"Oh, this is bad," said Astra as she met my eyes. "Really, really bad."
I took a deep breath. "We need to get this to Étoile. Now."
Chapter Fifteen
If I hadn't known Étoile better, I would have said she appeared relaxed, but I did know better. Despite her casual pose, resting backwards in her chair, her legs crossed louchely, I noted her shoulders jutting stiffly forwards as well as the small pinched lines between her eyebrows. The magicked notepaper was in her hands and she scanned it silently several times since I showed it to her. As of yet, however, she hadn't said a word.
"Étoile?" I waited long enough to wonder if she heard me. Just as I opened my mouth again, she looked up. "What does this mean? The letter says Noah Wilde, Hunter, and his assistant, Irina, and Georgia Thomas are collaborating to blow up The Amethyst... with you in it!"
"I know," said Étoile, her voice steady. "I can read. I've known about the plot for a while."
"What?"
"You think I don't have my spies, just like they have theirs? Of course, I knew."
"This letter says it's going to happen in a few days. Did you know that too?"
"No, I didn't, but I guessed it was imminent." Étoile folded the paper and slid it into her pocket, out of sight. Placing both of her arms on the chair's arms, she gave me a cool look that told me nothing. "Who knows about this?"
"Besides me? Gage, Seren, David..." I glanced at Astra.
"And me," finished Astra, giving me a nod. Up until now, she was leaning against the wall with her arms crossed, and her face pensive. The expression remained, but now she pushed off the wall and crossed the room. "Étoile, they're going to kill you!"
Étoile shrugged the words away. "Thank you for bringing this to my attention. Of course, you do understand that you can't tell anyone about it."
"Yes, of course, but what are you going to do?" Astra asked.
"Carry on as normal, naturally."
Astra's mouth dropped. "You can't go back to The Amethyst! It's obviously not secure."
"I'll be fine. Please, both of you, don't worry."
"But..."
"I mean it!" Étoile practically shouted as she sat forward in a sudden movement. "I'm glad you got to the bottom of the werewolf’s purpose in giving you a message, Stella, but now you can forget about it. Forget everything you read."
"Kevin Wyatt risked his life to ensure I got this message and gave it to you. I know I got it to you later than he intended, but we have to do something about it. We have to tell someone. You can't let them pursue this conspiracy!"
"Whom do you suggest, Stella? The head of the Witches’ Council? In case you forgot... that's me."
"Then your security team... or... or..." My words faltered to a halt. Étoile was right. Just whom could she tell? With the heads of two other parties against her, and a traitor within her own, her position was, at best, precarious. Maybe, I decided, she no longer knew whom to trust.
"Like I said, we already knew about an attack on The Amethyst. We'll be prepared, but I don't want either of you in the city when it happens. Actually, I'd appreciate it if you took Kitty home with you, too. Do you have enough power to shimmer her?"
"To get home? No. I'm still... that is, I think I'm still recharging. I had enough energy to get here from Seren's place, and maybe enough to go back there, but I don't think I can transport Kitty too. I don't have my car either, since Gage drove us there."
"Astra, could you take Kitty?"
Astra gave a quick shake of her head. "Not this time. I'm almost depleted too."
"Okay. You should return to Gage and go home, like you never made this trip. I don't want anyone knowing you came here."
"But..." I began to protest again, although I knew it was useless. Étoile had her mind made up and there was nothing I could do to change it. She was as stubborn as she was smart and beautiful, but that didn't stop me worrying about her. The look on Astra's face reflected my own anxiety. Neither of us wanted to leave Étoile while she was in danger, but we both knew protesting further was hopeless and futile.
"There's nothing more you can do here..." Étoile trailed off, chewing her lip thoughtfully. "No, perhaps there is one thing you can do. Wait." Étoile walked over to the wall safe and keyed in her passcode. A moment later, the safe door sprung open and Étoile extracted a package of similar size to the one she gave me for Evan. "I need you to take this with you. It's time to put other measures into play."
"Who to?"
"Gage."
"Are you going to tell me what's in it?" I asked as I took it, turning it over. It was sealed already, but there was no name on the outside.
"No, and just like last time, you are not to open it."
I took the time to inhale a few deep breaths as I stared at the package. "Does this have something to do with the other package I delivered?" I asked, wondering what the smooth-feeling contents were. Paperwork? Photographs? Something else?
"Don't ask me questions when I have no time for answers. Guard this, both of you," Étoile commanded as she shut the safe door with a bang, swiveling the lock back into place.
"Do we need to take a careful route?" asked Astra.
"No, if anyone has eyes on you, they already know you're traveling with Gage. Return with him as normal, and go home to Wilding. Don't come back to the city until I call you."
"Will you come with us?" I asked, one last time.
Étoile shook her head. "I won't hide. Go now, please."
"What about Kitty?" I asked. She never returned home and I hadn't seen her since she was at my house.
"I'll send her tomorrow," Étoile replied.
"If we start driving as soon as we return to Gage, I should be home by then."
"You might think about taking Astra with you to Wilding."
At Étoile's suggestion, I looked over at Astra. She shrugged like she didn't care one way or the other, but one thing I discovered about Astra, in the short time we spent together, was that she did care. Like Étoile, she simply didn't always show it. "Fine by me," I said. "The house has been too quiet. I'd like the company."
"C'mon," said Astra, holding her hand out to me, the edges of her lips tipping upwards into a shy smile. "Let's leave my sister to it. I know we can't persuade her otherwise."
"I wish you'd come," I told Étoile, even as I took Astra's hand, ready to shimmer back to Gage, the mysterious package securely in my grasp.
"Look after each other," said Étoile.
A moment later, we were gone.
~
Gage insisted on driving the entire way home, even though Astra and I both offered to take turns. I wasn't exactly upset about that. Instead, I took the resting opportunity to think, something I hadn't done nearly enough, given how crazy my life had become again.
There was new information to process. One thing I felt sure of was that Étoile must’ve been hiding an awful lot from us. Whatever it was appeared to involve both Evan and Gage. Even though I wasn't privy to what the packages I couriered contained, I desperately wanted to know the contents. The political side of the Witches’ Council might not have been any of my business, but like it or not, I was involved. First, by the actions of Kevin Wyatt. And again, when Étoile asked me to be her secret courier. Twice.
The contents of the packages had me as rattled as Evan's stony countenance when I handed it to him. What information could have been so confidential that they had to be sent so secretly? What was too much for me to know? I hated having more questions than answers, even if a recent, and very big, question, i.e., what the dead werewolf tried to deliver, was now resolved. Unfortunately, Kevin Wyatt's letter seemed to only raise more problems.
Evan's involvement was the biggest one on my mind. He was so closely caught up with those named in the letter, yet Étoile saw fit to send him something? Perhaps I'd been wrong. Perhaps he wasn't as closely aligned to the demons as I'd originally thought, which prompted another very big question... Just whose team was he on? Wishing I had
answers, I watched the town sign for Wilding roll into view, and chose instead, to relax and let the feeling of peace at being home wash over me.
With more than a week left of my vacation, and now banished from the city, maybe I could put the time to good use. I could try being friendly with Astra and showing her around my little town. Perhaps Kitty would join us when she arrived. I could visit Annalise and the baby too. I certainly hadn't seen enough of them. It would definitely get my mind off everything that was going on; and help me ignore the awful feeling that there was little I could do to help Étoile.
Problem was, I found it hard to ignore things that looked suspicious. That's when it hit me. Right before I found the unfortunate Wyatt, I was planning to use my remaining vacation time to work through the stacks of paperwork and books littering my sunroom in search of answers. Just because I couldn't physically help Étoile, didn't mean I couldn't find something that might help her. With Evan's loyalty now in question, not to mention the involvement of Irina and the Rockford werewolves, I wanted to find answers as fast as I could. I felt sure that I could find what I needed within the Witches’ Council's archives. The only problem was, although I completed a large chunk of the work, there were still countless more boxes to go through, each with dozens of books, and hundreds of pages. I might eventually discover the answers, but would I learn them before The Amethyst was blown to pieces?
Astra leaned in and whispered, "Try a spell?"
"Did you just read my mind?" I gaped at her. I would probably have been annoyed if her suggestion hadn’t been a good one. With my thoughts flashing at breakneck speed, I never thought to guard them. As it was, a spell could have been just the right answer. What better way to search magical documents than with magic?
"It kind of trickled out," Astra replied, dancing her fingers in the air from my head to hers as she leaned forwards from the backseat. "Wooooo," she ghostly cooed and I laughed as she smiled, the shyness leaving her face for the briefest of moments.
"What are you two giggling about?" asked Gage, glancing in the rearview mirror.
"Astra read my mind."
"Accidentally," said Astra.
"Anything good going on in there?" Gage sounded amused as his eyes returned to the road.
"Nope," we chimed simultaneously.
"Yeah," huffed Gage. "And I'm a regular human. What are you planning to do while you're here, Astra?"
"Standing guard," said Astra. "I think that's the idea."
"Over Stella?"
"Yes."
"You don't need to guard me," I protested. "I can look after myself. Anyway, that wasn't the plan," I added to the sound of Astra huffing as she raised her eyebrows. Maybe that was the plan, I concluded. I was unsure whether it bothered me that Étoile still didn't think I could look after myself.
"Stella made sure we didn't get burned to death when our motel was firebombed," pointed out Gage, coming to my defence. Astra arched her eyebrows higher and I wasn't sure if that supported me or fully indicated I really did need some help.
"I guess I'll explore," said Astra, turning to watch the streets. "This town seems nice. Lots of werewolves, not too many demons."
"Demons? What makes you say that?" Gage asked, slowing to take the left turn as we passed our favourite diner.
"The big male we just passed," said Astra, prompting Gage and me to look for him in the mirrors.
"I don't see any demons," I said, scanning the road behind us.
Astra examined her fingernails like she wasn't particularly interested. "He went into a bookstore, I think."
"What for?" asked Gage.
"Do I look like I tapped his mind?" asked Astra, sounding uncannily like Étoile. "For the record, I wouldn't, even if I could. Their minds are scary, like spider webs."
I pulled a face. "Gross."
We didn't see anyone else as we travelled the rest of the way home to Shadow Wood Lane. Gage parked on the street, grabbing our bags from the back seat and walking with us to my house. As per usual, I reached out with my magic and found nothing untoward. Nothing dead either. Astra took her bag and entered first, asking to use the bathroom, while Gage and I lingered by the door.
"Are you staying a while?" I asked as he stood there, his hands thrust into pockets, and rocking on his heels.
"No, I'm going to head home and take a shower. Maybe get a beer at The Loup. I'll leave you two to... whatever it is you're planning to do." He shifted his look away from me to the truck and it hit me. He wanted to take another look at the package I delivered and didn't want me around while he did. Where did all the trust between us go? "I'll check in on you later," he said. After dropping a kiss on my cheek, he was gone, walking in long strides to the truck.
"What do you think is in that package?" asked Astra, coming to stand next to me as I watched him reach for his own bags.
"I wish I knew."
"He's worried about it."
"How do you know?"
"I'm not as clouded to him as you are. There were subtle changes in his physiology. He seemed very distracted all the way over here."
"I thought the same. He isn't usually so quiet." I closed the door with a soft thud and turned away. "Why do you think Étoile doesn't want us to know what was inside the packages? The one to Evan too?"
"Probably so no one captures and tortures us for the information," Astra said simply, but her next words really shook me. "Torture isn't something you ever want to experience. Trust me."
"I've been kidnapped and thrown into a cellar," I said, far more matter-of-factly than I felt.
"Eleanor Bartholomew almost dissolved my mind."
I shuddered. "You win."
"My brain was like melted ice cream for months."
"You really, really win."
"Now can we make a plan to find out what the hell is going on that no one wants to tell us about?" Astra asked. She followed me towards the guest bedroom that I planned to offer her. "I know you want answers too."
"Didn't you just say something about getting captured? And what was the other word again?" I asked, putting my finger to my lips and tapping like I couldn't remember. "It began with the letter 't'... tor.. tor..."
"Okay." Astra rolled her eyes. "I might have mentioned torture..."
"That's it. Torture!" I teased as I opened the door and ushered Astra inside. "This was Étoile's room when she lived here. She left all the furniture so I hope you like it."
Astra walked around the large bed and the opulent furniture that didn't quite fit with the rest of my home's furnishings. "It's very Étoile," she said as she looked out the window, "but I meant what I said... Are we going to invent a plan, or what?"
It took me a few seconds to make up my mind. "We're going to devise a plan," I decided. "I made a commitment months ago to find out what was going on with the demons, and it seems more imperative now than ever. The demons are mixed up in everything and I can't stand by and let Étoile deal with it alone while I do nothing. Kevin Wyatt trusted me and he died for it."
"Good. You're going to need my help." Astra came to a stop in front of me, her hands on her hips, looking every bit like she meant business. "First thing, we have to get your power reserves up. You cannot function if you drain so fast and I cannot keep babysitting you every time you need a power boost."
"You were not babysitting me!" I sniffed, before I listened to her offer. Recharging my powers faster would be hugely beneficial. I wouldn't have to worry about distances depleting what I could do. "How am I supposed to do that?"
"That's exactly what I'm going to show you. We need to go outside. Somewhere we can't be observed."
"There are two houses on this street," I told her, as I indicated for her to follow me. She shut the bedroom door behind her and trailed me through the kitchen and out the rear door. "No one ever comes here."
"Gage is across the street," she reminded me.
"And he's on our team."
"Did he share the contents of the package with you?"
/> I hesitated. "No."
"Gage might be on our team, but he's also playing his own game." Astra stepped onto the soft earth in the small, fenced-in yard at the back of my house and turned around, her face up to the sky. "Can you feel it, Stella?"
I looked around, then upwards. "No..." I started, unsure of what, exactly, she wanted me to feel.
"The earth's energy. It's what I use to recharge. The earth is full of power." Astra kicked off her shoes and wiggled her toes into the grass. Then, turning her palms downwards, she closed her eyes, breathing deeply. "All you have to do is call its power into you."
"Can every witch do that?"
"Oh, no, but then, not every witch can shimmer either. Plus, we all know you're a rare witch. You can assimilate other witches’ powers. So even if this isn't natural for you, it will be after you see me do it."
"How come I never knew power could be pulled from the earth this way?"
"Maybe your condensed education didn't cover it. Étoile and Seren told me you got the crash course. All witches know power can be drawn from the elements. Me? I can draw earth power. Other witches can pull energy from water, wind, or fire."
"Not all of them?"
Astra paused. "I guess, but I haven't seen it."
"Kitty controls the elements."
"She controls the weather. That's different."
"It's made of the elements."
"It's still different. She wields them, but doesn't draw any power from them," Astra insisted. "Watch me; then try."
I watched Astra silently for a moment as she stood still, seemingly doing nothing. Then, when I was about to ask her another question, I saw the shift in the air between her palms and the earth. Energy was being drawn upwards, energy that was converting into magic as it flowed. I stared, utterly fascinated at the simplicity of Astra's actions. If I could harness this energy too, I'd have an unlimited supply. In order to absorb as much energy as I could harness, I stepped next to Astra, kicked off my boots, and felt the soft grass and earth under my feet. Turning my palms downwards, I waited... and waited. After several long minutes, during which, nothing happened, except for the cool breeze on my face and the slightly damp grass that tickled between my toes. Then I felt the tiniest prickle of earth magic working its way into the thin skin of my palms. It slid inwards, mixing with my magic, becoming a part of it, and seeping through my veins.
Arcane Magic (Stella Mayweather Series) Page 17
