Smoke and Ritual (Beautiful Dark Beasts Book 1)

by Melissa Sercia

  “You? You couldn’t even awaken your own magic. You might have been able to pull one over on Luna and Basil, but Fox told me she refused you at Seraphine. Without the fire, my dear, you will never be the Aether.”

  My mind raced. She thought I had failed. She had no idea about our trip to Malta. To the Luminaries.

  I breathed deep through my nose, praying I didn’t give anything away. “Then you have nothing to lose by hearing me out.”

  Echo raised her hand and the gravedigger loosened her grip. “What did you have in mind?”

  The Keeper coughed up blood. “Arya…no. Just let me…die.”

  Echo snapped her fingers again and the gravedigger yanked his head back. “One more word and I’ll have her cut out your tongue.”

  “Wait. I’ll find a way to make the potion and bring it to you. Please, stop hurting him.” My magic stirred inside me as a subtle breeze rustled in my ears, but the gravedigger’s power was keeping me from letting it out. The Keeper sighed and slumped back against the wall, his eyes brimming with tears.

  Echo dragged her nails across the wall while she paced back and forth. “If you don’t succeed, I will kill him. If you double cross me, I will kill him. Is that clear?”

  “If I don’t succeed, we are all doomed anyway,” I spat.

  “We were doomed from the moment your mother turned her back on her people. But when I become the Aether, that will all change. Our ancestors will be free to walk amongst the living once again, free from any punishment from the gods. And the humans will bow to me.”

  The lights flickered out, leaving me in total darkness again. I crouched down and felt around on the floor, gagging as I stuck my hand in a pool of blood. The door creaked open and a stream of light poured in, giving me enough sight to get my bearings. Without hesitating, I flew to my feet and bolted down the hallway.

  “Seven.” He was hunched over, gasping for air. “Can you walk?”

  He stumbled forward, shaky but still upright. I threw his arm over my shoulders and dragged him toward the stairs.

  Chaos spotted us halfway down and rushed to meet us, taking Seven in his arms and carrying him the rest of the way. “What the hell happened up there?”

  “We need to get out of here.”

  Chaos cursed under his breath as Sapphire and Diego barreled around the corner, their faces pale and sweaty. The five of us sprinted through the front door, back into the New York City night.

  Sapphire’s face was still pale, her eyes wide. She looked like she had seen a ghost. I nudged her, pulling her to the side and away from the group as we walked back toward the ship. “What aren’t you telling me?”

  “We found something in the basement,” she whispered.

  Diego waltzed up, his arms folded to his chest. “You’re not going to like this, Arya.”

  Sapphire swallowed hard, her lips quivering. “We think we know where she took the missing Crescent coven leaders…” She gripped my shoulders tight, her fingers trembling. “Echo has a portal to Purgatory.”

  The swaying of the ship did nothing to quell my queasiness. I didn’t usually get seasick, but all I wanted to do was hurl myself over the side. My nerves were shot. After filling in the others about Echo’s demands, the gravedigger, and how it wasn’t my first encounter with one, I was exhausted. Seven wrapped a blanket around my shoulders and shoved a glass of whiskey in my hand. I downed it like it was water.

  Chaos crossed his arms. “Why didn’t you mention the gravedigger before?”

  “I didn’t want to worry you. I don’t even know what they are really.” I pulled the blanket in tight, hoping it would chase away the chill that crept up my back every time I even heard the word gravedigger.

  Seven pinched his brows together as he refilled our glasses. “Gravediggers are demons, controlled by dark magic. They obey without question and are loyal only to their creators. The Elemental covens banned the use of them in the seventeenth century.”

  Chaos held up his glass, swirling the caramel colored liquid around before taking a drink. “Well, apparently they are making a comeback. If Basil has one too, there’s no telling how many of them could be out there.”

  Sapphire waved the whiskey away, opting for her own drink instead. She unsnapped a copper flask from her belt, undoubtedly filled with vodka. “I’m afraid to ask, but how is one of them created?”

  “With an ancient spell known as sepulcrum. It invokes the spirit of a shadow demon and reanimates itself into a corpse,” Seven replied.

  A flashback to an old book in the Library of Covens came to me. “Didn’t Cerberus use them during the Blood War?”

  Seven took a long swig of whiskey, straight from the bottle. “Yes, but they were different. Those things were only possessing dhampirs and witches. Gravediggers…well, they used to be human.”

  I jumped to my feet. “They are killing humans? But…but that’s forbidden.”

  Seven’s eyes were beginning to glaze over as he licked traces of whiskey from his lips. “I know. That’s why it was officially banned. The covens made an agreement that humans were not to be harmed under any circumstances. The gods demanded it.”

  Diego slammed his glass down on our makeshift table, a wooden crate turned upside down. “She is also using humans to create Rougarou soldiers. We have to stop this, Arya.”

  My chest contracted, like the wind had been knocked out of me. “If I don’t give her the potion, she’s going to kill the Keeper. What are we going to do?”

  “Not give it to her. You’re going to drink that potion and then take her out of the equation.” Chaos’s gaze burned into mine and my heart raced.

  “Yeah, well, there’s only one problem with that. I’ve never been able to brew a potion that does what it’s supposed to do.” Sapphire and I exchanged a worried look.

  “There’s a first time for everything,” Chaos quipped.

  Let’s hope so. As the ship lurched forward, toward the Hall of Secrets, I prayed to the gods he was right. Without that potion, I was no match for Echo and her dark army. None of us were.

  I huddled next to Chaos, his warmth comforting me more than the blanket. “How were they able to defeat the shadow demons in the Blood War?”

  His eyes trailed off into the distance. “Gray. She sucked the demon out with her magic. But it made her very sick. She almost died. Seven saved her and then my brother, Dion, saved him. Those were complicated times…”

  I was confused. “How does one suck a demon out of someone?”

  Chaos let out a deep breath. “Narcissus magic. But that won’t work on these things. They are something different.”

  “Chaos is right. The gravediggers aren’t just inhabiting a body, they are wielding magic independently. My shield is strong, but I couldn’t keep that one at Echo’s compound from paralyzing me. And she wasn’t even in the same room.

  I looked out at the sea and murmured, “There has to be a way.”

  Twenty

  The Hall of Secrets was built with Elemental magic. Forged by air, water, earth, and fire. It contained all four sources of power, deliberately scattered within the compound so that it would not fall into the wrong hands. The Keeper was the only one who knew the exact location of each element, but he wasn’t here. He would rather die than let Echo have that kind of power. So it was up to us to find it. And that was the easy part. How was I supposed to create the Aether potion when less than three weeks ago I couldn’t even brew a simple healing potion at Sanctum?

  The ship docked into the Keeper’s port with haste. The unease and restlessness bounced off each one of us like a game of tag. It was contagious. We had spent the whole trip exhausting ourselves with strategies and half-crazed ideas on how to find the elements once we arrived.

  What if we used a tracking spell?

  No, that won’t work unless you have a piece of it.

  Maybe there’s a book in the library that would tell us…

  We don’t have time. There are thousands of books in there.r />
  The Keeper’s study—maybe he left us a clue.

  No, he wouldn’t be that careless to leave that information lying around.

  And on and on we went with no solution in sight. Like four needles in an enormous magical haystack, the odds of finding at least one Elemental source would be next to impossible. Finding four would take a miracle.

  The Keeper buried these secrets for a reason and he was willing to die for them. Maybe he was right to. Maybe this power was too great for anyone to wield. I could just leave with Chaos and never look back. We could go somewhere where no one would ever find us. He could create entire realms, for Apollo’s sake. Maybe he could create one for us…

  And then the rest of the world would be in turmoil. My ancestors would still be trapped, the Crescent coven leaders would still be missing, the gods would hunt us for eternity…and it would all be my fault. No, I couldn’t let that happen. The Keeper must have had a backup plan. I just needed to figure it out.

  “Arya, you’re drifting again. What were you thinking about?” Sapphire’s voice shattered my reverie.

  The fire in the study hearth was warm and soothing. After being at sea for so long, it was nice to be back on land. But the flames gave nothing away. I was connected to it, but detached at the same time. “There has to be a trail of breadcrumbs here. We just have to look in the right places.”

  Chaos plopped down on the green velvet couch next to me. “That’s easier said than done. The Keeper almost outdoes me on the trickery scale.”

  “I’ve spent a lot of time here, but there are rooms that are hidden. Like Arya said, we just have to find them,” Seven said.

  Diego let out a low whistle. “This place is bigger than the Vatican. We might be here a while. Where do we even begin?”

  Seven pointed to the floor. “The catacombs. If I were trying to hide something, I would put it where no one would want to ever be caught dead at.”

  “Are there actual prisoners still down there?”

  Seven shrugged. “It’s been ten years since I’ve been. The Keeper is a peaceful man, but that’s no guarantee that those cells are empty.”

  “Well, let’s go clear it out then.” Chaos puffed out his chest.

  Sapphire gripped her sword, a ferocious look in her eyes. “Lead the way.”

  While Sapphire and Seven were down in the catacombs with Diego, Chaos and I decided to further explore the Keeper’s study. There was a briskness in the air. The room felt empty and hollow. Who knows how long it had been devoid of inhabitants? With a quick snap of my fingers, flames had instantly arisen in the hearth, but its warmth didn’t travel far. At least it took away the chill that had crept into my bones.

  “Are you still angry with me?” Chaos leaned against a dusty bookcase.

  “I wish you would have told me about Purgatory.” There were still so many secrets between us.

  “You’re right. I should have told you. But I promise, you can trust me.”

  I bit my lip. “I want to trust you, but that’s hard to do when you keep hiding things from me.”

  He tilted his head back, folding his arms to his chest. “It’s in my nature…but I don’t do it maliciously. I have to keep—”

  “The balance. I know, I know. You keep saying that. I guess I just thought your feelings for me would outweigh that.” I shuffled my feet and looked down at the floor.

  Chaos walked toward me. “It has. The things I’ve done in my past have nothing to do with you. I have existed for thousands of years. There’s not enough time to tell you everything.”

  He wasn’t getting it. I rubbed my temples. “But this secret does have to do with me. You should have mentioned it at some point. My entire family is trapped in a world that you created. This is information that you would normally share with the woman you supposedly love.”

  He cupped my face in his hands, tracing his thumbs along my cheeks. “Arya, I have never felt this way before about anyone. This is new territory for me. I’m sorry you’re hurt, but that wasn’t my intention. Don’t ever doubt my love for you. It is the one truth I know for sure.”

  As he gazed down at me, my skin tingled under his touch. I lifted my chin ever so slightly and in an instant his lips pressed down onto mine. I drew in a sharp breath as they parted, his soft tongue entering my mouth, warm and sweet. Wrapping my arms around his waist, I leaned further into him, up against his perfectly chiseled chest. A soft moan escaped me as he licked the tip of my ear all the way down to the base of my throat.

  “We should be looking for the elements…” I murmured breathlessly.

  “We should,” he whispered back. But his kisses didn’t stop. I didn’t want them to.

  I threaded my hands through his dark hair, twirling each smooth strand around my fingers as he hoisted me up and onto the Keeper’s desk. Like wild animals, we clawed at each other’s clothes, ripping and tugging them off.

  With my bare legs wrapped firm around his waist, I arched back and cried out, yanking him toward me in desperate urgency. “Please. Now. I want you inside.”

  Chaos moaned as he thrusted, sending waves of pleasure through me like rolling thunder. Hips swaying back and forth, our limbs locked together like tangled vines—unsure of where one began and the other one ended. His heart beat fierce and loud like a drum in his chest.

  I wanted to explode. The sweet tingling, the heat between us, the salty sweat dripping down—our bodies sliding and rubbing against each other—it was almost too much to take. I felt as if I would burst.

  Gasping, I cried out as the final frenzy of tingling erupted, flooding my thighs and pushing me over the threshold of pure titillating pleasure. Chaos buried his face into my neck and let out a deep guttural moan. We sighed against each other, our chests heaving.

  My breath was heavy. “Well, that was…unexpected.” I couldn’t keep from smiling.

  Chaos handed me my clothes, his face flushed. “That’s part of the fun.” He winked and placed a gentle kiss on the top of my hand.

  Butterflies swam in my belly. With only a glance or the slightest touch, he could make my heart flutter, my cheeks redden, make me lose all composure. He made me feel things I never thought possible.

  We dressed in silence, relishing in the glow of our impulsive romp, sneaking glances at each other, like two shy teenagers. For a moment, I almost forgot about the impending doom we were trying to avoid.

  We spread out around the room, hunting for anything that could tell us where to find the elements for the potion. The study was filled with books on ancient bloodlines, spells, scrolls, and maps of Shadowlines. I wasn’t sure what we were looking for, but I figured the study was a good place to start.

  The ingredients were most likely in the Elemental garden, but without the Keeper, there was no way of knowing what they were. “Who are we kidding? We’re never going to find the recipe like this.”

  “The Keeper always has a contingency plan. We just have to find it. Air, earth, fire, and water…” He pinched his eyebrows together as he stared off into the distance, deep in contemplation.

  Air, earth fire, and water. The chant had a familiar ring to it. It struck me as soon as the words rolled off his tongue. But I couldn’t put my finger on it. “Okay, let’s start with the easiest, water. What sources of water are here on the property?”

  “Well, there are a few streams in the Elemental Garden. Another one wraps around the cave out back…and there’s a pool of water in the ceremony room, but I think that one would be too obvious.”

  Or would it? “Maybe that’s exactly why he hid it there. In plain sight.”

  Chaos’s eyes lit up, pleased with my discovery. We made a rush for the exit, nearly toppling over each other, and darted toward the ceremony room.

  Halfway there, footsteps barreled toward us. Seven, Sapphire, and Diego rounded the corner, breathless but unscathed.

  “Did you find anything down there?” I searched their faces for any signs of distress, the hairs on the back of my neck pr
ickling in anticipation.

  Sapphire shook her head, disappointed. “It’s all clear. There hasn’t been a prisoner down there in years.”

  “All we found was a bunch of dust and cobwebs.” Diego turned up his nose as he swatted at his clothes in disgust.

  “We did find the Keeper’s stash of plum wine, however.” Seven lifted up a round bottle, the label peeling away from the glass.

  “Great. At least we will all be drunk when the world ends,” Chaos mumbled.

  I pushed past him and stopped in front of the ceremony room door. “We think the water in here might be Elemental.”

  “How will we know for sure?” Sapphire gripped her sword as she peered nervously at the closed door.

  “You will have to taste it. If it is Elemental, your magic will respond. It will be subtle, but you will feel it,” Seven replied.

  I took a deep breath and pushed open the door. Letting out a gasp, I drank in the sight of this magnificent room. The ground was submerged in water. The only accessible platforms we could access were bound together by bridge-like walkways. Fireflies buzzed in every direction around a great oak tree that rose up from the center of the room and shot straight through the ceiling. The wind in my ears began to rustle, growing stronger with each step I took.

  “I don’t have to taste it. This is it. I can feel it.” My heart raced. Magic stirred in my veins, covering my flesh with goosebumps. I could feel the power pulsing inside this room. It was calling to me, inviting me in. The ghosts of my ancestors were all around me.

  I closed my eyes and drew in a deep breath. The air tasted sweet and syrupy. The fireflies buzzed around me as they moved into some sort of formation. I let out a gasp. They hovered over the water and then dropped, falling in…lifeless.

  Seven started forward. “I—I’ve never seen anything like that. They just…drowned themselves.” His eyes fixated on the water.

  Chaos stepped beside me. “The ingredients are in this room. All of them. The water, the oak tree, the fireflies. The Keeper was able to perform his ceremonies here because of Elemental magic.”