Flash and Flame: Portals of Asphodel Series: The Guardian, Book 2

by Sadie Anders

  “I see.”

  I thought about the people who worked for Raphael at his home. They had been invisible and faceless before, but now I needed to meet them. I wondered what their lives were like. Where they lived. What their powers were. How he treated them.

  “I’m Pierce.”

  “Alexis.”

  “Nice to meet you. And don’t worry. Galba can’t hear us on the other side of the screen. It’s soundproof. And even if it weren’t, he listens to his music when traveling. He couldn’t care less what we have to say to each other.”

  “Galba didn’t seemed thrilled to come fetch me.”

  “He’s never thrilled about anything, especially about being treated like a lackey. You must be important to the ladies, especially if they sent someone as old and powerful as Galba to collect you.”

  This surprised me. I felt like such a newbie, and people in this realm had constantly told me how unimportant, how powerless I was.

  Maybe I shouldn’t have listened to them. My uncle had always claimed that the cruel things that people said to you told you more about them than yourself.

  Pierce chatted with me as we drove through the lower city. He pointed out landmarks, helping me get to know Aporia. It was like having my own private tour guide. He noted the little places that mattered to him, too, not only the important ones. His favorite bakery, where you could smell the warm scent of bread all day long. The best bookstore in town, where the clerk stamped the inside of your book with your design and ink color of choice. His sister’s tavern where she made amazing beer cheese soup. He told me about each place lovingly, like he was a person who was proud to belong to this community.

  I was taken aback.

  My time in Asphodel before had been disorienting and unpleasant. I thought everybody else must have hated it, too. It was interesting to encounter people who saw its beauty, who felt like they belonged there.

  As for me, so far this trip to Asphodel hadn’t been that bad, even if I was disappointed about not seeing Raphael. At least I hadn’t been harassed by a bunch of angry wind and leaves this time.

  Soon, we began winding through the mountainside, and before long, we had ascended well into the upper city.

  We climbed and climbed.

  At the apex of the hills, we crossed a barrier. The perpetual twilight transformed into pitch black night, and I could tell that we were near the Furies’ home again, somewhere neither here nor there. Somewhere caught in the middle of two planes.

  Torches lined the road, guiding our way toward the fortress where the Furies ruled the city below. We pulled up to the main entrance, but before we exited the vehicle, Pierce placed his hand on my arm.

  “Alexis, wait,” he said. “Whatever they want you to do, whatever they need from you, please remember that they are not your people. We are. And you’ll always have a place with us here, no matter how long you’ve been gone.”

  “Are you saying I shouldn’t help them?”

  “No. You have to. I’m saying that you should remember what is right. They’re good at getting people to betray themselves. Try to remember why you’re doing what you’re doing. At each step, whatever that may be.”

  I nodded. “I’ll try.”

  He shrugged. “Just a piece of advice, anyways. It’s always served me well. It’s hard to walk the line between serving the vampires and being true to my people. But you can do it. It’s possible. Please remember that.”

  I wasn’t so sure that it was possible.

  “Thanks, Pierce.”

  He bowed his head to me and exited, opening the back door to let his employer emerge. Galba started walking with determination towards the front door, then seemed to remember that he needed to bring me along. He turned and waved me forward impatiently.

  “Come, come. You are expected.”

  I skipped forward to catch up with him. We entered the long, painting-lined hallway and made our way towards the back wall. Before, there had been enormous portraits of the three Furies, Megaera, Alecto, and Tisiphone. Now, however, I noticed that Tisiphone’s portrait had been covered by a heavy crimson cloth, obscuring her from view.

  The other two sisters must not have been taking her betrayal well. I wouldn’t have expected them to, honestly. She had joined the other side, the rebels who had been attacking vampires, who had been snatching supernaturals and experimenting with their powers in order to start an uprising. She had turned against her own family and sided with a rebellion.

  The idea of it hurt me.

  Who could do that to their family? Why would she?

  A harried man emerged from behind the portraits looking like a frog with indigestion.

  Cleon.

  I wasn’t a fan of his from our first encounter, considering he had treated me lower than dirt. He was a lackey, a sycophantic servant of the Furies, and he liked to be cruel to others. Qualities that I could not stand.

  This time, however, he didn’t even look at me. He rushed up to Galba, clearly concerned.

  “Finally. What took you so long?”

  Galba looked down his nose at him, barely containing his contempt. “There was no delay. Everything went according to the schedule I had given before I left. Do not attempt to make me feel rushed, Cleon.”

  Galba pointedly looked away, not deigning to give Cleon any more attention. Completely shut down by this man, Cleon said no more and turned to go back into the great hall. We followed closely behind him, our feet echoing on the cold flagstones beneath.

  The two sisters sat on their wooden thrones at the end of the hall, the third throne having been removed. They had wasted no time in cutting Tisiphone out of their lives. Cold hearted, but that was no surprise.

  A group of onlookers, the regular courtiers who observed the business and goings-on of the Furies, stood lined up against both walls.

  How were there so many people who wanted to spend their days doing that?

  I would never understand. I had better things to do with my time, as in literally anything else.

  As we approached closer to the sisters, I saw one courtier step forward from the crowd a bit, his head towering above the others. He was facing away from me, but he seemed familiar. As we reached the end of the great hall, I could finally make out who he was.

  Raphael.

  He said nothing, his face grave, and he remained where he was as I stood before the Furies. I opened my mouth to speak to him, but he shook his head almost imperceptibly. Now was apparently not the time.

  Message received.

  Cleon rushed ahead of us and took his place, standing at the right hand of Megaera, the icy cool blond sister. The one that clearly hated me.

  Galba gave a polite bow to the Furies, but not one that was especially reverential. This guy definitely thought he was above everyone, even them. I wondered what his deal was, where he had come from.

  “I present Ms. Guignol,” he said simply.

  “Thank you, Galba. I trust you had no difficulty in obtaining her,” Megaera said, speaking of me as if I were merchandise that she had sent him to pick up at the store.

  “None whatsoever,” he replied. “I found her adequately compliant.”

  “Very good. Until next time,” she said. Galba gave another slight bow and turned away from them, walking quickly out of the hall. He didn’t have to be told twice to leave. I felt the same way.

  Alecto was lounging informally in her chair, not really caring for her modesty in the dress she was wearing, as she had one leg slung over the chair’s right arm. She was effortlessly beautiful, and the curls of her amber hair fell on her honeyed shoulders as if she had walked out of a painting of a goddess frolicking in an idyllic grove. Still, I knew deep down that she was as terrifying as her sister, even if more disarming. Perhaps she was even scarier because of that. I had seen her transform into a monster and drive a man to madness, then go about her day as if nothing had happened. She was not to be messed with.

  “Thank you for agreeing to join us today,
Alexis,” Alecto said, her voice bored.

  I merely nodded. There wasn’t much agreeing to be done. I had basically been rounded up and brought here.

  “Raphael has told us much about your infiltration of the Foundry and your dealings with those who are opposed to us,” Megaera said. “And he has told us of our sister’s betrayal.”

  Alecto’s eyes narrowed. “Miserable cow,” she said under her breath. Megaera smiled.

  “We were impressed with your fortitude in that situation, and we believe you can be of some use to us.”

  “You know that I’m new to magic and to this world,” I said. “I’m still just learning what I can do. I don’t know what use I could be to anyone right now.”

  “It is not for you to question,” Megaera said simply. “Suffice it to say that we are requesting you because we have reasons to do so, one of them being your unique circumstances.”

  I was confused, not sure of what she meant.

  “You are in a position much different from the residents of Asphodel. For some reason the rebels at the Foundry wish to obtain your services. That much Raphael has shared with us.”

  I glanced over at him. He was looking at me impassively, not letting on how he felt about the situation.

  “Because of your unique situation, we believe that you might serve as an adequate hireling for a task that we need fulfilled.”

  “What task?”

  “The details can be divulged only when you agree to help us.”

  “And it would be wise to agree,” Alecto added. “Considering you went into the Foundry against our express wishes.”

  They were right. I had gone charging in to save my uncle even when they had told me not to.

  Megaera continued. “In addition, we believe that your, uh, allegiance to Raphael will encourage you to help us find what we desire.”

  “If you agree to aid us, you can consider your mistake in going to the Foundry to be forgiven,” Alecto said. “Otherwise, some punishment may be in order.”

  Who were these people to act like they were in charge of me? I didn’t even live here. Still, if Uncle Julian and Nick were correct about the reach of the Furies’ power, I didn’t have a choice. They could control me from anywhere, not to mention that punishment sounded like something I definitely didn’t want. And they were right about Raphael’s influence over me. I cared about him, and if he told me that helping the Furies was the thing that I should do, that recommendation would carry a lot of weight with me.

  “Okay. I’ll help. But you should know that I don’t have any superpowers or anything. There’s only so much I can do on my own.”

  “Oh, I’m not concerned about your ability to do this task,” Megaera said.

  Was she saying that because it would be easy? Or because she wouldn’t care at all if I died trying?

  She leaned towards Cleon, beckoning him to come closer and whispering something in his ear. After hearing her request, he stood alert and walked over to the crowd of onlookers.

  “The Furies wish to have privacy,” he told them, quickly scuttling them away towards the doorway of the great hall. As they exited, he turned to the guards and waved his hands dismissively at them. They exited, as well.

  Raphael remained, clearly needing to be individually dismissed. From the look on his face, he wasn’t in the mood to go anywhere.

  “Great ones?” Cleon asked expectantly, nodding towards Raphael.

  Alecto glanced over at him. “Fine. The guardian can stay.” She smiled at Raphael. Alecto had always treated him playfully, like a little brother.

  Cleon’s face fell. He probably would love the chance to lord it over Raphael. Cleon took his place at the right hand of the Furies once again as Raphael walked over to stand next to me. Being that much closer to him, even though I wasn’t touching him, sent a thrill of excitement through me. I wanted to reach out, wrap my arms around him, but I would have to wait.

  Megaera stood and walked closer to me, abandoning her post on her throne.

  “We have a job for you Alexis. One that a vampire cannot do,” she said, some of formality dropping. “We need you to go to the Empyrean.”

  A small gasp escaped Raphael. I turned to look at him. The shock on his face was evident.

  Wherever the Empyrean was, I was pretty sure that I didn’t want to go there.

  4

  The Furies wanted me to go to a place I had never even heard of to do a job they claimed that a vampire could not do. From my understanding, vampires traditionally had free reign between the realms. If they couldn’t complete this task with all of their power and influence, then I was concerned.

  What could I possibly do?

  “Where is the Empyrean? What is it?” I asked.

  “It is a place beyond Asphodel. It is in this realm, and yet not. It crosses between many planes,” Alecto said, her voice half lost in dreams.

  “It is a land of fire and light. Most vampires cannot go there, as it is counter to their essence, against what is dark and sanguinary,” Megaera said. “It makes sense to send someone like you, someone who can walk freely there.”

  I sort of understood this, but why me? Didn’t Pierce tell me that they had plenty of people from the lower city who worked for the vampires?

  “Why me though? Don’t you have other witches who work for you?”

  Megaera avoided my question, remaining silent for several moments while determining what to say.

  Finally, she continued. “There is another component. We need you to seek out an item for us, one of great importance, but its exact location is unknown. Therefore, we need you to gather intelligence about the item for us. It is your job to put yourself in a position that will allow you to do this.”

  “You will need to go to the lower city,” Alecto said. “Gather the trust of those who gave you information before. Find out what we need to know, then procure the object for us.”

  “What is the object?” I asked.

  “The Phos Eos,” she replied.

  Cleon’s head perked up.

  “That device is a myth,” Raphael said.

  Megaera smiled. “And it is best that others believe it is a fiction. But, alas, it is not. And we have reason to believe that our enemies are attempting to obtain it. Alexis here must do so before anyone else does. We must destroy it.”

  “What is this Phos Eos?” I asked.

  “It is a magical device with the power to kill any and all vampires,” Megaera said gravely.

  “It is liquid light,” Alecto said with morbid excitement. “If a person discovered how to harness it, to make it spread across the realm, the vampires would be no more.”

  I was truly confused now. “I thought that vampires weren’t all weakened by the light. Like Raphael. I’ve seen him walk in the daylight.”

  Megaera leveled a serious look at Raphael, one positively brimming with jealousy. “Raphael is not like the others. He is unique.”

  Unique. He clearly had failed to tell me this. I looked at him, but he volunteered no other information.

  “The use of the Phos Eos in Asphodel would decimate the vampires and destroy all that we have built. There is no coming back from that. We must be the ones to control it, to destroy it, for our own protection and for the protection of the other vampires.”

  That was right. The Furies, even though they were ancient and had acquired many powers over time, were still at their core vampires. They couldn’t afford for this device to be used either.

  “Why do I need to go to the lower city first?”

  “It is said that certain people of the lower city have knowledge of the Empyrean and its treasures because of their ancestral connection to it. They have shared this knowledge through the generations, but they have hidden this knowledge away. You must go to Aporia, find out what you can about the Phos Eos, and then go obtain it.”

  “Why would they share this information with an outsider like me?”

  “Because of your own unique nature. You are an e
lemental. They will revere you to a certain extent, and they will welcome you into their circle.”

  “There are other elementals, I’m sure.”

  Alecto shook her head. “None like you, however, as you will come to understand.” A distracted look crossed her face again, as if she were recalling something. Alecto had the means to see things, events and places others could not. I wondered what she had seen about me.

  “You must infiltrate these people, gain their trust, then use their secrets,” Megaera said. “It is imperative, for the continued existence of our people, and for the peace of the realm.”

  I didn’t like how that sounded. They wanted me to be gain the trust of people I barely knew then become a traitorous spy. Not exactly my idea of a good time. Even worse, I wasn’t sure that it was right, even if it did save vampires like Raphael. And, to be honest, I wasn’t sure I could do it even if I wanted to.

  “What makes you think that I’m capable of doing this?”

  Alecto stood and approached us. “But you are. I have seen it, signs of what is to come.” She pulled out a crystalline object from her pocket, much like the one that I possessed from our magic shop that had led me to the Foundry. It was diamond shaped, and a purple fog gathered inside at her touch.

  “Details are difficult, but the message is clear. You are the one to go. The one we should send.”

  Megaera arched one eyebrow. “I trust my sister’s advice on this. She is rarely incorrect.”

  Raphael stepped forward. “I wish to go with her. She will need help.”

  Megaera regarded him for a long time, her eyes narrowed. If I wasn’t mistaken, I would say that she was sizing him up, assessing where his loyalties remained. Perhaps she didn’t trust him anymore, even after all that he had done for the Furies. Even after rebuking his maker, their sister Tisiphone, after she had asked him to join her in her rebellion.

  I held my breath, hoping against hope that they would allow him to join me.

  “Yes, yes,” Alecto said, waving her hand. “I assumed as much. You may go with her.”