Such a gift was g
olden, but she knew the ribbons that tethered her to the earth could be carelessly snapped. Even for the thrill of flight, she wouldn't trade her reality. She beamed over the sea where the starlight was reflected like bits of sparkling glass scattered on black velvet. From deep within its depths came whale song, and the music carried her to the far shore. The buzz of traffic, conversations within houses, the scent of trees and of dinners cooking all swirled below her as life drove forward.
She heard the outraged cry of a newborn pushed into life. And the last sigh of the dying. The quick, soft brush as souls passed on their way. She kept the light of them around her, and sought the dark. He had such hate in him. The breadth of it was infinite, and layered, and not, she realized as she drew closer, all his own. What was in Evan Remington was a rancid mix, one that offended the senses. But she could see as she watched the orderlies, the guards, the doctors move through the facility where Remington was imprisoned, that none of them caught the underlying stench. She let the thoughts, the voices of the others bleed away, and focused on Remington and what used him. He was in his room for the night, a cell far removed from the plush surroundings he'd once commanded. She saw he had changed considerably from the night in the woods when Nell had defeated him. His hair was thinner, his face rounder, with the jowls beginning to sag beneath deep, sharp lines of dissipation. No longer handsome, no longer smooth, his face had begun to mirror what he'd hidden inside him for so many years.
He wore loose orange coveralls and paced his cell like a soldier on sentry duty.
"They can't keep me here. They can't keep me here. I have work. I'm going to miss my plane. Where is that bitch?" He spun away from his cell door, and his pale eyes searched the small space. His mouth folded down as if in mild annoyance. "She's late again. I'll have to punish her. She leaves me no choice. "
Someone from outside shouted at him to shut the fuck up, but he continued to pace, continued to rant.
"Can't she see I have business? I have responsibilities? She's not going to get away with it. Who the hell does she think she is! Whores, every one of them whores. "
Suddenly, like a puppet on a string, his head jerked up, and his eyes were madness slicked thin over hate. Madness began to glow red.
"Don't you know I see you, whore-bitch? I'll kill you before it's done. "
The blast of power slammed into her, a fist in the belly. She felt herself waver, then bore down. "You're pathetic. You use a madman to horde your power. I need only myself. "
"Your death will be slow and painful. I'll keep you alive long enough so that you see it all destroyed. "
"We've already beaten you twice. " She sensed the next whip of energy and deflected it. But it took all of her strength, and she felt her link shudder as Remington's head changed into that of a snapping wolf.
"And the third time's the charm," she finished; and pulled herself back. She poured back into her body, staggered, and might have fallen if Nell and Ripley hadn't supported her.
"Are you hurt?" At the urgency in Nell's voice Mia struggled to settle again. "Mia?"
"No, I'm not hurt. "
"You were gone too damn long," Ripley told her.
"Just long enough. "
"So you say. " Still gripping Mia's hand, Ripley jerked her head. "We've got company. "
As the visions cleared out of her mind, Mia saw Sam standing just outside the circle. He wore black, the long coat swirling in the night air.
"Finish it, and close the circle. " His voice was brisk, businesslike. "Before you collapse. "
"I know what to do. " She reached for the tonic Nell was already pouring into a cup. Because she was not yet steady, she took the cup with both hands. And she drank until she no longer felt as if her body was a mist ready to be swept away by the wind.
"Close the circle," Sam demanded. "Or I come in, regardless. "
Ignoring him now, she offered thanks for a safe flight and, with her sisters, closed the circle.
"It continues to use Remington. " She slipped into her robe and belted it, though her skin felt as thin, as fragile, as the silk. "More like a vessel than a source, but still some of both. It fills him up with hatred of women, of female power, then uses the mix to feed its own energy. It's potent, but not without vulnerability. "
She reached down for her bag, and when she straightened, swayed.
"That's enough. " In one motion, Sam swept her into his arms. "She needs to sleep this off. I know what to do for her. "
"He's right. " Ripley put a hand on Nell's shoulder as Sam carried Mia out of the clearing. "He knows what she needs. "
Mia's head spun, infuriating her. "I just need to get my balance. I can't get it unless I'm on my feet. "
"There was a time you weren't so twitchy about needing help. "
"I wouldn't be twitchy if I needed help. And I don't need you to - " She bit off the words. "I'm sorry, and you're right. "
"Boy, you must be shaky. "
She let her head rest on his shoulder. "I'm queazy. "
"I know, baby. We'll fix it. How's the headache?"
"It's not bad. Really. I'd have come back sturdier, but I had to come back fast. Damn it, Sam, this dizziness is . . . " Gray began to swim at the edges of her vision. "It's not passing off. I'm going under. "
"That's all right. Go ahead. "
For once she did exactly as he suggested and didn't argue. When she went limp in his arms, he continued to carry her toward the house. He would curse her later, he told himself, when she could fight back. For now, he took her inside and up to her bed.
Knowing she had to sleep long and deep didn't make it any easier for Sam to see her, so pale, so still in the shadowy light of her bedroom. He knew what could be done, and tending to her at least helped keep his mind on the practical.
He knew what protective oils and creams she'd used. He could smell them on her skin. After he laid her in bed, he gathered the proper incense and candles to bolster what she'd already used. She always had been an organized soul, he thought as he checked the shelves and cupboards in her tower room for the supplies he needed.
Even here she had flowers - clay pots of violets - and books. He scanned the books, selected one on healing spells and charms in case he needed to refresh his memory.