Chapter 19
Settling into the plush leather seat of the SUV, Ravyr remained silent as Maya reached up to grasp the emerald hanging on a golden chain, her lips moving as if she was repeating a spell. He assumed she was using the gem to store her magic. Probably a good idea. They had no idea what might be waiting for them. Even if the Divinity of the Darkness coven wasn’t practicing necromancy and had no connection to Alison, it was obvious Maya had a history with the leader. Lottie Howard wouldn’t be happy to have Maya intruding into her territory, and she’d be even less happy that she was bringing al ong a stranger.
Eventually the SUV reached the edge of the long canal and came to a halt in the shadows of the abandoned railroad tracks. Assuming this was as close as the vehicle could get without attracting notice, Ravyr climbed out and allowed his senses to absorb thei r surroundings.
In the distance was a cluster of buildings framed by towering silos that were silhouetted against the night sky. Like a shell of some massive creature that had died and left behind its fossilized bones. The creepy impression was only emphasized by the barren landscape that surrounded the line of structures built out of a combination of cement a nd red bricks.
The heavy atmosphere of decay shrouded everythin g in the area.
“This is the place?” he demanded as Maya mov ed to join him.
“Assuming that Hexx didn’t lie,” she said in dry tones. “Which is a very b ig assumption.”
“Hmm.” Ravyr’s gaze skimmed over the open field directly in front of them before moving to the pile of rocks along the edge of the canal. “Let’ s look around.”
She’d taken a step forward before Ravyr could reach out and grab her arm in a firm grip . “Wait, Maya.”
“Why? Is som ething wrong?”
“Hexx was right when he pointed out that you aren’t immortal,” he reminded her, nodding toward the largest building. There was nothing to indicate that there was a waiting sniper hidden behind the broken windows. Everything was dark, and only the distant sound of traffic disrupted the thick silence. Still, he wasn’t going to take any chances. “I’ll go in an d look around.”
“No.”
His jaw tightened. “I knew you’d be stubbo rn about this.”
“Me?” Her eyes widen ed. “Stubborn?”
He ignored her teasing. “I’m not going to take any unne cessary risks.”
“Agreed. I’m going with you to make sure y ou’re careful.”
Ravyr muttered an oath at her refusal to be sensible, barely resisting the urge to wrap her in his arms and toss her back into the SUV. As much as he hated the thought of having her anywhere near the mysterious stalker, he knew that she would hate being treated like she was too fragile to fa ce the danger.
He would have to use a delicate persuasion if he was going to convince her that he had a better idea. Not his finest trait. In fact, it wasn’t one of his traits at all. He had the subtlety of a sledgehammer.
“I’ll do a quick sweep to get rid of any weapons. Once I’ve secured the place, yo u can join me.”
“It’s not just weapons that are the danger,” Maya said. “If Alison is inside, then she has no doubt surrounded the place with powerful layers of protection.”
“The magic isn’t going to hurt me,” he reminded her.
“Perhaps not, but the moment you walk through a hidden trigger it’s going to alert everyone inside. I’ll need to wrap us in a spell to disguise our presence. Which means we have to stick c lose together.”
“Absolutely not. I don’t want you going anywhere near that place if they have guns, ” he insisted.
“Ravyr.” The name came out as sharp as the blade of a dagger. “Do you want us to have a fu ture together?”
His brows snapped together. Was this a trap? It fe lt like a trap.
“There’s nothing I want more in this world,” he assured her. “But now doesn’t seem like the best time to discuss it.”
“It’s the perfect time. If we’re going to be together, then I have to know we’ll be e qual partners.”
Yep. Definitely a trap. “Of course we’ll be e qual partners.”
“Not if you insist on doing everything on your own.” She stepped forward, her features softening. “I appreciate the fact that you want to protect me, but you aren’t the lone wolf anymore.”
“It just makes sense for me to clear out the weapons before you get shot.” He made a last-ditch attempt to keep her out of danger.
A wasted effort.
“And alert everyone in the area that there’s an intruder? There’s no way you could get through the layers of alarms.” She took another step forward, until they were nearly touching. “If they escape, then we’ll be back to where we started. I want this over, Ravyr. And that means wor king together.”
Ravyr turned his head to judge the distance to the nearest building. He was inhumanely fast, but if he did set off an alarm, then the coven and whoever else was inside would scatter. There was no way to keep them all inside long enough to determine which one was the leader.
Dammit, she was right.
He turned back to meet Maya’s steady gaze. “Having a partner is still a work in progress, ” he admitted.
“Agreed.”
They shared a rueful moment of acceptance. They both had adjustments to make. Some would be more challengi ng than others.
“How does your spell w ork?” he asked.
She grabbed his hands, the emerald around her throat suddenly glowing in the moonlight.
“Once I’ve activated the spell, it should make us invisible to whatever magical barriers th ey’ve created.”
Ravyr arched a brow. “It will make us invisible?”
“Not physically. We’ll still have to be careful to stay out of sight of any guards.”
“I can take care of that,” he promised. He might not have magic, but he could sense the presence of any human, demon, or vampire lurki ng in the dark.
She nodded. “The only thing we’ll have to worry about is staying close to each other. The spell doesn’t have a very large radius.”
“Oh, that’s not a worry.” He gripped her fingers tight enough to assure her that he wasn’t going to stray an inch from her side. “I’m going to be very close.”
She rolled her eyes, but she didn’t argue as she squared her shoulders and prepared to rel ease her spell.
“ Are you ready?”
“Yeah.” The word had barely left his lips when the scent of sweet orchids swirled around him. Magic tingled in the air, humming with electric power as it brushed over his skin and sank into his body. Ravyr shivered. The magic was shockingly forceful, like it was gaining power as it raced th rough his body.
Maya’s eyes snapped open, her expression confused, as if she was as startled as he was by the intensity of the magic. Then, she sucked in a slow breath as she loosened her grip on his fingers to lightly trace the shimmering symbol that was branded onto his skin.
“What’s that? ” she demanded.
With a frown, Ravyr studied the strange marking. The interlocking circles created a unique pattern that he’d neve r seen before.
“It’s a reaction to your spell,” he murmured, more fascinated than disturbed by the shim mering tattoo.
“It was harmless. It shouldn’t have left a scar,” she protested. “Could it be caused by your s pecial talent?”
Ravyr shook his head. “My ability is to absorb magic. It should make it more difficult to keep the s pell in place.”
She bit her lip, as if wanting to insist that the mark was somehow related to him. It obviously bothered her to think that she’d lost contro l of her magic.
“Does it hurt?” she abruptly asked.
“No. It feels...” Ravyr paused to concentrate on the sensations that continued to tingle through him. There was the sizzle of magic, along with a warmth that he’d never experienced before. As if he was human. And then there was the scent. Rich orchids and lush female power. “It f eels like you.”
“Like me?” She blinked. “What d oes that mean?”
“I can sense your magic flowing through me.” He cupped her scarred cheek in his palm, a sense of awe blooming in the center of his chest. “As if we’ ve been mated.”
Heat flushed her cheek, her eyes widening. “How is that possible?”
“Long ago there were mages who could create unbreakable bonds with their partners,” he said. He’d read about the ancient ritual that would bond a mage with a powerful warrior or a lover, but it’d been countless centuries since the last known mating. Of course, since Peri had released the wild magic, there were lots of things that had been lost into the mists of time that were returning. It had yet to be determined if it was a good or bad thing. “The mating gave them the ability to share their emotions and pinpoint their location. Some could even heal their partner from a distance if they sensed they’d been injured.”
Her brow furrowed. “That wasn’t my intention.”
“Maybe not here.” He tapped the tip of his fingers against her temple, indicating her brain, before lowering them to rest over the rapid beat of her heart. “B ut maybe here.”
Her flush deepened, but she didn’t argue. Perhaps she could sense that she hadn’t lost control of her magic but instead had accomplished precisely what she wanted, even if she hadn’t fully understood w hat that meant.
“A problem for later, ” she murmured.
“Exactly.” With an effort, Ravyr forced himself to lower his hand. As much as he wanted to wrap her in his arms and explore the bond shimmering between them, it was more important to survive the night. “Does it work?”
She looked co nfused. “What?”
“Are we invisible?”
“Oh...yes.” She cleared her throat. “The spell has b een activated.”
“Then let’s do this.”
Brushing a quick kiss over her parted lips, Ravyr turned to position himself so he was walking slightly ahead. If there was a sniper, he assumed they would be on the roof of the main building. That would give them the best view of the surro unding grounds.
In silence they moved along a broken sidewalk, avoiding the large open space between the towering silos and the nearby canal. That would be the most logical place for trespassers to approach the abandoned structures. Still, he didn’t allow his assumptions to keep his gaze from searching the thick shadows that surrounded them, or testing the air for the scent of a nearby enemy.
It wasn’t until they were near the first outbuilding spread across the large property that he could sense the presence of demons. At lea st six of them.
Touching Maya’s arm, he nodded toward a back parking lot. Together they angled toward the main building that loomed over them with a forbidding silence before inching around the corner. Maya released a soft hiss at the sight of a rusty van that was pulled next to an open door. It had obviously just arrived and they were in time to see several demons stumble out of the vehicle before disappearing into the building. As if they were drunk or drugged out of their minds.
“Those must be the sacrifices,” Ravyr said, his voice barely a bove a whisper.
“We shoul d follow them.”
Ravyr nodded, but before he could position himself to keep his companion shielded from any potential bullets, he felt a dull thud pulse beneath his feet. He froze, feeling another thud that echoed through him like the beat of a massive drum.
“May a,” he growled.
Easily sensing his tension, Maya reached up to touch the emerald that glowed with power . “What is it?”
“I f eel the magic.”
It took her a second to realize what he meant. “The magic you felt i n Batu’s lair?”
“Yes.” A heavy sense of evil was threaded through the pulses, battling against the sensual beauty of Maya’s presenc e. “It’s here.”
“Can you pinpoi nt the source?”
He slowly nodded. It was beneath his feet. Which meant there had to be a nearby tunne l or basement.
Glancing back at the van that was pulling away with a squeal of its tires, Maya squared her shoulders, her expression hardening into lines he knew too well.
“You go find it. I’ll take car e of the mage.”
Ravyr released a low growl, grasping her shoulders to turn her to face him. “What about ou r partnership?”
She grimaced. “Right now it seems wise to divide and conquer.” She reached up to brush her fingers over the mark on the back of his hand. “Plus, we are bonded now, right? We’ll know how to find each other if one of us gets lost.”
He couldn’t argue with that. The sense of Maya had settled deep inside him, as if she’d become a part of his very soul. It wouldn’t matter where she traveled, or how long they were apart, he would be able to locate her with hi s eyes closed.
Not that the sense of her nestled inside him eased the fear of letting her out of his sight. She might have off-the-charts power, but that didn’t mak e her immortal.
Unfortunately, the evil pulsing through him had never been this strong. He would never have a better opportunity to track it down and dest roy the source.
Leashing the feral fury at the mere thought of Maya injured, he pressed his fingers into her shoulders, glaring down at her upturned face.
“Don’t you dare do anything stupid. If that bi tch hurts you—”
“I can deal with Alison.” She balanced on her tiptoes to press a lingering kiss against his lips. “Once I’m done I’ll be wa iting for you.”
He pulled her close, absorbing her heat. “You promise?”
“Forever,” she whispered.