The Banshee's Desire (16 page)

Even as Jacqueline tried to calm down, tried to keep up with the conversation, she could hear and see Gwydion torturing Toby, demanding to know where she was.

He wouldn't break. He would protect her at all costs.

And Jonathan Spark wanted him dead.

She let the anger transform her, enjoying the shock on Jonathan's face and the raw terror on Finn's as her banshee features came into place.

Their life forces flickered like candles, and she focused on them, oblivious to almost everything else, even Gabe's voice.

"Sounds like you've been hard at work, grandfather, making plans for my father. But I've been making plans, too. My intention in making this deal to bring you the Box of Souls was to get close to you--the man who wanted me dead, who broke my mother's heart with his cold demands. Giving you Jacqueline was just a way to meet you, to be in the same room when you died." Gabe glanced at Jacqueline. When he looked back at the
Sparks
, a cold smile was on his face. "To tell you the truth, I hadn't expected you to play into my hands so easily--but you know just the right things to piss off a half banshee, don't you? In fact, I'll leave the killing to her. I like to watch her in action. It was nice to finally meet you. See you in hell."

He moved out of Jacqueline's way.

Toby's cries of pain echoed in her head as Jacqueline stood before them.

The sound of the Spark men screaming in agony was music to her ears.

Gabe grimaced and watched Jacqueline sprawl on the floor, a half smile of rapture on her face. If he hadn't seen her rip the souls of both Spark men free, he would have thought she'd just experienced the best orgasm in the world.

Then again, maybe that's what it was like for her.

Oh, if Toby could see her now, his precious half banshee that he loved more than anything else. Wouldn't he be disappointed with her? But then again, Gabe had thought Toby would be outraged about the death of Matilda, and while he'd sensed that his father had been hurt and torn up with indecision over it, there was none of the dark rage present that Gabe had hoped for.

The image of Toby on the screen flickered as Jonathan Spark's magic faded.

Damn. He'd been too hasty in letting her kill the old man. How would they find the Brotherhood now?

Gabe stayed just out of her sightline, the Box of Souls ready to be used when she regained her senses enough to try and turn on him.

And he knew she would.

He'd studied the story of Efa and her conquests closely, noting that the young girl had not only spun out of control due to the murdered souls always surrounding her, but because of the amount of wizard souls she had absorbed. Gabe figured wizard souls must have a little more a magical boost to them as opposed to a regular mortal. Since the
Sparks
were the first wizard souls she'd ever taken, he doubted she'd be able to contain her hunger for more.

He clutched the box tighter.

Jacqueline stirred on the floor and her eyes fluttered open. For a long moment, she stared at the ceiling, a look of deep peace on her face. In those few seconds, Gabe saw her as his father must have: beautiful, wild, and deeply sexual.

But then she turned to him, the look melting into pure hatred.

"I'm going to find Toby," she said, sitting up. "And then I'm going to deal with you."

"Really?" Gabe tapped the box gently with his finger. "I think you need another time out."

"I'm of more use to you out here."

"Sorry. Can't trust you, Jacqueline."

"Who said anything about trust? That will never be something we share. I just want to find Toby. With all your powers, you must know where he is."

"Actually, I don't. Not yet. Wherever the Brotherhood has him, it's strongly guarded. Jonathan wasn't lying about that.  Probably every wizard in the world has put some sort of enchantment on the place which makes it hard to find."

"So you don't have any idea where he's at?"

"Are you sure you want to find, Toby? I mean, after what just happened in here, odds are good he won't be pleased. You just killed again. We both know how he feels about that."

"He's been my rock these past few months, helped me when I couldn't help myself. It's my turn to be there for him, even if he doesn't want me anymore."

"How romantic."

But it wasn't Gabe that spoke.

He turned to see a woman with long black hair standing in the doorway of the room. The woman smiled and ran a hand over her dark black dress. Her skin was pale, almost white, but it was her eyes that disturbed Gabe. They were deep ebony.

"Hello, Jacqueline." The woman looked at Jacqueline and shook her head as a mother would to a child that's misbehaved. "What am I going to do with you?"

"Who is this?" Gabe raised his free hand to ready a spell. "A friend of yours?"

"This is Death, Irish Division." Jacqueline sighed. "She's kind of a bitch, so watch out."

"Now, Jacqueline, you're only saying that because all encounters thus far have been unpleasant ones. We should go to lunch some time. Make it a girl's day out or something. I'm not so bad when you get to know me." Death crossed her arms. "But again, I can't help but wonder what I'm going to do with you. I thought for sure our last conversation would have done the trick and you would start behaving."

"I'm…sorry," Jacqueline lowered her eyes, but not before Gabe caught the fear that flitted through them.

"Why are you here?" Gabe asked Death.

"Why are any of us here? It's an old question, one I've never been able to satisfy myself on." Death smiled as he frowned. "Oh, lighten up, wizard. A little existential humor never hurts anyone."

She raised one of her hands, and Jacqueline gasped when she found herself lifted up and pressed against the window of the room, held by the unseen force of Death.

"You and I have some business to take care of, my dear. I told you to behave. I told you the consequence of reaping souls that don't belong to you and aren't ready to be released from the mortal plain. But you didn't listen." Death tilted her head to the side and her eyes flamed with an orange fire. "You've forced my hand and it's your humanity that will be taken from you. Morrigan demands it!"

Jacqueline twisted against the window, struggling to free herself. Energy crackled around her and the TV screens on the opposite wall exploded, sending glass shards everywhere. Her eyes turned green and she stared down at Death, ready to do battle.

"Better be careful. She just consumed two wizard souls and is juiced up from their powers," Gabe said, taking a cautious step forward, trying to figure out how to best play the situation.

"Her humanity is her downfall. She can't control the effect it has on her power. In death, she'll be as she was meant to be--a banshee who takes only those in her line." Death glared at Jacqueline. "She already had one warning and proved she can't take direction. Not in this form anyway."

Jacqueline twisted her head to see Gabe.

"Toby. No matter what happens here," she whispered. "Save Toby for me."

A pang of conscience tugged at him.

And for some reason a vision of Angela flashed through his mind.

Damn. Why couldn't anything be simple?

"Wait," he said to Death. "What about making a deal?"

"A deal?" Death sniffed. "Yeah, right. I don't make deals with mortals anymore. It's no fun and humans always cheat."

"What about with me? Would you make a deal with me?" Jacqueline gasped for air. "I'll let you kill me if you grant me one favor. That way your problems will be solved and your boss will be happy. Otherwise, you can expect me to start putting up one hell of a fight. No way will you take me without one."

"Hmm…now there's an interesting idea." Death slowly lowered Jacqueline to the ground. "What did you have in mind?"

"You have great power, right? You can come for anyone."

"This is true."

"Then take me to Toby. Let me say goodbye to my love. Then I'll go with you. No fuss. No worries. Please," Jacqueline begged. "I just need to see him one more time."

Gabe held his breath, wondering if Death would grant the request.

"Interesting," Death said after a moment. "The energy in this room is very interesting."

"What do you mean?"

"You both want the same thing. I can feel it as easily as I hear your thoughts, wizard." Death flicked her hair back arrogantly and pointed a long finger at him. "You may have power, but you're still a human so I know every little idea that trickles through your brain better than you do. You want me to grant the request so your dad can be saved. But you have plans, plans that don't include your father. There are dark musings rumbling around in your head that can lead to my mark landing on many that want to stand in your way."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Gabe said, but he looked away, unwilling to meet her gaze.

"Sure you don't. Keep telling yourself that." The disbelief in Death's voice was hard to ignore. "Alright, Jacqueline. Here is the deal. I take you to Toby. You say your goodbyes and then I get to kill you."

"Alright."

"One more thing. You've killed again. Even though the
Sparks
’ were complete assholes, they still weren't meant to die yet. So punishment is in order." Death rubbed her hands together in anticipation. "What shall it be?"

"Isn't killing her enough?" Gabe asked.

"After the two wizard souls she just reaped, I think further punishment is in order.  If I take her life without that, she becomes a full banshee, destined to go about her job without consequence for what has occurred here. I'm talking about punishing her for upsetting the balance of nature. I could take your life, but I don't think it would mean that much to her." Death thought a moment and then snapped her fingers. "I've got it. We'll keep it simple. I'll kill you in front of Toby. He can watch you die and you can see what true heartbreak looks like."

There was silence in the room.

Jacqueline nodded slowly.

"Then it's done." Death waved her hands and the room began to spin. "I hope true love is worth it, Jacqueline."

Gabe found himself hoping the same.

****

He was cold and his body screamed in pain.

It felt as though someone had stuck a thousand sharp pins in him at once, slowly pushing them in one at a time. Hell, maybe they had.

The dawn approached, burning off the fog that had drifted around him all night. Toby had lost track of how long he'd been tortured, but the pain seemed to be everywhere at once. They had begun his abuse inside the castle, but the wizards were so carried away with the process that they'd decided they needed more space.

Trussed up to a tree outside the old gray ruins of Antrim Castle, Toby stared at the dark ground, barely able to lift his head at the approach of the three wizards whose turn is was to beat him now. Magical ropes burned at his arms, legs and body, securing him in place and keeping him from using any of his magic to transport or otherwise escape.

"Are you ready to give her to us, Williams?"

The wizard who'd asked was called Foster.

Toby spit on the man's shoe.

"Fuck you," he said, and smiled grimly at Foster.

The three wizards glanced at each other, small smiles on their faces, and then Foster closed his eyes and hummed. One of the long, inflamed whelps on Toby's stomach opened again and blood gushed from it. Then, through magic, the inside of the wound began to burn and ache, as if someone was scratching a long fingernail against the tissue.

He bit back a yelp of pure pain.

"You can't hold out forever, Toby. So far we've just worked on the body. Next we'll move on the face. I believe I'll start with your eyes. Plucking them out will bring me great joy," Foster said.

"I'll die before I let you have Jacqueline."

"There is no need for that." Gwydion materialized beside him. "We have her."

Toby looked up at the wizard.

Was this a trick?
Had to be. They couldn't know about the Box of Souls. Couldn’t know how to get to it.

"You're lying," Toby said. "You're desperate and you're lying."

"She was in the Box of Souls. That's why I couldn’t find her earlier. Her…scent…was cut off from me. But it's free now. Clear as a bell. Now I can practically taste her vengeance floating through the air." Gwydion chuckled and rubbed his wrinkled hands together. "Such anger is inspiring."

"You might not think so when it's directed at you."

"I welcome it. In fact, I look forward to it."

"I thought you ran from it last time. Like a coward."

Gwydion frowned and anger flashed in his eyes.

"Careful boy. Your family was once a favorite of mine. I had hopes of you one day picking up your father's seat on the council. So you better behave or I won't let you watch when I skin her until nothing but bone remains."