Witch Heart

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

ADAM PICKED HIMSELF UP OFF THE FLOOR AND realized he could remember nothing from the time he'd entered the doorway hand in hand with Claire until now. He shook the fuzziness from his head and glanced around, finding Claire near him. He sighed in relief and reached out to lay a hand on her arm.

When Erasmus Boyle had jumped Isabelle through his unstable passageway last year, it had made her sick. His trip had not been pleasant, but he wasn't retching on the floor the way Isabelle had been.

Micah was already up and examining the room.

Claire got to her feet and Adam struggled to stand, too. They stood in the middle of a darkened chamber. Symbols were etched into the veined marble floor, and tables, interspersed with tall, carved armoires, lined the room. Bowls and cauldrons sat atop the tables, along with bound sheaves of plants Adam couldn't identify hanging from hooks. Eudae plants, he guessed.

Gods, he was on Eudae.

"This is some kind of spell-casting room, right?" asked Micah turning toward them. His eyes were alight.

"It is," answered Rue. "As a goodwill gesture from my people to yours, I intend to offer you a gift, Micah."

The door opened and a tall, robed man… demon… entered. He had a thick head of black hair, blue eyes, and a long face. In his hand, he carried a thick book.

The man nodded at Claire and she nodded back.

"That's Domin," she said under her breath to Adam. "He's a Syari. One of the keepers of the Ytrayi records."

Domin handed the heavy tome to Micah who looked ready to cry tears of joy. Domin spoke in Aemni.

Claire translated. "It's a book of our history, he says. He thinks you'll find lots of interesting information in it."

Micah could only sputter his thanks.

Domin spoke a few more words in Aemni to Rue before he turned and left the room.

Rue turned his gaze on Claire. "I don't want you to leave, Claire." His voice shook.

Claire walked to him, took both his hands in hers. "It's time for me to go back, Rue. It's time for me to go home, to have the life I should have had."

Rue averted his gaze, looking down. He removed his hands from hers. "It will be done quickly, but it will hurt." He flicked his gaze at Adam. "You will need to hold her."

Adam made an irritated sound as he walked to her. "What's a little more pain, right, Claire? You've already had plenty trying to get this stuff out of you. You've had a lot of practice." Anger surged through his veins.

Domin reentered the room with a bowl of a concoction that made Claire wince and wrinkle her nose. The combination of Eudae plants filled the room with a bitter yet Sickeningly sweet scent.

Micah approached with interest. "What is that?"

Rue took the bowl from Domin, who left the room again. "It's a paste made of herbs only found on Eudae. The scent of them will aid Claire in releasing her hold on the elium."

"The only thing it's making me do is want to throw up," she answered.

"Please, sit on the rug in the center of the room. Adam, please sit behind her and hold her tight."

They moved to do as he requested while Micah peppered Rue with questions. The Coven's scholar appeared oblivious to the fact they could all be in danger here. He acted like he was on some school field trip.

"I tried to take the elium from Claire twice without success," said Micah. "Are these herbs necessary to accomplish it?"

"There are other ways," Rue answered. "But you would have been extremely lucky to find one without the help of a Syari."

"You said that when Claire pulls the four threads of her magick together and uses it, it acts like demon magick, right?"

"Yes."

"Is there any way for the threads to bind within her seat in order to force her to release the elium?"

Rue stopped short and looked at Micah. "You are very intelligent for an aeamon."

"Rue!" Claire said disapprovingly. "That's a backhanded compliment."

Rue let out a rough chuckle. To Adam's ears it sounded like the Cae had broken that slight laugh out of a thick coating of rust. "I like this new you, Claire. I will miss you." He turned his attention to Micah. "In order to take the elium from her in that fashion, you would have needed this." Rue motioned to the bowl.

"Ah. Now I don't feel so bad," Micah answered.

Rue knelt in front of Claire. He held the bowl in front of her face and Adam tightened his arms around her midsection. The smell of it made him want to turn his face away, but he forced himself to stay still.

"Breathe deeply, Claire," Rue instructed. "Let it fill your senses. Relax and let my words and magick do their job. This will go very fast."

Claire nodded, closed her eyes, and inhaled deeply. It was clear that she trusted Rue, despite the fact the Cae of the Ytrayi had a nasty tendency to torture people and rip out the entrails of her lovers.

After a minute of Claire breathing in the scent of the herbal junk, she went limp in his arms. Rue muttered something under his breath and Claire jerked in Adam's arms violently. Adam held onto her as she seemed to go into convulsions.

"Rue!" Adam yelled. "What's going on—"

Rue's spine bowed backward and the bowl flew from his hands to land a distance away, shattering on the marble floor.

Adam pulled Claire into his arms, saying her name over and over, his heart beating hard enough he could hear it in his ears.

She opened her eyes and smiled up at him. "It's gone and I still have my magick."

Rue struggled to his feet, rubbing his chest. "It was successful." He sounded incredibly relieved.

Claire stood with Adam's help. "It hurt, but it was worth it." She glanced at the doorway, still shimmering in the corner with a blue iridescence. "And that means…"

"Time to go home," Adam finished for her.

Micah clutched the book to his chest and looked bereft. "Already? That was fast."

"I have something I want to give you, Claire." Rue walked to an armoire and pulled out two small burlap sacks. "One is for Thomas, to pay for the damage to the Coven. The other is for you, Claire, to give you a head start in your new life." He brought them to her and opened one of the sacks. Into his hand spilled several… rocks?

"Diamonds," Claire breathed. "Uncut diamonds." She looked up at Rue. "But you need these for warding Yrystray: I know how hard they are to find."

Rue shook his head. "We can locate more. I understand that on Earth these are very valuable. You can trade them for your currency."

Micah stared down at Rue's hand. "Wow, that's a lot of diamonds. That many could probably affect our economy in a—"

"Shut up, Micah." Adam growled.

Claire took the sacks from Rue. "Thank you."

Rue placed his hands on Claire's shoulders. "I have wronged you, Claire, wronged you without knowing it. But I want you to know that, no matter what you may think, you have been like a daughter to me."

"Rue… I… I don't know what to say. You were the closest thing I ever had to a father." Tears sheened her eyes.

"I'm sorry to see you go, but I know of a saying in your tongue. If you love something, set it free. If it comes back to you, it is yours. I understand that you are not mine, Claire. But I do hope that our paths cross again one day, and I hope that it will be a happy thing for you. It would be a very happy thing for me."

Claire bowed her head. "Thank you for understanding that I must leave."

Rue leaned in and tenderly kissed the top of her head. "My only wish is that you find happiness."

Claire glanced at Adam. "I already have."

Then Rue turned to Adam, his voice growing harsh. "If I ever hear that you hurt her, I will hunt you down and eat your liver like a pate. Do you understand?"

Adam's eyes widened. "Yeah, I think I got the message crystal clear."

"Good." Rue jerked his head at the doorway. "Now go before I decide to keep you all here."

They moved to the doorway. Claire gave Rue one final, long look, and they stepped through.

The three of them ended up in the middle of the foyer. Adam and Claire were tangled together on the floor and Micah lay not far away. Adam's stomach roiled, but he managed to keep it under control. Oh, there was the nausea.

"We're home." Adam closed his eyes and breathed in the scent of the Coven deeply — smoke, destruction, and all. It smelled good.

When he opened his eyes, Claire was staring at him. Warm, intense love suffused her expression, bled into her gaze. It made something deep in his gut grow warm, made it heal.

"Yes, I am home," she murmured, then leaned in and kissed him.