บท 10: Chapter 10: Phantom Husband, Returned

Ravyn POV

He appeared so different after so much time apart, but she knew his face the moment it came into view. Her mind and her heart recognized him. She smelled sand and pure maleness.

For a long moment, he stood over them, his turquoise eyes drinking in the sight of them, especially with Jude lying half on top of her. His black hair still looked as dark as a moonless night, but bedraggled underneath his wizard's hat that he tied under his chin.

"What do you have to say for yourself?" she challenged.

He glared at Jude. "GET AWAY FROM MY WIFE."

"I'm not your wife!"

Jude sprang up, snarled and snapped at him, slashing with his claws. He lunged at Daxius, trying to tackle him. He was primal and desperate in his attack, the way he would be if his woman was threatened …

Daxius muttered a spell under his breath and fled with lightning speed through the dunes Ravyn leaped to her feet. "Swiftfoot Enchantment. Not an easy one to master. I can–"

"You don't need that spell. We'll catch him."

"As long as you don't get yourself killed!"

Growling, Jude shifted and Ravyn leapt on his back, feeling powerful with the wolf beneath her. In no time, the sheets of sand and the dunes flashed by and Jude loped with breakneck strides, following the black streak that threaded its way through the dunes.

Daxius had looked like a gentle breeze could topple him … how did he have the energy to cast and sustain such a taxing spell? The possibilities ranged from a supercharged potion to a magical object to more unsavory possibilities. D*mn. She should have scanned him for signs of dark magic. Instead, she'd hurled a question at him like an amateur.

And he wasn't ready? Ready for what? He'd had over twenty years to prepare to face her!

"Coward," she shouted over the shrieking storm. "Stop and face me!"

Jude's howl sounded indignant and commanding.

"Us! Stop running and face us," she corrected.

That got her a howl of gleeful approval.

"You're dealing with the Evenhide and Silverpaw Packs now," she shouted. "Make it easy on yourself, Daxius. STOP!"

From Jude's growl, he'd been looking forward to this, beyond the wolf's instinct to hunt. She'd heard that growl before when he'd attacked Cyran's, really Hades', followers in a cursed temple in Crimsontail territory. It was a growl that said: You're a threat to what's mine. I don't like you. I'll hunt you down and make you pay.

A threat to what was his?

Maybe because he was so tight with the family. Maybe he was just protecting an ally.

But somehow, that didn't entirely explain his fierceness.

Ahead, the black streak started to blend in with the thick sand.

"Can you stay on his tail? Can you still smell him?"

A smug growl answered her.

It felt exhilarating in a strange way to chase Daxius while riding on Jude. They just had to catch him together! Her knees dug into Jude's sides and he sped up, closing in on Daxius. Ravyn held out a crystal and worked a spell to stop Daxius in his tracks. Firing a shimmering rune at him, she didn't even blink when he proved too quick for her spell. Her second rune got ripped apart by the force of the wind.

She wouldn't give up. One of her spells had to hit him!

But why not make the sand work FOR her instead of against her?

As she raised her arms to cast a different spell, she felt Jude tensing, ready to spring.

"No, wait," she shouted.

He halted, trusting her. Tracing a spiral in the air, she conjured a funnel around the dark steak–a funnel that trapped him. Daxius hit the wall of sand and fell with a cry.

Jude pounced and pinned him to the sandy ground with a snarl …

Only to howl when Ravyn's husband melted into thin air.

"A decoy," Ravyn cried out, gazing at the trap she'd unwittingly set for both of them. "How in the name of the Twelve Sacred Sites did he do that?"

Bewildered, she climbed down, trying to end the spell. Unfortunately, she'd woven it particularly tightly to catch Daxius.

"I'm sorry," she said softly.

* * * * *

Jude POV

Terrible husband. The world's worst father. And an intruder brazenly wandering shifter territory without being invited. He could call Daxius Houdini many things.

Add "immensely powerful wizard" to the list.

A humbling experience to have his quarry evade them so easily. It was easy to see how Daxius had stayed several steps ahead of Patch's spy ring and the best enforcers in the Evenhide Pack. Jude vowed that from now on his own enforcers would assist their allies in tracking Daxius.

Ravyn's softly whispered words tugged at his heart and he shifted, putting his hand on her shoulder. What are YOU sorry for?" he asked.

"Casting this spell a little too well, but I can undo it. Just give me a moment." She growled. "And I should have sensed he used a decoy."

He shook his head, faintly admiring. "You never described him as this powerful or clever."

She made motions as if she were untangling yarn. "That's because he's improved in twenty years. He had raw ability when we were married, but clearly he's been learning from someone since then."

Hearing her praise Daxius made his wolf want to mark her and then mate with her so she'd never think of the man again. Did she still have feelings for the man who threw her aside? It left as bad and gritty a taste in his mouth as the sand.

"Dark magic?"

His tone sounded aggressive and Ravyn frowned. "It's a possibility. I hope not."

"You don't know what he's been up to since–"

She closed her eyes. "I need to concentrate."

Restless, he prowled around their temporary prison. How could she still put any faith in Daxius? The man was capable of anything!

He sighed in relief several minutes later when the walls of sand disappeared, and he grabbed Ravyn by the hand. "He's probably long gone and we could be chasing phantoms all night. You and I need some rest. I can find our way back to our camp."

"It might be faster if I ride again."

He cocked an eyebrow. "I assume you still can't teleport back home."

She grimaced, her eyes closing. "I summoned up my last reserves with that spell. I can't do anything without resting first. Tomorrow we can resume our search."

"We'll be back to the tent and bumping up against each other in no time."

He winced. Not the most elegant turn of phrase, but she gave him an affectionate, sleepy smile. "I don't mind–you're a gentleman. And handsome."

His heart sped up like the wind and his wolf howled loudly. "And I can't ever imagine how he let you go."

His wolf wanted her close to him inside that tent right away!

He shifted, allowing her to climb on his back. Truthfully, it felt good to have her sit astride him. Not as nice as it felt pressed skin to skin, but that only motivated him to run harder despite the sand pelting him.

It took them awhile to retrace their steps, but the small tent beckoned them–a miracle from the Moon Goddess. He pulled on his discarded robe just because of the sand–he wouldn't mind lying naked with Ravyn … maybe just as well that he had the robe to interfere.

"Come," he invited with a husky note in his voice. "You're half-asleep."

She stared, transfixed, at something on the ground, then squatted and started digging whatever it was out of the sand.

"Ravyn, what is it?"

"HA!" She held up the object, a brass key. "So THAT'S where he's been hiding."

He wrinkled his forehead. "I don't understand."

"This key is engraved with a 'W'." She pointed to the letter. "Very fancy. Every locksmith in Wildefell puts this on keys. It's a wonder we couldn't find Daxius–he was right under our noses. But then, I haven't been in the city much."

Jude's hackles rose. "Your witch and wizard friends don't miss much–how did they miss him?"

"I'm as baffled as you are, but magic can be unpredictable." She yawned, her words trailing off. The woman was barely staying awake.

He coaxed her into the tent, feeling an intense desire to hold her and watch over her to make sure she got the rest she needed. "Let's save that problem for the morning."

When she slid in beside him, with her back to him, he surrounded her with his body. By her soft breathing and her silence, he could tell she slept deeply.

He resolved to keep his eyes open so that he could watch over her, but his lids grew heavy. As he fell asleep, two thoughts struck him.

One, he was going to have to go to Wildefell for the first time in many years.

Two, he hadn't thought of Emer or had that ache in his heart all evening.

* * * * *

Melisande POV

To any observer, the woman leaving the small house in Machpelah Street in the Witch Quarter was a witch healer just paying a call on a patient.

Fools.

Melisande Bracknell shivered in this body, still too thin after three years, with sharp bony elbows and knees and a chin as pointed as a blade. At least she'd managed to put on some weight, which her new Witch Council colleagues approved of.

Absalom Sinsworth, better known as the scourge of shifterdom, Hades Ombra, pushed back Melisande's brown hair. She wore it loose except when she was healing, so he'd observed before he entered her body. Right now, he wore her hair pulled back and tied with a ribbon.

He couldn't draw attention to his new host. A few extra pounds wouldn't raise many eyebrows, but changing her hairstyle would. Fortunately, he wore witch's robes most of the time, so no chance of making any blunders with Melisande's personal style. His disguise worked so well the Crestas didn't even suspect he was still alive.

He'd kept her personality as haughty and icy as before he'd walked into her body. Having her turn into pure sunshine would raise suspicions. Besides, her hatred for many people in the Witch Circle, and the Chalices in particular, matched his own. Using her arrogant manner intimidated possible followers and kept everyone else at arms' length.

Including Ravyn Rolfe's estranged husband, it seemed. Hades had his orders where Daxius was concerned: either eliminate him or make him an ally.

He'd been gone for weeks–and according to the information she'd found in his hovel, he was in the shifter lands … no doubt seeking to reunite with dear Ravyn. How he'd love to see that unfold. He'd pay good money if Ravyn reduced Daxius to a smoking cinder–or if Absalom's former pupil Cyran did.

Cyran Sinsworth had served his purpose–but he didn't do the job entirely. He didn't release Hades from this cursed bondage to the Dark Goddess. And he would be the first to detect Hades if Melisande spent too much time in his company. But Hades would make sure that he paid Cyran back for failing to release him from the Dark Goddess.

No, Melisande couldn't go to the shifter lands. Ravyn would have to come here, and Daxius would follow.

When Melisande returned to the Healing Ward in the impressive Witch Circle stronghold, one of the healer's useful followers was just cleaning the ward, making it spotless.

"Mars. Has everything been calm?"

"Except for the gossip about Ravyn Rolfe wanting to match Alpha Jude with Queen Ylavi Crystalsprite," Mars said.

Melisande/Hades tried not to smile TOO joyfully, and moments later, sent an urgent message to the Dark Faerie Queen–a useful and unwitting pawn.