King Cave (64 page)

I started to sweat. That was a lot of murder. “And how do I save Ezra?”

She dangled the vial between us. “You drink this in combination with a spell I will give you. A life has been given willingly. The individual’s vitality is in this liquid. It will be enough to vanquish the silver in his blood.” I hadn’t asked how she knew in the first place, so I wasn’t going to ask how she knew the specifics. “But you have to pull back when you feel the gifted vitality gone from yourself into him. This has only been done three times, that I know of, and each time the individual casting the spell died because they didn’t pull back, pushing their own vitality into the dying.”

I didn’t care if I died. But I did care if I made this deal and I couldn’t get back to King Cave. My eyes went to her hutch. “How am I supposed to get to him from here?”

She waggled a finger at me. “Ah, no, Queen Ruckler. You won’t be receiving that knocker back. But I will give you my word that I will set you directly at where you left. The time passing there, the same as here.” She paused. “If you agree, you will be magically bound to complete these three things. You won’t be able to stop yourself. In the end you won’t have a choice. They will be done. But right now you do have the choice.”

She lifted the vial. “What is it going to be, Queen Ruckler?” She snapped her fingers at me. “I’ve got more company coming who wouldn’t mind you dead, so hurry up with your decision.”

My lips thinned, the woman crazy to believe anyone else was coming to this place. “Won’t you please tell me what that Mys did to you? It won’t weigh so heavily on my conscience.”

She sighed heavily, eyeing me. “You’re as righteous as the man who raised you.” She chuckled, shaking her head. “He deserves his ache.” She studied me, then muttered, “I want him dead enough that I will tell you.” She walked forward, standing directly before me, and my nostrils flared as she said, “He murdered a dear friend of mine in cold blood to better himself.”
Truth
.

I blinked. Never would I have thought him capable of murder. “I’m sorry for your loss.” She gave me a condescending look but nodded at my words anyway. I would have done the deeds either way because I was going to save my husband, but her words comforted me for the actions I would commit. “You have a deal.”

She grabbed my right arm and I flinched, feeling a burning sensation on my forearm. Bonnie hissed at her as I jerked my arm away and yanked up my sleeve. There were three golden circles between my wrist and halfway up my forearm. I watched as they sank into my skin, now unseen and unfelt.

Bound magically.

No turning back. I held out my hand. “The vial and spell, please.”

She cackled, placing the vial in my hand, which was hot to the touch, before bending to retrieve a pad of paper and a pencil from her end table next to the couch. She scribbled on it and then tore the sheet out. Extending the paper to me, she said, “Read it, memorize it, but don’t speak the words aloud until after you have drunk the potion and placed your hand over his Core.”

I did as told. It was only one line. Her handwriting was remarkably tidy. “Got it.”

She took the sheet back and it instantly burst into flame. Releasing it, it fluttered to the ground, the fire out and the sheet ash before it hit the floor. “Then it’s time for you to leave. Pick up your Vizoac.”

Placing the vial in my pocket, a thought occurred. “Will I be able to get through a protection ward with,” I patted my pocket, “this?” After putting my gun in the back of my pants, I switched the case to my left hand and lifted Bonnie from the floor, cuddling her close.

She nodded. “It was all given willingly. Not black. It’s a life-giving spell.” She raised her aged hand and touched my shoulder. “Your deed there is righteous, too, not black, so you will be able to enter.”

I froze as creepy-crawlies ran all over my body, the feeling all kinds of uncomfortable. But, within a blink of my eyes, the feeling was gone and I was instantly staring at the beach I had left probably an hour before. Now, that hadn’t been so bad. Not at all.

I turned and stepped easily through the warded barrier to King Cave. She hadn’t lied. I sighed in relief, my thoughts focused on saving Ezra. I needed to get back into his room. And I was betting Cahal wouldn’t allow me to enter and exit freely after I had snuck into his rooms once already. Which meant I would have to wait until they were gone and break in.

Breaking into Cahal’s suite again was easier said than done. Vampires were entering and exiting more frequently than before. With waning patience, I waited another hour, before I gave up and dialed Jack.

He answered on the first ring. “Lily, is that you? The medic said you left the infirmary over two hours ago.”

“Yeah, it’s me,” I whispered. “I need a favor.”

Instant. “Name it.”

Already having decided to not tell him the extent of what I was doing, since he might try to talk me out of it as there was the possibility of death hanging over my head if I screwed up, I lied, definitely not telling the whole truth. “I want to see Ezra, but Vampires are surrounding him. Can you create a distraction so I can say goodbye?”

“Lily, I’m so sorry,” Jack said softly with a small hiccup to his words. “Pearl and I will make something happen.”

“Thank you,” I told him wholeheartedly. “Jack, I love you and Pearl. You know that.”

“Yes. We know that,” Jack whispered. A pause. “Give us five minutes.” He hung up.

Exactly five minutes later, Vampires began pouring out of the suite, alarms that I hadn’t even realized we had blaring overhead. I ducked further into the shadows, holding Bonnie close when she growled at the noisy alarms. Cahal was the last to leave, shouting back into the suite for Bindi to watch over Ezra.

Slamming his suite door shut, he paused. I held my breath and masked with every ounce of strength I had in me, hoping the other Vampire’s heartbeats overrode mine. A few anxiety-driven ticks flew by, then he was rushing after the Vampires calling to him for help, never once looking in my direction.

I blew out a sigh of relief when the hallway cleared, setting Bonnie down and running to the door. Unable to hear anything behind it over the God-awful noise, I opened it, praying the room was mostly empty. And it was. The only sound was Bindi pacing inside the room that held Ezra.

Not bothering to lock the door this time, or even shut it, deducing I didn’t have much time, I raced on silent feet. Ezra’s door was locked, though, and I sighed silently. I gently used my Shifter strength, squeezing and turning the doorknob until the latch broke with barely a sound, Bindi never once stopping her pacing on the other side.

Bonnie slid in behind me as I entered, and not bothering to shut that door either since it wouldn’t close now, I dropped my items on the bed, staring into Bindi’s startled eyes. “I need a few moments alone with him.”

Her face became carefully void of any emotion. “I understand. I’ll be in the other room.” She quickly left as I had hoped she would, giving us privacy.

There was no time for anything refined, so I swiftly crawled over the mattress to straddle his waist and yanked the vial out of my pocket. I uncorked it and, like it was a shot of vile liquor, I chugged the liquid. Instantly, I covered my mouth to keep from puking, tossing the vial and cork to the side.

It tasted like Mage magic, but there was a Mys aftertaste, one that I couldn’t define from the overriding Mage spells and time — the potion fuzzy and bubbling with so much life it
wanted
to be released.

I swallowed repeatedly, my eyes tearing as my body trembled worse than Ezra’s.

This was some strong shit.

Hastily, keeping a firm hand clamped over my mouth, I slammed my other hand on Ezra’s chest directly over his Core and then whispered the spell the Mage had written: “
From the willing to the dying take from me your life.”

Instantaneously, my eyes flew back into my head as power surged within my Core. Dizziness took hold as my Shifter power began rotating inside my frame like a fan’s unhindered blade. Sweat beaded on my body as I felt it physically take hold of the potion I had consumed. Struggling to stay upright over him, I grunted as a whirlwind of power rippled down my arm to Ezra’s chest.

His body arched under me, his mouth opening on a silent inhale. My hand glowed black, sparkling with gold where I touched him, but I didn’t release him, throwing myself on top of his straining body. Power began to churn in the air around us, enough energy to toss the items in the spare room into the air.

Thoughts beginning to blur, I turned my head to the side, ordering Bonnie, “Keep Bindi back, but don’t hurt her too bad.” The order was given not a moment too soon. I heard Bindi exit the room she had gone into — the door banging open — and then Bonnie was springing off the bed and racing out of the bedroom.

Gritting my teeth, I beared down, using all of my Shifter strength to keep Ezra still. Beginning to see sparkles in my vision, I closed my eyes and tucked my face close to his neck so I could smell his blood. Ignoring the shrieks from Bindi in the living room, I sniffed hard and long. And growled, still smelling silver in him. I pushed harder on the tumult inside my body, throwing to him the full force of the power that still resided in me.

A low groan escaped his throat, and it was the most joyous sound to my heart, even as I felt myself slip and begin to fall. Physically and mentally. Physically, it was the beat of my heart, the very air inside my lungs, and the racing pulse of energy that flew through my system. And mentally, I couldn’t stop the fall because it was beautiful. All consuming. A link that pulled me to him, wanting me to give more.

Give it all. Give myself. To him. To save him.

I would willingly give my life for him, and the spell knew it. “Ezra.” Shoving my vitality into his Core, I released my life for his, loving him.

Him.

A hard, blunt object slammed against my ribs.

Grunting, I rolled to the side, the contact breaking. Breathless, I blinked blurrily at the dark ceiling, lying on my back next to Ezra and hearing the flying debris inside the room fall in a clatter to the floor. An odd silence attacked my ears.

Until Bindi screamed, “What the hell were you doing?”

My head fell to the side in the direction of her voice. Even though she was out of focus, her tall, beautiful form fuzzy, I could see she was the one that had hit me. She was clutching a long candlestick in one hand and, I blinked, Bonnie’s limp form was cradled in her other arm. Her lips were trembling on her furious face. Blood was drying on her arms, where there were thin scratches that were now only pink marks, almost healed.

My eyelids drooped on a shaky exhale. “Helping.” My body shuddered, my muscles relaxing to the point that I knew I could no longer move.

She shrieked, “Helping? I’ve never seen magic like that before! Are you insane?”

A muffled laugh croaked from my chest, my breathing beginning to falter. “Maybe.”

“Sweetheart?”
Ezra’s voice was soft and hoarse.

The sound entirely captivating, my breath wavered completely.

Bindi gasped, her mouth gaping wide. The candlestick fell from her fingers, and she dumped Bonnie’s limp form on my stomach and bent over Ezra, clutching his face. “King Zeller? Can you hear me?”

Bonnie didn’t move on top of me any more than I could, but I heard a soft growl from under the bed even as Ezra rumbled softly, “What? Bindi? Did I hear Lily?”

Bindi’s answer was to stare wide-eyed, then her hands started glowing, roving over his head.

Ezra blinked bewildered eyes. “Bindi, what are you doing?” His voice was growing stronger. He even lifted a quick hand, grabbing her shoulder just as Clyde jumped onto the bed, and grunting, he raised his other hand to catch the lion cub, but Clyde wasn’t aiming toward Bindi. Instead, he darted around Ezra’s reaching grasp and raced to me, or more precisely, to Bonnie.

Ezra’s gaze darted to the side, leaving Bindi’s shocked one and following Clyde. His eyes met mine. And it was the most beautiful sight I had ever seen. Green light so perfect they should never close again, bright and full of life. I felt my lips tilt slightly, the small movement all my body would allow, my own eyes tearing.

Slowly, he blinked. “Lily, what’s going on?”

I swallowed, the effort hard, and whispered between unmoving lips. “You’ll live.”

Again, another slow blink, then his eyebrows slammed together. Suddenly, he blurred, pushing Bindi away and rolling to his side, rising on an elbow over me. “Your heartbeat’s not normal.” He pressed his hand between my breasts, his breathing faltering as his power surged. “Something’s not right. Your power’s off.” Eyes scanning the room, his gaze quickly slated to Bindi, and he asked on a hiss, “Did you hurt her?”

“King Zeller, please lie back down,” Bindi babbled, eyes still wide. “You shouldn’t be moving.”

Ezra’s gaze narrowed dangerously, even as Clyde made a whimpering noise next to me and thumped his head against Bonnie’s limp paw, and Ezra yelled, “Tell me what you did? There’s something wrong with her!”

“Nothing. She was doing damage to you. A spell.” She shook her head, trying to push him back on the bed, only to have her hands slapped away by an increasingly infuriated Ezra. “You’re sick, King Zeller. Silver poisoning. You need to rest.”