Control (Book Seven) (Fated Saga Fantasy Series)

by Humphrey - D'aigle, Rachel

“Freyne’s demands to Colin were if he freed Aloyna Fazendiin, he would release Catrina.”

  “Like I’d trust him to keep his word,” Colby said. He got a questioning look on his face. Meghan knew what he was thinking already. Not by reading his mind but because it was the same look they’d all gotten when trying to figure out why Freyne would want this.

  “We don’t know why,” she told him. “Only that he wants her free. And once he gets proof that she is, he will let Catrina go.”

  “Again, I would not trust him,” was all Colby replied.

  “Colby,” said Meghan with a bit of desperation. “This could benefit us all. Your dad will be ecstatic, with you... and we can free Catrina. We don’t have a lot of time.”

  He started to pace around the campsite. Meghan could tell he was speaking to Elisha through their shared thoughts, most likely getting her opinion. After a minute, he finally stopped and turned back to Meghan.

  “What exactly is your plan?”

  “A spell. Using our blood. It will allow us to relive any moment in the history of our bloodline. I could do it on my own, but our mother...” she was interrupted.

  “You’ve seen our mother?”

  “Yes. I have.”

  “H-How is she?”

  “Um, she’s fine, I guess. Fine as she can be.”

  “Did she ask about me?”

  “Yes. Sort of. We talked about you.”

  “All good stuff, I’m sure,” meowed Elisha.

  Colby ignored her.

  “Colby,” said Meghan, “why don’t you just visit her. You obviously miss her.”

  Colby’s gaze hardened. “Back to the spell.”

  She let out a sigh and shook her head. “As I was saying, I could do it on my own but our mother believes it would be more powerful if we did it together. I plan to take us back to the moment in our bloodline’s history to see just how our grandmother was cursed into the glass.”

  “By the Svoda. You forgot that part,” Colby added in a snide tone.

  “Yes, cursed into the glass by the Svoda. Happy? Anyway, we were thinking if we could see how she was put in there, we could figure out how to free her. Will you help us or not?” Meghan folded her arms, wearing the most stubborn face she could muster.

  Colby made a sound that he was unsure about what he was about to do, but answered, “Yes. I’ll do it.”

  “Good. We’re about to get started. Follow me. And no funny business!” she added, pointing her finger at him.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Just, behave. Everyone is here to help us free our grandmother, so just, be nice.”

  “Be nice,” he repeated under his breath. He kept muttering things she could not hear.

  When she reached the edge of Kanda’s driveway Colin lifted the cloak so they could come in. Once in the house, things did not go as smoothly as Meghan had hoped.

  “I see the entire posse is here,” remarked Colby.

  Meghan shot him a pleading look.

  Colin just stared, not taking his eyes of Colby, sizing him up. Ivan, Sebastien and Jae nodded slightly, but not in a very welcoming manner.

  “Tough crowd,” murmured Colby, his voice uncaring as to what anyone in the room thought of him.

  Suddenly a fury of feet, legs and claws erupted.

  “I think they like the idea of working together even less than we do,” said Sebastien.

  “Nona!” cried out Meghan. “Stop!”

  At the same time, Colby stepped in and ordered Elisha to stand down. The two Catawitch’s stopped their brawl, having done no permanent damage to each other, but continued circling each other, unwilling to completely let the other out of their sight.

  “We have to work together,” reminded Meghan to her Catawitch. “Please, Nona. For me.”

  That was all Meghan had to say. Nona backed off and took her place next to Meghan. Elisha did the same with Colby.

  “If you’re all finished, I’d like to get this under way,” said Colin. He took a seat on one of the pillows sitting on Kanda’s living room floor.

  Meghan and Colby joined him.

  “We don’t have to hold hands, do we?” asked Colby.

  “No,” replied Meghan dryly. “We do have to bind ourselves together so that we stay with each other while we’re traveling through the memories. Otherwise one of us might get lost somewhere.”

  “We didn’t get lost when we traveled through our memories together,” replied Colby.

  “No, but that was much different than what we’re about to do. We traveled through each other’s memories. This time, we’re going a long way back in our history. Something you would not be able to do on your own.”

  “Well, can we get lost permanently?” asked Colby.

  “Chicken?” bawked Colin.

  Meghan groaned.

  Sebastien and Jae hid their faces.

  Even Ivan’s mouth turned up in a hidden smile.

  Colby wrinkled his face, furious.

  “Whatever you’re about to say,” said Meghan to Colby, “Zip it! And that goes for you too, Colin! Now... no, I don’t think anyone can get permanently lost inside a memory,” she said in obvious agitation. “From what I have read, if one gets lost it just takes time to find your way out. However,” she added, raising her voice when she saw Colby about to interrupt her, “I’ve never done this before. All I have to go by is what’s written on this page. Would you like to read it?” she asked Colby.

  “No. I’m good.”

  “Great,” she replied sarcastically.

  “How do we bind ourselves together?” asked Colin.

  “Actually, it’s more like I’ll be binding the two of you to me,” she replied. “I’m the Firemancer, so only I can perform the magic required for the spell to work. You guys will be following me through the memories. But I’ll use Colby’s blood mixed with mine, to strengthen the spell. I’ll need a drop of blood from each of you to do the binding spell, and then I’ll need a few more drops of your blood, Colby.”

  She turned to Sebastien.

  “You know Kanda’s house, could you find me a couple of needles? I think she keeps some on the bathroom shelf. There’s a sewing kit in there.”

  He took off and was back just a minute later.

  Meghan opened her hand and a blue flame burst to life from her palm. “Colin, put a drop of your blood into the flame. Colby, do the same.”

  They each took a turn pricking a fingertip and adding a drop of blood to the flame. When they did, the flame turned from blue to deep red. Meghan held out her other hand and said, “Ivan, could you please?” He pricked her finger and she let the bloody bead fall into the flame. It turned an even deeper red, nearly black.

  The flame surged into the air and then shortened, as if being sucked back into her hand. She gave a shudder.

  “Strange,” she said. “I can actually feel your blood mixing with mine. It’s really cold,” she complained.

  “Your blood runs a little hotter than ours,” reminded Colin.

  “Still... brrr. Anyway, that binds us together. As long as I did it right.”

  Elisha spewed warnings to her master, which he instantly hushed.

  “Elisha, I need you to stay here and watch out for me while I’m away. Don’t pick fights with the puny Catawitch, is it even worth it? It’s not a fair fight.”

  Sebastien picked up Nona to avoid another attack. She nearly scratched him straight up his arm. “Please, Nona. Just let it go.”

  Nona calmed again.

  “This is going to be so much fun,” muttered Ivan.

  “Wishing you’d volunteered to tag along now?” asked Meghan.

  He shook his head. “Still rather be here. Just try and make it quick before these two go at each other again,” he said aiming his words to the two Catawitch’s.

  “What’s next?” asked Colby.

  Meghan did not reply but rather once again held out the palm of her hand and a new flame sparked into life. “Just mine and Colby�
�s blood this time,” she advised, holding her finger over the flame and squeezing out a few more drops. Colby did the same.

  “Everyone be quiet now, I need to concentrate.”

  Meghan’s gaze penetrated the flame. Fiery lines emerged on her skin, glowing brighter, the deeper into the flame she looked. Her thoughts wound around Aloyna Fazendiin. She repeated this like a mantra until the flame showed her the point in her history she wanted to revisit.

  She felt heavier. The flame pulling her into it.

  “Put your hands in the flame,” she ordered Colin and Colby.

  They looked at each other, unsure they wanted to do this.

  “Now!” she demanded.

  When they had, she lifted her own hand, slamming it down atop theirs and with a small boom, the flame went out and the three fell backwards onto their pillows.

  “Meghan,” called out Nona. There was no answer. They were gone, their minds somewhere in the past.

  There was a raucous banging overhead.

  “What is that?” asked Jae.

  The two Catawitch’s stood watch while the three young men went outside to investigate. Ivan opened the front door only to fall backwards to avoid being struck by hail falling hard against the house and ground.

  It was mid-storm. They hadn’t noticed it before, because Colin’s cloak had been protecting them from it.

  “Can we ever get a break?” asked Sebastien with a sigh.

  “This isn’t going to end well, is it?” added Jae.

  Ivan just stared into the hail-filled sky.

  Colin’s cloak had dissolved the moment he had entered the spell. He was no longer protected from anyone tracing the Projector’s magic, and just as bad, they were no longer protected from whatever came looking for the Projectors.

  “What if this was Freyne’s plan all along?” Sebastien blurted out. “What if he knew this is what they would do and they’d be vulnerable?”

  “And by asking Colby to tag along, we’ve just handed them two Projectors,” reminded Jae.

  They turned to Ivan, who for the first time in his life, wished they could all just ask someone else. Perhaps he should have Nona and Elisha use their fire magic to take them somewhere else. Somewhere where they might be more secure? But where was that?

  Without saying a word, he darted out into the hail, palm facing upward, shouting out any protection spell he could think of, attempting to form a tight barrier around the house.

  Sebastien and Jae followed his lead.

  “If we’re attacked, it won’t hold for long,” warned Ivan.

  Nona and Elisha came bounding out to them, quickly realizing what had happened. Their immediate fear was for their masters.

  The hail was subsiding, partly because the storm was passing, and partly because their protection spells were casting it off, away from the house.

  “Sebastien,” called out Ivan. “Let us do the spells, we need you in the air!”

  “Right,” agreed Sebastien. Before their eyes, he transformed, his bird form flying up into the air, keeping watch for anything approaching.

  Elisha, the older Catawitch by a couple years, asked Nona, “Have you learned how to see into the future with your white eye?”

  “I’ve tried it a few times, on my own. I saw just a tiny moment of the future once. Not enough to make any difference.”

  “Use it now. We’ll need to keep constant rounds. I’ve learned to see a few seconds into the future, but today, a moment may just save all our lives.”

  ##

  Meghan, Colin and Colby stood in the middle of a busy street. A horse drawn cart rolled by, bouncing against cobblestone. They had landed in a memory, one that appeared to be set in a medieval looking outdoor market.

  People walked up and down the street; the women wore long dresses, the bottoms dirty from trailing against the ground. Many walked with baskets in hand, filled with produce, bread or meat.

  The men adorned themselves in tunics, tall boots and swords hilted at their sides.

  The buildings were crammed together and built from stone and wood. It was near nighttime in the memory. Lanterns dangled next to buildings, lighting the street below.

  “We have come back a long, long time,” said Meghan, in awe.

  “And no one can see us, right?” confirmed Colby.

  “No. It’s a memory,” reminded Colin. He cast a reassuring glance at Meghan.

  “No. No one can see us. We’re just walking through a memory. And if everything worked correctly, Aloyna should be right near us, somewhere.”

  They searched for Aloyna.

  “Does everyone feel okay?” asked Meghan. “My fingers are tingly.”

  “I’m fine. Feels sort of like walking through a dream,” said Colin.

  “I see her,” said Colby. Meghan didn’t know if he had even heard her question. He followed a woman wearing a shapely dress. “She’s heading for that... whoa!” he stopped, recognizing where he was.

  “Is that...” Meghan stopped, dumbfounded.

  “What?” prodded Colin.

  “It’s my father’s estate,” said Colby.

  It was just at the outskirts of the village. The main street led to a towering gate, which was currently open leading into the estate.

  “C’mon, we don’t want to lose her,” said Meghan, following Aloyna.

  She was striking in person, her skin smooth and slightly tanned. Her eyes kind, but sharp. And when she moved her body just right, you could catch a peek at the sword she wore at her waist, hidden by the long sleeves of her dress.

  “This is really weird,” said Colby as they followed her.

  Aloyna approached the gate, which was open, but guarded. The guards moved aside and let her through without question.

  The three memory trippers slipped through the gate right after her.

  Aloyna walked toward the main house, using the same pathways still used today.

  “It is sort of eerie,” said Meghan. “It looks much the same.”

  Colby glanced behind, expecting to see the lake far below the sloping hillside.

  “Odd,” he mumbled. There was no sloping hillside or a lake to be seen. The location did not look right at all.

  They watched Aloyna approach the front door of the home. Before she could open it, someone greeted her.

  “Jasper Thorndike!” the three memory travelers said at once.

  “What is she doing?” asked Colby. “Is she...” he stepped back, unable to comprehend what he was seeing.

  Aloyna Fazendiin was kissing Jasper Thorndike.

  Colin looked just as awed at what he was seeing, but wished desperately that he could actually speak with Jasper again. Of course, this was a much younger Jasper. He probably didn’t know the answers to the questions Colin needed answers to.

  “So Jasper really was that old,” whispered Meghan. “It’s so hard to believe that someone could live that long.”

  “Our father is this old too,” reminded Colby. “Where is he? He should be here! This is his property.”

  “Obviously back then, it wasn’t,” returned Meghan.

  “There has to be another explanation,” muttered Colby. “My grandmother would never be in a relationship with the likes of...”

  “The man you killed,” prompted Colin.

  Colby did not reply.

  They followed Aloyna and Jasper into the estate.

  “My dear Jasper,” Aloyna spoke. “I missed you.”

  “And I you. I feared you might never return from this mission.”

  She backed away and tossed him a knowing smile.

  “I found out where it is.”

  Jasper let out a satisfied sigh. “Let us join the others. The battle will commence as soon as possible. We have no time to waste.”

  When she did not immediately follow, he stopped.

  “Something else?”

  “I found out what he plans to do with it.”

  Jasper’s eyes widened in response.

  “My s
on is going to make his clan immortal.”

  “Immortal... oh...” Jasper was at a loss for words.

  Colin’s eyes lit up. “I know when we are!” he nearly shouted. “This is when the Grosvenor were created. Aloyna is talking about her son, your father!”

  “No!” disagreed Colby. “This isn’t right. This isn’t how it happened. My grandmother was part of the plan to give her clan immortality. She wasn’t working with the ones trying to stop it! I’ve been told this story and this is not how it happens!”

  “We haven’t seen everything yet,” said Meghan, in an attempt to calm him. “She’s probably just pretending to be in love or something, to get inside the enemy camp. C’mon, they’re leaving, let’s follow.”

  They followed them into the room that Colby’s father now used as their private discussion room. There was a round table filled with men and women, deep in conversation. Upon seeing Aloyna they went silent. She and Jasper explained all she had learned.

  All went silent again after they had finished. Fazendiin was going to use the power of the Stone to make his clan immortal; this was far worse than they had expected.

  “Time is of the essence,” a woman stated.

  “I agree,” replied Aloyna. “We must act now if we are to stop this from happening. It’s terrible enough this Stone was created, but to use it to create immortality... I will not allow this to happen.”

  “No one person should hold so much power,” added Jasper.

  “Especially one such as Jurekai Fazendiin,” someone said. “No offense intended, Aloyna.”

  “I started this war against my son,” she reminded. “The day he killed his father for nothing more than a disagreement over the future of the Vetala clan, I knew he would never stop. He is hungry now. No amount of power will ever quench this hunger. The time to strike is now!”

  There were murmurs flitting around the room while everyone discussed their choices.

  “And what your son succeeds in this endeavor? What if the Vetala do gain immortality?” a woman posed. “What is our recourse then?”

  “Then we use the stone to suck it right back out of them,” Jasper said. “I can do it. My powers are strong enough to control the stone and turn it against them.”

  “Can you destroy the stone?” someone asked him.

  Jasper let out a frustrated sigh. “That, I think, is even beyond my power. I do not know if we will ever find a way to destroy it. We’ll have to hide it once this is all over. Where no one can ever find it again.”