Crown of Blood

by D G Swank

  I’d been playing on the floor by the back door, small enough that the kitchen cabinets let me go unnoticed. Or not.

  I stood and walked over to her, terrified that I was in trouble, especially when I saw the dark look in her eyes.

  “Celeste. It’s time for a lesson.”

  I nodded. I hated lessons because Mother always asked my magic to do things it didn’t like. It fought and rebelled, which made my head and body hurt.

  Seeing the dread on my face, she gave me a look of disappointment. “Not a magic lesson.”

  The tension in my shoulders eased.

  “Celeste, you heard what I told your sister?”

  I nodded.

  “Do you understand what I said?”

  A tear slipped down my cheek. “My sisters are special, and we all need to help each other. Like Rowan and Phoebe helped me today.”

  “Yes,” Mother said, frowning as she watched my tear fall. “While that’s true for them, it’s not for you.”

  My mouth parted.

  “You will never fit in with your sisters, and you’re not meant to. You need to stay to yourself or you could destroy them. Do you understand?”

  I slowly shook my head, more tears leaking from my eyes. “No.”

  “Your magic is different. Special. It’s very strong and you could hurt them. Or kill them. You must never, ever become too close to them. Do you understand?” When I didn’t respond, she grabbed my upper arms, her fingers digging in hard enough to hurt. In that moment, I was afraid of her. A wave of softness and sorrow washed over her face, but then she shuddered, bringing back her sternness. “You must play by yourself. Stay away from your sisters. You have a special purpose that only you can do. If you’re too close to them, they might try to stop you.”

  “I don’t understand, Mommy.”

  She sucked in a breath, then her jaw tightened. “I taught Rowan about family duty, but you face a very different kind of duty. You, Celeste, will save the world.”

  The memory slipped away, and when I came to myself, I was surprised to find my cheeks were wet. She’d started that early? How could I have forgotten?

  “Celeste?” Zane asked, sounding worried. “What happened? I’ve been calling your name for a few minutes.”

  I swiped at my face as I looked out the passenger window. “I have no memories of being close to my sisters. My mother took that from me when I was just a preschooler.”

  “What?”

  I shook my head and tried to sit up straighter, but I stopped when a fresh round of pain shot through my gut. “We need to stop somewhere. I have to call the book.” But even as I said it, I wasn’t sure that true. I didn’t know what to believe anymore.

  My mother was the one who’d taught me everything I knew about the book, and I wasn’t so sure I trusted her anymore.

  Zane turned off at the next exit and pulled into a strip mall parking lot, putting the car in park before turning to face me. “What just happened, Celeste? What did your mother do?”

  “My father was right about one thing. She’s been grooming me for my entire life,” I said, choking on the lump in my throat. “I’ve always known she had a purpose for me, but that memory made me realize she started grooming me when I was four.”

  “Grooming you for what?”

  The part of me that my mother had controlled warned me not to tell him, but we were on the same side. I didn’t doubt that anymore. “To destroy the Dark Set.”

  His eyes widened and he sank into his seat as he started putting everything together. “That’s why you joined them. I figured you were up to something. You’re nowhere near as shallow as you made yourself out to be that first night.” His eyes narrowed. “That explains why you excelled at your lessons with me. You were just pretending.”

  “No. That was real. My mother had absolutely no clue how expression magic works. The memory I just focused on helped me see that I had an affinity to elemental magic when I was very small, only she didn’t understand or encourage it. I suspect if she’d just let me naturally develop, I would have been fine. But she forced me to fight my magic, like bridling a wild horse, which harmed me in the end.”

  “Celeste.” The sorrow he placed in my name brought fresh tears to my eyes.

  “She purposely kept me away from my sisters. She told me I’d hurt them if I got too close. I helped her conceal Rowan’s power from her. My sister was only eight. I could never tell her, Mother said, or the Dark Set would use Rowan to read the book and it would be my fault.”

  “Celeste.”

  I shook my head. “No pity. I can’t handle it right now, but I don’t know what to do. It wasn’t a bad idea, but I don’t have any deep, emotional memories to draw on. We might need to use the book after all.”

  He clutched my hand, then leaned over and gently tugged me into a hug. “I’m sorry.”

  The words were said simply, and without pity, so I didn’t object. I didn’t respond either. What was there to say?

  “Maybe not a childhood memory,” he suggested. “Maybe something more recent.”

  Rowan and I had always been at odds, especially after I’d hidden her magic. Had she known deep down? Would she hate me when she discovered the truth? And Phoebe…she’d taken on the mothering role our own mother seemed to have abandoned upon learning her husband was the leader of the Dark Set. She seemed like the logical choice. Besides which, we’d nearly died together in Kansas. Surely that created a deep bond.

  But my magic pulled up another, more recent event—the night the book had called me to Radcliffe. I’d found Rowan in a makeshift basement morgue at the abandoned hospital.

  We’d cut our hands and mingled our blood to get the book to show us how to free the orb from the dead mage. The book had magically bound Rowan and me together, recognizing us as equals in power and ability.

  I’d focus on that bond.

  “I’m ready,” I said.

  Zane pulled back in surprise. “You want to try contacting your sister?”

  “Yes.”

  “Okay, but I don’t want to leave the wall down long.”

  I nodded my agreement. I didn’t want to risk our safety either.

  I could feel his magic wall drop, but I was already focusing on that moment with Ro, infusing it with as much power as I dared and calling out to her in my mind’s eye. When nothing happened, I drew on Zane’s power too. Just like before, it gave me the boost I needed. Suddenly, I felt her presence, just like I used to when we shared the coven bond.

  Celeste? she practically shouted in my head.

  Are you safe? I asked. Is Phoebe safe?

  Yes! she said. But we’re so worried about you. Where are you?

  Lexington.

  She hesitated, then asked less enthusiastically, With the Dark Set?

  No. I’m with Zane Chambers. Brandon knows him. He helped me escape from the Dark Set.

  How did you know where to go?

  The Book of Sindal told me, I said. It knows I need you both. I almost told her I was hurt but decided to keep that to myself. It would only worry Phoebe.

  Why doesn’t the Book of Sindal tell you where to find us now?

  It was my turn to pause. Because I’m scared of it. It wants to use me for the Crown of Blood, Rowan. The book could be listening, but I decided to keep talking anyway. Rowan and Phoebe needed to know it posed a serious danger to all of us. We both know it’s evil. We have to figure out a way to destroy it.

  Only I might need to use it first.

  Give me a second, she said and was quiet for several long seconds. Brandon said to tell Zane that you two should meet him at the pole. Ask him if he knows what that means.

  I opened my eyes. Zane was watching me intently. “Brandon wants to know if you can meet him at the pole.”

  A smirk spread across his face. “East or west?”

  I concentrated on Rowan again, finding the connection less stable than before. He says east or west?

  West, she said. Nine o’clock.


  I shut the connection down and Zane’s protective wall went back up. “West at nine.”

  “Okay,” he said, shifting the car into drive and pulling out of the parking lot.

  He knew where to go based on the word “pole”? “Where are we going?” I asked with some misgiving. “A strip club?”

  He shot me an ornery grin. “A barber shop.”

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  That was a relief. I wasn’t sure I was up to dealing with a strip club right now. “How do you know which one?” I asked.

  “When I give Brandon my reports, I always do it in person. Lexington is one of the places we’ve met before, and it’s always east or west.”

  “And you remember where to go?”

  “Yep.”

  We fell silent as Zane drove with a new determination. “You don’t need the book, Celeste. Brandon will know a healer who can help.”

  I hoped so, but I couldn’t help wondering if I could take on the Dark Set without the book. Even if I did have the orb.

  We had time to kill, so Zane went through a drive-through to get us dinner. I ate a bit of chicken then fell asleep, exhausted from the effort of contacting Rowan. When I awoke, the car had stopped moving, and I could see a street light overhead.

  “Brandon will be here any minute,” Zane said, sounding worried.

  “I’m worse, aren’t I?”

  “He’ll know what to do.”

  I wasn’t so sure, but I didn’t see the point in saying so.

  Brandon arrived in a dark sedan a few minutes later. He pulled to a stop in a parking space opposite Zane’s and got out of the car. I could just see the pole for the closed barbershop in the distance.

  “Stay here, Celeste,” Zane murmured as he opened the door. I felt him cover me with his magic, and it struck me that his drive to protect me was even stronger than his trust in the man he’d worked for secretly for five years.

  The two men met in the headlights of the two cars. A light mist began to fall, and Zane’s windshield wipers screeched across the windshield, making me jump.

  I was on edge for multiple reasons. I was afraid Donall would show up. I was afraid meeting Brandon was a trap. I was afraid of how Rowan and Phoebe would react when they saw me. And I was afraid of seeing the book again. It had come close to possessing me, and in my weakened state, I wasn’t sure I had the strength to protect myself.

  The passenger door of Brandon’s car opened, and Rowan hopped out, followed by the man who had claimed to be her boyfriend. The one I’d encouraged her to kill.

  I’d have some groveling to do over that.

  Groveling would never be good enough. I’d almost killed him, a man I didn’t even know. A man who hadn’t done anything wrong.

  This all now seemed like a bad idea. I wasn’t ready to face them yet.

  Rowan hurried over to Brandon, Logan on her heels. The four of them were deep in conversation for a few moments, Rowan’s voice rising steadily, before my sister broke free and ran to my car door. She reached for the door, then jumped back screeching as if shocked by the handle. Oh, Zane’s protections were still up. She shouted something else, and although Zane looked worried, I felt him weaken his shield enough for her to open the door.

  I prepared myself for a verbal berating—I deserved it—but Rowan squatted next to me.

  “Oh, Celeste,” she cried out when she saw me. “What did he do to you?”

  “I guess we have our own club now,” I said with a grimace. “We’ve both been beaten by Donall.”

  “Why did you go with him?” she pleaded.

  “I had to gain control of my magic,” I lied. “And working with the Dark Set was the best way to do that.”

  The look on her face said she didn’t believe my excuse, but I wasn’t ready to admit I’d followed Donall to destroy the Dark Set. While Zane knew the truth, I doubted my sisters would let me leave to finish the job if they knew what I intended.

  Brandon approached, his face drawn as he leaned over Rowan’s shoulder. “Hey, Celeste. Wish we were meeting again under different circumstances.”

  I gave him a weak grin. “I have a beef with you for what happened in the Small Council meeting.” While Xenya had helped me understand that Brandon had been protecting us when he’d publicly supported the Small Council breaking up our coven, the move had been traumatic for all three of us, and I couldn’t let the incident go unmentioned.

  “Don’t worry,” Rowan said in a tight voice as she cast a dark glance at Phoebe’s boyfriend, “I’ve reamed him out enough for both of us.”

  “Where’s Phoebe?”

  “Brandon didn’t want her to leave the safehouse. Without her power, she’s unprotected.”

  “Save the catching up for later,” Zane said in an authoritative tone. “We need to get her medical care.”

  “Where are we going to take her?” Rowan asked.

  “We have to bring her back to the safehouse,” Brandon said, his face emotionless.

  Rowan was on her feet, facing Brandon and ready to do battle. “We don’t have a doctor or a healer there, Brandon.”

  “I know,” he conceded. “We need some time to figure out what to do with her.”

  “Here’s a wild idea,” Logan snapped, spanning the distance to the car in a couple of absurdly long steps. Brandon was tall, but Logan had several inches on him, and although he was one hundred percent human, he had an intimidating glower that made him look dangerous. No doubt it had served him well as a police officer. “How about we take her to the hospital?”

  “It’s not that easy,” Brandon said, looking frustrated.

  “And the way I see it,” Logan said, “it’s not that difficult. Zane’s already said he can use his magic to convince the hospital staff to buy whatever explanation you come up with for her injuries.”

  “It’s okay,” I said quickly. “We’ll go to the safehouse and figure it out there.”

  “This is bullshit,” Logan snarled. “Utter bullshit.”

  “This is why bringing a non-magical into this situation is a bad idea,” Zane said, pointing an accusatory finger at Logan as he walked back to the car. “They don’t understand our world.”

  “That’s right,” Logan said. “I don’t understand how you can be so callous about your woman’s life.”

  “Logan!” Rowan protested, moving closer to him.

  Zane scowled, his energy riling up, but I noticed that he didn’t attempt to correct Logan. Neither did I.

  “It’s okay,” I said to Rowan. “Honestly, I appreciate the fact that he’s so eager to help me. It’s far more than I deserve from him. I did try to convince you to kill him.”

  “We were both possessed by the book,” Rowan said. “He knows that.”

  “Is the book at the safe house?” I asked.

  The question gave my sister pause.

  “The book is safe,” Brandon said.

  “That’s not what she asked,” Zane said. “She asked where it was.”

  Brandon kept his face expressionless. “Let’s just head back to the safehouse. Rowan’s going to glamour our cars to keep our magic hidden.”

  Zane stood up straighter. “I can glamour my own fucking car.”

  Brandon started to protest, but it ended in a shrug. “Fine. Follow us.”

  Zane got back into the car, and he gripped the steering wheel, clearly agitated.

  “Zane,” I said. “It’s okay.”

  “The fuck it is. Maybe Logan’s right. How fucked up is it that we’re not taking you to a hospital?”

  “We can’t risk Donall finding us. Especially this close to my sisters and the book. We’d be leading the Dark Set to their front door. I’m sure Rowan glamoured the book, but I don’t doubt it’s there.”

  And I could see through glamour, just like she could.

  Zane remained silent as he followed Brandon for the next twenty minutes. I could feel it as we got closer—the dark net of the Book of Sindal lay ahead of us, pulling us i
n as if it were a gravitational field. It knew I was coming, and it was excited.

  When Brandon pulled up in front of an older house, Zane parked on the street across from it, letting the car idle. “We can still go to the hospital. In fact, we should. Brandon was non-committal about getting you a healer, and he pretty much admitted that there’s no one in the house who can help you. We can combine our magic again, but it’s not a permanent fix, Celeste. I don’t know how many more temporary fixes we have left.”

  “But the book’s in there,” I said, staring at the house. “I can feel it.”

  “All the more reason to not go inside.”

  He had a point, but I wasn’t sure what else to do. I needed to finish the Dark Set, and to do that, I would need to be strong enough to use the orb tomorrow night. Sure, I hadn’t figured out how to use the orb without physically pressing it to a magical person’s cheek, but I was certain the book would help me with that too. It was a creation of the book, after all.

  Just like the spell Donall and your father used to steal power from murdered witches and mages, a little voice whispered.

  I shook it off and turned to Zane. “Why did you go undercover with the Dark Set?”

  His brow furrowed. “Why are you asking me that now?”

  “What did you hope to accomplish?”

  “I was gathering evidence the Protective Force could use to stop them.” He paused. “I also wanted to make things better for the Druids. Valeria doesn’t have the right to impede their way of life. I worked out a deal with Brandon and a few key members of the Small Council. That was why I was gone when the Protective Force stormed Radcliffe. I was relaying their agreement to strip the rules in exchange for cooperation.”

  Well, that explained his mystery trip. Given what he’d taught me about Druid magic, I didn’t disagree. “Well, it’s maybe too late for that to do us any good. It’s definitely too late for gathering evidence to matter. What are you hoping for now?”

  His answer was immediate. “To stop the Dark Set at any cost.”