Amalgamate

Chapter 84

Ian, Tearlach, Maitland and Raine stood together on the beach in silence watching as Cahal sauntered away into the darkness with Rowan. When Cahal turned to Rowan and enveloped her in an embrace, Ian's switch got flipped. His only thought as he watched her vanish was that he couldn't lose her again. He wouldn't survive it. Panic set in and he came unhinged.

Ian remembered her last words, 'Don't pretend you care vampire.' They haunted him now. She couldn't even say his name anymore. She had no idea just how much he did care, but that was his fault. Wasn't it? He would find her and he would make her understand how deeply he cared for her. She was the only woman he'd ever loved, and it pained him to think of her being anywhere other than with him.

Suddenly, Deisha appeared on the beach beside them. "Where did she go?"

"She already left with Cahal." Maitland stared down the beach where they had vanished.

"No." Deisha gasped as the tears came to her eyes.

Ian bolted down the beach inhaling their scents, along with any other smells that may help him in his pursuit. The tracker would have left a trail and the sooner he found it the more vivid it would be. Ian had seen where they disappeared. He felt for them with his mind. Lifting his palms he illuminated the tracks, but clearly Cahal hadn't trusted him to stay away. Apparently, the golden boy was smarter than he looked. There were tracks everywhere of all different colors. Cahal had masked their exit.

Feeling himself teetering on the edge of losing it, he remembered that he had risen to this challenge before and he had more clues now than he'd had then. After Deisha had gone missing, he'd found Dexus. And that's what he had on his side now...anonymity. Cahal didn't know that he was the man who had killed his father only a decade ago. Cahal would never assume he was capable of any such feat, because Ian had cloaked his power from all of them.

Years ago, when he'd gone after Dexus, he'd learned all about the ghost trackers. He knew their abilities, their weaknesses and how to track them between worlds. He was skilled, too, much more so than he let on, because it wasn't good to give away all your trade secrets, not even to a friend like Deisha. She knew he did sorcery. Hell, his whole team knew that, but unbeknownst to them he had also tapped into the darker side of his abilities while he was with Vertigen. That's where his real power was hidden.

Ian was more than just a vampire sorcerer, and the only way he could explain being able to wield both light and dark magic was because he was a hybrid. He was a vampire with no heartbeat, but he was also a day walker with the ability to wield magic. He straddled the realms of both the living and the dead. There was no name for his species because there was no species. There was only him. Vertigen's experiments had made him the first of his kind.

Ian didn't have time to think about what to do, so he pushed his sleeves up and started with the lightest color, knowing tracks faded with time. Without thinking, he sifted into the pale yellow trail. He didn't need a ghost tracker to hitch a ride with, because he was already dead.

Maitland watched as Ian disappeared from what looked to be the exact same spot they had. "Where'd he go?" He thought it was ironic that neither Tearlach nor he had spoken or moved a muscle when Cahal took her; whereas Ian had been a furious blur in pursuit. He chased after her like a man whose heart had been ripped from his chest.

"He went after her." Deisha watched with tears in her eyes. She couldn't believe that after everything Rowan had been through, this was to be her fate.

And that's when Maitland recognized things for what they truly were. Wherever they had been, whatever dungeon he'd been keeping her in, he'd done it for her. Ian had given her a gift by showing her the harsh realities of this world, how to be strong and how to survive in it. And to do that, he had to be willing to sacrifice anything that might ever be between them. He'd put his needs on the back burner and hers front and center, something only a man who was truly in love would do.

"Something tells me he'll find her, too." Maitland knew there was nothing any of them could do now. They didn't have the skill set, but it appeared as though Ian did, and he would be the definition of persistence.

"Of course, he will. She's his mate." Deisha couldn't understand why she hadn't seen it before, because it explained everything. Ian hadn't been the same since she pulled him off his duty that night, not knowing that he was actually guarding Rowan.

After that night Ian had been melancholy and moody, and that wasn't his norm. She hadn't seen a spark in him until just the other night at the lycan compound, the night they'd found her.

He'd kept his cool though, so much so that he'd even fooled Deisha, which made her heart break for him. Knowing that Ian was the only one strong enough to train her, but to teach her, he had to hurt her and make her suffer. Keeping her against her will in a sublevel cell was Rowan's worst nightmare, which probably about killed Ian to watch her endure. Yet, he'd said nothing.

Ian did what he knew was right, what was necessary to keep her alive. Even if it meant sacrificing anything that could have been between them because her survival took precedence over his feelings. He truly loved her. Unfortunately, the only thing any of them could do now was wait, because she knew he wouldn't come back without her. Ian didn't know how to fail. The word wasn't in his vocabulary.

"Let's get out of here. You guys wanna lift?" Deisha turned to Tearlach and Maitland.

Maitland would rather lose an arm than take anything from Deisha. "I think I'll hitch a ride with Raine." There was nothing he could do, not from here anyway, but this wasn't the end game. He was going after Rowan, alone, and he knew just where to start. He'd never met a white witch, but he'd heard stories about one in particular, Bryn. He didn't know where else to go, but he had to do something. He would head for Silbury Hill as soon as he got back to Cuan's.

Raine found Maitland's eyes. She knew right then that Maitland would rather take his chances swimming across the ocean than to take anything from Deisha.

"Let's just get outta here." Raine had plans. She was gonna hunt Vertigen down and make him pay for what he'd done to Antaine. That man was numero uno on her shit list. She held out her arms to open a portal anxious to get home, so she could start planning.

"Think I'll ride with Raine, too." Tearlach stared Deisha down. She was the reason Rowan was in this shit storm to begin with. Had she been honest with all of them from the start, none of this would have transpired.

"I'm sorry." Deisha hadn't meant for any of this to happen. Her eyes started to water, 'What had she done?'

Raine shrugged her shoulders. It was what it was: Cahal had taken Rowan, Ian had gone after her and they were standing on a beach, but she had to get back, because she had plans.

"Don't apologize to me sorceress. I've got no time for more of your bullshit." Maitland's eyes burned a fierce blue as the wolf threatened to make an appearance.

She had failed. She hadn't been strong enough. Unable to face them, Deisha vanished into the darkness.

"Good fucking riddance! Let's get the hell outta here." Maitland watched as Raine opened her portal.

The three of them walked through it silently, each having their own individual thoughts about what their next moves would be.