Teagan frowned and pulled out several stones, cupping them in both hands. “I’ve never had the pull of more than one,” she admitted, “but he needs all of these.”
That didn’t sound good. Gabrielle bit her lip. Hard. A single ruby drop beaded. Instantly Gary’s gaze fastened on her mouth. Aleksei rumbled low in his chest. A warning. He moved, inserting his body between Gary and Gabrielle, his head bending, his tongue removing the single drop of blood as he glided past her.
Do not tempt him again. He is near the end. The ancients who poured themselves into him had no lifemates. They each endured centuries of darkness without any reward at the end. They sought the sun to keep their honor. He is all of them combined. If Teagan does not work her magic, he will have to do the same soon. No warrior, no matter how strong, can take many ancients’ demons and stay honorable for long.
She felt his touch all the way to her toes. She felt his revelation all the way to her soul. She shivered and inhaled his scent for strength, because now she knew there was no hope without this. Aleksei didn’t tell her lies.
Teagan began her soft chant and at once, the color green enveloped her and began to spread from her toward Gary. A healing, soothing green, right in the center of the color wheel. Slowly, the other colors began to appear, all of them searching for a way into the merciless darkness surrounding Gary. Gabrielle held her breath, terrified the colors wouldn’t penetrate at all. At first it seemed as if the dense cloud was impenetrable, but the green found a thread, a single opening, and wove a thin line, the width of a spiderweb, through the black.
Gabrielle almost bit her lip again, but she felt Aleksei brush his finger over her lips, stopping her. She realized he was very aware of her bad habit and was concentrating on her more than on Teagan and whether she was successful or not.
The colors moved around the thick, solid mass. It seemed hopeless. Other than the single thread of green, nothing else could get through. Then Gabrielle felt the subtle boost of power. First Andre joined with Teagan. Then Fane joined with Teagan. Last was Aleksei. The three ancients poured their combined strength into Andre’s lifemate.
The burst of power sent a few of the colors pushing hard at the edges of the darkened aura. One, a deep purple, slid in beside the green, winding around it, so that the two colors were woven together. Red slipped in using the same entrance but branching out, every bit as thin a thread as the green had been. Indigo found the red and followed the strand, braiding with it so that it looked as if a spider had begun a web. That thin. But it was there. Yellow and blue followed, spinning together, using the same entrance and moving inside away from the other two strands.
Teagan swayed and slumped over the stones. She tried twice to speak, but Andre gathered her into his arms and turned her away from the others. Gabrielle knew instantly he fed her. She could scent the blood in the air. Gary’s gaze followed them and he inhaled sharply. Instantly she was aware that his wounds hadn’t been healed. He hadn’t asked them to be. Nor had anyone offered him blood to replace what was lost. She opened her mouth.
Do not!
That was definitely an order. Gabrielle snapped her mouth closed, pressing her lips tightly together.
I will give him blood and heal him once you women are finished. Teagan has helped as much as she could. It is something and will give him relief. How long or how much, I do not know, but you will not allow him to touch you. Not to heal him. Not to feed. Do you understand me?
She knew he expected an answer. Her gaze shifted to him. He looked as if his ferocious temper might erupt at any moment. She even felt it, that fury, right in her mind, beating at her.
I understand. She didn’t really. Gary would never harm her.
He is not the Gary you knew.
Trixie had his song, those notes, not silver, not gold. Fierce. Wild. Fearless. Powerful. It was impossible not to feel his song, not to be shaken by it. Trixie surrounded Gabrielle with the notes until she had absorbed them and her palms were filled with him. Her skin tingled. Hurt. Burned. Even her bracelet burned with fire. She gasped and nearly stopped, but she wouldn’t let him down. None of the other ancients’ songs had given her pain. She knew it was the pain of the ancients that had been poured into Gary.
She breathed through it and moved her hands over the map, trying to let go of herself, of her need to do this, to help him. She couldn’t be there, only the strange talent she had. Please. Please. Please. She forced herself to quit chanting the prayer in her mind. This had to be right. Real. And if it didn’t work, if she didn’t find anything, she had to accept that. It would be a terrible blow, but she would have no choice.