by Blythe Baker
“Really, I should have done this a week ago,” I said as we started along the dirt road that ran alongside the lake.
Maybe things were still too raw then, Athena said. Maybe giving him some space was best.
I pursed my lips together and remained silent.
Part of me had been hoping, almost wishing, that he’d show up at my house one evening, those big green eyes of his full of sorrow, but not anger. I’d hoped that he would have walked into the antique shop, wanting to find me and talk with me about what happened. I’d even fantasized about him calling me and asking me out on some elaborate date like we’d always talked about, where he’d tell me how he really felt about me, and how he couldn’t stand being angry with me.
None of that had happened, of course, which was a source of disappointment for me. Maybe he never actually cared that much about me. Maybe those were just honeyed words. Maybe all vampires were somewhat attracted to humans. Or maybe, and this was the most likely…maybe he was just so devastated by the loss of his sister, and knowing it was my fault, he just couldn’t get past it.
I kept trying to put myself in his shoes, but I couldn’t imagine losing a sibling like that. I never had one to begin with, but he’d gone to such great lengths to protect her, and then I just ruined everything in one night…
“Maybe I shouldn’t do this,” I said, easing my foot off the gas and pulling off to the side of the road. My stomach was twisted into knots, and I felt like I might get sick right then and there. “He hates me. Nothing I say is going to change that.”
How will you know unless you try? Athena said.
“What if I get there, and he lets his servants eat me?” I asked, the thought suddenly striking hard and fast. “Or what if he locks me up in his sister’s tower for the rest of my life?”
Why would he do either of those things? Athena asked, her black eyes narrowing. That wouldn’t even make any sense. He wants to keep his clan’s existence a secret. Killing you would only draw more attention to them.
I took a deep breath, trying to calm my frantic nerves. “You’re right,” I said. “You’re right.”
We don’t have to go through with it, though, Athena said. Like I said earlier, you don’t have to feel bad about changing your mind.
“I know,” I said. I took another deep breath. “But I’m determined to do this, so I need to. Let’s go.”
I slowly pulled the car back onto the road, and continued onward.
The headlights from the few oncoming cars I saw were so bright they made the throbbing in my head grow worse, but I tried not to think about it too much. The anxiety was getting worse the closer we got to the Blackburn castle, and when it appeared out of the deep forest, my heart skipped a few beats.
“I can do this…” I said, taking a deep breath. “I can do this.”
I pulled up to the speaker at the gate, and leaned out of the window, smiling at the tiny camera lens beside it.
“Marianne Huffler,” said the voice on the other end of the speaker.
“Alfred?” I asked. “Is that you?” I tried to smile a little wider. “How are you?”
“I’m fine, thank you for asking, Miss Huffler,” he said. There was a tightness in his words, though. He didn’t sound as welcoming as he had the last time I was here.
I shouldn’t have expected anything less.
“My apologies, but I have been asked to send you away if you ever were to show up here again,” Alfred said. “I am very sorry.”
I stared at the camera lens. He was…serious.
He’s forbidden your coming here? Athena asked beside me. That’s…not what I expected.
“Alfred, if Cain is there, I really would like to speak with him,” I said, dropping any false cheery pretenses. “I know that he’s angry with me, and I completely understand the reason why. But if I could just have a moment to talk to him, to try and explain…”
“I understand your feelings, Miss Huffler, but Cain was quite clear,” Alfred said. “If you were to show up here, as he assumed you would, we were to turn you away.”
I sank back against the car seat and stared blankly ahead at the gate, now barred to me forever.
“If it makes you feel any better, most of us here do not blame you for what happened to Lady Rebecca…” Alfred said. “And I believe that even Lord Cain doesn’t blame you for it deep down. Not really. But he is truly grieving the loss of his only remaining family, and I’m afraid that is going to take some time to heal.”
“I figured as much…” I said. “I shouldn’t have come that night. I wanted to see her, to ask her some questions…I guess I let my own pride get in the way, and all of this happened because of it.”
“Lady Rebecca suffered a great deal in her life,” Alfred said, his voice more gravelly than usual over the intercom. “In a way, this was a merciful way for her to die. It was instant, from what Cain assessed.”
I swallowed hard. Having to perform his own sister’s autopsy…I couldn’t even imagine.
“I believe she is at peace now,” Alfred said. “As are a great deal many of us here at the estate. But Cain…I’m afraid he will be forever changed by her loss. He never imagined a life where she wasn’t around. I believe he feels very alone now.”
I licked my lips. “Are you sure he won’t speak with me?” I asked. “Even if I were to – ”
“I’m sorry,” Alfred interrupted. “He was adamant in the matter.”
I huffed, losing courage with every second. “Can you give him a message for me, then?” I asked.
“I will do my best,” Alfred said, and I really believed he would.
“Tell him…that I’m sorry. So, terribly sorry about what happened. That I never meant for things to end like this between him and I. That I think about him every second of the day, and…that I wish there was something I could do to bring his sister back.”
“I will deliver it,” Alfred said. “Even if my Lord does not wish to hear it.”
“And one more thing, Alfred, if you have a moment…” I said.
What now? Athena asked. They’re letting us leave, we should just go.
Apparently I hadn’t been the only one afraid of being eaten by vampires.
“There was a death that happened earlier this evening. A murder, I think. Her name was Harriet Bennet, the victim. Does that ring any bells?” I asked.
“Not to me, Miss, no,” Alfred said. He didn’t hesitate in his answer, so I was confident that he was telling me the truth. “Why do you ask?”
“Well, I wanted to ask Cain to give me the results of the autopsy after he conducted it as well,” I said. “The Deputy who is investigating the murder wouldn’t allow me anywhere near it.” I frowned. “And also, it concerns the safety of the Gifted classes secret.”
“How so?” Alfred asked. I detected a note of concern in his voice.
“She was the leader of a group of Ungifted who were banding together because they were beginning to suspect that there are paranormal creatures that live here in Faerywood Falls,” I said.
“That’s unfortunate,” Alfred said.
“I went to this meeting to see what they were saying. I’m sure I wasn’t the only Gifted who heard about it. And…well, I know that Cain and some of the other vampires are very much in favor of keeping their existence a secret. It just made me wonder if one of them caught wind of it, and…”
“Are you insinuating that one of us might have killed that poor Ungifted woman?” Alfred asked.
I suddenly realized how stupid it was of me to admit something like that out loud. And to the butler of the house, no less.
“No,” I said. “Not exactly. I’m just trying to get to the bottom of it. That could mean war between the Ungifted and Gifted if we are willing to cross those lines and kill them for discovering us.”
“I agree,” Alfred said. “And I am not vouching for anyone in Blackburn castle. Cain’s had difficulty with some of the vampires in the past. They are quite protective of him and the
ir identity.” He sighed heavily. “I don’t know, Miss Huffler. I shall keep an eye out, though. Don’t you worry.”
“Thank you,” I said. “And thank you for hearing me out, too.”
“Of course,” he said. “I’ll get that message right up to Lord Cain. But you should go before he wonders who I’ve been speaking with for so long. Farewell, Miss Huffler. And be safe out there. If you are right, and this murder was committed by one of us Gifted, then we all need to be watching our backs.”
“Agreed,” I said. “Thank you, Alfred.”
I heard the crackle of Alfred cutting off the other line, and slowly pulled the SUV back out of the driveway.
Do you think it was wise to divulge so much information to the butler? Athena asked as we headed back toward our cabin.
“I don’t know…” I said. “More than anything, I hope he conveys it to Cain, who will then see that I’m still trying to rely on him for help. I don’t know if it will work, but at the very least, if someone in that house did do it, then they’ll know that I’m already onto them.”
I think that Mitch marine guy was right, Athena said. Maybe you really should think about going into a job where you could solve these murders officially.
“Yeah…” I said. “Since Sheriff Garland doesn’t seem to want my help anymore.”
Well…at the very least, Cain will hear of your thoughts, Athena said. You’ll hear from him sooner or later.
“I hope you’re right…” I said, staring out the windshield at the moon, almost full, hanging high overhead. “I hope you’re right.”
7
Vampires were crossed off my list, at least for the moment, of possible suspects. I couldn’t get close enough to question any of them. And now without hope of really being able to see the body, I was going to need outside help again.
And the only place I could think to go was to the council of eleven, the leaders of the spell weavers.
Being an official spell weaver myself, I now had access to some special privileges that I’d been blocked from before. I had been given a channeling instrument, for one thing. Most spell weavers used wands like Bliss and Zara, our mentor, did. But when I was given one, it morphed itself into a delicate, wooden ring that fit my pointer finger perfectly. When I used it for the few simple spells I knew, it would glow, and tiny green leaves would appear in the wood as if they had been laid within it as it was made.
I also had access to their library of books, which was almost twelve stories tall, and filled with thousands and thousands of tomes about anything I could dream up. I hadn’t had much of a chance to explore it, but Bliss had assured me there would be information somewhere in there about faeries.
While I was an apprentice, I wouldn’t be allowed to stay in the Hollow, which was the magical realm the spell weavers used to hold their meetings and keep themselves private. It was also where their guild hall resided. When I became a full spell weaver, after passing all my classes and tests, then I’d have the choice to have a personal residence there. After seeing Delilah’s elaborate home, I found myself dreaming up a cool place for Athena and I to live eventually. Until then, though, they’d given me a simple portal spell that would allow me to draw a portal to the Hollow from any solid, flat surface in Faerywood Falls.
I’d chosen the back of my bathroom door. Not very exciting, but I was working with what I had.
Are you ready to go? Athena asked, sitting beside the glimmering portal; it looked like my door was home to a vertical pond, with narrow beams of colored light filtering outward as the surface rippled and changed.
“One second,” I said, stuffing the last bite of toast into my mouth as I pulled on my apprentice tunic. I downed the last of my coffee, which was now almost cold. “Okay, I’m good.”
Except for the crumbs on your chin, Athena said, tilting her head to the side.
I brushed them off with the back of my hand. “Okay, let’s go.”
Together, we stepped through the portal.
It wasn’t like water. It was more like being caressed with hope, or love. It was a peace that swept over my heart and soul, and it was unlike anything I’d ever experienced before. When I blinked, I was standing inside the portal cave of the Hollow.
Large boulders stood upright in the cave, which was easily the size of a football field in length. Chunks of glowing crystal hung from the ceiling far overhead, jutted out of the ground near my feet, and were protruding from the walls.
It was just as beautiful as I remembered it being.
My heart sank, though. The last time I’d been here, I’d been with Bliss.
“Come on, Athena…” I said. “We need to go find Zara.”
We walked out of the cave, my footsteps echoing in the cavernous space. We were the only two living creatures in there, and it made the place feel empty and cold, despite the glimmering crystals that had fascinated me so much when I first saw them.
I stepped out of the cave, and was surprised to see that the sky was dark.
Staring around, my mouth hanging open, I saw the bark of the deep blue trees that were the size of skyscrapers were covered in swirling patterns of glowing blue light. The lights shifted and changed, moving ever upward. I stood there and watched it snake up the side of the tree that the crystal cave was situated beneath.
Reaching out, I laid a hand on the smooth bark…and the magic beneath reacted to my touch.
Light flared out from my hand, spreading across the surface of the bark as if I’d just slapped my hand across a surface of water.
It shimmered and swelled, pulsating outward. Tendrils of green began to spread outward from my hand, too, covered in tiny leaves and vines.
“Wow…” I murmured as I pulled my hand away, and the glowing green and bright blue faded away, returning to the original swirling veins moving up toward the branches high overhead.
It reacted to your touch, Athena said. I wonder if that’s the spell weaver or the faery inside of you?
I didn’t know, but I couldn’t help but smile a little, and it lingered as I turned away and we started toward the council hall.
Lanterns were hung from posts along the path we followed, which were filled with the same glowing crystals that were hanging inside the cave we’d entered through. Other spell weavers walked along, talking in low voices to one another.
It’s so quiet…I said to Athena. It’s nothing like it is when its daylight…which I don’t even know when that is?
It was daylight when Athena and I left our tiny cabin by the lake.
Athena’s nose was stretched upward, twitching slightly as she sniffed the air. Time must move differently here.
I pursed my lips. I wished Bliss had the chance to tell me more about this place before she left.
The air was cool, but not unpleasant, like a late spring evening. It was refreshing after suffering through so many cold nights lately. I was content to wander around in a short sleeve tunic and the jeans I’d thrown on that morning.
The tree that held the council hall appeared up ahead, the same glistening fountain bubbling merrily as we drew closer. It was glowing at night, crystals inlaid into the pool, reflecting in the dancing water as it splashed into it.
This place looked magical, and even though I was wary, it was rewarding to be able to explore it.
I may not have had the best sense of direction, but I sort of remembered how to get to the council hall. The foyer, as large as I remembered it being, looked different at night. All the enchanted windows that filled the walls all showed the starry night sky outside, and the floor beneath my feet, which seemed to be made from the bark of the ancient trees, also had shimmering, swirling lines of blue magic running through the planks.
A group of spell weavers walked out of one of the wide hallways, and my heart sank when I realized they weren’t wearing the pale blue robes that the council of eleven wore when they met.
One of the women, though, stopped in her tracks when she saw me.
It made me
stop, too.
We stared at each other for a moment.
Do you recognize her? Athena asked.
I studied the woman’s face; she so clearly recognized me, but I wasn’t sure I’d ever seen her in my life. And I thought I would have recognized the distinct blue tone in her black hair that was pulled so tightly behind her head. No, I said back to Athena in my thoughts. Not at all.
The woman’s eyes suddenly narrowed, and she swept away as if I’d verbally insulted her somehow.
I blinked a few times, trying to clear my mind. “Um…what was that?”
I don’t know, Athena said. But I suddenly have an uneasy feeling.
I did, too, but I didn’t feel like admitting that to her.
“Where’s Zara’s office?” I asked.
Wasn’t it toward the southern side of the guild hall? Athena asked.
“And which way is that?” I asked, hands on my hips.
Athena made a frustrated sound in her tiny throat, something between a growl and a snort. Follow me, she said.
So I did. It turned out that she was wrong, though. And we got lost.
Alright, I admit. My sense of smell is all messed up in here for some reason, Athena said. There are too many other things interfering with it.
I stared out of one of the enchanted windows. “We don’t even know where we are in relation to the rest of the hall.” I stared up at the vaulted ceiling. “This is the problem with building something as tall as the Empire State Building inside of a tree.”
The what? Athena asked.
“Never mind…” I said. “Let’s just…keep walking, I guess.”
It felt like the biggest time waster, just wandering through the halls like we were. We found what looked like a hidden staircase that hadn’t been used in some time behind a door at the end of a long hall, and a pair of purple doors that I was convinced was the hall of the council of eleven, but was missing the distinct silver bells on either side to signify they were in session. When I pushed the doors open, there was a giant theater inside.
