The Stone Prince

TWENTY-THREE

A FEMALE SCREAM TORE through the house.

Jorlan reacted immediately. He reached for his weapon and raced from the chamber. Was Katie hurt again? Nay. Nay, he had watched her hawkishly all morn, and right now she was in the bathing chamber perfectly safe.

Just then, a single, terrifying thought suddenly slammed into his mind. What if the lingering effects of his magic had splintered the wood inside the bathing chamber? Fingers of dread clutched at him, chilled his blood, and he cursed himself for allowing Katie a single moment away from him.

At the chamber, a dark wood door barred his entrance.

“Katie,” he shouted.

She didn’t answer.

He kicked the wood with his foot and timber shards went flying. The small room was empty. The window was open, allowing rain to trickle inside. Heather raced through the hallway, then stopped abruptly. Water dripped from her clothing. She whipped around and faced him, her features etched with panic. “Jorlan,” she cried. “You have to help me. Please. Come quick.”

Katie? Where was Katie?

He must have spoken the question aloud because the answer rushed from Heather’s mouth. “Percen has her. He’s going to hurt her if we don’t do something.”

Jorlan clutched his weapon with all his might. There was no time to question how Heather knew of Percen. “Where is she?”

“I’ll take you.” Tears streamed down the girl’s face leaving a glossy trail. “I should have told you sooner, but I wanted him in my life. But he doesn’t deserve me. He doesn’t,” she rambled.

They flew into the garden, and Jorlan welcomed the rain. The cold kept him alert and ready. Yet, in the center, Jorlan stopped midstride, frozen. In a flash as powerful as the lightning above, he realized his mother peered down at him through white stone eyes. Shocked, horrified, he dropped his weapon and sank to his knees. He hadn’t seen her in so long, so very long, and now to see her like this…

“What are you doing?” Heather cried, tugging at his arm. “We have to hurry.”

Jorlan knew ’twas Percen’s doing, for no other sorcerer could perform the stone spell quite so expertly. How could his brother curse their mother to this life that was no life at all? He had to save her, had to help her in some way.

“You helped me, didn’t you?” he asked her. “You helped me save Katie. Now I must save you.” But there was no time. His first duty was the protection of his life-mate.

“Hurry, Jorlan.” Heather’s voice cut into his thoughts. “We have to find them.”

“I am sorry, Mother,” he whispered, slowly standing. “I will come back for you.”

“No need,” a smug voice laughed. Percen materialized a few feet away, Katie just in front of him.

Jorlan’s eyes narrowed. Katie’s clothing was plastered to her body and partially undone. The sorcerer had his hands on her shoulders, stroking her like a kitten. Her amber eyes were glazed with vague detachment. The bastard had entranced her with a spell, Jorlan realized, and he feared if he attempted to snatch her from his brother’s grasp, she would fight him. Still, relief that she was alive washed over him in a crashing tide.

“Release her from your snare.” He longed to rush his brother, to cut the bastard down before he could harm Katie, but in doing so, Jorlan feared he would hurt his life-mate. “Must you hide behind a woman?”

“Nay.” Percen’s lips pursed. “I need not hide. I simply thought you would enjoy watching as I destroy your one chance of gaining freedom.”

“I do not care about myself. I care only for her.”

“Do you speak true? I wonder…” Still grinning, his brother cupped the weight of Katie’s breast, and Katie’s eyes closed in surrender. “Would you still care for her if she gave herself to me?”

Heather gasped at the sight. “Stop! What are you doing?” Tears continued to flow like a river down her cheeks. “I thought you loved me.”

Percen’s angry mask slipped for a moment, revealing devastation and hurt, but then his eyes narrowed and he returned his attention to Jorlan.

“You will die for this,” Jorlan told him. “You realize that, do you not?” All the hatred he felt for his brother surfaced. “If you are brave enough, let us at last end our feud.”

“Percen,” Heather sobbed.

His brother hesitated for a long while. Then he nodded. The fire in his eyes roared to life with molten promise, and he shoved Katie aside. “Aye, ’tis time we at last ended this, and what better way than death.”

Jorlan didn’t give him time to react. With an unholy roar, he sprang into action like a panther who had just spotted his evening meal. Almost too quick for the eye to see, he drew back his elbow and planted a fist into his brother’s jaw. Percen’s head snapped back. Blood trickled from his mouth.

Jorlan struck him again.

Percen uttered an unholy screech and flew at him. They grappled to the hard ground, fists and legs flying like two wild beasts.

Heather’s scream pierced the air.

“I cursed Mon Graig,” Percen taunted, half in laughter, half in rage. “Even if your woman loves you, you cannot go home now.”

“You are wrong. So wrong.” Jorlan thrust his fist smack into his brother’s face again. “I can take myself.”

Katie slowly came to her senses. When she did, she wished she had not. Shock froze her in place, and there wasn’t anything to soften the reality of what couldn’t, couldn’t be happening around her. But the sound of crushed bones and pain-filled moans assaulted her ears as she watched Jorlan and Percen beat at each other. This was all too real. While Percen lacked Jorlan’s strength, his magic more than made up for it and placed power behind his blows. If she lived to be two hundred years old, she would never forget the terror and desolation of this moment.

Though she hated to leave him even for a second, she raced inside the house. Her fingers trembled as she grabbed the phone. It took her three times to dial correctly, but she finally managed to call Gray’s cell phone.

The moment he answered, she rushed out, “I’m at the Victorian. They’re killing each other. You have to hurry.” She didn’t give him time to respond. She simply threw down the phone and rushed back outside.

Jorlan landed a blow to Percen’s mouth. Blood and teeth flew from the man’s parted, swollen lips. He fell onto the new statue, causing his blood to mingle with the white stone. A crimson stream trickled along the woman’s feet.

Slowly, the stone disappeared, leaving a beautiful, dark-haired woman in its place. Katie paid her no heed. Jorlan was in danger. She had to help him, had to make the fighting stop. She glanced around for some type of weapon. Found nothing.

“You cursed me, you bastard,” Jorlan growled. “Then you cursed our mother and tried to kill the woman I love.”

“You cursed me the day you were born. She loved you. Always you.” There was a wildness to Percen’s tone that she’d never heard in a human voice before.

On and on the fight continued. Finally, she heard the comforting blare of police sirens. Soon, red-and-blue lights flashed all around the garden.

“Katie!” Gray shouted a moment later.

“Hurry.” She shouted the demand in a voice that shook with terror. “In the center of the garden.”

In seconds he and Steve Harris were there, kneeling, guns drawn. “I’ve already called for backup,” Steve said.

“Jorlan, put your hands up and move away,” her brother commanded. “Do what I say before I’m forced to shoot you.”

Percen chose that moment to unsheath a long, lethal-looking dagger.

“Put the weapon down,” Gray shouted. “Put the fucking weapon down now.”

As if in slow motion, she watched Jorlan and Percen lunge for each other.

The woman who had changed from stone to flesh shouted “Nay,” and sprang forward. But she didn’t go to Jorlan; she went to Percen.

Heather screamed and rushed in front of Percen.

Katie jumped in front of Jorlan.

Four shots rang out.

Both the strange woman and Heather collapsed at Percen’s feet. Katie remained standing. Percen gazed down at the two bodies surrounding him, eyes wide, and dropped hs blade.

Heather slowly sat up, wiping tears and rain from her eyes. “My shoulder,” she said, shock making her sound hoarse. “My shoulder is bleeding.” The other woman didn’t move. Blood seeped from her chest at three separate wounds.

Katie whipped around. Jorlan stood frozen, as if he couldn’t move. “Jorlan!” Horrified, she watched as his beautiful skin began to turn white. Oh my God. She knew exactly what was happening. “Jorlan, I love you,” she shouted over a clap of thunder. “I love you. I do. I love you.”

Her confession came too late.

He gazed down at her, his lips curling up in a smile and his eyes warming with love. “You have made me the happiest of men, katya. Never doubt that.” And then, the stone consumed him completely. He spoke no more.

What had she done? Katie sobbed silently. Horror wrapped around her like a thick sheen of ice. Too long. She’d waited too long, and now her unwillingness to believe in this man that she loved had caused her to lose him. She’d wanted proof of his love. He’d just given it to her.

“I’ve loved you since the beginning,” she whispered brokenly. “I was just afraid to admit it, even to myself. I don’t think I ever really doubted your feelings for me. I just couldn’t allow myself to believe. If I had, I would have had to go to Imperia with you or let you go without me. I couldn’t let you go.”

Behind her, Steve rushed at Percen, wanting to cuff him. Percen caught the action and brushed his hand swiftly through the air, creating some type of invisible shield no one could penetrate. The sorcerer sank to his knees. “You saved me,” he said to the unconscious woman. “You saved me.”

Sirens echoed in the background. The Dallas PD was arriving in torrent. Katie didn’t care about anyone except her husband. She stood on her tiptoes and placed a soft kiss upon his lips. “Please, Jorlan, come back to me. I love you. I swear I do.”

He remained as he was.

“Damn you, why won’t you come back to me?”

Her brother was at her side in the next instant, trying to pull her away from the statue. She clung to Jorlan with all her might, shaking him in the process. “I need you. I need you so much.” So many times she’d imagined their parting, but now that it was upon her, she knew she couldn’t live without him. She’d go wherever he wanted her to go; she’d take him on any terms. If only he would come back to her.

“I’m your little witch and I command you to open your eyes.” The words left her mouth softly, quietly, as another round of thunder boomed overhead. Maybe Percen could help her, she though hopefully. “Percen?”

He ignored her.

“Percen, God damn you, cast a spell! Do something to save him.”

He acted as if he didn’t hear her. Maybe he didn’t. He was focused solely on his mother, gently gathering her into his arms. “Why?” he asked brokenly. “Why did you do that? You could have saved Jorlan, but you chose me.” He gave a violent shake of his head and raised his fists to the heavens, cursing all the while. But then, suddenly, his shoulders slumped. “I have done this to you.” He hung his head and sobbed.

When he quieted, he gazed up beseechingly at Heather. “Help me, Heather. Please help me. I’m so sorry for all I’ve done to you. Give me a chance. I’ll make it up to you. I swear by the ancient Druinn laws I’ll make this up to you. Do not leave me now. I need you too desperately.”

Wincing in pain, Heather dropped to her knees behind him and took him in her arms. “I’m here. I’ll always be here for you.”

He closed his eyes for the briefest moment and nodded. Then, he waved his hand through the air and the trio disappeared.

In that moment, images flashed through Katie’s mind. Images of Imperia, of the billowing white grass, the crystal castles and the high-flying dragons. Jorlan would never reach his home, the place he’d always longed to be.

Her knees crumpled and she floated to the ground in a rain-soaked puddle.

A week later

DUSK WAS QUICKLY SETTLING over the horizon, leaving a violet and golden glow in its wake. Wind swirled around the two figures atop the cliff, lifting their robes in a primitive dance. The air was laced with silvery droplets of moisture that swept from the cliff all the way to the white sands of Druinn, creating a cool, damp haven.

Despair and shame beat inside of Percen for all the pain that he had caused. However, hope and joy proved tenacious because of the woman at his side. His mother was dead and he knew an eternity could not wipe away his guilt.

With a bit of help from his magic, Heather’s shoulder had healed enough that it no longer gave her any pain. She wrapped her fingers around his right palm, giving him strength for what he was about to do. In his left hand he held his mother’s amulet. Imperian custom demanded he destroy that which had been the heart of his mother’s magic. Yet he could not bring himself to destroy this last reminder of her.

And so, he stood above Artillian Mer, the largest body of water on Imperia, to pay his mother homage and give her essence back to the powers that created her. His fingers trembling, he raised the amulet to his lips and placed a soft kiss upon the center. He drew in a deep breath. Let it out. Tears began to slide down his cheeks. “I love you,” he whispered brokenly. He removed the left stone, the smallest of the three, then tossed the necklace into the churning amber liquid.

He watched the amulet sink, slowly at first, then disappearing altogether in the depths. Silence stretched for a long while. Neither he nor Heather moved away.

“Thank you for coming with me,” he told her softly. “I just wish you could have known her.”

“I knew the most important thing about her. She loved you.”

“Aye, she did. She truly did, and yet I am responsible for her death.”

Heather’s fingers tightened around him.

“I could take you back to your world if you wished.” His gaze never left the water. He didn’t want to face her yet, for fear of what he’d see in her eyes.

She answered without hesitation. “I want to stay here with you…if you’ll have me.”

The viselike grip clamping around his muscles eased. He turned his chin to stare at her in wonder, awe and happiness. “I am glad, so glad. I do not think I could survive without you.”

She gave him a half smile. “You’re stronger than you think, Percen. We both are.”

He took her face in his hands, loving the feel of her skin. “I have to go back for a little while. I cannot tamper with Imperia’s time, for the magic here will not allow what has happened to be undone. But I can manipulate another world’s time within a season of my last departure. While that will not save my mother,” he whispered sadly, “it will allow me to do something for her.” He closed his eyes and pressed his forehead against Heather’s. “I must try and right the wrong I have caused Katie and Jorlan.”

“I know, and I’ll be here, awaiting your return.”

He placed a soft kiss upon her lips. She wrapped her arms around his neck. Behind them, Imperia’s three suns finally descended.

KATIE WHIPPED her truck into her driveway. Two weeks had passed since Jorlan had returned to stone. Two miserable, horrible, wretched weeks! She’d been racked with grief every day, grief that only grew, never lessened.

Gray called her every morning. The first week, he’d been in shock from what he’d seen. But he and Steve had agreed not to speak of the things that had happened. Who would have believed them, anyway? Now Gray and the rest of her family simply wanted to know how she was doing.

How was she doing?

Horribly.

She wanted Jorlan back in her life, in her arms and in her bed. He was her husband, after all. How could she have ever been so stupid as to think she didn’t love him? So stupid to think he didn’t love her? She’d invaded every library and Internet resource she knew, but hadn’t even found a cross-reference to a stone spell.

Tears spilled down her cheeks, and she rested her head against the steering wheel. The future looked so bleak and pale without him. What was she going to do?

What was she going to do?

What if she never found a way…No, she couldn’t allow herself to think like that. She would find a way to save Jorlan; she had to believe that. Determined, she wiped her tears away with trembling fingers and emerged from her truck. She strode inside her house. Fighting great waves of depression, she tossed her jacket on the floor and went into the kitchen.

Without Jorlan beside her, everything just seemed wrong. Like her soul wasn’t complete. She sniffled, dangerously close to tears again. Pressing her lips tightly shut, she went into the living room and flipped on the television. She squeezed her eyes closed and tried to clear her mind. She hadn’t slept at all in the past weeks and soon felt herself drift away into fitful oblivion.

A few hours later, she awoke to a man standing over her. Percen. She jolted up, fury pounding through her. “You!” She lunged at him, intent on killing him for all the things he’d done to Jorlan. He didn’t try to fight back, just let her beat at him, as if he knew he deserved every punch, scratch and kick.

Finally, her strength deserted her and she collapsed on the couch. Percen remained in front of her, though he watched her cautiously.

“I’ve come to help you,” he said.

“Why should I believe you?” she snapped, but hope was a silly thing and was already unfurling inside her.

“You shouldn’t,” he answered simply. “All you can do is allow me a chance.”

“Can you free him?”

He hesitated only a moment. “Nay. I cannot. I created the spell so that not even I could undo it.”

Her shoulders slumped. What good was he to her if he could not grant her fondest desire?

“Get out of my house, Percen. I don’t want you here.”

“What I can do, however, is teach you the stone spell.”

He could teach her the…Katie sat up straighter. Yes. Yes! Why hadn’t she thought of that before? If she turned herself to stone, she could be beside Jorlan forever. She didn’t have to think about her answer.

“Yes. Teach me the spell.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. Damn you, yes!”

“Then you will need this.” He placed a small blue stone in her palm.

Warmth tingled up her arm, and power hummed at each of her fingertips.

“Come,” Percen said. “I would like to see him.” Together they walked to Jorlan’s statue.

Each time she saw him, Katie was filled with love and tenderness and desperation for this man she had so long denied.

Percen stood, gazing at his brother. “Why did I not release my anger sooner?” His deep baritone dripped with longing and pain. “Why?”

What a pair they made, Katie thought. Jorlan’s brother unable to let go of the past. She, unable to grasp the future. “We all have our reasons for doing the things that we do. We can only learn from them, and go on.”

“Heather says the same.” Percen sighed, the sound an echo of his inner torment.

Lord, in her grief, she had all but forgotten Heather. “So Heather is well?”

“Aye. I have made her my life-mate, much to the distress of the Druinn. But I am High Priest, and they can do nothing to usurp my law.” His gaze skidded away. “I–I am sorry for all the pain I caused you, Katie. So sorry.”

She thought about all the things she could have said just then. I hate you for what you’ve done. I hope you feel as much pain as I do. But she realized that she truly didn’t want to say those things. She couldn’t. It took only one look at Percen’s blue eyes, eyes so much like Jorlan’s, to see that he suffered, too. She took in a deep breath and sighed. “You are…forgiven. I have to forgive you,” she rushed on, before she stopped herself. “This is my fault as much as yours. Had I not been so stubborn, so selfish, Jorlan would never have returned to stone.”

A look of disbelief sprang into Percen’s eyes. “You truly forgive me?”

“I think even Jorlan has forgiven you,” she added. “The grudge you bore each other brought you nothing but pain.”

Percen all but sobbed, “Nay. It brought us love, as well.”

For a long moment, the only sound was birds chirping nearby. Katie didn’t think she could respond to such a statement. Her love for Jorlan was killing her.

As if it hurt to look at her, Percen moved his gaze to the fading sunset, and said, “I have freed Mon Craig. If you decide not to utter the spell, and wish to visit Imperia, go to him and he will take you.”

Her lips trembled, and she managed a nod.

“Jorlan can hear us, do you know that?”

“Yes,” she whispered. “I know.”

“I want him to know who killed his father. ’Tis my gift to him, though I know it can never make up for what I have done.” He faced the statue. “It was…it was our mother. Do not blame her though,” Percen rushed to add. “The king asked her to do it. He hated being old while she was so young.”

The knowledge shocked Katie, and she knew it had shocked Jorlan, as well. “How do you know this?” she asked.

“I divined the truth the same day ’twas done.” Percen paused, sucked in a breath, as if to bury the past. Unable to talk about it any longer, he said, “And now, my gift to you. Are you ready to learn the spell, Katie?”

She didn’t hesitate. “Yes.”

“Know first, that if you do this, you will be trapped inside, unable to respond. Nothing, not even a kiss, will set you free.”

“I understand.” She curled her fingers more tightly around the jewel she held, suddenly recalling the first psychic she and Jorlan had visited. You have the power within yourself to go home. Home was with Jorlan, and Katie would use every ounce of power she possessed to be with him. Even as stone.

Percen conjured a yellowed tome and handed it to her. “As you hold the stone, say these words…my sister, and know that I am eternally grateful for your forgiveness.” With that, he disappeared.

Katie spent the next hour tying up the loose ends of her affairs. She wrote a letter to the bank, telling them to give the deed to the Victorian to Frances. She wrote a letter to each of her brothers, explaining how much she loved them and expected them to always follow their hearts. Last, she wrote a letter to her dad. It was the hardest to write, and she often had to pause to wipe away her tears. When she finished, she signed, “Love, your sixth son.”

She left the letters on the table, knowing her brothers would search for her in a day or two. She just prayed they would understand.

With nothing left to do, she placed herself next to Jorlan, wrapped one hand around his and held the azure-colored jewel in the other. She was about to give up her freedom, her family, and her life, but oh, she was gaining so much more in return. If she couldn’t have a life with Jorlan, she would spend eternity beside him. After a deep breath, she began to utter the spell. Seconds later, she thought she felt the breeze kick up. She even saw a few leaves drop to the ground. But nothing happened to her.

She uttered the spell again. Still, nothing. She was as flesh-and-blood as always. Realizing she didn’t have the power to make it work, she leaned against Jorlan’s arm, closed her eyes and began to cry. Not a sobbing, gushing cry, but a salty trickle that flowed slowly down her cheeks. God, she missed Jorlan so much.

Katie’s palm began to burn. The jewel burned like debris from a spewing volcano. She felt something shift beside her. Then…nothing. “I love you, Jorlan,” she said, because it seemed there was nothing else to say. The spell hadn’t worked.

“Ah, katya,” a male voice said, rich with promise, “I will never tire of hearing your confession.”

Shocked, she jerked her head to stare at the man standing beside her, at the bronzed skin she loved and had missed so much.

Jorlan stood, smiling down at her. Lord, he was here and real and with her. Truly with her. Now tears of joy and hope and love slid down her cheeks in the torrent she denied herself before. She became a blubbering slob and she didn’t care.

Jorlan held her through it all, and brushed away her tears. “It feels so good to hold you again.”

“But how?” She gave him a watery smile. “How are you standing here, Jorlan?”

He chuckled. “’Twas not a stone spell you uttered, but a wishing spell. ’Tis something that works only with a supreme act of unselfishness. When you spoke the words, your willingness to join me gave you your fondest desire.”

“You,” she breathed. “It gave me you.”

“It seems I owe my brother a debt of gratitude.” He caressed a finger along her jawbone. “You were right, you know? I have forgiven Percen. How could I still hate him when he has given you back to me?”

Suddenly overcome with the force of her joy, she threw her arms around his neck. “Oh my God,” she said in between kisses. “You’re real. You’re real. You’re real.”

He breathed in the scent of her hair. “I am real, and I will be with you, here, always.”

Frowning, she pulled back just a little. “You don’t have to stay here, Jorlan. Mon Graig can take you to Imperia. And if you’ll have me…I’d like to go with you.”

“I will have you, katya, but I will have you here. This is my home. Besides, I am well able to open a vortex on my own now. Mon Graig is not needed.”

“But you haven’t been back, haven’t seen your family or your—”

“You are my life-mate, my family. The other half of my soul. I realized over the last days that Imperia is my past. You are my future.”

With those words ringing in her ears, Katie felt whole and complete again, fulfilled. Jorlan had come back to her and wanted to spend his life with her! What had she ever done to deserve this much happiness? A smile of contentment curved her lips, then slowly faded. “I’m sorry about your mother, Jorlan. So sorry.”

Sadness flickered in his eyes. “She has joined my father. I know she has found her rightful place, and I must be content with that.”

“I love you,” Katie whispered.

He kissed her softly. She clung to him. When he pulled back, they were both panting with need.

“I can’t believe this is happening,” she said. “I mean, what are the odds of you and I ever meeting? Of all the planets in all the galaxies, your mother sent you to mine.”

“I did not come here by chance, little witch. We were always meant to find one another. I love you, and I will always love you. Will you let me stay with you, be your life-mate and your lover? I will help you with your houses and love you all the days of our lives. If you will let me.”

She blinked up at him innocently. “As long as you agree to one more rule.”

He arched a brow, and his lips twitched. “And what is that?”

“Ravish me at least once a day.”

At that, he grinned. “That is one rule that needs no adjustment. Now take me inside, little witch, for I have need to obey this rule immediately.”