It combined to create an atmosphere that would send most people fleeing in terror. But Edra was made of sterner stuff.
She had no love for the shadows, but she was willing to use them for her own purpose. And after centuries of battling the darkness, she had at last accepted that only by directly confronting evil could she put an end to it once and for all.
Setting her candle on the large altar she had commanded built after being forced to flee the secret coven outside the city, she reached into the pocket of her robe and pulled out a small amulet.
The darkness seemed to deepen, and the candle flickered. A bone-chilling cold crept through the air.
Edra smiled. So much power.
Enough power to alter the world.
The soft scrape of the door was the only warning that someone approached. With controlled haste, Edra slipped the amulet in her pocket and muttered a few words beneath her breath.
The few remaining witches could barely conjure a binding spell let alone be sensitive enough to the dark aura that clung to the amulet Still, she wasn't about to take any risks. Not now.
Not when she was so close to success she could taste it.
With a groan, she forced her stiff joints to kneel before the altar and bent her head in prayer. It was not until she could sense the woman halt at her side that she at last lifted her head.
The intruder was thin with lank brown hair. She no doubt had a name, but Edra had never bothered to learn it. Most of those she had once loved were now dead and gone. The lesser witches in the coven were merely necessary inconveniences.
"The demon lives?"
"It lives, but her wounds are grievous," the woman reported with a frown. "Salty was forced to heal her."
"She shouldn't have bothered. Soon enough we will have no need of the creature." Edra didn't miss the annoyance that flashed through the dark eyes, and she rose to her feet. Deliberately she allowed her power to fill the room. There were times when her underlings needed to be reminded that beneath her aging frailty was a will that would destroy without mercy. 'You have something to say?"
The witch momentarily faltered before she was squaring her shoulders.
"You have promised for the past year we would be rid of the demons, but we are no closer to achieving our goals, and now too many of us are dead."
"It was not my fault that Selena became greedy and used the spell books before I could assist her or that the wizard attacked without warning," she snapped in annoyance.
"We should have been better prepared."
Edra's hand dipped into her pocket to finger the amulet. "Are you suggesting that I failed?"
"I suggest that we became complacent."
"And you wish to challenge my authority?"
Perhaps sensing her imminent death, the witch took a hasty step back.
"No. I simply want to pull back and gather our strength. To continue with the plan while we are so weak is madness."
"Impossible. All the signs are in alignment. We must strike while we can."
"But we don't even know where the Phoenix is. The Shalott failed us."
A flare of anger raced through the ancient witch before she fiercely thrust it aside. She could not be distracted. Not now.
A cold smile touched her lips. "The Chalice is close. Even now she seeks us out."
The younger witch blinked in surprise. 'You feel her?"
'"fes." A shiver of anticipation raced through her body. "Prepare the sacrifice. Our time is coming."
"But—"
"Do not make me repeat myself," Edra warned in a lethal voice. "Prepare the sacrifice."
Not entirely stupid, the younger woman was hastily backing toward the stairs. 'Yes, mistress."
Dismissing her companion with a wave of her hand, Edra concentrated upon the vague awareness that was becoming steadier with every passing moment.
At last.
Despite all the grim setbacks. Despite the deaths. Despite the failure of her underlings. Her dream was about to become a reality.
"Come to me," she whispered softly.
Chapter 22
"This is it."
Squatting beside Dante in the overgrown hedges, Abby studied the house.
Set well away from the street and nearly hidden behind the hedges, it was an aging Victorian structure. Although aging seemed too kind a description. Crumbling to dust was more accurate.
Even in the shadows it was easy to spot the peeling paint and sagging porch. If Norman Bates needed a vacation home, she had just found if for him. Abby gave a shake of her head. Holy freaking cow. The only surprise would be if there wasn't a dead mother hidden in the bedroom and a homicidal maniac prowling the grounds.
"Yow," she breathed. "That's… spooky."
Dante was in full predator mode. With uncanny ease, he melted into the shadows and held himself motionless. There was none of her fidgeting, no muttered complaints of the hedge poking into his back. Hell, there wasn't even any tedious breathing to stir the air.
If she wasn't vibrantly aware of the tension coiled within him, she might have thought he had been turned to stone.
Shifting slightly, she closely studied the alabaster features that were almost unrecognizable. This was not the tender lover or roguish pirate. This was the warrior vampire who still sent a tingle of unease down her spine.
Feeling her gaze, he turned to stab her with his silver gaze.
"Do you sense anything?"
'Yes." She absently rubbed her arms. The prickles racing over her skin had started the moment she had stepped onto the grounds of the house. "I just don't know what it is."
'Tell me." His voice was a whisper of velvet.
"It's like I can almost hear whispers in the back of my mind. I can't make out the words, but I know they're there."
'The witches?"
"That would be my guess." Her breath caught as the white fangs ran out and his hands curled to claws. The demon was in full force. "What was that?"
"What?"
"Did you just growl?"
"I don't like this." His gaze returned to the house, his tone flat. "It's too quiet."
"Hardly surprising they might want to keep a low profile after being attacked by the wizard. They're not likely to be having a party."
"And yet they have no spells to guard the house."
"WhatoftheShalott?"
He sniffed the air. "It must be within. Or dead."
Abby shivered. Or dead…
Those weren't exactly words to bolster a girl's confidence.
She licked her dry lips.
"Then I suppose there's nothing to stop us, right?"