A Touch of Magic, page 21
part #8 of True Mates Generations Series
“All right.”
The rest of the ride was mercifully silent, and Sabrina stared out the window, her heart pounding as they drew closer to the city. Finally, they arrived on the east side of the park, right by the Metropolitan Museum.
“We’re here,” Zac announced as he cut the engine. “Let’s go. We’ll head ’round the building.”
“They’re supposed to meet at The Obelisk behind the museum,” Astrid explained as they got out of the car. “Our guys are hiding in there,” she pointed with her chin at the museum building. “Lizzie’s keeping the alarm and surveillance system busy, and a majority of our forces are waiting inside, and they’ll sneak out the back once it’s time. ‘You’”—she did air quotes to signify she meant the glamoured witch—“and Cross are going to walk up to The Obelisk while a small backup force is coming in from the other side.”
“It’s just after midnight,” Sabrina said woefully. “Are we too late?”
“We can’t give up yet.” Astrid grabbed her hand, and they hurried to the back of the Met Museum.
Up ahead, Sabrina saw the massive Egyptian artifact, rising up ominously above them. Growing up, she’d always loved going to the Met, yet she’d only seen The Obelisk, or Cleopatra’s Needle, a few times. It was supposedly made in 1460 BC in Egypt and then transported to New York in the 1800s. Lights blazed around the impressive granite structure, making it look ominous, though right now, her focus was on the people at the foot of the monument. Her heart stopped as she recognized Cross’s form among the hooded figures.
“… impostor!” someone shouted, followed by a scream. “Where is she?”
Fear for her father’s and Cross’s life made adrenaline pump into her veins, and Sabrina ran as fast as her legs could carry her, up the set of stairs that led to the base of The Obelisk.
“If you don’t tell me where she is, I’m going to kill Strohen!”
“No!” she screamed as soon as she reached the top. “Please! Don’t!”
Cross, who was bent down next to the figure crumpled on the ground, turned toward her. “Sabrina?” His face turned visibly pale. “Sabrina, no—”
“Woman. Come closer,” said one of the men in the hooded robes.
“You can’t have her!” Cross got to his feet and took a step forward. “I—”
“Move an inch and they die.” The mage gestured to his right. Jonathan stood, unmoving, his eyes were open but looked straight ahead, like he didn’t see or hear what was happening around him. Beside him were two men wearing dark suits, also frozen and glassy-eyed.
She sent Cross a pleading look, then turned to the mages. Slowly, she approached them, her heart hammering wildly in her chest. She noticed there were a dozen red-robed figures standing around a white marble table, while three more mages stood off to the side.
“Finally,” the mage in the middle of the trio said. He was tall, and unlike the other mages, he had long, straight gray hair that fell down to his shoulders. “Welcome, dear Sabrina. Those dogs might have fooled everyone else, but I could see through their tricks.”
Sabrina’s eyes immediately went to the necklace around the mage’s neck. It was silver with a blue jewel in the middle. She didn’t know why, but it was like it was calling to her …
The mage smiled. “You can sense it too. Sense the power of Magus Aurelius’s necklace.” He glared at the unconscious figure by Cross’s feet. “That’s how I knew she was a fake. I couldn’t sense the ring. But you,” his gaze dropped to her right hand, “you’re the real deal.”
The ring seemed to get warmer around her finger and sent a shock of electricity up her arm. “What do you want? Please, I’ll do anything. Just let them go.”
“Oh, you will, my dear,” he said. “But—” The mage gasped as several figures began to materialize behind Cross. “You damned dirty dogs!”
“You’re surrounded,” Daric said. “You won’t leave this place alive.” Sabrina recognized most of the people who had transported in with the warlock from that day they came to New York and met the Alpha—Cross’s mother, Meredith, Julianna, Duncan, Elise, and—Ransom? What was he doing here?
“You traitor,” he hissed at Daric. “You think I don’t know how your feeble little minds work? I know you’d come prepared, and so did we.” He turned his head toward the mages around the table. “Now.”
Three of the mages linked their hands together and began to chant, then something began to rise from the circle they formed—like a red energy beam that rose to the sky, reaching the top of The Obelisk, then trickled down and formed around them, like some kind of red glass dome. Once the area was fully enclosed, they stopped chanting.
“Now you’re all trapped in here,” the mage cackled. “No one can get in or out,” he glared at Daric. “And if you try anything, remember that I can end Strohen and your cohorts’ lives with a snap of my finger. Now,” he turned to Sabrina. “Come here.”
“This is what you want, right?” She lifted her hand, showing him the ring. “Why did you give this to me in the first place? Why didn’t you just let me die? Why come for it now?”
The mage’s face twisted in hate, and red bloomed under his ashen complexion.
“Krogan,” one of the mages said impatiently. “We told you to move on from the errors of your past. There’s no need to rehash things. Just get the ceremony done. We’ve already wasted so much time.”
Krogan let out an indignant growl. “May I remind you, if we had not given Strohen the ring, then we would never have been able to get the funds to build our army and contacts.” He turned to Sabrina. “I should have left you dead,” he said. “But that wasn’t part of the plan.”
“The plan to get my father’s money, you mean? In exchange for saving my life?”
The mage let out an evil laugh. “Saving your life? My dear, we were the ones who took it.”
Her throat went dry as the knot in her stomach grew. “What?”
“After our master Stefan’s defeat in Norway, those of us who were left banded together and gathered everything that the master had left in the various strongholds around the world. During our search, we found the manuscripts of Magus Aurelius. Also among the master’s things were priceless magical artifacts, including the necklace. We worked out how to use the necklace eventually, but the manuscripts were in an ancient language no one spoke anymore, so it’s taken us years to translate everything. Volumes and volumes of spells and instructions that we could only dream of.
“However, that ring”—his gaze turned to hate as he looked down at her hand—“was the most useless piece of junk we recovered. It had the power of death and life—in the most literal sense. It could only kill a living being and then bring it back to life. That’s it.” His yellowed teeth ground together. “That’s when I came up with the brilliant plan, one that would help fill our coffers and help our cause. And you and your mother were the perfect candidates.”
“No …”
“Yes, my dear. I glamoured myself to look like one of the hospital nurses and then poisoned your mother while she was giving birth to you. As soon as you were born, I used the ring to kill you. Once your father was alone, I reappeared as myself and revived you, then told him it was the only thing keeping you alive.
“We’ve kept your father under our thumb all these years by threatening to take the ring away from you, which we falsely told him would kill you again. It was a small sacrifice, but it was worth it, considering the staggering amount of money he’s funneled to us over the years.” His eyes darkened. “But it was only recently we discovered in the later volumes of the manuscripts what the ring really was. What Magus Aurelius’s intentions were for the artifacts and his final instructions for his followers. By then it was too late, and that abomination,” he sneered at Cross, “had already gotten to you first.”
Sabrina felt her knees wobble. All this time … they had killed her mother! A burning rage began to bubble inside her. They couldn’t get away with this! No, she had to make sure they paid for taking Melanie away from her and her father. “Even if I wanted to give you the ring, you bastard, I can’t get it off. Your colleagues already tried.”
“I know. And poor Azael and Selyse, along with the rest of our colleagues paid for their mistakes,” Krogan said. “But how were we supposed to know that the ring had bonded with you? You’ve become its host, its conduit for the power contained in it.” His hand clasped around the necklace. “That’s the reason we don’t let anyone use the necklace for too long. But, that’s why we’ve called you here.” He walked over to the white marble table, took off the necklace, and placed it on the table. “Get the dagger from your mate,” he ordered. “And don’t try anything funny or your dear father dies.”
Hands clenched at her sides, she slowly walked over to Cross.
“Sabrina, why?” he asked softly. “I sent you away so you could be safe. So this wouldn’t happen.”
“I know,” she said. “But that’s why I had to come back.”
Blue-green eyes searched hers. “What do you mean?”
“Do you trust me, Cross?”
“Yes.”
“Then you have to give me the dagger,” she whispered. “Please.”
Though he hesitated for a few seconds, he reached into the small satchel at his side and then took out something long wrapped in cloth. “Sabrina … I love you.”
She took the dagger from him. “I love you too.”
“What’s taking so long?” Krogan barked. “Stop dawdling, and come back here.”
After one last glance at him, she turned on her heel and walked back. She wished she could reach out and touch and kiss Cross, but she knew what had to be done. Sometimes the only way to change the future is to follow its path. She could only hope she understood the meaning correctly.
“Put it on the altar,” Krogan instructed.
Her hands shook as she unwrapped the dagger. It was much longer than what she’d imagined a dagger to be, but not as long as a sword. On the pommel was a green jewel, and just like the necklace, it seemed to call to her too. Another shock of electricity shot across her skin as she held it in her hand and placed it on the table next to the necklace.
“What exactly are you planning to do?” She glared at him with all the hate she could muster. “Kill me so you can have the ring?”
“Not quite that pedestrian, my dear,” Krogan replied. “I just need you to transfer the power back to the ring and break the bond. That way, we can finally have all three artifacts back together as they were meant to be. Now, stand in front of the altar,” he instructed. “And take the dagger and the pendant in your hands.”
Her heart beat a tattoo into her rib cage as she followed his instructions, picking up the dagger in her left hand and the necklace in her right. Heat began to spread, and the ring seemed to throb around her finger. “Arghhh!” She screamed as white-hot pain shot up her arms.
“Don’t you dare let go!” Krogan screamed. “Not until it’s done!”
She wasn’t even sure she could let go—it was as if the necklace and dagger had melded to her hands. Even as she flexed her fingers open, they stuck to her palms. The pain intensified, making her double over and brace her elbows against the altar as she struggled to stop herself from passing out. The dagger and the necklace finally separated from her hands, and to her surprise, the ring slid right off her finger. Someone shouted her name as she felt her legs give out from under her.
“I got you.”
Before she hit the floor, arms wrapped her up and pressed her up against a hard chest. The scent of minty chocolate told her who it was. “Sometimes the only way to change the future is to follow its path,” she whispered. “That’s what Gunnar said.”
His entire body tensed, but he held her closer. “Sabrina … I thought you were going to die.”
“I—”
“Fools!” Krogan cackled loudly. “Now I’ll have them all!” He slipped the ring on and raised the dagger and necklace triumphantly.
“No, no, no,” Sabrina shook her head. “I thought that—” A deafening howl cut her off. She blinked as a large gray blur sailed overhead. “What in the—”
“Ransom,” Cross said as he helped her get steady on her feet. “I can’t believe it.”
The large gray wolf had leapt over them and rammed straight into Krogan, and now they lay tangled in a heap. The mage let out a scream and reared an arm back, then plunged the dagger into the wolf’s chest.
Sabrina screamed. “No!”
Cross held his breath, then something changed in his expression. “Hold on!” His arm snaked around her, tucking her in against him.
Everything happened so fast, she barely had time to blink. She felt that coldness around her, but then it was gone. “What the …” She glanced around. They were at the edge of the force field dome the mages had created, sheltered under some cherry blossom trees. “Cross?”
He was kneeling down beside the gray wolf. “Stay still,” he told the wolf. “It’ll only hurt more.”
Cross must have transported them away from the altar, but because of the dome, they could only get this far. “Stay here and don’t move,” he instructed. “I’ll be right—”
He disappeared, and two seconds later, he was there again, along with her father and two other men. “Back,” he finished.
“Dad!” she cried, hugging him. “Dad …” He didn’t move, so she hugged him tighter, but he remained eerily still, staring into nothing.
“The potion will wear off,” Cross said. “But for now …” He knelt down next to the wolf. It wasn’t moving and its breathing was labored. “Thank you,” he whispered, then grabbed the end of the dagger and pulled.
A loud crash muffled the wolf’s pained cries. She looked back toward The Obelisk and saw that everything had erupted into chaos. There were several wolves attacking the mages, but aside from that, she saw all kinds of projectiles being hurled about—electricity, fireballs, rocks, park benches. She even saw the two Almoravid in the fray, holding their own. Krogan lay by the altar, all bloody and torn up, a hateful expression on his face as he realized their side was losing.
“Goddamn you!” he screamed. “We have the ring and the necklace, fall back!” Three mages formed a circle around him and began to chant.
What were they doing?
The red glass dome receded around them. “Cross, look!”
He looked up, then realized what was happening. “Fuck! He’s getting away with the other artifacts.” He glanced down. “I can’t leave yet. I’m not done dressing the wound.” He kept his hand over the gray wolf as bandages magically appeared over its chest.
A realization swept over her and Gunnar’s words came back to her. “It’s all right, Cross.” She squeezed his shoulder. “It’s all going to be all right.”
“But they’re getting away!”
“It’s done,” she said. “We’ve changed it. We changed the future, don’t you see? I’m still alive. Everyone’s alive.”
“I—” His ocean-colored eyes went wide. “You’re right. Gunnar said the ending wasn’t set in his new vision.” He got to his feet and looked down at the wolf. “This should help you for now, but we’ll have someone see to you as soon as we can. Just hang on, Ransom.” He raised the dagger up. “Thanks to him, we’ve at least managed to keep this one.”
“But the ring …”
“They still need all three together.” His brows wrinkled together. “But now … how could it …” His expression changed.
“Cross? What’s wrong.”
“I think …” He took a sharp intake of breath. “I just realized something … but I’ll have to wait until we’re all done here to try and figure out if my theory is true.”
“Looks like everything’s going to be all right.” She nodded back toward The Obelisk.
Most of the mages were lying dead on the ground, while the two who were remaining were tied together as Elise guarded them, her hands raised up, blue light crackling from her hands as she formed what looked like an electrified cage around them. Daric and Meredith, on the other hand, were going around checking that the mages were all dead. Duncan had an injured Julianna in his arms and gently laid her down on one of the park benches that hadn’t been thrown around or burned up.
“Sabrina! Cross!” Astrid jumped over the railing to get to them, Zac behind her. “Thank God! It’s all over.”
Cross embraced his sister, then exchanged a quick backslap with his brother-in-law. “For now, anyway.”
“Will he be all right?” Zac asked, glancing down at Ransom.
“Yes, I got the dagger out and dressed his wounds.”
“Let’s go get cleaned up,” Astrid said.
“Saving the world’s messy business,” Zac said with a laugh as he kissed his wife on the cheek. “Now comes the fun part.”
Astrid rolled her eyes. “Right. The cleanup. AKA, my job.”
Cross had brought Sabrina, Ransom, Jonathan, the two Lycan bodyguards, and Julianna to the medical wing of The Enclave so the latter three could get checked up, then went back to The Obelisk to help with the cleanup. As Cross said, whatever spell or potion her father was under eventually wore off. Although Jonathan insisted he was fine, Dr. Blake nevertheless ordered he stay overnight for observation.
“I’m not injured,” he grumbled as he lay back on the hospital bed.
Despite his grumpy disposition, Sabrina was just happy her father was all right. She gave him a kiss on the forehead. “Please, Dad, just stay at least until morning? I want to make sure there’s no lingering side effects of whatever potion they gave you.
“Fine,” he said.
In the next bed over was Julianna, who was being fussed over by her husband and decidedly not enjoying it. “For Christ’s sake, MacDougal, you’re worse than my mother!” She swatted his hands away. “The fireball just grazed me and the nurse patched me right up. I’ll be fine in a couple of days.”
“Och!” The Scotsman exclaimed. “You’re my mate, and I’ll hover over you as much as I want.” There was a flash of grief in his eyes. “Darlin’, I don’t know what I’d do if I lost you.”
