Concentric Circles (13 page)

Meekal’s black brows rose sharply. “Intimidation? Scare tactics? That may work on your minions. It doesn’t carry over to us. You obviously don’t know who Shayla is.”

Shayla glared at him, her own brow rose in query.

Rough laugher filled the clearing from the Thyrza. “She’s a nascent witch. Not fully into her powers.” Syther’s sneer traveled around the circle, spreading black venom in its wake. Its energy purled silently along the ground seeking a way through Meekal’s protective circle. Failure to penetrate thickened its essence into a swarthy fog rising up from the earth. Syther motioned for two of his thugs to move to their left. Then a finger, ringed in gold, pointed toward Shayla’s hair. “Nice fake die job.”

“In your dreams,” she growled back.

From above, the heavy wind brought in moaning, magical shadows of mayhem, which obscured the lover’s moon and stars.

One Thyrza raised a wand as it transformed into a dagger. His face twisted into a frightening caricature of a grin, lip curling upward, and disappearing into a bushy mustache. He moved to her left, menacing, just outside the earthen circle, black fog misting upward to his knees. The other Thyrza focused his attention on Meekal.

“Nascent? Oh really?” Shayla’s annoyance came through in her voice. “I’m not a witch.”

Syther held his hateful sneer on her, projecting his power toward them.

Despite the protection around them, the sinister aura surrounding Syther caused tremors of dark power to travel through Shayla. However, standing in such close proximity with him succeeded in strengthening her resolve. “It won’t happen,” she insisted angrily while moving to take C
IARAN
L
EXISS
from her boot.

Meekal moved to her back, facing the Thyrza behind her. He whispered a soft incantation, “Alalia.”

Panic ensued outside the circle behind her. Shayla turned her head to see what had happened.

The Thyrza to her back clutched his throat, panic raging from his eyes. Shaking his head, he attempted to emit sounds, only to fail.

Meekal whispered another incantation that she could not hear clearly.

Down went another Thyrza, scratching and pulling at his hair. His feet beginning to flail about, he shuddered and vanished in a puff of black smoke.

Syther roared, pointed his bone wand at Meekal, and yelled, “Scathergal!”

Meekal raised his hand, flicked his wrist, and deflected the curse to hit another Thyrza.

Screams erupted. The victim of vicious cutting went into a frenzy of movement, trying to escape the curse’s effects. Frenetic agony filled the clearing with desperation’s cadence.

Sheitan paced at the edge of the circle, looking from her master Syther to Shayla. The smell of fresh blood raised her hackles in anticipation. She yowled, adding to the mayhem surrounding them.

Shayla blew out a deep breath, her adrenalin rushing. Pointing C
IARAN
L
EXISS
at the panther, she commanded, “Go home, Sheitan. I will see you another day.”

Sheitan blinked at her, and then with a shimmer of black fur, vanished.

Syther roared his anger once again. Pointing his wand at Shayla, he started to curse her. “Scath—”

“Wand.” The white bone flashed as it flew across the space between them. It landed on the grass. Shayla did not touch Syther’s wand. Instead, when it arrived at her feet, she stomped it with her boot heel.

In an angry vortex of black air, Syther vanished, followed closely by his minions.

Meekal turned to her. “Are you all right?”

With the potential danger past, a flash of euphoria ran through her. They were out, free and clear. “Wow! Yes.” In celebration, Meekal pulled her close, and then his questing tongue ventured within.

She melted within his arms.

Pulling away reluctantly, he whispered, “We need to get back to the manor.”

Shayla nodded, moving her hands to clasp behind his neck.

Meekal hesitated, chewing on his lip. Looking down, he made a decision. He knelt next to Syther’s broken wand, examining it.

Curiosity peaking, Shayla went down on one knee. “Kal, what is it. Is something wrong?”

He conjured a stone box, and then levitated the wand into its protective interior. Muttering under his breath, he picked the box up and tucked it into his back pocket.

“What did you do that for?”

“We may be able to use it.” Meekal took her hand, held her gaze and whispered, “Home.”

[8] Death Knell

They arrived at Chilkwell Manor in the midst of a family reunion. Meekal smiled and encouraged Shayla forward. “Shay, this is my grandmum, Emelia Chilkwell. Grandmum, this is Shayla Brinawell. She’s from America.”

Emelia, expression happy to see him, she pulled Meekal into a hug. “Hello, love,” she whispered against his shoulder. She stepped away, smiling at Shayla. “Ah, so this is the lass Black Bry is boasting about.” She shook Shayla’s hand.

Shayla accepted the gesture of welcome even as she felt heat in her cheeks. “Hi,” she whispered, feeling uncharacteristically shy.

“It’s all right, dear.” Emelia hesitated, noticing Shayla stiffen. “Shayla, he said you were the spitting image of Keira.”

“Oh.”

A deep bass voice said, “He’s right, as usual.”

Shayla looked up at Meekal’s grandfather. Joseph Chilkwell had the signature Chilkwell black hair with silver wings on the sides for added effect. He stood at least six foot six, broad of shoulder with an imposing presence. His eyes were a piercing blue; however, at the moment they expressed humor.

He laughed and reached forward to shake her hand. “Hello, Shayla. I’m Joseph, Kal’s grandfather.”

“I can tell.” His friendliness infectious, she smiled back.

Meekal joined in. “Some things just carry over through the family.”

“I can see that.” Standing next to one another, Meekal and his grandfather looked so much alike, someone could have thought they were father and son.

“Dad had black hair and blue eyes, too. They weren’t the same as the Chilkwell blue though.”

“Uh ha.”

Meekal snickered, but then became serious. “We were attacked at Midmar Circle. Syther and his thugs were there. Corby Zubird, too.”

“Zubird?”

“Aye, Shay. He’s the one I used Alalia on. He’s from the Highlands. Another one of Malvenue’s lower minions.”

“Oh. I remember now. Syther demanded he come to Glastonbury. What exactly does Alalia do?”

“Silences the receiver. Corby Zubird is known for his chants and spells. If he’d been able to say a spell, we would’ve had a serious problem. He may have penetrated our protective circle and we might have been injured from closer contact.”

Shayla looked between Meekal and Joseph, perplexed by new concepts.

“Distance can be an effective defensive tool,” Meekal said with a shrug.

Joseph Chilkwell’s brows furrowed. “How many others were there?”

“Syther, Zubird, three others I’ve never met and Sheitan.”

“The panther?” Chaeli sat on the burgundy wing chair before the fireplace, stress lining her face.

“Yes,” he answered. “Don’t worry, mum. Sheitan obeys Shayla. You should’ve seen Syther when Shayla told her to leave and she did.”

“It’s true. He went ballistic,” Shayla said in confirmation when everyone looked at her questioningly.

“Well, that’s a relief,” Chaeli said, shuddering visibly.

“She wouldn’t harm me, Mum.”

Parental concern came through in Chaeli’s voice. “You don’t know that, Meekal.”

“I do now.” Meekal grinned at her. Shayla saw the relief registered there after their harrowing experience. They definitely were getting to know one another quickly. She took his hand and squeezed it, relishing his strength.

Joseph tried to appease Chaeli. “Syther probably has her trained to take him without killing him.”

“Oh thanks, Dad,” Chaeli said, glaring at her father. “That makes me feel better.”

Joseph’s eyes flashed intensity. “Don’t forget, he needs Meekal alive.”

Surprise shot through Shayla. “But, I thought,” she said, glancing between Meekal and his grandfather.

“He needs my blood,” Meekal said, caressing her hand. “But he also needs me alive. Of course, we don’t know if he’s figured that out yet. That’s the twist of the ward spell. Even with my blood, he can’t cross the borders without me.”

Shayla bit her lip, thinking. Finally, she asked, “Am I allowed to know the location of the bezoar stone?”

Joseph arched a black brow at her.

“I mean, well,” she said, feeling suddenly uncertain.

“It’s okay, Shay,” Meekal interjected. “It isn’t that they don’t trust you. It’s more about wondering if you’re ready for the knowledge.” He smiled at his grandfather. “Shayla’s magic is fully opened. Even though she didn’t use it much before, she’s able to call for something, wind-ride, kick arse, and she has C
IARAN
L
EXISS
to guide and protect her.” Meekal reached to his back pocket and took the stone box with Syther’s wand within. “Shayla called for Syther’s wand. I thought we could use it. Perhaps as another deterrent.”

Joseph Chilkwell’s brows rose in unison. He looked at Shayla with renewed interest.

“I didn’t get a chance to tell you about C
IARAN
L
EXISS
, Dad.” Chaeli stood, giving her a smile. “Shayla has had a great many new ideas and responsibilities dropped on her in the last two days.”

“I’d say she has,” Joseph said. “So, you’re the next Guardian for Fyr. That must mean she’ll be coming for a visit soon.”

Shayla nodded, even though the idea of meeting a phoenix made her nervous.

Joseph moved forward, reaching for the box in Meekal’s hand. Carrying it to his desk, he placed it in a drawer without opening it. “We’ll work on this later. I want to be able to give it the attention it deserves. Perhaps James and Leith can help us sort it out.”

“Joseph, me thinks she should ken the stone’s location.”

Shayla looked up at the landscape painting over the fireplace. Black Bryan leaned against a tree, smiling at her.

Joseph sat against the front of the desk, nodding. “Shayla, the stone is in Bry’s pocket. The only way to get to it is by stepping into the portrait in Meekal’s room. I’m telling you because you may need to retrieve the stone or move it.”

She swallowed, glancing between the portrait where Bryan still rested casually against a tree and Joseph on his desk. They were a mirror of one another. “All right. Could you tell me what constitutes a need?”

The corner of Joseph’s mouth twitched as he inclined his head slightly. “Well,” he said, crossing his arms in front of his chest. “Say for instance, Syther is in the foyer trying to figure out how to get the stone from Bry. We don’t know for sure if he knows exactly where the stone is, so he may try somewhere else. Meekal’s room is at the top of the Manor. It’s the furthest away on purpose. You should be able to wind-ride up there, step into the portrait and escape.” He appraised Shayla, contemplating her reaction.

“Umm, where will you be?”

“Shayla,” Joseph replied firmly, “if Syther makes it into the Manor, I won’t be here anymore.”

Absolute stillness filled the room around her, like the quiet before the storm. Realization dawned with penetrating urgency. “That won’t happen!” she yelled, as tremors traveled through her.

“Shhh, it’ll be okay,” Meekal said, moving in closer. “We just need to cover all of our bases.” He ran calming fingers through her hair, murmuring softly, trying to soothe her.

Shayla leaned close, and then wrapped her arms tightly around him, waves of panic transforming into protective anger.

Meekal patted her back, still speaking softly. “It’ll be okay.”

“Kal.”

Steadfast strength resonated from his expression. “It’s important we have a plan.”

She met Chaeli’s eyes over Meekal’s shoulder, and then closed hers to block the worry eating at her. Within her mind, she spun from fear to discordant anger, finally around to the intensity of worry. Shayla took a calming breath, pulling the warmth and strength of Meekal’s body into her. “I know,” she whispered against his neck. “It’s just hard. That’s all.”

Meekal moved, withdrawing his warm strength, the corner of his mouth lifted slightly. “The stone is safe. I can get away if they capture me. You need to have faith.”

With a nod to indicate understanding, she pulled away.

Emelia entered the library with Mari Bree carrying two trays of refreshment.

A sudden sense of comfort passed over Shayla. She did not know when Meekal’s grandmum left; however, she recognized the heavenly scent of spice tea. She remembered she had not eaten anything since breakfast.
Wow, what a day
.

“I thought we could use some refreshments.” Emelia placed her tray on the oak table.

Shayla inhaled, pulling in the scent of tea.

“Have a seat, Shayla.” Chaeli said, motioning to the round table. “Perhaps eating something will make you feel better.”

“It smells delightful.” She sat, grateful that no one made a comment about her stomach growling at the aromas of food and tea.

“Meekal,” Joseph said, “after we eat, you should take Shayla up to your room. Show her the obvious route and the secret passages.”

“Aye. I’ll do that.”

“You have secret passages?” Shayla asked in curious excitement.

“Several,” he answered. “The Manor was originally used as a safe house during Henry VIII’s purging of the church. Even though we’re close to the Abbey, our secret rooms and passages were never discovered. Several monks took refuge here.”

“Ooh.”

Joseph laughed. “Chaeli tells me you went to the Abbey yesterday. Did you like it?”

Shayla fought the heated flush that raced under her skin. The blush winning out, knowing she was red, she bent her attention to the bowl of stew. “Yes,” she replied, still studying the mixture of carrots, potatoes and savory meat. She smiled when Meekal tapped her foot under the table, although she refused to look up.

* * * * * *

After eating, they walked through a hidden panel in the library to an upper room serving as an oversized closet. “This is where we store the linen and paper goods for the guests who stay here at the manor. It’s mostly Mari Bree and Harry who use this particular secret passage.” Meekal closed the cupboard door they stepped through and a mythic shroud surrounded them with a sense of the past.