Symphony of Light and Winter (35 page)

“Are you alive or have I finally cracked?”

“I’m not really alive per se. But if you’re asking if I’m lost to you, I really don’t know yet, until you tell what you did.”

“How are you talking to me?”

“Our bond is very powerful. I’m sure it has something to do with it, but this was not supposed to happen.”

“You told Michael that you made it permanent. You had the knife.”

“You know it wounds me when you underestimate me. I needed the show for him. I needed your reaction to be real as well as Overton’s. I knew what you were up to. Another thing that cuts me is that you lied to me. I can’t help but see your thoughts when I’m buried inside you. You can be pissed but you deceived me. You owe me forgiveness. I wasn’t going to let you run off with that psychopath in your valiant effort to save me. I don’t need saving, Linden.”

Tears ran down my face. I didn’t want a lecture. I wanted his love, his understanding.

“I beg to differ. What was I supposed to do?”

“TRUST ME!”

“I did trust you.”

“Not enough to believe I might actually know what is best. I believe all the things I said about cursing you, but remember I’m far too selfish to be so self-sacrificing. I’d make you endure making love to me every night while I worked on a way to undo the spell. I wanted to whisk you away where no one would know about you and I could help lead things behind the scenes. If they thought me dead, they would stop looking. That is what I planned.”

“You’re coming back?” I couldn’t hide my excitement.

“NO! You did something that stopped the spell from working. The source originates with you. I can’t tell what it is. What did you do? All the dagger was designed to do was sever my spirit from my body. It wouldn’t destroy me. I cast a spell on it so if he used the dagger, it would place my spirit in your necklace until we were long gone. Michael would think I died since he wouldn’t sense the vague consciousness that accompanies the Awakening. But something interfered. To enter the gem, I had to send my spirit out of this realm and then force it back into it, but once I hit the membrane between the realms, I stopped. I didn’t know it could happen. Help me, Linden, what did you do?”

“Cyril, I don’t know. Could killing Michael have caused it?”

“No. I was still on your plane to witness that. That’s something else we need to discuss.”

“Cyril, I don’t know.”

“Think. Did you touch anything in the cabin?”

“You.”

“Besides me,”
he grumbled.
“Did you touch any of the spell components?”

“I did accidentally read a page from your journal.”

“Which journal?”

“Well, it’s not really a journal. It was more a stack of papers.”

“Oh, OK.”

“I’m sorry.”

“I don’t care if you read my thoughts, it’s only fair. But you didn’t do anything with the other journal, right? The one you retrieved for me?”

“Not really.”

“‘Not really’ doesn’t sound like no.”

“I wrote you a good-bye note in it.”

“Fuck, Linden!”

“What?”

It was funny that he could still communicate nuances like growls without a body.
“What did you write?”

“I don’t know. I love you blah blah blah.”

“I need to know exactly.”

“Let me think. Something like, I need to do this, Cyril, for you. I pray that it’s quick and we can be together as soon as possible.”

“Damn it! That explains it!”

“What?”

“We are back together as soon as possible. The first possible opportunity that we could be back together was the moment my spirit left the realm. It hit that point and stopped. Never mess with magic! Fuck!”

“I didn’t know I was messing with magic. I thought I was writing a note. My God, what would have happened had I made a grocery list?”

“You’d be ass-deep in oatmeal? I don’t know. I placed a spell upon the book to provide a simple wish. I was going to have you use it to bring me back but now I can’t get back because you already used it.”

“But I said I wanted us to be together. This isn’t together.”

“Really? I’m in your head and you don’t think we’re together. Magic is very literal. It doesn’t care what you intended.”

“My God. What do we do now, Cyril?”

“You’ve been bitching about me being the master of unintended consequences since that first night in my room. You’ve only been exposed to this kind of power for two fucking days and you’ve already banished me to the nether realm.”
He laughed but it held a mocking edge.

“I’m so sorry, Cyril.”

“Oh, don’t worry. I think having me in your head twenty-four/seven will be motivation enough for you to help me get back. I’ll know every thought you’ve ever had. I’ll see everything you do through your eyes. You’ll have not one ounce of privacy. Not to mention you’ll have none of my fringe benefits. Don’t think that I don’t know that my cock makes up for my piss-poor attitude. Lucky you. Better get to work.”

“I can’t do it.”

“Oh, but you can. You absorbed Michael’s power. Didn’t know that, did you? And you absorbed it while you had a fresh dose of me in your veins. Who knows what you’re capable of now? You can see the souls now, can’t you?”

“Yes.”

“Perfect. I guess it’s time for me to kick back and relax for a while and let you do the work. You know, these are rather spacious accommodations. Lots of room.”

“Fuck you, Cyril.”

“Oh, Light, don’t worry. Get me out of here and I’ll make up for lost time. By the way, you really shouldn’t have done that to Overton in the shower. Poor guy’s got it hard enough.”

“YOU WERE THERE?”

“Oh, yes. He’s such a loyal friend. I would punish you for rubbing yourself on him like a cat in heat but I did play my part in that little fiasco. I warned you. Do you remember?”

“How could I forget?”

“Plus, I have the advantage of knowing exactly what you were feeling. You were wound tight. I was ready to let you fuck him so I could get some relief.”

“Cyril, not funny,” I scolded.

“
Really, I find the dirty little opportunist in you quite fun. The image only flashed for an instance, but my family would be pleased to know your fantasies of them are equally as salacious. I, on the other hand, would like to remind you that you belong to me.
”

“I can’t believe this. This is a nightmare.”

“No. It’s your wish come true, literally. We were made for each other. Now if the world can survive us being together is a different story.”

“Speaking of the world, Cyril, who is going to free the souls?”

He laughed.
“You are.”

THE END OF BOOK ONE

~ About the Author ~

Renea Mason spends her free time writing steamy erotic romances to even out the estrogen to testosterone imbalance that occurs from living in a house full of men.

When she isn’t putting pen to paper to craft sensual stories filled with supernatural lovers, she spends time with her beyond supportive husband, two wonderful sons and three loving but needy cats.

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