Arcane Circle

by Linda Robertson

  The demand for this training had been more than any of them had expected. When Michael opened a pay-for-training center in a nearby town—a business venture he’d not even hinted about to me—I’d told him it bothered me that he would do this behind my back. I just wanted to be kept in the loop. He’d said he didn’t have to “clear” anything with me and he dumped me. I hadn’t seen either of them since. Until now.

  Breaking the awkward silence, Chris offered a polite “How’ve you been?”

  “Good. You?”

  Gregor cut in. “There’s obviously no further need for you to be here, witch,” he said pointedly to me. “Don’t let us keep you any longer.”

  Not really passive-aggressive, just aggressive.

  Johnny gestured to Kirk. “See the witch to the University Inn.”

  At that, I knew three things for certain. One, he wasn’t going to let on about our relationship more than necessary to these Omori; two, he wasn’t coming home with me; and three, it was highly unlikely that I’d have another chance to perform this spell before the Rege arrived. Could Johnny repeat another man-to-wolf transformation without what he would have gained from the spell?

  Maxine said, begrudgingly, that the pierogies were fabulous. When she asked how I was done so quickly, I told her some unforeseen other pack business sprang up and we’d rescheduled. If she was suspicious that there was more to it than that, she didn’t show it outwardly. I didn’t want to talk about it and she was keen enough not to need it spelled out for her.

  In the car, I switched the radio to WMMS. I was hoping to crank up some rock ’n’ roll, but the morning show’s aftermath crew was blathering on. So I found WKDD out of Akron and gave the sound system a workout.

  My thoughts ran to Johnny. And worry.

  His second-in-command, Todd, resented him. Todd wanted to be dirija in the worst way, and while that would happen once Johnny was confirmed as the Domn Lup, in the meantime, Todd had to wait and he had to take orders from Johnny.

  And then there was Cammi, who was a power-hungry bitch. She’d used her looks to work those men over, and fast. I hoped that the Omori’s threat held, that Johnny wouldn’t ever have to hear her speak to him again, but she was cunning. She’d use her feminine wiles to influence others. The threat she represented wasn’t gone.

  He struggled at every step, and while I had no doubt he could handle it, the fact that he literally had to fight for his position saddened me. It was barbaric. Bottom line, I didn’t want Johnny to lose the man he was now in the process.

  It occurred to me his problems weren’t unlike mine. The responsibilities of my role were changing me. Months ago I couldn’t have imagined going into a vampire haven, let alone having my own apartment inside one. I couldn’t have imagined feeding a vampire, much less being doubly bound to one.

  And despite being the Lustrata, I still wanted to give Beverley a normal childhood. I could have given her that easily before all this Lustrata business began. I’m losing who I once was.

  Through Beverley, I realized, I was anchored to that struggle, to the desire to keep a tight grasp on my sense of self, of the here and now, so I didn’t completely lose myself.

  Maybe if I can give Johnny back his memories, there will be something in them that will anchor him.

  I was more determined than ever to get his tattoos unlocked.

  When we pulled in the driveway, the first thing I noticed was the power lines were strung along the poles, providing electric to the finished barns and Mountain’s mobile home, which had arrived. Nana’s prefab walls were going up.

  Mountain gave me the update, remarking that the wiring and plumbing had been accomplished, and that the floor joists and subfloor were in.

  “Any chance of getting that heated flooring for her?”

  “I’ll certainly make every effort to get that for you.” With a nod, he beckoned me aside and I followed so we were out of Maxine’s earshot. “The men cut through your basement block wall and installed a small door that will lead to the crawl space under the addition. Far as they know its standard access for the plumbing; better from inside the house than in the block foundation. More weather tight and all. But,” he added with quiet grimness, “it will be a good hiding place for a vampire. If it ever becomes necessary. Only you and I will know.”

  “Gotcha.”

  He gave me a wink and headed back to supervise.

  Doc Lincoln arrived just after dinner. The house was still full of the delicious smell of Nana’s lahanodolmathes she’d fixed for dinner. Greeks think the best cabbage is found after the first frost, and I guess the frosty mornings had inspired her to make the recipe: ground beef and rice with eggs, dill, and onion rolled up in cabbage leaves. Nana must have noticed that I was eating some meat. Topping it all was the avgolemono sauce—egg yolks, water, lemon juice, and corn starch—poured on right before they’re served. I asked Geoff if he’d like to have some.

  He admitted it smelled wonderful, but said he’d already eaten and offered me another pill bottle full of that salve for Johnny’s stitches. “Sorry. Don’t need it. They’ve healed up and he took the stitches out already.”

  “Good. That wære healing kicked in.” He dropped the bottle back into his bag. “The barns have lights now, yes?”

  “Yes.” I told him about Thunderbird. “Maybe with some dog food you can coax him into trusting you. He needs some help, his eye is … icky.”

  “Icky how?”

  I described the yellow oozing pus, about the same shade as the avgolemono, but I didn’t mention that or, for the sake of my digestion, let myself dwell on it long.

  “Yeah. That’s not good.”

  “You’ll need the dog food, though. He let me touch him today because I’ve been feeding it to him.”

  “You should go with him,” Nana said. “I’ll wash the dishes tonight.”

  “But you cooked,” I protested. Johnny hadn’t come home yet. He didn’t have a car with him, but someone would give the Domn Lup a ride. Eventually. Hope he and Gregor aren’t still duking it out.

  Beverley pointed to the refrigerator where a magnet prominently held her math test with a big red A+ on it. “I aced the math test. Can I come out and see the unicorns?”

  “Absolutely,” Nana said quickly. “Maxine will help me with the dishes. Take Zhan with you, too.” She shot a glance at the sentinel. If Nana knew Zhan was curious, that meant they had talked some today. Good for Nana, not being completely antisocial toward the Offerling. But I hope Zhan didn’t mention the visitor who upset me so much.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  After bundling up, I checked by the garage for the bucket. Thunderbird had not brought it back, so I filled a mixing bowl instead. The four of us walked to Mountain’s mobile home first. Beverley knocked. “You’re my first guest, Beverley,” he said happily. “Come in! I don’t have much in the way of seating to offer, but it’s out of the cold air.”

  I could smell pizza, then saw half of one on the stovetop on a round cooking stone. “The oven works. Anyone like a slice?”

  Beverley took a small one. I didn’t blame her. Nana’s lahanodolmathes wasn’t going to be her favorite. I had a suspicion Nana’s traditional Greek food phase was actually an unspoken effort to get someone else to volunteer for cooking duty in Johnny’s absence.

  Something bumped the back door lightly and emitted a gargly whining sound. It commanded our attention but Mountain simply shrugged it off. “I think Zoltan wants some pizza.”

  “I wouldn’t advise giving in to that,” Dr. Lincoln said.

  “Don’t worry, Doc. The way that little dragon belches his tuna there’s no way I’m letting him have a garlic-tomato sauce.”

  “Can I see him?” Zhan asked.

  “Certainly.” Mountain grabbed a Lysol spray. “Hopefully this will kill the pizza smell for him.” He doused the area of the door then led the doctor and an eager Zhan outside and over to the barn.

  Beverley and I remained behind so she could finis
h her pizza.

  An awkward moment later, she said, “I’m sorry about breaking your glass.”

  My glass. “This is your home now, kiddo. It was your glass, too.” I hoped she understood what I was trying to say. “I’m sorry that I have to do something that your mother did, something that bothered you.”

  Beverley set the pizza on a napkin. “She always acted like Goliath biting her was no big deal. It’s got to hurt. It’s …”

  When she didn’t go on, I took a deep breath and steeled myself. “I’m the Lustrata, Beverley. I am bound to Menessos and to Johnny, and to you and Nana.” I searched her face and added, “There’s nothing I can do to change any of that.”

  The corners of her little mouth angled down. “I don’t want you to die.”

  “I don’t, either.” I took her into my arms. But my path is a dangerous one.

  “I don’t want to lose you,” she said. “I don’t want to go anywhere else. I like it here.”

  I pulled away and got on my knees to be eye level with her. “This is how things are here. Vampires and witches and wærewolves are always going to be in the mix. I can’t promise it will be easy for you. It won’t. But I can tell you that I truly want you to be a part of my life. I want you to have a regular childhood, but a lot of my life isn’t regular.”

  She wiped her cheeks with her shirtsleeve. “I don’t want a ‘regular childhood.’ Regular kids don’t get to ride unicorns and play with dragons.”

  My heart swelled. She couldn’t have said anything that encouraged me more. Grasping her arms reassuringly, I said, “Then you have to accept the good and the bad. You have to accept that living here means riding unicorns and playing with dragons and it means knowing that one vampire gets to drink from me and a certain wærewolf gets to kiss me.” I squeezed her gently. “Can you accept that?”

  She bit her lip, then nodded. I pulled her to me and said, “I love you, Beverley.”

  They were words I couldn’t bring myself to say to Johnny, but they slipped out for her easily.

  She threw her arms around me. “I love you, too.”

  It was like those words sealed all the cracks of concern between us. They gave her security. They gave me hope.

  When we joined the others, Zhan was still awestruck and trying to make friends with Zoltan, who slithered away every time she tried to touch him. His constant aversion wore her down until she looked hurt.

  “He’s playing with you,” Mountain told her. “Turn your back like you’re sulking, and he’ll sneak up on you. When you spin around, see if you can avoid him until he pretends to sulk.”

  She did as he instructed and for the next several minutes the two of them played this variation of Keep-away. It was amazing. Zhan was nimble as a ninja, flipping and somersaulting through the barn. Watching the two of them was like watching an acrobatic stage show. When finally Zhan stopped, breathless but delighted, Zoltan coiled around her and let her pet him.

  The rest of us applauded.

  “He’s incredible,” she said.

  “Indeed,” Mountain said. There was a sparkle in his eyes I hadn’t seen before. He’s sweet on Zhan!

  When Geoff finished with the dragons we proceeded to the phoenix coop. Their staccato chirps made it clear that they did not like being disturbed after sundown, but Mountain pulled a box of Hot Tamales from his pocket and gave each of the fire birds a piece of the zesty candy.

  “Is that what I think it is?” Geoff asked.

  “I dropped some earlier accidentally,” Mountain said, his cheeks flushing. “They went into a feeding frenzy.”

  It didn’t take long for the vet to finish up and we moved on to the unicorn and griffon barn. I peered across the night-shrouded field toward the grove. I couldn’t detect Thunderbird if he was there, but he would have been well camouflaged.

  A sense of urgency filled me, an eagerness to get to him, but we needed to let Beverley see the unicorns first. She’d earned her grade and had been very patient. I could be, too.

  When the barn doors rolled open, every pristine white unicorn head rose up. Some quiet nickering greeted Mountain. A young colt backed out of his stall in the middle and trotted the short distance toward us. “Hey, Errol.” Mountain scratched under the colt’s chin.

  “Can I pet him?” Beverley asked.

  “Ask him,” Mountain said.

  Beverley moved one cautious step closer. “May I pet you, Errol?”

  Errol backed up two steps. I thought he was declining, but then he ceremoniously bent one foreleg under and bowed down until the tip of his horn touched the ground at Beverley’s feet.

  Wide-eyed, she whispered to Mountain, “That’s a yes, right?”

  He was as surprised by this gesture as the rest of us. To me, he said, “I think that’s an invitation.”

  With the unicorn making his dramatic display, I couldn’t possibly have said no. I nodded. Errol raised up. Mountain slid his hands under Beverley’s arms and lifted her, placing her gently on the unicorn’s back. Errol moved away, slowly. With high parading steps he walked toward the rear of the barn where the griffons had made nests out of hay. The colt brought her back, and took her toward the griffons again.

  She was, of course, delighted. “He’s so beautiful, Seph! Can I tie purple ribbons in his mane and tail?”

  With lifted brows, I redirected her question to Mountain, who said, “If Errol doesn’t protest, sure.”

  Assured that Mountain and Geoff had everything under control, I announced, “I’m going to try to bring Thunderbird here, so you’ll have the light.”

  “I’ll come with you,” Zhan said. I opened my mouth to object, but she cut me off by adding, “Menessos assigned me to make sure you’re safe, so you won’t be going out in the dark alone. I promise to stay back once we get near him.”

  It was proof that the sentinels were getting to know me. Zhan hadn’t even pulled her gun when we left the house. “C’mon.”

  We tromped across the field toward the grove, pushing aside cornstalks to take a direct path. The moon was a crescent hidden behind clouds full of cold rain waiting to burst open. Half the distance in, my vision had adjusted.

  “Now will you tell me how you happened to steal these phenomenal creatures?” Zhan asked.

  “The fey had control collars on them. The only way to stop them was to remove the collars. They’re quite dangerous when forced to be, so it wasn’t easy. It was like the reverse of mice trying to bell a cat. Once freed from the collars, though, they stopped fighting against us and actively helped us as if they were eager to be away from the fairies.”

  “Eager to be home.” Zhan’s steps slowed, then stopped, and she emitted a light sigh. It wasn’t the long, breathy, “wow” kind of sigh. It was the brisk, irritated-with-myself kind.

  Though I had pressed on a few more steps, I waited for her and spoke through the stalks. “What is it, Zhan?”

  She shook her head as if clearing her thoughts and moved forward. “It’s just so extraordinary.”

  That, I could tell, wasn’t the whole truth, but she didn’t have to share more.

  A dozen yards later, we left the cornfield and emerged onto the grassy edge of the grove. I shook the bucket. “Thunderbird,” I called. “Hungry, boy?”

  Nothing. Not even nest-bound birds or squirrels awakened by my voice deigned to answer. After trying a few more times, my patience was ended. Minding my footing, I entered the grove and watched for movement amid the trees. I called his name again.

  Maybe he’d gone flying. There weren’t any injuries to his wings.

  I walked around the more open part of the inner grove, searching for the other bucket, thinking to fill it from this one.

  When I found it, it was still full.

  “Zhan! Help me find him!”

  I dropped the metal mixing bowl and launched into a frantic search. As I pushed through the branches, my arms got scraped and I stopped.

  He didn’t come this way. Where would he fit?


  I scrutinized the dark … and found his path. Following a trail of broken branches, straining to see, I neared the far side of the grove and tripped over Thunderbird’s leg.

  I plopped down, twisting to keep from landing on him. Jumping up, I called out, “Here!”

  Thunderbird hadn’t made a sound. On my knees, my hands groped all over him. He felt cold and he didn’t respond. Don’t be dead. Pressing on his rib cage, I held my breath trying to detect his breathing or a pulse.

  There! Weak, but beating.

  Zhan appeared from the grove a few yards away. “Get Mountain and the doc,” I called.

  It seemed like forever, but the two men arrived. Mountain tried to lift Thunderbird but couldn’t. “Please, Mountain, I’ve seen you carry a couch!”

  “Sorry, Seph. Couches aren’t limp. They don’t have wings and paws and claws flopping this way and that putting me off balance.”

  “We can’t leave him here!”

  “I could drag him,” Mountain suggested.

  In the end, we lifted his front half, pushed a half-rolled tarp under him, then lifted the back half and spread out the length of the tarp. We threaded rope through the tarp grommets and tied it to the backhoe and pulled him to the barn. Mountain dragged the tarp inside.

  The griffons left their nests and watched as Dr. Lincoln tended Thunderbird’s damaged eye socket, then inspected the claw. The three front talons had been seared off at the same point. Fax Torris’s beam must have burned them away. Geoff bandaged those, readied a syringe. “This will fight infection,” he said, “but I have no idea what dosage is appropriate for a griffon. I’m calculating it according to weight, and I’m guessing at his weight, so …” He drew a long breath. “Don’t be mad at me if Thunderbird doesn’t make it.”

  “I trust your best guess, Geoff.”

  He administered the shot, then stood. “Keeping him warm now will help. Can we get him into one of those nests?”