What, I ask you, do you say to a statement that you are someone's only means of salvation?

Oh, yes, I completely disregarded the part about Eleanor also filling that role, because Alec obviously didn't want her. That thought kept me smugly content for about thirty seconds, until I realized that if I didn't do the job, Alec wouldn't have the choice - he'd have to Join with Eleanor just to save himself.

An image rose in my mind of him feeding from her, bound to her for the rest of his life. It was not a good image.

On the other hand, that whole "for the rest of his life" part had me a bit skittish. "You're kidding, right? Because I did the saving thing, already. Twice, if you count having Alec yanked out of the Akasha."

"Third time's the charm," Pia said with a smile, but judging by the look she slid the vampire next to her, she didn't really believe what she was saying.

"Yes, you did already save me, twice, as you point out," Alec said smoothly, his fingers withdrawing from where they'd slipped down between my back and the couch. "And for that, I will be eternally grateful. It is enough. This problem with the council is not yours, Cora. I will find a solution."

Alec's words disturbed me almost as much as the fact that his friends clearly agreed with him. It rankled that no one there believed that I would exert myself to save Alec. Oh, I was no fool - I knew I'd brought this on myself with my reticence to become involved with anything vampirish, but dammit, I was involved now, and I wasn't so closed-minded that I couldn't adapt to a situation.

My inner devil rejoiced, and made plans for what dress she'd wear to the Joining party. I told her to go jump in a lake.

You are distressed, Alec said, the words as soft as his touch on my mind. Do not let yourself be, cielito. I will find a way out of this situation.

I didn't answer him, too busy fuming over my growing sense of injustice to bother pointing out the obvious.

It took a half hour, but we explained the happenings of the last two days to a rapt Pia and Kristoff. By the end of it, Eleanor had evidently worked out the worst of her temper tantrum, and rejoined us, sullen and prone to shooting me nasty looks, but she appeared to have accepted the fact that she wasn't going to end up with Alec as her boy toy.

Unless, of course, I didn't want him . . .

"So your friend is still there?" Pia asked when Alec finished by detailing our arrival at their house. "In the Akasha, I mean?"

"Yes. And even though Alec says time operates differently there, I can't help but think that at some point Diamond is going to get tired of all those managerial meetings and want to leave. Not to mention what my ex is going to think about her disappearance. I left a voice message for the office when I picked up my passport, saying that I was going to take a little time off, and Diamond was going to fly out to Hawaii to join Dermott at his real estate conference, but it's been two days now. If anyone from the office calls Dermott, he'll be bound to notice that his wife isn't there with him."

"Hmm," Pia said, looking thoughtful. "As I see it, we have two problems to tackle: saving Alec and rescuing Diamond. Well, the latter, at least, should be easy enough. You simply contact that Guardian who got you out."

"Alec has offered to finance that, yes," I said with a grateful glance at him. He was looking particularly gorgeous, his hair slightly mussed from our sojourn in the mouse-infested room, a rich brown manly stubble on his chin and cheeks that left me feeling shivery inside, as if he were rubbing his cheeks along my skin. His leg was warm next to mine, making me want to just curl up against him and forget everything else.

Eleanor glared at me as I leaned into him just a little. "How very generous of him."

"So that just leaves Alec to save," Pia said, ignoring the sarcasm in Eleanor's voice.

"I can save myself," he answered, his hand sliding down my back again, his fingers gently stroking the curve of my hip.

Eleanor snorted.

"And if you get sent back to the Akasha, what's going to happen to Cora?" Kristoff asked.

Alec's fingers stilled.

I frowned. "What do you mean, what will happen to me?"

"Alec is acting as your protector. Who will assume that role if he's banished to the Akasha? " Kristoff's eyes were a pale blue as he watched me.

"That's right," Eleanor said, considering me with something other than hostility, a speculative glint to her eyes. "She is a . . . what did you call it? Earwax of Lucifer? "

"Eyeball!" I corrected her. "I'm the eyeball of Lucifer, not the earwax!"

"Eye of Lucifer, actually," Alec corrected.

"Hmm," Eleanor said softly, looking pleased with herself.

She's totally going to try to use me to blast you to smithereens, I warned Alec.

He laughed. Perhaps, but we will not allow that.

Hrmph. He might not be concerned, but I made a mental note to keep a close watch on Eleanor for signs she would try to use me against him.

"That's a good question. Is there anyone else who can protect Cora if Alec is banished?"

"Like Alec," I said, straightening up from where I was slumped against him, "I can take care of myself."

"Can you?" Kristoff asked. "Can you protect yourself against a wrath demon?"

"Well . . ."

"Leave it, Kris," Alec said, his fingers once again stroking gently down my side.

"Can you protect yourself against the Ilargi who captured Ulfur?"

"If I had to, I might," I said hesitantly, thinking about the gun de Marco had wielded. My leg had healed, but even so . . .

"Kristoff," Alec said with a distinct note of warning in his voice.

"What about Bael himself? He makes frequent appearances in the mortal world," Kristoff said, pounding home the point. "How will you protect yourself against him?"

"Bael . . . he's . . ." I stopped, knowing it would do no good to lie to myself and the others. "He's pretty bad."

"That's an understatement," Kristoff said drily.

"Stop trying to pressure her," Alec told his friend, a frown between his brows.

"Yes, god forbid someone should actually want to save you. It's far better to force that on a person, instead," Eleanor said acidly.

Kristoff ignored the comment. "I'm simply trying to point out the obvious. Her life is tied to yours now. You need each other."

I was about to protest, but Kristoff's words resonated in my head in a way that made a warm glow kindle. Alec did need me. I'd never before been vital to anyone's life, and yet here was the answer to everything I'd ever wanted - someone who truly did need me.

He's a vampire, my devil pointed out, just to see what I would say to that.

But he's not a bad vampire! I answered her. I knew now that the pain that had driven him almost past sanity would have been enough to excuse all his actions, but despite that, he still carried guilt about it. He had committed sins, but had paid his penance a thousandfold.

He needed me.

Do not let Kristoff make you feel you must do something that is personally repugnant.

You need me.

I want you, yes. I desire you above all women. But I could not live with making you feel as if you had no choice. I will find the means to hide you away, with a protector other than me to guard you.

You need me.

He sighed into my head, the words coming reluctantly. Yes, I need you.

"I think - " I started to say, but a bell pealed from the courtyard.

"Hold that thought," Pia said, hurrying to see who was at the door. "I won't be but a - ack!"

Pia backed into the room as Kristoff, with a growl that sounded downright feral, leaped across the room, skidding to a halt when a man lunged forward, grabbed Pia, and pressed a wickedly long, slightly curved dagger against her neck.

"Do not make a move, or your Beloved will be without a head."

Isn't that the monk guy who was here a little bit ago? I asked as Alec slowly rose, reminding me of a panther on the prowl.

I told you that he was no monk.

"Brother Ailwin," Kristoff said, his voice filled with threat as he stood about eight feet from Pia, his hands at his sides, but anyone would have to be a fool not to read Kristoff's body language.

"Hello again!" Eleanor said brightly. "Interesting things have happened since you were last here. Would you like to hear about them? I'm thinking about detailing my experiences on a blog. And maybe a Facebook page. I wonder how much the domain 'alecisajackass. com' would cost?"

"I have come for the Tool!" Brother Ailwin announced after giving Eleanor a disbelieving look.

"OK, that is really going to get old fast," I muttered, glaring at him.

"Release my Beloved," Kristoff demanded.

"I have no argument with you, Dark One," Brother Ailwin told him in a dramatic tone, pausing to add in a much less aggressive voice, "and will, in fact, be able to summon that lich for you later, since the bank transfer went through. Would you prefer I summon him here, or in town?"

I think Kristoff may crack a tooth or two if he doesn't stop grinding his teeth like that, I told Alec. I had gotten to my feet, as well, intending on moving to Alec so he could use me to blast the bad monk, but Alec had moved very slowly behind the couch, obviously getting into a flanking position to help Kristoff.

Move to the windows, Cora.

Why?

You'll be out of harm's way.

I may be afraid of mice, and I may not be up to tackling Bael, but I am not such a coward or a wimp that I have to be kept out of the way, I said indignantly.

"Release my Beloved," Kristoff said again.

That is not what I am worried about.

"I will if you give me the Tool of Bael." Brother Ailwin shot me a look that had me upping the wattage in my glare. "It is her I have come for."

"Oh, sure. Everyone wants her and the soul she stole from me. Not to mention my man. But let someone resurrect you into lich form, and you can't get so much as the time of day," Eleanor snarked.

"Look, I'm sorry that you were resurrected after I was born, and thus my soul is stuck to me, but I did not steal Alec. He said I didn't. So you can just knock off the guilt trip, because it's not going to work!" I told her.

She sniffed and looked away.

Brother Ailwin clapped his hands together. "Brother Godwin! Brother Esmund!"

Two men appeared out of nothing, both clad in long brown monk's robes, ropes bound around their middles. Their hair wasn't tonsured, but other than that, they looked straight out of a medieval fair. One had a short beard, while the other had a bad case of acne.

"Now, see, those are monks," I told Alec. Are they ghosts or something?

Liches, like Eleanor. Brother Ailwin is a lichmaster.

"Take the Tool," Ailwin ordered the two liches, who started toward me, but Alec leaped in front of me.

"Like hell you will," he growled.

"Halt!" Brother Ailwin cried, spinning Pia around so we could see her face. The point of the dagger slid a tiny bit into her neck, making her eyes open wide. She stared at Kristoff, who obviously was only barely restraining himself from smashing Brother Ailwin into monk pulp. "One move from either of you, and I'll remove her head. You, woman. Come here."

"How do you know I'm a Tool?" I asked, then closed my eyes for a moment. "I cannot believe I just said that sentence."

"I can," Eleanor said.

I took a deep breath and asked, "How do you know that I'm a Tool of Bael?"

"You are glowing," he said simply, and added as an afterthought, "And I heard that one of my rivals had a lich who stole the Tools, but they were later imbued into three inpiduals. You are obviously one of those inpiduals, and with you at my side, I will have no difficulty in destroying the other lichmasters."

"What an excellent idea, one I heartily approve of. Please keep her in chains, too," Eleanor requested, but by now, no one was paying her comments any attention.

I put my hands on my hips as I faced Brother Ailwin. "You seriously think I'm going to let you use me to hurt other people? You're nutso. Hey, now!"

The two robed liches moved fast, both grabbing one of my arms and pulling me forward, past Kristoff.

Cora -

If I can knock them down, do you think you can use me against him?

You will not risk yourself in such a manner.

Yeah, well, I'm not going to let him use me to hurt other people, either. Especially Pia. She's nice. I like her. Eleanor is starting to get on my nerves, but I suppose it would be wrong to hope she's knocked out or something.

It would be wrong, although I understand your sentiment. And I like Pia, as well, but I will not allow you to come to harm. He will become distracted in a moment. When that happens, I want you to run toward me.

How do you know he's going to be distracted?

Because Kristoff is about to strike.

I glanced at Kristoff. He looked furious, but I didn't see any signs he was about to leap forward.

I have a better plan. One that won't put anyone at risk.

Cora -

"Right, here I am," I said, shaking off the two monks, striding forward until I stood next to Pia. "Let her go."

"Gladly," he said, releasing Pia and giving her a shove toward her vampire.

Less than a second later, he grabbed me by my hair, spinning me around, the knife now at my throat as he started to pull me backward through the door, the two monks on either side of him. "Now we leave."

Oh, yes, that was a better plan, Alec said in a disgusted tone.

O ye of little faith. Get ready. You're about to wield a bona fide Tool of Bael.

"No," I said, digging in my feet, wincing when the knife cut into my flesh.

"Come, woman," Brother Ailwin said, jerking my hair backward.

Here we go. Ready?

Corazon !

Rather than fight Brother Ailwin, as he clearly expected me to do, I threw myself backward against him, relieving the tension of the blade against my neck enough to allow me to spin around and face my abductor. I slammed my knee into his groin at the same time I jammed a thumb into his nearest eyeball, sending him to his knees screaming bloody murder.

Before I could do more, an Alec-shaped blur flashed by me, and I was thrown across the room, narrowly missing a table to careen first into Eleanor before rebounding onto Kristoff, who shoved me toward a chair and leaped forward to help Alec. Brother Ailwin had stopped screaming as Alec lifted him off the ground by his throat.

"Now, lichmaster, let me tell you how I deal with those who would use my Beloved," Alec growled, his voice so menacing it made me pause for a moment. It was the voice of the man who had seen his salvation cut down before him, the man who had murdered a woman, the same man who was filled with so much agony, it would have driven anyone else insane long, long ago.

"Dear god, I think my back is broken." I helped Eleanor to her feet from where she lay smashed against the wall, her arms and legs moving feebly. "Seriously, man-stealer, you need to go on a diet. Ouch. Double ouch."

I pushed Eleanor gently onto the couch, and spun around to help Alec.

The spotty monk, who had been sent flying when Alec attacked Brother Ailwin, suddenly yelled and tackled me, throwing me to the floor. "Harm him, and I will use the Tool against you, Dark One!" he cried, one hand clutching my hair, his knees on my back as he pinned me to the ground.

"The hell you will!" I snarled. "I refuse to be used!"

"You cannot refuse. You are a Tool," Brother Ailwin said, his face turning bright red as Alec's stranglehold eased up.

The spotty monk yanked me up to my feet, holding me in front of him like a shield.

"Yeah? Well, maybe I'll just use myself, then!" Can I do that?

No.

Damn! "Fine, then. I won't use myself. But I refuse to let you use me!"

"You cannot refuse," Brother Ailwin repeated, his color fading as Alec released his death grip on the lichmaster's neck. "You are a Tool; the power flows from Bael through you."

"Well, maybe I just won't let that power out of me. Did you ever think of that?"

"Oh, let him use you," Eleanor said, passing a hand over her forehead. "I've got a hell of a headache and want to get out of here. I just want to go home."

"Home?" I asked, distracted. "You were dead!"

"Even the dead have homes," she said primly, brushing her blouse. "I had a very nice little cottage in the seventh hour of the Underworld. My roses were about to bloom when I was yanked out of there. Since Alec has so plainly lost his mind, I will go back to my cottage and roses and Gregory, the handsome soldier who lived next door."

"You have a boyfriend in the Underworld and you're yelling at me for stealing Alec?" I asked, aghast at her nerve.

"Gregory isn't a boyfriend. He's more a friend with benefits." She considered Alec for a moment before she sighed. "He's not as handsome as Alec, but he's not a bastard like him, either."

"Lich!" Brother Ailwin told Eleanor in a haughty tone of voice. "You will be silent while your betters speak!"

"Oh, that's going to go over well," Pia muttered.

By the time Eleanor got done chewing out Brother Ailwin, everyone was snappish.

"Right, we got off track," I said, trying to look as badass as Alec. "But the fact remains that I will not let Bael's power pass through me, so you might as well just give it up."

Unhappily for my plan, Ailwin looked anything but worried. In fact, he shrugged and, with a petulant look at Alec, smoothed out the collar of his shirt. "You would destroy yourself if you were to try that."

Alec -

No ! I forbid you to even try that. Now we will do this my way. "Let go of my Beloved and I will not destroy you," he said in a conversational voice to the monk holding me.

"Brother Godwin would not be so foolish as to do that," Brother Ailwin said, nodding to the spotty man who held me. "Perhaps a little demonstration of how serious I am to possess the Tool is in order. You may use her to destroy the Dark One, Brother."

"Jesus wept!" I swore at the same moment Alec lunged toward me.

The same sense of standing in a river swept over me, and I knew the monk was pulling on the power of Bael. I also know that it was directed at Alec, and that I absolutely could not allow.

You will not sacrifice yourself for me! he yelled into my head.

I'm not going to let you suffer any more, Alec. You've done enough of that. I wrapped my arms around myself as the power built and built within me, wanting to escape me, wanting to flow out of me and nail Alec in the chest. I fought it, spinning it around and around inside me, trying to contain it, but knowing in my heart that I hadn't the strength to do so for long.

Brother Godwin dropped me as I curled up on myself in an attempt to hold back the power, and sneered, "You will only destroy yourself, Tool. Release the power!"

"Never!" I panted, writhing on the ground with the agony of the still-building power. Alec reached me just as the second monk threw himself on his back, sending both men to the floor. Kristoff started forward to help, but Brother Ailwin screamed something about Pia, his dagger glinting as he jumped over the ottoman toward her.

Eleanor yelled god alone knew what, dancing around on the fringe, waving a vase and threatening pretty much all of us.

Inside me, the pressure continued to grow, pain lacing every breath as I struggled to hold it back. I felt like a stuffed potato in a pressure cooker, my entire body twisting upon itself as I screamed in anguish.

Corazon! We must Join! Now!

This is not really the moment for this!

If we don't, you'll die!

Jesus wept! It hurts, Alec! I don't know how long I'm going to be able to hold it. Get out of here! If I lose control, it'll destroy you!

Alec, whom I could barely see through the tears that blurred my eyes, was fighting like a madman with the monk. In the middle of clawing desperately at the floor to reach me despite the monk trying to bash his head on the floor, he did something that boggled what was left of my mind - rather than biting the monk and draining him of his blood, he bit his own thumb, then with a tremendous effort dragged himself and the monk toward me. Take my blood, Cora. You must take it to complete the Joining.

I didn't argue the point. I didn't question my need to obey his command. I didn't even debate with myself the wisdom of taking a step that I knew would change the course of my life forever. I'd already made that choice. I rolled over toward Alec, kicking out at Brother Godwin as I did so, every last atom of my body in torment with the need to fight the power. My control started to slip just as Alec's hand loomed before my blurred eyes. I opened my mouth, praying the few drops of blood on his thumb would be enough.

As the blood touched my tongue, the power surged within me, spelling certain death to Alec. I screamed an oath of vengeance as I made one last, desperate attempt to turn it back onto myself. "Hide!" I yelled at Alec. For the love of the saints, hide from it!

My back arched as the power broke free, pouring out of me, slamming into the man in front of me before sucking me down into an ebony pool of oblivion.