An Apocalyptic Need (17 page)

Grimm couldn’t catch her words. They sounded like gibberish. “You’re okay, captain. I’ve got you.”

She shook her head, her cheeks pink with fever and her eyes bright. She seemed both weak and energized at once. Grimm doubted she’d be able to sit a horse. “I don’t think she’ll make it back to town,” he told Miller.

The sheriff nodded and shoved the pistol into his holster as they reached the tethered horses. “I’ve got a place not far from here. You can stay there until she’s strong enough to leave.”

Grimm tossed her gently over the saddle, holding her in place with a hand on her rump. “What about you?”

Miller squeezed his horse’s sides and it took off at a slow trot. Grimm jogged alongside, one hand holding Cari on the horse. “I’ll stay in town.”

“How far?” Grimm eyed the night around them, not at all sure the danger was past.

“Less than a mile. Don’t worry, Forbes. The witches took a significant hit tonight. It will take them awhile to recover. With any luck you and your pretty little wife will be long gone before they come looking for you.”

Grimm frowned. “Yeah. That doesn’t make me feel a whole lot better, sheriff.”

~AN~

He wrung the cloth out and bathed her fever-red cheeks, feeling the heat against his knuckles with every swipe. She’d been ranting and writhing throughout the long, dark night, her words strange and melodic.

Grimm had no idea what she was saying but the vocalizations sounded too much like incantations for his comfort.

He’d assumed Cari was an epoch mage, a time traveling witch that the Sorceri had recently formed a reluctant alliance with in order to defeat a powerful enemy. Though the mages and the Sorceri had long been antagonists, their powers complimented each other and, working together, they were often nearly unbeatable.

However, Grimm had been curious as to Cari’s seeming lack of magics. He’d sensed power throbbing beneath her fair skin a time or two, but she’d never once relied on magic to save herself or him.

So he’d assumed she was one of the rare limited-magic mages. Their magic was limited to the ability to supplement a magic user’s power. A useful trait for Sorceri and Mage alike, but not much good to the limiteds themselves. Trained in the use of weapons and martial arts, limiteds were often used as spies and embedded among the Sorceri’s enemies because they appeared human.

He realized she had to be working for the mage council. It made an irritating kind of sense she wouldn’t admit that to him. The Sorceri and the Mages had a long history built on distrust and downright hatred.

Though Grimm still had no idea what Cari had been doing on the rogue ship.

“Yeira!” Her pretty gaze snapped open and Cari surged into a seated position, her shoulders shaking.

“Easy.” Grimm wrapped his hands around her slim arms and tried to push her back down.

Her hazel gaze slid rapidly around the room, bright with fever. “I need to warn her.”

Grimm managed to push her back to the pillow, smoothing a damp, red-blonde strand of hair from her forehead. “Yeira’s fine. She’s with Audie.”

Cari’s head shook from side to side and her fingernails dug into his forearms. “No…” Her tongue came out, swiping across her lips and Grimm found himself captivated by the sight. His groin tightened.

“She’s in danger.”

“You can’t reach her. They’re traveling to intersect the
Stellam.
”

Cari shook her head again but her eyelids had lowered. Her grip on his arm softened.

The planes of her pretty face softened back into sleep. “Rest now. When you’re strong we’ll join them. Then you can see that she and Audie are okay.”

Grimm tugged the covers higher over her slender form, his gaze sliding to the slim column of her pale throat and the artistry of her high cheekbones. She was a beautiful woman and Grimm couldn’t seem to get enough of her.

He’d come so close to losing her. The thought made his stomach twist. It was unconscionable. And confusing. Giving into temptation, he lowered his head and touched her soft lips with his own, inhaling her sweet scent as he broke the kiss.

Grimm had no idea what it was about Cari that had drawn the witches to her. But he intended to find out. He stood and reluctantly walked away, grabbing a pair of long knives Miller had given him before leaving them alone in the cabin.

He slid the blades beneath his belt and dropped the long snouted pistol into its holster. Miller had assured Grimm the pistol was more than it seemed, shaking his head when Grimm asked about ammo.

“You won’t need bullets. The gun derives its power from the energy in the air and surroundings. Old energy, soaked into the earth and its accoutrements throughout time.”

Like guide magics, Grimm had mused. He could handle that.

Adorned with as much weaponry as he could find, Grimm did a last check on the protective web he’d woven around the one room cabin, finding it solid and without flaw. Then, with a final look at Cari sleeping peacefully beneath a thick quilt, Grimm slipped through the cabin door.

At the road he turned back and saw an unbroken line of forest where the cabin should have been. Only a slight wavering on the air betrayed the building behind his web.

Satisfied with the results of his magic, Grimm took off running through the forest, using his guide magics to take him back to the witches’ creepy hidey hole.

~AN~

The raven sat high in a tree. The surrounding land was scorched. Dead. She took a deep breath and pain seared her chest, as if the very air was burning her. Lifting a shaky hand, she blinked at the thick fingers, the ragged black and blue nails.

A throaty cry pierced the poisoned air again. Her gaze slipped toward the rocky hillside in the distance.
The dead lands
.

The raven’s cry told him…her…that they were gone. The cave was empty. She frowned, lifting her hand to rub it across her brow. The hand came away damp. Her pulse pounded.

She needed more blood. If only she’d been able to complete the ritual.

The raven left the high, skeletal branch and swooped downward, landing on the outstretched hand at the edge of her vision.

Not
her
hand.

Not
her
vision.

With a start, she realized she was seeing someone else’s reality. Feeling someone else’s pain. Having someone else’s thoughts.

She jerked upright on a strident cry, flung out of the strange dream. Her gaze lurched frantically around the room.

Alone
.

~AN~

She was alone in a room she’d never seen before. Grasping the covers weighing her to the lumpy mattress, Cari shoved them aside and got up, moving quickly to the only window. Beyond the dusty curtains the world was black, with a soft gold glow on the horizon that told her dawn was near.

Grimm
. She’d seen him at the cabin. Along with the sheriff from Dodge Town. He’d taken her from that horrible place. So where was he? She spun away from the window, her gaze sliding to the door. Was he in danger? Had he left her and returned to the
Stellam
?

“Of course,” she murmured. He’d wanted to deal with the ship and he didn’t want her there. He would have taken the opportunity to go when she was unable to follow. Cari shivered, rubbing her arms. Magic prickled against her skin, sliding through her chest like thin, sharp-edged ribbon.

Someone had created a web around the cabin. She sensed Grimm’s magic signature in the web. Cari hugged herself, wondering at the deep sense of foreboding she’d had upon waking. What had torn her from sleep? A dark memory tugged at her. A sense that she needed to do something. But her mind wouldn’t pull the memory forward, no matter how hard she struggled to grasp it. She paced away from the window, thinking.

The need to move bit at her like thousands of tiny bugs, crawling over her skin. Cari rubbed her arms and shivered under the internal imperative.

If Grimm had gone to the
Stellam
he would need her help. He didn’t know his way around the giant ship. He didn’t know whom he could trust. She couldn’t shake the feeling that something bad was going to happen to him. Something having to do with that cursed ship.

Her fear turned indecision to action and Cari moved to the door. The magic stung her skin, repelling her, but she ignored it. Grimm wouldn’t have created a web that would hurt her. Dissuade her maybe. But real pain… She shook her head, reaching for the handle.

Blue fire shot from the metal, burning her fingers and sending her flying backward to slam against the long, wood-framed divan in the center of the open space.

She hit it hard and crashed to the floor, her legs and arms twitching under a million tiny electrical impulses. She tried to push to her feet but, to her horror, she realized she was unable to move.

The fire in the oversized fireplace had burned down to a few weak embers spitting sparks as a soft current of air drifted into the space from beyond the open door. The stench of black, oily magic still clung to the air, leaving behind a greasy haze that touched his skin with cold fingers as he passed through.

Grimm hurried down the stairwell both Cari and the shadow had emerged from. The bottom of the stairs was murky, a wispy fog still clinging to the dusty floor. His nose twitched under the scent of blood and his stomach twisted with dread.

Cari’s blood…Carrie’s fear…permeated the space, along with an evil the likes of which he hadn’t faced since they’d vanquished Edwige and her spawn, Joris.

Grimm shuddered under the thought and forced himself to move forward. The fire that had once flared huge and hot, judging by the amount of ash in the grate, consisted merely of gray embers, glowing softly in the murky black. The pulsing glow should have been a soothing sight, except that it illuminated just enough of the large stone altar before it to turn Grimm’s belly to acid.

Blood coated the edges of the altar and shone in a black pool on the floor beneath it. As he reached the altar, his gaze found a grisly trail of blackened blood leading away from the altar and culminating at a discarded chalice coated with the stuff.

Grimm shuddered. What the hell had happened in that horrible place?”

Something moved just beyond the flickering light, followed by a thready groan. Grimm lifted his palm, calling his guide magics to illuminate the room, and was shocked to see the pale, prostrate form of Scarlett crumpled on the filthy floor. He hurried over and grasped her shoulders, carefully turning her.

Her blue gaze was faded, unfocused as Grimm bent low. “Scarlett, what happened?”

She made a strangled noise and closed her lips, swallowing hard. The action brought Grimm’s gaze to the pale column of her throat, which was ringed with a fresh set of bruises. She’d been strangled. Grimm started to scoop her up. If he could get her to Dodge Town maybe…

A pale hand grasped his wrist, squeezing it with unnatural strength. “No. Forget…” She swallowed again, the action clearly painful as she winced. “Leave me.
She’s
in danger. He didn’t get what he needed. I didn’t want to—” She had to pause, to swallow. Pain crossed her expression like a shadow. “I tried to stop him.”

Grimm had to lower his head so he could hear her. The woman’s voice was gruff and weak. Looking at the damage to her throat Grimm was surprised she could speak at all. “
Who’s
in danger, Scarlett? Are you talking about Cari?”

Her body stiffened and her eyes rolled violently in her head. Her arms and legs started to jerk in some kind of seizure and Grimm thought he was losing her. Her fingers tightened around his wrist with bruising force. “Scarlett?” It occurred to him that he had his energy back. He might be able to use it to take away some of her pain. He tried to shake off her grip so he could call his guide, but she wouldn’t, or couldn’t, let go.

A heartbeat later Scarlett managed a strangled breath. Blinking slowly, she turned her head and her faded blue gaze focused on him again, her lips moving. “Cari doesn’t know her strength. She is of the two. Power to power. You must protect…” She choked, coughing weakly, and dark, thick blood dribbled from between her lips.

Grimm leaned closer. “Scarlett, what must I protect Cari from? What the hell happened down here?”

Scarlett’s gaze turned blank. The shallow rise and fall of her chest ceased and the fingers clutching his wrist fell away, hitting the dusty floor with a muffled thump.

Grimm grasped her shoulders and shook her gently. “Scarlett!”

Nothing.

He touched the side of her throat and felt no pulse.

She was dead.

Grimm slid his arms beneath her and picked her up. He carried her out of that horror show of a cabin and laid her on a pile of fresh pine leaves. “You deserve a proper burial. I’ll be back soon, Scarlett. I promise.”

With those words, Grimm reluctantly took off running. He had to return to Cari. If Scarlett was right, she was in danger and he’d played right into someone’s hands by leaving her. Panic set in as he fought his way through the wet, clinging leaves of the forest trees. Something sinister throbbed on the air in that dense wood. It was an ancient and ominous power that saturated the space and tugged at anything bright and living within it, sucking the light away.