“Your mentor is concerned about you. So am I. But if you tell me that you’re up to all this, I will not question it. If you do need some time…”
“I don’t need any time. What I need, is to do my job. I don’t understand why everyone thinks I’m about to break.”
“Fair enough.”
She relaxed her demeanor and smiled. “Really, Sir. I am grateful for your concern, but I’m exactly where I want to be. I’ve never been more focused.”
“Very well. Do you have any thoughts on the matter of Amelia? Any insight… I hate to use the fact that you’re siblings, but anything you can tell me that might help…”
“No, I understand. Amelia… enjoys attention. Always has. If I had to make a guess at her next move… she’s desperate to grow her following. The best way she can accomplish this is to discredit you. I would almost bet money she’ll create some kind of spectacle.”
He sighed, deep in thought. “Do you think Amelia is capable of hurting anyone?”
Her gut wanted to say no. She did not think her ex-sibling capable of this… but she was not sure now. She’d steal someone’s fiancé… and that hurt… Juliska let go of this, burying the wound deep.
“I honestly cannot say, Sir. I think it wise to consider all possibilities. Even if she did not mean to, she or her followers could do so accidentally. Tempers flare. People do stupid things.”
“Hm. Yes. You’ve only just further proven why you’re First Seer. Visions or not, you are very wise.”
“Thank you. Just doing my job, the best I can.”
“And you’re doing it splendidly. Give me some time to think on all this. There needs to be some way to reach a peaceful solution.”
“I hope you’re right. I really do. Because the havoc she’s causing on the island is nothing compared to what she plans on causing off the island.”
“That’s what truly frightens me.”
He didn’t need conspiracies and theories.
He needed action and results.
They had an actual crisis to handle.
“Is living on the island so bad?” he blurted out suddenly. “Haven’t we had a good life here?”
“I don’t think it’s a matter of good versus bad. It’s in people’s natures to want to explore.”
“I do always enjoy your frankness, Juliska.”
Guilt ate at her again. “If I hadn’t been taken… maybe some of this could have been avoided. You’d have chosen a new home, appeased many.”
“Perhaps. My gut tells me peace would not have lasted long.” He looked at her quite seriously. “This stays between us for now. I’ve believe, even though I do not want to, I may have to let Amelia and her followers leave. Otherwise, a war might break out.”
She sighed. “I expected nothing less. But I think there’s still time. A chance to find a solution.”
He nodded. “We will give it our best, won’t we?”
“Of course. Splitting apart friends and family will only further hurt our people. Whatever conclusion is reached, it must be fair and accepted by all.”
“I agree. I very much agree.” He let out a coarse breath. “I think talking through business with you, works much better to calm my nerves than that damn tonic.”
She chuckled.
“Have a good day, Juliska. Take care.”
She nodded and departed, returning to her office. It was not a typical office with a desk and a chair. She was slowly converting it to her needs as Firemancer as it was currently decked out to serve PanSofia, who was a Watermancer.
Juliska groaned when her mentor stepped out from behind a partition with a small box in hand.
“Sorry, didn’t mean to interrupt. Gathering a few more of my personal things. I’ll be by, or send someone by, for the rest over the next few days.” She set the box down instead of leaving.
Juliska found this irritating and let out a sigh. Her old mentor never used to bother her like this, but lately, she couldn’t stand to be around her. It was like she was hovering for no valid reason.
“It must be strange for you,” Juliska stated, attempting civility. “Not having to come to work each day.”
“A little. I’ll adjust. I hope you do as well.” Her tone insinuated Juliska was not.
“I’m adjusting just fine.”
“No. You’re not. You’re lying to yourself, Juliska Blackwell. And it will keep you from doing your job, properly.”
Juliska gasped in the audacity of her comments. “The Banon would disagree with your view,” she challenged.
Her old mentor grimaced.
“Juliska,” she implored. “You need to grieve. You’re living in denial. It will backfire on you. As your teacher, trust me on this. I’m only looking out for your best interests.”
“Which right now, includes doing my job the way I see fit. It is my job now. You stepped down.”
PanSofia said nothing more. Just stared in a hardened gaze before picking up her box and leaving.
CHAPTER TWENTY-
ONE
Eddy stared across the table at his two guests. Arnon Jacoby and Cornell Tibbitt.
They were waiting patiently for him to explain why he’d called them here.
Eddy was a couple shots of whiskey down, unshaven and looking like he’d aged a couple years in the last couple of months.
He was running out of ideas and hoping these two men could help him.
He was about to do the unthinkable.
But he was getting desperate and grasping at straws.
Juliska refused to see him, even now. Months later. He tried to corner her a few times and even bitter and angry with him, she was beautiful. And glowing. Her five month pregnant belly growing… and no one else could see it, but him. And he had to pretend it wasn’t happening.
He told her he hadn’t said anything, that all her secrets were safe with him. Begged her right out on the street with no concern who was watching… what was a little lost pride when the cost was a lifetime of happiness. Or the potential loss of a child.
She had fled. Ignoring him.
Her anger no less than their wedding day.
And so here he was, about to the one thing he’d sworn he’d never do.
“Eddy…” said Arnon kindly.
“Sorry. Um… it’s difficult to know where to start.”
Or end. He was about to betray his love again… except this time, for real.
“Just spit it out,” encouraged Cornell with a tip of his whiskey glass in Eddy’s direction.
“Okay, so, um…” he stopped again. “Maybe this is a mistake. I promised not to do this, but I can’t see any way around it.”
Arnon and Cornell exchanged a tight glance. They’d never seen their friend so desperate. Looking as though he’d given up. They’d tried to talk him into moving on. But for some reason he would not.
Eddy tried again. “I’m hoping if I do this, you can help me figure out what happened. I need to prove to her it was a trick… she’ll never forgive me without proof. Juliska is not a forgiving woman.”
“But you love her, so say what you need to say, and let’s see what we can do to help,” Cornell stated.
“First,” said Eddy seriously. “You must swear that what I tell you never leaves this room. You can never share this with anyone.”
Cornell agreed after a moment’s pause.
Arnon had a hard time with this. Security was his job and without knowing what he was about to be told, promising anything was difficult.
“I’m sorry,” said Eddy. “I know it’s a lot to ask. But this isn’t information I want anyone else to know. Juliska’s life and safety may depend on it. And if she ever finds out what I’m doing…” He’d lose her and his child, forever…
Arnon gritted his teeth and after an encouraging look from Cornell, cemented his agreement to keep it secret.
Eddy started. And like when Juliska had first told him, just let it spew out of him in one long epic tale. The only part he left out was th
at she was pregnant. This was off limits, a betrayal he’d take too far.
After a long couple of hours, he finished.
The two men said nothing, just drank another whiskey.
Had he done the right thing in telling them?
“I knew there had to be more to the story…” Cornell said after a few tense minutes.
“Things make a lot more sense now,” Arnon agreed.
“I know I was tricked. Put under some kind of spell or something,” said Eddy. “I just can’t prove it. Now, I think you can understand why I believe this.”
“Some people have a theory that it was done to hurt Amelia Cobb,” noted Arnon.
“Drivel…” slurred Eddy. The whiskey bottle was nearly gone. “I’ve heard that too.”
“It did knock her down a peg. She lost a fair amount of followers… although at this point, most have rejoined,” Cornell explained.
“I don’t think this has anything to do with Amelia, directly,” admitted Arnon.
“No, I reckon you’re right,” Cornell conceded.
“It’s not,” said Eddy. “I know it’s not. It’s the Grosvenor. Fazendiin. Something big is going down,” he mumbled.
Arnon and Cornell watch their friend’s head droop forward until lying against the table. It was a terrible thing to watch… his slow decline into madness. But at least they understood it better now.
They got up to leave. Arnon leaned over.
“We’ll do whatever we can, old friend.” Sadly, he had no idea what they could do, without seeking out the assistance of others. He and Cornell left him.
“What are you thinking?” Cornell asked him a bit later, when they neared his home.
“So many things I don’t even know where to start.”
“Are we going to have to break our promise to him?”
Arnon thought hard about that, and then shook his head. “No. At least let’s try very very hard not to. There’s no point in it right now…”
Cornell agreed. “It gives me quite a few angles to research into though. I’ll let you know if I discover anything new.”
“Same here.”
“You know, sometimes I wish we’d never gone at that damn quest,” Cornell blurted out, like he’d been wanting to say it for a long time.
Arnon let out a rushed breath. “Nothing has been the same since.”
“If only we could go back in time and talk Milo out of ever suggesting it.”
“Yeah, if only.” Arnon shook his head. “I think we’d still find ourselves in the middle of an upheaval. Amelia and her followers would have reached the same conclusion eventually. And now Milo has sided with her. I don’t get that really. He’s a good man.”
“Let’s face it, they’re all good people. They have good arguments. It’s hard to disagree with them…”
Arnon eyed Cornell.
“I’m not taking sides, just being honest. Our world is changing. And we need to adapt and change with it, or there will be nothing left.”
“I cannot disagree with you, although I’d very much like to. I had to talk my sister out of joining her,” Arnon admitted.
“You succeeded?”
“Yes. Like you said, good people, just… what a mess…”
“Indeed. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
They left each other, a foreboding uncertainty shared between them.
#
Arnon and Cornell met a few times in the week after their meeting with Eddy. But no matter what they tried, they found nothing. Every trail went nowhere. They felt bad for their friend. And concerned about Juliska. Even if by some off chance this was about humiliating Amelia, what Juliska was, and what she’d learned in her time with the Grosvenor, was frightening. And potentially dangerous.
Then a day ago, Cornell went back to the data he’d been collecting from Eddy since the wedding day. He was looking over a sample of his blood. There were traces of something… but nothing he could pinpoint as a spell, or magic. There was something he was missing. Something hidden from his ability to sense magic.
And that’s when it hit him…
They’d know he’d try to trace the magic used, and they’d covered up their tracks. In the same manner as it had happened while on the quest, when they were being followed by Fazendiin. Juliska had told them it was he that had followed them. It was the Grosvenor she’d seen in her vision.
He located Arnon and explained his findings.
They came to two conclusions.
First, they were never going to be able to help Eddy with finding solid proof. It was gone. Covered up.
Second, this finding proved Eddy’s theories. Just not in a manner which would satisfy Juliska Blackwell.
“They played me,” Cornell chastised himself. “I should have been looking for some kind of inhibitor, something to keep me from tracing the magic. Now it’s been too long and I can’t. Why didn’t I think of this sooner?”
“Maybe because we’ve never dealt with anything like this. People on the island are not so devious. But your finding does prove it was sabotage, pure and simple. I’m not sure what the information does, except prove this to us though.”
“It does not help our friend. But what about the rest of the island? Do we not have a duty to them as well? This could mean trouble is coming our way.” Cornell sat back and rubbed his chin.
“It means betraying Eddy’s trust,” Arnon reminded.
“Actually, maybe not. I could explain the finding and the similarities between this cover up and the quest, let the Viancourt put two and two together.”
“Yeah, that could work.”
“I’ll head right away and speak to the Banon.” Cornell got up and paused. “I wonder if I should stop in and pay Juliska a visit. Plead to her better senses on behalf of Eddy.”
“Do you think it wise? Can you hide what you know about her?”
“I’ll be there on official business. I’ll just pop in and feel it out. I won’t give myself away. But I feel a need to try. It can’t hurt, can it? Just to put in a good word for him, and besides, I haven’t actually spoken to her in ages.”
Arnon chuckled. “No. I suppose it can’t hurt. I’m not sure Eddy’s ever going to recover. Just… be careful. We won’t help his cause any by telling his ex-fiancé he told us all her secrets.”
“I’ll be careful.”
“I’ll see you tomorrow, and you can fill me in.”
“Plans tonight?” prodded Cornell with a glint in his eyes. “A certain dragon coming for a visit?”
Arnon did not respond, only grinned.
Cornell laughed and left to visit the Banon’s office, and figure out some way to run into Juliska Blackwell. It wasn’t hard after all. She just happened to be walking through the hallway as he stepped inside.
“Oh, hello,” he called out to her.
She turned and upon seeing him, smiled. “Hello, Cornell. What brings you here? It’s been a long time, considering we live on an island.”
“I was just thinking the same thing,” he replied. “I’m headed to see the Banon. But it’s nice to run into you. If you don’t mind my saying so, you look lovely. Have a sort of glow about you.”
She blushed, her hand dropping to her belly without even thinking. He caught it and she tried to make a movement as if it was not even a thing. Of course, he could not see her extended belly because of the tonic she was taking.
Juliska headed for her office, Cornell followed leisurely next to her.
“So how is the transition coming?” He cleared his throat. That could have been taken a few ways. “Becoming First Seer, I mean of course.”
She got inside her office, he followed and she spun around to face him. “I’m not going to break, Cornell. I know it’s what everyone is waiting for. But I’m fine. Really.”
“I’m sorry. My question did come out poorly. How is the new job treating you?”
“Good. So far. Busy. But I like it like way.”
It was hard for Cornell to believe th
at Juliska was a vampyre. And immortal. She seemed a lot like the Juliska he’d always known. Maybe she was. Maybe she hadn’t changed at all, other than being aware of her past. Eddy had not doubted her in the least.
“I’m sorry,” he blurted out suddenly.
“For what?”
“Everyone… everything. You must be so tired of being the center of unwanted attention, and yet it follows you like a storm cloud that just won’t lift.”
She let out an exhausted chuckle and leaned against the edge of a table, suddenly looking tired. “That’s one way of looking at it, I guess.”
“Sometimes, we’re just dealt a crap deck.”
Cornell would know all about that. In the last two years, he’d lost three members of his family. And yet here he was, doing his duty and smiling, as always.
“It’s been a hell of a year for you, Juliska. I’d wager you’re due for something good.”
Her eyes pinched together. His choice of words seemed strange. She hid the panic racing through her veins, telling herself it was just coincidence. He didn’t actually know she was pregnant. No one did but Eddy. He wouldn’t tell anyone, would he?
He’d promised, even just last week when he’d cornered her on the street like a pathetic beggar, groveling at her feet to forgive him. It did not mean he would keep that promise. Anymore so than he kept his others.
Something tingled at Cornell’s senses. That thing inside him that slowed him to sense and track magic. His skin prickled. It was ensconced around Juliska.
“Juliska?” questioned Cornell. “Are you feeling okay?” He stepped closer, concerned.
She stood up to walk around the other side of her desk and get away from him when a bout of nausea hit her and she swayed. His hands went out to steady her and she panicked.
“Get away from me,” she pleaded breathlessly. He didn’t let go.
“What’s wrong? Do you need a doctor?”
A pain slammed into her stomach and she let out a short cry. What was this? What was wrong? She doubled over, clutching her stomach. “Oh please, no. Hold on little baby, please…” She looked up with a horrified gasp.
Forsaken (Fated Saga Fantasy Series Book 8) Page 25
