The Banshee's Desire (17 page)

"Like you did to Efa? Oh, wait. I forgot. You never did beat her. What makes you think you can take Jacqueline?"

"Oh, I believe I'll have a bit more help this time. And I have the advantage of wisdom and time on my side. I've not been idle in studying the past. I see clearly now my mistakes."

The confidence in Gwydion's voice worried Toby, but he tried not to let it show.

"I'm also really looking forward to meeting your son," Gwydion continued. "I believe he and I will be grand friends. We have a great deal in common."

"How do you figure that?"

"We have similar…genes."

Before Gwydion could explain, screams of terror erupted from the castle.

"I think your lovely girlfriend must have arrived." Gwydion's eyes took on a faraway look. "And she's brought company."

He hoped that whoever Jacqueline had brought with her was something Gwydion could be defeated with.

Mostly, he just hoped that Jacqueline would be okay.

The wind picked up becoming a gale, and a low howl echoed from the inside of the castle ruins, creating an eerie melody. The other wizards shifted uncomfortably.

And then Jacqueline was there, materializing on the wind like a dark, ominous cloud.

She stood, tall and defiant in front of Gwydion, her green eyes snapping with anger. But her features were as beautiful as ever. There was none of the ugly feature of her banshee hag persona showing even as the gray shroud she wore circled around her.

"Get away from him," she hissed at Gwydion, keeping her gaze away from Toby. "I don't want to kill you."

"Nor do I really want to kill you, my dear." The wizard chuckled at her confusion. "I have no quarrel with you. If you want to kill wizards, do so. If you want to reap souls that don't belong to you, fine. None of that is my concern."

"Then what do you want with me?"

"To find a way for us to work together. The Brotherhood has enemies. Through the years some of them have harmed our numbers. I want you to be our guardian."

"So why are you torturing Toby? Are you so out of touch with reality that you don't understand that hurting the man I love isn't the way to bring me to your side?" Jacqueline shook her head. "It doesn't matter anyway. I can't be your guardian."

"Can't or won't?" Gwydion asked, his voice sharp.

"Both. Wouldn't do it to begin with because you were an ass to Efa even though your son was a tyrant who raped and pillaged his way through the medieval ages," Jacqueline said. "But I can't do it because I've made a deal with someone else."

"What kind of deal?" The anger was loud in Gwydion's voice and though part of Toby was pleased to see Jacqueline getting under the old man's skin, he couldn’t help but echo his thoughts.

"Yeah. What kind of deal?" Toby asked, trying to keep the pain out of his voice.

For the first time, Jacqueline looked at him, and he saw why she'd avoided it before.

All of her love for him shown in her eyes. It made her humanity shine through, a beautiful sight to behold, but he could tell that it weakened her banshee strength. A hint of the hag began to appear on her face.

"I…" she faltered. "I've made plans."

Toby caught sight of Gabe behind Jacqueline with a woman he didn't recognize. They were standing back, watching the action. Gabe nodded at him, while the woman only brushed back her long dark hair with a flick of her hand and stared at the little group, her pale face devoid of emotion.

"That is unacceptable," Gwydion said. "You will work for me. You will protect the Brotherhood or you can watch your lover die before I rip you to shreds."

"Umm... No, that won’t happen. You will not be taking what is rightfully mine." The woman with dark hair stepped forward.

"And you are?" Gwydion looked her up and down, his contempt obvious.

The woman raised her hand and in a sweeping motion, clenched a fist. Foster, the wizard that had re-opened Toby's wound, dropped to the ground, his wide lifeless eyes staring up at them.

"I'm Death," she said. "Jacqueline's life belongs to me."

"No!" Toby shouted, struggling against his bonds. "Stay away from her!"

Death turned to Toby and smiled.

"He's a hottie," she said. "I can see why you like him, Jacqueline. A deal’s a deal, though."

"Jacqueline, what have you done?" Toby asked.

But he knew. He could easily imagine what she'd promised in exchange for being brought to him.

And it pissed him off.

What right did she have to sacrifice herself for him? Ridiculous. She should never have done such a thing. He was just one man.

There had to be some way to break the deal.

She was too powerful to let herself be taken by Gwydion or talked into death.

And the thought of her dead…hell, it was enough to kill him. How would he ever be the same without her?

Think, he chided himself. Think! How do I get her out of this mess?

Suddenly, the noise around him dropped away, and he realized that some sort of magical barrier had been created that isolated him and Death from the others. Outside the barrier, he could see the frantic look on Jacqueline's face and the anger on Gwydion's as he realized that he'd been cut off. Only Gabe seemed calm. He watched his father and Death closely.

"Oh, sweetheart, I hope you don't mind if I give us a little privacy for a minute. With their combined power, those three will have my sound wall down in no time. Let's get you more comfortable." Death walked to Toby and gave him an understanding smile, before waving her hand over his body. The bonds holding him to the tree disappeared and exhausted, he fell forward. "You have to look at this whole dead girlfriend thing from another angle."

"Another angle?"

"Death is what you wanted for her. It's the only way to heal her soul."

"I used to want that. I used to think that was for the best, but now--" he broke off.

"Poor human. Death will be a blessing. It will restore the balance of nature. If she goes on killing souls who aren't ready to pass on, she will truly become a grotesque, evil creature. We just can't have that."

"Absolute power corrupts absolutely," Toby said softly.

"An overused expression to be sure," Death nodded, "but it's true. She made this deal because she loves you. There is still good in her soul."

Toby closed his eyes, trying to make sense of it.

"Oh, shit. They've figured out how to break my spell. Assholes," Death muttered.

"Please, don't let her suffer," Toby said as the barrier came down. "Kill her quickly."

Jacqueline gasped.

Toby realized that all she'd heard was that he wanted her dead quickly.

"As you wish." Death looked at Jacqueline. "Isn't punishment fun?"

****

He wanted her dead.

Kill her quickly.

It felt as if every fiber of her being were on fire with the pain of his words. Though a part of her protested that she didn't deserve his forgiveness for the lies she'd told him, a larger part had hoped that he might forgive her.

It stung to know he could so easily throw her away, allow her to die.

Her face burned with shame and embarrassment.

But it was the pain that crushed her, that had the blood rising to her ears, blocking out all other sounds.

And the rage. It built and built inside her, adding to an inferno of pain, sending her crashing over the edge.

He didn't love her anymore.

Death would be easier to bear than the pain of knowing that.

"It's time, Jacqueline," Death said. "You heard the man. He wants me to kill you quickly."

"I heard," she said and took Death's offered hand.

"It's for the best." Death squeezed her fingers. "Here we go."

Jacqueline looked in Death's eyes, trying hard to block out the agony in her heart. She saw the energy flicker in the woman's eyes and felt drawn to it. Death didn't have a soul. Jacqueline could tell that. There was no life essence living inside her like there was in a human. But there was something else there…

Power.

Jacqueline could taste it and she found herself honing in on the feeling.

"What are you doing?" Death narrowed her eyes. "Behave now."

But Jacqueline couldn't let go of the strange spark she saw hiding in Death. She reached out to it, embraced the flood of energy it gave, and wailed out a fierce cry as Death's essence began to fill her.

"Stop!" Death shrieked. "My kind of power isn't meant for you!"

Desperate, Death sent out a bolt of sizzling energy. The anger and betrayal Jacqueline felt acted like a shield, deflecting the worst of it. She continued to focus on the dark stream of billowing matter that slowly leaked from the ancient entity.

It wasn't the same as pulling out the soul of a human or even a wizard. This kind of power had a life of its own, and it slithered through the air, undulating with chaos and darkness. As each bit of it slipped inside Jacqueline, her emotions grew more distant and cold.

"You don't know what you're doing, little banshee," Death screamed and lowered her head, gearing up for a final burst of power. When she looked at Jacqueline, her eyes blazed with fire. Her fingernails grew long and jagged, and as she placed her hands together, a raging ball of fire formed around her.

Death threw herself on top of Jacqueline. Her sharp nails plunged like knives into Jacqueline's chest, causing her to cry out and some of her hold on Death's essence loosened.

"You've really pissed me off now. I see some real discipline is in order." Death reached further inside Jacqueline until she gripped her heart. "Ah, your heart is cold as ice and of no use to you now. Let me remove it for you."

"No!" With all her might, Jacqueline gripped Death's flaming arms and concentrated on pulling out her power. "Come to me!"

With everything she had left, Jacqueline ripped the tantalizing dark power free.

"No!" Death screamed, her pale face melting as did her black hair and clothes. Jacqueline opened her arms, swaying in ecstasy as the darkness entered her soul. The feeling was supreme, like nothing she’d ever felt before!

But Death wasn't quite gone.

Inside her head, Jacqueline could hear her screaming with fury. Or was it just her own fury, her own rage that swirled around her like a tornado of hate?

Death's fingernails scratched at her from the inside, causing waves of agony to ripple through her as her voice vibrated through Jacqueline's head.

This isn't over, banshee. You may have me inside you, but I know the secrets of death. I'll be here, whispering in your ear, breakfasting on your humanity until it's gone. And that's the one thing you want to keep. It's the only way to be free of me.

"I will control you," Jacqueline shouted.

You can't. You can't even stop this!

Jacqueline's arms came up against her will as Death manipulated her powers. A burst of blackness came from her hands, landing on the ground before her. Death's teasing laughter filled her ears.

"Jacqueline, you have to stop!" Toby's voice got her attention. "Look around you!'

Everywhere around the castle, things were dying.

The grass turned black, as if it had been scorched by fire and the trees turned barren, all the leaves fallen away. The sky became gray, the sun hidden behind thick, dark clouds.

All around her was blackness.

She realized that her gray shroud had turned the same color of ebony as Death's eyes.

The wizards who had rushed out of the castle stared at her in horror, making her wonder what she looked like now.

But did it matter?

No.

Not when she felt as powerful as she did.

"Run," she screeched at the wizards. "Run!"

But it was a pointless order. As they scattered, she struck them down as if they were ants.

They fell to the blackened earth, their bodies smoking as a putrid smell filled the air.

"Jacqueline," Toby called to her. "Stop! This isn't you."

"This is me," she said to him. "I'm finally doing my job."

"Baby, I love you. Please don't do this."

"You're scared of me," Jacqueline said. "You told Death to kill me. You're just afraid that I'm going to do the same to you."

"Then do it," he said, holding out his arms so that his chest was exposed to her. "But I love you. I don't know what kind of games Death was playing, but I asked her to give you a quick death so you wouldn't suffer. I didn't want you to die, Jacqueline."

She stared at him a long moment. A cold chill crept around her and the colder she got, the less her heart hurt.  Some small fragment of her logical mind pleaded with her to think of the consequences of her actions.

But it was too late.

She was Death now.

"Where has Gwydion gone?" she asked, looking around. "It's time to put an end to him."