Chapter 20

Evil Battles

“DAMMIT, SEBASTIAN! You can’t stay out here in the woods alone,” Zachary declared when they reached Sebastian’s lean-to in the woods.

“As I’ve said for at least the dozenth time, I’ll be fine,” Sebastian replied impatiently as he braced his hand on the lean-to’s roof to orient himself. “Ever since I came to Sanctuary, I’ve lived out here.”

“Yes, but you weren’t blind,” Zachary shot back just as impatiently. “Not only will you be out here alone, but without your sight, you can’t find your way out of the woods.”

That’s the whole point, Sebastian thought. Once the talisman filled him with lust, he’d be stranded out here and couldn’t possibly find his way back to Sarah. He wasn’t, however, about to share that information with Zachary. It was too . . . personal.

Aloud, he said, “If I want to come back to town, I’ll connect with you and you can come get me.”

“But—”

“Drop the subject, Zachary. I have my reasons for doing this. Get back to Sarah. I don’t want her left alone for any longer than necessary.”

“I think I should stay with you,” Zachary persisted. “What if the talisman starts affecting you or tries to cocoon you with its lightning? You won’t see it coming, so you won’t be able to protect yourself. Let me contact one of the other warlocks and tell him to go to the clinic and guard Sarah.”

“No,” Sebastian stated firmly. “With Lucien disoriented, you’re the most powerful warlock in the coven. Sarah’s confined, but she can still use her powers. If she does, I need someone there who has a better than even chance of thwarting her.”

“Come on, Sebastian. The way she reacts to our magic even a child could stop her. All they have to do is cast a simple spell over her.”

Sebastian scowled. “I told you that a spell can only be used against her as a last resort. I’m serious, Zachary. Even the simplest spell could kill her. If for some reason you have no choice but to use one on her, revoke your spell the moment she collapses. Remember, Sarah’s in this predicament because Ulrich Morgret let Seamus Morpeth take a piece of the talisman out into the mortal world. We are responsible for what’s happened to her, and it’s up to us to make sure that Sarah is protected and cared for for the rest of her life.”

“I realize that,” Zachary said, sounding frustrated. “But I just can’t dredge up much sympathy for her at the moment. She may not be responsible, but she’s still the reason the coven’s in jeopardy. If you insist that I go back and guard her, I’ll do so. However, let me at least send someone out here to be with you.”

“Look, Zachary,” Sebastian said. “I’m wearing the talisman’s triangle, so I’m as potentially dangerous to the coven as Sarah is. We’re even more dangerous if we’re in proximity to one another. As long as Sarah and I are separated, the talisman won’t be able to carry out its plans for us. That’s why I want to be out here alone. If someone is with me, the talisman may persuade me to make that person take me to Sarah. If no one’s here, then I won’t be able to go to her. So go back to Sarah and protect her. Now.”

“Fine,” Zachary muttered. “But if you need anything . . .”

“I’ll contact you,” Sebastian lied, knowing that the moment Zachary was gone he’d cast a spell over himself that would stop him from sum­moning anyone if the talisman was involved. He wouldn’t allow himself even the slightest chance of getting back to Sarah. To ensure the spell was effective, he would add an incantation to make it irreversible until the battle with the talisman was over or he was dead.

“Well, I guess I’d better go,” Zachary said, still sounding reluctant.

“Yes, and, Zachary, I do understand your feelings toward Sarah,” Sebastian said. “I know it’s hard for you to sympathize with her when the entire coven—hell, all of mankind—is in jeopardy because of her connection with the talisman. But try to put this into perspective. The talisman managed to corrupt Seamus and Ragna Morpeth beyond redemp­tion, and they were not only mates, they had a child to protect. They were also in contact with the talisman for only a short time.

“Sarah has been in contact with the triangle her entire life, and she’s alone in the world,” he went on fervently. “Unlike Seamus and Ragna, she’s bound to no one and has no compelling reason to fight against the talisman. Considering those circumstances, she should have caved in to the talisman the moment it focused on her. But she hasn’t caved in, Zachary. She’s fought against it every step of the way. Because she has, we still have a chance to survive. So keep that in mind when you’re dealing with her.”

“Hell, when you put it that way, I feel like an idiot for treating her like I have,” Zachary stated gruffly. “I’ll take good care of her.”

“Thank you,” Sebastian said. “Now please go to her. I don’t want her to feel as if she’s been abandoned.”

“I’m out of here,” Zachary replied.

Sebastian sighed in relief as he listened to the warlock leave. He also felt damn guilty about deserting Sarah the way he had, but at least he’d made sure that Zachary would give her the respect she deserved.

As soon as he could no longer hear Zachary’s progress through the woods, he murmured the irreversible incantation that would keep him from summoning help from the coven. Once he felt the spell take hold he eased into the lean-to and groped around it until he found his sleeping bag. Unrolling it, he lay down and closed his eyes, wondering how long it would be before the talisman started tormenting him with lust.

His eyes flew open when a man suddenly drawled contemptuously, “That was a very touching speech you gave about Sarah. Am I crazy, wicáhmunga, or have you had the bad taste to fall in love with the conniving bitch?”

For a moment, Sebastian thought he was dreaming. But then he heard the man walking toward him. He bolted upright and pivoted his head toward the lean-to’s opening. “Who the hell are you?”

“John Butler the third, but I have a Ph.D. in archeology, so you may call me Doctor Butler,” the man replied. “I’m pleased to say we won’t know each other long enough to get on a first-name basis.”

“How did you get onto coven land?” Sebastian questioned harshly as the man’s identity sank in. He’d fled Sarah, but he suddenly realized that lust wasn’t what the talisman was going to use against him. It had brought him a cold-blooded killer, and now that Sebastian had cast the spell, he couldn’t even summon help to fight him.

“I am The Power, wicáhmunga,” Butler replied with bravado. “Unlike you and Sarah, I’m not affected by the clash of magics. I can go where I want, when I want, and the wreath doesn’t affect me.”

“Clash of magics?” Sebastian repeated warily, latching on to that particular phrase.

“Why, wicáhmunga, you pride yourself on being the most powerful warlock alive,” Butler taunted, and Sebastian barely refrained from scooting deeper into the lean-to. He knew that Butler knelt in front of it. He could feel and smell the man’s hot, rancid breath against his face. It turned his stomach. “Are you telling me that you haven’t figured out the problem with the magics?”

“No, I hadn’t figured it out until now, but I suspect you didn’t either. The talisman told you, didn’t it?” Sebastian countered.

“How I know doesn’t matter.”

“It does when you make it sound as if your knowledge makes you superior to me, and we both know the opposite is true. If it weren’t, the talisman wouldn’t have kept you closed off from me all this time.”

“You are not superior to me!” Butler yelled furiously. “The talisman has chosen me, and it is going to give me the power and the glory I deserve. As soon as the bitch gets here, I’ll prove that to you.”

As the implication of Butler’s words sank in, Sebastian shuddered. Even though he knew to whom the man referred, he said, “Who are you talking about?”

“Sar-ah,” Butler said, drawing her name out in a lascivious drawl that made Sebastian’s skin crawl.

“She’ll be here soon, wicáhmunga, and I’m going to show her what she gave up when she chose you over me.”

Sebastian wanted to ask what Butler meant by Sarah’s choice, but he sensed that was the response the man sought. Instead, he said, “Sarah’s confined, Butler. She isn’t going to get anywhere near this place.”

“See! That proves that I’m superior to you,” Butler declared with a malicious snicker. “Sarah’s magic may be more primitive than yours, but with my help, she broke out of the magical cell in which you imprisoned her. She’s on her way here to tell you her exciting news, and I bet you can’t guess what it is.”

“You’re right. I can’t guess,” Sebastian said, determined not to play the man’s game. He again cursed the fact that he’d cast the spell cutting him off from help. Zachary couldn’t be that far off, but with the spell in place, he might as well have been a million miles away.

“Well, I hate to steal Sarah’s thunder,” Butler said. Then he let out another malicious chuckle. “No, that’s not true. She’s a Thunderbeing, and I have every intention of stealing her thunder, but I’m going to tell you her news anyway. You’re going to be a father, wicáhmunga. Or I suppose I should say you would have been a father. I’m going to make Sarah kill you, and then I’ll kill her and your bastard son.”

Sebastian shook his head in disbelief. Sarah couldn’t be pregnant! A warlock couldn’t father a child until he mated. The talisman was trying to pull a scam on him, and he couldn’t fall for it.

But what if Butler’s right? his conscience prodded. What if, by some unknown means, Sarah and you became mates? What if she really is pregnant?

Sebastian rubbed his hand over his face, trying to decide what to do. Somehow he had to gain the upper hand with Butler, but how could he do that when he couldn’t even see him?

Trick him into restoring your sight!

How? Sebastian wondered frantically, searching his mind for an answer.

“What’s the matter, wicáhmunga? Is impending fatherhood too big a burden for you to bear?” Butler mocked.

At the question, Sebastian suddenly knew how to fight back, and he forced himself to shrug dismissively. “Do what you want with Sarah and the child. I’m blind and can’t see what’s happening, so why should I care what you do to them?”

Sebastian heard a horrified gasp at his words, and his heart skipped a beat. The gasp hadn’t come from Butler, so who had it come from? Had Zachary disobeyed him and returned? He sure as hell hoped so.

But Butler dashed his hopes, and Sebastian shook his head in horror when the man let out a demonic laugh and drawled, “Why, Sarah. I see you’ve arrived in time to hear that your beloved wicáhmunga doesn’t give a damn about what happens to you and your child.”

AS SARAH STARED at Sebastian, who sat in a lean-to built against the side of a mountain, his words kept repeating in her mind. Do what you want with Sarah and the child. Why should I care what you do to them?

She knew she should feel anger or pain, but she felt oddly numb. She could understand him not caring about her. But how could he not care for his own child? How could she have misjudged him that badly?

“Sarah, listen to me,” Sebastian suddenly said, jerking her out of her thoughts.

“Oh, yes, Sarah, listen to him,” Butler mocked as he stood and swag­gered a few feet away from the lean-to. “Now that he knows you’re here, I’m sure he’s going to tell you how he really feels about you. He’ll probably declare his undying love and promise that if you join forces with him to fight against me, you’ll be together forever. Of course, you’re so damn gullible and emotionally needy, you’ll probably fall for that lie, just like you’ve fallen for all his other lies.”

“And of course you’ve never lied to me,” Sarah said, anger suddenly flaring inside her. She welcomed the emotion. It was better than the empty, hollow feeling she’d had since hearing Sebastian reject their son. “You’ve always had my best interests at heart, haven’t you, John Butler? That’s why you plan to kill me and my son.”

“I would have shared everything with you, but you want to steal the power and the glory from me,” he rasped, glaring at her. “Well, you can’t have it, because it belongs to me!”

“It doesn’t belong to you. It belongs to me and my son, and I’ll prove it to you!” she declared furiously.

“Sarah! No!” Sebastian bellowed, and she saw him crawl out of the lean-to and climb to his feet. He stumbled blindly toward her, saying, “Don’t connect with the talisman or you’ll be lost. Please don’t do it, Sarah. You have to save yourself.”

Sarah hesitated at his urgent plea, but then she recalled that he didn’t care about her or his son. He was only trying to save himself. Grabbing her triangle, she cried, “Come to me!”

The entire sky above them filled with the whirling lightning wreath. As three lightning bolts streaked toward them, there was a deafening boom of thunder. The bolts struck the individual pieces of the talisman and then arced between Sarah, Butler, and Sebastian so that they were joined in a continuous flow of electrical energy.

Sebastian and Butler screamed in agony and fell to their knees. Sarah, however, felt no pain. The lightning’s touch filled her with euphoria, and she tossed her head back and laughed, reveling in the exhilarating sensation. Why had she fought so hard against something so wonderful?

“Sarah, please! You have to stop this,” Sebastian gasped painfully. “You’re killing me and Butler, and if we die, you really will be a monster. The talisman will make you destroy everyone, and when you’re the last person alive, it will destroy you!”

She lowered her head and scowled as she glanced between him and Butler. Butler lay on the ground, writhing in pain as the lightning seared him. It also burned Sebastian, and though his tormented expression revealed his suffering, he still knelt.

“You can no longer fool me, wicáhmunga,” she stated derisively. “You’re just like John Butler. You want my power. But the power belongs to me and my son. The son you were willing to let die!”

“That’s not true, Sarah,” Sebastian denied. “I was trying to trick the talisman into restoring my eyesight.”

“Why do you insist on lying to me!”

“I’m not lying, and I can prove it. Link with my mind, Sarah. You know I can’t hide the truth from you mentally. Please, Sarah. Link with me before it’s too late.”

“You’re trying to trick me. You think that if I join with your mind, you can control me and steal my power.”

His body swayed. Sarah was sure he’d collapse to the ground like Butler, but he managed to remain upright. “I don’t want your power, Sarah, and deep down you know it. That’s why you’re afraid to touch my mind.”

“I am not afraid!”

“Then prove it. Link with me and show me just how powerful you really are.”

She continued to glare at him, knowing that he tried to trick her. But for some strange reason, she felt compelled to do as he asked. She opened her mind to him, but before she even meshed with him, she knew that he told her the truth.

That didn’t stop his thoughts from hitting her with stunning force, and she fell to her knees with an anguished sob. But it wasn’t pain that tortured her. It was the wave of undiluted love that washed over her as Sebastian mentally chanted, I love you, Sarah. I love you.

No! the talisman’s voice bellowed inside her. He is your enemy! You must destroy him!

Sarah shook her head, confused. Every survival instinct she had screamed at her to kill Sebastian. But her heart, her soul, insisted she release him from the lightning. She knew, however, that to let him go she would have to turn the lightning on herself, and she and her son would die. She couldn’t sacrifice her son for Sebastian! But she knew that if she didn’t, her son would grow up to be exactly what she’d envisioned. The personifica­tion of evil.

Wanága, help me! she cried instinctively as she broke off her connection with Sebastian’s mind. I don’t know what to do!

You know, Sarah, Wanága responded. But are you strong enough to make the right choice?

Why do I have to make a choice? You said you were here to destroy me, so destroy me!

I cannot destroy you, Sarah. You are no longer the last of the Thunderbeings. It is up to you to decide if your son will walk in darkness forever.

Sarah automatically pressed her hands to her abdomen. She knew her son was no more than a microscopic bit of life, but now that she had her powers, she could feel him nestled within her womb. He trusted her to give him life.

She looked at Sebastian. His body was still wracked with pain, but his expression revealed his love for her. At that moment she knew that if she turned her back on love and sacrificed Sebastian for their son, she would not only lose her own capacity for love, but her child would be born without the ability to love. He wouldn’t even care for her, his own mother, nor she for him. And what was life without love?

Nothing. She’d lived her life starved for love, and there was no way she would condemn her child to that kind of soulless existence. She had to destroy herself and her son to keep them from becoming the talisman’s evil chattel.

Before she could lose her nerve, she clasped her triangle and cried, “Kill me!”

“No!” Sebastian bellowed. “You can’t die! I love you!”

“I love you, too,” she cried as the lightning wreath cocooned her for the last time.

“SARAH! SARAH, answer me!” Sebastian yelled, panicked as he heard the familiar whirring of the lightning wreath. “You can’t die! I won’t let you die! I love you, Sarah! Do you hear me? I love you!”

When she didn’t respond, he lurched to his feet and stumbled forward. He had to get to her. He had to save her. He loved her. He needed her. She couldn’t die. She couldn’t!

He was so frantic that he’d taken several steps before he realized that his sight was back. He stopped walking and shook his head in horror as he stared at the cocoon that had enveloped Sarah. The lightning didn’t whirl around her. It struck her unrelentingly, leaving no doubt in his mind that it would kill her.

“No! I won’t let you kill her!” he yelled at the talisman as a combin­ation of fear and rage surged through him.

Without even thinking, he murmured the words to the most powerful spell he could think of and flicked his hand toward the cocoon. Spell-lightning leaped from his fingers and shot across the small clearing. As it hit the talisman’s lightning, there was an explosion of brilliant light.

Blinking frantically, he ran toward Sarah. He reached her just as the last of the light faded and the cocoon disappeared. He dropped to his knees beside her and let his mind brush against hers. There was nothing, not even a tiny glimmer of life.

WHERE AM I? Sarah wondered as she studied her surroundings. She hovered in a void that was neither dark nor light, but had the shadowy shading of dusk.

Wanága suddenly appeared in front of her in his full battle regalia, “You are in the world between life and death, Sarah. It is here that you will make the final choice. It is time for you to know all.” Before she could respond, he said, “You do not have much time, Sarah, so you must listen to my story without interruption. Do you understand?”

“I understand,” she said.

He nodded. “I am your ancestor—a Thunderbeing. This name was given to us because of our control of the lightning. When I lived, we felt as if we were gods, and we often made choices of life and death that only the gods should make.

“Our people lived beside the waters that you call the ocean. One day a big ship of wasičuns came to us across the water. With them was a wicáhmunga known as Aodan Morpeth.”

“Morpeth?” Sarah gasped involuntarily, despite Wanága’s instructions to remain silent.

“Yes, he was Seamus Morpeth’s ancestor,” Wanága confirmed. “We feared Aodan, because he had greater magic than we did. The braves of our tribe met to see how we should deal with him. Many wanted to kill him, but I felt we should try to steal his magic so that we would be more powerful.”

He stopped speaking and shook his head wearily.

“I befriended Aodan, and I learned that his people were not allowed to kill, even to defend themselves. I told him that we had to kill, because many tribes were jealous of us and wanted to destroy us. Aodan said it was still wrong for us to kill people less powerful than us. We argued about this often. One day Aodan suggested we combine our magics and create a talisman that would protect the Thunderbeings from harm so we would not have to kill.

“I agreed to do this,” Wanága went on, “but I did not want a protective talisman. I wanted to make one that would steal Aodan’s power and give it to us. When we made the talisman, I deceived him, and then I took the talisman and used it to destroy our greatest enemies.”

He stopped and shook his head again. “What I did not know was that by using the talisman for death, I made the magics fight each other. It changed the talisman from good to evil, and instead of protecting my people, it made me destroy them. When Aodan found out what happened, he came to me. By then there was only a handful of my people left. When Aodan made me see what I had done, I was horrified, but the talisman had gained so much power, it could not be stopped. Aodan tried to reverse the magic, but it was the Thunderbeing’s magic trapped within the talisman and he could not release it. He said that the only way he could stop it was to take it back to his world. I gave him the talisman and he left with it. Then I killed myself for punishment of what I had done.

“But I was not allowed to move on to the spirit world. I thought it was because of the curse I placed on my people. Only when you were born was it revealed that I could not rest because the talisman was back and you were the last of the Thunderbeings. Through you, it would unleash our magic and destroy the world. That’s why I came to destroy you.”

“So why didn’t you destroy me?” Sarah asked, confused.

“I could not bear to see our people no longer exist because of what I had done, and as long as your mother, who was also a Thunderbeing, lived, you were not the last. But when you were five years old your parents were killed, and I knew I had to act. But I still could not bring myself to kill you, so I brought you to Leonard. He had a piece of the talisman and he had not been made evil by it. I hoped that Leonard could teach you how he did this so that I would not have to destroy you.”

“Then my mother didn’t abandon me?” Sarah gasped.

“No, Sarah. That was the talisman’s way of hurting you to make you turn to it. Your mother loved you as deeply as any mother can love her child.

“But our time here is almost out, and it is time for you to make your final choice. Both John Butler and the wicáhmunga live, and by your refusal to kill for the talisman, you have destroyed it. Its evil will no longer torment you, but you carry the wicáhmunga’s child. This child will have both the wicáhmunga’s magic and the magic of the Thunderbeings. He is the beginning of a new race—the most powerful race that has ever lived.

“If he is born, his destiny will be a tormented one. Because of his extraordinary powers, he will constantly be faced with the choice between good and evil. If he chooses the path of good, he will bring great change to mankind. If he chooses the path of evil, he will destroy the world. The choice you must make is whether to let him live, which means you will also live, or let him die, and you will also die.”

“Why are you giving me this choice?” Sarah asked in bewilderment.

“It is not I who gives it to you, Sarah. It is the great spirits of the universe. You chose the right path and redeemed yourself when your destiny dictated that you fail. You did this because the love you share with the wicáhmunga is so strong and pure, it gave you the strength to make the right choices. Now you must decide whether you want to give this same choice to your son.”

“But if I make the wrong choice about him . . .”

“I’m sorry, Sarah. Your time is gone. You must make the choice now.”

Sarah stared at him in bewilderment. She wanted to live, and she wanted her son to live. But knowing the adversity his future held, would it be fair to give him life?

Suddenly, Sebastian’s voice echoed in her mind, I love you, Sarah. Please come back to me!

Tears filled her eyes at the heart-wrenching pain in his voice. It also wiped out her doubts. Sebastian loved her, and she loved him. At that moment, she knew that together they could save their son.

“I choose to live,” she told Wanága.

“I’m glad,” he said. “Now it is time for me to go. I can finally rest in peace.”

Before she could tell him goodbye, Wanága disappeared. She wanted to call out to him, to beg him not to leave her. He was her friend and her mentor. How could she survive without him?

As the question tormented her, she felt Sebastian hug her close and say, “You’re alive! Sarah, open your eyes. Please, open your eyes and tell me you’re all right!”

Sarah opened her eyes and gazed up into his beloved face and knew that she no longer needed Wanága. She had Sebastian.

“I love you, Sebastian,” she whispered.

“I love you, too,” he said hoarsely and lowered his lips to hers.

When he raised his head, she said, “I’m sorry for everything I did to hurt you.”

“Sarah, there is no reason for you to be sorry, and no pain you subjected me to could hurt more than the thought of losing you. Somehow I’ll find a way to free you from the evil the talisman implanted in you so we can be together for the rest of our lives.” Tears welled into her eyes and she reached up and touched his face. He thought she still suffered from the effects of the talisman, but he loved her anyway.

“Wanága says that by defeating the talisman, I freed myself from its evil,” she said. “Of course, your people will want more than my word as proof, and I’ll do whatever they ask as long as I have you by my side.”

“You couldn’t get rid of me if you wanted to,” Sebastian rasped. “You’re bound to me forever.”

As he again lowered his lips to her, Sarah knew that her final choice had been the right one.