by LJ Swallow
"They'll be okay," he says with hesitancy in his tone. "We need to get out."
Andrei's right. We can't stay in here—we need to know who's arrived and if they're looking for us.
Andrei curses as the swollen wooden door jams in the frame. With another yank, he pulls the door open and we creep out into the night, pushing ourselves against the wall as we do.
The stone catches on my jacket and scrapes along my head as I meld with the wall as best I can. From our vantage point, we've a view of the barn where the door is closed but no longer padlocked. Maeve, Ash, and Tobias are strong. They'll be fine.
Taking a shuddery breath, I place my hand over the pendant. The magic can't fail me now. The pendant can protect us both. I glance at Andrei beside me, his lips tight and head cocked, listening. He wrinkles his nose.
"Shifter."
"Vince?"
"Not sure. I can't pick up any thoughts from this distance, but possibly."
My shoulders loosen with relief. Shifter, not a witch. Vince is a physically strong opponent but won't match the magic from three of us. As long as Ash doesn't falter, he can help too. Vince isn't likely to shift into a dragon and fight back here.
Is he?
My apprehension picks up again. Who the hell knows what will happen here tonight?
"Yeah. It's him," Andrei whispers, as Vince strides around the corner and towards the barn.
Chapter Fifty-Seven
MAEVE
The space between the barn and the house suddenly illuminates, and Tobias grabs my arm and pulls me to one side. We're less than a metre from the farmhouse door and the light from a car almost catches us in the beam. For once I don't notice his energy shocking me, as my heart thumps in panic.
Moments ago, we were safely hidden inside the barn, now we're stuck in between the two buildings and unable to move without risking someone spotting us. Tobias guides us around the corner towards the rear of the barn, and we watch as a car rolls along the driveway and disappears from view. I hear the engine stop as someone parks the car outside the front of the farmhouse.
"Who's that?" I ask, more to myself than as a question.
"Watch and wait, then we can decide what to do," says Tobias calmly.
"Ash is on his own," I whisper. "Can't you sense who the driver is?"
Tobias edges along the barn wall and peers around the corner. "I can't detect any thoughts but can sense this person in big."
Vincent.
"Do you think this is Vincent? Has he followed us?"
"I can't detect much in this person's mind—possibly."
I press my head against the stone and look to the sky, heart rate picking up further. This is good. We have a chance to confront Vincent. Reveal who he is.
"What do we do next?" I whisper.
"Wait." He replies firmly, without hesitating, and I'm relieved there's no doubt around him.
The wind from the moors blows around the corner and I shiver with the cool and the apprehension. Through the dim, Vincent's unmistakable figure strides towards the barn, crossing the space between the farmhouse and close to where we hide in seconds. I hold my breath as he moves closer and my stomach knots.
Vincent reaches inside his jacket and pulls something out. I squint to see in the dark, hardly able to make out the shape.
A gun.
Panic blinds me as he kicks open the door to the barn and walks inside.
"Ash!" I gasp out and rush forward, into the open.
"Maeve. Stop." Tobias attempts to take my arm and I summon up the energy to throw him from me, as my fear for Ash fuels my magic against Tobias.
I'm almost at the barn door when another voice calls out. "Maeve. I've been looking for you."
The words freeze me as if an elemental witch had thrown ice to stop me moving. I stumble forward and land on my hands and knees as the vision hits again. This time, I see and hear everything: Jamie walking towards me through the dark. The gun shot. Blood blooming across his chest, and his open-mouthed shock before he crumples to the floor.
This is where Jamie dies.
The sensation of my hands on the gravel reassure me I'm in a vision and not watching reality. But I can act. I can stop this.
"Jamie, run back," I scream out. "This is where you die." My arms and legs are weak as I struggle to stand. Someone close by helps me up—Tobias—and I drag myself away and spin around to face Jamie.
He's walking towards me, not running away. "Jamie! Please run."
An owl screeches, louder than before, as the barn door slams open behind me. Jamie's eyes widen and I look over my shoulder. The part of my vision I've never seen lumbers towards me. Vincent holds a gun in his hand, waving the thing around as if he's not sure how to use one.
"I have the pendant, I'll be okay. Maeve, don't come nearer," urges Jamie.
The words echo around my mind, and I begin to struggle with the blur between vision and reality. The gun fires and a crack echoes through the night. I scream out again and watch in horror as everything unfolds in slow motion.
The bullet stops mid-air, centimetres from Jamie's chest, and the world around shifts. Jamie and Vincent are still, as if somebody freeze-framed a movie. Even the wind has dropped.
This must be a vision.
"Fuck!" Tobias's grabs me around the waist and backs up. Our connection slams energy through me, overriding the fear, and my skin glows beneath my clothes.
Moving further backwards, Tobias hits an invisible barrier and stumbles as a laugh echoes from the trees bordering the house.
Bewildered, I pull myself away and run towards Jamie. This is crazy—crazy enough that I can stop the bullet reaching Jamie? I reach forward to where the metal hovers in the air and immediately snatch my hand back as if I've been burned.
"What's happening?" I call out to Tobias.
"Don't do anything. Don't use your magic. Focus on letting me in," he says quickly, voice wavering.
Two people step from the trees. One is a woman dressed in a long black coat, trimmed by fur, knee-high boots visible beneath. The coat's hood hides her face and she's taller than the man beside her. He wears a suit as if ready to attend a business meeting, not visit a farmhouse on the moors, and his hair is slicked back and shining dark in the night.
The magic surrounding her is greater in power than I've felt from a whole classroom filled with witches. Darker too—the evil aura clouds around her and sends dread through my veins.
I startle again at a loud screech and a snowy white owl soars down from a nearby tree and perches on her shoulder, eyes shimmering in the dark.
The woman saunters forwards and waves a hand in front of her, creating a gap in the barrier to step through. She drops her hood and I come face to face with her as she stops inches away from my face.
Her hair is as dark as mine is blonde, hanging loose around her pretty face. She scrutinises me through large eyes and her mouth quirks into a smile. She'd be beautiful if the malevolence didn't cloud her.
The woman leans closer and her heavy scent of oak and roses cloys. "I saved your friend's life. Say thank you."
"This is a vision," I whisper.
"No, Maeve," says Tobias quietly. "This is magic. Strong, dark magic screwing with time."
The woman cups her ear. "I didn't hear you say ‘thank you'."
I point at where the bullet still hovers centimetres from a frozen Jamie's chest. "What's happening?"
The woman ignores me and turns her head to the man beside her. "The witch has the pendant. Retrieve it."
With a nod, he walks towards Jamie and deftly unfastens the chain around his neck. Jamie doesn't flinch. With a wide smile, the man carries the pendant to the woman and drops the chain into her outstretched hand.
Distracted for a moment, she strokes the pendant, focused on it, before closing her eyes and squeezing the object in her hand.
She sighs. "I do hate it when people steal my family's things. I don't suppose you know where the book is too?"
&nb
sp; Family? Blackwood.
"Now." She tucks the pendant into her pocket. "I have a proposition for you. As you can see, your friend is in a precarious position. If I were to switch us back into real time, that bullet would hit him and—" She pats her pocket. "He's lost his armour."
"Omigod," I breathe out. "Don't. Jamie hasn't done anything. He didn't steal your pendant; he found it in the academy."
"Agreed. I'm delighted somebody found and began using our magic again. First, the elemental witch boy, and now him. The pair have helpfully reacquired an heirloom for me."
"How did you know Jamie has this?" I ask.
She looks down her nose. "My magic calls to me, Maeve, and here I am."
"Don't kill Jamie if he's helped you."
She looks at me in pity. "I'd merely allow events to take their course as if I'd never been here. My friend Lucan here could take hold of the bullet before the spell breaks. Then, when we leave and time restarts, the boy won't be hurt."
"Yes," I urge. "Do that."
She taps her long fingers against her lips. "But I really don't like to mess with the world's energy too much."
"I'm confused," I say hoarsely. "How is this happening?"
I sense Tobias's warmth as he stands close, behind. "Blackwood. Temporal magic such as this is one reason they're banished." He tips his chin at the woman. "Hello, Anastasia."
"Tobias." She smiles. "Good to see you again."
Bile pushes into my throat. I'm already dizzied by events, but this? Tobias knows her. Did he bring us here?
"Who is your friend?" he asks.
She gestures at the man. "Lucan and his associate work with myself and family. He's... close to Vincent."
"Do you mean he's influencing Vincent's actions?" asks Tobias. "You're not shifters—why would you want to?"
"Creating dissent and distrust within your society is much more effective than marching in and fighting you all. If we break the shifters away from Confederacy control, then we have one less problem to overcome." The man's smile spikes a new fear into my veins.
"You're instigating a war!" I protest and look at where Vincent stands like a murderous waxwork figure. "People will die."
"People always die, Maeve. Only this way most of the deaths will be shifters and really, who wants those in our new world?" She wrinkles her nose. "At least we're honest. The Confederacy lie that they want shifters involved in their organisation."
"That's not true," snaps Tobias.
"Believe what you want, Tobias." She flicks her fingers in his direction. "How are you, by the way? I hear you've been neutered like an animal, unable to follow your natural instincts. I pity you, when you had a bright future with us."
I step away from Tobias. No. He swore no more secrets.
"I would rather serve the Confederacy and work towards a peaceful world, free of the Dominion," he says stiffly.
"I'm always astounded by how delusional your Confederacy are." Anastasia gestures at me. "Do they honestly think one future-sighted witch is the answer to their problems?"
"No, Maeve will help, but she isn't the answer."
I flinch as Anastasia walks towards me and tips my chin with two fingers. The owl on her shoulder stares at me with strange, unblinking eyes. "There's something different inside her. She has potential beyond silly visions and half-hearted mind control. But you know that, don't you?"
He doesn't reply.
"I'd like to unlock that potential for myself. Maeve, I suggest you come with me." Anastasia beckons me.
"What? No." I step back towards Tobias again.
"Leave Maeve alone," warns Tobias.
The woman opens her mouth to speak, then gasps and staggers, holding a hand to her temples. Her eyes narrow at Tobias and he stumbles, swearing behind clenched teeth. The pain from her assault against Tobias reaches me too and my head thuds.
"Don't attack me," she growls. "You know I'm stronger than you and could reduce you to pulp on the ground if I wanted."
The man at her side clears his throat. "We."
Together we're stronger, I whisper in my mind to Tobias.
Not yet.
His answer fills me with a dread that plunges into my heart as I look at the tableau around me.
"If you come with me, Maeve, I'll allow your friend to live. He may be a little curious where you've gone, but Tobias can tell them."
"No. If you take Maeve, I'm coming with you."
The woman claps her hands in delight. "That would be perfect! How I'd love to bring you into the fold again."
"No. To protect Maeve from you," he says, voice dripping with acid.
The woman moistens her lips and shifts to stand with Tobias, as tall as him in her boots. "But," she whispers, "if Maeve disappears with you, everybody will think you've... relapsed. Who knows? Maybe you will if you spend time around the right people again."
"If you hurt her." He leans closer. "I will end you."
She barks a laugh. "Such false confidence. We are so, so much smarter than any of you realise. The Dominion surround your world, our fingers wrapping around every aspect of your stupid lives. We play on their prejudices and weaknesses, tempting the weak-minded with promises."
In the academy too?
"Take your vampire charge, for instance." She cranes her head. "Where is he, by the way? I'm surprised he isn't with you tonight."
I keep my face straight but the question brings anxiety and relief. Andrei isn't in this strange space with us—but where is he? "I don't know."
"The prejudice against him is sad, but also encourages us that he'll join his mother."
"He wouldn't," I say through clenched teeth.
"And your academy teenagers. So easily manipulated. Charmed. One witch dies at the hands of a vampire and they reveal their true selves." She waves a hand around her. "The Confederacy's future crumbles as their future leaders become estranged. An end to the supernatural accords."
She walks away from me and studies Jamie's face for a moment before turning back to me and Tobias. "Something we didn't plan has worked to our advantage—you feel strongly for Andrei Tepes, Maeve. By killing the witch, framing Andrei, and planting the spell in the weak witch's mind we gained better access to you than we'd hoped. The almost-death was unfortunate, but taught us more about you and your bonded witch." She inclines her head to Jamie.
With each word she speaks, the more the pieces click together. But the pieces that make up the whole picture aren't in place yet—such as who in the academy feeds them this information? Few know what happened between me and Jamie the night I almost died. The person responsible is close to the academy's heart.
"And now, Tobias is offering himself in order to protect you."
"I'm not offering myself," growls Tobias. "You won't get into my head again."
"And the others. Whatever shall I do with them?" she muses.
Lucan breaks his silence with a voice lyrical enough to mesmerise. "Let them return to the academy. When the Tepes boy discovers where she is, he'll come to us. They all will."
"I guess we'll have the most important person." She flashes me a smile. "Isn't this marvellous?"
"You might be happy about tonight, but this has fucked up our plans," Lucan snaps.
"Then perhaps you should've held Vincent's reins tighter and he wouldn't have led them to the truth."
"I didn't know we were tapping into such deeply rooted prejudices. There's always a risk of losing control in these situations. Vincent's too eager. Working too fast."
I twist my head between the two, attempting to comprehend their strange conversation. "Is Tobias right?" I ask hoarsely. "Is this person a different Vincent created by a necromancer?" The words would sound ridiculous months ago, but now fill me with dread.
Lucan grunts. "He's not quite himself, that's true."
"We're done with him now, Lucan. I'm sure Vincent has infected enough people to continue his task."
Lucan huffs again. "I'd hoped he could finish one of his task
s and switch the powerful younger shifters into Mids, especially the one connected to her." He points at me.
"I know, but a nice death tonight at the hands of the witches he hates would be lovely. A martyr for the cause." Anastasia clasps her hands together at her chest. "What do you think?"
"Technically, he's already dead," says Lucan and chuckles. "But, no, I'm not ready to let him go yet."
Anastasia walks back through the barrier and prises the gun from Vincent's hand and sighs. "Fine. You'd better find him a safe place to go until things settle down. He can go back to the academy once you think you can control him properly."
The man sneers at her. "You wouldn't have access to the academy without my help."
Her heels click as she meets him nose to nose. "And you wouldn't be practicing necromancy if it weren't for my family's help."
"This thing has a job to do and we're not done yet," he snaps.
I blink, watching their uneasy partnership.
"When this is done, you will have what you want, and I shall have what is mine." Anastasia jerks her chin at him and turns back to me.
"And the shifter boy in the barn?" he asks. "He's seen too much."
I grow clammier as the situation moves further out of control. "I'd like to see how the vampire, shifter and witch behave once Maeve and Tobias leave. Minds wiped, of course. Is the shifter boy hurt?"
"One thing instilled in Vincent is not to kill his brother."
In the midst of everything, there's a glimmer of something good. I never heard a gun shot, but Vincent could've done enough damage with his fists.
"Maeve, sweetheart." Anastasia clicks her fingers in front of my eyes, jerking me back to the nightmare I'm standing in. "Bullet for your bonded witch, or not? He saved your life once, it's only fair you should return the favour."
The witch's mocking attitude towards me and the dismissive way she speaks about the guys builds the energy Tobias told me to suppress. I don't care how powerful this witch is, I will fight her.
Maeve. No.
Tobias's warning voice enters my head, merely a whisper behind my anger. No. I won't go with her. I refuse to bow to this woman's control.
