Witch Upon a Star (A Midnight Magic Mystery) (27 page)

Get up, Anna. Get up. Now!
I manage to force myself upright though my abdomen protests with further agony. She may have broken a rib. I know, despite the darkness, she can see my face even if I can barely make out hers. I clench my teeth shut and stare at the bitch with enough contempt and determination to fuel an army trudging to war. I wipe the bile from my chin and spit the rest on her shoe. She didn’t break me a decade ago, she sure as hell isn’t going to tonight. “Do you feel better now? Why don’t you smash my face as well? We both know it wouldn’t matter. Not one iota. You can gouge out my eyes, slash my face to ribbons, rip off my jaw, and he would still love me. He would still chose me over you. And you know why, Christine? Why after centuries of chasing him, of sacrificing for him, of being his willing slave, he onl
y feeds you the table scraps of his love? Because you’re beneath even him. You’re nothing but a pathetic, weak, vindictive, stupid, common whore. To him you’re just a mangy dog who follows him around, but he won’t allow in his house. He pities you. And in the end, no matter what you do: save him, fuck him, lay down your life for him, nothing can change that because nothing can change what you are
. And
you
know it.” With my chin up, I take a step ahead of her. “
Your
master awaits. Let’s get this over with.”

I’m more than a little surprised she doesn’t kill me, right here and now. If she had half a brain, she would. Or maybe she gets off on emotional pain. That’s all that awaits her up that staircase. But Asher’s wishes are her commands. Without a word, she takes point, leading me up to a staircase. Each step is utter agony and the only sound beyond my pants are her chuckles at my pain. I trail her as fast as I can. At least the pain distracts me from the myriad of horrors that may await me at our final destination. A gust of arctic wind assails me when Christine opens the door to the roof.

Ten years. This moment was ten years coming. I’m prepared. I’m strong. Descended from Vikings. Survivor. Federal agent. Wife. Mother. I am the woman who can take care of herself. I am Anna Olmstead Asher West.
I can do this.

“
Mo chuisle
.”

And there he is. You really can’t fight fate.

“Hello, Asher.”

Even now, even after all he’s done to me and mine, he still takes my breath away, though for an entirely different reason than before. He’s so gaunt now, cheeks so hollow his cheekbones could cut glass. Even here in the dim light I notice the bruised circles under his eyes. Gone is the lustrous, thick curly hair now cut to perhaps an inch and dyed black. The white waiter’s coat like Christine’s washes his already pale skin to an almost gray hue. A corpse. I’m gazing at nothing more than a corpse. But for a moment, just one tiny moment, it was as if we are back to the beginning where I was just a lost girl and he was this heavenly creature sent to save and love me as I was meant to do for him. How full of hope and promise that moment was. But it’s over and this is what remains. I stare at the corpse of my soul mate, but only for a moment before turning my attention to the love of my life.

Above me on the ledge, Nathan stands as still as a nearby gargoyle, staring at nothing, seeing nothing. He’s locked inside himself, nothing but a puppet and with one tug, one word, he’ll topple like one. I hope Christine took his emotions away, otherwise he has to be scared out of his mind. I’m not even on that ledge, and for a brief second, my own fear paralyzes me. Like a knight wielding a sword against a dragon, something deep within me manages to fight the emotion back. He’s helped me find my strength for so long, taken care of me when I was facing the worst.

My turn.

I meet Asher’s eyes, my scowl deepening until my lips curl up like a wild animal’s. “Let him go,” I growl. “This has nothing to do with him. This is between you and me.”

“You are still so beautiful,” he says breathlessly, completely ignoring my pronouncement.

“Did you hear me? I said let him go, Asher,” I order with the sharpness of a razor.

“The most beautiful creature I have ever laid eyes on.”

He’s not listening. He’s lost in his own world where he expects me to run into his waiting arms and shower him with kisses and promises of eternal fidelity from this moment on. Anna Asher would. She begs from her grave for this very action. Anna West banishes her back to hell. I pick up my skirt, and hoist myself the three feet up onto the ledge mere feet from my husband. As I catch sight of just how high we are, almost ten stories with nothing but hard pavement below, I instantly regret this action. One misstep and it’s certain death. That doesn’t only apply to the fall.

“What are you doing?” Asher cries as he moves toward me.

“Don’t come any closer,” I warn. He takes another step, and I hold out my hand. This time Christine, probably thinking I’m about to curse him, moves to his side to deflect the attack. I lower it. “Don’t. I’ll jump. I swear I will.”

Both vampires actually listen, stopping where they stand. The gesture does have the desired effect, snapping him back to reality, probably for the first time in years. “Please come down from there,
mo chuisle
,” he begs. “It is not safe.”

“I come down when my husband does.”

“This is madness! Come down at once!” he orders.

“Madness?
Madness
?” I shout, voice echoing over the wind. “
You
dare lecture me on madness? You murdered my friends. You kidnapped me. Raped me. Tried to kill my husband. Terrorized my children. And you expect me to forget it all? Run off into the moonlight to spend an eternity locked up in a house in Jersey with you and your psychopath girlfriend?
That
is madness. I tried to kill you, Asher. I tried to murder you in your sleep. You should hate me.”

“I could never hate you.
Never.
I deserved what you did. Without question. What happened … what I did … what
I
did was unpardonable. There was no excuse.
None.
And more nights than not, especially when I recall my offense, I wished Christine had not saved me.” He pauses. “Since you left, I have been in hell, exactly where I belong. But I wish to make amends, my Anna, my darling, my blood.” Asher moves a pace toward me. “Yes, I am mad. Madness has gripped me since the moment we met. And in that madness I have committed crimes that I never thought myself capable of, but even through the worst, there has been one shining beacon to guide me out of the maelstrom: you. Our love. Anna, I have existed for almost a millennia. I have experienced all this world has to offer thrice over, but when I met you, when you allowed me to love you, when you gave that love back in return, I was reborn. I was
alive
,
mo chuisle
. And you were happy. So happy. You shone as bright as the sun every moment we spent together. I know because … we are one, Anna. I am yours, and you are mine: body, mind, and soul. Our fates are intertwined, and when you fight against that, nothing but misery follows.”

He takes another step. “I know you harbor love for this man. He is the father of the children I could not provide you. But he has imprisoned you in a world of mediocrity. You were meant for more than he can provide, Anna. You are so much better than that.”

“But you’re wrong. That’s what you never understood about me, why we will never work. There is
nothing
better than that. Not for me. I don’t want, no I don’t
need
the world. I don’t need fancy clothes and trips around the globe and constant parties. That is not who I am, and it never was. I need love. I need to wake beside a man who I know fifty years from now will be there, no matter how difficult things get. Who will be as loyal to me as I will be to him. Who respects me and my wishes even when they’re inconvenient or he doesn’t agree with them. I need more than
you
.”

“Whatever you need, I shall give you, I swear I shall.”

“You’re not listening to me. You
never
listen to me,” I snap. “I loved you. I loved you with every fiber of my soul, of my being, and you took advantage of that. You took all I had and left me with barely a grain for myself. And you expect me to let you do that again? What will be different? Nothing, except I’ll hate you. You have managed to destroy almost
every
bit of love I still have. I am not in love with you anymore. I’m sorry, but I’m not. But that doesn’t mean I haven’t forgotten you, or forgotten what we
did
mean to one another.

“But it’s over. We cannot get it back. I cannot save you, Asher, and I don’t need you to save me. You did your job. You taught me everything I needed to know in this life. I have a good family, good friends,
I’m good
. I’m happy. I am happy, Asher. And if you love me even half as much as you claim to then you would be happy for me, as I would be happy for you if you found peace. And love. Why can’t you do the same for me?” It’s a risk, I know it’s a risk, a grave risk, but I leap from the ledge and walk toward the crumbling vampire, even meeting his red tear rimmed eyes. Even now, his despair moves me, stirring the same within my soul.

“I’ll go with you. If you promise to leave my family in peace, I will go with you. I won’t flee. I will be by your side until you cast me aside. But it won’t be real, my Asher,” I say, caressing his frozen cheek. “What we had was real.
It was
. It was real, and beautiful and transcendent. But it’s over now, my Asher. And you’re tarnishing it. Sullying it out with acts like this. And if I go with you, every touch, every time I have to play make-believe, it’ll be another stab at that love until we’re choking on its ashes. And I would rather have ten years of true, pure love that we experienced together than an eternity in its pale shadow.” Cradling his face in my hands, I wipe his falling bloody tears with my thumbs as my own fall unabashed. “The greatest thing you’ll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return,’” I whisper. “I love you. I will always love you. Please love me back. Let me go. Please, my darling, my blood,
let me go
.”

“I … cannot,” he whispers. “I cannot. I …”

“Then I’m sorry,” I whisper. “I’m so sorry, my love.” As fast as possible, I reach around to the hidden knife taped to my back and slide it between his ribs straight into his chest. “I’m sorry.” He is so shocked at first, mouth opening as if he wishes to speak, but only for a moment. Then just … relief. Sweet relief. Asher stares into my eyes as I do his. I literally watch as his heart not only crumbles around the blade but under the weight of my truth. I feel it within me, crushing me as well. Yet what’s left is understanding. There’s no hate, no fear, no doubt. I just see …
him
.
My
Asher. I knew he was still in there. That I’d find him.

“Anna …” he whispers.

“I know.” I lightly kiss his lips. “I forgive you. Just please forgive me.”

“I—” he croaks.

“What …” Christine says behind us.

As easy as it went in, I pull the knife out at the same time as I raise my free hand, the hex already leaving my lips. “
Placidus
!”

She’s too fast. She’s vanished by the time the hex reaches the spot
she just inhabited.
Merde
. Asher collapses to the ground as a gust of my wind knocks Nathan onto the roof, momentarily out of danger. I’m not. My husband barely lands when I feel arms encircle my torso from behind, tightening like a python. My F.R.E.A.K.S. training, the hours I spent getting walloped by Oliver in those early days, kicks in. A backward head butt loosens her grip while the second assault, complete with sickening crack as I break her cute nose, releases me all together. Without missing a beat, I swing around knife first. She’s not so spry this time. The silver dagger slices her cheek, drawing more blood as her nose continues to spew. Christine stumbles back, more from surprise than pain. She stares at me as if I were a stranger. I don’t believe it ever crossed her mind that I could and would fight back. Yet, she chuckles.

“Kitten’s grown claws.”

“Now hear me roar, bitch.”

Another gust of wind propels her toward me, toward my blade,
but I blink and she’s vanished. I’m forced backward by my own wind
as well, almost collapsing on Asher. This distraction loses me my tentative upper hand. I blink again and she’s beside me, taking a fistful of my hair and flinging me aside. I roll and roll until I hit the wall with the force of a car crash. Pain. Agony everywhere, vibrating down my spine, my arm, especially my head. There’s a whole galaxy of twinkling stars before my eyes. What …

“Get up,” I hear her say but can’t comply. Nothing in my body will function properly. “Climb on the ledge.” What is she talking about? I shake the fuzz away enough so I can see through the stars. Panic cuts the rest away.

Nathan.

My husband, still under her power, obeys the command, climb
ing onto that ledge like the marionette he is. I attempt to raise my finger to hex the bitch, but she’s too fast. I feel my arm twisting painfully to the side before I realize she’s the one performing the task. She meets my eyes. One look and she’s in there, tendrils burrowing through my brain. She locks me inside, locks me away from my power, from my words. All she’s left me is my rage. My terror. It continues to wash through me like a tsunami, over and over again. Christine yanks me up by the hair and drags me across the roof toward Nathan.

“I am going to enjoy this so much more than I enjoyed ripping into your witch friends that night,” she whispers. We stop two feet from my husband.
Oh, Nathan, I’m so sorry …
“Remove your dagger,” Christine orders.

As Nathan pulls out his blade from under his shirt, Christine digs her claws into my lower jaw and chin, forcing me to stare at her slave. “You are doing this to him, not I,” she whispers. “You will feel every agony tenfold, you little bitch, and know this is because of you.” Louder, she orders, “Slash your face.”