Magick Rising (50 page)

Erik used his thoughts to speak for him, “It is never your time, and we

are not brothers in any way that counts.”

“Oh, weak man. Your magic is not yet strong enough.” Victor walked

over and stared into a mirror on the wall so that they could see each other. “I

will make sure you live long enough to feel me possess the witch’s body and

power before I kill her. Then you will die, as well.”

Erik struggled in anger for a moment to take his body back.

No, stop. Focus. That is what makes me stronger
.

Victor squinted at the reflection in the mirror. “Keep trying, brother,

but it will not be fast enough.”

Footsteps approached as the brothers continued the battle of wills for

control.

“Victor?” Celeste’s voice interrupted the struggle. “May I have a

word?”

Victor swelled inwardly.
See, brother, she comes crawling back to me.

“What do you want?”

Celeste stepped closer. Victor smelled the Grimoire’s power clinging to

her hands. Erik focused, trying to take his body back. Hearing every word,

seeing Celeste but unable to communicate with her.

“You say you have great power, that it will be greater still if you have

that body.” Celeste looked up at Victor, a plea in her eyes. “Rose and I have

talked, and we need to know what you will give in exchange for the

Grimoire and . . . Erik.”

Erik froze inwardly in his attempt to focus.
No
. Didn’t she know he

could hear every word? Of course she didn’t, he hadn’t been able to see or

hear anything before.

Celeste stood in front of him bartering with Victor, using Erik’s body,

his life in exchange . . . for what?

“What is it you want?” Victor turned fully to the woman. “Why do you

think I can’t simply take the Grimoire?”

“Because if you could, you would have by now. You need it, and you

need me to get it for you.” Celeste reached out and touched his arm.

Erik felt the burn of her touch. He was getting closer. Growing more

powerful. Her words seemed to be the focus that helped his strength and

magic grow.

“What do you want in exchange, witch?” Victor grabbed her hair in a

punishing grip.

“Rose’s soul is hers when she crosses and when we join I share in your

power. We are partners in the joining of sevens.”

This wasn’t possible. It was enough to be betrayed, but to have to hear

it and see it this close tore at Erik. Was Celeste so good an actress that he’d

been fooled? He’d trusted her to sleep and allow Victor to take over.

The fire crackled in the massive fireplace unaware of the universe

altering events happening in front of it.

“Interesting proposition.” Victor ran a thumb over Celeste’s lower lip.

“I do not like to share. Why would I do so with you?”

“Because I hold the power and access to the Grimoire. That combined

with the power of the sevens would provide ultimate power, would make

you—us—invincible.”

Erik listened, rage growing with each word that passed between the

two.

This isn’t happening
.

Duo mortem pro vita. Sperate data in facie ultimum proditione fortissimum est

potentia
.
Two must die for one to live. Trust given in the face of ultimate betrayal is the

strongest power.

Looking away from Celeste for a moment, Erik caught sight of Rose in

the shadows just beyond the hallway entrance. She stared through Victor

and into Erik.

She’d sent the words from the Grimoire to remind and help him. But

what did they mean. How could he trust?

Total surrender when the time comes. You will know
. Rose’s thoughts etched

into his subconscious. How could Victor not hear?

Because they are meant only for me
.

It was time for Erik to decide.

CELESTE PRAYED that Victor’s ego and need for power were great

enough to bite at the bait offered. The Grimoire. She knew better than to

believe she was an enticement other than for her power at this point, but the

Grimoire held all the secrets of magic.

Could Victor resist their offer?

“You, witch, are brave or stupid. I don’t care which.” Victor stood

silhouetted against the fire. “Done. When I have the Grimoire and we have

joined, Erik’s essence will be cast from this body, Rose can have her useless

soul, and we will rule this dimension together.”

Liar
.

Celeste knew every syllable was a lie. She made sure her thoughts did

not show on her face.

“Swear it on your soul, Victor.” It meant nothing, but Celeste hoped he

believed she thought it did.

“Of course, my dear, I swear it on my eternal soul.” Victor placed his

hand on the front of her throat. “Now, we join.”

Celeste resisted pulling away in revulsion. Prayed Erik would trust in

her.

Please, trust me, Erik. With your heart and soul
.

As Victor’s lips were about to touch her mouth, Celeste pulled back

slightly. “Soon. The Grimoire has revealed to Rose how this must all be

done if the joining of our powers is to be successful. Only then will Rose

have her soul and Erik be spared.”

“Then hurry, witch, this earthly body has waited too long to be buried

inside you.”

Celeste stepped back one step and motioned Rose into the room. In her

arms, the ancient Grimoire rested, pulsing and iridescent in the firelight. She

could feel Victor strain toward the book. The book denied to him his entire

existence.

“Not yet, Victor. If we do not do as it says, then it will disappear from

this dimension forever.”

“Damn. Get on with it.”

Celeste turned her back to Victor and faced Rose, mouthing the words,

‘I love you, mother,’ she beckoned Rose forward.

“Tell us, Rose, what it is we must do to allow Victor the Grimoire.”

ERIK CONTINUED TO watch the drama playing out before him. What

was real and what wasn’t?
Trust in the face of ultimate betrayal
. But, how?

Rose looked into him again.

Let go, Erik. Trust. Celeste loves you. Only you
.

All he wanted to do was kill Victor, the man who’d tortured him for so

long. The man who’d been the reason he’d forced Celeste to kill him.

In a flash, Erik remembered. All of it. Their learning together, growing

together. His love for Celeste. Their allowing access to the dark powers by

Victor centuries ago by not following the words of the Grimoire exactly.

Then, their unlocking the phrase that would bind Victor. Erik’s death so that

Celeste would live.

He remembered.

I remember, Rose
.

Hoping Rose could hear him and somehow Celeste, Erik closed his

eyes and stopped struggling. Gave his body over completely to Victor.

Trusted Celeste’s love.

Again.

VICTOR WAS SO close to the Grimoire. He could see it pulsing, breathing

in the old woman’s arms. She stood near the giant fire where the light was

best.

He smelled the power emanating from the ancient pages. Victor would

have that power for himself.

“Tell me now or there is no deal.” Victor moved to stand in front of the

small, old woman.

“The Grimoire has shared the spell with me.” Rose’s voice was stronger

than she looked in her frail human shell. “You must swear to the bargain

made.”

“Dammit, woman, I already swore. Get on with it.” He took a step

closer.

“Is your essence fully present?” This was Celeste from behind him.

“Yes.”

Rose opened the book to a page covered with ancient text that glowed,

the words moving about the page so quickly Victor couldn’t focus on any

word enough to decipher it before it was gone.

“Daughter, do you understand and agree to what is about to be done?”

Rose turned to look at Celeste over his shoulder.

Victor hated the ritual and theatrics but knew to interfere might cause

the Grimoire to vanish again.

“Yes, Rose, and I thank you.” Celeste reached around Victor to touch

the old woman’s hand.

The book glowed brighter.

“Victor, join hands with me on the page. Give your essence fully to the

Grimoire.”

Stepping forward, Victor shook with excitement as his hands brushed

the page beneath the old woman’s. He was finally touching the Grimoire. So

close to having it all.

Rose’s grip tightened, and the book shut on their joined hands. “Victor

Cahan, I join my essence to yours. I accept the payment required of me.”

Victor felt like a vise was gripping his hands. He tried to pull away from

the book and the woman. He couldn’t.

There on the page were his hands, but he felt as though he couldn’t

breathe. As though a giant hand had grabbed his throat.

Rose turned to her daughter. “It is done. Go forth and know that my

soul is safe. I love you.”

Victor felt his essence ripped from the body of his brother as he was

pulled by Rose and the Grimoire into the wall of flame inside the massive

fireplace. The flames split, and darkness waited.

A portal. The witches had opened a portal. The Grimoire bound his

essence.

Victor’s scream echoed through the centuries. The beings in the

in-between shrieked with him as his essence disappeared into utter darkness.

ERIK FELT THE brush of Celeste’s hand on his forehead as her other

hand rested on his chest. Above his heart.

He opened his eyes to find Celeste crying as she held him.

“Woman, are you going to blather on me all night?”

“Erik!” She laughed through her tears. “You trusted, you trusted.”

“You didn’t make it easy.” Erik sat up on the cold floor and pulled her

into his lap, drawing her head to his chest.

“We feared . . . feared you wouldn’t be able to let go completely. That

you might be caught in the binding.” Celeste glanced toward the fireplace,

now a normal crackling fireplace.

“Rose helped me.” He stroked her hair when she hiccupped on more

tears at the mention of her mother’s name. “She received her soul, Celeste.”

“How can you know?”

“I remembered all, just before I fully let Victor take control.” Erik

pulled back and looked into her eyes. “The bargain about her soul was made

though the Grimoire. It fulfilled the promise that Victor never would.”

“And he is truly bound?”

“For this time.” Erik pressed a gentle kiss on her lips. “Now, about this

love thing you have for me . . . I think it’s time you told me.”

“Told you? I have spent centuries showing you.” Celeste kissed him

soundly.

“I love you, too, woman. For this lifetime and all others.”

The End (or truly just the beginning)

WOLF RISING

Parker Blue

Parker Blue is the author of the bestselling Demon Underground

series for Bell Bridge Books and lives in beautiful Colorado with her

three rescue dogs.

THE WOUND ON Duncan Gray’s shoulder throbbed in time to the

pounding beat of the jukebox, thankfully muffled behind the bar’s

bathroom door. He winced as his brother probed the bloody gash. “No

stitches,” Duncan repeated for the third time. “I’ll heal fine.”

Dr. Ian Gray finally stopped complaining about the unsanitary

conditions of the seedy bar in general and this filthy bathroom in particular.

Throwing the bloody gauze into the wastebasket with more force than

necessary, he said, “You dumbass. What were you thinking, asking me to

meet you on South Nevada? Don’t you know this is the worst bar in

Colorado Springs? You should have known they’d try to take down the

biggest, baddest-looking guy in the place.”

Duncan shrugged off his brother’s anger. “They were hassling a

woman. Someone had to stop them.”

“Why did it have to be you?”

“Because I was there.” He cast Ian an annoyed glance, daring him to say

he would have done any differently.

Ian paused in his inspection of Duncan’s jagged wound to stare at him

in disbelief. “That still doesn’t explain what you were doing here in the first

place. What are you trying to do? Kill yourself?”

“No.” But the beast within him was getting harder and harder to

control. Sometimes, he just needed to let it loose. Duncan lowered his voice.

“Besides, this damned condition will kill me long before a bar fight will.”

“Not the way you’re going.” Ian straightened to his full height and

glared down at Duncan. “This self-destructive behavior has got to stop.”

Though he was Duncan’s elder by two years, Ian’s attempt at

intimidation wouldn’t work. Duncan rose from his chair by the sink. He had

two inches and at least twenty pounds on his brother, not to mention the

beast that raged beneath his skin, seeking release. The air, charged with the

threat of danger, raised the hackles on Duncan’s neck as they glared at each

other, neither giving an inch.

There was no way Ian could win this contest, not against what Duncan

had become. Softly, Duncan said, “That big brother act won’t work