«Thanks.» She spoke in a careful way, afraid to let emotion overwhelm her. After the ordeal they'd been through, she felt more fragile than she liked.
Matt came into the room, munching on a granola bar, breaking the mood. He sprawled on the couch near Christy and put one foot up on the coffee table.
«Make yourself at home.» Hiro chuckled and Christy followed suit.
«After the night we just had, I think I'm entitled to put my feet on the furniture, don't you?»
«Oh, you're entitled to more than that, my friend.» Sebastian's voice came from the patio entry, where he drew the glass door open and stepped through.
Christy popped off the couch and went to him, hugging him in greeting as the others followed behind their host. Ian was there, with Hastings, Cameron, and a few other were she'd met in passing.
A dutiful host, Sebastian poured drinks for them all. He gave Cam the precious, two-hundred-year-old Scotch he favored and poured deep red wine for himself, his vampire brethren, and his lady. The were drank their choice of beers and liquors Sebastian kept on hand for guests, and chowed down on the various snacks stocked in the small bar at the side of the room. Some followed their noses to the kitchen for a meal with their fellows, who were cooking up a storm for the always hungry werefolk.
«Everything's settled then?» Hiro asked as he greeted his colleagues.
Sebastian nodded once as Ian answered for them both. «He's never coming back.»
«Praise the Lady for that,» Matt said from the couch, succinctly summing up all their feelings on the matter.
«I still can't believe how powerful that mage was.» Sebastian shook his head. «Cam, you did some amazing things tonight and I can never thank you enough.»
Cameron gestured with one weary hand and collapsed into an overstuffed chair. Sebastian tucked Christy into his arms and sat on the couch beside Matt. The werecougar's head rested against the back of the leather sofa, his eyes heavy-lidded.
«The pattern on Mario's face was the key. The most important bit was the nine lines Christy described-signifying the nine realms to which Mario's magic was connected. I'm sorry to say, he was more powerful than any mage I've met before in this mortal realm. Few have connections to more than three or four other realms, but our boy Mario had a direct link to what I like to call the sixth level of hell. If I'm not much mistaken, that sixth line represented his link to the place where Elspeth is exiled. For a certainty, he was using Elspian magic of a kind not seen here for many generations.» Cam sighed, not liking the implications for the future. «Since Mario was mortal, I assume that base line– the longest one and next powerful-was his link to this realm of his birth. The Lady only knows where those other lines led. I fear to think on it.» Cam shuddered in his seat. «Once I was able to sever those two strongest links, the rest collapsed. It was a tricky piece of magic, and not my neatest by any means, but it did the trick. This time.» His mouth set in a grim line.
«It was like nothing I've ever seen.» Matt eyed him with both awe and suspicion.
«That sort of magic is not of this realm. For that matter, I'm not of this realm, laddie.» Cam winked. «It's a case of fighting fire with fire. Otherrealm magic often can only be countered by similar means. That's part of what I do here, playing about in your world. When I find out about evil from other places infiltrating here, one of my duties is to track it down and eliminate it, but I'm sorry to say, without your link to our Christina, all my magic would have been for naught this night. I've never faced an opponent like this one and I fear he's not the last we will see. Tonight proved-as nothing else could– that we'll all have to work together. On my own, I could not have taken Mario down.» Silence met that stark announcement. «His spell immobilized everything except his prey. It even worked to keep me glued to my place, though I could move more than anyone else because of my ties to other realms beyond Mario's reach. Still, if I'd been facing him alone, all he would've had to do is walk behind me where I couldn't see him and stab me in the back. He wouldn't even have to do it magically. A simple knife would've worked at that point. I've never felt so powerless in all my long life.»
Cameron saw his words sink in. He'd meant his warning to sober them and judging by the looks on their faces, it had. He knew he had to impress upon them how important it was to keep their temporary alliance going.
Sebastian broke the uncomfortable silence. «Your words are troubling, old friend, but well taken. I think we've started something here, with this group of friends we've gathered together. I take your warning to mean we should probably expect to work together more often if Mario is just the tip of the evil iceberg we've yet to fully discover.»
«As usual, you see through to the heart of the thing, lad.» Cameron lifted the crystal glass and drained it. «This alliance between your kind and the were must continue. For my part, my few fey brethren in this realm are already allied with the were, we'd extend that to those bloodletters who are willing to work with us for the duration of this threat, as well.»
Sebastian nodded, his face grave. «I've always been a friend to were and fey. We'll have to talk to Marc about formalizing relations, but I don't think he'll have any objection. He understands the threat we all face, though I don't think any of us realized until just recently how dreadful the danger truly is.»
An hour or two before dawn, the informal gathering broke up. Most of them sought guest rooms to grab some much needed rest while the rest of the were took turns guarding the estate. Sebastian was grateful for their vigilance and willingness to lend a hand. He was wiped out from the adventures of the night, and in desperate need of some alone time with his new mate.
He led her to the large master bath in the underground chambers where they would sleep away the day in each other's arms. But first, he very much needed to clean up, and to pamper his lady. He needed to do so, to reassure himself that all was once again well– at least for now.
He drew a bath in the oversized tub while Christina undressed, lacing the warm water with lavender bath salts he had specially made with pure essential oils. There was nothing like the scent, and he loved the feel of the refreshing mixture of sea salt and cleansing lavender oil on his skin. It was something from his old life in England that he'd never been able to forget or cast aside.
His mother had grown lavender and used the essential oil from the plant for all kinds of things. She'd been an amateur herbalist and had taught her son many things about plants and their uses. Now, hundreds of years later, Sebastian used those same recipes, learned at his beloved mother's knee, to have different creams and lotions made up for his personal use-and now for Christina's.
In his day, lavender hadn't been strictly a women's scent, and he still loved it. Certainly, he didn't think he'd ever countenance going about smelling of roses or gardenias, but he knew some dandy recipes for things he would order at the first opportunity for Christina. He longed to spoil her in every way and protect her all their lives, however long that proved to be.
«Come, my love, the bath is ready.»
He knew he didn't have to speak the words. Christina was in his mind at all times now, as he was in hers. It had been strange at first, until they'd learned how to manage the information overload. They'd worked over the past weeks at segregating each other's thoughts to discrete areas so things were less confusing, but when they wanted to, they could open the channel wide and share everything they felt and thought with each other.
The best possible time for such deep sharing was in passion and they did so often, but each time it was special. Still new, their relationship was the deepest part of each of their souls. They were truly One, never to be parted, which made him feel both safe and utterly terrified of losing her.