"Meg!" Emma cried out as Meg turned to leave the room, but Meg didn't look back. In every fiber of her body, she knew they were running out of time. If she and Simon were to be successful, they must leave now.

And she knew just as surely that if they failed, all Britain would be at risk.

Simon felt strange stripping himself naked in the stable, but it made more sense than transforming inside the house. He folded his garments neatly and tucked them into the canvas bag Lady Beth had provided, then cleared his mind for the transformation. Suppressing his anger against Drayton had been difficult. Releasing it was child's play. All he had to do was think of the rogue abducting Meg from the Royal Menagerie. Rage flooded through him and triggered the unicorn spell.

The change was relatively easy, perhaps because it was the first time he'd transformed willingly. He was now familiar with the process, and the primal horror of feeling his body wrenched into a new shape was lessened. Though the pain wasn't.

In the midst of agony his mind blurred. When it cleared, he found himself alert and poised for battle, his human spirit in harmony with his unicorn body. Lion tail switching restlessly, he trotted from the stable. Meg waited outside, still wearing her morning gown since there had been no time to change.

He had forgotten the impact she had on him when he was in this form. He wanted to swoon at her feet. Lie on his back and wave his hooves in the air. Carry her away to the horizon at the speed of the wind.

The last he could do. He rubbed his head against her, impatient to be off.

She stroked his muzzle with unintended provocation. "I know that you hate being forced into this body and that it's dangerous to you," she said softly. "But merciful heaven, you are beautiful. Perhaps even more beautiful than when you're a man."

He doubted that she would say that if he was in his own form. He rubbed his head against her again, enraptured by her scent. Musky, alluring, entirely female.

"I'l get the bundle with your clothing and then we can be off." She skipped inside the stable while he walked to the mounting block. A few moments later she emerged from the building with the canvas bag slung across her back.

After she mounted, a shiver of magic went through him as she masked them with a don't-look spell. Her strong legs wrapped around his barrel. He wished he could see how her skirts pulled up to reveal her shapely ankles.

Meg settled herself. "Now we ride."

He sprang into a full gallop. Using all his strength was giddily satisfying, and this time he wasn't running with a bullet wound.

He left the road outside Lady Beth's house almost immediately, cutting into a gra.s.sy lane. From there he leaped into a field. He had studied the roads and lanes in the area before their previous visit to the abbey. Though this route wasn't the most direct, they would avoid houses and other places where they might be seen.

As before, his maiden rode like a G.o.ddess, perfectly balanced despite the lack of saddle and harness. Intoxicated by the wind, her presence, and his own boundless strength, he half forgot the purpose of this ride until she called, "We're nearing the abbey. Time to slow down so you can change back before we go over the wall."

He focused on his path, and was shocked to realize that the wall was just ahead. There was barely time to halt before running into it.

Why stop? Reckless with exhilaration, he collected himself and went headlong at the wall, counting on his maiden to prepare herself for a jump. He was no mere horse but a beast from legend, only a pair of wings short of Pegasus.

Using all the power of his lithe muscles, he hurled himself into the air-and soared over the stone wall with inches to spare. His amazing maiden even managed to open a portal for them to fly through.

As he came down lightly on the other side, Meg said with a squeak, "You are insane. Magnificent, but insane. How about trotting over to that little grove so you can change back to yourself?"

Beginning to feel winded, he slowed his pace and did as she suggested. A pair of small deer bolted from the shrubbery as they approached. At least there was no bull.

The grove was a pretty place, quiet and protected, with soft moss in the shadowed depths. Meg slid from his back and regarded him with a frown. "You need a quick rub-down. The canvas bag should work after I remove your clothing."

With swift, economical movements, she did exactly that. The firm pressure of her hands wielding the improvised grooming cloth was startlingly sensual. Beginning to wish it was nighttime rather than high noon, he forced himself to hold still and hoped she would pretend not to notice the state he was in.

Tactfully, she did. "I brought a pin with me. This should be quick." She p.r.i.c.ked her finger first, then his shoulder. Interesting how the strangest of events could become routine.

He tried to detach himself a little from the pain of transformation, but he still collapsed gasping on the ground. Beyond the pain was a disturbing sense of wildness, as if he had given too much of himself to the glory of running and not all of his human nature had returned.

That changed when Meg draped his coat over him. The garment concealed the embarra.s.sing fact that arousal carried through from one state to another. Embarra.s.sment was a very human emotion and it pulled him back to a more normal state of mind.

"Take the time to catch your breath and regain your mental balance," she said. "Once we reach the abbey, we need to be at our best."

He peered through the trees at the estate wall they'd crossed. "I can't believe I was mad enough to jump that wall, and that you were able to keep your seat when I did!"

She chuckled as she sat down beside him. A ray of sunshine illuminated her mischievous expression. "I think your unicorn self knew what you were capable of. It's the closest I'l ever come to flying."

He wondered if it would be possible to transform into a bird. Perhaps an eagle? Or the hunting falcon that was the family crest . . . ? He hastily suppressed the thought. What he needed was less transformation, not more.

Fewer chances for wildness to erode his mind and soul.

Drayton peered around the screen from the Lady Chapel, not wanting to make his appearance until the official opening of the forum, when he would welcome his guests. When he would achieve his goal.

Already the church was teeming with engineers, inventors, professors, and others of a mechanical bent. They struck up eager conversations, discussed the exhibits, and speculated about future inventions. His forum was successful beyond his fondest dreams.

Less than half an hour now until the opening ceremony.

He turned back to the Lady Chapel, where the four thralls were sitting pa.s.sively in a row. They always chose the same order: Moses, Lily, Jemmy, Breeda, which put the two strongest on the ends. When he walked about the room, their eyes followed him in parallel, like hungry dogs tracking food. He found the effect somewhat unnerving, but no matter. They all did exactly as they were told.

He had already tuned the energies of the thralls so that all would be in readiness when the time came, but he couldn't resist tweaking them once more. Like a finely braided rope, their temperaments and powers blended into one ent.i.ty far more powerful than the simple sum of its parts.

Restlessly he checked the k.n.o.b of the door that led outside. Carved to match the rest of the chapel's decoration, the door was easy to overlook but essential to his plans. He was about to look around the screen again when he stopped in his tracks, amazed. Meggie was nearby! Had that fool Falconer brought her with him?

He probed deeper and found that she was within the walls of the estate. This close, and with the thralls and ley lines to power him, he would be able to blast his way back into her mind.

He threw his consciousness along the connection thread. This time when he reached the block Falconer had created, he blazed his way through, disintegrating the barrier as if it had never been.

He drank from her greedily. Ah, G.o.d, it was sweet to be inside Meggie again, with her power and fear and virgin innocence. Even her sister had not matched the richness of her magic. And this time his Meggie would not escape. . . .

Simon sat up, keeping the coat over himself. "I'm ready to dress."

Meg obligingly turned away. She'd already seen enough of him to furnish her with pleasing memories for some time to come. She'd liked seeing his lean, muscled body against the silken moss. . . .

She was smiling to herself when horror invaded her. Drayton. Brutally he rammed into her mind and spirit. Meggie, my slave, my tool, my thrall. The time has come to return to me.

She screamed and collapsed sideways on the mossy ground, clutching her arms around herself. "Dear G.o.d, he is here in my mind!"

"Meg!" Simon dropped beside her and cupped her face in his hands so that he could pour bright, healing energy into her.

It helped, but only a little. Drayton was like a poisonous fog spreading his evil through her system. When he stabbed into her magical center, she cried out again, twisting violently as he began drawing out her power. "No, no . . ."

Simon managed to maintain his hold on her, barely. The contact allowed him to slide into her mind, down through the layers of her personality and magic. When he found the silver cord that connected her to Drayton, he tried to knot it several times, but failed. He swore under his breath. "He's draining your power and I can't stop it, probably because you're so close and he's enhanced by the other thralls."

"Kill me," she whispered as she felt the first bindings of enthrallment wrap around her. "Please." The thought of being sucked dry and turned into a husk of herself was worse than death.

"No!" Simon said furiously. "Can you get into his mind and find something that might be used against him?"

She convulsed around herself again, but managed to gasp, "I . . . I'l try."

Having a mission, however desperate, helped steady her awareness. Grimly she followed the cord that connected her to Drayton straight into the snake pit of his soul, where greed and selfishness and anger twisted like dank tentacles.

Burying her revulsion, she forced herself to probe deeper. Somewhere in the darkness and stench she caught a glimmer of something that instinct said concerned her. She drew closer, trying to capture that elusive knowledge.

Yes! Opening blind eyes, she whispered, "Make love to me, Simon. Right now!"

"What?" He stared down at her, aghast.

She fumbled for words in the chaos of her mind. "Virginity is a vital part of his connection to me. He . . .

he was the first man to become intimate with my mind and power, and that makes the bond almost unbreakable. If you and I become lovers, you will . . . will supercede him. Greater intimacy might make it possible to break the thread. It's why he chose young people as his thralls. Easier to . . . to possess them."

"It may work." Simon's expression turned inward for a moment as he thought through the magical implications. Then his gaze caught hers, his blue eyes hypnotic. "Think only of me. Not him. Not magic. Not about past or future. Think only of me, and how much I love you." He bent into a deep, deep kiss, using his mouth to channel more power into her.

When he said that he loved her, she felt a strengthening of the energy he was sending her. She wanted to say that she loved him, too, but she was beyond words, lost in a maelstrom of evil, with only Simon's touch and spirit anchoring her to herself.

He ran a caressing hand down her body. "There is no one like you, Megan Harper, and I will love you to death and beyond."

Her name was another anchor. She stopped thrashing and clung to the shining power that was Simon. Though he couldn't free her of Drayton's grasp, his strength and love kept her from falling in deeper. How much power could he spare before he became dangerously depleted? This time she managed to say, "I love you, too, Simon. I thank G.o.d for the day I met you."

Swift joy touched his eyes before his expression turned bleak. "You're so tense I will have to hurt you, my love. I . . . I don't know if I can make myself do this."

"Please! Finally we are coming together. Think of that, not the circ.u.mstances." She thrust her pelvis up against him in a mute plea.

He took a deep breath, then said in a voice designed to captivate, "Use the pain to separate yourself from him. You are mine, not his. Only mine." He raised her skirts, fumbling through the layers of fabric to find intimate flesh.

Though his touch was gentle, she found it impossible to feel desire and guessed that he felt the same. "Pretend you are a unicorn," she whispered. "I am your chosen maiden and we will mate like lions, swift and fierce."

His expression changed and she saw the echo of wildness in his eyes. He bent and nipped her throat as if he were a stallion and she were a mare.

She responded by reaching for the lion essence she had discovered in the Tower. Untamed . . . Wildness surged between them, and when he thrust into her, the fierce pain was freeing, sharp enough to counter Drayton's poison. She bit Simon's shoulder, tasting blood as she raked her nails down his bare back.

He drove into her mind as he had a.s.saulted her body, penetrating to the very core of her as he reached for the connection to Drayton. He found it-and with one furious wrench, he severed the silver cord.

She arched her back, dazed by her release. "He's gone. He's gone. I'm free."

Simon folded over her, exhausted yet still rigid with pa.s.sion. "Oh, my darling," he whispered. "I am so sorry for hurting you." He began to withdraw.

"No!" She caught him around the waist. "Now that we are joined, let us go beyond the pain into true lovemaking." Her lips touched the bleeding bite she had put on him, this time with tenderness and grat.i.tude.

Using the utmost care, he moved within her a fraction at a time. She sighed with pleasure as her body softened into moist welcome. From the beginning, she had wanted him with the wild child part of herself that had forgotten she was a vicar's daughter, but until now, she hadn't been ready to give herself without reserve.

Desire began to build, blotting out the pain of the last minutes. There was magic between them, shimmering threads of love and trust. And pa.s.sion, oh, yes, most certainly of pa.s.sion. She saw the discipline, honor, and pain that had shaped him, and also the lighter threads of humor, kindness, and curiosity.

And with a certainty beyond doubt, she knew that he was hers. Even the ten years she had spent enthralled were not too high a price to pay for such a man's love. If not for Drayton, she would never have met Simon, nor become strong enough to be his mate.

As they rocked faster and faster, exquisite sensations engulfed her, bringing every fiber of her body to shimmering life. "Ah, Simon, my love, this is even better than I dreamed," she breathed. "Why didn't you tell me you were a virgin, too?"

He gave a catch of laughter. "I should have known you would sense that. As to why-I found that I didn 't wish to lose myself in a woman's energy unless I loved her. One doesn't dishonor a lady, so Blanche and I never reached this point. Now I'm glad, for there is only you."

Meg guessed that he and his first love might have enjoyed some tantalizing sessions that had taught him the basics of sensuality, but no matter. Now he was hers. "I think the fact that it's the first time for both of us increases the intensity."

Power was rushing through her like a storm wind and gradually she realized it was not only human pa.s.sion but earth energy, ancient and potent. "The earth is radiant with power. Can you feel it?"

His eyes widened. "You're glowing, Meg. You look like a G.o.ddess."

Startled, she realized he was right. Earth energy poured through her and into him like a river of fire. He began moving faster and she followed him, her agile body perfectly tuned to his. They tumbled like otters through a sea of pleasure, a sky full of light. "Simon," she cried. "Simon!"

Shattered by rapture, she saw that he was shining also, illuminated by Gaia's power. For an instant, they were truly one.

As their physical bodies convulsed, then gradually stilled, they became separate once more. But not quite. There was a connection between them, a golden cord as warm and rich with life as the sun, as untamed as the great lions. And unlike Drayton's enslaving cord, this bond truly was unbreakable.

Simon rolled to his side and pulled her close. "You no longer have a choice about marriage. We are truly wed now, my countess. Though we had best have a church ceremony to make it official."

She gazed at the leafy canopy above them, knowing that they were mated in the most profound of ways. She hadn't the least desire to struggle against that. The fears that had made her resist marriage at the beginning seemed very far away now, though they had seemed real enough then. She had needed time to ripen into a wife. "I'm glad we won't have to explain to people that we were only pretending."

He cupped her with his hand. "I think I should be able to stop the pain and bleeding." The warmth that flowed from his palm did exactly that, and more. If there wasn't a catastrophe about to take place up the hill, she would have liked another exploration of marital relations.She sighed. "Time for you to dress, and this time I refuse to look away."Laughing, he got to his feet and reached for his undergarments. "You have the advantage on me. Next time, I look forward to removing your clothing piece by piece."

But first they must defeat Drayton, or there would be no next time. And now that she was no longerdazed by pa.s.sion, she felt the gathering danger.It was time to confront the enemy on his own ground.

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE.

The energy here is stunning," Simon said under his breath. Hand in hand, they had reached the cl.u.s.tered abbey buildings at the crest of the hill. Anyone with even a shred of inner vision could see the power shining from the intersecting ley lines.

"It's a vast, indifferent power," Meg mused. "I doubt it notices us small humans who move through time so quickly."

"If Drayton has found a way to channel this power for his purposes, he will be unstoppable. And he might decimate Britain while learning to control it," Simon said grimly. "Let's hope his reach exceeds his grasp."

The medieval chapel drew the eye with its blazing power. Simon had caught only a distant glimpse of the structure on their previous visit. In full daylight it was an impressive testament to the wealth and power of the Benedictines who'd built the abbey. Perhaps the ley lines had helped draw earthly riches to them.

Simon maintained a don't-look spell designed to conceal both physical bodies and magical signatures, but it hardly seemed necessary. The grounds were eerily quiet. Everyone was in the chapel, he guessed. "There are a huge number of people inside and they're listening to someone speak. What are you finding?"

"The thralls are also inside, bound so tightly I can't touch them. I think they're at the far end of the building, perhaps in a smaller room beyond the nave."

Simon located David White's energy. So far the inventor was hale and hearty. "I think Drayton is in the same place as the thralls, waiting and watching."

They reached the iron-bound doors, twice the height of a tall man's head, but with a normal door inset on the right side. Simon studied Meg's face, looking on all levels. "Are you strong enough for this? Drayton took so much power from you."

"The earth energy replenished me," she said, her gaze steady. "I am as prepared for Drayton as I can be."

From what he sensed, she was telling him the truth. He squeezed her hand before releasing it. "Be careful, my love."

They slipped inside and paused in the shadows, unseen. The center of the nave was lit by tall iron torcheres. There were easily two hundred men present, probably more. Their clothing indicated that they came from all levels of society, from the n.o.bility to roughly clad working men, but they had intelligence and curiosity in common. Standing in cl.u.s.ters around the double row of exhibits that marched down the nave, they watched the speaker declaiming from a pulpit on the left.