Reign of Mist: Book of Sindal Book Two

by D. G. Swank

  “How many times have you used it?”

  I hesitated, ashamed to admit it, but it was obvious enough. “Once, and now I’m trying to figure out how to remove that power orb from Lester over there.” I gestured toward the body on the table. “I have to get Phoebe’s power back, but the book needed more blood.”

  Celeste moved toward me, and the room filled with static electricity. This was all my sister needed to fuel her power—pure energy. Her talent had never failed to awe me. I knew what it cost her, knew she would have gladly given some of it to me, but even though we loved each other, the perception that she had too much power and I too little had always stood between us.

  “Rowan,” Logan warned in a low tone.

  “Yeah, I know,” I muttered. Celeste was my sister. She would never hurt me, but I couldn’t ignore the anxiety brewing in my gut. We’d been adversarial for too long for me to totally trust her.

  “It’s not your mess to clean up,” Celeste said. “I’m sure you’ve figured out by now that this mess is my own doing. It’s mine to deal with.”

  I took a long look at my baby sister. Although she was only four years younger, the age gap felt so much wider. Celeste had learned to control and hide her emotions—a necessity when every outburst manifested as pure, raw energy—but they boiled under the surface, dipping up now and again with alarming results.

  Her magic had emotionally stunted her. So had our mother’s death. My heart squeezed when I realized I needed to tell her about our parents. “Dad’s still alive.”

  “I know,” she said in a calm voice as she reached for the book. She placed a hand on it and closed her eyes with a look of ecstasy. Mist poured over her hands, seeming to sink into her.

  I wasn’t sure which shocked me most, her reaction to the book or the fact that she knew about our father.

  “Did Donall tell you?”

  “I’ve always known.” Her eyes were still closed, and I felt the book reach out to her while still soaking in my blood.

  I started to ask her how she’d known, but she opened her eyes, so impossibly green, and focused on my face. “I’m capable of more than you and Phoebe have ever realized.”

  So it seemed.

  Our coven bond had been severed, but the book bound us together in a different way, one that felt more substantial at the moment. It recognized us both as worthy.

  “We don’t have much time,” she said, then lifted her hand and held it out to me. “Let us join our blood and magic to free the orb.”

  I held her gaze. “To give Phoebe back her power?”

  Her mouth quirked to one side. “Of course.”

  My hand tightened on the hilt of the dagger, but I made no move to bring the tip to Celeste’s open, waiting palm. “Did you take my and Phoebe’s blood while we slept so you could open the book?”

  I expected her to make some kind of excuse, but she just tilted her head slightly and said, “Yes.”

  “Why didn’t you ask?”

  “Would you have said yes?”

  She had a point. “Why didn’t you tell us you needed help? Why did you turn to Donall?”

  “You both already thought I was broken. Donall—who was Donnie online—never saw me that way.”

  “He wasn’t real, Celeste. Donall is a monster. He tortured me, Phoebe, and Logan too.”

  Bitterness filled her eyes. “I’m fully aware that Donnie wasn’t the answer I thought he would be.”

  I regretted my harsh tone. “I’m sorry, CeCe. It’s just that…”

  “You don’t know who to trust,” she finished in a soft tone.

  “Yeah,” I said, filled with guilt. “We’re sisters. We should trust each other.”

  “Maybe the problem has always been respect,” she said. “We never respected one another.”

  “Just like Mom and Dad,” I said.

  Her smile was sad. Tired. “Children learn by example.”

  The racket grew louder, closer, and Logan, who had moved over to the door, said, “Maybe you can have the reconciliation chat later. Do what you need to do, and let’s get out of here.”

  He was right, so I pressed the tip of the blade into Celeste’s hand, pricking the skin lightly. She’d never liked taking a back seat, and it didn’t surprise me when she reached up and dragged the dagger across her skin.

  I expected her to react to the pain, but a look of tranquility washed over her face, as though the pain brought relief to the chaos in her head.

  A new wave of guilt and grief washed through me. Celeste had suffered so much more than I’d realized. After our parents were gone, I should have been the person she’d turned to—I should have ensured it—but we’d avoided each other instead. I vowed to change that. If we got a chance.

  I pulled the blade away and set it on the table as Celeste grabbed my bleeding palm and pressed our hands together, letting our comingled blood drop onto the page.

  The book greedily soaked it up, and its power grew. A heavier swirling mist spilled from it, curling up and around her.

  “Book of Sindal,” Celeste said in a reverent tone. “Show us the spell for controlling the orb of power.”

  She shot me an almost accusatory look. “You have to read it. It only speaks to me.”

  The pages began to flutter again. We held our hands over the book, blood dripping down, and after several more drops soaked in, the pages began to turn. They stopped on a page with jumbled-up words and the illustration of a sphere of fire.

  The mist darkened, thickened, and Celeste closed her eyes, a look of ecstasy overcoming her. “It says it demands another sacrifice.”

  Although the book had spoken to me before, I hadn’t heard anything this time. Why had it switched its allegiance if I was the only one who could fully read it? Was it manipulating us, just like Logan thought?

  Logan’s head jerked back to face us. “What sacrifice?”

  Her eyes opened. “Rowan must make a sacrifice.”

  My heart stuttered. I knew what it wanted. Or more like who.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  “Who says she has to make a sacrifice?” Logan said, moving closer.

  Celeste stared at him as though he were a simpleton. “The book.”

  “Rowan?” Logan asked in an anxious tone.

  I shook my head. “I didn’t hear a thing.”

  She gave me a patient look. “That’s because the book needs a sacrifice to give up its secret.”

  “I’ve already given it blood,” I said. “Lots of it.”

  “And it thanks you for your gift, but it’s been dormant for hundreds of years and it’s ready to fully awaken.” She said it so matter-of-factly, as though we were discussing our grocery list.

  “Rowan,” Logan said.

  “Yeah, I know.” I took a breath. Part of me was ready to walk away, but I didn’t want to let Phoebe down. I had to be sure. If there was any chance I was wrong… “What does it want?”

  Her gaze lifted to Logan.

  “No,” I said emphatically. “No fucking way. Tell it to ask for something else.”

  “You must choose, Rowan,” Celeste said, the madness gone from her eyes, clarity replacing it. “You must choose your sister or him.”

  I tried to jerk my hand from hers, if for no other reason than to stop the book from getting another drop of blood from me, but Celeste tightened her grip with surprising strength. “No fucking way. How do I know you’re not just saying that to get even with me for all the hell you’ve been through?”

  Curiosity crinkled her eyes. “You think you’re to blame for my struggles with magic?”

  “I sure as hell haven’t helped.”

  “This isn’t my request, Ro. It’s from the book.”

  “Forgive me for wanting the book to explain itself to me,” I said with more sarcasm than necessary.

  “This is crazy, Rowan,” Logan said. “Let’s go.”

  I wanted to, and there was no way in hell I was going to sacrifice him, either literally or figur
atively, but I still wasn’t ready to walk away with nothing… even if I could have freed myself from Celeste’s grip.

  “Why?” I asked her, trying to understand. “Why must I sacrifice him?”

  My question pleased her. “Great knowledge comes at a great price. I made my own sacrifice. Now you must make yours.”

  I swallowed hard. “What did you sacrifice, CeCe?”

  “It told me that if I gave it everything, it would reveal more of itself to me. It demanded a sacrifice.”

  My mouth dropped open as I finally understood. “So you let Donall tie you to that pentacle and bleed you?”

  “I didn’t understand while it was happening. I didn’t understand why it would let me die after promising to reveal more of itself to me. Then we came home and the Small Council took the book from us. That was bad, but then they threatened to split the book apart and broke our coven bond, and that was worse. I was sitting alone at Xenya’s, missing you and Phoebe and the farm, and I realized that I’d finally sacrificed everything. I only needed to wait for the book to call me. And it did.”

  I shook my head, trying to understand what she’d just said. “What do you mean wait for it to call you? How’d you get here, CeCe? Where’s Xenya?”

  “She’s not here. The book only told me how to find it…and you.”

  I felt a surge of power flow from the book into my veins as its mist curled around me and soaked into my pores. It felt as if it were changing me and making me stronger. You are far from weak, Rowan Whelan. Let me show you how powerful you really are.

  I turned to Celeste in a panic as fear skated along my skin.

  “It speaks the truth,” she said with an authority I wasn’t used to hearing from her. “You aren’t weak. There’s more to your power than you know.”

  Mist surrounded her in a halo.

  “Celeste, the mist…why is it all around us?”

  “Don’t you see?” she asked. “You’re seeing the book’s magic, Rowan. But it won’t reveal all its secrets to you unless you pay the price. This isn’t just about getting Phoebe’s power back. If we harness the book’s power, we can stop the Dark Set forever.”

  “You have the ability to save the world, Rowan Whelan,” the book whispered aloud in another cloud of mist and fog. “You and your sisters will usher in a new era of peace. But you must sacrifice to prove your worth.”

  “Don’t believe it, Rowan,” Logan growled. “It’s a book full of death and lies.”

  He reached out to me. Part of me was desperate to step into his arms and forget this whole thing, but another part felt the pull of the book—its power and its promise.

  “How would you know?” Celeste shouted, her face contorted in rage. “You’re not even a mage. This is no business of yours.”

  I stared at her in shock. “Celeste. He may not be a mage, but the power of this book affects him too. It affects all of Valeria and humankind.”

  “He stands between you and great power,” she whispered. “Those who called you weak will regret it.”

  A new wave of power swept through me, making me feel invincible. The book showed me all that I could accomplish if only I gave it the sacrifice it requested. I would vanquish the Dark Set and bring peace to humanity through magic, no one would ever be hungry or thirsty again. I’d felt so small and useless for so long, but with this book, I could, quite literally, save the world.

  One life for many, Rowan, the book said softly, its mist curling in around me. Such a small price to pay.

  I could see the reasoning so clearly. Logan should be happy to make such a sacrifice. He should be thankful to martyr himself to save the world.

  I need his blood, the book said. His life and his blood.

  Celeste released my hand, and I took a step toward him, finally realizing how right this was.

  “Rowan,” Logan said calmly, “what did the book tell you?”

  I took another step, my hand tightening around the hilt of the dagger.

  “I know it spoke to you,” he said, standing still several feet away. His gaze dropped to the blade then back up to my face. “You have the same look you had upstairs. What did it say?”

  “I can destroy the Dark Set. I can end human war and bring an end to famine. One life for many.”

  “You can do all of that without the sacrifice, Ro,” he said with a sad smile. “But what are you going to do when the book deserts you and you realize what you’ve done? How will you live with yourself?”

  Never, the book whispered. I belong to the Whelan sisters. I belong to you. Together, we will reign.

  “It won’t desert me,” I said, taking another step. “It wants me. It belongs to me.”

  “And it told Celeste it belonged to her, and yet here it is, telling you the same thing. It lies, Rowan, and it will turn on you in a heartbeat. Mine.”

  I stopped in front of him, the blade at my side.

  “You don’t need that book to make you any more perfect than you already are, Rowan,” he said. “I’ll be here by your side until this mess is cleaned up, and I won’t ask a single thing from you except to hopefully love me.”

  Tears filled my eyes, and as my emotions swelled, the book’s hold on me began to dampen. “I don’t want to lose you, Logan.”

  “Then don’t. Drop the dagger and let’s go.”

  “We’re not finished!” Celeste shouted. “We need the orb!” Her eyes and voice were wild.

  Logan held out his hand. “Give me the knife, Rowan. Let’s go home.”

  I wanted to release it, but the book’s power was too strong. My hand lifted and I pointed the blade toward him.

  “You won’t hurt me, Rowan,” Logan said softly, love filling his eyes. “We both want the same thing. We want the promise of what we can be together. Give me the blade.” When I didn’t budge, he leaned over and kissed me.

  A surge of rage rushed through me—a rage not my own. But then my soul filled with a warmth I’d never known, burning the book’s hold on me to ash.

  I leaned back in shame, but I knew what I needed to do. I didn’t understand why, but the dagger I’d conjured was no usual dagger. Which meant it might be just what I needed now. Donall hadn’t managed to dig out the orb, but that didn’t mean I wouldn’t.

  Turning toward the mage’s body, I dug the blade into the slash in the mage’s skin.

  “It’s not yours!” Celeste shouted. “You turned your back on the book, and it withdraws its offer. The orb is mine.”

  “The orb doesn’t belong to either of us!” I said as I dug the blade deeper, trying not to gag. “The orb is evil, Celeste. I’ll get it to retrieve Phoebe’s power, and then we’ll destroy it. Together.”

  “No!” She shrieked, darting for me, but Logan intercepted her, wrapping an arm around her waist and restraining her.

  “Rowan, hurry!” he called out as Celeste clawed at his hands.

  It struck me that she wasn’t using her magic against us. She could have destroyed us in a heartbeat, and yet she hadn’t. There was still hope.

  Swallowing my nausea and ignoring the maggots crawling out of the wound in the mage’s chest, I tilted the blade and sawed back and forth, the body oozing a brownish liquid that made me gag, the stench bringing tears to my eyes. I aimed all my focus on the blue glow, and with one last slash it was free. It rose into the air and hovered a few feet above the body.

  Celeste stopped fighting and stared at the orb in awe.

  I dropped the blood and ooze-coated dagger to the floor and turned to my sister, grabbing her cheeks in both my hands. “Celeste. The book is using us. It wanted me to kill Logan for it.”

  “One life for many,” she said with tears in her eyes.

  “It sounds so logical, doesn’t it?” I asked. “Yet it goes against every moral we were ever taught. Killing Logan would be a blood sacrifice, CeCe, and that’s an abomination. The book is evil to ask for such a thing. Nothing good could come from an evil act.”

  Mist began to pour from the book aga
in, spilling over the edges and settling on the floor, reaching for Celeste. “You are mine, Celeste,” the book coaxed. “You are my queen and together we will begin our reign.”

  “No, Celeste,” I pleaded. “It lies. Its mist is surrounding you and brainwashing you.”

  She squirmed, trying to break free from Logan’s vice-like grip.

  The pages began to flip again, and when they stopped, I couldn’t resist the urge to read the title.

  “Crown of Blood.”

  I had a pretty good idea of what that meant, and it wasn’t anything good for me or Celeste.

  I slammed the book shut. “No!”

  The mist was sucked back into it, and a surge of power throbbed through the room. It had been neutralized…for now.

  The door flew open and our father appeared, looking breathless and frantic. “Girls. We have to go.”

  “Are you fucking kidding me?” I said in disbelief. “We’re not going anywhere with you, you asshole!” I shouted. “I’m going to take you to the Small Council to stand trial for your crimes against Valeria.”

  “Donall has betrayed me and will kill us all. We have to go.”

  I didn’t trust him, but I believed him this time, if for no other reason than the frantic look in his eyes.

  “The power orb,” I said. We couldn’t leave it for Donall to use, but I had no idea how to take it with us.

  “Celeste,” our father said. “You have to absorb it. You’re the only one who can handle the power.”

  “Are you insane?” I demanded. “She can barely handle her own. It’s sure to fry her mind. There has to be another way.” I took a breath, then said, “I’ll do it.”

  “No,” Logan said in a sharp tone. “The hell you will.”

  “It’s not the book talking,” I said, staring up into his worried face. “It’s me. We can’t leave it for Donall. He’ll do gods-knew-what with it.”

  “I don’t like it, Rowan.” He looked scared.

  “I don’t like it either, but—”

  “No,” Celeste said. Then a bright flash filled the room, and I fell to the ground unable to move. She’d paralyzed me.

  I realized my father and Logan were on the floor as well, and Celeste was reaching for the orb.