Claimed by Shadow

Chapter 12

My brain came to a screeching halt. "Run that by me again.”

"I was told that a geis had been placed on you to protect your virtue as your ward protected your life. But as a precaution against anything going wrong, an escape clause was added. If you slept with Mircea or someone of his choosing, the spell was broken.”

My mind reeled. That was it? That was the big secret? It seemed ridiculously simple, not to mention undermining the whole point. "But why would he do that? He wants to control me!”

Tomas smiled bitterly. "No doubt. But through so clumsy a device as a spell?" He shook his head. "It would hurt his pride, Cassie. Not to mention that controlling someone as powerful as the Pythia with such a clumsy stratagem would be extremely dangerous. Why do you think the mages take initiates so young, and brainwash them throughout childhood? I am sure they would prefer to use a spell to keep them in line, if such a thing were possible. But the Pythia's power might override it, and the controller become the controlled. I cannot imagine Mircea risking that!”

"But why place the geis on me, then, if he never intended to use it?”

“To protect your chance to become Pythia. A brief affair could have ruined everything, for you and for him. The geis seemed the simplest way to ensure that didn't happen. And to afford you added protection at Antonio's. You did not know about this?”

"I didn't even know about the geis until yesterday!" I sat up abruptly, my mind racing at the implications. I could break the geis by sleeping with Tomas. It was so simple that it was ludicrous-if he was telling the truth. But Tomas didn't need to resort to lies to get a woman in his bed, and his explanation made sense. I'd thought it strange all along that Mircea would think he needed magical help to manipulate someone as young and clueless as me, especially when I was already infatuated with him. There were far more subtle ways of exercising control, and he was master of them all.

Of course, even if Tomas was right, there was no way to know whether Mircea's get-out-of-jail-free card would work on a double spell. And even if it did, there was a catch. A big one. If I broke the geis, I'd fulfdl the ritual's requirements and be stuck with the Pythia's position permanently. That would put paid to any hope of passing the power on to someone else, or of working something out with the Circle. Heirs could be unseated, as Myra had found out, but the Pythia held the position for life. If I completed the ritual, the mages would have no choice but to kill me if they wanted their candidate on the throne. And the same was true of Pritkin, if he really did favor Myra.

Unfortunately, things didn't look any better if I kept the geis. It was almost certain that the Senate would find me sooner or later. They had too many resources, including Marlowe's intelligence network, for me to have any illusions about that. And even if Tomas was right and Mircea couldn't use the spell to control me-a big "if," in my opinion-he also couldn't break it. The dúthracht had lived up to its reputation and gone haywire, and there was no telling what would happen if the bond completed itself. It was supposed to be under the control of one of the participants, but what happened if, as seemed to be the case, neither of us was in the driver's seat? I didn't know what a geis in control of itself might do, and I didn't want to find out.

One thing was certain: if we met again, Mircea and I would certainly complete the bond. It was embarrassing to have to admit, but the only reason we hadn't done it already-and in front of about a thousand spectators-was his self-control, not mine. And that would complete the ritual, which would bring me back to square one.

"Damn it!" Both options were unacceptable, but there wasn't a third. There was no way to get rid of the geis and avoid completing the ritual. Or, if there was, I had no way of finding it stuck in a cell in Faerie.

Everywhere I looked, I hit a brick wall. I hated not having options, of having someone or something deciding my life for me. It had been that way as far back as I could remember. Either Tony or the Senate or the goddamned Fey were making me a victim, taking away my right to choose. I'd never had the power to fight back, to forge my own life or just to keep myself and the people I cared about safe. I couldn't even deal with one rogue initiate! And, I realized, if things continued as they were, I never would.

"What is it?" Tomas' hand was delicately stroking the small of my back, trying to soothe, to comfort. It was comforting, I admit, but not soothing. Neither the ritual nor the geis cared if he was hurt, or if I was ambiguous about the idea of having sex in a dank, chilly dungeon with Billy probably listening in. The compulsion to turn around and take Tomas up on the offer he'd been making ever since I met him was so strong, I had to bunch my fists in the coarse blanket beneath me to keep them still.

I forced my mind back to the problem. I'd been telling myself that I could pass the power on to someone else, but who exactly would that be? There didn't appear to be any other candidates for the job who could be trusted not to fall under the control of the Circle or of Pritkin's faction, neither of which I trusted. There was a war on, and even the thought of the power passing into the hands of someone like Myra made me cold.

Tomas wrapped his arms around me, drawing me against the sultry cocoon of his body. My hand moved of its own accord to caress the warm, golden skin at the side of his knee, just where the slope of that long, strong thigh began. It would be so easy to give in, to feed the hunger I'd felt for so long. And did it really make that much difference? The Circle was already trying to kill me. Could I believe them if they offered a deal? Wouldn't it be better from their point of view to do away with any competition for their initiates, rather than leave someone like me around? If I was going to be hunted anyway, I vastly preferred to be in the strongest position possible. And that was doubly true when dealing with Myra.

"Are you sure you've thought this through?" I asked Tomas seriously. "There could be repercussions for helping me complete the ritual. The mages-”

Tomas tasted the inside of my wrist with the tip of his tongue. "I'm sure.”

"But what about-”

He smiled wryly. "Cassie, you know what hunts me. Do you truly believe I am concerned about the Circle?”

He had a point. And, as much as I didn't want to admit it, I still had feelings for him-or, to be more precise, for the person I'd thought he was. I really doubted that someone old enough to remember the fall of the Incan Empire bore much resemblance to the sweet street kid I'd known. I didn't know the real Tomas, who he was when the Senate wasn't pulling his strings. But they weren't here now. For once, both of us were free of them, even if it was only because we were prisoners elsewhere. And despite that, he still seemed to want me.

"The choice is yours, Cassie. You know how I feel.”

I looked at him searchingly. "Do I? Louis-César commanded you to come to me. All those months, you were doing a job.”

Tomas' hands stilled. "And am I still doing that job, Cassie? Is this all an elaborate hoax to persuade you to accept a position you do not want?”

"No." Vamps might not have the same reaction to pain as humans, but no one would allow himself to be carved up like that, not for any reason.

He pulled me against him, his eyes burning. "Do you think I am trying to win back the Consul's good graces by completing my original mission? Is that it?”

I didn't answer immediately. Tomas had betrayed me before, and although I'd convinced myself that he'd done the wrong thing for the right reasons, what if he hadn't? I knew for a fact that he was a good actor-most of the old vamps were. If they weren't born that way, they acquired the skill through centuries of practice. But it didn't make sense for him to be playing me. Even if the Senate was willing to wipe the slate clean and take him back, that wasn't what Tomas wanted. His main goal was to be free of his master's control in order to kill Alejandro. No matter how much they wanted me back, the Senate wasn't going to make war on another sovereign vampire body-especially not when they already had a war on their hands. They couldn't give Tomas what he truly wanted, and I didn't believe he'd sell me out for less.

"No," I finally admitted. "I don't think that.”

"But you don't trust me.”

It wasn't a question, so I didn't answer it. What could I say? He was right.

Tomas laughed mirthlessly. "How can I blame you? You put your trust in me once, and I lied to you. Anything I say now would only be words.”

"I'd still like to hear them," I said tentatively. Tomas had given me an explanation for the betrayal, but he'd said nothing about us. I needed to hear that not everything about our time together had been a lie.

He kissed me lightly, just below the indentation of my throat. "All my life, I only knew people who wanted something from me. When I was young, it was protection and a chance for revenge. After Alejandro turned me, it was skill in battle and a knowledge of the land that he didn't possess. For Louis-César, I was a living trophy, a testament to his power." He caressed my hair, lightly, reverently. "Only you ever cared about me as a person, without wanting anything in return. Te amo, Cassie. Te querré para siempre.”

I don't speak Spanish, but I got the idea. Once I'd have given a lot to hear those words, in any language, but now my feelings were too confused to even begin sorting out. I didn't know what I felt, much less what to say. "Tomas, I-”

"Don't. I want to remember this, just as it is. I will have to go back soon and I do not want to take lies with me, no matter how sweet they sound. The Senate deals in lies. This"-he rested his cheek against my chest-"this is real.”

"You don't have to go back, Tomas! I told you, we'll find a way to hide you.”

He laughed, and it sounded more genuine this time. "Little Cassie, always looking out for everyone. I am the one supposed to be rescuing you, didn't you know? Is that not how the fairy tales go?" His expression darkened suddenly. "But why should you think that way? I have been little enough use so far!”

"You saved me from Tony's thugs, or doesn't that count?" Tony had sent a crew to the nightclub where I'd been working to take me out. They didn't succeed partly because the Senate had assigned Tomas to guard me. Despite everything, I hadn't forgotten that he'd saved my life. But apparently he had, because he brushed it away with a gesture.

"You would have managed. You always do." His expression grew fierce. "Cassie, if you doubt how I feel, let me show you! Let me do this for you!”

I let my hand comb through the silky mass of his hair. The Pythia's position might be a cage, but at least it was one over which I'd have some say. I'd be stuck with the job, but I'd retain control over the rest of my life-something the geis would deny me.

"You'll hurt yourself," I protested as Tomas' breath started to come faster. A first-level master could heal almost anything, but there was no way Tomas was over his injuries already.

A rumble of laughter sounded in my ear. "It hurt far more, seeing you every day, being surrounded by your scent for months, and not being allowed to touch you. I lived with you for half a year, yet I never saw your body. I will remember this," he said wonderingly, his hand gliding down my side.

"I won't risk hurting you," I insisted, trying to sound stronger than I felt.

Tomas laughed again, and laid me back against the cot. He bent over me, his hair forming a tent around our faces that was intimate instead of suffocating. Only his eyes were clearly visible, brimming with humor. "I think we can do this," he whispered, "if you promise to be gentle.”

I couldn't help it-I laughed, and the next moment he was kissing me with an intensity that left me breathless. I slid my arms under the heavy mane of hair and clasped them around Tomas' neck. His grip was strong but careful, and although I could feel the weight of him against my leg, hot and hard and ready, he held back, waiting for me to make the first move. Suddenly, there was no more doubt. It wasn't just the geis tugging at me. It wasn't just that I wanted a way out of the current mess. I wanted him.

"Do it," I said, "quick, while we have time.”

"Quick is not what I had in mind," Tomas said, frowning. "Particularly not the first time.”

"We don't have time for anything else," I said impatiently. For once the geis, the power and I all agreed on something, and Tomas was being difficult.

I wrapped my hand around him and was rewarded with a deep shiver and the wonderful feel of sweet, ardent flesh against my palm.

I desperately wanted to watch that thick shaft disappear into me. I knew it would stretch me to the limit, that the fit would be tight, the friction maddening, and that sounded perfect. I wanted to feel him work his way into me, wanted the pressure, craved the burn.

"It will hurt you," he protested, his voice ragged.

I ran my tongue up the column of his neck. "Let it.”

Tomas was trembling but was stubbornly not giving in. I decided to forget about talking and persuade him another way. I kissed him, my mouth hungry against his, then slid down to fasten my teeth firmly on the joint of his neck and shoulder. It was exactly where a vampire would bite, but instead I sucked some of that taut skin into my mouth, marking him. I let my hands wander where they would, memorizing the contours of the muscle and sinew under that warm, satin skin. Then, without warning, I bit down.

Tomas' breath had been making low growls in his throat, but at the feel of my teeth sliding into his flesh, he groaned. Judging by the way the hardness pressing into my hip expanded in a sudden leap, it wasn't in protest. His narrowed eyes glittered when I finally released his neck. "You don't fight fair," he complained, his voice dark and heavy. He drew in a deep breath, released it and slid a finger inside me. I gasped at the unexpected invasion, and arched, tightening convulsively around him. "Not fair at all," he said hoarsely.

I tangled my hands in his hair as a talented tongue replaced the finger. He drew my flesh into his mouth, the suction pulling my hips with it, causing me to fall into a rhythm I couldn't even think about resisting. He pushed my legs wider for better access, until one was dangling inelegantly off the cot. I didn't care-the sight of him devouring my body made my breath catch almost as much as the sensation did.

My world narrowed to that luscious mouth; that slow, wet glide; those big, strong hands. Warm, rough palms smoothed again and again over the muscles of my abdomen as if they couldn't stop, then finally slid to my hip, slowly kneading the trembling muscle they found there. God, a girl could fall in love with those hands.

His mouth felt like liquid flame as he explored me, finding places that sent shock waves of ecstasy through my body. I gasped softly, amazed by the gentle, intimate examination, the deep, delicate touch. I collapsed back against the mattress and let those wet touches drag me under. Surges of pleasure rippled up my spine as he caressed me from the inside, and suddenly the angle and pressure were perfect. It seemed like his mouth was everywhere, tasting, sucking, touching, filling. He polished his performance quickly, picking up the clues from my body, noting what made me cry out and repeating it until sunbursts of pleasure started exploding behind my eyes. Every move of his lips seared along my nerves until it threatened to take the top of my head off.

"Tomas! Please!" Before I'd finished speaking, he had changed positions and was poised over me. He stopped, struggling for control, and I growled at him. Finally he moved forward, sinking slowly into me. And, God, it was good-no, better than good, if the sparks behind my eyelids were anything to go on. He had laid me open to a dance of sensation with his hands and tongue alone, but the feel of him moving into my body was even better, stretching, wonderfully filling, remaking my flesh until I fit him like a glove.

He was ample enough to be a tight fit, but his firm flesh was smooth and yielding, molding to mine with only a slight ache when he moved across skin abraded in the attack. But he bit his lip, keeping all that power on a thin leash, his breath coming in ragged gasps from the excruciating care he was taking. He slid forward a scant half-inch at a time, warming me by fractions when I wanted the whole searing length of him. But finally he was there, nestled fully within me, radiating heat to my very core. His eyes were closed, his long lashes sweeping his flushed cheeks as he held himself motionless for a long moment. He left me breathless.

His entrance hadn't hurt, but waiting for him to move, to shift position, to do something before I completely lost my mind, did. When he started withdrawing again, with that same agonizing slowness, my patience broke. I twined myself around him as he pulled out, then suddenly thrust up to meet him, sinking him completely inside me again in a single, groan-inducing stroke.

Tomas looked both surprised and vastly relieved, his breath coming out in a hiss of pleasure. He got the idea, and began to pick up speed. My hips shifted and began to rotate of their own accord as Tomas set up a slow circular motion, caressing, pleasuring, and stretching simultaneously.

I soon found that I couldn't control the sounds I was making. I was burning up, scored by sensation, sobbing with it. I was lightheaded and my breath was coming faster and my hips were bucking and my sight was going dark. A thundering sensation was building inside me and, before I even realized what was happening, orgasm was spilling over me, my body spasming helplessly under Tomas' steady rhythm. A lovely, yellow glow suddenly suffused the room, a color so pure, so lush, that it seemed as if happiness had been condensed and given form. For a moment, I thought it was all part of the sensations running through me, but it kept building, drowning out the lamplight as if a small star had burst to life around us. Wildly twining filaments of white and gold energy sizzled and writhed everywhere, building in intensity until, like grounded lightning, they blinded me.

Without warning, the world fell away. I was plunged into a maelstrom of sights and sounds and colors, all swirling together far too quickly to follow. I couldn't sense Tomas, couldn't see him or even feel him. A vortex was rushing towards me at terrific speed, and I was powerless to do anything but let it come.

Then, as suddenly as it had started, it was over. When the afterimages faded enough for me to see again, I found myself alone on a hill, looking up at a temple. Behind it, an ocean sparkled under a hot yellow sun. I felt the brush of lips on my neck and heard a rumble of rich masculine laughter in my ear.

"I approve of my avatar," a voice said. I knew it came from the man behind me, but it seemed to echo from all directions at once, as if the temple, sky and ocean were also speaking. "The son of another of my priestesses-really, a nice touch.”

I blinked, dizzy and disbelieving, but the scene stayed the same. "Your what?" I finally croaked.

"The man chosen for the ceremony becomes my avatar for a time. His union with the heir consummates our marriage and confirms her in office.”

I choked. "I am not your wife!”

That laughter bubbled again, rich and infectious. "Do not be afraid, Herophile. It's a spiritual union-you could not withstand me in my physical form.”

"I'm not afraid," I said, and it was true. Compared to the visions I usually got, this one was a walk in the park. So far. 'And my name is Cassandra.”

"Not anymore.”

I tried to turn around, but strong arms held me tight. They were the color of spring pollen, a bright true yellow that sparkled as if dusted with gold. The light danced over his skin the way it does on water, so dazzling that it hurt my eyes. It should have looked extremely strange on a human body, but somehow it didn't. Suddenly the surroundings made more sense.

"You don't miss a cliché, do you?”

"Your mind chooses how to perceive me," he chided. "If there are clichés, they are yours.”

"Who are you?" I demanded.

"One who has waited long ages for someone like you. At last, things will begin to happen.”

"What things?”

"You will see. I have great faith in you.”

"Then you're crazy," I told him flatly. "I don't know how to use this power you've stuck me with, and Myra 's going to kill me any minute now.”

"I sincerely hope not. As for the other, the power goes where it will. Once I gave it into human hands, I lost control.”

"But Myra -”

"Yes, for now, you must deal with your rival. We will speak again when that is done.”

"But that's the point! I don't know how to-" I never got to finish the sentence. There was an outpouring of heat and a rush of wind, and all around me surged a terrible, ancient power that rumbled through the ground and sent currents sizzling along my entire body. Then I was back in the cell, blinking in the suddenly dim light, unsure what had just happened.

Tomas had let himself go, and the sensations he was causing caught my breath in my throat and drove the questions from my mind. He pulled me closer to his chest, and I gasped as the length inside me shifted. His sweat-damp hair fell around me, and his teeth latched onto my throat. I felt my whole body constrict at the bite, and heard Tomas' pleased growl as my inner muscles tightened around him. Large hands gripped my hips, driving him into me as far as he could go. He released my throat without feeding, tongue swiping once along the abrasion; then his hips began pumping faster, his face slack with need, and I lost all ability to think for long minutes.

He finished inside me in a delicious rush that felt scorching next to the lingering bits of ice at my center. It ate that cold, consumed it, burnt the final vestiges of it away and filled me up with a heated languor that spread throughout my body. My own pleasure was less overpowering now, but deeper, more persistent and sweet. I felt boneless with Tomas draped over me like the best of heaters.

After a long moment, Tomas pulled back to gaze into my half-closed eyes. He searched my expression, but whatever he was looking for, he didn't seem to find. He kissed me anyway, and I arched into the sensual heat of his mouth, feeling somewhat bereft when he ended the contact too soon. "I'm sorry," he said softly, his thumb tracing my lower lip.

I smoothed one of his fine, dark eyebrows with a finger. "What's wrong?”

He took my face between his hands and gently kissed my forehead. "It's all right, Cassie. It will be all right.”

"What will?" My afterglow was fast disappearing.

Tomas hesitated, then let his breath out in a sigh. "I can still feel the geis around you, like a cloud." His jaw tightened. "It seems Mircea does not wish to release his claim.”

I shook my head. "There was a complication with the spell. Mircea couldn't remove it, either." I'd known this was a possibility, but it was still a crushing disappointment.

Tomas started to say something else, but the door suddenly swung inward and there was Françoise, hands on hips, looking impatient. She tossed a bundle of clothes at me. "It's about time! It's supposed to be a ritual, not a marathon.”

I scrambled to my feet, shivering in air that felt cold against my flushed skin. "What?”

"Well, come on! Get dressed! The king wants an audience, and he doesn't wait well. Piss him off, and none of us are getting out of here.”

"Françoise?" I was getting a very bad feeling about this. The accent was suddenly gone, and the look on her face didn't remind me much of the French girl's usual nervousness.

She smiled grimly. "Françoise isn't home right now. Can I take a message?" Before I could come up with an answer to that, she grimaced and clutched the wall, her fingers clawed and white with strain, as if they were trying to dig into the stone. "Damn it! Not now, girl! Do you want to stay here forever?”

Tomas was looking back and forth between the two of us, but I could only shake my head at him. I had no idea what was wrong with her. "Um, Françoise," I finally said, as she began to vibrate as if her finger were stuck in a socket. "Is there something we can… do for you?”

She suddenly stopped, stock-still, and stared at me, impatience flooding her features. "Yes! You can get dressed! How many times do I have to say it?”

I was cold without Tomas' body heat, so I decided to humor her. The dress was too large, and stiff with embroidery, but the dark red wool was warm. I decided that my best bet was to concentrate on one problem at a time, and Françoise's mental glitches weren't even close to top of the list.

"Françoise, do you have friends here? People who would help you?”

She narrowed her eyes. "Why?”

"It's Tomas… If he leaves Faerie, he'll be killed. He can't go back, but he can't stay in this place, waiting to be executed, either. Do you know someone who can hide him?”

"Cassie." Tomas touched my elbow. "What are you doing?”

"I need to know that you're safe. What if the king orders us deported back to MAGIC? If you return, they'll kill you!" The Consul had offered me his life, but only in return for information I didn't have. I hadn't meant to place the geis on Mircea, and I certainly couldn't lift it.

"And if you go before the king without me, he may blame you for my escape. I won't endanger you further," Tomas said flatly. I would have argued, but the set of his jaw told me it would be a waste of time. Besides, Françoise was looking apoplectic.

"You're worried about a vampire… now, of all times?" She shook her head. "Cassie, he was a means to an end, that's all. He served his purpose; let him look after himself. They're pretty good at that, you know.”

Okay, that clinched it. There was more going on here than Françoise having a fit. "You want to tell me who you are right now? Because I never told Françoise my name. Not to mention that she only used to speak French.”

"We don't have time for this!”

I sat on the bunk and looked at her mulishly. "I'm not going anywhere until I know who you are and what is going on." I'd had about enough of flying by the seat of my pants. The past week had taught me the hard way that I sucked at it.

She threw up her hands in an oddly familiar gesture. Somewhere, I'd seen someone use that movement in the same way, but it eluded me. "I told you once you'd be either the best of us all or the very worst. Want to bet which way I'm leaning?”

It took a few seconds to sink in, and even when it did, I didn't believe it. "Agnes? What… what the hell are you doing in there?”

"Existing," she said bitterly. "Some afterlife.”

"But… but… I didn't know you could even do possessions! The mages said-”

"Right. Like we tell them everything!" She put her hands back on her hips in another eerily familiar gesture. "The less the Circle knows about our abilities, the better! Did you really believe you could do it and I couldn't?”

"But you don't have Billy Joe," I protested. It was something that had been bothering me, both with her and with Myra. "How can you shift in time without a spirit to babysit your body while you're gone?”

Agnes just stared at me; then she shook her head. "Well, that's an original approach, I'll grant you," she muttered. "We go back to our bodies at almost the same moment we left them, Cassie. Our bodies don't die, because as far as they're concerned, we never left.”

"But… your body…" I stared at her, wondering how to phrase things. There didn't seem to be a lot of options. "Agnes, I'm sorry, but… it is dead.”

She looked at me as if I'd lost my mind. "Of course it is! What do you think I'm doing here?”

"I have no idea," I told her honestly.

"Well, it certainly wasn't my first choice!" She looked pissed. "This is supposed to be my bonus life, my time to enjoy myself for a change. I left you intending to return to my body, to gather strength to migrate into a nice German girl. She was supposed to die in a rockfall-a hiking accident- and I was all set to take her over-”

"Take her over?" I don't know what my face looked like, but Agnes let out a laugh.

"She was going to die, Cassie! On the whole, I think she'd have preferred sharing a life with me to that!”

I felt dizzy. "I don't get it.”

Tomas spoke up suddenly, startling me. "One to serve, one to live," he murmured.

Agnes shot him a less-fhan-kind look. "I don't know where you heard mat, but just forget it.”

"Then it's true," he said, apparently stunned. "There have been rumors, but no one believes-”

"Which is how it's going to stay." Agnes said emphatically.

It was my turn to look back and forth between the two of them. "Will somebody please tell me what is going on?”

"There is an old rumor," Tomas said, ignoring Agnes' frown, "that the Pythia is rewarded at the end of her service with another life-a type of compensation for the one she gave up to her calling.”

I closed my mouth, which kept trying to hang open in shock. For a moment, I just stared at Agnes. "Is that true?" I finally managed to ask.

"Do you want to get out of here or not?" she demanded.

"Just tell me!”

She sighed and threw up her hands again. I didn't know if that was a regular habit, or if it just happened a lot around me. "Okay, long story short-yes, it's true. We find someone slated to die young, and cut a deal with them. We possess them and feed off their energy, and in return we help them to avoid whatever catastrophe was about to occur.”

"That's horrible!”

"No, it's practical. A shared life is better than none at all.”

"But if you can do it once," Tomas said slowly, "why can you not continue to do it life after life, century after century?”

"That's why I hate vamps," Agnes said to the room in general. "They're so damn suspicious!”

"But can you do it?" Tomas asked.

"Of course not!" she snapped. "Think it through! Once our time in service is over, the power migrates to someone else. Without it, we have no way of knowing who is going to die, and therefore no way of choosing another body. It's a onetime deal.”

Tomas gave a short laugh. "You expect us to believe that no one has ever tried to cheat death? To live through many lifetimes by taking whomever they wanted, whether they were doomed or not?”

Agnes shrugged. "That's one of the many duties of the reigning Pythia-to make sure it doesn't happen that way.”

I shook my head. This was happening too fast, all of it. My brain just couldn't keep up. "But why Françoise?”

"I told you-I didn't have a choice! I started to return to my body but discovered that I'd wasted too much energy helping you. I hadn't planned to have to freeze time-that's not an easy trick, especially after a jump of more than three hundred years! I found that I didn't have enough left to jump the centuries one last time.”

"But I could have taken you back with me!" Agnes had helped me fight off Myra. If it wasn't for her help, I'd probably be dead already. I would certainly not have refused to give her a lift.

"If you recall, Cassie, you were in the middle of a room full of hungry ghosts. They were bent on devouring every spirit in sight! I couldn't risk it. Once time started up again, I had to get out of there fast. So I went into the only person I knew of in that time who was near death and might be willing to cut a deal.”

"And did she?" Françoise wasn't just any old norm: she was a witch, and from one very memorable trick I'd seen her perform, a powerful one. And it looked to me like she was fighting.

Almost as if she'd heard my thoughts, Agnes made another grimace and clutched her stomach. "In a manner of speaking.”

"How did you end up here?" Tomas asked before I could demand something a little less nebulous.

"I'd planned to get back to Cassie before she left that century, once I was in possession of a body to keep the spirits away. But the damn dark mages showed up.”

"They kidnapped you for sale to the Fey," he reasoned. And you have been here ever since? But that was centuries ago!”

"Years, actually," Agnes corrected.

"Time runs differently here," I reminded him. Marlowe had said it, but I hadn't realized just how big the difference could be. "You're saying you've been here continually, ever since we left France?”

Agnes nodded, then held up a hand to stop me when I tried to say something else. "If you've seen us since, don't tell me about it. Françoise can hear us, and she doesn't need to be influenced by knowing what will happen in her future.”

Her future, I thought dizzily, but my past. She'd killed a dark mage at Dante's a week ago, helping me escape. Or, rather, she was going to kill one… My head was starting to hurt.

"Do you want to get out of here or not?" Agnes demanded.

"Yes, but we're going to talk later," I told her. Maybe by then I'd have sorted some of this out and be able to think straight.

"If there is a later," she said ominously. "Don't forget the wards-I went to enough trouble to get them for you." She grabbed the lantern and, in a swirl of skirts, vanished down the hallway. Tomas and I looked at each other, then hurried to follow her, Tomas still pulling on the clothes she'd brought and me stuffing wards into every pocket I could find.

We turned at the end of the hall to ascend a long flight of stairs that was only occasionally lit by low-burning torches. At the end was another thick oak door, but it opened easily at the barest push from Françoise. Pritkin, Billy and Marlowe stood around a large round opening in a wall of rock, beyond which a mass of color shifted in a kaleidoscope of light.

"Is this all of them?" the pixie demanded, barely bothering to glance at us. "The cycle is almost complete.”

Billy looked nervous. "Cass, do you think I'll keep this body once we go back?”

"We're going back?”

"As soon as that thing cycles to blue. But we'll only have about thirty seconds to get through at the right destination. We're getting off at Dante's, but the Senate is next on the rotation, so we have to jump quick before it turns red.”

I found it hard to keep up. "Why are we leaving?”

"Because you're going to retrieve something for me." A deep baritone echoed off the walls. I slowly realized that what I had taken to be a pillar draped in material was actually the biggest leg I'd ever seen. I looked up, and kept on doing so for a ridiculous length of time. A face as large as a searchlight beamed down at me from the shadowy vastness of the hall. The ceiling had to be thirty feet high, yet he was bent over slightly as if it cramped him. I did a double take, then just stared.

The huge head lowered itself to get a better look at me. Frizzy brown hair obscured much of it, leaving a bulbous nose and blue eyes the size of softballs visible. "So this is the new Pythia.”

"We had to deal with the king," Billy explained in a low voice. "Our runes are used up until next month. Pritkin tried to caste Hagalaz and it didn't work-it just got a little colder and we ended up with a puddle of slush. Null bombs are great, but only against magic, and we're seriously outnumbered here. The Fey don't need mumbo jumbo to hit us over the head. We need more weapons and some allies or the only thing we're going to do here is die. Marlowe's agreed to cough up the weapons from the Senate's stash when we go back.”

"How generous of him. What's the catch?”

Marlowe, for once, didn't have a glib reply. Instead he simply stood there staring at me, looking flabbergasted. Then he slowly sank to one knee. "The Senate is always delighted to aid the Pythia," he finally said, after several tries.

"She isn't Pythia," Pritkin remarked, turning at last to acknowledge my presence. Then he stopped dead, his mouth working but no sound coming out. One hand remained raised halfway through a movement, as if he had simply forgotten to lower it.

"My lady, what shall we call you?" Marlowe asked reverently.

"No!" Pritkin broke out of his trance and stared between me and the kneeling vamp. "This is a trick-it must be!”

I glanced at Tomas, baffled. "What's going on?”

He smiled slightly. "Your aura has changed.”

I tried to see for myself, but I couldn't concentrate well enough and just ended up cross-eyed. "What does it look like?”

Marlowe answered for him. "Power," he whispered, appearing dazzled.

"You need to proclaim a reign title, Cassie," Tomas said. "Your rule doesn't officially begin until then. Lady Phemonoe was named after the first of the line. You can take the same title if you wish or choose another.”

Pritkin had come back to life and was striding across the room, looking outraged. "Herophile," I said quickly, the name from my vision coming automatically. I looked nervously at Tomas. "Is that okay?" Pritkin's hand, which had been reaching for me, stopped and dropped to his side.

"Where's the golem?" I asked Billy, keeping an eye on the mage. He had the look of an atheist who'd just had a visit from God: stunned, disbelieving and faintly ill.

"You don't want to know," Billy answered, staring fixedly at the portal, his throat working nervously.

"What do you mean?”

The king answered for him. It was hard to believe that, for a moment, I'd actually forgotten someone that large. "He was given to my steward as a gift. He very generously loaned him to me.”

“They turned him loose a couple of hours ago," Billy said. "They're going to give him another hour, then go after him. Something about training their hunting dogs.”

"What?" I was horrified. "But he could be killed!”

"Technically, he isn't alive," Billy pointed out, "so he can't die.”

"He may not have been alive before, but he is now!" I looked around for support but didn't find any. Marlowe had moved up beside Pritkin, looking worried. Billy was staring at the swirls of color inside the portal and biting his lip, and I doubted the golem's fate was uppermost in his mind. "We can't leave him!”

"Of course," the king murmured, a sound as loud as anyone else's bellow, "you could save him, if you like.”

I had a very bad feeling about this. "How would I do that?”

The king smiled, showing teeth the size of golf balls. "By making a trade.”

"Careful, Cass," Billy muttered. "He wants something from you, but he wouldn't tell us what.”

"Quiet, remnant!" The king thundered. "Keep your tongue behind your teeth, or someone may cut it out!" Then, as quick as a flash, his mood changed and he smiled angelically. " 'Tis only a book, lady, a trifling matter.”

"Their destination is next," the pixie warned.

Pritkin suddenly come back to life. "Where is Mac?”

I stared at him blankly, and then it hit. Oh, my God. No one had told him.

The pixie answered before I could begin to think of a reply. "The forest demanded a sacrifice before it would let us through. It went for the girl, but the mage offered himself instead.”

I transferred my stare to her. She must have seen Mac deliberately do something to draw attention to himself. He had understood-the forest wouldn't let me go, wouldn't stop attacking us, until it had a sacrifice.

So he gave it one.

Tomas squeezed my shoulder in silent sympathy, but I hardly felt it. There had been no blood on the ground when we left. The earth had absorbed it, had absorbed him. The wards I'd stuffed in my pocket suddenly felt like bricks.

Pritkin had looked confused at the pixie's offhand comment, but whatever he saw on my face was explanation enough. Comprehension flooded his eyes. "You planned this," he said in a strangely dead voice. "You tricked us into rescuing that… thing, so you could complete the ritual. The geis made any other candidate impossible.”

"I didn't plan anything," I said. I wanted to tell him how horribly sorry I was, to say something worthy of Mac, but my brain didn't seem to be working.

"About the book," the king rumbled.

I looked up at him, confused. "What book?”

His face contorted slightly and I realized that he was trying to look innocent. It didn't appear to be an expression he employed very often, judging by the result. "The Codex Merlini.”

"What?" The name meant nothing to me, but Pritkin jerked violently.

Marlowe looked intrigued. "But you can pick one up at any magical bookstore.”

The king made a sound like boulders rubbing together. I finally realized that he was laughing. "Not that one. The lost volume." He looked down at me and his eyes were hungry. "Bring me the second volume of the Codex, and you can have the creature. You have my word.”

"No!" Pritkin suddenly lunged for me, his face thunderous, but a second later he was skidding across the floor from the brutal shove Tomas gave him. He hit the wall but did an acrobatic flip back to his feet and started for us again. His eyes were ice-cold and promised pain for someone.

"Interrupt me again, mage, and I'll have your liver for dinner," the king warned. His voice left no doubt that he meant it. Pritkin skidded to a halt.

I glanced from Pritkin's furious face to Marlowe's interested one. "What am I missing?”

"The Codex is the… the primer, if you like, the text on which all modern magic is based," Marlowe informed me. "Merlin composed it, partly from his own work, and partly from his research into the available magical texts of his day-many of which are now lost to us. He was afraid that knowledge would be lost if someone didn't catalog it for future generations. But legend says that we only have half his work, that there was originally a second volume." He glanced at the king. "Even if it still exists, what good would it do you? Human magic doesn't work here.”

"Some does," the king replied evasively. He was trying to look as if the conversation barely interested him, but doing a lousy job. His enormous eyes were fairly dancing with excitement, and the cheeks over the curly beard were flushed. "Merlin divided his spells into two parts for security. The spells themselves were in volume one, the counterspells in volume two. Most of the counterspells have been discovered by trial and error through the years, except the odd lot, like that geis of yours. I want-”

My brain stuttered to a halt at the magic word. "Wait a minute. You're telling me the Codex contains a spell to remove the geis?”

"It is said to contain the counters to all Merlin's spells. He invented the dúthracht, so it should be in there." He regarded me shrewdly. "Does that add incentive, seer?”

I put on my poker face and hoped it was better than his. "Some. But I don't see how I can help you. If the book was lost-”

"Are you Pythia or not?" he bellowed, shaking the rafters. "Go back in time and find it, before it disappeared!”

I took in the eagerness written on his huge face and made a swift decision. "I could try," I agreed. "But the price you offer is too low. What else will you give?”

Pritkin let out an expletive and leapt for me. His face was beet red and he looked like he was about to burst a vein. Tomas took a step forward, but it was Marlowe, moving in a blur, who got a choke hold around his throat. I met the furious green gaze helplessly. I would talk to Pritkin later, try to explain everything, but now was not the time.

The king looked like he was thinking about adding Pritkin to the evening menu, but I interrupted. "We were bargaining, Your Majesty, and there isn't much time." I gestured at the portal, which was glowing a bright, true blue, with swirls of peacock, teal, navy and royal moving in lazy patterns over the surface.

"What do you want?" he asked swiftly.

After years of watching Tony wheel and deal, this was almost too easy. "I need to find a vampire," I told him. "His name is Antonio, although he may be using an alias. He's said to be somewhere in Faerie. In addition to the golem, I want Antonio's location and enough aid from you to retrieve him." And anyone with him, I silently added. "And sanctuary for Tomas, here at your court, for as long as he needs it.”

“The golem's life and the sanctuary are simple enough," the king said, "but the other…" He trailed off thoughtfully. "I know of the vampire of whom you speak," he finally admitted. "But reaching him will be difficult-and dangerous.”

"As will finding your book," I pointed out.

He hesitated, but the color at the edge of the spiral was starting to bleed to purple. He was out of time and I was the only one who could retrieve the book he wanted so badly. "Done. Bring me the book, and you will have your vampire.”

I nodded and started forward, only to collide with Billy, who was backing away. "I – I need to rethink this," he babbled. "I'll take the next bus.”

"What's wrong with you?" I demanded.

His face was white, and his hands were sketching agitated patterns in the air. "What if I lose my body when we return? I just got it back, Cass!”

"A little while ago, you were worried about what might. happen if you stayed!”

"And now I'm worried about what'll happen if I go." He looked genuinely terrified. "You don't understand what could be through there!”

"Billy! We don't have time for this! You already came through a portal on the way here.”

"Yeah, and look what it got me! Think it through, Cass!”

I had no idea what he was talking about, and wasn't given the chance to find out. "Get in the portal, remnant," the pixie said. "We don't need your kind here.”

"Stay out of this, dolly," Billy warned, swiping at her with his hat.

Suddenly, a blur shot in front of us, heading for the portal, and I barely had a chance to recognize Françoise before a bright light flashed and she was gone. The king let out an enraged bellow. "Bring her back!" he ordered.

The pixie unsheathed her tiny sword. I'd seen what that thing could do, but Billy hadn't and he didn't even bother to dodge. The side of the sword caught him in the stomach, lifting him off his feet and smacking him backwards. I had a chance to see his wide-eyed shock, and then he was gone. The pixie flew straight into the portal after him, their flashes coming so close together that they almost looked like one.

I turned to see that Pritkin had collapsed to his knees, Marlowe on his back. I was moving forward to intervene when he suddenly hit the vamp in the temple and simultaneously brought his other elbow back in a savage jab to the ribs. Marlowe let go and staggered backwards, straight into the vortex. Pritkin stayed down for a second, a hand to his injured throat, trying to get his breath back. From his gasping wheezes, it sounded like Marlowe's choke hold had been closer to a strangulation.

"Cassie, you must go," Tomas said urgently. He paused, his expression an odd mix of tenderness and pain. "Try not to get killed.”

"Yeah. You, too." I would have preferred time to say good-bye, but there wasn't any. I kissed him quickly, took a running start and threw myself at the swirl of color. At the last second Pritkin dove in beside me. There was a flash of light, then another, then only blackness.