Wicked Rage of the Moon: Book Three of the Airendell Chronicles (13 page)

Mordir shakes his head and says, “I don’t have a clue.  I know a little of Spell Weaver magic, but this is… well, it’s different.”

Rinda smiles and says, “I understand bits and pieces of it.  But they are sisters and have their own shorthand that no one but the two of them truly understands.  They have a long history of working together to modify spells and expand Spell Weaver magic.  They are my best friends, and even I can’t keep up.”  Rinda chuckles and then smiles hugely because she doesn’t feel left out by this.  She finally recognizes that no two people can be everything, in all situations to one another.  She realizes that she and Morna share something very, very special and she is finally able to truly appreciate it and still be glad that others give Morna what she cannot.

Rodrigo pats Rinda’s hand and speaks to her telepathically, “I think three of us will walk away from this hall healed.  Good for you my dear.”

Rinda smiles and hugs him.  “Yep,” is all she says.

Morna looks up when she hears Rinda speak.  She smiles openly at her beloved friend and quickly returns her attention to Breena and their plans.  Finally she says, “Well, I think I have procrastinated enough.”  She walks over to Rodrigo and gently strokes his cheek.  “Ready Uncle?”

“Please stop calling me that Morna.  It makes me feel ancient.  George said that you call Thor brother.  Why not me?”  Rodrigo says with a smile.

“I am not sure.  Maybe because I feel like your son is my brother.  I honestly feel like I should call you friend.”  Morna shrugs.

“Friend suits me fine,” Rodrigo says as he offers his hand to shake. 

Morna shakes his hand, but captures his left hand in both of her hands, and meets his eyes.  “Have you tasted blood when you are not deep in the blood thirst of the beast?”

“No,” he says quietly, unable to look away from Morna’s captivating, piercing green eyes.

“I thought not.  Rinda and Breena will hold you in a binding spell if you think you will lose control.”  Morna says softly.

“I don’t think it is necessary, but I will submit to it if you wish,” Rodrigo says quietly.

“No, no.  I don’t think we need to do it.  In the vision we were standing face to face, correct?”

“Yes,” Rodrigo agrees.

“Fine.  Relax.  It’s not that unpleasant, and truly you won’t have to drink much of it.  Mordir will administer the plasma after you have drank from my arm for a minute.”  Morna takes a deep breath and looks Rodrigo in the eyes, “Are you ready?”  When he nods Morna starts humming and reciting the words of the healing spell.  She places her hands above his head, and slowly moves them downward as she continues to weave the healing spell.  She spends a little extra time on his right shoulder.  It obviously received a very serious injury that never healed properly.  She continues down the entire length of his body.  She is surprised at the raw strength and magic she senses in his being.  Finally, the entire spell has been woven and she rises slowly and takes a small dagger from the tray beside the exam table.  She utters a prayer and neatly incises the fleshy part of her left forearm.  “Rodrigo of the Gila Clan, accept my offering.  May this offering heal your body of this curse.”  She uses the right hand to stroke his face gently and says, “Drink friend.”

He meets her eyes and nods to acknowledge the gift that she is offering and places his mouth over the open wound and drinks the blood that is oozing from the incision.  He is amazed at how pleasant the blood tastes.  It’s nothing like he feared it would be.  He feels warmth spread through his body, followed by a slight tingling, almost burning sensation.  He relaxes and begins to truly savor the taste of her life’s blood.  Suddenly he is fearful when he realizes that he never wants to stop drinking from her. 

Morna senses his fear and utters another spell to calm his fears.  Morna says, “Relax Rodrigo, it’s almost over.  This is the hardest part.”  Morna leans down and weaves a spell to numb his arm and bite and drinks lightly of his blood.  When she finishes she wipes her mouth and smiles. “We are connected, now and forever, friend.”  She weaves a spell to heal where she bit him. She judges that he has drank enough directly from the vein and signals to Mordir to start administering the antibody infused plasma.  She gently strokes his face again and says, “That’s enough Rodrigo.”

He meets her eyes and reluctantly removes his mouth from the incision.  He smiles his gratitude at this gentle, giving woman and lies back on the exam table as the more intense tingling sensation from the plasma works its way through his body.  He watches as Rinda wraps Morna’s arm with clean gauze after cleansing the wound with saline solution.  Morna moves to his side and smiles reassuringly at him as she holds her hands above his head and slowly works her way down the entire length of his body.  She smiles happily when she reaches his feet and folds her arms in front of her, resting them above her huge belly.

“Rodrigo, it is working.  I can feel it.”  Morna smiles happily, satisfied by what she found during her healer‘s reading.

Rodrigo smiles and mumbles, “From your lips to God’s ear.”  He is watching the Spell Weaver and warrior closely and chuckles when the baby kicks so hard that her arms are moved by the force of it.  “He is truly strong, is he not?”

Morna laughs happily, “He is very strong.  My mate has a spell on my uterus that protects me from the power of his movements and rapid growth, but I can still feel his power.”  Morna smiles and looks at her sister, “He is also maintaining a spell on my sister’s body to offer her similar protection.”

“How can one Spell Weaver maintain so many intricate spells at once?”  Rodrigo asks sleepily.

“Lucian Michaels is not an ordinary Spell Weaver.  He was an exceptional Spell Weaver before he was transformed into a vampire and since the conversion his magic has been amplified by his enhanced physical and mental abilities,” Morna explains quietly.

“I suspect it is much the same for you?”  Rodrigo asks.

“Not as much.  I wasn’t as powerful of a Spell Weaver as he before my transformation,” Morna says quietly.

“Not even before the curse?” Rodrigo asks curiously.

Morna smiles and shakes her head no.  “Luca is truly exceptional.  He always has been.  I have my own talents that exceed many Spell Weavers, but it is different.  My magic is different.  Most Spell Weavers are very technical… my gut, some inner instinct, some inner magic guides me.  Relax Rodrigo, I know in my heart that this will work.” 

“Are you a seer Morna?”  Rodrigo asks curiously.

“No, but Madigan is.  He has shared a great deal of his knowledge with me.  I don’t know how, but I am sure it is from him.”  Morna says with a mystified look on her face.

Rodrigo reaches out and places his hand above her belly, “May I?”  When Morna nods, he places his hand on her belly and closes his eyes.  After a few minutes he opens his eyes and says, “Amazing!  He possesses ancient wisdom and the wonder of an emerging soul at the same time.  If you survive the confrontation with Valgullveig and her dark lover, you will birth three more children of Lucian Michaels’ over the next few years.”

Morna smiles and says, “I know.  Maddie, has already shown me that.”    “How do you know of Valgullveig’s dark lover?” Morna asks telepathically. 

“Madigan,” is Rodrigo’s reply.

Rinda comes to Morna and wraps her arm around her.  “Why haven’t you told us this?”

“Because I wasn’t certain until earlier when I slept with Nora.  I think the knowledge finally coalesced in my consciousness as I rested in the presence of my two little seers.”  Morna smiles happily, but weakly.  She looks at her dear friend and says, “Rinda, please get me a chair.  I am feeling very tired.”

Rodrigo starts to rise out of concern for Morna.  “No, no.  Lie still.  Mordir is not finished with you yet.”  Morna says gently.  “I knew I would be exhausted after this.  I also know that I will recuperate sufficiently to collect more antibodies and perform this ceremony again in twenty-four hours.  Then I will need to rest and recharge and I will be ready to do it again, for the third and final time.  Don’t worry.  My body is very, very strong.  I can accomplish this with no harm to me or my child,” Morna assures him with a smile.  “But now, we need to get your mother and son back in here to look after you and I need to go home.”

Breena steps forward, “I will get Damian to carry you home.”  She quickly disappears through the door before Morna can even say thank you.  Seconds later, Luca reenters the procedure room looking very worried.

“Nora sent me back to get you.”  He says with a reassuring smile as he scoops her up into his arms.  “Our Little Tyrant said to feed you and put you to bed.”  He spares a glance at Rodrigo and asks, “Did it go well?”

Rodrigo has dozed off by now and Mordir, who has been performing a scan on the Stone Breaker’s body, answers Luca‘s question.  “It seems to be going very well, Lord Lucian.  Your wife healed his shoulder.  It had sustained some serious soft tissue damage that had not been healed properly.  But now it is pristine.  Her spells and her blood are already seeking out and healing damage at the cellular level in his body.  I will draw blood and analyze it in a few hours, but I suspect I will already be able to detect subtle changes at the cellular level.  I have witnessed other Spell Weavers, but your mate has an interesting approach.  She utilizes scientific knowledge, but she seems to be guided by something much deeper, more ancient.  It is almost primal.”

“Her gut,” Luca grunts.  “Morna doesn’t just use magic, she is magic.  When I was attacked by the ancient vampire that caused my conversion, I should have died.  He had drained most of the blood from my body.  But Morna intuitively wove the necessary spells and fed me her blood for three days.  She sustained me, and kept me alive.  No Spell Weaver knows how to do things like that, but she did it.”  Mordir nods and looks thoughtful at this information, but doesn’t comment.

Damian comes in with Breena at this point and looks at Morna asleep in Luca’s arms.  “Luca, will she be alright?”

“Nora and Sammy both say that she will,” Luca says quietly.  “I am taking her home.  She needs sustenance and sleep.”  He turns to go but stops and looks at Mordir.  Breena wonders if Mordir is speaking to him telepathically.  Her suspicions are confirmed when after a few minutes, Luca chuckles and says, “Mordir, I respect your medical counsel and I will take care of it.” 

Luca leaves so quickly only Damian saw him go.  Damian chuckles and says, “The old man always makes me look bad.”  He scoops Breena up into his arms and leaves just like Luca did.

Rinda is left standing with Mordir and asks, “How can I help?”

“There is really nothing to do right now,” Mordir assures her.  “Why don’t you go be with Morna’s children?”

“Okay, but call me if I can help.  I feel in my gut that this man will be very important to Morna’s family, and I want to help, if I can,” Rinda says softly. 

Maria and George have entered the procedure room while Rinda is saying this and Maria hugs Rinda.  “You are awesome little lady.  No wonder Morna and Luca treasure you so much.”

George kisses her forehead and says, “I agree.  Now go be with Morna’s children.  I think they may need some reassurance.”  Rinda nods and walks slowly out of the procedure room.  She spends a few minutes telling the others waiting out there that the rite had gone well, and the plasma treatment seems to be working.  Morna’s children had already followed Luca and Morna home.  Finally she says, “Well, I am going to Morna‘s.” 

Annie steps forward and says, “I waited here for you.  Morna instructed me to look out for you today.”  Rinda blushes but says nothing.  The diminutive Spell Weaver and statuesque warrior walk back to Morna’s Great-hall in silence.  Once they are outside their leader’s home Annie tips Rinda’s face up towards her own.  “Are you okay, little bit?”

Rinda chuckles at the nickname and says, “I’m fine, Annie.  I feel more at peace right now than I have in centuries.”  Impulsively, she hugs Annie before running into Morna’s house.  Annie chuckles softly and shakes her head at the feelings the diminutive Spell Weaver stirs in her heart and her body.  She swallows hard and then follows her into Morna’s home.  She finds Rinda sitting with Aiden, Kyle and Kylor in the family room.  Kylor invites her to join them and they spend a pleasant morning getting to know each other.

Meanwhile, Morna is sleeping soundly in her bed.  Her youngest daughter insisted on sleeping with her Mama again.  Luca smiles and he crawls into the bed and spoons into Morna’s backside.  She mumbles, “I love you Luca.” in her sleep as he nuzzles her neck.  Luca lies beside her for four hours, watching his beloved mate and his precious youngest child sleep, and contemplating what needs to be done to keep them safe. 

Suddenly, his mind is filled with erotic daydreams involving his mate and himself.  He wonders what has sparked his imagination like this.  The daydreams seem so real.  If Nora were not sleeping beside her mother, he is certain that he would have already made love to his mate just as passionately as he does in the daydreams.  Finally, he whispers into Morna’s ear, “Love, Auggie is bringing food to you.  She is quite determined that you need sustenance.” 

Morna stretches fluidly and kisses her daughter’s forehead before slipping out of the bed and walking into the bathroom.  She feels utterly exhausted but satiated and so very happy.  She wonders if her dreams of loving her mate have anything to do with these feelings.  She chuckles at herself and realizes that she is famished.  After she uses the necessary, washes her hands and face, and brushes her teeth, she slowly unwraps the gauze wrapped around the wound on her arm.  She frowns at what she sees.  She knew before she had unwrapped it that it was not healed yet but she also knows that Luca will be very concerned.  She finds fresh gauze in the cabinet and rewraps the wound.