Marked by Death (The Godhunter, Book 4) (23 page)

“
Take into you all that I hold. Drink of my life and live forever, for I am the Guardian of the Grayel and it is my right to succor you and sustain you. It is my magic that you consume and I give of it freely. Do you accept it willingly?”

Whoa, that had a touch of communion to it. All we needed was some bread. At least he’d referred to magic and that I could handle. I looked at the delicate carving on the cup, unable to recognize what culture it stemmed from. Well duh, I thought suddenly, it was Atlantean. Of course I didn’t recognize it.

Fenrir’s discreet cough made me realize I was procrastinating. I looked up and Jesus smiled gently, patiently holding the cup like he could stand there forever. He probably could.

“
I do,” I reached for the cup and drank down the bright liquid, feeling immensely grateful that I wasn't saying those words to Anubis.

Sweet, like a honeysuckle, with the kick of moonshine. It was a shooting star of a flavor, breathtaking but gone in moments. The magic shot through me, rushing through my veins and swirling around my body like the winds of change. My very cells felt invigorated, revived. My wolf started to howl, the lioness roar, my jaguar finally came out from hiding, and the butterflies of my love magic rose up to flutter madly about. I was filled with laughter, love, and strength. Then it hit the piece of death Anubis had left behind.

I was flung to the floor, someone thankfully took the cup from me before it could fall, and my body went into horrible spasms. I felt my head thrum against the white carpet until someone cradled it in their lap and stilled it. My legs kicked out and my arms flailed but I felt the elixir wining. I felt and saw the light inside me brighten till it was blinding, and cowering before it was the darkness Anubis had put there. The light pushed the dark out of my pores like it was a mere nuisance, sending it back to its master.

In moments, it was done and I found myself cradled in Trevor’s arms. He was stroking my face, my hair, and the crook of my neck. I knew without feeling for it that Anubis’ scar was gone. I was free. But I also knew that Thor’s mark was gone with it and I wasn't sure how I felt about that. I struggled to sit up and reach out to ol’ JC. He grinned and came over to take my hand.

“Thank you,” I whispered hoarsely.

“
From Godhunter to Goddess,” he pushed his glasses up onto his head and his eyes sparkled like topaz at me. “I think you were always destined to become one of us. Welcome to the family, Goddess of Love and Lions.”

“
Goddess?” I looked over at Fenrir and Trevor, the only two who’d been allowed to come in with me. They nodded, looking way too serious. “Can’t I still be the Godhunter? I kinda liked that title.”

“
Sure, Minn Elska,” Trevor kissed my cheek. “You know you’ll always be my Lady Huntress.”

“
I’m Anubis-free now?” I turned back to Jesus.

“
Yep, one hundred percent Anubis-free, all organic Vervain,” he leaned in and winked at me before putting up his glasses, “and Thor-free as well.”

“
And Blue,” I said as I realized there was one more scar I'd forgotten. At least I'd made up with him. The one good thing to come out of the whole mess.

“
Thank you,” I looked over at the J-man and laughed a little.

“
What’s so funny, kitty cat?” Jesus gave me a half smile.

“
I just never imagined I’d be saying thank you to Jesus,” I let Trevor wrap an arm around me to lead me out. “Take it easy, J-Man.”

“
Peace, Godhunter.”

Chapter Twenty-Nine

A living room had never looked more wonderful, more achingly lovely, more perfectly what I needed. One step inside my house and my breath left me. The air flew from my lungs to become a part of the air I’d left behind and the new combination was sublime. My past blended evenly with my present and everything was instantly okay.

I was home.

Nick cried and I let him down. He jumped on the sofa to administer a fresh round of grooming to his travel rumpled fur. Cats were either the cleanest creatures on earth or a little OCD.

“Nothing’s changed,” Trevor came up behind me and rested his hands on my shoulders.

“
Only me,” I sighed and turned in his arms to wrap myself around him for a quick hug. I pulled back reluctantly and looked up at him. “We need to talk.”

“
No, Minn Elska,” he picked me up and carried me down the hall to our bed. “We don’t have to talk about it, not unless you want to. It’s the past now and what we need to do is focus on the future. Leave what happened with Anubis in Duat, let it haunt him, because that's where the fault lies, not with you.”

“
You don’t want to know what happened?” I felt my heart clench and my shoulders start to relax.

“
Not unless you want to speak of it,” he laid me down gently and started taking my shoes off.

“
He controlled me,” I whispered and his hands stilled. I felt him climb into bed next to me but I’d covered my face. I couldn’t look at him. “He crept into my body and took control of it.”

“
He’ll never control you again,” his arms slid under and around me and I turned into that warmth. My hands lowered and I saw him through a film of tears. He looked blurry but calm and that’s exactly what I needed, someone calm and steady so I could fall apart. I let go of the tears I’d been holding in and gave in to a good, hard cry.

Trevor soothed me with soft sounds and gentle hands, pulling me up in the bed with him and tucking us both beneath the covers fully clothed. It felt so safe there, snug in my home, within the carved walls of my bed, under thick blankets, and surrounded by my wolf. I let the last sob work its way out, my last tear for Anubis, for what he’d done to me. I refused to cry any more for him.

I had a small thought for Ma’at and Re, a wish that I could contact them and continue our friendship, but I knew I’d probably never see them again. Actually, I should probably hope I’d never see them again because if I did, I’d most likely be seeing Anubis as well.

I started pulling at Trevor’s clothes, frantic to get them off him, needing to feel his flesh against mine. He accepted my urgency with tranquility and helped me remove both of our clothing until there was nothing between us. I sighed and pressed my ear to his chest. His strong heartbeat was more home to me than any four walls could ever be.

“Touch me,” I whispered, “touch me everywhere and make me real again.”

“
I’m here,” he whispered back and already his face was moving through my hair, down my neck, lips grazing over skin, body rubbing his scent on mine. “You’re here. There’s no one else, only you and me, forever.”

“
Forever,” the word sank in. It really was forever now. I was immortal, which meant Trevor was once again immortal. “Fenrir must be happy now that you’re immortal again.”

“
I’m sorry,” he stopped and looked up at me. “Did you just mention my father while I was making love to you?”

I giggled and the laughter healed the last broken bit of me that the Grayel had missed. I pulled Trevor to me and let him wipe away all traces of Anubis until I shivered in pleasure again, only pleasure, no fear or anger with it. No humiliation or betrayal. He emptied me of all the pain and filled me with the joy of his love. I was being made love to again, not controlled or forced but made love to, and there was no one better at it than my Wolf Prince.

I thought it would be difficult to make love to Trevor after Anubis. I thought I'd feel shame, fear, maybe just end up cringing away from him. I should have known better. Part of Trevor was inside me. Taking his body into mine was merely a symbolic representation of what our relationship truly was. He touched me and I felt no shame for what had been done to me, only relief that it was over and I was back where I belonged.

I felt the Binding rise up, the magic that connected us, and the heat of it was more powerful than anything Anubis had filled me with. It burned away the past and brightened the future. It shook through my body, making me wet in an instant, and tightening my limbs around my wolf lover.

His face rubbed against mine and I closed my eyes and smiled. I knew what was coming next, the wolf needed to mark his mate, and I was all down for that. There would be that wonderful nuzzling over every inch of my body. He would cover me in his scent until he felt secure enough that I was his again. Then he'd bring me to the limits with his tongue and teeth, marking my now bare neck with his love bite, while I marked him with one of my own.

We would be lost in the haze of lust and love that the Binding could only strengthen, making love with the power of beasts and the need of the recently reunited, until we spent ourselves completely and simply lay there panting in each others arms till sleep took us.

Yes, I was pretty sure that's what was going to happen, and I didn't, not for one second, mind the predictability of it.

Chapter Thirty

I stared down at the pages before me, trying to calm my racing heart. The book was one I’d pillaged from Ku, the Hawaiian God of War, after I’d killed him. My first kill actually. I’d been in no small amount of shock at the time but I’d still managed a half-ass search of his premises. It was how I’d found out about gods actually being Atlanteans and how they’d been using humans for years as their own personal battery packs.

The book was full of spells, god spells, and I’d been able to use quite a few of them but since I was a human witch, I couldn’t use them all. It was god magic and it took a god to power the more complex spells. The God Squad had been surprised I’d been able to utilize any of the magic at all but now I was technically a Goddess. Would the rest of the spells work for me?

The spell I wanted to do was supposed to make you invisible. It was a talent most gods were able to manage with hardly a thought. Surely it was a baby step into advanced god magic, which was exactly what I wanted to start with. I took a deep breath and read over the instructions. All you had to do was envision the space you were in, without you in it. Sounds simple but there was no way a human witch could do it. Imagine all you want, you still wouldn't turn invisible. Even Harry Potter needed a cloak.

Human magic just didn’t work like that. Human magic, as well as the lesser levels of god magic, involved words, preparation, tools, and usually some type of ingredient. You could use a wand to direct energy but simply waving it around would produce nothing beyond a slight breeze.

I looked around my living room. White gauze draped from the center of the ceiling out and down the walls, making me feel like I was in a tent. I loved it, it felt cozy. Moroccan sofas and lantern, Persian carpets, a low table topped with a massive carved brass plate, and numerous tribal decorations completed the look. I closed my eyes and saw it all clearly in my head. It gets pretty easy to visualize after you’ve been a witch for awhile.

Then I saw it all without me in it.

I felt a light tingling on my skin and when I looked down, it was covered with a blue glow. Was I invisible? I could see myself just fine. I looked completely normal except for that glow. Shit, I just didn’t know.

I got up and went looking for Kirill. He’d moved back in after I returned, and was probably sharpening his knives, carving wood, or doing some other manly crap in his room. I smiled in anticipation. If my spell had worked, I’d be able to play my first joke on him. He’d recently started to smile after his long years of abuse at the hands of Niyavirezi and I’d finally got to hear him laugh.

Kirill’s laugh was as deep as the blue of his eyes and just as beautiful. When he laughed, it was a full throated sound of joy and it made you want to hear it again and again. I fervently hoped to get a laugh out of him.

There he was, sitting on the twin bed I’d bought and set up for him in my art room. My easel was in a corner, next to the desk I'd cleared out for Kirill's wood carving, and the dresser now had more than a couple pairs of jeans in it. My paintings were all over the walls. I'd offered to take them down but Kirill insisted that he loved them all and his comfort had been priority. I wanted him to feel safe and loved. I wanted him to know he finally had a home where no one was going to abuse him.

The wavy length of his hair was draped around him, lustrous in the soft light of his table lamp. The blue gems of his eyes were focused on a book, his knees drawn up to serve as a table. His gaze didn’t even flicker to me once.

I was invisible!

I would’ve done a little happy dance if I hadn’t intended on playing my joke. So, what to do, what to do? I ended up studying him as I thought about it. He was dressed casually, T-shirt and jeans, but nothing looked casual on him. Kirill had been Niyavirezi’s first pick among all her gorgeous lions and there was no question why, when you looked at him. I barely caught myself before I sighed.

What the hell was wrong with me?

I loved Kirill… as a brother. I’d worked him through the insanity Niyavirezi’s treatment had thrust him into. I’d healed him with my magic and helped him through the after effects. He was mine to protect as much as I was his. As my Ganza, his main goal in life was to keep me safe and feeling safe was a major turn on for me. The man who kept me safe, gained attractive points and with Kirill, that made him crazy attractive.