UNDER HIS SPELL (22 page)

The witch whirled around, planting her hands on her hips.
 
“Why would you ask me something like that?”

“You’re not acting like a witch.
 
You’re not acting like Sabrina.”

The witch tipped her head and laughed softly and when she lifted her
eyes to pin Emily with a look, the red eyes had returned.
 
“So what am I acting like, sweet Emily?”

Emily shivered in spite of herself.
 
“Like a monster.”

“Perhaps you are not too far off the mark.”

Emily wrapped her arms around her waist and stared up at Sabrina’s
face.
 
“Who are you?”

Sabrina leaned in, so close Emily felt the hot breath on her
face.
 
“You shouldn’t ask questions you
don’t really want the answer to, my sweet.”

“I do want the answer,” Emily replied though her voice wobbled.
 

Sabrina laughed, a hollow sound, which held no mirth.
 
“You should eat and focus on things you can
really handle.”
 
She winked, straightened
and tugged open the door.
 
“Sweet dreams,
Emily.”
 
Still laughing, she closed the
door behind her.

***

They gathered outside the fortress, the wizards, Danni and
Skye.
 
Falcon presided over the meeting
with a solemn expression on his face.
 

“I suppose you are all wondering why I called this meeting outside
the room.”

“The thought had crossed our minds,” Jensen agreed.

Falcon kept his eyes straight ahead.
 
“I wanted to talk about Sabrina, but our covenants restrict me from
sharing the details of her fall from grace inside the fortress.”

Two of the younger wizards whistled below their breaths, which
earned them a dark look from Jaxon.
 
They
subsided into silence with guilty looks.

“Sabrina was my youngest sister and I knew from a young age that she
would never be happy with life as a wizard.
 
She wanted more.
 
Sabrina wanted
the darkness that black magic could offer her.
 
When my father discovered she had been using the magic inside the castle
walls, he forbade her to go near it again, but Sabrina pushed it even
farther.”
 
Falcon took a deep breath and
found his wife’s gaze.
 
“When she was
caught the second time, a tribunal was called and Sabrina was cast out.
 
It was the happiest I had ever seen her.
 
Sabrina embraced her new life with a
vengeance.”
 
His hands curled into
fists.
 
“And she hates Mystique and
everything it stands for with that same vengeance.”

Silence descended for a long moment before Skye finally spoke.
 
“She hates Mystique so much she would kill
her own kin?”

Silver eyes found Skye’s face and studied her for what seemed like
an eternity before he responded.
 
“That
she does.
 
I apologize for the trouble
she has caused and what she has brought into your life.
 
You do not deserve this.
 
Neither does your sister.
 
I will do everything within my power to
ensure that your sister is returned to you safely.”

“Thank you,” Skye whispered the words.
 
“We don’t know if Sabrina is still alive and
I don’t know…” she allowed her words to trail off.

Falcon closed his eyes and Danni jumped up to stand beside him.
 
She slipped her hand into his and quietly
offered her strength.
 
Watching the two
of them, Skye felt the warmth of the couple and she looked toward Rane,
surprised to find him watching her.
 
She
quickly looked away.
 

“I do not know if Sabrina’s life has been overtaken by this creature
we know as Unger.
 
I would ask,” Falcon’s
voice broke and he dipped his head to regain his composure.
 
Then, he squared his shoulders and faced the
group once more, “I would ask for leniency for her simply because she is still
my sister.
 
It matters not to me that she
would kill me if she had the chance.
 
It
only matters that our blood is united.”

Skye gripped the hem of her blouse and felt Rane move in closer to
her.
 
He rested his hand on her leg and
Skye appreciated the strength.
 
For a
brief second, she felt like part of a couple.
 
“Your sister has made my life hell for the past two months.”

Falcon didn’t deny her words.

“And now you ask that I don’t kill her?
 
Do you think that’s fair, Falcon?”

He met her gaze once more.
 
“No, I do not, but I am not asking for equality.
 
I am asking for salvation for the sister I
have not seen in two centuries.”

“If you knew she was alive, why have you not found her before
now?
 
You would have had the chance to
express your concern for the way she has been living her life.
 
Perhaps you could have been her
salvation.”
 
Skye launched herself to her
feet just as Rane’s hand closed around her wrist.
 

Falcon stood still, unmoving, almost a statue.
 
“Because she would not speak with me.
 
It is only when Sabrina finds herself in a
perilous situation that she will use her family ties to help her.”

“You mean you think she will use your blood ties to save her own
hide?”

Falcon dipped his head slightly.
 
“Yes.”

“And you would want to save a woman like this, why?”

Falcon’s eyes frosted as he lifted his head once more.
 
“If Emily were to choose black magic, would
you love her any less?”

Though the words struck home, Skye didn’t soften her stance.
 
“What are you hoping to accomplish by allowing
Sabrina to live?
 
Are you hoping your
compassion will somehow inspire her to change her life? Are you hoping to
return her to the fold?”

“Sabrina can never be a wizard again.
 
She has lost that privilege for all time, but
she can redeem herself by changing the type of witch she is.”

“And you really believe she will do that?”

He didn’t respond.
 
He just
blinked at her and Skye’s molars ached.
 

“I can’t make any promises because I don’t know what’s going to
happen myself.”

“Of course.”

“But I will do what I can,” she gave in.

“It is appreciated,” Falcon kept the apology impersonal.
 

***

Skye punched the bag viciously, ducking as it swung toward her
face.
 
“I can appreciate Falcon’s desire
to help his sister.”
 
She took another
swing.
 
“I can even appreciate his need
to keep her alive.
 
After all, she is his
blood, but after what she’s done, how can he expect me to let her walk away?”

Rane leaned against the wall in the gym he’d created to enable Skye
to work off some of her anger.
 
“If Emily
had committed a crime, wouldn’t you want a chance to talk to her, to see if you
could make some sense of it?”

Skye tossed him a look over her shoulder.
 
“You’re repeating Falcon.
 
Thanks for your support.”

Rane grinned at her.
 
“You
know me.
 
I support the winning team.”
 

She returned to the punching bag.
 
“I want to get this guy, Rane.”

“We will, but you can’t blame Falcon for wanting to make sure his
sister is unredeemable.”

She expelled an exasperated breath.
 
“I don’t blame him and I thought you were going to work with me.”

He pushed himself away from the wall.
 
“Your wish is my command.”
 
He stripped off his shirt and Skye had to
bite her tongue to keep it from falling out of her mouth.
 

Standing before her, the wizard had disappeared and Rane Hansen was
all man.
 
All muscular, bronzed male with
broad shoulders, corded muscles and a smooth chest.
 
Skye’s hand began to tingle and she quickly
turned away.
 
“Okay, are you ready?”

He sauntered into position in front of her.
 
“I’m always ready.”

She didn’t want to decipher if that was a sexual innuendo.
 
Her mouth was dry enough.
 
She swallowed hard and took position, putting
her right leg a step back from her left.
 
“Okay, wizard hit me with your best shot.”

He raised one eyebrow.
 
“By
hit me, I presume you mean that I should strike you?”

Skye blinked at him.
 
“How
else am I supposed to learn all about this fighting business?”

Rane’s lips twitched.
 
“In our
world, you fight with your mind, not with your hands, Skye.
 
Like this,” he turned slightly, and neatly
tossed a fireball toward the far wall.
 
It skimmed along the concrete before it died to a spark when it hit the
floor.
 
He folded his arms.
 
“Now you try.”

“I can see this is going to be a long day.
 
This is child’s stuff, Rane.”
 
She opened her palm and repeated his action,
although her fireball didn’t perform as neatly.
 
She shrugged.
 
“I guess I’m out of
practice.”

“Yes, you are.
 
Come,” he held
out one hand.

“Where are we going?”

“To practice where
no one can get hurt.”
          

“Who’s going to get hurt here?
 
They’re all wizards.”

“Come with me, Skye.
 
You’ll
like it much better where we’re going.”

***

If she lifted her hand, she could touch the sky.
 
The gray mist lifted to reveal fluffy, white
clouds and a peek at a clear blue horizon.
 
Skye stood on her tiptoes and extended her hands.
 
Rane had brought her to the top of the
fortress and stepping through the window of the tower, they found the concrete
of the roof.
 

“This is where you intend to show me your power, wizard?”
 
The wind tossed the words to Rane who laughed
at the animated expression on her face.

“Here, we are alone.”

Skye looked over his shoulder.
 
“So no one will witness your humiliation when I kick your ass?”

More laughter
followed her question.
 
“That is not one
of my fears, witch.”
        

She spun to face him and waggled her fingers.
 
“Then bring it on.”

The mock battle began.

***

Unger gathered the witches once more, calling them all together with
the fervency of a preacher ushering sinners beneath a tent.
 
Standing straight, tall, and still bearing Sabrina’s
persona, he clapped his hands together and captured their attention.

“My sister witches,” he chuckled at his own brand of humor, “as you
know, I have recently taken into captivity, Skye’s young sister, Emily, once
more.
 
This new spin will provide me with
the incentive I need to force Skye’s hand.
 
Ostara draws closer and I will assure that she will never assume the
throne.
 
I hope that all of you are with
me one hundred percent.”

When no one spoke, Unger continued.
 
“Oh, there is one more piece of information I feel I should
impart.”
 
He touched his chin and then
dug his fingers into the skin at the base of his neck.
 
As the flesh began to separate, the witches
cried out and shielded their eyes.
  

Unger laughed hysterically and stepped out of the body he no longer
needed.
 
He extended his arms wide.
 
“Look at me.
 
I command you all.
 
Look at me!
 
In this body, I will assume my position as
leader of the witches and our lives will be in our own hands once I destroy the
witches.”

He stepped off the dais.
 
“Come with me, sisters!
 
Let me
show you the beauty of true power.”
 
As
he stepped into the light, the witches gasped and fell to their knees.
 
The hideousness of his features made several
witches retch and Unger chortled with glee.
 
“Yes.
 
See me for who I am.
 
Know me.
 
Serve me.”
  

He walked among the kneeling witches, touching each bowed head.
 
“You have no need to fear me unless you fail
me.
 
Do as I instruct you and your lives
will be rich beyond measure.
 
Our first
mission is our dear sister, Skye.
 
We
must eliminate her if we are to succeed.”
 
He raised his eyes toward the sky.
 
“Soon, she will die and I shall be one step closer to achieving my
goal.”

His laughter echoed throughout the trees.
 
“Oh, pardon my manners, my name is Unger, and
from here on in, I will be your Master.”

***

Hot and sweaty, Rane stepped toward the edge of the roof, turned his
back and allowed gravity to propel him towards the row of bushes below.
 

Laughing, Skye followed suit, feeling the rush of the wind tangle in
her hair and the flap of the birds’ wings as they brushed her face.
 
She held her arms out and welcomed the slap
of the air against her blouse.
 
“This is
incredible!”
 
She shouted.

Rane twisted in mid-air and brought himself to a halt.
 
“Stop, Skye!” he shouted.

Skye panicked slightly and turned one moment too late.
 
The ground hurtled up toward her face and
managed to flip over to keep her back to the ground.
 
“I command you to stop!” she cried out.
 
When nothing happened, she twisted again and
let out a slight scream.
 

Rane caught hold of her wrist before her body slammed into the
ground.
 
He yanked her up beside him and
brought her to a stop with her feet dangling inches away from the top of a
rosebush.
 
Skye fought against him and
pushed him away.
 

“Why didn’t I stop?”
 
She
glared at the ground.
 
“I did everything
right.
 
Why didn’t I stop?”

Rane snatched her arm again and raised them both back to the
roof.
 
Once their feet touched concrete,
he released her.
 
“That was a stupid
stunt.”

“What are you talking about?
 
I told you I tried to stop.”

Rane clamped his hand on his hips.
 
“You’re telling me your magic didn’t work?”

“That’s exactly what I’m telling you.”
 
Skye pressed one hand against the pulse
beating at the base of her neck.

Rane looked her up and down.
 
“Turn around.”

“What?”

“Turn around,” he repeated with waning patience.

Skye turned, holding her arms wide.
 
“See anything?”

“No.”

“That’s good, then?”

“No, that is not good at all.
 
Your aura is gone.”

***

Jaxon pressed his hand to Rane’s shoulder.
 
“We will find out what is going on.
 
Just give our healers time.”

“Her magic is gone,” Rane pointed out yet again.
 
“I do not understand.
 
It would be impossible to harm her as long as
she is here.”