The brisk San Francisco breeze chilled Silver’s naked flesh through the opening of her robe. Her hair was still damp from sweat and she had barely stopped trembling from the fight with the demons.
The use of gray magic had sapped much of her strength and she’d had to let herself recover, at least a bit, before she could do this.
It all came down to this moment. She would do what she had to do. To save the city and the D’Anu Coven from the evil that now preyed upon them. The evil that had taken her Sisters and Brothers less than two hours ago.
From where she stood on the beach, distant lights glittered along the Golden Gate Bridge. She was hidden in a small cove surrounded by solid rock that could not be seen from the road and could only be accessed by a narrow footpath. It was a place of power, of great magic, that had been known only to—and protected with spells by—D’Anu witches for generations. Here she usually felt safe and secure, and able to perform her necessary rituals.
Would she ever feel safe again?
She pushed away the hood of her white robe and allowed the open garment to slip over her shoulders, down her arms, so that she was completely skyclad. The satin landed in a soft pool that glowed on the pale sand in the light of the waxing moon. The robe landed beside her familiar, Polaris. The python hissed and raised his head.
The air smelled of brine and fish, mixing with the almond scent of her body oil, and the sandalwood incense burning on the altar at her feet. Waves slapped the shore, the constant ramble of the ocean throbbing in time with the throbbing of her heart.
Fear tasted bitter on her tongue, but she knew she had no choice. She had to perform the ritual. For the future of the planet.
If dark triumphed, if those demons won out, the world as Silver knew it—as everyone knew it—would end. Not fast. No. Not merciful, either. A long, cruel, and bloody massacre.
It was up to Silver to save the D’Anu witches, her city, and maybe much, much more.
Rhiannon. Mackenzie. Would Silver’s precious friends live after what they’d been through?
Will I be able to save them?
Yes! I will not allow doubt to cloud my thoughts.
Thank the Ancestors she had been able to protect Cassia, and that Eric had been at his home, ill. She had forced Cassia to remain behind at the Coven’s well-warded shop, instructing her to further ward the floor in addition to the wardings protecting the rest of the store and apartments above it. The D’Anu had never expected something to come up from the ground.
Her reasons for leaving the apprentice were twofold. They needed the extra warding done and in no way was the young witch ready to perform the powerful ceremony Silver was attempting this night.
This would be the greatest risk Silver had ever taken. She would draw down the strength of the moon...and she would attempt to summon the Tuatha D’Danann.
Would Hawk be one of those who answered her call?
She shook off the thought. She had to concentrate. “Ancestors, help me now,” she whispered.
Polaris curled around her feet, and she felt the strength of his support and an inkling of his magic. At least the familiar agreed with her.
“Get busy, Silver.” She tried to relax and set aside the constant thoughts of the attack. It wouldn’t do to be tense during the ceremony. “Stop thinking about what can’t be changed,” she said as she stepped away from Polaris. “Think only about what you can do now.”
Drawing her athame from her box of ceremonial supplies, she gripped the worn ebony handle. The double-edged dagger had been passed down from generation to generation in her family’s long line of witches, and contained strong magic.
She laid the athame upon an engraved pentacle on the wooden altar, alongside other tools of her Craft—a flickering white candle, smoking sandalwood incense, a silver chalice of purified water, and a plate of salt. Sand shifted beneath her knees as she knelt before the altar and held her hands, palms down, over the dagger. Polaris was now curled up beside the altar, watching her, his tongue flicking out as if telling her to proceed.
Silver’s voice rose above the crashing waves as she chanted.
“Athame, athame, steel for me.
In the name of the Ancestors, I consecrate thee.
Athame, athame, gray as the sea,
In the name of the Ancestors, I consecrate thee.
Athame, athame, true and free.
I consecrate thee, so mote it be.”
Silver projected protective energy from her body into the tool as she chanted, then picked it up. She trickled salt over the instrument for the Element of Earth, then passed the blade through incense smoke for Air, through candle flame for Fire, and finally sprinkled the athame with fluid from the chalice for Water.
When she finished, she eased upright, sand moving and whispering against her bare feet. With her right arm straight out in front of her, the athame pointing east, she slowly turned clockwise while she chanted, “Earth, Water, Fire, and Air, I cast this circle true and fair.”
At the same time she spoke, a magical circle cut the sand, following her movements, surrounding her and her familiar. Wind buffeted her naked body, but not a grain of sand trickled into the circle she drew from the air. The white candle and incense on her small wooden altar continued to burn, barely flickering in the rising breeze.
A silver crown was perched upon her hair, the upturned crescent moon positioned at the center of her forehead. Her silver and amber pentagram swung above her bare breasts and began to heat. The silver snake that curled around her wrist grew as warm as the pentagram while she closed the circle. The snake was her totem, and her familiar a python. Both added strength to her magic.
With a wave of her hand, candles flickered to life where she had placed them at the cardinal points.
Green at the north, for the Element of Earth; blue to the west, for Water; yellow at the east, for Air; and red to the south, for Fire.
Throughout the time she spoke the ritual words, made the ritual movements, and consecrated her space, Silver fought the feeling that she needed to hurry or all would be lost. She couldn’t rush it. If she didn’t perform the ritual properly, all would be lost, of that she was certain.
When she finished her preparations, Silver set the athame on the altar and stood at the center of the circle. She already felt the power of the waxing moon overhead, and the power of the moon ritual. She tipped her head back, closed her eyes, and raised her arms to either side of her, palms up, her feet firmly planted in the coarse sand.
The crescent moon graced her supple flesh with its white glow. She could see it in her mind’s eye, traveling over her skin, caressing her in unabashedly sensual ways. She felt the power and strength of the Ancestors streaming from the moon, down from the night sky, and through every pore in her body.
A strong tingling sensation started at her belly and worked down to her legs, her toes. At the same time a tickling feeling moved up to her chest, her arms, her fingers, her face…until her long hair rose at her scalp, stirred about her shoulders, and brushed the small of her bare back. The spirit of the Ancestors, the great Druids, filled her, the energy vibrating through her entire being until she joined with them and they became as one.
When her body trembled with the force of the joining, Silver uttered a small prayer. “I am thankful for your graciousness. For the life you have given us. For the Elements of Earth, Air, Water, and Fire. I ask of you now to allow me to call upon the Element of Fire that will invoke the Tuatha D’Danann to save all your children.”
She waited for a moment and the tingling in her body grew stronger. She felt a gentle push at her mind and knew the Ancestors were gauging her intentions.
A caress, as warm and light as a summer breeze, slid over Silver’s skin and radiant warmth filled her. She smiled. The Ancestors had blessed her. Had anointed her with their power.
“Thank you,” Silver said in a voice as clear as the night.
She felt Polaris curl about her feet, channeling his magic through her. She kept her eyes closed and started the summoning. She imagined a tiny spark as small as that of a match, even smelled the hint of sulfur. The flame in her mind flickered, growing stronger until it was the size of candlelight. The odor of burning tallow filled her senses.
Pushing harder with her magic, she caused the flame in her mind’s eye to sprout to the size of a blazing campfire, and she smelled hickory smoke. With another nudge, it roared into a bonfire. Wood crackled and the fire hissed and spit like snakes. The smell of burning wood—this time a wild blend of pine, oak, and ash—was strong in the night air.
Forcefully, Silver pushed and shoved with her magic until the bonfire in her mind erupted from the ground. The earth shook and cracked. A cone pushed through the fissure, expanding, thrusting upward, rising until it became a volcano spewing forth lava. Smoke ringed the crater, sparks rained on blackened rock, and lava oozed from its cavernous mouth.
The image burned so brightly in Silver’s mind that sweat coated her once cool skin and her body blazed with fire. The heat of the volcano burned through her and she could almost smell the sulfur, could almost feel ash coat her skin, and an occasional spark pock her naked flesh. Even her bare feet practically ached with cuts from the ancient lava rock she stood upon.
In the fierceness of her vision, Silver called upon the D’Danann.
“Winds from the South, call those who would heed.” Her voice rose as she spoke above the booming volcano. “Bring warriors to save many souls in need. This day I cry for all those now lost. This day I cry for the coming cost.”
She took a deep breath before she cast the spell that would bring her people’s saviors... Or their doom, if she invoked beings who were neutrally aligned, who believed the destruction of her city was the natural order of things.
With all her heart she knew the D’Danann were truly the only beings who could help the witches.
If they chose to do so.
“Fire, burn bright, to bring the Tuatha D’Danann,” she said in her most powerful voice, and she felt her familiar’s magic enhance her own. “Guardians of good, from far away. I call on the D’Danann for balance and light. I call to the D’Danann, come now to fight!”
Silver’s entire body shook with the force of the volcano’s eruption, and lava shot into the murky sky clouded by volcanic ash.
The heat of the volcano eased as her vision turned to that of a forest, green and lush.
Silver saw men and women standing in a circle on a mossy carpet of grass—men and women with wings! Huge wings of multihued feathers. Some white, some black, some blue, among other colors. Large, powerfully built men and women with finely sculpted forms.
At the center of the circle stood a single man.
Hawk.
Tall, proud, with long dark hair, and broad shoulders leading to a muscular chest, tapered hips, and powerful thighs. He wore only black from head to toe, just as she remembered. He spread his wings, dark against the green of the forest. And his eyes...a warm amber that heated her through, reminding her of that first meeting.
She shivered.
The D’Danann heard my call. They will come now.
The vision of the forest faded, and in its place returned the volcano. Its heat was so intense she felt nearly afire with it. Polaris hissed and she knew he felt it, too.
She forced the image of the volcano back, back. In her mind the volcano melted into itself, disappearing into the fissure in the ground until the fire was as big as a burning building. It decreased gradually to the size of a bonfire. Sweat coated her naked skin and trickled between her breasts.
In her mind she gathered the bonfire into a smaller space, containing it in a rock-surrounded campfire, then made it smaller yet, until it was but candle flame. She mentally extinguished the flame until a thin trail of smoke was all that remained. All pain she had felt from the vision vanished.
Her eyes still closed tight, Silver let out a soft sigh, then caught her breath.
The ground rumbled and bucked beneath her feet. The ocean roared with the power of a tempest. Sparks burst behind Silver’s eyelids and turned to flame. A cold blast of air slammed into her body. The Ancestors were surely ordering the Elements of Earth, Water, Fire, and Air to answer her call.
Thunder crackled in the sky, in a city where there were rarely, if ever, thunderstorms.
Then all went quiet.
Heart pounding and limbs trembling, Silver opened her eyes.
The beach was empty.
A sigh of disappointment eased through her. The only movement was the fog creeping in from the ocean along with the endless pulse of the water as each wave rolled up along the shore, retreated, then pushed its way up the sand again and again.
Where she hadn’t felt the chill of the night because of her magic, it now wrapped around her, causing her to shiver, and goose bumps to rise along her skin. The remnants of burning candle wax mixed with the sandalwood incense and the strong salt and fish smell of the ocean.
There was no sign of anything else.
How could that be? The D’Danann heard her. Hawk had heard her. She was sure of it.
Maybe we aren’t worthy. Maybe they chose to leave us to our fate.
Heart heavy, she slowly closed the circle. She extinguished the candles and incense, and started to gather her ritual supplies and put them back into the wooden trunk. What would she do, what could she do now, alone? She had to contact Jake and the PSF, of course, but could they actually do anything to help? Would their guns be able to fight off demons?
Somehow she didn’t think so.
Silver took off her crescent crown and tossed it into the box. In a bout of frustration she whirled and kicked the sand, scattering it across her altar and over the white candle.
Polaris hissed and turned his head toward the sky.
Silver’s hair rose along her arms. She heard the whump of wings. Large wings.
Louder. And louder yet.
A shadow marking the moon jerked her attention to the dark sky. Through the night she saw an even darker object approaching, closer and closer. She stepped back, heart beating so hard her chest ached. When it came closer still, she froze, unable to move.
A tall winged being came to an easy landing, his boots sinking into the soft sand as he touched down. Wind from the push of his wings slid over her body in one small gust.
Hawk. Hawk alone.
He flapped once more, revealing an impressive wingspan. The metal of his sword glinted in the moonlight. He was exactly how she remembered him, the cut of his jaw, the powerful physique, the dark hair reaching his shoulders. He stood just feet away and she could easily see his eyes were just as intense and a deep clear amber as she remembered.
“Hawk.” Silver swallowed and brought her attention back to the reason he was here. “Where is everyone else? Where are the other D’Danann?”
Hawk couldn’t take his gaze from the beautiful woman posed before him. Her lithe body was gods-created perfection, every naked curve meant to be caressed by a man’s hands.
Her nipples peaked from the ocean breeze, her long hair floated about her shoulders like pale silk tumbling nearly to her hips. Moonlight graced her skin. The silver snake wound around her wrist, its amber eyes glowing like twin candle flames.
He raised his gaze and Silver’s eyes locked with his.
A low rumble of desire rose within Hawk. Her chest rose and fell with the heaviness of her breathing. He fixed his gaze on her delicate features. Slightly dazed, he could only stare at the one who had summoned him.
And then he saw the snake.
His heart began to pound like hammer against steel.
All the old memories, the old fears and anger burned within him.
The large beast rose up from beside Silver, its tongue flicking and its intense black eyes focused on Hawk.
His fear and fury heated him through as he drew his sword, his eyes never wavering from the slithering beast.
“What are you doing?” Silver asked, her voice barely penetrating the anger that had overcome him at the sight of the snake.
“Step away, Silver.” He moved forward, his gaze fixed on the huge beast as he raised his weapon. He would slice the snake’s head off. One clean blow.
From the corner of his eye he saw Silver’s gaze flick to the snake and back to him as he stealthily approached. “No,” she said firmly as she stepped in front of the creature. “This is my familiar, Polaris. Don’t you dare try to hurt him.”
Hawk was a mere foot from Silver now. The snake curled around her legs and began winding its way up her naked body until she held it in her arms.
She petted its head casually with her fingertips. “Put your weapon away.”
Heart still pounding, mouth still dry. Hawk met Silver’s gaze. “You have a snake. As a familiar.”
She cocked her head, her hair floating around her shoulders in the breeze. “You have a problem with that?”
Gathering his warrior’s mien, Hawk sheathed his sword and hardened his expression. “I merely thought it might attack you.”
Starting with its head, Silver unwound the eight-foot snake from her body and deposited the beast on the sand. Hawk could swear the snake was laughing as it flicked out its tongue and studied him with those fathomless black eyes.
“Polaris isn’t dangerous, unlike other pythons his size, and he won’t grow any bigger,” Silver continued. “He’s well over a hundred years old from what I know of him, and he has strong magic.”
Hawk just watched the snake.
“They usually don’t get that old, but like I said, he’s a familiar.” Silver bent over and Hawk’s attention was drawn to her breasts as she scooped up her white satin robe, then straightened and began shrugging into it
Every movement she made was sensual. His gaze traveled from her breasts to her slim waist, over the curve of her buttocks, down her elegant legs, and all the way to her delicate ankles. Gods, the woman was beautiful.
She has a snake. A damned snake.
When she had cinched the robe at her waist, hiding her body from his view, she gave him an amused look.
Then her expression changed to one of concern. “Where are the rest of your people?”
Hawk found his voice again. “I alone answered your summoning.”
“A-alone?” Silver couldn’t believe what he’d just said. “How can just one D’Danann fight so many Fomorii?”
“How many came to your world?” Hawk asked.
“At least a dozen, I think. I don’t really know.” Silver couldn’t help the tremble in her voice. “They have at least two Basilisks, as well.”
She pushed her hair out of her face as she continued. “The Fomorii took my Coven tonight. Everyone but me and two apprentices.”
“Basilisks?” The word came out of his mouth like the vilest of oaths. Anger, loathing, and something more was on his strong features. He shook his head, as if to shake away the images of the creatures that clearly affected him.
“Godsdamn.” Hawk’s jaw tightened and his eyes were like amber flame as he went on. “I had hoped with the strength of your Coven we might end this war before it starts.”
Silver shivered at the mention of war. It brought to her images of death, destruction.
Darkwolf.
“We have no choice now,” she said. “We need the D’Danann.”
“The Chieftains have not made their determination yet.” Hawk scowled. “I came at the bidding of the Great Guardian, against the wishes of the Chieftains.”
Hope sank within Silver’s belly like a rock tossed into a pool. “If they don’t come soon, I’m afraid of what might happen. I don’t know why they took the D’Anu witches.” She paused. “Unless they mean to keep all of us from fighting them.”
“Or force you to aid their cause.” Hawk wore a harsh look of anger.
It was Silver’s turn to frown. “The D’Anu would never help such evil. They wouldn’t even help me summon the D’Danann when I asked them to.”
Hawk simply watched her. “I must search for their lair at once. Will you be all right to return to your home alone?”
“Of course.” Silver tossed her hair over her shoulder. “I can take care of myself.”
He gave her a respectful bow from his shoulders. “Then I will see you when I have finished scouting.”
Before Silver could say a word, he spread his beautiful wings, flapped them hard enough that sand swirled around her feet, and began his ascent into the sky.
And then he simply vanished, the night cloaking him as if he’d never been there.
Silver stood for precious seconds, her heart pounding in her throat as she stared at where Hawk had been. A mixture of emotions whirled through her like foam on the waves swirling against the shore and back again.
Hawk came, but no others.
And then she frowned. How would he know where to find her again?