Damn. That one just doesn’t get old.
“Very well,” she said. “Tell me when to let go.”
I blinked and said, “Right. Stand by.”
And I began the spell again, as I had on New Year’s Eve, only this time, with the assistance of the deliberately designed material construct, energy flowed remarkably more smoothly and efficiently. I brought candles to life and closed the circle as the clusters of crystals refracted excessenergy as light, varied in color, that illuminated the ghostly, curved double wall of the closed greater circle.
Lara tensed on her feet, hands closing into fists, squeezing her eyes tightly shut. Her mouth opened in a gasp as the circle closed, and then she clenched her teeth together, ghostly white against the darker blush of her lips.
“All right,” I said, keeping my voice firm as I gathered my will for the spell. “We’re ready, Lara.”
She nodded jerkily and then arched up onto her toes, her head falling back.
Okay, I know I had just said that I was ready.
But I wasn’t ready.
I watched her Hunger take her.
Something changed. Shifted. I couldn’t have told you what it was, but every fiber of my being was suddenly sure that I was in mortal danger.
Lara opened her eyes slowly, and they were simply glossy mirrors, silver and bright, reflecting the lab’s candlelight in slowly warping images. She tilted her head slightly, looking at me, and the inside of the greater circle abruptly flared with light as a sudden tsunami of smoldering, lustful will flashed forth from Lara toward me, only to splash against the interior of the circle, radiating up like scorching heat waves on a summer road.
Hell’s bells. The circle absorbed the supernatural influence, insulating me completely. If it hadn’t, I was pretty sure I’d be food for the Hunger by now.
Lara focused upon me and narrowed her eyes. Her balance shifted, but I lifted a hand and made an effort of will, and her foot did not leave the ground. She remained trapped in the loop of the infinity symbol in the circle’s center.
She took in her circumstances, her expression unreadable. Then her sensual mouth quirked at one corner and she slowly settled down onto her heels, hips shifting noticeably, hands reaching forward as if ready to spring into a quadrupedal run, mirrored eyes focused expressly upon me. Lara tilted her head and let out a soft, moaning sound, a weirdly quavering thing, while waves of psychic influence continued to pour offof her, lashing around the interior of the circle in dazzling waves of color.
I could feel the energy of the spell vibrate in time with her voice, quivering as it wavered back and forth, and felt a sudden thrum of disorienting sensation flood over me, as if my body had been a guitar string that had suddenly been plucked.
Ah. Ahhhhhhhhh…buzzed a voice in my mind. It wasn’t a sound, because it never went past those bones in my ears. But I could hear it in my head, and it felt like a slithering ball of slippery tongues writhing about the interior of my skull, pressing at my thoughts.There it is, the frequency. Now it hears.
Lara’s Hunger swept its silver eyes around the circle. The force of its will slammed against the circle on its other side. Then it turned and picked a new spot, pressing against the energy of the spell, testing for imperfections.
We fed upon it at the celebration, the voice in my head said. Lara bared her teeth in a wide, unnerving smile.We want more.Come to us, mortal thing.
The last words struck that chord in my head again, and the Hunger’s will surged against my mental defenses. I steadied myself as if against a wave, feeling a surge of naked lust slam against me, wash over me in a full-body frisson—and then it was past, and I still stood before the circle, holding the spell steady, secure in my focus and intent.
I mean, seriously. Investing in a greater circle makes all the difference. If I’d had the means, I’d have done this years ago.
The Hunger’s eyes widened. Lara’s mouth twisted into a snarl as she slammed her fist out to the side—where it smashed against the circle of light as if it had been a brick wall. The Hunger struck around at several points of the circle, where she could reach, but I’d done my work properly. It held.
The Hunger bared more of Lara’s teeth than should have been strictly possible and let out a low, harsh hissing sound.
What does it want?said the slithering voice in my head.Let me give it whatever it wants. What remains unfulfilled? Let me into the void in you, mortal. Anything you desire.
It wasn’t just words.
It came with pictures. Sensory input.
Things I didn’t have senses for. Couldn’t understand.
There was a sudden, awful pressure in my head.
“Stop that!” I snapped, and sent a lance of my will forward, against what the Hunger had hurled at me through the connection of the spell.
Lara, crouched low, rocked to one side as if I’d slapped her, and the pressure vanished. She blinked silver mirror eyes wide open and looked shocked. She stared at me for a second and the voice slither-whispered,Starborn.
