“That’s why she lost her mind? Why she’s in the hospital now?”
My mother nods. “It is. Magic. Power. It isn’t natural. It’s always been a curse, causing more problems than it solves. And those monsters who are living with you, they are born of the oldest magic, and they are using you, and your daughter, to empower their own races.”
“I already know what they want,” I say, impatiently. “I know why they came. But it’s more complicated than that.”
I think back to all the shared moments, the private conversations, the memories I’ve already made with each of them. Complicated definitely describes my current relationship status.
My mother smiles sadly, then stands and waves her wand over the fire. The golden-red flames turn blue, like our magic chairs, and begin to dance against the night sky, forming shapes that tell a story.
“They told you what they wanted you to know. They used their powers of mental manipulation and seduction on you.”
As I watch, I see scenes played out from my life with Darius, Rune and Zev. Private moments none other were privy to.
“Did they tell you what they will do with the child, once they have her?” she asks, the form of a baby appearing in the flames.
“They need her to save their people,” I say softly, feeling sick to my stomach.
“That much is true,” my mom says. “But there’s much more to it than that.” With another flick of her wand, the flames change shapes once more. “Each race believes they understand the prophecy of the Last Witch. And each believes they know what must be done to save the magic flowing in their veins, giving life to their race.”
A wolf appears in the flames, several wolves, in fact, surrounding the baby laying on the ground. The wolves then descend upon the child, ripping it apart. I turn my head from the gruesome scene, but cannot erase it from my mind.
“The wolves would eat her, consuming her flesh and bones in order to take in her magic and save themselves.”
I glance back at the flames as they shift again, this time to the fae, who lay the baby in a hole dug in the ground. “The fae would put her to earth, burying her alive so that her blood, bones, and final breath can become part of the nature they worship, so that she will become one with the Great Tree and give them their lives and magic back.”
I clutch Rain tighter to my chest. “Stop this,” I whisper, anger and fear and disgust boiling in me.
“You must see the truth, my daughter. You must know, otherwise, I cannot save you.”
The flames dance again, this time bringing forth the vampires. The baby in the fire is strapped to an altar, her blood drained as the vampires feed on her. My mother doesn’t need to explain this one. It’s all too clear.
She circles her wand a final time and the flames die down, turning back to their normal color. “You see? They’ve been using you. They don’t care about you or the child, only their own immortal selves. They were never meant to exist. Not in the world of humans. Not anywhere. They are aberrations and they must never get their hands on the Last Witch. We must keep Rain safe, for her sake and for the sake of all of humanity.”
“So you’ve been trying to kidnap her to keep her safe?” I ask.
My mom smiles, relief in her eyes. “Yes. Exactly!”
“And what about Joe? Why did you kill him?”
She flinches. “That was out of my control. Joe found out about Alex, and he…”
She drifts off but I press on, needing info faster than she seems prepared to give it.
“And Nanny? Why send Order members to her room?”
“To keep her safe,” she says. “The Order has been watching over Nanny since her mind went, trying to keep other creatures away from the powers stored in that frail body. Like that vampire who nearly killed her before Alex arrived.”
Except… that’s not what happened. Nanny had been relieved to see him. Happy. Or was that just what Darius wanted me to see?
I rub my temples, a massive headache forming. I don’t know what’s real and what’s not. Who to trust and who to fight.
“Then why not come to me yourself earlier? Why all the theatrics? You put me and Rain at risk.”
My mother sinks back into her fire chair, looking slightly defeated. “I wanted to. Sunshine, I’ve wanted to come see you every day since I disappeared. Being so close and yet so far has made life almost unbearable. But how could I explain myself? How could I tell you anything and still keep you safe? I wish I got to you before those monsters did, and now I’m trying to fix this, I swear it.”
I close my eyes, squeezing through tears as I try to find the truth in my heart, when a voice invades my mind.
Bernie, do not trust her. It’s not what it seems. I’m coming to save you both.
My breath hitches. Darius.
Chapter Twenty
Don’t move.
Darius’ final command makes me hold my breath and my eyes go wide. The reaction is not lost on my mother.
“What is it, Bernie?” She leans in, inspecting me, clearly on high alert. I don’t know if she senses something, or if she’s just constantly on edge because she lives in a secret society in the woods.
“I’m… I’m afraid, mom.” I decide not to mention the voice in my head, because I still don’t know who to trust. The only thing I can think to do is keep this conversation going and hope the truth appears in big, flashing, neon lights.
“I’m afraid of everyone. Including you.”
Probably not what a mom wants to hear from her daughter, but she takes it in stride.
“Of course you are. I lied to you and broke your trust, and I don’t expect to fix that just by showing my face. I only hope you take it better than Joe did when he saw Betty.”
And the hits just keep on coming.
“Betty? His wife who died from cancer, whose funeral I went to?” I mean, has anyone ever actually died? And like… stayed dead?
Mom nods. “She’s here. She’s a witch.”
As shocking as that is, I’m more heartbroken for Joe.
“And Joe found out?”
“About her, and about Alex,” my mom says. “Betty worked for years on a spell that would bring her son’s mind back, and it was finally a success. But the deception and the loss--and the knowledge that his wife was a witch, it was too much for Joe.”
Of course it was. Sweet old man stopped caring about anything except beer these last two years, and to then find out he didn’t have to go through that agony? That his wife chose to leave him? No matter what her reasoning, that’s a pill not a lot of people could swallow without choking.
“Why?” I ask. “Why’d she have to leave, or pretend to die?”
My mother looks into the distance, searching for the words that might make me understand. Open-minded as I’m trying to be, I doubt she’ll find them.
“It’s too much to explain in one conversation, Sunshine. That might sound like a cop-out, but there’s a long history of witches that makes everything--”
“Yeah, I know the history,” I interrupt.
“Well,” she says, doubt heavy in her voice, “you know the history as told by the races that have been killing us for generations.”
It’s a fair point, though it’s not like Darius, Zev and Rune minced words. None of them painted the treatment of witches in a flattering light. God, how is it that it feels like everyone on both sides of this argument is telling the truth and lying to me at the same time?
I want to ask more questions, about Betty, Alex, Mom--shit, I haven’t even thought to ask about the father I never met, who was almost undoubtedly a minotaur or talking fish. However, all questions will have to wait, as a deep red glow ignites in the sky above us, accompanied by a low, bone-rattling hum.
Every member of The Order is on guard, and my mom is out of her chair the moment it happens.
“Where’s the breach?” she yells to no one in particular. “Are they inside the field?”
A younger woman who I don’t recogn
ize runs over, her fiery red hair flying behind as her hood falls to her back. She speaks with some sort of accent, one I can’t place except to say the girl ain’t from Mass.
“Someone crossed the river basin,” she explains, her words rushed and breath short. “Non human. Three.”
My hopes rise as I realize all three Sexies are coming for me, but they fall just as quickly. Are they coming for me and my baby, or just my baby?
“Arm yourselves and take your posts!” my mother yells, transitioning from chill witch mom to intimidating general in an instant. “There’s a vampire in the woods, so don’t show any hesitation.”
She turns on me, suspicion clouding her eyes. “Bernie, what’s your relationship with these men?”
“What? You know more about them than I do, you’ve been--”
“No,” she cuts me off, searching for specifics. “I know they’ve stolen your trust, but have they taken your heart? Have you slept with them?”
This feels way too much like I’m a teenager coming home from the drive-in movies, and I don’t really know what to make of it.
“No,” I answer defensively but truthfully.
“Any acts of passion? Any connection that’s more than skin deep?”
Her insistence seems strange, but the pointed questioning does make me think more clearly.
“I… there was a car crash, with Dar--with the vampire, and to keep me conscious, to help me recover…”
I don’t finish the sentence because it’s clear my mom has already heard enough.
“Oh, Sunshine,” she says, with a mix of pity and scorn. “He gave you his blood. And now he owns you.”
Before I can respond, she sprints off into the night, leaving me and Rain alone by the fire.
The Order is preparing for battle with the Sexies. The Sexies have come for me and Rain and will probably kill any member of the Order that gets in their way. Including my mother.
I’m caught in the middle and don’t know which way to turn.
A howl in the distance lets me know that Zev is near. It’ll be an interesting twist if he can convince the wolves of New England to join the fight.
I stay by the fire, as it’s my only source of light in these unfamiliar surroundings. I know both sides of this skirmish say they want to keep me safe, but I still feel the need to duck and take cover. That need only gets stronger when the sky lights up again in a bright crimson, and a shrill siren wakes Rain. I cover her ears, trying to protect her. She probably wants to feed, but the poor thing will have to wait a bit longer.
“They’re on the last ridge!” a man calls from the darkness.
“Ready yourselves!” my mother responds. “Stun, confuse, or kill, whatever you need to do to stay alive and protect the child!”
Moments later, clusters of light burst out of the trees and into the clearing. I can’t tell where the Order’s assault is targeted, but I know it’s unending. I fear for the men who have come to save me, though I still wonder how much it’s them I should be fearing.
Suddenly, I see the shadow of a tree uproot, and the sound of branches cracking echoes through the woods.
“To the East!” a voice screams. “Target the fae!”
More fire and lighting bolts erupt from the witches stationed in the trees, now all directed nearer to where Rain and I sit. If this fight moves any closer to us, we’re liable to get barbecued by an errant blast of fire.
Another tree tears from the ground, and I hear the sound of a man screaming as he falls from his perch in the branches, then a sickening thud as his body hits the snow. Seconds later, a beam of white light scorches the ground beneath the tree, and I hear Rune cry out in agony.
I’m compelled to move towards him, to see if I can help, to offer some sort of protection, but I know that’s a fool’s errand. I have my baby. I can’t walk blindly into a firefight. Instead, I take the only action I can think of.
“STOP!”
I scream at the top of my lungs, clutching Rain to my chest, trying to top the sound of the magical powers clashing around me. I don’t expect my cry to be heard, but it’s all I’ve got.
A few more shots are fired, but then the chaos seems to settle. A trace of quiet enters the night. Either everyone died, or my plea worked. Neither seems likely, so I keep Rain hugged against me, waiting for another outburst.
Instead of fire, the next thing I see flying through the air is my pet wolf. Zev lands at my feet, then quickly begins circling me, staring and sniffing in every direction.
Around us, I hear the sound of bodies scurrying down trees, swinging from branch to branch as they head towards the ground. Footsteps come from every direction as the Order surrounds us. Zev looks more like a frightened animal than I’ve ever seen him, moving around me in a low crouch, a constant growl humming in his throat.
The Order members begin closing in on us, but there’s still no sign of Rune or Darius. I don’t understand what could have happened to them. They’re both too strong, too powerful, too cunning. What are we up against? And of course, I’m once again torn by the lingering question in my mind… which of them is truly my enemy?
Darius, are you here? I think, hoping for an answer but afraid of what he’ll say. Silence is the only answer I get.
“Get away from the baby, Wolf,” my mother orders. Zev makes no move to obey.
“You’re outnumbered and up against a magic your teeth can’t cut through,” she says savagely. “Move away and die quickly, or stay put and I’ll make the pain linger much longer.”
Zev only growls and continues his guard of me and Rain. I don’t like where this is headed, and I’m terrified of how it might end.
“Mom,” I say, fighting past the lump in my throat so I can speak clearly. “Please don’t.”
“I’m sorry, this isn’t your conversation.” Her response is quick and firm, putting me in my place like I’m a child and, in the process, pissing me the hell off.
“Of course it’s my conversation!”
“Sunshine--”
“Don’t ‘Sunshine’ me, Lauren.” Her name escapes my lips before I even know what I’m saying.
“I’m late to the party, but I’m also the one holding the Last Witch,” I say, glancing down at my baby. “If I’m going to bear this cross, I get a seat at the table.”
My mom--Lauren--takes a few steps closer, seeming to accept that she won’t win this argument with her I’m-in-charge attitude.
“Sweetheart, you’re at the table. I won’t keep anything from you…” she pauses, looking from my face down to the wolf. “...As soon as you’re safe.”
No sooner have the words left her lips than her wand is in the air, pointed at Zev, a golden light bursting from it. He’s quick enough to move his head out of the way, but the blast catches him in the shoulder, sending him flailing away into the snow. The yelp he lets out as he crashes and falls still breaks my heart.
“No!” I shout, whirling back to face my mother.
“Baby,” she starts, ready to dish out another lie, or tell me the truth. I get the feeling I may not know who I should actually trust until it’s too late.
She takes another step toward me, but before her foot can settle, a blur of darkness streaks through my vision, toppling my mother and sending other members of the Order scrambling. Before my eyes can follow the movement, the shadow appears behind a hooded member and knocks them unconscious with a blow to the head before they can even turn around.
The vampire has arrived.
Fire starts to fly again and I duck down, hunching over my shrieking baby to keep her out of harm’s way. I look behind me to see if I can spot Zev. I can only make out what might be the outline of a rock, or perhaps a motionless wolf.
Suddenly, I feel a body at my side.
“We need to flee, Bernie.”
Order members are scattered about, some heading our way but ceasing the onslaught for fear of hitting Rain. This is as good a time as any to escape, but…
“Not without
Zev and Rune.”
“Bernie, they may not survive--”
“It’s a three-way pledge, Darius,” I say firmly. “We’re not leaving if they’re still alive.”
Darius stands his ground, his face conflicted. He’s trying to respect my wishes, but it’s clear his chief concern is keeping me alive. I can’t imagine a world in which this man would hurt me, no matter what consequences he may face. If I had to choose between my mom and the vampire this instant…
“Bernie, you need to trust me!”
My mother’s voice comes from the ground near the fire. She’s slowly getting to her feet, obviously hurt from the blow she took.
“No matter how charmed you are, or protected you feel, each of these men is trying to save his own race! The stakes are too high to be blinded by their powers--or your feelings! Don’t you think they would snap your neck in an instant if it meant saving everything and everyone they care about? Do you really think you and your child matter to them more than their entire realm? More than their own lives?”
She limps toward me, looking hurt and afraid, and speaking words that ring true. It would be foolish to think about how each man has treated me without remembering why they came in the first place.
“Matilda’s daughter, I presume,” Darius says calmly.
“Don’t say her name like you know her,” my mom says.
Interesting. It looks like I know something my mother doesn’t. What to do with this information, I’m not sure.
“You don’t know of what you speak, woman,” the vampire spits back, sounding much more like the Darius I was first introduced to. “None of you know the first thing about this child, its powers, or the prophecy.”
While Darius gives my mother a verbal lashing, the other members of the Order fall in behind her. It’s me, my baby, and a vampire against a much larger, seemingly more powerful group. My baby might have magic one day, but that day is not today, and I already know I don’t have any--thanks to Nanny. So really, it’s Darius against the Order, which doesn’t seem like great odds, even for a super powerful vampire.
A Werewolf, a Vampire, and a Fae Walk Into a Bar Page 19
