Lonely Graves

by Amanda A. Allen

  Youmightbeolderthanthesechildren,butyouareallchildrentome.Iwillnot breakthebindingbetweenmyselfandChrysieforanyreason.”

  “You must,” Saffron said, having entirely ignored the way she’d been lifted and moved. “The amount of power that can be pulled from a vampire—-it’s unthinkable.”

  “Whatisunthinkableisignoringthesacredbondbetweenmakerandchild.It isacovenant.”

  “Sometimes promises have to be broken,” Saffron hissed. She said it with

  uttercertaintythatIwassureshe’dbrokenpromises.Seriousones.Andshedid notregretthechoicesshe’dmade.Whateverthosechoiceswere.

  Elizabeth simply ignored Saffron and said. “The sun is rising, and the dark witch’s power is at its lowest the higher the sun gets. We have until noon. We mustgetChrysiebackbeforenightfalls.”

  “Whatisgoingtohappentoher?”Cyrusaskedsoftly.

  “Dark witches fuel their spells through pain and death. Chrysie is fodder for spellsofthatnature.Weneedasmanywitchesaswecanget.We’reattacking.

  We’reattackinginforce,andwe’llbetakingnoprisoners.”

  There was something ineffably comforting about having a plan. Of knowing what to do. Of being someone who ignored the crap that Saffron threw down aboutendingChrysieandthenElizabethsaid,“Weneedtogettherebeforethe dismantlinghasbegun.”

  “Dismantling?”FelixandIaskedinunison.

  “What did you think would happen to her?” Saffron asked. “Gods. They are suchchildren.”

  “Notallofuswereraisedindarkcovens,Saffron.Experienceendsinnocence andinnocenceisabeautifulthing.Noneedforittobesnatchedaway.”

  “Wellithasbeen,”Isaid,standingandpullingoutmyphone.“Bydismantling youmeanthatthatdarkwitchwill…cutChrysieup?”

  Elizabethnodded.

  “Willchildrenwitcheslikemyselfdo?”

  Elizabethnodded,moregently.

  “Fine,”Isaid.IhadthoughtthatIwouldhavetocrybeforecallingFinn.Ihad thought that I wouldn’t be able to do it. I had thought that I’d be swallowing pride.IcouldnotimagineastateofmindwhereI’dbewillingtomakethatcall.

  ButthethingaboutFinnwasthathehadalittleteamofwitcheswhowereused togoingintodangerinordertotakecareofothers.

  Itwaseasytomakethecall.

  “Rue,”Finnsaid.“Pleasesayyou’recallingtotellmeyourmotherbrokeher bondtothetalisman.”

  “A dark witch took Chrysie to dismantle her and do evil spells. We need help.”

  “SweetHecate,”Finnbreathed.“We’recoming.”

  Itwasthateasy.

  “IcalledDr.Hallow,”Jessiesaid.“He’scomingwithsomeothers.”

  Ilickedmylipsandnodded.Ididn’tevencare.Anyone.Everyone.Allofit.

  “DoweknowwhereChrysieis?”

  “This is a small town,” Elizabeth said. “It’ll be easier to decide what to do

  oncewe’realltogether.We’llgivethem20minutestogethere.Inthemeantime, findmaps.”

  I nodded and went inside, asking Martha for maps. And a book on dark witches. She led Felix and me to the library where we pulled out several large scrolls that were maps of St. Angelus, the town and the surrounding areas. A secondsetoffairylightsledustothesecretroominthelibrary.

  These were the books I hadn’t wanted to touch when Martha first started showingmehersecrets.Ihadn’tbeenbackhere.

  “Wedon’twantthespells,”Felixsaid.

  “Wewantthedefenses,”ItoldMartha.“Andthecounter-spells.”

  The books were the ones that I had asked Martha to keep locked away—the onesthathadscreamedpoweratmeandleftmyhaircracklingwithpower.The ones we wanted were at the bottom and did not feel nearly so ominous. “We needaCtrl+Ffeature,”Felixsaid.

  “Itdoesn’tevenhaveatableofcontents.”Isighedandrubbedmyface.Isat inthechairandletmyheadfallonthetable.IsoundedaslostasIfeltwhenI said,“WhatdidwedoFelix?”

  Hejustshookhisheadandsaid,“Jessieisgoodatfindingspells.Giveittoher whiletherestofusareworkingouttheplan.Wecanfillherin,andshecantell uswhattodo.”

  My laugh was not amused. I pushed my palms at my face, with a distinct desiretoremovemyeyeballs,“Weshouldhavedonethatlasttime.”

  “Wewerejustgoingtobeinandout,fastandsneaky.”

  “Iguesswedidn’tthinkabouthowlongittakestodigsomeoneup.”

  “Yeah,”heslumpeddownnexttomeandlookedasagonizedasIfelt.“Why

  didithavetobeChrysie?”

  “WhydidHazeltellustoformacoven?Whatwasshethinking?”

  “She thought we’d learn spells together and perform cleansing rites. That’s whatmycovendidathome.”

  “No,shedidn’t.”IshookmyheadandtookanotherbreathbeforeItookout anenergypotionandrolleditacrossthetable.“Hazelknowsmefarbetterthan that.”

  Ididn’twaitforhisanswer.IrantomyroomandpulledoutmyDarePotion and my Energy potion. Those two things together would make me capable of doing anything. Would that something be stupid? Probably. Would it be dangerous? Obviously. Would I need a boost to do whatever was necessary to getChrysieback?No.ButIwouldn’tmindtherushofpoweritgaveme.

  I pulled another potion for us. It was essentially bottled magic. I’d been working on that potion for ages and had failed more times than I wanted to

  count. Bottled magic—it was the pinnacle of potions. Most brewers couldn’t makeit.Everythinghadtobeperfect.But,Ihadsucceeded.Fourtimes.

  Ionlyhadfourmembersofmycovenleft.

  They were the only four witches I felt I could fully trust to help Chrysie.

  Perfection in a situation that was anything but. I then took my stockpile of vampirepotion,throwingeverythingintoabackpackthatIwouldcarry.

  Iopenedanotherdrawerandsawthetalismanofthethinning.Itwasasmall silver knife. It could be hidden by a hand if held just right. It was etched with runesandwhenIheldmyhandjustoverit—itbrimmedwithpower.

  “Gods,Martha,”Isaid.

  Sheruffledagainstmysenses.

  “Youaretooawareforahouse.”

  Ifeltashiftofamusement.

  Well, shiz. That was too weird. Too magical. “I don’t think a talisman will workanybetterthananyotherknifeagainstadarkwitch.Andit’sstillboundto Mother.”

  There was another rumble of something and the next drawer down shifted. I openedittofindtwowristsheathsandtwoknivesthatI’dbeabletowearunder a hoodie. I put them on shocked to realize that I would do whatever was necessarytobringbackmycousin.

  “Thankyou,”ItoldMarthaandstrappedthemslowlyon.Itwasn’tthathard.

  I’d like to say that I hesitated. But I didn’t. I did weigh the thought of what wouldhappen.Ididn’tcarewhatitwoulddotome.WouldIcrossalineinmy life?

  Yeah,Iwould.

  But there was another line I couldn’t live with. The one where I didn’t do everything necessary to get my cousin back. She was, literally, the kindest person I knew. I didn’t care that she lived off of potions. I didn’t care that she was the embodiment of many people’s nightmares. I didn’t care about any of that.

  Sometimeswhatisrightisalsowhatishorrible.Ididn’texpecttobethesame if I h
ad to use the knives how they were intended. But being haunted by my actionswassomethingIwasalreadygoinglivewith,givenwhatmyidiocyhad alreadycaused.

  CHAPTERTEN

  “Whydidn’tyoujusttellsomeone?”

  FelixandIglancedateachother.Iwasthefocusoftheire.IamtheHallow after all. He was just a witch from some unimportant family—at least to them.

  Regardless, he wasn’t leaving me alone to face them. And, of course, we’d hiddenJessieandCyrusawaytofindusdefenseandcounter-spells.Thetwoof usstaredatthemalittlebitshocked.Iwastheonewhoanswered.

  “We don’t trust you,” I told them with complete honesty. I met their gazes, lookingdownthelineofwitcheswho’ddecidedtositinsuchawaytomakeus feelasifwewerestandingbeforeajudgementcrewratherthanthosewhomight helpus.Someofthesewitcheshadgazesthatmatchedmymother’s.Thewere family. Technically. The line-up included the self-righteous members of the Hallow Family Council, Finn and his team of wannabe keepers, Elizabeth, SaffronandafewothersIdidn’tknow.“Notanyofyou.ExceptElizabeth.”

  I turned to Elizabeth who stood a little apart from the others and told her,

  “Chrysieissureofyou.”

  Elizabeth’s face was sad just for a moment and then faded back into an expressionlessmask.

  “Are you kidding me?” Leander Hallow sputtered. I hadn’t interacted with him very often. He was the lead of the Hallow Family Council, but my policy with them was to ignore them and make them come to me. So far they’d been sending their members to manipulate me. First, it was their evil necromancer assistant Habitha Leone. She had recently made her way through the thinning andoutofthisworldand,totheircredit,theCouncilhadn’tknownshewasevil.

  Then they sent Martin Hallow who was, I thought, my Mother’s cousin, and PortiaHallowwhowasalso,Ithought,myMother’scousin.They’dtriedtouse Chrysie’s mom, Elspeth, but she hadn’t sided with them in their attempt to manipulateme.

  Leandersenttheotherstodohisbidding.AsfarasIcouldtell,Iwastheonly one,otherthanmymother,whojustignoredhim.But,asheadofthecouncil,he had control of the fortune my grandparents had left behind, a fortune I was meant to inherit. But first, I had to graduate from college. It was why he was trying so hard to make me tow his line. Not that any of that mattered with Chrysiebeingpotentiallydismantled.

  “That is what happens when you’re manipulative asses, Leander,” Elizabeth

  said, standing. “You alienate people and lose whatever trust they might have givenyou.Itdoesn’tmatternow.Earnhertrustlater.”

  “M-m-mme?”Hewasn’tafraid.Hewasfurious.She’ddaredtomockhimto

  his face, and he wasn’t used to someone not caring who he was. It made me smilealittle.

  “Enough,”Elizabethsnapped,herfacewasascoldascenturiesoflivingand killingcouldmakeit,andLeanderHallow’smouthsnappedshut.

  But,thelookheshotmewasdark.Elizabethwasavampiresooldshecould use witchcraft again. That took at least a century without a coven. She rememberedthegreatwars,bothsupernaturalandhuman.Shewasusedbythe Presidiumitselftoremovesupernaturalwhocouldnotbestoppedthetraditional way.Andyesthatmeantshewasanassassin.

  Andyet,shewasstillthepersonItrustedmostintheroombesidesFelix.That wasnotsayingmuchsincemanyoftherestwererelatedtome.Gods,myfamily washorrible.ExceptforChrysie.AndElspeth.AndBranandDaddy.Oh,don’t thinkofthem!Damnit.

  And Elizabeth let the silence stand for a moment while she established dominance. I’m not sure that’s what she would have called it, but that is what happened.Shefinallysaid,“We’regoingtodoaspelltotrackChrysie’slocation usingRue.”

  “Me?”Isqueaked.Ididnotandwouldnotobject,Ijusthadn’texpectedit.

  Martin Hallow interjected, “I am her godfather. And have known

  Chrysanthemumsincebirth.”

  “AndChrysiecalledme.Notyou.Faceit,Martin.Noneofthesechildrentrust any of you. We’re using Rue. They share love, blood, and magic. We’ll need blood.”Thelastwasdirectedatme.

  “Ok,”Isaid,layingmyhanddownonthetablewithadistinctclinkofmetal onwood.

  “Oh my gods, those were Dominique’s.” Leander spoke but his and Martin Hallow’sgazewerefixedonmywrist.“Youhavenoright.”

  “She has every right,” Elizabeth snapped. “She’s the Hallow Heir. And that doesnotmatter,rightnow.”

  Ididn’treply.LeanderandMartinbothseemedhauntedatthepresenceofthe knives. I was guessing Dominique had died wearing them or some other such tragic thing. Here’s the thing, Dominique might be my great-aunt. But she was dead. Like most of my direct kin. I hadn’t even known about her until a few monthsagoandasmuchasI’dliketoknowmoreabouthernow—thefamilyI

  hadremainingwerenotpeopleIwantedtotalktoaboutherormygrandparents.

  Ormymotherforthatmatter.

  I’dratherpiecetogethermyownstoryandleavethemoutofit.Rightnow,all I cared about was that we got Chrysie back. I’d like to say I was softened by everyoneshowingup,butIdidn’ttrustthem.Noteveninthis.Icouldn’tbesure they were here to help Chrysie, to manipulate me, or because a dark witch havingadismantledvampirewasbadforeveryone.

  The spell was a flash of a moment. Elizabeth took my blood using one of Dominique’sknives.ShecutjustabovethesheathonmyarmwhenIofferedmy palm.

  “Rue, you use your palm in nearly every moment of every day.” Then with onequickslicemybloodwasdrippingintoacoffeecupfromthekitchen.

  Elizabethblewoverthecup,threwoutahandandliteverycandleintheroom while also turning off the electric lights. Suddenly the room was flickering shadowsandglintedeyes.Notalloftheeyesreflectedhuman,andIrealizedthat some of those who’d come were shapeshifters. The darkness seemed to fold aroundSaffron,especially.ItwrappedherupinablanketandIsweartherewas whisperingcomingfromittoher.

  Elizabeth said words I didn’t understand—she certainly wasn’t using proto-Romanian.Andshethrewthecupintotheairwithmyblood.Themapthathad beenrolledacrossthetablesnappedopenandmybloodsplattereddownacross it.Itmoved,crawlingacrossthemaplikeanarmyofredantsandthenformed intostreams,andfromstreamsintostarsacrossthemap.Starsofmyownblood.

  “Whatisthis?”Leanderleanedforwardandmutteredacurse.

  “She’s at least partially dismantled,” Elizabeth said in her cold voice. There wasnoemotion,regret,sadness,anger.Nothing.

  “Oh my Hecate,” Felix said, but I couldn’t speak. Couldn’t breathe. I felt a flutter of Bran across my heart strings, and I focused, snapping my will from BrantoChrysie.

  “She’salive,”Isaid.

  “Thereislittlereasontobelievethat,”Portiasaid.

  Shemighthavesaiditgentlybutthedenialofmystatementmademeredwith fury.Islammedmyhanddownonthemapandsaid,fiercely,“Chrysieisalive.”

  “Stoplyingtoyourself,Veruca,”Leandersaid.

  “Enough,”Elizabethsnapped.“Rightthismoment.Itdoesnotmatterwhether sheisaliveordead.Whatmattersisthatadarkwitchhasavampirebodyinat least three pieces. And those three pieces must be recovered. While the sun is high.Thedarkwitchmustbeended.”

  “We don’t have authorization to do that, Elizabet
h,” Martin said. His hand rubbed over his jaw, and I saw that he was white under his close-cut beard. It mademehappy.Happytoseehimsuffer.Iwantedtobelievethatsomeoneother

  than Felix and I and, maybe, Elizabeth cared that Chrysie might be dead.

  Beautiful,kind,Chrysie.

  I took a deep breath in and reached out, taking Felix’s hand. Our fingers wrappedaroundeachother,andIknewwewereboththinkingofChrysie.Her dance. Her constant munching. The way she sang in the shower, off-key and exuberant.

  “We will split up,” Elizabeth said. “We don’t have time to visit each place separately.Leander,youwilltakeFinnandhiscrewhere.”

  Elizabeth pointed down at the map. It was a place that was quite distant. “If youfindher,youhavemyauthorizationtoendher.Iwilltakeresponsibilitywith the Presidium. If you find dark witch implements, you will safely gather them, bringthembacktoHallowHouse.ThePresidiumwilltakepossession.Wecan notriskleavingthembehindandlosingthewitch.Thisgoesforeachteam.”

  ThereweremuttersbutnoonedaredtocounterElizabeth.NotevenLeander.

  “Ibelievethisisthemostlikelylocation,”Elizabethsaid,pointingtoaplace on the edge of town. “I will take the shifters there. We will have Portia and MartintakeRueandherfriendstothislocation.Thisistheleastlikelylocation, butwemustcleaneverythingout.”

  I pressed my lips together. I wanted to go where Elizabeth thought that Chrysiewas,butthetruthwas—wewereidiots,Felix,Cyrus,Jessieandme.We shouldletMartinandPortiacleanthingsupwhileweleanthands.Itwasallwe couldbetrustedtodo.

  I couldn’t allow myself to think of the horrible thing that had been said. I couldn’t.Ijustcouldn’t.Gods.Chrysie.Shewasinthreepieces.

  I let go of Felix’s hand and ran from the room. I made it to the bathroom whereIwretched.Ihadnothingtovomitbutthatdidn’tkeepmefromendingon my knees, gasping into the toilet until tears were rolling down my cheeks, my backandsidewerecramping,andmyfeetwerenumb.