Her Warriors by Bianca D'Arc

her
hope. At least the dude had managed to do that much, and Beau had
to grudgingly give respect where it was due.
    Jacki reached out, taking Geir’s hands in
hers as he stood. “Thank you.”
    “Uh…” Beau felt the need to speak, but
wasn’t anywhere near as formal as Geir’s gesture and words had
been. “I’m in too. We’ll fix Tom up. No problem.”
    Jacki reached out to touch Beau’s arm, a
small smile aimed in his direction as she met his gaze, thanking
him too.
    “Now that’s settled…” The High Priestess
sounded a little impatient, and the sense that there wasn’t much
time to lose took hold. “Master Geir, you take the north for
earth—up above Tom’s head. Angry man, you get the south, at his
feet. Jacki, your water spirit goes to the west and I’m in the east
for air. Now everybody join hands and say your prayers. I’ll be
drawing on your personal energies and those of the elements you
represent during the ritual. Don’t let go and don’t fear. I know
how much power you can spare and how much Tom needs. I’ll strike a
balance that we can all live with.” She smiled, but Beau admitted
to himself that he was a little frightened by the High
Priestess.
    She was a creature of myth and legend. She
was mystical and incredibly magical. As a general rule, Beau wasn’t
all that comfortable around magic. It had caused some of the most
painful moments in his life and he didn’t really trust it—or those
who depended on it.
    His mother had been a priestess. She had
lived her life with magic every day, and depended on it to her
detriment. It was what had gotten her killed. And his father had
died trying to protect his mate, leaving Beau all alone.
    He just had to remind himself that this
woman, this High Priestess, served the Goddess directly and there
could be nothing evil in her or her actions. That was his only
comfort as Bettina began chanting in a bell-like tone, her voice
musical and full of magic.
    Beau felt the magic gather as the little
hairs on his arms rose. He felt a charge building in the air, like
an electric current, but different somehow. The room got brighter
and though there was no wind inside the house, a circulation of
sorts began, sending a light show over the pale walls. It was like
the aurora borealis met a disco ball as colors and light flashed
and danced against the surface of the walls, and a golden glow
began to form inside their circle of joined hands.
    Beau felt the tingle where his hand met
Jacki’s, but on the other side, he felt the tug of the High
Priestess’s power as she drew on his energy. It was an odd
sensation. It was like the link with Jacki fueled him and then it
drained into the other woman, and from her, into the center of the
circle—into Tom.
    “Earth, air, fire and water, we stand
against the darkness,” Bettina’s voice rose as she switched to
English. “We stand against the forces of evil and the power that
seeks to harm this man. He is our beloved brother and we are his
protectors.” The light and fury of Bettina’s enhanced power rose to
a crescendo and then descended over Tom, cocooning him in a golden
glow that seemed to seep into his pores…and for just a moment…it
lit him from within.
    Colors continued to swirl around Tom like an
aura for a few minutes as Bettina switched back to some foreign
tongue Beau could not decipher. She was chanting softly as the
power crested and then subsided, leaving his knees feeling like wet
noodles.
    The High Priestess let go of his hand and
stepped back, her head dropping toward her chest for a moment as
her eyes closed. Beau wasn’t sure what he was supposed to do now,
but sitting down sounded like a really good option. Falling down
was a possibility. And passing out was also within the realm of
probability. He felt truly awful. Drained. Wrung out like a wet
dish rag.
    Beau grasped the rail at the foot of Tom’s
bed with his free hand, using it to support him on one side as
Jacki continued to hold his