Witch Wars (Society of Ancient Magic Book 3)

by Fiona Starr

  “Sorry. I had a dream.”

  Van’s door flies open and Marco and Angus are there. The two of them take in the sight of Van and me naked in his bed and the stop short for a second as if catching their thoughts.

  Angus clears his throat. “Something’s wrong. Tobias. We were all there. He was howling… I have no idea what the hell it means but something’s wrong.”

  Marco nods. “I saw it too.”

  “I did too,” I say, looking between the three of them.

  “Same here.” Van says. “I’ve never seen anything like that before. What does it mean?”

  I clear my throat. “That’s how he comes to me. Tobias. I see him in those woods all the time.”

  Angus nods. “It’s the grove where we’re from. It’s the woods where we used to play when we were… before… when we were kids.” Angus turns his forearm to show us the tattoo he has of Tobias on his arm. “It’s exactly the same,” he says.

  Van pulls on his sweats and hands me my leggings. “But what does it mean? How did we all see that at the same time?”

  Marco rubs his face. “We have to go back.”

  “Back?” Angus says. “You think Tobias wants us to go back home? Why? There’s nothing left for us in Switzerland.”

  “No. I mean to the room where he held us. Underwood. Maybe Tobias is trying to tell us the vampires aren’t dead.”

  “Of course they’re dead,” I say. I think I still have vampire dust in my hair.

  “I don’t know,” Marco says. “Something is up, and it must be important if we’re all standing here talking about seeing the same thing just now.”

  Van rolls out of bed. “Fine. There’s no point arguing. Let’s go check.”

  I lead the way through the woods behind the Society mansion to the hatch hidden in the ground. The door to the little building is the way we left it and there are no signs of life. I keep glancing around, waiting for a flock of ravens to arrive, but everything is quiet and dark.

  “The moon’s about to set. Let’s check this out and get out of here,” Van says.

  Each of the guys is still healing. They all said they had their strength back, but there are still lines on their skin where Underwood sliced them open and they are all winded from the short trek through the woods.

  The light in the hallway is still on. It throws enough light into the horrible room for us to see by. We climb down the stairs and fan out in the small room, careful to avoid the bloodless body of Porter Allbright.

  Angus sees me looking at my father’s body and wraps his arm around me. “We probably should do something about him,” he says.

  I nod, unable to think of anything to say. My father wasn’t a good person, but nobody deserves to be left like this.

  Our shoes leave prints in the dust on the floor.

  Marco runs a hand through the pile of powder in one of the coffins and lets it sift through his fingers. “Well, the vampires are still here,” he says.

  “Looks like it,” Angus says.

  Marco walks a line from the coffins to the beam and back. “The blood.”

  “What?” Van asks.

  Marco points to the trough and the empty groove in the stone floor that channeled the blood to the two coffins. “The blood? Where did all the blood go?”

  “You’re right. This place was covered in blood when we left,” I say.

  “Here.” Angus gets down on his knees and leans close to the floor. “You can see grooves where the blood moved the dust. I think it went under there.”

  We all get down on the floor. Sure enough, there’s definitely marks in the layer of dust that make it seem like the blood flowed across the room and under the stone wall.

  “Why would it do that?” I ask. “What’s on the other side of the wall?”

  Angus presses his ear to the stone.

  Van shakes his head. “Ang, those stones are at least a foot thick.”

  “Shh,” Angus says, waving him off. “There’s something moving in there.”

  We all listen for a moment. The room is completely silent. And then the sound of scratching fills the air. It’s like nails on a chalkboard. It stops and then a low whine seeps through the spaces under the wall, echoing all around us.

  “Was that a dog?” I ask.

  “Or maybe a wolf?” Van says.

  “No. It can’t be?” Angus says, horrified.

  “Tobias?!” Marco bangs on the wall. “Tobias? Are you in there?”

  The wall is solid. Angus runs up the stairs and comes back a minute later. “There’s no way to get to that side of the wall.”

  Van pulls his clothes off and throws them aside. “Get out of the way.”

  Van shifts and charges at the stone wall. He crashes into it, shaking the entire room and cracking the mortar between several of the stones. He backs up and charges again, but he still can’t get through. Marco shifts and joins him and the two of them break through on the first try.

  The space on the other side of the wall is totally dark. Angus grabs the knife from the table and holds it at the ready. I look around for the wooden branch, feeling much more confident in that, considering this place was full of vampires only a few hours ago.

  As soon as I touch the wood I feel a surge of power inside me. It’s like the stick is some kind of magic wand. I don’t want to let it go.

  Van and Marco throw their clothes back on and we all peer into the hole.

  The room on the other side of the wall is dark and feels like a cave. The light from this side spills in and reveals a single stone coffin set on an angle, diagonal to the wall. A fluffy black cat sits on the coffin’s lid. The cat doesn’t budge, it just sits there watching us.

  Meow.

  Van rushes in and shoves the cat off the coffin. The cat hisses and paws at Van, but he just carries on and pushes the stone lid off the top. Inside the box is a pile of white fur.

  “Oh my god. Tobias?” Van reaches into the box and lifts the emaciated wolf from inside. He cradles his brother in his arms. The white wolf filthy and his fur is matted and he’s practically skin and bones.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  JOELY

  Back at the house, Tobias is in very bad shape. Van was able to coax him back into his human form, but he’s got no strength and he isn’t eating. We’ve pieced together the fact that Underwood kept Tobias in a suspended state, the way he did his own sons.

  Tobias said that once Underwood was able to get his son’s blood back from the dire wolves who stole it, he was going to bring Tobias back to be their slave, like old times. Only now, he’d be unable to break free and would be doomed to live forever in chains.

  It’s hard to get much out of Tobias since he’s so weak, and Van is so patient and with every passing second it’s obvious his wolf is healing him. I just wish it would hurry up and make him whole.

  Tobias laughs softly. It’s like it takes all of his energy. “He had a serious revenge fantasy.”

  Seeing Tobias looking so thin is jarring. He’s Van’s twin, but it’s hard to imagine him anywhere near Van’s size.

  Angus arrives with armloads of food and jugs of water. “All right, I have sandwiches, smoothies, veg, steaks, cereal, candy… you name it, Tobias. Do you think you can eat anything?”

  The cat races through the door and hops up onto the bed next to Tobias.

  “Oh yeah, and that cat was waiting outside,” Angus says.

  “Get that thing out of here,” Van says.

  Tobias shakes his head. “The cat stays.”

  “You hate cats,” Van says.

  Tobias shrugs. “That cat is the only reason I have any skin left at all. He kept all the rats and mice away from me when I was locked in that box. The cat stays.”

  “Fine. The cat stays.” Van rifles through the bags of groceries. “Will you please eat?”

  Tobias shakes his head. “I’m not hungry.”

  I lean against the door and bump against the wooden stick I took from the crypt. I grab it
and slide my hand along its length, tearing my thumb on a thorn.

  “Ow!” Bright red blood beads on my thumb. I suck it off and when I look up Tobias looks like he’s ready to pounce.

  “Oh shit,” Van says. “No wonder you managed to stay alive all these years. Underwood turned you.”

  Tobias doesn’t stop staring at my thumb. “What are you talking about?”

  “Brother, you’re a fucking vampire.”

  Marco, Angus, and I sit in the kitchen, staring at each other.

  “Someone say something,” I say.

  Marco shakes his head and applies more pressure to the cut on his wrist where he let Tobias feed from him. He looks pale and really upset.

  I look at Angus. His wrist has closed up but he just looks at me as if he’s shell shocked.

  “Well, then I’ll start,” I say. “I am really freaked out. I am freaking out here. I am one hundred percent freaked out!”

  Van storms into the kitchen and grabs a towel from the cupboard. “I can’t do this. I can’t watch him… feed on me.”

  “He needs our blood,” Marco whispers.

  I shake my head. “He needs fresh blood. It doesn’t have to be yours, does it?”

  “Oh my god, you’re right!” Van rushes over and plants a huge kiss on my lips. “Bless you. Thank god.” He grins at me and then starts undressing.

  Van kicks off his boots and unbuckles his belt, undressing right there in the kitchen. He hangs his shirt on the hook by the back door and then leaves his jeans and his shorts in a pile as he opens the door and races out into the snow wearing only his socks.

  “It’s going to be light soon,” I whisper, worried about Van being out in the daylight. Even though he blends in with the snow, there’s still a crazy group of rabid werewolf hunters out there and we shouldn’t take any chances.

  “He’s on his way back,” Marco says.

  We’re waiting on the back porch for Van to return. As soon as he shifted he told the guys through the hive mind what he was doing. Angus went upstairs to wait with Tobias and Marco and I made coffee.

  Marco gets to his feet. “Here he is.”

  I stand up and watch, waiting for movement. Then Van appears at the tree line, a beautiful white wolf who would normally be hard to pick out in the snowy woods, except for the huge elk in his jaws.

  The elk is still alive. I don’t know what I was expecting, but this isn’t it. “Oh my god.”

  Van carries the elk around the yard and disappears into the barn.

  Marco opens the door. “I’ll go get Tobias.”

  Angus and Marco help Tobias down the stairs and out to the barn. There’s an energy around them, almost like seeing a sparkle or something, it’s subtle and something I can’t define. Tobias was the final piece. I smile, even as I know what’s coming. Then I push the door closed and watch them go.

  I plan to stay right here. I can’t watch this part. I don’t need to see what’s about to happen.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  JOELY

  “You sure about this?” Roz leans against the door of my dorm, looking worried. “You don’t have to. They can find someone else to speak.”

  I shake my head, checking myself in the mirror for the hundredth time. “No. It feels right. It’s the right thing to do.”

  It’s been a week since everything happened. Seven days since Damon Underwood and Porter Allbright died. Seven days since I rescued my men from that vampire’s brutal attack. And seven days since we found Tobias alive.

  The craziness on campus hasn’t stopped, though without Porter Allbright stirring things up, the rallies have tapered off and the fighting has moved from the quad to the boardrooms. There are still those who want to build the Society of Ancient Magic back up, and those who want to reimagine a new version, and then there’s Eliza and her cronies who have gone off the deep end with their conspiracies, and seem only to want to see the world burn. I haven’t seen much of either of my sisters, and when I do, I walk the other way.

  Georgia and Winter join Roz at my door, the three of them dressed in black, just like me.

  Roz hooks her arm toward me. “You ready?”

  I loop my arm through hers and lead us toward the elevator. “Let’s go.”

  The quad is full of people, but there isn’t a protestor as far as the eye can see. My friends and I gather with the rest of the faculty around the plinth where the founder’s statue once stood. The fallen bronze of Reginald Whitmore Blakeborne was taken away when the rest of the quad was cleaned. And now we’re here to unveil a new statue. Something that speaks to the real history of this place.

  Angus and Marco sit in the front row. I take my seat next to them and Roz and the girls sit on my other side. Professor Gilvray waves me up to the podium they set on risers next to the plinth.

  Angus reaches over and squeezes my hand. “You’re going to be great.”

  I step to the podium and unfold the words I had prepared to read. I wasn’t sure I was actually going to follow through, but all I had to do was think about my friend Mel and the fact that she just “disappeared” into thin air while the world moved on. The fact that Damon Underwood and Daria North were feeding people to the Vessel is unforgivable. But there’s something worse about leaving everyone to wonder what happened.

  I take a deep breath and try to will the butterflies in my stomach to settle down. I look out at the audience, seeing faces with every expression you can imagine. Some friendly, some curious, and some dark and closed. I look at Marco, then Angus. Their smiles and their faith in me rise from them like a beacon, giving me strength. I know I’m doing the right thing. “Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you for coming. As you all know, this year a dark secret has been uncovered here at Blakeborne University that most of us would prefer never to mention again. But ignoring darkness doesn’t send it away. Only light can do that. Blakeborne University has a storied and rich history since it was founded, but it also has a legacy of darkness that must be reckoned with.” I glance out at the audience again, and there aren’t as many faces with dark and closed expressions as there were when I started speaking.

  I take my time, reading the list of hundreds of names of students who were called runaways, or had simply disappeared. It takes the better part of an hour to get through the list, but I don’t waver. Even though my voice falters at times, I am determined to give each name the proper respect. Through it all, no one in the audience moves. No one says a thing. I don’t even think the air is moving. Everyone here, everything around us is still, bound as we are with the weight of all that has been taken from us.

  When I finish the last name, I stop, and turn to look at the covered statue behind me, then back out at the audience. “It is in their names, in their honor, that we dedicate this statue today. It is our hope that it will mark not only the new beginning we are forging for all of us and for Blakeborne University, but also to ensure that the past stays in the light.”

  I nod at Professor Gilvray and he tugs on the string holding the white drape in place. The silky fabric falls away, revealing the new statue. Ooohs and Ahhhhs waft through the crowd as they take in the sight. After a moment everyone stands and gives their applause.

  The statue features a group of male and female students, all of them gathered together with their arms around each other. All of the faces are looking up toward a white crystal that catches the sunlight and reflects it out like a thousand tiny sparkles. It’s like a sparkler, with each glowing spot representing all of the students whose lights were snuffed out before their time.

  I step down from the stage. Angus takes my hand and we walk back toward our friends.

  A woman’s voice calls from behind me. “Joely?”

  I turn and pull Angus with me. “Mom?”

  My mother smiles as she approaches. She’s dressed for the memorial. I don’t know why I didn’t think she would be here, and yet I am still surprised.

  “Can I have a word with you? It will only take a moment.” She nods
nervously and waits for my answer.

  Angus kisses my head. “I’ll be right over here.”

  “Okay,” I whisper, holding his hand until we slip apart.

  My mom clutches her purse in front of her like a shield.

  “Joely, I wanted to…”

  “Mom, I…”

  We laugh as we start and stop. Clearly we’re both nervous.

  “I wasn’t myself when you came to the house,” she says. “Your father placed a charm on me and made me say those terrible things to you. I hope you can forgive me.”

  Tears prick my eyes. “I don’t know what I’m supposed to do. Now that we know… I just…”

  My mom grabs my hands. “Joelle Evangeline Everstar, what I know is that you’re my baby girl and I love you. Nothing can take that away from us. I am so very sorry that this was done to you. It was a wicked and unforgivable thing. I can only hope that no matter what comes, that you know I would never hurt you. I love you, and you’ll always be my daughter, and Kate and Eliza’s sister.”

  I look around then. I didn’t expect to see Eliza, because this is not fiery enough for her, but I haven’t seen Kate, either. That surprises me.

  “What about Dad?” I ask.

  “I don’t know. I kicked him out. He isn’t welcome in our home anymore.” She squeezes my hand. “Your friends are waiting. I won’t keep you. We missed you over the holiday. Please, just promise that you’ll call.” She smiles. “We’re going to figure this out. But we don’t need to do it right this minute.”

  I nod and try to smile but I feel like I am going to break into a thousand pieces. “Okay,” I say.

  “Kate wanted to be here, but I knew we needed to speak first,” Mom says.

  I nod. I can’t speak. This is so unexpected and I hate that my instinct is not to trust it.

  “Call me. Call us. It’s going to be all right, honey,” Mom says. Her eyes glitter with unshed tears, but her smile doesn’t waver, and her grip as she gives my hand one more squeeze is strong and firm.