Magic's Muse, page 18
“I had another reminder of the length of the leash that binds me to the tree.” Cathal got directly to the point. “Considering where I was, it should not have happened to that degree of severity.”
“You must have felt it yourself with one of those visions you get,” Tomas butted in. “You did last time.”
Will shook his head. “I felt and saw nothing. My ability can be intermittent at times, so it is not surprising.” He studied Cathal. “More severe than it should be, you say?” His brow furrowed. “Do you have any idea why?”
“I felt something earlier,” Cathal remembered. “The weight of the enchantment grows heavier with each day.” He averted his eyes when Tomas stared at him. “There are times when it is difficult to think clearly, and my vision is beginning to blur from time to time. I have not spent this much uninterrupted time in this world since the enchantment was cast, so I don’t know whether this is supposed to happen.” He shrugged. “Perhaps Irene is beginning to close the portal, and I am feeling the effects of it like this because of the way time flows differently between our worlds.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Tomas cupped Cathal’s face, raising his chin so that they were facing directly. It had to be the portal closing. If it was because of their relationship and the way it had affected Cathal’s ability… Tomas shivered. He wouldn’t think about that. Not unless there was no choice. “You came off a horse, Cat.” There had to be another more rational explanation for it. Didn’t there? “It could be delayed concussion or something. Do I need to phone Dr. McKenzie?”
“I was fine this morning when we last spoke,” Cathal explained evenly. “This has nothing to do with my earlier fall. I know magic when I feel it.” He bit his lip, opened his mouth to continue, and stopped.
“And?” Tomas prompted. What now? Surely this couldn’t get any worse?
“The pain I felt earlier reminded me of when the original enchantment was cast.” Cathal’s eyes were unfocused. For a brief moment, there was a sense of real fear in his voice, but it passed quickly to be replaced by something much more detached. “I doubt its passing will be pleasant either.”
“Of course it won’t.” Tomas wrapped one arm around Cathal’s waist. How much pain was he talking about? Why hadn’t he mentioned this before? Fuck, those bloody mages needed to pay for what they’d done. “I thought we had this conversation already about hiding stuff.” Not telling Cathal about feeling his reaction didn’t count. It wasn’t as though he’d done it deliberately, and he had intended to tell him. He just hadn’t had the chance yet. “So, what can we do about this? Is there anything we can do?” He turned to Will. The guy seemed clued up about this magic shit. He had to know something. “I felt Cat and knew he was in trouble. Could being able to do that have something to do with the portal starting to close?”
“You felt him again?” Will’s eyes widened.
“What do you mean, again?” Cathal glared at Will. “You knew and you didn’t tell me?”
“It wasn’t my place to tell you, Cathal,” Will said evenly. “You know that.”
“He’s my betrothed!” Cathal matched his friend’s expression and tone. “I needed to know!”
“Cat, Will, please. We can worry about the etiquette of all this stuff later, okay?” Tomas hoped he sounded calmer than he felt. “I’m not one of you guys. I shouldn’t be able to do that, right? Unless it’s all part of what happens when we… umm… mated.” He grimaced. For some reason the word brought with it the memory of the nature programs he used to watch on TV as a kid. “Is that really the right word for it? Can’t we use consummate instead?”
“Consummate then, if you prefer, although it means exactly the same thing.” Will seemed amused by the request. “Hmmm….” His eyes glazed over as he took the time to assess the situation. “I do not know how it is for others, but Amelia always knew if something was amiss and I was in danger. It usually only lasted a moment until the danger had passed, and she certainly did not experience what I did. Your abilities are not mine, though, Cat, and I was not under an enchantment when we ma….” He glanced at Tomas, the side of his mouth twitching, although he wisely didn’t continue. “Perhaps that is the difference?”
“So it will stop once this enchantment thing is broken?” Tomas wasn’t sure whether he wanted it to or not. While he didn’t like feeling Cathal’s pain, it brought with it the reassurance of knowing when he was okay too.
“I do not know.” Will shook his head. “There is more than one form of magic at work here, and I don’t know how much they’re interfering with each other. I’m sorry, Tomas, but my knowledge of such things is limited.” He studied the ground. “I’m no expert. There’s still so much we don’t know, and there have been so few matings between our worlds.”
Surely it shouldn’t matter who came from what world? Tomas scowled. The only difference between them was whether this weird stuff was called magic or science.
“Perhaps it will settle in the same way my abilities should the longer we are together?” Cathal suggested. He brushed the fingers of one hand against Tomas’s arm, almost absently, his attention still focused on Will.
“They still haven’t?” Will frowned. “I would have thought they would have by now.”
“No. I can sense some people more strongly than others. I did not feel Ethan’s approach this morning at all, or his emotions, but I can feel Tomas’s emotions as strongly as though they were my own. Yours not so much, Will, but still more than I used to.”
As strongly as though they were his own?
Oh… crap. Tomas flushed. Did that mean everything? Cathal looked up and smiled, his fingers tightening on Tomas’s arm. A sudden wave of warmth went through him, bringing with it a strong feeling of reassurance and everything being right with his world. It reminded him of when they made love.
Cathal didn’t mind. He really didn’t mind. He wanted this too. Tomas smiled back shakily and tried to project his own feelings for Cathal. Cathal’s smile grew wider, and he mouthed the words “I love you.”
Will shrugged, either oblivious to the silent conversation or choosing to ignore it. “Christian knows more about such things than I do, and his wife was of this world. He may be able to shed more light on the matter.”
“His ability is a little different to ours,” Cathal reminded him, “so that might make a difference too.” He linked his fingers through Tomas’s. “Tomas knows nothing of this. This affects him now, so he needs to.” He and Will exchanged a glance. “I know this would usually be Christian’s decision to make, but he is not able to at the moment.”
“How different?” Of course they wouldn’t be the same. That would be too simple. “Are all abilities different? Aren’t some people from your world able to do the same stuff?”
“On occasion, yes.” Will’s face shadowed for a moment. “Often an ability is passed from parent to child, but there is never a guarantee that it will. Even with the marriage laws that exist, there are fewer of us who possess abilities with each generation.”
“Oh.” Tomas connected dots. “So that’s why those mages of yours are so paranoid about you guys marrying peasants and all that?”
“Something like that, yes. Our family can trace our lineage back to those who originally fled your world to settle ours, which is why we all have abilities and it is my uncle who sits upon the throne.” Cathal took a deep breath. He felt nervous. Despite his earlier words, breaking the etiquette he and Will had spoken of earlier did not apparently come easily to him. “Christian has the ability to move objects without touching them,” he said finally.
“Telekinesis?” No wonder Christian had expected something to happen when they were escaping from Deryn’s dungeon and he’d placed his hand over the locked door. Perhaps he was out of practice, as he’d muttered just that when nothing had happened. Considering certain other things that had happened, he damn well better be. “Can he still do it as a cat?”
“Yes,” Cathal confirmed.
“Bloody hell.” Tomas muttered something about missing towels and keys under his breath before testing the swear word he’d just learned. No wonder Christian had teased him so much about what had happened. It had been a close call, having to dash naked across the hallway from the shower to his room, only to find his keys were missing and Donovan was coming up the stairs.
Cathal stifled a grin.
Tomas glared at him. It only served to make the grin grow wider, although there was a glint of something else in Cathal’s eye that suggested he rather liked the idea of Tomas naked and dripping wet.
But then they knew that already.
“I did not realize you knew of these abilities in your world.” Will seemed surprised at Tomas’s ready acceptance of it.
“I toyed with an idea of writing a book with my characters having psychic powers once, so I did a bit of research on the subject,” Tomas explained, amused a little by Will and Cathal’s puzzled expressions. It was a welcome change to be the one having to explain something for a change. “In your world, your abilities are thought of as magic. In mine we have a more scientific explanation for them, hence the different terminologies. Sensing others’ emotions is called empathy, seeing the future, precognition, and that ability to move objects, like Christian can apparently do, is called telekinesis.” He paused, thoughtful. “Although I think that Cat’s is a little more than just empathy, with the way he has a sense of people rather than just feeling their emotions. From what I understand of it, it sounds more like clairvoyance or some form of telepathy.”
“Telepathy?” Cathal had listened to Tomas’s explanation intently. “Can you show me the research you’ve done?”
Tomas couldn’t help but smile. He’d known as soon as he’d started talking that Cathal would want to read it. He had a huge appetite for knowledge, and this was about something very close to home. Luckily Tomas still had the notes on it in a folder on his laptop somewhere. He tended to keep stuff like that, just in case the proverbial plot bunny decided to bite again.
“Of course, love, although I’m no expert.” Tomas shrugged. Having both men focused on him so intently was more than a little unnerving. “As I said, I read up on it when I was thinking of writing about it, but I didn’t end up going with that direction so I moved onto something else. The rest I’ve picked up from the science fiction and fantasy stories I’ve read. In science fiction, it would be called telepathy, while in some fantasy stories it’s referred to as mind-speaking. It depends on what the author wants to use.”
“This isn’t fiction, Tomas, and I’ve heard of mind-speaking, although I’ve never met anyone who possessed the ability. It’s very rare.” Will seemed intrigued by the idea that what he perceived as fact was read as fiction by others. “I wonder if some of these stories are a result of the visits to your world from ours.”
“It’s not just fiction here either,” Tomas corrected him. “There are documented studies done of these kinds of abilities.” There was also a disturbing flip side to what he’d read, especially in fiction. He instinctively drew Cathal closer. His eyes narrowed as he struggled to contain the anger he felt at the thought of his beloved, of any of his friends, in the hands of someone who might perceive them either as a threat or something very useful. “One of the really common themes in what I have read is that the military and secret government organizations often use people who can do this stuff as weapons.” He bit his lip. “You can’t tell anyone about what you can do. It could be dangerous.”
“We have the same warnings in our own world, Tomas. It is why we tend to keep the knowledge of what we are capable of between ourselves and those we trust.” Will glanced at Cathal with an expression that was part disapproval, part exasperation. “Unfortunately, sometimes those who appeared trustworthy as children are not as adults and, despite what some of us believe, would not hesitate to use the information against one of their own to get what they want.”
Tomas did not miss the reference or the look. He frowned. “Please tell me that Deryn doesn’t know what you can do.”
“Of course she does,” Cathal deliberately kept his tone light. Will rolled his eyes. Tomas glared at both of them. “We were children, Tomas, and her family and mine were close. We grew up together. She is very much aware of all of our abilities, although mine have evolved somewhat since you and I mated.”
“Faolan and Kane were still developing theirs when her father died,” Will added, “so she might not know of theirs, but mine, Cat’s, and Christian’s she definitely does.”
“My brothers’ abilities were developed enough that it was obvious what they were.” This situation with Deryn just kept getting better and better. At least now, it was all out in the open between them. At least he hoped it was. “But then, we know her strengths and weaknesses too, so she does not necessarily have the upper hand because of it.” Cathal smiled at Tomas. If he thought that would be enough to put Tomas at ease about all of this, he had a lot to learn. “She is also unaware that we now have a strong sense of each other, so depending on what happens when the binding enchantment is broken, it might work to our advantage.”
“So if she decides to torture you, I’ll feel it, know exactly what she’s doing to you, and have all the more reason to kill her,” Tomas said softly, the words out of his mouth before he could stop them.
Fuck it. The last thing Tomas wanted was to feel Cathal d― No! He wasn’t going there. He refused to. It wasn’t going to happen. Not while he drew breath to stop it.
“I….” The smile disappeared from Cathal’s face. He looked around, suddenly fearful. “Oh God, you’d feel it. I hadn’t thought. I’m so sorry.” His voice shook. “I… I thought if you knew I was safe you’d know and wouldn’t have to worry like you did when they took me last time.”
“Yeah, because if they take you again, you’re going to be safe and there’ll be nothing to worry about.” Tomas shivered. He ran his hand gently over Cathal’s back. “I saw the bruises, Cat, and you still have marks where she whipped you.” They were healing quickly, but he remembered all too well the way Cathal had flinched when touched there that first night together. “That bitch hurt you, and she’ll do it again.”
“I will not….” Cathal began to protest, but Will held up his hand to silence both of them before the conversation could deteriorate further.
“Deryn is already aware of your feelings toward each other. If she finds out about this, she won’t hesitate to use it against you, either of you. You’ve taken someone she perceived to be hers, Tomas. You’re as much of a thorn in her side as Cat is now.”
“Perhaps this ability to feel each other like this will fade,” Cathal said. He didn’t sound convinced.
“I don’t want it to.” There, he’d said it. The more he’d thought about it, the more Tomas realized he didn’t want it to go back to how it was before. He liked being able to feel Cathal’s emotions and to have a sense of his presence even when he wasn’t there. It felt right. He felt complete, as though he’d found a part of himself he hadn’t known he was missing. “And if it doesn’t, we’ll find a way so that she can’t use it to hurt you.”
“I’m more concerned about her hurting you.”
“Whatever.” Tomas kissed Cathal hard, putting all the emotion he could into it. “Everything’s got a good and bad side, love, and if the portal closes and we’re here, it’s not going to be a problem anymore, is it?”
Chapter 13
CATHAL curled in closer to Tomas, who was sleeping soundly in bed next to him. Despite their conversation with Will that day, and the discussion later, Tomas had drifted off to sleep, drowsy and content, after making love.
But instead of the warm body he was expecting, there was nothing there.
His eyes opened, and he glanced around in a panic. Tomas?
Something moved in the shadows of their bedroom. It reached for him, cold tendrils brushing against his skin, wanting more, thin slivers leaving a trail of pain over not just his body but his mind. He twisted this way and that, trying to break free, but their touch grew still colder, a cord wrapping around him preventing him from moving.
Sweat ran down him, despite the feeling of ice, of darkness. A whimper escaped his lips.
“Tomas!”
The room shimmered, changing shape into a landscape that couldn’t be real, his magical bindings solidifying to hold him fast, constricting around him when he tried to break free.
Can’t escape. This is your fault, your punishment.
He was bound to the tree. It was rough against his back, his arms pulled tightly behind him to embrace a reality he didn’t want, had never wanted.
This couldn’t be real. It was another nightmare. It had to be.
Closing his eyes and then reopening them didn’t change where he was. Didn’t bring back the comfort of the bedroom he and Tomas shared. Instead, stretching around him on all sides was the gray of a dirt field, a place where nothing could grow but despair.
A lone figure stood in the distance, struggling against those who held him. A deep staccato filled the air, then was no more.
Tomas!
The figure crumbled to the ground and lay still.
Cathal heard himself scream again. “Tomas!”
His surroundings grew hazy, the bitter smell of enchantment burning at his nostrils, catching at his throat, making him cough. He was in a graveyard, standing in front of a freshly dug grave. His bonds constricted again, then loosened, just enough so that he could bend to read the inscription on the stone.
No! Please no.
Cathal dropped to his knees, his restraints unraveling with what was left of his life. “I tried,” he whispered, finger caressing the marks on the smooth marble. A dragon peered down at him, watching, accusing.
His breathing came in gasps, tears running down his cheeks. Rain began to fall, lightning rent the sky. Cathal curled in on himself, trying to escape the nightmare. “I’m sorry. God, I’m sorry.” His voice broke. Pain wracked his body. He fell onto his hands, still on his knees.
