Chapter 14
If Maya had been a heavy drinker, she would have assumed she had a hangover from hell. Unfortunately, she preferred tea to alcohol, which meant the throbbing headache and piercing stab of pain behind her right eye was no doubt caused by a blo w to her skull.
She groaned as she struggled to clear the fog from her brain. Over the past year she’d managed to knock her head on the ground more than once. It was a habit she’d prefer to avoid in the future.
Debating whether she could slip back into unconsciousness to avoid the worst of the relentless discomfort, Maya froze when cool fingers stroked a light caress o ver her cheek.
“Maya.”
The deep, rich voice eased her burst of fear, and she cautiously lifted her lashes to study the male kneeling beside her. He was close enough for her to see the silver that rimmed his turquoise eyes shimmering in the fading moonlight, and she reached up to press her hand against the fingers that lingered aga inst her cheek.
“Ravyr.” She studied each fiercely carved feature, not sure if he was truly there or if he was a figment of her battered brain. “Are you real?”
“I’m real,” he assured her, his expression worried. “ What happened?”
Good question. She hesitated, searching through the fuzz to dredge up the memory of how she’d ended up flat on her back in the middle of the woods. Eventually she formed the image of robed forms and a shimmering cord latched to her chest before she was being knocked out of the vision by a super rude mystery being.
Joe the jerk.
She groaned again, touching the knot on the back of her head as she struggled to a s eated position.
“You’re hurt.” There was an edge of anger in Ravyr’s voice as he wrapped a protective arm around her shoulders.
Maya was shocked by a sharp, overwhelming urge to lean forward and rest against his broad chest. She was tired and scared and she had a boo-boo on her head that made her brain hurt.
Grinding her teeth together, she pulled away from his arm and forced herself to her feet. It wasn’t a rejection. It was an instinctive need to prove she could be strong without his assistance. “It’ s just a bump.”
An indefinable emotion rippled over his face before he smoothly straightened and glanced towa rd the opening.
“ What happened?”
“I’ll tell you later,” Maya promised, moving forward with an un expected limp.
She’d obviously injured her hip when she’d been thrown out of the vision. She hadn’t even noticed until she tried to walk. Grimly she continued toward the stump at the center o f the clearing.
Ravyr remained where he was, no doubt watching her in confusion. “What are you doing?” he at last asked.
“Making sure the altar is destroyed.”
Disgust raced through Maya. How could she have been so stupid? She’d been so distracted by the shiny bowl and candles she’d completely ignored the true danger. The mirror. At least until Alison had shoved her face-first into the stupid thing. Once she was close enough to her target, Maya bent down and picked up a heavy stone. Lifting it over her head, she swung her arm forward, launching the stone to smash against the reflective glass. A second later the mirror shattered into a thousand satisfying shards that scattered over the ground. She didn’t know what sort of evil magic had been used to create the mirror, but she did kn ow it was gone.
At least for now.
Turning, she called on the last scraps of her magic and weaved them into a ball of raw power. Once it was solid, she aimed it directly at the stump and sent it flying. The spell hit the weathered wood with a loud sizzle before it exploded. It wasn’t an impressive blast—she was too drained for a big boom—but it was enough to split the stump in two and send the bowl and candles soaring to ward the trees.
Ravyr abruptly stepped forward to join her, his gaze sweeping over the bits and pieces of the altar that were now scattered like confetti.
“Bet ter?” he asked.
“Not really, but it’s the best I can do.” She frowned, making a mental note to return and cleanse the area of any residual magic. The mirror was broken, but she needed to make sure that nothing could crawl out of the oak frame that remained standing at a drunken angle. “At least for now.”
Ravyr nodded before glancing toward the sky. “It will be dawn soon. We need to get bac k to the city.”
“I’m ready.” Maya limped toward the narrow pathway that led out of the woods. “Mo re than ready.”
Ravyr kept a slow pace next to her, close enough to catch her if she collapsed, but evidently—and wisely—resisting the urge to sweep her off her feet and carry her to safety. Her life felt as if it was spiraling out of control. She needed to maintain some sort of independence. Even if each step was sending jolts of pain th rough her back.
Skirting the edge of the mansion that was shrouded in a sullen darkness, they found the SUV patiently waiting for them in the circular drive. Swallowing a groan of relief, Maya managed to hold on to her grim courage until the driver opened the back door and she was able to collapse onto the sof t leather seat.
Even then it took several minutes for the discomfort to ease and her heart to slow its rapid pace.
As if sensing her struggle, Ravyr was silent as the SUV drove away from the estate, going at a speed that rattled the expensive suspension as they sped down the mountain and back to civilization. The demon chauffeur was clearly aware of the encroaching dawn and determined to get them back to the city in record time.
It wasn’t until they’d reached the paved highway that Maya turned her head to study Ravyr’s chiseled profile. “Where ’s the demon?”
There was a flash of fang as Ravyr clenched his teet h. “He’s dead.”
Maya stared at him in surprise. Ravyr wasn’t like most leeches. He kept his arrogance, along with his temper, firmly leashed. It was what made him such a dange rous opponent.
“Hopefully you got the information we needed before yo u killed him.”
He grimaced. “I didn’t get any information.” He held up his hand as her lips parted to add to her scolding. “I didn’t even have the satisfaction o f killing him.”
“Oh. What happened?”
“I followed Bastian through the woods to a safe house that just happened to be owned by an old friend of mine.” He turned to send her a wry glance. “By the time I got the bastard to open the door to the room that Bastian had rented, he was lying on the bed. Dead.”
Maya frowned. “Did your fr iend kill him?”
Ravyr shook his head. “He’d been dead a few minutes, but when I found him he was already a de caying corpse.”
Maya sucked in a sharp breath. “Just like Courtney.”
“Exa ctly like her.”
Had Alison been responsible? It seemed doubtful since she was busy shoving Maya into a magical mirror. Did that mean there was another mage out there killing off the witnesses?
Frustration churned deep inside Maya, like a cauldron left on the fire too long. If they didn’t discover what the hell was going on, she was going to end up with an ulcer.
“There’s something I’m missing, ” she muttered.
“A good night’s sleep?”
“There’s that,” she agreed dryly. “I might be able to put the puzzle pieces together after I’ve had a few hours in the comf ort of my bed.”
Ignoring the sway of the SUV and the blur of streetlights that were clustering closer together as they reached the outskirts of the suburbs, Maya allowed her gaze to trace the blunt lines of his features before sweeping down to the muscular hardnes s of his body.
When she’d struggled back to consciousness, there’d been a part of her that had been terrified by the thought that she was lying flat on her back in the middle of the woods with her magic dangerously depleted. Then she’d felt the soft brush of Ravyr’s fingers, and she’d known with absolute certainty that she was safe. It hadn’t been because they were temporary partners. Or that he was strong enough to fight of f any predator.
It was an instinctive knowledge that as long as this male was near, she would never have to worry.
The SUV slowed as they swerved off the main highway and the streets narrowed. As if suddenly realizing they would soon be back in Linden, Ravyr shifted in the seat so he was direc tly facing her.
“Are you going to tell me what happened after I left?”
“The mage attacked just minutes later.”
“Did she hurt you?”
Maya blushed as she recalled how easily she’d been distracted. It’d been embarrassingly easy for the younger woman to use brute strength to overpower her. She’d spent hours teaching Peri and Skye hand-to-hand defense for that prec ise situation.
“She shoved me in to the mirror.”
Ravyr studied her in co nfusion. “And?”
“Not against the mirror,” Maya clarified. “She pushed me insi de the mirror.”
Her words did nothing to clear up Ravyr’s confusion. “You went insi de the mirror?”
“Yes. It was obviously some sort of portal, although I didn’t recognize the magic. I’ve never encountered any thing like it.”
“If it was a portal, I assume you traveled to a diffe rent location?”
“I’m not sure if I traveled anywhere or if I was caught in a vision.” Her hands curled into tight fists. The last thing she wanted was to dwell on what she’d seen, but she sensed that she needed all the help she could get if she was going to survive. “At first there was nothing but a thick mist; then it parted and I was back in Batu’s lair on the night...” She forced herself to pause and gather her shaky composure. “It was the night I thought I killed him.”
“Were you actually back in time?” He reached out to brush his fingers over her cheek, this time touching the scars that marred her skin. Did he assume she was upset by the memory of her violent battle with the male?
“I don’t think so.” She should have knocked his hand away, but she didn’t. The cool touch reassured her that Ravyr was nearby. And that she was no longer lost in the past. “It felt like I was looking through the mists of time.”
“Lo oking at what?”
She shivered despite the heat pumping through the expensive vehicle. “Were you ever invited to Batu’s inner sanct um?” she asked.
“No. I tried on several occasions to sneak in, but the magic was too thick for me to penetrate.” His fingers gently tucked her hair behind her ear. “Actually, that’s why I was in the area the night that Batu was destroyed. I’d sensed a change in the barrier and I went there to tr y to sneak in.”
“It was Tia. She managed to force her way inside,” Maya explained. “That’s why Batu was so furious that night. And why he was determine d to kill her.”
“Did the vision show you what he was hiding?”
“Demons. Or at least I think they were demons. They were covered i n heavy robes.”
“What we re they doing?”
“When I first entered they were just standing against the wall. But then a fissure sudden ly split open.”
She felt him stiffen, as if surprised by her explanation. “There was a fissure in the inner sanctum?”
“Yes. It split open the back wall.”
“Was there someth ing inside it?”
A nasty sensation curled through the pit of Maya’s stomach. She’d only glimpsed a sliver of the strange dimension, but it’d been enough to convince her that it wasn’t a place she wanted to visi t anytime soon.
“Tia said that the fissure was an opening to the vampir es’ afterlife.”
“The afterlife? Are you...” His baffled words trailed away as his brows snapped together. “Wait. Tia was in the w oods with you?”
“No, she was in the vision,” she clarified, wrinkling her nose. “Or wh atever it was.”
“Even if she was in your vision, how would she know anything about the vampire afterlife? Not even our greatest scholars have been able to penetrate the mysteries of where our demon goes or how it’s returned to a new host.”
Maya shrugged. “She was taken th ere last year.”
His frown deepened as he studied her with a fierce intensity. Was he wondering if she was delusional? She wouldn’t blame him. A part of her desperately wanted to believe it’d all been a nightmare caused by a blow to her head. Unfortunately, it didn’t feel l ike a delusion.
“She was taken to the afterlife?”
“She was there with Valen when Peri was battling the...” Maya allowed her rambling explanation to trail away. “It’s a long story.”
He slowly shook his head. “One I’d be very interest ed in hearing.”
“You’ll have to ask Valen for the details.”
At the time Maya had been too concerned with Peri and her newfound magic to pay attention to how Valen and Tia had managed to battle their way through the barriers to reach her friend. Including a side trip into the afterlife.
“Describe the fissure. Was it real o r an illusion?”
She considered what she’d seen. “It had to be magic. If the stones had actually been splitting apart, they would have caused a collapse of the cavern. Or at least, the lair would have been shaking from the force of the movement. There wasn’t even a speck of du st in the air.”
He nodded, as if that was the response he’d been expecting. “What happened af ter it opened?”
“It kept growing wider and wider, like it intended to swallow the entire lair, but the robed demons suddenly moved forward. I honestly think they’d been standing there just waiting fo r that moment.”
Easily recognizing her distress, Ravyr brushed his fingertips down the length of her neck, lingering on the pulse that raced at the base of her throat. “What happened then?”
“They knelt in front of the opening and stabbed daggers int o their chest.”
Ravyr made a sound of shock. “All of them?”
“All of them. It was awful.” Maya shuddered at the gruesome memory. “And worse, it had to be something they’d been trained to do because the blood from their wounds ran down the floor and into channels that had been chiseled into the stone. When the blood hit the opening, the fissure sta rted to close.”
He took a moment, as if trying to comprehend what power could have forced the demons to c ommit suicide.
“The blood was closing the fissure?” he finally asked.
“That’s what i t looked like.”
“Did t he demons die?”
“They were hidden beneath their robes, but they collapsed on the floor. I’m pretty sure t hey were dead.”
“And the f issure closed?”
She hesitated. She didn’t want to discuss what happened next. Hell, she didn’t even want to t hink about it.
“Not entirely,” she tried to hedge.
Cupping her face in his palm, Ravyr turned her head to meet his worrie d gaze. “Maya?”
She swallowed a sigh. He wasn’t going to let it go. Not when he could sense the worry that pounded through her. Best to spit it out as fast as possible. Like ripping a banda ge off a wound.
“There was a cord that kept a tiny sliver open. A cord that was attached directly to me.” She pressed her hand against the center of her chest, half expecting to feel the weird thread . “Right here.”
A sudden chill in the air battled with the warmth spilling from the heating vents. She’d expected Ravyr’s confusion. Maybe even disbelief. But his reaction was pure fury.
“Is it a spell?” Ravyr’s expression was hard as granite. “Can it be removed?”
“Not one I’ve ever heard of.” Maya rubbed her chest. “And honestly, I don’t even know if it’s still there. Although my luck hasn’t been good enough for it to j ust disappear.”
The muscles of his jaw bulged as he clenched his fangs. “You suspect that it has something to do with Batu?”
She did, of course. As soon as she caught a glimpse of the cord, she’d been convinced that Batu had somehow tethered them together. That would explain why she couldn’t get rid of the nightmares. And it might even be the reason someone was going to a lot of effort to kill her. What the cord was or why Batu would have connected them was a mystery.
But her gut instinct wasn’t based on facts. And it would be foolish to let herself be blinded by her hatred for her former master.
“I don’t know what it is,” she forced herself to admit, “but I’m pretty sure I need to find out. And soon.”
“We will.”
He leaned down to brush a light kiss over her cheek at the same time the SUV pulled to a smooth stop. Maya hadn’t realized they’d reached Linden. Proof that she was too weary to make any decisions about w hat to do next.
She glanced out the window. It was still dark, but there was no mistaking the rosy hint that was beginning to l ighten the sky.
“It’s nearly dawn,” she warned, knowing Ravyr wouldn’t have much time to seek the safety of a sunli ght-proof lair.
“Yes.”
“Are you staying at Valen ’s penthouse?”
He shrugged. “There are plenty of places in the city to avoid the sun.”
She frowned at the vague response. Why wasn’t he using Valen’s lair? It would be the most convenient location. Not only was it sunproof, but it was heavily protected. Especially since the shocking attack by a member of his own Cabal a f ew months ago.
Nothing could get pas t his security.
It took a second for her to realize why he avoided the public penthouse. He’d wanted to keep his presence in the city a secret.
“You can stay here if you want.” The words were out of her mouth before she co uld halt them.
His brows arche d. “Seriously?”
A part of her wanted to say no. That there was no way she was sharing her private home—the place she’d built for the precise purpose of keeping out vampires—with a leech. A larger part, however, understood that she needed Ravyr if she was going to stay alive long enough to discover who was hunting her. And why the hell she had a shimmering cord attache d to her chest.
Besides, Ravyr wasn’t just another leech. He’d proved over and over that he was a male of worth. One she could trust even if he did have fangs.
“The basement doesn’t have any windows and the door is protected with a warning alarm if it’s opened,” she assured him, pushing open the door.
The alarm had been a recent addition after Courtney had managed to sneak past her wards.
His features softened, a wicked anticipation flaring in his stunning eyes. “It’s not a bad idea to stay close together ,” he murmured.
“ Not too close.”
She slid out of the vehicle, crossing the sidewalk as Ravyr moved to have a word with the chauffeur. Pausing, she searched for any hidden spells. She had a fuzzy memory of Tia admitting that she’d been in the Witch’s Brew—along with the mysterious Watcher/Benefactor/pretend everyday Joe—just before she’d been knocked unconscious. She couldn’t sense them, but that didn’t mean they hadn’t left behind some residual magic.
Nothing.
Behind her, Maya heard the SUV pull away and Ravyr crossed the sidewalk to join her, bathed in the soft light of the neon sign. Her heart skipped a dangerous beat as tingles of pleasure swirled through her. Dammit. Did he have to be so gorgeous? Or ooze the sort of sexual temptation that made her hands tremble as she unraveled the layers of protection she’d place d on the door?
Her acute awareness didn’t lessen as they entered the shadowed coffee shop and she led him across the tiled floor. His presence easily spread through the space, adding a delicious layer of anticipation to the cozy atmosphere. Worse, Maya wasn’t annoyed by the raw scent of power that mixed with sugar and spice. Or the pulse of vampire energy that spread through her home. It felt...right. As if he filled a space she hadn’t real ized was empty.
Trying to shake off the sensation, she reached to open the steel door to the basement. Once Ravyr was downstairs, she would reset the locks and layer the entire building in a warding spell.
“There’s no bed down there,” she warned. “But I keep my extra bedding stored in the closet next to the vault. You should be able to find plenty of blanket s and pillows—”
He interrupted her rambling. Thank God. “You don’t need to worry. I’ve spent most of my existence sleeping in caves or, more recently, in abandoned s ubway tunnels.”
She nodded, shifting her feet as an awkward silence settled between them. Turn around and walk away, the voice of wisdom urged. No, no. Shove him against the wall and lick him from head to toe, the voice of insanity urged.
Caught between the two competing desires, Maya felt her breath being squeezed from her lungs as Ravyr stepped forward to brush his fingers down the curve of her throat.
“Maya.”
“Yes?” Her lips felt oddly stiff, making it hard to form the word. Good grief. She was a mess.
He smiled, his eyes smoldering with a turquoise fire threaded with sil ver. Stunning.
“If you need anything.” The fingertips skimmed the delicate line of her collarbone. “Anything at all, my door is always open for you.”
Her pulse thundered as shivers of pleasure rac ed through her.
“I’ll keep that in min d,” she rasped.
“I hope I am on your mind.” The fingers dipped beneath her neckline, stroking the soft curve of her breast. “And in your dreams.” Slowly he lowered his head, nibbling caresses over her cheek before claiming her lips in a deep, drugging kiss. Oh yes. Her mouth parted in silent encouragement, savoring the taste of raw male. Not even the sharp press of his fangs could penetrate the erotic haze clouding her mind. Maya swayed forward, but with an unexpected motion, Ravyr was stepping back, studying her with a sensual satisfaction. He knew damned well he’d stirred her passions until they flamed through her with a fierce hunger. “Sleep wel l, Maya Rosen.”
With a click of her tongue, Maya spun on her heel and marched away. She refused to give him the satisfaction of glancing back. No matter how badly she wanted to send him a glare of frustration.
Lifting her hand, she spoke the familiar words that would activate the nightly wards. The magic would alert her the second that anyone she hadn’t personally approved entered the building. Whether it was through a door, a window , or a portal.
Once she was satisfied that she’d done everything possible to keep out the bad guys, she headed toward the stairs that led to the upper floors. The second floor was used for brewing potions and creating the spells that she kept stored in various artifacts, including her eme rald necklace.
The third floor was her private apartment. Or at least it was private now that both Peri and Skye had moved out. For once, however, she didn’t wince as she passed by their empty rooms. Probably because her thoughts were consumed with the sexy vampire currently hidden i n her basement.
Stripping off her clothes, she managed to pull on an oversized T-shirt before she tumbled face-first into her bed. The hot shower she desperately wanted would have to wait until tomorrow. For now, nothing mattered but the exhaustion that crashed over her with the force o f a tidal wave.
Thankfully, she was too tired to dream. In fact, she was fairly sure she didn’t so much as twitch until a familiar perfume s cented the air.
With a grudging reluctance, she lifted her lashes, which felt as if they’d been glued together. The room was shadowed. Had she managed to sleep from sunu p past sundown?
Rolling onto her back, she watched as Joyce tiptoed into the room, her red hair frizzier than usual as it haloed her broad face. She was also wearing a flannel shirt and matching pants that looked like pajamas. Odd.
With a blink, Maya struggled to sit up, shoving her tangled hair from her face. She wasn’t surprised to see the older woman. Joyce was allowed through the magical barriers she’d cast the evening before to work in the coffee shop and she knew where to find Maya when she was in her private rooms. There’d been occasions when the pipes had frozen or the computer system had gone down and she needed Maya to avert disaster.
“What time is it?” The words came out as a hoarse croak.
Joyce didn’t seem to notice as she crossed the room to stand directly n ext to the bed.
“Almost nine.”
Maya blinked again. The shop should have closed hours ago. So why wasn’t Joyce tucked in her house a few blocks away? The older woman was a creature of habit who wouldn’t be out and about at that hour unless it wa s an emergency.
Leaning to the side, Maya flipped on the lamp next to the bed. “ What happened?”
Joyce narrowed her eyes against the sudden glow, as if she’d been standing in the dark fo r a long time.
“Ever ything’s fine.”
“Then what are you d oing up here?”
Joyce stared at her in silence, her familiar features abruptly twisting in pain. Was the older woman having a medical issue? Without hesitation, Maya tossed aside the covers, preparing to grab the emergency potions she kept in the desk beneath the window. She could use one of her healing spells to stabilize Joyce until an ambulance could g et to the shop.
“Just hold on,” she urged, still on the edge of the mattress when the older woman abruptly lunged toward her with a large dagger clutch ed in her hand.
Where the hell had that come from? And more importantly, why was Joyce tryi ng to stab her?
Rolling off the bed, Maya avoided the blade that sliced through the air less than an inch from her head. She landed on her hands and knees, scrambling toward the desk. There were more than healing potions hidden i n the drawers.
Heavy footsteps thumped toward her, and Maya once again caught the glint of steel as the dagger carved a path toward her head. With a muttered oath, Maya dropped to her belly, waiting for the blade to fly past before she rolled onto her back and released a p ulse of power.
“Stop it, Joyce,” she commanded.
Joyce flinched as the magic slammed into her, but with a jerky motion she con tinued forward.
“I can’t.”
Maya’s brows snapped together. Something was wrong. With an effort, she concentrated on her friend’s face. Her expression was still twisted, but Maya suspected it wasn’t a physical pain. It was more like she was fighting against an inner compulsion. And her eyes were cloudy, as if she were cau ght in a spell.
A very powerful spell.
Joyce sprang toward Maya, moving with shocking speed. Jerking her head back, Maya felt the blade cut a shallow gash on her brow. It wasn’t deep enough to cause a real injury, but the blood flowing from the wound threatened to blind her.
She had to end this sooner rat her than later.
“Joyce, listen to my voice.” It was an effort, but she managed to keep her tone soothing. “I need you to stop.”
Joyce hissed, tears in her eyes as she lifted her arm and took another swing with the dagger. Maya rolled to her stomach, planting her hands on the wood plank floor and shoving herself upward. She managed to get to her feet just in time to avoid the blade that nearly sliced thro ugh her throat.
Okay. Enough was enough. She didn’t want to hurt Joyce, but there was no way the woman could battle through the compulsion spell. No t without help.
Darting toward the desk, Maya yanked open the top drawer and fumbled for a thin vial that was filled with a gray mist. She turned and tossed it directly toward the olde r woman’s face.
Joyce ducked downward, but the vial smashed into the top of her head and shattered. The potion released, blooming into a small cloud that settled over Joyce’s face, clinging to her even as she desperately used her free hand to try to wipe away the magic. The blinding potion was temporary, but for the few minutes it lasted it caused a searing pain.
Maya ignored the stab of guilt, pointing a finger in Joyce’s direction as she tapped into the power that hummed through her blood. Gathering the magic, she released it in a slow trickle, twining it until a silvery strand floated in the air. Then, using it like a lasso, she wrapped the magic around Joyce’s feet, effectively gluing her to the floor.
Seemingly unaware that she’d been caught in Maya’s power, Joyce shook off the last of the clinging mist and tried to leap forward. This time, however, she merely swayed in place, nearly falli ng on her face.
Shoving herself upright, Joyce tried again to move forward. Once again she swayed a nd nearly fell.
“What have you done?” She twisted from side to side in frustration.
“You’re not well, Joyce.” Maya cautiously stepped forward. If she could get close enough, she might be able to break through the web of compulsion that was controlling the older w oman. “Let me—”
“No!” A raw scream that came from the very depths of Joyce’s soul ripped through the air. Then, lifting the dagger over her head, she stared at Maya with tear-filled eyes . “I’m sorry.”
Maya stopped, prepared for the weapon to be tossed in her direction. Instead, Joyce stared her directly in the eye as she swung the dagger downward, plunging it into the cente r of her chest.
Blindsided by the sight of her friend collapsing to the floor with a blade stuck in her heart, Maya rushed forward. With a muttered word, she released the magic holding Joyce’s feet and dropped to her knees. Reaching out, she gently turned the limp body over, a gasp wrenched from her lips at the sight of the blood that soaked through Joyce’s clothing and seeped into t he floorboards.
S o much blood...
With an effort she resisted the urge to yank the dagger out and focused her mind on a spell that would slow the bleeding. Not that she had much hope. Even as Maya tried to form the words, Joyce released a ragged breath before she was lying unnaturally still, her eyes staring blindly a t the ceiling.
No, no, no.
On the point of casting the spell, no matter how futile, Maya was distracted when a familiar symbol appeared on Joyce’s forehead. It looked like a brand that had been burned into her flesh, but as swiftly as it’d appeared, it faded. A second later her skin was changing to a nasty shade of ash, the top layer starting to flake away as if she’d been dead for days.
Maya jerked back, horrified as she watched her friend decay b efore her eyes.
This couldn’t be happening. It had to be a nightmare....
Alison .
The name whispered through the back of her mind, igniting her sorrow to a blazing fury.
The mage had to be responsible for Joyce’s attack. No doubt the evil bitch discovered she couldn’t get through Maya’s wards so she used the vulnerable human as if she was a disposable weapon. One that could be destroyed if she failed. Or maybe even if she succeeded. The mage was smart enough not to leave be hind witnesses.
An icy blast of air blew through the room, swirling the covers off the bed and rattling the bedside lamps. Then Ravyr was kneeling beside her, his arm protectively wrapping around her shoulders.
“Maya?”
She turned her head to meet his worried gaze. “I’m going to rip that bitch apart and paste her back together. Then I’m going to do it aga in. And again.”
“Okay.” He shot a quick glance toward the dead woman. “Did s he attack you?”
“Not Joyce. This wasn’t her fault. Someone placed a compulsion spell on her to kill me. When she failed...”
Her words died on her lips as she forced herself to her feet. She couldn’t bear to remember the sight of Joyce’s face as she’d plunged the dagger into her own heart.
Ravyr straightened, grasping her shoulders to gently turn her away from the d ecaying corpse.
“Did you know her?”
“She’s worked for me for years. She was my friend.”
He glanced over his shoulder, his power pulsing against her as he studied t he dead woman.
“She looks li ke the others.”
Maya gave a jerky nod, touching the center of her forehead. “There was a brand on h er skin. Here.”
“Did you recognize it?”
“Yes. It matched the symbol on Bat u’s medallion.”
Ravyr grimaced. “I saw the same brand on Bastian. Do you know what it means?”
“I asked Batu one time what it represented.” Maya shuddered at the memory. “He gave me a creepy smile and said it was his ins urance policy.”
“Insurance?” He paused, as if trying to attach some meaning to the word. “That doesn’t make any sense,” he at last conceded. “But then, most of the crap that Batu spewed didn’t m ake any sense.”
Maya ground her teeth, wrenching her thoughts out of the past. The answers wouldn’t be found there.
“We need to track down Alison,” she abruptly announced. “The compulsion spell controlling Joyce was crea ted by a mage.”
Ravyr nodded. “How close would she need to be to contro l your friend?”
Maya considered the question. She’d spent years practicing magic, and while her specialty had always been potions, she’d watched Peri preparing curses that were designed to be activated hours or ev en days later.
“It’s possible that the compulsion was contained in the brand that was placed on her forehead.”
“Would she physically have to touch her to pl ace the spell?”
“Yes.”
“How recently?”
“Within the past week.”
“And t o activate it?”
“She could have released her hold on the spell, like pulling a trigger. Or more likely, she had the spell designed to activate on a specific date and time.”
Ravyr glanced toward Joyce, his expression hard with unease. “So she could have placed the spell days ago, and then set it into motion without being anywher e in the area?”
“Yes.”
His brow furrowed as he returned his attention to her. “But how would she know you were here?”
Maya shrugged. That was the one part of the spell that didn’t confuse her. “It wouldn’t have mattered where I was. Once the spell was activated Joyce would have sought me out and tried to kill me, although it’s rare that I’m not alone in my apartment at this time of night.” A shudder wracked her body as the image of Joyce standing over her bed seared through her mind. It was going to be a long time before she could sleep in her bed without worrying someone was going to plunge a dagger into her heart. “But I suspect that Alison intended to kill me before Joyce was needed. She had to know that unless Joyce got lucky and stabbed a vital organ before I could wake up there was no way she could overpower me.” Maya was forced to stop and swallow the lump in her throat. “Tonight was probably her last-ditch effort to get rid of me.”
Power pulsed through the air as Ravyr’s expression registered her words, the chill in the air suddenly m ore pronounced.
“She’s on a schedule.”
Maya sucked in a sharp breath. Dammit. He was right. If the compulsion spell had been set on a timer, that meant Alison considered tonight her last-ditch effor t to kill Maya.
“Which will only make her more desperate.” Maya wrapped her arms around her waist. “She had to have sensed her spell be ing triggered.”
“She knows you’r e still alive?”
Maya nodded. “At least alive before Joyce came looking for me. She can’t be certain what happened aft er the attack.”
A grim smile curved his lips. “Then it’s possible that she’ll come to see if he r plan worked.”
Maya doubted the mage would be that stupid. She would have to know that if Maya survived she’d be waiting for her. Still, there was the chance that she was anxious enough to be provoked into doing somet hing reckless.
“I’ll cast a snare that will trap her if she gets anywhere close,” she promised. It wouldn’t be the first time she’d been forced to protect her home f rom intruders.
“You do that while I return Joyce to her home. We don’t want to answer unpleasant questions from the huma n authorities.”
Maya’s heart twisted at the thought of dumping poor Joyce’s body in her house and walking away. It felt...disrespectful. Then again, there was no way to explain to the human authorities why there was a decaying corpse in her bedroom.
“She lives—”
He pressed his finger to her lips. “ I can find it.”
A surge of gratitude eased the icy knot in her stomach. It might be cowardly to hand over the unpleasant duty to Ravyr, but she was simply too raw to deal with her grief tonight. Tomorrow she would be her usua l kickass self.
“I’m going to set the snare and shut down the shop for a few days,” she said. “I can’t put anyone e lse in danger.”
He brushed a kiss over her lips. “I’ll be back. Pack a bag and try to stay o ut of trouble.”
Maya heaved a sigh. “No guarantee.”