Then the stenches came, a foul odor of complete corruption and decay that once in her lungs refused to leave for a long, long time. She woke in the middle of her slumber at times and still smelled him, so close, as if his bony fingers reached for her, to wrap around her throat, squeezing her last breath, laughing while he did so.
Her heart pounded. Her blood thundered in her ears. He was coming for her. It was really Xaviero. He was alive and he would find her. At once Zev was there, wrapping his spirit around hers, holding her close to him, sheltering her from the terror of such a nightmarish remembrance.
The moment she felt Zev's strength, the moment his love pushed against those terrifying memories, he drove away the evil smile and foul breath as Xaviero stuck his face so close against hers, watching her face go blue and her eyes go wide as she struggled to breathe. If she could have she would have touched her throat. She hadn't thought about those times in a long while. So close to him, knowing he was pouring himself into Damon's mage-shadow in order to see and hear what Damon could might have paralyzed her without Zev so close.
All at once, she felt him. His actual presence was far worse than the heralding of evil. Damon's mind filled with malevolent, revolting thoughts. She knew instantly why Damon had panicked and wanted the mage-shadow gone. He was a moral man with high values and standards. Xaviero delighted in corrupting anyone good. He pushed immoral and malicious thoughts into Damon's mind, choosing the vilest, nasty and criminal acts he felt he could lead Damon to do.
She settled low, near the very base of the shadow-mark, praying he wouldn't find her. He studied his handiwork, his suspicion evident in his close perusal, although he obviously didn't really expect to find anything. She couldn't imagine he would ever believe--after having his way for so long--that an opponent would actually find him, let alone challenge him.
The only possible person would be his brother Xayvion, and she didn't even know if Xayvion was alive. Still, Xaviero had stayed alive and hidden because he was extremely careful. He took his time, looking over his handiwork before he decided he was safe to use his puppet.
She felt the swelling of his power and he commanded Damon to look around him. Damon didn't respond, but lay as still as death. She felt the swell of anger, bordering on rage. No one, least of all his puppets, could ever defy him. She felt the retaliation in the form of pain, as if a thousand needles pierced Damon's skull to stick into his brain.
Her spell held. She realized if Xaviero had tried to test the other five Lycans who had been sent to assassinate Skyler and Dimitri in the forest, he would have found nothing at all. He would have known they were dead. It might appear to him that Damon was unconscious, not sleeping. That suited her just fine. Xaviero would abandon Damon and go after one of the other remaining puppets. They had been given powerful sedatives to keep the High Mage from accessing their brains and memories while Branislava tried to remove the first mage-shadow.
Xaviero didn't give up easily. He wanted to know what had happened to his servants. He poked and prodded over and over, sending hot needles through the skull to try to wake Damon from whatever state he was in. When that failed he maliciously planted more disturbing thoughts, this time of wanting to kill his sister and Zev. He repeated the order over and over, driving it deep into Damon's subconscious through the portal he had made in Damon's brain.
She couldn't imagine how Damon would feel if he used any of the medieval ways of killing his sister Xaviero had ordered him to use and afterward returned to himself and had to live with his deed. She had no doubt now that Xaviero had been behind the sentence of death by silver passed on Dimitri, that horrible Machiavellian torture supposedly ordered by the council. She didn't doubt for one moment that he controlled at least one council member and perhaps more, and not necessarily through a mage-shadow.
Xaviero retreated. She didn't move or make a sound. Zev followed her lead. She was grateful he was so patient. As a hunter he had learned the value of patience and he didn't move or try to ask her why she waited. Time passed. It could have been ten minutes or an hour, she didn't know or care. Xaviero would return. He trusted nothing to chance and he'd been more than a little suspicious when he checked his handiwork.
Evil poured into Damon's mind like sludge. Thick and oily, the muck was foul. Xaviero rushed in fast, his murky light spinning one way and then the next, but no one had dared disturb his creation. He sent another spate of hot needles driving through Damon's skull, hoping to shock him awake. When it didn't happen, he left a second time, this time abruptly like a spoiled child angry with a broken toy.
The moment he was gone, Branislava moved out of hiding and began to unweave the two safeguards above her. She didn't want to remain trapped within that web of danger he had created should he return a third time. Again, she used patience, careful to make certain she didn't disturb one single fiber as she dismantled Xaviero's protections, piece by piece. She thought of him as a deadly, poisonous spider sitting in the middle of his giant web, just waiting for an unsuspecting victim to happen by. She refused to be his victim ever again.
The moment both defenses were down, she went to work, circling the darker shadow blending with the grayish matter in the ridges and valleys of Damon's brain. The portal wasn't raised at all; it just appeared as a smudge, nothing more, a small oval, elongated smear of charcoal that could easily be overlooked if one went searching. Right on the very tip of each side was a particular loop, a small flaw in the perfect oval--Xaviero's signature.
Xavier and Xayvion had argued endlessly with him, but Xaviero held firm. He thought each of them should have a distinctive signature no one else would recognize. Perhaps he had a precog episode where he "saw" Xavier killing him. But she doubted if that was real. After all, it was quite clear to her that they had faked the deaths, but to what purpose, she didn't know.
Had the triplets known that Tatijana and she would escape some day? That seemed very doubtful. They couldn't have known, and if they had, their solution wouldn't be to fake their deaths. It would be to murder her and her sister.
She sent up a silent prayer that when Xaviero replayed the entire event back in his head--and he would--he'd find she hadn't left behind a single telling signature. She was lucky in that while Xaviero knew his brothers' work and probably every one of the mages who had trained under Xavier, he had never actually seen her capabilities. Most likely none of the triplets believed that she or Tatijana might be able to cast. It hadn't occurred to the brothers that they had nothing to do to keep their minds active but learn--and that was such a distinct advantage.
She realized she was afraid of Xaviero, but was no longer completely and utterly terrified of him. Somehow, in confronting her worst nightmare, she had gained confidence in herself. She took a deep cleansing breath, or at least, thought that she did so. She pushed aside all doubt and concentrated on the fight to save Damon.
Hail grandmother, spirit of the North,
I call upon thee to defend me this night.
Hail grandmother, spirit of the South,
I call upon thee to attend this rite.
Without a body, she turned her own spirit both north and south in a salute of respect and gratitude, taking nothing at all for granted, but sending her plea out to universe.
Hail grandmother spirit of the East,
I call upon your forces to protect me with might.
Hail grandmother spirit of the West,
I seek your wisdom and guidance this night.
She turned her spirit both east and west, in a gesture of great reverence and admiration.
I call to thee Hecate, triple goddess above,
Maiden, mother, crone, see my plight.
Hecate, dark mother who heals the rights and wrongs,
I call forth your power so that I may remain strong.
She felt power running through her spirit. The white light began to glow a soft pink and then light red. Another breath and her spirit was dark red.
I seek the power to cast lightni
ng's blast,
So that shadow may burn, undoing that which has been cast.
Twist and turn, heal but burn,
Peeling shadow away, let life now return.
From her spirit, lightning forked and then settled into one steady stream as if the fine tip was a laser. Slowly, with great care, making certain to remove the stain of Xaviero's shadow, she burned the layers away. It seemed to take forever, and all the while she feared he would suddenly realize and return. The moment the shadow was gone, she began the work of healing, sending rejuvenating cells to cover the damaged layer.
12
Branislava had never been so exhausted in her life, but now wasn't the time to rest on her laurels. Xaviero had just lost his first battle and he wasn't going to be happy. When he was unhappy, others paid the price. He would go after the remaining three Lycans there in the Carpathian stronghold, and if he couldn't use them to strike at those he considered his enemies, he would send others very quickly.
She found herself back in her body, but she didn't have the strength to push herself off the ground. She sent up a silent prayer that she hadn't left any trace of herself Xaviero could find when he replayed the scene of his shadow over and over in his head, looking for the tiniest detail to ascertain his enemy.
She knew what his first thought would be, and that would buy them time. The three brothers had always enjoyed their ability to hide each other from the rest of the world. It gave them the freedom to do whatever they wanted in absolute secret, knowing they couldn't get caught. They always had a firm alibi. They felt superior to all others.
Branislava knew Xaviero would think one of his brothers had purposely opposed him. Who else could possibly manage to outmaneuver him? No one else was that brilliant. He would be raging, throwing one of his infamous fits. How many times had she seen him turn his anger on others?
"We don't have much time," she managed to gasp out. "Get the others into the circle. Gregori, did you see how to take down his safeguards? There's no need to rebuild them. Take them down and remove the shadow as fast as possible." Urgency was in her voice, desperation in her eyes. "We have only minutes to save them if we're going to."
Ivory crouched beside her, pressing her wrist to Branislava's mouth. Branislava couldn't help but almost gulp at the nutrients Ivory provided. Her body felt starved and thin. She was aware of Skyler providing blood for Zev. He held out his hand to her and she grasped it like a drowning woman would a life preserver.
Her heart pounded and her mouth was dry. He was coming for the others and he would be in a particularly ugly mood. She met Tatijana's gaze. She knew as well.
Gregori opened a pathway to the circle and this time it was Dimitri, Fen and Razvan who carried the sleeping Lycans into the protection of the sphere. They returned to the outside circle, ready to ward off any that might threaten those working to remove the shadows.
"Each of you choose one," Branislava said. "Remember, he'll come fast, pouring in like liquid, and he'll strike at both you and his victim."
She didn't bother to wait for an answer, but shed her body quickly and chose the one called Igor. She didn't know him, but Daciana had spoken highly of him. She knew where the shadow was and she didn't waste time looking around. If Xaviero had mass-shadowed these men without their knowledge, he couldn't take the time to vary each position. He would use that most advantageous to him, a region of the brain where he could command the thoughts and actions.
She found the shadow right where she knew it would be and began unraveling the safeguards, using the exact method she'd used on Damon. Layer upon layer of webbing disappeared and she reached the glimmer. Again, she took it down, going for speed rather than delicacy. Removing and repairing that mage-shadow required time whether she liked it or not, and she knew any of the three working on the Lycans could draw the attention of Xaviero.
She didn't want him going after Tatijana. In the ice caves, she had always stepped in front of her sister to redirect the attention of Xavier and his brothers away from her. Tatijana's health had always been just that little bit more fragile than hers and she never wanted any of the brothers to notice it. They were so wrapped up in their experiments and plans to become immortal and rule the world that they hadn't bothered with the sisters unless they needed blood.
As terrified as she was of Xaviero, perhaps she still deliberately drew his attention away from Tatijana. She knew her instinct for protecting her sister was extremely strong, but for whatever reasons, even as she worked feverishly to draw the lightning to the shadow, she had disturbed his traps enough to draw him to his victim.
She felt evil pouring into Igor's brain through the dark portal. Xaviero came fast, just as she had predicted he would. He'd already been seeking his three remaining Lycans, wanting news and to get as much damage as possible from his puppets before they, too, were cleansed or killed.
I know you're here.
His voice alone made her shiver, those cold fingers, like death, wrapping around her throat, ready to squeeze the life out of her while he smiled down into her eyes.
He doesn't know it is you, Zev whispered into her mind. He's fishing. Don't take the bait. Keep working. You might trap some part of him here.
Branislava pushed aside centuries of terror and called on the fire. She lived for that heat. The red-orange flames and white-hot energy. Always inside of her, she felt the magma smoldering, waiting for a chance to erupt in whatever form possible, whether intense passion, her mage spells or soaring through the sky, the fire was always close. She nearly forgot to control the energy leaping to her, ready to do her bidding.
She directed the fine point of a laser at the mark and began burning it away. She made certain she took the matter around the shadow as well, giving Xaviero no place to hide. It took time, time she didn't know if she had, but there was Zev and she had to trust him to watch out for her while she worked.
What are you doing, Xayvion? This was done for both of us. Your work with the Jaguars was beyond compare. Xaviero added the flattery in his most admiring tone. We are so close to the completion of our plan. With Xavier gone, we have to be more innovative. Turn Lycan against Carpathian. I've waited for centuries for the perfect opportunity and I've found it.
Branislava felt a small surge of triumph. Xaviero was so certain only his brother Xayvion could oppose him, he hadn't considered the lowly girls he'd tormented in the ice caves. They were beneath his notice other than for his amusement when he was bored.
She kept working, using the laser point of the lightning to move the burn along the outer edges of the portal, shrinking the area so that Xaviero could see that his choices were diminishing rapidly. If he wanted to escape, he would have to leave. Everything in him wanted a confrontation.
He struck hard and fast, the entire brain swelling, pressing into the outer edges of the skull so that the Lycan began to seize violently. Branislava had no choice but to stop her work and aid Igor or she would lose him. The moment she did, he would know his brother wasn't his opponent.
Keep working. Shrink his escape route, Zev advised. If you begin to counter his every move, he will win this battle. Concentrate on removing that mark. I'll do what I can to protect Igor each time Xaviero throws something at him.
Zev made sense. The longer the portal was open, the more damage Xaviero could do. But she didn't want Zev in harm's way. She kept working, forcing herself to be methodical and careful. Using the fine laser point of hot energy to burn away the shadow was difficult with Igor seizing.
Zev used his healing energy to move around the brain and take down the swelling, carefully avoiding moving fast, rather drifting through the fluid in an effort to keep from drawing the High Mage's attention. The seizures slowed and then stopped without Xaviero being any closer to knowing the identity of his enemy.
There was a small stillness that boded ill. Branislava continued to work, burning away the mage-shadow from the outside to the inside, narrowing the portal as quickly as possible without permanently h
arming Igor.
Without warning, worms erupted through the brain matter, tiny wiggling white worms with teeth. They appeared starving, biting viciously at the brain as if they would devour it. This time, Branislava knew she had no choice. She had to rid Igor of the malevolent creatures, or he would die in spite of all she had done. With trepidation, she opened her mind to counter his spell.
Zev blocked that opening solidly, refusing to give Xaviero a point of entry. Use the laser to burn them away. Don't let him draw you into a match of spells, or give him any clue to your identity.
Branislava did so immediately, skimming the laser over the brain much like a fire-breathing dragon. She had much skill in this kind of warfare and used her knowledge to rid the brain of the terrible worms feeding on it. They blackened and turned to ash even as she turned back and relentlessly continued closing the mage-shadow.
Xaviero shrieked his rage, erupting into a temper tantrum, something she remembered vividly from her centuries encased in ice. A thousand spears of ice pierced every conceivable spot of Igor's brain, striking everywhere, countering the lightning spear. There was no way to avoid the dangerous icicles stabbing from every direction.
Zev countered with heat, melting them, but not before both of their spirits were pierced with the mage's weapons.
How bad are you hurt? he asked anxiously. He was pierced through and through and felt as if his body was bleeding from dozens of wounds.
I can do this.
There was a hitch in her voice that caused him concern, but he had to trust her. Keep working, he advised. I'll do my best to work on Igor's wounds.
Some of them are deep. You have to repair them or we'll lose him anyway.
Branislava bit down hard on the need to hurry. She was so close and she didn't dare make a mistake, but her spirit felt ragged, torn, so thin, her strength waning. She couldn't get a boost from Zev, he was using everything he had in his attempt to save Igor and counter Xaviero's attacks.
She kept the laser in continuous motion, slowly squeezing the portal until it was almost nothing. She dared not feel triumphant yet. Now was the moment Xaviero had to make a decision. Did he try another attack and risk a part of him being trapped? A good mage could use that small part against him. Or did he flee without knowing the identity of his opponent?