by Liz Schulte
As if she fully expected my reply, she hit me with a spell, pinning me to a nearby wall as she moved closer. “You will help me. I was willing to reward you for it, but make no mistake that wasn’t out of weakness. I can force you if need be. I’ll not allow you to interfere with my plans. I’ve waited thousands of years to be freed just as the perfect vessel comes into existence. It is fate. I will have it and you will help me.”
Channeling everything I felt into one singular outlet, I fought against the spell holding me. This wasn’t my first witch. She breathed dark words that I knew all too well. She was animating a corpse, my corpse. It was favorite trick of dark witches and necromancers—one that would remove my control over my own body. My rage spiked, allowing a single arm to lurch out toward her throat, ready to kill the bitch once and for all. But only my fingertips brushed the skin against her throat.
She smiled as she continued to whisper into the dark. Finally she pressed her mouth to mine and everything went black.
Sebastian stood still as Sy’s mom, who was unfairly glamorous and beautiful for someone that old, gently pressed a gooey substance into the jagged gash across his forehead. He’d slept most of the day, but at least he was moving tonight. He said something I couldn’t hear and her laughter rose like bells in the air.
“I’m not an expert or anything, but maybe talking to him would be better than spying on him,” Frost said behind me.
I shook my head. Sure, she was probably right. Communication was key to any successful relationship, after all—but we had talked this shit to death. Not all relationships were meant to be—and Sebastian deserved more than tying himself to a foolish human who was going to get old (like legitimately old and not gorgeous old) and die. “We’ve said everything there is to say.”
“Have you?” Frost raised an eyebrow then looked back at the elves. “They’d make a good couple.”
I could feel the creases between my eyes deepen. “She’s like twice his age.”
“When you’re as old as they are, I’m not sure it matters.” She shrugged. “Leslie says the prisoner is ready.”
I released my breath and forced myself to turn away and follow Frost back to the dungeon.
“You sure about this?” Frost asked. “She uses a lot of dark magic.”
I nodded. “Magic itself is neither good or evil. It is the soul conducting it that determines how it is used. If we are going to have a prayer against Jessica I need to be stronger.”
She nodded. “And if it changes you?”
“Aw, I’ve always known I was pretty amazeballs, but it’s so sweet your black little emo heart cares.” I winked and moved to nudge her. Frost jumped out of the way, narrowly avoiding my elbow, and glared at me. “Oops, sorry. No touching. I forgot. My bad.”
She sped up, walking in front of me, conversation obviously over.
With a clothing barrier I probably would’ve been okay, but she was cautious to the extreme. I shook my sympathy off. She wouldn’t want it and I had more important things to focus on, like stealing the witch’s power.
“Why’d you go to the club?” Leslie asked the witch as we walked up.
I peeked into the cell. “Still not talking?”
“Not a word,” Leslie said.
I rolled my shoulders, stretched my arms, and popped my neck. “Let’s do this.”
“You sure?” Leslie asked.
“Will you people quit asking me that?” I walked about five feet down the hall. “Bring her out.”
“We should wait for Sebastian,” Frost said, still sounding pissy.
“Sebastian isn’t magical. He’s practically useless,” I said. Frost and Leslie pressed their lips together. Shit. “He’s behind me, isn’t he?”
“I like to think there are still a few uses for me,” he said.
“And I’m sure Lorelei could find them,” I muttered under my breath. “Don’t you have better things to do?”
He gave me a strange look as he walked around me. “Actually yes, but I’m here, so if you’re ready we can begin.”
“Fine.” I was essentially going to duel with the other witch. The plan was for me to take her power like I almost did Jessica’s the night before. It would strengthen me and eliminate at least one enemy. However, we couldn’t cast on her inside the cell. And she had undoubtedly prepared any number of magical attacks against us while she waited silently inside the cell. The moment she was out of the magical dead zone, it would be on like Donkey Kong. A trickle of guilt found its way into me for being mean to Sebastian. “Seriously though, you shouldn’t be down here.”
“If the three of you are here, then so am I.”
“The three of us are magic.”
“That’s exactly why you need me. I will hold her because I have no abilities that you can strip from me—mine are all innate.”
I rolled my eyes. “Last time you got involved in one of our fights, Selene had to save you.”
Sebastian’s eyes went icy. “She wouldn’t have had to, if you were a stronger witch.” His voice matched the expression on his face.
“Well, your wish is about to come true.” I pushed up my sleeves and rubbed my fingertips against my thumbs. “Open the door.”
Sebastian and Leslie disappeared into the cell. Frost stood on the other side of the door, watching what was happening inside while I held my breath. Dear Lord, please let this work.
Leslie came out first, leading the witch, with Sebastian in the back pushing her forward. He stood behind her, holding her in place as she struggled. It was by no means a fair fight, but I didn’t care. I began to cast as she thrashed against Sebastian’s hold.
The more I said the words, the more I lost myself in them until everything vanished around me. All that was left was the witch, no more than five feet away from me, and my body rocking back and forth in perfect rhythm to the words I spoke. Small shimmering purple threads grew from the witch’s stomach and stretched toward me.
First, they brushed against my skin as if testing me. Second, they wrapped around my outstretched wrists and slithered their way up my arms. I forced myself not to pull away as my instincts demanded. I planted my feet and let the tendrils move over me freely until my entire body, except my head, was covered by them. They were neither warm nor cold, but the sensation of them against my flesh echoed through my body until the witch before me also disappeared. Now it was just me and the threads, but I continued chanting the words. With each word they tightened their grip until it became painful. My arms and legs tingled then lost all feeling. The strands tightened around my chest. I couldn’t draw breath, yet still I choked out the words because speaking them was no longer in my control. When the last line was spoken in full, the purple ropes tightened so hard the rest of my breath gushed out in a huff.
Suddenly the pressure released and my legs gave out. I hit the hard stone floor, sucking as much air as I could into my burning lungs. My eyes closed as the room spun around me. I was certain I was going to vomit. I pressed myself up on my knees as my body lurched, expelling the contents of my stomach. Hands pulled my hair away from my face. When the heaving finally stopped I collapsed back on the ground, pressed my hot cheek to the cold floor and groaned.
“What can we do for you?” Leslie asked, squatting beside me.
“What does it feel like?” Frost asked.
I forced my eyes opened. “Did it work?”
Leslie gave me a helpless gesture. “I think so. You both fell at the same time. She’s still out of it.”
I struggled to sit up though it made the room spin again. “I need air.”
Strong hands lifted me to my feet. I knew it was Sebastian before I even looked at him. “Where’s the witch?”
“In her cell.” Worry creased the edges of Sebastian’s eyes and his hands smoothed over my arms when he was sure I could stand on my own. “I’ll take you outside. The two of you wait here. Question the witch as soon as she wakes. She will be at her weakest.”
“Sure. We’ll
just wait here with the vomit,” Frost muttered as Sebastian led me away.
The night air cooled my face and soothed my lungs. “I’m okay,” I said, pulling out of Sebastian’s grip.
“What happened in there?” he asked.
“You were there.”
He shook his head. “Your eyes glossed over and you were rocking back and forth muttering to yourself. A couple seconds later the same thing happened to the witch, then you both fell at the same time. That’s all I saw. Did the spell even work?”
I took a deep breath and focused on the sensations going through me. Did I feel more powerful? Maybe. It was really hard to tell. “I don’t know. I think maybe it did.” I explained the whole purple thread thing to him as he listened.
When I finished he looked away, pressing his lips together. “You know I didn’t want this, right? I didn’t mean it when I said you were weak. I have never thought of you as anything but perfect exactly as you are. I apologize.”
His words hit me like a freight train. Every time he said things like that I wanted to simultaneously punch him and kiss him. “Sebastian! You have to stop saying and doing things like this. You can’t keep toying with my feelings.”
He still didn’t look at me. “I didn’t mean to—”
“But you did.” I took a deep breath, trying to settle the frantic flurry in my stomach. I had no doubt that Sebastian liked me. He may have even liked me a lot, but we both knew I would never come first to him and that wasn’t something I could live with. In a couple more days all of this would be over and I could get back to my new house and new life. That was what I had to focus on.
He looked back at me finally, his mouth working like he was trying to find just the right words to cut me to the core.
I shook my head. “I’m leaving soon. It’s over.”
He closed his mouth and stared at me with those silver eyes that were still very much a mystery. “It’s for the best.” His voice was as calm and resolved as ever.
I turned rather than watch him walk away. Apparently men were stupid regardless of their age or race. Meandering forward, not seeing the finely crafted beauty around me, I thought about the future and where it would take me when I finally returned to the human world, my world.
“I wouldn’t have guessed you were the castle type,” Jack’s voice snapped me back to attention. I glanced about, looking for him without success. Then I closed my eyes, hoping that when I reopened them his unique aura would glow and reveal his hiding place. It worked like a charm. He stood about ten feet away from me in dark corner.
“I’m totally a castle sort of girl.”
“Noted.” I could hear the smile in his voice and wished I could see it. “There’s something different about you tonight.”
I cocked my head to the side. “What’s that?”
He stepped out of the darkness and ran the back of his hand down the side of my neck—then held his hand out and stared at it as if he could see traces of me on it. He pressed the hand to his lips and I swear I felt them touch my neck. I watched, completely mesmerized by pretty much everything about him.
“Hmmm,” he said. “Someone’s been very naughty.”
My mouth went dry as the very sincere hope that he was talking about me went through my mind. “Not yet,” I said and was rewarded with the shark-like smile that promised all sorts of trouble and fun.
He looked back up at the castle, and I took the opportunity to study his aura, which was brighter than ever—and still like nothing I had ever seen. Its colors were bolder and brighter than any I had experienced and moved in and out in different shapes and patterns, constantly changing.
“Doesn’t suit you,” he said.
“What?” I asked.
“The castle.”
“Oh.” I struggled to catch up. “Well, it doesn’t matter. I won’t be here much longer.”
“Off to find an adventure, lovely witch?”
“Several, I hope.” I smiled back at him. “What are you? I don’t recognize…” I waved my hand between us, skimming through his aura’s colors, briefly making them blend together, which was a totally bizarre reaction so I did it again. His wasn’t the first aura I’d touched, but it was the first one that reacted as if it knew I was there. “You’re not human.”
When he didn’t reply, I looked away from his aura and back at him. His gorgeous blue eyes were so dark they almost looked black. His nostrils flared. “Do that again.”
The gravel of his voice scraped along my spine, sending shivers with it. “Do what?” My voice was so soft I could barely it.
This time there was no smile, only an endless gaze pinning me where I stood. “Do it again,” he repeated.
My fingers trembled as I reached out toward the kaleidoscope of colors. As I touched it, I glanced at him. His eyes fluttered closed, those enviable black eyelashes lying against his cheeks. The only way I could get lashes like that was to glue them on.
I refocused on my hand, now fully submerged in his aura, only it was completely different now than it had been moments ago. Everything seemed to be headed in one direction, toward me. I splayed my fingers wide. “What are you?” I whispered more to myself than to him. Waves pushed away from my hand and through the aura into him, startling me so much I pulled back.
“Lo—” he started saying just before his eyes snapped open. He took a step back, shaking his head, and his shoulders heaved for several seconds before he finally spoke. “Very close.”
I shook my head, putting another step between us. “I have no idea what happened.”
He didn’t look convinced. “I cannot be compelled.”
Was that what I had done? I stared at my hand for a moment. I could always see auras, but now I could compel them? Was that even possible? “The witch’s power,” I said under my breath. Maybe it strengthened my own gift. I snapped my head back up. “I gotta go. Sorry for the invasion or whatever it was.”
I raced off for the dungeon. The witch was going to talk. This time she wouldn’t have a choice.
Cheney stepped in front of me just before I reached the stairs. I skidded to a halt with a yelp, nearly crashing into him.
He reached out and steadied me. “Why are you running?” He glanced behind me.
“Are you checking if something’s chasing me?” I scrunched my nose. “I could be exercising.”
The corner of his mouth twitched. “A chase seemed more likely.”
I laughed. “Whatever. You’re the one who took your life into your own hands. There was no guarantee I could stop.”
“I was willing to take the risk.” His face suddenly went serious. “I need your help with something.”
I nodded. “Anything.”
His eyebrows pulled together. “Selene has refused to allow the vampire to heal her. And while I respect her right to make whatever decisions she wishes to, I also have the sneaking suspicion of what she will do if she thinks she’s going to die.”
“Don’t give her the choice. If Corbin can save her, I will hold her down myself while he heals her. Her magic doesn’t work on me.”
“I know, but that wasn’t exactly what I was thinking. I won’t force her to take the vampire’s help, especially after he released Jessica.”
I nodded, though I still didn’t agree. “What do you need?”
“If Selene truly believes she could die giving birth she will use whatever strength she has to save me from our bond.”
I definitely didn’t like where this was headed. “That sounds about right. So we need to make sure she doesn’t die.”
“We will do our best, but just in case I want you to make me impervious to her magic.”
“But then you would…”
“Die? Yes. I’m aware. I saw what living without my mother did to my father. So did you. Would you wish that on me or on our child?”
I wouldn’t and I didn’t, but I also didn’t want either of them to die.
“I knew this was a risk when we married.”
/> Selene would kill me. “Cheney—”
“Can you do it?”
It was a simple spell. All I had to do was make him part of our coven. While he wasn’t a witch, he was an elf and that came with certain innate abilities that weren’t all that far from our own. He had aided our magic with his power before, so I saw no real reason why it wouldn’t work. I nodded. “I can. We just have to make you part of the coven.”
He thought about it for a moment. “Do you need Selene for that?”
I shook my head. “Nope. Leslie and I can do it without her and Jess—but won’t it break the elf and human magic rule?”
He shrugged. “A small price to pay. Technically, so long as I don’t learn to cast, I shouldn’t be in violation.”
I nodded. “I’ll get Leslie.”
So I headed down to the dungeon completely forgetting about the witch in the cell.
“Excuse me, sir?” Rirosson, one of the guard, stood in the doorway of Cheney’s office. He should have been here and waiting for me by now, but Cheney had yet to show up.
I turned to him, holding back a sigh. “Have you seen the Erlking?”
“He was in the garden speaking with the vampire.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Corbin is here then?”
“He is being removed even now.”
I rubbed my chin as I absorbed his words. “Has he seen the queen?”
“The queen has refused his visit.”
I closed my eyes. This was completely my fault. I should have never told Selene what I suspected. Not until she was at full health. “Did you need something?”
The guard folded his hands behind his back. “A report has come from the guard at the gate that one of the candidates has fallen.”
I bowed my head. “Which one?”
“Counsel woman Phoebe.”
“How?”
“As of yet, still undetermined, sir.”
“Where?”
The guard stiffened, a slight frown etching his face. “The same location Lord Tahlik fell, it would appear.”
The city center outside of the castle. Even worse. “Thank you. I will inform the Erlking.” I dismissed the guard and went on a search for Cheney. When I found him he was standing in the archive in the middle of a protection circle with Leslie and Katrina performing some sort of spell. I silently watched, trusting the three of them knew what they were doing.
