Into the Fae (6 page)

Lucian eyed her dubiously. “Exactly. Wolves touch their mates freely and often, but I do not ever remember seeing mated pairs talk so open about their intimacy.”

Peri tried not to laugh at the
confused look on Lucian’s face. “Well, you might want to get use to the whole touchy feely thing because more than likely we’ll be going to America in our hunt for the healers.”

“What does that mean?” he asked as he took her hand and they once again headed back towards the Romanian mansion on foot instead of flashing.

“It means you ain’t seen nothing yet. And I totally mean that literally.”

Chapter 4

“There shall only be certain females chosen in a bloodline to become healers. The healer’s spirit will be pure and her heart will be selfless. Life shall flow out of her like healing water into the Pack that she serves. She will bring hope where there has been none, light where darkness has taken over and peace where turmoil has reigned. She is to be treasured and protected from all malevolence because there is no greater depravity than to take something meant for good and glorify evil with it.” ~The Great Luna

“There are no more witches left alive?” Volcan asked Lorelle for the third time.

Lorelle
was beginning to think that being alone for the past several centuries hadn’t done anything to improve Volcan’s sanity.

“Desdemona was the last of her kind and Vasile, the Romanian Alpha, killed her just a few months ago,”
she told him yet again.

She could feel disbelief and anger flowing around her and she was surprised by the amount of power his spirit seemed to
wield. Not that she frequently came in contact with non-corporeal beings that were supposed to be dead, so how would she know how much power they should or should not have?

“Focus
, Lorelle,” Volcan’s voice snapped her from her musing. “The situation is grimmer than I had originally thought. But no matter, that won’t change our plans.”

“Our plans?”
Lorelle asked hesitantly not really wanting him to elaborate on it but understanding she needed to know just how deep she was in.

“You didn’t come here by chance
, Lorelle,” Volcan’s voice took on a story teller like quality. “You were brought here by your subconscious, answering a call that I sent out. You see, I need a body to possess until I have the power to get my own back. There is only so much of my magic that I can use without a physical form. So I sent out a call and you, my dear, are what answered it.”

“I don’t remember hearing a call,”
Lorelle said trying to keep the fact that he had just completely creeped her out, from her voice.

“Like calls to like
, Lorelle, you know this. Your own black heart is drawn to the darkness in others and it heard the call even if you did not.”

“
That really brings a whole new meaning to the term
follow your heart
,” Lorelle muttered under her breath.

“I see that
you are blessed with the same foolhardy wit that your sister had. That’s too bad for you,” Volcan said dryly, obviously not impressed by her sarcasm.

“In case you have forgotten so soon after having been told, I am the one who killed my sister. I’m not exactly harmless,” she snapped.

“Then there is hope for you yet. I will need to possess your body to cast a seeking spell.”

“What are we seeking?”

“Gypsy healers,” he answered.

“We don’t have to seek for any, I already know of one. There were two, but one of them took her own life to save the lives of her pack mates,”
Lorelle explained with no emotion in her voice.”

“You must not understand the value of a healer if you allowed one to die,” Volcan challenged.

“How valuable can they be if they aren’t willing to cooperate? It’s not in the nature of a healer to harm; how can you possibly use their magic if they won’t bend to your will?” She asked.

“Everyone has a weakness
Lorelle, and if you can exploit that weakness you can get them to do just about anything.”

Lorelle
crossed her arms in front of her chest and rested her hip against the wall. She looked around the foyer, trying to see if she could get a read on his magic. If she could pinpoint his spirit, she could locate him, but her mind was such a terrible mess that she couldn’t focus. She knew there was no way out of the castle now that Volcan wanted her here. She wouldn’t be allowed to leave until his will released her. Like it or not, she was stuck.

“I have been informed that there are several young gypsy healers out in the wide world as we speak. They are unaware of their heritage, and not under any protection. You are going to retrieve them for me.” Volcan’s voice had taken on a purring quality as he spoke of the healers.

“Informed by whom?” Lorelle asked.

“I have eyes and ears
all over, Lorelle. You might want to remember that once I send you out to do my bidding. I may not have a physical form, but that does not mean I cannot wipe your pathetic life from existence.”

She fought the urge to
do something totally childish and human like flip him the bird, and settled for a frown and sullen silence instead. Not as satisfying, but quite a bit safer she was sure.

“Now,” Volcan’s voice was close again, right next to her ear. “If you will just relax this will be painless, but if you fight me, then it will b
e quite the opposite.”

Lorelle
braced herself for the invasion and tried not to think about consequences of letting another magical, powerful being have access to her own magic and power. She tried to seal off any parts of her mind that she didn’t want Volcan to have access to but as soon as she felt his power begin to push its way into her body, she knew it would be useless to resist him. He was incredibly strong. Her blood felt as though it were a wire pulsing with electricity through her veins. Her skin warmed and the hair on the back of her neck stood on end.

She expected to lose herself once he entered her mind, but she was still there, still able to move her arms on command and turn her head.
At the same time, she was fully aware of him in her consciousness. He was right there, as if he were standing next to her, and when he commanded her brain to blink, she blinked.

“Why can I still control myself if you
possess me?” Lorelle asked.

“It can be a battle of wills, or you can
freely allow me to give your mind commands. If you do not readily submit then the stronger one of us will prevail,” he explained.

“Fine,” she huffed, “let’s just get this over with.”
Lorelle didn’t want him to get to cozy inside of her body lest he decide to commandeer it for good. She heard Volcan’s voice again, only he was not addressing her, he was chanting.

“
Ancient blood flows through their veins,

Healing magic in them reigns.

Gypsy born yet they live a lie,

For their location I
now scry.”

Lorelle
felt a sharp cut across her hand and gasped as she looked at the slice in her palm. Then she was holding stones in her bloody palm. She felt her hand shake and then she tossed the blood coated stones to the floor. Her body knelt down, seemingly of its own accord, but she knew that it was Volcan who was calling the shots. She looked at the stones now scattered on the floor and watched as Volcan discerned their meaning. She had never scried before, it was blood magic and fae did not practice blood magic unless it was absolutely necessary.

“The stones say to go
West. The healers reside in a land barely in its infancy—a young land where technology and industry rule instead of magic.”

“America,”
Lorelle muttered.

Volcan stood back up and closed her eyes and she felt his power beginning to swell inside of her.

“The fae have always been the Great Luna’s tool in protecting the healers. I call on the blood of this High Fae, Lorelle and command your obedience.”

Lorelle
’s heart began to pound like a two ton boulder against her chest as Volcan’s words took power and wrapped themselves around her blood. He was using her own magic against her and there was nothing she could do to stop him. She felt violated as he took control of something as sacred as her magic. He had sliced her hand and had her blood to do with it as he pleased.
Stupid Lorelle
, she thought to herself.

“
Find the healers in this young land,

Make their blood a beacon in the night,

Draw them out, place them in her hand,

Wrap them up so she holds them tight.”

Lorelle felt him leave her body and didn’t try to stop the sigh of relief that fled her lungs. She squeezed her eyes closed and concentrated on expelling the last bit of his magic that lingered. Then suddenly she felt a pull inside of her and she knew immediately that Volcan’s spell was working. The healer’s blood was crying out to her, calling her to them.

“You will follow the pull and
, one by one, you will bring me those healers,” Volcan commanded.

Lorelle
gave a curt nod instead of answering because she knew if she opened her mouth whatever came out was just going to get her killed, sooner rather than later.

“Go,” Volcan’s voice growled at her.

She flashed from his castle to the edge of the dark forest and felt instantly lighter once she wasn’t in the presence of the evil that was Volcan. Lorelle took several deep breaths and closed her eyes. She focused on the magic that was flowing in her veins, foreign to her body because it wasn’t her own. In order to do what Volcan had commanded, she was going to have to listen to it and follow its lead. The sooner she got those healers to Volcan, the sooner she could be devising an escape plan to get away from the fae who had taken evil to a whole new level.

∞

Peri watched as Rachel, the Romanian Pack gypsy healer, pulled an old and rather worn book from the shelf behind her desk. Rachel set the book down and a layer of dust puffed out from between the pages.

“I take it this isn’t one that you refer to very often?” Peri asked.

Rachel smiled her sweet smile and replied in her soft spoken manner, “It isn’t very often that I have to use my magic in a non-healing manner.”

“Pssht,” Peri scoffed, “Now you’re just telling lies. Ever since you and your mate came out of hiding you’ve been using your magic for all sorts of things besides healing.”

“Guided by you,” Rachel countered. “You are asking me to do something without your assistance that isn’t healing. That’s going to take a little research.”

“Well
, by all means, please consult the big, old, dusty book.” Peri hopped up onto one of the long counters, pushing beakers and plants out of the way. She crossed her legs and prepared to wait while Rachel attempted to figure out a way to seek out their quarry with the use of her magic. Peri’s mind drifted after several minutes to the conversation she’d had with Sally, the Serbian Pack healer, earlier that morning.

“I wish I could help you Peri but I just can’t leave right now,” Sally had told her in her sweet southern voice.

“You aren’t even staying with your pack, what does it matter if you leave the continent for a few days?” She’d asked, even though she had known what the healer would say.

“Jacque is pregnant;
you know that if there is a healer with her the chances of a successful birth are much greater. If you are taking Rachel, then I need to stay.”

Peri knew she was right. Jacque needed a healer with her, especially when she went into labor. Jen hadn’t had one with her when her child was born and it
was a miracle that she lived. Of course, Peri was convinced if the little girl was anything like her mother then she was just too ornery to die. Truth be told, Peri was being selfish because she figured if she had two healers then they would find the five girls more quickly and then she could get back to taking care of her sister. That’s what it all came back to—Lorelle. But then, what did she expect when her own sibling tried to end her? Those with immortality tend to be quite stingy with their life, and usually get pretty freaking ticked off when someone tries to take them out. Peri was beyond ticked, she was hurt and confused and that just made her all the angrier.

“I think I might have found something that will work,” Rachel’s soft voice broke through Peri’s thoughts.

Peri pushed herself off of the counter and walked back over to Rachel’s desk. “Let’s hear it.”

“It
’s an ancient finding spell used by the gypsies when the clans suspected that there was a healer among them that hadn’t been revealed,” Rachel explained as her eyes continued to scan over the yellowed pages. Her eyes narrowed and then her lips tightened. “Sally isn’t going to like this.”

Peri cocked a hip out to the side as she crossed her arms in front of her. “Why
? Do you have to sacrifice a puppy?”

Rachel’s furrowed brow deepened. “Well no,” she said quickly.

“Castrate an elephant?”

“No.”

“Hold Jen’s baby on a cliff overlooking the animal kingdom and sing Circle of Life?”

Rachel let out an exasperated breath. “Are you done?”

Peri shrugged. “After the things I just said, I’m betting it doesn’t seem so bad now.”

“We both have to give up one of our ovaries,” Rachel blurted out.

“I stand corrected. Sally is going to hate that and all my ideas were way better,” Peri conceded.

Suddenly
, Rachel started laughing. “I was joking, Perizada; we don’t have to give up one of our ovaries.”