by Sara Hubbard
“She sounds...magnificent,” I say softly. An impossible act to follow. If I didn’t feel inadequate before, I sure do now.
“Sebastian said she’s reborn when she dies.”
“So the stories go. There were twelve elder vampires before Penelope was born the first time—that we know of. Some say she had lived many lives before. But when she died in the seventeen hundreds, there were only six. She’d single-handedly killed half of them. After the sixth, they got nervous, joined forces, and made an army that descended on her until she drew her last breath.”
Wow. Half? I blow air through pursed lips and lean back in my chair. This woman had to be strong and formidable for vampires to band together against her. And it took an army to defeat her? I can’t even imagine. It also makes me worry what will happen to me if other vampires think I’m the same woman because, clearly, I’m not. They could strike me dead with a single blow. “Sebastian says he knows of no other rebirths. Someone would have noticed…surely?”
She merely shrugs.
“Hundreds of years later, I’m the only one? It makes the legend a little less believable.”
“Some say she’s stayed in the shadows, killing vampires who kill when they feed. They say she stays away from elders for fear of them killing her for good the next time. This way, at least, she can police the children.”
I chew my lip at that because here I sit, aiming to kill an elder.
“Many vampires have died over the years. Who killed them? There are few choices. A human?” She shakes her head. “They aren’t strong or fast enough. Another vampire? Possibly, although they don’t tend to turn on their own kind. A witch? No, witches mind their business because no one has ever cast a successful rebirth spell except for Penelope, and they don’t have death wishes.”
I’m still not sure how much of this I believe. I want to, but it seems so farfetched. “Do you really think I could be her?”
“Anything is possible. With a score like yours… No other witch has come close, not even me. I’m only a seventeen. Your average witch rates somewhere between four and eight.”
Four and eight? Justine just threw a vampire out the door with a single word like he was caught in a wind tunnel, and she’s only a seventeen? I’m almost scared to find out what I can do. But I’m also incredibly curious. An average girl from an orphanage, I’ve always wanted to be special.
“You’re hidden right now. You’re safe. Once you do this, it can’t be undone, especially with someone like you. There aren’t any witches strong enough to do it.”
“Who did it in the first place?”
She leans back in her chair and frowns. “If it was done when you were a child, your magic would have been developing, and you would have been weaker. Your magic grows as you do. A strong witch could have done that, but the question is who? That person obviously wanted to protect you, or they simply would have killed you when you were at your weakest.”
“Is there any way to find out who?”
She shakes her head. “No, but I suspect when we drop the cloak, that person will come to you.”
I file that thought away for later but hope to God it’s true. I want answers. All of them. “Will you do it?”
She considers this. “It’s your choice. I will always help a good witch in need. Always.”
“Thank you.”
She pats my hands lightly before rising and going into her kitchen. She turns on her stove and snatches a cast-iron pot from below the counter. I approach her and watch with rapt attention as she tosses herbs and powders into the pot.
“A de-cloaking potion will do it. The magic is strong, but…” She grins. “It’s not strong enough to withstand this spell.”
“But you said a really strong witch cast it?”
“Yes. To hide you. But that’s it. Once you were discovered, any witch skilled in potions could remove it. They weren’t counting on anyone seeing through it.”
She stirs the contents of the pot, then leaves the ladle on the stovetop while she drags a knife out of the wooden block by the sink. “I will need a few drops of your blood.”
Sebastian didn’t want her to have my blood, and he seemed very decided about it. I have no idea why, and though I consider this for a brief moment when she asks for it, it doesn’t stop me from giving it to her. This isn’t his choice, and if it’s the only way to unblock me, I’m in. Wholeheartedly. Bleed me away, Justine. She holds out her hand, and I give her mine. With the pointed edge of the knife, she pricks my finger, and I flinch.
With my hand in hers, she holds mine over the pot and lets one, two, three drops drip into the liquid. After handing me a towel to hold to my finger, she slowly stirs the pot. I watch, mesmerized, as waves of color swim through the liquid, and translucent bubbles pop up around the surface.
In a low voice, she chants foreign words, and there is a puff of golden smoke.
“I’m going to fucking kill you, Justine!” Sebastian screams from outside.
“I’m going to need my magic if I want to survive leaving this house,” I say quietly.
Frowning, she lays a hand on my shoulder. “Can I give you a piece of advice regarding Sebastian?”
I shrug and nod.
“With your magic back, you’ll be his natural enemy. The good inside of him will only go so far if he’s pushed against a wall.”
“I have no illusions about him. If you remember, he kidnapped me.”
“But you came here with him of your own free will.”
I chuckle at that. “If by free will, you mean he and his brother held my sister and me hostage, and they threatened her life unless I helped them, then yeah, I totally came here of my own free will.”
She takes a dropper and squeezes it in the liquid. When it travels up the clear plastic end, it’s the color of lilacs. “Two drops,” she says. “That’s all it takes.”
She lifts the dropper up to my mouth, and I open wide and stick out my tongue. One drop. A tingling sensation travels through my body like an electric current. My fingers and toes zing with energy that makes them vibrate. Two drops. My eyes grow heavy, and the world goes dark. “Justine! Justine, I can’t see anything!” For a moment, I think I’ve been tricked and she’s trying to hurt me. If only I could have seen her true colors the way she sees mine!
“Just relax. It’ll take a few moments. Your body is adjusting to twenty-two years’ worth of repressed magic.”
The world tips on end. I stumble, and two hands on my arms steady me. Fireworks spark in my head, and a deafening noise makes me cover my ears as I whimper in pain. “Something’s not right! This feels wrong.”
“I never said it would be easy.” Her voice is like a whisper in an arena. Voices, the sound of a clock ticking, a dog barking nearby, children outside screaming as they play tag, their footsteps beating on the grass as they run…
“It’s too much.” A little warning would have been nice. Blurry shapes and colors materialize, and I squint to make out objects, but it hurts to open my eyes. I blink over and over, trying to rid them of this burning sting. I stumble again, and she helps me to the floor. The noises fade, and my hearing returns to normal as the floorboards creak as she kneels beside me. I grip the leg of the chair nearby to stop the world from spinning.
I can’t breathe. I heave and gasp, but there isn’t enough air. My skin is on fire, my bones broken into jagged pieces. I cry out in pain. “Please. It hurts.” She wraps her arm around my neck and soothes me with hushed words and a caressing hand on my shoulder.
“Not much longer,” she whispers.
I crumble to the ground as I lose control of my muscles. I lie on the cold linoleum floor, my face to the side. I can’t move, can’t speak. The pain is gone, but the only movement I can manage is blinking my eyes, and thankfully, breathing, which I have to focus on or my lungs stop working all together. Justine leans down beside me, her face a few feet from mine. Her mouth moves, but I hear nothing, just a low ringing noise. I retch. Bile climbs my throa
t, and I’m afraid I’ll choke on it. It slides back down. I can move my finger. I wiggle it, but it tires me, and my eyes grow heavy. Now I move my fingers, clawing at the floor to get a grip on the tipping world that sways more than a boat on the ocean.
“Breathe,” she says quietly.
I heave in and out. I find the strength to wiggle my toes and my feet. I gasp as I get a full breath of air and jump to a sitting position when I regain control of my entire body. The ache in my bones and muscles retreats, and the world stops moving as I blink rapidly. I’m normal again…but not. I hold up my hands and see the golden light around my periphery. It’s so bright it’s blinding.
“You’ll get used to it,” Justine says, as if guessing what I’m seeing.
I snap my head in her direction to regard her like it’s the first time. Her light is like mine, as golden as a ray of sunlight breaking through clouds. Only there are specks of lavender floating in her light, like tiny dust motes.
My body vibrates like a good shiver in every muscle, over and over again. “My body is trembling.” My teeth chatter, and my words are garbled.
“It’s the magic,” she says softly. “It’ll dull over time. Or maybe you become desensitized to it. I promise you, other people won’t notice. Only you.”
“I feel…tired?”
“Again, you’re getting a whole lot of magic in a short period of time. You’ll sleep like a log tonight.”
“So how do I use it? Follow recipes and make potions? L-Learn to chant?”
She laughs out loud and falls from her crouching position onto her behind. She sits beside me with her hand on my knee. Her face looks ten years younger when she laughs and lets her guard down. And her aura changes, too, deepening to a honey brown. It’s beautiful. She’s beautiful. I see why Sebastian was with her now. I feel her energy: tender, loving, protective, loyal. If I didn’t trust her fully before, I would trust her with my life now. I wonder if what Sebastian said about the witches was true at all, or if he just didn’t want me getting too close to them. I have no doubt this woman would help me if I needed her. And she’s proven that by pissing off the vampire still screaming profanities at her from outside the house.
“Every witch is different. For most, they draw on the elements to make potions and do spells. For others, and I suspect that includes you, you have other gifts. Like me, you’re a seer, no?”
I nod. “I see you. You’re beautiful.”
Her smile brightens her light even more. I have to shade my eyes to keep looking at her.
“You’ll find those gifts in time. When you need your magic, it’ll be there, waiting for you.” She rubs my hand, and though she isn’t much more than a stranger, it’s as welcome as if it came from my own sister. “Be very careful who sees your magic. Supernaturals will label you a threat, and they don’t mess around. You’ll have more enemies than you can shake a stick at.”
“Thank you, Justine. You have no idea how much I appreciate you helping me.”
“I’ll always be here if you need my help.”
I smile warmly at her. “Do you think you could help me with him?” I glance at the door as a rock the size of my head barrels through it and slams into the wall on the opposite side of the house.
Justine narrows her eyes. “He’ll pay for that.”
I have no doubt. This woman might be my new hero.
11
I’m standing behind Justine when she swings the front door open. With a hand against the top of the doorframe, Sebastian leans forward to glare at us from under hooded eyebrows. His eyes blaze so hot they’re almost glowing, and his razor-sharp incisors extend below his lips. Knowing he’s a vampire is scary enough, but seeing his lethal expression makes him all the more fearsome, even with my new powers—not that I know what they are or how to control them.
From what Justine said, I thought only witches had auras, but clearly, that isn’t the case. Sebastian gently glows, his edges muddied with red light. I can feel his energy. So angry, hostile— it makes me cringe. I’ve never felt anything close to what he feels, not ever, not even when I lost my parents to a drunk driver.
“Let. Me. In,” he says quietly, his tone dark and eerily calm.
Justine folds her arms over her chest. “I don’t think so. Not while you’re like this.”
“Just in case I need to use it…what was the word you used to kick him out?” I whisper.
“Exitus,” she says. “But it will only work in your own home.”
I have a feeling that word might come in handy in the future.
His nostrils flare, and he scowls first at Justine and then at me. He curls his lips while his fangs slowly retract. After closing his eyes, he takes a deep, thoughtful breath, and when his lids flash open again, his eyes return to the same mesmerizing blue that almost rendered me speechless the first time I met him.
“And now?” he asks sweetly. “Will you let me in?”
“Still no.” She shakes her head. “And I want twenty-five hundred dollars to fix my door and my wall.”
He scoffs at her. “It’s an old door that should’ve been replaced anyway. A thousand and not a penny more.”
“You aren’t considering the time I have to spend to find a contractor, wait for him to come and fix it, and the time I have to spend here watching over someone to make sure they fix it right.”
Are they seriously debating money and fixing doors right now? A minute ago, I would have sworn he was going to kill us when he walked through the door.
“Highway robbery.” He thrums his fingers on the doorframe before glancing around Justine and scrutinizing the damaged wall and door. “Fifteen hundred. Not a penny more.”
“Done.” She holds out her hand, but he’s still on the other side of the frame. Hesitantly, he reaches his hand out to shake hers, but his hand sizzles when it passes the frame. He yanks it back, and his flesh bubbles before smoothing to its former consistency.
“Not nice,” he says, but it’s more amused than annoyed.
She merely grins. “I’ve fixed your witch.”
“Thank you.”
“I want you to swear you won’t hurt her or me if I invite you in.”
He rolls his eyes. His voice is pure butter when he says, “I would never harm her…”
“Bullshit.”
“All right. You have my word. Not nice what you did there, sweetheart. I brought her here because I trusted you, and then you betrayed me. I won’t forget that.”
“Oh, please. I did what you asked. But I won’t let you hurt an innocent. I had to make sure this is what she wanted. I wouldn’t wish her life on anyone.” She glances back at me. “I hope she doesn’t regret it.” With my hands in hers, she adds, “I can’t let him in quite yet. He needs to stew for a little while before he gets over this. You’re welcome to leave, but if you want to stay…that’s okay too.”
I meet Sebastian’s eyes. They’re still blue, but red clouds over them in waves, back and forth between the two colors. How I wish I could stay here and learn more, but that’s not in the cards. Not today. And a deal’s a deal. I can’t risk him or Alexander hurting my sister.
“You have no idea how much I wish I could stay. I have so much to learn.”
“It’ll come with time.”
“Thank you again for everything.” I pull her into a hug and hold her tightly. At first, she’s unsure how to respond, and her arms stay at her sides, but then they travel up my side and lock around my back.
“I’m here if you need help.”
“Thank you. Someday soon, I might need your help with something important.” I already know what that something will be. She may not know my history or my parents, but I’ll bet she can point me in a few worthwhile directions.
“I’ll be waiting.”
Justine takes a step out of the way, and I heave a deep breath as I take the few steps toward Sebastian. He doesn’t move as I dip down and walk under the bridge of his arm, still resting on the frame. If he’s going to pun
ish me, it will likely be now, or maybe not. Maybe he’ll wait until Justine can’t see us anymore in case she tries to intervene. He’s stronger than her—I can tell. Otherwise, she wouldn’t be still in her house refusing to let him in. Or maybe she doesn’t want to hurt him. I suppose that’s also a possibility.
I’m in the car fastening my seatbelt when he finally turns away from Justine. She says something, but I can’t hear it with the window up. He stalks to the car, his aura settling now. When he gets inside, he takes a deep breath, and the murky depths of his aura settle until I see him for who he really is. It surprises me. Silver and gold with flecks of red. Good, bad? A combination of both? His energy has changed. He’s no longer angry, or at least, not like he was. Now he feels completely different, though I can’t truly decide how.
He turns his head in my direction as he starts the car. It rumbles quietly, and the heat vents gently blow cool air in my face.
I say something I never expect to say, or even consider. “Are you okay?”
He regards me curiously, lines on his forehead creasing his otherwise smooth face. “You must be hungry. I forget humans need to eat.”
“That’s what you want to talk about?”
He nods solemnly and pulls away from the small cluster of houses. To my surprise, we say nothing else to one another until we’re about to stop at a roadside diner about thirty miles away from Justine’s. We’re still a long way away from the mansion, and though I insisted I could wait, he pulled over anyway. A waitress with nail extensions and pink hair, gray at the roots, leads us to a table, but Sebastian quickly refuses it.
“A booth,” he says. But the first three booths she offers aren’t good enough either. Eventually, he agrees to one near the bathrooms. She hands us menus on a single sheet of paper, and I order a Coke. Sebastian asks for water.
