FAUSTINE (Bonfire Chronicles Book One)

by Rose, Imogen

  “Thanks for your offer, Alexandra. I really appreciate it. But with all due respect, my little friend stays, for now, anyway. She knows my needs better than anyone else. We’ve been friends for years. Besides, Taylor knows her as well. We’re all friends at school, and Neave may be able to support Taylor during the tracking, or at least before. I bet she’s terrified.”

  “She is,” Alexandra confirmed. “She keeps backing down and then changing her mind again. She’s resting in my bedroom at the moment.” She paused, looking Neave over.

  I was so hoping that Neave had her shield up, surrounded by nothing but human trivial thoughts to fool Alexandra.

  Alexandra finally nodded. “You’re right. Neave could be an asset. I’ll agree to take her along as part of my group. I’ll go wake up Taylor.”

  “Alexandra, hold up. Just one more thing before we go. Two actually, but let’s start with this,” I said, handing over the slip with Katerina’s information. “I was wondering if I could check up on her using your database?”

  She peered at the scrap of paper. “That address is just a few blocks from here,” she remarked. “I haven’t had a free moment to search for her yet, so this is very useful. It’s not urgent, though, is it? Let’s look into this when we get back.”

  “Well, I’d at least like to reassure myself that she’s safe, considering....”

  “Call her,” Alexandra suggested. “Her phone number is right here, on this slip,” she pointed out.

  Duh. Of course. I punched Katerina’s numbers into my cell and waited for someone to pick up. But what would I say to her? I was still considering and playing through various options in my head–all of them lame–when my thoughts were broken by a deep but female voice.

  “Hello?”

  What should I say?

  “Hello? Who’s this?

  “Hello. Is this Katerina Miller?”

  “Yes. Who are you?”

  I immediately hung up. Um, I am your half sister, uh, half demon. What are you? Half demon, too, or did my dad have an affair with yet another kind of paranormal? No. Definitely not a conversation one should have over the phone.

  Alexandra and Neave were eyeing me with smiles playing on the corners of their lips.

  “Well, what was I supposed to say? The main thing is that we know that she’s okay–for now, anyway. Alexandra, could I ask you for a favor? Could you send Matt over to Katerina’s to keep an eye on her, without her knowledge, of course.”

  “Of course,” Alexandra confirmed. “I’ll make the call now.”

  There was one more thing I needed to talk to Alexandra about before we went to Edith’s. Kismet. Why was she so special anyway? No one seemed to give two hoots about saving my father or Luke, but they were going all out to rescue Kismet. Luke had been beside himself when she had disappeared. Why was she so important?

  “Alexandra,” I said, when she’d made her call. “How much do you know about Kismet? Why are you so eager to help find her, but not Luke or Dad?”

  “Didn’t Sebastian tell you anything at all about Kismet?” she asked.

  “No. I didn’t even know of her existence before she disappeared.”

  “Does the London faction know that she is missing?”

  “No. I haven’t even told Dorian.”

  “Good.”

  “Why?”

  “For one thing, it could turn into an international crisis. I really don’t need that right now. We need to find her before anyone else finds out that she’s missing.”

  “Why?” I persisted. “I don’t understand what makes her more special than say, Peter?”

  “Faustine, Kismet is Suman’s daughter.”

  Okay. I totally hadn’t expected that. Wow, Dad really played the field. Shame on him. “I’m not going to pretend that I’m not surprised. I am. Suman didn’t say anything when I met her. But then, we were never alone, so I guess the circumstances weren’t ideal.”

  “The circumstances will never be ideal for Suman to talk about it. Their mating was not consensual.”

  My jaw literally hit the floor. Dad had raped Suman? That was... I didn’t have the words to even imagine such a thing. Why?

  “I’m sorry, Faustine. I tried to say it as delicately as I could.”

  I nodded. I never thought of my dad as some kind of saint. He was a demon, after all. But to rape someone? That was just... hideous. I could feel my eyes welling up–very undemonly–but I felt more human than anything else in that moment. If Dad walked through the door right now, I swear I’d cut my ties with him forever. I was glad that Neave stood beside me as my knees buckled. I leaned on her for support.

  “Have a seat, Faustine. I’m going to get you a snack,” Alexandra said, and disappeared into the kitchen.

  “Sheesh, Neave. What am I supposed to do now? I should let him rot, wherever he is. How could he?” I could see that Neave was just as shocked as I was and at a complete loss for words, so I just laid my head on her shoulder and wept.

  Once I was all cried out, I looked up to find Alexandra observing me silently. She pointed to the rare steak in front of me.

  “Eat,” she ordered. “Neave, what can I get you? I have bacon, mac and cheese, ice cream....”

  “I’m fine. I ate before I came and have a bottle of water right here,” Neave reassured her, taking a gulp from the bottle.

  I dove into the steak and, instead of devouring it in a few gulps like usual, I chewed every bite thoroughly, enjoying every last drop of juice. I started to feel whole again.

  “About Kismet,” Alexandra hesitated. “Did you want to know the rest?”

  I nodded. She couldn’t possibly share anything more horrifying that she already had. Or could she?

  “Suman was near death after the... attack. She remained in a coma until after Kismet was born. The demon council claimed Kismet, and she was taken to be cared for by one of your father’s staff. Once Suman regained her strength, she went on a mission to reclaim custody of Kismet, which she did after a long and bloody battle that almost brought the demon and angel domains to an end.

  “Once Kismet went to live with Suman, she immediately noticed that Kismet was different. Now, we are used to all kinds of different, hybrid paranormals. They are fairly common. Kismet isn’t just a hybrid paranormal, though. She is some sort of transformation. Her genes are unique. She is not demon or angel or anything in between. She is a year older than you, and we are still trying to determine what she is. She has unique powers and amazing stamina for someone so petite. Most of all, she has an innate goodness that seems to bind her to those around her. It flows out of her, enveloping all those around her, and one is instantly drawn to her. This is why,” sighed Alexandra, “everyone who has ever been in her presence will do whatever it takes to keep her safe. It’s like she is goodness.”

  “What’s she doing in New York? It’s just a matter of time before Suman’s going to wonder where her daughter is, if she isn’t already.”

  Alexandra nodded. “The two of them are very close; so yes, I’m sure Suman is going crazy with worry. Especially now, knowing about Peter’s death. I’m sure the London faction has been notified about Suman’s concerns. I’m expecting a call sometime soon, but I hope to have Kismet back before then.”

  “So Dorian probably knows, but he hasn’t called me....”

  “Probably because you put him in charge of London, and he’s trying to find out what’s going on.”

  “Yeah, Kismet’s in New York, though. So she’s kinda my responsibility,” I said.

  “No. Not even after you are sworn in. This is New York business now.”

  “What was she doing here in New York, anyway?”

  “Having her sabbatical exchange years. She does two years of high school here, then goes back to London. Because she is so special, her educational curriculum was developed by a joint global council of paranormals. She is getting a broader human/ paranormal education than most.”

  “All right. We’d better track her the
n,” I said, standing up.

  Alexandra got Taylor out of bed, and we drove over to Edith’s with Taylor still half in snoozeland. Alexandra’s phone rang just before we entered the building in the west village.

  “That was Suman,” Alexandra said, coming back to where we were waiting for her. “She’s worried sick because Kismet hasn’t called. She received permission to engage the New York faction to find out why, and since I live closest to Kismet and our daughters are in school together, she called me.”

  “Oh,” I said, slightly disappointed that Suman had gone over my head and not informed me first. I guess permission from Dorian was adequate.

  “I reassured her that I would talk to Taylor and also go by the apartment. I have to call her back in a few hours. She is planning to fly over,” Alexandra stated.

  “Okay, we better get this show on the road then,” I said. “Let’s go up to Edith’s apartment.”

  A lair is an apt description of where we ended up. The building itself was typically west village, but Edith’s apartment was a caricature of what you would expect a witch sovereign’s apartment to look like. And it didn't help that Edith was a bit of a caricature herself. She obviously took her role as sovereign witch very literally, and looking the part was evidently important to her. Her long gypsy skirt swirled as she walked us into the living room.

  The walls were painted a deep, burnt orange color, darker than a typical Halloween-orange. The floors were covered with a large assortment of colorful cushions and beanbag chairs. There was not a traditional sofa in sight. The walls were lined with dark wooden shelves, which were covered in odd knick-knacks. There was even a large glass–or maybe crystal–ball on a side table. To complete the effect, there were a bunch of black cats roaming around the apartment.

  Edith was much taller than I had expected–and quite beautiful. For whatever reason, I had expected her to look like Pauline, but Edith looked more like a movie star from the 1940s or ‘50s–like Lauren Bacall–very glamorous in an old-fashioned way.

  “Fernando, out! And take the others with you!” Edith ordered, clapping her hands at a sleepy-looking black cat.

  Although I had been warned, I practically collapsed when she spoke. That voice! That strange accent! I clenched my jaw firmly to stifle my giggles.

  “Snicker away, Faustine. I’m used to it,” Edith laughed.

  So I guffawed, mainly nervous giggles, until I got it out of my system, with Neave and Alexandra looking at me in wide-eyed horror. Taylor was chuckling right along with me. She was obviously as tense as I was, and we both needed the relief. Once we were silent again, Edith smiled, but soon after, the smile turned into a frown.

  “Who are you?” she asked Neave, like she hadn’t noticed her until now. “I didn’t notice you come in, you must have been walking behind Alexandra. I was only expecting the three of you.”

  “I’m sorry, Edith. I should have called ahead to let you know. This is Neave, a school friend of Taylor’s and Faustine’s. She is here to support Taylor.”

  If Edith sensed anything about Neave, she certainly didn’t show it. She smiled at her. “Well, welcome to my home, Neave.”

  “Thanks for having me,” Neave returned.

  “Taylor,” Edith said, redirecting her attention. “Has your mom explained what’s about to happen?”

  “Not really. She said you’d go through it. All she told me is that you’re going to track Kismet through me, since I’m the only one who seems to know her. How exactly will you do that, and what will I feel and see? And what am I expected to do?” Taylor whispered. “Will it hurt?”

  Neave took her hand.

  “Taylor, I know that you agreed to track Kismet. You need to understand, however, how important Kismet is to us. It’s not just a matter of tracking her, we need to retrieve her. It will mean going into the vision and bringing Kismet back from it.”

  Taylor looked horrified. “How will I do that?”

  “That will depend on the vision. It could be very dangerous. You’ll need to prepare yourself mentally by remembering that what you see is only an illusion; your body is not really there until the moment you make physical contact with Kismet. Then your body will be in a state of flux–both here and wherever Kismet is, yet not fully in either place. That will be your chance to pull her back to safety with you.”

  “Could I be physically hurt if my body isn’t really there?” Taylor inquired nervously.

  Edith nodded. “Unfortunately, yes. Although, the injuries won’t come from whatever you are visualizing, your brain will signal the scars to form where you think you are being harmed. And during the time your body is in flux, both you and Kismet can be harmed physically, even killed.”

  “Look, I’m not really into this...” Taylor murmured. “I think you should find someone else. What about Kismet’s family? Can’t you get one of them?”

  “We are trying to keep this from her family. Since it happened here in New York, it’s up to me and the New York faction to fix this,” Alexandra said firmly. “I don’t want to get involved in an international incident so early into my reign. I’m already on shaky ground.”

  “What about Faustine? Why can’t she do it? They are half sisters! You told me that,” Taylor said, her eyes blazing.

  “That would be ideal, but they’ve never met. Faustine doesn’t even know what Kismet looks like or feels like, so how would she track her?” Alexandra shrugged.

  “Wait a minute,” I said. “Can’t I go with Taylor? She could lead me to Kismet, and I could take it from there. That would work, right?”

  Edith and Alexandra looked at each other fixedly. Their shields must have been at least partially down. I could feel their intense energy, even though my own shield remained in place. I was so tempted to listen in, but I knew if I let my guard down, I might pass on information to them that I needed to keep safe–like the fact that Neave was a witch. Plus, I had an ulterior motive that I couldn’t share. We weren’t going in to rescue just Kismet. We had to bring back Luke as well.

  After listening to Edith, I was fairly sure that Pauline’s spell had broken when Luke’s body was in a state of flux; otherwise, he wouldn’t have just disappeared. If I was right, then he must have made contact with Kismet and was perhaps trying to rescue her. When the spell was unexpectedly broken, he became trapped with her. So, Luke should be with Kismet. We had to bring them both back.

  “Faustine, what you propose is an interesting idea,” Edith said, thoughtfully. “I have never done this before, and I’m not sure how it would work. The concept is interesting, though. Sending you both in would certainly increase our chances at success. And with Taylor feeling so unsure, this may be the only option.”

  “Then let’s do it, and stop wasting time,” I suggested impatiently.

  “I’ll need to call in more energy sources–witches. Even I don’t have the kind of energy needed to execute a plan like this on my own. Stay here, and I’ll go make the necessary arrangements.”

  She returned a few minutes later with a cigar dangling from the side of her mouth. She was obviously stressed.

  “I’ve called in the cavalry, they’ll be here shortly. In the meantime, let’s go through the plan.”

  Alexandra nodded. “Edith, thank you.”

  “No need to thank me. I want Kismet brought back just as much as you do. I can’t for the life of me understand who would have taken her. Who would be impervious enough to her undeniable goodness to actually harm her?”

  “Maybe they didn’t take her to harm her?” Neave suggested. “Maybe they need her for something else?”

  Edith shook her head. “The very act of taking her against her will is harming her.”

  Neave shrugged. “Yeah, but we don’t know that for sure, do we? That she was taken against her will. All we know is that she may have disappeared from the restroom at school. The only indication we have of an abduction is that piece from her necklace that Luke found. For goodness sake, she could have dropped it anytim
e! How do we know that she was taken against her will, or that she was taken at all?”

  “I agree,” I conceded. “We don’t know that she was taken against her will. There were no signs of struggle in the restroom. However, I think we can be fairly certain that she is missing. No one, including her mother, has heard from her. I did get that text from Kismet’s phone to meet her in the restroom, but that could have been a hoax.”