Chapter 15 #3
Ilsbeth’s demeanor flattened as she reached for the vial and held it up into the air, inspecting it.
“I never told anyone. When I went to Hell. I wasn’t the only one.
I don’t know whether it was my personal torture to be in a cell with that nightmare.
It was only for a few minutes. I almost didn’t recognize her.
She’d gone mad, you know? The woman near the fire?
Her hair had thinned, clumps missing. Then I watched as she ripped it out, tossing the hairs one by one into a small fire.
” Ilsbeth blew out a breath and looked to Greyson.
“This was in the early days of my stay, of course. I was nearly like her by the time I left. Mad. But alas in that moment before, I’d collected the ashes.
The crow had been a gift, or so I thought.
In actuality it was used to torture me. And this stone?
It’s infused with the memory of my spell. ”
“How do you know this will work?” Skylar asked. Greyson rolled his eyes in response. “No, really? I think we all have a right to know. That thing in the nightclub, she’d infected those vampires. Or humans. Zombies? Whatever they were? We haven’t even seen her yet.”
“It will work. I rarely make mistakes, but when I do, I certainly don’t ever make them again. And besides, sweet child, I’m the High Priestess and I’m a good witch.”
Greyson burst out laughing and held up a finger, attempting to curb his laughter.
“You’d better be a good witch.”
“But of course. I saved you, didn’t I?”
“We get it. You’re on the karma train,” Dominique commented. “You know who isn’t? Xavier. He’s out there busting his ass in Vegas with your nightmare sister, and this prophecy better be real, or I’ll drag you back to hell myself.”
“What’s next?” Skylar asked.
“A sacrifice of course. Nothing in life is free.” Ilsbeth reached underneath the altar, pulled out a razor-sharp athame and smiled. “Who’s first?”
Skylar winced as the witch sliced her palm with the knife, blood trickling into her caldron.
Rafe reached for her wrist and tugged it from Ilsbeth.
Skylar locked eyes with him as he gently brought her hand to his lips.
His tongue brushed over her skin, instantly healing her, her pain shifting, her heart aching in anticipation of losing him. I love you.
Rafe kissed her hand. “Hey, it’s gonna be all right.”
“Yes, yes,” she nodded.
“Time?” Ilsbeth called to Thorn.
“Two minutes,” he replied.
“We shall go to work under the darkness of the eclipse, harnessing its energy. It will be quick, but Zyaire is ever searching for a weakness. You must be ready to go after her.” Ilsbeth snatched the purple pouch off the altar. “Rafe. You must carry the sacrifice.”
“I feel like I’ve sacrificed enough for eternity.”
Skylar tugged her hand free and pressed her palm to his cheek. Within minutes it would all be over. Rafe would wake up from the spell, the bond broken between them, his wolf running free.
They locked eyes, her heart pounding in her chest.
“Thirty seconds,” Thorn called out.
“I want you to know that whatever happens, I’m glad I met you, loved you.” She held back tears and pressed her lips to his.
“I’ll always carry you in my heart, Sky. In my heart, you’ll always be mine.”
She didn’t linger and pulled away, wiping the corner of her eye. She bit her lip, distracting her mind from the impending loss.
“Let’s roll, people,” Thorn yelled.
Ilsbeth took a deep breath and reached for the door handle.
Skylar resisted looking up at the sun, fearing it’d sear her retinas. Her focus landed on Rafe who stood under a copper pergola, purple wisteria trailing over its edges. Upon a stone pedestal, Ilsbeth gestured to Thorn who set a cauldron in front of her and hurriedly backed away.
The High Priestess beheld the darkening clouds drifting toward them, lightning flashed across the sky. “Today we join together as a coven to make Rafe Beaumont whole. Form the circle now!”
They complied with her instructions. Skylar nodded at Greyson as he sidled next to her. Thorn and Dominique joined them, staring up at the witch.
“Rafe. Strip off your clothes, be as the day you were born.” Without hesitation, he undressed, standing nude before them.
Skylar’s pulse raced in anticipation as he complied.
“On your knees,” Ilsbeth demanded.
“Today we come together. We call on the goodness and light of the Goddess. Focus on my words. Feel your intention. Focus on the light within. No matter what happens, do not interrupt.”
Ilsbeth lifted the cauldron into the air. “I call on the Goddess to be with us today. My gifts are in your hands. Let us set right what was never meant to be. This Alpha wolf has paid his dues tenfold for his life. Let the magick flow, let the great wolf rise again.”
Skylar shielded her face as the wind gusted over them. Rafe kept his eyes trained on Ilsbeth, a white light emanating from her hands.
“Our coven presents to you sacrifices. Blood of an ancient. Vampire and demon alike. Blood of his human, who gives him freely to you.”
Skylar averted her gaze, concealing the pain in her heart. While she’d given Rafe her blood, healing his scars, he’d always be hers.
“We uplift the one true beast within him.” The High Priestess brandished a razor-sharp steel athame in her left hand over the cauldron which held the blood she’d collected.
“Goddess. We send blessings from your realm. Today, we call upon your magick, we call on the energy of the universe to heal the wolf. Let no evil pass through our circle. Let no demonic energy touch our coven. Protect us as we proceed.”
A crack of lightning sliced through the darkness of the impending eclipse. Skylar shuddered as thunder clapped in its wake.
Ilsbeth glanced over her shoulder, hastening her pace.
“May we draw out the vampire magick. May we send it back to the Goddess. Let this wolf run free. Let my strength, my blessed magick renew the Alpha.” She reached for the stone held within her purple cloth.
“This stone of hell contains my spell. When I was dragged into Hell, I used the last of my magick to infuse it. And now, let the spell begin.” As she dropped it in the blood, smoke exploded from the cauldron.
Skylar stole a look at the eclipse which had begun to wane. Clouds emerged in the sky but a patch of clearing gave way to the great celestial event as the moon blocked the sun. A gust of wind howled, a drop of cold rain striking her arm.