Cin Craven - Wages of Sin Part 24

"England?" I asked incredulously. "What the devil do you mean by that?"

"I mean that when her hordes overtake the earth I get two things: England and you."

"Then you made a very bad deal, Sebastian. I won't be yours, I can guarantee you that. I will be her High Priestess and I'll not be bartered away like chattel. As for England, there will be nothing left after she's finished here."

"Of course there will. She talks a good game but in truth I think she likes this world. She'll have her bit of fun but it won't be total destruction. She'll leave the strong so that they may repopulate the world."

"And she's promised you England?"

"Yes," he said, triumph and expectation in his voice.

"I still don't understand. You want to be king?" I couldn't quite get my head around it.

Sebastian looked at me as if I were insane.

"That would be treason," he hissed.

I stopped and stared, and then nearly laughed in his face. He was totally serious and utterly horrified. The thought that he would care a whit about treason when he'd murdered without conscience made no sense to me.

"I fought the French under Wellington," he said. "Did you know that?"

"No." I knew he'd been on the Continent but I'd somehow never imagined Sebastian actually in battle.

"Whatever I am, Dulcinea, I love my country. To suggest that I want to be king is ludicrous and treasonous. The monarchy will stand as long as England does. I merely wish to be the power behind the throne. The country will be mine and I will make her so strong that no one will dare to stand against her again."

I shook my head in wonder. He was absolutely insane, there was no doubt about that, but could there be a glimmer of something n.o.ble and patriotic underneath that insanity? There was such a look of fear and determination on his face. It was the look of someone who's been thrown from a horse and is determined to get back on, not because they wanted to but because they can't just walk away.

"Sebastian, what happened to you over there?" I whispered. What was it that he couldn't just walk away from? His jaw clenched and all emotion bled from his face until there was nothing left but a blank mask. "Nothing that concerns you, my dear," he growled and grabbed my arm, pulling me faster down the high street.

We stopped in front of a rather rough-looking tavern called The c.o.c.k and Bull. I laughed softly.

"Go around the back," I said. "I'll meet you out there in a minute."

"I'm not supposed to leave you alone," he countered, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Sebastian, please, how am I to get one of those men to leave the tavern with me with you hovering over my shoulder like a jealous husband?"

"You've got five minutes," he growled.

I walked into the tavern and paused at the door for effect, scanning the crowd inside. A hush fell over the common room. I remembered Michael saying that I could drink liquids in small amounts so I walked to the bar and ordered a whiskey. I'd only taken a sip when two men walked up, one on either side of me. They were obviously brothers, tall and blond, dirty from a hard day harvesting in the fields. I felt guilt shoot through me for what I was about to do but if I didn't do this then there was no telling where Sebastian's appet.i.tes might stray.

"Hullo, love," the one on my right said. "My name's Nick Bridges and this here's my brother d.i.c.k. And who might you be?"

I smiled up at him. "I might be interested," I replied. "Why don't you two handsome men come with me and have a stroll in the moonlight?"

I turned and they both offered me their arms. Laughing, I linked my arms with theirs, steering them out the door. We came around the corner, me with my two blond bookends, to find Sebastian lounging negligently against the building. He flicked his cheroot into a puddle and smiled.

"My dear, you amaze me. How quickly you've managed to procure our little evening snack."

"Here, now," one of the brothers said, "I think you've got the wrong idea. We're interested in the lady, not you, mate."

"No," I said sadly, "it's you who have the wrong idea."

I pushed him toward Sebastian and turned on the other, grabbing his arms and shoving him against the wall. His head snapped back and hit the brick, knocking him unconscious. It was probably for the best. Hunger growled through me and I felt my canines lengthen. I sank them deep into his neck, mentally asking forgiveness for what I had to take. I drank deeply but not enough to harm him. Pulling back, I let him slide gently to the ground.

His brother was struggling futilely against Sebastian. Sebastian stood behind him, his mouth fastened on the man's neck and his arms wrapped around him to hold him still. When the man stopped struggling and his eyes fluttered shut I walked up and shook Sebastian off of him.

"Enough," I said.

Sebastian removed his handkerchief from his pocket and dabbed his lips. He then grasped my chin in one strong hand and wiped a spot of blood off the corner of my mouth. I jerked my head away and he shrugged, refolding the linen and returning it to his pocket.

"Are you old enough yet to bespell them while you feed?" I asked, glancing at the two men on the ground.

"No," Sebastian replied.

"I'll be glad when I reach that age. I hate it when they fight me." "Really?" Sebastian said with a smile. "That's my favorite part."

I scowled at him. "It would be," I muttered. "Come on, then. The Destroyer awaits."

Chapter Thirty-Six

The floor of the bedroom at the inn in Amesbury had a squeak near the window. After listening to that squeak for the fifteenth time I sat up from the bed and looked at Thomas as he paced. He was nervous and I didn't blame him. We'd spent yesterday holed up at an inn in Basingstoke. Tomorrow night was Samhain. We would go to Stonehenge and we would defeat Kali, or we would die.

He had a right to be nervous but that infernal squeaking was driving me insane. I had to get out of this room.

I needed to get the remaining supplies necessary to perform the binding spell and I still hadn't gotten another look at Kali's spell.

Crossing to the door, I opened it. Philip of the dead eyes stood in the doorway. He turned, regarding me with a lifeless expression, as if it didn't really matter to him if I stayed or if I walked through that door and he got to tear my arms off. It probably didn't.

Since it mattered a great deal to me, I closed the door and walked over to the wall. I pounded on it three times. Kali and Sebastian were in the next room, I could feel them. A minute later she appeared at my door wearing a long black velvet cloak with silver b.u.t.tons marching up the front. I had no idea what was underneath it.

"What is it?" she snapped.

I blinked. She was crankier than usual tonight. That couldn't be good.

"I need to see a copy of your spell and I need to go out and get supplies for tomorrow night."

"You also need to hunt. You didn't feed last night."

I hadn't and hunger now gnawed at my belly. She had been in a strange mood last night and I hadn't wanted to leave Thomas and Amelia unprotected. Tonight's mood wasn't much better but I didn't have a choice tonight. I had to get supplies and I had to have blood or I'd be useless to them tomorrow night.

"Yes, I need to feed and I need to find an apothecary. May I see the spell again so that I can be sure I get the right ingredients?"

"Yes, give me a few minutes and I'll go with you," she said.

"That's really not necessary-"

She narrowed her eyes and I shut my mouth. I really, really didn't want to go anywhere with her but I also got the very distinct impression that I did not want to make her angry tonight.

"All right," I whispered.

She turned in a swirl of black velvet and I let out the breath I hadn't realized I was holding. My stomach was knotted up in hunger and fear. I turned to Thomas.

"I'll be back in an hour or two. Don't worry, Sebastian won't harm you. He wouldn't risk her displeasure."

Thomas nodded and I hoped that I was right.

The air was cool and crisp, moist from the rain that had fallen that day. I hoped that the weather would hold tomorrow night. I couldn't think of anything much more miserable than having to work this spell in the rain in October out on the wide, unprotected expanse of Salisbury Plain. I turned my head to the west. The henge was two miles outside of town. I inhaled deeply as if I could perhaps smell it or sense it. I couldn't, of course. If I were closer I could feel it but two miles was too far away.

I did sense something else though. I turned and scanned the nearly empty street but saw nothing out of the ordinary. Still, I could feel eyes out there, somewhere. Someone was watching us. Was it Michael?

"What are you searching for?" Kali asked.

My attention snapped back to the demon next to me. "Oh. I was just seeing if I could sense the henge from here."

"Can you?"

"No, it's still too far away."

"Tell me about these stones of yours."

I drug my thoughts from Michael and shrugged. "They're old and very powerful. I wish I could have seen them before they fell to ruin; they must have been magnificent. My mother brought me here to see them when I was a child."

"Ah yes, your mother. A beautiful woman. I thought she was my witch, at first."

Something very cold spread inside me and I stopped and turned to Kali. She'd seen my mother. She'd been near, even before Sebastian had come to me, and we hadn't known. Had I been wrong about the coach-a-bower? Had Kali been the one responsible for my parents' deaths?

"What do you know about my mother?" I said, my voice sounding harsh and threatening, even to me.

Kali raised a brow. "I have been watching you."

"How long?"

She shrugged. "Weeks before I sent Sebastian to you."

I clenched my hands into fists to keep them from shaking. "Did you kill my parents?" I said, very slowly.

"Of course not," she scoffed. "That was truly an accident."

I narrowed my eyes. "Why should I believe you?"

She laughed. "Why would I lie? Honestly child, do you think I care enough about your feelings to lie to you?"

"I am not a child and, yes, I think you would lie if you thought I wouldn't do your spell for you if I found out that you'd killed my parents."

Anger radiated from her. "You are a child, a squalling infant. You are what? Twenty-two? I have seen more millennia than you can begin to imagine. I was ruling over millions when your precious Stonehenge was nothing more than a dream. I don't care about your tempers or your feelings. They are nothing to me. It was my intention to take you at a ball but then your custom of mourning fouled that plan. I didn't want to wait another year so I turned Sebastian because he said he could procure you. That is the truth but it matters little to me whether you believe it or not."

There was something indefinable in her voice that told me that she really did care whether or not I believed her and, G.o.ddess help me, I did believe her. Foolish maybe, but I did.

"Why Sebastian?" I asked suddenly. "I would have thought you would have chosen someone..." Someone female, but I didn't say it aloud."The last lieutenant I had was Yasmeen. I didn't expect her betrayal and it... hurt," she said finally, as if she were surprised by the emotion. "I chose a man this time because I expect a man to betray me. When he does, and he will, I won't have to feel those unsettling emotions again. Also, he was powerfully motivated to get you. In his own way he loves you, you know. He was very cross when you gave yourself to the swordsman."

I glanced at my feet and continued walking down the high street. I didn't want to comment on my feelings about Sebastian, and especially not on my feelings for Michael.

"I told him he was a fool," Kali continued, oblivious to the fact that I wasn't encouraging the conversation. "Virginity is highly overrated. Do you know that there are men in this world whose G.o.d promises them they will have many virgins in heaven?" she laughed, a high, trilling sound of mirth. "Can you imagine anything more tedious? An experienced woman in your bed is undeniably more satisfying."

I looked at her, amazed that she truly thought I cared about Sebastian's views on my chast.i.ty.

"Will this do?" she asked.

I blinked and looked around. We were standing in front of an apothecary shop with large bay windows and a sign over the door that read Silas Simms, Apothecary. I peered in the darkened windows at the rows of bottles and herbs. It looked well-stocked.

"This should do," I agreed.

She grabbed the k.n.o.b and pushed. There was a sound of breaking wood and the door swung open. I stepped inside and looked around, my list clutched tightly in my hand. One good thing about being a vampire, I didn't need to light a candle to see in the dark.

"The spell," I said.

Kali turned and looked at me in question.

"I need to see the spell in order to make sure I have the right ingredients."

She reached into her pocket and pulled out the small, folded piece of yellowed parchment. I took it from her and read over the ingredients, surprised at how few there were. Then again, when you have human blood charging your magic I suppose you don't need much more help.

I laid the paper on the counter and slipped behind it to gather what I needed. I picked out the herbs for Kali's spell and then moved on to find the ones I needed, hoping she wouldn't notice the extra ingredients. Glancing up, I watched her wander through the shop, picking up jars and scanning the contents of the shelves, seeming not to pay any attention to me. I wasn't fooled. I quickly placed the rose oil, rue and rosemary in the bag and then began to look for Silas Simms' stash.

Generally every apothecary will have a cupboard or drawer which contains things only a witch would want. Openly supplying witches isn't advisable, but it is lucrative. Back in the Burning Times most people who stood at the town square and watched a witch burn had gone to her for charms or cures themselves, the hypocrites. I had just found the supply of black candles and was slipping several into my bag when an angry voice startled me.

"What the devil are you doing in my shop?" the man shouted, brandis.h.i.+ng an iron fire poker.

d.a.m.n. Mr. Simms must live above his shop.

"Look at me," Kali said softly.

He turned, surprised. He hadn't seen her there. He looked at her beautiful face and was lost. She bespelled him at a glance. The fire poker slowly lowered to his side and then clattered to the ground as he stood staring at her, a vacant look on his face. I felt a horrible sense of guilt as I moved around the end of the counter. I'd broken into the poor man's shop, stolen from him (not that I wasn't planning to leave him three times what the supplies were worth) and now I was going to take his blood. My guilt was only overcome by my hunger. I wouldn't hurt him, after all, and many lives depended upon my strength.

I walked up behind him. He was short for a man, only about my height. I wrapped one arm around him and pulled down the collar of his s.h.i.+rt with the other. His blood called to me and my canines lengthened and sharpened. Kali watched as I sank my teeth into his neck, his blood flowing into me, rich and hot, filling me and energizing me. I could feel her eyes on me, feel the tension strum through her body, but I couldn't stop.

When I had drunk my fill I released the man. Kali came up in front of him, her dark eyes staring at me while she licked the wound and then sank her own teeth into the holes I'd left behind. I nearly jerked the man back from her, afraid she'd kill him if she drank from him after I had, but she released him after only a taste. I blushed when I realized she'd done it so the wound would close and disappear.

Remembering Sebastian's bite on my neck, I knew I wasn't yet old enough to not leave the telltale marks behind.