Except their sire.
Rayner seemed to have carved out a good life for his men, relatively speaking.
Except that he kept losing the girl he loved.
“Does it bother you that he’s in charge of you? Tells you who to love?” I asked Silvus. “Or…does that just fade away over the years?”
“It never fades away,” Silvus said. “I haven’t lost my wits. Rayner forced me into this and I don’t forget that.”
“But you stick with him anyway?”
“It’s complicated. When you become a vampire, you need your sire to show you how to live. I stayed, in part, to protect this poor girl from him,” Silvus said. “I thought I was his conscience. As warlocks, you and I both know that if a human reincarnates, that is a sacred thing. They are not supposed to be treated as the same person. Rayner forced me to find her, but I thought I would help her remain the person she had become. She was not Lisbeth, she was Marguerite. But—” Silvus’ hand clenched. “I became an evil man. By the time we found Marguerite, and Rayner said I could have her too, that it was our duty to save her from the life of hardship working the fields… It was a long time ago, you know. Women were like property.”
“I saw the vision,” I said, my voice hard. “You just took her.”
“It was hard to resist Rayner,” Silvus said. “For both Lisbeth and for me. He adored her so much. No matter how she looked or who she was, he always saw the woman he first loved. Becoming a vampire had taken his human life from him, but as long as he could find her, he had the one thing that mattered most. That love fueled him; it gave him all his power. I tried to convince all of you to destroy the Withered Lord with love because I know how powerful a magic it is.”
“Is that really love?” I asked. “He forced her to be with him.”
“Maybe so, but she always fell for him. She didn’t remember the old days, but she sensed that he meant something to her. Is it twisted, obsessive? I also think it is too complicated to say it was not real love. He is selfish to want her, but he would also die and suffer for her without any hesitation. There is no pain he would not endure to spare Lisbeth from pain. Do you feel that way about Charlotte?”
“Maybe.”
The old Monty wouldn’t have said that. But I was more alone now. At least, I could have been more alone, if I didn’t have Charlotte, Alec and Harris. Going back home was no longer the same, but when I stood on the mountain with Charlotte, it didn’t matter. We had our own world.
The more my world became Charlotte, the more I understood Rayner.
“Your magic will grow stronger when you have something to fight for,” Silvus said. “When you compel someone, the spell is more potent, when it isn’t just selfish. If you love her, fight for her. You know why vampires have a reputation for romance? Vampires live a long time. If we don’t have passion, we die. Whether or not Rayner’s relationship with Lisbeth is right, it is why he survives.”
So…pulling away from Charlotte to become stronger was the opposite of what I should do, I thought. “Thank you,” I said. “I needed to hear that.”
“Books can teach you tricks,” Silvus said. “But in the end, magic is thought and will and heart, and anything is possible. The older I get, the more I see that is true.” He poured another cup of tea, his eyes shifting to the window, where a guy with a short beard and shorter shorts was walking a tiny dog.
I thought Silvus might be done with me, but then he started up again. “Montague,” he said. “Rayner doesn’t even know I’m here. We’re all vampires, but you and I are the only warlocks in the clan. Jie and Thom? They’re a couple of selfish blokes, just glad to shake off the dull shackles of humanity. Rayner always says I was his mistake. He turned me without thought, without realizing what it truly meant. I was the first one, my power greater than his own.”
I wondered what it was like to be tied to someone for five hundred years. I couldn’t even imagine what went on in Silvus’ mind. In Rayner’s memories, I saw how they bristled at each other even as they worked together. Why stay?
What was it worth to have someone you could always count on, whether you liked them or not?
“After that, he never turned anyone without spending time with them first,” Silvus concluded.
“You didn’t spend time with me.”
“We watched you,” Silvus said. “For quite a while. We noted that you had a very strong independent streak, but were also…easily influenced by your peers.”
“I wouldn’t say ‘influenced’,” I said. “I was usually the one who told them what to do. I had the car, the cell phone.”
“I’m aware of that as well,” Silvus said. “As you know, it’s why we wanted you. The world is getting away from us.”
“It was more than that. You said I didn’t have a girl yet, when you turned me. That’s true. What I did have already was a clan. Alec and Harris. There’s no room in my life for Rayner.”
“If you want to be your own man, stick by your friends, and protect Charlotte from the council…let me give you some unsolicited advice.”
“It is solicited, actually,” I said. “It’s why I met you here even though I shouldn’t be making contact with any of you.”
Silvus shrugged one shoulder. “All right, then. You’d better heed it. I was once an Ethereal warlock. I was banished from Etherium long ago, for helping Rayner find Lisbeth. It was not an easy thing to accept—even to this day. Sinistral is a more dangerous and ugly place than Etherium.”
My fingers gripped my tea cup. This wasn’t what I wanted to hear.
“But if you love Charlotte—and if you want to survive as a vampire—you can’t fear their banishment. It will happen to you, Montague. They might tell you now that they’ll keep you there if you are good. It’s no use. They are beings of discipline and high ideals. You are hunger and passion. We are quite base, we just dress well.” He sipped the tea cup with a little sarcastic twitch of his lips. “Pretend otherwise and you will only weaken yourself.”
“You think there is no way I can avoid Sinistral, then…”
“No,” Silvus said. “But you’ll survive.”
I wondered why it mattered. Rosa was already dead. It would have affected her more than me. But—like all wizards, she showed me Etherium when I was young. It was not just a place, it was a feeling that went far beyond the council. I had already been banished from the basilica in St. Augustine. But that was just a building. To be banished from Etherium and Ethereal magic was like losing my compass.
Maybe it would be different if we could get to Wyrd…
“If I embraced Sinistral…would I have more power to protect Charlotte?”
He paused and rummaged in his coat, pulling out a Moleskine and flipping it to the next clean page. He wrote down an address. “There is one vampire on the east coast who is always willing to help other vampires, if you need advice or a place to crash…he is one of the oldest in America. His name is Ulf. He knows us well enough. He knows everyone. If you don’t want to be part of our clan…”
“Savannah?” I noted mentally that this was where Professor Adams lived.
But I probably shouldn’t be looking up yet more old vampires.
“Thanks,” I said, taking the page after he carefully ripped it out of the book.
Now I was eager to see Charlotte. My love for her fuels me and makes me stronger, and maybe that’s all I need. The next time Piers tried something, I would stand up to him.
I punched her number in on my phone. The phone went to voice mail.
“Huh…”
I tried to text instead. No answer. I went to the car. She wasn’t there either.
“Charlotte?”
I whirled one way and then the other. Nothing seemed off. Downtown Asheville had lots of pedestrians enjoying the restaurants and artsy shops. Street musicians were playing bluegrass on the corner and two little girls were dancing around to the music while their mom took a photo.
But as I observed, I picked up the subtle
thread undercutting everything around me.
The scent of magic.
I opened the car door and hissed, “Firian!”
Firian appeared immediately, crouched on the passenger seat. “You called me?” He looked shocked, but relieved. “She’s in danger! There’s a blocking spell up and I can’t get to her. Go—somewhere down that side street—hurry!”
“Just come with me,” I said.
“I’m a fox!”
I conjured up a leash. “Sorry,” I said. “I’ll be careful.”
“I’m not a dog. You’re going to get swarmed by hipster cameras.”
“Yeah, but, it’s Asheville. We’re keeping it weird. Hurry.”
Firian stopped arguing and leapt out of the car. I barely snatched up the leash and followed just behind him. We rushed down the street and I immediately noticed the antique black car badly parked across two spots, with no coins in the meter. That was definitely a wizard’s ride, and the sense of magic heated my skin.
A girl in a floppy hat and sneakers with rainbows on them practically threw herself into our path, brandishing a phone. “Ohmigod, a fox! Your fox is so cute! Is he okay to have as a pet, though? But can I take a picture?”
I met her eyes. “Out of my way now.”
She looked glazed and almost ran into traffic to escape me.
I was getting tested a lot sooner than I I expected.
Chapter Twenty-One
Charlotte
I was having a great time walking past boutiques in the fresh autumn air, considering what to buy to wear for dinner. I couldn’t wait to tell Dad about this date and laugh over the old memories of our camping trip and how he got the hell out of the restaurant. Dad always thought that stuff was hilarious later. But I knew he would appreciate Montague taking me to that same restaurant. So I needed something sexy, but not so sexy that I couldn’t send Dad a photo of us up there.
It was also going to be chilly, so maybe a coat if I could find one.
I stopped at the window of a store that had all sorts of cute things made by local artists, including clothes. They had a print minidress with long sleeves, kind of a 60s boho vibe. Maybe too expensive, but Montague gave me four hundred bucks, so…
“Hey…” the girl at the counter said, definitely noticing my pajama pants. “Looking for something in particular?”
“How much is that dress?” I asked in a breezy tone.
“Three ninety-five.”
“I’ll try it on,” I said. “It’s perfect for my dinner date.”
As I pulled it on over my head, I was madly trying to calculate what the sales tax was. I had like…ten more bucks. So…was it six percent in North Carolina…? Seven?
I’m short either way, huh? Aw, shit. And here I thought I was so cool.
The door jangled open and a second later, the dressing room curtain was ripped right off the bar.
“Gah!” I screamed as I met the eyes of Catherine Caruthers while I was struggling with the zipper.
“You are here,” she said, grabbing my arm.
“Is interrupting me in the dressing room just like, your thing?”
“Ma’am!” the salesgirl said, rushing toward us frantically. “Ma’am, I am calling the—”
Catherine waved a hand and the girl retreated to the counter meekly. “Let me know if you need anything,” she said.
Catherine picked up a vase and threw it on the ground, where it shattered into hundreds of tiny delicate pieces. “Yes,” she said. “Clean that up.”
My mouth fell open. “Wait a minute,” I said. “I thought Ethereals were supposed to be about order. How is that orderly?”
My great-aunt’s nostrils flared, and then she said, “You are right. I let my temper get the best of me.”
Then she advanced on me, flourishing her wand. She looked me over and then moved me aside, searching the dressing room, kicking my clothes out of the way with her heeled boot.
“What are you doing?”
She traced a message on the dressing room mirror with the tip of her wand. I could tell she was writing, but not the words. She tapped the mirror at the end and the words briefly glowed.
Her wand is not here.
My stomach plummeted. That was true. My wand was in my room, under my covers. I had dashed out the door in a hurry and then I didn’t think I’d need it on a trip to the normal world.
I felt really stupid. Really, really stupid.
“I found that wand on my own,” I said. “I spent weeks carving the branch. You can’t just—”
“Where is Stuart?” she asked.
“I don’t know.”
“Charlotte…please. Stuart is not your friend.”
“I don’t. Know.”
“I don’t want to do this the hard way, but we need to find him.” When she saw that I wasn’t going to talk, she pressed the tip of her wand to my lips. I froze in place. Now my hands twitched for my wand, and my wand wasn’t here.
“La terre, l’air, le feu, l’eau…”
I knew this spell; it was the same one Madame Solano used to try and get me to spill the beans about being in love with Firian. I think she was connecting with all the elements first.
“The bonds of blood bind us, Charlotte Caruthers Byrne,” she said. “Tell me all you know of the man called ‘Stuart’.”
I shut my eyes and tried to summon spirits to help me like I had before, but our surroundings kinda messed up my magic, and I felt weak. Before, when I summoned spirits, I was in the parallel St. Augustine, or at the school, where magic was strong. I sensed that my great-aunt had mastery here.
Yeah, you were also up late last night playing computer games. Remember that?
“Stuart…is…a faery…lord…” My mouth spoke reluctantly, but almost without my mind being involved. My lips were just saying stuff on their own. It was like I was in a bad dream. And as I spoke, my great aunt wrote my words on a mirror. “He lives…in…a cave…by the Wyrd tree…in the mountains…by the school…”
The door banged open and Montague and Firian stormed the shop.
“What a cute fox!” the sales girl said delightedly, like she was unaware of anything else going on.
Montague had a determined expression on his face, and he flung out an arm, waving his wand like a boss. “Get away from her,” Montague said, showing fangs.
Her face drained of will as her hand dropped from me, but then she took a quick breath and shook it off. “Don’t you dare compel me.”
Montague hesitated only for a moment before he put his hands on her shoulders and pushed her to the wall. “Leave Charlotte alone.”
“Get your hands off me—” She gasped out the words, fear in her eyes. “You tread on thin ice.”
“I know,” he said.
“Do you want to go back to the Haven?”
“Not really,” he said, but he shrugged. “You will not send me there today. You can’t remember what happened here today.”
“I…I am sorry for breaking the vase,” she said.
Montague released his grip. I gave him an urgent look. We need to warn Stuart.
Firian definitely got me. He rubbed against my legs, then Montague’s, then ran to the door, leading us out. Montague grabbed my clothes off the floor. Catherine wandered toward the broken pieces of the vase.
We followed Firian out, but I wasn’t reassured. The last time Montague compelled someone, it didn’t last forever, and Catherine Caruthers was more powerful than the Locke brothers. Worse, she had already sent that message.
“I think Piers probably has my wand,” I said. “I left it behind like a fucking idiot. And we have to rush back to Stuart and tell him…Catherine made me tell her where he’s hiding. Montague…” I bit my lip. “It was so stupid. Even now, sometimes I forget I’m not just a human girl. I didn’t think, I just ran after you. I wanted to have fun and not think about stuff. I stayed up late playing Fortune’s Favor and I couldn’t summon any spirits to help me. Chosen One? Yeah, right. Stupid.” I
pounded my forehead with my fist.
Firian growled at me. “You are not stupid just because you make stupid mistakes. Or if you are, I’m just as stupid. I messed up everything when I led the council to Master Blair’s familiar.”
“But you admit it’s a stupid mistake,” I said.
“I want you to just have fun and not think about stuff,” Firian said. “I wish that was—” He had to shut up because there were people turning onto the street, and they started pointing at him.
“Firian’s right,” Montague said. “You’re still a human girl. A normal girl. It’s fucking ridiculous that we’re tasked with trying to kill a demon and bargain with faeries. But—here we are. And there’s no one I’d rather do it with.”
“Yeah…” I caught his hand in mine. We made it back to the SUV.
I suddenly looked down at my clothes. “I just stole a four hundred dollar dress. Oh my god.”
“I’ll mail a check. But I’m taking you to dinner tonight. We’ll phone the guys. Alec and Harris can put your wand somewhere safe and warn Stuart. But either way, it will take some time for her to shake off the magic.”
“Okay.”
The restaurant on Mt. Pisgah wasn’t even very expensive.
Dad must have been struggling even more than I thought. I never knew. He never let it show. Back then, I thought we were rich because we lived on a mountain top and he bought me enough Pokemon cards to compete with my elementary school bff.
As I watched the sun set over layers of soft mountains as far as the eye could see, with Montague holding my hand and my other hand dug into Firian’s fur, I felt so loved that I knew I could face anything the world threw at me, even demons, faeries, and the council.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Charlotte
“I told him not to go.” When we walked in the door quite late in the evening, Harris was standing in the doorway of his room waiting for us. “Whatever you two did, it was a disaster.”
A Witch Among Warlocks: The Complete Series Box Set Page 64
