by Ashley McLeo
Seraphina kicked and screamed weakly, hoping to buck Noro off, all the while feeling the depletion of herself as the power that had concentrated around her womb followed her pneuma, its partner, abandoning her body entirely.
“If you care for our child, you will stop kicking,” Noro hissed, still manhandling her insides from neck to gut. “You’re making him harder to find.”
Seraphina stiffened as Noro moved closer to her womb, now free from all magical defenses.
“Stop! There. Please, be careful,” she pleaded, her maternal instinct overriding survival.
The sharp protrusion inside her melted into an extremity with the ability to manipulate her half-formed viscera, much like the hands of the humans Noro looked down upon. The other remained sharp, a threatening blade above her.
“I sense him! He’s strong,” Noro said, his face taking on a crazed appearance as he studied her anatomy, clearly wondering how best to proceed without injuring his child.
“Do you see the bulging sac near where my legs divide? It’s moving.”
Noro nodded, mesmerized by the undulations of Seraphina’s solid, wholly human womb.
“Make a small incision near the top and pry it open. You should be able to scoop the child out.” Her vision was became increasingly obstructed by tears and the growing mist of her pneuma pouring out, creating red clouds in the divide between Seraphina and the child. She knew she had but minutes left to see her final baby.
An incision, made by the tip of Noro’s sharpened limb, produced a swelling of blood that pooled in Seraphina’s open gut.
With his hand-like appendage, Noro reached in and pulled something from Seraphina’s body. He held it up high, a round smile on his face.
Seraphina gasped and blinked.
There were two, a boy and a girl, neither of which looked like fata. These creatures were something else entirely. The pair had inherited none of the airy qualities of newborn fata. In fact, they looked almost entirely human. Almost. They were larger than any human babe she’d ever seen, with developed muscles and a mouth full of teeth, two of which resembled sharp white stakes. A predatory magic no human child could ever claim pulsed from the twins.
“I wonder,” Noro whispered as he stared down at the children with delight.
“What are they?” Seraphina croaked.
Noro’s eyes shot up in surprise. He had already thought my mother dead. Cocking his head to one side Noro knelt down, cradling a child in each limb.
Seraphina froze as the children came into greater focus. Already strong and mobile, they stared back at her as they sat upright in Noro’s arms. Their eyes, deep shades of green and gray-violet, began to travel the length of Seraphina’s bloodied, misty body, as if examining exactly where it was they came from. Seraphina thought there could be no colder introduction of mother and child.
She was proved wrong one weak heartbeat later when the pair emitted a hiss and leapt from Noro’s arms. Mouths open wide and teeth bared, the twins began to drink from the same pool of blood that bore them life.
The Shadow Days
Mary closed the book with care, her hands folding to rest over the pages.
“It’s just a story,” Lily said, despising the tremble in her voice.
No one spoke, fueling her rage, until she couldn’t dam up the feelings any longer.
“I guess I thought it would be instructions or something useful. How to create a portal. How to kill fata. Or any supernatural creature for that matter. How to become a badass witch and beat the magical alien race we’re up against. Something more than a goddamned story!” she screamed, unable to keep her temper in check a second longer. Em had been changed into a vampire. She died for a fucking story. We had even known parts of it. Why the hell didn’t we just tell Empusa and Amon what we knew? Em could still be alive . . .
“Lil—” Brigit said moving to take Lily’s hand in her own.
Lily pushed it away, ignoring the guilt that rose with the gesture and stood, accidentally knocking Aoife’s cup of tea to the ground. She stormed down the hall.
Slamming the door shut behind her, Lily flung herself on the bed. Only then did she allow her body to do what it had been begging to for days. Release. Huge, slow, tears that grew into ugly, hiccuping sobs. She didn’t even care that the others heard. Why care at all when the world makes so little sense? Lily thought. My whole life has been altered by a damn folktale.
She felt Sara’s presence on the other side of the door seconds before her sister filled the room with the warmth and strength that was quintessentially Sara.
“I’d be angry right now, too,” Sara said, her eyes full of grief, as she perched on the edge of Lily’s bed.
“I . . . I don’t understand. What did I miss?” Lily said with a loud sniff.
“Mary and Aoife are looking it over now. We have to go deeper to discover why they wanted it so badly. Who knows what the vampires believe the book holds?” Sara said, reaching down to grab Lily’s hand. “There’s something there, Lil. I know there is. Em didn’t die in vain. This isn’t only a story.”
How can Sara be sure? she wondered. Hypatia lived in a different time. A time when information was not easily dispersed. Back when there was no web, no phone, no planes, hell maybe not even newspapers, or whatever the ancient Egyptian equivalent was. As far as Hypatia knew, Seraphina’s tale would have died with her if she hadn’t made the book. Maybe that simple fact would have been enough for her to risk her life and send Empusa and Amon on a wild goose chase for centuries.
But it didn’t disappear. It survived, bits and pieces of it altered and presented as myth in human tales and religion. They had already known some of what Hypatia wrote through stories knitted together across cultures and years. But what about the details? a small, interested, and annoying voice in Lily’s head asked.
“I need to get away from all this for a few days.”
Sara nodded. “That’s what Evelyn said too after you left. Time at home will help clear your head.”
Lily nodded. She hadn’t even considered Evelyn. How awful she must be feeling. It was clear from the story whom Evelyn resembled physically and magically: Eve, the meanest of the sisters, the backstabber and man stealer. The betrayer of humans.
Lily shuddered.
“You’re still staying?”
Sara nodded. “I have no one to go home to. I’ve already had to take a sabbatical from my studies to stay this long. I’m going to help them with the book. It has some obvious magical properties as well as historical. How else could Mary read it? Hypatia couldn’t have known English. It’s either under a translation charm or written in lingua primum. Aoife is talking about doing tests to determine which. If it’s the translation charm, it’s likely something may have even been lost in translation.”
Lily’s brows furrowed. She hadn’t thought of that. “Historical?” she asked, desperate to hear sound reasoning to justify the cost to finding the book.
“You know the whole biblical Adam, Eve, and Lilith debacle. Lilith was Adam’s first wife, her not doing what Adam wanted, so he asked God for Eve, a more submissive wife. Lilith became demonized as Satan’s cohort afterwards. Then Adam and Eve were thrown out of the garden because of Eve’s temptation with the apple. This could be a new take on Eve’s mistake or, as the highly devout call it, betrayal. Even Seraphina’s name has biblical ties. Seraphim were fiery angles in the Bible. It’s not much of a stretch to think of her as one, is it? And what about those babies? Tiny stakes for teeth? Assuming the translation is correct, it sounds like we may have a record of the first vampires! How freaking crazy is that?”
Lily felt her mouth fall open. Sara was right. Growing up in a secular environment had not inclined her to reading religious text, but even she knew the story of Adam and Eve.
“That makes me feel a little better. And if this book helps us save humans from being enslaved . . . Well, I’ll still be miserable without Em, but at least then I’ll know in some small way her death helped
us stop that. Her death will have meant something. Does that make any sense?” Lily said.
“Absolutely,” Sara nodded, leaning in to hug Lily. “She’ll be a hero like her daughter.”
Lily was grateful Rena’s trademark afro made her easy to spot in Portland International Airport. She ran through the crowd, not caring about people she cut off or bumped into, straight into Rena’s strong arms.
“Mom,” Lily said, stifling a sob as she buried her face into Rena’s shoulder.
“Shhhh, you’re home, baby. You’re safe,” Rena said, gripping Lily tight and ignoring the looks they received as people were forced to part around them.
“We can go. I didn’t check a bag,” she said raising her face to Rena’s a couple minutes later and gesturing at the small duffle Sara had let her borrow. She had left most of her clothes at Brigit’s, knowing this would be a short trip. There was still much to learn, and only the McKay women could teach it to her.
Rena put her arms around Lily’s shoulders and they made their way to the parking garage without another word.
They were passing Multnomah Falls when Rena made her first attempt at small talk. “So, how are Brigit and her sisters?”
“They’re fine,” Lily said. It still felt a little strange talking about her new family with Rena. It was like talking to a ex about your new boyfriend. She’d only felt comfortable talking about them to Em.
“Your sisters?”
“We found the book. I did. It was buried under Brigit’s cottage all this time,” Lily blurted out, unable to hold in her guilt a second longer.
“Ohhhh, Lil, I’m so sorry,” Rena said. Her lack of confusion solidified Lily’s assumption that Rena and Brigit had been in contact. “You know, I’m not sure it would have mattered. I’ve never met Empusa or Amon, but I’ve heard of them. They have a reputation for being particularly nasty. It was probably their plan all along to hurt her, in order to hurt you.”
So much for easing in, Lily thought, deciding on the spot that she simply couldn’t keep secrets from Rena any longer.
“I also knew Amon. I dated him when I was at Bryn Mawr. He went by Liam there. Sara and Evelyn know about Liam, but not that Amon posed as Liam. Brigit, of course, heard Amon taunt me and insinuate that we had been together, but she hasn’t asked for details . . . yet.” The words rushed out of her like water from a spout.
Rena slammed on the brakes, and pulled to the highway shoulder, her face ashen. “You dated Amon? Did you—? Did he—?”
Lily shook her head emphatically. “I didn’t know. Seems stupid now. How could I not? He was so attractive and had a certain aura to him. He knew what I was, though.”
Rena nodded, relief clear on her face. “Vampires, especially very old ones like Amon, are sensitive to magic. They had to be, in an evolutionary sense, to survive when it was used against them. Your bind was loosening. We all knew it—and some of us felt it, Em most of all—though how he knew where you where, I couldn’t guess. We know they’ve been monitoring the strongest witch families for centuries. It’s why Brigit gave you to us, but we took so many precautions with you three . . .” Rena trailed off.
Lily had wondered the same thing. How, of all the witches in the world, had Amon latched on to her? She couldn’t be sure, but she had her suspicions that something deeper was going on. The room with the false doorway in Empusa’s mansion seemed the perfect escape route for someone who didn’t want to be seen. Aoife and Mary had reported it traveling far below the ground, exiting along the Alexandrian harbor.
“We think,” Lily paused, unsure how to phrase the words without sounding accusatory, “We think someone is reporting to them. A spy. We’re not sure if they knew who Evelyn and Sara were, but they knew me, and who I would risk my life for.”
Rena stared at Lily. “You think someone you know is a spy?” she asked thunderstruck.
“Aoife does, Brigit isn’t so sure. I told her it couldn’t be anyone at Terramar, but Aoife is operating under the assumption of guilty until proven innocent.” Lily hated herself for saying it.
“She always was a spitfire,” Rena muttered, pulling back onto the highway. “But I have to say, under these circumstances I agree with her. We’ve had many women come through the commune over the years, any of whom could have been a spy. Though I would like to think I’m a better judge of character than to let a fox in the henhouse.”
“Wouldn’t Em have known? They told me she was a decent empath. Wouldn’t she have sensed anyone’s ill-will toward me?”
Rena sighed. “Em tried her best to stay out of people’s emotions. Even yours, though you made it so damn hard sometimes, especially as a teenager. All the hormones I guess. Even I could read your mind a little at that age, and I’m terrible at mind reading.”
“I told them I thought maybe it was someone at Bryn Mawr. I met a few mean girls there that I could see being Empusa’s bestie,” Lily said, only half joking.
“No matter what, we’ll have to keep up our guard from now on. Anyone acting suspicious or asking too many questions about you is under my scrutiny.”
Lily frowned. It was nauseating to think she’d been spied on her entire life, monitored for her potential as a witch when she didn’t even know witches existed.
She watched the trees fly by as they settled into contemplative silence. The green landscape of home resembled that of Ireland, her new home a country and an ocean away. How strange it was that a place could hold a paramount position in her heart after such a short time. Six months ago she would have thought it impossible. But then, six months ago she’d have been wrong about a lot of things. The Emerald Isle was a place where magic grew and thrived. People felt magic in their bones there. It was as much a part of life as breathing. The minute Lily landed in the States, she’d noticed the difference. People hurried more, thought more, and understood less. Here magic had no place in history, religion, or life. It couldn’t live here like it did in Ireland. For her, there could be no returning to a place like this, at least not for long.
Rena’s gentle tapping of the brakes pulled Lily from her musings as they passed the bedazzled fir tree signaling Terramar’s drive. Someone, undoubtedly Rich, had left the gates open for them and Rena drove straight up to her cabin. She threw the truck into park with such finality that Lily knew it signaled a well thought-out speech.
“I want you to know no one blames you for Em’s death. Without a sire to control her, Em would have killed hundreds, if not thousands of people that night. You made a noble, selfless choice, and everyone here is thankful for that. You’re so strong, but you don’t always have to be. We want you to know we’ve made your safety here our top priority. Enchantments have been strengthened at the property lines and iron fencing extended. You’re safe here, Lil. You can relax and think.”
“Thanks, mom,” she said, kissing Rena on the cheek.
They hopped out of the truck and Lily heard Rena’s heavy tread moving up the stairs to the cabin door.
“You alright?” Rena asked as the door hinges squealed open.
“I just need a minute,” Lily answered, pulling her duffle from the truck bed.
A pause, a soft click, and she was alone.
Lily’s body loosened, cascading to the damp dirt. Sitting cross-legged she leaned against the truck’s tires, her head back and eyes open wide. The stars were out in their full glory that night. No matter how hard Lily tried to ignore them, they persisted, demanding her attention, her reverence. A sight once so comforting had become uncertainty itself, a sign of change, and the root of her fears. Gazing upon their indifferent glow, Lily knew that none of them were safe.
* * *
The End
Before you leave . . .
Turn the page for a sneak peek of Souls of Three, Book Two of the Starseed Trilogy!
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Also by Ashley McLeo
Souls of Three, Book Two of the Starseed Trilogy (turn the page for a sneak peek!)
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Add Souls of Three to your Goodreads here
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Rogue Fae, A Starseed Universe Novella
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The Siren’s Call
Music pulsed in her bones, winding its way through the gyrating crowd into her body, swaying and shaking alone on the edge of the dance floor.
