Witch Heart

CHAPTER THIRTY

THE ELIUM STILL PULSED DULLY WITHIN HER.

Houses, she was almost growing used to the sensation of it there in the middle of her chest.

Claire turned toward the window in Adam's bedroom and pulled the throw blanket more securely around her. It had taken her most of the day to recover from the spell. Still, the seat of her magick ached from the ordeal. She'd been unconscious, but nightmares of the incident had flooded her brain all the same, ones she could still recall. That awful pull on her power, yanking it through flesh, blood, and bone. It had been as if a pair of huge tongs had grabbed hold of her heart and then tried to pull it through living tissue and into the open air.

Of course, it hadn't worked. There was a part of her that had been relieved when she'd awoken to the sensation of her magick still pulsing inside her. She'd been dreading the frigid emptiness that undoubtedly would have met her had the spell worked. Dry and flavorless as melba toast. Once she'd heard Thomas refer to non-magickicals that way.

The other part of her had been utterly and completely crushed. It had been their last and best hope and it had failed.

Now she was doomed for certain. There were no last-ditch efforts, nothing else to try. Her fate was sealed.

Adam sat in the chair behind her. She heard him rise and approach her. His hand fell on her shoulder, warm, steady and strong… just like him. She closed her eyes.

She'd finally found someone to love her. Someone she could love in return. Someone to invest in, someone to trust. But fate wasn't going to let her keep him. Maybe it would be easier on them both if they just ended things right here and now. The Atrika were coming for her. There was no escape.

His breath stirred her hair. "Are you all right? You seem pretty deep in thought."

She shook her head. "No, I'm not all right." Claire gave a little laugh. "I'm kind of out of options." She bowed her head. "I'm sorry."

He turned her to face him. "Sorry? About what?"

"I'd hoped we could stay together. But—" She drew a breath. "I think this should end, Adam. Right now. I should go to my room here in the Coven and we should—"

"Claire, shut up." He leaned and kissed her. His lips skated over hers, gentle and commanding, completely possessive. He kissed her for a good two minutes, his hand cupping the nape of her neck and his lips gently skating over hers, once in a while parting so he could flick his tongue against hers.

Even at a time like this he could make her knees go weak with just a kiss.

He rested forehead against hers. "I don't like those words coming from your sweet lips, and I never want to hear them again. We will stay together through whatever comes our way. We'll meet it head-on and side by side. Okay?"

She sighed and dropped her head to his chest. "Things just look so dark, Adam. Lie to me and tell me everything's going to be all right."

He kissed the crown of her head and rubbed her arm. "Everything's going to be all right. I'm not lying, Claire."

She sighed.

"You're tired, but this isn't over yet. We have a saying here on Earth. It ain't over till the fat lady sings."

She raised her head. "The fat lady? Who's she?"

Adam smiled. "It refers to the last woman to sing in an opera. Stereotypically all female opera singers are supposed to be fat."

"Opera. I always wanted to see one. My mother used to talk about both opera and ballet."

He hooked her hair around her ear. "Tell you what. If we both come through this in one piece, I'll sacrifice myself and take you to see both." He paused. "But only if you'll come to a Bears game with me."

She wrinkled her nose. "Bears?"

"Football."

"Oh, right." She smiled and kissed his lips. "Here's to future sacrifices, then."

"May they be horrific, frequent, and come soon." He dipped his head and kissed her again.

She sighed against his lips and let him push her backward toward the bed. She laughed. "Again?"

He smiled against her lips. "Why not?"

Indeed, why not? "Well, I guess if there's anything I'd like to spend my last days doing, it's you." She turned him around and gave him a hard push.

He fell back on the mattress and sprawled there, looking up at her in surprise. "Wow, that's so romantic."

She grinned and raised her eyebrows. Comeback all set on her tongue, she readied herself to pounce on him.

Someone knocked on the door.

Adam rose up on his elbows. "Who the hell could that be?"

"I'll get it." Claire wrapped the blanket more securely around her and went to answer it.

Thomas stood on the other side, a grim expression on his handsome face. "Claire, you have to get dressed and come downstairs to the library immediately."

She frowned at severe tone of his voice. "Why?"

"Rue is here."

Claire noticed Rue's lips thin into a line of disapproval when she entered the library hand in hand with Adam. His icy blue eyes hit full-on winter as he noted how Claire stood next to Adam once inside.

Rue was a good-looking male by any female's measure: tall, broad-shouldered, muscular build. His blond hair came to his shoulders, framing a face drawn in chiseled lines. His mouth was full and his eyes a light shade of blue.

He was handsome. He was a daaemon. And he was deadly.

Although he worked by a strict Ytrayi code of ethics and morality, he showed no remorse for those he perceived had wronged him. Thomas Monahan knew that firsthand. Ty had died tasting that lack of remorse.

Claire flashed back to the moment when Rue had discovered her relationship with Ty. Fear flicked through her with a sharp, metallic tongue.

"We're not in Eudae," Claire said to Rue, her tone as forceful as she'd ever dared use with him.

Thomas stood near his desk, along with Isabelle. Thomas's gaze snapped to her.

"Your rules don't apply here, Rue," she continued. "I refuse to allow you to even think about hurting Adam." She spoke in English. He was well-versed in the language and would understand.

Rue tilted his head to the side — like a bird of prey considering a mouse — and took a step toward them. The saliva dried on her tongue, but she stood her ground. She would die before she allowed Adam to come to harm.

"Are these words of protection for this aeamon male the first words you have for me after so long, Claire?" He spoke in Aemni. "Do I mean so little to you?"

"That's rude. Speak English, Rue," she snapped.

Rue actually looked chastened. He glanced at Thomas. "Forgive me."

"You're still alive," she stated unnecessarily. She was pleased about that. Her feelings where Rue was concerned were so mixed.

"I managed to escape the spell room and, even though the attack took us by surprise, we were able to fend off the force of Atrika." Now he spoke in English. "I was injured, but I'm recovered now."p>p>

"Have you come to take the elium back?" Her voice shook with the hope that he had a way to remove it.

Confusion crossed over his face. "No, Claire." He paused and seemed to consider her words. "Well, after a fashion. I came to take you back."

Adam stepped forward. "That's not happening."

Fury made the veins in Rue's neck pop out. He took a step toward Adam. "You don't dictate to me, boy."

Adam took two steps toward Rue. "Boy? That earns you triple the ass-whipping, daaemon. One time for trying to take Claire away. Another for putting her in danger in the first place. And still another for calling me boy."

Claire rolled her eyes and stepped forward. Daaemon or witch, it didn't matter, testosterone was the same. Right now there was an excess of maleness in the room. She put a hand on Adam's chest. "Adam, stand down." She flicked an annoyed glance at Rue. "Rue, you're not taking me anywhere."

Rue's jaw worked, but he didn't respond. Still, she knew Rue well enough to know that the issue wasn't closed.

She peered around Rue to Thomas. Both he and his wife looked fit to kill. No wonder. This was the man who'd imprisoned and tortured Thomas on Eudae.

Thomas cleared his throat. "He showed up this morning, in the foyer. Isabelle tried to kill him."

Rue unclenched his jaw enough to speak, but kept his gaze focused on Adam, behind her. "It took me a long time to open another doorway. I assumed this was where you'd be if you'd managed to keep away from the Atrika who followed you. I tried to get you as close to the Coven as I could when I pushed you through."

"What is the state of Yrystrayi?"

"Badly damaged. The Atrika attacked with great force, harder and with more finesse than they have in centuries." He paused. "Something has changed. They've grown in strength for some reason and their will has become stronger. They almost took the palace and they killed a great many of us. We have some of them in custody, but you know what it is to torture information out of an Atrika."

Impossible.

"Why did you do it to me, Rue? Why did you force this weapon into me and push me through the doorway into a foreign world?"

Rue finally focused on her face. His expression softened a little. "It was the only way I knew to save the two things I held most dear."

Shock rippled through her. Had he just called her... dear?

Adam put his hand on her waist and pulled her against his side in a protective gesture.

Rue's gaze shifted to the fire witch who touched her so possessively. "She is like a daughter to me, aeamon. I practically raised her.";

"Nice way to treat your daughter," muttered Isabelle.

"I had no choice!" Rue shouted, closing his eyes for a moment and clenching his fists. "The Atrika would have killed her had she stayed in the spell room. If the Atrika had captured me and extracted the elium, all the demon breeds but the Atrika would now be exterminated or close to it. I had no idea that the two Atrika would lunge through the doorway after you. I did not intend for that to happen."

Claire folded her arms across her chest. "They've killed many witches here." Her tone dropped the temperature of the room. "They were going to kill me. The Coven has paid a high price to keep the elium safe."

"We weren't keeping the elium safe," said Thomas. "We were keeping you safe, Claire, no matter what we may have told you." The head of the Coven stepped forward to stand beside her. His black eyes seemed endless with hot fury. "You'd better tell me right now, Rue, that you have a way to take the elium from her safely. I want you to take the elium and then take yourself the fuck out of my home." His voice shook.

It was the closest Claire had ever seen the normally well-controlled witch to losing his temper.

Rue fixed his gaze on Thomas. "There is no need for us to be enemies."

Isabelle made a scoffing sound. "You tried to kill him. You tortured him to within an inch of his life! If it hadn't been for Claire, he might have died in your dungeon. You did all this and think we can be friends?"

Rue kept his gaze on Thomas's face while he answered Isabelle. "We never would have killed your mate. We had no idea, of course, the extent to which Claire was interfering." His turned his frosty eyes to her for a moment. "However, we never would have allowed a man as important as the head mage of your people to perish in our care. We simply needed information." He paused. "We still need information."

"You'll get nothing from us," answered Thomas. "Can you take the elium from her or not?"

"Where are the Atrika?"

"Still out there, still wanting the weapon. The sooner you take it from her, the sooner she'll be safe from them. If you care about her the way you say, you'll take it from her soon."

Rue jerked his chin at her. "Then we must leave immediately." He reached out, snagged Claire's arm, and jerked her forward.

"The hell you're taking her anywhere," Adam roared.

Rage distorted Rue's handsome face and Claire's stomach twisted in fear. "She is mine, aeamon. My property. The fact you've lain with her gives you no right—"

Adam punched him.

Rue went careening backward under the force it and hit a chair. He stumbled to the side and raised his gaze to Adam's. There was murder on his face. His eyes were red and his fangs had extended.

Claire stalked to Rue and slapped him across the face. "How dare you treat me like a dog to be commanded? I am not property, not anymore. I am home, where I belong." She motioned to Adam and the others. "Among the people I should be with. You say you think of me as your daughter, but you hardly want the best for me, do you? The best thing is to leave me alone, let me stay here with them."

He looked shocked. "Do you want that?"

She closed her eyes in frustration and fisted her hand in her hair. "Home, Rue. I just said I'm home. Of course I want to stay."

Rue looked so surprised and, yes, a little bit hurt, that she went to her knees in front of him. "You've treated me well. Without you, I would've died on Eudae. I thank you for that." She pressed her lips together. "But you could've sent me home, right? You could have opened a doorway and sent me back here at any time. Isn't that correct?"

"To what? You had no one here. Your mother was dead and you didn't know who or where your father was. I thought you were happy with your life on Eudae. I didn't think you wanted to come back to Earth."

There had been many years in which she'd most likely have balked at the opportunity to come back here. It was a foreign place to her. Even when she'd had the opportunity to return when Thomas had jumped through, she'd stayed behind. Still… "You never asked me. Not once. You never gave me the choice, the opportunity. You just kept me like a pet or a servant—your property—and performed your little experiments on me. You denied me the love of a man of my kind… love, period. You denied me anything resembling a normal life."

Rue's jaw worked. "I–I'm sorry."

It was the first time in her life she'd ever seen the great Rue, Cae of the Ytrayi, speechless. It was the first time he had ever apologized for anything.

Rue frowned. "You are so different now. These weeks here on Earth have changed you."

"I am different. I'm changed for the better, Rue." Speaking of the experiments… "Were you trying to make me into a demon?"

Rue stared at her for a moment and then struggled to his feet. "In a manner of speaking. I infused you with the other three elements, but I could never manage to get you to thread them all together."

Claire stood. "Why did you want me to learn that?"

Rue shrugged. "It makes a close approximation of demon magick."

"But it isn't exactly demon magic," Claire inferred.

Rue shook his head and raised his gaze to hers. "You are aeamon, not daaemon. You don't have our full blood, so you cannot carry our full power."

"Except for the elium."

"That's different. It's bundled in a way that you can hold it."

"It's seared onto my seat. I managed to isolate most of it, but there are tendrils of the elium clinging to it. No one can take the weapon out of me without killing me. Not even Tevan and Kai."

Rue shook his head and smiled. "You don't understand. That's because—"

Something in the corridor outside the library exploded. The building shook and plaster rained down from above them. Adam yanked her into his arms and covered her head in an effort to protect her. Magick pulsed, deep through their bones.

Demon magick.

"They're here," said Isabelle unnecessarily from across the room.

"And they're mad," Claire finished.

Rue stormed past them, toward the door. Chances were that Tevan and Kai had no idea Rue had arrived.

They were going to be surprised.

Claire pulled from Adam's arms and followed Rue out into the hallway. Tevan stood with his back to the Cae of the Ytrayi. Tevan turned. If she could have bottled the look on Tevan's face to keep as a memento, she would have.

"You think you've come for the elium," said Rue in Aemni. "But you're getting far more than you bargained for."

Tevan replied by attacking.

Demon magick momentarily bulged the walls of the corridor and Claire found herself yanked back into the library forcibly by Adam. Beyond the doorway power pulsed and destruction reigned.

Another blast of magick made them both hit the floor. Books from the shelves around them slid off and hit the hardwood. The bottles in Thomas's liquor cart rattled until one of them broke in a cascade of amber liquid.

"Houses, I wish Rue hadn't come alone," she muttered. "We could use a few more Ytrayi."

"That begs the question. Where is Kai?" said Adam near her ear.

"Looking for me, probably."

"Come on." He dragged her to her feet and they ran to Thomas and Isabelle who stood clinging to Thomas's desk under the force of the battle beyond the doorway of the library. Two daaemon in the heat of conflict was like a war, complete with cannons.

"We've got to get Claire out of here before Kai shows up. I don't trust Rue to handle both Atrika at once. Hell, I don't trust Rue at all, and I don't think you do either." Adam jerked his chin at the only other way out, the large picture window overlooking the Coven grounds at the far end of the room.

Thomas looked at Isabelle, another blast of magick came from beyond the doorway, shaking the room.

"Why not? It wouldn't be the first time it's been broken," Isabelle yelled over the din with a one-shouldered shrug.

The room shook again and they all grabbed hold of the desk. After the earthquake-like tremors had passed, Adam picked up Thomas's office chair, walked to the huge floor-to-ceiling window and threw it.

Glass shattered and rained to the floor below.

"That was not subtle, but it was effective," murmured Isabelle beside Claire.

That was Adam.

Adam picked up long staff-like thing — Thomas had mentioned it was an antique walking stick once — and used it to get rid of any shards of glass still remaining. Then he grabbed a throw blanket draped over one the chairs in the sitting area and laid it over the sill.

Adam held out a hand to Claire. "Come on, let's go."

She went to him and he helped her out of the window. Thomas and Isabelle followed close behind. Another blast of power rocked the house.

In the distance they could see Coven witches spilling from the building, some coughing and having trouble breathing.

Houses, the Coven! Two demons in a fight could level the place.

Claire glanced up at the second floor. "What about Theo?" She stopped short. "He's injured from the battle at the cabin. He won't be able to get out."

"Trust me, Theo is capable of fending for himself even when he's injured," said Thomas, coming up beside her. "But I'm going in the front to help anyone else who might need it. Adam, get Claire to safety." He walked toward the building.

"You aren't going anywhere without me, Thomas," said Isabelle, striding after him.

Adam pulled Claire toward the heavily forested land surrounding the Coven. "Come on, I want you far away from here. Kai is probably in there looking for you and I don't want you anywhere nearby."

They headed away from the Coven, ending up on the far side of the building near the conservatory. It was a beautiful morning, calm. Such a contrast to the battle being waged within the structure.

A woman holding a baby appeared on the other side of the glass within the conservatory. She was coughing, probably from the smoke produced by the fires from the battle of the daaemons. Blasts of air magick puffed the smoke away, but it was overpowering her at times.

Claire pointed. "Mira's in there."

Adam followed the direction of her finger, focused and said, "Oh, shit. We have to get them out of there." He ran to the door leading out into the yard, but it was locked.

Mira caught sight of them and screamed something unintelligible, waving her free hand in desperation. No, get back! I'm all right! The words sounded in the air around them, disorienting Claire for a moment. Powerful air magick. Kai is in here with me.