Spellbound Read Online Free PDF Page B

without him, you see. Alasdair’s power spread like vultures’ wings. He would have her then, willing or not. But with the last of her strength, she stumbled into the circle where her lover’s blood stained the ground. There a vow she made, and a spell she cast. There, while the walls rang and the torches burned, she swore her abiding love for Caelan. For a thousand years she would wait, she would bide. She sent the fire roaring through her home, for she would not let Alasdair have it. And the spell she cast was this.”
    She drew a deep breath now, kept her eyes on his. “A thousand years to the night, they would come back and faceAlasdair as one. If their hearts were strong, they would defeat him in this place. But such spells have a price, and hers was to vow that if Caelan did not believe, did not stand with her that night as one, her power would wink out. And she would belong to Alasdair. Pledging this, she knelt beside her love, embraced him. And vanished them both.”
    He waited a moment, surprised that he’d found her story and the telling of it hypnotic. Studying her, he rocked back on his heels. “A pretty tale, Bryna.”
    “Do you still see it as such?” She shook her head, her eyes pleading. “Can you look at me, hear me, and remember nothing?”
    “You want me to believe I’m some sort of reincarnation of a Celtic warrior and you’re the reincarnation of a witch.” He let out a short laugh. “We’ve waited a millennium and now we’re going to do battle with the bad witch of the west? Come on, honey, do I look that gullible?”
    She closed her eyes. The telling of the tale, the reliving of it had tired her. She needed all her resources now. “He has to believe,” she murmured, pacing away from the wall. “There’s no time for subtle persuading.” She whirled back to face him. “You had a vivid imagination as a child,” she said angrily. “It’s a pity you tossed it aside. Tossed me aside—”
    “Listen, sweetheart—”
    “Oh, don’t use those terms with me. Haven’t I heard you croon them to other women as you guided them into bed? I didn’t expect you to be a monk waiting for this day, but did you have to enjoy it so damn much?”
    “Excuse me?”
    “Oh, never mind. Just never mind.” She gestured impatiently as she paced. “‘A pretty tale,’ he says. Did it take a millennium to make him so stubborn, so blind? Well, we’ll see, Calin Farrell, what we’ll see.”
    She stopped directly in front of him, her eyes burning with temper, her face flushed with it. “A reincarnation of a witch? Perhaps that’s true. But you’ll see for yourself one simple fact. I am a witch, and not without power yet.”
    “Crazy is what you are.” He started to turn.
    “Hold!” She drew in a breath, and the wind whipped again, wild and wailing. His feet were cemented to the spot. “See,” she ordered and flung a hand down toward the ground between them.
    It was the first charm learned, the last lost. Though her hand trembled with the effort, the fire erupted, burning cold and bright.
    He swore and would have leaped back if he’d been able. There was no wood, there was no match, just that golden ball of flame shimmering at his feet. “What the hell is this?”
    “Proof, if you’ll take it.” Over the flames, she reached out a hand. “I’ve called to you in the night, Calin, but you wouldn’t hear me. But you know me—you know my face, my mind, my heart. Can you look at me and deny it?”
    “No.” His throat was dust-dry, his temples throbbing. “No, I can’t. But I don’t want this.”
    Her hand fell to her side. The fire vanished. “I can’t make you want. I can only make you see.” She swayed suddenly, surprising them both.
    “Hey!” He caught her as her legs buckled.
    “I’m just tired.” She struggled to find her pride at least, to pull back from him. “Just tired, that’s all.”
    She’d gone deathly pale, he noted, and she felt as limp as if every bone in her