Without hesitation, Gregori and Francesca moved the incubators into the open area Ivory was preparing. Savannah gripped her mother's hand and whispered to Ivory, «Please, please.»
That overwhelming grief shook her. Razvan's voice was closer as he surrounded her with warmth. You can do this. There is only you and our mortal enemy. You were born to defeat him, Ivory. You can do this.
«I need four women. Syndil. You choose those closest to the earth.» She pulled her sword from her sheath. «They cannot flinch once we start. This thing, this great evil that Xavier wrought, will not go quickly or quietly. It will fight back. It will try to break us. So whoever you choose must have the courage to face whatever this evil might throw at them.»
Syndil didn't hesitate. «Natalya. Shea.» As the two women hurried forward, Syndil turned to a young girl. «Skyler. I know you're very young and perhaps I should not ask, but there are few as closely connected to the earth as you and few who have faced evil as bravely as you. Can you do this? Will you do this?»
The girl's face was pale, but she set her jaw and nodded before joining the others.
Once they were in place, Ivory lifted her chin and began to cast the circle of protection around Gregori and the infants, walking clockwise three times. She held her sword in her right hand, pointing it down, chanting as she walked.
Three times around this circle round Bind all evil, sink into the ground. That which is fire but born of ice, I command thee now to clear this space. Take that which is tainted and burn it pure So that healing may be done in a place that is secure.
Ivory brought out four candles, one to be set in each of the four corners of the circle, representing the four directions and their elements. She set a white candle in the east for air and purity. A red candle went to the south for fire and the burning of evil. To the west she set a blue candle for water, representing cleansing. To the north she set a green candle, representing earth and rebirth.
Around the incubators she lit sticks of incense that filled the chamber with the rich scent of clove to keep out all hostility. To that she added sweetgrass and sage for purity and tuberose to ward off evil. Then as the incense and the candles burned, she took a deep breath, gathered her strength and her powers and lifted her hands in entreaty.
Power of night, mistress of light, I am Ivory, daughter to Mother Earth who healed me.
A rush of memories assailed her. The scent of the earth as it closed around her torn body, welcoming her into the deeper recesses where nothing could reach her. She drew on the healing power that had surrounded her for centuries.
I summon thee to this place to that which is impure and tainted. I ask this for all that is good I know you will do this for me.
She brought her hands down to her sides, palms facing inward against her thighs and kept her head down, looking at the floor as she began to follow the unclean pattern Razvan had shown her. Three steps in, evil began to stir. Its presence whispered across the back of her neck, a faint disturbing prickle, like spiders crawling across her skin. She flinched and fought the urge to brush them off. Xavier's foul taint would do everything it could to lead her astray, to force her into making a mistake. She could not allow it. Her hands swept resolutely upward toward the ceiling. As her face lifted, she crossed her palms, and chanted.
Born of darkness Ancient, old I call thee forth Unfurl, unfold Taint the pairings-
She heard a slow hiss; a hideous voice whispered. Scorpions, stingers held high, crawled from beneath rocks and rushed toward the circle. Skyler wavered, started to lift her foot away from the oncoming insects.
«Stand firm,» Razvan called, his voice carrying complete calm. «Do not break the circle.»
Ivory continued to utter the foul words.
I command you to spread Attaching yourself to womb and seed. Seek out new life I command you to this deed. Taint the milk Wither the seed on the vine Destroy the ilk Unborn and born, with blood thee I bind.
The flickering flames dimmed, nearly went out, so that shadows deepened, creeping along the walls and floors of the cave with grasping fingers. Overhead spiders oozed through cracks and foul voices murmured. Heart's blood bubbled up from the center of the room, a red so dark it appeared black. An unclean stench filled the chamber, polluting the air, contaminating it until they were all nearly choking on the fetid odor. The babies began to cry in protest.
Syndil gasped aloud. Shea and Natalya moaned softly, but they held their ground even though the microbes deep inside them ripped and tore at them. The crowd gasped and looked to one another while women pressed hands to their wombs as they felt the drawing of the microbes as they answered the call of darkness.
Ivory raised her hands in response to the darkness quickly spreading through the cavern. In her right hand she held high a boline, a harvesting knife, the handle of which was set with white bone. The boline was curved, bearing the mark of the crescent moon, made of precious metal from her sacred cave, the sickle edge serrated, ready for harvest.
With great caution, Ivory recited Xavier's foul spell backward, mimicking in reverse the movements that Razvan had so patiently taught her as she placed her feet carefully, weaving the pattern backward with her hands.
Ivory. I see you. I name you. Xavier's voice, harsh and cruel, whispered through her mind. Sickened her. Weakened her. I see you.
«No, he does not,» Razvan said, his voice calm. He flooded her with peace. «He feels your power and trembles. Do not let him break you.»
Using the sacred boline in place of Xavier's bloodstained ceremonial knife, she cut the palm of her hand and allowed her blood to drip over the two babies, just as Xavier had shed his blood over the incubator of microbes. Three drops precisely over each child. The infants shrieked as if burning embers had been dropped on their innocent newborn flesh. Savannah cried out and staggered to her feet.
«Stop her,» Razvan ordered. «She must not break the circle.»
Savannah would have lunged toward her children if her own parents, Raven and Mikhail, hadn't wrapped their arms around her to hold her back.
«What is happening?» Gregori snarled.
«Evil fights back.» Razvan eyed the Carpathian legendary healer bleakly. «It will get worse, Gregori. Much worse. You and your lifemate must both be strong. Talk to your daughters. Sing to them. Be strong for them. Tell them they fight the evil mage in your story for them. Now is their time.»
While Razvan tried to calm an agitated Gregori, Ivory tried her best to silence the babies' screams from her mind. Xavier's evil was hurting them. She was hurting them.
No, fel ku kuuluaak sivam belso-beloved-you are saving them. You cannot stop no matter what happens.
She forced herself to continue moving, to continue weaving the patterns of the spell. When she had completed Xavier's entire ritual in reverse, she raised her knife to the cavern's chimney and pointed it toward the small sliver of moon that shone overhead.
I call on the lady of the dark moon, She who stands at the crossroads, Who counsels us that we must leave the old before we take up the new. I seek the spiral. Bring me forth to the center of stillness in absolute darkness That I may dispel this evil with light.
Light flashed across the blade of the boline, as if the moon herself had entered the birthing cave. Overhead, the stalactites rocked and vibrated. Crystals sparkled like tiny, faraway stars scattered over the ceiling and along the walls of the cave. Veins of gold and silver intertwined and brightened, throwing light across Ivory's pale face. She placed the sacred boline carefully between the twin girls, the curved blade in the exact mirrored position of the outside crescent moon.