Circle of Desire

Chapter Seventeen

Kat thrust the last of her weapons into the specially designed tool belt around her waist then tossed the empty backpack on top of her grandmother's. Gwen stood in front of the concealed entrance, murmuring softly as she undid the soul sucker's magic. Kat cast another look around the cavern. So far, it had been almost too easy.

The zombies she'd stacked on top of each other still slept and would continue to do so for another four or five hours, thanks to the extra sleep bombs they'd released.

She'd tossed a couple more down the tunnel, just in case, but Gwen had been certain nothing else waited down there.

But something did wait behind the stone wall in front of them.

She couldn't tell what it was. It wasn't the soul sucker, but it had the same sense of evil. Gwen waved her hand and stepped back. The stone shimmered briefly then faded away, revealing the darkness of another tunnel.

Kat flicked on her flashlight. Whoever — whatever — was down there in that darkness had to know they were near, so she couldn't see the point in feeling their way through the ink any longer.

"The air stinks," Gwen commented.

Stink wasn't a strong enough word. It smelled as if a hundred dead men were disintegrating down there. "I'll go first."

Kat edged into the tunnel. The floor sloped downward, heading deep into the heart of the mountain, and the darkness was so intense it felt like a living thing. Slime hung from the ceiling in long tendrils that brushed wet fingers across the top of her head as she moved forward, and in the distance it seemed to glow luminously. She swept the flashlight's beam up and down the walls, wondering why the air was becoming more and more humid when the rocks were so wet and cold.

Water dripped somewhere ahead, a steady rhythm that almost sounded like a heartbeat. Though she could still feel the evil, there was no sound of movement, no sense of anything else. Only that steady beat.

They walked on, their footsteps echoing across the stillness. The beam of her flashlight was almost moon bright against the darkness, but it didn't seem to penetrate more than a few feet ahead. The smell of meat long gone rancid got stronger, clogging her throat, invading her pores, until it felt like every breath was poison, and she was certain she'd throw up.

"Put on your mask," Gwen advised. "It helps a little."

She did, and it did. "Any idea what that smell is?"

"No. It's not zombie, that's for sure."

Any zombie that smelled this bad would be losing pieces of itself as it walked. "What about that beating noise?"

"I don't know."

Kat brushed aside a long green tendril. They were beginning to curtain the path, slapping and clawing at her clothes like live things. A soft thrum began to accompany the heartbeat dripping, and magic swirled through the heat, dancing like fireflies across her skin. Sweat dripped down her face and back, its cause not just the furnace conditions but fear.

"I suspect we're getting close to the soul sucker's hatching ground," Gwen murmured. "Be careful."

If she was any more careful she'd be standing still. "Did you ever find out how exactly this thing breeds?"

"No. The text Seline found turned out to be a false hope.

All it really did was reinforce the belief that what kills a vampire will kill a soul sucker."

" If we can get it in human form."

"If," Gwen agreed.

The slope began to ease off, until they were walking on level ground. Kat slowed further. Light glowed up ahead, but it wasn't the greenish fire of the surrounding slime, more a sickly red luminescence.

Her stomach began to churn. Ahead something stirred as if agitated, followed by a sloshing sound. She stopped, not liking the feel of what lay ahead. Not wanting to discover the horror she sensed she'd discover.

But standing here shaking was achieving nothing. She grabbed a silver knife from her belt and edged forward.

This close to that odd red glow, the mossy tendrils had become dry and harsh, so that it felt like she was forcing her way through a forest of dead fingers.

She pushed through the last veil and stopped. The cavern before them was small and round. Fire burned in several stone circles, and it was their sickly radiance that warmed the room. The thrumming she'd sensed earlier was stronger here and seemed to ebb and flow in time to the dancing flames. That odd sounding heartbeat had two echoes, and the noise set her teeth on edge. Magic flowed around her, through her, and the sparks skipping across her skin were almost painful.

The floor was sand rather than stone, and spotted with wide black globs she sensed were old blood. But from what? Heart suddenly in her mouth, she looked up.

And discovered not only the reason for the smell, but the way the soul sucker bred.

Men hung from the ceiling. They weren't zombies simply because they were still alive — and being eaten from the outside in by the creatures in the silky white sacks attached to each of their stomachs.

Kat's stomach finally rebelled. She staggered to the side and vomited. Gwen handed her the water canteen then moved further into the cavern. "They look like caterpillars," Gwen said, her voice a mix of horror and fascination. "But they have human faces."

Kat rinsed out her mouth and spat the water out. "I don't want to know."

"These men aren't in any pain. Quite the opposite in fact."

Taking a deep breath, Kat looked up. Her stomach stirred but stayed down. Her grandmother was right. They looked damn near orgasmic. She took another swig of water then capped the canteen and slung it over her shoulders. "If this thing is similar in makeup to a vampire, then maybe it has the same sort of sexual aura that a vampire has when it feeds on humans."

"Probably." Gwen shifted. "Wonder what it needed the kids for, though?"

She let her gaze roam across the men. There were five of them hanging feet first from the ceiling, but only two had the sacks attached. The other three looked asleep — and were dreaming of sex, if their expressions were anything to go by.

"You don't think — " She hesitated, glancing quickly behind her. Though she heard no sound and couldn't feel the approach of anything evil, she had a vague suspicion they were no longer alone under the mountain.

She backed towards Gwen, knuckles white with the force of her grip on the knife as she watched the cavern's entrance. "Could the ritual the Mara is performing be one to help it ovulate?"

"Most likely." Gwen hesitated. "We're going to have to stake them, then burn their carcasses with the holy water."

Her stomach was on the move again. Maybe it hadn't been such a good idea to swallow that extra water. "What about the men those things are feeding on?"

"They're mostly shifters. Staking should kill both host and parasite."

"Then we'd better hurry, because I've got a bad feeling the soul sucker is headed our way."

"If she isn't, she soon will be." Gwen's voice was grim.

"I'll handle this. You keep track of the Mara."

Kat stepped out from under the human chandeliers, stopping close to one of the sickly fires. Heat caressed her legs, but it was more magic than actual warmth. But it had a different feel than the magic that throbbed all around them.

There was a grunt of effort from her grandmother, followed quickly by a high pitched, inhuman scream. The cavern seemed to shudder as if in pain, then fury rent the air. Kat pulled a small jar of holy water free from her belt and waited.

A second scream followed. The air around her burned, and the tremor was more noticeable this time. Evil was an express train bearing down on them.

"Gran, I don't think we're in a real cave," Kat said, raising the jar and getting ready to throw.

"No, we're not," Gwen responded. "The Mara has changed the structure of the mountain to make this cave.

It exists only through magic."

The ground pitched, rolling like an animal in pain. She rode the waves and tried not to think about the force of hate and rage and desperation headed their way. Tried not to think about the fact that they still weren't exactly certain how to kill this thing.

Smoke roiled into the room as Gwen flung holy water at the first of the soul sucker's offspring. Kat flicked the top off the jar and hurled the water at the angry, turbulent smoke, keeping it back and away from her grandmother.

The air screamed, and the vibrations under their feet became more erratic.

Gwen flung a second vial of water. The smell of burning flesh joined the cauldron of smells, and Kat's stomach began to heave as badly as the floor. The smoke twisted and writhed, as if it, too, was being burned by the water finishing its offspring. With another scream, it arrowed its way toward Gwen. Kat hit it kinetically, forcing it back again. She grabbed a stake and dove forward, slashing at the soul sucker with the white ash.

Only to find the stake gripped in a fist of iron as the Mara found form. Black eyes gleamed malevolently at her as the soul sucker snarled, revealing teeth as pointed as any vampire's. Kat didn't give the bitch a chance to bite. She thrust her back kinetically, ripped free another stake, wrapped it in energy and flung it hard. The soul sucker dodged, but not fast enough. The stake buried itself deep into her thigh — not a deadly wound, but one that pinned the Mara to human form.

But a human form that had a vampire's speed.

With another scream, the soul sucker blurred, and the sense of her evil arrowed itself straight at Gwen.

"Look out!" Kat ripped another jar of holy water free, but the earth rolled and heaved underneath her, and she staggered sideways. She swore, battling to keep her balance as she tossed the water. Most of it soaked Gwen as she rolled out from under the soul sucker's grasp.

Wood flashed, and her grandmother screamed. Fear hit Kat like a punch to the gut and for an instant she couldn't even breathe. All she could see was the blood flowing freely past the stake that pinned her grandmother's arm to her side. Kat screamed a denial, grabbed another stake and launched herself at the Mara.

It swung and raised a hand. Energy bit through the air, but Kat hit it with her own, holding the surge in place as she rolled under the flashing flow of power and stabbed upwards with the white ash.

Flesh and bone briefly impeded the white ash's progress.

Kat swore and thrust it through kinetically. A shocked look crossed the Mara's face, then the flow of energy died, and so did the soul sucker.

An explosion rent the air, and the floor's thrashing became more violent. With a sob, Kat scrambled towards her grandmother, barely able to see through the tears coursing down her cheeks. The wound in Gwen's side was bad, blood flowing freely, but the stake had also shattered bone as it had gone through her grandmother's arm. They wouldn't be flying out of here, that was for sure. Ripping out the stake, she grabbed a bandage from her belt and thrust it hard against the wound in Gwen's side.

"Gran?" she sobbed, touching her grandmother's face, then feeling her neck for a pulse.

Gwen's eyes opened, the green depths hazy with pain.

"Those little pig-stickers sure do hurt when they bite into your flesh, don't they?" She reached up, gently patting Kat's cheek. "Don't worry, Kitty-cat. I'll live to give those kids of yours hell."

Relief surged along with more tears. "Kid," she said, helping Gwen into a sitting position. Kat grabbed the last of the bandages and quickly dressed the wound on her grandmother's arm.

"Nope." Gwen's voice was little more than a wheeze. "I did a scrying. It's twins. Runs in his family, apparently."

Dust and bits of blackened flesh began to rain on them.

Kat glanced up and saw a huge fissure snake across the ceiling. "This place is coming apart."

Gwen nodded. "The Mara's magic created it and sustained it. Now that she's dead, there's nothing to hold it together."

"Then we'd better get the hell out of here."

"Best idea I've heard yet."

Gwen pressed her hand against the bandage as Kat slipped her arm under her grandmother's shoulders. They staggered forward, but any sort of speed was impossible against the pitching floor. It felt like they were wading through a sea of earth. The dust raining down became stone, and Kat swore as chunks got bigger and bigger, forcing them to duck and weave.

Her fear stung the air, and every breath was a rasp that tore at her throat. She was shaking as badly as her grandmother by the time they reached the tunnel. The moss slapped and swayed against them, wrapping around their arms and legs like dried snakes, impeding their progress even further.

They were never going to make it out of here. Not at this speed. There was one thing she could do… She took a deep breath, then kinetically lifted her grandmother and ran like hell back up the slope.

Behind them, the vibrations erupted, and a deep rumbling roar that sounded like a wave of water headed their way.

Hot air punched her, pushing her forward at knot-speed.

She battled to keep upright, battled to keep her grandmother wrapped in kinetic energy and moving far ahead of the immediate danger. But there were madmen in her head, pressing white hot needles into her brain, and her vision was blurring with pain.

It couldn't be helped. It was the only way she was going to get both of them out of there alive. Dirt and stone began to dance around her feet, racing her up the tunnel.

The roar behind her was getting closer, and the floor cracked and heaved so that it felt like she was climbing unstable steps.

With a clap as sharp as thunder, the roof split and fell.

She screamed, flinging up her arms to protect her head as dirt and rock rained down. Stones hit her back with bruising force and she crashed to her knees, tearing her jeans and skinning her knees against the jagged flooring.

The madmen in her head were going crazy, and it felt as if her brain were about to tear apart. Her kinetic skills slithered away, and from up ahead come a distant grunt as Gwen hit the ground. Kat hugged her body, rocking back and forth, fighting to breathe and unable to move, yet knowing she had to if she and her grandmother were to survive.

The roar behind her was so close she could feel its approach rumbling across her skin. Waves of moist earth were lapping at her feet, getting thicker and deeper with every rapid breath she took.

Move or die, she thought, and thrust upright. Her stomach rolled, and for a second, the world went black.

She staggered forward, trying to find her grandmother in the heaving, disintegrating darkness. The floor lurched again and she slipped, going down on both knees. Pain was a wave of red heat radiating down from her head. Her breath tore at her throat and every muscle trembled. She briefly closed her eyes, trying to find the strength to rise.

To go on.

Hands grabbed her and pulled her upright. The warm scents of earthy spices and forest spun around, momentarily warming her soul.

Ethan.

He swung her into his arms and ran. She struggled against his grip, fighting to get loose. "We can't leave Gran!"

"She's safe." His reply was little more than a throaty growl that vibrated through her.

Relief surged through her, even though she knew neither of them was safe yet. But if she had to die, at least she'd die in the arms of the man she loved. She wrapped her arms around his neck and held him tight. The river of dirt and stone was almost knee deep, but it didn't seemed to impede his progress as he raced them out of the tunnel.

Light began to invade the darkness but it was the dusky glow of evening rather than the brightness of afternoon.

Alarm spread through her, and she glanced quickly at Ethan's face. His expression was fierce, determined. His eyes were the eyes of a wolf, and a golden halo of energy seemed to be forming around his dark hair. The arms that held her so close, so safe, were trembling, and his heart raced. Not with the effort of running her out of the tunnel, but fighting the change dusk was bringing ever closer.

The wave of earth behind them broke then exploded, and it seemed as if the whole damn mountain was coming down on top of them. Ethan's curse echoed in her ears as he dove for the tunnel's entrance. He twisted as he flew through the air, cushioning her against him as they hit the ground and slid down the path and into a tree.

For a moment, neither of them moved. Rocks and dirt raced past them, but the flow quickly eased and silence fell.

Kat closed her eyes and breathed deeply. They'd survived. Against all the odds, they'd survived. She looked up as Ethan brushed his fingers across her cheek, momentarily losing her soul in the warmth of his wild eyes. But before she could say anything, before he could say anything, the firefly dance of energy flashed down his body, and it was a wolf she was staring at, not a man.

She silently cursed the moon and rolled to one side. He scrambled to his feet and leapt away into the trees. She climbed to her feet, waited until the world stopped spinning, then went to find her grandmother.