Heart of the Witch (37 page)

Nick's eyes fluttered open. He didn't know how long he'd been out, but he recalled in vivid detail what had happened before he lost consciousness. He struggled to a sitting position and looked around the room. Once more, Ravyn was gone.

Dear God. He couldn't believe what he'd seen. What he'd heard. Ravyn was a witch? She was one of the very people he was hunting—even though up until now he hadn't really believed they existed. Ravyn was one of them.

He reached for his pants, fumbling to slip them on. He didn't know where she'd gone, but somehow he had to find her. It was a calling from his heart—from his very soul.

He stopped in midmotion as he heard the dark voice of Kayne once more.
If you want her, you must come to me
.

"Who the hell are you?
What
are you?" Nick screamed in rage at his unseen enemy.

If you want to know, if you want to find her, you'll listen to me. You'll follow my instructions.

"It's not her I want, motherfucker. It's you."

The resultant laughter was evil, reaching around the room and coiling its tendrils up inside Nick. Brave
words, mortal. We shall see
.

Nick didn't respond. Instead, he listened very closely as the voice told him where to go.

Very soon he was crouched behind a fence, gun drawn, staring at a barn. A cool wind whipped around him, and the odor of hay and animals penetrated his nostrils. From somewhere in the darkness he heard the lowing of cows, followed by the howl of… what? A coyote? A wolf? A frisson of apprehension slid over his spine as he glanced around. When he didn't detect a set of glowing eyes in the gloom, he turned back to the darkened barn.

Surely this couldn't be the place. The windows were boarded up and the exterior in crumbling disrepair. The structure was in the middle of nowhere. There wasn't a house within a mile, and it was obviously abandoned. Had Kayne purposely misled him? At this moment, were he and Ravyn sharing a laugh at Nick's expense? It had all been a game to her, after all. She'd lied about everything else—why wouldn't she He about her relationship with Kayne? Was it such a stretch to believe they were in on this together?

Nick shook his head. A witch. Jesus. He was having terrible difficulty processing that fact. Everything else seemed inconsequential. Everything, that is, except the power-crazed maniac, Kayne, who also happened to be a witch. A maniac whose plan, although unclear at the moment, definitely involved him.

Nick should have called the task-force members, but he hadn't. For one, he wasn't exactly sure what he was dealing with. For another, he wasn't completely confident in their abilities.

And… admit it,
Lassiter. You're just a little afraid of what they'll do to Ravyn
.

That last thought was disturbing. He shouldn't care what happened to her, but in spite of what she was and what she'd perhaps done, the sad truth was that he did care. Too much. More than almost anything ever.

Approach the barn or go? He didn't believe for a second they were in there, but he was here. He might as well check the building out. And then what? He didn't know. Because he had no idea how in the hell to find witches.

Making as little noise as possible, he duckwalked to the side of the building and stretched slowly to a standing position, peeking between the boards on one of the windows. He could make out very little, but he saw a glimmer of light. Someone was inside.

Sliding around to the front, he quietly lifted the board and pushed the door open. Raising his Beretta in a ready position in front of him, he stepped inside.

When his gaze took in the scene, the air left his body as if an unseen fist had pounded his chest. What he saw nearly took him to his knees.

Ravyn was at one end of the large room. Thick ropes bound her arms to her torso, and around her neck was a noose. When she saw Nick, she gasped and slowly shook her head.

"You shouldn't have come." Her voice was raspy and weak! Nick wanted to hold her. Wanted to save her. Wanted to be her hero, no matter what he'd thought before coming here. How could he have distrusted her?

His arms went slack for a moment, and he thought he might drop his gun, but he brought the weapon back up, whirling to aim it at Kayne, who sat in a large chair six feet or so from where Ravyn was tied up. He wore nothing but a loincloth that made him look like some evil incarnation of Tarzan. The rope around Ravyn's neck was slung over a beam in the ceiling, and the far end was wrapped around Kayne's wrist.

"Let her go, you bastard." Nick was dismayed to find the hoarse rasp of tears in his voice.

The warlock smiled, white teeth glistening in his tan face. He flicked his long blond hair off his forehead and stood, tendons jumping in his massive chest as he flexed his arms and clenched his fists. '"You bastard?' Who do you think you are? You come in and demand something of me?"

Metal flashed in Kayne's hand, and Nick recognized the dagger Ravyn had slipped into her boot while she was leaving her house. How much pain had this monster inflicted when he took it from her? The thought made Nick's stomach roil.

Easing toward Ravyn, he lifted his gun until it pointed at Kayne's chest.

"You might not want to do that," Kayne laughed. "You can't kill me. There's only one way I can die, and a bullet isn't it. But if you shoot, I will be injured. Temporarily. I will fall, thereby pulling the noose tighter around Ravyn and causing her neck to snap. If you're willing to sacrifice her to defeat me… well, go ahead. She betrayed you, after all."

"Do it, Nick!" Ravyn cried. "Don't worry about me. You can't kill him, but you can disable him long enough to get away."

The billowy white blouse she wore was tattered and hanging off one shoulder. Drops of blood spattered the front, and Nick noticed her lower lip was cut—more evidence of what she'd suffered at the hands of this madman. Her beautiful face was pale, drawn. Her eyes pleaded with him. He stared at her, his chest nearly exploding with love, regret, fear…

He didn't know exactly what they were up against, but he knew he couldn't leave her. Not willingly. Not ever. He'd left Annie and regretted it forever. He wouldn't make the same mistake twice.

He let his gun fall from nerveless fingers. It plummeted harmlessly to the dusty floor, making a small and ineffectual
thunk
. Kayne laughed, the sound roaring through the room, gathering volume.

"Do you see who's in charge, mortal?"

Nick took a step toward Ravyn.

"Stop right there," his enemy commanded. "You will obey me, or you both will die."

"I'm going to make sure she's okay," Nick vowed. His voice held more bravado than he felt.

As he walked toward Ravyn, she shook her head. "Listen to him, Nick. Do what he says, please. Find a way to save yourself."

Nick stopped, the pleading in her eyes affecting him more than any threats from Kayne.

She continued in a dazed whisper, "I'm okay, but he's drugged me and made my powers ineffectual. I can't help you. You shouldn't have come. He'll destroy you. He wants your soul. You have to go. Now!"

"My—"

"Silence!" Kayne's voice cut through their conversation. He pointed to a hard-backed chair in the center of the room. "Sit, mortal," he instructed Nick.

Nick did as he was told. For now, with Ravyn's life in this maniac's hands, literally, he had to play it cool. He had to think smart to get them out of this. Now was not the time for foolish mistakes, as if there ever had been a time for them.

Kayne tied Ravyn's rope to a beam behind him. He paced back and forth like a hungry cougar, his fingers caressing the blade of her dagger. "You will hear me out and do exactly as I say, at least if you want to keep Ravyn from harm. One false move and I will break her neck."

Nick didn't respond, just followed Kayne's movements with his eyes, waiting.

"Understand one thing. I could have disintegrated you the moment you stepped through the door. Could have reduced you to a smoldering pile of ashes—or perhaps a pile of shit would have been more fitting." Kayne's feral golden eyes gleamed with amusement. "The only reason you still exist is because I need something from you."

Nick held the male witch's gaze, even though the urge to turn away was overwhelming.

"I have acquired power beyond your feeble imagination, and I am on the brink of supremacy—
immortality
. The knowledge I have gained even allows me to defy the rules set forth in the pathetic code of witchcraft."

Nick wondered if he could somehow subdue Kayne, somehow manage to jump him when he wasn't looking. But, no. If a bullet would have no effect, a physical attack surely wouldn't.

"However, the cost has been great," Kayne continued. "My body grows weak. My soul is deteriorating."

"Is there a point to all this?" Nick interrupted.

Kayne stopped his pacing and stalked over to stand in front of him. He flung the dagger across the room. It landed with a
thunk
, well out of reach of either of them. Fists clenched at his sides, the warlock panted heavily. "You will not speak to me in such a manner. Your time will come—the time to prove your worth. But for now, you will listen."

"Kayne, leave him alone." Ravyn's voice was thready but determined. "I'll stay with you. You can recover—you don't need him," she begged.

Kayne spun and pointed a finger at her. "You
will
stay with me, but only because I've won your allegiance." The finger returned to Nick. "This insignificant insect will have the opportunity to live… though the odds are not in his favor."

"Let Ravyn go, and I'll give you whatever you want," Nick offered.

Kayne grinned. "Well, isn't this heartwarming? The two of you sacrificing yourselves for one another. But your words only confirm that my plan will work. Hear me out. Do not speak until I am finished."

It galled Nick to obey, made him feel useless in a manner he had never before felt, even at his lowest point. But he stayed silent, curious as to what Kayne had in mind and hoping somehow that he could get himself and Ravyn out alive. At the very least, Ravyn.

"In attaining my present state, I have overused my powers. I need a new soul. I want yours," Kayne revealed.

Nick laughed. "You want my soul? Who do you think you are, Satan?"

Kayne's eyes flashed with anger, but he emitted an amused snort. "Satan? He wishes. I am now the most powerful being in this world and beyond. With your soul, I will be reborn and can rule with unopposed authority. The world will be mine to do with as I wish."

Was he for real? There was plenty Nick wanted to say in response, but he remained silent. He doubted Kayne had any interest in a challenge of his sanity.

"Unfortunately, I cannot take your soul without permission. We have to make a deal—and so I will issue a challenge. If I am victorious, you will relinquish your soul to me, and Ravyn will be mine for eternity. Your physical form, of course, will most likely be dead. If we fight, not only do I intend to best you, but to carve your heart from your chest and present it to her as a gift. That way Ravyn will have a trinket by which to remember you. Since she loves you, once I obtain your soul she will love me. That is how this magic works."