“Sit.” Zelda’s voice was stern. Alanna sat. She clawed at the neck of her T-shirt. “I can’t … I can’t breathe.”
Instantly Zelda was at her side, both Rosa and Beth huddled around her, concern on all their faces as they peered down at her. Zelda placed a hand on her pulse and whispered soothing words. Within seconds, her racing heart began to slow.
“Rosa,” Zelda spoke over her shoulder. “Now would be the time for one of your lovely teas. Chamomile perhaps.”
Within seconds, Rosa was pressing a cup of warm liquid into Alanna’s hands. “What’s happened? You’ve not had a panic attack since you were a teenager.”
They all knew she’d begun getting them not long after the accident, but over time they’d diminished until disappearing altogether.
“She has something to tell you about Gregori. The knowledge has brought past memories to the fore,” Zelda explained. “That’s all.”
That’s all? She hoped Zelda would understand the silent question in her eyes.
That’s all, was her answer. For now.
Alanna’s stomach flip-flop backed into place and with shaky hands she sipped on the tea. Whatever Rosa had put in it was working. She was feeling much calmer. Safer.
“Perhaps it would be easier if Gregori showed you all as he showed me.”
“Showed us what? And who’s emotionally frozen?” Rosa returned to Zelda’s earlier statement. Satisfied Alanna’s panic attack was over, the worry in Rosa’s emerald eyes had dissipated. She sat down and lifted a biscuit to her nose and inhaled the aroma. “Mmmm. They don’t make these at Marylebone.” She tugged over the little dish of butter and cut the biscuit open and spread a thick layer onto both pieces.
Beth sat quietly, and sipped at the juice Zelda had poured for her before accepting one half of the biscuit Rosa held out to her.
“You should have brought Gregori with you,” Zelda stated.
“I would have if I’d known you were going to invite everyone over.”
“We’re not everyone,” Beth objected. “We’re your sisters.”
“Sometimes, I wish you weren’t.”
“Sometimes,” Beth declared, “you’re so rude!”
Rosa’s eyes flared but her voice teased. “So this is good. When the barbs start flying, it means everything is back to normal.”
Zelda actually dared to laugh. “Alanna has something to tell you both,” she said. “And I have some explaining to do as well.”
Once again, Alanna’s stomach flip-flopped. Zelda knew her secret. Or at least suspected. The one she’d held close for so long. What she didn’t understand was why it had never been reported to Marylebone or the Supreme Council. Beth would accept everything just as she always did. It was Rosa she worried about. Her marriage to Aden was barely two months old and she was about to discover he had been hiding a secret from her.
“I think Aden should be here too,” Alanna said. “Rosa, can you call him and tell him to bring Goran and Gregori with him. We might as well get this over with. I haven’t the stomach to tell the story over and over.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
It was like a coven meeting. Gregori stood, tall, broad-shouldered, imperious and seemingly indifferent in Zelda’s garden. Alanna knew he was anything but. The one good thing about their link was she could pretty much figure out what his real feelings were. Right now, he was concerned for her and that was why he was here, doing what he didn’t want to do.
He stood with Aden and Goran. “A gaggle of warlocks,” she muttered more to herself than to Rosa and Beth who stood with her.
Beth clutched Alanna’s hand at her side. “And of witches.”
“And one very powerful sorceress,” Rosa added.
Zelda stood dead center between them and waved a hand in a come-here motion to Alanna. “Gregori,” she said. “You too.”
He peered down his arrogant and yet alarmingly attractive nose. “I’m not a circus pony,” he told them. “What I showed Alanna was intended for her only.”
“Please, Gregori,” Alanna said. It appeared she had rediscovered her manners. “For me. The images you gave me said it in a way I never could begin to explain.”
“You were so upset by what I showed you. I would not upset you like that again.”
Warmth stole into Alanna’s cheeks. He cared for her. She cared for him, too, even if she’d only known him a short time. “It will be better than my having to tell everyone when I was mostly unconscious the day it all happened.”
“Unconscious!” Rosa’s eyes flared in alarm. “When were you unconscious?”
Beth was puzzled. “What day?”
Alanna looked to Gregori for help. Aden moved to stand by Rosa. Goran stood by Beth. Everyone had support if required.
It was so incredibly difficult for Alanna to respond to Rosa’s question when she’d always refused to speak of the accident all those years ago. Initially, everyone had tried to elicit information from her over the early days, weeks and months afterwards until eventually giving up when she refused to talk at all on the subject. Alanna had been traumatized and both Rosa and Beth had come to the realization that Alanna was never going to speak of it and perhaps she couldn’t remember anything.
“Of the day Mom and Dad died.” Alanna’s heart raced wildly, out of control. No. No. Not another panic attack. Her fear sped along the link between her and Gregori. Within an instant, he gifted her with a sense of calm, a silent message sent to her. I am with you. Do not be afraid.
It was obvious by the startled looks on her sister’s faces, that she’d taken them by surprise with her subject matter.
“I must warn you,” Gregori told Beth and Rosa while maintaining his link to Alanna. “What your sister is asking me to do will be emotionally painful for both of you.”
Beth shocked Alanna with her next statement. “I’ve been dreaming a lot about Mom and Dad.” Beth’s dreams were prophetic and she often wove them into tapestries. Sometimes, they even wove themselves. “I’ve seen them from time to time in the spirit world, but they’ve been coming to me in my dreams more and more of late.”
Rosa gasped. She spun to Alanna. “Is this what this meeting is about? Is this what Zelda meant by you being emotionally frozen?”
A rush of tears brimmed in Alanna’s eyes. Sheesh. She was turning into a crybaby. She willed the tears away, her throat aching from holding them back. She nodded, not trusting herself to speak. Beth had seen her parents in her dreams. She was intensely jealous and yet, if anyone deserved to see them, it was her little sister. The one who cared for everyone. The one who always put others first.
“It is,” Gregori answered for her and nodded to the men. “Aden and Goran have never seen what I’m about to show you, but they will testify that what you will see is the truth. Still, I must warn you all. I do not have all the answers.”
He stepped forward and held out his hands to Beth and Rosa. “Come. I will, if you permit, go into your minds and share the images Alanna has already seen. Do I have your permission to do so?”
“You can mindwalk? I thought that was just a fable.” Rosa looked to Aden for reassurance. “Will we be safe?”
“Gregori is a master,” Aden said. “The only ascended warlock who can do so. Just follow everything he says and it will be all right.” He turned to Gregori. “Just to be clear. If anything happens to Rosa, today will be your last day on this earth.”
Gregori peered arrogantly down his nose at his former student. “She will be safe.”
“He walked my mind and I’m still here,” Alanna found herself defending Gregori.
“I’ll not venture into any of your private thoughts. I’ll go in and out, leaving you with an exact replay of the events I revealed to Alanna last night. Questions can come later.”
Beth held out her hand immediat
ely. “If Zelda, Goran and Aden agree, I see no reason not to.”
Zelda looked as if she’d swallowed a bug at her reluctant admission, “He’s a true master.”
Goran spoke for the first time. “It’s dangerous. But yes, he can do it. I suggest Aden and I join the link to stabilize the energy during the transfer.”
Gregori agreed with a nod. “That way you can see how I mindwalk as well. Call it a lesson for the less talented.”
Goran wasn’t impressed. “Call it protection for Beth and Rosa.”
“Call it what you will, time is passing and we’re getting nowhere debating the why and how.” He once again held out his hands. “Come.”
Rosa, with one look that promised Aden a barrage of questions later, took Gregori’s free hand. Goran took Beth’s other hand. Aden took Rosa’s. Zelda and Alanna stood back when they looked to them.
“My magic and how it works is different to that of a witch or warlock.” Zelda crossed her arms. “I will remain on guard, to ensure your safety as a unit, should something go wrong.”
“I’ve already seen everything.” Alanna didn’t particularly want a second viewing. “I don’t need to see it again.”
“Come,” said Gregori. “A second time will clarify what you saw that may not have registered the first time due to shock.”
Alanna hesitated. Zelda gave her a small shove towards them. “He’s right. Join them and see what they see. Share the link. It will bring unity to you all.”
Unity. She bit down on her bottom lip, but the encouragement in the link between her and Gregori helped make up her mind. Plus, she was asking her sisters to do something dangerous. She owed it to them to join them. Despite her misgivings and the wild erratic beating of her heart against her breastbone, she stepped forward and completed the circle.
• • •
Gregori had never mindwalked while linked to several others. But they wouldn’t know that. In order to mindwalk, he needed to open his own mind to them. He had to trust they would not intrude where they should not, just as he had given his word not to. Just in case, he would place blocks in his mind so they would not venture off inadvertently to lose their way in the intricate network of his brain. It was far too dangerous and he would not risk their lives or his. The price was too high.
Closing his eyes, he invited the elements, as he’d been taught a thousand years or so ago, to isolate anyone inside the circle and protect them from outside influences while powerful magic was performed. The slight morning breeze intensified as Gregori strengthened the perimeter. Wind rushed through the circle, sending Alanna’s wild locks into a frenzied tangle. Rosa’s long raven hair was tied back in a pony-tail and Beth’s recently cropped blonde hair barely moved.
They were a brave lot. And powerful, too. Despite Beth and Alanna’s magic being bound by Marylebone, he could see their potential and had to admit, together with Rosa, they were a force to be watched and admired.
He returned to his present focus. It would not do to allow his mind to wander. His spells set, the circle strong, he said, “I will walk through your minds, one by one. Remain holding hands until I say you can let go as I will travel along the links you have with each other.” He looked to each one of them for reassurance. He wanted them to understand just how very important it was they remain connected. “If you let go, I will become disoriented. There is always the danger if I lose my way, I could change what is in your mind, what is in your heart and what your future should be.”
“Now you tell us,” Aden muttered.
“Such power,” Goran said. “There is much I could change.”
“To break this rule is to risk the wrath of the Marylebone dragons.” Gregori glared at his former apprentice. “Is that understood?”
“Loud and clear.” Goran winked at Beth. “Don’t worry,” he said, when she frowned. “I’ll keep you safe.”
“No.” Gregori’s voice was harsh. “I will keep you all safe. Close your eyes, everyone. Empty your minds of all outside stimuli. Breathe deep. Maintain your hold on each other. I will venture first through my link with Alanna and from there I will travel clockwise.
• • •
Gregori went once more into Alanna’s mind. This time it was easier, the threads of his earlier walk laying a foundation that was both stronger and more secure. He was pleased. Alanna’s distress from last night was dissipating. The fear and the fortress around her mind remained, but the walls weren’t as high, as insurmountable. He was heartened.
Once more, he showed the exact same images he’d shown Alanna yesterday. Without delay he left her mind, moving swiftly to Aden. His status meant he was an equal and the image transfer was over in a few short seconds. He’d worked with Aden for a few hundred years. As the current Dragon of Marylebone, Aden was everything he was because of what Gregori had taught him.
Next came Rosa. She was new, different. Strong. Walls existed within her, too, but he imagined they had sprung up the instant she learned he was coming in. He was careful as he released the images, so as not to overwhelm her. He saw the link she now had with Aden. An invisible cord of silver, much like his with Alanna only stronger, solid, a true connection. The love they felt for each other was enviable. But he would not linger. Rosa was still new to Marylebone, new to all the rules and bylaws and he didn’t want her accidentally breaking one because of his location.
Into Goran he ventured. No problems there. He was in and out in seconds, but he saw something else and he couldn’t prevent a smile. He wondered if Goran even realized it himself.
Now to Beth. Oh, Warlocks’ Balls. She was so gentle. So remarkably open and therefore more prone to the emotions of others. If she didn’t take care, those emotions could overwhelm and break her as easily as a strong wind caused reeds to bend to their will.
Because no one suspected Beth to hide anything from them, no one had actually looked, noticed that this amazingly beautiful soul was so incredibly sad, that her calmness was but a facade. His concern for her stopped his progress. He remained stationery, wondering whether the images he was about to plant in her brain would be beneficial or whether it would cause more damage than good.
But, he knew he couldn’t change anything. Everyone knew except her. They would talk. She would learn the story anyway. So with reluctance he gently released the images one by one, softly, softly, buffering her shock before leaving and returning to his own body.
He opened his eyes. His job was done.
Rosa’s fine porcelain skin was paler than usual. A silent stream of tears ran unchecked down her cheeks. Beth’s skin, a proverbial English rose, giving her an elfin-like beauty, had turned grayish in tone. She was holding her breath, trying hard not to cry. Trying so hard not to let her emotions get the better of her.
He cast a thoughtful look at his future mate. Yes, there were tears on her cheeks but as he tested their link, he heard her response. I am fine.
“It is over.” Gregori spoke and with a single command, released a spell to break the circle and free everyone to move.
And now, he thought, as he caught Zelda’s eye as she stood on the perimeter, for the fallout.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Gregori stepped back out of the circle, as did Aden and Goran. That left the three sisters, all staring at each other, no one saying anything.
Alanna stepped forward. Her arm rose, her palm out in supplication to Rosa and Beth. “I didn’t know how to tell you.” Her eyes were dry. She’d had time to recover from the shock. But the news was fresh to her sisters and she knew how they must be feeling after being reminded of that time all those years ago when their lives had been changed in the blink of an eye.
Rosa reached out and threw herself into Alanna’s arms. Beth stood mute, stunned. Alanna reached out with an arm and tugged her close and included her in the embrace also, but she sensed a reluctance in Be
th to join them and that her hug was only half-hearted.
Zelda was on the move. She waved Goran and Aden away. “Take Gregori and go do something men do. Give them time to talk.”
Alanna met Gregori’s inquiring gaze. She heard his question; do you want me to go? She nodded. “We’ll be all right. I’ll tell them what you told me last night.” Meaning his ensorcellment and the reasons behind it.
Gregori was reluctant to leave. His concern for her touched her more than she could say. Such a good man. Her sadness grew as she knew she would have to give him up. Free him to bind his magic with another. He deserved better.
She heard his silent words in her head. I deserve you!
Damn it. She was going to have to learn how to keep her thoughts private.
• • •
The men decamped to the bottom of the garden and Zelda led Alanna and her sisters back to the table to the cold biscuits. She’d conjured something stronger than juice to drink, her famous elderberry wine. Potent. Heady. Mind-numbingly-forget-what-you-did-last-night delicious.
“Great for shock,” she said as she poured them each a glass and insisted they drink up.
Zelda loved these girls. So much. They were the daughters she’d never had. Never would have. She was worried about Beth. She was too pale. Too quiet. But then she’d always thought she was far too introspective. Too calm. Too happy.
Whereas Alanna was the complete opposite. She was in-your-face most of the time, annoying, vocal and opinionated. She was a hundred and fifty percent in all that she did. So to see her sitting at the table, her shoulders hunched, an air of defeat about her, moved Zelda to stand next to her and rest a comforting hand on her shoulder.
Rosa, the eldest, had always shouldered the responsibility of all three. She had taken the news reasonably well, or so Zelda thought, until she held out her glass for her third fill. Zelda’s eyebrows rose and she immediately changed the alcoholic content of the wine to minimal with the blink of an eye. They didn’t need to be drunk. Not when most of the day was still ahead of them.
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