The light hit her with the impact of a sledgehammer, flinging her backward at least a dozen feet.
Frederic froze for a second, then leaped at me, his face twisting in hate. "If you will not use the light, then I will!"
A sharp burning pain bit deep into my side. I stared down in horror to see him pulling the knife from my side. The blade glistened with blood, but glowed with a pure white light that faded from me even as I watched.
Frederic whirled and ran toward Kristoff. Denise, still struggling with Ulfur, screamed an order to kill me. Magda picked up a rock and slammed it on her head, pointing beyond me and yelling.
Alec had risen to his feet, the right side of his body still rather gruesome, but miraculously partly healed. He lunged forward, knocking Mikael aside in a desperate attempt to free Kristoff's hands.
Greta shot him three times in the chest, sending Alec to his knees.
I knew with absolute certainty that Frederic was going to plunge the light-drenched dagger into Kristoff's heart, and I had no power left to stop him.
I acted without thinking. I leaped forward, throwing myself toward Kristoff, screaming, "No!"
Frederic raised the dagger high in both hands, chanting in a high, strange voice, "In tua luce videmus lucem!" before jerking his hands down.
The knife bit into my back as I landed on top of Kristoff. Alec hauled himself to his feet, still frantically trying to free Kristoff's hands despite the fact that Greta continued to empty her gun into him.
Pain blossomed slowly as I lifted my head, a hot glow spreading out from the blade in slow waves of heat that quickly picked up intensity.
Shouts rang out through the trees, familiar voices calling to Kristoff and Alec.
"The light must have faded," I told Kristoff, who lay prone beneath me, the waves of heat starting to make thinking difficult. "I told you to have faith in me."
"I do," he said, the lovely teal of his eyes burning bright.
Frederic screamed as the vampires reached him.
Magda rushed over to me, gasping at the knife that I knew was protruding from my back. "Dear god in heaven, Pia. Dear god!"
"I'm all right," I said, my voice a croak as hands helped me off Kristoff and the stone. My head was swimming, but I made an effort to clear it. Alec, after having kicked the gun from Greta, sent her flying into Rowan's waiting arms, and staggered toward me, grabbing me in a careful but tight embrace.
"My love, my brave love. It is all over, my Beloved. Do not cry, it is over."
I wasn't crying, but I was shaking with the aftereffects of having been twice stabbed. I didn't complain, however, as Alec cradled me, murmuring words of comfort.
"What are you doing? You can't move her!" Magda ordered, trying to pry Alec's hands off of me. "She's been stabbed! We have to get her to a hospital! Dear god, don't any of you know how to treat someone who's been stabbed? Pia, sweetie, lie down. We'll call an aid unit."
"There is no need for mortal assistance," I heard Christian say. I lifted my head, looking at him. He eyed my back carefully for a moment, then, to my surprise, smiled.
"I realize you don't like me, and you'd probably like me dead at this very moment, but I would like to point out that I did not harm any of your people, and I am wounded."
"That doesn't matter anymore," he said, the odd smile still on his lips.
Alec suddenly stepped back, an indescribable expression on his face.
"There will be repercussions, Pia."
"What?" I dragged my attention from Alec to him.
"I'm sure you still want me dead, but I can assure you—"
"The council will speak to you later, after things have sorted themselves out."
"I must be in shock again," I said, shaking my head. "None of this is making any sense."
"If you are in shock, then so am I. Why are you standing around smiling?" Magda demanded to know.
"She is a Beloved. She is immortal," Christian said, and before I could say anything he plucked the knife from my back.
I yelped and spun around. "Hey!"
"The wound will heal by itself in a few minutes," he told me, glancing beyond to Alec. "I will leave you to Alec. He will no doubt wish to explain to you what it is to be a Beloved."
"But I thought…" I blinked a few times, but as usual, that didn't make things any clearer. "A Beloved? How can that be?"
"You sacrificed yourself," Alec said, his expression stunned. "You saved Kristoff. They would have killed me, too, after him, but you… I… I don't know…"
He stumbled off a few feet, looking as if the ground had been pulled out from under his feet.
I looked over to where Kristoff was being assisted to his feet by Rowan and Andreas.
"So I really am a Beloved after all?" I asked, feeling oddly empty inside.
"You are." Christian gave me a long look, then handed me a business card. "We will be in contact."
Then he turned and strode off to where the others were holding Frederic and his buddies.
"What is happening?" I asked no one in particular.
"I'd say your friends are all nutters, but you know, that guy is right—the wound has healed itself up," Magda said, examining my back.
"I'm Alec's Beloved," I said, trying to come to grips with the fact. Saying it aloud didn't seem to help.
Kristoff took a step toward me, hesitated, then walked past without saying a word.
Pain lanced through me. I saved his life and he couldn't even acknowledge that? More than ever I felt like crying. Kristoff might be upset that I was his friend's Beloved, but it hurt that he couldn't even face me.
"You're welcome," I said, fighting tears.
"He has been gravely wounded," Rowan said before he went over to help the others as they stood guard over the Brotherhood people.
Ulfur stood silently watching us, Ragnar behind him, both of them nearly invisible. They must have exhausted their reserves.
"Thank you," I told Ulfur, and he summoned up enough energy to materialize a physical form long enough for me to hug him. "You saved us all, but the time has come for you to go. Everyone is waiting for you."
He gave me a sad smile and faded back to a translucent state. "It's too late."
I turned to look at the entrance to Ostri, but it was gone. It must have disappeared when the ritual was stopped.
"No," I said, my shoulders drooping. "Oh, Ulfur—"
"It's all right," he said, lifting a hand to me. "I kind of like this world. It is interesting, at least. Be well, Zorya Pia. Go with the blessing of the village."
Pain spun through me, pain and regret so great I wanted to howl to the sky about the injustices of the world that couldn't be made right.
Magda touched my arm. "Is it over?"
"Yes." I couldn't move. My legs were like lead weights, as heavy as my spirits.
"The good guys won?"
"Yes."
She patted me gently, careful to avoid the two puncture points. "You did the right thing, but I never doubted you would. And hey, look at it this way—you not only got a new career and two husbands, now you have a vampire of your very own."
A vampire of my own. I stood numbly thinking about that as she wandered over to offer her help to the remaining vampires. Lucky me, bound for all eternity to man I didn't know.
But it didn't have to stay that way, did it? We were bound together now—Kristoff had said that Beloveds and their Dark Ones could talk together without words, use some sort of mental telepathy to communicate. It seemed to me that would offer a good way to learn about someone.
Are you out there? I asked, my eyes on the retreating figure of Alec as he caught up to Kristoff, the two of them about move out of sight into the trees. Can you hear me? Does this really work?
Yes, it does. The voice was instantly there in my head, as loud as if it had been spoken in my ear.