Enchantment (4 page)

“Perhaps.” Tallon wasn’t sure whether the other man believed him or not. Malachai was tricky and held his own council.

“What brings you to this place?” He tried to keep his tone casual, but he was desperate to know what had occurred in his absence. How long had he been lost in limbo? He couldn’t ask the question without revealing what had happened, and Malachai couldn’t know of his connection to Shayla. The warlock was ruthless in upholding the Laws of Segregation. But then he had been here when Casterix had nearly destroyed Arroway. He had seen firsthand what devastation the moon magic could bring to the world.

Since meeting Shayla, Tallon had come to the conclusion that the Laws of Segregation were wrong, that they were damaging the world. Shayla was not evil; he could never again accept that lie. But he still believed that the Order did what they did for the good of Arroway, that they genuinely believed that witches were dangerous and ultimately would cause the destruction of their world.

Malachai turned and waved a hand to his guards. They disappeared the way they had come and he turned back to Tallon. “We learned of this place from the witch’s mother.”

“She still lives?” The question slipped out before Tallon could think better of it. “She might be of help capturing the girl.” Malachai pursed his lips. “She was alive when last I saw her.” He paced the area for a minute deep in thought. Finally, he stopped beside one of the great stones and stroked one hand over the rock. “I wanted time alone to see if I could make sense of this place. There is deep magic at work here.” Could Malachai have known what the circle was? Casterix had explained it to them. There were certain places where the veil between worlds was gossamer thin. If you knew the right magic, and had sufficient power, you could use the circles to move between worlds.

He was sure that Shayla’s mother knew nothing of the power of the circles. Shayla had told him that it was just vague rumors that had led them here. Rumors of a place where they would find help.The Order had received reports of a witch with the moon mark and sent Tallon out to hunt her down and destroy her. He had captured the mother, not far from this place. He’d suspected at the time that she had given herself up in order to give Shayla a chance to escape. It hadn’t worked, only delayed the inevitable.

Tallon had taken her back to the Keep, and then returned to his search for Shayla. He had caught up with her here. And for the first time, he’d been reluctant to perform his duty.

When he had started his spell to destroy her, Shayla had countered with magic of her own. She had spoken one of the words of power, though at the time she hadn’t known that. Shayla had little control over her magic; it was instinctive. The portal had been opened, and they had awoken in a strange land. And everything had changed.

He glanced up to find Malachai watching him, his expression blank, but unless Tallon pulled himself together soon, he would realize something was amiss. He had to find out what Malachai planned without giving away how much it mattered.

“Do you still require me to kill the daughter?” Tallon asked.

The answer would shape his next move. If Malachai still wanted Shayla dead, then Tallon couldn’t risk trying to find her while the warlock was close. But if he had changed his plans, then Tallon would hazard it. He had failed to find Shalya on his own. Only with the added power of the Order, would he track her down and bring her home.

“No,” Malachai replied. “Not immediately. We need her alive for now. We’ll take her back to the Keep, carry out the castration spell.” So Malachai needed her magic. He’d been ready to kill her.

What had changed? But that was something to worry about later.

Once he had Shayla back where she belonged.

Shayla had chosen him. He hadn’t even realized such a thing existed, but then how could he? He had been born long after The Laws of Segregation had come into being. The only witches he knew were the empty vessels of the pleasure slaves, broken by the Order. In his younger years, to his later shame, he’d taken his pleasure in the mouths of the slaves. That was the only relief allowed them—like all warlocks of the Order, he had made a vow of chastity. He’d been a virgin when Shalya had made love to him for the first time. Now, his body tightened at the memory and her soft sweetness. Her generosity of spirit.

Oh Goddess, where was she? But at least this way, he could legitimately ask for Malachai’s help. A warlock’s magic wasn’t like that of the witches. Moon magic was wild and instinctive while the warlocks used ritual.

They were also powerless without their staffs, but they could multiply their magic many times by working in conjunction with others. He would need the extra power if he was to locate Shayla.

“I want to try a finding spell on the witch. Will you help?”

“You have something to use?” Tallon nodded. He had a hair from her head, a long strand of dark red, he had found stuck to his cloak. Now, he took it from his pocket and wrapped it carefully around the head of his staff. Malachai watched him through narrowed eyes, but raised his own staff and touched it to Tallon’s. A jolt of power ran through his arm. He hadn’t known Malachai was so strong. And the power had a strange flavor. His aura held flashes of crimson as though tinged with the moon magic.

He pushed the thoughts away; he needed to concentrate on Shayla. Lowering his lids, he focused his inner eye and started the search. Time passed, and still he could not locate her. She was nowhere on Arroway. He extended the search and finally found her.

She was in a gray land between worlds. She couldn’t get out, though she was hunting for a way. Her magic relied on the land, and she gained strength from Arroway. Stuck in this in-between land, she couldn’t draw enough strength to leave on her own.

There was another presence there, but he was weak and shadowy, and Tallon couldn’t get a grip on him.

Concentrating his power, he attempted to draw her to him, but even with Malachai’s added strength, he couldn’t shift her.

He blinked, breaking the contact, and she was lost to him once more. Despair flooded him, but he kept his expression carefully blank as he looked at Malachai.

Malachai raised an eyebrow. “You’ve found her?”

“Yes, but she’s fighting me,” he lied. “We need more power.”

“There’s my guard.” Malachai’s personal guard was made up of some of the most powerful warlocks in the Order. A few years past, Malachai had offered Tallon the job of captain, but by that time Tallon had become disenchanted with life in the confines of the Keep. Instead, he’d asked for the position of Enforcer, and Malachai, maybe sensing his restlessness, had relented. His job was to go after the enemies of the order, or follow up on requests from the villages and towns that surrounded the Keep. If they had a problem, they would often petition the Keep for help. The Council would discuss the petition and if accepted, Tallon would sort out the problem. Most of his prey were hardened criminals, and on the whole, it was work he enjoyed. Or had, until he’d been sent out after a young witch and her mother. For the first time, he had questioned his duty.

The guards would provide the extra power he needed and he nodded. Malachai strode to the edge of the clearing and spoke quietly to someone. He came back a minute later. “So where is she?” he asked.

“I’m not sure, but it doesn’t matter. With our combined power we can draw her to us here.”

“You can do that? I’m impressed. You’re power has increased.” Tallon cursed silently; he would prefer that Malachai did not know his strengths. He had a suspicion that at some point in the future, he would be facing the head of the Order in less than friendly circumstances, and he needed every advantage he could get. But he had no choice. He could think of no other way to rescue Shayla and even this would be touch and go as to whether he would succeed. As long as he didn’t lose her in that limbo between worlds.

Eight guards entered the clearing and formed a ring around Tallon and Malachai. They each raised their staff, touching it with the next in the circle until they formed a continuous ring. Tallon raised his own staff and closed his eyes. He concentrated on Shayla, and now that he had found her once before, he honed in on her easily. Around him, the guard started up a low chant, and he could feel the power shifting into him, swelling with the hum of their voices.

This time, there was no resistance. She came to him easily, and within seconds, she stood in the center of the circle beside him. She shook her head, obviously dazed at the transition, but that would soon dissipate. Tallon had to act fast.

If it were Malachai alone, he would attempt to take him out, but he couldn’t take on the whole circle of guards. Already Shayla’s expression was clearing, and he could see the dawning of delight in her wide green eyes. Stepping forward, he raised his free hand and clipped her on the side of the chin.

Shock replaced the delight, then she crumpled to the soft ground, unconscious.

~*~

Shayla came back to consciousness with a sudden jolt. It was becoming a regular occurrence, and this time she kept her lids lowered as she tried to make sense of where she was and what had happened. She lay on her side on the soft earth. Peeping through half-closed lashes, she saw two pairs of long leather boots directly in her field of vision. She blinked then shut her lids as pain flashed through her head.

It came back to her slowly.

Tallon.

Somehow, he had found her and brought her from the in-between place and back to Arroway. And then he had hit her.

Bastard.

What in the Goddess’s name was going on? And while Tallon accounted for one pair of boots, who did the other belong to? She knew deep inside that Tallon would never hurt her, but their relationship was so new. Only a little while back he had been trying to kill her. He had been her sworn enemy and judged her responsible for just about every bad thing that had ever happened in their world. But that had changed. She had chosen him. They had been on their way back to Arroway to save her mother...Oh Goddess. Her mother! The Order had captured her mother, were holding her prisoner in the dungeons below the Keep.

Something nudged her in the side. The toe of a boot. It had better not been Tallon’s. She tried to move, to push herself up, but her hands were bound in front of her, and the first flashes of panic stabbed at her mind. Forcing her eyes open, she peered around her. She recognized the place immediately; she was back in the clearing where she had met Tallon.

One pair of long boots came back into view and one foot came forward and nudged her again, harder this time. She gritted her teeth together, holding back the words. Her big mouth had gotten her into trouble in the past; she was determined to keep quiet until she knew what was going on.

“She’s awake,” a man said. Shayla didn’t recognize the voice.

Not Tallon after all. The foot kicked her this time, in the ribs, and the air left her lungs in a whoosh. “Get up.” Shayla swallowed down the pain and lifted her head. “I would, but it’s a little difficult tied like this.”

“Try harder,” the man said silkily.

She heard the threat implicit in the words, and she wriggled around, finally managing to push herself upright and lean her back against the rough bark of the tree behind her. She winced as she opened her eyes fully. Tallon’s blow hadn’t been particularly hard, but she could feel the bruise forming on the side of her chin.

She shook her head to clear the last of the darkness from her mind then raised her gaze to the man who stood in front of her. He was tall and lean, dressed in black pants and shirt, with a fur-trimmed cloak over the top. At first glance, his face was handsome, but a shudder of revulsion ran through her as she studied him. Something was wrong with this man; some evil lurked behind his dark eyes.He held her gaze for long moments, and then turned to speak to someone who stood beside him. “She doesn’t look like much, does she? Hard to believe her kind could destroy a world. Or evade my Enforcer for nearly a week.”

“Hmm, she’s somewhat stunted, a scrawny, little thing. But sometimes they’re the hardest type to catch—they can scurry into holes too small for normal people.” Shayla’s eyes narrowed at the comment, and she twisted her head to glare at the other man. She’d known as soon as he spoke that it was Tallon. She kept her expression blank as her hungry gaze ate him up, and her whole being yearned toward him.

Mine.

The word whispered through her mind, hovered on the tip of her tongue, but something flashed in Tallon’s eyes, some warning perhaps, and she bit her lip to keep the word inside.

He took a step back, so he stood slightly behind the other man.

Staring at her intently, he gave an almost imperceptible shake of his head. She had no clue what was going on here, but she had to trust Tallon. The alternative—that he had betrayed her—was too hard to bear.

He was the most beautiful man she had ever seen. It seemed to her that she had loved him forever. His long, midnight-dark hair hung to his shoulders. His eyes were the purple of the skies above Arroway, sharp cheekbones, a large nose, and a wide mouth. She had a flashback to the feel of that mouth on her body and heat uncoiled in the pit of her stomach “She doesn’t appear particularly bright.” The stranger nudged her again with the toe of his boot, and she snarled. He laughed and she ground her teeth together.

“Maybe ask her an easy question,” Tallon said, and she heard the feigned amusement in his voice. At least, it had better be feigned.

“What’s your name, girl?” She glanced briefly at Tallon while the other man’s concentration was on her, hoping for another sign, but his face remained impassive.

Glancing around the clearing, she realized there were other men present, and knew he wouldn’t risk giving them away a second time. Whoever these people were, and she had her suspicions, Tallon didn’t want them to know they had already met. Her best bet was to at least give the appearance of cooperation, though she hated the idea. She had to keep her temper in line. If she lost it, who knew what she might give away? She didn’t function well when she was in a temper.