Born of Shadows- Complete Series

by J. R. Erickson

  Sebastian's smile grew wider. "No occasion. I saw it and knew it belonged to you."

  Abby pulled off the shiny red wrapping and tucked it beneath her seat. She held a small black velvet box. When she opened it, her breath stopped as if someone had sucked the air from her body. Black spots danced behind her eyes, but even through that haze of darkness, she still saw the ring. A huge pearl balanced on a tiny silver band. When she grazed the pearl with her finger it flashed black. Abby closed her eyes unable to forget the memory of that ring on someone else's finger - Vesta - the Vepar who had died in the lair the previous autumn.

  Sebastian's eyes twinkled.

  "It's amazing, right?"

  Abby forced a nod while her thoughts ricocheted like bullets through her head. Where had Sebastian gotten the ring? What had led him to it? And what motivated him to give it to Abby?

  Thinking fast, Abby pretended to cough, leaning forward in the boat to brace her hands on her knees. Oliver had taught her a basic enlarging spell. She had only used it once during her pregnancy to make her shoes bigger. Silently repeating the incantation, while rubbing her right hand, she drew from the water element surrounding them. A prickling sensation ran along her fingers.

  "Abby?" Sebastian stood, the boat wavering. He reached her and started gently patting her back. "Do you need water? I brought some."

  She nodded, still feigning her cough. Examining her fingers quickly and convinced they looked a bit larger, she cleared her throat and took a long drink from the water bottle.

  "Better," she said. "I think I swallowed a bug."

  He laughed, but Abby did not miss the skepticism in his eyes.

  "A chocolate one, I hope," he told her.

  "Hardly. More like those weird little gnats that you can't see until they're wedged in your throat."

  "Try it on," Sebastian said, taking the box from Abby's hand.

  "Where did you get this ring?" Abby asked, treading carefully. She wanted to blurt out Vesta's ring - where in the hell did you get Vesta's ring, but bit her tongue.

  Sebastian's eyes clouded, and she knew he had created a lie before he spoke it.

  "A little shop in Chicago. I saw it in the window when we were there for Ezra's..." he trailed off, but Abby understood, Ezra's memorial, except it was a lie. Abby tried to remember if he had ever been separated from the group and yes, he had gone to the store to get extra baby wipes for Vidya. Still, she felt confident he had not purchased Vesta's ring in a store in Chicago.

  Sebastian pulled the ring from the velvet case and lifted Abby's right hand. He started to slide it onto her ring finger, but it stuck at the first knuckle. He frowned and tried again.

  "Ouch," she snapped, a bit too dramatically, but he immediately pulled the ring away.

  "I'm sorry," he said, looking at her hand in puzzlement. "I was so sure it would fit. And honey, I think your hand might be swollen."

  He held it up in the moonlight and Abby realized she had overdone it a bit. Her hand looked like it belonged on the State Puff Marshmallow Man.

  "Oh wow," she exclaimed. "I used one of Helena's tinctures earlier on my fingernails. I must have used the wrong one." She laughed and shrugged. "I'm sure it will go down in a few days and then I can try it on."

  Sebastian looked disappointed, but didn't push the subject.

  ****

  Abby knocked on Oliver's door, glancing behind her a second time. The hallway at Ula stood empty, the candle-lit orbs glowing dimly.

  The door opened a crack and a sleepy Oliver peeked out. When he saw that Abby stood on the threshold, he opened it wide. Abby took in his rumpled boxer shorts and otherwise nakedness feeling even more guilty that she'd slipped out while Sebastian slept.

  "What's up?" he asked, instantly alert. He stepped from his room and looked down the hall.

  "No emergency," she said. "But I need to talk to you. In private."

  She pushed past him into his room. He closed the door and sat back on his bed.

  Abby took a seat on a chair, a safe distance away.

  "Sebastian gave me this tonight." She pulled the velvet box from her pocket.

  Oliver took it and opened the lid.

  "Okay..." he looked at her, confused. "It's pretty?"

  "You don't recognize it?" she asked.

  "Should I?"

  Abby bit her lip, hating herself for betraying Sebastian by taking her concerns to Oliver.

  "It belonged to Vesta."

  "The Vepar?" he asked, touching the ring and jumping back when it flashed black. "That was weird."

  "It flashes black when a witch touches it. Or is near it, I think."

  "Okay, wait. You're telling me this is a magic pearl ring? Like the one that Meghan lost three hundred years ago?"

  "What are you talking about? I just told you this was Vesta's ring. I saw her wearing it. Did Meghan have a pearl ring that..."

  "Flashed black when enemies were present," Oliver finished for her. "Yes, that was the third item. Julian wanted to keep the third artifact a secret."

  "But why?"

  "Probably for this reason right here," he sighed. "How on earth did Sebastian get this ring? And why would he give it to you?"

  She grimaced as she heard the words spoken out loud.

  "I have no idea."

  Oliver frowned, running a hand through his hair.

  "You haven't been wearing it?" he asked.

  Abby held up her puffy hand in explanation.

  Oliver smiled.

  "Looks like a clown hand. I kind of like it."

  "I used your enlargement spell. I was hoping for something more subtle," she admitted.

  "Forget subtle. That was effective. Best to keep it that way for a couple of days. Julian and Faustine need to see this ring."

  Abby nodded.

  "I know. I just feel terrible. Like I'm betraying him."

  "You're not betraying him, Abby. This whole thing is bigger than him. We're walking on the edge of life and death and as you well know, there are no coincidences. We need to figure out how he got ahold of this and why."

  "He said he bought it in Chicago," she added.

  "And you believed him?"

  She shook her head no.

  Oliver stood and walked to his desk, rifling through the top drawer. He pulled out a plastic gold ring. A large, also plastic, heart bauble sat in its center.

  "A gift from Lydie eons ago," he said, carefully pulling out the pearl ring and laying it on his desk.

  "I think that's a poor replacement," she said.

  "Not for long." He took out a small circular mirror and laid it on the table. Setting the rings side by side, he whispered an incantation and held his hands over the rings.

  Abby watched the plastic ring take on the exact image of the pearl.

  Oliver put the plastic ring, now identical to the other, back in the velvet box. He handed it to her.

  "So long as he doesn't take it out, we're good."

  Abby touched the ring. Though it looked like the pearl ring, it felt like the gaudy plastic piece with the heart.

  "Now go back to bed. It will only make him suspicious if he catches you in here."

  Abby glanced at the pearl ring on his desk.

  "I'm going to take it to Julian tonight," Oliver told her.

  "That's going to make it seem like a really big deal. Maybe you should just wait until morning."

  Oliver narrowed his eyes at her and she stood, sighing.

  "Okay, you're right. Just don't let Julian bust down our door and pull Sebastian out of bed for an inquisition," she told him, pausing in the doorway. "Thank you, Oliver."

  He gave her a two-finger salute, and she left, hurrying down the hallway with the fake ring clutched in her hand.

  ****

  Julian and Faustine stood in the oratory. The symbol X glowed from the circle as if awaiting the witches who would not be gathering upon it that night. Julian held a loupe, or jeweler's eyepiece, over the ring and peered into the glass.


  "What do you see?" Oliver asked, leaning over his shoulder.

  "That the pearl is real for one," Julian told him. "See how rough the surface is?"

  Oliver looked through the eyepiece.

  "But is it magic?"

  "Unfortunately, yes, and not light magic. Just holding it, I get the feeling it's trying to invade me in some way." Julian set the ring down.

  Faustine thumbed through a huge antique text, the gold lettering on the spine unreadable.

  "Abby is sure that this was Vesta's ring?" Julian asked.

  Oliver nodded. "She wouldn't have brought it to me otherwise. It scared her enough to put an enlarging spell on her hand to avoid wearing it."

  "It belonged to Meghan. This has to be the ring she described. It turns black in the presence of your enemies. In Vesta's case that would have been witches," Julian muttered.

  "It turned black when I touched it," Oliver mentioned.

  "I would imagine that is because its previous owner was a Vepar," Julian explained.

  "And Sebastian gave it to Abby," Faustine added, staring at the ring grimly.

  "Why was Vesta wearing the ring?" Oliver asked. "I didn't get the impression from Abby's visions of her that she was important to Tobias or Alva. Why would they entrust her with such a valuable item?"

  "To empower Clyde," Julian said. "We already have the sense that Alva and Tobias started to betray Clyde on some level by assisting Kanti. I believe they wanted freedom from his control. Putting the ring on Vesta meant he pulled power and had more direct access to her than to them."

  "How did Sebastian find it? And why did he give it to Abby? Why didn't it give him the creeps?" Oliver continued.

  "My concern is that Clyde allowed this ring to leave his possession. We are in the midst of attempting to secure these items for their destruction and one falls right into our lap," Faustine said, setting the book aside.

  "Clyde doesn't know that we are aware of the ring," Julian said. "Clyde doesn't know that we have met Meghan, that we know of Eugene, any of it..."

  "I wouldn't be so sure about that," Oliver admitted. "We made that video in Chicago. Abby held Eugene's pocket watch out and spoke of Clyde coveting Eugene's power."

  "So, he does know and still allowed Sebastian to get this ring," Faustine murmured.

  "Wanted Sebastian to get the ring is more like it," Julian said. "These objects give Clyde access to the power of whoever is wearing it."

  "Which would have been Abby," Oliver grumbled. "What do we do about this?"

  "We confront Sebastian for starters. The Crystal of Sight will help get to the truth," Julian huffed.

  Oliver suspected that Julian was angry that despite all his work with Sebastian, the man continued to slip under Clyde's control.

  "I tend to agree," Faustine added. "It is clear that Sebastian cannot be trusted."

  Chapter 24

  "That thing looks lethal," Abby told Oliver. He stood over a long wooden table assembling arrows.

  "That is the point," he remarked, holding up an arrowhead. "No pun intended."

  She shook her head, laughing, and walked to his work station.

  Abby picked one of the sharpened blades up and turned it in the light.

  "Don't touch the tip," Oliver advised. "They're coated in a salve made from Julian's powder."

  "Doesn't that only work on Vepars?"

  "Probably, but let's not find out."

  Oliver pointed at several of the blades that looked quite crude and misshapen.

  "I found those in the land that belonged to Kanti's people."

  "Wow," Abby touched one. "If only her family could know that she'll soon be at rest."

  "They do know," Oliver reminded her.

  "Good point."

  "They're done," Lydie announced striding into the room with a tray of feathers. Some were black, others brown and white, but all shone as if sprinkled with gold powder.

  "Those are beautiful," Abby breathed.

  "Don't touch, please," Lydie chastised her as Abby reached for a feather. "Let me demonstrate."

  She lifted a feather and holding it high, spun in a fast circle. The feather burst into flames.

  "Oh," Abby jumped back as Lydie released the feather and it burned so hot the flame turned blue. Nothing remained of the feather.

  "Damn, Lydie! You have truly outdone yourself," Oliver declared, slapping her on the back.

  She did a little curtsy.

  "I made those from Vidya's birds." Lydie smiled at Abby who returned her expression with horror.

  "Vidya's birds?" she asked, shocked.

  "I didn't kill them, silly," Lydia explained. "I've been collecting the feathers for weeks around your house and here at Ula."

  "Oh, ha, okay," Abby laughed. "And now we'll be using them to kill Vepars?"

  "I will be," Oliver corrected. "Lydie saved a few to make Vidya a dreamcatcher. So, don't worry there will be non-violent use of the feathers as well."

  He grinned and Lydie laughed.

  "It's going to be sweet, Abby. Helena has a charm that helps draw nightmares into the catcher. She gave me one as a little girl too," Lydie beamed.

  "Thank you, Lydie. Maybe you could make one for me as well. My sleep has been terrible lately."

  "I'm on it," Lydie announced, heading toward the door.

  "Oh, no." Abby held up her hand. "I was only kidding."

  "Why?" Lydie cocked her head to the side. "I still have one. So do Helena and Bridget for that matter. They're not just for kids, you know. And they're pretty."

  "Take the dreamcatcher," Oliver told her from the corner of his mouth. "Or you might end up with one of these fiery feathers in your arse."

  Lydie rolled her eyes at him.

  "Thank you, Lydie. I'd love one," Abby told her. She meant it too. Nightmares had plagued her for weeks. She no longer had visions of Vidya. A new darkness had begun to stalk her dreamscape. He was faceless, but she always woke with the sense that it had been Sebastian following her through the dark.

  ****

  "Sebastian?" Faustine stopped him in the library as they were preparing to step through the mirror.

  Abby looked at Oliver, her eyes widening.

  "You go first," Oliver told her, giving her a little push toward the mirror. "We're right behind you."

  Abby stepped through and Oliver followed. Julian waited a moment.

  "What's up?" Sebastian asked, stepping toward the mirror. They had only a few hours before Abby needed to be in the woods with Eugene's watch. He had no intention of letting her go without him and didn't want Faustine to catch them up.

  "I need you to accompany me to the tower." Faustine told him.

  Sebastian glanced at Julian who stood in front of the mirror as if he were blocking it.

  "I have to go with Abby," Sebastian reminded them. "If Victor shows up..." He trailed off seeing Julian's grave expression. "Am I missing something?"

  "The ring that you gave to Abby is one of Clyde's bewitched artifacts, Sebastian," Julian told him. "You need to go with Faustine."

  Sebastian's mouth fell open.

  "What? No! I bought it..." but he couldn't exactly remember where he'd bought it. He had told Abby Chicago and that seemed right, but for some reason he had no actual memory of purchasing the ring, no receipt, no proof what-so-ever.

  Faustine opened the library door.

  "Let's get to the bottom of this, Sebastian. For your and Abby's sake," he said gesturing toward the open door.

  Sebastian turned back as if he wanted to shove Julian aside and jump through the mirror, but thought better of it. He stuffed his hands into his pockets and followed Faustine from the room.

  ****

  Abby took a deep breath, trying to focus on the horizon. Julian and Oliver were somewhere in the woods surrounding her and she fought the desire to turn and search for their faces. Sebastian had stayed at Ula. Had Faustine discovered where he got the pearl ring? The jumble of thoughts in her head was amplified
by the weight of the gold watch resting in her hand.

  She opened the clasp and stared into the cracked face as if it might hold the answers to the questions churning in her mind.

  An hour passed and then two. Her butt turned numb so she stood and paced back and forth among the trees.

  "He's not going to show," Oliver called, jumping from the branch of a high tree and landing with a thud that startled her. She dropped the watch, bending and quickly picking it up.

  "Here," she shoved it at Julian when he too emerged from the forest.

  "Best if we head back to Ula and make another plan," Julian told them.

  ****

  Sebastian's eyes darted in every direction as Faustine led him into the circular stone tower. The ceiling soared high above him and staring up at it made him dizzy. He shifted his gaze to the floor, racking his brain for where he had purchased the ring.

  Faustine walked up the stone staircase in the center of the room and settled on the stone slab at the top.

  "Join me," Faustine called to him.

  The heavy wooden door had slammed closed behind them and Sebastian thought if he tried to flee, he would find it locked.

  He took the steps slowly, the weight of his feet, or more likely his fears, dragging him down.

  Faustine sat on the slab and lifted the familiar Crystal of Sight, positioning it over his third eye.

  "Have a seat, Sebastian."

  Sebastian sat heavily, balancing his elbows on his knees and putting his head in his hands. He waited.

  Faustine closed his eyes, taking a long slow breath.

  "Argh!" Faustine's howl echoed through the chamber and Sebastian fell back nearly plummeting off the slab twenty feet to the stone floor.

  Faustine ripped the crystal from his head, his eyes watered, and a trickle of blood ran from his nose. He pressed his hands over his eyes.

  "What can I do?" Sebastian asked, starting down the stairs. He yanked on the wood door and as he suspected found it locked.

  "Faustine, unlock the door," he shouted.

  Faustine blinked down at him, lifting a trembling hand. The door clicked open and Sebastian hurried out.