Guardian of My Soul (10 page)

“Nothing in our world could possibly warrant something like
this to come into it,” she insisted. Her voice wobbled but there was a core of
steel determination beneath her insistence.

“What do you think you will lure an elder with? A silly
little entrapment charm? A pathetic binding spell with no meat or strength
behind it? Those were the whispers you immediately dismissed, girl. Mine was
the voice you sought and listened to, so heed me well. Nothing less powerful
than this will work as bait. Now, if you truly had guts I could give you a
better spell. Scribe this: on the fourth twilight of the waning moon, the
caster shall pick five leaves of ivy to work as the base. For the demon
possession only the lowest leaves are strong enough to contain the soul of—”

“Enough!” Sally screamed, her cry rending the air as if it
were a knife cutting through flesh. The whisper didn’t stop but she tuned it
out and could thankfully no longer hear more.

Some things, she knew, no one could possess knowledge of and
survive intact. She had toed the line in the past, and possibly now she
continued to press her luck. All of a sudden she missed Kyle with an ache she
could not bear. Sally turned on her heel and ran away.

In her heart she never would know whether she ran from the
voice, from temptation—for the lure was there—or simply ran to the only solid,
reliable, honest thing she had ever possessed. Her love and the strength of her
feelings for Kyle were real, pure and good.

She needed him now more than she needed to take her next
breath.

On and on she ran until her legs shook from exhaustion.
Sally paused to regroup and catch her breath. Tears filled her eyes as she
realized in this endless landscape she could not run or walk as one usually
did.

In near overwhelming panic she realized she didn’t
understand how she could return to her love. She wasn’t certain of the way home
anymore.

Gasping in deep breaths, Sally sat down where she stood,
held the notebook tightly in one hand so she would not lose what little she had
managed to accomplish. Calming her mind with a breathing exercise she got her
heart rate under control and grabbed a firm hold of herself. She softly talked
to the general air around her as she sorted out what she could do.

“I’m inside myself, inside the labyrinth of my own brain.
Running is not going to solve anything. I need to reconnect to my external self
and release my internal demons.”

“Sal!” she heard Kyle’s voice once more calling out for her.
Sally kept her eyes closed but focused all her heart and mind’s attention onto
the wizard who held her soul. Carefully she drew every touch and caress they
had shared the night before into her mind. She sniffed until she could smell
his scent and once again feel the smoothness of his leather jacket around her
chest and neck.

“Kyle,” she spoke softly, willing with everything she had
inside her to be by his side once again. She thought she heard her partner call
her name once again, but she wasn’t certain. Sally pressed harder, recalled how
Kyle’s cock had felt thrusting inside her body, how his soft sac had trembled
beneath her stroking fingers.

Behind her closed lids the light seemed to shine brightly
and then disappear, off and on multiple times as the temperature around her
heated and then cooled sporadically. Pain seared through her body and aches
stung in muscles she didn’t even know were on her body.

“Sally! I’m here,” Kyle’s voice came strongly from nearby
her left ear. Sally gasped and her eyes flew open, her head turning to where
she felt the warmth of Kyle’s breath brush over the back of her neck.

“Kyle!” she cried out hoarsely, relieved and ecstatic as she
saw the wizard whom she loved more than anything. She threw her arms around his
neck and she leaped into his embrace. Kyle wrapped himself around her and he
lifted her off her feet, swinging her around.

Their bodies pressed intimately close and had she not
remembered at the last possible second she would have dropped the notebook
without a care in the world.

“Where are we?” she asked, realizing for the first time she
had not yet returned to her casting room.

“We need to get just over there,” Kyle replied, his voice
muffled as his face was still pressed intimately against her bare neck. He
nodded to one side and she turned her head and saw the faint glow of her
candles.

“When you dropped your pen I got worried,” he explained. “I
gave you a few more minutes and then came after you. This time you met me
halfway. I’m so proud of you. You didn’t need me at all, had I not interrupted
just now you’d have made it all by yourself.”

Sally grinned and lowered her head to his shoulder,
breathing deeply of his light scent and drawing him inside her every cell.

“I’m glad you met me anyway,” she replied honestly. “Come
on, let’s go home.”

Kyle let her fall back onto her own feet but their bodies
remained pressed tightly together. Kyle took the hand that didn’t hold the
notebook, linked their fingers together and in step with each other they moved
toward the orange glow of her candles. Moments later Sally drew in a deep
breath and her eyelids fluttered open.

The familiar surrounds of her spare room met her eyes, Kyle
seated cross-legged beside her, his thigh brushing against hers.

“My circle,” she said sharply, concerned something evil
would follow them back. Kyle hushed her and lay a warm hand on her thigh.

“I closed it immediately around me after I entered,” he
replied as cool and calm as ever. With his free hand he gestured to the salt
circle of protection around them and she saw it had indeed been recast, closed
and powerful around them both, protecting them and the outside world from harm.

Sally sagged in relief, a thin thread of guilt for doubting
her partner for even a second stabbing her harshly.

“I should have known, I’m so sorry,” she apologized
genuinely. Kyle waved a hand dismissing her words.

“No need, love. I know the fear was unconscious and well
meant. I’m not offended.”

Sally shifted her weight, leaned up on one thigh and tenderly
brushed her lips against Kyle’s. His hands captured her face and held her
steady as they greeted each other properly. Sally once again wrapped her arms
around her lover to draw them close, but paper rustling distracted her.
Realizing she had completely forgotten the notebook she mumbled against Kyle’s
lips, reluctant to dispel the sensual intimacy between them.

After a moment he pulled back and took the book from her
hand. Sally noted the ink she had written the ritual in had bled slightly, the
pages curled and the paper itself appeared almost aged or oxidized. Sally made
a distasteful face as Kyle scanned her words, not even making it half way down
the first page before he tossed the entire notebook to the floor a few feet
away from them both.

“I don’t even want to know,” he spoke firmly, repulsion
clear in his tone. Sally bit her lower lip. She worried now he knew something
so evil lurked within the darkest corners of her spirit it might taint his view
of her. She remained silent, not sure what she could possibly say.

He turned to face her and just that single glance helped
ease her mind. Kyle drew her into his lap and they sat huddled together as if two
small children against the whole world.

“I was going to destroy it,” she tried to explain in a small
voice. “But then the darkness started to talk of a ritual that I think was
meant for preparing a live wizarding vessel for possession of a demon and I
stopped him. I cut the words with my tone and ran away. He taunted me, called
me foolish to think anything less evil and powerful would act as a lure. I didn’t
want to believe him, but—”

“No, sweetheart,” Kyle insisted softly, cutting her words
off. “The demon had a point. We would simply have had to modify anything not
powerful enough that you had returned with. You did amazingly.”

“I can’t believe I had something so evil inside me,” she
whimpered. “There was even worse knowledge and power lurking beneath the
surface also. Kyle, I’m a hundred times more tainted than I had even realized.”

“No, baby,” he soothed her, soft kisses scattering over her
cheeks, forehead and neck as he peppered her with tenderness. Sally clung to
him and tried to fight the tears that threatened to overwhelm her.

“Sally, can’t you see how magnificent and strong you are?”
Kyle asked tenderly. “Anyone else, anyone would have crumbled and fallen long
before now. You have the strength not only to carry this weight, but also to
resist the temptation to give in to the easy path, Sally. We all have darkness
within us, most are never pitted against it. You, love, have clawed your way
back twice now and still have the power to fight against it. You’re amazing.”

Sally felt the weight of conviction Kyle so obviously
believed hang on his every word. She snuggled into his embrace and they sat
silently together for a moment as she weighed his words, tried to absorb them
deep in her soul.

They enjoyed the quiet moment for a short time before Sally
finally sat up and purged the last of the stale air from her lungs. She smiled
at her wizard and lightly brushed their lips together one last time.

“We should call Morgan, update him on what’s we’ve
accomplished,” she suggested. Kyle nodded as she climbed up out of his lap.
When she had regained her footing he lithely followed her.

“I think you should do the honors,” he added with a proud
smile. Sally felt her smile blossom and her cheeks flush faintly from the
praise. She tilted her head to the side, considering.

“I might gloss over the particulars of just how we came into
possession of this,” she proposed. “I’m not sure I want anyone, including
Morgan, knowing for a fact how I obtained this. People gossiping and
hypothesizing is one thing. Wizards knowing for a fact is an entirely different
matter.”

“It doesn’t bother you that I know for a fact?” Kyle suggested
in a low tone. Sally smiled at him, attempted to ease his concern.

“Not in the least. You know there’s never been secrets
between us,” she pointed out logically. “Besides, if I can’t show you my
hidden, most foul secrets, whom could I possibly trust with them?”

Kyle beamed at her and Sally picked up the fallen notebook
by its spiral binding. The paper felt awful to her and she scrunched her nose.
Silently she rummaged with her free hand in the drawer of her desk and pulled
out a small paper bag. With a sigh of relief she dropped the notebook into it
and folded the top down a number of times.

A slight stench of foul energy still managed to escape
through the porous paper, but the thin barrier helped Sally not feel quite so
violently ill. She carried it out of her casting room and placed it carefully
on the low table in the entry way, next to her old-fashioned landline
telephone.

Kyle walked a pace behind her, close enough to show his
support physically but not crowding her with his presence.

She lifted the receiver and Kyle recited Morgan’s number
from memory. She quickly punched it in and waited while the lines hummed to
connect. As the tone sounded on the other end she tilted the receiver so both
she and Kyle could listen to the conversation simultaneously.

Kyle leaned closer, his body hovering above hers, his head
tilted to the side so his ear rested only a few inches away from the side of
her face. Distracted by the closeness of his presence she hardly registered the
phone being answered.

“Morgan Knightsburgh,” Morgan’s deep voice boomed through
the line.

Even though she heard his greeting, Sally’s mind remained
riveted to Kyle and his closeness to her. Kyle nudged her gently and Sally
gulped, slightly embarrassed.

“Morgan. Sorry. I was…this is Sally Bowry here, how are you?”
she stammered, feeling rather flustered.

She didn’t need to catch the wry grin that crossed Kyle’s
face as she could see it out of her peripheral vision. Just to prove she could,
Sally elbowed Kyle back in the stomach. Although she didn’t do it very hard, he
still grunted in acknowledgement of the hit.

Petty it certainly was, but it helped her feel as if her
life returned to a more even keel.

Kyle struggled to get his breath back. Sally’s hit hadn’t
really hurt him as such, but he’d still felt it. The fact he had to smother
laughter didn’t help him draw oxygen into his lungs either. It was wonderful to
see the fiery, feisty Sally back and kicking. That made the gesture completely
worth a few seconds of discomfort. When Morgan replied to Sally’s greeting,
Kyle’s attention was riveted back to the conversation.

“Sally, of course,” Morgan said in his smooth tone. Kyle
could picture the large, dark-skinned, elder wizard sitting behind his desk as
he stared out the window. His short-cropped white hair would be immaculate and
his suit would be freshly pressed, just like always.

“I do hope you are both well. Have you and Kyle come up with
something for me?” Morgan prompted.

Kyle cast a quick look to Sally. For some reason he couldn’t
fathom she appeared to be hesitating. He nodded and indicated she should be the
one to tell him. A quick, circular roll of his hand pushed her silently to get
on with it. True, their plan had been hatched together, but she had been the
one to do the dangerous work and so it should be she who got the credit for it.

Sally bit down enticingly onto her full lower lip. Kyle’s
eyes lowered to the seductive motion. Her succulent flesh tempted him but he
forced his wayward thoughts onto their task at hand. Pressing her back against
the wall and ravishing her while the Tribunal elder listened over the line
would not aid their professional reputation any.

Such an act might help assuage the burning desire that
heated his blood, but now was not the time. Thankfully, Sally spoke and
distracted Kyle once again from his lusty thoughts.

“Each line of inquiry Kyle and I have pursued has turned up
empty,” Sally informed the elder with her usual brutal honesty. “We both
thought it might be better to try another approach for now.”

“That sounds interesting,” Morgan replied when Sally paused.
“I’m listening. What did you both decide?”

“Clearly as the traitor has not been noticed until this time
and has left no obvious gossip or trail to him or herself they have patience as
well as intelligence. We believe that a richly baited trap would have the best
chance of success,” Sally answered convincingly. There was a brief silence as
Morgan appeared to think this suggestion over.

“Okay,” he drew the single word out more slowly. “I’m
following you so far. As you have both already discussed this matter I presume
you have something to bait the trap with?”

Kyle smiled and cast a brief glance to his partner. Sally
didn’t outwardly smile, but as she caught his gaze she nodded once to indicate
she understood the unspoken support. Had Morgan not been intrigued by their
plan he would have said so immediately. The large, dark man was famed for his
brutal honesty. He was not a wizard to pander to anyone’s ego or coddle another
just so their feelings wouldn’t be hurt.

“Of course,” Sally said. “We have…uncovered…another tainted
ritual. I must warn you though, it is possibly even more powerful and corrupted
than the one you put into Kiera and Joshua’s safekeeping. It is a soul-binding
ritual. A strong one.”

Morgan sucked in a hasty breath and a thick silence
permeated from the other end of the line. It took him almost a full minute to
speak after Sally had laid their cards upon the table.

“If the ritual is as corrupt as you say, then the whole plot
carries a great deal of risk,” Morgan said bluntly but not unkindly.

Pride welled in Kyle as his Sally rose with spirit to the
unknowing challenge hidden within Morgan’s statement.

“Anything designed to capture the attention of the traitor
will carry a high risk,” she insisted firmly. “Anyone powerful enough to be a
Tribunal member and also be rogue won’t waste their time on a shallow,
meaningless piece of parchment. They have remained hidden for who knows how
many years. Their darkness has flourished and been unremarked upon, or at least
subtle enough to not draw any undue attention or they would have been
apprehended long ago.

“A Mage like this, so canny will not make the foolhardy
mistake to strike out for anything other than a greatly coveted item. This is
especially true so soon after the blatant attacks on both Kiera and Joshua,”
Sally continued with barely a pause for breath. “Only a very large, extremely
desirable payoff will tempt our rogue out from their comfortable mask at this
stage.”

Sally’s entire speech was one of the longest and most
strongly worded he had ever heard her express outside their private
conversations together. While the belief and actual words did not set off alarm
bells as such for Kyle, he worried about the almost rehearsed aspect of the
speech. For a brief moment Kyle wondered if she had already thought this entire
scenario through a whole lot more than had originally registered with him.

He pushed away the thought before he could become distracted
by it. It didn’t matter to Kyle. Her argument was convincing and steeped in
logic no one, including Morgan Kingsburgh, could deny.

“I can see you’re not taking this lightly,” Morgan commented
after a protracted silence while he evidently thought Sally’s words through. “While
it distresses me to think we will have to get down into the gutter and fight
the traitor with their own level of tricks, I agree there doesn’t appear to be
another way to draw him out.”

Morgan paused, the line crackling faintly as the silence
filled the air between them. When the quiet lengthened, Kyle decided to add his
weight to Sally’s earlier comment.

“Sally and I are prepared to do the work on this,” Kyle
explained. He hoped to push Morgan that final inch into agreement by outlining
a logical, workable plan. “What we need you to do is turn up to this afternoon’s
emergency Tribunal meeting and lay the foundation. I know you and many of your
colleagues are concerned by the seeming influx of dark rituals, you’ve
mentioned it a few times recently.”

“How do you know about that?” Morgan cut Kyle off. His voice
had a dangerous edge to it, but Kyle kept calm, understanding the instant, gut
reaction of suspicion and paranoia. Keeping his tone soothing, without being
fake or placating Kyle calmed the elder wizard.

“The minutes to all non-closed meetings are published
publically, Morgan,” Kyle reminded him. “When Sally and I were first brought
into this mission I read up on you and followed the last few months of minutes
from the open meetings. We like to know the situation we’re getting ourselves
into.”

“My apologies,” Morgan replied as soon as Kyle finished. “This
last week and more have been fairly stressful upon me. I forgot my manners.
Please, continue to explain how you’d like to proceed.”

“No problem, Morgan, I understand,” Kyle reassured him. “I
think if you take the floor at some stage during the discussions at this
afternoon’s meeting and state that sources of yours have discovered another
manuscript and something must be done, then it would bring the presence of the
ritual to the traitor’s attention without appearing too blatant.”

“You could also wait until the other Tribunal members
questioned you and then show some hesitation and explain it’s a potent
soul-binding spell,” Sally added in thoughtfully. “I don’t think you should
actually name us, though.”

“Do you think the traitor will be able to connect the dots?”
Morgan questioned. Kyle and Sally exchanged a glance, each asking the other
silently before Kyle nodded. Sally seemed to agree with him.

“It won’t be too hard,” Kyle assured Morgan. “We can send
out a few small nuggets of information, leave a faint trail. If we ask a few ‘casual’
questions to specific contacts of ours word will spread. We can cover that.”

“I’m not sure how keen I am to place you both in such
danger,” Morgan mused. “The traitor hired people and appeared to give them very
specific instructions. The only reason they were ordered to not outright kill
Kiera and Josh was to invasively and forcibly steal their memories. Anyone else
was considered free game. I have no doubt if the traitor discovers a similar
document in your possession he won’t hold back. Are you sure you’re both
comfortable with that?”

“We have gone up against far more dangerous foes,” Sally
replied. She sent a warm glance to Kyle and he grinned. He felt his heartbeat
quicken and wrapped an arm around his partner. He squeezed her shoulder warmly.

“We’ll be fine, Morgan,” Kyle added his own weight to Sally’s
insistence. “You just need to set the stage. Sally and I will be prepared for
when this is unleashed. We’ve won against worse odds. I presume you want us to
capture the traitor if at all possible? To stand trial?”

“I would be more comfortable with that outcome, yes,” Morgan
replied, seeming to understand from the subject change that neither Kyle nor
Sally wanted to discuss the danger further. “I know you’ve both given oaths and
evidence before so your word of honor about how this ends and the proof whom
the traitor turns out to be will be enough. Having said that, things will be infinitely
smoother should we actually have the Mage to stand trial.”

“We understand,” Sally replied. An easy silence fell briefly
while they all contemplated the varied ways in which this could pan out. Morgan
spoke after only a short moment.

“I’d appreciate a call when this has all resolved itself,”
he said. “And please take precautions. We’ve come awfully close to losing to
this traitor a few times now. I’d hate for this to end poorly.”

“We can do that,” Kyle answered. “You might want to consider
some protection for yourself as well. The traitor may decide it easier to force
you to speak of where the ritual is and whose charge you left it in. For
someone who doesn’t think twice about killing indiscriminately, torturing
information out of you is not much of a step.”

The weighty silence on the other end proved the thought hadn’t
yet entered Morgan’s mind. His voice was husky and a little thick when he
finally replied.

“I appreciate your concern,” the wizard spoke. “I’ll make
sure to have my Guardian come in for a meal after the meeting to keep me
company for the evening. Thank you.”

The three of them said their farewells and Sally hung up the
phone. Kyle loosened his hold around her shoulder, but after replaced the
receiver she turned back into his embrace, her arms wrapping tightly around his
waist. Heat and love filled his chest until he felt as if he would burst from
happiness.

Her head rested against his chest and Kyle knew she could
hear the steady beat of his heart since her ear lay pressed against the thin
cotton of his black tshirt. He rested his chin on the top of her head, her
shampoo smelling faintly of strawberries and mingling with the scent of his
soap and the still underlying scent of her violet perfume.

“Will you be all right?” he asked her softly, his heart in
every word.

“What do you mean?” she asked, her words only faintly
muffled by her cheek being pressed against his chest. Kyle laughed softly, a
brief puff of air against the silkiness of her long hair.

“If you feel you’ve done enough for this mission I’m happy
to take it from here,” Kyle offered. “I know how exhausted you must feel after
delving so deeply into your personal darkness. I don’t want you to think you
have to stay and watch my back. I can take the notebook and make the calls. You
could get out of the city. Maybe recuperate for a night or two up in the cabin
if you like.”

A few years ago Kyle had purchased a small cabin in the
Illinios Beach State Park. From the moment he had first seen it, he had known
the place would be a perfect getaway not only for himself, but also for Sally
when she needed to meditate or just escape the bustle of everyday life.
Secreted away, hidden between the popular beach and the less crowded wetlands,
the small cabin was rustic, but perfect for a weekend getaway or occasional
retreat.

Both Kyle and Sally had used the cabin often by themselves,
and more rarely together when they needed some space after a particularly
hectic mission and the need to recharge and get away overwhelmed them.

“Kyle, beloved, you’re sweet and I know you’re just trying
to protect me,” Sally sighed as she squeezed her arms tightly around his waist
before letting go and stepping back. She raised her head so their gazes could
lock and he could see the truth and sincerity of her words.

“I’m not going to leave you while this is half done,” she
finished. “Especially when we’re only just scratching the surface of the
dangerous work now.”

“Scratching the surface?” Kyle repeated, torn somewhere
between feeling bemused and outraged. “You call submerging yourself in the
darkness of your soul, writing out a ritual heaven-knows-what brought forward
for you and that has made you physically unwell just scratching the surface of
the danger? Baby, I think you’ve faced more than enough for one day, don’t you?”

Sally shook her head, her bangs falling into her eyes as she
brushed the past away with one casual wave of her hand.

“We needed me to do that,” she replied lightly. “We don’t
need you to put a huge target on your back and then get rid of your only
trustworthy backup. Me. Come on, let’s be serious now.”

Kyle watched, entranced as Sally frowned thoughtfully and
paced a little up and down the hallway.

“We have the notebook with the ritual,” she mused. “And
obviously I’ll need to kit up since we don’t know how much power we shall be up
against. We can also drop by your place again, so you can pick up anything you’ll
need tonight. But then where do we go?”

Frowning now too, Kyle was going to make a suggestion but
Sally clicked her fingers and interrupted him before he could speak.

“Of course! The cabin. There’s plenty of isolation around
there, no one innocent will be caught in the crossfire.”