On Wicked Ground (Solsti Prophecy Book 4) (16 page)

The witch then turned Alina’s hand so that one drop of blood fell into the bowl, then did the same for her own. Speaking again in that unfamiliar tongue, she released Alina and cupped the bowl in her fingers.

Electric zaps danced down Alina’s arms. A thin tendril of red mist rose from the bowl and swayed in the breeze surrounding Whysper. It stretched out and then curled up tightly, held aloft by the spell. Alina’s eyelids grew heavy, but a sense of urgency forced her to keep them open. Magic stirred in her veins, like when she used her cloaking ability, but way more intense.

Sitting there, caught between a trance and the most exciting moment of her life, Alina stared breathlessly at the sudden movement on the velvet-covered wall.

Her eyes widened and she wanted to press a hand to her chest, but her arms were too heavy to move. Before them was an image of a tiny girl surrounded by white satin, in a brightly lit room. A bracelet made of plastic flowers encircled her wrist. Her hands lay folded across her white ruffled dress.
Eyes closed. A coffin. Oh my god.

“Gods,” Sebastian muttered. “That’s you.”

Next to her, Ashina let out a shaky breath.

The image changed. The coffin was closed and underground, but Alina was able to see the child inside. Peaceful stillness projected from the girl’s face, then…

One of the girl’s tiny fingers twitched, a barely perceptible movement.

Alina bit her lip, agonized by
how
this had happened.

As if knowing her question, Whysper spoke. “You’re not human, child. You are not of Earth. Human medicine didn’t know what to make of you.”

Alina got the odd sense of time passing in her reflected memories, though if days or months, she couldn’t tell. As she watched, the image changed again. They were looking at the burial vault from under the ground. Small cracks formed in the pink concrete, spreading out like vines, until the vault cracked.

Cracked?
Riveted, she stared as pieces of it shifted away. Large and small chunks moved slowly, as if the dirt itself was working to move the pieces away from what lay within.

A white casket.

The same pattern of cracks appeared there next, racing across the pale wood in a spider web of promised freedom.

The box split apart. Pieces of wood and scraps of satin crumpled around the small child within.

Alina let out a strangled cry. She tried to form words, but her numb lips weren’t responding and her thoughts were a jumble of wild fear.
That was me. Oh my god.

“Your affinity is with the earth, child,” Whysper said. “The human custom of burying the dead embedded you within your element.”

Alina stared at the witch, whose eyes were still bone-white as she faced the magic reproduction on the wall.

“Your element responded to your body’s need. It removed you from the human bindings of death.”

“How?” Ashina’s voice was an awed whisper next to her.

“Ley lines.” The witch was silent for a minute. “Sensing the need to heal its mistress, the earth drew on the power of the ley lines, even redirecting them so more magic would be concentrated in the area where the Solsti needed it.”

Ley lines? All the realms had them, but Alina had heard that they were weakest on Earth. Her attention back on the wall, she stared as the dirt shifted gently around the girl’s small body. Tiny pockets beneath her opened, allowing her to move down, inch by inch until she was free of the shreds of satin and broken casket.

By creating air pockets one after another, each one deeper than the last, the child moved down. Deeper and deeper into the depths of the earth, always with a halo of air around her head, she moved. Cradled gently, a peaceful expression on her face, her eyes remained closed.

Alina had no idea how long this took. Years? Finally, the girl reached a cave with a stream trickling through it and a gentle trickle falling from the ground above. Not tall, maybe six feet in height, it looked like …well, a nest. Alina wondered if it had been created for her or if it was there all along.

“That’s the place,” Sebastian said, voice thick with emotion. “That’s where I found you.”

The group watched in silence as Alina’s body grew.

“The earth is healing your heart, child,” Whysper said. “It recognizes you, and knows you are needed. But this is a lengthy process.”

Staring at the image, it seemed like nothing was happening except for Alina growing bigger. Her toddler’s body lay on its side, curled in a fetal position on the floor of the cave. At regular intervals, water dripped from the tiny spring high on the wall and into her mouth. The girl’s body was able to turn to drink, and grew slowly into that of a young girl.

Whysper’s body jerked and she sucked in a breath. “You are healed. But at a price.”

The intensity of the magic in the room dropped. Alina finally found her voice and turned to the witch. “Price?”

Whysper’s eyes returned to their natural brown. “The earth took ten years to heal you. It kept you alive through its connection to you, plus the magic of the ley lines, making sure you were nourished and warm. And in return, it requires a price.”

“What?” Alina whispered.

“The earth healed your heart, and so…it claims your heart.”

Confusion beat a pounding rhythm in her head. “What does that mean?”

“It belongs to the earth. You are not free to give it to another.”

“Give it?” None of this made sense.

Ashina’s hand was warm on her back as she spoke to the witch. “You mean, given in romantic love?”

“Yes, healer. The Solsti’s heart cannot be given away. She cannot utter words of true love to another.”

Alina blinked, trying to process the information. “I can’t fall in love?” Not that it had ever seemed like a possibility. She wasn’t in one place long enough to get to know anyone.

Caine’s image flashed in her mind. Gorgeous chiseled face and muscles. Lethal fighting skills and lips she was dying to kiss again. Her stomach dropped like a lead balloon. “What happens if I do? It’s not like people can control that.”

“The earth claims your heart. If you love another, it will then claim your body.”

“What?” Sebastian shot to his feet. “How? You mean, kill her?” He paced the room. “Why would her element heal her only to cause her death—again?”

Sad certainty glimmered in Whysper’s eyes. “That I do not know, vampire. I don’t always know the
why
of a situation. All I can say here is that the earth will reclaim her if she acknowledges her love for another. But whether it will mean death or imprisonment, I’m not sure.”

Alina covered her face with her hands. “Death or imprisonment? Oh my god, no. No. I didn’t ask for this.”

Ashina wrapped an arm around her. “I’m sorry,
nihja
. Do you have someone special…a boyfriend?”

“No,” Alina muttered, but the comfort of sleeping in Caine’s shirt rushed back to her. She leaned back into the soft cushions, her whole body aching with confusion. “I’m just a pawn, then? I was healed only because my skills are needed.”

“Many things in our world come with a price, child. But I don’t think you are a pawn. Without you, the other Solsti won’t be able to defeat the coming evil. You’re a crucial part of the safety of the realms. And your element recognized that.”

“So I’m destined to live alone.”

“You have us.” Ashina laid a hand on Alina’s forehead. “Your dad and me, and Raniero, and your sisters. I can’t put into words how badly they wanted to find you.”

“They didn’t know I was alive!”

“They knew the fourth Solsti existed. And that was enough to give them hope.”

Alina rested her hand over her heart, feeling the steady reverberations through her skin. Damaged and then healed, but also claimed. She swallowed hard. “What about my cloaking ability?”

“I suspect that is a shadow talent that you were born with. It happens,” Whysper murmured.

“So, Sebastian.” Ashina turned. “You found her in…” she pointed to the wall, now void of images. “That cave?”

Her dad nodded. “Yeah, it was a ways underground, but there was a tunnel I followed.”

“How did you know to look?” Ashina asked.

“I picked up on the increase in ley line activity in the area. Figured there had to be some powerful magic, and possibly something worth stealing.” He returned to his chair and sat down. “Imagine my surprise at finding her there. She was cloaking and uncloaking herself.”

That part, Alina remembered. Aware that another creature approached, she’d waited, knowing three things. It was time for her to leave this place she’d been in. She had the ability to cloak herself in shadows. And she knew her name.

 Sebastian had crept warily into her cave, dagger out, but put it away when he realized she was a child. He’d grabbed a shirt from his pack and tossed it to her, then gave her water and asked about her family. When she’d told him she had none, he told her they should stick together, and she jumped at the chance.

He’d fed her and clothed her, and showed her how to pick pockets. He hadn’t masked his delight at her ability to sneak in and out of places, describing the things they could have if they worked together. After that, they posed as father and daughter everywhere they went. It helped that they both had blond hair and were petite.

She didn’t understand that stealing was wrong, at least not right away. But when she questioned him, he explained that they were taking from criminals and corrupt men who had stolen in the first place. Plus, he’d educated her about Torth, its history, and especially the discrimination against vampires. She absorbed everything, grateful for his protection, guidance and, eventually, love. Maybe he’d begun their time together wanting to use her for her cloaking ability, but the father-daughter relationship had become real to both of them.

He had taught her one trick after another in the art of breaking, entering, and stealing, until they operated as a flawless team. Dysfunctional compared to the other families she’d observed in her work? Maybe. But the only family she knew.

Getting up, she knelt by his chair and threw her arms around him. “I’m so glad you found me. You’ll always be my dad.”

His arms went around her shoulders. “I love you, little one. No matter what your future holds.”

“Thank you, Whysper,” Ashina said.

The old witch stood and brought her bowl to a table at the far side of the room. “You’re welcome. I found the Solsti’s story fascinating. Though I’m sorry about the price.”

Exhaustion seeped into Alina’s muscles and she lay down on the red couch, her feet in Ashina’s lap. “I’d like to just lie here for a while, if that’s okay.” Her brain was spinning and overloaded, and she wasn’t close to being ready to see her sisters. She knew they were anxious for details of her life, but she needed time to let all of this sink in.

“Of course.” Ashina rested two fingers on Alina’s inner wrist. “You rest. Stay here as long as you like. I don’t think Whysper’s doing any more regression spells today.”

“Stars, no,” Whysper muttered from her spot at the table. She sat with Melixa, wrinkled hands punctuating the air with gestures and her soft voice explaining the mechanics of the spell.

Ashina pulled a soft chenille throw within Alina’s reach, then got up. “I’ll be around, looking for any demons to heal. There’s a phone on the table over there. Call if you need me. My number is listed in the contacts.”

“Okay, thanks.” Dimly, Alina registered everyone leaving the room. But she didn’t feel alone. No, she felt like there was a presence inside her, watching and monitoring, that she was just now aware of. Her heart, which had failed her body once, now represented the Achilles heel of her existence.

Would it fail her soul?

Can’t fall in love…
Images of Caine swept through her mind. Strong, honorable, drop-dead sexy. But now, the lightness that went hand in hand with thoughts of him was weighted with foreboding.

Though it wasn’t as if she were planning on mating him or anything. Or anyone else. But for reasons she couldn’t explain, just knowing that the option had been taken away left a bitter sadness in her veins.

C
HAPTER
T
HIRTEEN

C
AINE
WALKED
OUT
OF
HIS
briefing with Arawn covered in dirt and needing to wash the stink of Serus demon off him. But getting information to his leader always took precedence over things like showers.

He punched the elevator button and waited, hands on his hips. He’d gone straight to the meeting, where he’d not only reported his assignment but had learned that the other Solsti were here with their mates. Alina’s father too.

The brushed metal doors opened with a ding, and he stepped in and hit the button for his floor. Was Alina happy now that the rest of her biological family was here? From what Arawn had said, it sounded like it had been a reunion worthy of an Earth soap opera.

He reached his floor and started walking down the marble hall to his room, when he was slammed with a wall of olfactory sensation. Moonflowers.

Alina.

What was she doing in the unmated Watcher quarters? Was she in another male’s room? The thought pissed him off, and the fact he was pissed made him more pissed. He didn’t have a claim on her. Just a promise from her that she’d wear those sexy-ass boots.

With each step closer to his room, her scent intensified. But it wasn’t fresh. He could tell the difference between the scent rolling off her tight little body when she was near, and the trace of it left behind. Like on that gate at Mulvari’s party, and on the manicured grass bearing a trail of her blood.

Thank the gods that she was safe and unharmed after that ordeal. Not the most conventional way to meet a female. Then again, neither of them was conventional. He unlocked his door, noting her scent clung to it, and stepped inside.

Holy hell.

As he slammed the door shut behind him, his cock roared to life.

The air in the room was saturated with her essence. He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, drawing her into every cell. Blood rushed to his groin as desire over-rode the question of why she’d been in here, knowing he was gone.