Elissa Wilds - be the magick...

A century after her death, his beloved walked the Earth again. It was Meri. She’d come back from the dead to taunt him. The resemblance was striking. Wavy, dark hair, wide-spaced eyes with long, spiky lashes, and plump lips that had fit his own so perfectly, he’d spent what seemed like an eternity aching to taste them again. He sucked in a harsh breath. He was a god. But his heart had turned traitor, had turned human on him, long ago.

Mobius, Light God and Director of the Divine Council, crouched before the magical mists of the peering pool, the portal via which the gods could observe those on Earth. The swirls of colorful mist—pink, turquoise, and soft green—contrasted sharply with the bright light of the otherwise stark, white room. He blinked and looked deeper into the pool.

Normally, he would leave the task of checking on the Earth Balancer to the god Helios or the goddess Willow. They were both able to keep the members of the Divine Council abreast of the situation on Earth. But the last Council meeting had been rife with a fear uncommon to the gods.

A fear so palpable that it had drawn him to the peering pool to see for himself what he could of the situation on Earth.

Mobius had turned to the god Helios after he’d uttered those horrible words and immediately attempted to wipe them from his thoughts. Gods dying? Unheard of!

“There has been a new influx of evil on Earth. The Umbrae’s hold on mankind is increasing,” Helios had said, his deep voice filled with concern, the broad features of his ebony-skinned face edged with worry. “It is time to formulate a new plan. The Earth Balancer is losing ground.”

Now, Mobius peered deeper into the pool, willing the device to show him more of the Earth Balancer. The translucent tendrils of mist shifted and faded until, once again, he had a clear view of his subject.

She sat alone in a darkened room, perched in front of a mirror, her hands fisted, jaw clenched. Her black hair twisted around her shoulders and curled over her face as she bent her head, hiding her face temporarily from his view. Shudders racked her body, and a soft groan escaped her lips. Her breathing became ragged, and she began to shake her head from side to side as though to ward off some secret pain.

An image flashed through Mobius’s mind’s eye. A memory from long ago: Meri’s body spasming in his arms as unspeakable grief consumed her. Oh, how he had tried to console her, even as a piece of his soul was ripped away and lay dying. He’d had no idea then just how much worse the pain could get. Mobius bit back an agonized groan.

Now he pictured another scene, one forever woven into the very fabric of his being. Meri’s body crumpled and broken, her beautiful gray eyes, once full of life, dull and empty. He had no wish to remember, but the vision washed over him anyway, along with a familiar accusation. You killed her. Because of you, she is dead.

His chest constricted as he struggled to remain in the present. Long moments passed before the searing sensation in his midsection became a dull ache. He blinked and focused again on the Earth Balancer. What he saw made his breath catch.

She lifted her head and fixed her gaze on the mirror. Sweat trickled down her cheek as she struggled to control her inner turmoil. It was her eyes that caught him, though. Eyes that ought to be the sparkling silver of a Gray God were instead inky wells of blackness. Devoid of light, they shone with the taint of the evil permeating Earth, the evil that had destroyed his beautiful Meri.

Theirs had been an ill-fated love and a passion doomed from the start. But since the moment he’d left Meri on Earth and returned to the Light Realm, he’d been consumed by regret. He’d thought there would be no chance to make amends. Until now.

Chapter One:

Earth

Tampa, Florida

This is the last one I’ll reclaim today. Aurora glanced at the man lying prone at her feet and sighed. Exhaustion weighted her limbs. She lifted her hand to his head and pressed lightly on his blond hair, steeling herself for the expected burst of current. The initial charge was slightly uncomfortable. Lately, though, the discomfort had increased to the point of pain.

After eleven years of healing people infected by the evil of the Umbrae, she ought to be used to the strain it put on her. She wasn’t. Or to the effect being half goddess, half witch, and mostly human had on her life. Or rather, my lack of a life.

The man’s body lurched and shook as she utilized her power to pull the blackness from his heart and mind and soul. Cloudy, murky matter twisted out of him from three of his chakras: the crown, the heart, and the solar plexus.

He groaned and writhed, saliva dripping down his chin. Heat arched through Aurora’s body, accompanied by a quick but biting lance of pain. She gritted her teeth and shot another blast of energy into the man. A moment later he coughed, sputtered, and went still. She pulled her hand from the man’s head. It was done. She’d reclaimed another Finder.

“Aurie, are you okay? Can I get you anything?”

Aurora gulped air and willed her heartbeat to slow, then turned toward the voice. Her mother stood a few feet away, hovering in the doorway of the hotel room, her short dark hair disheveled as though she’d run nervous hands through it more than once that day.

Her mother, Laurell, had not been happy about this particular Field Trip, the term Aurora had coined for her travels to different parts of the country to battle the Umbrae.

The members of her coven, Hidden Circle, took turns accompanying her. They went wherever their resident psychic, Dawna, and their empath, Wayne, detected the most dark activity, the areas where the demonic Umbrae had been most active in turning people.

Aurora sighed and stared at her mother. The woman had been a bundle of nerves ever since they’d arrived in Tampa that morning.

“Can I get you anything?” her mother asked again, her gaze awash with concern. “Would you like some water?”

“Water,” Aurora whispered with a frown. She’d felt the effects of this reclaiming more acutely than was usual.

“That would be great.”

Her mother nodded and started toward the bathroom. The sound of water running followed by a grunt of disgust echoed off the bathroom walls.

“Aurie, you don’t want to drink this water. It stinks. I saw a vending machine down the hall.” She disappeared out the door.

Aurora glanced around the run-down motel room they’d chosen for its cheap rate, and more importantly, its remoteness. No sense putting innocent bystanders in danger.

A sharp rap sounded at the door, and she hurried over to open it. A tall, wiry man stood on the other side. He scratched his five-o’clock shadow, studying her.

“Aurie, are you okay in here?” the man asked.

Her lips twisted wryly. She must really look like crap. She glanced toward the mirror at the end of the bed. Her stomach twisted. Did they know? Did her secret show?

The man at Aurora’s feet stirred and mumbled something unintelligible. With a sigh, Aurora reached down and touched his cheek, stilling his movements.

“I’m fine, Wayne. Mom went to get water.” She motioned toward the man on the floor. “We need to get this one out of here before he wakes up looking for an explanation.”

Wayne stepped into the room. “I’m on it.”

He scooped the man up with a grunt, amazing Aurora, as usual, with a strength that belied his sixty something years.

Wayne started toward the door, dragging the man with him. “You should pack while I’m gone, though. I’m sensing something weird around here.”

“Weird how?” Aurora asked.

He shrugged. “Bad, but not Umbrae. I don’t know how to explain it. But I don’t think we should hang around ta figure it out.”

He paused in the doorway, glancing left to right, no doubt to make sure no other guests were about. Fortunately, the dump of a motel was pretty empty. No one else wants to camp with roaches.

The man he held suddenly came to life. His eyes popped open, and he blinked rapidly, struggling to focus.

“Where am I?” the man asked.

“You’re in wonderland, Alice,” Wayne quipped, yanking the man to his feet and pulling the door shut behind them. Their footsteps echoed on the concrete walkway, fading as they moved farther away from the room.

Aurora stood from the bed and glanced briefly again at the mirror. She frowned. Her eyes still held the slightest tint of blackness, the color they turned when she utilized her power. She blinked, and her eyes flashed silver once more.

Aurora bit her lip and started packing. She hated to leave without reclaiming more people. But if Wayne said trouble was brewing, she knew better than to question him. No one picked up the dark energy of the Umbrae like he did.

And besides, her tattoo had been itching and burning all morning. Aurora turned and glanced over her shoulder at her reflection in the mirror.

The open back of her halter top bared her left shoulder so that the yellow, blue, and red lines of the tattoo were clearly visible. A sun and a moon mating. She’d gotten the tattoo to cover up a large, unusual birthmark. Not that the mark had actually been there since birth, but she didn’t know what else to call it.

Over time, a form had etched itself into her skin, becoming clearer with each year until an almost perfectly shaped half moon merging into a sun had appeared.

She’d been self-conscious about the birthmark, so she’d decided to get herself a tattoo.

Recently she’d been experiencing strange sensations in the skin beneath the tattoo whenever danger lurked nearby. Her own personal warning signal. A warning signal that was suddenly burning her skin something furious.