under the mildly
offended look she was giving me. "I know it is, it's impertinent and nosy, and
honestly, Nora, I wouldn't ask it if it didn't have some bearing on something
important, but it does, and if you wouldn't mind telling me, I'd really like to
know."

"No," she said after a moment's silence. The elevator doors
opened on Drake's floor. I hesitated, wanting to ask her more but not wishing to
ruin the easy friendship we seemed to have fallen into.

"Do you know of other Guardians who have? Since they arrived
here, I mean?" I asked, grabbing the elevator door right where the electronic
eye could see my hand. The door bucked in an attempt to close.

She shook her head. "Aisling, I feel I must warn you. To
succumb to the lure of an incubus is a very dangerous thing."

"Dangerous? Dangerous how?" The door bucked again. I stepped
in front of it. "The ones I've met seem a little pushy, but not dangerous in any
way." Unless they wanted to sex you to death, that is.

"They can be dangerous in that women who resort to calling
incubi to fulfill their sexual needs quickly lose the taste for mortal men. They
can be satisfied only by incubi. They crave only their touch. They do anything
to have them, eventually going so far as bartering their souls. That is how an
incubi gains in power—he lives off the souls of the women he enslaves."

"Wow. I had no idea—"

She touched my shoulder gently as the door pushed against my
back, trying to shove me out of the way. "I tell you only because it's evident
you've been spending time with an incubus. I don't want to see you fall into
that trap."

How on earth did she know I'd been with an incubus? Was there
a sign? Maybe if there was, I could track down other Guardians who might know
something. "How did you know I've spent time with an incubus?"

She smiled a sad little smile. "You smell of incubi smoke."