Concealed

by Christina Bauer

  “No.” The word left my lips before I could stop myself. Foolish move. Seeing my anguish only made the Vicomte more vicious.

  “Yes.” The Vicomte gave the wheel a vigorous twist. The planes of the table drew farther apart than ever. Veronique howled in agony. Snapping noises sounded as something terrible happened to her joints and tendons.

  The watch face flickered with the barest level of brightness.

  “There, now.” The Vicomte glared at me, as if daring me to say no again. “We got a little bit more.” He leaned in and scanned the watch face. “We’re so close now.”

  I couldn’t take this much longer. “Put me on the machine. You don’t need to torture her.”

  “You’re right. I’ll give Veronique here a breather. You can see her die later.” He nodded toward Ada. “And we’ll bring the child in for a turn.”

  “Ada?” My voice came out a hoarse whisper. No, he couldn’t do that. Watching Veronique get tortured to death was one thing. But not Ada. Not a child. He wouldn’t.

  My heart sank. He would.

  All of a sudden, a column of blue smoke appeared by the doorway. When the haze lifted, another Fantome stood in the room. Fresh totem rings gleamed on his fingers. He must have just used one to transport here. “Your Eminence.”

  The Vicomte gripped the bars of the crank so tightly the wood creaked under his grasp. “How dare you bother me?”

  “It’s Genesis Rex. He’s moving forward with his announcement. Says he doesn’t wish to prolong the ceremony.”

  Excitement fluttered inside my rib cage. They hadn’t announced the engagement at the ball yet. Genesis Rex was here with his guards. Rowan would be with him as well. The thought helped to center me. I pictured the firm lines of Rowan’s face. He always said I was a far stronger mage than I knew. I couldn’t be sure if that was true. However, I did know one thing for certain.

  I wasn’t the kind of girl who gave up.

  “What an arrogant bastard,” said the Vicomte. “Hannah. Jonas. You stay here. The rest of you I want in the ballroom, now. Find some way to stall Rex, but don’t upset the guests or the party. I won’t have this treaty ruined with your simpleminded attempts at diplomacy.”

  “Yes, Your Eminence.” More totem rings flashed on the hands of the Fantomes. Fresh columns of blue smoke appeared and vanished.

  I was left alone with two Fantomes, the Vicomte, and my plan.

  Things were looking better by the second.

  The Vicomte sighed. “It appears we’ve run out of time thanks to that ingrate Genesis Rex.” He patted Veronique’s matted hair. “You’re too weak to be really useful, as usual.”

  “No. Kill me.” Veronique’s face was the definition of despair.

  “You don’t get to decide such things.” The Vicomte snapped his fingers. “Hannah. Jonas. Keep the bitch still. I’ll clear the table. I’d like to charge up my totem ring before Genesis Rex causes me a diplomatic headache.”

  Veronique whimpered in pain. The Vicomte stalked up to her head, grabbed the watch face, and tore it from her neck. He set the device into his left pocket.

  Without thinking, I took a half step toward the Vicomte. Hannah and Jonas yanked me back.

  With practiced movements, the Vicomte undid the ties that bound Veronique to the table and pushed her onto the floor. She landed on the stone with a low moan. My heart ached to comfort her.

  The Vicomte rounded on me. “Your turn.”

  Jonas held me tightly in place while Hannah unlocked the manacle on my left hand. My casting hand. They really had no idea how powerful I was, did they?

  Time for them to find out.

  Acting quickly, I released some of the magick I’d stored up. A wall of blue energy hurtled behind me. Hannah and Jonas went flying backward. I leapt forward and tackled the Vicomte. His head hit the stone floor with a thwack.

  Gods-damn. That felt good.

  Using my manacled hand, I punched the Vicomte smack in the temple. He yelped and it was a beautiful sound. The Vicomte clawed and shoved at me while I fumbled between the vortex and witness watches. For a scrawny old man, there was a lot of fight in him.

  One of the watches tumbled away and flew across the floor. But was it the vortex watch or the witness watch?

  Hannah and Jonas grabbed me from behind, pulling me off the Vicomte. I didn’t use up all my magick on them, so it came as no surprise that they’d recovered quickly. Hannah snapped another set of enchanted manacles on my left hand. Now, I had a pair of irons dangling from each wrist. Still, I could only think about the watch in my pocket. In all the fighting, I’d lost track of things.

  I still had a watch in my possession. But which one was it?

  Hannah and Jonas shoved me onto the table and strapped me down roughly. My red dress flowed over the sides of the tabletop, like blood from a sacrificial altar.

  The Vicomte brushed off his yellow longcoat, his eyes bright with rage. “I’ve had enough of all these tricks.” He jammed the watch face onto my throat. The prongs dug into my skin and pain exploded along my neck. A trickle of red oozed down my chest. The Vicomte stalked over to the crank and gave it two full revolutions. My arms and legs felt ripped from their sockets. I screamed in pain.

  But no power left my soul.

  I exhaled. The Vicomte had the witness watch after all.

  “What a damned waste of time!” The Vicomte glared at Hannah and Jonas. “You said she had power.”

  “You saw it,” said Hannah.

  “She cast a spell that threw us backward,” added Jonas.

  “I know power when I see it.” The Vicomte’s eyes blazed. “You think you’re fooling me with your dreams and games?”

  Hannah and Jonas froze. Their faces paled. The truth was obvious. The Tsar had been contacting them in their dreams, as well.

  “Don’t bother to deny it,” said the Vicomte. “You’ve been in contact with the Tsar. Speaking with him in your sleep, right? You’re plotting to overthrow me once I have the vortex watch fully loaded with power. And you’re scheming with this little bitch on some elaborate trick to make me look the fool. Well, whatever you’re up to, it won’t work.”

  Hannah fell to her knees. “We’re loyal to you, Your Eminence.”

  “You must believe us,” added Jonas.

  I saw my chance and I took it. “There’s no point in pretending anymore.” I pitched my voice to a tone of utter despair. In reality, my heart was filling with hope. The Vicomte was so paranoid that everyone was betraying him. I could use that to my advantage. “You heard the Vicomte. He’s smart. He knows how we’ve all been working together.”

  Hannah leapt to her feet. “Liar!”

  I focused on the Vicomte and gave him my most innocent face. “Release me and I’ll tell you everything.”

  “Someone being reasonable,” snarled the Vicomte. “At last.”

  Jonas staggered backward. “What are you doing? You can’t believe her.”

  The Vicomte stalked over to Hannah. “I knew this was all nothing but a trick. Some girl from the backside of nowhere is a Grand Mistress Necromancer? Please.” He paused before her. “Give me the keys to her manacles.”

  Hannah gaped. “But you can’t believe—”

  “Hand them over!”

  Trembling, Hannah pulled a small silver key from her pocket and gave it to the Vicomte. “She’s a powerful necromancer. Mark my words.”

  “Marked.” The Vicomte marched back over to me and unlocked the manacles from both my wrists. “I did as you asked. Now do as you promised. Give me everything you’ve got.”

  Happy to.

  I pulled the watch from my pocket, released the prongs, and jammed it into my wrist. Instantly, I felt the totem ring call to my magick. I focused my power straight at the device.

  Take it.

  The watch face instantly lit up. The hands hit midnight. The vortex watch became fully charged. I allowed myself a small smile.

  The Vicomte stared at me in disbelief. “You
stole the vortex watch and gave me a decoy.”

  “What can I say? It seems that I am rather tricky.”

  The Vicomte wheeled toward Hannah and Jonas. They were already racing for me at full-speed. The bones in their left arms glowed blue as they prepared to cast major spells.

  I knew I needed a counter-spell. The power of the totem ring seemed one step ahead of me, though. I didn’t even need to pull in magick for the casting to begin. The moment I thought of the incantation that I wanted, the vortex watch illuminated more brightly than ever before. Brilliant blue light flooded the chamber. Power thrummed inside my soul.

  I had barely thought of the spell and then it came into being.

  Raw energy poured out of my hands. Tendrils of blue smoke wound around Hannah and Jonas. I tried to retake control of the casting by speaking an incantation to transform the mist into bone rope, but the push of power was too strong. Energy careened through me, making me wince. The lines of blue haze solidified right where they were.

  I couldn’t believe the result. My twisting lines of mist had instantly hardened into razor-sharp bone. I’d pumped in too much energy, too soon, so the rope froze in place wherever the mist was headed. Hannah and Jonas got skewered in a hundred spots at once. They were dead.

  I blinked hard, not sure if what I saw was real. The spell was supposed to hold them, not kill them. Normally, I only used the precise amount of energy a spell required. This time, I lost control. In fact, the residual effects of the spell were still overwhelming. Every inch of me felt numb. And I’d killed two of my own kind.

  Looking down at my wrist, I prepared to tear the device from my flesh.

  But the vortex watch was already gone.

  Oh, no.

  The Vicomte stood nearby, the vortex watch gripped in his right hand and an evil smile on his face. “Thank you, Elea. I’ve been meaning to murder them for ages.”

  Gods-damn it. I had become so overwhelmed with power, I didn’t notice the Vicomte stealing the vortex watch. This was terrible. With that realization, my mind shut down. I could only stare in shock as the very thing I’d fought so hard against now came to pass.

  The Vicomte jammed the vortex watch into his left wrist.

  “Finally.” The round dial glowed blue once more. The Vicomte gasped. “I feel the energy.” His rolled his eyes into his head. “It’s Power. Magick. Beauty.”

  My mind began to function once more. I had to move. Unfortunately, my feet were still tied to the rack. Leaning forward, I began undoing the leather knots around my ankles. It took ages for my left foot to become free. Then my right. I leapt to the floor.

  The Vicomte rounded on me. “You’re staying right here. I’ve wanted to test out Necromancer magick for ages. I know all your spells.”

  I nodded slowly. “Right.”

  Because it’s so easy being a Necromancer.

  The Vicomte raised his left arm and summoned in power to him. Instantly, blue light poured through his body. All his bones lit up at once. The Vicomte groaned in pain as he struggled to control the flow. “Blasted magick.”

  I fought back the urge to roll my eyes. Please. I spent years honing my craft, learning how to focus the flow of magick from a torrent of power into a pinprick of energy. How arrogant of the Vicomte to think he could master the craft without any practice.

  And how typical.

  I searched inside me for residual energy. I still had some magick left behind. It wasn’t enough for a major spell, yet with what I had planned for the Vicomte? A serious incantation wasn’t necessary.

  All I wanted to do was give the Vicomte his ultimate wish. Keep that Necromancer power inside him.

  Lifting my left arm, I sent out another puff of blue smoke. The haze sped across the room and wreathed around the Vicomte. The cloud around him was so light you might not even know it was there. But this was a holder spell. Although it appeared almost transparent, it could contain any kind of magick within itself. And holding that much uncontrolled power into the Vicomte? That would hurt like hell.

  The Vicomte collapsed onto his knees, curling his arms over his stomach. His skin began to bubble with blue light. “Fire and… Bone…”

  I moved to stand beside him. The Vicomte had started a fireball incantation. There were about a hundred things wrong with his casting, and he’d only said three words. With the holder spell on him, he wasn’t going to live long, and that suited me fine.

  I sighed. Still, I had my rules. Always give the villain a way out.

  “That’s my holder spell giving you pain,” I said. “Promise you’ll go into a dungeon cell quietly, I’ll consider releasing you from it.”

  He spoke through gritted teeth. “Power… Of…”

  “I’ll assume that means no.”

  Some day, a villain might actually take me up on my offer.

  The Vicomte’s mouth twisted into a snarl. “Bitch.” The light in his bones grew brighter. His skin turned blue and began to peel away. The Vicomte screeched in pain and fell over onto his side. He didn’t stop his incantation, though. “Stone… Fulfill my… Need…”

  With that much power inside him and no way to control it, he wouldn’t last long. “Do your best, Necromancer. I’m waiting.”

  His next words came out as a hoarse whisper. “Kill… With… Speed.” The Vicomte slumped onto the floor, dead. I released my holder spell, leaned over, and checked the Vicomte’s pulse for good measure. The villain was gone, all right.

  Good.

  I pulled out the vortex watch from his arm and set it safely into my pocket. I couldn’t wait to get this thing into Petra’s hands.

  Whimpers sounded from the corner of the room. I raced over to Ada and Veronique. They were huddled against the far wall. Veronique looked half dead, but Ada’s eyes were bright. “You killed him,” she said between sniffles. “Didn’t you?”

  “Oh, yes.” I set my palm against her thin cheek. “Are you well?”

  “Very well, now that you’re here. I knew you’d come.”

  That made one of us.

  “Are there any more of you?”

  “Dozens. Only they’re in lots worse shape than Veronique and me. Will you take us home?” She lowered her voice. “I saw your spell go after Hannah and Jonas. You can do anything.”

  “That last casting didn’t exactly go as planned. I need practice with the vortex watch or I could kill you as easily as save you.”

  “So how will we get out of here?”

  I thought of Rowan and the other Casters. “I’ll need some help for that. Can you wait here for a few minutes?”

  “What if the Fantomes come back?”

  “If they do, then I’ll take care of them.” I wanted to cast a dozen ward spells to protect this place. However, I wasn’t strong enough to do it on my own, and I couldn’t risk using the vortex watch again. “I won’t be long.”

  “I believe you, Elea. I’ll be here when you come back.”

  My heart lightened. Dozens of Necromancers were imprisoned in these dungeons. I can still save some of my people. I gripped the vortex watch in my pocket. It was tempting to use the power inside in order to cast a transport spell, but that was precise magick. I could easily end up dead if I lost control.

  No, if I needed to find Rowan, I’d have to do it the nonmagick way.

  I turned toward the door and took off at a run.

  A massive boom sounded. The floor rocked beneath my feet. “What’s that?” I asked.

  “It’s coming from below us,” said Ada. “There’s some kind of secret chamber down there. The Fantomes talk about it all the time.”

  Veronique fluttered her eyes half open. “No one knows… What’s in there.”

  A pang of worry shot up my torso. I knew what lay beneath us. A secret room in the deepest cave of the dungeons?

  It was the gateway.

  By the Sire. The vortex watch gets charged and the gateway starts to shake. That can’t be a coincidence. The Tsar must have built some kind of back d
oor to the totem ring inside the watch. Now that his totem ring was fully charged, the Tsar must be able to access its power somehow. Just like the bone crawlers in the cave with Rowan—he could be using that power to escape. I pulled out the vortex watch. It still showed the time as midnight. None of the power appeared to have gone anywhere. Perhaps it was just a coincidence, after all.

  Or maybe the Tsar is coming.

  “I’ll be back as soon as I’m able.” I took off for the door at a run.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  I paused at the end of another dungeon passageway. This time, the hall branched off into three different directions. Gods-damn it. Which way do I choose? Tension tightened up my neck and shoulders. How long had I been searching for the way back to the gardens? Too long.

  Closing my eyes, I tried to pull in magick to me. Perhaps I could cast another seeing sphere. Power loomed in the air, but I was too worn-out from my fight with the Vicomte. I touched the vortex watch in my pocket. Should I use this?

  I shook my head. Too risky.

  A low rumble shook the floor. My heart lurched in my chest.

  That could be the Tsar.

  I had to get help for Ada, Veronique, and the other Necromancers. The way out of these dungeons must be close. Trouble was, all these stone corridors looked identical.

  Everywhere I went, I found drifting cobwebs, burned-down torches, heavy shadows, and little vermin that scritch-scratched away. So far, my plan had been simple: choose any path that seemed to slope upward and have some kind of light.

  Please let it work this time.

  Kneeling down, I rested my palm against the dusty rock floor of each passageway. Of the three directions before me, the first seemed to slope up slightly.

  That’s the one.

  I rushed forward into the semidarkness. With every step, my dress felt heavier. Sweat trickled down my spine.