Between Light and Dark (10 page)

Her eyes popped open again at a movement to her side,
and she registered the burst of heat accompanying it. The
Umbra released its hold on her and she tumbled to the
ground, gasping for air. She could see again.

A flash of silver. A man standing in front of her. Axiom.

His hands were raised toward the creature, emitting
streams of light. The creature writhed and squirmed, letting
out a hideous squeal. Axiom's face contorted, as though the
effort pained him. The creature still reached for her. She
could finally make out its eyes, crimson specks of light, focused on her.

Someone yanked her to her feet and away from the Umbra and Axiom. Wayne. She'd never thought she'd be so
grateful to see the burly man. She crumpled against him and held on to him tightly. But she couldn't tear her gaze
from the battle being waged in front of her. Axiom grunted
and another burst of light blazed from his hands, thicker
and more brilliant, edged with sparks of silver.

Finally, the creature retreated. The air opened up and
sucked the thing back into the hole it had crawled out of.

"You okay?" Wayne stepped back from their embrace and
studied her face, squinting, trying to see her in the darkness.
She shivered and nodded.

A moment later, Axiom stood next to them, his hand on
her arm, his grip viselike. He was breathing raggedly, his
expression haggard, as if the battle had taken a toll.

"How'd you do that?" Laurell muttered, her teeth chattering.

Axiom glared at her, but didn't answer.

Laurell's brow knitted. Axiom was pissed at her? Bullshit.
She was pissed at him first.

Silently, the three trudged back to the car, which was
parked on the side of a dark, country road. Laurell didn't
bother to protest. It would have been pointless. She was
shivering hard, and her legs were Jell-O. She stumbled once,
twice. She couldn't seem to keep her balance on the uneven
ground. Eventually, Axiom must have grown tired of her
bumbling. With a low growl he scooped her up in his arms
to carry her the rest of the way.

Laurell held herself stiffly. "I can walk."

"No, you cannot," he responded. "And we do not have
time to waste."

When they reached the vehicle, Axiom tossed her inside
unceremoniously, and then climbed into the front passenger
seat next to Wayne. Axiom threw a blanket over the seat to
her without so much as a word.

Her eyes shot daggers at the back of his head. She couldn't help herself. Anger was easier to cope with than
the fear she'd experienced at the hands of the Umbra.

They drove in silence. It seemed hours passed, though it
was probably only one. Finally, she couldn't take the silence anymore.

"Why did you come after me?" she asked. "Why can't you
just find someone else to knock up?"

She didn't miss the frustrated shake of Wayne's head, or
the way Axiom tensed at the question. Wayne glanced at
Axiom as though to say, Who's going to answer this ridiculous
question-you or me?

Axiom spoke, his words flat and measured. "We have discussed this at length. You are the chosen one."

Laurell shrugged off the blanket, suddenly warm. She
rubbed her fingers over her eyes, exhaustion making her
limbs heavy. The shock was starting to wear off. She wanted
to sleep, but questions bubbled in her brain like a pot of stew
on a hot stove. If she didn't get some answers, she might just
boil over.

"There's got to be more to it than that," Laurell insisted.
"If this was just about me volunteering for the gig, then I
wouldn't be worth the trouble to follow. You could just go
pick up whatever girl fits the number-two volunteer slot."

Wayne spoke this time. "You'll understand the rest once
we reach Fiona's. If you can behave yourself until then, we
might just be able to keep you from getting yourself killed."
Laurell's gut clenched at Wayne's condescension.

"You act like this is all my fault. You kidnapped me, remember? I'm the one being forced to have sex with a stranger.
And you blame me for trying to get away?"

Neither man answered her question. Wayne watched her
from the rearview mirror. "Has Axiom filled you in on the
Finders?"

"I don't think so," Laurell said.

"They are the human tools the Umbrae use to do their
dirty work. The Umbrae can control folks who have let
their dark sides get out of balance. They can also tap into
people whose minds aren't their own-say, from drugs or
alcohol. Unfortunately, we ran into just such a Finder at
the gas station after you took off."

Before she could respond, Axiom turned in his seat and
glared at her, apparently deciding to join the conversation.
"If you did not understand the urgency of our situation before, I hope what happened tonight has made it clear. Not
only could you be dead right now, but others, innocents,
could have died because of your actions." He ground out
his last words with venom.

The air shimmered with Axiom's power, and Laurell's
skin crawled.

Fiona the witch had emerald eyes and cherry red hair that
brushed her shoulder blades. Laurell thought the woman
resembled all the witches in the fairy tales her grandmother had read to her as a child. Beautiful. Powerful.
Young. In her mid-thirties at the latest. At the moment,
though, with her jaw set and her eyes hard, Fiona did not
seem some fairy-tale character. She was a very annoyed,
very human woman.

Fiona had met the new arrivals at the entrance to her
property after Wayne called her on his cell phone. The iron
gate at the foot of a very long driveway opened, but before
they were allowed to pass through, Fiona made quite a
show of pulling a long sword from beneath her black cloak
and cutting an imaginary door in the air around the gate.

After the three drove through, Laurell turned to see Fiona
using the sword in the opposite direction, as though to close
that same imaginary door behind them. What's that red flash
at the edge of the sword? Laurell squinted her eyes shut and
opened them again. The crimson glow disappeared.

"What did she just do?" Laurell asked.

"Who, Fiona?" Wayne glanced in the rearview mirror at
Laurell.

"I saw her wave a sword in the air and then red light came
out of it." Or at least, she thought that was what she'd seen.

"She was cutting a door in the protection circle around
the property. It's not as tough to do as you might think."

"You mean a literal door? Using what, magic?" Laurell
asked.

Wayne shrugged. "The cutting of the door isn't a big
deal. The magical part is the casting of the circle. From inside the circle anyone could cut the door. It's trying to get
in from the outside that would cause problems for most
folks."

Once they'd driven for another mile, they stopped the
car and Wayne and Axiom got out. Laurell watched from
inside the vehicle as they waited for Fiona to pull up behind
them on her golf cart. They spoke briefly with the witch,
though Laurell couldn't make out their words.

Axiom opened the car door then, and stuck his head inside. "You are safe here. Fiona will show you to your cabin.
Try to get some rest." Then he and Wayne disappeared inside the main house.

Laurell frowned and stepped from the car. Where the
heck were they going?

"Follow me," Fiona instructed, then turned and stalked
away as though it were inconceivable that Laurell would do
anything else.

As she followed Fiona across the property, Laurell's feet
sank into mud and leaves. It was dark, but tiki torches and
solar lights lit their way.

Fiona glanced down at Laurell's feet. "Hope those aren't
expensive shoes. We've been getting a lot of rain lately."
Fiona grimaced at the sky as though angry at the weather's
lack of cooperation. "Completely unseasonable, all this damn
rain." Fiona's dislike of Laurell was clear.

Moments later, the witch halted so suddenly, Laurell
almost walked into her. They stood in front of a cabin, which sat in the middle of a circle of similar buildings.
Fiona motioned Laurell inside. "This is where you'll be
staying."

Laurell glanced around the cabin. A queen-size bed sat
in one corner with a nightstand beside it. A double dresser,
comfortable brown chair, and side table completed the furnishings. Laurell noted a small bathroom to the right. The
place was small, but had a warm, cozy feel with its earthtoned decor, shag rug, and wood floor.

"Our coven, Hidden Circle, holds spiritual retreats here
several times during the year. Usually for the Sabbats, but
sometimes we also hold special, focused gatherings for things
like learning alternative healing modalities," Fiona told her.

Laurell glanced up from her perusal of the room. "Sabbats ... that's a pagan thing, right? Some sort of seasonal
celebration?"

"You know something about paganism?" Fiona raised an
eyebrow as though she doubted such a thing.

"I took a class on paganism in grad school. I'm no expert,
but I've learned a few things," Laurell told her.

Fiona shrugged, clearly unimpressed. "Too bad. I was
hoping training you would be easier."

Laurell frowned. "Exactly what are you training me in?"

Fiona looked at her as though she were dim-witted.
"Witchcraft, of course."

Laurell didn't know how to respond. She set her bags on
the floor. "I don't understand."

"This isn't easy for me either. I've never had to train a
natural witch before. And obviously, I've never done it under such pressure. I hope you're ready to work hard, because
I'm not going to go easy on you."

Laurell stared at her. The antagonism was just too much.
"Someone tried to kill me tonight. Strangely enough, it's making it hard for me to follow you right now." If she'd expected this admission to gain sympathy from Fiona, the attempt failed miserably.

Fiona's expression was blank. "We can talk tomorrow.
Meals are in the main house. Breakfast is at eight A.M.
sharp. Don't be late. I'm not here to be your personal servant, and I'll be cleaning up by eight forty-five, whether
you've eaten or not." And with that, Fiona stomped out the
door and slammed it shut behind her.

Laurell sat on the bed. Nope, definitely no sympathy to
be had here. What the heck had she done to make Fiona
dislike her?

Suddenly she felt more alone than she ever had in her
life. There was no point trying to escape again, even if it
was as easy to cut a hole in the magical force field around
the place as Wayne had said. It was one thing to risk her
own life, but she wasn't going to be responsible for endangering other people. And according to Axiom and Wayne,
that's exactly what she'd be doing.

She sighed. Now that she'd seen the Umbrae up close
and experienced their power, she was no longer so certain
she was willing to risk her own life.

At least she had a soft bed, and for the first time in days,
some privacy.

Axiom took one last sip of coffee and set his cup in the sink,
surprised at how much effort that small movement took.

"What are we going to do about Laurell?" Wayne's voice,
tinged with concern, echoed through the all-but-empty
kitchen of the main house. Fiona had explained earlier that
the rest of the coveners were in bed. It was almost three in
the morning. She had poured both Wayne and Axiom a cup
of coffee before heading to bed herself. It was eerily quiet.

Axiom shuffled back over to the table and sat across from his friend. "I do not believe she will try to escape
again. For all her bravado in the car, she was very frightened tonight."

"Hopefully she gets it now," Wayne murmured.

"I think she does." Axiom stretched, tilting his head to
each side. "Not that I expect her to be any less difficult to
deal with."

Wayne chuckled. "'Difficult' is a nice way to put it."

Axiom shrugged. "I am hopeful she will soften with
time."

Wayne tugged his cowboy hat lower on his head. "It would
sure make it easier to make love to her. I wouldn't wanna try
to force that woman to do anything."

Axiom frowned. "I will not force her. In fact, I plan to focus on engaging her in friendship. If I can gain her trust, it
will make the mission go more smoothly for all of us."

Wayne nodded. "No doubt, but, ahh"-he shook his
head-"good luck with that."

Wayne's words rang true, but Axiom brushed them away.
She will come around. She has to, he thought. "This body is
almost depleted. I must rest," he announced, standing.

Wayne eyed him warily. "Are you sure you're okay by
yourself? You look pale. I know using the yearning like you
did kills your energy. And then fighting off that Umbra.
That had to be draining."

Axiom's shoulders tensed. "Your concern is appreciated,
but I will be fine after I sleep."

"Well, 'night then," Wayne said.

"Good night." Axiom left the main house and found his
way to his cabin. He paused momentarily in front of Laurell's cottage, his closest neighbor. The lights were out, and
he sensed she slept. Something he must do, as well.