“Ayden, how did you come about these spells?” The Prism Wizard had his hand in mid-air as if he wanted to touch them but was afraid to.
“Carvallius cast them.”
“Do you know what spells they are? I’ve never seen such symbols before.”
“I don’t know. I was told that they were for healing and protection.”
Vadimas stood as he gave his full attention to the witch, “Latarian, do you have similar marks? Did your grandfather perhaps give you a key to all these spells?”
“I have none cast upon me and my grandfather felt it was important for my well-being to make sure Ayden used his magic to benefit me as is his duty.”
“Familiars have no duty to constantly cast spells that a warlock is more than capable of casting on their own. Those are not ‘unmagic’ spells. There is no such thing as ‘unmagic’. The spells on Ayden’s back are as dark as night,” Ari’s said, his words held barely leashed rage and his mouth twisted in disgust.
“Ari is correct. These spells are the result of dark magic. Without knowing what they all mean we cannot know if they are the culprit. I’m afraid we cannot just remove them as it could be harmful. I need to call Arch Lich Chander; he is the authority on dark magic. Hopefully, he can unravel this mystery.” Vadimas’ face appeared concerned, and Brogan was thankful that he had brought his attention to Ayden’s back.
“We will not be removing those spells. I need Ayden’s healing magic. My grandfather put those spells there for me, and I will not have anyone messing with his magic,” Latarian declared angrily.
“Your familiar has the right to decide if the spells stay or go,” Ari sounded just as pissed.
“Once again our new friend is right. It is Ayden’s decision, but we definitely need the arch lich’s expertise. Ari, I would love the opportunity to speak with you when we have Ayden settled.” Vadimas left the room to make his call after Ari agreed to his request. They all began chatting amongst themselves, but Brogan didn’t really hear any of it. His mind was a muddle. Carvallius had carved some super dark spells on his mate’s back and, unlike the other suggestions made, Vadimas could not immediately rule them out as the problem.
Hopefully, the arch lich would be able to tell them what the hell was on Ayden’s back. Brogan hoped that Ayden would decide to have them removed even if they were not the cause of his illness, because now that Brogan knew they were dark he wanted them nowhere near his mate. They had hoped that Vadimas would be able to tell them why Ayden was sick, but so far, they had made no progress, and now it seemed they had added another mystery that was waiting to be solved. Squeezing his mate a little tighter and resting his cheek on Ayden’s head, he had thought that once they were mated things would only get better, but it seemed Fate had something different in store for them.
Chapter 20
It was dinnertime, but instead of stuffing several helpings of whatever delicious dish Noirin had cooked for the D’Vaires, Ayden was lying in his big bed fighting off sleep. The arch lich was set to arrive shortly; Vadimas had explained that, unlike his own schedule, the arch lich was constantly in demand. Wizards were largely ignored by the majority of the council, unless they needed some sort of historical data.
Masters in alchemy, the Spectra Wizardry had offered their services to the council medical system, but the proposal had gone unnoticed. This had all been explained to Ayden this afternoon as they all got the chance to know Vadimas a bit. It had been enjoyable to learn about wizardry, even if their lack of importance in the council seemed rather sad and unfortunate.
As for necromancy, it had been Arch Lich Chander who had built the council into what it was today. Leaving Europe for North America had been his decision and after arriving there he had invited the shifters to join them. When it became the Council of Sorcery and Shifters, the arch lich had put the dragon emperor in charge. At the time, the most powerful wizards had not wanted to relocate, and Vadimas believed this had a lot to do with why they were so low on the totem pole. They simply did not have the kind of power that the other races boasted.
The prism wizard had explained that despite the wizards’ plight the leader of the necromancers had always been very kind to him and willing to help solve any problem. Ayden believed this was the prism wizard’s way of reassuring him that they would figure out why Ayden was not just sick but actually dying.
All that fighting he had done with Brogan over rejecting their mate bond seemed so foolish now. Latarian had either lied about being able to cast the spell to break a mate bond or she had no idea that it wouldn’t work. A short time ago Ayden would not have believed she would lie about such a thing, but she had lied about his back.
She had not offered a word in protest when Ari and Vadimas had rejected the idea of “unmagic” and Latarian was not one to pass up an opportunity to argue when she felt she was right about a subject. It gave Ayden the creepy-crawlies to know those spells were dark magic. Although Latarian kept him from casting much magic, he had intentionally stuck with only the lightest and purest of his known spells.
If they were the cause of his illness or not, Ayden wanted them gone. He hoped that removing them was nowhere near as painful as the process of applying them had been. All he remembered of the experience was excruciating pain and being slapped awake as he repeatedly lost consciousness.
One small mystery was solved by knowing those spells were dark; they were undoubtedly the cause of his ever-present back pain. Dark magic on a light caster’s body would result in pain as the sorcerer’s body continually tried to reject the darkness. A million times Ayden had complained of his pain in that stupid cottage and Latarian had offered no comfort. She damn well knew those spells were dark and how she managed to convince him of “unmagic” he would never know.
There were other unknowns that Vadimas had mentioned at their first meeting that had come up today, that were finally beginning to bother Ayden. He had dismissed them when they were first brought to his attention, because he figured Vadimas hadn’t met a witch familiar before and you could not always trust what you read in a book. But now Ari and Derwin were here, and Ayden saw many differences between himself and Derwin.
Derwin relied on Ari for power; Derwin, while not Ari’s twin in looks, resembled each other a great deal, and Derwin’s magic knowledge, skill, and power were either Ari’s equivalent or, in the case of power, slightly before that of his witch. Comparing Ayden to Latarian, his eyes were darker and had an ability to turn blue that Latarian’s eyes lacked. His hair was lighter red and had a waviness to it while hers was closer to being called straight. As for their faces, they had no real similarities. None of their features were of similar shape as Derwin and Ari’s were.
Not even their magic abilities were comparable, Latarian hated books and did not bother after summoning him to expand her spell skills. Rarely using any magic over the centuries, she had forgotten all the spells still stored in Ayden’s memory and their magic had never flowed from her to him. Not to mention the fact that, although she refused to admit it, his power was greater than her own. Ayden hoped that Vadimas could shed some light on these anomalies after finding a remedy for him.
Ayden wanted to feel better as soon as possible. He wanted to enjoy being mated and loving Brogan, not sleep most of the day away. Thankfully a light knock on the door interrupted his thoughts and the door to his bedroom opened. Brogan walked in, followed by Blodwen, Ari, Derwin, and Aleksander.
“Hey baby, Vadimas says the arch lich should be here any minute.” Ayden’s mate came straight to his side and got up on the bed next to him so they could cuddle. Blodwen also came and sat on their bed.
“I’m glad he’s coming, but I have to confess I’m kind of scared of meeting the arch lich,” Blodwen said, barely above a whisper as Ari, Derwin, and Aleksander made themselves comfortable on the sofa and chairs near the wide windows of their bedroom.
“It’s the whole sentinel thing, right?” Brogan asked.
“Yeah, he has two but on
ly keeps one with him at a time. I’ve only seen sentinels from far away, never up close.” Before Ayden or Brogan could offer any words to calm the D’Vaire necromancer, Vadimas walked into the room with two men not far behind him. The shorter man was wearing all gray; his suit was a dark charcoal while his shirt and tie were almost a silver color. His cloak was an even darker charcoal than his suit and was beautifully decorated with black and silver filigree. Ayden didn’t think he was that much taller than Ayden himself, and he looked deceptively young. If you passed him on the street, he could easily pass for a teenager if you overlooked the shrewd pewter eyes that were watching Ayden behind a pair of wire-rimmed glasses.
Over the rather unruly brown curls of Arch Lich Chander’s head was his sentinel. A brunette like the arch lich, the sentinel, had pale skin and was a full head taller than the man he was bound to protect. He was dressed in a dark gray cloak that was undecorated over a military style shirt and pants. Hanging on each side of his waist was a shiny dagger that were obviously poisoned, because each of them glowed a deep green.
“Everyone, this is Arch Lich Chander and his sentinel, Baxter,” Vadimas announced and then introduced everyone in the room.
“Blodwen, it’s a pleasure to meet you. I am sorry that you felt so misplaced amongst necromancers, but I am glad I could help you find a place where I hope you have found some happiness,” the arch lich said to Blodwen as Ayden watched her blush.
“Thank you, I am very happy here,” she replied and her eyes never left the sentinel who still stood just inside the doorway, scanning the room with his light gray eyes.
“Now, may I see your back?” Ayden left the safety of Brogan’s arms and once again lifted his T-shirt to show off what Carvallius had done to him.
“Definitely dark, although I don’t recognize these symbols. Some of them look somewhat familiar, but dark warlocks used different spells than necromancers. Vadimas, we’ll have to see if we can find any and all records left behind by dark warlocks to figure this out,” Chander stated while he studied Ayden’s back.
“Chand, take a picture of his back so we have something to compare to whatever we can find.” It was the sentinel Baxter who offered the idea.
The arch lich grabbed his phone and did as his sentinel suggested. “Great idea, Bax. Don’t worry, we’ll figure this out. Is this normal for familiars to have spells cast upon them like this?” Chander turned to Ari with his question.
“No, there are very firm rules about the way in which we treat familiars and forcing them to cast continuous magic can be nothing but pure laziness. One of the duties once held by the grand summoner was to oversee the familiars and make sure they were not being abused. Grand Summoner Saura would have seen Carvallius and Latarian punished for such a thing.” Ari’s voice rang with confidence. Ayden wished that the former Grand Summoner had lived long enough to see justice done.
“I have no trouble believing that. I did not know her well, but she seemed a fiery and intelligent woman. It bothers me; I would certainly not expect my sentinel to do whatever I wanted him to do. Did you give permission for these spells to be cast?”
Ayden shook his head vigorously. “No, I wasn’t asked, and I wanted them to tell me what they all meant, but they refused.”
“All right then, we will make sure that we get them off you then. Grand Warlock T’Eirick did not live long enough to have the familiar rules made into council rules so I don’t know what we can do about seeing Latarian punished, but my gut is telling me that these spells are somehow responsible for your magic being drained.”
“Right now, all I care about is feeling better.” And he meant it; he would worry about whether or not he wanted Latarian punished after he could stop worrying about losing enough magical power that he actually died. Aleksander led their guests out and arranged for guest rooms for all three. Like Vadimas, Chander was determined to stay at Court D’Vaire until they could heal Ayden. It was overwhelming that these important leaders were so dedicated to making him feel better; everyone that they had met within the council were so warm and helpful.
“He seemed nice.” Blodwen was still on their bed, and Ari and Derwin had remained in the room when the others had left as well.
“Yeah, he did.”
“I just hope they figure this shit out fast. I don’t want you to get any sicker,” Brogan announced. Ayden totally agreed with his mate, he certainly wanted to be back to normal as soon as possible.
“What did you guys think of his sentinel?” Blodwen asked.
“I think he seemed nice, but also kind of scary,” Derwin offered, and he climbed up onto the bottom of the bed.
“I wouldn’t use the word scary, more like intimidating and isn’t that kind of the point?” Ari asked, as he too sat at the base of the bed they were all piled on.
Their necromancer didn’t sound convinced of the sentinel not being frightening. “I guess.”
“I’m glad they are all here. I’m sorry they did this to you Ayden. It has to be why you are sick,” Ari apologized.
“When you’re better we are going to discuss her being punished,” his mate stated and Ayden just gave a short nod. He laid his head against his mate and decided he really didn’t need to be awake any longer. As he drifted off to sleep, he was comforted by the low voice of his mate chatting with his best and two newest friends.
The next week passed by in mostly a blur for Ayden. The arch lich, the prism wizard, and everyone else in the house, with the exception of Latarian, was doing everything they could to either help the men or see to Ayden’s needs, but so far they had not unlocked the mystery of the spells Carvallius had carved on him all those centuries ago. Latarian, in fact, carried on as if nothing out of the ordinary was happening in the house. Of course that was because it was not her magic being drained. Only Ayden seemed affected by whatever malady this was that had overtaken him.
Looking into the mirror, Ayden blearily noticed that his eyes weren’t green anymore. They were all blue, but not the dark navy that signaled his power was heightened or his emotions were running rampant. They were a blue so pale they were nearly colorless. Ayden knew he had very little power left; they were quickly running out of time, and he seriously doubted they would figure it out in time to save him.
It was horribly ironic that he spent all that time mourning a dead familiar to now leaving behind his own mate to do the same, but it seemed he had no choice. He dragged himself into the bedroom and nearly collapsed onto the bed. Brogan would be returning soon from breakfast, and he could pull the covers over Ayden, because he was too damn tired to bother. Thinking of his mate now broke his heart; he didn’t want to lose him, but Fate didn’t offer anyone choices.
Before arriving in Arizona Ayden had experienced little kindness in his life, but the joy he had experienced over the last couple of months with the D’Vaires had made up for the coldness and cruelty of the life he had shared with his witch. Against all odds, he had found his perfect mate, and he had not even had a single day to bask in that miracle.
Ayden was not going to spend what he now knew was probably no more than hours left feeling sorry for himself. Some people never met their mates, and he had been damn lucky to be matched with a dragon who adored him. But he could not rest, he could not find any sort of peace until he got Brogan to promise him one thing.
“Hey baby, why’d you get up? I would have helped you.” Ayden hadn’t even heard Brogan enter the room. Instead of tucking him under the covers, Brogan lifted him into his arms and walked across the room to sit in front in one of the comfy navy printed chairs near the window.
“I had to pee,” Ayden explained and felt cocooned and safe in Brogan’s strong arms that were holding him so close.
“Chander and Vadimas were really excited at breakfast; they have figured out some of the symbols. They think they are going to have a breakthrough soon,” his mate spoke softly to him as he kissed his head.
“Brogan. We need to talk.” This wasn’t going to be eas
y for either one of them, but Ayden did not have the luxury of time to worry about that.
“What’s wrong, baby?”
Ayden looked up into his mate’s beautiful dark eyes and found that they were full of love and worry. “I need you to promise me something.”
“Anything.”
“Promise me that when I go you will not let it stop you.” Nothing mattered more to Ayden right now than knowing Brogan would not die of heartbreak after he died; Blodwen had told him very few shifters survived the loss of their mate.
“Baby, where are you going to go? You can hardly even walk. Or are you planning on walking out on me after they get those marks off you?” Brogan joked, and Ayden lifted his hands up to his mate’s cheeks. Losing that grin that was so dear to Ayden, Brogan’s face grew serious.
“I don’t have much magic left; I’m scared that they aren’t going to have time to help me. I need you to promise me that when I die you will not let the heartbreak destroy you.”
“You aren’t going to die; they are so close. I’m not going to lose you, so you don’t have to worry about anything destroying me,” his mate assured him and pressed his mouth to Ayden’s forehead, before meeting his eyes again.
“Promise me anyway. Promise me that if I die you won’t. I need to know you will survive, that you will go on living. I need you to be happy.” He couldn’t help the fact that his eyes had welled up with tears that were falling down his cheeks. Brogan had lifted his head to the ceiling and, when he looked back down, Ayden could see his eyes were wet with unshed tears of his own.
“I can’t do that,” Brogan whispered.
“Please. Please do this for me,” Ayden whispered back, as he watched one fat tear slide down his mate’s face.
“I don’t… I don’t want to live if you aren’t here.”
Grand Redemption (D'Vaire Book 1) Page 21
