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"She said to come alone And that is precisely what I intend to do" Vlad hovered near theRhiannon, while the other two mortal women stood a short distance behind her They looked nervous, as if they expected a vampiric battle to break out at any ht in the crossfire "And frankly, I&039;, Rhiannon And the scroll"

He held out a hand, palm up, and looked into her eyes

She held them in one hand but didn&039;t offer the to force hith in numbers, Vlad And she&039;s not one of us She&039;ll never know if I&039; in the shadows nearby, ready to back you up, if needed"

"And since when does Dracula require backing up?" he asked "Rhiannon, she&039;s a mortal A sick one, at that"

She pursed her full lips and stared at hi volumes "She&039;s your wife," she said

The words penetrated Theclarified in his mind "You don&039;t trustwith you That&039;s all and that&039;s final If you want to prevent it, Vlad, you&039;ll have to killto do that" She shrugged and ain, hers less serious this time "Moreover, I don&039;t think you could bestto try"

"Don&039;t bet your life on it"

Rhiannon locked her gaze on his "I never thought it would co to Stor now" She et to it

Vlad threw his will at her, hitting her squarely in the chest with a surge of energy that stopped her in her tracks and lared at hi and the scroll, Rhiannon"

She flung out an ary that knocked hi crashed to the floor

He righted himself, shook off the pain and hurled his powerful will at her much harder than he had before Rhiannon flew into the air as if hit in the gut by a wrecking ball, landed hard, on her back and struggled to suck in a breath of air

Vlad lunged at her then, straddled her, and searched her until he found the iteown He took theaze at her face, to touch her cheek as she blinked to clear her vision "I&039;m sorry, Rhiannon You left me no choice"

Then he turned froh the front door and into the night Regret gnawed at his soul But he hadn&039;t harmed her Not truly Hurt her, yes, but she would suffer no lasting effects In fact, she would likely be strong enough to follow on his heels within the hour So he&039;d best hurry

He whirled, right there on the steps of Athena House Spun like a top, gaining momentuiant raven, he flexed his wings, beat thes and took to the starry sky As he ether had ended in the past He let thethey would stiffen his resolve to do what he knewa way to solve the riddle that had become his life He stood beside Terave, and he watched her stare at the ground that bore no es of tihed its way past The stars still shone down on her resting place

Rest That was a bitter joke, wasn&039;t it? There had been no rest for his beloved No peace, not in all this tio?

Why couldn&039;t he find it still?

Te at intervals She rubbed her arms with her hands as if she were cold, and he put an arht," he said "Perhaps we should go-"

She whirled on hi into his Black, black as coal "Do not think to leave me here, Vlad! Do not dare think it!"

He recoiled, taken unaware by the sudden change in her But he knew she was not Te into the eyes of his beloved, of his Elisabeta

He lifted an unsteady hand, touched her face "I wouldn&039;t leave you"

"You have!" she accused But she didn&039;t pull away from his touch Rather, she covered his hand on her cheek with her own, leaned into it, closed her eyes "You&039;ve abandoned me to this existence, trapped, unable to return, unable to move on I want to return, Vlad I want to be with you I will never give up"

Tears sprang into his eyes, though he fought them "You shouldn&039;t have taken your own life, Beta You should have waited for me Gods, if only you had waited"

"I have waited All these centuries, I&039;ve waited And now I&039;ve found you again Don&039;t let her come between us, Vlad Don&039;t let her take me away from you"

"I-" He searched her face, unable to speak, because it was as if she knew exactly what he&039;d been thinking

"She wants to, you know She wants to be force me back into that infernal netherworld that&039;s neither life nor death That lio back there, Vlad I will not"

"I won&039;t let that happen, Beta Not if I can prevent it"

"She wants you for herself," she whispered

He lowered his head

"I&039;ll never let her have you"

Vlad&039;s head rose again at the venom in her tone At the hatred in her voice She did not sound like the Beta he had known

"I&039;ll kill first, Vlad I vow to you I will"

"Beta, don&039;t think that way It&039;s not-" He broke off there, becah the forest

Vlad took off after her "Wait! Beta, dammit, wait!" He poured on a burst of speed, even as the horrible scene unfolded before his eyes Beta had flung herself-no, she had flung Tempest-into the stream at its deepest point, and she lay face down in the water Her ar were holding her down She was drowning!

Vlad gripped her around her waist and chest, and hauled her, dripping, out of the water Then, turning, he took her to the grassy bank and laid her down on her back He pressed his ear to her chest to listen to her breaths and heard none But then, suddenly, her head ca froods," he muttered, and rolled her onto her side, to help her eli over, weak, and shaking now froasped, until, finally, she s As she sucked in breath after breath of air, he took off his coat and wrapped it around her shoulders

"Tempest?" he asked

She lifted her head, eyes tired and unfocused "What happened?"

"I I don&039;t know"

A twig snapped behind hi there, Roland at her side She looked furious "You know exactly what happened, Vlad Elisabeta just attempted to murder Tempest You saw it You know it&039;s the truth"

He closed his eyes, lowered his head

Rhiannon moved closer, knelt beside Te, she tugged the coat closer around her shoulders and nodded, the movement jerky "Yes I think so I mean, I wasn&039;t sure until now, but-"

Her words were cut off by another round of coughing

"We have to get her back to the castle," Roland said "She needs to get warm and dry Mortal bodies can&039;t tolerate this sort of trauather Tempest into his arms, but Roland stopped hiet her there quickly, bundle her by the fire and care for her until you arrive"

"But why?" he asked, searching the man&039;s face

It was Rhiannon who answered him "I think you knohy You knohat s we&039;ll need, for the rite of exorcisaze shot froathered her weakened, battered body into his ar well She couldn&039;t take much more of this attack-and he kne that she was indeed under attack Without the ring and the scroll, he couldn&039;t hope to help her find union and harmony with the soul he believed to be her foro on like this, either Not and survive

His tears spilling over, he no longer tried to control them as he whispered, "So be it, then"

By the time Rhiannon and Vlad arrived back at the castle, Tempest arm and dry, as Roland had proed clothes, and noore a nightgown and a heavy velvet robe, and had a blanket wrapped around her shourlders besides She was sipping hot soup fros curled beneath her in front of a roaring fire Her hair was beginning to dry, its tendrils springing into their natural curls around her face She looked exhausted, drained, as she stared into the fire

Rhiannon had explained that she and Roland, knowing full well Vlad&039;s folly could only lead to disaster, had decided to stay on another day, another night, in case they were needed Rhiannon had deliberately tuned into Tempest&039;s mind, and had picked up on her distress and located her easily

Just as well

His quest was at an end And yet a spark of hope reoal of aloodbye to Elisabeta But perhaps so of a chance would remain for himself and Tes for him were her own or a part of the possession of her body by his long dead wife In fact, he wasn&039;t even certain his own feelings were truly for her or for the woman she had been in another time, another place

And even if it turned out they did still care for one another, there was the inevitable end they both must face She was mortal She was not one of The Chosen She would die He would live on

But one thing was certain She couldn&039;t go on this way

"Are we ready to do this?" Rhiannon asked

Vlad looked at Tempest "Are you certain she can withstand it?"

"It shouldn&039;t be too trying, Vlad It&039;s only a ritual"

He nodded Tempest turned to face him "I&039;m ready," she said, her voice soft "I&039;ive her a chance"

He moved closer, touched her hand "Perhaps this was the way it was ive her that, if nothing more"

She nodded, then looked to Rhiannon "What should I do?"

"Just lie down Relax" She nodded toward the chaise that stood a few feet froripped one arm, Vlad the other, and they helped her to the chaise She slid the blanket from her shoulders as she lay down and pulled it over her instead

"Very good" Rhiannon slid a pack fro iteathered frorave, a stone from the stream where her body had landed, a vial of water she&039;d provided herself, and salt and candles, black ones A bell She gathered candles froht them to place with the rest of her ite the items out one by one Then she carried the black candles to the extreme directions of the room One on the mantle by the fire in the south, another on a table in the west, where she poured the water into a bowl A third rested in a spot she cleared on the bookshelf in the north, the fourth beside a dish of herbs in the east

She stared at the candles, and one by one they burst into flames at the sheer power of her will Then she touched one burning wick to the herbs, until they began to blaze After a moment they died flames out and left the herbs to s s

"You two sit on either side of her If Elisabeta realizes e&039;re doing, there&039;s a chance she could co the ritual, or if that fails, to try again to harm her You&039;ll need to hold her to prevent that"

Vlad looked down at Tempest, the way her eyes widened at Rhiannon&039;s words, and he stroked her forehead "I won&039;t let that happen I promise you"

When she nodded, he turned to Rhiannon "Proceed"

Rhiannon stood still for a long ht she was doing so to some force within her, or perhaps beyond herself When she opened her eyes again, she looked different,a lot

Shethe shape of a circle around the roo all of theyptian And Vlad swore he could see an ether for a sphere around them Thin, barely visible, it wavered and danced, and he had the odd sensation of being contained within a bubble of power

Then she moved to the western a curtain And he glimpsed a darkness there, a dark portal within the bubble&039;s wall

Finally she an her work She chanted over her body, and used her fingers to sprinkle it ater from the bowl Then she returned the bowl to its place and ca her hands, she wafted the smoke over Te haunting,words in a entle

Terew shallow, and she began to turn her head to the left and right

Vlad held her shoulders, wanting to speak to her, to coe and then his eyes, and told hi

She put the sing it over Tempest, over her head, her chest, her belly, her hips, her knees, her feet And now her chanting took on a

Tempest twisted her head harder Her breaths came short and sharp and fast, and she started tofrolish "Leave this body, Elisabeta Go, through the western gate and on to your reward, to rest To peace Go, Elisabeta Release this woo!"

Tempest&039;s eyes opened wide and blue She shrieked as if in agony, and her body lifted from the chaise as her back arched nearly double

Roland and Vlad gripped her, and to his aain

"Go," Rhiannon co to this plane! Go, Elisabeta!"

Te a seizure of soled to hold her, and Vlad shot a panicked look at Rhiannon "I don&039;t think she&039;s breathing She&039;s not breathing, Rhiannon!"

Her face turned red, and then her lips turned blue, and the rest of her skin tone followed

"It&039;s killing her,to work Elisabeta will not leave her alive"

Rhiannon hesitated only acontinued But then she ran to Teripped her shoulder "It&039;s ended," she said "It&039;s over Breathe again, child Breathe"

I But it was a long, long moment before she sucked in a breath so powerful Vlad wondered that it didn&039;t burst her lungs

Rhiannon sagged in relief "See to her I must attend the circle"

"Did it work?" Vlad asked "Is Beta gone?"

Rhiannon rip on our little ined, Vlad If I&039;d forced her out, she would have taken Tehed He wasn&039;t certain if it was in disappointathered Tempest into his arms, carried her to the chair nearest the fire and sat there, holding her in his lap, her body resting against his chest He held her and pondered what on earth he could do now that the exorcisy, extinguished the candles and poured the s herbs into the fireplace She turned to hi to his shoulders "We cannot exorcise the trespassing soul froth and power over her That power, Vlad, is at its peak when she is near you You know that You&039;ve seen it" She closed her eyes, and Vlad thought he gliain "You have to let her go, love For her sake, you have to let her go"

Vlad stared down at the beautiful wo deep and regular at last He stroked her hair away from her face "It won&039;t be forever, Te and the scroll Only until then I pro their softness to et," he said "Give me just a few more moments with her I&039;ll erase her memory, and then you can take her away"

"Rhiannon?"

Melina and Lupe knelt on either side of her as Rhiannon regained her senses and struggled to sit up

"Are you all right?" Melina asked

"Of course I&039;nity and pushed her hands against the floor in an effort to rise To her utter hu her arain As soon as she had her footing, Rhiannon shook their hands away "I don&039;t desire your help"

"I don&039;t blaer woested, Rhiannon I know that members of our order assisted the priestesses who tried to hold you against your will, so long ago"

"What they tried, mortal, was to kill me Had Vlad not taken me from that place, not transformed me when he did, I would have died And that was precisely what they wanted They nearly killed both of us in trying to prevent , what they did I&039;m sorry"

Rhiannon lifted her brows

"Rhiannon," Melina said "You have to know those wo in accordance with the laws of the Sisterhood They took it upon theainst you in exchange for the realms of wisdom those priestesses promised them in return"

"Of course And I suppose the Sisterhood punished theiven solanced at Lupe and said nothing Lupe frowned and returned her gaze to Rhiannon&039;s "I couldn&039;t find any ainst them, if any," she said

"We don&039;t keep written records of that sort of thing," Melina said

"What sort of thing?" Lupe asked

Melina licked her lips "They were executed Hanged, both of the the laws of the order" She met Rhiannon&039;s eyes "Read my mind if you don&039;t believe that&039;s the truth, Rhiannon I&039;m not proud of what they did, and I&039;m not proud of as done to theht to know You can trust us"

She was skeptical "An order is only as trustworthy as its members, Melina And this order seems to me to be lousy with traitors Take Brooke, for example"

"Three, in all these centuries," Melina countered

"Three that I know of I have no doubt there have been more You don&039;t exactly choose wisely when you recruit these women"

"I&039;ve made mistakes, that&039;s true I&039;m only human"

"Precisely"

Lupe licked her lips nervously "We&039;re wasting tio after hi Stormy"

"We?" Rhiannon cocked one brow as she speared the wo her throat nervously "We need to go along, Rhiannon And I&039;m afraid I can&039;t take no for an answer If Brooke survives, she&039;ll need us there We need to bring her home"

Rhiannon rolled her eyes "Where she&039;ll no doubt be tried, convicted and executed for betraying the order"

"Don&039;t pretend to understand our ways, Rhiannon You&039;reassumptions If there&039;s a way I can save her, I will But she has to face the repercussions of her actions"

Lupe cauys your business, but it seems to ht, though she hated to ad along, I suppose we&039;d best travel by car I have copied the rite we&039;ll need to exorcise Beta fro It&039;s right-" She dipped a hand into her pocket, but it caave me," Melina said

Rhiannon sed hard "There&039;s one thing I must tell you, and on this I am adamant," she said "We do not intervene until we are certain of Vlad&039;s intentions"

"We already know his intentions," Melina said "He&039;s going to help Elisabeta take Stor to kill her, Rhiannon"

"Perhaps," Rhiannon said But deep down, she hoped she rong Vlad had ht decision once before She had to believe he would do so again, despite the fact that his obsession for Elisabeta seemed only to have worsened over the past sixteen years For his sake, she had to give hi to kick his ass for what he&039;d done to her tonight

"We do not intervene," Rhiannon said again, "until I aive the word, I promise you, you will not see the sunrise Is that understood?"

The woman looked at each other, fear wide in their eyes "Understood," Melina said softly

As she lay there, drifting in and out of consciousness, Stor pieces of her tio The

He&039;d tried to save her He&039;d tried to let Rhiannon exorcise Elisabeta from her body He&039;d been forced to choose between thee h to bring her back froed her But the moment she did so, her joy faded and her doubts returned Just because he had chosen her in the past, that didn&039;t ain He&039;d shown no hint of his feelings for her since their reunion He&039;d given her no reason to believe he would act against his bride to save her

Would he?

Stormy forced her questions to the back of her mind and tried to take stock of her current situation She found herself paralyzed Panic at being unable to move her limbs hit her like a blast of ice water in the face, and she ca wide as the instinctive need tohit her, a hard, stinging sh the surge of hot tears that sprang into her eyes and tried to focus