Ev was the first to notice the blue tint of Tayler's lips turning a deep red color. She watched as Tayler's fingers twitched. Her eyelids fluttered open. Ev smiled when Tayler sat up and looked at her.

Though she was weak and unsteady, Tayler was helped to her feet with Erica's a.s.sistance. She noticed Erica's face and clothes were caked in dirt and sweat, but it was the sweetest picture she had ever seen.

"What happened?" Tayler asked Erica. She saw Ana laying on the ground with her legs snapped like twigs.

"We need to get Ana to the hospital," Ev said. She was a healer, but her skills and abilities could not give Ana her legs back.

"Wait, Ev." Tayler knelt unsteadily next to Ana. "Isn't there something I can do?"

Beth walked over and knelt beside Tayler. "There is, Tayler. You have to have a lot faith in your abilities to do this. Okay?"

Tayler nodded and closed her eyes. Then she raised her eyes to the heavens and whispered, "Show me how to heal her."

A powerful, unseen force took Tayler by the hand. She drew the pendant and necklace over each of Ana's legs. Still breathing deeply, she closed her eyes and pleaded to the heavens for help. She opened her eyes, looked at Ev and Beth, then nodded.

Ev carefully removed the cloth from Ana's legs. A collective gasp rippled through the gathered crowd. Ana's legs bore no markings of injury. Beth and Ev helped Ana stand.

Carefully, Ana tested her legs and then walked toward the others. They met her with cheers, hugs and kisses. She blew Tayler a kiss and mouthed, "Gracias, mi amor!"

Erica saw the exchange and walked away.

Eighteen.

As she slipped beneath the surface, the water in the sunken tub enveloped Tayler into its warm, fluid arms. The oil Ana had added filled the air with a pleasant almond scent that made Tayler's skin tingle. Voices drifted in and out through the closed bathroom door. She tried to relax, but her concentration was gone. Tayler ached from horseback riding and being tossed and thrown in the cave.

With so many strange things happening, Tayler found it difficult to believe that she was still the same Tayler Windquest that left the ranch that morning. Since meeting Erica, more than two months ago, her life had become so strange and she felt even stranger. Piece by piece the puzzle was beginning to fall into place, but she vacillated between total awe and absolute fright. She possessed abilities she didn't know she had, and to make things worse, she understood less how to use them.

Tayler sank further into the water. She didn't want the power and she certainly didn't want to deal with Raven. What she did want she couldn't have. After she and Ana were rescued from the cave, Tayler noticed Erica increasingly distancing herself.

Tayler released the air in her lungs with a rugged sigh.

The warm Mexican breeze blew in through the open gla.s.s doors, subtly pulling her from her reverie. She took another deep breath and closed her eyes. After the close call in the cave and the dwindling lack of air, Tayler knew she would never again take fresh air for granted.

The night was near perfect-a warm evening breeze, almond-scented water and burning candles. Now if only Erica would walk through the door, slowly undress and join her in the bath, everything would be perfect. The thought of Erica undressing made her body throb. The longer Tayler waited, however, the more she doubted that Erica would come on her own initiative.

"I wonder if I can summon her," Tayler murmured to herself. It's certainly worth a shot.

She unclasped the necklace and held it in her hands. Tayler closed her eyes and took several deep breaths and made her summons. She waited a moment, listening for footsteps. When she didn't hear anything, Tayler tried again. Still there was no response. Disappointed, she opened her eyes.

"Maybe I just need to wait."

Tayler put the necklace down on the marble rim and slid deeper into the water. She closed her eyes and tried to visualize Erica's dark naked body descending the steps into the bath. The water seemed to grow warmer with the visualization. Minutes leisurely moved along with tranquil abandon. When she finally felt a presence in the room, Tayler smiled to herself. She was beginning to like this crystal pendant business.

Tayler opened her eyes.

The woman who stood before Tayler had flawless, alabaster skin framed by thick, black hair that draped over her broad shoulders. She was dressed in a red silk blouse, which partially revealed two full, firm b.r.e.a.s.t.s. A silver belt emphasized her slender waist and a short, black leather skirt displayed two shapely legs. Her black boots had three-inch spiked heels. Her eyes were as green as emeralds and as piercing as daggers. Around the woman's neck, hanging from a silver chain, was a snake made from white gold. The eyes appeared to be diamonds. Her fingers were long and elegant, but her nails were filed into sharp points.

Tayler sat up quickly and tried to calm her beating heart. Her fingers went up to her neck but she remembered she had removed her necklace. "My G.o.d, I summoned the wrong woman!" Tayler thought to herself. Out loud she said flatly, "Raven, how nice of you to drop by."

"You've been so clever. I thought I had you in the cave today," Raven's voice was silky. On any other woman the same voice would have been intoxicating. "Did you summon me to join you in your bath?" Raven ran the nail of her index finger across her bottom lip. Her smile was seductive.

Even without the dance, Tayler understood why Ana had let Raven in. Raven's beauty and presence was undeniably scintillating. "I want you to stop this madness."

Raven took a few steps forward and stopped. "Madness? I see it more as foreplay." Raven stood with her legs apart.

From her vantage point in the tub, Tayler could see that Raven had nothing on underneath her skirt. Tayler looked down into the clear water and became fiercely aware of her own nakedness. She wished herself out of the tub and fully clothed.

"I've survived the five elements, Raven," Tayler tried to sound tough but her body tingled.

"Ah, Tayler, you are so naive. Or is it your l.u.s.t for Erica that clouds your thinking?" Raven smiled and slowly gyrated her hips. "I could make you forget her."

Tayler's eyes followed Raven's hips.

She knelt down alongside the tub and swirled her hand around in the warm water. "The only way to stop the curse is to destroy me. But you won't. Especially since I can offer you so much," Raven cooed. The clear water turned to blood.

"But I will destroy you, Raven," Tayler retorted, unaware of what Raven had done.

"I have until Hallow's Eve -when the past and present meet -when everything of yours becomes mine." Raven's reference to the midnight hour on Halloween was only four days away. She ran her tongue over her upper lip. "I know you want me, but you'll have to wait for Hallow's Eve." Raven's devilish laughter filled the bathroom. "You're so tempting lounging there in such a creamy red sauce."

Tayler looked down into the tub. The sight and smell of the thick, red liquid was appalling. She quickly stood, stepped out of the tub and reached for her necklace. Tayler held the crystal pendant out in front, her hand perfectly still.

Upon seeing the pendant, Raven retreated several steps.

"You're sick, Raven. When the clock chimes midnight on Hallow's Eve -I'll destroy you," Tayler's face was flushed.

"I'm soooo frightened," Raven mocked. Her teeth were a brilliant white and perfectly straight.

"Four days, Raven, that's all you have," Tayler warned.

"I look forward to our time together, Tayler Windquest. I'll have so much pleasure watching you grovel at my feet." Raven walked over to the tub, bent down and dipped her index finger into the blood. She swirled it around and brought her finger to her lips. She smiled and stood. "Tell your friends to be careful."

"Raven," Tayler called out. "Why are you doing this? What have they done to you?"

Raven's eyes narrowed. "You'd never understand, you who have women falling at your feet. You don't know what it feels like to be betrayed." Raven sneered.

"Who betrayed you?"

"I don't have time to share my list with you," Raven spat.

Tayler slowly closed her hand on the pendant. "Why these women?"

Raven stared at Tayler's closed fist feeling an intense pressure at her temples. "One wouldn't love me. Another wouldn't translate a very precious book for me. And the third? She warned the others to stay away from me." Raven's voice was hushed. "They will pay."

The lights suddenly went out in the bathroom. Disoriented, Tayler twirled around trying to find the door. Before she could reach it the lights came back on and Raven was gone.

Tayler hurried over to the toilet and threw up. For the next hour, she sat next to the toilet with her head in her hands, her body shaking uncontrollably.

Nineteen.

An untouched lunch tray sat on the table in Tayler's room. Twelve hours after her blood bath, she was still too nauseated to think about food. She walked across the room drying her hair with a towel. It was the third shower she had taken that morning. Though she tried, Tayler could not forget the rancid feeling and putrid smell of the blood. Anger raged through her each time she thought about Raven's grotesque humor.

What angered Tayler more than Raven's power and evil ways was the realization that she could easily have succ.u.mbed to Raven's beauty. The more she thought about Raven, the more she understood why Ana had become a victim of Raven's curse.

Raven's timing was superb. She appeared at the most vulnerable moments and gave her victims exactly what they desired. In Ana's case, Raven had taken on Erica's appearance and given the illusion that she was real. Deception, Tayler guessed, Was Raven's magic. She shivered.

Tayler pulled on a pair of dark blue, cotton pants and an oversized T-shirt. Her hair was combed but still wet. When she Pa.s.sed the floor-length mirror, she stopped and looked at herself. She still looked the same but she felt so different. She lightly touched the scar on her neck.

As she opened the door and walked out into the deserted hallway, Tayler knew the curse had changed her view of life. In her mind she now could visualize the very thin lines that separated good from evil - and life from death.

They were lines she didn't want to cross, but knew she had to.

"But how can I destroy her?" Tayler expelled an anxious stream of air. "Raven has lived with her powers for a long time. She's schooled on how much and how far she can go. We're not evenly matched," Tayler drummed her fingers on the sofa cushion. "I play with words -she plays with death."

Ana sat at her desk listening intently. The afternoon sun fell across her papers and on to the floor. "For every evil deed Raven performs, you counter with something good. She destroys, you build; she takes lives, you help people live; she hurts, you heal; she takes away, you give back." She put her gla.s.ses on.

From across the room, Tayler thought Ana looked sophisticated and wise but, in the sunlight, she could clearly see that Ana was pale and exhausted.

"I thought that if I survived the attempts it would be the end of the curse. But it's not." Tayler stood and walked toward the desk. When she reached Ana, she placed both of her hands on the wooden surface. "There's more, isn't there?"

"Si," Ana replied. She picked up the phone.

Tayler turned away and walked to the patio doors. In the background she could hear Ana speaking to someone. After several minutes of silence, she heard Ana replace the receiver. The door to the den opened and Erica, Ev and Beth walked in.

Tayler turned and faced the women. Ev and Beth sat together on the sofa, Ana resumed her place at the desk, and Erica stood near the door. With her arms folded she demanded, "I want you to tell me everything you know about Raven's curse."

The air in the room grew heavy. Finally, Ana spoke. "There are three parts to the curse," she glanced at Erica. "This is only the first part."

"What? I thought you said-"

"Tayler, please," Ana stood, walked over to Tayler and placed her hands on Tayler's arms. "I will explain."

"I want everything this time, Ana," Tayler whispered so the others wouldn't hear.

Ana turned. "Ricah, do you have it?"

Erica reached in her pocket and pulled out a small, black velvet box. She handed it to Ana.

"Several months after Ricah and I became lovers, she had two matching gifts made - two very precious gifts." Ana opened the black case. "They looked like this."

Tayler peered down into the box. Surrounded by black velvet, seated in the center, was a white gold ring. A large midnight blue sapphire sat in the center while six waves, on each side of the stone, fell away in diminishing brilliance. From every angle, the ring caught the ebb and flow of light. Like the tide, the white gold waves crested with every movement. The gemstone was the deepest blue Tayler had ever seen. She closed her eyes. In her heart she understood the significance of the stone. "Love deeper than the deep blue sea," she whispered. She glanced at Erica but Erica was staring intently out the window. "What happened to your ring?" she asked Ana.

Ana took off her gla.s.ses. "The night in the cave -with Raven -Raven removed my ring while I slept. The next morning, before she did this," Ana gestured to her right breast, "Raven gave me my ring back. It was in three pieces."

The room was still. Tayler leaned against a wall hoping its coolness would bring her some relief from the heat. "What did she do?"

"Before she ground each piece into the sand, Raven picked UP each part of the ring and cursed it. She vowed revenge in three stages. The first part of the curse would end at the twelve year mark, the second part the following year, and finally, the last a year after that." Ana sat alone at her desk. "In the next three years, Raven will return, in some form, to first destroy Erica -and then two other women who, so far, Raven has not yet identified."

Ana picked up the paper and read the remaining stanzas.

"Rejection mocks Love - Beware the Kiss. Pain a constant shadow - Beware the Serpent. Grief to shatter the Soul -Beware the Cry at Night.

Darkness calls you, and enthralls you, I await you with delight."

Ana placed the paper back on the desk.

Tayler slid down the wall to the floor. "Why didn't you share those stanzas with me the other day?" She asked looking around the room, but no one answered. "And were you cursed, Erica, because you loved Ana?"

Erica nodded her head very slowly, never looking at Tayler - or at Ana.

"So, on Hallow's Eve I can only try and stop the first part of the curse?" Tayler asked.

"Si. In order to end the curse each of the three parts must be destroyed." Ana wrung her hands. "If Raven is successful in any of the parts, the curse will claim you and Erica -and two others."

Beth reached for Ev's hand.

"And you don't know who the two others are?"

"No," Ana shook her head, "but in the next to last stanza love, pain and grief are specifically mentioned."

Tayler pinched the bridge of her nose and closed her eyes. Without opening them, she said, "You told me yesterday that the reason for the curse was love - unrequited love - love Raven had for you, but you didn't feel." She grew quiet. A cough broke her silence. "Could pain have something to do with the second part?"

"And grief with the third," Ev added following Tayler's logic. "We never thought of that."

"Ana, what were the two names Raven mentioned-you told me them yesterday?" Tayler got to her feet.

"Sterling and Devin," Ana cried. "We all attended the same boarding school."

"Who?" Tayler asked gently taking Ana's hand in hers.

"Sterling Navarre, Devin St. Ives, Raven Delaire and I," Ana groaned remembering their shared past.

"Where are Sterling and Devin?" Tayler coaxed.

"They should be here tonight," Ana's response was solemn.

Tayler squinted trying to recall the evening's event. "For the annual Day of the Dead festival?"