Between Light and Dark (12 page)

That afternoon Laurell met the rest of the coven.

"Everyone, this is Laurell," Fiona announced as she introduced the newcomer to the group of men and women reclining on blankets in the midst of a clearing. Laurell didn't
enjoy being in the spotlight. She cringed inwardly, but forced
her spine straight and gave the group a weak smile.

Axiom was nowhere to be seen.

Fiona continued her introductions, starting with Reese,
whom she seemed to treat with a possessive air. Besides
Reese, Fiona, and Wayne, the coven consisted of a heavyset, middle-aged African-American woman named Hillary,
who went by the nickname Hill; a slender forty-something
blonde named Lynn; a petite black-haired goth girl named
Dawna; and Thumper, clearly right out of college, who had
close-cut dark hair and wire-framed glasses that slipped
down his nose just a soon as he pushed them up.

Laurell tilted her head to the side and eyed Thumper with
interest. "So where did you get a name like Thumper?"

He shrugged and glanced at the ground. "I guess the
coven thinks it's cute or something."

"What's cute?" Laurell asked.

"The coven was practicing psychometry, you know, touching something to get information about the past or future?
Anyway, he kept thumping the object against his head trying to get an answer," Fiona said, flashing Thumper an affectionate grin.

Thumper nodded and became engrossed in studying his
watch. His shyness was almost painful to watch. "I'm more
into potions. I'm working on one now."

"A potion for what?"

"I don't exactly know yet. The formula came to me in a
dream."

"He was a chemistry major," Fiona said, as though this
should explain everything.

"Nice to meet you all," Laurell said. Hillary was the first
to stand and embrace her in a warm, patchouli-laced hug. The others followed suit, with Reese taking advantage of
the situation to linger just a tad too long with his hug.

His impish grin and shrug, however, made it impossible
to take his actions seriously. Laurell's mouth lifted in a half
smile, and she rolled her eyes at him.

Her eyes narrowing at the byplay between Reese and Lautell, Fiona turned to face the group. "Laurell and I are going
to start training now. I'll get each of you to assist when the
time comes for her to learn your particular area of specialty,"
Fiona told the group. Everyone dispersed quickly.

"Follow me," Fiona instructed Laurell and set off
through the woods. Not knowing what else to do, Laurell
followed. She hated being ordered around.

Laurell stepped in between the branches to find herself in
the center of a circle of oaks. The towering trees leaned forward, their branches almost completely enveloping the blue
sky above the circle, save for a large enough opening to let
the sun-and, she guessed, the moon-shine through. In
the east, a huge, carved wooden statue of a hawk stood at
least five feet tall. Attached to it were real feathers of some
sort, which lent the creature a lifelike appearance. A dish sat
at the foot of the hawk, half-buried in the dirt. It held the
remnants of burned herbs. Laurell breathed deeply. The
scent of sage clung to the statue. A soft breeze swept over
her, stirring her hair, delicious beneath the heat of the sun.

Laurell sensed Fiona watching her and turned to the
other woman.

"Go ahead, walk the circle and connect with the elements. In the east, you've encountered the element of air.
In the south, it is fire. The west holds the element of water.
The north is where you'll find the earth element. In each
direction, at each elemental altar, stop and feel the element outside you and inside you."

Laurell didn't know exactly what Fiona meant by feeling
the elements, but she dutifully walked the circle. She was
first compelled toward the west, intrigued by a fountain in
the shape of a mermaid. She stopped to gaze at the fountain and breathed in the lavender-scented water. She
crouched and touched her finger to the water.

Fiona came up behind her. "Think about what water is,
what it represents. The blood in your veins. Our bodies are
mostly made of water. Water symbolizes your emotions. It's
what moves us to get in touch with our inner selves."

Laurell continued to peer into the pool of water, her reflection gazing back at her. A furrowed brow. Round eyes
narrowed. Lips pursed. "Breathe in and out a few times and
close your eyes. Try to tap into your sources of pain, your
raw places. Ask the water element to wash them clean, to
soothe."

Laurell obeyed. She closed her eyes tight and let her
mind drift to the past. She thought of the father she'd never
known, of the times in her life when she'd felt most alone.
Her fingers tingled where they still touched the fountain.

"Open your eyes slowly and look."

Laurell's lids fluttered open and she glanced at the fountain. Water flowed upward toward her fingers. Just a little,
but enough to make it clear something magical was happening.

"Don't let it go," Fiona instructed. "Think of more
things that have hurt you and release them to the water."

She recalled a scolding voice telling her she couldn't
wear a particular dress because it made her look heavy. A
look of disapproval when she asked if she could cut her hair
short so it wasn't so much work to fix each morning. Years
of pregnant silence between mother and daughter. The water immediately fell back to the fountain and the tingle in
her hand ceased. She glanced at Fiona, who was frowning.

"Try it again," she said.

Laurell concentrated, pulse speeding up, willing the damn
water to move. Nothing.

Fiona looked annoyed. "I don't think you're trying as
hard as you can. You've got to put your heart into it."

"How can I?" Laurell objected. "I don't even want to be
here."

"That's obvious. Maybe you should remember the sacrifices others have made to get you here safely. Like my
sister."

Chastened, Laurell turned away and walked to the southern altar, which held a statue of a dragon and a fire pit
where embers still released smoke from a recently extinguished blaze. Without being asked, she closed her eyes and
strove to sense the fire element. A moment later, heat flared
over her feet and legs. She opened her eyes to find Fiona
standing beside her with a lighter in hand. She had lit the
fire. Laurell stepped back from the flames.

Fiona took Laurell's hand and held it out over the fire,
not close enough to touch the blaze, but near enough to be
slightly uncomfortable. When she would have pulled back,
Fiona gripped her hand tighter.

"You can't run from the flame. Pull it into you and feel
your own spark within, your own passion. Fire feeds the
soul." Fiona's words washed over her with a hypnotic, dreamlike quality, and Laurell's lids shut once again. Heat flared
low in her torso. A current pulsed through her body, settling
near her groin, and crimson light filled her eyes.

"Good," Fiona encouraged. "That's it. Now open your
eyes and direct your focus to the fire."

Laurell did as told. Her eyes flickered open and she
willed the heat inside of her toward the flames. The fire
flared and jumped, its flames bursting so much higher, both
women leaped backward, away from the blaze.

"Holy shit! " Laurell exclaimed. "Did I really just do that?"

Fiona laughed, eyes wide with amazement. "I guess you
won't need much assistance working with fire."

Laurell's breath came out in short little pants and a familiar electricity sprang to life in her veins. Uh-oh.

"Oh no," she muttered.

Fiona frowned. "What is it?"

Laurell clasped her hands over her lower abdomen and
grimaced. "I think the fire exercise triggered the yearning."

Raw pleasure rippled through her, and she stifled a
moan. She grimaced, then willed the walls of protection
into place, absorbing the sexual energy deep inside herself.
A moment later, she sighed with relief. The warding had
worked. Half expecting to see Axiom appear in response to
the brief sizzle of yearning, Laurell glanced around the circle. She and Fiona remained alone.

"Have you seen Axiom today?" Laurell asked. She'd
looked for him after talking to Reese that morning, planning to demand an explanation as to why he was withholding information. She'd pounded on the door of his cabin,
but no one answered.

"He's been sleeping most of the day. I checked on him
earlier and he mentioned an energy depletion from your
run-in last night with that Umbra," Fiona said.

"Oh." Laurell's gut clenched with guilt. She bit her lip.

Fiona raised an eyebrow. "You okay?"

Laurell nodded. "Yeah. The yearning's gone. I guess I'm
getting better at warding." She grimaced. "I hate this, wanting someone I don't even know."

Fiona shrugged. "I can think of a lot worse things than
having sex with Axiom. In case you haven't noticed, that is
one hot man."

Laurell frowned and ignored the comment. He was hot,
yes, but exasperating, too. And I'm still being forced to have sex with someone I just met. "Whatever. I just can't wait until this is all over and I don't have to deal with the yearning
anymore.

"You know," Fiona began, eyes narrowed with disapproval, "you don't sound thrilled with your role in the mission, but it's-"

"An honor. Yeah, so I've been told." Laurell didn't care if
she sounded bitter. She knew the mission was necessary,
but she didn't have to like it. "I've been reduced to breeding stock."

Fiona frowned. "You know, there was a time when people saw pregnancy and birth as a magical, honorable, spiritual process. When the Goddess and her life cycles were
something to be revered."

"I know about the Goddess movement," Laurell muttered.

"From your scholarly studies?" Fiona raised her eyebrows.

Laurell nodded. "And I'm just a person. I'm no goddess."

Fiona laughed. "You're wrong. All women are reflections
of the Goddess."

Laurell shook her head. "Look, all I know is that I want
the yearning gone. I'm willing to do my part to save the
world, but I'm tired of feeling forced into it."

Fiona sighed. "I agree the yearning is a bit much. Desperate times call for desperate measures, I suppose." Fiona
shrugged. "You won't have to deal with it too much longer.
I've been told that once you conceive, the yearning goes
away.

Laurell perked up at those words. "Really?" Why had the
thought never occurred to her? It made sense. The yearning
existed to force her to mate with Axiom and conceive the
Earth Balancer. Once that objective was completed, the
yearning would be unnecessary.

"That's my understanding," Fiona agreed.

"No yearning means Axiom's power over me goes away
too, right?" Laurell could barely contain the rush of hope
flooding through her.

Fiona's eyes flashed with comprehension. "So you want
to get pregnant quickly then, is that it?"

Laurell grinned. "Hell yes, if it means I might actually
get my life back."

Fiona sighed and shrugged. "Then I guess you'd better
think about some seducing, hadn't you?"

Laurell's stomach clenched. Damn. She hadn't really considered that part yet. Her sexual expertise was limited, and
the thought of trying to entice Axiom made her heart palpitate.

"You look scared," Fiona observed, eyes narrowed with
what Laurell couldn't help reading as barely constrained
amusement-at her expense.

Laurell's spine stiffened, and she stood, brushing dirt from
her pants. Her stomach grumbled. "I'll be fine. Thanks for
your concern.

Without giving Fiona a chance to keep her there with
another list of magical tasks to complete, Laurell stalked
toward the main house in search of some food to satisfy her
sudden and ravenous hunger. Damn the yearning.

Axiom stepped from the shower, skin dripping with moisture and hot from the heated spray. He slung a towel around
his waist, knotting it loosely on one hip, and glanced in the
mirror. His eyes still flashed with their usual silver gleam.
He'd known they would, but was still reassured. Last night's
battle had shaken him more than he wanted to admit. The
long rest, however, had restored his energy. He felt strong
again, renewed.

A knock sounded at his door, and Laurell entered the
cabin without waiting for his response. She stood with
hands on hips, eyes narrowed.

"You appear upset," Axiom said.

Laurell made a harrumphing sound in the back of her
throat. "Do I?"

Axiom nodded.

"Well, maybe that's because you haven't been telling me
the truth. One thing I can't stand is being lied to," Laurell
exclaimed.

Axiom frowned. "I have told you no lies."

"Lies by omission are still lies," she insisted. "First, you
tell me that once I learn to ward, I can control the yearning. All the while, you have the ability to bust through my
ward whenever the mood strikes you."

"I never said I did not have the ability to break your ward,"
Axiom remarked, confused. Was this what she was upset about? Warding? "I apologize if I did not sufficiently explain
the mechanics of the warding. Rest assured that although I
can break past your wards, I will only do so when absolutely
necessary. It causes an energy depletion best avoided." He
reached out one hand to touch her shoulder and offer reassurance. She backed away from him. His jaw clenched. He
disliked when she withdrew from him.