Fire on the Island (34 page)
"There's
one thing that Alastore didn't figure into his perfect plan."
Eileen cocked
her head like a curious puppy, so strangely childlike in manner that it
seriously gave Isla the creeps. "And that is?"
"Free
will." Turning on her heel, Isla stalked out of the room, leaving Jeremiah
to catch up.
The drive back
to their hotel in Edinburgh was quiet, the air thick with worry and unspoken
thoughts. Jeremiah let it go for as long as he could, and then he broke the
silence. Reaching out, he wound one of her silky smooth curls around his
fingers.
"Proud of
you," he said, giving her a lopsided grin.
She laughed
and, as always, the husky sound sent lust racing through him like a shot of
adrenaline. "What for?"
"Are you
kidding? You held it together better than I did back there. I'm sorry I lost
it, but she was trying to manipulate you. To make you forget."
"I know
she was," she replied, and paused. "It's nice though, having someone
want to fight for me. I've been on my own so long that I've gotten used to only
relying on myself." Grabbing his hand, she pressed a kiss to his palm,
causing him to shiver.
Forcing himself
to concentrate on driving, he squeezed her hand and disentangled his own to
place it back on the wheel. "What did you mean, free will?"
She was silent
for a long while, before she took a deep breath. "What I meant was if
Alastore's goal was to create a hybrid that he could train for his own
purposes, what assurance did he have that the
Lochrim
side would win
out? As easy as it would have been for him to turn me against the
bruixi,
it
would have been just as easy for them to do the same against him. So it follows
that as much damage as I could have done to my own people, I should be able to
do to him and his. The fact that I grew up alone, away from any knowledge of
both the
bruixi
and the
auchrim
, makes me the wildcard. Classic
nature versus nurture."
Understanding
dawning, Jeremiah's mind began to race. "So if he believed that you had
the power to destroy the
vigilati
, it follows that you should have the
power to destroy him too."
"Exactly."
Her dimples winked as her smile beamed out at him. "It seems as though he
may not have anticipated not being able to win me over. Or the fact that I
would have a supernatural crime-fighting dream team backing me up. With you and
Marduk helping me, I
will
find a way to destroy him."
As pride
swelled in him at her bravery, fear for her clenched his gut. Four days until
Samhain and whatever showdown fate had planned for them.
"Jeremiah."
Her voice jolted him out of the web of his own thoughts.
"Hmm?"
"We should
tell Drew what's going on." When he looked at her in surprise, she
explained. "As much as we gained from the meeting with Eileen, we still
don't know how to kill Alastore. Now, more than ever, we need to know what is
in that book. I think he'll be able to help us more if he knows what we're
looking for."
Jeremiah let
out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding and smiled. "I think that's
a good idea. And for what it's worth, you can trust him."
"I trust
you."
"Besides, Eileen
said something to me after you walked out that I need to run by Drew. Maybe he
can help me figure out what she meant…"
Jerking up
straighter in her seat, Isla turned to face him. "What did she say?"
As he'd
turned to make his exit, Eileen's voice had stopped him once more. "Have
you felt the
laqueum
yet?" He froze, but didn't look back at her. "My daughter is not the
only one whose time runs out on Samhain."
"She asked
me if I've felt the
laqueum
yet
."
"What does
that mean?"
"I'm not
entirely sure. I have some ideas, but I want to pick Drew's brain about them.
Hopefully something was mentioned in the text that might bring me some clues.
I'll give him a call and ask him to meet us at the hotel."
Drew sat facing
them with a stunned look of disbelief on his face. Mouth hanging open, he
looked back and forth between Jeremiah and Isla as if he expected one of them
to say "syke!" and take it all back.
Having just
given Drew the cliffnotes version of
bruixi
lore and a quick rundown of
recent events on the island, the two of them shared a worried look, hoping they
had made the right decision.
"You're
telling me that she's a witch," Drew tipped his head toward Isla,
"and the two of you are embroiled in some kind of armageddon battle
between good and evil, the prize being the salvation or destruction of
humanity. Do I have this about right?"
His voice was
tinged with the slightest bit of hysteria and he laughed humorlessly.
"Drew,
man, you've been in investigations with me before. You know that there are
things in this world that defy explanation. Isla is one of those things."
"I'm not
fond of parlor tricks, but I can prove it if you like," Isla said calmly.
Drew looked uneasily at her, as if afraid she may actually be telling the
truth.
"Go ahead,
Isla. I think he needs to see it."
Stretching out
her fingertips toward Drew's water glass on the other side of the coffee table
they sat around, Isla used her energy to push and pull it to her. Waving a hand
over the glass, the water congealed into an orb of liquid that floated out of
the glass and hovered over her hand.
She held it out
to Drew, who dipped his finger into it and drew it back to stare at his
dripping wet skin. With a flick of Isla's wrist, the ball exploded into vapor,
causing Drew to jump.
He scrubbed a
hand over his face and leaned back in the plush chair he sat in.
"Okay," he said finally.
"Okay?
Okay what?" Jeremiah's voice was tense, until he felt Isla's calming hand
on his knee.
"Okay,
you're in love with a witch. I believe you, I just need a second."
Standing up, Drew walked to the fridge and grabbed three beers.
"Why are
you telling me this now?"
"It was my
call," Isla spoke up. "Jeremiah wanted to fill you in when you
visited Arran, but I was afraid. I've had people who merely
suspect
that
I'm a witch turn on me. I'm somewhat of a pariah where I live, and I just
didn't want to have to worry about another witch hunt—pun intended."
"I can
understand that. It's hard to know who you can trust with your
vulnerabilities," Drew conceded.
"But after
visiting my estranged mother, we were left with more questions than answers
about my lineage and the threat we're up against. We really need to get
everything we can out of the book you're translating, and I thought you would
have a better chance if you actually knew what you were looking for."
Laughing
genuinely for the first time, Drew seemed to relax a little. "Well, I
appreciate that,
cher
."
Sitting back
and taking a swig of his beer, Jeremiah looked at Drew. "So, do you have
any questions for us before we get to work?"
"Yeah,
one. When I visited you, you mentioned shapeshifters—I don't buy for a second
that this is something that just came up in your research. Are you ready to
tell me about that now, too?" He raised an eyebrow, and Jeremiah knew
without a doubt that his friend was issuing a challenge.
"Isla?"
he questioned, not wanting to push her.
"Drew, you
remember reading about the
feradux
in your research, right?" When
he nodded, she continued. "Marduk is my
feradux
, and he spends most
of his time as a wolf. The animal side serves as sort of a spirit guide for us,
I think. He is here to protect me and help me however he can, but he cannot
fight against Alastore."
"Where is
he now?"
Isla shrugged a
delicate shoulder. "Back on Arran, I suppose. He can only maintain his
human form for so long, so I figured he wouldn't be able to make the
trip—"
A brisk knock
interrupted her. Drew frowned as he stood to answer the door. His penthouse
suite was on a private floor, and any visitors had to have a key card to take
the elevator all the way up.
He opened the
door to reveal a tall, lanky stranger. A dark-haired young man with ice-blue
eyes and a sardonic smile. Obviously stunned, Jeremiah watched Marduk as he
walked through the door past a slack-jawed Drew and across the room, and
lowered into a spot on the floor at Isla's feet.
"
Merde!
"
Drew exclaimed, slamming the door and returning to his seat. Jeremiah
fist-bumped the Marduk and Isla patted him on the shoulder.
"How did you
know where to find us?" Isla asked, fondness evident in her tone. He
shrugged a lean shoulder.
"You
called and I came,
domina
. That is our way."
Taking pity on
his friend, Jeremiah introduced their new visitor. "Drew, this is Marduk.
Apparently he could make the trip after all. Marduk, my good friend, Dr. Andrew
Deveraux. He is going to help us with our research so we can find a way to
defeat Alastore."
Rising to grab
a beer for Marduk, Jeremiah clapped Drew on the back. "Ready to get to
work?"
Drew pulled out
his laptop and set it on the coffee table. Jeremiah did the same, and Isla
snuggled close to him to be able to see the screen. "So what are we
looking for, specifically?" Drew asked.
"Any
mention of the
Lochrim
in general and of Alastore in particular. That
will give us a starting point for translations."
Looking back
down at his screen, Drew nodded. "I wrote a program to help search through
the texts. I can plug in a particular word and the algorithm searches the
images of the pages. At least I hope it does. Haven't had time to test it
yet."
"You're
such a nerd, " Jeremiah teased, "but it benefits us, so I'll allow
it. There is one other word we should search for—
laqueum
. Eileen
mentioned that word to me before we left."
They researched
in silence for about an hour—Drew pouring over the texts with his program and
Jeremiah and Isla doing internet research and rough translations of excerpts
from the text. Marduk stretched out on the floor and appeared to take a nap.
"Think I
got something," Drew murmured, staring intently at the screen. "My
program found several mentions of
laqueum
in this passage. It will take
me a few minutes to translate it...if I'm able to at all."
Pursing his
lips, Drew studied the writing and began to scribble furiously on a notepad
he'd pulled out of his computer bag. His lips moved silently as he formed the
words that he translated in his head.
Finally he put
down the notebook and raked a hand through his spiky blonde hair, causing it to
stand up in all directions. "Well, this is interesting."
Closing his
laptop, Jeremiah sat forward. Isla shook Marduk who awoke with a light snore.
They all watched Drew intently as he began to explain his findings.
"Up until
now, we've been operating under the assumption that the
bruixi
genetics
pass from maternal grandmother to granddaughter. It was implied that the
father's DNA has no bearing on that outcome."
Isla looked
warily at Jeremiah. "I never really thought about it. So much emphasis is
put on the matriarchal lineage. For lack of a better term, I assumed the father
was just a sperm donor."
"Exactly.
But according to the book,
bruixi
mates are chosen by the gods. They are
men who have latent power that has lain dormant all their lives, but those
powers can be unlocked when they are united with their mate."
Jeremiah
cleared his throat and clutched Isla's hand just a little too tight. "How
do they know? How do they know they've found the right mate?"
"The text
puts forth three ways to tell. One, the two of them will be drawn together by circumstance
or unseen forces, even across great distances. Two, the male will have come in
contact with a
bruixi
sometime in his early life. And three, once the
couple declare their devotion to one another, a
signa
will appear on the
male's body, matching that of the
bruixi.
"
"Are you
serious?" Isla exclaimed. "It really says that?"
"I am,
indeed. It is called the
laqueum
. The word actually translates to
snare
in new Latin, but in context, I believe it is closer to
bonding
. Have
any of these things happened to you, Jere?" Drew raised an eyebrow at his
friend.
"Well, I
did come in contact with someone who I know now was
bruixi
. And I
traveled from Louisiana to Scotland to find Isla based on a few rumors of a
witch on the island. But I don't have any mark on me."
Drew frowned,
and Jeremiah caught Isla staring at him intently. "What, Isla?"
She clamped her
lips tightly and shook her head, flicking a gaze toward Drew, and then turned
wide eyes back for Jeremiah. It was obvious that she didn't want to speak in front
of Drew.
Jeremiah ran a
hand over his face and turned to his friend. “Give us a minute?”
“Of course,”
Drew said and nodded toward the bedroom. “Why don't you two go in there and
talk while the kid and I keep reading?” Marduk snapped his teeth at Drew but
said nothing.
Once they were
alone, Isla lunged for Jeremiah, tugging at the hem of his shirt. "Take
this off!"
Laughing, he
grabbed her questing hands and glancing at the closed bedroom door. "Now's
not the time, darlin'. We have company."
"Oh, swallow
your ego for two seconds and take off the damn shirt!"
"Yes,
ma'am," he said, grinning. He tugged the t-shirt over his head, muscles
rippling under the tattoos encircling his arms, and he smirked at her.
"Now what?"
She roamed her
hands over his skin, up his arms and over his shoulders, and again he winced
when she brushed over his left shoulder blade. Gently, she explored the area
with light brushes of her fingertips.
There were
raised lines underneath the skin and, like cat scratches, they were welting up
and turning red. Tracing the circular pattern with her fingertips, she allowed
a ghost of a smile to touch her lips.
"I thought
so."
"What?
What do you see?" Jeremiah turned his head, panicking as if a spider were
on him, and struggled to see an area of his body that he obviously had no
access to. She gestured toward the triple mirror in the massive bathroom, and
he turned so that he could see the reflection of his own back. He could see the
reddened and raised lines underneath the skin of his shoulder blade. It looked
as if, indeed, a signa was forming under his skin.
“Holy shit,” he
breathed, turning to sit down on the bed before he fell down. He was startled
when he suddenly had his arms full of warm, willing woman. Isla straddled him,
grasped his face in her hands, and kissed him. He opened for her as her tongue
caressed the inner recesses of his mouth. His eyes crossed as she sucked on his
tongue and rocked against him.
Remembering they
weren't alone, he reluctantly broke the kiss with a nip to her bottom lip.
"What was that for?" he asked, panting hard.
"For being
mine." She smiled brightly and kissed his nose. "It looks like you
have my
signa.
It's still under the skin, but I have a feeling by
Samhain, it will look just like mine."
He caressed
Isla's cheek for a moment before rising, crossing his arms over his lap to hide
the little
problem
she gave him.
They headed
back out to the main suite and showed the others what they'd found. He looked
at Drew, his brows knitted together. "So, what, does this mean I'm a witch
too?"
"Not
exactly. Right now, your powers are dormant, and they exist only to fuel Isla's
energy to be able to use her power. In time, you may be able to learn how to do
some tricks of your own."
The three of
them laughed at that thought, but were startled by a flash of blue light and a
burst of smoke. At Isla's feet was a silver wolf, who whined and laid his head
on her foot.
Drew stood
abruptly and backed away, knocking over his chair. "Oh my God—"
"Take it
easy," Jeremiah said calmly. "You know the
feradux
are
shifters."
Reaching down,
Isla ruffled the fur behind Marduk's ears. "He must have drained his
energy finding us. He can't hold his human form for long once he's depleted it.
Marduk, why don't you go into the bedroom and rest?"
Nudging her leg
with his cold nose, the wolf rose and slunk into one of the two bedrooms in the
suite.
Taking a deep,
shuddering breath, Drew righted his chair and sat back down. "Well, now
I've seen everything."
Stretching out,
Isla rested her legs across Jeremiah's lap, and they returned to their
research. This time, they skimmed the scans that he had made from the ancient
book. Silence reigned in the room for another hour or so.
