Free UNDER HIS SPELL by Rachel Carrington Page A

startling the birds.   With her hair plastered to her neck and the
black dress she wore enhancing every curve, she looked prepared for sex instead
of a meeting of such importance.  
    Her feet touched ground and immediately, she squared her shoulders
and came to the door of the stone structure.   She would never understand why the creature that summoned her just
didn’t use his wealth to obtain a home more befitting his wealth and
stature.  
    She lifted the head of the brass gargoyle attached to the door and
let it drop.   The hollow clang resounded
against the wood.   Shuffling footsteps
came to the door and as Sabrina shivered, she muttered obscenities at the
grotesquely malformed Cyclops who took his sweet time answering her summons.
    As the door swung wide and a sliver of light fell to her feet,
Sabrina pasted a smile on her face while trying not to wince.   “Abner, it’s good to see you again.”
    Abner’s eye glittered as he surveyed her.   “You look good, Miss Sabrina.”   His voice grated on her like nails on a rusty
gate.
    She knew he watched the sway of her hips as she walked across the
uneven floor and it took every ounce of self-control she possessed not to turn
around and relieve him of his vision.  
    No light filtered from beneath the closed door at the end of the
hall.   Sabrina managed to knock with just
the right amount of purpose.  
    “Come in.”   The voice, sultry
and compelling, welcomed her.
    And as Sabrina stepped into the room, the hypnosis was complete.
     
    ***
     
    Night fell upon the city of
Mystique
and knowing she was taking a risk, Skye crept out of her bed and tiptoed down
the hall.   Someone had left a lamp on in
Rane’s room, lending just enough light for Skye to make her way to his
bedside.  
    She looked down at him, his face relaxed in slumber.   He looked so pale, defenseless.   Closing her eyes against the wave of nausea,
which enveloped her, Skye held the dagger aloft, mentally counting to ten.   Ten seconds segued into twenty and still she
couldn’t bring herself to lower the point to Rane’s flesh.  
    She dropped her hand to her side and continued to watch the wizard
for a long minute.   He looked peaceful,
completely unaware that his life was in jeopardy.   Or maybe it wasn’t.  

She turned the medieval dagger over in her hand.   A gift from Sabrina that Skye didn’t really
want, the knife bore a serrated edge and a gilded handle with the Coven’s crest
on the hilt.   Skye didn’t doubt it also
carried a wicked spell which would insure Rane’s demise.   If only she could plunge it into his heart.
    One minute dragged into two, three, before Skye started backing
toward the door.   She’d been wrong.   She couldn’t kill him.   Somehow, she’d have to find a way to free
Emily without anyone getting hurt.   Then
she and Emily would disappear quietly.   Skye believed she could hide them so perfectly that not even Sabrina’s
tracking abilities could find them.
    She slipped out of the bedroom and closed the door behind her and as
she walked down the hallway, Rane propped himself up on his elbow and stared at
the door.
    He’d been awake during Skye’s foray into his room and even though
the dagger had been poised above his chest, he’d never believed she’d actually
kill him.   Skye didn’t have it within her
to be a cold-blooded killer.
    He had to find out what had driven her to try to kill him.
     
    ***
     
    “This should not be taking as long as it is.”   The gravelly voice sent a chill down
Sabrina’s spine, but as much as she wanted to flee, she couldn’t move.   The master’s spell had secured her in
position, her feet frozen.   “The witch
has never killed before.”   Sabrina knew
the excuse would help little.
    The leather chair creaked as the master rose to his feet and circled
the braided rug in front of the fireplace.   “Perhaps I should have chosen a more beneficial coven.”
    Sabrina closed her eyes against