UNDER HIS SPELL (15 page)

“Because you are too weak.
 
You dwell on matters of little importance.
 
In the end, it will not matter that the witch
did not hasten her arrival.
 
Her demise
will come swiftly.”

Sabrina bobbed her head in avid agreement.
 
Right now, she’d say anything if only it
would make the Master leave.
 
She heard
the slight scraping of his nails along the glass walls and she didn’t dare lift
her head to look up.
 
She didn’t want to
know that he was hovering above her like some giant bat.
 
“I will make sure Skye does not leave here
alive tonight.”

“See that you do.
 
Remember my
warning, Sabrina.
 
Fail me again and I
will have no more use for you.”

Sabrina swallowed hard, but she didn’t respond to the threat.
 
She’d lost the ability to speak.

***

Rane felt Skye’s urgency and knew she wanted to pull him down toward
the cabin, but he held fast.
 
Skye’s foe
was closer now, so close Rane felt the tension in the air, the dusting of her
evil spores.
 

“You can go to Emily,” he suggested with sudden inspiration.
 
With Skye out of the way, he could deal with
the other witch and have Skye and her sister home within the hour.

Skye gripped his hand, accurately reading his intentions.
 
“I’m not leaving you alone with Sabrina.
 
You don’t know what she’s capable of.”

“That is not information I need.
 
I only need to be aware of my own abilities.”

“Don’t be cocky.
 
You haven’t
met her.”

Rane shrugged.
 
“If you’ve met
one witch . . .”

Skye whipped around and Rane brought her close to his body before
she could strike out at him.
 
He kissed
her soundly, though briefly before setting her away from him.
 
His body’s painful response to her close
proximity only served to emphasize that he needed her as far away from him as
possible when he faced this new witch.
 

“Skye, I need you to be with your sister.”

“Why?”

“Because I need to be able to concentrate.
 
With you standing near, my concentration
levels are not as they should be.”

Skye appeared to be considering his request, but t hen she shook her
head.
 
“I’m still not leaving you alone
with her,” she repeated.

Rane’s eyes narrowed.
 
“I
could take the choice out of your hands.”
 
Even as he said the words, he knew he wouldn’t follow through.
 

Skye took a step closer to him and tipped her jaw up to look him in
the eyes.
 
“And I would make you regret
that decision later.”

His lips twitched.
 
“I believe
you would.”
 
He threaded his fingers in
her hair and brought her head down to kiss her forehead.
 
“In that case, I am asking you to go to your
sister.”

“That’s foreign to you, isn’t it?”

He fought to keep from smiling.
 
“You mean asking?”

“Precisely.”

“I believe, by the smug smile on your face, you already know the answer
to that one.”
 
He cupped her chin briefly
and held out one hand.
 
“Are you ready to
get your sister?”

“Rane, promise me you’ll be careful.”

His blood heated.
 
“You wish
for me to return to you, then?”

Skye managed a saucy grin.
 
“Nope.
 
I just wouldn’t want your
death on my hands.”

He read the fear on her face, but he didn’t reach out for her.
 
To take her in his arms now would surely be
his undoing.
 
“I will come back to you,
Skye.”

“Promise?” she insisted.

“I could not leave you before I have had the chance to make love to
you.”
 
He winked and slowly, they began
to descend through the clouds.

***

Skye walked into the cabin, careful to tread softly.
 
She didn’t want to risk scaring Emily before
she got the chance to wake her.
 

The rickety cot sagged against the far wall of the cabin, its frame
bent and rusty.
 
It matched the room,
which held it.
 
Skye wrinkled her nose as
she took a quick look around.
 
Cobwebs
stretched from corner to corner of the thick pine walls and leaves, mud, and
other things Skye didn’t want to dissect littered the floor.
 
She made her way to the cot and squatted down
beside it.
 
“Emily,” she whispered,
reaching out one hand to brush her sister’s hair away from her flushed
face.
 
“Emily.
 
Wake up.
 
I’m here.”

Emily mumbled in her sleep and drew her legs up closer to her
chest.
 

Skye’s hand shook when she placed it on Emily’s shoulder.
 
“Honey, it’s Skye.
 
You need to wake up.
 
We have to get out of here.”

Finally, Emily turned, cracked open her eyes, blinked and closed
them again.
 
Then, she came wide awake,
her face breaking into a beaming smile.
 
“Skye!”
 
She threw her arms around
Skye’s neck and held on tightly.

Skye stood, swinging her sister with her.
 
“Oh, it’s good to see you.”

“You, too.”
 
Emily’s voice was
muffled in the curve of Skye’s neck.
 
“How did you get here?
 
I was
looking for you.
 
I’ve been looking all
day.”

Skye set her on the dirty wooden floor and cupped her face.
 
“Let me look at you.
 
Did Sabrina hurt you?”

Emily grimaced.
 
“Other than
making me look at her face every day, no.”

Skye did an informal scan anyway, running her hands over her
sister’s hair and down her back before she was finally satisfied.
 
“I’m glad you’re okay.”

Emily grinned up at her.
 
“Duh.
 
Now, let’s get out of this
place.
 
I’m sure Sabrina’s looking for
you.”

“Don’t worry about Sabrina.
 
I
brought a friend.”
 
She winked down at
Emily.
 
“He can take care of her.”

Emily raced ahead to the door.
 
“Who is this friend exactly?”

“His name is Rane and he’s…”

“The wizard you were supposed to kill!”
 
Emily squealed.
 
“I knew it!
 
I knew you couldn’t kill him.”

Skye tapped the teenager lightly on the arm.
 
“I could have if it meant saving your life.”

Emily rolled her eyes.
 
“Please.
 
You probably made a
half-assed attempt but couldn’t go through with it.”

Skye chuckled.
 
“You know me
too well and watch your language.”
 
She
tugged open the cabin door and stepped out into the dark first.
 
“Stay close to me and keep quiet.”

“But if I keep quiet, how will Sabrina find us?” came Emily’s
sarcastic response.

Skye gave her a reproving look over her shoulder before moving
deeper into the forest.
 

***

Rane moved through the forest quickly, tree to tree, thought by
thought.
 
He didn’t miss a clearing, but
the witch had disappeared.
 
When he
reappeared at the cabin, it was empty.
 
He centered his thoughts on Skye and found her immediately.
 
For a long second, he watched her walking
with her sister.

Skye held Emily’s hand and though they remained silent on their
journey, he knew they were communicating.
 
He smiled and he felt an unfamiliar sensation in the center of his
chest.
 
He quickly dismissed it.
 
He didn’t have time for unnecessary
emotions.
 

He spoke Skye’s name softly so as not to alarm her.
 

She stopped walking and looked up.

Rane descended, catching the teenager’s eyes with a smile.
 
“You must be Emily.”

She bobbed her head quickly, swiped her hand down the leg of her
jeans and stuck it out.
 
“It’s nice to
meet you.”

He took her hand.
 
“And
you.”
 
He lifted his gaze toward Skye’s
worried face.
 
“She’s gone,” he said
aloud.

Skye’s shoulders slumped.
 
“Where could she have gotten to?”

“Probably back to the Coven.”

“Could she have sensed your presence?”
 
Skye worried aloud.

Rane felt Emily’s eyes on his face and he looked down at her while
he responded.
 
“No, but don’t worry.
 
I will find her.
 
For now, I’ll bet this one would like a hot
bath and something to eat.”

Emily giggled and Skye shot her an inquisitive look.
 

Rane tucked Emily’s hand in the crook of his arm and reached for
Skye’s hand.
 
“Shall we go?”
 
He closed his eyes and immediately let out an
explosive curse.
 
He pushed Skye to the
side and shoved Emily after her.
 
“Get
behind those trees and stay down!”
 

***

Skye snatched Emily close to her and pressed her head down to her
chest.
 
“It’s going to be all
right.”
 
Even as she spoke, she couldn’t
take her eyes off of Rane.

He held his arms wide, spun around and his clothes disappeared,
replaced by resplendent indigo robes.
 
His dark hair whipped around his face and his eyes shot sparks.

She held her breath when his feet left the ground.
 
“Dear God.”

“Show yourself,” Rane commanded in a gravelly voice Skye didn’t
recognize.
 

The air stilled, silence coating the atmosphere from treetop to
treetop.
 
Even the crickets halted their
songs.
 

Skye allowed herself to breath in shallow pants.
 
She felt Rane’s fury and her heart pumped in
fear for him.
 
What was his facing?
 
Could he face it and live?
 
She swallowed hard.
 
The thought of his death was . . .
inconceivable.
 

Emily touched her arm, drawing Skye’s attention.
 
“He’s gonna be alright, Sis.
 
He’s a wizard.”

Before Skye could respond, the sky lit up with electric current,
zig-zagging toward the ground beneath Rane.
 
She watched in horror as he held out his hand and caught the lightning,
curling his fingers around the charged particles.
 

A roar split the night and Rane whipped the lightning like a snake
caught by the tail.
 
It rippled and
rolled in waves while curses fouled the air.
 
Smoke curled into the air in lazy waves before disappearing behind the
clouds and electrical currents raced from treetop to treetop.

“I said show yourself,” Rane shouted in return.

Fire rings spun up from the ground, curling around Rane’s feet and
taunting the edges of his robe.
 
He
extinguished the flames with a brisk shower from the tips of his fingers.
 
As the air continued to crackle, Rane rose
higher into the sky.
 
“Enough of these
games.
 
Face me like a man.”

Brilliant colors, golds, blues, reds and greens, sparked overhead
and while Emily gasped in approval, Skye knew the fireworks weren’t for their
enjoyment just as she knew this wasn’t Sabrina’s handiwork.
 
As powerful as the witch was, she wouldn’t
take on a wizard who’d attained his full powers.
 
Which made Skye wonder who this new foe was.

And if Rane could defeat him.