A Pirate's Revenge (Legends of the Soaring Phoenix) (38 page)

She kicked Lark’s ankle, and his hold on her hair loosened. She dragged herself to her feet and ran. “William?”

“Mariah?”

The fog had thickened. She could not tell where his voice came from. Red glows burst and whooshed into the gloom, but from all different areas.

“You cannot escape,
mademoiselle
,” Lark warned.

She glanced over her shoulder. The mist parted, and Lark trailed after her. His face paled and then melted away, leaving nothing but a terrifying skull. She gasped as flames burst in the black voids of his eye sockets. This was not her brother’s face anymore ’twas the face of a demon.

Lark sped after her with his wand high over his head.

Her bare feet sank into the sand, and with each step, she struggled to slog through. Lark closed the distance between them. She trembled. Had she pushed her brother too far?

“William,” she cried out. “Help me!”

“Mariah,” William called back. “I can’t see you. Where are you?”

Lark laughed. “I’m coming to get you.”

Her foot slipped in slimy sand. Thick blood mingled with the waves. Brown hair floated in the red water. A woman lay in the surf, her throat slit. Hannah.

Mariah screamed.

***

William raced through the black haze. Mariah’s scream froze his heart. He exhaled again, and fire burned through the darkness. As soon as he stopped, the heavy fog returned.

“Mariah, damn it. Answer me!”

He ran blindly through the murkiness. Luckily, he was clothed in the dream and more important, he was not weaponless. He had his sword and pistol.

“Lark, you devil. I’ll kill you,” he yelled. “Leave her alone.”

Maniacal laughter turned his blood cold. Soulless. Evil.

He could not breathe, and his heart threatened to shatter into a million pieces. This was worse than Sharon’s death. He could hear the fear in Mariah’s voice. She was here. He was here. And he could not get to her.

“Drakon!”
William cried.

“You must trust in magic,”
Drakon said.

“I do.”

“No, she is your mate,”
Drakon said
. “More than a mate. Your true love.”

“I care for the lass.”

“You’re a fool, and your denial will kill her.”

Another blood-curdling scream shot power through him. His heart thundering in his chest, he raced through the black cloudiness. The scream was different, not filled with her fear, but pain. Was she hurt? Dying?

He exhaled again, and fire flared in front of him. Another steady sound caught his attention. Waves? Fire flashed again, and this time, waves rushed over white sand. The fog appeared less dense, and he hurried forward.

Footprints appeared in the sand. Hungry waves slowly washed them away, and he cursed the sea for betraying him. He prayed that if he followed the outline of the beach he’d find Mariah.

Two set of footprints appeared in the sand. Lark?

Mariah had fulfilled her promise and brought him to this place. Why the hell had they been separated?

“If you would have told her your true feelings,”
Drakon said. “Y
ou’d be by her side.”

William’s heart raced, and he nearly choked on his fear.
“I don’t want to hear it.”

“Love is the strongest magic,”
Drakon said. “A
nd if—”

“Silence.”

’Twas true that his feelings for Mariah ran deep and if she died she’d leave an empty shell. Was this love? Could he be in love with a witch?

Another scream propelled him to change into the dragon and fly across the sandy beach.

Aye, damn it. He very well could be in love with a witch, a witch that could be dying because of his foolish pride.

Below, he spotted Mariah running. Relief flooded him that she was alive. He transformed into a man, and Mariah raced toward him, her violet eyes huge. Blood sullied her dainty feet. “William,
Mon Dieu
!”

A man with no face, only a ghastly skull rushed toward them. Fire flamed in his eye sockets, and darkness engulfed him. The power radiating from him smashed into William. He exhaled, and fire blazed over the man. Running around in circles, the man screamed.

William choked on the stench of burnt flesh. Fiery heat blazed. William wrapped his arms around Mariah and turned his back toward Lark to shield her. She collapsed in his arms.

The fog blanketed them, and William fell into blackness. “Mariah!”

***

He woke with a start. “Mariah.” Softness and warmth was cradled beneath him. Mariah breathed onto his face. Her brows were knotted, and her lips tight. He was still embedded inside her. His heart pounding, he stroked her pale cheek. But she did not move. He swallowed hard, rolled off her, and pulled her into his arms.

She wore a diamond choker around her neck. The
yari
. “God, no!”

He tried to remove the
yari
, but it refused to budge. Damn it!

How could her bloody brother bind her powers? To enslave his own flesh and blood? His heart thundered. She’d be in pain, and there wasn’t a bloody thing he could do to thwart it.

William caressed her cheek. “Mariah, sweet witch, wake up.”

Her eyes fluttered, and she moaned. He gripped her shoulders tighter. “Mariah, come back to me.” His voice was more of a whisper and tears slipped down his face. God, he had failed again. Failed to save the woman he loved.

“There you admitted it.”

“William,” she whispered. She flung her arms around his neck. “My brother. He is gone.”

He held her tight, not knowing what to say. Her brother looked like a walking corpse and was in league with the devil.

“Shh, you’re safe now.”

“You do not understand,” she whimpered. “I will be forced to kill my own brother.”

He kissed the top of her head and cradled her in his arms, relieved they were back aboard the
Phoenix
. This was the last time he’d let her visit her brother in a dream.

Mariah suddenly pulled away and her hand flew to her throat. “
Mon Dieu
, William, do you know what this is?”

The fear in her eyes could crucify him. If he only he had the power to destroy the damn thing. “’Tis the
yari
.”

“I cannot utilize my powers. He’s bound me.”

He clasped her hands. “Your
Grand-mère
said you would be able to defeat a warlock. You’ll find a way to break the spell.”

“No, I cannot. It binds my magic. I have failed.
Grand-mère
said that we would be able to defeat a warlock. In my foolishness, I have condemned us all.”

“Mariah, we are not defeated yet.” He kissed her shaking hand. “We need to pull together. Hope is what helps us continue the fight. Without it, we will be defeated.”

She glanced at the canvas door and leaned closer to him. She whispered into his ear. “Hannah is dead. He killed her.”

William’s heart stopped beating, and acid boiled in his gut. It couldn’t be true. Not Hannah. The old pain rushed over him. The anguish, the lust for revenge. The hate. He refused to have Kane experience the same despair. Not until he was sure Hannah was gone. He grabbed Mariah’s shoulders and stared into her wide eyes. “Are you sure?”

Her lips trembled and she lowered her head, her hair falling around her. “I saw her, William. Her neck was slashed.”

“But it was a dream. ’Twasn’t real.”

She raised her head. “No, you do not understand. Warlocks have the power to show what happens outside the dream. He told me he killed her.”

How would he tell Kane that the woman he loved was dead?
Could
he tell him? “Why? Why would he kill her?”

“Because she kept telling him that he had a sister.”

“That’s nonsense.”

“He showed me his soul. No part of the brother I knew was there. He is pure evil. Bent on destroying all of us. Hannah was his first victim.”

“I can’t believe she is dead.”

“We have to tell the
capitaine
.”

He gripped her shoulders tight. “No.”

“But—”

“I’ll not put my brother in such agony until I’m sure that she is dead. That I have proof. You do not understand the grief he will endure. It will murder his spirit.”

She cupped his cheek. “Is that what you went through with Sharon?”

“Aye.” He leaned against her palm and turned and kissed it. “Promise me you’ll not tell him.”

She lowered her hand. “William, he’ll never forgive you.”

“I’m willing to risk it.” He took her hands and pulled her off the floor as he stood. “Will you do this for me?”

Doubt filled her eyes, and she bit her lip. 

“We need to discover whether she’s alive before we rip out my brother’s heart.” He held his breath, willing her to see it his way.

She sighed and released his hands. “
Oui
, I will wait until we have proof.” She picked up her dress and held it close to her, covering her nakedness. “You are gambling with losing your brother.”

“Hannah is his whole life.” He smiled. “She almost tore us apart.”

“Why?”

He put on his trousers. “We were both vying for her attention.”

She cocked her eyebrow. “Like you and Ronan are with me?”

“Aye.” He rubbed his chin. “You saw Hannah dead on the beach?”

“
Oui
, why?” 

He pulled on his shirt. “Zuto’s island?”

“I presume so. Why?”

She slipped into the dress and struggled to lace the back, but her arms flailed, and she wiggled those sexy hips as if doing so would help her tie the laces. Desire surged through him, but he fought it down. There was not time for any coupling. He had to find out about Hannah.  Alone.

“Let me.” He quickly helped her dress. “I must go there and see if she is dead. Then, and only then, will I bring the news of her death to Kane.”

She furrowed her brow. “You?”

He pushed her hair away and stared at the dreaded choker around her neck. What other horrors could happen to her? “Aye, you are not going anywhere near that island.”

Mariah shivered and clasped William’s hand. “I made a mistake and tried to take on Lark by myself. If you go alone to Zuto’s island, the same will happen to you.
Grand-mère
said we had to combine our powers together to save Lark and defeat Natasa.”

“The
yari
will not allow you to perform magic.”

“
Oui
.” She bit her lower lip. “Maybe I cannot use my magic, but maybe I can use Lark’s magic.”

Every blood vessel inside him threatened to burst at such foolishness. “What?”

“I have his wand.”

William twirled his finger into her hair. “’Tis evil. He used it to conjure the
yari
.”

“You do not understand. Natasa’s wand can only channel black magic. My father gave Lark his wand. ’Tis a Fey wand and enchanted. ’Tis based on goodness and filled with white magic.”

“If you are wrong, the
yari
will punish you. We do not know what it will do.”

“You are lying to protect me. I will be in extreme pain. ’Tis a possibility I am willing to try.”

He stopped twirling her hair. “I am not. Where is his wand?”

“Why?”

“Give it to me.”

She put her hand on her hips. “No.”

“This is not a game. I want you safe. Out of harm’s way.”

“I am already in harm’s way, William.”

He stepped around her and headed for her chest.

“No.” She gripped his arm with both hands, but it was like trying to stop a runaway horse.

He shook her off and yanked open the trunk. Both hers and Lark’s wands lay on top. Luckily, hers was still here and not imprisoned in Lark’s dream world. It should have been. Had he allowed her to keep it? Why?

William seized both of them. “Which one is Lark’s?”

She clamped her mouth shut and avoided looking at her wand, afraid he would guess which one was hers.

“Fine, I will keep them both.” He headed for the doorway.

“If you do not let me go with you, I will tell
le capitaine
.” 

He whirled around, his face grim. “You would not dare.”

She ignored the disbelief and horror in his tone. She put her hand on her chest and met his fierce glare, although her legs turned to seaweed and wobbled beneath her. She hated playing dirty and toying with William’s emotions, but she was desperate to keep him from going to that island without her.  “
Oui
, I would. We must do this together.”