Dark Storm (Dark #23)(30)
Author: Christine Feehan

"I draw upon thee light, surround me with your might

Set this evil in the ground, keep me safe from that which seeks to harm

Find the sender, track him back, let the darkness return his attack

Let the fuse be short burning bright, let his evil fall short this night."

The evil entity pushed back hard, striking again and again at her throat. Raw. Burning. Torn open. Her breath barely pushed through her shredded vocal cords, the gaping jugular pouring out blood, soaking her clothing, splashing into the ground.

"Find him. Bind him. Hold evil chained.

Forged in fire. Hewn in rock."

The earth whispered to her. Assured and comforted her. Riley kept her hands buried deep in the soil, fingers curled into tight fists, holding that evil thing captured, refusing to let loose, no matter how he struggled, twisted and turned, no matter how he stabbed at her, trying to tear out her insides. Pain burst through her like a star, and she knew if she looked down she would see that her stomach had ripped open, her lifeblood pouring out onto the ground.

"I call upon spirit and earth. Create a cocoon from which there is no birth.

Fit this space with black crystalline, to encompass this evil, to hold and bind."

Arabejila. Emni han ku kod alte. Tõdak a ho aδasz engemko, kutenken aδasz engemko a jalleen. Andak a irgalomet terad it.

The voice filled her mind. Turned her blood to ice. Riley forced her fear down. She was in the circle of protection. She refused to be intimidated.

With effort, she managed to push aside her fear and concentrate on the words he’d spoken. He’d spoken her ancestor’s name. She didn’t understand the rest of the words, but instantly recognized the language as the same the porter had mumbled to himself over and over. This evil entity knew her-or, more likely, her ancestor-and believed she was still alive. That realization gave her an important bit of knowledge she hadn’t possessed before. Whoever-whatever-this evil entity was, he wasn’t all powerful and he made mistakes. Moreover … alongside the threat in his voice, she heard fear. He feared Arabejila. Considering that she was the one who’d locked him in the volcano and kept him there for centuries, that made perfect sense. In fact, she might even be the only thing he did fear.

If the evil entity feared Arabejila, that meant he had reason to fear her and that meant he was vulnerable in some way. She took another deep breath and locked on to him, curling her fists tighter to hold him prisoner.

Another tremor jolted the mountain hard, throwing the men off their feet. With her hands plunged so deep in the soil, Riley felt the rising of the volcano. The blast would blow the top of the mountain away and flatten everything for miles. No one would be safe, not even the archaeologist and porters who had taken off earlier. They’d be caught as well as every animal and tribesman within miles. She had no choice but to try to calm the powerful force, and failing that, turn it away from them, redirect the blast if at all possible.

"Fire flame, show your light

Burning bright within my sight

Brightness burn deep within

So I may see where to begin

Bring me light as fire burns

So I may bind it with twists and turns."

She chanted the words softly, eloquently, her hands deep in the soil, stroking and calming the ground, easing her way into the churning mass of gases and molten rock.

"We have to get out of here," Ben shouted. "Right now. This thing is going to blow."

Jubal and Gary kept a firm grip on him, holding him within the circle.

"You can’t outrun a volcano," Gary pointed out. "She’s our only hope now. I have no idea how she can do it, but clearly the mountain responds to her."

"What the hell can she do?" Ben demanded.

Riley ignored them, channeling power and energy into the earth. The ground shivered and shook continually, and she could actually feel a force rising.

"Fire leads me to the light

Guide my hand as I fight this night

Show me how to find my fire

So I may guide this volcanic power."

She wasn’t going to be able to stop the blast, but she could already feel the response to her presence. She had to use every bit of energy and power she possessed to harness the volcano, to guide it away from the others-and that meant letting go of the evil entity she held so tight. Closing her eyes, she made the decision. If they were all dead, he would escape anyway. She couldn’t do both. She abruptly pulled away, sending up a silent prayer that the binding would hold even through a volcano blast.

She felt the instant echo of malicious glee, of taunting laughter. That failure couldn’t matter. Now, it was all about redirecting the blast and calming the volcano and preventing a catastrophic event.

"Red like flame, amber light, diverts this fire and holds it tight

Sword and dagger, double-headed axe, dragon’s blood hold this volcano’s blast

Salamander who lives in fire, create a tunnel for this river of flame."

Ash spewed high into the air. Several vents shot steam high. Fiery rocks streaked into the air, small blowholes, as if the great mountain just had to express itself. Lightning zigzagged, great forks spreading across the sky.

Riley held firm, refusing to flinch. "Triangle lightning, use your light to hold all powers, adding strength to their might."

She took another breath, closed her eyes and sent her prayer to the sky and deep into the ground. "Mother Earth, your humble daughter seeks your aid once more. You are living, breathing, ever changing in your natural state. The fire roars in you, yet your daughter pleads with you to tamp down that fire and send it far from us. The release is necessary to the growth of this world, true, but we ask for this boon."

It was the best she could do. Either she’d calmed the volcano enough to minimize the damage, or everyone was lost.

Arabejila had totally deceived him. Mitro wanted to rip and tear into something warm-blooded. His rage grew as he struggled against the tight binds woven around him. She was far stronger than she’d ever been. Her touch hadn’t been hesitant at all. Throughout the years she’d seemed to decline in strength, but now she was all powerful-a force he hadn’t counted on.

She felt different to him, but it had been centuries since he’d tasted her hot blood-and that had been his one mistake. He should have killed her outright immediately. Once he’d taken her blood, he had locked them together for all time. Even then, he thought her weak, but she wasn’t now. She hadn’t flinched or pleaded with him. She had struck hard and fast without the least bit of hesitation-something she would never have done before.

Snarling, he gnashed his fangs together, anger and hatred feeding his strength. She hadn’t even deigned to speak to him. He was her lifemate whether she liked it or not, his possession. He could choose to keep her alive or let her die. It was his choice. He was superior and always would be.