Between Light and Dark (35 page)

An inky funnel formed, twisting and heightening as
Fiona and Reese continued to direct energy. Fiona's muscles
clenched with the struggle to control the wind tunnel. She glanced at Reese, whose face still wore the mask of Axiom.
The veins in his neck bulged with effort.

"Now!" she screamed, her voice barely audible to her own
ears above the din of the birds and wind. Reese must have
heard her, though, because he nodded and they pushed at
the tunnel as one. The energy force wrapped itself around
the birds and shot up and over the treetops, toward the east,
carrying the possessed birds in its lethal embrace.

Once the birds were vanquished, Fiona bent over her
knees, gasping for oxygen, unaware until that moment her
breathing had been shallow. An eerie silence took hold of
the forest.

Reese placed his hand on her back, rubbing circles. "You
alright?"

She straightened. "Yeah. But why do I think that was
just the beginning?"

The others hurried back out of the house. Thumper left
the safety of the steps and crossed to where Reese and Fiona
stood.

His eyes were huge. "Holy crap. Nice use of air."

Fiona shrugged. "You could have done the same."

Thumper shook his head. "Naw, my elemental magic is
only so-so. But just in case it comes in handy later, I think I
perfected my potion."

Thumper took his hand from his pocket and held out a
tiny vial of bright green liquid that sparkled in his palm.

Fiona's eyes narrowed. Thumper had been forever working on his secret project. She'd thought he would never finish it. "What does it do?"

Before Thumper could respond, a loud pop reverberated
through the night. It was soon followed by a hissing sound
as something flew by her. Reese hurled his body at Fiona,
taking both her and Thumper to the ground.

Dazed, Fiona struggled to sit up.

"Gunshot! Stay down!" Reese barked.

Fiona blinked, trying to see who was firing and from
where. Her heart raced. "Who would be shooting at us?"

"Finders," Thumper said. As though he'd called them
forth, two people emerged from the darkness, a man and a
woman. Both wore head-to-toe black. Both carried guns
and pointed them at Fiona and Reese.

"Guys, come on!" Dawna called from the doorway of the
main house. Fiona craned her neck. Dawna waved her
hands frantically, beckoning them to hurry.

Thumper heaved himself to his feet; Fiona and Reese
scrambled right behind him. The three raced to the steps
and sailed through the door, and Dawna slammed it shut
behind them. Fiona searched for Lynn and sighted her,
crouched low, back to the cupboards.

"Why wouldn't the Umbrae just attack?" Fiona directed
this question to Reese.

He gestured toward Dawna. "She's still wearing Laurell's
face. And I still look like Axiom. They're trying to distract
us so they can get to Laurell."

More gunshots rang out. This time closer to the house.
At the house. One bullet sailed through the back door, ricocheted off the countertop, and buried itself in the livingroom wall.

"Holy shit!" Thumper carefully lifted the bottom edge of
a curtain at the kitchen window. "They're climbing the
porch steps. They walk like robots." His eyes widened. "Are
there actual people in there?"

"Evil, rotten people," Lynn said.

"What do we do?" Dawna asked. "I wish my face was
mine again. Maybe they'd go away."

Fiona shook her head. "Or just get more pissed once the
Umbrae realize they've been fooled."

As if on cue, Dawna's features morphed from Laurell's to her own. Fiona's gaze flew from one witch to the next.
Everyone's faces had returned to normal. She glanced at
Reese. His jaw clenched. He'd noticed too.

Footsteps sounded on the stairs outside the kitchen door.
The wooden deck creaked and groaned beneath the weight
of ice, snow, and the Finders. Fiona made eye contact with
the rest of the group and jerked her head toward the living
area. Reese reached out and carefully slipped the kitchendoor lock in place. The group scurried into the living area,
with everyone crouching low.

Thumper cast a furtive glance Fiona's way. "Now what?"

Fiona pursed her lips. She groaned inwardly. She didn't
have time to think. They needed to act. "What does your
potion do?"

Thumper grinned. "Let's just say it's my version of working with the earth element."

"Can we use it against the Finders?"

Thumper's smile widened. "They'll be hating life."

Fiona held out her hand.

Thumper shook his head. "Uh-uh. You can't use it in
here. Not if you like your house."

Fiona gritted her teeth. "This better be one hell of a potion, Thumper."

"It is."

"Fine. Out the front door. And everyone start making a
racket so they follow us around the house." She looked over
her shoulder toward the kitchen. It was a little too quiet out
there. She'd expected banging on the door, more gunfire.
Something.

"Oh, goody, we'll be live bait." Sarcasm dripped from
Dawna's tongue. The girl was definitely herself again.

Coats were buttoned and gloves pulled on as Fiona hurried to the front door, the group following at her heels.
Once outside, the bitter air nipped at Fiona's cheeks and nose. She barely registered the cold. Her body hummed
with nervous energy and an adrenaline surge. She jogged
away from the house, toward the woods, and the rest of the
coven followed.

"Noise!" she reminded them. Everyone started hollering
at once. Reese yelped, "Yee-haw." She rolled her eyes at him.

The Finders took the bait; the man and woman rounded
the corner of the house and raced toward the group. The
female raised her arm, and moonlight glinted off the surface of her weapon.

"Thumper, now!" Fiona cried.

"Everyone down on the ground," Thumper commanded.
The group obeyed. Fiona's heart did a crazed jig, and she
hoped she'd made the right decision putting him in charge
for the moment.

Thumper's arm arched, and the vial sailed from his fingers, landing a few feet in front of the Finders. As soon as it
hit the snow, a loud explosion filled the air. Snow burst in
flurries, twenty feet into the air, and the ground shook. The
Finders were knocked off their feet. The woman shrieked
in surprise as her gun went flying and her body made impact with the ground.

The snow settled like white dust over the clearing. When
the Finders didn't rise, Fiona stood. Her ears rang from the
blast. She stuck her fingers in them.

"Huh," Thumper said, "the ground was supposed to
break open. I'll keep working on the potion."

Fiona raised her eyebrows. "I think it worked just fine."

Reese slowly ventured over to the two people lying on
the ground. He bent and touched his fingers to the neck of
the man. He then checked the woman's pulse.

"They're alive," Reese said. "Just knocked out."

"What do we do with them? We can't have them waking
up and trying to kill us again," Fiona said.

Reese frowned. "Good point."

"Why don't we tie them up good and just keep an eye on
them? Once the baby is born, he can rid them of the Umbrae's taint, right? Turn them good again?" Thumper suggested.

Fiona shrugged. "I'm not sure exactly how that works,
but it might be possible."

"Our other option is to kill them," Lynn offered.

The group exchanged glances. "Harm none," Fiona said.
"It would be different if we were forced to kill them in order to save our own lives. In this case, though ..."

"Killing them isn't necessary," Reese finished, strolling
back to Fiona's side. "Better make it quick, though. One of
them is waking up."

Thumper hurried to the house to fetch rope.

"Why aren't the Umbrae here? I thought for sure they'd
show up," Dawna said, pushing her dark hair out of her eyes.

Fiona grimaced. "My guess is they've realized our true
identities. Someone should call Laurell and let her know
what's going on. They'll do everything in their power to
figure out where she is now."

The female Finder groaned and tried to lift her head.
Thumper rounded the bend, dropped to his knees and started
wrapping rope around the woman's hands. Reese dashed over
to assist.

"But how can they find her without the yearning to
trace?" Lynn wondered.

Fiona brushed snow from her stomach and sighed. "They
found her here, didn't they?"

At six-thirty the next morning, Laurell sat up in bed with a
start. She glanced around the room and struggled to orient
herself. The floral wallpaper was familiar. So was the antique wood furniture. Her hand brushed the lump in the
bed next to her, and she shifted. He was definitely familiar.

Axiom lay on his stomach, arms flung above his head
and twisted beneath his pillow. His head was turned toward
her. Thick, ebony hair curled over a brow smooth and free
of worry lines. Black lashes feathered his cheeks. She was
overwhelmed with tenderness for this man. She pushed the
lock of hair out of his eyes.

Images of the night before flashed through her mind.
The last time we'll make love. Her throat constricted at the
thought.

She knew it to be true. The baby was due any time now.
And any time now, Axiom would return to the Light Realm.

Laurell slid from the bed, careful not to wake him, overcome with deja vu. It wasn't so long ago that she'd left a
bed she'd shared with Axiom in order to avoid him. How
silly she'd been. She should have been cherishing every
precious moment with him. I'll just make us some breakfast.
And once he wakes up, I'll ask Hillary to help me bring it to him
in bed.

Then I'll tell him how much he means to me.

She pulled on a long, black skirt and a bright red sweater. She glanced furtively around the room for her
purse. Downstairs. Along with her toiletries. She made her
way down the staircase carefully, taking small steps.

The sound of the refrigerator door opening and closing
echoed in the quiet house. "Who's there?" she called.

"Just me. That you, Laurell?" Wayne poked his head
around the corner and smiled. He flashed her a grin. "You're
up early."

"Couldn't sleep."

"Breakfast?"

"Yeah. In a minute." She found her bag in the library
and took it to the half bath. She'd just finished brushing
her teeth when she heard a rustling noise outside the front
door. This was followed by a thud.

She dropped her toothbrush in the sink, wiped her mouth,
and made it to the door at the same time as Wayne. He
opened the door slowly. A man sat on the ground approximately ten feet from the porch. At about the spot where the
protection spell barrier would be. The man rose and blinked,
clearly dazed.

"Is anyone there?" he called. He peered at the invisible
wall in front of him and held his hands out tentatively. He
tapped at the air in front of him, shaking his head in confusion.

"Oh, right, he can't see us inside the circle," Laurell said.

"Nope," Wayne confirmed. Then, "You know this guy?"

"He's the family lawyer. He's okay," she said. She started
out the door, but Wayne's arm barred her way.

"Lemme check him out first. We can't be too careful."
He crossed the porch and descended the steps, then halted
in front of Abrams. Wayne scrutinized the other man.

Abrams continued to stare at the air in front of him,
pushing at the invisible wall. "What the devil is this?" he
muttered.

Wayne shrugged and turned to Laurell. "He's no Finder.
Should I cut him a door?"

She nodded. "Please."

Wayne lifted his hand. Ruby-colored light sparked from
his fingertips as he slashed a rectangle in the air. A red line
remained, hovering in the shape of a door.

Wayne stepped back. "Come on through."

Abrams's jaw hung to his chest. "Where did you come
from?"

"Come on in, mister. Laurell says you're okay," Wayne
said.

Abrams stepped through the door and turned, watching as Wayne closed the door again. The red lines faded.
Laurell was impressed by how quickly Abrams regained
his composure.

The lawyer made his way to the porch and climbed the
few steps with a wary expression on his bland features. He
paused in the doorway, eyes wide as he took in Laurell's
protruding belly.

"Congratulations," he said.

"Thanks."

He tilted his head and tapped a finger to his chin. "I
apologize for my confusion, but it has been only a few
months since last I saw you. Yet your pregnancy appears to
be rather advanced." He ran one hand over his nearly bald
head. "Dear lady, are you carrying twins? Triplets?"

Laurell gave him a half smile and took his arm, pulling
him into the house. "Come in and have some coffee. There's
a lot to explain." She led him to the kitchen and sat him in
a chair just as Hillary appeared, dressed for the day and wearing a grin too big to belong to the morning.